Joshua blah blah blah

A hunting we will go

2009-11-21T21:13:00.004-05:00

Joshua went on his very first hunting trip today. Of course,
he wasn't hunting, he was just walking along, but we had a great time. Scott had to work so me and Joshua tagged along with Papa and Buddy in the woods behind our house looking for woodcock. We go for lots of walks in the woods but typically stick to the 4-wheeler paths. I won't get out of sight of the paths because I'm afraid I won't find my way home again. Scott and Papa are good at navigation and directions while in the woods so we were treated to an off trail adventure.

We started out on the path, Buddy headed straight into the woods and we followed. He went on point almost immediately. The woodcock flew, Papa shot but missed, Buddy was disappointed, Joshua was disappointed, I'm sure the woodcock was happy though. Unfortunately, that was the only bird found that day.

We did have a terrific time tromping through the woods as it was beautiful weather. We are all looking forward to more hunting trips with Buddy.

School

2009-11-16T12:04:00.005-05:00

Things have been a bit slow at the Johnson household. I guess we must be into the swing of things...

School is going great. Joshua seems to like it. He gets excited on Mondays when he gets to go, but he gets excited on Fridays knowing it's the last day for two days. A full day of Kindergarten can be tiring. I still don't know a lot about what goes on during his day. Questions I ask are mostly answered with "I don't know" or "I can't remember." I do get to hear some details, in his own time...Once he starts talking about something, I can usually ask questions and get good answers.

The doors to the school open 30 minutes before school starts but kids can not go into their classroom until about 10 minutes before school starts, they have to wait in the gym. Joshua likes going early so he can wait in the gym and talk to his friends. I often wonder what he and his friends talk about or if they talk or just sit. He says they don't play in the mornings, they just have to sit with Kindergarteners until it's time to go to class.

Each day, his class has a "special", art, music, PE, library, art again. Joshua has really taken a lking to art. Every day, he comes home and draws things or makes an art project. He can be quite creative at times. I recently bought him new markers and a sketch pad so I can keep all his drawings in one place and as he says "forever, even when I am an adult!" Plus, it keeps him from using all my printer paper and having papers strewn about the house. I am thinking about signing him up for an art class, he said he would really like to take one.

He is still buying his lunch every day at school. I like it because it is so much easier than trying to pack a lunch. And, he sits with the same boys (I can't get info out of him to know if they can sit beside anyone they want to or if they have assigned seats at lunch). He plays a lot of super hero stuff when they go outside and when it rains, they get to go into the big gym. He is also still riding the bus home and LOVES it. I never thought riding the bus was exciting or fun. But, I didn't have to ride a bus until 9th grade, I always walked to school.

Joshua has homework Mondays through Thursdays. It's simple and takes very little time. I think my favorite homework assignments are when I read a book and then ask him questions about the book, who are the characters, what was the story about, what happened, what did you learn from the story, etc.

Now that the time has changed, we don't do much after school and homework because it's dark outside.

So, we are really into the swing of school....just in time for the Holidays to begin so we can get out of the swing of things and then have to start all over.

What's up with all the chainsaw people?

2009-11-01T18:40:00.013-05:00

Saturday morning, Joshua told me that trick or treating last year was the best day of his life. Well, I think now, it is the second best day of his life...I think this years trick or treating is now on top.

Like last year, we went to our friends neighborhood. The neighborhood is rather large, hilly, and can be a bit of a hike from one group of houses to another. Yes, I said hilly and houses far apart...even in this part of North Carolina!. Last year, we had 9 people crammed into a little SUV. This year, our friend's neighbor had a trailer filled with hay for us to ride on. At the height of the trick or treating, I counted 15 kids and about as many parents.

And the neighborhood we went to really knows how to do Halloween right. They decorate for Halloween like many decorate for Christmas. Yard decorations, house decorations, spooky sounds, so much more than the typical jack-o-lantern.

We did a little riding and a little walking and a lot of trick or treating. One house we went to had a Haunted Trail to walk through behind their house, complete with fog machine, dead prom queens, bride with a shotgun, mad scientist and lastly, a man with a chain saw.

After more riding, more walking and more trick or treating, we came to a house with a Haunted Tunnel. These people put a lot of time and effort into the tunnel, it was much like the Haunted Houses that you pay to go through. There were zombies, arms grabbing at my feet, someone reaching down from the top of the tunnel trying to grab Joshua, strobe lights, fog machines, squirting water, people jumping out trying to grab you and lastly, a man with a chain saw.

Finally, the last house we went to, Joshua walked up and guess what! Yep, a man with a chain saw jumped out and started chasing everyone! When he got back to the wagon, he said "What's up with all the chainsaw people?" I had to explain he wasn't old enough to watch those movies yet.

Joshua dressed up as The Wolf Man. He loves the old The Wolf Man movie with Lon Chaney, Jr. It was hot so he had on shorts and wouldn't wear his mask (Scott wore it for a little while). I'm sure no one knew what he was supposed to be but no one seemed to care...his candy bag weighed 4.6 lbs on Sunday morning. I think we have enough candy to get us by until next year. For now, he wants to be FreddY Kruger...he doesn't know who Freddy Kruger is but thinks he looks cool. Gonna try to hit Party City this week to see if they have any left overs on sale.

I love Halloween!

I think I've been busy or lazy or a little bit of both

2009-10-28T12:45:00.003-04:00

October has been a bit of a busy month it seems.

I've been busy with work, which is good job security so no complaints there.

October is the month of the State Fair, we rode a lot, ate a lot, had a lot of fun, spent a lot of money. But hey, that's what fairs are all about! We went early on the first Saturday morning. He said his favorite thing was the fun house of mirrors. He went through it 3 times, once with Scott, once with me, once alone. My favorite part is normally the London Broil sandwiches, the hot apple cider and the flowers. We didn't make it to any of those, we only left the kid area to see some animals. Next year, we may have to start on the other end.

October is also Memaw and Papaws annual beach vacation. This year, Scott had to work and Joshua was in school so Joshua and I only made it down for the weekend. The weather was beautiful and we were able to get shin deep in the water to play in the waves. It wasn't a good weekend for sharks teeth though, we only found 7. We did enjoy the indoor pool for a while but Joshua said it just wasn't fun without Daddy being there (pool rule - Mommy doesn't get splashed or Mommy gets out). On the way home, we stopped at the Tote-Em-In Zoo and fed some animals. It was fun.

Joshua had his first field trip in October. The Kindergarten classes went to Mr B's Pumpkin Patch. We picked pumpkins, took a hay ride, made a scarecrow, petted some farm animals, went on a picnic. Luckily I was able to go on the field trip. It was fun.

Today, I think we will get our pumpkins, carve our jack-o-lanters and get ready for Halloween.

It's the little details that count

2009-09-27T18:40:00.004-04:00

Joshua has recently taken an interest in drawing and coloring. He never cared for it much before. I don't know if it's because he has art once a week in school or if it is just an age or a stage or a phase...He started out drawing a lot of creatures with made up names but now, he is drawing more "real" things.

His current favorite thing to draw is an apple tree and a person with a basket who has been picking apples. His pictures started out pretty basic but are getting much more detailed...his apples now have stems, his trees now have branches, he added clouds and flowers, today he added an owl hole in the tree.

One day, he tore a sheet of paper into a triangle and said it looked like a piece of pizza. He colored the crust on the back and the edge crust on the front. He colored the cheese. He put green lines for green peppers and red circles for pepperoni. Then, he put brown lines where the cheese turned brown in the oven and red lines where you could see the sauce through holes in the cheese....very detailed.

In art class, he drew a picture of James Bond fighting a robot and also included Jaws with his big silver teeth. I thought it was very cute and a little funny. Most kinddergarteners probably draw people, trees, houses, puppies and kitties, Joshua draws James Bond and Jaws.

He may not be the most talented artist but he does put a lot of thought and details in his drawings.

Student of the Month

2009-09-21T20:39:00.025-04:00

Congratulations!!! Your child has been chosen as an individual that has demonstrated growth, promise,and consistent excellence in character and/or behavior during the past month.

In celebration of this achievement, you and your child are invited to attend a celebration breakfast. Please join us in the school cafeteria on __________ . We will have a delicious breakfast together while we recognize your son/daughter for helping to make _____ School a positive environment to learn in.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,

The Positive Behavior Support Team

Yep, that's what the letter said. Joshua got off the bus, opened his backpack, handed me the letter. He was so excited. I don't know anything about Student of the Month. Do they choose one from every class? Do they choose one from every grade? There are 23 students in Joshua's class and there are 36 weeks in a school year, does every child get at least one turn? And, it's only the first month of school...Did they draw names out of a hat? Is it because he took the teachers candy one day? I guess later this week all my questions will be answered when I attend the breakfast (yummmmm, cafeteria food...I remember having hot glazed donuts and apple juice for breakfast in my highschool cafeteria).

It's really not that important how many or why they are chosen. What is important is that Joshua was chosen, I am extremely proud of him and he is proud too.

Hey neighbor, we're really not stalkers.

2009-09-18T16:18:00.006-04:00

Scott and I have always kept pretty much to ourselves when it comes to neighbors. I like to be and like to have what I refer to as "Hey Neighbors," when you happen to pass each other on the road or otherwise, you throw up your hand to say "hey" and then you go on about your business. Well, since Joshua is getting older and the neighbors children are getting older and we spend a lot of time outside, I'm trying really hard get to know our neighbors, I guess.

I see the neighbor that lives two houses down quiet often. He is very sociable and will talk for as long as someone is listening. They have a 3 year old boy and a 1 year old girl. We were just hey neighbors and then when the 1 year old was born, we saw a bow on the mailbox and took them a gift, they brought us a thank you note, we now stop to chat a while when we both happen to be outside at the same time. We were even invited to the 1 year old's birthday party a few weeks ago. Joshua and I went and met a few more of our neighbors.

The family next door has a 7 year old girl and a 3 year old boy. We really don't see them very often, the kids are dvidently not outdoor kids. They do have swings in their backyard but we have never seen them out there. Joshua wants to peer through the woods all the time to see if they are outside. We were just hey neighbors until they were at the birthday party too.

The 7 year old girl just started 2nd grade and goes to the same school that Joshua goes to. At the time of the birthday party, school hadn't started yet so the mom and I had lots to talk about with my asking about school, teachers, riding the bus, etc. After the first week of school, Joshua began riding the bus home. He sits with the neighbor and the bus stop is at their driveway, which is right next to ours.

During the party, the mom also started talking about the church that their family goes to. I asked where it was, she told me, Joshua and I had been to the church a couple of times during the summer but we didn't see them there. So, I thought great! A Methodist church (what I have been looking for), locataed in Chatham County (where we live and Joshua goes to school and has the potential to meet schoolmates and make friends) and we know someone that attends (so Joshua can go to children's church without having me go too and will possibly even be up for trying out Sunday School). So, the very next Sunday we went. We sat beside the neighbors, Joshua and the girl went to Children's Church, after church, the kids ran around for a long time and neither wanted to leave.

This week, we left our ho uses at the exact same time to take our respective kid to school. I turned left on our road, our neighbor turned right on our road. I was curious as to what route she took to school. Then, when we got to school, I was turning into the carpool lane and she was pulling out of the carpool lane. Her way to go was definitely a lot quicker than mine! So, the next morning, we left at the exact same time. She turned right, I waited and then I turned right too.

So, in less than one month, we have gone from being "hey" neighbors to our kids going to the same school, our kids riding the bus home together, we might start attending their church on a regular basis and now, I changed my driving route to school to her driving route!

I hope we don't appear to be a crazed, maniacal family. Really, we're not stalking you....we only want to be

It's an all new soccer game

2009-09-15T13:37:00.003-04:00

After a lackluster spring soccer session, I wasn't sure if Joshua wanted to play again or not. It really surprised me when he said yes. We signed him up and waited...

The first email comes, we have a new coach. This is our third soccer session, our third new coach. Coach Cindy was anticipating a work transfer, Coach Alex's daughter is now in the U8 league so he is coaching U8 soccer, Coach Ann is our new coach.

The second email comes, we have all new teammates. Last session, we had 4 kids in preschool, 4 kids in kindergarten. The kindergarten kids, if they are playing again, have moved up to U8, the preschool kids, if they are playing again, have moved to a different practice field located closer to their homes. I wasn't aware of the new field location choice, I just signed up for our regular field.

We haven't received uniforms yet so we may also be a new color. I know we will be a new name.

I wasn't sure what Joshua would think about all the new changes. I talked to him about it before we went to practice and he seemed ok with it. I told him the coach's name, read the list of teammates, he really surprised me by seeming not to care. He was sad that he was no longer playing with Matthew and Ryan though.

Monday night was practice. Joshua is the only kindergartener on the team and the only one who had previously played. I think it really made him feel good that he was older, experienced and a better player than the others. Last season, the older kids on his team really out played him and it hurt his confidence a lot...I think that may be one reason why he moped around so much during the spring session. The coach even told Joshua he was a great player and used him as the example in several of the practice routines.

Maybe all new will not turn out to be all bad....I'll let you know...

Did you ever wonder?

2009-09-11T12:23:00.004-04:00

Do you ever see odd things lying in the middle of the road and wonder how they got there? Yesterday, while going to dinner, I saw and shoe in the road and wondered how it got there. Going back home after dinner, Joshua saw the shoe in the road and said "I just saw a girl's shoe in the road. What is it doing there?" I told him I guess someone lost it and asked what he thought. So, here are Joshua's thoughts on what may have happened.

1. She was riding in the back seat playing Princess and bad guy or something and she threw her shoe at the bad guy and it accidentally fell out the window.

2. She was riding in the car with her feet out the window and a shoe fell off.

3. She had stinky feet and someone threw her shoe out the window.

4. She took her shoes off before she went in the house and left them on the front porch. It was night and the dog was in the kennel but someone forgot to close the door. The dog sneaked outside and took the shoe and dropped in the road and then ran back inside and got in his kennel and no one knew he was gone.

They all sound like reasonable explanations to me. How do you think the shoe ended up in the road?

School lunches

2009-09-01T12:33:00.005-04:00

Today, Joshua decided he wanted to take his lunch to school. I made him a roast beef and provolone cheese sandwich, his favorite. He got out some plastic containers, filled one with exactly ten grapes and four baby carrots and filled the other with an unspecified number of pretzels...I usually give him ten pretzels when he eats a sandwich so I wish I had asked him how many he packed. He didn't want to pack the grapes, carrots and pretzels in plastic sandwich baggies because the teacher told the class they had to throw them away, he wanted them in the plastic containers so he could bring them home...I guess he is being green...He has a plastic container for his sandwich because I hate a smooshed sandwich. He also packed a box of yogurt covered raisons for snack and a bottle of water. I told him he could buy his milk at lunch because I don't want to have to bother with a thermos or anything. He was very excited to be packing his own lunch in his Scooby Doo lunch box. The first two days at school, he bought his lunch...chicken nuggets, tater tots and peaches, then a hotdog, broccoli with cheese and something I can't remember.

All of this lunch business got me thinking of my own elementary school lunches. I have to say that my very favorite lunch in elementary school were cowboy hats, a slice of bologna topped with an ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes and a slice of cheese, broiled in the oven until the bologna curled, the cheese melted, and the shape resembled cowboy hats. Another favorite was pinto bean day with a slice of white bread in a bowl topped with pinto beans. When we buy bologna, I often make myself cowboy hats for lunch and I have been known to still eat pinto beans over a slice of white bread. Another favorite lunch was bacon slices and melted, shredded cheese on a hotdog bun. I do still eat a lot of bacon and cheese sandwiches, but never on a hotdog bun. I also have fond memories of what I call schoolhouse rolls. I loved the rolls. I can also remember Mark Phillips loved the rolls too, many of the kids would give Mark their rolls and he would eat an entire plate of rolls. I also remember having milk drinking races. Oh, and bringing Strawberry Quik mix in an old prescription medicine bottle to mix into milk.

I don't think we had choices in elementary school, I think we just ate what they gave us on the divided trays. We didn't have beverage choices other than milk. We didn't have any food choices until high school. We also didn't take our lunch unless it was a field trip day...taking lunch to school was not at all cool until after we had a big walk-out in high school to protest not having a long enough lunch period to get through the line and eat and then we went through a period of brown bagging as a form of protest. Now, I think it's the norm to do a combination of both.

So, next time you drink a glass of milk, see if you can remember your favorite elementary school lunch...and try not to laugh and spit milk out your nose...

Oh, and to go even further back, I can still remember the tuna casserole with peas and topped with crushed potato chips from Kindergarten.

Noah? Perhaps Huck Finn?

2009-08-31T16:10:00.003-04:00

The following is a conversation Joshua and I had right before he went to bed the other night.

One day, when I'm older, when I'm probably 6 years old, can we build a boat together?
A boat?
Yea.
What are we going to make the boat out of?
Wood.
I don't think I know how to make a boat.
That's ok, I know how.
You do? How do you know how to make a boat?
I just know how. I was just born that way.
Sure. We'll make a boat one day.

Then, he went to bed. After he went to bed, I started thinking about this...is he thinking a big boat we can ride on? a raft? a toy boat out of a chunk of wood to play in the creek with? I haven't asked yet but can't wait to hear the answer!

It's official. I'm the parent of a Kindergartener.

2009-08-28T21:12:00.004-04:00

Thursday was Joshua's first day of Kindergarten. I don't know how it's done throughout the country, but here, Kindergarteners have staggered entry days. The Kindergarteners are broken down into three groups with one group going Tuesday, one going Wednesday and one going Thursday. Thursday was Joshua's assigned day. Tuesday, he cried because he couldn't go on the first day. He didn't understand why he had to wait until Thursday. I didn't dare tell him that his best bud Ben went on Wednesday. I guess staggered entry is a good thing. The teachers only have 6 or 7 kids for the day instead of 20. The kids have less competition for attention.

We all gathered outside the cafeteria and waited for the teachers to come meet us. There were lots of picture taking and video taping going on. I took Joshua's picture before we left home and I didn't even take my camera to school with me. I'm not sure if he is still too young to be embarassed by all the picture taking that moms tend to do but I didn't want to press my luck. And, I didn't even cry!

Amazingly, Joshua was most forthcoming with information about his day. After preschool, I could get nothing from him unless I asked direct pointed questions and then it he gave very little info. But yesterday afternoon, wow! They did a shortened version of the daily routine. First, they had circle time and the teacher read a book...but he couldn't remember what the book was about. Next, they did an activity...he drew a picture of an apple tree. Then, they went outside where he mostly climbed on some red thing and hung upside down. He bought his lunch, chicken nuggets, tater tots and peaches, and carried the tray by himself. After lunch is a little sketchy...they did another activity, he chose pattern blocks and chose a hard one, a pineapple. They also went outside a second time. They did an abbreviated rest time but didn't get out their towels. And, they had snack time. We were able to pick him up a few minutes early that day.

Friday afternoon was no class for kindergarteners but we did have meet the teacher that afternoon. I met the teacher, the teacher assistant and the student teacher that will be helping on Wednesdays. They all seemed super nice. Matthew from soccer and t-ball is in his class. Ben is in the class next door...they share a hallway and a bathroom so they could potentially throw things at each other if they wanted to (Joshua overheard me tell someone this and he said matter of factly, The teacher isn't going to let us throw things at each other). Oh, and he is very excited about having a "sports" teacher (PE teacher) and can't wait until the school's fall carnival thing.

Monday is his first "real" day. I hope I get as much detail in the coming days as I got on Thursday.

The smell of money

2009-08-24T13:33:00.005-04:00

Today, we said good-bye to a dear old friend, my 1990 Toyota Tercel. Hard to believe I've had her for 18 years. She was a terrific little car, haven't had to do anything to her except regular car stuff, oil changes, tires, brakes, struts, a few thermostats. She currently needs new shocks but the buyer took her as is.

Anyway, I got her while I was in college. I was visiting my dad, we went shopping and found her. The 1991 models were already on the lot, she was the last 1990 model they had and she was kept in the showroom. I don't know how much she cost, my dad did the haggling, I just remember him saying "How much do I need to put down so that she can have payments around $X.XX for 3 years?" and I drove her away.

I've put many a mile on her cruising the roads, going nowhere, listening to music, first with my best friend/roommate from college, then with my best dog, lastly with my best husband.

She was replaced in 1999 by a Camry. I've only driven her a few times since then. Scott, however, drove her to and from work all the time. I guess he adopted her as his car and she served him as well as she served me.

Now, 18 years later, she belongs to Zack, a 16 year old who was just so excited to buy his first car. His dad said we made Zacks day. I gave her a little pat on the hood, told Zack that Lynyrd Skynyrd was her favorite tunes...luckily he said he likes Skynyrd so it won't be a problem playing them for her. He was going to take her home, clean her up, he has plans to replace the stereo, which will probably happen before he replaces the shocks, he is a 16 year old boy you know.

So, Joshua got to see and hold a $100 bill for the first time. He was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't have it and somewhat disappointed he couldn't have half of all the money but felt a little better when I told him that most likely, some of it would be spent on him. I mean, most of my money is spent on him in one way or the other. I let him hold the $100 while we were in the car going to the bank. He held onto it tightly, looked at the front and back closely, then stuck it up to his nose and said "Mmmmm, it smells good!"

Let's Get This Party Started!

2009-08-14T13:25:00.002-04:00

This is Joshua's current favorite phrase. Like all his phrases, I'm not sure where it came from but I have to laugh when he says it. He gets dressed in the morning and runs out into the living room "Alright! Let's get this party started!" "Come on Joshua, we've got to go to the store"..."Alright! Let's get this party started!" "Let's brush teeth"..."Alright! Let's get this party started!"

And speaking of parties, we went to a birthday party yesterday evening. I' had wondered about kids with summer birthdays before. When you are 4, 5, or so, most of your friends are your preschool friends. If you have a birthday in the summer, many families are on vacation, you haven't seen the preschool kids in a month or two, will they remember you? Will they come?

The party we went to had a really good turnout of preschool kids and friends of the family kids. Joshua, Ben, Caitlin and Daphne were all there...During preschool, Joshua, Ben, Caitlin and Daphne went to just about every birthday party there was. Other kids were hit and miss but you could always count on those 4 to be there. And there were some kids that didn't attend any of the birthday parties.

I think people are either party attenders or not party attenders. We just happen to be among the party attending group.

The Dog Days of Summer are upon us

2009-08-12T19:26:00.003-04:00

Everyone knows that the “dog days of summer” occur during the hottest and muggiest part of the season. Webster defines “dog days” as...

1 : the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity
But where does the term come from? Why do we call the hot, sultry days of summer “dog days?”
In ancient times, when the night sky was unobscured by artificial lights and smog, different groups of peoples in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by “connecting the dots” of stars. The images drawn were dependent upon the culture: The Chinese saw different images than the Native Americans, who saw different pictures than the Europeans. These star pictures are now called constellations, and the constellations that are now mapped out in the sky come from our European ancestors.

They saw images of bears, (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), twins, (Gemini), a bull, (Taurus), and others, including dogs, (Canis Major and Canis Minor).

The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it. Look for it in the southern sky (viewed from northern latitudes) during January.

In the summer, however, Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets with the sun. During late July Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star.

The conjunction of Sirius with the sun varies somewhat with latitude. And the “precession of the equinoxes” (a gradual drifting of the constellations over time) means that the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Today, dog days occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. Although it is certainly the warmest period of the summer, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. No, the heat of summer is a direct result of the earth's tilt.

Copyright © 1999, 2000 by Jerry Wilson

Thanks to http://www.wilstar.com/dogdays.htm

ok...so do you have to go somewhere EVERY day????

2009-08-11T15:22:00.008-04:00

Joshua and I met Kelly, Sydney and Mollie for dinner at Chick-Fil-A last night. Chick-Fil-A is a great place to go with kids because they have a great play area. After eating, the kids can go play while the adults sit and talk to each other. After our friends left, Joshua and I stayed a little longer, he was playing with some boy in the play area, they seemed to be having a good time, I thought we could stay until 8:00 or until the other kid left, whichever came first.

I didn't have a book to read, any one to talk to, no food to eat, so I got out my phone to see what all my Facebook friends were doing. I updated my status saying I was at Chick-Fil-A watching Joshua play. Then, a friend makes a comment asking if I have to go somewhere EVERY day.

I guess it may seem like we go somewhere every day. We do go a lot. I work from home and have to keep regular 8:30 to 5:30 hours. Some days we do play or go outside with me coming in every 15 minutes or so to check my phone, fax and email. Some days I'm too busy to play and Joshua has to play alone or watch tv. Some days, I can only play Legos, superheroes. hide and seek or talk about bugs for so long before I go bonkers. Some days I take an actual lunch hour to go eat or to go to the store, but most days I don't take a lunch hour and I don't leave home . We live, some might say, "in the country" and there are no neighborhood children for Joshua to play with. Scott works a noon until midnight shift so we only see and talk to him for 2 1/2 hours between the time he gets up and the time he leaves for work.

When I'm finished work for the day, I like to take Joshua somewhere where he can play with other kids, run around, yell, scream, have fun, talk to someone other than me. I also like to take Joshua somewhere where I can sit, read a book, talk to someone other than him. Actually, I think our going somewhere may be more for me than for him.

Stay at home moms probably have some of the same problems as they are at home with the kids all day and no adults to talk to, but they can go to the park, go to the playground, go on a picnic, attend a playgroup, all designed so kids can play and adults can talk. Work outside of home moms have kids in daycare, designed so kids can play and adults can talk (while at work). Working from home with a kid in the home can be hard to do....But worth every bit of frustration.

Joshua starting kindergarten is going to be such a bittersweet moment.

T-ball

2009-08-10T12:07:00.027-04:00

I'm sad to say that T-ball is over, Saturday was Joshua's last game. I think he really enjoyed playing. I know I really enjoyed watching. I've always liked watching live baseball. Maybe because it reminds me of when I was a kid walking home from elementary school and passing by the highschool baseball field. Lots of times when they were practicing or playing, I would stop and watch. Pre-Joshua, Scott and I attended numerous Durham Bulls games, Joshua has been several times, but only once since he is actually old enough to know he is at a baseball game. And I've just recently discovered college baseball on TV.

Joshua played T-ball for the first time this year for the Chatham County YMCA. I wish I had known Chatham County had a YMCA before this year as T-ball starts at age 3, but, better late than never. The Chatham County Parks and Rec also offers T-ball but I've heard from other moms that they are very competitive, have multiple practices and multiple games during the week, not something we were looking for with our first experience.

YMCA T-ball was perfect. All the games/practices were held on Saturday morning at 9am. The kids did some warm up exericises, then played a game. Their version of playing a game was one team in the outfield in a semi-circle from the 3rd baseline to the 1st baseline and a kid on first while the other team batted. The batter would hit the ball, run to first base. In the outfield, every single kid ran for the ball no matter where it was hit. When someone caught it, they were so excited to get it that they would hold it way up in the air, look around and smile so everyone could see they caught it, then they would throw it to first base. Every kid got to bat. After the last kid on the team batted, the inning was over and the teams switched sides. Then every kid on the other team got to bat. Depending on how long an inning took, the game was either over, or they kept switching back and forth until it was 10:00 and time to stop. The parents then had to go into the field and make a "spirit tunnel", holding hands forming a tunnel for the kids to run through while we whooped it up for them. Finally, snack and then home.

I'm hoping Joshua grows to like baseball as much as Scott and I do.

Franklin's Fossil

2009-08-04T13:19:00.003-04:00

I love watching the kids cartoon Franklin. In case you don't know Franklin, he is a turtle, his best friend is Bear and his other friends are Snail, Rabbit, Beaver, Goose and Fox. Franklin seems to be about Kindergarten age, his teacher is Mr. Owl. There are a lot of good stories on Franklin and I often find myself explaining things to Joshua by saying "Remember on Franklin when ..." And while it has no relation to this blog entry, it something I often ponder, how Franklin can have a friend Goose but when he finds a baby duckling, it's a pet?

Anyway, one day Franklin and Bear are working in the garden digging potatoes and they find a fossil. They decide to open a museum, charge their friends cookies to come see the fossil. Their friends get upset when Franklin and Bear know nothing about the fossil and demand their cookies back, but, of course, Bear has already eaten the cookies. Franklin and Bear decide to give the fossil to Mr. Mole who knows a lot about fossils and has his own fossil collection.

Because of Franklin's Fossil, Joshua now thinks we can go out into the yard, dig a hole, find a fossil. We go for walks and he picks up every other rock he finds and asks me if it is a fossil. When digging post holes, he had to go through the dirt to look for fossils. He gets my little garden spade (aka his shovel), digs his own holes and looks for fossils. I'm sure fossil hunting is a lot of fun but he just doesn't understand that we are not going to dig a hole in our back yard and find a dinosaur bone or trilobite.

When we went to Mimi's house for Spring Break back in April, we did go to the Fossil Museum in Gray. Yes, Gray Tennessee has a fossil museum. If you are a blog reader and live in East Tennessee and have never been to the fossil museum, I suggest you take a trip there. Who woulda thought that saber-toothed cat, short-faced bear, ground sloth, rhino, alligator, camel, shovel-tusked elephant, Eurasian badger, the world’s largest collection of fossil tapirs, and the world’s only near-complete fossil red panda would be found Gray Tennessee! We toured the fossil dig site and even sifted for our own fossils but it was cold and rainy that day so we didn't sift long. Joshua has plans to attend a summer camp there when he is 7 years old and talks about it often.

We are also members of the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. They have recently reopened their Dinosaur Trail Exhibit - some of you NC readers may remember from school field trips They have a fossil dig site there but sand was brought in from the coast and you are supposed to be able to find shark teeth. Joshua has numerous shark teeth we collected from beach trips but to him, shark teeth are not the same as fossils.

Joshua does have a couple of fossils from Dinosaurs Rock school assemblies at his former preschools. I guess it just isn't the same as if you found them yourself.

So, after watching Franklin and Indiana Jones, Joshua thinks he now wants to be a fossil digger/dinosaur bone digger/treasure hunter when he grows up. I guess it is a little more exciting than my wanting to be an architect after watching Brady Bunch and an advertising exec after watching Bewitched.

Legos

2009-07-28T12:19:00.003-04:00

Jigsaw puzzles are a thing of the past at our house. Joshua's newest passion is Legos. When Joshua was putting puzzles together, I often wished there was a puzzle library or a puzzle rental store, now, I wish for a Lego rental store...

Anway, Joshua received his first Lego sets for Christmas and then birthday. I say 'sets' because I'm not sure if they even make just boxes of mixed up Legos any more, everything is a 'set'. We have Star Wars, we have Indiana Jones, we have Power Miners and we now have Pirates. Note to the Lego company, Harry Potter Lego sets would be really cool.

Joshua is so good at putting these things together. His largest set, a Power Miner set, has 474 pieces, rated for 8-14 years old and has 84 pages of instructions. He has been working on it for about 6 straight hours now and has only 3 more pages to go.

I'm liking the Legos. The only complaint I have is I haven't quiet figured out how to store the sets so they do not get mixed together and pieces do not get lost.

It may not sound as exciting as a shark filmer (marine biologist), may not be as romantic as a fossil, dinosaur bone, treasure digger (paleontologist/archeologist), but architect is a mighty fine profession.

Playground Friends

2009-07-14T10:09:00.002-04:00

Since preschool is over and summer vacation has arrived, Joshua and I have been spending a lot of time at the park. I work all day and he has been very patient with me so as soon as work is over, we pack up our dinner, drinks and I grab a book and we go to Kelly Road Park.

I love that Joshua is now old enough to play without me and I can sit and read a little, with the most important thing being he can now (or will now) play without me. When we first started going, we would sit and look around for someone he could play with, we would both walk up and I would say "This is Joshua. What is your name? Would you like to play with Joshua?" and then they would run along together and play. Now, Joshua does it all by himself! For those of you that didn't know Joshua in his early days, this is a HUGE deal. And, since we have been going 2 or 3 times a week to the same park, we are now starting to see some of the same kids so it is even easier for Joshua to find a playmate.

So far, we have had really good luck at finding kids Joshua's age to play with. One day, there was nothing but older boys, the youngest of them being 9. They let Joshua play tag with them. The boys, and Joshua, would run around, they would let Joshua go a long time without being it, then one would tag him. He would then chase the boys around a while before one would slow down enought to let Joshua tag him. They were really good playing with him. And sometimes, Joshua gets stuck with some younger kids but he is very patient with them and plays on their level.

Yesterday Joshua was playing with two boys, not sure if they were twins or not but they were definitely brothers. They were a bit older than Joshua but didn't mind that he played with them. I noticed that each time one of the boys wanted a drink from the fountain, they would jump over the fence, get a drink and then jump back over the fence into the playground. So, it was no surprise to me when I saw the two boys AND Joshua go over the fence, get a drink, and then jump back over the fence...well, except for Joshua...It was easy for him to climb on a bench and then jump the fence, getting back over the fence was the hard part. I sat and watched, and smiled, and giggled as the two boys were grabbing Joshua's arms trying to pull him over. Then, one boy went back over the fence and tried pushing Joshua up while the other one pulled. When that didn't work, they decided to switch places and try the push and pull technique. When that didn't work, they moved down close to a tree, pulled a branch down so Joshua could hang on to it while one boy pushed and the other pulled. They finally got Joshua back over the fence. When they ran past me, I called Joshua over, told him not to climb over the fence any more without telling me first...I think he was surprised that I knew.

I love watching the kids play and the interactions among them. I love seeing Joshua play with the older kids and the older kids being nice to him. I love seeing Joshua play with the younger kids and playing on their level. I love seeing Joshua play with kids his own age. I love that we now see many of the same kids over and over.

Who knew these feelings of pride and joy could come from a playground...

Sports and Things

2009-07-13T12:18:00.003-04:00

Well, Spring Soccer was kind of a bust. There was more rain and games and practices cancelled than there was sunshine and games and practices. Joshua never really got used to the fact that Coach Cindy was no longer there. I think Coach Alex and Coach Mark did an excellent job but Joshua never really warned up to them. He really didn't get into the games or the practices and I've seen him run faster through the living room than he would run on the soccer field. But, one good thing that came out of soccer this year was Joshua now knows 3 additional kids starting Kindergarten with him and 4 kids that will be in 1st grade at his school.

Joshua says he wants to play soccer again in the fall. I haven't decided if he should stay in Chatham County soccer with his teammates, 2 practices and a game each week OR move him over to YMCA soccer with new teammates, practice and game all on Saturday morning. He will be starting Kindergarten at the same time soccer starts and I don't want to overwhelm him with things. When the time comes, I'll probably ask him what he wants to do.

We have now started Tball through the YMCA. We have had 2 practices so far. One good thing about playing through the Y is that you have practice and game all on Saturday morning, there are not multiple practices or multiple games throughout the week. Joshua's best buddy Ben and one of his soccer teammates, Matthew, are both on his Tball team, the Pirates. Practice is funny to watch, 1 kid hits the ball, 9 other kids try to catch it. Next week will be his first game.

I am very excited about Tball. I love watching live ball games. I hope Joshua enjoys it as much as I do. Oh, and Scott and I both have gloves now so that we can all practice out in the yard.

I never did find a swim class for Joshua this summer. I did find one that I was going to sign him up for but by the time I got back online to do it, it was full. Then, I wasn't sure if Tball had multiple practices throughout the week or not so I didn't sign him up again. Now, he has a week with Mimi coming up plus a week at the beach so I still can't sign him up. He would be taking the same level of class he had last summer so he would just be expanding this skills and getting better. But, with the Triangle Aquatic Center's indoor pools, he can have lessons any time of year so it's not like I have to get them in this summer.

As a kid, I never enjoyed sports or lessons or participating in any organized activity. My mom tried, it just didn't take. Now I understand why she tried with me and why I want to try everything with Joshua...makes it easier on me that Joshua is excited and wants to try new things too. Sorry it didn't work out for me Mom...we still have Joshua though :)

The Missing Months

2009-07-13T12:04:00.002-04:00

OK, a lot has probably happened since my last post. I'll do my best to fill in some of the "missing months" along the way. But, for now, another attempt at beginning anew.

2009-04-20T19:47:00.002-04:00

This is Mimi (Kim’s mom, Joshua’s grandmother). After spending the weekend with Papa Bob on the river, Scott returned to work in Apex while Kim and Joshua (who was on spring break) spent the week with Mimi and Papa John in Piney Flats. Kim works from home so she worked on her computer at our house. Weather was chilly so playground trips were cancelled.
Bays Mountain was a favorite place for Kim when growing up in Kingsport. Joshua and Papa John visited Bays Mountain to see the deer, otters, wolves, snakes, various birds. The planetarium has recently been updated. Joshua said the planetarium show was “awesome.” Papa John was impressed that Joshua knew the planets and constellations. See info at www.baysmountain.com
Mimi, Papa John and Joshua went to Dollywood on Thursday (the warmest day of the week). Since it is early in the season and many schools were on spring break, Dollywood was really crowded with long lines to get into the park. Once we got inside, it was not too crowded until you got hungry and had to stand in a food line. We rode the small roller coaster, bumper cars, sports cars, carousel, airplanes, swings, river rampage where we got wet. We rented a Q-bot so we could program in times for some of the crowded shows and rides. At 2:45, we get in a special Q-bot line for Le Grand Cirque; the first seven rows are reserved for Q-bot. We also saw the show “Heartland,” a film of Dolly Parton growing up in the Smokies. Joshua was surprised when we got slightly sprayed when the boy jumped in the pond and when it showed rain on the screen. The only game we played was a horse race. Papa John won a large dog; Joshua was very pleased to carry the dog around the park.
On Friday morning, Papa John and Joshua caught a huge carp in the lake. We cooked the carp for our cat, Jake. Last year when Joshua had caught a fish, he said that we were bone scientists when we were removing the bones from the cooked fish.

Ladybugs and Helgramites

2009-04-09T09:52:00.013-04:00

Scott, Joshua and I spent the weekend at my dad's farmhouse on the Clinch River. The house is up in the mountains with no phone, no tv, can't get a radio station or a cell. All you have to do is walk through the front yard and down the hill and you are right on the river. Across the river is a railroad and the coal trains run all day and all night. The house even comes with an old dog, Wilma, that actually belongs to the neighbor but is often found sleeping on the back porch or under the front porch. It ain't nuttin' fancy but it's perfect for what it is...a place to eat, sleep and go to the bathroom when you are taking a break from fishing. It remains closed up when no one is visiting for the weekend.

This particular weekend at this particular time of year, the farmhouse was a haven for ladybugs. I don't know much about ladybugs except that you are supposed to have good luck if one lands on you...and that on a cool April weekend if you turn on the heat and lights in an old farmhouse they seem to appear out of nowhere by the hundreds. It wasn't too bad though...ladybugs don't bite or sting, they aren't nasty buggers like roaches, they aren't as scary as snakes, mice or spiders. So, when you think of the alternative creatures that could have been inhabiting the house, I'd say we were lucky. So yea, I think ladybugs are lucky.

Saturday was the most perfect day. We woke up early, ate breakfast, and headed straight for the river. Fishing was a little slow that morning because it was rather cold. We took a break and went for a drive to see my dad's old stomping grounds and went for a nice little walk. By the time we got back, it had warmed up a bit and the fishing was terrific. We...umm, I mean, I was catching them as quick as I put my line in the water. Now, I can bait a hook with a worm but I can not take a fish off a hook. I have to say I kept both my dad and Scott busy taking the fish off the hook. So much so that my dad gave up trying to fish and just kept close to me. We mostly caught redeyes, one large mouth and several small mouth bass and something my dad called a horny head that had horns on it's head. We all let Joshua reel in fish and he had a terrific time fighting with them. We fished until it was dark enough to have a fire and roast hotdogs and marshmallows. Scott stayed down on the river trying to do a little catfishing but didn't catch any. Sunday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and hit the river again. And, once again, pulled them out as quick as we could put the line in.

Now, the bait of choice for these Clinch River fish is what I've always known as grampus. I just learned this weekend that their official name is helgramite. They are ugly and have big pinchers and I also found out that they eventually grow wings and fly. Joshua loved the helgermites. He and papa went hunting for them and Joshua turned over rocks and picked them up all by himself. He came back and instructed me on how to pick them up...yea, I wasn't touching one of those things...Anyway, they are a tough bait and you can fish on one about all day long.

So, at 5 years old, Joshua can catch bait and can reel in fish. He just needs to be a little older so he can bait his own hook and cast. Oh yea, and take all the fish that I catch off my hook for me...

Dilemma

2009-03-19T20:05:00.008-04:00

Today, soccer practice went really well. Joshua participated without making a fuss. He still said he misses Coach Cindy though.

On the way home, I told him how proud of him I was and what a good job he had done. He didn't think he had done a good job because he only scored one goal. I immediately went into Mommy mode and told him that I was very proud of him because he did a great job of listening to the coach, he did a great job of following directions, he did a great job by getting out there and practicing, he did a great job playing the best that he could, he did a great job of keeping the ball close, he did a great job of keeping the others from scoring...He seemed to feel better.

Coach Alex commented to me on how well Joshua did today. I told him we had to be sure he didn't wear a character shirt to practice. Coach Alex then said he almost said something about Joshua's Manchester United shirt he was wearing but thought better of it...At least he is perceptive!

Now, our dilemma...Team picture day is the same day as our breakfast with Spongebob. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll remember that last year we were supposed to have breakfast with Spongebob but I forgot so we had to do breakfast with Spider-man instead...Well, Spongebob is coming back, I have bought our tickets, Joshua knows we are supposed to go, but he doesn't know when it is. So, if we do miss it, I can always make something up...I'll have to think about it...

And an additional note, Joshua was practicing his writing and sounding out words tonight. The words he wanted to write? Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummy, Invisible Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon...Yep, he's mine!

Going Through Changes

2009-03-18T13:42:00.007-04:00

It's Spring soccer season and Joshua is once again a Purple Sea Monster. Coach Cindy is not coaching this season so we now have Coach Alex. One slight problem...I forgot to tell Joshua about the coaching change BEFORE he attended his first practice.

Practice started a few weeks ago. Scott took him to his first practice and I had to run a few errands before I went. When I got there, Scott had Joshua by the hand running across the field with him. When the kids and coach sat in a circle, Joshua had to sit on Scott's lap. Joshua was not happy with his old coach being gone and a new coach being there.

The second practice, I took him. Before we left Joshua said his stomach hurt...I offered to give him medicne and have him go to bed or go to the doctor...He decided it wasn't his stomach after all, it was his leg that hurt. We went to practice anyway. I walked him onto the field and went back to my chair. He did fine for a while but then ran the wrong way...after that, he wanted to sit in my lap. I wouldn't let him...I told him that if he wanted to sit and rest, he could sit beside me, on his ball, not on my lap. A few minutes later he went back out.

Next practice, I took him again, Scott stayed home. Once again, I had to make him go onto the field, he wanted me to stay with him saying that "Daddy did." Well, I am not Daddy and this is not Mommy/Daddy soccer, this is 5 year old soccer...He played....until Coach called him Batman (ok, note to self, no more character shirts to soccer practice)...then, he wanted to sit in my lap. Once again, if he wanted to sit and rest, he had to sit beside me, on his ball, not in my lap. A few minutes later he went back out.

We have been talking about having a new coach and how he is now learning real 5 year old soccer and Coach Cindy only taught him 4 year old soccer. He bought it...we'll see...

On the bright side of soccer, there are 3 boys from his team last season that returned. Matthew, Parker and Ryan will all be starting Kindergarten at the same time and at the same school as Joshua. It was good to see some familiar kids and some familiar moms at practice. Matthew even plays T-ball through the YMCA, which Joshua will be doing this summer.

Joshua enjoys playing soccer. He isn't very aggressive at getting the ball and he isn't very good at keeping it close to him. He does, however, run faster than the other kids so when he kicks it out in front, he can get to it before one of the other kids takes it away. I guess we'll have to practice on his dribbling...

We haven't made it to a game yet this season. The first game, I was sick; second game, Joshua was sick; third game, rained out. Fourth game is this Saturday. Wish us luck!

OK, starting out again

2009-03-11T13:18:00.004-04:00

So, I have had this blog for over a year now. I started out strong but then have been foundering lately. Maybe I've been tired, maybe I've been lazy, maybe I feel we haven't done anything blog-worthy. Whatever the reason, I have decided that today, I begin anew...

Nourishing does not equal Nutritious

2009-02-05T15:10:00.004-05:00

I must say that, yesterday, I was rather proud of Joshua. We were discussing our dinner options and he said he wanted ants on a log (celery, peanut butter and raisins) for dinner. I couldn't say no to his choice...for him. I, on the other hand do not like celery at all, I love peanut butter and I like raisins as long as they are in oatmeal cookies, bread pudding, Little Debbie Raisin Cakes, you get the idea...We didn't have any celery so we made a special trip to the store. And since I do not like celery, was not going to eat ants on a log for dinner. I had an overwhelming urge for, get ready for this, canned corned beef hash...I love corned beef hash. Not sure how or why I started eating it, my mother doesn't eat it, but I'm pretty sure I remember my grandma cooking it so I must get it from her...And yes, I know it looks strangely like canned dog food...I don't eat it very often, maybe twice a year, but last night, I knew that I had to have it.

Joshua was happily muching on his ants on a log while I was frying up my corned beef hash...I like it crispy...And while standing in front of the stove, I read the label on the can "...Our nourishing blend of diced potatoes and flavorful corned beef..." Blend of potatoes and corned beef I can believe, but nourishing? Each serving contains 440 calories, 30 g fat, 840 mg sodium. So, I decided I must not know the definition of nourishing. So, I googled, and according to dictionary.com, nourishing means "To provide with food or other substances necessary for life and growth; feed." Well, I guess 440 calories and 30g fat is necessary for life and growth if you are bear preparing to hibernate, but not so necessary if you are a hrmmm year old woman trying to maintain a somewhat moderately healthy lifestyle. But I still ate the entire contents, the entire 2 servings, without a care.

Thankfully, I do provide better food choices to my son I do to myself...And tonight, we're having roast beef, potatoes and green beans...

Big Talker

2009-01-27T20:39:00.003-05:00

When Joshua was a baby, I joined the online web community of babycenter.com. Every month or so, they send me an email with some age specific tidbit of information. Yesterday, I received this article...

At 5, your child knows thousands of words and can say most of them clearly. She can describe people and events in detail and uses more complex sentences. In fact, 5-year-olds are often nonstop chatterboxes who like to tell stories, ask questions, or simply share with you every thought that pops into their heads. They're practicing all the language skills they've been picking up over the past few years, and their questions and comments reveal that they're also developing new ways of thinking.

Oh boy! Did they ever get this right! Joshua talks non-stop about anything and everything. Sometimes it is so very tiring. But most of the time it is very entertaining. I think I'm going to enjoy being the mother of a 5 year old, if I survive...

Monday, January 19...2004

2009-01-19T09:22:00.004-05:00

It was MLK day and I didn't have to work, Scott did. I went to Lowe's and bought a few things, went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. I had eaten my salad and was so looking forward to eating my chili but my stomach started hurting. I didn't think too much about it because I had been plagued with heartburn my entire pregnancy. But, I did sit and imagine what everyone in the restaurant would do if my water broke while I was there.

Once I got back home, my mother-in-law came over to help me get Joshua's room together. It was around 3:00 and we were putting sheets on the crib when my water did break. I called my doctor and they told me to come in and get checked out. I called Scott and told him I was going, he needed to get off work and meet me at the hospital. I arrived at the doctor's office right around 5:00 and was in L&D around 6:00. Soon after, Scott arrived...he was nervous and took his time getting there, going home to change clothes, going to Burger King to eat.

I'm not sure when I got my epidural but that is the part that I feared the most...I just don't like needles. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined and I felt pretty darn good after it...except it made my legs jerk a lot...Contractions started getting a little stronger, nothing unbearable. It was a few minutes before 10:00 when the hard work started, Scott forgot how to count and was getting his numbers all mixed up but at least he didn't faint or anything and I didn't scream or cuss like some people do on tv...I was actually pretty proud of us...

It was 10:21 when Joshua entered our world and our hearts.

Today, we had a small party with a few of his school friends and tonight, we went to Red Robin for dinner. It was a super good day.

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Christmas Lights at Dollywood

2008-12-15T22:42:00.010-05:00

We went to Dollywood this weekend and I must say we had a terrific time.

The drive was long but we stayed entertained by listening to Christmas music most of the way and playing charades. It was really exciting when we got to the mountains and the tops were white with snow and we drove through flurries and a tunnel. The condo we stayed in was beautiful, I could have lived there. They also had an indoor pool that Joshua loved.

We went to Dollywood on Friday night so that we could see it decorated for Christmas. They boast having 4 million lights and I believe it. I just wonder how many man hours it takes to put them up and take them down! It was cold and we were bundled up but it was beautiful. We ate dinner, watched The Polar Express 4-D thing (part of the train ride in 3-D plus a seat that moved) which Joshua said was awesome, walked around until they closed.

Saturday morning, we went on a helicopter ride. Scott had never been in a helicopter and had always wanted to go, Joshua thought it would be cool, and I hadn't been on a helicopter since I was about 4 years old. We took the short ride, only about 4 minutes, I thought we could only look out the window for so long before someone would start getting bored. It was a great morning to go for a ride, sunny, clear, not windy. We all enjoyed it and Scott even managed to look out the window 3 times!

After the helicopter ride, we headed back to Dollywood. If you buy your tickets after 6pm, you get to use the tickets to get in the next day. We ate breakfast and then headed for the bumper cars...Joshua had seent he bumper cars the night before and was determined they were going to be the first thing he did. We did bumper cars, swings, teacups, flying elephants, roller coasters (the kid one), ferris wheels, mini antique cars, the train, shops, corndogs, lights, games, whew!!! The longest line we waited in the entire day was the line for the corndogs...and I must say they were worth it...While Scott waited in that line, Joshua and I sat down, well, I sat down, he laid down with his head on my lap. I knew then that we were not going to make it to any shows that day. It is hard to fit it all in in one day.

Saturday night, Scott and I went out to dinner while Mimi and Joshua stayed in playing games and swimming. After dinner, we cruised the strip in downtown Gatlinburg. I don't think I had been to Gatlinburg since high school (for those of you who do not know, I grew up about an hour and a half away from Gatlinburg and we made the trip several times a year), but it was just as I had remembered it. Of course, there are some new things, but it was still just bumper to bumper on the road with cars and shoulder to shoulder on the sidewalk with people.

Sunday morning, we had to head home.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear

2008-12-06T21:43:00.004-05:00

Is fear itself...FDR
Unless you are a 4 year old.

Joshua has recently displayed a lot of fears, all valid fears, not likely fears, but fears just the same.

A few weeks ago, there were some tornadoes in the area. After seeing it on the news, photos in the newspaper, hearing us talk about it, Joshua became scared a tornado was going to come to our house. Just a few minutes after seeing a destroyed home on tv, he climbed in my lap and whispered in my ear Is a tornado going to come to our house? He has since asked this many times, along with Where will we live if a tornado comes? What if a tornado comes down our driveway? What if a tornado comes before Christmas? There was also a big discussion about Caitlin's family coming to stay at our house if a tornado goes to their house. We also drive by some delapidated barns and sheds daily. Joshua always asks if a tornado knocked it down, did the people get out, are the people ok, did the people get their stuff out.

And hurricanes. If a hurricane comes to our house will our house go into the ocean? OK, we live 200 miles away from the ocean but I didn't bother explaining that one.

Last week, we watched Home Alone. I thought Joshua might enjoy some of the humor...Kevin getting the bad guys is right along the same lines as Spongebob and the Three Stooges, both of which Joshua likes. But, instead, he becomes worried that I am going to leave him and that burglars are going to come to our house. What if burglars come? Will they take the money from my piggy bank? What if they take my toys? What if Buddy gets scared and runs away and doesn't come back?

And the hardest fear to dispell, what happens if I die and go to heaven and Joshua gets lonely. He finally decided that he, daddy and Buddy would just have to come with me so that we will all be together. He actually asks a lot of questions about God and Heaven and angels How to people get to Heaven? Are they scared? Do angels have tattoos? Will my toys be there? How will we find each other? Will we live in the same house? and I try to answer them the best that I can.

Several months ago, Joshua had gone through an extra clingy stage and I had mentioned it to my doctor. She told me that around 4 years of age, kids become more aware of their surroundings, there are bad things in the world and sometimes bad things happen. It is all normal to fear these new things. I'm glad to know that it's normal but sometimes it doesn't make it any easier convincing him that a tornado probably will not come to our house, hurricanes normally do not come this far from the ocean, we would call the police of burglars came and if I go to heaven first, I will visit him often and he will not be alone.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T22:14:00.002-05:00

Today is Thanksgiving. This year, I have much to be thankful for...I have my family and we are all happy, healthy and employed.

And being that people are in need of water safe for human consumption on Thanksgiving Day, Scott has to work. Actually, we are happy that he had to work today, Thursday, because that means he has Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. We will be having our big turkey dinner tomorrow.

Today, Joshua and I went to see Bolt at the movie theater. So with our 3-D glasses, sour gummy worms, popcorn and drinks in hand, we settled in to watch the movie. It was really really good, I only had a little tear or two, Joshua sat on the edge of his seat through the exciting parts. We both enjoyed it.

After the movie, we went to the dollar store because it was open and then to the grocery store. Joshua had already informed me that since we couldn't have turkey he wanted pizza. I felt odd walking through the grocery store, which was pretty crowded with people buying their last minute items or ingredients they ran out of (I spied whipped cream, butter, bottle of wine and some canned goods), and buying frozen pizza. I had a strong urge to tell everyone that my husband had to work and we are having turkey tomorrow. I guess I didn't want to seem anti-Thanksgiving or something. Funny how something so silly really did bother me.

The evening was filled with pizza and Home Alone on television. Joshua had not seen Home Alone before. He was really sad when Kevin's family left him, wanted to know if I would ever forget to take him, told me he would just sit and wait for me to come home if I did ever leave him, worried that bad guys were going to come try to steal our stuff, worried that a hurricane might come to our house (this disaster thing has been a recurring topic of conversation recently...Joshua worries a lot about tornadoes, fires and now hurricanes destroying our house), was reassured when I explained that hurricanes usually don't come this far away from the ocean, decided he didn't want to have a beach house anymore and then was most concerned about Kevin's presents Christmas morning...where are his presents? what did he get? He wasn't satisfied with the answer that he got his family back on Christmas morning, he wanted to know about the toys!

I'll let you know how the turkey turns out...

2008-11-17T11:36:00.002-05:00

Did you have any dreams last night?
I did. I had a dream that I was cleaning your fish tank and all the fish were flopping around on the floor and I couldn't catch them!
Where was I in your dream?
You were there watching me and laughing!
Well, next time, can you dream that I helped you?
You know, that is a good idea...I will try that.
Did you have any dreams last night?
No...you know I sleep with my eyes open so I don't have any dreams about werewolves or Dracula or anything...

Just a Few Random Things

2008-11-13T22:46:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to blog a few things so that I would have a reminder.

This week, Joshua pushed himself on his swing for the very first time! I was more excited about it than he was. Maybe now I won't always have to push.

We talked about friends this week and Joshua's "bestest" friends are Ben, JJ, Reid, Tye and Caitlin.

Joshua has just now realized that when Cassidy gets older, she is going to be a sister like Caitlin and not a brother. He was a little disappointed that she wasn't going to be a brother and is trying to convince me to have a baby brother because he really really really really wants one.

His favorite word is currently "awesome" and he has discovered Swiss Cake Rolls and thinks they are "really delicious."

Halloween

2008-11-12T13:53:00.002-05:00

Yep, I'm a little slow on posting about Halloween...

Joshua really enjoyed Halloween this year. We went Trick or Treating with his friend Ben and Ben's sister Jordan. Tyler Hansbrough, Indiana Jones and Hannah Montana really racked up in the candy department.

Unfortunately, we left the bag of candy on the dining room table and Buddy ate every piece, along with every wrapper. Fortunately, we had enough candy from school, soccer and fall festival to put in Joshua's pumpkin and Joshua has only asked for M&Ms and Skittles, which we already had, so he doesn't even know his candy is gone. I, however, was really looking forward to the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

Or Perhaps an Archeologist

2008-11-12T13:29:00.003-05:00

The Ark of the Covenant is a box that was said to hold the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. The Ark was kept in the Tabernacle, which was a tent constructed by the children of Israel under the supervision of Moses.

Yesterday, school was closed so we went to the Wright's house for a couple hours of play. Caitlin and Camryn had been playing church and wanted to know if Joshua wanted to play church too. After a bit time passed, I went upstairs to see what they were doing. The princess tent set up in the girls room was the church and they were all inside. Then I heard Joshua...

Caitlin, there was this Ark in a tent in the Bible.

And, he started flipping through Caitlin's Bible story book. Caitlin wanted to stop at Noah's ark, but Joshua told her it wasn't that ark, it was a different Ark. And, sure enough, he found a picture of the Ark of the Covenant in her book (it isn't talked about, but there is a picture in Joshua's Bible story book too).

Caitlin, there is a man called Indiana Jones. And this is the Ark that he looks for in a movie.

Joshua was a little disappointed that Caitlin wasn't too interested in hearing about Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. But, they moved on, played other things, and had a wonderful time.

Jessica, thanks for having us over!

Indian Summer and Dog Tired

2008-11-08T18:06:00.011-05:00

The Election and 4 Year Olds

2008-10-29T19:15:00.008-04:00

I guess Joshua has been hearing a lot about the election lately between listening to talk radio and listening to me and Scott. One day, he asked what "voting" was. I explained it to him in the best way I could for a 4 year old...The President is like the boss of all the states. He makes all the rules. There are 2 men who think they would be the best at being President, Barack Obama and John McCain. All the grown-ups get to vote on who they think would be the best President and the man with the most votes wins. Joshua understands a little bit about President because we saw the motorcade for the President of Mexico when we were in Cancun...so every time there are a lot of police cars, Joshua thinks the President is in town.

Anyway, I pick Joshua up from school one day and he tells me who Donovan, Reid and Ben are going to vote for. Oh, and who he is going to vote for too...luckily, he is voting for the same candidate as Scott and I are voting for. He told me that Reid is voting for so-and-so because "he does better business," Donovan was voting for such-and-such because he doesn't think so-and-so "does better business." Ben was also voting for so-and-so but didn't know what "doing better business" meant. Scott and I both had visions of Joshua's preschool class singing like the North Korean children singing the praises of Pyongyang. I asked Joshua if his class was learning about the election and the President...pretty heavy stuff for 4 year olds but it is what the world is currently talking about...he did say no, just the boys. I also asked him who other kids in his class were voting for and he didn't know. I asked his teacher about it today and she said the kids talk about it during snack and they haven't been teaching it during class.

I was looking at Yahoo or MSN or some other site the other night and there was a campaign add at the top of the screen. Joshua points to it and says "Hey! That's Barack Obama!" I just pulled up John McCain's website (who evidently doesn't run ads on Yahoo or MSN) and asked Joshua if he knew who it was...he said "Yes. That's John McCain. Didn't you know who it is?" I guess Joshua pays closer attention to the news when we have it on than I thought he did.

Whether you are for "Change We Can Believe In" or "Country First: Reform * Prosperity * Peace", please vote. It's important to us, even 4 year olds.

Seeing Friends

2008-10-27T10:13:00.002-04:00

I just love that Joshua has friends. As a mom, it is exciting to see him be excited.

One day after school, we stopped at the grocery store. Joshua exclaimed "There is Emily!" I didn't see Emily, I don't know Emily, I don't know if it really was Emily, but Joshua thought that it was and he was excited.

Another trip to the grocery store, we see Reid and his mommy. Once again, Joshua was excited and even got to ride around with Reid in the race car shopping cart his mommy was pushing. I was excited because I was able to grab my few items without having Joshua with me!

At the fair, Joshua starts jumping up and down because he saw JJ's mommy. It was the fair, it was crowded, I thought to myself surely not. But nope, there she was and there was JJ. Ask Joshua about the fair and one of the first thing he says is "I saw JJ!"

We went to the Fall Festival at Caitlin's church this past weekend. We knew Caitlin was supposed to be there and spent the entire time on the lookout for her. We finally found her close to the end of the night. Once again, Joshua starts jumping up and down from excitement and goes running to her.

As for me, I didn't see anyone that I knew other than Reid's mommy, JJ's mommy and Caitlin's mommy. I guess I am now officially known as Joshua's mommy.

Falling Behind

2008-10-24T21:23:00.005-04:00

I have fallen behind in almost everything right now. I'm behind on cleaning. I'm behind on laundry. I'm behind on work. I'm behind on blogging. I'm behind on reading my library book. I'm behind on scheduling my dentist appointment. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a month or months in a year to get even the most basic tasks done. So, I am going to attempt to get you all caught up so that I can cross blogging off my list of things to do.

Since I last wrote, we went to the beach for 4 nights. Thursday was great beach weather. We fished, played in the sand, Joshua played a little in the waves. Friday and Saturday, it rained. We visited the Battleship North Carolina, visited the snake museum, played Battleship and Trouble, swam in the indoor pool. Even though the weather was not the most cooperative, we had good food and good fun and we weren't at home so it was a vacation.

Our weeks have been busy with Joshua having soccer practice on Monday and Wednesday evenings and swim lessons on Thursday evening. But, there is only two more weeks of soccer and swimming is now over.

Wednesday night, we went to the fair. We discovered it is much more expensive going to the fair with a child than it was without. Scott and I have gone to the fair every year...for the food. We have our favorite exhibits we like to see and our favorite food we like to eat. But, throw in a child, you have to add games and rides to the mix. Some of the rides, Joshua was big enough to ride alone, some he had to have an adult ride with him. I really think that if it is a kid ride and an adult has to accompany the kid, the adult shouldn't have to have ride tickets...but, that's just me talking as an accompaning adult...I'm sure the ride owners would argue that I am taking up a ticket holders seat and they would be missing out on the $3 per ride per adult.

Anyway, those are just the highlights of the past few weeks.

True American

2008-10-22T12:58:00.003-04:00

This morning, I voted.
This evening, I am going to the NC State Fair.
Today, I am a true American.

Take a Kid to Work Day

2008-10-07T10:33:00.002-04:00

Well, it really wasn't take a kid to work day, but I took mine to work yesterday.

As you all know, I work from home. But, I do go into the office in Raleigh once a week to pick up and drop off work and mail so Joshua is no stranger in "Mommy's work office." Yesterday was different because I was having computer problems and it wasn't just a run in/run out trip. So, with a dvd player, 2 dvd's and a Happy Meal in hand, Joshua and I go to the office.

The first thing we do is go into the parking deck...Are we going to park in here? Oooh, it's dark. Watch out! There is a wolfman! Do you want to go down the elevator or the stairs? Who knew parking decks were so exciting?!

Next, we enter the building and walk past the cafe. I smell food! Look they have a lunch room! Are you hungry? If you are hungry we can eat in the lunch room. After you eat your Subway sandwich and I eat my Happy Meal if we are still hungry we can go to the lunch room. What do I have to drink? If I drink it all and I am still thirsty can we go to the lunch room and get another drink? And then, as we were walking to the bathroom...If you get hungry just let me know. We can go to the lunch room. I can show you where it is. It's right over here, but it isn't up here, it's down the elevator. Who knew lunch rooms were so exciting?!

Once in the office, it was really cool looking out the windows. The office is in Highwoods on the 7th floor with a terrific view of the Beltline and a neighborhood hawk that flies outside. Joshua ate, watched both movies, climbed on the chairs, did stretches and tricks, asked did you do this when you were little?, ran timed races down the hall (it was ok, no supervisor types were there), looked in all the desk drawers, locked and unlocked the desk drawers. Who knew offices were so exciting?!

It must be terrific being a 4 year old...a 4 year old knows the world is so exciting.

The Way to a Man's Heart is Through His Stomach

2008-09-28T20:37:00.010-04:00

I think our seemingly never-ending quest to find a church may finally be at an end.

It's hard to find a new church, well, not a new church, just a church. Joshua and I have visited every Methodist church in Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and southern Durham and started on the non-denominational churches before we found Cornerstone Presbyterian.

We visited Cornerstone several times last summer, continued church-hopping for a while and finally ended back at Cornerstone this summer. I like to tell people that we chose it because of the snacks...after the 10:30 church service, they have snacks and lemonade and everyone stands around and socializes a while before leaving. Everytime we would drive past the church, Joshua would point at it and say he wanted to go back to the church with the snacks. He also says he likes it because his class is short instead of long...At Cornerstone, 4 year olds participate in the Children's Church where they stay in the sanctuary through the offering, have a small Children's moment and then go back to their classroom missing only the sermon...the other churches we visited, the Children's Church did not start until K or 1st grade so Joshua's class was too long and he was away from me too long and he missed me too much to like going there. Maybe one day soon I will get to hear an entire sermon. For now, I have to walk back to the class with Joshua, get him settled in, wait until he is ok for me to leave, and I usually just catch the very end. But at least he says he really likes going there and I'm sure he will be more comfortable eventually.

Sunday afternoon, we attened an end of summer picnic hosted by the church. It was so much fun. Joshua played on the playground for a while and we both participated in the games they had. Can you believe that it was the first time I have ever been to some sort of sponsored picnic and actually participated in any sort of game! Oh boy, has motherhood changed me! Anyway, the church furnished the hotdogs and hamburgers and everyone else signed up for sides. I brought baked beans. Growing up, a friend of my mom's, Joyce B., always brought the best baked beans to picnics. So, I took, as we fondly call them, Joyce's Beans. And were they ever a big hit! I was the talk of the picnic for a while with everyone asking "who brought the beans?" (lets give a big shout-out to Joyce!) After we ate, Joshua played on the playground a little longer and I was able to sit and talk to people...WOW huh! Then, some kids were playing soccer and Joshua joined in. He still doesn't know the rules or the how to play, he just chased the ball and kicked it whenever he got the chance and no one seemed to mind. He had a lot of fun and cried when it was over and time to leave.

I'll Come Visit You

2008-09-25T20:37:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to share with you the conversation Joshua and I had in the car today...

When I get big as daddy, will you still be my mommy?
Yes, I will always be your mommy.
Will I still live with you?
Probably not. You will live with your wife and kids.
Will you come visit me?
I sure will. Will you come visit me?
If my wife and kids want to I will. Even if they don't want to, I will still come visit. But if my wife is sick, she won't visit, but me and my kids will. But if my kids are sick I can't come. I'll have to stay home. Okay?
I'll tell you what, if your wife or kids are sick, I'll come visit you and help you take care of them. Okay?
Okay!

It's not if you win or lose...

2008-09-20T21:22:00.009-04:00

It's if you get a trophy...

Today was Joshua's first soccer game, at 9am. When we first arrived, he was unsure of what to do. A couple of the kids were kicking balls into the goal but Joshua just stood there. I think because at practice, he has his own ball...on the field before the game, his ball wasn't there and he didn't think he should kick someone elses ball. We finally convinced him to kick the ball like the other kids, he did, then he ran into someone and fell down, then he ran to me and cried, then the game started...

Joshua didn't want to play, he didn't want to stand in the middle and wait with his other teammates, he wanted to stay with me. Luckily, there was another kid on Joshua's team who was also holding on to mom's leg. She finally took him by the hand and walked him to the middle, I followed her lead, Joshua followed reluctantly. I could hear the mom giving the pep talk trying to convince her son to play. I took the commentary approach "Look, the blue team has the ball, they are running down the field. Go Purple! Get the ball! Uh oh, look, he fell down. Is he out? No! He gets right back up and keeps going!" Once Joshua saw someone else fall down, I think he felt a little bit better. Then he asks me "Will I get a trophy?" I told him "Not if you don't play." Then, he jumps up and down "I want to play! I want to play!" and we wait for his turn.

It was interesting the way they play kids at this age. They used a much smaller field and played 3 on 3 on two different fields. They don't play any positions or anything, it's pretty much kick the ball into the goal and if someone on the other team is kicking the ball, try to kick it away from them. Once he got on the field, he did as good as most of the kids out there. There were several kids that had evidently played before, but they were all on the other team. And at one point, Coach Cindy was on the field holding one of the kid's hand and running with him...I guess he was a little apprehensive playing and that's the only way they could get him out there...I thought it was terrific that she did that...Anyway, Joshua was reluctant to take the ball away from someone but if they kicked it far enough out, he would run after it and start kicking. And he didn't quiet get the whole out of bounds thing because once, he missed the goal but he kept kicking the ball all the way around behind the goal, came out on the other side and kept right on playing. But hey, he was out there, we were proud of him and cheering him the entire time. And, he actually scored a goal!

I think if they actually kept score, it would have been something like 526 to maybe 3, but hey, all the kids had fun and that's the important thing.

Game Called on Account of....Plane?

2008-09-17T19:22:00.002-04:00

q: What happens when a group of ten 4 and 5 year olds practice soccer in a flight path?

a: A low flying plane goes overhead and six of the ten kids stop, look up and point at the plane!

I sure hope there are no planes landing Saturday between 9 and 10...That's game time!

Who is Ashleigh Ansley?

2008-09-17T14:23:00.003-04:00

I am....in my dream last night...
This is not really blog worthy, but I felt the need to put it somewhere. If anyone is a future screenwriter or author, please give me credit and send me royalties.

Ashleigh Ansley is evidently famous but I'm not sure how...I just know that people know who she is. She does have a male significant other, but I don't know if it is a boyfriend or husband. She also has a family consisting of mom, dad and sister. Ashleigh also has big boobs that just about bust out of the tight white dress she is wearing.

As our story begins, Ashleigh is at a shopping mall wasting time until she is to meet her family for dinner. While browsing around a store, one of the store employees recognizes her and they begin to have a normal, casual conversation. (The employee looks remarklably like an old roommate I had named Amy who wore my clothes, wore my jewelry and used my credit cards all without my permission. Although I do not know her name, I'm going to refer to her as Amy). During the course of this conversation, Amy asks Ashleigh if she would like to go "make out" while waiting. Ashleigh, considers it because it is something she has never done and she was curious, but she turned Amy down. After all, Ashleigh is in a serious relationship and is not attracted to girls in that way. Ashleigh then decides she has talked to Amy long enough so she decides to move on. Amy, however, has not talked to Ashleigh long enough and starts following her...and yelling at her....and threatening her...Amy becomes a stalker.

Ashleigh evades Amy long enough to exit the store and enter the mall. She runs into a security officer who recognizes her, and asks if she needs anything. Ashleigh tells the security officer that she is running late for her dinner reservation. The security officer hails something that looks like those cars in the airport that beeps and moves people around but it is larger and carries a lot of people so I'm going to call it a bus. Ashleigh enters the bus, tells the driver where she needs to go and tells the driver to hurry...out the window, she sees Amy looking angry and running toward her. The driver, sensing Ashleighs needs, hads her a phone and tells her that the man on the other end of the phone can help her.

The voice on the phone is deep and mysterious. He knows who Ashleigh is and knows exactly what she needs without her ever having to say it. Ashleigh arrives at the restaurant and is being lead to the table where her family is waiting for her. She is still talking to the man on the phone, but suddenly, she hears a noise, no longer hears his voice and then the phone goes dead. Ashleigh starts to get really scared because she knows that Amy has done something to the man who was her only hope. Then, before she reaches her table, she sees Amy........Amy has on a police windbreaker jacket and is followed by other police officers. She arrests Ashleigh for trying to hire a hitman. Ashleigh tries to explain that if Amy hadn't of stalked her in the first place, she wouldn't have needed to hire a hitman but Amy pretended she did not know what Ashleigh was talking about.

Although it wasn't explained to her, somehow Ashleigh knows that the hitman had "hit" someone that Amy cared for. Amy knew that if she stalked Ashleigh that Ashleigh would hire the hitman, Amy could track him down and get her revenge on him and have Ashleigh arrested. Pretty smart of Amy if you ask me.

Anyway, for what it's worth, that was my dream last night. Keep watching Lifetime Movies, you may see it!

What Lessons Do I Want to Teach?

2008-09-16T13:58:00.004-04:00

This morning, I was backing up the driveway as usual, I got to the end and Joshua asked
"Did you win?"
It took me a moment to remember that we race in the mornings, he has to buckle up before I back up, but then I said
"Yes! I did win! Finally!"
And then, with the sound of disappointment I heard
"But I wanted to win. That isn't fair!"
I started saying
"You can't always win. If you win all the time, someone else has to lose all the time and how fair is that?"

And then I hesitated and thought about that....Is this the message that I want to teach Joshua? That to be fair, he has to not do his best? Do I want him to lose on purpose just so someone else can win so that the other person can feel good? Do I want him to be dumbed down in school, taught the easy things so that the other person can feel smarter? Do I want him to not be successful in life? To always take the easy road? No, that's not what I want him to learn.

Sure, life isn't fair and you can't always win. You shouldn't expect others to not do their best and let you win. If you didn't win this time, perhaps you'll try harder next time. If you didn't make that good grade, perhaps you'll study more next time. If you didn't get that raise, perhaps you'll increase your productivity. That's the lesson I want him to learn.

So I said
"Well, maybe you'll win next time."

And next time, I need to work on the do not gloat and do an end zone dance every time you do win lesson...

Our Week in Review

2008-09-12T14:26:00.005-04:00

I started this post last week but never finished it so it will probably reads like one of those movies that builds you up to a grand finale and then falls flat...

Joshua has had a big past two weeks. Preschool started, this is the end of his second week. He is going 5 days this year and it is taking him a while to get used to it. He seems to like his new school and seems to be doing well....at least he talks about earning jellybeans, which is a good thing, and he tells me about others who get strikes, which is a bad thing. I guess if you get three strikes, you do not get a jellybean. Once your jellybean cup is full, you get to bring them home and eat them...so says Joshua anyway.

Monday, he had his first soccer practice. It was cute seeing him and the other boys "practice" by playing some kicking games. I've been wondering how Joshua will handle not being the winner in soccer...There are a few experienced players on his team and there are a few that seem to be younger than Joshua and one little boy who just sat on his ball the entire time so Joshua is in the middle. The kids voted on the name "Purple Dragons" (their uniforms are purple shirts with black shorts, Joshua is number 11). Joshua was upset because the other choice was "Purple Sea Monsters", which is the name he voted for, but it didn't win. Anyway, we later found out there is already a Dragons team so he is now officially a Purple Sea Monster. Practice Wednesday was cancelled because of rain. His first game is Saturday, but it is at the same time as his best buddy Ben's birthday party. I asked Joshua which he wanted to go to and he chose the party, which I thought he would. I'm still glad I asked.

Tuesday, we went to the Wright's house, along with the Greenes, for some pizza and playtime. I think Joshua had a terrific time being Mollie's Prince Charming.

Wednesday, soccer practice was cancelled because of the rain so we went to the mall for dinner with the Wright girls, the Pope girls and the Parker family. Joshua and Alex really played well together...it isn't often he gets to play with boys...I really enjoy seeing all the friends interact with each other now that they are old enough to actually have conversations and such. And I really enjoyed seeing all the mommies!

Thursday, Joshua started swim lessons through Atlantis Swim School. They teach at the Triangle Aquatic Center, which is a really nice indoor facility. If he learns to dog paddle by the end of his 8 weeks, I'll be super happy. Joshua really loves the water. He is a little disappointed that there are only girls in his class (one of the girls can already swim so I'm not sure why she is there). He was so tired that I thought he was going to fall asleep in the water, but when it was his turn, he did ok. I am looking forward to his next lesson.

By Friday, Joshua was tired and such a monster...crying about every little thing, nothing going right for him. He fell asleep in my lap while we were mowing if that gives you any indication of how tired he was. Sometimes you just have to give in to the nap...

Cute Now, not so Cute Later

2008-09-04T21:36:00.003-04:00

Joshua thinks body hair is funny and points at it saying "I see your hair..." I have since been keeping my underarms closely shaved...Scott has often told him that when he gets to be a teenager, he will grow hair under his arms, get pimples on his face and think about girls all the time. Yesterday, Joshua said "When I get to be a teenager and think about girls, I'm going to think about you. Okay?" I just thought that was the sweetest thing, coming from a 4 year old...Scott made me promise not to tell Joshua what he said after he becomes a teenager. Yea, probably not something a 13 year old boy would think was cute.

Life is a Competitive Sport

2008-09-03T21:30:00.003-04:00

At least to my 4 year old...I have discovered that to get Joshua to do anything, all I have to do is make a contest out of it.

When we leave home, he has to race me from the house to the car. In the car, he has to buckle up before I can back up the drive. When meeting someone somewhere, he is full of "Are we going to beat so-and-so there?" "Is so-and-so there yet?" "Are we going to get home before so-and-so does?" To get Joshua to eat something, I just have to bet him that he can't and he has to show me that he can. He is always asking if so-and-so can run as fast as he can, if so-and-so is stronger than he is, can so-and-so jump as high as he can, etc.

And life is good until he loses...This week, I watched a video of his friend Caitlin riding her bike without training wheels. I was super excited for her...Joshua watched, cried, ran into his room and got in bed and cried (he has never gotten into bed to cry before) because he couldn't ride without training wheels. He has said he wants to practice more so that he can ride without his training wheels like Caitlin. He did feel better once he learned that none of his other friends can ride without them.

I hope the competitive spirit stays with him, within limits. I would like him to be competitive enough in sports so that he will enjoy playing them. I would like him to be competitive enough in school so that he will be a good student. I would like for him to be competitive enough in life so that he will have a bright, promising future.

The Stuff Dreams are Made Of

2008-08-30T16:29:00.005-04:00

Those of you that have known me for a while know I have very vivid dreams and I remember them, in great detail. I have lucid dreams and I have several recurring dreams.

One of my recurring dream themes are dreams of llamas. I don't know why llamas. Llamas hold no special place in my heart, I don't often think of llamas, I have only seen llamas at petting zoos and such. I'm sure there is some sort of meaning to llama dreams but...wait a minute, one no longer needs to wonder about things, one just needs to google things...I'll be right back...To see a llama in your dream (1) represents deep trust, strength and endurance. It may also mean that you are worrying too much and carrying too many problems or (2) This is simply another animal, so will have the basic associations of less restrained or socialised impulses, emotions and sexuality. But its special associations might be that in its native country it is a beast of burden. It lives at high altitudes, so might represent hardiness or rarefied life. Also it looks so mild and gentle, but in fact can be quite aggressive. So it might be something that looks like a sheep but has more aggression...oh well, not sure what llamas mean in my dreams, I'll have to pay closer attention to what's going on in my life next time I dream of them...

Anyway, back to why I'm talking about llamas...Joshua and I went to the exotic pet show at the fairgrounds today and there were llama rides, pony rides and camel rides. Joshua rode the camel, he said it was a little scary. He looked a little scared. He also got to pet an alligator, a snake, a hedgehog, a skunk, an 80lb turtle, a fox and several birds.

I've also had recurring snake dreams in which the floors are covered in snakes and I have to climb around on furniture and jump from one piece of furniture to the next so that I won't fall on the floor. Snake dreams are hard to interpret and it's more of what you are feeling when you dream about snakes. Anyway, I don't particularly like snakes so I figure my snake dreams do not have particularly good meanings.

Today, we saw thousands of snakes for sale. Little ones, big ones, expensive ones (one snake for sale cost $10,000...why? I don't know) but no poisonous ones, thankfully. we also saw numerous lizards and frogs...and frozen mice and rats and live crickets. Joshua was all ready to bring a snake home as a pet but I talked him out of it by explaining how a pet snake would not be much fun because you can't play with it like you can a dog...it could lick you in the face like a dog though but you wouldn't really want it to...He settled on a $1 plastic snake, a bag of cotton candy and a basket of fresh peaches.

I'm on the Highway to Home

2008-08-29T21:12:00.003-04:00

I love Fridays. Fridays are usually slow work days. And when you have a Friday, at the end of the month and before a 3 day weekend, they are super duper slow work days. In fact, I didn't do a single piece of work today. Joshua and I did ride to my work office to pick up and drop off mail, but that was as much I thought about work all day.

We did have a busy and good day. After lunch, we took Scott's truck to the carwash. Then, we went to Babies R Us to buy a booster carseat for the truck. Joshua outgrew his old carseat so I bought a new carseat for the car that converts to a high back booster and a backless booster. That carseat should be the last one he needs. But, I got tired of moving it back and forth between my car and Scott's truck and I didn't want to pay another $150 for a second carseat for Scott's truck so I went with a high back booster. We'll probably still move my carseat to the truck if we take any trips or anything, but the booster will work perfectly for those trips to Home Depot and the grocery store. And we spent a goodly amount of time in Babies R Us looking for baby gifts...My friend Carolyn had a baby girl, Emelia, around 1:30 this morning and our neighbor had a baby girl, Annika, on Tuesday...Plus, the baby girl things are so cute and I don't get to buy baby girl things for myself...

After Babies R Us, we went to the playground for a little while, and I do mean a little while. First of all, all Joshua wanted to do was swing. He has swings at home, I tried to convince him to play something we don't have at home but that made him cry. Secondly, all he wanted to do was play with me. He has me at home, I tried to convince him to play with someone we don't have at home but that made him cry. We left the park.

After a terrific dinner at Cancun Grill, we went to Blockbuster and then to Baskin-Robbins. I think I tried to make up for being stuck inside this week because of two straight days of rain all in one day. Now, It's late but I'm letting Joshua watch his movie choice just because it does not require me to do anything...Yes, I'm being selfishly lazy.

During of our travels today, we started out listening to the radio. But since we were in the truck we had access to the cd player and cds...Joshua chose his favorite to listen to...AC/DC - Highway to Hell. I'm not sure how Highway to Hell became his favorite cd but he has been calling it his favorite cd for over a year now. And, he does come by it honestly, it was my favorite album when I was about 14 yo, which is a long way from 4 yo. And yes, I do kind of worry about him going around singing "I'm on the Highway to Hell..." when he was at school...or church...or with his friends...And, I never really realized until today that all the other songs on the cd are about sex...I sure didn't realize all the songs were about sex when I was 14 yo...I honestly never thought about the lyrics until today when I was singing out loud...Anyway, Joshua was also singing along out loud..."I'm on the Highway to Home...." I truely love 4 year olds.

A quick beach trip

2008-08-25T12:19:00.003-04:00

This weekend, we took a quick trip to Litchfield Beach. It was a long ride down but Joshua kept us entertained by talking without stopping. We arrived around 9pm.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the beach. It was cloudy, windy and the ocean was cold and rough...we suspected we were experiencing some of the affects of Fay...We tried playing in the ocean but the waves were just too strong so we headed to the pool. Since it was cloudy, the water in the pool was really really COLD. It didn't stop Joshua from getting in. We rode the lazy river, we played in the kiddie pool, we played in the hot tub pool (the hot tub pool wasn't turned on and the water wasn't hot, so it was just a big pool 3 ft deep) and we played in the big pool. Joshua is getting really good at swimming, with his life jacket on and face in the water. We bought Scott some prescription swim goggles and, oh boy, was he happy. He kept looking around in amazement. He even went swimming in the ocean and found the towels afterwards!...I usually have to go down to the edge of the water to lead him back to the towels...We left the pool at 4 to get ready for dinner.

For dinner, we went to one of our favorite places in Murrell's Inlet, Prosser's Bar-B-Que. If you like just plain ol' grandma food, you must try Prosser's. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet and everything is yummy. Joshua ate more than I had seen him eat in a long time...white rice, chicken 'n dumplin's, fried okra, bbq, fried shrimp, fried oysters, fried chicken, bbq ribs, collards, mac and cheese, banana pudding and chocolate pudding (yes, this isn't the place to go for heart-healthy food). Other menu items included brown rice, shrimp creole, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, brunswick stew, flounder, deviled crab, clam strips, hush puppies, biscuits, apple cobbler, several kinds of cake and pecan pie. We were all fat, dumb and happy after our meal. We ended the evening by going to the Lazy Gator to visit Allie the alligator and then we took a nice long walk on the beach.

Sunday, the ocean was much more cooperative. We rode on boggie boards for about 2 hours before we needed to get pack up to go home. We made a quick stop at Sams for hotdogs and then, luckily for us, Joshua slept for about 2 hours...it was nice to have a little quiet time.

It was a quick trip, but it will be our last for the summer. I'm glad Joshua could get into the ocean one more time.

Catching up - preschool woes and w00ts

2008-08-20T22:10:00.002-04:00

Woe is me...
Two weeks ago, we found out Joshua's preschool was closing, in two weeks. Thursday was his last day. The church is building an addition so they felt it was best "for the safety of the children." The church itself did not run fund the preschool, the preschool just rented space from the church. We were rather shocked, sad and worried. Those of you who live in this area know how hard it is to secure an opening in a preschool...Those of you in other areas, the preschools are mostly select students by a lottery. You have to tour the facility, put your name on the list for the lottery, be present on an early February morning for the lottery drawing and hope you get in. Otherwise, you get on a waiting list. This was the 2nd week of August we found out that school was closing on the 15th and we needed to find a place for Joshua to start this fall!

w00t to Ms Anita and the new preschool...
Fortunately, the director of Joshua's preschool, Ms Anita, contacted directors of other area preschools about availabilities. We received notice that a brand new preschool had 2 openings left in the 5-day, 4-yo class...Joshua and his friend Caitlin filled the last 2 spots. Caitlin's sister Camryn also got a spot in the 3-yo class. Hope Chapel is a brand new preschool, and they probably love the fact that Grace Place closed...Not only did Joshua and Caitlin get in the 4-yo class, but their friends JJ and Ben did too. And I think 5 of Camryn's classmates moved to the new preschool too. I think we filled most of their open spots. Anyway, as I said, it is a brand new program, the rooms and things in the rooms are all new, they seem very well organized, and I think all the kiddos will be happy. Last week, we had a playdate at the park with some of the other 4-yo classmates, this week, we had snowcones in the park with new classmates from all classes and next week is the open house/meet the teacher. Joshua is excited about his new school, and very excited that Caitlin, JJ and Ben will be with him.

Catching Up - The Jimmy V Weekend

2008-08-20T11:27:00.004-04:00

Lately, I haven't been doing a very good job of updating so I'll try to get you all caught up.

I did my volunteer gig for the Jimmy V and had a wonderful time as always. It was certainly different being at Pinehurst than being at Prestonwood, but it was an uplifting experience just the same. I basically stood on Course 2, between hole 1 and 18 and next to the back entrance to the courses by the clubhouse and answered spectator questions...Where is the nearest bathroom? Who is that over there? Where is Bill Goldberg? Do you have a parings sheet? How do I get to Course 4? Anyway, Angela, Michelle and I (this was Angela's first time and Michelle has volunteered with me every year) went to Pinehurst on Saturday afternoon, ate lunch at Theo's Taverna, which was a great taverna in the Village with nice courtyard dining, wondered around the golf course a while, lazed at the hotel a while, ate a terrific dinner at Ironwood Cafe (the waitperson at Theo's and the front desk person at our hotel both thought we made an excellent choice for dinner...a shout-out to Tom for the recommendation), went to bed early. Sunday, we were on the golf course at 7am.

My brushes with celebritydom include sitting on the veranda (in Pinehurst, it is a veranda, I have to laugh every time I say veranda...it's a porch!) next to Bob Goen (from Entertainment Tonight), getting a hello from Dennis Haysbert (the wonderful deep voiced "you're in good hands with Allstate" man and the past president on 24 - yea, I still haven't watched that show....one day though...), a hello from Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and telling Ewa Lawrence (a professional pool player) where the nearest bathroom was. There were a few others, but I don't know who they were.

My favorite person to see, besides Gregory Harrison (Gonzo Gates from Trapper John M.D. who is still a cutie) was Bill Goldberg. I had no idea who Bill Goldberg was before last weekend, but now, I am a fan. He was cute, he was funny, he was terrific with the kids, he took time to sign autographs and put people in headlocks for photos. When he was putting into the 18th hole, he chose a kid from the spectators to come up and take the shot for him. No wonder he was one of the most popular celebrities there.

Anyway, I'm hoping Michelle and I can make a trek to Pinehurst for a girls weekend out for many years to come.

While I was doing my thing Joshua went to Mimi's house for a few nights. He was able to meet Mimi's cousin Barbara and her husband Joe. Evidently Joshua was very social and who knows what all he told them...They had an outing on the boat on Saturday. Sunday, was the decoration (when you decorate the family cemetery with flowers and have a family reunion lunch) and Mimi and Joshua attended. Note for anyone planning to visit the NC mountains: Do not feed a child a hotdog and then "take the curves" unless you are prepared to stop and wash clothes and carseat in a creek. Other than that one incident, they had a great time. Joshua ate, played in a creek, caught a crawdad, met plenty of cousins (everyone he is related to is a cousin). He had such a good time that he thought they needed to have another family reunion on Monday!

The Dog is Snoring and I am Volunteering Again

2008-08-07T21:51:00.006-04:00

About an hour ago, I got home from a quick trip to Winston Salem to pass of Joshua to his Mimi. Joshua is going to spend the weekend with Mimi. They are going to ride in the boat, swim in the lake and go to the family reunion. Joshua is excited about going to the reunion to meet "cousins."

Sunday is the 15th Annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic for Cancer Research and this will be my 5th year as a volunteer. The tournament is now held in Pinehurst so my friends, Michelle and Angela, and I going on Saturday and spending the night, eating what I hope will be a terrific dinner, and then playing Spectator Host on Sunday. This will be our first time in Pinehurst so I'm not sure what to expect. Past tournaments were held in Cary, there were 30 Spectator Hosts, 10,000 spectators and we spent the entire time telling people where to find Charles Barkley, Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell and the Hooters Girls...this year, there are 7 Spectator Hosts, a projected 2,000 spectators, no Charles Barkley and the Hooters Girls will be near the entrance. Hercules and Mr. Belding will be there though. I'll let you know how it goes....Last year, we didn't volunteer because of the new Pinehurst venue...we went as spectators but being a spectator doesn't give you that deep in your heart feeling like volunteering does. I'm not planning on missing another one if I can help it.

Anyway, I'm now hanging out on the sofa, alone, except for Buddy, whose head is in my lap, and he is snoring loudly. I miss Joshua...

What Time is It?

2008-08-06T22:42:00.002-04:00

Joshua has a digital clock in his room. It was blinking so I was going to reset it but didn't know what time it was. I asked Joshua if he could look at the clock on the stove and tell me what numbers he saw so I could set his clock. He was excited that I asked. He yells Mommy, it's one thousand o'clock...10:00.

Action Figures are just Barbies for Boys

2008-08-04T21:58:00.003-04:00

Since getting into his Indiana Jones phase, Joshua has been given 3 Indiana Jones "action figures." The Indiana Jones "action figures" are maybe 12 or 14 inches tall, have bullwhips, swords, guns, etc. All Joshua likes to do with them is take their belts, coats and shirts off, put their shirts, coats and belts back on...all the time...it's what he does...they have no adventures, their "actions" are not utilized, they are just undressed and dressed. Too bad they don't have more accessories and extra outfits!

Joshua's first lie

2008-08-01T21:19:00.002-04:00

According to Websters (1913), a lie is defined as a falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive.

Today, Joshua told me his very first lie...well, the first one I know about...

We were outside watering the garden. Our tomato plants are getting top heavy and pulling the cages over. I couldn't find any string but did find some florists wire and wire cutters to use to tie the cages upright. I let Joshua help me by cutting the wire with the cutters. When through, Joshua wanted to hold on to my wire cutters and carry them in for me, said he would come in in just a minute. As I turned toward the house, I specifically told Joshua to not cut anything with the wire cutters. By the time I got to the house, he was running in behind me.

About half an hour later, we went back outside and I noticed that one of the tomato cages I had just tied up had fallen over. I thought I must not have wrapped the wire enough, but looked at it and the wire was in two pieces.

Ugh...the wire broke? I can't believe that the tomato plant is heavy enough to break the wire. Can you? (And believe it or not, I was serious, I thought that the tomato plant was actually heavy enough to break the wire, it isn't very strong wire.)
Well, maybe someone threw a rock and the rock hit the wire and it broke (said in a very slight mumbling voice).
Or maybe someone cut the wire with some wire cutters.
No, I don't think so?
No?
Mommy, I'm sorry, ok?
Do you remember mommy telling you not to cut anything with the wire cutters?
No, I didn't hear you.
...sterm, disapproving look...
Mommy, I'm really really sorry, ok?

And then I did the whole I'm just a little bit disappointed that you cut the wire after I told you not to but I'm really disappointed that you told me a lie by saying you didn't do it when you did do it and next time you do something that you are not supposed to do, just tell me, don't lie to me spiel.

I am so not looking forward to the teen years...

Hot Fun in the Summertime

2008-07-29T17:00:00.006-04:00

Joshua and I spent the weekend in Litchfield, just south of Myrtle Beach, with Mimi (my mom). We had a terrific time and Joshua has become such a water horse. Just picture breakfast, beach, pool, dinner, bed with a sprinkling of Candy Land and books, then repeat, and you have summed up our entire weekend.

At the beach, Joshua had a great time boogieing (and yes, according to dictionary.com, this is really a word) on his boogie board. He seemed to have no fear, not even when wiping out in the waves. At the pool, we went from big pool to lazy river to kiddie pool. I imagine we went around the lazy river 2,065 times this weekend. He kept his lifejacket on and floated while Mimi and I rode in the tubes. Other than than the trip from the beach to the pool, one bathroom break and the moving from one pool to the other, Joshua was not out of the water from 10am until 3pm one day and 11am until 4pm the next.

I was really excited to find a live conch one day, whom we named George and kept in a bucket of sand and water for about an hour before returning him to the sea. We saw two jellyfish in the water...Joshua was then ready to leave the beach and go to the pool...We saw an alligator, whom Joshua named Allie, outside the Lazy Gator gift shop. And, we looked at turles, hermit crabs and sharks in the junk stores.

I would say it was a terrific weekend, and I think Joshua and Mimi would agree...we did miss daddy though...Scott had already planned to go with a friend on a fishing trip. Hopefully, next time he can join us.

breakfast with Spongebob....er...Spiderman!

2008-07-19T13:18:00.005-04:00

Adventure Landing in Raleigh has been having character breakfasts this summer. Scheduled to attend is Dora, Spongebob, Spiderman and Curious George. Since Joshua is "all about some Spongebob" right now, I bought tickets to eat breakfast, attend a meet and greet and one activity (they have minature golf, go-karts, etc.). The Spongebob breakfast was some time in June. Unfortunately, I forgot about it until the next day. I figured since we missed Spongebob that we were just out of luck, but, fortunately, Adventure Landing was kind enough to call me to tell me that we didn't attend and that they could transfer our tickets to another character. So, Spiderman, here we come. I didn't tell Joshua that I forgot...I just told him that we would be eating with Spiderman because Spongebob wasn't going to be there...not really a lie, just a stretch of the truth.

We stood in line so Joshua could get his picture taken with Spiderman. He was so excited while we waited, but a little apprehensive once we got there. Afterwards, we ate our fill at a breakfast buffet fit for the most discerning artery-clogging food lover. Then, we played $2.00 worth of games, minature golf, rode go-karts. Whew! What a fun-filled morning!

sniff sniff

2008-07-16T09:48:00.002-04:00

Mommy, I think about you when I am in school.
You do? I think about you too when you are in school.
What do you think?
I think about how much fun you are having with your friends, how much new stuff you are learning about, how much of a big boy you are.
You know what I think?
No, what do you think.
I think how much I love you...

OK, I officially love the Jump Zone

2008-07-10T22:38:00.003-04:00

Once again, Thursday afternoon, it's been too hot to play outside, I've been too busy with work to play with Joshua, I decide we should go to the Jump Zone. Joshua is all for it. Tonight, it wasn't too busy at all, which was good and bad. Good because it wasn't rowdy and crowded, bad because Joshua couldn't find a group to run with. He tried a couple of times but it just didn't stick. He kept running to me to "sit with you for a while." Finally, the owner's sons arrive...they are, just guessing, 7 and 9? This is the second time we have been on a Thursday evening and the second time we have seen the boys there...If my parents owned a place like Jump Zone, I think I would go a lot too...Anyway, I don't know why, but the youngest boy hooked up with Joshua and Joshua had the best time. They would slide, run around playing tag, play air hockey. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but last time we were there, I was playing air hockey with Joshua and one of the sons offered to "play with him if I wanted him too," which I thought was sweet. In a way, it made me wonder if the owner has told them to "help out" other kids who may be playing alone...or maybe they are just well-mannered, nice kids. Oh, and tonight, the owner gave Joshua a Jump Zone t-shirt. He was supposed to have gotten one at his birthday party, but he didn't...not sure how the conversation started tonight but, he did get his shirt. Joshua put the shirt on as soon as we got in the car.

What a rip!

2008-07-05T17:52:00.002-04:00

Joshua just spent a very good week in Tennessee with his Mimi (my mom). More about that later...

What a rip! That is Joshua's new favorite phrase. Where did it come from? I have never used that phrase, I've never heard Scott use that phrase, I don't recall Spongebob or Patrick or Mr Krabbs or Squidward using that phrase...and that is where most of Joshua's things come from these days...like oh barnacles! and oh tarter sauce! when things don't quiet go his way...but what a rip!?

Oh well, I'll update with more later...

Meeting Playmates

2008-06-26T22:04:00.003-04:00

I can't remember too much about being a 4 year old. My earliest real memory took place when I was 3 years old so I'm sure I have some 4 year old memories in there somewhere, I just don't know where or what they are. I can remember bits and pieces of being in nursery school...now called preschool...but not a lot. I definitely don't remember how I made friends at this age.

This evening, Joshua and I went to Jump Zone. For those of you who don't know, we had Joshua's 4th birthday party at Jump Zone and this is first time we have been since then. Most of the jumpy places in the area are only open during daytime hours during the week and are reserved for private parties on the weekends. I'm not sure why they think that children of working parents aren't interested in jumping...Luckily, Jump Zone has recently started having Family Fun Nights on Mondays and Thursdays so they are open from 5-8.

Anyway, we arrived at 5:03 and were the first ones there. Slowly others trickled in. The first to arrive was an older group of kids, maybe 6 years old. Someone was having a birthday party so all the kids were around the same age and knew each other. Joshua sees the group of 4 running around from slide to slide so Joshua starts running around right after them just like he was a part of their group. He had no idea he wasn't a member and they had no clue he was following them around. But, he felt like he belonged and he was having fun. I've seen him do this in other public settings too...he sees a group of kids running around together having fun and he just starts running around with them. Sometimes they interact with him and he really does join their group and sometimes they don't. Do all kids find playmates like this? Did I find playmates this way?

Joshua played several games of air hockey with some kids. He did pretty good considering it's only the second time he has ever played. One of the older boys played against him and did really well at hitting easy and letting Joshua score some. I later noticed that the boy's father is the owner of Jump Zone so I'm sure he gets plenty of practice playing against younger kids. Another older kid didn't take it easy on Joshua and kept slamming the puck. But then, Joshua played against a younger kid and that quickly built his ego back up. After playing against this one girl, they decided to hook up and jump some together. She initiated it by asking Joshua if he wanted to slide with her and he said ok. They were really cute...she gave him a big hug and told him bye when it was time for her to leave.

I really enjoy seeing Joshua making friends out of strangers, talking to kids, interacting with people. I'm glad he is growing out of his clingy stage.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

2008-06-22T21:41:00.003-04:00

Last week Joshua took swim lessons through the City of Raleigh. Last year, he had a parent/child class where I had to get in the water with him. This year, he had the Preschool Level I class and I was able to stay dry the entire time.

My mommy brain forgot that the class was last week until some friends reminded us. So, Joshua missed class on Monday and started on Tuesday. Even though he started a day late, he caught up with the rest of the class just like he had been there. Joshua did terrific. He went in the water without me without a single complaint. He listed to Ed, the instructor, and did everything he asked without hesitation. He stroked, he kicked, he blew bubbles, he stuck is face in the water....and, he jumped off the side, wearing a life vest, going all the way under the water...w00t w00t!

Joshua passed his class and is ready for Level II, "the harder class" as he calls it. Luckily, Ed also teaches Level II so we plan on signing up for it soon.

Conversations with Joshua

2008-06-17T21:32:00.004-04:00

I love having conversations with Joshua. I learn a lot about the funny mind of a 4 year old talking with him. Here are some conversations we had just today...well, yesterday now...

On What I want to be when I grow up:
Several months ago, Joshua announced he wanted to be a cowboy named Golden Pudding when he grew up. A few weeks ago, he decided he wanted to be a squid shooter...he told me that I could go in the submarine with him if I wanted to. Today, he decided he wanted to be an astronaut...the conversation went something like this
Mommy, can me and you ride on a spaceship sometime?
That would be fun wouldn't it. But you know what? Right now, not everyone can ride on a spaceship, only astronauts can.
Mommy, I changed my mind about being a squid shooter when I grow up
You did? What do you want to be when you grow up?
An astronaut silly. And you can be one too when you grow up if you want to.

On Babies:
Today after school, we went to Pelican's, along with Jessica-mom, Caitlin-4 yo, Camryn-soon to be 3 yo and Cassidy-soon to be 1 yo, for snoballs. I've driven by Pelican's thousands of times but never stopped. One day last week, Scott was going to pick Joshua up from school and I suggested they go to Pelican's and try it out...it was 100 degrees and thought they needed a treat...Well, Joshua is a big fan of snocones, Icees (is that how you spell the plural of Icee?) and such anyway, but now, I have created a snoball monster. It wasn't so bad when it was just snocones because those were only available at street fairs, arts and crafts fairs, State fairs, etc., snoballs are available 7 days a week! Sorry, I got sidetracked, back to my story about babies...this is our conversation in the car after leaving Pelican's.
Mommy, why she (meaning Jessica)have 3 babies?
Because she wants 3 babies.
Are you going to have 3 babies?
No, I'm not going to have 3 babies. Would you want a baby brother or sister?
Yea, I would like to have a baby brother, I don't want a baby sister?
What would you want to name a baby brother?
You could call him Joshua like me!
No, that would be confusing. I would say "Joshua, come here" and who would come?
You could name him Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones Johnson. I don't think that is a very good name.
He doesn't have Johnson in his name. Just Indiana Jones.
Well, if he was our baby in our family, he would have to have Johnson in his name because we have Johnson in our name.
Oh. How about Simon like Simon Says?

On Moving:
Jessica and her family are buying a new house and will soon be moving. Luckily, they are staying in the same area and not moving away.
I want to go to Caitlin's house again.
You want to see her new house?
No, her old house. I'm going to miss it. Is Caitlin going to miss it?
She might. But do you know what? Her new house is just down the street from her old house so she can walk there and see it.
And play with her toys too?
Oh, don't worry. All her toys and all her things are going to move into her new house with her.
Oh, ok. Good!!!

On Naps:
Are Sydney and Caitlin taking a nap right now?
I'm sure they are. Are you going to take a nap too?
No, I'm just going to take a little rest. Are they sleeping in their beds?
Yes, I'm sure they are. Do you want to take a rest in your bed?
No, I'm going to take a rest in my chair. That's what big boys do. Isn't it Mommy? Is that what big boys do?
I suppose so.
Are Sydney and Caitlin still asleep?
Probably.
Will you tell me when it is they wake up?
Sure.
I don't want to sleep if they are not asleep.
OK....(about 30 seconds later)...
Are they up yet?

All this and more in just one day. Parenting can be tiring...

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-17T11:10:00.005-04:00

What a nice Father's Day we had. The morning started with a big breakfast of country ham, eggs and biscuits...YUM! Scott and Joshua then went to see Indiana Jones.

Joshua has become an Indiana Jones fanatic...although, I'm not really sure if Joshua really really likes Indy or if Joshua likes Indy because Daddy really really likes Indy. Regardless of why Joshua likes it, he watches Indy 1, Indy 3, Scott won't let him watch Indy 2 because of the violence, on tv almost every day. He has an Indy bullwhip, an Indy "action figure" and we now have to buy food with Indy pictures on it, Frosted Flakes, Pop Tarts, he insisted we get Scott some Dr. Pepper because of Indy. I never realized how well all this marketing stuff works!

Anyway, while the boys were at the movies, I bought a trailer bike for Joshua that I found on Craigslist and went to 4 different grocery stores looking for beef ribs...plenty of pork ribs but beef ribs are evidently not too popular.

For dinner, we grilled pork and beef ribs, had corn on the cob from the Farmer's Market, mashed potatoes, cucumbers in vinegar and tea. Scott's parents came for dinner and then fixed homemade banana ice cream for dessert...I ate mashed potatoes for dessert :) We all ate waaaay too much but it was a good day.

Scott helped me remove the baby seat from my bike and attach the trailer bike. Joshua was so excited; however, once he got on it, he was scared and decided to wait until he is 5 years old to ride it. I'm hoping I'll be able to talk him into riding BEFORE he turns 5...I'm sure I will.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Father's Day!

sticker chart - day 2

2008-06-14T21:53:00.003-04:00

Friday, I finally got around to making Joshua's sticker chart, mainly because he has one at school and he has been bugging me to make him one at home. It is a week long, has brushing teeth in the morning, getting dressed, picking up toys, feeding Buddy dinner, having one treat...this one is great, Joshua thinks it's cool to get a sticker for eating one treat a day, I think it's cool because after he eats his treat and puts on a sticker, no more treats for the day!...no whining...I have had to remind him of this one twice today...taking a bath, brushing teeth and night, going to bed and a bonus block...we used this one today...Joshua left this morning without brushing his teeth (he brushes his own teeth in the morning and I help him brush at night) so he didn't get a sticker for that one, but he ate really really well today, all his breakfast and a great dinner, so I let him put a sticker in the bonus column...that way, he can miss one of this other "chores" and do something else to make up for it. He is really excited about it and likes putting the stickers on, but it is only day number 2. I'm sure the excitement will wear off quickly.

Food, Clothing and Shelter

2008-06-09T21:54:00.004-04:00

Food:
Thursday morning, I asked Joshua what he wanted for breakfast. We usually have to list the various kinds of cereal we have, go through the waffles, pancakes, french toast, toast and jelly, bacon and eggs options before he says he wants so and so cereal. But that morning, he emphatically said he wanted a jelly biscuit and can we make some. I turned on the oven, got out the flour, the bowl and the measuring cup and instructed Joshua to put in one scoop of flour. He scooped some, stuck in his hand and picked up a little more, smoothed it off nicely, got flour all over the place, but put his scoop in the bowl. I measured out the oil and milk which he poured in the bowl. He turned the mixer on himself. I scraped the dough out and he rolled it around in flour, patted it out, cut it with our biscuit cutter and put the biscuit dough in the pan....all while singing "Patty Cake"...I put them in the oven until they were done. He will really impress the ladies one day with this biscuit baking ability.

Clothing:
Sometimes, getting clothes on Joshua can be a chore...he likes to try to jump into his underwear and shorts, he likes to run around in circles while you try to get the shirt over his head, he likes to kick his feet and see if you can catch them to put his socks on, you know, 4 year old stuff...One morning, Joshua went into his room, closed his door and came out dressed. He even put on his belt, which he buckled himself, tucked his shirt in, put on a cap...I think he is trying to be like Daddy.

Shelter:
Well, this isn't really about shelter, but food, clothing and going to the potty doesn't make for a good title. We were eating dinner at a small restaurant with single stall restrooms. Joshua gets up from the table, goes to the bathroom, shuts the door...I can see the bathroom from our table...I wait, and wait, and wait, I go to the door and ask if he needs help and he assures me no, he can do it himself. He comes out and says I had to go poo poo. When you gotta go, you gotta go!

A weekend get away

2008-06-09T12:02:00.017-04:00

This weekend, Joshua and I went to the beach with our friends Elizabeth, Ashley (4 yo) and Sarah (2 yo). I must say I had a wonderful time and I think the kids did too. Joshua was very excited to go but we couldn't leave until after work. We ran some errands at lunch time and, upon returning home, Joshua refused to get out of the car, he wanted to go then! I unbuckled his carseat and left the doors open so that he could come back inside the house once he realized I was telling the truth that we weren't leaving yet.

The weather has been really really HOT at 100 degrees, not including the heat index, so Saturday, we decided to go to the beach early before it heated up too much. Wow, does it take a lot of stuff for 2 adults and 3 kids on the beach. I can remember the good ole days when all I needed was a towel, a radio and Hawaiian Tripic Dark Tanning Oil with SPF 0. Now, it takes chairs, towels, toys, a cooler, snacks and a wide spectrum of of sunscreen ranging from SPF 15 to SPF 50, kid friendly sunscreen, face sunscreen, SPF lip balm, lotion, spray-on...We looked like we were exoding Oklahoma during the 1930s dust bowl. Luckily, we found a spot directly across from the beach access ramp.

Finally, we staked our claim to our little spot on the beach, lotioned up, and headed in. The kids had a terrific time playing in the waves. Joshua and Ashley would run in and out of the waves, they would jump the waves, the waves would knock them down, they would sit and let the waves crash into them. Sarah wanted to be right there with them, but she is a bit smaller...of course, she doesn't realize that though...She finally settled in to sitting and letting the waves crash into her. A few times, the waves crashed right over her and she would be floating away, we would catch her and she would sit up and smile ready to do it over again. We collected some seashells, ate some snacks, played in the water some more, until we were ready for lunch. A few minor observations from our morning at the beach: 1) When a wave knocks you down, don't smile or laugh, close your mouth; 2) For parents of kids this age, it's not hard work, but it isn't relaxing either.

By the time we left the beach, the sand was sooo hot. Even though we all had on sandals, the sand would get in our sandals and we kept having to stop and dump them out so our feet wouldn't burn. We headed to The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shoresfor lunch and for an air conditioning break. Ashley enjoyed showing Joshua the aquarium, Joshua enjoyed seeing all the sea life...he is really into sea life and love sharks best of all. He has about 5 different shark shirts and probably 5 different shark books and even more shark puzzles. He can look at a picture of a shark and more likely than not be able to tell you what kind of shark it is and some sort of fact about it. Unfortunately for me, yet fortunately for Joshua, a kid was exiting the aquarium with a stuffed shark at the same time we were entering the aquarium....now, Joshua has a stuffed shark to add to his shark collection as well as a smushed penny with a shark on it.

As a side note, Joshua collects the smushed pennies. He gets one every time we go somewhere that has a machine to smush a penny. The aquarium had a great souvenir penny album that we purchased so that he can keep his smushed penny collection all in one place.

Anyway, after the aquarium, Elizabeth and the girls went back to clean up while Joshua and I rode into Morehead to buy Scott some Sanitary t-shirts. For those of you that don't know, Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant is a very popular spot...not sure if it is more popular for eating or for buying their t-shirts though...Then, Joshua and I cleaned up and we went to dinner and then back to let the kids run and run and run.

Sunday, Joshua and I went to the beach for about an hour and then he was ready to leave. I stopped at the first convenience store on my side of the road for gas and ice and Joshua was already asleep. He slept all the way, waking up when we were 1 1/2 miles away from home.

I think Joshua and Ashley played together really well. They have similar silly personalities and told each other a lot of jokes. I'm sure Joshua enjoyed having someone to laugh at his jokes other than me! He wasn't really sure what to do with Sarah. Sarah, like I previously mentioned, has no clue that she isn't 4 years old, and was right in the middle of everything Joshua and Ashley were doing. Anyway, it was a bit of a struggle for Joshua because, as he said, Sarah doesn't know how to play by the rules. He doesn't have a younger sibling at home to know how to handle the situation. He did pretty good for the most part. By Sunday, he had had about enough of being well behaved, had a minor meltdown, pushed Sarah a couple of times, but Sarah is tough, she can handle herself.

Elizabeth, Ashley, Sarah, thanks for sharing your beach house with us. We enjoyed it! Only now, Joshua wants his own beach house!

When does it change?

2008-05-30T16:49:00.002-04:00

Joshua refuses to learn to push himself in a swing, he prefers to have someone else push him. I've noticed several of his friends can do it and I wish he would learn to do it to. I want to be one of the moms that can sit on a bench and talk to other moms while my child is swinging.

Well, Joshua and I were having a talk about it this week, and, I found myself saying "But all your friends can push themselves." Yes, I said it... I've also wanted to say it to try to persuade him to drink his milk cold as opposed to warm (he used to drink it cold, but then he got sick during the winter and I gave him warm milk to help comfort him and he has refused to drink cold milk ever since) and to get him to try riding his bicycle again (he was so excited when we first got his bicycle, the first time he rode it, the pedal fell off - it was preassembled at the store and I didn't check all the screws - and he has only ridden it one time since then because he is afraid the pedal is going to fall off...not that he fell off or anything, just the pedal...), but I stopped myself.

Embarassment or shame is not a good motivator and I thought about that right after I said it so I will not be saying it again. But, it did get me thinking....I wonder when will my thoughts change from "But all your friends are doing it" to "Well, if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?"!

It's been a while

2008-05-28T20:33:00.005-04:00

I haven't been spending much time online lately and the blog hasn't been updated in a while. So, here are just a few random things.

Nums? For months, Joshua has been calling my boobs "nums." I had no idea where the word "nums" came from...he never asked what they were and I guess I never told him what they were called so "nums" was the chosen word. One night, we were playing with Joshua's doctor kit, he was the doctor, I was the patient. He had his stethescope on, listened to my heartbeat and then, he went to my back and told me to breath deep so he could listen to my....yep, you guessed it "nums!" Lungs/nums, made perfect sense...I am happy to have that one solved.

Joshua still tells me "Mommy, you look beautiful", "Mommy, your hair is pretty", and, I guess he has a favorite shirt of mine and he even asked me to wear it one day because I look beautiful when I wear it.

Butt, poop, booger, booger butt, poop butt, booger nose, any combination and we hear it NUMEROUS times per day. I've told Joshua he is only allowed to say these words at home...as far as I know, he only says them at home (knock on wood). A couple of times, he has attempted to call me "butt" but I told him not to call me "butt" because I don't like it. He then said "But I was just going to call you butterfly. You like being called butterfly don't you?" And how can I say no to being called "butterfly?" Butterflies are beautiful, butterflies are delicate, butterflies are fun. Yep, this is just the beginning...he is going to smile and talk his way out of or into anything.

The other night, we were playing Burger King drive-thru. Joshua was driving thru and ordering, I was giving him the food and the toy. It was really fun listening to his orders..."I'll have a double ketchup and milk shake. And put my ketchup on my fries and none on my cheeseburger."

In addition to making up words, Joshua likes to make up jokes. The joke for today was What did the cow say when he ran out of milk? "I ran out of milk!" And Joshua laughed out loud and said "Wasn't that hilarious?!"

He is also obsessed with rhyming words, but he isn't very good at it yet. "Mommy, does water and watermelon rhyme?" "Does light and light bulb rhyme?" "Mommy, does sit and chair rhyme? How about bed and chair?" He gets a little disappointed when the words don't rhyme...but I guess it's good that he realizes the words are somehow related. He doesn't completely miss the point, he comes up with words that do rhyme too but that is not as interesting to blog about.

Well, that's it for now...I promise not to take so long to update next time.

Just some random things

2008-05-13T09:05:00.002-04:00

Well, Scott came back from his fishing trip and all was right again with Joshua's world. He was very happy to have his Daddy home again.

We had a full day on Saturday starting with Joshua getting a hair cut. He is still going to Peek A Do, a kid's hair salon that has toys and DVDs to watch. It is a little more expensive than, say, a Cost Cutters, but he sits quietly and still, listens to everything the girl says, answers her when she asks questions, so I can't complain and I'm not changing until he thinks he is too old to go there. I think he has bonded with his stylist because, after his hair cut last time, she played with him for a while. This time, she even remembered him.

After Joshua's hair cut, we made a trip through McDonald's drive-thru....yes, McDonald's...it wasn't Sunday after church but Joshua behaved so well getting his hair cut that he got a special treat...plus, I wanted McDonald's french fries. That afternoon, me, Joshua and my dad went to Alex's 4th birthday party. It was a pirate themed party and Joshua, and it looked like all the other kids, had a great time. Joshua had chosen to give Alex a Cariboo game...Joshua loves to play Cariboo and we play it numerous times EVERY day...evidently other people think it's a great game too because Alex ended up receiving 3 of them!

That evening, we went to Triangle Town Center so my dad to visit the Orvis store. We ate dinner at Champs and saw Cassie, a girl that had worked at Joshua's old daycare center. Joshua left the daycare two years ago but Cassie remembered his name...Joshua didn't remember her though...she was his very favorite teacher at the time and, remembering his name after two years shows what a special person she must be.

Well, off to draw some dinosaurs now!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-12T10:00:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Joshua and Buddy gave me cards, Scott gave me red roses, that smell wonderful, and an MP3 player. Joshua also gave me a hug, told me Happy Mother's Day and that he loved me. Then, we began discussing where to go for breakfast.

I don't want to go eat breakfast. I want to eat here.
Today is Mother's Day, Mommy gets to choose where she wants to eat.
Is there a Kid's Day?
Every day is Kid's Day.
No, is there a Kid's Day like there is a Mother's Day? When it's Kid's Day, I want to eat where I want to eat.

We decided to go to IHOP, we haven't been since it opened. It was pouring rain and people were crammed inside the door. We changed direction and went to Cracker Barrel. At least there were a lot of things to look at as we waited, and waited, and waited. And my pancakes were super yummy.

After breakfast we came home, played a little while, Joshua went to his Memaw's house in the afternoon, I took a nap...Scott said I snored but I'm not sure if I believe him. Joshua went to dinner with Memaw and Papaw and Scott and I went to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then strolled around Target for a while. That's what happens when you get old and have young children, you go out to eat dinner at 5:00 and then stroll around Target because you can't remember what you used to do on a date...and even a trip to Target or the grocery store without a child is a treat.

Friday, Joshua's school had a little Mother's Day program. The kids sang a song and we had donuts and juice and he gave me a flower pot with a bulb planted in it...he said it is a purple flower. As you can see, Joshua didn't sing, he kept smiling waiting for me to take a picture, he didn't know I was taking a movie.

Lastly, I've gotten a couple of random "Mommy you look beautiful"s this weekend. I'm guessing Joshua's school told the kids to say it. If not, I'm not sure where they are coming from...and I dont' really care who told him to say it, I just love hearing it!

Did he get me on a technicality?

2008-05-09T16:49:00.002-04:00

You decide.

Joshua is a sucker for the latest and greatest marketing ploys by the fast food industries. He does not choose where he wants to eat by the food, but rather by what toy they include in their kids meals. There are countless times we hit the drive-thru at McDonald's or Burger King, food is wasted and the toy goes in the toy box. Joshua doesn't even like the food at Burger King yet he will beg and plead to go there.

A few weeks ago, I made a deal with Joshua. We agreed we would only go to McDonald's or Burger King after church.

McDonald's has been advertising Speed Racer toys are now in Happy Meals. Joshua has been begging to go to McDonald's since 2:00 today...he is so hungry (even though he ate lunch at school) and he doesn't like anything we have here. I reminded him of our deal...

"Mommy, my school is a church so I went to church today. Can we go to McDonald's now?"

A technicality? I think not...From now on, I'll make sure I'm more precise when dealing with a 4 year old...We only eat at McDonald's or Burger King after church on Sunday!

Lost and Found

2008-05-08T14:30:00.005-04:00

Lost: One little boy without his Daddy

Scott and Papaw Bob (my dad) left Tuesday for a fishing trip. Joshua cried before they left. He cried after they left. He cried about ten times that day. We reminisced about Daddy. Joshua would say "I miss Daddy. Do you think Daddy misses me?" I assurred him that his Daddy did miss him very much. "Do you think Daddy misses us as much as we miss him?" I assured him that his Daddy misses us even more than we miss him. "I miss all the fun we have." Evidently, I am not as fun as Daddy. To take his mind off his woes, we went out to eat to my new favorite burger place, Bass Lake Draft House and to Joshua's favorite store, Wal Mart. Even though I got Joshua in bed around 9:00, he was still up at 10:00. I ended up sleeping on the top bunk because he was scared without Daddy.

Wednesday was a much better day, Joshua woke up ready for school, was happy all day, we met our friends Elizabeth, Ashley and Sarah for dinner at Chick Fil A. All was good. He only talked about Daddy a couple of times. "I miss Daddy. Do you think Daddy misses me?", "I miss Daddy thiiiiiis big (and he stretches his arms out really wide). How big do you miss Daddy. Do you think Daddy misses us as much as we miss him?"

Thursday started out a little rough. Joshua knew Daddy was coming home on Thursday so as soon as he woke up, he ran into the bedroom looking for Daddy....however, Daddy isn't coming home until later. One of our favorite morning cartoons is Tom and Jerry. Today, Joshua didn't want to watch Tom and Jerry...he cried when Tom and Jerry came on and made me turn it..."Tom and Jerry isn't fun when Daddy isn't here." Note to Daddy: Keep your cell phone on when you are out of town so that we can call you.

Lost: One bat costume

This morning, I can only guess it is because Daddy is still gone and Joshua is upset, Joshua remembered a bat Halloween costume we saw at a consignment store two...that's right, I said two Halloweens ago. Rewind to Halloween 2006, we had been watching a lot of Dora's Halloween DVD, Diego is dressed up like a bat, we see this bat costume, I show it to Joshua, Joshua doesn't want to be a bad, we don't buy it. He ends up being Batman that year. Fast forwward to today, Joshua wants the bat costume. He is crying because we did not buy the bat costume, he is crying because someone else probably bought the costume, he is crying because they do not have another bat costume, he is crying because it is not Halloween and the spooky store at the mall is not there any more. He has decided he wants me to make him a bat costume...I am hoping that he soon forgets about the bat costume...

Found: One long lost friend

Today, Joshua and I had lunch with Kristin and her son Grant. It has been about 5 or 6 years since I last saw Kristin. It was nice to see her and to meet Grant. She was just as pretty and funny as I remembered, and her son is just like her. Joshua and Grant seemed to play well together, as well as two kids can play at a restaurant I suppose. Hopefully they will come visit soon so we can get some mom to mom and son to son bonding time.

Found: A renewed passion for home cooked meals

Well, sort of. This week, Joshua and I ate dinner out on Tuesday by ourselves, dinner out on Wednesday with my friend Elizabeth and Joshua's friends Ashley and Sarah, lunch out on Thursday with Kristin and Grant and finally, dinner out on Thursday with my friend Kelly and Joshua's friends Sydney and Mollie. I think I'm going to be cooking at home for the next few weeks!

Soccer

2008-05-03T22:26:00.005-04:00

Chatham County has a soccer league that begins at age 4. Joshua loves to play in the yard and he is a pretty good kicker and dribbler, at least I think he is, he is the only 4 year old I've ever played soccer with...heck, he is the ONLY one I've ever played soccer with. So, I thought I'd talk to him and see what he thought. Here is how it went...

Joshua, do you think you would like to play soccer?
I play soccer.
No, on a team. Do you know what playing on a team means?
With friends I already have?
No, with new friends.
I'll get a trophy! Will I get a trophy?
Yes, you will probably get a trophy. And, you'll get a uniform and shin guards and soccer shoes.
Oh boy! I'll get a trophy! Do you know what number I want? I want number 4.
Well, you might not get to be number 4. Someone else may already have number 4.
So, do you think you would like to try playing?
Yes! I'm gonna get a trophy! I'm gonna get a trophy!

Registration starts May 10. I am excited. I hope Joshua will be excited too.

All things Spring

2008-04-30T21:21:00.003-04:00

The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven -
All's right with the world!
~Robert Browning

Sunday, Joshua and I went strawberry picking at Buckwheat Farms. It was a lot of fun...but we didn't pick too many...The competitive side of Joshua was really coming out and he wanted to make sure he picked more than I did so he wasn't very careful about choosing good berries to pick. A lot of yucky ones were getting into his bucket and I hated to have to pay for yucky ones. I kept sneaking some good ones into his bucket so that he would be the winner and then I suggested we stop picking so that we could go home and eat them. We bought some pre-picked berries also. One strawberry pie and several servings of strawberry shortcake later, all our strawberries are gone. Looking forward to picking again soon!

Saturday was Spring Daze in Cary. Joshua and I drove past Bond Park, where Spring Daze is held, to park at the parking deck of the Town of Cary. If you parked in the parking deck, there was a free shuttle to the fair...Joshua loves riding busses so we went that route. Last year, we parked at the event but had to walk and walk and walk to get to the actual exhibits...the shuttle bus dropped us off right in the middle of things. There were a lot of arts and crafts but the only thing we felt the need to buy was a strawberry/banana smoothie, a sno cone, french fries, popcorn and a hamburger (the hamburger was for me, Joshua ate everything else). We watched a pirate swordfighting show which he absolutely loved...he is really into pirates, swords and bullwhips. And we caught Magician Michael Creech...He was very entertaining for the kids. He asked for volunteers from the audience several times, Joshua raised his hand each time but was not chosen...he seemed to choose older kids, around 6 or 7. I'm sure he didn't want to get someone too young who wouldn't participate once they were chosen. Anyway, his final trick is normally to saw a woman in half, but the woman was home sick, so he was going to cut himself in half with two handkerchiefs tied together. He tied the two handkerchiefs together, chose Joshua to come up and make sure the knot was tight, which Joshua did, he then told Joshua to turn around and show the audience his muscles, which Joshua did...yes! Joshua! The kid who sometimes hide his face in my side when a stranger speaks to him stood up in front of the entire audience and showed us his muscles! I was so proud! What a Kodak moment! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me...now, back to the show...The Magician pulled the handkerchiefs and, instead of cutting him in half, the handkerchiefs pulled off his underwear! After the show, Joshua told me he wanted to go up on stage and help but he wasn't chosen to do that, he was only chosen to see the knot was tight. I reminded him that he pulled the knot sooo tight that it pulled the guys underwear right off of him...that did the trick, he thought it was funny and forgot all about not going up on stage.

Friday, we went to the park for a little while. There were only two other little girls there. Joshua and the older girl started playing together. She was very cute, but a squealer. They were playing chase and she would squeal and laugh, they would slide and she would squeal and laugh, they played in the sandbox and she squealed and laughed...it reminded me of those movies where you would see the beautiful girl in the flowing white dress playfully giggling, running around and hiding from the admiring man and then she would disappear into the mist because she was a ghost and not really there at all...I think I watch too many movies...

Thursday, Joshua had some friends over to play, Ben, Jordan and Chase. They squirted each other, Buddy, a poor frog, my plants, me and Tracy with water guns, they romped through the woods, they played on the swings, they had sword fights, they played games, they had a wonderful time together. I was so proud of Joshua for sharing his toys without making a fuss. I know it is an age thing, but I just get so excited when I see him playing with others and not hiding behind me or hanging onto me or sitting on my lap or making me play too!

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.
~Bern Williams

The week in review

2008-04-21T20:35:00.003-04:00

Not a lot has been happening in the Johnson household during the past week. I've been busier than I'd like to be with work...But, I shouldn't complain so I'll just call it "job security." The weather was great but each time I started to get up from my chair, a new fax or email would come in and I would have to do more work. Joshua and I didn't make it to the park or any place else, we barely made it outside!

What time we were outside, we spent planting some flowers, digging up earthworms and trying to figure out what kind of leaves tent caterpillars will eat other than the leaves on my rose bush. Joshua has a new butterfly net...we haven't seen any butterflies yet, but he has been busy trying to catch dragonflies.

Friday, we had two hummingbirds buzzing past our heads. I read where individual hummingbirds return to the same area year after year. Normally, it seems they come to the window of the house and look in to let me know they are here and want food. I guess since I was outside they decided to use the more direct approach. My old hummer feeder cracked so I went to the garden center and bought a new one...I hope they like it.

Lightening bugs are also out. They are still really high in the trees, but they are out! A sure sign that Spring/Summer is really here.

This weekend, we mulched, mowed and burned. We had huge piles of wood where we did some clearing and had a nice bonfire. Joshua was a big helper...he liked throwing limbs onto the fire and riding in the wheelbarrow. After all the work, my legs and back were sore...still are a little bit.

Now, it's Monday and a new week. Hopefully, this one will be a little more interesting.

Men and their Superheroes

2008-04-15T10:37:00.006-04:00

For some reason, boys love Superheroes as much as girls love Princesses. As I have previously mentioned, Joshua is Superhero crazy. And I have recently come to realize that many boys never outgrow their Superhero fascination.

My first exposure to men and their Superheroes came by way of a former co-worker. Every Wednesday, he would stay late in the office so that he could go to the comic book store on his way home to buy the latest issue of whatever comic books he collected. He bought one to read, one to keep wrapped up untouched by mere mortal hands. I never thought too much about it, I just considered him a comic book nerd.

My next experience was Halloween...Joshua dressed up as Spiderman. The 2nd house we went to, the man answered the door and sang the entire Spiderman theme song. It really embarrassed Joshua and he wanted to take off his costume and go home. Luckily, I convinced him to just take off the mask, leave the rest of the costume on and continue with our Trick or Treating...It ended up being a terrific night.

My latest, and most prolific examples came from our travels through airports. Joshua was sporting his Batman backpack and, while de-boarding the plane and walking through the tunnel, Joshua and I heard a man sing the Batman song. A couple was standing behind us while in one of our many lines at the airport, the man turned to the woman and said aloud that he thought he saw Superman out the plane window while we were flying. Numerous men mentioned Batman by way of by saying they liked the Batman backpack, cool backpack, wow-you have a Batman backpack or by singing the Batman song. It happened time and time again.

I guess some boys never grow up...But what about girls? Are there women still obsessed with Princesses? For those of you with girls who dress as Princesses, carry Princess backpacks, wear Princess shirts, etc., do you get a lot of Princess comments from random women?

So, all together now...you all know it...the lyrics are simple...let's sing them together
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, Batman!
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, Batman!
Batman, Batman, Batman!

Dancing in the street

2008-04-11T16:06:00.005-04:00

"If you dance in the street with children, no one looks at you like you're crazy." Mimi, April 6, 2008.

Hola y Hasta Luego

2008-04-09T10:09:00.014-04:00

Oh boy! Where to start? What to say? There is just so much!

Joshua loved the airplane. He doesn't remember his first flight as he was just a little over a year old, but this flight was terrific. He was so excited! Every time the plane would move he would yell "We're going now!" only to have his excitement diminish when we didn't take off...this happened time and time again for the 40 minutes we waited because there was an air traffic jam over Charlotte. Once we were airborn, he looked out the window and talked the entire time. We arrived in Charlotte just in time to board our next plane. The flight to Cancun took 2 1/2 hours, Joshua slept a little over an hour. We arrived without incident.

There is just so much to tell about Cancun...I'm going to give you all the condensed version...

Joshua played in the sand building castles and digging holes. He played in the ocean and let the waves crash over his head without once crying. I get the tiniest drop of bath water on his nose and you would think it was burning him like acid, but let a wave crash over his head and he coughs and gags and spits and smiles and gets right back in every time. Not one time did I have to wipe his eyes with a towel!

The resort had an amazing childrens program. My Joshua, the boy who used to hold onto my legs and not play anywhere or anything or with anyone unless I played too, participated in a water balloon fight, painted a t-shirt, had a Batman face painting done, played freeze tag and musical chairs. He made a friend while there, another 4 year old boy named Jack. Jack had some great water toys so he and Joshua had shoot outs with water squirters and water guns and played with some other water toys. In just a few days, he was reaching down to the bottom of the kid pool, water covering his mouth, to pick up toys and he was floating unassisted with his ring floaty.

We rode on busses, saw iguanas, ate at McDonalds. Joshua had a daily drink during happy hour by the pool...a strawberry/banana/orange juice smoothie. Except for our McDonalds dinner, we ate our meals in. After a hard day of swimming, sunning and sanding, Joshua didn't want to shower, dress and go out.

The second portion of our trip took us from Cancun to Playa del Carmen.

We had more sunning, sanding, beaching and pooling. Joshua has now mastered his ring floaty and can kick to move through the water forwards and backwards.

Playa del Carmen is a great little town. 5th Avenue is open to pedestrian traffic only and is filled with bars, restaurants and junk stores. There are tons of cruise ship people shopping during the day and eating, drinking, music and dancing at night. We ate lunch on the beach, table and chairs in the sand; we ate dinner on the street, people walking by and a mariachi band behind us. We went into every other junk store and t-shirt store. I thought the junk stores were funny, half filled with souveniers, half filled with tequila...although I guess tequila could be considered a souvenier by some.

Our last day, we went to Xel-Ha, an all inclusive water park. What a fantastic way to spend the day! We floated down a lazy river, we swam in the water, we swam into a cave, we played on the playground, we watched others swim with dolphins, we lazed in hammocks, a lot of people snorkeled, we ate breakfast, we ate lunch, we ate ice cream (all food, drinks-including alcoholic beverages-were included with the price of admission).

The airplane rides home were uneventful, except for all the standing in line...baggage check-in, security, customs, in both Cancun and Charlotte. It's rather tiring standing in long lines with a tired, hungry 4 year old and carrying a backpack, a purse, Joshua's backpack, 2 pieces of luggage, airline tickets, passports and a bear...and then Joshua holds up his arms for me to hold him too...Uh, no!

We made it through an entire week without any serious incidents, only minor ones...Joshua didn't have his pillow and wanted to go home; McDonald's didn't have milk or apple juice or Pirates of the Carribean toys so he wanted to go home; Joshua got up from his hammock and someone else got into it he had a meltdown; I opened the locker and returned the key without Joshua so we had another meltdown; and finally, a wave carried his shovel away, he loved his shovel, he will never see his shovel again, the wave wasn't very nice to take his shovel away...2 days later, he still gets teary eyed thinking about his shovel....ask Joshua if he had a good time in Mexico, he tears up and the first thing he says is a wave took his shovel away...

I hope that he always has fond memories of this trip and not just sad memories of the lost shovel...

That was my friend, I miss him...

2008-03-30T21:51:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week, we blew up a bunch of balloons to play with. All but one had been popped until tonight. Joshua was playing with the balloon and his toy pliars, he was trying to pop the balloon by pinching it with his plairs. The balloon popped and he moved on to another activity.

A bit later, he found a piece of the popped balloon, brought it to me with tears in his eyes, asking me if what he was holding was a piece of his balloon. I told him it was. He starts crying uncontrollably, red faced, huge tears, nose running..."He's popped! Why is he popped?" I reminded Joshua that he is the one that popped the balloon with his pliars. He said "I wanted it to be a party game, but it wasn't a party game. Don't throw the pieces away. I want to keep them." Then, he is crying even harder and his speech sounds like a car with a dead battery trying to start as he says "That was my friend. I miss him. He just liked floating around." And over and over again...as soon as I think he has calmed down, he says "He just liked floating around." He did this for a good solid 15 minutes, which is a long time to be crying over a balloon that he popped himself that I can't do anything about!

Some things I will never understand...

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2008-03-29T20:27:00.007-04:00

The Good:
Joshua's friend, Caitlin, invited him to a teddy bear picnic today at her church. Everyone brought a blanket to spread on the floor and their favorite bear and ate hotdogs and chips. Then, they made a flower and flower pot craft, decorated and ate a cookie, sang and danced. The hotdog, craft and cookie were big hits with Joshua; the singing and dancing, not so much. He didn't want to go onto the dance floor, he didn't want to shake a maraca, he didn't want to stand, he wanted to sit on my lap. He finally started moving around a little, found a basketball and a friend and then had fun. He and his friend took turns shooting hoops and chasing each other around the room. Caitlin, the great entertainer that she is, danced on stage with the teenage girls. Joshua then got his turn honking the bulb horn, and Oh Boy!, did he have fun then!

Next, we got Joshua's haircut. He did such a good job, I was very proud of him. He sat in the chair by himself, he didn't have to hold my hand, he talked to the lady, he smiled, he laughed, he let her use the blow dryer. After the haircut, he took her into the play area and showed her all the toys and how they worked. He has come along way from sitting on my lap, refusing to wear a cape and screaming the entire time.

It being Saturday, it was time for our weekly trip to McDonalds. If McDonalds knows one thing, it's how to market to kids. Gotta get those Happy Meal toys. I really can't complain too much though, Joshua will agree to almost anything if a Happy Meal is involved.

The promise and delivery of a Happy Meal is how we ended up at the mall next. Davey Jones pirate Happy Meal toy in hand, Joshua followed me through the entire women's clothing section and was rather agreeable. He "helped" me pick out some tops and told me I looked beautiful in all of them as I tried them on. We then went to his clothing department and, luckily, he can't read clothing sizes yet...so, ummm, none of the shirts that came with toys were his size.

After such a successful and pleasant shopping experience, we couldn't leave the mall without going to the children's play area. It was so crowded that I could barely find a place to stand. Joshua didn't care though. He ran...and ran fast. He had numerous near misses and one head-on collision, from which he just stood up and kept on running. I really think he is in training for a BCS game (notice that I didn't specify ACC or SEC, we'll have to wait and see). Anyway, Joshua played and ran the entire time we were there. He can now jump onto the whistle, the baseball, the basketball...still can't get on the soccer ball or goals, but he tried. He also talked to a few other kids! It doesn't seem all that long ago that he would drag me saying "Mommy, come with me..." or not play at all.

The Bad:
Just some minor irritations about the children's play area in the mall. 1) There is a size limit. If you can't fit through the little door, you shouldn't be playing there; 2) The mall and all the other parents are not babysitters. You are not supposed to leave your too tall children in the play area while you are shopping; 3) Parents, watch your own children. I saw a too tall boy climb on the top of the slide and scoot over until he was almost above the entrance. I also saw a little girl push another little girl off of the bat. The dad of the pushee did say something to the pusher but the pusher's parent was no where in sight...that I know of...if the parent was in sight, the parent sure didn't take action.

The Ugly:
In the play area, I also saw a girl and a boy almost come to blows. I thought it became a little heated for a couple of 5 or 6 year olds. Not sure who ran into who, but the next thing I know they are pushing each other back and forth...Luckily, the mom of the boy came to the rescue. The parent of the girl was no where in sight...she was probably the big sister of the pusher mentioned above.

Not sure why, but I find it hard to say something to children in these situations, especially when the child isn't mine. Would I have done something if the two kids did start hitting each other or would I have stood there looking around hoping one of their parents would notice? I know I wouldn't have told the pushee "excuse me, but that was not a nice thing to do" like the pushee's dad did if she had pushed Joshua. I've never told a strange child to stop, don't do that, that wasn't nice or anything else.

Anyway, after all we did today, Joshua was still willing to get a few things from the grocery store so I gave him 2 quarters for the sticker machine...He got a Spongebob and a Patrick sticker so today was the best day ever.

move over Batman and Superman, there are some new toons in town

2008-03-24T22:14:00.011-04:00

Joshua has gone, dare I say it, Spongebob Squarepants crazy. We watch Spongebob numerous times per day. When given the choice between Batman, Max and Ruby, Scooby Doo and Spongebob, he now chooses Spongebob!

He has certain scenes from the cartoons memorized and has me recite them with him...I can't remember how they go so he has to tell me what to say. For those of you that watch Spongebob, the scenes are the one where Spongebob wants to know what is in Patrick's secret box and the one where Squidward has "some errands to run" and Spongebob is left to mind The Krabby Patty alone. I'll have to admit, I do pretty good Patrick and Squidward impressions, but my Spongebob needs some work.

As for "stuff", Joshua has a Spongebob lamp, Spongebob pajamas, a Spongebob t-shirt, 2 Spongebob dvds, the Easter Bunny brought him Spongebob bedsheets. He asked me where his Spongebob blanket was, I told him he didn't have a Spongebob blanket. He said "Oh, but we will..."

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T19:00:00.011-04:00

This was Easter weekend, and it was a good weekend. Joshua learned the story of Easter in preschool. I'm not one-hundred percent positive that the Easter story is such a good story to be teaching 4 year olds. Joshua was full of questions and concerns of bad soldiers putting stickers on our heads and nails in our hands and feet. One day, he was lying under a chair telling me that it was a cave that the bad soldiers put him in...Anyway, at least he did learn the story...not sure if 3 months makes a big difference, but he seems to have learned more and understood more of the Story of Easter than of the Story of Christmas.

Friday, a couple of Joshua's friends came over to play, hunt Easter Eggs and eat. Due to a new baby sister, illnesses and vacations, only two of his friends made it this year...probably not a bad thing at all because Joshua still hasn't mastered the art of sharing his toys while at his house. It was beautiful weather so we spent the entire morning outside playing T-ball, collecting rocks, walking through the woods on an adventure hike and hunting Easter Eggs. Of course, the cupcakes and Easter candy were the highlights of the day.

The Easter Bunny did visit and brought Joshua an Easter basket with one chocolate bunny, Peeps, Life Savers, a football and a cowboy costume. Joshua has been playing cowboy for the past several weeks...don't spread it around but his cowboy name is Golden Pudding...ok, no idea where that came from but it makes me think of banana pudding every time he says it...Anyway, he has been wearing my old straw golf hat, his belt, and carrying a stick shaped like a rifle. Now, he has the real deal. He is so funny walking around saying "How you doin' yall?" and "Howdy partner."

It was another beautiful day weather-wise so Joshua and Scott worked at clearing some brush and trees out of the woods while I sat and pulled weeds out of the flower bed. We had a super yummy Easter dinner with Scott's parents (w00t! w00t! no cooking or cleaning at our house-great big thanks going out to Memaw).

Joshua the sweet talker

2008-03-19T19:40:00.003-04:00

Today, Joshua was running through his myriad of nicknames for me...Mommy booger in your nose, Mommy poo poo on your head, Mommy pooper scooper, etc., and I went through my myriad of eww yuckies, eww no's and eww I don't want to be called thats. Lastly, he came up with Mommy pupa supa. And then he asked me "Mommy, what is a pupa supa?" I said I didn't know, he is the one that said it, and I asked him what pupa supa meant. He said, with a huge smile on his face, "It means funny and beautiful."

Joshua is packing

2008-03-16T13:23:00.018-04:00

Joshua and I are going on vacation to Mexico, leaving April 2. My mom, her husband John, his daughter Rachael and her son Jake will be there. They will be staying for two weeks, the first in Cancun, the second in Playa del Carmen. Joshua and I will only be staying one week, half a week in each place. I think it will be a lot of fun once we get there...I am a little worried about the plane trip, I'm hoping Joshua will not get bored and restless.

While in Cancun, we are staying at The Royal Sands. At Playa del Carmen, we are staying at Paseo Del Sol. (if you click on the names, you should be able to see pics of the places) The hotel in Cancun has a lot of kid activities that I'm hoping Joshua will participate in a little. Maybe if Jake goes without complaining, Joshua will too.

Joshua is super excited about going to Mexico to visit his cousin Jake. I have tried to explain to him that the people in Mexico talk differently, kind of like Dora and Diego. He understands a little bit about languages because he has asked me "why do they talk funny?" when we have overheard Spanish speaking people. I also explained to him that Jake talks differently too....Jake and his family live in England...I explained to Joshua that Jake will talk kind of like The Wiggles as I didn't want Joshua to yell out "Mommy! Why does Jake talk funny?" This is a picture of Jake, he looks like a real cutie and I can't wait to meet him. Joshua keeps telling me that he doesn't know what his cousin Jake looks like, so I showed him this picture.

Last week, Joshua started packing for his trip...remember, the trip isn't until April 2, last week was the second week of March. He chose which toys and books he wanted to take and was asking for his suitcase. I convinced him to wait a while before packing them. Yesterday, we bought his swim trunks...Sears had some beautiful Land's End swim trunks that I wanted to buy, Joshua wanted the ones with sharks...we bought the ones with sharks.

Joshua is fascinated by sharks, he has shark shirts, shark books, shark puzzles, we watch shark videos on the computer. One of the things he really wants to do while we are in Mexico is see a shark. So, in an attempt to make my dear son's desire to see a shark come true, I asked him if he wanted to see a shark in an aquarium or in the ocean. He said he has seen a shark in an aquarium, he wants to see a shark in the ocean. I asked him if he would be scared to see a shark in the ocean, he said no! If he saw a shark fin in the ocean, he wouldn't go in the water! I, personally, don't want to see a shark fin in the ocean...maybe we will see a shark somewhere to make him happy.

Well, that's about it. Practically each time we get in the car to go somewhere, he asks if we are going to Mexico now. Weeks must pass as slowly as years for a four year old.

new things

2008-03-14T10:06:00.003-04:00

I bought Joshua a couple of new short sleeve shirts adorned with, yes, you guessed it, Superheroes. He didn't see them until yesterday and he asked me where he got them from. I told him that I bought them for him. He was so sweet, he came up to me, gave me a huge hug and a kiss and said "Oh, thank you mommy! I love you."

Joshua needed new sneakers for the spring/summer so yesterday, we went shoe shopping. He chose a really nice pair that he insisted he have...they did have green on them so I gave in...green is his very favorite color. He had to carry his shoes, he held onto them in the car, I made him go look in 2 other shoe stores just in case and he wanted to carry them in. When we got home, he put them on and ran all afternoon. The new shoes made him run so much faster than his older shoes. He couldn't wait to go to school so his friends could see how fast he can run in his new shoes!

Last weekend I had a pedicure. A few days later, I had on socks and sneakers, Joshua asked me if I still had my pretty toes. We saw an older girl at the park the other day, she was probably 14 years old and there with her little sister. Joshua told me she had really pretty red toes.

Last night, I had my hair cut and colored. As soon as I walked in the door, Joshua said "Mommy! I like your new hair!"

fears

2008-03-13T08:56:00.002-04:00

Joshua has developed fears. After mentioning this to my doctor, she told me that it is very common for children ages 4 through 7 to develop fears, real and imagined. She said that their imagination is going full swing (the imagined fears) and they are becoming more aware of the world around them (the real fears...car accidents, bad people, etc.)

Joshua's biggest fear, for the moment, is his fear of the dark. When he goes to bed, he has two nightlights, a lamp and his overhead light on. The few times I tried to sneak in and turn his overhead light off, he woke up during the night crying for me to turn it back on. I've tried to tell him that there is nothing to be afraid of, we have discussed what he is afraid of in the dark and all he says is he is just scared of the dark. Last week, Scott was sick with a nasty cold and I thought I would sleep on Joshua's top bunk....I didn't want to catch the cold and I don't sleep well on the couch. I told Joshua that I couldn't sleep with the overhead light on and if he woke up during the night and the light was off, it meant I was sleeping on the top. He woke up, he cried, he told me he didn't want me to sleep in his room, he wanted the light on....I moved to the couch.

He is a little afraid that someone is going to get him. He wants me to stick close to him at the park, he doesn't want to go into the 4 year old class at church, I now have to go into the bathroom stall with him instead of waiting outside the stall door, all because he is scared someone is going to grab him.

He is also having some loud noise issues...loud noises scare him. In public restrooms, he can't be in the stall when I flush, he has to go over to the sink and cover his ears. Kids playing too loud at the playground, he covers his ears. All he says is it is too loud and it scares him.

Luckily, none of these are too serious, they don't interrupt our daily lives.

I woke up old

2008-03-12T12:05:00.004-04:00

Mentally, I've felt old for a while now...I guess ever since having Joshua. He is so hard to keep up with some days. He is rather line the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going and going. He wakes up turn on high and goes to bed turned on high... I start out turned on low, move through medium, and get to high for just a limited time before I short out. Having kids does not make you feel younger.

Physically, age is catching up with me. They grey hairs do not bother me so much, I've had them for 20 years, I color them, no worries. I've just recently noticed the back of my hands are starting to look old and wrinkled. That was the first thing I noticed on my mom several years ago....for those of you who don't know my mom, she, too, is like the Energizer Bunny. She has been years younger than me for as long as I can remember, she can keep up with Joshua better than I can....anyway, one day, I noticed the back of her hands were starting to look a little wrinkled. It wasn't until that very moment that I actually started thinking that I am a grown woman. I may feel old, but I've never felt grown up like an adult.

This weekend, I woke up, looked in the mirror, and noticed those little wrinkles that one starts getting at the eyes....crows feet, who in the world came up with the term crows feet?! That same day, I went to Target and bought eye cream and night cream. I started carrying a tube of hand lotion in my purse a couple of months ago and keep applying it to my hands.

A few other things...I have 8 bottles of medicine and vitamins and one of those little plastic pill keepers so I can remember to take the right pills at the right times. I get AARP postcards in the mail. I listen to talk radio. I do not have a scrapbook, I have photo albums. Today's clothing styles, I remember them the first time they were popular in the 70's. Most of the music I own, the musicians are dead. I haven't bought a new cd in 18 years. I do not own an Ipod, mp3 player or satellite radio. I even remember a time before Wal-Mart.

a few annoying things about Joshua right now

2008-03-11T08:56:00.005-04:00

Right now, Joshua has been crying for 5 minutes repeating over and over "I want different paper." He was trying to take paper out of the printer while the printer was printing. I told him he couldn't have that paper, he could have a piece of the other paper (the paper in the ream sitting right beside the printer). So, he took one of those pieces of paper and tore it in half....it wasn't the piece he wanted...he wanted "different paper...."

Another thing that is driving me crazy is the "just tell me." For instance, Joshua will ask me where something is, I'll help him look for it, we won't be able to find it, and he will ask me again where it is, I tell him I don't know where it is, he will say "just tell me....come on, just tell me...won't you just tell me..." You know, if I knew, I would tell him and he wouldn't have to say "just tell me..."

...now, he is standing here whining "give me a different piece of paper." He is standing between me and the paper. He can reach the paper from where he is standing, but he wants ME to get it for him. I know you are supposed to pick and choose your battles, but I also know that he can't always win, I have to win. This is a stupid little battle, but I am not giving in to him. If he wants the piece of paper, he can lift up his hand and get it...

And, it isn't just about paper, it's also about toys. He has cried for 5 minutes because I will not get him a toy when all he has to do is stoop down to pick it up and I have to walk all the way across the room. He is doing some sort of testing but it isn't working on me.

Just so you don't think that all I'm going to do is complain today, Joshua is pretty funny. Before lunch, he demanded milk...he held his cup up in the air and yelled "MILK!...GET ME MILK!" I said "what happened to 'may I please have milk?'" Joshua said "he is out sick today...."

a few observations about Superheroes

2008-03-07T16:47:00.006-05:00

Joshua loves superheroes. He has superhero posters, comic books, DVDs, action figures, toothbrushes, costumes, shirts, shoes, underwear, socks....I think you get the picture. He loves superheroes. Now, I know the names of a few, I have watched Superman and Batman on TV and have seen them, along with Spiderman at the movies, but they really don't compare to the kids animated series. I say "kids" rather loosely because a few of the newer series are a little too violent and downright scary and, I don't think, are marketed to younger kids. But, the DVDs we've rented at Blockbuster are in the kid section and a little more kid friendly.

Superman-He is different from the other superheroes I know. We all know Superman came from Krypton and his nemisis is Lex Luthor. Superman came by his superhero status honestly, he was born with his powers. He is always Superman but has to disguise himself as Clark Kent. Lex Luthor is just rich, spoiled, and up to no good. Honestly, if it wasn't for Dean Cain and Tom Welling, Superman would hardly be worth mentioning.

Batman-This is Joshua's favorite superhero. Batman is really Bruce Wayne. His parents were killed when he was a child and he grew up to become Batman to rid Gotham City of evil-doers. Batman has no superpowers, he just has an abundance of money and must be pretty smart to invent all his gadgets. Batman has no one nemisis, the bad guys are numerous. Off all the Batman bad guys that I have encountered, they are all bad guys because they want to be-except for Clay Face and Dr. Freeze-they became bad guys after having "accidents." The Batman comics and animated series are entertaining. Batman has a sarcastic sense of humor that I enjoy.

Spiderman is probably the most popular superhero of the day. Peter Parker is basically a geek who was bitten by a radioactive spider and now has spider-like characteristics. The most interesting thing about the Spiderman bad guys are that none of them want to be bad guys, they all suffered some sort of accident, usually involving a large vat of radioactive waste. I am constantly amazed at the number of vats of radioactive waste found in the city. Anyway, these bad guys don't want to be bad guys, they get transformed into some sort of mutants and then have no other choice but to become bad guys, I guess nobody likes mutants. Spiderman is rather humorous and has witty things to say....even if he does mostly talk to himself.

Joshua never pretends to be Superman. Sometimes, he is Batman and I am Robin. Lately, he has been playing a lot of Spiderman and I get to be Mary Jane. My all time favorite superhero is BatMoto. The picture is 6 months old and the costume has evolved a little bit....the goggles are now red, the rainboots are too small so any shoes will now do and the gloves are now green gloves and not socks, but you get the idea. And, I don't have to pretend to be in trouble so much any more... BatMoto just gets the bad guys and always wins in the end.

chores and allowances

2008-03-06T09:47:00.002-05:00

I've decided it is time to start giving Joshua some chores to do around the house and a weekly allowance.
In the past, Joshua has been really good at helping, loved to help. Now, not so much....he says he wants to play. I think he can help pick up his toys and put his clean laundry away. I have his clothes in drawers so that he can easily get them out, he has just never had to put them in.

I read where his allowance should equal $1 for each year, so that would be $4 per week. I thought that $4 a week sounded high for a 4 year old, but if I have him put $2 per week in his piggy bank, $2 per week to spend or save up doesn't sound so bad.

We talked about it yesterday and he thought that it sounded like a good idea. He was a little concerned over what kinds of jobs he was going to have to do, but once I told him, he was ok with it. We'll see how it goes.

The best part is, I get to go shopping for a chore chart!

potty...yaaawwwnnnnnnn...or sleep

2008-03-05T20:56:00.002-05:00

For the most part, Joshua has been fully daytime potty trained for over a year. I think, since not this past, but the previous November, he has only had 3 daytime accidents. YAY! Nights are a completely different story. He probably gets up wet, on a good run, once or twice every two weeks.

Lately, he has been doing much better; however, he is getting up around 6am every morning. 6am is evidently time to go potty and it is just light enough outside to where he considers it morning time and doesn't want to go back to bed. So, if he is up, I have to get up. The mornings he sleeps in until 7:00, 7:30 or the rare 8:00, he gets up wet.

As much as I enjoy not having to give him a bath in the morning and wash bedding, I would really like to sleep until at least 7am. If he only had to potty at 5, he could go and then go back to bed...he may sleep in longer then. I even thought about covering his window so when he looks out, it looks like it is still night.

Oh well, one of these days, I will once again be able to sleep in and wake up on my own, without the aid of an alarm clock, child, dog, husband, telephone, someone knocking on the door, etc. Or, maybe I'll just start getting in bed by 10pm...

Dumb Boys

2008-03-02T20:17:00.004-05:00

Well, not a lot happened this week. Scott and I have been working, Joshua went to school 3 mornings and played and talked and made a wreck of the house the rest of the time. He is starting to get a bit of a cold, I hope it passes quickly.

Today, the weather was beautiful. Joshua and I went to the park so he could play with someone other than me and I not have to play. Soccer season has started so the fields were full and so was the playground, which is the destination of choice for future soccer stars in between games and siblings of same.

Joshua was having fun climbing and sliding and watching the "older boys" as he likes to call any boy older than him. He is just fascinated by older boys. At times, I don't think he realizes he isn't an older boy and thinks he can do everything they do. He had reached the bottom of the slide but had not yet gotten out when, down came two "older boys" at the same time, on their stomaches, head first, arms straight out like Superman, and bam! they ran right into Joshua, bumping him out of the slide, onto the mulch, and he hit the slide with his head. It wasn't an on purpose thing, Joshua was moving too slow and the "older boys" were moving too fast, accidents happen. Joshua runs to me crying, sits on my lap, and wants to know why the boys pushed him. It was hard getting him to realize that it was an accident, I still don't think he understands because he kept asking why the boys were mean to him. But, he didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay and play.

Once again, Joshua was having fun climbing and sliding and watching a different group of older boys. He was climbing up a ladder and, next thing I know, he is running to me crying and sits on my lap. The two boys came over to see if he was ok and said they were sorry if he was hurt. I saw Joshua going up the ladder, I saw the two boys at the top of the play structure, I figured Joshua was going up, one of the boys didn't see him and started to go down and bam!, accidents happen. Once again, I have the task of getting him to realize it was an accident. So, here I am comforting Joshua and I can see the boys playing. Two were on top of the play structure again and a third was climbing up the ladder. One of the boys stuck his butt in the hole so that the friend climbing the ladder had to "head butt" him to get up. Suddenly I realize that is what happened to Joshua. I don't think the boy meant to stick his butt on Joshua's head, I think he meant to stick his butt on his friend's head, but it was Joshua on the ladder and not the friend. Joshua said "See! That's what he did to me! He hit me with his butt!" I asked Joshua if he wanted to leave but he wanted to stay and play.

Finally, all the older boys went to the "baby slides" so Joshua and all the other younger kids had the entire big play structure to themselves. He was funny though...he kept running over to tell me that he wasn't going to go to the baby slides, he was going to stay and play on the big boy slides, but then he would run over to the baby slides to see what the older boys were doing and then he would run over and report to me, "Mommy! Why he took his shoes off?", "Mommy! Why he hang upside down?", "Mommy! Why he hit me with his butt?", and on and on and on. I spent most of our time at the park trying to explain to Joshua that they were just older boys doing dumb older boy things.

"Mommy! Why older boys do dumb things?" How in the world do you explain to a 4 year old boy why older boys do dumb things? They are boys, they do dumb things. When you get to be 7 years old, you are gonna do dumb things too because you think they are funny. Heck! You do things now that are dumb and you think they are funny!

Anyway, we finally left the park, got ice cream, and had a wonderful day.

Here I am, blogging...who woulda thunk it?!

2008-02-26T22:07:00.005-05:00

When Joshua was a newborn, we got the video camera, I bought the photo album, I took all the pictures, I kept all the "baby memorabilia." I had real intentions of recording for posterity Joshua's entire childhood. But some how, with the dirty diapers, the bottles, the crying, the sleepless nights, Joshua's first year of life got strewn in a box, where it remains to this day. Joshua took his first couple of unaided steps right around his 1st birthday, which brings us to the toddler years.

The year between the 1st birthday and the 3rd birthday are full of milestones and more pictures. The milestones are forgotten, the pictures are in the box or online. I know we had many firsts, first steps, first words, firsts unremembered.

I do recall my first unsolicited "I love you," I do not recall the day, time, place or circumstance. I remember talking to my mom on the phone and telling her about it. She told me I needed to start keeping a journal so that I could remember all these things....and I'm thinking to myself...yea, I'll start on that right away... I'll squeeze it in between my Suzy Homemaker class and my tennis lesson. Anyway, I am a member of a moms group and I posted it there, I'll always have it, why do I need to keep a journal?

Fast forward to today. Joshua is no longer a newborn, the toddler years are gone, he is now a preschooler. There are 33,585 posts from the Yahoo group (can you girls believe we had that many posts on Yahoo?!) and who knows how many on MSN that I need to browse through looking for references of those lost firsts. And, I am a blogger....