Weekly Confessions

• I went to bed on Tuesday night at 6:45 and slept until 5:00 the next morning. It wasn't intentional. I started off taking a "nap" from 6:45 until 7, and then it progressed into not even taking the time to brush my teeth. Clearly I'm sleep deprived. Not having slept good in 4 months has more than caught up with me.



• Not brushing your teeth before bed will make you wake up thinking that you ate a dirty sock in your sleep.



• I made a big pot of chili on Tuesday in the crockpot. It's now Friday morning and I've yet to eat my first bite of it. I hear it's good, I just haven't had much of an appetite when it comes to heartburn inducing foods.



• I just finished the thank you notes for Jackson's birthday way back in August. There really is no excuse for my slacking, but I'm going to blame the fact that I have a baby, a 5 year old, a husband, work full-time outside the home and haven't slept all night in 4 months for my delay.



• Anderson is almost 4 months old and I haven't sent out his birth announcement yet. It's on my to do list. Hopefully it will be done sometime before his first birthday.

That's it for today. Do y'all have anything you need to confess?

Concerned Citizens Of America

Here's The Deal

It's 6:00 in the morning...

I have a sleeping baby on my chest...

A laptop on my lap...

It's pouring outside...

My umbrella is in the car...

And I have a killer headache.

Yay Wednesday! I'll catch up with y'all tomorrow!

The Rest Of The Pics

We got our pictures from our amazing photographer, Lydia Wolfe, today and I am thrilled with the pictures. She did such a good job, and I’m absolutely loving the black and white shots. The pics of the boys together didn’t work out great, but it definitely wasn’t Lydia’s fault for lack of trying. Somebody, ahem Jackson, didn’t want to be particularly cooperative after Anderson pooted on him! Oh well. I have plenty of other shots to work with, and I just spent way too much time on Shutterfly ordering pictures. Thanks Lydia! Y’all enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Y'all have a great day!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. So far 31 doesn't feel any different than 30. I had a good birthday weekend, despite not sleeping past 5:00 in the morning either day! I took the boys to the library and the zoo with me on Saturday since Jeremy had to work. It was different wrangling 2 kids by myself, but we managed pretty well! The weather was amazing, and we just couldn't spend the day inside. What fun is that?

Saturday night Mom came over to watch the boys while Jeremy and I went to dinner and then Sunday was church, church, lunch at Olive Garden and then more church. At least I have yummy leftovers for lunch today!

So that was my birthday weekend in a nutshell. Overall 31 has been pretty good to me. I hope y'all have a great day!

Weekly Confessions

• It’s impossible to hear the song “Shake Your Booty” and not, you know, shake your booty. I learned this when I was driving the other day.


• I turn 31 on Sunday. I plan on celebrating by spending the entire church time in nursery and then heading to a 3 hour meeting that afternoon. Fun times, right?


• Why in the world do big birds just sit in the middle of the road? I travel 3 days a week, and the last thing I want to do is hit a buzzard because I’m playing chicken with them.


• I’ve been rather intrigued by some of the people that are in the running for the Republican nomination. I’m still thinking about throwing my name in the hat. I could probably get more votes than Obama right now!


• I don’t handle change well at all, and the new Facebook is worse than the terrible, awful from The Help. That is all.

Y’all have a great weekend!

It's Almost Like Clockwork

I've been involved in helping to coordinate our church nursery for several years now. The way we do it at our church is that we have 5 ladies who each coordinate their Sunday morning helpers back in the nursery, and then 1 person who is over the 5 ladies. Nice and complicated, right? My sister recently was asked to take over 4th Sunday mornings, and I've been trying to help her get all the workers that she needs. It's been rather stressful trying to get all the classes filled, and Jeremy and I were discussing the situation the other day:

Jeremy: "So Kellyn is the 4th Sunday morning coordinator?"
Me: "Yes, and she has only 4 teachers right now, and she needs at least 8."
Jeremy: "Well, she only needs help like 4 times a year then, right?"
Me: (Insert crickets chirping)
Jeremy: "I said that out loud didn't I?"
Me: "Yup."

Next thing I know he'll be thinking that there are 5 days in a week!

My Handsome Boys

We had Anderson’s 3 month photo shoot on Friday night and our amazing photographer Lydia got some wonderful shots. There aren’t so many of the boys together because Jackson’s patience was just about gone, and then Anderson had to go seal the deal by pooting on Jackson’s leg one too many times. At that point we were done! Enjoy the pics of a few of our proofs!

Jacksonisms

Lately it seems as though Jackson is saying some of the funniest stuff. Half the time I don't think he realizes how funny he is, but he never ceases to amuse Jeremy and I. Here are a few examples of our little comedian!

Jackson: "Mama, can we spend some more time walking around Walmart?"
Me: "By 'spend time' do you mean 'spend money'?"
Jackson: "Yeah, pretty much!"

"How about this...you go hide in my bathroom and then I'll come find you. Does that sound like a good idea?"

"I'm 5 now. I think I'm ready for facebook."

"I'm not going to take pictures with Anderson any more if he poots on me one more time!"

"Awkward!"

"Anderson is cute, but his dirty diapers stink!"

"I'm student of the week and I get to sit at the student of the week table. I've made a pattern of who is going to sit with me at lunch: Jace, John Michael, Jace, John Michael and Jace. I'm good at this pattern stuff!"

Y'all have a great day!

The Cutest Old People Ever!

And they totally remind me of some people that I know!!!

Ma Ingalls Would Be So Proud Of Me…

A few weeks ago I told y’all that I was trying my hand at making my own laundry detergent. We’ve been a liquid Purex Free and Clear family for as long as I can remember. With Jackson’s eczema problems, I’ve always had to keep things with no dyes or perfumes, and the Purex seems to work pretty well for us. When Anderson joined the family I noticed an issue in the laundry department; it never ends!

Seriously, y’all, I can wash two loads of laundry a day. It is never ending, especially with bibs and burp clothes. With the bottle of Purex running almost $6, I was intrigued when a friend from work (Hi Susan!) told me that she was making her own laundry detergent and that she loved it. I got the recipe from her, and I gave it a shot. Her recipe was for powdered detergent, which I’ve never used, but it was easy enough to make and very cheap, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose. Here goes!

1 cup Borax

1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Not to be confused with baking soda)

1 bar of soap finely grated.

I used our regular bar of Dove unscented soap, even though I had read that it was a “beauty bar” and not a bar of soap. Jackson’s skin does fine with it, so I wanted to try it out first. Most people use Ivory.

I bought a cheap cheese grater and grated the entire bar of soap as finely as I could. I mixed the soap shavings with the Borax and Washing Soda in a container and then ran the entire mixture through my Magic Bullet. Don’t run the soap through the food processor or magic bullet unless it is mixed with the borax and washing soda. Susan learned the hard way that it does nothing other than make the soap clump together. I learned from her mistake!

When you get the mixture processed enough, it will look exactly like store bought powdered detergent. It only takes 1-2 tablespoons of powdered mix per load, and I also add a bit of Oxyclean because we always have something that is stained. The soap will not bubble up like store bought detergent, but it will definitely clean your clothes. I have been super pleased with the detergent, except for a few times when I found oily spots on some of Anderson’s onesies. I think it’s because Dove soap has oils in it that Ivory and other bar soaps don’t have (and I had been warned about using Dove), so I’m pretty sure that’s what is happening. I’ve still got plenty of my first batch made, so I’m going to try it again when I’m finished with a bar of Ivory soap and see how I like that. Until then I’m washing my towels, bib and burp clothes with the homemade stuff, and the clothes with the store bought stuff since I had some left over.

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving it a try. It hasn’t caused any problems with Jackson’s skin, and we’ve used it for several weeks. The ingredients cost me around $7, and I can make at least 4 or 5 more batches before I run out. And it only took about 5 minutes to put the stuff together!

So there you go! If you give it a try let me know what you think. Y’all have a great day!

Amy's Accent Vlog

Since everyone else in the entire blogosphere it seems is doing the Accent vlogs, I had to jump on board since it looked like fun. So here goes!

If you can't see the video, try this link.

If you want to follow along or do the Accent Vlog yourself, here are the words/questions: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

My Vlog In Review:
1. Yes, I know I speak way too fast. Or perhaps you just think too slow. Just a thought.
2. Yes, I'm totally aware that I say "spittin image." I do it all the time.
3. I could say, "y'all" 800 times a day and never get tired of it.
4. I definitely need to do this video with Jackson, beause oh my word, the child has a major southern accent.
5. I know that at times my accent is thicker than others, but Jeremy's family (from southern Mississippi) say that I sound like I'm from up north. I bet all y'all Yankees love that!
6. Please don't hate me if you drink "pop" or "soda." I just think "Coke" sounds so much better.
7. I completely forgot about Anderson when I talked about Jackson's grandparents. It's funny how my 2 kids would share grandparents, right?

So what do you think? Do I have an accent or say things completely different than you? Did you do an accent vlog? If so, I would love it if you would post a link so I can go check it out. I hope y'all have a great day!

We Remember…

It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since the attack on September 11, 2001. I told you before where I was on that fateful day, but it’s so hard to not relive the events that took place on a day that I will never forget.

As the anniversary has come up again I have such a heavy heart. I’ve not watched much of the coverage replaying the attacks this year, mostly because I don’t know how to explain it to Jackson if he were to walk into the room. I just can’t wrap my mind around trying to explain the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen to a five year old, and I don’t dare turn on the news for fear that he’ll see the horror of that day. I know that one day we’ll talk about what happened, but for now I’m just not near ready to cross that bridge.

In the ten years that have passed much has changed in my life. I’ve gotten married, finished college, had 2 kids, 5 jobs, bought a house and got a dog. My heart is heavy for those that lost their lives, and those that lost loved ones on that tragic day, and for all the things that they were never able to experience because of an act of war. I pray that God grants our country safety in light of the new terror threats, and I pray for peace for those affected by September 11, 2001.

We Remember…

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

I Honestly Want To Know

I’ve made no bones about the fact that, politically speaking, I’m about as conservative as one can be. I’ve told you about my top 5 political people that I would love to meet, I wrote an open letter to President Obama, and I even confessed my crush on George W. Bush. I’m pretty forthcoming about my conservative stance, and I’ve even been known to delete some extreme liberals from my Facebook page during election times because their status updates were ticking me off.

With that being said, I’m just dying to know if there are any liberals reading out there in bloggy land that can help me understand where y’all are coming from:

1. If you voted for Obama in 2008, are you happy with the job he has done?

2. Will you vote for Obama again? Why or why not?

3. In your opinion, how has Obama changed this county for the better?

4. How do you feel the economy has done since 2008?

I’m not trying to stir up a hornets nest, or maybe I am. I guess I’m just baffled as to why people supported him in the first place, and why people continue to support him when our entire country is circling the drain. You definitely won’t change my opinion of Obama, and the fact that I’m counting down 425 more days until we can throw the guy out of office proves that. However, if I happen to have a liberal reader out there that wants to share their viewpoint, I’m open to hearing it. Consider it a one time opportunity!

Have a great weekend, y’all!

I’m The Proud Owner Of A 3 Month Old!

Anderson turned 3 months old on Wednesday. Where, may I ask you, has time gone? I know I’m biased, but I think Anderson’s just about the cutest thing since his big brother!

We have been majorly blessed with such a sweet and easy going baby, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for my baby boy.

Read more about Anderson at his blog, Every 5 Days, where I post a picture of him every 5 days, hence the name! Have a great day y’all!

It's Almost Like I'm Trying To Speak English

Now that Jackson is in kindergarten I realize that he's going to hear lots of words that I probably don't want my five year old repeating. This was the case the other day after school:

Jackson: "Mama, is 'dang it' a bad word?"
Me: "Yes, it's a bad word, and it's not something I want you saying."
Jackson: "So I'm not supposed to say 'dang it'?
Me: "No. Now quit saying it."
Jackson: "Okay. I won't say 'dang it' anymore."
Me: "Jackson. Stop. Saying. It."
Jackson: "But I'm not saying 'dang it' right now. I'm not going to say 'dang it' ever again. Is that good Mama? Is it good for me not to say 'dang it' anymore? Since 'dang it' isn't a good word I'm not going to say it."
Me: "I give up. Go play with your brother."

Seriously, this parenting stuff needs a manual.

In Honor Of Labor Day

I got this meme from We Are That Family, and in honor of labor day, I just had to share. Although I don’t get a day off of work for this kind of labor day, it’s still so completely worth it! I hope you enjoy, and I would love it if you would leave me a comment with your answers!

How long were your labors?

Jackson: 6 hours of labor with 10 minutes of pushing.

Anderson: 4 hours of labor with 5 minutes of pushing. Here is Anderson’s birth story.

How did you know you were in labor?

Jackson: I was induced a week early, so I technically didn’t go into labor until the pitocin was kicked on, although I was dilated 4 cm for almost a month before he arrived.

Anderson: I was scheduled for an induction and my blood pressure started to go up. I was induced 1 day early, and I was dilated 3 cm for 3 weeks.

Where did you deliver?

In a hospital bed. Like a normal person.

Drugs?

Uhhh, yeah! Epidurals are a gift from God! With Anderson I was given a “perfect epidural” because I still had complete control and movement, just with no pain. It was amazing!

C-section?

Thankfully,no.

Who delivered?

Both Jackson and Anderson were delivered by Dr. Lawhon, as well as my nephew Luke and several of the kids at our church. I seriously love that man! How can you not love someone who takes such good care of you, brings your child into the world, and honestly cares about you and your family? He is an amazing doctor!

How about you? What are your numbers?

Weekly Confessions

• I was filling up our van the other day and I had an entire conversation in my head about what I would tell President Obama if I was given the chance. It pretty much started out with, “I hope you like all the vacations you’ve had”, which led into some rants about gas prices and how I don’t remember the last time we actually filled our van up all the way because gas is so expensive and ended with “I can’t wait until you are filing for unemployment benefits.”



• Our new couch and loveseat are amazing! They are a soft, almost velvet like, material and I just can’t stop myself from petting my couch. Yes, you read that right. I’ve been petting my couch.



• I ate cheese dip from Moe’s for dinner Thursday night. They have the best corn salsa in the world. When it’s mixed with the best queso dip in the world, you have like this awesome trifecta of queso, corn and jalapenos that just can’t be beat.



• We are going to the lake on Saturday. I’m so excited about taking Anderson on his first boat ride. I’m sure he’s going to love it! Jeremy is thrilled that we picked the first Saturday of college football season to go! I figure I can send him inside with Anderson when it’s time for his naps and Jeremy and veg out and watch the games for a little while. Two birds…one stone!



• I made my own homemade laundry soap tonight with a recipe a friend gave me. It took only 5 minutes, costs practically nothing to make, and you only use 1 tablespoon per load. I figure I’ll get about 60 loads of clothes cleaned for about $2.  I’ll let you know if a few days if I like the way the clothes are getting cleaned.

That’s all for today. Hope y’all have a great weekend and super Labor Day Holiday!