I feel like we've been really busy lately, but nothing really new or interesting has been going on -- I suppose just keeping up with the usual everyday stuff is filling up most of my time. The boys are both doing well. Jack has been a little bit of a terror lately, so I've been trying to deal with that and invent new punishments that make him think twice about doing bad stuff (like intentionally hurting Thomas, throwing things, spitting, etc.). I know he's just testing his limits, and testing me to see what I'll do when he disobeys me, but it's exhausting! He got his first swat on the behind this week for laying on top of Thomas (after I had sternly told him to get off, and he wouldn't). We don't spank, except for very serious stuff, but I figured that this qualified since Thomas is still little enough (and defenseless enough) to be badly hurt by Jack under the right circumstances. Anyway, the swat made Jack a little somber for about 10 minutes, and then he was back to himself. I did discover that a "restraining timeout" where I hold Jack in my lap and wrap my arms around him to keep him still really bothers him! Lately, normal timeouts haven't bothered him at all, and they stop being a punishment when he's playing or goofing around during that time. But restraining him for a minute or two, when there is nothing to do and no where to go, seems to do the trick.

Amidst the frustrations, though, Jack has had lots of bright spots (thankfully!). There are times when I catch him sharing a choice toy with Thomas (when he doesn't know I'm watching), and when he asks to give Thomas more food when he has run out. Jack also loves to help neaten up the front yard, vacuum, water plants, and unload the dishwasher. So, if we can get through these yucky terrible 2's and 3's, we'll be OK!

In other news, our orange, lemon, and apricot trees are full of blossoms! Hopefully the trees will continue to do well and we'll have a bumper crop of fruit this year. I think this is the first year that the orange and lemon trees have had this many blossoms, so I'm really looking forward to fresh squeezed orange juice, lemonade, and lemon cake!