Frustrations and Friday Five

Things are busy as ever around here. Still trying to catch up on the laundry, and get ready for company. They arrive tomorrow. Very frustrated because I just got a courtesy call from Jack’s daycare telling me he has been crying since I left. Then they add you don’t have to pick him up, but we wanted you to know. Gee thanks. I can go get him and relieve you of a screaming kid, or leave him there and feel like a crap mother. It just drives me nuts that they can’t control the situation. I worked with kids all the time I know what it is like, and yes my kid can be difficult, but you figure it out. You get through it, and you help the kid get through it too. It is your job. If I was at work they couldn’t call me hoping I’d just come pick him up they would have to figure out how to deal with it. Ugh! Sorry, it just frustrates me, and makes me feel bad for Jack. He has to go though to be social, and get away from mom for a minute or two.

I am going to try something new called Friday Five. I have been meaning to do it for a few Fridays but can’t seem to get to it. I’m going to list 5 questions, and you answer them however you would like to in the comments. You can answer as many or as few as you would like. Just please play along it is fun to read the comments. I have faith in you. You can do it!


Summer Friday Five
1. What is your favorite thing to do in the summer?
2. What is your best summer memory?
3. If you could go on vacation anywhere this summer where would it be?
4. Do you have a favorite summer food?
5. Do you do anything special during the summer that you don’t do the rest of the year?

Have a fantasitc weekend!

Sleeping while bike riding.

Little Daddy

I have been very busy trying to clean and get rid of the clutter in this house. We have quickly filled it up, and are outgrowing the space we have. Housing is too expensive here in California to even consider getting a home with more room, so for now I have to decide what stays and what goes. Is it sad that three trash bags came out of decluttering the kitchen alone? I turned what used to basically be junk cabinet into an organized space for my cookbooks, and Jack’s art supplies. He has so much art stuff I needed a place to contain it all.

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He was being so sweet to Baby Jacob.

Next I tackled his play area. Rearranging things, and going through his toy box with a fine tooth comb. All those little cars and pieces of things drive me nuts! They end up collecting in the very bottom of the toy box never to be played with again. He has so many toys that I can’t even fit them into his play area right now. I’ve decided to set up a bin in the garage with current toys that way I can swap them out every so often. I find this more useful because he plays with things better if he hasn’t seen them in a while. Due to the overabundant toy situation I am just now getting out his play kitchen that he received in Mo at Christmas. I got it out of the box, and put it together for him. You haven’t seen a happier kid. He got busy cooking, stirring, and cutting up all his fruit. I put out a few other “new” toys for him, and he attached himself to his water baby, or Baby Jacob as Jack has affectionately named him after his cousin baby Jacob. Baby Jacob was having a heck of a time. He was crying, tired, and very hungry according to Jackson. He even needed to have a cool down in the refrigerator for a while. I had fun watching him use his imagination to stir up all sorts of play ideas.

Ronda thanks for your kind compliments. I work really hard on my photography. I read many books, and have studied as much as I can on the internet. I am hoping to sign up for an online workshop in July. I would love to take pictures for a living one day. I’m just not sure I am good enough. I have a lot of self doubt when it comes to these things. Zach pushes me he told me to just do it, and put some stuff on craigslist, and see what I get, but that makes me very nervous! I wish I had more friends and family close to practice on a bit more, and build more of a portfolio. Jackson isn’t a very willing subject when it comes to the picture taking! If it ends up being nothing than a hobby I am passionate about then I will be happy with that. That being said the above pictures aren't that great because of the low light I had to use flash. This house has horrible lighting. I told Zach part of our picking process of a new house with be based on the lighting. Haha.

A few pictures

I am trying to blog more often, but it is hard to find a minute in the day to do so. This morning Jack asked to go outside, and I told him we would only if he let me take pictures of him, and he had to actually look at the camera. He was still a pain in the booty while doing it, and I got some funny faces out of him. After our two minutes of pictures he went outside to play in the sandbox. He didn’t stay out there very long, and I had to tell him 20 times to leave the sand inside the sandbox. He likes to play in it, but doesn’t like to stay out there very long.

I’m busy trying to tackle the mountain of laundry that has accumulated. If I could pay someone to come wash, dry, and put away my clothes I totally would. I’m getting ready for LeighAnn and Kennedy’s visit. They are coming this Saturday. We are very excited to see them! Pete won’t be with them because he is deployed. We haven’t seen them since they got moved to North Carolina. We are going to spend three days up at Disneyland, and we are actually staying in the resort this time. We also plan on making a trip to the zoo, sea world, and whatever else we can fit in. It should be a very busy time! I’m excited for Jack to have a little friend for a few days. We are pretty tired around here. Zach has to go to Pendleton all this week, and I have to take him to catch the bus at 3 in the morning. Man is that early! Our schedule is a bit off, and I am tired all day!

Little Man

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Zach got several days off work. We went on a bunch of shopping trips. We went on some family bike rides. We got Jack his first fishing pole, and went fishing at the pond. He told us he caught baby and mama pishies as he likes to call them. Mostly he just ran around the dock until Zach told him to reel in his fish. Whittney and I threw together a last minute BBQ for Memorial Day. We spread out in the front of the house, and grilled yummy food. It was great being outside just relaxing and enjoying food and drinks.

Jack, is as crazy and silly as ever. He is busy everyday going from one thing to the next. He talks and talks, and talks some more. I love hearing all the funny things he has to say, and helping him learn new words. He has been saying some really funny stuff lately. I need to write some of them down so I can remember them. He narrates everything he does, everything we do, and everywhere we go. We have a running commentary. About the only time he is quiet is early in the morning, or when he’s watching one of his movies. I am trying to work on some basic pre preschool skills with him. He has his colors down. Sometimes he confuses blue and yellow. He can count to twelve now. He sings A-G of the alphabet, and then skips to the wxyz part. That is mainly what we are working on, learning to recognize letters, and sing the alphabet. He knows all of his shapes, but he calls a circle a moon. I have a shapes application on my iphone that displays different shapes and tells you to touch the heart, touch the circle, etc. You get a sticker after getting so many in a row right. He loves playing that game. We haven’t made much progress on potty training, but I think it is something that will come in his time. We take him to the potty, and he goes, but he doesn’t tell us when he has to go. He’s also still wetting during naps. They say a good sign of readiness is staying dry at naps. He just seems to be a lazy boy when it comes to potty training. I know it will come in due time. I doubt I’ll be sending him to college in pull-ups! He’s still afraid of everything. You have to talk him into every situation and anything new. Still carries his B (blanket) everywhere he goes. He looks like Linus from Peanuts, but I don’t mind. Every day I cuddle him on my lap and ask him to please stay two and little forever. I enjoy every minute of him being my little boy.

I had a cold the past few days. Don't try to bake cookies while strung out on NightQuil. I preheated my oven, and then stuck in a baking sheet with chocolate chip cookies on it. Zach and I wanted a few fresh cookies for a snack before bed. I set my timer for 9 minutes. During the nine minutes I thought to myself something sure is burning in the oven. Never going over to actually look inside the thing. I assumed something that had fallen from previous cooking and was burning. After my nine minutes I pulled them out shouting, "They are burned!" They had a pretty good char going on the outside. I stood there trying to figure out why the heck they had burned, and looked down and noticed the oven set to 475 instead of 375. Zach said he noticed it, but didn't say anything. Thanks, babe! So, don't try to bake while drugged out on the cold meds. We even ate them anyway. Black on the outside, and mushy not really done on the inside. Yummy.