The No-Cooking, No-Cleaning, Totally Pampered Thanksgiving

We stayed at this place. The Ritz Carlton at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson. It was about 20 miles from the strip and oh my gosh was it nice. If you want to go to Vegas, but don't want the hustle and bustle of the strip, then I highly recommend this place. For about $30 more a night, you get pure luxury and pampering. And the resort is absolutely beautiful with views of Lake Las Vegas and walking trails around the lake with waterfalls and private beach. WOW!

I didn't get my facial or massage, but oh well. I had the best, most relaxing time in soooo long. It was really wonderful to just get away and spend time with Jim and Jack with no stress.

Oh and Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely wonderful. We went to their dinner in the ballroom. The food was to die for and the whole atmosphere was beautiful. We are thinking of going back again next year! The whole no cooking or cleaning up afterward thing is really really nice!


A view of their Christmas tree and gardens.




They had the most beautiful English gardens out back. At night they had the entire place lit up. I tried to take pictures, but they just didn't turn out very well, so trust me, it was very beautiful.




The resort had a lot of walking trails that we took advantage of every morning and evening. It was absolutely beautiful. It was also so nice to have a place where we could just let Jack run all over with no worry of somebody snatching him like on the Strip.



They had a chair for Santa all set up. We didn't see Santa because he wasn't scheduled in from the North Pole until Friday, but Jack filled in for him.




The view out our window with Jack pointing out the duckies and fishies in the water. You could literally see the fish jumping from our room on the 8th floor! Of course Jim was really wishing he had his fishing pole.



At night, we would take our Irish coffees out on the balcony and they would make Jack a chocolate milk. Here is Jack enjoying some balcony time.




Mommy and Jack in front of the waterfalls at the hotel.




The hotel was sooo cool. It even had its own little man made beach. Of course Jack and Daddy had to check it out.




November 23, 2005. The 3 of us at Luxor.
We did make it onto the strip for a brief time. We went to Luxor, known as "our hotel" since we have stayed there like 4 times.


Jim and I on July 6, 2003. Yep I was pregnant there with Jack, just we didn't know about yet. See, I still havent lost all the baby weight - almost 2 years later! I swear I am going to lose it before his 2nd birthday! I swear!




On Wednesday night we went to Excalibur dinner show - The Tournament of Kings. Jack really got into the whole show and was clapping and cheering just like everybody else. He loved the horsies in the show. The only bad part was at the end when the firecrackers went off. He didn't really enjoy that part. But he sat and watched and cheered and clapped for everything else.



Jack on Thanksgiving Day. You can tell he is just so thrilled to be standing there for yet another picture.



My 2 handsome boys. Don't they look good?




The 3 of us at Thanksgiving dinner.



The Thanksgiving dinner was in the ballroom. And oooooohhhhhhh was it good! Of course Jack got all the attention from the waiters.

Signing off Til Friday

Just wanted to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everybody. I hope everybody has a great thanksgiving, eat lots and lots of great food, and enjoy the day.

We are leaving for out of town for a couple of days. We are going someplace relaxing to spend Thanksgiving. I hope to have a massage/facial before I sign back on!

See Ya!

Flat Tires and Target

Jim's car had a flat tire. I am the one who probably picked up the nail that did in the tire. I am REALLY good at finding stray nails and running over them. I took his car to the movies on Saturday, and Sunday there was a flat tire. So yep probably me. Anyway, Jim took my Rav 4 to work today and I went to get the tire fixed. It was easy enough, except for the fact that I had Jack, the Grumpiest Toddler on the Block. I got that book The Happiest Toddler on the Block. It ain't working folks. So there we were waiting for the tire to get finished and Jack decided that the chairs needed to be rearranged to HIS liking. It didn't matter if there was an elderly gentleman sitting in that chair. No, he still tried to move the chair. Oh and when I told him NO, the tantrum that followed had me biting my tongue and begging for patience. The whole thing only took about 15 minutes, but I swear time slowed down and it really was an hour!

Then we went to Target, the place of all things good. Jim actually told me yesterday to go to Target to get him some underwear. Note - the mission was to get Jim a package of underwear. HA! I came out over $100 poorer and yes Jim got new underwear in case you were worried. But I figure why not get me a new belt to wear in our family pictures we are taking next weekend. Oh yeah and had to get Jack a new Christmas dressy outfit (a vest sweater with trains on it of course), and since everybody has em, some new slippers for Jack. Both Ben and Connor have them, so Jack couldn't be left out ya know. Oh yeah, Jack's are Thomas slippers, of course! Also got the fun stuff like diapers and stuff. Gotta love Target.

Day At The Mall

We did the mall thing today. It was such fun today. We got to the mall early and grabbed coffees at our favorite coffee house which went corporate and turned into a Starbucks. I love Starbucks and all, but they totally ruined this particular coffee house. It just lost its charm and now it is just another Starbucks, one of about 5 within a mile radius.

Anyway, we strolled around the mall drinking our coffees while Jack sipped his chocolate milk. We hit up the playland where Jack as usual lost his little toddler mind. He absolutely loves going there and runs from one climbing thing to another. We also hit up Old Navy where I can never come out of empty handed. This time we ended up buying a sweater for Jack.

We also saw Santa and from the picture below, you can see where Santa was not a hit with the Jackaroo. But I have to say that I love that picture of him crying on Santa's lap. Of course will have to show it to him when he is about 15 years old.

Jack is also extremely cranky at the moment. He slept in the car on the way home for about 10 minutes and would not go down for a nap afterward. So I have a feeling we have about 5 more hours of temper tantrums. Oh Joy!

Picture Says It All

No, Santa was NOT a hit with Jack. But the santa was ALOT better this year than last year. Last year's Santa was downright SCARY! This one had a real beard and all.

What do Life Insurance, Harry Potter and Old Furniture Have In Common?

Our day yesterday. You know when you try to cram too many things into one day and you end up saying to yourself "this was one craaazzy day"?

It all started out simple enough. We went out to breakfast at the local restaurant. This place is called "Annie's" and the owner (yep named Annie) is british and very funny. They have these really silly hats that newbies (those who have never been to the restaurant before) have to wear. And she always gets about 5 people to wear these really silly hats. Well the rules are if one people takes their hat off, then everybody has to get up and dance the chicken dance. Of course at some point, she makes sure that somebody loses their hat and the rest of us get entertainment. It is really cute and fun. And the food is good too.

Anyway, after breakfast, Laura and I decided to go see the new Harry Potter movie in the brand new theatre (we were so small town that we didn't have a movie theatre and had to drive 20 miles to get to one. I kinda liked it). Jim and Jack did "guy" things. Whatever they were.

I have to say that the movie was probably the best since the first one and definitely the scariest so far. In fact, Laura pretty much clung to me the entire time and made me suffer with a full bladder for the longest time before she felt safe enough for me to go to the bathroom. And there were a few times she practically jumped out of her seat. I highly recommend it, but the movie isn't for the little kids anymore. Pretty scary stuff for them.

After the movie, we rushed home because the life insurance agent was coming to the house to talk to us about buying life insurance. The agent was actually the agent that we used at my job and I really liked him. But the man can talk and talk and talk. He got here at 2:00 and didn't leave until 5:00. But we are now covered, both of us. All I can say if both of us die, Jack is gonna be financially set.

During the 3 hours that the insurance agent was here, this house became grand central station! Our house is never grand central station, but for some reason for 3 hours yesterday, it became the busiest house in the neighborhood at least! We had a couple stop by and look at our old furniture that we were trying to sell. They took it - Yay! Sad thing is they recently just had a house fire and lost everything. Sad! We also had our neighbors stop by for a visit. Laura and their daughter Breena are good friends and play together a lot, but we usually don't see much of the rest of the family, until yesterday when we were trying to get our butts covered with insurance that is! And then there was Jack who insisted upon bringing me every single one of his toys during the talk. I kept having to get up and attend to the screaming toddler and of course making apologies left and right. I think I might of said the words "He is not usually like that" HA I am gonna go to hell for that lie for sure!

Jim had to leave to take Laura back to her mothers because of a slumber party the girl had to attend last night. He had to leave as soon as the papers were signed. I walked Mr. Talky Talky Agent to the door and said "good bye" and closed the door with relief. Of course Jack is screaming at the top of his lungs because Daddy and Sissy just up and left him. He was feeling needy - I was feeling exhausted. I heard the car in the garage, so I opened up the door and what do I see? Mr. Talky Talky Agent talking to Jim about how amazing our garage is! Does the man never leave?

So let me sum it up for you - 1 screaming toddler, 1 agent who will not shut up and leave and 1 getting-pissed-off husband because he knows he is going to get an earful from his ex-wife for being late, who by the way called in her oh-so lovely way (insert sarcasm here) to see if Jim was on his way.

We went out to dinner and for the first time in a very long time, was craving any kind of alcohol! I didn't get any, but it sure crossed my mind. But what we did get instead - a banana split! We shared it and Jack took most of it. The boy stole my spoon from me - took it right out of my hand and dug in. He thought he had died and gone to heaven. His two favorite foods - bananas and ice cream in one dish! So it was a sweet ending to one craaaazzzyyy day.

Early Mornings

For some reason, my body still thinks that I need to get up between 4 - 5 am. I don't know what it is, but I just wake up at that time and can't go back to sleep. Usually that is the time that Jim is getting up to go work, but today, he is still sleeping and I am up. But I love these early mornings. It is MY time. Time that I don't have to constantly battle wills with a toddler or worry about anything getting done. I can just sit here drinking coffee and surf the net. Or if I want to, I can sit and watch the tv shows that I recorded while drinking coffee and just relax. I love it! And the animals leave me alone in the morning also - that is once I feed them.

UPDATE - 30 seconds after posting the above statement about the animals, I heard the distinct sound of a cat puking. Scratch that blissful early morning feeling. I just spent the last few minutes cleaning up cat puke and scrubbing it out of the carpet. Oy!

What is up with this weather?

Okay, I know that a lot of you out there are in places where it is not sunny and 80 degrees. Sorry. But we here in Southern California have had the most amazing weather lately. Jack and I just got back from a walk and we were both wearing shorts! In fact, I had to dig out one of his only two pair of shorts that actually still fit him from the summer. While we were walking today, one of the houses we walked by had their sprinklers going. Of course Jack + sprinklers are like magnets. He can not just pass by. Nope, he has to go put his hand in the water and laugh and giggle and pretty soon his feet and legs are in on the sprinkler action as well. It was so warm, I have to admit that it actually looked like fun to run through the sprinklers.

A funny thing happened this morning. I decided to wash a couple of Jack's stuffed animals because they were down right gross. Well Jack caught me putting Doggie in the dryer! He pulled Doggie out of the dryer while I was digging out the rest of the clothes from the washer. I told him that Doggie needed to get dry and took the animal and put him back in the dryer and closed the door and turned it on. Oh My GOD! The look of absolute fright on my child's face was priceless. He thought for sure Doggie was a dead doggie. And the screaming that came after holding his breath for about 10 seconds was astronomical! I was seriously trying not to laugh because I know that it was a very traumatic moment for him, but it was soooo funny. I did open the dryer back up and let Jack dig out Doggie and "rescue" him from certain death. And after that, Jack was NOT letting Doggie out of his sight. In fact, Doggie HAD to come with us on our walk today. And yep, Doggie got to "run" through the sprinkler also.

Christmas Spirit

There is just something about having kids that makes you want to celebrate Christmas. Before Jack, I really could take the holiday season or leave it. Most likely leave it. I was a bah humbug and would laugh at all the fools out there scurrying to get stupid gifts. Well I am still laughing at the fools scurrying, because I still believe that it is too hyped up and too commercialized. I mean really, spend a Christmas in a foreign country and you'll see what it should be like.

But now I admit that I am in that Christmas spirit. I actually have most of the shopping done. And the rest of the shopping, I know what I want to buy, it is just a matter of waiting for paydays. And I am so looking forward to seeing Jack's face when we put the Christmas tree up this year. He is going to love it. We have a Christmas train that we put around the bottom of the tree every year. It makes choo choo sounds and everything. He is just gonna love it. I also can't wait until we get to see Santa. I think we are going back to the train museum where the Thomas event was held. They have "Santa Trains" where Santa is aboard the train and spends time with each child. Of course, I will be probably tearing up as I do.

My family is visiting us this year for Christmas. So having Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Corlinda here for Christmas is going to be really nice. We are going to the see the Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim. It is a really specatular show.

So Happy Holidays to everyone. Yeah Yeah I know its a bit early, but who cares.

No Work = No Brain?

Jim forgot to take his work cell phone with him to work yesterday. I saw it laying there on the kitchen counter all day. I knew that he did not have that phone with him. But that thought did not even enter my brain as I picked up the phone to call him last night to see what time he would be home. And the sad part? As I was calling him, his cell phone did ring and any other person with a brain would of thought "oops that is me calling the cell phone". Nope that was not me. I actually went and picked up the phone to see who was calling! And when I saw the number was mine, even then it took me a couple of seconds to realize actually how stupid I was! Oy!

Shopping

I thought that I would show ya the furniture we bought and will be delivered to our house on Dec 1 (only 14 more days!!).



This is the table that we bought for the kitchen. It matches our cabinets so well. Now I am so going to need to stain the new door that we had installed back in April to match. I just know that it is going to bug me until that is done.


This is the coffee table and end tables we bought. Just disregard the ugly green furniture. No that is not the furniture we bought.

This is the sofa, loveseat and recliner that we bought to go with the coffee table and end tables above. Of course we got the 7 year stain resistant warranty, they will come out to fix if anything happens. With this family, that is a must.

This morning, I have also been paying tribute to the amazon.com gods. I bought Jim's Christmas gifts, a couple of exercise videos for me (Richard Simmons and a beginner Yoga) I have always wanted to do yoga, but I admit that I am so clutzy that I really wonder if I can do that. But we shall see. This is all the "Improve Dawn" plan of action. I also bought the "Happiest Toddler on The Block" book that everybody is saying is a must have. I hope it gives me some help into the constant whining, crying, screaming entity that used to be my happy child.

And speaking of that child, I hear that he is awake. So my early morning shopping spree is over.

Pictures

Below are some pictures of the past couple of weeks that I haven't put on the blog yet. So for the grandparents, aunts and uncles who have reminded me that I have not been posting pictures - Enjoy.



Here is the boy being lazy with the cat while watching tv.




We went to the model train museum at Balboa Park in San Diego. As you can guess, the boy kinda liked the place.

After the model train museum, we went to ride the merry-go-round and for some reason the boy was absolutely terrified of the thing and ended up being held by Daddy the entire ride.

We bought a jigsaw puzzle a couple of weeks ago. I forgot how fun they are to do. Well Jack had to join in the fun of putting it together. He was so cute and soooo serious as he tried to put the pieces together. He also would hand us a piece and say "thank you". We thought for sure that it would get down to the end and we would be missing at least one piece courtesy of Jack, but amazingly we actually were able to finish the puzzle, even after finding a piece in his toys.

My First Day So Far

Well here it is almost noon and I feel exhausted! So far today, I have done 3 loads of laundry, vacuumed half the house, unloaded and loaded dishwasher, cooked breakfast and lunch for Jack and I, went for a walk with Jack and dog around the neighborhood (man this neighborhood is dead during the day), and went grocery shopping where I spent $155!!!. Now I have Jack napping. Phew this stay-at-home thing is exhausting! But so far, I am loving it. Just knowing that tomorrow I don't have to wake up and drive that hour to work and deal with all that stress is soooooo wonderful!

The rest of the day's agenda looks like this - finish laundry, vacuuming, pick up and drop off Jim's uniforms at drycleaners, play with Jack, read books with Jack, and fix dinner. Hmmm, I am thinking pork chops for dinner tonight.

I'm Done, I'm Done, I AM DONE!

Yesterday was my last day at work. It was a really really weird feeling. For the past two weeks, I have felt like that day could not get here fast enough. And then when it did, wow what a strange, surreal feeling. I have been with this company for about 6 1/2 years and struggled with it during bad times and all. But when it came right down to say goodbye to the job that I niched out for myself there, it was very bittersweet.

They threw me a pizza party and everybody signed a card for me, which almost had me in tears. And it was funny the comments on the cards. There is one lady who has been practically dancing for joy ever since I announced I was leaving. She has for all these years been in competition with me - in her mind. I just try to do my job and that job has become more and more "important" to the company and she could not stand to see me gain "prestige" and not have it all for her. Well anyway, she signed the card "Dawn, It has been real". Yeah and she thinks I am the unprofessional one. But oh well, I am above all that.

And now I am free to do whatever I want! Wow what a scary thought that is. My first goal is to get this house in some kind of order and not be so disgusting. I have a list a mile long of projects around the house, that if I just did half of them, I would be proud of myself.

I do know that I need to get a routine going of some type. Before, on my days off, I really didn't have a routine. The routine was try to get 37 errands done in the time that Jack was cooperative to do such errands.

I am committing myself to some type of exercise program right now in front of all of you. I did join Curves awhile back, but just have not been able to get there because I had nobody to watch Jack during the hour of Curves. Jim's schedule has become that he does not get home until about 7pm and they close at that time. So instead of whining about that and in doing that whining, I get nothing done, I have decided to quit Curves and make a committment that I do something at home with Jack. I plan to get a couple of videos. Jim also bought me the bike with the trailer for Jack, I plan to ride that on the better weather days. We have to first dig it out of the garage from the scary depths that is the garage. But, I really believe that if Jack sees me exercising, he will want to do it also and hopefully be a healthier kid for it. You all know that I am just saying this for myself mostly to get myself to believe all this and more importantly DO it. I hate exercise but, I know that the time has come and there are no more excuses, so I will do it!

Well now I am off to enjoy my first day of freedom, which will include doing about 5 loads of laundry, cleaning bathrooms, kitchen and vacuuming. Sounds like a whole lotta fun huh?

The Day Out

With Thomas. We went to see Thomas today in person. I have to first say that I am a dork. I forgot to take the camera. Not only the camera, I also forgot to take my CAMERA phone. So no pictures of Jack drooling over Thomas to be enjoyed. Sorry.

Our tickets were at 8:30 to ride on Thomas, which worked out perfectly. When we were leaving around 11:30, the line up getting into the madhouse of crazed toddlers was very very long.

The ride on Thomas was cool. Jack's face when he first saw Thomas was not the emotion I thought he was going to have. It was one of fear. As Thomas rolled past us, I could almost read his thoughts - "Oh my gosh Thomas is BIG". The ride on Thomas lasted about 25 minutes, which basically was the train going one way for 12.5 minutes and then back for the remaining time. Of course Jack was saying "choo choo" about every other second. His other word he now says is "baby". He points to another short person and says "baby". And there was no shortage of short people, thats for sure.

After the ride, we walked around the train museum and saw all the old engines and railway cars. The place is the largest train museum in the west, or at least what they call themselves. We got to go up into old cars, including an old post office car where they would sort the mail as they traveled. It was pretty cool to see all the letter bags and old mail sitting in the little cubbies.

Then we walked into a building called "Imagination Station" but what I fondly call "Mass Chaos of Crazed Toddlers". It basically was a whole lot of train sets and other Thomas-related play things. When you walk in, it is literally a sea of toddler boys all sitting around playing with trains. Of course, Jack didn't take very long to join the chaos. It was quite amusing to watch the tantrums taking place all around as a mother would attempt to take her Thomas-addicted toddler out of the building.

Which leads me to the next question - What is it with Thomas? I mean really it is the crack cocaine of the toddler set. Claire mentioned this the other day in her blog and seriously, I think there is some sublimal messages being sent out to all our toddlers and the parents to spend more and more money on Thomas-related crap. And of course there was another whole building dedicated to buy ANYTHING you can imagine that has that little blue engine face on it. And the line to buy said blue-engine crap? That was literally out the door! I just want to meet the marketing genius behind all the craziness! And ask for a loan!

But we had a good time. I think Jack was a bit overloaded with all the choo-choos. He was one tired baby when we got home. And of course, barring major sickness, we will be back again next year. The addiction runs deep with this family.

The Thomas Obsession Grows

We are going to the Day out With Thomas tomorrow morning bright and early. We have a scheduled train ride ON Thomas at 8:30 in the morning. To be honest, I have been looking forward to this for like the last 6 months to finally arrive in our area. I will be hopefully posting lots of pictures of the boy and his idol tomorrow.

SAHM or Part-time SAHM???

That is the question. An opportunity has come up that has me seriously thinking about not quitting work altogether. Yesterday I received an email from a friend who owns his own business and is looking for a part-time accounting person. The thing is, he is moving the business and will be about 5 miles from our house! How convenient is that. He was wondering if I would be interested. Again how convenient is it that I will be unemployed after next week?

I will have to talk to him about all the particulars and everything, but I am thinking about it. It sounds like I can even do a lot of work from home. Even better. I told him that I wouldn't be available until after the beginning of the year. I at least want that much time off. I will need it to destress from the current job situation. Of course, I have to figure out the whole daycare thing. Jack's daycare is literally 6 minutes from this job. Hmmm. Something to think about.

No More Pioneering Spirit

We have our microwave back!!! After two and a half weeks of no microwave and having to live like the pioneers in the dark ages, we now can nuke to our hearts content. Phew! I seriously was having nuke withdrawals.

Online Banking

Have you ever noticed just how FAST your money goes with online bill pay? I mean on payday wham the money is there, but give me 5 minutes online and bam there it goes. At least with the old-fashioned method of check-writing it didn't seem to go so fast.

LOL and I post this after my previous post of furniture shopping splurge!

Another Day Down and New Furniture!

Today was another day done at work. I only have 5 more days left until I am out of there! I am sooooooo ready to just leave all that stress and problems and walk away. I had another lady I work with tell me in so many words that she thought that was unprofessional and that I should care more. Excuse me? I gave a 4.5 week notice, and THAT is unprofessional. Whatever. I am just counting the hours until I am out of there. Even if we figure out that I need to start earning money down the road, I just DO NOT want to work there anymore. There are a lot more jobs out there with a lot less stress. One of the great things about accounting jobs - every business needs one. HA!

So yesterday, we did something that I am SOOO excited about. We bought new furniture!!!! I had gone into the furniture store looking at tables because our kitchen table is really on its last legs (literally). And with all the family we have coming for Christmas, well I thought we needed a new one. So I found a perfect one for our kitchen. It is one of those pub height tables with the bar stool height chairs around it. And it matches our cabinets to a T. So while we were there, the sales lady told us about their interest-free until 2010! Yeah 5 years from now. Interest Free! Yeah that got this accountant's brain working and before you know it, we are picking out a whole new family room! Yep not only did we get the table, we got a new sofa, loveseat, recliner, coffee table, and 2 end tables. BUT we have FIVE years to pay it off at no interest! It is being delivered on Dec. 1 and I can. not. wait. I don't think I have been that excited about buying anything since um, gee I don't know when. Oh yeah, anybody know anybody who wants a sectional couch with recliner that has been spit up on, and scratched to death from cats, and you don't want to know what the dogs did to it. Yuck.

TWENTY MONTHS!!

Is it really possible that it has been TWENTY months since Jack was born? I guess it is no longer appropriate to call him by his month age. I mean 20 months sounds pretty stupid when describing his age. So from now on, he is "almost 2". OH MY GOD, he is ALMOST TWO! Wow time does fly after you have kids.

So since he is 20 months today, I thought that I would talk a little bit about what he has been doing lately.

**His newest passion is trains, or choo-choos as he calls them. Both Jim and I have scoured the internet looking for video clips of trains for Jack to watch on the computer. He will sit on our laps and watch choo-choos. He even says "choo-choo, chugga chugga chug" while doing it.

**I am pretty sure that our Christmas gift to him is going to be a big hit. We bought him a wooden train set and Thomas tanks to go with it. The reason I know this is because yesterday we went to Barnes & Nobel where they have a Thomas train setup. In fact, the kid remembered this and said "choo-choo" as we were walking in the door. So I went and picked up some books to look at and then went over to the choo-choo place and let Jack play. He played with that for a full hour while I sat and read. I do not think he has EVER played with anything for a full hour. Oh yeah and the temper tantrum and screaming that the poor patrons of B&N had to endure as I dragged the boy out of the store was of epic proportions.

**Another of his favorite toys in the house is the laundry basket. He will pile all his stuff animals in the basket and then climb in and say "choo-choo". Which in Jack-speak means he wants us to push him all over the house in the basket. Thank goodness Jim devised a handle out of one of his belts, so now I just pull him and 3000 stuffed animals around the house. Problem is, he never wants to quit and can keep going forever.

**As I mentioned before, he is talking more and more. It really is fun to see him opening up and being able to communicate with us.

**He loves music. Any type of music is fine with him. It doesn't matter if it is just a jingle on a commercial or a Pink Floyd song, the kid will dance to anything. He is so funny when he "dances". His form of dancing is basically bending his knees over and over and bobbing his head. I call it "white baby dancing". It is so cute and I have tried to get it on video several times, but every time I bring out the camera, he stops and grabs at the camera.

To my talking, dancing, choo-choo loving little guy - Happy Almost 2 Birthday!

I am such a WIMP!

I picked Laura up from her cheerleading practice last night. One of her coaches had been pregnant. It was pretty amazing to see her out there 9 months pregnant and still coaching cheer. Me? I was on bedrest laying on my right side 24/7 - Fun! Well, she had her baby girl on Monday, Halloween, 5 days ago! And what was she doing last night? Yep you got it, she was coaching cheer. FIVE days after giving birth.

That made me think about giving birth to Jack. I am such a wimp! Five days after I gave birth, I felt like I was barely functioning. I was getting out of the house a little bit, but to coach cheer and act all bubbly? Um that would be a NO. Of course, it didn't help that Jack and I were in the hospital for 3 days because of the lingering infection we both had.

So yes I am a wimp compared to this wonder cheer person. Can I hate her?

Words!

I have to say that the words are coming fast and furious now with Jack. His list of words are quite long now. Along with saying Sissy, Daddy, Mama, kitty cat, doggie, he also says the names of the dogs - Bob & Tosha. He says bath, book, bye-bye, banana, cereal, treat, candy, choo-choo, the list goes on and on. Not only is it so much fun to hear him say these words, but now we get to communicate! Love It!

I mentioned this on Cooper's blog the other day, but thought I would also mention it here. I have been replaced as THE parent in the house. Jack has attached onto Daddy so much and Daddy reigns supreme in this house now. Probably because he knows that I am around more and Daddy is gone all day long. But man does the boy miss his Daddy AND his Sissy when they are gone. He will walk around the house saying "Daddy? Sissy?" and I will tell him that they are not here right now and he gets such a look of disappointment. The other night, Jim came home when Jack was in the bath. Jim popped his head in and said hello to us, but walked out to change his clothes and you should of seen how Jack's face just fell when Daddy walked out of the room. He no longer wanted to play in the water and was very happy to get out of the bath to go run naked through the house to see Daddy. He sure likes to have his whole family together!

The time has finally arrived that I have longed for and dreamt about since before I got pregnant - Jack loves books! It was until recently that he liked books, but he would get bored after 5 seconds of looking or listening to the story and move on. Now, he will walk up to me with a book in his hand and say "book" and want me to read it to him. He knows that before bedtime, we sit in the rocking chair in his room and read books. And now he sits and listens and points to the pictures! Love It!

Just Had To Share

I was filling the dog food dish earlier. Jack loves when I do this because he loves to hand feed the dogs. He will get a handful of dog food and take it to them wherever they maybe. So while I was filling the dish, Jack ran off and came back with his stuffed dog, Doggie. He then squatted down and put Doggie's face into the dog food bowl to feed Doggie also. I about died from laughing when I saw this. Too Funny! Too Cute!

Also to just update on our microwave-broken saga. The GE guy came and said that the magnatron thingy did go out. Of course he also tells me that he has NEVER seen a magnatron thingy go out on such a young microwave. Yeah leave it to us to have a record defective magnatron thingy. So he goes out to his truck and gets the part which is under warranty, but I have to pay $156 for his labor to install. Gah!

He then starts to take apart the microwave and then comes the gotcha. He can't get the top off to install the new magnatron thingy because the cabinets are in the way!! I either have to cut the trim off my really nice, that I totally love cabinets or not have a microwave!!! I called the builder about this "little" problem and the totally rude, ignorant lady on the other end started to laugh when I told her my dilemma. She then said "I can't believe that". At this point, I was in no laughing mood and asked her if she thought I was lying. She then said that she has to "look into this to see if there is anything they can do". Of course our one year warranty with the builder was up in June. So I am pretty sure that they are going to come back and say NO. They can't do anything. Meanwhile, we are still living like the pioneers with no microwave!

The Hottest In The Nation!

That was us yesterday. I just saw on the news that yesterday, Nov 1, we were the hottest in the nation at 96 degrees! Good grief! The Santa Ana winds were up and totally warmed this place up. We are going to get down right cold today - all the way down to 80! Get your turtlenecks out and long johns! I do miss the fall weather. The crisp cool weather. I just don't miss the snow and down right bone-chilling winter weather.

Jack is still pretty sick. We stayed in yesterday. Jim didn't have to go to work until 11 yesterday, so I took that opportunity to clean up the totally disorganized desk and pay some bills. I also broke down and called the dsl company about our totally slow internet. Of course it was 49 minutes of my life that was a waste. Basically, they could not figure out why our internet speed was at 10% of what it should be. And they are coming to the house on Friday between 8am and 5pm. Nice small window there - 8 HOURS that I can't go anywhere. And I just know they will show up at 4:45pm. I just know it.

The microwave man is showing up today between 1 and 4 pm. So I will have a small window of opportunity to actually get out of the house this morning. I am getting seriously stir-crazy. I haven't been out since Monday after we got home from Jack's doctor. I think a trip to Target this morning is calling me. Of course that is if Jack seems better. He still has a pretty bad cough and it gets worse when he gets excited. He also threw up last night. Love that. There is no warning from him. He was sitting on the couch next to me watching the movie Robots and the next moment, I had lovely puke all over me and the couch. Just a reminder for me NOT to get new furniture.

Oh and what is up with Gilmore Girls last night? A rerun! The season just started and reruns already! What is up with that? Isn't November a sweeps month and the really cool shows are on? I still watched it. I am that addicted to GG!

I have missed work all this week so far. I do plan on going in tomorrow. I kinda have to go in because payroll has to be done by Friday and I am the only one who knows how to do that. I have to train the other girl on how to do payroll. Work is a real sore spot with me right now. My boss, who I am thinking is a total idiot at this point, is not going to replace me for a few months! He thinks that he can just reassign my work to other people or do it himself. I KNOW this is not going to work. Oh and he also thinks that he is going to keep me on the system so I can have access at home and he can call me and ask questions. Yeah he has another think coming because I am so done with that place. I wish I could walk away right now and never look back.

And lastly, I talked to my friend Jamie yesterday and she had her baby girl, Emily Grace (love that name) on Oct 23. It sounds like her birth was REALLY hard and after about 10 hours of hard labor, she ended up having a C-section. By that time, they had given her morphine and she was totally out of it by the time her little girl was born and then she slept the entire first day. She was really bummed about the birth experience because I know she was looking forward to the "magical moment". But in reality, very few of us actually have it. I know I was out of it with a high fever when Jack was born and it wasn't the "magical moment" that I had wanted. But she is trying cope with a newborn as we all have during that first week or month. I told her that when Jack gets better and I am finally unemployed, I would stop over for a visit. I can't wait to see her little girl. Ahh babies. Love em.

Halloween 2005

This year Jack was a pirate for Halloween. I did take him out trick-or-treating to 3 neighbor houses last night. It was REALLY warm here last night, so warm that I myself was wearing shorts. So I figured that it couldn't hurt to go out. He REALLY got into the whole getting candy thing. But he was polite and always said thank you.

When we came back, he stayed dress as the pirate and helped me hand out the candy. He thought that was really fun also. There were a few times when the look on his face was pure priceless when he saw a really scary mask. He wasn't really scared, but more intrigued. You could almost hear him saying "what in the world is up with that guy?".

Jack also found out the pure joy that is a hershey candy kiss. I let him have one out of the bowl of candy and again the look on his face was priceless. He is no longer an innocent in the ways of chocolate. He now knows the magic that only chocolate can bring. He also learned how to get the foil off the candy kisses and pop them in his mouth all under 5 seconds. He became a crazed little chocolate-loving pirate last night. At one point I had run out of candy and went inside to get another bowl. I stepped outside and Jack saw me with that bowl of candy and literally screamed "CANDY". I think it is all downhill from here.

Yep He's Sick

Poor little Jack, he's sick on Halloween. The doctor said whatever crud he has, it has settled in his upper respiratory system causing an infection. Or to put it simply - he has bronchitis. The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics, cough medicine, and a steriod to make the swelling go down from the croup.

But let me tell you, that no sickness is going to make Jack NOT flirt with the little girls in the doctor's office. Oh my gosh, do I have a ladies man on my hands! When we first got there, he noticed right away the little girl who was about a year old. He pointed and said "baby". Then he walked over to her, smiled, waved, said hi, and then BLEW her a KISS! He then squealed and ran back to me. Oh lordy are we gonna be in trouble when this kid goes through puberty! Seriously, they talk about locking girls up when they turn teenagers, the parents of those girls are gonna make US lock up Jack!

I am still not sure if I am going to be taking Mr. Flirt out trick-or-treating tonight. I may play it by ear and just take him to 2 or 3 houses if he is feeling good.

Happy Halloween!

Stuff

Jack slept through the night a lot better last night. Of course, just because HE slept through the night, doesn't mean I slept through the night. I was up 3 times checking on him, making sure that he was still breathing and the vaporizer was still working. So still tired on the Mommy front.

I have an appt at the doctor's in about an hour. He doesn't sound like a barking seal, but he does have a deep chest cough now and it is sounding very "wet". I just hope that it hasn't turned into pneumonia. He also is running a fever.

I have posted a couple of wish lists for Jack from Amazon/Toys R Us and One Step Ahead store. So for all the grandmas, grandpa, aunties, and uncles out there who want to contribute to the Christmas Jack charity, there it is. The only thing Jack is getting from us is the train table/set.

I plan on posting for Laura also. Her birthday is Dec 5th, so it will be used as both birthday/Christmas Laura charity fund. It is really hard to buy for a pre-teen girl. Basically she loves clothes, but I usually don't pick out the "right" clothes and she has a TON of clothes that her mother bought her. So I am still trying to go through the online stores to come up with something for her wish lists.

Speaking of Laura, I think I signed up to be room mother at her school or something. I took her to school on Friday and walked up to her classroom with her. She loved showing Jack off to her friends who loved doting on him and he loved them doting also. So I was talking to another mother there who helps out in the morning corraling the kids into school and therefore cutting down on the chaos. I told her that I was about to become a SAHM and she jumped right on that. She said that they will be needing help with the Thanksgiving thing. Not even sure what the "Thanksgiving thing" is, but I signed up to help with it. Laura goes to a private school that really is phenomenal. It is K-8th grade and the way they really care about the kids and the entire environment is what public schools should be, but most likely not. She is also a grade ahead in math and spelling and learning French. I hope to have Jack attend that school if we are still in California when he enters school.

But right now, I have to get a little boy dressed and off to the doctor.

Happy Halloween Everybody! Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures of Jack in his costume for you later.

Have You Ever Tried To Sleep With A 30lb Almost 3 Ft Flopping Fish?

Because that is what it felt like last night when we had Jack sleep with us. I put him in bed with us because he woke up crying and coughing and miserable. But let me tell you, it isn't as easy to sleep with a toddler as an infant! I think the last time Jack slept with us was when he was about 7 months old and I thought he took up a lot of room THEN! But most of the night, I clung for dear life trying not to fall off as the flopping fish flopped all over the bed. I now understand how he is in totally different places of the crib everytime I check on him.

So needless to say Jim and I have had 2 sleepless nights where the combined sleep of both nights MIGHT add up to 8 hours. This croup thing is gonna kill us!

I do really feel bad for Jack because you can just tell he feels horrible. And I will probably keep him home tomorrow which means that he is going to miss the halloween party at daycare. I know that he won't know or understand what he is missing, but I will. I was looking forward to seeing the pics of him in his costume with the other kids.

On top of all this, I am having my "monthly time" and it is NOT a fun one. Major crampage going on here. It looks like another totally lazy day in Jackaroo World. Thank goodness for the fall behind time change!

Excuse me while I go get another cup of COFFEE!

Early Morning ER Visit

We took Jack to the ER this morning. It all started yesterday afternoon. He started to have a cough and I thought he was just getting the cold that both Jim and I have been fighting this week. So when he went to bed, I gave him some Tylenol and Pedia Care for the cough. I checked on him before I went to bed and he wasn't sleeping very well. He was tossing and turning.

I woke up at 3:30 am to him crying and making this god-awful sound in his chest. I picked him up and put him in bed with us. He was hot and just plain miserable. His breathing was really labored and I watched his chest sink in every time he tried to take a breath. Of course, my mind jumps to the worst. I remember Pat telling me that they came close to losing her granddaughter when she was around 18 months to RSV and it was pretty scary for a couple of days. So, yes I am thinking of all these horrible things in my mind as I am watching him.

So about 4:30 we get up and drive to the hospital. When we get there, his temp is 102.7, his cough is sounding absolutely horrible, and his heart rate is racing at 165! We see the doctor and he says to us that it is only Croup and not dangerous. Talk about relief. Of course I had heard of croup, but it didn't even occur to me that is what was wrong with Jack. The evil nurse gave him a shot of steriods to reduce the swelling of the airway and hooked him up to a tube of cool mist oxygen to open up the airways. He was such a trooper. He was so pitiful when they gave him the shot because he really couldn't cry very well without coughing and sounding like a seal barking. But, even the nurse said that he did really well.

We took his stuffed dog, Doggie, with us. At one point when he was breathing the oxygen, he gave some to Doggie to help Doggie breath better also. So cute!

So after we came home, we were THE laziest people on the planet today. All we did was sit around in our jammies (all of us) and watch tv. Jack played with his blocks, legos, choo-choos, and cars. He is doing better, but they say that it takes about a week for it to go away and it is always worse at night. I plan on having a long night.

In other news, our microwave is still out of commission. We couldn't get somebody to come to the house until this coming Wednesday. Hopefully it is the magnetron thingy because then it is still under warranty. If not, then we may have to buy another one. It came with the house and is one of those over the stove kinds. Argh. And tonight we had to heat up leftovers like the Pioneers did in the olden days. We had to use the oven! Gasp! Can Wednesday get here any sooner?

Getting The Urge

I got it bad I think. The big IT is redecorating Jack's room. I just spent about 30 minutes looking at toddler beds online. I really like the Thomas the Tank bed, but not sure I like it for $200. I know that when we do redecorate the room, it is going to be in Thomas motif. That's a given. The boy is so over-the-top crazy about Thomas, we just can't do anything else. So the question is to get him (and spoil the child even more!) the $200 Thomas toddler bed or another much cheaper (like under $100) toddler bed.

My other quandry is letting him sleep in a non-crib. In other words letting him sleep in something else besides a cage every night. I like the fact that when I put him down, he will stay there until I go pick him up in the morning. I am just not sure I am ready for his potential wanderings during the night. I know that at some point all kids have to make the transition because lets face it, they can't stay in cribs until they are 10 years old, right? But my question is how do parents get any sleep knowing that their little toddler has the potential to just wander during the night? And do you shut their bedroom door and just childproof everything in their room? But isn't that dangerous? Yeah Yeah. I know, I am being overprotective here.

The next question since I know it HAS to happen, is WHEN. Do I wait until after Christmas and all the excitement of having grandparents and auntie staying here? Or do I transition him soon so he can show his grandparents what a big boy he is sleeping in his big boy bed?

Questions! Decisions! Man this is hard!

Yay! I Can Post!

Our internet is still really slowwww right now. It is comparable to dial-up! I am really hating Verizon dsl at this moment. It seems like about every 6 months or so, it just wants to quit working. I call them up and they give me the run around and about a week later, it is working again. I am thinking about switching to another company. Hmm that is a good idea! Have to put that on my list of things to do when I am unemployed. That list is becoming quite long, I tell ya.

The other thing that is not working in the house is our microwave! Have you ever gone without a microwave for 3 days? It is hard! The thing just up and quit on me on Sunday. Another phone call I have to make. The thing is only a little over a year old. Geesh they just dont make things like they used to.

Yesterday, I stayed home sick. I think the flu shot that I got on Saturday made me sick. I started to feel it on Monday and in the middle of the night, I woke up really NOT feeling good. All I can say is Thank God for daycare in those situations. I took Jack to daycare yesterday morning, came home and promptly crawled back into bed and did not wake up until almost 1pm! But I felt better after that wonderful sleep. I will miss daycare when I am unemployed. His daycare is only about 5 minutes away from our house and it is so handy for times like yesterday.

Jack woke up this morning at 5 am. I was up myself at 4 am this morning, so it wasn't too bad. I think with all that sleep I had yesterday, my body said "enough sleep girl!". I got up at that early hour when nobody else was up and watched the Gilmore Girls episode from last night. Okay, just have to say that either Rory or Lorelie are just going to have to make the first move. They are both being stupid. And man was Emily cold to Rory after she found out that she was having sex! Geesh, what did she think? The girl is 21 after all. Yeah, I know, I get pretty passionate over Gilmore Girls.

I am trying to get Jack to take a nap right now. I told the office that I would be in sometime today to get some things done. I am going to have to take Jack with me, so that should be fun! We'll see just how well that goes over. Thank goodness the boss is out this week and won't see the destruction that my little tornado can do to the office. Can I just say again that I can not wait to be unemployed?

Oh yeah, Jim's sister and her husband is arriving tonight for a visit. She lives in Seattle and I haven't met her yet. I am looking forward to meeting her because she really does inspire me. Without going into much detail, Jack is actually named after her two sons who were killed in a tragic boating accident when they were 3 and 6. She also lost her husband in the same accident. How she managed to survive is beyond me. I am pretty sure you would have to lock me up in a padded cell. Anyway, I am looking forward to meeting her. Of course that means a flurry of cleaning activity once I know that the boy is truly asleep napping.

Weekend Adventures

I tried to post all weekend long, but to no avail. Our internet was being soooooo slow that it would freeze up whenever I tried to get into the blogger post. So here I am at work posting.

We up and did it on Saturday. We cut Jack's hair. I will have pictures later when I can get the internet working at home. But he looks so much older now! Both Jack and Daddy got a haircut at the same time. Jack started to cry, but when he was turned around and saw that Daddy was getting the same thing done, he stopped crying and took it like a big boy. I do miss the curls and Pat, his daycare lady, was upset at the loss of his curls. But he looks so much better now, I have to admit. He was looking pretty much like a ragamuffin child!

He suddenly seemed to start communicating this weekend. Yesterday morning he walked up to me and said "wheres Sissy?" I told him that she was taking a shower. I could tell that he didn't understand the word shower, so I said she is taking a bath. He said "Bath? Okay." He then runs down the hall to the bathroom and starts pounding on the bathroom door yelling "Sissy Sissy Sissy". After a few minutes of not getting Sissy's attention he walks back into the family room, hands the remote control to me and says "ChooChoo". Which meant he wanted to watch Thomas. So I put on one of the Thomas shows. He then crawls up into my lap and is so happy to just sit there and watch Thomas. He is just spouting new words daily now. So fun to watch and hear!

I also went shopping this weekend for new clothes for him. He had 2 pairs of long pants that fit him. The kid now is wearing a 2T. He also got a Thomas the train shirt that he literally hugged all through the store. Do ya think the kid likes Thomas? I also got Laura's birthday covered that is on Dec 5th. She is getting a really cool pair of pjs, a couple of cool shirts, and a chearleading teddy bear dressed in her chear team colors and her name on it. So cute.

We went walking around the outlets yesterday and Jim saw this Thomas Lionel train set and before you know it, he and the owner guy of the hobby shop were talking strategy on how to hang the track around a kid's bedroom. Yeah, Jack will probably have a Thomas the train Lionel set running around the ceiling of his bedroom. Can you say spoiled child?

Oh Man I Remember That

Laura came to me last night crying. It was after I told her to go to bed and I had just gotten in bed myself. She comes in my bedroom with tears running down her face. She was saying that she missed her Mom and she tried to call her but she wasn't there.

So I tried to do my best Mom to her. As a step-parent you walk a fine line between friend and parent. I figured now was the time that I needed to be parent. So I hugged her and just let her cry on my shoulder for awhile. It came out that some girls at school were being really mean and snotty to her and they made her cry in school earlier this week. And boy do I remember how horrible girls can be to other girls. I was that girl that was picked on a lot, probably because I was so shy and sensitive and they sensed it, like animals sense fear.

I tried to give her my best "boost your self esteem, you are better than them" talk. Because really that is what is all about - self esteem that at 9 or 10 years old, you are sorely lacking. Not to mention, she is dealing with her mother's sickness, her parents being divorced, and having 2 homes. I told her that I thought she was one terrific kid and it was okay to cry - part of being a girl is crying.

When I told her to go try to get some sleep, she walked away and then came back and gave me another hug and told me that "I am not her stepmom, but her other mother". Ahhh, I started to cry then!

Early Morning Wake Up Call

Jack woke up at 5:30 am this morning. On MY day off. This kid has to understand between days off and days on. Thank goodness there won't be any days on very soon, but still the kid needs to know the difference.

I brought him into bed with me. Jim had left for work already. He was gone at 3:30 - poor guy. So Jack thought being in bed with Mommy and the kitties was just the funnest thing in the world. He jumped and rolled and laughed, pretty much everything BUT sleeping.

Unfortunately, I won't be there when he crashes for his afternoon nap, because I know he will crash after that early morning romp. I promised my friend Mark that I would go over and help him with the payroll today. I have been helping him out the last couple of weeks. He was just hired on as the general manager of a maid service. It is a pretty big operation to manage, not something I ever really thought of. So for all my hardwork helping him with the totally screwed up accounting system they have, I am going to get my house cleaned for free in December right before my entire family shows up for Christmas. Yay for clean houses!

Well Elmo's World is over and I need to get over. (Elmo's World allows me to get on the computer without a child whining for my attention)

Lame!

Jack and his diaper rashes are going to be the end of me, I just know it. Although his latest rash is clearing up and looking a lot better than on Sunday when it was bleeding. I decided to call today to get him into see his doctor and see if there is anything he can give me to clear up whats left of the rash this time and maybe to help the future rashes (yes I know they are going to happen, just like death and taxes, there is Jack's butt and rashes!). I also thought that I could get Jack a flu shot and kinda cross off two things off my to-do list.

So I call the doctor this morning at 9 am and I explain to the receptionist that I would like to get my son an appointment today. She puts me on hold for like 5 minutes and comes back finally to say that I could bring him in at 2:15. I repeated it back to her "2:15?" and she said "yes". I think cool.

So I get there at 2:08 and guess what? They are CLOSED. It seems that they close at NOON on Wednesdays! Now how in this world could that person I talked to make me an appointment at 2:15? And why in the world do they close at NOON on Wednesdays???? I really do like Jack's doctor, but his hours suck and his staff is NOT nice, or at least most of them anyway. They close at NOON on both Wednesday and Friday and on the other 3 days, they are closed from noon - 2:00 for lunch! Who gets a 2 hour lunch?

Trust me, they are going to be hearing from me tomorrow!

Obligatory Morning Picture

Boy watching The Wiggles in his jammies holding Doggie and Murphy.

Looks Like We Need To Hide The Christmas Presents

I posted earlier about how we bought Jack a train set for Christmas. Well we also bought 2 of the train engines from the Thomas set - the Thomas train of course and the Jack train of course. Jack knows Thomas so well now that when he sees it in the store his eyes light up and he starts squealing in delight. In fact, he drug the Thomas board game behind him throughout the store until I could get him occupied on another toy.

This obsession with Thomas led to a problem tonight. I had the 2 Thomas trains sitting on the counter and Jack happened to spot them. I told him that he could not have them right now. The crying, screaming and tantrum that followed was of epic proportions. I tried to get him interested in his legos, mega blocks, the bouncy ball, his play phone, and his corn popper, but NOTHING would get his mind off the 2 little trains that sat on the counter. Do ya think that I need to hide the Christmas presents from now on?

Well I Did It

It as in gave my notice today to quit my job. I thought that I would feel a little more regret than I do, but really I just can't wait to walk out of here! I have been with this company for 6 1/2 years and have seen a lot of changes. My responsibilities have grown tenfold since signing on to be just their accountant. I have been very loyal and could of gone elsewhere to bigger paychecks, but I stayed here because a) I was loyal and wanted to help the company and b) I was comfortable and knew my job inside and out. And did it very well, thank you very much.

But today after I told my boss, all I wanted to do was run out the door! Forget loyalty. I gave him 4 weeks notice stating that my last day would be Nov 11. He will probably be asking me to come in on a consulting basis and help them through year-end which nobody knows how to do. Ha! I get extra moola.

But as of Nov 11, I will officially be a SAHM. I can. not. wait.! I already looked up online and there is a playgroup of about 30 mothers in my area that have get togethers twice a week and even Mom's night out events. They are all like so organized with their own website and message board and everything. Impressive. I also am going to enroll Jack in My Gym probably starting after the holiday craziness. It is pretty spendy, but I think it will be so good for him.

Whew! What a relief. I think a thousands pounds were just lifted off my shoulders.

Lazy Rainy Day

We did not end up going to the fair today. It was raining and cold here today. So instead we made a trip to Toys R Us for some early Christmas shopping. Laura was with us, so shopping for her was out. Although I think I am going to get her one of those kid's video cameras so she can take her own video and edit it on the computer.

Anyway, as usual Jim and Jack found their way to the cars, trucks and trains sections and were BOTH totally enthralled with all things testosterone. It really is funny to see them both check out a car or tractor and start pushing buttons. Laura and I just roll our eyes at the boys.

We did buy the train set that I was looking at on Amazon. It was on sale at $20 off. We also got him a Thomas engine and a Jack engine of course to go with the train set. Oh yeah and I got a new winter coat for Jack which was only $14 on sale. Score!

We also took advantage of their buy one board game and get one free sale. We bought scrabble and sorry in case you were wondering.

After Toys R Us we went to get lunch. While we were sitting there, Jack started fidgeting and whining. I was thinking it was just nap time. But then I could smell that he needed his diaper changed. And when I changed him, I could not believe his bottom. In a matter of 3 hours, his bottom went from just slightly red to blistered and actually bleeding! It is the worst diaper rash that I have ever seen him have. Poor thing, I would have been screaming my head off if my bottom was like that. I really don't know what is up with his diaper rashes. He goes for a couple of months with nothing and then all of a sudden, it just sprouts. I seriously have every single diaper rash treatment on the market I believe.

When we came back home, Laura and I played Scrabble while Jim and Jack took naps. Poor Jim, he has to go into work tonight at midnight for a 14 hour shift. He works so hard!

Oh and now it is thundering! I guess summer is over.

Wallace & Grommit will go down in History

As the first movie that Jack saw in the theatre. He did really well. There was only one time that I had to take him out of the theatre because he was screaming. I have no idea what came over the kid, maybe it was a scary scene in the movie, but he was NOT a happy Jackaroo. But he walked back in like a big boy and up the steps and everything was fine after that. I am not sure he watched much of the movie. He was very interested in his popcorn and drinking the pop with the straw. At one point I sat him in the chair next to me, which he wasn't heavy enough to make it go all the way down so he sat with his legs up and he thought that was the funniest thing. But he sat there with his legs up in the air and his bag of popcorn and he looked like such a little man.

We then went into the mall WITHOUT a stroller. Oh yeah that was fun. He was running through the mall squealing and man that kid can run fast. There is a reason for strollers I tell ya.

But a fun day all in all. Jim has been having weekends off and he just makes the weekends so much better by having him around.

I think we are off to a small country fair today, that is if it doesn't rain on us. But if it does, we are gonna play some board games and just have a good family day.

One Week Later

Well it has been one week since I started following the diet prescribed by the doctor I saw at the wellness clinic. And I am a true believer now! I waited until now to mention anything on the blog because I wanted to give it one whole week, but I can now say that I feel like a completely new person! It is truly amazing. Before, I literally thought that there was some dreaded disease wrong with me. I could barely function and walked around like a zombie not enjoying life at all. Everything was a chore, including just getting out of bed or playing with my son. I forced myself to trudge ahead and just do it.

But now, I feel like the weight of an elephant has lifted off my shoulders! Literally! I can't put into words just how much life has improved for me. I now jump out of bed at 6 am or before not feeling like I need another 10 hours of sleep, but feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. I have WHOLE days where I do not have ANY headache whatsoever. Before, there was never a minute that I did not have a headache. The headaches were just varying degrees of pain is all. I don't walk around in a mental fog and it literally hurt to think before. Now I am able to do my job so much better and efficiently. Kind of ironic that my boss gets on me about not being at work enough when I now FEEL good enough to work. HA! His loss.

I feel like my old self. My self that was BEFORE Jack invaded my body. I kept telling people that a year and half later, I still have not recovered from pregnancy and they would laugh, but it was the truth. I have read a couple of books (and this one) about this condition this week and both of them say that pregnancy is a factor in how this starts. Also my pre-eclampsia during the last 5 weeks of my pregnancy worsened matters. Part of that was my fault because during my 5 week bedrest (torture), I pretty much ate non-stop and all nothing but bad stuff.

The diet itself is pretty easy to learn, but hard to follow at least in the beginning. For the past week, I have had NO sugar of any kind, including natural sugars from fruit. I have had NO bread, pasta, dairy. I have had a lot of vegetables (any veggies except potatoes and corn), tuna salads, chicken breast (made some really yummy chicken the other night). I made fajitas last night and just did not have any tortillas. The first couple of days were really hard. We went shopping at the Commissary last Sunday and all the halloween candy was sitting there and I was literally salivating! But the last few days, I have no more cravings for sugar and in fact, am rarely even hungry! But I noticed that when I do get hungry, it comes on fast!

I have been taking vitamin supplements also that are supposed to help kill off the yeast in my system. I have even managed to lose about 4 pounds! Who knows maybe by the time Jack turns 2, I will actually be back to the weight I was when he was conceived!

My dramatic difference has shown itself in other areas. My house is cleaner, laundry is caught up, and I have made dinner almost every night this week. My disposition is much better also. The proof was last night when I took Jack and Laura to Toys R Us to buy diapers and check out stuff for Xmas. I saw that the play doh sets were on sale - buy one for $9.99 and get another for free. So I picked up 2 of them. When it was rang up, they charged me for both and the incompetant girl at the cash register was rude to me saying that it was no longer on sale. I argued that the sign was still up and I want my $10 back! Well after 15 minutes of a manager coming and going and doing who-knows-what, I finally got my $10 back. If this had happened before, I would of probably tried to get that poor girl fired. Everything would just set me off. Talk about permanent PMS!

So yeah, I highly recommend this diet to anybody who is feeling like crap and wondering why.

The Obsession Grows

Jack's obsession with his stuffed animals is getting out of hand. Yesterday, I was trying to go to the grocery store. I was telling Jack that we were going bye-bye, which usually makes him run to the door and say "ready", which sounds like "why" coming out of his mouth, but it is his ready. But not yesterday when I wanted to do a quick run to the grocery store. No my child had to throw a temper tantrum for 3 minutes. The reason? I told him that his stuffed animals had to stay home. He now has 4 that he can not be parted from. There is Doggie, Murphy, Wiffer, and now Mr. Bear the latest addition from the zoo trip. And the boy can't even hold all 4 at once, which doesn't stop him from trying and ends up with handing one or two to me to carry for him.

Anyway, yesterday I could tell that he was visibly upset at the thought of leaving the stuffed animals at home - ALONE! I mean there were tears, real tears, coming down his cheeks! So I thought, why not and let him carry them to the car, with me carrying Murphy and Wiffer. So I get him all strapped in and pile the animals on top of him and he looked so cute. I had to take this picture of him with my camera phone. At least I figure, he is a bit safer with all that cushion in front of him!

Big Changes In Jackaroo World!

Big Big Changes! And no it is not another baby coming, although that would be a big change now wouldn't it. But, this big change is that I am QUITTING my Job! I am going to officially give my letter of resignation on Monday, but the decision has been made - I am going to be a Stay At Home Mother (SAHM).

I am scared and excited all at the same time. I am scared about the finances and not having my own paycheck is going to be pretty weird. I am very independent person and like making money! I am also scared if I can handle being a SAHM. Can I handle Jack 24/7? THATS a scary thought right there. I am dropping his daycare obviously and don't have any babysitters in my area, except for my friend Janet who is about 20 minutes away. I am going to start asking around to see if I can score a couple of good reliable babysitters in my neighborhood. I am feeling bad about taking him out of daycare because he does love it so much there and I know that the social interaction with the other kids is really good for him. He is such a social kid. I asked Pat, his daycare provider, if she does "drop-ins" where I can drop him off for the day, but she doesn't. She is usually running full capacity for kids. I know Jack is going to miss her a lot.

The reason for this big change, is because the work environment has changed a lot in the last month or so. I know that my boss wants a full-time person in my position and I just won't do it. I offered to go 4 days a week, but 6 hours a day. He said okay, but I know that he still is not happy with my hours. He said that my work is really good, but I just need to be there more often. He is the one who offered for me to leave and go on unemployment that he would okay. And after running the numbers of unemployment and comparing to what I bring home after daycare and gas, well the numbers were VERY close. So that got me to thinking and I came home last night and Jack is the one who made my mind up. He was so cuddly (something he very rarely ever is!) for some reason. It felt to me like he was feeling like he has not seen me very much this week and couldn't get enough of me. He kept walking up to me and giving me huge hugs and kisses and just sat and cuddled in my lap for like 20 minutes. So I made my mind up right then and there last night.

Jim is happy about me quitting. He has been after me for a long time to quit. I think that with me not working, life around here is going to be a lot easier on all of us. Less Stress and and more happiness!

Thinking About Cold Weather

I was looking through the Lands End catalog this morning and I have to admit that for about 5 seconds I actually kinda sorta missed the cold weather that I grew up with in Michigan. I think what I miss is the snuggling up in warm clothes, but what I don't miss is the day in and day out living with snow and ice - yuck!

It is getting cooler here in California. It actually is quite chilly at night and in the mornings, but it has been in the mid-80's during the day. I guess I am missing the fall weather, not really the cold weather.

Speaking of cold weather, I have ordered Jack's "big" christmas gift. Jim finally got paid for his FEMA duty (YAY!) and thought I would get a jump start on Christmas this year. This is what I bought. I have been looking at them for some time now and for the money, this is really good. These train sets can go up to $500! No way I am going to spend that kinda money on the kid. I also am going to order Laura a couple of things and then put some money away so that Christmas isn't soooo hard this year.

Anyway, I am off today from work. I am going to go help my friend Mark who just started a new job and is having a bit of problems with the accounting part of it and well since that is my speciality, I said I would help out. He really needs it. Jack is being dropped off at his Aunt Janet's house to play with her other daycare kids.

Sentences!

Jack's vocabulary is growing these days and he has learned to put more than one word together at a time. Now don't get me wrong, most of the stuff he says is complete gobbligook to me. But, every now and then something will get through and it amazes me what he says.

Last week we were watching Laura at her cheer practice. This is always a fun thing to do with the Jackaroo because he is constantly wandering off onto the practice mat where the girls are. But there is a big sign posted that no siblings are allowed on the practice mat. Anyway, he was standing on my lap and happened to glimpse Laura doing her stuff and he does his little squeal and points at her and says clear as day "Thats my Sissy". Even the other mothers around me were staring at him in awe!

And then tonight we were sitting on the floor playing with his legos. He walked away to go get one from across the room, he comes back and hands it to me and says again clear as day "Hi Mom".

It is amazing how the little things can just tear at your heartstrings and you think you can't love this kid anymore than at that moment. This mother thing is the best!

Problem Solving

Jack was playing with his dump truck tonight. It actually is a pretty good sized dump truck. He was pushing it all around the family room as Jim and I were watching tv. When he got to the coffee table, he tried to push it under the coffee table, but the truck got stuck and wouldn't go under the table. So my smart genius (future Harvard grad) son went around to the other side of the table and pulled it through from that side. Pretty good problem-solving capabilities if you ask me, especially for a 19-month old.

The next problem we need solved is HOW are we gonna afford Harvard?

Lazy Saturday

Today has been a lazy Saturday. Here is a picture of Laura and Jack watching cartoons together this morning. Notice the ever-present Doggie also known as Jack's best friend.



And here is a picture of Daddy and Jack watching drag racing together. The boy was totally mesmerized by the zoom zoom cars. Notice the presence of the other best friend known as Murphy. The boy loves his stuffed doggies.

I Wasn't Going Crazy!

Today I had my appointment at the Wellness clinic and let me tell you what a difference between this place and pretty much every other doctor on the planet. I actually was able to sit down and have a conversation with the doctor at the clinic. She was so nice and just sat there and listened to what I had to say and did not brush me off or try to push pills on me to make me feel better. She asked questions about my pregnancy and the birth and the postpartum. I told her about my crazy schedule and everything that has been happening in our family lately. She sat there and listened to me for 45 minutes!! At the end she looked up from her notes that she was taking and said "I can help you". What a nice set of words to hear when you are basically feeling like shit and thinking you are going out of your mind.

She said that the reason I am having most if not all of my symptoms is because she thinks I have something called Candida. Below is just something that I copied from a website about Candida.

The most commom symptoms are: an incapacitating fatigue and problems with concentration and short-term memory, flu-like symptoms such as pain in the joints and muscle, extreme tightness in the shoulders and neck, hyper-acidity/acid reflux, brown colored mucus in the back of the throat, blisters in the mouth/tongue/throat, either white or "blood blisters," unrefreshing sleep, sore throat, white coated tongue, dark circles under the eyes, an aversion to being touched or jumping, "crawling" skin, chronic sinus problems and headaches including migraines, chronic dental problems.

Visual disturbances may include blurring, sensitivity to light and eye pain.

More of the physical symptoms may include chills and night sweats, shortness of breath, dizziness and balance problems, sensitivity to heat and/or cold, alcohol intolerance, gluten and/or casein intolerance, irregular heartbeat, irritable bowel, constipation and/or diarrhea, painful gas and abdominal bloating, low-grade fever or low body temperature, numbness, tingling and/or burning sensations in the face or extremities, dryness of the mouth and eyes, difficulty swallowing and projectile vomiting.

All the bolded items, are the symptoms that I have had and I thought that I was really going crazy. The doctor thinks that I have had this Candida since I was pregnant and has just gotten worse over the time. Basically what it is where yeast has gotten outta control in your body and has taken over your body. Hopefully with a good diet and vitamins, I can get back on track.

It was just nice to be taken seriously and know that there really is a reason why I have been feeling like I have been and not going crazy. I think my husband was about to call his brother who is a pyschiatrist and check me into the nuthouse! Yeah I was that bad.

How Sad Is This?

Today I have a doctor's appointment near LA. It is at a wellness clinic that checks you totally over and sees what they can do for you. I have been feeling pretty lousy lately, so I thought I would go do this and got an appointment. Hopefully they will just listen to me and my scheduled life to the nth degree and just tell me that it is all stress - who knows.

But anyway, in order for me to be able to actually go to the doctor near LA, Jim had to take the day OFF! Why? Well, you see, I couldn't take Laura to school and then who would take care of Jack because his daycare is not available on Fridays (I told her that I would have Jack on Fridays from now on and she has scheduled other kids that day). Oh yeah and Laura was getting out of school early today at noon, so there was that. In essence, with me being in LA for the day, meant that Jim had to take the day off. I am very grateful to him for doing that. He even mentioned the reason why to the Port Director (the Big Cheese) and he said that hope your wife feels better.

So that is what I am doing today...getting poked and prodded and hopefully come up with some reason why I am feeling lousy with a headache every single day.

How To Go From Zero To Mad In 3.6 Seconds

Have your husband call you at work and tell you that TPTB (The Powers That Be) are telling him that he has to go to Wash DC for 3 months starting in a week! Yeah. Can you say Mad? Jim called me on Monday to tell me this little bit of joyful news. It actually is a very big compliment because the big cheeses in DC really like what he does and they want him to show off. But, um, Big Cheeses, the man has a family and a life ya know. Do they realize how hard it is just to leave family and life for 3 months? But as it turned out the TPTB here in California actually wanted him MORE and said NO to the DC Big Cheeses. But, I have a feeling that is just temporary and in the near future his little trip to DC is gonna happen. I know that Jim loves his job and its a great job and important and all and provides us with a secure future, BUT it can be a major Pain In The Ass (PITA).

But because the TPTB here in California say he is so important to them, he has been put on the 8-5 shift instead of the 6-2 shift. I HATE that and so does Jim. It means that it can take over 2 hours for him to get home at night because of the oh so lovely traffic at that time. That means he never sees Jack during the week because a lot of the time, Jack is in bed or very close to bedtime when Daddy gets home. It also means that Laura is my responsiblity to take to school AND pick up from school. How one does all this AND try to keep MY job (which we kinda need if we wanna keep the house) is down right impossible. Oh and also get Laura to her cheer practice twice a week. All this and NOT going insane. Yeah. Mission Impossible.

In the Jackaroo News Department - He has been sleeping ALOT lately. It has become quite difficult keeping the kid awake much past 7pm these days. He is soooo tired around 6:30, that he will just stand and scream and scream and scream. When I ask him if he wants to "go sleepies" he nods his head and runs off to his room. He also doesn't wake up until 12 hours later! My thinking is that he is going through another growth spurt and will sprouting another inch or two very soon. Oh Yay, I get to buy more new pants for the boy.

He also has been talking a lot more, or I should say copying whatever we say. When I am yelling at one of the 4 leaches in our house (aka pets) he will go up to them and start yelling the same thing. So funny.

He also absolutely LOVES having his sister live with us. The first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is "Sissy" and just lets out this squeal of delight when he sees her. I also think it is good for her to know that somebody loves her so much and unconditionally. The girl has been having some self-esteem issues lately and having a little brother squeal in delight when he sees her, helps in that area. The two are going to be very close when they are older, I think.

And today is his 19th month birthday. Good Grief. He is growing up so fast. 19 months is closer to 2 years old than 1 year old. Oh my gosh, he's going to be 2 in five months! So I guess when somebody asks how old he is, I can say "almost 2".

Jack In The Box

Let me just start this post out by telling ya a little bit about me as a child. I was afraid of everything. Not just one or two things, but EVERYTHING. And in particular Jack-In-The-Boxes. They scared me to death. I mean you really never know WHEN that clown is going to jump outta that box. And it is frightening!

Flash forward over 30 years. Jim brought home a Jack-in-the-box from MS. The kid LOVES the thing. He starts to laugh his little head off and wants to twist the crank over and over again. He even goes up and plays with the evil clown! Yeah just another proof that not much of me is in that kid. In this case, it is a good thing.

Decisions Decisions!

Okay nobody told me going into this mothering, parenting gig that Halloween was such a tough holiday! I mean the decisions to make are sooo many. What shall my child wear for halloween? It seems like an innocent enough question doesn't it? But let me tell you, I have agonized over this very decision for the past 2 weeks. I have scoured online costume shops and catalogs in search for THE right costume. Really folks, it is NOT that simple!

First off, the sizes! It seems like all the cool costumes are made for the big kids like size 4 and up and the other category of costumes are for the babies like 12 months and down. What about for those kids in between? Seriously there are not a whole of options out there for the 24month 2T options. And you have to buy online or catalog because in the store - nothing for that size range.

Second, when you do find options in the appropriate size. The next question is WHAT is he gonna be. Do I wanna go all out with an elaborate costume? Believe me they are out there. Or something simple since it really is only one night and he won't remember it anyway.

So I pick option #2. Then there is there is the fact MY kid will NOT wear anything on his head. Period. Nothing. If it touches his head, it is coming off. So that narrows the costume choices by about 95%. Because they all come with a cute hat of some kind or another.

I tell ya, the decision was HARD. I did finally decide on something and ordered it online. No. You are not gonna find out what the Jackaroo is gonna wear for halloween until the time is right. I was just letting ya in on how HARD it was for ME.

Zoo Day

We went to the San Diego Zoo today. All 4 of us. We had a really good time and was really good to spend the day with all of us together as family time. If anybody has been to the SD Zoo, you know that the place is full of up and down steep hills and is a total work out for those of us not used to such things (like me). A few years ago, they put in these moving walkways to go up the steep hills, which are a very good idea for those out-of-shape butts like mine. BUT the walkway wasn't working when we wanted to us it. Yeah that was fun walking up the VERY steep grade. Jim did it with Jack on his shoulders. The man is superman I tell ya.

But we had fun and saw all kinds of animals. Jack got a big kick out of it all. Even Laura had a good time, even being in her pre-teen girl mood that she was in.

I think the big highlight of the day for Jack was at the end when we took a ride on the miniature train. The kid totally got into the "choo choo". In fact after the ride was over, he got out and started looking all around the train, as if he wanted to check out how the thing was made. He then started to crawl back onto the train and was NOT happy when Daddy pulled him off screaming.

Oh yeah and we added to our stuffed animal zoo that seems to be multiplying as we speak in our house. Of course we can't take Jack anywhere near stuffed animals in a gift shop without him latching onto one like it is his long lost best friend of all time. And today was no exception. He latched onto a polar bear and would not let go. period. So being the parents that spoil their children to death, we bought the polar bear. And of course since we buy one for Jack, we have to buy one for Laura. The curse of having 2 children. And on the way home in the car they were playing together with their bears in the backseat. Pretty cute.

So now everybody has gone to bed and for once, I have outlasted them all. A first. Usually I am the one dragging my out-of-shape butt to bed before anybody else. So on that note, since I have the tv to myself, I think I might just watch something besides Disney, Spongebob, Sesame Street or The History Channel. Wow!

The Boys Only Club

To kill time today before we had to pick Laura up, we decided to hit up Toys R Us, or also known as "The Two Boy's Heaven". Because my two boys (Jim and Jack) were just like two peas in a pod when it came to the cars, trucks, tractors, bulldozers, boats, and pretty much anything that made a rumbling sound. At one point I came around the corner and saw the two of them squatting down to check out a toy bulldozer that did about 28 different things and made about 56 different sounds. Oooohhh Aaahhh. It was so funny because when I saw the two of them checking out this "awesome" (Jim's word not mine) toy, I had a flash back to when I was pregnant and could only imagine that these times would happen. When the two of them would sit and play with guy stuff and leave me out of it completely. Yep that time has come. But I am not complaining because just watching the two of them is entertainment enough for me.