Goodbye 2010!

I know, I disappear for 3 months and then think I can come back like nothing! It has been very busy to say the least. September Jaysen got sick for the first time with Hand, Foot & Mouth. Worst experience EVA! Then we found a house in October, started renovating at the end of the month and by 11/12 we were in! We are slowly making this house our home but we have SOOOOOOO much more to do.

Jaysen and Vanessa are doing great. Vanessa is getting acclimated to being in a new environment but she still chooses to be homeschooled. So far so good =) Jaysen is all over the place and is SO MUCH FUN! I seriously cannot get enough of that little boy. He is talking so much right now! He says: mama, dada, baba, baby, cup, please, cheese, ball, papa, sissy, chip, computer, hello, bye-bye, pup, remote, titi, Mike, Steffy, couch, pretty, mimi, up, juice, bus, plex, bat, pot, hat, doggie, birdie, kiss....I cant remember what else but basically he doesn't stop =) He is all over the place and is a little daredevil. He thinks nothing of running across the sectional at warp speeds and flinging himself over the edge. He has not fallen yet thank the good lord above but that doesnt mean my heart doesn't stop each time I see him being such a crazy little boy. Makes for an interesting day but I wouldn't change it for the world!

Life is good and I just wanted to post once more before this decade is over. It went from being just Rob & I to us with a beautiful daughter, beautiful boy, a dog and a house. Big changes people!!! Heres hoping that the next ten years bring as much joy as the past ten have. See ya next year!

xoxoxoxo
Jackie

Miscellany Monday

So no posts in September yet huh? Can you tell homeschooling has started? I figured I would see if Miscellany Monday can get me back into the groove of things!

1. Things have been busy to say the least. Homeschooling is going rather well, just a big adjustment from our glorious carefree summer. Vanessa is doing well with our schedule and actually seems to be enjoying herself and learning along the way. Imagine that! Maybe one day I will actually have time to post our schedule and curriculum. There are some days I comethisclose to losing my mind but that comes with the territory. Its all for a good cause.

2. I have kind of been down lately. I think it might just be the monotony of everyday life, with a little bit of PMS thrown in. It doesn't help that I haven't been walking either. I used to walk 2 miles at least 3 times a week and now I am down to 0. I think it has taken a toll on my well being. I love my life and wouldn't change much (I really want a house and new car) but I realized I am very blessed with what I have already. This too shall pass, I think mommy just needs a day out, by herself. I'll let you know how that one works out - wish me luck!

3. On a more exciting note, a certain someone has started walking! Jaysen is all over the place and it is the.cutest.thing.ever! I love seeing him walk around the corner like "Hey Mom! Just wanted to see what you were doing" Love it! I haven't let him walk in "public" yet cause I'm afraid he will still drop on all fours in the middle of the store and just start crawling everywhere. I will give him a little time, plus he hasn't quite mastered getting up on his own so he would definitely crawl till he finds something to pull up on.

4. Rob and I just celebrated another anniversary. We have two, the first time we got together ever (when I was 17!!!!!) was 9.15.97. Being teenagers we kind of bounced back and forth for the next two years and them officially got back together 9.3.99. We've been in it for the long haul ever since. We never got married (and probably never will) so those dates both really mean a lot to us. Were entitled to two days to celebrate right? Why not!

5. Fall is here in the North East. I love fall. Like seriously love it. I love the leaves, and the pumpkins, and the apple picking, and the sweaters with boots, I love the crisp fall air, I love drinking tea and eating apple cider donuts, I love fall decorating, I love Halloween and trick or treating and watching scary movies. I mean seriously, doesnt it sound great! I always wanted to live someplace warmer (I dont get along with snow) but I really think I would miss the seasons. Especially my beloved fall.

6. Back to reality, not so fun news. My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her mother (my great-grandmother) had it and we all knew it was coming but it is still hard none-the-less. She lives 3 hours away from me so I really feel useless being so far away from her. She needs to move into a nursing home asap because she lives on her own and its just not feasible for her anymore to take care of herself. When something like this happens in life it makes you stop and just look around. One one hand my son is just beginning life, learning new things every day, everything is so fresh and new and exhilarating. Then you have my grandmother who has already lived her life. Soon she will forget her name, forget my face, not be able to feed herself. Then there is me - in the middle watching it all. I just really want to enjoy life because it really does fly by. Give everyone you know a hug, tell them you love them and just be happy. That's all its really about right?

Hope everyone has a great week. I am going to make the best of what I have (which is A LOT) and get out of this funk. Tata for now!

A Day Behind

So it took me all day to realize that my previous post - Miscellany Monday - was posted on a Tuesday. Yeah, don't really know what was going on there. As Rob would say..... just a day in the life of Jackie!

Miscellany Monday

1. Today is my twin sisters birthday, they turn 27 today. Happy Birthday Yvonne & Christina!

2. School starts this week. Since we homeschool most people think - so what! It really does change things around here though. We *try* to stick to a more structured schedule when school is in session and or course there is lots of teaching and learning to be had by all.

3. Jaysen is thisclose to walking. He will take about 10 step or so by himself and he walks around the whole house with one hand on the wall. I am just waiting for him to let go, then I will start crying cause my baby isn't really a baby anymore.

4. Speaking of babies who aren't babies anymore. My dear Vanessa....she is 9 going on 19 I tell you. We have been bumping heads a lot recently and I don't like it one bit. I ask her to do something - she doesn't do it - I get mad at her - she gets mad at me. I WILL NOT repeat what has happened with my mother. We bumped heads also and now we are not very close. Sad, sucks, not happening again.

5. My 11 year anniversary is on Friday. I am not very good at waiting to give presents so I already caved and just HAD to give Rob his present already. I don't care if I get anything, I just would really like some quite time. Just us, just like 11 years ago when we were teenagers =)

Thats all for now!

Really honey? Really?

A day in my life:

Monday:

Vanessa: Mommy can I have a drink?
Me: Yes honey, you can have some water.
Vanessa: But I don't want water.
Me: Too bad honey, its good for you.

Tuesday:

Vanessa: Mommy can I have a drink?
Me: Yes, you can grab a bottle of water.
Vanessa: Uggggh  I HATE water Mommy!
Me: Too bad.

Wednesday:

Vanessa: Mommy Im thirsty.
Me: Ok, I will get you some water.
Vanessa: Can I have some lemonade?
Me: No water is good for you, have some water honey.

You get the point....moving on.

Today:
Vanessa: Im thirsty, can I have an air sip of your water?
Me: Really honey, I just poured you a glass of milk to drink with your breakfast.
Vanessa: Oh, really. I kind of want water.

Homeschooling

We started homeschooling Vanessa this past September. We had always known we wanted to homeschool but always thought it would be later on. We are a very close family and after Jay was born it was difficult for Vanessa to be away from us. Being an only child for 8 1/2 years made it extremely hard for her to adjust to a sibling. Then the whole stupid swine flu pandemic hit.  Local schools were vaccinating children for H1N1, some without parents consent. Not cool. If my daughter came home telling me that somebody stuck her with a needle all hell might have broken loose. Top all that off with the fact that she developed a urinary tract infection because she doesn't/couldn't/wouldn't use school bathrooms was enough for me to decide it was time to try homeschooling. We pulled her out of 3rd grade 3 weeks into the school year.

Needless to say it was a rough year.....new baby, the added stress of two children home all day, trying to figure out which homeschooling method worked best for us, wondering if we were setting ourselves up for failure, dealing with other peoples questions about our decision. It was definitely trying at times.

With the year behind us I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. Homeschooling isn't for everyone but it really works for us. I feel public schools are not what they used to be and Vanessa is better off at home, with us, learning. My only issue with homeschooling is "me" time. Separating myself from being a mom, a teacher, a wife, a homemaker. I wear a lot of hats but I have to remember the Jackie hat! If momma aint happy nobody is happy right! We thankfully have worked on that so I now will have time to work on my photography hobby, read a book or  do whatever my little heart pleases.

(Yes, she has mascara on. She likes "playing" with makeup. Mommy hates it but we all did it right?)

I feel so much more confident going into our second year and am so excited. My girl is getting so big and she is so smart it really is a privilege to teach her.

To Wordpress Or Not To Wordpress?

I am in the middle of moving over our business website from Blogger to Wordpress. Somebody please remind me why I chose to do this? It has been anything but fun, quite confusing at times & I am nowhere near done. I am hoping that it is all worth it. Please pray that I have all my hair when this is all over with!

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

OK, so maybe not lions and tigers but definitely bears. Well a bear....sorry I had to lure you in somehow! Anywho, this Saturday I stopped at a gas station on the way home from my BFF's house. When what to my wondering eyes should appear.....

Yep, thats a bear, just chilling out by the dumpster. I was just standing there pumping gas, minding my own business when I overheard the person behind me say "Look - a bear!". Well you know I had to grab my camera. Im pretty sure it was still a baby and honestly it was more interested with rolling around & going through the dumpster so I felt ok with snapping some shots. Well more like 100+ but its not like you see a bear in the wilderness everyday!

Vanessa was soooooooo excited. This was actually the second bear we had seen in as many days. The other bear was on the side of the road when I drove past it. I saw it run across the road in my rear window but by the time I turned around to find it again it was gone. You know I wasn't going to let that happen again!

Pretty cool right!

Before & After

Since I LOVE taking pictures and editing them I decided to join Pixel Perfect's before/after. This is my first challenge so sorry if I royally mess is up! I am in no way an expert at this and have really only been playing around in Photoshop for about a year or so & would be nothing without PW's actions. Ok, onto the good stuff!

 This was the picture I used for Jaysens first birthday post. I loved the before (how could you not with that face) but thought it could use a little something. I opened it up in CS4 and ran the "Sharpen This" action first just to bring out his facial features a little bit more.  Next I ran the "Heartland" action which gave it that vintage look. After that I ran "Boost" just to bring everything up a notch and then just played with the curves. I am pretty happy with how it came out, I think I might have to frame this one!

Happy First Birthday Baby!

Happy First Birthday baby boy!

 I cannot believe that you are a year old. You are the sweetest, smartest, most well behaved baby.  I think you resemble both your Daddy & I equally. You are definitely a boy, such a difference from your sister. Whereas Sissy clung to Daddy, you cling to Mommy. I love every minute of it too =).

 You aren't walking yet but you are trying. You will take a step here or there but you still prefer to crawl or cruise. You love eating EVERYTHING! I really haven't found anything you don't like, you even gave peas a second try and seemed to enjoy them for the most part. You prefer to feed yourself but will tolerate Mommy feeding you your oatmeal. Thanks for that! You are also still breastfeeding. My goal was a year and now that we are there I am going to take it day by day. I really don't have a desire to stop anytime soon so I will let you decide.

You love expressing yourself with your voice. You yell and talk a lot. I don't understand everything you can say but I have heard -Mama, Dada, Papa, baba, baby, ball, Pooh & bye-bye. You are very smart little boy. You know your house well, you know where you can & cant go. When you venture into the "Jaysen Not Allowed" zones you look at me and smile. You know your not allowed there Jay! When I ask where your ball is - you get it for me. When I ask where your drum is you crawl as fast as possible and grab it for me. Such a good boy you are baby. I think Sissy is your favorite. She can do the simplest of things and you crack up! She is rough on you but you don't seem to mind. Mommy does but I guess I will have to get used to it. I keep telling her that one day you are going to get her back!

This past year has been fantastic.  You have changed our whole family and opened our eyes to a lot of things that we were blind to. We are so blessed to have you in our lives Jaysen. We all love you so much. Happy First Birthday buddy!