Slacker!

Hi. We are alive. The past few days have been nuts. I know I have been slacking, but I DO have valid excuses, which I will get into tomorrow, when I have more energy. Good night.

Here We go Again. . .

Sorry I didn't write yesterday. The past couple days I've been in a funk. The kind of funk where I feel exhausted and restless all at the same time. Jack has hit what I only hope is another speed bump in his development. We have gone through this a few times in the past and it usually takes place right before a major milestone. It usually lasts for a couple weeks; we all work through it and then things return back to normal. As I mentioned in a previous entry, Jack has started to display defiant behavior, where everything needs to happen a certain way, otherwise it's the end of the world. For example, when we were playing with his Fisher Price barn, and he was trying to imitate something he learned through watching me "play," as well as though an app called Peek-a-boo Barn, where we put all of the animals into the barn all at once, then say "shhh...goodnight," and the animals drift off to sleep. Instead of putting the animals in their designated places, today he wanted them to all go into the pig sty, which is only big enough to hold up to two animals. When he got to the cow, the third animal he was attempting to stuff into sty and was unsuccessful at getting it to fit inside, he began to get extremely angry. He was in full on tantrum mode; flailing his arms and legs, shaking his head, and he even went as far as to hit Matt out of frustration. We couldn't believe that something so small, could cause such an ordeal. When we tried to explain that the sty wasn't  big enough to hold all the animals and redirect him back to the way usually do it, he only grew more upset. When we realized none of our methods were working to calm Jack down, we ultimately decided that it was in his best interest to take a break and recollect himself, so we put him in his designated time-out area, set the timer for one minute, and when the time was up, we told him we loved him and went off to do something else. That is just one of many outbursts that have taken place in the recent days. Jack is an extremely sensitive, emotional and intense little boy. He has been like this since the day he was born and we have always found ways to manage it. Similar to our past encounters,  I spend my nights over analyzing the situation and worrying that this behavior could be a sign of something more. I only hope that Jack proves me wrong once again and puts my worries to rest like he has so many times.

As I sit here, racking my brain trying to think of something positive from our day, I am drawing a complete blank. I know that this purely from being over-tired because despite everything we are going through right now, he still manages to make me smile and laugh countless times throughout the day. Wait! I thought of something. Jack was chasing Muffy in circles around the kitchen tonight, she was playing along, he was giggling with joy and it was absolutely adorable. Just thought of another! Matt finally got around to putting the flooring on the landing that splits the upper and lower level of the house, which was last remaining part of the house that needed to be done. As he was working, of course Jack wanted to help. Matt asked me if I would take a few screws out of a piece of plywood that was drilled into the ground. I let Jack hold the top of drill as I  removed the screws. When we finished taking all of them out, and the piece of wood was no longer stationary, Jack gathered the screws and by using his hands, he put them back into the holes where they once were. It was fun to see his wheels turning, as well as seeing a sense of pride come across his face, as if he were doing me favor and helping to get things done. Just by mentioning that my spirits are already raised and a big smile has come across my face.

Now I'm gonna go watch the Wild kick some Avalanche butt, eat some Easter chocolate and relax with my hunny. Goodnight.

It's a Rainy Day. Let's Go Play!

"Baba"

For the past 45 minutes I have been writing a post about our upcoming trip home, but it's getting late and I have way too much to cover, so for quality purposes it will have to wait. In other news, as I mentioned yesterday auntie "Baba" is in town and boy oh boy, does Jack have eyes for her! So much so that he decided it would be a good idea to wake up at 6:00 AM, point to the door from his crib, and repeatedly call out her name. Every time she left the room today, without a moment of thought, he immediately asked where she was. Tonight he insisted that she put him to bed. Which is a huge honor, considering that he only ever wants me to do that job. Tomorrow is her last day here, so hopefully it's a good one, considering that it's supposed to rain. Well I'm off! Goodnight.

Surprise it's. . .

Checkin' out his new kicks. It was pretty stinkin funny to see him walk in flip flops for the first time. As Matt said, he looked like a cat with tape on his paws.

Look who came to visit! It's auntie "Baba!"

Days like this.

 Today was perfect. In every way. It was an absolutely gorgeous 70 degree day. I am happy to report that not only did Jack have a successful trip to the Y, but I did as well. Jack took a three hour nap and was a jubilant, easy-going kid for most of the day. Life is good...

Time to get at it!

Hi. I'm Elaina and I am a Carb-aholic. I have eaten so bad today, and by bad I mean a huge bowl of cereal this morning, a sandwich for lunch, Tater-tot hot-dish for dinner and nearly polishing off 2 bags of chips during a movie. In my defense, the size of the chip bags were smaller than the average. With that said, I'm feeling pretty down on myself right now, so much so, that I just partook in a mini workout session, at 11:00 at night in the comfort of my own home. I alternated between crunches and running up and down the stairs over and over again until I couldn't do it anymore. I repeated each "set" 3 times. I realize I probably didn't accomplish much, but I do feel a little better about myself and that's the important thing, right? Lucky for me, we are due to go to the gym tomorrow and although I am by no means an expert and in fact look pretty pathetic when I am trying to figure out how the equipment works and having to call it quits after only six minutes of being on the stair stepper, my level of self-confidence gets a little higher each time I leave.  The good news is that Matt is really good about taking the time to show me how things work and pushing me to try new things, even if they seem too difficult. A few weeks ago, when Matt was showing me how to use a machine, which for the life of me I cannot remember the name of; nor do I have the capability of describing it, I noticed a man, who was awkwardly standing about 4 feet away, watching Matt very intently. I felt kind of uneasy about it and in typical Elaina fashion, when things get weird and I get nervous, I talk a lot in an effort to conceal the fact that I feel extremely uncomfortable. So I looked at the guy and asked him (in regards to Matt), "Is he doing that the wrong way?" and he causally said "No. I was just observing." It was in that moment that I realized he was a paid trainer at the Y and he was in the midst of a session. Then to make conversation, I asked him for advice on things that I can be doing to achieve my desired weight and image. He said he would be happy to give me a free training session, and get me set up with a routine that is customized to fit my needs. He then gave me his card with his name and number. Sounds awesome, right? Wrong. I know I shouldn't be, but I am extremely self conscious when I go to the gym and I feel as if everyone is watching and judging me. The time of day that we are usually able to work-out, is usually filled with people. People, who unlike myself are extremely fit and skilled. I am worried that I am not going to catch on to what he is trying to show me and I will do everything wrong and all eyes will be on me. I never feel this way when Matt shows me how to do things, because I have nothing to hide from him and I never feel embarrassed or ashamed in his presence. He knows me so well and he is great at finding ways to teach me new things. He is both patient and enthusiastic about helping me and isn't afraid to push me. The only problem is that he is working to fix different areas of his body than myself and he has been doing the same workout regimen for years. He knows the exercises and machines that will help him achieve his goal, and although he tries, he has a hard to thinking of things that I can do to achieve my goal. Before I take the trainer up on his offer, I want to at least have somewhat of an idea, as to what it is I am doing, so I don't make a complete fool of myself. I know it sounds weird and it's hard to understand, but it's just how I roll. Anyway, because of home renovations and being sick, I haven't gone to work out for a few weeks. On days that Matt goes by himself, the trainer asks about me and seems really keen on the idea of helping me, but like I said before I am just not there yet. On Thursday, to avoid the trainer at all cost, knowing that he typically works in the evening, I made a point to go to the gym in the morning. Just as I was leaving, I heard a man say "Hey!" I looked up and it was him. In my head, I was saying "Oh Crap. Here we go again!" I said hi back and explained to him why I have been absent from the gym and told him that I "lost" his number. So lucky for me, he gave me a new card. Who knew one could be so persistent. Looks like I got myself into a pickle and the only way I can get out of it is to actually call him and set up an appointment. I am absolutely dreading it, but hoping that the humiliation will be worth it in the end, and just maybe I will finally know what the hell I'm doing. So here's to taking a step in the right direction. Wish me luck!

I am going to switch gear and share some snapshots that myself or Matt took of jack today...

Someone got a little sleepy at school with dad this morning

Playing with his "small" collection of cars.

On the menu tonight, something we Minnesotans like Tater-tot  "hot dish."

Jack approved

We finally watched Frozen or shall I say I watched Frozen and Jack was being a crazy, goof-ball who wouldn't sit still for most of it.

Flash back to a year and a half ago!

"Look, mom! I got up it all by myself!"

His stick collection. It was pretty cute watching him gather them onto the chair.