I Need Vegas Help!!!

Our trip to Vegas is 16 days away and I still have no clue what to do when we are there. I’m such a type A person, and I there’s not much spontaneity in these bones. I’m the person that goes on a trip with a manila folder packed with attractions, restaurants, coupons, maps, and whatever else will make the trip go as smoothly as possible. As of now, because there is a corporate travel agent involved, I don’t even know when our flights are.

It’s.Killing.Me. Here’s what I do know:

• We are staying at the Paris hotel.

• We definitely want to see the Hoover dam.
• Jeremy wants to see a David Copperfield magic show.
• I want to play $20 on a roulette table.
• We want to see the Bellagio fountains and the famous Vegas sign.
• And I definitely need a spray tan before we go because y’all I’ve hit a new level of pasty.

Here’s where I need help from y’all that have been to Vegas before:

1. Any restaurant or show recommendations?

2. Do we rent a car to go to the Hoover dam, or take a dam tour bus to the dam tour? (I just had to do it!)

3. Is it worth it going to the top of the Eiffel tower or the Stratosphere for the views?

4. Anything you recommend doing (or not doing) while we are there?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer!!!

My Evolution of Parenting

Once upon a time, before I had Jackson, I had grand illusions of parenting. My children were always going to be well dressed, polite and respectful. You would never see my child being “that” kid in a restaurant, throwing food and causing scenes. When my kids got older they would play quietly, be potty trained at respectable ages, and never speak back to adults or be manipulative. They would eat their vegetables, and ask for seconds. They would find potty humor deplorable, and never even think of pooting or burping.

Heaven knows when my kids became teenagers they wouldn’t be caught dead wearing gothic or emo clothing, have piercings or mohawks, and their hair would always be neat and tidy, in their normal shade of brown.

Instead, only 5 years later, I have raised a child that thinks burping and pooting are the funniest things in the world. He prefers wearing camouflage shorts instead of khaki shorts. He plays loudly and roughly and he loves to  wrestle with his Daddy. He eats vegetables only when forced, and he’s really good at talking me into things. He’s hilariously funny, even when I can’t let him know how funny he is because he’s actually being sassy.

And this weekend he had green hair.

And I love everything about him. Green hair and all.

Is This Why The Chicken Crossed The Road?

 

Jackson has discovered the world of knock knock jokes, and I fear my life may never be the same. I’m sure all kids go through this phase, but mercy, the jokes are killing me. I know that he’s new to this, but y’all, I’m earning crowns in Heaven right now for playing along…

For instance:

Jackson: “Knock, knock.”

Me: “Who’s there?”

Jackson: “Red.”

Me: “Red who?”

Jackson: “Red wedgie!” (insert maniacal laughter from Jackson)

or…

Jackson: “Knock, knock.”

Me: “Who’s there?”

Jackson: “Shoe.”

Me: “Shoe who?”

Jackson: “Shoe lace!!!” (insert maniacal laughter from Jackson)

or…

Jackson: “Knock, knock.”

Me: “Who’s there?”

Jackson: “Dog.”

Me: “Dog  who?”

Jackson: “Dog fur!!!!” (insert maniacal laughter from Jackson)

I know he’s just figuring out this joke stuff, but I’ve found myself googling knock knock jokes just to try to give him some new material. If you have any to pass along I would be super happy to do so! I guess at the end of the day I have figured out the age old question as to why the chicken crossed the road…it was to get away from the knock knock jokes!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

It’s that time of year again!!!

Easter Weekend Recap

We had a great Easter weekend! We enjoyed a wonderful Easter egg hunt at our church on Saturday morning and then saw our church’s Easter program, The Sacrifice, on Saturday night which was wonderful.

Sunday was a great day at church and then a super lunch at my Mom and Dad’s house. Jackson hunted for Easter eggs and we all ate way too much candy. Enjoy the pics!

          

Ask Jackson Anything Answers

A few days ago I opened up the first ever round of “Ask Jackson Anything.” Jackson is super excited about answering his questions. Here goes!

Kay asked: What's your favorite thing to do with your little brother? Play with him.

What would be the "funnest day ever"? I would get up before my parents and watch tv. Then I would have a pop tart for breakfast. And then I would play with a four wheeler. I would also be in charge.

How old do you think your mom is? 31. (And he’s right!)

How old do you need to be to drive? 90 years old.

What sounds like a super fun job for a grown up? Be a fireman or a super hero.

Do you like pickles? Yes, but only the circle ones.

Nana asked: What's your favorite color? Red.

Favorite football team? Auburn.

Favorite place to eat?  Jose’s Cantina and McDonald’s.

Favorite place to go to play? The park with the pond.

Favorite food? Chicken nuggets.

Are you excited about going to 1st grade? Yes! I can’t wait!

Do you have fun making your brother laugh? Yes!

Can you ride a bicycle? Yes, but I have to have training wheels.

Can you kick a football? Uh-huh.

Can you read? I’m the goodest reader in my class!

Favorite book? Transformer books.

Esther asked: If you could be a super hero, who would you be? The Incredible Hulk because he’s super strong!

That’s it for today! Y’all have a great weekend!

Ask Jackson Anything

You asked for it…Because I’m still taking a couple of days off, my favorite 5 year old has agreed to answer any questions y’all come up with for him. Make ‘em good! He’s a smart kiddo, and he has an answer for just about everything!

Can A Girl Catch A Break?

In the past few months we’ve dealt with so much illness around here:

Ear infections…

Thrush…

Tubes…

Dehydration…

Colds…

Sinus Infections…

RSV…

And Hand, foot and mouth disease…

As if all that, coupled with Anderson’s 2 hospitalizations wasn’t enough, Jeremy was diagnosed with shingles on Friday and Anderson was diagnosed with strep and pink eye on Sunday.

Let me just say that a strep diagnosis on April Fools Day is just cruel.

Y’all, I’m not going to lie when I say that I’m struggling. I’m tired and just emotionally drained. I feel like our family can’t catch a break, and as a Mom I’m just worn out. It seems as though it is just one thing after another right now now with no end in sight. And yes, I’m completely aware that it could always be worse. I’ve been reminded of that plenty of times lately, but frankly, having yet another person point that out in the midst of yet another illness doesn’t much help me.

So I’m going to take a couple of day off. I’ll catch up with y’all soon, and I would greatly appreciate your prayers. Much love….

An Interview With Jackson

Because he’s only going to be 5 once, and according to him, he has an answer for everything, I present to you an interview with Jackson:

Where do clouds come from? “Clouds come from snow and they  are made out of water.”

What is your favorite thing about school? Recess.

What is the yuckiest food in the world? “Corn on the cob.”

What is the best thing about being a brother?" “I like to be a good brother.”

What is your favorite color? “Red.”

What is your favorite toy? “My racecars.”

Now for the tough questions….

Who would win in a fight, Iron Man or the Incredible Hulk? “The Hulk because he has bigger muscles than everybody.”

Who is the best Super hero? “Incredible Hulk.”

What do you think about global warming? “I don’t know what you are talking about. “

Who is going the Republican primary, Romney, Santorum or Gingrich. “Gingrich.”

What do you think of Obama? “He’s a bad one.”

What do you think of Obamacare? “I don’t like it.”

Are you a Republican or a Democrat? Republican because God just made me that way.

Clearly he’s following in his Mama’s footsteps!

That’s all for today! Y’all have a great day!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I love the Duggar family. The end.

Wise Beyond His Years

Jackson: “I was talking with my friend at school and I told him that I’m rich. I am rich, right?”

Me: “Well, you do have some money.”

Jackson: “But even if I didn’t have any money I would still be rich.”

Me: “What do you mean?”

Jackson: “Even if all my money was gone I would still be rich because I have a great Mommy and Daddy and the best little brother ever, and I love my entire family. I’m pretty lucky!”

Me: “I’m the lucky one, ending up with a great little boy like you…”

Happy Birthday, Cameron!!!

Today is Jeremy and my sweet nephew Cameron’s 1st birthday! It’s hard to believe that he came into this world under 5 lbs! We are super excited about heading to MS next weekend for Cameron’s birthday party, and we hope that he has an amazing day with Amy and Adam! We love you little man!

Happy Birthday Cameron!!!

Our Little Leprachaun

Anderson was hospitalized again yesterday due to his RSV and hand, foot and mouth disease. Both of these viruses are enough to put a kid into the hospital, but combined it has given Anderson’s immune system a run for its money. Both pediatricians we have seen said that they have never seen these viruses at the same time in a child, and right now Anderson is a pretty sick kiddo. He is in isolation right now, not so much for visitors, but for the germs a visitor might bring into the room. He doesn’t need to be exposed to anything else in his weakened state.

Our biggest concern right now is his oxygen level; it keeps dropping below 90 and we can’t go home until  he is of oxygen for 24 hours. Right now we have a long way to go….

Forget a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow; right now I just want a healthy baby boy. Please keep him in your prayers.

Beware The Ides Of March

I learned today that the Ides of March should come with a stronger warning than just, “Beware!”

This Ides of March should have a warning that says, “Beware!! Proceed with caution!! Or better yet, just stay in bed!”

Our Ides of March started at 1:00 in the morning when, for the second night in a row, my sweet Anderson decided that he wanted to get up and play for a couple of hours. Loudly. Even better, Anderson was pretty dead set that he wanted company.

When we finally got him back to bed it felt like 5 minutes later it was time to get up for the day.

That was when we found lots of new spots on Anderson’s face, from the hand, foot and mouth. After further inspection we found that his entire little body is covered in pinprick size red dots.

Needless to say, life is not super fun around our house. Between a super snotty nose from the RSV and a bad cough, to these horrible little bumps, we are beyond ready for Anderson to feel better. He’s been a trooper, but we need a healthy house again.

Please say a prayer for us that life gets back to normal soon! Y’all have a great night!

5 Year Blogaversary Giveaway!!!

5 years ago today I started this teeny tiny little blog with this post. It was a goal of mine to keep track of things that were going on in our lives (because I don’t scrapbook), and for family that didn’t live near by to still have a chance to see Jackson on a regular basis.

When Wade’s World began we had a 7 month old and here we are, already 5 years later, with a 5 1/2 year old and a 9 month old. What a change! Life was good then, but we had no idea how sweet life would be 5 years later! I have had such a good time blogging my way through life, and I’m so thankful for the friendships that I have formed through the blogging community, some of which will last a lifetime!

To celebrate my 5 year blogaversary, and thank each and every one of y’all, I’ve got a surprise giveaway for one lucky blog reader! I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but it’s good! If you are dying to know what you what the giveaway is, an email me at auflag (at) yahoo (dot) com and I’ll let you into my little secret!

So here’s the deal on the giveaway; It’s open today, March 14th through Sunday, March 18th at midnight. It’s open to US residents only, and you don't have to have a blog to enter. Just make sure that I have a valid email address to contact you if you win (you can leave this with your comments). The winner will be selected by random, and you have 3 business days to get back in touch with me. Everyone can have up to 5 chances to win (make sure they are separate comments), and I’ve made it super easy for y’all! Here’s how you enter:

1. Leave me a comment telling me something random about yourself.

2. Leave me another comment telling me how long you have been reading Wade’s World.

3. Leave me yet another comment telling me what the weather is like right now where you live. (I told you I’m making this easy!)

4. “Follow” Wade’s World over there on the left side of your screen and then leave me a comment. If you are already following then leave me a comment telling me that.

5. Leave me a surprise comment. It can be anything!

That’s it y’all! I hope you enter my giveaway, and I thank you so much for sticking around with me for 5 years now. I’m super appreciative!!

Earning 49th Place In Education

I spotted this window in a restaurant in east Alabama. I’m not naming the restaurant because:

1. I don’t want to embarrass anyone.

2.  (More important than 1) There aren’t many restaurants in this city and I don’t want them to spit in my food when I go back.

I just had to share. Gotta love education in Alabama!

Wild And Wooly

Check out that hair! Does it get any cuter than that? I think not! This was Anderson after he woke up from a nap a few days ago. Crazy stuff, huh? Anderson is now 9 months old and I went and found a picture of Jackson at 9 months old to compare.

You can definitely tell that they are brothers, but there is no denying that Jackson looks just like Jeremy and Anderson looks just like me!

I’m been so blessed by two amazing boys, and I am so proud that I get to be their mama!

Sleeping Like A Baby…Or not

I have been having major sleep issues lately. It started when I was pregnant with Anderson and I thought that my troubles were just because I was pregnant, felt like a beached whale and overall just miserable. Now I have a 9 month old and the sleep issues aren’t any better. I wish I could say that Anderson was sleeping through the night but he, much like me, can’t seem to make it through a complete night of sleep.

My trouble isn’t falling asleep; I can do that anytime. My issue is staying asleep. Lately I’m afraid that I have retrained myself to wake up at 3:00 (usually to go to the bathroom) and after that I’m done. I toss and turn until I finally give up and get out of bed. When my day starts around 3-4 in the morning it’s hard to not feel completely exhausted by 9.

I’ve tried a sleep mask, taking a warm bath before bed and going to bed earlier, with not much benefit.

I’ve also tried Benadryl and while I do sleep better, I don’t want to come to rely on it for sleep every night. I don’t want for Benadryl to become a crutch because of days like today; here it is at 5 and Anderson and Jackson are both up already (who knows why) and I feel like I’m in a fog that I can’t get out from under because I haven’t slept the Benadryl off.

I’m at a point where I’m just exhausted and grumpy and I don’t know what to do. I’ll take any advice you have. Consider me a desperate woman!

Vegas Bound!

It turns out that 2012 has some big travel planes in store for us; Jeremy is going on a company trip to Vegas and I get to go with him! We are super excited. It’s our first trip flying anywhere together, and neither of us have been to Vegas before. The trip is scheduled over a long weekend in May and we can’t wait. Other than a couple of company sponsored luncheons we are free to explore. We are staying at the Paris hotel (pictured below) and I can’t wait to see all the touristy things in Vegas. I’m looking up tour info to go to the Hoover dam because I just want to go on that dam tour so bad! I’m not a gambler by any stretch but I think visiting Las Vegas is going to be so much fun. Jackson is mad that he can’t go on an airplane, but Jeremy and I are thrilled that we get to go on a real vacation alone for a change!

After our Vegas adventure we are taking Jackson out of school for a day and heading down to the Alabama gulf coast to spend the weekend at the beach. Jackson is dying to go to the beach and we will be able to visit before the summer season rates go through the roof. I’m a little nervous about taking Anderson to the beach but I think he’ll be fine. Our condo has 6 pools and 1 is indoors so we can stay out of the sun during the hottest part of the day. Hopefully Anderson won’t eat too much sand while we’re there!

And after our beach trip is our trip to Disney World for Jackson’s 6th birthday! I’m booking the trip today and we will be traveling in September. We did decide to leave Anderson at home with his grandparents. I’m going to miss him terribly, but this will give us the chance to have a wonderful trip with Jackson and enjoy Disney to the fullest. We will only have 3 days in the parks, and we’re going to be exhausted when we get home, but I am so excited about seeing Jackson experience Disney. It’s going to be such a fun trip!

If you have any travel tips for Vegas or Disney I’m all mouse ears! I’ll take any advice you have! Y’all have a great day!

Happy Birthday Luke!!

I want to wish my sweet nephew Luke a very Happy 2nd Birthday today. Luke is one of the most fun, engaging and smart kiddos that I’ve ever met, and I’m so glad that he’s part of my family. I love that little stinker more than words can describe!!!

Happy Birthday Luke!!!!