I searched the Internet for a chart that I could download and print for Jackson, and came up with a semi-blank one that I put all of Jackson's favorite characters on and sort of personalize it for him. I printed out several since they're weekly charts, and I have taped one up on his bathroom mirror. We will be placing stars every time he actually "uses" the potty, not just sits on it.

And as of tonight, he deserves his first star since we've been keeping the chart. He went Number 2 in the potty! I don't have any stars on hand, unfortunately, but I have promised him we'll get them in the morning! I bought him some underpants today and I had him wear them around the house tonight, and at supper he told me in so many words (I'll spare you all the "poop" terminology) that he needed to go. The story is much more exciting, but I know most people don't get their jollies from potty training stories. So let's just say we're well on our way to being a BIG BOY!

He got these underpants today, along with the Diego ones I posted a few days ago, and he wanted to put on Lightning, so that's what we did!

I'm still searching for an Easter outfit for Jackson. I found something at Old Navy, but I'm not sure it's supposed to match. I just liked the shirt, really. I need to get busy working on getting his Easter basket stuff too. He has picked out lots of things he thinks the Easter bunny should be getting him when we've visited Target. Each time he sees something new!


He ALWAYS wants this when we pass by it, so the Easter bunny might just have to get him this:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We met Wesley and Stacy in a park the other day and I was trying to get some cute pictures of them because I'm getting ready to hang several pictures up in Jackson's room and in his play room of friends and family, but wouldn't you know it, Jackson never looks at the camera anymore and I couldn't get a good one of the both of them. But I got a really cute one of Wesley. He looks so grown up to me in this first picture:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Finally, some pictures of our little snow day last weekend. Jackson really had a great time in it, but it was melting away quickly. Tom wanted to build a little snowman with him, but alas, it was gone too fast! Here are some pictures from their sledding experience! We don't own a sled, so Tom improvised with a Jasper sign.

Until next time...

P.S. Be watching on Sunday when HGTV awards me my Dream Home. I'm already planning my first week's stay there!

POTTY TALK

Jackson used his potty for the first time last night! He has been sitting on it for a couple of months but never actually "used" it. But last night before his bath, he was sitting on it and Tom went to get his pajamas laid out and when he went back in the bathroom, Jackson had thrown a square of toilet paper in his little toilet and was peeing on it! We just lost our minds clapping and praising him. He seemed unmoved by it all. But then he got his beloved piece of candy, and that made it all worthwhile.

I think it just happened to be good timing, plus with the bath water running, the stars aligned and it happened for the first time! I am not going to kid myself and think that he's going to be completely potty trained in a month or so, but I'm definitely excited for him and I think he's ready! We might just go out and by some big boy undies this week sometime. I think these might be a motivator, huh?

Tom was working at home yesterday, so it was a pretty fun day for Jackson. We took Jackson to the park in the afternoon and he saw some boys on skateboards and one boy on roller blades and he was really into it. He just sat down on the curb and watched them. We sat down with him and watched. I thought it might be fun for him to have a pair of skates, so we went to Target and bought him these:

They came with knee pads, elbow pads, but we had to buy the helmet. Anyway, he REALLY loved skating! We just had them on him for a little while last night in the house, but he thought it was great fun. He fell a lot on his bottom and would complain that it hurt, but then when we tried to take the skates off, he didn't want to take them off! We'll be skating again today, I'm sure. Here are some pics of that:

And then here are just a few random pictures that I took while we played outside some yesterday:

I do have some great pictures of the snow day on Saturday and a couple from the birthday party we went to, but I have run out of time to mess on this computer. I'll try to post them tomorrow. I thought the potty-for-the-first-time announcement was more important for today's post.

Jackson is calling!

Until next time!

SNOW???

We are supposed to have a lot of snow tonight, so maybe I'll have some good pictures by the first of the week on here.

Well, tomorrow morning I go to my massage, facial and pedicure appointment that Tom and Jackson and Tom Sr. and Mary got me for my birthday. I am SO looking forward to that! My skin is not as good as it used to be, so I really hope that facial can clear it up! Jackson got his hair cut today, and he really needed it. I don't know if you can tell in the following picture, but I tried to spike it up a little bit. It looks so cute. He looks so grown up! I can't believe he's two and a half already. Sometimes I just want to say STOP growing already. Just stop. He's so funny and sweet and crazy all at the same time.

I think these pictures depict his personality:

I wish I had some exciting things to post, but sadly, I don't at the moment. We have a birthday party to attend tomorrow that Jackson hasn't stopped talking about. He is very excited. I'll take pictures at the party too. Have a great weekend everybody!

Until next time...

I AM 40 AND I AM OKAY!

I did this digital layout from pictures taken over the weekend, but I'm not finished with it. I'm not really pleased with it, but I don't have time tonight to keep messing around with it. So here it is. When I fix it to my liking, I'll repost it.

I had a great birthday weekend. Plenty of family in and friends around to help me celebrate all weekend. Friday night I went out with some girlfriends to a Mexican restaurant and had some margaritas. I laugh so much with those girls. It was a lot of fun! Then Saturday, Mom and I took Jackson shopping in the afternoon, and then she watched him at night while Tom and I went out to eat with some other friends. We went to Carrabba's, which is a favorite of mine, and that was a lot of fun too. I got some great gifts that I certainly wasn't expecting. Thanks everyone for making my 40th birthday a great one!

It was so nice here today, except for the wind, so we met Stacy and Wesley at the park, and I tried to take a lot of pictures, but none turned out, really. Even in this one, Jackson's eyes are closed! Jackson ran face first into a metal pole because he was turned around looking at me and wasn't watching in front of him. I just knew it would leave a mark, but really there's nothing. He didn't even cry very long over it!

I am tired after a long weekend and long day, so I don't have any more to write. Sorry! And I'm not really happy with any of the pictures I have taken in the past few days. The ones in my layout above are the only ones decent enough to show!

Until next time...

LORDY, LORDY

I'm going out for Margaritas tonight with some friends who live in my neighborhood, and then tomorrow night we're going to Carraba's with some other friends. I'd say that's a sufficient celebration for my birthday.

I was thinking back to my 30th birthday, and boy, did I celebrate that one differently. Of course, that was pre-Tom, pre-Jackson, pre-good sense. I remember a group of friends went to Hard Days Night, a club that Phil Vassar owned and where he played every weekend. My friend Denise even drove in from Atlanta. We had a great time, needless to say. Too bad Phil isn't going to be anywhere around town this weekend to help me celebrate!

Jackson had a relapse. He is no longer in a toddler bed but back in his crib. Tom changed it back to a crib yesterday. Jackson only slept in his toddler bed for about a week, but after that he wanted to sleep with me, or in "my" bed, I should say. Sometimes he would go in there and go to sleep before I'd even come to bed. I think he didn't feel safe in his toddler bed. That's why we went back to the crib. When he went to bed last night, he cried and cried and cried, but once he got quiet, he slept until almost 8:00 this morning. I think we'll just make the leap from toddler bed to twin bed sometime in late summer.

Darin and Tonya came in last night for the weekend. Darin has more studio time to put some songs on a CD today. And Mom will be in today. Jackson is so excited to have company. He's upstairs right now listening to Uncle Darin tune his guitar.

I'll most definitely have pictures to post on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!

Until next time...

Look-A-Like Meter

* * *

I actually made something last night that was edible. Even Jack ate it! It was so easy and actually very good. I pretty much followed it exactly except we didn't have Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, so I just added Italian seasoning to plain breadcrumbs. Since chicken is about the only meat Jackson will eat, this will definitely be going in our "family" cookbook.

Tender Italian Baked Chicken
"Flavorful and moist baked chicken"

PREP TIME
10 Min
COOK TIME
20 Min
READY IN
30 Min

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder. Place bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Dip chicken into the mayonnaise mixture, then into the bread crumbs to coat. Arrange coated chicken on a baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken juices run clear and coating is golden brown.

* * *

I forgot to mention in my last post about Jackson coloring on our walls for the first time. I was at a photography class that I signed up for at a local college on Saturday, and when I got home in the afternoon, Tom called for me to come upstairs. Jackson had taken a fat purple crayon and colored swirlies all over the half wall upstairs and on the window sill and on two of the doors up there and behind the curtain and a little bit of the wall going down the stairs. I told Tom that it's funny how I'm with Jackson all week long and this never happens, yet he's with him for three hours and it does. Hmmm. There must have been a game or race on TV and his attention diverted elsewhere. Anyway, now the crayons are staying out of his reach!

JACKSON POSES WITH HIS MASTERPIECE

Here are a couple of recent pics:

Until next time...

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Hello again! We're down to the last week before my birthday, so for those of you who haven't been to the store yet to get me a card to stuff money in, you still have time. Kidding. I'm really not all weirded out by turning 40 at all. It will be just another day in the saga that is my life. Heck, have you seen what Britney Spears is supposed to look like at age 36? I feel better already. Actually, that looks a whole lot like my dental hygienist!

We've been pretty busy with everyday stuff, so I haven't posted in a while. Jackson is sick with a horrible cough. It sounds like something bronchial, but the doctor just told us to give him some of the same medicine that was prescribed for him the last time he was sick. He's been sleeping with me the past couple of nights because he doesn't feel well. Hopefully tonight he'll be back in his own bed so that I can get some sleep. He's a worse bed hog than Tom. At one point Saturday night he was no longer beside me, so I sat up thinking he'd fallen off the side of the bed, but instead he was laying at the foot of the bed right up next to the foot board. I guess he had more room down there!

If you've ever got some downtime, go to this site, Celebrity Morph, and see which celebrity you look most like. I was fairly disappointed with my celebrity doppelgangers until I decided to try one last time. On my first try, my look-a-like was Roseanne Barr. Seriously. My second try was Liza Minnelli. Again, seriously. But then finally, they got it right on the money when I was morphed into Martine McCutcheon. I'm not sure who this celebrity is, but she must be headed for great things. The resemblance is uncanny. (Please note my sarcasm.) And if you do it, you can do just like me: Keep trying different pictures until your morph is a young, beautiful up-and-coming actress!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

We went to Opry Mills today since we haven't really been out of the house in the past several days for any length of time. We walked around the whole mall and had lunch there too. Jackson and Tom rode on the carousel. I think Jackson's medicine makes him kind of like a zombie because he showed absolutely no emotion as he went around and around and around! He got to pick out a toy at the Disney store and then we came home. Sounds exciting, huh?

Jackson has been crossing his arms on his chest with kind of a disgruntled look for the last couple of days. It's the first time I've seen him do anything like this and I guess he must have seen me do it, probably at him when I get aggravated. It's hilarious, though. He does it in this video. I put him in time-out for who knows what now, and it doesn't appear to be very effective. Just watch my little ham:

UPDATE ON JACKSON SLEEPING IN HIS BED: It's 11:18 p.m. on Sunday night, and we put Jackson down around 9:00. He wouldn't lay down and he cried and cried and wanted to go in my room to sleep with me. We closed the door and in no time he had his lamp on and was just standing in there crying. So I opened the door and told him it was either time-out or get in bed, but he still was upset and crying and becoming agitated. So I had Tom get us a nightlight, and we put it right beside his crib. After that, I sat in his floor next to his crib and he laid down. I hummed to him for a little bit and then he got really still. I didn't want him to get all the way asleep because his door makes a lot of noise when you close it and he would just wake back up, so I told him I was going to bed and that I'd see him in the morning. He whined just a tiny bit and then...quiet. He's been asleep ever since. Victorious!

Until next time...