Ted's Log

Hmmm. well I thought I was creative, but it turns out that Ted's Log was not as fantastic as I had imagined! Eh. (shrugs) It is what it is.

Ted’s Log: Friday, February 12, 2010

Today I’m with my friend Jackson! There was a Valentine’s party at school and Jackson showed me all of his candy and cards and treats! He said that Valentine’s Day is coming up and that it is a time to say “I love you.” I’m so glad to share Valentine’s weekend with my friend, Jackson, who loves me as much as I love him.
Jackson was so excited to show me how to play Mario Kart on his Wii.
We had lots of fun winning races. Elijah, Jackson’s baby brother, gave me lots of kisses and hugs. He let me play with his stuffed toys, too. My favorite stuffed toy was Jackson’s Kung Fu Panda named Po. Jackson said I get to sleep on the same pillow as Po tonight – right in Jackson’s bed! It’s been an exciting day making new friends and learning new things. Now it’s time to pick up, put away, and get some sleep so I can be ready for our adventures tomorrow.

Ted’s Log: Saturday, February 13, 2010

We woke up this morning later than if it were a school day, which was fine by me since Jackson’s bed is very comfortable. The day was full of adventures! We raced cars, played Blokus and Jenga, and then watched a new episode of Jackson’s favorite show, “Phineas and Ferb.” It was funny. My favorite character was Perry, the pet platypus. He doesn’t say anything out loud…like me.

We got to watch a movie, Race to Witch Mountain, while we ate lunch (Dad’s chicken chili). Then it was naptime! Yah! Jackson didn’t sleep very long; I could have slept a little longer. Mom and Dad took us to Chick Fil A for ice cream and to play in the kids’ area. Jackson said we should have adventures, so we did. We pretended to be all sorts of things. Then we went to the park to slay a giant dragon! I also got to ski down a mountain slide and swing to the highest clouds with my friends. That night I led a parade in an airplane car and read bear stories before bedtime.

Ted’s Log: Sunday, February 14, 2010

Today we went to NOBC where CLC staff were being honored for being such great teachers! We sat with our friends Charlie and Cameron and their families. Then we went to Sunday School where we made crafts for Valentine’s Day. For lunch, we met Meemaw and Pawpaw at Applebees. I took a long nap in Jackson’s bed again today. We spent the afternoon playing with our Valentine’s toys and ate chocolates and candy. I have had a great time with Jackson and his family this weekend. He has shown me a lot about love, and I am very grateful to have spent this time with him.

Ted E.'s Journal

So Jackson brought home a teddy bear from school on Friday named Ted E. Bear. Ted came with a journal to document everything Jackson and Ted would do over the weekend. As it turned out, Ted was part of a class assignment involving all the kids in Jackson's class to get Ted for a weekend and document his experiences. We were instructed to just include Ted in whatever we already had planned for the weekend and not to worry about trying to do anything out of the ordinary.

Yeah right! I was relieved that Jackson was not the first kid to bring Ted home. He was the 4th. Ted had already been the center of lots of interesting activities at the other kids' houses: riding a tractor, getting a new puppy, visiting relatives, and playing outside. I hated it for Ted, but he would do none of these things at our house. Ted also went out a lot: Walmart, Zaxbys, the air field, and Farmer's Market were all mentioned. I immediately checked Ted for a camera or microphone. He reminded me of the old Teddy Ruxpin dolls, but not as creepy. Ted wore blue overalls and held a half-peeled corn stalk in his right hand. He had on a little farmer's hat, too. There was an empty battery pack behind his back, that I was tempted to find batteries for to see what he would say. I decided to stop being paranoid, though, and let it go. Ted was not sent here to see if we were bad parents or anything like that. He wasn't the weirdo. I was. He was just a stuffed toy made in China in 1995, so he probably just needed a once over with a Clorox wipe, and to not be handled too roughly.

But I couldn't help feeling sorry for myself. I was looking forward to an absolutely lazy Saturday this weekend, and we don't go out on Friday nights....Sunday was my only time to impress Ted and that was only because it was Valentine's Day and surely to God we would do something that could not be repeated by another child on their upcoming weekends!

Why do I let things like this stress me out? Or worry, rather, about Jackson being intrepreted as lame or our family as a bunch of couch potatoes by the extra eyes reading Ted's journal. Do people really care about this kind of thing?

But typical Melissa wanted to impress Ted...Jackson's teacher...Jackson's friends....Jackson's friends' parents...you get the picture. I guess it is a constant desire to be liked and to have my children liked.

So while Friday was lame, and Saturday predictable, I took pictures of Ted's little activities planning to print them out Sunday night and tape into his journal. No one else had pictures of Ted's adventures. Adventures....of course! After taking Ted to Chick Fil A and the park (yep...had to get out of the house, and Walmart had already been done) Daniel said something brilliant. We should have been taking pictures of Ted next to the painted dragon and say that he and Jackson fought dragons today, or in the airplane at Chick Fil A and say he and Jackson went flying. That man is smart sometimes....of course he could have mentioned this Friday!! It was a great idea. Taking the small things he did and turning it into wild stories. Jackson would love that. Any kid would love that. And how do you think Farmer Ted Ted would come back and report all the crazy sights and sounds anyway? Not like a parent trying to sound good, that's for sure!

So that's what we are going to do. Ted's Journal is now Ted's Log. And the justification to add pictures clarifies to a parent what kind of dragon was slain (since they will recognize we just went to the park), but kids will like to read the stories.

Ha Ha Ha. (singing) "I am so smart...S-M-R-T!" (Homer Simpson for you that don't get this)

I will have to post Ted's Log tomorrow.

Jackson - Mr. Popular

So Jackson seems to be very popular in his class. It seems to come natural to him somehow, but in an unreluctant way. He is always getting hugs and kisses when he leaves for the day at his school - from his girl and guy friends, but rarely ever seems grateful! Four and five year olds are quite funny sometimes. Jackson has a good sense of humor, and is able to play well with others...I'm thinking this is what helps him be so amiable. He's a people pleaser, and a good referee since he has a knack for resolving conflits. Of course it doesn't hurt that the child is naturally gorgeous!

Patient with his brother (most of the time), a helper around the house (most of the time), Jackson is motivated by his toys and his Wii. That's basically the only way to get through to him -- threaten to take away Mario Kart and he will do just about anything! Unfortunatly, he's at the stage where we end up threatening more than we'd like. But he is great at school and in public. In fact, he is one of the few five year olds that can go to the dentist and have a cavity filled while never complaining and lying perfectly still the whole time. It was just something else he had to do--no biggie to him. He was born in the Chinese year of the monkey, and the personality traits seem to suit his nature well. "Clever, skillful, and flexible, Monkey people are remarkably inventive and original and can solve the most difficult problems with ease. There are few fields in which Monkey people wouldn't be successful but they have a disconcerting habit of being too agreeable." Reference He's my little monkey man, and I love him dearly....apparently just like everyone else in his life!

About Elijah

Elijah is growing rapidly - both in size and in mind. He is quite a character. Funny, stubborn, and affectionate. He is eager to help out around the house and to show us that he understands what we are talking about, though his verbal communication skills are quite lacking! At 16 months, he says mama, dadda, bye bye, night night, and poo poo. He attempts to say lots of other words, some of which I get (i.e. Jackson), but relies heavily on pointing, grunting, and just going and getting what he wants. Never the learn-by-demonstration child, Elijah likes to be a hands-on learner - like squishing his fingers in his food or wearing his food on his head and body to see what else food can do besides get eaten. He's quite a handful.

He tests reactions...a lot. Throwing his juice or towel down during dinner is accompanied by a serious stare...to see what happens next, especially if the message is conflicting - Jackson laughing and Mama scowling. He also likes to watch our faces intently when he is touching something he is not allowed to touch - like the wall sockets or dvds. And the only big temper tantrums seem to come from taking something away from him - Jackson's toys and the sweeper mop especially.

Constantly testing....constantly learning...constantly falling. The child tends to look "beat up" because of the amount of self inflicted bruises and scrapes to his head from walking, running, falling, and bumping that really stands out against his fair skin and thin reddish hair. His independent nature also causes us to chase him a lot, since he does not like to hold hands when walking outside. He is not afraid of cars and only slightly shy of strangers. While his brother was a more passive toddler - watching before doing, Elijah wants in on the action - if you're going, he wants to go, and if you're eating - I don't care what it is - he insists on climbing into your lap and getting a bite.

A usually good sleeper, he is persistent on getting a bottle before bed, and keeping the same baby nighttime routine, though we are trying to coax him into a more big boy routine. I hope to soon introduce potty training to him too. I think he will do well in this department.

I love watching his personality grow, and despite my comments, I couldn't be more proud of our little 'Lijah.

Elijah's 1st Birthday Party

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

A day at Cedar Farms

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Jackson's 5th Birthday Video

A video I made of snapshots from Jackson's birthday party.

What's this blog about anyway?

I've decided to blog about the random musings of my personal and professional life - which will mostly involve the funny things my kids say/do. While this blog may be fun for others to view, it will also be my digital journal where I rant/rave/report whatever I want. So...if you read some posts and think...who's she talking to? It's probably not to you :-)

Feel free to peek into my world as little or as often as you like!