Cheating

Today I worked from home. Kate helped.

My fabulous friend Dori sent Kate a birthday present several weeks early. What a good example she set for the rest of us with little kids (she has a 6.5 month old). If you don't get it done at the first chance you have, it may never get done.

Anyway, Kate just couldn't wait to get her presents open (of course it had nothing to do with me). We opened the 3 Dr. Seuss books first. Kate loves books, so they have been read many times already. Today we couldn't stand the suspense of the big package and cheated a little by opening the rest of the gift well before her actual birthday. Here she is enjoying her new wings. Thanks Dori! They're a hit!!

Cooties

Yep, you read that right! The Meredith household has been struck by cooties. And not this kind:

We wish. You didn't think cooties were real did you? Yeah, neither did Wikipedia:

Cooties is a non-scientific term in North American English used by children for an imaginary "disease" carried by the female gender said to infect through contact. The term may have originated with references to lice, fleas and other pests. A child is said to "catch" cooties through any form of bodily contact, proximity, or touching of an "infected" person. The phrase is used by children aged 5-10.

First of all, why girls? I'm quite sure guys carry most of the cooties - I never ran from girls worried I would catch their cooties. Second of all, Cooties are most definitely not imaginary (proof to follow) and I am a scientist, using the word "cooties," which makes them quite scientific.

When I was growing up, riding that little Merry-go-Round outside of Kmart (which is the ONLY place I've ever seen them) was strictly forbidden by my Mother, unless I was wearing long pants - I know, weird, because I wasn't wearing gloves.



Anyway! She did this so that I wouldn't catch cooties (is that how one catches them? through naked legs?). I'm starting to see that my Mom may have had a point.

Last weekend we visited Barnes and Noble. We even posted a photo of Kate playing with what I believe to be the source of our Cooties - a Thomas the train engine and cars. Like clock-work (3 days later) she came down with one nasty fever and rash that made us miss Thanksgiving with the family. I am a microbiologist, so I diagnosed her with some "virus" and two days later she was fever-free and playing like a mad woman. Enter exhibit A:

Blisters on her feet (and hands and mouth).


This, my non-scientific friends, is known as Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Please do not be confused. She didn't catch this from a cow in England - that would be Foot and Mouth Disease. No, I don't know why. Probably some totally non-creative person had to name them. This disease is caused by, you guessed it, Cooties! Its highly contagious, easily spread from kid to kid (on toys too). It is actually caused by a variety of viruses that belong to a group called enteroviruses. Usually its a coxsackievirus (isn't that a fun one to say!?), but sometimes can be an echovirus. Did I say highly contagious? Yup!

Today Don called me at work and said he was definitely feeling sick. He had a sore throat and a blister in the back of his mouth. Uh Oh. Now he has a fever of 102.8 and is very miserable on the couch. Its actually really cool for me to see a disease that I have only read about until now - but NOT cool for the sick members of my family. Don't worry, these viruses are pretty benign and run their course quickly. The disease in adults is supposed to be milder... at least we hope so.

Kate has recovered nicely. The blisters on her hands are looking better, and the ones on her feet have not prevented her from walking up a storm. In fact, here she is playing fun games with a pyrex dish. I didn't know that peek-a-boo could be just as interesting behind a see through dish, but she was giggling up a storm.



So, will I be next?? I've certainly been exposed multiple times, but lets hope NOT!

A Long Thanksgiving Weekend

Hi there, this is Kate. This blog posting business looks pretty fun so I'm going to give it a shot. Mom and Da have been looking forward to the long weekend for awhile now. We planned on taking off for Grandma & Grandpa's house first thing Thursday for a big Thanksgiving meal. Unfortunately, I got sick so we had to stay home. Mom already posted about that so you should be up to speed. Friday we drove up to Hartsville and had a great time. Saturday was the game... I'm a little disappointed with the outcome but I still love my Tigers. Just ask me to say "Go Tigers!" and you'll see my spirit! That brings us to Sunday... we had a great time wrapping up the long weekend.

We started the day out at The Gourmet Shop in Five Points. Mom gave me my normal lunch and Da let me try his strawberries. I normally love them so I took a big bite...

Unfortunately, this one was a little more tart than I expected. Thanks for the warning, Da!

Next up was my favorite thing to do on Sundays - play in the park. Look at this enormous slide I found! I let Mom and Da help me slide down a few times. As you know, I do my own stunts but if I don't let them help from time to time they feel left out.

Then some SWINGING. I absolutely love to swing and hope to get a swing from Mom and Da for my birthday or Christmas (they read this blog too so perfect timing). I did a little swinging on my own but I noticed that Mom felt left out so I helped her with the big girl swing. I'll upload some video later in this post if I remember (Super Pets is coming on soon so I'm in a bit of a rush).

I made friends with this great pine tree. He didn't say much but he's a great listener.

I stuck close to mom on this trip. She's the best... and she's pretty.

Da seems to know a lot about trees. He walked around with me and showed me a few things.

After an hour or so I got tired and wanted to go home. Da is the best way to get from the swingsets to the car. If you're looking for a lift I can give you his contact information.

I almost forgot the video of me and Mom swinging. I had a lot of fun swinging with her. I could do it all day I think. Mom isn't a stunt girl like me so she gets a little woozy if she swings too long. She'll probably be embarrassed that I posted that. Is it Sunday night already?

GO TIGERS!

Gobble! Gobble!

This is the post where I'm supposed to insert pictures of Kate playing in her Thanksgiving dress, eating turkey, hanging with Grandma and Grandaddy Meredith, and enjoying the heck out of her 4 cousins.

She had other plans: a fever, a rash, a lot of whining.

So here she is instead: watching Teletubies with Daddy and sitting in a blow-up duck bath-tub in the living room.




It wasn't how we planned to spend the day, but we are thankful that she seems to be feeling a little better.

Not Me! Monday!

Really, shouldn't this be called Not Me! Wednesday? Because today was really like a Wednesday because Wednesday is more like a Friday and Thursday like a Saturday because we get 2 days off this week! Lost? Yeah, me too... all the time though, not just now. Ok, this is the quick and dirty version of Not Me! because its Kate's bedtime. So? Anything funny or embarrassing happen to you last week? Dog dig up your new plants? Baby tear off her diaper one morning while you went to load the car? Not me!! Please remember that this blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

First, I must start by welcoming my friend Sara to Not Me! Monday. You can read her first post here. I laughed out loud, and can totally relate. I am not blogging right now because I have 3 friends who have managed to post Not Me! today, and I couldn't be odd girl out.

I did not dump chili beans all over the stovetop because I was trying to pour them directly out of the pot into a tupperware container. I did not think to myself... "this probably isn't such a good idea."

I did not put my baby in the car to go to Nanna's house one morning only to realize that I had completely forgotten her socks and shoes. Yeah, bare baby feet in 45 degree weather is generally frowned upon.

I do not have a Halloween wreath hanging on my back door. If so, it might mean I was lazy, but certainly not that I just thought it was too cute to be motivated to take it down. :)

Don's edit: Wait, that's a Halloween wreath? I thought it was a Fall wreath... with a spider. ;)

We do not have a mouse in our house (or 3 or 4). You did not see me at Lowe's buying mouse traps on Sunday.

See? Slow week for me! I didn't even drop Kate this week. So, how about you?

Ready for Take-off

Its been a fantastic weekend, and things are really taking off around here. Literally!

Kate has finally realized that she can walk without our help. She takes short trips from the chair to the French doors, or from Don across the room to me. Here's the video proof. I expect to be running after her in no time.

I'm relieved to tell you that family dinner night #2 at Miyabi's Japanese steakhouse was a roaring success compared to family dinner night #1 (you know, the one where we didn't get our food for 2 hours and Kate fell out of the car). Kate did cry when one of our favorite cooks said hello, but she kept a close eye on his cooking skills and enjoyed that part where he made the volcano out of onion rings. She sat in a high chair and ate rice and vegis off of our chopsticks. She even tolerated a short trip to the mall afterward, with plenty of smiles.


Ok, so the Clemson game. Honestly, it was kind of flat until the second half, but they did manage to put 31 points on the board and win out for the Atlantic division title. The weather was PERFECT!! Sunny, 60s, light breeze, lots of color in the trees. I just love it up there. Yes, we talked about taking Kate, but the forcast was a high of 60 and a chance of rain, so we left her home.

Two of my favorite things: Starbucks Coffee and Clemson in the fall!


Can you believe he left this super cool cap in the store?!


Spiller running down the hill.


Yes, folks, Peppermint Patty was there and we decided to sneak in a picture. That's her in the Santa hat. She was pretty quiet, but slipped in a few jewels so we wouldn't be disappointed. Can you tell that we're totally up to something other than taking a picture of ourselves?


The girl next to us was super nice and offered to take a picture of the two of us. I guess because she thought that's what we were trying to do! Anyway, here we are...


Sunday we just hung out around the house and went out to Miyo's for lunch. Kate sat in her high chair and ate rice, chicken and peas. She had a fabulous day and giggled non-stop from the time she woke up until she figured out I was about to make her go to sleep. Here she is in Barnes and Noble enjoying the toy trains.


Short week this week! I can't believe its Thanksgiving already! For now, I'm off to relax and enjoy some hot tea. For some reason work gets nutty around the holidays, and I expect this week to be no exception. We're looking forward to traveling to Hartsville on Thursday and shopping in Charlotte with Nanna on Friday. Kate's first Thanksgiving is going to be a blast!

Not Me! Monday

Is it Monday again already? I think we have WAY too many of these.. Mondays that is. There should be 2x more Sundays and fewer Mondays. The world would be a happier place. This is not going to be the shortest Not Me! ever. And if it were, it would not be because I have the memory of a 99 year old lately. Please remember that this blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Alright, I'm not going to start out by attempting to distract you with pictures of Kate from our swinging excursion Saturday.


The weather was just so perfect that a swinging session was in order. I was hopeful that we would also get some good pictures, like this one. Which was not taken just before she toddled over and plopped down in the leaves on a hillside and looked at me like as if to say: "Mama! How could you? Now I'm all dirty?! And I could have rolled down the hill!"


My house is completely baby proof, so I did not, at any point during the weekend, look over to find this baby with the pointy end of a very short screwdriver in her mouth.


See that cute little face? Now imagine her stuffing it full of fresh fruits and vegis. Yes, I said imagine, because that's about all you can do some nights. I did not feed her puffs for dinner one night because she was having none of anything that I tried to feed her.


It really was a great weekend. We missed having Don around, as he was off hiking with his Dad. But we did enjoy his company on Sunday at the Oyster Festival. We rocked out to the Blue Dogs and watched Kate practice her walking. We did not eat chicken fingers at the oyster festival - that's when you eat oysters, right?


I was not late to a meeting today because Kate threw up all over herself and her car seat on the way to Nanna's. I did not pull over while she was doing this because I was sure she was choking. I was not shaking while all of this was happening.. Nope! I was as cool as a cucumber.

I did not get up from my desk and run to the bathroom when I heard a co-worker coming down the hall because I knew that if she caught me in my office it was all over and I'd be in there FOREVER while she talked, and talked, and talked... and.. you get it. I'm so much more professional than that! I did not pay for this later in the week when I found out that being in the midst of dialing the phone wasn't enough to deter a LONG conversation. Oh, and if you work with me and you're reading this, you can rest assured that its not you that I'm talking about. Really. I mean it... or do I?

Ok, bed awaits. I am not exhausted because I slept on the couch almost the entire weekend with Don not here. Nope. I'm fearless. Have a great week!

A Present for Kate!

Friday Kate got an unexpected gift in the mail from my sweet friend Claudia! It was wrapped in the cutest Halloween paper, and as I took it out of the overpack box I realized that Kate had never opened her own present. Well, she had I guess, but with lots of parental help and not realizing what a present was. The girl is a natural! She ripped that present right open. We considered it practice for her birthday that is only 1 month away!

Thank you Claudia for the portable place mat!! We could have used that last weekend during our disastrous trip for pizza!

Opening presents can be very serious business.


What's this?

Have I ever mentioned that she loves to push things?


Proud of her accomplishment.


Spaghetti faced, reading a book. Please notice the wrapping paper beside her. It was equally as exciting as the gift itself.

Thankful

I am very thankful that I had the day off today.

Thankful that I got to play with this sweet girl.


Thankful that she plays quietly in her room.


Thankful for a Target/Starbucks date and a new toy.


Thankful for big smiles.


Thankful for growing up into the real bathtub.


Thankful for Daddies that give baths and cook dinner. On my day off. I owe him big time.


I have a lot to be thankful for - today and every day.

Not Me! Monday

Yes, technically it is STILL Monday... even if you are reading this on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure I still get full credit as long as its before 12am. We're back. I did not skip Not Me! last week out of pure laziness. I was not at all motivated this week when yet another one of my friends joined this fun little Monday guilty pleasure. Nope! Peer pressure has no hold on me! I did not become super motivated to blog again after hearing that sweet baby Stellan had a SUCCESSFUL procedure today to slow his heart. A procedure that might have killed him. In fact, his heart did stop beating today briefly before the CICU staff shocked him back into this world. No, MckMama won't be doing a Not Me! today because she's been busy. But if you're up to it, hop on over there, read the amazing story, and praise God for miracles like Stellan!!!

Ok, so welcome to the blogosphere Mandy. Loved your first Not Me! post! And, you will find your link over there to the right. No pressure, but it shows when you last updated. I hope it will be often because I know with 3 kids you have much to share!

Sorry I haven't blogged since Halloween. Kate is still as cute as ever. See?

She is cutting teeth, so our nights have been long and she always has her hand in her mouth.

I did not buy Kate a "1st Birthday" hat for $25. That would be outrageous. If I had purchased said hat, I certainly would not use it for a couple of pictures during her first birthday photo-shoot and then return it. I would never do such a thing. Isn't that like wearing a dress for one night and returning it?

I also did not place my child in her car seat on Friday, turn in disbelief when Don exclaimed that there was actually no pizza in our carry-out pizza box, and turn back around to find her laying on her back on the asphalt. That would border on me being a completely incompetent parent, now wouldn't it?!? So, if you see a large-ish scratch on my baby's head, a new bruise and a red bump by her eye, its totally not my fault. I am not leaving out the back story on how Kate got that other bruise on her head. I guess that will have to wait until Not Him! Monday.

Don's edit: When did Not Me! Monday become a rat your wonderful husband out day? See if I ever invent fun (but potentially dangerous) games like pull the baby in a diaper box with left over camping rope. I guess Kate will never enjoy the limitless fun of the ceiling fan swing I was working on concepts for. Killjoy.

Oh, and last night, I did not hear Don telling Kate "Your Mama is going to be so mad at you" and then go in the living room just in time to see her dump almost an entire container of Yo Baby yogurt on the coffee table. She did not then stick her hands in it and get it on the carpet, on me and in her hair in a matter of seconds while Don sat staring at us in disbelief.

Don's edit: You should also add to the Not Me! post that you certainly wouldn't post half of the story... the half that leaves out that I thought the yogurt container was empty... that I helped clean up... no, not you!

I'm off to do a little relaxing. Listen to some Jazz... have a cup of (decaf) hot tea. I have Wednesday off, so if I can make it through tomorrow...