Ten on Tuesday (10/26)

1. Today is surgery day for a very special little baby named Zane. His whole family is on my brain and in my SEVERAL prayers today. I wish a fast recovery for this four month old baby boy.

2. My precious little boy has never really been a stellar sleeper, but not bad either...well...at 2 years and 8 months he has skipped his nap two times in the last 4 days...and he is laying up there as we speak singing and playing, so it looks like another sleepless day. I am worried this is the end of an era, and I have to say I am worried about it. Not great timing. Any ideas on how to deal?

3. Happy birthday to my Granddaddy!!!

4. I really want to nest, have a ton of things on my list....wish I could find the time or energy or motivation.

5. Struggling yet again for dinner ideas....

6. Still getting over the OU hangover from last Saturday. Being number 1 is a curse!

7. The first movie we ever took John to was 'how to train your dragon'. He seemed to love it at the time, but when it came out on video he was not about to watch it! It took getting several of the dragons and several days of coaxing, but now he loves it! Dragons are His new favorite things.

8. We love moon dough! If you have never tried it, I suggest it. Like play-dough, but it never dries out. It crumbles a but easier, but it vacuums up like a dream!

9. John and I made a calendar for October and we have been crossing off the days until Halloween. He really likes it and seems to get the concept. Can't wait to make November!

10. Sort of slow ten on Tuesday....

Ten on Tuesday (10/19)

So, I missed a couple of weeks....read #1 below for the reason why:

1) I can not tell you how glad I am to say that my house has been vomit free since Friday! WHOOHOO!!! John came down 2 Thursdays ago with a stomach bug. He started vomiting at 9:00 at night and continued every 20 minutes for 3 hours and then every hour for 3 hours after that. Took him to the Dr. the next day. Said he was fine, that it was a 24 hour bug going around. Sure enough, I got it followed by Carl. But strangely enough, John never stopped vomiting. That weekend may go down in our history as one of the absolute worst. Even after Carl and I stopped, John continued on. I took him to the Dr. again Monday, but they just sort of blew it off still at that point. Wednesday came around and here we went again... so I took him AGAIN. They sent us for the hospital for tests. To close a long story...we gave him all liquids and kept zofran down him every 4 hours for 2 days.... then...he was all better. They are guessing it was just the virus that may have reinfected him 2 times and then his tummy was so raw and torn up it never had time to heal until we gave him sedatives for 2 days. It was SO SAD!

2) As he gets older I am starting to notice very distinct personality trends developing in him. One of which that stands out to me right now is that he may be becoming a perfectionist. When he is drawing something and it is not perfect, he says "I messed it up" and starts all over and tries and tries again until it is how he wants it. Even when we say "no, it looks great" he follows with "it not look great". OR when he is counting and he gets to 13 or 14 and can not remember what is next, he gets super upset and has to start over. OR when he messes up a song or you dare to sing it with him, he screams and has to start from the beginning. OR when he is playing with his toy animals or something and he one falls over, or is not exactly where he wants it, he will stay with that animal and it is perfect. hmmmm????

3) I am not sure if he is guessing correctly or not, but I am pretty sure he is learning his left from his right. when you ask him if we are turning left or right in the car, he normally gets it right. Or he will point to two things and tell me which is on the left or right; he does the same things with his hands and shoes.... is it too early to know that? Or is he just a lucky guesser?

4) Pictures have become a lot easier to take of him. He will stop and smile anytime a camera is around. CHEESE BALL!

5) Ended up with a shark costume for Halloween, the dinosaur came and it is WAY to small.

6) Had a garage sale this weekend - TOTALLY worth it. It was during the neighborhood garage sale weekend so there was a TON of traffic. Have to wonder if we would have made as much without the neighborhood signs. If you are out there and reading this and just want to clean out some closets, DO IT! You may have a small gold mine. :)

7) GO RANGERS! We have not typically been baseball fans, but last year Carl got into it because he knew John would want to play one day. Since then we have become regular baseball watchers. And this season has been extra special! The Rangers have made it to the postseason and are about to beat the Yankees to go on to the world series! Would be so cool to have the World Series in Texas the same year the Super Bowl is here (too bad the Cowboys won't be there, boo!).

8) GO SOONERS! WOO HOO for being #1 in the BCS. A lot of pressure, but I think we can live up to it. The championship is in Arizona this year.... wonder if I can still travel in January?!??!

9) Baby is rolling around in my belly, I LOVE IT! That is my most favorite thing about being pregnant. I LOVE feeling the baby, it is something that only I have and only I share with this little miracle. I think it is the instant bond for me. Probably another month or so before Daddy can feel it though.

10)Looking for a good Chicken Tortilla soup recipe if anyone wants to share?!?!? I am LOVING soup season. I feel like I eat some sort of soup at least every other day.

Ten on Tuesday

1) Last night John had to go straight to bed after bath due to a very trying evening with a major listening and attitude problem. Suprisingly he was okay with this, which was not really the effect we were going for. He slept 12 hours last night without a peep! That boy was just tired.
2) Working out is going really well for Carl. I have only done it a couple of time, but not bad considering I sat on my bum for 9 months with John. Carl sticking with it totally motivates me.
3) I love Fall. So many more chances to be outside and be comfortable. So many local activities to do. Great food. Football. Awesome! Looking forward to the fair and a pumpkin patch soon.
4) John decided he wanted to be a dinosaur for Halloween. I was sort of hoping for a non body suit, as I do not think he will like it. But I suggested everything under the sun and he was STUCK on being a dinosaur. It came, it is WAY to small (although it is a 2T-4T), so now I am on the hunt again.
5) Decided on a navy blue, kahki and white color scheme for John’s room with fishing/ocean life accents.
6) I am finally getting excited about baby boy #2. I know that sounds weird 17 weeks into the pregnancy, but up until now I have not felt great and we have been so busy. I am just now slowing down enough to get excited. I think I am starting to get the urge to nest. There are SO many things on my mental checklist.
7) We had a super fun playdate at my house. Made little treasure jars using costume gems, sequence, glitter, coins, acorns, etc. as the treasure; and then put corn syrup and water in there too. They shake it up and then the kids watch the pretty treasures suspend at different rates in the mixture. I got a lot of good feedback on this project. It was simple and cheap. I recommend.
8) John’s most said phrases “I not know”; “no”; "nofing" (nothing)“ I want something to eat”; “I want Daddy back”;
9) John came home singing this song from school “God our Father, God our Father, we thank you, we thank you, for many blessings, for many blessing, amen, amen”. Made my heart smile. He sings it several times a day and requests it at night. I love him going to a church 'school'.
10)I suppose I am going to be sick through out my pregnancy. :( I would be over it by now if not. I am still vomitting at least twice a week. yuck.

OU v. Airforce

We took John to his first football game last weekend. It was AMAZING!

We ended up going down on Friday and got to walk around campus before it got dark and take a couple of pictures. (I took my small camera so that I could take it into the game, so I didn't get the best pictures, but they will do).

We stayed at the Sooner Legends hotel and it was great. Although it was old, it was cool to see all the memoriable that they had on display. We stayed in the barry Switzer suite, so we have now seen every picture of Barry ever taken on the field. In the morning we were able to have breakfast next to Joe Washington and a couple of other 1975 champioship players. That was pretty cool.

On gameday we took John to the Natural History Museum there on campus and he loved the dinosaurs and other exhibits.

After which we laid him down for a nap for about an hour, just to try and help the long day ahead of us. Carl and I were getting restless, so we woke him up and off we went.

John was super excited to be at OU and to go to the game and see Boomer and Sooner. First we met up with Granddaddy and then walked over with him to our seats. Carl found us seats on the goal line on the first row! Was not the best seat to actually watch the game, but it seriously could not have been better for a kid. We were right in front of the cheerleaders and all the action. We were able to stand John up on the wall so he cuold see and we did not have to hold him the whole time.

He got to see and give high 5's to both the Boomer and Sooner mascots and then the rough necks gave him an empty shotgun shell for a souviner. There was a fly over becuase it was the airforce game. Those planes were REALLY loud, so John covered his ears for most of the game. The cheerleaders LOVED him, in fact a couple of them got off beat or whatever becuase they were watching him. After the game was over they all swormed him. He was being a ham and did his "OU" arm signals for them.

Overall it was an awesome day and I can not wait to do it again!

New recipes last week

After my Ten on Tuesday, it was suggested that I post the new recipe trials from last week. I thought it might be fun to do this and document what we eat these days... I am not all that great at including all the references and details that I should, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Monday
I was craving buffalo chicken wings so we brought in food (still craving it, although I have had in at least 3 other times since then. I need to get a hold of some good ones.)

Tuesday
Pepper Crusted Grilled Flank Steak (http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/beef/pepper-crusted-grilled-flank-steak/)

This one will be a keeper!
Followed recipe exactly, was a little under done, would have gone 2 more minutes on each side.
And in the spinach mayo, I decreased the mayo and added some horseradish sauce and it was a good addition.

Wednesday
Cuban Midnight Sandwich (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cuban-Midnight-Sandwich/Detail.aspx)

Again, I think this one is a keeper!
Inspired by our trip to Florida.
Provolone instead of swiss
This is not actually a Cuban sandwich as it has no pork and the dressing is different, but the idea is there. J


Thursday
Seared pork chops with orange chipotle glaze (http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/pork/seared-pork-chops-with-orange-chipotle-glaze/)

Okay, so I am 2 for 3 this week, not bad considering my track record (just ask Carl)! This was just okay. I served it with aspargus instead of the mashed potatos. I cooked the pork WAY longer than it said too. still did not seem overdone. I jsut don't think pork is my thing.

School / MDO

John's first day of school/MDO was back on 9/1/10. It was an emotional day for us all!

To set the stage... his supply 'theme' this year was camoflauge. He has a camo nap mat, lunch box and book bag. All of his lables are printed on camo stickers as well. And of course I dressed him in camo shorts for his first day.

We have been talking with him and reading about school for a couple of months now to help prepare; this preparation tactic really seems to work with John.

So... the morning of....I woke up late (ugh) and spent over half an hour making his lunch. Not real sure why, just wanted it to be perfect. :) Woke John up later than I had anticipated, so we were running a little behind. He takes quite a bit of time to wake up, eat and feel ready for the day. I should have planned better, becuase the rushed feeling of the morning was not a good one. I had to hurry and take pictures, otherwise, there would have been 1000!

Mama, Daddy and John loaded in the car, and off we went. When we got there, he put his bookbag on his back and walked in without a fuss. He unloaded all of his stuff into the right bins, hugged and kissed me goodbye, hugged and kissed Daddy goodbye... and then... came back to me...ugh... this is when the teacher saw the beginning of the melt down so she swooped John out of my arms as I start to cry and took him into the room. With my sunglasses on, I quickly walked out of there balling my eyes out. Thank God Carl was there with me or I might not have gone through with it.

When I went to pick him that day, he was in an awesome mood. They SAID he napped, but I am not so sure about that.

Day 2: I woke up earlier and had plenty of time for John to get adjusted. As we are leaving it is POURING down rain. When we get to the school, I am trying to juggle the nap mat, lunch box, bookbag and umbrella all while trying to get him out of the car without getting soaked. It was not a pretty site! Once inside, he was okay, but then after offloading all of his stuff and time to go into the classroom, he practically ripped my shirt off and was screaming! I was suprisingly fine. The teacher again swooped him from me and took him inside. I stood outstide the classroom and not 3 seconds went by before I hear him playing with the toy garage thing. He TOTALLY put on a show for me.

Day 3: He hugs and kisses me while keeping one eye on the classroom and then BOLTS inside to do the table activity. It has been that way ever since! YEAH! He loves school!

A breakthrough!

As mentioned in the earlier "Ten on Tuesday" post, I believe we are knee deep in the terrible twos. I do think it is combination of several things that are contributing to this phase, but calling it the terrible two's just seems easiest.

Between school starting, sleeping issues, traveling, change in overall schedule and possibly talk of the new baby I think John is going through a tranistion phase right now. This includes testing boundaries, gaining independce and bravery and pushing buttons!

The majority of the time he is still my little angel and all he really wants his your attention. But then there are those moments of pure defiance that seem to overshadow the day and wear on my last nerve. I am making a strong conserted effort to maintain patience and a cool town of voice, but I have to admit that it is hard sometimes.

Time outs were working, but now he will go into the corner and talk and laugh and count. Does not seem to effect him anymore. Carl came up with something the other night in response to one of his bed time hitting fits that has really seem to make a breakthrough and is getting through to John. Taking toys away, and having to earn them back. He really responds to this and then when he earns it back he is so proud of himself.

Still a work in progress, but a step in the right direction.

Ten on Tuesday (9.21.10)

1) John is having some sleeping issues. Even though I know he is SO tired, he is having trouble falling asleep and then wakes up several times a night screaming. I am hoping it is jsut an adjustment from being out of town this weekend. (he is currenly fighting nap and screaming "MOMMY" at the top of his lungs; really trying to ignore it, but I am afraid our neighbors will think we torture this child....update - I went to check on him and he was sitting on the edget of his bed SCREAMING, but no tears. I rocked him for 30 seconds and he was out like a light. ugh)). I think all of his sleep issues boil down to not letting him truly "cry it out" until he was 18 months old.

2) I am obsessed with buying John shoes right now. Sort of like I was with the underwear way back when. He has like 5 pair already for Fall/Winter and haven't even bought him regular tennis shoes yet. Can't beat old navy's sale for $10 a pair.

3) John is loving school, but we have to pry information out of him. He always says "nofing" (nothing) anytime we ask a question. We have to ask very detailed questions to get any other answer. I thought he was too young for this and this would not start until he was older and did not care about school. :)

4) I love that new TV started last night. We recorded pretty much everything and are going to just try them all out and eliminate as we go. :)

5) We are starting to work out again today! Well, Carl is, and I am going to do what I can. We will see.

6) I have SO many blogs I want to post... hopefully I can knowck out a few right now and set them to post this week. Recipes, new disciple techinique, school, football game, etc.

7) Thinking about John's new room and the baby's room. Carl thinks he is getting out of painting the nursery again...but we are not getting new furniture, so the least we can do is paint it! Any ideas on color combinations or themes, send my way. (For Johns room too)

8) Halloween is right around the corner. I think John is old enough to choose what he wants to be, but I am afraid becuase what if it is something I can not produce?!?!

9) Baby boy #2 is as big as an apple these days... so...why is my belly as big as a melon?

10) Is it possible for my child to be bi-polar? Or are we experiencing the terrible twos?!?!?

Ten on Tuesday (9.14.2010)

So, I missed a week last week, but still trucking...

1) John had a rough night last night with this nagging cough. I ended up "sleeping" in one of the spare bedrooms with him... we are both exhausted.

2) There are 2 new baby boys in my neighborhood this week! My next door neighbor and my friend that lives a few houses down both welcomed a new life in the last couple of weeks. Glad baby boy Jones will have some friends his age in the hood.

3) Work is busy again and ever changing. A termination and a promotion has left me and one other peer of mine in the accouting department. Everyone else there (at my level and below) started after I did. Am I getting old? I suppose when I go back after baby boy Jones I will be working for people that used to work for me... wonder how I am going to deal with that...

4) John loves the "Wonder Pets" show and books and animals. It is his new thing.

5) I am feeling 99% better 90% of the time these days. I am about 14 weeks, so I am hopeful in the next week it goes away all together.

6) Speaking of, I hope that I can find the motivation to work out a bit during this pregnancy while I am feeling better. It will sure make it easier not to out on 50 (F.I.F.T.Y.) pounds that I did with John.

7) John's 2nd day of school was a bit harder on him, but as I ducked around the corner to see how long he would cry, it was over before I could blink. It was all a show for me. Then on his 3rd day (yesterday) he literally was kissing out of the corner of his mouth, he could not wait to get inside. He RAN to Ms. Tawnya! YEA!

8) I got to me Zane this weekend! YEAH!!!! He was an absolute doll! Such a smiley and happy boy.

9) Trying some new recipes this week. Must branch out. Must eat healthier.

10) Headed to monthly check up this afternoon - must go wake John...

BIG DAY!

Today was John's first day at "mothers day out". It went very well. I will do a bigger post shortly that will include more details, but I wanted to get these pictures out.

I also wanted to document this day, 9/1/10 as a big day for another reason....

We found out today that we are having another boy!!!! John will have a brother and we are SO pumped about that!

Here are a couple pictures from John's big day: