Wordless Wednesday - The Georgia Aquarium

Things that run through your head at 1am

"What is that beeping noise?"
"Why would the fire alarm battery go dead @ 1am?"
"Why does a fire alarm beep when it is dying? Isn't it 2008? Can't it email me or something?"
"I wonder if it will go away on it's own?"
"It's not going away. Why does this not wake up my husband?"
"How the heck am I going to reach the friggin alarm?"
"Why does it beep louder and more frequently when I try to disconnect the battery?"
"How in the world can Kyle sleep through this?"
"Is he really asleep? I'm sure he is pretending to be asleep so he doesn't have to deal with it."
"Please God, please oh please oh please don't let this wake Jackson up."
"I was sleeping so good. My bed was so warm."
"What the crap do I have to do to get this thing to disconnect with out going off again?"
"I'm done. Kyle needs to take care of this."
"Will this make good blog material? Or does it just sound better to me because I am delirious from waking up to the most annoying sound ever?"
"I guess it is a good thing that it is an annoying sound. I mean, at least I know it will wake me up if there is a fire."
"Oh no, what if Kyle just disconnected it and didn't put in a new battery. What if there is a fire?"
"Oh yeah, I handed him the new battery and he handed me the old one. He is a good man, even though he faked being asleep."
"At least now I have a good excuse to not get up in 4 hours to go work out."
"It was worth it all."

The End

You.Must.Try.This.Recipe.

I made this last night and it was fabulous. It has all of the makings for a perfect meal in my book. Which include: it tasted good, I had 99% of the ingredients on hand, it was a very quick fix, it tasted good, my picky husband liked it, my not so picky (but tends to not like meat) son liked it, and it tasted good. Try it. I promise you won't be disappointed. And if you are one of those Bush types who refuses to eat broccoli, just substitute with your favorite vegetable. I'm sure anything would work.

WFMW

I hate the smell of my kitchen after I fry something. The awful smell usually ends up wafting into the living room and it seems like it sticks around for a long time. I read this tip in an old cookbook and thought that it surely couldn't work, but after I tried it, I am completely convinced that it does! Here's what you do: After frying whatever, just place a medium sized Tupperware bowl full of white vinegar out on your counter top. Somehow it magically erases the stinky smell! After the smell is gone, just dump out the vinegar, or use it in your homemade cleaning solutions. Works for me!!!

Words We Wuv

I mentioned in a few posts ago the term "Jacksonese". He really does have his own little language. I have become almost fully conversational in this unique language. Here's a brief overview:

Thonas: Thomas the Tank Engine
I need hep: I need help
Greenmama: Grandmama
Pus-e-de-mama: Push Mama. (He thinks this is hilarious)
Psychic: Isaac (His very favorite uncle)
Beddy: Belly
Crain: Train
Crack: Track
DD: DVD
Waaaahtch Caas: Watch Cars (He has recently fallen for this movie. Yet another obsession.)
Dandad: Grandaddy
Pooter: Computer
DayDee: J.D. (our cat)
Take a sour: Take a shower
Gonin: Going (Our very special lullaby)
Jaaahson do it: Jackson do it
Ly-ly: Cousin Eli
Sawa: Cousin Sawyer
I sed top/ Top it Mama!: I said stop/ stop it Mama
I sed no: I said no (I guess he's heard me say this one a few times and has picked it up)
Tahcate Miuuuk: Chocolate Milk


I tell you what, this kid is something.

Because he told me to...

I was just sitting here, minding my own business and Jackson came in dragging his Daddy's tennis shoes. Then he told me, "get da tamera". (In Jacksonese his C's are mixed with his T's.)We have created a monster. He knows he is so cute that we should be taking pictures of him. Then he told me, "go put dis on your blog." Alright, maybe he didn't tell me to do that, but here is the picture anyway.

Happy Christmas!

Well, another Christmas come and gone. I can't believe it. Even though it flew by, I'll count it as a success.

It all started off with Christmas Eve with my parents. My mom had the greatest idea to go out to dinner instead of trying to cook a big mess of stuff for just 5 people. We went to the local Japanese steakhouse and it was oh so yummy. It was wonderful having a change when turkey and ham is king this time of year. We went back to their house after dinner and drank coffee while we opened presents.

We had such a great night and Jackson was so excited about his presents! Momma and Daddy got him a train table and he just loved it, of course! Then we went home and got the little man in bed and started furiously cleaning and cooking for the next morning. I got all of the presents set out and got Jackson's stocking ready for Santa Claus to fill it! Then after all the had to stuff was done, Kyle and I snuggled in on the couch to watch a movie. It was so nice to just sit there and be still before the busyness that would ensue the next morning.Christmas morning rolled around and we were hosting Christmas breakfast at our house! It was so much fun getting everything together and I was so happy to have both of our sweet families over to our house for some yummy food. Kyle and I got up about 6 am and finished up all of the preparations. We had Paula Deen's baked french toast, Breakfast Cassarole, Marybeth Whalen's sausage balls, fruit salad, and Marybeth Whalen's wassail. Jackson finally woke up about 7:30 and we watched him open his presents.

Shortly after he opened everything, our family started arriving. Sorry I don't have any pictures from our breakfast, I guess I was too occupied with everything else to take pictures. After everyone left around 11:00 we cleaned up a bit and had family nap time! (Well, Jackson and I took a nap. Kyle worked on downloading new music to his Ipod, thanks to Itunes cards that he received.) That afternoon we went to visit Brian at the fire station and then headed over to the Van Nus Christmas dinner. It was delicious as usual and we had such a great time watching the kids run around and play while we all caught up.

I tell you what, our God is good. It has been a very rough past couple of weeks here in our house. Kyle lost his largest account because they could just simply not afford him anymore. I never thought that this horrible housing market would hurt Kyle's business, but it seems to be slowly trickling down to him. The account he lost was for a subdivision and they have a ton of houses up for sale, which means there are fewer people paying their dues, and they just didn't have the money any more to keep Kyle on. So, needless to say, finding this out just a week or so before Christmas hurt. Winter is always tight for a landscaper, but this has made it unbelievably tight. Of course all of this means that I need to go back to work full time. And with my job, that is not too secure either, since I work for a company that is totally in the throws of this lousy housing market. But, our God has been completely faithful to us and has shown us that He is in control of this situation. We have laid it at His feet and are trusting solely in Him to pull us through and to show us what to do. All in all, He has brought Kyle and I so close through this situation. I am so thankful for all of our blessings that God has poured out on our lives and I know He will get us through this situation. God has shown me this Christmas even more than ever that it isn't about a tree that is completely surrounded by presents, and a home that is beautifully decorated, and a kitchen that is bursting with Martha Stewart like goodies. It is about a baby that was born in a manger that should have been born in a palace. It is about that baby, who came to this world for me.

God bless you all,
Sarah