Halloween Prep

For weeks now Jack has been protecting our pumpkins. He has refused to let us make Jack-O-Lanterns for fear of making them sad. Friday, we finally convinced him to let us carve them. YEA! As of this morning we have carved three of them, and Jack painted his little one.

However, we now have a new challenge. He informed me this morning he is "too little for Halloween." I guess that is his way of saying there is no way he is going to put on a costume. (We have told him he must wear a costume if he wants to trick or treat.)

We will try our best this evening. We have plans to do some trick or treating with some of our neighbors, so perhaps the older kids will convince him. I honestly don't know what to expect. I'll post the results later.

Big Sister

We were lucky to get a last minute visit this week from Jack's oldest sister, Heather. She is a busy college student these days, so unfortunately, we do not get to have her home as much as we would like. It's been so long, that Jack called her Karen for most of her visit. (He really misses Karen a LOT.) It's just a very sad reminder of how much Jack misses out on by not having his sisters home with us. It's been difficult getting Jack to go anywhere this week, because he tells me he doesn't want to leave his family.

We are so proud of her, but really wish we could see her more often.

While she was here, she turned 19! Jack was thrilled to celebrate another birthday.

Frustrations

Do you see what I am up against here?!

Attitude

It's hard to discipline your kid when dad is an instigator. I swear, sometimes it feels like I have 2 little boys.

Community Fall Festival

Our community puts on some great events. Yesterday, we went to the annual Fall Festival. Jack had so much fun.

We played Halloween croquet.

Jack got a spider tattoo. Immediately after getting it, he had to go find Olivia to show it to her. She is the older sister to one of the kids in his play group. He has missed her a LOT since school started again.

He got to decorate a pumpkin using stickers. This is good since I am still uncertain as to if he will let us carve any additional pumpkins this year.

He absolutely did the whole thing with no help from us.

I think it turned out pretty good, very detailed.

And there were pony rides. Jack's favorite!

A bounce house is always fun too!

It was a great morning for all of us!

Conversations...

As I mentioned, I love the conversations I have with Jack. It's difficult to hear all of what he is saying in this video, but it was so cute that I had to post it. (Well, I thought it was cute and since it's my blog, that's all that matters.)

Jack Needs His Nap

Jack has always been a good sleeper, but for any of you who have seen him in action, this should be obvious. He is so active, that he really needs his sleep. We get a good 10-11 hours at night and a 2-3 hour nap during the day. Lately, Jack is resisting his nap. No, he isn't outgrowing it...not yet. He just doesn't want to take it. Last week when I told him it was time for his rest, he replied, "I have no time to go to sleep." (I know how he feels.)

Even if he doesn't sleep, he has to stay in his bed for at least 1 hour before he can get up. About once a week he refuses to sleep. The result is a cranky kid in the evening. When he skipped his nap last week, he was such a lunatic that we had dinner early...about 5pm. As I am cleaning up the dinner dishes, I noticed it was too quiet in the house. Stuart and I looked for Jack and found him passed out in the family room at 5:30pm...slept until after 6 the next morning.

Poor baby!

Stay at Home Mommy

Many of you know that I am currently looking for a job. It's challenging in this economy to find work, but it's even more challenging to think about leaving my little Jack. Luckily, we aren't in too big of a rush and I can take my time to find the right position for our family. This has made me think a lot about how blessed I am to have been at home with Jack these past few years. When I first left my job, my sister told me that being a stay at home mom was overrated. She said she found it boring and there are big advantages to going back to work. I know that everyone feels differently on the subject and there are no one size fits all solutions...you just have to do what is best for your family. So, in preparation for my eventual return to work, (or maybe just to convince myself to be happy about this...) I started compiling a list of all the disadvantages of being a stay at home mom:

• I don't have money to spend on nice clothes...but I do have so much fun messing up my cheap clothes with my son.
• I no longer get to wake up with my favorite daily drink at Starbucks...but I do get to wake up to the sweetest voice I have ever heard.
• I don't get many adult conversations...but I do have some hysterically funny ones while listening to the reasoning of a child.
• I don't get to discuss theories of adult education practices (my former career) with people who value my opinion...but I do get to practice child education theories with a very captive and willing audience!
• I don't get to take vacations with my husband, walking hand in hand, looking at the sights...but I do get to run screaming through the park with a child who is seeing everything for the first time and can't wait to experience more.

Yeah, in the end, I guess there really aren't many disadvantages. The financial sacrifices have been worth it. I am ready and eager to return to work to help support our family financially, but I also recognize how much I will be missing. This makes me so grateful to my husband. He is the hardest working man I know. (Ranks right up there with my dad!) He works his ass off (sorry) to support his family. He provides very well for us and I know that he really worked hard to allow me these precious years with my baby boy. I love you very much Stuart! Hopefully, in the not so distant future I can give you the same gift, letting you retire to spend some wonderful quality time at home with Jack.

The Great Pumpkin Protector

I know someone told me once that you aren't supposed to post more than once a day. I don't know who makes up these arbitrary rules, but I'm breaking them. Since I am already pretty good at disappointing people, this shouldn't be a surprise.

This morning we went to MacDonald's Ranch for some fall activities. Unfortunately, it is still pretty hot so we didn't stay long.

Jack loved riding the horses. No fear. That's my boy!


Isn't he cute?


Have you ever seen a kid happier about a hay ride?


Stuart's allergies forced him to ride up front...missing all the excitement.

Jack loved the pumpkins. He immediately ran and picked one up, exclaiming, "I love you pumpkin!"

The ride back was fun too.

He is so gentle with animals.


He loved the hay maze. If he got stuck, he would cheat by climbing over the walls. If you look closely, Stuart caught him in the act.

Stuart the cowboy.

Jack the cowboy.

This was taken on the drive home. Please watch it till the end. You won't be disappointed.

Conversations with Jack #3

As you know, Jack loves to take pictures. One day, I let him take some pics with the camera so I could slip into the other room to change clothes. As I am undressing in my closet, I hear a "click." Not good. I turn around and Jack is taking my picture. Here is our ensuing conversation:

Me: JACK! What are you doing?!

Jack: I take a picture of your naked bum?

Me: NO! Don't take a picture of my bum.

Jack: I take a picture of your penis?

Me: No, mommy doesn't have a penis.

Jack looks at me quizzically, then squats down, turns his head to the side (as if to get a better look) and asks, "Is your penis up in there?"

For the record, I deleted the picture of my bum!

My Big Kid

Holy Crap! (I really have got to stop saying that...) Who took my little baby and replaced him with this grown up boy?!

Skeleton Friends

Jack really loves skeletons. We seem to be collecting new ones all the time. The problem is, Jack considers them his friends and won't allow me to hang them up with our Halloween decorations.

Jack Speak

I love this age. Toddler speak is so entertaining. You can understand most of what your child is saying, but it's the delivery that makes it fun. Mixed up pronouns, cute mispronunciations, and a unique thought process can always make me smile. I wish I could get some of our conversations on video, but that is just too difficult at this age, so instead I try to write down my favorites as I hear them.

• I got 'ya. I hold you baby mommy. (after I hurt myself)
• It can't work! My eyes not closing. Mommy, I awake. (at nap time)
• I made some wind for you. (turning the fan on in the bathroom)
• I sorry I peed you. (when he got distracted while standing at the toilet)
• I take my penis in the pool? (not sure if he really thought there was any other way to go swimming...)
• After I told Jack he couldn't have a Popsicle, I watched him intentionally bang his head on the door, he then came to me and said: Ow. I hurt my head. I need a Popsicle. Popsicle make my head better.
• (After fake coughing) I sick. I need medicine. Or sometimes: I sick. Need ginger-ale.
• While playing one afternoon, Jack sent me to his room and told me to lay down in his bed. He then turned off the light. Before closing his door he said: You lay down. I make it dark. Look at your monsters.
• Mom, you went the wrong way. You kissed my cheek...kiss my mouth!

Mommyhood

A few months ago, I went to happy hour with a couple of girlfriends. We sat on the patio and ate and drank and laughed. (Well, everyone but Sarah; she's pregnant and our current designated driver.) It was bright outside so I reached into my purse to grab my sunglasses and instead pulled out a pair of spiderman underwear. We died laughing. It seems that even when you try to get away, you never stop being a mom. It made me think of some of the signs that you are a mom.

• Your car smells like sour milk from numerous instances when your little one has spilled his drink while you were driving.
• For that matter, you car is usually a mess...filled with various toys, used baby wipes, dropped and forgotten crackers, etc.
• You have the PBS line-up of morning shows memorized.
• Your wardrobe is planned around your child. When they are babies, you make sure to pick colors that hide spit up...when they are older, you make sure you can bend over and pick up a screaming child without showing more than you intend to show.
• You know which libraries offer story time and when.
• You know the theme song to Caillou by heart.
• While driving, you can reach into your bag, find a toy (or a sucker) and pass it to your child in the backseat to stop the screaming, all without taking your eyes off the road.
• You can read your child's favorite bedtime stories without so much as a glance at the book.
• You know that when your child tells you they have a feber that they really mean fever.
• You can put in a car seat in under 60 seconds.
• You have mommy brain and lose your train of thought frequently.
• Your heart breaks every time your child hurts.
• One smile from your child can instantly make your heart melt.

I'm sure there are other signs, but as I said, I have mommy brain and can't remember them.

Buying Halloween

Jack is getting very excited about Halloween and Christmas...mainly Christmas, but I continue to remind him that Halloween comes first. Jack's uncle Kevin and cousin Bremen are in town visiting, so we decided to do some fun Halloween activities to get him geared up for the big day. Kevin and I took the boys shopping at Walmart. Wow, did they ever have fun in the Halloween section. We filled up our cart with decorations, costumes, and even got a new big "daddy" skeleton to go with Jack's baby skeleton. Jack kept clapping his hand and saying, "We're buying Halloween! We buy Halloween!" When it was time to buy a few groceries, however, Jack was not happy. He kept taking them out of the cart, telling me there was no room because we had to buy Halloween.


Yesterday, while Stuart was at work, the four of us carved some pumpkins while watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. Bremen kept insisting he didn't like that movie and Jack has never wanted to watch it before, but for some reason, they really got into it this time. It was so fun.


I really tried to get some pics, but these are 2 very active boys and that made it challenging. Plus, they both wanted to take the pictures.


Jack wanted to make sure I got a picture of him poking his pumpkin. He loved that he was grown up enough to get to help use the some of the tools. The night before he had insisted on trying to cut his own meat at dinner...just like Bremen, so when this project started, he informed me he was now big enough to use a grown up knife. God help us.



For the life of me, I could not get a picture of both boys with the pumpkins. Bremen kept insisting that he had a pumpkin head and kept putting his face behind his pumpkin.


So, of course Jack had to do the same thing.



Kevin helped the boys pose with pumpkin heads. Sorry I don't have one of Bremen...Jack insisted on taking those pics and they came out blurry.



He is so proud of his pumpkin.


I'm looking forward to Halloween. My second favorite holiday!

Conversations with Jack #2

Jack: What are you eating mommy?

Me: Chicken and vegetables. Do you want some?

Jack: No.

Me: Try some. It makes you big like Ironman.

Jack: You eat it. You be big like Ironman. I be little.

Doctor Jack

I know I haven't posted in awhile, I've been sick, but I have been in very good hands with my Jack. Monday afternoon, I had outpatient surgery. Stuart and Jack kept me company at the doctor's office while I was waiting. Jack was an angel. He watched intently as I got my IV for my anesthesia. He had the entire office impressed as he took care of his mom. He kept insisting I lie down while he gave me medicine (using the blood pressure gauge.) He monitored my IV, he kept assuring me I would be better soon. He told me, repeatedly, "Don't worry Mom." He was a doll. I'm not supposed to lift anything over 10 lbs for a couple of weeks, (yeah, right,) so, Jack has had to be very patient with his mom. He even brings me pretend medicine to make me better.

This picture has nothing to do with this post, but, I don't want to miss a chance to share a glimpse of his cute face.

Man, I love this kid!