WW: Almost Perfect

He never poses like this when he is wearing a cute outfit. This picture would be perfect if he were at least wearing pants :)

Miss you always

8 years ago today I was in Troy, AL at a band competition. Yes, I was in the band. Well, the Colorguard/dance line anyway. We were at one of our biggest competitions of the year when we got the news. 4 of our friends were in a car accident on their way to see us compete.

I didn't understand why everyone was so upset. I mean, of course I was upset, but everyone was freaking out, crying and screaming. I didn't understand why. Part of it was shock, and part of it was that feeling that you have when you're 17. Nothing can happen to you, or your friends. I knew they were hurt, but I knew they would all be fine. They had to be, they were just kids. It never crossed my mind that any of them would die.

But 2 of them did.

We were on the bus headed home trying to make plans to go visit them in the hospital, when we got the news that Darrah, one of my very best friends in the world at that point, passed away. It finally hit me then, that I would never see her or talk to her again. The overwhelming feeling of loss overtook me and I wasn't myself for weeks afterwards. I guess I've really never been the same.

Erin, one of the survivors, wrote this today...
8 years and I still wonder why I'm here and you're not..I still see you in the scars on my arm and in the 17-year-olds I teach who have so much ahead of them like we did that day..I still miss our talks and wonder who you would be if you were still here today like you should be..and I still try to live my live like the gift that it is..

I miss them and I'll never forget them, especially Darrah. She was the one that I always turned to when I couldn't go to anyone else, the one I told everything to when I thought all of my other friends would think I was weird or stupid. She helped me through a hell of an identity crisis and she was the one who finally convinced me that Jason and I would be perfect together if I would just give him a chance.

I'll miss you always, always.

Overheard in the Coffee Shop

I'm staying with my family in Alabama while my husband is deployed and I have to go to the local coffee shop to use my computer. This coffee shop is right outside the army base and is usually filled with soldiers. Today I overheard one woman telling a soldier...

"Terrorists just aren't as nice as they used to be."

I'm sorry, did they used to be nice?

I swear he's not the mail man's baby

The comment that I get the most from friends and family about my son is that he looks just like my husband. And he does. I see a few of my features there too, but there's no doubt in my mind that he will be the spitting image of Jason.

Me: One of the moms at the library today said that Jackson looks just like me. It's obvious she has never met you! He looks way more like you than me.

Jason: I still don't see it.

Me: What?

Jason: I don't think he looks like me. I think he looks more like our old mail man.

Me: I think our old mail man was a mail lady.

Jason: That makes this even more awkward.

In other news, Jason is deployed. We're not sure how long he'll be gone, but we'll be home in Alabama until he gets back.

WW: Little Drummer

Jackson has a new obsession: our Rockband drums

More WW here and here.

FMM: Fave Fall Shows

What are some of your favorite Fall shows?

I am so excited because tonight is the premiere of: Gossip Girl! Yes I am a teenage girl at heart. I can't wait to see how Chuck and Blair are doing.

After that, One Tree Hill is back! I don't know how they are going to keep the show going without Lucas & Peyton though. They've always been the couple that I loved, the reason that I watched.

Other Fall shows that I love are Heroes & The Office- I can't wait to see Pam with a baby bump!

I did watch the Vampire Diaries premiere last week and it was pretty decent. I usually watch Grey's Anatomy too, but last season was just sucky (even though the season finale still made me cry like a baby), so we'll have to see.

What are your favorite shows?

I think my husband has a God complex

A few days ago we had this conversation:

Me: "If you could be any sort of supernatural being, what would you be?"

Jason: "God."


Then last night he said:
"I think I know what I'm going to do when I retire. Start a cult. Or become a Televangelist. It's the same thing really."

He thinks pretty highly of himself, doesn't he?

Morganville Vampires: Peer pressure sucks, so do vampires!

I just finished reading Glass Houses by Rachel Caine. It's about a girl, Claire, who goes off to college only to find out that the town she is in is run by vampires! Unlike Twilight, these vampires are actually scary. She ends up in an old house with 3 other outcasts as they try to figure out how to keep themselves out of trouble. Of course they get themselves in deep, and the story ends on such a huge cliffhanger that I immediately got on Amazon and ordered the rest of the series! (My local library only had the first one).

I've been using Swagbucks for awhile, and had redeemed my swagbucks for enough Amazon gift cards that I got all of the books for only 2 bucks! I'm very proud of myself for this one :) I can't wait to read the rest of them!

WW: Sleepyhead

My sister and her fiance spent the holiday weekend with us! It was so much fun. We went to the Catfish Festival on Sunday. It wore Jackson out apparently.

More WW's here, here, and here.

Paper Culture (Special Offer!)

I don't know if you've noticed, but I have a widget from JuiceBoxJungle up on my sidebar. It usually plays parenting videos if you click on it, but now JuiceBoxJungle has a brand new widget that lets you, among other things, send an e-card to a friend right from my blog. They also have a cool new sponsor, Paper Culture, a modern, eco-friendly premium stationary company that will actually address, message and mail your cards for free.

AND, Paper Culture is offering 30% off to my readers for a limited time! So check them out and use the promo code SAVE30NOW. This special offer ends Sept 30th.

Mama needs help

Jackson has been a cranky little booger these last few days. For some reason he has stopped wanting to drink anything. He won't take his bottle or sippy cup or even drink bottled water like he normally does. I've been trying to water down his food with Pedialyte, juice, and milk so that he gets more liquid, and I've been feeding him milk from an eyedropper. But I'm still worried that he's not getting enough fluids.

Does anyone have any ideas? What can I do?

WW: Monkey Opera

I took this video when we were at the zoo a few days ago. These certain kinds of monkeys (I forget what they're called) have these crazy voice boxes so they make a lot of weird sounds. They call it the monkey opera and you can hear them up to 5 miles away. One seriously sounds like a grown woman screaming. Jackson liked it so much that we just sat there and watched them for about 30 minutes.

Friend Makin Monday. On Tuesday.

1. Do you cook every night?
Heck no. I go in spurts. I'll cook every night for two or three weeks, then I won't cook for a month LOL.


2. What kind of laundry detergent do you use & why?
Gain. It just smells good.


3. Do you do laundry every day or loads at a time?
I usually wait a week and then do it all in one day.


4. How often do you eat out per week?
It just depends on how busy I am that week. Usually at least once or twice. Sometimes 3 or 4 times.


5. Where do you usually eat out?
McDonalds, Zaxbys, or we order Papa Johns. Or Fuji's, this Japanese hibachi place.


6. What is your favorite retail store?
Definitely Target.

7. What's your favorite thing to drink?
sweet tea though I usually try to stick to water


8. Do you take vitamins? What kind?
Yes, right now I'm taking an extra powerful multi-vitamin for dieters. It's supposed to make sure you're getting all of your nutrients while you're cutting calories.


9. What percentage of the household chores to you do?
99% Jason give Jackson a bath on the 4 nights a week that he isn't working overnight duty, and that's all he does here besides sleep LOL


10. Do your children do chores? {Or will they, did they, etc}
I can't wait until Jackson is old enough to vacuum.


11. Do you go to church?
Not unless I'm back home.

12. Do you have a housework schedule?
Nope.

13. Do you keep a working budget?
We try, we really do. We usually stick to a budget through the first week of the month. It goes downhill from there.

14. What do you do at night as a family?
We eat dinner together. When Jason is home we try to spend a few hours in the floor playing with Jackson together.


15. How do you prepare yourself for a new week?
Erm...my days really run together so I hardly notice when it's a new week. Sundays are my couponing days, if that counts.

16. What do your mornings look like?
Depends on the day. I try to get up and do something every morning with Jackson, whether it's taking him to the park or just grocery shopping, something to get out of the house.

17. What time do you get up in the mornings?
Whenever Jackson wakes me up. Usually between 6-8.

18. What time do you go to bed at night?
around 10. I'm usually exhausted but if I try to go to bed any earlier than that I just end up tossing and turning for awhile.

19. How do you manage all of the paperwork that floods into your household? {bills, school work, magazines, ads, etc}
There's not that much of it really, since most of our bills and stuff are paid online, we've stopped getting many paper bills. Most junk I throw away without even looking at it.

20. How do you keep your household organized? {calendars, charts, etc}
I've got lots of magnetic notepads for my refrigerator. One for grocery list, one for meal plans, one is a blank calendar for me to fill in our activities for the week.