I don't know where to begin

I've thought about several things to blog about over the past week and yet as I sit in front of my computer with time to actually write I don't know what to say or where to begin.  I'm blaming it on hormones. 

I guess I'll start with that tomorrow is Jacob's birthday.  He will be 3.  He can say "three" when asked how old you are so that is as exciting as turning 3 to me.  His language is just developing each day. 
Last night before bed we were trying on hats.  This is a picture of him in one of them.  He's started to do this screwed up little face whenever he asks a question.  I think its so funny, I'm his mom of course and I tend to think everything he does is cute and funny though.

On the weekend we went to the city and met up with his previous foster parents.  It was a really good visit.  He was a bit apprehensive at first but by the end of the visit he was his natural little self.  It was also really good for me too.  I got to meet the parents and now have a great deal of thanks to them for raising and loving my little man for 14 months of his life. 

After the visit we went to a farmer's market, picked up the usual, new baby potatoes. 

In the evening I met up with a friend that I hadn't seen in 10 years!  It was great to see her in person, (I can't say face to face because we sometimes skype and so I've seen her there).  We dated back to how we had actually first met and chuckeled about it. 

It's great to have those kind of friends, the ones that you may only see every 10 years, and talk to every few months but that you know your still good friends. 

Since being off I've realized what I expect in a friend.  Now some may think that is very forward of me to say "what I expect" but I don't think so.  Why is it that you can have expectations of what you want in a partner but you can't have state that you have expectations of a friend.  To heck with that, I'm saying it.  I have certain expectations of my friends.  They aren't outlandish expectations, similar to what anyone would say I would think.  Treat me with respect, because I respect you.  Be an understanding ear when I need it, because I do the same for you.  Keep in touch, because I do it.  That's it, that's all.  Really not a big list but it's funny that as I grow older I find that I'm being pickier about my friends.  I don't feel the need to be surrounded by people and a big group of friends.  Maybe that's why I removed myself from facebook.  I promise I won't go on and on about facebook but here is my one rant.  Updating your status is not keeping in touch with people.  I find that so many people think that they are keeping in touch with distant friends and family by reading their status and updating their own.  This is not communicating people, this is making a statement for all your 346 friends to view and move on.  I just don't get it. 

I've realized since being home I'm a traditional person, more traditional than I ever thought.  I'm domestic, I love to do the domestic things.  I like to spend time with kids more so than adults; kids are so innocent and marvel at the littlest things that adults take for granted.  And, I like to keep in contact with people the old fashioned way of having them over for coffee or talking on the phone. 
Now don't get me wrong I did like facebook when I was on it but now I don't think I will ever use the site again.  I don't see the need for it when we have telephones that do still work. 

Well that's my rant and ramblings for this week. 

Next time I'll try to be more focused and stay on only one topic.

Field Trips

Since I have no big holidays planned for the summer I told the kids that I watch that Wednesday would be fieldtrip day each week.  So far we've gone on 3 fieldtrips, Floating Stone lake, Cold Lake, and Lloydminster for the fair.  Here are some of our pictures out and about.

This was Floating Stone

The Marina in Cold Lake

Holding a lizard at the Lloydminster fair.

Of course had to stop and have some fries to re-energize!

Petting animals at the petting zoo.

Even road on a train!!!!!!!!!

Colton decided he would ride on the bumper cars.

 

Where else are we going to go this summer?  Well just wait and see, will post pictures of our trips later!!!

Hallelujah, hallejuah, do you hear the harps????

Mr. Jacob has developed a quirky habit.  He screams whenever he has to go to bed or when he wakes up.  Now if it was just one scream that would be okay(sort of ) but no it's screaming for anywhere from 5-75 mins.  He's crying and screaming, and plopping himself on the floor, and spitting, and throwing his covers off his bed, and his books off the bookcase, coming out of his room, trying to come into my room, quite the ordeal I would say.  How it started; I'm not really sure?!  A few weeks ago he woke up in the middle of the night, I went to soothe him and he wouldn't let me leave, literally he clung to me and everytime I attempted to leave it was a scream.  Now I have become tuned into the different cries and screams, the mad, the scared, the hurt, the whine.  This is the mad scream.  The "I'm mad at you, stay here with me dang it 'cause that's what I want!!" cry/scream.  So that night, it was 2 hours, yes 2 hours of him screaming spitting, throwing himself off the bed, the whole ordeal.  Finally he played himself out and went to sleep on his floor.  So I figured out one thing that night, soothing him at this point isn't going to happen.  Actually I learned a lot that night.  I'm patient, more patient than I thought.  I didn't get mad at him, I felt bad that he was in this state.  I realized this is one time being a single parent is definately easier because if there were two of us for sure by the first hour we would be fighting about what to do to get him to stop.  Instead I just kept saying "I love you, goodnight."  After about the 4th time I realized this wasn't helping, everytime I made contact or got closer to him and then backed away he got more mad.  So instead I just left him.  I went back to bed and he eventually did too. 
So my strategy for the next time it happened was to not even go to him if he cried.  Sure enough the next night it happened and I didn't go to him.  Within 5 minutes he was back asleep.  Next night it happened again, and again I did not go to him, this time maybe 3 minutes of crying and then quiet. 
So your thinking, well this isn't bad she beat this dilemma.  Um, no.  Then a few nights later we were camping in my parents RV and it was the 2nd night there.  He started to cry, I was in a deep sleep, not thinking, yes not thinking (it's like a scary movie, your thinking don't do it!) You know it, I went to him to try and soothe him.  Well an hour later of the full out tantrum I finally just turned my back to him and he went and sat on the couch silent.  Then in the morning I found him back in his bed asleep. 
Then we came home and every time it is nap or bedtime he has a tantrum.  Sometimes its an hour sometimes its 45 minutes.  I was at a loss.  What do I do?  Now don't get me wrong, I am secretly really happy about these tantrums. Why???  Well in my mind he wants me and that's what is causing the tantrum so this means that he has completely bonded to me. 
So I tried putting him to bed and then me going to my room with the door closed.  This didn't seem to help, tantrums still occurred.  Finally two nights ago I thought I should try telling him what is going to happen next.  Tell him what the sequence of events is going to be.  Now this is a strategy that I used to use with 4 boys who had FASD and it worked so well.  Then my sister in law used it with her girls for bedtime and she called me one day to tell me how well it worked.  So the other night I told Jacob, it was going to be bath, snack, then bed.  He said "Snuggle?"  I said, sure, it will be bath, snack, snuggle then bed time.  So that is what we did and everytime he asked about snack, I would repeat the sequence of events.  It worked, yes there was some crying, but only 30 minutes.  Then for nap yesterday I did the same thing, told him the sequence, well 15 minutes of crying.  Last night again, snack, snuggle, bed.  NO CRYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No, he didn't fall asleep right away but there was no tantrum!  So I don't know if it was the letting him know the sequence, the extra snuggle time, or what but whatever it is it worked.  I know that we will have setbacks but I think I've solved some of our nightly quirks for now.  
Oh parenting is still the best job in the world, even when you have big bags under your eyes and the only thing you can utter is "coffee, coffee, coffee"  

The Best Date of My Life

We decided that it was high time that we went on a date, just the two of us. 

We mutually decided on pizza, I like this about him, he lets us decide together instead of forcing me to make all the decisions, or him always deciding. 

We got a booth, just for the two of us. 

We shared a pizza, just for the two of us. 

It was perfect.  I said "I love you" and he leaned over to give me a kiss.

We decided to have the best of both worlds and have a warm brownie (my favorite) with icecream (his favorite) for dessert.  We ate it all until the plate was clean. 

He was a perfect gentleman and held the door for me and held my hand whenever I grabbed it.

Yep, the best date of my life. 

Now I just have to bath him and put him to bed.

You see I've always thought that my sons and I would every so often have a date night.  Jacob and I haven't had a date night, just the two of us at a restaurant since he came home to me.  We ate together when we were meeting eachother in the city but since being home we just haven't done it.  We've gone to the movies together but not to a restaurant without other people joining in.  So tonight was the night. 

I feel like crap, I have a horrible hacking cough on top of my badly bruised ribs I felt it was the perfect night to dress up and go out together.  Of course we could have both just got into our pj's, ordered pizza, and sat on the couch cuddled up and not left the house, but that wouldn't have been a date now would it?! 

I'm so glad we went and it is going to be a tradition, not every week but every so often just Jacob and I will go on a date. 

I got bucked off a horse last week and almost a week later I'm still just as sore.  I landed on my hip but I think I must have bruised my ribs because they are oh so sore.  As long as I'm moving I'm fine but the minute I stop and then have to move again it is painful.  I hate being hurt and sick, it sucks because you know that you don't feel 100% yet you don't know when it is again that you will feel back to normal.  Annoying is what it is more than anything. 

Well we are going to stay at my parents farm for the week in their RV, my version of camping, much cheaper but still have the feel for camping.  So I need to pack and get ready to go.  With that said I probably won't be blogging much for the next couple of weeks.

ramblings of a blogger

I finally broke down and got Jacob's hair cut.  My brother's told me that I was a cruel mom for not getting it cut short in the summer so I did it.  Now thinking back about it though I should ask Cory if he is going to get his girl's hair cut short too?!

Saturday I got to see Jen and her baby.  We have been friends since we were 10 and best friends since we were 14.  It's been a long, good haul as friends.  We've both had our moments and there was a time that I wasn't sure that we would rekindle our friendship but that's the funny thing about motherhood, you realize who is important in your life and you hold on to them.  Jen and I actually became mom's only 20 days apart.  She was pregnant when I found out about being matched with Jacob.  It's been a neat experience to become mom's together.  I can share stories about what to expect at a 2 year old level and she can tell me all about the baby phase.  It was great to see her and spend some time together. 

On Sunday we met up with Jacob's first foster mom and family.  I thought it was a great visit and day.  I knew that one day we would meet and in my books the sooner the better.   It was great to see the other children interacting with Jacob and reminiscing about the baby they knew and fill me in on him as a baby.  I'm hoping it is the first of many visits.

Today I experimented with making tortillas.  I got a recipe off of the http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/.  It seemed easy enough and it totally was.  I am never buying tortilla's again, only having homemade ones.  There is such a difference in the texture and taste.  Plus I know what I am putting into my mouth with homemade food, so that is always a perk in my books.  I realized at supper tonight that I eat a lot of homemade/home grown food.  For example on the menu tonight was Mexican tortilla's of course!  So homemade tortilla bread, home raised beef from my mom and dad for the ground beef.  The lettuce was grown in my garden, and the salsa I made.  The only things that weren't produced by me and my family was the cheese and sour cream, and by goshy golly (seemed like a moment that those words fit) if I had a dairy cow I might have made that too! 

I love cooking and baking and am really hoping that when I do dreadfully return to work I will still find the time to do it all.  I know I will, I love doing it too much and think that it's too important to eat good whole foods rather than processed so I will, I'll just have to organize myself a bit.

Well that's enough ramblings for tonight.

Canada Day

A few weeks ago I wrote about how my youngest brother bought my old horse back.  Well that lead to me trying to rope again.  Something that I used to do on a regular basis until I sold my horse. 
So this Monday I went to practise.  I caught quite a few, I think I missed 3 out of 12 actually, pretty good for not doing it for 11 years!  Tuesday I practised again.  Casey then convinced me that I should enter the Canada Day roping at a local arena. 
So what happens is you pick one partner and then your name is thrown into the draw and you get two more partners, so for every 1 entry you actually get a chance with 3 guys.  So I entered twice, once with Casey and once with my dad.  Then I drew 4 other people, so I went a total of 6 times. 
Now to understand how roping is you have to know that there are numbers involved, like a golfing handicap everyone is given a number.  They go from 1-10, 1 being a beginner, 10 being perfect.  I'm a 3.  I've roped but not a consistent roper, plus I haven't done it for 11 years.  Okay there is another part to this day, Walt Woodward was there.  He is a 10, perfect!  He's an NFR champion several times, so we're talking one of the best of the best.  He was there because for the 2 days previously he had been teaching a roping school.  Guess who was one of the partners I drew?!  Yep, Walt Woodward.  http://waltwoodard.net/lessons/  Here's his link just in case you are actually interested in who he is.  In the world of team roping he's famous, an icon, legend, yes I'm in awe of him. 
Now one would think that I would be really nervous about getting to rope with such a legend.  I wasn't.  I said to myself before I backed into the corner (rope talk) "he's just another person who knows how to rope well, just go out and catch, no pressure."  Yes I talk to myself sometimes. 
So I nodded my head, went out and roped the steer and Walt came around and roped, and he only caught one leg!  The goal is to catch the back two legs.  Can you imagine?!  My perfect 10 isn't as perfect as I thought.  It was really good though, good for my confidence because really I was the weaker of the two in our team and I wasn't the one who screwed up.  Now I know no one is truly perfect but I was still somewhat shocked.  Anyways we went on to rope two more steers, and those two he roped in perfect Walt style, two feet really fast.  We made it back to the short-go, (more rope talk) and then I was the weaker one, I missed.  Had I not missed we would have most likely placed, and won money.  However I missed, I guess that's why I'm a number 3, not a 10. 
It was still a really great day though.  I won the ladies high point, to which I got a really nice watch that is engraved "Ladies Highpoint 2010".  And I got to rope with a world champion!~  A pretty good day overall.