Toddler + the Croup = Disney? Yes, apparently we really are that nuts.

So here's installment number one of the Mellon Disney Chronicles. Let's go back, back into time. A week from today actually, the day before our big adventure was set to begin. The day started so well...noodle went off to school, and I set to packing everything we'd need for the trip. During my packing frenzy, a most wonderful surprise made its way to my front door. My friend Teresa, who henceforth will be known as the most wonderful person in the whole world, brought me a pepperoni roll from her hometown. Mmmm, I thoroughly enjoyed that tasty little treat while taking my break from suitcase stuffing. Mmmm my belly growls just thinking about it...

Things continued to run smoothly. I got most of the needed supplies stuffed into various containers, noodle came home from school, and we sat down to dinner. The little guy was starting to cough, but he still seemed content and happy. He headed up for a bath and bed with his papa, and I settled down to zone out in front of some must see tv. When all of the sudden, I hear Drew on the baby monitor saying, "Mellon, Chase just threw up". Ugh.

I arrived upstairs to find that "threw up" was much too gentle a phrase to describe the event I was witnessing. The child was violently ill with piles all over the room which included a bit running down the dresser drawers. Projectile. Lovely.

I held him as he continued his upchuckage, and then stripped him and put him in the bath. There he started wheezing and developed a rash. Uh-oh. Since we thought he might be allergic to the antibiotic that he was taking for his ear infections, we rushed off to the doctor for a diagnosis. Of course, there was no definitive answer to what caused the reaction, but the doc thought it was probably croup rather than an allergy. Croup is a fun vocal chord infection that causes wheezy like coughing all through the night, and can last for several nights. We were given Prednisone for the possible croup and a new antibiotic for the his ears just in case there was a reaction to the medicine. The doctor didn't seem to think the odds were in our favor for making it to our vacation destination the next day. Things were looking grim...

So, we resigned ourselves to being up all night with a coughing, hacking noodle. Or, I should say Drew resigned himself, as nothing short of an earthquake keeps me from getting my 8 hours of shut eye. But lo and behold, the kid slept through the night and was perfectly fine the next morning. Disney here we come!




The plane ride was quick and stress free. Of course, Chase didn't nap on the plane, but are we really surprised by that? We arrived at the Animal Kingdom Lodge around 4, and thought he might take a quick nap before dinner. Nope. Not going to happen. He was too interested in looking at the giraffes and zebras outside his window, and who can blame him really?





Since the lack of sleep had made the little guy cranky, we opted for room service and a little downtime in the room. We ate, sat on the balcony and watched the animals. Chase fell on the door track and got a nasty bruise, but since he has the pain threshold of a WWF wrestler, it barely registered a cry from him. Then we got him into his bed and patted ourselves on the backs for having a pretty relaxing/successful travel day. Until we heard the sounds of the little man regurgitating his dinner in the next room...

Our little traveler was sick again. What were we going to do? Was our trip ruined beyond repair? Dum... dum... dum!


Tune in next time for the second installment of Mellon's Disney Chronicles.

See you real soon...

for a Disney trip recap. Until then, enjoy this picture of the monkey carrying his monkey through Disney Hollywood Studios.

Chef BoyarChase

If you dad won't let your mom get you a kitchen, it's ok. Just use your friend Allie's kitchen as if it's your own. Oh, and be sure to pose nicely for pictures to show Daddy. Order up!

It's going to be an all nighter

Noodle wanted me to let you know that he shouldn't be disturbed under any circumstances. He has lots of research and coloring to do in order to prepare for his big Disney Trip coming up here in late January. He's well stocked in the refreshment department, so please don't worry about his health. However, if you happen to come across a Wiggles CD, he'd love a little mood music.

This is your life Mellon

This morning after getting noodle from his crib, changing noodle, feeding the fish, getting juice for noodle, entertaining noodle, feeding noodle breakfast, cleaning up after noodle, feeding the dog, letting the dog out, locating and emptying stray sippy cups, cleaning up the kitchen, picking up noodle toys, dressing noodle, clipping noodle's fingernails, cleaning noodle's room, and folding and putting away three loads of laundry; I look at Drew who just woke up 20 minutes ago and who has just emerged all sparkly clean from his kid-free shower and say:

"I'm going to take a nice long shower now. One long enough for me to wash my hair and shave my legs. Ok?"

To which Drew replies:

"What do you think this is? A spa or something?"

Let's Talk Pepperoni Rolls

Or rather, let's just let Laura whine a little bit about how no one in Northern Virginia knows what I'm talking about when I say I want a pepperoni roll. No, it's not a calzone. It's a pepperoni roll. There is a huge difference. For starters, a pepperoni roll is made from bread dough not pizza dough. Also, there is no cheese or sauce in a pepperoni roll--it's just the pepperoni, the bread and the grease--god bless the grease.

Now in my hometown, you can buy these heavenly concoctions at the local Foodland, Dairy Mart, or even get them in your high school cafeteria, but please keep in mind that there are degrees of tastiness associated with each pepperoni roll's origin. Oddly enough, the ones from the school cafeteria are the tastiest due to the meat to bread ratio that results in terrifically greasy bread. Dairy Mart's are a little skimpy with the pepperoni and try to make up for it by adding sub par cheese into the mix. As previously mentioned, there is no cheese in a pepperoni roll, but a DM roll will do in a pinch.

So anyway, why am I rambling on about this topic? Well because I'm going through withdraw. We went to the lake last weekend to see my parents because we miss them and because I needed them to bring me a 6 pack of the mouthwatering goodness from their Foodland, and now I've eaten them all and I want more. In truth they were gone Monday morning. It's a sickness I tell you. So while I dream of eating more of that artery clogging divineness, you can look at these pictures of Chase from tumbling and the lake. I'd have more pictures but the battery died in my camera which is a reoccurring theme that deserves its own ranting post.



Ps...it's Drew's birthday, so if you see him give him a few birthday swats.

Republican? Democrat? Eh Demopublican?

Here are the results of a little quiz I stole from Ms. Mander's journal. The quiz matched my views on key issues with the presidential candidates' views. It's difficult for me because I think that the liberals are right about things like civil liberties, gay marriage and health care, but I disagree with their ideas about banning fire arms and government spending. Hmmm. I guess I should really be an independent since my views don't match any party really well. That's me, Independent Mellon. But actually, I think I'll stay a registered Republican so I can use my ballot to vote against any of the crazy, right wing, equal rights denying, Bible thumping, fire and brimstone candidates that can often thrive in this party. When in doubt, vote for the one that you believe will cause the least amount of damage--that's my motto.

65% Bill Richardson
58% Tom Tancredo
57% Hillary Clinton
56% John McCain
56% Barack Obama
56% Chris Dodd
56% Mitt Romney
56% John Edwards
53% Mike Huckabee
53% Fred Thompson
49% Mike Gravel
48% Rudy Giuliani
48% Ron Paul
46% Joe Biden
44% Dennis Kucinich

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Truly a future Mountaineer

See, he's already working on scaling those mountains, but we have to start small you know. Another item of note concerning our little alpinist is that he has a current fascination with wearing all items made of cloth as a scarf. This includes--but is certainly not limited to--pants, shirts, towels, rags, sun visors, socks and underwear. Every kid should have mommy's bra wrapped around his neck at least once right? Sorry no pictures of that--yet.

The jury's still out

on how wonderful 2008 may prove to be for the Mellon family. So far, it has fallen short of spectacular. It all started a couple of days after Christmas when Chase was diagnosed with Strep throat. Now, this sounds worse than it actually was...overall he was pretty happy and easy going considering how bad he could have been. Now, he's back to his old self even though he has to continue taking his antibiotic until Monday.

But then, Andy woke up on New Year's Eve feeling a little something in his throat, so off we went to the CVS Minute Clinic to be swabbed for Strep. I was negative as I knew I would be since I felt fine. But Drew, well Drew was "inconclusive". The nurse said his throat looked like he was probably positive, but she'd have to send a sample out to the lab to be sure. Well, this was a big bummer because it meant we had to cancel our plans since no one with toddlers wants to be around a strep carrier. Nor, does anyone want to kiss a tainted mouth, so no stroke of midnight kisses for me this year. Thus, New Year's Eve was spent watching Jon and Kate plus 8 and HGTV. I was in bed by 11 and asleep just after I heard all of the neighborhood fireworks going off. Yes, I party hard.

On New Year's day, Drew was feeling worse and we were pretty sure that he had the strep. So he returned to CVS to get Noodle more antibiotic (I didn't realize I had to refrigerate it. Bad Mamma) and check on the results of his strep test. Well, the nurse the day before neglected to mention that even though the results would be ready the next day, the actual clinic wouldn't be open on New Year's Day to go ahead and pass those results on to us. So, off he went to Urgent Care where he spent 3 hours just to be told what we already knew: strep positive. He got drugs and dinner, and came home to a starving, grumpy Mellon. You see, when I'm hungry, there's only a brief amount of time before I go from reasonable to psychotic. So, when the hunger strikes, those near me either need to put something in my face right that second or they need to get far, far away from me. Unfortunately, Drew's arrival time had passed that reasonable threshold and I was in spitting fire mode. I quickly recover though after food has hit my tummy, so at least he was only miserable an extra 15 or so. :-)
So anyway, that's the story of our 2008 so far. I'm really hoping that I don't get this strep thing from Drew as the last time I had it I was so miserable for days. I was a senior in high school, and I distinctly remember lying on my dad's La-Z-Boy under a mountain of blankets watching Night of the Twisters and thinking that I would gladly trade places with Devon Sawa if it meant I could swallow without screaming out in pain. I think I might have to pull a Michael Jackson and start walking around with a mask over my face until the Drew is no longer contagious. Probably should carry some Lysol around with me too, and spray everything the man touches. Happy New Year.

Merry Memories

Monkey the Snowman was a jolly ornery soul...

Who wants to wish you and yours a bright and happy holiday season. Thumpity thump thump...

Laid back, with my mind on my honeys, and my honeys on my mind.

You know he's just lying there thinking about blowing more kisses to Ms. Jessica.

Dear MellonBlogs Readers,

I must apologize. I am exhausted. Ok mostly lazy, but also kind of tired. I have no energy to insert witty comments in between the Hanukkah pictures. But really, who am I kidding? Most of you are only here to see pictures of Young Master Chase anyway, so here for your enjoyment are some visuals of our Hanukkah celebration at Nana's and PopPops. Chase helped me take the picture of Daddy...isn't he a great photographer, and doesn't my Drew look ever so handsome? Oh and the picture of Jenn is just to torture her for sticking her tongue out at poor Chase who was only trying to take her picture so he'd never forget his pretty, pretty auntie. Much love Jenn, much love.

Chair Envy

Last week, Noodle had a Christmas gift exchange play date with his buddies at Joshua's house. Chase loved opening his presents, and given all of the practice he's had as of late, he's really good at it. We got some awesome presents from Ms. Allie: Sesame Street Character Squirters. Monkey loves squeezing on these guys, and he hasn't even taken them into the bath yet. Just wait until he realizes that he can squirt water on Daddy with them. Good times.

At the party, Chase was very attached to Joshua's pottery barn chair. All of his friends have one, and Mr. Magoo feels left out. He came right home and wrote a letter to Santa asking for his very own cushy chair. Now, the only question is whether Chase has been a good little boy this year. I think we know the answer to that one, don't we?

Hey, what's this cold white stuff?

Do I like it?

Not sure yet...

Oh yea, it's fun when Dad throws snow balls.

Even more fun when they hit my pants.



Tastes like chicken? No!

Not so fun when you start to get cold.

Let the present acquiring begin!

Last night was the first night of Hanukkah. Little noodle is of course all about Hanukkah. He was completely entertained by the lighting of the Menorah which could have a lot to do with the comedy act that ensued when Drew couldn't get the candles to stand up straight in their holders. He'd push down on them and twist them all around, but they'd just fall over. So he'd push harder, and the darn things would snap in half. Those little wax spindles were just not interested in being a member of that particular Menorah's entourage. One of them even decided that after he'd been lit he'd had enough, so he jumped ship and landed lit on the table. Chase of course thought that was hilarious as his dad raced to put the flame out before it left a mark or--I don't know--burnt the house down. After this last set back, it occurred to me that I had another Menorah that the candles might like better, so I dragged it out. Success! Erect candles are so much easier to light as you say "Shel Hanukkah", which is the only part of the prayer that we know. Bad Jew and semi-Jew!


Oh, and what kid wouldn't like getting a gift every night for 8 nights? Last night was actually a bonus night because instead of just getting one gift from us, he also got a gift from MomMom and PopPop. Mom and dad got him a book, which (I thought) was a very cute Sandra Boynton book to help him learn the sounds that animals make. Unfortunately, the great grandparents had to go and show us up by sending Chase a deluxe Alphabet Magnet School House. With Cards!! Cards are one of the Magoo's favorite things, thus the need for their own sentence and exclamation point. Needless to say, the little book was quickly thrown aside when the school house came out. I'm sure he'll come back to it...in January when all the cooler presents have stopped coming.

Overheard during tree trimming

B.C. (Before Camera)

"Ornaments aren't for eating Chase."

"You're not an ornament, stop trying to climb into the ornament box."

"You're so weird. You can't taste the snowman."

"Toys don't go in the Christmas tree."

A.C. (After Camera)

"Good job, you're such a great ornament hanger."

"Here's another one. Put it on the tree."



"It's ok to stack them all up...it looks good."



"Woo, I think the little one is worn out."

What can Brown bring you?

We here at MellonBlogs are proud to present to you this exclusive offer. For a limited time only, life-like noodle replicas are available for purchase. The limited supply of this must have holiday gift has already been packed and is ready for shipment.

You will be amazed at the attention to detail. Special features include authentic screams and convincing bodily noises. Included is the book shown below that the knock off noodle will want read to him several times an hour.
But wait, if you act now, you'll also receive a second outfit, so you can dress your little Magoo to fit the occasion. This change of clothes is also handy for the true to life spit ups that this particular item delivers.

That's not all! Offers placed using Rice Krispie treats as the payment method will also receive a toy bus for the little Noodlebot to play with--sure to provide hours of fun.
Act now, supplies are limited.

Gameday

Just a few pictures from the UConn game. It was a tad chilly, but we had a good time watching my Mountaineers give the Huskies a beating. I also got to see my cousin Mandy who is the only person besides my mom who consistently leaves me comments on this blog which of course makes her one of my favorite people. That alone was well worth the frozen tootsies.