A Little Girl Time

Last night the boys were upstairs watching football while Taryn and I watched a new Disney Princess movie.  It was fun to spend time, just she and I, watching a show and talking about princess stuff.  It is times like this that I cherish with my little girl.  And I know Vaughn loves it that Tyson FINALLY has an interest in football.  It was a good night for all of us.

Down A Red Dirt Road

I have been listening to a lot of "Country" Music lately.  I change my music choice every day, but today it's Country.  If you haven't listening to "Country Boy" by Aaron Lewis, or "Red Dirt Road" by Brooks & Dunn, you are missing out!  Listening to such songs makes my heart ache for Circleville and growing up there.  I have mixed feeling about where our little family should end up.  Since Vaughn just finished his last interview for the ER fellowship, my thoughts wander to where we will be in a year's time; here in Knoxville or somewhere else.  And then what is next?  Do we stay in Knoxville, TN, or move back west?  Both places have a different appeal, and both have their own pros and cons.  It is a tough decision for Vaughn and I because we want the best for the kids and want them to grow up in a place where they can participate in whatever they want.  Ahhhhhh.

My DIY Weekend

 I have been wanting to do something different in Tyson's room for a long time.  His head board was a brassy gold and SO outdated.  But who has a million dollars to redo a room.  Luckily I have a lot of friends who do a lot of DIY projects, and my sister has this same head board.  She re-did it and so I thought I could as well.  Since I don't have a garage, I had to pray for good weather, and the heavens smiled on me and sunshine was in the forecast all day on Saturday.

 It took 1 1/2 cans of spray paint, most of the day for the drying purposes, but I think it turned out pretty good.

Here it is on the bed.  Disregard the unmade bed.  We had to mess it up to reattached the head board.  I love how it turned out and so did Tyson.  He said it made it look like a whole new bed.  I like how it matches his wall decor.
Now what else can I spray paint.....

"Dad!! Why Did You Do That?"

What more can I say.  Well...actually I can say a lot, but here is the whole story in a nutshell.
Tyson came home today with another loose tooth.  They are dropping out of his mouth like rain from the sky.  Any how, so he shows me his loose tooth and wants to wait until Daddy gets home to pull it.  Fine with me.  Because the last time he and I pulled teeth, it took HOURS!!!  So dad comes home and within 15 minutes they are in the bathroom trying to pull a tooth.  It was a back and forth battle.  Vaughn would try to get it out and Tyson would be backing away.  I was in the kitchen, listening to all of this, laughing and feeling glad it wasn't me.  Finally I hear Vaughn say, "Tyson let me see how loose it is."  Then...
"DAD! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"   I knew exactly what had happened by Tyson's word choice and tone.  Vaughn had removed the tooth without his son's permission.  Tyson proceeds to come and show me the viscous mayhem that his dad did to him.  Well...the tooth wasn't exactly out, it was cockeyed and hanging by a thread of skin, turned upside down in his mouth. I told him to pull it and that just started another eruption of rants from his mouths.  No one was touching it and he was going to sleep with it that way!  By this time I am about at the end of my rope and this is going to stop soon or else Mom is getting involved.
"Tyson,"  I said, "You have 2 minutes to get that tooth out of your mouth or I will sit on you and pull it out!"  And then I set the timer.
(On a side note: I was on the receiving end of being sat on and having my tooth removed by my very own mother, while the visiting teachers were in the living room.  But that is another story.)
I gave Tyson the count down. "One minute...thirty seconds," and at twenty-five seconds he mustered up the courage and pulled it out!  Hallelujah, the angels sang!"
Now if I can just remember to be the tooth fairy tonight and not drop the ball on that one again!!!

Carving Pumpkins

 Pumpkin carving at the Jackson household usually falls on Vaughn's shoulders, but since he was in another city at meetings all week long, it fell to me.  I have a love/hate relationship with pumpkins.  I love the finished product, but I hate getting it to the finished product.

 The kids wanted pumpkins to match their costumes this year.  So we did a witch for Taryn and a Frankenstein for Tyson.  I have to draw the cutouts on the pumpkin first before carving.  I am no expert at this.

 Taryn was all about helping me and wanted to scrape the "pumpkin guts" out.  But when it came time to "take" them out of the pumpkin.....

 ...this is the reaction I got!  "Mom, I don't want to pull out the guts."  FABULOUS! It falls to me!

 I HATE pulling out the guts.  I have a weak stomach on some things and this is one of them.  Not to mention the fact that I was getting sick at this point in time with the flu, and I didn't know it yet!  It was all I could do to keep from throwing up as I pulled out the "guts".

 Tyson was a little better about pulling out the "guts" of the pumpkin than Taryn.  Although, Tyson hasn't wanted to do this part, in past years, either.

 He was a champ and pulled out all that I would scrape.  Thanks goodness for me because I think I would have vomited had I had to pull any more out.

 Nice form Tyson.

 The end results of my labors.  They turned out pretty well.  Tyson's was easier to carve than Taryn's.  I had to preform reconstructive surgery on Taryn's twice!  Thank goodness for yellow toothpicks. 

 The glow lights weren't as powerful this year. 

That is what I get for buying Dollar Store glow lights.  Oh well...lesson learned for next year!