Sick Munchkin

I was sick this weekend and Jordan was sick too, I guess.  It didn't really seem like he was that sick but boy was he cranky and super snuggly.  At one point Chad tucked Jordan in on the couch while he was watching Elmo.  He just looks like a big kid.  He's growing up!  (He was 18 months last week!)

What do I have to do to get the special "tuck-in" service?

Melting Crayons

I found a decent-sized bucket of old crayons in my office the other day.  (I inherited an office full of great stuff from one of my co-workers when she retired, thus why I am finding stuff in my office!)  I remembered melting down crayons once and creating a kind of mixed up crayon.  Of course, I found the "recipe" on Matha Stewart.  It was super easy:

1. Search for broken crayons, old crayons, crayons without the paper.

2.  Take the paper off of these old crayons.  Co-ed naked crayons!
3. Break the crayons into small pieces and put them into a muffin tin lined with muffin liners.  I used my mini muffins and I tried to put lots of different colors in each tray.
4. Put them in the oven.  Our oven would only go as low as 200, but Martha said to do 150.  Our oven usually cooks things really quickly so I watched the crayons closely and took them out as soon as they were all melted.  Martha said between 10 and 20 minutes but it didn't take us even 10 minutes. You have to be really careful not to burn the wax and also know that crayon wax can be very flammable.  
5. Take them out and let cool.  I read that you can put them in the freezer for a few minutes.  I did this, but I think by using the paper liners they won't stick so you don't really have to put them in the freezer. 
Voila!  New-old crayons!  Jordan thought they were kind of weird because they are not the right shape, but I had fun coloring and seeing the different colors pop up!

Goodbye TRL

Tonight we bid farewell to TRL.  Chad and I are currently watching the TRL Finale.  TRL is a show that has been on MTV for the last 10 years, since 1998.  TRL stands for Total Request Live.  It was always on in the afternoon and basically there was a veejay who hosted the show and they played videos and talked to musicians and about music news.  They taped in a studio overlooking Time Square in New York.  I didn't realize the show started in 1998, I just kind of always remember there being TRL.  The main host was Carson Daly and then there were others along the way.  Here's a picture of Carson Daly:

Chad thinks I am completely insane but when we started watching the finale I became overcome with emotion.  I have cried three times now.  They keep looking back at moments from the past ten years.  I watched them interview Christina Aguilera and play her first video, they interviewed Eminem and played one of his videos.  What really killed me was the Backstreet Boys singing "I Want It That Way".   Here are the Backstreet Boys with one of the other veejays, meaning not Carson, in the middle.  

That killed me because we just saw the Backstreet Boys at Ravinia in August and seeing them on TRL Chad and I were both saying how old they look and how different they look...and then I realized they aren't at the top of their game any more if we just saw them at Ravinia...and it just made me sad.  I fully realized that I am not in high school or even college any more and I'm starting to borderline be old.  I just feel like TRL has been such a part of my life because we watched it all the time in college.  Basically, when we were in the dorms, excuse me, residence halls, we had TRL on.  I can't believe it's over.  As I was sitting in bed crying I realized I had to come and blog this sad event.  It just doesn't seem right that Jordy will grow up in a world without TRL.  Years from now I'll be telling stories like, "When I was your age...there was this show called TRL..."

Jordan and Mom

Please ignore the crazy coat situation...here are Jordy and I after getting back from Chuck E. Cheese.  Again, this was pre-sickness.  I hate being sick!  I start to feel like I will never feel like myself again and it's hard to remember what it's like to be a functioning individual.  I was basically useless for all of Thursday, Friday, and most of yesterday.  Today, I'm finally feeling somewhat back to normal, even though I still have a nasty sounding cough.  

My mom picked up Jordan for me on Thursday afternoon.  I could tell he was feeling pretty out of it himself when he just wanted to cuddle with me all night.  It was really sweet.  He sat with me on the couch and we watched Elmo.  Usually he'll sit for a little bit and then he's off to play but he had no problem snuggling with me until Chad got home.  I'm glad, because I could not have handled much more.  

We've had a really nice weekend just being home and relaxing.  Sometimes we get so busy and it's nice to stay home and hang out.  Jordan loves to read books and watch football with dad.  The kid loooooves football.  He drank lots of "joop" as he calls juice...I made him a lemonade drink, I guess that's what you would call it.  My aunt made it for me when I was sick when I stayed with her during my student teaching.  It's basically water, sugar, and lime juice all warmed up.  Chad thought I was crazy for drinking it myself and for giving it to our son, but it's soooo good.  

Chuck E. Cheese

I forgot to post pictures from Tuesday when we went to Chuck E. Cheese.  That was before we got sick...We were off Tuesday and we took Jordan to Chuck E. Cheese.  He had never been there before.  Wednesday night I got sick and I think Jordan got sick around that time, too.  I'm not sure how we got sick...it might have been all the germs at Chuck E. Cheese...hmmm, note to self.

We were only there a short time, but Jordan was running around like a chicken with his head cut off.  There was way too much stimulation for him and he couldn't concentrate on anything.  We would put a token in to play a game and in two seconds he was off running to another game.  It was a little wild.  He had fun though!

They had a neat corner with games and rides for toddlers.  They even had a little slide just Jordan's size.  Here he is in the Bob the Builder tractor.
Whack-a-mole for kids...

I like how Jordan watches the road...