Cold Drinks...

JR always want's what mommy has. Usually I share, but I have a hard time when it comes to my diet coke! 

Plus what toddler needs that kind of caffeine? 

So I decided since this kid LOVES soda so much I would start buying him diet root beer, A&W of course. 

Now he is just like mommy.

Oldies but goodies!

Today I spent a LONG time organizing pictures on my computer. I also had a few phone pictures that I needed to make sure got saved. I ran across a couple in particular from 2010 that warmed my heart.

Chubby JR at Chuck'E'Cheese

These were taken July 17, 2010

I am grateful to be JR's mommy everyday, but finding old pictures like this reminds me to cherish every moment. He has grown so much since then. I can't believe he will be 3 in under two months!

Thankful for Days 21 & 22

So I have to say yesterday I was thankful for the fact that I get to spend five out of seven days in the week at home with my little one. We have all day to snuggle, count, read, do chores, make good meals, take naps, plan the budget, and just to learn and grown from each other in general. It is so great.

And today I am thankful for unkind people who are rude to me on the phone (bad day at work) because it just further reminds me how NOT to act and when to admit my mistakes!

Thankful for Day 15

Today I am thankful for modern medicine. My family would be SO SCREWED without it! Haha. But really, with a prick of a finger I can test my blood sugar  and Jared can eliminate his seizures with a few pills at night! Amazing!

Of course I will always be most grateful for skilled doctors who cared for JR when he had to have some nee-nu surgery when he was little.

So sad at the hospital after hours of patiently waiting...

Thankful for Day 12

Today I am thankful for warm blankeys and snuggles on cold days!

Thankful for Day 10

Today I am thankful for JR's sweet singing. This kid loves to sing! Every single time he struggles to keep up with a song it warms my heart like sunshine. Sometimes the words don't quite come out right and sometimes he only hits the first and last note with a bunch of mumbles in between but I wouldn't have it any other way.

We discovered that he sings along really well to the chorus of Cheryl Crow's "If it makes you happy" song. He belts his little heart out too the long notes and does it with confidence because he know she holds them a long time and so he can sing a long time. It just kills me. Nothing else could brighten up my day more.

Just can't get enough.

Like really, I can't get enough.

Sometimes we put little man to bed in just a t-shirt.

It's so yummy to wake up too. Love being his mommy.

Spring Cleaning and a shopping spree

Did I mention that I am trying to do some spring cleaning? I have been getting paper boxes from work and Jared and I are trying to sort through all of our crap and donate them into piles to donate or whatever.

A couple weeks ago before I started my re-do of JR's room I  went through all his clothes and toys and things and gave two big boxes to my co-worker who is expecting in May. I hung on to a few shirts and things that I think he can wear through at least spring but I realized since the first time since JR was born I was going to have to buy him a full on wardrobe for the upcoming season.

In order to know what I have and don't have I like to organize his closet by color.

I could just spend all my money on cute clothes for JR and I started to pile the clothes high a few weeks ago but decided it would be easier on my pocket book if I just bought one outfit every two weeks, so I just ended up getting this...

But today I was out and about to buy my next outfit and I had to get this cute little matching sweater/shirt that would also go with the shorts...

That was in addition to my next allotted outfit of course, which was this...

And then I saw this shirt, which also matched the shorts in a way, so I figured the more you can mix and match clothes the better...

And then I saw some camo shorts to go with that shirt, and what little boy doesn't need camo shorts...

At that point I had gone a little past my allotted number of outfits for the day so I figured why not get the one last outfit I saw there that I wanted? A shorts and shirt set with a cutie zip up hoodie to match...

All in all a healthy start to a summer wardrobe!

Unfortunately I didn't follow my own advice and follow my color coordinated closet. I probably need to lay off the shopping for a few weeks though! Sometimes I wish that JR was a girl but other times there is such cute stuff out there for boys too.

Project: JR's Tool Box

JR got a set of plastic Home Depot tools for Christmas (some of which Bandit used as chew toys) and I have wanted to get a tool box or something to put them in.

Then a few weeks ago I saw this wood box with a handle at Fred Meyer and it was 60% off the clearance! It think it ended up being about $3 total.

I wanted to personalize it so I got some cheap-o stencils and my orange acrylic paint and a little foam brush and went to town!

I know that you are supposed to line up the letters and tape them down so they are straight and all that but I was not about to be a perfectionist on this particular project so I just eyeballed it! I even painted outside the lines in a couple of spots! I think the finished product was perfect though!

Motherhood and my best friend...

I love being JR's mom and I don't know if he is just testing me or if he really just has the "terrible two's" or if he is just turning into a brat (sorry JR) but lately it has been tantrum central. I try and get him to talk and communicate but he prefers to have a fit instead when he doesn't get what he wants.

Today was one of those really hard days. I am always so relieved when Jared comes home because it always cheers JR up and Jared just seems to know how to get JR to listen. However Jared had plans to take out his special needs friend today so I knew I couldn't count on that for afternoon entertainment. My mom called though and said the family was all getting together for dinner in Nampa at Brick49 so I figured it would do JR and I both some good to get out of the house.

Boy was I wrong. Since JR started this whole screaming/tantrum thing a few weeks ago I have taken him a few places but they have always been kid-friendly and with his cousins or with Jared by my side to be the disciplinary and to give JR what I like to call "the look" when he acts out.

Jr did okay at first after we figured out he wanted Grandpa's strawberry daiquiri. He drank nearly half of it.

So I got him his own in a kids cup with a lid and straw and of course he wanted nothing to do with it. He did his newly learned behavior of slapping the table and waving his arms about to push everything out of his way and also screamed and squawked. I ended taking him out three or four times and spent more than half the evening outside with him, freezing with a runny nose, tears brimming in my eyes wondering what had gone wrong.

It's a really good thing that he is sooooo stinking cute!

I don't know what the point of this is other than to get it out and off my mind. I know I am not the only mom who has ever been in this situation or felt this way and that does comfort me. And I also don't think JR is a bad kid. He is smart and sweet and funny and helpful and so wonderful. I think in that time out there in the cold I just really realized that as JR's main caretaker I could never ever do it without a break once in a while and I have so many people who help me.

I have my job where I have a great co-worker, I have my mom who watches JR once a week while I work and  she and my dad take him other times too. I have my sister who knows how to make him laugh and smile like no one else can. I have my sister's-in-law who are great friends and who also provide lots of little cousins for entertainment! I have my brother and his wife who love JR and his mommy (even when we are cranky), and most of all I have my husband and best friend Jared, who really is the greatest dad. I don't think he knows it or would take credit for it, but I could not make it without him. He lifts me up when I am down and puts up with me when I am snappy and he knows that I struggle with my life as a mommy.

Jared, thank you so much. I love you for always being there and I realized tonight that I  really, really miss you when you aren't!

To-Do Lists and Haircuts

My to-do list for tomorrow?

• Make Jared breakfast/lunch @o'dark-thirty
• Do the dishes
• Go back to sleep
• Wake up
• Feed JR
• Hula Hoop
• Pull out couch and sweep/mop behind it
• Vacuum
• Bathe JR
• Convince JR to take cough medicine/nap
• Bathe Bandit
• Sweep/mop remaining floors
• Look in empty fridge for dinner possibilities
• Bathe self
• Harrass Grandma Fritzley to take a picture of something for me.

Will it all get done? I will let you know!

On another note, JR wanted nothing to do with getting his hair trimmed on Thursday and barely had his bangs trimmed (I opted out for the clippers this time since I can't let go of his baby-ness and am going for more of a Justin Bieber look) before I gave up.

The bangs were kinda choppy due to head thrashing but at least it wasn't in his eyes anymore but I still couldn't stand the potential mullet that was forming at the back of his neck.

Enter: Domesticity. Every woman trained in the art of "Housewifery" can cut hair right?

I cut Jared's hair with the clippers all the time but it is super easy because I just do the number two all around! I have NEVER EVER cut anyone's hair with scissors before.

 After I had finished cutting and FB'd (Facebooked) about it I wish I would have googled the how-to's of hair trimming like Auntie D suggested. I Google everything else in life and can hardly even use a phone book because of Google so I don't know why I didn't...

Anyway, I don't think it is awful, but I think after another week of growth I will feel better about taking him out in public.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

What do you think?