"Mom Guilt" Strikes Again....

Remember back to Jackson's first Easter Egg Hunt at his daycare? Just to recap: plastic eggs (still in the wrapper and UNFILLED), no candy to include in the eggs, and no change to even buy Starburst from the vending machine. Thanks to Ms. Cresha, I was able to borrow 50 cents so that Jackson could have some candy-filled eggs like everyone else. While I was stuffing his eggs with the Starburst bought from borrowed money, in walks another mom with her daughter dressed up in her beautiful, spotless Easter dress carrying a beautifully decorated Easter basket filled with beautifully dyed Easter eggs that had obviously taken quite a bit of time the night before. All I could think of was "I was supposed to bring a basket too???" Still getting the hang of this parenting gig - Jackson's daycare is sometimes my Cliff Notes version, reminding when I should be doing for Jackson at various ages. I'm constantly surprised that Jackson is old enough to be doing 1/2 of the activities they do at daycare with him. As a result, we're always a little behind the eight ball when it comes time to do non-routine activities at school.

Fast forward to this week. We received an email from his school letting us know of the various activities that were going to be happening in the next month or so. I always get a little feeling of dread when I see their emails - I always wonder "what did I forget this time?". The big news this week is that on Friday, they are having their annual bike and trike-a-thon. The older kids are supposed to bring their bikes and trikes to school....and don't forget their helmet! This shouldn't have been a big deal, right? Well, there were a few minor issues:

• I can't remember the name of Jackson's class (is it Discoverers or Explorers or Seekers?) OR his room number. And unfortunately, that's the only way to tell who is supposed to do what. I was pretty sure I knew what class he is in (after all, I've been dropping him off in the same room for almost 2 months now), so I decided he was in the class that is supposed to bring their bikes. They're always doing stuff earlier than I think is possible (and they always prove that Jackson can do it!).
• He doesn't have a helmet OR a bike. Should I have already bought him a helmet, even though he doesn't have a bike? Is he supposed to wear one on his Big Wheel? Am I a terrible mother for not having one yet?
• Jackson doesn't know how to ride a bike (at least not at home).....and he hates riding his Big Wheel. In fact, I can't remember if he even really knows how to ride his Big Wheel without someone pushing him. Is he supposed to know how to do that already?

I was determined that Jackson was going to show off his bike riding skills on Friday. I sent Tom an email that said looks like we need to buy a bike (and a helmet) early this week so that Jackson could ride it on Friday. As soon as Jackson and I got home on Monday night, we went right outside so that we could practice pedaling on the Big Wheel - didn't even let Jackson have dinner first so as not to waste the daylight. (I know, I know - it's hard to have a demanding mom, but when Jackson wins the Tour de France, he'll thank me.) I learned a few things on Monday night: 1) Jackson, like me, likes riding downhill, and 2) Jackson, like me, thinks its too much work to pedal uphill without someone pushing you from behind. Unfortunately, the school parking lot isn't level.... He also learned a few things from Jenna - no matter how slow you go, you still need to steer (pretty sure Jim doesn't appreciate Big Wheel tracks in his yard along the sidewalk). It was obvious that we had a ways to go before his "event" on Friday.

Fortunately, I had lunch with my good friend Katie today. She reassured me that Jackson's class probably wasn't biking on Friday. She told me Jackson's class was doing the "hop-a-thon" instead. Whew! I know he can hop! He can be a rabbit or a frog (incidentally, the corresponding noises Jackson makes for either of these animals sounds the same......"rabbit" or "ribbit".) So thankfully, I was concerned over nothing. And now I know what to expect next year and can start preparing in advance (we'll begin a training schedule early next spring). Needless to say, Santa is going to be bringing Jackson a bike (and helmet) for Christmas - whether he wants one or not! :)

I did feel pretty good about my mothering abilities last night, though. I saw a picture of some creative Halloween meals, and thought "I can do that!". I actually tried it, and it came out pretty cute. Jackson loved the "Halloween Spaghetti" and seemed to really have fun eating the spaghetti out of the bell pepper cut to look like a pumpkin.

It has been absolutely gorgeous out lately. We've spent a lot of time at the park. Jackson's imagination has really started coming out, and he loves to pretend to be various characters at the park. For some reason, Jackson always makes me be his trusty sidekick and Tom be the bad guy. Maybe it's because Tom has such a good "evil laugh". Either way, it's funny to watch it unfold each time. This time, Jackson was Buzz Lightyear (and wore his Buzz Lightyear armband that makes sounds), I was Woody, and Tom was......yes, you guessed it - Zurg! Jackson made Tom chase him all over the park. It all worked out, though, because by the end of our time at the park, Jackson told me "Zurg is my best friend. He's nice now. He's my best friend."

Jackson has been dressing up a lot. One weekend, Jackson and I ran quite a few errands, and Jackson decided he needed to be a superhero in order to come with me. He wore his superhero cape and diego gardening gloves everywhere that day. That was the most fun I've had running errands in a long time! I think there is a lesson to be learned there. Everything is more fun with a cape!

Jackson is really enjoying Amazing Athletes. I'm so thankful that he has that opportunity at school. We've been playing a lot of soccer and now baseball in the house. I think we're going to have to change that rule soon because he's getting so good at it. He really has some power behind his swing and his kicks!

Jackson has also started playing with his baby doll, Charlie (I don't know where he came up with that name). He likes to feed it and thinks it poops every 2 minutes, which means I have to change its diaper (he refuses to do it). Jackson likes to hold it and cradle it when it is crying. It's so sweet to watch him pat the doll on the back gently and say "It's ok. You're safe. Daddy's here." Makes me melt.

Tom's friend, Mike, stayed at our house a couple of weekends ago while in Tulsa to help judge the Broken Arrow band contest. Jackson was so excited to meet "The leader of the Green Superheroes" (aka - the Cavaliers). He even made us change his clothes so that he could wear his superheroes shirt, and he got his drumsticks ready to play for Mike when he came downstairs. I have never seen Jackson be so enamored with someone new so quickly! He wanted to show Mike everything that he could do. Here is Jackson showing off his skills on the iPad with the Talking Tom app (a cat that repeats what you say and purrs when you rub its belly or head):

Another milestone! Jackson has FINALLY begun sleeping in his bed again. We're now in the routine of reading 1-2 stories before he climbs into bed on his own. It's even to the point now that he doesn't cry when we leave his room. He also now likes his door closed with just the nightlight on - what a big change from a month ago!