Keeping Track of Lauren & Jack » May 2008 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Sat, May 24, 2008 11:08 PM
Thursday we had a tour of PETCO with the Mom's club, and the kids got to pet a guinea pig, a turtle, and they got pretty close to a parrot. They love going in there but they're probably still a little young for the educational part, so I almost prefer going in there on our own so we can go at our own pace.

Jack is doing great, so I decided that Music class would be OK on Friday. We had a good class and he was even good natured enough to forgo our usual post class romp in the playground in favor of the tire store. I needed to get my tires balanced and aligned. We had lunch at our favorite pizza place nearby, and I marveled at how much easier it is to eat out with just one!

I decided to bite the bullet and rent a storage unit. I had been toying with the idea for a while, but there was no where to put the chest that Jack hit his head on, and I don't want to get rid of it, and we can't put something like that in the garage becasue of the heat and humdity. So I spent most of Friday afternoon emptying out our guest room (which serves as storage when no-ones visiting) in preparation for Auntie Tati's arrival next week. I got most of the holiday decorations out of here, as well as a table and 4 chairs that have been crowding up the office. The kids seemed to think I was going to a garage sale since that's what's usually happening when I'm moving things outside! The funniest thing though is watching them re-discover all the toys I had hiding in the guest room. I really should try to rotate things on a regular basis. But what I reallly need to do is purge, purge, purge!

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Wed, May 21, 2008 11:42 PM
Yesterday was a monster of a day. It started out promisingly enough as we headed to the Aquarium with friends from Music class, Darren and his mom Lisa. When we got there, however, Jack pretty much wanted to stay in the stroller and seemed very tired and cranky. He just wasn't himself. He didn't seem to have a fever, his apetite was good and he drank plenty of fluids, so I'm really not sure what was going on. Unfortunately the outside water play area was closed becasue it was a bit stormy, so we actually got out of there right after lunch. We met up again at a playground in our neighborhood so the kids could run off some of their energy and Jack seemed to perk up then, even though it was terribly hot. Sara came and put Jack down for a nap and Lauren refused to sleep but consented to sit quietly and watch a movie on the couch. With all at peace I headed off to run some errands.

I decided to go to a mall across town becuase I haven't been there in a while and they have a good selection of the stores I wanted to go to. They have the only Disney store in the area and I found some little things for Jack's upcoming big 3rd b-day. Just as I was about to head home I got a call from Sara that Jack had fallen and hit his head and he had a cut. My head was spinning as I started imagining the worst. She said it bleed a little but wasn't bleeding anymore. I told her to take him to the after hour pediatric place right around the corner, but then I realized I had both car seats in my car. I told her to call Mike and I would be there as soon as I could. I told her to give him some Motrin and put some ice on it to prevent swelling. I raced home and got there in record time. Mike was home and he didn't seem overly concerned. Jack greeted me at the door telling me he hurt himself and showing me his head. It was hard to see because it was at the back of his head and his hair was covering the cut. For some reason I had been thinking all the time that it was on his fore-head. It didn't look awful, but I decided right away to take him to the doctor, even if it was just for my peace of mind. It was already about 7:30 by that time, which is when he usually heads to bed. He was laready in is PJ's, but I just threw some crocs on him and headed out the door. The after hours place is really close by, less than 5 minutes away, and luckily we didn't have to wait too long. Once the nurse really cleaned out the wound we could see the cut was about a centimeter wide and there was quite a bump. The doctor decided to put 2 staples in there to make sure it heals together properly. I guess they do staples now instead of stiches. He told me he was just going to do one, and that with just one they don't administer any local anesthetic. Then he lied and did 2! It was very hard to watch them put them in, knowing it was hurting Jack even more, but he calmed down right afterwards and then seemed pretty normal. He was placated with a hot-wheels sticker and they gave me a sheet of what to watch out for in case of concussion. We have to go back in a week and take them out again. He was in bed by about 9PM, so it wasn't terribly late. They told me to wake him up breifly every 3-4 hours, to make sure he's not in a comatose state. I did wake him about midnight, but I didn't have the heart to do it again.

Today Jack has really been fine, but we took it easy anyway, missing playgroup and the Mygym class we were going to make up. He accompanied me to the grocery store and that was probably the most exciting thing he did all day. We ordered his Lightning McQueen cake which is actually made up of cupcakes you can pull apart. He's very excited. The hardest thing today was telling both kids not to rough-house or wrestle since that's how the fall happenend in the first place. Sara didn't actually see it happen, but our best guess is that he fell back off the couch and hit the handle on the chest we use as a coffee table. I have officially decided to remove that chest as soon as possible!

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Mon, May 19, 2008 9:19 PM
Gosh I didn't realize it had been so long since I blogged. Friday Lauren had her last game of soccer which I messed up because I got the time wrong and she only got to play about 10 minutes. I apparently looked at the wrong division on the schedule. Why do all the teams have to have the same names? Grrr! Oh well, Lauren was easily placated by the balloon artist who made her a purple fish!

Saturday it was "Bring a friend" week at ballet class, so Lauren was thrilled to bring Taylor, who seemed equally pleased, and then we went for an impromtu lunch at this cute tea place on the way home. They gave the girls both real china cups and brought them lemonade in a tea-pot. Lauren kept saying, "Wow, this place is so pretty Mommy!" It was only possible because we had left our younger children at home. Jack would have torn that place apart, but he had some special bonding time at home with Daddy.

Sunday I drove over to Vero Beach (East coast of Florida) for a large group audition for theatres all over the state. Mike stayed home and took the kids for Lauren's medal presentation at the church where she takes soccer. It wasn't really an award ceremony since each kid got one, but it sounded like they enjoyed it. Today Mike took Lauren to school and I was impressed to see that he braided her hair, and even used a hair band that had hearts on it which matched her dress! I was grateful to see that they survived without me, but I got a nice welcome when I came home tonight. I think I might have missed them more then they missed me, so it was great to be on the receiving end of all those hugs and kisses!

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Wed, May 14, 2008 11:57 PM
Today we had a field trip with the Mom's Club to the local fire station, which Jack has been anticipating for weeks now. So much so that he was too excited to settle down and nap despite being in his crib for at least an hour and a half. I considered leaving him home with Sara, but I knew it would just break his heart, so we picked Lauren up a little early (SHE was actually napping which seemed rare and I hated to wake her up) and off we went. They had a great time and got to climb in the truck and Jack held a fire hose and it all seemed to live up to the great expectations. Only at the very end was he screaming that he wanted to lay down. He never did nap but he came home and quietly lay on the couch with Sara watching "Enchanted" and was very brave during the scary scenes with the evil Queen. Lauren and I went down the street for an impromtu play-date with Taylor. Hailey is finally walking! She's now trying to keep up with those crazy girls which is sort of futile, but it doesn't stop her trying. And I met the bunny who is very soft and will sit willingly in your lap and allow soft stroking. Most of the time he spent under the coffee table though, where he was (mostly) safe from those inquisitive little fingers!

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Sun, May 11, 2008 9:18 PM
Happy Mother's Day Everyone! Mine was great, except for the fact that I wasn't feeling very well. I got to sleep in a bit, then I was given a gift bag with all kinds of goodies, a book of quotes titled "Women know Everything" (well, of course we do!)and a photocopy of the framed print which is on it's way in the mail called "Emotional Actress" and is like one of those old fashioned ads. I love it! My flowers and chocolates came the other day, and then we all went out to brunch. Jack had a mini tantrum on his way to get his diper changed screaming at the top of his lungs "I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE MY DIAPER!! I muttered "That's right, Happy Mother's Day, Mommy" under my breath as I tried to wrangle him along and it received a few chuckles along the way. And when we got there, of course, there was no changing table so I used the pull-up that I keep in the diaper bag for just these occaisions. (I am REALLY ready to be done with diapers even if Jack is not quite there yet!) But all in all it was a nice meal, and the kids even ate a bit of their food!

Otherwise it was a sort of lazy day for me which included a very self-indulgent 3 hour nap, and a nice family walk after dinner. I was glad to be able to speak to both Grandma Elizabeth and Grandma Irene on the phone and was pleased that they recieved their cards from the kids which they had picked out and dutifully colored with crayons before we sent them off.

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Sun, May 11, 2008 8:16 AM
Thursday was Lauren's playgroup and it was at the Ackermans's house, which we haven't been to very often, so they were very excited to see a bunch of different toys. Their son Jack is about Lauren's age and they have his bed and boxspring down on the floor with no headboard, and the kids were all up on there bouncing. It made me think that maybe we should do that for Lauren and Jack as a transitional step, except that the bouncing makes me very nervous. I cracked my head bad enough for an ER visit when I weas little from jumping on a bed and hitting the headboard. I've decided to wait to make the move to the big beds until after our trip to Barcelona because I don't think there's adequate time to make the transition, and I don't want to have Jack free to roam the house when Tatiana's here.

Friday was music class for Jack and it went pretty well. He's even drinking his milk out of his regular sippy cups now. Then I took him to get a haircut at a new place and despite my lengthy discussion about leaving it longer on top, it's MUCH shorter! Oh well, it'll grow in no time and it's getting so hot here it's probably for the best, but I don't think I'm going back there again.

I left Jack home with Sara all afternoon because we had Lauren's dress rehearsal for her ballet recital, and then we had to run straight to soccer. I had a very scary incident that still gives me the chills. I left the car on so the a/c could run while I put Lauren's soccer cleats on while she was still seated in her car seat. Well, somehow the car was not in park and started rolling slowly forward, which would not usually be a huge problem except that we were mere yards from a major road. Lucklily I was able to jump back in the car and stop any major catastrophe as my door was still open. I'm still freaked out at how it all happened, but safe to say I won't leave the car on while I'm not in the driver's seat. Yikes.

Yesterday was equally as hectic. IN the morning Lauren had to have her picture taken for her soccer team and I took her to breakfast afterwards. She ate pancakes for the first time in recent memory, mostly because it was chocolate chip. Then we had Sara come and stay with Jack while he was napping, while Mike and I took Lauren over to our neighbor Taylor's birthday party. We went an hour early because we had to leave for her recital about 45 minutes after the party was due to start. There were some tears as we had to drag Lauren away, but she was fine once we got in the car. The recital was fine, it was the theme of Miss Spider's tea party and she was a bumble bee. She didn't really do her routine but she didn't have a meltdown or anything. She just sort of stood there looking shell-shocked for most of the time, blinking as she started out into the lights! Afterwards we headed straight back to the party. Sara had brought Jack after he woke up from his nap, but they had left because it was a Peter Pan theme and Taylor's dad Charles had dressed up like Captain Hook, and apparently Jack got very freaked out so they went home. But once we got home Mike brought him back to the party and they all had a good time in the bouncy house pirate ship slide.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

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Wed, May 7, 2008 9:36 AM
Well we survived going to Disney on Ice on Sunday! I feel like we were preparing for it all day long. I made a point of getting both kids down early for naps and I prepared lots of snacks since the show was at 5PM and I knew they would get hungry. We went with Allison and Taylor and Allison was nice enough to drive since she has a 3rd row in her car, and we were leaving the men at home. We even went early enough to view the "Princess Collection" which was an exhibition with various dresses and mementos form the stories. I have to say, those Disney folks don't dissappoint, the production values were very high and the kids were very excited. The show was called "Princess Wishes" so all the favorite princesses were there. There was enough to keep Jack amused, there were the Dwarves with Snow White, pirates with The Little Mermaid, and Goofy, Minnie & Mickey Mouse kept weaving their way through the various stories. I tried my best to avoid the merchandising stands, but finally fell victim to the Ariel wand that lit up and played music, or rather Lauren and Taylor did. I felt guilty not gettig Jackk something so I got him some little binoculars. Afterwards we went to dinner at a restaurant in Ybor city which was interesting since they were all so wound up!

As if that wasn't enough Taylor time, they went down for a playdate on Monday after school to see Taylor's new bunny rabbit. I was out running errands so I did not witness the fluffy creature, but apparantly he's very cute and his name is Hocus-Pocus(from the movie Frosty the Snowman). Or rather, he was renamed Peter after much consideration.

Playgroup for Jack was at my new friend Jody's house. She has two girls, on is about Jack's age and the other is just a bit older. They played outside a lot with their water table and we had fun with bubbles. She wound up inviting us to stay for lunch, since we were the only guests today, which was very gracious of her! I thought Jack might take after their wonderful role-modeling and eat some veggies, but it just wasn't happening.

I got some new containers for all the craft supplies and I've started doing a major cleanup and purge in the playroom, but it's a very daunting task! It's going to take me quite a while to clean out months and months of just piling things any which way. The big surprise is that Lauren was a big help, and she just loves to sort things! She must get that gene from Mike. . . : )

I am trying some new strategies with all the screaming and getting out of bed. I'm trying to ignore the sreaming as much as I can, but I can't say it's easy. I had to take Sadie for a walk, it was that hard. I was all ready to draw the line with Lauren's multiple potty runs after she's in bed for the night, but of course she didn't make an appearence tonight. Not to worry, I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to try out my new approach.

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Sat, May 3, 2008 9:38 PM
Friday morning they had a Mother's day tea party at Lauren's preschool which was very cute. They had little cinni-buns and brownies and iced tea, and then Ms. Nicole read a story about shopping with Mommy, and then we each received a flower made from issue paper and popsicle sticks by our beloved kiddos. It was a little hectic because I had Jack in tow, but he makes himself right at home in that classroom, which I hope is a good sign for this Fall!

Jack's music class was good, and we didn't have any tantrums to speak of, which was a relief for me! During the drum song Jack was pounding on the big drum so hard, I was worried he might break it. Then during the kitchen song he was very interested in all the bowls, not to make percussion with, but as buliding materials and he kept stacking things together and making little stuctures. You can never tell what his little mind is going to come up with!

Jack's last swim class went very well, so we bid goodbye to Ms. Emma for a while. I'm so glad we did this refresher course, they are both so much more confident in the water. Then we had to change and rush right over to soccer. Lauren played quite a lot, even if she was just sort of running around after everyone else. At least she seemed happy to be there! Mike met us there and we had dinner together afterwards which has become a sort of nice family event after soccer.

And the best news was that at bathtime, Jack said he wanted to go potty, and he sat down and peed! I saw it happen! Yippee! He was very pleased to get a jelly bean, and I could tell that he understands that the potty is where he's supposed to pee. Now if we could just get a repeat performance, that would really be something!

Today I sent Jack off with Mike to the Air show at McDill Airforce base. Lauren had ballet class and also a production rehearsal for her big ballet recital next week, so we couldn't all go together, and tomorrow won't work, so they had a boys day out which I think was fun for both of them. After ballet class, Lauren and I went shopping for a birthday present for her best friend Taylor who's birthday is coming up this week. I had planned for us to go out to lunch, but she said she didn't want to, which suprised me, but I was happy to come home, she always eats better at home anyway. After much wrangling I finally got her to nap a little. I felt terrible waking her up to go to her rehearsal, but one hour's rest is better than nothing!

Dinner tonight was fraught with drama, mostly because when we got home, Lauren saw our neighbor Dominick playing outside, so they both went out there (with Mike supervising) to play while I was cooking dinner. Getting them back inside prioved to be a diificult task, and they were very wound up from all their playing. Then, just as we were finishing up, out of no-where, Jack threw up his entire meal. He was upset because of the mess, but once we got him cleaned off he seemed perfectly OK again. I hope he's not coming down with something, but I took the precaution of giving him a pedia-sure before bed instead of milk, and he went right to sleep. Hopefully he'll be back to normal in the morning. Poor little guy.

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Thu, May 1, 2008 11:47 PM
Today we had an interesting playgroup. It was all outside in the garage and on their driveway because our host's husband works from home and had a conference call. We brought the new big wheel sort of bikes and the kids finally started riding on them like they're meant to be used. I think I should make them wear helmets though, which I forgot today. The other interesting thing was she had some little orange cones and they were great for making an obstacle course. I may have to invest in some of those to use on our long driveway.

At lunch I tried having them help make their PB&J's which was an interseting experiment. They both got up on the learning tower with their little toddler knives. They did great with the spreading, but when we got to cutting it went a bit haywire! But they were much more interested in sitting down to eat said sandwiches since they were involved in making them, which was really the whole point.

Jack got a little hysterical before his swim test in his clothes, and the only thing I can think is that when we arrived Ms. Emma was over by the water slide with the girl who goes before us, training her on how to land properly and swim to the wall. I think Jack thought he would have to go down the slide, even though I explained that he wouldn't and soon Ms Emma was back in her normal spot. After all the theatrics, he still did great and didn't seem too hampered by all the clothes and his shoes, which get really heavy when wet and must make everything much harder.

On the way home we stopped by Target because that seems to be the only place I can find the size 7 Pampers. Yes, that's right, size 7. I tried them out and they do seem to fit much better, and for some reason they don't seem to be leaving the purple stains on Jack's legs like they did before, so for now that's what we'll use until we can finally move to pull-ups and even (gulp) underwear!

Something funny, yesterday (on Wednesday), Lauren came home from school was insisting that the next day was Friday. She's very adament about it, and gets very upset when I correct her. Now, I'm very willing to let her have her own ideas on things, but you can't argue about the days of the week, I mean they are what they are! No amount of reasoning with her will convince her, however!

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