Sprinkles in the Carpet!

We had another busy day. I forgot to set my alarm for this morning and Jemma woke me at 8:05! It was a fast and furious morning to get them both dressed and fed and out the door. But Jemma was hungry and ate every bite of her cereal and pancake! (Amazing how hungry she is when she doesn't eat her dinner the night before and her Mommy will not allow a snack before bed since the dinner was not eaten!)

After dropping the kids at school, James & I went to the Commissary this morning. It would have been a pleasant trip since it was not busy, but James kept wiggling out of the buckle and standing in the shopping cart! I made the strap as tight as possible, but he could twist his body somehow and manage to get free. I must have sang "Wheels on the Bus" and "Head and Shoulders" several dozen times in an attempt to keep him occupied... usually, I can feed him snacks and he is happy, but this morning he was not interested in eating... his mission was escape!

After I unloaded the groceries, I put a pork roast in the crockpot with apple juice and Dijon mustard for dinner. Then, I put sweet potatoes in another crockpot. Thank goodness for the crockpot! I left dinner cooking while we took Jemma to her tennis lesson. (Poor James...I've had to wake him from his nap both weeks to get Jemma to tennis.) On the way home, the kids and I made a dash into Bloom for strawberries and pound cake and bananas for the chocolate fondue for dessert. Carol, James and Allie came over about 4:30. Then Merin, Mya and Scout joined us about 5:00. It was a yummy dinner and we all had fun.

Here is Jemma holding Scout:

The kids dancing to the Wiggles:

Jemma babying her Monkey:

The kids having a snack (asparagus) before bed:

Now, for the sprinkle story! Carol carries a jar of sprinkles in the diaper bag for James (her son is a James III, too!), because he has a peanut allergy and can't always have treats that other kids are eating. When Jemma saw the jar of sprinkles, she went and grabbed our big tub of sprinkles from the pantry. (Our sprinkles were leftover from a neighborhood social.) I saw Carol shaking the sprinkles like an instrument and the kids were dancing around the living room. I was making a salad and finishing dinner... didn't think anything more of the sprinkles. I suggested that James S. and Jemma go up to her room and play before dinner to give Carol and I an opportunity to chat quietly (relatively quietly since James and Allie were still downstairs.) When Mya arrived, Carol went upstairs to check on our very quiet kids. She came down and asked for the vacuum... she told me to not even question. Apparently, Jemma and James decided to have a "sprinkle party" (their words) by emptying the entire tub of sprinkles on the carpet and then eating them one-by-one. I have vacuumed the room twice and Carol vacuumed once... I'm still finding sprinkles!!! I had the talk with Jemma stressing that food does not leave the kitchen...

Little Escapee

Today was a busy day... there have been lots of busy days, which is good because then there is less time to miss my husband!

Jemma woke just after 4 am... she said that her pullup had leaked, but it had not. Then, she wanted me to cuddle with her, so I did. Then, I left her and went to my bed because she was tossing and turning. It was just after 5 when she came and got in bed with me. She was awake for almost half an hour moving and making noise. I put her back in her bed. She was up again just before 6... I don't think she actually slept between 4 and 6... I tucked her in again and thankfully, she slept until 7:30. I was extremely tired today due to the interruption in sleep. Jemma seemed fine!

This was Jemma's breakfast. I made a double batch of pancakes yesterday and made two butterflies and two hearts for her as a special treat. Once Jemma was off to school, James and I visited Stroller Strides. It is a really wonderful exercise program that incorporates the stroller, so there is no need for childcare. However, I just joined a gym and I like the childcare and time away from the kids! So, although I enjoyed the trial class I will not be joining. However, I would encourage other Moms to check it out! :)

After picking up Jemma and Derek from school, we went to a photo shoot for a new preschool aged activity called "Brainwaves." The lady who is starting the program is a friend of a friend and she needed kids for promotional pictures. I don't know if we will participate once classes begin, but it was a fun activity for the kids this afternoon. (They got to dress up and play with a parachute and listen to a story and play!)

I started mowing the lawn while James was napping. I finished the front and sides. Then, he woke and it was time to feed them dinner. After dinner, they played in the sandbox while I mowed most of the backyard. Then, they got bored and the bugs were beginning to bite. So, I put them in the house with the Wiggles. As I made a pass in the backyard, I saw James running barefoot across the street in the front yard. Thankfully, my neighbor caught the little escapee. I still have no idea how he got outside. Both gates were closed... his head is too big to fit under the front gate but he can go under the back gate. However, he can't open the back door (Jemma can barely open it) and I don't think he can open the front door, but Jemma said she didn't open any doors for him... I am so glad that my neighbor was out front... thankfully, I only had about 5 minutes of mowing left, so I double checked all the doors and made Jemma keep an eye on our little escapee. I'm going to have to be more careful with our little man... he is too smart sometimes!

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Again, I do not know how single parents do it all. I'm trying, and I know that this is only temporary... oh, how I miss my husband!! I'm off to bed... I need sleep!!!

Busy, busy, busy...

We left for South Boston on Friday, 9/19 in the late afternoon. The kids were super wonderful in the car! After James woke from his nap, I played the DVD Cinderella. Both kids were enthralled for the whole movie, although Jemma asked me to turn it off a couple of times because she was a little scared and didn't like what was happening. I would just tell her to keep watching because the ending was wonderful. And it was... So, we only had to pull over once for a potty break!! :)

Look at those yummy sweet potatoes! Jane reading James a beddtime story:

We had a relaxing day on Saturday. Jemma was so happy to play with Aunt Amy's dog:James loves this little statue. He was hugging it and touching it...

We went to a party for a family friend's engagement. Doesn't Jemma look cute in her dress and hat? I wouldn't let her wear the hat to the party, though. James and Jemma loved the music and danced until it was time to leave and put them in bed! Papa reading James a bedtime story:

Sunday was my Dad's 60th Birthday surprise party. I told Dad that Nicole, Amy and I needed some sisterly bonding time and asked if they would take care of the kids. He agreed and suspected little. We decorated and people arrived and the food was ready... Mom got Dad to the fire hall and he was surprised and very happy. He served everyone because he said it was the only way that he knew to make sure that he spoke to every guest.Ray and Bonnie catered... barbecue (I love freshly roasted pig!), hushpuppies, baked beans, potato salad (I don't usually like potato salad, but this was yummy!) and coleslaw. For dessert, we had a huge sheet cake which was absolutely perfect! And there was a bluegrass band that played some of Dad's favorites. The cleanup was not over until almost 4, so I decided to spend an extra night before heading home. The kids riding Coco with Papa:James and Granny on the 4 wheeler:

I woke Monday to a flat tire. There was a huge metal clip that had punctured the tire in two places and made it beyond repair. Jemma "helped" Papa:So, my Dad found a used tire to get me home. (Ironically, I had an appt for 4 new tires on Tuesday already scheduled!) The kids had such fun picking tomatoes and peppers.Although we had a nice visit with my parents and family, it was nice to be back home!

Tuesday was insanely busy. I dropped the girls off at school, then James and I took the car in for the 60K Service and 4 new tires. I decided that I had to rent a car because sitting for 3-4 hours at a dealership with an 18 month old sounds very un-fun. We ran a couple of errands, then got Jemma from school. At 3, Jemma had a tennis lesson. She has done lessons once before, but I think at this age, more is definitely better! Then, I had "open house" night for Jemma's school. "Open house" is not the correct name for this event... it is only for the parents and it is a review by the teacher of classroom rules and policies and curriculum. Last year, I interpreted "Open House" as bring your kids... thankfully, this year they sent a notice that childcare was not provided. During my outing, Jemma went to play with Mya and I hired a sitter for James. Unfortunately the sitter had been sick the previous day and had tons of homework/studying, so her Mom agreed to sit for half of the time. She said that James was fine with the initial sitter, but cried almost the whole time the Mom was here... and she said it was mostly crying and asking for Jemma. How sweet... maybe I'll have to leave Jemma and James with the sitter together next time!

On Wednesday, James and I headed to the dealership to get our car. He must have asked for TV fifty times while we had the rental and could not understand that the car didn't have one. He was so incredibly happy to see our car... he said "Dag-on" as soon as we pulled into the dealership. (Jim started calling it the Red Dragon and the name has stuck.) Then, we went to help with the calendar square preparation for the ship for December and January. Then, we got Jemma at school. And we went to Carol's for dinner/playtime. It was another fun-filled, busy day! Jemma had the microphone and James had the sax at Carol's house:

After dropping off the girls at school on Thursdasy, James and I went to help more with the calendar preparation. Then we went to our second session of "Onesie Rhyme Time" at the library. James keeps everyone laughing with his "Yeah" and clapping at the end of every song or story. He is such a happy, happy kid! The only problem is getting him to stay in my lap. He wants to dance and run around. I did manage to keep him mostly contained during the class. After picking Jemma up from school, we hosted playgroup at our house. After playgroup, it was time for Jemma to finish her homework. We had worked on it a little Wednesday afternoon, but it was due Friday so she had to finish. She does wonderfully writing "1" and "2" and "n" and she knows the site words "is" and "on." She struggled writing the capital "N" and her whole name. She is great with "J" and "mm" but the "e" and "a" are challenging. After James woke from his nap, he was ready for mischief. Here is the little man on the table... he is the reason for childproof caps! After the kids were in bed, I had work to do on Jemma's baby book. It was "Show-and-share: Bring your babybook" and Jemma's book had lots of blanks. There still are some blanks, but after a couple of hours, it was much better!

Friday was much more relaxing. Jemma picked out her outfit for school:I dropped the girls off at school and then took James to MyGym. The ball pit was open and he had a blast! They made a train out of a big vinyl block and a cart on wheels that rolled down a slide and then the instructor "flew" the kid into the ball pit. James wanted to do that again and again! As I was making dinner (chicken noodle soup), James grabbed the canister of raisins... he was a hungry boy and I wasn't getting food fast enough! We had cupcakes leftover from dinner at Carol's, which the kids were very happy to get after eating their dinner!

I went to the Step class at 9 Saturday morning. It had been over a week since I had been to the gym and I needed it. Both kids had a blast playing... James didn't cry and Jemma didn't want to leave. We had a quiet Saturday at home... I did lots of laundry and some cleaning. The kids did a lot of playing. We had pizza for dinner... Daddy has pizza on the ship on Saturday nights, so we are copying and having pizza on Saturdays, too. After the kids were in bed, I watched the whole VT vs. Nebraska game. I was so, so happy that the Hokies won! Yippie!!!

I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast on Sunday. Then we went to church. After church, I decided to take the kids to see the sand sculptures at the beach. As I opened the hatch, I noticed that there was no stroller. I forgot to put the stroller back in the car from Tuesday! I had already paid to park and it was a beautiful day, so I decided to try it with just the Monkey (backpack that has a tail). I had looked online and I thought the sculptures were at 16th street and we were at 19th street, so it would be a very short walk. As we approached 16th street, there was a band playing. So, we stopped and listened to the band and questioned the nice people with a map/program. The sculptures were at 6th street... 10 blocks and no stroller?!? So, after a very unhealthy lunch of hotdogs and chips and milk, I started walking with the kids. We made it to 12th street when I decided to give up and go home. James was too tired to walk and Jemma was complaining that she was hot and tired and there were so many people... so, I put James on my shoulders and the monkey on Jemma and we walked back to the car. Maybe we'll see the sand sculptures next year...

I had a spouse's meeting Sunday night, so our favorite babysitter came to watch the kids. She is wonderful! She gave both kids a bath and they were in bed when I came home. It was so, so nice to have a break! And, she cleaned up all the toys! I sat on the couch with a slice of cake and watched Despereate Housewives. :)

Excuses...

1) I'm tired.

2) I'm lazy.

3) I've been working on getting pictures transferred from the laptop to the new computer.

4) I've just plain been busy.

5) TV is an evil time-sucking device... once I turn it on, I get sucked in...

I love to blog... I miss blogging... I think of what I'm going to blog while getting ready in the morning, then I just don't find the time to sit and type. So, here is hoping that tomorrow I get myself to post an actual full-fledged, picture-laden entry! There is so much to catch up on!! :)

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Jemma's quote from today, "Mommy, I love Daddy the bestest of all." My reply, "Me too!"

James has now added Jemma's monkey (the one from Daddy that talks) to sleep with in his crib. He has the big Elmo, his bear (the one from Daddy that talks), the duck, frog, lamb, big white lamb, pink bunny and a blue blanket. And he knows if something is missing and will ask for it before going to sleep! It is getting to be a very crowded crib.

Day 18 of ???

Jemma is a good kid, or so I believe she is. She likes to test boundaries and her little brain is always ticking. But am I one of those parents?!? Am I not seeing something that I should be seeing? Do other parents discuss my poor parenting behind my back? Or am I really doing ok at this Mom-job?!? Yes, I am always second-guessing myself and questioning my abilities... but the reason for this question is a result of preschool today... today is day 18 of preschool...

I got out of my car (yes, I broke a rule of carpool) to get Jemma because I was a few minutes early picking her up. As I approached the door, Jemma's preschool teaching assistant says, "Ms. C... (Jemma's teacher) needs to speak to you. Wait here." My heart just sank. Jemma is sitting inside the building looking at me while her teacher rushes out the door to speak with me. (Plus the carpool parents are glaring because I'm holding up the carpool lane!)

Apparently, Jemma had asked the teaching assistant to open her squeezable yogurt and she had said not until after she had eaten her other lunch items. This is a rule in the class... you have to eat your main meal and save the "treats" for after you are done. Jemma did not like being told no, so she asked Ms. C to open the yogurt. Ms. C (who had stepped out of the classroom and then reentered) opened the yogurt. Then Jemma went back to the teaching assistant and mockingly said, "Ms. C opened my yogurt." Ms. C and the teaching assistant want me to reinforce respect for them at home.

1) I have the utmost respect for any teacher that can be in a classroom with preschoolers all day! We always talk about listening and doing that the teacher tells you.

2) I have been excited for school to start and we have talked about Jemma's teachers and school in the most positive manner. We've even recommended the school to friends!

3) She is THREE... isn't this pretty normal? Not good, but relatively "normal" behavior?!?

I am wondering... is there some dynamic in this classroom that is not appropriate for Jemma? Do I take her out and find something else? I had a conference last week and now this... preschool is supposed to be fun... we are only 18 days into the year! Right now, I feel stress... stress that I do not need in my life... do I wait this out and see what happens or what?!?

Where did my parenting handbook go?!? Any advice from the blogging world?!?

Time flies...

These past few days have absolutely flown by!

On Tuesday, Derek came over to play after school. James decided that he did not want to nap until 4pm because Derek was here and he thought he may miss something. So, he napped from 4 until 5:10, when he woke hungry! Melissa and Colton joined us for dinner. I had made a simple chicken noodle casserole (leftover chicken, whole wheat noodles, carrots, celery, and peas)... yummy! For dessert we had leftover chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas and cake. James has become such a chocolate lover... he asks for "shock-it" whenever he has milk, so he was thrilled with the fondue! You should see the look of disappointment when it is plain white milk... just priceless. Jemma was so good with Colton. She took his hand and helped him walk (he is just beginning to cruise, but will be walking soon) and gave him toys. We had such a great day of visitors!! :)

On Wednesday I had a parent-teacher conference before school... not a fun thing to do when your child has not been very good... it is only the second week of school... and it is pre-school! Hopefully, all is settled and it will be my last conference of the year. Then, I dropped James off on base while I went to lunch with Trina. We tried out a little cafe called the Leaping Lizard and it was absolutely wonderful. It will probably be a while before I venture there again (it took us 30 minutes to drive there), but it was so worth the drive. They use local produce and make everything fresh... it was so, so yummy and very relaxing!! :) After I picked Jemma up from school, we went to the library. She picked out books and played with the toys for a little while. Together, we went and got James. James did not like being away from Mommy. The ladies said that he did great until lunch, then he cried and ate nothing. It was naptime after lunch and they said he laid down for a little while then was upset and crying again. I am so grateful for the break and I know that I'll use the center again... hopefully, James will get better with time! We went to library storytime after dinner and both kids loved it! We even got a very special treat... Daddy called and got to talk with both kids. :) On the way home from the library, Jemma said "Mommy, I love Daddy the best." I smiled and said, "I know and I'm glad you love your Daddy so much." After a long pause she said, "I love you too, Mommy." I was in bed and asleep by 10 last night... someone called at 10:18 and I remember answering and talking to a man, but I cannot remember who exactly who it was or exactly what we said... I was very, very tired!

Today, time just flew! I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep until Jemma crawled into bed with me at 7:30. We snuggled for about 2 minutes when she announced, "I want cereal and yogurt and orange juice." So, we went downstairs for breakfast. While she ate, I made her lunch. (I thought it was a good lunch, but she ate virtually nothing.) It was 8:20 when James finally woke. After Jemma left for school, James and I ate our cereal together and he helped me do laundry and begin packing. When I looked at the time again, I realized that I needed to shower and feed him lunch to make it to the library for Onesie Rhyme time by 11:30! He loved the Rhyme time. Although, he is not interested in sitting on my lap... he wants to be up and moving. Only one other kid in the session was up and he just stood by his mother. James was all over the classroom. Jemma was the same way... in fact, Jemma and I went to one story time session and I was so embarrassed that I never went back because she would not be content to just sit in my lap for 30 minutes and listen to the stories. I had a neighborhood social planning meeting this afternoon, so the kids got to play at the neighbor's house in the backyard. They have a swingset and the kids had a blast swinging and sliding! Jemma and Mya rode their bikes and I pushed James on his tricycle... they thought they were such big kids! It was such an incredibly beautiful day that I opened all the windows in the house for the whole day. I love being able to have the windows open! I made a yummy dinner... I diced some tomatoes from my parent's garden, sauteed them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and fresh basil , then tossed in whole wheat pasta and some leftover chicken... then I topped it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese... absolutely fantastic!! You certainly don't get tomatoes that taste that good most of the year! Both kids loved it, too. James ate everything and asked for more! :) Jemma went to play with Mya while James and I ran a few errands after dinner. It was a fun, full day! Now, I'm off to bed... I need some sleep! We're off to visit with my family this weekend, so I should have lots of pictures to share next week! :)

Hot, hot, hot!

Today was hot! But the lawn needed to be mowed and they predicted showers for this afternoon and tomorrow, so I did it this morning. James was so good. He played in the pool and on the front steps while I mowed the front lawn. He was crying and uncomfortably hot in the sunshine, so I took him inside and let him watch Seasame Street while I mowed the side yards. Then, he played on the deck and in the sandbox while I mowed the backyard. He was crying and saying "Dag-on" when I stopped the mower... I had left the TV on and he could see that Dragon Tales was on through the window. He is such a TV boy... he loves TV, especially Elmo! We played in his room with his train and blocks and stuffed animals before going to get Jemma at school. He is just a happy kid! This afternoon the kids played outside in the pool.
James watering the plants:
Jemma watering the driveway:
Mya joined in the fun:
When pool time was over, they decided to play "soccer", which meant rolling around in the freshly mowed lawn with wet suits and bodies! So, they were covered in grass. When it was time for me to get ready to go to the Gym, I first had to take the kids up for a bath! After the gym, I treated the kids to chicken nuggets from Wendy's.


The best part of today was a phone call from my husband. I love to hear his voice! It just makes me happy!! :)

Pictures

Today was a relaxing day at home. It was hot and humid... so hot that the kids didn't even want to spend much time outside. Even when we played outside after dinner, we were all sweating!

Today is Olivia's birthday... Happy Birthday to you!!! I'm sorry, but your gift and card are going to be late!!!

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Pictures from last week:

Wednesday - getting ready to go to the library

James loves his "Monkey Juice" (Nutripals toddler drink)

Happy Birthday to Me - My birthday present from Leeann arrived today... I needed a little pick-me-up so this was a very welcome surprise!

Thursday - Playing outside (perfect weather... a little cool with a breeze)

The kids loved playing with the cones... Jemma and the girls rode their bicycles, tricycles, scooters through them, James stacked them and carried them around then unstacked them and restacked them, they tried to balance them on their heads... who knew cones could be so much fun?!?

Friday - James playing with his train