It's ALIVE!

Well, I've had the computer back for a good two weeks now. I've had to install all my programs all over again. The bad part about it all is that my husband lost alot of his work. Despite the fact that I bought him a 2gig flashcard, he had "unfinished stuff...stuff I was still working on" on the PC. I explained to him that he still should have saved lots of that info to the flashcard.

Anyhoo, as for my Joshie boy.....all is well. He keeps growing and he learns new sounds and words everyday. His little baby jibber and jabber is starting to sound more and more like English..haha! It's so cute. Especially when he mimicks hubby and I talking on the phone. It could be a toy block or even his pacifier (which we haven't broken him from yet), straight to the ear and "blah boo bi, ah sha ha sha". And then he'll bust out laughing like it's the funniest thing.
In addition, he's speed walking around the house like an olympic athlete. Chasing him to get away an object belonging to me or hubby brings him to an uproarous laughter. It's usually the remote control, keys, telephone, you name it. I've gotten him to the point that when he pee pees his diaper, he'll motion to the diaper by putting both hands on his nether regions.

Now growth is another story. It seems like my son has shot up over night. All of his pants that used to need cuffing, now fit perfectly. He went from a shoe size of 5 to a size 7! His is actually measuring about 61/2 wide but of course there aren't half sizes in toddler shoes. Joshua has the fattest little dumpling feet that you just want to eat.....when they aren't smelling to high heaven that is.

No compooooter, compoooter gone. MURDERATION!

Christmas was nice, not too loud and nobody had the financial means to make it flashy. So, boils down to it...it's what the true meaning of Christmas is, family, friends, peace and love.
For the last three weeks I've been without a properly functioning computer. Hubby decided to download some so-called 'free' software/graphics program and of course nothing is free on the internet. You think he'd have learned by now that the world wide web can be a bad place. So, with this lovely free download came a big nasty virus. My PC has slowed to a crawl and the virus has taken over to the point that I can't even get into my control panel to add/remove programs. I've run anti-virus scans, spyware scans you name it....nada. As we speak, my tower sits in the foyer awaiting a trip to Geek Squad. I'm worried that they'll tell me it's not worth repairing. I'll pray they won't and I'll have it back within a week. Unfortunately the blog is last on my list of priorities. Hopefully I can get back 'online' soon. For now all my correspondences are coming live from work. And depending on the night and how busy, not at all. Peace.

Walk like an egyptian.....

MUMMY! I call it the Frankenstein walk but hubby calls Joshie the mummy. He still chooses when he feels like walking or crawling but I can officially say that for two days he's been walking. It's the cutest thing to see. But what's even crazier is that he chooses to walk on the bed which is much harder than walking on the floor. In his little mind I'm thinking he's saying to himself, "if I fall on the bed there's plenty of cushion for my fall!"

Other plans on the homefront, Christmas shopping! I've put a small dent in it. Maybe around 15% of what I need done. Haven't shopped for my own kid, but got my niece and this weekend, my nephew will be done. I love to knit so part of her gift is a furry scarf in a hot pink that I know she'll LOVE. For hubby, I have no clue what to do. He could use a lot of things but I want to get him something he wants as opposed to what he needs. Joshua is easy, two toys for Christmas morning and maybe two or three packages to 'rip' open. It doesn't really matter what's in them cause it's the rippping part he loves.

Right now we've got freezing rain and a wintry mix going on. It supposed to accumulate and continue on until 11pm tonight....YUCK! I really hate the snow and the cold. But, this is where the family is and until things change, being close to them will make me brave the horrible winters, for now.

Much to do about nothing?

I knew the holiday season would bring less time online. There are days I just don't remember this blog. And then there are others, like tonight, that I'm at work catching up on emails and such. No catching babies as of yet tonight and we actually sent someone home.
I keep forgetting also to bring my external drive so that I can upload pics. I just can't do it at home. Joshua's sleep patterns have changed and so has mine. I used to get half way decent sleep and now it's become absolutlely awful. Can't seem to get enough it seems.

Things have been, well, stressful again. Hubby and I are fighting alot and at times I honestly can't stand to even look at him. Scenario, my brother invited me roller skating with him. Hubby had the nerve to state that between the two of us, HE "deserved" to do something or go out more than me. Ok, in comes the park ape that I hide in my back pocket and pull out when needed. I think I blacked out for a minute actually and then the park ape took over the rest of the ghetto behavior I exhibited that night. He obviously forgot the story of the overworked African American mother story. After realizing the big mistake in verbalizing such idiotic statements as mentioned, he apologizes. What brought about his vomiting of the mouth? The fact that he is from Pittsburgh and has no friends in New Jersey. Ok, I can understand that, but that isn't my fault. My husband is not a very social guy on first meeting. He's withdrawn and almost antisocial. He doesn't think so but it's been proven a few times and several occassions upon meeting new friends and family. Is it the job of a wife to find friends for her husband? I don't know. I'll have to pray on it.

So that's marriage update. As far as my big boy Joshie, he's become the great debater. I tell him to do something and I get baby babble at top speed with tonation and fluctuations of notes in incomprehensible speech. I love it! It's the cutest thing to hear but frustrating because he doesn't listen. Until today, I asked him to hand Mama the bottle and he did it. Probably because it was empty....hahaha. And oh yeah, no walking yet. He pulls up to standing from the middle of the floor without holding onto anything. He climbs the stairs and anything he can get onto at knee height. He dances and claps on the bed, yes the wobbly bed but will not walk!

A Rite of Passage....

My booboo got his first big boy haircut on this past Saturday. It started out okay and ended in terror. But, the barber had lots of experience cutting wormy and screaming kids hair. The final product is a little boy I have to get to know. I'm not used to this look on him and my baby is starting to fade away.....tears.

Eye can't see!

Well I don't see very well at all! Turns out that in addition to the bilateral conjunctivitis I also seem to have corneal abrasions. This is what has been causing me so much pain and agony for the past two weeks! I finally went to the ER, as resistant and adamant as I was being a nurse and said, " I need help". Started out to work with Joshie in tow (he goes to my Mom's until hubby picks him up and takes him home). I get on the road and.....and.....I can't see! Literally, the cars are blurry, the signage is unfocusable until I get right up on them. I'm scared and decide that $#&!-ing with my eyes is no game, girl take your behind to the ER. I wait until hubby hits my mothers and I call in to work and let them know what's going on. Well, they have an idea because I've looked like hell for two weeks. Anyhoo, after getting my eyes numbed which burned then felt like heaven,... no pain, dyed, so that they could visual them under ultraviolet lamp and pricked, they found corneal abrasion on both eyes. If you've ever had a corneal abrasion you will know...IT HURTS!!! Why it's taken them so long to heal I have no clue. It could be the horrible ventilation at work forcing particles into my already delicate eyes or the wrestling I do with Joshie. Yes, the boy has poked me numerous times in the eye. So rest and multiple drops of Tobramycin ointment to the eye every three hours I think they are getting a little better. Vision is still blurry and ain't worth crap. I can't pull out of my driveway. And I'm sure work is threw with me. But look, the thought of not seeing my babe's face again because I didn't care for my eyes would tear me apart. Now, due to the holiday I can't get in to see an opthalmologist until next week (after turkey day). Oy vey!

MMR and Autism

(picture:PopPop and Grandma Woods)

So Joshie had his one year check up and vaccination. For the longest time I contemplated forgoing or nixing the MMR shot. With all the hype regarding it's possible link to Autism, of course I was afraid. But, I had to put aside the media hype and do my own research in addition to discussing it in depth with his pediatrician. Well, I found that here in New Jersey the incidence of Autism is higher than any other state. We all know the air quality in Jersey isn't the greatest and cancer incidence is also high in this area. But I found that diagnosis is very tedious and also involves many other factors despite the MMR shot. Joshua's doc starts early (at around 6 months) with her testing for Autism. Joshua passes with every visit with flying colors. "He is alert and bright" in her own words "and his attention towards me proves he's not autisitc". Autistic children tend to be in their own world, will not acknowledge a stranger and if they do will tend to focus on the mouth rather than the eyes when someone speaks (a cardinal sign). Check out the links for more symptoms and great info. As a registered nurse in L&D we adhere to many of the NICHD standards so I trust their info greatly. So my baby is doing wonderful and I thank the Lord above for that. He also tolerated the vaccination with not even a hint of temperature fluctuation ( I expected a mild fever and irritability). So there, as a mother you do what's best for your kid.

On the other side, myself, I've been awful. I've been battling this eye infection/conjunctivitis since his birthday. Used anitbiotic drops for a week and it's not gone yet. It seems to be aggitated by my work environment. It's very dry and the air vents probably haven't been cleaned in years (yes people, this is a hospital okay!). I really need to make an appointment with an internal medicine doc to get a full physical and all that good stuff. So, baby good, Mama bad. And oh yeah, Master Woods is starting to stand without holding on to anything for a long period of time. He even gets bold and will rock and dance but not one step yet.