Next Time Won't You Sing With Me?

So which is it?

A couple of weeks ago some fellow MOPS and I were enjoying our annual Spa Day meeting and we were tasked with using some conversation starters. One of the most intriguing has kept creeping back into my head over the past several days. The question was: "Is it better to be a kid or an adult?" As moms to preschoolers who demand so much attention, every one's gut reaction was to say, "kid." Case closed, right? Then a couple of folks admitted they preferred being adults...I mean we get to do whatever we want, right?

Anyway, I keep lingering on the topic and figured I'd jot down these thoughts and sort of compare and contrast as well as hear what you think. Maybe you want to give your own take...

As kids I think I we are pretty much care-free. No stresses about finances, jobs or even parenting ("is he doing what other 2-year-olds are doing?" "what is the best school?") Most of your big decisions when you are a kid is whether to ask for a pink bicycle or a purple one, right?

On the other hand as a kid, someone is always telling you what to do, right? "Get dressed, do your homework, clean up your toys, eat your broccoli." Of course as an adult, you still have some authority (a boss, supervisor, etc.), but no one is going to tell you that you can't eat a little debbie for breakfast or anything. (Not saying I've done that, just an example.)

I often find myself wishing I could climb inside Jack's head and know exactly what he is thinking. Most of the time it's when he says things like "Jack happy" or "hey buddy" to his little brother. Other times it's when he is in full tantrum mode and nothing can console him. Either way, I do find myself thinking sometimes that he and especially Sam have it easy...eat and sleep whenever you want. I certainly appreciate the opportunity I have as a SAHM, but wouldn't I trade it to be a kid again?

I think for me the answer is no. Although some days I want to curl up with Jack for his afternoon nap instead of doing laundry, working on volunteer commitments or nursing Sam. But, I am incredibly blessed and thankful for all this life has given me. Was there ever a truer sense of companionship or a better best friend than the one I have now in my husband?

I guess in the words of Hannah Montana in an ideal situation we'd have the "best of both worlds." The feeling of running barefoot on a fresh cut lawn chasing fireflies on a summer (a word that loses a great deal of its impact once you are no longer a student) night or the rush of excitement as you creep downstairs on Christmas morning mixed in with the ability to make your own decisions and get a coke in the drive thru at McDonald's if you feel like it.

Anyway, these are my mindless ramblings. I'd love to hear your take on things. My apologies to those looking for pictures of cute kids or funny stories about said children...this blog will eventually return to its regularly scheduled programming :)

Old and New

Jack, Sam & I spent the morning catching up with friends old and new. My best friend from high school, Becca lives about 35 miles away and has a 2 year old daughter, Evelyn. Since we moved here almost 3 years ago, we've gotten together a hand-full of times...first when I was pregnant, then later when she was pregnant and I had a newborn, then twice more with our little ones in tow. Well, this was the first time the kids were old enough to actually play with one another and hopefully remember the new friend they were playing with. Jack and Evelyn spent two full hours chasing each other, making each other laugh and generally just being two year olds. In between the occasional reigning in of the wild ones, Becca and I caught up and enjoyed just being mommies.

I love this shot of Jack & Evelyn. The look on their faces is one of bewilderment as if they can hardly believe I have poked my head (and my camera) into the Thomas tent, which is in their minds very clearly a kids-only zone! Thanks, Becca & Evelyn for a fun morning. The cookies were SOOO good!

A Grand Weekend

Jack & Sam had another grand weekend; this one courtesy of Grandmommy & Grandaddy Garrett. We started the weekend with dinner on the square in Clarkesville, where the grandparents met us. We then made the short walk down to Pitts Park for Friday Night Flix. I think I timing was perfect. Jack had about 20 minutes to run wild and play on the overcrowded playground equipment with his best buddy Andrew before 'Up' started.

I fed Sam just as the movie got underway and then he snoozed with his Grandmommy. I wasn't really sure how Jack would do sitting still especially with slides, swings and all sorts of fun things to climb lingering in the background. He surprised me for sure. He sat in Josh's lap for almost the entire movie. When the music heightened or intensified, he was on the edge of his seat. The last half hour he would stand up every 5 or 10 minutes and say, "I be playing." As if to indicate that we could stay and watch the movie, but he would be on the playground playing. Of course, we reminded him we were watching the movie and we could come back and play later when it wasn't so dark. Overall, we absolutely enjoyed our movie in the park and are looking forward to the next one...although I don't know if there is enough actual football in 'The Blind Side' to keep him interested.

After a yummy breakfast at Stoney's Saturday morning, we went home to prepare to celebrate the fourth birthday of two of our favorite little girls, Bree & Blythe. Jack loved the mermaid/ocean theme and really enjoyed himself in the pool at the Aquatics center. It took him a while to warm up, but he was soon kicking and swimming around unassisted (unless you count his life jacket). We might have a fish on our hands.

Spring Breaks

Around here spring break doesn't mean much other than Jack asks every other day if he's going to school. I'm thinking he's going to be pretty disappointed when the answer is "in a few more weeks" instead of "tomorrow." I'm sure we'll find a way to pass the time this summer...like with potty training. Ugh! Seriously though we are looking forward to fun playdays at the park, trips to the water park in Gainesville and more. In the meantime, we enjoyed what spring break meant to everyone else. First, it was a visit from Aunt Emmy a couple of weeks ago when her school was out. As always, Jack had a blast playing with Aunt Emmy.

Last week, it was Grandmommy's turn. She came and spent the afternoon with us on Wednesday. We had fun taking her to our Wednesday night fellowship dinner at church. Jack enjoyed playing some baseball in the yard before we all piled in the car to take advantage of the DQ Blizzard anniversary...does anyone know where to get a blizzard around here? Anyway, here's a pic of Grandmommy Garrett with two of her favorite things: grandkids and ice cream! We loved celebrating the Blizzard's 25th with you!

Two & Two

So, it's 2 and 2 again. We've got a two year old and two month old, and things never seem to slow down. But, I'm not really sure we'd know what to do if they did. By now, we're getting very accustomed to life with two. By far the hardest part has been readjusting to life with a baby. Packing a much bigger bag and scheduling your outings around feedings and vice versa.

This weekend was no different than most with a few different activities to bounce between. Friday night a friend and I headed to a massive garage sale. I left with some new jewelry. Josh worked overnight in the ER, so after giving the boys their baths I tucked Jack in bed. Next I worked on getting Sam settled down for the night, which usually takes a little longer.

Josh came home the next morning with breakfast in hand, which was met with roars of approval by all. "Biscuit and bacon," yells Jack. Even though he said he didn't need a nap, Josh crawled into bed after breakfast. And I figured he didn't care for the two year old jumping on his head and yelling, "daddy, down!" So, while Josh & Sam snoozed away, I took Jack to the Build To Grow workshop at Lowe's. He loved the hammering and was quite proud of his planter. In fact, when we got home we set out to spruce it up a bit with some paint. He has asked to paint every day since then.

Anyway, around lunchtime Josh was ready to join the party. So, we all enjoyed some fun. Later we gathered at a friend's house to celebrate her birthday. Saturday was also Sam's official two-month milestone. We don't have a check-up until next week, but I'm eager to see how much he's grown. He seems longer and has definitely packed on some pounds. Jack is tall, but not sure he'll outweigh his little brother forever.

Car Ride Convos

I can still remember maybe a year or so ago wondering when Jack would be old enough to begin carrying on conversations...especially in the car. For a good while now he's been talking a lot about his surroundings and pointing out all his favorite animals, vehicles and landmarks:

"football games" = the local high school football stadium
"tractor" = anything that resembles a tractor
"motomycle" = motorcycles, mopeds, etc.
"bickle, bickle" = bicycle
"water tower" = water tower...should be self explanatory, folks!

Well, this morning he pointed out a barn and the conversation proceeded as so:

Jack: daddy tractor barn
Me: Yes, daddy keeps his tractor* in his barn* Did you ride on the tractor last night with daddy? Jack: Yep, and bath!
Me: You did take a bath. Was it fun?
Jack: Yep!
Me: Daddy is fun, isn't he? I sure do like Daddy.
Jack: Yea. Daddy buddy.
Me: Is Daddy your buddy?
Jack: Yea.
Me: I love Daddy.
Jack: Me too, Daddy. pauses to correct himself. Me too, Mommy.


*for the record, we do live in a somewhat rural area, but we do not actually own a real tractor or a barn (much to my husband's dismay). We do have a small storage building behind our home that houses most of Josh's tools and lawn equipment, including a riding lawn mower.

Football!

Okay so it may feel like August, but it's only April so there are still a few more months until football season starts (and some of the best months of the year). Last Saturday was the UGA spring game, which is basically a scrimmage between first team offense and defense and second team offense and defense that is open to the public (a.k.a. thousands of fanatics who need a taste of their beloved sport to get them through the summer...oh, and lots of kids.)

We live right around the corner from the high school here and pass the football field just about every time we go anywhere. So, Jack talks about football all the time. Not to mention one of his favorite bedtime books is all about football. (It's a real must-read for any true dawg fan!) To satiate our son's fanaticism we elected to take him to the G-Day game. Josh swears Jack won't be going to a real UGA game until he can sit through watching one on tv (by that time he may have his own student ticket!)

It was pretty hot on Saturday, but we arrived in time to snag some of the coveted club level seats. So, Sam snoozed away in the shade courtesy of the arms of Mema and Aunt Emmy. Jack was completely mesmerized when we first arrived, but that quickly gave way to the need for popcorn and juice. After the game, we marched him up to North Campus to see the Arch and the chapel bell (which is rung after each victory)...both landmarks are in his story book. We finished our campus tour at the bookstore. Without a nap, Jack was exhausted by the time we loaded in the car around 5.

We've been up to a lot more, but I gotta get to some laundry...so, just check out the photos here.

Crash

Well, I guess one of the hardest parts of having two little ones is finding something for Jack to do while I'm nursing his little brother. Most of the time I can occupy him with a snack, tv show, etc. But yesterday around the 5:30 feed dinner was in progress, Josh was on his way home and things were just great. Then I heard a big CRASH!

I quickly jumped up with Sam still in my arms to find that Jack had pulled a snow globe off the cabinet in the foyer. It was a UGA globe with campus buildings and landmarks in it (along with water and glitter). Jack loved the globe and was always asking to see it and for us to wind the music (it played the UGA fight song).

Anyway, it was sad to see it broken. Just a few weeks ago, you would get a little bit of a warning because you could hear him dragging his little wooden stool across the floor, but we had just taught him how to pick it up and carry it. I have to start putting his stool in a place he can't get it now.

On the bright side, my floors have never shined quite like this...thanks to the glitter!

Right Now...

A friend of mine posted this little "get to know me" segment on her blog today. I thought I would play copy-cat...

RIGHT NOW...
I Am- nursing Sam (yep, I can multi-task. Love the new laptop).
I Have- a very messy kitchen and I haven't cooked in days!
I Wish- I had a clean and organized kitchen...the counters are my dumping spots.
I Want- a hot fudge sundae from DQ (they have the best soft serve).
I Fear- that Sam doesn't get as much attention as Jack did at his age.
I Hear- the Golf Channel commentators talking about the Masters leaderboard.
I Search- for good deals.
I Wonder- what my children will grow up to be.
I Regret- that I didn't appreciate my care free college years as much as I should have.
I Love- my family. I'm incredibly blessed to be surrounded by handsome men :)
I Always- forget (or don't have time) to make a grocery list.
I Usually- spend more time online than I intend to.
I Am Not- very good at saying no.
I Sing- very rarely. Typically only if I am alone or in large groups.
I Never- enjoy cooking; baking on the other hand...
I Cry- if I get really sad
I Am Not Always- the best at keeping in touch with old friends.
I Need- to call a few old friends!

I would love to see what some of you are up to "right now."

Three guesses...

Take a look at this shot of Jack's shirt from earlier today. I'll give you three guesses where we spent our day and the first two don't count. At the playground of course! And with some great company I might add.(As if you don't have enough to do, Erin, here's where I would insert a link to your blog as well; I know you want to start one!)

The weather has been beautiful around here the last week or so. Pretty hot for April and of course we have to put up with the pollen, but it's still not that yellow around here yet. We've been trying to take advantage of the beautiful temperatures and today was no different. Just a tad bit cloudy and a nice cool breeze made it the perfect day to be outside and the perfect day to enjoy some McDonald's with friends. Poor little Eli couldn't convince anyone to share their fries or sweet tea!

Getting so dirty wore us out, but after Jack emerged from his nap we headed outside to enjoy our afternoon snack. This kid sure knows how to enjoy the outdoors, huh? Shades and a cool drink...don't worry it's just juice folks.

We had a wonderfully busy Easter weekend, and I promise to post some more images soon!

When you are two...

When you are two you have a mind of your own and are old enough to let everyone know what is on it. You want the bathroom door open when mommy wants it closed, and you want the bathroom door closed when mommy wants it open. Thankfully, reverse pyschology works pretty well on a two-year-old.

When you are two "cookies" is a perfectly acceptable answer no matter what the question is. Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner...cookies are the fifth food group.

When you are two you wake up one morning (about 6 weeks ago) and realize you don't own a helmet and that is a problem. Once you own your helmet you decide that you must wear it sometimes no matter what else is going on...oh and don't forget the knee and elbow pads. All before you've even had a chance to change out of your pajamas.