A Hulk Day

Today was Hulk's day. I promised him this morning when he woke up it would be all about him today. I scheduled no photo sessions for the day and made no other plans so we could just be together uninterupted. Other than a quick trip to Wal-Mart the rest of the day was spent on fun. No chores, no cleaning, no calls, nothing but he and I!

We so needed a day like today. I feel like every weekend lately I have either had to work or we have been running around seeing people or doing things. We haven't had just an uninterupted day in a long time. So what do you do on Hulk day you ask?

Well you go to the zoo in the morning! We even fed the ducks! You eat a picnic lunch at the park and spill lemonade all over the place and it doesn't even matter. You eat grapes and peanut butter sandwiches. You even get to have a chocolate chip cookie for dessert on Hulk day!

Of course after all that you need a little nap before you head to the pool. You swim and swim and then realize there are water slides. Which means that you need your mom to carry you up all the stairs and slide down with you. Yes indeed I hauled an almost 40 pound child up three flights of stairs 17 times so we could go down the slides. That's all he wanted to do. He loved it. I love the slides also but man my legs hurt!!! I was worn out.

He was so worn out after all that. He barely ate dinner and we snuggled up to watch Toy Story together and he fell asleep. I just put him in bed and it is 7:15. It really was a wonderful day and I'm guessing we will both sleep well tonight. Now that he is crashed I better get all the stuff done around here that I ignored all day!

Come and Play

My boy and my nieces love the park/playground. They have tons of fun going down the slides, playing on the swings, and just being crazy kids. That's super. But this mama is terrified of the playground. Maybe it is the job I do every day but I know what kind of people hang out at playgrounds watching kids. I know what can happen in just a few moments and the playground brings me huge anxiety. There are to many places on a playground where you lose sight of kids or can't get to them very easily. And it just raises my blood pressure. Ugh I hate playgrounds!

 

As much as I would love to avoid the playground at all costs these cute little faces make me suck up my fears and go. They love to play. So every once in awhile I try to push the dark thoughts from my mind, load the kid up, and take him to the darn playground. And in the end the smiles are worth it and I am glad I did it. But I can tell you this. I'm dreading the next trip already!

 

Flood Update

Wow it's hard to believe that it has been almost a month since the great flood. I feel like we have made very little progress. Still so much to do to get this house back in order! While everything is now dry it is still not useable. In order to get things dry portions of the sheet rock had to be cut out and insulation removed. So now I am waiting on a contractor to replace the sheet rock and paint the rooms. After that is done the new carpet will be installed and then we can start using those rooms again.

Since Hulk doesn't have a bedroom he continues to sleep in my room. It is getting old. Neither one of us sleep as well so it's exhausting. Also my room is so crowded with stuff from the other bedrooms. So we can hardly walk around the extra furniture and whatnot that has been shoved into my room.

The living room looks like a toy box threw up in there! Every toy Hulk has is crammed in there. I have even gotten rid of quite a few things during this ordeal and still the rooms we can use are bursting at the seams. I'll be thrilled when we can spread out and use the whole house again!

So that's our story.

Not Me Monday!

I did NOT find a dinosaur hidden in my dresser drawer one day this week. It did NOT make me laugh out loud. And there is NO way I left it in there so I could chuckle again the next day.

My child is NOT obsessed with his "music shirt" as he calls it. It is actually a shirt with a guitar on it that says "I'm with the band". He is NOT so obsessed with it that I actually let him wear it two days in a row because I didn't want to deal with a temper tantrum when we were already running late.

What have you NOT done lately?

Grow With Us

Oh look at our garden grow! If I wasn't a total dork before I am now! I'm in love with our little garden. In fact I'm mighty obsessed with it. I love to check on the plants every day to see how things are coming along. And Hulk loves to check on them too. This morning we did a happy dance because our cantalope sprouted and we have two little baby tomatoes. All of our watering and his hugs must be working. Because our garden is growing!!!

 

Melba left me a comment about all the things they have planted and it reminded me that I need to plant some strawberries. So that is our mission for this week. We still have some extra pots that we found at garage sales so I'm thinking we will fill them with strawberries. I don't know how I forgot them to start with. So thank you Melba for the yummy reminder!

 

Is anyone else gardening? If so what have you planted? Am I missing anything fun?

First Day Of Preschool

 

Hulk survived his first day of Preschool. In fact he survived all three days this week. He was so excited about going on Wednesday morning that he had no patience for me and my camera at all. I kept trying to get him to stand by the door and let me take a picture and he kept saying go go go. So I got a few pics of crabby boy. Maybe next semester he will be more patient with me.

 

The first day when I went to pick him up they told me that he was a "hoot". That could mean several things and knowing him I wasn't sure if it was a good hoot or a bad hoot. The teacher said he did great with the other kids. He used the potty four times and only fell in once. He ate all of his lunch and part of the kids sitting next to him. And he ran away a couple times and went to other classrooms. But she assured me it was normal. UGH.

Day two I went to pick him up and the gym door was closed which I thought was odd since it has always been open on our visits. So I go in and he is wearing a belt with bells while playing. They explained that he is pretty sneaky and the bells help keep track of him. I explained that is the story of my life! I should get some bells for at home.

Day three, today I went to pick him up and she said he did super! He went potty in the toilet 5 times and never fell in! He only ate his own lunch and took a good nap. And the best part is they got to leave the classroom door and gym door open today. She said that he actually stopped and came back to where he was supposed to be every time she called him. So progress!

And he has brought me home a painting! I think I like this school thing and so does he!

Goodbyes

Today was Hulk's last day at daycare with Miss Liz. Oh how we will miss her! She has watched him since he was 12 weeks old and has been fabulous. While it's hard to leave I know it's best for him. He has gotten so big that he can be hard for her to manage. She has some back problems and he is a killer on my good back. And I know he will enjoy being around more kids. But it was still hard today.

I won't lie she and her husband and I all cried tonight as we said our goodbyes. I've been so blessed to have them in my life and his every day for the past two years. Since my Dad doesn't live here and my mom died they have been like surrogate parents for me really. They have always been so supportive of me and really loved us. I know we will still see them but it will be different. I always looked forward to seeing them each day. So today was rough. But tomorrow I take my little guy to his new school! His bags are all packed and we are both excited. Sometimes change hurts but can bring about good things.

Not Me Monday

Wow I haven't done a not me Monday in awhile. Life just gets in the way of blogging sometimes.... So here goes.

I did NOT sit down to pay bills last night and cry. I did NOT cry tears of joy that after paying all the bills and putting $50 in savings there was still $37 in my checking account! I would NOT get so emotional over such a thing.

I did NOT let Hulk sleep on the bathroom floor because he wanted to and I really really wanted a break from having him in my bed.

I am NOT about sick and tired of having our house disrupted from all the flooding/construction issues. I am NOT considering doing the new sheetrock myself.

I did NOT play memory with Hulk 804 times over the weekend because it was raining and we couldn't go out and play. I did NOT explain to him 714 times that the watermelon and strawberries don't match. Just because they are both fruit does NOT mean they are a match.

I did NOT realize after game 21 that I have a ridiculous competitive side that I need to work on. He is 2 and I should NOT be thinking about how I'm gonna beat him at a game.

What have you NOT done lately.

Gardening Guide

These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago when we planted a couple tomato and pepper plants. Hulk thinks planting is pretty fun. He particularly enjoys the dirt and hauling it from one pot to another. He also kisses and hugs our tomato plants. I'm not sure if all this kindness will encourage them to grow and be fruitful or if he will smother them to death with his love. I suppose time will tell.

I was just going to plant a couple tomato plants and a couple pepper plants. And then I hit the jackpot at a garage sale the other day. I found four big green pots like the ones I have for a quarter a piece. They also had several other planters. So I bought them all for two bucks and headed home to plant more veggies.

Our container garden is now pretty darn big. And we have the following things growing now. 3 kinds of tomatos, 3 kinds of peppers, Zuchinni, Yellow Squash, Carrots, Broccoli,Cantalope and decorative gourds. I still have a couple spare pots that I'm going to put some Cauliflower in. We have turned into quite the gardeners. I'm hoping all of our plants grow and do well. Hulk and I tend to eat a lot of veggies so saving a little money by growing our own would make me very happy.

Things I've Learned

This week I've learned a few new things....

1. Sleeping with an over sized two year old is not a wonderful experience. They have the uncanny ability to kick you in the head regardless of how far their feet seem to be away from you.
2. Finding a contractor in May that doesn't have a full schedule is harder than finding a skinny kid at fat camp.
3. The day you really need to be on time leaving the house is for sure going to be the day that your child turns into a pile of screaming jello on your kitchen floor.
4. Never under any circumstances let your child play with a large stick!
5. If you can't find something always check the dryer first. For some reason things always end up in there!

What do you know?

Changes

Oh things are changing around these parts! Mr. Hulk is heading to school. I can't believe it! I have had him on a waiting list for a preschool/child care center for about 8 months now. It's taken forever but he was finally accepted and starts next Wednesday. Yesterday and today I completed all the paperwork. Seriously the stack of paperwork for this school was about as big as the stack of paperwork I had to do for my home study!

I am so excited about this! Hulk has always gone to a home daycare with the amazing Liz. She has loved him and I and been wonderful for two years now. But he needs more structure and activity than she can provide anymore. While we will miss her terribly it is time to move to a more school like setting. After reviewing his classroom layout and schedule tonight I don't think boredom will be a problem.

His day will consist of lots of music, art, outside play, field trips, etc. His classroom has a community garden that the kids help water, they also have a bunch of water tables that I know he will love, and there are classroom pets! Okay yes I know I'm way to excited about this but I know he is gonna love it. The list of summer activities they have planned are all things he really enjoys. I can't wait to see how he reacts. We have been going to visit one day a week for lunch and play time for about a month now. And every time we go he hugs all the kids and hates to leave. Starting next week he won't have to. He will get to hang out with his new friends every day!

Yahoo!!!!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I hope that all of you have had a Mother's Day as great as mine! It really has been a wonderful weekend. My dad and Cricket came home this weekend and has been great to see them! We went and visited my grandparents yesterday and all of our family was together for the first time in a long time. It was fun to play outside with the kids and visit with the adults. All the playing and outside time wore us out so Hulk and I both slept very well! In fact he even let me sleep in until 6:15 as a mother's day gift!

We had a lovely breakfast with Heather and then we all went out to mom's place to visit. We took a few new decorations and cleaned up a bit. But it was freezing out there and started raining while we were there so we didn't stay long at all. Every year I anticipate that it will get easier to be without her on mother's day. But it doesn't. Luckily I have Heather and she gets it. So we both had our moment of missing her and feeling sorry for ourselves and then moved on to try to enjoy the rest of the day.

We didn't have to try to hard. Hulk took a super long nap which means we both got a nap. YAHOO! And then Dad and Cricket came back to hang out with us. Hulk adores them. He thinks my dad is pretty darn cool and follows him everywhere. He has figured out that Cricket has a soft spot for him and tends to spoil. If he had much time with her I think he would have her wrapped around his little finger in no time.

I got several bouquets of flowers, a gift membership to a cool site I want to try, a pedicure and new outfit from Cricket and Dad, and some very sweet cards.

So super mother's day here! Hope yours was great too!

Flood Progress

It has been almost a week since the flood. What a busy week it has been. The fans and dehumidifiers have been running since Friday morning. Trust me we are getting sick of living in the wind tunnel! But last night when I got home there were only two fans left and 2 dehumidifiers. So we are making progress. I think maybe they will be able to pull the equipment late this afternoon. That would be nice.

They have only had to remove a small portion of sheetrock and insulation in one bedroom rather than two or three like they originally thought. So that is a very good thing! Once the equipment is out and the carpets are cleaned we will make a decision on if the carpet is salvagable. Also once the equipment is the rooms can be repainted/new sheetrock. Hopefully that can start early next week.

This has been such a mess and a pain. Needless to say I'm pretty stressed and not sleeping much. I've really spent the last 24 hours trying to focus on the positives of this. The biggest positive is that I get to redo the bedrooms without much expense or manual labor of my own. I'm going to go ahead and give Hulk a big boy room now and I've had fun picking out decorations and paint for that. Think positive right!!!

So we continue to swim along.

Mom's Are Always Right!

Flood cleanup continues and that is no fun. In fact there isn't much laughing going on around here. So if we can't laugh here we might as well get a chuckle out of some pics of Hulk man. Here is proof that mom's know best...

Me: Hulk do not put that shovel on the path. You will trip over it.

Hulk: Leaves the shovel on the path because he is two and doesn't have very good listening ears.

 

Hulk: Oh cool I found a ball. La de da la de da. I'm in my own little world.

Me: Hulk watch where your walking. You left the shovel on the path.

Hulk: I like my ball, I see grass, I don't hear my mom, I think I want a drink. La de da la de da.

 

Me: Hulk be careful!

Hulk: Trips but doesn't fall over the shovel.

 

Me: I told you not to put that shovel there.

Hulk: Cool a shovel! Where did that come from!

 

And that is why mom's are always right!!!