TV and Spencer Updates

First of all, since so many people have asked, yes, we did finally buy a TV set. The 42" inch Vizio from Costco . And then we had a whole cable issue that took most of a week to fix. I just hate that a certain cable company has a monopoly on high speed Internet access in my neighborhood. I could seriously rant about this company for an hour. But I won't because no one would read it anyway.

I do looooove to watch the Jazz in HD. (Hence the need for cable.) What an improvement over the old way of watching the games. Last night I was exhausted (not much in the way of sleep the night before) so I went upstairs to watch the end of the game from bed on our tiny TV. So not the same experience.

And I actually picked out a new TV stand in less than a week. Not bad if I do say so myself. I don't just love it but it wasn't too expensive anyway so when I am sick of it, or we move, we can get a better one.

Second, everyone asks how Spencer is doing and how our family is adjusting. The answer is great to the first and depends on the day for the second. He's a wonderful addition to our family in so many ways. I love his little smile and how the first thing he says to me every morning is, "Will you make me some Oatmeal please?" (OK, sometimes that's the second or third thing but it is very cute the way he says it.) He can still throw a good tantrum and is easily frustrated, but he's three and that's pretty standard.

AJ, on the other hand, has not adjusted so well. He has regressed back to age three and is throwing as many tantrums as Spencer and his are a little harder to deal with because he is so big. (I can pick Spencer up and put him in time out. AJ is getting ready to try out for the Utah Jazz next year so I can't lift him anymore.)

Spencer started his therapeutic preschool program this week at the Children's Center. It's only costing us a small fortune and James' right kidney (but he still has his left one so it's OK) but we felt strongly that they had the right program to help him through this rough patch in his life. Here he is on the first day of school:


AJ will also be seeing a therapist at the Children's Center to help him sort out why his world has turned upside down. It might be a bit of over kill, but I'd rather him get all his frustration and anger out now than when he's 14.

James and I are also taking a parenting class there too because we need all the help we can get right now. The first class was Monday and covered the importance of playing with your children. Seems like such a basic concept but really, how much time do I really spend on the floor playing with my kids?

I've made a concerted effort this week to do that with both boys, one on one. And it's been fun. Of course that mean playing trucks and geo trax, but it is fun to see what "story lines" they come up with to go along with the play. AJ's was all about Krakatoa, the massive volcano that erupted in 1883 in Indonesia, (in case you missed that documentary on the Weather Channel). Spencer is always about the "bad guy."

I think the other thing I learned there this week is that mine aren't the worst kids around. There are three and four-year-olds pulling knives on their parents out there people. We are so OK here.

But there are some interesting things about becoming a parent mid stream in a child's life. Like he told me his ear hurt yesterday. If AJ told me his ear hurt, I would rush him to Insta-Care because he has never told me his ear hurts and he's had some pretty bad ear infections. I don't know what Spencer is like when he is sick. He didn't sleep well the night before but that isn't unusual when James is out of town. He also has been exceptionally cranky this week, but also, dad is gone and he started school and his life is all different, again. I took him to the doctor today and he got a clean bill of health. So now I am officially one of those crazy moms who take their children to the doctor when there is nothing wrong.

But we managed to survive Christmas (barely). Spencer was so cute on Christmas morning. Every time he opened a gift, he would say, "Thank you! Me love you!" A.J. ran around saying, "Mine. Mine." Not so cute. Maybe I should show him the video tape so he can see how it looked. I didn't take any pictures on Christmas, just video. But this one was taken the Sunday before Christmas. Aren't they handsome:


P.S. Try not to read too much into the fact that I talked about the TV before I talked about my kids. I do love them more than the TV. Really.