We need an intervention

Why is the child in the picture crying? Because he wants to harvest. Yes. That's right, he cried for a solid 10 minutes yelling "I wanna harvest" after seeing a picture of a combine. His tractor obsession was weird before, but now we're in intervention territory.

Super Mommy Myth

The other day a friend of mine saw the Thomas the Train cake I made for Zach's birthday and called me super mom.  After I got done laughing hysterically I commented back that I am not super mom, it just looks like it online.  So to keep it real, here are some truths that do not usually make it online...

I did post pictures of Zach's cake, but not the sad excuse for a birthday snack for him to take to school.  The animal crackers and frosting looked so cute on Pinterest, but somehow just looked sad and lazy when I put it all together.  I'm sure his teacher was super impressed.

My mom helped me with this cake...but I'm still really proud of it.  The most domestic "mom" thing I've done to date.

I hate to cook.  I am beginning to like it some, but I will never love it.  Some people say it is relaxing and I think they are on crack.  You know what is relaxing?  Watching my husband cook while I drink a glass of wine, possibly with Zach over at Nana and Papa's.  I am beginning to like trying new things, but am an avid recipe follower.  Any recipe that uses only 1 pot I will try and if it's not terrible I'll put it in the rotation frequently.  I only cook since it's part of my "job" as a stay at home mom.

Weekend away at Kelley's Island....I was clearly excited for our early morning hike....it's a good thing you can cook husband.

I look forward to daycare days.  I choose to stay home.  I am so fortunate to get that choice and have agonized over it since Zach has been born since you give up something either way.  I love being a stay at home mom, but I'm ready for Tuesday school day every week.  Zach loves it and I look forward to it.  Yes, Zach does not have to go to daycare at all, but I think it is good for both of us.  Somedays I catch up on all things house like, other days I take "Jessica Days".  I stress less about him learning enough at home and if he is behind and social and blah blah....all the normal stay at home fears.  I also get out of the messy disaster of painting at home since he does it at school each week.  Win.

I'm smiling at Matt since this was following the giant fart/poop/almost blow out that happened during Zach's baptism...we were so proud, as was the family getting their daughter baptized with Zach.

On the same thread...there are days when I ask myself why in the hell I stay home.  I worked hard for my 2 degrees and on days that Zach has been to timeout 10 times by 1pm, fed his lunch to the dog, and pees on his car bed, I tell myself "I could be at work, with adults, having lunch at a restaurant where I don't have to pack 30 tractors and 7 books to keep everybody under control".  But then Zach will get up from nap and ask to snuggle or the next day will be an amazing day and I can't imagine not being home.  It's day by day.

Double not impressed...

My house always needs vacuumed.  We have a giant black dog that leaves hair everywhere.  I have given up.  I vacuum 2 times a week and it does not matter.  If you come over you will have dog hair on you if you touch anything.  I am a little bit OCD where I like things picked up so it will always appear clean, but if you look closely you will learn it is not.  For the love of all things holy do not sit on the recliner in the toy room....that is the chair the dog prefers and I barely vacuum the floors, let alone the furniture.

About the time I realized I may be pregnant again....yes, Zach is still awake and I'm passed out.

There are so many more ways that I fail everyday.  It is a struggle almost everyday to reassure myself that I am a good mom and I'm doing a decent job.  My kid knows he is loved and we do the best we can and that is all I can ask for.  Everyone has their own short comings, yours will be different from mine, but please don't stress....you're doing a great job and I'm proud of you for keeping your kid alive, even if they only eat graham crackers or watch TV during the day.

Potty training fail...again...

Zach was doing well sitting on the potty and showing interest in actually getting rid of the diapers for good.....then he wasn't. It's like someone turned a switch and he's like hell no I'm not sitting on that thing. I'm not sure what changed but at this rate he'll go to college with diapers, and probably his stuffed animal Ba....and maybe his pacifier.

We hit a new potty training failure. Matt finished up giving Zach a bath and, like every other time, Zach ran naked to his room while Matt grabbed the wet towel. Matt walks into Zach's bedroom to see him standing and peeing all over his car bed. He was so proud of himself, "daddy I peeing!".

To add insult to injury there is a Zach sized potty in the bathroom he came from, but also in his bedroom approximately 5 feet from where he peed all over his things.

I could understand if he was older and possibly drunk, because who hasn't peed in an inappropriate place while drink, but really kid?! I guess on the bed is better than on the floor.

Zach is 2!

My baby is 2 as of yesterday.  I still can't believe it.  He is such a hilarious little guy and is growing into his personality.  He brings so much joy to our lives and we can't wait to see how he continues to grow and develop.

He is 24 lb and 4 oz, putting him in the 20-25% and 32" long, putting him in the 30%.

He wears size 2T and the pants finally fit his short little legs.

Still in diapers, we're working on using the potty.  He was doing well with it, and then flat out refused.  He may or may not go to high school in a diaper at this point.

He still naps, praise the lord!  We head upstairs for bed around 8:15pm.  We wash hands, face, and brush teeth before we read books and pray.  He is usually out by 8:45pm at the latest.  He naps anywhere from 2-3 hours after lunch.

His favorite foods are peanut butter toast and chicken nuggets...and donuts.  The donuts are probably my fault.  They have been a pregnancy craving so we get one when we go to the grocery store if he is a good boy during the shopping.  He eats a little bit of everything.  Vegetables are a tough sell and we hide them in foods.  He is a sugar kid, maybe because he doesn't get a ton he gets super excited about it.  We kept telling him it was his birthday and he just kept responding "birthday cake!"

He did not want to blow out his candle, he just wanted to burn the wheels (oreo's) of the cake.

His favorite thing ever is tractors.  Trains are a close second.  After his birthday party this weekend it looks like we're running a small John Deere store.  He has to bring one of his tractors with him everywhere and wants to go to Nana and Papa's to ride their gator everyday....multiple times a day.  He can ride in the gator or a tractor for hours.  I cannot wait for harvest, he is going to lose his baby mind riding with Papa.  He also knows the difference between all the farm equipment...do not try to tell him a hay wagon is a hopper wagon, he will tell you what is up with some sass.

He talks so so so much.  He takes after his daddy and is going to be the life of the party that makes friends anywhere he goes.  His vocabulary is expanding everyday and he surprises us with what he knows everyday.  He uses full sentences, counts to 10 (always forgetting 5), knows the first bit of the ABC's, and apparently knows some letters.  He surprised us by pointing out the H in his Happy Birthday sign and going "H".

Making sure to feed his new toy deer some cake.

He goes to daycare 2 times a week and loves playing with his friends.  He asks to go on the weekends and runs to his room every time we go.  He also loves the library....like weirdly loves the library...he gets that from his mama.

We love this kid to the moon and back, even if he does make us want to bang our head against the wall sometimes.  No and mine are big in his vocabulary now.  Thank you for making us smile everyday with your phrases such as "I farted mommy", "I love tractors", and so much more.

Dear frat boys....

Dear frat boys that were playing beer pong in their front yard on Saturday,

Thank you and I think I love you.

Sincerely,
Crazy old lady

Now let's back up so I don't seem like a weirdo creeping on 19 year olds.

The closest town to our country home stead is a college town. I volunteered at a local festival on Saturday night from 8pm-11pm since everyone else has a life and they couldn't find enough volunteers for that particular shift. As I was walking to my shift I passed some frat boys playing beer pong in their yard and didn't give it a thought since this is common practice when school is in session.

But then something happened....they yelled 'hey'. I look around, no one but me so I begin to prepare myself for an old lady joke or for them to ask me to buy them beer. And then it happened....they asked me to come drink with them and play beer pong.

Be still my heart...they thought I was young enough to play beer pong in the yard of a rented house with them. I'm almost 30 years old and just shy of 4 months pregnant, this was the biggest compliment ever. I wanted to hug them but thought that would get weird for them. I didn't respond at all for fear I would call them young men or good chaps or something else like that and they would see past my well chosen outfit and see the old preggo I really was.

I really shouldn't have liked the beer pong invite as much as I did, but as all of my pants slowly become too small and I inch closer to 30 everyday, I'll take what I can get.

Girlfriend

Yesterday Matt and I went together to pick up Zach from daycare. They have an outdoor play area you can see as you walk up. Usually Zach sees our car and runs to the fence and put his arms out, like a little prisoner, while yelling "mommy! Daddy!".

Yesterday was different. He didn't even notice us. He only had eyes for a little girl on the playground. He kept walking towards her as we wondered what he was doing. We got scanned in and head out to get Zach and what do you know....Zach and this little girl are just standing there holding hands.

She was at least 2 years older and a whole head taller than Zach. I was not excited my baby is trying to pick up older girls already.

I am in trouble. I did not like him holding hands with a 5 year old, I can't wait to see what I do when he brings home a 15 year old. Everyone jokes about the dad, but I'll be the one on the front porch cleaning the gun when he brings home dates....if he's smart he'll avoid bringing them home for us to interrogate.

A dirty little secret & a Pinterest success

I have a dirty little secret to share with you......prepare yourselves....I'm a closet crafter.  Actually, I'm more of a sewer.  I have a kick butt sewing machine that I love to use to unwind.  I feel better that my dirty  nerdy little secret is out.  Even nerdier (is that even a word?) is that I got started sewing as a kid in 4-H.  I made a tank top and shorts out of cow fabric...wow, I wish I had pictures of that gem too since I had to model it in the 4-H fashion show...and I looked like a boy....and probably stunk since I was that kid that didn't like to shower...but my mom didn't take pictures of me for good reason.  I was the third child and had a very long awkward phase, she was being kind by not taking pictures.

That was a lot of dirty little secrets all at once.  If you haven't shut down this page in bewilderment or disgust I'll share my Pinterest success.

I made a floor pillow.  It is fairly easy, even a non experienced sewer could do it and save some cash.




















We have a toddler that likes to flop and jump around so he needed his own seat to throw around since he would get super ticked when the ottoman wouldn't move easily for him.

I followed this tutorial on the blog Living With Punks.  It is a great step by step tutorial with pictures.  She has some other great ones on there as well.

It is toddler approved and the perfect size for my 2 year old.  I believe there is a tutorial on there for a bigger one for teens.  By the time Zach is a teenager he better be able to sit on furniture without acting like a fool, but just incase maybe I'll make the bigger one for the future.  

Nope

Zach has a new favorite word. No is not sufficient in getting his point across, he now responds with nope. I don't know why nope seems more insulting than the standard no, but somehow it is. Only after Zach started saying it did I realize I say it a lot....poor Matt...stuck in a house of nope. The best is when Zach and I answer Matt in unison with "nope".