Jackson Lost His First Tooth!

Jackson lost his first tooth yesterday at school. We put his tooth under his pillow, and the Tooth Fairy came while he was fast asleep. When he woke up this morning, he saw that his tooth was gone, and there was a crisp two-dollar bill where his baby tooth used to be, and it was covered with glitter!!

I have to say that I am pretty disappointed in how he came to lose it. He forced it loose. Yup. Just kept pushing and pushing until it was wiggly. All of his friends have been or are losing their teeth, and he wanted to lose his teeth as well.

Here is a brief timeline of how long it took for his tooth to come out:

Last Thursday after his bath he says to me, "Momma, come feel my tooth! It's getting loose!" I felt it with my finger, and really tried to make it wiggle, but it wasn't ready. I didn't think anymore about it after I told Jackson to leave it alone, and it would get loose when it was ready to.
The next day, he left with my parents to go to San Antonio for a week. They went to Sea World, and also to a drive-through petting zoo. When they got back to Houston on Friday, my parents took him to Space Center Houston. By the time I picked him up Friday night, seven and a half days later mind you from the first "I have a loose tooth, Momma!"...his tooth was making sucking noises when he touched it with his tongue!

His teeth now looked to funny to me. His wiggly, bottom incisor was cocked over to almost a 35 degree angle, and it made it appear that he already lost a tooth!

I took him to school yesterday, and when Jackson would talk, his tooth would move back and forth and impair his ability to speak clearly. It was the cutest thing! When I picked him up after work, I was greeted by the happiest, most proud little boy holding up a Ziploc baggie with a teeny-tiny tooth inside. He was grinning from ear to ear!

Now, THAT'S talent!

Now, I know that I am horribly biased as a Mother, but I must say that I am so impressed by Jackson's talent. He has such a great imagination!

Just check out the tower he made! Have you ever seen anything like this? And the swirling turnpike...these are just wooden train tracks that he attached to his top drawer in his dresser. The entire thing is suspended by one simple attachment (his drawer) and somehow, the weight of itself didn't bring the whole thing crashing down! You can even see the two tiny rail cars he has positioned on the top of the track, ready to take off. Oh-ya...it worked, too!

I swear, if he doesn't grow up to be a politician or an engineer...

Jackson is taking Piano Lessons!

Jackson had his first piano lesson this weekend, and he LOVED it!. We enrolled him in the Suzuki Music Academy here in Houston, and he will have four half hour private lessons a month.

We have been waiting to put him in lessons for years now. To be honest, other than Jackson's apparent love for music, the biggest reason we put him in lessons is because Jack's mother, Evelyn (May God rest her soul), wanted more than anything for Jackson to learn how to play the piano, and in the end that became her last wish. After she passed, we inherited her piano. Jackson has always loved to pick at the keys, and create his own songs to put on 'shows' for anyone who will listen. I have to admit that it is actually quite soothing to listen to him play. He doesn't just bang at the keys, as a matter of fact, he never did. He is very meticulous and deliberate when he plays - and is very much a perfectionist.

My Mother came with us to his first lesson, and she and I both wanted to stay in the room to observe. I could tell that our presence was distracting Jackson's focus from his instructor, so I suggested that Mom and I leave the room. We waited in the lobby for about 20 minutes. After his lesson was over, he came skipping down the hallway with a HUGE smile plastered to his face! He was so excited, and said that he had a lot of fun learning the keys.

His instructor is Mariblanca De Pujadas, and she has quite the resume! Apparently, she was a child prodigy at the age of two, and began performing as a soloist, touring several countries in South America before the age of five!!! She studied with many prestigious master teachers, and eventually did her post-graduate work at Julliard School of Music in New York. She has over 35 years of teaching experience, and her students have been winners in many competitions and have also performed as soloists with symphony orchestras.

During the private lessons, students of an early age are taught the value of reading music, understanding note values and music theory to be able to understand the structure of music. Also, the student develops strong rhythmic skills as well as good sight reading skills. As the young student advances, he is introduced to the basics of music by learning scales, arpeggios and cadences for the development of technique and musicianship. Ear training is also emphasized as its an important tool to learn to recognize musical tones, chords and rhythmic dictation among other valuable things.

I am going to the store this afternoon to try and get "Key Cards" that identify each of the white keys on the piano so it will make it easier for Jackson to learn each key. If not, I'm not opposed to getting little stick-on letters to label each key, lol!

HAPPY (belated) MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Okay, okay. So I'm late in posting this, and I am sorry. This week has been one of "those weeks", and I, for one, am very happy that today is my "Th-iday" (pronounced Thigh-Day, and it means that I don't have to go to work tomorrow.)!

I had the BEST Mother's Day this year! It really was wonderful! My Mother's Day actually began on Friday at Jackson's school. They had a "Mother's Tea" to recognize all the Mommies in his class. Jackson got to open the performance by reading from cue cards, and let me tell you that I was soo impressed by his reading ability! He read like he had been reading for years! He didn't skip a beat! I really was moved to tears! He made me a (I don't really know what it is...sad, I know.) It is yarn that has been saturated in some kind of liquid starch, and then moulded to the bottom of a water bottle. The end result looks like dried silly string in the shape of a birds nest. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it, and I will probably put it on my desk as a "catch-all" for paper clips and rubber bands. We also had tea and cookies. After the presentation and tea, we went to the book fair and got him a book and a science project.
On Saturday, my Mother took Jackson to the Home Depot and made me a wooden plant holder, all by himself! Seriously, this isn't just the Mom in me talking here...it's really great! He used a hammer and nails, and it looks nearly professional!
Jack came home from work with 9 cuts of Oriental Lilies (my absolute favorite flower in the WORLD!!!) inside a beautiful mirrored-mosaic vase...and a card! It was lovely!

On Sunday, after everyone woke up, the boys went to Denny's (we call it Lenny's) and brought breakfast home. MMmmmm....I <3>

Miss USA 2009

I know there is a lot of controversy about the outcome of this pageant. There are quite a few people, Miss Prejean included, who believe that she was "robbed of the crown" because of her honesty and personal convictions as stated in her response to the Final Question at this years Miss USA pageant.

Miss California chose a card out of a fish bowl that had the name of a judge on it. The judge she chose was judge number 8, Perez Hilton, a Hollywood gossip blogger.

Mr. Hilton asked of Miss Prejean, "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think that every state should follow suit, why or why not?"

Now, before I reveal her answer, please realize that this question was cleared in advance by the Miss Universe Organization. All twelve judges submit questions, six were chosen to be used during the telecast. This was NOT "a jaded gay man with an agenda" to corner Miss California because of the passing of Prop. 8 in the state where both Miss Prejean AND Mr. Hilton reside. If any of the other girls chose judge #8's card, they would have received that very same question!

Anyway, on to her answer of: "Well, I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. Umm, we live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, I think in my country, and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised, and that's how that I think it should be; between a man and a woman. Thank you."

Okay, most of you who read this blog know that I am a former state title holder within this very system, and also have been asked to be a judge on numerous times for local pageants. I am fully aware of how this system judges and scores it's contestants.

Delegates are required to compete in Swimsuit, Evening Gown, and Personal Interview. Based on the scoring by the preliminary judges, and Mr. Trump, the 15 semifinalists are chosen to compete in the Finals. The fifteen ladies then compete in swimsuit, and the ladies with the ten highest scores, based on their confidence and fitness, advance to the Top 10, where they all compete in Evening Wear. Then, the ladies with the 5 highest scores will advance to the Top 5. They will then compete in the On-Stage Interview portion of the competition. The ladies are asked personal questions about themselves first, and then draw cards out of a bowl and answer the Final Question from the judge they choose. Based on their individual answers, their articulation, and presentation, each judge will rank the final contestants 1-5, 1 being the winner, followed by the consecutive runner-ups.

North Carolina, the eventual winner of the pageant led the entire competition that night! She scored a 9.198 placing her first in the swimsuit competition, while Miss California scored a 9.033, placing third. During the Evening Gown Competition, Miss North Carolina again came in first with a score of 9.470. Miss California, this time placing second, scored a 9.275.

It absolutely enrages me to hear people, especially Miss California, say that she lost the crown because of her beliefs on same-sex marriage. NO MA'AM! Miss Prejean was NEVER winning the pageant to begin with, and her scores prove it! ONE JUDGE cannot make or break a contestants placement, and there were twelve that night! Not only that, but if people were all that offended by what she said, she would have placed last out of the Top 5, NOT as the winner's 1st Runner Up!

Although Carrie Prejean was honest with her answer (and YES that is very much appreciated!), she wasn't very politically correct or articulate. Miss USA is supposed to be savvy, goal-oriented and aware. The delegates who become part of the Miss Universe Organization display those characteristics in their everyday lives, both as individuals, who compete with hope of advancing their careers, personal and humanitarian goals, and as women who see to improve the lives of others.

Someone, please tell me what the heck "Opposite Marriage" is?! Surely, she meant to say TRADITIONAL marriage. Also, when someone says that "they THINK they believe" something, well, it comes across as being soft on an issue. The point also needs to be made that Americans are NOT free to choose their respective partners for marriage because only 4 states recognize same-sex marriages...which is why this is such a "hot-button" topic facing our nation right now.

Seriously, ALL she had to say is: "While I personally believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman, we, as a nation are given the freedom to vote on issues that are important to us. This is not a federal issue, but rather a state issue, and I think it's best to let the people decide." BAM! She stays true to her beliefs, AND she doesn't offend the masses.

The point of my post? Her beliefs did not cost her her crown...she didn't win because she was never in the lead, and because she answered the question from the judge she chose badly. Are her 15 minutes of fame over yet?!?

Congratulations to Kristen Dalton, Miss USA 2009!

Easter Egg Hunt

Today is Jackson's Easter Egg Hunt at his school. I was actually a little disappointed in the selection of Easter Baskets they had at Walgreens. There were plenty of baskets clearly designed for little girls (ex, princess, pinks and purples, and small baskets that looked kinda cheap), but mostly sports-themed baskets for the boys. Since Jackson doesn't play any sports, I decided not to get him a themed basket. Instead, I found this wicker basket (durable for an egg hunt) that was fairly big (to collect a lot of eggs...) and the colors weren't to "girl-y".

***NOTE TO WALGREENS***

IT'S NOT JUST LITTLE GIRLS WHO PARTICIPATE IN EGG HUNTS, AND NOT ALL LITTLE BOYS LIKE SPORTS!!!

Each student was to bring a dozen plastic eggs filled with candy, stickers, or something fun. These eggs were the largest I could find. I wanted to get big eggs because Jackson's Primary class has younger children (ranging from 3 years to kindergarten), and I wanted to make sure that there would be big, brightly colored eggs for the younger ones to easily see and grab.

I will take pictures (not of the egg hunt since I am at work...grr.) of his loot when we get home and post them here.

I hope he has a good time, and that the weather holds up!

Resurrection Eggs

Lately, I have seen these cute little Resurrection Eggs, everywhere! This is the first I've heard of them, and when I saw how easy they are to make, I had to try it out! Heather has really great directions on her blog on how to make this project.

Resurrection Eggs are a really neat way to teach children about the story of Easter, beyond the Easter Bunny, sweet candies, new clothes, and egg hunts. It gives them a visual/tangible way to relate to and understand the true meaning of Easter - Jesus Christ's resurrection.
"Christ died for our sins and he was raised for our justification." Romans 4:25

I went to the 99c Only store and got my supplies for under $6.00! I checked around at some stores online, and the Resurrection Egg kit sells for $9.00-$13.00...I knew I could make it how I wanted, without spending that much money!

I cut a branch off a tree, and glued (liquid nail...LOVE that stuff!) the end. I took little white and purple flowers from a small floral arrangement that I had, and super glued them on the branches to give my Easter Tree a little softer look.

Finding something to 'plant' my tree in was the hardest part...I scoured the 99c store over and over looking for the perfect planter. I looked at Easter baskets, tins, flower pots...you name it! I finally came upon this little daisy thing. It's a decorative ball similar to a kugal ball, and it comes in several colors, but I liked the yellow best. I saw that it had a small hole at the bottom, and I knew I could use that hole to hold my tree! I was so happy I found this that I was literally dancing around the isle...Jackson was looking at me like I was crazy, lol! Then, I realized that my round pot would need a base so it would be sturdy and not roll over. I went back to the 'Easter Isle', and found a basic yellow flower that was covered with glitter, which completely satisfied my love for all things sparkly! I think it was a window decoration or something, but I had other plans for it!

I liquid nailed my new base to my daisy pot, and VOILA! A Springy look for my Easter Tree and Resurrection Eggs.

Once I had the foundation of my project done, I began making the trinkets that go inside the eggs to tell the story along with the scripture inside each egg. I hung the plastic eggs from curling ribbon on the branches, and I must say that I am very happy with how it all came out!

If you are interested in making your own Resurrection Eggs, here's what you put in the eggs:

(Bread) Matthew 26:26 While they were eating Jesus took a piece of bread,gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples."Take and eat it," He said, "This is My body."

(3 dimes) Matthew 26: 14-15 Then one of the twelve disciples, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, "What will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?" They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him.

(Purple cloth, representing a purple robe) Mark 15:17They put a purple robe on Jesus. . .

(Thorns, like on a rose stem) Matthew 27:29Then they made a crown out of thorny branches and placed it on His head, and put a stick on His right hand; then they knelt before Him and made fun of Him. "Long live the King, of the Jews!" they said.

(Scourge-a small piece of rope or thick string) Mark 15:15Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed Him over to be crucified.

(A small cross) John 19: 17-18a He went out, carrying His cross, and came to "The Place of the Skull," as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called "Golgotha.") There they crucified Him.

(Nails) John 20:25b Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the scars of the nails in His hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in His side, I will not believe."

(Sign saying "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS" or "INRI") Luke 23:38 Above Him were written these words: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

(Small piece of sponge) Matthew 27:48One of them ran up at once, took a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, put it on the end of a stick, and tried to make Him drink it.

(Something representing a spear (i.e. a toothpick)) John 19:34 One of the soldiers plunged his spear into Jesus' side, and at once blood and water poured out.

(Rock) Matthew 27:59-60 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, and placed it in his own new tomb, which he had just recently dugout of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.

(Empty) Matthew 28:6 He is not here He has risen just as He said.

"HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!"