Pet Talk

Last night Jack and Randy had a funny little talk about the possibility of getting a pet. I overheard this from the other room and I about chewed my lip off so he would hear me giggle.

Jack: Dad, I think I would like to have a pet.
Randy: What kind of pet do you think you would like to have.
Jack: Not a puppy or a cat, cause Dad you are allergic. What are the things called that we saw at the pet store that run on the wheel?
Randy: A hamster?
Jack: Yeah dad a hamster, can I get one? What do you do with a hamster?
Randy: Well you hug it and squeeze it and call it George (hee hee)
Jack: Gross dad, I'm not holding it ever, I am keeping it in it's cage all the time. I would get lots of stuff to make it a cool maze that it could run around in and a wheel. So can I get one?
Randy: Before you get a pet you have show me you are responsible enough to care for a pet and then maybe when you are 7 you can get a pet.
Jack: How do I do that?
Randy: Well you can start by keeping your room clean, taking your dishes from the table into the kitchen and asking your mom what you can do to help her; without being asked to do so.
Jack: Oh, OK, and then I can get a hamster?
Randy: If you do all those things for another year, then you can come ask me again. Can you guess what I will say?
Jack: (Sigh) You will say No.
Randy: Right, and what should you say to me?
Jack: (voice lilting up with hope) That I deserve one?
Randy: No, come to me and say, but daddy I did all this stuff for a whole year and you said we could talk about it after I was 7.
Jack: (really excited voice) And then you will say yes?
Randy: No, I will probably say they are too expensive. What do you think you should say then.
Jack: (super convincing I really want this or I will not survive voice) Pppppplllllleeeeeeaaaaaaasssssee Daddy, they aren't that expensive.
Randy: No, you say, but daddy I have the money.
Jack: Why would I say that, then I would'nt have any money.
Randy: To show me how much you want the hamster.
Jack: Hmm, that's a lot of money dad.

The Mastermind

This afternoon I had a rather interesting conversation with Jack's best friend's mom while waiting at the bus stop about her son also not wanting her to fetch him directly from the bus. Apparently her son has been telling her that she doesn't need to come all the way to the bus stop, that he can meet her at the leasing office of our apartment complex or in the maybe mid-walk from the bus stop to their apartment. This all sounded remotely familiar to me and rather odd for her son's personality... but spot on for Jack. I had a sneaking suspicion that Jack may have planted a little seed in his friend's mind. Remember, he does talk about minions- a lot.

So on the way to run a few errands I decided to bring this up to Jack, it went a little something like this (keep in mind this whole conversation happens while I am driving):

Me: So Jack, Aravind's mom told me that he asked her not to pick him up directly from the bus stop.
Jack: Hmm, really.
Me: She said that he asked her to meet him on the hill or the leasing office and not at the bus stop anymore.
Jack: Does that mean I can meet you at the leasing office or on the hill?
Me: No. Have you and Aravind been talking about this?
Jack: Just once--why don't you trust me (the dreaded words, this means I will have to explain it just right)
Me: Jack it is not that I don't trust you, I don't trust other people and there are bad people out there in the world and need to be there to keep an eye on you. (seriously I looked up the sex-offender (big mistake, don't do it) database and man there are a lot in our area) You aren't growing up in the world your mom and dad did, maybe when you are older we can talk about it again
Jack: Mom when will I be old enough? I really want to walk on my own.
Me: I don't know Jack, maybe next year.
Jack: Next year (large sigh)

Sick Day

Yesterday I kept Jack home because he had what looked to be like the slightest little rash forming on his chin and he was developing a little cold. OK-- I probably overreacted, but I just had visions of the school calling me and asking me why I sent him off in this condition. This is probably do to the hypersensitivity his preschool showed to any form of redness on a child's skin. But that is neither here nor there. What I realized is that when you have to negotiate bus rides with a 6 year old to get them to stay home, you are in over your head.

Here's how it played out, I noticed a very small spot on Jack's chin after he got out of the shower. I call Randy over in that voice that means something like, "oh sh__ the arm just fell off our kid" and he rushes on over like he should saying, "what, what?" In an attempt to not alert our son that anything is "wrong" I try to convey to Randy to look at Jack's chin without saying anything. Of course this is crazy and does not work and it only looks like I have something in my eye. So I end up telling him to look at Jack's chin and he kind of looks at it and says, "huh". After the chin looking, we huddle in the bathroom and decide it is best for Jack to stay home because of the previously mentioned red spot. But now that Jack has started bus riding in the morning, missing school is a form of torture the army field handbook would not even allow.

Randy decides that he will break the news to Jack and instantly I hear Jack say, "but dadddddddddyyyyyyyyyy I want to see my fffffrrrrriiiieeennndssss!" I decide to rescue my waffling husband and march out of the bathroom with a stern but concerned look on my face (never let the child see you sweat or he will sense your internal fear) and tell Jack that he needs to stay home today. Jack launches into his counter-argument, I will briefly summarize:

Jack-- Mom I want to go to school, I haven't seen my friends all weekend and I don't want to miss anything new.
Me--Jack, but you might have a rash on your chin. (Jack hates rashes I think this might work)
Jack-- Mom if it gets worse my teacher will send me to the nurse and they will call you to get me.
Me--Jack I want you home where I can keep an eye on you
Jack-- Mom, I will check it when I get in from both recesses and not touch my face all day long (serious folks he said it)
Me-- Jack you are staying home.
Jack-- But that means I will only get 2 ride the bus home days this week if I miss today.
Me-- (I see my in and I take it aka I fell into his well woven web) Jack you can ride the bus home tomorrow. I will just leave from school a few minutes earlier then you and meet you at the bus stop.
Jack-- Really? OK then, Dad can I turn on the TV?

Oh and about an hour later I realized it was a scratch on his face and it probably just got agitated with the soap in the shower.

A fun weekend

This weekend we headed to Randy's Aunt and Uncle's house in Portland. Every year the Reedville Cafe in Hillsboro has a crab fest and we haven't gone in years, pretty much because traveling outside of Klamath Falls in the winter is no easy undertaking--it is not for the faint of heart. We took off after dinner and had an easy drive down, in fact we actually saw the I-5 drawbridge up for the first time, in all my years in Portland I had never seen it raised. Jack was totally excited to see it, but it was dark out so he didn't get the best look.
Saturday I got a chance to spend a few hours with one of my old friends. We had a fun time just hanging out at the mall and doing a little shopping. I never really realize until I am away from Jack and Randy, how little time we actually do spend apart. Which is pretty cool, but I do need my time on my own. Randy and Jack spent some time hanging out playing the Wii and mastering a few Lego Star Wars levels. We had a great time at dinner and I stuffed myself with crab. MMMM


The Crab!!

Sunday morning we woke up to a light dusting of snow that turned everything beautiful and white-- I tried to convince Randy that we were snowed in, but he didn't go for it. After a quick lunch with Bethany and Emily we headed home to start the week.

All Grown Up

So, this morning it happened. We got off to a late start this morning and by the time we were ready we had missed the bus and I had to drive Jack to school. This morning I decided I would try letting Jack out at the drop off area and letting him walk to the playground on his own. When he realized what I was doing, he got right out of the car asked which way he should cross and that was it, walked right off-- no hugs, no I love you's... nada. I was so stunned I wasn't quite sure what happened. But I felt better this afternoon when I got him from the bus stop and I could see him jumping up in down in his seat when he saw me.

Turkey Day!

Well we know it has been awhile... we just haven't been in the blogging zone as of late in the household. Today we finally had our turkey day. We did a lot of traveling for the holidays this year and the one thing we love the most (well Randy and I) about the holidays is all the leftovers and all the soup from the leftovers. But when you travel, you just don't get the leftovers you do as when you do all the cooking. I fully intended on cooking a turkey or turkey breast between Thanksgiving and Christmas but for some reason they were all sold out--then when the turkeys did come in they were all over 17 lbs in my supermarket. So Friday I ran into another supermarket to grab some on sale chicken (seriously what has happened-- I nearly gasped in delight when I saw chicken breast for 1.99 a pound) and noticed some frozen turkey breast were still in stock. So I grabbed us one and we are having our Turkey day tonight.

This morning Jack wanted to do something with me, so I thought he could help with the corn bread. As I had a Jiffy mix on hand I figured it should be simple enough for him to do mostly on his own and what a great way to practice our reading. I started baking with these mixes when I was around his age with Grammy, she would always let me experiment in the kitchen with her and I loved every minute of it. We started with Jack reading the ingredient list and making sure we had everything. He read the whole recipe and then we set the oven (he is still too young for that), we measured out our milk and I played the role of assistant. I told him a little bit about how I started baking with Grammy with these mixes and I used to make breakfast for my parents with the muffin mix. I think he was pretty impressed with himself.









After hitting the supermarket this afternoon we will get the rest of the items made up. I am keeping it simple; turkey, mashed tatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans and something easy for desert...maybe denver chocolate pudding.

Well I scrapped the desert, but as you can see it turned out pretty well.