Luke's Wishlist

Since Luke's birthday invitations went out, some people have asked for ideas for his birthday present. I put an Amazon wishlist on the left side of the blog. I'll add to it as I think of other things. Otherwise, we are saving up for Luke's big boy seat at the table if you'd like to contribute to that fund we'd appreciate it. Thank you!

What Makes Daddy Happy?

That Jack went to the garage, got his bike, and decided to ride down a board all on his own. And that he was actually able to do it! I'm trying to ignore that he did it without a helmet and just be happy for John. 

I Hit the JACKpot

I hit the JACKpot in Target's dollar bin this afternoon. We all know how fond Jack is of construction workers, policemen, and firemen! 

I also bought an inexpensive mirror for him to see himself in his hats. He was pretty excited. While he played with his Duplo construction equipment this evening, he wore the construction hat. When he moved on to his fire trucks, he switched to the fireman hat. 

Luke thinks the mirror is a nice addition to the playroom too. 

Doghouse: Beware of Pictures

Caution: There are a ton a pictures in this post. 

Sometimes I wonder what Jack is going to be when he grows up. If his current interests are any indication, he'll be an excavator driver, children's book writer, or carpenter. Over the weekend, John and Jack began constructing a doghouse for our dogs. Jack was giddy with excitement the entire weekend. I had him rest in his room on Sunday afternoon while John ran to Home Depot to get some more supplies. I watched him from the video monitor as he spent the entire rest period watching for his dad out the window. When John drove up the driveway, he excitedly screamed, "Mom, Dad's home! Can I go help build the doghouse?" There's nothing the child likes better than having tools in his hands, especially if they are Daddy's tools. 

I think spending a lot of time with his dad was good for Jack. Daddies do things differently than moms, and I think a kid benefits from experiencing both Mom's way and Dad's. 

I can't help but think about all the time I spent helping my dad with projects. I'm hopeful that John, Jack, and Luke will make similar memories. 

The picture of the unplugged cord makes me smile because it shows just how careful John is with our children. Every time he finished with the saw, he unplugged it before Jack was allowed off his safe spot on the rock. Below you see Jack patiently waiting for Dad to finish cutting. 

The carpenters have the house built. It just needs a roof and some paint. I'll share more as the project goes on next weekend. I'm sorry if your eyes are burning from looking at all of the pictures, but I just couldn't narrow them down any further. 

Sneak Peek

We're, and I use that term loosely, working on a big project around here. Here's a sneak peek of a bigger post to come when we're, again used loosely, all done.

School Days

I intended to send Jack to "school" this year, but many things came up that made me decide against it. At the very top of the list of things that came up was that neither Jack nor I seemed ready. I spent the summer trying to drop Jack off each morning at childcare so I could attend Jazzercise class. The tears got old fast, and I eventually decided it just isn't worth it. I'm convinced that in time Jack will be more comfortable being away from me, but this fall was not our time. 

That doesn't mean that I don't find value in a lot of things they do at "school". Above all, I think it's healthy for preschoolers to have a time when they concentrate on an assigned task and complete it. When I started playing around on Pinterest, I found a bazillion preschool tasks that I could make affordably. I try to spend 30 minutes or so with Jack on one of these activities each day, and I try to make a couple new ones each week so the activities are new and fun for him. 

I bought this oil drip pan at Walmart for $9. John hung it on the wall in our playroom. I had the letter cards and alphabet magnets already. Jack matches the appropriate magnets to the alphabet cards. I hand him each magnet and tell him the letter name. I really like the challenge of looking at a letter and finding its match. It's my hope that eventually he'll learn the letter names and associating it with the picture on the card. That would be the beginning of understanding that each letter makes a sound.

I bought a muffin pan at Target. I like that it has six spots and that the spots are large. I went to Home Depot and picked up some paint chips in the basic colors. I cut the paint chips to fit in the bottom of the muffin pan. Jack sorts objects by color. He's picked up on some of the color names although he doesn't get any colors except green and orange and purple right every time. These objects were foam squares that I found in the dollar bin at Target.

These large buttons that I had leftover from my math teacher days are another object that we've used for sorting in the muffin pan. 

Many of the preschool activities I found dealt with fine motor skills. For this activity, I attached two of the buttons on a piece of ribbon and cut pieces of felt with button holes. Jack slides the felt over the buttons to put them on the ribbon. 

With the rest of the felt, I made this picture. Jack puts the pieces together to make a house, the sun, and a tree. 

Another fine motor activity is putting coins in a slot. Jack really likes this one. He's willing to do all 100 pennies many times. 

A preschool teacher who is a friend suggested a homemade alphabet book. The teacher suggested attaching each letter to a person that Jack knows. I've been working on it for quite awhile, but it's nearly done. I have about five letters left. They are the hard ones like x and y. We don't know anyone whose names start with those letters. I'm also beginning to collect alphabet books. I have a list to get the next time we go to the library. 

This is an alphabet puzzle that Jack really likes to put together because it ends up being a really long train. The boy loves anything transportation related. 

That's what we're doing these days. That and pushing around our younger brother, but that's another post altogether....

Sibling Relations and a Goofy Cat

I can understand why Jack felt like the diggers were his to play with at the bottom of the hill considering he carried them all the way down there. 

But I convinced him to leave one for Luke to play with and to take the rest to dig in the mud. 

Everyone was happy for a short time until Jack decided he needed that digger in particular. 

Luke doesn't let go as easily as he once did. He screams about any injustice these days. At the top of his lungs. Screams. 

And he doesn't let go. What you probably can't see next to Luke's right foot is the digger Jack brought to trade. Luke didn't see it either. He was perfectly happy with the one he had. 

I can only imagine how many of these arguments I'll be breaking up in the future. It's pretty constant around here these days. Luckily, Luke has a short memory and remains optimistic. 

This picture has nothing to do with the story, but it sure cracks me up. We have the world's goofiest cats. 

Waiting for Mom

Ready to get out of bed. Still in his sleepsack. Diaper soggy. Eyes a little droopy. Singing a tune. Crying if he must. Just waiting for Mom.

Defining Our Children

There are events in our lives that define us. Change us. Make us better. But today I'm left wondering is perhaps sometimes God creates events that help us define our children too. Undoubtedly He does, and I'm pretty sure that's what happened in my life today.

Around noon, I was driving home from a friend's house. My mind was on getting home quickly and getting children in bed for their naps. When the tire pressure light came on the truck, I pulled off the highway. I was still hopeful that the tire pressure was just a little low but knew that by the feel of the truck as it came to a stop that I wasn't going to be that lucky. I went around to the passenger side of the truck, and my heart dropped a bit in dread when I saw that the tire was definitely flat.

I've changed some tires in my life. You couldn't be Larry Thorn's daughter and not know how it's done. And you probably couldn't be Larry Thorn's daughter and not believe that you're perfectly capable of changing that tire by yourself. So I got out the car's manual to see where the spare was located and where the jack should be placed. The manual suggested opening the hood to signal to a passing police officer that you need help. I raised the hood, but continued about my business of changing it myself. That business included taking out two strollers, a bike, and a kid carrier backpack and placing them on the ground beside the truck so I could get out the tools. I'm sure it was quite the spectacle to people driving by.

Getting the tire down from the bottom of the truck proved tricky although I had it figured out when an old, beat up car stopped behind me. An older gentleman got out of his car and said, "I saw you on the other side of the road, and something told me that I needed to turn around and help, so that's what I did." His name was Gilbert, and he pretty much told me to stand back while he took care of the tire. Changing the tire was not easy for him. He was older, and it was obviously taxing for  him. I pitched in when he got winded, and together we got the spare on. I didn't really know how to thank Gilbert. All I had were my words of gratitude.

Thirty minutes after pulling over with a flat tire, I was back on the road and headed home. Driving time often is the perfect time to think. It wasn't long before I started thinking about the fifty cars that passed without stopping to help. What made Gilbert different? And ultimately, what can I do as a mom to make sure Jack and Luke are the kind of people who stop to help a mother and her children on the side of the road?

I'm pretty sure helping others is something we teach our kids. I remember last winter Jake called me on his way home from school on an icy Friday. He told me that he had just stopped to help pull someone out of the ditch. I know for certain that Jake's dad, Kevin, would have done the exact same thing and probably has several times. So what can I do that teaches my kids that helping others is the right thing to do? I'm now on the lookout for opportunities just like that.

For now, discussing what happened today with Jack will have to be enough. Telling him how nice it was that Gilbert stopped and how Mommy is pretty sure she would not have been able to lift that heavy flat tire into the truck by herself will have to suffice. But somehow and someway, I am determined that my children will be the ones that see others in need and stop to lend a helping hand even if I have to teach them myself.

Jack's First Movie

This morning we took Jack and Luke to their very first movie. From here on out I am going to refer to it as Jack's movie because you've already been reading this blog post for longer than Luke (and John) stayed at the movie. Anyone who knows Luke very well knows he doesn't put up with being held for longer than a nanosecond. Luckily, John's parents live near the theatre, so they played there instead.

So, Jack and I went to see Winnie the Pooh at the historic Franklin Theatre. It was an awesome experience. While we were waiting for the movie, they showed a picture show of the reconstruction work being done on the theatre. I swear this was like a bonus feature for Jack. Guys in hard hats with tools... super exciting! Since the theatre doesn't play many kids movies, we only had to sit through one movie trailer. That was nice. It was pretty funny watching Jack try to sit on one of the seats. He isn't big enough, so the seat kept on folding up on him. Needless to say, he ended up sitting on my lap. That only made the movie better for me. :-)

I really enjoyed taking Jack to his first movie. I think when other appropriate movies come along, it is going to be a Mommy and Son tradition. Maybe next time we'll even get popcorn. :-)

Beautiful Day

Grandma's Heart

Grandma Jane has a huge heart. She has always been one of the boys' favorite people. Jack is a little older, so his love can be expressed in words. At least once a week he asks me if we can go see Grandma. Who can blame him? She makes cookies with him, keeps his favorite treats stocked in her pantry, buys him gifts, and sees only the very best in him. I had to laugh the last time we visited. Soon after we arrived, Jack had to sit in time out for pushing Luke. Later, I asked Jack to move Luke's high chair back into the dining room. Luke got in the way, so naturally Jack just plowed him over. I was out of sight, but Grandma was quick to explain that it was an accident. We all know it was not an accident, but who is going to argue with Grandma? 

Luke smiles some of his biggest smiles for Grandma's benefit. To me, Jane is also very special. Mother/Daughter-in-law relationships can be complicated. Some of that difficulty can probably be attributed to the daughter-in-law comparing her mother-in-law to her own mother. Since I don't remember my mother, there can be no comparing. Instead, I see Jane as the closest I'll ever have to a mother. Phone calls women would normally make to their own mothers, I make to Jane. Just last week, I noticed that Luke's color was off. He looked a little yellow. I suspected that the cause was all of the carrots that I've been feeding the little guy, but of course I panicked thinking that something may be wrong with his liver. So Jane got a phone call. I just absolutely love the woman. 

On Wednesday, Jane had heart surgery. Her aortic valve was defective and had to be replaced. I've said lots of prayers that Jane recover quickly. I hope you'll join me. If you'd like to send her your well wishes, you can find her at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/janeseaton.

Helper

`