Funny for Parents

DJ found this in the paper this morning. I don't know how many times we have done this when Hannah was with a babysitter! You may have to click on the picture to see the whole comic. Parents Enjoy!

A Break Through

This morning started off a little rough with Hannah. She wanted to eat her cereal in the living room while watching the "Beebops" (Doodlebops) and I wouldn't let her. She doesn't get to do it often and I didn't want the mess today. So I said no! She started throwing a fit that lasted for 20 minutes. I am talking a "throw my body on the floor under mom's feet everywhere she goes" fit. I had enough. DJ was home and he didn't know what to do about it either. I remembered Nitzia telling me about how Veronica had to put Caleb in the corner. I decided that spankings were not working so I would try that. I knew it was going to be a battle for the first time! It was. For the next 20 minutes I had to keep putting her back and also to make her actually stand. She wanted to throw herself down on the floor as she usually does during a fit. I finally decided that if she was in the corner (however she put herself) then that was progress and we would latter enforce the standing with the nose facing the wall. So she started to stay and eventually started to stand facing us. However, she crying excessively. I didn't get her out until she calmed down. It worked!!! She calmed down and I went to get her and explained why she was in the corner and how she needed to act so she didn't have to go back. It worked!!! The next time she starts one of her fits I am going to use the corner.

Back to the Gym

Well, I have started going back to the gym (finally), and for two reasons: my health and to help control the anxiety. I am also going so I can look good for my vacation in May. We are planning a cruise to the Bahamas with some friends from Florida. I have to wear a swimsuit at some point, so it will be important (for me) to look good while doing so. My goal is to lose just a little at a time and to have fun while doing it! I need to establish a routine and a steady weight loss program. So far I have enjoyed a variety of aerobic classes. They have been working too. I am sore all over my body! Today Hannah and I went to a play date (thanks for having us Ashley) and climbing the stairs was painful. But the pain is worth it, and it is motivation to not eat cookies and sweets the holiday season. Now that you all know, you can keep me accountable.

A New Jackson Tradition

I love being creative around the Holidays. Since my family didn't really have many traditions, I wanted to start some with my family now that we have Hannah. This year I wanted to do a gingerbread house. So I bough one of the kits for DJ, Hannah and I to decorated together! I decided that it would be easier to get a house that was already together since Hannah is so young. I had fun. Hannah loved to eat the candy. DJ didn't like it as much, but put up with me and Hannah for the sake of starting a tradition. Here is our finished product (laugh all you want, I know it looks silly)! Sorry, the pics are blurry!

1) The finished house. 2) The front side

1) One of the sides. 2) Hannah after the candy

The First Offence!

Well, up till now I have been able to say that my daughter hasn't messed with the presents or the Christmas tree. But the other day, she decided while Mama was on the computer she (1) would see what she is getting for Christmas this year and (2) write a note to Santa asking for all the things she couldn't find under the tree (on her legs and belly)!

The evidence:

Her Cousins Spiderman hat and gloves (notice the pen in the middle)

The "letter to Santa" saying she has been good all year long!

A Thanksgiving Day

My Family

Sean, Amanda and Haley (my step-brother and his family, they were the ones having trouble having a baby. Just look at her now!)

Matt, DJ and Micheal

Family at my Dad's house

Gi Gi (my grandmother) and Haley Grace

This year we spent time with both sides of our family. First we went to DJ's parents house to spend time there with his parents and sister's family. We had lunch at 11:30 and had to leave immediately after. We then went to my parents house and ate at 2:00 there. Normally I don't like doing this and we didn't get to spend much time at his parents house. This year my parents had family come in from Texas and DJ's mom had to work everyday that week, even Thanksgiving afternoon. So, it was important that we made it to both dinners. And we did. We didn't really get to spend much time at DJ's parents, but they understood. We still had a good time and the girls, Hannah and her cousin Iva, got to play together. So it all worked out there. Now at my dad's house there were a lot kids for Hannah to play with. She had a great time! My grandmother came too. She is getting old and I am not sure how much longer she will be around, so it was good to see her. In all the craziness, we had smoked turkey and ham and all the fixings. And for dessert we had 7-Up cake, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, Carmel apple cheese pie, and more. It was soooo GOOD! Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving too!

Finished

Well, I am proud to announce I have finished most of my Christmas decorations. I could still tinker with a few things, but I am not concerned about it. It has taken me since Nov. 6th to get all that I have done. It is much harder watching your child, cleaning, blogging and everything else I do while trying to decorate your entire house. But I am done for the most part and have enjoyed every minute of it.

On another thought, I have also finished my last month of birth control. We are going to start trying for another soon. But I am excited to try the "no birth control" mood. I am hoping I will be in a better mood and better off without it! Pray!!!

Catching my breath...

Well, this last month has been go go go for me. I have finally stopped to catch my breath. I decided that I would decorate for Christmas. I know it is really too early. But I love this season. I get in a mood that only Christmas brings out. A good mood! DJ said to me just last night, "you've been so nice lately...I hope it doesn't go away." Isn't that so sad. I guess since I have been so busy with life, that I have forgotten to take a breather and love my husband in a "nice" way. I am glad that I started to decorate, and so is my husband. My house and mood is much nicer and cheerful. So, if you need to stop and take a breather, I suggest doing something that makes you smile. Even if it is decorating too early!

The Biker Dude and The Catapiller

As most of you know, Hannah would have nothing to do with her Halloween costume. So, I figured we would not be able to go trick or treating this year. :( Well, I finally decided I was going to torture my daughter for 10 minutes to get a picture at least. After a head but to my jaw, a pinch and bite later, Hannah was in her costume. She wasn't happy about it at all...until she found out that she was going to get candy! Then it was on. Every house on the street with a light on was in trouble. She and DJ had a blast going around. Hannah loved the attention and candy. DJ had dressed up for a work contest as a biker man. He won. Can you picture him with full leather and a due rag with a braided ponytail? Well, here is a picture if you imagination comes up short!

The Zoo

Here lately Hannah has been naming animals and their sounds. So we decided it was time for a zoo trip. Hannah had a lot of fun. We started out with the gorillas. Hannah called them "unkey". We got to see the baby gorilla. That was neat. Almost all the big animals were out for us to see and the weather was great. We will have to go back soon.

1. DJ and Hannah in front of the giraffe.

2. Lion. You can see Hannah and DJ in the glass.

3. Elephant sitting on ground. She was doing tricks for everyone.

4. Baby Gorilla and Mommy playing

The Doodlebops Concert

Hannah LOVES watching the Doodlebops on Disney in the mornings. So, I bought tickets to take her to see them live. We wont mention how much the tickets (for 3) cost. But it was worth every penny spent! At first, Hannah wasn't sure what to think. She looked confused for about 5 minutes. DJ held her at first, then we put her down in front of her seat and she went crazy. She started moving and dancing in every direction her little body would allow. I have never seen her this excited about something. Now let me set an image in your mind. Hannah will start dancing to any music she hears. Even if it is just a commercial that come on TV. So I figured she would dance at the concert like she does when she watches them on TV. I never thought she would turn into a crazy dancing toddler. It was so funny to watch. Needless to say, she had a blast. DJ and I didn't mind it too much either, since we knew she was enjoying herself.

Rooney, Dee Dee, and Moe Doodle.

Hannah dancing and clapping.

My Little Secretary

Hannah, showing mommy her teeth!

Hannah loves to sit in my lap when I am on the computer! Most of all she wants to play with the mouse. It drives me crazy sometimes. I will be reading something good and then all of a sudden the page just starts to move in uncontrollable motions. And it doesn't take me long to realize that Hannah has the mouse in her hands! You think you can use the computer with the baby in your lap and everything will work out fine. Nope, not with Hannah! So I decided to let her play on the computer for once...without sitting in my lap. I showed her if she touched the keyboard that it makes thing appear on the screen. She loved that! She spent about 5 minutes playing with the keyboard and then got bored with it. That was all she wanted to do!

Walgreen's Bowling Party

DJ invited his co-workers to go bowling. He wanted to get to know them better without the stress of a work environment. We had a great turn out and lots of kids. Some of us were great bowlers and some of us not so. I did decent and DJ did great as usual. Hannah bowled a 75 on her second game! (Better than my first game!) But she had some help from Daddy and the metal frame. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed the Hogs game in the background. Unfortunately the Hogs didn't win, but we had a good time regardless.

Hannah's First Haircut

Hannah has always had a lot of hair. She has the cutest little curls that sometimes are there and sometimes are not. (every girls dream) Here lately I have been talking about getting her hair cut, but didn't really want to do it since I didn't want her to have bangs or to lose the curls. Through much debate I finally decided to go a head and have it cut. DJ has been using the same stylist, Susie, since he was 14. I have used her a couple of times too. Naturally we decided to take Hannah to her for her First Haircut. Hannah didn't like it too much when we sat her down in the big chair by herself. So I sat down with her and proceeded to have her hair cut. It was all I could do to not cry! It was much harder than I thought. DJ recorded the whole event. It went well!! Hannah let Susie cut her hair without much of a problem. Of course her distraction helped. Susie has this dancing frog that sings songs. Hannah loved it and held it the whole time, repressing the button after every song. And now that she finally has her hair cut, you can't even tell a difference! On the other hand, I decided to cut my hair too. It is short! I am not used to having short hair since DJ likes it long (and so do I). But I was ready for a change. I decided to just let Susie do what she wanted (with a few restrictions). And it turned out cute. I really like it. I don't have a very good picture of it yet, so you will just have to wait till you see me or until I get a photo. But I have one of Hannah!

Football and Friends

Saturday we had some friends over to watch the Razorback game with us. It was a lot of fun. We ended up having 5 couples over with their children and then the three of us too. I cant think of a better way to watch a Southern tradition. We had friends, pizza and desserts, Razorback Football and the big screen. What more do you need? The kids all enjoyed playing together. All the guys talk sports stuff and all the ladies talked girl and mommy stuff. Even though most of the kids bed times were before half time, they all made it through most of the game. When they started getting sleepy, they just hung out with their parents. Other than the game, a big hit for the night was just being able to visit with other couples. I know most of them were at the fellowship on Friday, but we were all split up and all busy trying to get the points for the hunt. I was able to just visit yesterday without trying to race around town. That is what I enjoyed the most. I watched just a little of the game, until the end. And we wont go there!!! :(

Hannah clapping when the Razorbacks scored!

DJ and Hannah hoping for a win!

Video Scavenger Hunt Fellowship

The Sunday School Class had a fellowship on Friday. We broke into 3 teams and did a video scavenger hunt. It was a lot of fun. The rules were all laid out and the items on the list were assigned a set amount of points and the object was to do as much as you can while attaining the most points. My team created the name "The Geyer Springs Juvenile Delinquents." The GSJD team consisted of the Gonzales', the Shelby's, the Jackson's (us), and the David's. John Paul and DJ took over the mapping and planning of our night. They lead us all over Bryant. We were at Wal-Mart, Lows, restaurants, gas stations and the last stop was at Burger King. There we all climbed up the play equipment and came down the slide for 20 pts. It was a lot of fun! I was so excited about the whole night that I didn't realized I injured myself. It must have happened at Burger King. I now have a very colorful and bruised knee. (picture below) We all meet back at the church and had dessert while watching the videos of all the teams. There was some very funny stunts by all the teams. The best one for me was another teams member ate a chip off someones table at a restaurant without them knowing a head of time. The people at the table were in shock which made for a very funny picture. It was so fun to visit with people I didn't know as well and some I did. I had a great time with my group too! Thanks team!!! In the end though it finally came down to who had the most points. I guess my battle scars are worth the effort I put forth, our team had the most points. It was a very close race!! Thanks to Amber and Amy for putting the fellowship together. We will have to do it again next year!

Driveway Fun

I bought Hannah some sidewalk chalk the other day. She likes to color on paper so I thought she would also like to color on the drive way too! On Friday DJ took her outside to decorated the concrete. They had a lot of fun. Hannah was more interested in the box than actually drawing on the driveway. The mistake we made was letting her do this right before our fellowship. So we had to change clothes and clean up a little before we left. But they had a great time!

My House The Monster...

This blog is dedicated to all the mom's (and dad's) who keep their house neat and tidy.

I have not always kept my house clean. There was a time that I would be embarrassed if I had an unexpected guest. At the time, I felt overwhelmed by the house chores it took to keep my house neat and tidy. It took lots of therapy and Flylady to banish my fears and keep my house in an orderly manner. I am proud of myself. (And the fact that I can tell you this now!) For a month and a half I have kept my house neat and tidy. This is a big deal to DJ. It is one of his Love Languages. Therefore, it is important to me to keep it this way. The last week I have adjusted to having a puppy AND a clean house. That was like a speed bump in my new routine, but I have it under control now. Again, I am proud of myself!

Then the unthinkable happened. I got sick. Not just a cold, but a fever, coughing, headache sinus infection. For two days, it took all I had just to keep Hannah safe and fed, and the puppy from driving me crazy (with few accidents). Needless to say, housework was not on my priority list. I thought about taking a picture to show you, but I would be too embarrassed. So I will give you a brief description of the kitchen alone: two dishwasher loads of dishes, a dirty dinning table, and enough trash to fill half of the trash can! I know!! Bad!!! Thankfully DJ was home all day Tuesday to keep and eye on Hannah so I could recoup. He also cleaned the living room and bedroom. Big Help, Thank you DJ!! I am picky about how my kitchen is cleaned, so I have asked DJ in the past to leave it up to me to do the kitchen. Now that I am feeling much better (antibiotics) I tackled the kitchen monster and other chores today. I got a lot accomplished in one day. Once again, I am proud of myself. I know with time, I will be able to keep my house clean and not even have to think about it. But for now I am, as my therapist likes to say, taking baby steps!

If any of you have ever felt overwhelmed by house work, try www.flylady.com. You will be amazed at what you can do in just 15 minutes!

Fun time!

Hannah playing with Lexi

One tired puppy!

Well the last couple of days have been gloomy for me since I have been under the weather. I have a sinus infection. Today was a lot better though. I am still considered contagious until tomorrow so we have been playing a lot in the house. Hannah has gotten a little crazy due to being house bound! The top picture is of Hannah playing under our coffee table. That is just the start. She has had Lexi on the go all week and has been watching so much "tee tee" (TV). I have been letting her since I haven't felt very good. Her favorite show (the only one she will watch now) is the Doodlebops on Disney. She is addicted to this show. Last night I was in the kitchen and she stood in front of me and pushed me towards the living room yelling "tee tee." She was a little bossy with the whole jester. So, today we have been controlling the amount of TV she gets to watch. We are going to take her to see the Doodlebops in October when they come to Little Rock. It is unfortunately on the same day as an all girls sleep over that I wanted to attend. Maybe I can come late...We'll see! The picture of Lexi is after they had played all day. She was so tired she fell asleep playing with her own toys.

The Last Two Weeks

OK, so I am not as good as the blogging professionals. I have waited too long to get on here. To catch up, here is a recall of the last two weeks.

The Fence

We decided to get a privacy fence put up around the backyard to protect Hannah. A family friend, Kerry, has been working on it for the last two weeks. I am so tired of it taking so long, but I know that he is doing his best. You see, he works full time during the week and comes over for a couple of hours after working and on the weekends. So, it has taken some time. It should be finished by the end of the weekend. I HOPE!

The Dog

The other thing that has kept my attention (besides Hannah) this last week is our new puppy. I have been wanting a dog for a while. I originally wanted to adopt an adult Golden Retriever from a rescue. I didn't want to house break a puppy. We thought it would make a great pet. However, the more we thought about it we decided not to get a dog at all. The desire to have a pet just didn't go away however. So, I convinced DJ again to get a dog. This time I decided to get a puppy that will be raised with Hannah. A big, adult dog is so unreliable if you don't know their history. I didn't want to get a dog that didn't fit in with our family (and children). We decided on a miniature Schnauzer. Her name is Lexi. She is the sweetest dog and has done pretty well with potty training. She is almost 9 weeks old and is catching on quickly. Hannah just loves her and they like to play with each other. The only problem we have encountered is when Lexi gets a little hyper and wants to chew on fingers and toes. But I am confident with time that can be broken.

The Air Conditioner

Today was not a very hot day, compared to last month. However, it did warm up quick. And today our thermostat for our air conditioner broke. The house is not even a year old, so things should not be braking like they have. We had no cool air in the house for about 6 hours. The temperature is normally set on 73 or 74. It reached 86 degrees in the house until the thermostat was replaced. I as actually sweating while watching TV. I hadn't done anything to make me perspire. So, it was HOT. But, not it is back to its comfortable temp of 73. I feel bad for the people that don't have air conditioners to keep them cool in the hot summer days. We are so blessed.

Every Girl Has Done It...

Every girl has done it! You're window shopping with no intentions of buying anything until see the one item you must have...the perfect pair of shoes! Admit it, you've done it too!

Well, my story starts on the sunny day of window shopping. One quick stop before the grocery store (without Hannah). You would think that going to Wal-mart without a child would be enough to make me content. NO! I had to stop by Kohl's too. And of course I found my way to the shoe department. I am not a big fan of their shoes, but I was looking for a cute pair of plain black heels for a new pair of pants I bought for my birthday. To my amazement, I found a pair I liked. I tried the pair on and convinced myself that they were the perfect pair of shoes for my new outfit. I also thought to myself some excuses to tell DJ why I needed this pair (one of many). I finally bought the pair of shoes and made my way to the grocery store and then home. DJ didn't care too much since I warned him before I left that I needed a new pair of black shoes.

Well, it has been 1 1/2 weeks since and I still haven't worn the outfit (or the shoes). So I got them out of the box and tried them on with the pants to see how they would look. I hated them! I have decided to order some different ones and return these! In the process of ordering some, Hannah found the ones I wanted to return. She put them on and made her way to the living room to dance and play. Very cute, so I got my camera...

It is funny how one minute you think you have found the perfect shoe and the next you hate them. I am glad Hannah made some use of them before they go back to the store!

The Wonder Place

I took Hannah to The Wonder Place with some friends from church and their kids. Hannah had a lot of fun. She was a little cranky this morning, but overall she had a good time. She played with the water at the water station, slide down the slid a couple of times, and played the piano. She also played doctor to the oversize stuffed "puppy." She tried to carry it around but it was too big for her! So we settled on just giving it a hug. She explored her mommy's line of work with fake x-rays. I was so proud!! We also had fun playing with the food at the River Market. Hannah liked the cash register the most. There was a good turn out of people that came. It was nice to get to talk to the other adults while the kids played. However, there was a lot of times that I had to help Hannah with something. In her mind she is just as big as all the other kids. However, she is still a little small to be doing some stuff by her self. The Wonder Place has a nice set up for big and small kids. It accommodates for both and Hannah really enjoyed playing there. It was unfortunate that DJ wasn't there to see her. He needed a break since he watched her most of the time last night at Amber and Randy's. So he enjoyed the quite house to himself this morning before going to work. Maybe next time he will get to go too!

My First Blog

My first blog, wow! I figure this is a good way to keep in touch with all my friends and family. I have converted from MySpace! This is much easier and the layout is much nicer than MySpace. So, I have a beautiful daughter named Hannah and a wonderful husband named DJ. They are the world to me. DJ is so good to me. He puts up with all of me and that says a lot since there is a lot to put up with! I love staying home with my daughter. She amazes me everyday. I love to hear her say new words and phrases. She is starting to repeat animal sounds. It is so cute to hear. Someday I will go back to work full time. For now, I will spend my time with the best thing in the world, Hannah!