Our Week in Quiz Form

***Note: while reading the following questions and answers, please recognize that some of the statements are "slightly" exaggerated for humor.... other statements are minimized so that I seem less crazy than I actually am***

1. Your taxes come back and GOOD NEWS - you're getting a bigger refund than you expected. You:
a. make arrangements to invest the money in a solid CD
b. set the money aside to pay the upcoming mortgage on your new house during the month and a half you won't have any income due to your husband's job change
c. use the money to pay the upcoming credit card bill that will be higher than normal due to your addiction to paying other people to take pictures of your child
d. research charities that could use the extra dollars
e. think to yourself, "ehhh.. lets forget about our ability to pay our bills this month" and proceed to go eat dinner at the Japanese steakhouse

answer: e

2. Your husband is due for a "vacation month" in his rigorous and grueling residency for the month of March. What was supposed to be a relaxed "do as much or as little as you want to" experience is now going to require 90 plus hours of activities. You learn this information 3 days prior to the rotation beginning. Your response is:
a. realize that the situation stinks, but acknowledge that it probably is a good educational opportunity and might provide some needed skills during your husband's last few months of formal training
b. prayerfully consider your negative attitude about this last minute change of plans and focus on the potential benefits
c. respectfully admit that many of these "new" activities have actually been a requirement all along, and the fact that they weren't enforced before now does not change the fact that the right and responsible thing to do is to cheerfully complete the assigned tasks
d. mentally reflect on how lucky you and your husband are to have leaders who are so involved with the quality of your husband's education that they are willing to spend all of their own, personal, spare time constantly thinking up more stuff for him to do
e. resist the urge to curse and throw things while discussing with your husband how unreasonable it is to drastically change things up in the middle of the year on 72 hours notice. point out how unfair it is that some residents aren't having to do this extra work since they've already done this rotation, and if he'd only been lucky enough to have done it earlier, it wouldn't be an issue for us; proceed in this mature fashion to express your anger at the many unexpected and arguably unfair changes this training program has thrown at both of you. breathe a sigh of relief that the program leaders only have 4 more months to rule your lives and say a quick prayer that your weekend and vacation plans won't be ruined for the month

answer: e

3. Your child will be 8 months old in 2 days and is neither sitting up well nor making an effort to crawl. You:
a. recognize that each child develops at a different pace, and just because the kid you babysit for has been crawling since she was 6 months old doesn't mean your child has to be doing it that early
b. remind yourself that her doctor said she looked great a mere few weeks ago, and it is highly unlikely that anything concerning has changed since then
c. observe that she *can* actually sit up just fine; she just chooses not to most of the time, and appreciate the fact that you don't have to constantly chase her around just yet
d. say a quick prayer that everything is alright and increase her floor time so she can perfect her skills
e. grill all of your friends about how old their babies were when they started crawling and repeatedly ask your medically knowledgeable husband about all of the various illnesses that could cause such delays; proceed to worry for a day and a half that your child has an incurable disease of some sort; finally, consult your trusty "What To Expect the First Year" book where you immediately discover that your daughter is not only right on track with her milestones, but she is actually excelling in several of them

answer: e

4. After 6 months of trying, you FINALLY lost 4 or 5 pounds after a vicious stomach bug weeks ago. You:
a. take advantage of your shrunken stomach and motivational boost and make an effort to eat less so that you can continue your weight loss
b. step up your working out efforts to continue the trend
c. integrate healthier, low-calorie foods into your diet
d. substitute water for the unhealthy amounts of soda you drink
e. increase your number of daily meals and snacks; take home 7 pieces of leftover cake from a friend's birthday party and eat them all within 2 days; begin a new routine of eating a candy bar at least once a day; feel sick all over again when you realize that you wasted a perfectly good weight loss opportunity and are on the verge of gaining even more weight

answer: e

5. Your talented but overpriced photographer is offering "Mommy and Me" and "Daddy and Me" sessions in a week and a half. Your child hates getting her picture made, and you just purchased 6 pages worth of pictures for her baby album. You:
a. vow to have a family picture made along with her 1 year portraits
b. research alternative studios for a cheaper "Mommy and Me" session
c. ask a friend to take your picture together in the 70 degree, sunny, February weather with your nice new camera that you just got back from the Canon repair shop
d. tell yourself that your child is only going to be a baby once; that this is your first little girl and you'd envisioned a sweet picture of the two of you all along; that you haven't yet regretted a single penny you've spent on her pictures; that you do have that extra tax money coming after all; that you'll only buy one print for the wall, so it really won't be that expensive since they're not charging a sitting fee, all the while knowing that's a flat out lie and you'll likely end up with a regularly priced package; that your husband happens to be off the day they're doing this promotion, and what are the odds of that happening??? so it must be fate telling you that you need to have these pictures made
e. go get the friend who recommended this photographer to you in the first place and who's already paid for her own "Mommy and Me" session to validate the reasons listed in answer d and promptly schedule your appointment so as to get a good time slot

answer: d and e

Check back Thursday - it's Christa's 8 month birthday, and I'll post some pictures of her with my good camera that I am oh so glad to have back. Have a great day!

More Mundane Happenings

Good morning all! We are doing well at the Jackson household. 5 months and counting until we move to Rome! We are excited, but the anxiety about such a big change is starting to build. I'm already obsessing about which doctors I'll use, what the utilities on a house will cost, and where I'll shop for clothes. I'm not doing so well on the packing front. I definitely have plenty of things I could go ahead and pack away, but I just can't seem to get motivated to go get boxes from anywhere. Oh well - all in good time.
Yesterday, I picked up the proofs from the traumatic photo session last week. They are beautiful! I was shocked. My photographer is a genius. We even got one good smile and lots of pleasant expressions of Christa sitting up. The best ones are the ones we got at the very end when she was really mad at us, and we were just trying "one more time" to get a good shot. We stuck a prop in front of her as a distraction, and it worked nicely. I'm very pleased.
Tonight we are headed to Rome for the weekend. Cline has 3 whole days off, and he's not even post-night-shift. This is a rare treat! The weather has been beautiful here, too - 80 degrees and sunny! I hope it lasts through the weekend.
I will try to post pictures later today, but I don't know if I'll get a chance before we leave. I am going to have to send my camera into Canon for repair because, apparently, it's not normal for the battery to run down overnight by simply leaving it in the camera. I'm a little reluctant to send it off, but I do want it fixed, so I guess I'll have to make my peace with it. In the meantime, have a great day!

Christa is 7 Months and other random topics!

Loving her jumper

New favorite face (she copies Cline and I when we make that face)

Enjoying a visit from Harbin and Catherine (Kimberly's kids)!

Alright, so I'm unwinding. I just returned home from yet another traumatic attempt at getting pictures made. Maybe God is trying to teach me a lesson - that professional pictures, in the grand scheme of things, are not all that important, and that the world will not actually end if we don't get that "perfect" picture every time. We did manage to come through this session without any head injuries, so that alone made it better than last week. And we did get some good "classic" pictures of her sitting up. But she was nervous and screamed through a lot of it, so we didn't get any great, toothy smiles. Oh well. Maybe next time.
She is officially 7 months old today. She's getting to be a bit more squirmy - wants to lean all over the place when I carry her. She's a lot of fun, but I hope she'll go back to just letting me hold her once in a while. I'll post some more pictures later - she's recovering from her morning with a nap. She is doing really well sitting up, and is enjoying eating bread bits, crackers, and Eggo waffles in addition to her puree diet. She might be an Asian food lover like her dad. We went to Aunt Bethany's baby shower yesterday, and they had a Korean rice-bread dish. I think it's called "puffed rice." It's kind of like a rice cake, but really light and airy so it just dissolves in your mouth. Christa LOVED it so much that the nice girl who brought it sent us home with a bag, since it's not easy to find.
As I was surfing the internet a moment ago, in my own attempt to relax, I was inspired with a random topic. Today's question is, "am I the only one who's getting sick of all the tabloids combining Hollywood couple's names?" It all started with "Bennifer" which I'll admit I thought was kind of cute. Then came "Brangelina" which I still think is dumb. Then "Tomkat" - seriously?? The latest is "Brohan" - Lindsey Lohan and Somebody Brody?? Actually, you don't even have to be a couple to get a combo-name - tmz.com consistently refers to Lindsey Lohan as "LiLo." It just seems like overkill, and I'm tired of rolling my eyes at these stupid nicknames. (And this IS a major deal in the grand scheme of things:)

My So-Called Week

Hello all! We've had a fun and relaxing week. Christa and I got to spend the long weekend with Mimi here in Augusta. We had a very fun time playing with Christa's toys, going out to eat, and doing some post-holiday shopping. On Sunday night, I thought it would be a fun idea to rent a girlie movie with my mom, as Cline was working an evening shift, and there's just not a lot to choose from on TV right now with the writer's strike. I'd recently seen a special on Julia Roberts, where they showed some clips from her movie Closer. I'd never seen Closer and was intrigued, even though I had no idea what it was about. I only knew that it had Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman in it, so it couldn't be terrible, right? Um... not right. DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH YOUR MOTHER OR ANY OTHER PERSON WITH EARS. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, I really can't elaborate because this is a G-rated space. I also can not, in good conscience, tell you to go see it for yourself. So let me just say that the content was so embarrassing, we had to turn it off halfway through, and that's 4 dollars and an hour of my life I will never get back.
On Monday, we had a disastrous experience at the portrait studio. I took Christa in for her 6 month shots. My job was pretty simple - sit by Christa and make sure she didn't fall over while she was trying to sit up. Apparently I understood that to mean "do nothing as I watched her fall over and smack her head on the hard floor." She was fine after a few minutes of Mommy cuddling her and promising to buy her anything she wanted, but she (understandably) was not interested in posing for pictures after that. I felt awful - I might literally go crazy (if I haven't already by then) when she actually gets hurt doing something one day. At any rate, her 6 month pictures will now be 7 month pictures when we take them next week. Oh well.
Well, that about covers things. I'll be spending this next week getting our tax information together - look for what is sure to be a riveting post about that:)

Random News

Hello all! The Jacksons are doing great this week! Christa is at such a fun age right now. She's smiling and laughing all the time and has lots of personality. She's eating her cereal and baby food great! (Mom, I let her have peaches this morning, and she seemed to like the carrots better, so HA!) I'm pretty confused about how much and how often I should be feeding her, but I asked her doctor, and he pretty much said do what I want. So we're doing twice a day feedings. I am thinking of buying stock in Shout and Oxy Clean - it will be quite an accomplishment if we get past this stage without ruining all of her clothes! I took her to get Christmas pictures made yesterday, and we finally had a great experience at Olan Mills. This may be because she is older and has longer periods of awake, fun time. At any rate, we got some GREAT pictures. We had such fun taking them, and I can't wait to see the finished products.

Christa also had her follow-up Dr. appointment yesterday. She gained another 1/2 pound or so in 2 weeks, so we're good. She's still on the small side for weight, but if I were in the 15th percentile for my weight group, I'd be thrilled - I envy her! Can anyone out there tell me how to get rid of this last 10 pounds??? I have tried everything except dieting! (I've resorted to working out, people, so you know I'm getting desperate). Maybe if I gave up 3 of my 4 daily Cherry Cokes.... Woah, I'm talking crazy (must be hypoglycemia - haven't had my first Cherry Coke yet).

A few people have asked if we have "officially" accepted the offer from Cartersville yet. The answer to that is no. Cline has the official contract and has given it to a lawyer he works with to review it and make sure everything in writing is as good as it sounds. Once Cline and the lawyer can meet to discuss it, we do plan to sign it, barring any advice from the lawyer that we shouldn't. Cline did get a very tempting offer from Valdosta, but it's just too far from Rome (although it's nice and close to Disney). We've been gone so long (10 years... I feel old), and are anxious to get back home, especially now that we have a baby. Margaret Anne, can't you move to northwest Georgia??

Well, that's it for now. We're looking forward to a weekend home after Thanksgiving. Ya'll have a great week!

Still Portraitless... And Now Sick

Well, ya'll are no fun with your reasonable thoughts and your sensible advice. (For those of you who only check this site on Thursdays, read the previous post to catch up). Where is the commenter that will tell me it's OK to indulge this want that I have? Where is the irresponsible, instant-gratification-supporting comrade that will validate this desire I have to spend Cline's hard-earned money making a hefty donation to the right portrait studio? Where are you, my debtful friend?? Better yet, where is the wealthy, picture-loving friend or family member who would like to fund this project for me? (I'll frame you a pretty photo...)

So the saga continues. Yesterday, agreeing with your wisdom before you had a chance to post it, I gave Olan Mills a second try, even calling them first to make sure it was a good time. Long story short... no pictures and more mommy-tears. You guys suggested some great ideas. Thanks! Surprisingly, Olan Mills seems to be the only cheap option here besides Wal-mart, which I've been told not to waste my time at. We have no Sears, no JC Penny, no Master Portrait, and no friend with a nice camera. But, I think I have found a studio that is the best of both worlds. If I join their little baby club, I get free proofs for the album I want, and I'll actually save money on the 6 and 12 month photos. I admit, I am a bit of a picture snob. I can do cheap diapers and discount clothes. And family snapshots are great, but my favorite pictures of Cline and I are our expensive, professional wedding shots (although that's partly because I'm at my thinnest and wearing makeup)!

In other news, Christa seems to be battling her first little virus. She had a runny nose yesterday and didn't eat as well. She is handling it fairly well - still smiling and pleasant, but I'm sure being dragged all over town trying to get pictures hasn't helped. We're going to take a break from that today so she can nap in her own bed whenever she wants to.


I do have some pictures to post, but it will likely be Saturday before I get a chance. We'll be gone all day tomorrow to a football game, unless Christa gets worse before then. Thanks for your comments - I had fun reading them!

To Photo or Not to Photo???

What do I do when I have a fairly minor dilemma that stresses me out?? I blog about it! Yes, there's a riveting and fascinating story here. So, Christa will be 3 months old in a few days. Time for professional pictures. We tried to take her to Olan Mills today, thinking we'd get some cheaper pictures for the 3 and 9 month photos and splurge for the 6 and 12 month photos. Things were going perfectly. I checked the website to confirm that they accept walk-ins and reviewed the store hours. I had her clean, dressed, fed, awake, and smiling as we pulled into the parking lot. We walk in ready to create the most amazing photographic artistry ever known, and the lady at the ghetto store we had to go to tells me that they can't squeeze her in. Some woman ON HER CELL PHONE, with BRIGHT PINK HAIR is getting her toddler's picture made and they have too many appointments. Perfect. So, we leave, crushed that our child will spend another day portraitless. I'm in tears. (Why, I'm not exactly sure - it's not that big of a deal. I can get her dressed another day, but I am upset, nonetheless). Cline tries to make me feel better by assuring me that we will get her pictures made, and if we have to go to an expensive place to do it, then that's what we'll do. Being the calm and patient neurotic, "must have things done right this second" person that I am, I start calling the expensive studios, including my wedding photographer, who happens to be photographing my sister's wedding in a couple of weeks. I ask him if he thinks he could squeeze in a few shots of my beautiful daughter when we see him, and he says something about it being my sister's day and her being the priority, yadda yadda yadda. However, I'm welcome to schedule a session, which would of course include a session fee, and for a reasonably small totally out of our range price, we can have beautiful 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month, mommy and me, daddy and me, and family portraits in a nice album. As a bonus, I can happily spend seriously dent our savings by forking over even more money for prints to frame and put on our minimal wall space. This doesn't even touch photos to give to grandparents, family, etc. So, do I give the affordable K-mart studio another shot and hope for the best?? Or do I spend a lot of money we don't have for priceless treasures that I will look back on for years to come?? I'm never ever going to get this time back, and I love a good professional picture of a beautiful baby. 2 or 3 years from now, will I look back and wish I had the money?? No. Will I wish I had a quality baby album for Christa when I'm having them done for my other kids? Yes. Is it the financially smart thing to do? No. Can I have the guilty pleasure of paying too much money for once-in-a-lifetime pictures since we don't borrow money for cars, do not carry a credit card balance, and are so boringly responsible with our money in every other area of life? Hmmmm...