Here's to you Davis!

Davis, we tried to call yesterday, but I know that you were busy celebrating. I mean 7 is a big one after all.
Pretend that we are with you instead of staring at you in a picture...
Here it goes...
uummm, hhmmm, okay, we were clearing our throats. Now we are ready.
Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Davis. Happy Birthday to you.

Well really we sang Happy birthday to you. Cha, cha, cha. Happy Birthday to you. Cha, cha, cha. Happy Birthday dear Davis. Happy Birthday to you.


Aunt Brandi stopped everyone before we sang about you living in a zoo. Love you!

I love my husband!

I love my husband for many reasons but here are 3:

**Being silly with Kayden
**In case you are wondering, those are mustaches.


**Enjoying Ty at the Rangers vs. Yankees game.


**Watching Kinsey tumble

WOW! I feel blessed that our children have Chris for a dad. He is a wonderful father and I am often amazed watching him interact with our children. He works hard and long hours, but still tries to find time and energy for them when he gets home.

Me: What is your favorite thing about Daddy?
Kin: "He does silly things with us." As proven by the above mustache photo

Ty: "He throws the baseball with me and even the football."

Kay: "I like it when he brushes my hair every night."
We love you Daddy.
I love you Chris.

Creamy Chicken and Pasta Bake

I prepared this recipe last week for my family and they LOVED it! Thought I would share it with all of you- it came from kraftfoods.com

What You Need!

1-1/2 cups multigrain rotini pasta, uncooked

1 small bunch broccoli, cut into florets (about 3 cups)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, cubed

1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It!

HEAT oven to 375ºF. Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding broccoli for the last 3 min.

MEANWHILE, heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 min. or until no longer pink, stirring frequently. Stir in broth; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Add cream cheese; cook and stir on low heat 1 min. or until cream cheese is melted. Stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella.

DRAIN pasta and broccoli. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon into 8-inch sq. baking dish; cover.

BAKE 15 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake, uncovered, 3 min. or until melted. Let stand 5 min.

Family Pictures

Shout out to Kelly Hosch for taking our family photos. She is teasing me by posting just 2 on FB for me to look at and wonder about the rest. I cannot wait to see them all- she only took 740 shots on Sunday. No wonder she enjoyed a glass of wine in the kiddie pool on Sunday afternoon!

Super Saturday!

Some of you know that I have had a rough few weeks at school and that things at home have been crazy busy! Well, let me tell you about today...today was a day that I was reminded of how blessed I really am.
Kinsey is an early riser. Last night I asked her to please let me sleep until it was 8 something...well, she woke up and played quietly and did not come in my room until 8:01am. Thank you, Kin! She and her brother got up and played outside while it was still cool out. Kayden joined us. Nema came over and joined us outside.
Because we had a busy afternoon, I made KKT promise that if we went to the pool they would come home and rest in their bed with a book.
Nana joined us for a pool party at our neighborhood pool. All 3 kids played and got along.
They stayed true to their word when we got home- they even took a real nap! We got up and headed to Ty's baseball game. I got to watch Ty and his team (who are in 2nd place) beat the undefeated 1st place team. The game went into 2 innings of overtime! They won 12-11!!
We headed straight from the game to Kin's gym recital. She can back handspring like no body's business!
Kayden did not have anything going on today, but I cannot leave her out! She was a good sport following her brother and sister around today with minimal complaint!
Thank you God for reminding me of the blessings that I am surrounded by!

Flippin' Kinsey

Here is Kinsey at her last gym class for the spring season. She gets a week off and then starts the summer session. Sorry for the 'sideways' video- I was trying to watch and video at the same time. **I just had to add this thought from Kin- she was watching me upload video and update the blog. She said, "I think that it is cool that you can just put movies of me on the computer so everyone can see what I can do." Well, dear, I think that it is cool as well! The coolest part of it is that they make it easy enough that even I can do it!

Lesson Learned

I certainly enjoy reading all of the blogs that end something like this ...and they lived happily ever after... THE END. Most of the time my blog has a happy story or a picture of one or all of my beautiful, smart, clever children, but not today.
This is the short but not so sweet story that occurred about 2am in the Jackson house.
I also need to tell you that for those of you holding out on a dog (Staci and Beth) that you are smart. We have a new puppy, Roxy. Roxy awoke around 1:45 this morning with that I'm hungry and I need a diaper change cry-- or at least open the door and let me outside. I had just settled her back in when I look up to see my sweet little brunette standing over me. Mommy, I don't feel good. I immediately thought back to her dinner of grilled onions and peppers on a tortilla filled with pico, salsa and guacamole and assumed I knew why she did not feel so well. I say, "Honey, lay right here," as I patted the bed next to me. That sure seemed easier than making a pallet in the floor at 2:15am. I'll spare you the details. After it was over and the sheets were changed, I made a mental note to self ... next time make a pallet.