Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #16

Up:

• Jackson had a great 2 year well check appointment this week. He's been excited to go to the doctor now that Doc McStuffins is on the Disney channel, but my fear was as soon as he got his shot he would no longer be a fan. To my surprise my big boy didn't even whimper when he got his shot! The best news was - no more vaccinations 'til age 4 and he can now do the flu mist! He has actually improved his weight from the 18th month check-up and went from the 17th to the 36th percentile!

Jackson giving 'coffee' to Daddy and Mommy for breakfast!

• Can I just say how much fun it is to shop for girls clothing! This weekend we bought Kennedy a swim suit for the summer - it's hard to believe they make them so tiny! We also hit up the new Gymboree outlet and got some adorable stuff for both the kids. Even Mike enjoyed picking out clothes for them!

So this is my almost 6 month old daughter in a 12 month size swim suit!

• Kennedy moved up to a big girl car seat. I was waiting until she could sit up in a grocery cart before I moved her from the carrier to a big car seat and this week she passed the test. While she still can't sit up on the floor on her own, she's been doing great in grocery carts. She loves her new seat and hopefully it will make traveling more pleasant for her.

Down:

• We had to shut down our credit card this week :( Mike was paying our bill when he noticed some suspicious charges. Even though they were only for a little over $1 each, they definitely weren't charges we made. We called and reported it and they stopped all payment on our card. While I'm glad we caught it early, I do wonder where the person got our information from. I don't feel like I'm that careless and neither is Mike.
• I don't know if something happens after you have your actual 2nd year birthday or what, but the terrible two tantrums are in full swing at our house. It also appears that Jackson has decided he doesn't need a nap when he goes to school, which makes for ridiculous evenings after school and much earlier than normal bedtimes for my sanity.

Favorite Thing:

My Aunt Marva e-mailed me a couple of weeks and told me about these new Peanut Butter Cheerios to try with Jackson. I bought some and he liked them, but not near as much as Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops. I figured I would eat them since he wasn't...Oh My Goodness! They are delicious! They are actually better as an afternoon snack than breakfast and despite not having any chocolate, they help my fulfill my chocolate cravings. Plus they are relatively low calorie assuming you watch your portion size. Once I discovered how yummy they were, the box disappeared in a few days! I haven't tried the other flavors out on the market like Dulce de Leche, but if they are half as good as the peanut butter flavor, I'm sold!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #15

Hope everyone had a happy and blessed Easter!

Up:

• It was so great have Mike home this week especially to celebrate Jackson's 2nd birthday and Easter, two occasions he missed out on last year while he was deployed.
• So hard to believe my cutie pie is already 2 years old. Jackson brings so much joy, love, and laughter to our lives and I'm so thankful for him. Some of his funnies this week include saying that Old McDonald had a camel and then last night I could hear him singing 'Red Solo Cup' and 'Jingle Bells' in his room to put himself to sleep.

• We had a pretty low key Easter this year. After mass we went to the club on base to eat lunch with friends. It was nice not having to cook a big meal. Then we went back to the house and Jackson opened all his Easter basket prizes before his nap. After an extremely unusual 3 hour nap, he got up and hunted Easter eggs. He was definitely more into it this year than last. Last year he wouldn't even attempt to hunt eggs because he was scared of the grass. Kennedy looked adorable in her dress and acted like an angel for the most part, Mike said we should put her in a dress more often if she would act like that!

My handsome boys at Easter!

Look at my adorable Easter girl! Such a blessing!

Jackson wanted to open each egg before he found the next one!

• We got our taxes done this week and found out that we are getting a pretty fat tax return. That definitely gives me some peace of mind with all the money we shelled out recently for the pick-up.

Down:

• Mike found out at work this week that we won't be moving this year. So at the earliest we would move this time next year. I know that God has a plan for us, but I really don't know how much longer I can stand being in this house. Yes, I know I'm very fortunate to have a home and no monthly payment, but we are rapidly growing out of this space. Not to mention that I'm not a huge fan of Mountain Home itself. (Sigh) I guess we'll stick it out a little longer.
• Mike had to go back to work today. It is so great to have him home and then he took off work through yesterday. We had a great time and he even took Jackson golfing with him yesterday!

Helping Daddy on the REAL golf course! 

Future Aviator - this is what happens when you take Daddy to Kohl's!

Favorite Thing:

Pintrest! Those of you that haven't joined this extremely addicting site should seriously reconsider. You can find everything from decorating tips to recipes to crafts to kids activities to fashion and so much more. I so wish that I had been the genius to think of a website like this, but I'm so thankful someone did. Feel free go check out my boards and get some ideas!

Jackson Boy Turns 2!

Tuesday (April 3rd) was Jackson's 2nd birthday! I think he had a great day. He goes to Mother's Day Out on Tuesday and hadn't woken up in time, so Daddy and I serenaded him with Happy Birthday to wake him up. I made his favorite homemade donuts for breakfast (don't be flattered it's just fried biscuits). Then he got to eat cupcakes at school with all his friends. After school we took him to McDonald's for chicken and fries! When we got home all his presents were sitting out, he was so excited and just started tearing into them. This is the first time he's really gotten excited about presents. Present opening came to a quick halt though after he opened his new golf set. He had to go out and play some golf before he could even continue! Sounds like he's already taking after his Daddy! Then we sang to him and he had another Mickey cupcake! All in all - a great day! Thanks family for being so generous - he has way more toys than we have room to put them which is a good problem for a kid to have! It's so hard to believe how big our 'baby' is getting. He's the sweetest kid and it's hard for us to remember not having him in our lives!

Jackson eating his donuts on his birthday placemat!

Mickey Cupcakes!

Jackson's class at school on Tuesday before the mess!

He's the birthday boy!

Notice Lyndis is under the table!

Presents....for Jackson?!

Kennedy watching the festivities!

The golf clubs were quickly moved outside in an effort to save the TV!

Getting a lesson from the pro!

We do birthday kisses, not spankings!

Jackson giving us a concert through Mr. Potato Head's microphone!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #14

Up:

• Thankfully, I can report to you that my children were much more well behaved this week than last. I think they knew Mommy couldn't handle much more. I was so dreading this week because it's Spring Break here and Jackson didn't have his usual Tot Time or Mother's Day Out this week; the one day I took the kids to Boise, they were fabulous. So thankful!

My chubby little girl all decked out for warmer weather!

Gosh he looks big in this picture - he is going to be 2 next week!

Kennedy having fun swinging too!

• I finally got brave and cut my hair! I absolutely love it! Hopefully I can keep it looking this cute all the time. I didn't tell Mike, so he'll just be surprised tomorrow (no, he doesn't read the blog)!

Before - Sorry, it's hard to take a pic of yourself.

After! I LOVE it!

• I did it! Six weeks by myself with both children and no Mike. I don't want to have to do that again for a long time, but it gives me a boost of confidence to know that I'm capable of doing it without going completely insane. Mike should be home tomorrow and I will be so happy to have him back and maybe I'll even be able to sleep better too.
• We have our pick-up back now. The car hauling service delivered it this week. It looks and drives great, you definitely can't tell that it was ever in an accident. That is one more load off. Now we can work on selling the Vue.

Down:

• This week had some major downs. One of my friends in the other squadron here lost her husband/one of Jackson's friends lost her daddy. He had just been deployed a couple of weeks when his plane (F-15E) crashed, although he did eject, he did not survive. They have two kids, one is 4 and the other 2. My heart is breaking for her and those sweet children. In times like this it is hard to figure out God's plan and how it could involve taking such a precious life. All I can do is pray for her, her children, their family and the air force family that everyone will find peace and stay strong. I hope you will also keep them in your prayers as well. Life is so precious and it is so sad that it takes tragedies like this to remind us of that. If you feel compelled to offer monetary support in addition to prayer, there is a link on my facebook page to a 529 plan set up for their children.
• To top off that bad news, another friend of mine had a close friend/pilot also die that had just gotten back from deployment last week. He was married with four daughters. Then I opened up the base paper to read about an Idaho native that was killed in Afghanistan that leaves behind a wife and 3 month old twin daughters. After that, another friend on facebook posted an article about an airman that died last March, he was married with two kids. His two year old son died this week of asphyxiation after reaching for something on the top of his dresser and getting pinned by the drawers. Again, so hard to trust in God that he has a plan as to why these things happen. All of this makes me want Mike home even more.

Favorite Things:

  On to something more upbeat, a salute to all things Reynold's! I'm all about convenience and quick clean-up and these products help do just that! We've used Reynold's products for years. I think I use the foil on a daily basis and wax paper and parchment paper are a must for baking cookies. However, they have taken convenience to a whole new level with three fairly newer products. The Slow Cooker Liners are probably the product I use the most. It is so easy to just pop a bag in the crockpot and then toss it out when you are finished. The most clean-up you have to do is wipe off the lid! The Non-Stick Foil is great for making Jackson's favorites - chicken & fries. No more breading stuck on the foil or the pan, everything just comes right off. Even if you are cooking something greasy, the grease just beads up on the foil. Finally there is the Pan Lining Paper. My sister-in-law, Laura, is the one that informed me of this beauty! It is parchment paper on one side and foil on the other. You simply put the foil side down into your casserole dish and voila - no clean up! Now you can volunteer to do the dishes and have your spouse take care of getting the kids ready for bed. You'll have enough time left over for a nice peaceful glass of wine before heading to tuck them in! Anything to make life easier is a winner in my book!

Non-Stick Foil

Pan Lining Paper

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #13

Trying very hard to stay positive this week, but if anything else happens I don't know what I'm going to do. So we'll start with my very short list of ups followed by a long list of downs :(

Up:

• I've gotten a lot of cleaning done this week and have a pretty good stack of stuff to get rid of! It always make me feel better to clean out a space and not have it look so crowded.
• Kennedy started eating baby food today! I would normally wait 'til closer to six months, but this girl has been showing that she is more than ready. Sure enough I was right, she's a pro. Here she is enjoying her green beans!

Down:

• So this is going to be more of a paragraph than a bullet point! The week started off pretty bad. On Tuesday night we went to a spouse's meeting that we quickly had to leave early from because Jackson couldn't stop screaming/crying. Wednesday and Thursday Jackson has some type of stomach bug thing and had horrible diarrhea; the kind that requires baths and outfit changes. Friday was a fairly normal day, but then there came Saturday. Every single thing set Jackson off into some type of tantrum. When I told him he had to go to bed early he started throwing another fit and went limp. I literally drug him up the stairs to put him in bed. Then he thought he could put off bedtime by taking forever to pick out his books. I put an end to that and just put him in bed and said good night! Shortly after I put Jackson to bed, Kennedy decided to scream like no other. She was not wanting to take her bottle and wouldn't stop screaming. I literally went out into the garage and sat in the car to feed her so she wouldn't wake Jackson up. Then she vomited her entire bottle on me and while I was trying to get back into the house to clean us up the door knob slammed into my hip bone - so painful. Finally, after changing us both, it took an hour of walking around with Kennedy to get her to sleep. So far today...Jackson was horrible in church. He kept running away from me, crawling under the pews and throwing his milk. After we got home from church I put Kennedy on the floor to play. Jackson proceeded to open a drawer and hit her square in the head with it. Then while I was feeding Kennedy he decided to use 4 different walls upstairs as a canvas for his artwork. SERIOUSLY! The kids doesn't even color 2 lines when you give him paper, but give him a wall and away he goes. Oh, I forgot to mention that Jackson also locked me out of the house twice this week. Once when I was taking out the trash and another time when the maintenance man was re-lighting our hot water heater. Thankfully I either had keys or another door was open. Please, Please pray for my patience and sanity.
• While feeling sorry for myself this week I realized that in the past year Mike has only been home one full month - October. Probably the only reason he was home that full month was due to the mandatory 2 week reconstitution leave after his deployment and the birth of Kennedy. So hard to have a family with a piece always missing out on the action.

Favorite Thing:

The whole line of Magic Erasers! I love them all - the normal one, bathroom and kitchen ones too. Thankfully they work really well on crayon!

Before 

After

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #12

Happy First Day of Spring! So we aren't exactly experiencing Spring in Idaho yet; it's snowing today, but hopefully we'll get a glimpse soon!

Up:

• My baby girl turned 5 months old yesterday! She is such a happy girl these days and has these ear piercing screams when she gets super excited.

• We had a lot scheduled this week, so it has really flown by! Jackson's Mother's Day Out program took a field trip on Thursday to an indoor play place. It was so great to literally just let him loose and not have to worry about him. Even Kennedy had a good time socializing with other babies! Then on Saturday the kids went to the 'Give Parents a Break' program for a free day of childcare. I had a productive day shopping!
• Watching Jackson with Kennedy just melts my heart. He is so sweet to her...always hugging, kissing and trying to comfort her. The other day she screamed in the car and he asked why she was screaming. I told Jackson Kennedy was sad because she dropped her giraffe and he said, "it's okay Kennedy!" He even shares his coveted blankie with her!

Down:

• While Jackson has his super sweet side, he has also mastered the art of taking advantage of situations. Every, and I do mean every, time that I'm feeding Kennedy or anything that involves my hands being tied, he decides to act up. It is so frustrating.
• Kennedy can't seem to get on a schedule. I don't remember Jackson being this way. She goes to bed at the same time every night, but aside from that her naps are sporadic and sometimes she wakes up at night starving and other times she sleeps all the way through. I've been working on synchronizing naps with she and Jackson, but it's not as easy as I thought it would be.

Kennedy playing with Jackson's 'Khaki Blankie'!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Kennedy!

Cutie Pie!

Jackson and Kennedy before church on Sunday in their matching clothes. I found that shirt on clearance for $4 for Jackson while I was shopping on Saturday.  Jackson wasn't smiling because he was still chewing his mini wheats!

Loves her feet!

Favorite Thing:

 There is no better diaper rash treatment in my opinion than A&D Ointment. It seriously clears up any and everything. Plus you can use it as a first aid ointment for burns etc. Jackson calls it his butt crean (cream)! If you are a mom, I highly recommend it. I've tried Desitin, Vaseline, and Boudreaux's,  but none have compared to A&D! Make sure you get the ointment instead of the cream, I've found it works better.