Sick is no fun!

I've been sick for about 3-4 days now, and since I didn't take it easy early on, I'm paying for it now... blehh! It's just a head cold, but I have had a headache, sore throat, and runny nose, which is no fun, and makes hard to keep up with my going little boy.


Jackson turned 1 on November 14th and invited his favorite people over for dinner at our apartment. Since a lot of people were out of town, we planned to have a second celebration at our house during Thanksgiving weekend. My mom, Steven's brother Chris, and Jackson's great-memas were able to make it and we had a lot of fun! Here are some pictures:

Parents of almost-one-year-olds, take notice! Babies love lights and try to touch the fire candle on top of their cake. I have seen this happen a few times, which is why I'm holding the cupcake far away from Jackson in this picture. We had pumpkin cupcakes (from the Sprinkles mix) with cream cheese icing and rainbow sprinkles - yum!

Jackson loved his cake, but didn't get as messy as I hoped he would! I finally put some icing on his face to dirty him up a bit, but he was NOT impressed. At least his highchair was good and sticky!

Even though he wasn't too dirty, the icing made his face, hands, and hair very sticky, so we gave him a quick bath before presents. These duck cups were a birthday present from my mom. They were a hit too!

Here goes Jackson, opening his Mema's present! In addition to the cups my mom gave him, he got Cars PJs, a talkin green dog (so cute!), a helicopter, and a savings bond. Nope, not spoiled at all.

Jackson loved his party and I can't believe he's such a big boy! A week after the party, we moved in to our new house! More about that later :)

A-Dawg! Where you been?

Sometimes I like to introduce myself as "A-Diggity-Dawg" to throw people off a little bit. It's left over from my high school days when my friend Tammy used to call herself Tammy-G-Dawg (and I was Ally-G-Mac).

Moving on.

I have been at my NEW HOUSE!! We finally moved in after our carpet was installed 10 days ago. Our friends Cale and "other Steven" helped us get unloaded in to our new sweet casa. My Steven loaded up the UHaul by HIMSELF 3 times and brought all of our furniture over to the house and unloaded it in to our garage. It took him less than 10 hours. The only pieces he couldn't get by himself were the BBQ and our dining room table. What? I married SUPERMAN!

So, I was "on baby duty" (read: using Jackson as an excuse to avoid any heavy lifting) and Steven was resting, when we heard a knock at the door. Who could it be but our next door neighbor's teenage son and his friend with cookies and offers of assistance? Can't beat free child labor! These kids were hilarious too, we run with a sarcastic crowd, and they hopped right on the bandwagon, dishing out insults and putting everyone in their place. Cale and Steven(x2) thought it was great.

After everyone went home, Steven, Jackson, and I were left to enjoy sleeping in our new house for the first time.

...and that's what's been going on with us!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day!

In honor of Veteran's Day, I would like to thank anyone who has served our military in any form.

Thank you to the wives (or husbands), fiancees, and girlfriends (or boyfriends!) of our service members. You make an often under-appreciated sacrifice time and time again and are there for them when they need it most. You don't get a lot of choice when it comes to his/her career, but you are strong and independent, yet flexible and loyal. Thank you for being the person your soldier/sailor/marine leans on most.

Thank you to the children whose parents serve in the military. You give up your parent, sometimes for months at a time, and have no choice in it. You move often and have to learn to be strong as well. Thank you for sharing your hero with us.

Thank you to the parents of a military member. It can be terrifying to think about your child going off to war, but you support them anyways and lend advice as needed. You have raised your baby to be a selfless, courageous man or woman and the person he or she has become is largely due to your influence.

Thank you to those of you who pray for our troops. They absolutely need our country's support and Jesus's protection. Your prayers, letters, and thanks remind them exactly why they joined in the first place - to protect our way of life.

Most importantly, thank you to all of our service members. You have volunteered yourself for something greater. You have learned first-hand the price of freedom and you are willing to fight for it. You have left behind your family, friends, and loved ones in order to protect them. Thank you so much for everything you do for America and many other countries around the world. You are a true hero and I pray that you are always received as such in this country. Thank you, thank you, thank you and Happy Veteran's Day.

...a special thanks to my wonderful husband, Steven, who served our Navy for 5 years and my amazing father-in-law who retired from the Navy as a senior chief. You both make me proud to be an American.

Jackson's Day at the Park

Jackson was a little sick last week, so as a precaution we skipped Gymboree and one of the play dates we had scheduled. Now I know that while he may have had a stuffy nose, he probably didn't have a cold, but was actually teething! His 5th tooth emerged to the left of his top two teeth! His teeth have been coming in in pairs, so I expect that the other one isn't far behind!

Since we took some time to rest most of the week, I thought it would be nice to head out to the park with some of Jackson's friends we had missed at Gymboree. Cara's mom suggested story time at the Interurban Railway Museum and then a picnic and some play time. Even though it was a little crowded, story time was a lot of fun! The story teller is a retired teacher and she's very dynamic and does a great job telling the stories. We stuck around to check out the trains and then headed over to the park.


Here are the kiddos after our little picnic. It was a beautiful day outside - perfect picnic weather! There were a bunch of kids at the park, but it didn't seem too crowded. I enjoyed having some adult conversation too - always a plus!


After our picnic, we went to test out the swings! Jackson's never been in a park swing, so it took some getting used to. He was flopped forward for awhile and kept reaching for me, even though I think he enjoyed it. He looked like Superman! I love this picture of Jackson with his sweet shadow.

We had so much fun and I think we'll have to take advantage of this beautiful weather again before the winter weather takes over.

You Spin Me Right 'Round Baby!

Ohhhhhhh I can't even contain my excitement!

A SUSHI-GO-ROUND HAS OPENED IN PLANO!!!

This picture was taken (by Kate Cooper!!) the first time we went to the sushi-go-round in Yokosuka. It became our hang-out while we were in Japan. We went at least once a week, often twice (yes, I'm serious) and never got sick of it. The sushi chefs knew what we wanted as soon as we walked in and we would chat with them about our baby who was soon-to-arrive. While nothing can EVER replace the food and fellowship we experienced at the original sushi-go-round, we were super-stoked when we saw the Sushi Envy sign!


Steven LOVES sushi!!! He's having a kani... I mean crab roll. We were so frustrated by the English menu. "Grilled Salmon"? What is that? We want Aburi Salmon!!


Jackson's first taste of "sushi." We gave him some scrambled egg (Tomago) and it wasn't a big hit, but he really did try.


Yummy!! There weren't any hot water spouts like the sushi-go-round in Yokosuka, but there were lots and lots of tasty fish circulating the restaurant!!

There was one point in the meal that Steven and I turned to each other and said "We're home!" We have been missing Japan a lot lately, and this really helped us feel like we could have a little taste of Japan when we needed it. Even though there was a much stronger emphasis on rolls than we're used to, the food was really good and the service was wonderful! Everyone was so friendly and we didn't even have to speak Japanese (even though we really wanted to!).

So, if you're in the area, check out Sushi Envy! It's on the northbound side of Preston Rd, right before you hit 121 (going north). And if you don't have a sushi-go-round near you, you might be Sushi Envy-ous! (I'm so punny).

The House (groooooan)

Our new house is not coming along as quickly as we had hoped it would. We thought that we would be able to get all of our projects done in one month's time. Well, it's been 6 weeks since we signed the dotted line and we definitely AREN'T done.

We have painted the pink room (ick) green, with a brown accent wall. I was really worried when we got the paint on the wall and our friends used bodily functions to describe the color (trust me, you don't want to know), but having already purchased 2 gallons ($40) worth of paint, I gritted my teeth and put it on the wall anyway. Luckily, I had already planned for a brown accent wall, so I just changed the brown to the only bare wall in the room (no doors or windows) and hoped for the best! I think it turned out perfectly. The brown balances out the green and makes it really feel like a jungle room. Jackson's off-white furniture will balance out the dark colors and really pop. I am so excited to see how it turns out when we get all the furniture in there. I'm not sure that the green will work when, I mean if we have a girl, but that's what paint cans are for! (If Steven is reading this, he is groaning right now)

We also painted the upstairs family room a medium blue-gray color. Think Eeyore. I love the color, but it would really pop with some crown molding. Guess what was just added to Steven's "to-do" list!! It also made me realize how desperately we need window treatments and additional light sources in that room. All the light comes from one window and somehow the back-light effect makes the room seem really dark, especially with the new color. I think once we balance out the light, it will feel less cavernous and more like the fun family room I had envisioned.

In addtion to painting 2 rooms, we have picked out colors for just about every room in the house, replaced all the laminate with tile (yaaaaay!), and will replace the living room floors with hardwood this weekend. Hiring a painter to finish the house is becoming more and more tempting every day. We already plan to hire someone to paint the halls, front entry, stairs, and living room, but that still leaves the kitchen, laundry room, Steven's office, Jackson's play room, all the bathrooms, our bedroom, the guest bedroom, and Jackson's toddler room. Remind me, again, why we felt the need to buy a huge house?

Also, if I don't mention that Steven replaced the back door he'll kill me. He saved us about $250 in doing so, and it looks great and works better than before. Let's hear it for DIY and telling Lowe's installation crew to take some time off!

Did you remember to set your clocks?

...because we definitely didn't. But I'll get to that later.

We had a fun Halloween weekend! Jackson went to his friend Logan's party on Saturday. He had fun hanging out with his Gymboree buddies and discovering new toys and Steven and I had a good time talking to the other parents.


That evening, we tackled one of my biggest fears... a thrift shop. I blame my parents for this irrational fear of other people's things. When I would ask to go to a garage sale, my Dad would ask me "Why would you pay for someone else's junk?" This, plus the fact that I may or may not be a bit of a princess, has led to my disdain for all things used. However, after talking to some other parents, I finally got up the guts to go to Kid 2 Kid. Yay me! Steven was shocked out of his skull that I actually asked to go.


But when I found out that Logan's mom got this toy (above) from K2K, I was finally ready to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did! We made out like bandits! In addition to finding the bouncing zebra that Jackson had liked so well, we also found a bead maze (the same one he plays with at Gymboree, below), and a set of blocks and wagon.


The best find of the day was a brand-new Melissa & Doug toy that I had all but given up trying to find. If you know us, then you know that Jackson was born in Japan, the country where Steven and I began our marriage and still holds a very special place in our hearts. Several months back, I saw that one of our friends from Japan (the Kaspareks) had a wooden sushi set by Melissa and Doug and I have been scouring every toy store since then trying to find it! Even though I had pretty much given up on finding it, out of habit I went over to the M&D display with no luck. Not surprised, I started surveying some of the other used toys and there it was! Tucked in behind some of the used toys, beautiful in shiny plastic, with a full-price sticker... the holy grail of toys!
Our sushi set!! Jackson is still far too young, but I've been looking for so long, I knew I had to snap it up now! Steven was already checking out, but I ran over to make sure he bought it too. I had to explain to him that I had been looking for it forever, but since it was Japanese, I think he understood why I was so excited to get it. I almost always find "one more thing" while he's checking out... he knows that if he doesn't just go to the register that I can wander around the smallest stores for hours... don't even take me to Target!

So, our grand total at K2K was $76... compared to the $80 we would have spent for the zebra toy by itself. I think we got a deal!

We took our new toys over to the house, where we handed out candy to the kids in our new neighborhood. My favorite moment of the night came from a little boy who was with his grandmother. She prompted him to say "Trick or Treat" and after I gave him his candy she asked him "Now, what do you say?" and, seeing Val, he blurted out "I WANT A PUPPY!" It was the cutest thing ever! I giggled and told him to take it up with his parents.


Can you blame him? Who wouldn't want this cutie??

So, the next morning we woke up and got ready for church. It took us a little longer than expected, and we were 15 (!!!) minutes late! I took Jackson to the nursery and apologized for being so late, and Steven went to go help with the Sunday School. I was talking to the other nursery workers and asked why there were so many older kids in the nursery. They speculated that it must have been because of the time change. Time change? I started laughing and told them that we weren't 15 minutes late! We were 45 minutes early! Oops.


Jackson didn't seem to mind too much. He had a great time playing in the nursery, even though we had few little criers. One sweet girl would cry unless she was being held. I am such a cuddler, and since my little crawling machine won't let me snuggle with him for very long, I was able to get my baby cuddles! She was content to sit in the chair with me and play with my necklace, which just about melted my heart. Then Jackson came over to check us out. I was worried that he'd see me with another baby and try to get my attention as well, but instead he started kissing her leg and giving her "pats" like he's learned to do with Val. I was so touched that Jackson saw me loving on another baby and took it as a cue that he should love on her too! I know it was probably because he knew I would give him positive attention, but I don't care. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen him do.

After the 11:00 service I came back to see my angel napping in the arms of one of the nursery workers. What a perfect end to an accidentally long morning at church.