Semantics

It's mid-November and Thanksgiving is next week. This means the return of many things - the Salvation Army bell ringers, Turkeys are on sale at the grocery store, and the stores are decked out in decorations and sales. Which brings about the return of the "holiday" versus "christmas" debate. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on this, at least among the Christmas-celebrating community. But I don't care if the sales clerk wishes me Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas. I don't care if the stores have sales on Holiday gifts or Christmas gifts. I do, however, have a problem with calling a Christmas tree a Holiday tree, because let's face it - it's a decoration unique to Christmas (by the way - according to Snopes President Obama has NOT announced that the trees at the White House will be called Holiday Trees). It doesn't affect how I celebrate this time of year. I actually like that they do this. Not everyone that celebrates a holiday this time of year celebrates Christmas. And just because they might be among the minority, I don't think they should be ignored. And honestly, unless someone is obviously buying something holiday related, I don't even necessarily think they should be "wished" anything but have a nice day. Because not everyone celebrates holidays this time of year, or even at all (I have some family members that to do not - maybe this makes me a bit more sensitive to the situation?).

I'm not a scrooge. I don't think people should stop wishing others Merry Christmas. I don't think anyone should stop decorating their house in Christmas lights, wreaths and bows. But honestly I think it is a bit intolerant of people to get mad at the media or retailers for using the word "holidays". Why can't you just celebrate the way you wish, and take "holidays" to mean what you want, be it Christmas, or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or the like?

Finding the silver lining

I have been following the blog and tweets by MckMama. She is the mother of four children. The youngest (Stellan) just turned 1, but was diagnosed with a serious heart condition in utero and not expected to live. Currently she and Stellan are in Boston awaiting a very serious procedure for him that may not end well. You can check out her story here: www.mycharmingkids.net or follow her on twitter (username MckMama). She shares a lot of information.

What intrigues me the most about her is her honesty (she doesn't pretend everything is all sunshiney and happy) as well as her ability to get back into a positive outlook when she has been down. Her most recent blog post has inspired me to find the silver linings in my life.

I have two HEALTHY, beautiful boys.

I have a husband that loves us and is a good provider.

I get to stay home with my boys during these important formative years.

All our needs are met without much thought: a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, health insurance.

I have plenty of family and friends to love and love me back.

I live in the greatest country on earth, and wouldn't have it any other way.

And as I recently discovered, there are still people out there that read my blog!

I'm not one that believes you should "suck it up" because someone else has it worse. But sometimes when I read stories lime MckMama's, it helps me put things in perspective. So, how about you? What are some of your silver linings?

What's a mom to do?

He's four years old, but he's not potty trained. He was for a little while in the spring but apparently changed his mind. And now he tries to hold it in. Got himself so constipated that he was crying out in pain from the gas. So he's on mirilax and can't hold it in. But he tries. And my heart breaks on days like today, when he tells me he is "sitting" many times in about five minutes. He says he doesn't want to poop, no matter how many times we remind him how much it hurts when he doesn't.

So on days like today I sit down and cry. And wonder how this happened. We waited until he seemed ready to potty train and did not force it. And he did it in about a week. What went through his mind that he'd rather sit in a dirty diaper than clean underwear? And I cried when at a playground a child he did not know told him he stinks (he did). Is he going to start getting teased at preschool too? I don't know if I could handle that.

If you're reading this (I'll be shocked!!!) and have some advice, please don't think I'm rude if I ask you not to share it unless you've gone through this. Because we've heard and read just about everything there is about potty training. Unfortunately most of it applies to a child that has not regressed like this. But of course hugs and encouragement are always welcome. Though that's not really why I wrote this. I just needed to vent without boring my friends and family yet again.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'...

...Keep that baby Rollin',
Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' - AnDREWWWWWWWWWWW

Excuse my lame attempt at a musical interlude (hopefully it will make sense as you read further). I am sleep deprived - Andrew is cutting his first teeth and has not been sleeping well at all the last couple of nights/days. Other than that, the boys and I are enjoying our visit with Uncle Mike and Aunt "Son-i-a". The 7 hr ride down here went so much better than anticipated. James was fantastic and hardly made a peep. Even though he only slept about a half hour. Andrew was amazing as well, and on got fussy for the last hour or so, turning the volume up VERY HIGH the last 15 minutes. PHEW! Hopefully we have not jinxed it for our ride back on Friday.

Some of the highlights include James getting over his major fear of dogs within two hours or so of our arrival. He pretty much freaked out when Sable came to greet us in the driveway. But shortly thereafter he was in love with her. Now he can't wait to help feed her and Monty (aka "Montay"), let them out, and play with her in general. And his true "3 year old-ness" didn't really come out until the last few days. Andrew has reached some major mile stones as well. He is now rolling over both directions, can sit unassisted for several seconds, and is doing a very slow commando-crawl type scoot (think inchworm). We are calling it "the magic of Pennsylvania!"

While Mike and Sonia are at work, James, Andrew and I are kind of laying low. There's lots of toys to play with here, and a nice big yard, so we don't need to go too far. We have made it to the playground and the park on our own, without getting lost however. James was thrilled when Mike was home the other day and mowed the lawn. This is one of James' favorite things to watch. However, he wanted no part in sitting on the mower (parked and turned off of course) when Mike was done. It's hard to figure out a three year old. Last weekend, Sonia, the boys and I took a trip to Hershey and visited Zoo America. James' favorite part was feeding the ducks! After that, we just HAD to go visit Chocolate World. How can you be in Hershey PA and NOT visit Chocolate World???? We took the little tour ride, which James seemed to love. We then went to the shop, but didn't buy much there, since there really isn't anything unique (except the world's biggest chocolate bar, but I wasn't shelling $30 for that!) and I've gotten the stuff cheaper elsewhere. By this time James had pretty much had enough since he didn't nap, so we headed home.

Other than that, we are just having a great time visiting and will be sad to leave on Friday. But we miss Daddy, so it will be time to head home. HEre are some of the pictures I have taken. There are more, but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet. Click on the conversation balloon at the bottom left of of the slideshow to see captions (there's only a few).

Apple Picking and Pumpkin Hunting

Had trouble uploading these pics, then when I finally did it, forgot to write the post - oops!

The four of us made our annual trek to Mack's Apples to pick way too many Cortland Apples. But it's so hard to resist those fresh picked apples. I of course can not resist and ate two while we were there. James tried but only got a couple bites. He had a blast running up and down in the orchard, and even helped pick the apples. After that, we went to their pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin. This was no easy task, since most of them were "too heavy" according to James. Eventually we did find one that was just right! He even painted it the other day, although for some stupid reason I didn't take a picture of it. So now we have a lovely pumpkin painted to perfection, and a whole bushel of apples in the fridge that I must remember to make sauce out of when I get home.

Apple Picking 2008

Mum's the word!

It's finally fall. My favorite season. I love the cool weather and of course the fall foliage! I also love Mums. Their flowers stick around so you can enjoy the splash of color for a long time, instead of just a few days. We have a few nurseries and farms on the main road that we pass by often. They all have mums, and they've been looking beautiful every time we pass. So yesterday after dropping James off at preschool, Andrew and I stopped to get one. I certainly picked the right place. These mums are HUGE and only cost $12. And they come in a decent pot so they don't have to be replanted. I had James pose with it so you'd get an idea of just how big it is (he is 40" tall). I seriously have never seen one this big before. It took up more than half the back of my car (Honda Pilot).

He loves to pick flowers, so let him take one.

He loves lawn mowers. The neighbor's lawn service arrived just as we did, so he had to sit and watch. Luckily the have two big, fast mowers and it's not a large yard so we weren't there all day!

I thought Andrew looked funny the way he fell asleep with his arms up!

Happy Birthday James!

It's hard to believe, but James turned 3 on 9/13! Not sure how my little boy got so big so fast. He had 3 days of celebrations! First, we brought in a special snack for preschool - pudding with whipped cream. No home baked goods are allowed as they are a peanut and tree nut free school. They also gave him a big star sticker announcing his birthday, and he got a special birthday pencil as a present. Then on Saturday the 13th we took him to the zoo. We're pretty sure he enjoyed it, although he is 3, so he has to...how shall I say it...assert his independence. There were several meltdowns while we were there, but there were also lots of smiles. He loved the zebras and lion (who can be heard roaring throughout the park, so James had to answer him) most of all I think.

Sunday was his party Uncle Tom's house, which he shared with Aunt Yvonne, who received her Master's Degree in Education - Way to Go Yvonne!!! He did not stop ALL DAY LONG! In addition to his cousins, there were a few other older kids there that he tried to keep up with. He spent a great deal of time on the trampoline. He was so exhausted, that he ended up sleeping until 9 the next morning! Woohoo!

All in all, I think he really had fun turning 3. Enjoy the pictures!