jaxson is 2!!!

jaxson turned 2 on friday!! pictures of the birthday weekend will be coming soon.  meanwhile... here are some jax stats...

FAVORITE FOOD:  pizza (pronounced sipisa by jax)

FAVORITE TOY: a yellow cancer bracelet and a dog collar.  good thing we have a house full of toys.

FAVORITE FRIEND: his cousin emry. he talks about her everyday...several times a day.

FAVORITE MOVIE: shrek and pongo & perdita

FAVORITE THING TO DO: turn lights on and off, talk about turning the lights on and off, play with addy, take a bath, go bye bye, watch a movie, and make us laugh

FAVORITE TREAT: dippin dots... he's got his mommy's love of ice cream

FAVORITE PHRASE:  buh bye emry yeah which means "lets go see emry"

FAVORITE BOOK: ten friendly fish & i love you more than

We love you Jaxson and continue to be amazed at the joy you bring us each & everyday.  You truly are a gift and we couldn't be prouder!!

some guilt... and an oh so cute puppy

So this is going to be a spewing post...sorry.  I read a blog today and boy did it resignate with me.  Ever feel like you are failing at everything?  Uhh hello... that's me.  I never really used to have those feelings until I became a mother.  That's when I had TIME.  Oh time... where did you go?  I feel like I was on top of the game back then.  Not so much anymore.  I feel like I can't be as good of a friend, as good of a wife, as good of a daughter, as good of a sister, as good of a granddaughter, as good of an aunt, as good of a cousin, as good of an employee, etc.. etc...  Man - mommyhood sure does come with some guilt, eh?  Slap on being a working mom on top of it all and you have a big ole' heap of ugliness.  Now... don't get me wrong here - I LOVE being a mom more than anything in the entire world.  But, I have the guilt of everything else that isn't at the top of the list anymore.  Is my grandma doing ok?  Is she sad because I haven't called or stopped by in awhile?  Do my nieces wonder where cool aunt dawny went and why I don't spend as much time with them anymore?  I used to be the friend who didn't miss a birthday or a special day.... hmmm... can't say that anymore.  So... reading that blog today at least made me realize that I'm not alone.  I think everyone feels like that to some extent - right?  And why do I keep comparing myself to the person I was before Jaxson came???  I'm NOT that person anymore.  I CAN'T be that person anymore.  So... my question to you... how do you make that guilt go away?  Man is it consuming... help....

Happy Wednesday Friends.

P.S. my little puppy is going to be 2 on Friday!  :)

Randomness by Dawn

Well...well...well....  time sure has flown since my last post and since Troy has resulted to calling me out, I better get to it.  I can't be outdone by him...no no no.  Life is busy.  Very busy.  Work is busy.  Very busy.  I'm still working on that whole balance thing.  It's definitely a work in progress.  So, I don't have anything in particular in mind to post about, so I'll just give ya a little sampling of what's going on in this noggin of mine - mmkay?

• First off - Jody is going back to Ethiopia on Oct. 20th and I'm SUPER excited for her.  She's going to visit the school that Meheret is at and give her a little package for us and give her some love.  I'm looking forward to an update on Meheret when Jody gets back. So... keep Jody Jo in your prayers - k?  She would appreciate that. :)

• Jaxson's halloween costume is ridiculously cute.  When I put it on him - I teared up.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  But seriously... just wait until you see a picture of him in it.  Oh my... he melts my heart.
• I have like no food in my house and really should be grocery shopping right now and not blogging.  Eh.. oh well.
• The 49ers are 0-4... if they do not win tonight... I am going to be mad.  I really do not want a crabby husband for a 5th Sunday in a row.  Seriously guys... get it together.  Please. Please.
• Last night I made some banana caramel ravioli.  Delish.  You must make it. So good.  Here's a link to the recipe.  You will not be disappointed - I promise.  And if you are - well then you just are not normal.  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1194911
• Tim has been busy busy with his photography.  Fall is a popular time for pictures with the leaves changing and so he is found behind his computer editing most nights.  If you haven't checked out his work - you should.  http://timothyprustphotography.blogspot.com.
• Jaxson is going to be TWO on Nov. 5th.  I know I sound like a broken record, but he is getting so big so fast.  He is soooo much fun.  He wears me out, but I still miss him when he's sleeping.  I know you think I'm crazy, but I do.  Sometimes I go in while he's sleeping and just pick him up and rock him and then put him back in his crib.  Love the cuddles and love when he sleeps on me. :)
• So... Jaxson's new thing now.  Oh man.  When he's being naughty (which hardly EVER happens - ha yeah right) and we are yelling talking to him in a very calm voice about being naughty he looks at us and says "how are you?"  Now how am I supposed to not laugh at that?  He is a stinker and a half and knows how to charm.
• I want need to start working out.  I even went and bought some new tennis shoes.  So, it's a step in the right direction.  I'm thinking "30 by 30".  30 lbs by the time I'm 30 yrs old.  Hmm... not sure how I feel about typing that.  Because now you know.  And if I don't succeed I'll be a big lame-o.  Eek.  Ok... I said it...now I have to do it.  Stupid caramel banana ravioli.  I love hate you.
• I need some good crockpot recipes.  Do you have any good ones?  Keep in mind that we are kinda picky eaters in this house, so don't be suggesting recipes with spinach and mushrooms and all that weirdy stuff.

Alright... that's all I got.  It's time for me to go check in on Tim and the 49ers and hope that it's good news.  Wish me luck folks... wish me luck....

winner winner chicken dinner!!

Thank you again to everyone who donated!!  We truly appreciate ALL of you!!  We will be sure to keep you all updated on how Meheret is doing.

and  the winner is.....

Awww stink

Well, apparently we broke the rules.  PayPal considers raffles gambling.  Stink.  So, our paypal button had to be removed.  Double stink.  We certainly don't want to be rule breakers.  However... the raffle will continue on!  If you have not entered and would still like to - leave me a comment with your email and I will give you the scoop on how to enter.

Thanks so much for all of your support so far!  Only a few more days to enter - don't wait!!

I'll leave you with a picture of my little fireman. :)

Some good videos...

Wow - thanks to all of you that have donated already!!  You guys are awesome!!  Keep it up!!

I wanted to give you some more information on Korah to those of you who don't know much about it.

A few facts:

• Korah in Amharic means "cursed".
• 75 years ago the Ethiopian government moved everyone with leprosy to this area of Addis Ababa.
• Approximately 100,000 people live in the slums of Korah - the "outcasts" of society.
• The city dump is located in Korah.
• The people, both adults and children, spend their days digging through the dump searching for anything to eat or sell.

Our sponsorship includes summer camp where she received one decent meal a day, and then in September she started boarding school 3 hours away. This covers her room, 3 meals a day, books, tuition, hygiene needs, uniform and transportation to and from school when needed during breaks. 

One of my closest friends visited Korah in July and she saw first hand the devastation that is going on there.  She's done an awesome job at spreading the word to others - hence the reason Tim and I got involved.  Please watch this video to get an idea of where your dollar is going. 

The Village of Korah - A short documentary from Session 7 Media on Vimeo.




I have one more video for you.  This is my little baby boy who is growing much too fast.  But, when you watch this video... think of the kids in the previous video.  Jaxson could have easily been one of those children.  Just think...

KORAH DONATION!!!

Ok... I lied.  This post was SUPPOSED to be last week, but well life got in the way.  It has a habit of doing that a lot... hmm.  But, as long as I post more than Troy... then I'm all good. hehehe.

As most of you know we are trying to raising $$ for our sponsored child in Ethiopia.  Her name is Meheret and she is 12 yrs old. Check a few posts back for more info.  Little update - Meheret has now started school & and is not living in the trash dump - yay!! We just received a letter from her and a new picture, so I'll post about that soon. :)

So.....Are you ready??  Drumroll please....

Yes - an ipod touch (8GB)!!  Ok, so here is how this is going to work.  A donation of $5 will get you one entry and a $20 donation will get five entries.  And you can do as many entries as you'd like.  If you want to buy 10 entries I wouldn't be mad at you.  Just sayin.  Who doesn't want an ipod touch?  Come on now... get with the times people - you need one!  (We had to remove our paypal button... so contact us on how to enter).

As I said before... all proceeds will be going to Meheret.  And yes the ipod touch is brand new and never been opened.  It's just lonely and waiting for you to take it home.  All of the entries will be put into a bowl and we will draw the lucky winner on Friday - September 24th.  Why that day?  Because it's Tim's birthday!  So... click away and get it on the FUN!

Timothy Prust Photography

have you checked out tim's blog?  what???  you mean you haven't?  then you are just plain crazy. go check him out and then email him and book a session.

http://timothyprustphotography.blogspot.com/


so.... a couple of weeks ago i mentioned there being a fun raffle where proceeds go to meheret (our sponsored child in korah).  it's coming... it's coming...  so... check back this week. right here. this is where all the action will be. mmmkay?  don't forget now. come back.

When did...

When did these little toes...

Turn into these toes...

When did this little bit of hair...

Grow into all this hair...


















When did this little tongue....

Become this giraffe tongue....

When did this gummy smile....

Turn into these toothy smile....

How can this be my little baby Jaxson?  Look how big he is!!  Oh boy do I love him, but this mommy needs time to slow down just a tad....