Chick-fil-A

Yes, I know I am a bit late posting this...

Last weekend, Lou had his first Debate/Forensics Tournament so me and Jackson got to spend the day together. We were not doing much, and Jackson was getting antsy. I remembered that Lou had given me some free coupons to Chick-fil-A. And since Chick-fil-A just opened in our town, I thought we'd try it. I had never been there, but everyone I know, who has tried it raves about it. Let's see how good Chick-fil-A really is.

I had somehow forgotten the fact that it had JUST opened and when we got there we realized it was their GRAND OPENING!

This picture really doesn't even begin to describe how crowded it was. IT WAS CROWDED! We did manage to find a table and we got our order so quickly. I was totally impressed by how nice everyone is that works there. Anyway, we had a great lunch...complete with complementary fudge nut brownies...It was the grand opening.

Jackson got to play in the play area...It wasn't as crowded as I thought it was going to be. We had a very pleasant experience.


P.S....Now for my confession:

Well, when I mentioned up top that I got some coupons from Lou...He gave me like 25 FREE Chicken Sandwich coupons. Of course my confession is not that I ate 25 Chicken sandwiches that day...Thank goodness. But it's not much better....

I work REALLY close to Chick-fil-A, and I really hate spending money on lunch...Yep, that's right I had a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich 3 times this week.

Oh wait...it get's worse...When Jackson and I went to the Grand Opening, they gave us a coupon for a free breakfast item on the way out. Me + Jackson = 2. So yes, I ate Chick-fil-A breakfast this week too.

Oh my gosh I can't believe I just typed that.

You're probably thinking, Oh that's okay...you've got to be sick of it now that you've had it almost everyday last week.

Well, no I'm not. Today is Saturday and I went to work (I don't normally have to go on the weekend, but today I did) and since I still had like 21 Free chicken sandwich coupons left it was really hard for me to say no to Chick-fil-A...BUT...I did. I didn't do it.

Oh good grief...if ever I needed a gym membership....

Oh yeah, and if anyone wants a Free Chick-fil-A chiken sandwich (in Fresno) hit me up...I've got to get rid of these things.

A Year Ago Today...

Missing you and thinking of you today. This day last year was the worst day our family has ever had.

I'm on your myspace today letting your playlist play in the background of my work (quietly of course). Thinking of you...see you on the Brighter Side. I love you Cousin.

Let's Go Cougars, Let's Go!

Last night we went to watch some Clovis Cougar Football. Jackson had been asking to go and was very excited. Lou bought Jackson and me shirts to wear. We ate Chinese food and got dressed and went off to the game. It's kind of hard for Jackson to follow, but he enjoys the crowd and the music and of course this Giant Cougar that all the football players run out of. Just at the end of half time Jackson pretty much lost all interest and we ended up leaving. He cheered, he shook his pom-pom, he said all the things Lou said (Come on! Good play!).
And he had had enough. We didn't mind...Lou had to get up early for a Debate Tournament the next morning anyway.

I couldn't really get a clear picture of the mascot...Cougie, but it's supposed to look like a cougar.

Most of our family has heard this story...from last year, but I can't resist...Last year we took Jackson to his first Clovis High Football game and that mascot was dancing down with the cheerleaders. I had mentioned to Lou that that mascot outfit is very old because I remember it from when I went there (11 years ago). I had also said, it really doesn't even look like a cougar either. So Jackson is 4 and he is really loving all the music and cheerleaders and is laughing at this mascot dancing and doing funny stuff...He says, "Look at that Dog! Look at that Dog!" I say, "That's not a dog, that's a cougar." and Jackson says, "Oh, look at that cougar dressed up like a dog." We still laugh so hard at that even today.
Here's Jackson and Lou heading out. Yes...it was even breezy enough for Jackson to wear a sweatshirt on our way out. Yay for fall. We're so tired of the heat.

Happy Birthday Bobby

This post is 9 days late, but we did celebrate on his actual birthday.

My brother Bobby turned 22 on September 11th and we had him and my mom and my sister over for pizza and cake.

I didn't have 22 candles so I put 2 and 2 (trying to make 22). Jackson is much smarted than me though and made sure I knew that it was actually only 4.

We ate Papa John's pizza and breadsticks. We were totally full, but we ate cake anyway.

Jackson dug out the Speed Racer mask that we gave out at his party to wear. It's not a party without decorations, balloons and party favors (even if they are recycled). Happy Birthday Bobby. Sorry for getting this post up so late. We love you.

Morning Routine

I developed a chart for Jackson of things he must do in the morning to get himself ready for school. With Lou and I both scrambling to get ready for work, we rely on Jackson to do somethings on his own (or with little help). First on his list is eat breakfast. I have been trying to wake up early enough to make eggs and sausage for Jackson so that I know he ate good in the morning, if nothing else. Second on the list is brush teeth which he never really liked doing until I bought a flouride rinse and now he does it al pretty well. Third on the list is get dressed which he is pretty proud to do all by himself (including shoes and socks). Fourth is brush hair...Dad usually helps with this (although the other day he did quite a fine job). Fifth on the list is to put his backpack by the front door so that we do not forget it. Sixth is clean/straighten his room. I usually help with this one, but recently he's been really surprising us. He told us today not to come in until he said and this is what we found:

He made his bed all by himself (he actually told me he was the bed expert :)

The last thing on his "Routine" chart is a little tv. Once he's got everything done we let him watch some tv until we're ready to go. Things have been working out pretty smoothly.

The funny things he says - Part 2

9/3/08 - Last week when I took Jackson to school, he noticed right away that no one was there yet and asked me not to leave until a few friends got there. I stayed with him a while and after a friend got there I told Jackson that I needed to leave to get to work. He seemed a little sad, but didn't cry, and I felt bad for not staying until the teacher came out to take the children into the classroom. Today when I took him to school we were the first ones again. I assured him that I wouldn't leave until a few friends came along to keep him company. He said, "you just have to wait for one friend, and then you can go." I said okay and we got to his classroom and talked a little bit. One girl came to line up near the classroom, and Jackson says to me, "I said you can go after one of my friends gets here. Arn't you gonna leave now?" That little stinker...Already thinks he's big enough to do everything by himself.

9/17/08 - My father-in-law got a new (to him) truck and got rid of the old van that he had been driving for a REALLY LONG time. I wish I knew how long he had been driving it to give you a better picture of how it looked. It was not so pretty and had a lot of problems, but Papa Woody drove it anyway. Bev (my mother-in-law) must have complained about the van because when I asked Jackson what Papa did with his old van he said, "Grandma got rid of it FINALLY."

My Morning Commute

Today we all three got ready for school and work without too much drama. Lou left early...like he always does, and Jackson and I were taking our time. I cannot drop him off at school until 7:40 so I am usually a little late to work on the days I have to take him. It's not usually a big deal, I'm only about 5-10 minutes late.

Well, I was getting my lunch together it was only about 7:25 and I realized that Lou took the wrong lunch. I still had my lunch to take, but with his sensitive stomach I really didn't want him to eat the food he took. So I hauled butt...grabbed Jackson, his backpack, my purse and lunch, Lou's RIGHT lunch and we were out the door. I thought I had plenty of time to run to Clovis High and drop off Lou's lunch in the office and bring Jackson back to school and still make it to work...fairly ontime.

I kept calling Lou on my way to Clovis High to let him know what I was doing, but no answer. He finally called me back and said he would go up to the office to grab his lunch. We didn't see him...we flew in and out of the office pretty fast. I got J back in the car and made my way thru all the mom's and dad's dropping kids off at school and managed to get back to Jackson's school about 7:50. His class doesn't start until 8:00 so he was fine. I didn't get a chance to walk him into the gate, but I think he liked that. I watched him walk on the sidewalk all by himself and there were already plenty of kids waiting outside the classroom for him to mingle with. He felt so big.

So now...me! Off to work. I knew I wasn't going to make it...not even by 8:10 so I called work and let them know I was running late. I'm so glad I did that. I did not know it yet, but I would not be getting to work for quite some time.

I thought for a minute about taking the freeway, but that was a bit out of my way, so I opted for good ol' Herndon. The speed limit is 50 and there are 6 lanes across (most of the time). I usually take Herndon and have absolutely no trouble at all...it has it's slow spots, but for the most part there is a consistant flow. I got to Chestnut and could see a lot of brake lights. I though tto myself, "I know it normally gets crowded around Cedar, but this doesn't seem normal." By Maple (one more street up) I had made my way to the Right turn lane with everyone else. Herndon was closed for some reason and they were forcing everone to turn off. Maple is not equipped for that kind of traffic and was an even bigger mess. I quickly turned Left onto a business street and made my way through office complexes up to the next street...Cedar.

They were not letting cars turn Left so I could not get back to Herndon. I could see caution tape and police baracades blocking the intersection. I saw the most horrible thing as I looked out to Herndon and Cedar...a motorcycle, and it's rider. He obviously didn't make it.

My heart felt so sad. At that moment I felt terrible for getting upset over all the traffic and how late it was making me. I made my way to work with the radio off...praying 1 for safety, 2 thanking Him, and 3 for that motorcycle rider's family. I found a short news article online...all it said was that a motorcycle rider was killed at Cedar and Herndon this morning.

My Dad Came to Visit.

My dad came to visit us this weekend. It was a short visit, but we had a nice time. Here we are trying to get a good picture of all of us. Without the dogs...it's just easier without them. We went to breakfast on Saturday morning and then went by Lou's classroom. Dad really wanted to check out the school and see Lou's classroom. Here we are looking like students.
It was dad's birthday a few days before he got here. Lou cooked an awesome dinner and I made a cake to celebrate.

Thanks for coming to visit Dad! Next time we'll have to plan more activities. I'm glad you got to see our house and stay over. We love you.

Decorating Mr. Standifer's Classroom (8/20/08)

It's taken me a while to get this post up, but I couldn't help but share it. This has been such an exciting time in the Standifer house. We (mainly Lou) have been working so hard towards this, and we've been so excited that it is finally here. Lou's first real classroom. We got to decorating it about a week before school started and we had a lot of fun. It was HOT! because they don't turn on the air conditioner all summer long, but we had a fan and a big cup of water and even though we thought we were going to sweat to death...we had fun.

BEFORE:
During...I think Lou said not to get him in any of the pictures...because we were so HOT and not looking too great (sorry babe). But here he is working away...He did all the work. He knew how he wanted to decorate...I was just along for the company (and a little bit of input). AFTER:
Have a great year Mr. S...I love you and am so proud of you.

First Day of School (8/25/08)

Finally, a First Day of School Blog. Jackson has already been in school for a week and I'm finally getting around to putting up some pictures. He was pretty nervous his first day, but since then he's loving it. He transitioned very well into his new routine. I was a little worried about it...no naps, alternating between grandma's house after school and day care on the other days. Just the whole change of routine (that would normally be hard for me to handle) didn't seem to phase him a bit. Tonight he taught us a song he learned at school. He is really growing up. I have to admit...I think the first day of kindergarten was harder on me than anyone else. He picked out his outfit. He's into looking "cool" these days. He asked for Sketchers...I didn't even know he knew what Sketchers were. Oh brother.
Lining up. Have a good day in kindergarten Jackson. We love you.

The funny stuff he says.....

1. Okay, when we were at Lou's classroom the other night for family night, Lou was talking about his students. He was calling them "my kids" and I kept looking at Jackson because he had a funny look on his face...Finally he said, "Dad, do they call you dad and stuff?"


2. This morning we were getting ready for school (note: kindergarten started on Monday...4 days ago), and Jackson says, "Do you hear Simon crying?" Simon was whining all morning for some reason. I said, 'Yes." Jackson says, "Can you call and cancel kindergarten today, because I don't think he wants me to leave?" - Do you think he already hates school?

3. Jackson's step-sister (at his mom's house) went to the same Elementary school that Jackson goes to now. It hasn't been more than a couple of years since she went there...I don't think. When we found out what teacher Jackson had for kindergarten, they looked her up in the yearbook that Karrie had from a few years back. I was asking Jackson how he liked his teacher the day after school started and he said he liked her alot, but then he said this: "She is several years older than she looks in the book." Yes, he said several. Lou explained to him that he shouldn't tell his teacher that. We had to explain to him that people don't like it when you talk about how old they are. Then we had the whole "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all" conversation.

Jackson is so funny these days. He is really processing everything we say. Even if the radio is on in the car, the windows are down and I'm spelling things to Lou, Jackson still manages to jump right in to our conversation. He hears everything right now. He says the most grown up stuff these days. I can't believe it sometimes...I have been reminding myself lately that when I met Lou, Jackson was just turning 2 and didn't even talk yet. I can't beleive how fast he is growing up.

Family Night - Welcome to School.

Jackson started kindergarten this year, and he was pretty nervous. He told us, "I'm not excited, I'm anxious." So to try to help him get over his fears about school and kindergarten we did a Welcome to School family night this past weekend...just before school started. Since Lou had just about finished getting his classroom in order, we got to have our family night there (perk to having a teacher husband).

We had hot lunch (dinner) at our desks. We had an after school snack (dessert)...with a napkin note. We had our very own pencil hunt. Jackson is counting them out. I bought him a few workbooks for kindergartners that he has been working in and LOVES.
After a few games and some talk about kindergarten we decided to drive over to Jackson's school and find his classroom. He's going to the same school Lou went to, so Lou gave him a tour of the school. Peeking into Jackson's classroom. He's in K2...Miss Kelps class.
We played a little hopscotch and a few other made up games.
Overall...it was a pretty simple night. We all had fun!

To see more Family Nights...check out Whittaker Woman...she's got awesome ideas.

King Sugar/Monkey Show (8/22/08)

What a fun night! We haven't had a night out like this in a LONG time. One of our favorite bands, Monkey, came to Fresno to play a show with Lou's band, King Sugar, last night. These two bands are both Awesome...and I'm not just saying that because my husband's the singer. Really, they are great! We danced the night away last night...I think we got home some time around 1:30-2:00ish. It was great to have so many of our friends come out last night! We had a fun time dancing and visiting with all of you. (There are quite a few pictures...so I'll keep the text short.)

Here is King Sugar. Sounded great last night guys!

Lou is realling getting into it here...

Monkey...

Curt has an amazing voice. This band has an awesome sound.

We had so much fun dancing and singing along to all our favorite songs. What a great set they did.

Me and my sister Brittany.

Brittnay and Bobby. We love to take pictures...can you tell? Overall, we had a very fun night. Sadly, King Sugar doesn't play again until December (unless we can talk them into another show sooner)...That was ton's of fun. We need to do this more often.