Doctor Drama

First of all, thanks to everyone who left me their potty training input. There is a wealth of knowledge in my comments!

So today has had a little drama. I enrolled Jackson in a really great Mother's Day Out program for the next school year and tomorrow I have to turn in this huge registration packet or else he will lose his spot. Let me just tell you that in a family-saturated area, MDO spots are not easy to come by!

I am a terrible procrastinator and I hadn't even looked at the papers since I first glanced at them on the day they came in the mail 2 months ago. Idiot girl. I needed a doctor's signature (um, we don't even have a doctor here yet) and Jackson's shot records. Fun times. Jackson's old doctor's office said they could send me the stuff, but I'd need to fax them some forms first and then I would hear back from them in 48 hours. That is 24 hours later than I need them. They would not budge. They would not even tell me over the phone what shots my child has had since May of 2007, which is the last record I have. (I misplaced some things in the move.) Are you stinking kidding me? I am his mother! I brought him there to get the dumb shots! I nearly lost my testimony on the phone but the Lord helped me be civil.

My dad called right after I got off the phone and asked if he and Pappaw could drop off Jackson's new sandbox that Pappaw made him. I burst into tears and started wailing. It's not a good time! I'm so maaaaaaaddddddd! Whaaaahhhhh! My poor dad. He was not prepared to hear his 28-year-old daughter having a meltdown today.

I ended up taking Jackson to a family practice just so he could be seen and okayed for MDO. My mom has a close relationship with the staff and they were very gracious. They bent over backwards for me and got all the records mess sorted out. I am going to have to send them a card. If only I had mad baking skillz I would send some cookies. Jackson had to get the chicken pox vaccine (which I thought he'd had!) but he recovered quickly thanks to some huge stickers and a dum dum.

Jackson is napping happily (hopefully dryly) and once he wakes up we get to take our papers to get notarized. Yeah! I can't wait!

By the way, my sister's birthday was yesterday. I never feel older than the moment when I ask her, "How old are you now?" Ugh! How is my little sister 26? I'm only supposed to be 24!

The Theme of the Day...

...Is pee. Adeline unfortunately just took one for the team. We had just spent a ton of time in the backyard, so I naively thought we were okay. I will be diligently setting the microwave timer now. At least she had good aim. It was right on top of a yellow flower.

Star is actually not the reason for today's theme. Jackson is the culprit. He has developed an extremely awful habit this week. Yesterday during this nap, he stripped off his shorts and diaper and peed all over his crib. Today he put his hand down his diaper and made a tunnel for the pee to exit the diaper and soak his shoulder and the back of his pants. He has been soaked almost every morning this week and I just clued in to the tunnel effect. I do not even know what to say right now. I am not freaked out about him putting his hand in his diaper. I am trying to discourage it, but I know that's a pretty normal boy thing. I just cannot deal with having a pee soaked child! It's just gross! Has this happened to any of y'all before? What did you do?

*Edited to add:
Jackson will be 2.5 in August. I have been planning to wait until that time to start thinking about potty training. I feel like I'd rather wait longer and have him train quicker than do it too early and have an extended period of accidents. Anyway, this evening we were playing in the backyard with the dogs and Jackson pooped in his diaper. He came over to me right away, indicated that he had pooped, and laid down on the concrete for me to change him. He has never, ever done that before. So maybe he is ready.

Some Randomness

1) Janelle and her hubby are going to Sudan next week. They are going to need lots of prayer...starting now! Y'all know that there is so often spiritual warfare right before something like that. Janelle shares some prayer needs on her blog, like that she and Heath will not come down with Ella's stomach virus this week.

2) As of July 1, I am officially a part timer at LPM. My responsibilities have been cut in half! Therefore I am super behind on work emails. Yikes! Tomorrow I have to bust it in the office.

3) Star (my parents' puppy) is coming to stay with us this weekend while my parents go to Minnesota. She is going to entertain my boy all weekend. They have so much fun together. My rugs, Henley and Adeline, will need some prayer in case anyone would like to lift them up by name.

Sweet Adeline.


Precious Henley.


4) Jackson has been saying really cute things lately and I discovered that he can count to 20. Who taught him that? I have seriously only gone past 10 with him maybe three times. Some current frequently used words are canny/candy, police car, fire truck, tratis/tractor, starbis/starburst, peach, Diet Coke (that is from his father), crocs, hotcorn/popcorn, firerocks/fireworks, and awesome.

5) We might take Jackson to the circus this weekend. I'm pumped.

6) We have had my Jeep for four years and we have only ever had one key to it. Well, this week Curtis took it off my key ring because he was going to take the Jeep to get inspected. (Y'all, one of the main reasons I got married was to have someone to take care of my car.) He was about to walk out the door with the key in hand when Jackson tripped over my computer cord in the living room and wiped out. In the chaos of him flying through the air and the screaming and crying, the key got lost. It is in this house but we absolutely cannot find it. So for three days we have been sharing Curt's truck. Tonight we had to pay a locksmith $200 to come to our house and make another "smart key" for us. Dang Gina. That was after my Jeep failed the first inspection and we had to pay $700 for a new computer system to go in it. Fun times!

7) My sis-in-law, Lindsay, is having a boy! Yipee!

Weekend Trip

This weekend the Jones family took a little road trip to North Texas. A friend of mine from our old church is getting ready to have her first baby and her shower was on Saturday. When I met her almost four years ago, she was going through an immense trial that no one would ever imagine going through. Over the next few years I got to see Jesus bring her full circle and bring tremendous beauty from ashes - ashes that were the result of another person's rebellion and not her own. The Lord has given her a wonderful, handsome, godly husband and now a bouncing baby boy on the way. There was much to celebrate!

The shower was on Saturday morning, so Curt, Jackson and I drove up to Irving on Friday night. We stayed at the Embassy Suites because I'm a sucker for a good breakfast. My boys dropped me off at the church after we drove by our old house and got to visit with one of our neighbors who was watering his yard. We found out there are people living in our house for now, which surprised me. We sold it to a developer and they never even had it inspected, so we thought it would just be torn down. Who knows? That is probably on the horizon. Everything looked okay except there are no cute rocking chairs on the porch and there is a big dent in my pretty red door from someones knee. I was so sad! Then I remembered my beautiful white house in the burbs and got over it.

A few minutes later I walked into the fellowship hall and was greeted by a ton of sweet Irving friends. It was so good to be home. I'm telling you, I feel like I have three homes - Houston, Irving, and Missouri. But really there is only ONE home and one day I will get to see it with my own eyes, walk on it with my own two feet (which are hopefully smaller and more dainty in glory), and fellowship with my Savior in person. That is going to be awesome!

Anyway, the shower was cowboy themed and it was just amazing. The ladies had gone all out and my friend surely deserved it! For those of you who are like me and believe that the point of every shower and wedding is to eat cake, it was delicious. It was so good to get to visit with so many ladies of the church, from the very young to the most senior of saints. A ton of my girlfriends were there and it gave me so much joy to be with them and chat while we watched our friend and her hubby open present after present for almost 2 hours. What an outpouring of love for this couple!

After the shower, Curt and Jacks picked me up and we drove to Dallas to make a very quick stop at JD's Chippery. Thank You, sweet Jesus. When I walked in I needed a "cone of silence" (anyone see Get Smart?) so I could properly express my delirious happiness. I won't even tell you how many cookies we got because I'm too embarrassed. We intended to share them with our friends but they left us too many to take home! I have a ton of them on my counter and that is dangerous. Very, very dangerous. I also got a cherry limeade and I decided that theirs are better than Sonic's because they aren't fizzy.

Then we went to Janelle and Heath's and just sat on their couch and vegged for a while. Ella and Jackson had a ton of fun playing together. Jackson stepped on Ella's foot right off the bat and there were a few tears. My child's feet are like the size of a six-year-old's, so I couldn't blame her. Bless her heart...and his too. They also swam in the baby pool and Ella was very patient with her friend who likes, no lives, to splash water.

Later we met Sunni and her crew at Central Market for sushi and burgers. Sunni did not get to go with us to Deeper Still because Xavier had been sick and in the hospital that week, so it was great to see her. Ava had grown so much, I couldn't believe it. Once the tods got antsy we sent them to the playground with their daddies. The playground was extremely crowded and it was not that fun. Due to the heat, crowds, and fussiness of tods and maybe even one adult whom I love very much, our time was cut shorter than I would have liked it. But I was very thankful for the time we did have. The Lazos had to get home and pack for their Cancun trip early the next morning. Poor things!

After dinner, Janelle's parents bravely took on our hot, sweaty, exhausted, cranky toddlers while we went to see Get Smart. I am still laughing about the "cone of silence" in case you couldn't tell. The popcorn was amazing, thank You Lord.

On Sunday morning we got ready for church, had a good breakfast at the hotel (bacon and spinach omelet for me), packed up and went to First Irving. It was so good to be there. I can't say enough about how great it was. The church members are so incredibly loving and they truly care for each other. It is a special thing and I think people can see it even on their first visit. It's truly a family.

My only disappointment at church was that Jackson did not perform like I was hoping he would. It was such a lesson for me. I had hoped he would walk in and be all smiles, hug people, and just be charming. (He really is a people person. It wasn't that much of a stretch.) He was dead-set against it. What can you do? Let go, Amanda!

After church we headed out to Fort Worth to have lunch with Jennifer and Sabrina (my bff's from high school) and their families. Jennifer has a newborn and we had not all been together with our kids. It was kind of a huge moment. I was thinking about how different our conversations were now compared to when we were sixteen. (Thank God, right?) We still talk a million miles an hour though. I must add that Jackson was p-e-r-f-e-c-t during this visit. Props to my boy.

After that we drove down the street to see the Burgers who had literally just gotten home from their own road trip. We got to meet their newborn son Justus and catch up with them for a bit. They have a pastor from Sudan living with them while he goes to seminary. His name is Victor and he is a wonderful man of God. Victor entertained Jackson for like an hour with some matchbox cars and a race track. He is not only Jackson's new bff, but mine as well!

It was finally time to head back to Houston. It seemed like it took forever to get home. For-stinking-ever! We all slept like rocks last night and I swear I could have slept the entire day if someone had let me. If I could, I would reward everyone who made it through the end of this post with a JD's cookie, but it would totally be stale by the time it got to you. So I'll eat one in your honor. I know you appreciate it.

Noah's Ark

I should really be drying my hair right now, but the blog needs some attention. This will have to be quick or my hair will not dry and straighten into the right texture if I wait too long. Just call me risky.

Anywho, I took Jackson to this place called Noah's Ark pool today. It was our induction into a Houston-area classic. We were meeting Michelle and Fay and their kids. Fay is in town from North Texas this week. As soon as I got out of my car, I saw my girl Jenn H. getting out of her car with her boys. She was meeting another mutual friend. It was a current and former HFBC member extravaganza! There ended up being 7 of us there. And, ironically, some moms from my and Jenn's neighborhood (which is 30 min. away) were having a playdate and one of them approached me to ask if we were part of that group. They had no idea who we were, so it was totally a random guess that we lived in the same neighborhood. So weird.

Our friend Diana was there with her 20-month-old son who has been in swim lessons since January. He was absolutely amazing! He totally swam! She dropped a toy down in the water, and with very little help, he swam down and got it. Holy Cow. I am kicking myself for not getting Jackson in lessons last winter, but I guess we kind of had a lot going on.

Jackson fell asleep on the way home but by God's grace he still napped for me! It was a festivus miracle! So yeah, I should really be drying my hair.

A List for My Dad

It's my Daddy's birthday! Happy birthday, Pabs! In honor of you achieving 52 years of life, I've made you a special list.

10 Things I Never Would Have Done or Been If You Hadn't Been My Dad:

1) I would never have been the proud owner of Coco the Wonderhorse and I never would have played with a BB gun.
2) I never would have achieved such greatness at the age of 9 in Future Problem Solving.
3) I never would have figured out stupid fractions, decimals, or variables. I probably would have failed second grade.
4) I never would have gotten a blue ribbon in the science fair for my cricket project. (I still regret not doing the alligator gar thing! Maybe Jackson one day?)
5) I never would have tried to understand why people are the way they are and learned to be more compassionate.
6) I would never have made it through adolescence without our talks about friends being fickle and how "goodbye" is a necessary life skill. I would be drowning in false guilt in my adulthood.
7) I wouldn't know how to fix a toilet. I would never dare stick my hand in the tank. I wouldn't know that Charmin is the best way to abuse your plumbing system.
8) I'm pretty sure I would have been a vegetarian had you not been my dad. I might have even been in PETA. But how could I get away with that in your house? So because of you, I'm going to enjoy a nice filet tonight.
9) I would've had a lot less confidence and courage to do new things.
10) I would look exactly like mom! ;)

I love you, Daddy! I still need your influence in my life BIG TIME!
Love,
Rooter

I Clean Up Blocks

Dear Jackson,
You were a little bit of a turkey today. For some reason you were determined not to take your nap, although conditions were 100% perfect for a normal nap time. I don't know what went wrong. Please keep napping, son. So tonight after we ate our Papa John's pizza and got you in your pajamas, you and I headed upstairs for your early bedtime. You are getting too heavy for me to want to carry up the stairs, so I let you follow me (the bearer of your cup of milk) up. When we got to the top it was apparent that we had left your new blocks strewn across the playroom floor. I had a one track mind - bedtime. You, however, got very excited and said, "I clean up blocks!" I am marking this down in your baby book/blog because this could be the one and only time that you initiate cleaning up anything and indeed get excited about it. What a sweet moment. You love your new blocks and you wanted to be responsible for them. It was a sweet end to a long day for both of us. I love you, little turkey.