My Oldest Pirate

I just love this little guy!

Jack still wears a costume most days and I think it’s awesome. 

Jackson Loppatto

Jackson's teacher this year has been so super awesome and just such a blessing for all of us.  She’s strict, which he definitely needs, and she’s fun and does projects and just really “gets” him which I find can sometimes be rare.  She says that Jackson is a carbon copy of her own son who I believe is now 20.  This week I got this email from her and it made me laugh and love her even more:

Hillary,

I forgot to tell you what happened yesterday in class....Mr. Jackson was just about to make a poor choice, and I caught him before he made his attempt (not sure exactly what it was, but it was going to be a poor choice).  So, I used my mom voice and said "JACKSON LOPPATTO!" to get his attention.  Oh my goodness, that is how I used to address my son when he was about to make poor choices.  It just came out, too funny.  That just shows you how much I love that boy!  I had to give him a big hug as soon as I realized what I had said!
Anyway, I just wanted to share.....Enjoy this beautiful day!

Sandy

When I spoke with her about this she said that in all of her years of teaching that she had never called a student by his/her first name and then Loppatto.  She also said that when she said it the other teacher in the room just stared at her along with all of the kids.  Jack loves this teacher so very much and we are so sad that the year is almost over as she has done wonders with him.

Attitude Adjustment

We all know that some days you are the bug and some days you are the windshield right?  Well, today. . .was a bug kind of a day!

From start to finish things just went very wrong, kids behaved terribly (and that’s putting it mildly), timing was off on several things, I forgot about multiple things (I’ve discovered that 3rd time pregnancy brain almost requires me to be put in a federally protected class!) and the list goes on.  But then at 10 p.m. I was going through the mail and opened a CD.  It contains pictures of my kiddos who yes, at 2 and 4 are going through a phase of not sleeping through the night and are in large part why my day was so rough.  But looking at their sweet faces I just can’t be anything but happy.

This little man is the 4 year old joy of my life.  He’s my little best friend and has been AWESOME lately.  Today of course was the worst day I’ve had with him in a very long time.  Jay and I had to have a family meeting to figure out what to do discipline wise with Jack.  I haven’t spanked him in almost a year and Jay has only spanked him twice in that time.  And he’s been doing very well, for the most part.  But today’s behavior is causing us to realign forces and come up with some fresh plans. 

Just looking at him makes me smile though.  Those dimples are there for a very specific reason and my little guy amazes me every day with the things that come out of his mouth and what a tender heart God blessed him with.  He’s thoughtful, kind and affectionate and ornery and wild. He’s all boy and all fun all of the time.  

Seeing the boys together is so much fun.  The way that they love each other and look out for each other is just the coolest. Jackson sticks up for Bear like crazy and they both get really upset when the other one is in time out.  Jackson taught Bear to spell Baron and Adams last week and they were both very proud to show off Bear’s new skills.

And then there’s tiny man, our baby Bear.  He is our little love bug.  His smile, curly hair and all around precious personality make him a total love.  He loves to cuddle and laugh and snuggle and is attached to me at the hip these days (I guess he knows a change is coming!).  He’s funny and surprisingly independent and opinionated.  He picks out his own clothes and pajamas each day and will definitely fight for what he wants.  His smile and the way that he says, “pretty please” melts my heart.  He’s a toot and thows fits like any other 2 year old but man, he’s a neat little guy.

Getting these pictures in the mail today was exactly what I needed.  I was a little beaten down and these really caused me to focus on all of the tremendous blessings in my life.   Having my wonderful husband and precious babies and all of our health is such a gift from God.   My life is so much better than I ever dreamed it would be in all of the ways that really matter!

Update

I’ve been a terrible blogger lately.  I have TONS of pictures etc. to update with but haven’t had the time.  I’ll get better. . .and then Pirate will arrive and I’ll probably get worse again.  Oh well!  But as an update we have a contract on the house, YAY!  Praise the Lord that it sold so quickly-2 weeks on the market.  Of course we have the inspection tomorrow so hopefully all will go well.  And then there is the small problem that we haven’t yet found a house to move into.  But I feel certain that God’s got the perfect one out there and that the timing will be just what we need.  It may mean that we move days before Pirate is born but hey. . .before is better than after!

Tomorrow is the first day (of 5) of the auction for the boys school.  Adrienne and I have been working and soliciting like crazy so hopefully it goes well and raises tons of money for the school.  Regardless we will breath a big sign of relief afterwards!

Jay is still working crazy hours and going in at 4:30 a.m. but was able to take off this whole last weekend which did wonders for our family.  We had a great time together and it was very much needed after him working 14+ hours a day plus weekends (at least he is able to work from home on the weekends) for the last 5 weeks.  He is such a hard worker and our family is so blessed by the fact that he will do anything to take care of us.  He’s definitely our hero.

So that’s what’s going on with us and why I’m not a very good blogger these days!

Brown Bear

Bear is obsessed with the book Brown Bear Brown Bear right now.  Every thing he looks at he puts into the book for example, tennis shoe tennis shoe what do you see?  Mommy mommy what do you see?  Soccer ball soccer ball what do you see?

So, it should not have been a shock to hear him over the monitor last week saying, “Baron’s penis Baron’s penis what do you see?”

Jack

You can imagine my surprise this morning when Jackson woke me up. . .

Jackson: Mom, my foot is bleeding.
Me: What? What time is it? Why is your foot bleeding?
Jackson: Well, I was doing a science experiment to see if duct tape was strong enough to hold a person hanging from the top bunk bed.
Me: So, it wasn't strong enough?
Jackson: Enough of it would be, we just need to buy more.

I seriously had no idea how fun my life would be as a mom. . .you can't make this stuff up!

V Week

Last week was V week in Jackson’s class and he’s literally been waiting on this week all year.  When we heard that he was going to have this particular teacher last year a friend had said that she was the best with boys like Jack because she taught everything hands on and even erupted a big volcano in class.  Last Monday was volcano day and poor Jack got sick at school and had to leave the hour before eruption.  His sweet teacher is so awesome that she made an extra volcano just for Jackson.  She said, “no way am I letting my little buddy miss the volcano!”  He was thrilled and when he returned to school on Thursday she had a special time with Jackson (and they even brought Bear in watch too) to erupt the volcano.  Both boys loved it and have spoken about it ever since.  Love that sweet school and the precious teachers there!

Kindergarten. . .

Since Jackson was born we have assumed that we would retain him for kindergarten.  Since his birthday is August 24th, according to James Dobson it would be best to keep him back a year and give him more time to mature etc.  So, of course that’s ALWAYS been the plan.  We have already registered him and reserved his spot in preschool next year.  I have a friend who had done really fun field trips with her kids before they had entered kindergarten and I had told Jackson that next year we would do lots of special stuff for his last year at home.

Yesterday I spoke with Jackson’s teacher and she basically said it was a very bad idea to keep him in preschool for another year.  She said he was too bright and would be bored and unhappy.
AHHHHHH!  So, I am totally freaking out right now.  This year has not been treated as if it were our last.  Presents from Alex took up a tremendous amount of my time and I have not done everything that I wanted to do with my sweet little buddy and the thought of losing him a year early is just killing me.  Yes, I’m pregnant and hormonal but most of my close friends cried when their babies went to kindergarten. . .and they knew it was coming.

Luckily I’ve had hours of free counseling from some great girlfriends the last two days because this little fact has made me a wreck.
I just keep thinking about the parties and plays this year and how I didn’t know it was his LAST preschool Christmas play or his LAST preschool Valentine’s party.  It’s such a detriment to be so sentimental and sappy.
And then there’s the small fact that we have no idea where we will be living so we don’t even know what school he would go to.  I’ve looked into several private schools but of course none of them fit into our budget. 
Jack and I have had so much fun this year and he’s just my little best friend.  I’m so worried about sending him off to a school where I don’t know the teachers and they can’t love on him the way that his preschool teachers do etc.  And what if his preschool teacher is wrong?  What if putting him in being 12 months younger than some of his class mates is NOT a good idea?  What if he’s not ready?  According to everything I’ve read this decision is paramount to his future and determines everything (yes, a little dramatic but have you read this stuff?)  The year that they start kindergarten will eventually determine their class ranking and which college they go to.  Starting them too early puts them at the bottom of the class both intellectually and maturity wise.  His teacher, who I adore and who is AWESOME with Jack, has assured me that he is not the average kid and that he will do fine and will not be at the bottom of the class despite being the youngest.  Ugh-I just want him to thrive and love school and learning and make friends and be successful.  I know God will totally take care of him and that this is not nearly as important a decision as I think it is but man it’s hard to keep that perspective right now.
Ok, enough about me agonizing over the best decision sweet little man Jack.  Pretty soon this dilemma will be over and I’ll forget that it ever seemed so life and death. 
Parenting. . .it’s not for sissy’s!

The Little Preacher

For over 2 years every night after we read a regular book or two we read a Bible story or two.  Since we’ve gone thru both of Jack’s children’s Bible’s multiple times sometimes Jack just chooses a favorite story.  Lately he’s OBSESSED with David and Goliath.  He could probably recite the entire 4 page story.  He runs around the house and says things like, “hey mom would you be amazed if a giant appeared and I jumped out and screamed ‘I come before you in the name of the Lord who rules over all?’”  Or he will recite the lines of Goliath and try to get Bear to play David.  It’s pretty hysterical. 

He also loves to memorize Bible verses (the children’s Bible given to him by Chris and Carolyn has “a verse to remember” with each story).  On Sunday Jay was even more excited than Jackson to tell me that they had introduced the new verse of the month in Jackson’s Sunday School class (where Jay runs the tech).  Jackson had memorized it immediately and gotten up in front of the class to recite it on the stage.  They have a full month to work on the very short verse, but Jack loves to memorize.  Jay thinks that all of this is conclusive evidence that Jackson will be a preacher someday.  For now though, it sure is fun to see him acting out all of his favorite stories, usually giving Bear some type of ancillary role.  It reminds me of a video that hopefully still exists somewhere of BJ and Jeremy acting out Sampson and Delilah.  They were probably 3 and 5 at the time.  Pretty cute stuff from my boys bringing back pretty great memories of my brothers!

1 Week In. . .

Our house has officially been on the market for 1 week.  Of course last Monday didn’t really count because the kids were sick and so I had to turn down all showings.  We’ve had 12ish showings and 1 (pretty ridiculous) offer.  There’s only been 1 day with no showings thus far. 

I know it sounds crazy after my survival post but having the house on the market isn’t really all that bad.  Yes, it’s a hassle to get the kids out on short notice etc. but really, it’s not as horrible as I expected.  The hardest part are the dishes and laundry.  And the most hellacious part was getting ready to go on the market.  The decluttering as you know, almost killed me.  But for now, we are just praying that God brings us the right buyer and shows us the right house for our family of soon to be 5. 

And I am DEFINITELY glad that we are attempting the move before the baby.  Since I have to have the house perfect every morning before taking the kids to school etc. there is no way I could do it (without losing my mind and temper) with baby stuff.  And since there is NO time to spare morning nursing would be a serious challenge!  But with the two boys, it’s totally doable.  And sweet little man Jack even made my bed this morning while I was in the shower as a surprise for me.  His “help” is actually very helpful these days!