Lunch time jokes

I remember when I had cold lunch as a kid. My mom would usually include a cute little note with her famous smiley face in my lunch box. I remember I always enjoyed reading them and was never embarassed. Last year, when Jay was in first grade, I too, sent "love" notes in his lunch box. Truthfully, in first grade he never complained too much but honestly, I was never convinced he read them either. This year, however, I had to get a little more creative because I knew Jay would not appreciate getting a "love" note from his mother in second grade. In place of a "love" note, I have started writing jokes for him. On days that I have written these famous jokes, I eagerly wait for his response at night. I never get it (he is so Mike Siebert's son!!!), so I ask Jay, "Jay, how did you like my joke today?" Just the other day, he burst my bubble and informed me my jokes are lame. Personally, I thought my joke about the elves (What do elves study in school? The elf-abet) was hysterical, but to Jay, not so much. Okay, maybe they are a little lame. Jay was quick to point out that his friend, Reece, loves my lunch time jokes and gets a good laugh from them. Today I was lucky enough to take a day off work. Nick and I joined Jay for lunch and sat with his friend Reece. I made it a point to ask Reece if he found my jokes funny. Reece's face broke out in a cute grin and admitted that he did enjoy my jokes, all the while, Jay was rolling in eyes. Someday, he'll appreciate and remember my attempt, pathetic it may be, to make him laugh with my lunch time jokes.

Oberservations of Parenthood

I've only been a mom for 7 years but in those 7 years I've come to a few conclusions about being a parent, specfically how it relates to my own 2 children and here is what I've learned

• It is the hardest, most demanding job. There is no other job that exhausts me more than parenting.
• I thought when Jay was little that as he aged, it would get easier, it doesn't. Once I added another child to the mix, it only gets harder. I don't mean that in a negative way but you get "bigger" issues to deal with as they age and you put school on top it (which takes an "organizational" specialist to handle that) and it's a lot to juggle.
• Simplify, Simplify, Simplify! I mean that in every aspect. My kid doesn't need to be in every sports activity, nor does he need every toy on the planet.
• Parenting requires lots of love, patience, organization and consistency (consistency is where I probably fall short on but I recognize it's importance)
• I've gotten use to questioning myself on a daily basis whether I'm making the right decisions for my children but always listen to your gut, it's usually right.
• My mom gave me a cute cartoon once that reminded all parents that kids are "under construction." I use this reminder daily to remember my children are not formed at ages 7 and 3

The rewards, at this point, are few and far between but when I catch a glimpse of them, I cherish them. Jay and Nick are both still "under construction" and I try to remember that when Jay is throwing attitude with me or Nick is being a typical 3 year old. But when Jay is concerned for someone else's well-being or when I don't have to remind Nick to use his please and thank-you's, those are times where I see my hard work paying off.

Morning Goodbye Waves

Every morning when I drop Nick off at preschool he waves to me from his classroom. It's a long walk down the hallway to the exit doors and the entire time I'm walking away from him, he is frantically waving at me. I turn around about 3 times during my exit walk to get a glimpse of his happy face. It makes my day every day!
It's funny because when I think back to when Jay was three, I feel like I have no memory. I kept a diary so when I read my diary, it rekindles my memory and what he was like. I'm even busier now and I know Nick is my last "baby." I feel like time is going way too fast and there are just certain things that he does at age 3 that I simply don't want to forget and this is one of them.

Forgetfulness

One of the first things I do when I get home from work is to go through Jay's back-pack. Yesterday I noticed his glasses weren't in his bag, nor had he turned in his homework and his reading log was missing. Jay and I concluded he might have lost his glasses at the bus stop but when we checked last night, no luck. This morning, when I put him on the bus, I'm going to talk to the bus driver to see if they were found and do a quick check of the bus myself.
Then, I pointed out to Jay that when he spends so much time doing his homework, it's important that he turn it in! And who knows where his reading log is. Today, I'm sending him to school with a list that consists of: FINDING HIS GLASSES, his reading log and turning in his homework. And I wouldn't tell him this but even if he does nothing else today but find his $230 pair of glasses, I'll be satisfied.

Penguins!

Nick is over the moon for penguins right now. He has a "family" of penguins that consists of a daddy (a.k.a. Emperor penguin), baby penguin, momma penguin (a.k.a. Jenny) and Mary penguin (his newest addition from Shedd). He takes his penguins with him everywhere!

And I do mean everywhere!!!!!!!

Weekend in Chicago

The one and only, Mary, with the boys. Mike and I "rented" an apartment in her building for the night. It worked out great. It was close to Shedd and Michigan Avenue. The boys loved it! Secretly, I think Jay has a crush on Mary!

The boys at Shedd. The only disappointment was the penguin exhibit was closed (which was the whole reason we went) but the boys dealt with that pretty well. I noticed that Jay really took a lot of time to look at the exhibits and there were fish he was telling me about, as I had no idea what some of the fish were. Nick did pretty well too, once he finally figured out that he had to hold his dad's hand. Ha.

After we left Shedd, we walked for 5 miles, with no stroller. Nick actually did great. Mike only had to carry him for about 1/2 mile. He was a trooper.

The "twosome," Mike and Nick walking on Michigan Ave. Again, once Nick figured out that he had no choice but to hold Mike's hand then he didn't complain. It was a good preview for Disney. Both boys did really well. We really enjoyed ourselves and the weather could not have been more perfect.

The Daddy Factor

When school started, Mike decided to go to work in the middle of the night (I consider anything before 4:30, the middle of the night, ha) so he could pick Jay up from school everyday. Mike leaves for work around 4:15 and days that he travels, he leaves around 3:30 and yet I still go to bed earlier than he does. It has really worked out well. Recently, my mom shared a cute story with me. She said her and Jay were driving in the car, just the two of them. My mom asked Jay how he liked having his dad pick him up from school. Jay responded by saying, "I like it, nana, I really, really like it." Cute! Then, one day this week, it worked out to where my mom picked him up from school. She said that when Jay saw her his eyes got big and it looked like he wanted to run to her and hug her but he restrained himself. I laughed about this with my mom because Jay won't hug me, let alone kiss me, when I get the opportunity to drop him off at school. Mike overheard this entire conversation and said that almost everyday Jay greets him with a running leap/hug. I guess Jay decided that it is socially acceptable to hug your dad in public but not your mom or nana. Oh well...........he will still greet me with hugs at home, as long as no one is looking!

What's not to like about Nick?

Nick started at a new daycare/preschool about 5 weeks ago. It was going okay until right after Labor Day. Since that time I've noticed that his teachers really don't have anything nice to say about him and it's starting to annoy me. I've also noticed that when I drop Nick off in the mornings, he's more clingy. In fact, if I linger too long, there could be tears but I know not to linger.
I am the kind of parent who doesn't want someone to sugar coat my children's behavior. However, that being said, there is a balance that one needs to meet. For example, it can't be good that everyday for the last 8 days I get a knot in my stomach when I walk in the doors at the end of the day because I know what's coming........more negativity. I wish his teachers could tell me about his behavior with the sandwich approach. Tell me something positive, something negative and finish it with a positive. I know Nick can be loud and to someone who doesn't love him, it can really get on your nerves but really.......these teachers haven't found one nice thing to say about him in 8 days. Things started off good with one particular teacher and she's the one who now just seems down right annoyed with Nick. That is probably the best way to summarize it. I get the impression that they don't like Nick and he annoys them.
I've been so irritated by how things have gone all week that I'm sending him to Mike's parents house on Friday. When I called John (Mike's dad) to ask if Nick could just come spend a day with them because I felt like he needed a day away from preschool and I also expressed to him that I didn't think Nick's teachers liked him. John's response was, "What, not like Nick, what's not to like about Nick?" Exactly my point. And like my mom always points out.....Nick may talk a lot but we can all be thankful that I have such an expressive 3 year old.

I Love...........

• Cuddling with the boys
• Nick's excitement over his stuffed animals
• Jay's excitement when he truly understands his school work
• Jay's enthusiam when he's doing physical work with his dad
• Nick's constant chatter
• Hanging out with my family
• Crop-dusters (Yes, crop dusters........I could watch them all day)
• Janet's cakes
• Spending the night in hotels with the boys....
• My husband
• That I am healthy and so is Mike and the boys
• How excited the boys get over hanging out in the RV with their grandparents
• Scrapbooking
• That Jay still loves hanging out with his nana and Mimi
• Drinking wine, especially when I'm drinking it with my girlfriends
• Long time friends that make me laugh
• Blogging!!!!!!!!! It rocks.

Prayer for my Children

Today, the boys and I are finally headed back to church. We took a long break this summer. There really is no excuse because Jesus certainly doesn't take a break from us. I just got lazy. I created a habit all summer so Jay is fighting me on going tooth and nail this morning. We will be attending church in a few weeks with our friends, the Ausili's, at Eastview. I am looking forward to that but until then the boys and I are headed to our small church in Danvers today.
The boys and I have a daily prayer that we say every weekday morning before we head off to work and school. Since Nick is only three, he still likes the prayer and actively participates. Jay will participate most mornings but it depends on his mood. I've told him that he doesn't have to say the words or even hold our hands for the prayer but he has to be quiet and respectful or I threaten him with getting out at the bus stop and hugging him in front of all of his friends. That is enough to make him be quiet and respectful during our prayer.
Our daily prayer goes like this: "Dear Lord, as we start our day to go out and play, let all we meet along the way see you in us and be by our side throughout our day. Amen." It's short and sweet and I like it!!

This & That

It isn't like me to go a full week without blogging. It's been a busy week! The picture above is of Jay helping me bake for our Labor Day cook-out. Yes, he's in his undies and all! I am having a "Thank-you" cook out for my family and Mike's parents for all the help they gave me this summer with the boys. I don't know what got into me but I decided to make each person their own dessert. This morning, Jay helped me make Mimi her S'more cheesecake.

This is me on the Seat Belt Convincer at the Farm Progress Show on Tuesday. I went to Decatur with a few of my co-workers in Public Affairs. State Farm purchased the convincer for the Illinois State Police and let me tell you.........it convinces you to wear your seat belt. The ride is only 5 miles an hour and you feel a jolt. I will make sure my boys ride it when they turn 16!

Jay is doing well at school. Mike and I got him signed up for a program at ISU that starts this week. He will go twice a week for 8 weeks and get one on one help with a doctoral student. In addition, when the program is over, ISU will give Mike and I a specialized program (so to speak) that is catered to his individual needs that we can take to his school/teacher to help him. The program isn't cheap and thankfully Mike is able to pick Jay up from school, otherwise I don't know how we would get him to these twice a week sessions. We'll see how it goes. The program itself came highly recommended. My hope is that when it's all said and done, Jay will be able to develop strategies to help him learn.

Nick is doing well also. It took three weeks but he finally adjusted to his new school/daycare. I am happy to report he went all week with no tears. He is talking about his two teachers a little more and talking about two kids in his class. The kids in his class are greeting him when he comes in the morning, all good signs.

I will have an interview soon so I can hopefully get a permanent position in my job that I took on as a developmental opportunity. I found out that 60 people applied so we'll see. I'm taking Mike's advice........"Plan for the worst, hope for the best."