Red Pencil Diaries

Zack seems to have stopped eating baby food. He likes to feed himself, and he’s been doing better with table foods. I have to be careful not to let him fill himself up on crackers, animal cookies, and graham crackers. Those are the things he loves and it’s easy to give those to him and let him go to town. Right now he’s having a bit of carrots and potatoes from the beef stew I made today. I had the crock pot going all day and wow… the house smelled so good all day. I really had to watch myself and keep myself from snacking all day just b/c the smell made me hungry.

I wanted to go to the YMCA tonight. We joined the Y and have a metro membership so we can use any Y in the greater Louisville area. The southern Indiana Y has just been renovated and it is very cool. They have 3 pools (one is a family pool with fountains and a slide—and it’s all indoor! They also have a sauna/steam room. And the wellness/workout area is nice too. Oh, and they offer a lot of classes from tae kwon do to yoga. We went last night and just took a tour. They also have child care while you workout, which is cool. Anyway, Zack has been cranky and kinda sniffly today and Dave had a long day at work. He’s now hanging drywall in the other room. So I think we are going to go tomorrow morning. I’m just itching to up my workout efforts and tone myself up a bit more—oh and lose more weight too! So much for my evening plans. sigh

He’’s walking. It’’s official. He’’s all over the place. He walked from my bedroom to his and back. Today, we went to have lunch with a couple of women I met on this mom’’s website… anyway, he was all over this lady’’s house. He played with her 3 year old son. He walked all around her living room, dining room, down her hallway.

He’’s napping now. I think he got worn out with all the walking. But he’’s so cute. Those cute little feet hitting the round. His wobbly little legs moving. When he falls on his bum, he kind of fusses. I guess it’’s frustrating because he still has issues with getting up without having something to pull up on. But he’’s one determined little dude! And sooo independent! He is eating more adult food now. Last night he pigged out on spaghetti with some tomato sauce. He had it all over! When he was full, he started slinging it into the floor to Pebbles, who enjoyed it until some landed on her back and she couldn’‘t reach it. lol

I can’‘t wait for daddy to get home and see his little man in action. He’’s truly amazing!

Tonight, Zack started taking more steps. He did it several times, at least 4 or 5 steps at a time. We didn’‘t get the video camera going fast enough to capture it. But I was laughing at one moment, crying the next. He’’s sooooo cute. And I know all moms say that. But with him, it’’s true. Strangers everywhere stop us and tell us how cute he is. And to see all that cuteness toddling on two feet, well… I was swelling with pride.

By the end of the week, who knows… maybe he’‘ll be toddling all over the house. If so, I’‘m in trouble! He’’s already into everything. Wow… knowing he can walk around on his own… he’‘ll be into even more.

I can’‘t believe our little boy is becoming a toddler. It’’s truly a miracle to watch your own flesh and blood grow up. sniffle

I just read this story and it made me cry… first a bit of sadness, then finally, happiness. A 6 year old boy leading 5 other babies in New Orleans.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9230423/

I can’‘t get the link thing to work with my blog. My apologies. Anyway, it has a happy ending. But wow… what a lot of the kids in Mississippi and Louisiana have been through. Just amazing and heartbreaking stuff to think about.

Zack was 10 months old yesterday! Yay I have been thinking all day that today was Tuesday and then I realized that I missed Tuesday… long weekends throw me off.

Today I took some of Zack’’s old clothes to Once Upon A Child to sell them. It ended up being a rip off. I took in a bag of stuff. They rifled through it while I shopped around. Then they said they’‘d give me $12 for what they accepted. I was handed back the bag that was still half full, so I thought that was ok. But when I got home, I see they took only the good, name brand stuff. So now I’‘m going to sell stuff on eBay only. I can get a lot more for his stuff on there. I just have to worry about schlepping it all to the post office to sell. But I guess that’’s what I have to do to get a decent $ for it.

I need to come up with a good, scary Halloween decorating theme. A couple of weeks before Halloween, my family goes down to Jellystone in Cave City. They have a cabin decorating contest and costume contests. So I’‘m in charge of our cabin’’s theme. I was thinking of doing an alien theme, but it’’s difficult to come up with something really creative and find stuff for it. I don’‘t exactly have time to make a lot of stuff since I have Zack… he’’s a handful lately. So any ideas… feel free to post a comment and send them my way.

Oh, and I almost forgot.. Zack has been taking a few steps! Last night (I didn’‘t see it b/c I was out mowing the back yard), Zack took several steps across the kitchen floor for Daddy. I have seen him take two steps the other day and again last night. So it won’‘t be long until he’’s all over the place. Actually, he is already all over the place. But he will just be reaching a lot more stuff. sigh

I have been watching scenes from the hurricane stricken areas in New Orleans and Mississippi, and I am just saddened. I see all these desperate, frustrated, sickened people. The ones who are getting shipped out have to ride nearly 400 miles in a school bus with no air all the way to Texas. The rest are begging to be taken out of the hell that was once their homes. It’’s no wonder people have taken to violence… days without food, restrooms, clean water. When you get extremely large groups of people in situations like that… seeing other people die from lack of medical attention… children hungry and tired and scared screaming and crying… no sleep… of course they start to move toward extreme means to even survive and help others any way they can. I just have to say that after this many days of watching it all on TV, I want to just get in my car and drive down and start picking people up. (Silly thought, I know.)

Why can’‘t they bring in large planes to a closer town and move large groups of people out faster? I just think there has to be a better way… a better plan… these are our fellow countrymen… I feel as if I need to help. More than just sending a donation to some group who might take days, weeks, months to provide aid. There are people dying down there.

Dave was thinking last night about how if any large disaster hit us, how awful it would be to be without his insulin and what might happen to him. Now I think about all those people who need medication. All those babies with no water to make formula.

How fortunate I am. And I feel so helpless.