A Memory

I am sad tonight because I just found out that Jack Kemp passed away. He was a former pro quarterback and US Congressman, but more than that, he holds a special place in my childhood memories. Jack Kemp was running for President in 1988 and during the primaries, I was 10 years old. He was part of Reagan's team and my dad adored him. He made a stop in my little hometown, at the small local airport, to make a speech. My father took me with him to hear it. I can remember the moment so well...it is imprinted in my mind flawlessly. It is one of my first major memories and my first experience with politics, the US government, history...you name it, it was a first. It was a very "big girl" thing to do and I was so excited. I was a Daddy's girl and worshiped the ground he walked on. (still do!) I was thrilled beyond belief because it was just me and my dad going....no mom and no little sisters. Just me and Daddy, skipping school to do very important daddy/daughter business. I remember the crowd was huge, or at least it was in my 10 year old mind. I was tiny for my age in those days and I recall very well that I could not see a single thing and I was clinging to my dad's hand. Finally, the speech was over and everyone was clapping and waving flags and it was very loud and chaotic to my little self. I was upset because I had yet to lay eyes on Mr. Kemp and I wanted to be apart of everything. My dad grabbed me and tossed me up on his shoulders so that I could see the stage. Suddenly I was high above the crowd and there was Mr. Kemp, waving from the podium and shaking hands. He looked up right as my dad lifted me and we caught eyes. This whole moment is frozen in time for me....he smiled and started walking toward me. The crowd parted for him automatically and everyone turned to look at who he was heading for. It was me! He walked right up to me and shook my hand, holding it in both of his big ones. I don't remember the details of our conversation, just him introducing himself to me and saying my name perfectly back, which nobody ever could do. I remember the warmth of his eyes and his sweet smile...how genuinely happy he looked to see me and how very nice he was to me. I felt like a star when the whole crowd started cheering around us. I decided at that moment, in all the wisdom of my ten years, that I was in love with Jack Kemp. I was extremely proud and decided immediately that the day could not possibly be topped. I was hooked on politics from that moment and I followed that election like it was between the New Kids On the Block. I was devastated when Kemp lost the primaries to George Bush. I was bound and determined that Kemp would be President and I would be able to walk around school telling everyone that the leader of the free world was also my close personal friend. It was not to be, but it continued to be a famed story in my household and as the years went on, Kemp would hold lots of offices and frequently show up on the news. Much to the chagrin of my whole family, I would always loudly announce, "Everyone be quiet! My friend Jack is on the news!" or something equally annoying. If Kemp was speaking, I could be counted on to lean into your ear and whisper loudly, "You know he knows me, right??". It was a moment that has carried on in our family folklore. Tonight I called my parents to make sure they heard the news. My mom and dad got on speaker phone and we were talking about it. I had to add, "You know, we were close. Meeting me was probably a big deal for him.". My mom said with the certainty that only a mother can muster, "I am absolutely sure that it was. Absolutely." :-) It was a really big deal for me.

Water Fun and Skinny Bitch Update #2

Before bed, I must post two things: 1. I lost 2.5 lbs this week. Last night it was closer to 4 lbs, but that damn scale hates me. So today, it is 2.5. ;-) I will take it and be most pleased.

Secondly, I had to post these pictures from tonight! We all spent a few minutes doing small lawn maintenance things outside, but Colin turned it into a water park event. He is so precious! Enjoy!






Please note my lovely husband shooting the innocent photographer. Sniff sniff!

This last one is easily my favorite...I caught Colin mid jump into the puddle! :-)

Cleaning Attempts With Colin and Ferris Mewler

In what can no doubt be contributed to the Swine Flu hysteria that is sweeping North Texas, I decided to clean the house today. Last night they officially shut down Ft. Worth ISD and asked kids to stay away from daycare and large public places like Chuck E. Cheese. GOOD LORD. I am not easily freaked out and that finally scared me a bit. I hope this ends quickly. UGH! Anyway, I had cleaning on the brain when I woke up this morning, so I started with our room and washed the sheets. The pictures are from my crude attempts to put the sheets back on the bed. Colin was all over the place and so was the silly panther. We ended up doing a lot more playing than cleaning, but I did end up with cute pictures of my precious man. Enjoy!

Kitty love!


More hugs for Ferris Mewler! (excuse the wreck of my room...we were cleaning out everything)


Big smiles for Mama!

Colin turns my bed into a bounce house

Just being adorable. And wrecking my bed. :-)

I Was Born Today....a few years ago...

Today is my...GULP...32nd birthday. I remember vividly the anticipation of my big 3-0 and it seems like I blinked and I have a little boy and am 32. I take solitude in the fact that I can still say I am in my "early 30's". HAHA! I have been having a very nice and peaceful day so far and have been having a great time reading all the birthday emails and facebook wishes from my friends and family. I have most especially been overwhelmed by all the wishes on Facebook...the mass quantity of sweet notes has been making me smile all day. What fun!

Jer came home from work last night with fresh flowers and a card for me. The flowers are beautiful and the card was incredibly sweet and brought tears to my eyes. At the end it said, "ps: do you have the time?". I looked up at him like he was crazy, at which point he pulled my Raymond Weil watch out of his pocket. He gave me that watch as a gift when we were just dating and it is my most precious possession along with my wedding rings. The battery has been dead for ages and lord knows I don't have time to take it to a jeweler, but I am so used to wearing it that I have continued to do so regardless. Well, he stole it from my jewelry box and had the battery replaced! I thought that was the cutest and most thoughtful gift...that watch continues to have so much sentimental value to me! Not to mention that now when he asks me what time it is, I can actually tell him. haha!

It seems like there is a great big dividing line between my twenties and thirties. I was pregnant for my 30th, so the transition in lifestyle was already marked. My 29th birthday was celebrated with me in all my pre-baby splendor. My office had been decorated in a leopard print theme by my co-workers and included a furry leopard print tiara that I pranced around in all day. I remember having margarita's at lunch (shhh!) and then going out with a huge group of friends for drinks and fun at our cool outdoor Mexican place in Grapevine. We used to go there all the time and drink pitchers of margarita's into the night. It has been well over a year since I have been now. I think I was a lot prettier and more fun to be friends with back then. I don't mean that in a sad or self-deprecating kind of way...it is purely logistics. Those were the days of my fancy car and lots of money spent on my appearance. Successful career, too many shoes and clothes to count, hair done every few weeks, nails always done perfectly, tanning weekly, the newest make-up and perfume...Jer and I had nobody to take care of but ourselves. I don't regret those years at all, we had SO much fun! I was certainly a little more shallow, but I think that is what your twenties should be all about. :-) NOW, post twenties....so much is different. My priorities have completely changed and now my life is dedicated to Colin. I certainly have my moments of missing getting pampered and I do miss being tan. hehe! However, Colin has made my life rich and full and meaningful. Jer and Colin are my whole life and I love that and relish taking care of them. I rock Colin every night before bed and sing "You Are My Sunshine" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" over and over to him, alternating between the two songs. Every single night, my heart swells and my chest feels like it will burst open from the feeling of his little head laying on my shoulder. I get that overwhelming feeling every time. I did not even know that feeling could exist before I was a mother. Now I get to chase him around parks and share picnics and jump in bounce houses and dance around the living room with him. I get to watch him dip peas in ketchup and dump whole bags of goldfish on the floor and listen to him yell, "A MESS!". We get to make dinner every night together and share a bowl of cereal every morning. Granted, all of this takes place in t-shirts and shorts and my hair is seriously in need of attention...but I am so honored that these are my thirties and I am sharing them with the most precious family I could ever have dreamed of having.

Weekend Bits

Colin and Jer are currently napping and I don't have much to report. This weekend is pretty quiet and going smoothly. I am feeling rather random at the moment so I thought I would log on to share.

*We had sushi for dinner on Friday night and it was so yummy that I am seriously thinking about having it again tonight. I have a funny relationship with sushi...I go through phases of eating it constantly and then not eating it again for a year. It looks like I am in my "on-again" stage now.

*We found yet another new park yesterday that was easily the best so far. Not only was the playground top notch, but it sits on a huge parcel of land with a giant fishing pond complete with dock and huge covered deck full of picnic tables overlooking the water. They also have a dog park, so I think this will be our new go-to place. It was so awesome that I immediately thought of having Colin's birthday there, but then remembered that parks are not so fun in 100 degree July heat. The only way Colin will ever get an outdoor party is at a pool.

*I am in the midst of having dental work done and my filling from early last week is messed up and I can't chew on one side of my mouth. This is a giant pain in the ass. They can see me on Tuesday to have it fixed, but I can't get a sitter for Colin. This gave me a fantastic idea. Would it not be amazing if one day a week or so, doctors offered someone to watch the kids? I was thinking that it was an awesome business idea. You would market that once a week, someone would spend the day in the waiting room, playing and reading with kiddos while mom had her appointment. It could even be less than once a week, whatever worked for them. There are probably huge insurance and liability issues with my plan, but I think it would be a lifesaver to stay at home moms. I have been thinking all day that if someone could just watch Colin for a few minutes while they fix my tooth...it would be so great! If I knew of a doctor that offered that, I would give them my business in a second. Maybe this is my calling. :-)

*Colin had his first trip to the dentist on Friday. It was...er...interesting. He did not want a thing to do with any of it. He sat in my lap in the chair and the whole visit was really to start getting him oriented with going and to make sure his teeth were growing in properly. The hygienist was so sweet and caring. She showed him all of her cool instruments and offered to let him hold them! Colin, however, did not care. Every time she showed him something, he said "NO!" and pushed it away. He even pushed away the suction and water squirting things, which I really thought he would go for. Oh well. You can imagine that he refused to open his mouth for the dentist or say "AH" or laugh or any other trick I could think of to make him open his mouth. In the end, I had to lay Colin down and let Dr. Smith pry his jaws open and look. At this point, Colin started to cry, which actually helped since that had his mouth open. The good news is that his teeth look great, he is brushing properly and everything is coming in just as it should. The bad news is that he already has the beginnings of an "open bite" which is where the front teeth are pushing forward. This is from (you guessed it!) the pacifier. This just solidifies that we need to get rid of it, so I am getting ready to make it official. This scares the living daylights out of me. Colin did not sleep more than two hours in a row for almost the first complete year of his life. Now that I have a system and everything is going well, I am loathe to mess with it. LOATHE. In fact, I may need therapy before I can do this. YIKES!

That concludes the most random post ever. :-)

Skinny Bitch Update #1

I lost ONE STINKING POUND. Not exactly what I was hoping for this week, but I am not going to be a cry baby about it, either. Considering that Colin and I were sick all week and that I did not lift a finger to work out for the last 5 days, that is not so bad. I was hoping that all my healthy meals alone might have influenced the scale more, but I know the number would have been great if I had been working out. It sucks that we all got sick during my first big week, but I still feel awesome about things and I am looking forward to the new week! I cut out sweet tea cold turkey this week and that alone makes me feel like a rock star. ;-)

Also, I realize the title of this post is wholly inappropriate, but I like it. hehehe!

This Week...UGH!

In an attempt not to be overly dramatic (which I suppose I can be at times), I will say that this week has not exactly been a piece of cake. Colin has been dreadfully sick all week long. I woke up with it on Monday and have been an utter mess myself. Toddler illness takes me down like nobodies business! Colin spent the better part of the week only napping while laying propped up on my chest while I tried desperately not to cough and wake him up. I have been feeling absolutely horrible and I know that I could have knocked this out with a couple of days in bed, but I think we all know the chances of that happening. :-) He has been crying so much in the past few days that I took him to the doctor again today. The little guy has been so miserable and inconsolable that I started to really freak out. He screams and tries to crawl up me, almost like he is writhing in pain! The pedi told me today that his throat is totally raw and that was probably causing the severe pain and resulting tantrums. He does not have strep and she thinks he just had one hell of a virus to get over, but all is well. After screaming through the entire doctors visit, he finally fell asleep in his bed when we got home and took a good nap. He was in much better spirits when he woke up and I think we have turned the corner. Thank goodness!! Everyone say your prayers!

I still feel like a mess and I am going to bed as soon as I publish this post. Colin and I have been home bound all week and I hope that tomorrow we can possibly get back outside again. We both seriously need some fresh air. Between Colin and I being so sick, I have not worked out at all since Saturday. I am sad that I won't have big loss numbers to report tomorrow, but I have followed my diet like a good girl, so I still feel proud! I will weigh tomorrow morning as scheduled and report back! With the way this week is going, I probably gained 10 lbs. ;-)