For Dad

My Dad may be the only person who watches these video clips. That's okay. You are all invited to watch.

This final clip is brought to you by the Chipmunks. I tend to be quite patient the first time or two that Jayson makes a discovery. But you can see that he likes doing the same thing over and over. I was certainly irritated when he was trying to lift the glass blender off the countertop this morning.

Today he dumped the remaining third of the Palmolive all over his feet & pants that were in the kitchen sink. He was sitting on the narrow ledge between the sink and the drop to the tile. I've moved heavy kitchen chairs back to the table three times already. I'm actually surprised that he doesn't just grab the closest chair. He gets them from the far side and pulls them around the table and into the kitchen area. I had to put my paint project in the microwave so it could dry without little fingerprints, but I am concerned that Jayson was just pushing buttons on the microwave. He go the fan on, but so far hasn't cooked my metal pan and paint supplies. I should have gone to the gym. I would get less tired there than staying home to recoup from my cold.

Ten Just After Tuesday - All About Toddler Jay

1- Jayson thinks the Mac computer is his. If I'm not sitting here, he is.

2- Jayson kisses me quickly when I get him out of the crib, so I will put him down. He starts off running.

3- When he comes to the bathroom, he darts in and shuts the toilet lid and then grabs the child lock handle and pulls the door shut.

4- Except for the day that he didn't shut the door completely. When I rounded the corner, he doubled back and climbed up to the medicine cabinet.

5- I found him standing on the counter sorting through the shave lotions, q-tips, toothpaste tubes, etc. more than once this week.

6- Jayson says "yes" minus the "y" when you ask if he wants milk.

7- If the fridge lock is not attached, Jayson will get the gallon jug of milk and bring it to me. And still, he ONLY drinks milk out of a bottle.

8- Jayson also gets out my folded kitchen cloths and stacks them by the sink. Then he drizzles dumps dish soap over the top of them. His hands often smell like pineapple from my Bath & Body Works foaming hand soap that he uses regularly (he uses it like hand sanitizer - he doesn't wash it off).

9- I decided to get the art easel out with chalk, crayons, and paper. He thought that I had given him permission to color on the walls, banisters, fireplace mantel, table, and tile. I have already used up two Magic Erase Markers.

10- If Jayson follows me when I'm going to the outside freezer, I need to remember my house keys because he will and has locked me in the garage.

My camera has been neglected although I have shot some video footage of our recent adventures together. I'm tired by it all, but it's also fascinating to see how this sweet boy's mind works. He's a clever guy.

Sunday Summary

Sometimes I wonder why I don't get around to saying something really profound. The kind of thing that would inspire you and make you think, "I'm so glad she is my friend." or "She's the kind of gal I wish I knew in person." Yes... it's not a secret that I wish I was consistantly amazing. Instead I'm amazing on occasion. Maybe when you encounter an amazing moment you think to yourself, "wow, that was amazing" or probably you don't think it at all you say to yourself, "man, she is FINALLY getting it a tinsy bit together." Why am I doing all the talking about ME being amazing? There's just not a lot of talk about me being amazing which I don't think is very fair because I'm trying with odds stacked against me. I should definitely get amazing points for just showing up for the day.

Still... we're still waiting for something profound to come out of this post. Or maybe we've long given up on the idea. Perhaps I'll settle with the idea of just keeping track of how life is right now. Perhaps over time the daily craze will evolve into something profound.

MONDAY

• I returned to the gym at the beginning of the week (the week prior I only made it in Fri & Sat). We arrived late to the kids club, so I worked fast. I decided to focus on my legs with weights. I put the machines on the lowest weight setting and I only do one maybe two reps of 15-20. It appears that I'm a total wimp.
• I count calories all day and the kids beg me to take them to Island's Restaurant for the school fund raiser.
• Jessica starts dance class.
• After going on line and reviewing the entree choices, I discover that most burgers are well over 1000 calories. I ask Jon to share the Toucan (chicken sandwich) with me so I only have 400 calories. Yeah me!!! Kids attend fund raiser - happy family.

TUESDAY

• My Gym class with Jayson. He LOVES it. He does not sit well during circle time but loves to be chased around the gym by mom or class instructor. I love that he has a place to go that for the most part is a "yes zone." Yes you may climb on that. Yes you can touch that. Yes you can run, jump, flip, or tumble. Yes you can be loud. Yes you can make a mess. Jayson is not afraid of heights. He does not feel a need to hold on while running across narrow bridges or beams. He is a hoot!!!!!
• Arrive at dance supply store. Before even looking at a shoes, have Jayson crash/trip/tumble or something that results in him biting down on his lip, screaming, and dripping blood all over. Add Jessica screaming, "he's bleeding, he's bleeding." Calmly (yet loud enough to be heard) say, "please go in the bathroom and get a paper towel!!!!" After all that, have sales lady ask if she can assist and then purchase tap and ballet shoes. (kind of seems like I should have done this step BEFORE her first dance class YESTERDAY).
• Lunch at McDonalds. They no longer have 4 chicken nuggets for $1, so kids got happy meals. I stuck with the yogurt parfait.
• Proceed to make homemade wheat bread and yummy spinach salad (with bacon, red onions, apples, strawberries, and candied pecans). Very delicious. Very time consuming.
• Send boys to cub scouts.
• Bring little kids to deliver bread and salad to our friend who recently lost her husband.
• Jon stayed late at scout meetings
• Help Jacob prepare his oral presentation for school.

WEDNESDAY

• Happy Birthday to my Sis!!!!
• Simultaneously exercise AND get basic house cleaning done. (I was at the gym although sometimes I wish I could pay someone to loose the weight for me. Remember I hired a house helper for cleaning - she came early).
• I have no conscious recollection of what else happened that day. It was either today or tomorrow when I started complaining about my feet hurting.

THURSDAY

• James stayed home from school because he had a fever last night. This always throws a kink in my plans.
• I intended on going to the funeral service, but I wasn't feeling well either. I also was really sad and didn't have the emotional stamina to go. So I stayed home with my kids and sent Jon to represent our family.
• This would be the day the my eating must have taken a turn for the worse because I stopped cataloging it in the food diary. Uh-oh.

FRIDAY

• Arrived ALMOST on time to gym today. After my ride on the stationary bike and my lite run on the elliptical, I focused on arms with free weights. I only did triceps and shoulders, but I used one ten pound weight instead of a pair of 5 pound weights.
• I volunteered in the Kindergarten classroom again. I made paint smocks out of old t-shirts and then assisted in the computer lab.
• I meant to run errands but was too tired.
• I figured that the foot cramps were because of the using weights for my legs. My thighs can handle a couple reps. My ankles and feet can't. So stupid.
• I helped with the 11 year old Scout Overnighter. I enjoyed delicious bites of Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler. My hair and apparel reeked of smoke.

SATURDAY

• I returned to the Scout Overnighter to help with clean up. They had a fire going, so my showered body was again exposed to that out-doorsy scent.
• I tried to run errands, but my head started pounding.
• That's the way the day dragged on and on for hours. Pounding head - blurry eyes, dizziness, nausea. Pounding. Pounding. More pounding. My legs started to ache with my feet too. I took a super hot bath. Eventually Jon was able to rub my shoulders to give some relief. I was finally able to go to sleep.
• I blame the arm weights. I'm a total wimp. I should only use the 3 pounders. I just can't take it. Man was that miserable!!!!!!

We bought a camera for Jacob's birthday. He has been making his own ridiculous videos. The boys love to make them and then watch them over and over. There's a longer skit I need to edit down to size, but here's a video clip of them being goofy that they LOVE to watch. Jacob especially loves his dramatic conclusion and he knows how to watch it on the computer and then rewatch the last 5 seconds over and over and over. He laughs SO HARD watching himself scream. There's been LOTS of laughter and screaming all week as this video has been viewed and shared repeatedly by Jacob. I suggest you turn your volume on LOW.

Enter at Your Own Risk

We don't have a "mud room" like my mom does. You know that room with shelves and hooks where you put everything when you come through the door. I also don't have a countertop in my laundry room to stow my baskets of clean clothes. Sometimes I don't have baskets for the clean clothes because all the baskets are full of dirty clothes. ANYWAY, I'm just sayin' - don't judge me for showcasing my staging area (ie. the other half of Jayson's room where all the clean laundry, boxes of too small clothes, and random bags are piled up). You choose to watch the video; you enter at your own risk.

The camera didn't get a good look at Jayson's climbing master plan. He dumps the shoes out of his wicker shoe basket, places it in front of the diaper pail, and then has a three step climb to the changing table. He's clever and he LOVES all things that pump, squirt, or spray.

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Tonight Jayson was diapered after his bath but he escaped before the pj's. Next thing I know he comes trotting into the family room buck naked. I asked him where his diaper was. He lead me back to his room and showed me his clean diaper in the diaper pail. Right spot; wrong time.

It's a Start

I keep starting things, but they aren't getting finished. I've gathered outgrown clothes from closets, but haven't sold or donated them anywhere. I've started to edit photos and then can't seem to get to the rest so I share nothing at all. I started a post last night, but it wasn't interesting enough to finish. I have all the supplies for scrabble tile pendants and haven't put them all together. I started counting calories first at fitday.com and then on myfitnesspal.com, but I don't like counting the days when I eat horribly. So all my exercise is fatiguing (and trying to tone) my muscles, but the pounds have not abandoned me. I've been meaning to this and meaning to that. I just found out that a $15 medical bill was sent to collections because I guess I didn't finish paying my bills. I have all sorts of odd grocery items that I purchased for new recipes that have never been made. Anybody need a can of artichoke hearts?

I faithfully do the laundry on a regular basis, but we all know that it is never finished.

Now I can't stay any longer at this computer. Apparently Jayson has finished some business and I have to go change it before it starts to stink the whole house.

Call me a Blog Stalker

I've been checking Paul Cardall's blog daily just hoping that I'd read THIS post.

Life and death seem closely connected this week. I've had no near death experiences. I've been savoring the life that God has extended to me, my family, and my son. It's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and I've been remembering the angels. I've been remembering how yucky it was for our family when Jacob was in treatment. I'm remembering all the joy we've shared as his health and vibrant personality have come back to us. As I refer to my son as a survivor, I'm humbled and grateful. I run my fingers through his thick curls. I watch his smile light up his entire face. I discipline him for bugging his sister. I bug him about homework. I trip over his messes. I'm so thankful.

We just received word that a good family friend finished his work on this earth last weekend. He has carried the burden of cancer for several years. When Jacob was first diagnosed, he sent him a card sending his love and understanding. This gesture of kindness was just the way he lived his life - optimism, gratitude, and reverence for God and His divine plan.

What Happened to Wonderful Wednesday?

We no longer live our lives from Wednesday to Wednesday. It's a good thing. It was fun when I was taking the kids on field trips, but then Jacob went back to school. That was a good thing.

Summer came and it seemed that in the heart of a child everyday was wonderful that involved video games, television reruns, and cool treats.

I moved taco night to Wednesday because it seemed to be a favorite meal. It was wonderful for me not to worry about what to cook. Now taco night is kind of crazy because we have the soft taco eaters and crunchy taco eaters. I prefer the taco salad style so I can get my veggies. I also try to make guacamole because it's so yummy, but really only Jon & I enjoy it.

So why is Wednesday wonderful now????

I have my young friend Anna come and help me get my house in order. I totally get points with the hubby when the house is all clean, so that's wonderful. I appreciate the help so I can move beyond the bathrooms and get into the closets and junk drawers.

Kindergarten gets in the way of big field trips and the heat has scared me away from the parks and even the splash fountains. Jayson is hoping that I won't be scared for much longer. He doesn't care about fancy field trips, just about getting out.

What was wonderful today?

I tried a new homemade bread recipe. Yum. I also made peach freezer jam. I sat down for a bit and talked with my sister on the phone. That was a treat.

The rest of it was loaded with crazy - children competing for attention, Jacob at the clinic, salt shaker contents dazzling my counter and tile floor, computer ink cartridges not performing at an acceptable level, the fan going out on the portable A/C unit, picking cherry tomatoes from the vines before they rot, finding the fly swatter to greet our dinner guests, loading the dishwasher and still having a sink full to wash by hand, wishing I was a better mom, wishing I was a better friend, putting away the pantry items Jayson got out for me, using a rolling pin to massage my sore leg muscles, eating an extra cookie because I didn't go to the gym again, and on and on.....

Jon & I are both on maxed out mode with this season of our parenting career. High demands. Infrequent returns. Lack of energy. Hopeful lists of things we'd like to do, but having to take care of the family first. Feeling stuck in the chaos.

And when they all go to sleep.... finally. I savor the quiet. I give thanks that my life is bustling and nearly bursting at the seams with four children and one amazing man. I love each one. Each of my days is wonderful. My biggest fear is that I'll miss it even though I'm standing in the middle of it.

Sunrise...Sunset. Quickly go the years.

Corona del Mar - the slideshow

I finally took a few minutes to figure out the iphoto slideshow, so now you can steal a peak of our beach pics accompanied by music. Yeah!!!

Just Another Day in Paradise

We Got Soaked!!!

We enjoyed a lovely holiday at Knott's Soak City. Jayson could have played all day in the entrance plaza. He loved the rooster and chickens running around. The weather was just right for it. The boys were a little shy about going on the waterslides. When they finally braved up, they had to wait in line for one hour to get a three person tube. The lazy river was nice - too bad I was sharing my tube with a squirmy little girl. Her bum kept falling through the hole and then she'd get stuck.

Jayson is NOT water shy. He headed right up the yellow octopus slide. He didn't care that the slide was steep and quick. He even thought he was funny when he'd get to the top and then double back to go down a different arm of the octopus. I was totally stressed out when he'd do this because I was at the bottom of the slides catching him before he plunged into the water.

The kids liked the wave pool - simulated ocean without the salt. The shorter ones were required to wear life jackets. This didn't seem to bother Jayson. He actually liked floating on his back or leaning forward to blow bubbles.

Jacob let us borrow his camera - too bad his batteries were dead. Then we decided to buy a water cam, so Jon ran back to the car to stow the camera. The gift shop was sold out of water cameras, so later Jon went back to the car to retrieve the camera and to purchase batteries. So you better enjoy these low quality snaps of our family memories :)

P.S. We also walked through Independence Hall.