We've Moved

Hi! I'm so glad you stopped by :) Unfortunately, you found me at my old site. Please click over to www.itrocks2bmom.com for my recent blog posts.

Have a great day!

11 Months

And I thought last month flew by. I had to look at the calendar 3 times to make sure I wasn't crazy. You are 11 months old today. That's nuts. That means the in one month it will be your 1st BIRTHDAY. I'm in complete denial.

Last month you had discovered taking a handful of steps. Today you are literally running around the house. You chase your brother and you squeal as you run down the hall. It's hysterical to watch.

Your favorite things to do right now are pull all the books off your brother's bookshelf, grab dishes out of the dishwasher, flush the toilet repeatedly..while we're on it, play with Batman, drive your brother's remote control cars, dance, pull all the clothes out of a clothes basket and then THROW them back in (at least you pick them up!), and most importantly EAT. You are a pretty fussy eater, but what you do like you eat a lot of! It seemed to me that you had quite an appetite going, but then Sunday the girls at church said you ate your bottle, all the puffs, your apples and um..someone else's puffs too, lol. I know it's because you are using up so much energy playing. You never stop moving. Ever.

I also think that your new found love of cruising the house has you even less interested in sleeping than ever before, which wasn't good to begin with. The minute we mention nap, hold you close or walk towards your room and the lights are off...you start to scream. You kick and squirm trying to get down. I'd say you weren't tired, but you were just laying your head down before I went in there, rubbing your eyes and oh yeah, you didn't sleep hardly a wink the night before. So I KNOW you're tired, but you still refuse. You still wake up almost every hour every night. Occasionally, you'll sleep through the night but for no apparent rhyme or reason. I know one day we will look back at this time and laugh about this, but right now...not so much. I'm ready for this phase to be done. Even as I type madly trying to finish this post you are waking from a 40 minute nap which will serve as the only one you take today - sigh.

You have quite the personality. You are almost always smiling with that big, toothy grin you have. But Lord help those that cross you - you are not afraid to stand up for yourself and you will fight back. I suppose in some ways that's a good trait to have, but we will definitely have to work on taming that temper of yours. You already fight back if Ethan takes your toy! If you think a toy should fit into something and it doesn't you scream at the toys. If there's something you don't like eating, you grab the spoon and throw it. If you don't like something you hit your legs and scream. It's sort of cute, in that I-can't-believe-you're-already-throwing-tantrums kind of way. I think we'll have our work cut out for us this next year for sure.

Your hair is growing like crazy and you've got some adorable blond curls coming in. I need to cut the hairs around your ears because they drive you crazy and you'll swat and scream at them...but I have yet to figure out how to get scissors anywhere near you since you are impossible to hold still. The haircut might have to wait.

You are waving at anything that walks by now. You love to play pass the toy back and forth and you are rolling balls back and forth now too. You love to put objects into holes. Shapes into shape sorters. Puzzle pieces. Toys into buckets. Cows into piano trays. It doesn't matter. You want nothing to do with toys for your age, including the ones we got you for Christmas. You'd rather play with brothers' Hot Wheels or Batman any day. You love anything that plays music. Your mind is going a 1,000 miles a minute, I'm certain of it, and I love watching it at work.

Just today your brother said "Mom, I just can't stop looking at him. I just love him so much." It's true, even after 11 whole months, he's still obsessed with you and can't wait to play with you this summer and take you for rides on his four-wheeler. He's an awesome big brother to you and I'm sure that's why you learned his name before mine :)

And while you have your moments and you have been anything but an "easy" baby, I have to agree with your brother. I can't stop looking at you either. I can't believe we are about to leave the baby stage behind us for good. I'm grateful everyday for you. Your smile melts my heart and your laugh warms my soul. I can't imagine a single day without you in our family and we are all so happy you are here. We love you Lucas.

I was soooooo bummed this pic didn't turn out. I'm keeping it until I get another one with the same face!

You Have to Pay Attention to What Your Kids Read, Watch and Listen To.

Kids books. Seems like a simple concept. Short story that teaches a small lesson using family-friendly words and in most cases, universal morals and a probably a few cute pictures. Right? That's what I thought too.

Ever since Ethan first starting getting books from family or garage sales or from the store, I've always made a point to preview them before he read/heard them to make sure I agreed with the content. I never really came across anything too concerning other than a few "magic" ones I knew I would have to explain as he got older. So I relaxed.

Ethan loves Curious George and I've always let him watch the cartoon. I've always agreed with the lessons taught and it wasn't nearly as annoying as some other cartoons we've come across. He's even got a Curious George stuffed animal he sleeps with. We're fans of the monkey, what can I say. So when he got a few Curious George books I didn't think twice about reviewing them.

You can imagine my surprise when my mother called me over while reading a new one to Ethan saying "I can't read this.." Huh? Now my mother and I usually don't see eye to eye on anything so I immediately jumped to the conclusion it was something stupid that she was blowing out of proportion. So I read the sentence she was pointing to - "He (referring to Curious George) was so ashamed he wished he were dead.."...yeah, you read that right.

Now, maybe you don't think that's a big deal. And perhaps it isn't for a book a teenager might read. But CURIOUS GEORGE?? These are geared for preschoolers. How do I explain to a preschooler about being so embarrassed he might want to die when they barely understand the concept of death?!? I couldn't believe it and I was furious. The fact that the author was so ignorant to think that was a ordinary statement to make in a kids book blew me away. We came up with an alternative sentence and after she finished reading it, I got rid of it. Want to make sure you don't buy it? It's called Curious George gets a medal. Back to previewing all the books, I thought.

It didn't take long before I came across quite possibly the dumbest book I've ever seen in print. The book is called, "It's not Fair" by some company called Rigby Tadpoles. The book is geared towards beginner readers and is only 8 pages long.

My initial thought was that of course, this was going to have a brief lesson about why some things aren't fair in life or perhaps how to compromise if a kid doesn't get their way. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Because of it's short nature and the fact each page only consists of two sentences, I'm going to quote the book to you. I want to know what you think. This is directly from the book:

Mandy's calling me names. It's not fair! (picture is shown of Mandy yelling "fatso", "shorty", "big nose", etc..)
Tony's spoiling my games. It's not fair! (picture of a boy kicking the girl's train across the room)
Karen's eating my chips. It's not fair! (picture of girl stealing boys potato chip bag)
Peter's sinking my ships. It's not fair! (picture of boy pushing boat under water with evil grin)
Mandy's pinching my arm. It's not fair! (picture of girl pinching the boy who's crying hysterically as she grins)
Tony's wrecking my farm. It's not fair! (picture of boy dumping farm on the ground)

And the last page? You ready for this?!?

You kids are driving me mad. It's not fair!

Um..not exactly the ending I was thinking. Absolutely no value in this story whatsoever. I was flabbergasted. What publisher agreed to put this in print? Who in their right mind would give this to a child? Do you agree this was a total waste of someone's money?

And then last week Walmart announced they were removing a CD from their shelves that was made for children, pictured children and balloons on the front and yet the lyrics contained profanity. How many parents do you think never even listened to those cd's and let their children hear that crap for hours..perhaps they are still listening to it?

Folks, if I have any advice for you today, make sure you know what your kids are looking at, what they're watching, what they're hearing and ultimately what they're learning. You can't rely on anyone else for this important responsibility.

Name That Blog!

Ok, so if you visit my blog even somewhat frequently, you know that I like to change things around. No matter how much or what I change/tweak, I'm still not quite satisfied with my blog look or feel. Maybe it's because I'm not overly zealous about the name of the blog (it was the first thing I could find that had an open matching email too), or maybe because I visit so many super-cool, totally awesome blogs that I feel mine pales in comparison. Whatever the reason, I'm not happy with it-yet.

So, I'm looking for some help. I need a tagline. Something that fits the 'ItRocks' portion of my blog name. I love music, but it doesn't have to be rock. In fact, I actually prefer country with a rock beat. Anything I come up with regarding rocks themselves just sounds stupid. I recently added the "Life's a Dance..How You Dance To It Is Up To You" tagline, but that's not really doing it for me.

For me, it always seems easier to come up with catchy slogans or design ideas for someone else. I get to my own stuff and...I got nothing. So, I'm putting it out there if anyone has any ideas. Not really a contest, but if you come up with something I like, I'll write a post telling everyone it was your idea linking back to your blog. I'm hoping that if nothing else, the brainstorming will at least give me a few new ideas.

If you got anything, leave a comment! Thanks!!

Man, That Hurt.

I first noticed it a few months ago when he started "big boy" school and he asked me not to hold his hand in the parking lot. I told myself I was overthinking it and tried to look past it.

A few weeks later we started running into issues getting dressed for school. If it was a 3T he would freak out saying he only wore 4T's. Didn't matter if the shirt still fit..he was 4, so it had to be a 4T. I tried explaining to him that sizes don't necessarily coordinate with your age. He didn't believe me. If it was a 3T it was for BABIES.

Then one day we forgot his change of shoes in the van. He begged me to go get them so he didn't have to wear his boots in class. He got all teary-eyed and said "please, mom.. please?!?" It was like he learned the please-don't-embarrass-me-mom look overnight. I bundled up Lucas, and ran back to the van. I couldn't bear the thought of him feeling ashamed or embarrassed over something so easy for me to correct.

And then it happened. Monday night, Ethan and I were talking and then he got quiet. Ethan only gets quiet when he's thinking about something very intently. So I asked him. "What's wrong, Ethan?" I wasn't prepared for what came next.

Ethan: "Mom, why didn't I get to stay up way past my bedtime like everyone else?"

Me: "What do you mean?" (I knew where this was going..)

Ethan: "All the other kids got to stay up way past their bedtime for New Year's and I didn't. I was the only one who didn't. Why didn't you let me?"

It felt like I got sucker-punched. Hard. Gulp. Tears...mine. Guilt. Horror. Shock. Nausea. I felt it all. I was DEVASTATED.

All I could think was that I tried for over 4 years to keep him from this day, this feeling, THAT moment. All the times he puked in class. All the times he missed out on snack because some selfish, ignorant parent brought in peanuts when the sign clearly read "PEANUT-FREE zone". All the times he got a look because he was sucking his thumb in public. All the times he wouldn't sing in front of a crowd. All the times he got in trouble at the store. All the times he fell on his skateboard. All those times I desperately tried to keep him from feeling embarrassed...and here he was mortified because I didn't let him stay up to watch the ball drop.

I started off slow.."Ethan, I'm soooo sorry. I had no idea you had any interest in watching the ball drop." His reply? "What ball?" Exactly.my.point. He had no idea what new year's eve was about other than it was the night before 2011. He's 4. He wouldn't know who any of the performers were. He wouldn't understand what the announcers were talking about or why Jenny McCarthy was pretending to kiss stupid guys in the crowd. And I knew he would never make it until midnight because my boy loves to sleep. It never entered my mind that he would care. And it certainly never crossed my mind that he would be embarrassed in class because he didn't get to. It had nothing to do with not letting him, until class, he had no idea there was anything even going on.

I explained to him that he did get to stay up later than normal because I knew he could sleep in the next day (which WAS true to some extent). I told him that he probably just didn't realize it... and he went with it. Or at least he seemed to.

Man, I knew this day was coming, but I had no idea it would happen this early. My first born is growing up. The emotions are in full swing and the days I can keep him protected in a bubble are numbered. And I'm sooo not ready for that.

Sunday Citar-New Beginnings

From the end springs new beginnings - Pliny the Elder

Saturday graced us with a very unusual warm spell that seemed to only last a few hours. The wind was brisk, but the sun made it bearable. Ethan was playing with new Christmas toys when I yelled across the room to go grab his boots and coat we were going outside. When he asked why, I said "because it's 47 degrees outside on January 1st and we're going outside!"

We threw our things on, grabbed a sippy cup of milk for Lucas and headed out. In a matter of just an hour or so we managed to play soccor, football, kickball, catch, Ethan rode his new scooter and I took a million pictures like we had never seen the sun before. It was so wonderful to get some fresh air. We oh so needed it.

I realize my quote isn't necessarily referring to Spring the season, but I couldn't help but feel it was appropriate since Saturday was "spring-like" and being January 1st, the beginning of a new year..well, it just fit.

I'm looking forward to this new year for a million reasons I'll post about later. But in the meantime, here's a few snapshots of our wintery "spring".



This post was inspired by Sunday Citar hosted by Fresh Mommy. Join the fun every Sunday by clicking here:

 

Wordless Wednesday-Let's Go Sledding!!

Yep, that's my first born going down his first REAL sledding hill on his new "snowmobile" sled. He couldn't have been more excited. And I think it scared me a little just how NOT nervous he was.

It was freezing cold but he held tough. It wasn't until we pulled into the driveway when he said, "Dad, now my feet are starting to feel a little cold.." Um, I think reality just set in, my son. Cause my feet were numb a LONG time ago!

Whoa..What Just Happened?!? Christmas!!

Ahhh.. Christmas. Christmas with two kids. Two VERY active kids, I might add. This year was all I had hoped it would be and then some. It was crazy, hectic, and a little more crazy. But my kids rocked it. I mean tore through those gifts like nobody's business rocked it. Like I had to have a sit-down with my four-year old about how some kids don't get anything for Christmas and he shouldn't say things like "that's all?" and "that's for girls.." or "what else did you get me?" kind of rocked it. Oh, the joys of a preschool child who knows nothing but honesty!

Wordless Wednesday-What Matters Most

Just remember, while they may not like everything you Santa got them...

And chances are they'll play more with the simple things..like the box or wrapping paper..or the water bottle from the night before

And they might even make fun of you for not getting as much as them..

The important thing was that you were with the ones you love, and that's what matters most.

Have a Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Wordless Wednesday-Ho Ho Ho!

Ho Ho Ho..ly moly Christmas is next week. Am I finished with my shopping? Almost. Am I ready to stay up all night wrapping presents? Not quite. Am I ready to celebrate the greatest holiday with my newly expanded family? Absolutely!

I know that Christmas Eve and Christmas morning will prove to be chaotic with a 10-month old who just learned to walk and eats any paper he comes in contact with and a four year old who seems to have lost any sense of patience whatsoever. There will be wrapping paper everywhere, boxes half open as we realized there's 300 zip-ties to be removed before we can get the toy out. Empty coffee cups from our late night wrapping frenzy will be mingled in with our fresh brew of the morning. And there will be joy. The squeals, the excitement, the amazement of the children that Santa fit down our chimney..I love it. I love it, love it, love it. I don't know about them, but I won't sleep hardly a wink Christmas Eve. Crap, this is Wordless Wednesday isn't it? Oops.  Well, it's one of my shorter posts so that still counts, right?

When He Grows Up.. He Wants to Be...

I love the conversations I have with my four year-old son. LOVE them. He loves to talk like his mama, he's smart and his imagination is amazing. Today when we sat down for lunch, I thought I would throw out there the "what do you want to be when you grow up" question as it changes everytime I ask him. Here's how today's conversation went -

Me: Ethan, what do you think you want to be when you grow up?
Ethan: Nothing.
Me: Nothing? No, what kind of job do you want to have?
Ethan: I don't want a job. I don't like jobs.
Me: (hmm.. this isn't going like I thought) Why don't you like jobs?
Ethan: Because I don't.
Me: (I decide to try another approach) Would you like to be a fireman?
Ethan: No.
Me: Why not?
Ethan: Cause I might get burned.
Me: Ok..how about a policeman?
Ethan: Nope.
Me: Why not?
Ethan: Because I might get hit by a car when I'm writing up a ticket.
Me: Oh. What about a doctor?
Ethan. No. (I love how he's keeping it short and sweet..)
Me: Why not a doctor?
Ethan: They have to give shots and kids hate you.
Me: Well, if you don't get a job, how will you buy a house or food to eat?
Ethan: I'm going to live here forever. Because I love you guys soooo much (I swear I hear sarcasm..) And I'll just eat your food.
Me: Don't you want to have your own house?
Ethan: Oh fine, mom. I'll just be a zero repairman.
Me: What the heck is a zero repairman?
Ethan: It's a guy that repairs zero's.
Me: Oh. That's it?
Ethan: And ride snowmobiles. I wanna do tricks n' stuff - like front flips and things like that. Can we eat now?
Me: Yeah, buddy, we can eat.

I'm not sure what I was hoping his answer would be, but I can tell you a snowmobiler who risks his life everyday for people drinking Mt. Dew wasn't it.

Oh my little daredevil..he's so cute but I have a feeling he's gonna cause his mama

Business is Booming

A few months ago I wrote a post about my new job as an Independent Consultant for Tastefully Simple here.

Right after I signed up, a new incentive challenge was announced. We had to set a goal for ourselves to see what we could reach for 2/3 of the fourth quarter. The largest amount of sales it would let me choose was $500 in sales because I was new.

Yesterday, I got an email that said this:

Folks, I achieved this goal with 3 parties, 1 Woman's Expo (that was a flop!) and random orders from family, friends, and complete strangers calling me saying they've been looking for a consultant.

I believe in Tastefully Simple and I believe in their products. The products truly sell themselves and keeps people coming back for more. All but ONE of my random orders were people reordering products they had ran out of. Because it is THAT GOOD.

For those of you thinking that our prices are bit high - I hear ya. I totally understand how you might think that. But, let me put it into perspective for you. You are paying for high-quality food and convenience. All of our products require two ingredients or less to prepare. If you were to go to Applebee's (medium-priced restaurant) and order a bowl of soup you would pay anywhere from $5-7 for one person. Right? Our soups range from $7.49-$8.49 and will make up to 6 cups. That's enough to feed your whole family! And you don't have to leave the house!

You want to get in on the fun and party for a living? Do you just want to try something to see what all the fuss is about? Or would you like to host a party to earn your products for FREE? Go to my Tastefully Simple website below to order online, request a party or learn more about the business opportunity.

www.tastefullysimple.com/web/jmcmican1

Wordless Wednesday - Soak It Up

 

It's Christmas. Soak it up.

We're about to embark on another new year and I can't believe how fast they are flying by. When years start to feel like moments, you know you are blessed.

Seems like only yesterday I was this small and dreaming about having a family of my own some day to create our own Christmas traditions.... I can not tell you how excited I am to have our first Christmas with "kids" as in plural. My family is now complete and it's the greatest feeling EVER.

10 Months!!

Lucas, it's been a busy month for you. It seems like yesterday I wrote your 9 month post, but this week marked another month gone by. Your blond hair continues to grow in thick, making you look more like a little boy every day and with those blue eyes of yours, cute as ever. A constant reminder of how quickly time flies.
This month you have worked hard on increasing your vocabulary. Other people besides us can now recognize "Ethan" when you say it. There is no longer confusion between "mama" and "nanananana". You know what my name is, and you use it - a lot. You can now say "daddy".

Last week we had our first "fun" bathtime. Instead of just squealing, flipping around like crazy, and crawling from one end of the tub to the other and soaking me, you sat. And you played. Hard. You played basketball. You put toys into buckets. You poured water out of buckets. And you had a blast standing up and throwing things out of the tub just to watch me put them back. You loved every minute of it, and so did I.

You have been very busy finding new ways to play with your toys. More than anything, though, you love playing with your brother's toys. You want to do everything Ethan does and you don't hesitate to try.

You have been standing for a few weeks now and randomly taking a small step here or there. But this week, you decided it was time. It was time to let go and make it happen. We were all so proud!! You also learned how to clap for the first time the same day which we happened to catch in this video too. I can't believe how much you've learned this month!



You are so curious about everything and how it works, I love watching the wheels in your mind at work.

The past week you have been under the weather and sleeping has been almost non-existent. It's made for some very long days, but you've handled them well. While you can be quite the stinker at nighttime still, you are the happiest day-time baby anyone could find. Sick or not, you make the best of it. For that, we are all grateful.

You now hold your own bottle for all of the 4 minutes it takes you to consume it. You've also figured out that solids can fill your tummy too and you've come to prefer them to that whole baba thing anyways. I swear there are days there is no bottom to your little belly. Your appetite mimics your brother's. I can only imagine what our grocery bill is going to be when you're teenagers!

The first time you saw snow you were only a few days old and I'm pretty sure you don't remember coming home from the hospital. So far this year I think you are partially confused why it's falling from the sky and you're not really thrilled with being frozen to see it. I'm not really thrilled about having to bundle you up to go out in it everyday, but you sure are cute all puffed up in your winter coat.

This month has been eventful and memorable for you and I absolutely love it. I am amazed by your similarities and your differences from your brother. You play so well together and the bond between you gives me goose bumps. We love you to pieces and are so very glad you are here. You complete our family.

If Daddy wasn't taking the picture, he woulda been in it too :)

Wordless Wednesday-Please Tell Him..

Someone please tell Lucas he's still a baby. Please. I'm convinced he's decided that whole baby-cuddly stage isn't for him. He's not quite 10 months old and he's already driving around Ethan's remote control cars. He wants nothing to do with "chew" toys and everything to do with Hot Wheels and Batman. I was seriously thinking the baby stage was going to last a wee bit longer than this. Geesh.

Indoor Camping

This summer we took our first "real" camping trip with the boys. Although some may argue that sleeping in a 5th wheel isn't exactly camping it, having intermittent power, a billion mosquitoes, rain everyday and a sick 5 month old says it was. You can read more about that crazy trip here.

Despite our rough initiation to camping, we rather enjoyed it. The close quarters. The extra cuddling. The lack of technology (ok, I really had a hard time with no internet...but I survived). It was so much fun my oldest keeps asking when we can go again. Obviously, camping when it's 30 degrees out isn't something I'm ready to sign up for anytime soon. Well, not outdoors anyways.

So we decided to have a mini-camping trip right in the living room. We actually did this a few weeks ago, but sadly I'm just getting around to the post.

We started by rolling out the air mattresses.

Then, we made s'mores on the s'mores maker - in the dining room.

All the excitement and a little sugar brought on the happy dance??

Then we made some popcorn. Yes, I burned it, but nonetheless, it was popcorn.

We put on our PJ's and stayed up late and watched movies. (Cause doesn't everyone watch movies camping??)

This very cheese family portrait was taken on my phone. Not my best angle, lol.

Overall, our first indoor camping trip was a success. A slight inconvenience and loss of the comfort of our "real" bed meant the world to my four year old who couldn't stop talking about it all week while he waited for that Friday to come.

These are the memories, folks, that they will remember. What they got for Christmas when they were 3 maybe not so much. But, what you did as a family together for total, random fun, absolutely and forever.