Up all night

Just when I thought I would be able to get some sleep.
Zack caught a cold and was up most of the night coughing so guess who got the job of staying up with him? Maybe tonight I can sleep...

Did you know?

Did you know that a Daddy snowman and a Mommy snowman have baby snowman. Yup it is true, Zack told me today. I have absolutely no clue where he picked that up from because we have never discussed where babies come from with him.

Another thing I never knew in all the years I have been leaving Santa Claus milk and cookies, I apparently have been leaving all the wrong things. Zack told me Santa likes Chocolate Milk and his favorite cookie is the M&M cookies! So on that note:

Santa I apologize for leaving you white milk and chocolate chip cookies every year, I promise I will leave you the right stuff from now on.

Sleep

I really would like to sleep tonight but my body is telling me not yet.
Since this happens so often to me I would like to hear your sure fire way of getting yourself to sleep.

Happy Meal

First let me start off this post saying Zack has eaten at McDonalds once in his entire life and that was because it was the only fast food place at the exit we stopped at on our way to PA nearly a year ago. I don't care for McDonalds food all that much so I avoid it.
Anyway today Zack is playing while I was trying to read a book. He came over to me and pushed the book down and said he was hungry. It was nearing the time Kris would get home from work so I told him he had to wait until daddy got home and we would eat. I asked him what he wanted. His response "A happy meal with fries and chicken nuggets"!
I was shocked. He had to have seen a commercial for it on TV. I truly believe McDonalds has great marketing to entice children. How else would he have known about happy meals?

The Bill.

So two weeks ago I went to the ER for chest pains, racing heart and so on. After being there over night and all the following day they released me saying it was all stress induced. What am I stressed about? Money, just like many other Americans now a days.
I received a notice in the mail saying they were billing my insurance and whatever is not covered I would be responsible for. Kris says he thinks they just want me back there because I nearly had a coronary right then and there reading that paper. $7000 for over night? For what? To be sitting in a bed all day waiting patiently for a doctor to come in and tell me what is wrong? To be told there is nothing wrong when clearly there is. Now I understand the waking the patient up to take the vitals and all but to come into the room at 5:30 am to put fresh ice in my water cup and change the trash bag! That is the most expensive day away from the house I have ever had, next time I think I will just go to a SPA it is surely a lot cheaper and less frustrating.

Customer Service

So does customer service really exist anymore?
Tonight we went to a major retail store to make a purchase of some DVDs. I look around myself for a little while but I can not find the one I really came in for. Not once did any of the 4 guys who worked in that part of the store come up to me and see if I needed help. After a while I went up to one and asked if they maybe had some in a different place or if they were out. He looked at me dumbfounded and said "uh I don't know I think if they are not there we are out".
So over to the customer service counter I go to ask for a rain check, 2 more employees standing there having a conversation. Finally one turns and says "can I help you". I felt like saying "No I just wanted to listen in on your conversation" but I kept my attitude in check. I tell him what I want, he keys some info into the computer and he tells me there are six in the store. At this point I am getting irritated and I make a comment about him going to find it for me then. Ten seconds later I had a paper in my hand for a rain check!
Is it really that hard to do your job? Heck the shopping season hasn't really started yet so what could the excuse be?

Flashback.

My mind flashed back to the 1990s this weekend. Remember the show Friends? Well I think I have my own little Joey here.
My SIL and her family came in for the weekend and Zack was excited to have company in the house. When they pulled up he was waiting at the door for them. As the girls were coming up to the door he shouts "Hey girls, how doin'?" It sounded so much like Joeys pick up line 'How you doin'? I wish I would have gotten that on camera.

I must confess

I must confess...
I went on a date today and it wasn't with my husband! (Well one was but the first one wasn't).

I had a bunch of errands to do today so I bundled Zack up and we headed out in the cold. He was actually pretty good compared to his normal feisty self when we are going from place to place. I told him if he was a good boy and helped me that we could go on a date for lunch.
He was, and we did.
He chose Arbys, he loves that place. Normally if we do any fast food place we go through the drive thru but today we went in and sat down. He was pretty well behaved and other than messy hands and face from all the ketchup he was a great date.

Kris and I went out to dinner and a movie tonight. It has been pretty close to a year and a half since we have been on a date. It was pretty nice. We went to dinner, came home so we could put Zack to bed, then left for the movie. I know sounds dumb to break it up like that but he's been kind of needy at bed time lately so it was a way to keep things normal for him. I wonder how long it will be before we make a date again?

Going to bed.

Zacks newest 'try to get out of going to bed thing' is Football. No not play it, he thinks if he tells his father he wants to watch football with him that he will get to stay up later. It really is quiet funny what he can come up with to avoid the inevitable.
Now he really isn't into playing football. Occasionally he will throw the ball with David but it is for a very short time. He much prefers playing hockey.
He has tried using the read another book excuse, the need water excuse and yeah the kids who isn't potty trained yet even used the go pee pee on potty excuse just to get out of going to bed.
I tell you the excuses just seem to be getting better and better, I wonder how long he will try this football excuse before he decides to change it up a bit.

Inside voice

Zack, use your inside voice please.
If I said that phrase once yesterday I said it a hundred times. Does he think I am hard of hearing and he needs to scream at the top of his lungs for everything? Believe me I answer him quickly when he calls for me so why the screaming I will never know. I fear this will carry over into the teenage years.

A little update from yesterday I received an email from my mom saying I made her day and that BTW the pain was gone!

Thanks Mom.

I tried and tried to fight it but I didn't win. I told my Mom weeks ago that I wasn't having a birthday this year but she didn't buy it. She told me she was pretty sure that she remembered being in pain caused by my birth. To be honest I don't believe her story about pain. Lets face it I was an easy child from the moment I was born, Mom must be loosing it because she doesn't seem to remember it that way. I don't know why, maybe she is getting me mixed up with someone else?

Hey it could happen!

Anyway, Mom this is for you...





Oops I forgot this blog shows a different time, so those who have asked, yes my birthday is the 19th.

Haircut Time

Kris took Zack for a haircut this past weekend. Normally Zack freaks out getting a haircut but this time he did pretty well. He sits on Kris' lap since we don't think he is ready to sit by himself yet.
Later that evening when I was giving Zack his bath we were having a conversation about everything he did this weekend. When I brought up the haircut, he looked at me all serious and said "haircut girl mean". I asked why she was mean but didn't get an answer. When I said something to Kris about it he says she wasn't mean but thinks Zack might think she is mean because she made him look down to cut the back of his hair.
I just find it fascinating how a little one thinks one thing and an adult sees it completely different.
BTW he was happy as a clam when he was able to get off Kris' lap and get his lalop (lolly pop).

Shame on me.

OK, I will admit I tell little white lies to Zack every now and again.
Stop shaking your head thinking I am a bad mommy, it keeps the peace and most often prevents any kind of tantrum. Admit it you would do it too if you have a restaurant full of people looking at you or the people at the store staring at you like you can't control your child.
My latest and I have to admit greatest little white lie was in a family oriented restaurant that has a game room with several arcade games and they have several more outside the doors to the game room. Zack sees them and well at that moment for him dinner was over and all he wanted was to go play. Neither Kris nor I were done eating so the not so true statement came out of my mouth just in time to avoid the tantrum. As Zack was pointing and saying "play" I asked him if he sees the game flashing, he said yes and I said "when it flashes that means it is broken and we can not play it until they fix it".
It worked he sat back down in his chair and asked for a lalop (lolly pop).
I wonder how much longer I will be able to get away with things like this?

That will teach you Grandma!

Zack really floored my mom today.
She was playing around with him and when he didn't want to do something she said "fine I won't be your friend, I think I will call Phillip". Phillip is my nephew. Well out of the mouth of the once innocent child of mine Zack says "Go head" then he adds "phone over there". I do believe my mom was in total shock, I know I was!

A night away

Well, it happened. I went to the hospital for a racing heart and I spent my first night away from Zack. It was hard not saying his prayers with him or tucking him into bed or checking on him before I fell asleep. He told me on the phone that I was 'far far away'. I don't know where he got that from but he did. When Kris brought him up to see me he wasn't too happy with all the machines he saw in the room, He did fully enjoy trying to fold me up like a pretzel in that uncomfortable thing they called a bed.
I know I have been telling Kris I need a day to myself but dang this wasn't what I was hoping for! I couldn't wait to be sprung from there.
On a good note Zack is spending lots of time playing with Grandma and I do believe she is completely worn out. I know for a fact that she is so tired of playing trains and if she never sees another toy train again she will be happy. just wait grandma until he gets his train table from Santa.

2 minute warning

Well it has finally happened.
I told Zack it was time to get into the shower, he looked at me all serious, held up 2 fingers and said "in 2 minutes"!
I am afraid of what he will come out with next.

This weekend.

I drove all the way out to my moms yesterday to take her to a Christmas Craft show (which is hosted at an elementary school) that we go to each year. Boy were we disappointed. I think I am done with Christmas craft shows for a while. The past few years haven't been to good. We also had Zack and K (the little one I babysit) with us, and Zack just wasn't listening yesterday at all.
I think my mom got the biggest kick out of Zack when we were leaving the show. Zack spotted the playground and kept repeating 'park, park, park'. So when I told him no park because he wasn't a good boy when we were in the show, through his tears he says "Happy". In other words he would be a happy boy if he got to go to the park. I have to say, I didn't buy it and we didn't go.
I do know she was thrilled to hear him call them "bram ma" and "bram pa" for the first time ever.

Today he spent most of the day outdoors with Kris trying to pick more rocks. So I am hoping all the fresh air will help him have a great night of sleep. I really can not wait until we have a nice grassy back yard.
Kris if your reading this all your hard work isn't going un-noticed. Thanks a bunch.

He knows his name.

I am a little excited tonight.
For a few months when you asked Zack his name he would pound his chest and say "aa".
To him that meant Zack.
Then he progressed to saying "Sack". I don't know why but tonight I took it a little further and asked him Zack who. He then told me his first and last name!!
I am still in awe with how much he can say now after being delayed for so long. I can not keep up with the number of words he uses everyday.

He loves to race. It doesn't matter who races with him, he is eager to take anyone on (Kris always tells him you cheat just like your brother always did). We tell him he needs to count before the race starts (as in a count down) so he counts... three, two, one and he takes off. Funny thing is he can not count up like one, two, three but he can count backwards. LOL

Another little funny thing he said today, which I am not sure where he picked it up from. We were leaving the grocery store parking lot, I was waiting to pull out and I hear him in the back seat say "Follow me guys". I have no idea who or what he was talking to but it sure was cute.

Time for a new model!

On Sept 22, I posted about Zack and his first word, first two word sentence and his first three word sentence and how they all were about "Dada".
Well I am sure you can guess what I am about to say now. Yes that's right this morning before Kris left for work he asked Zack if he was going to help fix Davids car. As soon as Kris walked out Zack went running to the toy box looking for his tools. He came back to me and said "Dada fix Days(Davids) car".
I guess I will now be forced to trade this kid in on a new model.

Yeah right like I could ever trade in my little love muffin!

Friendly reminder

If you haven't already, get out and vote today.

Need Puppies?

I was nearly in tears last night while Kris, Zack and myself were on the living room floor playing.
Kris was wrestling with Zack a bit and Zack just grazed Kris' man parts. I started to giggle and said "Ah honey you don't need those puppies do you?" At just that moment Zack turns around and barks at Kris. I bust out laughing. Then Zack looked at Kris and says "need puppies?" It was hilarious. He does have good comedic timing for a 2 year old!

Mommy

It feels so good to hear the word Mommy come out of Zacks mouth.
It took forever to get him to say 'mama', then a month ago he graduated to saying 'mom mom'. For the past week or so I occasionally here a 'mommy' thrown in the mix. It is just a really nice thing to hear coming from his mouth, unless of course it is 2 in the morning.

Halloween

Zack totally got Halloween this year! For days I have been asking him what to do when we go trick or treating and for days he has been knocking on something and telling me "lellow m m". So we worked on saying trick or treat a lot. He did so well last night while hitting a few houses in the neighborhood. He did say "trick treat" to almost everyone. He only told one person "lellow m m".
There was a couple who dressed as ghosts and sat on their porch to hand out candy and Zack walked up to them and said "Boo". I wish I would have gotten it on camera it was just too cute!
David came by for a while and dressed in his costume and walked around the neighborhood with us before going to his Halloween Party. Zack got a kick out of Davids costume.
After we ran out of candy, Zack, Kris and I went downtown to the city park and watched the fireworks. It was the first time Zack had ever seen fireworks and he enjoyed them. I was afraid he wouldn't like it but he did.
On that note I will leave you with a picture of my boys.

David dressed as Cat in the Hat and Zack dressed as Pablo from the Backyardigans.