All that jazz

My dad called us last week missing his grandson and wanted to come visit. His girlfriend works for an airline, so they are able to fly stand-by for free. Flying out of New Orleans worked best for them, so we headed to the Big Easy to spend the weekend.

Mr. and I frequent the city as often as possible. However, this was our first time taking Jackson and my dad. We strolled Jackson down Bourbon St. and made our way to the Verti Mart. A trip to NOLA just isn't complete without an All That Jazz Po'boy from the Verti Mart.

The weather was amazing and we all had a wonderful time despite Jackson's sleep boycott Saturday night.
Mr. and his brown bag Abita

Mr. and Jackson at Verti Mart

All That Jazz

At Jackson Square

Read more...

.

(a continuation from my previous mommy brain post)

As my morning continued I was a busy little bee. Working ever so diligently to cross things off my list. When all of a sudden, it me like a ton of bricks. This not so familiar, yet unmistakable feeling. My back cramped. My heart raced. I ran to the bathroom and wiped. There was blood.

I started my period. My first postpartum period. My first period without medical intervention since going off the pill in 2007. My first PMS in 18 months.

Needless to say, I added tampons to "the list". I got to Target and went straight to the customer service counter. I explained to the lady that I must have left a bag of my purchases with the cashier last night. She told me to go and get the items again and bring them back to her with my original receipt.

I went through Target again, collecting diapers, a blue ball and now tampons. I returned to the customer service counter to pay my balance and proceeded to leave. As I approached my car, I popped the truck. And, in plain sight were my "missing" purchases. The blue ball bounced its way right into my trunk. How could I have forgotten this?!?

I was horrified. Out of pure humiliation, I decided that today was BOGO.

Thank you mommy brain and now PMS. Thank you.

Read more...

Case of Mommy Brain

My brain is full of lists, I never stop. I think I make them in my sleep.

Client estimates needed, upcoming deadline, grocery list, lunch errand list, Mr.'s birthday list, what is the Easter bunny going to bring list... you get my point.

Last night Mr. was invited to the LSU baseball game. This meant that I had a night with just the baby. And, I was going to get a few things crossed off a list or two!

I got home from work, nursed Jackson and started mapping out my night. My mom called and invited me over for Chicl-fil-A salads. Perfect! We went and ate and I left Jackson with Loli & Pop while I ran to Target. Grocery list and Easter list both in hand. I was all by myself and could totally focus, right?

Wrong. Focus and mommy brain just don't go well together. I must have gone back and forth between the baby section and the baby isle ten times. They are very strategically placed across the store from each other.

An hour later I checked out and loaded my groceries in the car. I ran by my parents to picked up my nice and clean baby boy and went home. I put the milk in the fridge and nursed Jackson to sleep.

I'm not going to lie, at this point, I got a little manic. I had about ten different things going on. I needed to get my house organized for my mother-in-law to come by today (why do we stress about mother-in-laws so much?!?) and my dad to come down for the weekend.

There were groceries to put away, a guest bedroom to clean, laundry to be done and a house to get in order!

Then it hit me. Where the hell were the diapers and the blue ball I got at Target??? I know I put the diapers on the bottom of the cart. Did I shoplift them and then leave them in the parking lot?

And the ball. I had to jump a few time to get the perfect blue ball out of the crate. I know it didn't bounce out of my cart. Where could it be? I don't remember putting it back in my cart after check out.

I frantically pulled the receipt out of the trash. Blue ball, yep I paid for it and left it at Target. However, the diapers were not on the receipt. A $2 ball is no big deal, but $20 worth of diaper would have been! Did they fall off my cart somewhere between isles???

Needless to say, going back to Target for my ball and diapers is on today's list! Some days I do wonder how I manage to get everything done with my mommy brain - which is much worse than my pregnancy brain!

Read more...

Skeet Shoot Vacation

For the past ten years Mr. has participated in an annual skeet shoot. This past weekend was the 11th skeet shoot in Fredericksburg, Texas. This skeet shoot just isn't any old skeet shoot. It's a celebration and honor of life to a guy named Ryan. He was a good friend of ours best friend, who passed away 11 years ago.

After Ryan's death his closest friends from Louisiana and Texas decided to get together once a year in his honor. This is how the annual skeet shoot came about. Each year the shoot rotates from Louisiana to Texas. The group has grown from Ryan's closest friends and family to a group of 100+.

The once young, college boys are now husbands and some fathers. The group has expanded to friends of friends, wives, children, and grandparents. Mr. and I obviously never met Ryan, but you would never know that. Having been a part of the shoot for the past six years, I think that I can say it is truly an amazing group of people.

Last year we had just found out that we were having a boy. This year Mr. was so excited to take Jackson to his first shoot. We had been planning this trip for months. Jackson will never remember it, but we made some awesome memories!

Thursday morning we woke up super early Mr. threw us in the car at the crack of dawn and we headed to Frederickburg. We got to town around noon, just in time to enjoy the city and the awesome weather. We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast because it was much cheaper than staying in a hotel. The breakfast was less than desirable, but the house made up for that. It was much bigger than I imagined it would be! Jackson was able to be "at home" which was really nice.

We spent the day shopping and ate dinner at this great restaurant called Bejas Grill on Main St. We headed back to the house and got ready for bed pretty early. It had been a long day that started way earlier than normal for us!

Friday morning Mr. walked to a coffee house and got us some German pastries. When he got back we found out the that B&B had no coffee. GASP! So we put Jackson in his stroller and walked to a coffee house. We enjoyed our coffee and shopped a little more:) For lunch we headed to an authentic Mexican restaurant. Then we headed to Grape Creek Winery for a wine tasting. Jackson is such a little trooper! After the tasting we went to a place called Lincoln St and had a cheese tray on the patio. Mr. and I had to Lincoln St. a couple years back, in our courting days:)The atmosphere is awesome! Before the sun set we headed out to the shoot for Mr. to get some practice in. He doesn't get to shoot much, so he needed a little practice.

The weather turned absolutely freezing on us Saturday, the day of the actual shoot. So a caravan of 7 SUVs and my car headed to a place called Alamo Springs Cafe. Their hamburger was voted 3rd best in the state of Texas. It was amazing! After lunch we all bundled up and headed to the shoot. Thank goodness, there was a warm house for us to hang out in while to guys shot. Jackson and I visited with the other women and babies all day. We had a great time and by that night, we're exhausted!

Jackson has proved to be an awesome traveler. He was so tired by Sunday, he literally slept the whole way home! Momma on the hand was ready to get home and out of the car.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. I am going to start watermarking my photos, just for safety. I am certainly not trying to be a professional!

Read more...

SpRiNg FaVoRiTeS

For those of you that know me well, it's no secret that I LOVE to be outside, in the sun. Which is why the SpRiNg has always been my favorite time of the year. The days are long. The sun shines bright. The weather isn't too hot, yet!

Spring means that its time for sun dresses and flip flops, tan lines and sun glasses, and evening walks and barbecues. Spring also means that my favorite purple bags of chocolate are available until Easter.

Hello blog friends, my name is Momma Wilson. I am totally addicted to Cadbury Mini Eggs! I can't just eat one, or a handful at a time. No, I must eat the whole bag in one sitting.

Why are these little pieces of heaven only available the month before swim suite season?!?



What are your Spring Favorites?

Read more...

Two dogs and a baby

We're back home after our little road trip to Texas Hill Country. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back in 2012. I have tons of photos to go through. I'll try and get them uploaded this week.

In the meantime, here's a little video clip of how my sister spend most of her Spring Break. She had her puppy, my baby and my parent's dog all at their house! To read more about her trip, check out her blog post here!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I'm looking forward to catching up on your blogs tonight:)

Read more...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day from The Fat Jackson!

Read more...

9 months and allergies

Jackson has had a runny nose for a while now. Nothing really seems to dry it up. Some days its okay, and some days it pours. With everything in bloom, poor Jackson has been sneezing and full of snot!

This morning I took him to his 9-month well baby check up and discussed the issue with Dr. N. He seems to think that Jackson has allergies that we can treat with a daily medication. Jackson is old enough now, so we're going to try out a couple samples and see which one works best. I really hope he gets some relief!

We're done with shots and vaccines until Jackson is a year old. It's weird to think that we won't see Dr. N. as often. As a new mom, it has been nice to get his reassurance every month!

Official 9 Month Stats:
23 lbs. 1 oz.
28" tall
18" h.c.
His two top teeth have cut the skin! So, he has four teeth now. I'm going to miss his gummy smile:)

Read more...

Catching Up!

Wow, has a week really past since my last post?!? I seriously don't know where the time goes. Work has been very busy with client meeting and tight deadlines. On top of a busy work schedule, my sister is visiting from St. Louis. She's an elementary school teacher, so she has the week off for Spring Break. Why didn't I consider being a teacher?!? I don't have the natural calling that my sister does, but the time off would be nice!

To catch you up -

Our new nanny worked for us a few days last week. She'll start full-time on Monday. I think mentioned in a previous post that we adore her, we seriously do. She is young, energetic, hands-on, and loves to be outside. She comes from a family of ten brothers and sisters, so babies are nothing new to her. Jackson took to her instantly and loves the non-stop attention and playtime. His toys have never seen so much action!

My sister has spoiled her nephew rotten kept Jackson for us this week. Between her Golden puppy and Jackson, she's getting great practice for what's to come. Her hands are full, but I don't think she minds. She is going to be an awesome mom, hopefully much sooner than later:) I love that she has "baby fever". I can't wait to be an Aunt!

We're getting ready to head to Hill Country, TX for an annual skeet shoot. Instead of packing and making lists all weekend like the totally together momma I am, we went for walks and laid by the pool. Like I said, my sister is on SB '10:) We got our first tan lines and sun burn for the season. I gave up tanning beds, so the color was needed:)

I have lots of pictures and videos to upload, be sure and check back! Hope everyone is doing well!

Read more...

On the move

Here's a video from last night. Doesn't it look like Jackson is almost ready to stand up on his own?!?

I just love his army crawl.

Read more...

Nine Months

Jackson is nine months old, 23.5lbs. and 28" long. I really love this age. He is so sweet and playful. He started giving kisses and blowing raspberries all the time. It's so cute!

Jackson has yet to get up on all fours and "crawl". He army crawls everywhere and is starting to pull up. I think he will stand up and walk before he ever really crawls.

He has his two bottom teeth and we're waiting for the top two to break the skin any day now.

I wake Jackson up around 7 am and nurse him before I get ready for work. He will go right back to bed after he eats and sleep until 9. Around 10:30 he eats oatmeal and fruit with some juice from his sippy cup. He plays until 12:30, then takes a 4oz bottle (nurses on the weekend) and goes down for his afternoon nap. He is such a good napper, when we're at home. When he wakes up, he has a fruit bar or cereal for a snack. I get home and nurse him after work. He eats pasta and/or veggies/protein for dinner. Then it's bath time! Jackson gets his bath in my tub now. He is just too big for the sink:) He likes to swim around and splash in the tub. I think he is really going to love the pool this summer. After his bath I nurse him again and he goes down for the night, hopefully. He sleeps through the night about 4 nights out of the week. Sometimes he just needs some love and snuggles. Other nights, his teeth hurt and he's in pain.

It's a little crazy for me to think that in three short months, my baby is going to be ONE! Oh my goodness, time please slow down!!!

On a side note - our new nanny started today and we love her! I can't tell you how happy I am about this. Leaving your baby everyday is so hard, it helps to know that they are in such great hands.

Read more...

Avery Island

Sunday morning we decided to throw the jogging stroller in the car and head down the road to Avery Island.

I used to go on bikes rides around the gardens with my parents, but Mr. had never been before. I guess he always thought it was a little touristy for a local?!? With as much Tabasco as he consumes, I can't believe he never wanted to see where it came from (he's kind of into things like that). Anyway, the weather was perfect and the scenery was breathtaking. It was worth every penny of the $8 admission.

The nice ladies at the welcome gate said that it was a little far to walk through, but we did anyway. The trail was only 4 miles, and super easy to walk and push the stroller. However, I am glad we decided to walk and not pull Jackson on bikes. Jackson was delightful, he babbled and blew raspberries the whole time. The only thing that made me nervous was walking past the alligator filled lagoon!

Read more...

SpRiNg Weekend

We finally had a weekend of wonderful SpRiNg weather and it was fabulous! I seriously wish that we lived somewhere that had this climate all year long. Our Spring will soon turn into the oppressive heat and smothering humidity that is South Louisiana Summer.

Friday night we met some friends for dinner and had a nice time catching up. It's sad how much we lost touch with our friends since we've had Jackson. The funny thing is that we are always on the go and out on the town. We've just been a party of 3!

Saturday we opened the windows and I did some spring cleaning. How is it possible for so much dust to accumulate behind dressers and beds??? It grosses me out that we have been sleeping with so much dirt and dust under our bed!

After I purged the house, we took Jackson to the park for a nice long walk. We were even lucky enough to run into our sister-in-law and nephew. We ended the night with Coronas and Fajitas with my parents.

Since the house was already clean on Sunday, we were able to have a completely lazy day. I made us blueberry muffins, which Jackson LOVED. Then we packed up and headed down the road to Avery Island. I'm going to do a separate post because it was that awesome:)

We also hired our new nanny on Sunday, and I am really looking forward to having her. Although, Jackson is teething again and isn't his happy self today. I hope he doesn't scare her away!

We ended the weekend with an awesome dinner made by my awesome Mr. My parents and grandma joined us for dinner. Since my parents have to redo their kitchen they will be eating with us a lot in the next couple of weeks!

If you're still reading this long post, take note that I did some spring cleaning on my blog too. I added some pages and information about us. I hope you take a minute to check it all out.

I leave you with pictures of my muffin man. Be sure to come back and see my Avery Island picture post!

Read more...

Show Us Your Life: A day in the life of me!

I haven't participated in Kelly's Korner, Show Us Your Life lately, but I thought today's topic would be fun. After typing all of this, I realized that a large portion of my day is spent milking... no wonder Jackson is such a fat jolly baby!

Here's a day in the life of me, as a working momma.

6:45 - 7:00 Mr. wakes Jackson up and changes his diaper. He brings him to me in bed, and I nurse him. Jackson goes back down and I hop in the shower. (He usually goes back to sleep until 9-9:30)
8:00 Nanny arrives
8:15 I'm out the door for work
8:30 Start my day by checking emails, blog, FB and drink my coffee
11:00 I shut my office door and take 20-minutes to pump
3:00 I shut my office door and take 20-minutes to pump, again
5:30 Lights out, head home to my boys!
5:45 Home sweet home. Nurse Jackson, play, pick-up, wash pump parts and bottles, eat dinner, chat with Mr.
7:00 Feed Jackson a veggie and/or protein
7:30 Bath for Jackson
8:00 Nurse Jackson
8:30 Bedtime for Jackson
Then Mr. and I turn into couch potatoes, catch up on shows, change out the laundry, clean up from dinner. Mr. is usually snoring by 9:30, and I get us to bed between 10-11. Keep my fingers crossed that Jackson will sleep through the night. If not, we're up again around 1:00 - 2:00. Mr. changes his diaper and brings him to me to nurse. I try not to pass out and take him back to his crib.
Rinse and Repeat. Count down the days until the weekend!

Read more...

He gets it from...

Jackson is definitely a mix of the Mr. and me, but this face - well, he's all me!

The picture on the left is of ME when I was the same age Jackson is now. I love it, he gets it from him momma:)

Read more...

Nanny Interviews

When I was pregnant with Jackson, we interviewed a handful of girls to be our nanny. We hired the one we liked best, just by gut feeling. Finding someone you can trust to be in your home and care for your children is overwhelming. I mean, you are trusting this person with your life!

As full-time working parents our nanny is with Jackson, during his awake hours, more than we are. It's sad, but true. Our nanny gets to have the everyday playtime, the walks on sunshiny days, the giggles, the leisure. By the time I walk in the door and blink, it's bedtime. Thankfully, we have the weekends. But, you see my point. You can't just hire anyone to be this special person in your child's life, this extension of you.

Unfortunately, our nanny is ready to move on. So we have started the dreaded nanny search process again. We pay well. We encourage our house to feel like home. We don't ask for much, and who wouldn't want to spend their day with Jackson:) Seriously though, being our nanny must be appealing. We have girls lined up to interview every night. It's just hard finding the one. We've learned a lot over the past nine months and know what we're looking for this time around.

The girls all look great on paper. Most sound pretty good on the phone. If I like them from that point, I schedule an interview at our home. Let's just say that we've had a few disappointing interviews. I had really high hopes for the girl we interviewed last night... Mr. and I kept waiting for someone to knock on the door and tell us we were on hidden camera.

Here are a few highlights:

Me: So I read that you've been a nanny before. Can you tell me about a challenging situation and how you handled it?

Girl: Well this one time I closed my eyes for a minute. When I woke up, the kids had tied my hands together and put tape over my mouth.

Me: Really, wow. You must be a heavy sleeper.

Girl: Yah, well it wasn't that bad. They didn't know how to tie a very good knot. I got loose pretty quick.

Me: Wow, that's a good thing.


Girl: Is Jackson allergic to animals?

Me: I don't know, but we don't have any pets so this really isn't an issue.

Girl: I have 10 cats, 4 dogs, a parrot, and had a peacock until a fox ate him.

Me: Oh wow, you must love animals.

Girl: I would prefer watching Jackson at my apartment. I live with the boyfriend. The apartment is pretty well baby proofed. I can come and pick him up in the morning.

Mr: I would prefer him to be in our home.

Girl: Maybe once you get to know me.

Me: Maybe so. Well, thanks for your time. I'll be in touch.

This is a true story. Nothing has been embellished or exaggerated. Where was the hidden camera!?! Needless to say, she won't be our new nanny. She sleeps on the job and I can't even imagine what "the boyfriend" and animal filled apartment must be like!

Here's to hoping tonight brings better luck!

Read more...

Who's the Boss?

I'd like to think that I am the "boss" of the house. In reality though, this little man rules. For now, I don't mind. I'll do anything he wants in exchange for a gummy smile and slobbery kisses!

Read more...