Fitzsimmons Family Adventures

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:50:46 GMT

We sure are spoiled! My stepdad Warren brings us a ton of fruit every week. Tonight he dropped off some Strawberry Rhubarb Bars!! YUM!!

I'm pretty happy with who won America's Next Top Model. I didn't really think either of them were spectacular though. I'm also pretty happy with who won Beauty and the Geek.

Jack's new desk. Not too shabby for $3!

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:12:40 GMT

Jack got a Bob the Builder pillow at a garage sale this morning. He loves it. He napped with it. He also got a little desk and chair. He went down for his nap really good. He cried for about a minute and that was it. I even got a nap. Whooo hoooo!!!

Dr. Hahn and Dr. Torres are gonna smooch on Grey's tonight! I can't belive next week is already the finale. Lame.

Took pics of my tulips and Jack with his new kitchen :

tulips by the mailbox

close up

tulips by the house

Jack saying cheese and sticking his belly out

I can't believe Jack's going to be 2 in just over a month! I already got invites for his birthday. We looked at cake ideas a bit the other day. We're not going with a themed party or anything but I was looking at Curious George and Thomas the Train cakes. There's some really cool ones. I think we'll have to stop in at Grandma's Bakery and flip through their albums. They'd prolly do a Handy Manny one if we brought in a picture. I just don't want to put too much planning and effort into it because a) he could give a rip b) I may be in labor and if I'm not, I'll be uber pregnant.

We're most likely getting Jack this. I looked at quite a few of them and I think he'll be able to use this one for years and it has lots of good reviews. Keira will get to enjoy it as well.

My Birthday is August 30th and it's my golden birthday. I want to rent a dunk tank. I think it'd be so fun. It'd feel good too to get dunked in water as it's always so damn hot in August. I'd like to have my party when Amy and Erik are here though so we may have to bump it up.

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:24:25 GMT

32 week belly

32 Weeks Today!!!!

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:09:35 GMT

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:56:21 GMT

I was so tired all day yesterday. Not sure why. I got a 2 hour nap but still went to bed at 8!

My OB appt went well. I only gained 2 pounds in the last 2 weeks so that makes 3 pounds total for the last month. That makes 27 pounds total for this pregnancy so far! Yippee!!

Taking Daisy to the vet went ok. She needed a rabies shot. She was so scared she peed and pooped on the floor! Hopefully she's ok at that groomer's this Saturday :/

At nap time Jack cried on and off for 15 minutes and then went to sleep! I went in to wake him up at 2 and he had napped on the floor :/

After nap time Jack, Brooke and I went on a bike ride with my mom. We were just going to go to Cup 'N Cone but we stopped at a couple of garage sales. One of them was at Lizzie and Charlotte's house. My mom got another buggy for behind the bikes so now we could cart around Jack, Brooke, Keira and Simon! The new one she got is a little smaller so it'd be perfect for the younger two. Jack would fit in the smaller one too but it was too cramped for Brooke. I saw a pretty cool fire truck bed but they wanted $100 for it. There's a neighborhood sale 2 blocks down starting today. We're going there later this morning. We biked by yesterday and saw some of them setting up and I spied a Tonka Truck! :P

Jack ate his whole baby cone this time! He did so good. I think Brooke needs to start having baby cones too. I usually get her a small and I think it's too much for her. I had a Snickers malt and it was GOOD! I also had to swing by City Hall to get tabs for the Vue. We didn't even bike that much but man.....my butt hurts this morning.

Jack went to bed with pretty much no fuss for Jared last night. He said he cried but only for a minute. I don't recall hearing him wake up at all during the night.

My tulips have bloomed. They're so pretty. I should take a pic of them :P

Jack was randomly saying "I love you Mama" to me all day yesterday. He must have said it a google times. It was pretty cute :o)

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:49:00 GMT

Well the night before last wasn't a fluke. Jack's a champ when it comes to bedtime now. Thank god! Last night we read books for a while in the living room and then at 8:30 he asked to go "ni-ni". We brushed teeth and I put him in his bed and left. He cried on and off for about 15 minutes and there was some ruckus up there but then he went to sleep! I peeked in about an hour later and covered him up with his blanket. He was sleeping way up at the top of the bed on his pillow with his arm around Gary :P I heard him wake up at about 1:30 but he only cried for a minute and then went back to sleep. YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went in at 6:20 and he had a bunch of books in his bed too :P Now he's watching Handy Manny and happy as can be.

Last night I watched Farmer Takes a Wife. Good grief that Josie is outside of her mind! I can't belive she waited around forever for a departing gift. What a wingnut. Those 2 that have been labeled "bible thumpers" are a piece of work too.

We watched The Hills finale. I kind of figured that Heidi was going to blow that job and come home with Spencer. I think if LC were to watch a few of the episodes...she'd see that Lo has been kind of a snot to Audrina.

I have my OB appt at 8 and then I have to take Daisy to the vet at 10:15. I just have Brooke here today.

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:00:02 GMT

Jack went down for his nap lickity split. I put him in his bed with all his snuggle buddies and said g'night and left the room. He didn't even cry! I heard him talking to his buddies for a bit over the monitor then it kind of sounded like he might have gotten out of bed to play with toys. It wasn't long though before I could hear him with his glow worm so I assumed he'd gotten back into bed. He started to sort of whimper/cry on and off for a bit but was definitely asleep within a half hour of me putting him in there. YAY!!!!!

We tried out the double stroller this morning. Jack and Brooke rode in it and we walked down to my mom's to bring her her Mother's Day cards and some cookies since she had been in California up until last night. It worked great! Jack and Brooke had fun riding in it too.

Jack's bed with all of his snuggle buddies:

I made these all the same size as the first one so I'm not sure why they're so much bigger but I give up.

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:38:45 GMT

What gives? Is there a photo limit? I just tired to upload pics and I get an Error message saying
Not enough disc space remaining on your account for these pictures.

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:07:53 GMT

We slacked off on Jack's sleep routine and things went downhill fast. Thursday night Jared slept with him for a few hours when he woke up in the middle of the night crying so I could get some good sleep before having all those kids on Friday. Friday night when he woke up I laid in there for a bit until he fell asleep. I tried to pull a fast one over on him since he seems to sleep so lightly and that's why we get stuck in there for hours. The slightest sounds and movement and he pops up to make sure you're not trying to sneak out. So I set up some blankets on the floor and his giant teddy bear to make it look like someone was sleeping in there with him should he wake up and look for us. It worked that night. Saturday night he wasn't falling for it and by the 3rd time of me going in there, I caved and brought him to bed with me :/ Then I did it again Sunday night but I had already intended to get back on track Monday night.

So last night I braced myself for a long night. He's started not going down for bed and naps as well so we really had to put an end to this business once and for all. I figured he should be adjusted by Thursday or Friday. It took me a bit to get him to nap yesterday and last night it was Jared's turn to put him to bed. I figured he'd go to bed and then when he woke up in the middle of the night, I'd go in there every 15 minutes and put him back in his bed and then leave. I figured it would start around 2 and hopefully not last the rest of the night.

He wouldn't even go to bed for Jared. He cried and worked himself up and after 20 minutes, Jared came downstairs. So I went up and tried and he was so worked up that he couldn't even hear any calming words so I left and laid in bed. I planned to go back in every 15 minutes. I figured since it was starting at bedtime instead of the middle of the night....that was actually a good thing. We need to address his going to bed/nap issues as well as falling back to sleep should he wake up. I figured he was pretty tired so this would probably only go on for a few hours and then he'd be exhausted and we'd get some sleep for a bit before he started up again.

When the 15 minutes was up I got up and headed for his room but I heard it go quiet in there. Jared and I stood outside his door for a few minutes just wondering what the heck was going on in there. Jared even tried peeking under the door. It was quiet but we could kind of here him walking around in there. So I went to the bathroom figuring he'd be crying again by the time I got back. Nope. Still quiet. So I laid down figuring it'd be a few minutes. Next thing ya know it's midnight and I'm waking up to pee. WTF???? He went to bed?!?!?!?! So I go pee and figure he'll hear me for sure and wake up and cry. Nope. Back to bed for me. Who knew?!?!

Then he does wake up at 3 and I assume now we're in for the long haul. So I go pee first and while I'm in the bathroom I hear him crying and then a loud noise and then quiet. So I hurry up and rush up there and it's quiet but I peek in there anyway to see him climbing back into his bed. He starts to cry when he sees me so I put him in his bed and notice it's full of his stuffed animals. Gary, Dino, George, Glow Worm, Baby George and Ducky are all in his bed. So that's what he was doing last night. Walking back and forth from his stuffed animal basket to get more sleep buddies. How freakin cute is that? So anyway, I put him in bed and leave and he cries for like a minute and then goes to bed until 6:15. I don't know what the loud noise I heard was. I'm assuming it was him running back to bed.

I'm so relieved that it went that well! At nap time today I'm going to put him in there and leave. If he cries I'll go back in 15 minutes....etc. Again at bedtime tonight. I'm thinking maybe we just lucky last night but who knows. He's a pretty stubborn kid but he's also a pretty smart one so I wouldn't be surprised if he's figured out that this is how it is. It was only a few days ago that I initially let him cry and went in there every 10-15 all freakin night so it's not like this is new to him.

Mon, 12 May 2008 17:47:43 GMT

I got all my chores done. Vacuumed upstairs, the stairs and the living room. Cleaned the bathroom. Cleaned the kitchen floor. Doing laundry.

Made appts for Daisy to go to the vet on Wednesday after my OB appt and she's going to the groomers on Saturday to get bathed, trimmed and her nails cut. I seriously can't stand to be around her lately. My super pregnancy nose can smell her across the room and it drives me nuts. That and I swear I clean so damn often because her shaggy ass drags in so much dirt and leaves.

Jack and Brooke are napping and Lizzie just got here a little bit ago. Charlotte will be here later. They're going to have fun with his play kitchen this afternoon. He hasn't even had a chance to play with it yet.

I made strawberry/blueberry/banana Julius' this morning. Delicious!

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:54:58 GMT

Yesterday morning Jared made pancakes and bacon for breakfast and then we left for the MOA at about 10. Jack didn't nap on the way which turned out to be a good thing. We went to Underwater World first and it was really cool. Fortunately Barb got discount tickets for us so we both got in for $10. Otherwise it's $18.95 per adult!!!! That place is cool but it's not that cool. Jack got in free because he's under 2.

Jack was definitely getting sleepy but he didn't get crabby or anything. He liked seeing the sharks, sting rays, turtles and alligators. I was disappointed that we didn't see any sea horses or an octopus. There was a tank that said there was an octopus in it but we didn't see it. We wandered around a bit after that and then decided we should figure out where to eat for lunch. We wanted to eat at the Rainforest Cafe but the wait was too long and we wouldn't have been able to bring the stroller in. Jack really needed to nap so that wasn't going to work. We walked around some more and then put our names on the list at Twin City Grill. We walked around until our table was ready and Jack fell asleep and slept while we ate. It worked out perfectly because then he was rested and ready to go to Nickelodeon Universe once we were done.

He wasn't tall enough to go on many rides even with a chaperone so we only made it on 2 rides. We tried to go on the Blues Clues ride but he was too short so we drove some big rigs. Then we tried to go on this barnyard roller coaster but they couldn't strap us in properly so that didn't work. Jared tried to go with him but he couldn't get strapped in either so that one was a bust. Then I waited in line with Jack at the carousel. A pregnant woman ahead of me apparently got denied and as she walked past me she told me they weren't going to let me on. Apparently pregnant women aren't supposed to go on any of the rides. Oops. So Jared went on the carousel with him. It was a really long wait and Jack was getting to the point where he didn't even want to go on the damn thing anymore. They allowed a woman on that time that was clearly pregnant. So I guess they're just part time rules.

We didn't do too much shopping. I hadn't planned on doing much shopping. I did find some nice long stretch tank tops on clearance at Old Navy that I'll wear under other shirts to make nursing easy and discreet once Keira comes. I'm not going to buy a bunch of nursing clothes. I got by without them with Jack. I looked at some nursing bras at Motherhood Maternity but didn't end up getting any. I almost looked at some maternity clothes but I really don't want to buy any at this point.

I hate all the maternity clothes I have. I don't even wear them that often. I have 3 pairs of pants and 2 are too small so they always scooch off me when I move. The other pair is too big so they always fall off of me when I move. I have a few shirts but they bug me because they just barely cover my stomach and some of them flare out and just make me look really fat. Most of the time I just wear comfy pants and long shirts since I never go anywhere. It would be kind of silly to buy anything at this point unless it's from a garage sale. I do have 2 pairs of maternity shorts that fit pretty good but it hasn't been warm enough to wear them more than like 1 day.

We had planned on getting Jack a stuffed Handy Manny and the Tools for his birthday. We saw them at the Disney Store and he liked them and all but wasn't nearly as excited as we thought he'd be so now I don't think we'll get them for his birthday. We did get him a Thomas the Train ball that Daisy popped last night :( Now I don't know what to get him for his birthday.

We were at the mall for almost 6 hours! That's a lot of walking. I was wiped out. I napped for like 2 hours when we got home. Then we watched the Survivor finale. Not happy about how that turned out.

Sun, 11 May 2008 13:18:30 GMT

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

We're going to the Mall of America today. I'm pretty excited. We're going to take Jack to Underwater World. He's going to love it! Then we'll prolly have some lunch and check out a few rides at Nickelodeon World....or whatever it's called. I'm excited to show him the giant Lego store too. Hopefully he'll take a short nap on the way there and be good to go. Then he can take another nap on the way home.

Yesterday we went to Walmart and then Cub and stopped at a garage sale on our way home. Jack picked out a giant stuffed Simba that he's been carrying around ever since. He loves it. We also got a play kitchen, some Bob the Builder overall shorts and a little robe. I still plan on making him a robe but it probably won't be until next week at the earliest. He hasn't had a chance to play with the play kitchen yet. It's out in the garage and it rained yesterday afternoon. I got a new hand mixer at Walmart. I've had mine since I first got my own place like 10 years ago and I got it at a garage sale so it's on its last leg. It only has 1 speed and sometimes smells funny like it's burning. Now I gotta make a cake or something so I can use my new one :P

Fri, 09 May 2008 23:22:45 GMT

This afternoon went smoothly too. Rosemary, Jack, Liv and Leif all napped for 2 1/2 hours. I ended up waking up Liv and Leif so we could all go outside because the rest of the kids were getting restless.

Liisa (4), Jack, Leif, Liv(4) and Rosemary

Liv, Jack and Leif

Lucia (7) in the tree

Leif (19 months)

Rosemary, Jack, Brooke and Charlotte

It ended up being a really nice day. I knew the forecast from a week ago that said rain was bogus.

Jack and Brooke just finished with dinner as Barb's working late. I'm waiting on Jared to bring me my dinner as I'm done cooking for the day :o)

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:14:49 GMT

Today's been going pretty smoothly so far. Jack, Rosemary and I were outside when Brooke and my cousins got here at 10. We played outside for a bit and then came in to get ready for lunch. Lunch went well. Naps started out kind of tricky but are going good now. Jack's in our bed, Rosemary's in Jack's bed, Liv and Leif are in the spare room and Lucia, Liisa and Brooke are having quiet time in the living room. We'll all go back outside once all the kids are up. Lizzie's not coming now but Charlotte will be here at 3:30.

Rosemary watching Liv, Brooke, Liisa and Lucia all teeter tottering

Leif mowing

Liisa, Brooke and Liv teeter tottering

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:02:31 GMT

Today's the day that I have 8 kids coming over. Lizzie and Charlotte aren't here until the afternoon but I'll have 6 kids in addition to Jack for the better part of the day. So naturally Jack decided last night was a good night to attempt an all night tantrum fest. We took turns dealing with him for like an hour and a half and then Jared fell asleep in there with him and that was the last we heard of him. Booger.

I'm making mac n cheese w/ cut up turkey dogs for lunch. I already cut up a package of turkey dogs and peeled several oranges. Thank you Warren for all the fruit!!!!!!! I even have enough chairs/booster seats/highchairs all set up around the table so they can all eat together.

The forecast for today still doesn't include rain. Hallelujah!!!!

Jack's House

Fri, 09 May 2008 01:38:55 GMT

Jack likes his new fort....aka "Jack's house". Thank you Lori and Rob!!!

The double stroller that Jared brought home is in great shape! I'm pretty excited to not have to worry about getting one of those now.

We watched ANTM. I kind of think Anya is going to win but I can't see her doing Cover Girl commercials with her ridonkulous accent. I'm glad Dominique is finally gone. Nice how they acted like they were getting rid of her because she looks like a tranny. Um....she has the whole time.

I can't belive what a sucker Erik is on Survivor. That dude will fall for anything!

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:21:39 GMT

We all took nice long naps yesterday afternoon so that was good. Jack and Brooke played with his dumptruck and police car in the driveway for a bit in the afternoon. Rob, Barb and Brooke were all coming/staying for dinner.

Jack slept all night. We swapped the humidifier in his room with the super noisy air purifier from the spare room. Some nights I know he only wakes up because he hear's me go the bathroom and our house is really creaky.

Tonight Jared is bringing home one of those Little Tikes play house things and a double stroller from a woman he works with! I'm pretty excited.

I have Brooke and Lizzie all day today and Charlotte this afternoon. It's not supposed to rain so we'll be outside for sure. Barb was going to send a teeter-totter thing with Brooke. She's also getting us discount tickets for Underwater World for Sunday! :O)

The forecast for tomorrow no longer says rain. YAY!! I'll be able to have all the kids outside.

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:42:18 GMT

Jack's been sleeping on the chaise for an hour and a half now. He didn't even wake up when Daisy was barking when Brooke got here.

He's big into putting things to bed lately. He takes his little Elmo blanket that my mom made for him and will cover us up, or his Elmo, or his sippy or whatever and say "g'night....seep type!". He was following Jenky around this morning trying to cover him up and saying "g'night....seep type!".

Yesterday he slammed Jenky's tail in the porch door and Jenky yelped really loud and then took off with his tail all puffed out. I followed him and picked him up and was petting him. He lost a huge chunk of fur from his tail. I told Jack that he hurt Jenky. Then for like the next hour he was following Jenks around saying "I sorry Jenky!". It was really cute.

We watched The Hills last night. What the hell is Lo's problem? She's being such a snot to Audrina! Why is Stephanie such a pushover? I'd have kicked Spencer out a long time ago. I can't believe he's going to go to Vegas and crash Heidi's business meeting. What a tool.

We watched Beauty and the Geek too. I'm so glad Joe's gone. Seriously...why did he talk with his eyes closed so much??? Hey Napoleon Dynamite....open yer eyes! Such a weirdo.

Hell's Kitchen was interesting. Matt is such a doofus. He needs to go. Rosann too.

Lizzie and Charlotte aren't coming now. They're not feeling well so their mom is going to take them to the doc.

Jack's up now....and crabby :/

Extra Tough Love

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:11:47 GMT

Last night sucked. It was the longest night since Jack was a baby. His new sleep routine has been working awesomely when it comes to putting him down for naps or putting him to bed. He lays right down, doesn't even try to get up, doesn't cry and we can leave the room while he's still awake and he goes right sleep. The problem is when/if he wakes up in the middle of the night. He's not getting the hang of putting himself back to sleep. A couple of times we've caved and brought him to bed and that's really biting us in the ass. The last few nights I haven't even sat in his room while trying to get him back to sleep. Just put him in bed until he stayed and then shhh'd him a bit and then left. It seems like the nights that we have sat in there with him.....waiting for him to fall asleep.....he doesn't. The slightest movement and he pops up to see if you're still there. One of the main reasons we're doing this is because I can't sleep in there with him anymore. Just sitting on the floor for long periods of time is hard for me too. I won't do it anymore. Problem is....Jared will. We're not doing the same things and the inconsistency is blowing the whole thing.

Not to say that the reason this isn't working is Jared's fault. He's doing what we're supposed to do....sit in there and shhhh him and verbally comfort him until he falls asleep. It's just that I can't do it. It takes too long and it's hard for me to sit/lay in there that long. That and the fact that he will go to sleep without us in the room at nap time and at bedtime....I think means he can handle doing it in the middle of the night as well. I was ready to step it up a notch so I did.

So last night Jack cried from 12-5 and I was determined to handle it myself so I never woke up Jared to take a turn at it. From 12-2:30 I went in and repeatedly put Jack in his bed until he stayed and then I left. A few times he was quiet for a few minutes but then would start to cry again when he realized I had left. The first time I let him cry 5 minutes, the next time about 7 and then 10 minutes. Then I went in there every 10 minutes until 2:30. He would not stay in his bed. He would not calm down. So from 2:30 until about 4:30 I only went in there maybe every half hour. This is major crying it out but I really feel like he's old enough to handle it. He needs to know I'm not going to cave. Everytime I went in he reached for me to pick him up and I know he was wanting me to just give in and bring him to bed with me and it was NOT going to happen.

By 4:30 I was kind of delirious and not really sure how much of the crying was real, how often I went in there or how much I was just dreaming. By this point whenever I did fall asleep, I was dreaming about trying to get Jack to quit crying and go to bed so it's all a blur. There were definitely quiet times when for all I know he was sleeping on the floor in his room. I heard him at 6:20 and decided it was time to get up. I opened his door and he followed me back into the bedroom while I got dressed and asked to "nuggle Mama?". We snuggled for like a minute and he was dozing so I made us get up. He's exhausted so today will be trying I imagine. I just hope tonight if he wakes up, he realizes I'm still not going to cave.

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:56:45 GMT

I got the living room dusted and vacuumed and the bathroom cleaned and the laundry started and bathed Jack and showered myself and put clothes away all before Brooke got here at 9:30. I'm awesome :P I got a nap today too while they napped. It was awesome until my brother called and ruined it :P

Jack started singing a new version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star the other day and it's so funny. I have no idea where he got it. He says "tinko tinko tinko little star....I wonder what you are!" all matter of factly...not in the same tune as the original or anything. He's not even really singing. It's so goofy. I had to encourage him a bit but finally got a video of it while he was wrestling with Brooke.

I didn't even really take any pics at the zoo. My mom wanted one of her and the kids on this turtle so then I decided to get one too. That's it :/

Thursday I'll be watching Lizzie all day now in addition to Brooke and Jack! Busy 2 days for me. I told Jared I want to go to the Mall of America and walk around and go to Underwater World for Mother's Day. I think Jack would LOVE Underwater World. I like to walk around the mall too. Not really shop there. It's too expensive. Jack would prolly really like to see Lego Land too and maybe go to Nickelodeon world. Mother's day and I wanna do all this stuff that's moreso for Jack :P

Tue, 06 May 2008 11:51:27 GMT

Well today started way too early. Jack woke up at 5 and I just kept putting him back in his bed and he just kept getting out. Jared tried getting him back to sleep for a bit too and it just wasn't happening. He went to bed easily and didn't wake up at all before 5 but still....I wanted to sleep a bit later than that.

Sunday we ended up going for a very short bike ride. Jack did not want to ride in the buggy at first but once we got going he was fine. My mom wanted us to meet her friend Dawn and her little redhead. I forgot the name but Dawn was the only one home when we got there. She's pregnant too and due in like 2 weeks. She asked if I'd be interested in watching her baby this fall for a few hours in the mornings! I said possibly :o)

Then we went to Rosemary's birthday party. It was fun but we weren't dressed warm enough. I think the temp dropped 10 degress on our way there. Fortunately I packed pants and a long sleeved shirt for Jack. He looked pretty cute in his new sandals. At first he hated them and cried and just stood there and wouldn't even walk in them. But then I kept saying how cool they were and he got over it. He was even running in them before long. He took a couple of diggers at the park and scraped up his knee a bit but he was fine. He was pretty excited about the little wiener dog at the party. He had fun running around with Rosemary and her cousin Grayson.

Sunday night he slept pretty bad. He went to bed easily but woke up at 1 I think. I was trying to get him back to sleep for close to an hour and but it wasn't working. He just kept sitting up in bed and crying. He didn't try to get out of bed but still.....I think maybe he didn't feel good. Jared spent about an hour and a half trying after I did. It was a long night.

Yesterday morning my mom and I took Jack and Brooke to Como Zoo. It was a really nice day but kind of chilly in the wind. Jack and I both got sun but probably could have brought sweatshirts. I'm not really on the ball with dressing appropriately these last few days. I was really wanting Jack to ride the carousel but it's closed on Mondays for repairs I guess :( We walked around the zoo for like 3 hours! Jack really liked it. We haven't been to the zoo since last fall. I was telling him yesterday morning all the animals we were going to see that day and I'm sure he thought I was talking about in his books or something and not in real life :P Once we got there and saw a real live pink flamingo he was like "whoa!". The wolves were right up the fence pacing and howling. That was pretty cool. The tiger was pacing and kind of close to the fence too. He really liked seeing the monkey's and the gorillas and one even had a baby! It was really cute. I really want to take him to the Minnesota Zoo soon because they have a lot more animals. That would be a lot more walking though. We'll see.

We got home about 2 and all napped until almost 4. Jack wasn't ready for bed last night until like 10. Today we'll be napping earlier since we got up so freakin early. Hopefully Brooke will be ok with that.

Friday my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Gerry from Hibbing have a funeral to go to so I'll be watching my 4 cousins in addition to Jack, Brooke and Rosemary. I'm not sure how late they'll be here. I'll also have Lizzie and Charlotte in the afternoon! I'm not sure about their ages but I think my cousin Lucia is 8, Liv and Liisa are 5, and Leif is a few months younger than Jack. I think it'll be fun for Jack to have a boy over to play with. The older girls will be a big help so I'm not worried about handling that many kids. They're not coming over until about 10:30/11 so that'll be right when we have lunch and then Jack, Rosemary and Leif will nap. The other 4 will have a quiet time in the living room and maybe we'll have a movie for them. Once all the kids are up, I'm hoping we can be outside :o)

Sun, 04 May 2008 19:24:45 GMT

Jared and his brother Chris were going to do the brakes on the Vue today but now I guess they're going to do it next weekend. So this morning I decided we needed to go to Old Navy =) I really wanted to take advantage of the 2 for $5 sale on flip flops and I'm pleased that they changed their design. Hopefully my feet will like the new model. I got 4 pairs and I was pretty annoyed that they didn't have more pairs in my size (amazon). They had like a google flip flops but I wear a 9 1/2 so I needed 10's and they had 10's in only a few colors :( Oh well, I got white, black, blue and grey. I wanted light blue or pink and I even had to get my black ones in mens! I could have just ordered them online I bet but I wanted em now! We got Jack some sandals on clearance for $4.99 too! He got a $3 shirt and Jared got 2 shirts too. So we got 5 pairs of shoes and 2 shirts for like $37. Awesome!

We didn't realize the mall doesn't open til like damn near noon on Sundays so we got there at 10:30 and only the big department stores were open. We let Jack play in the play area for a bit and then at 11 got an Orange Julius (as is cutom when going to the mall) and then went to Old Navy.

We got home and Jack went right down for his nap! I laid him down and he didn't even try to get back up. He cried for like a minute and that was it. I even sat much further away while I waited for him to fall asleep. He couldn't even really see me because I was over by the door. Sweet!

We raked the yard while Jack napped. Fun times but now it looks much better. Jack's up now and is eating a late lunch and then he'll have a bath. At 4 we're going to Rosemary's birthday party. Jack and I are going to wear new shoes :o) My mom wants us to squeeze in a quick bike ride before we go. We'll see about that.

Tomorrow I just have Brooke so my mom and I are going to take the kids to Como Zoo in the morning. I'm pretty excited. I hope it's nice out.

Sun, 04 May 2008 12:54:29 GMT

Jack's new sleep routine has been working awesomely! Night before last I put him to bed and he cried for about 10 minutes and that was it! I just kept laying him down until he stayed down, then sat across the room and shh'd him to sleep. He woke up once at about 2 and cried for about 5 minutes and then Jared went in and did the same thing. That time he cried for about 20 minutes. Yesterday for his nap he cried for about 1 minute. Jared put him to bed last night and it seriously took less than 3 minutes! I think he only cried on the way up the steps. I was going to get up with him last night if he woke up at all but he never did! This is going so much smoother than I thought it would! Now I think tonight when I put him to bed I'll sit closer to the door....out of his eyesight.

Yesterday morning Jack and I went to Walmart and we were going to go to Cub too but he fell asleep in the car so I brought him home and he went right back to sleep in his bed! That would never have happened like a month ago. A few minutes of napping in the car would have replaced his nap for the day. Yesterday he napped for almost 3 hours though! So after I put him down I went to Cub by myself which was nice because lately he doesn't like shopping that much. My pelvis was hurting so much yesterday morning. It was hard to walk. Then when I got home I was starving because I'd only eaten some banana bread that morning. I sat on the porch and was too tired to get up and make something. Then I talked to my sister for almost 2 hours and didn't end up eating anything until almost 3!!

In the afternoon we hung out in the backyard for a bit. Jared picked up dog poop and cleaned the garage and Jack played on his toys and finally mastered the ladder to his slide! I sat in the chair and did Sudoku's.

We watched There Will Be Blood. It was kind of weird. I really hate the ending on most movies these days. Why is it so hard to put a decent ending in a movie? We still need to watch Grey's Anatomy, America's Next Top Model, The Riches, and The Alaska Experiment.

Our computer's being wonky again. It's like the battery cord is loose again! GOD Dell....could you make bigger pieces of crap????

Fri, 02 May 2008 20:14:33 GMT

Guess what else I made today that's currently baking and making the house smell delicious??

Apple freakin pie!

My banana bread turned out perfectly and is really good!! I made a huge loaf too. Hopefully the oven will be nice to my pie as well.

I watched Lost and Farmer Takes A Wife while Jack and Brooke were napping. What a crazy Lost episode. Where did Claire go? What was Kate off doing for Sawyer? That Josie chick on FTAW is gross. She won't last. She didn't even participate in the first challenge! How did Stephanie get sent home instead of her?

Fri, 02 May 2008 13:17:07 GMT

I got laundry put away, kitchen floor swept and mopped and some banana bread in the oven. Hopefully the POS oven won't burn it.

I was going to have all 4 kids over today but now Rosemary's not coming. She hasn't been feeling too hot and is possibly getting teeth. Hopefully she feels better before her birthday party this weekend.

It's supposed to be rainy all day so I can't even have the kids outside :( We played outside yesterday for almost 2 hours. It was really warm out.

We went to Applebee's last night for dinner. Then we stopped at Cub and got some cheesecake to bring home. It was delicious and I ate way too much :o) Jack loves cheese and wouldn't even try a mozarella stick! I peeled the breading off and told him it was a string cheese but he didn't believe me.

Tonight is movie night and we're watching There Will Be Blood. We also have Walk Hard but I don't think we'll be watching it tonight.
We're also going to be implementing a new sleep routine for Jack starting tonight. We gotta start using some tough love and teach this kid to fall asleep without us should he wake up and to initially go to bed for either of us....and without physical comfort. It may be a long night but it's gotta be done. Hopefully it'll only take a few nights before he is used to it.

The cast of this season's The Real World is a "hot mess". Especially Joey and Brianna. Yikes. Why would that dude even go on this show if he has a history of alcoholism? Ya ever seen this show dude? People booze it up quite a bit. His roomates are kind of dicks for peer pressuring him all the time too but he just shouldn't even be in that situation. Brianna is raunchy. Is she actually a stripper or does she just wear a lot of stripper clothes? We missed the first episode. Greg is a snob. And he calls everyone else stuck-up?

Last night's Survivor was pretty good. I'm glad it turned out the way it did :o)