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!