Random Ramblings

Just a few thoughts running through my head-

This week I have LOVED having a two-year-old. He has been so sweet and kind. I just want to gobble him up and hold and kiss him all the time. The thing is, he has returned those kisses and hugs.

Rob's been traveling a lot lately- I miss him when he's gone, but the house stays clean and I don't have to cook as much :). It also gives Jack and I some alone time- not that we aren't alone enough, but I think of it as a date-night every night. We have picnics in the TV room (where food is not normally allowed). We go out to eat or to the play land. We have movie night and eat popcorn. And we have Wii tournaments- I think I got beat tonight in tennis by him.

I made some yummy Pink Lemonade Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting last night for book club. I've enjoyed too many of them- good thing I'm Prego and the baby needs a little extra sugar right?

Speaking of being Pregnant, this should be a post on it's own, but I have to admit that I feel really, really well taken care of this pregnancy. I have many Dr's and Nurses looking out for me, calling me and checking me- it gives me great comfort to know that the medical field takes VERY seriously a preterm birth and the prevention of another one.

Shout out to my friend, neighbor, and nurse Joyce. She is AWESOME!! She comes once a week to my house and gives me a progesterone shot. Not only is she a friend, but she is the head nurse in my super-duper-cool Dr's office. She has been such a blessing. Jack looks forward to her coming and helps her get me all ready for my shots. After she's done Jack and I have talks about shots and how they are not scary and they don't hurt too bad.

Pregnancy is not easy. I'm not one to enjoy being pregnant. I don't like puking up my guts and or feeling like I'm going to puke for the first 5 months and I don't enjoy getting fat and all the joys that come with it. I don't like being shot-up with all sorts of medicine and having all sorts of tests done. But I REALLY, REALLY do like the end result.

Had another ultrasound today- things look great! Little man is hanging out in a ball. I have NO IDEA what this one will look like. When I was pregnant with Jack I had a dream about him and I knew what he was going to look like- this one is a mystery to me. I am getting excited to meet him.

I'm sitting under one of my new favorite things. My mother-in-law gave us a brown super-soft fluffy blanket a couple weeks ago. It is one of those blankets that you feel only in baby blankets and say OH I WISH THEY HAD THAT IN MY SIZE, well now I've got one. Jack and I snuggled under it tonight watching a show. Thank you Jane!

Rob will be home my midnight tonight- I'm in the not able to sleep very well stage right now. I'll stay-up and wait for him. Looking forward to spending time with him this weekend before another busy work week.

Yellow, my new favorite color. Got a cool new yellow bag, wore a yellow sweater today and just ordered some cute yellow shoes, oh and last week bought a DARLING yellow necklace.

Splish, Splash, Clean-up!

I know that bath time is suppose to be fun and often there is a lot of splashing that goes along with that. I can handle a little bit of splashing, but when I come into the bathroom and find all three walls that surround the tub DRIPPING not to even mention the floors and the mats that are squishy because of all the water- there has to be some stop to all the splashing. This morning I'd had it! I had given Jack plenty of warnings...then the mean mom came out. I pulled Jack out of the tub and gave him a wash cloth and sat there with him while he cleaned up every little drop. Now I don't think this will stop all the splashing, but I'm hoping that he will remember how cold and miserable he was cleaning up his mess the next time he wants to give the bathroom a shower!

Fort Buliding With Friends

A couple weeks ago we had a fun time building a fort in Jack's room. We ate snacks in there, watched a movie and then even took a nap. Good times on a cold winter day!

Life as a 2-year-old!

Life as a two-year-old is hard, but so rewarding! Last night was one of those rewards...


Jack got a new big boy bed! He spent a good portion of the night jumping up and down and telling us how EXCITED he was about his new bed. He did spend some time breaking in the new bed by jumping on it, but when time came to sleep- he was a champ!

Looking Forward to Heart-Day

I've had a love/hate relationship with Valentines Day for a LONG time. It's a fun day to eat candy and decorate anything and everything in red and pink, but it can also be the one reminder that you are lonely and have no certain someone to share it with. In high school and college it was one day I really hated- even if there was a special someone to share it with. The thought of having to be romantic and mushy just killed me. In elementary school however I LOVED it. I loved decorating my Valentines Day box and I adored all the Valentines that were given and received. This year I am actually looking forward to it. Maybe it because I've had my house decorated with red yummy hearts since after Christmas was taken down, or it could be the fact that Rob is out of town and my heart just yearns for him to be home and near me. Whatever the reason- I can't wait!

Lighting McQueen and Doc Hudson

For Christmas this year Jack was given some Cars characters from the Disney movie (which he loves BTW) from his aunts and cousins. Ever since Christmas Jack has been totting these cars around. He mostly hangs onto Lighting and Doc though. Lighting and Doc get to do EVERYTHING with him. They go to bed and take naps together. They eat lunch and have snack-time together as well. He loves those cars and doesn't want to leave them out of anything he's doing.

Last week Jack and I were having a bit of a power struggle. Anything I asked him to do was answered with a NO or talking back, or just plain and simple a two-year-old-tantrum. So I decided to change tactics. I started asking his friends Lighting and Doc if they would like to do things...a MIRACLE occurred, Lighting and Doc were so agreeable and helpful.

I was on the phone with my sister-in-law and I was telling her about this new found motivation for Jack- I jokingly mentioned that if only Lighting and Doc could go #2 in the potty then life would be FANTASTIC. She said why not try it. Have them sit on the potty and drop some raisins in and see of that does it. MIRACLE #2 (no pun intended) but that worked too.

Thank you Lighting McQueen and Doc Hudson for being good examples and great friends to a two-year-old little boy who thinks you guys are pretty cool.

Potty Training 101

This past Thursday Jack asked to go Potty on the Big Boy Potty. I was floored. I didn't think he was ready, nor had he shown any interest in the past when we'd talk about it. Anyhow, he did it- first time no big deal. I talked things over with my mom and she gave me the pep-talk I needed to go and try this. It actually has been doable. This was one of the things I was not looking forward to as a parent. I don't do well with messes- especially of the human kind.

I'm not saying he's Potty Trained in one weekend, but we've made some great progress!

On a side note; hence the potty training it has made us stay inside for the past couple days. I am not the sort of person who stays at home. We always get out of the house at least once a day and most days we are gone for a good portion of the day. I have to confess that I have probably let him watch too many movies and play too much Wii, but he has been happy. Today we are going to make play dough and build forts- then for the big reward of going #2 in the potty off to Kangaroo Zoo tonight for a Potty Party!

Things I've learned thus far about Potty Training (this is for me in the future)-
- You as a parent have to be trained to be calm and not pushy, and make it fun and exciting
- Consistency of getting him on the potty
- Bribery works!
- Be creative
- Expect accidents and rejoice when they don't happen!
- It never hurts to pray for strength- I know that might sound silly, but there is NOTHING to trivial for the Lord's help.

As for the "Be Creative" bullet listed above, I have to expound on that a little. Jack has this Winnie the Pooh movie that he loves to watch. It's actually a compilation of some video's that we had and watched as kids. I've always loved Pooh Bear. There is this one experience that Pooh has of getting stuck in Rabbits front door/hole after eating too much honey. Rob and I were watching this with Jack a while back and there is this cute song that comes on after Pooh budges. It goes something like this "Hooray for you, hooray for me, hooray, hooray, the Pooh will soon be free". At this point while Rob started laughing and laughing- I didn't quite get it :). After a little explanation from Rob- BTW he ruined that movie for me, I started laughing too. It had been a couple days since J-man had gone #2. I was getting a little worried and anxious. I'm sure Jack could sense this. I wasn't quite sure how to get him to sit long enough on the toilet to get the job done. #1 was no problem, but how to get him to sit... Last night I had a thought. Get the portable DVD player and bring it into the bathroom. It worked! I'm not saying the song had anything to do with it, but it probably didn't hurt either!

Here's to good thoughts and continued success in the potty training world!