September 30, 2008

Lots of time to think . . .

I got back from TC a few hours ago, and here's the question on my mind:

How many of my friends would I have lost touch with if it weren't for e-mail and social networking sites (like facebook)? Would I use more of my cell phone minutes? Would I be completely friendless? I mean, I've reconnected with a lot of friends through facebook and blogging, but how many of my current friends would be lost if there were no Internet? Even the ones who live close?

Oh, and my two-year bloggiversary (for this blog anyway) was a week or two ago. I guess I missed it. This has been the longest I've kept a blog . . . but in my defense, the other blogs I had were back when no one else had a blog. When I was in junior high, I had a journal on Word Perfect on our computer. I'm pretty sure I kept it saved to a 5" floppy disk. Feeling a little old here. I wonder what ever happened to those journal entries.

Maybe someday I'll open up the vault and post a link to the blog I started when I first graduated from college. Yikes. Maybe I should just post a few selected excerpts from those times instead.

These are just a few of the things that I think about during four-hour car trips.

Anyway, we had a great time but I'm so glad to be back in Internet-land.

September 27, 2008

On . . .

. . . cleaning.
I just vacuumed, swept and mopped all of the floors upstairs. After I post this I'm going to shampoo our carpets (as much as I can without moving furniture) in a last-ditch effort to clean them of dog pee, vegetable oil and dirt before we decide to tear up the carpet and put down something a little more traffic friendly. I'm still warding off bitterness toward the builder who put WHITE carpet throughout our entire house . . . foyer included.

. . . Jack.
He's sprayed himself in the face twice in 24 hours with the stuff that we use to get up carpet stains. This resulted in me stripping him down, plopping him in the bathtub and dousing his face with as much water as possible. This also means that he probably won't willingly take a bath for about a week. He seems to be doing fine. What kind of mother leaves carpet spray left out where her toddler can reach it . . . TWICE IN A ROW?!

. . . Halloween.
I wasn't going to get Jack a costume last year for Halloween, but I did. I found one on clearance at Old Navy the week before the big day. So, I bought it and didn't think much of it. But everyone else made a huge deal of it and thought it was so funny! I'm not sure what to do this year . . . but I do know that I refuse to pay full price!

. . . vacation.
I'm taking senior pictures near Ludington this weekend, so Kyle and I decided to go up afterwards to visit his grandparents in Traverse City. I'm looking forward to seeing them and to the time away, but I'm not looking forward to having no internet access for three days. I mean, I can handle not checking my e-mail. I like being computer-free every once in a while. But I get all stressed out when I get home and have 300 new e-mails . . . 100 of which end up needing a response. Whew. Deep breaths.

. . . camp.
Everyone always thinks that we "wind down" at camp during this time of year. To be honest, when the summer comes to an end, sometimes I get it stuck in my mind that things will stop being so busy and we'll be able to relax. The truth is, the camp doesn't slow down. And we lose a lot of our summer staff, leaving just the full time staff to take care of things. In some ways, it's actually busier now than it is in the summer. We had three different school groups at camp this week . . . two of which overlapped. I'm tired.

My time is up . . . I'll be back on Wednesday!

September 25, 2008

Miscellaneous

I'm at home alone (which I'm almost positive has happened less than ten times total since Jack was born) and I'm surrounded by the clutter that has built up in our house throughout this very busy week. I should be cleaning . . .

We sold our old clothes washer and our wine cooler today (yes, two people who don't drink with a pretty expensive wine cooler . . . another story for another time) and the lady who bought it saw Murphy peeking her head through the blinds in our bedroom. We brought Murphy out and the lady mentioned that her friend has a puggle and might be interested in having another so to call her if we ever wanted to get rid of her. Hmmm . . . that's something to think about. I know it's weird, but the thought of giving her up makes me emotional and relieved all at the same time.

Yesterday I caught Jack standing on the couch and pointing at pictures of Kyle and I saying "Mama" and "Daddy" and then chuckling like he had just told a joke. It was precious. I didn't have the video camera, but I was able to get one shot.

September 24, 2008

It's getting personal

I'm beginning to think Murphy's incontinence has less to do about her ability to control her bladder and is more of a personal issue.

While I was changing Jack's diaper last night, she squatted over my foot and peed on my ankle. I'm so not kidding. My sock and pants were wet. I started scolding her and saying, "NO!" and she started walking and peeing at the same time, making a nice little trail out of Jack's room. Before yesterday, there were two areas of our house that were still unmarked by Murphy . . . Jack's room and the spare bedroom. Now we're down to just the spare bedroom.

Why? Why does she do this? She knows how to ring the bell to go outside when she has to.

When I got home last night, I spilled a little diet coke on the stairs and was cleaning it up and she went down to the landing at the bottom of the stairs a few steps below where I was standing and peed again.

I'm thinking this might be some sort of cry for help.

September 23, 2008

All-the-time prayers

For about a month now, we've been praying with Jack at bedtime every night. And now, he won't let us forget. He knows to fold his hands, but doesn't quite get the closing his eyes part. Then again, closing your eyes and folding your hands while praying really isn't that important, is it?

But he's started to ask us to pray at other times of the day, too. He'll walk up with clasped hands and ask "Pay?" And we'll sit down with him and tell Jesus that we love him.

I just finished praying with him a few minutes ago and I said, "Jack, did you know that you can pray anytime you want to? Even if mom and dad aren't here! You can even talk to Jesus while you're playing with your toys." I know that he didn't understand what I was saying . . . but somehow I think he gets it better than even I do.

September 22, 2008

Spare change

We have this star shaped dish on the table in our entryway that we use to dump spare change. After our garage sale a few weeks ago, we were left with TONS of quarters . . . all of which landed in that little glass dish. It was full to the brim. Probably close to $20 in quarters.

Every so often over the last few weeks, I'd grab $1.25 in quarters to buy a Diet Coke at camp (as you can tell, I didn't keep up very well with my goal to be soda-free this year). It honestly didn't happen a lot, but it was nice to treat myself to a refreshing beverage a few times.

Two weeks ago, Kyle made a comment about how my soda habit had drained our change dish. Huh? I looked at the dish and it was EMPTY. I couldn't believe that I breezed through THAT MANY quarters without even knowing it!

Fast forward to last week. I was working in the kitchen and noticed that it had been unusually quiet. I looked around to find out what Jack was doing. I could see him so I started tiptoeing around to find him. I didn't want to disturb him if he was playing, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't, oh, pouring any sort of cooking liquid all over my carpet.

As I rounded the corner toward our entryway, I saw Jack reaching up to the table where the change dish was and taking out a nickel. I stayed quiet and followed him down the hallway to his room where he PUT THE NICKEL INTO HIS BANK!

I continued to watch as he made a few more trips between the change dish and his bank before he caught me watching. When I went to his bear bank, it was definitely heavier than it had been the last time I picked it up. How long had he been doing this?

Hmmm . . . so maybe I didn't drink as much soda as Kyle thought I did.


FYI: The photo is of the aforementioned bank.

September 19, 2008

From the archives . . .

Today while I was sorting through camp video footage from the summer, I found a clip from last summer that I hadn't ever seen. I was hosting a beach party for our campers, and trying to get someone on the radio, and Heather must have snuck up and shot this . . . I don't have any memory of it. Remember when Heather came and saved us during our first week of camp, which was also one of our first weeks with a baby? Lifesaver.

Anyway, I only included a few seconds of the clip here because I didn't want to show too much of my ginormous, post-partum self, and my sunglasses were falling into my face, causing me to look like I had 1 inch bangs growing from only one side of my head. I was just lovely.

Jack was about a week old and I was a week into motherhood. This is how he spent last summer.

Is it possible that he was ever this little?


1 week old from Sara on Vimeo.

As heard yesterday in the dentist's office . . .

Dental Hygienist (DH): Because of your acidic saliva, any sugar left in your mouth really, um . . .

Me: . . . exacerbates the situation?

DH: It exasperates the situation.

Me: Right.

DH: I think you mispronounced it.

Me: Hmmmm . . .

September 18, 2008

Cavity free since September, 2008.

So, I had my final dentist appointment (at least until March) today because . . . drum roll, please . . . I am cavity free. However, I do have two places they are monitoring. I'm so sick of dental work.

As the lady was cleaning my teeth, she kept going on and on about how clean they were. I told her I was obsessive about flossing and brushing and rinsing, though you wouldn't know that from the number of fillings I have. She told me that my saliva was probably very acidic . . . whatever that means. All I know is that it's a bad thing for people without dental insurance.

She then made a comment about how much easier her job was because of how well I took care of my teeth.

Hmmmm . . . don't you think that warrants a discount?

September 17, 2008

Confession

I'm pretty sure that this post might come back to haunt me later if I ever have to put restrictions on my kids' tv watching habits.

Part 1: Confession

Every year, I print off the fall line up.

Of television shows that is. I download a grid for each night and highlight the shows that we always watch in one color, and the new shows that we might like in another color.

I then assign them one of three codes: LR, BR, FR. Living Room Tivo, Bedroom Tivo, Family Room Tivo. Shows like Prison Break, Heroes and Lost get recorded in the family room because that's where the big tv is. Shows like 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother are assigned to the living room because I'll most often watch those while I'm making dinner or cleaning. Shows like 20/20 and Dateline get recorded in the bedroom, because I'm most likely to watch those while I'm getting ready in the morning or folding laundry during Jack's naptime.

This is usually all done by the end of August, but I haven't done my line up yet this year, and I've missed a few shows. Fringe? Is it any good? I don't think I want to add new shows this year, because I'm already addicted to enough.

Now, with every good confession comes . . .

Part 2: Justification

It may sound like the television is on all the time at my house, but it actually isn't. While Jack's awake, it's rarely on. And even after he's in bed, we usually have so much to do that Kyle might have a game on in the background, but we usually don't have time. We usually catch up with shows on weekends. I think I actually watch less television than I used to because I can fast forward through commercials and watch shows at my convenience rather than just watching whatever happens to be on whenever I have some free time.

I just like my tv-watching to be organized.

And yes, we have three tivos, but we got them on ebay and got in on the lifetime service before tivo stopped doing that. Which means we don't have to pay all of the monthly fees! I'm so glad for that because we probably wouldn't even have one tivo if it weren't for that.

September 14, 2008

The trap.

I've been caught in the worry trap for the last couple of weeks. I fall into it a couple of times a year.

The summer is always tight financially, and September is always the worst. But I most often don't even worry about having enough money now . . . I just worry that we'll never be able to save enough money to retire. Or send our kids to college.

Or that we won't ever have enough money to have more kids, for that matter.

I worry that our country's economic woes will suck us under.

I worry that I'll wake up one morning to get Jack out of his crib and he won't be at all excited to see me.

I worry that so many people will be consumed with thinking that global warming is a hoax that they'll never stop to consider that whether it is or isn't, we are still responsible for taking care of the earth on which we live and I worry that our children and grandchildren will have to suffer the consequences of our carelessness.

I worry that our house will never again be worth what we paid for it.

I worry that the wrong guy will be elected in November. I worry that the person I call the right guy might actually be the wrong guy.

I worry that the dentist will tell me that I need more dental work.

Every time I sell a card, I worry that I'll never sell another.

I was watching the History Channel a few weeks ago (because that's what you do with your free time after you turn 30) and there was a special about the 7 greatest threats to mankind. Since then I've worried that we'll be sucked into a black hole or hit by an asteroid or that Jack will get some sort of flu that can't be treated. (Ok, not really worried about the black hole or asteroid things, but kind of worried about the flu.)

I realize that I sound like a mental case, and I probably am a little. But it feels good to get some of this off of my chest.

And I know, I know . . . worrying gets me nowhere. I think that's why they call it a trap. I'm just working my way out . . .

September 12, 2008

I need a vacation.

We're in Chicago visiting my sister.

The only thing more hellish than trying to corral your 15-month-old to your sister's non-childproof apartment full of small trinkets and breakable items, is trying to push him in a stroller through the narrow passages in a Crate and Barrel or a Pottery Barn without his arms reaching out and knocking something over.

It's been quite a day.

I would say that this stage of parenting, thus far, is the hardest. Yep. Even in the first few weeks when I was working full-time and bringing a newborn with me. Harder than that.

I fought back tears today thinking about how I will never make it through the terrible twos if I'm having this much trouble now. And the kicker is that Jack is a pretty good natured kid. I realize that I actually have it pretty easy. What would I do if I had a more challenging kid? A few weeks ago I made a comment about how incredibly easy he is. I feel like I'm eating those words. I know that he's testing his boundaries. And in some ways we've setting him up for failure, because there are different expectations depending on where he is (i.e. home, camp, grandparents' houses, etc.) and we need to do something to help him out there. He's such a stinker sometimes.

Today's woes, however, were compounded even more by our collective lack of sleep last night . . . we didn't get into Chicago until after midnight. Jack didn't sleep well in the car, and there's nothing like getting dropped off on a busy, downtown Chicago street and taking an elevator up 5 floors to wake your toddler up enough that he doesn't want to go back to sleep.

I think the single most frustrating part of this stage we're going through with Jack is diaper changing. I've always said that I wanted to put potty training off as long as possible. My rationale for this is that it's a lot easier to change a diaper at our earliest convenience than it is to find a bathroom NOW! But I've changed my mind on that. You see, 15-month-old toddlers who have been laid down to have their diaper changed develop a super-human strength that often requires at least two people to overcome. No matter how stern we are with him, he thinks it's a game. Ugh.

My sister was able to check a pass to the aquarium out from the library so we're going to head there tomorrow . . . hopefully he'll really enjoy that. Especially since one of the words he knows is "fish."

On a different note, I was looking forward to seeing Annie while I was here this weekend, but she went ahead and had her baby a little early . . . congratulations to Steve, Annie & Alex and welcome baby Elijah! Hopefully we'll get together when we're in town next!

September 11, 2008

It seemed as though time stood still . . .

Do you remember where you were . . .

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
January 28, 1986
I was in the 2nd grade, and I have absolutely no recollection of it. I remember hearing about it in later years, but I don't really remember the specific incident.

The Oklahoma City Bombing
April 19, 1995
I was in France. Paris, to be exact. We were flipping channels in the hotel room and CNN was the only English station. Even then, I didn't realize the gravity of the situation until the next day when we had to go through airport security to get back into the US.

Princess Diana’s Death
August 31, 1997
I was sitting on the floor of my dorm room on 3rd Burritt Annex unpacking stuff as I was beginning to start my sophomore year of college. I remember I was right in front of the closet & the door and someone came in to ask me if I had heard and almost stepped right on me.

Attack on the Twin Towers
September 11, 2001
I must have turned the Today Show off to leave for work a minute or two before they broadcast what was happening. Later, at about 10 AM, I got in the car to run to the post office and heard someone from Third Day on the local Christian radio station being interviewed about what had happened. I really didn't pay much attention and didn't get what he was being interviewed about. WHen I pulled back into camp, I saw Chuck and a few other people standing in the intersection of two of the roads at camp talking. I pulled up and they told me what had happened. Those of us working that day, spent most of the day in the staff lounge watching things unfold. Kyle and I had been officially dating for one day.

Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
February 1, 2003
Kyle and I had been married for less than two months. He was coaching little kids' basketball and he was there (I think . . . he was gone, anyway) and I was at our apartment alone watching it. I actually think the news interrupted whatever I was watching. I remember that I was cleaning and just had the tv on in the background. I was horrified. I think besides the events of September 11, this was the news story that affected me the most. I know that I called Kyle repeatedly until he answered, just to tell him.

Thanks, Nicole, for posting this first.

September 10, 2008

It's, like, break-up season . . .

10,000 points to anyone who can tell me what show the title of this post is from.

I had this theory in college that telling your roommate that you were going to be living with someone else next year was much more difficult and dramatic than breaking up with your boyfriend. The two situations are so similar that it's actually humorous.

Think about it . . .
  • We need to talk.
  • I just like you too much to let this ruin our friendship.
  • It's not you, it's me.
  • It's normal for two people to drift apart.
  • I've kind of been talking to someone else.
  • Things just kind of worked out this way.
  • Our schedules just make it really hard and I don't think either of us is willing to change that.
  • I just feel like we'd be better friends if we weren't roommates/dating.
All applicable in both situations.

And the older I get, the more I realize that there will always be situations in which you feel like someone's breaking up with you.

So kids, just remember that you're never too old to get dumped.

{insert Donna Downer noise here}
And yes, I know it's supposed to be "Debbie Downer" but my friend Debbie isn't that fond of the saying so we changed it up a little.

September 8, 2008

In five minutes or less . . .

  • At one of the showers I had when I was pregnant with Jack, everyone brought a children's book in lieu of a card. I received no less than five books about belly buttons. Where is Baby's Belly Button . . . The Belly Button Book . . . I Have a Belly Button . . .you get the picture. I distincly remember someone commenting that "this kid will definitely know where his belly button is." Truer words have not been spoken.

    Jack is now obsessed with his belly button and walks around with one hand holding up his shirt and with the thumb of his other hand in his belly button. It's all fun and games until he heads to preschool and is still doing it. It's almost become a comfort thing. I've had him in a onesie since Sunday afternoon to hopefully curtail the habit. Someone please tell me this is normal.

  • Jack also has developed this laugh that we call his "evil professor" laugh. I was beginning to wonder if this was his real laugh, but I caught him laughing normally tonight. I think he just does the evil professor laugh because he knows it cracks us up. I will post video tomorrow.

  • Last week was a really bad week in which I was dealing with severe, unexplained dizziness and a mini-episode of mild depression. Also unexpected and unexplained. Thank you, Kyle, for taking care of me and putting up with me. Things are looking up for this week.

  • I think I forgot to mention that Jack had his 15 month check-up last week. He had only gained 4 oz putting him at 27 lbs, 9 oz (I think) and 33 1/2 inches. Hmm . . .I'm pretty sure. Maybe it was 33 3/4". You get the basic idea.

  • I took some pictures of Emma on Saturday . . . I can't believe she's almost one! I admit that as her aunt, I might be biased, but she is one of the cutest little girls I've ever seen. Of course, she always has been.

  • I started watching the VMA's last night and have never felt so old in my life. I had no idea Ashlee Simpson was married and pregnant. To Pete Wentz. When did this happen? I had to google about every other person who walked down the red carpet to find out who they were. Is this a sign that I'm too old to be watching the VMA's? Possibly.

    I only got about 15 minutes into the show because I was so offended by it. Well, by a lot of things, but mainly by Russell Brand. I feel a little bit sorry for Barack Obama, because I'm sure he wasn't looking for this obscene British guy's endorsement. If I were a part of Obama's campaign I would be so embarrassed.

    It was all pretty bad. Is this a sign that I shouldn't be be watching the VMA's no matter how old I am? Yep. Lesson learned. Am I still allowed to watch The Hills, though? No?

  • Last night, I asked Kyle which parts of parenting are harder than he expected. Jack interrupted us and he never got a chance to answer.
Shoot. My five minutes were up a minute ago.

September 5, 2008

Giveaways galore

Bethany, at Vermillion Rules, is doing a "favorite things" giveaway on her blog this week. Today's giveaway? A free design from "Less Ordinary Designs!" I love giving stuff away, so this is right up my alley!

On politics . . . sort of.

'Tis the season for this kind of post, I suppose. I've been writing this over the course of two weeks, and I just deleted a LOT that I didn't necessarily want to put on a blog. But here are a few thoughts in no particular order.
  • I won't talk about who I will or won't vote for in November. I do my best to remain aggressively non-partisan. But I will talk about how I decide who to vote for.

    I think that one thing that we rarely think about in an election year is that every candidate interested in the presidency wants what is best for our country and the people living here. I don't think any candidate running for president has ever run with intention to "take down America." Can we all agree on that? The dissension comes from disagreeing on what is best for our country and how to bring about what is best.

    So my job, as a voter, is to examine the plans presented by each of the candidates and decide which of them best represents my values and what I believe are the important issues facing our country, along with evaluating whether or not he or she has what it takes to carry out their plan (and let's face it . . . no one will do everything he promises). I do this not only by researching myself, but also by considering the opinions of those who know a lot more than I do . . . those with whom I agree and disagree. To vote responsibly takes a bit of effort. Moving on . . .

  • To insist that I, as a woman, must be insulted that McCain chose Palin is just ignorant. I won't pretend to know whether or not choosing Palin was a political game on McCain's part or not. I would concede that it's a possibility. And I won't say whether or not I agree with her views. That's not what this is about.

    I've done some research . . . the fact is that she is worthy of a spot in this race. You can agree with her or disagree with her . . . but either way, she has experience. Maybe not as much as Biden or McCain, but enough to make a great candidate for VP. On top of that she's smart and she has a whole lot of charisma. So, give her credit where credit is due. I really think that those who say she doesn't have enough experience are basically saying that she hasn't been in the spotlight long enough. Joe Biden said today that her experience as governor "warrants respect" and that she will be a "formidable opponent." I am fascinated by those who are effectively setting the women's movement back 20 - 30 years by labeling her as just another pretty face.

    And the whole "can a mother of five handle the vice presidency" thing? Ugh . . . don't even get me started on that . . .


  • The founder and president of a Christian organization has weighed in on Palin's daughter's pregnancy and said that Christians make mistakes and Christian parents have kids that make mistakes and concluded by offering his support. Yep. Thanks for clearing that up.

    I just wonder why he can't show that kind of grace toward people from any party. Why instead, does he take out full page ads in the Washington Post to make attacks? Don't make me pull out my WWJD bracelet . . .


  • Along the same lines, I recently heard a Christian woman make hateful remarks about Hillary Clinton. Not just disagreeing with her, but hating her through words. It made me cringe. I think this kind of thing happens a lot during these times and it's easy to justify because, well, sometimes politicians don't seem real.

    And, I know that people in politics, and Hollywood, etc. need to know and accept that they'll be in the public spotlight. I know that it's something they've chosen. But I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about those of us who have decided to follow Christ.

    I think sometimes we forget that politicians are people too. People whom God loves as much as he loves us. People who have as much value to him as we do. How we love politicians we disagree with is how we love God.


  • In conclusion, I don't really have a WWJD bracelet (or WWJD jewelry of any kind). Just wanted to put that out there . . .

September 4, 2008

Dear Jack, Month 15

Dear Jack,

You are 15 months old, right? Because sometimes I lose track of time and can't remember how old you really are. This is partly because you are growing so fast, and partly because I turned 30 this month and my memory is going. Other people have a hard time knowing how old you are, too. Recently, there were several people who have asked you what your name is and how old you are and really expected you to answer. When I responded for you, one women asked if you were shy. I responded by saying, no, you aren't shy. You're 14 months old.


But that's not to say you can't communicate with us. You know quite a few words, and have begun taking our hand and leading us to whatever it is that you want. It's actually a little bit of a game for all of us. You guide us to the appropriate location and utter syllables that we then piece together to form something resembling a word from the English language. Your dad and I keep guessing until we finally discover what it is you desire. When we guess correctly, you bounce up and down, clap your hands and offer a guteral chuckle to let us know that you are so pleased with our powers of deduction.


Jack, over the last two weeks you have given your dad and I something new and magnificent that we had done without for the last 14 months. SLEEP! Glorious sleep! You go to bed around 8:00 and sleep for 12 - 13 hours. It's amazing. I still wake up at 6, but I am able to get so much done so that I can just spend time enjoying you after you wake up! Last Friday morning, you slept until 10:00 AM before I finally went in and woke you up. And naps? You will sleep 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the afternoon.


The best part of all the sleep is that you are SO HAPPY! You're in a good mood almost all the time. I don't know where all of this sleep is coming from, or if maybe you're trying to catch up on sleep from the first 13 months of your life when you slept 8 hours a night, but I'm enjoying it. I know that the mere fact that I'm telling you all of this means that the Era of Slumber, as I like to call it, will probably end soon. But I thought it was worth mentioning.


You don't give me kisses on demand like you used to, and that kills me. However, I will say that when I do get a kiss, it's of your own volition and it does mean so much more to me. You love giving eskimo kisses . . . but again, they are given at your discretion. You do still get excited to see your dad and I, but I know that a day is coming that you won't bounce up and down and squeal in delight when we walk into the room. Which is ok, because once you hit high school, that might embarrass both of us.


But you should know, Jack, that your dad and I get just as excited to see you. We don't squeal and jump up and down, but our hearts melt when you smile at us and we miss you when we haven't seen you in a while. I know that things will change as you get older - they already are changing a little - but we will always like having you around.

Love,
Mama

September 3, 2008

My head is spinning

Remember when I was all like, "Life is so great and my schedule is so open?"

I should know better than to say things like that. I've been pretty busy and I have this um, vertigo? I don't know what to call it, but I've been dizzy for about 24 hours and it has intensified today. Everything is spinning. Ugh. I think it's related to allergies & congestion. Whatever it is, it's annoying.

I'll write about more later but for now, you can just bask in Jack's cuteness for a moment . . .


September 1, 2008

The bedtime routine

For the first time ever, we actually have something that resembles a bedtime routine. Jack gets a bath and we get him in pajamas. Then we have a snack . . . usually milk and cookies. From there, we brush his teeth, read a book and say a prayer. Well, I say the prayer and jack says "met" at the end (translation: amen).

This is when the "fun" begins. As we're getting ready to leave the room, he always stands up and goes through a litany of requests:

Jack: Nat?
Me: No, you've already had a snack.

Jack: (signs for cup)
Me: No, you just had a drink of water.

Jack: Boo?
Me: No more books. It's time for bed.

Jack: Hoooott.
Me: The fan is on, you'll be ok.

Jack: Tees?
Me: We already brushed your teeth, Jack.

Jack: pepper? (pointing at his diaper)
Me: Nope, you're all clean.

Jack: Mama?
Me: Awww . . . ok, one more hug.

He will not say mama at any other time of the day but bedtime. I'm convinced that he knows exactly what he's doing.

And it works every time.