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Maternity & Parenting Center

Happy Birthday, Elliot!

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Today was Elliot’s birthday – his first one as a Daddy. I’m sure I don’t ever say this often enough, but Elliot is a wonderful husband and father. He is absolutely one of the kindest people I know, and it is clear to everyone how much he adores Micah. We always manage to have fun together, and I am so glad to be sharing my life with him!

Unfortunately, I think today was a bit of a disappointment, though – it was an entirely underwhelming birthday. A lot of that was my fault – it has been crazy around here, so I did not plan anything really big or special for today. I was having a hard time coming up with a gift idea, so I finally just asked him what he wanted and told him I’ll order it later this week. I’ve been racking my brains trying to think of a good idea, and he always goes so far out for me, and I feel awful. I was toying with taking him out to dinner tonight just the three of us, but we decided to reschedule family dinner for my mom’s birthday (and Elliot’s) to tonight. So, we braved horrible rush hour traffic to meet my parents, Jen, Jeremy, Paige and Peyton halfway in Columbia at the Olive Garden. Fancy dinner, right? We needed a good family restaurant, so it really was perfect. Micah enjoyed breadsticks, pasta, minestrone soup and pizza. I love watching him eat real food! The girls were adorable, and we had a fun night.

I think Elliot also got a bit short-changed on the cake. I had grand intentions of making him a Bugs Bunny cake this year, but with my edible image printer broken, I just don’t seem to have the bandwidth to freehand the bunny. Since we were also sharing the celebration with my mom, Elliot didn’t even get his own cake – it was a joint cake with my mom! (I guess my mom was short-changed, too – she had to share the cake with Elliot!) I just made a very simple cake – a delicious chocolate truffle cake decorated simply with buttercream icing and chocolate icing. I made some pretty fondant stars on wire and had them spraying out from the cake. It tasted yummy.

In better news, we do have a fun night planned for date night – we are going to a nice Indian restaurant for dinner, and we’ll wander around for dessert and enjoy the beautiful weather. Perhaps we’ll also grab a movie if there is time. I did come up with one good idea that did not exactly pan out as I had hoped. We’ve been wanting to go eat at Volt (for those of you who are watching Top Chef, it is Bryan Voltaggio’s place), so I called and made reservations. Unfortunately, the first available Thursday night reservations were not until October 29, so I took those and plan to take Elliot to part two of his birthday celebration there. When I mentioned this to Elliot, he said he’d rather go in November and celebrate our anniversary there, so perhaps my fun birthday surprise will become an anniversary gift instead.

In Micah news, we have entered the world of diaper acrobatics. Trying to change Micah’s diaper is a major undertaking. He flips over, climbs up the walls, stands – pretty much anything to make diapering impossible. Half of the time, we diaper him while he is standing! The diapers are never on properly, and it is a constant struggle while he complains loudly and fights us. We’ve tried toys (for some reason, he seems to enjoy playing with the thermometer the most), but those no longer seem to be holding his interest. I think I’m ready for potty training!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

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Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish my mother a VERY happy birthday today! I’m so sorry I can’t be there to share it with you, but I’m thinking of you. Dad has something from Micah, Elliot and me for you hidden at the house. Let’s hope he can find it! Unfortunately, I did not have time to pick out cards yet – but, hey, how much advanced preparation can you really expect from me? Just know that I love you. Thank you for everything you do – you mean the world to me, and we’ll celebrate together when I come home.

Pumpkins, music, and epi pens, oh my!

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On Sunday, Micah and I had plans to meet my parents, Paige and Peyton at the pumpkin festival at Butler’s Orchard. We arrived around 10:30, and off we went! There was so much to do – face painting, pony rides, games, a maze, a tractor ride, some playground stuff…it was a mad house! They also had a pumpkin chuck machine, festival food, and big slides. We had such a good time – we played, took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch (Micah ate straw and loved it), and enjoyed our day outside. Paige and Peyton took a horse ride and jumped on the moon bounce. Micah spent the morning in the Bjorn carrier – he was having so much fun! While the girls were on the moon bounce, we looked through the mesh on the side, and Micah’s feet just touched the edge of the bounce, and he was bouncing, too! After a long day, we ran into some friends from our playgroup. On the way out, we tried to stop and pick raspberries, but there were none left. I grabbed a bag of apples from the market there (I see more apple pie in my future!), and we headed home.







We got home around 2, and Micah kept me running the rest of the afternoon while Elliot was at a conference. Micah was exhausted, but he just wouldn’t nap. Elliot came home around 5:45, and I crashed on the couch for a while Elliot fed Micah dinner and played with him. We then put Micah to bed at his usual bedtime.

Monday was a federal holiday, and Micah was not in daycare. So, Elliot and I took him to a special “Columbus Day” performance of the Little Maestros at Kidville where we got to spend time with some friends. He had a great time – crawling around, dancing and laughing. He just LOVES Kidville! He even spent some time crawling around in their playspace. We came home around 12, and he napped for 3 1/2 hrs!!

Naturally, Tuesday was insane. I had to leave in the afternoon for a conference in Miami. To make matters worse, I had forgotten that my driver’s license expired (I learned that on my last trip when they weren’t going to let me through the airport), so I had to get up early to get it renewed. I was up and out of the house before 8:00 am. I waited in line forever, finally got it renewed. Of course, I also had to squeeze in an appointment at 9:45, so I went racing down after I finished at the MVA. Naturally, traffic was HORRIBLE – it took me 45 minutes to make a 15 minute trip. I finally got to the office, and Elliot was there waiting with Micah (he needed to hand Micah off to me so he could go to a meeting). Unfortunately, Micah had a big old stinky diaper going on (Elliot conveniently didn’t smell it before he left), and Micah did not want to sit still for mommy. Oh – and did I mention it was Micah’s nap time AND Elliot forgot to bring a bottle for me to feed him? Yeah, that was a fun appointment!

After I was finished, I took him to the car, strapped him in, and had a decision to make – we had class at Kidville at 11:45, and it was already 11:00. I was 10 minutes from the house, and 15 minutes from Kidville. I needed to decide if I should go straight to class, or try to drive home (10 minutes), get a bottle and some lunch food for him to try and feed him in class, and THEN drive back to Kidville (about 20 minutes from the house). I knew from experience, going home would mean Micah would wake up, not nap well, and we would be late for class. I decided to drive straight to Kidville and hope Micah napped and could hold out for his bottle until after we got home from class.

En route to Kidville, I realized I needed to stop for gas (I was on empty and knew I wouldn’t have time to refill on the way to the airport). After refilling the gas tank, I realized I was STARVING and stopped for some lunch (Burger King was the only drive-through in the area…so veggie burger it was!). Naturally, I was late getting to class. We went inside, and Micah had fun, but he was very clingy – probably hungry. After class, Micah had a total melt down on the way home – he was sobbing as if to say “Mommy, I’m starving and going to DIE if you don’t give me a bottle.” It was heartbreaking – I kept telling him I was trying to get him a bottle, but he just did not understand.

When we got home, I realized that it was already 1:15. I gave Micah his bottle, fed him lunch, and started to try and plan the rest of my day. I had a lot on my list, and only a few short hours left to get it all done and get to the airport. Much to my surprise, Elliot showed up relatively on time…only 10 minutes late. I still had to finish packing and load up the car and then I ran off to run one more errand before heading to the airport. I made it to the airport, only to find out my flight was delayed 30 minutes. How annoying!! We finally took off, and the flight seemed to last forever. About 15 minutes before landing, the girl in the seat next to me accidentally ate some salmon (she tasted something the little old lady at the end of our row offered her)…and she is allergic to salmon! She had an epi pen, but didn’t know how to use it (apparently, her parents had always administered it in the past). The flight attendants were freaking out when she asked if someone else could give her the shot, so I stepped up and offered to do it. So I grabbed the pen, quickly skimmed the directions, ripped the top off, lined it up, gave her fair warning and hit the trigger. I also had benadryl in my purse, so I gave her some of that.

She was worried about what to do when she landed, so I told her I’d call my friend Tammy (with whom I would be staying) who is a thoracic surgeon and double check with her what she had to do next. Upon landing, I called Tammy who said it was all good, but encouraged her to continue taking benadryl for the next 24 hours. I felt like such a mom – I was explaining to this girl how to transfer her prescription refill down to Florida, and I gave her benadryl from my stash in my purse to take with her, and I made sure she found her boyfriend who was picking her up. She seemed so scared – she was only 22!!

When I finally arrived at Tammy’s (that was an adventure – according to Garmin, her building doesn’t exist!), we went out to dinner. We ate at a place called Yuca, and it was delicious. I was so exhausted, though, and when I got back to her condo, I did some work, then went to bed at 1:30. On a side note, I have decided that Garmin sucks in Miami. The Garmin seems perpetually confused, it has a hard time finding the satellite, it calls out turns and directions at the last second, it changes its mind about the route a number of times, and sometimes, you do what it says and then it decides it no longer likes the route! I don’t think I could keep the Garmin in Miami.

Tammy and I woke up this morning, grabbed breakfast together and then I came to the conference. I sat in boring meetings all day, and finally left a bit early. They have a networking event tonight, but I think I’d rather stay back and go out to dinner with Tammy. Tomorrow is my presentation in the afternoon, and then I will be flying back home!

Simchat Torah

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This time of year is packed full of Jewish holidays. It starts off with Rosh Hashanah (New Years), followed by Yom Kippur, then Sukkot, the celebration of the harvest (you build an open-top hut and are supposed to dine outside under the stars and enjoy the harvest). Tonight was the start of another special holiday called “Simchat Torah,” which means rejoicing of the Torah. “Torah” is the Hebrew word for the bible, which includes the 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is what many Christians refer to as the “Old Testament.” The holiday marks the completion of reading the Torah from start to finish, and starting all over again. In synagogue, the final chapter of Deuteronomy is read, and then the first chapter of Genesis is started.

This is considered one of the two most festive holidays during the year. Tonight, we went to the synagogue to celebrate. It is tradition to bring all the different Torahs out of the ark (the place where they are stored) and march them around the synagogue while singing and dancing. We circle the Torahs around the room 7 times (called 7 hakafot, the Hebrew word that means circles). There is a prayer that is sung while each circle happens, and then everyone breaks out with additional singing and dancing for 5-10 minutes before the next circle. Everyone can take a turn holding the Torahs, and there are usually little mini-Torahs for children to carry (and stuffed toy Torahs).

My nieces Paige and Peyton happened to be in town staying with my parents, so all of us went to synagogue together. We had a stuffed Torah (think stuffed animal, but a Torah), and they all took turns carrying it around. Elliot carried Micah in the baby bjorn, and we danced and sang and my nieces ran around. They had flags to wave, and they were handing out candy, and there were shots of vodka and gin for the adults. Kids were running all over the place laughing and playing and dancing and twirling, and it truly was a wonderful evening!

Last year at this time, I was pregnant with Micah. I had just been placed on bedrest, and was unable to go to synagogue to join the festivities. It was so much fun to bring Micah with us this year! He was grinning from ear to ear, he held a flag in his hand the whole night and flapped it up and down, and he was “singing” along with everyone. He loves to make singing noises and he would intermittently squeal with delight. I was amazed he had such a good time – it was after his bedtime, but we got him to take a very late nap today and he seemed to do just fine.

So, chag sameach! (That means happy holiday!) This holiday is the conclusion of our Fall celebrations…next holiday, Chanukah!

Dance, Dance Dance!

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I’m constantly amazed by what a “big boy” Micah has become. He definitely understands words, and he will also mimic me when I talk or do things. If you tell him “No” – he understands (but often chooses not to listen.” He loves to dance, so if you say to him “dancing, dancing, dancing” he’ll start bouncing and dancing! Here is some video proof:

He also loves to laugh – he laughs all the time, and he has the wonderful big belly laugh that just burbles up from deep inside. I melt each and every time I hear that wonderful sound. He sounds just like he did as a little infant – only louder. I caught a bit of video of him giggling because the dog was touching him. He LOVES interacting with her, and he squeals with delight any time she nuzzles or licks him.

Lately, his new game is to follow me around the house. He also will try and climb up the stairs every chance he gets. He climbs over, goes straight up the stairs, hangs a right around the railing, and usually heads straight to our bedroom to play with his toys. I chase after him multiple times a day – who needs a stairclimber? We have GOT to get those baby gates installed ASAP. We’ve started telling him it is time to go upstairs for bed or a bath and letting him climb up on his own. We tried to capture that on video tonight, but he was hamming it up for the camera. Here is the footage we did get:

On Sunday, we went to a BBQ at a friend’s house. Micah decided to head off on his own and go exploring – up their stairs. Here is some video of Micah in action:

For good measure, here are some pictures. We never made it in for his 9 month pictures – between my computer dying, Micah getting sick, and my business trips, it just didn’t happen this month :(. I might go this week for his 9 month pictures, and then go in 2-3 weeks for his 10 month pictures. Not quite accurate, but who cares!




Stories….

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Sometimes, when Micah is relaxing and cuddling, or just playing, he makes these cooing….pigeon noises. It just makes me laugh. He has also become an expert at “so big!” – we just have to say it, and his hands go up in the air.

Recently, he has started to play peek-a-boo on his own – he grabs a towel or a blanket, and he covers up his eyes and then yanks it back down. It is just so cute to watch HIM decide to play with US.

Micah loves his bath. For quite some time, he has loved to climb the stairs and go straight to the bathroom, but the other morning, while I was getting ready, Micah went into the bathroom and climbed into his bath tub that was sitting on the floor.

We are also starting to have issues with Micah and opening all of the kitchen cabinets. It is time to baby proof the house!

Video Wednesday

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Micah is doing a little better – antibiotics are a wonderful thing! His fever broke, he is no longer coughing, he seems to be sleeping better, and he was back to his playful self today. What a relief! I have to bring him back to the doctor in 10 days to get his ears and nose checked again, but we seem to be on the right path.

It has been a while, so I thought I’d post some recent video of Micah. He is getting so big and active! He plays with toys, he crawls, stands, cruises. Unbelievable!

Dog watching:

Reading:

Getting into trouble:

Poor little guy

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Micah woke up at 5:00 am coughing and crying. We took his temperature (100.5), brought him into bed and gave him a bottle. By 7:00 am, he was up for the day. I brought him downstairs, gave him breakfast and played with him for a bit. I called the doctor’s office and made an appointment for him for the afternoon. Elliot put him down for a nap at 9:30, but he decided to wake back up again at 10:15.

We went to synagogue as planned, but Micah was pretty miserable. We took him to the doctor at 2:00 pm, and we learned that he has a massive ear infection and a sinus infection. I was a bit frustrated, especially since they told us on Thursday and Friday that his ears were clear and it was NOT an ear infection. Anyway, they prescribed antibiotics for Micah, so hopefully he’ll be getting better soon.

Oh – and picking up the antibiotics was a nightmare! The pharmacist was sitting doing nothing, and when he finally got off his ass to fill my prescription, he decided the dosage was wrong. After taking 1/2 hour on the phone and talking to the doctor – he ended up dispensing the medicine as prescribed. What a mess!

Break fast was nice – we had a quiet dinner at home with my parents. Bagels, lox, cream cheese, blintzes, tuna fish and egg salad were on the menu! It was a good evening.

Yom Kippur

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Today is Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. We fast from sundown on Sunday night until sundown on Monday – no food or water. The purpose of fasting is partially to cleanse, and partially to allow us to focus on atoning. It is the day we seek forgiveness for all the sins we have committed in the past year, and hope for a “good and final sealing” in the Book of Life for the upcoming year.

This time of year, I often find myself reflecting on my life. Have I been a good person? How can I be a better person? Last year, I was 28 weeks pregnant and I was experiencing pre-term contractions. I spent Kol Nidre night in the hospital, and I was running for an ultrasound on Yom Kippur Day. What a difference a year makes! This year, my little man is sick – figures he would continue the trend of causing me stress on Yom Kippur! Perhaps he will be feeling much better tomorrow.

Year in and year out, I resolve to improve and change, but sadly, I suspect I often fail to make progress from one year to the next. It worries me – I’ve had such good fortune in the past year, and I hope that I have earned it. I wonder if I have been good enough to those I love, and kind enough to strangers. Last year, I promised myself I would stop procrastinating and focus more on improving my business and staying organized. I promised I would work on being kinder to those I care about, and far more considerate. Unfortunately, I think I have probably failed to make sufficient progress on my New Year’s vows. As I sit back and reflect on the past year, I find myself wanting to make the same vows again. Perhaps this year I will make more progress.

Speaking of being considerate, here is a bit of a non sequitur. I am constantly amazed by how thoughtful, caring and considerate some people can be. I have a few friends that are like that – they mail thank you cards promptly, always remember to call before important life events, send gifts on time, and send a “thinking of you card” or a little token for good luck. I wish I was more like that. I have to say, I am not spontaneously thoughtful. I have great intentions to call or buy cute little gifts, but I get distracted and forget. I so appreciate when people think of me – perhaps this year I can learn to be more considerate towards others.

To everyone celebrating this high holy day, I hope you have an easy fast.

Oh, oh, oh, I’m on fire!

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I don’t even know where to begin with this post. Micah has been sick and running a high fever, so all kinds of songs with heat/fire in the title were running through my head as I tried to title this post. As you can see, I finally settled on one. I keep thinking I should treat this post like one of my power point presentations at a conference – pick a theme and use the metaphor throughout the post…but I think that would be inappropriate with Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics. Perhaps I should have picked a different title – although the other two songs I considered tend to use a sexual meaning for fire as well. (Fire – Pointer Sisters: “Cause when we kiss….ooh, ooh, fire.”; Hot, Hot, Hot – Buster Poindexter: “Party people all around me feeling hot hot hot.”)

Oh well…perhaps I’ll have to skip the song metaphor approach. Maybe I’ll just take a dictionary approach instead? I went to dictionary.com and looked up some key definitions for “fire.” I think this could work as a theme, so….

Fire away (verb phrase): to begin to talk and continue without slackening.

Another insane week for me. I woke up on Tuesday pretty early with Micah, gave him his bottle, and played with him. I finally bundled him off to his nap while I did my best to pack in a hurry and straighten the house up so the cleaning lady could clean. When Micah woke up, I took him to his class (which he loved) and then ran him over to Laura’s house. I hated to leave him like that, but he seemed perfectly content to stay and play. I ran home, grabbed my bags and headed to the airport.

I arrived at the airport in plenty of time, made my plane with no problems, and then landed in Orlando on time. My friend Tammy, who lives in Miami, drove up to meet me, and she picked me up at the airport.

Fire (noun): burning passion; excitement or enthusiasm; ardor

We checked into the hotel, and headed out to a wonderful dinner. At dinner, we had some good discussions – we talked a lot about work, and it made me remember how we were back in college – full of enthusiasm (fire in our bellies) and ready to embrace life and work and what was ahead. I think my enthusiasm and ardor has ebbed over the years – or perhaps it has been redirected. I love what I do for a living, and I love how I help people, but it is no longer my first priority. For more than ten years, my job was my first priority. I cannot imagine living that way ever again. Tammy is still at a point in her life when her job is her top priority. In some ways, I envy that – I did not have that kind of passion to stay on that career path I was on ten years ago, and sometimes I wonder what my life would look like today if I had stayed on that path.

We ate far too much, but it was so nice to relax and catch up with a friend. After dinner, we wandered around Downtown Disney. I dragged her over to my favorite candy shop there, and we each bought a chocolate caramel apple. I LOVE these apples – mine was a green apple, dipped in caramel, chocolate on top of that, rolled in oreo cookie. A little slice of heaven! Did I mention that Tammy is my diet buddy? Yeah, we were NOT such good influences on each other this trip.

Fire (noun): strength, as of an alcoholic beverage.

I called Elliot after dinner to check on my two boys. Unfortunately, the news was not so good – Micah would not go to sleep and he was waking up every 10 minutes and crying. I tried giving Elliot a few tips, and I felt a little guilty that his first night as a “single dad” was so rough. Elliot was trying everything, but nothing seemed to have enough fire to make Micah feel better. He gave him some Tylenol, tried some Mylanta, and lots of good old fashioned cuddling. When I finally said good night to Elliot for the last time at 2:00 am, Micah had just gone back to sleep.

Fire (noun): fever or inflammation.

My biggest fear this trip was that Elliot would fall asleep and not hear Micah cry out during the night. I was very proud of him, though, because he really did manage to tune in (which now just irritates me that he doesn’t do that at other times, but I digress). Micah woke up one more time during the night Tuesday, but then he slept until almost 9:00 am. When Micah finally woke up Wednesday morning, Elliot realized he was running a fever. This is when I started to worry – Elliot had planned to have Micah in daycare, and fever meant no daycare. He called the doctor, and the doctor thought it was likely just a reaction to the flu shot he had on Monday. He was told to monitor the temp, give him Tylenol, and bring him in if the fever was not gone in 24 hours.

Fire (verb): to inspire.

Meanwhile, back in Orlando, I had a busy conference day trying to arrange everything. I was in touch with my parents and coordinating help for Elliot with Micah. I attended conference sessions, and visited the exhibit hall, and met with all the different exhibitors. It was actually a productive conference for me – I found a bunch of resources for my client, made some good contacts, and flagged a few issues for my client we had not previously considered. I was kind of excited about the prospects for our project, and all fired up with ideas for my client.

I made it back to the room around 5:30 and checked in with Elliot. Unfortunately, Micah was not doing any better. Despite my worries about my little guy at home, Tammy and I went out for dinner. Dinner was inspiring – we had an INCREDIBLE meal at Portobello in Downtown Disney. I was surprised to have such a delicious dinner there. The meal started off with roasted garlic and bread. We ordered fried risotto croquettes filled with mozzarella cheese to share, and we each had a glass of wine. I ordered a red Italian “drinking” wine – it was subtle and matched my meal perfectly. My main course was a delicious ravioli with perhaps the best marinara sauce I’ve ever had – rich flavors, tangy, light, not sweetened, and laced with garlic. I ate the entire dish because I wanted more sauce! We topped off our decadent extravaganza with a piece chocolate cake that we shared. From start to finish, dinner was divine!

Fire (noun): A state, process or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame.

We spent the remainder of the evening wandering around the shops, picking up presents for family members, and having a pleasant evening – although I think my credit card was on fire from my purchases. We talked about staying for Disney’s nightly fireworks/New Year’s celebration on Pleasure Island, but we decided to call it a night earlier. When we got back to the hotel, I had a bit more work to finish before bedtime.

The next morning, Micah’s fever was over 102 degrees. Elliot called the doctor and arranged to take him in for an appointment. As I suspected, the doctors had no idea what was wrong, told us to give him Tylenol and come back on Friday or Saturday if he did not improve. In Orlando, I did a bit of work sorting through my contacts from the conference, headed to one last meeting for the trip, and then enjoyed some fun time with Tammy before my flight home. We grabbed breakfast at IHOP, got a manicure/pedicure, then stopped off at the outlets. I had no intention of shopping, but I couldn’t resist. I bought a cute sweater from Ann Taylor Loft and I ended up buying two outfits from Michael Kors – a dress and a skirt. I was actually surprised because I usually don’t buy labels like that. The clothes were well-made, reasonably priced, and fit well. I really needed the clothes – I am now planning to wear the outfits for Yom Kippur and my upcoming business trips, so I do think it was money well spent. I also bought everything on sale at insanely reasonable prices!

Fire (verb): to hurl, throw.

I got to the airport in plenty of time…unfortunately, my flight was delayed by an hour. I was inflamed – I cannot stand that the flights are always delayed! All I wanted to do was hurl something at the airline attendants, but I figured that would only get me banned from the flight (and possibly placed on the do not fly list), so I buried the urge. Why does that always happen when I’m so anxious to get home? As I sat and steamed at the airport, my mom was spending time with Micah. My plane took off quite late, and I finally landed a little after 7. Try as they might, they just couldn’t keep my little man awake. He had another rough night, so I did get to go in around 12 and cuddle him back to sleep. I missed my little man terribly! I brought back a great surprise for Elliot, too – his very own chocolate/caramel/peanut butter cup apple, a chocolate peanut butter pretzel, and a chocolate caramel pretzel! He was kind enough to share, and it was delicious.

On Friday, Micah’s fever climbed to 102.5, so we decided to take him back to the doctor. They did a nasal swab, checked his ears and chest, and everything came back negative. By Friday evening, his fever hit 103.5. I called the doctor again, and she suggested I give him motrin in addition to the Tylenol. She said to wait an hour, but if it didn’t go down, I should take him to the emergency room. One hour later…his temperature dropped! He finally stopped crying and we were able to put him to sleep. He woke up again at 4:00 am, we gave him more medicine and brought him into bed with us and he slept until 8:00 am.

Fire (noun): severe trial or trouble; ordeal.

Today was a particularly rough day (under fire). Elliot had to work, so he was gone all day. Micah wouldn’t eat much, but the motrin and Tylenol kept his fever lower. He had several crying sessions during the day, and he was very clingy/needy. I called the doctor, and she said I could bring him in for a chest xray and blood work. Since he isn’t coughing, I decided not to bring him in for the chest xray. She said blood work wouldn’t tell her much either, so I decided to hold off on that as well.

Micah did not nap well in the morning, he barely ate anything for lunch, and when he finally fell asleep for his afternoon nap, he woke up one hour later crying. I brought him downstairs and he curled up on my chest and fell back asleep – for three more hours! He woke up crying around 5:00, and I quickly gave him his medicine and a bottle. He finally started to feel better, and he had a few hours happy and smiling before bed time. It is now 11:40, and he has woken up and cried a few times, but he has quickly fallen back to sleep each time. Here is hoping he actually sleeps through the night tonight!

Fire (verb): to dismiss from a job.

I have so much work to do in the upcoming weeks – I have a few conference calls this week to debrief about my last two trips. I have promised people information, and I have work proposals to write. I need to get myself in gear because I’d hate to risk any of my clients.

So – I made the theme work? It was a rough fit, but it was a challenge!