I leave you with these quotes... ;)

Clark Griswold: Eddie, has anyone ever told you you're bad luck?
Cousin Eddie: Those were my mother's dying words. But I guess if your body's covered in third degree burns, and your foot's caught in a bear trap, you tend to start talkin' crazy.

....................
When Clark has lost thousands of dollars playing blackjack but wants to keep playing...

Cousin Eddie: That's it Clark... show him who's boss. It's people like you who come here and blow the family nest egg that built this town... not this pretty boy!

:)

How can Jason hate the Vacation series of movies??? It's un-American, I tell ya.

I'm outta here in the morning...
Have a great weekend!

Quick thoughts

It's cold. It's drizzly. This is the perfect day to go to the park. No one would be there. We'd have the place to ourselves. ;)


.............


I'm eating a Schlotzsky's Original Sandwich for the first time in years. And it is good!! I think Schlotzsky's is one of those places that you either love it or you hate it. And I LOVE IT!


.............


Verizon has HORRIBLE customer service. They're terrible. Useless. I loathe dealing with them. But I think that's just cable companies in general.


..............

C and I started running errands this morning after we dropped off Jack at 9 and we got home at 11:30. (One of those errands was going to Verizon. Can you tell?) I'm tired, but I love being productive.
(And I love that she wasn't wrecking the house this morning.)

Motivation to get it together!

Whenever we have people come over, I try to clean and make the house look better than it usually does. But despite my best efforts, I usually end up telling people to "excuse the mess".

My parents are staying with the kids this weekend in our house. They'll be sleeping in our bed, using our shower, cooking in our kitchen, driving our van. And THAT is motivation to get it together.

When it comes to my parents, I am definitely still the child. Not because of how they treat me but because of how I feel. I want to make them proud. I want to make decisions the way they would want me to. I want to cook meals like my mom. And... for some reason... I feel like I don't want to get in trouble.

And I'm afraid a messy house would get me in trouble.

I know that this isn't really true, but still. I don't want to disappoint. So--because they'll have the freedom to go ANYWHERE in the house-- I am so motivated to get it together!! Closets are being cleaned. The mildew that I have overlooked for weeks in the shower is being removed. The van is FINALLY being vacuumed and de-cluttered.

I'm even making a trip to East Plano (I make it seem like it's soooo far away, I know) to go to the Verizon store to change out my remote control for the bedroom. For months, I've needed one remote to turn the TV on and off. And one remote to work the volume and change the channel. Except the remote that changes the channel has a broken "Channel Up/Down" button, so you actually have to push the # that you want. And the "Guide" button doesn't work, so you better know what you want to watch. It's driven me crazy, and now I finally have a reason to fix it.

I don't want my parents to see how I really live = the best motivation EVER

I think my parents should move in once a month. My house would be so much better off with a monthly parental inspection.

To get into vacation mode...

I rented a couple of movies that scream "Vegas" to me.

One was "Vegas Vacation". Jason can't stand the Griswolds. He hates the entire Vacation series of movies. He hates Chevy Chase. All of it. But I watched it and was reminded that it was hilarious!!!

I mean, c'mon. "I'm your dam guide on this dam tour. Take all the dam pictures you want." I'm gonna be quoting that movie all week long. :)

Then we rented "The Hangover". I had never seen it but knew it was set in Vegas so I thought it'd be a funny movie.

Ok... Jason and I laughed out loud throughout the movie. But my jaw was on the floor a lot too. Just the shock of it all. It's been a loooong time since I've seen a rated R movie, so the language really caught me off guard. Should've known. Duh. And I could've gone without seeing the nakedness. I had been warned previously that when I see a little Asian guy to look away. But no one told me about the old man in the hospital or the girls during the credits. All that aside, it was a really funny movie.

But to give you an idea of how long it's been since I've been to a movie or rented a movie for Jason and me.... I looked for "The Hangover" on the New Releases wall. Imagine my surprise when I realized it had been out for a long time, and new releases are movies like "Inception" and that Reese Witherspoon movie with Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson.

Sheesh. I gotta get out more. ;)

Oh, PLEASE stay til next weekend... :)

Note to self: Go to the Palms. Not to mention I might run into Adrienne Maloof and we can chat about the RHOBeverly Hills. :)


Britney Spears Shines In Surprise Las Vegas Performance

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The princess of pop is back!

Britney Spears gave two surprise mini-concerts at Rain Nightclub in the Palms Casino Resort on Friday night, thrilling over a thousand lucky fans.

Rocking the stage in lingerie-inspired get-ups, Brit performed songs from her latest album, "Femme Fatale" including singles, "Hold It Against Me," "Till the World Ends" and "Big Fat Bass." The shows were filmed by MTV as part of an upcoming special on the pop superstar that will air next week in celebration of her album release.

"We are extremely excited to have one of the most iconic artists of all time back at the Palms. Britney's performances were unbelievable and her fans will never forget this night," Palms owner George Maloof told Access Hollywood in a statement on Friday. "We have a great relationship with MTV and feel fortunate to be a part of her upcoming special."

"Jersey Shore''s" DJ Pauly D, the exclusive Vegas resident DJ for the Palms, warmed up the crowd and kicked off the evening with his masterful beats and explosive sounds for club goers before Britney took the stage.

After the show - her first time back onstage since her 2009 Circus Tour - Britney took to Facebook to express her satisfaction with the evening's festivities.

"OMFG it feels good to be on stage again!!" she wrote early Saturday morning, before posting photos from the performance.

Article came from here

To my friends running...

the Rock 'N Roll marathon Sunday...

GOOD LUCK!!!



I hope...

~race day is fun!

~you have the kind of run you've been training to have and that there are no disappointments or injuries.

~that the weather is good.

~that the slow people stay home or at least stay out of your way.

~that you don't trip over the cups at the water stations or slip on the water.

~that the bands that are supposedly at every mile---
(which, BTW, when I did my Rock N Roll San Antonio marathon, they were NOT at every mile. Total false advertising.) ---
Anyway I hope they are not ALL playing "Sweet Home Alabama" when you pass them.

Seriously every band I passed was either playing "Sweet Home Alabama" or taking a break.

~that if you hear "Sweet Home Alabama" on Sunday, you smile and think of this post. :)

~that your time is F-A-S-T.

and finally...

~I hope that the beer at the end is cold!!!

GOOD LUCK!! CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR HOW IT GOES!!!

The madness has begun...

Jason and I leave Thursday to go on our trip. And here is my to do list that I scribbled out this morning while Jack was on the computer and Caroline was in the sandbox. I could explain some of these bullet points, but I won't...

To Do Before LV:

pack
make schedules
put labels on cabinets
make a list of C's words for mom and dad
leave $ for mom and dad
write notes to kids
cancel Skip
grocery shop
clean house
clean van
buy plant for Sarah
email itinerary to Mom and dad
charge phone
charge camera/clean camera
rent a movie for plane
buy a bubble generator
leave contact info for mom and dad
email Mrs. Lynette about absence
email Ms. Rushing about absence
instructions to work DVD
clean Wiggles DVD
Wednesday-- make Sarah's lunch for Thursday and Friday
lay out clothes for all kids for entire weekend
change out remote for bedroom
dry cleaning


HELP ME! Overly anxious. Crazy control freak. But, in my eyes, this is what it takes to leave someone else in charge for a weekend.

Some of these things will take 30 seconds. Some will take hours.

This is another thing that I really don't think Jason understands. Next week he'll go to work. He'll come home Wednesday night. He'll pack. We'll leave Thursday morning. He has no clue how much work I have to do (because I'm crazy) so that I can walk out that door Thursday morning and have a good time and not worry about what's going on here.

Xanax anyone? ;)

some PICTURES of swim lessons

Hey, look at me! I have pictures!! :) Of course the only reason I have pics is because my dad came to watch/encourage the kids. Jack still cried, but hey... Thanks for coming, Dad, and bringing your camera!!

Please keep in mind that these pictures actually represent A LOT of progress. While it's true that Jack is crying, he is no longer pressed up against the wall, trying his best to grip something and screaming, "NOOOO! I DON'T WANT TO!!!!"

Now he melts down sitting at the side of the pool and in the pool. Ah, sweet progress. :)

Captions are under each picture because these pictures tell a story.



"I don't want to go under! Don't pull me in!"



"I really don't like swim lessons either, but I'm gonna smile because Jack is flipping out. And I NEVER miss an opportunity to be the 'good' kid."




"I hate this. Why am I here?"




They did a quick little lesson on boat safety. Sarah practiced floating on her back.



Jack was still not cooperating. So... enter the new teacher who basically works with Jack one-on-one.
"Look at these Skittles in the cup, Jack. I'll give you a Skittle if you'll work with me."



"A Skittle is not enough to motivate me."
Notice Sarah in the background, holding her breath, face in the water. That's really good for Sarah! :)



"Seriously. I'm scared."



"No!"



"Hey, these goggles make it better."



"Look! Jack's in the boat!"



"and in the water!"



"Yay, Jack!!"

And at the very end, he swam underwater for probably 2 feet with no one holding on to him. I was so proud!!

But next week he'll spend the first half of the lesson crying again.

When I told him he was going to get a cast and have to quit the lessons, he was ecstatic!! :) LOL

"Bring something tiny to school for show and tell"

Those were the instructions for Jack's preschool today.

Something tiny... something tiny... Aha! I know. Sarah has a tiny little pink hairdryer and a tiny little brush and tiny little nail polish that goes with one of her tiny little dolls. PERFECT!!!

Thank goodness, as I was rummaging through Sarah's toybox this morning, something stopped me and I thought, "Wait. What am I doing? He's a boy. I bet he has something tiny in his room."

Sure enough he had a tiny little gun that went with a tiny little cowboy in his room. And I sent him to school with those instead.

Now I'm not sure if it's ok to send a toy gun to a church preschool, but I don't care. I know I made the right decision... considering I almost sent him with tiny little nail polish.

Bless his heart. I'm not a good boy mom.

If my family's paying, talk about ME

This has nothing to do with my own wedding because I was appropriately oohed and ahhed over, but....

There's something that I find really off-putting about a wedding where more stories are shared from the altar about the groom rather than the bride.

Especially when the bride's family is paying for the wedding.

I went to a wedding and the person who officiated the wedding was a relative of the groom. This was not because the bride didn't have a preacher. This was not because the bride came from a home where church wasn't a priority or they didn't have a history with a pastor. The groom's uncle did the wedding because the bride wanted to please her future in-laws. It was important to them that Uncle What's His Name do the wedding.

Fine.

But when it went from story to story about the groom... "Let me tell you about when he was 5..." and then "He's always been a funny kid...[start the next story]" etc etc. And then the ONLY time the bride was mentioned was when it was in relation to how she made the groom a better person. That bugs me.

Then there was this long drawn out "As a man and a husband, you're going to need to [blah blah blah]. And somedays you're going to wake up and you're not even going to like her..." and one quick sentence about being a wife.

I was so upset for the bride. It doesn't have to be ALL about the bride. Obviously in this case, the person doing the wedding had a history with the groom. But it was story after story that really was more appropriate-- in my opinion-- for the rehearsal dinner. Traditionally THAT'S the night that the groom (or groom's parents) pays for. So if all of his buddies want to stand up and tell stories, great! If the pastor wants to gush about the groom, do it THEN.

On the "big" day, when that bride is in a gorgeous dress, and it very well may be the only day that she gets to dress up like that and have as many eyes her, then make her feel special. Talk about her. And if you don't have personal stories about her, then don't share 10,000 about the groom. It can still be heartfelt and a very sweet ceremony.

I just think if a pastor is gonna gush more about one person at a wedding, gush about the bride. Especially when the money is coming out of her pocket. ;)

Have you ever...

wanted to beat your head against a wall? That's kinda where I am today.

We had a follow-up appointment with Scottish Rite today for Jack's club foot. Very routine. He has to be checked every couple of years until he stops growing.

A crazy day that started with routine xrays, which we were told we didn't need to do. So we skipped them and saw Dr. Johnston. He looked at Jack's foot and said we DID need xrays. So back to radiology we went. Then he wanted to see us AGAIN after the xrays to discuss. And on and on.

Cutting to the chase and condensing what it took us 3 hours to discover... Jack is regressing in his healing process of his club foot. He is physically unable to stand flat-footed on his left foot. He skips a lot, unless he's really really concentrating on running, because he naturally hits on the ball of his left foot only... which translates into a hop, which makes it look like he's skipping. It's hard for him to push the pedal on his bike because of his foot not going flat. Etc Etc

I feel bad because I just assumed he wasn't very coordinated, and I thought he skipped because he was surrounded by girls here at the house. I kinda thought he was a little girlie--to be honest-- and that if I were a tomboy or he had brothers instead of sisters, he'd be more coordinated and less "skippy". Apparently that's not true.

So, we're gonna do the same procedure that we did with him as infant, which is: cut his heel cord and force his foot to flex as much as possible and cast it. But whereas an infant can have his heel cord cut on a doctor's table with a tiny knife, now that he's 4, it's gonna be a day surgery. And he'll be in a cast for a month. The goal is to force that heel cord to lengthen so that he can step flat-footed.

If this doesn't work, the next step is to clamp a bone in his foot to a bone in his ankle (I think). They call it tethering. And it keeps the front of the bone from growing so that the back of the bone is forced to grow. And then once the bone has grown, they go back in and remove the clamp. I'm hoping we don't have to go with that.

But it's not the long day that's making me want to beat my head against a wall. It's the cast.

Y'all... do you know what this means?? It means these daddgum swim lessons that have been the bane of my existance were for nothing. :) AAGGH! I can't communicate to you adequately how hard they've been on Jack (and ME). But I've been the hard a$$ (and responsible adult) and made him go. We have a pool. He has to learn. Blah blah blah. I've come dang near getting an ulcer over all of this. And for what? For him to be in a cast in mid-April, miss 6 lessons, forget everything he's learned, and have his left calf muscle atrophe so that we can start all over again later.

I know that sounds stupid. But you had to have been fighting this fight since January and seeing how FINALLY last week he FINALLY went under water to know how frustrating it is that we're going to have to quit in a few weeks. (And you had to have paid the $370 for the lessons to know how frustrating it is that we're going to have to quit in a few weeks. Yeah, $370. Ridiculous.)

Seriously, as soon as they said "cast for a month", I said, "But swim lessons!!"

Oh well... This is life. This is parenting. It is what it is. Obviously his foot is the priority.

But we're headed out to lessons in an hour or so, and I'm thinking, "Well, at least I don't have to ride his butt so hard anymore. He'll be quitting in 3 weeks so I guess it doesn't matter. "

Hallelujah

The kids are back in school... (Even Jack as of today.)

Spring Break reminded me of a few things:

1. Sarah is not 2 yrs old anymore and she needs more stimulation and activity than this mom can give. I'm tired.

2. I am in a Jack and Caroline routine. I enjoy my time with all 3, but going from 2 to 3 requires new and different things of me.

3. Unless you go on a fun trip, Spring Break is a break for teachers... and teachers only.

4. I must have a loooong list of activities in my arsenal this summer, or these precious children are gonna eat me alive. ;)

But, for today, school's in session, and I only have Caroline and I'm gonna enjoy this VERY WINDY spring day. :)

Putt Putt

Pretty sure this camera has been dropped a few times. It's not taking pics like it used to. Poor little Cybershot.

At least I tried to document the outing.

Sarah did really well! Three holes-in-one. Jack had a great time, and, to my surprise, did not pout, get frustrated, or quit because he wasn't doing well. He stayed with it and had fun!! :)

Playing Putt Putt today

Pictures to come...

It's the kids' first mini golf experience. Oooo... exciting. ;)

Spring cleaning

I got the closets cleaned out. Sort of.

Let me explain myself briefly if you don't mind.

I've said before that I am VERY blessed to have people give my kids clothes. My neighbor, my sister, and a church friend are my suppliers for Sarah. :) And my sister is my donor for Jack. :)

Love them! THANK YOU to them! It's very cool to have clothes that are in good shape that I don't have to pay for. The following is not meant to complain about the donations but rather to help explain how things get so unmanageable around here.

I am not an organized person. I want to be. I am not. I have said it before.

(I leave LOTS of notes and schedules when I have a sitter come over for extended periods of time--like when my inlaws stayed while I was in the hospital. But that's because I am controlling and not fond of delegating. Don't confuse it with organization.)

All I can manage to do is stay on top of today. Today's crises. Today's messes. Today's dishes. Today's arguments. Today's tasks. Today's schedule. That's it.

And because I don't buy hardly any of my kids' clothes, I don't clean out their dressers and closets at the end of a season and say, "Ok, here's what I need to buy and now I have room." That's not how it works. Instead, I find a bag of clothes on my doorstep from one of the above mentioned people. Sometimes they ring the doorbell, but a lot of times they just drop off which is great.

So I find a bag of clothes that may or may not fit Jack or Sarah yet. (Jack and Sarah are kinda short and our suppliers' kids are kinda tall.) And I'm busy mananging today's junk so I take the bag of clothes and put it in the appropriate closet and say to myself, "I'll deal with it later."

"Later" never happens. Because I don't think about it again. And then I'll dress the kids and think, "Oh this doesn't fit anymore. I really need to go thru their clothes." But then laundry needs to be done, grocery shopping needs to happen, etc etc

I also can't stand cleaning out the closets because it's a long process that no one knows I worked on. People don't come over and notice the kids' clean closets. Ya know? But they would notice the dishes in the sink. Or the toys everywhere.

And because I can't stand the job so much and am so overwhelmed by it, I get jealous that Jason doesn't have to deal with it. It's a part of the parenting job that he has no idea that I do. He knows when the clothes that he grabs out of the dressers don't fit, but he doesn't really appreciate how much time it takes to make sure everything does fit and to go through the donated items.

It's a process. And when things no longer fit my kids, I have to sort through which of it needs to go back to my sister for her daughter, Kate. And which of it needs to be donated to Goodwill. So it's not just a "Doesn't Fit" pile. It's a "Give to Hilary" and "Give to Goodwill" pile.

And with Sarah's stuff, it's hard that there's such an age difference between Caroline and Sarah. In some ways I'm hoping the age difference will help keep competition between the girls to a minimum. But when it comes to clothes, it means a lot of storing for a long time. Literally years before Caroline can wear Sarah's stuff.

And sometimes I'll have my niece's stuff and my neighbor's stuff for a year before Sarah can wear it because of the height difference. It's much more of a process than you might think.

So here's what I did today....

BEFORE





This is Caroline's closet. I'd say 5% of this fits her right now. All of the stuff on the floor are 3T and 4T stuff. It's nuts. I didn't buy a single thing you're looking at. But I'm storing it all. (There are bags under bags in there.)

Her dresser is full of stuff. The rocking chair is too.





BEFORE





This is Sarah's closet. There are bags under the bags you can see. Pants that are size 6. Sarah's 5 1/2 but small and won't be able to wear those pants until next year. But I hate to get rid of them because they were free.





Her dresser is packed to the max with things that don't fit anymore. But as soon as I go through it I know it'll just end up on the floor of Caroline's closet. Continuing the cycle of craziness.

(On a side note-- Can you see the posters on Sarah's wall? The calendar, rules, and the Pledge? We went thru some of my teaching supplies so she could play school with the things that Ms. Rushing has in her room. She loves it. There's a weather chart on another wall.)

BEFORE

Jack's dresser. In true boy fashion, he doesn't have a lot of clothes and this is perfect!!




We just need to go through his toys. And he does have clothes on his desk that need to be put away. (Still in the bag from Hilary.)




AFTER

Caroline's closet looks very similar. There are more clothes in there than there were when we started because I cleaned out Sarah's stuff.

Her dresser was cleaned out and now it has things that fit her better.






Sarah's closet is CLEAN!! (And so is her dresser.)





And Jack's dresser is clean and organized as well.

When all was said and done, we have 5 bags to give to Goodwill.




And one bag for Kate.




WHEW!! I'm exhausted!!

PS. While I took these bags downstairs and loaded them in my car, Caroline took off her diaper and peed on the floor upstairs. That was fun. She also made a HUGE mess with the toys upstairs while I was cleaning out the clothes. Why do you have to let your kids make a mess so you can clean a mess?
*sigh*
One day they will all be in school and I will finally have my house in order.... right?

Massive Fail

So my efforts to take pics documenting this week are failing.

Oh well.

So far, over Spring Break, we've been to the doctor, gone to the mall, gotten Sarah a hair cut, and played at KK and Papalu's house (my parents).

How do I take pics of that?

I guess I could've taken pics of the kids at Mom and Dad's but I was watching Caroline to make sure she didn't break anything or try to go upstairs... and I was enjoying a glass of wine ;)... so no pictures.

Today we are cleaning out dressers and making sure that ONLY CLOTHES THAT FIT are in the drawers and closets. This is a project I dread. But everytime I pull out something that doesn't fit anymore, I'm frustrated with myself for not doing this.

Today's the day. 3 kids, 3 dressers, 3 closets... cleaning out.

And I'm not going to feel compelled to keep everything that's a 4T that doesn't fit Sarah because it will one day fit Caroline. If it's really cute or nice, I'll keep it. The jeans from Walmart? I'm not hanging on to those for 4 years. The idea of storing Sarah's clothes and having to go through them years later for Caroline makes me crazy. I'd rather spend $5 four years from now on a new pair of jeans.

Anyway, maybe I'll pull out the camera today and document the clean out and how bad I've let the mess get. Just don't judge me when/(if) you see it.

Love these songs...

Very different feels to these songs of course.

The lyrics to "Grenade" are really really stupid :) I know. But I turn it up every time I hear it.

And "Jar of Hearts" is just really good. She's over it but she's not psycho like Alanis Morissette. Strong but not crazy. If I were in high school and went through a break up, I could totally see myself listening to this song while I'm crying.

The videos aren't great but that's ok. ;)

On the agenda..

This week is Spring Break. This would be a little more exciting if we had a trip planned but nevertheless we will have a good week.

There will be trips to the park at some point. Visits to the library. Tomorrow night Sarah and Jack will spend the night with my parents. Wednesday is swim lessons. Thursday it looks like we're going to go play Putt Putt for the first time. We could always try bowling too or something.

I'll think about it. I don't want to spend too much money or go somewhere that will be super crowded. SO many school districts have Spring Break this week that places like the zoo or the Children's Museum are likely to be packed.

I'll try to take pictures so that I can do more picture posts this week. That's the goal! :)

Happy Spring Break!

A "just in case" file

So... I sold that car seat I was telling you about today. I had to drive out to McKinney to meet the lady and I had this thought...

What if this person I'm meeting is not really someone who wants to buy a car seat? What if it's someone who wants to kill me and steal my car?

I don't know why I thought that. But I did.

Then I thought, "A homicide like that would make the news."

Then I thought, "I wonder which picture of me Jason would give to the news people. And which one would he pick for an obituary? And if he had a memorial service for me where he had to choose a picture and blow it up really really big and put it on an easel at the front of the church, which picture would he enlarge?"

And the thought of what his choice might be concerned me.

Sometimes people that love you think that every picture of you is a good one. Whereas you might be more selective. This is definitely true of Jason and me. When I had Sarah, he emailed out ALL KINDS of pictures that were NOT OK'd by me to friends and family. And I remember thinking then, "Ugh. His emotion clouds his judgment of what's cute and what's not."

Soooo.... I decided on my way to McKinney today that I'm gonna make a "just in case" file of approved pictures in case he needs one and I'm not around to choose it. This may seem morbid but I think it's smart to plan ahead. :)


BTW... In case you were wondering why I'm blogging and selling things on my anniversary instead of enjoying my anniversary, the answer is simple: We're not doing anything special today. We're going out next weekend instead. So there ya go. ;)

Horrible with the camera

I have camera insecurities. I've always known this, but it's amplified whenever I'm at Sarah's school for some unknown reason. I feel like such a nerd with a camera.

Sarah's Open House was last night. I took the camera really because I wanted a few for the blog. Since I write SO much and I know that picture posts are more fun for everyone, I'm trying to be better about writing less and putting more pictures.

It's not working. Can you tell? ;)

So we were walking up to her school last night and I'm the only dork with a camera. And was it the little Sony Cybershot? Nope. It was the big Nikon.

And here's the deal with the Nikon. At first, I felt cool with it because I know it's a good camera. But I'm so bad with it and don't feel comfortable with it, I hold it awkwardly and look like a stupid tourist or something very quickly.

Plus everyone takes pics with their phones now. They whip out their cute little iPhones, take the picture, and immediately post it to facebook. Which makes me feel even dorkier for having the big camera.

And then I worry that I'm embarrassing Sarah. I flashback to my middle school days when Dad would want to take pictures on vacation (A very normal thing to do. It's not like any of my friends were around or there was any reason to be embarrassed.) But I hated having my picture taken for some reason. So I feel bad--almost like I should apologize--for being the parent at the school function with a camera.

Long story short (It's too late for that, I know) I handed the camera to Jason (because he's normal and doesn't have camera issues) We were there for AN HOUR, and we got these 2 pictures. LOL.





[sigh]

Sorry, kids. There's a good chance that none of your life will ever be documented well. But on the bright side, we can never be accused of documenting Sarah's life well, with all kinds of pictures, and forgetting about Jack and Caroline. We're pretty much doing a crappy job across the board. Yay for equality! ;)

This and that

I could sure go for a vodka with soda and lemon, not lime, today. Just sayin'.

..........

St. Patrick's Day is coming up soon. Don't know when exactly. Did you know that someone (I forget who) actually advised me to take St. Patrick's Day into consideration when planning a March wedding? What?? Why?

..........

My friend, Hillary Docekal, and I have the exact same wedding anniversaries. March 13, 2004. She got married in FL, as did my brother and Abby. She and my sister share the same name obviously (only spelled differently). And she was a Kappa at UNT and I was one at A&M. She's a kindred spirit. :)
...........

Jason and I will mark 7 years of marriage on Sunday. I can't decide if I feel like that's a long time or not. It doesn't really sound like a long time, but considering that before Jason, the longest I could ever get a guy to stick around was 2 years, seven is an eternity! :)

...........

This weather is awesome and has helped my mood tremendously. Weird how affected I am by the weather. Note to self: Do NOT ever move to Seattle.

............

Sarah has Open House tonight and the whole family is invited. This is the first time Jack and Caroline have ever been to her school. Jack is SO excited about seeing "where she plays". I just hope I remember the camera.

That's all for now. I'm gonna head back outside and soak up more of the day.

Surrogacy

I have a friend who had a real struggle having her first daughter. They had to do IVF a couple of times I think to finally get pregnant. This was, of course, after trying the "natural" (if you will) way, which always led to miscarriage.

Her oldest is 3 and she wanted another baby. Again she tried IVF and again--even with IVF-- she miscarried a couple of times.

So she and her husband turned to surrogacy.

I find my friend fascinating for lots of reasons. She's just a really cool, really honest, really open person. She's my age and has more money than I will ever have in a lifetime. But she's not snobby about it. She has a nanny/maid/cook. She has rooms in her house she doesn't even go into. That's how big her home is in Highland Park. But she's still down to earth about it. Not condescending at all. I can't explain it. I just like her.

I've known her since college and in fact, she's the one who introduced me to Jason. :)

Jason and I had dinner with her and her husband a few months ago. And I asked her sooo many questions about having a surrogate. Again-- what's great about her is that she's very open about the whole thing.

First of all, the only person I knew to have a surrogate is Sarah Jessica Parker. And I don't actually know her, you may be surprised to find out. ;) So to sit and talk to someone going through the process was amazing.

It's basically like an adoption. You go through an agency to find a surrogate.

She told me that they interviewed one in the Dallas area, I believe, who was not a good fit for them. What makes a surrogate not a good fit? Well, this particular one wanted to be part of the baby's life forever. She wanted to be invited to birthday parties. Get periodic updates of how the child is doing. My friend was NOT looking for that. This was her and her husband's embryo. She just needed an oven, so to speak. Not a Mommy #2.

They found one that they liked who was less than 30 years old and this would be her 6th child!! 2 or 3 were her kids that she kept. And then she had been a surrogate 3 times. She did it for the money essentially. She had no interest in seeing the baby again. Which is what my friend wanted. And I can understand that. "Take care of my baby while you're carrying my baby, but don't get too attached. This is MY kid."

And apparently surrogacy costs like $30,000. I don't know how much the agency makes vs the woman. But she was making decent $$ by carrying people's kids for them.

The surrogate lives in San Antonio, but my friend would fly down to see her and go to the doctor's appointments. My friend said it was hard sometimes when they'd be on the phone and my friend would ask the surrogate what she had been eating, and the answer was some type of processed nonsense. My friend would ask her to pleeease eat healthy foods, but you really can't control that part of the process.

She also got her up to Dallas to deliver. I guess that's part of the deal too. You can tell your surrogate where you want her to have the baby, unless it's an emergency delivery.

It worked out perfectly for my friend though. In fact, my friend was even able to go to the Super Bowl the night before her baby was born. She couldn't have done that if she was the one who was pregnant. ;)

Now her new baby is a month old and adorable. I'm sure my friend misses the pregnancy experience. But I'm sure she loved welcoming that baby into her home well-rested and no more hormonal than usual.

For me, delivery days were the best days of my life. I loved them! But I wonder if I'd have been a little less crazy if I didn't have that sudden shift in hormones and if I wasn't bleeding so much. And I wasn't so tired from the last trimester of the pregnancy.

Especially when you already have a child, the last few weeks of pregnancy are exhausting because you can't rest with a toddler. And my friend was able to rest in preparation for her daughter.

Anyway, the whole process was interesting to me. And I'm thankful that she let me ask her a million and one questions. I'm so glad her baby is here happy and healthy.

Families come into being a hundred different ways, but as long as the baby's loved and wanted, that's all that matters.

A Sarah-inspired post

I was reading "Snow White" to Sarah last night at bedtime. It's one of the books she checked out with her new library card. :) She's been into Cinderella for a long time, so I'd forgotten a lot about Snow White.

Like...

The Queen hires one of the huntsmen to bring Snow White's heart back in a box.

How scary the Queen looks when she transforms into the ugly woman.

And that the Queen is trying to push a boulder onto the dwarves when lightning strikes her and she falls to her death (and I quote from the book) "on the jagged rocks below".

Then there's talk of a "casket" that they put Snow White in until the Prince comes and kisses her and wakes her up.

(BTW, there are all kinds of similarities between Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to Snow White.)

And this was Disney's version. I was reading and Sarah was following along with me and would stop me if I tried to change the words or soften the blow, so to speak. I tucked her in and prayed that she wouldn't have bad dreams. Fairy tales are messed up!!!

...................

Sarah mentioned something to me the other day in great detail about somewhere we went "a long time ago". I knew what she was talking about and couldn't believe she remembered those details. She was 2 1/2 when it happened.

I swear I remember nothing before the age of 5. Nothing. So I always kinda knew she'd remember the flip-outs that I have now over something. Or if I let a curse word slip, she's old enough now to catch it. Those kinds of things.

But good grief-- I kinda want to put her under a bright light and interrogate her about the things she remembers seeing and hearing 2 or 3 years ago. I knew I've always had little eyes watching. I had no idea I had little brains remembering. :)

It also tells me that Jack is too old to be walking into the bathroom while I'm showering. I swear he's in La La land so many times that I don't think it registers with him anyway. And as a mom, you know, not having privacy is normal. And even though I knew he was probably too old to see me in my natural state ;), I told myself there's no way he'd ever remember.

I might be wrong.

Gross.

I haven't said much in a while...

on Facebook or the blog because I've been really grouchy lately. Girl stuff.. ya know.

And even though my sense of humor generally lends well to being grouchy, there's a difference between joking grumpy Julie and seriously grumpy Julie who's trying to play it off as a joke.

And the other reason I haven't blogged this week is because I really have nothing going on that's fun or funny. Caroline has been HORRIBLE this week. And it's only Tuesday. I think she's getting sick or something maybe. But she whines about EVERYTHING lately. She wants to be held. I hold her and she kicks to be put down. She wants juice. I get it for her and she throws her cup.

Love these terrible 2s that start before they're 2 and last until after they're 3.

I ignore as much as possible because that's a consequence she can understand. No attention for bad behavior. But sometimes I feel better (for a second) when I look at her with an angry face and speak in a gruff loud voice. That's just the truth. Then I feel really guilty.

There was one fit that she threw this afternoon and she finally gave it up and sat on the floor in our den. Then Sarah came in and did a cartwheel and whacked C in the face with her feet. Accidentally of course but I had to reeeaaalllly hold myself back from losing it with Sarah.

So anyway, I've just been sort of battling it out over here at the house. And I haven't blogged much because I'm worn out.

But hopefully things will get better soon...

It's not great but

the header is better.

Once again

I tried to change my blog header and I can't do it right. The pictures are grainy. The colors are off. But I can't look at it anymore. I only get short bursts of time to work on this and my time is WAY up. I'll fix it when I can.

Happy Mardi Gras!!

An expiration date?

I have a car seat listed on craigslist for $30. It's Graco. 5 point harness. That's about all I can tell you.

I had a woman email me and ask when it expires.

?????

Do carseats expire? And if so, am I a bad mom for not knowing that?

I know that you're supposed to ask if a used car seat has ever been involved in a crash because that changes something or other. I don't really know what it changes, but anyway.

I don't know what she means about an expiration date.

Soooo.... not selling to her. It makes me nervous to sell my stuff to someone who asks too many questions anyway. I prefer dumb and trusting with cash. ;)

Our new addition

We had wanted one to call our own for a long time. Some of our friends have one, not that THAT is a good reason to have one ourselves. We had to consider the budget. Were we ready to take this on? New additions are expensive. But, as a couple, we knew the time was right. Sooo.... after a long week of waiting and a few hours of pacing towards the end of our long wait, FINALLY... last Friday our refrigerator was delivered.

The kids were so excited, watching it being wheeled in. It was such a sweet family moment.

We're doing well. This new addition has just fit into our kitchen like it always belonged there. Really... I can't remember life before it came and can't imagine life without it.

We have to tell the kids to leave it alone, and if they MUST touch it, be gentle. It's new. I'm afraid that they might scratch it or something.

Some have said that I won't like the ice being in the freezer drawer as opposed to the door. So far, it hasn't bothered me. And there's a water dispenser inside the refrigerator, so we do have filtered water, which I like. I understand people's concerns but we had to make the choice that was best for our family. Not everyone will agree on the way we choose refrigerators. But I just have to keep my blinders on and not compare my refrigerator to other people's and know that-- for us-- it's perfect.

Here are some pictures...

Look at the microwave and the oven. See? I told you that this was the first new appliance we've had and that we need to update all of them. Now maybe you can understand why I'm so excited about having an appliance made this century!! ;)

Way Back Wednesday

Before the days of compilation CDs, there were mixed tapes. Remember those?

Flashback to spring of 2001--- I had a mixed tape playing in my 4Runner. Seriously. A mixed tape. I love it. :) But that's why this is "Way Back Wednesday". I can't remember all of the songs that it had on it, but I remember 2 for sure. Anytime I hear these songs, I think of that tape and go back in time.

Such a shame I can't find it anymore, but I don't think I own a tape player anymore. :) Thank goodness I've upgraded to burned CDs.

The first... Lifehouse-- Hanging By a Moment




And my favorite... Vertical Horizon-- Grey Sky Morning.

I also like this video just because it's a live performance. I love when live music sounds good. (There are some artists that need to stick to the studio and the editing.)



Happy Wednesday! :)


BTW, I also found an old CD that my college roommate burned for me with songs we used to listen to in her car. One of them was Paperboy "Ditty". Remember that one???!! My favorite lyric... "If I was a vacuum I'd be sucking up competition..." haha
Ok, enough Way Back Wednesday...

Just can't take it...

So many people around me are dealing with so much stuff. My heart is heavy. I have a friend who lost her husband unexpectedly. A friend who lost her job undeservedly. I'm watching women I like be mean to each other for no reason.

Do you ever have those days where you're so overwhelmed for so many people that you want to cry? Everything's ok in your own personal life. But it seems like tragedy is all around. Please tell me somebody can relate.

It's such a low, dark feeling.

To all of my friends who are dealing with hurt that I know about or that I don't: I'm sorry. I love you. Keep your faith. It'll all work out. God's ways are a mystery to us, but He's still in control.

xoxoxo