McNair Life

Orlando

2012-01-26T19:14:00.000-06:00

I finally finished our Orlando trip update! I back dated it so that when I print the blog, it is in order :) SO you can either go back to the post before our 4 year post or click the link below

Sorry Shamu (Part 2 Orlando)

Our first 4 Years

2012-01-13T01:59:00.000-06:00

I am so happy that military families are being represented this week at Kelly's Korner. I love her blog, but I also like reading about other military families and their journeys! There are no 2 the same, I promise.

I'm keeping this short :)

We have seen some places in the past 4 years!

From getting married in Waimanalo, Hawaii and being stationed at Schofield Barracks on the island in 2007

The traveling kicked off for Jeremy with deployment training in California while I stayed in Hawaii

To living back in Arkansas while Jeremy went and spent 15 months in Iraq. He deployed December 2007

Luckily he got to come home once during his deployment in July 2008

Long enough for our R&R blessing!

Second Christmas in a row that Jeremy was in Iraq. Also our first 2 married Christmases

Thank God for Skype

Baby showers with friends and family

He made it to Little Rock on March 15 2009.....first time he has seen me since we found out we were pregnant back in July. We went straight to my OB appointment from the airport.

Jackson was born 5 days later

Jackson's one month birthday we left Arkansas for the first time as a family of 3. Hawaii bound!

Spent my first Mother's Day in Hawaii

After getting settled into our new place Jeremy received orders to move to our next duty station.

So 2 months after we arrived on the island, our stuff was packed and we were headed to Ft. Lee, Virginia and Arkansas for the next 3 months!

Arlington National Cemetery

Virginia and Washington D.C were beautiful.

Next stop, Ft. Knox, Kentucky!

Louisville

We were at Ft. Knox for a whole year!
Jackson grew so much while we were there

Lots of playground fun at Knox

We left Kentucky in October 2010 and arrived where we are now at Ft. Benning, Georgia. We live in Alabama though, so here we are surrounded by Auburn, Alabama, and Georgia fans!!
Ft. Benning is on the AL/GA state line.

We have set a record for our little family, we have been at our home now for 14 months! So when we say goodbye to this place in around 4 months (or less, depends on the army) I will obviously feel a little bittersweet about it.

I know that home is where the heart is though!

We have really enjoyed our adventures at Ft. Benning

The only problem is that my boy is growing up way too fast during all of this!

Sorry Shamu

2011-11-16T15:30:00.000-06:00

Our Sea World post deserves better than a 2 month delay. Better late than never I ALWAYS wind up saying!

On our final day in Orlando we chose to go to Sea World. Since we wanted to maximize our time in the parks, each day we went to the park that was open the latest. Sea World's hours were the same and they opened earliest, so we actually had to set our alarm! After cereal in the room for breakfast, we were on our way.

This was the only day we had to drive anywhere. Once we got there we waited in the short ticket line, we got our free tickets! How nice of them to do a free day for military and their families. We really appreciate it.

First stop flamingos

Then the Manta Ray play zone

This was my first up close view of these things. Pretty cute!

Penguins are always a favorite of Jackson's

Baby Gators

We were all over Sea World in the best way we knew to get around, but I don't know how well we did.

Lots of pretty walkways.

Pick a penguin, Win a penguin

Getting sleepy already!

Cute little show with Sea Lions and Seals

I love dolphin shows. This one was a dolphin, (I forgot what kind of whale) and bird show

The bird part was odd. Very odd! Luckily they had live birds too.

Next stop, the Polar Express! They had an interactive train you could ride on and it was supposed to be pretty realistic. Jackson wasn't tall enough to ride :( so we did the walk through version. It was cool! Polar bears, other arctic animals, and Santa was even in there. I think a lot of it was underground. There was an ice wall, hot chocolate, and some really "cool" exhibits.

Dinner time! We got the meal plan, very handy and cheap!

Jack's fav was the chocolate cake

I think this was actually during the Polar express part. He's on MY shoulders here.

They had a ton of kiddie rides! We didn't get to do many because the last Shamu show was about to start and we really wanted Jack to see Shamu. He loves whales!

Out of all the parents and kids on the jumping and spinning jellyfish, I was the dizzy one that had
to sit down for a minute when we got off the ride. It didn't hit me til we stopped.

We walked in just as the whale show was starting. We made sure to sit in the no splash zone! Guess who fell asleep after about 10 minutes in the show? Little man was done!

It was so pretty!

They already had most of their Christmas decorations up. I loved all the blue!

Poor Jackson slept all the way to the car. It was really nice for me and Jeremy though!
We took our time, window shopped and enjoyed the weather.

When we got back to the hotel we game him his white chocolate dolphin surprise

Our night was far from over. We still had some exploring to do! There was so much to see at our hotel. We went and saw the 60's buildings.

Then the 50's. Jackson just had to climb up in the bowling pin stair case. He loved the themed stairs at all the buildings. There are stairs in the yo-yo above too.

One of my favorites. Lady!

Bowling pin pool and 50's area

We played at the juke box for awhile

Then we hit up the huge resort arcade. Fun!

While we were in the arcade, I found Jackson's cup that we had left there on our second day! We had already filled out a lost and found and asked around if anyone had seen it. Jeremy and Jackson went in there to play for a little bit before we went to the Magic Kingdom. Once in the park we realized it was missing. So Jeremy went back in there looking for it when we got back and couldn't find it. So on this night, I was watching Jack play around and looked straight up at his cup :) It was right where Jeremy and Jackson were playing the day before. Go figure...

He loved it!

We went to the food court for a late snack

So sweet.
He was snuggling with the little animal they made out of a hand towel in our room.

As always, checking out was so sad! We didn't want to leave. Jackson was a very big boy about packing up and leaving, even though we were all heart broken.

His first time at Disney, coming to a close :(

Napping with Brutus. We stopped at a DQ/Gas Station/Store and Jackson brought Brutus to me.
Totally my weakness, especially since he was from the Junkyard Dog Collection
and he was on sale! I couldn't say no. I was a Pound Puppy fan myself.

At least we had a pretty drive! Chloe was so happy to see us, but Trish (the lady that kept her) said she was a hoot! I could tell they spoiled her :)

We are so thankful that we had to oportunity to take Jackson to Disney! I love living close. Yes, if it is under 400 miles away...that is close for us! We are already planning our next trip. We had the BEST time.

Let the Memories Begin!

2011-11-15T20:53:00.001-06:00

At last we are getting back to "normal" after the best trip ever! Jeremy, Jackson and I went on our first family trip to Disneyworld this past Veteran's Day weekend. I realized before we left that this is the first vacation that we have taken just the 3 of us! It was a fun, busy, stress free time and we loved every second of it. In fact we are already planning our next trip!

In the sky as we were entering the gates to Disney

So this is what we did.

After Jeremy dropped Chloe off at "Just Like Home Dog Boarding" we hit the road headed to Orlando. The trip was easy! It took us about 8 hours to get there including stops. Our first stop was at a place in Tifton, GA at a gas station/Wendy's/Indoor Playground. It had everything we needed in one stop. I think we were there almost an hour, but Jackson got to play around and check out their aquarium.

After that, we stopped once more for a bathroom break and we hit some traffic on the toll road in Orlando...we were so close and there was a wreck, so after inching along we had the car parked about 15 minutes waiting on things to clear up.

Once we got to the hotel (Disney's Pop Century Resort) Jeremy dropped me off at the entrance to check in. We got the keys, went to our room, then took off around the resort to start exploring a little bit. I requested 4th floor (the top floor) because I didn't want to have to listen to footsteps above. That can be annoying! The buildings in the hotel were themed by decade. We were in the 80's building with Roger Rabbit and Pac Man.

The view from our walkway

Playing on the keyboard by the computer pool

Jack loved the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

Another favorite

We were so tired, I think we decided to go to sleep about 1:30 am. Our plan was to sleep in, buy our tickets, ride around the resorts on the monorail and go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at 4:00. We woke up about 11:30 on Friday and had some cereal in the room. Got ready and out the door by around 1:00.

Waiting for the bus

He knew where we were going!

First view of the gate.

Friday was the coolest day we had while we were there. The raccoon hat came in handy! It got down in the 40's this night so I was happy that I packed some thick clothes for all of us! One reason I really wanted to do the Christmas party on Friday was because it was supposed to warm up for the rest of the weekend and I wanted it to feel like Christmas while we were at the party. The second reason was because it started at 7:00 but we could enter the park at 4:00, and that allowed us to sleep later so we could be ready to go that night!

We got to the gates of the Magic Kingdom at around 1:30. We had to buy military discounted tickets at the gate, so I couldn't preorder our tickets to the party unless I wanted to pay $40 extra. Once we arrived we saw a big Christmas themed sign that said "Sorry folks, tonight's event is sold out". I wanted to cry right there! I have always been a huge Disney fan and LOVE Christmas, so naturally this was a dream for me, but also I wanted Jackson and Jeremy to get to experience it too! I had already told Jackson all about what to expect and we had even watched the video they sent us over and over again.
We got to the window 7 out of 15 and the sweetest man from Colorado named Fred asked us what we were there for and all about our time frame. I told him our original plans and asked him if Sunday was sold out too. (Since Friday night was sold out, we overheard everyone in the lines talking about buying tickets for Sunday night so I was terrified that we were going to miss that one too. There were only 2 parties while we were there so it was our last chance if we were going ). We didn't know what he was doing, but after taking a little bit and talking to several managers he was able to pull lots of strings for us and got us into the party that night. He said he was a veteran and it was Veteran's Day and he wanted it to be a treat to us from him. He had to start a file and we were at his window for quite awhile.... Long enough for Jackson to drop his pants right there in front of everyone and try to pee. It was so hilarious and embarrassing at the same time! A man tapped me on the shoulder and said "Miss your son has his pants down". I about died. It really embarrassed Jackson too when everyone started laughing. I guess we were the entertainment for the super long line of people behind us! I knew he was up against the back of my legs and I had my hand on him so I knew he was fine and had not wandered off, I just had no clue his pants were around his ankles. Jeremy and I both were leaning in trying to listen to Fred ha!

So after we got our tickets and went to the potty, we hopped on the monorail and went around seeing some of the resorts. We had late lunch at the Polynesian Resort. It felt so much like Hawaii! They did an awesome job on this resort. The pool was heated and they also had a beach area where kids were swimming. Jackson liked the ducks and the pier.

First time on the monorail

After playing around at the Polynesian, hitting up their free cookie reception, more potty breaks and reorganizing, we were headed back on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. As soon as we walked in the gate everyone was dressed in their Christmas attire and gave us a Christmas wristband for the party!
*The best way to do Disney in my opinion is let the little one lead the way, forget about structure and bedtime, and just go with it. It works out beautifully*

After a picture stop in the middle of main street, we went straight for the castle.

It was so perfect because as soon as we walked up we noticed show times and Jeremy said that there should be one starting soon. As soon as he said that the music started, everyone came on stage and Jackson went from thrilled to over the moon!

So that was a great way to kick things off!

Another castle view. He was happy to be seeing it in person!

Always one of my favorite parts of the park in Fantasyland

Blurry, but we had a good little carousel ride

Dumbo was even more exciting!

Next stop was Winnie the Pooh. The line to get in was just as fun as the ride. There was so much to do while going through the line.

If you can get past the honey...you might just see Tigger!

Jeremy's first ride!

Once we were finished at Pooh, it had gotten fully dark and cold outside! It was good though because we put on another layer and kept going. Christmas music was playing and they were getting the free hot chocolate, cookies, apples, and juice ready to serve. It felt so festive :) After resting and getting our treats inside at Snow White's, we made our way back around to the castle to see it fully lit up. And yes I put socks on Jackson!!

Poor Donald

He gave in! I sat with him while Jeremy went and rode the Haunted Mansion

Next stop was dinner in Tomorrowland.This was SO much fun. They played dance music, hip hop, and Christmas songs and had a big party right in the restaurant we stopped in at for dinner! Jackson didn't get involved but he loved it and so did we. Jeremy got out there and got quite a bit on video. My favorite part was when Goofy and Pluto made their entrance to "Let's Get it Started in Here" by the Black Eyed Peas. It was so cute. They were dressed in Santa caps and all. You can see Santa's DJ up on stage dancing

The Cheshire Cafe~So cool!

Time to post up for some fireworks!

Enjoying the show

Friday night's fireworks were more Christmas themed with Christmas music mixed in. The castle changed colors and it was just beautiful!

Then after exploring some more, we came back to the castle for a Christmas performance that Jackson loved! He got into it by clapping and dancing and bobbing his head. I love it.

From here we moved down Main Street to catch our first parade!

It is snowing!

The look of overwhelming excitement from the snow + parade!

Snow in Jeremy's hair. We were loving it!

I liked this one, Clarabelle was baking and the smells were awesome. Cinnamon, sugar,
and vanilla in the air!

Jackson is still talking about these toy soldiers and trying to walk like them

Santa!

Jack didn't want to say hi but we did!

On our way out of the park :) Busy body in the background!

I'm thinking it was around 12:30 a.m. when we left the park. Since we stayed on Disney property, we just walked to our bus station right out front and waited on the bus for Pop Century. Our bus was pretty full, it wasn't exactly a pleasant ride because people were standing and sitting. Luckily a guy got up and gave me his seat so Jack could sit in my lap. We got back to the room and slept like rocks.

Day 2 was a whole new experience. Since we had our Holiday party behind us, it was time to do some of the normal Disney things. Luckily Fred talked us into getting the 4 day park hopper ticket when we were normally going to get just a one day ticket (it was only a $40 difference). That allowed us to go to Disney's Hollywood studios for the first part of the day, and then hop on over to the Magic Kingdom for the night and see the other firework show, parade, and we got to take advantage of the "extra magic hours". During those hours Disney hotel guests get to stay after the park closes and ride the rides with little to no lines. So glad we did this!

Groovy Tie Dye Cheesecake

After sleeping in and getting ready we started off with lunch at our resort. Jack must be hitting another growth spurt because he demolished his pizza and also shared our dessert too! Who wouldn't love that cheesecake though. So colorful!

Picked a good spot to watch the parade

Clapping and moving. This stroller came in so handy too. It was perfect!

Before the parade started they had the music playing loud, so Jackson was standing out in front of us dancing and clapping getting ready! Once they were in sight he hopped back in the stroller to watch.

We got a lot on our video camera that I will have to add when I get the chance

There was a really cute show called "Disney Junior Live on Stage" that was scheduled to start about ten minutes after the parade ended. We loaded up and headed that way. We walked up as they were doing last call, so we went right in. Jackson was thrilled with this show because it had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins, and Handy Manny. They got to sing, dance, clap, and collect "Gold Doubloons" that fell from the ceiling when they accomplished their mission. Bubbles were also part of the show.

We went exploring after the show. We walked through the Pixar area and came upon the Backlot tour. Another one that we knew Jackson would love! The first part had explosions and fire, so I had to catch his reaction haha!

Part 2 of the backlot tour was a tram ride where they demonstrated a diesel explosion and flood.

Playing around for the video camera

Once we realized seating was already open for the night water show Fantasmic, we decided we better go on in and get a seat. Once seated we still had a little over an hour before the show started, so it was a good time for snacks. I had brought grapes from the hotel plus we got a pretzel and some nachos.

After the very impressive show, we headed back across the middle of the park to see the Christmas lights.

The Hollywood Studio's Icon looked pretty at night! This is where we were earlier for the parade.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is on the Streets of America in the park. Its millions of lights perfectly synchronized to holiday music.

The Disney website best explains the story behind the lights (and why we really had to see them).

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights started modestly in Arkansas as a single home's annual display. Every year, Jennings Osborne and his family set up an elaborate collection of holiday lights and over the years, the collection of lights grew, and grew... and grew! In 1995, the Osborne family decided to share their magic with the world, and Walt Disney World Resort happily offered to become the new permanent home for this exceptional exhibition of holiday cheer.

They did a special tribute to Jennings Osborne while we were there and it was really nice. He passed away earlier this year, but during his life he touched lots of lives and was such a giving man. The lights were gorgeous! We even got more snow!

Video from my cell phone

We mainly got pictures on one street and intersection, but there was more to see that we didn't even get around too. I needed to start rolling so Jackson would fall asleep for a power nap before we got back to the Magic Kingdom.

Another cell phone clip

It was a pretty long walk from the park to the buses out front. When we got to the row of buses, we realized that everyone had the same idea that we had. The line to the Magic Kingdom was ridiculous! So Jeremy noticed that the Epcot bus was boarding so we hopped on it. As far as we knew, you could hop on the monorail there and go straight to the Magic Kingdom...but we were wrong. Once we got to Epcot we had to get on a monorail to the main ticket center and go to Magic Kingdom from there. It was a rough ride standing up in the packed monorail, Jackson was trying to climb up me because he wanted to be held (sleepy because he never had a nap). I was holding onto the pole trying to keep our balance and Jeremy wasn't even within reach. He was across the monorail with the stroller and bag. Plus it felt like they had the heat on. I just knew Jack was going to get sick. Once we arrived at the ticket center everyone went to the next monorail to go to Magic Kingdom. I knew from the ticket center you had 2 options. Monorail or Ferry. Last time I was at Disneyworld I loved the ferry! It is a pretty little ride across the Disney lake straight to the Magic Kingdom. We almost had it to ourselves! There was a really nice couple on there talking to Jackson. The man told him he was a lucky boy because this was the best way to get to Disney :) It was peaceful and so pretty! We even saw part of a water and lights parade for the Grand Floridian Disney Resort. The pictures from this part are on the video camera

We are walking down Main St. and we realize we can't go anywhere due to the crowd! We were only minutes away from the "Wishes" firework show that we were wanting to see. Perfect! We had a great view, the only problem was that Jackson passed out maybe one minute before they started. It was beautiful and we enjoyed it, plus Jeremy got it all on tape for Jackson.

On to Frontierland we go! Of all the lands, we had spent the least amount of time over in Frontierland and Adventureland, so I figured we should see that some more. The Electrical parade also starts there, so it was a good place to be for the next hour or two. The parade started at 11:00, and we had plenty of time to find a place for a late dinner and see the sights a little more. We lucked out (once again) and I talked to an employee at the Pecos Bill Restaurant that informed us that their outdoor seating in the back was right along the street the parade came down. They had some good food there too, so we picked a table out there and ate while we waited on the parade. Jackson only slept maybe 20 minutes, and when he woke up he was in the best mood!

Mickey waving at him

Front row seats to the parade! Several characters stopped by to say hi but lil man was too shy to talk to them.

I liked this one :) Not sure which dwarf is driving

Super long American Patriotic Float was going by

He chose a hook for his souvenir after riding Pirates of the Caribbean

He was a little afraid of pirates at first, but then he got into it.

We were having a blast at this point. It was "Extra Magic Hours" time, so we had to show our room key to get on the rides. There was little to no wait on everything! He rode the carpets back to back, then was entertained by the spitting camel for awhile.

Jeremy and Jack on Aladdin's Carpet

Me and Jack. (Unfortunately the lighter person sits on the inside so it is harder to see him)
On all the rides where you can control the height, Jackson kept us as high as possible.

Caught him in mid spit. We were wondering where the water was coming from at first ha!

Leaving Adventureland, headed to Tomorrowland for a few rides

Very few people, Christmas music playing, beautiful scenery

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Ride. Gotta shoot some aliens! Notice the SPIN lever. We spun a lot.

Possibly his favorite ride, The Astro Orbiter. It goes higher and faster than all the rest. He was so happy he didn't know what to do with himself while we were spinning. I was in a separate rocket.

View of The Astro Orbiter from the ground. My big boy rode that! :)

Exhausted and still not wanting to leave, we decided to make our way slowly to the front.

Jackson and I had to walk through here. He was interested when we first got to the park but it was way too crowded.

We hopped on our bus from the front gates and headed back to our room. Although we were so tired, it was sad because we had to say bye to Disney. Even Jackson was happy to get a bath and crawl into his bed. I am tired just thinking about that Saturday! Ha!

Sunday was a brand new day involving Seaworld and more exploring around our resort. I think I will make that a post for tomorrow and go ahead and share our Disney parks part of the vacation.

Monkey Joe's Revisited

2011-10-07T23:56:00.002-05:00

So, today went well! Jackson loved going to Monkey Joe's, playing air hockey, going to the mall, and ending with Longhorn Steakhouse. He was one tired little boy tonight!

Waiting on us to head out. He is loving his hats!

He remembered his favorite fountain from last time.

Much better at climbing and bouncing this time around

That is him coming down the slide :)

Pro already! He was really good!

Walking through the mall, all he wanted was his Daddy.

Yee Haw

2011-10-07T10:46:00.000-05:00

My little cowboy decided the other day that he needed rekindle his friendship with his pony. It's cute to me that as he changes and develops, he rediscovers his toys in different ways.

Well we had another whirlwind trip to Arkansas since I last blogged, which included some yard work

My cousin's wedding!

Some country fun down at Dorey's restaurant. One of our favorite places to go while home.

Nope, he isn't peeing on some ducks from the bridge

Jack's first time bowling

He got the hang of it really well! He bowled several games for everyone.

We attended Landen's second birthday party at Jeremy's grandparents' house. Landen is Jackson's cousin :) The one in the red shorts is Landen, Logan is in the jeans, and Jackson is in Aunt Cindy's lap. He was helping...

Some of the guys in the kitchen talking

The whole next generation of boys (so far) with Papaw Louis

I always like the sunsets from their house. The Little Rock airport is really close by,
so you can see the planes landing too.

More yard work

I think Jackson is going to have to get a job so he can start buying gas for Grandpa's lawn mower. They mow ALL the time!

Me and Jeremy got to get away to Tunica for a couple of nights. We had so much fun! I love staying more than one night there, because time goes by so fast and you don't have to check out early the next morning.

Can't see

That's better

We went down to the Mississippi for a boat ride. We went during the week, so they weren't doing the sunset cruise this time (what we wanted to do originally) but the day cruise was fun anyway!

In the rocking chairs out front of the museum, waiting on the boat

Fitzgerald's Casino from the river

I was too cheap to buy the photo in a folder ($18!)
So I took a photo of the photo. Jeremy's
expression cracks me up in this.

We attended my 10 year reunion. It was so great seeing everyone (especially my girl friends that I don't get to see nearly enough)!! I had a really good time.

Jack got some fishing in during family day on Saturday

Jeremy and Charlie entertained themselves
and had fun laughing at everyone :)

Jax also enjoyed a back yard cookout at Grandma's with Aunt Rachel and her crew

Family and friend time at Cotham's. (Jeremy's Uncle's restaurant) Jack loved the catfish!

After we settled in back in Alabama, we went on a really fun safari. We all had a really good time. There was a walk through part and a drive through part. We planned on going to Barnes and Noble afterwards, but we were covered in red dirt and slobber!

Nothing more to report after the safari! We have been doing the usual thing around here. Spending lots of time outside, blowing bubbles, cooking, couponing and watching the Razorbacks win against Texas A & M :) Hopefully tomorrow will be an awesome game against Auburn! That game is a big deal for us since we live at Auburn practically and we have to see Auburn stuff all the time!

Jeremy has a 4 day weekend this weekend, so we plan on taking Jackson to Monkey Joe's later today. Since he has gotten so rough and rowdy here lately, we are hoping he likes the inflatables more this time around.

Love

2011-08-18T00:32:00.001-05:00

I need to go hug my baby now

Projects

2011-07-30T01:03:00.000-05:00

In an effort to stay busy, we have been finding new things to do around the house. I love that this time of year has good toy and summer clearances! Down here it will be warm until November if I remember right, so we still have plenty of play time left with the summer toys.

Aren't freezer pops the best?

Play Doh. We love it. Jackson asks for me to get it out several times a day, so we have found ourselves really getting into it :)Might as well! It doesn't seem like long ago that I was begging for the stuff at the store myself!

Tough man! Those lids are on tight!

He was ready for me to sit down and play

He has lots of boo boos these days! Maybe his skin will recover once I can get him in some Fall/Winter clothes.
It doesn't help that he prefers to wear nothing when at all possible ha!

One of my projects has been space management. I have already turned my laundry room closet into a pantry, and now our bookshelf is being taken over too. I am not complaining, but we have some space issues here in this house. Just a temporary problem....but I dread moving all the perishables home. Pasta and salad dressing anyone? Last I counted I had 35 boxes of pasta (how can you turn it down when it is either free or a money maker?) I do plan to donate some. The army will be storing most of our belongings for up to a year. So our TVs and "pantry" are going home with us....and maybe Chloe if she starts behaving.

I also remember painting with water when I was little! We scored some pretty good stuff at the Hobby Lobby clearance the other day. I'm introducing one or two new things to him every so often.

He is ALWAYS ready to go. He owned the streets today.

The routine bedtime stories this week have been: Once There Was a Christmas Tree (which I love, it is a sweet story plus there is lots of snow and it takes me away from this summer heat!)

And Let's Go to the Farm. Also a good one because he likes doing all the animal sounds and he likes picking out the fruits and veggies in the Farmer's Market. Of course I am talking about Jackson not Jeremy ha!

What a sweet age. I think I have figured out why Jack has been acting out of character lately, other than the normal 2 year old things. His 2 year molars are trying hard to come all the way in. Tonight he would just start crying for no reason, and then be fine. Very strange for him! Then he was reading a book and he started crying hard and actually said "I want my Mommy". Yeah....I dropped what I was doing and ran over to him. I had to soak up that moment :) If you know me, then you know that I am wrapped around this little boy's finger and the smallest things just make me melt. I am still waiting to get over that part where if I picture any milestone in his future, I tear up....still waiting. Graduation and wedding day? Full blown depression. Anyway I have to stop with this or I will get sad.

As can be expected, no word from the army about Jeremy getting moved to the Warrior in Transition Unit, and no word from my doctor about when my appointment is going to be with the endocrinologist SO that means look out Arkansas! We might just be coming to town in the near future. I wish Jeremy could come with us :( but unfortunately since he is in a transition phase he has to stay close by. Also, his big appointment is August 2nd so he can't miss that. Jackson needs this trip plus my cousin is getting married so this looks like a great opportunity to head to the other side of the Mississippi for awhile. Although there will be lots of fun stuff going on in August, I have my work cut out for me getting the place ready for us to land there!

PS. Still haven't figured out what almost landed on our house the other night, but we have a strong suspicion that the props on a C130 came across our roof like reindeer on Christmas Eve.

Happy 5th Birthday to Kevin Disseler!!

When I first got out to Hawaii, he wasn't even a year old. He was the cute little chubby cheeked baby boy at our wedding and the first little one Jeremy and I babysat together :) Now he is 5?! Unbelievable

Weekly Randoms

2011-07-27T23:47:00.003-05:00

I honestly haven't felt like I have had much to blog about this past week. On top of that, Jackson has been extra challenging to keep up with here lately!

One reason I can't wait to move home: That extra nudge of help, peace, and sanity that comes with having family near. Granted I will lose a little sanity....I still fell it will be more like 1 step back, 3 forwardish....depending on the day :)

I'm not sure who had it worse today, myself or Chloe. Jackson decided in the blink of an eye, that Chloe needed my Vanilla Spice body cream from The Body Shop....all over her. At least she smells good, and he topped it off with several shots from his watering can so she was cool too.

Among other things, we had a giant spill (my very full and large Styrofoam cup broke when I picked it up and fell to the floor, drenched me, the love seat, and my iPhone) which lead to a streaking little boy coming through at impeccable timing and slipping on the water...yay it wasn't tea or something and luckily he laughed about it! I should also say, yes I'm on my fourth iPhone, but you see what they go through.

We have been doing a little bit of shopping. I have set a somewhat tight budget now since we are gearing up to leave the army (hooah)! However, Target is a good place for popcorn and clearance this time of year so I think we are OK.

I wish they had this in a 3T

Making new use of toys. He hopped on and said "Mommy wanna go for a Walk?"

Hey, Where's Perry?

We are doing good on potty training...He only wears diapers at bedtime and in the car mostly. We are letting him go at his own pace, and it is working out well so far. The worst that has happened would have to be just a stream or 2 on the walls, and he likes to go in private so I'm not sure how that happened.

We have been taking long walks when the sun is going down. I love that about summer! We have fun in the housing construction every time now. Perfect considering the huge hill is a workout and no traffic since the road is new and blocked off! Only downside is when you fall on the new asphalt, the boo boos hurt! (Poor Jack).

Who doesn't like a family trip to the doctor with Mommy? I think it is safe to say that Jackson has conquered his fear of the doctor's office!

I have an entire other post to write this week about my doctor experiences....particularly how I want to go to Ireland Army hospital at Ft. Knox and find the 8 doctors I saw and say "Hey thanks for the Nexium and Prozac that you gave me for acid reflux and anxiety (AKA an autoimmune disease...same difference apparently) that I fortunately never took....and thanks for totally ignoring the fact that when I tell you something is wrong, it is wrong, and thanks for letting my thyroid go an extra year being attacked and eaten away by my own antibodies...I really appreciate you telling me that I am just looking for a problem". This weekend I will be writing all about it, and feel free to ignore because I know it will be pretty boring. However I will be tagging them in the post so that when anyone searches for the hospital, my blog will show up along with their other pages. If there are any other army families doing research they will see my post and know that their family care clinic AND pediatrics (come to think of it) =sorry excuse for medical treatment.

Firehouse for lunch afterwards. Yum! I forgot how much I like that place

High school reunion in one month....healthy snacks in abundance. Plus Jack loves broccoli and carrots so win/win. Pay no mind to the cake balls in my refrigerator.....they are for a friend of Jeremy's at work that is a new Daddy. And just to keep me honest, there were 50 40

Laundry day almost every day!

On Call

Love

Oh our sweet Piggly Wiggly. When I need to revisit my childhood, I know I can count on you. The people, set up, music (aside from Big Green Tractor and Rain is a Good Thang), and snacks are all blasts from the past! Remember barrel juice? And candy cigs? Yep! They even still do the little cards where you earn stamps.

Found my happy place at last! Hope Arkansas watermelon, yes please!

This poor child went from being carried like a football to bounced all around by his "crazy momma".
I can't stand to see this stuff. His neck was nowhere near strong enough for the slinging she was doing.

From the other night somehow mixed in with my Piggly Wiggly outing.
Jammies and some good conversation

It is just a sweet little store :) Only 4 miles away there is another one that is newer and more like every other grocery store, but I think I like ours better. Not to mention it is just plain interesting!

I mean we were seriously neglecting our watermelon habit and it shows.

5 minutes after we got home Jack was ready to dig in. Nothing like a little watermelon juice running down a full baby belly!

It was huge and worth every bit of $7.99. Jeremy already promised me another one by Saturday :)

Aside from random dizziness, headaches, and mood/energy swings, my challenge has really been Jackson this week. His sweetness is through the roof but he is a handful! What do you do when you have a boy that wants to jump off everything? Originally, I constantly was right there to prevent injuries, but I can't dedicate 100% of my time to being a parachute. He hasn't hurt himself at all, but he just has a ton of energy. Typical summertime problem for 2 year olds I would imagine. So he probably wouldn't wear knee pads and a helmet for long, and I can't chase him 24/7, I do not want to put him in front of the t.v. any more than I have to, and I am running out of ideas. Plus, we would stay outside in the heat anyway if it weren't for the mosquitoes being bad at times. He gets plenty of exercise in the evenings and sleeps well. I think he is just bored, so is his Mommy. Jeremy going back to work is really affecting us! We are just so used to going and doing! Soon we will be home and around family and I know he needs it badly. He has never asked so many times to go to Arkansas before. So in other words.... 2 year olds get in ruts too, and right now we are all in one.

I'm thinking starting next week, we will be in fast forward mode! Jeremy sees the doctor August 2nd for the big med board appointment.
At some point in August, depending on my appointments, I am going to Arkansas to start getting ready for us to move back and to go to my 10 year reunion.

I (supposedly) find out tomorrow when my endocrinologist and ENT appointments are to happen.
He finds out tomorrow news about the transition unit he is going to and how that is all supposed to work. He has such a sweet lady in his office that transferred down to his unit from the Warrior in Transition office and she has been a huge help. So thankful for her!

I think I have covered everything :) I have been working out after the boys go to bed and man am I sore!

One last thing! I think a plane almost crashed on our house tonight! I had just finished my workout when I hear a loud noise that sounded like a super loud motorcycle coming down the street at first. It kept getting louder...to the point where I froze and braced myself. Never have I EVER heard something that loud fly over any house I have ever lived in. Keep in mind that at Ft. Knox, our house was practically on the airstrip where C130s flew extremely close overhead probably 10 times a day and night. It was so loud that when I gained the courage to run out the back door to see what in the world was going on, Jeremy comes dashing though the living room with Jackson. Jackson had fallen asleep in our bed, and it was so loud that Jeremy panicked and took off running with him....sheet and all! I asked where he thought they were going, and Jeremy said he wasn't sure but he was confident a plane was about to crash on our bedroom so he was headed for the front door. OK, That part was hilarious when it was all said and done. Somehow Jackson never woke up.

Jeremy spent 15 months in Iraq hearing all kinds of sounds from air crafts and other uncomfortable loud noises overhead while he was trying to sleep. He even said he has never heard anything so loud and extreme. This is no exaggeration! We were baffled for about a half hour trying to think of what possibly could have happened. It is our goal tomorrow to find out what monster grazed over our home in the late night sky. Jeremy is going to make some calls on post (we are that curious!) because our suspicion is a night drop or something army related. We just have to know!

Now if you will excuse me, I need to check our local news for some airplane headlines...

True That

2011-07-26T00:13:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I need to remind myself

Aquarium Fun

2011-07-21T21:14:00.000-05:00

Jackson and I took off to Atlanta Tuesday morning to meet up with my friend Brooke (we go all the way back to first grade!) and her little boy Brandt. They were in Atlanta on a trip for Adam's job. Brandt and Jackson are only 5 months apart, and they are now great buddies.

They did really well together. It was a great trip, but it also made me and Brooke really sad that we don't live closer to each other. It would be so nice get together more since we have the same interests and things going on in our lives, and the boys are perfect little play partners. They live in Marion, Arkansas though so once we move home it should be slightly easier.

Started off with a little bonding over the ipad

In the parking deck leaving the hotel.

Lunch at the aquarium. Mac and Cheese for starters

Pizza, then ended with red velvet cupcakes. The boys were on vacation so they ate what they wanted.

So, after a nice little sugar rush we went to see some fish

These things creeped me out.

Several of the pictures didn't turn out too well, mostly because I didn't notice my flash battery was almost dead. Brooke got some good ones that I will post eventually.

They got to watch the stars of the dolphin show play around before we went in to see it. I think the dolphins were their favorite part. Ours too probably! The show was awesome! Lights and music. Very pretty and the dolphins were too sweet :)

Running and playing

Really cool tunnel

Giant aquarium with giant fish!

This would have been cuter if my flash would have worked! They were loving this part

Not afraid to work his way in

New penguin friend

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the massive whale sharks too. This place was huge.

Dragon fish. So cool

Leaving exhausted, with his souvenir that he chose. He and Brandt got the same thing :)

We had big plans for the rest of the night, but after a long tiring day we decided to go home. Jackson was out cold in the back seat, so that was a good indicator that we should head on back. I think since the place is so impressive, we will definitely have to take Jeremy before we move home.

Our Rainy Weekend

2011-07-21T00:33:00.001-05:00

What do you do when you have big plans to play outside all day and it pours rain? You play anyway!

Jack was kind enough to consider his shark, and bring him out to enjoy the water too.

Mowing in the rain, naturally

Once the rain stopped, it was time to explore the creatures that were out and about.

Happy Boy

Then play a little music

Puddle Fishing

After bath snuggle time with his little lamb :) Time be still....

Lots of reading time

Popcorn and a movie!

We put off our fishing trip until Sunday, which turned out pretty! We were worried because it rained on us while we were driving to the lake, but we went anyway.

Cricket Fascination

I think he was getting grouchy here.

Jackson and I snuck away for a little shopping in Auburn and left Jeremy to fish alone for a couple of hours. We were hot and Jack needed a nap anyway. While we were gone Jeremy was stung twice by yellowjackets. I am starting to wonder about his luck....

Earlier in the day

The sun was going down when we got back, and it was a pretty sight.

As usual, I took tons of pics.

He got to fish with real bait this time!

It looks light here, but this was his final try before we left.

We really enjoyed the gorgeous night! They close at 8:00 and we shut the place down! We also forgot that they are on central time so actually it was 9:00 at our house. The joys of living on the time zone line!

We were just happy to be there. Jeremy caught 1 fish....maybe next time he will catch a big one :)

Tomorrow I will post about another fishy trip that we took yesterday, only this one took place in Atlanta!

2011-07-15T23:35:00.003-05:00

We did some marathon shopping to kick off our weekend. I had some returns and deals to hit up, so after lunch we headed to the other side of the Chattahoochee to take care of business.

I managed to get some pictures along the way at a couple of our stops...

Jackson's favorite thing about going to Old Navy is socializing :)

He had to tell them all bye bye and give hugs.

Favorite thing about Target is the popcorn.

I love these Paul Frank Jammies!

Modeling his new fall shirt

Not bad for $4. I left the ice cream out of the pic too.
I wish I had left the ice cream at the store actually, it is too good.
Breyer's Chocolate Cookies and Cream to be specific :(

He worked up a huge appetite shopping with me today. Nothing like some comfort food after shopping hard!

The garden is doing awesome, especially after the rain we have been getting. I love all the fresh veggies, but watermelon is my favorite. We have about 5 right now that are small, but growing fast. Jackson is learning how to pick what is ready and leave the rest. He loves this part of the day. He came running inside tonight and asked me for the bucket since Daddy forgot to take it outside. He has to have that bucket! Part of the fun is counting everything as you drop it in.

I bought some Georgia peaches finally! I can't believe we have been down here all year and haven't had a kitchen full the whole time (we love peaches).

Today it was insanely humid here. I don't think I have ever felt humidity that intense. It rained off and on with the sun out...then tonight it quit raining and was actually pretty nice. We got some summer toys on Target clearance, so we had to try them all out before dark. Believe it or not I didn't get a picture :)

My allergy appointment has been postponed again (3 times now!). I go in next Friday for my first shot.

My best friend of ten years had a birthday today! Sorry I had to miss it Jana, Happy Birthday!

Just Another Day in Bama

2011-07-14T23:01:00.000-05:00

Jeremy got home a little early today and decided to fix Jackson's little table we got for free at the snow cone place last weekend :) It had a sign on it that said "Free to Good Home". Jackson was a great helper. You may notice he is diaperless...this is part of his potty training that is working well so far! He wore no diaper all night tonight WITH shorts on and had no accidents. Progress is good.

More blurry iphone pics today. So after the table was finished, Jackson told me he wanted to eat outside. He thought he was really doing something. It wasn't too hot outside, but very humid.

He has gotten really good at working his little laptop the past couple of days.

I think he got bored, because he asked if we could go to Target...then followed me around asking to go "bye bye". So we went to Publix. I needed to make a coupon run anyway so off we went. He drove his green car buggy, got a sprinkles cookie, and was a very good boy for me.

Patiently waiting to go "bye bye"

2011-07-13T23:36:00.001-05:00

My boy and I got in some great play time today. I love spending time with him (and my coffee)playing in his room when we first get up.

After nap time I broke out the moon dough ( I am almost positive that is the name of it). We got it at Wal Mart last night. Also our trip confirmed that I am still not a Wal Mart fan...especially the one here in Phenix City. Yikes.

He loved the stuff though. We spent probably an hour making shapes with it.

Chloe girl got to join us for our walk tonight. She was very good.

Little legs also left the wagon at home. He made it the whole time too. I figured about half way I would have to carry him. His favorite part is always the tractors where they are building new houses.

Army Update:

Jeremy's packet for the WTU (warrior transition unit: where he primarily goes to appointments and works on paperwork for getting out) is supposed to go to the board on next Thursday. His appointment with the neurosurgeon August 2nd can't get here fast enough.

2011-07-12T23:27:00.000-05:00

This summer our thing has been Greek Pasta.

Jackson and I made a huge bowl today!

Sweet boy after finishing off some yogurt

All the stores know what they are doing when they put the Cars stuff out and on little boy level. I was surprised Jackson didn't ask for one tonight, instead he played with them and told them "Bye, see ya'll a morrow". Luckily (so far) he has been really good about putting toys back on the shelf after he checks them out.

I go back to the doctor on Friday for my first allergy shots. I was supposed to get them last week but they weren't ready....

Really that is all I have to report, all is well!

Today

2011-07-11T23:27:00.000-05:00

Not much going on here. Me and my little man played around the house today, and he even helped me with the laundry!

We went for our walk again tonight. Jackson skipped his nap again today, but he was ready for bed early and happily went to sleep! He has hit another growth spurt, this picture is a good example of how his little legs look so long.

Update on Jeremy's army status:

He found out today that he will see his neurosurgeon on August 2nd. At this point he should get his letter recommending the medical board. This month he is going through physical therapy for his neck, shoulder, and knees. After all therapy is complete, they will pursue medically retiring him for (hopefully) each issue. So we are one step closer to getting out of the army! Jeremy's guess is January...mine is December. By now we know that anything army is hurry up and wait, and the date guesstimate will probably change and differ way too much.

This past week Jeremy and I have been sucked into this show on A&E called Hoarders. We literally can't stop watching it when it is on. We usually just watch our shows on DVR about once a week when we get the chance, but this show got us! The plus side of watching is that it motivates us to straighten up the house more often :)

Found Another Lake Today!

2011-07-11T00:33:00.000-05:00

Still didn't catch anything. I think our first problem is that we go in the middle of the day, so it is hot and although we have a great time, our patience wears out too fast. Jackson could stay all day though.

I loved that we had a greeting party when we got out of the car. Ducks are just so cute to me! Jackson wasn't quite sure about them at first. I felt bad because I know they wanted us to feed them, but I didn't have anything. I will next time for sure!

Best one I could get of us

Jack was so proud that he was out there with Daddy across the water. He kept yelling over at me saying "Look Mommy I way over here!"

Fascinated momentarily by the giant mushroom.

One thing I love about being a mom, is getting to experience life through his eyes.

I think we will give this lake another try!

We headed over to Auburn since it was only 10 miles away, and I like to explore when we have nowhere to go anyway! I don't know why we don't go over there more often, it is less than 30 miles from our house....maybe because Columbus has everything too and is closer.

Anyway, we got to drive through some pretty Alabama scenery and then we arrived at Tigertown...where they have so much to do that it would take days to do it all. So with all those choices we chose Target :) I love Target's clearance this time of year, so I was looking for some awesome deals like I found at our Target here. They didn't have much, but we still found some stuff for Jackson. I can't believe that I bought him(Cars!) pajamas today from the little boy section instead of the toddler/baby section. He is technically still in a 3T with some 4T and 5T stuff to grow into a little more, but the pajamas they had over there fit him :( This made me sad a little. I have to keep telling myself that they were missized (6) and that is why they were on clearance to begin with......

Monkey Joes!

2011-07-10T23:43:00.000-05:00

So I think I'm back to blogging regularly. Our daily life is probably pretty boring to most, but the reason I do all this anyway is that I love having all our days documented for memories sake!

Drowsy but ready to play!

After we realized a nap wasn't happening yesterday, we headed out to Monkey Joe's for some play time!

I was worried at first, because Jackson wanted nothing to do with any of the bounce houses they had.
All he wanted was to sit in the quarter operated firetruck. I even got in the bouncy things and he wanted me out! So after some begging I crawled on out and gave up....and that is when Jackson decided he was going to be brave. He had a great time from then on! At one point in the beginning, he did yell at another little boy for cutting him off. Shocked me and Jeremy both! I guess I don't have to worry so much about him getting pushed around anymore, but he did get in a little trouble (by us) for yelling at him. It really caught me off guard. He was a good boy the rest of the time though. I don't think he even realized what he did, because he was talking to me and saying "no way" about climbing in and the little boy caught him off guard as he was telling me no.

Blurry, but this is when he realized I saw him having fun and was embarrassed :)

Turning around to head back to the little monkey play area. Too many big hyper kids trying to run him over!

"Mommy hold you?"

After playing we went down to a little country restaurant in the same shopping center. Jackson loves fountains and waterfalls so he was pleased to come across this one. He asked for a couple "minnies" (a cross between money and pennies) to throw in the water. Back in April when Poppy (my Dad) came to town, he introduced Jackson to making wishes in fountains while we were at the Cheesecake Factory in Atlanta...and he hasn't forgotten since!

He enjoyed his country buffet! It was a different little place, but it was good. Jack was most interested in the biscuits. Actually for the past week, when we ask Jack what he wants for dinner he says biscuits ha! After he ate, he told Jeremy he needed to go to sleep. That is rare for him!

Next we went over to the snow cone place! I was so happy that we finally got to go to this little stand. I always thought it was so cute but it was never the right time. Anyway Jackson requested a Dora popsicle that was very messy and almost instantly fell off the stick onto the ground :( He wound up sharing mine with me....should have gotten a larger size! I got a Carnival one (pink and blue cotton candy flavor).

Would you believe Jeremy chose "Roll Tide" as his flavor?! It was awesome though. Black Cherry and coconut.

Sadly, all of my pics are from my iPhone and they are pretty blurry. I just didn't feel like carrying my heavy camera around all day like I usually do.

We came home and got lots from the garden that night! Jack loves helping pick things from the garden.

Next we went for a walk around our neighborhood. We have really been trying to do this more since after Jeremy's surgery we stayed less active.

Little man had fun and we all slept well!

Our Anniversary

2011-07-08T23:41:00.000-05:00

Cars 2 with our 2 year old down here in Columbus Georgia.....I don't think that 4 years ago I could grasp the happiness that kind of day could bring. It was perfect!

Of course I love my flowers, and am VERY excited about the spa day Jeremy so SO so generously gave me....

And the night was beautiful! I love sunsets...especially when the clouds are this pink.....

But it was this guy that really brought it home

We got to celebrate with him and that just made things even sweeter. We are so crazy about this little boy. We loved getting to watch him sit there with his bag of popcorn and really enjoy the movie and his time with Mommy and Daddy. He got into it, and from time to time would look at me and say things about the movie in his excited, innocent little voice. The way he makes us smile, and the mutual love we have for him reminds us of what really matters in this life.

We told him the night before our date that he had to wake up one more time and he was going to see Cars 2 with us. When he woke up, he remembered! Oh and I never knew someone this small could eat that much popcorn. Wow!

So after we got home last night, we lit the tiki torches and played hard in the back yard. Simple and fun. Just what we needed!

Our first 4 years have been crazy! From Hawaii to Arkansas to Virginia to Kentucky to the Alabama/Georgia state line, I have really enjoyed our adventures together! All that in 4 years, and I couldn't have picked a better husband to experience it all with. Thank you Jeremy for being a supportive and loving husband. Thank you for putting up with me at my worst and for laughing with me when all else fails.

I can't even imagine what the future holds for us! I do know that we feel very blessed. Thank you God for what you have given us.

Independence Day Wrap Up!

2011-07-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

We stayed home on the 4th and had a good time cooking out and playing outside!

He started without us

Holding on tight to his imaginary Mickey while he swings

Imaginary Mickey is sliding!

Making pudding pops on Sunday. Vanilla pudding is yellow instead of white, so naturally our Independence Day theme turned into a Jamaican theme pops instead.

Strawberry bandit

They were really good!

Sparkler just went out

Just taking it all in.

He asked to swim during his bath, so we let the tub water get a little deeper than usual. Loved it!

Jeremy had to return back to work July 5th after being off for 3 months. During that 3 months the army decided they didn't have to wear their berets anymore and made the patrol cap the new daily standard with uniform. Yay!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate because I love this time of year and the reason for Independence day! The past 2 years we have been away from home (Arkansas) for the 4th. Last year Kentucky, this year Alabama, next year Arkansas! So happy to say we are on the home stretch! June 26th 2012 is Jeremy's ETS date (get out of the army date). I can't believe we didn't have a party to celebrate the one year mark. It slipped right past us after years of counting down. I think the main reason is that since Jeremy is more than likely getting medically discharged, we aren't planning on even being here that long. So my point is that one way or another we should be home this time next year. Keeping all that in mind, we are trying to enjoy today as our little family of 3. I'm trying not to take for granted our time together. Jackson is at a fun age (I always say that) and life is just easy right now. Thank you God for taking care of us.

So far our weekend has been filled with fireworks, playing outside, and fishing. Jackson loves fireworks that are quiet, but he is still afraid of the big loud ones. Maybe next year he will like the big booms!

2011-06-10T10:41:00.001-05:00

Jackson loves watermelon! I love it too...I think we may have it every day until fall.

Catch Up!

2011-06-10T00:33:00.000-05:00

Just some funny things about our boy
(yes I'm kind of ignoring the fact that I haven't blogged in almost 5 months)

For starters, at 2 years and 3 months, Jackson weighs 35 pounds and is 35 inches tall!
Mostly size 3T
He knows his alphabet

Counts to 15

Repeats everything and loves to sing!

Has been calling us Jemmy and Meenda quite often here lately. It is hilarious! For example: Hey Jemmy, more apple juice peez?

Eats everything except for green beans and brussel sprouts

Loves all kinds of rice, pizza, broccoli, and taco filling :)

When he greets people, he says "How ya'll doing?"

When we leave he says "Good to see ya"

When he is in bed with us, he will face Jeremy and say "You gonna be ok?"

(every night since neck surgery he asks this question)

Still loves water, baths, and washing his hands.

Loves playing with Chloe. This usually means aggravating.

What have we been up to since January?

My love had his second birthday

Army ceremony time!

Relaxing by the Campfire

He loved the giraffe

Happy times at the zoo

Looking at a Giraffe

Nashville!

Bass Master

On Broadway

Mom and Brian in Nashville

Dad (Jack's Poppy) came to visit

Singing "Brown Eyed Girl" with Uncle Brian

Easter

First Trip to the Zoo

Zoo Train

Chattahoochee River Walk

Margaritaville, Nashville

Ben and Jerry's

Riding with Aunt Katlyn

Mother's Day 2011

Sprinkler!

Even though it is HOT, we are enjoying the summer! Jeremy goes back to work after the 4th of July holiday weekend. I know he isn't looking forward to it, but I am still confident that we will be out of the army by Christmas! Things are moving along faster than we expected, and they are already talking about moving him to the WTU "warriors in transition unit".

Time will tell...

PS I have learned how to blog from my phone now! That should enable me to update more often :)

Shakespeare Can Be Rough

2011-01-31T22:33:00.000-06:00

My little guy loves the bookshelf. Today he grabbed the Complete Works of William Shakespeare and took off running with it. Before I could stop him he tripped...and caught the corner of the book under his eye. He cried pretty hard for a minute and was over it.

At the park on post.

We took advantage of the warm weather this weekend along with everyone else. Once we left the house I was wishing I had worn flip flops. If only that weather would hang around!

Nap #2

After lunch

Yes Jackson has been sick, but we weren't going to keep him cooped up. We did skip church since his nose is so runny and his cough is bad. I knew they probably would appreciate us staying home...even though I think he caught this bug in his class at church! So on Saturday we had to go by Jeremy's office to unlock some stuff. Luckily, I got to see Jeremy's awesome work truck. We were hoping Jack would be awake to take a ride but it was his first nap time for the day. Maybe next time.

Next was lunch at the PX then we went to the huge playground on post to play. I can't believe what a little monkey this boy is.

He can climb these no problem. We are close by to help.

Sand between the toes

After we played HARD (2 naps!) we went by Publix, CVS, and Rite Aid. I didn't take pictures but I did get 24 free light bulbs among some other things like diapers, wipes, shampoo, and 2 rebates for $10 Publix gift cards. I don't know what I will do in AR without Publix :)

Saturday night we were home in time to enjoy the rest of the daylight too, Jack was happy about that.

Lately he has been waking up in the middle of the night to get in bed with us. I don't know if it is because he is sick or not, but as long as he goes back to sleep I don't mind it at all. He is such a cuddle bear except for those feet he likes to kick around. If I am awake enough I usually take him back to his room.

Me and my girl lounging, she is so goofy. She wanted her picture taken.

In the back of the picture above you can see a turned over tool bench that belongs to a boy in his officially terrible two's. It is probably a combo of being on medicine, not feeling well, and his mommy's perfect timing of hiding all the paci's, along with the big "2" approaching. Jumping off couches, climbing, breaking things, rebelling, throwing fits....we are there. Thankfully, he goes to sleep at nap and bed time so easily! We tell him it is time, we get no argument, we tell a story, and before the end he is out. Yay!

Another thing he has learned to do well is twinkle twinkle little star. He LOVES singing, so the other night while he was going to bed I recorded this. He has gotten even better at it now too! I'm not

sure why the video turned out so dark. He has a good night light.

If music be the food of love, play on

--William Shakespeare

Is it Spring yet?

2011-01-27T23:38:00.001-06:00

Wagon ride!

I let Jax play outside today and I know I shouldn't have. We were only out there for about 30 minutes and it was 55-60 degrees...but he has been sick and I don't think it helped him any. He was too hot in his jacket. Benadryl won't even touch what he has going on with sinuses and congestion. He wanted to go out so badly I finally gave in after nap time.

I thought keeping his ears covered up even if its warmer can't hurt

He isn't doing worse tonight, but he is not better for sure. As the tradition goes, I will be calling the doctor tomorrow (always on a Friday) and begging for help.

He sang his own lullaby tonight and I just want to never put him down. Twinkle twinkle little star has never sounded so precious. I keep hearing him cough, so I'm just waiting on him to come out of his room with his monkey and crawl in bed with us :)

It has come down to this...I feel like my shopping trips are like self inflicted homework and I have to report on them haha! It is such a fun challenge and hobby. But I am blogging about it I think because I take saving money more seriously now than ever and I want to keep up with what I'm saving and maybe ignite some ideas in your minds too. Fun for me, probably boring to you :)

So how did the Publix trip go? I think pretty well. First off, we were out of coffee (a staple) and so they were having a deal on the whole beans luckily and I spent $5 on 2 bags that we normally pay $6.99 a piece for at Wal Mart. I'm thinking maybe I should have bought a couple more.

Also, I took advantage of the deal going where you buy a certain name brand item you get theirs for free...Spaghetti was the theme so I got some free pasta, sauce, baby spinach, and parm cheese, and had coupons for the name brands. That helped.

Can you spot the little boy?

Anyway, there are a couple of items not pictured (hummus, cheese, Sam Adams($8!), and the (2) juicy juice 12 packs are hidden). 4 V8 splashes that I am excited about. Some strange purple passion potatoes that I have never heard of in my life, (free or else I wouldn't even go there) and lots of baby spinach, lettuce, soup, rotel, (4)spaghetti sauces, and condiments galore (thanks kraft!). We are set for some cookouts haha!

Total before coupons and B1G1: $105.61
After: $31.04 with tax
70% savings!
Of course I will be going to Wal Mart this weekend for chicken and a few other generics, but I am happy with the outcome tonight. Oh! And I stopped by Rite Aid and picked up 2 free 4 packs of GE Light Bulbs. Sweet.

Jeremy is ready for the weekend, I am ready to stop being dizzy and to stop having a constant headache, and Jackson is ready to breathe normally :( But we are happy and looking forward to some pretty weather Saturday and a good time at church Sunday if Jax is up to it.

Special Deliveries!

2011-01-26T23:12:00.000-06:00

Package from Grandma and Grandpa

This lucky little boy has gotten 2 things in the mail this week from his great grandparents!

Package from Mamaw and Papaw

The first envelope was from Mamaw and Papaw Louis, and it was chicken feathers! The look on his face was priceless. He has been asking about the chickens since we got back home. Last time we were home he played with feathers when he was at their house and it really left an impression :).

We were laughing SO hard at his expression

I gave him his stickers from Grandma after bath time

When he saw his Elmo Potty DVD he said Oh Wow! We watched it almost immediately and he listened to most of it.

It is a good thing he has gotten some surprises this week! Last night was really rough. He has had a runny nose and chest congestion for about 2 days. Last night he woke up throwing up, followed by covering Jeremy almost literally from head to toe with round 2. I don't know if it was from sinus drainage or what happened, but today he hasn't been sick anymore. He is very irritable and wired, but I think that is from having no sleep last night.

Also as of last night, we are pacifier free! I hope we can stick with it. So far it has been easy. He can't breathe out of his nose right now, so it was perfect timing.

Of course since I hit up CVS tonight, I had to document my trip.

Luckily I had a coupon print up from the red machine in the store( you scan your card and it prints up some coupons for the day) that was $5 off of 2 Revlon products. Well they had some Revlon products for 75% off and I wound up getting them for $5 total=Free! I had coupons for everything else except for the Physicians Formula bronzer which was on clearance for $2, at Wal Mart it is around $10. Between coupons and money back I spent $7 and I got back $4.

Publix will either be tomorrow or this weekend, depending on how Jackson is feeling.

Just Another Day

2011-01-24T13:52:00.000-06:00

Snack time! He could eat broccoli at every meal!

Well, less than 2 months and my baby will be 2 years old. That doesn't seem right! I guess it never does.

This past week has been easy going for us. We haven't had many plans, aside from going to church on Sunday. The past 2 Sundays we have gone to Cascade Hills in Columbus. We really like it so far, but we are thinking about trying another church this Sunday. My main concern with changing is that Jackson is not a fan of his class already, and moving around might make it worse. He likes his teacher, and he is happy as long as she takes him outside (indoor/outdoor play ground) and has one on one time with him. He does not like being inside with the other kids. Hopefully he will get over that soon. She said they were going to work on being happy outside then once he is ok with being left with her, she is going to work on being inside.

Proud Mom brag warning! She did tell me that he is the most verbally advanced child she has ever had in her class. This is a huge church with over 8000 members! She could not believe how well he communicated and how much he knew :) I felt terrible about leaving him crying, but it cracks me up knowing that he talked to her as much as he did. He kept telling her "Mommy and Daddy will be right back ok?" Poor baby was crying when we picked him up too. I was afraid that he had cried the whole time, but she said he had just started back up when the parents started picking the kids up. We had a pager and she never paged us. Last week she did because he was upset and she wanted to make sure we knew...after I calmed him down he was fine and I left.

His little legs are starting to thin out!

My guess is that he is hitting a growth spurt, since he has been eating a ton and his legs are thinning. He is now 35 inches tall....so I know he has grown about 2 inches at least in the past couple months. He eats all the time. I keep giving him more until he raises his hands and says "all done". Sometimes he has a snack before bed too. I did the height predictor online, and if he didn't grow any in the next 2 months, his prediction is 6 foot tall. I think I believe it!

Big Boy

I love my boys

Good Daddy, Good Hubby :)

It has been cold but sunny out, so we are trying to be outside as long as we can stand it. Another change is that bedtime is now at 9:00. That is a nice change, I get much more done and I can get in bed earlier too.

I have a thyroid ultrasound tomorrow. I'm hoping for some answers within a week or two!

Bad Weather, Cool Boy

2011-01-19T23:53:00.002-06:00

Sometimes you just have to get outside! We needed fresh air even though it was damp and cold out, so yesterday and today we got out.

This pic reminds me of Brian at this age

Jackson loves pointing to the sky and finding airplanes and clouds.

Looking at an airplane

Jeremy made over

Stylin' in his Nike gear

Speed was the game! He had some serious energy to burn off

I like the comfy look he has going on here. He doesn't usually dress this baggy! His sweatshirt came in from the Children's Place (huge sale online right now) and it is a little big on him. It did shrink some in the dryer after he wore it yesterday. 3T! I can't believe I'm already buying 3T. Some of his long sleeved 2T stuff is already too small. Pants too, 24 months are already too small.

Originally, I couldn't find the white toboggan, so I gave him one of mine :) He never knew there were Disney princesses on the back Haha! I got a huge kick out of it. He probably wouldn't have minded anyway, but one day he might get me for it.

This last one I just have to throw in because I think it is too sweet.

We did a lot of resting on the past 4 day weekend!

I went into Publix today and promised myself I was only going to buy the really good specails with coupons, so that is what I did. It felt nice! These were all BOGO plus coupons that either came in the paper or I printed.

$2 with tax at Publix. Jack is going to love the yogurt especially!

I had to hit up Rite Aid too. The Proctor and Gamble promotion came at a perfect time, we needed to stock up. So this was a combo of P&G coupons, a gift card I earned from previous deals (that cost me nothing but tax) and then money back in register rewards.

$21 out of pocket, but I got $13 back. The diapers alone were $19.99 so I am happy with it!

Those were my deals today. I have a little more to do this week since I have to stock up while things are all free or close to free! Next week will be all new stuff so I have to get it while I can....every week...but it's fun. So the doctor has me on Meclizine and it takes me forever to get going once I wake up, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

28

2011-01-12T21:51:00.052-06:00

I laughed so hard the night of my birthday. I'm not sure what had gotten into Jackson, but he was in the mood to be a comedian, and that made my day. Jeremy didn't get home until around 4, but I had plenty of entertainment.

We chose Smokey Bones for dinner and I'm not sure why (we had a ten dollar off coupon and I'm cheap, that is why). Anyway, we should have chosen Carrabba's or Longhorn Steakhouse but I wasn't sure how kid friendly they are. We have never been to either one. Smokey Bones is okay...but nothing special. So while we are in the restaurant things were going fine until we were almost ready to leave. At that point it was time for Jackson's 3rd diaper of the night. I couldn't believe he had gone through 3 wet diapers, we only live 10 minutes from this place and I only packed 3. I was trying to lighten the load in the diaper bag (for once). So I grabbed the final diaper and wipes from the bag and off we go. While I'm changing him in the end stall on the little changing table the new diaper's tape and the left side of the diaper rips right off the side. Jackson knew it was bad and he took a time out from howling to say "oh frick". (I have to get him away from saying this word! I know it isn't a bad word but still, it is what it is. He has heard us all say it.) He always howls in public bathrooms because he likes the echos. Well at this point I had not realized we were totally out of diapers so I rigged Jack's diaper the best I could, while both of us were laughing, and went back out to get the bag from Jeremy.

We get back into the bathroom and I put Jack back on the table, and trash the diaper. Reach into the bag and realize great, we have no diapers left and I just tossed the last half diaper we have left into the trash can. I just looked at Jackson and started laughing and he glared back at me for a minute and started chuckling the cutest little laugh, and then he peed on both of us. At this point I'm glad the changing table was located within the handicap stall and not out near the sink like many are. I stood there debating on what to do with my pants less little boy and all I could do was laugh. On a bad day I probably would have cried. He laughed too but he was wanting down. I said a fast "Dear God please let there be a diaper under his extra change of clothes" and to my surprise there was a spare! Until then, I was thinking about stuffing his pants with paper towels to get him home, or going out into the dining area and looking for a baby his size and asking to borrow a diaper. That was a first.

My huge plant from Mom that I love

Up close before dinner

First ever flower cake from Dad! So pretty

I have been working on printing our blog book, and realized that I love the days that I went into more details about stuff. The memories I have are enhanced by the small things I have already forgotten. So warning: as you can tell, I'm making time and bringing the details back.

When we got home from dinner Jackson was like a mad man after my cake. He has started eating more, and I'm sure that contributed to his excitability, but he also has realized the he LOVES cake. Just like his mommy. It is my addiction, it haunts me at the grocery store and takes over my mind when it is in my house. So yes it is gone now and I think that we are all better off this way

I don't care if it is a girly wand, it has frosting on it

Sugar Silly

Making use of my crown

So, my 28th birthday was low key, a great day with my boy, and a great night with my boys. It is going to be a great year.

Arkansas Wrap Up

2011-01-11T22:05:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We had a nice time while we were home and as usual, time flew by for us! Maybe these pics will sum up our holidays....

Christmas with the McNairs

Logan (3 and a half) and Jackson (21 months) first cousins and too cute

The 3 little ones. Landen is the youngest he is 16 months I believe. Aunt Janie and Chasity are giving them a hand.

It is always a fun and exciting time at the McNair's! We had it early this year, and it was so nice to relax and not have to rush around. I love that there are 3 little boy cousins all within 3 years of each other. It has really been something watching them grow (at the speed of light). Jeremy's side has lots of boys, so it will be interesting to see who has the first spoiled rotten little girl!

At Garvan Gardens

Two years ago, while Jeremy was deployed and I was pregnant with Jackson, I went to Garvan Gardens for the first time with my family. I remember talking about the next time we came here, we would have a baby with us. I tried to imagine what he would look like and how I would be as a mom. I just couldn't imagine it! Words can not describe how much I under estimated the greatness that happened to me on March 20th 2009, and the happiness that he brings us every day! I was so excited to take him to see the lights for the first time! We skipped last year because we ran out of time, naturally....

Brian and Ashley with their hot chocolate

Brian and Grandma

Me and my hungry boy

Looking at the blue lights on the water with Grandpa

It was really cold, so we didn't make it through the entire place, but we still had fun. Jackson wanted to run all over the place and it isn't that kid friendly at times. Afterwards, we went to one of our favorite places: Buffalo Wild Wings!

Christmas in Sheridan was fun too! Brian actually got about 2 weeks to be home from Nashville, and we got about 2 weeks. We always do Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house and also at the Rec Center with the Davenport side of our family.

He knows what he is doing, and always says "oh wow!" when he opens a present

My family doesn't take much seriously, for example this is Brian and Ashley's entrance Christmas night as we went back to Grandma's to eat.

Mom, Jeremy, and Brian

Playing with Aunt Ash

At the Rec Center pulling Grandma by the hand

Our get together with the Davenport side

It was great seeing everyone that night, but we had to cut out early for Andrew's surprise 30th birthday party!

Jana is my best friend and she and Andrew have been in my life for over 10 years now! We couldn't miss the party.

They also invited us over for New Year's Eve and we had a blast singing karaoke!

Brian and Ashley

I didn't get many pictures because my flash died! I'm still learning how to do everything with my camera too, I have a long way to go.

Eric singing (Jeremy's brother)

Jeremy and Lola

We always have fun while we are home in Sheridan, and we are sad to leave every time. This time was especially hard and I'm not sure why. I think it is because we are so ready to get home and be closer to family and friends. Jackson is growing so fast, plus I miss my friends and family more than ever. It is so nice when you live close! There are nice things about moving around and we really do love where we are right now. It would be perfect if we could move our little area of land to Arkansas (and all the businesses we have grown to love while living in different states).

2010 was a great year for us. It started out rough (robbery in KY), but that led to us moving on post in January. We found out in March that we were moving to Ft Benning, left Kentucky in October, had a month to find a place and now here we are in Alabama! So we moved twice, traded in the car for the mountaineer, celebrated 3 years of marriage, Jackson's first birthday, Jeremy's 30th birthday, and my 27th, just to name a few. We touched down in Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, and Georgia.

We are hoping for a great 2011. I know it is going to be a fast year and trust me we are going to make the best out of where we are at! As soon as we get some warm weather, we are doing some sight seeing!

Subdivision Bandit

2010-12-09T01:00:00.001-06:00

That is exactly what I felt like as I rolled out of our driveway tonight headed to Publix. Something about the black toboggan, gloves and scarf made me feel extra sneaky haha! This is probably going to seem strange to a lot of people, but I have developed a hobby/job out of couponing and getting stuff for free (legally and encouraged I promise). About every other day I am coming home with my sacks full of things we need at prices I never knew were possible. It started out as a way to save some money for our family here and there, and turned into a pretty good reserve of toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, pasta, crescent rolls, coffee mate, red potatoes, and cereal, to name a few. Its not that I have THAT much stockpiled, and its not THAT simple to do, but it works for me. I won't bore you with too many details, especially since most of my blog readers are in Arkansas and unfortunately there isn't a Publix, Rite Aid, or CVS there that I know of...but I am hopeful that by the time we move home (IN 17 MONTHS HALLELUJAH!!) that at least one of those stores will open up near me. Anyway the basics of my tricks are:

~~~You may want to skip over this part if it doesn't interest you :)~~~~

*Double coupons (at Publix they double all up to $1, and it seems like Kroger does too?)

*Buy one get one free sales (most stores you don't have to buy 2 items, you can just buy one at half off
then use a coupon on it)

*Using a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon (all stores that I know of will allow one of each per item)
Ex. Target has Suave Shampoo on sale for .89. They offer a coupon on their website for .75 off any Suave product. There is a coupon in the paper for .75 off a Suave product. Use both coupons ($1.50 total) and you just made .61 cents and got free shampoo.

*Register rewards. Every week at Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid they have products listed that when purchased, you get money towards your next purchase. If you can match coupons in the paper, with store coupons, and get money back I say why not!

Ex. Crest toothpaste is 2.99 at Rite Aid. This week Crest (through Rite Aid) is giving $2 towards your next purchase when you buy Crest toothpaste. I have a $1 off crest coupon. So 2.99-1.00=1.99 out of pocket for me at first, but with my receipt prints up $2 towards my next purchase.

This is where you really rack up. Now you take that $2 and buy something else with it that has a reward, like Halls cough drops may be on sale for $2 but you get back $2. So you take your $2 that you earned, go put it towards the Halls cough drops (so you pay nothing) and you get another $2 back. This is just an example of course, and you can do much bigger transactions once you get comfortable with the system. Now every week I see what is free, I take my free money (register rewards) and buy what has more rewards, I roll it into the next week and only pay tax. Does this make sense?

*Mail in Rebates. I used to think they were a pain, but when you get something free and can submit for money back on top of free, I do it.

Those are the basics. It may sound like a lot of trouble, but once you learn how, it is easy. Start small! It took me a week or 2 to get comfortable with how coupons work, but now I can not walk into Wal Mart and throw things in the buggy like I used to. We still buy things we need of course, but I have decreased our grocery bill by about 75% and other things such as toiletries, paper towels, cleaning supplies by 90%. I'm loving it because it also frees up some money for other things we want! Oh and by the way, stores don't mind this at all! They get reimbursed by the manufacturer, so the more the merrier.

So what have I been up to lately in my "spare" time? Now you know! That and taking care of my loves and vertigo. I have been SO dizzy and it isn't getting better so I have to see a doctor before we head to Arkansas. My right ear is in pain so I know that is whats going on and I think I need help!

On to the important stuff!

Jackson made his first batch of cookies with me this weekend. We are just doing the simple ones until he is old enough to really help in the kitchen, in which case I too will "learn" how to make cookies from scratch. Maybe. Christmas cookies are just so cute so I got the ones with snowmen and Christmas trees, since he has started recognizing them everywhere and saying "snowmam and kreemusth-treeeeeee"

Chloe isn't too fond of Jackson's entertainment. The boy loves stickers.

They are still buddies though, she follows him everywhere or he chases her.

We have been spending quite a bit of our days indoors lately since it has gotten colder. I'm loving being with my baby, just hanging out in our pajamas and staying warm.

Dad got him this tool bench and set for Christmas, so he has been a little handy man this past week.

Tomorrow we are going to the General's house to see Santa!

Now what?

2010-12-02T23:26:00.000-06:00

One of Our Fall Pics

Our little buddy

Reading with Nana and Barney

Well we are here, settled, Thanksgiving is behind us and we have a little bit of time before we head HOME for Christmas (which I am so ready to hit the road, I would leave now for Arkansas if I could). It feels funny having a day with "nothing" to do! Amazon made it way too easy for me to Christmas shop today during Jackson's (shorter than ever)nap and I even had the stuff shipped to Mom's so I don't have to haul it from here. Nice! I started getting ready to head to Publix but that never happened. Good intentions I guess. That is fine with me though because we will just go tomorrow when Jeremy can go with us. Every time we grocery shop I wind up telling Jeremy that next time I'm going alone, but when next time rolls around no one wants to stay home so off we go! I assume that I could think better if I went alone :).

Jackson, on the other hand (literally) has wanted Mommy 100% of this day. Usually he will play fine for a little while or at least aggravate Chloe, but not today, not without me by his side. I'm not complaining at all, but it does make things such as laundry, dishes, and dinner a little bit more complicated. I'm wondering if this is a new "thing" or not. He has been so funny, I think I always say that, but it is true. His words are just precious and he can repeat anything you say. Right now he likes saying "Jackson's room" and he loves getting onto Chloe. He will tell her to hush and tell her no. It's cute. He also gently sat on her yesterday with his paci and juice and said go horsey. The look on her face was priceless!

Stats on our boy:

At 20 months he is 34 inches tall and 32 pounds. He is borderline 3T, but mostly 2T is still fitting him fine. Size 9 shoe.

Favorite things to eat are: Cheese, yogurt, broccoli, pizza, chicken nuggets or any other kind of chicken, tractor snacks, spaghetti, cinnamon toast crunch (only a little because it is so sweet).

He drinks plenty of milk and juice.
Counts to 12 and knows chunks of the alphabet.
Sleeps through almost every night for 10-12 hours and has a 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour nap every day around 2:00.
~~He is kind of a big deal around here, as you can probably tell and always will be!~~

I love our new place, however I would not mind being in Las Vegas or Hawaii or Disneyworld about now. My brother Brian is singing in Las Vegas this week (lucky).

At the Riverwalk last week with Brian

My great friend Autumn just moved to Hawaii (lucky and warm!) So we are going to Disneyworld. Not right now, but we have decided to go in March. I am so excited! We used to go every year and I haven't been since 2006 so it is very much time for us to go. Jackson will be tall enough to ride a lot of rides (accompanied) and Jeremy has never been! We decided to make it Jackson's 2nd birthday trip, but I think we will go in early March to avoid the Spring Break rush. Shades of Green is a military resort that has great deals and right now active duty families get a huge discount on park tickets! AND we are less than 400 miles from there. So, I have said this before but this time I mean it! We are going. Will it be stressful and tiring with a 2 year old? At times, but it will so be worth it.

Macy's Parade with Grandpa

So that is what is on my mind. We are ready for the weekend and ready for Christmas break! I am happily back into blogging now. I am so mad at myself for not keeping up. This is like my journal and helps me to document the memories we are making! In my defense we have been crazy busy and covered a lot of territory this past couple of months!

Gearing Up

2010-09-13T15:39:00.000-05:00

This week we have been preparing for a new kind of recreation! We have been talking about bicycling for awhile now, but the bikes were not in Kentucky. We finally went to Nashville last weekend to see Brian, and brought the bikes back with us. As you can see Jackson has been working extra hard on getting them ready for us to ride.

Yesterday was our first outing. I think we rode about 6 miles total, with a couple of good size hills! I am feeling it today, but not too bad. We were looking for a good deal on this bike trailer for little man, but we decided to go ahead and get it at Wal Mart yesterday so that we could get started. We have to wear helments when riding on post, so you know we were a funny looking bunch coming down the road!

Jackson actually loved it! he sat the entire time and enjoyed the scenery. In fact, he climbed in himself and tried to buckle himself in, he was ready to roll. I couldn't stop laughing while we were riding because it was too cute. The only thing that would make the ride easier would be a softer seat for my bike, for sure.

By the way, he normally only has his paci at nap and bedtime, but yesterday he found one in his room and was determined to keep it. After we leave Arkansas for Georgia, the fun begins as we try to break the habit!

We have been outside as much as possible lately, enjoying the mild weather! I just love this little outfit that Grandma got him.

Moments

2010-09-10T17:39:00.000-05:00

Tonight I had one of those moments where all I could do was smile :)

Of all the career paths in this world, all the hard work earning my degree, and everything I wanted to be when I grew up, tonight as I drenched a size 2T shirt with Stain remover all I can think is how lucky I am. I truly believe I have the best job in this world, and that is taking care of this little mess. If only time could stand still....

Lots more pics to post soon!