Tot School "Lite"

**J is 30 months old**

I love doing Tot School with J! We are very laid back and so far I don't really plan anything. I keep a lot of things visible to J and let him lead when it's time to do some focused learning-play. Thanks for stopping by!


Well this is the first time it's happened to me -- my computer crashed!!! I am so thankful that I backed up the computer for just the second time on 11/13 so I was able to restore my computer from that date. BUT that means I lost some of my pictures from this week. We ended up having a really light Tot School week so I probably didn't lose too many pictures. We did a lot of errands and had a few scheduled play activities that kept us on the go. You'll notice J is wearing his green jammies in many of the photos. He actually wore these two separate days during the week when he was adamant he wanted to wear them and I think they're cute so I didn't mind.

Some of the things we did this week:

Playing at Pal Zone


























































Pal Zone is a community play group we've been part of for over a year and a half yet I've never taken any pictures of our play time there. I really love this group because it's very diverse. Many of the people who come are originally from other countries so J gets to interact with children from different cultural backgrounds. There is open play time with zillions of toys then we gather in another room for circle time with songs, a story and a craft. One great activity is where we sing a song where each child learns to say their name and then pick up their name tag and place it on a felt board while we sing and clap for them. The story and craft go together and J gets to learn how to use glue, scissors, pipe cleaner activities and many others. We go once a week and really benefit from this group.


Watching Mark Schultz, Worship DVD





























One afternoon, J really wanted to watch a "worship movie". I explained that we can sing worship from our CD but I didn't have any worship movies. But then I remembered my husband had won a CD from his men's group that had a DVD of a live worship performance. The artist was Mark Schultz whose songs include "Back in His Arms Again" and "He's My Son". It was fun watching this together and singing some of the songs.


Story Time at the Library



























This is another activity we have enjoyed, going to our local library for their story hour. Every other month, they have a session a week for 4 weeks at a time. They pick a theme like today's was bears and then they have a craft to go with it. Today's craft was making a bear's cave surrounded with snow and the bear hiding in his cave. J and I worked together to use the glue bottle and stick them on.


Making Christmas Cookies, A Play Date


























































I haven't got started on an Advent calendar and I haven't done my Christmas decorating, so I have really been wanting to do something related to Christmas. Today I got all the fixins for sugar cookie decorating and invited my friend so our sons could do this together. I haven't done many cooking activities with J so I knew this would be interesting. We didn't really know what we were in for, but I was glad we were doing this together. We each had our own bowl letting our sons help mix and use the cookie cutters (sorry, we had our hands full and I didn't get pictures of that part) but never imagined how tricky this can be with a not-yet-2 year old and 2-1/2 year old. My friend remembers her mom used to make the cookies and the kids decorated and we laughed at how much easier that would have been. We couldn't move fast enough to stop little hands from tossing flour and grabbing sprinkles and frosting. There was plenty of clean up, but it was well worth it. The boys loved making as much as eating and we had fun fellowship together enjoying this activity with our kids.

Pom Pom Sorting






























We started out this activity with the idea that j would sort them into the ice cube tray. Then he got the idea he wanted to switch to playdoh. Before we could do playdoh, I told him we needed to clean up. He was super excited about putting the pom poms away in the container so that became a little activity in itself!

Playdoh















J did a little with the Playdoh. On my wish list is a set of Playdoh tools, but in the meantime I have to improvise. I got out a small rolling pin so J could play with that, but he wasn't really into it. I then found a highlighter and he loved the pressing the lid and seeing the designs it made. I also found a set of dice and when he pressed it into the Playdoh you could actually see the number design.


Books
Disappearing Desmond
The Little Drummer Boy (musical book)
O Little Town of Bethlehem (musical book)
The Pine Tree Parable
The Scarecrow and the Spider
Time for Bed Elephant Small
The Tiny Seed


Movies
Little Einsteins; The Christmas Wish

Dinosaur Train; Dinosaurs in the Snow
I just had to post a video of J while he was watching this DVD. He went bananas over a song called "The Night Train" and had daddy and I play it for him literally 10 times or more so he could dance to it. I took a short video of him moving and grooving to the song. I love watching kids dance!







Music
Veggie Tales; 25 Favorite Toddler Songs
Songs Kids Love to Sing; 25 Sunday School Songs

See the fun things other moms are doing at the Weekly Wrap Up, another place I link up.

The Last Shall Be First....

I'm not really sure where to start today with this new blogging format (not blogging in a "daily journal" format but more of a summary of highlights and not every day). What's most on my mind is being really out of sync because J's "schedule" the last couple days has been really off. I can see how having a basic schedule is so helpful for both of us, and how hard it can be when it's off. So over the weekend J got up earlier than normal. It was 6:30am Friday and 4:30am Saturday when usually he's getting up between 7:30/8:30am. He did go back to sleep a bit on Saturday but his afternoon naps have been late and he's been really ornery and difficult from dinner time on. He was crying at the drop of a hat and even fighting going to sleep which is rare. I went through four cycles of putting him to bed, crying nonstop, soothing and putting back to bed, sleeping finally after 10pm. We've been so blessed that he doesn't usually fight sleep, so I can't complain. Somehow I just think his little internal clock was off a bit. Meal time has been a bit harder too with J getting less sleep than normal. Today, things seem to be pretty much back to normal with no major breakdowns or sleep issues. Yay!

As far as the past several days, his time at Pal Zone stood out. That's a play group that we go to on Wednesdays with open play, circle/story time, songs and a craft. I'm glad I decided to change my schedule around so we can keep going. I realized how much I've seen him grow through this with open play time with a lot of different kids and structured activities to follow. We also get together with two other moms and their little girls usually every Monday. This also has been great for them learning how to share and play together. The moms get some good adult time. We also do some craft projects too.

I was excited to start up again in our mom's Titus group at church. I've been asked to be a greeter and open doors for moms as they come in. I enjoyed doing this and was blessed later by the mentor mom who was our keynote speaker. Barb shared a great story about moving out of our comfort zones and learning more about being stretched in trusting the Lord for how things will turn out.

My husband's good friend lost his mom this week. She was a wonderful southern gal and passionate Christian who lived to the age of 92. We made the decision to take J to her funeral, which was the first one he's been to. He kept asking what we were doing and where we were and it was a bit hard for him to understand. He met Wilda before and so I explained we were there to celebrate Wilda's life who had left here to go to heaven to be with Jesus. The only time we've talked about death was after our cat Rio died, so I was able to remind him of that and I think he started to get it when he said, "now there's 2 of them in heaven". He was very curious about the cemetery and was looking at the grave stones like ones with photos and picture engravings. He wasn't disruptive at all which was such a blessing. Although, we did sit far away from the main area during the service at the funeral home since J is still learning to use an "inside" voice.


We have had a few days of wonderful weather this week, and Friday night was just beautiful. We didn't even need jackets and we spent most of the evening downtown. The three of us had dinner then walked along State Street and to our student union. Today (Monday) started out a little cold and drizzly but then ended up being beautiful with the sun coming out and reaching over 70 degrees. Just perfect.

Devotional Time
My time with the Lord, although it hasn't been every day, has been good. I'm really seeing a theme coming up over and over again and I sense the Lord speaking loudly! I'm trying to have the ears to listen. Matthew 19:30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

First, what's interesting to me is that I don't remember my mom quoting a lot from the bible yet this verse is one I remember her saying so often. Yet even then I never understood it. Part of how I think God is instructing me is like my heart is being tested to see what's there when literally I am "last" in something, or inconvenienced/not "first" or getting my way. I relate getting my way in things to being "first". There were three times in one day that it hit me I was "last" in something that I wanted to be "first" in and how uptight and even angry I got about it. Yet I caught myself when I found this verse coming in to my head and I'm asking the Lord to keep teaching me. I just love when I sense the Lord's hand like this, yet it is a bit overwhelming right now to see how often this comes up for me. This is another verse that has come to mind that I am studying as I seek to gain wisdom. Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Lastly, somehow our camera has gone missing. I last used it Thursday night and I found out on Sunday that I cannot find it anywhere! It is such an integral part of how I'm documenting our life and a huge part of the blog. I really hope it shows up. This is the actually the second time I'll be without a camera so I'll have to figure something out soon. In the meantime, at least at home I'll be able to use my husband's camera but it's an expensive one so I won't be toting it anywhere.

Photo credit: Journeying Down Life's Never-ending Road

Friday Favorites

This is a place where I'd like to comment on some of my favorites of the week. They might be my favorite story about J from the week, my favorite blog posts, also things that are J's favorites or anything else that just really stood out from the week.

Favorites of the Week

Favorite activity:
I would have to say my favorite activity was time this week at Pal Zone with my friend Eileen and her son Jackson. J is getting into the singing more and even though I had to referee his play time a lot with tug-o-wars, he is learning a lot. The theme was dinosaurs and he learned a few new dinosaur names during story time and then all he wanted to do was play with the dinosaurs the teacher had brought in. We also did a craft which was such a great idea, digging for dinosaur "bones" which were dog bones put in a tub with sand over them. We glued them to a triceratops.

Favorite Books:
One of his favorites was a book he's had for a while but just recently has taken a lot of interest in. He calls it his bible, but it's actually a book of lullabies. I wish I could sneak in my son's room right now to get the name of it! (Sorry!) Otherwise, I'd for sure link to it. I love reading this to him. They are also songs, but I don't know how the music goes so we just read them. He's been asking for them right before we got to bed. One of them we read, he asked for the next day. He said "read A Mother's Prayer". This one was really sweet.

Little Elephant Runs Away by Wolfram Hanel
Touchdown - You can Play Football by Nick Fauchald
Tugga Tugga Tugboat by Kevin Lewis
Disney books from library for 50cents: Lion King, Lion King II,

Favorite Music
The best of Sesame Street
Stellaluna - Janell Cannon
Learning Basic Skills Through Music - Hap Palmer
Worship Songs - Veggie Tales


Favorite Videos:
Dumbo
Handy Manny - The Pet Roundup
Teletubbies - All Together Teletubbies: Playful pals and delightful days (Not mommy's choice! J found this at the library and has been loving it.)


Favorite Picture:















Favorite Blog Posts:
The Flourishing Mother - Loss/Gain


Homemaker's Heart - Rethinking: Lifestyle


Growing in Godliness - True Brokenness

Visit Daily Dwelling, my inspiration for Friday Favorites

Visit Saturday Stumbles, where I linked my post

Speed blogging (J getting more daddy time, good quiet times and one-on-one mom time)

It's 10pm and I'm going to try and beat the clock and make it to bed by 10:30 tonight AND get the blog done. I think I'll do another bullet highlights for the last couple days. I love journaling what we do but lately it's been keeping me up at 12, 12:30am, and have to rein it in.

(Tuesday)

• After the extended weekend, L and I got back to our morning time alone together. We were able to take about an hour together for catching up and prayer. It has been good to learn more about what's on his heart and more of what's going on in his life. You can get so busy with every day life that you're not in tune with everything happening with your spouse. It's worth the sacrifice of sleep!
  
• This morning's activity was grocery shopping. This continues to be interesting. I had learned that bringing a few toy animals would keep him busy and happy, but that's starting to wear off. J got pretty ornery and kept asking to get out. Finally, I decided to do something different and let him out and getting him to help push the cart. This was OK for a bit but then he started to run and got too rambunctious so I put him back in the cart and I don't know which was worse his running down the aisle or the crying tantrum putting him back in. So that continues to be an experiment.
  
• We also went to library in the afternoon. J saw the Cat in the Hat on the computer and wanted to watch and listen. He sat there enthralled the whole time while I browsed around. I was always within earshot and could hear his little narration of the story and plenty of giggling. I had a buying faux pas. So I'm continuing my 30 day buying fast of only essentials (which has been interesting and so far no buying. I am putting a post together about it to update.) So I was checking out and found these vintage Disney books of Lion King, Lion King II, Dumbo, and Finding Nemo. J has been really excited about these lately so I was buying them when it hit me that I'm not supposed to buy stuff. They were 50 cents/piece so I told myself they were essentials because I probably won't get a chance like this again. Argh! Rationalizing wins.
• In the evening, I was leaving to get together with my friend Cecile but J wasn't handling it well. It turns out he cried and cried for a while after I left and wouldn't eat much for dinner. Cecile and I had a fruitful time sharing about what's been going on in our lives for the past month. It is so good to be able to reveal more of yourself to someone as you grow in trusting one another. That was happening last night. As we were talking, I heard a little voice calling, "Mommy, mommy, mommy." It was odd because it sounded like J! Sure enough, it was. L had dropped by after a workout at the YMCA so we all visited for a bit. Then I stayed so we could pray and J left crying. It was a hard decision but I realize he needs to spend this kind of time with daddy. He spends so much time with me that he mainly looks to me for comfort and most of his night routine, so we're working on J getting over that so he can receive that from dad.
  

(Wednesday)

• In my morning time with L, we only had about 20 minutes of talking and sharing time before I heard J waking up. After breakfast, we headed out to Pal Zone. Our last time with this group for a while. I'm starting a new women's bible study that meets the same day so I found another Pal Zone day at a different location we'll go to probably every other week. My friend Eileen showed up at circle time. J overall was more aggressive today and I had to watch him pretty closely. He kept putting his arm up in the hitting pose and I'd catch him before he tried doing it. He doesn't hit hard, just kind of a tap but he needs to learn that it's not OK. This is a slow learning process for him. We also had lunch together and then went to the mall for some running around play time for the boys. I love days like this with so much mom to mom time. Eileen and I continued to find so many things we have in common in our backgrounds and it was great to be able to really talk. The boys spent over half an hour alone on the toy fire trucks and race cars at the mall's entrance. All of that with no quarters so they didn't even move yet they loved going from one to the other.
• We got home and I thought it was nap time but J wanted to "watch something" so instead I put in a CD a friend recommended by Hap Palmer "Learning basic skills through music." I had no idea how J would respond but soon he was following along with the song sitting down and standing up and dancing around. We had so much fun doing this and it was fun for me too. I love to sing with him.
• We went to the Y tonight and I had a hard but shorter workout since we got there a little later than normal. When I picked J up they said he was asking for me constantly the last 15 minutes after a little boy said he missed his mom. J said, "I miss my mommy too." And then kept asking for me. Before bed, he found these Thomas shoes I bought (in advance) since they are a size or two ahead of where he's at now. He wanted to wear them around for a little bit so I let him have fun with that but when he wanted to wear them to bed I had to say no. Lately, when I say our prayers and bedtime song he has to be looking at me. I would sit in the rocking chair with his back against me but now he insists on turning around to be able to see me. That's harder though because then he likes to play by poking my cheeks or touching my eyebrows, etc. But things like this are so cute to me.

Devotional Time

• Yesterday I read more from To Live is Christ by Beth Moore. We were in Acts 15 at the start of Paul's second missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas having a horrible falling out. They were making a plan to go back and visit the churches they had started but Barnabas wants to bring Mark, someone who deserted them the last time around. Paul disagreed and it says they had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Beth reflects how in this passage we get to see how God uses flawed people, people who are like you and me. How often do differences come up when you're working closely with others, and especially when there are two strong-willed people unwilling to budge. Unless we invite God in, results can be disastrous, especially in the church body. This made me reflect on how I can easily fall into this. This happens more often to me with people I'm close to and it's so hard to bite my tongue and let things go when I should. Beth shares that with maturity we can learn to avoid it by confessing to God, being willing to pray for the other person (which often changes our heart in the process) and searching to see if there is anything underneath the anger (old resentments, envy or jealousy, etc.)
• In my time today, I was really able to connect with the Lord as I let myself be still and just prayed what was coming to my mind. One of the things I thought about was how I miss my walking. A big part of that was I used the time for prayer walking and it really refreshed me. I want to do that again. I started a new chapter in my study Uncommon Vessels. Today we looked at Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. The core question I reflected on was what do I think it means, a living sacrifice. For me, a couple areas are eating healthy, giving of my time to the Lord to receive daily "spiritual food" and learning to give of myself to others more generously.
  

OK, so it's 10:58. Not quite as speedy as I hoped, but better than midnight or later!

Sharing the highlights

Weds/Thurs Highlights

WEDNESDAY...

• J continued to enjoy playing with his Alphabet floor mat.

• Went to Pal Zone and was pleasantly surprised that my friend Eileen came with her son Jackson. I didn't even have any major squabbles to referee with J and the other kids. In fact, he played with a boy, Liam, who he chased around last time. At circle time when they do a round-robin asking the children their names the kids come up and put their name tag on a board. J said his name for the first time when it was his turn. Usually he would stay quiet and I'd say his name. He made a book today for the craft and his was all about firemen, fire trucks, hoses and more fire trucks.

• Went to Bean Sprouts Cafe for lunch thinking it was kids eat free day. Turns out that was Monday but still stayed to eat. Such a great place with a kids play area (kitchen, chalk board, coloring books and crayons). The boys liked going in and out of the "kiddie door" which is a really short entrance door for kids. Eileen and I had some great catch up time.

• Stopped at the library to pick up some holds and let J play for a bit. Found a few new books of elephants and J really excited.

• Went to Culver's so daddy could have dinner. (J and I already ate thinking we were going to the Y that night but the Y was closed for maintenance.) J was so funny picking up our number card and putting it over his face and acting silly.

• Visited our nephew at his dorm the night before his first day of college classes. Went down memory lane as this dorm is one I had friends in and that L stayed in when he was in college. J had fun seeing Zach and telling him all about his new Jungle Book that we brought along.

THURSDAY.....

• My friend Eileen was back in Madison today and we met up at the library. The boys played for probably an hour. J got in a little squabble over the trains which almost always happens. Everything he picks up is "mine". Stopped at McD's after and the kids played in the play land area.

• Let J watch some of Little Einstein's Fire Truck Rocket.

• Had some arts and crafts fun. Took shaving cream mixed with food coloring and let J finger paint. He kept saying "my hands are dirty mommy" and did one painting then we moved to his new Dot Paints. We each did a few paintings and then he traced over the smiley face I made with his paint. He had a ball playing with the paint caps naming the colors and stacking them.

• Found another meal J is into. My tuna casserole this time had cheese whiz in it and I think that was the key. He's been OK with it before, but this time he ate one bowl then asked for another.

• Read a few books and then daddy gave him a bath before bed.

QUIET TIME:
For the last 2 days, I've been going through my new book Uncommon Vessels (developing godly eating habits). She had a list of some really good questions to start out with like:

1. Am I modeling good eating habits?
2. Can I eat this with thanks and gratitude?
3. Does eating this cause an inroad to sin?
4. In my eating and drinking am I glorifying God?

This is a whole new mindset as I really don't think about these things while I'm eating. I'm excited about it though, because this is exactly the direction I want to go. The main thing is that as I seek to follow the Lord, I want to have every area of my life involved in that. Not just pieces or parts. So eating is a huge part of my life. I've finally come to a point where I can't ignore anymore that my eating is out of control. (Oh, that is hard to confess!) Yet, I'm hopeful in that I believe I am now going to work on the heart issues around it. In Galatians 5:22-23, it talks about the fruit of the Spirit (i.e. what one will exemplify by the power of the Holy Spirit's work in a believer) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. What I'm working to develop here is a spirit of self-control in my eating/exercising habits. One thing she says is that nothing will cause your spiritual growth like consistent, daily prayer so I spent some time today asking the Lord to guide me in this area and to fill me with His strength.

More summer fun: swimming, zoo, concert in the park

(Wednesday)
We spent our morning with our Pal Zone group. J and I had a talk before we left about sharing and being kind. It seemed to help as he would get into a tug of war over something and I'd remind him to share and he'd respond. I did a lot of refereeing today as he squabbled with several others over different toys. It helps that there are so many things to play with and you can redirect pretty well. The other moms are pretty responsive to correcting their kids when needed which definitely helps. J got rambunctious during story time and kept sneaking into a play area he wasn't supposed to go. We decorated a kite for the craft and he worked with me a bit but I did a lot of it since he just wanted to play with the decorations. Then he connected with a boy about 5 or 6 and started following him. The boy started running up and down the hall and J tried to keep up going back and forth several times. He got some good exercise doing that.

My reading today was from Acts 9:1-10, Saul's conversion. Beth brings up the question, "Why did the Lord call me?" Saul may very well have thought the same thing when he was blinded on Damascus road and heard Jesus' voice calling out to him. This is the one who made murderous threats to the disciples and got papers and he was pursuing them to have them all arrested and jailed. This was unlike his teacher Gamaliel who in Acts 5:38 tells fellow leaders to leave these men alone. "Why me?" Saul might say. We see Christ's compassion and forgiveness in his mercy. Beth calls this the purity of his mercy. It makes me think of where I was and what life I had led (things I had done) before the Lord called me. It's humbling to think about the depth of his love and forgiveness.


I went to the Y for a workout after that as we were planning a dinner get together with friends. Back at home while J was napping, I got a message that our evening get together was canceled. In a way, this was good since we've been running most nights and it was good to have a low-key night. We played a little with his flash cards and did some counting. I said, "Would you do a little more counting?" and he came over, counted a few cards real quick and said "I'm all done cards mommy" and moved on. We went to the Y again since daddy wanted to work out so J and I went swimming. He spent a lot of time jumping off the side into my arms. He really likes it. We also practiced kicking and paddling. He went down for bed really easily as he had quite an active day.

(Thursday)
We had a nice morning at home. J wanted me to read him a book first thing out of bed. Later, I talked with our friend Eileen and we made plans to take the boys to the zoo and meet after lunch. I did some Tot School with J and got some pictures of counting with flash cards, reading counting books and using colored beads for counting.


On the way to the zoo, J asked about daddy. I make it a habit that every time he asks about daddy while he's working we'll pray for him. So I prayed and then J says "pray for J and mommy?" so I prayed again and then he says "pray for J and daddy?" It was cute, he kept asking me to pray. The zoo ended up being a lot more crowded than we thought it would be, but still enjoyable. They are having an art zoobilee which is a really neat art display of various animals painted in cool ways. You see them as you walk through the zoo. They were a big draw for the boys and they enjoyed checking them out. Several of the boys favorite exhibits were closed today for maintenance (lions, tiger, camels) but they still had a good time. On the way home, J kept telling me "I feel good mommy" when I said he needed a nap and he was sleeping before we even got home.



Tonight was the final Concerts at the Park in Verona. Eileen and the boys met up with us and Carolina was doing face painting. J and I went over and she gave him the cutest little painted dinosaur on his hand. It matched the one on his shirt! It was incredible how busy the little guys were playing with the various cars, trucks and little people we brought. Of course, there were plenty of times that Jackson went roaming. He really likes to wander so Eileen gets her exercise. I had a good time chatting with Eileen while the boys played and our hubbies were nonstop talking too. J got a couple time outs when he got aggressive and hit me for who knows what. I'm noticing he's singing a lot more now. On the way to bed, I heard a little of Twinkle Twinkle and then when I sang his bedtime song he was singing with me.

Highlights: Swimming, Mom's Night Out, Concert on the Square

This morning we went for our weekly groceries. In the store, we were playing a game when I couldn't find boxed scalloped potatoes. J would say, "Are they over there?" and point to something and then say "No!" I'd say, "Are they over THERE?" and point to something else. He got a kick out of it.

Today in my devotional time I finished Luke 23 and started Luke 24. It starts off with Joseph, a good and upright man it says, who took Jesus' body down, wrapped it in linen and placed it in a tomb. The women who had been following him came the next morning with spices and perfume. Beth says they had probably been weeping in painful solitude remembering their encounters with him the night before they came to the tomb. While they wondered where his body went, two angels came. The women fell on their faces, they were filled with awe. Here they learn he has risen. They immediately went and told the apostles who did not believe them. Peter himself ran to the tomb and seeing it empty first hand was left wondering what had happened. Beth reminds us of our calling to also be credible witnesses of Jesus Christ.

After a late lunch, J kept asking to go swimming at the Y so I got our swim things together. Before we left, he was "reading" my parents magazine and comes running over. He says "my car, mommy! J's car!" I follow him over and he points to the page and sure enough there was a little picture of the car we use instead of a stroller. On the way as I played the radio, he was asking for Elvis so I found the 50's CD and played some for him. It's so funny how he loves Elvis. At the Y, you have to take a shower before you swim. J was reminding me saying, "take a shower mommy". He was having so much fun in the shower, I thought he forgot about swimming. He would run into the water, scream this little high pitched scream and run out. Finally, we went swimming. It was a good time, with lots of kicking and splashing. The main thing he wanted to do though was climb up the stairs and then walk a bit on the side of the pool and then go down the stairs. He was just really fixated on the stairs. I told J he had a good idea though, to go swimming at the Y. When we were changing after, he got upset and started to cry and says "J's crying".

I gave J a "Kids Cuisine" for dinner. They have a meat, veggie and dessert. This ended up being so messy. He focused on the pudding and got it all over (bib, floor, mouth, cheek, etc.) I don't think these will work. Karen our babysitter came over and right away J says to me "bye". I wasn't planning on leaving for another 10 minutes or so but he kept saying "bye"! I could tell he was going to do well while I was gone. I had Mom's Night Out at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant. At first, I was a bit nervous because I didn't know if I'd know anyone there. It felt weird leaving the house without my diaper bag, let alone without J! Our Titus group has over a hundred moms and I know a tiny fraction. It turns out I did know some who came, and we had a great time. I'm glad I ate slow so I didn't get that "I can't breathe" feeling after. I ended up getting into an intense conversation with one of the ladies I've been getting to know and before I knew it, it was 11:30. When I got home L said he thought I was lost or something. I haven't stayed out that late on my own in ages! It was good.

I was surprised I wasn't more tired in the morning, but it was okay. We got ready and went to Pal Zone. It was 9:30 and it was already really hot and humid. The forecast was heat index of 100! This continues to be a good place for J to play with other kids, listen to stories, sing and do crafts. He liked the "slippery fish" song so much that he started singing it later and another mom and I sang with him.


At home, we found a toad in the yard of the condo and I wanted to show it to J. I got a plastic tub and put grass in the bottom and he had a toad pet for about 1/2 hour. He jumped and squealed every time the toad would jump. We took pictures and then we let him go by the bird bath.

Today, I continued in Luke 24. Cleopas and another follower of Jesus were on the road to Emmaus having a discussion about everything that had happened. Jesus came up beside them and they were kept from recognizing him. He asked what they were discussing, and with downcast faces they shared. One key thing they said was that the one who was crucified was the one they had hoped would redeem Israel. How ironic that at this moment they are talking to the redeemer and have no clue. Jesus wasn't pleased with their unbelief and says "how foolish and slow of heart" they are to not believe the prophets. Jesus then gives them a complete teaching on all the scriptures that point to himself. Beth took something away from this that as they are talking with Jesus on the road, this can be likened to prayer (how we speak to the Lord) and as Jesus "opened the scriptures to them", this can be likened to Bible Study. Two key things for creating an intimate relationship with the Lord.


Tonight we went to Concerts on the Square in downtown Madison. We brought dinner and met up with two couples from our church life group. About 10 minutes after we picked our spot, my friend Joan and her family were coincidentally settling down right next to us! She spotted us and we just laughed. J had some fun dancing with Olivia and then dancing with daddy. We got some bad news from our life group leaders, that they are not continuing on as leaders and in fact will no longer be part of our group. I was not prepared for this and could tell my emotions were running high. Some of the reasons given were not very clear and I found it really hard to not make it personal. Instead of saying something I'd regret, I took J and went for a 20 minute walk around the capital. We didn't stay long after that as J was running around and wouldn't stay put and all I was doing was chasing after him. Plus it was just so hot and humid. L later told me they still want to get together as friends outside the group so that helped alleviate some of my concern. It was off to bed for J once we got home. One neat thing about today is how J really likes to dance. He was dancing at Pal Zone with some musical toys, dancing at home and then dancing at the concert. It is so adorable to watch, especially because he'll often say "I'm dancing, I'm dancing".

Field trip to the zoo

This morning we weren't sure if Pal Zone was having their field trip to the zoo because of possible bad weather, so I called their office and was told they were. My friend Eileen and her son met us there. The kids got a cool zoo "passport" which has pictures of most of the animals and a place to put a sticker when the kids see it. It is a coloring book too. As we went around visiting the different animals, J enjoyed putting the sticker on. We went by the tiger enclosure where the tiger walks a path that's right against the windows where the kids view. J was standing up at the window and when the tiger came by I saw him start shaking and fall backwards. I was close so I caught him and held him while he calmed down. He was spooked! They have an area where the kids can feed the goats and J would hold out the food but when the goat's lips touched his hands he'd pull back (and drop the food). Eileen's son was bold letting them eat right out of his hand. I'm noticing J takes a bit to warm up to new activities like that. After making our way through the zoo, it was time for lunch with the Pal Zone folks. They had pizza and they even had little gift bags for the kids. Eileen left after we ate, but J wanted to stay and play in the park right outside the zoo. There were a lot of bigger kids around and a few times he got bumped into or knocked down, but I was always there to help or comfort. One of the times he got bumped, he started crying and two other little boys came over to comfort him and ask him if he was okay. I was holding J and they surrounded me to give him hugs. It was really sweet. We did the park for a long time, then J was looking tired so we left. On our way out, J says he wants to go in the zoo again. Since it's a free zoo, I thought why not so I took him in again. We were able to see a few animals that weren't out earlier. I was amazed at how much energy he still had as he got out to walk towards the end. On our way home to cap off the adventure, we stopped and shared an ice cream cone. He was out like a light once we got in the car. He did well for going six hours straight.

J took a three hour nap when we got home. I got some things done and even got to watch 20 minutes of a movie, Faith Like Potatoes. I got this from the library after I read about it in a book catalog. There was a long wait on it too. Hopefully, I can finish it up during naps over the next couple days. J had a very strange dinner tonight, yogurt and blueberries. He has Dora yogurt, but he specifically asked for "daddy's yogurt", so he had the Yoplait. He ate one and said "Oh, it's very good. It's really good." The first time he's said that. He wouldn't eat anything else beyond that (like some protein). He's off and on with that.

Tonight at the Y, I did the Cybex elliptical trainer. I call it elliptical but it's a little different. Either way, it's a hard workout. I've not been getting my 3x a week in lately. I need to get back into that. I haven't gained any weight, but I haven't lost any either. We indulged J and played outside before his bedtime. I was getting J ready for bed and he started reading his "Elmo and His Blanket" book. It has all these little picture windows he can open. He went through the book opening the windows and talking about what was in there in a funny Cookie monster-like voice like, "Bert's in the shower" or "Oscar the Grouch stinky garbage". I got the biggest kick out of it. The day's activities have finally caught up with me and I think it's time now for my bedtime.

We had so much fun today

Oh what a fun day!!! Last night, I didn't get to bed until 12:30am so waking up I was really tired but we had a lot of fun activities so at least I wasn't dragging. After daddy left, we played outside for a bit and then it was time to go to Pal Zone. There were a lot of kids today, many were new. J did well avoiding tug of wars when kids would want the toy he was playing with. I'd get him involved in something else right away. He was excited about doing circle time and didn't lag behind this time. He liked these two older girls and was holding each of their hands while in between them. He seemed fascinated with their hair too. Since the group has a field trip to the zoo next week, the book today was about zoo animals. The craft was decorating a lion with yarn for the mane. J helped with glueing and pressing the yarn on.

We had lunch at home and listened to our kids worship CD again. This time J was dancing to it. When it was over, he said "more worship" so I played some more. Then we got all ready for going to Splash Park. This is a kid's park across town that has all kinds of water jets and sprinkler fixtures coming out of the cement. At first J didn't know what to make of it. He'd never seen anything like it. But seeing a lot of kids having so much fun, he went in with me. He got a little scared at first by the strong jets of water but we found a softer sprinkler that he liked. Then he really got used to it and we moved around the place. There was one other mother going in the water but after she left I was on my own. J and I had a lot of fun. I think we'll be spending a lot of time here this summer! Afterward, I picked up a few more things from the Savers (like Goodwill) store. A few sleeveless tops for this warm weather and some thin material shorts. J fell asleep in the car so I picked him up like a baby and walked him into the house. He startled a bit and cried out, but then I soothed him and he was asleep in my arms. I just stood there with him for a while, enjoying such a peaceful moment watching him sleep.

When J woke up from his nap, he got up right away. He usually lays in his crib for a while and takes some time to become fully awake. Right away he was asking to get up and read David and Goliath so I read the story from his new bible. He liked imitating my voice as I pretended to be Goliath. I had an intense workout today. It was raining and we got a bit delayed so I only had 20 minutes. I ran the entire time and bumped up the speed a little bit. Whew! It was a good challenge. When we got home, J wanted to go outside. He just loves outside. But we told him it was raining. During his night routine, daddy was getting ready to read him a book and he looks at me and says "bye mommy". I asked if he wanted me to go and he said bye again. So I let daddy take over and had to laugh at that.

I just spent some time reading some of the blogs that I follow and I found a new one that really spoke to me. It felt like the Lord sent me to it, so much on there was encouraging to me. Click here. (Yay! I finally figured out how to do a link!)

Had a little picnic

I have a giant box that I set up in the living room to see if J would play with it. He wasn't playing with it until I showed him mommy could fit in it. Then he crawled in with me. We played house and put a bunch of his little toys in there and then J crawled in to hang out and play with them.

I continued in Luke 8 today. Jesus and his disciples sailed across the lake from Galilee. There he heals a man who was demon possessed. The people were overcome with fear as they found the man peacefully sitting at Jesus' feet in his right mind. Jesus restored his mind and his dignity. Beth reflects that this was such a loss for those people. Instead of welcoming Jesus who just healed this man, learning from him or possibly being healed themselves, they asked him to leave thus missing out on what he may have had for them.

It took J a while waking up from his morning nap. I had time to put the clean sheets on the bed and put away the towels then he was finally waking up. My friend from Titus and her 2 daughters met J and I at the park after lunch. We hadn't been to our neighborhood park in a couple weeks since the weather hadn't been that good. Today was a gorgeous, sunny day. Joan and I seem to have good conversations when we get together. I shared about my difficult time of life after J was born and she shared some of her struggles too. It was fun watching the kids get to know one another better. We brought J's new tiny firetruck and he played with it for a while and then Olivia did too. They had a bit of a tug of war over it but then Olivia gave it back. J found a boy who brought a dump truck and a digger and the boy shared them. I think he was tired when we were leaving since there was no complaining like he'd usually do.

This morning J had more fun in his play house box. This time he'd rough house by rocking it back and forth and almost falling over but enjoying it. Then he played crash with his cars inside. We went to PalZone for some play time. I talked to a couple moms who were there for the first time. One had a boy that was a handful. I'm really glad for this group. It has been a great place for J to get the opportunity to play with a lot of different kids and work on sharing, story time and crafts. It was just beautiful outside when we were leaving. It was like a perfect day weather-wise.

In my devotional time, I continued in Luke 8. Jesus returned and a man named Jairus fell at his feet pleading with him to come to his home and tend to his sick daughter. As they left, the crowds were crushing yet Jesus was able to feel someone touch him. His "power" had gone out from him. He asked who touched him. Finally, a woman with bleeding issues for 12 years confessed why she touched him and how she'd been instantly healed. Jesus said, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." It was then that Jesus found Jairus' daughter had died but he commanded her to get up and she lived. I love what Beth says here, that God can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. This story of the woman with bleeding always moves me. She so completely believed and trusted in the Lord that in her mind if she could only touch him she felt she'd be healed. And she was.

J and I had a little picnic outside to enjoy the beautiful day. I think it was over 75 today. It was great hanging out on the patio eating together. J asked to play in the sandbox so we opened it up. He only has a bucket and shovel and a small bowl but it was enough to keep him happy playing in the sand. We also spent some time playing with his bucket of balls. Since he had a long morning nap and wasn't tired in the afternoon not wanting to nap, I let him stay up. We watched a bit of Veggie Tales "Lord of the Beans", a spoof of one of my favorite movies Lord of the Rings.

After dinner, we had a good workout at the Y. Lately, instead of trying to read while I work out I've been using the time to pray for J. I just open my heart and pray for all the things that come to mind. It's been such a good time of prayer as there are so many things to pray about and it's also uninterrupted time. While we were putting him to bed, he dragged all his blankets out of his crib and was putting them on the floor and laying on them. Daddy read his book and then I tucked him in.

The Faith of a Centurion

Last night, I got to bed around midnight and so this morning I felt pretty tired. I asked J if he'd rather stay and play at home or go to PalZone and he was gung-ho for PalZone. We rode with daddy in to work and then I took the car and we headed to PalZone. He had the most fun pushing around a toy grocery cart and putting play food in it. I would talk with him about the food and what he was picking. There was a little phone by the kitchen set so he picks it up and is talking and I hear him say something about spaghetti and cheese. I love to see his imagination going. He flitted around the room playing with all sorts of toys and was doing well with the other kids. He was having so much fun that he didn't want to go next door when it was circle/story time. I took his hand and we went. He doesn't yet say his name when they ask for it, but he picks up his name tag and sticks it on the board. For the craft, he got frustrated as I tried to teach him using scissors so he just colored the project and then said all done. After that, we were able to squeeze in a late morning nap.

For my devotional time, I was reading my Ecclesiastes book. Here Solomon was talking about his pursuit of wisdom, of folly and madness. He finds wisdom to be better than folly but the same fate overtakes the wise one and the foolish one; they can't escape death. He shares that man finds satisfaction in his work and this is from the hand of God. We see that God wants us to have joy. Those who recognize the joy comes from him have a rich experience because our faith pleases God. I started Luke 7 in Jesus the One and Only. Beth shares that she loves watching Jesus operate in relationships. This section is about the Centurion. He is seeking healing for one of his servants. He is a man of great faith. He says of Jesus, just say the word and my servant will be healed. When the Lord sees someone prone to selfishness and pride humble themselves before God's word, he esteems them. The Centurion's faith was amazing to Jesus. He is moved and acts to heal his slave. Seeing that he knows all, it is incredible to see him amazed here. Again, it shows how God is pleased by our faith.

It was another cloudy and coolish day so J and I spent our time indoors after lunch. Again, we spent a lot of time reading. He also wanted to see the Veggie Tales story of Moses over and over. Every time we go up or down the stairs now instead of crawling J is asking for my hand so he can walk up. It warms my heart to see him mature yet at the same time a little wistful as he moves away from his babyhood. I went about the afternoon preparing for when L would get home completely forgetting that I had to pick him up. I was just getting J up from his nap when the phone rang. Yikes! Daddy wondering where I am. He was really understanding although I had no great excuse, just a complete mind blip.

We weren't able to get to the Y in time since the nursery closes. J and I played fire fighter. He put on his helmet and I got him a "hose" (extension cord) so he could put out the fire. I used crunched up newspaper for the flames. Then I stuck Tigger on top of a chair so J could go and rescue the kitty. He had so much fun joining in with whatever I made up. Then we spent some time coloring. One of his pictures with all different colors was so neat that I'm thinking of framing it. L has tomorrow and Friday off so we'll have some extra time together. I better get some good sleep so I'm off to wind down for the night.

A Hint of Summer

Yesterday was a really fun day. It started out with a bunch of moms from our Titus group getting together for a play date at McKee Farm Park, one of J's favorites in Madison. It was already no jacket weather at 10:30am and was beautifully sunny. It felt like a hint of summer. The kids had a great time especially on the slide. My friend Eileen would send her son down and I'd catch him, then she'd send J down so I could catch him and they loved it. They also loved walking along a ledge with us holding their hands. Eileen got some good pictures too. Speaking of pictures, it turns out that I won't be fixing my camera. It would actually cost more to fix it than the camera's worth because parts are so expensive. So I went to plan B and used my credit card miles to buy a new one. I can't wait to start taking pictures again as I love recording our days that way. After the park, Eileen and I headed down the street to Noodles for lunch with the boys. I put J in a booster seat for the first time and he did well.

When we got home, I thought J would be tired and want a nap but he kept saying outside so we threw the balls back and forth. Our neighbor came over to visit and to see my garden. He and I always talk about our gardens and what's growing. J and I went to Elver Park to get more mulch. I let him get out and he wanted to help so he held onto the shovel as I guided the mulch into the bucket. He loved it. We got to watch a fire truck that was practicing driving through cones. Then we played in the park for a while. We got a lot of fresh air. J was a good sport as I took him to the second hand shop to look for a few summer outfits. When I'd hold up a shirt to look at it he'd say, "put that one here mommy" and point into the cart. Such a cutie. Before his nap, I read him a counting book. He's learning to count to ten. He'd say 1-2-3-4-6-7-10 on just about every page.

We met with our life group for a night of sharing. The topics were: Talk about your best friend, your happiest moment over the last few months, confession on what would you like to do over from last week, your vision for life group. This ended up being a great opportunity to get to know one another better. My happiest moment was when J and I went to the grocery store and were "dancing" in our seats in the parking lot. Also a time I was holding him right before bed and just rocked him and held him close savoring the moment.

This morning Eileen and her son joined J and I at Pal Zone. J was not into the story time part. He was more interested in another boy's toy and got very physical trying to grab it and I had to step in. He got loud and upset so we went back to the play room where he calmed down. After lunch and an errand, we spent some time hanging out at the library. I'm able to browse or go check out books at the counter now while J plays in the kids area. I used to need to carry him with me so he wouldn't run around but he's getting really good about staying in one place. J had another interesting dinner. Two packs of apple sauce and some goldfish were all I could get him to eat. When I was walking into the nursery at the Y, I heard a little voice saying "fire fighters" and I knew it was J. Sure enough he had on a fire helmet along with the boy next to him and they were playing fire fighter. He was really wound up, I wasn't sure if he'd go to sleep but he did.

King of the Tot Slide

I feel like I'm getting a slight cold. It started yesterday but I've been taking Cold-eeze so hopefully it won't hit fully. Since I was worn out last night, I was wondering how I'd feel today and I'm not too bad. I think the drops are working. Since I was feeling well, we went to PalZone and had some fun play time. It's neat, now that I've been going there for a while I'm talking with more of the mothers. J did extremely well today which is an answer to prayer. There was only one time I had to remind him about sharing. He was also good at story time and putting his name on the board. We made a mask together after reading Where the Wild Things Are. We stopped at a garage sale and I added to J's ball collection with two small ones at $1 each.

When we got home, we played outside for a bit and then ate. We had a play date at the park after lunch. My friend from our mom's group lives literally two minutes away so we met at the park and J played with her daughter on the jungle gym. He still wants me to go down the big slide with him, but he took a big step on the tot slide today. He went from needing to hold my hands at first to then going on his tummy and finally went face forward with no hands all by himself. It was neat to see him face his fear and overcome it. On the way home, we found a bunch of balls someone was giving away so we played with those for a time.

In my devotional time today I finished Luke 3 and started Luke 4. Jesus begins his ministry and news about him spread throughout the countryside. Jesus fasts for 40 days in the desert and is tempted by Satan. He resisted the temptations by quoting scripture. Beth shares that the temptations were an assault on his messiahship. The thing I'm being tempted with right now is food. I seem to crave dessert after every meal. Lunch right now is when I'm having dessert (a drumstick) but yesterday since I shared one with J, I went and had another one. Ugh. It seems to nullify my workouts. I'm not gaining, but I'm just not losing. A friend mentioned her success with Weight Watchers and I may join her at a meeting to check it out. What I'm doing right now isn't bringing results so we'll see.

J woke up from his nap in a bad mood. That's unusual for him. This was one of those days where he didn't get a morning nap. In fact, this afternoon he came up to me saying "sleep Mommy?" and walked to the stairs telling me he was ready for a nap. So I think this is fallout, not getting the full 2 naps. He had fun at the Y though. He and his little friend Minesh had the place to themselves. The gal said the two of them play really well together. He even wanted to play outside when we got home and hard to believe but at 8:30 there was still a bit of light so he and daddy kicked around a soccer ball. Then it was time for sleep. We were rehearsing the day and when I got to the part about doing the slide all by himself, he said "again" meaning he wanted me to tell him that part again. He had me repeat it like 3 times and each time had a big grin like so proud of himself.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. My women's bible study is having a luncheon since we're in between books right now and then I have Mom's Night Out with my Titus mom's group. We're having fondue and I'll be making a cheese dish. Should be fun. I feel really blessed by how God is growing these relationships with the moms I've been meeting. At some points, I was getting frustrated because it seemed really hard to develop relationships but the Lord kept reminding me that something of value takes time and work to grow. Since I'm a stay at home mom these relationships are very important. So tomorrow should be fun.