I was cleaning out my old photo folders on my computer tonight (because my computer is starting to get bogged down & run slow...) when i came across this old video. I have no idea why I didn't post this last year, but I just had to when i came across it! This is classic Jackson right here, people! This was just last year, but whoa, has he grown since then! His face looks so "baby" here to me even though it was just a year ago!
And excuse the mismatched table. We refinished the table but never refinished the leaf (yet) & it must have still been in place from Jackson's birthday....
Enjoy! I giggled several times! And make sure you watch until the end to hear Randy's advice to Jackson... classic Randy!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Randy Bon Jovi
Who needs Jon Bon Jovi, when you are married to Randy? This video is just a little snippet of my life with him. And this is one of the reasons I love him so, because he keeps me laughing. And i am sure this is a side of him that many of you could have never imagined. Those of you who only see him in his shy, reserved self. But, at home, he lets loose...... Here's the proof. This was the boys bath time & I couldn't resist recording once he started singing....
Friday, February 4, 2011
C-U-T-E valentines!
After reading this blogpost from I am Momma: Hear me Roar (one of my absolute favorite blogs), I just knew that this would be 2011 valentines for Eli. He is still young enough that I can get away with cutesie, so cutesie it would be! Here is the topper that i made on www.picnik.com following the tutorial directions. The best part? It was free to make!
We will be attaching them to folded over cardstock & then stapling the whole topper to the top of snack bags filled with valentine colored hershey kisses. So cute & so simple!
If you have never used picnik, I highly suggest it. It is also where I made my blog header....
And from looking at those pictures... I think it is about time to make a new one!
Anyway, back to valentines.... I will post pictures of the valentines that Jackson will be making once we make them. We are making a variation of these "sugarplums" that i bookmarked back around the Christmas holidays, but will be using red chocolate, and valentine sprinkles. I still need to come up with some catchy phrase to add to the wrapping though! Any suggestions on a catchy phrase, are welcome! The best I can do today is : "A sweet for my sweet" and I am just not sure that will do for a 7 year old!
We will be attaching them to folded over cardstock & then stapling the whole topper to the top of snack bags filled with valentine colored hershey kisses. So cute & so simple!If you have never used picnik, I highly suggest it. It is also where I made my blog header....
And from looking at those pictures... I think it is about time to make a new one!Anyway, back to valentines.... I will post pictures of the valentines that Jackson will be making once we make them. We are making a variation of these "sugarplums" that i bookmarked back around the Christmas holidays, but will be using red chocolate, and valentine sprinkles. I still need to come up with some catchy phrase to add to the wrapping though! Any suggestions on a catchy phrase, are welcome! The best I can do today is : "A sweet for my sweet" and I am just not sure that will do for a 7 year old!
My Birthday Boy!
I know that I say this with each birthday that rolls around with each child of mine... BUT, I seriously can't believe Jackson is already 7 years old. SEVEN???? Is it already time for 7?? I don't think he has ever been so excited about a birthday, either. He has been hyped up for over a week waiting for his big day, so I tried to make it special for him in little ways since his "family birthday party" isn't until this weekend.
It was a busy day too, because he had school and it was his night for basketball too. Sooo, I worked my little hiney off trying to get everything done! For breakfast, I made him a bagel with Nutella & sprinkles. It is so funny to me how simple, little things can bring a smile to his face. I love that.
I rearranged my work day just a bit so that I was able to bring cupcakes into his classroom at afternoon snack time. This was my way of sharing his day with his friends since we weren't inviting any of them to our little party. And as an added bonus, I went ahead & checked him out of school a little early. Snack was over at 3:10 & I wasn't about to go get in the carpool line right after that!
Then it was home to get started on dinner! Jackson's favorite meal is pizza, so pizza it was going to be! I had to make a pizza crust though and give it time to rise for 2 hours! Which meant dinner wasn't going to happen until after basketball. (Eli was traumatized, for real!) While the dough was rising, I started working on the cake for his party on Saturday. (More on that in a following post, but let's just say that it involved food coloring & 6 layers!) However, the pizza turned out yummy & I made him his very own pizza (in a heart shape!) while the rest of us ate slices off of a bigger pizza. His pizza also had heart shaped pepperoni's! See? I told you that it was the little things! :) He refused to let me cut it up for him, because he wanted to eat it like this:
And eat it he did! Every last morsel....
But before he finished it off, he asked me to take a picture of this last heart shaped pepperoni!
Happy Birthday to my biggest little man! I hope seven is a great year! And i hope he enjoys his party on Saturday! (Shhhh... he's getting a Wii!!)
It was a busy day too, because he had school and it was his night for basketball too. Sooo, I worked my little hiney off trying to get everything done! For breakfast, I made him a bagel with Nutella & sprinkles. It is so funny to me how simple, little things can bring a smile to his face. I love that.
I rearranged my work day just a bit so that I was able to bring cupcakes into his classroom at afternoon snack time. This was my way of sharing his day with his friends since we weren't inviting any of them to our little party. And as an added bonus, I went ahead & checked him out of school a little early. Snack was over at 3:10 & I wasn't about to go get in the carpool line right after that!
Then it was home to get started on dinner! Jackson's favorite meal is pizza, so pizza it was going to be! I had to make a pizza crust though and give it time to rise for 2 hours! Which meant dinner wasn't going to happen until after basketball. (Eli was traumatized, for real!) While the dough was rising, I started working on the cake for his party on Saturday. (More on that in a following post, but let's just say that it involved food coloring & 6 layers!) However, the pizza turned out yummy & I made him his very own pizza (in a heart shape!) while the rest of us ate slices off of a bigger pizza. His pizza also had heart shaped pepperoni's! See? I told you that it was the little things! :) He refused to let me cut it up for him, because he wanted to eat it like this:
And eat it he did! Every last morsel....
But before he finished it off, he asked me to take a picture of this last heart shaped pepperoni!
Happy Birthday to my biggest little man! I hope seven is a great year! And i hope he enjoys his party on Saturday! (Shhhh... he's getting a Wii!!)
A visit from Uncle Jeff & Aunt Malissa
Last weekend, my brother, Jeffery & sister in law, Malissa, came up for the day. Randy was giving Jeff his old CNC router & they needed to work on it a bit to get it back to working order & Randy had to give Jeffery a "class" on how to use the thing! It was literally an all day affair... I am talking like 12 solid hours of work!
While they worked, Malissa helped entertain the boys (i LOVED that!!) and Rebecca brought the girls over about mid day to join in the fun too...
They played baseball in the front yard for a really long time! 
And poor Malissa got nailed in the leg by one of Jackson's hits!
For dinner, Rebecca made Mexican Cornbread for us all (at my house). It was ready while the kids were in the middle of watching Dispicable Me that we got from Redbox. Soooo, we improvised.... Me moved the kitchen chairs so the kids could still sit in the kitchen, but still see the movie.
The table was all taken up with the CNC router anyway, so the rest of us just stood & ate or sat on the living room floor to eat & watch the movie at the same time.
It was lots of fun & I think we should get together like this more often. I can't remember a time that my brother came up for the day without it being for a birthday or something. It was nice for just us siblings to get together & spend time hanging out!
While they worked, Malissa helped entertain the boys (i LOVED that!!) and Rebecca brought the girls over about mid day to join in the fun too...
They played baseball in the front yard for a really long time! 
And poor Malissa got nailed in the leg by one of Jackson's hits!
For dinner, Rebecca made Mexican Cornbread for us all (at my house). It was ready while the kids were in the middle of watching Dispicable Me that we got from Redbox. Soooo, we improvised.... Me moved the kitchen chairs so the kids could still sit in the kitchen, but still see the movie.
The table was all taken up with the CNC router anyway, so the rest of us just stood & ate or sat on the living room floor to eat & watch the movie at the same time.It was lots of fun & I think we should get together like this more often. I can't remember a time that my brother came up for the day without it being for a birthday or something. It was nice for just us siblings to get together & spend time hanging out!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Chores for the Boys: Part 2
So far, the chore system is awesome! The boys have been earning their media coins & redeeming them almost instantly some days. Other days they hoard them up & save them to watch a movie or play the gameboy "for really really long time!" as Eli likes to say! 
They actually like cleaning the bathrooms! I wonder how long that will last...hmmm. I make them take turns with the toilets (which is the worst part by far)...
But they do argue over who gets to spray the cleaner!
Luckily, I have been using Melaleuca products so I don't have to worry about them inhaling dangerous chemicals or fumes. It's all natural! 
What's gonna work? Team work!
I hope they keep up the good work because 3 bathrooms is no fun to clean by myself! :)
They actually like cleaning the bathrooms! I wonder how long that will last...hmmm. I make them take turns with the toilets (which is the worst part by far)...
But they do argue over who gets to spray the cleaner!
Luckily, I have been using Melaleuca products so I don't have to worry about them inhaling dangerous chemicals or fumes. It's all natural! 
What's gonna work? Team work!
I hope they keep up the good work because 3 bathrooms is no fun to clean by myself! :)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Friend or Foe?
These animals of ours could put us on the map for some circus act, I am certain. Do they hate each other? Or do they love each other? Or do they love to hate each other?
Zack continues to chase Lola every chance he gets. However- girlfriend has begun to get feisty & she ain't takin' no junk off him- regardless of the fact that he could really hurt her if he wanted to. He just doesn't know it because she is the one in charge. It is quite funny at times. I think he knows he is annoying her because he just jumps at her & gets just close enough to disturb her. She has begun throwing herself at him, paws out (never intending to actually hit him) and he jumps back right quick. Sometimes this works to get him to leave her alone. Other times, it just fuels the flame!
Recently, she has found a new perch where she knows Zack won't come near her... He knows better than to get on our bed without an invitation. But cats don't bother with formalities. They just roam wherever they please so she has taken to....
Please? Can't we just play?
ummm, no!
In fact, I am going to turn my back on you & you will leave me alone if you know what's good for ya!
I tell ya, it's tough being so popular... such a tough life...
It's okay, Zack... the rest of us love you!
Zack continues to chase Lola every chance he gets. However- girlfriend has begun to get feisty & she ain't takin' no junk off him- regardless of the fact that he could really hurt her if he wanted to. He just doesn't know it because she is the one in charge. It is quite funny at times. I think he knows he is annoying her because he just jumps at her & gets just close enough to disturb her. She has begun throwing herself at him, paws out (never intending to actually hit him) and he jumps back right quick. Sometimes this works to get him to leave her alone. Other times, it just fuels the flame!
Recently, she has found a new perch where she knows Zack won't come near her... He knows better than to get on our bed without an invitation. But cats don't bother with formalities. They just roam wherever they please so she has taken to....
The top of our headboard!
The other place she loves is underneath our bed where there is a little holed up area that she can get to that Zack can't because of the way the bed is built. It drives him nuts! He scoots underneath there & tries to lunge at her but that is hard to do when you have to be spread eagle just to fit underneath the bed! However, if you happen to be downstairs, it sounds like the roof is caving in. I fully expect to see a 70lb dog crashing through the ceiling at some point in my life.
One evening, he actually jumped up on the bed (& took a chance at getting yelled at for doing so) because he wanted to play so bad. She was not amused in the slightest. You see she is looking right at me with the camera in my hand. She is thinking, "Get ahold of this beast!"
He would just inch his way closer to her under the rouse of "getting comfy", all the while keeping his eye on her.... and she was keeping her eye on him too!
The other place she loves is underneath our bed where there is a little holed up area that she can get to that Zack can't because of the way the bed is built. It drives him nuts! He scoots underneath there & tries to lunge at her but that is hard to do when you have to be spread eagle just to fit underneath the bed! However, if you happen to be downstairs, it sounds like the roof is caving in. I fully expect to see a 70lb dog crashing through the ceiling at some point in my life.
One evening, he actually jumped up on the bed (& took a chance at getting yelled at for doing so) because he wanted to play so bad. She was not amused in the slightest. You see she is looking right at me with the camera in my hand. She is thinking, "Get ahold of this beast!"
Please? Can't we just play?
ummm, no!
In fact, I am going to turn my back on you & you will leave me alone if you know what's good for ya!
I tell ya, it's tough being so popular... such a tough life...
It's okay, Zack... the rest of us love you!
Ugh...
The tummy bug passed through our house last weekend. Gratefully, it only took 1 hostage so far... (Eli!)
He was pitiful. I got to thinking & I don't think Eli has ever had this bug. But he woke up Saturday night/Sun morning about 1am crying & when I walked around the corner he cried, "Mommy, I frowd up! I frowd up, Mommy!" I then turned around & hollered for Randy, saying, "We've got VOMIT!" I am not the vomit go to person in this family. I pay my dues in plenty of areas, but vomit has never been one of them. To say it is my phobia would be an understatement. Thankfully, Eli is a pro at hitting the trash can or toilet, so other than the initial episode (when I think it caught him off guard & it was all in the hallway AND his bed), he only hit the carpet or bedding 2 other times. Regardless though, there was plenty of laundry & lysoling going on around here for days! The first day consisted of this...
Randy snuggling with him on the couch & Zack wondering what was wrong (& getting nasty looks from Randy for sniffing all in their faces while they rested!)
Day two still consisted of snuggling on the couch, but this time he had fever & just wanted to have a TV watching marathon...
Thankfully, it passed within about 48 hours & other than a very low appetite, Eli is back up to normal speed again! Praise!
He was pitiful. I got to thinking & I don't think Eli has ever had this bug. But he woke up Saturday night/Sun morning about 1am crying & when I walked around the corner he cried, "Mommy, I frowd up! I frowd up, Mommy!" I then turned around & hollered for Randy, saying, "We've got VOMIT!" I am not the vomit go to person in this family. I pay my dues in plenty of areas, but vomit has never been one of them. To say it is my phobia would be an understatement. Thankfully, Eli is a pro at hitting the trash can or toilet, so other than the initial episode (when I think it caught him off guard & it was all in the hallway AND his bed), he only hit the carpet or bedding 2 other times. Regardless though, there was plenty of laundry & lysoling going on around here for days! The first day consisted of this...
Randy snuggling with him on the couch & Zack wondering what was wrong (& getting nasty looks from Randy for sniffing all in their faces while they rested!)
Day two still consisted of snuggling on the couch, but this time he had fever & just wanted to have a TV watching marathon...
Thankfully, it passed within about 48 hours & other than a very low appetite, Eli is back up to normal speed again! Praise!
Shootin' Some Hoops
Last week, Jackson began basketball practice through the YMCA. He has been looking forward to this since November when we registered him. Randy has also been looking forward to it as well because basketball is "his" sport. Meaning, he doesn't get into the other sports but LOVES basketball & knows how to teach his kid a thing or two with a basketball. Baseball & soccer... ummm... not so much. They have small teams (10 kids) and his team is the "Pacers".
Jackson was pretty timid & shy at first (just like with baseball last summer), but went along with the others & participated in the drills...
Jackson was pretty timid & shy at first (just like with baseball last summer), but went along with the others & participated in the drills...
{dribbling}
{passing the ball}
{shooting the ball}
It was really cute to see all the kids playing ball. Hopefully i can get some more decent shots throughout the season, but the gymnasium & my camera were not friends during the first practice for some reason. If the flash was used, it would be too dark (oddly enough) but if i turned the flash off, it would blur! Frustrating! So, stay tuned for more basketball shots over the next 8 weeks. Go Pacers!!
{shooting the ball}
It was really cute to see all the kids playing ball. Hopefully i can get some more decent shots throughout the season, but the gymnasium & my camera were not friends during the first practice for some reason. If the flash was used, it would be too dark (oddly enough) but if i turned the flash off, it would blur! Frustrating! So, stay tuned for more basketball shots over the next 8 weeks. Go Pacers!!Wednesday, January 19, 2011
A little love....
I don't usually decorate for Valentines day. I mean, really? Is it REALLY a holiday? Yes, we love to make valentines around here & maybe a goodie or two, but it has never been a holiday I truly decorate & prepare for.
However. I stumbled across a cute little valentine pillow tutorial when checking in on one of my followed craft blogs. It was so adorable that I got right up & went into my craft room to see if I had the supplies on hand. I did!
I then checked the clock- Eli was napping & I had about 25 minutes before I had to leave to get Jackson from school. I decided it was fate & I needed to get crackin' on it PRONTO!
Here is the end result & i think it is so stinkin' cute!
Just the little something my rocker needed in the living room to fill the air with a little love! 
The red fabric was from a hand me down stash that Peto gave me (i think it is old curtains?!) and the heart fabric is from a fabric swap with Theresa. It is a piece cut off of some old pjs that she just couldn't part with! lol!
I am thinking about making some other crafts to spice up the house for this not-so-huge holiday. Who knew a pillow could turn around your thought process, huh?
If you are interested, the tutorial is located here at V & Co......
And in case you wanted a little extra tidbit of information, I thought this pillow was so easy to put together (* she gives a great little tip for making the gather on the heart fabric!) that I made another one for Christmas that evening too! The heart one is stuffed & hand stitched closed. But on the tree one, I made it like a little sham in the back so that i can trade it out for other designs (that i see in my future.... like a shamrock!) & just use the same pillow underneath!
However. I stumbled across a cute little valentine pillow tutorial when checking in on one of my followed craft blogs. It was so adorable that I got right up & went into my craft room to see if I had the supplies on hand. I did!
I then checked the clock- Eli was napping & I had about 25 minutes before I had to leave to get Jackson from school. I decided it was fate & I needed to get crackin' on it PRONTO!
Here is the end result & i think it is so stinkin' cute!
Just the little something my rocker needed in the living room to fill the air with a little love! 
The red fabric was from a hand me down stash that Peto gave me (i think it is old curtains?!) and the heart fabric is from a fabric swap with Theresa. It is a piece cut off of some old pjs that she just couldn't part with! lol!
I am thinking about making some other crafts to spice up the house for this not-so-huge holiday. Who knew a pillow could turn around your thought process, huh?
If you are interested, the tutorial is located here at V & Co......
And in case you wanted a little extra tidbit of information, I thought this pillow was so easy to put together (* she gives a great little tip for making the gather on the heart fabric!) that I made another one for Christmas that evening too! The heart one is stuffed & hand stitched closed. But on the tree one, I made it like a little sham in the back so that i can trade it out for other designs (that i see in my future.... like a shamrock!) & just use the same pillow underneath!
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