Lesson learned.

Those who know me know that I'm not exactly "censored" when I speak. The only times you can really find me NOT using curse words are (a) when I'm teaching, (b) when I'm around little children (but not my own), and (c) when I'm asleep.

And who knows, maybe I use foul language in my sleep - Tom has told me I talk in my sleep before.

When Thad was first born, people were constantly telling me and Tom that we needed to tone down the cursing.

"He will pick up on everything he hears," they would say.

To which we would reply, "Well, the first time it happens, he will understand why it can never happen again."

We thought we were brilliant.

Our child would be the first child on the block to use appropriate manners, and know when and when not to use words like asshole, shit and - my personal favorite - douche canoe.

Another thing we consistently do in this family is tease. Tease, tease, tease.

Thaddeus is a silly butt.

Mommy is a dork.

Daddy is a poopy McDonald's happy meal with chicken mcnuggets and fries (Thad came up with that one, not me).

We never thought to think that he wouldn't understand not to use these words outside of the home.

So we suddenly have little kids consistently ringing our doorbell for the past couple of months, "Um, hi. Thaddeus just called me stupid."

"Um, Thaddeus's mom? Thaddeus told me that I'm a poopy face."

"Thaddeus just used a bad word!"

Sigh.

Parenting fail.

Recently, a family with 5 kids moved in next door. Four girls and one boy. The sweetest little kids. They hang out outside, and Thad has started to play with them.

Literally on the first day, one of them came to me - tears in her eyes - and said, "He just told me that if I wasn't his friend, he would kill me."

Oh man. 

Oh man, oh man, oh man.

I didn't even know how to respond to that.

So now we are working to reverse the effects of our potty mouths/teasing games. It sucks - because it's who we are - but it only took me nearly 4 years to figure out that it doesn't matter that it's who we are. It's not the person we want our toddler to be.

Poor Thad.

He's probably so confused. But, I figure it's for the best.

Oh, and for those of you who have babies - or will soon - please just trust me on this.

You can teach your child that only certain words are allowed when used by ADULTS, but that doesn't mean much. It really only means that they will be smart enough not to use them around YOU.

Another sigh.

Enjoying my time.

We have an insane month coming up - as August usually is - so I am trying to spend as much time as I can just hanging out with Thad, and trying not to worry about all the things I have to do.

It's actually causing me to lose sleep, because I really am so far behind on a lot of things, but I don't want to look back on my days with my little monkey and regret that I was too busy to spend time with him, having fun, laughing, going to the beach, playing in the water, riding bikes, whatever.

I took this photo today while we were rolling around on the floor. He was trying to wrestle me for my camera, but was suddenly distracted by the television. I aimed my camera right at him and yelled, "You TOOTED!!" and I got this smile.

Lol.

What is it about potty talk that makes little boys all giggly inside?

That smile just melts. my. heart.

Hot and humid.

Last week it was a beautiful 70 or 80 degrees in Michigan, with relatively low humidity.

I made it a point to create a Facebook status that was something along the lines of, "Katie Jeter wanted everyone to know that it is not over 100 degrees here." I figured all my friends in Texas who were whining and complaining would give me some sort of virtual middle finger, laugh, and move on.

Well, the Karma gods got a hold of me.

Today, it is almost 100 degrees, and the humidity is about 1,004%.

Here is my proof:

My lens fogged up as soon as I took it out of my camera bag.

What a pain in the ass.

The beach.

Alright, all you Texas girls who follow my blahg will be happy to hear that we are embarking on a heat wave here in Michigan, and we are supposed to experience temperatures in the mid-90s and even over 100 at some point.

Today was Day 1.

So we headed to the beach.

We had actually already planned to have a day at the beach with our friends Stephanie and Troy, but the news of a heat wave convinced me that we should go back again sometime this week.

Oh, and every Sunday has officially been coined by the four of us as "Beach Day."

Sweet.

Anyways, when Thad was about a year old, my mom and I took him walking along the beach.

He hated it. Cried. Refused to step in the sand. I am pretty sure he was convinced we were attempting some form of toddler torture.

Today?

Totally different story.

If you look close enough, you can see that he is covered in sand, pretty much head to toe.

He would run in the water, and then run into the sand and dive like he was some sort of heroic baseball player. 

Then he'd roll around in it like a dog on grass.

It was actually kind of odd.

But, the more odd, the better the picture...

...so I'll take odd. ;)

Me and my monkey.

Today marks the seventeenth day since I started my project 365.

It's also been a bit of a tough day, attitude-wise.

I know you can't tell from the picture, but we battled some major three-year-old issues this morning. I think it's Thad's way of saying, "Mommy, don't leave me alone for 4 days again."

But we worked through it.

And through the tears, and the taking away of the bike, and the elimination of the television, he still found a minute too look at me, smile, tell me I was his favorite, and then tell me he loves me.

No matter how shitty we feel when we have to discipline our children, it's always nice to see those moments when we realize that it's actually in their best interest to set up boundaries and provide consequences when the rules are broken.

I love you, Thaddeusaurus Rex.

A tribute to Grandpa.

The night before I left for California, I was talking to Thad about how mommy was going to be gone for a few days, and why.

I explained to him that his great grandpa had gone to Heaven to be with Jesus, but that I wanted to go to California one more time to say goodbye and make sure he knew that I loved him.

That same day, Tom had bought Thad a big Blue's Clues balloon that he absolutely loved.

Thad handed it to me and said, "Here! You take it. Give it to Grandpa and maybe he can give it to Jesus!"

It melted my heart.

Of course, I couldn't take the balloon.

But instead, we bought some blue balloons in his honor. My sister, brother, step-mom and Grandma each wrote a little message on our balloons before we sent them sailing up into the sky. 

Mine read, "Hi Grandpa! Please say hello to my Grandpa Tom, my Grandpa Broad, and my Grandma Eloise. I love you very much! Katie"

It was probably my favorite part of the day.

His nose is growing.

We are in a full-blown fibbing phase in the Jeter household.

I don't even know how to handle it.

Sometimes it's cute, because he says stuff like, "Mommy, I fell off my bike and got hit by a car and daddy didn't care."

That's the kind of thing that makes you shoot soda out of your nose.

But most of the time, it's serious.

There is a little girl who lives a couple doors down whose mom just loves Thaddeus. On the weekends, he will go over there and "camp" on the patio, or play in her room. And even when she isn't home, her mom will come outside to play with him, or hang out with him while he rides his bike. It's cool. It's nice to know that there's another set of eyes on our child when he is playing in front of the house.

Anyways, Thad isn't allowed in their home (our rule) unless his little friend is home. In other words, he doesn't need to be knocking on the door of some adult's house, and inviting himself in to hang with the big dogs.

He knows this.

Which is why today, he lied to Tom about her being home, and went over there anyways.

Not cool.

Thankfully, Tom saw right through him right away and caught him in his lie.

So he was put on restriction for the rest of tonight and tomorrow.

No tv.

No bike.

Bummer.

I feel bad for Thad because he got into trouble, but at the same time, we really need to bite this habit in the ass before it becomes something a little more serious.

The last thing I need is my child screaming, "FIRE!" in the middle of a crowded movie theater.

He is cute, though. I'll give him that.

More fun.

The entire day was built up around doing sparklers this evening with Thad.

He couldn't wait.

He sat down.

Let one burn.

Took a picture.

And then said, "I'm bored."

And walked away.

Bubbles on the 4th.

I took this photo today and fell in love with it.

Happy 4th of July.

Four years.

Despite getting the news about my grandpa yesterday, Tom and I decided that we still wanted to go out and celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary.

Quite honestly, it was a day that both of us had been looking forward to for awhile, as it was the first time in a long time that we had some special things planned (aside from the regular ol' dinner and a movie).

By far, one of the best nights we've ever had out together. We had a blast.

Margaritas.

Dinner at the Chop House.

Pool. (And uh,  by the way, someone needs to remind my husband next time that I'm a pool shark when I've had too much to drink. I believe the final score was: Tom 2, Katie 3).

The entire night was a perfect representation of one of the biggest reasons I love Tom.

 

He makes me laugh.

Even when my heart is broken.

Even when I am longing to be near family.

Even when I feel like the day is lost.

He reminds me that it's not.

And for just a few moments last night, I forgot how sad I was feeling and remembered how happy he makes me.

Oh, and on top of that - he's a fucking fantastic dad.

Seriously.

I love watching these two together.

Cheers to you, my love.

Here's to 4 more... ;)

Oh! And maybe even a few more of these.........

Grandpa Vern.

Well, here I am again. Sitting at my computer, contemplating the loss of yet another loved one.

I got the call this morning around 7, which means my family in California had been scrambling around since well before 4am.

According to them, my grandpa had a heart attack in the middle of his sleep and they were unable to revive him.

My heart breaks in so many ways over the loss of my Grandpa Vern.

But instead of listing my various forms of grief, I'd rather focus on the one thing that makes my heart happy:

The fact that only a few weeks ago, I got to spend time with him.

And even better than that, so did Thad.

This photo epitomizes my grandpa so much. I love it.

Nothing could possibly define him in a better way than a photo of him torturing his great-grandson with a seemingly infinite number of Cheez-Its. What makes it even more perfect is the look on his face - the one he always made when he was having fun messing around with one of his kids or grandkids - and the people who you can't see in the photo.

The ones who are laughing at the entire scene, most likely thinking, "Oh Vern. Enough already. Leave that poor child alone!"

Lol.

I mourn the loss of my grandpa today, and I mourn the loss not only for myself, but for my grandma and the rest of my family as well. What a loss for us to never be with him on this Earth again.

I am thankful for yet another angel in my life, though - we can never have too many of those.

R.I.P., Grandpa Vern.

You will always be loved, and always be missed.

A little story.

In the beginning, there was a little boy who wore his shoes on the wrong feet, insisted on rain boots with no rain, and managed to find the one puddle that still existed on a sunny day.

His name was Thad, and he was a good jumper.

The end.