A plague on all our house

Most people spent their Memorial Day weekend lounging around, frolicking at the beach or spending quailty time with their loved ones... Well, I certainly got some quality time, but quality was over shadowed by the immense plague that has surrounded the Skates household since last week.

Our little boy loves to play with his friends and unfortunatley his little friends like to share and that includes germs.

He has been so sick, he would just take turns lying on us napping... that is whenever he got comfortable and sometimes this takes a little bit of kicking and sometimes in the area that may cause us to not give him anymore siblings.

Now granted kids get sick, right? You know this... I know this. I am well aware. But, our son ended up with a ear infection...

"but how can this be?" I questioned the doctor at the Urgent Care facility. "We just got tubes put in his ears... shouldn't that keep him from getting ear infections?"

"Generally, yes" the doctor followed. "However, there are the instances where he can still get them."

Well, how-de-do, I had no idea, someone failed to give us that tip of information... we were told if he were to get one ... we would know from the gunk coming from his ears... In this case, however, no gunk. We had no idea what was causing our 14 month old son to have a fever of 102.

So, let me set the scene for you... the most inopportune time for our little boy to get sick... he does...

Fast forward to Saturday... we started the morning, 9 am, at the "urget care," (I referred to earlier)... our little boy had been up all night, coughing and hacking and squirming... we had no idea what to do besides administer motrin and tylenol! So, we knew we have to call the "urget care" and get there as soon as they opened their doors. After sitting in the waiting room, where our little boy ran from chair to chair and banging his head against doors we were called back... after seeing the doctor we paid the "urgert care" co-pay and was sent on with no Rx, but with a wealth of information...

"Call us, if his temp goes any higher," the doctor told us has he exited the room! Thanks doc!

Late Saturday afternoon, about 4pm, my wife and I discovered a lot of funk in my sons left eye, so we tried to find the eye drops from the last time he had pink eye... as soon as I hit the last kitchen stair and rounded the corner to the den I heard and a loud noise and scream from my wife. I immediatley turned around to find my wife sprawled on the stairs, with our son still in her arms. Please note, women nine months pregnant should not be taking the express option when taking stairs... I ran to her and in my frantic mindset all I could do was go from my son to my wife, who do I help first??? I felt such a sense of urgency and panic I looked for blood, I looked for signs of broken limbs... I...

"Take him!" Take him!" my wife exclaimed in sheer agony. I wasn't sure what to do!!! How was I to pick who was more important... I can't take that kind of pressure!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her arm was pretty badly bruised and considering I could already see the blue she had to of hit it pretty hard.

I grabbed our little boy who was whailing at the top of his lungs... his eyes were full of tears, his face red and snot oozing from his nose.

"Ohhh, ohh you're okay little man!!" I said as I bounced him up and down all the while looking at my wife lying on the stairs.. it seemed hours had gone by but only seconds. I saw the drops we were searching for on our brown, linoleum kitchen floor. It was a very, small, clear bottle with blue writing on it.

Laura slowly started to get up, "stop! Wait babe," I said "let me help you!"

I put our son, Mauldin, down and let him stand on his own, also to check to make sure his leg was okay. He took one tiny step toward my direction. I could tell then he hadn't broken his leg. He did have what seemed like a red carpet burn on his knee cap.

"I think his leg fell behind mine on the way down," Laura gasped. "Check him to make sure he is okay."

Mauldin stood there in his t-shirt and diaper, still sniffing, but the crying fit seemed to have subsided, except when I lost eye contact with him the crying continued, but this time at an even higher level. He was fine, but the fall and seeing his mommy lying on the floor I'm sure scared him a little.

"He is okay, sweetheart..." I reassured her. "Are you okay?"

I reached over to help my wife stand up from the stairs and noticed pieces of our baby gate all over the kitchen floor...

"Wow," I said "I wonder where that piece goes!?" I tried to insert some humor into the seemingly stressful situation.

My inital thought when Laura fell was, of course, her and my little boy's well-being, but then I also worried about Elle. Our little girl is still inside her mom's belly... and if she was asleep that was quite a wake-up call for her!

"Call the doctor's right now and see what they want us to do" I suggested to Laura as I held Mauldin in my arms. He continued to sniff and wimper all the while tugging on my shirt collar.

"Okay, hand me the phone." Laura said.

"I will call your mom to see if she can come stay with him." I replied.

One thing I didn't know was that Laura's mom and dad had been in South Carolina to visit Laura's sister, Amy and our nephew, Drew...

"We are in SC," replied a voice on the phone "what's going on?"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" Mauldin screamed into the phone. I tried to talk as loud as I could, but his deafening screams were muffling my dialouge into the phone. I finally got him quite by the art of distraction... I gave him a plastic chicken leg to hold from his little play kitchen... but as soon as I stood up to talk on the phone again he banged his forehead into the "play" kitchen sink... let the crying resume!

"Call us back when he has calmed down," My mother-in-law replied "I can't hear you!"

My parents were on their way back from a week in Myrtle Beach, SC, at this moment. But, I knew they were headed home... so I called and did not get a hold of my mom... so I called my sister... no answer... I then tried my dad and finally got a hold of them!

"Now, don't freak out..." I said preparing them. "Laura is not in labor, but she fell down the stairs." I went on to explain the siutation.

Well, obviously today was not ideal for us to go into labor, much less have any other type of emergency...

The nurse at the hosptial suggested we come in and have Laura monitored... My parents were in Augusta and were still a good three hours away and I knew we needed to get to the hosiptal before that. Laura was to be monitored for alteast four hours!

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jenn and Paul, live just down the street, conveient for us when we are in a jam, but on this day our niece Annagrace was sick too and we didn't want our two kids sharing more germs and getting sicker than they already were. Who else? My brain was fried, I couldn't seem to focus on the task at hand... my mind was going from my wife to my son to my unborn daughter... what were we going to do? We certainly couldn't take him to triage with us with him being as sick as he was! I called our friends Amanda and Mike, a fairly newly wed couple, who I trust with my life and just hoped they were nearby and available.

"We are on the otherside of town," Amanda said. "It might be a little while before we can get there."

I was so frustrated... what were we going to do?!

"I have an idea," Laura said. "Let me call and see if Tori and Jeremy can watch him."

Tori and Jeremy are Laura's cousins, they live in our subdivision, so it would be so easy to take him there. But, could they watch Mauldin for the amount of time until our parents could arrive, that was the question! Thankfully, Tori said they could and I rushed to get all of his stuff together to head over there...

I wish I could tell you something more exciting happened, like it sent Laura into labor and we had Elle here already, but nothing like that happened at all... We did end up at the hospital, in the triage unit, for a little over four hours and mom and baby were just fine... well, Laura did end up with some major bruising, but luckily she fell on her toosh and so it softened the blow for our little girl.

To put insult to injury, whatever Mauldin had... he has now passed onto me and my wife. So, Mauldin I love you, but let daddy give you a lesson that sometimes sharing is a bad thing.

Lets hope for less eventful weekends from now on!!!

Fridays with MJ

So mom and dad decided to provide me with a new wardrobe... apparently there were some clothing items mommy has really wanted to see me in, but until recently I was to small too wear them. As you can tell I have been working out a lot. My "saucer" can hardly contain my Jedi and ninja moves.

After daddy gave me a bath the other night a mystery drawer was opened and a Pandora's box was unleashed upon my nursery. I used to have free reign of my legs and feet, but alas, they have reintroduced me to "sleepers." I, at one time, wore these blasted things, and now they are back in my life.

Curse you Carter's!

So, this weekend is supposed to be a little more laid back than that of weekends past. Mom and dad have decided to stay put a little more and enjoy the last week of summer down-time.

I, myself, will enjoy the non-stop attention. I do enjoy my raspberry's and haven't been able to show them off in a couple of days... so hilarity will ensue. Dad always laughs with me... or is it at me? I am not quite sure, but I like to make him happy. Of course, I will also get to spend quality time with momma... although this rolling over thing she likes to see me do... I don't like it, but I know in the long run it is important, so I will play along!

So, everyone enjoy your weekend... I will be here, with a big smile on wearing alligators or are they crocodiles? That I don't know, but I know they are on my belly!

Nonetheless, have a nice weekend!

Fajitas cause gas

Okay, so last night mexican was on the menu for dinner... we: Mauldin, Laura, my sister-in-law, Jenn, brother-in-law, Paul and niece Annagrace all went to a local mexican hotspot called La Parrilla. (I honestly do not know if I spelled that corretly.)

"Hola! Welcome to La Parrilla! Two and a 1/2 for dinner?" said the nice lady behind the podium as we walked in the door.

I stood in the restarant lobby with Mauldin in his car seat on one arm and his diaper bag on the other. I looked the epitome of a daddy. Of course, I am sure I looked the part because my purple polo shirt was wrinkled as can be and I am sure I had some dark circles under my eyes. We decided to head to dinner after a short nap, but can I just say that short doesn't emcompass how short it truly was.

I took the chance to have myself a margarita and Laura and I shared a double order of chicken fajitas. This, at the time, we thought it was a good idea. "We are being so economical!" We thought. However, if I knew what would transpier after said mexican outing I would of chosen something different from their ever-so stickey and glossy menu.

I know this might be TMI, but I feel I need to let you know so you do not make the same mistake. If you feel the need for fajitas and your wife is breastfeeding be sure to take plenty of gas ex, beano or some sort of gas suppression.

After dinner we were so uncomfortable! Mauldin did not have a good night, so that means our sleep was severly disrupted. He was up at 11PM, 1 AM, 3 AM and 5 AM and each time it took a good 15 to 20 minutes to put him back to sleep. Let me just add that I had to go to work the next day and I had a hard time keeping my eyes open the first few hours of the morning.

Moral of story... watch your onion and pepper intake when eating fajitas!

Friday's with M.J.

So here it is, Friday, yet again, and we are on the edge of the 4th of July weekend.

Next weekend will mark the beginnings of July... it is a very special weekend... my mommy and daddy keep saying. I don't know why though... something about "it was the day when everything changed?" Or something like that, I dunno... anyway, where was I? Oh! Yes, where has my summer gone? Where has it gone, I ask?

My mommy will not have much longer, with me at home, before she has to go back to work. Poo, poo on work. I poo on it, I say. Phewy!


My Uncle Charles has come home now from California and I know cousin Drew is really excited about that. Welcome back Uncle Charles!

The weekends are always full of fun things for me to do with mom and dad. This weekend is no different... I get to go to my cousin Grant's second birthday party on Saturday! Apparently, he too, is a huge Sesame Street fan! We have sort of bonded on our love of Elmo. Cousin Grant is a cool dude.

Mommy and Daddy have decided to go on what they call a "date night?" Not sure what this consists of, but they asked Nana to come stay with me on Saturday night. I think Papa might come too, but we'll see. I hear talk about seeing Robots... sounds like something I would enjoy watching. I do enjoy a good action flick, but cest la vie'. Let them have their fun... I will be busy enjoying my Disney Sing-a-long from the Animal Kingdom. Those kids act so silly, but it's my guilty pleasure.

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their upcoming weekend festivities! Don't do anything I wouldn't approve of!!!!

Bye!

What would Mauldin do?

Well, it's finally Friday, y'all!

I am really excited about the weekend because it is the time that I get to spend with both my mommy and daddy at the same time. I am sad when daddy is at work all day... but mommy is a lot of fun and lets me watch Mickey Mouse Club House and Sesame Street!

Maybe mom and dad will take me to play in the pool again... that was fun!

Also, it is my mommy's birthday on Sunday...

So, happy birthday, mommy!

Enjoy your weekend everyone - stay safe and when you think about doing something bad... just say -"what would Mauldin do?"

Did you pack his DVD's?

“Did you remember to pack his Baby Neptune DVD?” I asked my wife Laura as I strolled through the kitchen on my way to the garage door.

The kitchen was so clean, the counters did not have random bills, magazines and pictures on it. The sink was empty from all glasses and dishes. It was a clear sign that either a maid had been here or we were about to go out of town. We always try and clean the house up a little bit right before we leave so we don’t come home to a mess. This weekend we were heading to one of our favorite getaways, Chateau Elan. Chateau Elan is a local Atlanta Spa, and winery, that we go to on special occasions and this upcoming occasion was none other than our one-year wedding anniversary.

“Oh! Oops, no I forgot!” my wife Laura exclaimed. “Can you get it?”

“It’s okay,” I said while holding Mauldin. He was resting on my right shoulder. I had just changed him into a little white onesie that had little green alligators showcased randomly.

“Here,” I said; handing off Mauldin like he was a bag of groceries from Publix.

“Go ahead and be putting him in his car seat carrier and I will go get it.”

“Sounds good.” Said Laura. She took Mauldin and with her other free hand pushed her oversized, black sunglasses up onto the top of her head in effort to see in the darkness that was our house. As I hit the stairs running I could hear her baby talking to our son, Mauldin, just in a way that only the mother of my own child could do and it not be insanely annoying.

(Insert cutesy, high pitch voice)

“Are you ready to go to Nana & Papa’s?” she started.

“Oh yes you are, oh yes, we are going to be happy aren’t we? Uh hu! Yes, yes, yes!”

Her voice trailed off the closer to the nursery I reached. I had to get this video for him because it seriously is one of the only videos he really pays attention to… Of course, we are not sure what is going through his mind, but we expect it is something knowledgeable and very advanced. (insert sarcasm).

I walked into my son’s nursery and the room is lit up, on the left side of the room, because the window blinds were open and the mid-morning sun was shining through. It was if the light was trying to reach out to Mauldin’s closet. The light beams hit the floor and bent up the white closet doors. The illumination reached up halfway; highlighting some of his cute clothes through the crack in the middle of the two doors. You could see hints of blue, red and yellow from a pair of overalls that showcase Winnie-the-Pooh. He wore it during his first photo session at Babies R-us. Whenever I see them I immediately crack a smile because I am reminded of how tiny he was that day…

I reached out… the light cast on my right arm as I opened the portable DVD player that rest on top of the antique cabinet that is home to many receiving blankets, sheets and sleepers. To my dismay the DVD was not there, but as I scanned the top of the dresser I saw it lying in the middle of Baby Bach and Baby Monet. It struck me, “what would it hurt to bring all three DVD’s?” I like to make sure he has as many comforts from home as I can. We were told not to bring diapers, blankets or wipes because my in-laws had all this in stock at their home. My in-laws have three grandchildren so the amount of diapers they keep on hand is staggering. However, each child is a different age, 4 ½, 2 ½ and 11 weeks, so, I’m sure, it does come with a bit of financial complication, but I just don’t ask questions... I am appreciative. My parents are the same way… thank the Lord for caring Grandparents. We packed the little man clothes and breast milk and his DVD’s.

I contemplated packing more, just in case, but decided not to and turned and headed for the door ready to hit the road so my wife, Laura, and I could make it to our destination, Chateau Elan. This would be the first time we would be leaving Mauldin over night. It hit me on the way down the stairs, we have to leave the little guy… we haven’t left him over night before… I kept saying this in my head over and over.

“It is going to be okay.” Laura said.

“What?” I replied.

“He is going to be alright. I know you,” She continued… “I know what you are thinking.”

I stood there holding three Disney Baby Einstein DVD’s and my grip was growing more and more firm as if it were a metaphor for Mauldin and not wanting to let go.

“He is ready to go and so am I.” Laura said.

I nodded with an affirmative “Yes.”

Laura grasped my left hand and leaned in and kissed me. It was at that moment that I knew I had nothing to worry about. My wife has the uncanny knack to always put my mind at ease no matter the circumstance. So, what happened? Well, lets just say the weekend was perfect, well we did miss our exit going to Chateau Elan and going to Laura's parents house, but I will say if that was the only hiccup our weekend exalted then I will say it was close to perfect.

But, you can blame the "exit" issue on me... well not totally on me... it was a joint oversight.

It's Friday and there's a dog on my shirt!

Hey Everybody! It's Mauldin again...

I thought I would help daddy out and guest post today... why?

It's Friday and I wanted to wish you all a safe and wonderful weekend full of spontaneity and fun!

I know I will certainly have a good time because when you start out a weekend wearing a dog on your shirt you know things can always get better!

Comon', what can I say... I haven't experienced that much... I'm 11 weeks old, but I expect a joyous weekend! I expect to eat, sleep... maybe poop and pee a little... I always enjoy my tv shows and dvds... all of which can be found on my Amazon.com wish list, if you were wondering...

I digress...

Cheers!

Comon' Ride the train...

Mauldin says "Happy Friday!"

Mauldin says "Have a great weekend!"

A free weekend, oh the possibilities....

Okay, this weekend we are pretty much free to do whatever we want because, unlike most weekends, we don't have any pre-set plans. Atleast any we decided to attend... but with that being said we honestly wanted to have atleast one "free" weekend for ourselves... just ourselves. We contemplated jet setting off to Disney World for the weekend of thoughtless frivolity, but alas, our responsibilities got in the way... sorry Mickey! We really want to be there... (Don't worry, those days are over... *sigh*)

I mean we certainly deserve it don't we? My wife, Laura, is a very hard working teacher and during the week her stress is extemplified ten-fold due to endless meetings and never-ending piles of paperwork. I, on the other hand, have a full-time job and am a part-time student. I am a communication/event coordinator for several Atlanta Business Associations. I am at work everyday from eight to four-thirty, and most days have class until atleast 7:30pm. Whenever we get home we say our hellos, talk about our days, give a hug and a kiss and then spend the rest of the evening either on the computer, side-by-side, or watching a few hours of our favorite shows... usually TMZ, How I met Your Mother, Heroes, Survivor or past seasons of the Mole or Smallville. Then it seems like we are back to work as soon as we got home... it's frustrating! I will try and digress... or change the subject;

Ohhh look! Shiney!

(I do tend to be a tad ADD at times... )

I don't mean to whine, I mean I am glad I have a job! Certainly, but, I guess, I wish there were just more hours in the day... Damn Earth, why couldn't you just revolve a little bit slower?

So, when the weekends get here it is often full of things we have planned to do during the week, but never found time to do because we were so busy. Weekends are usually full of parties, weddings, family get togethers, writing papers, etc...

But, thankfully, this weekend, we are free to do whatever we want... I miss the days when Laura and I would stay home, and just play video games all day... yes, I have a wife that will play video games... and honestly sometimes a LOT better than me. I hope I can sit around with Mauldin and have some quality hand-eye coordination with him... of course we will go out doors and do things too! Catch! Okay, lets go back and finish that level! HAHAHA

Laura and I get so intranced in our games we actually have "no shower" days! I know she will probably say...

"Eric! I can't believe you put that in your blog!"

Really tho, spray on some cologne and apply some deoderant (antipersperiant) and you are good to go for another... say... 6-8 hours! Depending on your activities, of course.

I'm sure there are A LOT of people who have no shower days... (I know of plenty, although, I won't name names... )sometimes consecutive and I doubt they are going to criticize... although, I will say, after a day... a shower and shampoo are a must!

Now it is not like we play "World of Warcraft" like they do on south park, but our video game days do sort of go long... how long? Sometimes we start at 10am and don't finish until... okay we sound really dorky don't we? Alright, I hope you all enjoy your weekend!!!

Have fun while it lasts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Friendly Boo...

This past Saturday my wife, Laura, and I were sitting on the couch watching a movie, I will not mention the movie because it would seriously impair my masculinity, but, it was for nostalgic and educational purposes, if you ever do find out what film it was. We received a phone call, on Laura’s cell phone; it was her cousin, Tori.

I reached over lazily and picked up Laura’s silver razor phone and flipped it open, nonchalantly, and said…

“House of insanity!”

“HAHAHA,” Tori roared with laughter, “what are you doin?” she said.

“Oh nothing,” I said, making sure to hide the fact that we were watching a movie of questionable nature. “what are you up to?”

“Well, I was wondering if you two would be willing to be my partners in crime?” she said “I wanna go knock on some doors and run away before they answer!”

“HAHAHAHA,” I, in turn, roared with laughter, “hold on a sec.” I passed the phone to Laura; I wasn’t sure how serious Tori was. Tori it such a sweet person, she is not the kind of person who follows the stereotype of redneck cultural acts as running up to someone’s door, knocking, and running away. When I was younger there was quite a derogatory term for this, but I will let you Google for it because my wife, mother and mother-in-law would probably skin my hide as well as possibly tar and feather me if I said what this is normally called.

Jeremy, Tori's husband, was watching a Georgia football game, so he did not want to go and participate, however, Laura happily obliged,

"it seems like a lot of fun!" she said. "Comon' over, we will see you in a little bit!"

"Wait, I said," Laura, hand me the phone... "Tori, are you for real?" I had no idea the extent of what Laura had heard her say about what we were about to do.

"Yes, but this isn't just knock-and-run," Tori said. "You have to leave a Halloween treat at the door!"

"Ooooooh," I said with a sigh of relief! Although, if we were going to just knock on the door and run, it would be quite out of both Tori and Laura's character. However, you didn't really have to sell me on it, I was just shocked Tori wanted to do it! LOL!

It all made sense and was coming together. Tori was the kind of person who would 'knock-n-run' if you were actually leaving something 'nice' behind. It wasn't like we were pulling a "Can't buy me love," (movie reference)where you knock on the door and throw a bag of poop at the door. I mean, first of all, that is kind of gross, secondly, this was in broad daylight and we were going to be doing this to her "friends!" Obviously, she would be anonymously leaving "cookies and candy" in the treat bags. How very Tori of her! LOL!

We only went by two houses, but honestly it was a lot of fun because the thrill of being caught we still there! And, trying to do all this safely with Tori's 15-month old son, Grant, in the back seat was a little unnerving, but we made it through. Grant loved it, he got a chance to see all the Halloween decor throughout the neighborhood. "Weeech!" he would say.

"Yeah, Grant, that's a witch!" I said.

"Weeeech"

So, lesson learned! Knocking and running at someone's house isn't always a bad thing!!!

Happy Halloween!

-Side note: Laura requested she not have her photo taken!-

Blogger's Block

I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to write another blog, but honestly there is not much to report!

Although, when my loyal blog fans, all two of you out there, asked me to write another entry who am I to deny you???

It is true though, not much has been happening lately, so I guess I kinda fell into, what I call, blogger’s block… I don’t know if that is a real term or not, but maybe I just made it up?

This past weekend, Labor Day weekend 2008, was a fun time, Laura and I went to Panama City Beach, FL with my family to have a short, but very well-deserved vacay. Went got some sun, ate some overpriced seafood and enjoyed spending quality time with my sister, Mandy, mom and dad, nephew, Everett, brother-in-law, Kelly, and my mom’s friend and my sister’s nanny, Sherrie!

It was a lot of fun and Laura and I had not been on a road trip together probably since our trip to Gatlinburg with her parents. We saw quite a lot of Mormons on that trip, but alas, no Mormons in PCB, although they could have been there, but just out spreading their gospel.

We took off on Friday, August 29^th, after work, even though hurricane Gustav was lurking and looming in the Gulf of Mexico. But, thankfully the weather was fair and we didn’t get any ill remnants of Gustav. And, could someone please give Soledad O’Brien a call and tell her how to pronounce “Gustav.” We listened to satellite radio on the way home and she mispronounced the hurricane the whole way.

We had to get back because both Laura and I had to be at work on Tuesday. We got up on Monday and by 10am, est. we were on our way back to Canton.

Thanks to Jenn and Paul, mine and Laura's sister and brother-in-law, for watching the kids for us! (Logan and Andy stayed behind, of course, and were ever-so excited to see us when we got back.)

In other news, our 12-week check up for the baby is coming into view next week! Tuesday, September 9^th, we will go and make sure everything is “right as rain” with Baby Skates. I will surely have a more interesting blog entry that day, I promise.

Hope you all are having a great week…