Active Day

We went to a big park near our house today.  It was nice to see some trees and sky for a change.

Unfortunately, we have spent much of my son’s Spring break just walking around inside the house like poorly functioning zombies.

The boy has been waking up and throwing tantrums in the wee hours for the last several nights.  He screeches and kind of screams and he hits himself.  Loudly.  Repeatedly.  He turns on lights, he throws things, he slams his head into the mattress…over and over and over.  It’s disturbing.  And it’s routine.  His routine.  Our routine.  No one sleeps.  We all go crazy.

So yeah…trees, sky, clouds, grass…welcome sights today.

I wonder who JD is.

We parked really far from the playground area so we would be motivated to get in a good sweaty walk.

There was also a big hill that called to us several times.  My calves are crying a little bit right now.

The boy had a great time running and skipping and jumping, just like a boy should.

He was also determined to climb a tree.  Sadly, most of them were covered in red ants or were too slippery to tackle.  We settled for this one:

“V” for victory, I guess!  🙂

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What are you up to this week?

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Spring Break Phone Pix Dump

We actually did a lot over the two-week break.

The child had a bad case of the hives, got really sick, and also lost another tooth, but he rallied for the best parts of his vacation.
He had no trouble inhaling a basketful of candy on Easter morning.

🙂

The rest of our days went something like this…

lunch with Grandma
Inflatable World
Pump It Up
several different parks
a night at the downtown Marriott
egg hunts
and
I guess I’m too tired to remember anything else.
Enjoy the photos!

Oh, I almost forgot!
Husband got a new job.
(Insert great relief here.)
He started yesterday.
So far, so good!

Insert bad family photo here (complete with chinless child and bug-eyed mommy):

I love this next one of my husband.  He’s more than a little freaked out by heights, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying our 11th floor view of the bay and the bridge.

The pools were beautiful.  The smaller one was walk-in warm in the morning.

Next on the agenda?
Back to school this morning and then to the kid’s salon for a long overdue haircut!

What did you do?

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#14 – Things I sorta already knew…

but learned again this week:

• If I let the child mix the colors, the cupcakes will have dusky purple frosting and his fingertips will be blue and red for several days.
• If we get to Pump It Up right when it opens, the little boy will actually tire out and want to go before they make us leave.
• It’s fun to make popcorn with your kid.
• No matter how many fights I have with our insurance companies, there is always someone dear to me who is fighting harder and getting less.
• I am not social with strangers.
• Despite my best efforts, my default demeanor, facial expression, and/or assumed disposition are NOT sunny and welcoming.
• I have the best two brothers in the entire world.
• I want my mom to let me choose her next dog.
• I love to read good books.  Kindred has surprised me.  It’s not what I expected.  I know the minute I finish the last page, I will seek out Butler’s other works.
• I don’t like reading dust jackets or forewords or authors’ notes until I finish a book.  I go in blind, and either I’m engaged or I’m not.
• It’s not possible to find the right loaf pan for my pumpkin bread recipe.
• Our dishwasher is dying.
• My son always leaves his fast food toys at the restaurant.  On purpose.
• If I find a beauty product that I like, they will stop making it or at least stop carrying it anywhere that doesn’t charge $5.00 for shipping.  This goes for cheese too…sigh…Vons hasn’t stocked the Saga classic blue brie since I raved about it to my facebook friends.  And Leerdammer…best cheese ever…I don’t know where to get it locally either.
• I go through thirft store withdrawals if I don’t get to one of them every few weeks.
• My oldest cat doesn’t see as well as she used to.  Yes, Poupon, that’s a cat treat on the floor in front of you.
• The little boy really never tires of his Legos.
• I really hate carpet next to sinks and showers.  Gross.
• Our cats shed enough fur to make another cat.
• I don’t want another cat.  Especially not a fake one crafted from fur off the others.
• The words “vacation” and “break” can be defined as a period of time in which mothers are required to work harder.
• Everything really does seem better when you already know when your next chocolate is happening.  🙂

Happy Tuesday!

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Vacation Deals for Children

Proof of improvisational parenting:

I thought “run up and down the stairs” was kind of a cop out, but it proved the most amusing in practice.

He didn’t even stay for my explanation.  Apparently the drawing was crystal clear.

He took off running and laughed the whole time he climbed and descended.  So funny.

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Despite my best efforts to navigate around the dreaded Oreo Cakesters at my local grocery store, the little boy always finds them.

Grrrrrr!!  Damn those product placement specialists.  They put these everywhere!

I hate the things more than I can ever explain, but the promise of them brings the child such joy that he is motivated to nibble on other stuff first.

The chicken nugget-apple-peanut butter combo looks pretty crazy, but it’s our reality.

Next time, I’m putting broccoli on there.  😀

Happy Tuesday!

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