It is what it is

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Bachelorette JoJo Week 5

We are at the halfway point, and also up to the time where she decides whose families she will meet. The drama is rising.

  • I think she does fall in love with two people. Oh the irony.
  • What do you think the locals think of all these cameras and random groups just standing around waiting for instructions?
  • That hotel is gorgeous with all that character and little details.
  • Wouldn’t that be funny if Alex is on the two on one again?
  • Wow Wells admitting that he hasn’t kissed her yet. And then how random with all of them talking about it and giving him advice. Why are you giving advice on how to make the moves to someone you are also dating? Sometimes the sociology of this show is weird.
  • Why is he supposed to kiss her? Let it be natural guys. Why so much focus on Wells kissing her? There is too much pressure that he is going to over think everything.
  • That suspended pool looks really cool. It’s like a big slip and slide.
  • They had their moment! But it was a little weird that JoJo screamed, “You did it.” It just seemed like he was getting praised as a child.
  • I think JoJo is second guessing her connection with Wells. I don’t think she is believing he wants to find love. He just doesn’t seem to let his walls down for her, and he doesn’t seem to believe in finding that fairy tale love.
  • I think Wells will go to Paradise.
  • The guy coming in to get Well’s luggage was eerily creepy.
  • Poor James and his confidence amongst the guys. James you have so many people’s hearts. Your hair alone got me swooning.
  • Yes James made a goal! You are a sexy dude!
  • I feel like I shouldn’t be watching the passion between Luke and JoJo.
  • Derek looks like Jim Halpert’s brother.
  • James, this jealousy is not becoming on you.
  • I hope that there was more conversation between James and JoJo that they didn’t show, because it just seemed awkward to go from talking about Jordan to asking for a kiss.
  • JoJo is so blunt when calling out people.
  • I am not understanding where this tiff with James and Jordan is coming from. All from a poker game?
  • Jordan coming back from talking with JoJo was so awkward. Him drinking the wine and fidgeting was weird.
  • Alex and Robbie watching Jordan and James arguing was intense.
  • Whew Jordan is stewing.
  • I don’t really blame him because it was James talking behind his back, but there does seem to be some entitlement behavior going on. I really liked Jordan at first, but watching him react to Chad I can see what James was saying a little. But it also seems like James is just trying to save himself because he is feeling so insecure.
  • I would pick Chase over Derek going into the 2:1.
  • They are not good at tango.
  • Derek is going in for it!
  • Did I miss something with Chase and JoJo having issues? I am so confused.
  • It’s ok Jim (Derek), you are supposed to be with Pam anyway.
  • Also this is hilarious editing with Derek crying to “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”
  • Chase seems like the strong silent type that will be a protector but emotions are hard.
  • Oh.My.Goodness. Her blue dress is BEAUTIFUL!
  • I don’t understand Alex with JoJo.
  • Boom she about gave them a heart attack with the two last roses for James and Alex.
  • Aww her smile for James is very telling.
  • Alex is being a pig about it being a pity rose. She could have sent you home dude.
  • Did anyone else see Jordan arm hug James? So did they make up?
  • All these dudes have great heads of hair.
  • “My body is about 40% pizza.” Yes. True story.
My favorites: just Luke. I am done with everyone else.
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George-22 Months

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Weight: 29 lbs. He hasn’t really gained a lot of weight, but I feel like he has gotten a lot taller.

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Health:  We continued the roller coaster of health issues these last two months. George got the worst case of Hand-Foot-Mouth that our doctor has ever seen. (Of course he did.) He has been over it for a few weeks, and you can still see scars from the blisters. It was awful. George seemed unaffected and was excited about the extra days at home that we had him quarantined. George underwent his first “surgery” last week and got tubes put in his ears. He did so great with being put under and didn’t even cry. Hopefully this will help keep the ear infections and other sickness at bay.

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Diet: His diet is the worst. He will eat whatever the sitter gives him, but refuses to eat anything but cheerios, yogurt, and smoothies at home. We can sometimes get him to eat chicken and pasta, but it is never predictable. He will drink so much liquids throughout the day. He sucks juice, water, tea, and milk down like it’s his job. He is obsessed with condiments/dipping sauces. He will dip anything into ketchup (like his mama).  It is very frustrating to feed him. Tonight I had given up feeding him actual meals after how lunch and breakfast had gone (very poorly), but then he ate more chicken enchiladas than I did. Toddler taste buds are a mystery.

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Clothes:  George is in 2T clothing for everything now. He is still in size 5 diapers, but we do size 6 at night. He is in a size 6 shoe. He is looking less babyish and more big kid.

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Sleeping:  He sleeps at night from 8pm-about 6:30 am. He sleeps through the night pretty regularly still. He goes down really easy at night. Naps are a little tricky. Sometimes he goes down easy for naps, but if we throw his schedule off even a little bit, he will play in his crib for hours before falling asleep. He just sits in there playing with his stuffed animals, jumping, or reading books. He has yet to climb out of his crib, but I am thinking those days are numbered.

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Likes: He loves the outdoors and Tom’s shop. He loves the UPS man. The other day he cried when he (UPS man) left the street, like big fat whopping tears. He is obsessed with legos and his fire truck. He loves taking his shoes and socks off in the car. He is still a big reader. He likes doing dishes with me. He pushes the chair over and actually tries scrubbing the dishes.

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Dislikes: He hates mornings right now. He throws the largest tantrums when he gets up and refuses to not be held. He is not happy when we tell him no and try to keep him from doing dangerous things. He is a sassy pants when he doesn’t get to do what he wants right then. He despises getting his teeth brushed. (It’s also my least favorite part of the day…) He hates the deep end at the pool. He doesn’t mind pools as long as he can touch the bottom on his own. He even went down the slide at the no entry side. But for me to hold him in the deep end during swim lessons, no bueno. He has a death grip on us the whole class period.

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Milestones: Gosh he talks a lot. Most of it is unrecognizable, but he is a chatty little guy. His new words are thank you, bite, good job, bubba (bubbles), juice, Grace, cheese, alright, green, blue, two, and mine. He knows a couple animal noises now. He can do a cow, sheep, and dog noises. It is so funny hearing him say bye to everyone. He screams it several times before leaving the house. He can get the milk and juice out of the fridge and put it on the counter. We started swim lessons, as a said above he does not appreciate this time. This last week he was a little better and tried blowing bubbles but he is definitely not a fan of this time. He is starting to really recognize folks that he hasn’t seen in awhile. We stopped potty training, which I guess is an un-milestone. He went on the potty for two weeks and then all of a sudden decided he would never do it again. So we pushed pause on it, and we have just gone back to asking if he needs to go and waiting for him to run to the bathroom. This is fine with us because the original plan wasn’t to start until well after he was 2, and to be honest closer to 3. He has “chores” now. He gets the dog food when the bowl is empty and helps load the washer and dryer with laundry. He takes these jobs very seriously. He smiles for the camera now, while saying cheese.

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Quirks: He is super shy and doesn’t like big crowds. However, when he warms up to you, he loves really hard. When he is sad, a sure fire way to get him out a funk is to play hide and seek. His tantrums are pretty ridiculous. We think it comes from the fact that he really wants to do things on his own and be independent, even if he shouldn’t be doing it on his own. He also isn’t the best at communicating, so sometimes all this frustration comes out in a throw himself on the floor tantrum. When he is really investigating something, he lays flat on the floor to get a really close-up look. He is a very hands-on guy who loves to see every detail. While there are a lot of mentions of tantrums in this post, for the most part if he is exploring he is the happiest guy out there. I just love watching his face light up. He warms my heart.

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Nicknames:  Booger, Gdubs, Gman, Little man, Georgie, Georgieman, and Boogs.

We parents are:  Our schedules are a little wild right now, so things have been weird at our house with a lot of rearranging of schedules. We are also ready for a month where George isn’t sick since that is super stressful on so many levels. George has been very clingly lately and is definitely becoming a momma’s boy. I have a love/hate relationship with this kind of attention. While I am loving that he wants my comfort and he finds safety from me, it does make it hard to walk alone, get something out of the fridge with two hands, eat a meal where he isn’t sitting in my lap…it can just be exhausting at times for him to want to be on my hip 24/7. The death grip hugs are nice though. Like I said, he loves hard. We also are looking forward to the day where we can go to a restaurant where someone doesn’t have to go “walk” George during the meal.

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The dogs are: loving summer. George loves the dogs. He gets so excited to let them outside. He thinks trying to ride them is his job. Grace will let him do it, and is so patient with him. Crosby gets up and moves away the second George tries to get on him.

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Don’t mind me, I will be over here wiping up my tears knowing that he will be 2 in two months. I will take one of those hard hugs now Gman.

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Bachelorette JoJo Week 4

And we’re baaaaack! I didn’t know what to do with myself last week with the hiatus. Here are my thoughts on this week’s episode.

 

  • The protein ashes ceremony to say goodbye to Chad. My mind is just a mess of thoughts from that. Wow.
  • Actually you will see Chad again guys..It’s called the “Men Tell All” episode.
  • I can only shake my head at Chad. I also think they made this interaction to be a lot bigger than it was on the previews. Anti-climatic folks.
  • Jordan kind of turned me off with his “trying to be a bigger guy” conversation with Chad.
  • This celebrating Chad going home is turning into a weird party…but it’s nice they are all bros.
  • CHAD’S GOING TO BE IN PARADISE? WHY?!?!?!
  • They certainly have made this season about Chad, and now they can only still talk about Chad.
  • There are hidden agendas since you are all going after the same girl. You wouldn’t share game plays with the opposing team.
  • Chase getting those big bumper things was really cute. Way to lighten the mood.
  • Now Evan needs to go.
  • What is it with people writing poems on this show? Do these guys really write them outside of this realm?
  • I can’t blame these guys with roses already trying to get more time. This is an arena that you are trying to marry this lady. As Jordan said, “I am in this for me.”
  • Did anyone else catch that JoJo shortened the “rose ceremony” to “see you at the rose?” Man the English language has gotten lazy.
  • I think men’s dress shoes are sometimes weird looking and are big like clown shoes.
  • Of course you don’t know what she is thinking because you don’t know her.
  • Ughhhh, why Evan.
  • Daniel’s exit interview. Yes your personality stinks, and so do your comebacks. Better luck getting hit by lightning while you are shaving?
  • Ok so add Uruguay to places I would like to visit.
  • Man, they all looked pissed when Jordan got the one on one.
  • They sure did turn on Jordan fast with not trusting him.
  • Wait wait! I didn’t know they could have magazines! And now they are turning on JoJo.
  • Tom says that this is shady. That out of millions of Americans, JoJo is magically going to meet Jordan’s ex-girlfriend. Right…
  • This conversation about Jordan’s ex was awkward, but I think it is good to address it since he wasn’t mature during that relationship.
  • The fame that goes with this show can obviously be hard on people who have not been part of it before. That article by her ex seems awful and from what she is saying all for money.
  • That was nice that they comforted JoJo, but just 10 hours earlier they were not on her side…Also did it look like she was straining to make real tears to anyone else?
  • I thought they would be on dune buggies. Sand surfing sounds cool, but looks very dangerous (says the mom).
  • Luke seems very supportive, and they (him and JoJo) seem to mesh really well.
  • The jealousy has to be running rampant at this point.
  • Y’all are coming apart at the seams.
  • I would not want to jump off that cliff without knowing what I am jumping into.
  • I am not sure what Alex’s angle is…but his cockiness is off-putting. He is becoming the new bad guy for me.
  • How can Robbie say that he loves her when this is their first actual date?
  • Sometimes I think the guys have more drama than the gals.
  • I think Derek has merit to confront these guys, but I would have maybe done it one on one because people like Alex seem to thrive on the power of the group.
  • I love JoJo’s green dress.
  • Oh Evan…I feel bad for you dude.
  • Vinny, I just didn’t see that crying coming. Poor guy.
  • AHHHH does she love two people?

My favorites: Luke, James Taylor, and Chase.

As always I love this show.

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Things You May Not Know

In a (long) continuation of anniversary week, here are some things you may not know about Tom and I.

Here is what Tom wanted to share.

  • When I got out of the Army, I made an iTunes playlist that was the exact length of the trip home. It involved the chronological order of all my favorite songs over my entire life. The only two mismatched songs were “The Best Day of My Life” by American Authors that I played driving through the gate at Ft. Campbell, and then “It Feels Like Today” by Rascal Flats as I drove over the bridge from Illinois to Missouri. Freedom.
  • 75% of the time when I go to my shop, I have no project in mind. I just stand in the middle of the shop and stare at my tools until something pops into my head.
  • I have waited my whole life to build a gym at my own house for two reasons: I want to listen to songs that would be embarrassing if I listened to them out-loud around other people like Cher or Selena. (Guys I got a little concert of Tom singing these songs to me, so for that this post was worth it.) The second reason is to wear flip flops when I work out.
  • I have a deep compassion for animals. If I see an animal in need, I feel compelled to help them. I stop my police car with lights to help a turtle across the road. However, I hate birds. I feel like they are mocking me when they come into our yard. I really really hate cowbirds and sparrows, but I like owls so much. I am sad that they don’t want to be my friend.

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Here are some things you may not know about me.

  • I talk in my sleep. Apparently this past weekend I got into an argument with Tom about people wearing gloves. We have some gems over the last decade. One time I screamed, “Basketball Time” out of nowhere.
  • I got into a fight at recess when I was in 3rd grade. We were playing Power Rangers, and us girls went all women power on the two guys we were playing with (one who happened to be my neighbor). I ripped my neighbor’s shirt and we all got sent to the principle’s office. It was the only time I was ever sent there for not good behavior. I am sure now I would have been suspended for something like that-I would have been mortified. Even so, I was devastated that my good record was tarnished, and even more horrified when my parents made me go apologize to my neighbor’s mom when I got home. My dad still mocks me for this indiscretion.
  • I have a scuba diving license, but I have only ever dived in lakes in Missouri. This is a class that I took in college as my PE credit.
  • I have worn glasses since the 5th grade, but prior to that I begged my parents for glasses. I remember crying that I didn’t have them and wearing my parents’ glasses when they weren’t looking. I was weird, and didn’t realize that glasses would give people reason to make fun of me in those wonderful years of middle school. This is the face of naivety circa 1995 a few month after getting spectacles.

Christmas 95-018

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The Do It Dad

When Tom gets a project in his mind, he just does it.

And when the project is for George, there is no stopping him.

He loves taking Gdubs out to the shop with him. George is also obsessed with the shop so it works out. Whenever he gets out of the car, he starts sprinting towards the garage and throws a fit if he can’t get in there. Clarification, George is the one sprinting. Tom is the grown-up here.

George tries to open the door himself.

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George loves to help Tom. It started out with Tom making George a mini shovel, and it has spiraled into Tom making an entire set of miniature tools and machines for him out of spare wood.

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George is very aware of what each machine does and wants to be part of the process.

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This is where his independence sores.

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While he has no fear in this shop, he is fairly respectful of the capabilities of these items.

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He surprisingly has not gotten hurt once out here. The driveway however is a different beast. He is going to be covered in scrapes and bruises his whole life because he tries going faster than his little legs will carry him.

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Watching them bond is so very special.

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Tom is so good with him out here and makes sure to create an experience that George thrives in and will enjoy.

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Nothing is sweeter than watching my blue-eyed babes.

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He is growing up before our eyes, so these moments out in the shop are priceless.

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There are so many lessons yet to be had out here I am sure. It’s moments like this when he is out here kicking it with his dad that I will cherish forever.

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Also George climbed up this gate all by himself. So either we start teaching him as he sprints forward, or who knows what he will get into.