My First Award!

In a moment of extreme sweetness (or extreme ignorance... I'm not quite sure which, LOL), my girl Peggy over at Stir Crazy in the Suburbs has given me a Mom of the Year Award!!

Isn't that awesome!!??? Unfortunately, I got really busy with...well, being a mom... and didn't see my award for a few days after she posted. (Sorry,
Peggy !!) But the tardiness of my acknowledging her award definitely shouldn't overshadow the excitement I feel about it.

There are just a few rules re: this award. Here's the first:

1. Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom.
Sadly, many things are popping in my head right now. Of course, I need to filter out some of those thoughts-- I can't have you guys thinking I'm not worthy of this award that has been bestowed up on me. So here's my answer: I'm not so proud of the fact that I raise my voice a lot. I don't like loud noises. I don't like people yelling at me, at each other, at anyone, so I know my kids can't like it either. Why, God why, do I feel like it's an effective way to get my kids to listen? I know it isn't... if anything, it just makes the situation worse & certainly makes me feel crappy. On to a happier subject matter....

Rule #2: Remind yourself why you are a good mom.
Well, I am proud of the fact that my kids and I do a lot of fun things together. We love to go to the park and the library together. I try to take them to fun local events when possible as well. I also have not a single doubt in my mind that my kids know I love them more than anything in this world. We are cuddly, huggy and snuggly in this house:) I am also proud of the fact that my kids are well-mannered. I've spent a large majority of their life teaching them to be respectful of their elders and to always say please and thank-you. (Doesn't always work out, but hey- I try, right??). (*side note* Did anyone else notice how I had no trouble at all rambling on about the good things about my parenting skills, LOL???)

Rule #3: Send this to five other Moms that deserve the Mom of the Year Award and remind them that they are the best moms they can be! Remember to send a note to those you selected so they will be sure to receive their award. I guarantee it will make their day, just as it did mine! Thanks, Peggy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's hard to pick just five-- many of my bloggy friends are amazing moms!

1. My sister-in-law, Kristy, has FINALLY started a blog. She has three beautiful children (4 and under.. oh.my.god.), and is definitely a SuperMom! Please go visit her at The DK Family.

2. And for a girl who can be just as dirty as the martinis she loves so much (and she's a mom with the mostest): Kathy at 2 Kids...3 Martinis

3. This girl makes me laugh uncontrollably ever time she picks up her pen/keyboard. And any woman who can convince her son that he's holding an extra large q-tip when he's gotten into her tampon stash...well, that alone deserves an award: Go see Sam at My A Cup Runneth Over

4. A fellow book lover who not only makes me think with her insightful writing, but also makes me realize that in order to be a GREAT mom, you must take care of yourself & your emotional needs as well. This one's for you, Cyndi... you are truly So Much More Than a Mom.

5. And last, but certainly not least, Lil' Jenn. Jenn lived in OKC but recently relocated to Washington. We miss her around here, but know that it is fantastic for both her, and her FOUR boys to be close to her family. (Yes, you read that right. Four boys. WOW!) Please go show her page some love at Thoughts of a Lil' Jenn so she'll come visit us in bloggy world more often!!

Jaxen

Jaxen Caroll:

You're six today. And for some reason, it's hit me harder than I ever expected. Something about the sound of saying "My son is six" just sounds so much more grown up than saying "My son is five". Maybe it's the two hands thing-- your age can no longer be demonstrated by holding up only one hand.

It seems like just yesterday that I was being rushed into the OR for an emergency c-section. You were such a rambunctious lil' booger in the womb that you wrapped the umbilical cord around your neck... not once, but twice. Your oxygen levels were sinking very rapidly, and within ten minutes of the nurses noticing the drop in levels, you were being delivered via c-section. Your dad had left the room for something or other (more Mountain Dew probably:)). Your Nana had gone to pick up Aunt Kristy, and G-Daddy, Mimi and Aunt Sarah were still on their way to town from Elk City. I was all alone when I found out that you were going to be delivered so quickly, but luckily, Daddy made it back to the room in time. Nana & Aunt Kristy rushed back and G-Daddy set new speed records to make it to the hospital by the time we were wheeled out of the OR.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I felt the first time I saw you. Obviously, I realized that I was about to give birth and have a child to raise in this world. It's hard to explain though, that I didn't TRULY understand that until I saw you. The rush of emotion and disbelief that I had been entrusted with the life of a child to nurture, guide and care for was beyond anything I had ever felt before. You were beautiful. A perfect eight pound, one ounce bundle of joy, with your daddy's eyes and deep dimples.

You are such a joy to me, J-Bo. You have always made me laugh with your quick wit and huge imagination. You take such good care of me, and never hesitate to tell me how much you love me. You are a wonderful, caring big brother. And although I come from a family of girls (and had no idea what to think when I heard we were having a boy, LOL), you have shown me the true joy of having a "mama's boy". The bond between a mother and son, between you and I, is something that can't be defined, can't be diminished, and can't be broken.

You will forever be my baby boy. I love you with all that I have, all that I am, and all that I could ever hope to be. As your Auntie Heather so eloquently put it, having you made me a better version of myself. And as I watch you play Playstation right now, and jump around singing, "Who let the dogs out? Woof Woof!", I can't help but think "Yes, this is who I was meant to be"... Your mom.

Wordless Wednesday

Random Tuesday Thoughts

It's that time again!!

• I was SuperMom today, if I do say so myself. After working what seemed to be one of the longest days in the history of long days, I took the kiddos to the park, then out to dinner (Long John Silver, for those who are interested- that's how we roll, matey.). To top of the evening, we spent almost two hours at a little carnival that is currently residing in the parking lot of a strip mall near our house. Lots & lots of fun.
• Have I mentioned that I live in el barrio? Seriously. We, being Caucasian, are definitely in the minority in our area of town. We rock it Southside, Mexicanville. But I'm cool with that for quite a few reasons- 1)my kids will likely be bilingual by the second grade 2) where else in this city can you have your own personal ice cream man not driving, but actually pushing his very own ice cream/refrigerated/box thingy down the street?? 3) you can get some seriously good food around here AND lots of interesting finds at the grocery store. I truly love the cultural mix we are surrounded by.
• My sister just bought a red washer/dryer set. I'm insanely jealous:)
• On the ride to school this morning, I suddenly heard my son start singing "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?". And yes, I was very proud at his grammatical correctness. Proud that he didn't say "dontcha" which truly offends my ears.
• The new Martina McBride album came out today. I love love love me some Martina, and I personally think this is her best album in years. It's available for listen here if you want to check it out.... http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/2. I especially recommend track 5 "I'm Trying". This song was originally recorded as a duet between Diamond Rio & Chely Wright. I adored the song then, and almost started crying when I saw that Martina had released a version. And to top it off, it's an acoustic, stripped down version. In my world, it doesn't get much better than that. In the bridge, she sings, "...not a day goes by that I don't curse myself and all my sins.. Then he dropped down to his knees, by now they both were crying. He said I haven't been the man I want to be.... but I'm trying." Lyrical perfection.
• My daughter is the klutziest person I've ever encountered. Tonight, she literally fell over while standing still. Seriously. Right onto her little butt. How does she do that???
• I just noticed I've been using the word "seriously" a lot lately. What's up with that? Seriously?!

My randomness is complete for the night. I am going to go curl up with "Eat, Pray, Love". I've been overcome with an intense urge to reread this wonderful book. (Thanks, Cyndi, LOL!!) Hope everyone is having a good week.

Jess....out.

The Me Mosaic

One of my very favorite things about blogging is all the neat sites & tools that I encounter via other blogger's pages. Things that I certainly would not have stumbled across on my own. Sweet Kathy over at 2Kids3Martinis (http://www.kathyriddle.blogspot.com/) posted a wonderful exercise in creating your own photomosaic using Flickr.

It's very simple to do, and an enjoyable way to pass some time in a relaxing, non-cleaning-the-house kind of way. (I advise going to Kathy's page for all the details on how to do your own mosaic... she gives very easy-to-follow instructions & I'm just not technical enough to post links to it all.)


I used these questions, and input the answers into Flickr. I chose my fave picture from the results and that's what went into the mosaic.


1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. Your dream vacation would be where?
8. Favorite dessert: __________.
9. What do you want to be when you "grow up"?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you?
12. Where do you live?

Can you tell what my answers were by viewing my photos???

PS And if anyone could PLEASE tell me how to create links, I would be highly grateful:) Happy Sunday!

Just sayin'....

I'd put out a lot more if you'd:

scrub the bathtub (more than once every six months)...without me asking.

surprise me by making dinner every now and then...without me asking.

finish the many unfinished projects around our house...without me asking.

help me with the daily household chores... i.e. laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc... without me asking.

not ASK me to put out every five seconds.

not grumble under your breath and act put out every time I ask for help.

stop acting like I never do anything.

Seems like I'd have a lot more energy for the things you want me to do if you'd take the initiative to help with the things I don't want to do.

Just sayin'.

Wordless Wednesday: It's Tough Being a Kid

Random Thoughts Tuesday

Here I go again, jumping on the Random Thoughts Tuesday train....

* My neighbors across the street are cleaning their garage out and piling stuff on the curb. Do you think Jr. would notice if he came home and our garage was empty? I'm really tempted to ask the neighbors if they are for hire to do the same to our house.

* I started to watch Chocolat today, and suddenly had the brilliant idea to watch "Under the Tuscan Sun"...again. For about the fiftieth time. I LOVE this movie. Has anyone else read the book? One of my favorites of all time as well. (Side Note: Has anyone else noticed that Kate Walsh and Sandra Oh play the lesbian couple in this movie?--I wonder if some big Grey's Anatomy producer saw this movie.)

* I am so ready for Saturday. Reason #1: Follow up appointment with the dentist so I can finally see the work that was done of my gums and see how it looks. I've been forbidden to pull down my bottom lip and sneak a peek at it before then. Reason #2: The kids birthday party is that afternoon and I'm really looking forward to watching them have an amazing time. Mom of the Year Award.. .here I come!!!!! LOL

* God, it's hot in this house. I don't want to bitch though. It's not often that you can open up all your windows, turn on the fans, and be sweating in March. I love this weather, but I absolutely refuse to turn on the ac this early in the year.

* I never thought I could crave Mexican food as much as I do right. this. very. second. Chips, salsa, jalapenos, lard-laden refried beans, fishbowls of Tecate with salt & lime... can you hear my stomach growling??

* This weekend Jalyn dubbed herself "Birthday Girl" and me "Gum Girl" (due to my dental surgery). So when the boys left to go somewhere on Saturday, she said, "Hey Mom.. it's just Birthday Girl & Gummer Girl in the house!". It seems that I've acquired another nickname.

* Salsa...enchiladas....

* I've been reading the newest J.D. Robb book. I find it funny that I don't usually enjoy books written under her real name, Nora Roberts, but I always love her J.D. Robb titles. What's up with that??

* Fajitas...shrimp cocktails...guacamole...

* I haven't seen much of my crew lately. I don't really know why that is, but it feels like forever since I've seen my friends. Boo.

Hope to see you jump on the Random Train as well.. it's a fun ride!!!

Seven Weeks, Twelve Days, Five Years

About seven weeks after giving birth to my son, I became pregnant again. Yes, you read that correctly...seven weeks. Granted, I didnt know (or chose to accept) that I was pregnant till about two months after that, but it's hard to ignore the math when your second child is due the day after your firstborn's first birthday. To say that we were surprised would be the understatement of the year. I was too scared to even tell my parents till I was almost six months along. They just thought I was still carrying around those extra baby pounds. HA! Little did they know.

It was a tumultous, scary time for us. Darrell and I were still navigating the path of being new parents to our son, Jaxen. We were still trying to figure out how we fit into the roles of "mom" and "dad" and how it affected us as a couple. Let me rephrase: we were scared shitless. The thought of more diapers, more formula, more dr.'s appointments, more clothes was beyond overwhelming. Not only were we concerned about the financial aspects of having another child, I would look at Jaxen and just wonder how in the world I could EVER love someone else as much as I loved him. I just knew that I was going to be a horrible parent to our second child...the level of intimacy between Jaxen and I had already been established. How could I possibly have this bond with someone else?

And then we had the ultrasound. When the technician told us we were having a girl, I had the pleasure of watching my dear husband turn shades of green that I have never even seen before. Talk about classic.:)

March 15, 2004, Jalyn Elizabeth entered the world.... a mere twelve days before her brother's first birthday, creating a twelve day time period every year where my two kids are actually the same age. Right now, both my children are five. At least until Jaxen's birthday on the 27th.

And regarding my fears that I could never have a place in my heart big enough for two kids... well, I was totally wrong, of course. Jalyn's sweet little smile and laid back demeanor stole my heart right away. How could you not love a face like this?



Happy Happy Birthday, sweet baby girl. I love you bunches!!!

What I Did Today

How My Day Begin:

A man in blue scrubs scraped tissue off the roof of my mouth and used it to reconstruct the gumline to two of my bottom teeth.

Oh. My. God.

The first couple hours were okay... (i.e. the novacaine hadn't worn off yet), but now I am feeling it. Oh Lord am I feeling it.

Darrell loves it cause I can't talk. Hmph.

How My Day is Ending:






Night, folks.

Out of The Mouthes of Babes

ShortMama over at Family of Shorts posted this great entry with questions you ask your kiddos to see what they really think of you. Of course, the results are quite interesting... (especially considering my kiddos are four and five:))

1.What is something I always say to you?
Jalyn: "Stop throwing and stop kicking"
Jaxen: "To go play"


2. What makes me happy?
Jalyn: "When we're good and when we clean up, too." (I'm sensing a pattern here.)
Jaxen: "Being good."

3. What makes me sad?
Jalyn: "When we're bad and don't clean up."
Jaxen: "Onions" (LOL!)

4. How do I make you laugh?
Jalyn: "You make funny words and funny faces."
Jaxen: "When you tickle us."

5. What was I like as a child?
Jalyn: "I don't know." (she has no concept of my life before "Mom" :))
Jaxen: "A girl."

6. How old am I?
Jalyn: "16"
Jaxen: "20" (Damn straight.)


7. How tall am I?
Jalyn: "Big, like (envision large hand motions) huge."
Jaxen: "11 feet" (In reality, I am a mere 5'1".)

8. What is my favorite thing to do?
Jalyn: "Clean up the house. Cause that's what you really do." *sigh*
Jaxen: "Clean. Go to the Fish House."


9. What do I do when you're not around?
Jalyn: "Try to look for us." (Cracking up on this one!!)
Jaxen: "Work."


10. If I become famous, what will it be for?
Jalyn and Jaxen: "Being rich. Winning the lottery." ( I blame this one on their dad who keeps talking to Jaxen about everything they are going to buy when we hit the lottery. Jaxen, of course, now asks on a regular basis if we hit the lottery.)

11. What am I good at?
Jalyn: "Cleaning house."
Jaxen: "Reading books." (AMEN!!)

12. What am I not very good at?
Jalyn: "I don't know." (I'm suprised she didn't say cleaning on this one!)
Jaxen: "Playing video games."

13. What do I do for my job?
Jaxen and Jalyn: "Work and clean up the house." (Oh. My. God.)


14. What is my favorite food?
Jalyn: "Vegetables, tomatoes & lettuce sandwich, broccoli, vegetable soup, fish."
Jaxen: "Calzone" (Hmm... I think this may be a clue that we order Mazzios too often.)


15. What makes you proud of me?
Jalyn had no answer on this one.
Jaxen: "When you scratch our stomach, rub our stomach, scratch our back, rub our back and tuckle us in." (This being our nighttime ritual. Note the use of "tuckle". It's just too cute to correct.)




16. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?
Jalyn: "Little Mermaid"
Jaxen: "Flapjack... little kid who goes on adventures with Captain Kanuckles." (Apparently this is some Cartoon Network show that I've tuned out. Please don't call me Flapjack. I'll get a complex.)


17. What do we do together?
Jalyn: "Celebrate, eat, paint."
Jaxen: "Clean up, play games like Sorry."



18. How are we the same?
Jalyn: "White hair."
Jaxen: "We both have closets." (Apparently, J, J & I have closets, but Dad doesn't. In reality, he has way more clothes than me!)


19. How are we different?
Jalyn: "You sit in the front seat of the car."
Jaxen: "We have different jackets." (Both very insightful and true.)


20. How do you know I love you?
Jalyn: "Cause we're smart and we're helpful." (I love her big vocabulary!)
Jaxen: "Cause you scratch our stomachs, rub our stomachs, scratch our backs, rub our backs, and tuckle us in."


21. Where is my favorite place to go?
Jalyn: "Sonic" (I think this was just the first thing she thought of, cause we really don't go there that often."
Jaxen: "The Fish House , Mimi and G-Daddy and Aunt Sarah's house."
(Note: The Fish House is our favorite restaurant.)

All in all, a very insightful exercise. I love how the kids never mention any of the fun things we do. None of the trips to the library. Or the park. Or our weekly trip to the Donut Shop. Nothing about the fact that I love to sing. But hey... they are four and five. I guess it's only normal that their concept of me only seems to include cleaning (although that kind of hurts my "peelings", as Jalyn would say.). Just proves my theory: I spend too much time cleaning!!!

So ask away-- ask your friends, your spouse, your kids-- whoever you want & see what they really think:) And don't forget to share the link with me so I can enjoy their answers as well!!

Wordless Wednesday: They're So Peaceful When They're Sleeping

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I stumbled across this fun post (sorry that I can't remember exactly where I found it). I just couldn't resist... I love anything pertaining to pictures. Here's how it works:

1. Go to your pictures folder or wherever your pictures are stored on your computer.

2. Go to the 6th folder and pick the 6th picture.

3. Post it and tell the story that goes with the picture.

4. Tag 5 other people to do the same.

Here's my photo:

This is my beautiful niece Alexis. We all call her Lexi though. I call her Lexi-Bexi and she calls me Aunt Kekka.

This photo was taken at my kids' birthday party last year at Incredible Pizza. The room we were eating in had a little stage, and Lexi was dancing on it when this photo was taken. Lexi LOVES to dance. It's so incredibly cute to watch. Keep breakin' it down, sistah!

I tag anyone who wants to participate. Please leave me a comment so I'll know you participated and can come check out your photo too!

Yet Another Prime Example ......

Last night I was feeling a little down in the dumps. You see, I had spent all weekend fixing up my blog. I chose a beautiful new background color, played around with the font style & size to make it easily readable for those blind folk like me. I added a bunch of new blogs that I love to my page in the hopes that others could discover their wonderful-ness (is that really a word??) as well. I typed up a couple new posts that had been floating around in my head, and to be honest, I was feeling pretty darn good about myself. My page was so aesthetically pleasing to me now (FINALLY!) that I kept visiting it myself.

So last night, while half-watching No Reservations (not Tony's best episode), I sat and refreshed my blog screen over
and over
and over
and over....

Not one comment come in. Not even one lonely straggler of a comment. I must admit, I was disappointed. All the pride I had felt in my newly designed site was quickly fading.

Then.... the light bulb finally lit up. My dumb ass had set my comments up to be moderated-- and I had never even checked them.

So to all those dear bloggy friends that I doubted.... I sincerely apologize for having no faith in your loyalty. I hope you enjoy this story, yet another prime example of my dorkiness. I'd be really embarrassed if I wasn't laughing so hard.

Everybody Poops

Jaxen (in bathroom): "Mooommm! Did you hear that?"

Mom (in living room on couch): "Hear what?"

Jaxen: "That fart! It was like plbth.....(flip your tongue to envision sound). My butt was loud!!"

Mom: (trying not to laugh and encourage bathroom humor) "No, Jaxen I didn't hear that."

Jaxen: "Oh man, Mom.. now I'm gonna poop. Can you hear it?"

Mom: (shaking with silent laughter) "No, son, I can't hear it."

Jaxen: "Whew! My butt is tired! And it stinks in here! Can you smell it, Mom??"

Mom: (tears running down her face) "No, Jaxen, I can't smell it."

Jaxen: (darting from bathroom, pants around his knees) "Oh man, I've gotta get out of there! It's nasty! (shaking butt at Mom) Did I wipe it all, Mom??"

Mom: "I certainly hope so, son, I really, truly hope so."

Are you on the FB Train??

I've been wondering lately if any of my blog friends are on facebook. I enjoy how interactive it is, and thought it would be a fun way to communicate with you girls that I so enjoy talking to via blogger. I personally have no problem laying my life out at your feet... I've already done that via my blog anyway!:) But I wondered if I found you on facebook and sent you a friend request, would you think STALKER??!!

So it's all in your hands... I'd love to connect with you on there (or even myspace for that matter. Both my pages are set to private.. hey, I don't let just anyone in there, you know:) Send me a friend request if you wish, and I will happily add you.

Here's to social networking!!! :)

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1622626877&ref=name

http://www.myspace.com/singergrl13

Five Things

The Five Things Meme:


Name a CD or CDs you own that you think no one else on your friends list does.
Deborah (aka Debbie) Gibson- Greatest Hits (including fantastic dance remixes)
NKOTB- Greatest Hits
Wade Hayes- a country singer from OK who was pretty successful in the mid-1990's

Name a book you own that you think no one else on your friends list does.
Bitch Factor by Chris Rogers. It's the first book of a mystery series about a female bounty hunter. Following titles were Chill Factor and Rage Factor. Then it just kind of....stopped. I wonder what happened to the rest of the series? Must go google now.

Name a movie you own on DVD/VHS/whatever that you think no one else on your friends list does.
The Buttercream Gang- it's an old family friendly movie made by some Christian group, I believe. My childhood friend Staci and I used to watch it all the time, so when I found it at a local booksale, I had to get it. At the same sale, I also picked up Tales of the Shirtale Gang. Anyone else remember those cute creatures??


Name a place that you have visited that you think no one else on your friends list has.
River of Love Cabins in southern Oklahoma... that's where we went for our honeymoon and I HIGHLY doubt anyone on blogger has been there.


Name a piece of technology or any sort of tool you own that you think no one else on your friends list has.
Seriously... do you really think that I own some kind of fancy tool? My husband is another matter entirely, but I own one sole miniature sized hammer, perfect for my needs. And no need to answer the first half of the question either... it makes me giggle:)