Acts of Rebellion

After trying to get pregnant for over a year one of my little acts of rebellion is that I have stopped taking my prenatal vitamins. I know it doesn't make any sense, but it feels like the only decision I have control over. To Zack's credit he diligently sets out my vitamins each and every day and tries his best to convince me to take them. A few days ago he got smart. He has convinced Jack it's fun to feed people their vitamins and now gives my vitamin straight to Jack to feed it to me every morning. That's a cheap shot if I ever saw one, but there is no doubt, come what may, that the two guys in my life love me, want to take care of me, and make me the luckiest mom/wife in the world.

Sweet Moments

This morning while Jack and I were hiding under the covers on our bed waiting for Zack to come and find us during our game of hide and seek, Jack reached over, took my hand in his and kissed it. He didn't say anything at all before or after. But it was a perfect moment.

Tackling on Sundays

Our first Sunday in our new ward was, well just that, a first Sunday in a new ward. Jack seemed quite content in his new nursery (which includes 24 toddlers. Primary has 126 kids in addition...just imagine what Sacrament meeting is like...) so we decided to skip out and let him go it alone so he wouldn't expect us to be there every week. When I went back after church to pick him up, he was full on tackling a giant bear in the middle of the room. Think body checking by a two year old. I asked how everything went, and they very nicely asked if we do a lot of tackling at home because Jack had, in fact, tackled a little boy and girl fortunately neither very hard, (No one went home in a body cast) so they brought out the bear for him to tackle. I was mortified, and yet still slightly amused to see my sweet little boy roughing up this ginormous bear.

We spent the next week talking all about how church is not a place for tackling, and how it's only okay to play tackling games with Momma and Papa (and of course Adda and Poppi) and never with kids, and never in nursery.

Still, Sean called the other day to remind us that boys are paid lots of money to tackle people on Sundays. He makes a valid point.

Foosball etiquette

While Jack and I were staying at Dani and Sean's house before moving to San Diego, Jack and I played a few games of Foosball on their balcony. Jack made a goal and immediately pulled up his shirt and screamed "Gooooooal!!" He then very matter-of-factly informed me, "Momma, you have to lift up your shirt and show your belly when someone makes a goal." I told him that rule was only for Jacks, and not for Mommas.

Thank you oh so very much for all the color you add to Jack's life Sean!!

No you are...

I don't know when it started. Sometimes I think it grew out of Sean and my tumultuous relationship when he and my sister first started dating. He would say something simple, say for instance, "I just bought a panini maker" to which I would promptly reply, "You're a panini maker." Mind you, not all my comebacks were that creative...

And even now, though I love Sean dearly, when we're together the "no you are" comments come out in full force.

So, it shouldn't have surprised me the other day when I told Jack that I was packing his sandwich up and he could eat it in the car, that he looked up at me and said, "I'm going to pack you up and eat you in the car."

I couldn't help but burst out laughing at my sweet little boy and wonder how many more "no you are" comebacks our family has yet to come.

Adda and the Human Garage Door Opener

Thursday brought Adda back to us. To say we are ecstatic to have her here would not adequately express how we feel. I think Jack said it best when he looked over at Adda and said, "I'm glad your home." I feel exactly the same way.

Dani has seriously convinced Jack that his nose is in fact a garage door opener. It's actually pretty amusing how easy it was for her to convince him wholeheartedly. Now, instead of asking me for the garage door opener to open and close it when we get home, he just pushes his own nose and up, up, up it goes. Pretty gosh darn adorable.

Step Class

I have been loving my kick boxing classes and feeling pretty gosh darn coordinated so I got up the nerve to give my arch nemesis -- step class -- another try. The first, and only step class I ever took, was at BYU with Monica. She is so coordinated, and no matter what I did, I just couldn't get the hang of it. But, I'm much more coordinated and not as rhythmically challenged as I was 5 years ago... right?

Everything started off well. I had new workout clothes and totally looked the part. That is until class started. But I was proud of myself for having fun and not caring that I wasn't the best at it. Then I fell. Flat on my bum, and hurt my pride and my ankle. The whole class stopped and watched. I decided that the most embarrassing thing I could do would be to leave, so I massaged my ankle for a minute and got up and kept going. Only to fall down, once again, flat on my bum not two minutes later. Turns out leaving was only the second most embarrassing choice I could have made. So, two hurt ankles later (and yes, I did stay and finish the class, because I didn't want to let the class beat me) I went home and told the story to Zack and Jack.

That was two weeks ago, and Jack brings it up in conversation everyday. "Hey Momma, remember when you fell in your step class?" "Hey Momma, what did you fall over, a step right? That's funny, I climb up steps everyday at our new home and don't ever fall on my bum." Today has asked me if I was going to step class tonight. I told him, yet again, that I wasn't going back to step class because I don't want to get hurt. He paused for a second and then told me he really wants me to go tonight, so he can come and see me fall flat on my bum for himself.

Thanks Jack.

**Jack loves watching people fall. In fact, at the playground, he intentionally falls over and over and over again. Picture him walking 10 feet in the sand and falling at least 15 times walking from one side to the other. It's actually pretty comical to watch other people's reactions. They are always first concerned that he fell and his mom seems to not be doing anything about it (irresponsible mom that she is), then horrified that he keeps falling, and finally mesmerized that they seem to be watching, firsthand, the world's most clumsy kid. What can I say, the kid likes an audience. And I do put this one on Zack's list. Zack laughs louder then anyone I have ever met at falling down, physical comedy. Jack never stood a chance.

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.