A Jolt of the Jacksons

Christmas with the Jackson's

2011-12-26T10:55:00.005-06:00

We started off Christmas at the Jackson's by opening up gifts. Nick's grandma made use each a hat and scarf set. She is so talented, they turned out great!

Adam modeling his hat and scarf set.
Love my new hat and scarf set! And it matches my outfit.

Noah got a puppy for Christmas - just kidding! We brought our foster puppy, Sammy, over for the day. She was the belle of the ball.

Santa brought Noah a game he wanted for Christmas.

Nick got a weed trimmer! Yeah!

Mike's new Cardinals polo.

I'm beginning to realize that Adam is the big brother that likes to see his mischievous little brother get into trouble. Last year he got a duck shooting game from Adam and this year it's a sling shot. I'm pretty sure he won't shoot it inside the house for fear of harming the television, but that doesn't protect our windows. Always a kid at heart, Nick loves these fun toys!

The only thing Nick asked for this Christmas was moustache wax. I know what you are thinking and I didn't realize this existed either, but it does. Some of you who have seen Nick recently may have noticed he's a bit hairier than usual. He's enjoying the life of a college student and embracing the unkempt look while he can. So we had a little fun with his moustache and his new grooming kit. He's such a goof!

Back at our home, the dogs are enjoying one of their new bones from Santa.

Yep, our dogs are spoiled rotten. This is just one of the very many bones they got for Christmas as well as a pet grooming kit. I thought it was clever that the package says it was tested on humans first. I'm looking forward to the dogs next bath!

Christmas with the Carlson's

2011-12-26T10:23:00.004-06:00

It snowed the morning we opened presents. Just a light dusting, not enough for sledding, but it was pretty none the less.
Tyler with one of his presents from Nick and I. He was giving his puppy kisses, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera.

Eva passing out presents to Tyler and Elijah.

Nick had a present wrapped in Tinker Bell gift wrap. Eva thought this was hilarious.

Tyler and Drew in their matching jammies. How cute!!!

The kids sitting on their flip couches (they flip out into a bed, although Tyler is the only one that fit in his bed). They loved sitting on their couches throughout the weekend.

Tyler had Santa diapers from Grandma. I have to say, they are cute.

Drew and Elijah with their coordinating Bears Santa hats.

Someone is excited to open presents!

Tyler enjoying a cookie. He's our little cookie monster!

Grandma found some neat books for the kids. This one had a pen that did something cool - as you can see by the expression on the kids faces.

All the celebrating had some little one's tuckered out...

...and some big ones too.

Cookie Bake

2011-12-26T10:12:00.002-06:00

Before our Christmas at my parents, my sister-in-law, Stacey and I decided to do a cookie bake with the kiddos so we had some tasty treats to bring to mom and dad's.

Eva and Stacey dipped pretzels in chocolate. While Eli and I did sprinkles on top.

We also decorated sugar cookies.
Serious business. And I love their little aprons Grandma made them.

Trust me, he had fun, but I couldn't resist snapping this picture of him as he waited ever so patiently for Eva to finish dipping pretzels.

It was almost impossible to get a good picture of these two because Eva kept biting into her cookie and you can't tell with her hand over it, but this cookie was loaded with sprinkles!

Decorating for Christmas

2011-12-26T09:01:00.005-06:00

Our house decorating took more than just a day or two. One of the days we decorated was a sleepover night with the niece and nephew. They are wearing PJ's that St. Nicholas brought them and here we are getting ready for bed. Of course, the dogs had to have a goodnight story too.

Nick decorating the high ledges in our living room.
Decorating the "kids" tree with all of my Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake, and Nick's Star Wars ornaments - with a few other random Hallmark ornaments as well. I was so excited to show Nick my Harley Davidson Barbie. I've loved motorcycles since my Grandpa took me for my first ride.

We had a system for decorating the tree. Elijah and I worked together to put the metal hanging piece on the ornament then we handed off to Eva who brought the ornament to Uncle Nick. It was serious work.

Nick hanging the star on the tree. Yes, he actually had to stand on the ladder and use an extend-a-reach apparatus. Nick insisted on having the biggest tree from the tree lot and since we have such wonderful high ceilings, I thought why not?

Well, this is why not. At about 4 a.m. the morning after we set the tree up we heard a loud "thud". Nick and Gus investigated and found the tree had fallen. Apparently our stand was not quite large enough for the size tree we had. When the tree fell, it thankfully only took out one fan blade from our ceiling fan. Nick waited until stores opened that morning to head out in search of a new tree stand. After visiting MANY stores, he learned that there isn't a store in Springfield that sells tree stands for this large of a tree, but a kind employee of ACE Hardware had the genius idea of putting sand bags around the base of the tree to keep it upright. This saved us the headache of forking out big bucks and rush delivering a tree stand. And it worked!

Then the story takes a twist as we get a phone call that evening from a local farm implement store. Nick had gone in that morning for a tree stand and while he waited for employees there to check in the back for their largest tree stand, Nick entered into a contest to win a flat screen LED TV. Wouldn't you know - he won the television!

So, maybe we'll get another 12 foot tree next year. It all worked out in the end and we continue to have a good laugh about this tree.

The picture above is the day we bought this tree. As you can see, all fan blades are in tact. Luckily, all we put on the tree this night were the lights and star, so no ornaments were destroyed. Imagine seeing this gigantic thing laying on your living room floor with pine needles everywhere. Oh it was a mess!

But as you can see below, we picked up the pieces. I had to do a double tree skirt around the base to try to hide the sandbags.

It's hard to get a good picture, but this is how the ledge turned out. Nick did a great job. I'm no fan of heights, so Nick climbed the ladder and placed everything just right. Of course, he was in charge of the electrical aspect as well.

I would say the stairs are the dogs favorite holiday decoration. Each step has a Christmas stuffed animal decoration. Surprisingly, our dogs do a great job of leaving the animals alone, although Xbox will occasionally pick one up and leave it in the middle of a room for us. She doesn't chew it up or anything, so I think she's just reminding me of the fact that she's being a good dog. Now our foster puppies, they don't do quite as well. Baby gates come in handy when we are fostering puppies.

This is the final product of the "kids" tree.
The guest room Christmas tree has all of our "family" ornaments. Each year I have an ornament made at the craft festival in my hometown. We also have pictures of the niece and nephews in the photo frame ornaments. It's a little tree, but we like the room to be festive for our guests.

You can't forget the mistletoe.
I love our nativity scene.

One of my favorite new ornaments from this year.
The other half of our village went on the fireplace.

And the finished tree - isn't it beautiful! I wish we could keep these decorations up all year round.

We hope you enjoyed decorating for the holidays as much as we did!

Gobble Gobble

2011-12-26T08:23:00.002-06:00

I'm really trying to remember to take pictures more often and I feel like I'm doing better, but that doesn't mean my frequency of blog posts is improving. One step at a time, right?

Well, better late than never. We spent Thanksgiving 2011 with the Jackson side of the family. And it wouldn't be a true Jackson Thanksgiving without the boys trying to get into mischief...
Noah decided to challenge Nick to a "Food Network-style eating competition". The challenge was all spicy foods: deviled eggs, loaded potato skins, buffalo chicken dip, and so on. As you can see from Nick's plate it was a reasonable amount of food, but it was the spicy factor that was the challenge.

I couldn't be more proud! Nick won the challenge.

And his prize was this silly holiday t-shirt. Of course, he won bragging rights as well - which is as good as gold in Nick's mind.

The Mamma in the kitchen with her boys.

Bosco

2011-11-06T21:08:00.002-06:00

I'm calling him my early birthday present...Nick finally gave in to my begging and let us get a foster puppy. We haven't fostered much this year at all. This sweet little guy is named Bosco. He's a pit bull mix and is 4 months old. His previous owners figured out he was sick with Parvo and realized they could not afford to treat him so he was surrendered to the Animal Protective League.

Don't mind Nick's pile-o-shoes in the background. Obviously I hadn't cleaned the house yet when taking this photo.

The picture above is a little creepy, but below you can see that Bosco and Nick are taking a little nap on the couch. Isn't he a sweetie!!!

And here is earlier on in the day when Nick was trying to hold him still for a picture.

I'd say the jury is still out on how our dogs feel about this little intruder. Xbox has been indifferent. Chewbacca was OK with him until he tried to snuggle with her for a nap. She got grumpy and went to sleep somewhere else. Gus is just beside himself. I think he's fascinated with this little "thing". To Chewy and Xbox these little visitors are old news.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-09T09:18:00.003-05:00

Every year we make a trip to the pumpkin patch with Stacey and the kids. Last year was a bit of a bust with a quick trip to a lame patch because we ran out of time, so this year we were determined to find a good pumpkin patch to make up for it. We also had a crew of friends join us this year!

The kids posing for a cute picture. There were so many cameras snapping shots they didn't know where to look.

Elijah and Uncle Nick trying to rope a steer. It was pretty hard!

Elijah driving a tractor...look out!

Eva on the train ride. A small tractor pulled a line of cars. Each child had a barrel they sat in and "drove". Nick tried to get on the ride, but they said the weight limit was 100 lbs. He tried to negotiate by asking if he could lay over the top of two cars, but the offer was declined.

This was a tunnel slide. It didn't go very fast, but the kids enjoyed it and it certainly wore them out to run up the hill to get in line and go down the slide again.

Nick, Ayreanna (our friend's daughter and favorite dog sitter), and I did the corn maze. It was an added expense, but Nick really wanted to try it out and Ayreanna enjoyed doing something that was more for "big kids" than for the little kids.

All the kids got their faces painted. Elijah had a football helmet face. It was really cool, but somehow I missed getting a picture of him. Eva is a daisy face. So cute!

This "giant pillow" was fun for big and little kids! The Mom's and Aunt Lisa were cracking up the whole time.

There was so much fun stuff to do at this pumpkin patch and it wasn't too expensive at all. The kids were exhausted. We stayed for almost 4 hours!

To finish off our trip we all picked out pumpkins. I think you can tell by the picture that all the kids were pretty worn out from the day. We will definitely try this pumpkin patch again. It was an hour drive to Normal, but it was worth the trip!

Sleepover!!!

2011-10-09T08:44:00.003-05:00

It had been a while since the kids last stayed over, so we booked them for an overnight and had lots of fun!

I found these iron-on t-shirt maker kits from Target on clearance (yeah baby!) The kids got to pick out how many legs, arms, eyes, etc. their monster t-shirt had. There were a variety of silly eyes, teeth, mouths, and accessories for the kids to pick from. It was a little trying for me as I had to be the one to iron on each body part and, of course, this wasn't really Elijah's favorite thing as he'd rather be running around outside.

As you can see, Elijah wanted his monster to have two mismatched eyes and two mouths. He also wanted a second eyeball baseball to be floating in the air. There were many more crazy ideas he had, but I talked him down to these few. Silly kid!

Eva's princess monster was just as difficult as Elijah's because it had to be PERFECT! (Where does she get that from!?!) I thought it might look odd when she decided she wanted the arms of her monster to come out of the wings, but actually it turned out kind of cool. She was in favor of utilizing all accessories that came with this kit, but we decided on just one crown and one bow. She loves accessories. Now that she gets from Auntie Lisa!

Eli looks like a deer in headlights, doesn't he? I couldn't get these two to smile at the same time to save my life, so we just went with the best overall picture.

Later we went to some garage sales. Uncle Nick gave the kiddos each a dollar in quarters to spend. They both came home with a bunch of loot. It seemed like every place they bought something the "cashier" would give them a few "bonus items" (aka more junk they didn't want to keep) so Matt and Stacey were thrilled with Uncle Nick and Aunt Jean. Both kids got a few books out of the day and Elijah found this cool horse (above). He is a horse fanatic, so it was a great find. Plus, supposedly, it was an expensive collector's item not that Eli cares.

On the road to find some good sales!

For breakfast we made homemade doughnuts. Eva decided to make hers into a smiley face.

We picked out our icing.

She started a trend...

Elijah added apple wedge eyebrows to his...so cute!

And Uncle Nick had to be silly and say his face was exclaiming, "OOOOhhh"

What's the Score?

2011-10-09T08:12:00.004-05:00

If you are ever in need of a score board operator for a volleyball game, look no further! Nick has been working the scoreboard for my sister-in-law, Stacey's volleyball games this season. Last year he covered for a few games and did a great job, so he was asked to work the home games "full time" this year. We enjoy seeing Stacey's team play and it's very convenient and close to where we live, so it works out well for everyone.

Stacey even got Nick this t-shirt that says on the front "See You in Court" and on the back it says "You have just been served".

The Williamsville Bullets are having a great season! There are only a few more home games, but we hope to see them do well in championship games (not sure if that is the technical term).

On the Road...

2011-09-16T06:53:00.005-05:00

This past weekend Nick and I were heading to the Frankfort (Chicago area) for a wedding. Since we were the only company at my parents house that weekend, we decided to try to bring the whole Jackson family. Yep, dogs and all...

Xbox traveled very well. She always has and is the only dog that has gone the full 3 hour drive to Grandma and Grandpa Carlson's.

Gus was not so well behaved. After 30 minutes of whining in the car, I think I started to see steam coming out of Nick's ears. It was a little tense for a long time, but we stopped and walked Gus and that seemed to help him a little. The last hour of the trip he slept and the ride home was much better as we took him for a nice, long walk before we left town. Lesson learned.

Xbox is the only dog that somewhat behaves on her leash, so she is allowed to be walked by Grandma.

Chewy being walked by Auntie Lisa.

Xbox at Grandma and Grandpa's chewing on her bone and making herself at home.

Thanks to Sue and Mike who lent us their vehicle. It would have been quite a mess to try to travel in my little Saturn or Nick's Maxima. It looks like we need to consider an Acadia for our next vehicle.

Poor Chewbaca is exhausted. She has no problem making herself at home.

And our baby, Gus, is utterly confused. I can't sit on the couch??? But he adjusted to the new rules quickly and by the end of the weekend I didn't notice him attempting to get on the furniture anymore.

Nick is getting the crew packed for the ride home.

Chewy found a good spot to relax her head - she gets the whole middle row of seats to herself, but she has to be close to Mom and Dad.

Overall we had a great trip and Nick has even resigned to say we "might" try this again :)

The Other Woman

2011-08-20T15:25:00.004-05:00

Well, it finally happened. Nick has found his true love.

After much debate, discussion, and flat out arguing...Nick has won his battle and is now the proud owner of a Harley Davidson super glide 100th anniversary edition. I don't know what all that means, but she is pretty.

And he does look handsome on that bike. Don't worry Grandma's and Mom's - he has many, many rules that I am adding to as the day progresses (feel free to send me suggestions). He promises to always ride safely and remember all the family members that love him dearly. I was looking for a picture of my first bike ride with my Grandpa, but I can't seem to find it. Either way, I have always enjoyed riding bikes. I can't wait until Nick is comfortable enough on the bike to ride with a passenger. Until then I'll have to enjoy the view below :)

Top Dog

2011-07-08T13:28:00.002-05:00

Well, we finally got one of our dogs out on my dad's boat and as you can see, she is spoiled!

Nick holding Xbox's boat bag which is stocked with a water dish, bottled water, treats, and sunscreen - yes, sunscreen...her pink nose will burn! Any yes, she is wearing a life jacket. As far as we can tell she does not have a breed in her that gives her any sort of water skills, so the vest was really nice to have. It makes getting her on and off the boat much easier and gives us a little peace of mind when she's being adventurous.
A few times we stopped the boat to have a little swim. Xbox enjoyed cooling off in the water, but stayed close by mommy or daddy the whole time (I have a few bruises and scratches to prove that I held her as well.)

As you can see, it's a tough life our dogs live. And while our littlest, Xbox, does well on the boat we have already decided that Chewbacca (our 113 lb. Great Dane) and Gus (our 60 lb. Pitt bull) are going to stay on land permanently.

Summer Boating Season Has Begun

2011-06-13T09:21:00.003-05:00

This weekend we took the boat out for our first summer run. Why did it take us so long to get the boat out you ask? Well, my Dad's company has opened new buildings overseas and they've sent him to assist with the start up. So this is the first (and one of the few) weeks he has been home this summer. The day after Father's Day he'll be back in Sweden for another month or so. We've missed him terribly, but this weekend was a lot of fun and we're glad to have this time to spend with him before he goes back.

It's hard to beleive Nick has only been skiing for 2 summers. Above is video footage of day 2 of his third summer skiing and as you can see, he's really very good! His goal this summer was to learn how to jump the wake. Since he's already achieved that goal, who knows, he may just do flips by the end of the summer!

Jim Gill Concert

2011-04-22T08:13:00.002-05:00

April 10th - 16th was Week of the Young Child! Elijah's preschool programs had many fun opportunities through the week. On Thursday he and I went to the college for a Jim Gill concert! I decided to get a little dressed up for our special night. Eli told me I looked "Prancy" (I believe he put together the words "pretty" and "fancy"...that or he thought I looked like a horse...lol...doubt it!) I thought that was precious and it just about made my week.

For the pre-game to the concert they had face painting, art, and snacks to entertain the little ones. Elijah and I decided the line for face painting was too long so he stuck to the art. His caregivers cut construction paper into circles. They gave the children markers to draw on their circle while it spun around on record players.

So fun! Then he brought his creation to another caregiver who helped him turn his circle into a hat. He made one for sister too. What a sweet boy.

The concert was so great because it was completely interactive. Jim expects the children to run around the room, talk while he's singing, and have to use the restroom every other minute. As he stated several times during the show - the program was more about the family time than it was about Jim Gill. He wanted to see children dancing with their parents, giggling and laughing. And that was exactly what happened.

Elijah danced and clapped through nearly the whole concert. His feet never stopped moving!

There was a song about brushing teeth. Elijah is demonstrating how that is done :)

If you ever have a chance to bring a little one to a Jim Gill concert - I highly recommend it! I've always been a fan of his music since my early years in Early Childhood as a Toddler Teacher. His music is fun and silly and you just can't help but laugh and dance. What better way to spend an evening!

Craven (aka JR)

2011-04-22T08:03:00.002-05:00

Another foster puppy came and went before I had the chance to blog about him. This is Craven (but we called him JR). We had him for less than a week and he was adopted at the first adoption day he went to. He's some type of Boston Terrier mix. Last I checked, his brother Wes (who has a brindle coat) is still looking for his forever home. I also wanted to share these photos so everyone can see what a ferocious beast my Gus has proven to be. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but Gus is playing with JR and letting JR "dominate" the play. Gussy is laying on his back in a submissive pose while all 8 lbs. of JR are on top of Gus in a dominant move. Our sweet Gus wouldn't hurt a fly. He's such a wonderful addition to the pack.
As I'm posting about JR...our current foster, Isabella, is laying down for a nap at my feet. Maybe I'll get around to posting about her before she leaves us for bigger and better things.

Augustus "Gus" Jackson

2011-03-27T20:12:00.003-05:00

It's a boy! I cannot believe I haven't posted about our latest edition to the family - Augustus! Or as we like to call him, "Gus" or "Gussy". We adopted him earlier this month from the APL, of course. He started off as a foster, but quickly we decided that this one wasn't getting away from us. We did the math and decided we could find a way to feed another mouth :) Nick has wanted a male dog for some time - can you tell by this picture how glad he is to have a boy around?!?

Gus, Chewy, & Nick down for a nap. Xbox is looking at me wondering who is going to play with her. Poor girl has more energy than all three of the couch potatoes!

Can't you tell it's rough being a Jackson dog?

Gus is not very cooperative when taking pictures. Nick and I were running around - I had the camera & Nick had his phone - both of us were hoping to get a good shot of him.

He's pretty thin still in this picture. His previous owner starved him, so our #1 goal was to get him at a solid weight. Our vet says she'd like to see about 5 lbs. more on him and he should be good. Gus is almost 2 years old. He's a red/tan Pitt Bull and just about the sweetest, most mellow dog I've ever known!

Handy Nicky

2011-03-08T20:13:00.000-06:00

Mom and Dad got Nick and I new curtains for our dining room! We were so excited and grateful as our dining room is mostly windows & draperies are expensive.

Nick firing up the drill.

These are the scrolls that the curtain rod hangs from once we get them installed.

Just for fun I took a few pictures of Nick's tools while he worked on the project. Since he has this week off for Spring Break, this is at the top of his "Honey Do" list. I'll post photos when the project is complete. I'm so excited!!!

Elijah's Birthday

2011-03-07T20:01:00.000-06:00

Elijah celebrated his 4th birthday last month!

Opening presents

Enjoying cookie cake made by his crush Jenny Ray

Everyone singing Happy Birthday

The kiddos hamming it up

Chloe & Heath

2011-03-06T17:26:00.003-06:00

Try not to notice the dirty window, this muddy weather is wreaking havoc on the sliding back door. Chloe, Xbox and Chewbacca waiting to come inside.

Nick busted me taking a nap with the kiddos. Aren't they sweet! Chloe was adopted by a nice family with an older dog.

And then we got Heath...back.

Heath was our foster this past summer. He was much smaller back then. He was adopted, but returned by a family that couldn't afford to feed this growing boy. Shocker - he eats a lot! He's a Great Dane/Coonhound mix after all. Fortunately, he was returned and we had room for a foster, so we had an opportunity to spend some more time getting to know this wonderful dog.

Chewy, Nick and I all loved Heath, but Xbox was another story. She was not very accepting of Heath, but after a solid week together Xbox finally started to ease up on the little boy. Even so, we decided he was not meant to stay with our family. Heath was adopted this past weekend and already we have another foster...

Broken Leg Day

2011-01-31T20:32:00.002-06:00

I played hooky from work today to spend some time with Elijah. He broke his leg Friday night and was struggling with pain, frustration, and difficulty sleeping. I work for a company that is very generous with their benefits, so I have plenty of time to use up and thought I would help out my little buddy. Stacey's school has already called a snow day for tomorrow, so he will have another day to recuperate and get accustomed to this temporary lifestyle change.

He played a bit of Wii first thing in the morning. Chewy is "helping him out". He kept giving her pats and saying, "That's my Chewbac-obama."
All smiles. He is too handsome!

Elijah's way of soothing at night is to run his blankie through his pigs (toes). I know, gross, his mom tells him too, but he loves it. Thankfully there is one set of pigs he can still access.

For lunch he made his own PB & J sandwich & he used a cookie cutter to make it heart shaped. We have to find little ways to have fun with his limited mobility.

Hercules & Elijah's Broken Leg

2011-01-31T20:16:00.002-06:00

This is our newest foster pup - Hercules. He is not available for adoption...yet. It will probably be a solid month before he's ready for his forever home. Hercules is a rat terrier that was rescued from a hoarding situation. He's great with our dogs and a sweet guy once he gets to know you.

Saturday night Nick & I watched the kiddos while Matt & Stacey were at Stacey's work Christmas party. It was a crazy weekend since we were supposed to have the kids for the night, but the night before Elijah broke his leg. He was jumping off of Eva's bed & broke his tibula. In order for Eli to be comfortable & have good sleep we went to their house for the evening.
We made heart shaped pastries for dessert. Each kid (& Nick) were given a heart to cover with their choice of blackberry or strawberry jam. The we put a second heart (which was cut out of pie crust) over top and scored the edges. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and top with icing - yum!

Eva enjoyed icing her heart, but didn't enjoy the treat all together. She preferred licking the icing from her knife. Oh well, it was a fun activity either way :)

Nick took this picture of Elijah's leg. The cast goes clear up to his thigh. Tomorrow he has a doctor's appointment and hopefully they'll set him up with something (crutches, wheelchair, etc.) to increase his mobility. He's really quite a trooper though - despite his frustrations, pain and trouble sleeping.

Elijah's Overnight

2011-01-31T20:05:00.002-06:00

Last week Eli stayed overnight for the "first" time on his own. Actually, he's stayed on his own before, but that was when the rest of his family was sick and he was sent off to our house in the hopes that he would not get sick too. So it was a last minute deal & we didn't have any fun stuff planned.

This overnight was different than his first real one. He and Uncle Nick played some Wii games...of course!
Then later in the evening we went to the YMCA for family swim!

He was exhausted & slept sooooo good that night. Before bed he & Uncle Nick enjoyed a little snack after burning off all those calories swimming.

Galena Christmas Trip

2010-12-28T17:10:00.004-06:00

Double Trouble

The first night in Galena (for Nick and I) - we lounged around the house & played pool in the basement. Sue's relaxing on the couch by the pool table area.

We woke up the day after Christmas & opened gifts. Nick and I got Mike this Jack Daniel's set & a gift card to a local restaurant. There are many more pictures, but I try to keep the blog pictures somewhat brief. There will be more on Facebook.

Noah skiing...funny since he's already SO tall! All the skiers enjoyed themselves & did really well on the slopes!

Nick took this picture of me at our anniversary lunch. I have a terrible case of hat head, but we didn't have many of our anniversary and I had to pick at least one picture to share.

This is the front view of the home we stayed at in Galena. The master suite took up the top floor. The main floor had a bedroom, living room, dining area, kitchen area, and a screened in porch. Downstairs in the basement was the pool table area, 2 bedrooms and another screened in porch. It was perfect for the whole family to stay comfortably on our trip!

At the main lodge on the resort Nick saw this "Gingerbread" house & wanted me to snap a photo of him "eating" the house. Leave it to Nick - he'll eat anything.

Riding back from downtown Galena. We were stopped at a gas station. The ride was hilarious as we shared funny stories about the Jackson boys.

Adam got in a bit of trouble with Sue & I couldn't resist snapping a quick photo. As you can see by the grins on their faces - no one was injured.

We didn't take many photos of the scenery, so on the drive back home to Riverton, Nick took a few photos out the window. It was absolutely gorgeous. We were so fortunate to have this time with our family. It was so relaxing and fun - a much needed break from the daily grind.

The Noslrac's Visit

2010-12-12T14:03:00.002-06:00

I don't remember how it started exactly, but Adam & Michelle were the originators of the title "Noslrac"...Carlson spelled backwards.

Anyway, Adam, Michelle, Drew, & Tyler came to visit. The circumstance surrounding their visit was unfortunate, but we were so glad to spend time with them. I forgot to take pictures the first day...I think because everything happened so fast, but I remembered for day 2!

Drew & Uncle Nick

We all started off with a lazy day. I don't think any of us changed out of PJ's before 10 a.m. Drew did finger painting first, then moved on to cutting, gluing, and finally a little bit of play dough.

He really concentrated hard on his cutting. The gluing was not as interesting to him, he just wanted to cut, cut, cut. Tyler woke up from a nap and enjoyed a snack at his makeshift table (he sat on the kitchen counter & ate - fear not, I had a hand on him the whole time).

I was trying so hard to get a shot of his face, but my camera has a long delay & wouldn't "snap" when I wanted it to. I probably would have taken 100 more photos if I had a decent camera. Either way, here is Tyler giggling about something - I think X-Box was nearby. He loved her - so long as she didn't lick his face :)

Finally! A good shot of Tyler...chowing down :)

My Birthday Weekend

2010-12-11T17:40:00.007-06:00

Nick spoiled me the weekend of my birthday. We took the train to Chicago and spend Friday night with the Jackson side of our family. Sue, Noah, and Mike met us in the city. Unfortunately, our train took 2 HOURS longer than it should have to get to Chicago, so by the time we arrived we were exhausted and ready for bed. Noah and Nick decided they would snuggle up and watch a movie. Brotherly love at it's finest :)
The next day we went to Navy Pier. As we wandered around we found a stained glass Museum, so the boys modeled by one of the displays for me. Aren't they handsome!

Nick and I took a few photos by at Navy Pier.

Mike, Noah, Sue & Nick as we walked back to the hotel. It was so great that they did all this for my birthday! I think everyone had a great time.

It was a little chilly & rainy, but nothing we couldn't handle.

At Navy Pier, Sue found a shop selling these strange balls that "splat" when you throw them against something, then regain their original form in about 15 seconds.

Noah cracking up as he continues to "splat" his ball on the coffee table at the hotel. The boys managed to break the balls before we left Chicago.

When Sue, Mike, & Noah left Chicago Saturday afternoon, we met up with the Carlson side of the family for dinner.

Eva, Elijah, Matt, Stacey, Lisa, Mom & Dad all met us at The Cheesecake Factory.

Then we took the Metra train home. I let the kids have my camera to help pass the time. Not sure which kid took this picture of Nick, but they did pretty good.

Mom and Dad on the train.

Nick and Elijah being goofy.

Somehow the kids got the idea to perform "surgery" on nearly all of us. Aunt Lisa was instructed to cover my face (this was the anesthesia) so that Eva could perform surgery on my legs.

The doctor is giving me my prognosis. I believe I was advised to do physical therapy.

What a wonderful family I have! We had a great time in Chicago!

And now, I need to tend to the new foster puppy that we picked up today!!! Guess what the next Jolt will be about :)

Halloween

2010-12-11T14:07:00.004-06:00

I don't know how I got so far behind, but I did. So here's a catch up of the latest news around the Jackson house..

Halloween came & went. Above is a vintage picture of me, my sister, & friends. I'm guessing it's dated in the early 90's. I'm the Genie - top row, 2nd over - go figure!
Now to present day. The only guy in the Army that carries his blue blankie around - Elijah! And Eva is the only Geisha girl with a necklace full of Silly Bandz.

Notice how little man is trying to hide his blankie in this shot. I love Eva's straws in her hair - yellow of course.

Matt & Stacey were in a pickle as this year has been very trying for them and Halloween approached rapidly, so we rummaged through Auntie Jean's dress up clothes (Halloween costumes purchased at 90% off from the previous year) and success!

Calling in commands - sans blankie.

Isn't she a doll.

Sneak Preview...

2010-11-21T13:55:00.009-06:00

We were so fortunate to have lovely weather the day we took our family picture. As you can see, the sun was shining & I didn't shiver one bit. Chewbacca and X-box were a little difficult to pose, but I was really happy with how our pictures turned out. Thanks to our amazing photographer - Amber Babbs! You can check her out on her facebook page for her business - 3 boys and a camera photography. The girls got new red collars for the photo shoot to coordinate with mom & dad :)

Time for an outfit change...

My hair fell flat, but I love the orange & brown colors in these photos.

So are you excited to see what our Christmas cards will look like!?! We hope you enjoyed the sneak preview of our photo session.

I've Created A Monster

2010-10-11T13:28:00.002-05:00

As many of you are well aware, one of my favorite things to do is clean. Nothing pleases me more than the smell of laundry, bleach, and freshly vacuumed carpeting. The niece and nephew were over last week and I thought we could dust. As a family. I know, I'm twisted. As you can see...they had a good time!

Elijah is showing you his duster.

He's cleaning the door to "his room". We have 2 doors like this in the house that lead to storage. We joke with the kiddos that these are their rooms. They come in handy for Hide and Go Seek games with Uncle Nick!

More of Elijah.

Trust me, Eva had fun...it just doesn't look that way. For some reason she didn't want her photo taken that day - except for this one time. Maybe she's imitating me - I tend to get "in the zone" when I clean :)

And the duster turned into a drum. Gotta love those boys!

September 2010 Puppies

2010-09-21T09:50:00.003-05:00

This is Dude. He is a 3 month old dachshund puppy. I'm pretty sure we already have a home for him, but isn't that little face so cute!
Not a bad picture of Bubba! Bubba is Dude's brother, also a male dachshund puppy.

Daisie is our Chihuahua princess. She's a feisty little thing. She loves playing with her brothers, but isn't so sure about her foster sisters. All 3 of these pups were rescued from a puppy mill.

Chewbacca and Bubba making friends. The boys like to get up on their hind legs and try to get in Chewy's face. Chewy loves the babies. She just has to be careful when all 3 are out of their pen because they tend to run circles around her feet and she inevitably steps on one of them. Bubba has short hair and Dude is a long haired dachshund.

Bubba, Chewbacca, & Xbox are checking each other out. Xbox isn't so sure about this group of puppies. She tends to steer clear of the pups when they all play in the yard and doesn't care much to play in their room of the house. (We keep the puppies baby gated in the kitchen until they're potty trained.)

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-21T09:39:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to post these for a while. Labor day weekend we went to visit my parents in Frankfort. There is a wonderful festival every year this weekend with crafts, carnival rides, and yummy food! My brother, Adam, and his wife, Michelle, and boys, Tyler and Drew all came up for the weekend as well. Drew is such a character! He has tons of energy, like any 2 year old boy, and at the same time has a sweet, gentle side to him. We're still learning about Tyler's personality, but he is undoubtedly one of the most easy going babies I've ever known.

Drew loves his daddy.
And mommy!

Drew riding the dragon-coaster at the fair.

Tyler and Grandpa.

Drew won a hammer at a game booth and decided this was a good opportunity to pop daddy on the head...lol!

Indoor Waterskiing Lessons

2010-09-15T10:19:00.002-05:00

E-squared were over for a few nights last week. Matt (my brother) was terribly sick with a virus and my poor sister in law was desperate to keep the kiddos from getting sick. So they packed up and moved in with Auntie Jean & Uh Nick! One day, I was washing dishes & turn around to see Elijah "skiing" with my Strawberry Shortcake slippers! But, he wasn't skiing with two skis. Oh no, Elijah was slalom skiing - just like Grandpa :) Eva quickly joined in his play and giggles ensued. These two have such creative minds. I love participating in their pretend play.
I believe Eva said, "Get my picture too!"

Eli slalom skiing with Strawberry Shortcake slippers.

Back to School

2010-08-31T20:38:00.002-05:00

Nick started back to school last week. He's taking 4 classes (14 hours total): Biology, Geology, Geography, & Film Literature. I know, poor guy, I made him take pictures...but I'm really proud of him! It has not been a quality relationship - Nick and academics, but he's been given a great opportunity and he has found numerous resources to assist him with his dyslexia (although, so far, he's only had to utilize one service - audio books...amazing!)
His biggest concern (besides getting to school early enough to find a shaded spot) was Film Lit. Rumor was...the teacher was tough! But, turns out, it was just a rumor. So far he's truly enjoying each of his classes.

Here are his notebooks all ready and his class schedule.

This was the night before school started. He was a nervous wreck packing his bag (and lunch) for school, but so far the school has been extremely helpful and accommodating to his needs. His teachers have maintained his interest - and that's not easy to do!

Tomorrow he has his first big assignment due. He signed up to be the first to present his critique of a film in his Film Literature class. Nick has worked so hard on this project I'm sure he's going to knock it out of the park. He's naturally at ease in front of a crowd and just for good measure he brought candy to share with his classmates - genius!

I know the Grandparents like to see what we're up to through our blog, so I'll try to keep you posted on how his classes are going.

Lake Shelbyville Trip

2010-08-14T17:05:00.004-05:00

It's been a couple weeks now that we have been back from our Shelbyville trip. Michelle, the paparazzi of the family, took some great pictures that I thought I would share.

Nick and I, relaxing on the boat.
Uncle Nick - S'more maker extraordinaire!

Elijah & Drew watching the tuber or skier (I wasn't on the boat for these pics). I love that the 3-year-old and 2-year-old are the best at spotting (there should always be someone spotting to see if the tuber or skier wants to go faster, slower, quit, or if they take a fall). These two are so cute with their little matching life vests too.

The four amigos! Eva, Tyler, Eli, & Drew

Uncle Nick and Drew feeding the fish at the dock.

Kids being kids :) They had a great time & no one got hurt! Ahhhh...to be young again!

Look at that precious face and tell me your heart doesn't just melt. Tyler D is just about the best baby ever, but I'm not biased or anything :)

I love that Nick and Tyler are looking at Eva as if she is telling the best story ever. I wonder what she's telling them???

We had such a blast spending time with family on our trip to Shelbyville. Nick got in a lot of skiing time and I enjoying soaking up the rays and relaxing on the boat. The cabins we rented were perfect for our large group. When the kiddos were out for the night we were able to play cards and chat without disturbing their sleep. We ate like kings, but as Michelle says...when you're on vacation the diet is off :) And since she brought the puppy chow & rice crispy treats...the diet was off! The kids are getting so big so fast. Last year their attempts to tube with an adult were short-lived, but this year we had some brave little souls who wanted to tube their little hearts away. Who knows, next year we may have one of them decide to try it alone...now that will be nerve-wracking! Nick is hoping to master slalom skiing next summer and I'm hoping to perfect my "tan".

Jester...

2010-08-09T14:17:00.003-05:00

Is the Dane I am currently infatuated with. He is visually impaired, so he's considered a "special needs" dog. No, we are not fostering this fella. I just like to stalk Great Danes that are available for adoption. He's my latest crush. Jester resides in Michigan and since I'm sure I cannot fit my husband, Chewbacca, and Xbox in my Saturn with this beefy hunk, I won't get to keep him. But a girl can dream, right? He's house trained, he knows commands, he walks well on a leash...I'm so in love.
I know you all love the sweet little puppies we foster and I do too, but if you are seriously considering adopting a dog...think about an older dog. Please! This month there is an imitative to try to get older and "special needs" dogs adopted. These dogs go for so long waiting for "forever homes" and really they are more ideal for people to consider adopting. You don't have to worry about housebreaking, sometimes they know commands, and at their ripe ages you know more about their temperament.
So why am I telling you all of this? Well, Nick and I really thought about keeping our current foster dog. He's so cute and sweet and floppy and dopey and lovable, but we do not have the time or finances for a puppy. Now if we had a larger vehicle, we'd drive to Michigan to meet Jester in a heartbeat.
Go to www.petfinder.com to find an adoptable pet near you!

Nick's Amazing Skiing Skills

2010-08-01T19:10:00.002-05:00

We just returned home from our family vacation with the Carlson side. Nick just learned how to ski last summer and this summer he has really amazed us with his progress. Going inside and outside of the wake is not as easy as he makes it look. As you can see from the ending, he's still working on his jumps :) No worries, he's fine after the fall. Had we had a little more time he was going to try his hand at slalom skiing, but that might just have to wait until next summer. His determination never ceases to amaze me so I'm sure he'll have various other skills mastered by the end of next summer.

More pictures from the trip are coming soon...just have to wait for my sister & sisters-in-law to send me their pics :)

Fancy Nancy Birthday Party

2010-07-12T21:46:00.003-05:00

My amazingly fantastic, beautiful, charismatic niece & Goddaughter, Eva, turned 5 this month. Last weekend was her Fancy Nancy Birthday Party with her friends. To quote her friend Carmen, "This is the fanciest party I've ever been to!" So I believe the party was a big hit for the girls.

Striking a pose for the camera.

In addition to having custom made tu-tu skirts, the girls had their hair done...

painted nails...

did arts & crafts...

and they created their own fancy cupcakes to enjoy! Yummy!

Meanwhile...the boys were banished to golfing, paintballing, & tending to the foster puppies. While they did not directly participate in the party, we appreciate the sacrifices they made by finding an activity to keep busy for the duration of the party since no boys were allowed...LOL!!!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

2010-07-07T17:12:00.002-05:00

Where has the time gone!?! It seems like ages since I last posted to the blog. As my mom says...I'll try to "keep the Jolts coming". Summers are so busy for our family. Thankfully we have a chance to make up for lost time with my family in the summer months. Weekends are spent lounging on the boat, tubing, skiing or we have some awesome activity planned (i.e. weddings, birthdays, etc.) I cannot wait to post about my niece's 5th birthday party! It is going to be fabulous! But in the meantime...here are the latest pups we've fostered...

Rufus is a purebred bloodhound. Beautiful dog & a lucky fella too! He was adopted on a Saturday by a Veterinarian. Free health care for life...way to go Rufus!

Kailei (black), Kelso (blonde), and Knight (brown) are our current fosters. By the way...we were given the opportunity to suggest names for this "K" litter of pups. Kailei is Nick's cousin's daughter. She is the most adorable, bubbly little girl ever & such an animal lover we thought she'd be tickled to have her name used. From there we continued to try to think of some family names and Kelsey is my sister-in-law's sister's name and sometimes they call her "Kelso". Then Knight was mom's suggestion as that was my high school mascot. We also suggested Kolby, Kyle, Kreps, Kristy...and other names that I cannot think of at the moment. I don't know what they've named the other two boys, so it's possible we had other names that made the cut. As you can tell, we had a lot of fun with this "mission".

Post bath...Double Trouble :)

These sweet pups are Retriever mixes of some sort (maybe lab & golden...who knows). They are 10 weeks old and just the sweetest babes ever. They were found abandoned. All together there were 5 pups in the litter. The other two blondie's went to other foster homes. Nick has decided he's going to try to "break me" by getting 3 this time, but I'm not easily broken folks...especially when you see those faces. Just kidding...he loves fostering as much as I do & we both love a challenge!!!

The Reception

2010-05-30T17:46:00.003-05:00

The first dance as husband & wife.

Nick's speech...he did great!

They got each other good!

Nick picked up stogies for all the men to enjoy after the "fat lady sang". The photographer got some great shots of that & she raved that she wants to suggest that to other wedding parties because she's sure they turned out really well.

We had a great time in Pennsylvania! Congratulations Adam & Lindsay!

Presenting...Adam & Lindsay Jackson!!!

2010-05-30T17:31:00.002-05:00

The beautiful bride walking down the aisle with her handsome dad. The dress was GORGEOUS and suited Lindsay to a "T". Pictures I took do not do it justice, believe me.

I believe this was right at the start of the ceremony, Adam & Lindsay were holding hands & the Pastor (who was very funny & sweet...he was tearing up during his sermon & it was an excellent talk to hear) told them that he never said to hold hands...so that had everyone chuckling.

Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Jackson

I tried to sneak a few shots that the photographer was taking without getting in the way...so no one was looking in my direction & Lindsay's eyes are closed, but they are still a good looking group!

Sue & Mike pre-ceremony.

Adam & Lindsay's Rehersal Luncheon

2010-05-28T22:44:00.003-05:00

The Pastor was cracking everyone up!

Beautiful location for their outdoor wedding.

Noah being a ham :)

Trying to get a wide shot of the bridal party & scenery. It's going to be even more beautiful tomorrow!!!

Practice, practice, practice.

Lindsay's Dad is learning his part of the ceremony.

What handsome men!

Pay attention boys!

The wedding planner adding her 2 cents in...again.

Well, time for bed. Nick is practicing his speech and we've got a big day tomorrow. I am certain I won't be as fast with pictures, but I'll do my best. Have a wonderful Memorial day weekend to all of our friends and family at home we will see you soon!

Nick's First Flight

2010-05-28T22:21:00.004-05:00

Always the dramatic actor...

Front row of the plane, we had funny tray tables.

Layover in Chicago. We had breakfast at Chili's...pretty good, but way overpriced.

Our drive to the hotel...beautiful Pennsylvania countryside.

...And they lived happily ever after.

2010-05-26T11:47:00.002-05:00

This weekend is the wedding of Nick's brother & his better half, Lindsay! We are so excited to travel to the Poconos and share in this special event with Adam & Lindsay. Many more pictures to come (if my camera cooperates). Below are their engagement photos. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! As Uncle Nick tells the kiddos..."We'll see you on the flip flop!"

We got a little goofy after the same sweet poses one after the other...this is their "You just won the lottery" picture :) My personal favorite.

And a sweet picture of the lovebirds.

Princess Leia

2010-05-17T08:50:00.003-05:00

Last night I purchased some soft, overnight curlers. My brother in law's wedding is approaching very soon and I was thinking about wearing my hair in curls one day, but I fear my hot rollers will be destroyed on the trip...so I'm experimenting. The kids have been with us for the weekend and Eva requested 2 curlers in her hair before she went to bed. This is the result. She's so funny!

I Am Blessed

2010-04-22T21:58:00.006-05:00

We all love to grumble about the many difficult, frustrating, exhausting, etc. cards we have been dealt in life. I know that I am very fortunate to have a strong team around me that enable me to see the gifts I am given each and every day. Here are a few notes & pictures of what we have been up to at the Jackson home lately. I encourage you all to dig deep and find comfort in all of your blessings.

We have new puppies! Much to my surprise, Nick jumped at the chance to foster Husky puppies. We received an email from the APL (Animal Protective League) about the boys and Nick was on the phone moments later to secure our fosters. This little fella is Sundance. He has such a sweet disposition and a beautiful yellow coat.

Sundance's little brother (a runt...so cute) is Donovan. Sorry for the red-eye on this pic, but it's probably the best picture I could get of this playful fellow. He won't stay still! His eyes are actually a beautiful bright blue.

Skeeter was our last foster. I never had a chance to blog about him because he was adopted so quickly. He was actually adopted the day we took the Huskies, so for about 2 hours we had 5 dogs in our home. Then our neighbor saw him & fell in love! So Skeet-Skeet-Skeeter (as I liked to call him) is now our neighbor. How cool is that!

Elijah & Eva love to work on training the dogs. The dogs have to "sit" or "down" to receive a treat from the kids. I think it helps the dogs to understand that even these small humans are their master.

Check out Eva! Our resident Dog Whisperer has Xbox in a "down", Chewy sitting (and trying to down, but Skeeter is in her way), and an attentive Skeeter who doesn't know any commands but will wait patiently for a treat.

The beautiful bride-to-be & my future sister-in-law...Lindsay!

Sue had a great time visiting with old friends at Lindsay's shower.

The Jackson clan chatting it up at Lindsay's shower.

Lindsay with her mom & future mom-in-law.

A view of the room before the shower began. I loved how everything turned out!

After all this...3 foster dogs in a week's time...a bridal shower...and SO much more that I'm not even going to bore you with...I could easily gripe about how exhausted I am, but I don't care about that. I have been spending more time with my niece and nephew lately...I am blessed. I am getting a new sister-in-law...I am blessed. I get to wake up every morning to my wonderful husband and four tails wagging...I love it & I am blessed.

Archer

2010-04-01T08:48:00.002-05:00

It's a rough life...I know. Snuggling up with foster Dad.
No these are not huge shoes. My future sister-in-law, Lindsay, said, "Wow! Either those are huge shoes or one tiny puppy" (or something like that). While they are bulkier than most of my shoes, they're just a size 7 women's shoe. I was trying to show his size by putting the shoe next to him.

Archer is so snuggly. When you pick him up he just curls up to you and falls asleep. It's the nice part of the puppy months. If I could get all of this and no potty accidents in the house we would foster all the time.

Since our home has been a revolving door of foster dogs lately (at least it feels like that, actually Archer is only foster #4) I seem to have neglected to post anything about the little guy. Archer joined our family about 2 weeks ago. He is such a charming little guy. I think my mother-in-law describes him well when she calls him "scrappy". He's a feisty little bugger. He certainly holds his own with Chewbacca and Xbox. He doesn't let those girls push him around. Xbox is his favorite playmate, but when he wants cuddles and love he goes to Chewbacca. He looks like he could be Xbox's baby, but acts more like Chewy's. He was so tiny when we first got him, but he's starting to bulk up. Archer was rescued from a home that was abusing his mom and pop. His parents were rescued as well as 5 of his siblings. There were 2 other siblings, but when the rescue team went to retrieve the animals they couldn't find 2 pups. Very sad, but who knows they might have ran away and found a family to care for them...we can only hope. His mom is a blue heeler and dad is a cattle dog/terrier mix. Archer seems to take after his pop.

We're getting pretty attached to the little guy. The other day we decided if he is with us for 3 more weeks we will consider adopting him. After all, he gets along so well with our girls. If he does find his forever home before then we are taking a break from fostering as Nick will soon be swamped with mowing season starting and we won't have the time to spend with them that they deserve. We'll be at PetsMart this Saturday. As much as I want to keep him, it is expensive, so whatever happens will be for the best.

The Mind of a Child

2010-03-27T15:41:00.004-05:00

The puppy adoption in the living room.

Darcher Archer, the puppy I adopted today.

Today Nick and I brought our foster dog, Archer, to an off site adoption at the mall. Our niece, Eva, & nephew, Eli, joined us for this adventure today. He sadly did not find his forever home today, but his day will come soon I am certain.

We dropped off Uncle Nick at home so that he could take care of some things. Eli fell asleep in the car, so he is currently napping in his room. Eva and I are hanging out in the living room. At first, we talked about playing a game, but then she decided she just wanted to write. So I jumped on the computer. As I began checking my email, facebook, etc. Eva started acting out our day. She is still doing so at this time and if I could sneak some video footage I totally would, but I know she will stop and smile at me if I try to do that. Anyway, here is what she's doing... She has her dog, Chief, and several stuffed puppies that she is parading around the living room & trying to adopt them out to good families. She's pretending Chief is my Great Dane, Chewbacca, but she is not available for adoption (which is what I tell her all the time). She is so hilarious! I love seeing children doing dramatic play. Eli just got up from nap & he's already asking questions of Eva about her dogs. He picked right up on what she was getting at. She's telling me if they are potty trained, what their adoption fees are, their breed, and temperament. Eva is totally repeating everything I said today to people who were thinking about adopting Archer. Ha! Now Eli is pretending to be a dog and Eva's named him "Darcher". She just clarified to me that it's kind of like Archer, but it's Darcher. I totally wish I could get a video of this. Gosh I love these kids. It's a bummer that Archer didn't get adopted, but it is such a wonderful thing for the children to experience.

While we were at the mall I was holding Eli and I told him I loved him and that he's my favorite nephew that lives in Springfield. He said, "Thank you Aunt Jean. I love you too." I cannot get over what wonderful children they are. Sure, they misbehave and act like, well, a 4 and 3 year old, but that is to be expected.

I'm sure this will go on for hours, but one more thing. Eva just informed me that Darcher's middle name is Archer and all the dog's middle names are Archer. Darcher prefers to go by his middle name of Archer. I'd better go...Darcher Archer wants me to pet him.

Off Mommy's Dress Please!

2010-03-10T22:17:00.002-06:00

That's right, I'm teaching my dogs a new command. It started today when I got home from work. I was walking up the stairs and, well let's face it, I'm short. So my dress drags a little behind me and wouldn't you know my 95 lb. Great Dane is at my heels trying her best to trip me up. "Off Chewy, off Mommy's dress!" I said with a stern voice. She gave me that beautiful blank stare that I love and I tugged my dress out from under her. This went on for the next hour as I went up and down the stairs. The perpetrator of the dress stepping rotated between the two dogs. Finally I decided to change into my pj's. So as I walked down the stairs the young Ms. Xbox stepped on my dress. I looked back in frustration and begged (I know, I'm an avid follower of the Dog Whisperer - we humans should not ASK the dog to do something, but this was getting exhausting), "Off Mommy's dress, PLEASE!" And what do you know, she stepped that little paw off of my dress. I'm pretty certain it was a fluke thing, but if I'm awake when Nick gets home tonight I will certainly tell him Xbox's new trick :)

In other Jackson Doggie News, we might get another foster dog tomorrow. Nick is going to the APL to check them out. They are some type of cattle dog mixed puppies who were in a very dangerous situation (from what we're told). Nick gets to pick out the foster's we take in since I would take them all home and he deals with them a good chunk of the day. Sooooo....I'll post some pictures when/if a new little brother arrives!

NIck's Birthday

2010-02-27T22:28:00.003-06:00

Nick's last minute birthday cake.

I found the CD's he wanted for his birthday.

And even though it has nothing to do with my blog post, Chewy took the best picture today and I had to share it! Isn't she such a lovely lady.

Nick is fortunate enough to have his birthday the day after our nephew, Elijah's, birthday. So maybe, at least on my side of the family, his birthday gets overlooked a bit. This year was his golden birthday, so I wanted to do something special for him. My mom's favorite thing is to get us the same number of gifts as our age (just for monumental birthdays - i.e. my grandma's 80th birthday). So I slowly collected 23 gifts for Nick and to increase the anticipation leading up to his birthday, I was sure to display his ever-expanding pile of gifts in the dining room. Of course, he worked on his birthday and the night before. So the night before his birthday I stayed up until he got home and by the time he walked in the door it was officially his birthday! I decided at the last minute I needed to make him a birthday cake. Luckily I had all the ingredients in the kitchen. I only had a yellow cake mix (not Nick's favorite, but it had to do), but fortunately I had chocolate frosting (his favorite). The cake was a little "done" when I took it out, but not quite burnt ;) So I loaded on the frosting, decorated & ta-da! When Nick saw the cake he said, "Wow, you made chocolate cake with chocolate icing, my favorite!" I informed him that it was in fact a yellow cake that was a little too done, but I loaded on chocolate icing for good measure. He took his cake to work the next day to share with his residents. One of the residents actually cried! But apparently he cries a lot, so I guess he wasn't astounded by the beauty of my cake. Well, they all ate the cake up and LOVED IT! Nick said he should have kept it home so he could have had more. He said it was perfect!

Getting back to the whole, "Poor Nick his birthday is after Eli's" thing. Well, it's actually not "poor Nick". For starters, Nick's dad's birthday is the 20th. So on Friday we started our birthday celebrations with Mike, Sue, & Noah. Of course, it was a dual birthday celebration and that was a blast! Then the next day was Eli's party. Granted, it wasn't a dual celebration, but Nick enjoyed his cookie & juice box. Then, like I said earlier, with Nick's work schedule our celebration was short, but fun. On the day of his birthday, Nick's mom took he and I out to lunch - YUM! Finally, two days later when Nick had a night off of work we went out to dinner with Matt, Stacey, & the kids. By the way, my sweet niece who is always so coy around her Uncle Nick actually sat next to him at dinner and not by her beloved Auntie Jean! I think I'm being dethroned. After we left the restaurant I said to Nick, "You totally lucked out with your birthday this year. It was a week-long celebration." He just smiled and said, "yeah". It was a fun week of birthday celebrations. Grandma Beals also celebrated her birthday the day after Nick's.

Funny story...Eli asked Nick about a week before their birthdays, "Hey Uncle Nick, are you pumped up about your birthday? I'm pumped up for my birthday!" He says the silliest things sometimes. Nick said, "Yeah buddy, I'm pretty pumped up."

Elijah's 3rd Birthday Party

2010-02-22T08:00:00.001-06:00

(Eli - in the orange)

This weekend was Eli's 3rd birthday party! I cannot believe it was 3 years ago this little spark of fire joined our family. Elijah is ALL BOY. He loves running, jumping, tackling, playing trucks, watching horse races (Daddy's influence), and so on. But he's also a sweet, gentle boy. The other day he ran into my hand and cracked a few knuckles. Before I could say anything, he kissed my hand and asked if I was ok. He is an absolutely amazing kid!

His party this year was at Mid-State Gymnastics. The facility had a room filled with bounce houses & slides for the kids to play on (see above). There was another room with gymnastics equipment. The kids loved jumping into the floor filled with foam squares. It was a perfect location for a children's birthday party.

Tyler D's Baptism

2010-02-21T20:33:00.003-06:00

I challenge you to find me two more handsome men...

Uncle Nick and Tyler David

Daddy & Tyler

The picture above is actually from Eli's birthday party. Nick couldn't make it to Tyler's baptism because he had to work, but he was able to see Tyler at Eli's party the day before.
The picture below is at the church prior to the baptism. Doesn't Tyler look just like his Daddy?!? He's a very mellow guy (not sure where he gets that from) and generally a happy baby. Of all the time I was able to see him this weekend I rarely heard him fuss and when he does he quickly calms down when his needs are met. Unfortunately, my camera is TERRIBLE and the pictures of the ceremony are too dark. Once I get a new camera I have a feeling I will be a blogging fool. In the meantime, I try to salvage any pictures I can to share. Anyway, congratulations to my sweet baby nephew on his baptism this weekend. It was great to see lots of Drew & Tyler this weekend at the baptism & Eli's birthday party.

St. Charles Weekend

2010-02-09T10:00:00.003-06:00

We had a blast this weekend on our Jackson family mini-vacation! We were able to visit with Nick's Aunt Missy & family while we were in St. Charles too. I didn't feel so great on Sunday, but we all survived. It was nice to get away for the weekend and enjoy some family time together.

Taking the hotel shuttle to the casino...

Lunch at the restaurant next to the casino...
Nick's 2nd cousin Emmalyn (isn't she precious!) and his brother Adam
Sue (Nick's Mom) & Adam
A majority of the gang heading out to dinner at RT Weilers.

(Noah, Nick, Adam, Sue, Uncle Fred, Mike, & Lindsay)

Moosie, Moosie, Moosie

2010-01-27T15:37:00.002-06:00

In my last post I alluded to currently have 3 dogs at home. This is our adorable foster, Moose. I've been calling him "Moosie". Last weekend at the off site adoption, Eva & Elijah came to see what happens at the adoption site and they were able to witness and meet the family that adopted Maverick (Moose's brother). It was really interesting for them. While at the adoption day, Elijah kept getting into Moose's face and saying..."Moosie, Moosie, Moosie". Moose is such a sweet, easy going fella he didn't mind at all, but we couldn't figure out why he kept doing that...until last night. I picked up the little fur ball, petted his soft little head, and said, "Moosie, Moosie, Moosie". Nick didn't miss a beat! He quickly pointed out, "That's where Eli got that from!" Sometimes I wonder if my niece and nephew are mocking their silly Aunt Jean.
So a little about our sweet Moosie. He is an Australian Shepherd, Black Lab mix. He's about 3 months of age and just as sweet as can be. Moose is nearly potty trained and completely kennel trained. He does quite well with the kids. He lets the kids pick him up...even Eli! He plays well with my dogs and is the BEST snuggler of all time. I think he'll be a wonderful family dog.

My Wonderful Husband

2010-01-25T10:35:00.003-06:00

I know...yuck. No one likes to share stories of the wonderful things our spouses, loved ones, etc. do for us. Instead we tend to gripe to our friends, coworkers, etc. about the various things our spouse does to get on our very last nerves. But I have to say, I am so blessed. Last week, after returning from a week long business trip, my husband practically kissed the ground I walked on when I returned. He fully realized how difficult it is to keep our home in order. Those of you who know me well are aware of my neurotic tendencies when it comes to cleanliness, but with four dogs in our home (that week...we're down to three now) you have to keep up on the cleaning or the house will smell like a zoo!
Anyway, that was part one of my story. The day after my return I came down with a nasty bug. Nick returned from work to find me covered in blankets, shivering, sweating, and crying :( (I'm such a baby). He helped me with everything that night and even checked on me every hour as I slept! What a wonderful man! I know I would do the same for him, but I'm not sure I'd stay up all night...I'm crabby if I don't get my sleep.
I woke up the next day feeling much better and I was finally able to clean the house to my standards this weekend. When Nick got home from work last night he was sure to tell me how wonderful the house looked.
Don't get me wrong...he makes me crazy a whole lot, but he truly is a wonderful human being and I am one lucky girl!
Do you have a heartwarming story about your husband/spouse/significant other? Tell me about it...

Pics to go along with the last post

2010-01-06T21:50:00.002-06:00

Chewbacca, Boy #1 (he's the feisty one...aka "Wild Child"), Boy #2 (he's very sweet & a little unsure of this new place...I'm calling him "Timid One"), and my first "baby" Xbox

Uncle Nick, Tyler David, & Eva JoAnn at Christmas

Drew & Daddy...someone's getting sleepy...

Elijah & Mommy...wait! Is it just me or do the parents look just as tired as the kids in these pictures :) Looks like a lot of people are getting sleepy!

Nick pulling Eva back up the snowhill after sledding down. It was FREEEZING cold! The kids were afraid of Uncle Nick's ski mask. Elijah asked Nick continually if the mask was "all gone" after we returned from sledding. Nick assured Eli that he threw the mask away, but Elijah still woke the next morning & continued to ask Nick about that darn mask!

Whew! Time has flown by!

2010-01-06T14:21:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe it is already 2010! The holiday's were a whirlwind for my family! My parents, sister, & grandma came to visit us the day before Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas Eve we had our little debacle which I blogged about earlier (see below).

Christmas Day Nick and I woke up early to exchange gifts with each other. Nick got me a Wii Fit Plus! I REALLY wanted this, but here it's January 6th and I've yet to use it. I will soon, but I've been so busy there hasn't been a moment to spare. I got Nick a bunch of clothes (pretty boring compared to my gift, but he needed it) and the movie Inglorious Bastards.

Afterwards, Nick and I spent the rest of the morning with his family. We were spoiled rotten! I loved all of my gifts, but I think Noah took the cake with his gift. I've been looking for wall transfers that say "Jackson est. 2008" or something like that, but I hadn't told anyone. And what do you know...Noah got that for me! Thanks Joe (and Sue, since I'm sure you were the brains behind it all)! Nick also loved all of his gifts, but the gift card to tigerdirect.com was what made his jaw drop to the floor! He's anxious to start building a computer for us and I'm excited too since our current "jalopy" runs at a snails pace. We had a great day playing the "crappy gift game", telling stories, watching movies, and feasting away!

Nick and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary on December 27th. He worked during the day, but was home in time for us to go out to a nice dinner. Thanks to gift cards from family for my birthday & Christmas we were able to dine out at Red Lobster at no cost to us...gotta love that! Since we've spent so much lately with the holidays we decided purchasing gifts were not necessary this year. Instead, my gift to Nick was shoveling the driveway while he was at work. Nick was going to let me indulge on a shopping trip to JoAnn Fabrics, but they were closed so we stopped at the grocery store instead...it's the thought that counts :)

Once again, on New Years Eve, poor Nick was working. He rushed home and made it in time to pop a bottle of campaign & lay a smooch on me by midnight...it was close though (we had to go by the clock on the microwave rather than the one on the oven).

On New Years Day we travelled to my parents in Frankfort for Christmas with the Carlson's. It was so fun to spend time with everyone, especially the kiddos. Drew, Eli, & Eva are growing up so fast! I love watching them play with each other. Eva is especially fond of baby Tyler David. I think my favorite moment of the weekend with the kids was when Drew went up to Eva and said, "Eva hold Drew"...Eva looked around for adult approval and when she got the OK, she crouched down & bear hugged him at the waist and lifted him up. Both kids were all smiles. It was hilarious...Eva probably cleared Drew about 2 inches off the ground, but he loved being "held" by Eva and she loved "holding" him.

I need to look into getting a new camera. Mine takes terrible pictures, but I plan to upload the few pictures I took later today, if there is time. (We are fostering 2 lab/German shepherd puppies starting today...I pick them up on my way home from work.) I love looking at the pictures when I read someones blog...which reminds me of a story of Eli & Nick at church. Eli wanted to look at Nick's "book" (the hymnal). The boys flipped through the pages & Nick quietly told Eli..."This book doesn't have any pictures buddy, I already checked." You have to love Uncles! Too funny!

Well, I think that updates everyone to the present day! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Family Christmas at the ER

2009-12-28T10:31:00.002-06:00

What holiday would be complete without a dramatic story. My family always seems to have a story brewing and this year is no different. While Lisa and I waited at Christmas Eve Mass for Matt, Stacey, & the kids, I received a text message from Matt stating Eli smashed his hand in the car door and they're heading to prompt care. Lisa and I sat stunned momentarily then replied to Matt's text message asking...is this a joke? When his short response "no" was retrieved we knew it was going to be a crazy night. As Matt and Stacey rushed Eli to prompt care (where surprisingly the care was prompt!), Lisa and I went to the house to get Eli's beloved "blankie". Now, I would not blame Elijah at all for crying, in fact I know I would, but the little champ only shed tears at the initial injury. What a trooper!

In fact, he was almost proud of his injury!

And by the time they made it home, he wouldn't stop for a minute to let me take a picture of his cast. Stacey is now rethinking that they should have requested a full body cast :)

Despite missing Christmas Eve Mass, the rest of the holiday celebrations went on without a hitch...well, at this point at least. We still have our Christmas celebration at Mom & Dad's this weekend!

We Cheer for the Cheerleaders

2009-12-21T10:47:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to my wonderfully talented little sister & her amazing cheerleading squad...this weekend they qualified for State competition! Woo Hoo! We cannot wait to cheer them on Valentine's Day 2010...go SHJH!!!

Feast your eyes on this "vintage" pic of Lisa and I when we cheered together. I wish I had a current pic of her squad, but this is the best I can do for now :)

Puppy Post

2009-12-15T15:30:00.005-06:00

So much has happened this week in the dog realm of the Jackson family.

Chewbacca passed dog obedience class!

I passed my Humane Investigator Exam!

Xbox passed obedience class!

And Rambler found a new home :( We are going to miss the little fella...especially Chewy, those two grew pretty attached.

Sick Days #2 & #3...

2009-12-12T18:04:00.005-06:00

We did some Christmas decorating with Elijah when he was home sick with us. He got to be the very first to light our advent candles.
We made collages with magazine clippings, tissue paper, construction paper & contact paper. We laid the sticky side of the contact paper up, then decorated the contact paper, and then put another piece of contact paper (sticky side down) onto the work of art. This makes for a cool art project to hang in a window (light shines through gaps & tissue paper). Elijah loved cutting & Eva looks to me like she's planning her project in her head.

Elijah made a fort with a little help from Uncle Nick. The boys giggled as they told me "No girls allowed!" This is thier reaction as I climbed into the fort.

This week we had Elijah & Eva for a few days as thier child care provider was sick & had sick kids herself...bummer! But, their loss is our gain as we got to spend some quality time with the munchkins (at least Uh Nick did, I had to work most of the time...blah).

St. Louis Zoo

2009-12-10T19:22:00.003-06:00

These pictures are from this summer...pre-blogging days. Thought I would share...

Elijah, Me, Eva, & Lisa

Eva, Lisa, & Elijah petting sting rays at sting ray bay.

Just about the most gorgeous picture I've ever seen off of little Elijah. He had a panda bear painted on his cheek too.

Eva (on a frog) with Auntie Lisa.

And for those of you who are fans of "Everybody Poops"...this camel has two humps...Nice!

Looking for a Forever Home: Rambler

2009-12-05T09:16:00.003-06:00

Our foster dog Rambler. He's just about the sweetest dog ever! He really does well with our two dogs. Xbox is just the right size for some quality play time & Chewbacca jumps in every once in a while too. Chewy seems to like to mother little Rambler...she is the big sister after all. Rambler is only about 1 so he needs to have lots of chew toys & exercise so that he does not get destructive. We take him for at least one walk every day & his foster sister's give him a lot of exercise with play time. We're sure to keep an abundance of rawhides at our house (both for him and for Xbox). If you know anyone who is looking for a beagle that fits his description let me know :)

Thanksgiving at the Jacksons

2009-12-03T21:52:00.004-06:00

Sue & Adam...winner of cutest picture ever award :)

Nick & Noah scoping out the best way to carve the turkey.

Nick carving the turkey while Sue finishes up the sides.

It's a little late, but I finally put up a few Thanksgiving pictures. It's been a busy week & with the wedding was a busy weekend as well. Nick worked on Thanksgiving, but we were blessed to enjoy a visit with his side of the family. We had tons of yummy food and lots of fun as always!

Sick Day!

2009-12-02T09:55:00.005-06:00

Elijah in his PJ's enjoyng his breakfast. These are his cowboy PJ's that Auntie Lisa got him...he has an obsession with racing horses.

Elijah & Uncle Nick playing Wii bowling.

While Matt, Stacey, & Eva are sick Nick and I are enjoying our time with Elijah. He's been staying with us while the family recouperates. The little guy is such a riot & full of energy! Good thing there are two of us :)
This morning as I was making breakfast & Nick was asleep (he worked until 11:30 p.m. last night) Eli asked me what was in the oven. I told him nothing and that all the food was being cooked on the stove top. Eli's response was "Ok, can I get in it?" He wanted to know if he could climb into the oven. Seriously! What a goof ball! Then we had to have a long talk about how you don't climb into ovens...yada, yada...but how can you not chuckle inside at such silliness.

Schubbe-Petersen Wedding

2009-12-01T12:27:00.002-06:00

My very good friend, Carrie Petersen (wow! weird to say) was married this weekend! The ceremony was beautiful, Carrie was gorgeous (inside & out...she was beaming!), and everyone had a great time. Unfortunately I failed to remember my camera & so the few photos I took were with my phone while we had our hair done. (And I think Carrie would like to forget that whole part of the wedding day. Let's just say she didn't really like the hairstyle they did & she ended up doing it herself.)

Congratulations Carrie & Brandon!

X-Box is "1" Today

2009-11-24T10:55:00.002-06:00

Today is X-Box's first birthday! Our little pooch was born one year ago today & we adopted her February 13th. This weekend Nick & I had the kids & we thought it would be fun to throw her a birthday party. The dog could have cared less, but Eva & Eli thought it was fun. They made party hats & made cards for X-Box. We went out and bought a little cake & stuck a candle on top. It was loads of fun!

Happy Birthday Drew Bradley!

2009-11-20T10:57:00.006-06:00

This past weekend we celebrated Drew's 2nd birthday! Drew had a Sesame Street themed party. He had the cutest cake with all the gang from Sesame Street on it. My actual camera isn't that great, but I forgot it anyway, so these are phone pics...not quite as good, but they're something.

Drew had a great time unwrapping presents & playing with his cousins. It's so cool to see he & Elijah playing alongside each other. Each year they have a stronger connection. Before we know it, those two will be getting into some major mischeif...I am certain :)

It's hard to beleive Drew is already two years old! He's such a lucky boy to have two loving parents & the love & support of extended family. Two was a great year for the little stud - he became a big brother! And in case you're looking for the hottest toy to get a 2-year-old...Drew's favorite was the can of Pringles he received from his grandparent's neighbor! It's always the least expensive gifts that end up being most popular :)

While Eva was disappointed that her new baby cousin is not a girl, she obviously has gotten over it now that she realizes she has her very own real life baby to hold. To get this girl to let go of Tyler is nearly impossible & sometimes results in a major temper tantrum. As you can see...Grandpa (Dad) had to compromise with the 4-year-old to get to hold his grandson.

The holidays are going to be a blast with these 4 kiddos!

She's Crafty

2009-11-16T09:35:00.003-06:00

Pink travel wipe box.
Golf print travel wipe box

Wow, I am amazed now that I've started blogging as to how much I want to blog! This past weekend was quite eventful & I have so much to share, but I will save that all for another day. I'm working on getting more tech savvy so that I can post (quality) images more often.
So my last blog I said I would share some of my crafty skills. Lately I've been making custom diaper wipe boxes. I use fabric, trim, and padding to create these cute little boxes. I've been experimenting with different trims & getting used to various fabrics. I really like how they turn out. I've also made regular size wipe box containers, but I don't have pictures at the moment. We have a cute one in our living room with paw prints (for the dogs when they have muddy paws). I made Eva a Strawberry Shortcake set for her to use with her baby dolls. I think she'll get that for Christmas.
I am thinking of trying to sell them online through etsy or ebay. Does anyone have experience doing this & if so do you have any tips for me? My concern is that it might get too big. I don't want to have to crank out 20 containers in a week. It is do-able, but some weeks would be more difficult than others. Also, how do you decide upon what to charge?

Halloween 2009

2009-11-06T14:44:00.002-06:00

She wanted a photo with Chief.
She has a little bit of a silly look because she didn't want to stand still, but I wanted to get a full shot of the costume.

And here is the Eva Monster "ribbiting"

So I'm the worst Aunt ever since I don't have any pics of my nephews from this Halloween. Well, actually I have pictures of Drew & Tyler on my phone, but none of the Little Man - Elijah. But, I have to brag about my beautiful niece and her pretty costume from this year. Eva certainly has her parents personalities. She knows what she wants & this year for Halloween, she wanted to be a frog. No budging, no other options...she was going to be a frog. Now mind you, she isn't obnoxious about it, but when you asked Eli what he wanted to be, he really didn't care or he kind of had an idea, but it would change in a matter of moments (he was a Bull by the way & he had a blast bucking around the living room shouting "I'm a bull!"...you couldn't wipe the grin off of Matt's face).

So when I came across this costume pattern I thought...we can make this green & make her a frog. I presented the idea to my lovely and strong-willed niece and she loved it. I was so nervous making her costume to be sure it fit just right & looked perfect. I'm really can't sew & this costume required practically no sewing, but I am pretty crafty (in fact, I think I'm going to talk about that in my next blog :)) I met up with Matt & the kids one evening at one of Stacey's volleyball matches. Eva loved being measured for her costume. The next night her costume was complete & we had a dress fitting. She BEAMED as she wore her costume! It was just about the greatest feeling ever as an aunt (aside from holding her the very first time). Then the little angel tells me, "Auntie Jean I love it, thank you!" Now Stacey wasn't home & Matt wasn't within ear shot. So she wasn't prompted or encouraged to say anything. Come on people...she's 4! I wanted to cry! So I held it together & snapped a few quick photos.

Needless to say, I'm going to work on more Tu-Tu skirts & dresses for her to play dress up with. She constantly amazes me with her (excuse my spelling) politeness, intelligence, tender heart, and genuine personality. I am very blessed.

Humane Society Test

2009-11-04T18:08:00.004-06:00

Wish me luck! Tomorrow I take the Humane Society Investigator Test. My friend, who recommended me for the program, guarantees the test is easy, but I'm still so nervous. Which is silly because it's not like the gig pays anything! So I guess if I fail miserably I will have a little more spare time, so it's win-win...right? So I thought I would add some pics of my girls who inspired me to do this. By the way, as usual my (little foot) X-Box is antagonizing (big foot) Chewbacca as Chewy tries to rest. I guarantee X-Box is going to get her way...gotta love little sisters!

The Hip of a 50-year-old!?!

2009-10-27T09:03:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know...Nick was in the Army during a majority of our courtship. He enlisted shortly after we met. Upon his completion of basic training, he was sent to a medical exam due to pains he was having in his hip and shins. We were informed by the doctors that Nick's hip had a severe stress fracture and was near a major artery. Should his hip actually fracture, he could have hit that artery which would have caused him to bleed to death. Thus began his eventual "retirement" from the US Army. He was discharged due to medical reasons, which I believe is classified as an honorable discharge or maybe just a standard discharge, I don't know, but it certainly isn't "dishonorable". Anyway, he's had to have continuing medical evaluations done by various doctors. He is now at the point where the VA (Veteran Affairs) is evaluating the extent of his injuries and deciding upon his degree of compensation. Anywhoo...so that brings us to last week. We drove 2 hours to the VA hospital in St. Louis in the pouring rain. The doctor who evaluated him asked Nick about his shins, but knew nothing about his hip...his shins were the least of his problems. Apparently Nick's rep. failed to send the necessary paperwork to the hospital. Surprise, surprise. So we head on up to the 2nd floor to have x-rays done of his hip and shins. When Nick was finished with his x-ray he told me he has the hip of a 50-year-old with severe arthritis! My (quite young) husband has a 50-year-old hip! Now, granted, my parents are in their 50's and their hips seem pretty darn good, but I'm feeling pretty bad for my 22-year-old husband who used to enjoy rollerblading, running, and all that good stuff. Well, I guess we all make choices and have to deal with the consequences. In the meantime, I suppose we'll start stocking the medicine cabinet with calcium supplements :)

My First Post

2009-10-26T11:17:00.002-05:00

So I've decided to join the world of bloggers! I'm considering creating a blog for work. I figured this would be a good way to find out how it all works. Besides, what a fun way to share the crazy antics my dogs & husband get themselves into on a daily basis.
I'll start with a little back story about my family. Nick & I met when his mother and I were co-workers at a local child care center. She and I hit it off and bonded over our misery at this particular workplace. Not long into our friendship she started to pull the old, "You would be great for my son" line. Kiss of death...right?!? Wrong! I continually resisted, especially since he is much younger than I. Then one day, he calls the center to speak to his mom and I answered the phone. He creeped me out! Something about his voice just gave me the chills. He had the type of voice where you can easily imagine him saying, "I'm looking at you through the window." Eeeechh! I spoke with him on the phone a few times where he continued his creepy flirtatious shtick. We had a few brief encounters where I typically avoided prolonged contact. Eventually, Sue and I became close enough to the point where she would invite me over and we would hang out. Soon enough, Nick was visiting with us and we became friends. Obviously, our friendship progressed and the rest is history :)