Duke U6 Soccer Fall 2013

Grandma asked a few weeks ago if I could get some new content up.  Well, Jack's field is a bit to wide this year for U8 to post, but here is Duke in action.  Last week he scored 5 goals! 



The Penny

What is a blog for if not to write about the most intimate moments in the life of your family.  I mean who can keep up with all that baby book business, dates of the first teeth coming in, dates of the first teeth being lost, vaccinations, first words, gifts and their givers from each birthday celebration.  The thought is exhausting.  It's a good thing I have boys who would probably toss the books in a box in an attic for the duration of their lives only to be damaged by the elements and disintegrate before ever being looked at again.  At least that's what I'm hanging my hat on to avoid the guilt from all the dates and firsts I've missed writing down in the past 6 years

However, I have decided this memory book item should live in the annuls of our family story.  If not for my benefit, for Duke's so that one day if his child should decide to make the same error in judgement he did two weeks ago today, perhaps he will be ahead of the game in resolving it.

Yes, I'm talking about The Penny.

And for those facebook friends that found it a bit repulsive that I continued to update our progress in locating The Penny, I say to you, too bad.  Yes I too find some posts by others meet the TMI standard far to often, but in the process of the past two week's events, well, the posts and comments to them were the only entertaining piece of my life I could hold on to.

So, The Penny.  It entered our family innocently enough, from the change slot in my center console.  Retrieved by Duke and held on to during our drive home that evening as if it were a shiny gold doubloon from Jake and the Neverland Pirates themselves.  I faintly remember him snatching it and even more faintly remember getting out of the car and walking in the house with his luggage for the day.  I do remember telling the boys no less than three times to turn back around and gather their items from the car before getting in the shower, since it was 7pm and bedtime was on the horizon.

And then it happened, just after that third "Go back to the car and get your book bag and anything else you've left and put it up."  Duke looked up at me, near terror in his eyes, "I JUST SWALLOWED THE PENNY!"

"WHAT PENNY?!?!?!?!"

"THE PENNY, IN MY MOUTH..."

(and yes, all caps BECAUSE WE WERE SHOUTING)

"WHAT PENNY IN YOUR MOUTH...WHY WAS THERE A PENNY IN YOUR MOUTH??!??...YOU ARE FIVE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH A PENNY IN YOUR MOUTH??!!??!?"

"AM I GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE SURGERY TO GET IT OUT?  I DON'T WANT THEM TO CUT IT OUT OF ME!!!!!

Insert here...Mom slapped back into reality.

"Buddy, wait, I'm sorry, it's going to be OK.  You are not going to have to have surgery."  (Thinking...he's not choking, he's talking, WOW that sucker went right down quick!)

Duke, eyes WIDE at me, "BUT HOW WILL IT COME OUT?!?!??"

And there my friends is where the journey began.

As a precaution I did call the after hours offices and leave a message for a nurse who couldn't give any medical advice over the phone but who did reassure me that likely since he had no problem with swallowing it, that it would "reappear" in due time.

Well, since I am a Type A control freak (shocking to all of you I know), I knew immediately what this meant, 24/7 monitoring of Duke in hopes of payment in kind.

The next morning, naively hopeful, I kept him at the office with me. Loaded with workbooks, pencils and his Leappad, off we went. After a check in call to the pediatrician it was decided an X-ray would be wise to verify the penny had indeed traveled to its first needed destination, Duke's tummy.  So after a quick visit to Children's South we got this

Confirmation!

We managed until 2pm when the Alabama snow sent us off to pick up his brother and avoid the hassles of driving in flurries. You have not truly experienced weather related chaos until you've lived through the threat of snow in Alabama. And since there was zilch on the reappearance indicator, it was a fine dinner of brown rice, broccoli and chicken and promises that we'd have that ole coin the next day!  Right?!

Ummm, no, and not the next, the next, the next...you get the picture. On top of it, although Cory returned from his traveling adventures Friday and kept Duke with him so I didn't have to play Mom at the office, he wasn't feeling all that well and when he woke up Saturday and drove straight to Urgent Care my fears were confirmed - Flu.  Great, so my 3 days of having him home since the 1st turned into 3 days of solo parenting with an added bonus of being tied nearly constantly to the house to await The Penny.  And on the one occasion it might have appeared, I got the added pleasure of confirming whether or not it did with the aid of a plastic fork and a gas mask.

Monday, being MLK Day meant the kids were off school and since Cory was on the road again (have I mentioned my severe dislike for all things Willie Nelson)...me, kids, working from home and The Penny.  Not an ideal combination at the level my patience had reached. However, based on the days "results" it was fairly certain I'd be ok in sending him to school for the morning and picking him up at 11:45 carpool to observe the rest of the day's progress.  And nothing...

And on we went through the week, one day with me at the office, one morning at school, me leaving early.  I'm not even going to tell my sob story of all the work I was behind on and how working from home with two kids meant me either letting them zone out in front of the TV or Leappad or supervising them attempting to get their chores finished in about 10 times the length of time it would take for me to just do them myself.  (Growing character and preparing them for the real world is higher on my priority list however.  That and making sure my future daughter in laws will worship me for what great husbands they found.)

By Friday afternoon, I was what I can only classify as A COMPLETE WRECK.  Buried under at the office with major deadlines looming the following week, patience weary to the point of nonexistence and severely stressed about why The Penny was taking so long to meander out of my child's body.  On top of this,the longer The Penny remained, the more concern and questioning from Duke.  It was apparent by at least the one week mark that he too was concerned The Penny may have decided his intestines were a better resting place than his piggy bank.

So on the drive home Friday afternoon after picking up Jack (early again) when Duke started complaining of his stomach hurting, panic set in.  !!! Obviously The Penny hasn't appeared because it's now lodged itself into his large intestine and is eating away at the lining which will cause lifelong pain and anguish and mean I will have only one shot at grandchildren of my own - and that from the son who has assured me he never wants to get married, only build a house across the lake from us so he can come and have breakfast with me everyday.  (Whole other blog post right there).

Ok, maybe not that panicked, but definitely worried enough to get him home quickly to see if it's pain that might be ready to produce The Penny, or something else.  After 30 minutes of observation, I felt a call to the doc was probably in order.  And his advice?  Err on the side of caution and drive back to Children's South (ironically next door to their school where we were 2 hours prior) and have another look see.  And this is what we looked and see'd...

So Friday night, Cory reenters life at Sterling Creek Ranch and yet The Penny eludes.  It's at this point I realize that I have been a ball of stress, barely hanging onto my sanity.  Well that, and also the fact I've agreed to take Duke and a friend to their classmates birthday party on Saturday morning, at the zoo.  The wonderful, exciting but not so neutral smelling, Birmingham Zoo. Where the possibility of The Penny making it's appearance is probably a 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 in timing a reappearance.  Plastic forks get packed in the purse.  Fantastic.

Apparently God is a kind and loving being, for He did not bless me with the opportunity to fork through a toilet in a public restroom (at least this go around).  We had a great time at the party - one that was not going to be missed since it was highlighted with an appearance by Chris and Martin Kratt of PBS's "Wild Kratts" and had one little boy quite in awe of meeting someone that's "really on TV!"

But that evening, in not so amazing fashion as it started, The Penny did appear.  To both Duke's delight, "Dad I pooped it out!  Wanna see????!!!!"  And my relief, literally.

And so my friends, although I never thought I would surpass this post on pooping, Duke did it, again.

Journey's End

Friday was a happy day and a sad day all rolled into one. After 5 1/2 years we officially said goodbye to our friends and family at Odyssey Early School.

Our morning drop off was pretty uneventful except for Duke being very excited for his last day. He has been counting down on the calendar to it as well as his upcoming first day at Briarwood on the 15th. I was a bit teary on the drive out of the parking lot but in the same minute thankful we will be back to one location to stop each day. And let me pause to say I am not prone to being a highly emotionally person outwardly. More typical is for me to keep my feelings pretty close to my chest and make sure I'm keeping this "under control". Well, pickup was an entirely different matter.

As I typed our security code into the door keypad I remember thinking, "this is the last time I'll do this" and walking down the hall  it was, "take note of all you see so you can remember this someday" running through my mind. Then I walked into Duke's classroom and he came running up with a big posterboard his teachers and classmates had made to wish him goodbye followed by a book of drawings from his classmates to Duke wishing him well. That's when the first drops fell. Then Ms. Morgan and Ms. Missy handed me this...painted by Ms. Missy and given to us by all our teachers over the years to hang in the boys room...

And that pretty much sealed it. Free flowing water down my face from that point forward.


We started at Odyssey in December 2006. I was the newest of new mothers, with no extended family close and could not have made it without my daily sounding board of "Aunt" Kay Bodin who's feeding and sleeping advice was invaluable and who was as shocked as I was at the news we would have another Odyssey student enrolled so soon.  I'll be reminded of watching Jack on the video feed in Infant 2, playing by himself  across the room from the other babies whenever he recedes to his room at home from the chaos of a Saturday for some quiet play. And I will always have the photo of  him laying on the changing table in the Infant 4 the day Duke was born because of our sweet teachers Kelly, Ashley and Michelle who knew it would remind me of how little he was when he became a brother. 


My first connection in the mornings has been Cindy, who I grew to love to tease when occasionally she would need to call me and notify me of one of the kids boo-boos with an answer of my cell phone "If there isn't a bone or an ambulance involved, I'm good..." Of course, there were the calls that prompted a pickup, like the day Jack took a tumble on the playground and knocked his two front teeth pretty hard, resulting in some sleepless nights for Mommy.  And who I will always remember gave me just a bit of panic when I hadn't even left the building and heard over the intercom in PreK-B, "Send Sarah to T1 now!" and there was Duke with a visibly shaken teacher, calmly sitting on the changing table after a "head meet corner of table" incident that resulted in this, but none worse the wear.  


Or the epic worry created by some of my best parent friends during our transition from T4 to K3A when we realized the room had no changing table and at the ripe young age of 2 1/2 we would all be facing our first rounds of DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!  Potty Training - aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! (And a not so much thank you to those 2nd time parents that sat quietly by at the time probably laughing under your breath at our naivety.)

And as they have grown and "daycare" moved more into "preschool" we had some good laughs and even better learning.


There are so many moments in the archives of this blog that capture our days at this wonderful school where we've made even more wonderful friends who have become part of our Birmingham family. 


So as we move forward to this next chapter, I know I can always spend time looking at the past with a smile and a warmth of heart that this first journey ended with success. 


Thank you to all of you who made it better than we ever could have imagined.

My Hoarder

It started with green cherry tomatoes. My token patio cherry tomato plant two years ago never seemed to have ripened fruit. Then one day I noticed Duke with his hands in his pockets lingering near said pot.

"What-cha got there buddy?"

"Nothing..."

"Take your hands out of your pockets."

"I don't want to."

"Please :):)"

"Oh! Ok!" my naive 2 1/2 year old complies. And ther are the 5 green tomatoes I'd been watching for a week.

Next it was school toys, mega blocks to be exact. Who knew he could fit this many in one 4T size pocket?

And since it's been spent day lily seed heads, fall acorns (made for a nice base for my holiday candle decor) but today it became useful...fresh blackberries!
Keep on a picking' Duke and I might have enough for a pie!

Hoarding, it's his favorite thing.  That and this...but that's for another post, or his wedding day.  I have PLENTY for the slide show.

The Old Switcheroo!

There once was a boy named Duke.  He was a gentle lad, narry a thing would faze the boy.  Eager to help, happy to please.  And then one day...POOF!  He was gone!

That my friends is the little tale that is my life these days.  Yes, my sweet, quiet, happy go lucky, did everything himself early, "Ok I will!" baby boy has decided that he would prefer to stick out his tongue, scream at the top of his lungs in defiance and flatly tell me "I'm not gonna do that!"  And he's FOUR and A HALF.  Not terrible two's, not tricky three's, all FOUR and A HALF years of I did it one time after Jack was born and this is what I finally get for it.

Sigh.

I daily chant "This too shall pass, this too shall pass."  And have devoured (for the third time I believe) Dr. Kevin Leman's bestseller "Have a New Kid by Friday!"  The main premise of which is "B does not happen until A is completed.  Say it once and walk away."  Except I finished it a four Friday's ago and A has not been completed yet.

It's a test of wills I tell you.  At least with Jack, there was this constant desire for approval.  (Gee wonder how that happens in a first born, pffffft!)  If I got upset with that child, he couldn't last an hour without breaking down, apologizing and trying to make it better - even if it meant a full blown fit first.

With Duke, he's a simmerer (hmmmm, like maybe his father?) and after 17 years of marriage I haven't figured how to manage it with him.

Oh crap.  It's gonna be a long year.

Grandma Camp

My kids being the youngest on the Rath side and quite a few years off from Cullen, the last one born prior to them, are a bit "younger" in the mix of grandchildren, spanning from nearly 20 to 9. On my side, we have Caroline at 7 and then 4 boys 5 and under in the span of 14 months (mine being the bookends) and our (maybe) last little one of Alicia's is Jonah at 18months. We are just getting reved up there...

So it was a special treat for my two to spend four days at Grandma's house without Mom and Dad (we jetted off for a quick business trip to Vegas and flew out of Nashville to take the opportunity presented). We traveled down over the weekend and spent a few days all together, then flew out and left Grandma to fend for herself for four days. And other than a slight hiccup for her on the night we were to return just before bedtime when Jack thought I was calling and it wasn't me and he decided he had to talk to Mommy...which Mommy could not be reached being in the air on our way back and not to land until 11:30pm that night with an hour and a half drive back, imagine that juggling show for Grandma, phew!...they had an awesome time and are still talking about all they got to do. There was caramel corn, Reds baseball, swimming, kayaking, the library, soda fountain for milkshakes and even VBS to boot. I didn't get many pictures, but I did manage to record this video after we returned of the Memory Verse that they learned at VBS.

Grandma - this one is for you! Thank you for giving Cory and I that bit of time (even if it was for work) but mostly for spending time with Jack and Duke! We've been playing the Ten Commandments CD in the car every morning, Jack's favorite seems to be "Don't Bow Down to Idols". I asked today if they knew what the "Honor Your Mom and Dad" commandment meant. The response from Duke, "I don't know"...I have my work cut out for me but this tidbit makes me believe I'm headed in the right direction.

Patriots

You know those times when you don't realize how much your kids are really learning and it blows you away?  I had one of those moments this weekend when I discovered that not just Jack but Duke knows the entire Pledge of Allegiance, by heart.  Jack has never in 4 years mentioned it or demonstrated it.  Something on Sunday on our way home from the park sparked an impromtu serenede from the back of the car and so I figured I'd share it.  Because it's the only way you can really appreciate the effort.



Was that "to the Republic for which it stands" or "to the real Publix"?  I can't quite tell.  But maybe we are going to the grocery store just a bit too much as a threesome lately.

And yes, that's me in the backround cracking up when I hear Duke's "shun shiny faces" I thought they were done with "justice for all". The rest was all new to me last night.

Potty Training Without the Training

Can you really call it potty training if there is no training involved?

Been a big week at the Rath house.  Duke went from pull ups to underpants, so in about 5 minutes flat I saved $40 a month on my daycare costs and $50 a month in pull up costs.  I feel like I just got a raise for job performance.

About a month ago we tried one Saturday morning to see how it'd go and after peeing on the floor several times I figured we were in for a long haul again.  Jack was a nightmare - but the more I think about that experience the more I believe he was pushed too early because of room changes at daycare and had we given him the 8 months we'd spent training, he probably would have mastered it like Duke has.  Really Huggies "Enjoy the Ride" as the marketing campaign - well, I didn't.

But after last week when Duke woke up 4 out of 7 nights completely dry...hmmm, Jack still doesn't, but somethings going on.  So Saturday afternoon we put 'em on and nary an accident since.  (note I am not yet bold enough for nighttime, but since Jack is still not dry at night, I'm going to let that one go for now)

Wow.  That kid is good.  And this mom is $90 bucks happier.

And On His Farm He Had A...

Since our fabulous new loft bedroom premiered in early July, I have been attempting (begging) to find a consistent bedtime routine.  It started very ugly on my part.  It's pretty hard to go from snuggles and lullabies and soothing nite-nites - one of which never took more than about 30 seconds to put to bed, to two giggling giddy toddlers who have probably the coolest room ever (it beats the heck out of OUR room) and who are seemingly wound down until they get into their sleeping spaces, or should I call them "The Boys' Most Awesome Fort Ever" and decide it's a whole new place to jump around, talk to one another and climb under each others sheets.  The ugly - me stomping up and down the stairs threatening them within an inch of their lives with "IT'S NITE-NITE!  GO TO SLEEP!"  (Caps intended to read as if I was screaming because on several nights in the past two months, I was  - cringing admittance that I yell at my kids.)

Well, somewhere in the past month, I gave up.  I guess I got tired of listening to myself and tired of those stairs - after all they are the only ones on the whole property that are not part of a ladder.  So one night, I just let 'em have at it.  The next morning, I found Duke sleeping next to Jack which made me melt into an ooey gooey mess of a moment - my kids love one another!

Since then, for the most part, it's been working better - gee could it have been ME all along causing the delay? - cringing admittance I need to yell less and let it go more.  Typical routine has become- we read a book in the rocking chair, then some nights when it's not too late, we read a page of our devotional for toddlers, then Duke is up the ladder to his bed and laying down while I rock Jack and sing our old standby, Hush Little Baby (yep Mom, we still sing that song and I think of you every time I've done it for 4 years now - twice a night for nearly 3 of those), then Jack's up the ladder to his bed, rub his back a minute; me-"I love you very much" Jack-"I love you too" me-"Nite-Nite" Jack-"Nite-Nite", I go to Duke's bed, rub his back, sing Hush Little Baby, me-"Give me a kiss" kiss, me-"Nite-Nite", Duke-"Nite-Nite", check Jack for one last kiss, down the stairs and lights out.  I'm done.

Not bad given where we started from.  The only glitch, occassionally Duke likes to sing REALLY LOUDLY before completely passing out from exhaustion on the nights when he's overtired.

Tonight's chosen tune?  Old McDonald.  Except the farmer only has a chicken.  And he sang it three times, while I attempted to concentrate on making it all the way through Hush Little Baby with Jack without busting out a laugh that would bounce both of us out of the rocking chair.  I mean after the 2nd round of "And on his farm he had a................CHICKEN!  E-I-E-I-O!"  You would have been close to wetting your own pants, trust me. 

So I rush though the rest of the lullaby as I can safely without losing my composure figuring at any minute the chicken is going to turn into a cow or pig, get Jack in bed, only to find Duke - out cold. 

I could have sworn there were feathers laying near his pillow in the dark of the room.

The Funny One

Admit it, we all do it, tag our children with personality traits before they are even old enough to have personality traits.

Jack - clean, structured, precise, needy, helpful, tender hearted, wants to please, momma's boy; the serious one.

Duke - messy, if there is something that can get on him, it does, full out all the time, loud, big loving, daredevil, no fear; the funny one.

Duke wins tonite.

It's not a suprise to those that know us well, we discipline our children. We aren't perfect parents but we believe in a parenting path which involves more than time-out. I promise we aren't some crazed, strict mom and dad whose kids will show up on Maury Povich (is he still on?) 15 years from now telling their story of spending hours in a closet with no food, no water, no light for a week. We just believe that in order to change certain behaviors at this age, it can require more than discussion.

We probably started this parenting path a little late with Jack, but at this point, the times we need to visit Mommy and Daddy's room are pretty few and far between. He understands what the limits are, and really as much of a straight and narrow kid as he is naturally, grace is used successfully much more often. Except when he decides he's big enough to go to the lake on his own - then the wooden spoon reappears for a brief moment (understandably, what's worse, a pop on the bottom or him drowning?).

Duke benefitted from Jack's learning curve. Essentially he was trained in the early years that if you didn't listen to Mommy and Daddy there were consequences. So by default, he usually follows the path of the straight and narrow within one warning. "Duke, we don't ... or you will get a pop on the bottom." 'nuff said. But there is one small behavior we are working on, which brings me to tonight.

I have boys, I realize this and I give a lot of room for consideration. I do not expect them to sit at a table and color for an hour undisturbed. They are active. They need to exert their energy. No problem here. But, I have my limits. Spitting is one of them. And it seems to be one of Duke's weaknesses.

In the past two weeks I've had two drives home (mind you that means 45 minutes) in which I have spent 42.10 of those minutes explaining that we "DO NOT SPIT". It doesn't help that his brother thinks it's hilarious when he does it and all but eggs him on in his comedy show. Well tonight I calmly explained when we got home, it meant Duke would need to go to Mommy's room when we arrived. They both know what this means, which brought about an entirely new discussion of how many pops on the bottom would be required (Side note - we pop 1 time and 1 time only for an infraction, that's it, the rest is their vivid imaginations at work. Some parents discipline in other ways, this is ours.).

"Duke, how many pops will you get?"
"Two"
"No, you are going to get five."
"No, I don't want five, six!"

etc. I actually heard Duke say, "I get Two Five pops!" at one point. I'm now firmly convinced he hasn't counted past ten in preschool.

We arrived, and off to Mommy's room he went. He knew, didn't run off, moaned about it on the way, but knew he deserved what was coming. I just wasn't prepared.

Up to this point, when it's time for Duke to receive the consequences for undesired action he's been fairly accepting of the punishment, usually getting down from the chair he's sitting in during the discussion of what he'd done wrong, to turn around and accept his "pop". Tonight I had a moment in which I had to control myself...not for anger - come on, they are my kids! But from falling on the floor laughing.

The child walked into our room with a book he has grown quite attached to - Going on a Bear Hunt. We've read it several times for bedtime in the past two weeks. I do it with a British accent because at school they have a book on tape they play and the reader is British which makes it even more fun. "W'aahr goin on ah Beahr Hunt, W'aahr goin to catch ah BIG one, W'ahr not scaahd" The board book.

Tonite, when he realized as he sat in the chair and I talked with him about his behavior in the car and how he disobeyed me (multiple times) and continued to spit, that he would receive a consequence for that behavior, I noticed he was putting the book under his bottom as he sat in the chair. At first, I thought it strange, but when he pulled it out from under him and said "Pop the book" I could barely keep a straight face. He continued to try and position it down behind him as he stood up. The child isn't even 3!!! I can honestly say that since we instilled this parenting path, nearly 6 months ago, he's been popped maybe 5 times, tops.

So, I'm now convinced of one thing. He's not just The Funny One. He's actually The Smart One too!

The Geese Have the Last Rath Paci

Almost a year ago, we said bye bye to Jack's paci.  It was a cold turkey move, necessitated by a tumble on the playground and visit with the dentist.  It was not a fun transition, although I don't remember that because it was so awful, I just re-read my post on it.  Funny how you put those things out of your mind.

I've been struggling with when to do it for Duke since his 2nd birthday.  He only takes it at night and nap - and only naps at home, hasn't had it at daycare since he was 12 months (WIMP me - should have done it all then!)  I really didn't want to go through the holidays with any issues with sleep, so that put it into January.  Cory was gone all but about 6 days that month and I didn't feel like dealing with it on my own, same for February.  We hope to have the boys rooming together by the end of this year, and therefore, I can't really wait until that happens to do it.  So I've been waiting for "the opportunity" to present itself.  It did today in an odd way.

I took his crib bumper out of his bed about a month ago.  I was just sick of dealing with it when I had to change the sheets and the only reason I kept it in there was to keep his paci from falling through the slats in the middle of the night.  After a few nights of hearing a quiet "Where's paci go?" at 2 a.m. and retrieving it, those mumurs stopped, yet in the morning, more and more often, I'd find said paci on the floor under the crib or in between the mattress and rails hidden from his searching hands and him waking up without wanting it.  At least until it was time to get out of bed, then he'd ask for it, we'd find it, he'd take one long drag like a person on smoke break trying to eke the last bit of nicotine out of a cig and dunk it in the crib for that night.

This morning however, neither of us could find it.  Looked on the floor, around the edge of the mattress, under all his stuffed animals, nowhere in sight.  Our opportunity had just presented itself.

"Well, the geese must have taken your paci!"   I should have read my previous blog post before this plan, since I didn't actually want him thinking geese randomly entered his room in the middle of the night to steal all things precious to him, but in a way it worked.  Jack pipes up "Yea Duke!  The geese have your paci!  Now you're a big boy too!"  After a few "MY PACI?!" cries and general wake up crankiness passes, he's actually ok with it.  We talk more on the way to school and again on the way home and he's actually agreeing that it's all gone, the geese have it, etc. 

Bedtime went better than I thought, though not as great as I'd have liked.  Right up until going into the room, he was all fine with it, but once the reality set in, not so happy.  We rocked, we sang, we did all the rest of the 5 second routine the kid requires "Go Nite Nite", "Give me a Kiss" kiss kiss "I love you Mommy", "I love you Duke" "Thank you" "Your welcome" and off to the crib, with the exception - and interesting one - he wanted to walk to his crib tonite rather than be carried on my shoulder from the chair.  hmmmm.   So after a little more crying/whimpering and me rubbing his back a minute, I left the room and went to finish up with Jack.

Then the howling started.  Not to the level Jack can be famous for, but strong with intermintent long pauses.  It probably helps I don't usually have any need to go into his room at bedtime, and that I'm usually stuck for 20 minutes getting Jack through his routine in his room.  For that 20 min I had no idea if he were screaming, hollering or silent. 

It was in between.  By the time I got out, there was about another 10 minutes of crying laced with long silent stretches that has since turned into complete silence.   And since he doesn't have it in the middle of the night most nights when it falls out of the bed...I may have made it paci free at last!

No One Makes Them Like Grandma!

Nothing is more exciting than opening the mailbox and having a box come from Tennessee around a holiday.  Duke thinks so too.

Light Speed

So, no one shared with me that the "I can do it!" 2's are nothing like the "I do it by myself!" 3's.  Hello!!  I thought it was all the same thing.  A clue in from the Mom Squad would have been nice.  I've got one of each right now and both are going at full speed ahead.

It's not so much me missing them needing me.  It's more me managing to let each of them do things by themselves simultaneously with neither of them (or me) needing a trip to the emergency room (or psych ward) because I can't keep them from going above and beyond what they are capable of.  We haven't quite hit that level yet, but it's just peeking up from the horizon.  I can see all the pretty colors, pinks, oranges, golden yellows, then POW, noon day sunlight in July in Alabama.

Duke is simply in the "I do it, I do it!" stage.  He can do lots of things, take off his shoes, put them in the basket by the back door, bring me his coat, zip it up once it's on.  But there's still that need for a reminder of the next step in the process, the boost into the car, the reminder to sit in the seat, not stand up facing the rear of the car jumping up and down.

Jack however, does NOT want to be reminded at all of what he needs to do next.  He wants to anticipate and perform.

Let me tell you - my brain is like spaghetti trying to manage their development needs right now.  Because God help me if I tell Jack to do something that he already knows he needs to do or move Duke along a little quicker than he's taking at whatever task is at hand.

Tonite was actually an experiment in what life is likely headed to be in another few months on a regular basis.  When we got home, Jack went into the bathroom to potty to remove his pants and underpants that he had tee tee'd in just a bit (that's a whole other subject I would rather not get into here) and then put a new pair on and his jeans, all by himself CORRECTLY.  Later, at bathtime, Jack needed an extra "nudge" to get in and start brushing his teeth.  That's when I realized his toothbrush was still in the bathroom off his room and not in the one we take bath in.  So, to avoid the whining, I suggested he go in that bathroom to get his toothbrush.  Simple task...I thought, come back with it and we will go through the rest of the motions we have been doing for the past oh, 9 months or so. Plus bonus, something he was doing by himself.

After a few minutes, I realized that would not be the case.

Nope, he decided to brush his teeth himself in that bathroom, ok, works for me, he even put the correct amount of toothpaste on the brush.  I had to pressure him a bit to let me do a second swipe at them, but we worked it out.  All the while Duke is flushing the potty over and over again, "I did it! I did it".  So after wrangling Duke into the tub, I returned to Jack's bathroom and instructed him to finish up the brushing and come to get in the tub by himself. 

Duke at this point is well into bath, close to being out.  Jack, not appearing.

I investigate.  He's in the chair in his room, reading himself a book.  Ok, nothing bad about that other than bedtime is approaching.  So I suggest he get a move on and put himself in the tub while I put Duke to bed (which takes all of about 10 seconds, so Mother do not freak out, Jack did not rush into the bathroom, tear his clothes off, jump into the tub and drown in that amount of time).  This he actually does, but experienced Mom of tub poopers, I notice he needs a little baby wipe bottom swipe before getting in the tub to avoid any little "floater flakes" while he's in there.  I quickly do it, avoiding to appear as if I'm doing anything for him and disappear for the 10 second Duke bedtime routine.

Upon my return, Jack is in the bathtub, his clothes in the hamper and all is well in my world again.

My brain is still spaghetti, but I'm seeing those pinks, oranges and golden yellows on the horizon and hoping I can enjoy them just a bit longer.

Good Shopping Day

My friend Mallory will probably be upset that I took the time to blog this today because she is on a fast from visiting her friend's blogs...I may have to email it to her since it's a fiscally responsible post.

Now that Publix has changed their Penny item day to Wednesday's with the coupon appearing in the Wednesday paper, it makes it a little more challenging for me to get on my game and make sure I'm getting deals on the things I buy.  However, it forces me to shorten my window of shopping to today on the items I already have coupons and deals for each week and I can wait until Sunday when the weekend coupons show up to finish out anything else I want to get for the week's flyer.

Today I did pretty good.  Total bill $154.33, actually spent $81.89 (72.44 in saving and of that, 35.68 was saved with actual coupons!)

Some of my better buys -

• 4 Pack of GE 60 watt lightbulbs - B1G1 at $1.89 for 2 and I had 2 coupons for $1.50 off each on GE lightbulbs (they only gave me actual value, so I didn't get the overage back, but hey, FREE lightbulbs!)
• Healthy Choice Entrees - Buy 5 for $10, already a decent deal for someone that eats in at work.  I had two coupons for $5 off 5, plus a Publix coupons for $1.00 off Healthy Choice, so I got all 10 meals for $.90 each.  Not a free lunch, but darn close!
• DelMonte Canned Vegetables - B1G1 at 1.29 for 2 and I had 2 coupons for $1 off of 4, so the net price per can was 0.39!  My kids still eat their vegetables, plus I can use them in chicken pot pies and other casseroles I make, so well worth the stock up.
• Aveeno Skin Care - 20% off.  I was able to get a facial cleanser and a scrub for 3.59 for each bottle because I had 2 coupons for $2.00 off any Aveeno product.  Who doesn't love cheap, but good for your skin, pampering items!
• Nabicso Crackers - 2 for $5, in itself, not outstanding, but I also had 2 coupons for $2.00 off of a purchase of 2, plus a coupon for $1.00 off Ritz Crackerfuls (the 4 cheese ones are AWESOME!) so for my 4 boxes (3 Triscuits and 1 Crackerfuls), I paid $1.25 each.  I love my Triscuits with hummus, mmmmmmmm.
• V8 Splash - B1G1 at $1.49 each, plus I had a $1.00 off purchase of 2, so I paid 0.50 per bottle (these are the 64oz. ones!)  I have not been making coffee at home on the mornings Cory is out of town - which is most of January, but have been filling up my to go cup with this juice instead, so definitely a good buy for me.

On top of this there were many other items in my cart, some I had coupons for, some I didn't to make up the rest- Gallon of Milk, 2 bags of Tostitos scoops ($3 a bag), 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes (.55 a can), 12 pack roll of Quilted Northern (4.99), Danative Vanilla 4pk (1.00), bananas, 2 bags of Goldfish ($1.00 per pack), 5 cans of Progresso Soup (.64 a can), Gold Bond 13 oz lotion, bottle of red wine, 2 boxes of Cheez Its ($1 a box), 2 - 8oz bags of Kraft shredded cheese, a $5.00 6 pack of Chicken Tenders from the deli the kids polished off on the trip through the store for supper and of course, the Penny Item - 64oz bottle of Publix White Grape Juice.

And...drum roll, my total cumulative shopping trips since January 1st are at $273.44 for the first 2 weeks.  Since I won't probably need anything much before next Wednesday, I might actually come in under my $500 per month household / food budget the very first month of the year!  Hooray for me!  (Especially since the overage goes to our savings for the addition to the house we have planned for the boys new "wing")

For those of you wondering, Duke is doing great.  His hair covers his forehead so unless you know there is something under there, he looks totally normal - and acts it too.  But it is purple on the edges and there is a bump...we'll see what this weekend brings.  He's not too happy he can't be in the bathtub and on top of it, his navy blue paci tore and I had to replace it with a light colored one from the closet on Monday night after the trauma of the day.  Apparently it isn't at "findable" in his crib in the middle of the night, because I have awoken to a wail of "Where Paci GO?!" several times in the past few nights, only to walk in and find his whole crib and everything in it tossed everywhere in his attempt to locate it.  Thank goodness once it's found, it's face down and snoooooze..................

Dancing With the Star

Here's the mover and shaker in our household. Presenting Mr. Duke Rath.

Just try and top this show ABC!

YaYa's Visit

After listening for the past 4 months of all the extras my Dad has been able to do to help my sisters in their daily lives since semi-retiring, I decided it was my turn and flew him down to Birmingham for 5 days to experience this phenomenon. I may claim swine flu status and move his flight home back about 2 weeks!

Since his arrival on Wednesday night, he's helped me complete this year's round of landscaping, stained two end tables that I've wanted done for at least 5 years, got a few holes drilled in my redwing crocks and spent an entire day at the zoo with me and the boys (drenching rain at the start and all!). It has been an absolutely fantastic time having him here...and he even gets to have his own "man cave" at night in our office which doubles as our guest suite. I don't think it could have resulted in any more perfect a trip (other than of course his staying over for about two weeks!)

Here are some photos of the weekend so far. Tomorrow we have church, followed by a little more landscaping and probably capped off by another cookout with the neighbors and some time in the lake, this time in the form of a leisurely dip rather than a sudden drenching (Dad got a bit too close to the edge of the dock while helping Cory put the new water trampoline in on Friday!).

It's not going to be easy putting him back on a plane on Monday. Hmmmm, Clare and Ali, maybe you need to start bribing me now. I've got LOTS of frequent flyer miles still saved up!

Small Moments in a LONG Week

I may have finally worn him down. Jack that is, and the bedtime struggle. The last three nights it's been between 1-2 hours of crying, screaming, throwing, you name it. The poor kid is hoarse from all of it, his little voice is all crackly. But tonite, 20 minutes into it and he's settled down with only an occaisional peep. Probably predicated on his being outside from the minute we got home until bath, but either way, works for me.



So, Daddy gets home later (much later, probably midnight according to his call at 6pm) and I have just a bit of time to wrap up the week. And what better way to do it then share a pic of the other kid. You know, the one that sleeps all night, seems happy, most of the time at least, and is genuinely still in the pre-terrible 2's. He has his moments mind you, man can he get MAD!, but overall, sweet kid, just happy to be here.



I put him in the tub tonite, and prayed for no pooping, I felt I was in the clear, but then again, who wouldn't have thought that after the third time on Wednesday. The affected toys, etc. were still in a bucket on the floor, which I didn't particularly think about when I put him in the tub and when I came back in after having gone into the other room for some reason, I found this

But thankfully, this was among the items I had bleached and rinsed after the mess and no, it had not been used since. Little stinker had reached out and grabbed it up. But priceless for the photo op.

Jack's teeth are seemingly fine, nothing loose, nothing swollen and nothing turning weird colors. So maybe all will be fine when we go for xrays week after next. I've asked him several times if they hurt and he tells me, no...and in this case I think he means it instead of the random NO!

And looks like my weekend is already looking up. Daddy just called (it's 9pm) and said he is actually only 45 minutes away! (Helps that NASCAR is at Talladega this weekend so all the fans are exhibiting their speed on the interstate) And not a peep in 10 minutes...I might just enjoy the silence for a little while.

Thanks all for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers...looks like they worked :)

Can't Get Any Better Than This

I am sitting in my room with LOST on the tube, listening to Jack's second night without paci and the latest rendition of "I need my Maaahhmmeee" coming over the monitor. Ohhh...new line just hollered, "I wanna get down!", tonite might get even more interesting which I truly didn't think would be possible after the past 36 hours, especially considering what happened at bath tonite.

That's right, life in my house has gone to a new level.

For those of you in the know, you are aware our blessed baby, actually I guess he is technically a toddler now at 16 mos, Duke, is a tub pooper. I guess you could call it occaissional, but on that little trick anything more than once a year in my opinion is a trend. My friend Lara at the office has reminded me several times that you aren't truly a parent until you've chased poop around the tub with your bare hands, well, let me say I've done it, more than once, verging on often, usually while Cory is out of town.

Back to tonite. And please excuse the following three details, but they are significant to the overall story...it was nearing time for bath, both kids had just pooped but had not yet been changed and when Duke poops, it's usually in tandem - one, and about 5 minutes later, the second show.

So, as we are watching Word World both darlings do their daily business, and honestly I feel like it's perfect timing since it's clean them up and put them to bed next. So, Duke goes first and like his usual self, second show is just about ready to begin. And what better opportunity for him to do it right there on the potty. He's too young to potty train of course, but when things are right there and set-up for his brother, may as well skip the step of dumping it from the diaper and having him put it right there on his own. Which he does, so clean up his bum and into the tub.

Now it's Jack's turn, but we have to start with brushing teeth, then washing hands, and next, changing pullup. Great, perfect, clean the bum and socks off and then ... crap ... literally, in the tub, again. Guess Duke decided tonite he'd perform the Triple Lindy. Fabulous. Really. But stick with me, it gets WAY better. And best you start the visual imaging from here, 'cause I promise it gets really good.

Jack, still in his t-shirt and socks but pantless, is told to seat himself on the step stool by the sink while I simultaneously grab Duke around the chest and catch the last of the poop coming out of his butt with my other hand. That gets tossed in the toilet and Duke gets laid on the towel on the floor, butt wiped and hands and feet and anything else that was touching water that had poop floating in it quickly scanned and wiped down. Remaining poop, and poop tub toys, thrown in the toilet and sink and water drained while I grab the bottle of Spray Bleach from under the sink and quickly spray everything down. Jack, thankfully, is still sitting quietly on the stool watching all of this when I realize there is a spot of poop on the towel Duke is laying on. So up he goes, naked to sit on the 2nd stool next to Jack. I am about finished wiping down the tub enough to be able to put the kids back in it, when I see the 4th quarter come out of Duke, onto the stool, and his hands, and his foot and the rug and the floor and onto Jack who decides this is a good time to hold hands with his brother Duke.

Don't laugh, it could have been you, on 4 hours sleep from the night before, with poop everywhere. But wait, there's more.

Duke gets set back on the potty, at least that way he can safely go into overtime if necessary. Jack is told to stand up and wash his hands in the sink, by a mother that has completely forgotten that's where the poop tub toys are and which he begins playing with instead of washing his hands. Duke is wiggling on the toilet, I get Jack's hands clean and turn around to see the dog licking the poop off the rug and floor.

Yep, it's just doesn't get any better than this. I guess in some way, this is my payback for laying on a beach for 6 hours on Friday. Either way, those 6 hours kept me from losing my mind tonite. Instead I am still laughing about it.

I have to, it's an hour since I started this post and although the "I wanna get down" cries are staggered occaissionally by 30 seconds of silence, they are still echoing through the damn monitor. Wait, here's a new one, and no doubt he's defnitely working it now "I need tee tee potty!"

Looks like another glass of wine for me tonite. Did I mention Cory gets back on Friday?

Overheard (or seen)

Mommy to Duke upon pickup at daycare tonite:

"Ms. Jordan will get you some more snack before we leave, (as Ms. Jordan hands Duke the cup of animal crackers), what do you say?"

Duke:

Signs his hand across his chest for "please!" (for the first time!)

All Mommy hoped for was a thank you, since he knows that sign. First time I've seen him respond to a question other than Eat? with sign language!

These are the days I live for!

Days in the Life of Duke

I'm on a video run.

Duke is the funniest kid. I can't really describe to anyone how different he and Jack are, but they are, like night and day in certain ways.

Jack takes the entire trip to school to eat his cereal (dry of course, we are in the car after all!), taking each piece one by one. Duke makes it about a mile before his handful method has put 1/2 of it in his mouth and 1/2 of it on the floor of my car.

Jack will (and always has) sit still and read a book with anyone. I remember him bringing us books to read to him at even 14 and 15 months old. Duke lasts about 20 seconds into it and then he's pulling at the pages, squirming to get down.

Jack is a snuggler. When he was a baby we would rock for 20 minutes before bed, (and sometimes in the middle of the night if he woke up crying, until Duke came around!) And even to this day, every morning when he wakes up, every night when he goes to bed and before and after naps on the weekends, it's "snuggle with Mommy?" - and off we go in the chair for a few minutes of lovey time. I know, melts me! Duke, not so much into the snuggling thing (which completely bums me out!) After about 3 minutes in the chair he's squirming to get put into bed or down on the floor to play. (He does however do the cutest thing when you ask him for some "lovin'", he just lays his head to the side on my shoulder! - again, melts me!)

However, not to be outshadowed by his big brothers cuteness, Duke is our dancer. Put music on and he's moving to the beat. Bouncing up and down, shaking his fists like he's doing the Wiggles "shimmy shake".

So, enough said, I'm posting a video here of his Elvis impersonation - I laugh every time I see it. Done to the Wiggles of course, Dr. Knickerbocker - one of Jack's favorites and a nightly staple while dinner is being prepared. Following it is a quick clip of how Duke has decided is the only way to go down the slide. His father was outside with him the first time he decided to take the plunge, at least I think Duke came up with this method (vs. his father showing him how), guess I will never know.

Jack may be my snuggle bunny, but Duke makes my heart smile just by being in the room!