Snacks for the Road

As I'm getting things ready for the road trip to Iowa tomorrow, Christmas Eve, I asked Cooper to remind me to get some snacks for the road.

"Do we put them on the ground (for the road)?" he asked.

And The Evil Mommy...

My 4yo son wanted me to take him to the sticker book store. I told him, when we went yesterday, to get what you want because we won't be coming back here until at least next week. He's been asking me all. day. long. to take him to the sticker book store (Barnes & Noble) again today. I keep saying 'not until next week'. So he drew this picture of me. Apparently, this is what I look like when I say no. I'm such an evil mommy.

(those are tears, which I didn't start shedding until AFTER I saw this picture and almost peed myself laughing.)
Isn't he a great artist?! I think he captured me perfectly!

Too Much Sap

4yo son Cooper: Mom, I have sap.
Me: Sap? You mean like sap from a tree?
Cooper: Yeah, but it's nose sap.

Daisy, Dandelion. Same Thing.

I got my first fresh-picked flower from my 3 year old yesterday at preschool. As he handed me the dandelion, he beamed, "I picked a daisy for you!" (Daisies are my favorite)
"It's beautiful," I gushed, "Thank you!"
On the way home, he pointed out all the houses that had beautiful daisies in their yard. "We don't have any daisies in our yard. We should plant some!"he said.
Yeah. Daddy would be thrilled!!

Got my first official writing job today!

Yay!! While Coop was at preschool, I was chatting with the editor for MomTalk.com and receiving my first official deadline as a contributor to their site. I also get to link back to my travel site to help increase my profile. (I also have a friend working on a mom-site that she's asked me to write on, but it's still in beta testing so I can't share the name yet.) So, if these keep up, I'll have my site and 2 mom-sites I'm writing for. Very exciting!!! The nice thing about the mom-sites is that they're run by moms, so they get the whole lack of schedule thing. I'll let you know when I get my article submitted and published.

Plus, last week I received my first payout from the ads on my travel site! So, my goal of being paid for my writing by my 40th birthday has been reached. And my goal of having an assigned article has now been reached. Now, let's just keep it rollin'!!

My 3 year old can read

I had to bring my 3 and a half year old son with me to my doctor appointment, so I brought some things for him to do during my exam. I brought a dot-to-dot book and a few books for him to read.
I know he can read, he started sounding out words at 2-1/2. By 3-yrs old, he had mastered silent e and was working on vowel teams. He now understands punctuation and how it tells you how to say the sentence. Exlamation points are his favorite. This is no shock to me.
It was, however, quite a shock to our family doctor. She abandoned my exam to gush over his reading skills. She said he's reading at a first grade level... at 3-1/2! Her son is in kindergarten and is an advanced reader, she said. Then added that my son is reading the same level books that her son is... and her son is 5. She kept gushing... "He's gifted! Really! He is! You should look into programs for him."
Of course, I'm proud as a peacock, even though this is not my doing. My son has always been interested in letters... how they sound, and how they work together. My job is to keep it fun for him. We play I-SPY with sight words in a story. I buy books about bugs, Spongebob, and gross body functions... stuff boys like. I'm super-enthusiastic when he gets it right.
I'm a very proud mama today!

Panic attack follow-up

Ha ha, oh no!! You guys probably think I crashed and are saying little prayers for my family! No, no. All is well. I went driving that day and had no issues at all. Within another week I was back to driving anywhere without even thinking about it. I do highly recommend that panic attack CD from health journeys. If you're on anxiety medication, or have ever had panic attacks and worry that they might come back without warning, I highly recommend this CD. Of course, if you are on medication, don't stop taking it without consulting your doctor, but if it can help you sleep a little better, maybe even help your medication work a little better, why not?
What I like about it is that it's guided imagery and affirmations. Guided imagery helps you create a 'happy place' in your mind that you can 'go to' whenever you feel stressed. Affirmations help give you the power of mind to take back some control of these terrifying situations.
I'll say this. I was listening to the CD in bed when a panic attack struck. With the phone nearby -just in case-, I wanted to ride it out. This CD talked about every piece of what I was feeling, almost in order, and talked me through the whole thing. I have never had a full-on panic attack since. It was simply amazing. From the first initial zap, to the shallow breath, the racing heart, freezing/sweating, and the overwhelming feeling of dread... she talked me through all of it. She taught me how to control my breathing without hyperventilating. That was very key. She taught me that my feeling of danger was an illusion in my overprotective mind. Very true for me. She taught me that thousands of mentally healthy people have these kind of attacks and get through them, never to have them reoccur. Very reassuring. I thought I was going crazy.
I'm so glad I sought therapy without medication. Mine were mild enough so that was an option for me. I'm on my last therapy session, and I feel great. We were even able to touch on some of the issues that may have led me to that scary day.
Side note: My doctor recommended I stop drinking coffee. She said caffeine can trigger anxiety attacks. I have been caffeine-free since January. Turns out I don't need it for my energy level. I'm just naturally pretty hyper. None of my friends seemed surprised. ;)