So I started this blog in January, and here it is the very end of July, and not even one update. Great job, huh? Well, I’m not crafty enough for scrapbooking, and I don’t keep a journal (at least not consistently) so I’m going give this whole blog thing another try. Now that my Mom is internetting, I figure she, and a few other family members and friends might like to look at it every once in a while. Who knows, maybe in a few weeks, I’ll be up to a whopping five followers!

If you’re reading this, then you probably already know that I have a (now) 3-year old son named Tommy. I am a full time working mom and have been married to TJ for almost seven years now. We also have an English Bulldog named Cracker. I’m going to try to use this blog as a journal, or record, of what life is like for my clan and me. I’ll try to update it a few times a week (no promises).

So, I suppose that I shall start with this weekend. Not too eventful, just another weekend at home. I had a coupon for Old Navy, so I bought Tommy and myself some clothes. (Actually, I bought Tommy a bunch of clothes and got myself two shirts, which were on sale, and immediately felt guilty about it.) One of the shirts that I got Tommy had a picture of Batman on it. As soon as he saw it, I heard a loud “BATMAAANNN!!!” screech, and I knew two things immediately:1^st that this was going to soon be his favorite shirt, and 2^nd that this could mean trouble. He asked to put it on instantly, I told him that he had to wait, he then proceeded to ask me four-thousand times (ok, maybe only like 7 times, but who’s counting) before he went to bed if he could wear the Batman shirt. The INSTANT this child opened his sleepy eyes this morning at 7:00 am, the very first thing he said was, “Can I wear Batman now?” So, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you: Tommy and his Batman shirt.

I just love how toddlers immediately fall in love with certain things. They can get so much joy from a simple object like a toy or t-shirt. I dread telling him in the morning that he cannot wear his Batman shirt to school because it’s dirty. I may try getting him to put it in the washing machine, we’ll see if that works with three-year old logic.

TJ’s mom and dad (aka, Nana and Peapaw) came for a visit today. We did the usual lunch at the Café, and a trip to the Bass Pro Shop. While strolling towards the women’s clothes section in Bass Pro Shop, we happened upon a toy display which contained a myriad of assorted woodland creatures, of the stuffed animal toy variety. They had every stuffed animal that I could think of, rabbits, foxes, horses, dogs, bobcats, deer (this is the bass pro shop, after all), even the old standard teddy bear.

On the very top shelf, lay a small raccoon toy. Tommy pointed to it and said “Baby raccoon!” There I was, somehow impressed that my 3-year-old can identify a raccoon, and without thinking, I retrieved the toy from the top shelf handed it to my son. If I had been in my right mind, I would have known that this was a mistake. This boy carried that raccoon throughout the store with a tenacity of a mamma raccoon protecting her own baby. Every time one of us tried to even look at the raccoon Tommy would respond with “No, Mamma, this is TOMMY’s baby raccoon! Can we take it to Tommy’s house now?” (Note to self: Perhaps I’ve used the ole sneak-it-back-on-the-self-while-the-boy-is-not-looking trick one too many times.) Fortunately for Tommy, such pleading was exceptionally adorable today and far too much for Nana (or myself) to bear. Thanks to Nana and Peapaw, Tommy is the very proud owner of a brand new baby raccoon.
So far, he has taken a nap, ate a snack, watched WALL-E, and overall been completely attached to this stuffed animal. I suppose that, the baby raccoon is as good a purchase as we’ve ever made at the Bass Pro Shop. Tommy sure is enjoying it!

Tommy hasn't put that raccoon down yet!

As for Cracker, he just doesn't know what to think of all this.....

More to come later..... maybe.