It Should Not Be So Hard!

I never knew that preschool could be so hard. I am really torn up about Jack's preschool issues. You see, we went to the "get acquainted day" and I went in there with a wide open mind about his teacher. I really wanted to give her a chance and boy did she fail miserably. First off, this woman has been to our home only two weeks ago and met me, Jim and Jack. You would think that she would kind of remember who we were when we walked in. But she did not know us and had to ask Jack his name again and then me. So strike one within 30 seconds.

The other strikes came when the teacher just stood off in the corner and did not interact at all with the kids. I mean not once did she go up to them and want to play with them or show the room or anything! She just stood there. And she didn't even talk to us parents unless somebody walked up to her to ask her a question.

The final blow was when I found out that one little boy named Kamden from his class last year was not coming back like I had thought, mainly because of the teacher. And two other little boys, were being dropped also, again because of the teacher. So that meant that Jack would of been in a room with 6 girls and one other boy who was moving away in November. Now, that just don't cut it for me. Jack is all boy and he needs boys to play with. When I brought this observation up with the director, all she told me is "Jack will make friends with the girls", meaning she was not going to change the classes around. But he wasn't making friends that day because he was sitting in the corner by himself and none of the girls would play with him. My very social child was relegated to the corner by himself.

So with all those strikes, we have made a decision to pull Jack out of that school. And believe me it is tearing me up inside. If he had gotten the good teacher with his two good friends Kyle and Seth, I would have been one happy mother, but I am not going to keep him in a school with a teacher who should not be teaching three-year-olds and where he has no friends! I know this is tearing me up more than it should, but I guess it is because I was really looking forward to this school year with the other mothers who are now really great friends and the great teacher I so wanted him to have. But it all blew up and now he isn't even going to that school now.

So Jim and I went and checked out a Christian academy that starts out with PK-3 and can go through high school if we wanted to keep him there. It is more money, but I do feel he will be getting an actual education versus three hours of playing, they are a bit strict, but I think that is good, and they wear uniforms. The uniforms are just polo shirts with either khaki or blue pants. I feel bad because I know Jack is going to miss his old school and his old friends, but I do think he will flourish at the new school, or I hope so. The school for the Pre-K is half day everyday, but as they told me, if I am not ready for the full five days a week, I don't have to take him everyday, but I do have to pay the full money of course :).

I honestly did not know that it would be so hard and that the decision to put him in the new school would upset me so much. Argh! This parenting thing is hard with all these hard decisions. Geesh. Oh and I caught the crud that Jack had for a few days. My sinsuses are about to explode with the pressure and basically feel like total crud right now. Fun times!

It Is Getting Closer

To School Time! Next Tuesday, I get to pack Jack up and send him to preschool for three precious hours. I really do not know what I would do if preschool was not available, because I know he is getting tired of me and well quite frankly I am getting tired of trying to keep up with his endless conversations that go on and on and on. Seriously, he will start off with talking about a dump truck and pretty soon it is a full blown conversation involving bulldozers, trains, pickup trucks, sports cars, and the difference between diesel and gas fuel (yes he knows the difference). And all these things have their own personalities and I have to know the intimate details about those personalities. It is exhausting. He seriously NEEDS more kids his age to share in these conversations!

So today we are off for the "get aquainted day" at school. We missed all these activities last year because he didn't start school until mid September. So this is all exciting to us, especially knowing that he really is going back to school in a few days.

Then we are going to Kyle's house so Jennifer and I can have adult conversation and the boys can talk about the personalities of every moving vehicle ever created. I call that a win win situation.

Passages of Time

It was 2 years ago today that Hurricane Katrina swept through this area and changed the lives of many of my friends forever. It upsets me that the media forgot that the hurricane actually landed in Mississippi and not New Orleans. Yes, I will admit that N.O. was and still is devastated, I have seen part of the devastation myself. But so much of the media is focused on what the flood did over there and forget that entire TOWNS were basically wiped off the map. You drive anywhere near the beach and in a lot of places, all you will see is empty concrete slabs that used to be somebody's house.

I will never understand what these people really went through, and hopefully never will (knocking on wood). I have talked to countless people, including Jack's preschool teacher last year, who lost their house. But what makes me so proud of my fellow-Mississippians, is that they are picking themselves up and moving on. Nobody will tell you that it isn't hard, but it is being done. And that is something that New Orleans doesn't seem to understand, that they just need to pick themselves up and move on and they don't need to rely on the federal government nor President Bush to do that.

Last week, I was talking to my dental hygienist about what she went through. It was really tough two years ago. Her house was one of those empty slabs. They lost everything! Her church was a beautiful old church near the beach that was destroyed beyond repair and just recently was torn down, saving the old steeple, though. Even her place of employment, the dental clinic was destroyed. But she and her husband, two kids, and two dogs lived in a Fema trailer for months until they found a house to rent, which they lived in for almost a year. Only just in the last 6 months, did they get to move back into their newly re-built house. Yes, everybody who was here was changed forever, but they are stronger for it. And I am proud to call myself a Mississippian because of it.

Also, it was one year ago yesterday that Jim, Jack and I left California for good and embarked upon our crazy cross country drive that included two cars, four animals, and one two-year-old. The best decision we ever made!

Big Happy Dance

We are refrigerating once again in the Jackaroo House. Yes folks, after 2 1/2 weeks of being with absolutely no refrigerator, we are able to keep cold milk once again. Big Happy Dance! Of course the technician was supposed to be here between 1 and 5 yesterday and of course, he showed up at 4:30 pm! What a shocker! Do they ever show up at the early time suggested?

So you all know what that means don't you? I get to go on the biggest grocery shopping trip ever. I do believe that I am going to have to take out another mortgage to cover this today! Oy! And the thought of carrying all those groceries into the house and putting away, let's just say that mere thought makes me sick.

Oh and to update my social calendar with all you folks, I have yet another pampered chef party on Thursday to go to. My neighbor is having one - of course. So to sum up my social calendar this week - Southern Living party tonight, Pampered Chef party Thursday night, Girl's night out at the movies (Nanny Diaries) on Friday night, Pampered Chef party Saturday afternoon, and finally another Pampered Chef party on Tuesday night. Got all that?

Parties and Buying Stuff

What is up with Pampered Chef? It seems that everybody on the Mississippi coast is hosting a pampered chef party. I am invited to three parties in the next week! Of course, there is Jennifer (aka Kyle's Mom), who actually is a consultant and is always on me to either host another show or become a consultant myself, is having a "host appreciation night" at her house next week.

Jim also called me and told me his Sergeant's wife is having a party on Saturday and he said that I would go. Considering it is his Sergeant and all, I am thinking that I should go, ya know?

And then just last night, I called a friend from church who has been missing for a couple of weeks just to see if everything is okay, and she mentioned that she was having a party tonight and I am invited to go over to hers! I told her that I might not be able to make it since the other two parties are coming up.

Oh yeah and tomorrow night Jennifer (aka Kyle's Mom) is also hosting a Southern Living party! Geesh people, I am going to have to get a whole separate calendar for my social/buying obligations!

The Blog Curse Strikes Again

I should have known better. I wrote this morning about how great Jack has been lately and sure enough the blog curse struck me down. You know the one that if you write about whatever good thing your child does, the blog curse fairy will come and turn your child into the very opposite thing of what you wrote about. Jack was THE whiniest today that he was in a long time. Nothing would make him happy today. He had to complain about everything, including the size of his ice cream cone when we went to get ice cream after church today. I sure hope tomorrow is a better day and this isn't the start of some new whiney phase all because I happened to post that he was good!

My Good Boy

Not too sure what is going on with Jack these days, but he has been amazingly well behaved. I took him to the Discovery Center Museum (aka "the big playland") and let him play and run wild for about two hours. When it was time to go, he did not make a huge fuss about not wanting to leave and did not scream and throw himself down on the floor. Yes that is the usual way that we leave that place. And because he was such a good boy, I took him to Chickfila for lunch (they have the best toddler playland in the city) and let him play there for another hour. And again, when it was time to go, he was a perfect little boy! He just put his shoes on and said "bye" to all the other kids there and off we went! Purely amazing!

I have been trying to instill the chore thing and plan to buy that chore system I posted on earlier when we get past this month of super big bills (house insurance, car insurance, and car tags all due at the same time!). So Jack has been making his bed, with a little help from me. He also has been setting the table for dinner by getting out the silverware and the placemats and he is so proud of himself when he puts them just so on the table.

Not sure how long this good behavior is going to last, but I am loving it while it does. He has been so much fun to be around lately! My good boy.

Our Newest Part-Time Resident

Meet Andrew. He is our new part-time resident of the Jackaroo house. He is almost 5-weeks old and the son of our friends Stephen and Holly. I am going to be watching him two or three days a week when Holly goes back to work in a couple of weeks. Yesterday, Holly brought him over so she could go to the doctor baby-free. He is a really good baby and I was absolutely shocked how well Jack took to him. Jack was so gentle with him, except for the one time when he wanted to show Andrew his train and he bopped him over the head with the train. But other than that, Jack was so good and showed no jealousy at all. He was even willing to put on hold our very intriguing game of The Hungry Caterpillar Game so I could feed Andrew.

I do have to admit though, that I do suffer from Mommy amnesia. Wow, I forgot how much work babies really truly are! But it should be fun and interesting at the same time trying to juggle both Jack and Andrew. I understand now what all you mothers of multiple children have to deal with! Phew!

You Have to Check This Out!

For all my fellow Mommies out there - you have to check this site out. It has a great system for getting your child to do their chores. I found out about it yesterday when I went over to Jennifer's house so Kyle and Jack could play. Jennifer told me that she heard about it from Katie, another mother at Jack's school, and she saw the proof that it works first hand.

Anyway, it is basically a board that you put up on your wall and you hang these cards with chores printed on them and when your child does the chore, they put the card in the "I did it" slot. At the end of the day or week, you with your child count the cards in the "I did it" slot and they get the same number of tokens as cards. They can either spend their tokens for something small, like candy, right then or save them for something bigger in the future. It teaches them responsibility, counting, and the idea of saving.

It is called "I did My Chores" and I am very excited to start this system. I kind of started it last night when we were getting ready for dinner (spaghetti - no refrigerated items needed) and I asked Jack to set the table. He went and got the placemats out of the drawer, then he got the forks out of the drawer and set them oh so neatly. It was so cute and he was so proud of himself for doing that. I let him have a piece of candy after dinner.

I will let you know how it works out. I need to sit down and figure out what chores and what rewards he gets. Jennifer had an idea for a big reward to go to the Big Rat's house aka Chuck E Cheese. Considering how much I hate that place, that will be a huge huge reward!

Shave Time

Refrigerator Woes Update

We finally got a real live honest to goodness human being to come to our house today to look at our refrigerator. The one that is not refrigerating. The one that turns gallons of milk into solid smelly pieces of sludge (hope you weren't trying to eat :) ). And of course, he looked at it, plugged in the computer (who knew that you can plug a computer into a refrigerator? Not me) to see what was wrong. He did a few grunts and "ahh ha" and came to the conclusion that the fan is broken and not working. (No, really, you think?) And of course, as is our usual luck, he did not have that part with him and will have to order it. So we get to be without a refrigerator for at least another week! Oh Joy!

Well there is one small silver lining in all this - it is extremely hard to cook without refrigerated items and I have given up trying. No cooking for the next week!

Weekend Recap

Well it looks like Dean will not be coming our way, although we are still watching closely and are ready to run north if need be. I feel bad for those who are in its way and will be praying for those folks. It is no fun to be under the fear of hurricanes, I am learning.

This weekend was fun. On Saturday, we met the part of the family in Hattiesburg and had lunch. Our niece is starting her freshman year at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. I think her mother, Jim's sister Carla, is not handling the separation from her baby. From what I hear many tears have been shed by Carla. I wonder how I am going to handle that in 15 years?

Yesterday was a full day with church and then meeting Kyle and his mother at the waterpark for some fun in the very hot sun. I am so done with the fun in the hot sun right now. Summer can be over for the year as far as I am concerned. Of course Jack and Kyle had fun while I got to do some girl talk with Jennifer. But I do believe that was the last waterpark visit this year. They are only opened a couple more weekends and to be honest, I just am not into splashing as I was back in May. Bring on the cool weather! Unfortunately, the cool weather around here just doesn't start until November!

Oh and very soon, we can look forward to the love bug invasion. They were here last year when we were moving into our house, and I just remember the swarms upon swarms and really and truly wondering why we were moving to this place. No, I do not like those love bugs! They are nasty, very nasty little creatures. And I didn't even know they existed until last year!

Living On The Coast

Thanks to Dean, we have our first real hurricane threat since moving here. I don't like that feeling of wondering whether or not next week we will have to run north to Grammy's house. I guess it is all part of living on the coast and the downfall of living in such a beautiful part of the country, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. I am just glad that we decided to live seven miles inland and not blocks from the beach.

So, Mr. Dean, just stay away from my house!

Met The Teacher and Other Fun Times

Jack's new teacher, Miss Brianna, came to the house yesterday for the "home visit". She was exactly as I expected, she did not raise my expectations any further. She was cool and reserved, but also friendly. I do think a lot of her problem is that she is shy and doesn't know how to express herself very well. So we are going to give her a chance.

She brought Jack the new t-shirt that he is to wear on Thursdays to chapel, which he thought was really neat. She also brought him a small bible that he also is supposed to take to chapel every week. And the boy absolutely LOVES it. He loves his bible so much, that he had to take it to bed with him last night and fall asleep with it. I asked him whose book is the bible and he answered me "Jesus's book". So I think he understands.

So I am entirely stoked about the upcoming school year and can't wait for it to finally get here. He starts back on September 4th and I already have all the important dates written on the calendar.

In other news, it seems that broken down refrigerator is really completely dead. The freezer side is not working either and while it is still freezing in there, the temp keeps going up daily. And of course, we have to wait until Monday before the repair guy can get here from the land of "no real people" at the GE service center. I have been using my neighbor's refrigerator to keep our milk because they are away on vacation and I have a key to their house to look after things.

The fun times just keep coming here at the Jackaroo house!

Heart Breaking

I have been trying to introduce the concept of Jesus and prayer into Jack's life. We have our nightly prayers where we say thank you for everything (including the doors and windows) and we ask that Jesus looks over sick Papa and Daddy at work, etc. Well I could tell that it has made Jack think and yesterday while driving in the car, he came out with this little gem.

"I asked Jesus to go pick up my Sissy in California and bring her back here." Broke my heart right there. He misses her so much and how do you tell a three-year-old that Jesus can't do that right now and his Sissy has to be in California right now? So sweet my child is.

Scary

You know what is really scary? Going 3 months in between hair color jobs and seeing how you really would look all naturale. The gray! Very Very Scary! Thank Goodness Friday is a coming and I am going to be sitting my butt in the salon chair.

School Issues ... Already

I found out yesterday that Jack did not get the teacher that I wanted at his preschool. There are two teachers for the 3-year-old class and one of them is absolutely phenomenal. Miss Jackie is the perfect preschool teacher who is bubbly and energetic and oh-so nice. She and I formed a friendship last year when I would help out with the parties and other things. I absolutely heart her. And I was not shy in letting everybody know, including the director of the preschool, that I wanted Jack in Miss Jackie's class. In fact that is really the one reason why I signed him up to go to this school again this fall, and not try to find a school closer to home. As it is, I do drive 20 miles to this school.

But, alas, Jack got into Miss Brianna's class. Miss Brianna is about as opposite of Miss Jackie as you can get. I have spoken with her a couple of times and there is no energy, no enthusiasm, no life. She is the equivalent of a wet noodle, so to speak. In fact, one of the other mother's said to me that if her son got her this year, she was going to pull him out of that school. But she doesn't have to worry, because she got Miss Jackie. Supposedly, they put the older threes with Miss Jackie and the younger threes with Miss Brianna, with February being the cut off. Jack got shafted being born 5 days into March. I even called Kelsey, Jack's awesome teacher from last year to see what she had to say about Miss Brianna, but she really couldn't say anything. But she told me that I was not the only one who was concerned and she understands my feelings.

So now I am really wondering about the whole thing. Is she really as bad as all that? Will Jack still thrive in her class? His two best friends are going to be in the other classroom, how will he take that? Should I look around at the preschools closer to home? I love the christian-based curriculum they have, but I know there are two other preschools near here that are run by churches.

Miss Brianna is coming tomorrow for the home visit that all teachers do before the school year starts. I am going to see how she is and how Jack reacts to her before I make up my mind. I may just go visit the other preschools today and maybe get on their waiting list, just in case.

Argh, I did not think that school issues would come at the age of three! But I guess they do.

Monday Stuff

I hate GE appliance service center! When I made the appointment for them to come look at our refrigerator, I made it for Monday between 8 - 12, thinking that it would be today. Silly me, it was for NEXT Monday! I tried to call them to see if I can get another one for oh say sometime THIS week, but you literally can NOT talk to a human being. There are no options at all for talking to real live people. It only gave me the option of the appointment that I already have. So I tried to call Sears, where we purchased the stupid thing, and they told me that I had to deal directly with GE, the land of no-real people. I don't know how we are going to go all week without a refrigerator. We have already lost everything that was in there, but we need milk! The boy thrives on his sippy milks!

I also have a HUGE HUGE headache, bordering on migraine today. So thinking at all is pretty much out of the question. Jim is off to some training class today, so no help dealing with the boy who is insisting on we play hide and seek. The mere thought of playing hide and seek makes me want to vomit - literally.

And I don't know about you, but I am so ready for summer to be over. You know when it is April or May and you are all excited for the warm weather to be here - that feeling? Yeah that feeling is so over for me right now. I took Jack swimming yesterday and our pool was the temp of a hot tub - literally! It has been consistently over 100 degrees here with the heat index around 110 and I am just saying this - I do not like it!

So that is my Monday, how is yours going?

I also want to congratulate Jane from the Moose Family. They finally received their referral for their little girl from China! I am so happy for them because I know how long they have waited for this to happen. Go on over there and congratulate them!

Now I am going to lay down and NOT play hide and seek. The boy is going to watch Tom and Jerry and play with his trains. He may not know that right now, but that is what is happening.

Yep It Is Hot

Of Course

Our refrigerator is not refrigerating. It is not working at all. And of course, it is very well stocked at the moment (a rarity). And of course, it is Saturday and I can't get a repairman to get here to look at it until Monday. And I am not sure if it is still under warranty. If they go by the date that we purchased and paid for it, then it is not. However, if we go by the date that we took possession and was delivered to us, then it is still under warranty - by like two weeks. Of course.

1 1/2 To Go

I only have 1 1/2 rooms to go before my entire house, as in every single wall, is painted. I have been painting all morning long and have finally finished my bedroom and half of my bathroom. I only have the other 1/2 of my bathroom and the guest bedroom left to paint! Yay! I chose a soft sage green for my bedroom and bathroom and I am thinking of a gray/taupe for the guest bedroom.

I told myself at the beginning of the summer that I was going to get the rest of the house painted by the time we were here a year. Well that year is up next month. How that is possible, I do not know. But hopefully, I will make good on my promise and actually get it done.

But right now, I am tired! Four hours of painting and my neck is seriously needing a trip to the chiro! I really want to crawl to the couch and watch tv right now for oh about 10 hours. But there is a problem. Jack is bored and wanting to "do something." I guess motherhood comes first before comfort huh? I am so not going to be able to walk tomorrow. I just know that right now.

Is It Wrong?

Is it wrong to let Jack trash his bathroom by letting him play in the water just so I can have 30 minutes of "me" time?

Jack's favorite activity as of late seems to be playing in the water. He will take about 250 toys into his bathroom, use the toilet to get himself up on the counter and proceed to get water all over the bathroom, all in the name of playing. And when I say all over, I mean down the sink onto the floor, on the door, on the ceiling and soaking his rug. And the thing is, I let him do it, just so I can get something done. You know something important, like looking online for new window treatments for my bedroom.

Big Boy Sizes

I started shopping for school clothes for the boy today. He has absolutely NO clothes that fit him anymore, except for a few shirts and some shorts. And that includes shoes. He has a pair of crocs that he has been wearing all summer long because he basically has no other shoes that fit.

So off we went to start this massive undertaking to outfit the boy again. I measured his feet and he is now a size 11! I am guessing the size 9 1/2's from last year are not going to cut it. So he got a brand new pair of sneakers ala Spider Man that light up. And of course, now he won't take them off his feet.

My next mission was to get some long pants, even though it is now 189 degrees outside. I started with the 4t's and soon realized that these were not going to work at all. I had to go over to the big boy section! He has outgrown all the toddler sizes! I bought him two pairs of pants - one jeans and the other black jeans sized 4. The problem is, that while he maybe in length be a size 4 because the length is just about perfect, his waist is NOT a size 4. Next shopping trip will be to buy some belts to keep the pants up!

I am by far not done with the shopping. I figure I need a minimum of three or four more pants and more long-sleeved shirts. I need to do this in stages so the money leaving my pocket won't feel quite so badly. Oh and while putting socks on the boy for the first time in months, I realized that all his socks are way too small for his feet. Add that to the list!

Oh yeah, there are 27 more days left until his school starts. Not that I am counting or anything. :)

Yep It Is August

It is soooo hot and humid here right now. Yesterday it hit over 100 and the humidity was give or take a bit right around 5000%. My hair? Has not been straight and without friz since May. I gave up on in a long time ago. And last night, Jack and I went walking with our neighbors and after an hour of walking, we all were drenched in sweat. Literally. And it wasn't because of the hard walk we were doing since we had two three-year-olds with us, no it was because of the ungodly oven that we presently live in. And when we got home from the walk, all of our windows were steamed up and could not see through them. Yes it is hell here.

I am thinking it is too hot even to go swimming at the moment! That is hot.

The First Time

Jack had his very first dentist appointment this morning. I am SO PROUD of him. He did so good. I was quite amazed at just how good he was. First off, the place is totally geared for kids. He is a pediatric dentist and it is a very fun place with a huge mural of fishies on the wall. When you walk in the back, they have all the tables arranged in a circle with tvs installed in the ceiling for each table! How cool is that?

They started off with xrays and he did good for the first two, but did NOT like the ones in the back and kept spitting them out, so we settled for just two pictures. Then he went over to the table and he got to pick out which color table he wanted. Of course, he picked orange (his favorite color ya know). He did really well with the whole procedure and let the hygienist clean his teeth and even floss. I was told that I should be starting to floss his teeth, especially the back molars. Um yeah okay. Do they pay for my fingers that are going to be bitten off?

The dentist did the exam and he said everything looks perfect. He has all of his baby teeth in and they are spaced really nice and even. If he keeps this up with his big teeth, it will mean no braces! Yahoo! Save a small fortune there. He also had no cavities.

After it was all done, they gave him a new Diego toothbrush, new toothpaste, a pencil and he got to pick a toy from the treasure chest. He was so proud of all his new stuff. I can say that his early childhood dentistry is going to be sooooo much better than mine ever was. I had Dr. Dodge, who did not believe in Novocaine to fill cavities! I probably had five cavities filled with no Novodaine whatsoever. I was literally in college the first time I had Novocaine! And he was sooo old, he had shaking hands and I would call his technique the OPPOSITE of gentle! I was so happy when I heard he died hehe. Is that wrong? Anyway, I am just very happy that Jack doesn't have to go through that and maybe he will have a better outlook on going to the dentist than I do!

The Bullet

There is nothing like getting a phone call from your doctor with the words "the doctor found something in your left breast and we need additional mammogram views. When would you like to schedule an appointment to get another mammogram done?" Those words can put dread and fear into you like nothing else. And those are the words that I received two weeks ago. And the soonest they could get me in for the additional-very-powerful-all-digital-can-see-any-little-speck-of-something-wrong-mammogram was last Friday. I had to go to the hospital because of their super duper machine there, as opposed to the not-so-super-duper machine at the doctor's office where I had the first one done. They even had my previous films on the wall with the "problem area" marked out for the tech to zero in on. Of course she could not give me any information or clues as to what she saw. Talk about aggravating.

While I was at the hospital, I was talking to another lady who was called back for "additional views" also and she was not handling it very well. She was breaking down crying right in front of me. I felt really sorry for her, because I know only too well what she was going through. I hope she got good news today.

But after calling the doctor bright and early this morning, I was given the all-clear. There was no abnormalities at all in my left breast, which by the way produced hardly any milk when I needed it to. After hearing the news, I feel like about 3 tons of weight has been lifted off my shoulders and can actually breath normally for the first time in two weeks. The bullet has been dodged...this time.

I just wonder, however, do these doctors have any idea what they put us through when they do this?

It's going to be quiet around here

It was a sad day for us today. Laura left to go back to California today. We are going to miss her. She just kind of fills in our family when she is here. Jack practically worships his sister and it very nearly brought me to tears when he had to say goodbye to her. She really is a great girl and a huge help to me when she is here. She helps me clean and watches Jack whenever I need her, all without complaining once. I sure got lucky in the stepdaughter department. And it just isn't the same without her. The last 7 weeks sure flew by fast!

We also had a little get together here at the house with the family. It was Uncle Dan's birthday today so we combined his birthday party with Laura's fond farewell party. So that helped ease the transition for us, but now that everybody is gone, we are all feeling the loss of Laura. :(

Again?

The Duggers have done it again! They just had their 17th child. I remember she had her 15th child a couple of weeks after Jack was born. I remember sitting at home in my bedroom watching tv while trying to pump what little breastmilk I could and being in total shock that a woman MY age just had her 15th child. I can't even fathom. And she home schools them all! And here I am counting down the days until my one child goes back to preschool in the fall!

One of my many questions about this family is, how do they find the time to actually do the deed that gets them pregnant in the first place?!?

It Is Sad This Is Needed

I saw a piece on Good Morning America this morning about children dying in hot cars when they are left alone. They mentioned that there is now a devise that you can hook to the car seat and it will go off if you get more than 10 feet away from your baby!!! Is this really necessary? Do people really just forget they have a child in the backseat??? Do you really need a reminder when you just happen to forget you have a child? Sort of like when you forget you left your headlights on? Sadly and obviously there are people out there that need this since there are so many deaths per year by people just walking away from their cars with their babies left to burn up - literally. Are they really that busy?

Now I don't know about you, but whenever Jack is in the car with me (99.9% of the time), I have never ever forgotten he was there. When he was an infant, I kept looking back in my rear view mirror to see his little face in his little mirror, just to know that he was alright. I never for one split second forgot that I had a child back there. And now, with his constant chatter about trucks, trains, planes, and pretty much any other mode of transportation, it is just impossible to forget that he is there. I even find that I drive a lot more carefully with him in the car than not. I am more willing to be more patient and wait for traffic a few seconds more, just so that my child is safe.

And for those who leave their children INTENTIONALLY, well I have to respect for them at all. They know better and unfortunately the small ones have to pay the price for the adult's stupidity.

I think it was a sad day when this alarm was created and that it is at all needed.