Too soon!

I had a dream last night that I woke up and Baby Bo was lying on my chest.  We had skipped that labor part of things, and I suppose he just emerged on his own and pawed his way up my chest.  My first thought was that he was NOT supposed to be here yet.  I thought for a few minutes about the possibilities of getting him back into my womb.  Then I got up and called 911.  I told Cameron to cut the cord.  The ambulance didn't come and didn't come.  Baby Bo seemed just fine.  I realized that I hadn't thought about what clothes we'd come home from the hospital in.  Family was all around, but we all just waited and waited for ambulances that never came.

There's no punch line... Seriously, you should see it!

Today I laughed so hard that I stabbed myself in the forehead with a plastic knife. 

Seriously.

I spent the afternoon with some of C's nearest and dearest.

It could be worse.

I have to say that one of the ways that I know that I married the right man is the company that he keeps.  They are the kind of people who hug you the minute that you are introduced.  They are the kind of people who will tell their child that you are their aunt on the day that you meet.  They love fun.  They love their spouses.  They love their children.  They love each other's children.  They love each other's spouses.  They love.

They eat.  They drink.  They tell stories.  They laugh.  They sing.  (We left too early...)  They have been through the wringer and come out together on the other side of it all.  They are real. 

They might mock my sappiness, though I am sure that they are all guilty.  So let's move on.

Today, we celebrated LL's second birthday. 



The child is no stranger to the word "cheese".

VeggieTales ruled the day.  There were Bob and Larry cakes and even green pea cake pops.  Thanks to our gracious hosts, I had my first ever for-real Rueben sandwich.  Completely and utterly delicious.  I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo, but this was the kind of sandwich that required two hands.



The Birthday Party

In addition to the party, we were also welcoming home an old friend and his family.  I'm not talking about his age.  I really mean - a seriously long-time friend.

Circa 1999

I was finally able to meet his wife and daughter.  And in other SUPER-exciting news, she and I have the same due date!!  You read it right... it'll be a photo finish! We'll be adding a boy AND a girl to this crazy crew in September.

Welcome home, Uncle Chris.

Weekend Wrap-Up.

It seems like it's been weeks since I posted last - in reality, looks like I last posted three days ago.  Having Tyler and Destyni here makes the time fly by.  I am definitely NOT ready for them to head home tomorrow.  We won't dwell, though - lets jump right in.

Today was one of those days.  C worked open to close, so we entertained ourselves as best we could.  We went straight from our jammies to our bathing suits and then back into jammies.  Am I ashamed of myself?  Not in the slightest.  Well, I am ashamed that I didn't get any pictures of the swimming cuteness, but I couldn't resist splashing around with them while we were there. 

As Destyni points out regularly, I get more pregnant by the day.  Baby Bo becomes more and more active, and somehow, so do I.  I'm slowly decluttering my house and setting things in order - 15 minutes at a time.   

Nene went out of town, so we dogsat at the beginning of the week.  GusDog loves the kiddos and they love him.  I actually learned that putting a cranky child to bed can be made infinitely easier if you put a dog in bed with them.

NONE SHALL PASS.

With NeNe out of town, the kiddos stayed with some amazing girls and their mother who smothered them in love, pretzel goldfish, and fun.  I was reminded just how blessed we are (on the kid front and the friend front) when BJ told me that Tyler and Destyni were just no trouble at all.  Their manners and the fact that they play so well together mean that they are welcome anytime.  I'm so happy that Baby Bo will have them to look up to. 

BJ even took them swimming!!

I tried my hand at some creative methods of cooking the veggies that are starting to roll in.  The recipe can be found over on One Rad Mother's blog.  I highly recommend them.  She made hers on a nonstick skillet without oil.  I made mine in a castiron skillet with a bit of bacon grease.

I'm country like that.

As a special treat for me the kids, we stopped by the Dairy Queen last night.  They've started carrying chocolate soft serve, and I'm slightly obsessed.

Des was more than happy to finish my cone once I had done all the damage I could to the soft chocolatey goodness.

Just... cuteness.

I was asked last night for blogging advice.  I was amazed, because I'm really only about 15 posts in.  I have had amazing feedback and positive comments.  I'm more than slightly shocked that you all would be interested in my ramblings, but I'm really glad that you're along for the ride.

Aunt Juliet is MADE OF AWESOME.

We sure do love it when Aunt Juliet comes to visit. 

We get to show off our garden - even if she won't pick up the praying mantis.

She makes a great prisoner, and she doesn't use the safety release on the handcuffs.

We get to play dress up and FaceTime with Uncle Jonathan.

She inspires us with her fitness regimen.

She loves us and gives the BEST SNUGGLES EVER!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Jerry Warren Jackson was my daddy.  I think of him daily, but it makes me sad how infrequently his name is spoken anymore.  So - Jerry Warren Jackson was born on September 10, 1949.  He died the day before his birthday (also, my parents' anniversary) on September 9, 2007. 

Did you write the Book of Love and do you have faith in God, above?
If the Bible tells you so
Now, do you believe in Rock and Roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And...
Can you teach me how to dance real slow?

He was a man, and he had faults, but he was my daddy - maybe I'm biased, but it's my blog... so I'll tell you about him.

Some day when I sing this song, I'll hear you sing along.

He loved his family, AM talk radio, westerns, the Beatles, science fiction, music that was too loud, dogs, trucks, playing guitar and singing on the porch until the wee hours of the morning, UGA football, and the beach.  I knew his versions of many, many songs before I knew the real words.  I was shocked to learn that 'Bobbie' of Me and Bobbie McGee was actually a guy. 

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

Nothin' ain't worth nothing, but it's free.

He believed in God, UFO's, and listening to signs - so I do, too.

Someone like you makes it hard to live without somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give never thinkin' about myself

The day that he passed away, his brother came into the ICU and almost inaudibly exclaimed, "My Bo!"  I had to ask why later, having never heard him called that.  I learned then that Uncle Jimmy had called Dad 'Bo' or 'Jerry-Bo' since childhood.  It was just one brother's name for another.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.

Sadly, my Baby Bo won't know him.  I try not to dwell on that.  I take solace in knowing that I have stories aplenty and that Cameron does as well.  It is such a blessing to marry a man who knew my dad and remembers him fondly.  (He'd have to - they have so much in common.)

Happy Father's Day, Daddy - We love you and miss you every day.

Dancing through life...

I was *never* a dancer.  It doesn't stop me from getting on a dance floor and shaking everything that my mama gave me and having a good time, but ... ballet, tap, and jazz?  Not so much.  Closest that I ever came was karate. 

Yesterday's adventure was not one that I was relishing.  Sitting for long periods of time is not one of my strong points at this point, and watching other people's kids dance fidget and squirm for two hours so that I could see Des on stage for 5 minutes was not my first choice for a Saturday afternoon.  {Yes - I'm a terrible person - I thought that we were all clear on this by now.}

We arrived at Ray Davis Middle School, and I accompanied Des and her mommy to the dressing room - there were two shows, and C and I were attending the second.  It was my job to keep her properly costumed and from rubbing off her whiskers until time to go on stage.

We got her dressed and put on makeup, and suddenly:

Completely Irresistable

I couldn't WAIT to watch her dance!  She was beautiful and excited and glowing.  I would have stayed in that auditorium for as long as it took to see her take her moment in the spotlight.  What I had always considered {slightly} choreographed chaos was brilliantly entertaining.

Day after day, these kids change my life in a million tiny and marvelous ways.  

And next year, she wants to take gymnastics instead.  :)

The truth behind the name...

In case you haven't ever done it, the absolute hardest part of starting a blog {for ME, anyway}, is choosing a name for it.  I didn't feel comfortable with using "mom" or "mommy" in the blog name - and most of my first ideas were incredibly sappy or cheesy.


I surfed and searched to the ends of the earth interwebs for inspiration.  


Once again, my dear friend, One Rad Mother, provided the answer:

I know I like to read other people's blogs because it makes me feel as if I have snatched their diary from under their mattress.

I read blogs for the same reason.  I like to have a peek into someone else's life.  So there you have it.  It's not creepy.  It's not dirty.  It's just your opportunity to peek under my mattress and make off with my diary.

You know you want to...  we're all nosy.