Josiah's Beginning

It started out as any other normal day, except it also happened to be Justin's birthday.  I was working as a special education paraprofessional for a local middle school.  Jackson was just shy of 7 months old.

I was talking with one of the science teachers that I aided, Mrs. Jorja Berg, in the office adjoining her room and Mrs. Mandy Welch's room, another science teacher next door, both of whom I considered my good friends.  I don't exactly remember how this conversation got started (There's really no telling.  We were known for our randomness.), but at some point we stumbled onto the subject of menstrual cycles and the fact that I was late.  I wasn't worried about it because I was breastfeeding, after all.  I couldn't be pregnant.  Jorja was not so convinced.  This part I do remember.  "Just how late are you?" she asked me.  "Eleven days," I replied very flippantly and nonchalantly.  "ELEVEN days?!?!  You need to get tested, girl."  Well, I still didn't think I was pregnant but her alarm definitely shook my confidence.  Mandy just happened to be at Target on her lunch break so we called and asked her to pick up a pregnancy test and bring it back.

Mandy came racing through the door about five minutes before the bell rang for class carrying the now infamous test (in a bag, of course.  No need to traumatize the children. ;) Sadly, it probably wouldn't shock them at all, but that's a story for another day.).  She said, "I got it!  I just know the cashier thought I was crazy checking out with a box of tampons, pads, and a pregnancy test."  (Yes, she's hilarious!)

Our Little Songbird

Jackson is almost always singing. It's a well-known fact, too. Just ask his teacher who assigned him the Indian name, "Songbird", for their annual Thanksgiving costume party this year. He's a really great singer for his age, too. Most six-year olds have little self-awareness but this is particularly true of Jackson, among others diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I mention that to point out that when he sings, he really sings. He doesn't care who is listening. He is oblivious of whether or not his noise may be bothersome or distracting to someone. He just sings loud and strong. I truly love that about him and I hope it never changes! I love that he enjoys singing so much...but that's probably not surprising to most of you, considering my own passion for music.

Anyway, last night Justin and I were cracking up while listening to Jackson singing one of his new favorite

McDonald's Coupon!

Head over to McDonald's website to print a $1 off coupon for a frozen strawberry lemonade!  The coupon is good thru June 15th.  Who doesn't like frozen treats?  Especially when they're so cheap!  Enjoy!

Free John Frieda!

Hurry over now to grab your free sample of John Frieda haircare while you still can!  I love getting these sorts of freebies in the mail!  Sometimes I will save them for traveling since they are the perfect size to fit into a toiletry bag and you don't have to worry about packing it up when you leave.  Of course, you don't have to do that.  They are perfect to use anytime! ;)

Tidy-Up Tip Tuesday 5/10

I had hoped to get this out earlier this morning but today has been crazy with a sick child at home.

Anyway, I definitely want to keep this a weekly routine and possibly something you'll look forward to reading so here's your tip for the week.  You can use white distilled vinegar as a fabric softener!  I've been doing this for years and have loved the results!  It has so many benefits besides just it's mere cost.  It will keep your washer clean and reduces the amount of lint in your dryer which as a result can prolong the life of both appliances.

All you do is add the vinegar to your liquid fabric softener compartment in your washing machine.  If you don't have one, add it during your final rinse or try pouring it into a Downy ball.  A half-cup is plenty, even less for smaller loads.  It's that easy!

When I first heard this tip, I was very skeptical and concerned that all of my clothes would come out of the

Josiah Says

I had the pleasure of taking my 4 year old out "garage saling" with me today.  He brought his wallet and we headed out to find some bargains!  It wasn't too long before he wanted to purchase something.  I guess being cute lowers prices considerably because he really did well!  However, it appears he hasn't grasped how money transactions work quite yet.  I take partial responsibility for this since, well, here's what happened...

After securing a Disney puzzle for a quarter during one visit (which I loaned to him because he'd left his wallet in the car...go figure!) and then buying a battery operated toy guitar for fifty-cents at the next (That time he'd asked me to hold his wallet so I took a dollar out for him to pay and tried to hand it to him but he didn't take it so I handed it to the seller myself, then she handed him fifty-cents back.), we came to our final stop.  At this point, it was late and they were already packing up their wares.  Josiah found a Blue's Clues book and when I told him it was time to leave, he started to walk off with it without paying.  He was carrying his own wallet this time so I was explaining to him that if he wanted it then he needed to get his money out and pay for it.  The asking price was ten-cents but right as I was telling him to get his money out, they said he could just have it.  That's when Josiah went up to the sweet teenage girls with his hand out and said,

Jackson's Birth- Part II

If you're just now joining this story, here are the links for the prerequisite and Jackson's Birth- Part I.

So, we're finally in a room of our own and I'm anxious to start walking around.  I had to wait for them to hook me up to a drip which meant walking the halls with a metal pole and hooked to an IV...pretty cumbersome.  Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the walking, in between bathroom breaks.  Those are fun, too, with an IV...having to unhook the bag from the pole, carry it into the bathroom, latch it to a hook on the wall.  I suppose it's easier than having the pole in there with you but when you're past 9 months pregnant...well, you can imagine how often I took those breaks when I was constantly being pumped full of fluids.  A little annoying.

Anyway, eventually the nurses made me stay in the bed after the doctor broke my water.  I think they were getting nervous that I might drop the baby on the floor or something.  Not likely, but I still relented.  Once