Jellyfish!!

It was a lazy Sunday today...slept in late, made some very yummy gingerbread pancakes & bacon, and played with some Lincoln Logs and trains.

We decided to do a quick craft before I had to head out to work, and a cute little jellyfish was just the answer to a cold, dreary day!

Just needed to gather up a paper plate, some tissue paper, googly eyes (Jacks favorite!), pipe cleaners and of course a glue stick!

As you can see by Jacks face, he was very happy with his project for today!!

We quickly hung it up hanging from string in the doorway between our living room and dining room, and we now have a little bit of color to liven up the day!

Childrens Museum!

Jack and I decided to go to the Childrens Museum in Niantic today...couldn't think of anything better on a VERY cold, windy day like today!

The last time we were there, Jack was just learning to walk, so this time was a lot more fun! Besides, they just added a few new things to do...why not check it out!?! My sister Kathy and niece Riley met up with us there too!

Jack loved combing for clams at the 'beach'. This is probably the closest we'll be to going to a beach for at least the next 3 months! At least you could pretend it was warm with the sun shining in through the window!

He couldn't wait to get up into the top lookout on the fishing ship!! You could almost see the whole museum from up there!!

He got to try on a kimono to 'cook up' some Chinese food for me...too bad it wasn't real food, I was getting pretty hungry, and honestly, pork fried rice sounded really good!

We also had to grab a picture of Jack and Riley on the ship together and one of me and Jack together. (Kathy wanted nothing to do with getting her picture taken!)

Jack also enjoyed being the weatherman for a little while. At home, he usually wakes up, heads to the window, and (lately) either says: "Momma, it's still snowing outside" or "Momma, is it summertime yet?? I see the sun!"

A few more months buddy.....


....It won't be long before we can listen to the waves outside!!

Snow day!

Well, today was supposed to be a day of geocaching with Jack, my sister Kathy and my neice Riley (with a pitstop at someplace yummy for lunch!) because it was supposed to be sunny and 40 degrees. However, we woke up to snow!

It's pretty and all, but really put a damper on our plans today! So we ended up making some pumpkin pancakes, playing some games, watching a Kipper movie, and doing a snow day craft!

I brought out my favorite craft book, Barrons Crafty Kids, and had Jack pick out a project. This book is great for toddlers/preschool age...the crafts mostly involve construction paper, plates, and glue sticks. Pretty easy for the little ones!

Todays choice?? A rocketship! Maybe Jack is thinking we need to get ourselves out of this snowy state! (I, on the other hand, was thinking more like a plane and something involving palm trees!)

I did the cutting out and let Jack do all of the rest! He LOVES using the gluestick...and thought it was pretty cool to glue aluminum foil onto his rocketship.

Jack was very excited about how it came out, and of course, I was too!

We quickly put it up in the living room with poster putty for everyone to see! Of course, his favorite person to show off his projects to?? Daddy!

Little guy in surgery....

Our little guy went in for surgery on Wednesday...he had a hernia, probably something he was born with. We headed to The Connecticut Childrens Medical Center in Hartford bright and early (5:30 a.m. to be exact!)....we had thoughts of Jack sleeping in the car on the way there seeing as he normally sleeps until 9 a.m. most mornings, but he was wide awake taking in the lights from the big buildings in the city.















What a wonderful hospital!! They operated like a well oiled machine...everything so smooth and seamless. Check-in in one room, weight check & blood pressure in another, on to pre-op. I really thought I would be nervous about the whole thing, but the doctors, nurses and everyone else on staff made us feel very comfortable. The surgeon came over to chat with Jack, then the nurse came to show Jack the mask he'd wear during the surgery to 'help him sleep'. Jack loved the fact that you could pick a chapstick flavor to coat the inside of the mask (to help hide the smell). He chose bubblegum! He even let Daddy try on the mask with the bubblegum smell in it!






It was time for surgery, so the nurse got me into a gown and brought Jack and I down a hall. The nurse told Jack she had a surprise around the corner....boy, did she! A 'parking lot' of motorized cars and motorcycles!!! Jack was able to choose one for his 'ride' into the surgery and it didn't take him long to choose the John Deere! He hopped right in, and drove it down the hall to the operating room! The funniest part was, as the 12 or so doctors were waiting, Jack took his time to make sure the car was 'locked up' and made sure the trunk was closed and locked too!





The part I was dreading actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be....having him 'sleep' for the surgery. They kept him sitting up with me holding his hands. The nurse held the mask up to his face and told him to blow the balloon up...that was it, in about 15 seconds, he was out. (probably enjoying the sleep seeing as he had to get up about 3 hours earlier than his usual time that day!)

Twenty minutes later and he was in the recovery room, sound asleep. The nurse said he'd wake up within a few minutes, but about 20 minutes later he was still in 'la la land!' We warned the nurse that when Jack is woken up from a nap, HE IS A BEAR!!! And were we ever right!

He woke up, crying a little, but very unhappy that the IV was still in. He wanted it off, "RIGHT NOW!" I told him to hold on a few minutes, told him I loved him and he responded with "I don't love you!" in a rather loud voice...Hmmm, not what I was hoping to hear! Next he informed us that he wanted to go home. It went something like this...

Jack: I want to go home!

Mark: We can't yet buddy, the doctor will let us know soon when we can leave.

Jack: Well, I want to leave.....NOW!

Me: It's okay, baby, we'll leave in a few minutes...

Jack: I am getting up off this table, walking out of here, and walking home....ALL BY MYSELF!

(Pretty funny coming from a 27 lb. little guy, wearing pale yellow hospital P.J.'s, all drugged up on morphine!) It got a few laughs from the doctors, nurses and other parents that were in earshot!

Anyway, we took him home, expecting him to be sleeping on the couch, a little uncomfortable, and not happy. The reality: He ate 3 doughnuts on the way home (they said he probably wouldn't eat until the next day!), then had a bowl of mac 'n cheese, watched a movie, and had a big smile on his face!
Within about an hour, Jack grabbed his tools, and headed to the table with Daddy. Mark was working on a little woodworking project and Jack is definitely 'Daddys little helper!'

Jack never needed medicine after he left the hospital, and ate like he hadn't eaten in a week! He's very proud of his scar, wanting to show it off to everyone....and ended his day saying, "Momma, I had fun today at the hospital!"

You can't ask for anything more than that! That's my boy!

Here he is....the little guy that this blog is all about!

This is my favorite little guy Jack.

Jack is 3 1/2 years old and is the light of my life!! He is a pretty funny guy, although many people don't get to see this side of him because he tends to be pretty shy. He has a great vocabulary, and is USUALLY pretty polite. (I won't kid you, he is THREE after all...which means he is in the testing stage, trying to get away with things and pushing the limits!)

He loves Thomas the Train, cars and construction trucks, Blue's Clues, Bob the Builder, and making crafts. We started going to a toddler program at our local library, which Jack really enjoys. They read stories, sing songs and do crafts.

I also belong to a Meetup.com group in our area and have met some really great Moms and kids. I was looking for something to get us out of the house, and to help Jack start opening up around other people. We've been in the group for almost a year, and so far, Jack is still very shy. He'll be starting preschool in September, so we'll have to work on this over the summer! :)

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome friends and family!

I decided to start a blog about Jack....what he's up to, what he's been doing, new hobbies, getting ready for preschool, crafts, etc.

I hope you enjoy following this special guy as much as I enjoy spending my days with him.