Where's the "Fancy Wash" Setting?

That evening, we got our new dishwasher, a "thank you" gift from my parents. My mom stayed with us for 6 weeks while her ribs healed from a horse accident, and she over-heard us complaining about our dishwasher (which is about 10 years old and wasn't getting our dishes clean), so they got us this beautiful, energy-star rated, whisper-quiet dishwasher:


Is it a coincidence that this looks monolithic? I think not. siiiiiigh. Let's view an interior shot, shall we?


Swoooooooooooooooon. I never thought I'd enjoy doing dishes so much.

Thanks Mom and Dad! Who knew horseback riding could lead to a new (gorrrrgeous!) dishwasher?

Before and After: Kitchen Drawers

If you look to the left of our blog, you'll see a list of other blogs I like to follow. Even in the days (weeks? months!??!) I take off from blogging, I still check my blog everyday to see who has updated their blogs. So convenient.

So, last week YHL challenged their readers to clean out their kitchen cupboards. I am incredibly disorganized in several areas of my life, but in general, the kitchen is not one of those areas. I regularly clean out the refrigerator and wipe down surfaces and there is a place for everything. However, the drawers were a different story...


Aghh!! I mean, it's not like I cram things in here when I want to clear off the counters. No, I would never do that.

So, I cleared everything out and laid it on the table, so I could go through it and decide what would stay and what would go in the trash (or to be filed in Steven's office).



...and that's just the left drawer!!


...there's the rest of it. When I say "cram" I mean it! Luckily, I had my good helper with me to lend a hand.


First, I tackled the left drawer (which typically holds things that I would use - pens, pads of paper, baby-proofing materials). I found a lot of manuals, which I want to keep in the kitchen, but not with things I use every day. I also found $2 in cash (jackpot! haha) and $110 worth of gift cards we haven't used yet!! Wow, looks like we need to cash those suckers in.


After putting my helper down for a nap, a few phone calls to Steven to figure out what he needs on-hand in his drawer, and some sorting and trashing, I am proud to reveal what our drawers look like now!


Phewwww, I bet all our stuff is happy to have some room to breathe! And I'm happy to be able to find things when I need them.

Blue Eyes, Blue Jeans

A few weeks ago, my sister posted this video on my facebook wall and after laughing my butt off, I knew I had to have these diapers for Jackson.


So, I grabbed a small package at the grocery store and when my mom was over at our house on Wednesday, waiting for my beautiful new dishwasher to show up, we had a denim diaper photo shoot!!


Steven and I both have blue eyes, but Jackson's are deep blue, like Steven's eyes. I love the wonder, innocence, and excitement that hide behind them.


Eventually, the fancy shirt came off. I thought that since he was down to his diaper already, that it would be a good time to have our favorite messy, filling meal that's perfect for practicing using a spoon - oatmeal!!! Yum!


After oatmeal (which is always a huge mess - but so much fun for Jackson!), I grabbed Jackson and put him right in the sink for a little wash-up. Moments like this make me so grateful for the time I have with Jackson before he becomes a man one day.


Jackson got thirsty. This is totally something I would do (and maybe I have... I'll never tell!). He is becoming such a ham and I totally dig it. This week he started saying (or I started understanding) "car" and "shoes." I think this brings his word count up to about 15-20 words - so amazing! He's gonna be a talker, and with parents like us, I don't know how he couldn't be!

Jackson's First Trip to the Hospital

A few weeks ago, Jackson woke up screaming with a 102.3F fever (!!!). We got him undressed and gave him Tylenol (generic - because real Tylenol has been recalled) and decided that since we weren't sure if we needed to get him to the hospital, that we should probably go just to be safe.

We learned that we probably would have been ok to break the temp at home when the triage nurse asked "You're first time parents, aren't you?" Hahaha, is it that obvious???


Poor sweet Jackson was exhausted and ready to go back to bed. He wasn't a fan of the hospital bracelet around his ankle either. Every 10 or 15 minutes he would remember it was there and try to pull it off and then ask me to pull it off for him - sorry kiddo!


Eventually, Jackson became so sleepy that he laid down with me and passed out in my arms. Even though I felt so bad for him, I was in Heaven when he fell asleep with me. My little boy is not a snuggler unless I'm standing up with him, but this gave us both a chance to rest.

The hospital pumped Jackson full of Motrin (again, the generic version) and told us that we could alternate the two and that next time we could try to break the fever at home ourselves. Better safe than sorry, and now we know :) Jackson was back to his happy, healthy self the next day!

Just Like Daddy

Hat? Check. Briefcase? Check. Absurdly handsome face? Double Check.

Now Mom, could you please get the door for me? Daddy needs my help at work.

But Where Do They Keep Chuck Norris?

The whole purpose of our trip this weekend was to see Steven's cousin, Kaylee, graduate from high school. Of course, I completely forgot to take any pictures with his family or at the graduation (cringe). We all really enjoyed seeing Uncle Sean, Aunt Kathy, Kaylee, Madison, and the rest of Steven's side of the family. And of course, I super-enjoyed my favorite guilty pleasure - checking out their new house!!!


Since Jackson had such a tough time staying in his car seat for over 4 hours on the way to Austin, we thought it would be best to take a break from the car when we were about half-way to Dallas. Steven had commented on the way down that he had always wanted to check out the Texas Ranger Museum, which was perfect since it was in Waco! So Jackson woke up about 20 minutes before we got into town, just in time to check it out!


One thing I loved was how kid-friendly the museum is! These horses were so exciting for Jackson to play with! I am actually taking this picture while "sitting" on an adjacent horse. Jackson loves telling everyone (especially me) where they are supposed to sit, and I was assigned the biggest horse. When we checked in, they gave Jackson a "junior ranger" badge, which you can see in these first two pictures.


Daddy LOVED visiting this museum and Jackson had a great time running around. So much fun, in fact, that we got a cranky face when we left. It was so pitiful that I couldn't help but take a picture. Despite the cranky face, Jackson was SO much happier having had a chance to run around and check out one of Daddy's interests.

Austin Children's Museum

Poor little Jackson, when we got to Austin and checked into our hotel, we were only 15 minutes away from Lauren and Jon's house. 45 minutes of frustrating traffic later, we finally made it to their house. Jackson was in so much pain that he was running around their house with his head cocked to one side. As hilarious as it was to watch, Steven and I both felt like awful parents! It was really apparent that my "straight-shot" mentality when it came to driving long distances was not going to work with a toddler along for the ride.

The next morning, even though we only had about an hour drive to Steven's aunt's house, we decided to stop by the Austin Children's Museum for some play time.


Guess what?! He loved it! They had slides, stairs, games, blocks, story time, and so many other fun activities! The best part for me (other than this gigantic grin) was seeing how much the staff members cared about the kids and cared about the facility. I love knowing that people care about Jackson (and other kids) having a good time in a safe environment!


I always appreciate when we go someplace that has a designated area for young children. Sadly, sometimes these areas are just a holding cell for younger siblings. But not this one! The activities were well-planned and designed for little, curious minds with clumsy, excited hands. One of Jackson's favorite activities was going in and out of the gate. He would go to the latch, show me his sign for please, and when I opened the gate he would exit, wait for me to follow him, and then close the door behind us. He must have gone in and out of that area a hundred times.


I was so impressed... and so was Jackson! He kept coming back to this area and exploring every little spot possible. I was worried that my active little explorer might be too much for the little little ones, but he was very gentle and steered clear of the younger kids.


There was also a big kid area, complete with baskets (Jackson's favorite!) and buttons to push! Jackson was hanging in pretty well, but I still kept a much closer eye on him than when he was in the toddler area. One thing Jackson did not like was that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let him take toys from one area to another. Sorry Jacks, but I don't think the museum staff would appreciate your decorating style - we'll save that for the playroom.


Our plan worked! Look at this exhausted face! Jackson slept all the way from downtown Austin to his great-aunt Kathy's front door. He also didn't have the horrible crick in his neck and had plenty of energy to chase the four (!!!!) doggies at their house - too exciting!

As if I hadn't praised the Austin Children's Museum enough in this post, we highly recommend it if you live in the Austin area or need a play break on your way through!