Mmmm Mmmm Good

Mondays are now my Mmmm Mmmm Good days.

I love to cook. I wish that I had more time to cook the way I wanted to.
I wish I had a huge kitchen and state of the art appliances and cookware.
I do the best with what I have.

In the summer (because I have more time) I cook a lot more. Real meals---meat and veggies and bread and sometimes dessert.

Mondays are now dedicated to my love of cooking. Recipes I love, things I have concocted, and failures in the kitchen.

Today I made pickles. Jackson is grossed out because "It stinks!!!"
This is something that I helped my grandmothers and my mom do growing up.
I wish I had an old time recipe for pickles---mine from Cooks.com works just fine.

Today I made 1 jar of pickled okra, 1 jar of pickled green tomatoes, 4 jars of dill pickle spears for Jackson, and 3 jars of hot dill pickles for D and me. Mmmmm Mmmmm Good :)

Father's Day 2011

This year hasn't been the "perfect father's day".

No special meals, no being lazy letting Daddy watch golf or baseball all day, no playing in the yard, or going to the lake.
No special things that we do to "honor" our fathers.

What I have seen today is true love for a father.
Darron's daddy was taken to the hospital on Friday and stayed until Saturday evening. After a rough night at home, he was taken back to the ER this morning. We left church early so that Darron could go back to the hospital to be with his dad. He and his brother both spent the morning and most of the day in the ER. At the time I am writing this we have no updates on his condition. Maybe GI, maybe pancreas, maybe liver.

Jackson did get to spend a little while in the pool with Darron once he got home. And we had pizza for dinner together in the den watching golf. Nothing special. Jackson understood that Daddy needed to be with Pappy Jack today.

Being a child means that you have to return the favor. When we are little our parents are the ones who take care of us when we are sick. As adults, the roles reverse. We go to the ER and wait and wait and wait. There is nothing that we can do. But just being there is our way of showing our love.

God has truly blessed me with an amazing husband and father of my child. He has blessed with a great dad. He also blessed me with an incredible father-in-law 11 years ago.

Our Garden

This is the 4th year the we have had a garden.

The 1st year, we just helped Pappy Jack with his and picked what we wanted to.

The next summer I decided that I could plant, grow, eat, freeze, and use the veggies all winter.

It is work, but well worth the effort.

Meares Family Garden 2011

All of this isn't mine---just the first 3 rows

My mom and Pappy Jack (Darron's daddy) planted the rest

Squash

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Mater Sandwich Tomatoes

They grow short and wide---perfect for slicing for tomato sandwiches

Bell Peppers

Garden Salsa Peppers---My favorite thing we planted this year!

Jalapenos

Green Beans (these little guys aren't doing so great in the heat)

Okra Okra

Cantaloupe

Jackson's Cantaloupe Patch

I told J if all his cantaloupes grew, he could have a Cantaloupe Stand

and sell them.

He scooped the insides out of a cantaloupe

and planted ALL OF THE SEEDS in one area.

Our Summer Theme Song

There's 68 days of summer vacation
And school comes along just to end it
This year the Meares Family has no trouble
Finding a good way to spend it

Like maybe...
Seeing a ballgame
Or swimming all day
Or spending a week at the beach

Discovery Island water park
Not having kiddos to teach

Helping with auctions
Or in mommy’s classroom
Or locating “ears” at Disney

Eating at Chick-Fil-A
Seeing Cars 2
Or driving each other in insane (I hope not!)

As you can see
There's a whole lot of stuff to do
Before school starts this fall

So stick with us 'cause the Meares Family
Is gonna do it all
So stick with us 'cause the Meares Family is
Gonna do it all!
(Daddy! Mommy and Jackson are having fun again! )


Thank you Phineas and Ferb for the song inspiration. I am sure that I will be seeing a lot of you this summer. Enjoy your 104 days...I wish our break was that long. :)

Happy Summer from the Meares Family Activities Coordinator!

Love according to Jackson

Jackson and I were riding home from grocery shopping today and
he asks me what I thought was the most random question ever...

"Is FlossyMae right handed?" (I have changed her name to protect the innocent)

Me: "I have no clue"

J: "Well if she is, then Uncle David should make her his girlfriend again."

I had no idea what he was talking about.

Like I have to do a lot with Jackson, I started to put the pieces of this random puzzle together.

Jackson reminded me that we (him, because I wasn't paying attention) had just heard
the opposites attract song on the radio. (Thanks KidsPlaceLive)

Ahhh...The pieces began to fit together. Left and Right handed people should be together.
And Uncle David is a lefty.
Jackson loves FlossyMae and wishes he could see her more often.
He reminded me today that he thought she was right handed because the summer she went
to the beach with us, she threw the football with her right hand.

The kiddo never stops amazing me....

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

So you think you can dance???

Jackson (and his class) performing the "Hand Jive"

Kindergarten Graduation

Jackson did an incredible job this morning. I was a little worried when he walked out on stage. I could tell he was a little nervous. But the music started and he lit up. I promise later to post the video of him dancing. Too funny and cute not to share.

I still can't believe that Kindergarten is over. It seems like only yesterday we were starting.

This year was filled with more ups than downs. Jackson has grown and learned so much. He received an AR award for earning 10 points in Accelerated Reader. Mrs. Ellison chose him for the PE award.

My heart is smiling today. I am one proud mommy. I love you Jackson....Keep on dancing and soarin

Wimpy White Boy Syndrome

Wimpy White Boy Syndrome----that's what the NICU doctors and nurses called it.
Statistics show that white males weighing less than 3 pounds thrive less than any other race/gender combination.

Wanting to know everything that I could at the time---I read and goggled everything that I could get my hands on. I wanted to know what to expect from this tiny peanut.

Yes, he went through years of speech, occupational, and physical therapy. Yes, he was almost 16 months old before he walked (with the assistance of a gait trainer). Yes, his only words at 2 years old were dada, dudu (mommy), bubu (Buck our dog), diaper, and hat. Yes, he was 19 months before he had any teeth.

HOWEVER---Jackson (and the Lord above) didn't believe in Wimpy White Boy Syndrome.

Jackson will graduate from Kindergarten tomorrow. He loves to read, can memorize math facts, and loves geography. He can carry on a conversation with anyone. He can out run me and round the bases in a ballgame with speed. These are just a few of the milestones that I once doubted we would ever reach like normal kids.

Jackson and I say, "Wimpy White Boy Syndrome----Guess you experts and statisticians were wrong at least once"