date night!

last night we went out to celebrate craig's birthday... my back still isn't 100%, but i was really looking forward to going out.

we went to patriot's place, and did a little shopping first. craig was in a great mood and i somehow ended up with a new watch too! we then met our friends rick and ilana at the movies. we were there early enough to have a drink before we went to our seats. pineapple martini's are yummy!!!!


i got us tickets to Hall Pass, which truth be told, craig was not happy about. he thought it was going to be some stupid movie. well, it was one of the only new releases that was playing in the lux that i haven't seen. we got settled in our chairs, and ordered dinner more drinks, and enjoyed the show. we all laughed so hard... it was hilarious!

after the movie we headed over to Davio's to have dessert. i have been carrying around a gift card with almost $50 on it, and just wanted to use it up.

it was a perfect night! craig maybe had a couple too many drinks, and was feeling it today.

what to do?

sometimes making parenting decisions can be difficult...

ok, so here's the deal. carter is in the 2nd grade, and there was a new boy in his class this year. when we asked carter who he played with at recess, or sat next to at lunch time, he would always talk about this boy. great, carter has a new friend.

then in september when i went to the open house night at the school, this boys mother was there. now i know they say don't judge a book by it's cover, but i'm just going to put it out there... i did, and i do. the mom wasn't dressed nice at all, didn't seem to fit in with the look of most the moms i have met in town.

whatever, so i probably won't be friends with this women, but it wouldn't stop me from having carter play with her son. and then one day on the way to the soccer fields, carter points this boy out. he was playing outside his house, which is a set of low-income town houses. really, i didn't even know this section of town existed. through my eyes, i thought our town was mostly middle - upper middle class.

ok, so now i am thinking, if carter wants to have this boy over some day, that would be fine, but i didn't want him going to his house. i told craig my thoughts, and he agreed.

so now the tricky part... last week our phone rang a couple of times, and on the called id was this boy from class. he didn't leave a message, so i kinda ignored it. the next day i ran into another one of carter's friends moms at the store. she told me that there was a message for carter on her answering machine from this other boy. he was inviting him to his birthday party. the party was at his house next week. then the mom said she was glad her son wasn't invited b/c she wouldn't let him go. her husband is a cop in town and is always called to those housing projects. she said what i was thinking... i felt validated, that it wasn't just me making judgements.

last friday, carter got off the bus telling me all about the party, and that this boy had him write down all the info. to go. i told carter that's not how we do things. his friends mom would have to call or email me...

today the phone rang again and i let the machine pick it up... the boy was calling again, reminding carter about his party. at this point my heart was breaking for this little boy. he is planning his own party, inviting friends, and everything. the image of this boy waiting by his window at 2:00 on saturday to see if his friends show up, knowing that most wouldn't, just seriously breaks my heart.

craig called back, and of course the boy answered. craig talked to his mom and just let her know that carter wouldn't be able to make it.

i know we are making the best decision, but it still sucks. i feel bad for this little boy, who has done nothing wrong, but i have to follow my gut. if we didn't have other plans with our family, then maybe i would consider letting carter go if one of us could stay and supervise, but that's not going to work.

change of plans

first let me start by wishing craig a very happy birthday... i am so sad that your birthday wasn't fun filled, but i promise we will make it up next weekend.

yesterday my mom was supposed to come down for the weekend. i was looking forward to her visit for so many reasons. i love when she is here, the kids love it too. she helps out so much, and she is so happy just spending time with the kids. i love seeing the joy on her face. i was also looking forward to going out with craig to celebrate his birthday. we were going to go out to dinner, and go watch shopping for craig's birthday gift.

yesterday morning i woke up to discover at some point i had completely thrown my back out... i couldn't even stand up straight. so we canceled our plans, i laid down and craig has been mr. mom. not exactly fun, but that's life.

the kids were bummed, so craig brought them to the Y to play. apparently he decided to see how hadley would do in the child watch, and he said she loved it! she made some friends and they were coloring together. i would have love to see that.

today craig brought the boys to get haircuts, and i was putting hadley down for her nap. she did the same thing she usually does and went into her big girl room and said she wanted to nap there. but today she didn't then run to her crib when i went to tuck her in... she actually went to sleep. i couldn't believe it! she napped for about 2 hours, and just played in her bed when she woke up. once my back is feeling better, i will work on the transition to her new room.

i'm so happy that craig has tomorrow off to give my back another day to recover... it is hard to take care of the kids when i'm not feeling great, and have a cold. it is a whole different situation when physically i can't even pick up my baby. i may need to visit the chiropractor this week... for now i am just praying it is better for tuesday.

legos

the boys love legos, but the problem is that hadley does too... they build and she destroys! i took some pictures so they could remember their creations.

let's review...

wow, this week has gone by so fast, and i can't even count how many times i thought i was going to sit down and type, but never got the chance. i guess four kids has me running around a bunch...

saturday - graham is 3 months old!!!
i feel so lucky to be his mom... he is just perfect! he smiles all the time, and it is just the best and totally warms my heart. (did i really just use the word totally?) now that he no longer has a nasty cough, he is getting back into sleeping through the night, which makes me very happy!!! he still hates tummy time, but that is usually the only time he cries. he loves his bath, and just enjoys hanging out in his swing or bouncy chair.



sunday - the lion king
i surprised carter with tickets to see the lion king. my friend jen and her daughter olivia went too. we had a great time, and carter loved it! we also went to dinner at the cheesecake factory. it was so nice to have a date with my 7 year old.

monday - happy valentine's day
i spent valentine's day with my family... i made craig his favorite dinner, lasagna. the kids gave me a box of chocolates, and craig gave me the twilight movies. yes, i love edward!!!


tuesday - jump jump

i'm the room mom for mason's class and also sit on the parent board... tuesday night was our meeting to discuss the spring fundraiser. as we were all sitting around the table, i saw a frightful look on one of the teacher's faces. before the words came out of her mouth i jumped on my chair and screamed. there was a mouse in the little red schoolhouse. thanks to that little furry creature, i wasn't able to sleep at all tues. night. i have a huge phobia of mice.... gross!!!

wednesday - hadley's haircut
hadley's hair has been slightly out of control these days. we finally got it cut... about an inch off, and now we are still trying to let her bangs grow out. there are way too many decisions when it comes to girl's hair.


thursday - the day they tried to kill me
one of those day, that i wish i had a job to go to... i actually wish i had anywhere to go w/out my children, who i love so dearly. hadley, hadley, hadley... she is really trying to remind me every minute lately that she is two, and everything is mine! one minute she is playing and having fun, and then her alter-ego takes over, and she is a monster child. mason has been close to perfect for the last 4 1/2 years, but lately he is so whiney! fighting, crying, whining... i had enough, and just needed to go. so off to bj's we went, just to get out of the house. i took the long way home just to enjoy the quiet in the car.

friday - tgif
we have had a tease of spring weather here the last two days... it has been beautiful! i had an exchange at the outlets, so i thought it would be fun to let hadley walk around and release some energy. she was so darn cute, and said hello to everyone, and stayed right with me and loved holding my hand. yesterday she was a mini-satan, and today an angel. after enjoying some fresh air, we went to target, and then to pick up mason from school. next week is school vacation!

so there you have it... my weekly review.

bye bye binky

we are binky free here in the jacobs family... hadley had decided about 3 months ago that she only liked one of her binkies, and had no need for the other 6 that were in her crib. she only used it when she went to sleep, and it always stayed in her crib.

last week i noticed the binky had a little tear on the bottom, and showed it to her. she was sad that her beloved binky was broken, but still held onto it tight. then on monday when i was looking at it closer, i accidently pulled the nipple right off. yup, it was officially broken. i showed hadley and she was very sad. i asked her if she wanted to throw it away, and she agreed. off she went to my bathroom and tossed it in the bucket.

i was nervous for nap that day, and was sure she wouldn't be able to comprehend exactly what happened, but to my surprise, she did great! occasionally she will ask "where binky go?" and then i just remind her it broke, and she'll say "oh, binky in trash." and then off to sleep she goes.

what a great transition it has been! carter loved his binky and would hide in his room just to get a fix! lol! finally we traded the binky for christmas presents and made him give his binky to santa the day after christmas. he was 2 1/2 at the time and i wanted him off the binky before mason was born. he cried for a day, but then got over it. luckily mason and graham never liked the binky.

next step is getting miss hadley into the big girl bed!

cancer free

not only did my dad finish his chemo treatments this week, when he went in today to get the chemo pump removed and they gave him the results of his blood work.... no more cancer!!! 11 months of treatments and surgery, and it is finally over!

i am so happy for my dad, and my mom... it has been such a long and emotional journey, and even though the side effects of the chemo can last for up to 6 months, it is so good to know he is on the road to feeling good again.

i love this picture... over the last year, the happiest i saw my dad was the day we told him we were pregnant, and then the day graham was born and we told him that graham's middle name was after him.


my uncle (dad's brother) was battling throat cancer, and he also learned that he is cancer free today... i know that was added stress, so it was really a good day in the jones family!!

February?

seriously, i can't believe it is february already... and it's already the 7th! i totally lost tract of time with all the snow/sick days we had.

poor mason got hit hard with the flu. he missed almost 2 weeks of school... the one day i sent him in b/c he was fever free for over 24 hours, i got a call right before pick up that he started going down hill and his fever was back. i felt horrible for sending him in. it is going around his class too... everyday there seems to be about 5-6 kids out with the same thing.

at this point he has no more symptoms of the flu. his fever is finally gone, and staying away. his runny nose has cleared up, and his cough is just about gone too. the thing he, he now seems so... depressed. i'm not sure if he just has no energy in him, or what. i figured i'll give it a week of finally get back into a routine and see how he feels then.

today it is beautiful out... the sun is shining, and snow is melting! it's 40 degrees and you would think it is spring here in new england. i even got an iced coffee today instead of a hot. not too worry, tonight into tomorrow we are scheduled for more snow.

tomorrow is my dad's last chemo session!!!! i am so happy for him! he started this (post surgery chemo) back in august, so it has been a long journey. i am sending him up a gift card to go out to dinner w/my mom once he is feeling well to celebrate.

ok, time for lunch!