"Ants In Your Pants"

Jackson has become very animated in his everday talk an his language has grown tremendously recently. Today, he has been so very active so this was our conversation:

Me: Jackon, do you have ants in your pants?
Jackson: No Mommy! It's pee pee.

I just giggled. This is such a sweet age!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. We enjoyed some great family time, and enjoyed having Donald home from work. We grilled hamburgers on the grill, and then headed to Clayton to enjoy the fireworks. We set off a few smaller fireworks in the yard and had sparklers here at the house, but Jackson was scared of those. As soon as we lit those fireworks, Jackson ran to us with open arms saying "Mommy-scared!" I didn't know if he'd like the "big fireworks" as Jackson calls them, but when we got to Clayton, we found a nice grassy area to put our blanket down, and we enjoyed strawberries while waiting for the fireworks. Jackson had a great time, and was sad when they were over.

I'm truly thankful that we live in a country that gives us the freedoms that we hold dear. Were it not for the men and women who faithfully fight for our country, we might not enjoy those freedoms, so thank you all that you and your families sacrifice for our freedom!

Potty Training and Update

So, I thought I would work with Jackson on potty training at the end of this month when I'll be home more because clinicals end at the end of July; however, Jackson has shown a great interest in potty-training lately, so this weekend he has using the big-boy potty almost exclusively. He usually has 1 accident a day, but that is a major accomplishment in only a few days. I'm letting him do this at his pace because I know how difficult it must be on a 2 year old with our current schedule. On the days I have clinicals, Jackson and I leave the house at 5:45 AM, and no 2 year old is worried about using the potty that early in the morning. I'm so proud of him and the little boy he's becoming! I'm sure this potty-training phase will have ups and downs, but I'm proud of how far he's come in just a few short days!

I realize I haven't said much about my current internship lately, so I thought I'd give a brief update. I'm truly enjoying it! The 8 hours that I'm there really fly by because it is such a face-pace, upbeat environment. I wasn't sure how I'd like working with adults with swallowing disorders, but I have come to really enjoy it, and often look forward to going into work so I can see the patients and the progress that they are making. I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist because of this type of environment, but the course of events over the past few years changed my mind in some ways and made me think I would work in the public school system. The caseload is varied and challenging, but I'm learning so much each day. I'm not sure what God has in store for me, but I'm excited about the possibilities. To think that in 10 short months, I'll graduate and be finished with this chapter of my life is overwhelming at times, but I will be so glad to be finished!!! I've started studying some for the Praxis licensing exam as it will be such an in-depth exam asking me to recall things from undergraduate which seems like forever ago! Hopefully by December, I'll be ready to take the exam so that I can begin my search for employment.

Nap Time!

Here's a sweet photo I caught today. Donald and Jackson had just woken up from their Sunday afternoon naps after church. Jackson ran downstairs and jumped on daddy's check and laid there until he woke up. Donald was awake; however, his eyes happen to be closed in this picture. It's moments like this that remind me how thankful I am for these blessings in my life!

Picnic in the Park

What a weekend it's been! We have had such a great time together as a family. Saturday we packed a picnic and headed to the park to enjoy an evening together. I think it's fair to say Donald and I had as much fun as Jackson did just being a kid. Here's a few pictures of our family night together. I wasn't able to capture pictures on the carousel or the train ride that we took around the park. Jackson was a little afraid of the carousel for some reason; however, he absolutely loved the carousel in April at the zoo, so maybe he wasn't able to warm-up to the carousel long enough before it started spinning. We will definitely be doing this again soon. Jackson has mentioned several times today that he wanted to go to the park, and he told us his favorite things were the big slide and the train.

Upromise

I love shopping, but even more, I love scoring a great deal on the things that we need. There's so many ways to do that, but one way I've learned to do that is through Upromise. I've been using Upromise for the past few years, and as of today, I've earned $164.08, which isn't a lot for a few years, but it's free money. I started out using this for my college expenses, but now I use it to save for Jackson's college expenses. Hopefully by the time he goes to college, I'll have enough saved for 1 semester of books or something =) It adds up slowly, but it's free!

Right now, if you join and make an online purchase by 6/30/08, you'll earn an extra $10 in your account. They will even let you start an account if you're expecting, think you'll have children in the future, want to help save for a family member or friend, etc.

The way Upromise works, if you haven't heard of it, participating companies offer a percentage of your purchases back in the form of savings for college expenses. They offer you the opportunity to put this savings into a 529 college savings plan or you can ask to withdraw your money as needed if you fill out the withdrawal form and mail it in. I choose to withdraw my funds and put them in a college savings account. You register your store cards and they automatically keep track of your purchases. Many stores offer the option of registering your card such as CVS, Harris Teeter, and Lowe's Foods. If you choose to also register your credit cards, you can save at places such as Bed, Bath & Beyond, and you can also save extra through shopping online through their website. I order many Christmas gifts online and save quite a bit of money through walmart.com, bestbuy.com, target.com and many others. If you haven't checked it out before, check it out, and I'll answer any questions I can. I'm an affiliate for this program, so if you sign up through my link I get $4. So I encourage you to use my link, but if you choose not to, check it out and earn yourself some free cash!

Coupons

Those that know me best know that for the past 10 months since I quit work, I have been on a quest to save our hard-earned money by working hard at making the money we have stretch that much further. One way I have been able to do that is through the use of coupons. We save hundreds each month through coupons. I have added a coupon toolbar on the side of my blog that will allow you to print coupons. If you see any you like, be sure to click them to print. They change often, and coupons.com is a site I have used for many months. I receive a small amount of money for any coupons printed through my website, so I encourage you to check it out if you haven't before and save yourself a little bit of money.

**We love the Muir Glen Organic tomatoes. They are our brand of choice now. There is a $1.00 off coupon which makes them only pennies at most places such as Wal-Mart, but they have a much better flavor than other canned tomatoes, so we use those in our spaghetti and other dishes and LOVE it!