Macon Memories: May 2008

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Surprise! (but not really)

Well, as the ever inquisitive Morgan children suspected, something was a little fishy about this family trip to the beach (no pun intended). And it turned out that all of our hunches were right, despite my parents valiant attempts to throw us off course and surprise us. They bought a beach house in Saint Augustine! It is absolutely beautiful! We couldn't be more excited. How wonderful that Allie, Jackson, Jake, Luke, and any future grandchildren will get to make so many wonderful family memories here each year as they grow up. I will post a picture of the house as soon as I can...things are a little hectic here with all these kiddos running around!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May is over! Well, almost over. Tonight (Wednesday) is Brad's last night and we leave for the beach in the morning. We will be spending a week with my entire family at a house in St. Augustine. I am so excited and treasure these trips with my family where we make such wonderful and sweet memories. Jackson is very excited too and can't wait to swim, build sandcastles, and throw the beach ball with his cousin, Allie. Please pray that we have a safe drive down and that we have a relaxing and wonderful trip :)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Blog catch up

I have been absent from the blog for the past week, so there are several new ones to catch up on....make sure you scroll down!

Turtle Dennis

It's turtle time again! In the spring/summer dozens of box turtles make their way through our yard in an attempt to reach the creek behind our house. They are able to get under our wooden fence up by the house, but run into a little obstacle when they cannot get past the chain link fence at the back where the creek is. So we do lots of turtle rescuing. Tonight, we had our first one. Usually the turtles are discovered by Gus who holes them up under the deck and barks at them as if he's captured a rabbit. But this years first turtle was discovered by my little Max(cat)...he found him under Jackson's slide. Every turtle we find is always a big deal. We bring it out in the driveway to watch it walk around, talk all about turtles and what we know about them, find a box to put it in, attempt to feed it lettuce or whatever we can find in the frig, and then when I feel that the turtle has suffered enough, we take him back to the creek and set him free. Tonight I decided to ask Jackson what we should name the turtle. I really didn't know what he would say. I kind of thought he might want to name it Luke. He paused for a minute and then said we should name it Turtle Dennis...of course!

Jackson, with Turtle Dennis

(his feet are not that big...just the camera angle)

Max, not letting his 'capture' out of sight

My 'charges'

Today was exhausting...physically, emotionally, mentally....just plain exhausting. Really this is no different than every other day in my current life as a, for the most part, 'single parent'. I really don't know how single moms/dads do it. I found myself literally running around trying to tend to everyone tonight and realized to myself "I have a lot of creatures to take care of and tend to"...and while it may be crazy and exhausting...I wouldn't trade my job for anything.

You might think I'm crazy, but I really do love them all equally (don't get carried away...I realize the value of human life over animals)

So I thought I would post some pictures of my 'charges'

my loving husband, Brad

precious Jackson

sweet Luke

Gus...my P.U.P.

spunky little Annibelle

sweet little Max

James Bond

(not technically my cat, but I feed and love him just the same)

If I had a dollar for every time...

(fill in the blank), I'd be a rich man....you know that familiar saying? Usually, the nickel is used instead of the dollar, but in light of the current economy, I thought dollar was more appropriate. Well what would our fill in the blank be?

Jackson had an ear infection

Yes, Jackson has yet another ear infection. And Jackson doesn't really develop ear infections gradually. They hit him like a ton of bricks with no warning. We go from being a fine happy 2 year old to crying so hard that we cannot catch our breath. Remember the post a while back when we were up all night and Jesus Loves Me was the only comfort? Well this time, even Jesus Loves Me couldn't fix things. Of course this all happened around 10 pm. I called my neighbors to come sit with Luke while I took Jackson to the pediatric after hours where I spent 2 hours in a room with a sobbing little boy. In the meantime, my dear mom got in her car and drove from Atlanta meeting me at the 24 hour pharmacy around 1am. (Could Brad be off night float already?) I honestly don't even remember what my little boy is like when he's not sick. I think we have been on some sort of antibiotic for an ear infection for the past 2 months and he has just not been himself.
I am not by any means anxious for the hot June weather....but can May just be over already?!

And the Oscar for scariest movie goes to....

Baby Mozart, apparently. Jackson used to love the Baby Einstien movies when he was an infant, Baby Mozart in particular. For those of you not familiar with these videos, they are basically puppets, shapes, and brightly colored objects moving across a black screen while classical music plays in the background. Sound exciting? Well it's the most amazing thing to a little baby. So I thought the other day as Luke was wide awake and staring at the ceiling fan, that I would pop in Baby Mozart to give him something a little more exciting to look at. Luke seemed to really enjoy it. But to Jackson, you would have thought I had just put in the most awful horror movie you can imagine. He started crying and saying "Scary, Mommy." "Hurt Jackson" "Turn off movie, Mommy". And bless his heart, I couldn't stop laughing. I'm not really sure why it was so scary to him, but here is a picture of him crying and watching the tv from what he considered a safe distance. I found it very amusing :)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

2 weeks old already?

Luke went for his 2 week appointment yesterday and I can hardly believe it's been 2 weeks since he came into this world. He is now weighing in at 8 lbs 14 oz and is 21 1/2 inches long. He is sleeping pretty well at night for a newborn, but Mommy is still exhausted. I will be glad when the month of May is over and Brad is no longer working the night shift. It has been very hard not getting to see my husband :(
Jackson may be over the hive outbreak. We have stopped the frequent benadryl doses (thank goodness!) and are going to see how he does. Please pray for rest for me, rest for Brad, obedience from Jackson and that I would not struggle with feeling so lonely :) We are so blessed.

Friday, May 9, 2008

The Dennis Refugee Camp

Can I have my bowl of rice please?

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Hives and Poop! (yes, you read that correctly)

Never a dull moment around here. This morning as I went to get Jackson up for school (mother's morning out that we call school), I noticed a few red patches on his arms and legs. I thought to myself, 'That's weird, I wonder if something bit him during the night'. Then as we started getting dressed and brushing teeth, I started to notice more and more bumps and patches. I showed them to my mom and we wondered if we should call the pediatrician. Jackson followed me into my room where I was finishing getting dressed and as I turned to look at him I noticed that I could now no longer make out his knees, wrists, or ankles as his body in general was beginning to swell. So I yelled down to my mom to put Luke in his car seat that we needed to leave for the doctor pronto. Sooooo...after all the drama and an hour at the pediatrician with Teddy waiting in the car with Luke so he could stay away from the germ-infested waiting room an extremely tired post-call Daddy :) we have learned that Jackson has one of 2 things: either an allergic reaction to the penicillin he's been taking for his ear infection or a case of hives brought on by a virus. The doctor said the hives will likely last for 3 weeks (yikes!) and the treatment is to take benadryl and zyrtec daily. Fun times.
In other Jackson news, we had a big night here at Casa de Dennis. JACKSON POOPED IN THE POTTY! Yes, it finally happened, and in the big potty too. But bless his little heart, that his first experience on the potty had to be the worst case of diarrhea I have ever seen (sorry if this is TMI), probably part of the virus that caused the hives. But I look at it this way...it's hard enough to get a 2 year old to give you enough forewarning in order for you to get them to the toilet on time when it's just a normal #1 or 2, let alone the #5 or 6 that we were dealing with. So BRAVO to my poor little splotchy boy! I am so proud of him. Below is a picture of him (hives and all) holding his prize...a new Thomas train for his collection. Notice that his little hand is so swollen it looks like a tiny catcher's mitt.

And in Luke news...he didn't really do much today except for eat, sleep, and be the cutest little baby ever (ok, tied with Jackson).

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

One week old

I can't believe this little guy is already 1 week old. This past week has flown by, and also been very long. Luke is a very good, sweet baby. We're struggling a little, as any new family does when it's turned upside down in such a wonderful way...but we're managing. And all the credit goes to my mom. She has been here since last Monday and is staying until Friday. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful mother and owe all my success as a mother to her (and the Lord above, of course). Brad has gone back to work and is working nights this month. So everyone please say prayers when my mom does have to go back to her life and I am here nightly on my own! Jackson is enjoying being a big brother and doesn't seem to be too bothered by Luke being around. He only gets mad when Luke's crying interrupts something he is trying to say. When Luke does cry, which isn't often, Jackson just shakes his head and says "poor Luke". Thanks for checking in on us and for all of your well wishes, e-mails, meals and prayers. We are so blessed, and although we are very tired, we couldn't be happier.