At a loss...

Sorry I'm just not creative enough to come up with a catchy title for my blog today.

I have been feeling like crap since Saturday night. Awful sore throat, drainage, stuffed up nose, allergies, sneezing, congestion, coughing... you get the picture. I finally decided to do something about it and went to the doctor today hoping to get a steroid shot like I got a month ago. When the doctor came in and heard my complaints I asked if I could PLEASE have the shot again. I was prepared to beg if that is what it took. He gave me the doctor look and said, "I'll give you the same talk I give my Vicodin addict patients"... what?!?! Anyways, good news is I got the shot! Yay! But the bad news is I can't keep getting them every 2 months. He will only let me do 3 - 4 a year. I guess he doesn't want me growing a penis. Bahhahahaha! Jokes, just jokes. He said some crap about it causing diabetes and osteoperosis over a period of time. Blah blah blah. Just glad I got my "fix" today because I'm already starting to feel better. And in two months I guess nasal spray will just have to do.

Garrison is SO disappointed that we cannot put up Christmas lights on the house this year. Garrett said most of our lights from last year are broken. My response to that was that the garage fairy must have come in and busted them all. WHAT?! Anyways, we can't afford (nor can we even find) new lights for the house this year. So I'll be going the day after Christmas to buy them 75% off. That's right! Dah dah dah dah! Cheap ass to the rescue!!! And to help keep Garrison in the Christmas spirit I'm going to buy him his very own mini pre lit tree for his room! :) So excited!

I am promising myself my house WILL be decorated by the end of this weekend. I am cleaning tonight (thanks to my newfound energy from my steroid shot) and will be decorating the rest of the week/weekend. Oh if I only had a maid, personal decorator, personal trainer, chef, personal massage therapist my life would be SO much easier.

Love,
Jewels*

Hair...Vacation...Atkins...Christmas?!?!

It has been far too long since my last post. So here goes...

I had a hair appointment scheduled the Monday before Garrett and I left to go out of town. Back story on this gal. I was recommended to her by a friend so I went to her once about 6 months ago and she did an AWESOME job on my hair, she was super nice, and really cheap. She charged me $65 for highlight (two colors) and a cut. Well a few months went by and I tried to call and make another appointment, left a message, no return call. I referred my best friend to her, same thing. My friend called her TWICE with no return call. My mom finally called a couple weeks back and the gal's 3 year old daughter answered. (to which my mom said she was thinking "GOTCHA!") Let me pause here and say I'm no expert but if my income depended on repeat and new customers I'm pretty sure I'd return a damn phone call every now and then. Se la vie!

So I went to my appointment Monday night and to keep things clear the first thing I said was, "You still charge $65 for highlight and cut right?" To which her response was, "So what are we doing today?" Oooookay... so I told her what I wanted and asked how much it was and she said $100. What? "How much for one color?" I asked. Her response? "$100." Pretty sure this lady was smoking dope. To shorten this story as much as possible she went back to mix the color before I even had time to respond. She came back and I told her I was so sorry but just could not afford that when I was expecting to pay $65. I even told her I wasn't looking for a handout but it just wasn't what I was expecting. Her response? "Have fun on your vacation!" That was it. So my embarassment for leaving quickly turned to anger and all the "should have saids" quickly came to mind. As a side note I KNOW $65 was cheap for color and cut but that isn't the point. The point is that it's what she charged me the first time. Good luck retaining clients lady!

I ended up going to a random Pro Cuts - that's right, I said it - in Wylie and the manager there did an awesome job on my hair. My mom saw her also and loved her's as well. Here is a pic of my new hair:

Garrett and I took a much needed trip to Arkansas for a little get-a-way. In our 7 years of marriage we have taken one weekend alone trip together about 2 years ago for our anniversary. So I was super excited about this trip. We rode along the infamous Pig Trail to get there and it was a gorgeous drive.

We stayed in a house in Eureka Springs with an awesome view.

We visited the Thorncrown Chapel which was a BEAUTIFUL chapel set out in the woods. So peceful and awesome!

Then we went to Hot Springs for some off roading Jeep fun. I loved it because everywhere we went there was a gorgeous view of mountains.

I was so excited to get home to my bubba (Garrison) and puppies though.

So Garrison has been cracking me up the last few days. I already posted his comment about my bad baseball playing abilities on FB so I won't go into that again. But I will tell you this one:

Last night we were playing around, wrestling and stuff on the couch. And he was messing with Garrett trying to push him off of me and I said, "Get him Garrison, get him!" and...bahahahahah, I'm laughing so hard to myself right now. He SLAPPED him across the face. (Kind of like how Jackson did to Weezer in Steel Magnolias.) You should have SEEN Garrett's face. He was totally shocked! Of course I busted out laughing and could not stop, tears flowing from eyes and all. We told him it's not nice to hit but were both laughing SO hard. Garrison said, "Mommy, I thought you said HIT Daddy!" haha. Good to know he listens at least!

I started Atkins Monday. Call me crazy but it's worked for me before and BY GEORGE it's working for me now. No cravings, not ever really hungry, and in 2 days I've lost 2 lbs. I know it's not the healthiest diet out there but it's the only one I've been able to strictly follow. My plan is to stay on this as long as I can - maybe a month - and then switch over to healthier eating. My workout routine starts back up tomorrow. Only thing I didn't take into consideration is Thanksgiving next week... nice. So I will eat a normal Thanksgiving lunch because I refuse to be one of those women who says, "Oh I'll just have this because I'm on a diet!" Nothing more annoying than those people. And not gonna' lie - kind of looking forward to some green bean casserole and chocolate pie for a day. :)

I CANNOT believe Christmas is right around the corner. Taking Garrison to see A Christmas Carol this weekend - can't wait! And we're going to see Scrooge at the Pocket Sandwich Theater and will probably hit up Santa's Village too. So excited for the Christmas season. Just not looking forward to shopping. Maybe I'll start listening to Christmas music to get into the Christmas (not HOLIDAY, come on people) spirit!

Sorry this was so long but it's what you get when I only post every month. :)

Love,

Jewels*

Happy Birthday Garrett!

Today is my husband Garrett's 27th Birthday. As I put on FB earlier, I can't believe we have celebrated 10 birthdays together. Time really does fly. It seems like yesterday I went to a good friend's house over Spring Break with some friends and there he was! He had just turned 16 and drove down to G-town from McKinney in his POS brown 1982 Datsun. (How I wish I had a picture to share with you.) We all went and played some game at the local elementary school and he and I flirted most of the night. He drove me and a friend home and then we talked almost all night on the phone. And the rest is history...

What do I love about Garrett? Because I know you're dying to know... he makes me laugh until I cry, he tells me the truth even when I don't want to hear it, he is a GREAT dad, he lets me be myself around him, he is one of the hardest workers I know, he sacrifices a lot for our family, he is a manly man, he fit in with my family from the first day (7 uncles and a dad can be intimidating), he has a sensitive side that not a lot of people get to see, most beautiful eyes ever, he is a man of his word, he is giving to others... I could go on and on. I will leave you with my fav pic of my hubby.

Garrison and I went to play basketball (okay, okay we just shot baskets because let's face it - a 4 year old...and me... aren't really "players") at the park by our house yesterday. If you're a parent do you ever have those moments with your kids where it's like time freezes? I know this sounds corny but I'm assuming if you're a parent you know what I'm talking about. He looked up at me at one point and it was like time froze and he had the biggest smile on his face with his flushed little cheeks and that look of pure innocence. It was a moment I will never forget. It is engraved in my memory forever. I love moments like that! Old picture but how can this not make you smile?

I hope y'all have a great night! We're off to dinner for Garrett's birthday but we don't know where yet because as Garrett says, "You know I hate to plan Juliana." UGH! As much as I love him he drives me insane sometimes. But hey, that's what makes life interesting, right?

Love,

Jewels*

Sorry for the wait...

I know all my fans out there have been eagerly anticipating my next blog (only kidding) but wait no longer, here I am... with nothing much to say. HA!

About 2 weeks ago I was in the Wal Mart parking lot (you're shocked I know) on my lunch break and this old man was just standing there with his empty cart and looking around. He appeared to be looking for someone to give it to so he wouldn't have to walk it over to the cart return cage. I felt so bad for him so I walked up to him and said, "Can I take that for you?" "Do you need it" he says. "No, I just thought I would help you out" was my reply. He touched my shoulder and as ashamed to admit it as I am I jumped back a little. "You're so sweet honey. I can get it myself though, thanks" was all he had to say. My point is, isn't it funny how in 2009 we are shocked by physical contact with a stranger? It was totally normal years ago for a stranger to perform a simple gesture like touching your shoulder when they talked to you. And here I am with this 80 year old man thinking, "Oh my gosh, is he going to drug and rape me? Did someone else pay him to stand here and trap a poor unsuspecting girl so they can rape and rob her?" Okay, so it wasn't that extreme, but it just made me sit back and think maybe I need not be SO paranoid all the time. A little human contact is what all of us need every now and then. As an aside, I love people. I mean, how cute are they - when they aren't driving 20 in a 40 when you're in a hurry that is.

So nothing new with us really. Still working, taking care of the kiddo, Garrett still in school. Garrison is growing up WAY too fast. Yesterday when he was getting ready for school he was slightly, okay REALLY, grumpy. As soon as I left his room he slammed the door. I went back to my bathroom to finish getting ready. I could hear him yelling across the house in what I can only describe as a testosterone induced voice of a 15 year old boy. I sat there with my mouth hanging open. Surely a 15 year old wandered into our house and that wasn't my sweet, precious 4 year old son. I went around the corner and realized it was in fact my sweet, precious son but now somehow an older and angrier looking 4 year old. I realized right then and there I have eveolved into a new stage of parenting when I leaned down and took his face in my hands and said, "Slamming doors in this house is completely unacceptable. Do you understand me?" And my precious boy was back, "Yes ma'am!" There! Now that problem was solved... until next time.

It's funny how you have to change your discipline tactics when they get to a new stage. If this incident would have happened before I might have calmly sat him down and said, "Garrison, I understand you're frustrated right now, but let's not slam doors okay?" Pretty sure that wouldn't have worked on him at this stage. Don't get me wrong though - he's still one of the sweetest and well behaved kids I know. Okay, so I'm a little partial.

I am loving the start of fall weather. My body, however, is not. Garrison was sick last weekend with an "adnoid virus". Basically he had lots of snot but no infection. Damn, I missed my calling as a doctor, I know. But now I have either that or something like it. I am finally giving in and going to the doctor this afternoon. I hate being sick, but would hate even more to be at the urgent care clinic this weekend with all the swine flu patients. And as Dolly Parton/Truvy would say, "There's a story there..."

Last weekend after Garrison having a high temp all day Saturday I decided to take him to the pediatric urgent care clinic on Sunday. They open at 11 and we were there at 11:02. The waiting room was already PACKED and half the kids had masks on their faces. Nice... But we stayed anyways. Garrison was feeling okay at that point- poster child for Motrin, that kid is. He was watching Cinderella (okay WE were watching Cinderella - I LOVE that movie) with all the other kids. He was dancing and playing and asking about the "mouses" (yes, being the grammar freak I am I said, "yeah the MICE"?). I'm sure all the other parents were trying to figure out what we were doing there as they sat their with their high fevered, eyes glazed over, coughing, hacking kids. We went on back to the room and he literally marched back saying, "Hup 2, 3, 4, Hup 2, 3, 4..." and I have to admit I was somewhat embarassed that he wasn't acting sick. HA!

I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow so I can get some cleaning done around the house... my house is DISGUSTING! One of my dogs sheds like crazy and it gets to the point where I just give up and get to it when I can - which is very rare. I'd like to know if you are a full time working mom how often you clean your house. PLEASE be honest... I need to show your comments to my husband so he has proof that I'm not the only one who lacks in this department. You know what would be even better? Tell me what, if anything, your hubby does around the house. Hell yeah I'm showing Garrett this list...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Love,
Jewels*

Poop!

Poop seems to be a popular conversation topic so I thought I would have that as my one word title for this post. Odd? Yes. But I can be odd as well so I think it fits.

I posted about Garrison telling me he had to poop mid sentence the other day on FB and since all of you who read this are on FB I won't go into that story again. But I think it's interesting just how obsessed he is with poop. I thought it was just a stage he might be going through. Why would I think this? Becuase he uses the word a lot. Garrison to our dog Sox: "You're a poo poo butt Sox! hahahahahahaha!" He cracks himself up all the time. He likes to just say it for no reason at all. I thought it was a 4 year old thing until I started getting tons of comments on FB about my poop post. Apparently everyone enjoys the topic of poop. So here are a few more:

Last night Garrison was sitting on the potty and after about 10 minutes I walked by and said, "Are you done yet?" His response: "No, mommy, I'm still squirting!" WHAT?!?! Where does he hear this stuff? His father I'm SURE!

We were at his daycare one morning this week. When you walk in you have to electronically clock your child in. (Great method by the way to ensure a random psycho doesn't come to pick your child up from school one day.) I was clocking him in and he stood there and announced in front of the entire room, "I'm gonna' FART mommy!" And of course he can't put the same emphasis on the word fart as he does the others. No, no - this word is of the utmost importance. So I tried as best I could to ignore his comment and we went into the hallway where all the classrooms were. I said, "Garrison, let's not say that." He said, "Why not mommy? Fart isn't a bad word!" How to explain to a 4 year old that we can laugh at home all day about farts but not talk about them at school is challenging, especially when the crowd who just heard his comment was filtering out into the hallway. So I did what any mature, responsible parent would do. I said, "Do you think you can beat me to your classroom?" When all else fails, change the subject!

Garrett worked until 1:30 AM last night and was exhausted when he got home. I was in a dead sleep when the dogs jumped off the bed and started barking like they were ready for a full on attack of the "night intruder". My heart was pounding until I realized where I was and that it was just Garrett. Those are some good watch dogs. Did I ever tell y'all about the time we lived in Connecticut and Sox almost ripped Garrett to shreds? I was in bed and Sox was laying at the foot of the bed. Garrett came home late from work and opened the door. Sox was growling, teeth baring, drooling, barking like I had NEVER heard him do before. I swear I thought he was going to leap off the bed and attack. I hear Garrett banging his hand against the wall in desperate search of the light switch to prove it was really him. The whole time he's shouting, "Boogie (what we call Sox), it's me! Boogie! It's Daddy!!!" in this high pitched what-the-hell I'm about to die voice. It was priceless!!! As soon as he flicked the light on Sox laid back down as if nothing happened while Garrett stood there sweating and panting. Haha! Good guard dog indeed! Now I ax ya' (ever seen My Cousin Vinny? Great movie!) - do these look like mean dogs to you? By the way, click on the links at the end to see two classic My Cousin Vinny clips.

Well, I'm hoping Garrett can get my car fixed tonight so we can still make it to Coleman this weekend to see his Granny. I'm sure you saw on FB it will be over $1300 to fix at the shop. Hopefully my handy hubby can get it done for way cheaper but the question is does he have the time? My car is screeching so loud this woman walking her dog yesterday turned and looked at me as if she feared for her life when I was driving down the road. So if y'all see a silver Xterra that sounds like it's dying a slow and painful death, don't be skerd. It's just me and my metal grinding on metal brakes begging for a little TLC. Sounds sweet when you put it that way right? Not so much.

MY COUSIN VINNY CLIPS:
My favorite scene:
http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/opening-statement/11040467
Watch for language in this one:
http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/pants/11040494

Jewels*

You are my sunshine!

Monday morning I got Garrison out of bed and he was all groggy and I was fully prepared for a whiney Monday morning. While that did come later he said the sweetest words to me a few minutes after climbing out of bed. "Mommy, you are my sunshine!" Sometimes I think (scratch that, I know) I have the sweetest little boy ever! He totally made my Monday!

Isn't it funny how sometimes words (as opposed to materialistic objects) can totally make one's day/week/month? Last week my husband came home from work and walked over to me and out of the blue said, "I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. You do so much around the house, you help me with school, you work full time, and you take care of Garrison. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am." After I sat there with my jaw on the floor for a few seconds I laughed at him. You heard me. I know you're sitting there thinking, "What a B!" But this was SO out of the ordinary for him to say that I was thinking he was going to ask for a $2,000 part for his Jeep or something. Haha! After I realized he was serious and really was being sincere I told him that his comment made my week. What can I say? I don't require much! Just a little appreciation every now and then and I'm a happy girl!

My baby boy is growing up WAY too fast. I know I've said this before but it just hits me at certain times how big he's getting to be. Or we'll share a moment that I know I will never forget. Last night was one of these times. Garrett was at school and I was tucking Garrison into bed. Sometimes I sing to him at night before I leave his room. I haven't done this in a while but last night he asked me to stay and "sing something Mommy". So I sang Amazing Grace. He laid there rubbing his hands threw his hair (which INSTANTLY took me back to when he was about 9 months old as this was the move he would always do when falling asleep) and his eyes were getting droopy. My eyes immediately filled as I realized how quickly he was growing up. I won't always be able to have moments like that with him. I am learning to really, truly treasure every single moment with him because time really does go by way too fast. He asked me to sing Twinkle, Twinkle with him and the the "HalleLUjia song" as he calls it. This is the fast version of Amazing Grace with the hallelujia part in it if y'all know what I'm talking about. My big boy sat there and sang the whole thing with me. Precious I tell ya'!

Yesterday after work I took Garrison to our neighborhood swimming pool. I saw a mom there with her kids and she made a beeline to me. Ugh! I really am a very sociable person but for some reason I have no desire to socialize with people at my swimming pool. Maybe it's because I already feel like a bloated hippo wading in the kiddie pool and don't want to be talking to anyone while I'm leaning over and my boobs are hanging in their toddlers' faces. Or maybe I just don't want to talk to anyone. Whatever the reason - I was alreay annoyed that this woman was headed my way. So she sits down and starts asking 20 questions. Why??? Just LEAVE ME ALONE is what I wanted to say. That sounds so mean but it really does get old. Anyways, I've seen this woman at the pool before and let's just say I completely disagree with her parenting style. I know you may be thinking why is this any of my business and it's probably not. But it does get frustrating when Garrison watches kids behaving in a certain way and then thinks he wants to give it a try. So the mom tells all 3 of her kids it's time to go. I swear they did not leave until 45 minutes after that comment. The kids were jumping back in the pool every time she turned around. Instead of going in the pool after them and spanking their ass and telling them to get in the car (that's harsh and I'm only kidding, kind of) she would use her "sweet mommy" coaxing voice to get them to come out. "Okay kids (remember the mommy voice here) it's time to get out. I'm going to count to 5...1...2...3...4...5... really guys, come on... let's go.... oh girls you're being silly... and now you're just showing off...." I sat here watching the scene unfold with my mouth hanging open. Tell the kids to get out of the pool and make them listen! What is SO hard about this concept? It just frustrates me because I can totally see this woman having MAJOR problems on her hands in about 10 years when these girls are teenagers and she has no control at all over them. Okay, I'm done with that rant.

I was having a great morning today. On time, Garrison was in a great mood, ready for the day. So we decided to give the dogs a treat before we left. I keep their treats in canisters on the counter. I opened the canister and it was FILLED with ants. Nice! We had a sugar ant problem a few months back but got rid of them successfully. Now these are some kind of carpenter ants. So I spent about 10 minutes cleaning up what I could and spraying our ant spray around the baseboard and counter in that area. Ugh! Now I get to go home and fight the ants again. I WILL WIN! Dah dah dah DAH dah dah dah dah DAH DAH!!! That was my success music!

Have a great day everyone!

Jewels*

Been a while...

Sorry I'm not posting too often anymore - or maybe y'all are cheering out there. HA!

What can I update all of you on?

Well, my amazing grandma turned 75 this past Sunday. The Sunday before we had a huge surprise birthday party for her at Gloria's at Firewheel in Garland. To give you an idea on the size of our family we had the entire upstairs to ourselves...and filled it up. She was so surprised and grateful that EVERYONE was there! It was incredible. Every time we have family get togethers I realize how truly blessed I am. I remember growing up and people telling me they had 2 cousins that lived many states away that they saw maybe every 5 years. What?!?! I thought everyone had a family like mine. Loud, fun, exciting, hilarious... did I mention loud? My grandma had 9 kids (God bless her, right?) and almost every child had at least 2 kids. I have truly lost count but have somewhere around 20 cousins on that side. It's amazing! Anyways, this experience reminded me how lucky I am to have such a great family and it makes me sad for those who did not get to experience that growing up. I keep trying to point out to Garrett (who loves our huge fam) that we don't want to be old with only a few kids and grandkids surrounding us do we? Do NOT misread that - I definitely could not handle 9 kids but maybe 3 instead of the 2 my husband wants? We'll see... Anyways, here are some pics from the "Gerber Reunion/Grandmama's 75th Bday Party"!

So today is my "Friday". We leave for the beach tomorrow morning. I am SO excited! I cannot wait to see my adorable nephews and I know Garrison is craving some cousin time as is Will (my oldest nephew). I just love seeing them together. I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years with them wanting to go walk the beach (aka look at girls) to which I'm sure KiKi and I will say, "Sure, just let us get our shoes on and we'll join y'all!" HAHAHAHAHA! Here are a few pics of our beach vacation last year...

My husband makes me laugh so hard. I mean really makes me laugh. This morning I had my hair pulled back a little differently - nothing crazy - just top part pulled back and I'm wearing it wavy today. I leaned down to kiss him goodbye and he said, "Bye Sackagaweeah!" What?!?!? I had no idea what he was talking about. He then told me I looked like an Indian (I don't give a crap about being PC so I mean the feather in the head kind of Indian) with my hair that way. I had to just sit there and laugh at him. First of all I'm glad I am the kind of wife who didn't storm out all pissed off at him and that I can actually laugh when he makes fun of me. Second of all, I LOVE that he is honest with me. Can't say we have a lack of communication, right? (Well, except for the time we showed up at different restaurants for lunch - HA!)

I'm super proud of myself for working out every day as of last weekend. I have done my Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser coach) dvd every day and gone to the gym twice so far. I feel SO much better when I work out. Only downfall? Increased appetite - damn, being a girl is hard. Oh well. I'm hoping to keep it up even on vacation but we'll see how that goes.

Speaking of Jillian, for all you Bachelor watchers out there, I'm learning that I am one of the only ones who is happy that Jillian picked Ed. He is so real and I love that! Everyone else seemed to want Kypton to win but he has a serious problem kissing. Every time he would kiss her I had to turn my head or risk vomitting in my mouth. GROSS!

Anyways, I'm outta' here. Y'all have a great weekend and I'll update soon!

Love,

Jewels*

Finally, 4th, Dogs, Parenting

Hey y'all!

I am going to apologize for my peppiness (real word?) ahead of time. I FINALLY dragged my ass out of bed to work out this morning. Yep - 4:30 came early but what is my other choice? Unless I want to take time away from Garrison at night I only have the option of going to the gym in the morning. After only 6 hours of sleep I have to say I still have so much energy after working out. Hopefully this is the start of getting back into my gym routine... we'll see! Oh and on the way to work this morning I saw an incredible lightning show. No rain - just awesome lightning streaks all across the sky - beautiful!

We had a great 4th weekend! I was just glad we didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time, different from past few weekends where we were constantly going. We went to Wylie fireworks show Thursday night with my friend Julia and her kiddos Mark and Shelby. Friday Garrett and I went to see The Hangover and while it is completely vulgar it is by far one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. We hung out with my parents that afternoon and evening. Dad grilled out steaks and we had game night. Garrett and I were the winning team - yay! On Saturday we went to McKinney to visit the in-laws and some family that was in town. We rode out there in Garrett's Jeep. WHY we thought that would be a good idea I have no clue. The 100 something degree heat definitely got to us. And then as if that wasn't dumb enough we proceeded to go to the car show in downtown. Oy vey... But we did hit the Allen outlet malls where my mother-in-law introduced me to my new favorite store - Burke's. It was incredible. Think slightly downscale TJ Maxx or Marshalls. They have name brands for SO cheap. I got 2 hats ($7 each) and some jewelry (like $3 each) and PJs for Garrison ($5 each). I was so excited. And Bass was having a huge sale so Garrett got some much needed shorts for $13 a piece. This is the great part. He was at Ralph Lauren at first and called me and said he wanted to get these $40... you heard me 40 DOLLAR shorts. What?! Was he crazy? Pretty sure I just bought my summer shorts at Wal Mart for $15. I know that sounds WT but really now... I told him to just hold on and we'd go look together. So we went into Bass and voila - shorts on sale! He was happy we shopped around. Hello - doesn't he know I know best when it comes to deal finding? :)

Last night Garrett and I watched that A&E show, I Survived. Ever seen it? It's great! Anyways, one of the stories on there had me crying like a baby. This woman was an avid runner. She had a 3 year old dog named Taz that she rescued from a shelter a few years before. For all you dog lovers this is NOT a sad story - nothing happens to the dog, trust me! Anyways, to shorten the story they went on a run in Utah and she slipped on some ice and fell 60 feet down a canyon and shattered her pelvis and had severe internal bleeding. Her dog ran around and around and finally made his way down to the bottom of the canyon. After a couple days of her dragging herself with her upper body alone she realized she was not going to make it out of there alive unless she got help. It was 20 below 0 at night time. Finally she turned to her dog and said she actually looked him in the eyes and told him to go get help. She said her dog looked at her like he totally understood what she was saying and then took off. A few hours later her dog came running back. She was at her lowest point by then and she was crying. She said her dog literally licked all the tears off her face as if to tell her it would be okay. She then heard the motor of a car and a man came to her and said, "That's some dog you have there!" HOW GREAT IS THAT? For those people out there who don't think dogs understand what you're saying or that they have no real connection with humans argue that! It made me realize how great dogs are and the true comfort and joy they can bring to our lives. Here are my dogs Sox and Tex with Garrison- love these babies!

Friends often ask me how Garrison turned out so good. We are very lucky to have a sweet, well behaved son. Since this is a blog where I am speaking to whoever wants to listen I wanted to give a few tips on why I think Garrison turned out so well. I think parenting is a very simple concept that takes patience and a go with the flow attitude. And now for my unsolicited advice (haha). Five words - consistency, discipline, laid back, patience, and most of all LOVE!

Garrett and I are super consistent - from routine to discipline to schedules and we co-parent together really well, thank God. We never contradict what the other one says in front of Garrison.

Discipline can and should be used at a very young age. We started timeouts when Garrison was 1. Trust me - when you tell them no and they look at you and laugh and then go do that same thing again while still looking at you, they know what "no" means.

Be laid back. Your child (from the time they're born) can feel the tension in your body when you hold them.

DO NOT LET THEM SLEEP IN BED WITH YOU! Please!!! That will affect your marriage (hello!) and will never allow your child to be independent. It's okay to let them cry sometimes - they don't always need to be held.

Some of that may sound harsh but trust me - it works. I have one of the sweetest, most affectionate, loving, trusting son I could ever ask for! I'm SO not bragging on my parenting skills or saying I'm perfect - just trying to help any new parents out there or those that may feel like they just need some extra advice.

Well, I'm hopping off my soap box now! Have a great day! Here are two pics of Garrison - when he was a baby and now. WOW - time goes by fast. For all you parents out there PLEASE enjoy every second you have with them!

Jewels*

Lately...

I haven't been writing lately so I thought I'd say Hello and give an update - random updates of course.

Random story - I had to call my sister yesterday and tell her this one. You know you're PMSing when you are in the car alone and drive up behind the Blue Bell ice cream truck and (out loud) say "MMMMMMM!". So sad. I have been on this birth control for a few months now and I swear every month I have thought I was pregnant. Before you keep reading I AM NOT PREGNANT! I have had every single symptom (heartburn, HUGE boobs, headaches, fatigue, nausea, hungry, frequent urination... all of them) except missing my period. Isn't the female body strange and often frustrating? I think so. I told my doctor I would stick it out though and am hoping my body gets used to it. God knows the last thing I need is to switch pills again only to get size ZZZ boobies (if that's even a size).

So Natalie (my best friend since I was 10) and Gary got married last weekend. It was a blast! She was the most beautiful bride of course. And although she was my bridesmaid over 6 years ago I can't believe she is married now! I am so excited for them and ready to watch them start their lives together. They have been in St. Lucia for the last week and I can't wait to hear from her this weekend and catch up on all the details - well not ALL the details - but most of them. Here is a picture of her and Gary (sorry so dark) and one of Garrison in his tux - how cute is he I ask you!

Kristin and family also came in town for the wedding and it was nice for them to see Daddy on Father's Day. Here are some pics of my precious nephew Will and Garrison walking at Firewheel, Will's awesome CHEESE smile, and with dad.

On a serious note I am starting to feel like God is putting people in my life for a reason lately. Over the last couple of years I have had two really close friends (in fact both of these girls have become two of my best friends) who have gone through an incredibly hard time in their marriage and decided to get a divorce. I find myself asking God why. Why does it have to happen to these girls who are such strong Christians? Why me who I feel like has no experience with divorce -growing up or in my own adult life? I can only have faith that it is for some reason. I hope that I have been a good friend, listener, and support system to these girls. It also helps me to remember not to complain. I have the world's best parents who love and support me in everything I do. I have an amazing husband who, while of course has some faults like the rest of us, loves me and my son and does everything he can and more to provide for us. I have the most precious son who teaches me what love truly is every day of my life.

Speaking of blessings here's a (late) shoutout to all you dads out there. You know, for all the guys out there who read my blog and all (HA). Seriously, if you are a father of a young child NEVER underestimate the power you have in your child's life. Especially if you have a son. My son imitates EVERY single thing my husband does (good and bad). They soak up absolutely everything you teach them. I am so grateful to say that my husband is a truly loving, dedicated, loyal father and Garrison and I are both so blessed to have him as the head of our family. Here is daddy and Garrison dancing at the wedding:

I HAVE HAVE HAVE to start eating right and working out again. Not quite sure what made me "fall off the wagon" yet again... oh wait, yeah I do... HORMONES! Dear Hormones - I hate you! Anyways, I need to get serious about this. I always either go all the way (work out every day and eat great) or completely awful (fast food, snacks, desserts, ugh!). We have family vacation in Galveston at the end of July and Garrett and I are going to Hot Springs for a week long get-a-way in November (yay!). I'm super excited about Hot Springs because we haven't taken a vacation with just us two in a long time. He has a "jeeping" trip that weekend and we are doing bed and breakfast/spa time during the week and camping/jeeping on weekend. Now that's compromise... and a perfect vacation! Can't wait!

Garage Sale day tomorrow! Yay! Bring mama some money!!!

~Jewels*

I've missed you!

I know it's been a long time since I've blogged. A few people asked me why I wasn't posting anymore so I decided to give everyone an update. First of all can I just say I think it's funny that anyone noticed I wasn't posting anymore. People actually read this? HA!

A few funny stories to share with you - as always. So I bought my bridesmaid dress for Natalie's wedding about 6 months ago and it fit perfect. I've been steadily losing weight (a very little bit) but the boobs... BIGGER! How is that possible? The only thing I can attribute it to is that I got on Mirena, off Mirena, and back on a different birth control pill all since I bought this dress. My husband doesn't believe me that they have gotten bigger but I swear I could have Triple G's and that boy wouldn't complain. What is it about boobs anyways that guys like? We'll leave that topic for another day. So I went to a tailor to see if it could be let out in the "bust" - I felt all classy saying that instead of saying to the little chinese man, "Can you make this area bigger so my big titties can fit?" Anyways, he said they made the dress so that there was no way to let any out of the bust... of course they did. So I went to David's Bridal and had to walk the walk of shame and go to the counter and ask (in front of everyone) if I could exchange my dress for a bigger size. You know the annoying, peppy, over the top lady behind the counter (along with everyone else) was thinking "Ohhhh... one of THOSE girls who bought a size smaller thinking she would lose weight in time for the wedding but didn't! Mmmm... hmmm!"... geez, so embarassing. I thought of saying, "I really have lost some weight and the dress still fits just not in the boobs... see my boobs are apparently like Pinocchio's nose and just keep growing and growing and growing." I didn't care though. So I dried on the bigger size and what a shocker it was a little too big. So yes they did an "emergency order" and I will have just enough time to get my dress back and give it back to the nice little chinese man to get it altered in time for the wedding. Why is being a girl SO difficult?

Garrison has been pretty hard to wake up lately. He goes to bed about 8:00 and I get him up about 6:15. Hell, I wish I got that much sleep. Anyways, he's just like his daddy - not a morning person! So he was being grumpy all morning and I let him take his magna doodle in the car to play with on the way to school. As a side note I really do consider myself to be an EXTREMELY patient mom so when I feel impatient it makes me mad at myself. He was playing with his magna doodle and drew a picture apparently because he said, "Look mommy! Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, see! Mommy!"... I said in my patient motherly 6:30 am voice, "Hold on baby. Mama's driving and I can't look right now." He said, "Look mommy! Mommy, I drew a picture. Look! See! MOMMY!" Had I followed instinct I would have turned around (yes, taken my eyes off the road) and yelled, "DO YOU WANT US TO DIE???? BECAUSE IF I LOOK AT YOUR PICTURE WE MIGHT DIE!" But I didn't - I somehow had the patience to once again say, "Baby, mommy can't look right now. See, I'm driving and if I take my eyes off the road that would be very dangerous wouldn't it?" And what does he say, "Okay mommy." Pretty sure that was a much better reaction than I would have gotten in the alternate scenario. haha! Ohhhh, patience is a virtue I tell ya'.

We took a vacation to Broken Bow, Oklahoma with friends of ours for my birthday mid May and guess what? The lake was CLOSED! First time in 40 years it has happend! At least that's what the excited lady at the visitors' center told us... we weren't too excited. We took my friends' boat and that is ALL we had to do... and ALL there is to do in Oklahoma. We managed to have a good time though (says something about good company) and we made it to Lake Lavon (right by our house back in Wylie) on Sunday.

Natalie's bachelorette party is this Saturday (as well as Gary's bachelor party). I am super excited to have a girls' night. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza and hitting some Addison bars and maybe Labare. I hope I see Pedro there. There's a story behind that (of course). We went there for my friend Jesiree's bachelorette party and I brought my mom because I thought it would be fun! HAHA - we had the best time! We were making fun of all the male strippers (gay, gay, gay, and pretty much... gay) and there was a Mexican fan boy (the guy responsible for setting up the fan to blow on the dancing men) who my mom and I nicknamed Pedro. We were cheering for Pedro all night - every time he brought that fan out... "GO PEDRO!!!!"... gotta' show the fan boys some love girls!

Not much more to tell. It's been a busy few months and will continue to be busy through the summer I'm sure. Garrett and I are still actively looking for a church home, Garrett will be starting full time school in a week, Garrison is going to be taking swim lessons in a couple of weeks (I'm secretly freaking out about that), I am still working and loving life with my boys.

On a sentimental note for those of you married girls out there - DON'T GIVE UP! Garrett and I have been married for 6 years and without going into all the long, drawn out details I will just say it's SO worth it to stick it out no matter what! There are days where I think it would be so much easier to just give up and not have to deal with "stuff" (how he chooses to spend money v. how I choose to spend money, personality differences, etc.). I'm sure he feels that way too sometimes. I just wanted to say that I know God has a bigger plan for Garrison and for us as a family. I'm not sure why I just put that in my blog but maybe God is telling me someone needs to hear that message today. Secrets of marriage (in my humble opinion) in order: Communication, Laughter, Sex!

What a sweet note to end on, eh?

Love,

Jewels*

P.S. Some recent pics

Thomas Family Photo

Bridget and I (on our way to the lake... that was closed!)
Garrett and I - finally on the boat

Garrison and his GRILL sucker Garrett got him at Popcorn Papas
Me and Garrison playing out back in the sprinkler

Mirena... what now???

I had Mirena (IUD) put in about 5 months ago. We thought it would be a great method of birth control because it lasts up to five years but you can take it out sooner. The pill just wasn't working for me anymore. Well... I'm getting the Mirena out today. I can say goodbye to: bloating, weight gain, BIGGER boobs (is that possible?), acne (like I didn't even have as a teenager), mood swings (ask Garrett... seriously), emotional wreck, 20 day periods, cramping... the list goes on and on. Back to the pill for me! Why does being a girl have to be sooooo hard? I guess we could always just use the good old abstinence method.... BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Like I said... back to the pill for me.

I'll blog more later.

Jewels*

Does it really matter?

I never thought I would be one to blog about this - or consider it for that reason. Garrett was out of town this past weekend on a "Jeeping trip" in Gilmer, TX. I had a relaxing weekend at home but did miss him which makes me wonder how I ever cut it as a Navy wife... that's for another time though.

I called one of my best friend's Bridget and asked if I could go to church with them on Sunday. She was so excited to have Garrison and I come visit. Garrison and her son Tanner are best buds! Let me give y'all some background. I am born and raised Episcopalian (Anglican - don't ask) and I have an unshakeable faith. My entire (or mostly) family is Anglican, my sister is a youth director, my uncle is a priest... the list goes on and on. I LOVE the sacraments, the tradition, the reverance that is involved with the church. However, Garrett and I have been trying to find a church home for the last 6 years of our marriage. He comes from a Mormon background. He was baptized as a Christian about 7 years ago. We have probably visited 15 churches (some in other states) and still have not found the right fit for us. For a while we went to my "home church" (my parents' church) and it just wasn't the right fit. While I love the traditionalism (is that a word?) of the Anglican church I CRAVE to be spiritually fed. I don't have to have contemporary music necessarily (although I do love it) but let's face it for you Anglicans/Catholics out there... we don't bring our bibles to church, there is not an overwhelming focus on the youth, etc etc. I really thought Sunday would just be a great time to sing and have a "feel good" kind of Sunday. But I really felt the Holy Spirit while at the Baptist church... who knew?? Just kidding. But really, I felt like it could be a great fit for our family. I started thinking I was crazy becuase here I am this traditional Anglo Catholic girl and now I'm thinking of going to a BAPTIST CHURCH??? After discussing with my sister and parents it was brought up, "Does it really matter?" And the answer (in my opinion) is NO it does not. Who cares if we go to a Catholic, Episcopalian (conservative), Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, or Baptist church??? So after much prayer I discussed it with Garrett when he got home and we are going to go visit as a family next Sunday. Prayers for us in our journey to find a new church home are much appreciated in this time. That's all I have for today.

Oh, we had a great time at Disney on Ice. Here is a picture of me and Garrison:

And one of Best Buds Garrison and Tanner:

Jewels*

Hearing, Vow Renewal

Okay... I just typed an entire post and it somehow got deleted before I coudl post... grrrrrr!

I have been asked to give an update on how my surgery went and here it is:

I can hear!!! More specifically...
- kids playing on playground after walking out of my post op appointment
- my high heels clicking on the hospital floor after my appointment
- running over the grate in the parking lot
- rain on the roof
- my TV volume at 20 instead of 30 (how I used to listen to it)
- I no longer read lips
- Garrison whispering
- the click of the light switch when I turn it on

The list goes on and on. I'm shortening this post because I don't want to retype everything I just did so I'm either sorry or you're lucky. haha. Surgery went very well. They only did local anesthetic so they could test my hearing after to make sure it was successful. I was nervous about that at first but grateful looking back because I knew right away the surgery worked. Really nauseous after but doc put alcohol soaked cotton ball on my nose and told me to inhale deeply and that helped a ton. I basically had to lay in the bed for 4 hours without moving. Had to use bed pan to pee first time in my life... that was not a pleasant experience to say the least. Car ride home was actually okay. Basically had to lay on couch for 4 days, felt ok day 5, and back to work on Monday. Thank you all for the prayers. I'm so blessed that this was successful. Have to get the second surgery but waiting about a year for that. Had an awesome doc that people even from out of state highly recommend so let me know if you are looking for a good ear doc. (adults and kids)

My parents' 30th vow renewal was this past weekend. Awesome! I was super nervous becuase I found out a week before I was supposed to sing with my sis while our cousin Nick played the guitar. It ended up going good though so glad that was done. We had a great time and I really miss my sister and fam. Can't wait until they move here. Here are the pictures.

Can't wait until Thursday - Mickey and Minnie's Magical Adventure: Disney on Ice. Bridget, Tanner, Mom, Garrison, and I are going. Garrison is beyond excited!!!

I'll keep you updated.

Love,
Jewels*

What?

Hopefully I will be using a lot less of that word after my surgery tomorrow. I'm only having my right ear fixed for now and the left one will be down the road. I was reading over my pre op paperwork last night and telling Garrett the statisctics they provided. I have a 1% chance of going completely deaf in my right ear, a 10% chance of losing taste for up to a year (new diet perhaps?), a 1% chance of losing taste forever (a lifelong diet perhaps?!), a 1% chance of face paralysis (that would be my luck since Natalie and I used to watch "Sewing With Nancy" and make fun of the poor lady), and a 1% chance of having severe veritgo (basically being so dizzy you constantly throw up - awesome!). All in all the chances are good that the surgery will go well. There is a 95% chance my hearing will improve and I am hopeful for that number. I was just telling a friend earlier today who asked if I was nervous that the human part of me is terrified - I HATE HATE HATE... did I say HATE?... throwing up. And most all patients do so at least once after surgery as your equilibrium is completely jacked with. And of course I am afraid of being lumped into one of the above 1% categories. But the Christian part of me (which I know is greater than the "human part") has faith that all will be well. I have so many prayers going up for me and I am so blessed to have people that care so much in my life. So thanks all for the prayers!

I put this on my facebook status earlier but I will tell it again here. I was trying to prepare Garrison for the fact that I am having surgery. I don't want him to be concerned or confused if he sees me down for a few days and I'm not my normal self. And let's face it... to have Daddy take care of him for at least 3 days is going to be a shocker... haha, just kidding. So I sat him down last night and told him Mommy was having surgery. He got a look of utter concern on his face and asked Why. I explained to him that this will hopefully help me hear better. He said, "Why do you need to hear better mommy?" I said, "You know how you talk to mommy sometimes and I have to say 'huh' 'what'? a lot?" "Yeah he said." - because he does know this all too well. I said, "Well, after I have the surgery I won't have to ask that anymore and I should be able to hear better." He looked so concerned. To look at a 3 year old and see that they feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders is awful. He perked up and said, "You don't have to Mommy because I CAN JUST TALK LOUDER LIKE THIS, SEE?" with a big smile on his face. How sweet is that I ask you? I have to say Garrison deserves the sweetest kid ever award for that one. He thought that by talking louder he could solve my problem. I am so blessed to have a child who thinks in such a selfless way. And for those of you who have kids or even know a 3 year old that is tough to find.

As a little note I started the book Love Dare - a 40 day journey to help enrich your marriage. It is amazing so far. Garrett hasn't started it yet but I like it that way. This way we do not know what to expect every day from our "tasks". For those of you who have read it you know what I'm talking about. For those that haven't, you have to try it! It is amazing!

I am off now and I want to leave you with some pics of my awesome support system. And this is just some immediate family. I have TONS of extended family and some of the greatest friends ever! Could a girl be any more blessed?

My amazing, wonderful, funny, handsome hubby:

The most precious little boy EVER:

Who could ask for better parents?

The world's most loving, compassionate, selfless person I've ever known, my sister:

The craziest, silliest, strongest, Godliest, rock of a woman I know - my grandma:

Do I always have to have a title?

I get tired of coming up with creative little titles for these oh so pointless blogs so this one shall remain titleless - well, sort of.

Today is our 6th Anniversary. Hooray! Although I have to say celebrating an anniversary on a Monday when my system has been down all day at work (slooooooow day) does not seem like much of a celebration. My husband is super sweet though. Let me preface this by saying he is not a "flowers" kind of guy. I think he gave me flowers once when we were dating like 9 years ago. haha! He just thinks it's pointless to give flowers when they will die in like 5 days and I have to say I kind of see his point. But the girly side of me does think it would be nice to get flowers every now and then. Well he called me today at work and said, "I'm so pissed!"... well hello to you too! He said he called and ordered me flowers at 10 this morning and they guaranteed they would be at my work by 4:00. Well after talking to me a few times throughout the day he realized I had not gotten the flowers yet so he called to check the status and they said they wouldn't even be able to deliver before 5:00. So needless to say he was so upset he got a refund and said nevermind. The fact that he put the effort into it though when I know how pointless he thinks it is just because he knew it would make me happy - made me happy. He even wrote down the product number and told me to go look at them online. They were beautiful and I said thank you for the virtual flowers! :) When I found out they were almost $100 I said THANK GOD you got a refund. haha! I'm such a low maintenance wife. That is absolutely ridiculous and I really do feel for the husbands who feel obligated to buy their wives flowers every anniversary/birthday/mother's day... whenever! I told my hubby to feel free and drive by Wal Mart or Kroger next time he has a hankerin to buy me some flowers. :) That's my story for today. Here is a picture of them - yes I am sharing my virtual flowers with all of you - but the necklace around the vase is MINE! :)

I am super duper nervous about my ear surgery coming up - it's in a week and a half and I can't believe it's so close. Prayers are much appreciated!

Garrison... is that you? Workout or Hell?

This blog is mostly about Garrison...

Garrison was so cute this morning. He work his western shirt, his jeans, and his cowboy boots. He was such a sweet little thing and then we got in the car and he said, "Mommy I'm not going to cry today because of donuts". (Because the other morning he SCREAMED and threw a fit at daycare when I brought 2 donuts instead of the normal 3 that we take once or twice a week for his breakfast - I only had 4 left though and wanted him to be able to take them twice this week.) So I said, "Well that's good baby" knowing where this was going. And he said in his sweet angelic voice, "Do I have donuts today Mommy?" Me: "No bubba, we are having donuts tomorrow! Today we have a snack bar and a banana." One second I'm looking into this innocent little face and the next thing I know I hear this ear piercing SCREAM - scared me to death. I said, "Did you bite your lip?" Becuase it looked like he did and he goes "NO MOMMY!" (I'm typing that really hard as if to emphasize how he said it.) So he went from sweet little boy to psycho child in 2 seconds flat... amazing. But he cried it off and was sweet again by the time we got to school. I swear I'm exhausted by 8 AM most mornings. :)

And yesterday when I picked him up from daycare the teacher gave me that look. You know the look I'm talking about if you're a mom and your kid did something bad and the teacher has to tell you about it. So I was all prepared. I'm really not just saying this but Garrison is one of the most well behaved and well liked kids at school so it's truly rare that he gets in trouble. Apparently he went to timeout for showing his food to his friends at snack time. Well instead of sitting patiently and quietly in time out he started kicking the cabinet and eventually broke it off its hinges... really??? Really Garrison??? I was so disappointed in him. (That always gets him way more than being mad so I guess that's a good thing.) I made him apologize to his teacher, the office staff, and then have a talk with daddy and me both. Then I made him tell my mom and dad since we dropped by their house last night. I wanted him to realize that was not okay. When I was talking to him in the car about it I said, "That makes mommy so sad Garrison" and my eyes started watering (PMS - I'm really not that emotional) and I put my sunglasses back on. He said, "I'm sorry mommy." He looked at me with this agonizing frowny face and said, "Take your sunglasses off mommy. Let me see your eyes." And I did and they were dry by then. He just smiled like he was so happy that I was better. Awwww... how can they be so awful one minute and so ridiculously sweet and cute the next? That's just the day in the life of a a mommy to a three year old.

I did a cardio ball workout on Sunday that my boss recommended. She said to make sure I did the 30 minute and not 50 minute workout. The DVD menu was not clear and just said Workout and Express Workout as my options. Well there was also a 10 minute workout so I figured that was the Express one. So I started up and let's just say this was Hell and the sweedish beautiful fit instructor was Satan herself. After about 10 minutes in she said, "Okay, great warm up everyone. Now let's get started on the workout." I was literally yelling at the tv... "WARM UP??? THAT WAS THE FREAKN' WARM UP??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Well just then my oh so sensitive and witty husband walks through and asks what I'm doing yelling at the tv. So I keep going... 25 minutes in I was DONE. (Apparently I was doing the 50 minute workout.) I sat down and fast forwarded through the rest to see what other kinds of torture this lady had in mind and my husband walks back through with another smart ass remark about me "working out" (AKA watching tv). I told him I would LOVE to see him do that workout and he walked out without another word. HA! Anyways, point of my story is I consider myself to be in decent shape (cardiovascularly) as I have been (with exeption of this week due to being so sore I can barely walk) going to the gym every morning and doing about 40 min of cardio. But it wasn't the cardio that got me in this dvd. This woman was CRAZY! Squatting, lunging, squatting, lunging... did I mention squatting and lunging? I seriously could barely walk for a few days. I couldn't sit on the toilet without pain. And when I would go to sit on the couch I had to literally jump and fall back into it as to avoid putting any kind of strain on my leg muscles. Pathetic I know. And maybe I am crazy but I will try, try again!

Jewels*

Garrison, 2 lbs closer to SKINNY, Otosclerosis

Garrison cracks me up. I had this as my status earlier for those of you who do not like repeat stories. I had this as my status earlier for those of you who do not like repeat stories... haha! Thought I'd get you one last time before you skip on to the next paragraph. I like to tell Garrison that he's handsome. I don't tell him all the time - wouldn't want him to have a huge head to go along with his lanky 3 year old body, but I try to make it a point to boost him up every once in a while and let's face it people - he's pretty cute! ;)

When I used to get him dressed he would sometimes say, "Am I handsome mommy?" Well that has turned into, "I'm handsome mommy!" And this morning it was, "I'm very very handsome mommy! I'm very very very very handome mommy!".... really? Just like a man. You try and stroke the ego a bit and the head gets so big it almost explodes. Ay yay yay! It was pretty cute though. Now if he's telling me that at 15 I might have to give him an ego deflation. So then we get in the car and say our morning prayers on our way to school. In the middle of the prayer he said, "Mommy I love Jesus. I want to hug Jesus. I want to kiss Jesus." How sweet is that? I try to explain to him that Jesus is in his heart and always with him so he can "hug" him whenever he wants. He seemed to be content with that answer!

I have been eating really healthy (pretty much following Weight Watchers pont system) since Monday. I'm actually super proud of myself because I LOVE FOOD! :) I think my husband has actually tried to throw me off track a few times but I've stuck to my guns. He hates a salad and water kind of girl but his choices are (1) skinny salad and water wife or (3) fat burger and fries wife. In 4 days I've lost 2 lbs. I'm so excited! I'm one of those super impatient people when it comes to seeing results so that gives me the motivation I need to really stick with this. I will swear by the theory that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat right and exercise. It really is true!

I am finally blogging about my otosclerosis. I've made several comments about how I can't hear very well and lots of funny stories to go along with that. I started noticing (actually my coworkers did) that I could not hear very well about 3 years ago. If someone talked to me over my cubicle I couldn't hear what they were saying and had to walk around to talk to them. The hearing got gradually worse over time. For a while I didn't notice it because I was in an outside sales job selling Medicare insurance to old people. Loved the job and LOVE how loud old people talk! Music to my ears! :) Anyways, after going to one "specialist" (if he really deserves that title) he told me I had Meniere's Disease. Basically this guy told me in a very casual way that if I chose to have more children I would go completely deaf... oh and there was no cure! Needless to say I left that appointment in tears. After taking my very wise mom's advise (moms really are always right!) I got a second opinion. This doctor decided to do a cat scan and told me I do not have Meniere's but I have Otosclerosis. (Hope I did that link thingy right... haha!) Bad news - I will probably one day go completely deaf. Good news - I can prevent that and possibly fix the hearing I've lost by having surgery. Bad news - There is a very small chance I could go completely deaf from the surgery. Good news - I have faith that it will go well! Effects of having this on me: Garrett tells me every night the tv is at max volume already when I ask him to turn it up, I have become an EXCELLENT lip reader, I get frustrated easily when I have to say "what" so many times a day I lose count, my son has even told me, "you can't hear me mommy!", and I basically do a lot of nodding and smiling until someone stares blankly at me and I say... "I'm sorry, what?" because I realize they were asking me a question. HAHA!

So, my surgery is scheduled for March 4th. I've been reading some discussion boards about people who have experienced this and the surgery. Some... not so positive, but that's my own fault for reading on the internet. I am nervous but also excited that I could possibly hear again. I am affected in both ears which is rare so I will have one ear done in March and have to wait at least 6 months to have the other done. I'll keep you all updated.

Jewels*

New Start

I have been eating healthy for a while now (okay, I can't lie - I just started yesterday) and I feel so much better in general plus of course I'm hoping it leads to some much needed weight loss. I still have some toddler weight on me (I hate it when women say baby fat when their kids are over the age of a year) that I need to shed. I told my husband last night that I was starting to eat healthy just so he was aware. Then he calls me today and asks if I want to go eat at Babe's with him for lunch. WHY would he do that to me? Does he WANT a fat wife? Grrrr.... If you have never been to Babe's you are absolutely missing out. It's pretty much grease with a little chicken - haha. It's family style so they bring all the veggies out whether you want them or not and then you pick from 6 meats. The meat picking is never a hard choice... I'll take some gravy with the chicken fried steak please. No you didn't get that wrong - when I get CFS it usually has so much gravy you can't even see the CFS. I told myself though that this time I would be good. For the record though going to Babe's hungry is like sending a soldier who has been in Iraq for a year to the strip club and telling him to sit back in the corner with a blindfold on - dirty example I know. ANYWAYS, we went and I ordered water (my first good move seeing as how I always order coke) and then I opted for the roasted chicken, and THEN I completely ignored the buttery moist savory biscuits and creamy melt in your mouth mashed potatoes with gravy and I chose salad, green beans and a little corn for my sides. I was so proud! My husband was pretty much in shock I think. I started wondering if he was trying ot break me. haha! Again, does he WANT a fat wife? By the way I think I should have been a menu writer if there is such an occupation. So... after getting many tips and much motivation from my boss at work I am well on my way to a healthy (and hopefully skinnier) lifestyle. Wish me luck!

Nothing else new with life except to tell you that we are doing our taxes tonight. Woo freakn' hoo... I can hardly wait for the accountant's jokes to come pouring out. No offense to any of you accountants out there but I have never encountered more boring individuals than while preparing our taxes. My only saving grace will be coming home and hopefully watching the recorded Office and Bachelor tonight.

Jewels*

Kisses, Snot Pot, Mommy's Medicine?, Marriage - right age?

We had a great time this weekend with my sister Kristin and Chris and the boys. Will is PRECIOUS! He gives kisses by leaning his head down and putting it on you. He did this to me so many times this weekend and it made me feel so good since he didn't used to be the most affectionate kiddo. I absolutely love my nephews and Garrison of course loves his cousins. Him and Will are so cute to watch. By the way we are trying to break Garrison of the habit of calling Will "Baby Will" which is what we've called him since he was born (my fault). My brother-in-law Chris pointed out that it will be pretty funny when they are in college and Garrison says Hey Baby Will... haha! Good point and we are trying SO hard to break him of that now.

So I went to the doc Friday and apparently I have rhinitus (too lazy to look up correct spelling right now). So instead of antibiotics I was told to buy a "nasal irrigation kit". Really?! So I went to Walgreen's and bought this watering can looking thing with packets of sinus wash. You mix this packet with lukewarm water and literally put the tip of the "kettle" into a nostril and lean your head the other way and the water drains out of your other nostril. It's by far the weirdest thing I've ever done. Chris dubbed it the "snot pot". It is awful and I hate it but I have to admit that it works like a charm. I hope I don't have to use the snot pot much longer. And pretty sure I won't be taking that to work. How cute would that be? I'd be in the kitchen doing my snot pot over the sink and the fed ex guy would come in and I'd do a little wave as snot is running out of my nostrils. Awesome...

I went with my best friend the other day to her final dress fitting for her wedding gown. I had to take ... OKAY... sorry for the interruption (as if you know I was just interrupted) but that scared the beJesus out of me. I'm home with Garrison (who is in bed) because Garrett is at a Superbowl party. I just heard this noise and it scared me a little so I looked up and I see Garrison walking toward me. Let me just say he NEVER comes out of his room. He might stay awake and get out of bed but never comes out of his room. This has just led me a whole new set of fears. I am not an overprotecting mom by any means but all I can think of is locks locks lock. Higher up on the front door, on the garage door, on the back door, and most importantly on our bedroom door - yikes! Okay, now where was I? ..... oh yes, so I had to take Garrison with me to the bridal store. If you've ever been to a bridal store you know that they can be a bit uppity at times. So we're in the dressing room and Garrison was being so patient - as patient as a 3 year old can be - and apparently he was going through my purse. All of a sudden he held up my tampon and I said, "Baby, that's mommy's medicine. Put it back." This is what I call it because if you have kids you know that they will repeat EVERYTHING you say and I don't want him saying "tampon" in the middle of a restaurant or Wal Mart. Anyways, he held it up and said as LOUD as he possibly could... "You stick this up your butt?!" Natalie busted out laughing and I didn't even know what to say. First of all, of course he says "bo bo" EVERY other time he refers to bottom and this one time he had to say BUTT to make it that much more offensive. If you don't understand what he meant he calls a girls' private a bo bo because to him it looks like a butt. And I don't think three is the appropriate age for me to explain the difference to him. And for the record I don't ever do that in front of him but I think he saw me do it once and was probably traumatized. So there you have it. Everyone in Alfred Angelo probably looks at me as the freak mom who's kid knows what a tampon is or thinks I do weird things with mine... ugh! The joys of being a mom.

I said it in my last blog but my parents are about to celebrate their 30th Anniversary. Amazing! We took them to Maggiano's Sat night and I gathered tons of pics and my sister put together an awesome DVD and book for them. It was really great and they loved it! Great weekend! I'm sure I've said this before but my parents have always taught me that the key to marriage is communication. I agree and to that I want to add humor. I've also said this before but marriage IS HARD! It's not easy. It's so so so worth it though. In the beginning Garrett and I fought a lot even though we had dated for four years before we were married. We learned to communicate though and we also laughed more than we fought. We laugh daily with or at each other and it's what keeps things fun! Garrison loves to laugh and have a good time and I know it's because of what he sees in us. I hope that we can learn to be as good of examples to our kids as my parents were to both of us (since Garrett and I practically grew up together). That's something else I wanted to mention. (By the way, if you are still reading this you are either really bored or oddly find my life interesting in some way.) A lot of women I meet say that they think girls should wait until their 30s and some have said 40s to get married. They say that they didn't really know themselves until that stage of their lives. I am not judging and I am certainly not saying my opinion is right. But to back my theory up all of the people who have told me that have been divorced at least once. I agree that women (and men) change throughout life and will continue to change. I think we learn from our experiences and we grow from them. But I hardly think that there is a "magic age" to marriage. Was 19 young for me to get married? Definitely. Would it have been any easier if I would have waited? I can say without a doubt it would not have been. It drives me crazy how people blame their "first divorce" on the fact that they were "just too young". Again, I'm not judging, but just saying I do not understand that concept. For me at least God has used our "low points" as huge learning experiences for us. It has been these times that have made our marriage what it is today and what it will continue to be. I don't really have a point to this except if you are single and reading this don't put an age on when you will be married. You might pass up on someone or something really wonderful!

I wish I had some pics of this weekend to post but of course I forgot my camera. So I will post some when Kristin sends them to me.

Love,
Jewels*

Why?, Amen, Bugs, Jeep, Anniversary

I was reading a couple of news articles online earlier and let me just say - this is why I don't read the news. It is so depressing! I first came across the story of the apparent murder suicide of a family of four in Ohio. Everyone thought this was the "perfect family". This man was recently laid off from work but had just gotten his job back. His wife was a stay at home mom. Their kids were home from school on a snow day. Apparently he killed them all and then himself. The next story was a another murder suicide in California. The mom and dad PLANNED it... you heard me... PLANNED! They were both recently laid off from their jobs at the hospital and decided to kill their three kids and themselves. Then I read about the dad in Australia who threw his four year old over a bridge and had his two boys in the car. The paramedics worked on her for almost an hour and she is in critical condition now. It was over a custody battle.


Why? I just don't understand. I have not had any experience with someone close to me committing suicide and for that I know that I am blessed beyond belief. I know that there are people out there who have nothing and nobody to turn to. While I do not condone suicide in any way, shape, or form, I think if you want to kill yourself, go right ahead... but your kids? And to PLAN it? It is and always has been beyond me how anyone could harm their child much less kill them. I understand that some people are mentally unstable but how can you not recognize the signs of that before it gets bad and do something about it? It just makes me so incredibly sad. And how can people blame the economy for the increased suicide numbers? Does one really think it's better to take away their child's future because they won't be able to make ends meet? How many examples have you seen of people who were raised dirt poor and came out of it on top - and stronger? I was at Wal Mart on my lunch break and this lady walked up to me with a note in the parking lot. I read the first line - I have to younger brothers... and I stopped. I told her "No" and she said "Please?". It is unfortunate that as much as I want to help someone I don't know who to trust. I don't want to be heartless but I also don't want to be dumb. How did I know she wasn't going to try and take me somewhere or some man wasn't going to come grab me from behind? You just never know. And you know what? I still don't feel bad if it was a real situation and she needed money or whatever she was asking for. You don't go sneaking through parking lots hitting people up for money - you just don't. Wow, I'm on a roll today!


This morning we were saying our prayers on the way to daycare and usually I'll say... "Did you say Amen?" to Garrison. This morning we got to daycare and I opened his door to get him out of his carseat and he still had his little hands folded. I asked what he was doing and he said, "I didn't say Amen Mama!"... how cute is that? So he said... "Aaaaaamen!" and his morning was complete. It's funny how something we do every day out of habit is a necessity for him now. I love that about kids. We get so caught up in our daily lives that everything just becomes routine. Not for him - he really thinks about what we pray about every morning which is how it should be. He always reminds me to pray for the brave firemen (and Godpapa Tony) when we pass the fire station. Too cute!


Garrett FINALLY got a car. A Jeep to be exact. I am SOOOOOOO glad. He has a work truck but can't drive it to school or on the weekends. I will no longer be a prisoner on the nights he has school nor will I have to plan my weekends around if/when he needs the car. YAY!!! I'll have to take a picture and post it on here. I have to say I love Jeeps. He's had about three of them and I stressed (Lordy did I ever stress) that this is NOT one of his old Jeeps that was a toy (when we were living the military life and just had money to go buy another one). He used to love to go mudding. I think we went through two while in the military. haha!


My mom and dad are celebrating their 30th Anniversary on Feb 3rd. My sister and her family are coming in town to celebrate this weekend. How incredible is that? 30 years! And they are still (truly) as happy as they were the day they got married. I hope it will be like that for me and Garrett. Marriage is damn hard - no lie. It takes compromise and sacrifices. But hopefully with good communication, laughter, and God we will get there one day too! By the way, we are celebrating our 6th in February also. I'll leave you with a picture of the Happy Couple - didn't I tell you they were just as happy as the day they married?




Jewels*