$0.68

Whoever said a dollar wouldn't get you far? I've posted about couponing before, but today I had an especially good day at the grocery store. Albertson's is currently doubling manufacturer coupons- fabulous! So today Jackson and I bought 6 boxes of cereal and 4 boxes of taco shells for-- that's right-- $0.68. I wanted to jump for joy as I pulled the dollar bill from my wallet and handed it to the cashier. My reciept totaled a savings of over $35 in that transaction alone! I was so excited I had to immediately call Troy and let him in on my success. Basically Super Savvy Shoppers is a heaven sent program. At first it was frustrating getting the hang of the system, but now that I'm more accustomed to the couponing world it's like a game. For those of you thinking you might want to start, be aware it is VERY addicting.

I thought it was only right that grace this post with a a picture of my shopping buddy and our spoils. Who knew grocery shopping could be this much fun?

Goodbye Dallings!

Today Ryan & Christy Dalling moved. So sad! Ryan is starting his new job at Exxon in Houston, Texas on Monday. We are going to miss them so much. We said goodbye this past Tuesday when we were up in Bountiful. I completely fought back tears after our final hug. Those two are more like family than friends. Even though it's sad, we're excited for them to be starting a new adventure. I just have to talk Christy into starting a blog so I can see her new house and hear about her daily doings in Texas. Here's to moving to exotic places where the heat is unbearable!

Best Buds

Sarah Sheppard and I switched babies this week while we went to work. Gavin came to our house today to play. It's amazing how much more active he is at almost 6 months. It will be interesting to see how Jackson is in another 3 months or so. You know me, I had to take pictures. Gavin seemed fascinated with Jackson. Every squeal produced by Jackson got Gavin's utmost attention. It was pretty amusing. Jackson didn't quite understand what was going on although he did spend a few minutes gazing at Gavin from across the blanket. Perhaps it was Gavin's flaming red hair that caught his eye.
Gavin loved Jackson-- as soon as I put Jackson up on the chair next to him, he opened his mouth wide and went in for a good lick.
Gavin especially loved Jackson's ears. And Jackson was just happy to be along for the ride. Ha!

Go Bees.

Last night we went to the Bees game with my dad and siblings. Dad had free tickets from work which made it even more fun! I love going to baseball games, such a fun atmosphere. The tickets included a yummy BBQ and then they were only 6 rows up from the first base line- lovely! The Bees were terrible, but we definitely had a good time. Jackson was doing great at the beginning of the game. Then I had this great idea to get him out of his car seat-- then he was mad. After eating he was a little happier, but he was mostly worn out by the end of the game. Grandpa Barneck took him on a walk to try to calm him down. Good ole dad to the rescue.

Happy baby, before he was mad. Yay!

This picture is a tad creepy as it appears Taylor Swift is holding Jackson-- no worries, it's just Ashley's T-shirt. Ha!

First Photo Shoot

We had Jackson's pictures taken today and it was SO much fun. I went to Target while I was up in Bountiful visiting my mom and sisters. I wanted to have his picture taken in his blessing outfit before he grew out of it since he's been packing on the weight at incredible speeds.

A few funny things happened during the photo shoot. First, they asked me to be in the picture. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt... whoops! I didn't think they'd want me to appear in front of the camera. I turned out fine except that I kind of looked like a single mom. Be aware that Troy and I are very happily married, he was just at work when these photos were taken! Ha.

The second funny thing happened during the first picture. Jackson had a blowout. At first I didn't know it was a blowout. I decided to let them finish pictures in his white outfit before changing him. Bad idea. It was everywhere within a few seconds. That poor outfit just can't stay white as every time he wears it he does this. Granted that has only been two times, but still! So we had to strip him there in the studio. Of course I ran out of baby wipes when this happened. My sister Ashley had to run and buy some while little Jackson laid there naked and screaming. It was pretty funny. The poor guy hates to be cold. I got him into another outfit as quickly as possible and the rest of the shots were great. We put all the gross clothes in grocery sacks to be soaked in Oxy Clean later. Somehow we left the bag with the blessing outfit at the store... whoops again! Luckily my mom was able to drive back and find it while I fed starving Jackson. It was quite the exciting experience, but the pictures were worth it all.

First Father's Day

Today was Troy's first Father's Day. He is fairly new to this all important position but he handles it so well. He has wasted no time establishing bonding activities with his son. I often find my two Bushman boys watching games together on ESPN with Troy teaching Jackson BYU Football trivia or helpful baseball tips. Troy also loves playing with Jackson. He spends a lot of time talking with him and trying to elicit smiles, which Jackson loves. Troy not only plays with our little boy, but he helps with the not so glorious baby tasks as well. He is so sweet. Troy has always been a good husband, and I love him even more now that he is a dad. Happy Father's Day Troy, we love you!

Glorious Sleep

Jackson slept through the night last night. It is a miracle from heaven. He went to bed a little after 10 and woke up at 6. (That swaddle blanket is amazing!) I'm feeling like I could conquer the world right now I have so much energy. He also took a nap through the entire block of meetings today in church. It has been a particularly wonderful day. I know this kind of thing can't last, but I'm going to soak it up while I can. Thanks to Jackson for giving me the best night's sleep in two and a half months!

Bushman Family Reunion

This weekend we have been in Heber for the Bushman Family Reunion. The Bushmans' friends the Smith's allowed us to stay in their fun cabin with them. So generous of them! The weather was kind of rainy so we participated in a lot of rest and relaxation with the fam. This was our first time away with Jackson and let me tell you, packing for a baby is A LOT work. I was wondering if it was worth it by the end, but it definitely was. We had a great time. We watched movies, went on walks through the woods, and ate an abundance of delicious food. We also took family pictures. A lot has changed in the 4 years since the last Bushman family picture: 4 marriages, 2 babies and another one on the way. My cute sister-in-law Stephanie took the pictures with her dad's fancy camera and they look great. I don't have the official ones yet, but when I do I'll post them.

Jackson with Uncle Regan. Reeg watched him while Troy and I went on a nature walk. I think Regan was wondering why he had been so generous once Jackson had a blowout while we were gone-- sorry Reeg!

Steph taking the pics, with Ashley and Lexie holding the babies. Steph has the prettiest hair ever, huh?

Jackson getting ready for family pictures.

Visiting with the family.

Landon and Madelyn.

Brooke B. Bushman, RN

I took the NCLEX on Thursday. It was pretty intense. I came out of the testing center shaking and a little unsure of how I did. Today my results were posted and I passed! It's official I am a Registered Nurse. Now I really feel like I'm done with school. Graduation didn't feel complete until now. I'm so grateful to have finished my degree and have my license. All the hard work paid off. I couldn't have done it without Troy and all my family rooting for me. Hooray for being done!!

Jackson's First Bath

Do not be alarmed by the title of this post. Today was Jackson's first bath inside a bath tub. We have definitely bathed him before now. Those were just more like sponge baths. We finally got a baby bath tub this week. (It was free thanks to a Babies R' Us gift card- wahoo!) I was excited to try it out because I thought Jackson would like soaking since he gets cold so easily. He wasn't sure what to think about it but I think in general he enjoyed the experience.

Why Fire Drills Are Important

Today was my first time leaving Jackson for work. I've been working at a school called Dan Peterson in American Fork off and on since I got my LPN license in January. This week they had summer school so I agreed to take my old patient back for a few days to make some extra money. It was awful leaving Jackson. My mother-in-law was SO nice to watch the little man, but I totally felt like crying when I was driving away.

Because of some recent confusion at work I was riding the school bus with a patient I'd never worked with before. The plan was that I would ride with her to school and then take my usual patient once I got there. This morning I got a call around 7 am saying my patient was sick and asking if I could take this other little girl instead. I agreed, thinking it wouldn't be too different than my normal routine.

Once I arrived at the patient's house I knew I was in trouble. The patient was still in bed hooked up to all her machines. Having never seen her before I had no idea how to get her ready for the bus. Luckily the family came in and took care of it. The mom is only speaks Spanish so communication was difficult. The time for the bus to arrive came and went. The mom called the school and they forgot to come get us. (All of this I learned because an older sister of the patient translated for me.) So the mom drove us to school- awkward! This would be awkward even if I could communicate, the language barrier made it even worse.

Finally we made it to school albeit 1 1/2 hours late. Immediately I had a bad encounter with the teacher of my usual patient (she isn't the friendliest of people and she was NOT happy to see me after these last two months of absence.) I took my patient to physical therapy and then went to the teacher's lounge to pump. I called Troy and told him I didn't think the day could get any worse.

I guess you should NEVER say that because about 10 minutes after my patient's P.T. session the laundry room started smoking. The fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the building. We pushed all the kids in their wheelchairs across a grass field to safety. You could see the smoke coming from the building and everything. 4 fire trucks came to put out the fire that had erupted from a dryer. It was complete chaos. I was laughing inside the whole time because I couldn't believe it was really happening. The poor kids were really upset though, they didn't understand why they were being hoisted away from school in such a rush. One kid's feeding tube was pulled out in the transfer and he was crying. And the rest of the kids were mad they were in the bright sun.

The principal decided to send all the kids home. That meant I was supposed to ride home with my patient on the bus. Too bad the keys to my car were still in the burning building. I would be stuck in Orem at this patient's house with no way to get home. Hmmm. I knew I should have brought my purse with me when we were evacuating. I wasn't the only one who left their keys in the school. A bunch of us would be stranded together. It worked out that we couldn't get a hold of my patient's parents so had to stay at the school until we could get back in anyway. After an hour of calling I got a hold of the patient's parents and her mom came to get us. My patient and I were the LAST people to leave the school.

I got home from work 3 hours early, but I was completely exhausted. What a day! I couldn't believe so many things could go wrong in 4 and a half hours. What a long story! I'm seriously contemplating whether or not all of this is worth the money. Ha ha. We can only hope things run more smoothly tomorrow.

Chinese Twins

Troy's brother Regan went on a trip to San Fransisco last week and brought the CUTEST present back for Jackson: Chinese pajamas from China Town. He presented them to us yesterday at our monthly Bushman family dinner. Reeg bought some for Madi too. We dressed both of them up and took pictures of the Chinese twins. The tags for both pairs of pajamas said they were the same size, but there's no way they really were because Jackson was drowning in his. Nevertheless they looked adorable.

Here is Regan in his Chinese hat holding Jackson and Madi.

Jackson preferred to eat his outfit. Hopefully it doesn't have too many China Town germs. Just kidding. :)

Blessing Day

Jackson was blessed today. It was fun to have all our family there for Jackson's special day. He looked SO cute in his little white outfit. Too bad he had an explosion in it during Sunday school after the blessing. I was sure it was ruined, but luckily it came out (thanks to our neighbor Rachel Brown's generosity in loaning us some OxyClean.)

The blessing Troy gave him was so neat. We could not be more grateful to have this precious little boy in our home. Before Jackson was born I couldn't grasp just how much I would love him. Now that he's here I feel like mine and Troy's marriage is more complete. I can't imagine life without him. I am so grateful for eternal families and for the blessing we have of Jackson Troy in our family. As Troy says, our family has increased by 50%, and what a welcome increase it has been.

This is Troy's Aunt Linda holding Jackson.

It was a little difficult to get everyone together for the group shot... But eventually we made it.

And here's the big group. We had quite the following! It was so nice of everyone to come. We loved it.

Summer Chillin'

Here is Jackson, keeping it real in his shades. My friend Meri James gave us these sunglasses, aren't they adorable?!It looks like we posed this picture below, but really he didn't like the feeling of the glasses on his head and he was trying to pull them off.

Jackson being the football again. He's just the right size, I don't think Troy can resist.

He fell asleep like this. Crazy kid.

This is a random conglomeration of pictures, but I didn't want these images to miss out on being posted :)

2 months old!

Little Jackson Troy is officially a 2 months old. I can't believe how fast the last two months have flown by. Even though it's only been 60 days, I can't imagine life with out our cute little boy. He has changed so much! His face is filling out and he is starting to look more like me. (I can't deny that I like that a lot.) His chin is still Bushman, but his eyes, cheeks and nose are becoming more and more Barneck all the time. Jackson had his first consistent smiles this week and his neck is getting quite strong as well. His little personality is starting to show through and it is so fun.

He is also starting to enjoy his toys. He doesn't fully get it yet, but it's coming slowly. This blue whale is one of his favorites. It plays a song and vibrates towards him. He loves the music.


I never knew being a mom could be so much fun. I love it!

Kiddopotamus

Last night the most amazing thing happened. It started out with us having family night at the Bishop's house with the other members of the bishopric and their wives. Jackson was being particularly fussy. My friend Rachel Brown mentioned this special blanket they had that helped you swaddle your baby with velcro called a kiddopotamus. They brought it by after we all came home so we could give it a try.

I sort of felt like I was putting little Jackson in a straight jacket when we were bundling him up. He fought it for a second and then settled down. Once he was asleep he slept for 4 hours! I woke up, fed him and re-velcroed. He slept for another 4 hours! I woke up at 7 a.m. feeling like a million bucks. We will definitely be purchasing our own kiddopotamus. We can only hope this sleep trend continues. (I'm going to avoid disappointment by not counting on it. I'll just be grateful for the good nights sleep I do get.)

Here is my new little caterpillar inside his cacoon. Pretty cute huh? Despite its uncanny resemblance to a straight jacket, I think our little guy pulls off the look in style!