And We Are Off

Jack and I are off to Michigan tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, Jim has to stay home and work. The life of a cop. And somebody has to take care of the gazillion animals we have!

I am hoping to meetup with some high school friends (Amy and Stef) and even catch my old high school homecoming game. I think Jack might get a kick out of that.

I do have to say that I am actually sorta looking forward to this plane ride with Jack. I think I brought enough stuff for him to do that he won't get too bored (dvd player and a bunch of movies). It is so much easier to take off with him these days than when he was a baby. I still remember going back to Michigan with him by myself when he was seven months old and having nightmares for weeks beforehand about the whole plane ride. And then there was the time when we were coming home with him having a 102 fever - that was the worst ever. So dare I say I might even be able to sit back and read a magazine?!?

One of Those Days

I can not believe how bad the boy has been today. You know there are days when you just want to run from the house screaming? Yeah that was me today.

It all started out early this morning right after Jim got home from work. Jack had a couple of small cars that belonged to another little boy who was here Friday night. I told him that we would have to give them back when we went to church today, but he didn't like that answer. Then he went to his room and brought out a baby bottle belonging to Baby Andrew. I got mad at him and told him to give me the bottle and the cars, but instead he took off for his room, running down the hallway. Jim yelled after him to stop, but we were met with the sound of the door being slammed and locked! Jim said "oh no he didn't just do that" and used the little key to open the room. I rounded the corner to see Jack getting the spanking of his life and I took back the bottle and the cars. I then just walked out of the room because I really did not want to deal with the boy at that moment.

Now you would think that after the spanking of his life, he would have straightened up. Ha! Nope. He has been on my last nerve all day long with the not listening to me, the whining, saying "NO" to me, and basically being a little brat. And yes, he has had a couple more spankings today. This kid is gonna kill me!

On a brighter note, my neighbors brought their baby home today and she is absolutely beautiful. My other neighbor and I decorated her house and put a big banner saying "Its a girl" on their garage. And to say that Erin and Ben are glowing would be a huge understatement. It has been a week from hell for them and I sure hope that it goes much smoother for them from now on.

Ahhh I remember when Jack was a sweet baby. Now he is just a pain in my rear end today!

I need to learn the word No

Yeah so I am a bit tired at the moment. It has been one whirlwind of a day. I started out bright and early right after Jack went to school by cleaning my house. I had to do the cleaning early because a) Jack was gone and b) I didn't have Andrew yet. I was able to finish around 11:00, right when Andrew was getting dropped off. He went to his 2-month doctor visit and got the shots and was sleeping.

So then I jumped in the car to pick up Jack from school. I had promised him that if he got a smiley face today at school (he has received two "mean" faces this week) then we could go to Chick-fil-a (they have the best playland in town). He got a smiley face and we went to Chick-fil-a. Andrew was still sleeping, so all was well. Jack played for about an hour. Had a great time.

Then I made the mistake of going to Walmart. See previous post.

Then Andrew woke up on the way home and started screaming and he really didn't stop screaming for more than a few minutes for the next three hours. Fun times.

Then I told our small group from church that I would host the small group tonight at my house, which is 7 couples and about a gazillion kids (give or take). So in between Andrew screams, I made chicken enchiladas and got the house ready for all the company. They just left and I am tired. I really need to learn to say no every now and then ya know.

Oh and that horrible, horrendous storm that we were supposed to get? Yeah nothing, nada. It went to Florida and was nothing at all. But let me tell you, this area was prepared. Jim said they even added a bunch more police officers tonight. All for nothing.

What Was I Thinking?

I know I have more sense than this, but for some stupid reason that I can't think of at this moment, I decided to go to Walmart with a three-year-old and an 8-week-old. Now that in and of itself is a pretty stupid thing to do, but throw in the mass hysteria of the area because of the Tropical Depression that is out there in the Gulf and people stocking up on EVERYTHING was downright stupid. Note to self, never ever go to Walmart ever again the day before a storm is supposed to hit - especially with two kids! Stupid idea!

I Guess It Is Coming

According to the weather reports there is a "tropical disturbance" in the Gulf of Mexico that is causing a disturbance in this area. I guess it could form into something and even if it just forms into a "tropical storm" that it could be pretty bad with winds up to 70 mph and we all know what a hurricane means if it continues to form on its way here. So Jim is officially on "standby" and all of the area is on alert. We even got a recorded phone message from the govenor last night telling us to be prepared. It may make me pack up the animals and go North to Grammy's house with Jack. Ugh. This is the part I hate about living in this area.

Just Call Me Soccer Mom

Jack is going to be playing soccer for the local Y. He started soccer practice last night and from all the smiles and giggles, I take it that he was having a lot of fun. He has a really great coach who is great with the kids. One thing that Jack either couldn't grasp the concept or wasn't listening was not touching the ball. He kept picking up the ball and taking it where he thought was a good place to kick it into the goal. Of course the coach kept telling him and I kept telling him that you can't use your hands. But it was so cute to see a bunch of three-year-old little boys running around the field kicking soccer balls.

His "season" is only 4 games in October with weekly practices thrown in, so it was not a huge time investment. I know that if he really enjoys it, I will be standing out on the field many a day in the coming years. I went and bought him some shin guards and a cheap pair or cleats and he was soooo cute with them on. He kept walking around the house wearing his "uniform" and saying "I am a soccer star!" Too cute.

Update on Mary Grace

I heard from my neighbor, Erin yesterday. It was amazing that she was in as good spirits as she was. Little Mary Grace is still in Children's Hospital in New Orleans. She is now down to taking 30% oxygen, down from 100%, so that is a good thing. They are concerned about pneumonia since they found a small spot that could turn into pneumonia. But things are looking up for her. Erin and Ben are spending the entire time over there and she told me when I see her car in the driveway to go on over and she would fill me in on all the details. But the one very important detail I heard is that she is a beautiful little girl, weighing 7lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long. Poor Erin and Ben, what a way to be welcomed to parenthood. Please include them in your prayers again if you find yourself praying today.

The Principal's Office

It only took less than three weeks and I already had a call from Jack's Principal. That's right folks, I got a phone call this morning from the Principal's office telling me that Jack bit another little boy today. I honestly didn't know what to say to the woman because I was so stunned. He is normally a very sweet child, but here was this woman telling me that he, for no apparent reason, bit another little boy. I guess they were sitting in the classroom listening to Ms. Nix read a story and he just decided to turn around and bite a little boy named Jaxson. I am sure there is more to the story and I am sure that it wasn't totally unprovoked, but in the teacher's eyes, it was. So, my child at the age of three was sent to the Principal's office. There was a little pink slip in his folder explaining the details that I have to sign and send back. Aye Aye Aye. Is this just an omen of what's to come?

And I guess he also got a time out for not listening to the teacher when she told him to sit in his seat. He was climbing underneath the table! My child is the troublemaker?!? Needless to say that he did not get a smiley face in his folder today, which I think was more devastating to him than being sent to the Principal's office! Go figure. He keeps saying that he won't get a "mean" face tomorrow. I told him that if he did get a "mean" face tomorrow, I would take away all his trains and that prompted many tears of course.

We have had the talk about how you don't bite people no matter what and about listening to the teacher. He was crying pretty hard through it all, so maybe it sunk in a little bit. I am not sure what is going on with him lately. I don't know if having Baby Andrew around is affecting him and he is jealous, but he seems alright when the baby is here. And he always asks where the baby is when he is not here. Or is it just a "naughty" phase he is going through?

This parenting thing is hard ya'll.

Prayer Time

Our neighbors Erin and Ben had their baby girl. Her name is Mary Grace and she needs all of our prayers. She was born with an enormous amount of merconium in her lungs, so much that it deflated her lungs. They got her lungs inflated again, but she is still in bad shape from what I heard. They had to take her to the New Orleans Children Hospital by ambulance yesterday and the hard part is Erin had to stay back here because they have not released her from the hospital yet. Ben is over there right now and hopefully Erin will be able to go over sometime today. Also poor Erin couldn't even see her baby for almost five hours because they were working on her lungs. Then when she did get to see her, it was only for a few minutes before little Mary Grace was whisked away.

So if you do find yourself praying today, just say a little prayer for little Mary Grace and her parents.

How Should I Take That?

Alright, how exactly should I take this? Maybe I am too sensitive and maybe it was not that bad. I was just in Walmart with Baby Andrew, who by the way is an excellent shopper. When I went through the line, the cashier looked at me and asked "Is he yours?". Now why did she not just assume that the baby was mine? My impression is that I look too old! I know 40 is a bit old to be having an 8-week old baby, but geesh, give me a break. I am not ancient - yet. Seriously, I can't see any other reason why that blonde perky 23-year-old who probably thinks 40 is ancient, would think that the baby is not mine! Do I really look that ancient? Okay, don't answer that!

In other baby news, our neighbor, Erin, probably gave birth sometime in the last 12 hours or so. Last I heard any news was at 8pm last night and she was 4 cm. I am afraid to call and disturb them, but the not knowing is killing me. So Congrats to our neighbors Erin and Ben or at least I hope so!

A Must Have

A friend was telling me how great this dvd was for her three-year-old son and I thought I would buy it and see if it really was that great. I really didn't think that Jack would be that interested in it at all, mainly because it doesn't have any talking trains. But imagine my surprise when he sat there watching the whole thing totally engrossed and wanted to watch it again and again. It is great learning tool. After watching about three or four times, Jack can sound out all the letters now! Simply amazing and a must have for preschoolers.

I also want to give even more praise to Baby Einstein Baby Mozart. The video that gave me a much needed break when Jack was a baby is now giving me another break with Baby Andrew. I put that on this morning when he was fussy and put him in his swing and he sat there watching the thing twice (love the repeat play!). A whole hour to pay my bills and clean up my kitchen! Love that video and it was money well spent over three years ago!

The Experiment

Yeah so on Tuesday, we hosted a little get together with our neighbors. Jim is trying to get certified in field sobriety testing and he needs to test random people who have been drinking. He needs to do 30 tests to get his final certification. And well he decided to host a little "lets get drunk" party so he could test us all. And I learned a few things from that experience.

1. It is really scary how drunk you have to be to be "legally" drunk. I was first tested after 2 margaritas and 2 Bailey's. I would not have driven at that point, but he gave me the test. Made me walk the line and stand on one foot while counting (that is hard for me while sober). Then I blew into his intoxilizer and only blew a .025! He would not have arrested me and I thought that I had a good buzz going.

So to make a long story short, I wanted to see how drunk is too drunk and proceeded to drink some more. An hour later, there was absolutely no way I could walk the line nor stand on one foot. In fact, having six people stand there laughing their a$$s off, made me get the giggles so hard, I was basically useless for doing any of the field testing. Then he made me blow into the thingy again (just realized that sounded perverted hehe) and I blew a .092. Yes, folks I was legally drunk, but just barely. And that is scary because I was so far gone, there was no way I could get behind a wheel.

Our neighbors who were drinking straight shots for awhile, only blew .05 and they admitted that they were too drunk to drive at that time, but still that was below the legal limit. I just have to say that it is scary when Jim says he picks up people with a .24!!

2. My other observation is that partying at the age of 40 is a lot harder than oh say 20 or 30. Seriously people, I haven't drank like that in about 10 years or so and to say that I was sick yesterday would be the biggest understatement of the year. Never again will I be a guinea pig for Jim's career like that. Oh my gosh! I think I threw up my lungs along the way. And even today, I am still not back to normal. Dry toast for me this morning!!

So there you have it. To sum it all up: Legally drunk is drunk! And 40 is way too old to drink like that!

Sept. 11

I don't know about ya'll, but I don't think I will ever go through another Sept. 11 for the rest of my life, without shedding at least a few tears. I hope and pray that all those families are moving on with their lives. It must be so hard to revisit this every year for them. May God bless them with the strength and courage to go forward.

That Did Not Take Long

It is only the second week of school and already Jack has been in time-out. Jack informed me of this fact as we were walking out of school today. He said "I was in time-out. I was naughty and sad today." But he wouldn't tell me what he actually did to get put in the time-out. Everytime I ask him what he did, his only response thus far is "It is nothing Mom. It was only an accident." Sigh. I guess I have to talk to the teacher tomorrow about what happened. It didn't take long for that to happen. And to think he went all last year at school without any time-outs! Sigh.

Picture Day

I thought I would bore ya'll with some pictures I have taken lately.


He took a bad tumble off his bike last night on our nightly walk/bike ride. It was mostly my fault because I was chasing him and he was really going pretty fast while giggling and before I knew it, he was down with his bike on top of him. He was not a happy camper and it scraped up his nose and forehead and hands pretty good. But he is tough and got back on the bike and rode home.

The Jack Room. I already have plans to upgrade his bed to a twin size by his fourth birthday. He will be getting Laura's bedroom furniture and Laura will be getting a new full size bed. I am afraid to say that he is close to outgrowing the toddler bed that he has been in for the last year and a half!

Love the little coat hanger with the baseball jacket I just bought him. I can't wait until it gets cold enough for him to wear that. Of course it won't happen until oh November or December around here.

The shelves full of trucks. Actually the big fire truck is missing from the bottom shelf. It was in my family room at the time of this picture. But this is the shelf that Jim built and I painted.

Playing hide and seek. His hiding spots are getting better these days. Here he is hiding in the hamper in the bathroom. Before, his hiding spot would be 5 ft away from me and he would yell "try to find me". Then I would have to go through the exaggerated process of looking for him in plain sight. He's getting sneakier.

And because we were fooling around with the camera this morning, I snapped this one of the two of us.

Room Clean Out

It took me four hours this morning to clean out Jack's room. I did it in a big way. I took everything out of his closet and bagged up about half of the clothes that no longer fit. Then I organized it all over again with his "school" clothes front and center, then the t-shirts altogether, and the semi-dressy shirts altogether.

Then I tackled his dresser drawers and again bagged about 5 pairs of perfectly good pants but are a couple inches too short. Now his drawers are all organized with the pants all folded in one drawer and all his jammies folded in another drawer and the third drawer has misc stuff.

Then it was time to tackle the BIG project. THE TOYS! I cleaned out the toy chest and again threw out a ton of crappy toys. I am proud to say that all the puzzle pieces have been found and all the books are in one spot, and all the trucks are up on the shelves and all the trains are put away.

I know I know, it will only last five minutes, but at least it was good for five minutes!

I may just take some pictures and post them later today. But right now the boy and I are off to Barnes & Noble for storytime reading of Curious George. Fun times.

What a Week ... Phew

What a week we have had here at the Jackaroo World. Let me just try to numerate what was going on this week.

1. I was trying to get over the cold/crud from the weekend.

2. Trying to figure out Jack's school issues and finally settling on the school close to home. Getting him all enrolled and settled there. Calling his old school to notify him that he wouldn't be going back there. I didn't go into any reasons. I just didn't want to deal with it all at the time.

3. Started to take care of baby Andrew this week. Trying to figure out how to deal with a newborn again and with a three-year-old at the same time. Bottles everywhere in the house! And 10 diaper changes a day! Egads!

4. Trying to outfit Jack for the new school in the proper "uniform" colors (blue, white, khaki). And then getting a notice the second day that he is supposed to wear a red shirt the next day because of some picture they are doing for the yearbook (I guess all the kids were in the shape of a star or something to that effect). I had to make an 8:30 pm run to the store (after a 12 hour day with baby Andrew) to go get the required red shirt since the only red shirt he owned was a t-shirt with dinosaurs (big no-no).

5. Having a three-hour root canal performed yesterday. Fun times there.

Thankfully Jim was a huge help to me this week taking Jack to school every morning and dealing with him yesterday after my root canal. Thanks Honey.

But I did have a good ending to the week when Jack came home from school with his backpack full of goodies he did over the week. And I have to brag that my son got a smiley face sticker today because he was a good boy at school. Made my day right there. But now if you will excuse me, I am gonna go crash for the night while the boy watches Curious George. Night Night.

Root Canal Aftermath

Well I had the dreaded root canal yesterday. I do have to say that it wasn't as bad as I had imagined it to be. I must have gotten some pretty good numbing stuff because I really did not feel anything much other than a lot of pressure. However that drill sound is enough to drive you crazy and think you are feeling something when you really are not. Ewwww. I didn't think that it was going to take over three hours to complete and let me tell you three hours in a dentist chair is really not comfortable at all. My back hurt worse than my tooth.

So now I have a new temporary crown on the remaining stub of my tooth. It is my first crown and it does feel weird. Oh and this morning when I tried to bite into an english muffin was not fun at all. In fact, it hurt so bad, my eyes started to water up and felt faint for a second. Yeah not going to be chewing much today, I can tell you that much. I decided yogurt was a better breakfast after all. But all in all not that bad of an experience. It isn't something that I would want to do everyday, but not the pain torture that I thought it was going to be. It was not anywhere near as bad as when I was 16 and had my wisdom teeth dug out. Now that pretty much ruined my 16th summer!

Things I Have Learned

While taking care of baby Andrew for the last two days, I have learned a few things.

1. Dealing with a baby on a good night of sleep is immensely better than on two hours of sleep.

2. I know that I am done done done having any more kids of my own. Just the thought of doing all that over again, makes me ill. I am too old!

3. All babies are different in the own little way. While Jack did not like car rides and usually would scream at the top of his lungs making me want to crash the car, Andrew is the total opposite. Andrew will cry when the car is NOT moving. It makes red lights seem really long.

4. And finally, it doesn't matter if you have had a good nights sleep, 12 hours of dealing with a 6-week-old is hard work. I had him yesterday from 7:30 am to almost 8:00 pm and it was one very long day, especially considering he fought sleep from noon time till about 5:00. Thankfully, Jim got up around 4:30 and had Andrew asleep soon afterward.

So that is my observations of having a new baby around the house. Jack is so good with him and is showing absolutely no signs of jealousy toward Andrew. He loves to hold the bottle and feed him and will help me get a fresh diaper and will even throw away the stinky diapers for me. I just can't believe how good my son is turning out and how great he is lately. I think we turned a corner from the terrible threes, which were so much worse than those terrible twos in my opinion.

To update on the school issue. Jack is absolutely loving his new school. He came home and showed me what he did yesterday. He was so proud to pull his folder out of his backpack and show me all the work he did. My son has a school folder and a school backpack! He is growing up way too fast. I really believe now that his getting the "bad" teacher at the old school was a blessing in disguise. I am really happy with the new school and how Jack is loving the whole experience.

And in other news today, I get to go and get a root canal today. How fun is that? Yeah I have had for years and years a problem gap in my teeth and if I don't floss like 6 times a day there, I get bad decay. And that is what happened and it just has gotten worse over the years, so today I get to fix it with a root canal. I have never had a root canal, nor even a cavity in years, so not sure what to expect today. They told me that root canals are not as bad as their reputation. We shall see about that.

Three and a Half Years Ago Today

Three and a half years ago today, this little boy came into my life and completely changed it for the better.



And now, how is it that he is this big boy now going off to preschool?


My oh my how the time flies!

Holy Cow!

What a day it has been today.

First off, Jim took Jack into the new school to get him all signed up. He wasn't dressed in the "uniform" so I didn't think they would let him start today, but he did. And what a big OUCHIE that was to the wallet! $575 later, Jack is now a student of the school. Yes, I know, it is a fortune. They seemed to find a fee for everything and then they add another fee on top just because. The tuition is $235/month, but all the extra fees added up big time.

So while Jim was taking care of that, today was my first full day taking care of baby Andrew. And I ended up lugging him through four stores today trying to find the proper uniform for Jack. Who knew looking for white polos and blue or khaki shorts would be so hard? All the schools started a couple of weeks ago (including Jack's new one) so the pickings were slim. I found three polo shirts in his size, one pair of blue shorts, and two pairs of long pants for the kid. I think an internet search for uniforms is in my future tonight. Oh and all that cost me $90!!

Then Andrew and I went and picked up Jack from school. He came out all smiles and didn't seem to miss his old school, thankfully. He said he liked his teacher and had fun playing on the playground. So far so good with the new school. Then his new teacher handed me a list of school supplies I needed to buy. Oh my gosh. It had 25 items on it ranging anywhere from crayons and paint to wipes, paper towels, hand sanitizer and even q-tips! Sigh. A trip to Walmart was in my future.

So back home we go and I feed Jack and Andrew. Change Andrew two (or three?) times. Turn on Thomas for Jack. Andrew goes to sleep (yay!). Then I get to get my dirty dishes cleaned up. Andrew's Dad picked him up at 6 tonight. He really was a very good baby today and not sure, but he seems easier than Jack was at that age. I am sure it will come back to bite me once I just said that.

So as soon as Andrew was picked up, Jack and I headed off to Walmart for the school supplies. And yes, I got every single one of those 25 items! Well except the first one - backpack and he already had that. And the grand total of the school list? Another $44!

So to recap today - Baby duty for 9 hours and total spent on preschool stuff - $709.

I will take the official "first day of school" picture tomorrow and post. He looks so grown up in his little uniform. Waahhhh. Where did my baby go?

Sickening

It happened again. Right here. A 9-month-old baby died in the backseat of an SUV a few days ago. The father was supposed drop the baby off at daycare, but instead forgot and went to work at the bank. I guess the baby was trapped in the car from 9 am until 4pm! And the sickening part of all this? I drove right by that car four times that day! I was in that area that day and had no idea that a poor helpless baby was dying right there. Nauseating to say the least. I am sorry, but there is no excuse for forgetting your baby!

On another note, I skipped church today. I have been fighting the crud and it has been fighting back. This stuff has knocked me on my butt with the latest wonderful symptoms being throwing up and diarrhea. Yay! Jack and Jim are out doing stuff together so I could have the house to myself. But I have basically been going from bed to couch and back to bed again all morning long, with side trips to the bathroom. Exciting stuff.