I Love My Boys!!!

I love the weekends!

This was a really great morning! When I woke up, my alarm clock didn't wake me up with a "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOO!" (yes, my alarm clock crows at me to get up. It was the only one obnoxious enough to get me out of bed at the butt-crack of dawn!) over and over again at 4:30am. No, as a matter of fact, I didn't even set my alarm last night. I was able to sleep until just after 8:00am - BLISS!
My husband, Jackson, and Leo all climbed into bed with me and we had our "Good Morning, Family-Hug", and I got to snuggle with my Little-Man for a bit under the covers, smelling his hair, and cuddling with him for a few minutes.

I don't even feel bad that it is almost 9:00am and I am still in my pj's. As a matter of fact...I don't know that I will even take them off and change clothes until the afternoon.

I think I will go make some coffee, go outside in my back yard, and watch Jackson play in his play set/tree house, and laugh when Leo tries to climb up the tree house with Jackson.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! I know I am going to - and I might try to post some pictures, too!

Baby Grace

I can't get it out of my mind! I really, really wish I could, but I can't. As a Mother, I am enraged, sickened and heart-broken by this story! I have so many questions like, "Why?", "How could they?", and "WTF were they thinking?"...
I don't know how many of you keep up with the news, but in October of last year a fisherman found the remains of a little girl stuffed into a plastic container on an uninhabited portion of West Galveston Island. Authorities named the little girl, Baby Grace. I won't go into much detail about what happened, but you may read it here: http://www.click2houston.com/news/18572302/detail.html

Baby Grace was a two year-old, blonde haired, blue-eyed little girl who's real name was Riley Ann Sawyers. She was literally beaten and tortured to death by her Mother and Step-Father in an attempt to "teach manners". Apparently, Riley forgot to say "please" and "yes sir", so for that she paid with her life.

Authorities learned that Riley was killed in July, and her parents, instead of trying to HELP this little girl, went to a store...picked up a plastic container...stuffed their daughter in it, and LEFT her in their SHED for "A MONTH or TWO" before they dumped her in the bay.

Prosecutors spent three hours telling a grand jury why they should upgrade the charges from Injury to a Child to Capitol Murder, and the jury took nearly three minutes to agree. The pair were also charged with tampering with evidence for disposing of Riley's body.

Now, we live in a state that embraces Capitol Punishment. I really hate to sound to brass about this, but it's true. There is no beating-around-the-bush about it. Texas leads the nation in the number of executions performed, and it is my opinion that the crime that took place here fits the mold for an execution for BOTH of these evil P.O.S's!
Unfortunately, the couple will NOT lose their lives if convicted of Capitol Murder (even though murder of an individual under six years of age IS a capitol offense) because Galveston officials believe the death penalty would be thrown out on appeal because, and I quote, "there was no evidence that (Trenor or Ziegler) would be a continuing threat to society." If convicted of capital murder, they face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

I have two words for these people, and I pray the jury feels the same way I do... GENERAL POPULATION.

As a Christian woman, I believe these two will have to answer to God for what they did to this sweet little girl. I know that judgment on Earth pales in comparison to that of our Heavenly Father. In cases such as this one, my belief provides me with comfort, knowing that ultimately they will get theirs.
As a Christian woman I say, MAY GOD SHOW THEM NO MERCY!

Out With The Old, In With The NEW!!

So I ditched my old, potentially damaging, blog site through BraveJournal. I did copy the other entries from my old blog and transferred them here. I am still trying to get the hang of Blogger. So far, I think things are going well, except that I can't seem to place pictures where I want them. When I try to upload a picture to a post, it sends it straight to the top of the post, NOT where I place my cursor. Strange.

If anyone has any advice on how post pictures on the sides of my blog, I would really appreciate it!

YUM!

YUM!!!

Just look at this delicious meal! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Heather from Want What You Have for this (varied) recipe. This picture does not do it justice, but I had to quickly take this picture with my camera-phone before my husband tore into it! Seriously, the reason the picture came out soo dark was because he was literally standing beside the stove, spatula in hand, waiting for me to snap a photo so he could dig in, lol!

Heather's Turkey Lattice Pot Pie Recipe can be found http://economicaleats.blogspot.com/2009/01/lattice-turkey-pot-pie.html .

I didn't have any turkey, so I used chicken breasts instead. I also thought rice would be yummy in it, so I added 1 cup of Mahatma Basmati (white, long grain) rice. The rice definitely made the Pot Pie thicker, but we all like it that way!!! I tell my guys that it "sticks to your ribs, and helps them grow" - my husband says he doesn't need to grow anymore...LOL.

Happy 5th Birthday, Jackson!

Today is our son's 5th Birthday. I consider this to be a Milestone Birthday because he is officially a "Big Kid" now. It seems like yesterday that I held him in my arms, would rock him to sleep, and hold his tiny hands to help him walk. Now he is independent, opinionated, and very seldom "needs" me anymore. (sigh...I miss being "needed". I have shed tears all morning long.)

He has boundless energy (except when he is watching his shows), and LOVES to play chase games around the house, or his all-time favorite, "BOO!". That's where he literally sneaks around the house when you least expect it, waits for just the right moment, and then either grabs you or just jumps out of nowhere to scare the bejeezus out of you! He finds great humor in this. I can't get too upset at this though...I started it. He's a quick-study, and certainly has managed to cause my heart to beat in my throat a few times, lol.

Sometimes he gets the sillies, and it really takes all of me not to get too frazzled, but mostly he is a complete joy, and I thank God that He has blessed us with such happiness.

He had his 5 year-old check up with his doctor last week, and he is (as always) in the 97th-99th percentile for his height and weight. He's 3' 8 3/4" tall and weighs 52 pounds. Recently, I had to go and buy more uniform pants for him because within a matter of weeks his size 5 in boys are too tight. So now he wears a 6...and a size 1 in boys shoes. He is indeed going to be a very big-boy! He also had to get FOUR shots; one of which was his flu shot, and he was none-too-pleased about that. He said to me with giant tears in his eyes, "I told you I don't like needles! Why did you let her poke me so many times?" Talk about a heart-breaker.

We also had his Parent/Teacher Conference this week, and his teacher told us that Jackson is doing amazingly well in class, and noted the night and day difference in his behavior from the Summertime to this Fall Semester. During the Summer, Jackson was getting in trouble in class, A LOT. We're talking 5 time-outs a day, kind of misbehavior! Jack and I tried to be understanding of the phases he may have been going through at that time and the emotions that all of us were feeling after we lost Sanford, our Neo-Bull Mastiff, but enough was enough and we were forced to take drastic and creative measures where his discipline was concerned. I am extremely proud to say that it has been six weeks since Jackson has had any problems at school, and he seems to really enjoy his new-found position as the "Teachers Pet".

His teacher also told us that he is really good at Math and Reading. That makes me happy because I struggled with Math when I was young. He is learning how to build a solid foundation in understanding math concepts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) by using both concrete materials and manipulative's. He is beginning to bring home work where he is writing out each number 0-100! As far as reading goes, he is learning with a phonetic approach, and he sounds E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G out, and it is precious as can be!

I really can not give enough praise for the Montessori environment. He's been attending a Montessori School since he was 18 months old, and it truly has done wonders for his desire of learning, his self-esteem, and his socialization.

In case you don't know about the Montessori philosophy of education, it's basically the idea that all children carry within themselves the person they will become. In order to develop physical, intellectual, and spiritual potential to the fullest; the child must have freedom – a freedom to be achieved through order and self-discipline. The only valid impulse to learning is the self-motivation of the child. Children move themselves toward learning. The teachers prepare the environment, direct the activity and offer the stimulation, but it is the child who learns, who is motivated through work itself to persist in a given task. If Montessori children are free to learn, it is because they have acquired an inner discipline from their exposure to both physical and mental order. This is the core of Dr. Montessori’s philosophy. Patterns of concentration and thoroughness, established in early childhood produce a confident, competent learner in later years. Montessori education teaches children to observe, to think, to judge. It introduces children to the joy of learning at an early age and provides a framework in which intellectual and social discipline go hand-in-hand.

To my sweet, wonderful son on your 5th Birthday.

You are so very special to us and loved in every way!

God gave me a precious gift
the day he gave me you.
You've brought such love and joy into
my life and lots of laughter too.
The years have passed so quickly
for it seems like yesterday,
your tiny body was cuddling mine,
and in my arms you lay.
We may not always get along

and at times we disagree,
but always know how loved you are
you mean the world to me.
As we celebrate this special day,

We wish the best for you,
may your life be filled with happiness
and your hopes and dreams come true.
You may be growing up
but forever you will be,
my sweet thoughtful little boy
that God gave to me.

We love you very much, Little-Man!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Your Personality is Very Rare (ESTP)

Your personality type is dominant, driven, poised, and self-aware.

Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 6% of all men.

You are Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving.

Houston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club

First, Jackson and I are taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Typically, the instructor only allows children ages five and up to join the class, but due to Jackson's comprehension level and size, they went ahead and let him join. During Jackson's first lesson he was paired up with another young girl to practice with. The children are given drills and taught different maneuvers to learn, and at the conclusion of the class, the children get to demonstrate what they have learned with their partner in front of the instructor.

Jackson did very well, and out of the lessons he demonstrated, he only "lost" one match. He was crushed, and yes, he cried. He is such a perfectionist that when he "loses" or can't do something the first time, it upsets him greatly.I was very happy that the instructor showed him compassion and patience instead of belittling and chastising him. That right there showed me that I made the right decision in choosing this class for him!

I am taking the adult class after Jackson's class, and I have to say...it's pretty intense! I am the only woman in the class, so of course I had to prove myself and "earn my respect" from the other guys. Before the class started, I went to the restroom to change out of my dress, and when I came out, one of the guys said to me, "Oh...for a minute there I thought you were changing for the adult class.", to which I replied that I did. Then, the guy laughs at me! I asked him why he thought that was funny, and he says to me, "(still with the smirky-smile) Well, what made you decide to do Jiu-Jitsu? Have you done this before?" I furled my brow at him, and basically stared him down. I explained that, no, I have not done anything like this before, and that I suppose I decided to do jiu-jitsu for some of the same reasons he decided to join. (Cue staring match no. 2...)

Once I received my gi, I joined the guys who had already began their drills. We ran, galloped forwards and backwards, had to do flips (where you basically dive between your legs and flip over), and did this exercise the really works your lower abs...more than I have worked them in six years, lol! We also had to do this thing called a "caterpillar", which is where you begin in a push-up position and do a push-up, "jump" your feet to where your hands are, and then "walk your hands out" back to a push-up position and start over...and we had to to this the entire length of the practice area. I was tired before our lesson even began! Unfortunately (for me) I could not let on that I am out of shape because I was still trying to prove myself.

We learned how to get out of someones mounted guard, and put them in your guard, and also how to get out of a standing head-lock, and submit (or break one's arm out of their rotator cuff) them.

At the conclusion of our lesson, all of the students have to show the instructor what we have learned and receive our critiques. I am very happy to say that I was one of the few students in the class that did not have to re-do my maneuvers for the professor because I nailed it the first time! YEA FOR ME!!! After the class was over, the guys came up to me and introduced and congratulated me on my Job Well Done! That made me feel good!

Again, it's all pretty intense, but completely worth it to know that I am able to take care of myself (and Jackson, too!) if I should ever be put in that situation!