Be careful what you wish for....

Every parent has said it.  "Just 5 minutes of quiet."  If you haven't said it then I might not call you a liar but I might make a funny face and disbelief might have a lot to do with that funny face.

It is okay to say it.  Some days, you just want 5 minutes of quiet.

The last several weeks have just been a snowball of stuff.  Some good and some challenging.  Some presenting great opportunity while some days, I feel like I am being beaten repeatedly with a 2x4.

At 2 years old, my kid learns something new every minute.  Wait, make that every second. In the time I can write this blog, he probably just learned 20 more words.  When the 2 year old finds that his something new is fun and makes other laugh then he beats it like a dead horse.

For instance, he likes to "crash out" everything.  That is his phrase.  He likes to take the trains on the train table and crash them into each other, the tracks, other toys, etc.  You get the picture.  And, he wants us to watch it EVERY SINGLE TIME.  No matter how many times we watch something crash out, he wants us to watch the next time.  And, he waits for the reaction.  Every time.  So, over and over again, I put my hands over my eyes and yell OH NO whenever something crashes out.

Don't get me wrong.  The crash out phrase is freaking hilarious.  Every single time.  I say, "Jackson, what happened to _______ (fill in the blank)?"  And he says, "Crashed out."  It makes me laugh.  I am smiling now just thinking about it.

Back to the point.  We've all asked for 5 minutes.

I am currently getting more than 5 minutes and I have mixed emotions it..  Jackson is in great hands with my parents (thanks mom and dad!) this weekend so that Jason and I can work all day at events tomorrow and go to two separate parties on Sunday.  It is a tremendous help.  It saves us from paying a babysitter for many, many hours and gives him a chance to hang with his grandparents.  Great for everyone.

The problem?  I miss him so much.  I am pretty sure that I hate quiet.  He is having so much fun but I am missing a piece of myself with him gone.  For those of you without kids, go ahead and make fun, shake your head, and make a snide comment.  I was you at one time.

I miss him.  Our home isn't the same without him.  He'll be home soon and I am sure that within 24 hours, I will be asking for 5 minutes of quiet.  It is a life cycle that will continue over and over but one that happens naturally and makes life so much fun.

Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!

The roller coaster continues...

We've had one heck of a week.  This past week was gonna be the week to get back on track.  Jackson was going back to pre-school after being out for over a week, Jason was home, the Labor Day Race was over and we were gonna get on a routine and get things done.  Whatever those things might have been (who knows!).

Last Saturday night, Jason and I had a long talk about our housing situation. If you don't know, we have been trying to sell this place since I got pregnant in 2008.  We put it on the market, offer comes through, everything falls through one week before closing.  Devastated, we pulled it from the market.

A few months later, I decided it was time to try again.  After 4 months and not a single viewing, we asked to be let out of our contract and pulled it from the market.

Early this year, we decided to go for it again.  Third time is a charm, right?

We hired a new agent and followed the directions of their "staging expert."  We thought that this was gonna be the time it sold....

Back to last Saturday...we decided that since there hadn't been a single showing this time around (nope, not one) that we should we should stay here for another 2 or 3 years.  By then, we will hopefully have another kid and we'll know what our housing needs will be long term.  We are comfortable here and there is NO yard work!  We do have plenty of space so it sounded like a great plan.

On Sunday, we got a call at 1:30 pm from the agency wanting to show our place at 2:30 pm.  We said okay and laughed that this would be the time.  On Tuesday morning, we got an offer.  Seriously.

After countering twice, on Friday, the whole deal fell through.  Not so devastated this time but just mad that we spent so much emotional, mental, and physical time on this during our week for a result that wasn't what we wanted.

So, we are back to Saturday and we plan to pull the condo from the market on Monday.  Hopefully this roller coaster will coast on even ground for at least a week before we start another series of ups and downs. :)

Life is a roller coaster!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks.  Up and down and up and down. Unfortunately, I am  not a big fan of roller coasters and I don't go to amusement parks so weeks like these are a bit unsettling for me.  And, I ran out of the samples of the awesome medicine that the doctor gave me for my stomach.  And, said medicine is very, very expensive so hopefully what they called in today to the pharmacy will work just as well.

If anyone doesn't know, Altman was gone for a few days to run the Hood to Coast Relay.  Yes, the KTC H2C team won.  That is a whole story in itself for another time.  When he is gone, so is a piece of me.  Cheesy?  Say whatever you want.  That is how I feel and I know that Jackson can sense my anxiety which makes the roller coaster go higher and lower at each turn.

I have spent a lot of time with my child during the last week.  I love him.  I would die for him.  Let's get that out there first.  Wouldn't think twice about it....my child living and me dying...Would do it without giving it a thought.

However, as much as I love my child, I have discovered that I am not meant to be a stay at home mommy.  If you stay home with your child, please don't be offended.  I think you are amazing.  Simply amazing.  I personally just think that my relationship with Jackson is much better when we spend at least 5 hours separated each day.

He is a lot like me.  He is stubborn and very impatient.  I am sure my mom is laughing right now because isn't that how the saying goes, that your child will be just like you?  If you know me, I am pretty stubborn and can be really impatient.  I am working hard on both but we've all got challenges.  Hopefully he is picking up some positive characteristics from me too.  I hope that his stubbornness leads to good grades in school and excelling in sports (or sweater knitting) and I hope that he has my desire to help others.

Also, Jackson expects everything to go right on the first try.  Can't imagine where he gets that...

I've never known anything that can make me so furious and so irritable and then turn around and make me cry with laughter and love within the same situation.

He is two so I imagine that we'll have several days like we had today in our future.  I cannot tell you how many times I said, "No.  Stop.  Stop it now.  Don't touch that.  Don't climb on that.  What is wrong with you."  Several times today, he blatantly did exactly what I was telling him not to do.  I knew that these days were coming but I didn't know how hard it would be to not laugh at him and how hard it would be to try to redirect him to something else.

Everyday is a roller coaster.  In the midst of all the chaos, I had an epic work day yesterday.  One thing, I can't tell you yet but it is very good.  The other is that Knoxville is now an Official Runner Friendly Community.  At the peak of that high, I found out that a dear volunteer for KTC and incredible woman died yesterday morning.  I just saw her on Sunday.  She and Jackson shook hands and then she remarked that the "tadpole" was so handsome and growing up so fast.  Then, she was gone.  Just like that.

Today was a roller coaster.  I am hoping tomorrow is more of a float in the lazy river kind of day.  We'll see.  Whatever happens, I will remind myself that I am blessed to have a wonderful husband and that yes, my child is probably the most handsome kid ever and even at two he is pretty smart and pretty well-mannered.  Seriously, through the good and the bad and the ups and the downs, I want to remind myself that I am very, very lucky and that things can change in a minute.  I just hope the roller coaster doesn't stop at the top of an incline.....