What started out as such a great Mommy and Drew day, ended so wrong. The first part was great, but then I made the mistake of taking Drew to the Pumpkin Patch, where they had a few crummy, but expensive rides. I told him he could pick one, but then after that we needed to pick out a pumpkin.
He took his one ride in the jumphouse. Fine. Problem was, the child saw more, and I told him no, that he picked his one and so that was all (at this a mother and grandmother standing nearby got quite the chuckle). Well you would've thought I told the child he couldn't eat for a week, when the whining and crying began when I escorted him out of the patch. The fit he threw was unlike any other I'd ever seen him throw. I actually looked around to see if anyone was giving me those evil stares, you know - taking your plate number in case you're trying to kidnap this child who's throwing such a fit he doesn't want to leave with this "stranger".
After releasing him from the stroller (I pat myself on the back for restraining him in there as long as I did), he went wild in the make-shift parking lot. Ran around crazy refusing to get in the car. I had to hold him down with a knee to get him buckled in, he was thrashing around so much. Oh and the screaming and kicking on the way home. I can't tell you how many times he told me "I don't like you anyways". I just laughed and said "I feel the same right now". Eventually I stopped talking to him because it was just firing him up more, and making me more and more crazy. This was the first time I seriously debated beating my child (no need to call CPS - I never would - but I have to be honest the thought crossed my mind).
While he calmed down somewhat when we got home, look at what happens when you follow-through on your discipline and remove the naughty child from the pumpkin patch.
And this was MELLOW compared to the 10 minute ride home - which felt like an hour. I had to apologize to our new neighbor's Mom for my child's attitude.
Oh and here he is 15 minutes later too....
He got more and more incoherent as the time passed. Think he's tired? Little snot never napped, but Mama sure wanted to drink after this one!
The entire day wasn't a bust, I will share the happy story and pictures next week. This was so over the top though I had to share my "joy". Start to finish I'd say this tantrum lasted an hour.
I'm auctioning this child off - look at all the pictures throughout this blog before you say no. He does have a sweet side (the booze is making me remember that again).
October 30, 2010
October 29, 2010
Preschool Parade
Yesterday morning was Drew's first Halloween at his Preschool, and they had a Harvest Party. While it was rather chaotic with all of those 3-5 year olds running crazy in their costumes, it was adorable all the same.
There were a few strict rules for costumes - no superheros (even though some parents ignored that rule), no masks, no weapons, no witches, ghosts, etc. Since Drew is going to be Superman, we came up with a plan B.
This would be our Zookeeper.
Parents were invited to show up at 10am (and I was one of the first) so I helped in Drew's class for a bit. We started with story time, in which not only did I have a little zookeeper in my lap, but Dorothy from Wizard of Oz and Ariel from Little Mermaid (hard to tell from this picture).
After a story and potty break it was time for snacks, but not before they were able to make 'pumkin' faces.
Who says you can't play with your food?
Once they had snacks, they had to hold hands and walk across the parking lot to where they were in for a surprise.
Here the entire school is gathering for their surprise. This includes 3 separate classes and nearly every child that attends the school (note that not everyone is full-time). Drew is sitting next to the Blue's Clues Dog (bottom center).
Scooter was the surprise! Drew however wasn't exactly happy to see the clown. He and another girl started crying nervously. After I sat with Drew he seemed to enjoy the show.
Although the part everyone loved was the parade of kids who gathered candy from the parents. Drew was happy with his loot.
And finally we managed to snap a shot of Drew with his teacher Ms. Jonelle.
Notice he could care less about the camera, but rather he was focused on the stickers and sweets inside his bag?
There were a few strict rules for costumes - no superheros (even though some parents ignored that rule), no masks, no weapons, no witches, ghosts, etc. Since Drew is going to be Superman, we came up with a plan B.
This would be our Zookeeper.
Parents were invited to show up at 10am (and I was one of the first) so I helped in Drew's class for a bit. We started with story time, in which not only did I have a little zookeeper in my lap, but Dorothy from Wizard of Oz and Ariel from Little Mermaid (hard to tell from this picture).
After a story and potty break it was time for snacks, but not before they were able to make 'pumkin' faces.
Who says you can't play with your food?
Once they had snacks, they had to hold hands and walk across the parking lot to where they were in for a surprise.
Here the entire school is gathering for their surprise. This includes 3 separate classes and nearly every child that attends the school (note that not everyone is full-time). Drew is sitting next to the Blue's Clues Dog (bottom center).
Scooter was the surprise! Drew however wasn't exactly happy to see the clown. He and another girl started crying nervously. After I sat with Drew he seemed to enjoy the show.
Although the part everyone loved was the parade of kids who gathered candy from the parents. Drew was happy with his loot.
And finally we managed to snap a shot of Drew with his teacher Ms. Jonelle.
Notice he could care less about the camera, but rather he was focused on the stickers and sweets inside his bag?
October 28, 2010
"Romantic" Date Night
You know you're married too long when your date night consists of buying a major appliance - and you're excited about it.
Drew had another "Parents Night Out" on Friday at school where they take him from 6-11pm and Mom & Dad get to go do something fun. Well for us that "fun" was to buy this:
Cool isn't it?! For those of you who don't remember, our dryer crapped out a few months ago and we've had to improvise by being a little frugal - as I showed you here. Problem is we never did make that purchase and the weather turned to rain recently, so needless to say we were desperate (well me since I do most of the laundry).
Good news, my new toy arrives tomorrow and so I'm "lucky" enough spend my day off doing about 12 loads of laundry.
Drew had another "Parents Night Out" on Friday at school where they take him from 6-11pm and Mom & Dad get to go do something fun. Well for us that "fun" was to buy this:
Cool isn't it?! For those of you who don't remember, our dryer crapped out a few months ago and we've had to improvise by being a little frugal - as I showed you here. Problem is we never did make that purchase and the weather turned to rain recently, so needless to say we were desperate (well me since I do most of the laundry).
Good news, my new toy arrives tomorrow and so I'm "lucky" enough spend my day off doing about 12 loads of laundry.
October 27, 2010
VIDEO: Our Bookworm
The other night I was all set to read a story to Drew - it turned into Drew reading to me instead. I have to say this was the first time we'd opened this book up and he was reading it to me...
And then this one really got him excited.. of course he knew that word....
And then this one really got him excited.. of course he knew that word....
October 26, 2010
Minnie Party
On Saturday we went to Auntie Lisa's place for a birthday party for our niece Kady who turned two. Cutie that she is, was dressed up like Minnie Mouse and all.
Drew on the other hand was perfectly happy playing with all of his cousin's birthday toys. Here he's playing with the kitchen but he was enjoying the LeapFrog toy we gave her too.
Drew and Adrina entertaining themselves by doing tricks off the couch.
GrampC, Dave, Drew, Adrina and one of the son of Lisa's friend were also enjoying all of Kady's toys!
The Birthday Girl getting ready to "blow" her candles out. I swear that cake was nearly as big as she was.
And then there's Drew "eating" his cupcake. In his defense he did have a few bites after licking off all the frosting.
It was fun to see how Kady enjoyed her party. If you want to see more pictures of the birthday girl you have to check out her site. She'll really know it's her birthday next year... and then watch out!
Drew on the other hand was perfectly happy playing with all of his cousin's birthday toys. Here he's playing with the kitchen but he was enjoying the LeapFrog toy we gave her too.
Drew and Adrina entertaining themselves by doing tricks off the couch.
GrampC, Dave, Drew, Adrina and one of the son of Lisa's friend were also enjoying all of Kady's toys!
The Birthday Girl getting ready to "blow" her candles out. I swear that cake was nearly as big as she was.
And then there's Drew "eating" his cupcake. In his defense he did have a few bites after licking off all the frosting.
It was fun to see how Kady enjoyed her party. If you want to see more pictures of the birthday girl you have to check out her site. She'll really know it's her birthday next year... and then watch out!
October 25, 2010
First 10K - Accomplished!
I've accomplished my most recent running goal - finished a 10K race. I was so happy, my pleading with Mother Nature worked. The rain we had overnight held off just long enough for me to run and finish. It hit as we were walking back to our car. Whew!
I did end up walking for a bit during the race, I think because I was super thirsty around the first mile mark and guzzled some water. No bueno.... About mile 4 I started to get a stomach ache. And that's not so great while running... it leads to the nauseous feeling. Or is it the other end??? Anyway it lead me to walk about 10 minutes total - off and on.
Even still I managed to finish with an overall time of 1:15:35. I'm thrilled, my goal was to finish at about 1:15:00.
Here are some shots from the morning. I'll go back and forth from my phone to pictures Dave took on the camera.
My view from the starting line
Dave's View... (that would be me with the arms up in the back.
And then from the course - on my phone.
Then there becomes a predicament - what do you do with a 3 year old for over an hour during a race? Well you feed him and give him a stick of course.
Then it's time for Mama to cross the finish! I'm in the white shirt (toward the back of the photo)
And my victory kiss!
Here's a video Dave got of me crossing the finish line - I love my cheering section!
I did end up walking for a bit during the race, I think because I was super thirsty around the first mile mark and guzzled some water. No bueno.... About mile 4 I started to get a stomach ache. And that's not so great while running... it leads to the nauseous feeling. Or is it the other end??? Anyway it lead me to walk about 10 minutes total - off and on.
Even still I managed to finish with an overall time of 1:15:35. I'm thrilled, my goal was to finish at about 1:15:00.
Here are some shots from the morning. I'll go back and forth from my phone to pictures Dave took on the camera.
My view from the starting line
Dave's View... (that would be me with the arms up in the back.
And then from the course - on my phone.
Then there becomes a predicament - what do you do with a 3 year old for over an hour during a race? Well you feed him and give him a stick of course.
Then it's time for Mama to cross the finish! I'm in the white shirt (toward the back of the photo)
Here's a video Dave got of me crossing the finish line - I love my cheering section!
October 22, 2010
Unplanned Parent/Teacher Conference
So Drew is *that* child. He got in trouble a few times at school and last week his teacher requested we join her for a meeting to discuss Drew's behavior when we both returned from our travels (I had to work in SoCal, Dave in Atlanta).
Last week he threw a HUGE fit because he didn't want to wash his hands. It lead to a nearly 2 hour tantrum and screaming fit - which made him pee his pants.
This week, he freaked out when someone stole his tissue for erasing the whitebaord, so he hunted said child down and slugged him. This lead to a time out that he didn't want to take and then being passed from his teacher to another to force him to take his time out.
Needless to say - Drew's stubborn, strong willed. So yesterday we met with his teacher shortly before school and she requested we all get on the same page with Drew and use what they have at school - the 3 C's: Command, Choice and Consequence.
The command is pretty obvious, the choice is to get Drew to do what we ultimately want him to do (wash hands/ go to Time Out) but giving him the choice to wash his hands in "this sink" or "that sink". Hop to time out or walk to time out. If nothing works then offer to have us assist him with the issue - which his teacher says is not likely to happen.
So we're going to test this out at home and continue to battle through his attempt to get the upper hand. I don't think so Mister! We're also going to create a sticker chart for him at school so he can be rewarded for good behavior - since it's working out pretty well at home!
Since this is sort of a downer of a post, here's a sneak preview of Drew in his Halloween Costume - he tried it on yesterday morning before school.
Sorry about the grainy picture -- it was from Dave's phone. Apparently it was a bit sleepy yet at that hour and well, jet lag. hehe
Last week he threw a HUGE fit because he didn't want to wash his hands. It lead to a nearly 2 hour tantrum and screaming fit - which made him pee his pants.
This week, he freaked out when someone stole his tissue for erasing the whitebaord, so he hunted said child down and slugged him. This lead to a time out that he didn't want to take and then being passed from his teacher to another to force him to take his time out.
Needless to say - Drew's stubborn, strong willed. So yesterday we met with his teacher shortly before school and she requested we all get on the same page with Drew and use what they have at school - the 3 C's: Command, Choice and Consequence.
The command is pretty obvious, the choice is to get Drew to do what we ultimately want him to do (wash hands/ go to Time Out) but giving him the choice to wash his hands in "this sink" or "that sink". Hop to time out or walk to time out. If nothing works then offer to have us assist him with the issue - which his teacher says is not likely to happen.
So we're going to test this out at home and continue to battle through his attempt to get the upper hand. I don't think so Mister! We're also going to create a sticker chart for him at school so he can be rewarded for good behavior - since it's working out pretty well at home!
Since this is sort of a downer of a post, here's a sneak preview of Drew in his Halloween Costume - he tried it on yesterday morning before school.
Sorry about the grainy picture -- it was from Dave's phone. Apparently it was a bit sleepy yet at that hour and well, jet lag. hehe
October 21, 2010
More LA Fun
Part of the reason we piggy backed this LA vacation weekend onto my work trip was to visit Tata and Abuela. But about a week or two before heading south, we found out they weren't going to be around for that weekend after all. So instead of canceling our trip we still went for it.
And we still managed to hang out with Tata and Abuela for dinner the first night Dave and Drew were down. It made out for a good time after all. Of course I don't have any pictures of Drew with his grandparents, but I did snap one of Drew with their pig....
Of course Abuela made a tasty meal and we pigged out. Drew even managed to score a few birthday presents that he happily played with every chance we gave him that weekend.
And we still managed to hang out with Tata and Abuela for dinner the first night Dave and Drew were down. It made out for a good time after all. Of course I don't have any pictures of Drew with his grandparents, but I did snap one of Drew with their pig....
Of course Abuela made a tasty meal and we pigged out. Drew even managed to score a few birthday presents that he happily played with every chance we gave him that weekend.
October 20, 2010
Halloween Time at Disneyland
The much awaited updates from our weekend in LA! First up, the most exciting part of our trip, a day at Disneyland. We spent last Saturday going between the two parks - Disneyland and California Adventure (thanks to the free tickets we received from Dave's Friend's Mom, who works there). Can I just say we had an absolute blast and it is more and more fun the older that Drew gets!
We were really excited to see the World of Color show at CA Adventure, and Dave wanted to see the Tower of Terror, since the last time we were there was shortly after the park opened, and long before Tower of Terror. Can I say how awesome the kid switch pass is?! We used that a few times.
Dave's only complaints were we never made it to the Haunted Mansion - 1:30 wait, and we never saw any characters dressed in their Halloween gear (probably because we weren't on Main Street a lot).
Well without wasting anymore of your time, here are a few (ok a lot of) shots from our Disney 2010 trip!
And for those that haven't seen "World of Color" yet at California Adventure - it's AMAZING! It's a light/video show solely with water and lights... well paired to music too. It was spectacular! Also a friendly tip, if you are seated near the water (like we were) be prepared to get a little wet from the spray....
Here's a quick video showing you just how great this was (I admit the video doesn't do it justice...). The best video is around :17... my video editing program disappeared from my computer otherwise I'd have shortened this video.
We were really excited to see the World of Color show at CA Adventure, and Dave wanted to see the Tower of Terror, since the last time we were there was shortly after the park opened, and long before Tower of Terror. Can I say how awesome the kid switch pass is?! We used that a few times.
Dave's only complaints were we never made it to the Haunted Mansion - 1:30 wait, and we never saw any characters dressed in their Halloween gear (probably because we weren't on Main Street a lot).
Well without wasting anymore of your time, here are a few (ok a lot of) shots from our Disney 2010 trip!
And for those that haven't seen "World of Color" yet at California Adventure - it's AMAZING! It's a light/video show solely with water and lights... well paired to music too. It was spectacular! Also a friendly tip, if you are seated near the water (like we were) be prepared to get a little wet from the spray....
Here's a quick video showing you just how great this was (I admit the video doesn't do it justice...). The best video is around :17... my video editing program disappeared from my computer otherwise I'd have shortened this video.
October 19, 2010
Slacker
So things are a bit busy since getting back from LA. I hope to catch up with blogs tonight for the remainder of the week.
For now here's a sweet shot from California Adventure.
And a cute thing Drew spontaneously said to me while I was getting ready for work yesterday...
"Mommy you are beautiful."
Sometimes kids know just what to say... To get their way.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
For now here's a sweet shot from California Adventure.
And a cute thing Drew spontaneously said to me while I was getting ready for work yesterday...
"Mommy you are beautiful."
Sometimes kids know just what to say... To get their way.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
October 15, 2010
Reason #1
Reason #1 why we won't move to LA - ever...
The fact it takes more than 30 minutes to go about 6 miles.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The fact it takes more than 30 minutes to go about 6 miles.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Pre-Disney Fun
Just a preview of what's on tap for tomorrow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
October 14, 2010
Pumpkin Hop
Drew doubled up on the pumpkin patches last weekend. First with Grammy and GrampC then the next day with his parents and grandparents. We hit up Dell'Osso Family Farms in Lathrop for the first time - after hearing so much about it, and driving by it a few weeks before it was set up.
While the pumpkin patch portion leaves something to be desired, it's all the other attractions that are what makes this place something special. Kids jump houses, playground, pillow jump, "gold" mining, trains, aerial walk, tractor and hay rides, corn maze and much more. Of course you pay for most everything... but eh it's the experience.
Drew's favorite attraction - the jump houses where he hopped his little heart out. We practically had to drag him out kicking and screaming... red cheeked and all. Here are a few of the highlights of our trip.
While the pumpkin patch portion leaves something to be desired, it's all the other attractions that are what makes this place something special. Kids jump houses, playground, pillow jump, "gold" mining, trains, aerial walk, tractor and hay rides, corn maze and much more. Of course you pay for most everything... but eh it's the experience.
Drew's favorite attraction - the jump houses where he hopped his little heart out. We practically had to drag him out kicking and screaming... red cheeked and all. Here are a few of the highlights of our trip.
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