Status (no, we're not dead) and quick blurb

... not dead, but somedays I feel close! We have fought through 3 separate rotten colds in the last two months, the latest of which resulted in antibiotics for me and James (tonsillitus and sinusitus!). Crud. I figured I'd fought mine off with the antibiotics, but now it seems that the virus has said, "ahHA.. that infection isn't using the body anymore, now *I* can finish up!"... and now I have a head cold. GEEEEZ!!! One more this year and I'm ripping my sinuses right out of my head.

So plenty has been happening. James is (I know, I say this every other month) getting so well-spoken, and I just love to chit chat with him.. he's such a cool little dude! He's getting SUPER excited about Christmas, and if you ask him what Santa is bringing, he'll tell you "lots of stuff!". Greeeaaat. I'm pushing really hard to get across the finer points of Christmas by having him pick out and drop off the Toys for Tots, but I'm just not sure he gets it yet. *sigh*... all in time, I guess.

Completely unrelated, this morning he was sitting at the table and he picked up a picture of me. He said, "mommy, is that cute?", and I said, "oh, honey, not really... mommy's not cute". He said, "yes you are! you're cute! You're a nice, pretty mommy, and you're nice and warm!". Awwww... what woman wouldn't like to hear that?

Craft girl

Also, if I may take a moment to write about ME vs. the Center of the Universe, aka "James"...

I am featured this month on Inkadinkadoo.com! If you look down on the left and click on "Have you tried Stamping and Decoupage?", it's a link to their feature project. It has one of my projects pictured, and credits me with the idea! I sent it in about 2 mths ago (back when I was on Decopatch.com), and they scheduled me in for the Nov project. YAY!

Rewarding the rewards

Last night it was time for the nightly Agonizing Over Dinner (ie: WTF to make?). I finally settled on a chicken sandwich for James and salad for Mommy. James insisted that he wanted a sandwich AND a poptart (his new ABSOLUTE favorite). I told him, "sandwich first, THEN poptart if you finish it". The Negotiator tried again to convince me that he needed them at the same time, but Mommy held firm. So, he picked at his sandwich, at least ate all of the filling (he likes to dissect his food.. just like Auntie E), and then announced that he was ready for his poptart. So, I gave it to him, he wolfed it down, and THEN announced that now he gets candy! "Mommy, I ate all my poptart, now I get some candy?". Seriously! I reminded him that candy was for going potty by yourself (and announcing that you need to go vs. being told), NOT as a reward for eating a freakin' POPTART (which was already the reward for finishing the sandwich)! *sigh*

Why do I love thee?

As we rode home from school today, I had a little sniffle. Normally, I keep a box of tissues in the backseat to counteract the accursed sinuses that my mom's side of the family is blessed with. I asked James for one, and typically he reaches over and passes one up to me. Today he said, "I don't see them". I glanced back and noticed that neither did I! I asked, "did Daddy move my tissues?" and James confirmed. So I said (not thinking), "oh that bad Daddy, he makes me so made moving my stuff!". James said, "me too, Daddy makes me so mad, too". I immediately realized the error of having said that out loud, and corrected myself. "Honey, Daddy doesn't really make me mad, I was just teasing". James said, "I like Daddy", and I replied, "Me, too.. in fact, when he comes home today, I'm going to give him a biiiiig kiss!". And James asked, "because he moves stuff?".

Hoooookay, then!

I FINALLY have like 5 mins to sit down and put fingers to keyboard. GRACIOUS, where to begin? James has been soooo excited about Halloween Time! He practiced his Twick o Tweat for days on end, and told anyone who would listen that he was going to be a Fireman, just like Unca Thawn. On a semi-related note, getting him to take potty breaks has actually been a smidge easier, as we've told him "it's time to put out the fire", and he's more than happy to do that!
Well, Misfortune tried to throw us a curveball this week! Sterling was taking James to his Dr's appt with him on Monday (1 hr away, mind you) when James decided to redecorate the interior of Daddy's truck... with lunch. Poor little man yacked twice in the truck, and Sterling had to drive an HOUR home with a sick and messy little boy. Fortunately, he shook that off, and we thought we'd seen the worst (although WE were both petrified that we were going to get it, too. Man, once bitten, a million times shy.. we don't EVER want a stomach bug again!). He started with sniffles the next day, and into Wed. Although he stayed home from school, we did make it over there briefly for their costume parade. We heard that his bug was going around, so par for the course, I guess. Anyway, he had an awesome time, got to see his best girl, Ally (who grabbed his hand and led him around during their parade! Those two are smitten!), and his other buddies, too. We came home to rest, and then made it for Trick or Treating that night. LOTS of pics to be posted. We hit pretty much the whole block, and the handle on his plastic pumpkin snapped off twice from the weight of his loot! Sufficed to say, a good time was had by all, in spite of pesky viruses, bacteria, or whatever the heck it is.

Gotta love a man in uniform!

Just a quick post to show off some pics from this morning's Halloween parade at school... the little lady in the pics is Ally... James' girlfriend! ;-)

New pics!

No real time for chit chat, just wanted to let you know that we posted the pics from our trip up North. Enjoy!

Aren't we proud?

Ya know, we've been having such a great go of the whole potty training thing, but then every now and again I guess you have to expect a little slip. Last night there were 2 slips. We got home from school, and James told me "Mommy, I need to go potty!". So in he went, and about 5 seconds later I heard "oh no, Mommy, I had an accident". So I poke my head in, and he's standing in a puddle about 1 ft in diameter. I asked what happened, did he just not get his pants down in time? He said no, so I told him it was ok and cleaned it up. About THIRTY MINUTES LATER... he told me again, "Mommy, I need to go potty!". I said, "great, let's go right now!" and I turned on the light, turned my back for a sec while I heard the toilet lid get opened, and then... "Mommy... I did it again". Seriously! And he was wearing pajama pants, so how hard was it to just yank 'em down!?!?
So we cleaned up again.
Not 20 mins later, I hear the bathroom door shut. I walk over and ask what he's doing, and he says, "I'm going poop". Didn't even have to ask / tell! It totally made up for the two accidents (or WERE they?). Anyhoo, I tell James to let me know when he's done, and I go back to the kitchen. A minute or two later I hear, "Mommy! Come look at THIS!". He wants me to see the volume of his production. Niiiiiice. Then when he's done, he says, "I need some air". I asked if he wanted to open the bathroom door, and he said, "no, I want to turn on the fan". THANK GOD!!! He's been anti-fan for a little while now, and when he's taking care of business, he does NOT need to be anti-fan... we need to be very pro-fan! Because... look at what he did!

Just too funny

There is a fundamental difference between the child-rearing techniques of a Mommy vs. a Daddy. This was glaringly evident when I read one of the comments on Linda Loveland's Babyology blog (one of my favs, btw.. it all sounds so familiar!)...

The topic was the little grab bag you get when you pick up your kid from daycare.. and you know WHY the clothes are sealed up...

"

Kids get dirty at daycare? To be sure?

I got one suggestion - CONSIGNMENT CLOTHING ONLY WORN TO DAYCARE! Then, when you get the "Surprise Sack" you drop it in daycare's trash can on the way out with no guilt!

HELLO! Come on ladies - this is coming from a Dad!

Mr. Keeping It Real"

nice, eh?

Little Mister Contrary

James is mastering the use of the word "but" (not "butt"... I'm sure he'll master THAT in about another year, as he IS a boy!). He likes to use it ALOT. I'll ask him to do something or not to, and he'll ask, "but, WHY?". Or, "I can't do this, but I can do THAT?". He's too much. This morning we were getting dressed and I loosened up his sandals for him, and he told me, "You're a good mommy, but you don't have to do that. See, I can just push my feet in.". Nice try, Mom, but you're not needed here.. move on!

Clearing some hurdles

Sorry for the long hiatus, but one of said hurdles was a wicked cold that James and I have been trying to shake for about 2 weeks now. Criminey, I'm still coughing and clearing my throat.. can't wait for this to be completely gone!
The more important hurdle, however, is POTTY TRAINING!!!! As you know, we've been fighting this uphill battle for about the last year, and little mister man has simply not been interested. It just goes to show you, they really do just have to be ready.. you can't make them do it if they don't want to. When I think about how much we stressed ourselves out over this at the beach when it was CLEAR he did not care.... argh.
Yet I digress. The fact is, we're there. He comes home from school in the same little undies I send him in, and with the exception of the occasional accident, he is gung ho! He's so excited when he lets you know, "Mommy, I need to go POTTY", like he's reporting on a very big event (which he is!). He's excited about his M uh Ms, and I am just to elated. I feel like this huge weight has been lifted off of my chest!
Why in the world do moms stress out about this so much? I'll tell you why, I kept thinking that I must be doing something wrong. Other kids his age were potty trained, so it much be us, we weren't doing it right, or we were slackers, and I just knew that everyone was looking at that pull up peeking out of his waistband and thinking "wow, what's his problem?". Well ya know what? NOTHING, that's what his problem was, and ours too. There's no problem, he's smart, fun, he's not a picky eater, he's social, that was just last on his priority list. We all have different priorities, and I guess you just need to learn to accept that yours and those of your kiddo might be very different! Another lesson learned for Mommy.

Yet another preview of the teenage years (or, "a continuation of 3 going on 13")

Man, is little Mister Man getting sassy these days! First there was the whole "whatever" comment in the Teeter, but now we have two more instances to add:

We were picking out jammies tonight, and James grabbed a pair of his winter jammy bottoms, with which we normally pair a plain white t-shirt (the undershirt kind). He didn't want that. Put his little foot down. So I said, "fine, pick out a different pair of jammies". So he reached in, grabbed another set, and said, "fine... I guess I'll wear these" in this snotty little whatevery-kind of voice!

Then Sterling came home, and caught us in the middle of The Lorax, at which point my voice was giving out (I'd forgotten how long that book is!). I should also mention that my throat has actually started to hurt within the last hour, I think I've caught a cold. Anyhoo, Sterling tags in, ready to read, and James tells him, "no, I want Mommy". Daddy says, "James, Daddy likes books, too", to which James sasses back, "Yes, Daddy, you like books, but I still want Mommy". And Daddy tried very hard to hide his smirk!

3 going on 13

While in the Teeter last night, James pointed out that he wanted some soda while we were on that aisle. I said, no, that's yucky, we're not buying that. To which he replied "pshhh. whatever". He even did it in that mumbly-teenagerey voice! I almost fell on the floor! I asked him, "where did you hear that?!?!". To which he replied, "Daddy". How do we feel about watching what we say in front our little mawcaw? Pshhh... whatever.

Boys are nasty

I guess it's just a fact. I've confirmed this with fellow mom Jamye, who didn't even bat an audible eye over this when I shared it with her (over the phone).
First, before we leave school, we've been making it routine to make a potty pitstop. Typically, the kids are all running around on the playground like wild animals when I pick him up, so we stop off in the empty classroom to grab his stuff, deposit any output, then go on our way. Well, I asked him to try a poop before we left, and he forgot to tuck things down while sitting and ended up peeing on the floor, and saturating his shorts. So, we changed shorts, Mommy cleaned the floor, and on we went.
Don't keep reading if you're eating or have a weak stomach.
Back at home, I noticed the telltale sign of needing to make another pitstop, so I directed him into the bathroom. I went back to putting away groceries and told him to let me know when he was ready. He let me know by opening the door himself, which told me he was no longer ON the potty... which is cause for concern. "Why?", you may ask? Because he doesn't always LIFT off of the seat, he sliiiides off of the seat. You know where this is going, don't you? Not only was there a huge skidmark. AND, he'd apparently tried to clean this himself, as evidenced by the toilet paper stuck in various places around the seat. Then he pointed out that he had poop on his hands. I told him not to touch ANYTHING, and he bent over to let me wipe. Then he realized that bent over, his hands were really close to the rug, which made a great place to wipe off his hands. ARGGGH!!!! Did I mention this was in our smalled bathroom, the one downstairs? And the CAT was in there, too? And it was HOT? And I'm a smidge claustrophobic? Good times.
Finally I got him cleaned up, we washed our hands twice, and I shooed him out to deal with the mess. Then I realized the stool he'd been resting his feet on was wet. And I realized that he'd tried to dunk the toilet paper into the toilet to CLEAN the seat... which I immediately bleached.

WOW that's some funny stuff

I no sooner hit "publish" than James came out of his room and told Sterling, "Daddy, 1 minute over". He's clearly a man of his word.

10 minutes!

I guess James is wrapping his little brain around the concept of time, to include days of the week, minutes, and today vs. tomorrow. Lately he likes to tell you when or for how long he'll do something. We were walking to the playground today, and he said "first I'm going to slide for 10 minutes, then I"m going to swing for 10 minutes". While we were at the beach, we asked him if he wanted to go potty before we went into a museum, and he said, "I'll poop on Sunday". His estimations are just so random that it's pretty funny.

Tonight Sterling was putting him to bed (mainly because he kneed mommy in the gut and daddy wisely thought it would be good to give mommy a moment). So they're hanging out in James' room, and the conversation goes like this:
J: Daddy, want to go in your room?
D: You don't want me in here?
J: No
D: That makes me sad (this is James' big catch phrase these days... he normally uses it with this pitiful little puppy dog tone in his voice!)
J: You can come back in 10 minutes
D: You'll be asleep
J: It's OK.

And that was that.

Just kinda funny

I've set our screensaver at home to slideshow, and it flips through a handful of pics that I really like, mainly those of main little man. Totally at random, these are the two that happen to come up one after another... somewhat of a contrast. It gives me a chuckle. The latter is our new favorite.. it's just so funny.

Beach photos!

Man! I think this was the busiest beach trip yet. So busy, that I'm still too tired to write it all up yet, but I did scrounge up the energy to post the pics...
http://woodruffblog.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8AZN2LNs4bNmPK&notag=1

Hittin' the ol' nail on the head!

Each morning, I spend about 5 mins perusing WRAL.com to check out the daily news. There's a blog that one of the reporters, Linda Loveland, maintains, which I've added to my links down below. I saw today that Amanda Lamb also has a blog, but it's not typically baby-centric (which is why I probably haven't noticed it much before). Today, however, she announced her new book, "Smotherhood", which you can read more about here. I read a few pages of the excerpt (it's a very generious excerpt! Several pages!), and realized that a) I would quickly spend way more time here than I wanted to if I kept reading, and b) I really wanted to keep reading! It's supposed to be available in local bookstores, and I am totally going on the hunt for this. I loved what I read, and can't wait to read the whole thing. Check it out, and support a local author!

Feeeeeellliiiingggs! Whoawhoawhoa Feelings...

You sure know where you stand these days with James, and he will make sure he knows where he stands, too. We're all about the feelings these days. James is constantly probing, "are you happy? are you sad? are you angry?". In addition to getting the lowdown on everyone else, he likes to inform you of your impact on HIS emotions. He often asks during the day when I take a break, "Mommy, and you finished with work?" and if I tell him no, he says, "that makes me sad". Wow.. rip out my heart and throw it on the floor whydon'tcha?

He's also started to employ The BooBoo Lip. If something has ticked him off, he shoves that bottom lip out so far I'm surprised it doesn't throw off his center of gravity. The funny thing about this, though, is if you call him out on it, it makes him giggle, and it's hard to maintain a BBL when you're smiling.

Speaking of feelings, Mommy was feeling ANGRY yesterday morning. I have not been sleeping worth a pickle these days, and the night before last was no exception. At 6am, my little sunshine bounded into the room to climb into bed with us, and proceeded to pull his normal routine of shoving, prodding, rolling, squirming, etc. I threatened him several times with expulsion from the bed, and informed my little wiggle worm that he'd better settle down or get out. FINALLY, he started to settle down a bit, I started to drift off, when Sterling (who left bed the minute James climbed in.. smart man!) walked in, pulled Lion's arm out of James' mouth and said, "no chewing!". Well, that set James off in a deluge of tears, and I was just so pissed at being woken up AGAIN that I threw my pillow across the room and stomped out of bed screaming "I GIVE UP!!!". Sterling pointed out that he was going to grab James and take him WITH him, but ya know, once you've had a siren go off in your ear, your morning is pretty much shot. What do you think my answer was when James asked me shortly after if I was happy?