I sound just like my mother!!

Growing up I heard the normal, " don't run in the house!", "don't climb on the couch!", "don't just throw your toys in the room, put them where they belong!"," ' I want, I want, I want' that is all I hear!!", and my favorite, " did you just hear what I said?" So, now as a parent of a 3 and half year old, rambunctious boy, I catch myself saying those exact same things my parents use to tell me!!

Jay is incredibly active! He is into Spiderman and Ironman and he runs around the house as if he is one of them. He's also very content just sitting in front of the TV, but I try to limit his TV time because I don't want him to watch TV all day!! He doesn't like to play outside with me because I can't run around with him. I am almost 7 months pregnant and having Jackson makes it difficult too. I will go out there and kick the soccer ball around with him, but I'm not Daddy, so sometimes it isn't good enough!!

The other day he was climbing on the arm of our couch and fell straight on his tailbone! He started crying and I said, "See, that's what happens. Stay off the couch!" He of course still continues to play on it when he doesn't think we are paying attention. He jumps off his bed like he is Superman and gets a knot of his head! It is endless and people keep telling me to just wait, the ER is in our near future!!

And with Jackson behind him and Jacob RIGHT behind Jackson, my life will be full of Nana's words!!

The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe

So recently I have started examining my face and I feel I look haggard. I am 27 and I know the time is going to come when I need to start worrying about my skin. I already have dark circles under my eyes, those are hereditary, but I know they can get worse. I wash my face every night when I shower, but I feel I need to up my skin procedure! In college I was always say, "Hey, if I got the money, I would soooooo do Botox!" and I still feel the same way. However, now, spending that money on Botox seems ridiculous to me!! Would love to do it when need be, but for right now, I will leave my skin to Olay!

So, today when I went to the store I decided to go down the aisle that sells all the fun stuff for your face. I was so overwhelmed with all of the choices!! I knew I wanted some sort of scrub and a night cream. They had all these kits that cost like $40 and I was not wanting to go down that way! When I looked at them there were too many steps and creams you had to apply. I needed something that could be easily worked into my nightly routine and that wouldn't take me 30 minutes! I remember seeing a commercial for some product that came with a scrubber, so I started looking for that. I found it! It's called L'Oreal's New Go 360 Clean. The one I decided on is an exfoliating scrub that is suppose to " exfoliate dull, dead skin celss and unclogs-pore by pore. Removes all traces of oil, dirt, and makeup. Pores look visibly smaller." SOLD!! Then on the night cream I decided on Olay's Night of Olay firming cream.

Jason just laughed at me when I came home with my new toys. He told me I was being ridiculous (awwwww), but said for me to do whatever makes me happy. In other words he probably thinks I am being hormonal and I just want to make myself feel better....eh, possibly.

Tonight will be the first night of my new beauty routine. We shall see if it makes any difference!! At least my face will be super clean when I go to bed, smaller pores and everything!

Woes of Pregnancy

When people talk about wanting to have babies, most don't think of pregnancy; most think of what comes after the 9 months of pregnancy. And, once a woman has a baby, she normally waits a few years to have another one. During this "waiting" period a condition called "pregnancy amnesia" happens. This is when the woman has forgotten all the bad things that come with pregnancy and delivery.

When I became pregnant with Jay I was ELATED. I had a miscarriage before him, but didn't even realize I was pregnant until AFTER the miscarriage. So, when I got pregnant with Jay, I could not wait to experience every second of this new life Jason and I had created. I did have some issue with his pregnancy, but he came into the world at a healthy 8 pounds and 6 ounces.

14 months later I found myself pregnant again; however, at 6/7 weeks I miscarried. I was devastated, even though we had not planned it. We tried for 6 months after the miscarriage and I finally became pregnant with Jackson. Now, by this time the "pregnancy amnesia" had set in. I totally forgot about all the bad things that come along with pregnancy. Even when pregnant with Jackson, I had to keep looking back at the journal I kept for Jay to see if things were the same!! Jackson was a scheduled C-section, so his delivery was slightly different than Jay's. I had to get a spinal with Jackson and the spinal made me so nausea! But, in the end I had another baby boy weighing in at 7 pounds and 11 ounces.

Now, for this pregnancy, it had not been long enough for this "pregnancy amnesia" to kick in. So, when I stared at the HPT with my jaw on the floor, all the bad pregnancy things came rushing back. I could not think about one good thing about being pregnant again!! So, as I sit here at 24 weeks pregnant, the disadvantages come to me:

1. Nausea- I have been pretty lucky with this one. I had some nausea off and on in the beginning, but nothing to crazy.
2.Boobs- my boobs are big to begin with, but with this pregnancy they are massive and in the way! Oh, and they hurt like hell.
3. RLS- yes, I get Restless Leg Syndrome when pregnant. I basically twitch all night.
4. Back ache- with each pregnancy I get really bad lower back pains. If I sit, or lay down for too long, I have to stay bent over for like 10 minutes while my muscles loosen up. I look the Hunchback as I make my way to the bathroom.
5. Speaking of bathrooms, pee- I pee way too much. And once the baby is big enough, and forgive me for being crude, there is so much pressure on your bladder, that you (me anyways) has to lean forwards to empty your bladder. I don't remember (amnesia) it being like that for Jay, but def. for Jackson and Turtle. Plus, I have to pee NON stop.
6. Headches- ALL THE TIME
7. Exhaustion- ALL THE TIME
8. Emotional- Jason would say all the time, but I normally have a few break downs with each pregnancy.
9. Feeling fat- with Jason and Jackson I gained under 25 pounds. Before getting pregnant with Jackson I had lost a good bit of weight, so his pregnancy was great. I had not lost all the weight with Jackson when I got pregnant with Turtle, so I feel like a beast right now. Esp. since my boobs are huge, that doesn't help.
10. Food- right now I go between wanting to eat all the time and not wanting to eat all. It is crazy, my mind can't seem to make it's mind up (ha!). Plus, I am starting to get to the state where the baby is getting bigger, so when I DO eat, I can't eat much or I will be miserable. And everyone knows how much I LOVE food. We have a love/hate relastionship.
11. Spinal- when I had the spinal for Jackson I thought I was going to die right there. It was so painful and it made me so nausea. I was trying to figure out how I was going to throw up not being able to feel from the chest down!! I still cringe when I think about it and don't look forward to it at all. Now, I don't recall the epidural with Jason, once again, amnesia.

So, these are just some of the woes I have about pregnancy and they come at me stronger this time because the amnesia had no time to set in. All I do know, is that there is NO amnesia when it comes to the moment your baby is born. I remember exactly everything that happened when Jason and Jackson were born. Those moments were the greatest moments in my life. I am thankful that there isn't a "birth amnesia", maybe a "delivery amnesia". I look forward to when Jacob comes into this world. I can't wait to see if he looks like Jay or if he looks like Jackson. All in all, I may complain about the hardships of pregnancy, but in the end, it is truly worth every second of it.

Oh yeah, and the waddling sucks too! =)

She put a curse on me.

So, back in April when I found out I was pregnant, for the 5th time in 4 years, I had a mini panic attack. My second son was just 6 months old, and I had just returned to work in January. One of the many things that Jason said to console me was, "maybe this one is a girl." I took those 6 words and ran with them. In reality it took me a good month to come to terms with it all. I realized I was going to have to quit work and become a SAHM, stay at home mom, something I always wanted to do, but when I was faced with it, it scared the crap out of me.

During the next couple of months all I thought about was this "baby girl" I was going to have. I had dreams, I had the "feeling", I had it all. Until. Until it was the day before the ultrasound appointment and I said out loud, "they are going to tell me it's a boy." The next 24 hours was hell!! I could not WAIT to get in that room and find out.

Jason was with me in at the ultrasound and he of course found "it" right off the bat!! The technician had just started the scan and scanned near the genatalia of the baby and Jason busted out,"I just saw something." My response was , "No you didn't" yes he did. Baby #3 is a boy and was very proud of himself that day!! I nicknamed him Turtle, one can figure out why.



So, as I sat stunned in the chair, all I could think was, "this is it. we are done and I will not have a girl." We left the doctor appointment and I didn't say much, so Jason started probing. He wanted to know if I was upset. I tried to explain to him that just like he grew up ALWAYS wanting boys, or at least A boy, I always grew up wanting A girl. That was my plan, to have a boy, then a girl. But now, because of the ultrasound, my vision was gone. And due to hormones and feeling bad for thinking this way, I became emotional and cried for two days, especially when anyone called and foudn out we were having ANOTHER boy.
S
I LOVE my boys, ADORE them, and could not think what life would be without them, but I felt a lost for a baby that never existed and because I had this feeling, I felt awful for not being thankful for what God had given us. Another baby boy, another healthy baby. I was also, and still am, concerned, because I don't want Turtle to get shafted because he IS a boy and was born only 14 months after Jackson. I was people to celebrate him and love him.

We have decided on a name: Jacob Ross. Ross was my grandfather's name and he passed away last May, so I am glad I get to honor him with this baby. I still can't believe I am going to be a mother of 3 boys!! My life will not be filled with pink, lace or monogrammed bows like I dreamt of, but of dirt, baseball, football, and four wheelin'! My mother in law had three boys and she always had stories about how crazy they were growing up. She use to tell Jason "I hope you have 3 boys and they are just like you so you can know what I went through." Jason's response was always, " I hope I have 3 boys and they act like me too Mom." She tried to put the curse on my sister in law, but Liz had 2 girls and 1 boy, so she moved her focus to me!!! My mother always wanted boys, she had 2 girls, so here she goes!!!

Already with a 3 year old and an 11 month old my life is crazy. Jay thinks he is Spiderman/Ironman/Superman and is always hurting himself. Today he was Spiderman and wanted to climb on the wall, so he jumped from his bed and went head first INTO the wall....no climbing was done, just a knot forming on his head!!

Jackson is starting to cruise around furniture and not much impresses him. He knows how to work his momma, so girls need to be scared!!

I love these 2 little boys with all my being and I cannot wait to add Jacob to the mix!!

Monsters In The Room

Jay si getting to the age of thinking that monsters are in his room. It has only happened a few times, but last night it happened again. I have come to the conclusion that everytime it has happened it is because of something he has seen on T.V. Last night, right before bed, Jay watched Spiderman 3. In Spiderman 3 there is the black Spiderman and when Topher Grace's character plays him he has fangs and claws. When I saw that scene come up I looked at Jason and said, "I hope this doesn't give him nightmares." I was so right!

Now, I never wanted to be the kind of mom that was crazy about what my children watched. For the most part, I really don't have to worry about it. Jay LOVES Nick Jr. and Disney. He loves Pixar movies, even though he does get scared with some of them, i.e., Pixar's short films, when Jack Jack from The Incredibles turns into a fireball, he doesn't like that too much!! But Jay has slowly moved into liking Spiderman, Superman, Wolverine, and so on. So, I tried to find cartoons with those characters in it and Jason lets him watch parts of the movies. He can't watch too much of the new Batman, with Heath Ledger as the joker, I even get scared with that!!!

So, at about 4 am, I hear him crying. I wake Jason up to go check on him and I can hear Jay telling him that there is a monster in his room. Jason showed him that there was no monster in his closet, or under his bed. I then heard him ask Jason if he could get in "Momma's bed." I melted!!! I jumped out of bed and was like, "of course baby!"

I am just hoping that it doesn't turn into an everynight thing!!

News

Well, not sure if people have noticed, but my last few posts I have floated around a topic that we weren't ready to share yet; however, it has been long enough. I am pregnant. Again. Yes, pick your jaws up off the floor, it is true! And yes, Jackson is only 9 months old! Let's just say this came to a great shock for me. Jason literally had to pick me up off the floor and promise me the world!! We wanted another baby, but not just yet. So, because of this unexpected, magical blessing I quit work (the real reason behind it all). I have had a few ultra sounds to make sure everything is great due to my miscarriages. I am 14 weeks as of this week. We ARE going to find out the sex of this baby, but that won't be until about August, 6 weeks.

Even though at first I was in TOTAL disbelief, I am excited about it, especially since I have had 2 dreams it is a girl. But, if it is a boy, I would love him too!! We have middle names picked out for each gender. Ross, after my Paw Paw, and Ann, after my grandmothers and Jason's mom. First names we aren't set on yet. I think we will worry more about that once we find out the gender.

I just got back from NOLA last week and we had a lot of fun. We leave for Ruston in a couple of weeks for the 4th, so we are looking forward to that. My 3 year is getting funnier and funnier as the days go by. His new thing now is when I fuss at him for something he shoots me with his invisible spider web, just like Spiderman. So hard to keep a straight face when he does that!! Sorry this blog seems to drag on, but more of an update than anything.

Jason DID get a dayshift! He started today and I hope it continues to get better. Life is good, hectic and crazy, but good!!

Baby on the move...

Jackson is 8 months old and is on the move!! He is crawling EVERYWHERE!! And if he is everywhere, then I am everywhere! I have found him in the kitchen, in the bathroom and in his room. I have shut all doors in the hallway and may have to pull out our baby gates!! I have pulled out the pack and play to stick him in at times, but that doesn't last very long before he starts wailing to get out! I have a new method though: the walker. It keeps him contained, but he can move around, so for the most part he is pretty happy in it. One of the worst parts of his "exploring" has been that he is trying to pull up now too.

So, now am I not only running around everywhere after Jay, but I am now chasing after Jackson!! I love once Jason gets home because he basically takes over with Jay. Yes, I get up at 7am and can't wait for 8am, because I am already ready for Jason to be home!! He normally stays up until it's about time for them to go down for a nap, so I have a couple of hours to myself, then the rest of the evening I am running after them.

The boys and I head to NOLA next week and I am sooooo excited!! Jason will be out of town for the military for 2 weeks and I plan to spend that time in NOLA with our family. I am excited to spend some quality time with my parents and Ashley and with Jason's dad and step mom. I also start my graduate courses come Monday, so I am bit anxious about the next few weeks!!

I hope all is well with everyone and sorry that this post has been overdue. Things have been hectic since school let out and it is only going to get worse, but in a good way!!

How time flies

Well, this past weekend Jay turned 3!!!! I can't believe he is already 3!! It honestly feels like he was just born a few months ago. He is such a little man now. Sometimes I evenctach myself thinking, "wow, he's really big!!" He wants to be outside all the time and is super active!! Of course there are still times where he wants to cuddle and love on his Momma!! I love talking with him and he can say the funniest things sometimes. He told me today that he wanted a Green Goblin (bad guy from Spiderman) toy. I told him not today, but we would go look soon. He said, "yeah, I want to sit in the buggy at the store and go look." I just started laughing and said OK. So glad that my first born was a boy and I look forward to him growing up and becoming a wonderful young man!! Now, Jackson, whew! That boy wears me out!! He can be so dramatic sometimes!! He LOVES his Momma and attention. We are at the point though right now trying to teach him not to cry just to cry. So far, it's going OK. He is becoming very mobile. He isn't crawling completely yet, he is just "worming" around. He can get about anywhere though that way!! If he sees something that he wants, he worms his way over to it and grabs it! Most of the time it is one of Jay's toys and of course Jay won't have any of that!! HA!! He has like 4 teeth trying to come in, so he has been extra sensivtive lately. The 2 top front teeth are coming in and they look so painful! Tylenol helps though. We leave to go out of town again this weekend, and I will be heading back to NOLA the first week of June to spend a week or so. Jason will be in Tampa for military training for 2 weeks, so I am going home. Ashley and I are suppose to go dress shopping while I am there, so I am very excited about that!! There has been a lot going on at the Coons residence and I am ready for things to slow down, but unfortunately, I think things have just begun!!

Top Two Tuesday... Top 2 Dream Houses

Over the years Jason and I have talked forever about our dream house!






My mother in law has an amazing porch on her house and I love it so much.





We would also love a pool. Now, we did have a HUGE above ground pool at our house with a great deck, but it took up so much of our yard, and Jason just wouldn't have that!! If we ever had a pool again I would want an in ground pool with a fence around it for safety.



Another thing that is important to me is a nice master bath. We have tons of space in ours, but would love for it to be updated.



I also want a HUGE kitchen. My kitchen now is pretty big, but of course it is not as updated as I want it to be!! I want to be able to cook like a mad woman in there and be so proud of it!



I also love the Brownstone houses. Just looks so modern to me! We have actually looked at houses like this, but we are so nervous to sell because of the way the market is now.




I also want a screened in porch. A friend of mine had one at her old house and I loved it!! Perfect place just to sit and enjoy the weather. We would want to have sliding windows for the porch!




Sooner or later we will move into our dream house. We want to pay our house off and then either build or move!! So nice to day dream!!

"No Wire Hangers!"

There are some sayings and names that when I say them in my head I say them in the way I originally heard them, if that makes any sense!! When I say my high school, Cabrini High, in my head, I say as if I am singing our Alma Mater; stressing "high" in a very high pitch. When I say "wire hangers" I think of the movie Mommy Dearest and I can see Faye Dunaway yelling "No wire hangers!!" as she plays Joan Crawford!!

Now, you are probably thinking, why in the hell is Amy blogging about wire hangers?! Well, I get a note home from Jay's teacher yesterday saying that they need to bring in a wire hanger by Friday so that they can make a bubble wand! A bubble wand!! I never would have thought that!! So, last night I go looking through my closet to see if I have any wire hangers. And as I was shuffling through the clothes I realized I really don't have but maybe a few and I start to think back to college.

My college roommate, best friend, maid of honor, Ann, and I lived together most of our time at LSU. Even our first year there when she lived in the dorm and I in my apartment, we were with each other CONSTANTLY. If someone saw Ann, they asked where I was, if someone saw me, they asked where she was. Even though we were so close, we were so different, and still are. Opposites do attract though.

When I say different, I mean different. She was so neat and I'm sure she still is! As for me, I was a complete mess! I have gotten so much better over the years, especially with having children, but in college, I was just everywhere and so was my stuff!! About once a month Ann would come into my room and say, "Amy, we are cleaning this room and going through your closet!" Ann's closet was always so neat and perfect. She had her shirts hung up by color, her t-shirts rolled in her drawers, and there were NO wire hangers! She had these thick, ORANGE, plastic hangers! I was so envious of this capability of being neat!

One of the many times that Ann was helping me clean up my closet she realized how many wire hangers I had. She was like, "Amy! No wire hangers!" She did a great rendition of Ms. Dunaway here!! If you are unsure of this movie, Phoebe , from Friends, did a scene like this!! From that moment on, I always bought plastic hangers. To me, that was my first step to trying not to be "a mess."

So, as I sat in my closet last night I became a bit nostalgic. I didn't realize that such a small request from Jay's teacher would make me think back! I thought about the great times in college and in high school and how far I have come from my wire hangers!! Thanks Ann and thanks Faye Dunaway, or should I say Joan Crawford?!

For all of you who know me fairly well know that I love my job. Does it come with some hardships and frustrations? Sure. Does it cause me to want to pull my hair out sometimes? Sure. Does it make me laugh everyday? You bet. But, from the getgo Jason and I have always discussed me taking a break from teaching and being home with our kids. The last year or so though Jason and I have talked more and more about it. I have been hesitant about it though because I do love my job and I do love my paycheck!! Well, recently we have talked more and more about and I think we are going to give it a chance. The final decision won't be made until about the end of May because I am still debating some things, but the way things look now, it will happen.

I have decided that if I am going to quit work, I am going back to school. So, starting June 7th, I will start my Master's program in Administration. The plan is to be a SAHM for a few years, get my degree, get the kids in school, and go back to work. It took me a long time to decide what I wanted to get my Masters in, but I knew I wanted it to be something that would help me move up in my career.

Another reason I have been hesitant to stop working is that Jason and I want to get a bigger vehicle. We crunched our numbers and realized without my paycheck we can't have a huge car note. My car and his truck are paid off, so we haven't had a car note in a few years. So, I have been really worried about a car payment, especially since we looked at cars last week and realized what kind of note we would be paying!! However, prayers have been answered!! A dear, dear family member is giving us a big SUV. Jason and I are floored with the news and could not be more grateful. The vehicle is paid off and we should be getting it in a few weeks. Now, we can continue to save some money and not put it into a car payment!!

This summer is going to be a hectic one!! We go down to NOLA in a couple of weeks for Ashley's graduation!! That same weekend we are having Jay's 3rd birthday party. I can't believe he is already 3!! We have been talking about his birthday for awhile and he keeps telling me that he is having a Buzz Lightyear party. He is just too cute! I am going back to NOLA in June so Ashley and I can go dress shopping for her wedding and then making a trip to Ruston in July. Jason is suppose to find out some time in June what's going to happen with his shift. I am OK with him keeping his Alpha shift IF I quit work. We will see each other plenty and he will be able to be with the boys more because we will all be home. Plus, working the Alpha shift he will be able to get more overtime and may have a better chance at getting on the Task Force.

All in all we are doing great. Jay is getting big and is ready to be outdoors. Jack Jack has a tooth coming in, so he has been struggling with that pain for a few days. I am anxious for summer to get here and for our vacation plans to happen!

Hectic Summer Ahead

I just realized that I have 3 weeks of work left before summer hits and I am frantic! Don't get me wrong, I am elated that summer will be here soon, but I am also scrambling to try and get a schedule started for myself and the boys. Every summer I get like this, but every summer is different so schedules will have to be different. Last summer it was just me and Jay. We played outside, I taught him to recognize his letters, and just had some lazy days. This summer is totally different! I will not only have my rambunctious 3 year old, but also Jack Jack who will be about 8 months with summer starts.

One good thing is that we are joining the Jewish Community Center of Memphis come May. I am so excited about this!! They have a great pool area for the kids and they even will watch the kids while you work out. Jason and I plan to take full advantage of this membership! We are members of the zoo, so we will be going there a lot too. The only thing is that going to those places seem only possible when Jason is off of work! I tried to find some sort of summer camp for Jay, but he isn't old enough; most camps won't accept kids until the kid is 4!

I do plan to try and do some science projects with him this summer. he is deathly afraid of bugs, but interested in them all at the same time. We may go on bug hunts and things like that. Just trying to figure out what all to do, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!!!

Show Us Your Life: How I Met My Husband!

My friend Liz did this and I thought it would be neat to share our story!!

It was the spring of 1998. It was towards the end of my freshman year of high school. Right around this time EVERYONE was using AIM. I lived in LaPlace at this time and it is such a small town it wasn't hard to find someone on AIM who was from there. Well, that's where I met Jason; yes on the internet!! HAHA!! At the time though it wasn't strange at all.

We found out that we had a lot of mutual friends in common, so it wasn't too weird. We started out as friends right off the bat. I went to school in NOLA, so I would spend some weekends in town with friends. One weekend my friend Angela was having a party at her house. At her house I met this guy Chris (we later dated for 4 years). I went home the next day and told Jason all about the party and Chris. Jason decided that right then and there he wanted me to be his girlfriend. So, he asked! Nothing special, just asked.

We dated about 6 months or so then he moved to Memphis with his dad. Being 16 we knew that there was no way we would or wanted to do a long distance relationship. It was real hard, not only because I had fallen for this guy, but he truly was my best friend at that point. After he left I started to date Chris. We dated for 4 years!! Through those 4 years Jason and I stayed in touch. At first it was hard because he would tell me all these things about these girls he dated. I didn't want to know any of that!! But, eventually our friendship built back up.

December of 2002 Jason came home for Christmas break from the ARMY. We got together and discussed how things would work out between us. He was still going through training in the ARMY and planned to move back to Memphis when he finished. I was still in school at LSU. He convinced me that it would work, that he loved me and wanted to be with me. So, I decided to take the plunge!! He was finished with training in April and moved to Memphis. We saw each other about once a month and in September of 2003 he moved back down to NOLA to be with me; however, in October he was activated. He had to go to KY and spend 5 months there. He deployed in early 2004. We stayed committed to each other through that awful time.

He came home in March of 2005. I say home because he moved to NOLA!! We were engaged June of 2005, married on March 18,2006. We welcomed our first child, Jay, May of 2007, and Jackson in September 2009. Jason is truly my best friend and I can't wait for the next chapter of our lives!!

5 weeks and counting...

We have 5 weeks left of school!! I am overjoyed with this news!! Lately it has been so stressful due the upcoming state testing that my 10th graders have to take. Once it is all over with we will start reading Of Mice and Men!! I love that book and the last 3 years students have too.

I also have decided to go back to school and get my Masters. I am going to get it in Administration. Now, don't go and think that I want to run a school tomorrow!! I am doing this because in the FUTURE it seems like something I may be interested in. I wanted to get my Masters in something that could move me up in my career.

For those who get my blogs through email, you have haven't seen my last blogs. I took the email notification off because I am trying to blog more and I don't want to bombard everyone with emails; however, it seems to be a great thing for some. So, I decided to put some of them back. If you are getting this by email and want to read my blogs from the last few weeks, just go to www.jasonamyjayandbaby.blogspot.com

We will be in NOLA in 3 weeks!! I am so exicted. It will be a very quick trip, but we are looking forward to Ashley's graduation and Jay's 3rd birthday party!! We are anxious to see my parents, Jason's parents, my sister and Justin, Jimmy, Liz and the kids!! There is so much going on now I can't even think straight!!

A

Walking hand in hand in life

Just wanted to post a short blog today. The last couple of days have been a complete whirlwind. There has been so much going on at home and at work, it is hard to stay focus at times. We have our HUGE state testing coming up in 2 weeks and it has been like pulling teeth to get the kids ready for this. Sometimes I wonder why I even try! My coteacher Ami and I seem to be at our wits end and can't wait for May 5th to come and go.

I have been lucky though because this past weekend and part of this week Jason has been home!! He has seen how stressed I am about things and he has been wonderful through it all. He has even been waiting for me to get home from work so we can take a walk together. We have been using this time to talk about our days and upcoming events. I do have to say, I look forward to these walks!! We then go get the boys together and when we get home, he plays some with them, then he is off to bed. We may not be able to sit down at the table for dinner every night and discuss things, but our walks are just as good!!

Trying...

In January people tend to make a lot of resolutions, and then these resolutions are never met. I never make resolutions because I know I will never follow through with them; however, this year I vowed to be a better person. Not that I don't think I am a good person, but there are variables in my life that make it so hard. I know I am a good to my family and friends, but I tend to be critical and negative about certain things/people.

There are some negative variables ( there is a reason I use this term ) in my life that no matter what I do, "they" will always be there. I tend to get obsessive over them too. I will think and think and think about it all the time. I get anxiety when I think I have to face "them". I am not sure why they are so negative and it is something that I have questioned, not just myself, but others, as to why this happening. Of course, no one has answers.

I have prayed for the strength to move on, I have tried to resolve the issues, and I have tried to block out. I just don't know why none of this has worked!! I did find some solace this weekend though; I have decided that I am NOT going to allow negative PEOPLE or THINGS in my life. I honestly feel if I stay clear of all thing/people negative, my life will be so much better. I will not be able to obsess over them if they are not there.

So, that is my VOW, not a resolution, to not allow negative things/people into my life. I will pray for the people and for the people who do negative things in hopes that they will see the wrong doing in their actions. I think God has taken me on this LONG journey to see this and to see that I can't fix everything, only HE can. So, I leave it up to HIM to deal with.

"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" Luke 18:27

Proud To Call NOLA Home!

I was born and raised in southern Louisiana. I spent a majority of my childhood in LaPlace; however, I started to attend school in the city in 6th grade. Both of my parents worked in NOLA and eventually at the end of my 9th grade year we moved to Metairie!! I was sad to leave LaPlace, but so happy to be closer to school and friends. After graduating from Cabrini High (when I say it in my head I sing it like in the Alma Mater), I went to LSU (Geaux Tigers!). I have always been proud of being from southern LA. My grandmother grew up on in New Iberia and her first language was French and she didn't learn English until she was about 7. I love my heritage and I am so sad that my sons will not be able to experience everything I did!!

With saying that, I love telling my students I am from New Orleans. They get a huge kick out of it and they ask me so many questions about Mardi Gras. We are huge Saints and LSU fans and watch all the games. My only problem is....people say I don't say sound like I am from New Orleans!! When people say that I feel hurt. Now, granted even a great friend of mine, that I have known since high school, would tease me about how I talk! I pronounce "Coke", "let", and many other things strangely...according to her and many others!!

My parents aren't originally from New Orleans; they both grew up in Montgomery, AL and you can still hear their country accent every now and then. Even on my Sweet 16 tape, my dad says "I hope you have a great Sweet 16!" as country as you can imagine!! My friends from Memphis do say that my accent comes out more when I am around family, which I guess how it is for everyone.

No sure why I felt the need to blog about this, but a former student of mine pointed it out to me again yesterday and I felt hurt. I guess it's because I am scared that I am going to lose my love and my experiences of New Orleans because I live here in Memphis. I don't want to ever forget where I came from. I have found that since I have moved to Memphis that friendships aren't the same and I don't want to lose anymore. I am however trying to reach out to old friends to let them know that I DO love them and miss them so much!!

New Orleans is home to me. My parents, sister and in laws live there. I have old friends that still live there and my memories are still there.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Love/Hate Relationship With Food

For those of you who know me really well know that I have major food issues!! I love food! I could eat all day. I have struggled with my weight since college. I graduated high school weighing around 120 and the end of my 1st year of college I probably weighed close to 150! No Freshman 15 here!! I then lost about 20 of that and was happy at my 130; however, it didn't stay off. I gain and loose weight constantly.

I eat well, but my problem is the closet eating. I will eat when no one is awake, or grab something on the go. I don't even have to be hungry to eat!! It is the death of me.

I ran a half marathon 2 years ago and my stamina was great! Now, I can't imagine running one!! I became very close to my ideal weight right before I got pregnant with Jackson! The 25 lbs I gained are slowing coming off, but I still am not happy. I am working on trying not to put pressure on myself to get rid of the pounds. I am finding that that is helping. I am giving my self the goal of losing 1lb a week. I am proud of myself though; I did eat some Easter candy on Sunday, but have not touched it since then!!

I bought a Wii Fit and used it for a month, but after returning to work in January I haven't touched it. So, I pulled it out last night and did 30 minutes of it!! It was great and I felt great afterwards. Jason and I are going for a run today when I get home and I am looking forward to spending that time with him. He has been very supportive through all of this and I love him for it. He encourages me when I cry and praises me when I feel accomplished.

I am working on becoming the best Amy, inside and out.

Stole this from Margen!

What time did you get up this morning? alarm went off at 4:45am




How do you like your steak? medium rare



What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Jason and I went to see Avatar 3D



What is your favorite TV show? seriously? I can't pick just one. Here are a few: The Tudors, Nurse Jackie, Desperate Housewives, Gene Simmons (LOVE Nick), I Survived, The Mentalist, Big Brother...oh there are so many more!! Thanks goodness for TiVo!



If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? wow...no specific PLACE, but anywhere near family.


What did you have for breakfast? breakfast bar and OJ



What is your favorite cuisine? hmmmm....I love food...I eat it all!!



What foods do you dislike? Strangely enough I don't like "holiday" food! I don't like stuffing/dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy....yuck!



Favorite Places to Eat? LOVE Houstons!!



Favorite dressing? ranch



What kind of vehicle do you drive? 2005 Mazda 6



What are your favorite clothes? jeans, t-shirt and flip flops



Where would you visit if you had the chance? I LOVED Paris and Rome, so I would like to go there again. Also, Greece maybe.


Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 empty...such a pessimist!



Where would you want to retire? the midwest maybe



Favorite time of day? at night...Jay gets really cuddly then!



Where were you born? Metairie



What is your favorite sport to watch? football


Bird watcher? no



Are you a morning person or a night person? a mid-day person...



Do you have any pets? yup...Scrappy



Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? ummm...Jay will be 3 next month!!


What did you want to be when you were little? a teacher



What is your best childhood memory? childhood? Spending the summers with my best friends Jessica and Brandi! We were up to no good all the time, but had so much fun doing it!!


Are you a cat or dog person? both, but Jason HATES cats, so all we have is a dog.



Are you married? yes. We have been married for 4 years.



Always wear your seat belt? Oh yes! Even if you are a GREAT driver, you have to worry more about other people on the road.



Been in a car accident? a few...



Any pet peeves? I have a ton!! I hate when my students talk over me, I don't understand why some people dislike others for NO reason, and I hate ignorant people.



Favorite Pizza Topping? pepperoni


Favorite Flower? roses


Favorite ice cream? mint chocolate chip


Favorite fast food restaurant? McDonald's



How many times did you fail your driver's test? once :)



From whom did you get your last email? Ann



Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target



Do anything spontaneous lately? no...having kids has push back that urge... =(



Like your job? Yes I do; however, there are days that I don't!!



Broccoli? steamed with parm. cheese



What was your favorite vacation? I would have to say our trips to Gatlinburg!



Last person you went out to dinner with? Jason...for our anniversary.



What are you listening to right now? my students


What is your favorite color? blue



How many tattoos do you have? none...but wouldn't mind a fleur de lis somewhere!

Just for me...

I have decided to use this blog for my thoughts and concerns. I have a shutterfly shared site (www.thecoonsboys.shutterfly.com) for our family stuff. Here, I am going to blog about things that are going on and express how I feel about them. I have a friend from college who has inspired me to be more open about things. I promise, dirty laundry won't be on here, but there is a lot going on in my life that I would like to express. It will be very cathartic for me to do this and I am looking forward to doing it and getting feedback on things!!

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Not sure if everyone knows, but Jason is a Memphis Police Officer. He completed the academy last June and so far he has loved every bit of it. I am very proud of his accomplishments. The Academy was incredibly hard and we were both on pins and needles every Monday after he would take his tests. If any recruit failed 2 tests (below 77), they would be kicked out. Jason always did very well, high 90s, but still so nerve wracking!!

He graduated 2nd in his class and started on the streets of Memphis in June; however, his shift is awful! He works midnights, 11:30pm- 7:30 am. He doesn't always have weekends off and when he is off, I am at work. His days off change every month.It has been VERY stressful for me since he has started. Most days I am up at 4:45 am and out the door by 6:15. I get the boys up and ready for daycare and get them there by 6:30am. I then rush to work and get there between 6:45am and 7am. I then work all day until 2, go home for an hour to try to get some cleaning done. I normally get the boys around 3:30. We come home, play a little bit, then it's dinner time! After dinner is baths, brushing teeth, getting in night clothes, and reading books. 8 o'clock is bedtime. After that I am so exhausted. In the meantime, Jason is snoozing away in the bedroom. I know he has to sleep, and I am not mad about that, but sometimes I just want a quiet moment where I don't have spit up on me or Mr. Potato Head pieces all over the place!!

Since Jason DID graduate 2nd in his class he will be able to pick a shift (if there is an opening) come June. HE has decided to pick a day shift because he knows how hard it has been. He is sad because he misses precious times with the boys. Our fingers are crossed that it happens!! We both need it so very much!! I need him at home and he wants to be home!!

More to come later!

And so it began...

The craziness has started. The alarm going off at 4:45 am, leaving the house at 6:15, work, kids picked up by 3, dinner, then bed at 9. This has been my schedule for the past week and will continue to be my schedule until May. I started back at work on January 4th and things have been a whirl wind; I find myself totally exhausted as soon as the boys go to bed. Having them in daycare hasn't seemed to faze them though. It's a chore to get Jason to leave and every time I get Jackson he is just sitting happily in a bouncer!! However, I do enjoy the smiles I get when they see me!!

Going back to work has been a HUGE adjustment. I really love what I do, my right now I feel like I am on auto pilot; just going through the motions and working for the weekend. I am looking into going back to school for my masters. but I haven't decided what I want to get it in.

Jason is still working midnight shift and I can't wait for that to be over. Since he graduated number 2 in his class he will get to pick his shift come June. He has decided, as of now, on the day shift!! I am soooooo excited about that!!

Jay and Jackson are getting big! Jackson is 14 weeks old now. We have started cereal, but he has no real interest in it. Still working on the rolling over. He seems to be liking tummy time more now. He is still sleeping through the night!!!! He loves to laugh and does so a lot. His big brother is learning how to count!! Jay can count to 5 (in sequence), but does it when he wants to!! He is doing well with his ABCs and tries to sing the alphabet song. His word usage is unbelievable and I love how he talks to us!!

Things are going great here, but are so very hectic!!