It All Started With Baked Spaghetti

Singing

2011-03-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

Jackson is on a singing kick lately. He likes to listen to his Veggie Tales CD and sing along. But only to certain songs, heaven forbid we actually listen to the whole CD. Why not listen to track 1 on repeat for an entire 30 minute car ride? That is not annoying at all.

Now I complain about this, but it is truly easy to tune out that CD. The situation gets a little tricky when Jackson starts calling out the tracks that he would like to listen to next. "Buffalo!" "Bebu!" (Bebu, is translated to The Song of the Cebu.) When requests start being demanded I have to be on my A-game. The requests can be changed midway through a track search, so I have to be on my toes and not tuning out what is happening in the car.

The CD demands have now taken a turn to, momma and daddy singing demands.

Take for instance this morning. It was demanded that momma sing Twinkle Twinkle about 125,548 times. I tried to convince Jackson the ABC song would be more fun, but he did not fall for the suggestion. Twinkle, twinkle, little star ... Over and over and over. I could tell that even Buddy was getting annoyed with the song selection. Jackson, not so much.

The only hard part about singing in the car is when Jackson requests an interactive song like The Itsy Bitsy Spider. That is a little hard to do while operating a motor vehicle. I usually have Jackson do the motions and I sing the song on repeat. It is rather cute to see Jackson nodding his head along with the song. But it would be a whole lot cuter if he would sing himself.

Are Weekend Naps a Thing of the Past?

2011-03-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

I think we are about done with weekend naps. The past couple weekends Jackson has either not taken a nap or slept for a short period of time. I do not think he understands the importance of sleep ... for his parents. Craig and I love nap time. We look forward to the weekends because we know that a nap will be in our future. Jackson still naps during the week, thankfully. I think a packed full of fun school morning would lead to a very not packed full of niceness 2 year old. He needs his week day naps, and I think his grandmothers still like them as well. I am hoping that Craig and my's persistance of putting Jackson in his room will everntually lead back to naps. Nice two to three hour early afternoon naps. I do not think he is at an age yet where we can bribe him with outside time (his favortie, you know). One day that will work, just not now.

Follow Through

2011-03-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

It is hard parenting a 2 year old. They have a mind of their own, and they want to use it. They always want to push boundaries. They want to do things on their own, and they do not want your help. They have mood swings. Crazy, wild, unexpected mood swings. One minute they are bouncing along joyfully through life. The next minute that joyful attitude has ceased to exist. There is kicking, screaming, and flailing body parts. How does a parent stay in control?

One thing that Craig and I always try to have through out the day is follow through. If we say we are going to do something, we do it. I think this one constant is an important parenting tool. If you tell your child you are going to do something, then you should do it. "If you get down from the table, then I am going to put your dinner away." "If you help me clean up, then you can watch Vegg.ie Tales before bed." "If you do not sit in your chair, then I will take your goldfish away." "If you do not leave me alone, then I am going to put you in the dog's crate." Oh wait, that last one is one that I only say to myself. I promise this is the first time I have ever said this out loud. Well, maybe the second.

The other day Jackson had his fireman's hat on, it was a free hat that we got when we went to Fire.House Subs weeks ago. When he sees the hat, he wants to wear it. Otherwise, it is out of sight out of mind.

I was in the bathroom, a place that Jackson loves to be when you are looking for some alone time. He dropped the hat on the floor, and wanted to wash his hands. When we were done washing our hands, he walked into the hall, past his hat, and into the kitchen area. I told him to come back and pick up his hat, it is not my responsibility to clean up his mess. Now we all know that as a parent of a toddler you are doing all the cleaning. But, I like to pretend that Jackson is old enough and responsible enough to clean up after himself.

I'll let you have a good laugh over that one.

Are you done?

Good. Let's continue.

Being 2, Jackson was now distracted by something else. He was not listening to me, or to Craig. So I told him, if he did not come pick up his hat it would be going in the trash. Again, nothing. No response. Not even a look in my direction.

I picked up the hat and put it on the counter, so I could throw it away later. Craig reminded me that if Jackson saw me put the hat in the trash, he would pull it out. So, on the counter it sat for the rest of the evening. Jackson did not even notice, nor did he care that his fireman's hat was gone.

The next morning I went downstairs before the boys and I saw the hat on the counter. I instinctively reached for it to take it into the living room. Then I remembered what I had told Jackson. I stood there, with the hat in my hands, debating whether I should put the hat back on his toy box or throw it in the trash.

I finally chose what I thought was the correct option. Into the trash the hat went.

I really thought giving him the hat back was no big deal. But then, it hit me. If I give Jackson this hat back, what message am I sending him? That I do not mean what I say? Or, that he does not have to listen because I will be there behind him to clean up his messes along the way?

It is small, and it is silly. But I think if I follow through on the small issues, when it really matters I will be able to follow through on the big ones.

Dreams for Me

2011-03-17T06:13:00.001-07:00

During my last post I talked about dreams for the kiddo. Or the lack of dreams for Jackson. Saying that I do not have dreams for him should not suggest that I do not have dreams for myself. It has taken some time to figure out what I am dreaming.

I think besides the normal, happy family dream, the one thing I dream of most is owning my own craft store. I want a quaint little shop downtown, where people can come and socialize while working on their craft. I want to sell yarn and fabric. I want to have handmade wares using the materials that are for sale in the store.

I have the perfect picture in my head of how I want things to look. Being downtown, it will surely have an antique vibe running throughout the place. The antiques in the store would also be for sale. How cute would it be to have an old cradle with a quilt made, from the fabric being sold in the store, sitting by the fireplace? In the fireplace, there could be a little display of yarn. Next to the fireplace an old rocking chair with an afghan and pillow sitting on the cair, inviting you to sit and knit. In my head it all seems so quaint and charming.

In reality, I just want a store that I can sit in and create. A store where people can come and create. Share ideas. Socialize. Learn.

Oh! And let us not forget wine nights ... crafting is always better with wine!

Dreams

2011-03-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

A lot of people have asked me about my dreams for Jackson since he was born. I honestly tell them I do not have dreams for Jackson, and they do not understand my answer. They think all parents have dreams for their children. They want their children to grow up to be doctors, lawyers, or something along those lines. Or they dream about the family that their children might one day have. I have never had these thoughts about Jackson. Sure, I would love for him to be any of those things or an artist or a military man (to carry on the tradition of our families). But I do not dream these things for him. I think it is important for him to have his own dreams and aspirations. What I would want for him should not get in the way of the person he wants to become.

From before Jackson was born, I have said my only job is to raise a good human being. A productive member of society. Whatever he chooses to be is a bonus if I can accomplish my "job". Now, how am I to do this? You got me. I have no idea. At this point I am winging it. Right now, we are working on manners. This is very important to Craig and me. Please. Thank you. Being kind to our friends, this includes Buddy. Listening to what is said. Obeying what he is told. These are the constants we stress in our house. I think a lot of people think these things are automatic. That somehow a child just knows that they should be saying these things. But, come to find out, it is the constant use of them that gets a child to use them as second nature.

But I digress. Dreams. I wonder what Jackson will dream for himself. Whatever it is, I want it to be what he wants and not something that Craig and I dream for him.

craftster

2010-12-27T07:35:00.000-08:00

Ok so my wife's family and friends started a craftster exchange a few years ago in which everyone draws names and then has to create a crafty present for that person. The rules are simple, you have a small budget for supplies then you make a craft-present to exchange. Well this year i decided to play in the craftster exchange. I am sure that made everyone a little nervous. I took my craftster project very serious however and i am sure that surprises some people. So this blog is devoted to the craft that i created. Back in June we got our exchange person and i drew Andrea. So here is what i created. I wanted to create a custom mosaic, but instead of using a photo of something as the mosaic source i wanted to create a banner using Andrea's name as my source. Of course i didn't want to use a generic font, i wanted something with a smokey feel, so i delved into the Internet and photoshop and created the following as my source.

After getting this just how wanted it, i did some serious facebook stalking to get a great deal of photos in order to create the mosaic. Did some trials and tweaking and the final mosaic is in the photo below.

I think it turned out really well, and i was having a blast zooming in and seeing all the individual photos that made the whole. I then had the photo printed as a 12x18 banner and then framed it in a floating frame. Shown below.

All in all it was a fun thing to do and i hope Andrea enjoys it. I also hope it qualifies me for next years craftster.

update

2010-12-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say a bit about recent events. Well Jackson got somewhere between 6-8 teeth at the same time, then followed that with a couple of canines and once they cut through two more molars decided to make their way to the surface. All this plus a double ear infection and pneumonia made for one cranky kid. Having said that Jackson did pretty well on the trip to Orlando. its was amazing to see him try to be like his cousins, if his cousin was putting together a puzzle he needed to help, when the puzzle became a train and started driving around the house, Jackson made sure he was a part of the action. Likewise while at the zoo, when the cousins were running around, Jackson in no way wanted to be held, but as soon as one of them wanted to be held, so did Jackson. Despite the chaos he did very well for a two year old. Went to the ENT yesterday and after waiting for 2 hours Jackson will be getting tubes in his ears, so hopefully we can reduce the steady diet of antibiotics he gets. Well that's about all i got for now, hope everyone has a great x-mas.

Bedtime

2010-10-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

We have started a new bedtime routine. We both felt bad for taking Jackson upstairs and rocking him for awhile and then putting him into bed. We wanted a little more out of are night time. So, Craig looked on the Internet for a book that we could use as his bedtime book and nothing else. Boy did he ever find an awesome book for Jackson. He loves trains and the moon, so what could be better than this book? Nothing, at least to Jackson. The book stays upstairs next to the rocking chair and he will tell you night night train when you sit down. You know, in case we forgot that we are supposed to read the train book.

Now the night time lasts a little longer and is not so anti climactic. It gives Jackson a little bit longer to wind down from the day and it gives us a little more cuddle time. I can use a little more cuddle time. It seems like night time is the only time now that he allows me to cuddle with him. During the day he is way more interested in playing or reading. Jackson just cannot be bothered with cuddle time anymore, he has got important stuff to do.

Since Craig has been gone this week, I have added a new addition to the routine. I let Jackson turn out his light. However, as the week has gone on it has progressed from turning out the light to turning out the light and telling me it is dark. Thanks kiddo, I did not realize the room was now pitch black. The kid cracks me up.

We're Still Here, sort of

2010-10-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy month for us! First Craig and I went to Hawaii. Then I went to Florida. Now Craig is in New Jersey. There has been some serious traveling going on here.

I have not been to Hawaii in about seven years, and I was itching to go back. There is something about life in Hawaii that I love. The people (for the most part) are so friendly and laid back. Life seems to go at a slower pace, and I needed that. Having Jackson has made me realize how quickly time flies. I feel like I only have a moment to catch my breath during the day before it speeds up and is gone. So when the chance for me to go to Hawaii with my sweetie pie husband came, I leapt at the chance!

It was so nice to be "us" again. No Jackson. No Buddy. Us. I loved every moment of it. I sometimes forget how much I like Craig. He's funny, sweet, caring, loves an adventure and really loves me. These were nice things to see again, not that they have been gone. With Jackson and other responsibilities around I do not take the time to notice these characteritics. It was nice to take a time out for us.

Then it was off to Florida for my cousin's bridal shower. All three of my cousins were there, and it was so nice to see them all in the same place. The last time that happened was in Jackson Hole. This time there were tons of kiddos around, except for Jackson who needed some one on one time with Daddy. (In reality, his Grammy said he could not miss school.) I am so excited for my cousin who is getting married in December. She is going to be a lovely bride and the party is going to be outstanding.

As of now, life is back to normal. By normal, I mean Craig is traveling and I am keeping the ship afloat at home.

We Have a 2 Year Old

2010-08-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Jackson had his 2nd birthday last week, and we were really low key about the day. No big party this year, only one present from us, and a dinner with his Aunt Andrea. Craig's mom said he had to have a party, so we let her put something together. It was us, both sets of grandparents and Craig's sister and her husband. I figure when he's older and asks for a birthday party we will throw him one, until then I figure we will keep it low key. I want to keep the birthday about him, and not the 'stuff' normally associated with a birthday. I cannot see future birthday's where we are trying to have 'the best' birthday party. I am all about throwing some burgers on the grill and a grocery store cake. I do not want to be one of those parents who hires a professional party planner for a 5 year old's party.

A lot has happened leading up to the 2nd birthday and now following Jackson's birthday. He is going to school 3 days a week (this week he starts going all 5 days). Just in this past week it seems like he is trying to say more words, which Craig and I LOVE. We were worried with the fact that he was not saying a lot. I think being at school around other kids his own age and with the wonderful teachers he has, he has caught on to this whole communication thing. Thank you to my loving family for telling me this would happen. (You people know who you are, and you mean the world to me.) I think I should listen to you more often.

At school Jackson is playing with the other kids. He is actually interacting with them! It's so awesome to see this when I pick him up, it took a couple weeks for him to play with the other kids. He was so used to playing by himself that he really was not sure what to do. It really reinforces why we made the decision for school. His teachers are just as excited as we are to see him learning and growing. They always share the exciting things he does during the day. I am really happy with this place, yet I am looking for a place for him to go next year when he is 3.

The change in schools has more to do with wanting him to go to a pre-school with the kids that he will be going to school with, than anything else. Most of the neighbor kids go to pre-schools, and I want him to start forming friendships with the kids that he is going to grow up with instead of ones that live on the other end of the county. This sounds silly, even to me. But in some ways I want Jackson to have a different childhood than Craig and I had. The main difference being, growing up with the same people. Craig and I are both military kids. I don't even know if we could tell you who we went to elementary school with, come to think of it I do not even know what school I went to. I know I lived in Camp Lejeune and I walked to school, and school was four blocks away. I remember walking by myself when I was in Kindergarten. Whoa! What parent lets their kindergartner walk by themselves to school?! I guess those that had kids in the 70's. Oh, and that whole living on a military base thing, it was probably safe.

Back to the 2 year old. So, I am pretty excited about this little kiddo and his future. I can actually picture him talking as I walk him to school.

Now, if we could only stop these pesky temper tantrums and figure out a way to get him off the pacifier ...

A Moment

2010-06-28T18:43:00.001-07:00

There is a moment each time I put Jackson to bed, where he has his head on my chest or shoulder. We have started to relax. He has reached up to gently touch my cheek or reached around my neck for a gentle hug. I feel complete. At that moment I know why I am his mother. Why he was chosen for me. I am thankful he got here safely. In this moment I do not feel I could love another person more fully or completely. I know in my soul why I am here. I will take those moments with me where ever I go for the rest of my life.

Florida

2010-06-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Jackson and I made it back safely from Orlando. There were only a couple moments when I thought Jackson may have to take a time out on the side of the road. There is only so much hand holding that can happen while he is screaming his head off because all four pacifiers have been thrown at Momma. I do not understand why after the hundredth time he did not catch on to the concept of throwing pacifiers equals Jackson has none. Cause and effect is a hard concept for many people. Hopefully he learns some day soon. Maybe before December, you know the next time we drive down.

I honestly cannot complain. Jackson has proven to be an excellent little traveler thus far in his life. We are very lucky that we have a child that does so well. I cannot imagine what it would be like if he were truly disgruntled while traveling. I like being able to go places with him, and now I know I can do it on my own. I feel empowered knowing that I could pack him up and drive someplace by myself. Maybe I can tackle flying with him ... oh wait. Maybe not. I'll stick to flying with the Craig.

On to some of the fun stuff.

There was a love connection made while at the Ryan's. It started out as a three way love and ended up being a love between two. Bear and Jackson are totally BFF's. After the novelty of Jackson wore off Toby was happy to pass on the torch to Bear. Bear would try to get in the room when Jackson cried out during nap time. Bear wanted to always be near Jackson. He did not even mind it when Jackson would dive bomb him while he laid on the couch. I think Bear and Jackson may have had a couple sad moments on Saturday when they realized their new pal was not around.

Here is Jackson checking out Bear under the table.

Jackson was so sweet with all the dogs. He wanted to hug them and snuggle them. There were of course kisses. One of the sweetest moments to see was Jackson placing his little hands on each side of the dogs face and leaning in to look at the dog. So sweet. I wonder what Jackson was thinking.

I highly recommend the Zoo in Sanford. It is a great place for little ones. It's small, there's a splash park and very easy to get around. (I'll do another post tomorrow regarding the Zoo. Suffice it to say, Jackson loved it ... maybe it was all the monkeys.)

I got to check out Erinn's wedding venue. BEAUTIFUL! I cannot wait to see how her vision comes together. I got the perfect shrug to wear for the festivities. Now I need the perfect dress.

This face sums up our trip perfectly.

Happy.

Jackson Loves the Outside

2010-04-28T17:05:00.003-07:00

Jackson would prefer to spend all his free time outside. Since he is only 21 months, all he has is free time. Thus, he wants to be outside all the time. QED. Hey! Look at that, my math degree is useful.

When we take Jackson out of the car he will bolt out of the garage, if he is not carried into the house. So most days, we will play outside for a couple minutes. Then we trick him, I mean pick him up and carry him into the house. This action will set off the water works and tantrum. It's kinda funny, some days. Jackson will throw his little fit and once he figures out we are not paying attention to him he moves onto something else. I find it amazing how he does all this just to get a reaction out of us, and when we will not give him one, he shrugs it off and moves on.

Luckily, we live in a wonderful neighborhood. There are tot lots, trails, tennis courts, lots of things for families. We try to get Jackson to the tot lot near our house as often as possible. He loves it. He would spend all his free time there if we would let him. However, these pesky parents have other things that they need to do. Like cook dinner. Work. Clean. Yard work. All the usual responsible adult stuff. That responsible adult stuff cuts into Jackson's free time on a regular basis.

I wish we could spend all day at the park, because Jackson really does LOVE it:

No! This is not kiddie jail, it is the jungle gym. (Is the play equipment still called a jungle gym?)

He's in the 'bubble' window.

There's a Buddy in the Tunnel

2010-04-19T13:44:00.001-07:00

I find it hysterical when we can get Buddy to go in one of Jackson's tunnels! I try almost every time to get him to go in, it usually doesn't happen. I am not sure if he doesn't like to be in there or he knows deep down the tunnels are not his toys. Who knows.

When we can get Buddy inside I always try to get pictures. This time it worked! It's always easier to capture a moment when there are two adults around. I think we need to start leaving cameras strategically placed around the house, we might be able to capture more of Jackson's and Buddy's lives if we were to do that. Or maybe not. We would probably still ignore the cameras.

Above is Jackson lifting the tunnel to get a better look at Buddy, or the ball. Who really knows. I mean if the kid would talk already I am sure we would know what he was doing. (I'll have to write about our visit to the speech therapy place later.)

Here is the Super Bud looking through the tunnel, most likely at Jackson.

I really like this shot that Craig got, Buddy's face says about a million things.

Baby Chucks!

2010-03-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

I was so excited when I came home from work and saw the package on the front porch. I ordered Jackson his first pair of Chucks, and they got here today. I put them on his feet first thing after coming in the door. Then I had to take some pictures, because these shoes are so tiny and awesome! He's like a little boy now.

I think I may have to order him more. Maybe in the bright orange. I had a pair of bright orange high tops when I was in middle school. If only I had known how awesome Chucks were back then. Those shoes were wasted on my ignorance. At least I am old enough now to enjoy them on the next generation.

Snow

2010-03-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

Some of you may know that we got a little snow a couple weeks back. By little I mean TWO FEET. By a couple weeks back, I mean I am finally able to talk about the traumatizing experience that was the snow.

Here is my problem with snow. I am stuck. I can not go anywhere. I do not like that feeling. It makes me start to panic. Literally panic. Heart pounding, shaking, sweating, need to leave RIGHT NOW OR I MAY DIE panic. In all reality I do not need nor want to go anywhere, but I would like to have the option of doing something, anything, if I choose to do so. I like having the option of waking in the morning and thinking "I want to get an Ice Tea from Chick-Fil-A." (Is there any other place on earth to get Ice Tea? I think not. They have cornered the market on Ice Tea.) But with snow, you do not have that option. You are stuck in your house for-ev-er.

We are lucky that we live in the section of the neighborhood we do. We are not plowed by the county. We have private plowing, and usually they are in and out almost immediately after the snow stops. Sometimes they even make it in halfway through the snow. You would think this helps. But you think wrong. Why? Because this year it has been me by myself to shovel the driveway. It is hard to shovel an entire driveway when you can only do it while Jackson is sleeping. His sleeping gave me about an hour and half at a time to shovel. This would be plenty of time, if there had not been TWO FEET OF SNOW. That is a whole lot of snow.

Now. If I can get the driveway cleared, and I am one of those people who want the whole thing clear not just space for the car, and the roads in the neighborhood have been plowed then I am probably still out of luck. Why? Because who knows if the secondary roads are passable. By this time they may have had a once over. This is a BIG may. The county could care less about secondary roads, and really I understand why. Our main roads are the interstate and they get a lot of use. So I understand that they want to have those completely clear before they start on secondary and neighborhood roads.

Why all the complaining and hatred for snow? I LIVE IN NOVA! NORTHERN VIRGINIA! WE DON'T GET SNOW HERE! If we do it is a dusting to a couple inches. Those couple inches, you can still drive over. You can not drive over TWO FEET OF SNOW.

I am hoping with all my might that there is no more snow coming. I am ready for spring. I am ready to let Jackson play in the cul-de-sac with the kiddos on the street. I am ready for longer days, so that after dinner we can take the boys for an evening walk and Jackson will not freeze to death. I am ready to buy pretty flowers. I am ready for color!

The best part of the snow, this little face taking in all the magic.

Things That Make Me Happy/UnHappy

2010-03-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

Things that make me happy:

Jackson walking everywhere ... I didn't really think this was going to happen and that we would be in baby PT. There is no PT for us, and that is another thing that makes me happy.

We got the notice on the door that fiber optic cable will be being installed in our neighborhood in the next two weeks. Do you know what that means? FIOS!

The powder room is painted. The color is Shortgrass Prairie.

Things that make me unhappy:

The county assessment came in the mail today. UNHAPPY! Our house has gone down $60K since the last assessment.

There is more snow coming this week.

This is a very short list because I am cooking dinner and I cannot think of the other things that I was going to post. Maybe there will be more later.

A Lot of Nothing

2010-02-18T16:19:00.001-08:00

There hasn't been a whole lot going on around here. Craig's been traveling, at all the worst times. We've been thinking about doing some work around the house, but have done nothing. We've bought paint for the powder room, it's sitting in there looking at me every time I go in. I think about doing laundry, but don't. I've been thinking of going to the gym, instead I sit on the couch.

I blame all the laziness on the snow. It sucks looking outside and seeing the snow still there. I am ready for spring. I am ready for flowers. I am ready for my Dogwood to bloom.

Jackson now has free reign over the family room, kitchen and hall area. For the most part he will stay in the family room. Sometimes however, he will venture into the kitchen directly to Buddy's food container. He loves pulling the food bowl up, reaching in and pulling out food. He loves dropping the food pieces into Buddy's water. He loves drinking for the water bowl like Buddy drinks from the water bowl. He loves splashing in the water bowl like it were the bathtub. Oh and this is a fun game:

New Background

2010-02-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

I thought we needed a change. I like this, it makes me happy. Maybe now I'll blog more ;)

Bath Time Fun

2009-12-03T06:28:00.001-08:00

Okay, so we all know my aversion to baby's growing on the inside of me with hair. Gross! (Just in case you didn't remember. I mean really there is hair on the INSIDE! That's just not right.) When Jackson was born he had a good amount of hair. After awhile it all kinda disappeared. We are finally starting to get some hair again. I think that Jackson may be one of those two year olds that has no hair. But I don't think there could be anything cuter than that, serious cuteness I tell you!

Anyway, with all the talk in Austin of of Mohawks. I thought I would see what Jackson looked like with one.

It's a pitiful attempt, I know. Poor baby with the wispy white/blond hair. So sad. But gosh darn, he is a cutie! I just love him and want to eat him up!

Sock ... well kind of

2009-11-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

It seems that Jackson's first word is sock. Well maybe "ock" is more likely. We tried to get a video of Jackson saying sock, but as is normally the case he gets distracted and Buddy gets in the way. OH! He's also in his Anywhere Chair, which he loves. This was a great buy in my book. I am now just waiting for him to flip over in it, he likes to stand in it. I tell him we do not stand on furniture, but I do not think that he gets this concept yet.

Peek-A-Boo!

2009-10-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow!

2009-10-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Two COMPLETED art projects in one weekend! WHAT! That is just crazy. Even I cannot believe the things I have gotten done. I totally deserve something, what you ask ... I don't know! But something!

The first project is this:

I got the idea for this print from a piece at BRU that I liked. I changed the colors and that is what I made. Craig and I decided before Jackson was born that we were not going to do a 'theme'. If we were going to decorate his room we would decorate with things that he could grow up using. So, being the super dorks that we are, we settled on using fractals. If you don't know what they are you can check out these links: Mandelbrot Set and Julia Set . Those are the two main pieces of art that are in Jackson's room at this point. Now ... we have numbers!

I am super excited for my first ever project that involved paint. I have never painted a piece of canvas in my life, and now I want to paint more! Okay, maybe not just yet. I do have other projects that I need to complete before I jump in with one foot into another craft.

This is the second project:

I got these photos of 'letters' at the Market in Charleston. Now I know that I could have taken the photos, but really ... we all know I would have never gotten around to taking the photos. Instead of getting a mat for the photos, Andrea gave me the idea to use a piece of fabric as the background. I really like the way this turned out.

Now the only thing that I need to do is get them hung on the walls. Then there are only a couple other things that need to be hung on the walls and Jackson's room will be complete! Woo hoo! One room totally complete!

2009-09-16T09:02:00.001-07:00

Wow!
Didn't think Craig's post would spark such far reaching controversy. I guess we have a lot to think about as far as the car seat is concerned. We are also at a crossroads where daycare is concerned. What to do with the little man ...
I would love to post pictures of my trip to SC, but our desktop is going through a repair session. As soon as it is back up and running I'll install Photoshop and then put up some photos as well as how I was a total slave driver when it came to touring. And come to think about it, I am probably not a fun person to tour places with. I have an agenda and I must get through it.

Update

2009-09-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Been a while so here are some updates. Jackson finally has a tooth coming in, so obviously rocks are now OK to eat. He has graduated to his forward facing car seat and i think he likes being able to see us, i know that we like to be able to see him and see what antics are going on back there. Also football season is now in full swing and all i have to say is that nothing makes me happier on a Saturday than seeing Notre Dame lose. Below is a picture of what Buddy thinks about football season. Also i had a sad realization this week when i took buddy out for our standard 4 mile run and he quit after 2 miles, i mean he really quit, he went from running to laying down in two strides. He didn't even want to walk back to the house. He used to fight tooth and nail to stay with me during a run, even to the point where he would be running with his eyes closed and feet dragging, but now anymore, he is older and wiser, figures i am not going to drag him down the sidewalk. makes me sad that our boy is getting older and slower. Jackson and Daddy got a whole weekend together last week while the wife was in SC. Jackson got to wear his star wars t-shirt all weekend long. And yes women still love him, we went shopping together and he gets so many comments its ridiculous. Almost forgot that with this new tooth he has, he feels that he is a big boy now and no longer needs naps. All i have to say about that is "grouchy"

2009-09-01T10:06:00.001-07:00

Bullet Post
1- Carbs make me tired
2- My bosses driving makes me want to throw up. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster, and not a fun one.
3- Jackson's ear infection is cleared up. I really can't complain he was trying so hard to be happy while he was sick.
4- Heading to Charleston with the ladies this weekend. It's gonna be fun!

2009-08-18T13:14:00.001-07:00

apmgtdaa

12 Month Well Child

2009-08-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Jackson went in for his 1 Year Well Child. He is 28 and 3/4in long and 19 pounds and 8 ounces. He's a petite little thing. As usual I did not attend the appointment. Shots really aren't my thing. Craig believes that the people at the doctor's office are starting to think he's a single parent. Little do the know he is way more absentee than me! I figure since he gets to go to all the neat places that I want to go to, he can take a day off work to take Jackson to the doctor.

After the appointment the two boys went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. I get a text at work "He's a total chick magnet." I guess Jackson was smiling at all the ladies in the place and the baby charm was working. But seriously, who isn't charmed by a gummy smile? Those are the best smiles, well that is when they are from babies.

The two boys had a good day until the afternoon, when the nap NEVER CAME! Oh my heavens! What a crabby baby I came home to find. I think we all learned that the afternoon nap is imperative to a happy boy. I will say he went down earlier than usual, slept through the night and woke at his normal time. Thank goodness for small blessings! I was seriously worried that we were going to be fighting all night to get him to sleep. Turns out he was ready immediately after his bath.

We added the last pictures to the birthday album on Picasa. The pool pictures are up as well. Enjoy!

New Post

2009-08-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Even though I am totally in love with that little boys hiney, I think the handful of readers that I do have are probably tired of coming here and seeing the cutest hiney in the world. I feel like there is so much to do right now. Tell you all about how awful I find this whole 'baby-growing-up' thing. Or tell you about all the sweet things that he is doing. Or tell you all about how I think he may actually be teething now. (Finally, I have been totally obsessed with the fact that he does not have teeth. As well as how he seems in no rush to get them.) Or tell you about how my hip is still bothering me. There are just so many things that I feel are piling up on me.

I'll just leave you with ... Jackson had his first pool experience this weekend. AND! He loved it! He loves the bath, so I assumed that he would love the pool. Which he did. He was so happy splashing around. Pretty much everyone over at Shea's house took him for a lap or two at the pool. When I get home this evening I will put the pictures up. (Minus Craig - he said he didn't want to be in the pics.) I'll also post the pics from his Big Birthday Bash. Jackson is such a little trooper. He doesn't mind people holding him or passing him around. Which is good since so many people were cuddling him at his party!

Bathtime

2009-08-05T16:31:00.001-07:00

I'm thinking this needs to be blown up and hung over the fireplace!

What do you think?

More Birthday Celebrations

2009-07-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so here is a 1 minute-ish video of Jackson enjoying his birthday cake that Patty made for him. He was really enjoying himself. We also updated Picassa with lots of birthday week celebration photos.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

2009-07-29T06:07:00.001-07:00

First picture on his First Birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... MOMMA, DADDY AND BUDDY LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

Trip to Flordia

2009-07-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying, I love my boy. He's a sweet and charming little kid. We could not be any luckier with a child. I don't always say what a great kid he is, because well lets face it ... I focus on the things a can complain about. He truly is a great kid.

I couldn't be luckier in the traveling department. In the 4 flights that Jackson has taken (all to Florida and back) he has been excellent. I try to schedule flights around food and sleep. The key for me, and him, is to have a mission. I stay focused on something I need to get done, so it helps keep my mind off that awful thing called flying. Jackson has something to look forward to. This time around, he got a bottle as we got on the plane and soon after we were in the air he was asleep. After his bottle, Jackson would watch the take off. He was fascinated with the surroundings flying by during the take offs and landings. He loved looking out the window. This makes me excited for the Big Boy car seat. Not that I think he'll be able to look out the window yet, but it will be a different experience while riding in the car.

While in Florida, Jackson was totally off his schedule. He didn't sleep well at night or during the day. I think it was a combination of new surroundings as well as Craig not being there. There was just too much of a difference. The funniest thing was the second night we were there. Mom and I were sleeping in Judy's bed and he was sleeping in the middle. He would wake up look at me scream, crawl over to mom and then sleep. He would then repeat the process, look at mom and scream and then crawl over to me and go back to sleep. Granted it was not funny when it was happening, but it's kinda funny now.

As you can tell by the previous post, Jackson has a new friend. Those two cracked me up! Toby would sit at our feet and bark until we would put Jackson down next to him. Then Toby would give him kisses and their world would be complete. I think they liked each other because they were the same size. It was so sweet to see them get along so well. And I LOVE that picture of them. It looks like they were up to something and then stopped and looked around like "We weren't doing anything." They've got a mischievous look on their faces. Super Sweet!

We had a WONDERFUL time celebrating Erinn and Andrew. It was a great party! And the signature drinks were yummy. I am so excited for the wedding. I know it is going to be beautiful and full of love. I cannot wait to see Erinn's vision come together.

BFF's

2009-07-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

Jackson and Toby = BFF's

I'll write a post later (hopefully) tomorrow about what a great traveler Jackson has been so far. As well as post some pictures that were taken. Mind you, they are all pretty much of Jackson and Toby ... with a little Bear thrown in.

Bye Bye

2009-07-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

There is nothing fun about going up

2009-06-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

While out on travel here at Everett WA, a friend (who lives in the area) and i decided it would be fun to hike/climb Mt Adams. Adams is the second tallest volcano in WA here in the cascades. She sits ~12,200 feet. Our hike started at 0200 after a rough couple of hours sleeping in the car. We were on the trail by 0230 and with headlamps leading the way manged to lose an hour going up the wrong valley costing us about an hour and and extra 500 ft of elevation, which is important. Did i mention the hike is only 6 miles to the summit, sounds easy right....well in that 6 miles we gain almost 7000 vertical feet, yeah camp was at 5500 feet. Anyhow being on mt Adams as the sun rose and would gradually change the views of Mt Hood and Mt St Helens from a dark shape to a light pink to bright white was defiantly a sight to see. We had one near vertical wall of snow and ice to climb but lucky for us the trail is popular so footholds were already dug into the ice. The real test of mind over matter was the climb to the false summit. This was a torturous 2000 feet of elevation, that was very steep and seemed to never end. I made to the false summit about 30 minutes after my climbing partner (who went on up to the summit). Having had to rent plastic boots i didn't have the best fitting footgear and with every step it seemed like someone was hitting me in the shins with a hammer. Because of that and some clouds moving in plus i was getting low on water, energy and motivation i did not climb the remaining 800 feet to the summit. I know everyone is proud that i can make smart decisions even while having a case of summit fever. But the absolute best part of this climb was the glissading (basically sledding on your but). There are some great chutes left behind from other climbers so you can get a whole lot speed coming down. What took us 2.5 hours to climb took only a couple of minutes to descend. Overall great trip. The last picture is the long climb to the false summit which we glissaded down.

Why I Like to Avoid People

2009-06-07T06:03:00.001-07:00

Mom and I went to an Estate Sale yesterday. I love Estate Sales, you can find such neat stuff at them. When we were purchasing the items that we had chosen, one of the women noticed that Jackson was playing with his pacifier. He wasn't sucking on it, he was chewing on the side of it or putting the pacifier holder in his mouth. The woman made a comment about when her children started doing that she knew it was time to take the pacifier away. My mom said he still liked it when he went to sleep and that we weren't ready to take it away from him.

My first thought was 'WTF? He's a baby, he plays with stuff.' My second thought was 'Is she telling me to take the pacifier from him and that I am a bad mother if I don't?' My third thought was 'Maybe she was just trying to make conversation.' Well anyway you look at it, I don't understand the need for people to make comments like this. I find it rude and belittling. To me, and maybe I am oversensitive, it's like they think they are superior since they have raised children and they feel that their way is the right way.

Now here is where I am weird. I don't mind these type of comments from family and friends. But for some reason it really makes me angry when strangers seem to be judging the way I care for my child. When a family member or friend makes a comment like that I feel that they know me and my family and they are only wanting the best for Jackson. But a random stranger!? It's like they looked at us and made this snap judgement about my parenting. I know I should just shrug it off, it's not like I will every see this woman again. She has no impact on my life or Jackson's. But still it's almost kind of hurtful that random people think that they know better.

Ugh! I think I may just stay in my house and never leave. We have enough space and a big backyard, we'll be fine.

This Post has Nothing to do with Jackson

2009-06-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love my car. I am so happy that Craig let me have the Al.tima Hy.brid. Especially since they don't even sell it in this state. We had to drive to NJ. (We did this drive a couple times.) I love that I can drive through most neighborhoods without even using the gas engine. I love that I can sit in traffic, at lights, or in parking lots and not have to use the gas engine. I love that I get great gas mileage. I love the fact that I can fit Jackson and Buddy in the car with no problems. I wish more car companies would start making Hy.brids. There are such few choices for people like Craig and I who like the gas mileage of Hy.brids but also the environmental aspects of driving one. Our next car will most likely be another Hy.brid. Well, it will be the next car that Craig gets, I think we will look at the Ho.ndas. We like the Toy.otas but they are a little pricey. And really when it comes right down to it the Pri.us is just not that pretty to look at, don't get me wrong I would love to have one! Just for the gas mileage alone, but I can't really get over the way they look. (Even though after so many years of them being on the road they don't really gross me out any longer.)

The reason I say all this is that I am disappointed in Ni.ssan for raising the price of this car. They are now starting at $26,650. We paid no where near this amount for ours. We got such a great deal, I don't think we would be able to get it again. If we had not bought the Al.tima when we did I would not be getting this car. I would probably end up with the Ca.mry Hy.brid. I like this car, but everyone around here has one. I love the fact that I have only ever seen ONE other Ni.ssan Hy.brid while driving back and forth to work. I like the fact that I am different. I am kind of brand loyal and Craig and I have only ever had good Ni.ssan's. I really think that my love for this brand will keep us buying at least one out of the two cars that we own.

In closing, I would encourage Ni.ssan to keep this car affordable. I would encourage other car makers out there to get with it, and make their own Hy.brids that actually get good gas mileage and are good for the environment. And I would encourage everyone to at least look into purchasing a Hy.brid when you look for your next car. There are some great choices out there. (And I stress some.)

Random Update

2009-05-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

I was a single parent last week. I learned that I can't be a single parent, because 1: It's hard and 2: It's hard. Last week sucked.
My hurting hip is in week 3. I think it's getting better. Others don't believe me. I try to have other people carry Jackson up and down the stairs, to and from the car, and carry him all the time in general hoping that this small relief will give my hip a break. I think that the pain is because I ALWAYS carry him on the left side. Car seat, baby, purse, bags, anything and everything I use my left hand/side to carry. I go to the doctor this Thursday we will see what she has to say.
Jackson is pulling up on everything. He has not started walking along the couch yet, but I see that happening soon.
Jackson is the only person that Buddy will let take a toy from his mouth. The rest of us can tug and tug until we are tired, but Buddy will willingly hand over a toy to Jackson.
I posted pictures for the month of May ... Are you happy blog commenter who called me out on my blog?

Update

2009-05-14T16:41:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile. I know, bad blogger. A lot has been going on, and I have just been too lazy to keep up with the blog.

Jackson had his 9 month well child. It went well (I guess, I was not there). He had blood drawn, and Craig said that he got tears in his eyes. I guess my little guy didn't like it too much. That would have made me cry if I had been there. Tears in the eyes always get me. The only thing that came back with that was Jackson is slightly anemic. But I figure that we are just starting meats. So the combination of that and the medicine will turn things around.

Jackson now weighs 19 pounds and is 28 inches long. He is a tiny guy for such big parents. (Big as in tall, not fat.) Other than those interesting details, I guess nothing else happened at his appointment. Well except for all the ladies coming out to gush all over him. They sure do like the babies at the doctor's office. Oh, and I don't need to worry about teeth until he's two. At that time they will do x-rays to see what's going on in the gums. Hi ... what am I supposed to worry about then? I think I am going to turn my attention to the weight and height. That seems like something that can consume my thoughts all day ... Is he eating enough? Should we be feeding him more? How do we make him eat when he clamps his mouth shut? See look at how easily I can change the direction that I worry.

Jackson has decided that crawling and being on your bottom is for babies. He is obviously not one of them. He is pulling up like crazy, and if you try to sit him down on the floor he will stick his legs out to keep from going all the way down. Jackson is also working on mastering the fall. He won't fall down on his butt. He'll turn his body and stick out an arm so that he can fall that way. He really doesn't cry too much if he does fall backwards, not even when he bonks his head.

We are also starting to barricade Jackson in the living room, because the dog dish is great to play in don't you know! There's usually water to splash around in AND if you're lucky there may be these awesome bite sized snacks. YUM! Who doesn't want to eat what the dog is eating? So we barricade him in using the ottoman and either the car seat or pillows. Jackson however is way to smart for us tricksy hobbits and will climb over the pillows or push on the car seat until it flips up and he can escape. What's a parent to do ... I say let him eat dog food and drink the dogs water!

I have become THAT parent ... I think my kid is adorable! He is so darn cute, or maybe his expressions are what is cute.

Crawling

2009-04-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video of Jackson crawling! He's such a cutie.

I also added more pictures.

Sit 'Em and Forget 'Em

2009-04-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

We are finally at the stage where we can sit Jackson on the floor and not need to worry about him falling over. Well ... that's not entirely true. He still falls over but he can sit for longer than 2 seconds. We are definitely making progress in this house. We are now waiting for the day when Buddy figures out that he can just nudge Jackson and he will fall over. I am sure that will become a favorite game. Now that we can "sit 'em". I took the opportunity to go outside on the nicest day of the year so far and take some pictures of Jackson. I will post more pictures later, but I wanted to leave you with two. One from Easter and the other from outside yesterday.

Jackson and his Easter Basket

Outside with Buddy

The 100th Post Is About Dogs ...

2009-04-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

I was puppy sitting at the beginning of the week, and I just wanted to share some observations. A puppy and a baby is extremely hard work. Either one by themselves is a challenge but the two together is a juggling act. Good thing the puppy was good in his crate ... unlike a certain dog that I live with. The puppy was perfectly content to stay in there while I let Jackson play on the floor and feed him dinner. Dog dinner was quite a different story. Why is it that a dog would much rather eat another dogs food? Both dogs decided that the others food looked better. So I ended up feeding the puppy in his crate. Puppies don't stop. I forgot that they have no idea of when to stop. After about 30 minutes of playing Buddy would look at me like "Can you make it stop?" The look was priceless.

Here are two videos of Niko and Buddy playing.

You wont like me when i'm angry

2009-04-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

So over the past two weeks Jackson has not been sleeping very well. Goes down at 7 wakes up at 9 or 10 and lets everyone know exactly how unhappy he is. Nearly impossible to get him back to sleep and even harder to get him back into his own bed. He usually wakes up shortly after for his midnight feeding and the game starts all over again. Then around 2 or 3 we start round three. He seems ok when he is held, at least he is content although still awake, but he wants nothing to do with his own bed. It took him an hour of screaming before he passed out the other night, and of course that was an extremely long hour for everyone, especially after a long week of similar nights. We suspect that he is having a hard time with his first teeth and that is keeping him up and uncomfortable. Hopefully this will pass soon or he might just find himself sleeping in his pack-n-play in the laundry room downstairs (joking.....sort of). I took this picture of Jackson the other night just to show how little i am exaggerating.

Bedtime

2009-04-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

Craig is usually the one that puts Jackson to bed. I don't know how this evolved. I think it was because Jackson had gotten so used to me being the one that put him to bed, that when Craig would do it Jackson would throw a fit. Usually in the evening I will feed Jackson food, give him a bath, dress him for bed and pass him off to Craig. Craig will then give Jackson his bottle and off he goes to slumber-land.

When Craig got back from Veg.as and before he went to VA Beach he gave Jackson his bottle and this is what happened:

So Sweet!

Rental Cars, New Cameras, and Cuteness

2009-04-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

We had a rental car while the Hybrid was in the shop getting a new rear bumper. Why was it getting a new rear bumper? That would be because some jerk ran into the car in a parking lot and did not leave a note or wait around for me to come out of the store. Why are people so rude and inconsiderate? I was so upset over this whole situation, it really made me mad. I would like to think that if I was the hitter versus the hit-ee that I would have done the responsible thing. It is over and done with at this point so there is no use getting angry about it again.

Back to the rental. I asked for a full size since we have a kid and a dog we kinda need a car with a backseat and some room. The rental places idea of a full size was a Jetta. Really!? There was no backseat to this car. It had the same amount of room that Craig's Mazda has and that is pretty much none. Craig got to drive the rental while I drove the Mazda because at that point who really wanted to transfer kid crap into a car the same size as the one that the crap was already inside. (For the record, for how short a period of time that we had the rental I should have just gotten the luxury! At least then I know I would have had something to fit all my stuff into.) After driving the rental Craig decided that 1) his next car was going to be an automatic and 2) he would not be buying a Jetta. (For the record it was the rental model and did not have the good engine.)

I only got to drive the rental once, and it made me realize a couple things. 1) I am really used to a car that does not shift gears. I am really loving that feature in the Altima (CVT). Nice and smooth, the only time you feel a shift is when it will transfer for electric to gas or after you slam on the gas and let off. 2) Turn signal indicators on the side mirrors is distracting. I found myself looking at them and also thinking I was really close to an imaginary car. 3) I like big cars, or at least cars that have backseats. I do not like to feel closed in while I am in a car.

Now on to fun stuff! I got my new camera and I LOVE it. Yes! Capital L-O-V-E! The picture quality is great. It does HD video. And a whole lot of other stuff that I do not know about yet. I need to read the book AND learn to take pictures. So far I am only using the auto mode. I mean really, who understands all the other stuff on it ... not me!

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Jackson that I have taken so far. I love his smirk and the fact that he is trying so hard to crawl! He is at such a fun stage right now. I can honestly say while I loved the newborn stage, this is a way more fun time!

All By Myself

2009-03-12T17:00:00.001-07:00

I decided that while Craig was out of town I would do a simple home improvement project. Nothing where I would use power tools. I learned my lesson at the old house. Ashley and power tools do not mix. I tried a simple project of installing curtain rods. In my mind it was easy. Just slap 'em up on the walls and it would be great. Well the curtains above the sliding glass door ended up having around 7 or 8 holes in the wall. (I don't think I even patched my mess. I believe my thinking was along the lines of 'the curtains will cover those holes up!') The curtains on the front of the house was a whole different kind of mess. I think that I actually drilled a hole from the inside of the house to the siding. After that mistake I decided I should probably stop. Subsequently when Craig came home I don't think that he was to happy with my attempts to 'help'.

This project was much easier, and no power tools were needed. I went and got one of the many new lighting fixtures that we are planning to install. This first one is going in the breakfast area. I took down the old one, and installed the new one. With no help from anyone else, I might add. I am so excited to install the rest of the lighting. I am tired of living with brass fixtures. My goodness whoever thought that they looked good in homes was seriously mistaken. There are moments when I look at the lighting I feel I have been transported back in time. Brass lighting to me is very 1980's.

Buddy checking out the old, ugly lighting:

The new lighting that I installed:

Snow

2009-03-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of last week we finally got a lot of snow. Not enough to close down our respective bases, but enough for us to get some good delays. This is really the only part of winter that I like, the snow. It is so pretty and the snow we had was fluffy so you didn't get all wet playing outside. The rest of winter I can do without. I hate the cold. I hate the grey. I hate not being able to stay outside long with the dog when he wants you to throw a ball. The only saving grace of winter is the clothes. I LOVE winter clothes. They seem so much more fashionable than summer clothes. I love to wear pea coats, turtlenecks, sweaters and layers. I love the way layered clothes look.

Anyway back to the snow. I would say that we had a good 4 inches. Possibly more, but I don't want to exaggerate. (Craig would be on here in a heart beat telling everyone that I don't know what I am talking about if I were to say we had 6 inches. Then there would be a whole fight about me not having any concept of measurements ... this coming from the 'rocket scientist' to the mathematician. If I had to lay money on it, I would go with what I say over what he would say since my degree has to do with math after all.) Our back yard was so pretty covered in snow. The dog LOVED playing outside! He loves to run through the snow. He loves it when you through snowballs at him, because after all they are balls and what in this world could be better than a ball? He'll let the 'ball' fall to the ground and then try to paw at it and he'll usually come up with snow covering his face. Buddy looks so cute with snow attached to his whiskers! Craig tried to get a picture of this, but the dog shook it off rather fast.

I leave you with pictures of Jackson in the snow.

Buddy was making sure Jackson was okay, he's such a good helper!

The Little Snow Angel

Jackson and me

Bananas

2009-03-05T16:55:00.001-08:00

Jackson started eating bananas tonight. It seemed to begin okay. He acted as if he did not mind the taste.

However this did not last. After feeding him sweet potatoes mixed with some squash, yum! What a great combination, I know. I want to run out and mix them together as well. It sounds totally delicious, and something that I want to eat at my meals as well. Just wait until we can through some peas or prunes into the mix. I mean really, what could be better than that? Well this is the reaction for round two of bananas.

Classic!

Soon ...

2009-02-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

Death and Destruction

2009-02-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

Movie Premier

2009-02-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

I got to go see Tak.ing Cha.nce an H.B.O movie last night. I really did not want to see the movie, I was more interested in seeing or meeting one Mr. Kevin Ba.con. I freely admit I think he's a good looking man. I think for me it goes back to the days of Foot.Loose. You all know you like that movie. I wanted to date him after I saw that. Now really what could have been better than dating such a cool guy. He had a car, he could dance and he was all about having a good time.

But I digress. The reason I was not interested in seeing the movie was because I knew it would be sad. I knew what it was about and I know that the subject matter hits too close to home. I got tickets so I went, it was that simple. I did see Mr. Bac.on and my goodness does he look good. I was a fan of the hair (I know others that saw him or pictures of him were not), but he was kinda short. And me being all of 5'7" (and 3/4), that just wouldn't work. I know, I know ... I never had a chance, but a girl can dream. (Again I want the Foot.Loose star!)

The movie was what I expected. The idea of escorting a body home is a sad story. But it was touching to see how Americans treated this Marine, and treated his escort. I was slightly disappointed with it however. I did not feel as if the story/directing went far enough. They would take you right up to the edge of emotion and then they would switch scenes. I don't think they did a good job of explaining why the escort felt the need to escort Chance home. They came out and said it, but it felt a bit lacking to me on this part. I just wanted more. Of what? Even I am not sure. There was just something lacking.

I would tell everyone to watch it, so that you can see what our service people do to honor their fallen ones. (Have your tissues ready, you will need them. I really didn't get all snotty, but the tears were flowing.) It was a great story and to read the whole account today was better having seen the movie. What made the movie good for me was seeing it with a theater full of Marines and hearing Kev.in Ba.con address them. His words seemed genuine. I felt he was truly honored to play this role and to have been able to tell this story. His words made me like him more.

(I'm going to try to get some pictures of him tomorrow. And I'll bring home my VIP invite (that I wasn't allowed to use) and my ticket and put them up as well.)

Has anyone seen my manhood?

2009-02-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

With every turn of the page i could feel it slipping away. The cause.....well i have been reading the Twilight series. The whole time i was reading them i felt like a 13 year old girl. These books were defiantly written for the female crowd and the sad thing was that they aren't even written well. The story was fun though and that kept me reading. Needless to say i have finished the series and i think i am going to hit up the gym or watch some sports and try to forget that i just spent the last two weeks tearing through crappy girlie books. And yes i even read the incomplete book that is posted on the authors website. Anyhow, my review of the books, poorly written, good buildup to action scenes but the actual action scenes seem to have been missing. Anyhow i don't want to get into the part that i really couldn't get over that somewhat ruined the books for me because i don't want to spoil anything.

Plane Rides and Family

2009-02-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well Jackson has had his first plane ride. Only a day after turning six months. We went to Florida this weekend. For Jackson and I, it was a vacation. For Craig, he had to go to Jacksonville for some work. The work was a roller coaster ride in and of itself. One hour he was working the next it was postponed. This went on from Friday until he walked on the ship Saturday. Fun times.

Now onto what I am sure you are all waiting with bated breath to hear about. The plane rides. Let's just say all in all Jackson is an excellent traveler! On the flight down, he slept the whole way. He woke when we had landed and were on our way to the gate. This I consider a success. There was no crying. No screaming. No nothing. Hurray! The people around us even commented that he was a good baby. I think it helped that he had only had a catnap in the car on the way to the airport and then he was overloaded with all that was going on around him in the airport.

The flight back was also a success. He was awake all the way up until we started our decent. He cried and fussed when the pressure changed, but that was all. He played looked around. And he even had a chance to flirt with the flight attendant. She thought he was a cutie. I was a lot more nervous that we would have the crying kid on the way home since Jackson decided he did not need to sleep. But I was happily surprised that he only cried at the times when he needed to 'pop' his ears. Trying to get a kid that is too distracted to suck on a bottle or a pacifier is a losing battle. We both tried unsuccessfully to get him to focus on the task at hand. Focus for a 6month old is im-poss-ible. Do not even attempt, the frustration alone is not worth the effort.

We had a good weekend visiting. We love going down to spend time with family even if it is short. Thanks for the hospitality and for throwing us a Sup.er Bo.wl party!

The flight down:

The flight home:

Who is this crazy woman pretending to have a good time?

Rolling

2009-01-22T19:04:00.001-08:00

Well Jackson has decided the best way to get around is to roll. Who needs someone to pick you up, when you can just roll to get where you want. Actually he does. He has no clue where he is going. He has not mastered going to a specific point. I am sure that will come.

Jackson is so cute to watch. He'll flip from back to belly and look around surprised. Like he is saying "How did I get here?" He's learning and absorbing so much right now. It is a really fun time.

I know, this is a super short post. But I did update the picasa pictures!

Bath Time Without Daddy

2009-01-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ok. Usually when Craig is home and Jackson gets a bath, the dog will freak out and run downstairs and not come back up until the bath is over. He will then check Jackson to make sure that I have not done anything to him, this usually includes a tongue to the head, leg or arm. Then he will run into the bathroom sniff around then run right back out. Things change slightly when Craig is not home. The dog still freaks out:

But instead of running downstairs to Craig for protection, he will sit in the bathroom or right out side the door and shiver like a little wussy dog. I do not understand why he would do this, because I have never in his entire life given him a bath. I may be in the room when he gets bathed, but I never instigate the situation. Craig is the dog bather in the house. If I were the dog I would be more scared of Craig going into the hall bath and running the water than I would if I were to start the process. And another thing, once the baby is in the bath does he really think that I am going to put him in there too? Are you kidding me? Seriously dog, we would like to wait a couple more months before we decide to see if Jackson can hold his breath under water.

Buddy was whining the entire time I was giving Jackson a bath. He would walk in and out of the room crying, again like a wussy dog. Man up dog!

A Christmas Picture

2009-01-03T18:25:00.001-08:00

I realized that Craig and I suck at taking pictures. The picture of all four of us is pretty crappy, and there are really no good pictures of Jackson by himself at Christmas. But I did want to share a picture of Jackson from Christmas.

I think he was a bit overwhelmed by the end of the day. He did not sleep well at all that night and was pretty cranky as the day wore on. So I am thinking that there will need to be a change in plans for his next Christmas.

More Presents....

2008-12-31T14:06:00.001-08:00

So today was one of the windiest days that i can remember. Mother nature apparently thought that i did not get enough presents this year and provided a few more to cap off the year. I now have 5 window wreaths, almost enough for every window on the front of the house (these belong to my neighbors on our left). But best of all we got something that every house needs (and the Orlando readers can relate) see picture below.

Yes that's right...we now have our very own trampoline. Its amazing how it is on one of the most level parts of our yard, almost like someone purposely put it there (which would not be funny). Actually it belongs to our neighbors on our right. It was in the middle of there yard and i am still amazed at how it landed in our yard right side up. Of course my neighbors are all going to think i have an issue with "borrowing" their stuff. Anyhow, the part that is going to suck most is getting it back over my fence and out of our yard.

Detached

2008-12-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

Well i guess i am either emotionless toward or just detached from the boy. Last night after he fell asleep i took him to his room to sleep for the first time. Put him on his belly, turned on the monitor and left him. The only thoughts i had after i left him was whether or not the fleece sleeper was going to be to warm for him. Mommy however should have just slept on the floor next to his crib. Within the first 10 minutes she checked on him 4 times and made me check twice. Not sure what we were checking for but i went in and looked at him (still sleeping). Mommy was awake about every 10 minutes worrying about him and when he finally awoke 3.5 hours later (kid will not sleep any longer than 4 hours...EVER) it only took one little chirp and mommy was in his room rescuing him from the solitary confinement that i sentenced him to. I guess my logical brain trusts that the technology (monitor) will alert me if when he is awake or not breathing. Mommy thinks that if he is next to her she will somehow be able to tell when something is not right (even though she doesn't always wake up in the middle of the night when he gags or whimpers). So does it make me a bad daddy that it doesn't bother me in the slightest to send the boy to his own room? Before you answer that i am also the parent that wants to see if the boy will cry himself back to sleep before we come to the rescue. I am in the opinion that the bedroom is for two things and having a little one in there disrupts both. Now if we could just get the dog to sleep on the floor.

It's The Holiday Season

2008-12-22T16:40:00.000-08:00

Well I am officially over Christmas. This could be because of one of two things. The first being I started listening to Christmas music BEFORE Thanksgiving. Or it could be because I have already received the most awesome Christmas gift. Justin our nephew gave us a football autographed by Joe G.ibbs. You read that right ... THE JOE G.IBBS! It is so AWESOME! Right now it is sitting on top of the bookcases in the office. I need to get a protective case, I don't want anything happening to my beloved signed football. It does however put the other autographed footballs to shame.

I think another reason I am over Christmas is because I know I am forgetting something or someone. I have not been a very good present buyer this year. I can not even blame it on the kid. I just have not felt like going out and buying anything. Not even anything for myself ... now THAT is shocking! I am the person that loves Black Friday shopping AND Christmas Eve shopping. I love seeing the frazzled people and laughing at how unprepared everyone appears. Oh well maybe by some miracle I will want to go and brave the unwashed masses on Wednesday night. Right now however it is looking like that is not going to happen.

On that note I have to go and create some presents so I can go to a certain store that sells certain stuff to pick up a certain creation. (I think I have used up all of my allotted 'certains' for this post.)

And The Winner Is ...

2008-12-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

ME!

Here's the crying Miss America shot!

Yes, that is Buddy in the picture with me. He was at work with me this morning ... doesn't everyone take their dogs to work with them?!

He's a Big Guy

2008-12-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Jackson hanging with his Daddy. I think he's trying to be one of the big guys.

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

2008-12-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

Some of you know I have been working on the Holiday Door Decorating Contest for work. The door was totally my idea, so I took on the responsibility of creating it. Now, it's not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination, however it is totally homemade and ... well ... to be honest quite funny.

Here it is, in all it's wonderful glory:

And a close up of the Hippo!

A Very Happy Birthday

2008-12-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

My Grandma Peggy turned 92 on Sunday. So our family along with my parents loaded into the minivan and headed to Pennsylvania to celebrate. And we did just that. There was a gentleman who plyed the piano and my grandma along with the other residents sang songs and carols. She had a ball singing and listening to the music. I am so happy we were able to go and celebrate 92 years of life! And I hope we can celebrate 93 and many more.

I cannot say enough about this sweet woman. Many of my early childhood memories consist of her. I remember certain sayings, gestures and her expressions. One of my favorite words that she used rather consistently through out my entire life was piddle. Most often the phrase was used like this: "Do you need to piddle?". Another of my most vivid memories is her making me buttered toast in the morning. There was something about her toast and to this day no toast tastes as good as hers does.

I say all this because sadly age has caught up with her and she doesn't remember a lot, including some of her loved ones. She can recognize people but can't place them. This hasn't stopped her from being the loving woman that I grew up with. She is still as sweet and kind as I remember. I want to take however long she has to not feel sad for how she is now, but remember the Lady who helped shape the person I am today. That woman is still inside her and wants all of her family to remember her the way she was. The kind, generous, loving person who taught me the real meaning of the word GrandMother. She is just that, grand.

Back to the routine

2008-12-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

Well we made it home safely and surprisingly we made decent time. The trip from Orlando to VA usually takes around 12 hours and we made it in 14.5 hours. We planned for extra time for the boys but most of the extra time was spent in Richmond merging with other holiday travelers. It is so annoying to be 45 miles from home and having it take 2.5 hours to go the distance. We were pleased however that the boys were outstanding for the entire ride. The little one only piped up when he needed changing or was hungry, other than that he just kind of hung out and slept. The fuzzy one slept almost the entire way, only got up when we stopped. We thank his cousin Jack for that.

Now that we are home we are trying to get back to the routine. Jackson seems to have liked being held at night while on vacation and so we are trying to get him back in his own bed. We ordered a motion sensor baby monitor and next week will let him sleep on his stomach some since he sleeps 1-3 hours longer on his belly. We are thinking that after a week in our room on his belly we will move him into his own room (hopefully that will go well). He is still trying to learn to giggle (still sounds like he is choking) and now loves watching TV (he watched a little bit during the holidays).

This weekend will be another road trip. We are making sure Jackson gets to see every state on the east coast. We are traveling up to Pa where Jackson will get to meet his Great grandma for the first time. Hopefully we can borrow the sisters mini-van so everyone can travel in the same vehicle and save on gas. Scary thought traveling with all those people in one van though.

Side note: Last weekend i predicted that Florida will be favored by 8 points and that they will win by more than 17 in the SEC championship game. So if it does happen, you saw it here first, if it doesn't happen then i was just kidding the whole time.

The Migration North

2008-11-29T16:38:00.001-08:00

Well our vacation is almost over and we will be leaving tomorrow morning. I am sad to say goodbye to family. We've had such a good time. Jackson is a lucky boy to have such a good family who loves him. I can't wait for the rest of his Aunties, Uncle and Cousins to meet him.

We are going to be getting up whenever Jackson decides to eat in the middle of the night and begin our migration back to the tundra.

If anything interesting happens, or if I get bored enough, I will update from the road. I am sure it will be interesting since it looks like it is going to rain the entire way home. Scary!

4 Month Well Child

2008-11-27T10:09:00.001-08:00

The stats are 13lbs 12ozs and 23 1/4 in. So he's getting there, trying to get bigger.

So the appointment started out fine. Weighing him, measuring him, all the normal stuff. Then the nurse came back in and it was down hill from there. I didn't even attempt to watch as they stuck him. I was across the room looking at things on the counter. So before I knew it, he was screaming. And it was awful. Craig stayed next to Jackson the whole time and talked with him while he was stuck 5 times. Craig cuddled him and tried to get him calmed down, and then I attempted and nothing worked. So he was put into the car and Craig drove the little screamer home. I had to go and get Buddy, and thought I was going to throw up the whole drive to my parent's house.

Never Again will I be there for shots.

Road Trip Day One

2008-11-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

On the road still ... we left at approximately 10 this morning. We are hoping to be into Charleston within the next hour and a half. How am I posting you ask? The magical world of the iPhone. Damn I love this thing. It is my savng grace on this long ass car ride.

Knock on wood ... Jackson is doing remarkably well. Sleepng for most of it, so who knows what our night will hold. Cross your fingers that we will get a couple hours of sleep and that if he does scream all night that it won't keep our friend ds and their daughter awake.

Jackson had his 4 month well child yesterday. Two words to tide you over until tomorrow. NEVER AGAIN !

It Happened

2008-11-22T13:03:00.000-08:00

By IT, I mean spit up. By HAPPENED, I mean down my shirt.

This morning the little stinker decided to spit up as I was burping him. He turned his head just as he was starting to spit and the majority of it went down my shirt into my bra, a sports bra I might add, and sat there in a puddle. Nice. Thanks little man.

Well I had the same reaction as I did when Madalynn, our niece, decided she needed to spit up down my shirt. I practically threw Jackson at Craig. Ran upstairs. Paused only to undress, and threw myself into the shower. I then proceeded to scrub.

Now I don't mind the spit up, really it's not one of those things that really bothers me. What I mind is when it makes contact with my skin. Hey I don't even want my own spit touching me, why would I want someone elses?

Ok, on to more exciting things. Jackson is on his way to giggling. He isn't too sure of how to do it, so it sounds like he's choking (Craig's description). To me it's more like he's holding his breath then forcefully letting it out. I'll try to catch it on video. I'll have to do this in the morning, since this kid is much more a morning person than an evening person. (He is obviously not really related to Craig or me.)

Sitting On My Dog

2008-11-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

Here is Jackson's first successful attempt at sitting in Buddy.

This is what we do to get out of painting and doing homework ... we mess with the kids.

Lights and Sounds

2008-11-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

Jackson's Godparents gave him the Baby Ein.stien play mat. I am sure you all know the joy of musical toys for babies. They love the bright lights and colors as well as things that make noise. (A quick side note - He is trying to see the TV more, so I think that it may not be on as much in the future unless it's on the music channels. On the Sounds of the Season channel they are playing Christmas Music ... I am so excited!)

Anyway, here is a video of Jackson on the play mat with the music and lights. It's a pretty boring video but you can see how mesmerized he is by all the stuff that I find most annoying. (The flashing lights and cheesy music.)

Monkey See Monkey Do

2008-11-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

Craig is teaching Jackson how to be a monkey. When Craig makes this face it always makes me chuckle. I cannot wait until it starts to make Jackson laugh!

In other news, I was able to sweep and mop almost the entire kitchen, breakfast area, halls and foyer before Jackson was done with alone time (please read as "not being held time"). So that is a huge improvement over the normal routine. I feel so much better now that the floors are clean. It was driving me crazy and the dirt was just gross. I will have to scrub the floors by hand in some areas, it appears the previous owners decided a good way to have the rugs not move was to tape them down. Personally I wouldn't have used that method, but hey ... to each his own.

Okay that's enough talk about cleaning, I wouldn't want you all to think that I was domestic or anything.

Hopefully soon we will be getting a new camera, the whole broken red eye thing is not making for good baby pictures. Or pictures of people in general.

Change

2008-11-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

VOTE NO ON 2 AND 8!

2008-11-03T07:46:00.001-08:00

Why does this family have fewer rights then your family? In Florida vote NO on 2 and in California vote NO on 8.

(I totally stole this post ... I don't think the author will mind.)

Spread the word to vote NO and protect ALL families.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T17:51:00.001-07:00

Jackson next to the Redskin pumpkin (Craig did an excellent job). This was his daytime Halloween outfit.

Here is the unhappy chicken.

3 Months Old

2008-10-29T16:05:00.001-07:00

Jackson is 3 months old today. He is starting to talk a lot more and smile a lot more. He's trying to giggle, but that one has not come yet. He's rolling over from tummy to back, but only if he doesn't get pissed that you are making him lay on his tummy. He's almost too big for 3 month clothing. And he is not sleeping through the night. I know that will come when he is ready, but I think he should know that momma and daddy are ready for sleeping through the night again.

I leave you with pictures of Jackson from today.

Where's Jackson?

2008-10-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

There really is a baby in there.

See.

I was only trying to keep him warm when I brought him home today. This is what he looked like by the time I got him home. He had wiggled around so much, that the hood of the sweater had come down over his face. He didn't seem to mind, he slept like that in the house for a while before he realized he was not being held.

Smiles

2008-10-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-10-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

Pink

2008-10-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

I took Jackson to church to help my mom with Sunday school a couple weeks ago. He wore a little navy bubble overall with a pink polo onesie. Now I think this is the cutest combination ever. There is no reason in my mind why boy's can not wear pink. I think he is adorable. (Thank goodness I put the overall on him, it is almost too small.)

It has come to my attention that someone thought he could have been a girl and that boys shouldn't wear pink. First I ask, what's wrong with a boy in a pink shirt? Second, does he look like a girl?

Wow, he always looks like such a grumpy old man! Notice the Penn State socks ... my kid is totally going there. (Hey he may like it, not everyone is like me and goes to orientation and registers for classes and is planning on going and then decides that they didn't like the campus they were chose. Okay so I did this with two schools. But! I only paid for season tickets and the deferment fee (twice) at one school ... the other I just didn't show up.)

Living With Clutter

2008-10-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

We are in the house and there is crap everywhere. It sucks having to work and not be able to unpack and put stuff away. Hopefully with the holiday tomorrow we will be able to get everything put away.

Now I am going to admit something ... Craig is going to die when he reads this ... I have to many clothes. It is taking forever to put them away. And then there are the socks! My god, could there be anymore? I actually only rotate through a couple of pairs, the rest just sit there. I figure as I start wearing more and more of my clothes I will be able to decide which ones to give to Good.Will. I should have a yard sale to sell my stuff, but that just takes too much work. There is a plus side to giving away all my clothes, I get to buy more! Oh, I am so happy to not be wearing maternity tops anymore. That was one of the best things about getting into the house. No more maternity tops. (That's all I have had because my clothes got packed up when I was in the hospital and on bed rest, and we really thought that we would be someplace of our own by the time the baby got here.)

I would post pictures but the camera is somewhere on the Appalachian Trail this morning.

I'll leave you with this mental picture ... Jackson wrapped up in a blanket snuggled into a corner of the couch after having a bath (he smells so yummy!) with the dog laying on the cushion next to him. Too cute I tell you!

And then there were three

2008-10-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

So last night was a milestone for the little one. it was his first night not sleeping in our bed. He did really well and i think i slept a lot better not having to worry about smothering him. Buddy was also happy to have his cozy space back with us. In our new house we put a sofa in the bedroom so buddy at least liked having furniture to sleep on that is near us, but now that the little one is out buddy moved right back in. Jackson has started to smile lots more so maybe he wont end up being such a serious boy after all. i am sure he is excited to have his own home and he really seems to love the car rides over to grandmas. Actually he tends to scream alot in the car, he is not a big fan of not being held. Well that is all that i have time for....will post picks as soon as we get settled into the new house.

It's Game Day!

2008-09-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

GO REDSKINS!

The Aftermath

2008-09-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

It's Been Awhile

2008-09-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hello internets! It's been awhile. I haven't had time to sit down and compose a blog because ... well, there is no excuse, I'm just lazy.

Jackson had his two month well child visit today. Guess who was noticeably absent? If you guessed Ashley, the momma, you would be correct. I didn't go for two reasons. It would have broken my heart to hear him cry from the shots and I don't have any leave to spare. So I bypassed and sat at work and wondered what the heck was happening. Thankfully Craig texted then called and told me all about what had transpired.

He was 22 1/4 inches long and 11.5 pounds. He is getting chunky! I love me some baby rolls, and in the words of GAC, "how come the rolls look so sweet on him?" I don't think the rest of us would look as cute.

I learned the daddy and baby combination is a total chick magnet! If you ever want to pick up chicks just take an infant and the women will swoon. I guess it would also help if you chose a cute baby. The nurses, from what I heard, just thought Craig was such a swell guy for bringing in his son for the shots. So does that make me the slacker mom?

I have to say shots have done wonders for Jackson's little smiles. Since he's been awake this evening he has been handing them out left and right!

Here is Jackson pre-shots, he was happy just hanging out and waiting the 35 minutes for the doctor to show up:

I Survived!

2008-09-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

I survived a 75 minute spin class on Wednesday night. Woo Hoo! Ok, so I didn't really go all out, but I was not going to die at the gym after not entering it since May. I felt great afterwards. It was so nice to be back and feeling that calm that I get after spinning. So I have decided that I am going to the base gym to spin during lunch. Hopefully I like the class and the bikes. If I don't like the bikes that would really suck, because I love to spin and I know I am not going to get to do it regularly for awhile unless I do it at work. Once Jackson gets a little bigger and older we are going to allow him to go to the child care area when we are at the gym. I think this will be good for a little socialization and being around other people than family. It will also help for the big transition to daycare next year.

After my wonderful spin class I came home and almost died. I was getting ready to fill the sink with hot sudsy water so I could wash bottles for the boy, he's gotta eat you know, and as I reached for the stopper sitting behind the sink was a toad. Yes, a toad. I jumped back with a little squeal, nothing like the scream from when I encountered the mouse in the garage. They keep telling me it was only a baby, but that thing was huge. It had big beady eyes that told me it was going to kill me. So, I calmly (frantically) ran to the landing where I proceeded to tell my father "You need to come here, RIGHT NOW!" Before I could get out "There is a frog int he kitchen" he had put his bills down and was rushing towards me. He goes to the kitchen were he says, "It's just a baby toad." Just a baby toad my foot. Again, the thing was huge. I stand in the living room as far away from the kitchen as possible and begin to hyper-ventilate. I had to wait for some time before I could return to the kitchen. And now I look around the entire sink to make sure there is no "toad".

After the "toad" my spinning calm was gone, and I had vivid dreams concerning "toads" jumping around the kitchen. Now really, who would know the difference between a "toad" and a frog?

Am I Missing Something?

2008-09-17T06:47:00.000-07:00

OK, first I am not the smartest person when it comes to the economy, government or politics. Second I have a very limited knowledge of the role of government in business. This being said, I am identifying myself as a Southerner and thus I believe in Small Federal Government. (Yes I work for them, as do the majority of the people I know.) I believe that state rights are paramount and that our founding fathers wanted the same thing. Yes there needs to be federal oversight, but states should have the right to govern themselves without say Florida telling Virginia what they should do. (Not picking on Florida, just the state that popped into my head.)

Anyway ... AIG???? Since when does the government own businesses? The Fed now owns 79.9% of AIG. And where in god's name are they getting $85 billion. That's BILLION with a B! I understand that something had to be done. AIG is a huge company that if it failed would have global ramifications. But the government essentially owning a company, that doesn't sit right with me.

I don't mean to start a firestorm talking about this, but it is frightening that our government is continually bailing people or companies out of problems. Again I am not saying nothing should have been done, but I am wondering if this is the right solution ... "hey guys crank up the printer we need some more cash."

I Spoke To Soon

2008-09-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yeah, the little man decided to stay awake from 2 am to 4 am this morning. NOT FUN!

The First 3 Days ...

2008-09-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

are behind me. It was unexpectedly okay, to be at work. A lot of the time I was getting caught up on what had happened while I was out. While I was doing this I wasn't really thinking about what could be happening at home. That being said, when I wasn't busy I was constantly wondering what Jackson was doing and worrying about if he was okay.

I am glad that I only went back for part of the week, it made the whole return bearable. Next week will be hard, I am not looking forward to a whole 5 days being away from Jackson. But there is nothing that I can do to change it ... except win the lottery. Dear lottery gods, please let me win ... sincerely Ashley. Do you think that will work?

I have heard from the caretaker (I need a name for her ... grandma is so predictable) that Jackson is taking little naps during the day, he had started this before I went back to work. For a couple days he was doing well with naps in the morning then up for a big chunk of time and then back to napping in the afternoon. How do we start getting him on a schedule? The ideal thing would be for him to take to big naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, instead of the teeny random naps that he likes now. I can only say I am grateful that this trend has not carried over into the night. He is doing very well with sleeping at night. He is going about 4 to 5 hours, it is usually about 4.5. (Well except for those nights that Craig is in charge ... he obviously loves his momma more.) I need to do some research on the internet and in books and obviously hear from the experts (hint hint Aunties!) to see how to do this schedule thing.

The Flip Side

2008-09-11T10:21:00.000-07:00

OK so mama has been posting so i think it is time for the flip side. In preparation for mamas big return to work i took Wednesday off so that i would only be a call away when a Jackson catastrophe struck, we left him with my mom for the day. Having said that, i had the all night baby responsibilities. This is how the night went. "he should sleep when you put him down", yeah not so much. "he should sleep until 1:30 when he gets hungry, yeah i wouldn't really call that sleeping. "he should fall back to sleep when you pat him", yeah right you mean hold him. Anyhow some things i learned. i cant sleep through Ashley snoring so luckily she is not doing that much anymore, i cant sleep through any of Jackson's chirps or the other 87 random noises he makes, and i cant sleep while holding him because i am so restless and have to move around all that time. So my nights with the boy are going to be very long and tiresome. Did i mention that i haven't slept in my cozy bed for like three months maybe even four?

Hi Ho Hi Ho ... Back To Work I Go (Went)

2008-09-10T14:26:00.001-07:00

Today was not totally awful. I think it could have been a lot worse. It took about 30 minutes for me to get out of the house, I walked around the kitchen, living room and dining room thinking of checking on Craig and Jackson one more time. I said my good byes once, and in a sane world I guess that was enough. I only texted Craig once during the day to see if he had checked on Jackson. I did not call the MIL to see how he was doing. I think all in all that was very good on my part.

Ok, I did cry on the drive into work. But I dried the tears before I got out of the car. And I did think of all the terrible things that could be going on at every minute of the day. I did however control my urges about calling every 10 minutes.

I did want to leave you with some chubby goodness that is Jackson. Look at those rolls!

Free and Clear

2008-09-08T11:08:00.001-07:00

I had my six week check up. Everything is good. I am free to do what I want. Who knows what that means at this point. I think what I would like to do most is have a full nights sleep. But alas I don't see that happening anytime.

Now for the interesting part. One, my numb area that I am having above my c-section scar, well let's just say that it may never not be numb. Hi, I thought someone might have told me about that weird little fact. Bad blog readers who have had c-sections, you should have warned me. Next little fact, the chances of us having a repeat of this pregnancy with another, 50% chance. We already knew this, but I was secretly hoping for a different answer. It was scary this time around, but maybe knowing what may happen will make whatever happens, if it happens, the next time around will be a little easier to handle. (I seriously doubt that, but my naive little brain wants to believe that thought.)

The 50% chance answer makes the more children discussion a bit more difficult. Do we want to go through this scare again? Is there anything that we can do differently next time, if there is a next time? Plus a lot of other questions. I don't think either of us plan on having more kids in the next 2 or even 3 years. If, BIG IF, we do this again I can see it being closer to 5 years from now. So, we will hold off on the negotiations, if there are any, for at least 4 years.

On a different note, I want to send out some love and good thoughts to my wonderful friends J&S. J is having a procedure done today, and we are looking for everything to go smoothly and for there to be good results. Love you both!

Are We Being Over Protective Already?

2008-09-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

I went to a luncheon at for work today. It was the first time I have seen a lot of work people since Jackson was born. Inevitably everyone asked why I didn't bring him to the luncheon. The reason was simple, he hasn't had his shots yet. I thought that was a satisfactory explanation.

I have noticed that some people think that this is old fashioned thinking. That it is okay to bring out babies before they have had their shots. In part I agree with that. We take Jackson to other people's homes, but we aren't taking him to restaurants or stores yet. For us, there are too many germs there. Plus you have those people out there that think it's okay to come up and fuss over your baby and even touch them.

The more I think about it, it's a personal choice. For some people, it works for them. Others not so much. We are an others couple.

Inside Pictures of the House

2008-08-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

For all those that would like to see the inside of the house, here are some photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/acbser/NewHouse

Now, just a few thoughts ... we LOVE the brass lighting, we are totally keeping all of it. She says sarcastically. I think ALL the trim and molding needs to be painted white, someone else thinks that is going to be too much work. I am sure I will win, but have to do all the painting myself. I am not sure what room Jackson will have, I go back and forth on the idea of having him next to our room or not. Oh, and we are totally digging the fan blades in the family room fan. That will definitely stay. **wink wink**

We are going to pick out our paint this weekend, as well as the refrigerator. We will also start looking at lighting.

2:45 AM

2008-08-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

Beginning healthy sleep habits is hard, especially when Jackson is being so cute. He's laying in his basket, not sleeping, talking to himself. He is making such cute noises that I want to talk to him. I know this is counterproductive to teaching him that this is night time and to having him begin to learn to fall asleep on his own, but he is being so darn cute.

4 Weeks Old Edited

2008-08-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

** I learned how to use Picasa and put up a new album with some pictures **
http://picasaweb.google.com/acbser/AugustPics

Well the baby is 4 weeks old, and it really doesn't feel like he has been here that long. The time seems to be flying by, and before I know it I will be back at work.

I am trying to enjoy this time, but it's hard when you have this little person that just wants to eat and sleep. I don't want to miss anything in these early weeks, because he changes so much from day to day. Some of my favorite things about him are that he loves to cuddle, when he looks at me he concentrates really hard like he is memorizing everything about me, and I love the way that when he is laying on my chest he likes to cuddle up until his head is under my chin. And Craig wants me to mention that he loves that the baby is a chick magnet. (I think it's because of the hair that all the women love Jackson.)

Not everything about him is sweet. When he wakes up and is hungry, wow, he is a holy terror. You better have the food ready, because he wants to eat NOW! There is no changing of diapers or wiping the sleep from his eyes. HE! WANTS! FOOD! NOW!

Then there is the thrush medicine. Wow, does he hate that. His hair turns white against the redness of his face. And man can he scream! I think I could live without the screaming. It doesn't bother me when I can get to him and try to comfort him. But when we are in the car and he screams, I feel like the most awful person because I can't take him out of his seat and snuggle him.

I am thankful he is here safe and healthy. And I am thankful that this little person is ours.

They Match!

2008-08-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

GAC and GUR gave the baby a Moses Basket, and thank goodness they did. The poor boy wouldn't have anywhere to sleep if it weren't for this gift. There is no way the Pack n Play would fit in the room. The material is so soft and we are extremely thankful for this gift.

Today we went to some friends house and received another gift, a quilt. One side of the quilt matches perfectly the material of the Moses Basket. I was super excited when we got this gift. It's great when something unexpected matches something that you already own.

Under Contract

2008-08-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

First, yesterday was The Baby's Estimated Delivery Date. Welcome to the World Little Boy! It's hard to believe that we were so scared we wouldn't make it to that point. But everything worked out, and we are happy to have a healthy Little Boy in our lives. And I will never complain about bed rest again. The doctor's were right. I needed to stay in bed to keep the little guy cooking! So whether it was the bed rest or the terb, something made him stay in there. I will no longer wonder if bed rest is actually helpful.

Now ... WE ARE UNDER CONTRACT! (Why do they say under contract?) We went and looked at a house on a great lot on a cul de sac and made an offer the second day it was on the market and the bank accepted our offer! If all goes well we close at the end of September. That should give us enough time to find a fridge (the foreclosed people took the fridge but left three of their Bose surround sound speakers, Go Figure.).

The yard is great for Buddy. It's already fenced and even comes with some dog toys! We will get to see how he is with real hardwood floors. (Something that we will change in the future to a darker wood.) We will all have our own space! The best part ... there will be no one to stare at us. (Even though that isn't happening right now.)

We are going to paint some of the rooms, get the carpets cleaned and clean the house before we move in. Then it will become an ongoing project of changing out light fixtures, painting and all the other fun stuff that comes with being a home owner.

I am so excited! This is going to be OUR house!!!!! (Craig got his porch, I got my colonial. It's not brick, but I am sure this won't be our last home.)

In 3 Weeks ...

2008-08-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is what I will return to

Yes that is the state of my desk at work. Looks like fun doesn't it. Well at least it will be September and there will be no money to be spent and no funds that will be able to be transferred. So I will be able to clean off my desk for the next fiscal year and go back and print out reports from when I was out. Oh ... this will be after I RE-EMAIL all the people that I emailed on my glorious 3 days back at work. I really did nothing on my 3 days back because I didn't have access to all the systems that I needed. Plus people were wanting to catch up with all the news from the past 12 weeks. I am sure that there will once again be catch up on the 6 weeks from this leave of absence.

Oh and yes that is Bravo on the BIG TV that is in my office.

Projects and Hair

2008-08-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

I have almost completed one of the projects I was working on while on bed rest. All I need to do now is find some photos of the baby that I like and it will be completed.

I was just looking at pictures of him on the blog and he looks different to me in the photos. It is weird that he looks different in person. Do other people think their babies look different in person verses pictures? One thing that does come through loud and clear in the photos is the hair. My goodness, the hair. If I have to hear about the hair one more time I may just try to sever my hand with a butter knife. This hair thing started before he was born and continues now. When he went to the doctor's office all the nurses just gushed over his hair. They could not believe how much there was and the color. Poor kid better keep the hair because at this point that's all people are talking about.

Then there is Craig and the hair. He likes to mess it up, I think he is trying to make it look like his. Our stylist agreed with him on messy hair for babies. I thought at least she would be on my side, apparently I was wrong. I think that is one fight I won't be winning.