What a Loser!

I'm wearing yoga pants...a Gap t-shirt...no shoes. I'm on my fourth beer and I think I just started an argument with my husband. Happy Freaking New Year!!!

Seriously, though...who wants to go out tonight? I mean, I know it's New Year's and I do wish we were with our friends hanging out, but I really, really don't want to get all dressed up in glitter and heels and be jam packed like sardines with the rest of the DFW area and pay double prices on everything. I'm happy where I am...but there is relatively little chance of me seeing midnight. Four beers by 7:30 p.m.? Yeah, we're doing good if we make it to 9. Luckily, my kids can't tell time.
If you live in Frisco and you hear some random people popping champagne poppers at 8:45 p.m. tonight, it's us, fooling our kids into thinking it's 2009 and time for bed!
Love Y'all!!!

Business As Usual

So we made it home Sunday night, after a puke-free, fun-filled holiday in Oklahoma. We had plans to go with our friends down to their ranch to celebrate New Years. Surprise, surprise. I have a sick kid. It's Rhett this time. Sinus and ear infections, plus a minor stomach virus. Aaron is only surprised that I'm surprised. We always have sick kids around holidays and fun plans. It's the way we operate around here. So please, people, stop inviting us to do fun things. Seriously, just lose our number. That way, we don't have any expectations and you guys don't risk getting cooties from us. Deal?


P.S. I'm just kidding. I just need to find a babysitter who will keep kids when they are vomiting/snotty/have diarrhea. Overnight.

It wouldn't be a holiday....

in the Jackson household if a kid wasn't either feverish, vomiting, or both. We've got both. Poor Avery is sick today. How sad to be sick on Christmas Eve. We are going to press on, however. This will not ruin our Christmas. I will look at the silver lining: At least I only have one child yelling every five minutes, "NOW, can we open presents?" Avery is too sick to keep asking.
If we can't go to Oklahoma tomorrow as planned, we'll go the next day. Or the next day. We'll keep trying until we get up there, dadgummit.
In the meantime, I'm cooking us our very first at-home Christmas dinner and saying prayers that Jesus and Santa and whoever else is watching over us, will send us an overnight delivery of good health! I wish you all the same. I hope you don't hear from me for the next few days...if you do, it means we're stuck at home with sick babies! :)
Merry Christmas!

Cold Weather

My favorite thing about kids and cold weather:









Funny hats, especially when they don't want to wear them.





My least favorite thing about kids and cold weather:

Gloves for anyone under the age of, oh, seven. Trying to fit fingers in the correct holes is maddening enough. But then, when you finally do get them all in one hole, they have to go potty, taking the gloves off and you have to start all over. Don't they sell mittens anymore?????

Cristy Lane

I've been watching Fox News for about three years now. There was a tiny part of me that thought it meant I was either getting old or that my inner dork was becoming a more prominent piece of my personality. But I dismissed those thoughts in favor of more self flattery. "You are just paying attention to the world around you. It's good to be informed. More people should turn off the Friends reruns and start watching Fox News so that we have all the facts about our world." But the other night, I saw a commercial that shut that nicer, more flattering voice right up. It's a commercial offering Cristy Lane CDs. Here is Ms. Lane, in a still photo. (Notice it's copyrighted, so dont' get any ideas about printing this for above your mantle.)

She, supposedly, has "one of the most beautiful voices in music history" and I am totally missing the boat if I don't order the CD. Today, in a moment of complete boredom, I checked out her website www.cristylane.com. You have to see this. I cannot stop laughing. I mean, I'm sure this lovely lady was a great singer back in the Andy Griffith era, but I'm not exactly sure who they think their audience is if they are trying to sell them now. If the Cristy Lane audience is the Fox News audience, then, the only conclusion I can reach is that I'm not only old, but a huge, loser nerd.

I'm thinking of starting a support group called It's Hip To Be Square. If any of you love The O'Reilly Factor, or went to visit the website and found yourself silently wishing someone would get you "One Day At A Time, Volumes I and II," let me know.

A Funny Story

So, I'm feeling alot of pressure right now. Most of your totally sweet, self-confidence boosting emails, said things about me making them laugh or smile...so now I'm like "Ok, I've built this damn thing up for a week and I can't think of anything funny." You know, because the first meeting of the secret club needs to be good. And I suck at meeting people's expectations...so I pulled a story from my mind that always gives me a good grin...hope it works for you.


You may remember the weekend that I went to visit my brother, Bo, in Kingsville. Aaron was home with the kids for three nights - the longest he's ever been alone with any of them, much less all three. I must tell you, though, that Aaron is a champ when it comes to taking care of all three kids. I know some people whose husbands can only handle one or two at a time. Not my husband. He may struggle at first, but he gets the hang of it and usually does a fabulous job.
The most important thing to note is that he tries so hard to do things "right." He tries to do things exactly how I would want him to do it - except for all the junk food - and he puts alot of effort into them when he's with them.
So, being the sweet, helpful man that he is, he decided to take them to buy their Halloween costumes that weekend. He knew I was a bit panicky about being gone the weekend before Halloween because weekends are generally my only time to shop. He knew what they wanted and took it upon himself to take care of this daunting chore. He called me that Saturday and told me they had been to a party store and Target, but hadn't found anything yet. He was pulling up to Toys R Us while we chatted. He stopped me mid-sentence, saying "Hey, there's a costume shop right here by Toys R Us. I'm going to go in there for a minute." He kept me on the phone the whole time and the conversation when something like this:

Him: Come on guys, we're going to go see what they have in here.
I hear him getting them all unbuckled and out of the path of moving cars. I can hear the door dinging as they walk in.
Him: Hmmm...this all looks like grown up costumes...let's go check in the back.
I can hear the kids all talking. Avery is looking for vampire teeth and Reese just wants to buy princess stuff.
Him: I don't see any kids' stuff here. What kind of costume store doesn't have kids' costumes?
Me: Hmm, that is weird. Is it just set up for this time of year? Could they be out of everything already?
Him: I don't know...let me look over here. Oh wait. I think this store is just for adults. I see some creams and stuff that looks a bit sexual.
About 4 seconds passes
Him: OH MY GOD, there is a giant dong!!! AVERY, KIDS, LET'S GO! WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!
I'm just listening, trying not to freak out, but also wondering why is there a giant dong anywhere that my kids are?
Him, (finally outside): Oh God...that was an adult store. Like porn. Oh my god, and I had the kids in there.

He wonders if they saw anything and if so, do they know what it is? Sadly, we'll probably never know. Well, at least until the next parent-teacher conference.

The Secret Club

Ok, does anyone else feel like I just started the dumbest secret club ever by forcing you to get on an "invite list" in order to read about my mundane little life? No? Awesome, thanks.
Seriously, though, I'm totally flattered that any of you read it for more than one day and I mean that. So thanks!
And here's a tiny explanation of the situation....as many of you saw, I got a negative comment about a month ago. Of course, I'm not going to shut my blog down over one person's opinion of me, but it didn't stop there. (It never does with these yay-hoos.) Emails started coming and it started yet another conflict with people I don't want to have anything to do with. As much as I loved documenting life at home with my kids and connecting with people over 5 during the day, I started to feel a negative vibe coming over me when I sat down to write anything. I found myself thinking, "What could I say that would really "sting" her without coming out and saying it?" I don't want to be like that. So I just decided to quit it altogether. But then that sucked. I didn't take one picture between last week's "retirement" and today. That really sucks because Lord knows I can't remember anything past one day, much less long enough to save it for when I get around to scrapbooking.
So, there you have it. I have, essentially, reverted back to junior high, rallied all my people around me so that the mean girls can't touch me. Maturity is overrated anyway.

Today's real post coming up.....

Just call me Brett Favre...

or Michael Jordan...or anyone else who has retired and then 30 minutes later, came out of retirement.
Here's the deal. I love writing about my family...but I don't love that anyone in the world can read about it. My husband loves to read things about the kids and I like sharing with my mom and sister and close friends.
So I'm setting this blog to private...if no one but my husband and I read it, that's ok. But if those of you who sent comments are seriously interested, for whatever reason, in reading, just shoot me an email and I can add you to the "included" list. dodiajackson@yahoo.com I will set the blog to private before my next posting.
This way, I get to do what I want to do and I get to decide who is reading and who isn't.

If you think I'm a complete idiot who takes myself entirely too seriously, just hit the red X and pretend you never read any of this.

Thanks again so much for all of your sweet comments. You made me feel so loved! :)

The End of the Line

Hey guys....I have some news...this is my last blog post. As soon as I figure out how to get all of the previous posts printed and/or saved, I am going to delete this blog.
There are many reasons for this, but the number one reason is that I think it's run its course. I'm sure my kids will continue to do miraculously cute things, but that's what scrapbooks are for.
While I will miss writing and connecting with y'all, I think it's time for me to move on...
Thanks to all of you for reading and being interested in my boring little life!!

Oreos

Do not buy these. I repeat: Do NOT buy these. If you do, you'll be sorry. Your three-year-old will ask you 435 times a day if she can have one. After you've said no for the 436th time, she'll start sneaking them. You'll put them up high, but she'll have a stash somewhere so that, every time you see her, she has one in her hand. There will be red Oreo creme ground into your carpet. There will be black chunks everywhere. You might think they are chunks of dirt (sometimes they are) until you see the tell-tale signs of creme and saliva around the edges. Finally, when you just can't take it anymore, you will be forced to go into the kitchen, open the package and eat all remaining Winter Oreos, just to eliminate the trouble. It won't matter if there are 3 or 23 left. You have to eat them all in order to stop enabling the three-year-old to eat herself into a diabetic coma by 3:00 each afternoon.

Please save yourself the trouble I've been through. Do NOT buy these cookies.

Tipping on the Holidays

Yesterday I went for, what will surely be, my last hair appointment of 2008 and for sure the last one before Christmas. It hit me on the way there that I usually give her a little gift or something for Christmas and that I hadn't even thought about it. I was going to tip her double what I usually tip her, but frankly, I couldn't afford it. (Sidenote confession: Until I was about 25, I never tipped a hairdresser. I just thought you paid them what they asked and that was it. I only tipped waiters. And then, I was at a happy hour with friends and they were all "So how much do you give him on a color versus a cut?" and I was mortified. I made a hair appointment immediately following said happy hour and apologized for being a clueless country bumpkin. I used all my grocery money on hair and tips that day.) Wanting to do something, but not having alot of money or time, I just ran by this Mexican restaurant and got her a drink she likes. She is Guatemalan and has this secret rice milk drink she loves that only one restaurant serves. So I got her that, tipped her the usual 20% and moved on.
On the ride home, I turned up the radio, only to hear Russ Martin and Co. talking about how stupid holiday tipping is. As I listened, my face reddened. Once again, I was a clueless country bumpkin. I've made a list of the ones I remember from yesterday and then others I found online today. See what you think. (I've added my own commentary just to try to make myself feel better.)

Live-in Nanny - (If you can afford one of these, the tip probably isn't a big deal to you) - a cash gift equaling at least one week's pay, plus a nice additional gift from your child.

Regular Babysitter - One night's pay and small gift for child. If regular, weekly service, up to one week's pay. (I would die dead if the parents of the kids I babysit for gave me a week's pay for a gift. I'd return it after I picked myself up off the floor. For once, I'm thankful we don't ever have a babysitter.)

Daycare provider - $25-70 for each person who provides for your children and a small gift from your child. (Day-uhm. That could get pricey....)

Private nurse - small gift from you. (How come the babysitter gets a week's pay and the private nurse, who may change wounds and/or adult diapers, gets a small gift?)

Housekeeper - Up to the amount of one week's pay and/or a small gift. (Glad I don't have a housekeeper so she can't get pissed at me b/c my neighbor gave her a week's pay and I give her a Hallmark ornament.)

Hairdresser/Barber - Cash in the amount of haircut or service provided. ($125 gift for a cut and color? Mine got a milk drink. Poor her.)

Dog walker - One week's pay and/or gift. (Reason number 476 that we don't have a dog. Also, if you have a dog, but no time to walk it, how do you have time to enjoy a dog?)

Mail carrier - Small gift. (Um, my mail carrier has never gotten anything from me except insufficient postage on a package.)

Trash collectors - $20 each. (Again. They've never gotten anything from me but smelly diapers and rotting meat.)

Teachers - Small gift from your child, no cash. (This one burns me on a personal level. As a former teacher, I would venture to say that cash is the number one thing on a teacher's list. I got gift cards all the time when I taught Kindergarten and while I loved the kid-chosen gifts (Half used bottle of Jean Nate or stolen DVD from Kroger), I have to say it sure was fun to get Gap and Starbucks cards. I sure don't understand why a dog walker would get more than the person who gets paid virtually nothing to deal with kids with disabilities, behavior problems, injuries, accidents, etc. So don't skimp on the teacher gift. I am a loser on every category listed above, but I got Avery's teacher something pretty good. Not $100 or anything, but still better than a wooden apple with her name on it.)

Hope this list was useful. Besides making me feel more clueless and ignorant than ever, it also helped me realize why I don't have a gardener, babysitter, or dog.

Have a great day. (I'm off to the closet to find something for the mailman. Do thirtysomething young men enjoy half-burned Yankee candles?)

It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year. A time for joy, happiness and reflection on the previous year. I always try to think of ways to make next year better. I have about a gazillion and one things I'd like to improve about myself, but I've kind of hit upon a rough spot. Forgiveness.
Well, maybe not so much the forgiveness. I really don't have a problem forgiving people when they ask for it. I grew up in a family where fighting and getting over it were as much a part of life as changing underwear. So I get the whole "I'm sorry, It's ok" part of it all. Here's my problem. The forgetting and the letting go. Maybe it's ok not to forget, but how about letting go of it? This is my issue...if someone has hurt me and they say "I am so sorry I did that. I'm not sure why I said it/did it/felt that way, but I did and I apologize," I think I do a fairly good job of forgiving them. And I really, truly don't hold it against them. Trust me, I've done plenty of crappy stuff and I've been fortunate enough to be forgiven, so I'm not a fan of holding a grudge or refusing to forgive.
But what about this: Someone has hurt you and yet, they either don't think they have hurt you or they refuse to admit that they have hurt you. How do you move on from that? If they don't think they've done anything wrong, how can you be sure they won't continue doing the same thing? How about when you confront someone about how they hurt you and, instead of apologizing, they just start bringing up all the times you've hurt them? How do you get anywhere? If you're dealing with people who just "don't get it," do you keep giving them chances?
Here's my thing...we are all human. We all screw up. We all deserve second, third, fourth chances. But I also believe that you have to set boundaries so that you don't put yourselves in hurtful, negative situations. Being around people who don't feel kindly about you can't be good for your insides.
So what do y'all think? When do you forgive, forget and pretend everything is hunky-dory again and when do you just decide to forgive and then move on, eliminating a person from your life as much as possible?

Great Column in the Washington Post

I found this column today. Before you read, let me clarify something. I have been a working mom and am now a stay-at-home mom and for me, being a working mom was 10 times harder. I was meant to be at home. I know it's not that way for everyone, but my heart hurts for women who want to be at home and can't. So while I may whine from time to time about having no time to myself, or being exhausted from being kept up all night, I recognize that I'm extremely fortunate to have this choice.
Ok, now that that's out of the way...read this.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201554.html

Thanksgiving Pictures

We decided, at the last minute, to drive up to Oklahoma to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Aaron and I haven't gone anywhere for Thanksgiving since we got married because of some issues with "fairness" on where we spend the holidays. (Divorced parents, in-laws, you know how it goes.) So, in order to be fair and eliminate drama, we've stayed home every year. Frankly, it gets lonely and doesn't really feel too "holiday-ish." Plus, it's kind of dumb to stay home based on what someone might say about where we went. So I asked him what he thought and he said he agreed that being with family is better than being alone. My mom and Nana were at my Aunt Judy's house in Tulsa for Thanksgiving so we got up early Thursday morning and made the 4 hour trek. We stuffed ourselves silly and then went on to Pawhuska. Even though Reesie got a tummy bug and threw up all weekend and twice on the drive home, the trip was well worth it. (I'm not sure my family wants us back at Christmas, though.)

Here are Grammy and the kids at Juju's. You can tell my kids are city kids because they are collecting landscaping rocks as if they are fossils in the forest.

Here's Avery holding our newest family member. This is Baby RJ, my little sister's youngest. He is 100 times more perfect and precious than he looks in this picture, which is amazing because I think this is pretty stinking cute.

Reese and Macy B. have finally reached an age where they are able to enjoy each other. It helps that they are both drama queens, both love playing babies and both think they are princesses. They were so cute together. Here they are playing their Leapsters in Macy B's room.

We also started, what I hope will become a new tradition. The kids, along with Nana and Grammy (sans a pukey Reese and a napping Rhett), went out to the "woods" to cut down a Christmas tree.

I love that my 87-year-old Nana is riding in the back of the truck with all the kids. And that Baby RJ is dressed like a woodsman, crying his little eyes out. It was COLD!

My brother Josh and my big, strapping husband cut down the tree. (I wish we had a forest nearby because I'd like to see him cut down trees more often.)

Meanwhile, I had been back at the house, making preparations for the birdseed, peanut butter and pinecone ornaments.

Did I mention the tree was for my mom's patio? It didn't go in the house. So it's not like there was peanut butter and birdseed all over her house.

Some of the kids enjoyed putting the ornaments on the tree. (Reese, JD, and Avery)

While others enjoyed the peanut butter and birdseed for other reasons. (Em, I promise we took it away from her. I just had to take a picture first!)

This picture has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but I love it. It's my poor, sick baby Reesie, who was feeling so icky, she just walked around, looking for any place to lay her little head. It makes me so sad for her, yet I can't help smiling.

Update

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I hope that you have all been able to exist without this blog. I know it must be hard.
Seriously, though...besides the fact that we, last minute, decided to go out of town for Thanksgiving, it's been hectic. Reese got a stomach bug while we were in Oklahoma and has thrown up several times a day. Her last episode was around 2:00 yesterday afternoon. I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked God that no one else got it.
But, as usual, I spoke too soon. Rhett woke up in a pile of vomit this morning.
So, while I have some really cute pictures of our time in Oklahoma, I have to spend yet another day, washing towels, sheets and clothes. Plus, there's all the rocking that has to be done. Which I dont mind at all. I just wish I didn't have to get puked on in order to enjoy quiet time with my babies. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.
So please, please keep me in your thoughts (pray that I don't get sick!) and just know that, when I crawl out from under this huge pile of laundry and hose all the vomit off of my clothes, I'll have some fun pics of Thanksgiving and my precious baby nephew, R.J.! :)