Thursday Confessions

1. I'm writing this while sitting in a workshop. I'm a better teacher than I am student.

2. Tomorrow my gal pals and I are going to the I Love the 90's concert. It is going to be so much fun and I'm so ready for a girl's night out. It's my last big fun activity before I start back to school.

3. I'm ready for school to start back. I love routine and structure, plus I love my kiddos and always look forward to seeing them.

4. I finished Parks and Recreation this week and I literally cried when it was over. I started the series at the start of summer and finished it up right when it is time to get back into the groove of work.

5. We've been eating a lot of breakfast for supper lately. It is food that Jack loves and is so simple to fix. Win-win!

6. I'm a huge Big Brother fan and my eyes were open to Michelle and how much of a mean girl she is. I'm team James as of now although I'm not just thrilled that he went back on his deal.

7. This child right here has been such a ham lately. He has been saying "thank you so much" and "that make me so happy".

8. I got a new planner from Walgreens and I love it. It is super cute, the perfect size, and has the right components that I need. 

9. I've been obsessing over the app Wunderlist. I've used it before and didn't use it effectively but now, in this time of my life, I'm really loving it. 

10. My bestie is on vacation at the beach so I'm not calling/texting her with my day to day problems. In order for us to talk about my daily stuff later I've been emailing her and she is going to read them on her ride home. There is a whole email on my issues surrounding my sadness on finishing Parks and Rec and another on how Jack refuses to poop in the potty. I'm so glad my kid-less best friend is such a rad gal who listens to kid stuff.

Christmas in July Gift Exchange

I participated in this years Christmas in July Gift Exchange. Jack and I were paired up with Courtney and Aria over at Sweet Turtle Soup. 

Jack was at daycare when the package arrived so I laid everything out for him for when he came home. When I picked him up I told him he had presents at home. He was very excited and I don't think he believed me until he saw them. 

The first thing he opened was the book Zootopia. He had just watched it for the first time on Saturday so he was familar with it. We read it right away. I'm sure I'll be reading this book many times to come.

The second gift we opened were these really cool bath pipes. I'd never seen them before but I knew he would love them. 

The third gift we opened were these really cool pop molds. We made lemonade popsicles right away. I'm made homemade lemonade earlier so I knew it would be the perfect thing to use for popsicles. They actually froze within a few hours and Jack and I both enjoyed 2 each after supper. 

White the popsicles were doing its thing, Jack wanted to play with his new bath pipes. Typically I don't give Jack his bath until after supper but he was so excited that I gave in. He loved them! I put them in the tub first but he quickly learned how to take them off and put them in different spots. These pipes will be used for a long time to come. 

Mama Reset Button

If you have been around these parts for long then you know my sweet child Jack can be more than a little wild. There are many times where he drives me to my breaking point.

Do you ever lose your cool and react in an unfavorable way? Those times are when I really get frustrated with myself. I have to remind myself to pull it together and hit the reset button.

Jack having fun with my $65 face cream.

Jack dumped a whole bag of goldfish crackers in my bed. While he was sitting in timeout and I was cleaning up the mess he pooped in the floor and I didn't see it and stepped in it.

These are just two recent examples where I needed to hit the reset button.

Here are a few ways I hit the reset button.

1// Walk away. This is not always an easy one because when Jack is in his wild mood he gets extra clingy. It is like he wants to roll all over me and whine. If I'm able to walk away, I do.

2// Say a quick prayer. Lord please give me the peace and love to deal with this child.

3// Break out the rare toys like play-doh, ipad, or put on their favorite show. Use this time to take a quick mama break. I like to quickly write in my journal and write down my frustrations.

4// Eat something indulgent like one of those brownies I made last night.

5// Put Jack in the car, roll down the windows, and turn up the music. We have had to do this a few times this summer. We head to Sonic and get a slush and when we get back home the tension is over.

6// Say "poof, it's over"  while throwing up my hands. It signals to Jack and myself that we need to leave this particular incident alone and move on. I learned this from a fellow teacher when two of her students would have an issue or if a child was upset because they got in trouble.

What are some ways that you hit the reset button?

Cousin Love

Since Jack is an only child I am so thankful for the relationship that Jack has with his cousin Bennett. It works out great that we live next door so Jack pratically has a live in playmate. If we are heading outside I'll call my sister to see if Bennett wants to play too. If I'm going to pick up donuts I'm gonna call them too. We live a little ways out of town so it is nice to call next door and see if I can pick them up something if I'm going up town.

Since it is summer time I'm picking Jack and Bennett up from preschool early and we typically head to get a chocolate shake or sno-cone. They are really enjoying me picking them up. We will then head home and sit outside to enjoy our treats.

Bennett and Jack are like brothers. They fight like brothers and love each other so much. They don't let anyone else even say an unkind word to each other before they are ready to stand their ground for their cousin.

They frequently ask to see the other and if one is doing something fun they are wondering why their cousin isn't there. They have gotten into physical fights a few times but are always quick to make up and be friends again. Often when one has something and the other wants it, they will just hand it over. However, they are quick to run to someone and say "I made a good choice".

My wish is that they always have this bond. Bennett is 18 months older than Jack and within the last year their ages haven't made much of a difference. For the most part they get along well, play together, and look out for each other.

Enjoy ice cream cones

PawPaw found them matching hats

Eating chocolate donuts in bed

These are just a few pictures of these two from the weekend and there are so many more. They spend a lot of time together and it just makes my heart so happy to see them love each other. I'm looking forward to seeing their relationship grow and develop. 

Does your little one have a special bond with another like a sibling, family member, or friend? How do you foster that relationship?

Pets and Adventures in Babysitting

Friday night my mom and I took this handsome little guy on a date to dinner and the movie The Secret Life of Pets.  Jack's first movie was The Good Dinosaur and he made it through 20 minutes before we had to get out of there. He has grown up a lot so I decided to give it another go. Plus, he has been laughing so hard when he sees The Secret Life of Pets trailer. 

We made it through the whole movie! It wasn't easy but we made it. A few times I thought we might have to leave. Thankfully the movie was pretty action packed so it would catch his attention and he would sit still for 10 minute increments. We sat on a short row so I let him move around a little. The place was packed with other active kids so I didn't feel bad about him not sitting still. I'll probably wait until November/December before we do the movies again. 

Saturday my niece and nephew stayed with us while my sister and her husband went out of town for their anniversary. Bennett hates nuts (he calls them seeds) and my mom was trying to get him to try a cashew. He ate one and then suddenly this happened. All of this from one cashew. He was weezing and itching so badly. My mom and I quickly took him to the ER. 

We had my sister on the phone so she could hear it all. He has never had an allergic reaction to peanut butter so we never thought a cashew would do all this. The doctor gave him a steroid shot, some Benedryl, a breathing treatment, and did a chest x-ray. This all happened around two and by bedtime he was almost all the way cleared up. He goes to his doctor on Monday to start allergy testing. He gave us quite a scare. It was the wheezing that really was making me nervous. They said if one cashew could do all that then they are thankful he didn't have more. He did really great but kept begging to leave. It is hard seeing someone you love miserable and not fully understanding why we can't just leave. We are just thankful that he is better.

When I left Jack he was laying in bed and when I went to check on him this is what I found. He loves our dog Lily and Lily doesn't care for him so much. Lily is old and set in her lazy ways. Jack likes to pick her up and pretend she is a baby. We'll catch him wrapping her in a blanket. He loves to share his food with her and apparently he likes sleeping with her as well. A boy and his dog is just too cute.

Thursday Confessions

It's been awhile since I've done a Thursday confessions post. I figured it was about time so let me share a little with y'all today.

1. Big Brother is my favorite show right now and although I haven't picked a favorite yet, Frank is growing on me and I love James. I'm pumped that a week from today I'll be traveling north to stay with my bestie so we can watch our favorite show together.



2. Jack's sleeping has regressed. We had gotten to a good season where he was sleeping until at least seven. Not so much lately. This morning I was still asleep and Jack had gotten up. He was laying there watching Paw Patrol so I went back to sleep. When I woke back up he was gone. I jumped up and was running through the house screaming his name. And nothing. I was so freaked out. I then see him hiding in the dining room holding his mouth trying not to laugh out loud. He is so sneaky.

3.  I've found another podcast I love.



4. Speaking of podcasts, I've now listened to all of the episodes of The Girl Next Door. Having to wait for new episdoes is not fun.

5. Yesterday I went to the eye doctor for my annual check up and when the assistant up front told me my new contact perscription I realized it was better than the ones I currently have and I know my eyes are much worse. It didn't make sense so I'm going to stick with what I have. It felt like such a waste. It was a different eye doctor since my regular one was super busy. It just felt frustrating.

6. I use the word "like" too much and I'm working on not using it as much.

7. Volunteering at the pool has been kind of nice. I am able to swim and lay out without having to deal with Jack. The pool hasn't been very busy while I have been there so it has been relaxing. Today I'm going to finish a book, swim a little, lay out, and do some writing. I hope I didn't just jinx myself and it be crazy busy today.

8. I'm sending out my Christmas in July package today to Courtney and Aria over at Sweet Turtle Soup. I hope they enjoy their goodies because I had so much fun shopping for them. I can't wait for them to get it. I'm actually running it to the post office before I head to the pool.

Well that is all I have for you today. I've gotta get to the post office and the pool. Have a good one y'all.

Fourth of July

I posted this picture on Instagram the other day but I wanted to share it on here because we used the heck out of these bubbles. I received these bubbles in my Boy Box Swap. They are $1 at Target and they make the best bubbles. I hope Target has some when I visit there on Thursday. I need to stock up. 

This weekend I made two different desserts. One was just a plain white cake mix with white icing and I let Jack throw some patriotic m&ms on it to make it festive. I also made an ice box cake which I'd heard about on The Girl Next Door podcast. It was so good! I need to do a whole post dedicated to it which is going to be my excuse to make another. 

We have a small kiddie pool in the backyard but Jack and I also spent some time at the pool we joined. I never get any pictures of him there because I stay real close since they don't have lifeguards. It is a private pool and the members take turn working there and I'm opening it up today. 

Last night we decided to go on the hunt for fireworks. On our journey we found a rainbow. We haven't had any rain in forever and we go looking for fireworks and found rain but also a beautiful rainbow. Jack was so excited! The rain did disappear and we saw the fireworks show. Jack would yell with excitement and tell us what color they were. He kept screaming our names and telling us to look. We had to sit in the car because at one point we got out to see and oh my the mosquitos. You literally had to keep your mouth closed so they wouldn't get all in your mouth. 

I hope y'all had a wonderful July 4th!

Friday Morning

I had another post planned but I decided to share my random sleepless thoughts this Friday morning.

It's five am. Jack has been talking up a storm for an hour now. The amount of energy he can have at what I consider the middle of the night is mind blowing to me. He was shaking me at four saying "mama, wake up, I wanna watch Thomas & Friends". I tried telling him Thomas was asleep but apparently he doesn't care if me or Thomas are asleep.

So now I'm up. Coffee, chromebook, and Friday Night Lights in the background. How is it that I can watch the same episode of Friday Night Lights twice in one week? It never tires and today is a season one marathon. However, I doubt I'll be watching much of it because I hope to be sleeping. Jack is going to daycare for awhile so I can rest and take care of a few things like showering and shaving my legs so we can hit up the pool later.

Clearly I can't even hide razors from Jack or he'll find them.

Here is his first shaving experience. Can you tell he is being raised by a single mama? Bless his little heart.

Honestly, I feel bad for even telling people because one might think I was being neglectful. I have the blade packs that just clip onto the razor. I get a big thing of them every Christmas. They are packaged indiviidual. I stored them inside a box and were hid in my drawer. During a commercial break he walks out of the room. He comes back in a few minutes later saying "it hurts". He hands me two razor blades. My stomach turned into knots as I went looking for blood. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad but I felt awful. I still wanted to share the story because sometimes things happen to kids because they are curious and fast. I hope no one judges me and I will be more careful with them. I'm thinking I need to buy me a lock box to keep some stuff in. 

Jack has been obsessed with the family dog lately. He wants Lilly to be his best friend and Lilly ain't so sure of it. She isn't use to being picked up and hauled around the house. The other day Jack was quiet so my mom went to see what he was getting into. She found Jack and Lilly in the bathroom. She walked in and Jack said "Come on Lilly, let's go". I think it's cute how he loves her and wants her to be his pal. 

Just now he brought the dog a book and said "here's a book to read". 

I sure do love this crazy child of mine even if he wakes up at 4 am.