Jackson's grin....

These pictures were taken sometime within the past year. I believe that they were taken (from left to right) in August, December, March and April....

It is one thing that makes my day. I can be SO mad at him for some reason or another, but if I look over at him and he has that big grin, I'm toast. Unfortunately, he doesn't smile all that often when I am angry at him. Luckily, neither he nor I stay angry very long. He can go from crying one minute to happy-go-lucky the next.

He used to do this thing when he was younger (around 2 or 2 1/2). He was (and still is) a bit of a whiner. So I would tell him that I didn't hear him when he was whining. He would get this big ol'

grin on his face, tilt his head to one side and say with animation, "I'm not whining." I think he thought that the lilting tone of voice and big grin would fool me.... and it did.

This picture was taken when he was 2 1/2.

God, I love that kid.....

It's Tuesday!!

I am excited for Tuesdays because I get to enjoy my guilty pleasure. I tune in every Tuesday night to listen to my new favorite singer. Yes... my guilty pleasure is American Idol. I know I am not alone on this one.... millions of people do it.

So who is my favorite? David Cook, of course. He is the best one on the show and probably one of the best singers out there right now. I love his voice and his music style. I have already purchased three or four of his songs off iTunes and will most likely purchase his album when it comes out. He is incredibly talented.

I used to make fun of people who watched American Idol. I thought it was silly and brainless. I completely understand how it might drop me down a notch in some people's opinion. Oh well... Sometimes we need silly and brainless. It is one of those shows (along with America's Funniest Home Videos) that we can watch as a family. Well... Amelia is in bed, but Jackson enjoys American Idol and what can be wrong with an hour of music? Heck... the last two seasons, Jackson's favorites have been different than Kenny's and mine (Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks). Ironically, his favorites were also the favorites of the majority of fans where my favorites didn't win (Blake Lewis, Katherine McPhee, Chris Daughtry).

So there it is. My guilty pleasure is out there. Judge me if you will......

Cinco de Mayo!

It used to mean such different things when I was younger. It was a day to party. There was always something going on on May 5.

Today is just another Monday. I am making tacos for dinner and I am planning on drinking a nice cold beer tonight. That is my homage to Cinco de Mayo of the past.

Do I miss the partying days of Cinco de Mayo? Nope. I wouldn't trade it for the world. This is exactly where I want to be on May 5, 2008.

Note to self: pay it forward to someone this week...

We had a good weekend. On Saturday, we went down to Coronado and watched part of the Red Bull Air Races over the bay. It was pretty cool. Sean and Suz were there and it was so nice to see them. We really don't see our old group of friends very often any more. Sometimes Kenny and I wonder if we saw them more when we lived in Palm Springs. I know we had more quality time because people would come out and stay with us for a weekend at a time, not just a party or afternoon of volleyball every few months.

Oh... the nicest thing happened. Parking was a nightmare down there, so Kenny was in the process of dropping me off with Amelia and the stroller while he and Jackson went searching for a place to park. As I am unloading, a woman comes up and asks if we need a parking spot. She had a great spot just across the street and wanted to give it to us because we had small children. HOW NICE! I promised her that we would pay it forward. Unfortunately, by the time we left, nobody was looking for parking anymore. I will definitely remember that I owe somebody a good deed like that.

A Post a Day in May....

I may be just a follower, but I am new to this whole blogging thing and I thought this was cool. I saw on Penny's blog a challenge to post every day in May. I thought, what the heck. It might also help get traffic to other blogs. Penny's blog was linked back to her friend Jenny, who came up with this cute little design for the challenge.


So to any of my blogging friends, I issue you the same challenge to do a post a day in the month of May.

sweet girl of mine....

My friend, Heather, told me that I need to write down the cute things my kids do. Isn't that why I started this blog to begin with?

Every day and night after I read her a book, Amelia and I say her prayers as part of a bedtime routine. We say them before naps as well as at night (so I guess our family and friends are getting doubly blessed *wink*) Lately, this is the time when she gets very snuggly. She puts her arm around my neck (I am laying in her bed with her) and I usually stroke her hair or arms or back. She gets her face really close to mine and on particularly sleepy afternoons (or nights) she starts to whisper some of the names.

Her prayers always end the same way:
Mommy: "Who loves you most of all?"
Amelia: "Mommy Daddy mo' m'all..... and Jacks-non" [Mommy and Daddy love me most of all...and Jackson]
After this... she pushes me away and says "seep deems" [sweet dreams]. On the lucky days she also says "I 'ove you too, Mama"

It really does make everything worth it, doesn't it?

For those of you who pray...

I don't pray much myself, but I do believe in the power of prayer.

Our friend, Mark Arnold, is in the ICU with severe pancreatitis. He went into septic shock two weeks ago where his organs shut down. They don't know what has caused this. It is scary to hear about a very healthy 44-year-old (only a year or two older than Kenny) having such a health scare. Mark has been a world-class athlete and still stays in shape.

Here is a link to the website they have set up to keep friends and family updated: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/markarnold

So any prayers you can spare for this great guy and his wonderful wife would be much appreciated. Jill is so strong, but this isn't easy for her. It also can't be easy for their two teenage/preteen kids....