thirsty thursday randomness.

Dycen just went down for his morning nap and there is so much I need to do but I'm calling a personal time-out and taking a few moments... The dishes will have to wait. The kids half eaten bowls of cereal will remain on the table and slowly continue to dry. The crumbs from Dycen's breakfast bar that somehow always end up on the walls and floor will wait too. Mr. laundry machine who keeps beeping at me will wait. Get in line... I tell 'em, get in line!  Everything will wait. I want to write. 

The past few days seem to have all grown together. I have been in and out of the house doing last minute things for this party. As exhausting as it is... deep down I really love it. I actually love it enough that if I could be a 'professional birthday party planner,' when I grow up :) I totally would. It's fun to dream of something and know exactly what you want and slowly you start to see it coming alive. I have had a few moments where I'm like "What in the hell am I doing? Why am I doing all this?"  but then, very quickly  I think about all the smiling faces on all the little kids that I love so much. That's enough for me... 

I have to go to Costco today to get all of the food & drinks. Tonight I am going to the church to organize all the games and have a mental picture of everything. This will go there... That will go there... etc. After tonight... everything should be in place. I'm getting excited! I can't believe my baby is going to be one! What a crazy, hectic, fun, loving year this has been. 

This week, work has been extra great! I am so lucky to have such wonderful guests. I look forward to going to work & honestly I can't remember the last job I had that I could say that. My customers become my friends. My friends become part of my life. No matter what kind of day I am having, I always know that work will be full of laughing, joking & smiling. I need that. It makes me a better person. 

I sometimes wonder if my guests realize how much of an impact they make on my life. I carry their stories, their advice and their wisdom with me everyday. Don't get me wrong, not everyone is someone I respect and cherish but there are so many people who I have come to know that I adore that all the weird ones are well, just weirdos, I mean come on... it comes with the territory, right? 

So I leave you with this... 

A couple of weeks ago, an older couple came in and had dinner.  When I say older I mean, 60-75 years old. The gentleman ordered a pina coloda with vanilla icecream and his wife ordered black coffee.  I immediately was drawn to them and loved how 'in love' they were. They ordered dinner and sat back and enjoyed their drinks. I said something silly and they laughed and laughed. That was the beginning of our friendship. I found out that night that they had been married for 48 years. I asked them what the secret was and Teal (husband) responded  with... "for a marriage to work, both partners need to put the happiness of the other before their own. That's real love- the kind that lasts."  

Teal and Jean come in every Tuesday and Wednesday to see me now. I have learned so much from them in the past 3 weeks.  I want to be just like them when I grow up and pray that my marriage is as strong as theirs. 

Cheers!

Now all of that 'stuff' that I am making wait is really calling my name now. I'm off... 

love y'all

oxox, jess


 

Happiness is...

What a great weekend! All of the kids are asleep & the quiet has set over my home.  I just finished stuffing goodie bags with jordan & dominic. They had such a great time doing it. Those moments are the best for me.  I was constantly guiding them. ( Some of the bags had 10 stickers on them and others only had 2. I explained that everything had to be even)  The looks on their faces after we were finished were priceless.  They were so proud of themselves that they were doing this for their 'baby brother'. 

Dominic was worried the entire time that Dycen would know what we were doing. After a few moments I just quit trying to explain to him that Dycen would probably never know what was going on but the memories that we are making for him and the pictures we will take will forever be for him. "Someday he will look back and appreciate all we did," I said. "Yeah, Mom you're right, I remember my carnival party too." (very interesting because dominic never had a carnival party.. hahaha)

Moving on...

There was never a dull moment the past 2 days.  This is the first time I have been able to sit down and catch my breath. I like it like this though. I like being on the go and having places to be and people to see. 

I have been typing and erasing, typing and erasing because I don't know how I want to write this blog.  Before I started tonight, I read one of the blogs I follow and her title was Happiness is...  That is perfect for me right now. The fact that making memories on the weekends with my entire family is what I live for, happiness is on my mind. I live for the weekends. I live for packing the diaper bag EXTRA LARGE, remembering little toys for the car rides, extra clothes, sippy cups, snacks,  the 'seat belts on, we aren't leaving until everyone has their belt on' talk every time we get in the car, the chaos of unloading and loading our brood,  and pretty much everything, as long as we're together. 

Happiness is defined as a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.  


Happiness is... 
my weekend. enjoy.

having my brother coach my son.

 Happiness is...


watching my husband coach our son.

Happiness is...

seeing who can finish their drink fast enough without laughing.

Happiness is...

being able to sit outside Bed, Bath & Beyond while momma bear shops.

Happiness is... 


spending their dollar after a well behaved weekend shopping trip.

Happiness is...

frosting cupcakes with your friends.

Happiness is...

no rules.

Happiness is...

treson christopher.

Happiness is...

finished cupcakes for my father-in-law.

Happiness is...

big brothers decorating goodie bags for their baby brothers 1st birthday party.

(oh yeah, that's my new eating area that i said i would post pictures of, there ya go)

 

 
 Happiness is...

eating his first ice cream cone. tru dat.

 

Our weekend was full of smiles, laughter ( some crying of course, i won't even lie), togetherness but most of all,  happiness. 

Hope your weekend was full & bright. 

love y'all

oxox, jess

 

 

having it all together, only sometimes.

"True friendship is when two friends can walk in opposite directions, yet remain side by side."


Last night was great with my girlfriends. It's always so nice to get out and let loose. I love to laugh & be silly. After a great girls night of crab cakes, bang bang shrimp, pinot nior & checking the TV every once in awhile to see where we all stood with our brackets, leaves me feeling rejuvenated.  Almost like my mind & body tell me 'thank you' & then there's an immediate strength that comes over me saying, "Let's do this... let's get this done, back to work!"

I feel that I have been put on this earth, most importantly to be a mother, among many other things. To raise 3 boys to become respectful, hard working, honest & good hearted men. Being able to take time for myself is one of the things I am most thankful for. I know in doing that, it helps me to be a better parent. It helps me to relax and clear my head. I am thankful for my husband who stands by all my decisions and let's me be the woman I want to be. I am thankful.

Now that I am done with that rant we can move on!

So I remember yesterday that I said and I quote, "I finally think I have my act together." Oh lawd, I don't know if I will ever have my act together... 


I was so excited to finally post something on here yesterday. I had everything organized around the house. I got everything I needed to do within the time limit I wanted to. Laundry, vacuum, sweep, wipes down counters, wipe floors.. etc. I got to spend quality time with dycen & dominic. I was on a roll or so I thought.. 


Dominic asked for grilled cheese for lunch. I was totally cool with that because he always 'helps' & that is an easy 'help' meal. We played around in the kitchen for a few and started to butter the bread and throw the cheese slices on when the doorbell rang.


I was thinking to myself... who could that be? I haven't ordered anything that I was expecting a package. Everyone in the neighborhood was in school, my neighbors were at work... hhhhmmmm.. 


I answered the door, mind you... this was 12:30 in the afternoon & guess who it was?? JORDAN! He immediately said to me, "Why did you lock the door mom? You knew I had a half day today!" My heart sank, I couldn't believe this... I totally forgot and felt so horrible about it. I definitely didn't let Jordan knew I forgot. I blamed dycen for locking the door... really jess, really? ugh! I had to come up with something fast. 


I am so glad I didn't go anywhere. I am so glad that we were at home. Thank you jesus!  What would have happened if I wasn't there? I felt like such a bad mom. Wow! How could I have forgot? I immediately began the 'if I wasn't home when you got home, what would you do' conversation. We discussed that he would go with his buddies to their house and wait for me to get home. I then ran next door and spoke with my neighbor and discussed it with her and we were all on the same page. I am hoping this will NEVER happen but there always has to be a plan.


I have talked to other moms and they have told me that they have done stuff like that too. It's normal but it really didn't make me feel any better. I thought I had my 'stuff' together. Apparently I don't but but who does. Who always has it together? Who always remembers everything? No one and if there is someone out there, I would love to meet them.

Point of story... I will never have it ALL together and that's okay with me. I do the best I can. However, I do know that Jordan has a half day today and I will be down at the bus stop with bells on. =)


Happy Friday!


oxox, jess

a quick catch up.

Okay, I finally think I have my act together. It's been a little over 2 months since I have last blogged. I feel like a failure but then again I realize that I have to be fair to myself and my family. I will be completely honest with you. I haven't been myself. I have been going through one of those 'down' times as a person and parent.

 I should have kept blogging but I didn't want that side of me to be shown. From now on.... the good, bad & the ugly will be shown. :) I was sad, angry, frustrated & exhausted. I was living in the bliss of having a new baby and enjoying every moment I had with him and my other children, when I started waking up and not feeling like myself. Not wanting to get out of bed. Not wanting to get dressed. Focusing on every negative part of my life. I don't know why. I have so much to be thankful for. I have so many wonderful people in my circle I can turn to, to help me get through whatever it is that I needed. There was something that was missing. There was some real reason I wasn't feeling myself. 

I decided after almost 6 weeks of feeling like this that I should go to the doctor. It took my mother telling me, "Jess, you don't sound right and you haven't been acting yourself and I am worried about you." To hear those words from her were not cool. I knew I had to buck up and see what was going on. 

I got the test results back from the doctor and I was glad to hear nothing major was wrong. She said that my potassium levels & vitamin d levels were VERY low. I need to be on supplements. She also said that I have an under active thyroid. My numbers with that are just a little bit lower than what she would like so not enough to give me synthetic thyroid. She said the vitamins should help that out as well. At the time I thought this was all very silly until I looked it up on the net and educated myself.

I started on all my new vitamins and feel like a NEW person! I am so thankful I went to the doctor. It's so easy to take my kids, but when it comes to myself, well.... that's just a different story. 

I didn't know if I would start blogging again because honestly I didn't know if I would have the time. I realized that after weeks of not doing it and many people writing, texting and calling me wondering why I haven't blogged made me think that I really need to start back up. It gives me something to do for me. It gives me a moment to speak my peace and document my thoughts. Plus I know that years down the road, I am going to love to go back through all of these posts and re-live 'my moments'.


My life right now is full. Jordan has started flag football. He loves it and the joy I see on his face makes my heart explode. I am the team mom so I'm organizing the snack and drink schedule and making sure everyone is volunteered to help with our community service hours. 


Dominic is growing like a weed. He amazes me everyday with all of his new words & thoughts. I am in the process of finding a preschool for him so he can start in Sept. He is so ready! I am so ready!! :)


The past year has been amazing. Having three boys has truly been a dream come true for me. I sincerely cannot believe Dycen will be ONE on April 5th. That is absolutely CRAZY to me! I am planning a HUGE first birthday party. I spend at least a 1/2 hour on it everyday just trying to make sure I have all my ducks in a row. It is going to be a carnival at our church. I can honestly tell you he has no idea what is going on but Jordan and Dominic sure do and they can't wait! 


Demond and I have re-done our 'eating area'. We had someone come in and texturize under our chair rail and do an accent wall for us. We painted and added new wall decor. It totally freshened up that room and I now love sitting in there. It's amazing what a fresh new coat of paint can do. I will post pics when I can find them. :-/


Work is great for me! I am starting to get really busy. I love it! I have built up a large 'regular customer base' which is really helping me and my pockets. :) I love a full bar with laughing, happy, fun loving guests.

I'm off tonight and look forward to a girls night out at my favorite restaurant, Bonefish. Until then, I have a huge mountain of laundry, bathrooms that need my love & two cute little boys who want to wrestle. 


It's good to be back. 


Love ya'll


oxox, 
jess