Stuff

Hi everyone.  So it's been a busy month or so here at The Mer Show - Patrick's first birthday, wrapping up my life as a contract recruiter, and getting prepared for the transition to a full-time working mommy with a job onsite.  I had a week off this week to get things in order, so I've done everything from getting my teeth cleaned to my roots done, nails done, clothes to the cleaners/ alterations, house projects, lunches with friends, cleaning, and all sorts of things.  I'm nervous about next week - getting used to the new schedule and demanding job, but I'm also really excited.  Wish me luck!

In other news, here are a couple of other updates:

1. I got sucked into the Meaningful Beauty infomercial - you know, the one with Cindy Crawford - and have been using the products for about a week now.  And guess what?  I can already see a substantial improvement in my skin!  My sister-in-law, Sarah, is going to kill me (she's an Arbonne consultant) when she reads this, but I know she'll forgive me.  :)  So far, my skin is more supple, less red and splotchy, and my eyes even look less tired.  It's miracle stuff!  They say you should use it for 4 weeks to see its full potential, but so far, so good.  And the best part?  It's reasonably priced!

2. Patrick has a doctor's appointment on Monday to see if he needs to get tubes in his ears.  I have a feeling they're going to say that he does.  Pray for him!

3. I ordered the bedding I've been coveting!  It went on super duper sale at Macy's and then I had another 15% off coupon, so it finally made it reasonable enough (sort of, LOL) to buy it.   I can't wait to get it on the bed! My idea is to create a luxe, hotel-like feel so that it can be mine and Sheridan's little getaway spot every night.  This is the bedding, but I added a red coverlet and 2 red euro shams (instead of the charcoal ones shown) to add color.  We plan to paint the walls a cool gray, add colorful red artwork, maybe add a red daybed or chairs for a sitting area on the side of the room, and super cool pendant lamps/ chandeliers over each nightstand...  Can't wait to see the finished product!

So that's it for now.  Have a good weekend, everyone!

Love, Mer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICK!!

Dear Patrick,

On this, your first birthday, I want the world to know how much I love you and how glad I am that you came into my life.  You sprang up - a bit of a surprise - and injected my life and your entire family's life with so much positive energy and joy.  I love taking care of you, laughing and playing with you, and watching you grow.  I've seen you learn to roll over, sit up, crawl, babble, play, eat with your hands, grow teeth, and now any minute, you're going to be walking!  What an incredible study you are!

Someday you're going to be able to talk to me and I can't wait to hear what thoughts on in that crazy little head of yours.  I bet it goes something like "oh wow, that is so cool over there - I need to go touch it RIGHT NOW" or "geez, I'm hungry again - that lady never feeds me enough" or "heh heh heh, I just pooped".  You're already hilarious!

We've had a tough year with the cooties - you had thrush, colic, acid reflux, Roseola, Hand Foot and Mouth, RSV, FIVE ear infections, and many runny noses.  Geez, kid - you really need to stop putting everything in your mouth!  But until then, you know that your Mommy will be there with Boogie Wipes, warm compresses, pain suppressants, cuddles, toys, and silly made-up songs about you to make you giggle.  I promise to do my best to make you feel better when you feel yucky.

You are a much-loved little boy - by your parents, your grandparents, all your aunts and uncles and our special friends. I can't wait to watch you succeed throughout your life - I just know you will!  I promise to do everything I can to help you grow up to be big and strong, intelligent, responsible, and a good person.  There might be times when you make mistakes or take the wrong fork in the road, but it's ok - just keep trying to be your best.  And don't forget - we'll always love you, no matter what!

Happy birthday and thank you for being my favorite kid in the whole, entire world!

Love, Your Mommy

Now I'm Sick

Please shoot me.  Both Sheridan and I ended up getting what Patrick had last week.

Called in sick today and am very pathetically sitting on the couch, watching Julie and Julia - good flick.  I'm getting inspired to buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking and get busy!  If only  I had energy...

Just wanted to bitch and whine publicly and request lots and lots of sympathy.  Poor me - I'm SICK!!  Waaaaahhhh!!!

That's it.  Mer

Scenes from the Mer Show Household This Week

I'm so pooped, I don't have much time and energy to write.  Therefore, I'll post pictures of what's been going on at our house this week.  Patrick is home VERY sick with RSV and 2 raging ear infections, so Sheridan and I are working out of the house, taking care of him.  All of us are completely worn out after playing, crying, soothing, doctoring, and not doing much of something else - SLEEPING!  We're sneaking in some fun times in between the yucky moments, and I've been capturing our week of togetherness in pictures, so I thought I'd share some with you all!

Love, Mer

p.s.  Big thanks goes out to Patrick, who napped long enough for me to create this posting.  Thanks, baby boy!  xoxoxo

OK, so I got up here, but now how do I get down?

Fun with a water bottle

Cry break!!

OK, feeling better.  What's this thing, Mommy?

Investigating...

OK, I'm over it... Hall out!

Almost down...

DID IT! (So proud of myself)

Pat in the box (alert - only his MOTHER is allowed to call him Pat; all others must call him Patrick!)

Boxes are fun!  (Check out that cowlick!)

Fun with Baci

Heh heh heh

OK, I'm over it.

Playing in the train tent

Learning to throw a ball

Bottle intervention!  He's almost a year old, he should be able to feed himself his own darn milk, right??  Wrong.  He refuses!!

He's thinking about it...

Oooh, ooooh, oooooh!!!  Is he gonna do it??

Not so enthralled...

HAHAHAHAHA, that was funny!  Who needs to hold their own bottle when Mommy will hold it for me??

He's already browsing through Daddy's liquor cabinet... Insert joke here.

About The Artist

In my last post, you'll see that I linked the inspiration for my latest painting for your viewing pleasure.  You'll see that there is a subnote under the painting that says "About The Artist".  After thinking about that for a minute, I decided to write my own biographical history in artistic endeavors - since I'm becoming a more committed painter, I thought that might be amusing!!  LOL

What do you think?  Here's my autobiographical "About The Artist":

As a girl, Meredith was much more interested in sports and socializing than artistic pursuits.  In college, however, she traveled to Europe, where she lived and studied Spanish linguistics, literature, and culture in Southern Espana for a summer.  Visiting world-famous museums such as the Louvre, El  Museo del Prado in Madrid, and a few years later, the MOMA in NYC and the Tate Modern in London, her interest in art - particularly modern, contemporary art - bloomed.  It wasn't until marrying a man with an artistically-talented mother and becoming obsessed with HGTV personality David Bromstad's design aesthetic, which oft includes custom-created paintings for his rooms, that she decided to start creating her own works of art.  Armed with some craft paints from Hobby Lobby, practice canvases, and a short lesson from her mother-in-law, she began experimenting with paint and continues to increase her confidence and ability with each piece.  Her goal is to reflect her views of the beauty and energy in the world onto canvas, and share it with those experiencing life with her.  

New PIcs from the Mer Show Household

My latest painting - it's 22"x28". I like this one.  It was inspired by this piece, but is obviously my own interpretation of it.

Paint samples taped to the wall.  Looking at them via photography is eye-opening!

Half-done painting over the mantle.  Have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with this mantle - need inspiration!!

Junk on the side of the fridge.  Note picture of Sheridan and me when I was young and skinny (waaaaaay back in December 2007 - LOL) and cookies way up high, where I can't reach them.

Do You Hear That?

Oh yeah, that's the sound of... NOTHING!  Today the house sure is quiet with both Patrick having returned to school and Sheridan back to work.  We had a fantastic holiday season - cooking, eating, playing, napping (ok, maybe once), movie-watching, shopping, Wii-playing, and just spending quality time together.  It was the most special holiday season in my whole life!

But throughout the holidays, all of us got WAY off our routines and I think that it's going to be super nice getting back into the swing of our routine.  Really, we've been off of it for a couple of months, given the move, Thanksgiving, birthday, Christmas, company, Patrick's sicknesses, and New Years.  I mean, our baby slept from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. yesterday and then went to bed at 9:30 p.m. for the night.  This is not normal, and I think it's indicative of how off we are as a family right now!

Today is the first day that all of us are back at work, back to school, and life is back to normal.  No cookie baking, no Christmas tree, no company - back. to. normal.  I'm pretty relieved, actually!!

Now it's time to get back on track, get back in shape, get organized, get things done, work hard, and be productive.  I'm feeling very motivated and am going to go with it!  I just updated my resume, took care of a lot of bookkeeping, answered a bunch of emails, cleaned off my desk, made a couple of business calls, and am getting back to business.  I feel grrrrrrrrrrreat!

I hope all of you are feeling as motivated and inspired about this new year, new decade, and opportunity to make some positive changes.  Good luck to you and wish me luck too.  :)

Love, Mer