Early Morning Stroll and Other Happenings

We went for an Early Morning stroll this morning with Jack and Tosha the dog. Jack insisted that he carry the leash and walk the dog. Oh yeah and our cat followed us the entire way through the neighborhood. Quite the group. I didn't take our other dog, Bob, because he is getting old (almost 14 years) and we got a scare last weekend when he couldn't walk very well. He turned out okay (after a $300 vet bill!) and has to be on medication, but I am afraid that he is done with walks. So sad, because he loves loves loves walks. You can't say the word "walk" in this house without getting the dog's attention.



As you can see, Tosha, was less than thrilled to have the boy walk her. Let's just say that Tosha isn't thrilled with Jack. The only time she likes Jack is when he's dropping food from the table.





They soon began to communicate (sorta) and off we went. Of course, I had neighbors (those who were up at 7 am on a Sunday) think it was just adorable. Jack just giggled and laughed during the entire walk. He thought that was the funnest thing in the world. Of course he fell more than a few times when Olympic Sprinter Tosha took off. I think it was Tosha taking Jack for a walk. And the cat trailed us the entire way. I wonder what our neighbors think about us. "Oh there goes that crazy family with all the animals and that crazy toddler."




In Other Happenings Around Jackaroo World:
Thomas the Train is a huge huge hit in our house. Jim brought home the video the other day and let me just say that the boy LOVES IT. We also have a train set (small one, those things are expensive if you want to get the really cool train set they have set up in Barnes and Noble) and we have the book that has all the songs you can sing along. Oh yeah and I Tivo the Thomas and Friends shows. I must say that it actually is pretty good show. Good lessons for little ones and parents alike.





Playing in the dog house is a lot of fun. This is also a great place to put anything that Mommy or Daddy might want to find such as shoes, watches, phones etc. Basically if you can't find it, you can usually find it in one of three places: the dog house, our bathtub, or his crib.

How to Unload and Load a Dishwaster with a Toddler

Yesterday because the dirty dishes were reaching to the ceiling, I realized that maybe I should unload the clean dishes from the dishwasher and load the dirty ones in. Not a hard job right? Wrong!

It went something like this:

Open dishwasher and it all starts okay. Jack starts to hand me the clean dishes to put away and thinks he's a good little helper. Of course, I exclaim "Thank You" everytime. However, the problem arose when I wanted to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. You see Jack doesn't believe in actually putting dishes in the dishwasher. No he would much rather put his little body in there instead. So after I dig him out of the dishwasher (yes he was all the way in there and laughing his little head off) about 3 times, I firmly tell him "NO". He gets the hint, sorta.

I start loading dishes in the top rack. All is going fine while Jack is amusing himself with the pulling out all the tupperware out of the cabinet. Then I had the audacity to want to load the lower rack. I put a plate in, he takes it out and adds it to his collection of tupperware strewn all over the kitchen. Then I put a cookie sheet in and he takes it out and starts running out of the kitchen with it in his little hands. I run off after him and catch up with him in his room, where I see him sliding the cookie sheet through the bars on his crib! OY! I grab the cookie sheet, walk back to kitchen dragging toddler behind me.

By this time, I am sweating big time (trying to save on that air conditioning cost ya know) and cursing under my breath about a certain toddler taking only a 45 minute nap today.

So I finally finish up the dishes. After wrangling the detergent out of little hands, I put the soap in close up the soap-lid really fast before little hands get in there and spread soap all over. Then I say "okay close it up" and he does. It is his favorite thing to do - close the dishwasher door. He even tries to push the button to turn it on. Smartie pants knows which one turns it on.

I then, proceed to clean up the tupperware and put all that away. Phew dishes done! Elapsed time: 52 minutes. Time it should of taken: 13 minutes.

And I wonder why I never have a clean house?

Our new patio

We finally got the patio in and of course we had to "personalize" it. Although Laura's footprint didn't come out very well. The concrete hardened alot faster than we thought it would!

How can this be comfy?

Jim took these pictures the other day at naptime. Now tell me, does this look comfy? Me neither.

Ebay is so cool

Ever since the word Jackaroo came out of my mouth that first night, just hours after Jack was born, I have been obsessed with Roo stuff. I try to curb this obsession, but yes I have bought 2 stuffed Roos at the Disney store and keep looking for Roo clothing. It seems that all the Little Roo clothing are for newborns (which Jack was in that size for about 3.2 minutes) or they are for girls (doesn't Disney understand that Roo is a boy?). So I stumbled upon these Jammies on Ebay in size 18 months and they were Little Roo jammies. Imagine my excitement! Of course I jumped for joy upon seeing them and promptly bid on them. I had to have these jammies. And I won and they came in the mail today! So below are the pictures from tonight of my Little Roo.




Our own Little Roo - Jackaroo




He is pointing at a commercial for Disneyland.





The little man


So if by the slightest chance that any Disney marketing person is reading this blog (yeah right), I just want to put my two cents in here. Start marketing Little Roo. Isn't he the most adorable little creature? And don't you think that all us mother's out there think that our babies are Little Roos? Oh and also, start marketing the Jack Jack Incredible stuff more. I heard (though not actually seen) that there was a Jack Jack Attack t-shirt that was sold out within days. I have been searching ebay sites and can't find one for my Jack Jack. How many kids out there with the name Jack? (It was number 14 on the list this year) Don't ya think that us mothers of Jacks would be interested in owning such an item? I bought the Jack Jack bubble blower, but I want more! All you see is Dash everywhere. What is so great about Dash? Jack Jack is much much cuter. Yeah so get to it and start making more Jack Jack stuff, okay?

Chiropractor Heaven

I went to the Chiropractor today. I haven't been to a Chiropractor in about 5 or 6 years. I figured why not use some our insurance that does provide the chiropractic benefits. And let me tell you, I walked out of there feeling sooooo much better. It is amazing how good a chiro can make you feel. I also learned a whole lot today.

He took about 45 minutes to exam me. He was having me turn this way and that way. At one point he kinda laughed under his breath. I said to him "am I that bad?" and he just said "you need work".

What I found very interesting was what he said about pregnancy. I told him that I gave birth 16 months ago and I haven't felt like my old pre-pregnancy self since. He said that during pregnancy, we release these hormones that make our ligments flexible so that we are able to push out the watermelon out the hole a size of a dime. And after we give birth, these hormones are suddenly gone and a lot of times, our bodies are kinda thwacked and don't go back to where they were. Makes sense in a reason why I am not the same. Not to mention the extra pounds that I didn't have before (damnit).

Then he did the treatment. He hooked me up to the stimulation machine for about 20 minutes and I love that. It feels so good. Then came the cracking and adjusting which is just plain weird I think.

So because of the "a lot of work" that I have to do, I have to go 3 times a week for a couple of weeks. But I gotta tell you, I feel sooooo much better. Maybe just maybe I will get back to feeling pre-pregnancy.

It runs in the family!

Jim's family tells a tale of when Jim was a toddler. According to the story, Jim was in his crib and upon waking up from a nap proceeded to take his clothes off. But he didn't stop there. No, he also took off his very poopy diaper. But he couldn't stop there, no not my husband. He had to smear the poop all over his crib and walls. His sister tells this tale because she is the one who had to clean up the mess. I think she can finally laugh about it after about 40 some years. But I am sure she was not thrilled at the time.

Flash forward to 2005. I pick Jack up from daycare today. And what does Pat, his daycare provider, tell me? She tells almost the same exact tale! I guess Jack woke up from a nap, didn't cry or anything. But proceeded to take off his shirt, shorts, and diaper. And that diaper? Well it was a poopy one. Pat told me that she "used harsh tone" with him when she found this mess. Me? I would have been screaming at Jim to come clean up the mess. After all it was his genes that caused it.

Seaworld 2005

Jack checking out the intricacies of a starfish. After which, he tried to murder poor starfish by squeezing said starfish in his little death grip hands. Poor thing.





Mommy, Jack, Laura at the starfish pond.





Shamu strutting her stuff.




Jack showing his appreciation of Shamu.






The family pics





Jack really liked the whales.




Really cool picture of Beluga whales.





I love this picture. Big sister and little brother.





Yeah we need to get the sand box filled in the backyard.




He liked the bouncy ducky thingy in the sand area.




Jack and Daddy checking out the scene together.

Jack playing in the toddler area, which basically was one big squishy mat. As you can see here he was in Jackaroo heaven.



Jack in the middle of all the toddler action. He hasn't quite figured out how to jump yet (yes that is a good thing) so he just kind of stumbled around and laughed a lot.




Laura with all the mess that a XL blue jawbreaker brings.




Yesterday we went to Seaworld in San Diego. The last time we went to San Diego was in June 2003. And I am about 95% sure that night is when Jack was conceived. I really doubt that Seaworld 2005 will yield the same results. Let's just say this - I was exhausted, nuff said.

Also yesterday morning we stopped off at the local casino for their Sunday brunch which was very good. Jack downed 2 sausage links like there was no tomorrow. As we were leaving, I stopped off at the restroom which conveniently is located next door to the gift shop, which is filled with stuffed animals. As I was coming out of the restroom, I rounded the corner to see Jack clutching for all his life a stuffed dog. According to Jim, he took off faster than the speed of light and went straight to the dog and WOULD. NOT. LET.GO. of the dog. Of course we bought it (yes we are pathetic parents who are spoiling our child and will have issues to deal with in the future, I know you don't have to tell me that). So now he has three, count them 3 stuffed dogs that must go with him where ever we go. He has attached himself to these stuffed animals so thoroughly and completely. It is so cute to see him walking around with an armload of stuffed dogs.

We all had a good time yesterday at Seaworld which was only proven by Jack in the car when we were driving away. He started shouting (and I mean shouting) "Stop" "Don't" when he realized that we were leaving Seaworld.

I'm a very tired Lobster

This was a very very busy weekend. Jim was home, which was an unusual occurence in itself. So we did the Southern California park thing. Friday, we went to Soak City. It was a lot of fun. Great way to cool off. Except I got a bit sunburned. When I say a bit, I mean my back is glowing neon bright enough for satelites to see from space. Yeah that much.

Then yesterday, we went to Sea World in San Diego. Part of the reason we went there was again to beat the heat. San Diego is sooooo much cooler than where we live. It was amazing in the hour it took to drive there, I kept watching the temperature gauge in the car just slowly descend into the mid 70's. Ahh nice. It started out at 91 where we live and it was 8:30 in the morning!

So we had a good time at Sea World. We saw the Shamu show. Jack was clapping. Jack really liked the Beluga Whales up close and personal. But the highlight of the day was at the playland area for kids. There was a great area with mats and climbing tunnels and water jets to run through, and a place with a whole bunch of sand. Laura had fun climbing through the tunnels, while Jack had fun in the toddler area. A place just for those under 37 inches (it was even posted nobody under 37" allowed). It was a giant squishy mat where the toddlers just roamed and jumped and rolled. Jack was out there in the middle of them all. And what was really funny was to see all the parents just sitting on the side looking totally exhausted and drained and praying to the Toddler God thanking them for this area where their little balls of energy could be worn down.

So here it is Monday morning. I am at work feeling exhausted and very lobsterish. Because yesterday at Sea World only added to the glowing neon sunburn that I had. It is going to be a slow day at work. I am the only one in the office today since the rest of the staff is at a trade show in Vegas. Yay. I can pretty much surf the internet and relax today with No Boss.

I took a ton of pictures yesterday at Sea World and will post them when I get home tonight.

Forgot to add this earlier

We were driving to Soak City earlier and we doing our usual counting with Jack. I would always say "One" and he would say "two" and "threeeeee". But today Laura kept going and said "four" and what did the kid say? He continued and actually said "five" and proceeded to count all the way to ten! Now if somebody had told me that my 16-month-old son could actually count, I would never had believed anybody of this information. But we were all sitting in the car with our mouths open and totally stunned and speechless. It was amazing. And I am still stunned and speechless about the whole thing. I really don't know where he learned this incredible feat. My guess is either the kid has been really paying attention to all those Sesame Street shows that we watch, or his daycare provider Pat has been teaching him. She does pride herself in knowing that all her kids know how to write and read by the time they go to kindergarten. Either that or I have the next Einstein on my hands. Who knew he could count to ten?

What to do in 110 degree heat

You go to Soak City! Today was the first day that Jim and I had the same day off in about a month. And to beat the heat we took the kids to the waterpark. And what fun we had. Jack had a blast splashing in the children's pool area. It was really neat with all kinds of water jets and little slides and places to squirt each other with hoses. Totally cool. He wasn't sure at first about all that water, but after about 5 minutes the kid totally got into it. He loved sitting down in the water and playing in the waterjets and he even dunked his head underwater a couple of times. Even Mommy had a really fun time in the children's pool.

Then we took Jack on the lazy river ride. We rode in inner tubes down the river and that was fun. I laid back and actually started to fall asleep in my inner tube! I looked up and saw that Jim, Jack and Laura were way far away from me, but I was just totally chilling. It was fun. But I don't think that Jack really liked that ride because for one thing, he was required to wear a life jacket on it and he hated the life jacket. Also he didn't like that he wasn't getting soaked at the time. He was all about getting totally wet today.

Then we ended up in the tidal wave pool and that was fun. Jack at first wasn't very thrilled with the waves, but we were sitting in the pool and going "weee" every time a wave would come by and he would start laughing. Of course Jim and Laura had to be up with the really tall waves and ride them. But Jack and I were content in the back with the smaller waves.

Anyway, it was a fun day had by all. We stopped by McDonalds on the way home. And when we got back in the car after lunch, Jack fell asleep while eating an apple slice. He fell asleep with it in his hand held to his mouth. The kid was out for the count. And a few minutes later, Laura was leaned up against him snoring away also. Nothing like water and sun to make two kids exhausted! Sorry no pictures. I took the camera, but it stayed in the locker we rented the entire time. And yes it really did hit 110 degrees today! It's an oven I tell ya, an oven!

Is it possible to lose 75 lbs in 6 six weeks?

No? Aww come on. I have just booked my flight to Michigan to attend my 20th HS reunion. It is held over Labor Day weekend and it would be nice to actually be the same size or smaller than I was in high school. But I really doubt thats gonna happen. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have a little Fairy to wish that you could be a size 4 for a couple of weeks? Yeah getting head out of dream world now.

Back to reality. So I booked the nonstop flight from LAX to Detroit and then I will rent a car with carseat (no lugging the big car seat for me) and drive the 2 hours to my parents. And I am doing this all by myself! Jim is not going because he can't take the leave off right now. I booked the nonstop flight (even though I totally hate hate hate flying out of LAX, I mean I HATE it) because I thought that it would be easier with Mr. Non-Stop Jackaroo. We'll see.

Also tonight, I am going to a Tastefully Simple party at a friend's house. I am thinking that I am gonna ditch the boys and go by myself. Let Jim deal with getting Jack down for bedtime. That is if he doesn't have to work overtime tonight. I love the pay from that overtime, but not seeing him sure sucks. We have spent one night together in the last week, thats it. But he has this weekend off (a miracle!) and I think we are going to Legoland. We haven't been there before, so we'll see how it is. If it is fun, we might just upgrade to season ticketholders. It's not that much more in cost than a one-day pass. Hopefully we don't die in the 103 degree heat that has been going on here.

I got the T-shirts!

I got the t-shirts that I ordered from Erin's Really Cool Store. They are so cute and I am sure that I will be ordering again. I tried to get some cute pictures from a kid who would not stand still. So not so great pictures. This t-shirt says "Running the show since 2004". So true, so so true. I also ordered the Mommy Blogging t-shirt. So I'll try again later to get pics of that one also. Cute stuff Erin!




Trying to grab the camera from me.




Jack in front of the fan. "It's really cool Mommy, but it is kinda hard to stand right in front of it"

This is Jack. This is Jack on Watermelon. The kid loves watermelon. Notice the watermelon juice stain on the leg and mouth. I tried to get good pictures of him in the t-shirt last night, but he was just so high on watermelon, it was nearly impossible.

Jack with his two favorite stuffed animals in the whole wide world - Doggie and Murphy (Doggie is the yellow one and Murphy is the brown and white one). I mean every morning, he has to make sure that Doggie and Murphy are out of the crib and he has to carry them out to the kitchen every single morning. We even have to take Murphy on car trips with us, so that Murphy doesn't get lonely I guess.

Yay! I went down to 3 days a week.

Starting this week, I am now only working 3 days a week. It is a cut in pay, but I at least get to see Jack more and will be able to do more things with him. Hopefully I can sign him up for swim lessons and maybe a MY Gym class. Yay, I am so excited. Oh yeah I haven't even told Jim yet, so honey if you are reading this - yeah I am working 3 days a week now.

Just had to share this

I think I wore the kid out finally. We were watching the Elmo video that I bought yesterday at Target. Jack had crawled into my lap and was content to just sit there and watch the video. Something he never does. So I ask him if he wants to go take a nap nap. He nods his head, gets off the chair and starts walking to his room. He then does the cutest thing. He starts to sing the "nite nite" song that Daddy and I sing to him every night when we take him to bed. "Sleepy time for babies, sleepy time for babies, sleepytime for babies, sleepytime for Jackaroo." It was soooo cute. Hmmm 45 minute walk + 30 minutes of destroying kitchen + 15 minutes of Elmo video = one very tired Jackaroo.

93 degrees at 8:00 am!!!

Yes that is right. Jack and I went for a walk this morning before 8:00 am hoping to take advantage of the "cool" morning air before it heats up to about the same temp as the surface of the sun. But noooooo we don't have any "cool" morning air anymore. And it is humid! Well not Florida humid or anything like that. But for California it is humid and did I say hot?

Jack and I and the dogs went for a walk. We don't do stroller walks around here anymore. No I make the boy work. We were gone for about 45 minutes and probably walked over a half of a mile. That's not bad with a toddler and 2 dogs. All three of them have different agendas and want to go different directions. Really if somebody in my neighborhood wants to win the $ on the America's Funny Videos - you really should be taking video of me out walking the herd. I am sure I have more than one of my neighbors laughing their butts off.

So we are back. The dogs are panting on the floor in front of the fan. The boy is ripping apart my kitchen by carrying the pizza pan and another cookie sheet around. And yep its gonna be another LOOONNNNGGG Day.

Loooonnnnnnggggg Day

Just me and Jack today. 108 degrees outside. No Daddy who is working late again tonight. Mommy has a toothache (guess I need to see a dentist huh) and her left wrist is hurting from possible carpal tunnel. What does all that add up to. The world's longest day. And we are still at least an hour from bedtime. Counting the minutes...

He's Growing Up

Jack is growing so fast. Sometimes I look at him and catch my breath. I can't believe that he is no longer a baby, but a kid now. A very active, energetic, and happy big kid. Here are pictures comparing him on the horsie that Grammy C bought for him for Christmas. This picture was taken Jan 6 this year.
Here he is on the horsie on his first birthday - March 5th.
And here he is on the horsie yesterday. He's such a big kid now! We are done with the highchair! Yay! Jim went to Target and bought this booster chair that clamps on the table. I was skeptical at first, but it really does hold him. You can also take it with you when going somewhere you need booster chairs - like Grandma and Grandpa's. We bought this kind because we only have 3 chairs to this table and well I didn't want to spend money to go buy another chair and/or table. This fits the economic budget much better.

Notice the use of the spoon! We are getting a bit better with using a spoon. Sometimes, he actually gets something to his mouth and we all cheer and clap.
Here he is with the famous Backpack. He loves this thing so much. When I say "Do you want to go bye bye" he nods his head, grabs his backpack, which is by the door, and stands at the door waiting to go bye bye. It is the cutest thing. Only thing is, you have to be really careful when you say the words "bye bye" because if you really aren't going bye bye then you are in for a good 5 minutes of screaming.
Here he is with the Winnie the Pooh phone that does not shut up. What is it with Winnie the Pooh stuff. They don't shut up and will start talking out of nowhere. But he loves it and loves to pretend to talk in it. He will also hold it up to our ears and expect us to talk in it also.
Here he is with the FAVORITE thing in the house. The remote control. The one that actually works, unlike the 3 other ones that we gave him that do not work. This one is the one the boy has to have.

Early Morning Madness

5:37 am is what my clock said. The kitten was meowing very loudly in my ear and standing on my head, Jack was screaming very loudly in his crib, the dogs were whining with their legs crossed wanting outside very badly, and the other cat kept jumping on my stomach telling me he was hungry. And me? I just wanted to crawl back under the covers and sleep for another hour or three. What happened to those days where I could sleep till 8:00 am on my days off? Yeah I know I know Jack is what happened.

Bored at Work

I am here at work really really bored. So I thought I would blog a bit. It is really slow at work right now and I am sooo bored. I don't want to be here right now. I want to be home playing with Jack. I have been blog stalking a lot of blogs today. I have also ordered 2 t-shirts for Jack from the tale of a baby human boutique. You just have to go there. Sooo cute. Let me see, I have played a couple games of solitare, read the news online. It is so terrible about the father who used his 17-month old toddler as a shield in a gun fight and they both died. That just makes me want to be sick when I think about that. You can read about it here. Sick just sick.

Yesterday I went to lunch with a friend who 6 months pregnant with her first child. It is going to be a girl. I got to thinking just how much her life is going to change and she doesn't even know it yet. She was telling me how they went to register at Target and she just stood there with no clue as to what she needs. And that is so true. Until you are in the trenches with a baby and trying to fit that baby around your life, you just are clueless. I am looking forward to seeing the Mommy Jamie because I know she will be so different from the other Jamie's that I have known. I first knew her as the single-girl looking for the right man. We both were single at the same time and we would commiserate with each other about finding no man worth our time. Then we both found our men almost at the same exact time and got married. Of course, I had Jack a lot faster than her and I remember talking to her about being pregnant, but she couldn't really understand because she hadn't been there yet. Now that she is pregnant, it is so much fun comparing the stories and I can't wait until she is a Mommy and we can share those stories also. Isn't the Mommy Club fun? Thats what is so amazing about the Mommy Club. It doesn't matter how different two women can be in other areas, every mother shares those feelings and actions of being a mother. I am so happy that I got to join!

It's Killing Me

Daycare that is. It is getting so hard to take Jack to daycare and leave him to go to work. Yesterday and today he has been crying really hard when I leave him and it is killing me when I have to walk away and listen to him crying. I know that within 2 minutes of my leaving that he stops the crying. I also know that it is good for Jack to socialize with the other kids. There are two twin girls there who are 5 years old and they totally love Jack to death. All they do is want to play with "Baby Jack". There is another girl there named Jackie who I have been told talks about "Baby Jack" all the time when she is at home and even named one of her stuffed animals "Baby Jack". So as you can see, he gets a lot of attention at daycare, especially from the girls, he's quite the ladies man.

But at the same time, I feel like that he is growing so fast and changing everyday it seems. I feel that I am missing out on his growing up by not being there 4 days out of the week. I am hoping that soon within a month or sooner, I can cut back to 3 days a week at work.

Also, I have added a new link to a "Really Cool Store". My blogging friend Erin has opened an online store selling really cute baby and toddler clothes and stuff. Check it out! I plan on buying for Jack and a couple of friends with new babies.

One of those blogging days

I know that I have blogged a lot today. But with a subject like Jack, it just has to be blogged about. Here he is having fun at dinner tonight. As you can see peas were on the menu.


Notice the pea-stained eye brows, pea-covered hands, and the dirt on the arms. Not to mention the really dirty hair. Is that one filthy kid or what! He had a good day today as you can see.


Peek a Boo Jackaroo


"What a day! Where do I begin to tell you about?"

What do you mean Daddy? I like my hair sticking up with bits of peas sticking to it. You got a problem with that?

The Diggie Dig

Our backyard is finally getting done and they have been bringing dirt into the yard. Jack went out there today and he turned the corner and couldn't believe his eyes.

There was a Bobcat Diggie Dig! Of course that meant he just had to climb on it and try it out.

He really really liked it.


"Daddy get away from my diggie dig it's mine!"

After which, he had to play in the dirt. Yep 100% boy.