Scared to the Bone.

For Halloween we visited our DEAR friends Kim, Nate and Ireland. My pic's aren't up to par, but you get the gist. Irelands a bunny, Jack's a skeleton...Kim likes bubbles.. it all speaks for itself.













We also saw some more of the sites in Vegas, like the Bellagio (jack was quite thrilled with the fountain this time. NOT LAST MONTH, but this time was different.) And the Atrium was pretty, and kinda spooky...but pretty. And Jack got to see "num num's" up, close and personal.

I dreamt a dream..

Occasionally, I have TRULY facinating dreams, which is where the address to my blog orginated. And recently I had one that I am still trying to understand WHERE in the world it came from. But let me set you up with the context.

In my dream, my friends and I were at an Aquarium, and there was a little video showing in a mini theater. So we went in to watch, and here was the short story it told.



There was a great ship, and the captain had his crew working hard to sail this ship to find treasure. The treasure was far away, but they were getting close. Due to his greed and desire, the captain of the ship had everyone push hard enough to reach the ships maximum speed. This was dangerous, but the captain wanted to be the first to get to the gold.

In the rush, the captain didn't see a large rock jutting out of the sea, and because of how fast the ship was going, they could not slow down enough to dodge it. The captain, in fear of the inevitable, tried to turn the ship to avoid the rock but KNEW it would eventually hit and most likely sink.

In his shame he quietly snuck off the ship, taking the only available boat and rowed away from the speeding ship. He watched as the ship hit the rock with unbelievable force, and heard the screams from his crew.

Just then, out of the golden clouds in the sky, came a voice as if from heaven. It said "AND IT SHALL RISE!"

The captain, frightened, stood up in his boat doing what he could to please this mysterious voice. But suddenly, the damaged ship that was filling up with water started to rise out of the sea, HIGH into the air, and float. The captain stared in amazement when instantly the ship DROPPED out of the sky and CRASHED to the water, sending a huge wave in his direction. The captain was thrown from the boat and struggled to swim.

From out of nowhere, a crazy bearded man flailing his arms swam up to the captain and wrapped his arms around his waist and dragged him under the water. The captain tried to swim to the surface but was pulled to his death.



So. Moral? Those who are greedy and deceitful shall be punished by a higher power.

I guess.

Someone tell me why I am dreaming such things.

(note: and apparently, in my dream, I closed my eyes while the captain was being dragged o the bottom of the ocean, because Natalie pulled me aside after the video and asked me if I saw the captain scratching the arms of the crazy man to get him to let go. I'm glad I didn't see that part.)

Round the World and Back again...

So we were a little busy for a bit. We went to California for a second and made a few stops while we were there.

Wisteria Lane:


The Kwik-E-Mart:


Over Seas:


Back to the Future:



The plane crash site in War of the Worlds:


But MOST IMPORTANTLY, we took Jack to Disneyland for the first time. It was, of course, magical. There weren't any set backs other than we wanted to stay longer but the park closes at 8. So here were a few highlights:

This is Jack upon arrival. You can sense the excitement.


Words can't explain the awesomeness of the Haunted Mansion, that was redecorated in its entirety to the Nightmare Before Christmas. Super cool. Worth the trip.


Jack was a bit over stimulated and hard to make pose..


Have you ever seen that "Friends" where Chandler can't smile for pictures..


We did DUMBO, though Jack hasn't a clue who that is..


But the Winner of them all, and the ride we did 3 times in a row, was Buzz Lightyear. Look at the FOCUS. On BOTH of 'em.


We did the Merry Go Round,


..though it was mega-fast..


And I wish we could have done Tea Cups, but no one was up for throwing up.


So that was our visit to the Magical Kingdom. Really fun, perfect for Jack first time, and I want to go again soon. So any takers??

That's right, I let him do it.

Sometimes, when my husband leaves town, I get desperate for activities. I'm not sure why, because it's not like he is constantly providing us with things to do such as crafts or bake fairs...but for some reason, I feel compelled to do things I usually wouldn't.

So Jack and I did finger painting. Luckily, this paint washed off of most things that it got on. But Jack had a blast and enjoyed the "smearing" effect. Which didn't bode well for the "hand print" painting I tried to create. But all that matters is that Jack had fun, and that the clocked ticked away while we did it.

In addition to crafts, I like to make yummy things. Like the S'mores Bars Brittany so generously shared. Or some sort of cupcake, or pudding. (Extra special pudding with dark chocolate melted into it. Mmm.)

So if anyone has other fun ideas. Please post a blog about them. And maybe I'll do it.

Jack's Prospects

As many of you know, I was one of the few to have a boy during the baby boom of 2005-06. But that being said, Jack will have NO trouble finding a date in the later years. He has so many girls to choose from.

First, there's Sloane. She may be the perfect fit for Jack as their personalities are alike and the each have their quirks.


Then there is Sophia. She and Jack would have a great time gettin dirty and keeping things real. Soph doesn't take anyone seriously.


Libby though a little more sensitive, would be Jack's number one fan and a devout little friend. She has enough heart to make up for his missing half.


Teagan, the "older more experienced woman" would surely be one to put Jack in his place. She is a busy girl, but would always make time for Jack.


Bella. Bella is the take-charge girl Jack needs. She won't put up with his crap.


Addison. Though they don't know eachother very well yet, there is a burning connection just WAITING to burst between these two.


And Ireland. Jack would take care of sweet Ireland. He'd be the jealous-protective type with her, but some girls like that.


So I guess we'll all stay tuned for the future. It will be interesting. And after all, this is Josh's son, so some of you may want to lock your girls up for awhile...

Craft Night, REALIZED.

So it happened. We had an astonishing EIGHT people attend our little craft night and everyone did a fabulous job. Here are some pictures...

Sorry-

I can't load my pic's from my camera to my computer, so my postings are few. But here's something..

Jack got a new fish. This is Petey.



Jack' new pet. Petey is a wonderful pet, he acts like a dog when you get his food out, he does a good job of being quiet, and despite my dropping him on the floor while cleaning his bowl, he has held up quite well as a fish.

I highly recommend fish as a first pet.

This Was Fun...

Sweetest Boy.

Putting Jack to bed has recently proven tricky. He will usually throw a crying fit in his bed or wander out of his room...
My newest approach, though misleading, has worked lately. I will read stories, say prayers, tuck him in, turn on "snoopy" (the Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack he listens to every night..) and then say to him "Ok, I'll be right back!" and he says "Ok" and patiently waits my return.. falling asleep while doing so.

See, he wants me to sleep there next to him. Which not only to I NOT want to do because he needs to learn to get to sleep alone, but because it's very uncomfortable, and I like to use "Jack sleep" time as "Special Lisa" time.

So I'll tell him I will be back and I leave the door open so he can hear me around the house, then he eventually falls asleep waiting. I KNOW it's mean. BUT- he's learning that it is part of the ritual and he stays in bed and finds ways to get to sleep on his own.
FOR EXAMPLE. Tonight, as I type here and Jack is "waiting" for me in the next room, I hear him start to sing.
It is a lovely combination of "Old McDonald" and "The Wheels On the Bus" using the melody from "Wheels" and the characters from the farm, as follows:

The duck on the bus goes quack, quack, quack,
quack, quack, quack,
quack, quack, quack.
The duck on the bus goes quack, quack, quack,
All through the town.

The puppy on the bus goes arf, arf, arf,
arf, arf, arf
arf, arf, arf.
The puppy on the bus goes arf, arf, arf,
All through the town.

And so he sings himself to sleep.

Success.

If you haven't, you should..

Check out this hilarious satire..

Although, it's dangerously close to what my blog looks like and I'm now considering redecorating....

But still. Very clever.