Groovy

I keep trying to embed this video in the blog, but it’s goofing things up in Firefox, so instead click here to check out Jack and Emily grooving to some disco music.

Jack @ 28 Months

The older Jack gets, the funnier he is. He’s speaking in full sentences, and you never quite know what’s going to pop out of his mouth. We were riding in the car with Emily last week, and Emily was unhappy about being in the car seat and let out a scream. Jack, mimicking what I tell him so often, said “No screaming Emily! I pank you!” While hanging onto one of his “night-night” cloth diapers, I asked him, “You like your night-night, huh?”, and he said “Oh yes, I love my night-night!” I don’t know where he picked up the thing with putting an “oh” in front of his “yes”, but it’s so cute.

We had our first run-in with an intestinal virus over the weekend, and it was MISERABLE. Jack was really a trooper and handled it really well, but I was certainly glad much of the sick time was over the weekend so that Mark could help with the endless mess clean-up. We must have done 20 loads of laundry. Being the mean Mommy that I am, I had to take a picture of him when he was feeling his worst.

Mouse 2001 - 2007

We had to say goodbye to a very sweet kitty on Monday. Mouse’s kidneys failed him for some reason- no way to know why. He was the most loving little kitty, and we’ll miss him. Here’s one of my favorite pictures of him from when he was a kitten. He’d just had a bath and looks like quite a waif.

Man tests breast pump and lives to tell about it

Via Parent Hacks, I came to the DaddyLabs blog, where there are some really funny videos from Daddy Brad and Daddy Clay.  Check out the one where they test a breast pump, and also, the episode where they vividly describe how to deal with poop in the tub.

Stinkin’ Good Pumpkin Cookies

I have a new favorite cookie recipe. Normally, I am a chunky double chocolate chip cookie kind of girl, but this recipe I tried out Sunday is easily the best cookie recipe ever. It’s the perfect light and fluffy, cakey cookie with a yummy caramel icing. I found it on allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (I used pumpkin pie filling, and I think that made them even better because of all the spices in it)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter
8 tablespoons milk
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Cream shortening, white sugar and pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together the baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. To Make Frosting: Cook butter, milk, and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Spread over warm cookies.

Jack @ 27 Months

Looks like he’s enjoying that popsicle huh? He didn’t want it at first, because it was cold, but then I told him it was chocolate, and that sold him on the idea. “Shockit????!!!”

Jack’s imagination has taken a leap forward this month. He makes up scenarios with toys, and I even caught him checking the multiple rubber duckies he has one night in the bath, to see if they needed diapers. He was picking them up one by one, turning them over to look at their nether region, and saying, “Need diaper? … nope!” We’ve shown him a couple of Bugs Bunny cartoons, but have realized maybe he’s a little young for them. He has the funniest reaction to the various “injuries” sustained by the characters, and let’s out a little “uh?!” of concern each time. He gets really worried for them.

He’s started singing… sort of. Sometimes he’ll join in with a sing-songy voice with whatever you’re singing. I was singing “Give Me Jesus” before putting him to bed a couple of weeks ago, and he laid there in the crib, singing “give me jeeeesus, give me jeeeeeeesus” over and over. We’ve been playing on the piano, hitting notes and singing “LA!” just to see if he can match pitch yet. I’m curious about how the ability to sing develops…

We have been praying with him before bed, and the other day I put him in the car and started to buckle him in, and he squnched his eyes shut and said “Dear Fadder…” and some mumbo-jumbo in the middle, and then “Amen”, and opened his eyes and said “go night-night?” Maybe he was concerned about my driving and was saying a prayer for safety? He’s big on landmarks as we’re driving and loves to point out Wendy’s, Mal-Mart, Cor-Crama (Cord Camera), Ha-Lobby (Hobby Lobby), etc.

Our most exciting happening was the first use of the potty this month! It’s just a novelty at this point, of course, but it’s been nice to see him show some interest in it.

The picture below is Mark introducing Jack to PopRocks- Jack got the funniest look on his face when they started popping on his tongue!

This month has been more challenging than ever with him. He is such a screamer, and can throw a whopper of a tantrum. My little MP3 player has kept me relatively sane, but there have been days when I’m on the computer, checking out day care costs! The only thing I haven’t tried in order to reduce the screaming is washing his mouth out with soap. I’ve tried everything else, and nothing works. So, I just put him in his room and let him scream to his heart’s content. He gets awfully mad when I put him in there, but for some reason he doesn’t try to get out. He just lays there in a pathetic puddle on the floor, screaming with every fiber of his being. He’s a sweet boy though, and perfectly normal for a 2 year old.

Time to order Christmas Cards

We’re hitting mid-October here, just about time for the Christmas decorations to start going up in the stores. If you’re interested in possibly sending some personalized Christmas cards out this year, you need to check out CardMyChristmas. It’s a new site, part-owned by a new friend of mine, Elizabeth, and she does beautiful work. Check it out!

You might also be interested in reading Elizabeth’s blog, MommyZabs. Zabs (rhymes with labs) is her nickname, and she’s been blogging a LONG time - definitely one to add to your feed reader!

Why you should never shave a cat

Totally pathetic….

Trip to Pigeon Roost Farm

Last Saturday we went to Pigeon Roost Farm in Kirkersville. They had so many fun things for kids to do- Jack and Emily had a great time. Here are some pictures from the day:

Looking for gooses

Jack gets excited every time he sees the geese come by in the pond outside our back porch. He runs over and points and yells at the top of his lungs, “GOOSES!!!!” We’ve tried to tell him they are “geese”, but he isn’t up for a grammar lesson just yet.

Jack @ 26 Months

Jack has adjusted well to our new home. It didn’t really phase him, it seems, expect for a couple of days in which he refused to take a nap. I’m finding it to be a little more challenging, being alone with the two kids much of the day, so it’s always nice when Mom comes over.

Jack has learned the Toddler Rules of Ownership:

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I think it’s mine, it’s mine.
9. If it’s yours and I steal it, it’s mine.

I’m not sure where he even picked it up, but he’s started yelling “MINE!” as he takes things from Emily. He can’t stand for her to have anything, and it sends him into paroxysms of screaming and flopping around on the floor. You know when you pull a fish out of the water onto the ground and it starts flopping around? It’s exactly like that.

He gets a thrill out of doing things for himself, and has developed a sense of humor, regularly doing silly things just for the fun of it and to get a laugh. He is a big fan of Play-Doh, and I like it too so we bought a big kit that has lots of shapes to cut out and we have a good time playing with it. His funniest word these days is Ding-Gonkers - and I like to give him graham crackers just to hear him say it.

Spaghetti Beard

You’ve heard of a milk mustache… this is a spaghetti beard.

Getting settled in

After over a week of hauling boxes and clothes and junk we almost have everything over here at the new place. Some pictures are hung, and lots of stuff has been thrown out or given to Kidney Foundation. It’s been nice to de-junk a little bit. I figure if we’ve been hauling it around with us since we’ve been married and haven’t used it, we probably don’t need it.

We love it here - it’s a great apartment. I love the simplified space. There are only so many places that Jack (and Emily) can get into, and there are no stairs to worry about and the laundry is just right off the kitchen which makes that task much easier. Mark enjoys the air conditioning in particular- he laid down the first night and realized the air conditioning vent was pointed directly at his side of the bed, and he was in heaven.

The doors have those push-button locks on them, so of course Jack managed to lock himself in his bedroom yesterday. He can turn the handles just fine, but when they’re locked they’re a little tougher and he couldn’t manage it. I had to call Mark to tell me how to get him out and then as I was sticking the screwdriver in the little hole, I paused. He was playing happily by himself and he’s been so unbelievably screamy lately… maybe I should just leave him locked in there a while…

The ceilings are vaulted, so my normally loud child is ridiculously loud now. Lovely. He loves to yell just to hear the sound of his voice bounce around the high ceilings, and when he has a tantrum it’s so loud I really believe the neighbors are going to call social services on me one of these days. Jack could easily choose to follow in either Mommy or Daddy’s footsteps in his career choice. He could be an opera singer or a preacher and have no need for a microphone, thank you very much.

The ducks and geese in the pond have a pretty good setup here. They come running waddling over whenever they sense someone on the balcony is about to pitch down some food. There’s a poor goose with a broken wing and a duck with a limp that we always try to give extra Cheerios to. I hate to see what’s going to happen to the injured goose in particular when winter comes, as the usual flight south will apparently not be an option for him.

Anyway, we’re mostly settled in, and the place is reasonably presentable, it is nice just to feel like normal people again.

We’re moving!

Finally, after 2 years of relying on the kindness of my wonderful parents we are moving into an apartment. Mark has a full time job, and we are grateful to have found an affordable place that is very nice, and only a couple of miles from the house. It even has a pond in the back where Mark can fish (they’ve stocked it) and Jack can enjoy watch the geese and ducks. I think I’ve mentioned before that Jack is an airplane fanatic. At the new place, he can see airplanes take off and land from his bedroom window!

Yesterday was a hot day to move, but most of the stuff was in by about 1pm. The moving of the piano is always the biggest ordeal, and the guys were all dripping with sweat by the time it was up the stairs. We were grateful to have help from Charlie and a couple of guys from our church. After moving the furniture in the living room around 4 or 5 times, I think everything is in the right place and it’s starting to look livable!

As I’m opening the boxes that have been in storage for 2 years, I keep pulling things out and thinking “What is this? Is this mine?” It really makes you realize how much stuff you have that you don’t need, and I’m planning to get rid of A LOT of the junk.

There has been a serious lack of posting on this blog, I realize.  I’ve never been so busy, and have had lots of opportunities for projects and then this moving thing came along. Maybe when things settle down I’ll get back to a bit more regular updating.

I’ve been interviewed!

Check it out - I’ve been interviewed on a website called SheUnlimited. Try not to laugh.