sick-ickiness

For the past few days I had the crud...you know, not really the flu and not a plain old cold.  I just felt cruddy, had congestion and a bad headache.  No fever or anything like that, and LUCKILY the baby didn't get sick (yet).  But today Marshall said his throat hurts- oh no!

Hmmm....let me think back since I last posted.  Oh yes, last weekend I went to the Carter's outlet up in Williamsburg with a few friends from my playgroup.  I had never been up to those outlets.  They are about 30 min away which is really not bad- we carpooled.  I was riding with my friend Shannon and we were about 10 min into the drive when we realized we had left my stroller in my car!  DARN!  Of course I didn't want to turn back and get it, but it meant that I had to haul Mdx's 17 pound butt around the outlet mall in her carseat.  NOT fun.  The customer service center rented strollers, but it was all the way across the center from Carter's- so not worth the walk in my opinion.  I learned my lesson- rather, my arm muscles learned their lesson.  We did get a cute pic of Maddox sitting with Shannon's son Eli in his stroller.  Eli does not look happy to have her in his space!

We are trying to teach Mdx to use a sippy cup- but she just doesn't get it.  She doesn't suck on the tip part, she just chews on it.  Maybe one day she'll suck on it and be totally surprised when something comes out.  :)  The one in the pic just has water in it.

I also decided to let Mdx have a few crackers and see how she could do with no teeth.  Well- I don't know why I was worried, cause she DEMOLISHED them!!

I went to a sewing pattern tutorial last Monday to learn how to follow a pattern.  It was so helpful to have someone translate the gibberish that is on the pattern, and all the little symbols.  I also learned (kind of) how to gather fabric, but have not mastered bias tape.  I'm making a cute little sundress for Mdx, but I just discovered that I *think* I sewed part of the yoke inside-out.  Oops.  MAYBE I'll put a picture on one day if it ever meets my standards.  :)

There were some bad tornados around here yesterday.  I was upstairs napping with Mdx and woke up hearing some pretty hard rain.  When we came downstairs Marshall said there was a tornado warning for our area, but outside our house it just looked like a rainstorm.  It ends up there were at least 3 tornados- one of which went through Suffolk (which is about 30 min from us) and destroyed hundreds of houses.  Thankfully no one was killed, but over 200 people were injured.  I have no idea how this house would stand up to a tornado- I really don't want to find out!  Who would have imagined- tornados in coastal Virginia!!

We also learned an interesting lesson about housecleaning.  Since we got the dog I've been cleaning the floors everyday- I just can't stand walking around and getting dog hair on my feet.  We have hardwood floors, so I thought it might be a good idea to use some dust-cleaner (like Pledge) on the floors.  MAJOR MISTAKE!!  Marshall sprayed the floor duster with Pledge and cleaned all the floors (like a dutiful husband), and these floors became SO SLICK we were sliding all over the place.  You had to wear shoes to have enough traction- sock feet were out of the question- and bare feet- barely worked.  The poor dog could not walk at all, her feet would slide right out from under her.  It ends up- the bottle says not to use it on floors.  I AM SUCH A MORON!

Marshall has mopped a few times to get it up and it's a little better.  Many lessons learned here in the MacHouse recently.

not enough time in the day

Introducing Macy Greyish:

She is a good dog, she likes to play and take long walks.  

This past week was very crazy.  I woke up Monday morning and realized that Marshall had not come home from work.  When I checked my cellphone I found out that he had called at 6:30AM saying he was in the hospital and was getting ready to have surgery to remove his appendix!!  ACK!!  I called the hospital but he was already in surgery.  About an hour later I went and saw him in recovery after calling family members and returning calls from squadron members, etc.  He was on some good drugs and in a fair amount of pain.  Good thing they caught it before his appendix ruptured!

For some reason this pic is showing up sideways, I'll try and fix it.

Poor Marshall

His incision, it's just a few inches long:

My Mom came up for a few days to help out, since Marshall can't pick up more than 10 pounds.  That rules out Macy, who weighs about 35 pounds, and Maddox- who weighs about 17 pounds!!  He's already much better, but it was so great just to have another person to hold the baby, or feed the baby so that I could vacuum, or do laundry, or cook.  Thanks Mom!!  Happy Retirement!  Ha!  Now it's not so bad because Marshall can take out the dog and get up and do things.  

One thing I hadn't thought of was how much walking we'd have to do with this new dog!  She loves to take walks, and is really quite good on a leash.  However, I haven't mastered pushing the stroller with one hand, and holding the dog leash with the other- yet.  I'm working on it.  Macy understandably wants to explore every yard in the neighborhood so she spends the entire walk weaving back and forth across the sidewalk, stopping for each fire hydrant or tree.  I think Mdx thinks that Macy is just here for her entertainment- she loves watching her run around and play.  The exercise has been great for me though.

darn it

Stupid blogspot is not letting me upload the pics of our new puppy!  Darn it!

So, you'll just have to believe me, she's super cute!  She's a "Buff" Lab- which means off-white.  Her name was Daisy, but we didn't really like that name so much, so we are calling her Macy because it sounds close enough and she'll answer to it.  Actually- her full name is Macy Greyish.  I KID YOU NOT.  That was all Marshall's idea- even Grey with an "e" instead of an "a".

One of the new additions to his vocabulary since returning from Korea was the suffix "-ish".  In fact, "ish" can stand alone and have its own complete meaning.  For example:

Me: "Do you think you'll be home by 4?"

Him: "Ish?"

See what I mean?

And with the insanity that is the MGM inital-dom of our family- OF COURSE our new dog is gonna be an MGM too.  Oh, and for all you old people, Macy Gray is an American R & B/ Soulsinger who was nominated for 5 Grammy awards, and won one.  In fact- and this is CREEPY- her original name was Natalie Renee McIntyre......um- WOW.  And we randomly named our dog after her and she has our last name.  Anyways.......

We have enjoyed watching "Wheel of Fortune" together, and are convinced that we would kick some major butt if we ever got to go on there together.  We can almost always solve the puzzle before any of the contestants, and both of us audibly groan whenever anyone buys a vowel.  It drives me crazy- don't people understand that the point of the game is to WIN MONEY, and every time you buy a stupid vowel you are spending money you haven't even won yet??  You should ALWAYS spin and go for another consonant- UNLESS you are very close to solving and that one vowel will help you solve the puzzle.  There are so many people that buy all the vowels and then want to spin because they still don't know the puzzle.   Well- duh person, chances are you aren't going to the bonus round.

And- when they do the introductions, the people always say- "Well Pat, I'm a Rocket Scientist in Malibu, and I have a FABULOUS husband Mac, and two BEAUTIFUL children Joe and Shmoe, blah blah blah".  I'm so glad that they all learned new adjectives for their big moment on T.V.  There's also the person who says "Big Money! Big Money!" every time someone spins.  GIVE IT A REST!!  Don't you know that spinning a wheel is a game of chance, and saying the words "Big Money!" does not increase your chances of actually getting big money?  You'll probably buy a vowel next too!  HAHahaha!  It's all in the name of good entertainment, and so I'm grateful for that.

Aw man...back to the dog.  See what happens when I get distracted?  :)  Okay, so she was originally adopted by a family from the SPCA and then was returned because (according to them) she's "not good with children".  The person who was helping us said that when they brought her back to the shelter they didn't want to fill out the form that explains why they are bringing her back.  Jerks.  So the truth is- they couldn't handle having a dog.  She is great with kids!  She loves Maddox, but she's a puppy!  So we know we have to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't take a little nibble here and there. What convinced me that she's okay with kids was when Marshall had her on a leash and a kid went by on the sidewalk on a little skateboard thingie.  A dog that is BAD with kids would try and go after them or rip their legs off.  She did neither.  So- I believe what my eyes see, not what other people say.   She's already spayed and housebroken, which is awesome.  And the Norfolk SPCA was a very well organized, professional and clean shelter that also happens to be a no-kill shelter.  If you ever win the lottery, please donate to the Norfolk SPCA.  :)

Today I also realized that my little baby is no longer a little baby.  It's been a while since she was actually small- but every day she acts more and more like a little toddler.  She now prefers standing to sitting- even though she's not crawling yet.  Her favorite way to stand is with both her feet flat- legs spread about 6 inches apart- and only holding one of my fingers with one of her hands!  Little Daredevil!!  When she loses balance and falls back to a sitting position she immediately wants back up to stand again.  She babbles and talks to people whenever we are out in public and smiles at people constantly.  It's adorable but also gets us lots of attention when I'm normally trying to zip right through the store (not possible with this child).

She's eating mashed fresh bananas, she LOVED mashed avocado, hates peas, loves carrots, eats squash, pears, and apples okay.  But mostly she prefers the bottle.  She still won't hold it- so that's our new goal.  Crawling can wait, but this child needs to hold her own bottle!!  Oh- and some teeth would be nice too.  At our playdate a few days ago she was the oldest baby- and the only one without teeth.  Come on Mdx, get some teeth so we can bring on the Cheerios!!

spoke too soon

Of course when I started talking about how Spring was here, the weather was beautiful, blah blah blah....it got rainy and cold for the past few days.  Yuck!  

So since we couldn't go outside and play we reverted to our new favorite thing - doing crazy things to the baby's hair!!

This is just your basic flip-up in the front.

This one is the "I just woke up" look.

And now Mdx really likes to stick her tongue out and blow raspberries!  She has to concentrate very hard to remember how to do it.

Marshall has started working nights- which is harder on us as a family than I thought it would be.  Luckily it is only for 2 weeks!  I feel like he's back in Korea again, because I have the baby by myself basically all day and all night again-AND still have to take care of clothes to wear and food to eat.  I can't wait until tomorrow when he can put her to bed again!

A few days ago I planted some herbs in containers, and a few flowers in the little bed next to our driveway.  Since then the sun hasn't come out once- so I hope they don't die.

I planted Oregano, Basil, Rosemary and Cilantro.

Here they are in the containers, which will go on the patio when the sun comes out!

Here are the flowers- Marigolds, some blue flowers, and Snapdragons.

And- a few friends of mine are having baby boys in the next couple of months.  So, since Mdx loves her tag blanket so much, I decided to make some for them as baby gifts.  I got different types of fabric and lots of different ribbons.  In the process of looking for an online tutorial on how to make one I discovered lots of information about the actual "Taggies" company and the multiple lawsuits that they have brought against people who make these blankets and then sell them online.  They also have lawyers who send threatening emails to people telling them to stop selling the blankets or ELSE!!  A national craft store used to give away instructions on how to make the blankets- and they got sued too!!  Apparently they PATENTED the idea of sewing together two pieces of fabric with little loops of ribbon sticking out as an "educational invention".  Yep- US Patent # RE38782.   I think it's a bunch of baloney personally, and I think they should leave the crafty people alone.  How anyone got a patent on that I have no idea....but it makes me want to boycott the Taggie company for their greediness.  Gosh, I think I should patent my spectacular idea of putting cheese in between two pieces of bread and then cooking it in a pan on the stove with tons of butter.  BRILLIANT!!!!

And taggies people, before you try to sue me- you really should have better things to do with your time and money-everything I said is either true or is my personal opinion.  So put that in your blanket and SEW IT!

Okay, on to my wonderful project for tonight- which I am giving and not selling.  I decided to make a little mini blanket first for practice to make sure I knew what I was doing.  It is about 9 inches wide and 11 inches tall-the perfect size to keep in the diaper bag for a fussy moment.  I am so pleased at how it turned out!

The front.

The back.

I think when I make the larger ones they'll be about 18 inches wide by 22 inches tall, and I'll use more ribbons.  Besides that it was surprisingly easy!

Funny Daddy

Marshall always seems to find a way to make the baby laugh.  It's so cute!  Wow our house is a mess...pay no attention to the clutter- that's what happens when you go out of town for a week!

We went and visited family in Greensboro and Raleigh for Easter.  While we were in Greensboro we got to go over to Brooklyn's house and play.  Marshall accidentally dropped a cupful of Coke ALL OVER the outside of Chad's car.  :)  That was pretty funny- Chad had to wash it off before he ate.  Thank goodness he didn't spill it inside-their house is spotless since it's on the market.  We forgot to take a pic of the girls together.  DARN!  But I did take this pic of Mdx playing on Brooklyn's Dora blanket.

Yes I realize she still has the paci in her mouth.  I've been trying to be more conscious about taking it out of her mouth when I think she doesn't need it.  Plus- pictures are much cuter when you can see her mouth!  Eventually I'd like to get to the point where she only uses it in the car and in her bed.

Here is a pic taken on Easter at my Aunt Nancy's house, you can't see her dress very well but it was cute!

 

Maddox got to spend some time with my Grandma, her Great-Grandma.  She is Polish and goes by "Babci" (pronounced Bob-shee).  She had some nice looking orange finger nails!  LOL!  The lady on the left is my Aunt Susan.  We had a wonderful feast with a little less Polish food than normal- but still the kind we only get once a year.  :)

Back home Spring has definitely sprung here.  The tree in our front yard has bloomed some beautiful pink flowers and buds all over it.  The birds are all making nests.  A family of robins has been trying to nest in our carport and Marshall has had to shoo them away and clean out the twigs multiple times.  The place they are trying to nest is right next to our kitchen door- and would be a bad place for a nest.  It's okay, they'll find somewhere else!  Today we bought some Basil, Cilantro, Rosemary and Oregano that will be planted in a container garden on my patio.  I'm going to have to find a way to keep all of the bunnies out of the plants though.....I haven't figured that out yet.  Here's our tree:

We took Mdx to a local park since the weather has been so beautiful.  Here she is for her first time in a baby swing!  She didn't seem that impressed- but there were a thousand kids running around so she was a bit over-stimulated.

Mdx has a friend named Eli from her playgroup- he's almost 6 months old, and weighs 21 pounds!!  He is so cute- we always joke because he always surrounded by "the ladies!"- most of the other babies in the playgroup are girls.   Eli's mom Shannon is from Michigan and is really cool!  She invited us to a surprise birthday lunch for her husband Ian at Golden Corral.  The lunch was great and Mdx enjoyed gnawing on the birthday hat.

I've realized after looking at all of our pictures just HOW MANY of them I'm wearing that navy blue Michigan sweatshirt in!  MAN- people must think I don't own any other clothes.  The truth of the matter is that it is my most comfortable article of clothing, and though I've lost 10 pounds in the past 8 weeks I'm STILL not back at my pre-baby weight- which means I have a closet full of clothes I can't quite get into yet.  So I wear the sweatshirt all the time for those reasons.  Hopefully you won't be seeing it much longer- a little more weight to lose and summer is coming!

new video!

This is what happens when you give a cookie to a 7 month old.  :)  BATHTIME!