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*