5 hours of sleep, 2 cups of coffee & Monkey Joes

Boy have I had a day.
First of all I went to bed way too late this morning, because I was online too long. So when I got up after a few hours of sleep, I had to have coffee. Now, I really only drink coffee when it's cold outside, which, it is far from. OR,I drink it when I am tired. The coffee was so good, I had to have 2 cups. Then the plan for the day was to meet my friend Michelle & her 2 boys, for lunch & then go to Monkey Joes (an indoor inflatble place). With the plan in place I decided not to eat breakfast, the coffee had filled me up enough. Fast forward a few hours, I leave the house with the 3 kids, stop by the library. The kids got a free Chick-fil-a kids meal & a book for the summer reading program & today was the last day to turn it in. When we left the library Michelle called & said let's save time & let the kids have pizza at Joe's. So by the time I got there, I was so hungry & jittery, I could barely unbuckle Ella. Did I mention it had started pouring rain? So we go in & the kids are off to play. I immediately ate a huge pretzel & a piece of pizza. I started to feel better & relaxed while the kids played. Then it happened...
The angry, angry mother, of a 5 year old boy. She was carrying her sniffling child toward me, but Michelle & Alex were ahead of her with Michelle rolling her eyes & Alex with a look of sorrow.
Michelle quickly told me Alex scratched the kid in the face, before the mother started in talking very loudly.
momzilla:"HE SCRATCHED HIM IN THE FACE & THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE"
I become jittery again & I ask Alex did u scratch him?
Alex: "somebody pushed me down"
momzilla: "he didn't even apologize" "Look at this, look at his face"
I look & see a small scratch
me to the mom:"I'm sorry" then to Alex:" why would you do that? You don't"
I couldn't even say much to Alex with this lady talking in my face, while I'm trying to handle it. So needless to say I get very angry with her & flip on her. Well, you know, for me I flipped.
I looked at her & said "you know what, I don't know what to tell ya, I said I'm sorry, what do you expect me to do, you want me to jerk him out of here, pull his pants down & beat him. Would that make you feel better? You sure don't look like the type that believes in spanking"
momzilla:"No, I just want him to apologize"
Alex is crying saying he did apologize, I'm saying he got pushed down when he accidentally scratched him. Then she tells me she didn't even really see what happened, her friend did & she told her how it went down. Oh, and here comes an employee to break it up. We both ignored her & kept on talking loudly at each other. Eventually, I wrapped it up & told her to get over it, he apologized, it was an accident, & I'd deal with him, but get out of my face. So she went to sanitize the scratch & apply neosporin. :((Wah Wah.
I made Alex sit out for 15 minutes then he went on to play. The momzilla left after some first aid. Thank goodness. But it took me a good 30 minutes to calm down, but then I got fired up again when I told Jody the story.
So here is the question: If it was your child that was scratched, how would you handle it?
A) Get on to the kid yourself (Hey, you don't scratch people. That's not nice, you need to apologize.) Then don't let your kid near him the rest of the time.

B) Just leave

C) Grab both kids & go confront the other mother. Which could be handled 2 ways.
1. Hey just wanted you to know your son, scratched my son. I figured you'd appreciate knowing.
2. Your son scratched mine, now I'm gonna stare at you or yell at you till you have the response I want.

Let me know what you think. I know everyone has different parenting styles, & your friend's tend to match up with your style. But I personally would have never approached the other mother. One day mommy won't be there to help you out. How will the child handle himself then, if he isn't taught that. Now I'm not saying let your child be a bully either. He shouldn't be allowed to hurt others physically or emotionally. If Alex was in fact a bully, he wouldn't be going to Monkey Joes. Because what better place to push kids around? That is bully heaven. JMO
What's your opinion.

The ABC's of Me

I saw this on somebodies blog & thought I'd do it too.

A is for your age: 34

B is for your favorite burger: Ted's Bison burger with onion & bacon

C is for the car you drive: white 2007 GMC Yukon

D is for your dog's name: don't have one

E is for essential item you use everyday: Degree deodorant

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Grey's Anatomy

G is for your favorite game: Catch Phrase

H is for your hometown: Marietta/Woodstock GA

I is for the instruments you play: all air, but mostly air guitar

J is for favorite juice: I don't usually drink juice, but I do like apple & orange

K is for the last person you showed kindness: Jody & the kids

L is for the last Restaurant you ate: Red Lobster

M is for your favorite meal: any meal my mom cooks`

N is for the number of piercings you have: 2, one in each ear

O is for overnight hospital stays: 3, one for the birth of each child

P is for the people you were with today: Mom, Dad, Brett, Stacy & Landon and of course Alex, Emily, Ella & Jody

Q is for what you do when you have quiet time: get on the computer, read or watch tv

R is for biggest regret: making Jody wear a Tuxedo for our wedding, instead of his Marine Corps uniform

S is for status: I'm a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece & friend

T is for the time you woke up today: 8-8:30

U is for what you find unique:

V is for veggie you love: broccoli & squash

W is for worst habit: wearing pj's most of the day

X is for x-rays you've had: besides my teeth, I had one of my left wrist that I broke when I was 9 or 10

Y is for yummy food you ate today: Roast & mashed pot (thanks Mom) & chocolate ice cream

Z is for Zoo visits: Jax Zoo in 2003, we also rode thru the Wild Animal Safari last year

Sweet Ella waiting for breakfast. Such patience.
Pouting Ella, not getting her way, but she is still a cutie!!

Ella's Thursday 13

Hopefully you won't be bored, but I wanted to dedicate this weeks 13 to, things Ella is doing at 20 months of age.

1. Eats with spoon, fork & hands. This child loves to eat & makes a pretty good mess while eating. She will use utensils, until she is slowed down, that is where the hands come in. You can shovel food with your hands much faster.


2. She loves to dance to music. Sometime she dances & we don't hear any music....but SHE sure does.


3. Ella names and/or points to atleast 15 body parts. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? what a Genius


4. She takes her clothes & diaper off. She's got some great large motor skills.


5. Ella loves to laugh. Especially when others laugh first. Then she mocks the laughter while slapping her hand on her leg. I think she has seen Jody do this, when someone comes to the dealership & offers a ridiculous amount for a car.


6. The other night she was on my mom's steps, looked around the corner at Jody & said, "Daddy, on steps!" which meant Daddy, I'm on the steps & we both know I'm not supposed to be here.


7. Ella says no for no and no for yes. You have to watch for body language to translate.


8. She follows directions. She had gotten some tights out of Emily's dresser & left them in my bedroom floor. So, I said, "Ella, get the tights (I didn't point at them) & go put them in Emily's dresser where you got them & come back." She did it in less than 5 seconds. What a good listener!!


9. Ella loves to watch the movie Cars w/Alex. She races around with him when the cars race. Alex really loves her doing this. She will also watch Hannah Montana w/Emily. She dances to the music in the show & if you know Emily you know she loves to dance too.


10. She loves nap & bedtime and never fusses. She goes to bed with a silky (which her head lays on) a cloth diaper (that she holds) a pacifier and gloworm (it plays music & glows). In the am & after nap she stands up in her crib, starts gloworm's music & dances, then when it's over she looks at it & says "bye bye".


11. Ella LOVES her family. She calls my mom & dad, Nanny & Poppy. And since she loves babies, she's very interested in baby Landon & loves to hug him. She really enjoys Lindsey & Hope playing with her at the pool.


12. She will sit on the potty 2-3 times a day. She gets a little toilet paper, wipes, puts it in the potty, flushes & says "bye bye". She doesn't actually Go Potty, but it's a start.


13. Ella loves to pout. She is the most pouty toddler I've ever seen. (remember I worked with toddlers for 3 years at a daycare) She also likes to pitch fits, but is ever so careful not to hurt herself when she throws herself to the floor. Most of the time I ignore this behavior, but sometimes I have to use distraction to move it along.

All in all Ella is a sweet, sweet girl & we love her so much. She can have a little temper, but overall she is very manageable and understands most of what we talk to her about. She is such a blessing to our family and I can't wait to see more exciting developments in the next few months.

Happy Thursday!

Thursday 13

13 things on my mind today

1. Ella is staying with Jody's mom tonight.
2. The other 4 Jarretts are going to the race.
3. I'm seeing my long lost friend Deanna tonight, after almost 6 weeks:)
4. I'm really hot, but it will be a lot hotter at the race.
5. Jody is off work today & tomorrow.
6. I get to see the Hixsons tonight.
7. My family is coming to my house tomorrow.
8. The kids are starting to get really bored with the summer.
9. Alex & Emily swam on their own at the pool this week.
10. Even though everyone is coming to MY house tomorrow, my mom is cooking most of the food. Tonya is cooking the other food. I'm such a cook, can't you tell.
11. Jody is working all day Saturday.
12. I'm trying to plan lunch Sunday, for my dad's birthday.
13. I'm going to miss Brett, Stacy & Landon tomorrow. They have other plans.

Have a good 4th.