They took it all away

So, I haven't posted in awhile but I have good reason. At work, I used to be able to get to Blogspot and jot down a few thoughts here and there...but they took it away. They just recently took Netflix away too and I'm just plain not happy about it. The thing is, I have so little time left in my day after sitting for 8 hours staring at a computer screen, I just struggle to make it happen all over again at home. No worries though, I've still got hotmail and Craigslist to keep me entertained throughout the work day. :o)

The whole Meckley clan was very excited for Halloween this year. Max turned one just before the holiday and despite the utter lack of spare time, we still managed to pull together a pretty good themed family costume. Although I didn't have a camera to capture the moment, some friends from church did and posted it most thoughtfully (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/photo.php?pid=2891674&id=654983595&ref=mf). I did put Max in a cute little chicken costume, however, in order to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.

I believe he enjoyed the trick-or-treating quite thoroughly but it could have just been the candy talking.

The little guy has become so much fun. He is walking well now and though he still defaults to crawling most of the time, he is beginning to see the real value of two-legged transportation. His sense of humor is keen and his ready smile and belly laughter is pretty much my favorite thing in this life. He sure loves his dada. Fortunately for me, he learned just yesterday to say "mama" but uses this sparingly to express unhappiness that I must fix. I don't mind, I LOVE hearing him say it...

Don't Stop Believin

Rockin and Rollin in Montana

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Kalispell Montana with Sean's family. It was a wonderful trip (except for the flight, which I am destined, I believe, to never truly enjoy) and quite an interesting road back.

The flight down was uneventful except for the lurching stomach issue that I had as we landed in Kalispell. The return flight was nothing less than a scene from planes, trains, and automobiles (only without the trains part). In fact, it was more like a scene from little planes, big planes, and automobiles. Long story short (too late), I got home at 6:30 am on a commercial flight while Sean arrived home almost 10 hours later on the little Cessna we left on three days earlier. I'm glad to have him home!

Max sure loves his Great Aunt Michieee

In fact, he misses her so much here at home that he won't go to sleep quite as easily as he used to. He knows a good thing when he experiences it!

In other news, Max took the opportunity to show off to his Great Aunt and Uncles by rolling from his back to his stomach. Now for those of you not familiar with the Maxter, this move is quite the accomplishment. Max HATES to be on his stomach. He learned to turn from his stomach to his back through sheer motivation to be off his stomach. Now, he has discovered the fine art of automated motion and rolls to to his stomach for just enough time to roll over on his back again and move two spaces. His back is still his favorite side.

Max also learned to appreciate bouncing....

and music...


and he really did love flying though I forgot to take any pictures or video of that...oh yeah, it's because I'm always in a state of mild panic when I'm flying.

Anyway, we enjoy our time out there and cannot wait to return for Christmas!

Gotta be a name for it

Sean and I have this arrangement. We each have a separate checking account in which we are given a bi-weekly allowance from our main joined account. For a while, we were living high on the hog with a substantial deposit every other week...then, we got pregnant. We started saving money and half of what we were giving ourselves went to our savings (good thing, Max is EXPENSIVE).

As it turns out, I manage to live on the meager (LOL) amount deposited every other week. I inevitably need SOMETHING from Amazon.com, or Ross Dress for Less, or I don't particularly want what I brought for lunch at work that day and would rather go to one of the tempting lunch places around the hospital. Sean, on the other hand, doesn't spend ANY of his money! It's irritating. I feel like he's getting more money but I know that we both get the SAME amount each time. HOW DOES HE DO IT? WHY DO I KEEP WRITING IN CAPS??

It turns out, he's naturally not a spendthrift (wtf?). How is that possible? I've offered to help him spend. I mean, he's got quite the stack and appears to have no visible ability to liquidate his disposable income and I got NEEDS!! No go, he insists that he plans to buy something big (a stage piano for his upcoming jazz gigs). Yeah, right! I'll believe it when I see it.

For now, I'm just going to covet his funds and continue to help stimulate the economy with mine. Doesn't he get that there are retailers out there who need him??

Check please!

I think Max needs a different mommy. I think he needs a mommy that can work magic with his skin, appreciate his cautiousness in gaining new skills, worry less about his comfort and accept the inevitable helmetness, stop dreaming about horrible ways that he will get hurt, not torture him in an effort to get him to stay asleep, stay home during the day, have more patience and not threaten to cut off his hands in order to stop his scratching himself to bleeding, and avoid bursting into tears whenever she has had little sleep or feels inadequate. Yep, he needs an upgrade.

I simply don't know what to do about his eczema. It's like this mysterious, lurking monster that I think I have beat for about 3 days and then it rears it's ugly head and declares "Nope, that recent regimen no longer has power over me" and the scratching begins.

To feed or not to feed: Max is a great sleeper...except for the times he wakes up in the middle of the night to eat 8 oz of milk. He's so hungry all the time but he is taking his time getting used to the solids.

It's all fine and dandy that he gets to nap all day but his wait staff do not have that luxury and his tipping stinks. Truth be told, his cute smile and sloppy kisses are quite valuable and are given freely.

Please release me, let me go....Max has entered the world of separation anxiety. Whether it's me or the latest "favorite" toy, if he doesn't see it when he wants it, crying ensues. I know this doesn't seem like a big deal but, like I said before, a different mommy would handle it better.


Max has the perfect daddy though and I think maybe they both could use an upgrade. Last year's model is chubby, frumpy, and has lost some of her bounce. Perhaps if they upgraded with some sort of loaner mommy, I could go in for a tune-up or overhaul and come out like new. Can Midas do that?

Uh Oh

I'm in love with someone else. I still love Sean very much but I've fallen deeply in love with a cute, charming, and engaging boy. He looks a lot like Sean but that is only one out of a million reasons why I adore him. And even though he wakes me up several times a night lately and prefers to watch the world go by rather than jump in with both feet, I love him anyway.

Max is doing well. He is growing bigger everyday. He's reached the big 2-0 mark in poundage and is already starting to lengthen out of his 9 month pajamas (12 monthers here we come). He struggles a little with severe eczema and might end up in a helmet to reshape his head (he was once a VERY good sleeper) but he's a champ and is working hard to correct both "irritations".

His favorite things so far are 1. Rice cereal and squash (not the sport), 2. peaches, 3. Formula (and attempting to hold his own bottle), 4. Chewing, 5. Talking, 6. Daddy, and 7. Standing up. He still HATES tummy time but enjoys other activities that keep his head off the ground.


We're starting a mommy & me movement class in a couple of weeks and are planning to do some swimming this summer. Everyday I notice more ways in which Max is interacting with the world. He is a sweet, happy, and easy-going baby. Yep, I'm in love.

YES! I AM having a "case of the Mondays"

Mondays are usually not bad days for me. I tend to enjoy them because 1. they go by more quickly than the other four days, and 2. usually everyone else is having a bad day and for one day a week, I seem like the cheerful one. Today, however, was not my day.

It started out at about 11:15 p.m. last night. Max has started waking up every three hours again and because I'm too nervous about his weight as it is, I can't bring myself to stuff him more full before bedtime. He woke up again at 11:30 (because I tried to satiate him with a binky at 11:15) so I fed him...then again at 2:45. I woke up at 6 am (my usual time) and he wanted to eat again at 6:30 am. Not too bad, but a little schedule shifting.

Then, I left 5 minutes late. It doesn't seem like a lot but it puts me back significantly if I'm not "out the door" at 8:10 am. I still had a few things to grab (i.e. my lunch, the diaper bag, and the umbrella stroller that I use to walk Max home with). It turns out, I forgot my purse and had to run back. On my way to the bus stop I realized that I had forgotten my phone AND the warm jumpsuit that I dress Max in for the cold walk home. Bummer.

I missed my bus.

I got into work 1/2 hour late and saw an email from my new boss about how we were not doing as well as we should at clocking in/out and taking breaks (side note: I miss my old boss that didn't breathe down my neck about clocking in and out...for crying out loud, I work the hours don't I??) Anywho, things started to look up after that.....

Okay, that was a lie. At about 10:30 I decide that I want a snack. I have been craving popcorn for days and thought I would satisfy that craving today. I "popped" the corn into our little personal microwave and watched-and listened-as the kernel sounds died down slightly. When I opened the door, a *very small* amount of smoke drifted out of the door. No big deal! Right. No more than 15 seconds after I walk back to my office, which is only a door away, the fire alarm went off. I thought to myself, oh, it's just in this little closed off room that I share with one other person and is behind a locked door. No way, the alarm was set off for the whole building.



I kept thinking I would just ignore it and it would stop. Nope. Everyone in the building-and I mean EVERYONE-they evacuated people in wheelchairs and crutches from the rehabilitation department on the second floor-poured into the street. There were the safety officials for each section with their hats on taking names on a clipboard, doctors, nurses, MAs, patients, etc. I walked among them trying my best to look as surprised and curious as the rest of them.

I heard over and over again, "No, this isn't a drill, I think it's the real thing." Ah geez. Then, I heard the sirens blaring. Ah dang. Yeah, sirens. A big red firetruck pulls up to the building. I could still taste the two kernels of popcorn I tried before the alarm went off.

Uniformed security officers came out of the building door and I was certain they were going to ask the crowd if anyone was Cheryl Meckley. I had left my office with the incriminating popcorn bag sitting next to my desk...covered in my name and picture. They never asked for me but said they were almost done. Then, they said it was clear and we could go in. I walked in with the crowd but noticed an official looking guy standing near the entrance to my hallway. I thought that he might be waiting for me so I followed the rest of the crowd up the stairs and avoided the hallway.

I don't embarrass easily and yet, this got me. When I returned to my office, the microwave door was ajar and my popcorn bag undisturbed. Me, I quietly went back to work after calling Sean to gain some sympathy. The best advice he had was that I should have taken my popcorn with me when I was standing out amongst the crowd to watch the goings-on. Truth is, if I had done that, they probably wouldn't be able to finger me as the culprit.

I'll let you know if I still have a job next week.