new school?

so, I've been struggling with big guy's school- more specifically his teacher- who hubs and I call dollface b/c she wears this bizarre makeup, kind of like a barbie. Anyway, I think dollface is an idiot. (my mom pointed out that she only has to be smarter than big guy-haha). And I don't like that every time I go in there she tells me that he was sensitive and crying all day. Oh, and he refuses to eat when he's in there and the past two days, he won't even sit down during meal time.

Something is seriously wrong. I understand that big guy is going to act differently at school- but being sad all day is not how my baby rolls- he is happy, loud, and full of energy- and everyone who has ever met him has said this to me- like somehow other kids aren't like that. And he's a great eater. So, I'm contemplating switching him.

Yesterday was election day so big guy and I had off together. After we voted (big guy pressed the orange VOTE button to cast it- so fun!) we went over to another local school to check it out. within seconds of being in there, I wanted to run. It was in the basement of some church. The director wasn't very nice, in fact it seemed like she didn't like children. And the room he would go into- no windows that can be opened, it was dirty, and it reeked of diapers. OMG, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Oh well, for now we stay. But we visit another one the day before thanksgiving. Maybe we'll have a better experience.

candy is dandy

Big guy has recently tried some candy due to halloween. He's not much of a sweets guy, but he certainly appeared to be on halloween and the next day. After our walk through the neighborhood, big guy was throwing his candy all over the living room. He picked up a three musketeers and kept putting it in his mouth. I unwrapped it and gave him a taste- thinking he would not be interested. As usual big guy surprised me.

He took a bite said, "mmmmm," and opened his mouth for another bite. I then turned to hubs and arrogantly said- see, now there are three people who like three musketeers- me, big guy, and my dad- grandpop J. Then he proceeded to eat the whole fun size bar. Then the next day with grandma Dino we were snacking on m&m's. big guy started munching and really enjoyed them! I think b/c they were crunchy and fun to pop like grapes! Needless to say, I am no longer offering candy as a snack- clearly too much temptation!

yummy dinner

Tonight for dinner we had Chicken Divan- or at least my sis-in-law/Aunt K's recipe, which might be one of the grossest meals to make but taste the yummiest! I've had a craving for it recently b/c I had been thinking about when big guy was born. I know this might sound bad, but the first few weeks were really hard and awful. Until we got a hold of the whole breast feeding thing and started getting a little bit more sleep- it was essentially a nightmare.

Most of the horror I have blocked b/c it's too painful to think about (people have told me this is necessary to happen so you can have another one!). But I have this really great memory of Aunt K coming over with Uncle E and cousin C and bringing over two huge pans of Chicken Divan served with buttered noodles. It was the light I needed to get me through. I'm pretty sure hubs and I ate it for a week straight for like every meal.

So I got the recipe and made it tonight. mmm, it was just as good as I remember- probably better b/c this time big guy got to chow down-which he did. At the end he was just shoving handfuls of food into his mouth. He wasn't too crazy about the broccoli spears- but I think broccoli is an acquired taste, I"m not too worried- he'll figure out how delicious it is soon enough! It's definitely too fattening to eat every once in a while, but when I need a pick-me-up, it's now on my list!! And as a funny aside- hubs has no memory what-so-ever eating this meal during that first week!

haircut

Big guy desperately needed a haircut. Here is pre-haircut pumpkin fun:

And here is big guy post-haircut helping to scoop out another pumpkin!

Much better!

ooops- sesame place visit

Big bird is really big!

Bert actually got a smile!

Abby Cadaby- our favorite on the tv show- real life, not so much!

Ok, this is really past due!

Over the summer, grandma dino, big guy, and I went to sesame place!! The visit was... eh. I suppose that is the correct sentiment! We started the morning with breakfast with the old school sesame street characters and abby cadabby. Big guy was really unsure of them- they are really big. He didn't do a loud freak out- but the look on his face was pretty much a quiet freak out. And it went down hill from there. He didn't want to play in the water park part, though it was brutally hot outside. He did a full on meltdown while playing in the sand pit. I was ready to call it quits when we decided to eat some lunch on a grassy hill surrounded by flowers. Perhaps it was the nature- but big guy ate a great lunch and he suddenly turned happy!

We headed over to this giant foam pit with more giant foam shapes- big guy ran around like a crazy person and had so much fun. Then we went to where the big slides were and we hung out in the large wading pool underneath them for about two hours. Mmmm, it was delicious. big guy splashed, made eyes at other kids & adults, and essentially had a fantastic time!! And I got to work on my tan (sigh- I was so tan this summer). So, it turned out to be a perfect day. Enjoy the pics!!!

Helping Mommy Cook

Big guy has been a super helper recently. The kitchen is definitely his domain- probably b/c he's so hungry! Our most recent delicacies have been cookies (you know, the kind that are all ready to go except for putting them on the cookie sheet), meat and tomato sauce, pumpkin bread, and lasagna.

Probably the most fun are the cookies. big guy loves standing on a chair right next to me. He takes each cookie and we count as he puts them onto the cookie sheet. The cookies are really cute- shortbread with chocolate kitty cats in the middle. He's pretty much obsessed and actually eats them! And he's not a sweets guy, so I'm guessing he knows that he helped to make them. I guess I'm making the future Mrs. a very happy woman!

Helping to clean

I know, I know- I'm really behind- I have a ton to catch up on- we went on a hayride, carved pumpkins, it was halloween for goodness sakes! But this was too cute to wait until later.

Tonight the cat got out while big guy and I were checking the mailbox. Which of course means she was binging on grass and then subsequently threw it all up later on. I was cleaning up the hot red puke from our beige (of course) carpet using baby wipes. They are the best product in the world. Poop, vomit, dirt, make-up, pretty much anything a baby wipe can clean. Anyway, I finish cleaning the vomit with a couple of wipes- maybe going back to the box to take them out three times. I'm throwing away the wipes when I turn around. I heard a wipe being removed from the box. big guy is wiping the floor with a wipe over the barely visible vomit stain. I walk over and exclaim, "Thank you! You are helping mommy clean!" Big guy then continues to take out two more wipes and continues to wipe the floor. Could he get any cuter?