10 things i love about you
dear jackson,
here are 10 things you did today, on your 10 month birthday, that amazed me.
1. chased red around the living room, kitchen, and dining room.
2. got the hiccups from eating tortellini for dinner.
3. said “mom” when i picked you up out of your crib after your nap.
4. took all your bottles like a big boy, in other words, drained ‘em.
5. had a blow out in the car going to home depot.
6. smelled so bad from the blow out that i had to change your diaper in home depot because i felt woozy.
7. enjoyed a laughing fit on your changing table with dad.
8. walked up to me and grabbed my butt as i sat at the desk and typed this.
9. sported a killer mohawk in the bathtub.
10. stole my heart again and again.
you are the coolest kid around. daddy and i love you so very very much.
for your weekend viewing pleasure
what’s he laughing at? your guess is as good as mine.
cruisin’ for chicks
jackson in his walker/car has got to be one of the most entertaining sites my eyes have witnessed. him being mobile has created this beast within that squawks and squeals with delight each time he walks himself over to experience something new… even if that something is slapping the coffee table repeatedly. it’s the little things. he chases after red incessantly, runs down the hallway to search for paul, and occasionally walks away without me realizing it, thereby causing a full on search for jackson and what he has gotten into (and more squawks and squeals of delight when i find him.)
paul and i celebrated 10 years together this week. aside from feeling unbelievably old, i found myself recalling crazy high school and college memories, remembering what it was like to be 17 and 18 all over again. remembering phone calls that would last until 4 in the morning though we would literally talk about nothing… remembering parties and flirting and shooting bottle rockets off at the one you wanted to cuddle with… remembering conversations while sitting in the bed of a truck in the high school parking lot. conversations that consisted of “we’re leaving for college soon. we can make this work long distance. right?” never knowing that one day that long distance relationship would lead to a proposal, marriage, 3 moves across the country, a baby!
i made jackson a promise when we got word that the navy had changed our orders and we were no longer going to japan. i promised him a car when he turns 16. i totally intend on keeping this promise too. being in annapolis right now and not kadena means that jackson’s grandparents can experience him cruisin’ for chicks first hand, and not only on skype. it means that i can call my parents in a fit of exhaustion and anguish when jackson is in a cycle and they can be on the next plane out and help that same day.
it means that our prayers were answered.
and for jackson, it means that at 16 years old, he will indeed be cruisin’ for chicks.
his bottle’s up too
thanks to heather and the fact that i have absolutely nothing of interest to write about, i have chosen to disclose information about paul in this post, facebook style. given the amount of personal information that is on our website, mostly about me and jackson, i thought i’d spice things up a bit and embarrass paul at the same time.
What are your middle names?
my middle name was marie, but when paul and i married, i dropped marie and took my maiden name “self” as my middle in an attempt to confuse everyone on the face of the planet. paul’s middle name is dempsey, a family name, as well as a family tradition in his family for all the men to have middle names beginning with the letter “d”…. until i came along, named our son jackson Ray and stirred the pot. muahahaha…
How long have you been together?
we have been married for over 4 years and been together 10 years tomorrow.
How long did you know each other before you started dating?
2 years.
Who asked whom out?
he asked me out on the worst date ever, our junior year in high school. after our awful date, i vowed to never date him again. we then got together seriously our senior year in high school and are still going strong.
How old are each of you?
i’m 27 and he’s 28. we have learned that after having a baby, though you are numerically in your later-twenties, you feel ancient.
Whose siblings do you see the most?
mine. paul’s brother is in pensacola and always has something going on. my brother is in atlanta, so when we go “home,” we see him more. he just made his first trip up here to annapolis this past weekend to see us. we sent him home with a stomach virus. 
Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
parenting has been very hard on us as a couple, not so much in that we parent jackson in different ways… but the actual act of parenting, the time it takes to care for a child, and the constant wear and tear on us as adults is hard on us as a couple. pre-jackson our biggest obstacle was paul’s work. being a pilot for the navy gave us a lousy ass 6 month deployment plus 2 surge periods each lasting 3 months and a couple of odd “trips” here and there.
Did you go to the same school?
we both went to the same high school. he went to the naval academy for college where he graduated with a degree in ocean engineering. i went to auburn university and graduated with a degree in english and a masters in education.
Are you from the same home town?
we are both from suburbs north of atlanta, ga.
Who is smarter?
paul is much smarter than i am… in terms of retaining information, anything that requires logic, analytical skills, and knowledge in the classical sense. but when it comes to analyzing people, thoughts, ideas, and emotions, i am smarter. and i communicate better than he does. (that counts for something, right?)
Who is the most sensitive?
haha! who writes this blog?!
Where do you eat out most as a couple?
any good sushi joint that has been recommended by trusted friends, as we have turned into sushi snobs over the years.
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
italy.
Who has the craziest exes?
paul has the craziest exes, and i will end this question there for the safety of myself and my son.
Who has the worst temper?
ummm… that would be me. by far, me.
Who does the cooking?
i attempt to cook. i’m not a fan of it, but i’ll give it a shot. paul is actually a good cook but rather lazy. we eat out more than we should.
Who is the neat-freak?
let me put it to you this way… i knew our babysitter had screwed around on the guest bed with her boyfriend because the pillows were arranged differently.
Who is more stubborn?
i am a full on taurus, born may 3rd, southern, and relentless. paul is stubborn like his grandfather (jackson’s namesake). when you think a conversation is over with him, he’ll say one last thing, just to get it in, and then walk out of the room. thus we have created a monster in our son.
Who hogs the bed?
paul. he’s 6 ft 6 for cryin’ out loud. the first purchase we made after we got married was the largest bed we could find, and he still hogs it.
Who wakes up earlier?
paul. i can hardly operate without a ridiculously strong cup of coffee in me. paul hits “on” when making jackson’s bottle so that i can smell the coffee and drag my ass out of bed.
Where was your first date?
“which one?” says paul. both first dates were at the movies, watching something stupid that i can never remember but paul can because howie long was in it (whoever he is.)
Who is more jealous?
definitely me. have you seen how fine my husband is?!
How long did it take to get serious?
a few months. we knew it was going to be long distance because we were headed to separate schools for college in different parts of the country. so we prepared for some serious phone bills.
Who eats more?
paul. i can give him some good competition though, depending on what we’re eating.
Who does the laundry?
that would be me. paul lost that privilege after leaving laundry in the washer overnight out in the shed. gross.
Who’s better with the computer?
we have a desktop that is dead and upstairs in storage. my laptop is near dead as it cannot come out of the “hibernate” mode. i would say we both suck when it comes to the computer.
Who drives when you are together?
paul, but not because he’s a better driver… he drives like an old man.
feel free to answer some or all of the same questions about your significant other in the comments, or leave a link to your website if you prefer answering there.
“the family that…”
“gets high together, gets by together…” ???? i’m watching oprah right now, while chasing down jackson because when he is in his walker, he and red’s dog bowl attract each other like magnets.
anyway, oprah… lisa ling is on and discussing a rural portion of ohio where the residents (including a man who literally just walked out from a hole under a building where he slept the previous night) are dependent on heroin. there’s a mother… merry, who is 5 months pregnant with her second child and is discussing her detox experience. (thank god she went.) this girl/woman/addict says she “thinks about heroin constantly.” when will i get my next hit? where will i get the money for my next hit? why the hell isn’t she thinking about her child constantly? why isn’t she thinking about her unborn child constantly?
me, personally… i’m a virgin when it comes to drugs. never even dabbled. granted, i am a wino. i love my pinot noir (especially with a piece of dark chocolate to munch on.) drugs, for some reason, always scared me… it scared me to think i could be that out of control. it scared me to think that i may like it. it scared me to think it could make me sick. so i just stayed away. perhaps i shouldn’t divorce the two, alcohol from drugs… perhaps they are one in the same. and perhaps i just don’t have enough experience with either to comment on.
but i am a somewhat experienced mother, and watching these families struggle and fight and then recoil in order to shoot up makes my stomach churn.
i know people who have struggled with addiction in many different forms. and i love these people. whether the addiction was to drugs, to a bad boyfriend, to alcohol, to an eating disorder… my heart has gone out to these friends i have had over the years. they are all good people. they are all still good people. and i guess that’s where i need to put my judgment aside when it comes to these families on oprah, and realize that they too are good people… who are out of control and need help.
(jackson’s in the dog bowl again… gotta go!)
Have a Sip
