Date Night!!

Let me shout it from the roof tops~~David and I are going out with some friends without Reagan!! You'd think that we are brand new parents or something and this is our first time out since he was born. That is not the case. He's 3, and our last date was on our anniversary (in June!!).

We have an amazing babysitter~~Reagan's Tita (David's mom). But Tita has 2 other grandchildren besides Reagan, and we hate to ask her to watch him because we know she has a busy life, too.

Yes, we need to find someone besides Tita. Because sometimes we want to hang out with Tita and Grandpa when they are just Russ and Maggie (or Mom and Dad).

Anyways...our night out is going to be spent with our close friends to celebrate a birthday. We're going to PF Changs (yummy!!), and I haven't had that since 3 years ago. I think the crispy honey shrimp is calling my name. I am looking forward to chewing and eating slowly and actually tasting my food rather then eating so quickly as to avoid the "I'm all done" melt down that can sometimes happen while at a restaurant. I don't think we need to worry about that happening with our friends. At least I hope it won't.

Someone asked me earlier today what our plans were for the weekend. I have no idea~~I'm just too excited and too focused on this evening to think about anything after midnight tonight.

Yeah, I need to get a life.

**Note: I changed my time settings just so that it looks like I didn't miss a day for NaBloPoMo. So for a few days I will be pretending I'm living in California. And really...I did NOT miss a day. I was just a little late for a couple of days. Remember, I did not sleep so it was still a day to me.

Twenty Minutes Late

Just 20.

We had some successes in our house today.

1. Reagan wanted to read a book right before his nap that has tons of little magnets to go with it. I told him that we could read it, but we couldn't open the container with the magnets. We would do the magnets after his nap. I didn't want little magnets all over his bed. So we read the book, and I put it on his dresser so I could take it to the living room with me~~I didn't want him tempted to play with them after I left. Well, I forgot it in his room. So after his nap I went in to get him. The book was on his dresser, but it had moved. He immediately told me that he read the book, but he didn't take the magnets out. What a good boy!

2. Same book...we were playing with it AND the magnets after his nap. Then I went to go and start dinner. He called me saying he needed help with something. When I went back into the living room he had cleaned up every single magnet and put them back into the box. He just couldn't close the box all the way. Way to clean up without me asking you to, Little Guy!

3. I made a meat loaf (from my favorite Cooking Light cook book) tonight. Instead of giving Reagan some of the meat loaf and a corn dog, I just gave him the meat loaf. He didn't eat everything on his plate, but he did try the meat loaf and mac & cheese. And he didn't ask for anything else. Super-duper, Reagan!!

Mr. Manners

David and I have been trying to teach Reagan to use his manners since he took his first breath, and we are beginning to see a polite little boy emerge. Most of the time we need to do some reminding, but we rarely ever have to tell him what to say. For example, if he is given something all we need to say is "Remember to use your manners," (instead of telling him exactly what to say) and he'll say "Thank you."

Today Reagan and I did our weekly trip to By Panda. For those of you who have never been around Reagan personally, this is his name for Chick-fil-a. He has called it By Panda for about year now...this is because the By Panda (see, it is just so common for me and David to call Chick-fil-a "By Panda" that I just typed it without thinking) we frequent is right next to a Panda Express. Which, of course, has pandas all over the building. So this restaurant we started going to that serves Reagan chicken nuggets became "By Panda".

Back to the story. We were at By Panda, and Reagan had pretty much finished his lunch. He decided that he was going to go into the play area. I stayed at the table (yes, I could see him) in case he wanted to come back and eat some more lunch. After a bit I decided that he was finished so I cleaned our table and went into the play room. I had been watching Reagan play with a little girl who was about his age. The girl's grandmother was in the room, too. I sat down next to her, and she said, "Your son asked my granddaughter her name, but she wouldn't tell it to him until they went up to the top of the slide." I said, "Did he tell her his name?" And she said, "Yes. He said: Hi. My name is Reagan. What is your name?"

Yippee!!!! He is always calling kids that he plays with but doesn't know things like "the green girl" or the "the red boy" depending on what color shirt they are wearing. I finally told him that he needs to find out their names, and I told him what to say. "Hi. My name is Reagan. What is your name?" Today was the first time, that I know of, that he did it all by himself without me reminding him.

By the way, her name was Katherine...not "the pink girl".

Spoiled Headlines

Yahoo is my homepage. I would provide a link for you, but I'm scared to even look at the page right now (keep reading). My email is through Yahoo, and I like it. I am also an entertainment junkie (I think). I would much rather see headlines that pertain to Hollywood than to depressing things like "real" news or stocks or politics. So I have my page set to give me celebrity headlines. I also have my email set to do the same thing.

This has caused me grief many times. For example, last Tuesday after putting Reagan to bed I came into the office to check my email. I pulled up the page, and glaring at me was "Garth Kicked Off of 'Dancing'!". (Was that the correct punctuation...four symbols in a row?) What?!?! The show had just ended a mere 60 minutes before hand. Usually the internet is considerate enough to wait 12 hours or so. I was so disappointed...yet, I watched the results show anyway.

Well it happened again. After putting Reagan down last night I checked my email. I was told by my homepage that Mel B. was in the lead after Monday night. Yes, I still watched the show.

Really, Yahoo. Be considerate of those parents out there that watch tv shows hours, sometimes days, after they have aired. You know what, Yahoo? It isn't even just parents. I know lots of people with DVRs, and they would like to actually watch their favorite tv shows to get results rather then have those results broadcasted so loudly over their internet pages. Don't get me wrong. I believe the information should be there. I think the stories should be available ASAP. But do the headlines have to give everything away? Leave something to be desired, you know?

So, if you are out there waiting for me to respond to an email. You're going to have to wait a couple of hours after I watch the finale of "Dancing".

I added Reagan's Santa picture in the previous post.

Oh no!!!

Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!!

I can not believe that I forgot to post earlier in the day. For those of you who are a part of NaBloPoMo, please know that I have not slept...it may be 1:56am my time, but I have not gone to bed yet. So to me it is still Monday th 26th. I will pretend that I did not miss a day.

I took Reagan to the mall today to start our Christmas shopping. Remind me never to take him with me again. I really shouldn't say that because he was spectacular up until the last 10 minutes or so. How is that just a few minutes can erase 2 full hours of amazing behavior??

While we were there we stumbled onto Santa. Reagan was great!! He was shy at first, but then I talked him into sitting with Santa and smiling for the camera. He told Santa that he wants a red Ramone (from the movie Cars). I don't understand how he only told Santa one thing, but he tells me and David about 5 to 10 different things he wants on a daily basis. Santa got off easy.




Gosh. I just really feel like I let myself down...

A Gift from Heaven

A conversation with Reagan as we were parking at Home Depot:

Reagan (holding a Christmas book I bought for him last year): Santa gave me this book.

Me: No, Mommy bought you that book.

Reagan: Santa brought it to me.

Me: (not wanting to argue) Oh, ok.

Reagan: Where did it come from?

Me: (didn't hear him very well) Where did you come from? Or where did the book come from?

Reagan: Where did I come from?

Me: Mommy's belly.

Reagan: (laughing) No, I didn't.

Me: Yes you did. You came from Mommy's belly, and I'll be reminding you of that for the rest of your life.

Reagan: I didn't come from your belly, Mommy. I came from heaven.

David and I looked at each other in shock and awe.

Me: Yes. You came from heaven, and God put you in my belly.

Reagan: I came from heaven, and God put me in your belly.

Me: Right.

November 24th

I just finished putting up our Christmas tree. It doesn't have any ornaments on it or garland yet, but it will by the end of the night. A few years ago David and I invested in a pre-lit tree which has got to be one of the best inventions around (although DVR's are THE BEST). You see, I'm the only one who decorates the house and the tree. And my absolute least favorite thing to do was string the lights on (and off) the tree. So we now have a pre-lit tree. It is up, and the lights are on.

Of course, Reagan thinks TODAY is Christmas. I think we need to get an advent calendar to help him understand that the decorations go up way before the actual day.

Today is my birthday. Ever since Reagan came along, my birthday just sneaks up on us. It has always been a bit lost in the Thanksgiving holidays (last year my bday was ON Thanksgiving), but now with a kiddo my birthday just all of a sudden appears out of no where. I'm ok with that. My sister, my mom, and my little sister called me earlier. I saw my dad yesterday. I have great new appliances. So I have had a great birthday. My little sister (17) asked me if I feel older. Nope. I feel the same.

I made a cake this afternoon for our Thanksgiving dinner we're having tonight with David's family. He had this gooey pumpkin cake at his work, and he found the recipe for me to do it. I HATE pumpkin, so we substituted pineapple for it. We'll see how it tastes. I'm not the baking type.

We're getting ready to go to David's parents' house. I'm looking forward to it. Then I'll be back to "trim the tree". The cold weather here is making it seem like the holidays...much more so than the 90 degree heat we had right before the cold front hit on Wednesday. I think it is in the upper 30's right now. That is COOOOOLLLLLLDDDDD for us in Texas.

A Cause for a Color Change (and Celebration)

Aggie Bonfire 2007

Living in Austin, I have quite a few friends that went to the great big school here in town. So I just want to do a very, very friendly:

Gig 'Em!!!

Although I am a true Aggie, and I believe that those t-sips go to tu and that we beat the hell outta them (remember this is a friendly post)~~I do not agree with us (Aggies) doing the longhorn sign upside down. I saw that on tv today, and both me and my dad (another Aggie) were upset by it. I know that other schools have been doing it for years and years, but I just don't agree with it. I would hate to see another person put their thumb down in the air...know what I mean?

It was a great game. Hope to see something similar again next year! WHOOP!!!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

We're home. We had a great visit with my family and a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (of pork loin and pasta...different, I know, but wonderful). Reagan did pretty good for not going out of town much. He had one "episode" right after his nap yesterday, and he kept saying "Please. I want to go home!" while sobbing. Hey-at least he said "please". Once he calmed down he was awesome for the rest of our travels. We all ended up in the same bed last night, and I was the only one who didn't sleep well. I count that as a success.

We will be spending tomorrow evening with David's family and doing another Thanksgiving. So since my Thanksgiving holiday isn't over yet, I thought I'd do the What-I'm-Thankful-For post:

I am thankful for:
~My happy, healthy, beautiful and loving family.
~David's talents which give him a wonderful career
~Mav, Elton, and Abby...they each bring something positive to our family
~Our church
~Our home
~The ability to stay home with Reagan (for now)

~And wine :)

A Thanksgiving story

Well, it might not be about Thanksgiving, but it does have sweet potatoes in it.

Please read this.
Read this if you have or have ever had a dog.
Read this if you need a good giggle.
Read this and think about the thoughts that must go through our pets' minds.

I Has a Sweet Potato

I think this is especially good for my in-laws and their dog, Taylor.

Almost out of time

Thank you, Becky, for watching the time.

I am busy trying to get things washed (one of my new favorite things to do now thanks to my husband) and the house cleaned for Thanksgiving.

Nope, no one is coming over. We're not even going to be here. We are going to stay the night with my mom and step-dad tomorrow. And I'm sure you will all understand this, but I want to come home to a clean house.

I usually do this late night cleaning frenzy on the night before we're leaving on some major more-than-one-day trip. Not for a 24 hour thing. But it will be nice to come home and not have to do anything except for put up my Christmas decorations!!! I'm really looking forward to that.

Check with me in one month, though. I bet I'll be tired of the whole Christmas-y look to my house by then.

All Aboard!

As promised here are some pictures of our newest piece of "furniture". We bought this a few weeks ago when Reagan was super sick. Reagan loves the train tables at Barnes and Noble and a t school, and we had been thinking about purchasing one for quite some time. I had been doing some shopping on Craigslist, but I think we found the perfect table for us. It isn't too expensive, and it came with the track and buildings (along with some trains) that you see in the first picture. (It did not come with all of the Cars.) Some of the pieces even make noises--like a train sound, a train whistle (at the train station), and police siren, an airplane, and construction noises.

These Cars (from the movie) did NOT come with the track. But they seem to like it.

We have also bought many, many other train track pieces to satisfy my husband's need to build super elaborate tracks. We quickly realized how expensive this toy can be.

David was proud of one of his own creations and took this picture.

Um, whose toy is this??

Hopefully it will eventually make its way into Reagan's bedroom and give up its coffee-table position in the house.

Since I have nothing else...

(I really will post something fun or cute or, at the very least, not boring tomorrow.)

We had a very busy but fun day today. Reagan and I went to Megan's house for playgroup. We then had lunch and went to HEB. After that we came home so that I could pick up the house a bit before my dad came over. After our busy day, now I am vegged out in front of Dancing With the Stars (Tivo'd, of course), but I need to get in my daily NaBloPoMo post in.

I don't have anything exciting to write about. But instead of just posting the I-don't-know-what-to-write-about-but-I-don't-want-to-miss-a-day post I have this to share:

Ugh. This is a huge leap (and embarrassment) to share this with you all. But here goes. I have sitting next to me a bible study called "The Lord's Table...A Biblical Approach to Weight Management." I have had it for almost a week, but I haven't started it yet. I am looking forward to learning more, but I'm nervous to start the suggested meal plan.

The book suggests that in a 7 day week you have 2 normal eating days (but not over doing it), 2 half days (eating 1/2 of what you normally do each meal), 2 liquid days (2 liquid meals, like V8, and one normal meal), and 1 day of fasting (just water). You wouldn't put two of the same day in a row...does that make sense?

The problem I have is that I should wake up early to do the bible study so that I know what to do to get me through the hard days (liquid and fasting). But I just haven't gotten up early. So then I think that maybe I'll do my bible study while Reagan naps and start the suggested meal plan the following day using what I learned the previous day to help. Know what I mean?

So there it is. I will soon start this 60 day bible study. I am hoping that it is life-changing. I am willing to repeat the 60 days for as long as I need to. Now you all know. I guess that is a good thing. :)

Working woman

Earlier today I finished filling out an application for Round Rock Independent School District. I am planning on returning to teaching next year, and because of a new school opening up next year I thought I'd go ahead and turn in my application now.

Before I hit the "submit" button on the online application I was really excited about returning to work. However, as soon as I clicked on "submit" I became sad.

Most of me wants to go back to work and bring home money for our house, contribute to society (whatever that means), and do what I enjoy doing. But I really hate thinking about the huge change of not being with Reagan 24/7. (Although when I put it that way, it makes me look forward to working again.)

I am also feeling that nervousness that comes with putting yourself out there. I would hate to be rejected, and I really, really want to work for Round Rock ISD. My dream would be to teach in the elementary school where Reagan would go, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Let's just pray for a job in the district at this point.

Ah. The joys (stresses) of motherhood....

Saturday

My super-duper husband is in the process of connecting our new front loader washing machine. I am sitting here right next to the new dryer. I am happy.

I thought earlier to blog about my dogs. They got groomed today, and I took a "Before" picture of both of them. I was planning on taking an "After" picture, but I realized that I don't think you'll really be able to tell the difference. Unless there was such a thing as smell-blogging. Clean dogs are so much more pleasant to be around than icky smelling dogs. They even feel better to the touch. This pleasantness will last about 4 days.

Reagan was not-so-pleasant to be with today. He woke up a bit early after going to bed more than a bit late. You could tell! He was cranky much of day, and his behavior was horrible. He hit me at least once, and he hit David once, too. He hasn't hit in months! He was better after his nap, and he was totally himself after dinner. I hope Reagan wakes up happy tomorrow.

I am sorry for the boring post this evening. I am proud that I have had something to write about for the previous 16 days. I hope the next 13 are more interesting for you all.

I'm going to go and do some reading of a couple of good books~~all about my new washer and dryer!!!! Woo hoo!!

It's beginning to look alot like WHAT??!!

Here in Texas our weather has been unusually warm. Not that autumn is chilly or anything (ever), but we have been wearing shorts and sweating for weeks now. The past two days have felt more like fall, but the temperatures are going to go back to the 80's this weekend.

That said, I think you'll understand why I just find it so hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week! I feel like Reagan's birthday was just 2 weeks ago (Oct. 6th), so how can it possibly be the holiday season already??

Last week on my drive to Fredericksburg I went through the town of Marble Falls. MF already had their lamp post poinsettia decorations up AND lit up! I may have even said a choice word at the the sight of that. I mean, it was only November 9th! Two full weeks before that I was in a clothing store that was playing holiday music. (I feel bad for those employees. They are going to be sick and tired of "Jingle Bell Rock" by the time December finally gets here.)

I totally understand stores setting out their holiday decorations to sell because I'm sure many people, including myself, have a tradition of decorating their house for Christmas the days following Thanksgiving. What I don't understand is the stores (and cities, apparently) actually doing some decorating of their own two months before the holidays even arrive!! I think I'm going to sound like my parents and grandparents when I say this, but~~it seems like the holiday "stuff" comes our earlier and earlier every year.

Although I wasn't excited to see MF's poinsettia lights up last week, I think today I am more in the mood for it. I am looking forward to next weekend and putting up our Christmas tree and such. I am eager to see the joy and excitement in Reagan's eyes as we get all our decorations for the house up. And we're planning on purchasing more lights for the outside this year, too.

I just hope I don't have to wear shorts and a tank top to keep cool while doing so...

Good Evening

I feel like I am letting you all down tonight. This is the first time in 15 days (nights) that I don't know really what to write about.

We had a great evening tonight. Reagan woke up from his nap in a fairly good mood. (This is rare.) He had a yogurt snack (not so rare), and David came home shortly. I made a quick and easy meal of fajitas (Thanks, Em, for the idea) so that Reagan could make his own in hopes that he would eat it.

Back story: I usually make a dinner for me and David, and I give Reagan a little bit of whatever it is to try. He never tries it. So I always make him either Dino nuggests or a corn dog.

Well, tonight he ate most of his fajita!!! Yippee!

To continue the good evening we went to Home Depot. This is becoming a favorite hang out for all of us. Reagan was so incredibly good there!! He didn't whine if we went somewhere that took him away from his favorite places (the riding lawn mowers or outside), and he followed every single direction we gave him!! It made shopping enjoyable. We did hang out by the lawn mowers, but when we said it was time to go, he came with us without a fight!! Oh joy, joy, joy!!!

We giggled to Junie B. Jones (book on cd) to and from the store. We giggled some more at home. We had an easy bedtime. And now he's sleeping.

I LOVE nights like these. Dear, God. Please let tomorrow night be more of the same. Amen.

I really don't like basketball

As I have said before DVR's have got to be one of the greatest inventions for parents today. We still get to keep up with most of the shows that we would watch if we were childless~~although you have to watch them hours, sometimes days and weeks, after they originally aired.

This evening towards the end of Reagan's nap I thought I would watch last night's episode of the Biggest Loser. I pushed play and sat back to enjoy my show. As I fast fowarded through the first commercial break I noticed that the show was only 30 minutes long. This was strange. All of the previous episodes have been 1.5 hours or 2 hours long. Hmmmm. It didn't look like the recording had cut off, so I just kept watching. As minute 27 appeared I realized that DVR only recorded 30 minutes. And I missed the rest of the show~~the good parts of the show!

I went back in the guide to find out what happened.

Apparently some of us in Austin want to watch Spurs basketball. Because at 7:30 they played the Lakers, and that game cut into the Biggest Loser and all of the following scheduled shows. I'm assuming that only those of here in the area lost out on these shows, because I'm sure NBC wouldn't have put on brand new episodes of these shows if basketball was going to play "over" them.

And maybe the network replayed these shows at 3am or something, but my DVR didn't know about the change. So I have no idea who got to spend 24 hours with their family nor do I know who was sent home on the Biggest Loser. I guess I'll use my Googling skills to figure that out. But it just isn't the same, is it?

Testing, testing. One, two, three.

Here is a video that is a couple of weeks old. You'll notice that it must have been sometime after naptime because Reagan is wearing just a t-shirt. (See this post.)

Reagan loves our cat, Maverick (Mav), to pieces. And Mav is an excellent cat in that he tolerates most of what Reagan does to him. Reagan is using Mav's tail like a microphone, and you'll notice that the look on Mav's face is saying, "What did I ever do to deserve this? But I might as well put up with it because they feed me well."

When Reagan noticed that David had the camera out he wanted the camera to flash and take his picture. This is the result:

The Best. Husband. Ever.

David went to Sears last night with my brother-in-law who gets a super discount there to buy a new water softener. We have lived in the house since '99, maybe, and we have never used the softener. A few weeks ago our water had a funny smell to it. The smell is gone, but it made us want use the softener. After some research David realized that we needed a new one. So off he went to purchase one.

While he was there he decided to pick up just a few other things. Are you ready for this???

We're getting a new dishwasher!!!! Woo hoo!!! I hate our dishwasher. It has so many problems~~sometimes the soap cup doesn't open, sometimes it opens at the very end of the cycle and just oozes soap all over the place, and it doesn't really clean very well. It is like that dish washing detergent commercial...why do I have to wash the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. I'm not the dishwasher. Well, now I really don't have to be the dishwasher!!! I can't wait for us to get it.

That's not all! (Don't I sound like The Price Is Right??) He also bought front load washer and dryer!! Is this not the best thing ever??? I'm so excited. We also have problems with our washing machine. The switch is broken~~the one that switches when the door closes. So the washing machine never knows that the door is closed so it doesn't run the whole cycle. We had to pull out the broken switch (no small task because you have to pull off the entire metal case thing) and it is now MacGyver-ed with tons of tape to keep the switch in the position that lets the machine think the door is closed. Oh, and the dryer has screws from the Jeep (don't ask) in the lint trap thing that will never come out.

I think that is all he purchased. You never know. He might come home with the appliances AND a riding lawn mower for our super tiny yard. I would be ok with that purchase since he earned mega points with the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer!!!

Am I home sick??

Before I begin my post I want to apologize for not getting back to Reagan Posts tonight. I thought of something to write about, and it isn't Reagan. (what?!?!?!?!)

Also, for a good laugh (at my husband), read the comments in the post below. What a (cute) goofball.

My mom and my sister are currently on a cruise. They are sailing around Italy. I'm not jealous that they are there, although it would be alot of fun to be with them right now. But what I am doing is missing them incredibly!! I do talk to my mom at the very least once a week. It is usually two times a week. And when my sister isn't traveling or super-busy with work we see each other at least once a week. I know some of you may talk to your moms or sisters once a day...but just knowing that they aren't where they usually are makes me miss them so much!!

I failed to get their itineraries before they left so I don't even know what port they are at today. That bothers me. Not like knowing they are in Sicily is going to make it easier to get in touch with them.

I also feel a bit like I have some added responsibility. I am the youngest on this side of the family, and I think I will always feel like "the little one". I'm A-ok with this. :) But knowing that my step-father and my brother-in-law are without their wives makes me feel like I need to be "ready" if something is needed. (Yes, they are grown men and can take care of themselves.) That is just how I feel. And like I said, I'm the youngest and usually feel like the one in need~~even though I'm a mom. I kind of feel like the Speaker of the House~~you know, the 3rd in line to the presidency. Ha!!

I just want to wish Mom and Colleen and happy trip. I miss you both very, very much. I can't wait until next week when you're home. Bring lots of pictures!!!

And I'm holding you BOTH to the Vegas trip....SOON!!!!! I love you.

Back to reality...

...and back to the loves of my life, my boys.

Hmmm. Now I have that early 90's song in my head~~"Back to life/Back to reality...". I did a pep rally routine to that song when I was a sophomore in high school. That dates me.

I had a great time at the retreat. We really focused on Esther (and the Book of Esther), and how God's timing is perfect. I didn't know anything about Esther, but I would now suggest that all of you women reading this take a few moments to read the entire book. She was really an amazing woman, and God used her in His perfect plan.

Last evening after the first session I went back to my hotel room and just did "me" stuff. It was really nice. I talked to David at about 11pm and missed him. I didn't miss sharing my bed with 3 animals, though.

Reagan and David had a good time while I was gone. The only mishap was that when David fixed Reagan's hair this morning he sprayed bug spray on it instead of water. No, I'm not making that up. Reagan went to a super hero birthday party today, and he got to wear his very first super hero costume. He is very excited about it. I see many super hero costumes in our future.

I will get back to the regular Reagan Posts tomorrow.

Confessions from a mom

Today I am going to a ladies' retreat with my church. It is going to be in Fredericksburg at the Fredericksburg Inn and Suites (check out how beautiful it is!!). It starts this evening at 6pm and wraps up tomorrow at 3pm. I am looking forward to getting to know the women of my church a bit better~~David and I just started going to this church about a year and half ago, and we still don't know that many people.

But I am really looking forward to just getting away for a day. I feel like I am not being the best mom I can be right now, and I know that this one day will recharge me~~which will be great for all of us in this house.

Last June (2006) David and I went to Florida for a friend's wedding. That one little weekend did so much for me as a mom (and for us as a couple). Then in February David and I got to go to Costa Rica. Again this was a much needed time for us. As much I am looking forward to the spiritual time with the other ladies, I so wish that I was getting to spend some time away with David.

I miss you, Honey!! We need to do our alone time again soon.

And Reagan, I'll see you tomorrow after your nap, Kiddo. And I'll be ready to play trains again and again and again and again and again and again...

Google Picasa can't help this red-eye

I woke up this moring looking like this:




I actually had to wake David up to make sure I wasn't going crazy and that my eye really is blood red.

Of course I assumed that I have pink-eye, which I have had before. And I was just hoping that it was something more like a scratched cornea (worse, I'm sure) just so I didn't have to worry that the rest of the family would get what I have.

Thankfully, it isn't pink eye. After spending an hour and a half at the doctor's office, the doctor said it may be just a popped blood vessel and the discomfort that I'm feeling is a blood clot. She dropped in lovely yellow dye into my eye which made me look like I should be in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, and then she shined a black light to see what this little thing is. She tried to get it out, but it wouldn't budge. Therefore, it must be a blood clot.

But at least my kid won't get sick!!!!

You just have to laugh

David came home early this evening, so we had a bit of time to visit before Reagan woke up from his nap. I decided to make dinner early so it would be ready when he got up. Right before it was ready I sent David into Reagan's room to do the dirty work~~wake Reagan up from his nap.

When you actually have to go into his bedroom to wake Reagan up, you really have no idea the outcome. I've never been to Vegas, but I have a feeling we have similar odds here at our house~~you never know if he's going to be happy or unhappy. And this isn't the standard mildly cranky unhappy. This is the type of unhappy where you would rather have needles stuck into your eyeballs rather than deal with Reagan's crankiness. Maybe I'll try to get that on video one day. That will really irk him off! (By the way, I'm not exactly sure where he gets this trait... ) *wink*

Ok. Back to this evening. I guess Reagan asked for some M&M's as soon as he opened his eyes, and from what happened next I assume David said "no". Holy moly!! For the next 20 minutes (which seemed like 2 hours) David and I had a boy in a full-on tantrum. I went right along making dinner while we tried to explain that he can have M&M's after dinner. We even put the bowl of M&M's on the table next to his corn dog so he could have them when he was finished.

But no. He wanted them in a bowl in the living room and no dinner. He was on the floor kicking and screaming (yes, that really happens for those of you who do not have a 3 year old). He was sobbing. He was gasping for air.

Meanwhile, David and I were having dinner. And we were trying to hold in our laughter.

I really feel badly that I was laughing at my son who was crying. But what else are we supposed to do? We believe in ignoring the tantrum so that he doesn't get attention for unacceptable behavior. So we just giggled.

Reagan finally got into his chair, but the tantrum continued. He just wanted to eat those M&M's in the living room!!

David and I got up from the table when we were finished and cleaned the kitchen. Reagan eventually calmed down and ate his dinner.

And he had some M&M's in the living room.

I don't know if David will ever come home early again...

some random thoughts

The boys are getting ready for bed, so I thought I'd use this time to do my NaBloPoMo thing.

~~Reagan is currently protesting the getting-ready-for-bed process right now by arguing with his daddy.

~~No one in his class at Mother's Day Out got a stamp for good behavior today. Ms. Kelli, his teacher, nicely said that the kids didn't seem to have their listening ears on today.

~~Reagan now sings his A,B,C song correctly. However, he still says, "Now I love my ABC's".

~~My son who NEVER got out of his bed until one of us came to get him started getting out of bed last week. It is almost like he's a different kid.

~~Reagan told me out of the blue tonight, "Grandmother is my friend." We talked to her this afternoon about his cool new Cabela's jacket that is oh-so-soft.

~~Reagan has a very amazing memory. He will correct us if we make a mistake reading a certain book. I know that this can happen when a child is read a book over and over, but we have only been reading this book for about 2 weeks (on a regular basis). For example, David said he read "Two superheroes came into the yard." Reagan promptly said, "No, Daddy. Two superheroes bounded into the yard." This is only ONE example. And it isn't a small book.

Ok. I'm needed for story time. Good night!

Monsters in my house

Nope. I don't mean Abby and Elton.

Sometime in the past couple of weeks Reagan started talking about monsters. Not scary monsters. Just monsters that stomp around and roar. David likes to play monsters with Reagan now, and I find it (um, David mostly) very amusing.

Observe:

Other things to notice in the video above:

1. We have a new "furniture" addition in the middle of the living room floor. (related post to follow soon)
2. Abby was trying to get in on the action.
3. Reagan sees the camera on him and automatically says "cheese". (At least he's getting the hang of smiling for the camera now.)
4. Reagan's shorts were seen at some point (look closely when David throws something onto the chair.)

The explanation for #4~~Please know that Reagan doesn't hang out all day in just his t-shirt and diaper. I do realize that the videos or pictures you have seen lately might suggest that. He had just recently gotten up from his nap in which he naps in just a t-shirt and diaper. (Would you want to nap in jeans???) We do clothe our child. :)

I have a good excuse

Yes, the is a last minute post for Day Four. And it isn't even going to be a good one.

Remember how I said that I have a few recent videos just waiting to be posted in case I needed a quick topic? Well, we have had a very busy day, and I just remembered that I need to blog. So I went into the office to post a video of Reagan and our cat, but I don't have an internet connection in the office.

"Why", you ask. (Ok, you probably didn't ask that.) We are having very annoying satellite problems. We'll be in the middle of watching something and then POOF! All of a sudden the satellite box decides it should reboot. The entire rebooting process takes 6 minutes. We have missed CRUCIAL 6 minutes of DVR'd shows. We also missed the last few minutes of the Colts-Patriots game tonight (too bad, Colts). David decided he had had enough! So he is trying to fix the problem which involves something with the office computer and its phone line. Or something. I'm not the techie-nerd in the house.

So that is my Day Four post. Sorry.

A, B, C's and drills

I admit it. I'm doing a bit of cheating in this first few days of the post-everyday-this-month challenge. I have several recent videos loaded onto my computer, and I'm just choosing a video from the library for a quick post. But, hey!! At least I'm posting!!!

This video is about a week old. Reagan is singing the ABC song. You'llnotice that he jumps a few letters and repeats one or two. I think it is very funny. Fortunately, Reagan knows all of his letters and the sounds that they make. He can also tell you what letter some words start with...words that begin with T, R, B, D, S. He's a smarty-pants!

You should also listen for the last line of the song. It is normally sung as "Now I know my ABC's...". Reagan's version is "Now I love my ABC's..." which I happen to like a bit better.

He was a very good sport to let me interupt his Tool Time. He went right back to drilling after the singing.

Making up words

Here is a bit of video for Day Two of this post-a-thon.

Reagan and David have several games where once Reagan does something (in this case, make up a silly word) David tickles him. They both have quite a good time doing this...and I get a good chuckle out of it, too.

I'm sorry that the cup is in the way, but we had just finished eating dinner. Reagan is looking at a catalog full of gear toys (that is another post in itself). He is saying, "I don't need this one. It is too 'squawpy'," knowing that 'squawpy' isn't a word. The next made up word he says is "dolph".

Pink Daisies and Honey Bees

Happy Halloween!! Buzz, Meow!

Here I go! Day One of the National Blog Posting Month...

Last night was Halloween night, and Reagan had been looking forward to wearing his costume to go trick-or-treating. He has been under the weather all week, and I was happy that he felt well enough to go out.

***This following story is EXACTLY what happened. If you ask David, he will tell you something different. Don't believe him.***

I thought that it would be fun for David and I to dress up with Reagan. Reagan had his bee costume already, and I jokingly said, "Do you want Daddy to be a flower to go with your bee costume?". Reagan thought that was an excellent idea!! For a week or so he talked about Daddy and his flower costume. Last week Reagan and I went to the costume store to find the pieces for my costume (a cat). While we were there I saw an adult bee costume--just parts of a bee that could be worn with normal clothes. I honestly tried to get Reagan to change his mind for David's costume, but he said he wanted Daddy to be a flower. Ok. Fine with me.

I then asked Reagan what color of flower did he want Daddy to be fully expecting the answer to be "yellow". Nope. He said, "A pink flower!!". OK. Fine with me. On Sunday night we went to the grocery store to get the poster board for David's costume. I again tried to help David out. I showed Reagan both the yellow poster board and the pink poster board hoping that he would pick yellow. (Poster board only comes in neon pink.) Nope. Reagan picked neon pink. Ok. Fine with me.

David underestimated my flower making abilities. He seems to forget that I am an elementary school teacher~~and we are pretty crafty when we need to be.

Although Reagan looked really adorable as a bee, David's costume was the biggest hit. I heard kids down the block say, "Hey!! Look at that pink daisy down there!".

Not that any one of us needed this proof...but this is just a small example of how much David loves Reagan and what he'll do to make him happy.

A happy pink daisy with his bumble bee.

Thank you, Honey, for all that you do for our son. You looked great!!