It all started with Thunder

Zack's in Tucson today, so my morning started early. Jack was awakened early by very loud thunder and lightning, but no rain and scarcely a cloud in the sky.

We decided to make mini-cupcakes (I had to clarify that mini referred to them being miniature and not Minnie Mouse when he asked where the pictures of Minnie Mouse were for the tops) as motivators for success potty-training (which by the way Jack is a total rock star at!). Jack ate more cake batter then any three foot tall person ever should, but we were happy. He asked me to put on music so the two of us could awkwardly and non-rhythmically dance around. I took Jack out for a run (cupcake in hand for Jack) and "we" ran to the park. Unfortunately the run back home included the mother of all hills. Whenever I stopped to catch my breath, Jack would cheer me on in his own way, by asking me why we were going so slow?! We came home, played Candyland and read books together.

And now Jack is napping. (enough said).

Furniture

After six years of marriage, Zack and I finally purchased bedroom furniture all our own last month. There was a set at Bassett that I have been eying for the last three years but could never get over the sticker shock of how much bedroom furniture actually costs to buy. When we found out that lease on the bedroom furniture that Christine so lovingly allowed us to borrow for the last three years was up, we decided it was time to grow up and own our own set. We lucked out and walked into the store on the very last day of their deep sale and thanks to Zack's awesome negotiating skills (more on that subject sometime) we walked out excited that our bedroom furniture would meet us in San Diego four days after we moved in.

It is now nearly three weeks since we moved in, and we are still living out of boxes in our ginormous and practically empty master bedroom. Zack calls each and everyday to try to figure out what went wrong, and when we can expect our furniture. For a week and a half we were told by the lady answering phones that there was one man who was in charge of their deliveries and she was trying to get a hold of him. I still don't know why it took so ever-loving long to get in touch with the man, but when she finally got in touch with someone at his office Thursday of this past week, she was told she just missed him; he had gone home with a headache. Friday morning, when Zack made his daily call requesting more information on when we can expect our non-refundable, non-returnable, and non-existent furniture, he is told that the man went to the hospital last night and died.

How completely devastating for his family and friends.

But, am I to understand that in a company as big as Bassett, there is no one else who can find out where my long overdue furniture is? It looks like we are going to have to wait a very long, long time.

Grandma and Grandpa Z's visit

Playhouse Disney was a huge hit! It was aimed for kids Jacks age so it was the perfect length (an hour and fifteen minutes) and even had an intermission perfect for potty-training breaks and snack runs. Jack loved seeing Mickey Mouse which makes me hopeful for our birthday trip to Disneyland coming up in January! Jack was super excited for Grandma and Grandpa Z's arrival. He wanted to sit with both of them during part of the show and then at dinner.



What I will remember most from this visit is Dorothy telling Jack stories. Jack's constant request to hear yet another story was met each time by a new story, nursery rhyme or made up tale by Dorothy. Zack and I were thoroughly impressed with how many she remembered, especially compared to how pathetic our own memories of these nursery rhymes were. Jack's favorites were he Three Little Pigs "Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin", and the story about the little boy whose carrot wouldn't grow (I think it has a real name that is escaping me right now).

Jack loves Grandma and Grandpa Z so much and was so sad to see them go. Come visit us again soon, please.

Tell Me a Story

One evening after a trip to the beach with my dad when Dani and I were maybe five (?) my dad realized that he had left our car keys somewhere on the sand. He realized that Dani and I were not going to make he long walk back to the beach and then back to the car well, so he promised to tell us a story along the way. And so was born "Puppet Sarah." Stories about Puppet Sarah (who was just what she sounds to be, a puppet named Sarah) fascinated us and from that point on, we were constantly asking to hear more Puppet Sarah stories.

Fast forward twenty some years. Now it's Jack's turn to want to hear a story. Zack realized that he couldn't remember what actually happened to the Three Little Pigs, or Jack and his beanstalk, so he came up with Perry (a duck) and Thomas (the pig). Jack now asks Zack to tell him more and more about Perry and Thomas and their adventures together. It's sweet to think years from now, Perry and Thomas will be Jack's Puppet Sarah.

We are so excited for...

While we were driving around running errands on Tuesday we heard a commercial on the radio for Playhouse Disney Live. Jack immediately recognized the name (we only recently introduced him to Mickey Mouse trying to get him ready for our trip to Disneyland for his 3rd birthday!) and just lit up! So Friday afternoon we are all (Grandma and Grandpa Z too!!) headed to see Mickey on stage! I explained to Jack this morning that I got tickets to go see Mickey Mouse and Goofy (his favorites) and his face when I told him no, they weren't going to be on the tv, but in real life, was priceless. Ah the magic of Disney!

***I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will go over better then our first attempt at a movie in the theater did...

Cross Country Babysitting

I love my mom. I love how absolutely gung-ho crazy in love with Jack she is. I am whole-heartedly convinced she would do anything for him. Each time she comes to visit I am amazed at how great she is with Jack. How genuinely captivated she is hearing his stories over and over and over again.

This past week, my mom came up with the idea of reading to Jack over Ichat. She had a few books she had been meaning to get in the mail for Jack but hadn't yet, so she read them to him over cyberspace. Jack loved having Grandma read to him and I loved being in the other room for the 30 minutes of storytime/breaktime. It was like he had a cross country babysitter! The last time Jack was talking to her over Ichat he started off the conversation by saying "Hi Grandma, I love to read. Do you want to read some stories to me?" The kid is nothing if not subtle!

We love you Grandma and can't wait for more stories!

And now Dee-da too?

Jack informed me this morning that guess what? Today is Dee-da's birthday. I'm beginning to get suspicious of his motives...good thing birthday's only come around once a year, and so far only Bongo and Dee-da are in the picture. Dee-da made her request of purple cupcakes to Jack, who passed that info along to me. So tonight we will be celebrating Dee-da's birthday.

We are also now on full potty-training detail. Jack is doing well, but it is no longer as exciting to him as it was in the beginning. I have him in pull-ups and our day is divided into about 20 minute potty break intervals. Yesterday we were talking about what super big treat he could have once we threw the diapers away for good. I suggested Sea World, Lego Land, the Wild Animal Park, the Zoo. Jack's only desire is to finally get to go to the ball room at Ikea and play. (He was elated and then devestated to learn the other day that 1. the room existed, and 2. you couldn't go in if you wore a diaper). So the Ikea ball room it is.

**Jack took an incredible 3 hour nap which meant we didn't get around to making cupcakes for Dee-da, so she had to settle for a store bought cupcake. Neither she, nor Jack seemed to mind all too much.



***We noticed that the frosting turned Jack's teeth green and then yellow. I was hesitant to mention it at first given his fear of his teeth turning green like the Hulk's, but I showed him the picture and he thought it was hilarious. I am so lucky to get to be Jack's mom. He has the sweetest, easiest way about him. I think he gets it from his Papa.

Memories

There is a particular phrase that Jack saves for when he is really, really upset. Think the world of a two year old ending...

In these moments he will yell out, "NO WAY JOSE!"

It makes me laugh that he thinks he is conveying how unacceptable the situation is by adding "way Jose" to his emphatic NO. Someday soon I'm sure he will come up with something a little more shocking, but until then I chuckle at how innocent he is that "No way Jose" is Jack doing his worst.

Zapping Flies

During Zack's mission to Tahiti he developed a love for Electric Fly Swatters. So, when our home was overrun by 15 or so flies that had come in thanks to all our doors being open all day long for the movers on Friday, Zack took it upon himself to order us two. Why two?

Z: "One for me and one for Jack to play with"
A: "Excuse me, did you just say you were going to give my two year old a swatter that electrocutes things?"
Z: "Yeah, I figured he would want to play with it when he saw mine"
A: "And what if he touches it?"
Z: "Then he'll learn pretty quickly not to touch it again."

I think this conversation sums up the difference between moms and dads. I say, don't give him something he could electrocute himself with until he knows not to zap himself, Zack says give it to him and let him learn what it feels like to be zapped.

Man alive.

The fly swatters came in the mail today while Zack was at work. I decided that we would do it my way since I was the one at home and would have to deal with it if Jack got zapped. So I put batteries in mine and sure enough, just like Zack had predicted, Jack was on top of me asking me where his was and was delighted when I pulled his out of the box (which remained battery-less). We put on fly zapping music (Jack Johnson for anyone planning a similar time passing activity) and spent the next 45 minutes zapping and bopping flies. Pretty much it was gross, but I think there is only one crafty fly left in our home.



I worry (yeah go figure I worry) about how this activity teaches Jack about life and death and our hand in it (Yeah, I know). So I tried hard to explain that we only zap bugs in our home when Jack suggested we go outside and wage a war against any bug in our paths. They're all learning experiences right?

Moving Memories

Why Moving's cool according to Jack


A BIG truck comes to our house




They drive our cars into the BIG truck


Our home becomes a big maze and Papa has to cut pizza with his pocket knife

Everything becomes a toy because all your toys are packed away in boxes



You get carried over the treshhold


*Memories not recorded in pictures include Jack discovering Onion Rings and his new favorite restaurant, Islands and donuts and lemonade everyday because the fridge is empty.

Jack's new 'hood

So, the neighborhood is great. I still am not up to talking about what we left behind, so until then I will talk about what we are gaining.

Our neighbors invited us to participate in their evening ritual. At least eight kids (who all are within a year or two of Jack) get together every evening and ride power wheels in the back alley lined with garages. And I mean HUGE power wheels. One kid has a large Lightning McQueen, another a big four wheeler that I could fit in, a over sized Jeep and a few other motorized vehicles. Our next door neighbor, Dani (pronounced Danny) let Jack borrow the smaller power wheel that her three and a half year old learned to drive on. (Yeah I know...) The whole thing was hilarious and also so absurd to watch! Jack had so much fun and can't wait till tomorrow evening. And here I was thinking we had no cool ideas for Jack for Christmas.

I managed to snap a few pictures tonight. Jack was upgraded to the Lightning McQueen car tonight..

Bongo turned 3 today

I couldn't let the day pass without mentioning that today was Bongo's third birthday. Believe me, had I known, we definitely would not have chosen to move today... Around three this afternoon Jack casually mentioned it was indeed Bongo's birthday and he and Dee-da were going to be coming over soon for his party. Zack, being the wonderful dad he is, reminded us all that he would be expecting a birthday cake. Jack notified us that Bongo would also need a balloon. So after giving up on the dream that I would be able to make dinner at home tonight (having professional movers is great but man alive I don't have any clue where they packed ANYTHING) we stopped at the grocery store where I found a perfect mini blue and purple cake and a balloon. When we got home, we sang to Bongo (I was lucky enough to sit next to the birthday boy) and Jack helped him blow out his candles. The cake turned all of our mouths blue.

Happy, Happy third birthday Bongo! Our family wouldn't be the same without you!

New Beginnings

Today, as Jack and I boarded our plane holding one way tickets from San Jose to San Diego it hit me. We are not coming back here. At least not back to our Home. It was a perfect take off. We flew right over Safeway, right over the park where Jack went on the swings and down the slide for the first time, the bagel store where Jack ate more mini cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese then I care to admit as we discussed our favorite cars, colors, and why the sky is blue, the school where we went to make baskets each evening, and then more recently to race cars, then over Archstone and finally over Nantucket and the park that I looked out on for the last three years. It was a fitting end to a wonderful four years in Santa Clara.

I woke up the other morning at Dani and Sean's house. Zack had already left to catch his airplane and use his one way ticket to San Diego. Jack was still asleep and I just kept thinking over and over again, "My heart hurts." Believe me, I know it's not the end of the world, and I am aware that San Diego is wonderful, but it's not Home yet. Home is something real, and essential in my life. It's a safe haven from the world that I can't control. So, leaving Home is a big deal to me. The only thing making this possible is my faith that Home is where Jack and Zack are (if only I could convince Dani and Sean that they have to attach themselves to us then I'd be set).

I have also been thinking about my grandmother, Baba, a lot. She and her sister Bosa lived in a duplex with their families in Milwaukee. Baba and Deda had three kids, and Bosa and Deka had four kids. I have grown up hearing all about the mischief those seven kids got into growing up essentially in one home. After a few years Baba and Deda moved their family to California and Bosa and Deka remained with their family in Milwaukee. I asked Baba a few years ago, when I was getting ready to move away from Dani for the first time and get married, whether it was a hard decision to make. She told me absolutely not. That it was the right decision for her family and that she and Bosa would always be sisters whether they lived in the same house or across the country.

The truth is I am not me without Dani. I guess that's why we came as a pair. I just have to keep reminding myself that we will always be sisters whether we live in the same house or across the country.

Moments

Yes, I realize we just left our home of four years and our good friends but I'm not ready to talk about it just yet.

Yesterday in the car Jack and I were chatting about what happened when his imaginary beetle got a flat tire and Bongo let him borrow his Mini Cooper and took his beetle to the mechanic for him. All at once he said, "Oh, I have to remember to tell Dee-da about that." I asked him who Dee-da was, he said, "Oh, just someone I work with." It was all so matter of fact that I just burst out laughing. What a funny kid.

Tonight at dinner, Jack was staring off into space. I asked him what he was thinking and he said, "I was just thinking that it's about time for us to buy a BMW."

Pretty much sums up the inner workings of my child's brain.

Potty Time

Jack went to the bathroom on the potty 2 times this evening!! Whoo hoo!! It totally came out of no where and I still think we are a ways away from giving up diapers, but we are so proud of him and better yet, he is so proud of himself! Way to go Jack!

Memories

Today was an unbelievably hard day. I can take most things Jack throws at me, but when he's mean to me I just want to roll up in a ball and give up. Today was one of those days. I know he is just testing boundaries, but the kid spent most of the day in time outs, one after another, after another. I know it is largely because his life is getting turned upside down. Adda and Poppi are gone, we are in the process of moving, and Zack is working in San Diego a few days a week. Heck, it's a lot for me to handle and I have over a quarter of a century on this kid. I kept thinking about something I read the other day about not just surviving our children. I try so hard to be in the moment, but today I'm afraid all I did was survive Jack. We had one moment today where I worked through my "I'm off of caffeine again" headache, and we sat and talked about change and how he felt inside. He told me he felt real bad inside and didn't want to move and leave his friends. All I could do was hug him, reassure him that I love him always, and that we would make new friends and always remember our old ones. Such a big lesson for such a small fry.

On a side note, Jack told me today that if he went into the street without holding one of our hands he would be hit by a car and his head would fall off. I was so shocked. I have no idea where he came up with such a gruesome idea! I asked him, and he blamed Zack. Zack however vehemently denies ever saying such a thing to Jack. I told him his head wouldn't fall off, but he kept insisting it would. Finally, I just let him go on believing it. Maybe it will help him not go in the road alone, or maybe 20 years from now I will get to hear him tell the story of how I told him his head would fall off if he went in the street on his own. Hopefully this entry will serve as a record that he came up with that one all on his own.

Jack is also convinced that his teeth will turn green if he doesn't brush them. "Like the Hulk". This one Adda is responsible for. They saw a picture of the Hulk on a trash can during beach week and in response to Jack's questioning why his teeth were green, Adda told him it was because he didn't brush them. Good thinking. Except now he insists on brushing his teeth, and crys in his crib at nap time if he remembers he didn't brush them. I have tried also to be honest with him and tell him chances are his teeth won't be green if he misses one day, but he doesn't believe me. Like I said. Twenty years from now, that one's on Adda's tab. My tab is full...enough believe me. :)

Jack & Zoe Hugs

Zoe is pretty much Jack's best friend right now. I am always amazed at how well the two of them play together. They help each other up when they fall and just overall get a kick out of one another. Of course there are meltdowns. Jack is going to miss sweet Zoe and Maryanne when we move. This video is after their swim lessons one day. And yes, I did edit out the next frame when Jack pushed her. No need to remember that...

Jack's Swimming Lesson #2

Teacher Brittany is AWESOME. This is a video from Jack's second 30 minute lesson with her. He is now on lesson 6 and can swim half the length of a pool, lifts his head to get a new breath, can swim to the stairs, can jump into the pool, turn around and then pull himself up out on the side of the pool. Seriously, the kid is now a fish.

Our new Home

We spent the last week down (See Zack I'm trying) in San Diego on a home finding tour. We had a wonderful hotel in La Jolla that was pretty much bigger then our apartment which we made our home base. Intuit provided us with an awesome Realtor, Lauren, who spent all day Tuesday with us. The day started at 8:30 and Jack, who we had just that morning admitted that our new home was not going to next door to Dani and Sean, was none to pleased. We must have seen 15-17 places that first day, and the first 10 or so Jack loudly announced that he did not like them and did not want to live there. Finally, we found a wonderful little community. As soon as we drove down the street I knew it was where I wanted to live. It is lined with cute little trees, has basketball courts, a swimming pool, tons of grassy fields and two little parks and playgrounds in the immediate community.

We found two houses that we were considering. One that had a great back yard with an outdoor fireplace, waterfall, fish pond with lily pads and real live grass. This was almost our home, until we found out that the owners were moving their kids to Switzerland for 2 years and wanted their home to be left exactly the way they had it so that it would be the same for when their kids came home. That meant, all the walls had to stay painted the colors they choose (which were all nice colors for the most part except for a seriously awful magenta bathroom) and the bamboo that lined the bottom half of one room could not be removed. We quickly realized, that although it was our favorite place thus far because it felt like a home, it in the end wasn't our home and we didn't want to live in someone elses' home.

So we settled on a three bedroom house one block over. It does not have a yard, which is sad, but it does have a large patio area (perfect for Jack's basketball hoop, large beetle, table and chairs, bike, beep-beep and homeless man shopping cart), hard wood floors downstairs, and enough room for Jack to grow more then 3 feet tall. :)

Here are some pictures...









The only sad part is that the kitchen counters are not a very pretty color as the picture shows. If you want to see more, you'll have to come visit us...

I am most happy about not having to walk up three flights of stairs. More accurately, I am most excited about not having to drag Jack up three flights of stairs. Although visitors will have to park on the street and climb a few stairs, our garage is in the back of the house. Hurray!

Come visit us. Please?


**While we were in the area, we drove up to meet Tai and Baba for lunch in Irvine, and then drove a bit further to visit with Rachel in Newport.




**On a sad personal note. I remembered how San Diego's proximity to the beach and my hair don't mix on this trip. Hopefully they will find a way to coexist.

Home Sweet Home

We found a new home. More info and pictures to come as soon as we come up for air...