Is there any doubt that he is a boy?

Just sitting on my new tractor

So I just turn this key thingy and it will start?

In the back of Daddy's truck

Let's go for a wagon ride

Out for a tractor ride with Daddy

The new tractor

We got a new tractor today. Jim ordered it about a week ago and it was delivered today. Jack was napping when it arrived. And me? Well I didn't really care enough to stop reading the paper to go out and see it when it arrived. To me, it was just a garden tractor - so what?

However, later when we were walking out to the garage to go to WalMart and Jack's reaction to the new tractor sitting there was absolutely priceless. Daddy opened the door and Jack started to walk out the door as usual. But the kid stopped dead in his tracks, sucked in his breath, his eyes widened and he almost yelled "WOW". He then could. not. take. his. eyes. off. the tractor. He was absolutely mesmerized by this tractor. It was quite a challenge to get him away from this new toy to get in the car seat.

We bought a garden wagon to go with the new tractor. Jim put the thing together while Jack played in the garage and with all of Daddy's wrenches, screwdrivers and various other tools. Then came the special treat and Daddy hooked up the wagon to the tractor and he got to go on a tractor ride! Wow!

When it was time to put the tractor back in the garage and take one very filthy boy in for a bath, he climbed right back onto the tractor and tried to get it started again.

There is absolutely no doubt that he is 100% boy. And me? I still really don't care about the tractor. It's a tractor - what's the big deal?

Hmm now what should I do next!

This was the scary slide!

Wanting to play soccer with the big boys

Push Daddy!

A very blurry but happy Jack on the swing

Jack being "helpful" by sweeping the floor.

The chores are done time to share an orange with Daddy.

The carpet needs sweeping also

Jack helping out with the cleaning of the refrigerator. Five minutes after this was taken, we had an "accident" with a pickle jar broken all over the floor. Guess who caused it. I'll give you one guess!

Jack and Daddy doing dishes

All things Jack

Since Jack has been doing some pretty funny things lately, I thought that I would list them here so I can share them with you all.

Yesterday we went looking at cars to replace Jim's crappy car. As we were driving through the dealer lot, Jim saw a pretty motorcycle and said "look at that motorcycle" which was followed by a very enthusiastic "WHOA" from Jack. Oh Lordy, the big toy obsession has started already.

A couple of days ago, Jim was changing Jack's diaper on the changing table and I was in the room putting his clothes away. Jack was just chatting away while all this was going on and all of a sudden he looks right at me and says plain as day "don't throw up". I am sure that is not what he meant to say, but it sure sounded like it and totally cracked me and Jim up.

Last night we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. Jim gave Jack some of the beef from his fajitas. All of a sudden Jack is totally spazzing out, scrapping his tongue, sticking his tongue out, and basically freaking out. Jim tastes the beef and figures out that it is a bit spicy. I guess Jack isn't into spicy food right now. But it sure was funny watching him trying to get that spice off his tongue. Of course we did get him some milk to help cool things off. We aren't totally bad parents.

This morning we took him to the park to play for about an hour. He was having fun swinging and climbing and sliding. He then noticed the 4 boys over in the grass playing a game of soccer and got very interested. He started to walk over there and we said "bye Jack" and what does he do? He just sorta does a backward wave to us without even looking back. Not too long before we are just an inconvenience. Ahh sigh.

It is amazing how much he is growing up these days. It is hard to believe that just a year ago he was this tiny little baby that didn't do much more than poop, eat, cry and sleep. Now he has this adorable little personality and can show us how much he loves us with big hugs and kisses. He is his own little Jackaroo and I can't even imagine life without him now.

Our Jackaroo

Taking a stroll holding onto a rock. Notice the shirt says "My name is Not No No".

"Peek a Boo"

"Who's there?"

Making his first masterpiece or I should say adding his creative influences to his sister's masterpiece.

Here he is trying to open the door to the laundry room to play in the doggies water dish.

Soon, hopefully soon we will have grass out in our backyard instead of dirt and weeds. Here is Jack dreaming of the day to come. "And I want my swing set over there and my sand box over there."

Someday Jack, someday there will be grass out there and you can go out and play then.

Tagged Again!

This time tagged by Carolyn.

1. Total number of movies owned on DVD/VHS - maybe about 50.
2. Last film I bought - Oceans 12
3. Last film I watched - Oceans 12. Tried to watch it with Jack, ended up missing over half of it. Need to rewatch it when I am baby free.
4. Five films that mean a lot to me in no particular order: Ferris Buellers Day Off, Sleepless in Seattle, Grease, Office Space, Pirates of the Caribbean (found out that day we went that I was pg).

Now I need to tag 5 other people. Hard to do since a lot of everybody has been tagged already: Jane, Liesl, Nikki. Sorry that is only 3.

The new morning routine

The newest routine in our morning is so much fun, it has become one of my favorite times of the day. Jack usually wakes up and keeps himself occupied for at least a half hour which is very very nice because it allows me to get myself ready for the day. It is fun to hear him in the next room just talking up a storm about very important issues I am sure. So when I walk into his room, he jumps right up and is all smiles. He then turns around and points to his Blue Jean Teddy Bear blanket that is hanging on the wall above his crib. The picture on the blanket depicts Blue Jean Teddy and his friends playing with a Noah's Ark set. So every morning we have to go through a little routine with the blanket. He will point to every single animal on the blanket and I will tell him that is an elephant, zebra, etc. And everytime we do this, he gets so excited he just about jumps up and down. One morning, I tried to take him out of the crib before we went through all the animals, the stars and hearts on the blanket and quickly found out that it was a big mistake. He started screaming bloody murder and would not stop until I put him back in the crib and we finished our little routine. I figure I can be late to work a few minutes to accomodate this latest morning ritual.

Fleas and No Air Conditioning

That is what we are dealing with here in the Jackaroo household.

I noticed about a week or two ago that the dogs were itching like crazy and sure enough we are now a flea infested house! Arghhhh. So now I have to schedule to get the house flea bombed and to do this bombing, I need to get the animals and humans out of the house for like 6 hours. Now tell me when and how am I supposed to do that? Argh.

And we also found out in our 100 degree heat that our air conditioning is out. Well I should say that half the air conditioning is out. We have 2 central air conditioners and well the one that controls the family room and kitchen area of the house is not working. Nothing, nada, no air. Yay! And yet another thing that I need to schedule to get fixed. Argh.

Jack and I did go to the park this morning before it got unbearable outside. He loved loved loved the swing. And tried to climb up the jungle gym like the big kids. Then we sat down in the grass and pulled up clover. We were there about an hour and a half and left when the temperature was rising rapidly. Which in turn made Jack have a nice long nap, which in turn made me a happy Mommy.

You know when you are a mother when...

you get the mail and you receive a free sample of Pampers new diaper and you get a little thrill over it. You also find yourself examining said diaper and saying things like "this is a cool diaper". Yep that is what I just did. Just received a sample of Pampers First Steps diaper and it basically is a pull-up type diaper made for those just beginning to walk. Hmmm might have to think about buying this after I go through the 104 diapers that I currently have. And for those who were wondering - yes, my life is pathetic when a diaper excites me.

It is Hotter than ...

um Heck! Can I just say that it is not even June yet and it is soooooo hot. It is in the 90's today and tomorrow is going to be over 100! I am not ready to start paying for air conditioning! Note to self - buy that really cool Sharper Image fan you saw on their website the other day.

Well other than being extremely hot here, not much going on. Been a pretty lazy day. Laura is here today and she and Jack played this morning, relieving me of baby duty for a while. Thank You Laura! I was able to go through my "desk" that was overflowing with paperwork that I haven't filed or done anything with for the last oh say 6 months or longer! The reason why I am doing this is because we are refinancing our house and all those stupid documents they ask for that you say "oh sure I can get that no problem" and you think to yourself "um where did I put that stuff again". Well that is what I have been doing all day. And the side benefit of this chore, is that my desk is now organized (for the moment).

Jack took a really nice long nap - 3 hours. I love these days. Between the long nap and Laura's help taking care of him, I have actually got something done today. Yay!

Jack has been talking nonstop lately. Just today he started to call Laura "Sissy" which is the name we always use to refer to her. He also will walk up to something and point at it and say "whats that" or I think that's what he is trying to say. The other day he did that to the wall and I told him that it was a "Wall". When Jim came home later that night, he was so cute and walked up to the wall and pointed at it and said "wall". So so cute. Goodness, I swear he is learning something new everyday and it is so much fun to see.

I took some pictures today of Jack and Laura as you can see below. I can't believe how old Jack is looking these days. Sigh.

Jackaroo and his Pooh

Really not wanting to pose for yet another picture with Sissy.

"You taking ANOTHER picture?"

Eating lunch consisting of hot dog, apples,and raisins.

Laura who is getting to be such a grown up young lady.

"See what I made all by myself. I can pretend it is a clarinet."

Figuring out how to destroy his sister's creation.

Playing with the mega blocks

Here he is after he successfully crawled onto the coffee table all by himself.

He is feeling pretty proud of himself.

I've been tagged also (I guess I am one of the cool Blog Mommies)

By Jane, a fellow blogging mommy.....The rules are simple when you're tagged.Choose 5 items from the list to write about.Tag 3 other individuals when you're done.

If I could be a scientist...I would want to come up with a pill that makes you skinny.
If I could be a farmer...
If I could be a doctor...
If I could be a painter...
If I could be a gardener... I would have the most beautiful lawn in the neighborhood. I would know exactly what to plant and wear and everybody would ooh and ahh at my gorgeous garden.

If I could be a missionary...
If I could be an architect...
If I could be a linguist...
If I could be a psychologist...
If I could be a librarian...I would probably have a natural high all day. I love love love books and for some reason, just being around them gives me this uplift that I can only explain as a "natural high".

If I could be an athlete...
If I could be a lawyer...
If I could be an innkeeper...
If I could be a writer...
If I could be a llama rider...
If I could be a bonnie pirate...
If I could be an astronaut...I would love to look down at the Earth in wonder. But the ride to get up there, I would definitely lose my cookies.

If I could be a world famous blogger...I would let all future and potential Mothers out there the joys and trials of having a child. There is nothing like it and nothing prepares you for it.
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...

If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

Alright now lets see who is it...Carolyn, Stephanie, and Candice

Tivo sucks sometimes

So last night was the season finale of The Gilmore Girls. For those that do not know about my obsession with The Gilmore Girls, let me fill you in. I have watched it from the very beginning and except for a couple shows here and there, I have watched every single episode. So last night was the season finale and since I was super super tired from the ordeal at the ER, I went to bed super super early and didn't watch The Gilmore Girls. But I Tivoed it thinking I would watch it today and all would be good. Once again, I was thanking whoever invented Tivo.

So this morning, I put Jack down for his nap and instead of cleaning up the kitchen or a million other chores I needed to do, I sat down with my cup of coffee to watch and enjoy every minute of the show. I had seen the previews and it said somebody was going to ask somebody to marry them - referring to either Rory and Logan or Luke and Lorelie. So it came down to the last minute showing Luke and Lorelie and it ends!!! Just like that. I guess the show ran a couple of minutes over the hour and it cut off! I didn't get to see Luke ask Lorelie to marry him! The moment I have been looking forward to since the show began! I take it that it was indeed Luke asking Lorelie since that was the scene that got cut off, but but but I didn't get to see it. WAHHHHH. Yep Tivo is great, but it can suck also.

In other news, Jack is doing really good after his ordeal yesterday. I have him on the BRAT diet that I didn't have a clue was until yesterday. I stayed home today just because I felt like I should be with him one more day. After all the time I have been missing from work, I am gonna get fired one of these days! But I admit, that I love spending time with Jack and just playing and seeing him learn in so many ways. I miss that.

Another ER trip

Well I spoke too soon about things going better here. This morning at 8:30 I received a call from Jack's daycare provider saying that he was throwing up nonstop. So yet again I had to leave work after just being there for a few minutes and go get Jack. I brought him home and gave him some juice, went into the bedroom to change my clothes and then sat down to play with him. Then all of a sudden, I am covered with orange colored baby vomit that is followed by some more of the same all over the floor. So I decided to take him to the ER because yet again I couldn't get into to see his doctor. I am really wondering about his doctor. I really do like him, he was awesome when Jack was born and had to be on antibiotics for 3 days, but to try to get a doctor's visit on short notice is impossible.

So I had an hour wait in the ER waiting room which was an experience in itself. When I walked into the ER, there were like 5 police officers standing there and a ton of people. I think to myself that some massive accident or something must of happened. So when I was signing in, I just had to ask what was up. Well come to find out that the local high school was having some kind of pre-prom drill about drinking and driving and what happens when you do that. Not sure what all the details were, but teenagers came out with fake blood all over them. I kind of figured out that it was the teachers and parents trying to tell them not to bad things at prom, which I doubt will actually stop them from doing said things. But who knows.

Anyway after an hour of waiting and watching the commotion, we finally get called back into the room. I had called Jim at work and told him that I was taking Jack to the ER and like a good Daddy that he is, he took the rest of the day off and came to the hospital.

They gave him a suppository to help calm his stomach and we had to wait for an hour after that to give him some juice to see if he would keep it down. Of course this was followed by another hour wait to see if he indeed kept it down, which he did. I tell you in the 4 hours that we were there, he totally perked up into the little boy that we all know and love. When I first arrived there, he was very pale with dark circles under his eyes and not his usual go-go-go self. But when we were getting ready to leave even the doctor had to laugh as the kid was jumping up and down on the bed and playing with the bed rails. I almost felt like say "Really he was sick".

The doctor pretty much concluded that he was having some type of reaction to the Amoxicilian antibiotics that he was on for the ear infections. He said that it was a pretty harsh drug and it might be possible that he is slightly allergic, but not to jump to that conclusion yet but to be cautious in the future over the use of it. So we were told to stop giving the antibiotics to him and he basically can't eat anything until tomorrow except liquids. The nurse mentioned that after tomorrow he can have the Brat diet. I looked at her like "What the hell is that?" Then she looked at me as if to say "oh yeah she's a new mother" and went on to explain that the BRAT diet was bananas, rice, applesauce, toast only for a couple of days. Okay I now know what the BRAT diet is - one more bit of info I guess every mother should know.

So he just went to bed, but I have a feeling that it is going to be a long night. He started having diarhea went we got home and 3 diaper changes later, he is tucked in bed. For how long? I don't know. So because of that, I am off to bed to get a couple hours of sleep before Mommy Duty calls again.

Things are looking up and an apology

Knock on wood, but I think that both Jack and I are getting better. I swear that this bug has a sleeping disease as part of it. Yesterday, I could not function. All I wanted to do was just sleep. I felt like if I closed my eyes for more than 10 seconds, I would be off to La La land. It also affected Jack today. He went down for his nap around 9 am this morning and didn't wake up until after 1 pm. Over 4 hours of napping. If only I could of done that yesterday, it would have been heaven!

So after he woke up, we went to the Pool and Spa show. We were lusting after all the pools and spas and really cool bbqs and other stuff that we can't afford. They also had the redwood play centers that Jack just had a blast crawling and climbing all over. Of course, he loved giving me a heart attack. He would climb up into the fort and there was a huge step up to the next level which with a little effort he could climb up. Then once he's up there, he kept getting closer and closer to the big drop off and I thought that I was going to have a heart attack everytime he got close to the edge. I swear he knew he was doing that to me and got a kick out of hanging a foot over the edge and see me panic. He also loved the slide and kept trying to crawl back up the slide side. Needless to say when it was time to leave, he threw a Royal Jackaroo Fit that garnered the attention of all nearby innocent victims.

So because of all the crawling around on the playset, the kid was filthy! His legs were black and to top it off, Daddy gave him a french fry with ketchup and he thought it was fun to get the ketchup all over himself instead of eating it. So I look down at this filthy child with the ketchup stained shirt and ketchup in the hair, black legs and feet, and a huge black smudge on his face and realize that I need to publicly apologize for thinking down to all those parents whose children I used to see who were dirty. I used to think "can't you keep your kid clean?". I am sorry, I was naive and young and a non-mother. I understand now because my kid is one of the worst!

I knew it was gonna happen...

Jack is now sick. The poor thing yesterday had a 104 temp at daycare. So today I missed yet another day at work and took him to the doctor. He has infection in both ears and the doctor can hear congestion in his chest. Yep he's sick. Not sure if I gave him what I had or he gave it to me, but its obvious that we both have the same thing. Of course this being a Friday and all, his doctor wasn't in and so therefore couldn't get him in to see him. So I had to take him to Urgent Care and wait for over an hour in the waiting room. Do you know how hard it is to keep a very miserable, sick, grumpy boy somewhat entertained for that long? I mean there is just so many times you can play with the beads-on-the-wire toy thingy. There was another little boy there 3 months younger than Jack who did entertain Jack for a few minutes. That is until the other little boy named Travis started pushing Jack and well Jack started screaming. After that, the time went painfully slow until they called his name. And of course once you get in a room to see the doctor there is another 15 minute wait. During this time, I tried to entertain him with the throat sticks, but that only went so far.

So the long story short - Jack is also sick. I am still recovering myself and think that very soon I will be hacking up a lung or some other organ. Good times in the Jackaroo household.

So enough of the bad stuff. I realized that lately my posts have been about me being sick, Jack being sick, me being stressed over work, etc. So in light of that, I think I need to mention some of the really cute things that Jack has been doing lately.

He says "uh oh" all the time now. It is his favorite thing to say. He drops something and says "uh oh". So cute.

He also says "thank you" or I should say copies me when I say it. He will hand me something and I will say "thank you" and then he will say it also. So cute.

He is a very generous little boy. He always offers whatever he is eating to me or Daddy. And if we say "no thank you", he will forcibly try to stuff it in our mouths. I guess he wants to make sure we eat.

He walks all over the house now. I will see him walking down the hall babbling about something very important I am sure. He will pick up objects and carry them all over. The other day he had two fly swatters and was carrying them around for like an hour.

He is now one of the big kids at day care. Most mornings he will walk right into her house and right into the play room like the big kids do without even looking back at me. I am not even a thought to him at those times. Sigh.

He loves to play with Mega Blocks. He will sit there and stack them up and I must say that for a 14-month old, he makes some pretty impressive creations with his blocks. I have to admit also that I enjoy playing with the blocks myself, but a lot of times Jack will come along and tear my creation apart.

He is so much fun these days for the most part. However, we are dealing with temper tantrums. Like when I close the door to the backyard and just sits down on his little butt and screams. I can feel the terrible twos coming very fast.

Where did the years go?

I just found out that my high school reunion is on Sept 3rd. Which one you might ask? The 20th!!! How did that happen? I mean it was just a couple of years ago I was that naive 18 year old who thought she knew it all and really didn't know anything. I went to a small high school in Michigan. Our graduating class consisted of 120 seniors. That is so very small compared to the high schools here in California where literally thousands of kids in each graduating class.

So I was thinking about how time has flown and how did I get to be in my late 30s? And what made it worse the other day Laura and I were talking and out of nowhere she asks me "What was it like in the 80's?". I remember asking my mother the same thing except it was "what was it like in the 50's?". I remember thinking that the 50's seem so old-fashioned and anyone who grew up in the 50's had to be OLD. So then I think is that what Laura thinks of me? Of course she does. She is 9 and I am 38 about to go to my 20th reunion. But I just have to say this - the 80's had the best music. But I am sure that is what my mother would say about her era. Sigh.

For the 98th time....

since Jack was born, I am SICK! I am sick of being sick! And for about the 47th time, I am on antibiotics again. I went to the doctor today and yep was diagnosed as being sick (no way, really?!). I have an ear infection! I have not had an ear infection since I was a kid, if even then. Other than the ear infection, I just feel pretty much miserable. I took Monday off work, went to work yesterday, but by about 10:30, I was thinking that I couldn't do it and left. I went straight to the doctor and $50 worth of antibiotics later (why even have insurance if they don't pay for anything??), I am home again. I think I feel a little bit better today so there is hope that I again will survive this sickness. But of course only to get sick again in about 2-3 weeks. Yay! Something to look forward to.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

I hope all the mother's, grand-mother's, and step-mother's out there are having a great Mother's Day. It has been a good one here.

Yesterday, we got up bright and early and was out garage saleing (I know thats not a word but it works). We scored at this one place where we picked up a Little Tykes slide, a Tug Boat sand box, and some small toys all for $20. They had a redwood fort there, but it was sold by the time we showed up. It was only $100 which is far far far cheaper than what you can buy. We have been looking at them at the minimum of $1000.

Then Jim went to Wal-Mart and brought home a new bike and little kids trailer. Now I have to tell you that I can not remember the last time that I rode a bike! I really don't remember too much bike riding after I got my driver's license at the age of 16, so it has been a long long long time. And like they always say, you never forget how. But as I was riding this bike, I was thinking to myself that either I am a lot bigger than the last time I rode (which is very much the case) or this bike seems small. Then Jim realized that it was indeed a girl's sized bike not full-sized. So we made the executive decision that Laura's bike is getting small for her and decided that she get the bike. Hence, we are going back today and get another one for me - this time full-sized.

So we hooked up the trailer to the bike and Laura rode him around and Jack sure did like that. I can tell that I am going to be out on the bike a lot riding him around the neighborhood.

We have somewhat recovered from our night of no sleep. I still don't know what his problem was. He seemed no worse for the wear, in fact, I was more worn out than he was. I also picked up a nasty cold or allergies somewhere. Probably the fact that I have not had much sleep and stress level has been way up there.

Work has been very stressful and I won't go into details here. But I will say that people you work with can make your life miserable and when they know they are making your life miserable, they know how to go in for the kill. This happened this week and I have been toying with the idea of quitting and finding some part - time job close or finding a full-time job that makes a ton of money. Of course I am torn and don't know what to do. Pros and Cons on both sides. At this point, I will just stay at the current job and see what happens.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to all.

Here's the big boy. I swear he hams it up for the camera!

See what Jack made me at daycare for Mother's Day. Made me cry.

The other side. A poem that brought tears to my eyes - of course.

Brother and Sister playing with blocks and watching Sponge Bob.

Jack and Laura got new toys. Well the bike was a Mother's Day gift from Jim, but we got it home and realized it was a girl's bike so.... it is now Laura's. I get mine today so I can ride the Jackaroo around the neighborhood.

"okay Sissy - Push"!

Our garage sale find yesterday. Of course he climbed right up without any help.

Jack's new chair - just his size. He loves it! Here he is watching tv. Yes that is South Park he is watching. I know I know, we are bad parents.

Got Toothpicks???

Because I need em to prop my eyes open!!!

I do not know what happened last night, but my child went crazy. There is no other way of putting what happened.

Okay I will start at the beginning. It was about 10pm and Jack had been asleep for about 1 1/2 hours. Jim and Laura were all snug in their beds. I had a really bad day at work, and I had settled down to start to blog about it and what do my ears hear? WAAAHHHH. I mean it wasn't just a little cry that he does a lot when he is sleeping and goes back to sleep afterwards. No this was "oh my God, something is wrong with my child" scream.

So I go in there and try to comfort him with a bottle, which works 99% of the time. He would not stop screaming! I pick him up and carry him to the rocking chair in his room to try to comfort him. He still won't stop. I check his diaper - nothing. I then proceed to carry him out to the family room where I turn the tv on and turn all the lights out. This calms him a bit, he drinks some bottle and seems to be calming down a bit. So about 11:00 I take him back to the crib and lay him down. I am thinking to myself that is it. HA!

It wasn't 10 minutes later, he is screaming again. I walk back to the room and do the "routine" again. Take him back to the family room (getting a pattern here?). About 11:30 back to the crib he goes. I go to bed.

Midnight - SCREEEAAMMMING. This time, it actually woke Jim up (which means it was loud, really loud). He gets up and tries to comfort him. Brings him back to bed with us. Shut off lights. Try to lay quiet. Nope. Jack is squirming, whining, crying, screaming.

12:45 - Jim gets up with him again. Walks around room with him trying to soothe. Changes his diaper. Takes him out to the family room once again. Turns tv on. I go to sleep.

1:30 - Jim comes back to bed (without Jack). I ask "Is he sleeping?" he whispers "yes". I go back to sleep.

1:45 - WAAAAAAHHHHH. I get up. This time, just go straight out to the family room. Turn tv on, turn off lights. Jack squirms, cries, whines. I just sit there like a zombie while he does his thing. I offer him some cheerios, thinking maybe he is hungry. Makes him scream louder. At some point, I am thinking about going to the ER. I mean a boy doesn't scream for 5 hours for no reason right? But then I think of the car situation. The truck has a big huge door (the reason why there is a door installer in my house at this moment) in the back of it sitting outside. It is blocking my car that has the car set. The little car that Jim drives to work is free, but no car seat. Hmm rethink the ER situation.

Around 3:45, he finally goes to sleep in my arms. I am afraid to move. I am afraid the cat will jump up on my lap and wake the screaming terror. I am afraid to breath. I sit in the chair for another 30 minutes before daring to get up and take him to the crib. I am terrified walking down the hall the screaming terror will awaken.

4:15 I wake Jim up and tell him somebody was trying to call him on his work phone. He gets up, I go to bed. He calls in sick at work at 5:00 am. He goes back to bed at 5:00. We wake up at 6:00. Time to wake up Laura. Jim has to take her to school because I have to meet the door installer at 7:30. (We are getting our new door installed yay).

7:00 Jim leaves to take Laura to school. I am still in bed.

7:15 Jack starts screaming and the phone rings all at the same time. Answer phone, it is the door installer. He is 1 minute from the house. Get out of bed, throw some shorts on. Answer door, let door installer in. Show him the broken door and new door. I think he can figure out what to do next. Jack stopped screaming (there is a God). Start to make coffee.

That was my night and morning. How was yours?

I will have to let you in on my really really bad day at work some other time. At this point, I can hardly remember it. Thank goodness, I had scheduled today off. I have no idea what was wrong with Jack. I think he might have had bad gas pains. We tried giving him a half of a Tums at some point. But he had no fever or anything. I gave him Tylenol at some point also. But still is a mystery.

And to think, this is how I felt for the first 2 months of his life! How did I do it? And I want to do it again? Am I nuts?

Stay at Home Moms make $130,000 a year

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7709166/

This article is about how much stay at home moms do and if worked the same intensity in the working world would make about $130,000 a year. I applaud this and all stay at home moms. I understand just how hard the job is and how many people can take you for granted and think that you are not doing anything while you are "staying at home". I know that is not true and I know how hard you all work.

But at the same time, I would love to hear about how much a working mother should receive on top of her salary in the work force. I do not choose to work, I have to work. I have a very stressful job (except at this moment, when I am blogging at work) that takes a lot out of me. But when I come home, I have to start my "second job" of mother. I don't have the luxury of relaxing or even sitting down. I have a one-year who needs me and unfortunately part of those days are without any help from Jim because of his weirdo schedule. I don't get a break - Ever. So how much do I get on top of the salary that I make?

Can we just say that the job of MOTHER is a hard and thankless job? One that you don't get paid in dollars for, but you do get paid. You get paid everytime your child smiles at you, everytime you get a big hug or one of those open-mouthed drooling kisses. Nobody said it was going to be easy - but lets just compliment ALL mothers for all the hard work they put in.

Day at Disneyland

Well we are back from Disneyland. We had a really fun time. It was Jack's 3rd trip to Disneyland and every time just gets more and more fun with him. It is so much fun seeing him interact and enjoy it all. He was quite the little trooper today. We arrived at the park about 9:30 in the morning and stayed until about 5:30 and he didn't take a nap at all during that time. I could tell he was getting really tired but he would not go to sleep because he did not want to miss one minute of Disneyland. But he wasn't grumpy or whiney at all during the day and for that I am very thankful for. We saw kids everywhere asleep in their strollers, but Jack was pushing on. I am also thankful for not having a really whiney kid and believe me, there were many of them at the park today.

We rode a lot of rides including the Teacups, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates of the Carribean, Alice in Wonderland. He also climbed up to the top of the Chip n Dales treehouse all by himself mind you. I tell you, nothing stops this kid from crawling up anything. Also if there was water around, you could safely bet that Jack was figuring out a way to get in the water. No fountain was safe with Jack around.

It was a fun day and I have to admit that I am exhausted at the moment! When we were walking out, I was looking down at my kid who was literally jumping up and down in his stroller because he was so excited and I knew at that point that Jack outlasted me at Disneyland. I am not proud of that fact at all. But within 5 minutes after getting in the car, he was out!

So we got home and he had the quickest bath in history and a quick snack of a banana and he was off to bed. Disneyland is fun, but it can be hard on all.

We got to meet Mickey!

Jack with the Golden Mickey Ears for the 50th anniversary.

"You see it Daddy? It is really neat."

"This big ball is really cool"

Fireman Jack to the rescue!

He walked right up to Donald and gave him a hug. Wasn't scared at all.

But he was thinking "Dude what are you?"

Daddy and Jack out for a ride.