Doctor Appointment

Last week, Landon had his 2 year check-up. The Doc asked me if Landon had at least 20 words in his vocabulary. He told me I should keep a list during the day, writting down all the words he uses.

Here is Landon's list from August 16, 2006.

juice
dance
ready - set- go
car
stop
watch Elmo
mommy
outside
shoe
thank you
train
baby
night night
swing
ball
boat
baseball
square
Father-Son-Holy-Spirit-Amen
eight
daddy
car
truck
hi
hello
yes
no
ok
Days Our Lives
wow
oh no
Landon
world
nice puppy
Bug Juice
tv off
cool
bird

I think he learns a new word everyday, because the day after I made this list, he came up with at least 10 new words, that weren't on this list.

Beverly Hills

4th of July Fun!

"Party Like It's 1999!"

My husband's family knows how to party! I mean it. These people have a good time when they are together. I'm so happy to be part of this family. There is nothing better than a room full of people who truly like being together.

Saturday was Uncle Chuck and Aunt Barb's 40th wedding anniversary party. Their kids threw a great party. There was food, beer and karaoke. These three things combine to make one hell of a good time!!
My nephew sang Honkey Tonk. He did a GREAT JOB!! He got a little help from Grandpa, but when it came to the chorus, it was all him.

Landon loved it. He danced and danced. After each performance he clapped and yelled. It was very cute.





But the best part of the night was my husband. I found Baby Got Back in the list of songs and somehow convinced him to sing! He was a hit.

He even had Fly Girls!

It was a great party! I always look forward to this family getting together!

Mr. Mom

My husband said something funny the other day. Let me start at the beginning...

We had people staying at our house this past weekend. I spent Friday and Saturday cleaning and picking up the house. Then Saturday, Sunday and Monday night I had to work. So Mike was pretty much running the house.

Tuesday night, after we were cleaning up supper, he gets really serious. "It's hard to keep the house clean with so many people in it. I mean, I've been trying to pick everything up each night and keep it clean, but I was walking through the house today, and I thought 'This place looks like crap.' "

I wanted to laugh out loud and scream, "SEE, SEE what I do EVERYDAY!!" But instead I just said, "Welcome to my world."

It's always nice to be around for those lightbulb moments.

Backyard Project

We were at a graduation reception this weekend, and the owner of the house had this great fence set up. Mike and I were in heaven because we could let Landon run and play with the other kids and not have to worry about him going out in the street or disappearing. So we came home that afternoon and measured our backyard for a new fence.

This is our current backyard. We have a neighbor that drives just a little too fast down the alley and Landon doesn't really like to stay in our yard. I am so excited to get this fence put up. It's going to make going outside a lot easier.

So I used the Digger's Hotline website and put in a request to have them mark all the important things in our yard. So far so good.

Today, the internet guy came and made a few marks in our yard. Nothing that is going to be in the way, but a strange pattern for the telephone wires.

So hopefully, Mike will be home next week and we can get the fence up in time for the summer.

Speaking of summer, I put Landon's swing set on layaway yesterday. He will love it!

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My flowers are starting to bloom. I think my garden will look pretty good this year. I hope they all bloom about mid-summer and at the same time. Then I can see if my colors go together. Most of the flowers came from other people, so I'm not really sure what colors I have planted.

Our other project is a burm. ( I think that's the right word.) It's really just a mound of dirt. It's going to go in the back of the yard around the trees and replace the rosebushes that were over grown and growing all crazy and out of the control.

Mike has already started the process. I think we need to put up the fence first. The back of the fence will run along with back of the mound of dirt. ( We are going to put wood chips on top of the dirt. To make it look a little nicer. ) Then we can get rid of the white trash dog pen and give Lucy a little more room to run.

Ready, Set, Go!

Friday I subbed for 1st grade in the morning and HS PE in the afternoon. So I woke up early, got dressed and then woke up the sleeping boy. He got dressed and ready to go and I loaded him in the car. I backed out of the driveway and as I was putting the car from reverse into drive I heard him talking in the backseat, "Ready, Set, GO!" (It sounds more like, "Ree, Sea, DO!" but a mother can understand her child better than other people. Which is good for the times when he screams, "Ho Pap."; Holy Crap in public.) I had to laugh. I guess he was a little more ready to start the day than I was.

The school had a program for the children in the morning. So I got to ride the big yellow bus. It's been about 8 years since I've been on a bus and I now remember why I haven't been too excited to get back on. The program was good. A fitness show with lots of cool toys. The kids were all ooohhhing and aaahhhing.

I spent Saturday at an auction. Of course I didn't buy anything, but it's always fun to look at all the junk, uhh, treasures that people collect over the years.

Sunday afternoon, I was sleeping on the couch when my phone rang. It was my mother so I ignored the call and put the phone on silent. Not two minutes later, she called again. This time she left a message. When I listened to the message, she sounded urgent so I called her back. Turns out, the police were looking for Mike. He stole gas from a gas station in town. Of course, this couldn't be right. After I talked to Mike, I got the whole story. Turns out he stopped for gas and pressed "Pay Inside." He went in, got some food and paid for it. He told the cashier that he had fuel on pump number #2. Well, she forgot to ring it up. Instead of calling her manager, she called the police and told them that Mike filled up and drove off. WOW!
After a day of phone calls and worries, everything worked out. The manager came in and cleared up the problem. She told the police she didn't want to press charges. Mike got a $5 gas card and a free large pizza and order of breadsticks. Everything was fine... well for us. The cashier might be in a little bit of trouble. She made her first mistake by not ringing up the fuel and instead of calling someone who could help her, she made her second mistake of reporting a theft to the police.

It was quite a weekend. Hopefully this week won't be as exciting!

Stay At Home Mom

I was watching The View this morning. For the most part it's a pretty entertaining show. I mainly just watch the first 20 minutes for the "Hot Topics." This is the part of the show where the co-hosts talk about events going on in the world.

One of today's topics was directed towards Stay At Home Moms. Elizabeth said that one of the back-stage employees had called in and said she was going to stay home and spend some time with her kid. The show was going out of town for the Day Time Emmeys and she was going to miss her kid and just wanted to spend a little time together before they left.

Star wanted to know what the employer would do if someone called in and said they wanted to spend the day with their husband. Would they allow them the time off? The answer was NO. She thought that spending time with the person you are married to is very important. Which I agree with.

The conversation then turned to talk about taking care of your husband. Star made some point about having to be with your spouse and take care of them to keep your relationship going. Of course Joy did not agree. She is always the one who talks about how women shouldn't do too much for their man. Today she made it sound like anyone who would cook and clean for a man is a total idiot. This could be why she's divorced.

I get so sick of her liberal talk. She thinks women should work (outside the home), kids should go to daycare and men should work outside the home also AND cook, clean, do the laundry, etc. I guess this gives the women the upper hand.

I don't quite see it that way. I love being a stay at home mom. I do work, hard. I might only have one kid, but I still put in a full day with him. He is the most important thing to me. I love my husband too. I like taking care of him. I want to be the one to clean and cook. He's the one that earns the money, and I'm the one who takes care of the house. It seems like a pretty fair split to me.

If other women want to work in an office or whatever, that's fine with me. I don't go around telling other women how they should live their lives. What makes them happy is fine with me. Being here, with my kid, makes me happy. What is so wrong with that?

It's a typical liberal attitude. What they believe is the only right way to do things. Anyone who doesn't agree is just stupid and trying to argue with them. BUT, if they don't agree with someone else, that's fine. They believe they have a right to their opinion, and everyone else has the right to agree with their opinion.

I think that as women, we should support each other. We are the only ones who can give birth, and feed our child. Men can't do that! Why isn't that something that we celebrate as much as a woman who runs her own company? I think it's a pretty special thing and I'm proud of that.

We need to get past wanting to be equal to men. If a man and woman do the same job, then they should be equal. They should have equal chances of getting jobs, into college, etc.

But we should also celebrate what makes us special. Instead of bringing each other down for choices we wouldn't make for ourselves, we should build each other up and be proud that we can make choices for ourselves. That is what it takes to make men and women equal.

My Little Man

It's amazing to watch how fast he's growing. One minute he is this tiny baby, that cries and never sleeps. Now he's a little boy. So grown up and independent.

My favorite time to watch him is when he thinks no one is paying attention. Sometimes he just sits in front of the tv, really watching.

It might be Dora or Diego, or a Baby Einstein that he's seen 100 times. It doesn't seem to matter. He watches like he's never seen it before. It just makes me smile because it's such a grown-up thing.

This afternoon, I came out of the bathroom and he was sitting in the rocking chair, head resting on his hand, legs crossed, watching Dora. He looked so sweet. I had to walk over and give him a kiss just because. Because he's mine. My son.

He's been playing in his room, alone, more often. I'll find him in there playing with his tractors or sitting at his desk, drawing a picture. He takes his chalk and scribbles on the chalk board, checks it out, and then erases part of it. Like he's making a masterpiece and wants to get it just right.

Tonight, we were playing in the sand box. He would take his shovel and fill up the empty flower pots with sand. He'd scoop up some sand, and distribute it evenly between the three pots. Then he would pick them up, dump them out and start over again. He'd have to check one last time to make sure they were empty before filling them again.

Sometimes, I sit in the rocking chair and just watch him. He's got a busy day planned, and wants to get everything done. I just sit, and watch and smile. He's my son. My little man.

Quarter Moon Bar and "Grill"

This is what's left of the Quarter Moon. (Also known as the Half Moon, Full Moon and The Moon.)

They say the fire was set by someone. It's pretty sad to think about this buidling being gone forever. I'll have to go the the library and find out the history.

"A Baby Story"

I've been watching "A Baby Story" on TLC for the past few weeks. This show is definitely a "chick" show. Most men don't even want to watch their own wife give birth, let alone someone else's. All the yelling and screaming must make them feel guilty or something.

I'm not really sure why I like the show. Labor is not fun. My mother-in-law always says you forget. Well it's been 20 months, and I still can't forget. I know it hurts. Even with drugs. I had drugs. I'm not crazy (well I wasn't then) and I'm not a martyr. I took the drugs. I would have taken more if they offered.

I like watching the before video of the mothers on this show. Before the pain starts, before they are tired, before they just want it over with. The ones who want to go "natural" try to make themselves out as so tough. Some of them are, and I have to hand it to them. If you can do it, more power to you. I'm not willing to find out. The mothers who want to have a "natural" birth are great. So clueless... I usually laugh out loud when they've been in labor for 24 1/2 hours and nothing is happening. Then they give up, get the drugs and the baby is born 2 hours later. Had they just been wimps like the rest of us, they would have had the baby, ate lunch and been asleep.

The deliveries that make me angry are the ones where the mother pushes 3 times and the baby is born. Wow, that is not how my first delivery was. I so want to do that. I don't want any help, I just want to push the baby out! (I'm not pregnant so don't get excited.) I even yelled at the tv yesterday, "I WANT TO DO THAT!"

I do know that the next time I'm pregnant and ready to give birth, we are going to just wait. Wait until the baby is ready. Waiting is the worst part... well aside from the cramping, pain and back labor. Oh pregnancy is fun!

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR THE BO BO BROTHERS!

Ok, you will have to watch Go Diego Go on Nick Jr. to understand where I am coming from. For those of you who don't live with a 1 year old that controls the tv, I'll explain...

Every kid's show has someone who causes problems. In Dora it's Swipper and in the spin off, Go Diego Go, the troublemakers are the Bo Bo Brothers. These "silly monkeys are always cause problems" Diego states every episode. But here's what I want to know... why does Diego rule the forest?

Think about it this way; these two monkeys are doing their thing. They might be playing on a branch or jumping on a bridge. I don't know if these are normal things for monkey to do in the jungle but who knows! They are just having fun.

Then along comes Diego. He's out saving some poor animal in trouble. It could be a sloth on a tree that is ready to fall over, or a butterfly that's trapped in a cave. Whatever it is, the Bo Bo's seem to be there, playing and causing problems. So Diego comes along and yells at these poor monkeys and tells them to STOP!

What makes this kid King of the Jungle. I say, if the Bo Bos want to jump on a bridge, then they should be able to jump on a bridge. Diego should find another way to save the animal in trouble. I think I'm correct in saying that monkeys are suppose to be in the jungle. Little boys, not so much.

The Bo Bos need to stand up for themselves. Tell that snot nosed brat to mind his own business. Just because they are monekys, it doesn't mean that can't have fun too.

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR THE BO BO BROTHERS!

** Ok, so I'm not crazy, I'm just a mother. When you spend your mornings with Diego and Dora it's hard to not get involved in their world.

1st Egg Hunt

Check out Landon in action!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Our town puts on an egg hunt for the preschool through 6 grade every year around this time. Mike took Landon last year, but since he couldn't walk, he wasn't too into it.

This year he is a heat seeking missile. Well, he is for most things. Let's hope he's an "egg seeking missile" too.

I'm planning on taking him on his first "real" Easter egg hunt today. I hope he enjoys it. I have a feeling I'm more excited about his Easter this year than he is.

If I can talk him into picking up one egg and putting it in his basket and then leaving it there, I'll be pretty happy!

Elisabeth Hesselback

I don't know how many of you watch The View, but it's part of my morning talk show routine. Yesterday, Babs (Barbara Walters) read a statement written by Elisabeth and her husband. She stated that over the past few weeks, her family had been stalked by someone who wished to do them harm. Elisabeth looked very sad and scared as Walters read the statement.

Now, Elisabeth is my favorite tv personality. Maybe because we are about the same age and have children about the same age. Or because we share the same conservative points of view. Whatever it is, I think she's great. I had to find out more about what was going on. After some research on the web, I found that Showbiz Tonight was doing a story about this issue on their show last night.

After learning what was really going on, I was scared and pretty mad. It turns out that someone, who didn't leave their name, called a New York newspaper, stating that Hesselback and her husband were hurting their daughter, Grace, in some way. After this person called the newspaper, they called Child Protective Services. They launched an investigation. After checking the baby, they found she was fine.

How scary is this? I can't believe that with one phone call your whole life could change. If someone called CPS on Mike and me, I don't know what we would do. My kid falls down, A LOT! He climbs on everything! He gets hurt. Nothing serious, like he needs to go to the hospital, but it's not uncommon for him to have a scrape or bruise. He's a boy.

Would they believe us, that he fell on his own? Or would they take him away and charge us for abuse. It's a scary, scary thing to think about.

I love this kid and I would NEVER, NEVER do anything that would hurt him. I look at him and see a mini-Mike. I can't wait for him to grow. I look forward to his life. School, t-ball, basketball, prom and anything else he's into. If someone took that away from me, I'm not sure I could go on.

I hope that Elisabeth and Tim figure out who is making these charges and they are punished! I'm praying for them.

My Silly Boy...

This video makes me laugh every time I watch it. Landon and his daddy have a very special relationship! This is just one example of that.

I walked out of the kitchen last night to check on Landon while I was making supper. The TV was on and Dora was singing her song about one thing or another. As I walked into the living room, I saw him laying on the floor; t-shirt, two socks, and one shoe. NO pants and NO diaper. He was laying on his tummy, hands holding up his chin, legs kicking and his little butt sticking out! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen.

As I got closer I found his diaper in the doorway of his room and a puddle of pee in front of the entertainment center.

I couldn't help but laugh as I cleaned it up. One step closer to potty training!

My First Post

My first attempt at blogging. It's pretty exciting... the only problem is writing something exciting!

Mike was gone last weekend. Even though I'm at home all the time, it's always a challenge keeping Landon under control without a break at the end of the day! The kid is into EVERYTHING. I came out of the bathroom to find him standing on the dinning room chair, with my vase in one hand and the Easter eggs from inside the vase in the other!

Yesterday, he ran through the sprinkler at the neighbor's house. Well, he stood in the water and let it spray him in the face. After a mud puddle formed, he and the other kids jumped up and down, splashing mud everywhere! The kid was covered in mud. At least he had a good time!