Friday, May 29, 2009

Lil Sailor

So when Bonnie and Fred (my in-laws) came to Austin from San Diego, they brought Patrick a precious little sailor outfit, and we now have that hanging in the closet all ready for P to grow into. Bonnie searched through all Fred's pictures of the boys (Sheridan and his brothers) growing up and found this sweet little pic of my beloved husband in his sailor suit for comparison at some point.

I just had to share... How cute is my hubby??

Love, Mer

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT

Well folks, Sheridan and I are very, very excited to announce that today, we received an acceptance of the offer we made on the house we found and plan to build. We're going to be homeowners!

We've spent the last 5 months worth of weekends driving around Austin, looking at neighborhoods, floor plans, pre-existing homes, working with our mortgage broker and realtor, and we finally found the home that suits us perfectly. We decided to build a new home, which will take about 6 or more months, but will be great timing in terms of our current lease which ends in January, and will allow us to choose everything that we want for the home in which we intend to set down some ROOTS! :)

I haven't been able to sleep because I've been decorating my new home in my head - picking out paint colors, cabinet colors, flooring, faucets, window coverings, and creating an overall design plan so that when we meet with the builder's design center, I'll be all ready. Ooooooooh, I'm SO EXCITED!

I can't believe we found the home that Sheridan and I will create many years of family memories together. I feel so blessed and hopeful!

Happiness!!! Mer

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Sad Day

California upheld Proposition 8 today that homosexuals in CA that want to marry may not. The Supreme Court of California had the chance to step up to the plate and reverse a very discriminatory law, and it did not. I honestly believe that all people should have the same rights regardless of age, creed, race, sexual orientation or even level of grammar and fashion savvy ;) , so I'm sad to hear of this decision.

However, I would like to praise the court for upholding the 18,000 gay marriages that were performed before the ban. That was the right thing to do, even though the larger decision discriminated against a huge segment of our population. And I'd also like to praise the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, and Massachusetts for allowing gay marriage, and DC for upholding gay marriage licenses issued in the aformentioned states. Woot!

Beloved state of California, get your act together!!

Love, Mer

Happy 4 Month Birthday!

We celebrated P Diddy's 4 month birthday on May 21st. How cute is he in his snazzy new outfit from Carl and Lori? (Carl is the guy that introduced Sheridan and me a couple of years ago, I call him our Cupid!) When visiting the doctor for his 4 month checkup last week, Patrick weighed 14 lbs, 9 oz and is now 25 inches long. And he's gone through a growth spurt since then, so I have no doubt that he weighs over 15 pounds now. The little guy sure is growing fast!!!

In other news, Patrick turned over for the first time a couple of days ago, but hasn't done it since that first time. We'll keep working on it! Meanwhile, he sure loves watching TV these days, particularly his Baby Einstein videos that we borrowed from Mr. Finn in Houston. Sometimes when we're trying to feed Patrick in the living room with the TV on, we have a hard time getting him to concentrate on eating because he turns his head and wants to see what's on the tube! I hope we're not creating a big couch potato...

P has also decided that pooping in the bathtub feels reeeeeeeeeeally good. No bueno! But I do have to admit it's pretty funny... Otherwise, he's been a really good boy and has been really great as we go out and about and take him to people's houses, out running errands, and house shopping. I'm so in love with the kid and never could have imagined I could feel this way about a little boy. :)

We might have some exciting news about our house search soon, so please stay tuned. I'll keep everyone posted!

Love, Mer

Monday, May 25, 2009

Tag! You're It!

I just got tagged on a friend's blog, so I'm it! If you have a blog, YOU'RE IT! Mer

8 Things I Look Forward To:

Buying a house and setting down roots
Spending time with my son and husband every evening
Having the energy to exercise
Our mini vacation to Vegas in July
Finding a great job soon and finding the perfect child care option
(Related to last one) Being able to shop and travel again
Seeing Swan Lake at the Houston Ballet next month

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

Took the early morning baby shift so Sheridan could sleep in
Ate 1.5 of Sheridan's amazing breakfast sandwiches, mmmmmmm
Went house shopping and think we found The One we want to build
Made turkey "juicy lucy" burgers for the first time (Sheridan and I saw them on Man vs Food on Travel Channel and had to try them!)
Watched my son turn over for the first time :)
Skipped out on the Austin Wine Festival
Had a couple of stiff ginger and 7s on the couch and watched HGTV (wild Saturday night!)
Enjoyed a good hair day

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPP
Hire a housekeeper
Figure out how to decipher my baby's cries 100% of the time
Lose the last 6 pounds of baby weight without dieting or exercising!
Shop for new clothes and furniture
Buy my hubby the new car he wants
Talk my dog into not barking at the people and squirrels outside the window
Cure cancer. Seriously!


8 Shows I Watch:

Top Chef
Project Runway
Grey's Anatomy
Today Show
Jon and Kate Plus 8
House Hunters
Law & Order SVU and Criminal Intent
Southland

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

First Mother's Day

So this past Sunday was my very first Mother's Day and it was absolutely terrific!! Who would have thought a couple of years ago that I'd be a wife, mother, and living in Texas? Wow. But it's been the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me, so celebrating this on Sunday was absolutely amazing.

We hosted Sheridan's father and stepmother, Bonnie, for the weekend and my parents came to visit with us, also. I put together a brunch for the family and we just had an amazing time, visiting and celebrating family together. I can't wait until we get to celebrate Father's Day for my husband, an amazing husband and father, who made the day so special for me. I especially love my new Tacori necklace that Sheridan gave to me to commemorate my first Mother's Day, which I will always treasure. Thanks baby!

Sunday night Sheridan and I got a chance to go on a date, since Mom and Dad were there to watch Master P. We went to Chuy's for margaritas and then to Uchi to have sushi (doesn't exactly go together, but mmmmmmmmmm it was GOOD!) and Mama had another chapter of Mother's Day fun. I had an amazing time flirting with a man I'd marry all over again in a heartbeat.

I hope you all enjoy the new shots!

Love, Mer

Monday, May 04, 2009

Stuff

So things here at the homestead seem to be going pretty well!! Patrick is about 3.5 months old now, but isn't even supposed to be 3 months old until May 12th, since he was 3 weeks early. He weighs about 14 pounds now and has grown 8 pounds in 12 weeks, so it's been a VERY busy bit of time trying to keep up with the little guy's needs! One of my friends asked me when I even had time to SLEEP and I laughed... what new mother has time to sleep??!!

Speaking of sleep, about 3 weeks ago, I had absolutely HAD it with Patrick's waking up every 3 hours and I finally consulted a book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" to see what I could do to get this kid sleeping better. I was standing on the edge of the cliff and needed some encouragement not to jump, and this book talked me off the ledge! Formally, sleep training shouldn't be conducted until a baby's 4 months old, but I got some great tips on how to start a routine that would encourage good sleep habits for a lifetime. As of now, at 14 weeks, we have little P sleeping 8 or 9 hours "food free", meaning I get him to sleep through the night without having to feed him, but I do have to go up a couple of times a night to rub his head and put the pacifier in to get him back to sleep. We're getting there!

The time with Patrick seems to be going SO FAST!! Just last week, I had to pack up all his newborn clothes and put them away (for his little brother someday). I can't believe my little baby is already outgrowing things... wasn't he just born last month?? I really do think that before we know it, this kid is going to be driving!! hahaha

In other news, we celebrated my parents' 40th wedding anniversary this past weekend. It's hard to imagine being married that long - I haven't lived that long! I truly hope that Sheridan and I are around in 39.5 years to celebrate such an occasion. Pics from the weekend attached.

And Sheridan and I have begun the search for a house to set down some roots! This is very exciting news... We've been working hard to figure out our finances, find a trustworthy realtor and mortgage broker, save money by cutting out indulgences (RIP mani/ pedis!) and learn more about local Austin neighborhoods. With the market and interest rates, plus federal tax incentives to buy, it just makes great sense. We still have some timing to figure out, given my return to work (someday), the tax season, and our lease commitment, but there's no hurry. So wish us luck, and we'll keep The Mer Show posted on our progress.

So almost every darn day I receive a stupid email from Runner's World trying to sell me running products, apprise me of races, etc. It's almost a cruel trick, reminding me that it's time to get in shape... I want to know WHO signed me up for this mailing list. Whoever it is is in trouble!! It's driving me CrAzY! But when I get past this little cold I'm nursing right now, I really DO need to get back to the gym and tackle the little bit of extra weight I'm still carrying from carrying Patrick.

So that's the latest! I hope all is well for you and yours, and I'll try to write again soon!

Love, Mer