Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Friendship

I've been really struggling with friendship lately, in several ways.

I've never had a really super close best friend that has actually stayed my friend through all my life changes. My mom and my husband are my best friends and I know they will never leave me, but I want more.

As a pre-teen and  teenager my two best friends were Mandy and Lettie. Mandy got married and started having babies, there is a long story as to why we didn't stay close that I am not going to share other than to say, we grew apart. Lettie and I stayed close until we were about 18 or 19 and then we drifted our separate ways as well. She got married, got busy with her new life as a wife, and then had a baby. I was still single.

When I was 16 and working at Country Mart in Bonne Terre I had a few close friends, but circumstances in each persons life caused us to drift our own ways as well. Lori got involved in drugs and that wasn't something I was interested in. Michelle and I were close for quite awhile and I even lived with her when I was 19, but after I moved to St. Louis it was harder to see each other and we drifted....are you getting the picture?

When I transferred to Country Mart in Farmington I met Amy Reed, we were tight. I love my Amy! We had so much fun together. We laughed, we cried, we were just best buds. We even dated best friends briefly. My date didn't turn into anything, her's turned into her husband. I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. Every night after work, we would meet at the Civic Center and work out and then go tan together. Thursday night was dinner at her house and then watching Friends. Unfortunately, she wasn't real fond of Ross and I wasn't real thrilled with her husband either. So when I moved to St. Louis in December of 2001 we started drifting as well. We would talk occasionally, I'd go down and hang out every once in a while, but the distance made it a challenge. We eventually stopped putting any effort into keeping our friendship. I invited her to our wedding in 2005, but they weren't able to come.

Thank goodness for MySpace and Facebook. When I started up MySpace I searched for who I could think of and she was one of them. At first I just perused her page and didn't ask to be her friend because I wasn't really sure where we stood after all that time. Finally I friended her and we got a second chance at our friendship. About the time that we started connecting through MySpace was about the time that her and Aron were finalizing their divorce, that was also the time that I had just given birth to Alexis in 2007. The first time I saw her was that summer when Alexis was about 3 or 4 months old. Ever since then it's been so nice to have a friend again who knows my history and my present and who will always understand me when I'm having a bad day and need someone to vent to.

There is still distance between us (about an hour) but we try really hard to fit some Amy and Jess time into our busy lives. Amy took me to my first winery, where I fell in love with Blackberry Wine! She called me on a Monday after I had found out I was pregnant with Isabel the previous Friday. She had some news of her own as well! We got to be pregnant buddies! She was due on September 16th, me on the 17th. Her Callie was born on August 27th, 2009 and Isabel on September 10th.

I had a really great friend when I worked at Sam's Club too, my Monica! We've been through some challenges in our friendship, but we are still close today even though we don't talk much and rarely get to see one another.

I guess the point I'm trying to get around to is that you really have to work at a friendship to keep it alive through all of life's changes. I have another friend, Krista, who I have known since we were in diapers. Our mothers were best friends for many years, but circumstances led them in different paths, therefore we went with them obviously. As teenagers we reconnected when we worked together and since then we've kept in contact on an irregular basis. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I in her's. But, if it wasn't for Facebook we probably wouldn't have any contact at all. I did get to see her this summer, and that was nice.

It takes a real effort to keep a friendship alive when there are obstacles, and it takes both parties making an effort. I've had friends that were very one sided, they were only my friends if I called them or I went to see them or I initiated the contact. If I waited for them to call or visit, I would still be waiting.....those aren't the kind of friends I want to have, maybe that is selfish of me. But, I would really like a friend who will reach out to me as much as I will reach out to them.

I think a lot of my frustration is coming from the fact that I so badly want to have a circle of friends right near me. All of my friends that I consider close friends are at least an hour away from me. I can't just call them up and say, "Hey, what are you doing? Can I come over?" I do have family that I consider friends, but even families go through seasons where things change too.

I think that it is really difficult to break into an already established circle of friends even if you have things in common with them, or maybe I'm just not outgoing enough to make myself a part of those circles.....

I have found lots of people that I have things in common with in the bloggy world, but that's not the same as a real life, in the flesh, best friend. There is a bloggy meet up in my area soon, but I'm so bummed that I can't go, I have a prior commitment. I would love actually putting a voice with the faces I see every day on my computer screen.

Since I'm on a roll here, my other friendship issue is the fact that Ross and I have a very hard time finding couples to hang out with. I either don't like the wife and he likes the hubby or the other way around. It's so frustrating. We have no one our age to hang out with and do things with. It would be really nice to find a couple that has a few small children that we could go out to dinner with, or have over for a BBQ, but we can't seem to find them....Now I'm not saying that we have no one, because we do have a lot of family, but it's not always the same.

This is me.....stepping off my pity party stool. I haven't resolved any of my issues by writing about them, but I feel a little better getting it out of my system. One of these days I'm going to pull an all nighter on the computer and write all the blog posts that are floating around in my head. It's hard for me to find the time to really write these days. I'm so ready for winter and the slowness that comes with it!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Fishing

We went fishing yesterday and had a wonderful time! Here are some pictures from our day.
Her very first fish!
Daddy removing the hook for her. She was so proud!
Isabel was just hanging out while the rest of us were fishing, and then she caught a little snooze on Great Grandma Lea's lap.
 Daddy & Alexis
Isabel
The nice bass that Ross caught with the pink and purple princess fishing pole! Haha!
 Uncle Jimmy claims the catch of the day with this monster channel catfish.

We headed over to Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Susie's house afterwards and fried up some fish. It was delicious! We had such a nice time. We plan on doing it again soon!

Ross golfed in a tournament on Saturday and the girls and I stayed home all day. It was fantastic to just be at home and do whatever I wanted. I didn't even shower until 11pm Saturday night! ;) I love at home weekends with no where to go. September and October's calendars are fast filling so this weekend was needed before we begin the next round of craziness. I have more pictures to share this week, so I'm going to try and schedule a few posts.

Hope you all have a great week. Happy Monday!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Monday, August 23, 2010

It's Late & Quiet...A Weekend Review

Hi all. The girls are asleep for the night...at least for now anyway. We are still working on that issue. I'm waiting up for Ross to get home from work and I've got about and hour of time to kill. And yes, I should be cleaning, but I felt like cranking out a quick post since I'm sure I'll get wrapped up in my work week and probably not get one out until Friday.

We had a very busy, but very good weekend. Saturday we left around 12:30 and headed over to Farmington for Callie's 1st birthday! I can't believe her and Isabel are both almost a year old already. Callie won't actually be one until the 27th and Isabel is soon after on September 10th.
Here are Callie & Isabel still in our bellies!
Here they are at about 6 weeks
 Here they are at 5 months
And here is birthday girl Callie! And Isabel at her party!

 










We had a really good time at the party even though we were drenched in sweat by the time we left!

We headed for St. Louis when we left the party. Ross and I decided we were going to ask my parents to babysit and we were going on a date! We got to Mom and Dad's and hung out for a few minutes and then took off again.

Our first stop was dinner at Olive Garden, our entrees were nothing to write home about, but with the salad, bread sticks and appetizers, you can never have a bad meal at that place. Next we headed to the nail shop for some much needed pampering for our feet. Ross is a huge fan of pedicures ever since my Dad talked him into getting one sometime last year. I love it, because it means I get my toes done more regularly now. It's only been 3 weeks since our last pedi, but he was ready for another one!

After that we headed to Cabela's for some shopping. Ross was on a mission to get a new scope for his deer rifle and he was also picking up something for his dad as well. I did a lot of browsing and enjoyed thinking about all the stuff I'd buy from there if I had the money. We left there and got some ice cream on the way back to my parents. We had a really great evening and we really needed it. Ever since I've gone back to work, it's been really hard for us to find quality couple time.

We spent the night at Mom and Dad's and then Sunday morning was my nephew Riley's 3rd birthday party. It was nice seeing my siblings and nieces and nephews and Riley had a great birthday. His step-grandma got him a battery operated jeep just like the one Alexis got on her birthday (well, his wasn't the pink barbie edition!). It was a big hit and he was giving all the kids rides around the yard. Ross and I noticed that his seemed to go a lot faster that Alexis' does. Her's was supposed to have 2 speeds, but it's only gone one speed since we got it. He was looking at the manual and figured out how to change it. This afternoon he adjusted it and I must say, it's like having a brand new toy now. She loves that it goes faster now! Here's a video of her and Isabel tooling around the yard in it this evening.




We got home Sunday afternoon and instead of getting busy, we decided to enjoy the rest of the afternoon/evening. The girls played for a bit and then it was bath and bedtime for them and Ross and I finished out our weekend with some more husband/wife time together and it was just what we needed.

Today was another good day, even though I didn't get as much housework done as I should have, I did spend about 2 hours outside with the girls just playing. That was so nice for me. With it being as hot as it's been the last few months, I don't really enjoy spending that much time outside since I have to deal with the heat 10 hours a day at work. So, the break from the heat is so nice because I really do like spending time outside with the kids. I'm so ready for fall!

Quick update on the kids. Alexis is now wearing her underwear to bed instead of a diaper! *Knock on wood* No accidents yet! It's been a week now and she's doing great with it. We are so relieved to finally be free from buying diapers for 2, it was quite a strain on the checkbook there for a bit when we made Sam's or Walmart trips. Isabel is walking like a champ and getting stronger and braver every day! Today while we were outside, she climbed up the slide on our swingset. That girl is such monkey, she keeps me on my toes all day long!

Here's a few pictures just for the heck of it! Isabel is quiet the Daddy's girl even though she loves her Momma a lot too.
I just love this picture of them:
And here's a cute one of Alexis being silly with her cupcake:

Friday, August 20, 2010

5QF - Jessapooh!


Hi all! I'm so very, very glad it's Friday. It's been a tough week all around. I'm beyond ready for the cooler fall temperatures to arrive NOW! 

Alright, let's get on with the questions. Check out Mama M. and see what she has to say this week too.

Hope you all have a great weekend! We have 2 birthday parties this weekend, a 1 year old and a 3 year old. Should be lots of fun!

1. Do you have any nicknames and if so how did it come about?
I do, when I was a little girl, it was Sis, or Jessapooh. When I got a bit older it was Jay Bird and later shortened to Jay. My parents and brothers still call me Jay sometimes. My Grandma was the only one that ever called me Jessie and I worked very hard to keep it that way. Not my favorite of the nicknames. After Ross and I got together, a lot of people that know me through him just call me Jess. He very rarely ever calls me Jessica and if he does, I think he's mad at me or something! 

2. What is your birth order amongst your siblings?
I'm the baby!!!! And I like it too!

3. In a movie of your life, who would play your significant other?
You know, I don't ever have good answers for these kinds of questions, so I'm skipping it. Sorry ya'll, I've got nothing.

4. What is currently your favorite song?
 

 

5. Are you saving your money for anything right now? Big or small purchase?
Not really. Ross and I would both like to be able to get a Digital SLR camera for Christmas this year, but that may be a stretch. We'll see how the next few months go.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Not Me! Monday

It's been a really long time since I've done a Not Me! Monday with MckMama, so I thought I would join in today.


Mckmama- Not Me Monday


We had a rather busy weekend. Saturday was a fun day, but none the less, it was still a day on the go, instead of just being home. We decided we wanted to do some swimming since it has been so ridiculously hot lately. Well of course, we woke up Saturday morning to rain and overcast skies. But, it started looking like the sun would come out around noon. So we headed for Dry Creek.
It was Not Me! who's only concern was working on my tan. I've gotten terribly pasty, white looking lately. When it's this hot outside and I have to go to work, the last thing I want to do is be out in the heat when I'm not at work. So, my tan suffers. The sun was nice enough to shine strong and hot for about 30-40 minutes and I oiled down and soaked it up.

We started off by watching Alexis have a blast on the trampoline. I did not laugh at how much fun she was having jumping around.
It was Not Me! who had even more fun after Isabel joined in on the jumping!
Then we headed for the water and splashed around for a bit before we headed back home. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Oh yeah, it was Not Me! who let my 3 year old have Oreo's for lunch today....oops!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Isabel @ 11 months

Isabel was 11 months old on the 10th. She has taken a step or two alone, but on the 10th, she took about 5 steps all by herself! Yay for Isabel! I was kind of surprised at myself too. I didn't cry! When Alexis took her first steps I cried because it meant she wasn't "a baby" anymore. Isabel has been a lot more independent that Alexis ever was, so I guess that's why it didn't affect me the same way.

Here is a video I took on Thursday of our new walker!


And yes, I have a very high pitched Mommy voice....sorry!

Friday, August 13, 2010

5QF for Friday the 13th



1. Have you ever visited another country?
Yes, Canada in 2003 and Mexico in 2005.

2. Where is the strangest place you have ever been?
I'm not really sure what to say here, not sure what qualifies as strange. I'll have to get back to you on this one....

3. What is your favorite season?
NOT SUMMER, this blistering heat needs to go away. My very favorite season is Fall and it's coming soon! I love the changing colors of the trees, the cooler days, the pumpkin patch, bonfires, hayrides, hoodies, raking leaf piles for Alexis to play in, I could go on and on and on and on!

4. What one song will always cheer you up?
These days, it's anything that Alexis will sing. It's so hard not to smile when a little child is singing!

 

5. What Disney character do you resemble most?
I don't have a clue, but my favorite character is Belle, from Beauty and the Beast.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Hot Momma!

It was dreadfully hot at work tonight, but I survived it.

At one point in the night I was chatting with a couple of the guys and when I walked up and they asked, "How are ya?" I said, "Hot." They laughed and said, "Well we know who has a big ego!" Hardy har har right? Anyway, it reminded me of a funny story that happened last year.

It was the end of July 2009. I was 7 months pregnant with Isabel. Alexis and I had gone over to Desloge and I got my hair cut and colored. I was pretty pleased with the results. You ladies know how it is when you just get yourself all prettied up. Well, I thought I was looking pretty darn good!

Alexis was carrying on pretty good conversations at this point. She was over 2, but she still didn't always speak in complete sentences yet. So, we're driving down the highway and I keep checking myself out in my rear view. (Girls, you know what I'm talking about here!) I asked Alexis, "Does Mommy look hot?" She just looked at me funny and said, "Air up." I about lost it, I was laughing so hard, and then she started giggling. She had heard me complain all summer about being hot, so she said exactly what she thought was appropriate. Come on Mom, stop being silly and just turn the air up if you are hot!! Needless to say, I still chuckle about it. Here's a picture of me and Alexis with my Hot Mom hair-do!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Happy Tears

One of my Facebook friends shared this tonight and I couldn't help but pass it on. I cried the whole 10 minutes, you will too!

God Bless our service men and women and their families.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

How Much Is Too Much?

TV

It's always been a hot topic in my life.

It started back when I lived at home. I was probably about 9 or 10 when Mom and Dad threw out the TV. I mean they didn't literally throw it out, but they got rid of our cable and the only thing we watched were VCR tapes. That's how I spent the rest of my years at home. No TV, just movies and even those were very few.

When I got older and was away from home, I was of course fascinated with TV because I had no memories of watching it while I was a kid. I don't have any favorite cartoons or shows that I remember watching as a child. I didn't watch any of the popular sitcoms for that time, or any of the teen drama shows that were all the rage. I wouldn't say that I became addicted to TV, but I certainly enjoyed watching my share of it once I was out on my own and had my own control over the issue. (Mom and Dad have had regular TV back for quite some time now by the way.)

TV has been an issue in my marriage as well. TV and computer for that matter. Ross will completely zone out in front of the TV and I can lose track of time and hours will go by with me sitting in front of the computer. It makes it a challenge to communicate when all you do is stare and the bright, screen and fill your mind with mostly useless entertainment. Occasionally you may find some educational things on TV, but for a lot of folks, it's mindless entertainment, or a noise maker, something constantly going in the background because heaven forbid, you actually are quiet enough to hear your own thoughts.

Now that we have children, the issue is raring it's ugly head again. When Alexis was a baby, we never turned on cartoons for her or anything like that. We may have tried once or twice and she showed no interest in it whatsoever. Somewhere around 18 months - 2 years, we tried Elmo movies and she fell in love! We have about 5 or 6 different ones and she watches them over and over and over again. Next it was Sesame Street, then we added, My Friends Tigger and Pooh. Now we're onto Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I don't mind that she watches any of those shows, but if we let her, she would watch TV all day long. I don't like that one single bit.....

Isabel shows a lot of interest in the TV as well, unlike Alexis at that age, but we never played any children's programs for Alexis at this age either. So, my question to you is this: How much TV is too much? Do you limit the amount of hours you children watch television and do you have a few selected shows that are acceptable and others that are not?

The shows I listed are pretty much the only ones that Alexis and Isabel watch. I know there are probably other good shows out there besides those, but I'm content with what she watches for now. There will be absolutely no Sponge Bob allowed in our house. I saw that playing one day and was appalled at some of the things they were saying. I felt that it was humor targeted at much older kids and is not appropriate at all for young ones. Alexis already has learned how to back talk and sass us. I don't need her picking up anymore sarcasm or attitude from a TV show. Another show that we never watch is Dora. Ross has a huge problem with the bi-lingual shows. Not that there are anything wrong with them, but he is a strong believer that if you come to America, you learn English. Period. End of Story. Having said that, he does want Alexis to learn a foreign language, but not from a TV show.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Dancing

We are very excited here at our house about the fact that we got Alexis registered for dance class today! She'll be going to The Dance Studio in Rolla.

I can't wait to see how cute she's going to look in one of these:
 And these:
 And these too:
 And she'll have a cute little backpack with her name on it to carry all her dance gear in:

I took dance class for one year and for some reason, something happened and I told my mom I didn't want to go back anymore and I never did. Now that I'm older I wish I would have, but being a little kid, I don't remember what made me not want to do it. I really hope it will be something Alexis will enjoy. She already loves to dance at home, so I think this will be really fun for her. Her first class isn't until September 13th, but I'll be sure and post some pictures if they let me stick around for a few minutes once they get started.


We already know how darling she looks in a tutu!

Friday, August 6, 2010

5QF August 6th, 2010



I feel that I MUST do a Five Question Friday, it's been too long! Make sure you check back with Mama M. to see all the other linker uppers.


Here are the questions for this week:

1. Are you a neat sleeper or a messy sleeper?
 
Depends on the night, but most of the time I'm pretty neat. If I'm having trouble sleeping, then I get messy and it looks like someone had a wrestling match in my bed all night long.

2. Fill in the blank. I wish I was more ________________.
 
Patient. That has been my biggest challenge since becoming a parent. I lose my temper too quickly and I don't like it.

3. What is something that you wish you had been warned about?
 
How addicting blogging is! No really...it is, I miss it terribly now that I'm back to work. Kudos to the women who work full-time outside the home, come home and take care of their home and family and still have time to get a blog post up. I can't seem to make it all fit, so I play catch up on the weekends and attempt to schedule a post or two during the week.

4. What was the best thing you ever found at a garage sale/flea market?
 
?? I don't really go to either to be real honest. I know I should, but it's not something I've found the time or energy to do. You have to get up early to go to garage sales and that is not my forte. 

5. If you could have any meal brought to you right now, what would it be?
 
A fillet off my Dad's grill, cooked medium rare, baked potato with lots of butter and salt and asparagus fried in butter. Yummmmm, I'm so hungry now!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

A Week of Sick

Please be adivised: This post is not for the weak stomach or if you plan on eating while reading or very soon after reading. You have been warned, proceed with caution!

My goodness, I'm not really even sure what to think about the past week. First off, let's hope we never have another one like it anytime soon.

Monday morning, Isabel was laying in bed with me and Alexis and she was really fussy and squirmy, then she sat up in the bed and threw up every where. She only threw up that one time, but she didn't have an appetite at all that day and wanted to sleep a lot. I thought maybe she had just eaten something that didn't set with her well. We've been giving her quite a bit of table food lately, so I thought maybe that was what happened.

Monday evening we went into town to feed the ducks at the old park and meet Ross while he was on his supper break from work. I started feeling kind of yucky, but didn't think too much of it. I was planning on starting hard core on a diet Tuesday morning, so I had ordered a cheese burger, fries and ice cream for my one last, bad meal. I picked it up from Bouse's, but even the smell of it kind of made my stomach turn. We got back home and I felt horrible. Just the thought of eating was making my stomach turn. I laid down on the couch, but didn't stay there long. I was in and out of the bathroom several times with diarrhea.

It wasn't fun at all, I had to call Ross to come home because I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of the girls. This all started a little after 8. Ross got home around 9:30 and I went straight upstairs to my bed. Alexis came and laid with me after her bath and Ross took care of getting Isabel down.

About 12:30 or so, Ross came upstairs to come to bed. The sheets had to be put on the bed still so he asked me to get up. I was sitting in the glider in our room and was very hot, sweaty and nauseous. I laid down after Ross got the bed made and then got right back up and ran to the bathroom. This time I was vomiting. I got myself cleaned up and brushed my teeth, drank some water and went back to bed. I thought maybe the worst of it would be over. I woke up again around 3:45 with the same feeling as before. I had another round of diarrhea and was barely finished with that when I started vomiting again. I've heard of people having both things happen at the same time, but it's never been like that for me until then. Oh....my....goodness, not fun. After I got all that mess cleaned up, I came downstairs and slept in the guest bed in the playroom.

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling terrible still, I had a dull headache and was dizzy every time I tried to stand up. Isabel woke up and and wanted to nurse, so she was laying with me for a bit, and then she threw up again. Got that mess cleaned up then her and I slept for a few more hours. I finally got up after 10 sometime and started moving around a little bit. Well, I say moving around, I moved from the bed to the couch. Around 1 I got up and showered and started getting ready for work.

Isabel slept pretty much off and on the rest of the day and evening. I got a message from Jennifer around 5:30 saying that Alexis was now puking. Great, it's going to make it's way around the whole house before it finishes. Instead of asking Jennifer to deal with a sick kid, Ross came home from work to take care of the girls. Alexis threw up several more times that evening before she was finished. I had started feeling better and better the later the night went on at work. Thankfully, I was working in the AC office, otherwise I would not have been able to be out working in that heat after being sick like that.

When I got home from work Tuesday night at 2:30am Wednesday morning, the first thing I hear is Alexis holler, "Mommy, I'm poopy." She was awake beside my bed and had just finished pooping, so I got her changed and back to bed. Ross was laying in our bed with a bowl on the floor beside the bed. He was sick too. He only got the diarrhea part of it though, not the vomiting, but he felt horrible for the better part of a day and a half too.

Wednesday for Ross was like my Tuesday had been. Sleeping until it was time to go to work. Isabel started with some diarrhea on Wednesday as well. But, she was eating dry toast and banana. I got a message from Jennifer saying that Isabel hadn't peep or pooped in a long time and she had stopped taking drinks of anything from her. When Ross got home after Midnight, I had him call the Dr.'s offce. Dr. Rao called him back and said not to worry yet, it was probably just her resisting the babysitter since she was sick, she just wanted Mommy or Daddy. She started drinking for Ross as soon as he got home. She finally started peeing and pooping again by Thursday morning.

It seems like we are finally all getting better now, but man that was quite a week. And go figure, it was a busy week at work, so I put in a full 40 hours which means I didn't get a lot of sleep, so yesterday I did pretty much nothing at all. Hoping next week is going to be so much better than this one was.