On Golden Pond

We went to a local lake yesterday to just hang out and enjoy the peaceful quietness that is there. We also took crackers with plans to feed the duckies, but they weren't coming close enough, so we ended up feeding the squirrels and birdies instead.

We also watched the fisherman and checked out the pontoon boats for rent there. We are planning to go back sometime and rent a boat for a few hours and Jack and Daddy can go fishing and Laura and I can soak up some sun. Yeah this girl doesn't fish, you can ask my entire fish-crazy family about that.

But it was a fun and relaxing day. However, Jack and I both have these coughs that are the rattly, deep in the chest kind. Despite the cough and no nap yesterday, Jack was quite the trooper all day until 7 last night.






These last two pictures I took just before we left the house. I couldn't believe I actually captured a picture of him looking AT me with a smile. Never ever happens. The second picture is a more normal one.

Where the Wild Things Are ... Part 2

We had a really fun time yesterday at the Wild Animal Park. We went with the mommy group and there were 5 mommies and 6 kids. The one mother with 2 kids was awesome. Not sure that I would be as awesome as her with 2 kids. She had a 2 1/2 year old and a 2 month old baby AND she was at the zoo by herself! Amazing. I am a wimp.

It was really nice to get out and actually have some adult conversation and the toddlers were all within about 5 or 6 months of each other. They had a good time, and the mommies had a good time. We did a lot of walking but the weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot and not too cold (wow that sounded like goldilocks hehe).

We ended up not doing some things that I would have done if we were alone - like the tram ride. It is an hour ride around the park, but the other mothers said that their toddlers wouldn't do very well for an hour. I think Jack would have been fine because he is so totally crazy about the animals. Most of the other mothers didn't want to go into the petting zoo because they were afraid of germs. I thought that was a little bit ridiculous. They did offer Purell on the way out and isn't petting zoos a rite of passage as a kid? So we will be doing the petting zoo and tram when we go back.

I bought the yearly pass with parking that gets us into this park and the San Diego zoo for the next 14 months. This park is a lot closer to us and I can see Jack and I going here a lot by ourselves or with the other mommies a lot. The yearly pass is only $126 for Jim and I and Jack is free until he is 3 (ALOT cheaper than Disneyland!). If we take Laura, I'll buy her a yearly pass for only $21. Not too bad.

I guess Jack was really exhausted last night because he went to bed BEFORE 7 pm and slept until 7 this morning. And I have to admit the day pretty much wiped me out also.


Jack loved the lions. We also saw a baby lion eating lunch from a baba. Jack kept saying "baby lion" over and over again. And of course when he came up to the lion here, he had to say "ROAR". He got that from the lion on the MGM logo on tv.

Here he is playing with his buddy Sam. They are the same age, Sam just turned 2 last week. They had a ton of fun together. I think Sam is a bit more adventurous than Jack, but Jack had to do whatever Sam did. Or I should say that Jack had to *climb* anything that Sam did. Also Sam has seen the movie Madagascar a few times because he kept looking for Melman all day hehe.

Sam had the really cool car stroller that Jack really really liked. So about halfway during the day, they switched strollers. Jack was in the car stroller being pushed by Sam's Mom, Anna. And Sam was in Jack's stroller being pushed by me. They seemed to accept this arrangement and as long as they weren't screaming, all was right with the world and the mom's were fine with the arrangement also.

Where the Wild Things Are

Jack and I are off the Wild Animal Park today with the mommy group. I was thinking of skipping this today because of a thousand reasons that included cleaning/mopping/organizing and then I realized that we needed to go for Jack's sake. And mine to get out and socialize more. I know I need to do that. So despite it being cold here (alright its not cold, but its down right chilly, okay?) we are going to go.

I'll post pics later when we get home.

There is a reason for adoptions

My jaw was on the floor of McDonalds tonight. Jack and I were eating there because Daddy had to work late and I was lazy. As Jack and I were sitting in a booth, a young couple came and sat beside us. She was about 5 months pregnant and I couldn't help but overhear their conversation which made my jaw drop. What caught my attention was the statement that this pregnant girl said "I can't wait until I am 21 and can go barhopping" !!!! Isn't there something just wrong with this statement?

And then as I continued to listen, my jaw dropped even further. Evidently she has ANOTHER baby because she was complaining about THAT baby being sick and it is a "big pain" because she can't go OUT. I have no idea where this other baby was, but OMG those poor babies!!!

I have no idea if the guy with her was the father to the baby #2 on the way, but it didn't sound like he was father to baby #1 because she spent a good 5 minutes complaining about THAT guy. She said that he just sits on his butt watching tv while she has to do everything. So are they married? Or just living together? If so, not sure who I feel more sorry for. And somebody needs to take those poor babies out of there NOW.

I just have one word - ADOPTION

The 2nd Birthday Pictures

In Jackaroo Style, he latched onto a stuffed doggie they had there and would NOT give it up. So therefore, we also have pictures of the doggie ALSO. The first one is my favorite. I didn't get the photographer that I really like. He has won awards for his work and why he works at Sears is beyond me, but instead we got some 19-year-old girl who didn't know anything about how to please a 2 year old boy. But they turned out okay I guess.

Of course on the way there, I would not let him drink or eat or touch ANYTHING for fear that he would get messed up somehow. And sure enough when I let him have some goldfish afterwards, his face, hands, and shirt were all cheesy.

I did end up buying a package for $100 with these 4 poses, so grandparents be on the lookout for pics of the boy in your mail in the next few weeks.

The Whole Internet

is awaiting the birth of Claire's baby. Hopefully will hear news soon that baby brother to Isaac is welcomed to the world.

I also want to welcome to the world Avery Claire. Callie has a new baby sister.

Also expecting to hear the arrival of Jen's sweet pea in the next few days if not sooner.

With all these new babies popping up, my question is What Happened Nine Months Ago? ... Well besides THAT!

Weekend Recap

Did everybody survive the cooolllldddd weekend out there? I know that those of us in California should not complain, but gosh it was cold here too. And rainy.

We went to the big mall near San Diego yesterday to get out of the house and do something besides sit on our duffs at home watching endless amounts of tv. It was fun just walking around the mall looking at stuff. We didn't buy much because of that lack of cash thing. Literally at this moment, Laura had more in purse than we did in our checking account! How sad is that? But then Laura walks around with ALOT of cash all the time. It makes me nervous. But in her mother's house, money is not anything special because they have lots and lots of it. Something about her mother's family having a money factory or something. But anyway thats a whole OTHER post (novel).

We did get Jack 2 pairs of shoes at PayLess. He went up 2 sizes! Poor kid was walking around with shoes that were like really tight. One of the new shoes is a pair of Thomas shoes. We put those on him while we were at the mall. The kid just stared at them while he walked. It was so funny. I think he likes them.

Jack and Laura had a really fun time this weekend. He so loves his Sissy. They played all day on Saturday together. And when it came time to take her back to her mother's, he absolutely broke down and screamed. It really was sad. He just doesn't understand why only see her on certain days.

The boy woke up this morning hungry I guess. He has been referring to himself as "Baby" these days. He will bump his head and walk up to me and say "Baby hurt". Well this morning the first thing he said to me was "Baby hungry". He is now feasting on a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

We have planned today to get Jack's 2nd birthday pictures taken. I have quelched my addiction to Sears pictures to just his birthday and the family pictures at Christmas. I hope to be able to post the pics later today.

A Birthday and a Brag

First off just want to say Happy Birthday to Grandpa A. He turned 79 yesterday. Here's to another 20!

My parents are right now in Florida visiting my brother who lives in Daytona. So here comes the bragging. My nephew who is only 13 years old is a race car driver already! And he is good. He was racing yesterday on Grandpa's birthday and he won the race just for Grandpa. Congratulations Chad! Your Aunt in California is proud of you.

Oh and when he is as famous as Jeff Gordon, just remember you heard of Chad Akins here first.

Lazy Rainy Saturday

The Jackaroo household is having a major lazy day today. It is raining and cold here. I know I know. It is so much colder where you all live, but for us it is COLD. We were watching the weather channel this morning and saw all the low temps around the country. I swear it gave me the chills.

So we are sitting on our duffs watching the Olympics and whatever else seems good. Its kinda fun.

CRISIS!

We have an emergency in the Jackaroo House. Doggie has an owie. He is split open and his innards are coming out. OH NO. Need needle and thread. Stat!

Teach me to put him in the washing machine to give the poor filthy thing a bath.

Trading Places - Jackaroo Style

About a month ago, we set up Jack and Laura's playroom and took all toys out of the family room. Because to be quite frank, it was driving me crazy to have a Toy Explosion in my family room every single day. No matter how many times I picked up that room, it always looked like a toy factory exploded in there.

Jack Space #1. The Playroom. Of course, it very very rarely is this picked up. But I spent an hour this morning cleaning and organizing. Before? You couldn't even see the floor.

Jack space #2. The bedroom. We still have the crib in the room for probably another 1-2 months is my guess. Until the boy is fully in the toddler bed and sleeping the night through on a consistent basis. Then I will take down the bears, bring in a book shelf that the boy desperately needs, and put up the train decorations that I have been buying here and there.

Mommy Space! I have reclaimed the family room from the Toy Explosion!

This picture I threw in here because I thought it was cute. I got the idea from Jane . Jack was having a grand ole time playing in the bathroom sink.

Can Toddlers Get PMS?

Because there is only one word for Jack yesterday afternoon and that word is - Bitchy.

Geesh there was no making this boy happy for about 4 hours. It started when we came home and he was saying something about a "fysie" (his word for fire truck) and going insane trying to find it in the backseat. I couldn't see it and made him go inside. He gets inside and totally melts down and is trying to get back in the garage to find his "fysie". So we go out to the garage again to look and sure enough his little wooden "fysie" was lodged in the backseat.

I thought all was well with the world once again. The boy had his "fysie". But NOOOOOO. He had to whine, complain, scream, and basically be bitchy for almost the entire night. He did perk up when we played choo choos in the playroom after dinner. And was back to normal (Thank God) when we were reading books before bedtime. But good grief that child can out bitch even the bitchiest woman in Hollywood!

Sleep?

Sleep is just a non-thing around here lately. Poor Jim had to get up at 11:00 last night to go into work and then work through his shift until 3:00 this afternoon. How he does that is just totally foreign to me.

Because he was not around last night, I did not sleep very well. I was up at 1:30 surfing the internet. Then at 4:30 Jack decided that it was time to get up and face the day head on - At 4:30 AM!!! Yeah gotta love that. So I brought him into our bed and he watched Disney while I kinda dozed. But it was hard to do that because he thought it was incredibly fun to be jumping up and down on the bed and then jump on Mommy.

Now, I am off to go do some accounting work for my friend Mark. Extra cash is always good. And Jack gets to go to my friend Janet's house and play with her other daycare kids. And SHE gets to benefit from the extra long nap that I am sure he is going to take in about 2-3 hours.

Fun and More Fun

Jack went to daycare today because I have my *really fun* annual doctor's exam this morning. Can we all say "Yay"? Don't you just hate those things? So yeah, that is the Fun for today. And for the More Fun - probably going to do our taxes since I got a toddler-free environment today. So doesn't that just sound like a hoot today?

Just For Valentine's Day

This was taken by one of the other mother's at the playgroup we were at last week. Just more proof that we are in big trouble in a few years.

The Big Boy Jack Took Over My Baby!

The boy seems to be growing up so fast, everyday there seems to be something new. He is now talking and seems to know EVERYTHING. For instance, he can name all the sesame street characters. Granted he has been watching the show almost everyday for his entire life. He also knows the song to Elmo's World and sings it loudly everyday.

He somehow knows other characters from tv that we hardly ever watch. Like Dora. He pointed out Dora to me in the store the other day. How does he know? Just like all the Thomas and friends. How does he know all of them? I can hardly keep track of them all!

He also counts to ten and loves to count. The other day we were in the car waiting for Laura to show up and he and I were counting all the other cars. He thought that was such a cool thing.

We went to see Chicken Little on Sunday. And I could not believe how good he was. He sat there in the seat next to me eating his popcorn and laughing at the movie. At one point he looked at me, pointed at the screen, and said "Funny" while laughing.

And to solidify the proof that the big kid has taken over my little baby - He slept in the toddler bed last night. He ran right into his room, jumped on his bed and couldn't wait to sleep in the big boy bed. Then this morning, he woke up, and came running into my bedroom laughing. He was so proud of himself.

We need to slow time down people. This is just happening too fast.

Birthday Plans

I can't believe that it is that time again. But Jack's birthday is coming up. We are having his birthday party in 3 weeks from today on the 4th. It isn't going to be very elaborate - just a bbq with friends and neighbors, but I am already starting to plan.

The theme this year is going to be Elmo and Sesame Street. He is going to be receiving the Elmo Knows Your Name from us for the birthday present. The thing comes with a cd-rom and usb cable to program him to say 100 different sayings. Geesh the toys these days.

I also found these for the party favors. So cute. And get a birthday shirt from Erin's store and we got ourselves an Elmo birthday party.

Cleaning House With A Toddler 101

This morning I guess I got the cleaning bug because before noon, I had cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room along with 3 loads of laundry. And all with a Jackaroo "Helping" me.

It started with me vacuuming this morning while he was trying to watch Dragon Tales. All of a sudden I hear him screaming "MAMA MAMA" over the vacuum noise. I look over there and he has this really really annoyed look on his face. It has happened. My child has yelled at me for trying to vacuum while he was watching cartoons. Bound to happen sooner or later I guess.

Then I started mopping the floor, which is one of his favorite things to do. He will take the mop and pretend to mop all day long. So he tried to take the mop away from me and I kept telling him that it is "mommy's turn". So what does he do? He runs off down the hall to the laundry room and grabs the ceiling fan duster and comes back and starts to "mop" the floor also.



Other joyful occasions while cleaning this morning included him trying to drown Doggie in the toilet while I cleaned said toilet. Also, he got into my makeup drawer while I was in the shower cleaning and proceeded to dig out my eye shadow and wipe it all over the door, floor, himself AND Doggie.

Now he is napping. Can we all say "YAY"? He has been napping for almost 3 hours. I think that cold is wiping him out a bit. Poor guy. I just hope it doesn't turn into anything more than sniffles and watery eyes.

Oh yeah and at some point my child has turned into a fashion guru. This morning, I went to get a shirt for him out of the closet. He yelled "NO" and took the shirt out of my hands and threw it on the floor and pointed to the open closet. So I went over there and had to show him about 4 or 5 shirts while he said "No" to each one of them until we came to THE shirt. Who knew he really liked the striped green and blue shirt so much?

Day at home

Not much happening today. We have been pretty busy this week with gym class, playgroups, and other activities, so it is pretty nice just to be at home today. Besides that, both Jack and I have the beginnings of colds. Poor kid last night was all sniffles and watery eyes.

So we have a lot of Sesame Street and Playhouse Disney in our future today. Oh and I might try to clean a bathroom or two, who knows.

Day At the Free Kids Outlet Center

Every month our local outlet center holds a kids day. I have always wanted to go and decided to go today. I had no idea it was such a big thing. There had to be about 50-75 kids there today - all toddlers. Can you imagine that many toddlers in one place? Yeah the word Zoo comes to mind doesn't it? It was actually a lot of fun and Jack had a blast. It was hosted by the OTHER gym class place in town - The Little Gym. The two places are almost identical in their activities and structure. They are actually opening one of these closer to my house, so we maybe moving to that one later - we'll see. But as you can see from the pictures, Jack was really into the whole thing. I also feel like I have to warn all the mother's of the little girls. The boy LOVES the girls. It was almost embarassing as he was constantly following around these two little girls who were about 3 years old. I thought for sure he was going to walk up to them and give them a big kiss! But he did give them hugs! Oh boy are we in trouble in a few years! Oh and yeah these pictures are not very good quality, they were taken with my camera phone because I was a dork and forgot the camera again.

Trying to impress the girl on his left.

There he is right by the girl.

Running after yet another girl.

Notice how he has situated himself BETWEEN the two girls.

And how he has to copy the little girl by putting his hand out like her.

I also felt bad for him today because summer has hit in the area. It doesn't care what the calendar says. Today was in the high 80s and poor Jack has NO summer clothes whatsoever. He does have 2 short-sleeved shirts that still fit him but they were dirty today. By the time the class was done today, his little cheeks were all rosy and the poor child was about ready for heat exhaustion. So despite having no money until Daddy gets paid on Monday, I went to the Old Navy outlet after class and bought 2 shirts and 2 shorts.

Successful Playdate!

We went to a playdate today and it was a lot of fun. It was held at somebody's house and it was all 1-3 year olds. There were about 10 kids and 7 mothers and everybody got along really really well. No snobs this time - yay! Jack played really well with the other kids while the mothers just sat around talking about their kids. Not sure if any other topic was involved except for our kids, but it was fun comparing and talking about where the great toys and clothes bargains are in town.

Oh my gosh, speaking of toys, this place had probably 10 times the amount of toys that Jack has. Their entire backyard was filled with Little Tykes stuff. They had the playhouse, kitchen, sandbox, THREE ride-on cars, and almost every Little People imaginable. At first I thought that other mothers brought some of the toys, but I was later informed that it all belonged to one 2-year-old little girl. Geesh! And here I was thinking that Jack had a lot of toys. The boy doesn't even come close.

But it was all fun and we were there for a couple of hours. We made plans to meet again next week at another mother's house. So hopefully it will work out to someplace fun that Jack and I can go to regularly. We have our weeks full these days with Gym class on Tuesdays and now Playgroup on Wednesday. And tomorrow we have plans to go to a kids craft thing at the outlet center nearby. Supposedly it is for the 2-5 year-old crowd. This stay-at-home thing is pretty fun.

On the way home, Jack fell asleep about 3 minutes before we got home. And it seems that 3 minutes was enough nap for him because he WILL NOT nap. Right now, he is in his crib talking and carrying on very deep conversations with his stuffed animals. Actually I think he is playing suicide jumping with them as he throws them out of the crib. I was peeking in there and he was saying "up up up up" as he raised an animal up and then "DOWWWWNNN" as he threw one by one to the floor outside the crib. Whatever, I just hope he will settle down and actually sleep because I don't want a crabby, cranky Jack until bedtime. We shall see.

Broken Record ... That's Me

Yes I know that I have written about the subject of the toddler bed Ad Nauseam. And here I go again.

We tried it again last night. I wasn't going to because I , myself, was exhausted and well Gilmore Girls was coming on and you all know my obsession with GG. So to make a long, boring story short, we go into his room to get ready for bed. The mattress is in the crib and the boy is yelling at me to "move bed". I tell him that we need to get our jammies on first and then we'll talk. But no, he has to have a fit about the mattress being in the crib. So my defenses breakdown and I move the mattress to the toddler bed. Oh and by the way, I am getting very very tired of moving that mattress a thousand times a day. I put him in the bed and because my favorite show is coming on in 5 minutes, I leave the room. I tell him he can not get up and to stay there and go to sleep. Yeah right. That would be like telling a prisoner to stay in his cell when all the doors are wide open.

Jim and I are watching GG and Jack comes walking into the family room. He is laughing and giggling and thinking this whole new found freedom is just the coolest thing. Because I was soo tired and well because of GG (even though I was recording the thing also), Jim took him back to bed and put him in the crib, against the wishes of the boy.

Now, the boy wants to be in the bed, but will not stay there. What do I do? I stayed with him the other night until he slept, but he still got up and was freaking out because he had closed the door. Do I just keep doing that?

I think he is ready to be in the big bed and clearly wants to be there. Just being the stubborn Jack that he is, he will not stay there. I worry that he will be wandering the house and get hurt. And if the door is closed, he freaks out. Not to mention the crabby Jack the next day because he didn't get much sleep. Oy! Just when you get the sleeping thing down, then comes this.

The Saga .... It Continues ...

I had no idea that the switch to the toddler bed would be THIS hard.

We again tried to sleep in the big boy bed last night. I thought all was well. He was so excited about the bed. He kept patting it and saying "big boy bed". We read books while he was laying in it. Then we sang the sleepy song. I turned out the light. And then I took Claire's advice and stayed in the rom with him until I was sure he was asleep - about a half hour. So I tiptoed out of the room and thought - Success. Yay.

UNTIL 12:30 am, I awake to him screaming like crazy. Not just the usual scream, but absolutely terrified scream. I get up and realize that he has closed his door and he is inside trying frantically to get out. He hasn't figured out how to open our doors yet. I have no idea how long he had been trying to get out, but by the time I got to him, he was almost unconsolable. And WOULD NOT go back into his room. Period. So I took him back to our room and went to the bathroom. He was so cute and had his doggie with him and said "tired Mama". My heart broke. So I decided to take him into the guest bedroom so Jim could get some sleep. He absolutely screamed his head off because he thought we were going back to HIS room. But he stopped as soon as we walked right by his room.

So there we are with Jack, me, Doggie, and the real doggies, and a kitty ALL of us on the bed. And Jack will not go to sleep. At all. So for an hour, we lay there singing and talking. He was very very talkative at 1 in the morning. I finally ask him if he wants to go back to the crib and he nods his head. Yay! So, back to the room we go. I transfer the mattress to the crib yet again. He gets in and seemed happy.

I don't quite trust that he is going back to bed, so I get up and get on the internet for another 30 minutes just to make sure he is fully asleep.

So, I guess my question is, do I continue trying to force the toddler bed or just give it up and realize that he just is not ready for the big boy bed? He is so excited about the concept of the bed because he talks about it all the time, but when it comes right down to sleeping in the thing, he just won't or can't for some reason. Oy!

Domestic City

Somewhere along the line, I turned into a domesticated housewife. I guess it happened sometime after I quit my job, but whenever it did happen, I sure am domesticated today.

Take today for example. I got up this morning, made out a grocery list, cleaned up the kitchen, got Jack dressed and fed. Then we went off to the Commissary to get groceries. I try to only go big-time grocery shopping once or twice a month and then just buy the milk and bread type stuff in between commissary trips. So because of this, my trips to the commissary usually last about an hour and a half of actual shopping. With Jack tagging along!

We got back from the grocery-shopping trip about 1:00 and nap was taken in the car (damn!) so Jack was raring to go. It took me about 45 minutes to unload the groceries and put them away. And during this time, I had to tell Jack "NO" 327 times. One of those times, I had to yell at him because he was busy filling the dog's water dish with the dry dog food - about 5 lbs of it! All this and I didn't lose my patience once! Quite remarkable, I think.

I also accomplished today 3 loads of laundry, playing choo choos and cars with the boy, and getting dinner on the table. As I was sitting here tonight after the boys went to bed, I just had to wonder if my college self would like my present-day self. The college self who was going to conquer the world with my business suits and knowledge of accounting and the thought of spending a day like today was really nowhere in my thought process. But I just have to say that I am sooooo much happier today than that little girl playing dress up in business suits.

Toddler Bed Woes, the Saga Continues

All was good with the toddler bed. He napped on it yesterday. When he woke up, he got out of bed all by himself, grabbed his doggie, then went outside his room, closed the door and proceeded to come see us in the family room. He was so proud of himself for doing this, he couldn't stop giggling and laughing. He just thought that was the neatest thing.

But, last night going to bed was a whole different story. I thought all was going well. We read some books while he laid in bed, I said good night and tiptoed out of the room. About 10 minutes later, he showed up in the family talking about "toys" and "choo choos". I again took him back to bed and AGAIN he got up a few minutes later. The third time he got up, he was carrying his pillow, blanket and doggie with him and rubbing his eyes. I knew he was very tired, but for some reason, he just couldn't sleep on the big boy bed. So when we went into his bedroom, this time he patted the crib. Yep, he wanted to sleep in his crib. So at almost 9:00, I switched the mattress to the crib and put the pillow, blanket, and stuffed animals in there and then a Jackaroo. He fell asleep almost instantly.

So the saga continues. I figure we are not going to take down the crib until he has slept consistently in the bed for at least a week.

Ha, and I was going to start potty training also! LOL, I think I will hold off on THAT transistion until we get the toddler bed down. Geesh!

Hiking Pictures

The two boys.

We thought this was a perfect picture taking spot.

Of course there was sitting among the weeds.

Daddy and Jack taking a breather on the bench.

Jack had to pick up every rock on the way and carry them all.

One of the Views.

Big News!

Jack slept in the toddler bed last night! I kinda figured if he spent the day playing on the thing, he would be more willing to actually sleep on the thing. I now know it was a mistake to set it up and plop him in it and expect the boy to actually sleep. Just a little advice to those who have not done the transfer yet. Small steps.

When we were getting ready for bed last night, I kept saying "big boy bed" and that got Jack saying it also. By the time it was time to actually go to bed, he was really excited about the whole thing. So we read some books while he laid in bed and then he went to sleep. I did check on him before I went to bed and he was sleeping with his legs dangling over the side, which did not look very comfy to me, but to each his own I guess. He must have gotten up to get his cars and took them back to bed with him, because that is how I found him this morning - sitting on the bed playing with the cars.

Right now he is napping on the big boy bed. We had a reprieve from cheerleading today because Laura's mother took her (yay! for her actually doing her mother job). We are going down tomorrow to watch her and then watch the award ceremony and then hopefully be back before the game starts (go Seahawks!).

Because we didn't have to go to the brain-numbing cheerleading competition, we went hiking this morning at the Santa Rosa Plateau. We probably hiked about 3 miles total and Jim ended up carrying Jack on his shoulders for about 2 of those miles. It was really fun to get out and enjoy the outdoors and get some exercise. It was a perfect day today for hiking. I think Jack enjoyed it for the most part, but at the end he was not a happy hiker. We pretty much made the boy exhausted - which is always a good thing.

Wouldn't You Want To Sleep On This?

The Toddler Bed

He loves to play on the toddler bed, but so far no sleeping. I personally think it is soooo cute. And to be honest, I am now itching to get rid of the crib and totally redo his room in the choo choo theme.

No Park Today

I put the boy down at 10 for a quick nap before we left to go to the park playdate. He's still sleeping at 12:30! So no park today. But let me tell you, it is absolutely beautiful here today. And I am wearing shorts! I just got done with cleaning up the patio and doing some yard work, all while wearing shorts. It is perfect weather today.

Once the boy gets up from his marathon nap (the one I wanted him to take yesterday), we are going to go out in the backyard and soak up some sunshine.

Oh and I just had to tell this story about Jack today. We went to the grocery store early this morning for a few quick things. This grocery store gives out free cookies from their bakery and I always manage to grab one for the boy, which keeps him happy for the duration of the shopping. I tell you this kid's memory is really amazing because as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, he started yelling "Tooey Tooey" which is his word for "cookie" (remember he can't say K sounds).

And that reminds me when we went to My Gym this week. Last week they brought out the choo-choo ride and the boy melted down because he only got to ride it once. This week, we got there and he said "choo choo?" and put his hands out questioning where the choo choo was. That memory thing is kicking in.

I hope you all are having a good Friday today.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everybody! Has this been a long week for everybody else or just me? Our plans for this weekend are cheerleading, cheerleading, and oh yeah a little bit of cheerleading thrown in. Laura has a 2-day competition in San Diego. Oh and the time she has to be there on both days? 7:30 am. Yeah so throw in the hour and a half drive and the hour and a half to do hair and make up before we leave, that makes us getting up around 4:00 - both days. On a weekend! Yay! Supposedly the schedule says she should be done by 11 both days, but the way these things go, that means about 1:00 or so.

I think I am going to try another park playdate today. I know that the last one wasn't very good with the other Mommies, but Jack enjoys the park and it is supposed to be about 75-80 today. A good day to get out and enjoy the outside me thinks.

Oh yeah and last night I left the boys to fend for themselves so I could go get my hair done. As in done, I got the roots done, weave, color, and cut. The whole schmear. The first time since Jack was born that I got it all done. How sad is that? Two years of having icky hair. But I do have to say that it was nice getting away BY MYSELF, even if it was to get my hair done. I honestly can not remember the last time I did that.

Well it looks like the boy is done with his Fruity Pebbles (2 bowls this morning. He kept saying "more" when the first bowl was gone). So off we go to our Friday adventures.

Is This No-Sleep Day?

Did somebody make this the National No-Sleep day and not tell me?

Jack after waking up at 4:30 this morning, playing with his choo-choos, going to My Gym where he roughed and tumbled for an hour, WILL NOT TAKE A NAP! He was getting sleepy in the car on the way home, yawning and the whole bit. We got home, had some lunch and I put him down for the long-awaited mega-nap that I was dreaming about since 4:30 am. BUT, he won't go to sleep! He is in there right now babbling and again having a deep, philosphical conversation with Doggie. Where is the nap? I just know that he is going to start screaming Momma! Momma! at any minute now. Wait. Yep, there it is - "Momma Momma Momma" .

Does he not know that I have things to do like watch the Dr. Phil show from yesterday, watch the last half of Lost because I fell asleep last night, even though it was a rerun. Oh yeah and there's also that little thing called dishes and cleaning. I need the naptime. Naptime is what keeps a Mommy sane.

Oh joy! The "Mommas" are getting louder now. Waaahhhh....

**Update** It is now 2:25 pm and he finally went to sleep 10 minutes ago. Phew!

How Does He Know?

Jack has a Thomas the Tank calendar hanging in his bedroom. Today while he was playing "hide from Mama" in the closet, I changed the calendar to February. Henry is the tank of the month for February.

So Jack comes out of the closet, I shriek and say "There's Jack" and he INSTANTLY notices the change of the calendar. He points at the picture and says "Henry". How does he know that is Henry? I mean really to me, he looks like Percy and every other green tank on the show. But no, Jack knew instantly that was a picture of Henry.

I guess that just proves he is aware of any and all changes in his room and the boy KNOWS his Thomas and friends tanks.

So now we are off to My Gym for a makeup class. Here's to getting toddler really tired and hoping for a big long 3+ hour nap this afternoon because this morning has been really really long. He's been up 5 hours already! Oh boy!

Jack and Sleep (or Non-Sleep)

Jack is usually a really good sleeper. His routine is a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and then down for the night around 7:30-8:00 until about 7:00 in the morning. I have always felt sorry for those who had toddlers who just did not sleep. I don't know how they do it because the first 3 months of Jack's life when he would not sleep for more than 2 hours just about killed me. But ever since then, he has been so good and I know I need to be saying some major thank you's to the sleeping gods for that.

So what happened last night? I put him down at 7:30 and he just sat in there and talked to himself and his stuffed animals for about an hour. Then it was all quiet. Until about 2:30 when poor Daddy had to get up to leave the house to be at work at 4:00 am. Then he decides to test his lungs out and make sure they work by screaming. After about 15 minutes of this lung testing, I go in there. Change his diaper thinking that is what is bothering him. Put him back into his crib, try to soothe him and tiptoe out of the room. Nope, not gonna do it. So we do a dance for the next hour or so of him screaming, me going into his room, him quieting down, me going back to bed. So finally about 4:30, I bring him to bed with me as we watch the Disney channel. Yay! Gotta love Little Einsteins and JoJos Circus at that time of the morning. Then at 5:30, I notice he is getting sleepy. I put him back in his crib. And guess what he is doing now? Yep, he is having some deep, philosphical conversation with Doggie. I figure let him stay in there until he finishes the solving-world-peace-talk and goes back to sleep or he decides to tests his lungs again. So until then, here I am blogging. I have a feeling it is going to be an interesting day.

Oops, he just started to test his lung. So I guess we up for the day now?!? Yep it is going to be a fun day.

The Four MeMe... Oh yeah...

I saw this go around the blogland a few weeks ago. Not sure if I was tagged or not, but I was gonna do it on here, but something came up and well it just never happened. So I saw it on Dooce and I went "oh yeah" and so here it is.

Four jobs I’ve had

1. Babysitter
2. Retail clerk in a clothes shop in the mall (my entire paycheck went back to them I think)
3. Filing tax returns in a big warehouse building - back when everybody filed paper returns and this was the place that all the tax returns went in the New England area. I had a quota that I had to either file or pull a certain number of returns during my shift. It involved climbing ladders to get to some of the returns. But I think I had fun just reading the tax returns.
4. Accountant

Four movies I can watch over and over

1. Gone with the wind
2. Its a wonderful life
3. Star Wars (all of em)
4. Sleepless in seattle

Four places I have lived

1. Battle Creek, Michigan
2. Waltham, Massachuttes
3. Bellevue, Washington
4. Lake Elsinore, California

Four TV shows I love

1. Gilmore Girls
2. Lost
3. Guiding Light
4. ER

Four places I’ve vacationed

1. Aruba
2. Bonaire (Carribean)
3. Florida
4. Santiago, Chile

Four of my favorite dishes

1. Spaghetti
2. Tuna Casserole
3. Indian Food
4. Pot Roast

Four sites I visit daily
(Besides all the blogs listed in the sidebar)

1. MSNBC
2. Guiding Light message board
3. Our Bank
4. Web Sudoku (extremely frustrating and addictive game that Kelli got me started on)

Four places I would rather be right now

This is hard because I am home and I love being home. But here is a short list
1. The Carribean
2. Living in a state in the southeast so that we could be close to both families and still not have snow in the winter.
3. Or any state that is not California and does not have snow in the winter.

Changes

I have done some changes on the blog this morning, like you couldn't tell hehe. I have also added a new ticker just for me. It is of my weight loss and the way I figure it, if I log on everyday to see that thing staring at me in the face, I just might not go for that extra snack in the kitchen. It might also motivate me to get off my butt and do something also. Ha Ha. We'll see. But my goal is to be down 43 pounds before our vacation in June so that I will be not so scary at the pool at the Nick Hotel.

I also plan to change the header, but I need to get a semi-decent picture of the boy and well that is hard these days since he won't sit still for longer than 1.2 seconds. Makes it hard to snap a picture.

We have My Gym today. Yay. Burn some toddler energy. Always a good thing. Love that.

We haven't tried the toddler bed again. During the day, I do have the mattress on the toddler bed and he does love to climb all over it. I just don't think he quite understands that it is for sleeping. This might be a harder transistion than I thought. Thanks for all your advice on the subject. In the meantime, the redecorating will go forward with the new choo choo theme. The bears are coming down. Maybe that will inspire him to sleep in the big boy bed.

Another Cheer Day and Another Great Performance

Laura had another cheerleading competition today. They are coming fast and furious now. She has a 2-day competition next weekend also in San Diego. That means we don't get to see the Super Bowl and this is one that I actually wanted to watch and see the Seattle Seahawks in the big game. Boo hoo.

Anyway the competition was in Long Beach today and her team got second place. I could tell that her team just wasn't on top of their game today and they had a couple of oopsies. But second place is still awesome and this competition was teams from all over California, so that means a lot more! Again, we are incredibly proud of her as usual. I took another video and will have to post it tomorrow when I am more awake.

The venue where the competition was held today just happened to be right where Jim works. It was neat going to see where he works today so that was an added bonus.

Jack was quite the little trooper today and held out all day without any nap at all and without any major fussiness! He did fall asleep on the way home, but that wasn't until 6 pm. After Laura performed, we quickly left and went to eat at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Yummy stuffed shrimp! And yes blew my diet yet again. But did I say it was really yummy?

And now it is time to get me off to bed. These days totally wear me out.

Toddler Bed Woes

Well we did it. We bought the toddler bed yesterday. Jim put it together (does anything come assembled anymore?) and put it in the middle of Jack's bedroom. He was soooo excited about it and kept climbing on it saying "my bed". I thought all was going to be good in the transistion, and it was... for about an hour.

So last night we went to change into jammies and get ready for bed. He climbed on the bed, under the mickey mouse quilt that his Uncle Bill made for him and he seemed very happy to go to sleep there. So we read some books and then I sang the "sleepy song" to him, kissed him and walked out the door. All was good for about 15 minutes.

And then he started to scream "Momma, Momma, Momma". I go in there and he is NOT a happy little boy. So I stayed with him for a little bit longer trying to soothe him down and he seemed like he was going to sleep. So I tiptoe out and all is good for 30 minutes this time.

So long story short, it didn't work. Finally about 10 pm, I gave up and moved the mattress back to his crib and put him in there where he slept for the rest of the night.

So my question is to those who have transitioned to the big bed, how did you do it? Or is it just that Jack is not ready for it yet? Jim's theory is that he squirms around so much in the crib and when he tried to do that on the bed he felt like he was going to fall off and got scared. Might have to move it against the wall and see what happens. But I don't think we will be trying to do the toddler bed again for a few nights.

Oh and my reaction to putting him in a big boy bed? Yeah, you guessed it, I ended up crying. I really thought I was ready for him to transistion to the bed, but maybe neither he nor I are ready just quite yet.

Told Tat in a Tar

The words are forthcoming big time now from Jack. It is so much fun to watch him try to say a word for the first time and the concentration on his little face as he is forming the word is just priceless. However, there has been a trend in the last few weeks of replacing C's (K sounding C's) with T's.

So if he opens the door and it is cold outside he will say "burrr Told!".

If he is yelling (copying me actually) at the cats he will say "TAT!".

And his favorite word right now, right up there with choo choo is TAR! There are lots and lots of tars on the road. And he likes to play with all of his tars.

Slight problem with this. Jack has brainwashed me. Now when I see a car or when I go to say the word? I think and say TAR! The boy is rubbing off on me.

But in other news:

Last night when I was putting him to bed. I stayed there for a few minutes just stroking his face trying to get him to sleep and when I was leaving, I said "I love you Baby". And he lifted his head and said " I uv you" back to me. Ahhh those moments you just want to capture them and bottle them and keep forever. Not to mention you could probably make a fortune if you could mass produce em and sell em.

Happy Toddler Again

I would like to announce that we have a much happier Jackaroo this morning. However, he woke up REALLY REALLY early - before 5 am! Oh joy! So it has been a long morning so far and it is only 8 am.

Since we were all up and raring to go this morning, I set Jack up in front of Sesame Street and I went to work cleaning my kitchen. I am now a proud owner of a clean kitchen - scrubbed counters, mopped floors and all. Now I just need to do the rest of the house along with 6 loads of laundry. Problem is, there is no other show out there that holds the boy's attention like Sesame Street and I think I pushed my limit for the hour between 7 and 8 am.

So now what to do, what to do? Always the ultimate question isn't it? I am thinking we might go to My Gym and make up our second class we missed. And that will make the boy good and tired (hopefully) to come home and nap so I can clean the rest of the house. I can tell that I need to come up with something because the boy is bored at the moment and we are going to have to do something today.

Oh and on Lost, did anybody else feel sorry for Charlie? That is if he was telling the truth about not using the drugs and he indeed was freaking out. That is one freaky freaky show. And was that supposed to mean something that Hurley thought he saw Libby before? If so where? So many questions. Just when you get one answered, three more pop up. Makes ya go hmmmm.

OH. MAH. GAH.

Today Jack screamed for over 3 hours straight. I kid you not. And I am not sure what the problem was either.

We got home today around 3pm. He did not get a nap before then because he was with my friend Janet who watched him for me while I helped out her husband again at work for a few hours. So when we got home, I put him straight down for a nap. I could tell he was really tired because his eyelids were turning purple (Jack's tired indicator light). He went right to sleep. At 4:30, I decided to wake him up because I didn't want him to sleep too late and then be too wired for bedtime. (This whole toddler sleep thing is a very delicate science ya know.) Well I guess that was NOT a good thing to do to a Jackaroo because the boy did not stop screaming from the time I got him up until I laid him back down for bedtime 15 minutes ago. Let me just say it again - OH MAH GAH!!!!

The boy can rattle my nerves and when Jim got home around 6:00, I was ready to throw Jack and a few animals out the window. I think they were all conspiring against me. Jack was screaming, the dog was knocking over the trash in the laundry room to get to the empty cat food can, the cats were jumping on the kitchen counter trying to eat the chicken I was cutting up for dinner. Oh and there was a really really awful smell coming from the trash in the kitchen that was totally gagging me. This was all at the same time!

Man oh man. I understand when they say SAHM is the hardest job in the world. Just trying to control the chaos in our lives is enough to drive us over the edge. Okay, now going to find some wine and relax and watch Lost that I didn't get to see last night.

Did You See Oprah?

Scaarrrryyy! I tell ya. She had on some guy who was talking about the bird flu and the fact that a pandemic WILL happen eventually and what will happen to all of us. Scarry stuff people. I had never thought of the food shortages because people would not go to work or the hospital overload. I mean we were there in the ER a few weeks ago and it was already totally overfilling with people. I tell ya that show scared me and you can bet that I will have on hand enough food to last the 5 or 6 weeks so that we won't have to leave the house. Oh yeah and stock up on some masks while you are it. Scary Scary Scary.

On a lighter note, what is up with Gilmore Girls? We had like 5 weeks of nonstop reruns and then TWO weeks of new stuff and bam back to reruns again tonight? Don't these people know that Gilmore Girls is what I live for on Tuesdays? My chance to veg out in front of the tv after everybody is asleep and just have me time with my Gilmore Girls? And that time is seriously substandard when it is a rerun.

Not much happening around here lately. We went to My Gym today. There was a meltdown on Jack's part today. The reason behind the meltdown involved a motorized choo-choo train ride and only getting one turn to ride the thing. He was NOT happy to have to give it up and share. I was thinking we were going to have to go home because I could not get him to enjoy anything else in that place. He ONLY wanted the choo choo. I need to tell them that they need to warn me about the choo choo usage and prepare myself for the meltdown. Oh and yeah Jack was the only one who was having serious sharing issues with the choo choo. Of course.

Poor Jim. He came home tonight, ate dinner (chicken kabobs, wow that cooking thing is still going) and had to go straight to bed at 5:30. He has to be back to work at midnight tonight and then work straight through his normal shift until 3:00 tomorrow. I don't know how the poor guy does it. So because of Jim's early bedtime tonight, that meant that I got to spend one-on-one time with Jack tonight. Oh yay! I tell you, bedtime sure took its sweet time getting here.

Oh and yeah I have to go to work tomorrow. I got the phone call last week from my old boss needing my help with year-end stuff. Blech. I really don't want to go in there. I have come to realize just what a negative place that place was. But it is extra money that we could use and I said I would do it, so I guess I will. But I can complain about it also. So there!

Laura Cooked Last Night

I bought Laura the Betty Crocker's Cookboook for Kids. It really is good because it breaks the recipes down into easy steps. Even I can do it - HA! So last night she cooked the dinner. The menu included: chicken fingers, tator tots, and for desert - Fudge! And she did a great job! Jack finished his plate off so you know it was good.







After making the fudge, Laura got the bowl to lick and Jack got the spoon. As you can see, the boy loved it! And later after having a piece of the fudge? The boy was stoned... literally, seriously! He was absolutely insane and did not stop for a full hour. He came up to me and laughed in my face and I looked at him and his little eyes were all glazed over. He was stoned on sugar!

Proof of What Drugs Can Do

Does anybody remember Leif Garrett? Or am I the only one is old enough to remember? But for awhile there, I was mesmerized by Leif Garrett. I remember when I was in 6th grade and in the hospital with pneumonia and somehow somebody brought me his record album. I remember sitting there and just staring into his eyes. Ahhh.

But flash forward almost 30 years and you go from this:



To THIS!!!!!!!


Sad just sad sad sad. The man is only 44 years old and looks like he is 60! Proof of what drugs can do to your looks AND life.

Oh Yeah, There Was Fun Involved

We went to the new toddler heaven in town today called Child's Play. The place was a lot of fun and such a great way for Jack to interact with other kids his age and also burn off some toddler energy. The place is basically one big playroom with hundreds of toys and climbing thingys and ball pits and just cool stuff.

I actually met some nice other mothers while there. I met one woman who had two twin little boys who were only 2 weeks younger than Jack. Boy oh boy am I glad I did not have twins. I asked her if she was having anymore and she answered "Oh God No" so incredibly fast. They were totally into everything and of course opposite ends of the room. I can't even imagine trying to keep up with two Jacks. Good Grief. The woman is a hero, I tell ya.

The great thing about the place was you could just let your little toddler run free and kinda sit back and watch or talk with the other mothers. It was a lot of fun and I am sure we will go back there again.

And the best part of it all? We came home and ate some lunch. Afterward, Jack went and picked up his Doggie and started walking back to his room singing the Sleepy song we sing to him everynight. The boy WANTED to take a nap!!! Miracles do happen! I put him in his crib and he said to me "Nite Nite" and rolled over and went to sleep! And slept for THREE HOURS.

Oh yeah we are definitely going back there again.


Started the day off in the kitchen washing dishes. He LOVED this thing and for about a minute I actually was considering putting one of these things in my house. But what with the train table, the massive amounts of books, the toy bins, toy chest, and trains, planes and automobiles scattered throughout the house, do I REALLY need this also? No, I don't think so either.


Played with the wall thingy with all the cool gadgets.


Then there was the many multiple rides on the roller coast. He kept getting on and figured out how to turn it on by himself and went round and round and round. Big Hit.



Had to do a bit of work involving moving some blocks from one end of the room to the other with the hand truck. This ended when the little brunette in the background decided she needed to move the blocks back across the room and there was much screaming on both sides.


Rode the fishie rocking thingy for a bit.



Worked out a bit on the "treadmill". He actually jumped a teeny tiny bit for about 3.5 seconds. Seriously the kid doesn't get the whole concept of jumping.



And finished the day off with a bit of coloring. Really cool idea of putting paper down on the table and letting the kids go at it. Might just have to do that and maybe do some finger painting or something.

Gonna Try Again

With the Playgroup. The last time at the park was a disaster of sorts because the other mothers were not friendly at all. But today's activity includes going to a toddler heaven place called Childs Play. I have been wanting to go to this place for awhile now and have heard only good things about it. And today the playgroup is meeting there today. According to their website, there is 7 other mothers going and they ALL can't be snobbish can they? Or maybe its me???? Who knows. But it is going to be a good opportunity to burn some Jackaroo energy off and that is ALWAYS a good thing in my book.

I will try to post pictures later of the outing.

What a Weird Night!

Okay last night had to be one of the weirdest nights in the Jackaroo house in a long time. It seems lately that I have not been able to sleep very well, or I should say getting to sleep has been hard. But last night just capped it all off.

Jim and Jack went to bed at 8:00 and I stayed up. Watched Lost (how creepy is that show anyway?). Then surfed the internet looking for Pottery Barns Train Junction bedding for the boy's room. Let me just say ebay doesn't seem to be any cheaper than the PBK online.

So about 11:00, I am thinking this is ridiculous and decided to take a book into the guest bedroom bed and read. My thought was that if I were horizontal reading, I would go to sleep within minutes like always. But no, at midnight, I finally turned the light out and laid there forcing myself to sleep. Finally.

2:30 am. I wake up wide awake! What in the world is up with that? So I get up and go check internet for a few minutes until Jim's alarm rings at 2:45. Yes poor thing had to be at work at 5 am today and he has at least an hour commute. So he gets up and gets ready, turn the tv on in the bedroom to watch the news. I am wide awake. He leaves about 3:30 and I lay in bed forcing myself to sleep again.

4:00 am. Jack starts screaming his head off. I wait a few minutes and realize this is the real thing. He needs me. So I go in there, and see that his diaper needs changing BADLY. So I change his diaper, go get a sippy of milk and put him back to bed.

5:00 am. I finally get back to sleep for another 2 hours of sleep. At 7:00, I am wide awake again. I give it up and decided to just get up and start the day with shower and coffee. Jack is going to my stay with my friend Janet today while I go do some accounting year end stuff where her husband works. Extra moola for the vacation fund.

Oh and now Jack is awake. Yay! Good Morning Everybody!

Not Coming Out But I am GOING In the Closet!

Because I can! I have been cleaning, throwing away, making piles of clothes to go to charity, and organizing all morning long. And now I can say (quite proudly I might add) that I can WALK INTO my Walk-In closet! It is quiting an amazing feat for us here in the Jackaroo World. You see when we moved into this house, Jack was a tiny baby of 3 months old. And at that point in time, I did not have it in me to move my entire house AND organize it at the same time. Surviving day to day was about it for me. So we just kinda threw things here and there and well over time learned to live with the disorganization and clutter. But here it is a year and a half later the closet is now organized. Of course, I did not throw one piece of clothing out that belonged to Jim. To me that just seems a bit stepping-over-the-line-as-a-wife thing.

So now it is official, the man has more clothes than I do. Is that sad or what? What happened to all those business suits that I used to wear when I worked at a bank 3 lifetimes ago? What happened to the Nordies outfits that I used to have back when I actually shopped at Nordies? Oh yeah, I remember those were 3 sizes ago. Silly me. I got rid of them because they made me depressed. Ahhhhh the days of my 20s and early 30s. Now my side of the closet is filled with $7.99 Old Navy t-shirts, jeans, and sweats. The Mom Wardrobe I guess. Hey Oprah, if you are reading this - call me in for a makeover, k?

Back to Normal?

What with the holidays, having Auntie and The Grandparents stay with us, and the sickness that invaded our house, it has NOT been normal around here lately. In fact, since quitting my job 2 months ago (has it really been 2 months now?), it feels like it has not been normal. I spent almost all the time getting the house ready for Christmas and doing the usual Christmas rush. That now with all that behind us, it is down to normal days. I guess now I will find out what it is like to be a regular SAHM. And Yay it starts today with MY GYM! Toddler heaven! Burning toddler energy is always good.

I might have to check out this place also. I heard from one of the other mothers last week at My Gym that it was great for toddler heaven also. In fact, I just may try out the online SAHM group again and go to one of their events to this place. We'll see.

Off to Toddler Heaven. See ya laters.

Money Matters

It was a quiet weekend in the Jackaroo household. Jim and Laura both had yesterday off, so it was a long and lazy weekend. We didn't do much because well we in the Jackaroo house are trying to not spend. I am on this "save money" and "no spending" kick at the moment. I am very determined to save the money we are going to need for our 2 week road trip in June. So I have put a clamp down on all spending for awhile.

Along with the no spending thing, I am trying to sell as much as I can on ebay. Whoohoo I made $32 over the weekend just selling a couple of things of Jack's. Every little bit helps right?

Thank You Aunt Ann and Uncle Bill, You shouldn't have

Really! They sent Jack a tractor (his 14th I think) and the thing is THE most annoying toy in the world. It makes this sound of the tractor engine and also a rooster crowing ALL AT THE SAME TIME! What did we do to deserve that? Wasn't Jim a good enough brother to you?

No really, thanks a lot guys. Jack really does love it. It just may "lose" its batteries very soon.

A Good Mommy and Jack Day

We went to My Gym for a makeup class today. We actually have 2 classes to makeup because he was sick one week and I was sick the next. Anyway, Jack had an absolute blast. Of course, goes without saying. That place is such a toddler heaven. Today we had a really great guy for a teacher. I think he owns the place. He was hilarious and had so much energy! He kept making Jack his example kid. Today was "back flip" day and he used Jack to teach us stupid parents how to back flip our kids. Of course, Jack was a mass of giggles doing the flips. Later on, they brought out this trapeze thing where the kids would hang on it and then turn them around in circles. Again, massive giggles came from the boy, especially once he tried to walk and was all dizzy. He just thought that was the funnest thing in the world.

He also participated a lot better this time. It is so funny because a lot of the songs have the kids jumping and well I don't think Jack quite gets the whole concept of jumping. His "jumping" consists of pumping his arms up and down but his feet never actually leave the ground. Yeah weird kid, I know.

On the way out, they always give the stamp the kid's hands. He was so proud of his stamp that he had to show everybody in the grocery store his stamp.

We then went to McDonalds for lunch. He is such a grown up little man now. He is so good. He will stand right next to me while I pay and not run off like some of the other kids were doing. Even when there was the huge temptation of THE PLAYLAND just a few feet away. And then he sat in the booth across the table from me without a booster seat or anything. He just sat there and ate his happy meal while watching the kids in the playland. Then I let him play for a few minutes before we left.

Now he is napping. It is a late nap for him today. But he was such a little trooper today. Ahhh days like these make the whole parenting thing worth while.

Delurking! Come on out wherever you are...

Alright since EVERYBODY is doing it, I thought I would do it also. Come on people, I know you are there. Make a comment, even if you never ever have made a comment in your entire life. You can do it. I'll even give you a topic. How lame is the new 2 cent stamp increase?

Now Go!

When did I become one of those?

Jack has an appointment today to finally get his flu shot. You see back in November I had an appointment all set up for him for the shot, but was called 3 days before and was told that they were out of the shots and don't bother coming in. And of course, you just can't take an almost-2-year-old just anywhere to get a flu shot like you can a 30-something mother. I got mine at the grocery store!

So when I was at the doctor's last week with Jack and mentioned that he did not get a flu shot because THEY ran out, the doctor informed me that they got a second shipment in a few weeks prior. Why was I not notified of this? Why did it have to be that my son had to get a raging flu bug and end up in the ER because they did not notify me? Mad? Um yeah.

So I said that I would like one. They said they had 4 left and would reserve one for Jack. So today is the day he gets his flu shot. A little bit late, but I guess better than never.

Anyway, the appointment is for 9:30 this morning. And upon waking up and realizing that I had to be out of the house before 9:00 to get there on time (since we moved, the doctor is now a good 30 minutes away), I was bummed. I didn't want to get out of the house at that "early" time. Of course, it doesn't help that I have been out of the house for a total of 20 minutes in the last 4 days. And that was to run to the drug store!

But my question is, when did it happen? I used to be able to get up and out of the house with both me and Jack dressed and looking good BEFORE 7 am. And now after 2 months of being unemployed, I grumble about having to get out of the house at 9am?!? Sad. Very Sad.

Seven In Seven

I was tagged by Dee for this one.

Seven things I want to do before I die:
1. See Jack grow up and have kids
2. Travel to Ireland
3. Travel to Europe (yes I know Ireland is part of, but this is my list)
4. Travel to Australia
5. Own my own business
6. Go back to school just for fun stuff
7. Get down to a size 8

Seven things I cannot do:
1. ice skate
2. run a marathon (stole that from Dee but it sooo applies to me also)
3. live without coffee.
4. live without my husband and child.
5. keep a green thing alive
6. climb a mountain - hate heights
7. go to a kid's program without crying

Seven things that attract me to my husband:

1. His good looks
2. He is an awesome father
3. How he makes sure every single day that he tells me he loves me
4. His caring heart
5. His pride
6. His ethics
7. His hugs

Seven things I say most often:

1. JACK!
2. NO!
3. CAT!
4. Damn Cats/Dogs
5. He is almost 2
6. Jack Jack
7. I love you

Seven favorite series/books/authors:

1. Jennifer Weiner (In her shoes, Little Earthquakes)
2. Diana Gabaldon (The Outlander series, a new one just came out)
3. Jude Devereaux (Romance stuff)
4. Judith McNaught (more romance stuff)
5. John Grisham
6. Parenting books
7. Elmo Lift the flap and see books (about the only ones I read now)

Seven movies I watch over and over:
1. Grease
2. Ferris Bueller
3. Gone with the wind
4. Star Wars
5. All the Christmas movies
6. Sleepless in Seattle
7. Thomas the Tank

Seven people I tag to do this:

1. Jane
2. Carolyn
3. Cooper's Dad
4. Liesl
5. Kelli
6. Claire
7. Madeline Monkey

The Train Table

The train table that Jack got from Santa this year is a huge huge hit. It is also the best babysitter in the world. He can stand there and push his choo-choos all around the thing for like 30 minutes at a time! Amazing amount of time in toddler-time. But he also thinks that it is a family time activity. He will sit down next to the table and then pat the floor saying "there". This means that he wants one of us to go sit next to him and play choo-choos. And it doesn't mean just for a few minutes, no siree, he means for like the next hour we are to sit there on the floor playing choo-choos. But I do have a confession to make. I can not for the life of me figure out how to lay the track to make it loop around and stuff. I think you need a double major in physics and engineering to do that or else be a Daddy. It is complicated stuff people!

The pictures below are of when Grammy and Papa were here. He even talked the old folks into getting on the floor!



However, because of its size and the 10,000 pieces it came with, it is causing much stress in my life. We put in the family room along with all the other toys and they are taking over the room! And I haven't even opened half of the christmas gifts he received from all the adoring family all around the country. No, we still have a full set of Little People something (not sure which one), a Thomas lego set, and a Read-with-me Dvd thingy that I haven't figured out yet but looks cool. Where on earth does all this stuff go? Seriously people, I think I have a fairly big family room, but the other day after my bout of laziness/sickness of not cleaning, the room looked a toy factory had exploded! Trains, cars, tractors, trucks, blocks all were strewn everywhere, including a half-eaten apple. It was quite frightening to be honest.

So the decision has been made to save my sanity. We have decided to set up Jack's playroom in our back room. It has a couch, tv, computer and space to put the train table and 10,000 other toys. That is our new family room when Jack is awake and wanting to play. And it is in the back of the house out of sight where I won't stress because it is messy. I'll post pictures in a few days when everything is set.

Now if I can just work on that closet of mine that looks like a bomb went off.

It Is A Conspiracy

The cats are conspiring against me. And no, I am not paranoid! You see, my stomach is still really queasy from this bug that Jack lovingly spread amongst us. So because it was a nice day out today, I thought I would air the house out a bit and left the back door open. Pretty soon, I hear Sammy cat playing with something. I see him flipping some object up in the air and just having so much fun with this thing. I get closer only to find it is a bird head. ONLY the bird head and he will not give it up. In fact, I end up chasing him through out the house holding a paper towel to fetch the head. Fighting the gag response, I pick it up with the paper towel and run it outside to the garbage cans. EWWWW!

About an hour later, the other cat Vicious starts making that lovely sound...puking in the family room. I run and grab him up and throw him into the kitchen and what comes out of this cat's mouth is the blackest, vilest, most evil, grossest stuff in the world. Yep. The other part of the bird. And he couldn't just throw up in just one spot in the kitchen. Oh no, he had to walk around puking in various places. That did me in. I lost the lunch I had just eaten. Just lovely.

Anybody want some cats or dogs?

Frustration Is...

After being on hold for 21 minutes 56 seconds with the insurance company and being told that they can not help you because they are "updating" their system and to call back in an hour! That sucks!

We just changed insurance companies through Jim's work for the 3rd time in 3 years. And we get the new insurance cards and everybody's primary care doctor is Jim's. Including Jack's and Laura's. I guess they think that the kids don't need pediatricians. So I need to change everybody's doctor and of course you can't do it online or it isn't working right at the moment. I HATE insurance companies.

Ongoing Stuff

Well I am feeling a bit better than I have in days. I actually was able to make dinner and eat some of it tonight. I made the Tator Tot Casserole from Naptime Gourmet. It was a hit with Jim but was just so-so with Jack. I don't think he was very hungry.

Jim called Laura today to see how she did at her competition yesterday. She placed first place AGAIN!!! She has yet another bid to go to Nationals in Orlando in May. She said there were aobut 40 teams competiting yesterday. That sounded like fun to sit through all that - NOT. Don't get me wrong, it is fun to watch them compete, but it sure makes for one long day. Her next competition is on the 29th. Only 3 short weeks. Oh and she also said that her mother did not go yesterday. Another cheer mom took her and did her hair and makeup for her. I just don't understand her mother. How can she stay away? Literally the woman only thinks of herself.

Speaking of Orlando, we are getting excited about our upcoming vacation in June. Jim's family is having a big family reunion in Mississippi which will be fun. There are many many cousins, aunts, and uncles for Jack to meet there, not to mention Grammy C. We are also going to use the opportunity to go to Orlando and stay at the Nickhotel for a few days. Take in Universal Studios and Disneyworld and have fun splashing at the hotel. I think we are going to drive to save some money. Flying a family of four across the country is expensive. But we'll see. It should be fun planning out our two weeks though.

That's all that is going on right now. I hope that Grammy and Papa are recovering from their flu that they got from Jack. They got sick as soon as they got back to Michigan. Of course Jack is all better now and being oh so TWO! He was just pushing our buttons today. If he wasn't trying to break the dishwasher, he was torturing the cats and dogs, or just plain screaming for no reason at all. Gotta Love the Two-Year-Old.

Did Anybody Get That License Number?

Of the truck that hit me? Because I think I want to suit. Now I understand why Jack took almost a whole week to get back to his old little self. This stuff sucks and I didnt even get the full-blown stuff! I think having a flu shot helped there. But what I did get was bad. The body aches right down to the core of the bones, the fever, the stomach cramps although I only threw up once I felt like it all day long. My day yesterday consisted of going from bed to couch to bed and back to couch. Nothing else. Thank God Jim didn't get sick (or at least he wasn't complaining like me) so he could take care of Jack. I basically forgot I had a two-year-old which in itself is kind of nice to do every now and then actually.

I feel a bit better today. I am actually able to sit up without having the serious room spinnage. I need to get it out of my system today before Jim goes back to work and I am again left alone with The Boy!

Oh and about The Girl and her cheerleading competition yesterday. Jim called her mother and told her that we would not be able to go due to everybody being sick. Therefore making her deal with having to do her own daughter's hair and makeup and get her there on time. HA about time don't you think? So upon hearing the news that we would not be able to make it, she yelled into the phone "We'll think of something" and hung up in Jim's ear. HA How do you spell it again? Oh yeah it is B I T C H!

Our Turn

Well I guess it is now our turn to get sick. I was not feeling very well last night, but just kinda blamed being tired. And this morning, I was still feeling blah. But I decided to go get groceries while still not feeling good. At the grocery store, I started to feel the body aches and just all around yuckiness. So I came home and took my temp and it was 101.6. Hmmm I guess I am sick, huh?

Jim called me while I was in the store and yep he's sick also. He said he was going to try to stay the day at work, but was feeling lousy also. Oh Joy.

So let's sum up. Two sick parents. One healthy toddler. And one girl who needs to go to cheerleading competition tomorrow. Yeah this is fun.

Just Realized

After looking at the ticker above, I just realized that Jack is 22 months today. TWO more months and he will be TWO Years old! Again, WOW!

He is still not feeling like his old self yet. About the only the thing he wants to eat today is dry cheerios and a couple of pretzels. He also was very content to sit in the chair under a blanket and watch the Disney Playhouse tv shows all morning long. In fact, when I would go try to do some laundry, he would come find me and take my hand and lead me back to the chair. He would then pat the chair saying "chair" and make me sit down with him and watch tv while he ate his cheerios. I guess the house cleaning and 22 loads of laundry can wait. The reason why we have all the laundry is that the boy threw up on every single article of clothing, blankets, bedding, and stuffed animals. Everything has to be washed and I mean EVERYTHING.

Another thing I just learned today after googling "green poop" was that grape gatorade makes poop neon green. Jack has been drinking the gatorade a lot in the last few days to replenish all the stuff that he hacked up and since yesterday has had a very green shade of poop. Dr. Google reassured me that the cause of all the greeness was in fact the gatorade. Who knew? I surely didn't.

So now the boy is napping. I am going to tip toe into his room and try to remove Doggie from his bed so I can throw Doggie into the wash and clean off the throw up stains. I tried to do that earlier and the boy had a screaming fit. Wish me luck.

New Years Catch Up

It looks like Jack is getting back to his old little self. He still is not eating very well, but I am sure that will change tomorrow where he will be eating anything and everything in sight. He did not eat anything at all for over 2 days there and then yesterday he only drank Gatorade. So he has been pretty sick.

We had to say goodbye to the grandparents today. It was very sad seeing them off at the airport. Jack is already missing them. Boy did they spoil the child. I also have to admit that it was nice having a couple of extra hands to help out. I could get used to the grandparent babysitting service. They were really helpful during the last few days when Jack was so sick. Okay thats it they need to move here. We miss you Grammy and Papa.

Below are some pictures of the New Years Eve in the desert. We had a blast. We went four-wheeling in the desert. My mother got quite the ride in the dune buggy with Brent, my cousin's husband. I would have dirtied myself somehow if I was in that car for sure. He is crazy. The rest of us followed in other desert cars. Jack thought it was soo much fun to be in a car without a carseat. He was laughing and giggling so hard. Of course for those of you out there who are going to be emailing telling me how dangerous this was, you can just stop right in your tracks. Jim was driving and was very careful and we were out in the middle of nowhere on dirt roads. Even I felt okay with it. So there.

After we got back from the four-wheeling adventure, Jim got on their dirt bike and gave Jack a little ride around. To say that the boy loved it was an understatement. I am having visions of our future which include dirt bikes and more ER visits. Aye Aye Aye.

It is only 4 days old?

The year that is. 2006. It is only the 4th? It has been quite a year so far. It all started New Years Day. We had spent the night New Years Eve in the desert at my cousin's house. It was fun. We went four-wheeling through the desert. Jack and Jim went for a little motorcycle ride. Jack LOVED it all. We camped out in a trailer. It was fun. I have pictures I'll post later.

THEN the next day. Jack threw up all over my cousin's kitchen. I thought hmmm maybe his little tummy can't handle the egg nog he had. Didn't think too much of it. So we packed up and left and decided to stop for breakfast at Denny's. We walked into to Denny's and Jack proceeded to throw up ALL over the floor in the restaurant. And like in slow motion I saw the vomit project out of his mouth and the look of horror on the other people as they were trying to eat. It was horrifying. Of course, it felt like it took them 5 hours to bring out a mop. Oh and the smell - yuck!

So that's how the year started out and it just got worse from there. We ended up going to the ER that night because he had been throwing up constant for 12 hours. While there it was quite an experience. Let's just say Jack was not the ONLY one who was throwing up. All around us there were sounds of people hacking up lungs. Lovely.

The worst experience as a mother also happened. They had to put an IV in Jack to get some fluid into him. He was severly dehydrated. However, it took 4 pokes to finally get the IV in and then it was in the foot! He was screaming so hard that I just lost it and started to cry myself and wanted to yell at the people (3 people tried to get a vein) to just stop it! But once they finally got the IV going, he started to perk right up. He went from a deathly pale to rosey cheeks in just a couple of hours. We were there until midnight! Five Hours in the ER! Fun! They did push a tv with kid videos to us so we could at least entertain ourselves a bit.

While we were there, they had a few traumas come in. One of them was sooo sad, that I have thought about it several times since hearing about it. The EMT guy who kind of befriended us let us in on what was going on. Evidently there was a 30-year old woman who was in a car accident. She was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the car. She was bleeding on the brain and didn't look like she was going to make it. The really sad part was she had a 1-month old baby. I have just thought about that so much. How horrible. The ER sure is a depressing place.

Well I hear the boy is awake and gotta go check on him.