Career Aspirations: The Musketeer and the Magician

Ever since I bought the movie Barbie and the Three Musketeers, we've been seeing a lot of this at home:

(Got any Bad Guys? She'll come beat 'em up for ya!)



Then there's this kid who thinks he's a Magician:

(Bread? Ta da! It's right here!)



But if that doesn't work out, the Escape Artist route looks promising too:



Maybe I should stop telling them that they can be whatever they set their mind to...
Nah, then what would I blog about?

Trouble in Paradise

What did Hayley do during Jackson's Birthday Party?

Well, she started out pretty happy...



Until she let go of her balloon, and watched it float away...



She was pretty upset.



Especially when Jeremy tried to get her to smile and feel better.



She was fine once the cousins showed up.

Oh, the mood swings!



At all of her four years old!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Jackson!

This little boy loved his birthday cupcake...



Until he got too sticky and wanted to be cleaned up!



And he loved his presents...



At both of his parties!



We love our little one year old more and more every day!



So happy to have this sweet, giggly, teasing boy in our family!

Unlucky Thirteen

Beginning with Friday the 13th, this last weekend pretty much sucked. To give you an idea, here's the highlights:

Friday afternoon: Family crisis at the hospital. (Not me, Jer, Hayley, or Jackson, thank goodness.) Driving my bawling mom to the hospital. Keeping two tired kids entertained in a hospital. Being unprepared for said entertainment. (i.e. Low on diapers, no bottle for Jackson, no dollar bills for the vending machine.) Staying up too late.

Then I came home to: Neighbor's dog barking. All night. Midnight walk to neighbor's house, and having neighbors ignore my knocking, probably because they knew exactly why I was there, on their porch in the middle of the night. Barking continued. Two a.m. walk for Jeremy over to neighbor's house. He was ignored too. (At least now I didn't feel outdone...) Oh, and Jackson was up about four times. Seriously, his gums are still purple where he has molars coming in.

Saturday morning: I got up with the kids, which is not unusual, and I don't usually mind it. But by the time that Jeremy got up, I had worked myself up to being really irritated that he hadn't read my mind and gotten up out of bed to help deal with the kids. I see now just how much sense that did not make, and how much he did not deserve the tongue lashing he got from me, but in my sleep deprived delirium, it did make total sense to me. When it turned into a pissing match between the two of us about who was more tired, Jeremy, to his credit, got up and walked out, and went to work two hours early. I stewed for a while longer and then took a nap while the blessed children both napped at the same time. Woke up feeling pretty sheepish, and texted Jeremy an apology, which he reciprocated. Okay, I guess that's one good thing: The hubs and I both realize that we have way too much to do to stay mad or hold a grudge.

Saturday evening: Got in a disagreement with my dad about some of Friday's Drama. Really, sometimes I think I should just shut up and stop caring. At all. About anything. Because sometimes I feel all I do is get myself in trouble.

Saturday night: Finished the night off with some nasty text messages from my sister. Went to bed feeling like crap. Until the dog starting barking. Again. Jeremy told me to stop thrashing around in bed (which I was) and because I was too tired and worn out to start another fight, and I didn't really want to fight, I slept on the couch. Which was okay. It's a comfortable couch.

Sunday: Hayley wakes up, goes into my room, and finds my side of the bed empty. Starts yelling for me. Wakes up Jackson. Hayley also has a fever and sore throat. Awesome. And a disagreement with my mom about The Drama. We made up pretty quick though, so I still went to her house for Sunday dinner. To sit at the dinner table with her and my stepdad, who were also not speaking to each other due to a disagreement. It was great.

I used to feel bad when Jeremy would say that he "gets" to go back to work after being off for a few days, but man, was I glad I "got" to go to work today.

Oh yeah, Jackson turned one. Waiting to post on it until I feel a little more celebratory.

Just a Good Day

Even though I didn't get to sleep in...

Even though I didn't get to go back to bed to cuddle...

Even though Jackson has another bruise on his forehead...
(Today's was from biffing it on the cement, the one from a few days ago was from when he decided he is able climb out of his crib... Really, we're starting that already??)

Even though I had to get the skirt in the next size up...

Even though we got stuck outside in the exact ten minutes of the afternoon deluge...

Even though the stupid molar still hasn't broken through...
(Hence the drool all over Jackson's shirt in the pics...)

Today was a really, really good day.

I've been working on a goal. It's called, "Take a cue from your four-year-old, and don't be afraid to interact with people, even if you don't know them that well." I know it may surprise some of you, but talking to and hanging out with people that I don't know, or don't know well, or who I feel "rate" higher than me on some made-up, strange system in my head, makes me really, really nervous. I realized in the past year or so, that I am missing out on a lot of friendships by being like this. Today was one of the days that I was actually on top of my goal.

Hayley was invited to a birthday party for one of her cute little friends that she's made at my mom's work at the fitness center. Fun, right? Yeah, mostly I was just nervous. Because the parents were invited (expected?) to stay, so I knew that this birthday party would require me to work on that goal I'd come up with for myself. I did great. Even carried on about a ten minute conversation with the birthday girl's mom, who before today I hadn't ever really talked to. Felt like I left with a little present of my own, to myself: a new friend.

So glad we had a chance to remember how much fun there is to be had at the Edutainment Center,



so glad these two are buds,



and so glad to have these happy kiddos!



Happy, tuckered out kiddos, apparently. As they were both fed, bathed, jammied, and in bed asleep by 8:10. Which means that I got to end the day with some me time on the blog before the hubby gets home.

Just a good day.

Twenty Twelve and Kissing Boys

Hayley: "Mom, I have twenty-twelve cereals."
Me: "I don't think so. Twenty-twelve isn't a real number."
Hayley: "I think it is, because that's how many I have."
Me: "Why don't you show me, and count them for me?"
Hayley: "Okay. One, two... (she did fine, until right after twenty-nine...) ...twenty-nine, twenty-ten, twenty-eleven, twenty-twelve! See, Mom! I told you!"

Guess it's time to start working on counting to thirty.

Another conversation that took place as Hayley was putting on her pajamas, after a long day of too much fun:

Me: "Hayley, you're such a skinny butt, I can see your ribs."
Hayley: (starting to cry) "No, I don't want to be so skinny you can see my ribs!"
Me: "It's okay if you're skinny, Hayley. That just means lots of boys will want to kiss you!"
Hayley: (now there's full on waterworks) "But I don't want lots of boys to kiss me!"
Jeremy: (who until now has just been listening) "Well, then tell the boys your dad has a gun."
Um, well, okay. It did get her calmed down...

Glad we don't have to worry about the kissing boys issue. Yet.



Seriously, Child. Stop growing up so fast!

July Faves

(The reasoning for this picture will make sense soon...)

Favorite Color(s): Purple and Pink

Favorite Food: Strawberries and Bananas
Favorite Treat: Chocolate with crunchy stuff and a red wrapper (Kit Kat)
Favorite Friend: Peyton
Favorite Book: any story about princesses
Favorite Movie/Show: The Chipmunk Adventure
Favorite Song: Beat It, Beat It!
(The one sung by Fergie, not Michael Jackson.)
Favorite Thing to Do Inside: Play with Jackson
Favorite Thing to Do Outside: Swim in her pool and ride her bike.
Favorite Thing About Jackson: That he likes to play with her! So much!
Least Favorite Thing to Do: Go over railroad tracks in the car.
(Okay... I'm almost sorry I asked!)
Funny Things She Says: "Can I put a sticker on my Good Girl Chart?"
"Will you buy me something?"
"Can I play outside?"
"I wish we were in Disneyland."
and this:
"Mom, can I have a tissue?
Then, "Mumble, mumble, mumble, booger stoppers..."

Favorite Color: Baby Blue (Because look at those eyes!)

Favorite Food: Applesauce
Favorite Treat: Watermelon
Favorite Friend: Mom, since she's been off track.
Favorite Book: I Love You All the Time
Favorite Movie/Show: Over the Hedge
Favorite Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star sung by Hayley
Favorite Things to do Inside: Pull up on the side of the bathtub, point inside, and grunt to show he wants a bath. Also, being held upside down by his ankles.
Favorite Things to Do Outside: Go to swimming lessons.

Favorite Thing about Hayley: When she pretends his foot is a telephone.
"Hello? Is anybody there?"
Least Favorite Thing to Do: Have Hayley bug, poke, and prod him when he's asleep in his carseat.
Funny Things He Says: Not really any new words, but he'll smile and laugh after he bites you. He's quick and strong, and has pretty good hand eye coordination these days. Hayley, Jeremy and I have all learned this the hard way. In Hayley's case, I couldn't help but think it was a little bit of karma.