11 & 5

Eleven and five were once just numbers. For the past week they have been the magic hours in which our sweet son wakes and screams for 5 minutes. (As in p.m. & a.m., respectively.) Hopefully, it's just the cold he's been fighting or the teeth (yes, more) he's cutting. So, here's to hoping this is merely a phase and a short one at that.

Word-free Post

I picked him up...and loved every minute!

So, it's just before 11; and Jack is screaming and throwing a tantrum in his bed. Really...a tantrum (kicking his feet against his mattress and yelling and crying to the point of coughing). He had a rough evening, I guess. His afternoon nap was interrupted by a photo shoot at the hospital for their new ad campaign. Despite his lack of sleep, Jack was a trooper...smiling and laughing. Later at home, he began to make up for it.

We put him to bed early, and didn't hear a peep until about 10:30, when he woke up. Usually, I let him cry himself back to sleep. But, this was a screaming cry that lasted longer than a couple of minutes. I comforted him and got him to lay down. Thinking all was well, I crept out. Seconds later, he was at full blast again. So, I went back and this time did the supposed un-thinkable (that is if you read any parenting books)...that's right I picked him up! Crazy, right?

We rocked in the chair and cuddled for a good 20 minutes. Every now and then, he would reposition himself and bury his arms and hands between us. So sweet! I finally decided to make the transfer, but of course, he awoke. So, I let him cry a bit and now (about 5 mins later)...I hear nothing but the keys tapping.

So, my point is I picked him up, we cuddled, we rocked and it was bliss. Fifteen months have nearly flown by, and I can tell it won't be long before mommy's arms are no longer one of his favorite places to be anymore. So, I loved every minute of it!

LOVE-ly Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend with family and friends. Our church hosted a Parent's Night Out on Friday. We took advantage of the free babysitting to join our Sunday School class for dinner. We all love our kids, but it was great having the chance to talk without interruption. Afterwards, we had dessert and discussion back at the church. In the meantime, Jack had fallen asleep. We got him out to the car without much trouble, but once we got him home and in the bed, he was not happy. He refused to go back to sleep, which is very unlike him. So, we let him get up and play a while. We finally put him back down to bed around 10:45. Yeah, crazy!

On Saturday, Josh's parents and nephew came for the day. Mostly to see Jack, but they tolerated hanging out with me and Josh, too. We also celebrated Josh's mom's birthday (which was last Wednesday). My mom came up for a few hours too. We did a little browsing around town and enjoyed a big lunch. While Jack took a nap, we watched the Georgia basketball game. The one where they actually won (after 11 straight losses). They beat Florida (which is always nice!) Anyway, we spotted my dad on tv several times, which Josh's nephew, Sean, got a kick out of. Later, we all enjoyed cake before they headed home. It was a fun day. They all got to see Jack do a little bit of walking and lots of his sounds, like woofing and growling.

Saturday evening, I made a Valentine's treat for me and Josh. Chocolate-dipped strawberries. They were so good. We enjoyed them while watching a movie. Here's a picture of the yummies. There were so many of them, but they didn't last long!

Taxes...yuck!

I can't seem to get anything done this week. I'm trying to gather all our tax documents together to meet with our tax preparer. The desk is a mess. I have brought a chair over to serve as another work surface and poor Jack keeps getting shooed away from it. He loves to grab papers and throw them in the floor. I'm beginning to think that might be somewhat therapeutic for me as well.

Last night, Jack & I had a little adventure. The weather was pretty rough with strong winds and lots of rain in what seemed like a short period of time. We arrived home from church (Josh stays for choir practice) to find the power off. Mind you the revelation was a little less obvious than one might suspect. I couldn't get the garage door opener to work. Naturally, I figured the batteries in the clicker had bit the dust. So, I took my key to the front door and planned to open the garage from inside and pull the car in. When I arrived at the front door it occurred to me that all the houses on the street were pitch black and the house was completely dark! I panicked...I couldn't go in that dark house! What if there was someone lurking in there?! All reasonable thought had escaped me (including the fact that I had a flashlight in my glove box).

Anyway, our sweet neighbor came over to check on me when he saw me in my driveway. I explained in the least-crazy-lady-way-possible that I couldn't go in to my dark house. He agreed to come in with me and help me get to our flashlights. So, I grabbed Jack and in we headed with our kind neighbor. He even offered to let me keep his flashlight. I assured him that once I had found my way to ours I would be fine. I'm sure he didn't because he's so nice, but anyone in their right mind would have rolled their eyes at this proclamation. And, I wouldn't have been able to see (remember the power is out!) I mean this is the same lady that 2 minutes earlier had admitted she was scared to go in her own home!

Anyway, we got to our flashlights and I even lit a fire log (mostly for light) and several candles throughout the house. I feel stupid for saying this, but I thought what am I going to do to entertain this rascal until bedtime. Jack had a blast. He loved the flashlights and most of his toys work on batteries anyway. So, he just did his thing but in the semi-dark! It was a fun little adventure. Within about an hour power was restored and just in time for Jack's bedtime and American Idol...lol!

Whee!

We have been blessed with beautiful weather here on Saturday and Sunday. We tried to take advantage both days by taking Jack out in his car around the block or out in the yard. He loves pointing out our neighbor's dogs and saying "whoo, whoo," which in case you hadn't figured is his version of woof, woof!



There's not much of a story to go with this picture other than it's really cute to watch Jack licking an ice cream cone. The cold surprised him a little bit, but the taste was enough to keep him coming back for more. I wonder where he gets his love of ice cream?

On Sunday, we decided to go to the park and enjoy the swings. Jack really loves the swings. Now that the weather is warmer some days, I hope we can go more often. On the way over, I thought he might be big enough to try out the slide. As you probably noticed from my last two posts, I've been a little video crazy. So, here he is enjoying the slide. Doesn't it look like fun?

Step By Step

Besides scarfing down cheese and raisins, Jack loves clapping and receiving praise. Combine this with his love of seeing himself in the mirror, on the video camera & in photographs and I think we have a recipe for toddler vanity. Josh and I have discovered if we clap and cheer enough between every simple attempt at a step, he'll do a little bit of walking. Here's the video to prove it.

Look out, Kobayashi

So, Jack has recently taken to consuming his food in an alarmingly quick fashion. His favorites to engulf are raisins and cheese. Next stop Nathan's.

Still not walking, but I'm guessing his speed crawling burns more calories, and if he keeps this up, he'll need the extra exercise!

Thought of the day...

I know they grow up way too fast, but someone shoot me if I ever miss changing dirty diapers!


Totally unrelated photo:


He couldn't wait his turn.

When it all comes together...

Yes, this is my stove; and No, I'm not kidding. I guess I was on a roll from my double batch of lasagna on Friday and our Sunday chili for the Super Bowl Party with the Sunday School class. This afternoon/evening was one of those moments when it all came together so I just had to share.

A little bit of background (you know how I tell a story...lots of details!) I usually go grocery shopping on Tuesday mornings while Jack is at Early Steps. Josh usually works in the ER on Monday evenings and leaves the house by 7:30. The combination of these two realities means Monday night dinner is usually whatever I can scrounge up and fix semi-quickly. Typically, spaghetti, chili or leftovers. Well, since we had just eaten lasagna and dined Italian on Saturday, spaghetti was right out! We ate chili at the Super Bowl party and the fridge was barren of leftovers (since we ate lasagna for lunch!) I found some chicken breast tenderloins in the freezer and defrosted them in hopes I receive some light bulb idea. My typical use was not an option (chicken parmesean). Then, I remembered I had potatoes that could be mashed and some english peas. Homemade fried chicken tenders, here we come! I have a great recipe for a simple breading and a method that produces crispy tenders that aren't burnt, but I must confess I had tried it a few times without great results. For some reason, I gave it another go and tonight's finished product was a success! Josh was even psyched to take the leftovers to work for his middle of the night meal. Anyway, as everything was on the stove. I couldn't resist the photo op for my Project 365, which is going pretty well. I do think it's funny that even when I don't take a photo of my child that day, I still end up with a photo of my child!

After dinner, Jack & I quickly jetted off to Bible Study, well he played with Andrew & James, while Andrea & I headed to Bible Study. Again, what wonderful friends! Since Josh works on Monday nights, Andrea insisted Jack could come over while I joined her at the study. I'm so glad she did. The study was great. It's so neat to meet new people and hear their perspective on God's word. I was so hesitant to join the study because our Mondays are so hectic...trying to fix & eat dinner and spend quality time with Josh before he leaves. While my family is important; I realized tonight I was being selfish with what I considered "my time." When really it's all His time.

I think for tomorrow's 365 photo I'll take a picture of my kitchen sink! It's been a mess since Friday. I've run the dishwasher twice already and still have a mess of work to do! Anyway, that's my main reason for ignoring it tonight...I need a photo op for tomorrow! So, even when it all comes together...it doesn't really all come together. Case in point, what my child was doing while I was frying chicken fingers. He found some juice in the pantry and managed to roll it into the dining room (without me really noticing either!)

The 3 R's...

Saturday was full of the 3 R's: Relaxation, Relatives & Retail Therapy. Last year for Valentine's Day, my sweet hubby gave me a massage from Spa Sydell. I have tried to use it on a couple of occasions, but something always came up. On Saturday, I was finally able to cash in on the relaxation, and it was excellent. While all of it was incredible, I could have let the therapist massage my feet and hands all day...that was the best! So, thank you again, Josh!

During my 60-minute massage I kept going back in forth in my head thinking about how God has blessed me. I'm married to an incredible man, who is my best friend and makes me laugh every day; I've been blessed with a wonderful and healthy child; I have fantastic family members and dependable, supportive friends; and much, much more.

The other thought that I bounced around is much less profound and just sort of weird. I found myself wondering about the therapist: "how long had he been doing this?"; "was there a part of him that found it weird to touch stangers all day, every day?"; "does he have regular clients? if so, does he talk to any of them during their treatments or is it the silent treatment for everyone?" Anyway, as weird as it seemed to have thought these things, I did leave feeling very relaxed and thankful for life's many blessings!

Since we were going to be in Atlanta, we talked to Josh's parent about meeting up with us for lunch. Fortunately, his mom already had to be in Atlanta for some school obligations (she's hard at work on a doctorate degree). So, it worked out perfectly for us to hang out with them as well. So, Josh, Jack & Grandaddy hung out while I was at the spa and Grandmommy was in class. The guys picked me up and we did some window shopping until school was over. Once class was out, we all had lunch at Maggiano's. It was oh so yummy!

Afterwards, we headed into the mall and did some more window shopping. Josh had found some shirts at T.J. Maxx for Jack, but I wasn't having any luck with any deals. After spending some time in a couple of furniture stores (a fair amount of that was spent in the massage chairs), we were losing our steam. Then, I remembered I needed some frames and had some coupons for Babies R Us. Jack was also losing his steam. So, his grandmommy graciously took him and his lovee to the glider section at Babies R Us. I picked up my diaper deal, and Josh and I headed to Michael's next door. I found a couple of frames I liked and we returned to find Jack asleep. We let him nap for quite a while, but eventually had to get going. The nap energized him for most of the ride home. So, he watched his new Valentine's gift from his Grandmommy & Grandaddy: Fraggle Rock. He liked the puppets...especially the dog. "Woof, woof" he says.