Halloween 2009

On Thursday I took Jace to school and I went back to work because he hadn't coughed through the night and was doing better in the morning. Half way through the day, the daycare called and said they had given him his breathing treatment and that he was having difficulties breathing. So I rushed over there to find all the other babies laying on their mats awake or asleep and my son sitting at the table with his teachers eatting puffs and drinking milk.... LOL

He was sounding much more congested so Joe and I decided it was time to call the pediatrician. We took him over there to find out that this madness of deep chest coughing and sneezing is all from allergies, not flu.. Thank goodness! They also said he's got another double ear infection. We're not sure if it is remenants from the one earlier this month or a new one. So, they put him on some more antibiotics and increased the breathing treatments for 14 days. The doctor said he didn't see any reason why Jace couldn't go back to school.

So yesterday I took him back to daycare again and he stayed all day! They said he did an excellent job taking his breathing treatments. He still coughed poeriodically throughout the day, but he slept better at nap time and was in much better spirits.

Today He's pretty whiny, but I figure he's just tired. He had a full day yesterday, which I'll tell you more about....

Yesterday at the daycare was the Halloween party. They had a costume parade where they marched through the parking lot for the parents who could stop by. Parents had to bring in snacks. Since there is an egg, milk, and peanut allergy in our room, it was difficult to find snacks to take that a toddler could eat. So we sent one box of animal crackers per child and one Jello cup. No eggs, milk, or peanuts in any of that!

I made Jace's costume after finding an inspirational DIY project on the internet. It didn't seem too hard to do at all and decided I would tackle the job. He was a sock monkey! The whole thing was I wanted something that would not only be comfortable for him and not awkward, but yet something that the teachers could still easily change diapers.

The DIY project on the internet called for the snap crotch onesie... Well, for anyone who has a one year old in 18-24 month clothes, you know that's pretty much near impossible to find. So I implemented my own revision and used the zip up the front blanket sleeper. You know, the kind that has the feet in the PJ's??? Well, there's the MISTAKE #1....

So I took the 12 mens socks & tried to follow the DIY instructions on-line, but it just wasn't going to work using the type of PJ's I had bought. So I had to "design" my own costume.... NOW... This is coming from someone who doesn't know how to sew... I started out using liquid stitch and hand-sewing for more reinforcement.... There's MISTAKE #2.....

Joe saw what a time I was having and he offered to go up in the attic and get my sewing machine. LOVE HIM!!! That changed everything! I was sewing right along and about 12:30am on Friday morning, the costume was completed!

Now Jace has to be at school in costume on Friday. I hadn't had a chance to try it on him because he was asleep. So Joe gets him up on Friday morning and puts the costume on him. Oh how adorable it turned out! I was pretty proud of myself, if I can say that without bragging.... Well, Okay, I'm bragging. If you don't like it, you probably shouldn't read the rest of this blog entry....

Jace hated the costume and cried, which sorta broke my heart, but he IS only 13 months old! So here's his picture in the costume right after he had it on for the first time...

Now isn't that funniest picture? Doesn't it conjure up memories of Christmas watching "The Christmas Story" when Ralphie has to wear the bunny costume??? HA HA HA HA Oh wait - I found something....Anyway.... now that I'm done laughing... Here's the back of the costume (okay so I'm laughing again!)
So my biggest fear was that after I put all the hard work into this costume and made my sister mad in the process - that's another whole story - I worried no one would know what he was. I was afraid he looked like a mouse! So I had him carry arround his sock monkey in his orange plastic jack-o-lantern...

Once we got to school, the word spread pretty quickly that there was a sock monkey in Jace's classroom. Only one other boy was in the classroom when we got there. He was dressed as a Panda. Jace thought it was the funniest thing to see his friend with a panda suit on. He just pointed at him and giggled & tried to pet him. While I was putting Jace's food in the refrigerator, people were coming into the classroom and were ooooing and awwwing over him. I thought, "yeah, these people are just doing this so my feelings don't get hurt". I had told his two teachers the day before that I was making the costume. So, I thought this was just a tactic to help me not feel so bad since everyone else had store-bought costumes... I just thought he looked so darn cute anyway, I didn't care.

So when I picked him up from school yesterday, his report read: "Jace was so cute in his sock monkey costume! Everyone commented on he should win cutest costume @ (insert school name here). Way to go Jaime!" So I was a little proud, but yet still had doubts that they were just trying to pat my ego.

Now, fast forward to last night on the drive home. I see that there is a trick or treat at the park. I called Joe and asked if he was on his way home and if he wanted to go? (Be prepared... this is where the bragging gets deep!)

So we get Jace dressed up again and off we go to the park, sock monkey and plastic jack-o-lantern in tow. We just get to the bottom of the hill and a few of the parents are going, "Oh would you look at how cute! A sock monkey! I've never seen a costume like that before! It's adorable!" Well, it was that way all night! I was VERY proud then... One lady even asked if she could take his picture because he was too cute & her friend makes sock monkeys for Christmas gifts every year.

Jace walked a majority of the way Trick or Treating. Joe carried him part of the way. We got there a little too late and some of the vendors were closing down before we could make the entire loop. I had a ball just watching Jace see all the costumes and hearring everyone comment on his. It was a ton of fun!

I called Joe's mom & dad when we got home and told them to be prepared with Puffs becuase they're going to get a trick or treater on Halloween night. I told them that we took Jace Trick or Treating and mom and dad got a lot of candy, but this trick-or-treater needed some puffs. LOL So tonight after Joe gets home from work, we're going to take our little sock monkey over to see them.

Here's some more pictures from yesterday at daycare and then trick or treating last night:

Jace in parade

Taking a break after marching in parade

Hi Mom!

All the kids at the daycare: Brawny Man (Paper Towel Commercial) - How genius is that??? I love it!

Home Today!

Well at about 1:00 this morning I was awoken by a barking dog... or so I thought... It turned out to be Jace breathing. I could hear him even though I was in our room and he was in his. It wasn't much longer after that he woke up wanting his bottle. He coughed and I swore it came from his little toes. It was such a deep cough. After I gave him the bottle, he went back to sleep, but I could still hear him wheezing all the way in my room. I gave him a breathing treatment after he fell asleep. When I woke him up this morning to get him ready for school, he wasn't any better. So I kept him home from school today. He's not fevered or showing any signs of the flu, but with that deep cough and severe wheezing, I'd rather not take him to school for two reasons: (1) I want to keep an eye on him and administer his breathing treatments when they're needed and (2) if it is something viral, I don't want to expose the other children to it. So no report card today...

I called into work to let them know what was going on, checked my voicemail & returned my calls, and rescheduled appointments set for today. Since then, Jace and I have read books, played lightly with toys, but mostly I've just carried him around everywhere. He's extremely whiny since he's not feeling well. He isn't wanting me to put him down. He ate a little bit for lunch. Not much, but that's not unusual. After lunch I laid him down to take his nap. He's been in the room crying now for about 5 minutes. He's so tired, but he loves to fight a nap/sleep when he's put in his bed. I guess that's just children.

So, now I'm off to do some house work. I'm "flying" right along with Fly Lady and doing what needs to be done every day. What a difference she is making in our lives! The positive side to him being sick is that I can get some stuff done today while he's taking his nap. I try to find some positive in every situation... So I better get off of this blog and get to work flying....

XOXO,
Jaime

Monday, October 26, 2009

Well, this week's theme at school is "3 Little Kittens". Here's Jace's report card for today:
Language Arts:
"I listened to the nursery rhyme "Three Little Kittens" today during circle time.
Cognitive Development:
"I compared and contrasted different types of fabric today by color, feel and size!"
Creative Art:
"I colored my own mitten today during art time using crayons!"
Music/Movement:
"I sang along to the sont "Pat-A-Cake" with my teachers and friends during circle time?"
Motor Skills:
"I climbed up the motor mats to help my skills today! My gross motor muscles are getting really strong"
Social Science:
I practiced taking turns and kicking a ball to my friends today!"
Science/Nature Study:
"I meowed like a cate today to recognize animals for my teachers!"
Self-Help/Life Skills
"I threw my trash away after lunch like a big kid today!"
MEMORABLE MOMENT:
"Jace was such a ham at snack time. He made everybody laugh when he smacked the table."

This picture was taken this past Saturday at the Maple Lane Farms Pumpkin Patch.