HDH – Happy (Belated) Birthday, Henry!!!

Happy SECOND Birthday, Henry!!!

(Ok, this is a little late, but the sentiment is still the same!)

I am sorry I didn't post on your birthday little dude but between the Zoo, party, family, cake, presents and LOTS of fun...there was no time!!!  :)

Oh Henry.

My sweet, funny, highly independent, caring, wild child…..where has the time gone?!?!

Happy Anniversary!!

Today marks my husband and my seven year wedding anniversary! 

Hey Terry, remember that one time we got married?!?!  Yeah, that was cool.

I guess at 7 years of marriage you are suppose to start getting the itch, well at least that is what I have heard a number of times today.  Thank goodness, Terry, you have never given me an itch and I don’t foresee receiving an itch because of you anytime in the future…..and if I do we may need to talk and get a cream!! ;-)

As I was looking for pictures to print and give you in place of spending $5 on a card I found this. 

OK first, let’s be real.  I love you but $5 on a card is ridiculous so it is either make my own or get a 99 cent one with a kitten in a bucket and inside it says “You are purrrrr-fect”.  OK, that would totally be worth 99 cents!

Anywho…I found this picture and thought of you. 

But it didn’t seem complete, so I decided to add to it:

Love is walking hand in hand.

True love is walking hand in hand even when the other person’s hands are really sweaty and gross.

Real love is telling them their hands are sweaty and gross and refusing to hold their hand until they wash up.

Terry….we totally have REAL love!! ;-)

Happy Anniversary! 

P.S. This counts as your card and gift so enjoy it! 

And so you don't think I don't care about my husband, I have written nice anniversary posts HERE, poetic post HERE, week after having baby post HERE, and short and sweet post HERE....see, I can only be nice so long!! ;-)

And So It Begins……Selling Stuff For Your Kids (Not to be Confused with Selling Your Kids for Stuff)

Today when I dropped Henry off at school (which ended up going so smoothly, I think we are getting this down….YAY!) I was greeted by a series of forms in his cubby.  Since he only goes one day a week, I am use to this and the sheets are usually just miscellaneous things we throw away.  As I left I skimmed through to see a magazine from the library, a flyer from a portrait company, and a Little Caesars fundraiser form?!!

Yep.  So it begins. 

My name is Jenn and I have a kid in “school” which means, like every other parent out there, I now fall into the category of annoying parent selling overpriced items on behalf of their kids to raise money for their school.

Sigh.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know this is a fundraiser and to help raise money for his daycare and it is a small daycare and I am MORE than happy to sell.  But for me, I am not a fan of asking others to buy things from me.  (One reason I am not selling Tastefully Simple anymore!!)

I actually worked at the Kidney Foundation for a year and a half right out of college and it was event planning and fundraising.  I hated asking people/companies for things.  It just makes me uncomfortable and it is not in my nature.  I think I am more like “No, you don’t want to donate 1000 plates?!?!  Oh, that is OK, I will just buy them and for way more than they are worth….i am sorry for the inconvenience.”  Obviously you can tell why this job and I didn’t work out.

Yeah, I have pushover written all over me when I ask for stuff, especially from strangers.  And asking friends or family makes me even more uncomfortable. 

But now I am a parent.  I understand it is good for his school, and when he gets older HE can go around and ask people.  But right now, I am the mom who gets to bring the form into work and make a sign to put in the kitchen area and feel all uncomfortable about it.  Infact today someone asked me and I said, “well the cost for 3 pizzas in a kit is $19 but you can get 3 hot and ready for $15.” 

JENN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!  THAT IS NOT HOW YOU SELL STUFF!!  Ugh.

Unless no one sells more than 4 kits I think we are out of getting a week’s worth of free tuition for Henry….sorry buddy!

Mom and Dad….I am also sorry for making you sell all those chocolate bars for so many years while I was in school!!!

So do you sell things for your kids school?!  Do you feel as awkward as I do about it or do you embrace it and go door to door and sell?!?!  

I wish I was comfortable enough going door to door but I would have major anxiety doing that....though if I was forced to, I would do it for Henry.  But only Henry!

This and That

I haven’t been blogging much the past couple weeks and I have to say part of the reason is the past couple weeks have just been FULL of emotions.  Good, bad, scary, frustrated….all of them! So here is my This and That - Emotion Edition.  

P.S. This is probably the most random, unorganized, wordy post I have written!  My mind is just everywhere and out of control!!

1. Excitement coupled with a hint of sadness: My son turned TWO this weekend.  Sigh.  Leading up to this I was excited but sad.  The idea of two has been harder, he will always be MY baby but he is no longer A baby.  But the day came and went and as I rocked my two year old to bed Sunday night he cuddled up to me and held my hand and we sang our song like we do every night.  I loved this so much.  I think Henry is going to let me ease into this two year old thing…..and I can handle that.  Birthday post and pictures coming soon to a blog near you!!  

2. Joy: “Boppy, Baby” I sing this song (in henry’s words) to him every night, while he cuddles up on me and quietly whispers “boppy, boppy baby” along with me. It is Baby of Mine from Dumbo. See HERE.  I tear up nearly every night singing it to him.  I love this time, our time together.  No one else, just me and my son singing together.  So much joy.

3. Fear: We went to the ER a couple weeks ago because Henry had croup.  It started when we were awaken at 3:15 in the morning to him making a noise, sort of convulsing and when we picked him up he had puked everywhere and was just very lethargic and non-responsive.  He also had a very high fever.  That was the most scared I have EVER been. My stomach still turns thinking about it.  After an hour of getting him fluids and awake and cleaned up we took him to the ER.  Of course by the time we got there he was walking around, talking and didn’t even look or act sick. He got a steroid and by the next day started feeling better! But those moments....scary.

4. Anticipation: I am listening to Christmas music already and getting so excited for not only Christmas but FALL.  I feel like I am jumping out of my skin with excitement for fall, pumpkins, thanksgiving, Christmas…everything!

5. Frustration: The terrible twos have made their way into our house and it has come in the form of extreme independence and not listening. 

I feel like this is the only thing I say anymore:

Henry, NO.  Put that down! NO, Get away from that! DON’T touch that!! You will get hurt!  Don’t stand on that!  Don’t put that up your nose/in your ear! Henry, STOP IT!!!

To which his verbal response to me is usually: holds out hand in the stop motion “STOP IT” or “No Means No” or “No, Go!”. And most of the time continues with what he was doing.

I feel like in his mind when I am saying NO to him he is thinking:

What this, you don’t want me to touch THIS?!  This thing in my hand that is not a toy, I should put it down?!  You are not being very clear, do you want me to put THIS down or did you say put it in my mouth?!  So to summarize, I am putting this in my mouth like you wanted, right?!  Oh no, I am suppose to put this down…gotcha.  Ok, I will put this down in the microwave and turn the microwave on.  Great, I am glad we talked this through.

Now I have to give credit where credit is due and in some ways he is actually a very good listener.  He will hold my hand in the parking lot and around cars and is VERY good with routines.  It is mostly at home where he just feels he can do whatever he wants and get into everything or in places that there is just a lot to get into to, like a store.

And on top of that, everything, and I mean EV.ER.Y.THING. IS….NO.  ME. I DO IT. NO. MEMEMEMEME.  He basically thinks he is an adult and can do whatever we do.  Even grab a pot holder and open the oven (not on folks!) and pull out the tray.  Two time outs yesterday for that alone.

Sigh.  There is this constant battle between letting him be independent and teaching limitations.  It can be frustrating for all of us!

6. Confusion: I started couponing a couple weeks ago.  I have done really well a couple shopping trips and saved a lot, and a couple other trips I made a few mistakes and didn’t do as well.  I am still learning, but it has made me more aware of what we are buying and sales out there.  I spend a few hours a week clipping coupons and preparing for sales and it is so confusing and a bit annoying.  But it works and saves money so I am giving it a try.  I will update more in a month or two!

7. Anger: A while back Terry told me I was very angry and if I needed to talk to someone I should.  His words (which were a lot more than just that) hit me, pretty hard and then over the past few months things have happened that really have made me stop and gain perspective.  What is important.  Who is important.  Why am I acting this way.  I have been working to control those anger outbursts and feel like I am more focused on my family and this precious life we have and making moments count…not perfect, just making them count.  Just by stopping, talking a step back, breathing, and putting things into perspective has really helped me not get angry in some situations or AS angry as I used too.  In the sing-songy words of Daniel Tiger’s mom….when you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four. 1…2…3….4.  Ok, I will do that! Good bye anger :-)

8. Funny: I have my own sense of humor.  I think I am funny but many times it is a funny that I feel only certain people who know me really get.  With that said, I think it would be hilarious to make a FB page for Henry and post status updates like “Dids you see the last episode of Caillou?!  He got to go on a boat for real!!  Rosey was so scared…what a baby!!” or “Don’t tell my mom, but I hid her keys in the large drink mommy and daddy sit on!  I can’t wait to watch her run around looking for them and then finding them in there!!”  What, no one else thinks that is funny?!?!  I think it is hilarious!!  Coming from the girl who when she had a Myspace account she would post journals written by her cat. So…..

So there you go.  That is what I have been thinking about the past few weeks and what is going on in my mind right now.  

What are you up too?!