Preschool

I really wanted to get Colton into a preschool program, for several reasons really.  One so that he can interact with kids his own age and learn to "play" with them.  I think it would be good to have other kids to parallel.  Granted he will probably bring home every illness, but hopefully he has a good immune system and can stay healthy.  Also I think it might help for his speech to develop.  Being around other kids, hopefully he can pick up on them talking and can learn from them.  This being a small town, only two places really offered preschool for two year olds.  One was definitely out of the question so that only left one.  I didn't want a daycare type place, which there was plenty of those.  I wanted something with an education type atmosphere.  I put Colton on the waiting list several months ago and I called the other day and she said she had his spot ready. We went and met with the teacher yesterday and it looks like a nice place.  He will go Monday, Tuesday and Friday.  The way it is set-up, it is actually an all day type of thing, but he is only going half-days.  We will take him after breakfast (I like to know and monitor what he eats for breakfast and he is a little picky) and the we will go pick him up right before they eat lunch.  Again for the same reason, but he maybe could stay for lunch depending on what they are serving.  I saw a menu for the week and noticed beenie-weenies, which I know he won't eat.  Also he can go back to Grammy's and take his nap.  I am a little concerned with how his potty training will go, but Ms Tanya said that she takes them about 45 minutes.  Hopefully he will continue with the progress he has made so far.  Eventually he might stay longer, but at two, I think this schedule will work best for him.  He starts on Monday so I will be sure to take his picture of his first day of school!!!

Merry Christmas!!

 Just waking up on Christmas morning

 Bed head!!

 His new "ride"

 Proud of his wheels!!

 I actually got Steve in a picture!!

 Stocking stuff

 Puzzles

 Aquadoodle

 Trucks

 Play tent

 Fire truck

 Loved the tent

Trying it out.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  I know we did.  It was exhausting though.  My aunt and her family come over and Colton was so overstimulated!!!  He was like a crazy child--more so than usual.  I found him at 6:45 laying on the floor in his room with his binky.  I said "Are you tired?  Do you want to go to bed?"  To which he said "yep" and he was in bed by 7:00 and I had to wake him up at 8:00 to get ready for church yesterday.

Good grief!!

About 10 minutes after I posted on Friday, I get a call from the Primary Care Center saying that Steve shows all the signs of an appendicitis.  SO I go pick him up and off to the ER we go.  We got there about 10 and they took us right back and then we waited, and waited and WAITED.  Finally after bloodwork and a CAT scan, they decided that he did indeed have an appendicitis and he would be going over to surgery to have it taken out.  At 5:00, we went in and by 5:45 the surgeon came out to tell me everything went well and he was in recovery.  I stayed with him until about 8:00 and then I left to come home to relive Mom who had taken Colton home and put him to bed.  We went and picked him up on Saturday morning and he is doing fine.  They were able to get the appendix laproscopically so he only has three small incisions.  With Christmas being this week, hopefully it will be a calm and slow week!!

Crazy busy week--with a side of sickness thrown in

  My normally quiet week at work has not been so this past week.  We had about 300 milk samples left over from Friday to do on Monday.  On top of that, our Christmas breakfast was Monday morning, so it was spent cooking and getting the food ready.  Also on Monday, our new guy started here at work.  In addition, two people are off this week.  I am in charge of "training" the new guy, so he is my shadow for now.  Tuesday did not start out well.  I woke up about 4:30 AM feeling very nauseous.  At 5:30 I had to go throw up (TMI!!).  I came back to bed and tossed and turned until the alarm went off at 6:30 and proceeded to be sick yet again.  I got dressed and went in to get Colton up and dressed and ready to go to Grammy's.  He was fine (THANK GOD) and after his morning potty time, I got sick again.  I loaded him up in the car and off to Grammy's we went.  Once there, I tried to eat some crackers and ginger ale, but it didn't stay down either.  I went to work because I knew we had ALOT to do with two people out already and the new guy here.  I battled through all day making numerous trips to the bathroom throughout the day.  Steve called me about 1:30 and said he was sick as well.  When I finally got off, I went and got Colton and took him home and Steve was in bed--where he stayed and didn't move at all (in other words, he offered no help to me in watching, feeding, bathing and getting Colton in bed).  I had never felt so sick in my entire life.  I went to sleep about 9:00 and woke up feeling like my old self, so it must have just been some 24 hour virus.  Colton still didn't get sick, nor did anyone here at work.  Wednesday, Thursday and today have been the same--super busy and no time to stop and relax.  I will be glad when this week is over!!!!

Happy Birthday Colton!!

Colton is officially two years old today.  I took him in for his check up and he weighed 29 pounds and was 36 inches tall.  I went ahead and got his MMR shot, by itself.  They asked about the varicella, but I declined for now.  He only cried for about 30 seconds and then he was fine.  Mom gave him some Tylenol so hopefully he will not have too bad of a reaction.

Party time!!

The spread, minus the cake. The flowers were from church. They were the altar flowers in honor of Colton's birthday.
The cake
Colton jumping in his bounce house. It really is a great investment. He LOVES that thing.
Showing Miss Maudine his driving skills.
Colton and his three girlfriends, Sophie, Emma, and Annabelle (she is his favorite).
Sophie pulling Colton and Landen, my nephew.
Colton and Annabelle driving the Mini. Notice she is driving and he is navigating. I forsee this in the future with these two. LOL
Gift time.

Spongebob umbrella was a hit.
He was more interested in drinking than looking at his new book.
The three girls waiting for cake.
All lit and ready to go.
Colton savoring his cake.

All in all it went very well, considering there were 5 two-year-olds. They all got along and few tears were shed. The weather was ok. It was sunny, but a little breezy. Since I was having it outside, I wanted it to be warm enough that everyone could enjoy themselves. Tomorrow is his official birthday and he has a doctor's appointment as well. I can't believe my little man will be TWO-YEARS-OLD ALREADY!!!

Birthday Party!!!!

Colton's Spongebob extravaganza is Sunday!!! I think I bought out Wal-Mart, as well as some other stores here, of all of their Spongebob items. We have Spongebob plates, cups, hats, tablecover, party game, a pinata, balloons, blow-up Spongebob and party favors. I also wrapped Colton's gifts in Spongebob paper. He will be wearing his personalized Spongebob shirt. He will have a Spongebob cake. We will be in Spongebob OVERLOAD!!!! I will be sure to take pictures so everyone can get their fill of Spongebob.

Better--

Well I finally got some sleep last night. I usually take one Melatonin at night. Well last night, I took two and that seemed to help me somewhat. I remember waking up several times, but I was able to at least fall back asleep.

I know that lately this blog has been all "puppies and rainbows", but more serious and somewhat of a downer. I read other people's blog and it all happy and cheerful. That is just their writing style. Mine is more of a raw style to let other people in my situation remember that they are not ALONE. Alone is a very scary word. The idea that I am the only mom that struggles with being happy as she deals with her child is isolating. It is scary to wonder if I’m the only mom who tries to be gentle with her words, but most of the time fails miserably and raises her voice. Am I the only mom that has more “God, I really messed that up” followed by “Colton, Mommy was mean/rude/impatient will you please forgive me” moments than “Ha! Nailed that one. Good job” moments? I do admit I am not a patient person. If I am doing something, I want it done NOW. Sometimes I question if I should have even had a baby. Kids are not quick to do anything (except make a mess) and I have to keep reminding myself of that. It is a process--talking, potty training, they all take time and me getting EXTREMELY frustrated isn't going to make him do it any faster. In some ways, it will probably slow the whole process down. I appreciate the comments and those who offer advice because they have "been there and done that" and from those who are right there with me--going through the same process and having the same struggles. I have to remember that just because someone is writing about all the great accomplishments that their kids are having, there are probably 2 times the same amount of failures that they are just not "reporting".

This time will pass and I just ask everyone to bear with me while I get through it---

I give up---

Maybe it is the lack of sleep. I woke up at 2:00AM and didn't go back to sleep. But I just give up!!!

Obsessed

This is our Christmas card this year. I had done the Shutterfly promotion and received my cards today in the mail. I was so excited!! I thought it was cute!! I had taken several in a Santa hat trying to pose him and then randomly, he made this face and I snapped the picture. Mom says she thinks it is an awful picture of Colton--he is pulling down his eye, has a funny mouth thing going on, and he doesn't have any pants on. I thought it was reminiscent of Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.

Now to the obsessed part. I have been called obsessed recently in regards to Colton. Yes, I am obsessed with his speech and I am obsessed with his progress in potty training. These are two things that very important to me. In any way do I think that he is not a very intelligent child. He is extremely smart, but he may have an issue with speech and I want to get it looked into. I know I seem to be harping on this subject lately, but I am truly worried about him. I don't know if it is only this, but I have not slept for almost a week now. I just lay in bed and toss and turn, my mind racing a hundred miles an hour. There are certainly families in far worse situations that I am in and don't want to take anything away from them. Children fighting cancer and other life-threatening conditions; all I am "fighting" is my inner voice and an almost two-year-old that won't repeat what I say.

His potty training is going well. He had an accident this morning on the way to Mom's. He woke up dry and went pee in the potty and I put his Spongebob undies on, as he insisted in his grunting manner, and when we got there (10 minutes from our house) he had wet his pants. I tried not to scold and just asked him "did you pee pee in your pants" and he said "yep". I know accidents happen when potty training and it is called "training" for a reason. I am determined not to regress though. We will preserve and continue to keep working on it. I have never done this before. I just take him to the potty every 30-45 minutes and most of the time, he will go. If you ask him, his response is usually "no", but I take him anyway. I think I need to try and work on going longer between trying, but then I am afraid he will wet his pants and we go back to square one.

Kids--what a ride!!

Will he ever talk???

That is the question I have been asking every day for MONTHS now. For almost a year now, I have worried that he isn't saying enough. I waited until he was 18 months old since everyone said "Give him time. Boys talk slower that girls." I had him evaluated at by EI and they said he was extremely smart but yes, he did need to be saying some words but he was not far enough behind to get therapy. At that time, he probably said 10 or 12 words. Now 6 months later and a week shy of his 2nd birthday, he MAYBE says 15. All he does is either agree with my saying "uh-uh" or he says "no". You ask if he wants milk, he says "uh-huh", but he will NOT ask for it. You ask if he wants a cookie or fruit snacks and he says "uh-huh"--WELL WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT? I am getting more and more frustrated. I am sure he is frustrated as well. I think some of his pinching lately is DEFINITELY due to lack of being able to communicate. I know you are not supposed to "compare" kids to one another, but I am constantly doing so. My nephew, who is 1 month older than Colton, talks in two or three word sentences. He repeats what you say and talks up a storm. I see other kids his age at the park an out places and he is so far behind them. I called EI and spoke with the lady that came out in June and she said that he sounds like he will qualify for speech therapy this time, but to wait until January to call and have them come back out. They have a much "harder" test for age 24-36 months. I feel like such a failure. Like something I did or didn't do, caused this. Everyone says "my son didn't talk as early as my girl" or "my son just started talking on day about 22 month sor 23 months. They had a vocabulary explosion." No explosion here. As I said, we are trying to potty train. How I am supposed to know if he has to go potty if he doesn't even say "pee" or "poop" or even "potty"? I feel like we have made almost no "improvements" since he was a year to 15 months old. His birthday is next week and I feel like it is his year old birthday all over again.

Thanksgiving wrap-up

• Thursday we got to sleep in a little--I say a little because Colton still gets up about 7:00 even on days we can sleep in. We hung out the house for a while and then I went over to Mom's to take him on a bike ride. Went to the barn and then home for lunch and naptime. Once he got up, we all went back over to Mom and Dad's to eat. He was all excited and wanted food, until it was ready and time to eat--then he wanted no part of it. Typical for him--he rarely eats well at dinner time. On the way back home, we stopped at Wal-Mart so Steve could scope out when things were in preparation for Friday morning.

• Friday I set the alarm to 4:00 so Steve could get up and get to Wal-Mart by 4:30. He was going to get a portable DVD player for me for Christmas. He also went to Beall's and Fred's to do some shopping. He got home about 7:30 and brought Colton and I breakfast. He said it was crazy packed in Wal-Mart, but he got what he went for. After breakfast, Colton and I got dressed and we all headed over to my parents so we could do some more shopping. Steve went with Dad and Mom, Colton and I set out on our own. I should add here that Colton is in the midst of potty training. He has been wearing underwear intermitingly all week up to this point, but usually not out in public. Well I had his portable potty in my bag so off we went. I ask him every 30 minutes or so if he has to go. Since he still doesn't really say anything, he either says uh-uh or no. I took him while in Beall's and we got out of the bathroom and caught back up with Grammy, he gave her a thumbs up!! He did really well staying dry all day. I put him in a pull-up for his naps because that seems to be the time that he poops and he still wears a diaper at night. Steve and Dad left on Friday afternoon to go down to Daytona for some big car show, so it was just me and my little guy that night.

• Saturday was quite a busy day. I put Colton in a pull-up because we had such a crazy day planned I wasn't sure we could get to the potty as frequently as he needs. We started out shopping at the Carter's and Gap outlet in Lake Park and then we went to Wild Adventures. We took him potty at the store and then we got to the park. He went on the potty both times. After we got in the park, we started riding all the rides. His favorite was of course the roller coaster. He had to be 36" to ride it and he just made it. It is a pretty fast twisty, turny coaster for the kids. Of course we had to ride with him. The ride operator said "that little guy wants to ride this?" I said yep and off we went. He grinned and laughed the entire time and said "weeeeee." One little girl that was probably about 3 or 4 wet her pants she was so scared--not Colton. He kept saying "more" and we rode that ride probably 10 times total. He rode all the rides that he could and then Mom and I took turns riding and staying with him. Of course he got no nap. On the way home, he fell asleep about 20 minutes from home. He woke up when we got home and was of course cranky. He changed his mood when I told him we could get pizza for dinner. After dinner we went downtown for the lighting of the tree and to see Santa. Up until this point he has not liked Santa in the least!! When Santa came we kind of "stalked" him and Colton got used to seeing him and watch the other little kids talk to him and sit with him. Santa was sitting on a bench so i took Colton over there and told Colton I would give him a candy cane if he would sit with me and talk to Santa--which he did!! I was very proud of him. Santa led a walk downtown around to the different businesses and Colton was perfectly fine with him. Once we got home, he crashed in his bed!!

• Sunday we went to church and then we went grocery shopping. At Wal-Mart, there was a Santa there to take pictures with and you got a free 5x7. I took him over there with the promise of another candy cane and he actually sat with Santa and had his picture done. So maybe his fear of Santa is waning.

Gender disappontment

I watched a show on Sunday night called "8 boys and wanting a girl". It featured 4 moms, all of which had boys and wanted a girl.

One lady had 8 sons and had been trying for 21 years to have a girl. She and her husband did not want to get the girl by any "artificial" means. She was 43 at the time of the show and believe they were no longer trying.

The other 3 ladies had 4 boys each and wanted a girl. Two of the women had a varied form of IVF where they harvest your eggs and fertilize them in a dish and grow them up for a week. At that time they are 8 celled "beings" and you can tell the gender based on DNA at that time--which to me is amazing that at 1 week "gestation" the baby is already a he or she. They harvest the girls and implant them back in the mom. For each treatment, it is $20,000. One woman had it three times and the other had it twice I believe. For one woman it worked and she had twin girls. The other woman, who has already in her early 40s, did not take. They implanted the female egg back in, but I guess it didn't "stick". For the woman who did have the little girls, she doted on them and seemed to totally ignore her boys.

The other woman, who couldn't afford the IVF procedure, was 14 weeks at the time filming began. She had 4 little boys that were all about a year apart. As the show progressed, she went in to have her ultrasound and to find out the sex of the baby. As usual, they did an anatomy scan first and everything was perfect and the baby looked healthy. Then they looked to find the sex and it was another boy. The lady just started balling and her husband had to comfort her. The first thought that popped into my head was, OMG she has 4 healthy and happy kids and a fifth one on the way that looks to be perfect as well and here she is crying and carrying on.

Steve and I certainly "wanted" a boy, but in all honestly, I just wanted a healthy baby. If we had been told that I was having a girl, sure we would have been disappointed for a spilt second, but once that moment passed and everything looked good with the baby, I still would have been just as excited seeing "her" on the ultrasound as I was seeing Colton. There are plenty of women out there struggling to even conceive and these women are just doing it as a game so to speak. Babies are born will all kinds of illness and malformations and these ladies had 20 healthy babies and were still not satisfied.

My question here is, if you could choose, would you? I think that it can turn quite complicated if we begin to play "creator" for ourselves. Who says one gender is better than the other? We open it up for a "super gender" by doing this. If boys become the desired choice, will little girls think that something is wrong with them since they are not boys. We make so many choices in our everyday life, I found it quite refreshing to leave that "decision" up to someone else.

Elf Yourself

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/CnHEXtKW3yhi6AhA

In case you have never seen this, it is HILARIOUS!!! Steve would kill me if he knew what I did to him though--so no one tell him!! I hope everyone has a great weekend. We don't have much planned. I really need to start getting for Colton's party in a couple weeks and I still have Christmas shopping to do.

Regrets--

One of my fellow mommy bloggers, Heather over at http://0103durant.blogspot.com/, posted today about regrets and it got me thinking. Do I have regrets? Of course I do. They range from small little regrets to pretty big ones. For example, a "big" regret would that I didn't follow my "dream" of becoming a vet. I was tired of being in school and I didn't really care at the time. Looking back, it would have changed my entire life had I gone on to vet school. I certainly wouldn't be where I am now, so consequently I wouldn't know who I know now and there would be no Colton. Sure, there would probably be kids, but they wouldn't be the mix of DNA that makes up my little man. I have regret every day. I regret when I yell at Colton and I see his little face change into one that is about to burst in tears. Most of the time, it is due to my lack of patience. Sometimes I am taking out my frustration with others out on him and he doesn't deserve that. That is my work in progress.......

Weekend wrap-up

It really was not too exciting of a weekend really--

• Saturday morning woke up and went to Mom's and took a long bike ride. Hit a couple yard sales going on around town. Rode to the park so Colton could run some energy off. Came home and pulled out the bounce house to access the damage and try and repair it. We ducked taped over all the holes that we could see on the base. I attached the motor and up she went. Colton's eyes got big and jumping he went!! Once it was inflated, we could see some other holes and patched those as well. It held the air and Colton played in for a good 30 minutes, so I guess it is good to go now--it just looks ghetto with silver duck tape all over it!! Colton went in and took his nap while I got dressed and ready for Landen's birthday party. Once he woke up, he was a crazy little boy. He was being VERY NAUGHTY. I almost said forget we aren't going to his party because he was going to be too wild. Once we got there, he wasn't too bad. He got a lot of compliments on his clothes and how he looks like a little boy instead of a baby. He got a little carried away with the Thomas the Train balloon, but after a little talking to, he calmed back down. Ali had grapes set out and think Colton ate his weight in grapes. He played nicely with the other kids there and even shared nicely. To be an only child, he shares extremely well, which surprises me. We ate a turkey sandwich (they had hot dogs and we don't eat them so Ali made us turkey sandwiches) and some cake and headed home. Colton went right to bed and Steve and I watched the Alabama game.
• Sunday started out good. I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and we got ready for church. About halfway through the service, Kay, one of the nursery workers came in and tapped me on the shoulder and said Colton had cut his lip and I needed to come see about him. She fusses over him and is always worried he is going to get hurt. She was apologizing the whole way back there. I said "don't worry about it. He is a little boy and he gets hurt." When I got in there, he was still crying and had blood coming out of his mouth (it was actually mixed with spit and tears). He had fallen over the basketball shooting toy trying to get a basketball and cut the part of your lip right above your front teeth. Miss Debbie had washed it out and was trying to put ice on it. It was pretty swollen by the time I got there. I held him and comforted him and he calmed down. I gave him his binky and that helped too. Once he had stopped crying, I put him down and he ran around like nothing had happened. When I took him back inside to get blessed, every one was concerned that something bad had happened since Kay had to come and get me. We went on a long walk when we got home and then after his nap, we went and got ice cream and went to the big playground. He was so funny--he would be digging in the dirt or running around and then he would come over, get a spoonful of ice cream and run back off!!! LOL

Colton is a finalist!!!

http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/581483

PLEASE vote again for the little guy. A weekend wrap-up post soon!!

50 Free Shutterfly Christmas cards

It is getting to be that time of year again--Christmas card time!!! I love taking pictures and trying to find just the right one to use on our card. Thankfully, Shutterfly is making the card part easy.Even before we had Colton (heck even before I had Steve!!), I used Shutterfly to make my Christmas cards. They have so many different designs it makes it as hard to pick a layout as it is to pick which picture to use!! They have tons of cute photo card designs I have narrowed it down to a few layouts, but you'll have to wait till Christmas to see which one I go with:) I hope to pick one where you can keep trim off the "card" part and keep the picture--who wouldn't want to see my boy's smiling face all year long!!!

Did you know that Shutterfly not only has christmas card designs, http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery, but also wall calendars, http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars (which I have also bought both for myself and as gifts), and even Valentine cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/valentines-day-cards-and-stationery. If you're a fellow blogger and want to receive 50 free cards of your own, help spread the word about Shutterfly's incredible Christmas Card selection. Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly if you click here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Randonmess and 5?s Friday

First the randomness--

• Had the day off yesterday. We didn't do too much. It was also Steve's birthday (and my dog, Taylor). We tried to go to Applebee's for lunch (free entree if you are a Veteran, which both Steve and my dad are). We got there a little later than we wanted to--about 12:15--and they were PACKED. The lady said the wait was 15 minutes so we put our name on the list. Ten minutes went and we went in asked how much longer--the "boys" were all getting restless and she said "about 15 more minutes or so." I decided that we should go somewhere else. Even if it was 15 minutes, by that time it was nearing 12:30 and then once we even got to order it would take forever to get our food and Colton was starving and I knew he would get real cranky being hungry and tired since it was nearing his nap time as well. So we went over to Sonny's instead and it was good.
• I am in the process of planning Colton's 2nd birthday party. I already ordered the decorations--SpongeBob SquarePants-and I will send out the invitations when I get them. Problem is, where to have it. I really want to have it at the park. They have a covered picnic pavilion that is first come first serve or you can reserve it for $25. I was going to reserve it just in case. Only problem with that is that is not until December and I am worried it will be too cold. Yes, we live in FL and we are not talking snow or 20 degrees, but for here it might be chilly. My house is not big enough to accommodate that people inside to sit down and eat. So I thought maybe I would push in Mini out of the big garage and set it up in there. Again it is outside but I can run a heater in there and have at least three sides closed in. But what would the kids do at my house? I don't have Colton a swing set yet (that is a whole other situation) so there is really nothing for them to do except just run around the property. We have a bounce house that we are trying to fix. We has to stored in the garage and Steve put a bag of deer corn in there and attracted the mice and they chewed holes in the house. Hopefully we can patch it up because Colton REALLY likes to bounce.
• We did a "head shot" photo shoot with Kim last Sunday. I can't wait to see the shots. At first, he was playing shy but then he livened up and was smiling and laughing. Kezia needed a new head shot for her clients to see so Kim came over and took probably 1000 shots. The hard part is deciding on which shot to use!! I trust her "photographic" eye much more than my own though.
• We are headed to my nephew's 2nd birthday party tomorrow. Hopefully all will go well. Colton doesn't get to see his cousins very much even though they live in the same small town we do. Oh well, what can you do right? He has his Grammy and Papa and his adopted grandparents, Robert and Maudine, plus his girlfriends down the street, his friends at the park and toddler time, and the ladies at Publix, Fred's and Goody's that all love to see him.

Now to the 5?s Friday---

1. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you?
Well aside from the obvious answer of childbirth--I would have to say getting my leg bitten by a horse (not either of my own by the way). Not your usual bite mind you, this one was a doozy. It occurred on my mid thigh and tore the muscle right off the bone. I still have a dent and have no feeling in that spot on my leg.
2. How much sleep do you get at night?
It varies how much sleep I get. I go to bed about 11:00 and I get up during the week at 6:15. Thankfully Colton has pretty much been a great sleeper. He goes to bed at 7:30 and we don't hear a peep out of him until I go wake him up during the week or he wakes up at about 7:30 on the weekends. I myself am an awful sleeper. I can fall asleep relatively well, but I can't stay asleep. I will wake up about 15 times a night and sometimes can not fall back asleep. There are been nights when I was awake all night. I have made many middle of the night trips to Wal-Mart and let me tell you, some REALLY interesting people are in Wal-Mart at 3 in the morning.
3. How long did you believe in Santa Claus? How did you find out that he does not exist?
I think I was maybe 8 when I stopped believing he was real. Honestly I don't really remember the actual time. I think I figured it out my own, but wouldn't put it past my sister to tell me. We still "celebrate" Santa and still got stockings well into our 20s. Now that there are kids involved, we mainly just do stockings for them.
4. What was the last movie you saw in a theater?
It has been soooo long since I have seen a movie in the theater. I am going to say the last time I saw a movie in a theater was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It might have been the last Twlight movie. I can't remember.
5. What do you wear to bed?
In the summer, tanks and boxers. In the winter, long sleeved tees and sleep pants and socks. I don't like nightgowns, they are too drafty and I get all wrapped up in them.

Please vote for Colton!!

http://www.parents.com/photos/photo-contests-1/kid-of-the-week/2502400009/

Parents is having a Kid of the Week contest. Please vote for my little man as much as possible!!

Thanks!!!!

Halloween 2010

Getting ready

Posing in front of the scary sign.

He and Taylor doing some work before heading out.

Trying to get away so he can get started downtown.

Getting some "loot"

Taking a break--it was 85 degrees outside!

My little monkey man!!

Look mommy a big pumpkin

Showing the big pumpkins to Grammy

Even monkeys ride horses.

All in all we had a good time. It was very warm the last couple days--in the high 80s both days. The town decided to trick-or-treat on Saturday night, I guess since Sunday was a school night and a lot of people go to church on Sunday as well. Colton was very good. He didn't get scared too much by all the weird people and crazy costumes. The were THOUSANDS of people (literally) in Mom's neighborhood. They came in on flatbeds. We stayed out for about an hour and then I put Colton down at Mom's. He spent the night because I knew it woudl take FOREVER to get out of her neighborhood and he goes to bed at 7:30. Next year hopefully he will able to say "trick-or-treat" and "thank you". This year I got to say "cheese" which sounds like please at least!!

The boy is employed--

Given our current financial situation, I told Colton it was time he went out and got a job so he could start being the man of the house and bring in some money!! LOL No not really, but he does have a job now. I had done a photo shoot with my friend who is a professional photographer and she got some really good shots at the park. Well a modeling/talent agent contacted me and said that she was interested in representing Colton. So we took him to Jacksonville on Wednesday for her to meet him. He was his usual crazy self--running around the studio and whatnot, but he did engage with her and was not shy in the least. She has a little boy who is Colton's age so he understands the age. I just have to get a better head shot done of him so she can send it out when clients request talent his age and also so she can list him on her website. She really liked his look and commented that she told him that she really liked his hair cut (which according to my sister, who knows agents and Vivian does acting as well, means DO NOT CHANGE HIS HAIR!!) and she really liked his look. She commented on how pretty his eyes are!! So if Steve can't find a job, at least Colton may be able to bring a little something so that we can start a college fund or a savings account for him.

Follow Me Chickadee

The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, Stash Mama and The Adventures of Goober Grape and Monkey Man have teamed up to cohost Follow Me, Chickadee Fridays!


Each week, simply stop by at any of these four blogs for a chance to link up and meet new and exciting bloggers out on the interwebz!
All we ask is that you follow a few simple guidelines:

Add a main link to your blog each week (Linky will open every Thursday night at 11 p.m. EST and close at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday mornings EST).
Follow the first four blogs in the # 1, 2, 3, 4 spots.
Visit the blog above and below your listing and leave a *meaningful* comment. Something nice and shiney to make them smile. But make sure to tell them that you found them from Follow Me, Chickadee!
You don't have to follow every blog that follows you...but make sure that you follow the blogs that really interest you!
If you want to put the blog hop code or the Chickadee button on your Friday post on your blog, we welcome it!
Family friendly sites ONLY. The linky list will be monitored and anything not family friendly *will* be deleted. We don't want to see random naughty bits or something that would make our families cringe.
And the most important guideline? HAVE FUN! Oh, and have a Happy Friday!

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5? Friday

1. Who is the better cook, you or your spouse? That depends. Neither one of us are really great cooks. Steve THINKS he can cook and I know that I have minimal skills.

2. How often do you talk to your mom? Oh about 5-10 times day LOL. I see her when I drop Colton off and then I randomly talk to her throughout the day, I see her at lunch and then when I pick Colton up.

3. Are you adventurous in the kitchen or stick to the recipe? I always stick tothe recipe, unless it calls for beef, then I substitute chicken!!

4. Is your second toe longer than your big toe? Yes it is.

5. Do you dress up for Halloween? (Bonus question: What will you be this year?) I don't dress up anymore. This year will be the same--Colton is going as a monkey and I am just going as his mom!!

How we spent our weekend---

Jumping in ball pits

Climbing up REALLY tall air ladders

Still climbing

Sliding down air slide

Sliding down other air slides

Going on hay rides

Getting pumpkins painted on our face

Longingly looking outside while dressed for church

Giving up but still looking dapper

Donning a tuxedo

Donning a cowboy hat and riding a fake pony

Checking out the ladies checking out the "Wrangler butt"

Winning trophies

Winning more trophies

Being crowned King and qualifying for the Nationals (which we will not be attending)

Rearranging the trophies to our liking

Climbing trees

Posing in said tree--looking like a hayseed

All in all we had a great weekend. Colton really enjoyed the Fall Festival. There were ball pits and bounce houses, free food and face painting and a hayride. He was pretty exhausted by the end of the day, as were Grammy and I. He went right to sleep at bedtime and I settled in to watch a very exciting night of football. About 10:30, I heard him fussing and then it turned into crying and saying "my momma." I let him fuss for a couple minutes but when it turned to crying, I went to see what was wrong because it is unusual for him to wake up at night. I patted his back and he was a little restless, rolling around in his bed. I left and he started crying again at 11:00. Same thing, I went in and patted his back and he quieted down. At 2:00, he was crying again. I loaded up the syringe with Advil thinking maybe he had a little headache or was sore from all his playing that day (he took a header going over one wall once and landed awkwardly a couple times). The second I walked in, he would stop crying. I gave him the Advil and covered him back up and went back to bed. I didn't hear from him again until 7:15 and he was his usual happy self.