Little Jack’s Corner

(Voiced by 5 month old Jack-Evan, typed by Mommy)

Mommy told me I should not be eating my toes.

She says although most humans have their foot
in their mouths during adulthood,
she doesn’t want me starting this early.

…no?
Well ours is.
To date, he’s snatched 3 jars of peanut butter, 3 dozen Krispe Kreme doughnuts, 2 loaves of bread, a full pack of Combo pretzels, a roll of saltine crackers, a bowlful of pork & beans, and a prenatal vitamin.
It all happens innocently enough….
Usually I…uh..I mean..one of us…will be munching merrily on a snack or making a [...]

Today we had (yet another) Sears photo session at noon. 
Kevin is off on Fridays, so it’s always nice to having him accompany me on these trips!  Plus it means that we get to have an excursion to the mall food court afterwards.  And, since Jack-Evan usually passes out after his pictures are taken, we get some [...]

I have to admit, I am addicted to capturing memories. 

Kevin and I practically live at the Sears portrait studio.

Jack is only 5 months old, yet we’ve already had 8 sessions.

C’mon…low as their prices are, who can resist??

One day, my sweet Jack-Evan will be all grown up.

The chubby baby cheeks, the toothless gums,
and the milky breath [...]

….or…. Never ask a sleeping man questions.
—————————
The Scene:  Our Living Room. 
Guilty Party:  Kevin is napping on the couch, Jack-Evan is napping in my lap, and I’m randomly doing nothing on the internet.
Time:  Just a few minutes ago.
 
     Me:  Hey baby?  Kev… Honey? 
     Kev:   huh…uh..huh…what… ::::returns to snoring::::
     Me:  Hey!  You!
     Kev:   ::::opens one eye and [...]

Once in a while, my husband will whisk the baby away for some grand daddy-son time whilst mommy gets to revel in a longer-than-5-second bath.  Tonight was one of those nights. 
Sitting Laying there in the tub, covered with Mr. Bubble brand bubbles, I spent 43.8 glorious minutes floating between half asleep and half awake.  I was [...]

I didn’t originally have this as a “Thankful Thursday” 
But I happened to notice it coincided quite nicely,
and wanted to share it on the Thankful Thursday weekly site.
——————-
Are you thankful for things in your life?  Really, truly, absolutely thankful?
From the Merriam-Webster Online:
thank·ful 
Pronunciation:
\ˈthaŋk-fəl\
Function:
adjective
Date:
before 12th century
1 : conscious of benefit received [...]

(Voiced by 5 month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

Once upon a time, I went to the fair.

I was immediately taken aback at how foreign everything looked.
This place is definitely very different from my home.

Since my mommy and daddy are now old,
they claim that they can’t ride the rides anymore.
I asked them if I could ride.  [...]

…that regardless of who wins the presidency, the majority of the middle class families will not benefit from either of the candidates plans.
How will offering a tax credit for health insurance help those who are already struggling, living with day to day?  When something isn’t affordable, it’s not affordable because the money isn’t there.  Giving a [...]

…ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I had to think of some catchy title for this week’s Works for Me Wednesday (hosted by Rocks in My Dryer).
You know how annoying it is to spend hours many minutes typing out a very thought provoking blog comment, post, thread reply, message board post, or some [...]

(Voiced by 5 month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

…testing…testing…Hello?  Is this thing on?

Yes?  …ok.. Hello, Jack-Evan here, reporting from the pumpkin patch.
Today I am going to show you how to make toasted pumpkin seeds.

The first thing you need to make pumpkin seeds is, well, a pumpkin.
If you are not allowed to handle knives, you’ll also [...]

(Voiced by 5 month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

“IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, JACK-EVAN!”

Hello!  Linus…uh..I mean, Jack-Evan here.
Has anyone seen my pencil and paper?  I have a letter to write.

Dear, Great Pumpkin.  I’m looking forward to your arrival on Halloween night.
I hope you will bring me lots of presents….

 
“Who are you writing to?”  asks Gabby the [...]

Go.  Now.  Read this, right here.
It’s a blog post from “Cultivating Home”.  I love that blog - she lives on a farm with her husband and 5 kids (the youngest of whom was born shortly after Jack was).  Her photos are always wonderful, but usually on the nicey nice side of life.  But not this [...]

Doncha know that when you want your camera the most, that is the moment you are least likely to have it available?
For one, you may remember that I have been obsessed with collecting pepsi points this year.  I was bound and determined to earn 75 points before the contest ended so I could get this [...]

I consider myself to be fairly open minded.  By that, I mean even when I do have a strong personal opinion about something, I “force” myself to recognize that other people may hold just as valid of opinion on the same subject…neither one of us will ever have the entire truth…and….somehow one of us (including me) [...]

Tonight was our church’s ladies’ ministry meeting.  We only meet a few times per year, but I always love going because of the good fellowship with the older ladies there.
Our church is pretty small, averaging about 40 people in attendence on Sunday mornings.  I began attending shortly after the church was founded in 1987, so [...]

Ok.  There seems to be a rash of “realness” coming out in many mommy bloggers.  You see, there are a few (and one especially well known) home making blogs where the authors present themselves to be the perfect wife, mom, teacher, homemaker, etc.  In a turning of the tide movement, mommies every where seem to [...]

Ok, I am definately the quintessential doting mom.
My son sneezes and I rush to touch his nose before it drips.  He smiles, and my smile broadens.  He talks baby talk and I talk baby talk back.  He eats a spoon of rice cereal, and I cheer like it’s the yummiest stuff on the planet.  He [...]

Step One:  Feel for sogginess on outside of diaper.  Remind self not to ever stick finger in edge of diaper again.
Step Two:  Lay baby down on bed.
Step Three:  Pick baby back up, walk over to diaper bin and pick up a diaper.
Step Four:  Walk back to bed, lay baby back down, whilst untangling hair from [...]

Ahhh…Nicknames.  Those loveable monikers our family and friends give us are (usually!) a warm fuzzy feeling of belonging.  They signify acceptance, being “in” with someone, friendship, and unity.  Even if one claims to hate a particular family given nickname, you must admit that it’s usually feels better to have one than to not have one.   It [...]

In a world of overhyped materialism, I find myself wanting to buck the system often and get by with the absolutely bare essentials.  Most baby items really are not needed to give a baby a happy, wonderful home.  I find that Jack-Evan would do just fine with a white tshirt, a clean diaper, and a lap [...]

(Voiced by 5 month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

It all started innocently enough. 
I was just beginning to think of dinner, when mommy announced we were going to the park.

It was the same park I went to a few months ago, but this time we were going to have a picnic!  It was the 3rd anniversary [...]

(Voiced by 5 month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Who would have thought I would encounter royalty so close to home?

You see, I was playing on my blankie and asked Mommy to join me.

I also asked a passing Ant to be my friend.  She said she was the Queen.

I [...]

Yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of the day Kevin asked me to marry him.  To celebrate, I packed up dinner and we headed to the park where we got engaged, only this time we had a wee infant in tow.  It was a wonderful evening, full of retrospect, playfulness, and looking to the future.  The [...]

Saturday, Oct. 1, 2005

…Kevin took me to a little park near my childhood home. I sat on the same swing I played on as a little girl whilst he pushed me. A few moments later, he went to the car saying he wanted to get some water.
Upon returning, he stood in front of me with [...]

It’s 3 am right now.  This whole weekend has been a bit off kilter for us.  For one, I have been dreadfully tired since Friday, due in part, I believe, to the toll breastfeeding is taking on my body now that Jack-Evan is almost 5 months old.  Nothing I do seems to revive my energy, [...]

(Voiced by 4 month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)
 

Today we went to the river.

…or..at least, that’s what Dad said it was.

It was a bit chilly, so I held onto my Pooh bear to keep him warm.

Mommy didn’t have a Pooh bear, so she held onto Daddy.

As we were strolling down the pathway, beside the river, [...]

…I mean, I completely LOVE it.  My belly hurts quite often from all the laughter that goes on around here.
When I was pregnant, I tried to read as much as I could about pregnancy, childbirth, and babies.  And (it seemed) everyone and their brother had parenting advice to pass on.
So why didn’t anyone ever tell [...]

I’ve been reading through the book of Matthew this week, and something struck a cord with me that I thought I would share.
Ok, if you are familiar with the story of Jesus’ last days, his arrest in the garden, and how he predicted Peter’s denial, you’ll also know that part of the story ends with [...]

Time:  Dinner, at our house.  6:35 pm.

Jack-Evan:  :::::::ppphhfffbb:::::: (insert grunting sounds, face turns red)

…Kevin and I look at each other…
 
Jack-Evan:  (insert sounds of machine gun quality baby toots)

…Kevin and I look at each other again, and burst out laughing…
…Jack looks back at us…
 
Me:  We better stop laughing.  He’s going to do that in public [...]