Favorite quote of the day

Stop it, Mike! You're destroying my cutie! - Jackson

Revision to original post. It should be Cootie, not Cutie. Like the game with the bugs. It was funny in person.

Check this out

http://brokenheadstock.com/?p=291

Go on, check it out. It's worth it.

More Mikey Mischief

I know I just blogged about some Mikey shenanigans this morning but I have a little time so I thought I'd do some more. You know those door knob covers that are supposed to keep a kid from opening a door? Well, Mikey can just pop those things right off without any trouble at all. We have 6 doors in our hallway. Three are bedrooms, 2 closets, and the bathroom. We keep those door knob things on all of those doors except Mikey's door. He can pull every one of them off in about 1 minute. We've tried two different kinds and he can get them both off. We've tried wrapping packing tape around the door knob covers to keep him from popping them off and he just carefully finds the end of the tape and pulls it off. We have to open doors for Jackson all the time because these door things keep him out of rooms instead of Mikey. So you might wonder why we keep them on at all or why we keep putting them on all day long. It's because it buys us some time. We hear them come off and we know he now has access to that room. And we go and stop him or remove him from the room and put the thing back on so we can do it all over again. This morning I only needed about 15 minutes to finish getting myself ready for work. It probably actually took me about 30 minutes because I had to keep stopping and getting him out of various rooms or closets. A friend asked why he can't just be in the bathroom with me while I get ready. Because he will put anything he can in the toilet (including himself) faster than humanly possible. Getting ready to go anywhere without Phillip home is next to impossible. Oh...and baby gates. That's another thing. He can knock those over if he wants to bad enough. He just kind of rams his shoulder into the gate over and over and over again until he gets one of the corners of the gate out of the doorway. Then he just knocks the whole gate down and walks over it. That takes much more time and effort than the door knob things. So, any suggestions? Other than tying him up? I don't think we're allowed to do that.

The bandit

Usually Mikey is in his highchair while the rest of us are eating dinner. But occasionally he finishes before us or refuses to eat all together so he's loose while we're eating. This is dangerous. This is dangerous because we have a small round table and he can reach anything that's not in the absolute middle of it. He likes to play this "game" where he innocently approaches the table and then quick as a flash grabs something off the table and runs away as fast as he can. Usually it's something harmless like a napkin or a cracker. But the other night it was a full glass of Sierra Mist. He's a funny kid.

Playing hooky

Jackson woke up with a debilitating leg cramp this morning. He's been limping and howling and crying all morning. I believe that it hurts. I really do. But I also know that Jackson's tolerance for pain is pretty nil. He had this kind of thing before a year or so ago when he had the flu. His electrolyte levels got too low and stiffened up his legs. That's most likely what this is too. I noticed a little while ago that he feels like he has a fever. My almost nurse sister-in-law said that when you've got a virus and/or fever you're more likely to have an electrolyte imbalance. So we'll just be pushing orange juice, bananas, gatorade, and pathetic attempts at walking all day. My mom came over to bring us some gatorade and orange juice. She's compassionate in ways that I am not. She believes he's in excruciating pain and I believe he probably hurts but needs to suck it up. He was milking it while she was here. Now he's stuck with his mean drill sergeant mommy again.

The Bear Hunt

I have a cd of children's music that I copied from a preschool I worked at. Yes, I copied music. Let me explain. For those of you think there is no explanation, then just skip this part. We had about 25 or more children's cds. There were probably only 2-3 songs per cd that I ever used as the music teacher. So, I compiled the songs I liked onto one disk to use at the school. I had the numbers pretty much memorized so it was very easy for me to get to the right song quickly. Before I left, I made a copy for my "records."

Anyway, we have Greg and Steve's "The Bear Hunt" on it and Mikey loves it. He dances and makes up his own little moves and has a lot of fun with it. He will let us watch him do it but if we start to try to do it with him, he gets all bent out of shape. He just stops dancing and closes his eyes and shakes his head and wrinkles up his nose. It's just his own little private activity. He's not very good at sharing stuff. If ever we get a video camera thing, I'll record it. It's pretty funny.

The dark side

I did not have Darth Mikey's permission to take these pictures. He was getting pretty ticked off by the end. Oh well, he got over it.

Endorsement for Seagate throat spray

I've been using Seagate nose and throat spray for over a year now when I start to feel the slightest inkling of sickness. I have been so much healthier the last year. If you have ever been around me much or especially if you've ever worked with me then you know that I get sick alot. I get sinus infections, strep throat, ear infections, colds... very often. But seriously since I've been using this stuff I have been really well. I woke up yesterday morning with a tickle in my throat, which is what led to the accidental use of the anti-itch spray in my throat. I think I was so traumatized by that that I only used my real throat spray a couple of times yesterday. Last night I went to bed about 9:30 with a very sore and very red throat. I really thought it was strep throat. I've had it many times and I know what it feels like. But I woke up several times during the night and used my throat spray and nose spray and my throat feels almost normal this morning. I still don't feel great. My body is little achy and I just don't feel well. I'm not sure if I should go to the doctor or not. I hate to go and be exposed to who knows what at the doctor's office. But if what I had/have is strep throat then this stuff has basically cured it. Even if it wasn't strep, it was something very unpleasant that went away over night. And it's not a placebo because I really didn't think it wasn't going to do any good but I used it anyway. Also, there was a time a couple of years ago that I used their ear drops for an ear infection and it cleared it up without antibiotics.

I wouldn't be telling you about this stuff if I didn't whole heartedly believe that it works. You can buy the throat spray and nose spray and ear drops at the health food store next to Food Lion on Oyster Creek Dr. The store is called Peak Nutrition. The sprays are about $10-$15 a piece.

Throat spray

Just in case you're not one of my facebook friends and didn't see my status today, I thought I would share this embarrassing story. Today is my 31st birthday. Not that I'm fishing for happy birthdays or anything like that. I just think it's important to note that the first thing I did when I woke up this morning was spray anti-itch spray in my throat. I actually sprayed twice before I realized something was very wrong. I really wish I had a video of myself doing this. I think it would probably be very funny to watch. I pretty much freaked out and kind of screamed and started frantically gargling water and spitting it out. My throat has felt weird all day. I'm not sure if it would have felt kind of bad today anyway or if it's the Wal-a-dryl spray. So I hope the rest of my 31st year is not full of similar sorts of calamity. Maybe it will be full of unexpected surprises. The anti-itch throat spray was certainly an unexpected surprise.

Jackson's school work

Okay, I had to take a minute to post a few pictures of Jackson's recent school work. The first two were brought home today. They were done in honor of Martin Luther King. Of course I mean no disrespect to Dr. King (and I'm sure Jackson doesn't either). We all know he was an incredible man. But.....apparently he had green eyes, fangs, and two caucasian daughters. I guess they're fangs. I'm not positive about that.

UPDATE: I confirmed with Jackson this morning....these are indeed fangs. Jackson wanted Martin Luther King, Jr. to look like a vampire.




This is another drawing Jackson brought home before the Christmas break. Just read the directions and see what Jackson decided to draw. I don't think he actually read the directions very carefully. The person is crying and I'm pretty sure that's blood or entrails coming out of his body. This horrible scene was drawn inside a wreath with a happy little bow. Isn't that sweet?

Q: How did you help someone this Christmas season.
A: Well, I called 911 when they got hit by a bus....does that count?

The great homeschool debate

So, I'm thinking I'm about 85% sure that we (I) will be homeschooling Jackson for 2nd grade. I need to make an absolute decision very soon. Phillip is supportive either way but thinks it's kind of my decision since I will be the one doing it. If we decide to do it, we'll take it a school year at a time. We could certainly go back to public schooling at some point. I used to be very anti-homeschooling. I didn't see any legitimate reason to do it. Now I pretty much think that it can be really great thing or a really bad thing depending on the individual situations within that family. Jackson has done extremely well in public school so far and I have no major gripes about his public school experience. But he is rather bored and unenthusiastic about school in general.

We've weighed the pros and cons that we can think of and I just really think it could be a good thing for both of us. It would provide him with much more time to spend with his entire family, including extended family, which is very important to us. And I think it will give me the chance to really hone in on his interests and help him explore those things more than can be done in a public school environment. There are lots of reason to do it. There are lots of reasons not to do it. One of the things that keeps coming up from people I talk to is the whole "social aspect." But I haven't heard a lot of real specific questions or concerns related to this. Just the worry that the child won't be "socialized." If they mean learning how to fit into a crowd even though you really couldn't care less about that crowd then I'm cool with him not mastering that. If they mean placing more of a value on friends and activities than family, then I'm okay with him skipping out on that too. Those are most of the social things I learned in school and I think it took me a lot of years to relearn what I knew when I was little. And that's that God made me who He wants me to be and I should be proud of that and not try to change myself to be what others think I should be. Our primary motivation for homeschooling would not be to shelter Jackson from "the world." It's first and foremost an opportunity to spend more meaningful time with him. Secondly, to provide him with a top notch education where he's not spending half his day sitting and waiting. And thirdly, to help him learn who he is without being told who he is by others.

I know by posting this, I'll get opinions on it and I'm totally cool with that. The decisions is ours to make but I'm not opposed to hearing what people have to say about it...good or bad.

Delayed? I don't think so.

It is accurate to say that Mikey has a speech delay. It is probably even accurate to say that Mikey has a significant speech delay. I accept that as fact. I don't like it and I wish that weren't the case but I accept it. But it is not accurate to make the blanket statement that he is significantly delayed. There's a big difference between these two statements. And it's really not just semantics. He is not verbally speaking on the same level as other kids his age, granted. But he is not overall delayed. I know some of you without children or perhaps some of you with Jackson type children might think I'm overreacting. And many people may think that we are blind to the truth...unwilling or unable to see Mikey objectively. And you know, that's true. I can't totally look at my child without feeling or emotion getting in the way.

So, Mikey might not be able to speak in complete sentences yet. But here are just a few things that he can do and do very well.

- He can verbally say about 10 words...give or take...depending on his mood.
- He can sign about 20 words. He does these on his own and absolutely knows the meaning. This number could be much higher if I would get more aggressive with teaching him more signs.
- He understands just about everything we say and follows directions....if he feels like it.
- He can jump like no 2 year old you've ever seen.
- He can match shapes and colors.
- He can stack blocks very high....just so he can knock them down and do it again.
- He can throw a ball very hard and pretty accurately.
- He can run around almost the entire block...yes run, without stopping.
- He can hold my hand in the mall willingly for about 45 minutes...that's the new record.
- He can feed himself using a fork and a spoon. He holds them "correctly" and doesn't make *too* much of a mess.
- He can blow kisses and give kisses.
- He can remember things that he saw or experienced months ago.
- He can notice and point out differences in his surroundings.
- He knows what objects in the house are for and tries to use them appropriately. For example, the phone, the remote controls, toy guns, keys, vacuum cleaner, computer keyboard.....
- He can interact socially with people very well, even people he doesn't know.
- He can be sneaky and conniving.
- He can sit in one place and watch an entire Wubzy episode...or two. (We really need to limit his t.v. more.)


So when someone tells me that my kid is significantly delayed it bothers me just a little. It bothers me not because I'm scared it's the truth and unwilling to face it. It bothers me because he is so much more than his speech delay. I know that can't be ignored and must be addressed and worked on. We see an intelligence in this kid that trumps any inability to express himself verbally. I want the help and advice of others. I really do. But more than that, I want people to see the whole Mikey package and not just what he can't do...or isn't doing yet.

Mikey turned 2

As I write this, it has been two years exactly since Brandon brought that beautiful baby to our home. In some ways it seems like it has passed in a blink. But on the other hand, there have been many days with this little one that I thought would never end. When Mikey was about six months old I wrote on this blog that he is fearless! That he is going to be the complete opposite from Jackson in every way. At six months old (if not before) we knew that this child was going to make us work. And he has, there's no doubt about that. But I simply cannot adequately put into words what he has brought to this family. But I'll try. He has brought hope, healing, boundless joy, love, laughter..... We love him fiercely. We love him wholly. We were made to love him. If we don't discover any other reasons to have been put on this earth other than to love and protect these two boys, that will be enough. And for Phillip and I to be privileged enough to do this job together is a gift.

In May of 2005 we were facing a very scary situation with a baby boy we ended up losing. His name was Evan and he was very wanted and loved and grieved for. During that time I wrote these words "Someday in the faces of whatever children God gives us I will see the reward. And I hope that the desperation I feel now never completely goes away. I do believe with everything that is in me that someday this will all make sense and I will feel that it has all been worth it."

I get to look into the face of one of the most gorgeous children God has ever created every day of my life. And this child didn't come from my body. He is not biologically related to me in any way. I never felt him kick or have the hiccups as he grew within me. He doesn't have my eyes or Phillip's nose or Jackson's skinny frame. And yet, he is completely ours. We could not love him more. And as hard as the road was to get to him, I can honestly say that he is absolutely worth it. I would not change one single second of my life if it meant that he couldn't be in it. I would go through it all again to get to be his mommy. I hope he always knows this.

So, here are few pictures from my baby's 2nd birthday party. Jackson and I made Mikey a birthday banner and Jackson made tags for Mikey's gifts.

Final Rinse?

I bought some liquid fabric softener at the store the other day. Usually if I bother with fabric softener at all, I use the dryer sheets. I was going to use it for the first time so I read the direction to see what you even do with it. It said on the directions to add the liquid to the washing machine's final rinse.

This really perplexed me. How am I supposed to know when the washer is beginning the final rinse? Am I supposed to have some innate washing cycle sense? Should this be a part of my womanly instincts? Even more ridiculous, am I supposed to keep an eye on it so I know when it's coming? There are plenty of times I forget I even put clothes in the washing machine at all. Is the washing machine supposed to let me know one way or another when the final rinse is happening? Is there a buzzer of some sort? I just stood there as the washing machine filled with water not knowing what I should do. Should I call my mom and ask her? Maybe my mother-in-law or my friend who has an answer for everything household related.

Finally, I just decided to pour it in at the very beginning when I put the detergent in. What's the worst that could happen? And then I forgot about it. I forgot about it because later that evening I put a shirt on that had been freshly washed. It smelled better than our clothes usually smell. I was honestly confused about why this shirt smelled better. Had this shirt ended up with Jackson's clothes somehow and gotten washed at my mother-in-law's house? Then I remembered the liquid fabric softener that I put in with that load of laundry. I don't know if the shirt was actually softer or not. Probably not.

We're kind of silly

You can click on it by the way if you want to actually see the pictures. It's still not real big. I ordered this for our hallway in 5X30.

I stole this from another blog

But I like it. I like the song. And the video is awesome!

Hangin' with Mikey

Now that Phillip and Jakson are back in school, it's just me and Mikey on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Here are a few hanging out pictures from today. Nothing spectacular, just some pictures. He's a pretty kid.

He went down for a nap way to easily today. I'm suspicious as to whether he's actually asleep or not. I wish that stupid poodle next door would shut up. That stupid poodle has woken our boys up from hundreds of naps over the years.

Some friends of our are moving

Okay, our friends aren't actually moving until May or June but I'm already dreading it. I've known they were moving for a while now but it didn't really hit me until Sunday at church. I don't know if I was hormonal or what but I was having a hard time keeping it together. I was very briefly imagining "the goodbye" and it was just too much. I'm not much of a cryer most of the time. I try to avoid that if at all possible. I got home from church and had a good little cry while I was washing dishes. I hate washing dishes. Anyway, I know they won't be gone forever and I know we'll always be close but I'm still dreading it. It's like hanging over me, just this tinge of sadness that I can't really shake off. Good friends are hard to come by. Friends that feel like family are next to impossible to come by. And I don't want them to leave.

What?!?

Jackson said something on the trampoline the other day that was pretty strange. I meant to come in and blog about it but then the whole pit bull thing happened. Anyway, he was jumping and he said something like, "I'm going to jump so high it'll make your grandchildren stink!"

What in the world is up with that kid?

The pit bull next door

Our next door neighbors got a pit bull puppy about 5 months ago. Needless to say, we're not real happy about this. She was really little when they got her. Now she's probably at least 30 pounds and quite a bit bigger than our dog Scott. I think her name is Charra or something like that. Not sure what that means.... probably something bad. We decided that if there was going to be a pit bull next door we wanted her to like us. So we pet her from time to time and give her treats. Phillip doesn't even like dogs and he's been petting her and letting her smell his hand and stuff.

We were out in the back yard earlier this evening so the boys could jump on the trampoline. I was petting the pit bull over the chain link fence and she just decided to come right on over and play. Keep in mind that this dog is about 6 months old and she just climbed right over the fence without much effort. This is bad news, folks. We have two young kids and sissy little yorkie. Our dog is pretty big for a yorkie but he's still dinner for that dog. She probably wouldn't have climbed over the fence if I hadn't been talking to her....this time. But she is very interested in us when we're out in the back yard. I would rather her be interested in us because she likes us rather than because she wants to eat us. We thought she was going to tear Scott up for a second but she was too busy playing. Phillip grabbed Scott and zipped him up in the trampoline with the boys and went over to tell the neighbors to come get her. The owner didn't even apologize. He just said, "She doesn't bite." Are you freaking kidding me??? She's a PIT BULL for goodness sake!!!

So, I'm not really sure what we should do or if there's anything we can do. Right now she's a pretty sweet (huge) puppy but very soon she will be a terrifying dog who could kill my children if she wanted to. I'm hoping the people next door will use their brains and decide to chain her on their own. But these people have been historically very irresponsible and stupid about lots of things over the years so I'm sure this will be no different. Even if we got a privacy fence she could still climb the chain link and then just have another couple feet or so to go over the privacy fence. I'm not really sure if that would keep her out. I guess if we start to feel threatened in our yard we'll have to keep pepper spray on us just in case. I just know that if I'm out in the yard with two little boys and Scott I won't be able to protect all of us from her if she gets aggressive. We'll have to keep OFF out there to keep the mosquitos away and pepper spray to keep the pit bull away.

Do we have any legal rights that any of you know of? What should we do if she gets in our yard again? I don't know if I should call the humane dept. so it's documented or what. I really don't want to make enemies with the people next door but I am really scared of what that dog could do. I know that not all pit bulls are aggressive but they are all extremely strong with very sharp teeth.

My little graduate

Okay, Jack's not really graduating from anything. I already put these on my photoblog but I had to put them here too. I think they're so funny. I was using Jackson as a guinea pig for lighting so I could snap a couple cap and gown pictures of Tori. My favorite is the one of Jackson making the "Mikey hmmmm..." face. Phillip's favorite is the first picture in the cap. He was really not pleased to be wearing the graduation cap. I am absolutely going to use one or two of these (somehow) in Jackson's senior announcement when he graduates from high school.