I am thinking a blender will come in handy - March 31, 2007 -
Tonight, I have discussed the topic of Blogher with my husband.
The vote was: GO!!
Things that must be considered in the future:
-how to bring a blender in my suit case during post 9-11 lockdown
-since Chris is highly allergic to bananas, and we are sharing a room, do we go with lime, or strawberry daiquiris?
-what in Sam Hell do I bring to wear?????????????? I mean, I am pretty sure board shorts and tee’s will NOT be the norm. Tell me……flip flops? Will this be faux pas? If it is, why the hell are NOT the Blogher execs all over Roxy for some sponsorship? Major chic weekend!! Roxy, chics! Hand in hand!
-will I reach over and cut up someone elses meat?
Blogging minds? What is a surfer girl to do???
She’s weird - March 31, 2007 -
Quinn, upon seeing Mia’s pictures in my last post:
“She is smiling because of a washrag? She is weird.”
Scrubs - March 28, 2007 -
Yesterday my husband put on a pair of scrubs. He went with my friend the anesthesiologist to the hospital to intubate people. If you are the primary practitioner in an ER, you must be able to intubate. Airways are very, very important and must be kept open….always remember; airway, airway, airway. Learning to intubate on a trauma patient would not be very fun….sort of “”there is blood coming out of their mouth, OhmyGodtheyhaveapneumothorax, no blood pressure, and are basically dead if I don’t get a tube in!! Get me a blade, I need to intubate for the first time in my entire career! AAHHHHH”. Really, really, really not a good idea. So, he went to the hospital with “D” and intubated sleeping, non-Helter Skelter people. People who were not traumatically dying. Way, way less complicated.
At 5:30a.m. he donned scrubs and came out into the kitchen where I was making him a latte to go. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, and had to do a double take. I have a thing for guys in scrubs and this was the first time I had seen my husband in them in a professional capacity. He sat down on a chair to put his shoes on and I jumped in his lap and jokingly said “Oh baby, scrubs really turn me on”. He started laughing all shy-like and said “Get outa here”. It was too funny.
This whole new job thing has me really happy. See me smiling with emoticons :*)) We can lounge around the house in shorts and flip flops for 6 days at a time. The kids are loving the time he has with them. I am mixed up about the days of the week because every day feels like Saturday………and! and! I get to see my hubby in scrubs.
Now, on to something of real importance…..an artsy picture of my new shoes
Are they not cute?? I wore them with a knee length, peasant style skirt yesterday and my mom just about had a fit. She thought they were the ugliest shoes on the planet. She asked me why I don’t dress nice for Bill. I informed her that Bill likes the way I dress and she just would not believe me or let it go. She said, “You should dress up for your husband and look pretty for him!”. Oh, wow. Um, so very 1950’s. So very not me. Why the heck did she have to say that?
When I came home I told Bill about it and he just wrinkled his forehead, cocked his head to the side and said “She actually said that to you?” He then got up from his chair, came over to me, lifted my hair up into a pony tail with his hands and said “You are right, I do like the way you dress. I am sorry your mom hurt your feelings” and he kissed my neck and my cheek. If he had been wearing scrubs I would have taken advantage of him right then and there.
Are you in love with him yet? I am.
I am big now - March 23, 2007 -
Mia turned 3 yesterday. She told me when she was 3yo she would be a big girl and would not drink boobies anymore. It has been a week now since she last nursed, so it looks like that phase of our life together is over. I have asked her if she wants to nurse several times and have been met with “No, I am big now.” It happened so naturally. I have loved nursing a toddler more than I ever imagined.
Happy Birthday to my sweet, big girl. We love you so much!
More adorable little girl shoes! - March 21, 2007 -
Do you want to see what I won??? I really, actually won something, which never happens to me!
I won a pair of Vincent Shoes for my daughter! I was browsing at the wonderful Boutique Cafe, and I saw this post. I left a comment, and I won!
Next thing I knew, I got an e-mail from the Vincent Shoe people telling me to pick out any pair that I wanted. Mia picked out these….in pink of course. They came in the mail like 4 days later, and are wonderful. They are VERY well made, Mia loves them and they are my new favorite brand to buy for her, next to Pedoodles.
I swear this kid does not need one more pair of shoes………well, maybe just these….in pink,of course.
Enchanted Rock…or was it Disney World? - March 20, 2007 -
Bill and I are not touristy type people. We prefer our hikes to be in secluded areas and to be more like survival marches. We have a history of pushing things to the very limits of our endurance. Like sailing in a sailboat race during a hurricane, because, God knows how fast we might go if we throw up the spinnaker in 80mph winds!! Or biking slick rock in August and the Colorado trail backwards in September. If we are choosing a trail, we usually pick the most technical one available, because what is a day of exercise if you do not almost die while doing it???
Our past experiences with Enchanted Rock have been such that we were usually the only people in the park. We hiked up the Rocks with our son and have pictures at the top with not a soul, building, or telephone pole in sight.
So, imagine our dismay when we pulled into the park and had to be directed to a parking space in much the same way you would expect to be parking at Disney World.
Upon enterring the park on foot, we encountered this
That’s right. A hot dog/snack shack right at the base of the trail.
Hiking to the top was like a pilgramage to Lourdes. I was very certain that when we got to the top, I would be greeted by the Virgin herself. Or people selling balloons and cotton candy.
The number of people was staggering. And the dogs….good Gordon the dogs….they were everywhere. Yipping poodles, yorkies and I spied an ancient looking chihuahua. The dog was shaking and looked like it needed some serious anit-anxiety meds. WTF? Why would anyone take a chihuahua up Enchanted Rock? Why would anyone take a dog for that matter. It is certainly not a technical hike, but it is no stroll in the park either.
People were decked out in Bling of all sorts, and I saw several kids with Bling flip flops. Let me remind you of where and what this place is. It is a gigantic uplift of granite, and there are no railings to keep you from falling off the damn thing if you happen to trip over your decrepit chihuahua or your !!Bling!! flip flops. There be cliffs in that there park.
And boulders and caves
And steep inclines
The views were still stunning, although there is now a huge parking lot on one side, outbuildings and telephone lines everywhere.
None-the-less, it was beautiful.
The kids found some tadpoles, caught them and wanted to take them home, but it is not legal to take wildlife out of the park, so they settled for a picture.
The boys also found a crawfish.
We took some pictures of it, then started to move on. Cory turned around and saw a little Bling Flip Flop twit of a girl throwing rocks at it. So, he went back, caught it and hiked downstream and released it in a safe area.
All in all, Enchanted Rock is not the same place it was 10 years ago. It is still a challenging hike up for your thighs. It still makes me cry out “Get away from that cliff right this instant!!!” There are still boulders to climb, animals to see, amazing plant life growing right out of the rock, and the need to stop and huff and puff…it is all the same. Just add way, way too many tourists. Granted, we hit it at Spring Break and the rangers assured us that this was NOT what it was like at any other time.
Me, I will take Bill’s survival marches any day. But, we will bring our own food, because there are no hot dog stands where he leads me.
An e-mail - March 19, 2007 -
Sometimes I feel like I am writing into a void. Sort of like that old saying, if a tree fell in the woods and no one was there to hear it, did it make a sound? Why take time away from my family, home and such to keep up my site? What is the purpose of it?
Then last week, I was driving home from Ft. Worth and was checking my e-mail via the cell phone (I know, my bad. I was anxiously awaiting an e-mail from a friend in Galveston) and I started reading one that began “Dear Jody, I have started and closed an email to you many times over the last few months……” and as I continued reading, I started to realize that this was not an ordinary e-mail from an “and baby makes 6!” reader. By the time I got to the 4th paragraph, I was sobbing and had to pull into a rest stop. I sat there crying for what seemed like an eternity, my kids in the backseat perplexed.
I want to share this e-mail with you. To protect this persons privacy, no names will be posted and I will share only a part of the letter as it pertains to my family.
______
Dear Jody,
I have started and closed an email to you many times over the last few months. I never knew what it was that I wanted to say, so I put it off for another day. One in which the laundry wasn’t piling up or the kids didn’t all want something at once (as if that day would ever come). I have never been a devoted commenter, so this very well may be the first time you have ever heard from me. I originally started reading your blog not long after Amelia was born. I found your blog through Chris at notesfromthetrenches. I loved the way you wrote. With comedy, joy, and appreciation of life all woven together like a beautiful blanket you told of your journey. At times I knew exactly what you were talking about and felt genuine adoration for someone else being able to speak what was on my mind!
I stopped reading blogs shortly after (my 4th son) was born, I just didn’t have the time anymore. In mid to late September 2006, I came across your blog again by accident. I was excited to catch up on what had been going on with your children, only to find that your life had forever been changed with Bill’s illness (forgive me I don’t remember now if it was an anyeurism or stroke) . I couldn’t believe what I was reading, I was actually in shock as if someone very close to me had been dealt such a blow. It was hard to fathom how such a healthy, young father of four should have to be managing this. For about a week I read through your archives of the previous months. At night I would lay in bed and cry trying to imagine what you or the kids were going through, and honestly I couldn’t. My heart was breaking for you all. My husband asked why I was crying one night, and I told him your story. I couldn’t get over how unfair it felt. He put his arms around me, and told me, “We are never guaranteed a certain amount of days, and the Lord never promised us a pain-free life, He only promised that he would be there for us on the journey through it.” I knew he was right, but I still struggled with the “Why” of it all.
As I read your blog I was amazed to watch you grow while traveling this new path with your husband. You fiercely embraced your life and vowed to enjoy every minute of it that you could. I marveled at your strength and faith, and my fears were quieted as I watched your new life emerge. Through your writing you opened my eyes a little wider and brought a little more light into my life. I stopped looking quite so far forward, but instead started seeing the now in everyday life. I hugged harder and longer, reminded everyone how much I loved them (especially my husband), and vowed to not take the blessings of my life for granted. Like you, I loved my husband and even more loved being with him. The cliche is used so often but he was really my best friend. He was a calming force in my life, and we chose to spend most of our free time together because we just had so much fun, alone and with the kids. So honestly, I felt as though I did appreciate my husband and told him often, but the weeks following finding your blog again was full of reaffirmations of love and friendship and devotion. When I look back it was such a good time. We were reconnecting on a depper level than ever before and our whole family was basking in the warmth brought on by a renewed bond between us all. We thanked God for our gifts and felt truly blessed to be living our days together.
On October 25, 2006, just weeks after finding and reading your blog, I awoke to find my husband had suddenly died while he was getting ready for work that morning. He did not have any chronic illnesses or health problems and had just had a physical in June which came back great. So needless to say this was completely unexpected and we were all shocked. However, I remember almost immediately a feeling of calm and peace, not anger and betrayal, and I knew the Lord was with me. That morning a few hours after I found my husband, I was nursing (my son) and it hit me. This little baby was bestowed upon me as a gift because only the Lord knew what I was going to have to endure in the coming months. My Why’s were slowly being answered.
I do not believe in coincidences. A few days after my husband’s service, I thought of you and Bill, the children, and your blog. There were so many blogs that I chose to read once upon a time, very few of them written down or bookmarked. So, “Why” was it that I came across yours a few weeks before (my husband) died? I really didn’t have to ask myself that question because I knew. The Lord led me there so I could witness your journey in preparation for my own. He allowed me the chance to spend a few weeks blissfully loving my husband like I should have from the beginning. This gift gave me the ability to say goodbye without a lot of regrets hanging over my head. I felt deeply that (my husband) knew how much I loved and cherished him and I will forever be thankful for that. (My husband) was right. We are never promised a life free of pain. There are many days that I feel deep pain, sorrow, and loneliness for my husband; so many in which I feel joy and love; but there are never any days in which I feel abandoned or alone.
I do not expect any return correspondence from you, I just felt a strong need to let you know how thankful I am that you decided to share the story of your life. For once I willingly welcomed a Messenger into my life and allowed their message to change it. Thank you so much for your message, it travels with me on this new path right next to my heart.
__________________
There are few moments in life where God reaches out and touches us directly and so profoundly that the moment is forever etched in our hearts. I call them “Hand of God” moments and I can say that it has happened to me 5 times in my life. The first time was upon learning that my father had terminal cancer (that is a post all in its own). The second was a very personnal moment during a Walk to Emmaus. The 3rd was at the moment I learned I was pregnant with Quinn. The 4th was when I held my daughter for the first time and realized that all the miscarriages, all the sorrow we had experienced led straight to this child I was holding in my arms. His fingerprints were all over her.
The 5th time was upon reading this beautiful note from a stranger….a person who God had touched through Bill and I.
I received this e-mail last week, and still I sit here stunned. I am broken hearted for her and for her children (she has 4 as well). It really hurts to try and go there, because I have been in constant fear of just that very thing happening to Bill, and while I cannot know the depth of her grief, I have imagined it over and over in my mind since Bill got sick and just the thought knocks the breath out of me. I wish I could wrap her in my arms and take the pain away.
Since receiving this e-mail, I don’t see Bill’s stroke as a pointless mishap that we are suffering through anymore. What happened to him and to our family had meaning and through it someone else was blessed as well.
How often in this life are we gifted to receive such blessed affirmation?
Thank you from the bottom of my heart J, for taking the time, in the midst of your grief, to bless Bill and I with your letter. Your message is right next to my heart as well.
Spring break - March 11, 2007 -
For everyone with snow, I must apologize in advance. There will be references to temps in the 90’s, sun, blue skies etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.
We are in the midst of Spring Break, and the kids have been liberated from the nuns and priests (not your typical nuns and priests. The nuns are really sweet, and the priests are wonderful as well….my friend L is great friends with the priest, has customized her phone ring tones, and Father B is set to “Back in Black”) and we are traveling. Lots of miles, grandmas, rivers……blue skies, hot, hot, hot hiking, Enchanted Rock, cool water, vineyards……all with stories to come….and pictures as well.
I know that the content here has been quit dull. We have just had such a major change here. I liken it to how it feels when you fly into Mexico, and it seems that the fast paced life of the United States comes to a screeching halt and you are thrust into what Bill and I call “Mexico Time”. Noone is in a hurry to do anything. Siesta lasts 2 hours.
Life is just very casual now. I love seeing Bill in shorts and t-shirts all the time. He is just so much more relaxed and pleasant to be with. We can talk about his job with others and we can discuss with our friends things we had to keep to ourselves in the past due to where he worked. In other words, we don’t have to be in such a fish bowl. Our neglected house renovations are now back on track, and Bill is getting to spend some great one-on-one time with myself and the kids. In addition, he ordered some new tires for our mountain bikes, cleaned them up and we are looking forward to exploring the back, dirt roads of our town and beyond.
Never mind how great things are, it is still all very weird. I am trying very hard to break old habits (hint, hint, COMPUTER) and so as I have said, that is one reason for the limited posting.
Just as you must slow yourself down and try to sway with the slower pace in Mexico once your plane lands, we are taking a chill pill, grabbing a cold Tecate and finding our rythmn here in the land of KissOff 8-5.
So, grab a Tecate and a lime, kick your feet back and acclimate with us to Mexico Time. Listen carefully and you might just hear the palms swaying.
Todays Guest Blogger…. - March 9, 2007 -
The plentiful and creative SPAM!
___________________
MY LIFE
Not much on my mind worth mentioning. What can I say? My life’s been generally dull today. I’ve just been letting everything pass me by recently.
_______
Thank you Kelly, from Monstor C*ck. That was extraordinary. Everybody, give the annoying, offensive, intrusive Kelly a round of applause.
***edit….I am fast approaching the point of turning off comments. The offensive SPAM is getting out of hand. Some of it just scares me, and I am not naive at all. That there are people who send this stuff out to a family website just makes me sick. So, if comments are disabled in the near future, this is why.
5pm, but no sooner - March 5, 2007 -
Bill and I would like to share our new favorite drink with you. After drinking it, in the future, 5pm will not come soon enough. :*)
Gin Freeze
-1/2 blender full of ice
-4 oz Gin
-3 Tablespoons Frozen Bacardi Real Lime Mixer
Blend until very smooth. Coat rim of rocks glass with lime flavored sugar (or plain sugar), then pour in frozen mixture until 3/4 full. Sprinkle top lightly with lemon sugar. Now pour about 1-2 ounces lemon seltzer water over top.
Enjoy!!! We are!
**Must note that we have had 2 blenders full tonight to end a fabulous day….a day that included you-know-what without locked doors etc. How weird is that? I am loving keep-daddy-alive, stroke prevention, intervention 5pm cocktails. Even though I have not had a stroke, I am imbibing just to make sure….you can never be too careful!! Right??
Hiking with a small army - March 2, 2007 -
My son had a friend come spend the night, and having discussed between themselves what they wanted to do while here, I was informed a visit to the creek was in my future. Complete with toddler in tow.
It was sunny, warm and a perfect afternoon for a hike! I grabbed the backpack, the camera and off we went.
The boys had some kind of a fort in the making there and they wanted to play army. Cory is really into army men right now and it drives me up the wall. I want to show him photos of Arlington Memorial Cemetary and people burned during the Hiroshima detonation to illustrate the horrors of war to him. Bill insists that it is a short lived phase and to lay off the dramatics. He says: “You are overreacting again, as usual.” Ahem. Aaaaaaaaaanyway…
It was beautiful at the creek, and my words will never do it justice, so a picture is worth a thousand words. You can view the whole set via a slideshow on Flickr.
Violet…smaller than a dime.
Entrance to a small cave.
Pillow moss.
The fort.
Bored with boy games. War is for the birds, Mama Mia. Right on baby sister.
GI Joe.
Minnows.
Tomorrow has us heaing somewhere south for lunch with Daddy’s Home, then taking in dinner and a movie. Then my laptop clicks shut and gets a good rest while I enjoy my surfer dude for, shall I say, a butt load of days. (Jody…doing the moon walk and an impromtu little break dance)
Now, go love on your husbands.
Until next time, adios…goodnight…sleep tight…and don’t let the bed bugs bite.
Oh, and here’s a flower, just for you.
Husband induced computer laryngitis - March 1, 2007 -
HALLO! How are ya?
I feel alot like I have had a gag in my mouth this week, computer wise. Real life has been like, I don’t know, maybe a bit on the side of fanflippintastic, if not a bit weird.
I mean, Bill and I wake up together, get the kids off to school as usual, then he comes back home and doesn’t leave. We, like, have coffee together. If Mia goes to Nannies, we go back to bed and, you know, sleep (wink, wink). Then we get up, go for a bike ride, come back and make lunch together, shower together………..IT IS WEIRD! But really, really good weird.
One of the biggest problems that we had been having, prior to this change, was not enough time together as a couple. When Bill got home from work, I almost felt like I had to compete with the kids for his attention. We set ground rules that they always managed to get around (whimpy parents) in regards to interrupting our conversations. I felt really disconnected from Bill. Some evenings I even resented my kids. There. I said it. I did. It really made me feel bad, but it was true.
You know what? There were just so many hours in each day that Bill was home, and we have 4 kids that wanted to spend time with us during those hours. We enjoy being together as a family so much, but we also love each other and that part of us was being neglected. Neglected to the point where we had started snapping at and avoiding each other. Way on the “whoa, this isn’t us, something needs to change” side.
And make a change we did.
I now have him all to myself a couple times each week. I feel so happy I could cry. The kids are at school, and one or 2 days each week Mia goes to her Nannies. I wondered what we would say to each other all day without a child hanging from one of our arms or someone screaming “I need to go wee wee so bad”. I was apprehensive that it would somehow not be as great as I imagined.
The truth of the matter is, it was like slipping into a pair of your favorite, well worn jeans. Like finding that last piece of the puzzle that has been missing for awhile, and snapping it into place. Complete and damn satisfying.
Yesterday, I went to bible study with my friends, and afterward out to lunch with them. Bill wanted to go for a bike ride, and I told him I would be home after lunch. I was running late, and when I came home he was sleeping in our bedroom. He had laid out my cycling shorts and jersey on the end of the bed along with his, and fresh water bottles were filled and sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I had to stifle a sob.
He was waiting for me. My husband was anxiously waiting for me to come home and be with him. He could not have touched my soul any deeper.
