Arizona 2014

I'll try and get a post done today - we got home last night and in between unpacking, laundry, getting things done around the house and, oh yeah, that thing called work, this might be just a little bit disorganized.  

First off, Arizona is hot.  I mean, really hot.  I like the heat, however.  In fact, I'm sitting at my desk right now with the space heater running even though its in the 70s outside.  But the heat in Arizona is on another level.  You walk outside for just a moment and you start to sweat.  I couldn't run to the pharmacy or the grocery store without toting (and drinking) a full bottle of water because the heat just made me feel ill.  In Minnesota, we heat our cars up in the winter before we get into them - in Arizona, you cool your cars down.  Poor Jack couldn't get into his car seat right away because the buckles and straps were too hot to touch his skin.  So, we'd stand outside in the parking lot, with the air conditioning blasting away while we withered in the sun, waiting for the car to cool down.  It was a good excuse to take advantage of the lake.  

Anyways, our flight didn't leave until 10:00 on Friday night - so I put in some time at the office, came home to pack everything up and take Blue to the doggie hotel.  I picked Jack up and when Jeff got home, we went to Perkins for "pan-pakes" and then headed to the airport.  When we got to the gate, I changed Jack into his pajamas and off we went!  

We didn't land in Las Vegas until after 11:00.  Fortunately, Jack passed out about half-way through the flight and didn't wake up.  It was one less thing to deal with - and I was crabby, hungry and tired.  I must have yelled at five different people as we got off the plane, waited for Jack's stroller from the gate check, walked through the airport, got on a tram, waited for our luggage, took a bus to the car rental depot, waited in line for our car, loaded up our car, drove to the hotel, parked, and waited in line to check into our room before we were finally able to relax.  By the time we got to our hotel room, it was after 1:00 in the morning, and this mama was starving.  So, I went off in search for food.  Fortunately, Las Vegas is much like New York City in that you can find a fast food joint open at pretty much any hour of the day.  So, I scored a few slices of pizza and came back to the hotel room and promptly devoured them before passing out with my boys.

Well, at least Jack got a good night's rest.  He was up at 5:30 the next (or same) morning and ready to go out and explore.  Jeff and I managed to keep him somewhat subdued with Frozen for the next hour or so before I finally gave in and got up.  Jeff stayed in bed.  He was the one that was going to make the long drive down to Gammy and Gampy Arizona's house and I didn't need him sleepy for the drive.  I figured I'd catch a nap in the car.  Ha.  So, Jack and I got dressed and went out in search of breakfast.  We ended up at Denny's and I asked Jack what he wanted to eat - he told me he wanted a bagel, fruit and yogurt.  I was shocked, and pleasantly surprised that my kid's eating habits aren't totally confined to "pan-pakes" and chocolate goodies.  Afterwards, we wandered around the Strip for a while - which is never short on entertainment, no matter the hour.  He was obsessed with the fountains and we spent some time playing around them.

After that, I told Jack we could go swimming, so we went to wake Daddy up and head down to the pool.  Jack had so much fun splashing around and playing with Jeff.  Unfortunately, we could only swim for about an hour.  This meant Jeff had to football-carry a screaming and crying Jack up to the room.  He didn't want to leave.  But, we had to get on the road, so we got dressed, packed up, grabbed a burger and then hit the road.  Again, Jack promptly fell asleep in the car and napped for the entire drive down to Gammy and Gampy's house.

Anyways, the rest of our vacation was great, although I should say that it was a working vacation.  I spent some time going over Gammy's health care information, straightening out her medications, and helping around the house.  When we got there on Saturday, Gammy had an amazing dinner waiting for us, but Jack was insanely crabby, so he went to bed on the earlier side.  I did too.  I was totally beat.

On Sunday, Gammy and I hung around the house and I helped out with the chores, getting her medications in order, and then, she taught me how to make her famous meatballs and spaghetti sauce.  The boys went up to Oakman, a town about an hour's drive from Lake Havasu.  It's this "cowboy" town, but the real draw is that they've got donkeys wandering all over the place.  All the visitors bring carrots to feed them and they're pretty tame.  Jack, Gampy and I went there when we were in Arizona the last time.  It sounds like the boys had a pretty good time.  I had thought about going for a minute, but let's be honest - I couldn't stand to be outside that long and I really wanted to learn Gammy's secret recipe for meatballs.

For Memorial Day, we took Jack down to the park and lake for some playtime.  Fortunately, the park was covered, so I didn't get too hot, but I needed to go home sooner than my son would have liked.  I got some stuff to fix dinner for the family and I made supper while Jack napped.  Gampy and Jeff went to shoot guns.  Boys and their toys.

On Tuesday, it was so hot outside that Jeff ended up taking Jack to the lake at like 7:00 in the morning.  I took the opportunity to sleep in.  Gampy had an eye appointment and I spent some time around the house with Gammy and then Jeff and his grandparents went to get some stuff taken care of at the bank.  After Jack got up from his nap, I took him back to the lake for more swimming.  It felt wonderful just to sit in the cool water.  Jack had so much fun running up and down the shore, looking for big rocks to throw in the lake.

And then, we were up on Wednesday bright and early to drive back to Las Vegas.  For all the "sin" of Vegas, it's actually quite the kid-friendly city.  The airport has a great play area, and Jack took full advantage of that:

Because Arizona is so hot, we spent a lot of time (or rather, Jack did) wearing as little as possible.  It makes me jealous - I want to be able to run around in just my undies, but no one wants to see that.  But, when you're 2 1/2, no one seems to care - and besides, who doesn't adore a chubby, naked baby?

Jack had a really great time on vacation and I was so happy that he got to spend some more time with his Gammy and Gampy.  I was also grateful for the time we spent with them too - and we got a lot of things taken care of while we were down there, so the trip was productive.  Jack was also happy to spend some quality time with Mom and Dad - and the drop-off at school this morning was rough.  But still, I'm happy to be home again, and back in our regular routine.  Considering the fact that I'm now 32 weeks pregnant, it's time to slow down and just wait on Baby Girl's arrival.

I've got another ultrasound with Duckie tomorrow afternoon and hopefully we'll be able to better pinpoint when this child is scheduled to make her debut into this world.  Considering the fact that it's getting hotter by the day, I'd prefer sooner rather than later.  But, these babies come into this world when they're good and ready - so I'll just make myself be content with sitting around, soaking up the sunshine and enjoying life with one child while it lasts.  

Herding Water

Trying to wrangle and direct a child like Jack often feels like I'm trying to herd water.  There's just no easy way to do it.  Water pretty much goes where, and does what, it wants to and, if there's enough of it, water has the power to destroy everything in its path.  This, in summation, is like life with Jack.  When we're playing, the objective is not to direct him towards different activities, but rather to contain his environment and ensure that it's safe.  Ideally, my job is to block all accessible escape routes.  I think if I put Jack in a round, padded room with nothing else in it, he'd find a way to occupy himself.  But the water analogy comes into play when I'm actually trying to get him to do something - pick up his toys, get ready for bed, or go shopping.  With bedtime, we've got an extra ten minutes built into the routine to account for trying to direct Jack towards the next thing he's got to do.  For example, we help him take his clothes off.  We have to talk about anatomy and how Jack does not have a baby growing in his tummy.  After this, he flops around on his bed, runs from room to room, jumps on the bed, and eventually comes to rest on the shag rug in the guest room - buck naked.  Then, we have to go potty.  This includes a full inspection of the toilet, talking about how "Jack goes pee-pee," flushing the toilet, picking out the perfect sticker and then placing it in the exact right position on his sticker chart.  Afterwards, I have to brush his teeth, which is frustrating because Jack thinks it's funny to not open his mouth or clamp down on the toothbrush.  And then, he's got brush his teeth after I'm finished.  We have to give him his allergy medication, we have to drink several small sips of water (note: this does not mean he sips from a full glass.  He has to fill the cup over and over again with the precise amount of water to drink it.  If it is not filled correctly, the process must start over), and then we can finally go get his pajamas on.  This also includes a discussion of male anatomy, more flopping around on the bed, and eventual success.  It's a process - and this is on a night when he doesn't need a bath.  I should also add that this scene also includes me following him around, giving him futile directions several times over.  

This is parenting, isn't it?  There are moments where I want to rip my hair out in frustration as I chase a naked lunatic running through the house, but it's perfect in every single way.  This is my child - the crazy, energetic little flood who will stop in the middle of what he's doing and run up and give me a hug and kiss.  The one who wants to make sure everyone is included in whatever mayhem he has planned.  And, underneath it all, he's still sensitive and sweet.  The other night, he was running wild and ended up smacking me in the face with a foot.  It hurt, and he could tell he hurt me.  Well, this upset him so much that I was the one who was still consoling him long after the pain in my eye socket had abated.

Anyways, we had yet another awesome week.  And the weekend couldn't have been much better.  The weather was, in short, absolutely perfect.  I made sure we spent as much time outside as we could.  My sister and the boys came up on Saturday morning and we played outside and had a picnic.  Our neighbors were doing some spring cleaning and gave us a power motorcycle.  Jack and Wim kind of played around it, until they figured out what it could do.  And then after that, it was awesome.  They each took turns riding it around in a circle (or into a bush) laughing hysterically - which continued until the thing ran out of juice.  

If you can't tell, Blue was absolutely beside himself with worry and kept hollering and me and Annie - as if to tell us that we needed to get the kids away from that death trap.  I didn't let Jack ride it around on the driveway until we got to Target to buy him a helmet - good news, he's got the head circumference of a teenager.  Wonder where he got that from?  

Anyways, Jack went down for an early nap and I spent my time sitting outside and reading.  My most favorite thing to do.  I actually think I got a little color - although it probably won't do me any good for our trip to Arizona this weekend.  I'm going to blind all the senior citizens with my paleness.  Anyways, after nap, Jack and I went to Target and then came home and Jack and Blue played in the backyard while Jeff and I relaxed on the deck and grilled steaks.  

So, anyways, my grandma fell on Saturday afternoon and ended up breaking her wrist.  She was in the emergency room on Saturday night and they tried to set her wrist.  They weren't successful, unfortunately, so she's probably going to have surgery later this week.  Jack and I went to visit his Gammy and Gampy on Sunday morning.  We had a long talk about how Gammy had an owie and we needed to be very gentle with her.  And boy, was he a sweetheart.  He brought Gammy a blanket, covered her up with it and was very liberal with his hugs and kisses.  When we were leaving, he kept saying, "Bye, Gammy's owie!  Feel better!"

This is actually a development in him that I only recently noticed - it started after our trip out to New Jersey a few weeks ago.  I had made a book for Jack a while back with his family pictures in it, hoping he would recognize the relatives he doesn't see on a regular basis.  Well, I have no idea where the book is now.  But Jeff has been going through pictures with him on this blog and on Facebook, talking about everyone in them.  Mostly, I've kind of been under the impression that Jack sees people and then promptly forgets them - but I think he's at the point now where he's really starting to identify people and put them to memories.  He's had his Nana, Boppa, Auntie Anne, Cousin Wim and Baby Bash down pat for a while - mostly because he sees them all the time.  I was actually surprised when I heard him calling out his Grandma Jersey the other night and he got really excited over his Auntie Kate and Unkie Chris' picture as well.  And yesterday, when I was telling him that we were going to see Gammy and Gampy, he actually knew who I was talking about.  So, I actually think he's starting to develop some longer-term memories and associating positive experiences with people.  

After we visited with Gammy and Gampy, we came home and I turned around to run out and hit a few garage sales.  For whatever reason, I've got it in my head that I need a double stroller.  But, I don't want to pay full price for one.  They get kind of pricey!  So, I was hoping that I'd stumble upon one at a garage sale, but there was no such luck.  So, I came home and did a few things around the house and we went down to the U of M to watch Uncle Alec graduate - magna cum laude with distinction.  We didn't stick around though.  Jack would absolutely not sit still.  Plus, the ceremony was held in a hockey arena which boasted steep cement steps, so Jeff and I just walked around the concourse during the ceremony.  And then it was time to come home and go to bed.  In short, it really was the perfect weekend.      

Anyways, coming up this week, we're going to Arizona on Friday night.  We'll stay there through Wednesday.  We don't have any big plans while we're down there, other than to visit with Jeff's grandparents.  I'm sure we'll get lots of time outside as well, which will be nice.  Other than that, I'm still working on getting the baby's room ready.  I realized this morning that I've got less than ten weeks to go, which may seem like an eternity to some, but I know it'll fly by.  

I've also put a few other pictures of Jack below - there's no real story behind them.  He's really become quite the Daddy's boy, which pleases me to no end.  Jeff really is an amazing dad and Jack has opened up this side to him that I didn't really know was there.  My heart absolutely melts every time I walk into a room and see them snuggling or napping together.  And Jack wants to be just like his daddy - the other day, he wanted to wear a tie to school, so Jeff helped him put one on and Jack kept walking around the house, as proud as could be, talking about how he was wearing his daddy's tie:

Seriously, look at how proud he is of himself.  And look at what a cool dude he is too.  

He's a happy kid - even if he's going in a million directions at once.  Still, I figure we must be doing something right.  

Mother's Day 2014

There are so many articles and blogs out there about being a mother - whether you're a working mom, staying at home, or somewhere in between, there's a site for you.  Mostly, it's just women griping about why motherhood is really hard work and it's okay if you fall short every once and a while.  It seems like these articles are validation for us to just be "okay" as parents.  I'll fully admit that I still read these articles on occasion, and even pass them along to my friends, but I'm kind of at the point where enough is enough.  Yes, being a parent is really hard work.  I fully realize that I will fail or fall short of my own (or my child's) expectations throughout our lives, and I know that I'm not always going to put my best foot forward or try my hardest.  And you know what?  I will make the occasional decision where I put my needs ahead of my child.  I was reading my Mother's Day post from last year and I commented on how motherhood is really hard work, but honestly, I think I meant that more from a physical perspective rather than an emotional one.   I don't know what I learned about being a parent over the past year.  I know that broken bones eventually heal and that having an urgent care close by is really nice.  I've learned that children form irrational attachments to inanimate objects and can learn how to use an iPhone better than most adults.  I understand that biting is just a phase and not a reflection on my parenting.  There is nothing better than an unsolicited hug and sometimes Mom really is the only thing that makes everything better.  The best parts of my day are when he comes padding down the hallway to our bedroom to crawl in and snuggle with us.  The more words my child learns only increases the likelihood that he'll never stop talking, and I have to accept the fact that I will never really know what goes on in his head.  The point of this is, as my dear friend Molly would say, that the days may be long but the years are short and there is not a moment I want to forget from the past two and a half years - broken legs, ear infections and all.

Anyways, our week was pretty great - we had one medical issue which required some attention.  Jack had this hangnail that he kept picking.  For the record, I'd like to state that I try to cut Jack's nails on a regular basis, however he equates this with torture, and so it becomes a very difficult process.  I'm not joking.  He acts like I'm actually severing his fingers every time I try to pare those nails down.  So I've actually got to pin him against something.  Lately, I've been pinning him up against the sink in his bathroom, using my free arm to wrap around and hold down one arm and try to cut his fingernails as quickly as I can before he gut-checks me and runs away screaming.  Cutting his toenails is actually a two-person job.  Anyways, so he had this hangnail that got infected.  I tried to fix it at home - soaking it, keeping it clean, covering it up - but I discovered that it is impossible to keep a toddler's hands clean and that my child also equates Band-Aids with torture devices.  Anyways, Jeff basically made me take Jack to urgent care because he was convinced Jack was going to lose his thumb.  Well, I did and again, it was a very traumatic experience.  They had to lance and drain his finger and then he needed to keep it covered.  This was no small feat, let me tell you.  They put on some numbing solution before actually lancing it and he did not stop crying:

Anyways, when it came time to actually perform the procedure, Jack had to sit in my lap and I had to wrap my legs around him and hold down his unaffected arm.  There was another child services woman in there to help, as well as a nurse and the doctor.  We got it done - but man, was it traumatic for him.  Afterwards, he clung on to me and sobbed into my hair for at least thirty minutes.  They also had to wrap it up and I was concerned about how I was ever going to keep it on, but then Jeff comes to the rescue - he saw Jack's hand and said, "Whoa, buddy!  Cool Mickey glove!" and then it was all okay.  Anyways, I'm pleased to report that the finger is a lot better than it was and Jeff is now confident that Jack will not lose his thumb.  So, we got home pretty late, had a quick dinner and then we all got into bed.  I think I said this before, there's nothing that a little snuggle with the Blue-Dog and Daddy won't fix.  I'm the evil one - I had to take him to get his finger cut open!  

So anyways, we ended up having a pretty amazing weekend as well.  On Saturday, we just bummed around the house, cleaning and doing chores.  When Jack went down for his nap, I actually got to read a book - outside!  It was a beautiful day, and I actually think I got a bit of color.  Anyways, when he woke up, we went to Pinstripes for a family outing.  My mom's birthday is later this month and yesterday was, of course, Mother's Day, so we decided to have one big outing to celebrate both occasions.  When I told Jeff that we were going bowling, he looked at me as if pigs had just flown out of my mouth.  I think the thought was that neither Jack or Wim would really be able to handle bowling and it would be just a total circus.  But, at the end of the day, both Jack and Wim did wonderfully.  They really got the concept of bowling and had a lot of fun rolling their balls down the ramps and knocking over pins.  They were really great at taking turns and staying out of everyone's way.  I didn't bowl, so I got to look after Baby Bash while everyone else did their thing.

Afterwards, we all had a family dinner and my mom opened her presents.  Jack was not being awesome throughout dinner and wanted to go back and keep playing "basketball" and got really mad at me when I wouldn't let him.  Eventually, Boppa and I just took him outside while everyone waited for the check.  So, on Sunday, all three of us went to church to see my mom and Grandma for Mother's Day and then Jeff and I took Jack out to the zoo.  Honestly, this was the best decision ever - he had so much fun.  He loved making all the animal noises, feeding the goats on the farm, and just running around.  He was still talking about the chickens when we were getting ready for bed last night:

We got home for nap after a quick lunch and then I went out to do some shopping.  We're headed to Arizona at the end of next week and Jack really needed some summer clothes - plus, I finally figured that I should start doing something about the baby's room.  So, I ended up buying some bedding and I started making lists of things we need to do and buy over the next six weeks or so.  I figure we probably need to be ready for her arrival by the end of June, which is only six weeks away if you can believe it!  All of a sudden, the pregnancy that would never end seems to really be picking up speed!  

New Jersey 2014

The big news of the week was, of course, our trip out to New Jersey for Baby Maddie's christening.  I stayed home from work on Thursday to get ready and prepare for the trip - Jeff had worked late so he could stay home and do the same.  But, when I went downstairs on Thursday morning, there was a note from Jeff saying that he was really sick.  I got ready, took Jack to school and ran a few errands at Target.  When I got home, I was all ready to kick his butt, but he was really sick.  So, I threw him in the car and took him to the emergency room.  I wasn't about to play around.  He was diagnosed with strep throat and influenza, put on antibiotics and told to rest.  Well, there was absolutely no way he was going to be in any shape to fly out to New Jersey with us, so I changed his ticket so he could fly out and meet us on Saturday.  

So, that meant Jack and I made the trip by ourselves.  I wasn't really nervous about getting to New York - I was more concerned about what I was going to do when I got there.  My dad drove us to the airport and I checked our bags, made it through security with Jack, got him a snack and we got on the plane without incident.  

He was so excited.  He got his own seat next to the window and was a little scared when the plane took off, but I kept my arm around him and told him how fun it was to fly in a plane.  He got over it quickly.  We also talked a lot about how the plane was going to go "up, up, up and then back down" and when it came "back down" we'd go to see Grandma Jersey.  So, we landed and as we're taxing up to our gate, there's a large African American air traffic controller out Jack's window.  He points and shouts, "there's Grandma Jersey!" much to the delight of everyone around us.  

Honestly, he was such a good boy through the entire flight.  I should mention that we also have a new obsession - while Mickey Mouse is never far from our thoughts (or television) Jack has insisted on watching Frozen, almost on repeat.  He absolutely loves this movie and screams and claps through it.  This, I'm totally fine with - I think the movie is adorable.  As a side note, we were at Uncle Chris' and Aunt Kate's on Friday and we put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for Jack to watch while we chatted.  Jack got up and promptly ran away to play "footfall" with Grandma Jersey, but Mickey was still on the television.  Chris looked at me and told me that I was free to change the channel - but the problem was that I didn't even realize I was still watching Mickey Mouse - that show is just like white noise to me at this point.  

Anyways, we got off the plane and went to get our suitcase.  I had figured I'd just take a taxi cab to the car rental depot, but the line for cabs was over two hours long.  Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.  So, I hitched Jack's car seat to the back of my suitcase, pushed Jack in his stroller and pulled my luggage across JFK airport to the train.  I took a packed train to a bus, which finally took me to the rental place.  After we got all loaded up, I put Jack in his pajamas and drove to New Jersey.  Fortunately, Jack fell asleep in the car and went down without incident when we got to Grandma Jersey's house.  

So, on Friday we spent the morning playing with bubbles and balls and then we went to meet Auntie Kate and Baby Maddie for lunch in Ridgewood.  Maddie slept the entire time and Jack pounded a plate of pancakes.  So, we went home to take a nap and then we went over to Uncle Chris and Aunt Kate's to play some "footfall."  Afterwards, we went out to dinner with the rest of the family and came home and crashed.  

On Saturday, Jack and I made a special trip to Dunkin' Donuts for muffins while Grandma Jersey got ready.  

And then we picked up Jeff's cousin, Maria, and went out to Van Saum Park.  Apparently, this was a place that Jeff loved as a kid - and I can see why.  There was a choo-choo train we rode around the park, a small zoo with all different kinds of animals and a huge park.  Jack had a total blast and Grandma Jersey had to carry him, kicking and screaming, out of the park when it was time to leave.  We ended up napping for the better part of three hours and then went over to Aunt Fran's for dinner.  Afterwards, I left to go pick up Jeff from the airport and Grandma Jersey, Maria and Daniella put Jack to bed.  He was in seventh heaven with all the attention and love he was getting.  

So, on Sunday, Jeff didn't have to be at the church until 1:30 - we really didn't do much.  We bummed around in the morning and went to visit Jeff's Aunt Shirley in the hospital.  Grandma Jersey and Jeff left for the church after lunch and I stayed back with Jack while he napped.  Then, we went over to Aunt Kate's and Uncle Chris' for the party - and again, Jack had so much fun playing with everyone.  Maria followed him around like a trooper and occupied him the entire time - I was exhausted, so I just sat on the couch and ate.  

I did manage to sneak in a selfie with Baby Maddie after everyone left the party though:

Anyways, we were up and out the door early on Monday - we had to drive into the City in rush hour traffic, drop the car off, get checked in and make it through security.  We left four hours ahead of our flight and we didn't have any downtime, if you can believe that.  Jeff was able to fly back with Jack and me, and that made things considerably easier.  Anyways, we got home and Jack went down for his nap and Jeff and I set about putting the house back in order, unpacking, doing laundry and shopping.  By dinnertime, we were both so exhausted, we could hardly move.  

So, that was New Jersey - Jack has changed so much in the past few days, I just can't believe it.  First off, I think he's learned all the words in the English language.  He says so much - and he does not stop talking.  He's also started calling himself "Jackie-Boy" which I think I can thank all of his New Jersey relatives for starting.  He's also becoming more independent by the day - he likes to put his coat on, works on his shoes, and definitely has an opinion about where he wants to go and what he wants to do.  

But, I thing I love more than anything is that the kid is so funny - even when he doesn't mean to be.  I really have to wonder what goes on in his head because some of the stuff he's saying is right out of the blue.  When he was a little baby, I used to sing him KC & The Sunshine Band.  Last night, we're laying in bed and he turns and looks at me and says, "Shake, shake shake your booty, Mama!  Jackie-Boy dances to the music!" 

The only thing I can think of is that I sang this to Baby Maddie sometime over the weekend and he overheard it.  Otherwise, I really have no clue how this made its way into his consciousness.  Like I said, the things that come out of his mouth just surprise me sometimes.  

Anyways, this weekend is, of course, Mother's Day.  We're meeting my family at Minnehaha Falls on Saturday and I don't know if we've really got anything planned on Sunday.  Jack made me a potholder at school with his hand print on it.  I love it.  It goes nicely with the apron he made Jeff last year for Father's Day.  And, it's supposed to be really nice outside, so I'm hoping that means I can turn Jack loose and let him run wild for a little bit.  I was looking at my posts from May 2013, and it was just about a year ago that Jack broke his leg.  I think we can safely assume that little "set back" hasn't had any lasting implications.  If anything, I'd like to take him to the doctor now and ask them to cast his leg just so he'd slow down a bit!