Planted Gypsy Feet

Early book review... Bringing up Bebe

2012-02-16T07:13:00.001-06:00

On Saturday at the airport, I was looking at some popular books on iTunes to see if anything struck my fancy. The title "bringing up Bebe" caught my eye, mostly because we call Jason's mom "Bebe" rather than a traditional grandmother name. And this name so suits her. :-).

So I downloaded a sample and put it in my library. It had to do with French parenting vs American parenting. It is an honest account by the author of her birthing and living and rearing her children in Paris. How different the French are (in most things) but particularly how they view their children. I quickly downloaded the entire book and I'm enjoying it thoroughly. There is nothing earth shattering or even cutting edge.... But it is so common sense. It is so do-able and realistic I am smacking my head for not doing having these practices already in place.

She talks about "the pause" which is not jumping at your infants every whim so as to teach them they can self soothe. Not cry it out but just not to jump at the first whimper. This teaches them VERY early that they don't always get what they want and that they can make themselves happy.

She talks about the old test (some call it the emotional intelligence test) with putting a marshmallow on the table and telling the young children not to touch it and when they come back if the marshmallow is still there, they get two. Something like one in four left it alone. That one in four distracted themselves by singing, reading, telling stories... Basically entertaining themselves so that they achieved the end result which was two marshmallows. These children were ultimately better students and more centered adults because they were taught that waiting for things is not a bad thing.

She talks about having a "cadre" ie frame work within your family. The child has a lot of freedom within the frame.... And that by having those boundaries they feel more secure. Again, nothing new or even groundbreaking but common sense. She talks about how the French reason and explain to infants why something is the way it is. That they understand instinctually what they don't understand verbally.

She talks about how the French don't push their children to achieve milestones early... But that they awaken their senses to new things and let them be children. They have their entire lives to be grown up. Only once to be a carefree child. Genius... And common sense.

I am only on chapter six.... But I am enjoying it immensely. If you have a moment and are looking for a good parenting book that is not a parenting book.... Check it out! You won't regret it.

Now, I think I want a croissant.

How can I miss you if you won't go away!

2012-02-15T21:46:00.001-06:00

This is a country song I used to make fun of when I worked on ships. But this trip made me think of it.

There is nothing I love more than my family! You all know that. But getting away for a few days by myself has been good. I miss my family horribly! Which is a good thing. I can appreciate the nuances that make each of them unique.

This trip has been a series of experiences. Of getting out and wandering. Of sleeping in and walking. Walking into stores and going on food tours. I stood in line (froze my butt off) at tkts to get half priced tickets to Mary poppins for my mother in law and myself. It was a wonderful show complete with great voices and amazing theatrics.

We walked back to the hotel and dropped her coworker off then went and had a bowl of soup and an appetizer.

This has also been a great time for me to get to spend quality time with my mother in law. When I drew the lottery ticket for mothers in law, I won. She's delightful to travel with and just how lucky am I that she wanted me to come with her?? :-))

It has been colder than I planned on so running in central park hasn't happened but I did get to go on my foodie tour of Greenwich village today. This started at Murray's cheese shop. We made eight stops and sampled foods at each of them.

We had real new York pizza (joes pizza) that is 100% about the ingredients (duh) but the dough is thin, the sauce is only San marzano tomatoes (no salt, no pepper, no oregano or garlic) and fresh amazing mozzarella. If there is grease it's cheap cheese. It truly was a pizza experience. it will never be the same.

Next was o & co which introduced me to the difference in regular store bought olive oil (ahem crap) and real olive oil. Apparently the FDA doesn't regulate olive oils in this country and what they give us is most likely at least 50% other oil. Hmph. I actually tasted good olive oil. Good like spread it on a piece if crusty bread and eat good. With a second piece of toast with sunflower honey with a light truffle salt dusted on top. Yum!

We wandered down Cornelia street which is between 6th and bleaker streets. Cute quaint homes with amazing restaurants nestled. We went into a restaurant called Home cafe and had a creamy scrumptious macaroni and cheese made with jack, cheddar and asiago cheese. Toasted on top so as to have a crispiness.

As we wandered the streets of Greenwich village you could feel the energy radiating outward like a force field. An energy of creativity, fun, food, life. Lives that still have struggles and challenges but hope and joy. Just like any other city or street yet different. This.... THIS is new York.

After home cafe we went back to murrays cheese shop and sampled three cheeses and an amazing green olive. Did you know green olives and black olives grow on the same tree? It is just a matter of ripeness.

Next up was centro vinoteca for a longer visit with a sampler platter and where we could enjoy a glass of wine. (which I did).... It went wonderfully with my deviled egg with truffle essence, artichoke heart with Romano cheese shavings, bacon wrapped date stuffed with Gorgonzola and zucchini fritter. For dessert we walked to "milk and cookies" for of course.... A cookie. :-))

From there we got to see the apartment building where "friends" was fashioned after, the skinniest town home featured on today show that doesn't even merrit it's own address it's 75 and 1/2, and a door that had foot scrapers next to it for bank in the olden days when they needed to scrape the horse manure off their boots. Cool, huh?

We finished off with pizza from Roma that is quite different than the pizza at the beginning of the trip. It's a thicker slice, like focaccia. The dough rises for 96 hours.... That way the air escapes there rather than in your belly. :-> we had a slice that had shaved zucchini and olive oil (very fresh) and a slice with prosciutto and mozzarella (tasty). And finally a mini canoli from Rocco's. Supposedly the best in the city.

It was such a fun tour that really featured some neat restaurants and sights. Makes me want to do a foodie tour of montrose or of the heights. :-)

I had so much fun that I took my mother in law and her friend Bonnie back last night to see some of the sights. We ended up eating at an amazing little restaurant called Parma. It's on Cornelia street. We walked in and the waiter asked us if we wanted garden or main room.... We asked to see the garden and it was perfect. It had a glass ceiling with twinkling trees above us, flowers all around, doors to the private party rooms were in back looking like a guest house. We were in the corner next to a set of stairs. Heaters surrounded the place in case there was a chill (which there wasn't).

The waiter was attentive and adorable. He knew the best things and wasn't afraid to steal us away from others. We shared a salad and each had our own entrees. I had tagliatelle with a lamb and calamata olive sauce. Bebe had the freshest buffalo mozzarella (did you know it's actually made from buffalo milk??) ravioli with a tomato basil sauce. Instead of having a mixture in the ravioli, it was essentially the mozzarella wrapped in ravioli dough and steamed. Who knew!!! Deeeelicious!

We walked after dinner and then headed back. What a great day and night!!! Apparently Bonnie had such a great time she raved about the tour I'd taken her on.

North to New York City

2012-02-11T12:21:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, I got an email from my mother in law asking if I wanted to go to new York city with her. She has conferences the whole time, so I will mostly be on my own... But it's a free hotel room.

My first response was no.... We just have too much going on for me to go. But I mentioned it to my dad first, (jason was out making sales calls) and was surprised to hear him say... You should go. So I "humphed" and then went back to work... Sure that I still wasn't going.

I then mentioned it to Jason and he surprisingly said... Absolutely!!! You have to go!

Lastly, I ran it past my mother and she was the trifecta. I haven't been away from Jocelyn for any period of time, let alone four days, and I could use a wee bit of me time. However, I let the $$ be the guide.

I went online and found a flight for $171 including taxes.... And that sealed the deal.

So, here I am with my layover in Detroit.... I've walked around, gotten a gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich for later and had sushi with an adult beverage for now. And I did it all with my book. I read my book.... While eating.....

Now don't get me wrong... I miss my kids and hubby. But I know that he's having a great time with them.... Taking them to the train and a birthday party.... He's been looking forward to some time with Jocelyn and I know they'll do great without me. :-)).

As for me? I'm going to sleep and run and take the subway and go on a foods of new York tour of Greenwich village and go to the 911 memorial. And sleep and eat, and see a show or two.... Quite possibly by myself or maybe with some old ship friends or friends from high school or maybe even college.

You know what? I can do anything! :-). And when I get home I will be refreshed and ready to see my hubby and my beautiful children and be called "mommy" again. :-)

Thank you to all that made it possible.... Said in my best "Grammy" voice.

Long Time No See... Balance

2012-02-01T11:51:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged. Things have been a bit nuts though...

We opened our doors to Cement Colors, Houston on January 2nd and the way we set it up was to have me in the office Monday - Thursday and Jason on the road selling. Then on Friday, he's in the office and I'm with Jocelyn (who is in daycare Tues, Wed and Thurs). Well getting up throughout the night with Jocelyn (usually only once) and getting up with Joe who is now in his own bed (but asks me to walk him back several times) is for the birds when you have to get up at 6:00 am to get everyone ready and yourself to be out the door by 7:30 am. :)

I work until about 4:15 and then usually head to get the kids (because we only have one car seat and base for Littlest J) and get home... I try to go for a run, Jason goes for a run, dinner, bath, bed, collapse. No time for blogging. Shoot, no time for anything.

So, I am trying to find a balance.

A new reality, if you will. A new reality that includes working for Cement Colors, working for ChemSystems, being a mom and wife, being a daughter and a friend. A sister to my two half sisters and an aunt to my beautiful niece. And a runner... a marathoner again.

There's a saying that says if you want something done... ask a busy person. I find this to be true, however... a sleep deprived busy person is one who forgets a lot easier...

I am going to New York City with my mother in law though... in two weeks. I can't wait. I plan on refilling my personal "well" and really catching up on sleep and running and reading. I am so excited and a bit anxious about leaving my babies. Not because my hubby can't take care of them... but just because I haven't left my littlest J for any stretch of time.

It will be good for me and good for them. :)

For now... balance. I'll work on it when things settle down a bit. :)

No way to sugar coat it...

2012-01-05T11:32:00.001-06:00

This has been one shitty month. The goods have been good... but man oh man the bads suck big hairy monkey balls!

I lost my kitty last night.

Dezi was unhappy being an inside kitty. He had wanderlust but never wandered all that far. He stayed close to home and used the doggy door with Murphey to go in and out.

He made it through all of the New Years Eve festivities and finally crawled under Jocelyn's crib to go to sleep and hide from the fireworks.

He must have wandered out on Sunday afternoon and from here... I don't know. all I do know is that last night around 10:00 pm, I got a call that he had been brought into an emergency animal hospital. He had been hit by a car and was very very very cold. So I don't know how long he had been laying there on the side of the road.

They did an ex ray and determined that his spine had been dislocated and he was paralyzed in the hindquarters. So I made the humane and impossible decision to have him put down last night around 12:30 am. I went and held his little face in my hands and told him how I loved him. I sang to him and let the doctor take away his pain.

He was my little buddy and he is now sleeping on my sisters head. His big spirit is going to be missed.

Love you Dezi. Take good care of Kiki.

Ok... I'm ready for a new start with happy things. :)

RIP Kiki

2012-01-03T13:05:00.000-06:00

Dear Kikibird,

I don't know how to say goodbye to you. You frustrated the hell out of me. You made me angrier than any person alive. I shook my head at your crazy and sometimes dangerous antics. You made me cry. You made me not talk to you for stretches of time. You even made me roll my eyes on occasion.

But, you also made me happier than I could have imagined. You were my best friend for as long as I can remember. We always said that because we moved so much growing up, we only had each other. You made me laugh... gosh you made me laugh. I envied you your heart. You had the biggest heart in the whole wide world. Your love for animals and the broken hearted and downtrodden probably rivaled Mother Theresa. But, you always thought you could save them... and maybe that was because you couldn't save yourself.

I don't know how to say goodbye to you. I can't imagine not being able to call you when I'm in the car. I can't imagine you not calling me fifty thousand times a day for some of the most inane things. Me telling you... Kristin... I'm BUSY! And you kept talking... I said... I'm BUSY! you keep talking. Finally... I say... didn't you hear me? You always said... "yes, I'm just ignoring you." ha!

Who am I going to cook with? Who am I going to tell... you're making it too complicated? Who am I going to ask my stupid animal questions? Who's going to help me look for Dezi when he goes missing?

I am so blessed because I do have people who love me and who are holding me up while I am missing you. And I love them ALL so very very much. And I AM doing ok... I know you are in a better place. I know you are at peace, finally! FINALLY! And I am ok, knowing that.

I just miss you. I miss the you that giggled with me and told me riddles. I miss the you that talked football with me. I miss the you that danced with me on my wedding day. I miss the you that held my hand when we walked into a new school together. I even miss the you that slapped me because you said I was hysterical. (when we were 13 and 15 ish). I miss the you that used to talk about our dreams with me. I miss the you that had a smile that lit up a room.

I miss the you that rubbed tushies with me.

I miss the you that loved life.

The you that cried because I was getting married... again. ... not because you were sad but because you loved me.

I miss the you that loved your daughter "to the moon and back" and told her often... "You are the best thing I did"!

I miss the you that shared my history... I just don't know how to say goodbye to you.

I love you very much Kiki! "Kiki DO IT!" I will miss you forever.

Long time no Talk...

2011-12-13T21:36:00.001-06:00

Well life has been a bit nutso around here. We are in the final throws of our move back to Houston which means... packing packing packing. Throw in Thanksgiving in Houston... an early Christmas in Lufkin with Polar Express and now a baby with a cold. The movers come on Monday the 19th and unload us into our old/new house on the 21st. So to say that life has been a bit of a whirlwind is an understatement.

I will eventually catch up with the rest of our fabulous Disney trip and Thanksgiving and Polar Express though. :-)

My two little elves. :-)

Jocelyn is 7 month's and sitting up. I don't know how much she weighs but she's definitely chunking up a bit. Her personality continues to be sweet and a small bit feisty. She ADORES her big brother and it seems the feeling is quite mutual. (help me remind them when they are teenagers).

She is eating solids now on a regular basis and really seems to love green beans.

Joe is too funny these days. He is writing his name on a consistent basis and is honing his comedian skills. He loves trains (as always) and always negotiating so that he gets his way.

More to come. :-)

Walt Disney World... Arrival and Animal Kingdom

2011-11-20T12:18:00.000-06:00

We have been planning this trip for about a year. We were traveling with Danielle and Todd and her parents and her Grandma. And my parents were traveling with us as well.

Our plane left on Saturday at 7:00 am which meant we had to be up and at em REALLY early in the morning... but we were there and we were EXCITED! We had decided last minute to purchase a double maclaren umbrella stroller off of craigslist and it was truly the smartest idea we've had.

We got our rental car (a minivan) and headed toward our condo. We met up with the Lenihan/Kunkels and ran to get a bite to eat.

This was the first time the girls got to meet.

They really didn't care. :-}

LOOK Kylie... it's a coaster

Hey Jocelyn... you have a big fluffy thing on your head! SO DO YOU!

We went back to the condo, got unpacked and went to Downtown Disney for dinner. None of us were terribly hungry but it was a nice night out and what we did eat was DELICIOUS. The server was SO good to Joe. He brought him a special drink. He treated him like he was a prince.

The next morning we headed to Animal Kingdom.

The first of many train rides.

We went on a safari.

Saw a lazy Hippo

not sure what this is

Gosh I love Giraffe's

this was a mama and a baby elephant

what's a safari without a monkey's butt?

a brief meet with Lilo and Stitch

a wee bit of rain

a wet ride upon the dragons

Joe wore himself plum out. THIS is why the double maclaren was so great.

a picture by the tree of life.

what an exquisite carving

after the rain it turned out to be beautiful!

Jason hiding in the tree of life

a pretty butterfly

Joe got to meet the characters.

such a loving boy!

Joy and Peacefully Happy

2011-11-20T10:53:00.000-06:00

So, I was having a discussion with some dear friends recently... I don't really know what brought it up. We were at the beginning of our Disney World trip (another blog post) and I was saying how excited I was to see the "Magic" of Disney through Joe's eyes.

You see, I love Walt Disney World. I love everything about it. I love the creativity. I love the hospitality. I love the rides and the Mickey shaped waffles. I love, quite simply, the magic of it all. Adults and kids can go and wear silly ears, in fact... if you don't, you feel silly. I grew up with these amazing memories and I couldn't wait to see it through my sons eyes.

So as we were talking... I realized that if I had only ONE word to describe my son... it would be Joy! Everything he sees, he sees with joy. He has this love of life... this zest... this ability to be joyful. I know this is partially because he's a kid. But, I so very much want to treasure all that joy in him and cultivate it. Because Joy... joy is catching to all that it surrounds. Joy can overcome so many obstacles and make the darkest day bearable.

So, then I got to thinking about Jocelyn. I know she is young and her personality is still developing but I think she is just Happy. And by being happy she brings an air of peace too. (Okay Okay... I know, this is two adjectives but cut me a break, k?) Everyone who looks at her... she smiles at. It is absolutely IMpossible not to feel all warm and glowy when she gives you that smile.

So, I am the most blessed woman in the entire world. I have both Joy and Happiness living in my world.

Revised Jocelyn 6 Month's

2011-11-20T10:39:00.000-06:00

So... it's been so long that I feel a whole new 6 month post is in order. :) It's actually 6 month's two weeks. Wow! She's just growing so fast.

Stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz (16th percentile)

Height: 26 3/4 inches long (79th Percentile)

Head: 17 1/4 inches (82nd percentile)

She sits up and rolls EVERYwhere. In fact she tracks something and then rolls to it. She can quite literally roll everywhere in the room, even changing directions.

She knows her people and can look for them in the room.

She LOVES her jungle jumperoo and has started launching herself up and down at breakneck speed. I will have to catch this on video because it is so adorable.

Her brother continues to adore her and sing to her EVERY day. She is such a happy baby that seems to feel such joy.

Not necessarily cooperating... :-)

One sock on... one sock off.

"Big Brother... mom wants a picture."

Jocelyn: 6 Month's Old

2011-11-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that 6 month's ago, my life changed again. I cannot believe that these precious moments have gone by so fast! She is growing so fast and changing by the second and I am trying to savor each and every second of it.

We leave for Disney tomorrow so I am holding off on her six month appointment until we get back. But she is sitting up now and eating a minimal amount of real food. I tried her on avocado and SO not a fan. I am doing a bit of what they call "baby led weaning" which means you give them "chip" size soft food in a high chair and let them play with it and fiddle with it, learn it's texture and start to eat it.

She doesn't really get it... but plays with it. I gave her some banana though and she LOVED that. :)

We took her to a pumpkin patch last weekend. She sat up pretty well but finally decided the hay up her back side was ENOUGH! ha! I'll update more after her appointment.

Joe the Fireman

2011-10-26T14:33:00.000-05:00

So, Joe goes through a series of obsessions with tv shows as well as motorized vehicles. He has loved forklifts as long as he could walk and it quickly moved on to trains and firetrucks. His current obsession is firetrucks and with luck... a firetruck came to his school for Fire Prevention Week.

He was enamored!

The pictures kind of speak for themselves. :-)

First Business Trip for CSI

2011-10-24T15:34:00.000-05:00

Last week, we had a trade show at Borders Construction in Tucson, Arizona and a second one in Phoenix, Arizona. Mom and I flew into Tucson, with Jocelyn on Monday afternoon. I took the BOB stroller with us so that it was easy to maneuver, however bulky it is. We had no trouble getting checked in and through security. J was a perfect angel... smiling and talking to people. We even had to change planes in Denver and still... no problems.

This was her first plane ride and she nursed on take off and fell asleep.

On the second flight, she nursed again but stayed awake cooing. But happy.

When we arrived to Tucson Airport... we went to the rental car agency and the agent was very nice but had had a bad day. We chit chatted away and he was nice enough to give us an upgrade... a Dodge Charger!

Now a Dodge Charge is FUN to drive. It had a lot of get up and go. It had neat features and lots of room in it's interior. What it did NOT have... room in the spacious trunk for the BOB stroller. And I tried. and I tried. And I TRIED to squeeze it in. I almost hit the reset button several times until I finally took all of the wheels off and put the actual stroller in the car next to J's carseat. :-0 But it sure was fun to drive... just wish he'd upgraded me to a mini van. :-)

We had our tradeshow in Tucson and Baby J did more selling than I think we did. Everyone came by to see her and she just performed. Then she fell asleep in the sling.

After the show, we loaded up and headed north to Phoenix. We had a day to ourselves... we were lazy and let J roll around on the floor on a blanket...

and then we checked where our show was the next day... got the lay of the land. went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. I have some photo's... I'll share when I get them. :-) We had a very nice dinner in Scottsdale... at a place I never thought would have been so nice... I had my doubts when they brought my wine in a plastic wine glass. :-/ But.. it was truly one of the better steaks I have eaten in a long time.

they even had a mechanical bull. ha! And... as a special... they serve apple cinnamon cotton candy. It was surprisingly delicious. :-)

We did our second show which was a bit different than the first... and headed to the airport. This picture was taken at the gate... right before we boarded. What a great representation of CSI. :-)

Chirp Chirp

2011-10-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

I know it's been quiet around here. I haven't had a whole lot to say and I can't download pictures on this computer at work so I have to do them at home and ... well when I am at home, I am running around behind a 4 year old and keeping my rolling 5 month old from hurting herself. :-) Or cooking dinner or cleaning or nursing or pumping or just sitting with an exhausted and stupid look on my face.

Jocelyn is now 23 weeks.

(before I get a rash of shit from people... yes I know my 4 year old still has a pacifier... no, I don't care as I know he won't go to high school with it and he only sleeps with it. And yes, I AM self conscious of it and NO it's not a battle I'm willing to wage right now)

10~13~2011

Age: 23 weeks

Weight: Not sure

height: Not sure... tall. :)

Clothing Size: 3-6 month but a few 6 month

Eating: Just breastmilk.

sleeping... She is such a good sleeper. I put her in her bed awake and she throws her little legs in the air and falls to the side. I do admit I went and checked on her the other night though and she was sleeping on her tummy! :( No real way to keep her from rolling these days.

She is rolling over and over and over and over.

I put her down at one spot, make sure it's clean and clear of choking hazards and let her roll. Literally. :) She laughs and giggles and things it's great fun.

Joe absolutely loves to make his sister giggle. When he does... and finds something that works... he continues to do it over and over and over. :-)

Joe is just growing up so fast. Some funny "joe-isms"

Joe: I NEED some ice cream!

me: why do you NEED ice cream?

Joe: it's stinkin HOT outside!

alrighty then.

Me: Joe... why are you eating raw noodles? They sound horrible ... shoot, they ARE horrible. Give me a minute and I'll cook dinner.

Joe: You... just watch the baseball game, ok?

He has a major love of fireman right now. He has a fireman costume and he has emergencies he fights all the time. Well last week was fire prevention week so Primrose brought in a firetruck. He was so excited he talked about it all week long. On Thursday morning, he awoke at 5:30 ready to GO!

I went up to photograph it since it was such a momentous occasion. I have pictures on my camera... and will upload them later. But this one will have to do in the meantime.

He was in awe. He looked at them with adoration and just loved it. What an exciting time! :)

These two kids are just the light of my life. Can you tell? :-)

this is my Aunt Jan and Joe from when they were in Albuquerque. :)

Galveston Work Retreat

2011-09-27T13:36:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to the beach for a work weekend. No, really... it WAS a work weekend. A lot of work was discussed. We rented a condo at Pointe West right on the beach and we talked about the future of Chemsystems and Cement Colors. We talked about how to help CSI (Chemsystems) grow and how to make CCI (Cement Colors) work as a houston based operation... not a Fort Worth based operation.

Then... we went to the pool....

the future of CSI (once mom and dad retire).

and then the beach... Jocelyn's first feel of sand. She's been to the beach but not to feel the sand.

We walked on the beach and Chris saved a HUGE stingray or skate... who was hooked on a fishing line. Chris did cut him free and off he went into the wild blue yonder.

We cooked dinner and drank some beverages. We talked more work. We got fired up. We moved on. We all agreed though... that our future looks bright. And that us moving back to houston is a fine idea and we are so excited. Having CCI next door to CSI will enable us to do lots of new things and have the support we need and the support they need.

So... here's to the Board of Directors... (minus the picture taker and plus Chris's wife, a consultant).

Jocelyn 20 Weeks

2011-09-27T13:15:00.000-05:00

9~27~11
Age: 20 weeks
Weight: 12 lbs 10 oz.. 16th percentile
height: 25 3/4 inches...83rd Percentile
Clothing Size: 3-6 month
Eating: Just breastmilk but thinking about adding some cereal to it at night.
sleeping... a good sleeper. She goes down about 9 pm and sleeps until 3:00 am usually.

She is rolling over back to front and front to back. She grasps anything she can get her hands on and adores her brother. :) She smiles ALL the time and is really just an easy going baby.

Joe-Isms on Colorado Road Trip

2011-09-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

So, Joe and Jason just returned from Colorado after ten days. I missed my boys like CRAZY and it is sooo good to have them home safe and sound. But Jason shared a few "joe-isms" that happened over the course of the trip.

First of all, Joe has always been inquisitive. He has regularly asked why! Why! WHY! WHY! to the point of driving us crazy. :-) Well on the trip.. their first stop was in Albuquerque to see my aunt and uncle. On the way he asked jason... "Daddy... who are we going to see again? "

Jason: "mommy's aunt and uncle. This is grandpa's sister"

Joe: "tell me bout them."

too cute. Well apparently Jason was answering other why's with "I don't know, Joe".

Joe... " Daddy! Stop saying I don't know and tell me about it!"

so our days of distraction are gone. ha!

Having a boy means that bathroom stops are really easy. You just pull over and well the world is the bathroom. I know some think this is really tacky... but it sure is quicker than finding a bathroom and then trying to escape without some kind of snack or drink or ice cream thus taking a lot more time than just pulling over and watering the tumbleweeds.

Well they were pulled over onto some grass and a truck blew past them too close for Jason's comfort and he muttered "effing jerk!" (expletive changed for politically correct reasons). Well Joe turns around and says clear as day... "EFFING JERK!"

Jason just about fell over and then said... Oh no, Joe. We don't say those words! Well he did... and they passed the truck again to the tune of "EFFING JERK!"

The next morning, Joe had his bagel on a plate and it fell to the ground. Sure as day... Joe looked down at the bagel on the floor and said.... "well SHIT!"

Oh no, Joe.. we don't say those things! :-)

Jason got a quick language lesson. snicker snicker.

Dear Joseph, Somewhere along the way....

2011-09-12T15:03:00.000-05:00

You went from being "Joey" to Joe and often times Joe Joe. I just re read the letters I wrote to you on the night before your birth and from your one year birthday. You were so little. You were so squishy. You were so "joey".

I just spoke to you on the telephone. You are on a train ride with your Daddy in Colorado. (Coldorado, in your words). You are riding the "Polar Distress train" and having the time of your life with Hot chocolate, a new train whistle and a conductors hat. You've been on a "great american road trip" with your daddy and you've been so good. You've colored and watched Fireman Sam. You've saved people and had adventures. You ate rocky mountain oysters (ewhhhhhh) and steak fingers in Amarillo. You swam and drew on the windows (with window paint). You charmed my aunt Jan by climbing in her lap. You are so grown up.

You're so tall. I remember you being so tiny and me being able to swing you up... and now... now you are almost over half as tall as me. I can still lift you up but it's more of a hefting. But you are still MY baby. You still wrap your arms around my neck and tangle your hands in my hair. (although now you ask me if you can play with my hair). You fall asleep on your own but if you have your way... it's attached to my pony tail. You now have full on conversations with us. You strike an attitude when you don't get your way. You mouth off. You make jokes. You test boundaries. You love limitlessly. You experience joy with every inch of your body and display it through your eyes.

You have become a little boy before my very eyes. You started preschool and know how to spell your name. You know how to count. You are independent enough to play outside by yourself. You have your own opinions and you know how to share them. I can see personality traits that are mine and that are your daddy's. I can see both sets of grandparents in you. But above all... you are my Joe Joe.

I just know that I am going to blink again and you'll be starting high school. Take it easy on me kid, okay?

I love you to the moon and back!

Mommy!

Jocelyn 17 weeks

2011-09-07T19:34:00.000-05:00

Miss J is 4 months old... how did that happen? I think I've said that before. It just all goes so stinkin fast. I weighed her about a week ago and she was about 12 lbs 2 oz. I don't know how long she is. She is rolling from front to back and almost all the way from back to front.

She is talking a lot and making all kinds of fun noises. She grasps my fingers and her toys that hang from her play mat. She is very alert and so smily. Her giggles are priceless... and even better when they are a result of her brother. :-)

Joe sings to her every morning and I hope they continue this wonderful friendship. He is getting to go on his first "great american road trip" tomorrow with his daddy... they are heading to Colorado to meet up with Big Daddy and Bebe. Baby J and I were going to go too but with work and having to fly out to meet them... it would just be too hard and too expensive. Sooooo... baby J and I are holding down the fort. AND mom is coming up on Friday to keep us company. :-)

Clear Lake Triathlon 2011

2011-08-31T15:44:00.002-05:00

For the second year in a row, Jason and Scott did the Clear Lake Triathlon. If you wanna see last year... click here.

This was jason's third sprint Tri and Scott's second Olympic Tri. For those that don't know... this Sprint Tri was a 500 m swim, 14 Mile bike and a 2 mile run. This Olympic was a 1500 meter swim, a 29 mile bike ride and a 10k run.

This year it was at South Shore Harbor Resort instead of Clear Lake Park. The swimmers set out from the fuel pier which made it hard to know when they hit the water. But, this may or may not be Jason. He was in a lime green hat.

sorry for the fuzziness, my camera was still cold. :-/

Joe, Jocelyn, Mom and I were there to cheer Jason on. Cindy was there to cheer on Scott with his cheerleaders, Reagan and Abby. Kat was there with Marion and Eliza to cheer on Josh who was also doing the Sprint. He is a seasoned marathoner and triathlete though. We also had two nesties (my online community) competing... Erica and Cassie. They did great. :-)

We tried to move around as best we could to catch them as they transitioned from swim to bike and bike to run. However, it wasn't that spectator friendly...

Cindy and I doing a self portrait. :-)

the cheerleaders. :-) Their daddy's deserve a thumbs up.

Abby was more interested in eating than in cheering. :-)

Jason setting off on his run.

the kids killing time.a little race action of their own.

Jason and Joe have a tradition of running to the finish line together. :)

Then we waited for Scott to come through the transition area and head out on his run. We found out that he had hit some gravel going about 20 mph and had fallen. He was scraped up pretty good but here he was.. off for his run.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, one of the medics convinced him to stop to get washed off. While he stopped his legs cramped up on him and he ended up with a DNF (did not finish). His first, and I guarantee last ever. He beat himself up pretty bad all day long, bless his heart... but he has the half ironman in October in Austin. He has this DNF business all out of his system now and he can go kick ASS in Austin. :-)

Love you guys... you all did great!

Jocelyn 16 Weeks

2011-08-30T12:46:00.000-05:00

Getting Joe to cooperate is kind of like herding cats....

But it does show the differences. :-) We got this cute onesie from our friend Susan. it comes with an adorable hat... but the hat will have to make an appearance at a different date. :-)

Jocelyn: 15 weeks

2011-08-22T15:10:00.001-05:00

Jocelyn turned 15 weeks last Tuesday. She weighs around 11 lbs (I think) and she is no idea how long.

She is so alert and giggles now. Especially when you get into her ribs. She adores her big brother and smiles the instant she sees him.

And he is still so good with her.

She is sleeping well although has had a regression a bit... but I think it's a growth spurt coupled with some gas. I hope it goes back to normal soon.

She is such an easy going baby who is really content to just "be"... quick with a smile and easy to be around.

and not to mention... so stinkin cute!

Joe-ism

2011-08-22T08:36:00.000-05:00

So about a week ago, my sister in law and mother in law came into town to spend the night and then to take Joe back to lufkin for some time with Bebe and big daddy.

They took him to the museum and on the way they passed our church....

" that's our church.... But we never stop. We just keep driving right on by!".

So busted! :-). So we are now working on stopping a little more often. :-)

Camp Bebe and Toledo Bend

2011-08-09T14:26:00.001-05:00

Once or twice a year, my mother in law does a Camp Bebe with all of her grandsons. Next year, Miss Jocelyn will get to go... but this year she was just too little. So... on Friday afternoon we set off for Lufkin to drop Joe Joe off with his grandparents. We got there and hung out for a short while...

watched as Joe tried on a few careers....

introduced baby J to PaPaw and Granand then headed on down to Toledo Bend for the weekend with my parents. We were really looking forward to it... relaxing and chatting, reading and hanging out. We ate out at a local restaurant on Friday night and settled in.

Saturday morning we awoke and Jason and I went for a run. MAN was it hot!!! We were struck by how much the area has changed since even I've been going down. It didn't help that the drought has obviously affected the lake level. It feels like the area that time has forgotten. We ran across the street to where there used to be a boat ramp and a campground... the trees were overgrown, the playground deserted. It was actually kind of sad. We ran back though to the brand new truck stop/convenience store and it's all shiny and new. Talk about oxymorons...

We got home and I served Mom (for her birthday) her first mimosa. :

This shows the house a bit more. It was built by Papaw one nail at a time. It has been improved upon and added onto by the family throughout the years. It still has the old original 1950's stove... how many meals have been cooked upon it?

Baby J got a sponge bath.

It was really such a nice relaxing weekend and Camp Bebe was a raving success. The boys had such a great time together. We met up in Woodville for brunch before heading back to Fort Worth. There is an old Boarding house now restaurant there that serves family style food. You have the choice of fried chicken or fried chicken. :) They serve you but you have to clear your own plates.

then we all headed on home to start out week. That night Joe cuddled up to baby J... he's so good with his baby sister.

Jocelyn: 13 Weeks

2011-08-02T20:21:00.000-05:00

Jocelyn is 13 weeks old. She will officially be 3 month's tomorrow. She is learning her voice and loves to squeal in different pitches to see what it will do.

She smiles all the time and with the help of tummy time has really gotten some strong neck strength.

She is sleeping 6-7 hours at a time at night. And she would probably go longer but I hear her stirring around 3:00 am and go ahead and feed her (while she's asleep) so that I can go back to sleep. She then easily goes back down and sleeps until 7-8:00 am.

She travels well... this past weekend we went to Toledo Bend (through Lufkin to drop off her brother with Bebe for a "camp Bebe" with his cousins. He had a GREAT time and Baby J had a great time being held by Grandma and Grandpa. :-)

She also got the chance to meet her Great PaPaw and her Great Gran.

What a blessing to get to meet both of them!

It appears that pizza dough is the holy grail....

2011-07-27T20:53:00.000-05:00

Who knew that a good pizza dough was like searching for the elusive holy grail.... I've tried a pampered chef crust. I've tried a sourdough crust from my own starter that I've since let die. I've tried various and assorted recipes from all over the Internet. They have all fallen short.

I talked to my friend Delia about pizza and bread and she recommended the artisan dough in five minutes.

I decided tonight was a good night to try it.

Jason's first response... It's good. It's crunchy!

I wanted a chicken pizza and red sauce didn't go with my vision. I made the dough, let it rise, cut off my dough ball, rolled it out and precooked it (to work on the crunch). I grilled my chicken and decided an Alfredo sauce would be yummy. But didn't have any... So I made some.

It all came together... My grilled chicken Alfredo roasted tomato pizza with caramelized onions on my very own crust. :-)

I may have found my holy grail.

Jocelyn: 12 weeks

2011-07-26T15:20:00.000-05:00

Weight: not sure

Length: not sure

clothes: 3 month's

milestones: she almost rolled over two nights ago. Jason told her to STOP growing up. :-)

Eating: every three hours during the day. Every 4-6 at night.

Favorites: the Boba carrier (a lot like an ergo)

Joe-ism: last night we put Joe to bed and about thirty minutes later, he comes wandering out with his hands over his eyes. He stays like that... and I finally get worried: Joe... what's wrong?

long pause

PEEK A BOO!

Little stinker. :)

Date night with my Little Man

2011-07-26T15:14:00.000-05:00

I can't remember when it started... but Joe and I started going to Red Lobster and we called it "date night". I would tell him he was taking me on a date and he would have to hold my hand and give me lots of kisses.

We would walk in and he would tell the hostess a "table for two, please". We always seem to get the same booth and he sits next to me and gives me lots of kisses. The hostess and the waitresses always admire him and tell me what a well behaved little man he is. They tell me that they are jealous of my "date".

Last night we took Joe to get his hair cut and after he asked me if he could take me on a date to Red Lobster. He said Daddy and Jocelyn could come too. Even though they were there, he sat next to me and gave me lots of kisses. He asked for a table for three and a baby. He held my hand.

These moments... these precious moments... are just so incredibly special to me.

My friend, Meg, told me about a song today... about Never grow up by Taylor Swift... and oh how I wish I could keep my two little people... little. But, I guess that's not what life is about.

For now... I hope I get to go on a gazillion more dates with my little man. Ones where he gives me lots of kisses and holds my hand.

Pointe West, Galveston with great friends

2011-07-21T22:02:00.000-05:00

For the last two years (three if you count this one), the S family, the M family and us have gone somewhere together. The first year was to Cedar Creek Lake ... looking back at that blog... OH MY GOODNESS the kids were so young! wowowowowow!

Then last year we went to Lake of the Ozarks in a 15 passenger van. It's a multi blog adventure. We had such fun.

This year, me having just had baby J... we decided to just do a weekend and make it close. So we went to Galveston. We found a house at the last minute that was on the beach and it was perfect. A private beach with no cars, no seaweed and very few people.

We arrived Friday evening and the kids immediately started playing together.

The next morning it was a bit overcast (which was perfect) so we went on down to the beach. Scott got a little Baby J fix... you look awful good with a little one Scott. :-)

the kids all built sandcastles and tore them down.

Abby taking a rest...

the outside of our house

more sandcastles

Baby J getting some beach time

Sarah wasn't a huge fan of the salt water in her mouth

my "sandpeople"... from left to right: Abby, Jacob, Sarah, Reagan and Joe

50 cents.. ha ha ha

Joe and Reagan were dancing in the surf...

We headed back to the house where we had lunch and then headed to the pool.

There was baseball with the boys while Jason and John cooked some burgers.

"Show me your muscles!"

On sunday morning we tried to get ONE good picture of the kids... well you can see how well that worked.

but we did get one of us. :-)

What a great weekend with great friends. Looking forward to next year!

Jocelyn: 10 Weeks

2011-07-12T20:54:00.000-05:00

Jocelyn was 10 weeks old a whole week ago... and I took the picture but couldn't seem to get two hands to get this typed.

I swear she has grown a foot in a week... she's getting so long. To me, she doesn't feel small anymore. To the outside world, apparently, she is. :-)

I also took the Joe/Jocelyn picture... it's a bit like herding cats... but I did finally get them to lay still long enough to take a couple of shots.

Jocelyn doesn't look amused but I got it... we'll see if I can continue. :-)

Do you think they look alike? In this picture I do... but most of the time, they don't at all. But what is true is their relationship is so sweet. All she has to do is look at him and she smiles. He LOVES to kiss her head and pet her. I really hope they continue to be sweet to each other but I have a sneaky suspicion... it won't.

And this pic... I love. The smile. The smile captures it all.

Jocelyn is getting to be so much more alert and she smiles all the time. She hasn't belly laughed but it's coming, I know it is. She is rocking side to side on her little play mat, not rolling over completely (thank goodness)... but I fear it's not far.

She's eating well and often. She sleeps well at night and is all in all, an easy baby. :-)

Joe continues to just be a comedian. Things come out of his mouth and I know we'll forget some day. He slid a "big red" over to Jason with the lid off and Jason told him... "That is NOT ok we do NOT do that!" Joe looked at the two of us and said... "TA DA!" with his hands up. We couldn't resist... be burst out laughing.

He's getting so tall and is such a great swimmer. I have swim video's that I'll work on editing when I have a spare second. Ha!

Random thoughts on a Saturday Night

2011-07-09T22:51:00.000-05:00

People always say that they love their children the same. Or that you have enough love to go around with your kids. One child cannot be replaced with another. Etc etc etc.

When I was pregnant with Jocelyn, I truly wondered, as all mothers do... will I be able to love Jocelyn like I love Joe? Will Joe feel the loss of love from me because I love her now too? The answer to the first question is yes and no. :-)

I remember a friend of mine telling me that she loved her first born even more because she saw them play together. And this kind of fits here. Joe obviously cannot play with Jocelyn because she's too little. But to see the way his eyes light up when he sees her and the smiles that she gives him and only him are truly priceless.

I have worked really hard at having some alone time with Joe so that he doesn't feel the "loss". And before I even had Jocelyn, we had Jason take over much of his nighttime duties so that when baby was born... there really was no change there. I can honestly say that I love them different but equally as much.

I love being a mommy to these two kids. These two kids shape my heart and epitomize that saying ... I will forever know what it's like to live with my heart outside my body. Joe's giggle lightens the worst of days. Jocelyn's smile.. well the new 100 watt bulbs that Jason thought we HAD to have.. they have nothing on her. Her eyes twinkle.

I thought I had lived before I had kids. I had adventures and stories and pictures that I still call upon to remind me that being afraid and doing it anyway is sometimes good.

But now... now, my days are filled with little boy kisses, dirty hands, crayola markers marking up his arms, sharpies on my wood (oh my), four year old jokes, "why's", twinkle twinkle little star and the wonder of everything being new.

Each minute is taken up with thoughts of breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering (yes we ahem I am cloth diapering and it's not your mama's diaper system), fitting in going to work to get some stuff done, oh yeah... maybe try to train for that half marathon I really want to do (you want me to RUN with the baby in 104 degree heat???), and being a mommy.

I don't always make the best decisions but I make the best decisions I know how to make calling on the instincts I was born with. I want both of my kids to be free spirits. To know that their feelings are real and it's okay to be sensitive. I want them to know that they can be anything they want to be and it's not because I am good at speaking in front of people or that his daddy is amazing at organizing his thoughts and getting things done. They are who they are and God made them that way.

I am not the mom I thought I was going to be... but man oh man, do I love being the mom that I was supposed to be. :-)

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-05T20:57:00.030-05:00

The week before the 4th, Mom came up to help me because Jason had a conference to go to in Austin. Each evening we would go to the pool and enjoy a swim to cool off from this dreadful heat.

Joe enjoyed the forklift.

On Friday night, my dad came up and joined us. We all went to the lake on Saturday.

we cooled baby J off by putting her muslin blanket in the ice water. It was then too cold... so mom warmed it up on her head. :)

Daddy was REALLY relaxed.

This was our little ~~tent~~ ahem... canopy... giving us the much needed shade.

That evening, the Peck family came over to join us. We all wanted to go swimming but as soon as we got there it started thundering. :(

Shelby and Joe had a good time reading together though.

All of the kids had such a great time. They played and played and played and Joe was asking of Shelby and Coleman were coming over again the next day. :-)

Just a random sweet hand shot. :-)

On the fourth of July... we went to the pool, hung out, took naps and then that evening, we went out to dinner with the Bird Family and to see fireworks.

Dinner was excellent and the fireworks were great fun except for the trees. :-)

It was a great way to celebrate the birth of our great nation!

8 weeks (edited)

2011-06-30T15:52:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe that Jocelyn is 8 weeks old already. We have our 2 month appt tomorrow so I can update with her height and weight. But she is wearing 3 month clothes already in length. She's a long tall sally (as my mom says). :-)
Went to the Pedi today and she is
23 1/4 inches long (84th%)
10 lbs 7 oz (42nd %)
Head: 15 5/8 (79th %)
and she's healthy! :)

She is talking and cooing and kicking her leg a lot and oh the smiles. She recognizes us and smiles at her brother. She's eating very well and sleeps consistently at night. All in all, she's such an easy baby.

I don't think I noticed just how tall my Joe Joe has gotten until I took this picture.

Where did my baby go?

Joe and his Boat and some general cuteness

2011-06-28T15:18:00.000-05:00

The Nursery... finally

2011-06-28T15:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the world Kylie Marie Martha Kunkel

2011-06-23T22:32:00.001-05:00

Some of you may remember this post about my little sister by choice. My friend who has cancer, and has fought fearlessly and tirelessly for her life. She has fought for years. She has had rejection and sickness, blessings and hope, sadness, pain, worry, fear and love. Most of all, she has the love of her family, the love of her husband and the love of her friends.

She has always recognized that life is short. No one has a guaranty of a long life. And just because she has cancer is no reason to stop living. She has made the decision to live each day, each moment... And not to EVER accept that cancer is a death sentence. Certainly not hers.

She has suffered through the usual courses in the states. She has endured unimaginable pain in Germany... Alone. She has researched and invested in new and experimental treatments. She has placed her faith in God, above all else but also in her amazing team of doctors. none of her doctors has ever given up on her... Probably because she doesn't complain and she never gives in to the fear that HAS to hit her every now and then. She is human after all.

She got married in October of 2009 and she and her husband have always hoped for a family. Danielle has gotten pregnant a few times, which defies the odds for the sole fact that with the treatments she has undergone... It shouldn't be possible. But, sadly... She lost those babies. They were set to adopt a little boy and it fell through the last minute. She has suffered unbelievable heartache.

Nine months ago... A miracle happened. Danielle got pregnant again. This time... It stuck. She told no one, not even her husband for fear she would lose the baby again. She was in Germany for a homeopathic treatment that was grueling on it's best day. They called the baby a complication. Danielle called it a miracle. She found out early on that the baby was a girl. She got weekly ultrasounds and around thanksgiving, she told her husband and parents.

Kylie Marie was thriving under the most difficult pain. Her mother protecting her above ALL else. She played music to her belly when she was on the phone. She wrote her letters every day. She prayed for her tirelessly, knowing that by placing her faith in God, they were both in good hands. She made decisions that were best for her daughter but had to be difficult for herself. But it was no longer about her. It was no longer about what was best for her alone.

Danielle got to come home the beginning of June (two full months late than originally planned)... Her husband got home (from living in Texas with us for his job) two days later and she jumped into preparations for Kylie to make her appearance. She continued to suffer through the pain, holding on to her belief that staying pregnant was the best thing for Kylie even though she would have been fine outside the womb. However, each day, each second, that she stayed inside was a day or second for her to grow.

On Tuesday, they called her down to labor and delivery for preeclampsia (high blood pressure) and purple legs. They decided to induce. But it would be no normal delivery... No true surprise there, knowing he beautiful mama. She would have no drugs, and the induction would include pitocin and magnesium making it even more painful.

I do not know the details yet from here on out. I do know that Kylie was never in distress. But Danielle was. From what I understand... She was in very real distress.

However, at 8:56 last night, central standard time, I got a text that Kylie Marie Martha Kunkel had arrived naturally at 7:52 EST and was not only beautiful but healthy. At 6 lbs, 5 oz and 19 inches long... God proved without a shadow of a doubt that miracles really do happen.

When I think of the odds that both mama and baby had to overcome, I am repeatedly in awe. I think of the doctors that didn't believe it was possible. I keep hearing what my friend siobhan said last night... the doctors only practice medicine. This was out of their control.

So... To my knowledge... Baby and mama are doing well. There have been lots of visitors and more doctors but mostly rejoicing and enjoying. I absolutely cannot wait to meet my new beautiful niece. Welcome to the world Kylie Marie. You are loved!!!!

6 Weeks Old

2011-06-16T10:46:00.000-05:00

I had my six week postpartum check yesterday and all looks good. I am cleared for exercise, swimming and ahem... other activites. :-) I am two pounds below pre pregnancy weight (yay) although not trying. I did go for a long walk yesterday though and discovered I need a stronger bra. My midwife said that nursing and pregnancy arent what break down the breast tissue but the bouncing and age does.

She went over the birth with me and found out that Baby J actually had the cord wrapped around her neck twice... so that coupled with her size means that God had his hand in her birth even more than we already knew.

Marlys said that I got as close to a vaginal birth as I could have. An emergency c-section could have been SCARY because my uterus had started to thin out in some places and uterine abruption would have been more likely if I had had to push... plus with my adhesions, etc... well, I am very very blessed she's here and healthy. :-) And I am truly at peace with my delivery.

I took Baby J up to the lactation office to weigh her. And she's a whopping 10 lbs 3 oz. YAY baby j. She's had some pretty bad baby acne but with cetaphil and washing it's going away. She slept from 11:00 pm to 6:30 am today... wow! CRAZY but I will take it.

Joe continues to love being a big brother... and he's just growing too fast for me. Such a handsome little dude... he got his hair cut so I will take a good picture tonight and post it.

Eileen and Joe sitting in a tree... K.I.S.S.I.N.G

2011-06-16T10:41:00.000-05:00

My dear friend Kelly came for a visit with her beautiful daughter Eileen last week. They were taking swim classes from our instructor and it gave us a chance to visit. :-)

Eileen just loved baby j.

and Joe and Eileen hit it off... and played and played.

Doesn't she just have the most beautiful smile? It brought a lot of smiles to our faces.

they got a bath together... where Joe liked to pour water over Eileens face... she was a trooper!

Don't they look like a momma, daddy and baby here? :-)

We went to the childrens museum and had a great time... right here though Eileen was looking out through the window and not paying attention. Right after this picture was taken, she walked right into one of those glass partitions. oops.

Joe was focused on what else... trains.

Doesn't she look like a glamour girl?

Eileen is a tough one to get a smile on camera. Which is surprising because she smiles all the time.

We went swimming... well some of us did.

Joe practicing his skills.

Kelly and Baby J formed a real bond.

Joe got to show off his abilities on the slide. I cannot believe he goes down this alone! Where did my baby go?

Baby J taking it all in. :-)

What a great week! Thank you Kelly for coming to stay with us! And cooking for us. And loving us.

5 Weeks Old

2011-06-08T15:50:00.000-05:00

Joe is FOUR!

2011-06-08T15:22:00.000-05:00

on May 14th, Joe had his birthday party. It was a short 11 days after I had given birth and I was kicking myself for not having all of the details nailed down but mom and Jason and Crissy and Cindy assured me that it was enough.

We had a train painting station... and our cupcakes.

there were swings

and fields to run

our pavilian

and of course a TRAIN ride

there were friends... hannah and chase

Samuel 1

Samuel 2

Cooper and Haley (with Kristi)

Faith and Cooper (and baby)

Autumn and Cole

Keylon joined in the fun

Reagan, Sarah, Jacob and Crissy... of course Abby was there too with her daddy and John.

we blew out candles (twice because his friends blew it out the first time)

some laughter and giggles

balloon animals

hand holding

then we came back to the house for some fun, some burgers and some friends.

I took Joe for his 4 year stats and God help me FIVE shots. That was BRUTAL!

He was 40 inches tall (54%)
33.5 lbs (28%)
and 20/30 vision and they did a hearing test but I can't decipher the results. :-)

He is perfect! :)

Chameleon

2011-06-08T12:34:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Jessica and I am a people pleaser.

I think I have always been a people pleaser and probably always will be. I think it stems from a fairly low self esteem when I was younger and then it just became second nature. I don't have such a low self esteem now, however, I still hate to have people mad or upset with me for any reason. Even people I don't care for.

In being this people pleaser... I think that I tend to chameleon myself to whichever person I am with at the time. If you are someone who only uses "green" products and organic produce... I tailor my "passions" to that person. Of course I only shop at central market and only buy all natural products. Look how environmentally conscious I am.

If I am hanging out with someone who only buys prada bags and loves $100 shoes... well, look at my fine Italian leather boots (no worries that I bought them ten years ago and they were on sale). Of course I can spend $100 on dinner and it's only a Tuesday.

If you are a mother that disciplines her child a certain way and your child minds all the time... well let me show you how good of a mother I am. Of course I don't spank my child and I NEVER put him in time out and let him out immediately because he tells me "I love you mommy! I sorry mommy!" Of course I don't let him have a paci and he's four. I would NEVER do that.

I am making some extreme examples and some or none of them are true. But I think in trying to keep or get people to like me... I sometimes say what I think they want me to say, be who I think they want me to be... and not necessarily what I am really thinking or who I really am.

This isn't a conscious thing that I do... I am not deliberately setting out to deceive people... I just tailor my comments and actions to the people that I am with... but all of a sudden (and with some very smart people's insight)... I realized that I'm not sure that I know how *I* feel about anything. How sad is that?

How DO I feel about being environmentally conscious? DO I really give a rats ass about prada handbags? Do I really even like to go camping or is my idea of roughing it a hotel with no coffee maker? What kind of parent DO I want to be and am I being that person? What kind of friend do I want to be? The one that tells you what you want to hear or the one that tells you my honest and true opinion.

I think I am a fraud.

But I don't want to be a fraud any more... I am throwing my gauntlet down and saying... my new years resolution (I know, I know... it's June) is going to be to work on being more authentic. I still want to be liked and I really DO care what YOU think of me... but hopefully you will like the authentic me even better and I will still work to make each and every one of you feel better and good about yourself. :-)

I want you to feel better for knowing me not that knowing me means I change colors depending on if I am with you or your neighbor. You may need to help me with this when I fall back on old behaviors. :-)

Hi, my name is Jessica and I am no longer going to be a chameleon.

Jocelyn check in...

2011-06-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

5~3~11 (hospital measurements)
Age: Birth
Weight: 8 lbs 12 oz
Length: 21 1/4 inches
Clothing size: Newborn but she lost a lot of weight.
Eating: Just breastmilk

5~9~11 (first pedi visit)
Age: 6 days
Weight: 7 lbs 15.5 oz
Length: didn't check
Clothing size: Newborn although her feet were kinda pushing the end
Eating: Just breastmilk
Sleeping: She's a really good sleeper... sleeping minimum of 3 hours at a time.

5~16~11 (second pedi visit but actual first 2 week appt)
Age: 13 days (I was a day early for my appt... damn you mommy brain)
Weight: 7 lbs 15.5 oz... not a single oz gained which worried the pedi and means another trip for a weight check. (39.12th percentile)
Length: 21 1/2 inches (90th percentile)
Head size: 14.5 (76th percentile)
Clothing size: Newborn
Eating: Breastmilk but with an ounce of formula mixed in with bottle of pumped milk after nursing.
Sleeping: well... she had been sleeping well but the doctor was worried that it was actually because she was lethargic from not enough calories. :(

5~19~11 (weight check)
Age: 16 days
Weight: 8 lbs 5 oz.. YIPEE!
Clothing Size: Newborn but a few 0-3's thrown in
Eating: Back to just breastmilk (yay)
sleeping... still a good sleeper. :)

Welcome to the World Jocelyn Anne, May 3, 2011

2011-05-25T13:46:00.000-05:00

So... many of you already know that I delivered Joseph by C-section four years ago. It was the birth that I needed to have but not the one I expected to have. I felt like I didn't have any choices and I always wondered if I gave in too early. Irrational or rational... I wanted to try for a vaginal birth after c-section (vbac) and I found a doctor in Fort worth that would work with me.

I had a text book pregnancy. Ran my half marathon at 16 weeks and continued to exercise throughout. I ate right (for the most part) and loved being pregnant. I even savored each second because I knew that I wouldn't be pregnant forever and chances are good that I won't be pregnant again.

I had some symptoms but nothing major. I dry heaved every single morning when I had an empty stomach. I had some heartburn. The usual hormone levels. :) But I really loved being pregnant. My last trimester everyone kept telling me how big I was... when I really just didn't feel that big. I hadn't put on much weight and I really felt like I wasn't that big... until I turned sideways and then... well then I felt big. :-)

My last two weeks though... I was really done. I was ready to meet my daughter. I was tired of being pregnant and really... I kind of hurt all over. My 39 week appt... Dr. Carrington told me that he would strip my membranes (which sounds a whole lot worse than it is) and if it didn't send me into labor then we had my c-section scheduled for Wednesday, May 4th. I went in a day early to have him look at my breathing as a cold had hit me like a mack truck. He went ahead and stripped the membranes which kind of felt like he was checking my tonsils from the lower regions up. He was done and we left. Mom, Jami and I. We went to run errands. We hit all of the stores we wanted to go to and picked up Joe and headed home.

I filled my prescription and Jason picked it up... I took the two pills and about 5:00 my contractions started. Like real... honest to goodness... contractions. I started timing them. We all had dinner together, I took a bath, went for a walk with my dad and came home. I couldn't sleep but Jason did... and he needed it. I stayed up with my mom and watched television and breathed through the contractions.

By 3:00 am I felt like they were pretty painful. So... Jason woke up and we headed to the hospital to be checked. That morning I was at 1 cm... when we got checked in and checked... I was at 2 cm. I got there a bit early... but they hooked me up to the monitors so I could hear her heartbeat. About 7:00 am, my doctor came in and got my IV started so he could break my water. When he did there was meconium in her fluid... so we did an amnio flush and kept going.

I got to about a 5 when I asked for the epi.. because at this point I was wanting to chew the arm rest off my bed. Baby J was hanging out on a nerve on my back which was KILLING me! My anesthesiologist came in and was amazing... he gave me the epi laying down. (apparently one of few that can do this). Jason was a champ and talked me through each of the contractions leading up to it and was just awesome. Baby girl was handling it all very well.

I had to have a couple of boosters to my epi because she was laying on a spot on my back and it was KILLING me. I had been dry heaving all day which was fun... but a continuation of my pregnancy.

:-/ I was starving which was no surprise. But... my doctor was fantastic. The nurses were great... my family was there, my inlaws had arrived. All in all... things were good. :) I made it to a 6 and a 7... the evening got foggy as I was SOOOO tired!

When my doc came in about 7:00 pm and told me I was a 9 but that her head was stuck at the edge of my pelvic bone... that I could continue on because she was handling it ok... but that it would be hard and long... I said.. I'm done. Again, it was about 7:00 pm and I had been laboring since 5:00 pm the night before.

SOOOOOOO... they gave me this horrible drink that I drank and threw up. They explained what all was going to happen and they wheeled me in to the OR. My doc called in his A team since we weren't in an emergent situation. We got the chance to take family pics...

Long story that is already a long story... they got me into the OR, got me hooked up to the drugs and prepped. When they got me open, I noticed an unusual amount of tugging and pulling. I mentioned that I could feel it and the anesthesiologist said she couldn't do anything more until they got her out.

But apparently I had adhesions where with the first c-section... my uterus had stuck to the bladder and perinatal wall in large sections (picture fly paper stuck together) and he had to navigate these adhesions to cut me open to get her out. He said he had to separate the layers as gently as he could but there was SOOO much pressure as he pushed and pulled my uterus ( I think it may have swung over to England for a visit)... and I had the epi but they couldn't give me anything more without giving it to her too... so I just had to deal with the pressure and the pain.

When they finally got her out, it took her a bit to start crying. (scared Jason half to death) but she finally gave a squeak and a squawk. They told Jason to start taking pictures. I got to see her and hear her and see that she weighed 8 lbs and 12 oz.. OMG and was 21 1/4 inches long. Born at 8:09 pm. Although we are wondering if her weight was maybe off because of all of the fluids they had to pump me with all day. But... that is her weight on record. :)

Because of the pain and exhaustion... they gave me something that knocked me out for the hour it took to put everything back in it's proper location and close me back up and like a lightbulb I woke up just in time to go to my room. Amazing these doctors.

They took me back to my labor room, brought her in with me... before ever cleaning her up (so different than with Joe but so important to me) and let me nurse her and hold her. She came out wanting to nurse... I guess that's what happens with a chunky baby. I wish I could remember it all. HA! I finally got a drink!!! :-)

The parents all got to hold her and take pictures then they all left.

They took her for her bath... she didn't like it!

They wheeled me to my new room and brought her to me again... Jason stayed for a while... but I was SOOO exhausted that Jason went on home to sleep and be with Joe... and I got that time to rest. They did bring her to me to nurse but I sent her back to sleep some more... plus I was VERY sore. In fact... hindsight... having someone there to help with her that first night would have been nice as it was hard to even sit up let alone move the baby. :-}

The hardest part was the coughing... I still had the horrendous cold. And who wants to cough when you are held together with sutures?

Wednesday Morning Jason brought Joe up to meet his baby sister.

My inlaws came before they headed back to lufkin. And of course my parents were around and Uncle Todd.

They kept me an extra day due to fever and high pulse rate... which was fine. I needed the rest. Joe came to visit each day and I would keep her during the day (sending her back for quiet time) and then at night.

Joe is doing GREAT and is excited to have a sister... and Jason is enamored as am I. Recovery has been a bit slower and she lost quite a bit of weight... but she is now on the upswing and we are home and loving being a family of 4. :-)

Happy birthday to my sweet boy!

2011-05-22T22:21:00.001-05:00

Dear Joe,

I can't believe that it's been four years since you've been born. Four years ago right now, I was being prepped for my c-section and I was scared. Not scared of having you but of the surgery and making sure you were ok.

Before you were born I always thought about what we would teach you and if we could teach you... But I think it's the opposite... I think you have taught me so much. You have taught me what its like to love unconditionally. You have taught me the merits of playing with hair to soothe an anxious heart. Dancing in the rain is fun and nothing can compare to a train whistle or hearing the conductor say "All aboard!". Train rides MUST be accompanied with popcorn and sody pop!

Friends are vital and that being each other's best friend can change based on which guitar you get. A cookie can solve most of life's problems although wine will work for mommy too. :-).

All in all, sweet boy... You made me a mommy and I love you more than the air I breathe. you have turned into an amazing little human I am proud to call son!!!!!

Love you,
Mommy

Keeping up with the Pregnancy: 39 weeks

2011-04-26T14:54:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 39 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of a watermelon!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I gained 1/6th of a pound
Maternity Clothes: I look like an Oompa Loompa
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: I'm thinking she's trying to find an escape route.
Sleep: not sleeping so well these days. Wide awakes from 2-5 most nights.
What I miss: hard to say.... being comfortable?
Cravings: Fruit and smoothies and really no food at all.
Symptoms: All the usual.

Best Moment this week:

hmmmm.... the anticipation really... knowing that in one week, she'll be here. Knowing that in one week I will be nuzzling her toes and smelling her sweet baby scent. Knowing that I will get to nurse her, like I did her brother. Seeing her daddy hold her in his arms and knowing that she will forever look up to that face with adoration... (sometimes anger mixed in). Seeing her grandparents (all of them) hold her and squeeze her and agree in their head to protect her at that moment for the rest of their lives.

For, in one week from tomorrow at the latest... My little Jocelyn will be here.

Never had the chance... .

2011-04-24T11:12:00.000-05:00

When I was pregnant with Joe they induced me at about 37.5 weeks due to low fluid... and as you know, it ended in a c-section.

So I never had the chance to get overly tired of being pregnant. I have enjoyed being pregnant both times I have had the blessing to be so... and any complaints I have had have strictly been for the comedic value.

And this time has been sooo easy. It's been harder having a toddler but man, oh man, has my husband been a husband of champions. In trying to NOT change Joe's schedule he has been in charge of the night time routine for awhile now and he's really gone off of my moods which has been fantastic.

But, I can honestly say that this weekend... I am done. I am done. I want my body back. I am feeling claustrophobic in my own skin... there are two people here and the one is too big to be inhabiting it. My tummy is tight. My hormones are CRAZY and it's easter and I don't feel like it.

I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be with people. I have to be the most frustrating person in the world to be around right now. Is this NORMAL?

Keeping up with the pregnancy: 38 weeks

2011-04-20T12:53:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 38 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of a watermelon!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I actually lost a pound this week.
Maternity Clothes: Clothes are getting a bit harder. I HATE having the band around my middle. So I like sundresses and such.
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She still is a mover and a shaker.
Sleep: not sleeping so well these days. Rolling over takes an act of congress.
What I miss: hard to say. I'm not really missing anything right now.
Cravings: Fruit and smoothies.
Symptoms: All the usual.
Best Moment this week: Having her nursery done, for the most part. Seeing her on a sonogram this morning. She is approximately 7 lbs 9 oz (give or take) and the doctor did say that it's looking more and more like a repeat c-section. I'm disappointed but what matters is that she is healthy and thriving.

this time and when I was pregnant with Joe. Looks pretty similar doesn't it?

Dearest Jocelyn,

2011-04-18T04:46:00.000-05:00

I remember sitting here about four years ago writing a letter to Joe. It just so happened that he made his arrival the next day. I don't feel that happening with you, baby girl... but nevertheless, here I sit at 4:23 am... awake.

I have learned first hand the very special bond a mother can have with her son. And I also know from the opposite direction the specialness of the bond between mother and daughter. I look forward to being your mom... to teaching you new things, to grow in life together and to have that special relationship that I have with my mom.

But that's not what has me thinking this morning. I think one of the things I am most excited about, in having a girl this time around, is the relationship that I know is going to develop between you and your daddy. The bond with father and daughter is priceless.... or rather CAN be priceless. Not all women are blessed the way that I have been.

My relationship with my daddy is hard to define. He was stern when I was growing up and really not around all that much. He was working. That's what he did. But I will NEVER forget going off to college and calling my dad to check on him and asking how he was and having him say... "fine... no, not fine! It's awful quiet around here, I miss you!"

I really think a new relationship developed in that instance. We had a good attachment before that... do not get me wrong... but the friendship was born that day. We have since solved the worlds problems together, created a few problems, made money, lost money, walked on the great wall of China, had great adventures, danced together, worried each other and worried about each other, prayed for each other in our own unique ways, enjoyed each other and loved each other. My dad is my hero and my friend.

I know that your relationship with your daddy is going to be equally as special. It will be different than mine with my dad but he is a lot like your grandaddy. Both are strong and principled, have soft hearts and hands that can make "boo boo's" better. A hug from them can cure a 1000 ailments and a chastisement can hurt 10,000 times worse than you will ever expect it to.

Your daddy is used to having a rough and tumble little boy with a smile that will radiate 10 miles. He is teaching your big brother so many wonderful qualities that he will need to be a strong, smart and successful, loving man. Your brother has taught him (and me) a few things too... like how to be parents. How to expect a lot but nurture too. How to let your spirits soar while still respecting boundaries and rules. How a hug from you two can cure 10,000 ailments in our hearts.

But what I am so excited to see... is how his big strong heart is going to melt in a different way when he holds his little girl. He will still teach the same lessons and expect the same things but... BUT, your relationship will be different. It will be special and you each hold a power that, I pray, you will someday know it's strength. You hold the key to each others heart. Be gentle with it. It's a gift.

You are his princess but he...he is the king of your world. Dance together... twirl together... sit on his lap and look into his eyes... tell him you adore him.

I love you baby girl! You are treasured, you are wanted, you were prayed for before you were even a glimmer in our eyes.

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;^[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139

A great Saturday

2011-04-16T22:02:00.000-05:00

Jason ran his first 10K this morning. He got up at the butt crack of dawn.. and Joe and I had a leisurely wake up of 7:00 am. :) We gathered up and headed out to cheer him on as he finished the race. It was a beautiful day and Joe was chatting happily with me the whole way there. We found a good spot and were there for about 5 minutes before we saw Jason running towards us. PERFECT timing.

He said it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be for someone who hadn't trained for it. :) He also said that just because you CAN do it without training doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. ha! I am proud of him and envious. I cannot wait to strap on my running shoes again.

We then came on home and had a nice relaxing morning, we all took naps and then Jason took Joe to the train while I did grocery shopping. I even had the chance to go to multiple stores for better deals. :)

Tonight I decided it was important for Joe and I to have a date. With Baby J's upcoming arrival... I wanted to take him to Red Lobster, have him hold my hand and give me lots of kisses.

When we pulled up... he got out of the car and took my hand. We walked in and he said to the hostess... "table for two please". The hostess melted. We explained that we were on a date and what that meant. She asked if she could have a date. :-)

It wasn't a spectacular day of exciting events. It was a spectacular day filled with moments I want to freeze in my memory banks forever and ever.

I hope y'all had a great saturday too.

thoughts on pregnancy....

2011-04-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

There are certain things you know when you get pregnant are going to happen. Especially if it's your second baby. These are, of course, generalizations....

You will be tired in the first trimester.
You will have gas like a 13 year old boy after eating Mexican from a ta taco truck.
You will have to pee every thirty seconds.
You might have nausea and nope, morning sickness is a misnomer. It can happen morning, noon, night or driving down the street where there is no where to puke but the day old starbucks bag from the muffin you couldn't resist.
You will worry every time you go to the bathroom that there just might be something you don't want to see. And then when there is not... you sigh a big sigh of relief.
You will complain to anyone who knows about the ache's, pains, gas, peeing, sleepiness.
If it stops you will get scared.
In the second trimester... you will go through a honeymoon phase where everything is great including your energy, appetite and libido.
You will develop your bump and think it's so cool to have this new shape. Round IS a perfectly acceptable shape.
You will think it's kind of cute when the well meaning busybody er neighbor down the street notices and gives you all kinds of unsolicited advice.
As you progress through the third trimester, you kind of go back to the first trimester in symptoms. All of a sudden you are peeing all the time again (due to baby's position). You have gas that slips out at a moments notice, or not. You start to pee when you sneeze, laugh or cough. Your sleepiness returns and is accompanied by insomnia where you think of all the things you have yet to do.
Nesting begins and all of a sudden you HAVE to get everything done and done NOW!
You soon have to be rolled out of bed by your significant other.
Turning over in bed becomes an act of congress where you steal the sheets, covers and real estate from anyone you are sharing said bed with.
You are STARVING and then when you eat you are FULL and can't possibly take another bite.
Your boobs grow so large that they really could have their own zip code.
The entire thought of 'getting busy' with your significant other throws you into fits of giggles and serious contemplation as to how THAT's supposed to work.
And... you begin getting comments from well meaning strangers that say.. "wow, you are about to pop!" "are you sure it's not twins?" "There is just no way you can possibly get any bigger than you are!" "Wow, that just flat out looks painful!"
At about 37 weeks... you realize the merits in maternity leave and you know why people don't work until their due dates. :-/
And last but not least... the one thing you absolutely know in your heart of hearts is that you are SUPPOSED to be getting bigger.

Now... it's the last thing that I want to talk about a little bit and then I will do one last thing you know as I close. :)

As a woman growing up... we are drilled about body images and being healthy and being fit and being skinny. This day and age is actually more about healthy than skinny, thank God! I am so grateful that my daughter will grow up knowing that eating and living healthy is more important than being 'skinny'.

But, having grown up with these body images... even knowing that you are supposed to be "round" when you are pregnant is hard. I get to a point in my pregnancies where even the maternity clothes are not fitting and the short/pants roll down.

I had one of these such days the other day and it's very difficult to explain how or why you can be thrown into a fit of bad self image. I have been very blessed to stay active my entire pregnancy and this time I have managed to keep most of the weight to my belly... but you can know this in your head and you can still feel bad in your ~~mirror~~ heart.

Hearing people tell you how big you are... is never really ok. Offering suggestions of the latest fashionable mumuu... not ok. Telling a future mama that she needs two chairs or surely won't fit through that aisle... not helpful.

I think that even though you know you are supposed to get big as your pregnancy progresses... it's just as hard to squash those niggling self image feelings you grow up with. And you know what... I think that is normal too.

And last but not least... the major thing you KNOW when you are pregnant... is that you love this little being beyond anything you can possibly imagine. You plan his/her future. You imagine what wonderful things they will touch. The people they will encounter. The life that will unfold for them. Their lives... their future... their path... their destiny. I may have "made that hand, that rib, that knee" which is the ultimate miracle... but she will determine (with God's help) where she goes with it.

All worth a few pounds gained, don'tcha think?

Keeping up with the Pregnancy: 37 weeks

2011-04-12T13:26:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 36 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of a stalk of swiss chard? how big is a stalk of swiss chard?
Total Weight Gain/Loss: another pound... but I really think it's fluid around my ankles. :-/
Maternity Clothes: Clothes are getting a bit harder. I HATE having the band around my middle. So I like sundresses and such.
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: her activity seems to be getting more stifled. She is still moving it's just more shoving and punching that I'm feeling these days.
Sleep: not sleeping so well these days. Rolling over takes an act of congress.
What I miss: I can feel myself waddling more and more... arching my back.
Cravings: Fruit and smoothies.
Symptoms: heartburn, throwing up every morning again (yay), still braxton hicks. Swelling... my hands and feet have started to swell. :) My rings are now on a chain around my neck.

Best Moment this week: getting J's shelf done in her room. Now, to paint it and then I can
paint her letters.

I hate that picture but... it does depict the ever growing belly.....

Keeping up with the pregnancy: 36 weeks

2011-04-07T11:03:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 36 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of a crenshaw melon (what the heck is THAT?)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I gained another pound in one week. :( but I think a lot of it is retained fluid.
Maternity Clothes: Clothes are getting a bit harder. I HATE having the band around my middle. So I like sundresses and such.
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She is pretty active and getting bigger! She pushes back when I push her. She feels a bit tighter in there and they are more shoves rather than kicks.
Sleep: She's sitting on my bladder so the bathroom trips are plentiful and not very rewarding. :-/
What I miss: I can feel myself waddling more and more... arching my back.
Cravings: Fruit and smoothies.
Symptoms: heartburn, throwing up every morning again (yay), still braxton hicks. I am now effaced 40% which is a good start. Swelling... my hands and feet have started to swell. :)

Best Moment this week: hearing that I had a wee bit of progression and seeing my maternity pictures.

Maternity Pictures... courtesy of Pistols and Pearls Photography

2011-04-06T15:52:00.000-05:00

thank you to Melissa with Pistols and Pearls for a ~~cold~~ er I mean fun session!

Keeping up with the Pregnancy: 35 weeks

2011-03-30T12:25:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 35 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of an large honeydew.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'll find out tomorrow... feel like I've gained 10 lbs all of a sudden.
Maternity Clothes: I bought a pair of jeans from my friend Jessica and I love them! Other than that... same ole.
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She is VERY active getting bigger! She pushes back when I push her. She feels a bit tighter in there and they are more shoves rather than kicks.
Sleep: She's sitting on my bladder so the bathroom trips are plentiful and not very rewarding. :-/
What I miss: sitting normally and not waddling.
Cravings: FRUIT and smoothies.
Symptoms: heartburn, throwing up every morning again (yay), braxton hicks are more plentiful all of a sudden and I am TIRED! :)

Best Moment this week: my sprinkle last saturday! Oh and feeling her regular hiccups.

My sprinkle

2011-03-28T11:15:00.000-05:00

My dear friend Jami offered to throw me a sprinkle... which is a baby shower for baby number 2. But instead of gifts, she asked that people bring me a food to freeze which makes things so much easier after baby J gets here. People did bring gifts which is very much appreciated. :)

Jami did such a beautiful job and I can't thank her enough for all that she did!

Mom and Amber thought it was so funny that the hem of my dress is no longer level.

Jami had fresh fruit, two different kinds of quiches, salad, pastries, muffins, and more. Everything was delicious!

Jami, Susan, Amber, me, Siobhan, Carla and Meg.

this one with mom in there. :) Nikki was supposed to be there too but the nerve of her... she had to go into labor that morning! wink wink. Soooo excited to meet little Memito!

My sister in law sent me this absolutely ADORABLE sleep sack! I can't wait to put her in it.

This little dress and hat is soooo cute! Thank you Carla!

Mom bought little hand mittens to keep her from scratching herself.

Reading Amber's card... she got me the cutest little all in one diaper... for a newborn.

Look at this CUTE little outfit from Siobhan. Girls are SO fun to dress.

Aunt Dani gave us this beautiful diaper bag... it's washable and has tons of pockets! And there was the little pink one right behind it too. PERFECT for ~~my makeup~~... er I mean quick jaunts that don't need the whole bag.

(pardon the chins)... this is the letter from Danielle... who couldn't be there but I felt her! Her thoughtfulness is just... unparalleled. Here she is in Germany... sending ME a gift. Love you!

My gorgeous hostess who didn't want her picture taken but tough! :)

Sunday Morning breakfast with Oliver and Fireman Joe. Aren't they cute?

Thank you to everyone who could come, those that couldn't were missed. :)

Lufkin, baby showers, cupcakes and baseball! What more... :)

2011-03-23T13:11:00.000-05:00

The first weekend in March, we headed to Lufkin to visit Jason's parents. We had such a nice visit. And the boys play SO well together! Seriously, they have the best time. So blessed to have cousins close in age and that they get along with.

They played in some dirt

and hit some baseballs as both Joe and J were starting baseball soon.

Joe is great at hitting the balls... and is still learning to run to base not after the ball. :)

Then my next weekend there was a baby shower for the last girl in this picture on the right. We are (from left to right) Nikki (36 weeks), Natalie (34 weeks) me (31 weeks), Jess (29 weeks) and Carla (24 weeks) respectively... I may be wrong about those weeks. But man oh man that's a lot of pregnant mama's.

Jason treated Joe to a blue cupcake.....

Shannon's sip and see was so nice in Houston. It was supposed to be a shower but Miss Emily had a mind of her own and decided to make her way on our early. Hard to believe that she (the blond in the middle) had a baby one month ago!

A baby feels somehow kind of natural in my arms. :)

She was resting her head on Jocelyn. These two baby girls will get to grow up together. SOOOO blessed!

We got home Monday afternoon (late) and Joe and Chase had their first baseball game. Chase was ALL about it.

Joe seemed to be..... but he was TIRED!

Chase was third base!

Joe just wanted mommy!

Which meant that Chase got to continue to play and Joe... well Joe Joe and mommy and daddy came on home and put a tired boy to bed.

He has another game on monday after a practice tomorrow. He'll do great... he can really hit the ball well. But at this age it's really like herding cats. :)

What a fun age!!!!

Our last night and day in Harbour Island

2011-03-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

Our last night, we went to dinner at an Italian Restaurant... we took Joe with us to this one.

Joe and I wandered down to the boat you see in the background and had such a nice chat with the captain. He high fived Joe and off we went.

Fresh beat band was really the only way we could finish our dinner... needless to say... other diners were giving me the side eye.

Our walk on the "big beach"

Joe and Roy riding in the golf cart. Roy called Joe the "captain". :)

off on our water taxi home! :) A great trip full of wonderful memories.

Keeping up with the pregnancy: 34 weeks

2011-03-23T09:42:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 34 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of an average cantaloupe.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I only gained 1 pound in the last two weeks! YIPPEE!

Maternity Clothes: yep. I found a few cute dresses that I love and my friend Scheri

gave me a ton of cute clothes.

Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She is VERY active getting bigger! She pushes back when I push her. She flip flops daily.
Sleep: She's sitting on my bladder so the bathroom trips are plentiful and not very rewarding. :-/
What I miss: running. I really miss running.
Cravings: FRUIT and milkshakes.
Symptoms: heartburn, throwing up every morning again (yay), the usual braxton hicks and such. :)

Best Moment this week: Feeling her swirl and kick and stretch and push.

Keeping up with the Pregnancy: 33 weeks

2011-03-16T17:47:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 33 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of a Honeydew.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I only gained 1 pound in the last two weeks! YIPPEE!

Maternity Clothes: yep. I found a few cute dresses that I love!
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She is VERY active getting bigger! She pushes back when I push her. She flipped sides though and is now lying along my left side.
Sleep: She's sitting on my bladder so the bathroom trips are plentiful and not very rewarding. :-/
What I miss: running. I really miss running.
Cravings: FRUIT and milkshakes.
Symptoms: I get a pain at the top of my stomach by the end of the day. The third trimester hasn't been as much fun... but it usually isn't. I am grateful to be at this stage and that she seems to be doing wonderfully. I have been painting her furniture for the second time... so by the end of the day my hips have a hard time working. :-) no more dancing for me. Ha!

Best Moment this week: extra cuddle time with Joe.

My Day at the beach with Joe and Mom

2011-03-10T16:03:00.000-06:00

On our last full afternoon, before we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant... Mom and I went down to the beach with joe one more time. The tide was going out and it was truly just the best afternoon. The water was warm. The sun was out and it just made me appreciate living and the small things and the big things.

Joe was playing ... jump the mountain. :-/

and my all time favorite!

Harbour Island Sight Seeing... Wordless Thursday

2011-03-10T15:43:00.001-06:00

and the house where we stayed...

the view from my room

My room

The back patio

The view from the patio

The Kitchen & Family Room

The dining area

the house was just beautiful and so open! There were three full bedrooms with bathrooms, in addition to the master. I could live in this house... only if you made me. wink wink.

Harbour Island: Day 3?

2011-03-10T15:31:00.000-06:00

Gosh... it's been two weeks and all of a sudden I can't remember what happened on which days. Darn you pregnancy brain!

I know we went to lunch at a place called Sip Sip and had a lobster quesadilla. Poor Joe was so sleepy that he fell asleep on my lap. Afterwards, we went to the Dunsmore Hotel and got out and walked around... it was GORGEOUS! This is where Nina and Roy stayed before they owned a house.

the ROOSTERS on the island! OMG... this one outside of the Demmon's house... OMG it would start cockadoodling at 5:00 AM! I seriously wondered if it was illegal to hunt roosters!

We went to dinner another night (with a babysitter for Joe, much to his chagrin) at a place called the Rock House. It was delicious and the maitre'd was amazing! Every detail was accounted for and the food was melt in your mouth delicious. Mom and I would share an appetizer and an entree and a dessert. It was just the right amount of food for us.

Jocelyn particularly liked the desserts.

Keeping up with the pregnancy: 32 Weeks

2011-03-10T12:11:00.000-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 32 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of a large Jicama (what's that?) About 3.75 pounds.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: yep. Not talking about it.....
Maternity Clothes: yep. I found a few cute dresses that I love!
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She is VERY active getting bigger! She pushes back when I push her. And likes to ball up in my right hand side.
Sleep: ok... between the getting up to go to the bathroom and sleep training with the 3 year old.
What I miss: running. I really miss running.
Cravings: FRUIT and milkshakes.
Symptoms: my Midwife said that braxton hicks are normal... that as long as they aren't as many as 6 in an hour. They are preparing my body. I have heartburn now with random things... NOT on Thai food but YES on pork tenderloins??? What's THAT all about? :-) I officially waddle, although as the day goes on it's more pronounced.

Best Moment this week: Redoing the Redo on her furniture and knowing it's going to be beautiful.

Harbour Island, 2011 Day 2 & 3

2011-03-08T16:30:00.000-06:00

A few more from the "little beach" which was right out in front of the house and down some steps. We really did spend each morning down there until Joe would decide he was done.

On our second day, we ventured into town on our golf cart and did some exploring. We even tried to go to the big beach but it was pretty rough and Joe Joe didn't care for it. We had lunch and took a short tour and headed back.

This was a luxury Jet boat. Three inboard Jet Drives... incredible. Had a staff of 10 or so plus a chef and the owners are rarely on her. gorgeous!

That evening we had a babysitter for Joe (which he did NOT care for) but it allowed us to have a nice dinner out at the "Landing". It was spectacular.

We were going to try to play some cards when we got back to the house but we all crashed. It didn't help that Joe had been waiting up for me. :)

Our next morning was delightful. More of little beach.

When we came up, we loaded back into the golf cart and headed to lunch at another of their favorites. The big beach had really calmed down and oh my goodness! It was gorgeous. We had a great lunch and then mom took Joe down to the beach. While there three horses went galloping by (with riders) and he got to bury his feet and make them disappear.

Can you even believe that water?

That afternoon, Joe and I took a nap and then mom, Joe and I went back down to the little beach to enjoy a bit of the sunset.

Nina had a meeting this night so we had dinner at the house which I have to say was very relaxing. Joe didn't have to worry about a babysitter and sometimes it's just nice to sit and appreciate where you are for the moment.

As I look at these pictures and put them up, I get the chance to enjoy them all over again. I think it's a bit of human nature to take things for granted when they are happening.... but it's so important, Life is so important... to really stop and breathe and say to yourself... "I... am in the bahama's!"

I am on blessed little girl.

Harbour Island Bahama's, 2011 Days 1 and 2

2011-03-07T16:04:00.000-06:00

Mom, Joe and I left sunny Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday the 20th of February. We flew to Miami and then on to North Eleuthera. The flights were easy... Joe was delightful. He watched his Fresh Beat Band the whole way and was just perfect.

We arrived into North Eleuthera about 3:00 pm and went through customs. A short taxi ride to the water taxi which ferried us over to Harbour Island.

Roy and Nina, our hosts, met us at the dock. I had not seen Roy and Nina for about 7 years but had kept in touch. It was a nice reunion. :) Most people drive golf carts around the island so it did take two trips to take us and the luggage to their house which was absolutely stunning. Set high upon a hill overlooking the bay between North Eleuthera and Harbour Island. Perfectly calm, really shallow, crystal clear water.

Joe and I went down to explore... it was low tide and he loved it!

We had an early dinner at Romaro Bay Restaurant where they had calypso music and a parrot for Joe to talk to. The band even let Joe play the drum (a synthesized drum, so really it was a button).

As it had been a long day... we all went home and headed to bed.

Our first morning was spent at the beach... building sandcastles and jumping in the clear water. Joe was such a joy to watch and take pictures of.

Keeping up with the Pregnancy: 31 Weeks

2011-03-01T11:34:00.001-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 31 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of an pumpkin
Total Weight Gain/Loss: yep. Not talking about it.....
Maternity Clothes: yep. I found a few cute dresses that I love!
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She is VERY active getting bigger! She pushes back when I push her.
Sleep: ok... between the getting up to go to the bathroom and sleep training with the 3 year old.
What I miss: running. I really miss running.
Cravings: FRUIT and milkshakes.
Symptoms: a LOT of braxton hicks lately, lower hip pain, snuffy nose and somewhere between month six and eight... yeah, I misplaced my brain.

Best Moment this week: seeing Jocelyn in 3D!

Keeping up with the pregnancy: 30 weeks

2011-02-23T11:11:00.015-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 30 Weeks
Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of an pumpkin
Total Weight Gain/Loss: not talking about it anymore.....
Maternity Clothes: yep. Would love to find some cute dresses though.
Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne
Movement: She is VERY active and especially loves milkshakes .
Sleep: ok... between the getting up to go to the bathroom and sleep training with the 3 year old.
What I miss: being able to walk up the stairs without becoming winded... being able to exercise in the morning and not hurt at night.
Cravings: FRUIT and milkshakes.
Symptoms: a LOT of braxton hicks lately.
Best Moment this week: sitting in the crystal clear water of Harbour Island.

Dear Jocelyn, (some ramblings)

2011-02-15T18:57:00.000-06:00

I heard a song on my way into work today and then heard it three more times (gotta love Radio).. and it's Pink's song "Less than Perfect"... really it's got a different title but I won't put that in a letter to you. :)

Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than, less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing
You are perfect to me!

It just got me to thinking about how much you are going to have to battle throughout your journey to adulthood and beyond. As a mother, you want to shield your children from EVERY pain imaginable but... I also know that each of those bumps and bruises along the way... they will make you who you are. The good. The bad and the ugly. :) But, through it all. I promise that you are perfect to me.

I am 29 weeks today. I am feeling you push and shove your way around my insides (I know, it feels as strange as it sounds)... and I already know that you're going to be a headstrong one. One with your own opinions and your own mark to leave on the world. I can only hypothesize on the way shape and form of how it all will unfold. But right now... right now, you are safe. You are shielded from the outside world and all that it entails.

However, God has already written your story. I just have to have faith in his writing and know that you are in good hands. He gave you to me, after-all. He is trusting me (us) with you. He is trusting us with your future. What an amazing blessing.

I got to thinking... that along with your brother, you are mine. Mine and your daddy's. But, right now... right this very second. YOU are mine. With what I eat and drink, I nourish you and make your bones strong. I have made your fingers and your toes. I have made your beautiful eyes and fashioned those eyelashes that are going to make some man (or woman) swoon. Your body... your tiny little body... piece by piece... I am creating it. What a miracle. And to me... you are, and always will be, perfect.

I love you baby girl! 11 more weeks til I get to kiss on your toes and nuzzle your neck. And I can't wait. (well I can, because I want you to continue to grow big and strong... but, I loved you before you were even a thought)
Mama

Keeping up with the Pregnancy: 29 weeks

2011-02-15T13:35:00.000-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 29 Weeks

Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of an butternut squash.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: not talking about it anymore.....

Maternity Clothes: yep. Would love to find some cute dresses though.

Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne

Movement: She is VERY active and especially loves milkshakes .

Sleep: using my pillow... it's ok.

What I miss: being able to walk up the stairs without becoming winded... being able to exercise in the morning and not hurt at night. Still doing it though.

Cravings: fruit and milkshakes.

Symptoms: a LOT of braxton hicks lately. my back is hurting, especially lower.

Best Moment this week: scheduling a 3D ultrasound for the beginning of next week. Oh and the amazing edible arrangement of fruit that Danielle and Todd got us! OMG is that yummy! :)

RIP Rocky-San

2011-02-08T18:45:00.001-06:00

Rocky is the kind of dog that if he were human you would want to be around him. He had a zest for life... and he was just so stinkin cute with his flying nun ears. He started out living with my sister and her ex husband but eventually went to live at the warehouse with Mom and dad at work. But we have many funny Rocky stories. He is a BIG dog that always thought he was a poodle.. a mini poodle. He had such a sweet heart. All he wanted was to be carried... all 65 pounds of him. :)

I was first off of ships and would go over to Kristin's house and pick Rocky up and take him to the park over on TC Jester in Houston. He would often walk me but we came to an agreement after awhile.

One day the park was deserted (or so I thought) except for one man and his boxer. The two wanted to play so badly... and Rocky had been going to obedience training ... so the other owner and I took both dogs off leash and let them play. They were having a grand old time until this man came around the corner and started yelling at us to get our dogs on leash... with arms raised in the air in a very threatening stance. Well... Rocky took great offense at this. He was really doing what a dog is supposed to do and protected me but he started barking at this man... who only made it worse at this point. I was getting his attention and turned back around an the man had quite literally climbed the tree which only made things worse.

I did get rocky back on leash and we left but I'm sure it's a moment this man won't soon forget either. I do recognize that I was at fault for taking my dog off leash. but... if you could have seen his face...

Part of what made Rocky so cute were his ears. I know that a lot of people aren't fans of the non docked ears but there is really no medical reason to do it, it hurts the dog and part of what made Rocky's personality that much cuter was the floppy ears.

He also had this mournful "roo". As long as you were petting him and scratching his hind quarters or giving him a treat he was great. But as soon as you went back into the office you would hear this loud and heart wrenching ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... just letting you know that you were loved and if you were so inclined, he would like a bit more attention. :-)

Tonight Rocky was struggling to breathe and dad took him to the vet. Turns out it's cancer and it has metastasized to his lungs, making it near impossible for him to breathe. Dad made the ever difficult decision to put Rocky to sleep and take away his pain. Rocky will forever live in our hearts... but that office will never be the same without him or his roo. :-(

Rest in Peace Rocky! You were loved.

Treat me kindly, my beloved master, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I should lick your hand between the blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me do.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your footstep falls upon my waiting ear.

When it is cold and wet, please take me inside... for I am now a domesticated animal, no longer used to bitter elements... and I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth... though had you no home, I would rather follow you through ice and snow than rest upon the softest pillow in the warmest home in all the land... for you are my god... and I am your devoted worshiper.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for although I should not reproach you were it dry, I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.

Feed me clean food, that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding, to walk by your side, and stand ready, willing and able to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger.

And, beloved master, should the Great Master see fit to deprive me of my health or sight, do not turn me away from you.

Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest...and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I drew, my fate was ever safest in your hands.

--Beth Norman Harris

Keeping up with the Pregnancy: 27 weeks

2011-02-02T20:45:00.001-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 27 Weeks

Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of an eggplant.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: around 14 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I wear maternity jeans and pants but most everything else is regular.

Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne

Movement: She is VERY active .

Sleep: Other than getting up with Joe Joe... not too bad.

What I miss: being able to walk up the stairs without becoming winded... I can run a mile but not walk up the stairs. Maybe putting on my shoes or seeing my feet? ha!

Cravings: fruit and other sweet things.

Symptoms: Mostly tiredness, a few Braxton Hicks here and there

Best Moment this week: Having a doctor appt... and hearing the heartbeat. She looks good, is measuring good and the doctor was happy with everything. :)

I don't have a picture yet... but will get one. :)

oh yeah and GO STEELERS!

Keeping up with the Pregnancy 26 weeks

2011-01-25T10:41:00.003-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 26 Weeks

Size of baby: Jocelyn is the size of an eggplant

Total Weight Gain/Loss: not sure... maybe 12

Maternity Clothes: I wear maternity jeans and pants but most everything else is regular.

Gender: It's a girl!!! Jocelyn Anne

Movement: She is VERY active - She's been doing this roll around thing... OMG it's cool but a bit weird. I swear she is every bit of her 9 inches crown to rump.

Sleep: We are working on getting Joe to sleep in his bed for a full night and so it's been an up and down thing. I did buy a new maternity pillow and when I get to use it... it's nice. BIG but nice.

What I miss: being able to walk up the stairs without becoming winded... I can run a mile but not walk up the stairs. Maybe putting on my shoes or seeing my feet? ha!

Cravings: nothing really

Symptoms: Mostly tiredness, a few Braxton Hicks, she's sitting on my sciatic nerve which makes me waddle. But I've been sitting on a heating pad which seems to help.

Best Moment this week:Going for a run with my hubby in Vegas and still being able to do it.. .

relatively speaking. :)