JustJessie

About Face

Right now, I am in love with Grayson's artwork.  He got some compliments a couple of weeks ago from a non-family member, and this just boosted his confidence through the roof.  Since then, he has begun paying attention to detail, and wants to become "a real artist, like Mommy" *smile, tear.* I want to encourage him in this as much as possible, because there is nothing worse than feeling the creative itch, but not knowing how to scratch it.

I was never one to like those step-by-step drawing books when I was a kid, but after reading this post, I decided to let Grayson try one out for himself.

He absolutely loved it.  He spent hours yesterday drawing face after face.  This is the only Ed Emberley book at our library, but I will be scouring the shelves of the bookstores looking for more!

Easy Baking

I love to bake.  It's one of my stress relievers, and one of the things I love to do with my boys.  Bread is by far our favorite thing to bake together, but sometimes we pass on it because of the time commitment involved.  If we are going to bake bread, we may as well decide to be home all day.  When I got a magazine with this recipe for Irish Brown Bread, I knew we would have to give it a try.  A bread to bake with no kneading or rising sounded good enough, but one you are supposed to mix with your hands?!  Sign us up!

The dough is SUPER sticky and goopy, to the point that Grant got a little freaked out and slung it all over the kitchen trying to clean his hands.  It was very quick to make, and we had all the ingredients already in our kitchen, except the buttermilk (which we made by adding a little vinegar to regular milk). 

I would definitely recommend this to those who have never attempted baking with little ones before.  It seems like it would a hard one to mess up.  The end result is a beautiful round loaf, crusty on the outside and chewy in the middle... YUM.

Our Own Kind of Normal

 

Disco dancing Grayson style!  Don't ask me why they pulled their shirts over their heads to do it!

On the other side

You know me, how I always have to look on the bright side, no matter how annoying it becomes?  As it turns out, that's even true when my little guys are sick.  Before Grant came down with the funk, I left him at my parents' house while Grayson and I went to the doctor.  In the waiting room, Grayson and I snuggled together under his blanket and looked at our favorite craft magazine,then we got the giggles playing rock, paper, scissors.  We read lots of books, and when we got to our exam room we pretended a brownie lived there.  Grayson laid down and watched, smiling ear to ear, while I looked in all the nooks and crannies for the brownie. 

The next day when Grant was sick as well, it was so sweet the way they interacted with each other.  They snuggled down in their blanket fort with a pile of books and a couple of flashlights, and there they stayed until we made them go to bed. 

Even though I would never wish them sick, the extra cuddle time is precious.  The sweet little voices asking for Mommy and the sleepovers in Mommy's bed are things I will treasure in my memory.  Yep, even in sickness we can find things to be thankful for.

Bloggy Lurve

I got tagged for this, and it made me a little uncomfortable at first.  I wasn't sure if it was some virus spreading thing or something.  Now I see that everyone else is doing it, and that has always seemed like a good enough excuse for me before, so here I go...

Start Copying Here*

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)
It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially! The benefits of Viral Linking:
- One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!
- Increase your Google PageRank fast
- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site
- Build your community
- Make new friends!
The Strategist Notebook ~ Link Addiction ~ Ardour of the Heart ~ When Life Becomes a Book ~ The Malaysian Life ~ Yogatta.com ~ What goes under the sun ~ Roshidan’s Cyber Station ~ Sasha says ~ Arts of Physics ~ And the legend lives ~ My View, My Life ~ A Simple Life ~ Juliana RW ~ Mom Knows Everything ~ Beth & Cory’s Mom ~ A Mind Forever Voyaging~ enjoying the ride ~ Jennifer’s thoughts ~ Mom of 3 Girls ~ Amanda ~ Don’t Make Me Get The Flying Monkeys ~ ExPat Mom ~ Just Jessie ~ Wilson Six ~ Sandier Pastures ~ Burnt Offerings ~ Over the Moon with Joy ~ Are We There Yet Mom ~ Facipiers and Stinky Toes ~ Fleeting Moments ~ Chris in Oxford ~ Foolery ~ Now where did I put that flaming sword ~ An Island Life

*Stop Copying*

Old Folks, News Trucks, & Weather Radios

I feel betrayed.  Let down.  Bamboozled. 

Today I drug my still-recovering carcass to my usual grocery store.  The store I chose for it's smaller-than-Walmart crowds, it's friendly employees, it's good natural food selection.  I knew something was different today as soon as I pulled into the parking lot.  Was it my keen extra sensory perception cluing me in?  Maybe, but instead I think it was the Channel 48 News truck parked in the fire lane with the huge antenna thing towering over the building.  Hmmm... that's odd.

So, I was trying to decide if there had been a robbery or a murder or an attack on a certain text messaging, gum smacking, teenage clerk, when I noticed no one was in a panic.  That seemed like a good sign.  Then I got confused.  As I was trolling the lot looking for an empty space, the aggression and rudeness of the drivers combined with an overall lack of parking spaces led me to believe I had somehow gone to Walmart after all.  But, no.  The big blue sign still said "Kroger" sandwiched between Hancock Fabric and Kmart.  As I thought about it I realized it was Senior Citizen discount day... slow news day?  Or was there something more sinister going on inside?

When I got into the store, things finally made sense.  Sort of, in a rural Alabama kind of way.  See, they had a whole crew of folks there selling and programming weather radios.  People could even bring in ones from other stores and they would program them for free.  You might be wondering why weather radios would bring such a crowd.  Read here for a short summary.

So, my sniffles and I happened to walk into Kroger NOT ONLY on senior day, but also on crawl out from under your rock in the sticks day as well.   I suppose I should look on the bright side... teenage texting gum smacker clerk had been fired.

Meme-mania

Okay, I have been a real spoiled sport of late.  I haven't been playing along with the memes I've been tagged for.  It's not because I don't like them, I actually sort of enjoy them.  It's just that... I'M LAZY!! All that copying and pasting and thinking seems like a lot of work.  Well, if I can remember what they were and find what the questions were again, I'm going to do them. 

First of all, Genesis tagged me for the Weekend in Your City meme.  I've been putting this one off because there's just not that much to do here.  Because of that fact, I'm including the city next to mine!  Instead of tagging a bunch of folks for every meme, I'll do one per.  For this one, I tag CHRIS! 

Best Place to Eat: Our favorite place to eat right now is Surin in Madison.  We love their sushi, and they aren't so busy that you have to wait forever to get in.  There are a lot of trendier and more expensive places to go, but this one is our fave.

Best Shopping Mall:  Hmm... I'm not big on malls, so this one is hard.  There's a new shopping center that I love to walk around in called Bridge Street Towne Center ("towne" with an "e" in Madison, AL.  No, I'm not joking).  It's very pretty, and it's got a lot of great shops.  It's just that their prices don't exactly mesh with a young couple, two kids, and a budget!  Know what I mean, jellybean?

Famous Landmark:  Um, well, we used to have the Chicken Tree.  It was right next to the interstate, and the way the utility company trimmed back the limbs, it looked just like a giant green chicken on the side of the road.  It's gone now, so I guess we don't have a landmark.

Best Tourist Attraction:  That would be the Space and Rocket Center.  It's got a bunch of rockets that have actually been in space and a big shuttle (replica I think), IMAX theatre, rides, and all that jazz. It's fun... once.

Entertaining the Kids:  Weather permitting, our favorite place to entertain the kids is at Rhodes Ferry Park.  It's just a plain ol' playground, but there's a train track that runs right beside it, and the engineers will usually stop their train and toot the horn for all the awestruck little boys watching.  It's also right across from the harbor, so there are always boats going by.  Occasionally a big riverboat will dock there as well.  If you've seen a pic of my kids at the park, chances are good it was taken at this one!

Breathtaking Views:  Yikes.  I'm not sure you can find a breathtaking view anywhere around here.  The original city plans for Decatur surely had the words "ugly", "industrial", and "mud" written in them somewhere.

Popular Outdoor Activity:  I would say fishing.  Yup, we're country folks I guess.  My town is surrounded by the river and anytime of year you can find somebody fishing.  As a matter of fact, I haven't been in ages, and this is making me want to call up my big brother and head under the bridge!

Whew!  One down.  I was tagged for the next one by Chris, and I tag Genesis.  I don't think this one has a name, so I'll just jump right in.

Five things 25-year-old Jessica didn’t see coming

• Jonathan Grant
• thirty pounds (and I don't mean the British kind)
• blogging (and all the great people I've met here!)
• digital photography (I swore I would never convert)
• One piece swimsuits

Five things I was doing 10 years ago

• planning my wedding (did I mention I was 19 at the time?!)
• living on my own for the first time
• counting thousands of dollars a day (I was a bank teller)
• going to church A LOT.  We practically lived there.
• Smoking like a freight train and hiding it from my fiance. (lots of perfume and mouthwash)

Five things on my to do list for today

• Wash sheets
• Clean bathroom
• vacuum
• mop
• bathe kids and dog.  how interesting can one list be?!

Five things I will do when I am a millionaire

• Buy a new house
• Help our parents out
• Help our missionary friends finish their school and orphanage
• Visit a plastic surgeon and get a few things lifted and tucked :)
• Make a trip to the bank to put the rest out of reach before I end up bankrupt!

Five things I will never wear again

• Tie-dyed Grateful Dead shirts and plaid flannel... together.
• Jeans so tight I had to almost do a backbend to zip them (my dad's advice, "Don't fart, or you'll blow your socks off!"
• Hot pink tie-dyed converse high tops
• Four inch bangs
• Sadly, a bikini

Five of my favorite toys

• Wii
• Digital camera
• computer
• sewing machine
• canvas

Five banes of my existence

• Use of cell phones in cars with other people, or at meal times
• high heels
• pushy home sales moms who think everyone should be a home sales mom (ie Mary Kay or Avon.  no offense to anyone who sells it, but NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO SELL STUFF!)
• laundry
• Chewing noises.  That's why we ALWAYS have dinner music at our house.

Okay.  Last meme, I swear!  I was tagged for the book meme by Genesis, and I tag Megan.  Here are the rules.

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open it at page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence/phrase.
4. Blog the next four sentences/phrases together with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig your shelves for that very special or intellectual book.
6. Pass it forward to six friends.

"In that dazed moment I had taken in not only my glimpse of the librarian's wounded neck but also the name of the library patron who had beaten me to Dracula.  Her name was Helen Rossi. 

The wind was cold and increasingly strong.  My father paused here and drew from his camera bag two waterproof jackets, one for each of us."

Okay, I think that was all of the memes I missed.  If I forgot one let me know!  Although, after all that typing and thinking, I may not do this again for a while!!

Wiped Out

This is Grayson Thursday morning at his Valentine's party:

This is him Friday morning at home:

He woke up with a temp of 99.1 and within an hour it was up to 102.1.  I blame the five thousand pounds of sugar he ate at school for wrecking his immune system.  Of course, that doesn't explain why Grant and I caught it the next day.

We're all mostly recovered and trying to get back in the swing of things.  I'm not sure my home will ever recover.  Who would've thought three sick people could make SO MUCH MESS?!

Let's Review...

For those who don't know, Props and Pans is a website where normal folks like us review products we have in our homes.  They review everything from electronics to makeup to baby products.  Anyway, I just did my first review for them on the Nintendo Wii.  What's even cooler is that they sent a free Wii Diego game for the boys to try out, all I have to do is send in a review on it.  Yippee!  I love free stuff.  Anyway, y'all go check out my review, and leave me a comment to let me know you were there, ok? 

Happy Valentine's Day!