Monday, July 30, 2007
Another Three Hours
We just got back from the waterpark, where we spent another three hours in the sun and the water. Nothing like riding the waves and slides to make your hellish morning seem that much better. Ahhhh. All relaxed and ready to spend the rest of the afternoon in a good book while the kids play/fight in the other room. :)
Being a Cop's Wife
I am a cop's wife. He works 12 hour shifts at night. I know it is NOT an easy job. I don't think I can comprehend the situations that he has been in nor the people that he has to deal with on a nightly basis. I hear a little about some of the cases, like the family disturbance with an 8-week-old infant in the middle. Or there was the case of the guy raping a 2-year-old little girl. I am sure it is very hard to restrain and not kill that person.
However, there is the other aspect of the job. The one that I think about every time he walks out the door, I fear the worse. And every morning when he walks in at 7 am, I feel at peace once again. Most days I am okay with this because I know it comes with the job of being a cop's wife. But there are days like today, when it is 8:30 am and still no sign of him and I keep calling his phone to no answer, that I am at my worse. I don't want to be one of those women who freak out over a few minutes late (although I am, but don't let on too much), but a full 90 minutes later, I am completely and 100% freaked out. So I call the police station and sure enough, he is there and is in the middle of processing a DUI, which I understand takes a whole lot of time to process. So after talking to him for 30 seconds and realizing he is still alive and kicking, my adrenaline-rushed body turns to anger. Could he not have called for 10 seconds just to say "hey I'm here"???? Argh. I will never get used to this. Ever.
However, there is the other aspect of the job. The one that I think about every time he walks out the door, I fear the worse. And every morning when he walks in at 7 am, I feel at peace once again. Most days I am okay with this because I know it comes with the job of being a cop's wife. But there are days like today, when it is 8:30 am and still no sign of him and I keep calling his phone to no answer, that I am at my worse. I don't want to be one of those women who freak out over a few minutes late (although I am, but don't let on too much), but a full 90 minutes later, I am completely and 100% freaked out. So I call the police station and sure enough, he is there and is in the middle of processing a DUI, which I understand takes a whole lot of time to process. So after talking to him for 30 seconds and realizing he is still alive and kicking, my adrenaline-rushed body turns to anger. Could he not have called for 10 seconds just to say "hey I'm here"???? Argh. I will never get used to this. Ever.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Back
We are back from the in-law compound. We decided at the last moment to run up to let Laura see her grandmother and Aunts and cousin before she has to go back to California. And oh my word. Let's just say that there was some drama going on in the last couple of days. It had to do with Laura saying things to people about what I supposedly said about somebody else and then those people getting upset about what I supposedly said, when I never ever said anything like it in the first place. We called Laura on it and she still is denying the whole thing, but who do you believe when you have three adults versus one 11-year-old girl??? So Laura at the moment is very grounded for lying. Drama. Ya got to love it.
I also have to take my dog into the vet today because of her bad back. She is a dachshund (weenie dog) and has had bad back problems for years and while we were up visiting the in-laws she threw her back out again. So hopefully medicine and bedrest will help her.
We had to leave this morning at 4:30 in order for Jim to get back home and get ready to go to court as cop's have to do quite often. So besides the drama and sick doggies and kid's fighting and husband's off at work, nothing much else happening around here.
I also have to take my dog into the vet today because of her bad back. She is a dachshund (weenie dog) and has had bad back problems for years and while we were up visiting the in-laws she threw her back out again. So hopefully medicine and bedrest will help her.
We had to leave this morning at 4:30 in order for Jim to get back home and get ready to go to court as cop's have to do quite often. So besides the drama and sick doggies and kid's fighting and husband's off at work, nothing much else happening around here.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Hung Over
I have a hang over. No, it is not from any type of drink, although that might have been more fun. Instead, it is from spending five hours at the waterpark yesterday! We went with Jack's friend Kyle and his mother, Jennifer and ended up chasing after the boy for five whole hours! I think a truck hit me!
Jack had a good time and it was the first time since school let out that he had seen Kyle. It was so cute to see the two of them together and they gave each other hugs and held each other's hands when we walked around the park. So cute. But it also seemed that they had different ideas of what was fun to do, since they just kinda did their own thing in separate areas. Jennifer and I were constantly having to break off our conversation to run off into the water to find one of them. But it was fun to get to talk to Jennifer again and make plans to do grown up girl stuff when school starts up again in September.
But now, with a hang over and all, I seriously need to clean my house, do laundry, and do something with that huge pile of gross dishes in the sink. Sigh.
Jack had a good time and it was the first time since school let out that he had seen Kyle. It was so cute to see the two of them together and they gave each other hugs and held each other's hands when we walked around the park. So cute. But it also seemed that they had different ideas of what was fun to do, since they just kinda did their own thing in separate areas. Jennifer and I were constantly having to break off our conversation to run off into the water to find one of them. But it was fun to get to talk to Jennifer again and make plans to do grown up girl stuff when school starts up again in September.
But now, with a hang over and all, I seriously need to clean my house, do laundry, and do something with that huge pile of gross dishes in the sink. Sigh.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Must of been the barbeque
Well our friends Stephen and Holly had their baby boy last night. They were here at our house on Saturday night for barbeque. Jim got to use his new smoker for the first time since he got it for father's day. He made smoked ribs and smoked pork. Talk about yummy! We had a total of about 18 people over to the house and it was a big success and always fun getting together with this group of people, all from our church.
Anyway, our very pregnant friend, Holly, told everybody that it looked like she was a good week away from delivering because she had been to the doctor on Friday and he said nothing was happening, despite having a due date of the 26th. So much to our surprise when we get to church and hear that our Pastor is not preaching that day because they are at the hospital delivering their baby! And sure enough he came Sunday night, not even 24 hours after she told all of us that it was going to be awhile. HA! Things can move fast. This is the baby that I am going to be taking care of when Holly goes back to her nurse's job in a couple of months, so I am very excited to meet him. :) I wish I could tell you the name, but alas after 9 months of trying to come up with a name, they do not have a name last I heard. Maybe they do now, hopefully, but we shall see when I go see her tomorrow.
But I just want to congratulate Holly and Stephen and their little baby boy!
Anyway, our very pregnant friend, Holly, told everybody that it looked like she was a good week away from delivering because she had been to the doctor on Friday and he said nothing was happening, despite having a due date of the 26th. So much to our surprise when we get to church and hear that our Pastor is not preaching that day because they are at the hospital delivering their baby! And sure enough he came Sunday night, not even 24 hours after she told all of us that it was going to be awhile. HA! Things can move fast. This is the baby that I am going to be taking care of when Holly goes back to her nurse's job in a couple of months, so I am very excited to meet him. :) I wish I could tell you the name, but alas after 9 months of trying to come up with a name, they do not have a name last I heard. Maybe they do now, hopefully, but we shall see when I go see her tomorrow.
But I just want to congratulate Holly and Stephen and their little baby boy!
Friday, July 20, 2007
In The Tummy
We have two close friends who are pregnant. One of them, Holly, is due any day now as her due date is the 26th. I will be taking care of that little boy (who still has no name at the moment!) when Holly goes back to her job as a nurse. It will only be two days a week and it should be both interesting and good to have a baby around the house for Jack.
Our other friend, neighbor Erin, is due in September with a little girl. I have been explaining to Jack that both Miss Holly and Miss Erin have babies in their tummies that are going to come out soon. And when the babies come out, we will be able to see and hold them. Of course, all this has prompted conversations between Jack and I about how he used to be in my tummy when he was a baby, which is quite comical to see him process this information. It usually leads to "I don't fit in your tummy anymore." But I tell him "no you don't, but you will always fit in my arms." And then he gives me a big hug and tells me that he loves me. Que the heart melting.
I guess all this talk about babies being in tummies has got Jack to thinking. Just today he walked up to me and told me that he had a "puppy in his tummy and it was going to come out soon." Hehe. Pretty cute stuff.
Our other friend, neighbor Erin, is due in September with a little girl. I have been explaining to Jack that both Miss Holly and Miss Erin have babies in their tummies that are going to come out soon. And when the babies come out, we will be able to see and hold them. Of course, all this has prompted conversations between Jack and I about how he used to be in my tummy when he was a baby, which is quite comical to see him process this information. It usually leads to "I don't fit in your tummy anymore." But I tell him "no you don't, but you will always fit in my arms." And then he gives me a big hug and tells me that he loves me. Que the heart melting.
I guess all this talk about babies being in tummies has got Jack to thinking. Just today he walked up to me and told me that he had a "puppy in his tummy and it was going to come out soon." Hehe. Pretty cute stuff.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
My Little Southern Redneck, Ya'll
When we moved to the south, I did wonder if Jack would pick up on the southern accent. I wondered because it seems that the Mississippi Gulf Coast does not have what you would call a real "southern" feel a lot of times. It has a lot of different mix of people from everywhere because of the military bases and the casinos. So there is not a huge prevalent southern accent heard here a lot.
So it was with lots of laughter when just yesterday we heard the first bits of southern accent coming from Jack. We went to New Orleans yesterday to do the kid friendly parts of the city, like the aquarium. The kids loved it. We had a lot of fun. As we were out by the Riverwalk walking along the Mississippi River, Jack pointed to a big ship and said "Look at that big ship over thayar". It was so cute that we kept having him say there over and over again. And we have noticed other words that he says with the southern accent like "I like Chip and Daaayyle".
Yep he is our own little Southern Redneck in the making.
So it was with lots of laughter when just yesterday we heard the first bits of southern accent coming from Jack. We went to New Orleans yesterday to do the kid friendly parts of the city, like the aquarium. The kids loved it. We had a lot of fun. As we were out by the Riverwalk walking along the Mississippi River, Jack pointed to a big ship and said "Look at that big ship over thayar". It was so cute that we kept having him say there over and over again. And we have noticed other words that he says with the southern accent like "I like Chip and Daaayyle".
Yep he is our own little Southern Redneck in the making.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Weekend
This past weekend was uneventful yet eventful at the same time. Uneventful because it rained all weekend long, including most of today. So that meant that we had a lazy weekend. It was Jim's weekend to work, so it was just me and the kids inside the house pretty much all weekend. Our big excitment was a trip to Walmart on Saturday and of course there was church yesterday and both trips out of the house meant I was drenched for the rest of the day. Oh and all that rain also meant that my potted flowers out front drowned and are looking very dead at this moment. Sigh.
Anyway, the eventful part came about because of my husband. I just want to preface this by saying that I love my husband very very much, however (you knew that however was there didn't you) he has the most tender heart when it comes to animals. And his job where he comes into contact with stray animals all the time does not help. Remember the puppy he brought home? Anyway, he struck again. Actually he struck again twice! On Friday morning he called me up and said that he had 6 puppies in his car that he found on the side of the road. Yes they were all cute according to him. And yes, I said a big fat NO to actually keeping one. But he did bring them by here for Jack to see. I refused to even go out to see them.
And then on Saturday morning he struck again. He came by again at 6:30 in the morning with this tiniest tiny kitten in his car. Again he found it on the road. It was tiny and very scrawny. Kind of like when he brought home our other cat Sammy. Remember? So he asks me to just take it until the animal control officer can come pick it up. And there was my mistake, in letting the thing into the house!! The kids were not up yet, so Jim takes the kitten and puts it on Laura's pillow. Of course it takes a split second for her to fall in love with the thing. And then Jim has this idea that Laura could take it back home with her to California if her mother okayed it. Well her mother said maybe if it wasn't a girl cat, which I don't understand, but there are many things about that woman I don't understand.
So today, I made an appointment at the vet to determine the sex. I knew I should have taken the kitten myself, but I had just finished painting my laundry room and really did not want to do the job. So Jim took the kitten into the vet. And of course the cat is a girl. And then he proceeds to spend $150 on this kitten that I said we were NOT keeping. We do not have the money for that at all in anyway shape or form. Period. And of course Laura's mother flat out refused to have us send the cat to California, which prompted a lot of tears from Laura. In fact there were a lot of tears flowing in the house for many reasons at that point.
Now we have this kitten that I am absolutely refusing to keep. I know I am being the heavy, but I am always the heavy when it comes to these things. To say that I am a bit upset would be a huge understatement. Anybody want a cat?
Anyway, the eventful part came about because of my husband. I just want to preface this by saying that I love my husband very very much, however (you knew that however was there didn't you) he has the most tender heart when it comes to animals. And his job where he comes into contact with stray animals all the time does not help. Remember the puppy he brought home? Anyway, he struck again. Actually he struck again twice! On Friday morning he called me up and said that he had 6 puppies in his car that he found on the side of the road. Yes they were all cute according to him. And yes, I said a big fat NO to actually keeping one. But he did bring them by here for Jack to see. I refused to even go out to see them.
And then on Saturday morning he struck again. He came by again at 6:30 in the morning with this tiniest tiny kitten in his car. Again he found it on the road. It was tiny and very scrawny. Kind of like when he brought home our other cat Sammy. Remember? So he asks me to just take it until the animal control officer can come pick it up. And there was my mistake, in letting the thing into the house!! The kids were not up yet, so Jim takes the kitten and puts it on Laura's pillow. Of course it takes a split second for her to fall in love with the thing. And then Jim has this idea that Laura could take it back home with her to California if her mother okayed it. Well her mother said maybe if it wasn't a girl cat, which I don't understand, but there are many things about that woman I don't understand.
So today, I made an appointment at the vet to determine the sex. I knew I should have taken the kitten myself, but I had just finished painting my laundry room and really did not want to do the job. So Jim took the kitten into the vet. And of course the cat is a girl. And then he proceeds to spend $150 on this kitten that I said we were NOT keeping. We do not have the money for that at all in anyway shape or form. Period. And of course Laura's mother flat out refused to have us send the cat to California, which prompted a lot of tears from Laura. In fact there were a lot of tears flowing in the house for many reasons at that point.
Now we have this kitten that I am absolutely refusing to keep. I know I am being the heavy, but I am always the heavy when it comes to these things. To say that I am a bit upset would be a huge understatement. Anybody want a cat?
Friday, July 13, 2007
Because I Have Nothing Else To Post ...
I thought I would steal this survey from Erin.
1. Do you still talk to the person you FIRST kissed?
Nope.
2. Have you ever seen your best friend cry?
Yep.
3. Do you have anything to say to anyone?
Like what?
4. What was the last food you ate?
Apple
5. Did you get any compliments today?
Jim told me I looked beautiful. I get that everyday. I am lucky.
6. Did you ever go to court?
Only one time. It was not for a nice thing.
7. Whats the fifth text message in your inbox say?
What is a text message?
8. Are you friends with your neighbors?
Yes. We got very lucky with our group of neighbors.
9. What languages do your parents speak?
English.
10. What towns have you lived in?
Okay here goes: Battle Creek, Berrien Springs, Arlington, Waltham, Kirkland, Bellevue, Murrieta, Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Gulfport (five states in all)
11. What's the last piercing you got?
My 2nd holes in my ears that I let close in because I didn't like the placement of the holes. Never re-pierced them.
12. Do you get distracted easily?
I don't think so.
13. Do you get jealous easily?
I don't think so.
14. Have you ever played Spin the Bottle?
I don't think so.
15. Have you ever had a crush on your brother or sister's friends?
My brother is 11 years older than me and we didn't grow up together so no.
16. Have you ever gone to a beach?
Yep. I live about 5 miles from the coast.
17. Have you ever had a stalker?
Yep. A creepy guy in college.
18. Do you remember your music teacher's name from elementary?
It was Mr. Sine right Amy and Steffie?
19. How good is your eyesight?
My right eye is really good. My left eye not so much. I had the laser surgery done on my left eye about 10 years ago, but it is going bad again.
20. Have you ever gone to a party?
One or two :)
21. Would you ever want to swim with the sharks?
Sharks - no. Dolphins - a most definite YES.
22. What would you say if I told you I was in love with your brother?
Good Luck. You are going to need it.
23. Have you ever been out of the country?
Yep.
24. Have you seen one of your best friends naked?
Yep.
25. What's the best wedding you've been to?
A friend I used to work with in Seattle. It was huge with like 12 bridesmaids and a catered dinner like I have never seen.
26. Would your parents be mad if you got arrested for fighting?
Probably
27. Where are your sibling(s) right now?
Idaho and Florida
28. What's the last dream you can remember?
That I can remember has to be when I was pregnant. It was me giving birth to a baby who proceeded to age to an old man right before my eyes. I was crying that I missed out on the baby stage. It sorta feels like that in real life to be honest.
29. Who was the last person who called you?
No idea. Laura is the one who gets all the phone calls in this house.
30. What time did you wake up this morning?
5:22 am.
31. What is the last item of clothing you bought?
A dress for our weekend in New Orleans.
32. When was the last time you were sick?
Don't remember. Maybe last winter sometime.
33. Who's the last celebrity you touched?
I think it was when I was 15 and I was at a John Schneider concert (Dukes of Hazzard/Smallville guy) and he leaned down and gave me a kiss. Ahhhh. Be still my heart.
34. What's in your back pocket?
I don't have a back pocket right now.
35. Who is the last person you took a picture with?
Probably Jack.
36. What is the last thing you drank?
Protein Shake
37. Last person you hugged?
Jim
38. Do you wear colored contacts?
Nope
39. What were you doing at 4am this morning?
Sleeping
1. Do you still talk to the person you FIRST kissed?
Nope.
2. Have you ever seen your best friend cry?
Yep.
3. Do you have anything to say to anyone?
Like what?
4. What was the last food you ate?
Apple
5. Did you get any compliments today?
Jim told me I looked beautiful. I get that everyday. I am lucky.
6. Did you ever go to court?
Only one time. It was not for a nice thing.
7. Whats the fifth text message in your inbox say?
What is a text message?
8. Are you friends with your neighbors?
Yes. We got very lucky with our group of neighbors.
9. What languages do your parents speak?
English.
10. What towns have you lived in?
Okay here goes: Battle Creek, Berrien Springs, Arlington, Waltham, Kirkland, Bellevue, Murrieta, Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Gulfport (five states in all)
11. What's the last piercing you got?
My 2nd holes in my ears that I let close in because I didn't like the placement of the holes. Never re-pierced them.
12. Do you get distracted easily?
I don't think so.
13. Do you get jealous easily?
I don't think so.
14. Have you ever played Spin the Bottle?
I don't think so.
15. Have you ever had a crush on your brother or sister's friends?
My brother is 11 years older than me and we didn't grow up together so no.
16. Have you ever gone to a beach?
Yep. I live about 5 miles from the coast.
17. Have you ever had a stalker?
Yep. A creepy guy in college.
18. Do you remember your music teacher's name from elementary?
It was Mr. Sine right Amy and Steffie?
19. How good is your eyesight?
My right eye is really good. My left eye not so much. I had the laser surgery done on my left eye about 10 years ago, but it is going bad again.
20. Have you ever gone to a party?
One or two :)
21. Would you ever want to swim with the sharks?
Sharks - no. Dolphins - a most definite YES.
22. What would you say if I told you I was in love with your brother?
Good Luck. You are going to need it.
23. Have you ever been out of the country?
Yep.
24. Have you seen one of your best friends naked?
Yep.
25. What's the best wedding you've been to?
A friend I used to work with in Seattle. It was huge with like 12 bridesmaids and a catered dinner like I have never seen.
26. Would your parents be mad if you got arrested for fighting?
Probably
27. Where are your sibling(s) right now?
Idaho and Florida
28. What's the last dream you can remember?
That I can remember has to be when I was pregnant. It was me giving birth to a baby who proceeded to age to an old man right before my eyes. I was crying that I missed out on the baby stage. It sorta feels like that in real life to be honest.
29. Who was the last person who called you?
No idea. Laura is the one who gets all the phone calls in this house.
30. What time did you wake up this morning?
5:22 am.
31. What is the last item of clothing you bought?
A dress for our weekend in New Orleans.
32. When was the last time you were sick?
Don't remember. Maybe last winter sometime.
33. Who's the last celebrity you touched?
I think it was when I was 15 and I was at a John Schneider concert (Dukes of Hazzard/Smallville guy) and he leaned down and gave me a kiss. Ahhhh. Be still my heart.
34. What's in your back pocket?
I don't have a back pocket right now.
35. Who is the last person you took a picture with?
Probably Jack.
36. What is the last thing you drank?
Protein Shake
37. Last person you hugged?
Jim
38. Do you wear colored contacts?
Nope
39. What were you doing at 4am this morning?
Sleeping
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Daily Random Stuff
Jim took Laura to see the new Harry Potter movie tonight, so it is just Jack and I at home tonight. Right now he is watching Ice Age 2 and I am hoping he will go to bed early tonight. As far as Jim and Laura, I am pretty sure that Laura is going to be scared at the movie tonight. I remember I took her to see the last Harry Potter movie and she practically jumped into my lap when the scary water scene came on. Jim was on duty last night and talked to some people who were coming out of the the theatre after the midnight showing and they said it was the best one yet.
Anyway, not much happening here. I can't seem to keep Laura from getting bored. We went to Hobby Lobby today and bought some stuff to finish her room and I was hoping that would make her excited, but alas, she is a pre-teen girl who doesn't seem to smile or get excited about anything in the world. Again, thanking my lucky stars for having a boy and I won't have to go through female angst and hormones with two girls in my life. Thank you Jack for being a boy!
I finally started to paint the shelves that Jim made about six months ago for Jack's room. I was going to paint them all different primary colors, but then I saw the foam stamp things at the hobby store and decided a different course of action. Instead, I painted the shelves white and then using the primary colors (and orange of course), I am foam stamping trucks, airplanes, trains, and cars all over. It is looking pretty cute, if I say so myself. I will post a picture when I finally get the whole thing done, which could take awhile considering I have to do it with a certain boy trying to "help" all the time.
So tomorrow it is back to "trying to entertain Laura" again. It should be a bit better because she is having a friend spend the night tomorrow. I bought some pizza crusts and toppings and will let them make pizzas for dinner, along with root beer floats. Should be fun for a minute until the pre-teen female angst hits again!
Anyway, not much happening here. I can't seem to keep Laura from getting bored. We went to Hobby Lobby today and bought some stuff to finish her room and I was hoping that would make her excited, but alas, she is a pre-teen girl who doesn't seem to smile or get excited about anything in the world. Again, thanking my lucky stars for having a boy and I won't have to go through female angst and hormones with two girls in my life. Thank you Jack for being a boy!
I finally started to paint the shelves that Jim made about six months ago for Jack's room. I was going to paint them all different primary colors, but then I saw the foam stamp things at the hobby store and decided a different course of action. Instead, I painted the shelves white and then using the primary colors (and orange of course), I am foam stamping trucks, airplanes, trains, and cars all over. It is looking pretty cute, if I say so myself. I will post a picture when I finally get the whole thing done, which could take awhile considering I have to do it with a certain boy trying to "help" all the time.
So tomorrow it is back to "trying to entertain Laura" again. It should be a bit better because she is having a friend spend the night tomorrow. I bought some pizza crusts and toppings and will let them make pizzas for dinner, along with root beer floats. Should be fun for a minute until the pre-teen female angst hits again!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
All Things Jack
It has been awhile since I did a list of all things Jack. Things he likes, dislikes, or whatever. So here goes:
** He has started thinking that Daddy is the "other man". He becomes very jealous of Daddy when Jim is showing me affection. Jim will say "I love Mama" and Jack will pipe up and say "NOOOO She's My Mama!" While this is quite cute and I am flattered that I mean so much to the child, we do need to nip this one in the bud I think.
** The boy will not sleep alone anymore. Or I should say, he wants to sleep with me all the time. I started a few months ago letting him sleep with me when Jim was working. I liked having him near with me. However, now he will not sleep alone. Every single night is a struggle to put him to bed, especially on nights when Daddy is home.
** His favorite color is orange. He will tell you that quite often. In fact, when we were painting Laura's room, he came to me and said "Mom, we need to talk. I want to paint my ceiling orange. Orange is my favorite color." And that was a quote. And no his ceiling did not get painted orange.
** He calls me Mom now instead of Mama or Mommy. I miss hearing Mama.
** He wants to grow up fast. He keeps saying he is going to be "thiiiissss tall" with his arm reaching way up to the sky. He has grown almost 2 inches since the start of summer, so he is on his way.
** He is very strong-willed. When he puts his mind to something, it is like changing the weather to change his mind. And stubborn is that child. Every single day there is a battle about something. Be it the underwear (Bob the Builder vs. Superman) to wear or trying to get him to eat something. Good Lord that child is causing me gray hairs every day.
** He absolutely loves to swim. He has come a long way since the beginning of the summer when he would not get away from the side of the pool. Now he either wears his life vest or his inner tube and kicks himself all over the pool with no fear. I plan on putting him in swim lessons in August after Laura goes back to California. (Yes she is going back by the way.)
** Speaking of Laura, the kid practically worships his sister. It will not be pretty when she leaves in a month.
** He loves to go fishing. He can sit out on the ocean pier for hours at a time. He must of received the fishing gene that skipped a generation with me. I am sure that in a few years, I will see him riding his bike down to the lake with his pole and tackle box in tow.
** He is about the most social kid I have ever met. He loves his friends and says he misses them all the time. He talks about his friends from school and how he can not wait until school starts again (me neither). He is quite the ladies man with at least three girlfriends.
** As far as food goes, it depends on the day as to what he will eat. However, he can and will eat cereal three times a day if I let him. And not the sugar variety either. No, he loves Raisin Bran, chex, cheerios, granola. Pretty much anything with milk.
** If I let him, I do believe the child could drink a half gallon of milk a day. He absolutely loves milk. Maybe that is why I was craving the stuff when I was pregnant?
** He has so much energy and can go pretty much all day long nonstop. I try to enforce "quiet time" during the afternoon with varying degrees of success. I just wish they could invent a way to bottle that energy and give it to me!
** He loves to sing. He makes up songs on the fly about whatever he happens to see at that particular moment, such as trees, and will sing about trees for about 10 minutes.
** His imagination is phenemonal. We don't need to buy toys for this one. No, he just plays with whatever imaginary thing he needs at that moment. And expect you to play along with him. We have a good ole time pretending to cook with nothing but air.
** All in all, he is a very happy, well-adjusted, strong-willed, energetic, imaginative little boy. I just can not believe that he is going on four! The time does fly by.
** He has started thinking that Daddy is the "other man". He becomes very jealous of Daddy when Jim is showing me affection. Jim will say "I love Mama" and Jack will pipe up and say "NOOOO She's My Mama!" While this is quite cute and I am flattered that I mean so much to the child, we do need to nip this one in the bud I think.
** The boy will not sleep alone anymore. Or I should say, he wants to sleep with me all the time. I started a few months ago letting him sleep with me when Jim was working. I liked having him near with me. However, now he will not sleep alone. Every single night is a struggle to put him to bed, especially on nights when Daddy is home.
** His favorite color is orange. He will tell you that quite often. In fact, when we were painting Laura's room, he came to me and said "Mom, we need to talk. I want to paint my ceiling orange. Orange is my favorite color." And that was a quote. And no his ceiling did not get painted orange.
** He calls me Mom now instead of Mama or Mommy. I miss hearing Mama.
** He wants to grow up fast. He keeps saying he is going to be "thiiiissss tall" with his arm reaching way up to the sky. He has grown almost 2 inches since the start of summer, so he is on his way.
** He is very strong-willed. When he puts his mind to something, it is like changing the weather to change his mind. And stubborn is that child. Every single day there is a battle about something. Be it the underwear (Bob the Builder vs. Superman) to wear or trying to get him to eat something. Good Lord that child is causing me gray hairs every day.
** He absolutely loves to swim. He has come a long way since the beginning of the summer when he would not get away from the side of the pool. Now he either wears his life vest or his inner tube and kicks himself all over the pool with no fear. I plan on putting him in swim lessons in August after Laura goes back to California. (Yes she is going back by the way.)
** Speaking of Laura, the kid practically worships his sister. It will not be pretty when she leaves in a month.
** He loves to go fishing. He can sit out on the ocean pier for hours at a time. He must of received the fishing gene that skipped a generation with me. I am sure that in a few years, I will see him riding his bike down to the lake with his pole and tackle box in tow.
** He is about the most social kid I have ever met. He loves his friends and says he misses them all the time. He talks about his friends from school and how he can not wait until school starts again (me neither). He is quite the ladies man with at least three girlfriends.
** As far as food goes, it depends on the day as to what he will eat. However, he can and will eat cereal three times a day if I let him. And not the sugar variety either. No, he loves Raisin Bran, chex, cheerios, granola. Pretty much anything with milk.
** If I let him, I do believe the child could drink a half gallon of milk a day. He absolutely loves milk. Maybe that is why I was craving the stuff when I was pregnant?
** He has so much energy and can go pretty much all day long nonstop. I try to enforce "quiet time" during the afternoon with varying degrees of success. I just wish they could invent a way to bottle that energy and give it to me!
** He loves to sing. He makes up songs on the fly about whatever he happens to see at that particular moment, such as trees, and will sing about trees for about 10 minutes.
** His imagination is phenemonal. We don't need to buy toys for this one. No, he just plays with whatever imaginary thing he needs at that moment. And expect you to play along with him. We have a good ole time pretending to cook with nothing but air.
** All in all, he is a very happy, well-adjusted, strong-willed, energetic, imaginative little boy. I just can not believe that he is going on four! The time does fly by.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
The Week, Family, New Orleans, Plantations, Alone Time!
This has been a whirlwind few days. It started off with going to visit Aunt Ann, Uncle Bill and Grammy on the fourth. Of course, as you can see, Jack loved being there and so did Laura.
We got back home on Friday when Jim and I left for our weekend alone in New Orleans. We had a great time being all by ourselves for the first time in almost four years! I didn't even miss Jack all that much, but I have to admit that today I was happy to get home to see him. And from what I hear, he didn't have any problem with me being gone either. Not bad because that was the longest time that I had ever been away from him ever, so I think we did pretty good.
Of course Aunt Ann spoiled the kids rotten as is her way :). I did hear of one time when they decided to go to Krispy Kreme at 7:30 at night and load the boy up with sugar. HA! That will teach her. From what I hear he was bouncing off the walls for hours. Now she knows what we go through when she brings gummy worms and proceeds to give the boy the entire bag and then up and leaves us with the resulting consequence. HA! She has lived through the boy on a major sugar high now. It ain't pretty.
Making flag cookies with Aunt Ann and Sissy.
Grammy C. and Jack enjoying a chair together.
There is a nest in the corner of Aunt Ann's porch with three little baby birdies. So cute.
Mama Birdie feeding her babies.
All-American Fourth of July kids.
The kids had a blast in Aunt Ann and Uncle Bill's pool. In fact, Laura even went swimming when it was pouring down rain. She's a fish, I tell ya.
On Saturday, we went driving on River Road where the river plantations are located near New Orleans. There are absolutely beautiful and stunning plantations along the Mississippi River dating back to the early 1800's. The first one we went to was the Laura Plantation, which was run mainly by the women in the family for generations, the last being Laura, hence the name Laura Plantation. Of course, we had to buy Laura a t-shirt from there.
The front of Laura Plantation, which was a creole style plantation. I learned that the creole or French people decorated their houses in the bright colors while the American plantations were all white. I thought the history and the tour was fascinating.
We then went down the road to Oak Alley Plantation pictured above. This place was beyond breathtaking. Named after the 28 oaks that were lined up in front of the house. The oak trees were actually planted in the early 1700's, over a 100 years before the house was built.
The trees were gigantic and beautiful. Here you can see that at one point the giant tree limbs actually grew down to the ground and started to grow back up. Very beautiful trees.
View of the oak alley from the front porch.
We got back home on Friday when Jim and I left for our weekend alone in New Orleans. We had a great time being all by ourselves for the first time in almost four years! I didn't even miss Jack all that much, but I have to admit that today I was happy to get home to see him. And from what I hear, he didn't have any problem with me being gone either. Not bad because that was the longest time that I had ever been away from him ever, so I think we did pretty good.
Of course Aunt Ann spoiled the kids rotten as is her way :). I did hear of one time when they decided to go to Krispy Kreme at 7:30 at night and load the boy up with sugar. HA! That will teach her. From what I hear he was bouncing off the walls for hours. Now she knows what we go through when she brings gummy worms and proceeds to give the boy the entire bag and then up and leaves us with the resulting consequence. HA! She has lived through the boy on a major sugar high now. It ain't pretty.
Making flag cookies with Aunt Ann and Sissy. 
Grammy C. and Jack enjoying a chair together.
There is a nest in the corner of Aunt Ann's porch with three little baby birdies. So cute.
Mama Birdie feeding her babies.
All-American Fourth of July kids.
The kids had a blast in Aunt Ann and Uncle Bill's pool. In fact, Laura even went swimming when it was pouring down rain. She's a fish, I tell ya.
On Saturday, we went driving on River Road where the river plantations are located near New Orleans. There are absolutely beautiful and stunning plantations along the Mississippi River dating back to the early 1800's. The first one we went to was the Laura Plantation, which was run mainly by the women in the family for generations, the last being Laura, hence the name Laura Plantation. Of course, we had to buy Laura a t-shirt from there.
The front of Laura Plantation, which was a creole style plantation. I learned that the creole or French people decorated their houses in the bright colors while the American plantations were all white. I thought the history and the tour was fascinating.
We then went down the road to Oak Alley Plantation pictured above. This place was beyond breathtaking. Named after the 28 oaks that were lined up in front of the house. The oak trees were actually planted in the early 1700's, over a 100 years before the house was built.
The trees were gigantic and beautiful. Here you can see that at one point the giant tree limbs actually grew down to the ground and started to grow back up. Very beautiful trees.
View of the oak alley from the front porch.
We had a fun time in New Orleans. On Friday night we walked around the French Quarter, had a few drinks and dinner and just loved being childless. On Saturday, we spent the day touring plantations and then went out to Antoine's for dinner. Very nice and it was fun to dress up for dinner for a change. But the party animals that we are, we were back in the room and asleep by 10:00 that night. Yes, it is a fact that we are old!
We stayed in a fabulous little bed and breakfast, The Chimes. I highly recommend it for anybody who might find themselves in New Orleans.
Anyway, that is my last few days. Now it is back to normal stuff.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Happy July Fourth!
I hope everybody will have a very happy and safe July Fourth. I am taking the kids up to Grammy C and Aunt Ann's while Jim has to stay here and work. If you are a cop, you do NOT get July fourth off. Period.
Jim bought some sparklers and fireworks. He bought these so-called kid friendly fireworks. The thing looks like a ladybug and the lady at the fireworks stand said they just spin around and will pop up about a foot or so. HA! We actually did one the other night and that thing popped 30 feet up and went boom! It then fell back down onto our roof and rolled off almost on me. Yeah kid friendly. HA! Jack didn't like one very much, but he LOVED the sparklers and kept wanting to do another one and another and another.
When we come back, we are bringing back Grammy and Aunt Ann to babysit the kids and Jim and I will be off on our weekend alone to New Orleans! Alone!!!! Can't wait.
Happy July Fourth!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
More Family Projects
We had another family project day. This time it was planting flowers in the new flower boxes that Jim attached to our fence. As you can see, both Laura and Jack were quite the helpers, as I sat back and was photographer :).
Laura is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady. I can hardly believe that she used to be a little girl when I first met her and now she is an almost teenager! These kids who insist upon growing up!
Laura is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady. I can hardly believe that she used to be a little girl when I first met her and now she is an almost teenager! These kids who insist upon growing up! 
Monday, July 02, 2007
Family Project Day
The other day we had family art project day. Jim got the idea of buying bird houses to put on the fence posts out back. So we went to Michael's and bought four different birdie houses to paint together. Each of us painted a bird house, even Jack (with some help of course).
Mine 
Laura's
Jack's (he called it his bird barn)
Daddy'sWe enjoyed doing these so much, that I went back and bought two more. And because I video everything these days, here is a very short video of Jack and Laura doing the other "bird barn". Quite cute.
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