Hey all.  I have migrated my site over to my own domain ewokmama.com and will be posting there from now on.  Please reset your bookmarks.  I’m still playing with layout a bit but my content is there and I promise to pick up with the posting soon!

Jack is full of goofiness and I could no longer go without documenting it somewhere.  Rather than using my blog to report these tidbits of genius (what else could they possibly be?), I set up a Twitter account for him (which is alternately updated by Joe and me).  If you are on Twitter, go!  Follow him!  If you are not and don’t want to be, check out his latest quote on the right-hand sidebar of this page.  The kid’s a crack up!

Tweet.

Exercise.  That is my goal for August – to be active every day.  I was inspired by Sarah to join Room 704’s 30 Days of Blank.  I am not normally a joiner of anything, but Sarah’s very persuasive – even online where I can’t see her boobs. 

Everyone who knows me knows how much I loathe exercise.  The only thing I despise more is Jodie Foster (we’ll save that explanation for another day; actually, it’s not a very good story, so I won’t explain).  So for this month I will walk, bike, hike, and do anything else to get my heart rate up.  That includes, um…kissing.  Yeah, “kissing” (Sarah gave me permission to count it!).  Hopefully this will get me back in the swing of things ’cause right now I’m an unfit mess.  I don’t even remember the last time I played Wii Fit, although I know it hasn’t been hooked up since we moved to the city.  Now would be a good time…

Speaking of Sarah, she is coming for a visit!  She’ll be here on Wednesday and we will (hopefully) assist one another in meeting our 30 days goal.  Either that or we will be incredibly bad influences on one another.  Let’s hope it’s the former!

I’ve never much liked surprises.  I am a planner and I like to know what is going to happen next.  Maybe that is why I feel so in sync with this stage of Jack’s development.  Every night around 8:30 I tell Jack “soon we will go read books.”  He brushes his teeth and does whatever he feels like he needs to do and then announces that he is ready to read books.  We usually read three.  I can switch out one or two but it’s good to keep a standard book in there (right now it is “Underwear Do’s and Don’ts” by Todd Parr).

After reading through two of the books, I announce, “Okay, Jack, this is the last book.  Then we will turn out the light and go to sleep.”  The last book is read and Jack lays down while I turn off his light.

“You’ve gotta lay with me and snuggle, Mama,” Jack tells me.

“Okay, I will lay down with you for a little bit, but then you have to go to sleep and Mama goes to her bed.”

I tuck him in and lay down beside him.  We snuggle and hold hands for a bit, and then I tell him goodnight and walk out.  He usually tosses and turns for 20 minutes or so and then falls asleep.  Occasionally he calls out for me and I go back in to reassure him that everything is okay and he can go to sleep.

I’m continually amazed that this process works.  I think preparation is the key.  I let him know, sometimes several times before actually doing anything, that we are going to do XYZ “soon.”  Most of the time I do not even have to tell him when it’s time to do these things…he tells me HE is ready.  (Lest you think he is always this easy going, a random ”okay, time to go!” will elicit tears at the drop of a hat.)

I actually feel like I know what I’m doing these days as a mom.  I have my moments, of course, and I still struggle with guilt over various things, but I have Jack right there to show me that I’m doing a pretty good job.  He is happy and healthy and smart and sweet and everything that I could hope to have in a kid.  Bizarrely, I never prepared myself for that, and I’m totally enjoying this surprise.

I was drawn out of bed yesterday by the announcement, “I want buhwaffles!”  I brought out the waffle iron and Jack helped me stir the batter.  Waffles are so incredibly easy and tasty!  He wanted whipped cream, as well, but we had no cream.  Next time!  Crazily, Jack ate his entire waffle.

Determined to get out of the house and enjoy a bit of sunshine before the fog rolled in again, I asked Jack if he wanted to go on a boat.  He started shaking with excitement and shouted “yeah yeah yeah!,” which answered that question.  We got dressed and I made a PBJ sandwich to take with us, then we headed down toward the Marina to visit the SF Maritime Museum.  It was a gorgeous day, warm but breezy, and after parking at Ghiradelli Square, we headed to Beach Street.

Admission for the museum is uber cheap (especially since Jack is free), which is why I picked it.  We got our pass and boarded a schooner named Balclutha.  Jack was a little nervous at first because he could feel the ship rocking a bit, but he soon got used to it.  When he saw another kid exploring (a fellow pirate-shirted boy), he decided they would be pals and Jack followed him all round the boat.  He didn’t want to leave after that.

We explored the boat for a while and then I enticed Jack off the boat with promises of cupcakes from Kara’s Cupcakes in Ghiradelli Square (although first we stopped on a park bench and ate our PBJ sandwich).  I needed my parking validated anyway, so why not get cupcakes out of it?  We ended up buying 7 because the minimum purchase for validation is $20.  For what I would have paid for those two hours of parking, I got three cupcakes.  That’s a great deal in my eyes!

I have so many things to talk about I don’t know where to start! I want to write about Jack’s 3rd birthday party in a post of its own (as soon as his dad sends me party pictures), so I won’t talk about that here. How about a general update? I apologize in advance if this is poorly written, and will explain more on why that might be toward the end.

First off, an update on potty training. After using the potty twice at home, Jack went to his dad’s for the weekend and refused to use the potty there. He has also refused to use it since returning home, although he uses it about four times a day at daycare. I think he is hitting a point where he is afraid of growing up (did anyone see Moxie’s post about this recently?) because in addition to refusing to use the potty here, he also insists that he is NOT 3 (he would like to remain 2.5) and NOT a big boy. So, yeah. It’s not a big deal for me, though. For now, he is peeing in the potty at daycare and that is awesome. I am just happy to have a decreased amount of diaper laundry to wash!

This week has been absolutely insane. I had some major things going on with both of my roles at work, and it is the last week of my first semester in school. As you can imagine, I was pulled in many different directions and burning the candle at ends I didn’t even know it had. Finally, all of my major projects came to a close yesterday, include the second of my final projects for school. The relief is so great I woke up ill today (hence my poorly organized writing). Oh joy.

In addition to my two roles at school and my venture into college, I have gone and gotten myself involved in yet another project to which I just couldn’t say no! That project is called Savvy Source, a website with which many of you are probably already familiar. For those of you who aren’t already acquainted with Savvy Source, it is a website aimed at parents of toddlers and preschoolers who are looking for information on preschools and activities in their area. I have been hired to write for the San Francisco City Guide portion of the site and assist with some new tools the Powers That Be are unveiling. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be a part of this, and urge you all to go over to the site now and check it out. It is fantastic!

As you can see, my life is just a tad crazy right now, but it’s a good crazy and I totally asked for all of it. I wish there was slightly less chaos, but I could not think of a single thing I’d want to give up right now. I am loving my (busy) life, which is good because I don’t think things will be slowing down any time soon!

We are very suddenly potty training. Well, training isn’t really the word. On Sunday Jack came to me and announced that he wanted to use the potty. I pulled out the Baby Bjorn potty, pulled his pants and diaper down, and read him a book about peeing and pooping while he did both on the potty. It was surprisingly easy. We clapped and were proud!

Monday night the same thing happened, so yesterday I sent Jack to daycare armed with pull-ups training pants. He used the potty five times! I had only one item to put in the laundry yesterday and that was a pair of cloth training pants. Yay! Last night he did not want to use the potty, but this morning at daycare he couldn’t take his eyes off the potty. Funny kid.

I am amused by this turn of events. Mostly I think it’s interesting that I didn’t have to do much at all – that Jack told me when he was ready to use the potty. I love it when things just fall into place like this; I’m a huge fan of parenting along the path of least resistance!

Jack is 3 today! I can hardly believe it, except that he woke up in a cantankerous mood and declared that he did NOT want to be 3. I’m pretty sure that the mere disputing of being 3 plants him squarely at that age.

I got lucky Thursday night and found a ton of space-themed items at The Party Stylists store here in San Francisco. There were space shuttle plates, planet party favors, space stickers, star candles, and even a Happy Birthday banner with an astronaut on it. Bingo! I bought some decorative icing and used my mama skills to draw a rocket on his cake, too. I hadn’t intended to have a themed party but it all worked out that way. Don’t ya just love it when that happens?

Friends and family gathered at our home in San Francisco on Saturday to celebrate. We even met some new friends (some of you may know VDog and she is featured in the video below if you have a good eye). Toddler-geared lunch was served in the form of PB&J sandwiches, carrot sticks, cucumbers, goldfish crackers, and juice boxes. Could it get any easier?

So what does a three year old like to receive for his birthday? I think the answer is everything! But here are the biggest hits for the Jackonaut (whose little gems of wisdom can now be found on Twitter, by the way, under that name):

Mobi Tyke Light (aka Glow Alien), accompanied by glow-in-the-dark stars that we stuck to his ceiling (not pictured)

WALL-E and Eve plushies

Space Shuttle
I made the mistake of handing this one to him too early and he did NOT want to open anything else afterward. I tried everything I could think of, and finally told him that the other gifts had rockets in them, too. Luckily he was not disappointed by anything he saw!

Remote control “land shark”

And legos, of course. No need for a picture of those! Other great gifts were hermit crabs from Jack’s dad and a tricycle from David. Those will both take a little growing into but they were a bit hit. He got two space-themed books entitled Roaring Rockets and Space Boy. Space Boy is a bit wordy for his age (or maybe just for this lazy mama) but Roaring Rockets is perfect.

There are still a few items to come (Buzz Lightyear & Woody with a rocket and a LeapPad) and I’m sure those will be hits as well.

Here is the video of Jack’s friends and family singing the birthday song to him.

My baby turns 3 in less than a month. Can I even call him my baby anymore? He is so far from being a baby, I know, but he is the only one I’ve got!

Jack is the same kid he has always been – bright and shiny and creative. Funny and sweet and stubborn. As he gets older he just developes these traits more and more. I never realized before he came into my life that parenthood is its own kind of love story. I loved that little guy immediately but that love deepened, evolved, and continues to surprise me with how profoundly it affects my life. My existence is intricately tied to Jack and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jack is rapidly leaving toddlerhood behind. While this is great, it is also a little sad. His carefree attitude is starting to fade a bit. He now has nightmares about the things he used to love (spiders, monsters, dragons) and has developed a fear of the dark. He is more aware of illness and aches now; although he skinned his hand a few weeks ago, he still insists on wearing a bandaid. He is now less adventurous about trying new foods, as well. He was never especially good about it but we could get around it by placing a bit of food on his lips where he had to lick it off. Now he runs off yelling if we try to do that!

The boy has a pretty good sense of order now. He stayed the night with his dad this past weekend because I knew he wouldn’t be okay with Aunt Holly and Cousin Sabrina sleeping in HIS bed. And no way would he consent to sleeping in our bedroom! His dinner must be eaten in a particular place, his “sleeping blanket” (which he also calls his sheep – aka sheet) is the only thing he will sleep with, and if he holds the rail while going up the stairs everyone else has to! He declares that I am HIS mom when I pick him up from daycare and he doesn’t like it when I hold other kids. It’s a good thing I don’t have a second right now!

Although he is possessive of me and his things, he is also much happier these days to go between his two homes. It helps a lot that we have a steadier schedule and instead of four trips back and forth a week, it is only 2. As everyone knows, toddlers like consistency and routine.

I am working on planning Jack’s third birthday party. I am thinking of doing a rocket theme seeing as that is what his main focus is these days. He still LOVES George but we did that last year. I can just see the look on his face when he sees a big rocket on his cake. So much fun!

Jack has been drawing again! I love watching him draw. He didn’t pick up his magnedoodle for a few months and I worried that he didn’t like drawing anymore. When he picked it back up his drawings got even more amazing!

And here is a video of him drawing a “bad guy.”