Show me some love people!

Seriously. If you love me & are reading this, today would be a good day to tell me. This might be your last chance as I'm 95% sure that Jack is plotting my demise as I write this. Can you kill a mother with a full week of grouchiness, demands to be held & temper tantrums? I think so.

Add this to the fact that my kitchen just exploded dirty dishes everywhere. And the clean clothes are multiplying in my bedroom- when are we getting the dryer that folds the clothes? Or just a maid. And I'm feeling especially frumpalicious these days (ack! I'm a frumpy mom!!!) thanks in part to a shizy haircut that makes me look like (and these are my words folks, don't go stealing them) "a shaggy dog ass face". If you don't know what that looks like, come take a look at my hair. And, if I don't find a new pair of shoes soon, I'm going to be spending the winter barefoot & with frostbites on my toes. Seriously, why do all sensible shoes look as if they were made for an 80 year old woman?

AND John is super busy with good work, but a lot of work all at once. So we're all just snippy at the Hendrix house.

That's my rant for today. If you see any of the three of us, we could probably all use a hug.

MINE!

This photo doesn't match this post, I just thought it was cute. Yes, that is a ring of chocolate around Jack's mouth. And check out his cool surfer dude hair.

Jack is going through the mine stage. Everything is his. MY BOOK! MY CUP! MY GUITAR! MINE, MINE, MINE!!!

It kind of drives me crazy. He yells when he says it & grabs things.

But, today I was glad to hear mine. We were leaving the grocery store & he laid his head on my shoulder, gave my back a pat & whispered, "My mama".

I love this kid. He knew just what I needed to hear.

What's the deal with farm animals?

Parents As Teachers is a national organization that sends a Parent Educator to your home about every 2 months to help make sure your child is developmentally on track & to help the parents with educational activites. We love PAT. They've helped us with sleep, food, and fun. They have play groups & lots of fun activities throughout the year. And, we love our parent educator Angela. Jack loves her too.

That being said, Anglea was here about a month ago. She was playing a game with Jack where he would pull different objects out of a can & name them. It was to test his speech more than his vocabulary. (Yes, this story gets better, hang in there...)

Most of the items in the can were animals of some sort. Jack wouldn't name any of them. He mooed at the cow, but that was about it.

When she left I freaked & told John that we needed to work on animals with Jack. But then I thought, what the heck is the deal with all the farm animals??? Big deal, Jack won't identify a pig. Show the kid a saxophone & he'll walk around all day yelling "SAXOPHONE"! He can also name a clarinet, flute, piano, guitar, drum & bassoon.

All you parents out there need to help stop the farm animal madness with me.

Reflections of Me

It's scary when you realize that your children are reflecting you back to yourself- the good stuff & the bad. John & I have discovered that he had little to do with the DNA of Jack- he's almost entirely me. That's scary to me!

Not only does he look exactly like me, but all of his mannerisims and the way he talks are reflections of me. He's shy in new situations & takes a while to warm up...just like me. He loves to pout & resists being cheered up...just like me. He's so, so stubborn...just like me. He has a fiery hot temper...just like me. He thinks poop is really funny...just like...well...me. He's grouchy when he wakes up...just like me. He's compassionate & emotional...just like me. He likes to steal his friend's toys...oh wait, not like me. And I could go on & on.

Sometimes, when I get frustrated with Jack, I sit back & realize that he is reacting exactly the way I would like to react & probably would react if I had no impulse control. I hope the fact that we are so similar will make me a better mom to him. Poor John has to live with two of us in the same house!

Ribbon Dance!

As promised, here is Jack's ribbon dance. I just want to know who the moron is that filmed it sideways. Oh wait, that's me.

Cock your head to the side & enjoy! He really gets going in the 2nd half.

Blogging Blahs

If you haven't already noticed, I haven't been blogging much lately. I apologize to my two faithful fans. It's not for lack of ideas (I'm bubbling over), or lack of time (although my time has been sparse lately). Mostly, lack of motivation. When John started school the laptop went with him, so in order to blog I have to (GASP!) climb the stairs to the attic. Easy access is the key to my successful blogging life.

But, as of right now, I'm recommiting myself to posting more regularly.

Here are just a few things you can look forward to very, very soon:

-A rockin' dance video of Jack complete with multi-colored dance ribbons
-How to make your grouchy toddler happy (note:this involves having house guests named Kbo & Lola, aka: The Toddler Tamers)
-How to use your blog to get invited to a beautiful wedding & kickin' reception of people you've never met (thanks Jane & John!)
-And, without a doubt, more shoe & purse posts

So, stay tuned, there's more on the way!