LLMajer Muses

Mr. Majernik's Opus

2011-06-16T09:25:00.003-05:00

Jay prefers playing (orchestras, musical theaters, churches) to teaching. Jay also prefers eating to starving; consequently, Jay teaches during the school year. Teaching provides some stability to the Casa Majernik coffers.

Ironically, Jay teaches well. He teaches at the high school level and admits he lacks the patience for middle-school level teaching (who can blame him?). The drumline at Bishop Lynch wins state championships and receives high ratings in ensembles, so clearly he is doing something right. His students at Arts tell him he helps them make sense of what they are playing. Overall, he teaches well, and his students, well, those who choose to listen and work, learn.

Over the years, some students stand out more than others. Are they "teacher's pets?" Not necessarily. They work harder than others. They do not all go on to music careers, but they apply the discipline they learn to other areas of their lives. They become honorary Majernik family members. They are the students Jay and I pray for and wonder how they are doing well after they graduate from high school.

I decided the best way to celebrate Jay's 40th birthday was for him to hear from some of these students. Thanks to Facebook, I was able to contact several. Jay's birthday was in April, but I began my project the previous October. I knew contacting a bunch of college and beyond men and women would be a bit like herding cats, and I thought the more time I took, the better my results.

The assignment was simple: just a small note for Jay thanking him for his teaching, wishing him a Happy Birthday, sharing a funny story from "back in the day." I managed to reach several students and was unable to close the loop with others. No matter, we still love them!

Sam D., last year's BL drumline captain replied first. In the honorary Family tree, Sam is like our nephew. I received a funny message from him and was on my way to collecting more. Lauren F., a previous BL drumline captain, was next. She's an honorary daughter; in fact, we chose the name Lauren for our "girl name" in case Noah ended up being a girl. Her message was so sweet that I wanted to cry. Next came Ian P-J., an Arts alum and current music student at Tulane. Ian's another honorary nephew. He holds the distinction of playing at our wedding reception in May of 2006 and then slipping me free Paciugo ice cream seven months later when I was pregnant with John. I tried and tried to connect with Logan R., but we just ran out of time. Logan is our "third son", an alum of John Horn HS in Mesquite and next year's McMurry University drumline captain. He practices 8 hours a day, and I thought that was a fitting tribute to Jay all by itself.

Jay's smiles and laughter when he read the notes on his birthday made the whole task worth my time. I am so grateful to the students who participated and know that Jay kept all of the notes in his studio. The notes were a reminder that he has indeed provided great teaching and served as a great role model to students over the years.

Not bad for someone who prefers playing over teaching!

Boy Mom Tribute

2011-05-08T09:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! You all work hard and do your best, so I hope you are enjoying this special day.

On this Mother's Day, I thank a special group of moms: the moms of my guy friends from my school days. I gravitated to the "boy moms" back in the day because they were more fun, friendlier and less dramatic than the girl moms. Girl moms cannot help it: they have to fight for their daughter's social status. Many a Queen Bee mom was just as nasty as her Mean Girl offspring when I was growing up. Boy moms did not care who was on top of the social ladder and as a result talked to everybody, regardless of "status". Their friendliness and willingness to listen to a girl's perspective of what was happening at school (it was fun for them because they did not have to deal with it at home, lol!) made such an impression on me that, combined with my love of boys courtesy of Little Brother, I decided I HAD to be a boy mom. Let's face it, going through high school was tough enough as a girl, I sure would not want to go through it again as a girl mom! God mercifully granted my heart's deepest desire, and here I am today, a boy mom.

These boy moms inspire me today just as much as they did when I was younger and now I say, "thank you". Mrs. G.: you were the most drama-free mom EVER and I see now that you truly have a gift. Thanks so much for your example. Mrs. H.: you managed your home flawlessly and convinced me through your example that having four sons was heaven on earth. Forgive me, but I believe two sons is plenty of heaven on earth for me, hee hee! Still, I relate to the joy you experienced from raising sons. Mrs. E: you brought GLAMOUR to the title of "boy mom"; did you ever have one of your boys spit up on your shoulder? I doubt it, you always looked beautiful and were so much fun to be around that you made everyone smile after visiting with you. Mrs. J.: your Cajun humor was the best. I have a special spot in my heart for my friends from "La Lousiane" because they remind me of you. Mrs. S.: you treated me like a daughter and taught me to spend time getting to know the girls in my life. I am paying that forward with my son's friends today.

Ladies, if I can be half the boy mom that you all were, well, I will be doing an amazing job. Happy Mother's Day!

Casa Majernik Unplugged

2011-04-22T16:29:00.003-05:00

As we move toward Easter, I realize I forgot to tell you about our Family Lent Adventure. We made a move we spoke of many times, but lacked the courage to actually MAKE the move. We took advantage of the Lent season, tacked on with John's disturbing behavior trend, to make the bold, semi-crazy move.

Dear Reader, we removed our television from our home for Lent.

It was not an impulsive choice. Jay and I talked about it before. John has a way of gluing himself to the television and ignoring everything else to watch his programs. I never had the guts to remove the television before because it is such a huge part of my life. I grew up with TV always on in the background. When I lived on my own, I kept the TV on for background noise. I wasted many a Sunday watching one Lifetime movie after another, only to look up and see that the day was over and I spent it glued to my couch. Consequently, I could not make the big move to get rid of it.

John's behavior was taking a bad turn, though. He was throwing more tantrums, especially when we would turn off the television. He ignored us when we spoke to him and disobeyed us when we he did listen. Jay and I concluded that one way to get John's focus back was to take away such a big distraction. So we took away the TV. I am not even sure where the TV is now, maybe the garage?

Guess what happened after the TV was removed? The strangest thing; we started spending more time together as a family. John paid more attention to us and his behavior improved. His tantrums diminished. John and I worked through more lessons and played a lot of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. (BTW: it is SO humbling to have your three year-old wipe the floor with you at Candy Land!)

John was permitted to watch an occasional DVD on his portable player. This option came in handy when he was sick and lounging around for a few days. I also watched some DVDs and stayed on top of my shows online or through iTunes.

We adjusted to a TV-free life faster than I thought we would. I actually enjoyed this experiment and told a friend recently that I did not care if the TV ever made it back into the house. It will, but I hope we significantly reduce our viewing hours.

Not a bad vice to give up for Lent; I highly recommend it if you are wanting to try a TV-free experiment. Happy Easter!

Admission Angst and Arts Magnet 'Idol'

2011-03-02T12:37:00.002-06:00

School admission season dominates most of the months of November through February. When I say "school" I do not mean college, I speak of preschool and K-12 school. If you read my Facebook, you know John sat for two interviews at two different preschools. Other parents are preparing their little darlings for interviews, filling out applications, procuring recommendations and basically jumping through flaming hoops, all in the name of giving their child the best education they can.

Did I mention these children are applying to preschool and up, not college? One application I filled out for John included a form from his MDO, certifying that John has never been in in-school suspension, or sent home for bad behavior. Fortunately, my son is not a Moms' Day Out delinquent, but STILL, I felt a little silly handing this form off to the director. I also called the pediatrician to have immunization records printed up to send with the apps. All these packets of paper made it to their destinations without any trouble, thank goodness!

I am not the only one jumping through hoops: my neighbor woke up at 4 am to sit in line for her son's preschool. I did that last year, and I am so glad I did not have to do that again. My cousin's son is applying to Bishop Lynch as a transfer, and they have their own online and printed paper documents to fill out. It's happening everywhere...even in DISD.

Yes, DISD. Jay sat through Arts Magnet auditions for rock-star wannabes. After the first round, I asked him how his day went. "Like a really bad episode of American Idol!" was his response. Of the forty-some-odd students who auditioned, about 10 were Booker T.-worthy, which made for a long day for the judges.

If a student wants to attend Booker T., they practice their instrument, rehearse a scene or dance, or put together a portfolio to prepare for their audition. How does a student prepare for a preschool interview? Some preschools test the prospective students. John went through a small assessment with one of his preschool choices. I was not able to take part in the process, so I have no idea what actually went on. I tried to ask John about it later and he replied, "I played with trains, and matched the bears...it was interesting, Mom!" Hm, ok. Still, I had no way to prepare the child for the interview/test.

John's other school choice conducted a family interview. Now we're talking! I prepared John for that! I reminded John to politely answer "the lady" who would ask him questions, to not be afraid because Mommy and Daddy would be right there. Then I gave him the most important bits of advice: "John, do not put your fingers in your nose, and remember to tell the lady that you love Jesus!" The interview went well, and John entertained "the lady" with stories of his trip to see Thomas the Tank Engine in Rusk, and he mentioned that the week before his interview, Princess Crush had been sick and had to drink Pedialyte. (I told you, he is STUCK on this little girl!) No fingers made it to his nose, not one single time, and
John received acceptances to both schools.

My work is complete...until Noah has to go through this process.

The Princess Dress Quest

2011-02-23T12:12:00.003-06:00

Every day, I thank God for 2 things:

1) My salvation through Jesus Christ. That speaks for itself.

2) My status as a boy mom. Why? Back in the day, I dreamed of being a boy-only mom because I enjoyed being a big sis to my little brother so much. Now, I determined that being a boy mom made me immune to dealing with a teenage girl having PMS in my home 24/7 (sorry, no one gets to have monthly mood swings in my house but ME!) and, more importanly, boy mom-hood provided a protection shield from the Disney Princess Cult.

Or did it?

Let me set the scene: the Love Bug bit John this school year. He frequently refers to this precious girl as a "Princess" and told me that he is the "Prince." I found this crush adorable and congratulated myself for teaching my son to have good taste in choosing crushes because this little girl is beautiful and has a sweet disposition. The fact that I adore the girl's mom helps, too.

John received an invitation to Princess Crush's birthday party. I told him the good news over his Saturday morning cartoons. His face beamed when I told him he was going to the party. Then came the serious talk:
Me: "John, we have to get a gift for Princess Crush. What would you like to get her?"
J: "A Thomas train." (In all fairness, I must disclose that Princess Crush likes Thomas trains. I believe this factoid had a lot to do with John crushing on her).
Me: "Well, ok, but would you like to get her something with princesses on it, since she likes princesses?" This will be easy, I thought. A set of sparkly jewelry and a tiara and we'll be set.
J: Looks away from his cartoons and stares at me with a serious expression, "Yes. A dress. A princess dress. That's what I want to give her."

Oy. Vey.

Faster than you can say "bibbity-bobbity-boo," this boy mom prepared for hand-to-hand combat with the Disney Princess Cult. Truth be told, I'd prefer lightsaber combat with Darth Vader. My odds against the Dark Side of the Force beat my odds against the Princess Cult, for sure.

Rationalizing that even Cinderella had a Fairy Godmother to help her out, I called in my own Fairy Godmother. I needed some insight into my enemy, I mean, where to procure this dress for my son's crush. My Fairy Godmother was none other than Cousin T., a former-princess-now-princess-mom. She was the best person to inform me of how to find such a gift, and told me to check Target or Walmart.

I scanned online for some dresses and showed John a few:
Me: "Is this what you want to give Princess Crush?"
John: "Yes, it HAS to be pink. She needs a pink dress."

OK, off to the battlefield we go. First to one store, which yielded no luck. Then a second store. We found a few dresses, but no pink dresses. I tried to convince John that a blue or green dress would work well, but John was adamant: Princess Crush needed a PINK dress.

Back to the car. I pulled into the parking lot of the final store on our quest. We walk in...and there it was, a pink princess dress. The last pink princess dress in the store flew off the shelf and into my cart before it turned into a pumpkin. John approved, "Yes, Mommy, this is beautiful!" and I checked out.

Fortunately, Princess Crush loved her gift. Her smile of appreciation made the quest worthwhile, and I survived the battle with the Disney Princess Cult.

I'd still rather take on Darth Vader.

I Never-Thanksgiving Edition

2010-12-15T09:00:00.000-06:00

Here's a summary of our road adventure to the frozen Midwest for Thanksgiving, to the theme of the old game "I Never."

I never...traveled so far to eat a Thanksgiving dinner. True! Jay and I packed up the boys and drove up to Illinois so we could have dinner with GreatMaMa and the Majerniks. As I told many people, "the visit was lovely, the travel was brutal."

I never...ate Thanksgiving dinner in a basement. A first! Basements are not too common here in Texas, but they are in other parts of the US. The basement at GreatMaMa's was the best place to seat all the family so that's where we ate.

I never...saw my niece before Thanksgiving Day. Right again! My niece, Bethany, was born in January of this year and we finally got to make her acquaintance on Thanksgiving. She and her brother, Luke, are John and Noah's first cousins.

I never...attended a Thanksgiving where football was not a major part of the day. Wow, yeah, that was interesting. I almost broke out in a sweat from withdrawal, but mercifully, the TV at GreatMaMa's at least had the games on. Still, that was an experience, so it merits mention.

I never...ate sweet potatoes that were glazed with an orange sauce until this past Thanksgiving. Dang, those were good. Kudos to BIL, A, for such a yummy addition to the dinner table.

I never...depended on text messaging so much to keep me in touch with my family, whom I missed dearly on Thanksgiving. Wow, I think being able to read funny texts from my brother and mom made the day very special.

I never...stopped at a McDonald's for chocolate chip cookies on Thanksgiving. Hm, Jay grabbed the wrong bag of sweet treats to take on the road, and we promised John a cookie for some good behavior or other. Imagine the trauma when we did not have the cookie! I insisted that Jay drive through the golden arches to make the situation right. What did the Pilgrims do without McDonald's?

The Miracle on Astroturf

2010-12-14T11:45:00.003-06:00

Jay agonized over this year's Bishop Lynch drumline. His agonizing started last year, when he knew his all-time best BL drumline captain, SDG, was graduating and leaving him with a polar opposite captain for this year. His talent pool shrank (is that the right way to say it?) and his leadership diminished as well. The question lingered in the air at Casa Majernik from January til August of 2010: Just how bad was the 2010-2011 drumline gonna be?

August 2010 rolled around, and we found our answer: Pretty bad! Just a lot of new folks who needed to learn some fundamentals. Jay drafted some former students to work with the line in the summer and we concluded that a state championship was not in the cards for this year. Getting away from contest with a minimum of embarrassment was the goal.

Every week brought new tales of exactly how weak his bass drum section was. I secretly wondered if Jay would have a stroke before contest. The kids worked hard, to their credit, and his snares were fantastic. He added a pit this year, a feature he had not had for several years, with some talented young women who play very well.

Contest rolled around. Jay looked like he was going to be sick the second he woke up on Contest Day. He swears he was not going to be sick, but hey, I was the one looking at him, and that's what he looked like! I thought how nice it had been to win two State Championship titles in a row, but that was going to grind to a halt this year and "there's always next year" with a new captain and a more experienced line.

We arrived at Ft. Worth's Nolan Catholic High School before the contest began. The Bishop of Ft. Worth offered the invocation (the cool part about not being in public school-yeehaw!), which was a nice touch. I am a heretic Protestant, though, so I bowed my head with everyone else, and offered my own heretic prayer:
Dear Lord, please show up in a big way this afternoon because we need a miracle.

BL took the field, and waited for about 10 minutes while a technical difficulty kept them from performing. After the difficulty's resolution, the band performed. Quite a good performance, but would the drumline pull off the miracle? I doubted it, not with the bass drum's issues.

We waited for the results. The band did not receive a first division rating, well, ok, that's fine, it's a rebuilding year, yada-yada. Then the announcement rang out: "The award for Best Percussion goes to...Bishop Lynch!" I jumped up and clapped, why wouldn't I? This win meant job security and a likely raise for Jay! Then the band was named Best in State, which I found amazing, given that they had not won a first division, but we'll take it!

How did this happen? was what Jay and I wanted to know after the contest. We listened to the judge's comments a few weeks later. The dude never once commented on the bass drums. Apparently, all the bass drum troubles were completely ignored by the judge. I thanked God, because he clearly showed up in a big way, just like I asked him to.

Now I wonder how Jay plans to win a fourth title next year. Hm, better start praying!

Meeting Melissa

2010-10-08T07:45:00.011-05:00

I am on the steering team for my MOPS chapter. Over the summer, we planned the speakers we wanted to have for each meeting. One suggestion was Melissa Hill, a columnist for the Dallas Morning News and the woman behind a fabulous blog, A Long Way From the Theta House. I practically jumped out of my seat when she was suggested because the thought of meeting her was soooo cool.

Melissa has an amazing story. She and her husband are truly living out their faith. They left their cute comfy home in Lake Highlands (my old stomping grounds) and moved to West Dallas, a community with a lot of problems, to say the least. Melissa blogs about her adventures in her blog. I looked forward to meeting her, but still had a few lingering questions. Namely, what kind of person leaves their Highland Park upbringing (her husband grew up there), and Lake Highlands home to move to WEST DALLAS? Were they experiencing some kind of corporate-world success guilt and decided to chuck it all? Was there a near-death experience that made them bargain with God and this was their end of the bargain? In short, are they for real or are they patronizers that want the attention? I decided to be a little on my guard when meeting her to look for "fakeness".

Then I met her at the MOPS meeting. My guardedness went out the window. "I am so excited to meet you!" I exclaimed like a crazy fan. We chatted for a few minutes and she was the real deal. So much so that I found myself telling her about my humble lil blog here and then blurting out, "I'm really a frustrated author and I blog as a chance to do some kind of writing." OMG, I thought, I just told her my biggest dream and she's a total stranger who probably thinks I'm a HUGE dork from the way I greeted her! She's that warm and encouraging of a person! She actually asked me what kind of project I'd like to write. How kind!

Her talk to us mommies that morning was fantastic. There's a great overview of it here on her blog. (Please note she left out any mention of me, the quasi-rabid fan, lol! Good thing!) When she finished, she sat down at the table (I was at the same table) and I asked her if I could blog about meeting her, panting like my neighbors' Golden Retriever. She smiled and graciously said I could. And now I have.

Thanks again, Melissa!

When Life Gives You...Tomatoes

2010-08-31T09:32:00.002-05:00

My kitchen became a tomato-processing factory yesterday. Jay's father came in town for John and Noah's dedication, and brought us some tomatoes from his garden. LOTSA tomatoes! They taste fantastic and I did not want to lose them. As a result, I made my first venture in preserving. I took the easy route, to be sure. I froze some, made a puree with others and made some sauce with the rest. There are enough left that I think we can easily consume them without losing them.

Jay was a great help in the process and in the cleanup, which I highly appreciated. I look forward to trying these creations later in the year to see how I did for a newbie. If my Facebook status reports a trip to the hospital for food poisoning at some point, you'll know it did not go well, hee hee!

Sand the Floor (Wrap-Up, Finale)

2010-08-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

The final exam for our course on Murphy's Law was here: it was time to sand the floor. Our innocent foray into steam-cleaning our carpets resulted in a whole new living room, but one critical part was missing: we needed to refinish the wood floor that used to be covered up by carpet.

Jay, of course, was going to do this himself. He consulted some folks who had done floors before and was completely confident he could do the job in a day. Once again, I packed the boys up and spent the day at my parents' home so that we would be out of the way. Jay rented the sander from Home Depot, spent a small fortune on the sandpaper stuff you put on the sander and was ready to go.

But this is a Murphy's Law course, remember? Consequently, when I called Jay at lunchtime to see how things were going, I learned that things were not going so well. I rolled my eyes and thought, yeah, well, why doesn't that surprise me? Anyway, I got back to the house (which, by the way, had plastic sheets dividing the living room from the rest of the home in a construction-zone kinda look), and saw the problem. For some reason, the poly on the floor was not coming up no matter how long Jay sanded it. It looked as though Jay had not done much work at all.

Jay called his consultants, who came out to our house that night. Apparently, the poly was very thick and would need a stronger sander and coarser paper. Luckily, they agreed to help Jay the next day, because by this point, my patience was gone and I was in serious "Git'er done...NOW!" mode.

The next day arrives and I am, yet again, packing up the boys and leaving the house to give Jay some room. Thank goodness for indoor playgrounds and the precious families we know who are willing to meet us at said playgrounds. It helped John (and me) cope with the bizarreness of our situation. Anyway, I check in with Jay at lunchtime again, and learn that the poly on our floor was SO THICK that it broke parts of the super-duper sander! Yep, leave it to us to have a tough floor to sand. Another sander was rented (think Tim the Toolman Taylor saying, "More power!") and finally, the work was getting done. The main parts were finished by the end of the day and Jay just had small detail sanding to do.

I won't drag this out into any more chapters, but I will tell you it was still a few more weeks before we could take down the plastic sheeting and go back into the room. Jay had to finish the floor (which took longer than planned thanks to the humidity), and I spent a few nights out of the house with the boys again to not smell those nasty chemicals. Jay then had to take a major time out to begin drumline camp and start writing the drum book for this fall's BL marching show. The plastic is down now, however, and we will start moving furniture back into the room soon.

So that was our summer at Casa Majernik. Next summer, I want to jam-pack our schedule so that we have no time for unexpected projects!

Hitting the Ceiling (Wrap-Up, Part 4)

2010-08-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Now the ceiling needed paint to set off the wall color properly. I admit this was the easiest leg of the journey. Jay bought the paint and flew through the project. The walls were painted, the ceiling was painted, the carpet was pulled up, the cat was recovering and the fleas were gone.

One project remained, and it was the biggest one of all: the floor needed refinishing.

Crawling the Walls (Wrap-Up, Part 3)

2010-08-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

What began as a simple carpet steam-cleaning snowballed into a living-room redo that we did not anticipate. However, the floors needed re-finishing, and Jay and I concluded that we may as well paint the walls first so that any paint drips on the floor would be removed with the sander. Before we could paint, we needed to remove some tacky wallpaper that covered half of one wall. We had a steamer to help with the project, which Jay said would take a day.

Jay got the steamer "steaming", armed himself with a bottle of water and some scrapers, and got to work. The first layer peeled off easily to reveal...that it was only a first layer. Alright, let's keep steaming. Jay ended up going through FOUR layers of wallpaper, right down to what was likely the original wallpaper, a pink floral on brown background. It was very '50s looking. Needless to say, getting through all the layers took a lot longer than the one day Jay estimated for the project. Oh, joy!

Eventually, the wallpaper was removed, the walls were prepped and a lovely ice-blue color covered our walls. At least, it was supposed to be an ice-blue, more like a white with slight blue tint. For some reason, as Jay was finishing the last coat of paint, the color looked GREEN on the walls, not at all the look I was wanting.

Just as he was finishing, he noticed something was wrong, too.
J:"Hey, Honey, could you come here?"
I walked into the newly-painted room. Jay's looking at the ceiling.
J:"You know, I'm colorblind..."
LL:"Uh, yeah..."
J:"So, can you tell me, what color is the ceiling?"
LL:"The CEILING? It's, (look up), it's...oh no."
J:"What?"
LL:"It's the same color as the old paint, not ceiling white. That's probably why the paint looks green instead of blue."

With that, we gained a new painting project. The good news was, 1)the exterminator came and went and we were flea-free and 2)the nasty wallpaper was gone.

Still, we had a ceiling to paint. And did I mention the floors needed to be refinished?

Wrap-up, Part 2

2010-08-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

See the previous post if you need to catch up on this story of Summer 2010 at Casa Majernik.

Coulda. Shoulda. Woulda. Those horrible words ricocheted through my brain while I waited for the flea bombs in our house to dissipate so we could safely re-enter.

"I coulda called a professional exterminator and saved some time and effort on our part." "I shoulda called someone, because a professional knows what he's doing and we are clueless." "If Jay did not have that awful disease of his, I woulda called a professional, but he has that awful disease and I'm stuck."

Yes, Jay has a terrible disease. It's called "being cheap." I learned that in the Midwest it is called "being frugal" but Jay is so miserly he'd make Ebenezer Scrooge harrumph with pride. (The use of the phrase "being frugal" is also how I learned that Southerners are not the only folks who use pretty words to disguise ugly facts. Interesting!) Anyway, because of this disease, Jay does not call a professional anything until things are in dire need. So why would we call an exterminator when we can go to Home Depot and buy flea bombs, ya know?

He bombed. And it bombed. The fleas were still there. It was time to call a professional.

We set up the appointment for the exterminator. We also ripped up the carpet in the living room, which was the worst room for the fleas. The ripped up carpet revealed wood floors that needed some work. Do you see where I am going with this? We have a new project now...refinishing floors. Combine that with Jay's disease and GUESS WHO will be refinishing floors? Yep, Scrooge Majernik.

Something happened before we reached for the floor sander though. I stared at the ugly wallpaper on one wall in our living room. I've despised that wallpaper since the day I moved into the house. Jay and I looked at the wallpaper, then at each other.

We might as well take down that wallpaper and paint the living room before we finish the floors. On the one hand, I'm excited to be getting rid of the wallpaper. On the other, I am wondering how long it will take to get it done and what else will pop up along the way to enhance our Murphy's Law course.

Jay of course was going to take that wallpaper down HIMSELF and not call a single person to help. He did borrow a steamer from my folks, but that was the only help he accepted.

"It'll take a day to get it all down; it's just on half of one wall."

Famous last words.

Summer Wrap-Up

2010-08-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Jay returns to DISD and MISD schools this week. Bishop Lynch resumed classes a week ago, so he's over the back-to-school inertia.

Last week, we made one observation about Summer 2010 at Casa Majernik: we did not have much of a summer vacation. We purposely made no plans because Noah was arriving. Having Noah and getting used to life with two boys (I LOVE IT, BTW!!) was the summer agenda. Instead, we had Noah, got used to life with two boys, and took a summer-long class in law. Murphy's Law, that is. Let me tell y'all, Professor Murphy gave us a schooling like no one's business.

A few weeks before Noah's arrival, we got our carpets steam-cleaned. Why not? Sprucing up the house a bit before the little one arrived seemed harmless enough. We only have carpet in a few rooms anyway, so the process would not take too much time...let's do this! So, we did. Carpets looked great. Noah arrived a few weeks later and we are in the grind of no sleep, taking care of baby and making sure I am feeling well after the c-section.

One thing we noticed, through the fog of sleep deprivation, was a frightening change in the cat's demeanor. Belle, my ancient cat and longtime companion, is, well, ancient. I joked that Noah's arrival would use up the last of her nine lives and would send her to the litter box in the sky. She started acting as though her time on this earth really was up, however. She was not eating much, she was not moving much, and when she started sleeping all day in her earthly litter box I was convinced the litter box beyond was closer than I realized.

Jay took Belle to the vet. No, she was not on her deathbed, she just had a horrible case of fleas. Hey, wait a second, is that why John and I have bites all on our ankles? Oh, those are FLEA bites? What is the deal? Belle's an indoor cat. How could she get fleas?

The vet asks Jay what changes have been made in our home. Uh, well, new baby...NOPE, not responsible for flea problem. Oh, and we got our carpets steam cleaned a few weeks ago...DING-DING-DING! Yes, steam cleaning is known to hatch flea eggs that are dormant in carpets. Well, the previous owners of our home had 2 indoor dogs...ta-DAH! That's the cause of the flea problem! Tell the man what he's won, Vanna:
"It's a trip to Home Depot to buy a flea bombing kit! Complete with a one-night stay at Grandma and Grandpa F.'s so the family doesn't keel from the chemicals! But wait, there's more...a two-week supply of meds for the poor cat so she can start to recover! Yippee!"

I was REALLY glad I was recuperating from surgery and unable to give the cat her meds. Anyway, we washed bedding, packed up the boys, moved all kinds of household goods to the garage and dragged our sleep-deprived, flea-bitten sorry selves to the grandparents so Jay could save the day setting flea bombs.

End of story...or IS it?

Noah

2010-07-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

"He looks just like his brother, John
But on an 18-month delay..."

-John Mayer, 83

John Mayer's song, 83, is one of my all-time faves. The lyric above describes how I felt when I first saw my youngest son, Noah, last month. To be perfectly honest, Noah is more on a 36-month delay, but hey, you get the gist. Noah was a carbon copy of his older brother at birth.

Noah's birth took us by surprise. I prepared for a natural birth, at a birthing center, in a birthing tub, an uber-earth-mama affair. I even wanted Jay playing his ocean drum in the background. At 35 weeks, I was ready to go and had the birth plan in place and knew I was coasting to the finish line.

Noah did not get the memo on his role in getting ready for birth. He did not turn and was breech. His head stayed between my ribs for what seemed like eternity, but was only about a month.

I could have delivered him breech at the birthing center, but something told me not to. So I went to an OB/GYN's office. I threw the birth plan out the window; I just wanted my son delivered safely. I went in for a checkup on June 2. The doc said I could have my c-section on...June 3, and be at the hospital at 5:30 am. Uh, June 3, as in 13 hours from now?, I thought. Yep, that was what the doc meant. The best part was telling Jay we were having our son in 13 hours. The look on his face was unforgettable. We were both shocked but he showed it more than I did and boy, oh, boy, do I ever wish I had filmed him when he learned the news!

On June 3, we arrived at the hospital. Noah was safely delivered and when I saw him, I was amazed at how much he looked like John. We spent this first month enjoying our new son and adjusting to our new life as a family of four.

Noah, Happy One-Month Birthday. I pray you will accept Christ early in your life. I will also selfishly pray that your hair stays dark because I want one of my sons to have my dark hair, hee hee!

God...and Drums

2010-05-24T11:24:00.003-05:00

Jay's school year is finishing up. That means he is home more often and has time to catch up on filing and cleaning up his work table. Believe it or not, I do not nag him about the condition of the work table, because after 4 years of marriage I learned that it WILL get cleaned when his gigs settle down, and if I touch the piles of paper, well, it's just a bad thing to do. So I let it go.

He cleaned up the work table last week. I noticed that the piles of paper were gone, receipts were filed or shredded, and only the important things remained on the table. For Jay, the "important things" were two books: 1) the Bible and 2) a drum catalog.

I had to smile and almost burst into laughter. Yes, I thought. If I had to tell someone what makes my husband tick, what his essentials for living were, I would say, "God...and drums." The books on the table perfectly described Jay. I appreciated the low-key-yet-very-obvious visual.

Taking A Stand

2010-04-19T19:48:00.002-05:00

I've said it many times: being online can take up a lot of time. Between Facebook, Twitter, blogging (reading and writing!), and just emailing, it can take a while. I can go on to "check email" and look up and see an hour or so has passed me by...oops!

I cut back my time online considerably over the last few months. You've noticed the fewer blog posts and might have noticed the decreased Facebook activity. Don't get me wrong, I love blogging and Facebook, especially Facebook, which can be like a fun high school reunion. Still, I knew it was keeping me away from what "needed" to get accomplished in my life/home. Cutting back helped me.

My friend, Tovah, quit "cold turkey." I got an email from her last week to inform me that her Facebook account was deactivated. She still has her blog, but she will not be on Facebook anymore. Her reason was that it kept her from accomplishing her top priorities for her life. I was impressed, so impressed that I emailed her immediately and asked her if I could share her story with all of you! I admire her determination to keep her priorities in line, and for having the guts to say "no" to a popular pastime for many of us.

I do not think deactivating is the right solution for me; cutting back my time proved to be effective, but I must say "Atta, girl!" to Tovah for taking such a firm stand.

One More Year

2010-04-08T08:57:00.004-05:00

Another birthday is here for me. This past year had its share of challenges (I was convinced it had more than most) but I made it here in one piece.

Last night at Bible study we talked about crossroads, specifically in the life of King David but we all have them in our lives. I found the topic timely, as that is how I would describe this past year for me: crossroads. I'm not sure where I'm supposed to be going or what I'm supposed to be doing next in life, but I feel like a season is ending.

I look back and see how many dreams of mine have come true. There are also dreams that crashed and burned horrifically, but its interesting to see what gets rebuilt from the ashes. Still, I wonder, what's next? There's an optimistic side to me that still has a few dreams left, and I wonder which ones will happen and which won't.

Another theme that rang out from this last year is: self-acceptance. I consciously tried to be more authentic; realizing that my "real" self may not be as popularly received as some kind of facade, but being real feels better. I'm wacky and very intense emotionally (happy emotions as well as sad ones), which I try to cover up by not talking much. This past year, though, I saw that intensity and wackiness as "ok" for a change, and tried to be honest with expressing myself.

Again, at Bible study last night, I found myself being very honest and showing my wackiness. We spoke of David successfully bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem and the celebration that ensued. David was dancing triumphantly before God. One dear lady in the study said that was like the song, "I Can Only Imagine." What a perfect response to such a momentous occasion. I chimed in that when I play the scene of David dancing before God in my mind, the background music is "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang! Yep, I said it. I felt myself turn red, but hey, I was being honest. I was letting my wacky side show, even in Bible study.

So look out, you might learn more about me in this upcoming year than you ever wanted to know, if I'm not going to stay as quiet as I usually do. You've been warned!

Spring Break Review

2010-03-23T11:27:00.003-05:00

Spring Break 2010 has come and gone here at Casa Majernik. In a bizarre twist of scheduling, Jay was not only off from his teaching jobs but also had just one evening gig, so we had him here all week. It was strange to keep bumping into him here at home. I kept thinking, "Oh, you're still here?" but I liked it. John LOVED having Daddy home, too.

We took John to the Museum of Nature and Science. We sat through an IMAX movie, where John said more than once, "Daddy, turn it off!" We also took him through the Children's Museum section and he had a blast. Then we explored the lagoon area and watched the turtles. The weather was so cooperative, sunny and in the 70s, I think. It was perfect for Spring Break.

So imagine our surprise when we got more SNOW a few days later! What a strange way to end the break with John and I crunching through snow on our way to church on Sunday.

Jay's back to school and John and I are back to our regular schedule. We had a relaxing fun week, all in all.

Making a Memory

2010-02-17T10:39:00.004-06:00

For some reason, I'm not much of a sentimental person. Sentiment is not really in my DNA. A few years ago, my parents gave me several plastic tubs of "stuff" they had stored for me-memorabilia of junior high, high school and undergrad. My yearbooks ended up in the Goodwill pile and I got my tubs of "stuff" down to half a tub with a photo album of pics that meant the most to me and a few odds and ends.

I just don't hold on to much. I think to myself, "do I really want my kids/grandkids to have to sift through all this mess after I die?" and it gets really easy for me to figure out what I want to keep and what I don't. I figure that I lived the moments and I wrote some of them down but the memories stay with me, so why clutter up with pictures and stuff?

Consequently, this makes me a bad mommy because I do not take a lot of pictures of my son. I've shared some with you, so you know I take them, but not a lot. Not as many as other moms might take. It's not a bad thing, but sometimes you might miss out on something.

Take last week, for example. We had a record snowfall here in Big D. It was beautiful and fun to see our lawn and home covered with snow. We took John out to play, and built snowmen and made snow angels. He had a blast. Jay looked at me and asked where the camera was. I told him it was in the house. He reminded me that a snowstorm like this may not happen again for a very long time and we should probably grab a few pics. Uh, ok, I guess...I got the camera, silently cursed my Yankee husband for trying to tell ME about Texas weather and returned to take some pics and small video clips.

I uploaded the pics and discovered why this was a good idea. Seeing John waving to the camera, trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue, and his gorgeous blue eyes sparkling elated me. Me, the one who doesn't have much room for sentiment.

I'm not saying I'm a total convert who will be lugging a camera to every imaginable moment, but I think I'll be able to at least consider if there's something I want to document or not.

I will say I'll enjoy looking at the 2010 snowstorm pics years from now, when John is on his own and I'll want to remember when he was little.

Reflections From a Cold Night

2010-02-04T07:30:00.000-06:00

While I was in my self-absorbed, uber-obsessed quest for getting John a place at preschool, I did have an epiphany. As I mentioned, it was 37 degrees outside when Jay and I sat in line. We were sitting on lawnchairs and wore our heaviest jackets, hats, gloves, and wrapped up in blankets, but we still got cold. Really cold. I spent about an hour in our minivan resting and trying to warm up. After that hour, I came outside and asked Jay if he wanted to switch with me: I'd sit outside and he could warm up in the van for a little bit. He helped me get situated and as he covered me up with a blanket he whispered, "It's a little like Everything's Jake, isn't it?"

We watched Everything's Jake about a month ago. It's about a homeless man in New York City who is truly happy being homeless, but you still see his struggles. I was glad Jay thought about that movie, because I had similar thoughts as we were waiting outside.

I thought about how we had a van to go to and warm up for a little bit.

I thought about how many layers of clothing and blankets we had.

I thought about my dad coming in to sit for a few hours so we could thaw out at our house.

I thought about the fact that we had a house to go to in the first place, and that we were only going to sit outside for one night.

When we got home for our "thaw-out" session, I told Jay, "It gives you a renewed heart for the homeless, doesn't it?" He agreed.

I could not help but feel blessed. I'm glad I was able to sift through my selfishness enough to see a bigger picture.

One of Those Parents

2010-02-03T10:18:00.004-06:00

I was a parenting expert...before I became a parent. I knew exactly how I would and would not conduct myself as a parent. I would NEVER scream at a ref during a child's sports event, I would NEVER try to butter up a teacher so my child would get the best consideration for a place on the drumline or theater stage or sports team. NEVER.

And I absolutely, positively would NEVER do something as ridiculous as camp out overnight for a spot for PRESCHOOL, for goodness' sake. It's preschool, how crazy would that be? That's what those kind of parents do. Not me.

Y'all, I'm old enough to know I should never say "never". "Never" is one of those words that can really come back and haunt you. (FWIW, I swore I'd NEVER marry the guy I'm married, too, ok? I have a bad history with "never," LOL!)

A few weeks ago I realized: I had not made any school arrangements for John for next year, his three year-old class year. I know exactly where I want him for his Pre-K year, but I forgot about the year before that. I wanted to get him used to more than 1 day in school and with a curriculum so he was used to more "school-ish" kind of schedules, but still have time to play. I got to work researching a few places and learned that the deadlines to register were days away. Jay and I decided what schools we liked the most, and I picked up an application packet for the top choice. (Just like college, your first choice, second choice and safety schools, oy!)

The only problem with first choice was that it is a first-come, first-served application process for available slots. When I picked up the app packet I asked the director, how early do we need to line up? (They opened at 7 am). She told me that lining up by 5 am would be "too late". Earlier than 5 am would be best. I then asked her how many spots would be open for 2007 kiddos. She wasn't certain, but 2007 kiddos were her longest waiting list. I wasn't surprised by that news, 2007 is a huge year for kiddos, so there will likely be lots of competition for spots everywhere, from here to university. I thanked her for her time, smiled and left the school.

It was in the parking lot that I suddenly became one of those parents. Five am is too early?, I thought, FINE! we'll get there at 3 am! I called my father and asked him if he'd sit in line from 3-5 am and Jay or I would relieve him at 5 am. Well, can a grandpa say "no"? Of course not, and my dad readily agreed. As the weekend wore on, however, I decided that would still not be early enough. I asked my parents to keep John for Monday night, so Jay and I could leave the house to get in line at 1 am. They were fine with that.

By Monday evening, Jay and I were wired and ready to go. Forget 1 am, we'd just spend the night there. We packed up lawnchairs, blankets, and bundled up within an inch of our lives, and got to the parking lot at 9 pm. No one else was there. Wow. We were first, and I was officially one of *those* parents. A mixture of happiness and what am I doing here?, went through my mind.

We were joined by a few more folks at 10 pm and we took turns sleeping for a few minutes in the van, then sitting back outside. Did I mention it was 37 degrees? More on that later... Anyway, a lot of people joined the line at 2 am. My dad gave us a few hours to thaw out at 3 am and Jay sat the anchor leg from 5-7 am. We got our app packet in first.

I'm now waiting to hear from the school to learn if we got a spot. If we didn't, I am not sure I will replay this camping out episode for our second choice school. It was a tough night.

So much for saying "never," huh?

Local Link: Allie's Nap Mats

2010-02-01T10:09:00.002-06:00

John started MDO for the "second semester." He needed a nap mat and I did not want to spend an outrageous amount of money on one.

That's where Etsy came in handy! I found Allie's Nap Mats on the site and also found a fantastic Thomas the Tank Engine-themed mat with an attached pillow and blanket. Allie let me pick up the mat at her Plano home so I did not need to pay for shipping, which made me very happy indeed. John loves his nap mat and even sleeps on it at home sometimes!

If you're in the market for a nap mat be sure to check out Allie's Nap Mats on Etsy. I could have spent the whole day on Etsy looking at all the cute shops on there; it's fun!

Thanks, Allie, you made the preparation for MDO much easier.

Hiatus

2010-01-22T14:15:00.002-06:00

Welcome to 2010! Hope everyone is having a fabulous year so far.

During the holidays, I dared myself to unplug just a bit. I decided to cut back on my news gathering and time on the computer. I went a little nuts at first and was pretty sure I would not survive the holidays. Then, I got comfortable with it. In fact, I'm still doing it, that' s how much I liked it!

Not sure what that means for this lil' blog. It's a fun place for me to relay my experiences as a mom. I'm going to keep this up for now, but may make it a private blog or take it down entirely in the future. I wanted to try it, I did and enjoyed it, but seasons change in our lives, so I'm evaluating the next step.

2009 Blog Review

2009-12-31T20:38:00.003-06:00

So according to blog lore, I can summarize my year by reposting the first line of the first post of every month. Let's see what we get when that happens, shall we?

January
I've obviously been on a blog break! Hm, tells me I took time off to spend the holidays with the fam. What's next...

February
I love having a toddler in the house, but sometimes I just don't know what kind of activities will be good for him. Thanks to the No Time for Flashcards website and the Family Fun magazine site, I do not have as much trouble with that anymore. I say I made some progress in my activities for JohnJohn quest, so that's good! Next...

March
Tell me if you have experienced the following scenario: Ah, yes, my mommy meltdown moment at the gym. I'm getting better at not saying "just" a mom, I will say that. Ok...

April
I turned thirty-six this past week. Woo-hoo! Time to celebrate!

May
JohnJohn turned 2 yesterday! More celebrations at Casa Majernik!

June
Hey! Well, that gives away my GRITS background, doesn't it? Except of course, I try to emote on the word so it's more like "heee-yyy" when I am happy to see someone.

July
We did it, dear Reader...the bedroom painting project is now complete! I can tell you I've really enjoyed my sunny yellow room to cheer me up when it's rainy and yucky outside!

August
Jay and I were settling in for the night and we were a little sad: That can only mean one thing, the return of marching season. It was a great marching season though, I must admit.

September
I hold out hope that someday Elizabeth will return to the blogosphere. My post about Suburban Cupcake brought a lot of hits from Google to this site. Still miss you, E!

October
It's October already? That was my response to what I am sure was the fastest September on record. Really, those 30 days felt more like 15. Anyway...

November
Here's some information about an upcoming event in the DFW area. Yeppers, that's about Moms Rock, Too! Cool, cool, ok, one more month to go...

December
My friend, Tovah, posted this last week. Tovah's excellent post on our motives for helping others. Made my brain ache for a week, in a good way.

Conclusion: A good year. Look forward to what 2010 brings. Happy New Year!

Christmas Past

2009-12-21T21:48:00.002-06:00

I've enjoyed singing Christmas carols for the past few weeks at church. We sang "Joy to the World" yesterday and it managed to transport me back in time. Back to some fun Christmas season memories I made in high school.

I sang in the school choir and every December we held a Christmas concert. We began the concert by processing into the auditorium with candles and singing several carols. I remember looking across the aisles at my friends' candlelit faces and seeing their smiles. We were all having a great time. When we got to the final carol, the lights in the auditorium would slowly come up and we'd process to our places onstage or in the audience, if we weren't the first act. I always enjoyed that concert and it reminded me that Christmas was on the way.

Then that opened the memory vault to my junior high days. I remember walking down the halls singing carols with the junior high choir the week we got out for Christmas break. That was a fun memory, too, and I was impressed my ancient mind had the capacity to travel back that far!

All these memories just from singing "Joy to the World" at church, you ask? Yup, cause even after all this time, I still sing the alto part. It's drilled into me from those days of rehearsals and performances. Strange how your memories get strung together, huh?

Tovah's Thoughts

2009-12-17T09:36:00.003-06:00

My friend, Tovah, posted this last week. I've spent some time mulling this over before I posted my thoughts on this. She's talking about how our interest in others who are suffering can be an avenue for self-fulfillment, and that it's easier for us to focus on others than tend to our own needs.

Can I tell you right now how guilty I've been of this in my life? The most obvious example I thought of was a job I had about 10 years ago. I wrote grants for an agency in town that helped people who were truly suffering. I won more grants than I lost, and I told myself I was doing amazing things to help people in my city who needed it the most. I'm was being productive and noble, and my compassion was amazing.

My personal life, on the other hand, was a mess. I did not want to think about how bad it was, so I poured into work. The neglect of my life led to an eventual divorce, health troubles, and a financial disaster.

I'm not saying we should not help the less fortunate. I'm not saying when our friends are going through a tough time, we shouldn't be there and help in any way we can. I just know I need to make sure I keep my life in order and not dwell so much on others that I lose sight of myself, the good parts and the bad.

So thanks, Tovah, this was a great thinking exercise for me! I want to check out the book you mention in your post, too. Sounds fascinating!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-11-27T10:44:00.005-06:00

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving. This was the first year John really "got" the Macy's parade and it was fun to watch him watch it. We ate lunch with my parents. The food was great and the football games were even better. The Texas game was painfully dramatic but at least it had a happy ending.

Over the weekend, BL had their playoff game. They did not win, so football season is over. The band's marching season will officially end this weekend at the Adolphus Children's Christmas Parade.

What were you thankful for this year? I've cavalierly said that I'm thankful for my health for years. This year, I meant it in a way I never have before. My friend A, whom I have mentioned to you before, is struggling with POTS and I have another friend who is having health issues. I hope I don't go back to taking my health for granted anytime soon.

Is everyone getting ready for Christmas now? Amazing how the turkey is barely in the fridge for leftovers when we start hauling out the holly. Admittedly, I felt I could not properly celebrate Thanksgiving until I had ordered my Christmas cards and I made sure they were ordered earlier in the week. I did not wake up on Black Friday at a super-early hour, but I still knocked out some shopping. We are looking forward to putting up the tree and John's been talking about Christmas trees for a few days now.

My friend Tesa had a great post on her Facebook this morning. She wanted people to post their fave holiday songs. I love the traditional carols, and going to Jay's Christmas concerts to hear the traditional music is one of my personal holiday highlights. However, I had to reply to Tesa with two of my faves that are not traditional. I told her I like Paul McCartney's "A Wonderful Christmastime" (I think that's the name? You know the song, I am sure) and "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses. I like "Christmas Wrapping" so much I'll play it in August to remind myself that the oppressive heat will one day end and it'll be Christmastime! I was happy to see someone else say they liked that song, too. Excellent post, Tesa. What a great way to get us thinking about the holidays!

Playoffs!

2009-11-22T11:55:00.003-06:00

Way back in the day, my high school buddies and I hoped for a Thanksgiving holiday that ended with a playoff football game. It meant that your team was one step closer to that highly-coveted State Championship.

I have to admit I haven't outgrown that wish. Bishop Lynch won their second-round playoff game and will play next weekend, after the Thanksgiving holidays. Congrats to the team and good luck for the next round.

Not everyone feels this enthusiasm. I recently texted Rock Star Babysitter/Drum Major Caley to set up a time to babysit and wished her luck with this past weekend's game. She texted back her availability and the message, "I'm so sick of football". I had to laugh, and remember that it's work for her and the marching band to be there for one more game.

So when Jay and I realized the band has one more game to play this upcoming weekend I asked Jay if we should be glad or sad. I went ahead and picked glad. It's a hard habit for me to break.
Good luck, Friars!

Halloween Recap

2009-11-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

After the marching competition, we had some trick-or-treating to do; it was Halloween after all! Jay spent the day before Halloween making John's costume: a robot. He took some old boxes and covered them with foil and placed all kinds of remnants from the garage on the box to make a great-looking robot. He even made an antenna for it.

Unfortunately, Jay was not present for trick-or-treating time. He played a Mass and had a musical theater show. I was feeling under the weather, so I brought John over to my parents' house to help with the trick-or-treating.

Around 7 pm, we asked John if he was ready to put on his costume. He wasn't. He did not want to get anywhere near the costume. I was too ill to argue, but I was disappointed that Jay's hard work was for nothing...or was it?

Half an hour later, John approaches the robot costume. Yes! I think, he's ready to put it on. He looks over the costume, grabs the antenna off the top, and begins to hit the side of the boxes with the antenna. Okay, I think, what is this about? He must have known I was wondering, because he turned, faced me and my parents and declared, "I play my bass drum!" He continued to play that bass drum until it was time to go home.

The lesson learned is do not bring your kid to a marching band competition before he's supposed to go trick-or-treating!

Competition

2009-11-11T15:25:00.002-06:00

Our Halloween got started with a marching band competition at Legacy Christian Academy in Frisco. October was a soggy month here in Big D, and as a result, the band had not been able to rehearse their marching drill as often as they wanted to prepare for the competition. They rehearsed as best as they could in the days and hours before the event, and soon we were driving up to the Legacy Christian campus to see how the work would pay off.

Jay gets nervous before these competitions. He wants his drum line to do well, and he did not know how this year’s group would do. His line last year won state, which added the pressure of wanting to repeat the success. I realized I was nervous, too. I wanted the drum line to do well, for their sake and for Jay’s. I also wanted Rock Star Babysitter/Drum Major Caley to do a great job of leading the band to a Superior rating.

Drum Line Captain SDG called us as we were pulling into the parking lot. Time was not on our side, and Jay had some snare drums in the back of our van that he wanted SDG to use. They took care of getting the drums out, and I got to wish Caley good luck. Jay and I had one quick minute left in the van. We looked at each other, admitted we were nervous for the band, and I said, “Uh, if we’re this nervous NOW, what are we going to be like when it’s OUR KID marching out there? ” I did not like the prospect, but I figure I have a few years to stock up on Xanax until then.

John, wearing his brand new 2009-2010 Drum Line t-shirt, and I took our places in the bleachers. John saw his Daddy and Miss Caley on the field, and spent the rest of the performance snuggled up and half asleep. The band did a great job, there were a lot of parents in the audience to cheer for them, and when they marched off, we packed up and went home.

Jay got the call later in the day…that the band received a First Place in their division, with a Superior rating, and the drum line won State once again. Smiles abounded at Casa Majernik. Jay was more proud than he would say, so I said it for him. We are so proud of this group for their hard work, and I am so proud of Jay for his hard work with the Drum Line.

Local Link-Moms Rock TOO!

2009-11-10T09:57:00.002-06:00

Here's some information about an upcoming event in the DFW area. This is courtesy of Sara from Little Ones Rock:
"Do you end up watching the Disney channel after your little ones are in bed? Do you find yourself singing along to the Wiggles when the kids aren’t even in the car? Are you looking for a fun way to spend time with people who can actually talk back to you? Wait….I mean, do you NEED to spend some time with people who can really talk to you?

Then look no further than Moms Can Rock TOO!

Moms Can Rock is a fun way to get away from it all and just let your hair down, if only for a little while! This invitation only event is for Moms in the know who only want the best of the best. It will feature some of the area’s premier crafters and artist who will display their wares in a relaxed an intimate setting.

What does this mean to you?

It mean that you get to relax, have a glass of wine, and take your time as you do what Moms do best….shop!

If this sounds like just a little slice of heaven, then contact Sara at Little Ones Rock today to find out more. She can set you on the path to the posh as you become one of the few lucky ladies who have the chance to remember that Moms really do Rock TOO!"

The event is this Thursday, November 12 at The Cotton Mill in McKinney. For more information, contact Sara.

Speeding

2009-10-19T10:32:00.002-05:00

I got a speeding ticket last month, driving down Audelia Road. I’ve traversed Audelia Road for the better part of my life and for as long as I can remember, people have complained that such a major thoroughfare has a 35 MPH speed limit. Few people obey the speed limit on this road, and consequently, speed traps are occasionally set up.
I fell into one of the traps. John and I dropped off a library book, and were heading to a play date. It was a gorgeous morning. I knew I needed some coffee before the play date, so I was thinking about getting to White Rock Coffee for some drive-through caffeine. I was not paying attention to my speed, but the constable that pulled me over was well aware of it.
He showed me the radar gun with my speed on it. “Good night,” was all I could say. I did an Elizabeth-from-Suburban-Cupcake “blink-blink” but my sunglasses were still on, so they were wasted blinks. The officer asks me if I had an emergency and if that was why I was speeding. Hmm…do I tell him? I wonder. Do I tell him I only had 2 cups of coffee at home and if I was going to survive a play date with a couple of 2 year olds, I needed more coffee than that? Does a need for caffeine constitute an emergency? I mean, it does for me, but would he think so? I decided not to say anything and told him no, I had no emergencies.
John decided this was a social call. “Hi, Polices! I’m sitting in the back seat!” he calls out. The officer noted that John was in a proper car seat. I wanted to ask if that would shave some miles off my clocked speed, but again, kept my mouth shut.
I took the ticket, smiled and drove off, slowly. After such an experience, my need for caffeine increased exponentially. I REALLY had to get to the coffee shop. I did, and we got to our play date.
The next week, I went to the court to take care of the ticket. John was with me, of course. I did not know how he would handle the long wait. Fortunately, the wait was not terrible, and John looked through a magazine to stay entertained. I tried to enforce the “inside voice” with him, but when the Office Depot delivery man came into the building, John couldn’t help himself. “Ooo, PIZZA!” he shouted, as he saw the Office Depot man in his red shirt and hat, and carrying cardboard boxes. A fellow traffic criminal overheard this and laughed out loud, and I assured John that, no, it wasn’t pizza, but that was a good guess. I had to laugh, too, and it put a bright spot on an otherwise unpleasant task. John’s presence for this episode of life was so welcome!

Aw, You Miss Her, Too?!

2009-10-07T17:52:00.002-05:00

I'm amazed at the hits I have received on this blog from googling "Suburban Cupcake". Readers from California to Connecticut have checked in to read my post about Elizabeth. She has a lot of fans who miss her! There's a part of me that wants to have a "where-are-you-please-come-back" site for E, but I will not. Thanks for visiting, my fellow PC/SC fans!

Update

2009-10-01T08:58:00.003-05:00

It's October already? While I try to figure out what happened to September, I'll fill you in on what's going on around here. I've had a lot of fun, which is why I have been absent. I began a preschool curriculum with John, and while it does not take a lot of time, I do have to plan to make the time run smoothly to keep his attention focused on the lesson.

Jay has been here, there and everywhere lately! He's playing at Theater Arlington, and spent last weekend in Abilene. John and I stayed at home while Jay was gone. My brother Steve and his girlfriend, Hollie, the cake-maker-extraordinaire, came in from Tyler for a visit. We had a great time catching up and Uncle Steve bought John an insane amount of toys. Our trip to Target (me, John, Hollie, Steve, my Mom, and my Dad in the parking lot waiting for us all) is a blog entry all by itself, I think, so maybe I'll pick back up with that some other time.

My work with the Hexter ECPTA is mostly over for now, but I will have a few small projects here and there with them.

The weather is getting cooler, and I love it. Fall is my fave season. I do not think it is just because of football; I think I like the change to cooler temps as well! It's a lot easier to spend time outside with John when you are not melting from the heat. We've played more in the sandbox in the last 2 weeks than we did all summer.

There's a calm in my soul right now. I wish I could keep it forever, but I'm treasuring it for the moment.

Home Opener

2009-09-05T12:43:00.006-05:00

The Friday Night Lights are ON! Bishop Lynch hosted Prestonwood Christian Academy last night in their home opener. John helped his Daddy with getting the band ready for the game. Here he is on his way to the school:

After John and Jay helped with getting things ready, I joined them for dinner. The Band Boosters provide dinner for the band before games, so its a fun time to see the band before the game and be a little bit relaxed before showtime.

However, when it was time to clean up from dinner and get ready for the game, you knew it. The atmosphere changed as the young men and women got their game faces on. Rockstar Babysitter/Drum Major Caley showed me her Drum Major uniform, and John said she looked like she should be on a spaceship, haha! Colorguard Captain JM said hi, she has also babysat John before and she was telling me of John's antics in the game prep, but then she had to go finish getting the Colorguard ready for the game. Drumline Captain SDG wandered by to look for Jay and receive any last-minute instructions.

Then John had to get ready, too. He changed into his BL Band t-shirt. We took our places in the stands and watched the band march into the stadium. I was so proud of Caley, JM and SDG as they marched out. Their hard work is paying off and they did a great job for the beginning of the game.

Unfortunately, I missed halftime! John was so tired from his long afternoon that we ended up leaving early. BL did go on to win the game in a nail-biting finish with a final score of 33-30. Not a bad way to end your first home game!

I Miss Suburban Cupcake

2009-09-04T16:09:00.002-05:00

I hold out hope that someday Elizabeth will return to the blogosphere. The other day I punched in "Suburban Cupcake" just to see if she was back. She isn't.

Who is Elizabeth and how do I know her? Elizabeth was the hillarious blogger at Suburban Cupcake and Preppy Cafe. I do not know her personally, just through her blogs. I miss her as though she was a friend from "back in the day" that you think about once in a while and hope is doing well.

Elizabeth was incredibly generous about sharing her life with us through her blogs and pics. Her posts were laugh-out-loud funny and several of her regular readers, including me, thought she should write a book. (Hmm, maybe that's what she's doing now? Oh, I'd love that and would insist on her book tour stopping in Big D!). She is a to-the-core preppy girl, too, which is how I found her in the first place, through her Preppy Cafe blog.

She left blogging a while ago; I am not sure if it is one or two years that have passed. It's been too long. I miss her humor! E, if you are lurking, hope you are healthy and your family is well, and that you have a fab wardrobe ready for fall. Your readers miss you, and I have perfected the "blink-blink"!

Retro TV Time

2009-08-28T07:02:00.004-05:00

In the ‘90s, I found the TV drama thirtysomething on the re-run circuit. The show appealed to me and I thought it was a great show about everyday life. I used to characterize the perfect married couple as a “Hope and Michael.” I was pretty psyched when I learned the first season was releasing on DVD this month. Request it at the top of my Netflix queue and PRESTO-I’m back in Philly in the lives of Hope and Michael.

Halfway through the first disc I was thinking, “Hold up, Michael is a HUGE whiner! Hope is panicking over absolutely everything. I’ll cut her some slack; she’s a first-time mommy. Do these guys not realize how great their lives are?”

I did see myself in some of Hope’s panicking; anyone who was within a two-mile radius of me last year knows I freaked out over high fructose corn syrup and mercury. (My poor cousin, T, and SIL, B, had to get the freaking-out emails, so they can verify this.) However, I was more amazed by Michael’s whining. Did men whine that much in general in the ‘80s? My husband is a non-whiner, so maybe that’s why it stood out to me now in a way it didn’t the first time I saw the show. Maybe the reality of our current economic climate made me more critical; at the time of the show, we were in a huge more-more-more consumption cycle. Today, uber-consumption is not so popular.

I still enjoy the show, don’t get me wrong. It’s a nice break from what’s out there on TV now. I plan to watch the remaining episodes and take some cheese with Michael's whine.

I Don't Understand...

2009-08-25T09:12:00.003-05:00

Do you have unanswered questions about life/the universe/anything? I have a couple. In general, I try not to dwell on what I do not understand. Why waste that time when I have a life to live? Every once in a while, though, something happens and the list comes back to my mind. Here are a few things I do not understand:

1) The BCS. OK, stop rolling your eyes; you knew I would mention this. Well, I do not understand it! Anyway, that’s a funny list item, right?
2) I do not understand little boys’ fascination with bugs. John can watch a variety of creepy crawlies for the longest time. WHY? It’s a BUG! What’s the big deal?

This past week, the biggest item on my Do Not Understand list is not as humorous:
I do not understand why my friend, A, got diagnosed with POTS.

What’s POTS? It stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Basically, her body does not adjust to gravity. When she goes from a sitting to standing position, her body does not adjust the heart rate and blood flow like a normal person’s does. What does that mean? It means A can’t stand for longer than 5 minutes without passing out. That’s not the only symptom; A’s body temperature and digestion cannot be regulated, either.

The everyday tasks we all take for granted are very difficult for A to complete. She was drying her hair one morning and woke up on the floor with the dryer still running next to her. She passed out, she did not know it, and she did not know how long she had been there.

What’s the cure for POTS, you ask? That’s the really lousy part…there isn’t a cure. She will not necessarily have her life cut short from this, but she will not have a good quality of life.

I don’t get it. I remember how active she used to be, and how I’d have to schedule a month in advance to get on her calendar because she was always on the go. This lady had the most fun life. Visiting with her made me laugh, made me think, and left me with a smile on my face.

It’s so different now. She got tired from a phone call a few weeks ago. We met for dinner recently, and she told me the visit would wear her out so much that she would not be able to do anything the next day.

What’s next for her? She is meeting with several different specialists. Again, there is no cure, but there are steps she can try to take to alleviate her symptoms. She joined a support group, and I offered to attend with her if she’d like. It may be her fight, a bizarre fight against her own body, but I can sure be in her corner. I plan to be there, for every round.

To learn more about POTS, click here.

Local Link: S2 Designs

2009-08-20T09:58:00.002-05:00

Time for a Local Link! I am exited to introduce you to S2 Designs, founded by the fun-loving, energetic Shelia. Shelia is one of my Early Childhood PTA moms, and when I saw her wearing one of her designs, I knew I had to let you all know about her.

Shelia makes jewelry. Well, it’s a little more than that. She will take your child’s artwork, reduce it, and make it into a piece of jewelry! Isn’t that fantastic? Better than trying to store masterpieces only to have them get torn, you know?

The pieces are lovely silver bracelets, rings, and brooches. There are several different styles to select within each category. Shelia works to make a custom design for you to cherish for years to follow.

When you go back to school this year, be on the lookout for a favorite art project. Then, let Shelia make a bracelet or necklace of your little Picasso’s brilliance for a wonderful, long-lasting memory. Learn more about S2 Designs here. Tell her “LL says ‘hi!’.”

Why I Married Jay

2009-08-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Some of us have a bad habit of telling anyone who will listen all the things that exasperate us about our spouse. It’s almost a sport in some situations, and I admit there are times when I just shake my head or roll my eyes over something Jay might do or say. So I am going to go against the grain and tell you one incident that reminded me of Why I Married Jay.

Jay has character. He does not behave one way around one group of people and then behave another way around others. He does the right thing. For example, when we were on our “grown-ups only” trip, we were riding on a crowded subway car. All seats were filled, and passengers were standing. The car came to a stop and an elderly lady boarded. Despite all the signage that passengers should make room for elderly or infirm passengers, everyone in a seat sort of “shrunk” into their text messages or books and did a great job of ignoring this lady. I was a little surprised.

Jay, however, stood up and helped the lady into the seat he had occupied. That action did NOT surprise me. That’s the kind of guy he is. I was proud and impressed but I know he did it because it was the right thing to do, not for praise.

That is the guy I married, and that’s my kid’s Daddy. I’m very blessed!

Oh Say, Who Is "C"?

2009-08-18T09:27:00.001-05:00

By now, you’ve likely noticed that I tend to keep people’s identities on the down-low here on my blog. I told you about Caley, the rock star babysitter/drum major, but I got permission to use her name first. I showed you pics of my nephew, Luke, but I asked his mommy for permission first. I just want to be considerate of others, make sense?

I mention my friend, C, pretty frequently on here. We hang out when we can, but most importantly, C has my history. She’s my oldest friend, and I love that we can sit here in our 30s and laugh about a joke from high school days with one word.

C is also very much a part of my present, too. She doesn’t have children, so when she comes over for John’s birthday parties, I am convinced she is a saint. She’s very smart and I enjoy having a friend I can chat with about anything other than childrearing.

I realized I should probably get her permission to use her real name on here. She accepted, as long as I did not tell anything too juicy about her. No worries, I know which doors must remain very tightly shut and locked. Therefore, I am happy to say that from here on, C will be known to you all as…Cindy.

Drum Major

2009-08-15T08:25:00.001-05:00

I thought this was going to be a follow-up to “Friday Night Lights”. I went to the Bishop Lynch marching band exhibition a few nights ago, which is a preview of the fall show for parents and friends. However, when I got to the keyboard, that’s not what I felt like blogging about, well, not exactly. You’ll see where I go.

Anyway, the band did a great job. They have a new director and I am convinced the guy is a wizard. I was amazed at how much the band improved from last year in just a few weeks of intensive practices. They sound fine, but their showmanship really told the story. They look excited to be on the field. Leading the group through the drills on the field was of course, the Drum Major.

At Casa Majernik, the BL Drum Major is simply known as “Caley”.

Caley is not just this year’s Drum Major. She is also Casa Majernik’s #1 Babysitter and an absolute rock star with John. I remember meeting Caley when she was a sophomore and a BFF of our then-#1 Babysitter, “L”. L was also Jay’s Drumline Captain that year, and we are so grateful that Jay’s work at BL gives us a deep bench of babysitters, hee hee. Back to the story, Caley as a sophomore was very mature and well-spoken and seeing her hang out with L reminded me of me and C when we were in high school. C and I have a 2-year age gap, too, just like Caley and L.

Caley moved into our #1 Babysitter slot after L graduated and moved on to college. Even though Caley does not play percussion, she felt like one of “our” kids. Nobody told me that being married to a teacher means you inherit their students, too. The students aren’t just the drumline or band, they are Jay’s kids. They end up being my kids, too.

Then when I have them over to babysit, they become part of the family. Caley is so great with John, and he just loves her. One day, another student came over for private lessons, and John looked out the window and said, “Where’s Caley? I want Caley!” That’s how much he likes her!

We all love her, not just John. Seeing her call out commands to the band on the field made me think, “Oh my goodness, where did the time go? She’s a SENIOR!” I watched her grow up in the last few years and I’ve seen her become a young woman who has so much to look forward to in her future. She’s going to be an outstanding Drum Major this fall. She’s going to be an outstanding adult, too.

“…Five-six-seven-Prep-and CLOSE!”

Bueller...Bueller

2009-08-08T12:16:00.002-05:00

I have to blog about this. I was saddened to hear of John Hughes’s recent passing. His work made me laugh through my teen years. If I had a crush gone wrong, I could hear Mr. Baker tell Samantha, “That’s why they call them crushes,” in Sixteen Candles. When Jay and I went to the Sears Tower in Chicago, I pictured Ferris Bueller leaning against the glass at the observation deck on his famous day off.

The movies did not stop in high school, though. I remember watching Home Alone with my sorority sisters in the sorority house TV room. Then, when Jay and I were expecting John, I rediscovered Hughes with She’s Having a Baby, which made me bawl during the hospital scene.

Thank you, John Hughes. You spoke to so many of us and your work is firmly embedded in the cultural fabric of the lives of many 30- and 40-somethings. Who will speak to our kids the way you spoke to us? Anyone? Anyone?

Friday Night Lights

2009-08-03T16:42:00.003-05:00

Jay and I were settling in for the night and we were a little sad: Jay’s summer is over. He’s back at school for summer marching band. We had a great summer and I told him that I was going to miss him while he’s out at summer band. I also added, “But just think, that means football season is almost here!” We both perked up at that notion.

August means two-a-days for football, band, and all the groups that will be involved in the magic of Texas high school football. I received my Netflix of Friday Night Lights to watch this week. It’s become my ritual to watch it when two-a-days begin. I should probably buy the movie at this point, ya know?

When I watch the movie, I get transported back in time.

I started attending high school football games when I was in third grade. My family picked a great year to start going to games, as my future alma mater went on to win the state championship that first year we attended. (Note to my non-Texan readers, winning the state championship is absolutely the end-all, be-all for high school football). I loved it: the game, the halftime show, the vibe of the crowd.

As I got older, I still loved it. When I was in junior high, there was drama on the field as the game was played and drama in the stands as fights happened, and boyfriends and girlfriends got together or broke up. Still, the vibe of the crowd overwhelmed everything.

Then in high school, it was my friends out there on the field. Playing the game, playing in the band, and the drama was more intense as a result. We had a chance to win (I say “we”, because every student in the stands felt like a part of the team) the state championship. We were one game away. We were a few moments from that one game being over and a chance to go on to state. Then It Happened. The game-changing play that brought the other team into the lead with little time left. I remember running to the end of the bleachers with the rest of the students to watch our team try to pull it out at the end…and not making it. That game is noted as one of the best in Texas high school football history
(source: http://5atexasfootball.com/best80s.htm).
It deserves to be there; I’m getting a chill just reliving it!

So I watch Friday Night Lights every August. I remember when it was our team that came up short at the end after giving everything they had. I bore my husband to pieces reliving the whole scene. I tell JohnJohn “This is what it means to be a Texan, two-a-days and Friday nights.” He has no clue what I am talking about, but he will someday.
We go to Bishop Lynch games now and the crowd is smaller, but the vibe is the same:

It’s the Friday Night Lights; and I love it.
Go Friars! Go Wildcats!

"Lecture" Notes

2009-07-24T10:29:00.002-05:00

Jay and I got away for a “grownups-only” trip recently. I brought along a library book to keep me company on the plane. I had no idea how much I’d enjoy the book; it was The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.

Do you remember the background on this? Randy was a professor at Carnegie-Mellon University, was diagnosed with cancer, and gave this “last lecture” to his students as a summary of what really matters in life. His story was featured on major news shows, and on July 25, 2008, he lost his battle with cancer. He sure fought gallantly, though, and left behind a wonderful work for all of us to enjoy.

To say I enjoyed this book is such an understatement. I boarded a 6 am flight, arrived at my destination around 8:30 am, and got to my hotel around 9:30. I opened the book on this flight, and finished it before I got to the hotel. It was that good (it’s a short book, too, I admit!). In this season of de-cluttering my life and not bringing any more books in my house, I want to buy this book. If you have not read it, go for it!

I had this book on my “must-read” list for a while, but just now got around to it. It’s what you would think it is: a person looking back on life and telling us what was most important to him. Pausch, however, put this in the context of dreaming big like you did when you were a child. Overall, you felt so positive and enjoyed the book so much that you forgot the man was dying when he wrote it. I felt sad that his family lost him, but I also know he left amazing memories for them.

That’s a goal to have isn’t it? For people to smile when they think of you after you’re gone. Thanks for the lesson, Professor.

It Was All Yellow

2009-07-05T17:12:00.005-05:00

We did it, dear Reader...the bedroom painting project is now complete! I told you a while back that I was desperate to do something with our room. It has wonderful natural light, and I wanted to be able to make the most of it. So we chose a citrus-y yellow shade of paint. We removed the blinds and replaced them with sheers. The room looks so open and airy now. I absolutely love it!

Now, about that living room...YIKES! I think that will be our winter decorating project. Stay tuned!

Sorry for my lack of photography skills...the top pic is a better idea of what the shade really is!

John's First-Cousin-Birthday-Buddy

2009-06-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

Warning: Contains adorable pictures.

Onward we drove, to the Chicago area. We stopped at Jay’s brother’s house. It’s a special visit for John, who was going to spend time with his first cousin, Luke.

Luke and John are more than first cousins, they are birthday buddies. They are 13 hours apart in age. I still marvel at this, and will always wonder what the odds are of first cousins being born that close together. These guys do not see each other much, which is a downer, because I love to watch them play. Still, when they do spend time together, it’s like they know they are extra-special to one another.

I had to be a little silly and buy Luke some pajamas that matched a set that John had. I really wanted a pic of the two of them in their matching pjs. It’s so adorable, and will embarrass the daylights out of them when they are older-MWAH-HA-HA!! For now, though, I will just enjoy the pics.

To me, they look like they could be brothers. I want to scoop them both up and hug them like there’s no tomorrow! Kiss-kiss-hug-hug, love my babies!

That was the culmination of our trip. We headed home and spent an extra night on the road to avoid the storms that hit the North Texas area. Now we are back and settled into our summer schedule.

En Route

2009-06-22T07:51:00.001-05:00

On the way to the Chicago area from The Middle of Nowhere, we made an important stop. We paid a visit to Jay’s paternal grandmother, whom John has named “Great-Ma-Ma”.

I’ve told you before of my genuine affection for Great-Ma-Ma, and I was as excited to see her as Jay was. We arrived at the dinner hour, and I asked Jay if we were going to take her to dinner. Jay replied with a huge, adorable grin and no words, so I wondered what that meant.

We stepped into the house and I discovered the meaning of Jay’s smile- a kitchen alive with the preparations for dinner. Yum! We had an amazing dinner and visit. We took dessert outside on the porch and allowed John to run around the huge yard. John found ants all over a deer statue in the yard, and spent a long time studying them. He also threw sticks and Great-Ma-Ma helped him retrieve them. John had not seen Great-Ma-Ma in over a year, but he warmed up quickly to her, which is easy to do, and he had a great time visiting with her. I did, too!

We buckled into the car, John said, “Bye, Great-Ma-Ma! See you later!” and we made our stop for the night. The next day would see us in Chicago.

Rural Relaxation

2009-06-21T12:48:00.003-05:00

Jay hears good-natured teasing from me about being from “The Middle of Nowhere, IL”. I describe it as “Footloose-land” to my fellow Gen X-ers, because I know they’ll get the idea. It’s a quiet, very small rural community in southern Illinois. Jay’s father does not lock the doors to the house and sleeps with the windows open. As a city girl, I will simply never be able to fathom these practices, but I find them refreshing.

We took a trip to see Jay’s dad in The Middle of Nowhere. It was JohnJohn’s second trip to his grandfather’s house. It’s a long drive, but we managed it well, and arrived in the middle of the afternoon.

Our first order of business was letting John run around after so many hours in the car. We set up his t-ball tee and let him have a batting practice. He had a great time showing off his hitting skills for Grandpa. We all had a fun afternoon.

There are no landmarks or historic sites. There are no restaurants or shopping centers. There is no day spa. So why did I have a nicer time there than I ever have before? I saw the trip through my son’s eyes. John saw a big backyard with plenty of room for t-ball, and a chance to see frogs by the pond. John got to see tractors and “big trucks” drive by the house.

As a result, I saw a chance for my son to run around in a safer environment than I could give him at home. I quit laughing at not locking doors and decided that I wish I had known that level of security growing up. I slowed down and did not check my email as frequently as I had before. IT WAS NICE!

We moved on after a few days to the Chicago area, but The Middle of Nowhere was a great stop!
PS- Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

Back in Town

2009-06-14T20:51:00.003-05:00

Hey! I am back from our trip to Illinois, where we visited Jay's family and enjoyed wonderful weather that I miss very much already! I'll fill you in on what's happening around Casa Majernik when I get past my "vacation inertia".

Major League Fun!

2009-05-23T20:56:00.007-05:00

Here's John John enjoying his birthday cake!

JohnJohn’s birthday party was fun! The party was originally scheduled for earlier in the month, but I postponed because we had a rainy weekend. I am so glad I made the decision to postpone for a later day. We had a gorgeous day to host a backyard t-ball party! JohnJohn was a little overwhelmed at first to have so many family members and neighbors at his house, but he adjusted well and was playing in the backyard in no time.

Our garden was also an attraction for the guests. The beans and corn are growing, and we enjoyed showing our guests our experiment in agriculture. My father was the Grillmaster and kept everyone in all the hot dogs you could possibly eat. My brother’s girlfriend made the most amazing cake and I hated cutting into it because I believed it was a work of art!

Here’s a few pics of the days events. Enjoy!

Special Thanks to Amanda for these wonderful pics!

JohnJohn's ready to play!

Getting coaching from Uncle Steve

Here's some of the kids getting ready to hit and field

Hollie's masterpiece cake! On a "home plate" cake plate!

I Must Be Doing Something Right

2009-05-13T15:02:00.002-05:00

I mentioned before that I do not always know if I am doing a good job as a parent. Then I get a glimpse that maybe, just maybe, I am doing a good job after all. Today was one of those glimpses.

I faced a crisis, that’s the long and short of it. I got through the crisis, but when I got home, with Jay and John, I cried. I went into another room so John wouldn’t see or hear me, but I think he did. In John’s room, I heard Jay changing John’s diaper and heard John say, “Prayers? For Mommy?”

After the diaper change, the three of us sat in John’s room and prayed for God to comfort Mommy. I looked at my son in amazement. My two year-old saw my hurt, and knew what the best solution was: pray. Despite my upset at the circumstances, I found joy in knowing that my son actually hears me when I talk about God and how much God loves us. I took such comfort in having my toddler minister to me. I remembered anew the Source of all comfort, peace and joy, no matter where you are. I wish we remembered that all of the time; don’t you?

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6-7).

Thank you, JohnJohn. May you grow up to be a loyal servant of Our Lord! Heavenly Father, may I continue to teach my child about you, and return him to you as your servant. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.

Birthday Recap

2009-05-05T09:29:00.003-05:00

JohnJohn turned 2 yesterday! I am amazed at how much he has grown up, especially in the last few weeks. He wants to do more things by himself (brush teeth, put on clothes, etc.) and it's exciting to see him assert his independence.
I won't bore you with how it feels to be his mom and besides, I don't have the words for it. It truly is a feeling that I can't articulate. I think I summarize it best every night when I tuck him in and after prayers I tell him, "I love being your Mommy."
We have a party tomorrow with John's playgroup to celebrate his birthday and the birthday of another boy in the playgroup. I postponed John's family/neighbors party because the rain was so bad on Saturday, looked threatening on Sunday, and we were all sick to boot! So we'll celebrate in a Major League style (the theme is baseball) in a few weeks, and it will be a blast. I'll fill you in on all the details!
Happy Birthday, John Andrew. I love being your Mommy.

Hey, Batt-ah, Batt-ah!

2009-04-20T19:39:00.001-05:00

Remember the Brady Bunch episode where the boys break a vase while playing ball in the house? I can still hear the voices, “Mom’s favorite vase.” “She always says ‘don’t play ball in the house’!” I am sure we all have a similar scene from our childhood. I knew someday John would break something by playing too rough in the house.

I had no idea “someday” was a few weeks shy of his second birthday.

Jay and I never set a “don’t play ball in the house” rule because we had not needed one. JohnJohn threw a little rubber ball and a little plastic football and it hasn’t been a problem. We though when he got a little bigger we’d move those toys outside. One of those toys is a little plastic bat. John is just as likely to use it as a microphone (you should hear his original compositions) as he is to swing at the little rubber ball with this bat.

Unfortunately, he found a new game today. He took the bat and hit our TV with it. Hard. It cracked the screen. I was in the other room and heard the noise, but did not rush in because I did not hear him cry. I thought he hit the bookshelves. Then I saw the distorted picture on the TV. Oh, NO! I cannot begin to catalog my thoughts as they flew through my head in those few moments, but they were something like this:

John cracked the TV! We have no TV now! Thank goodness it is not the old-school glass screen TV; that would have landed him in the emergency room. Thank goodness the TV did not topple over on him. What made him want to hit the TV? How do I punish him when I never set a rule to begin with? Wasn’t property destruction a few years away from happening? Jay and I were clearly stupid to not have the TV on a higher surface. I can’t believe he broke the TV with his plastic baseball bat. Hey, wait…my baby knows how to HIT! Check that out, he is strong!

In the end, John took a time out, the bat and balls have been confiscated, the TV and TV cart are on the curb for bulky trash week and I finally calmed down. John learned about not playing ball in the house, and Mommy and Daddy learned a few lessons as well. I also gave myself an “atta-girl” for signing John up for Lil’ Sluggers this summer. Here’s a funny twist-Jay’s birthday is this week and I had no clue what to get him. Looks like Daddy’s getting a TV for his birthday!

Another Year Older

2009-04-10T11:49:00.001-05:00

I turned thirty-six this past week. I say I am “sliding headfirst into forty, and I like it.” I do like it. In fact, I was looking at my life on my birthday and thinking, “Wow; this is the life I get to have?! How cool is that!!!” Cute hubby, cute kid, love my job as a SAHM, great friends, fun house to fix up, the promise of eternal salvation…what’s not to like?

I did not always feel this way. I spent most of my twenties grousing. Gripe, gripe GRIPE. Too much of this, not enough of that, grad school is hard, job searching stinks, job itself stinks, and hey, blame my parents cause it’s their fault I am screwed up. I think my gripes were the last vestiges of adolescence, where you do not want to assume responsibility for some things, especially when you don’t like the results. So I continued to gripe, even though when I look back I see I did not have it so bad.

Then at twenty-nine, I got handed something to really gripe about. Divorce. Yikes! I griped a bit but that was when I started to calm down a bit. When you have a truly difficult circumstance thrust upon you, its easy to see how trivial your former “problems” were. I became a Christian and on my journey of faith, I found this term that I had heard but did not understand: contentment.

What’s that got to do with turning thirty-six? I am glad you asked! My birthday gave me a chance to look at then and now. I had more materially then, but feel richer now. Not the riches of material goods (by Dallas standards, we are dirt-poor), the richness of a life I enjoy. The difference? Contentment. I also do something I did not do as much back then: accept responsibility for outcomes. Am I perfect with this? No, no one is, but the improvement in this category is noticeable to me. So I’m glad I am thirty-six and I have a good life. I look forward to the future. Best of all, there’s a lot less griping.

The Adventures of "Mummy" and Tut

2009-03-25T18:35:00.001-05:00

We opted to “stay-cation” here at Casa Majernik while Jay had his Spring Break last week. Our big Family Day Out was a visit to the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. I missed “Funky Tut” when he came around back in the ‘70s, but I read just about everything I could about him when I was a kid. I knew I could not miss the exhibit this time, even though it was not as big as the first one.

We packed up into the car, got to the museum, spent an insane amount of money to park (I admit, I did not want to lug the stroller on the DART rail, so that was why we drove), and got our tickets at will-call. So glad we ordered tickets early, because the line to buy tickets was huge. Then we got in line. And stayed in line. For a while.

Finally, our turn to enter the exhibit arrived. We tried to hang out in the back to let others pass us since the stroller slowed us down. Saw some cool stuff, walked through a few galleries (no we did not “Walk Like An Egyptian”, I am sorry to report). Then, it happened. That Unexpected Kid Crisis When You Are In Public And Have No Easy Escape. JohnJohn wanted OUT of the stroller. He did not want to walk around. He wanted me to carry him. Through the rest of the exhibit. Did I mention we were not quite halfway through when this occurred? I would try to coax him into Daddy’s arms for a few minutes. Nope, his little arms turned into vises and just gripped me harder. Okay.

We made it to the Tut artifact galleries. I was more excited than Jay, because I remembered seeing pictures of some of the objects when I was a kid. So I am toting JohnJohn and marveling at these ancient artifacts. There were some cool videos from National Geographic about CT scans on Tut’s mummy and of other artifacts that were too fragile to be in the exhibit. I enjoyed it. JohnJohn eventually fell asleep on my shoulder.

I really wished I brought my Ergo instead of the stroller, but who knew he was going to freak out? Still, I did not have to stop for many breaks, and my back was a little stiff, but no real damage done. I am thinking the boot camp must be paying off, for me to tote the kid around for as long as I did. Anyway, that is the Spring Break report from Casa Majernik. We had a good time, all in all.

It Was 1980-Something

2009-03-21T07:38:00.001-05:00

I got a call from the ‘80s: they wanted their wallpaper border in my bedroom back. You should have heard the call-Ronald Reagan’s voice clearly stated, “Mrs. Majernik, tear down this wallpaper border!” I happily complied.

When Jay and I moved into Casa Majernik, we had plans for redoing a few things here and there around the house. Then we found out that JohnJohn was on the way, so we had to move around our decorating/updating schedule just a bit to make up a nursery, pronto.

The other day I just got so sick of looking at the décor in our room and realized something HAD to be done. The room was cute in its day, which was probably around the time of President Reagan’s second inaugural. There was a wide wallpaper border around the room and I realized that if I stared at it anymore, I might end up like the lady in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Besides, the border and the matching curtains made the room too dark and I wanted to lighten up already.

I got to work. I started with the curtains and that opened the space up immediately. Then I tore down the wallpaper border. Jay and I went to Home Depot to get paint swatches, a few of which now live on the wall so we can decide which shade we want. Jay is colorblind, so he usually does not have much input on colors, but he will say if he thinks a shade seems too light or dark. His colorblindness is probably why we do not disagree on décor very much. Praise the Lord for that!

The bedroom is now in a transition from late 20th -century to today, and I am most surprised by my determination to jump right into the project. I did not sit around and weigh out the options like I tend to do; I just went for it. I think that is a sign of how tired I was of looking at the old color scheme.

I looked at the border as it piled up in the garbage. Part of me wanted to snip a piece of it to send to the Smithsonian. It was so vintage ‘80s: floral pattern in the middle, checkerboard pattern on the edges. Images of the ‘80s- Princess Diana, Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton and of course the entire cast from The Facts of Life swirled through my brain. This example of decorating prowess MUST be preserved, to let the future know what the past was, I thought.

Then there was the other part of me. The part that knew the border needed to go into the garbage. The fact that it transported me back in time the way it did was a sign that my fear of going crazy like “The Yellow Wallpaper” lady might become reality if it did not get trashed for good. Mr. President, the wallpaper border is successfully torn down!

Bootcamp Class Diary

2009-03-13T18:13:00.002-05:00

In case you ever wondered what kind of person signs up for the barbaric fitness regimen known as “bootcamp fitness”…wonder no more! Your humble correspondent just completed Week 2 of a six-week course of self-torture. The class is sponsored by the gym where I work and it’s held 2 nights a week. I thought I’d give the class a try, and now I am here to tell you what I am getting from it, without making you go through the same intense workout.

The biggest lesson I have learned is the importance of strength training. I tend to stick to cardio machines and concentrate on getting in cardio but do not do any weight training, and definitely do not work on my core muscles. I actually went in last weekend to do some moves on the floor that I learned from the class to add some pep to my workout.

I also learned the need for variety in my workouts. It keeps me from getting bored and the challenges are good. It’s so easy to convince yourself that you cannot do certain exercises when you exercise alone that you do not try them at all. BAD MOVE! By having myself challenged I am amazed at what I can do.

The class is an hour, and for the first 30 minutes it seems like the hour will never end. Then, somehow, you realize it is time for the final drills and it seems like the hour went by quickly. There are moments when I ask myself why I PAID MONEY for making myself miserable. By the end of class, however, I am feeling so great about what I accomplished. Tonight, I was drenched in sweat and grinning from ear to ear.

All fitness levels are taking part in our class, and that is fun to see how everyone’s progress looks different. There are 6 women in the group and the camaraderie is nice as well. We are all there to cheer each other on, and the competition is you vs. yourself, not trying to be the top of the class.

Overall, it is intense. I tend to dread the minutes before we get started, but I love how I feel when I finish. If you ever think you want to try it-go for it! Or, just skip the torture and read my updates about it, LOL!

An Un-"Just" Label

2009-03-07T11:57:00.002-06:00

Tell me if you have experienced the following scenario:
You are in a group of women and the getting-to-know-you game begins. What’s the most commonly asked question in these situations? Yes, that’s right- “What do you do?” The question is asked and the women are all answering. She’s a teacher, she’s a lawyer, she’s a teacher, too (5th grade as opposed to Teacher 1’s 2nd grade). Then all eyes are on you, expectant faces are slightly smiling as these ladies cannot wait to hear what kind of fabulous job you do, how you make the world a better place and bring home a paycheck while doing it. Then, you say those awful-sounding words…"Oh, me? I’m just a mom.”
The smiles start to fade and the looks on the ladies’ faces are more of a “hm, how to bridge the awkward silence now?” kind of look.

I lived this scenario not too long ago. I KNOW better than to say “just a mom.” I did it anyway. To the credit of the other women in the group, there were murmurs of, “oh, there is no such thing as ‘just a mom’” and “oh, you have the hardest job of all!” I appreciated the remarks, and I wondered why I had to throw the “just” in there.

Here’s my analysis: I felt really, really insignificant next to the professionals. In fact, there was an urge for me to scream, “But I have a Masters’ degree, and I used to be a fundraiser, so I have worked before!” after I said I was “just a mom.” What’s so great about being a stay-at-home mom? We don’t get paid, the work is harder than any job I ever had outside the house, and there are no real vacation days. The ladies I was with make money, have vacation time and can see the rewards of their work.

Oh, there’s another disadvantage of being home with the kiddo. You do not get annual job reviews to see how you are performing. You do not have the satisfaction of turning in a project or meeting a deadline. I won’t see any results of this work for years, when JohnJohn leaves the house and makes his own way in the world, Lord willing.

Well, it’s easy to wallow in that sort of thinking. Oh, poor little me, wasting my life on changing diapers and reading my kid’s fave book 3 times in 30 minutes because he loves it so much. Not to mention my tendency to sport his snack on my clothes somewhere. When, when, WHEN will I ever matter again to the world?

JohnJohn answers that question for me. He answers that question when he first wakes up and calls for “Mama.” He answered it this week when he said for the first time, “Mama, I love you.” He answers it with Teddy Graham hugs, which is how I get the snack on me in the first place. I think those are mini-performance reviews. I may not be making an impact on the world, but I am making an impact on this happy little guy. I need to remember that next time someone asks me what I do.

“Just” a mom? No way, not me.

Here's What's Happening

2009-02-24T09:20:00.001-06:00

I confess I spend more time living and less time online these days. The weather is unusually nice for winter, so I take JohnJohn with me to run errands or have “adventures”. “Adventures” are storytimes or playgroups; we are not going to climb Everest anytime soon!

JohnJohn hosted some friends to play for an afternoon. Everyone had a great time. It was interesting to watch John as a host. He showed his guests all his toys so that they could take their pick of what to play with. He closed the afternoon with high fives for his guests. My only regret is that I did not take pictures!

Jay was away this past weekend to play in Abilene. I took John on a day trip to see his Uncle Steve. Steve lives in Tyler, about 90 miles away, not too long of a journey. We also picked up “Lalla” (my mom) on the way, and had a great afternoon visit. Steve has a dog and 2 cats, and John enjoyed chasing them. The dog was fine, but the cats clearly wanted Tiny Human out of their way.

I visited a potential pre-K program last week. I want to look at a few more, but was very impressed with what I saw last week. Jay and I will keep praying that God leads us to the right place for John.

I was a curmudgeon for a sec when I met C at the movies recently. We opted for the first show of the day and it cost $6. I said to her, “Remember when we were in high school and the movie price went up to $6 from $5 (for the evening show) and we thought that was such a rip-off? Now we’re paying that for a matinee!” Wowzers, I am getting old when I complain about movie prices!

Enjoy your day today!

Valentine's Day Wrap-Up

2009-02-15T13:10:00.004-06:00

Valentine’s Day is a hit-or-miss holiday at Casa Majernik. Jay usually has a gig on Valentine’s evening, so we celebrate early or late. Fortunately, neither of us is into the holiday, so I am fine with adapting to whatever the schedule says. Last year, we were able to go to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s. This year, we had breakfast at IHOP. I was thrilled with each celebration.

I wasn’t always so low-maintenance about Valentine’s Day.

I distinctly recall the first Valentine’s that Jay and I had together. We had been dating for about 6 months, and I was pretty sure he was “The One” and I just KNEW he was going to pull out all the stops and give me some gorgeous piece of jewelry for my Valentine. He had to work on Valentine’s, so I knew we would celebrate a few days before.

I personally went all-out to buy his gift. I spent way too much money on tickets to a Mavericks game. Jay loves basketball and the Mavs were playing Chicago the week before Valentine’s Day, so it went with the early celebration timeline. We had great seats and it was a blast. I expected Jay to be uber-grateful for his generous gift and knew he would respond in kind with my gift.

So of course, I fished for information.

LL: “Some seats, huh? Not a bad way to see basketball!”
J: “You didn’t have to spend so much money on tickets. I would have been happy in the nosebleed seats. I just liked being there.”
LL: “What? I did this to show you how special you are to me! I wanted to give you the best I could because I think you deserve it! You don’t appreciate that?” (Voice becoming a shriek at this time).
J: “Of course I appreciate it; you just don’t have to do so much. I’m content with the little things.”
LL: “Fine, you want me to be cheap? I’ll remember that next time, if there IS a next time!” (Sulk for the rest of the drive).

A few days later, it was time for Jay to give me my gift. He told me he was so happy with what he had come up with and he knew I was going to love it. To me, that meant a diamond tennis bracelet or earrings. Not so much. He came in with a teddy bear (good move, because I love teddy bears!) and two pieces of poster board that made up a card. The card was really cute, as I think about it now. He had taken wrapping paper with 2 little bears (a girl and boy) and hearts and cut it into a big heart and had drawn some pictures and written something in it. He smiled as he handed me my “big gift”. Here’s how that went:

LL: “Oh, uh, wow, look at that!”
J: “I spent a lot of time putting this together!”
LL: “Um, is that it?” (Surreptitiously feeling the back for a hidden tennis bracelet). “Well, the bear’s adorable!” (Glancing at it’s neck for a hidden tennis bracelet). “You mean that’s really it?”
J: “Yes, don’t you like the card?”
LL: “Well, you said you got me a big present that I was going to love and that you worked hard to get together.”
J: “This is it! Do you know how much time it took me to plan this out and put it together?”
LL: “Oh, I guess I was thinking of something else when you said a big present.”
J: “Any guy can go to a jewelry store and buy a piece of jewelry!”
LL: “WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT?” (Massive shrieking).

Long story short, it was one of the first (but not the last) times that his small-town sensibilities and my big-city ones collided like two semis playing chicken. It taught us more about each other, and now, we have concluded that a small token is really all it takes to remember the day.

So this year, I got some flowers and a card, both store-bought, just to be clear. What did Jay get? A hand-made card from yours truly. I realized that finding the time to make a card in between dinners and diapers would be a better expression of how I love Jay than just going to the mall and buying some trinket.

My, how times have changed!

A Fave of Mine: No Time for Flashcards

2009-02-02T12:49:00.003-06:00

I love having a toddler in the house, but sometimes I just don’t know what kind of activities will be good for him. He’s in a pre-preschool age, but I want to engage him in activities that encourage creativity and learning.

That’s where No Time for Flashcards comes in handy. This is a terrific site for ideas on what to do with preschoolers. Allie, the mom behind this site, is a former teacher. It shows in her posts; these ideas are fabulous!

In addition to activities for little ones, there are book suggestions and activities for school-aged children. Allie does a great job with step-by-step instructions for making the crafts work, too, which is immensely helpful for someone who is “creatively challenged” like myself.

I’ve used several of her ideas and John enjoyed them and I did, too, because I was prepared beforehand so I did not stress out. I highly recommend visiting this site! Thanks for all you do, Allie!

A Time to Panic

2009-01-31T11:52:00.001-06:00

Whether you read it in the book of Ecclesiastes or you heard the summary from the Byrds’ “Turn, Turn, Turn”, you know there is a time and season for everything. However, I do not recall reading about a time to panic and I’m too lazy and feeling too pressured to look it up for sure. Either way, the time to panic is upon me.

I admit it is a low-level panic, but still panic. It’s not about money, which would be a good guess, given the current economy. It’s not about health, praise God, and may we continue to be blessed in that area of our lives. It’s about JohnJohn.

I have him all by myself on a Saturday.

Jay’s in Abilene with the Abilene Philharmonic. He usually spends Saturday with John or else John spends time with his grandparents (my folks).

Not this Saturday.

I cannot remember when I last had my son all to myself on a Saturday. I also do not know what to do with him! I am planning a small outing to Central Market, where I can do a little shopping, but also reward him with an ice cream. A gourmet grocery store will be more fun than the typical grocery store for everyone, Mom included. We’ll see what happens.

We are back from Central Market. It was a fun outing! I got some groceries, and John had fun eating organic animal crackers instead of ice cream while I wheeled him around the store. While I showed John around the store, I had an epiphany:

I was purposely avoiding spending weekends alone with John. I intentionally made the weekends a time for him to be with Jay or to pack him off to the grandparents. My rationale was that weekends were the best time for him to be with his dad or grands. When I got extremely honest with myself, I admitted that I was seeking the time to hide out.

Why? I got another honest answer; I am afraid. Afraid I am not doing a good job as a mommy, that I am scarring my son for life by being too strict or being unsure of what to do in general. Am I reading to him enough? Is he going out to play enough (weather permitting)? How are his social skills? Am I allowing him to express himself (something I was not encouraged to do as a kid so I am not sure how to let a kid express himself)? All these doubts flooded my head when I owned up to my fears.

Recognizing my fears and how I am letting them control my time with my son is helpful. It gives me a chance to realize that I am not the only mom who has these fears, but I need to push through them. With God's help, I know I will.

Here and There

2009-01-24T08:00:00.003-06:00

I have more to talk about than I have time to cogently compose it. So I'll have to tell you some highlights for the time being.

My friend, C, came over for brunch a few weeks ago. I do not like having people over to my house, because I freak out that it won't be clean enough, the house isn't big enough and my cooking skills aren't the best "butI'mworkingonit." C and I like to get together for anything that involves coffee, but we concluded that lunch out was too expensive. I offered to fix some brekkie foods and have a brunch.
What a fun way to spend Mom's Day Out day! C brought some fruit, I made some eggs and biscuits (pretty much impossible to mess up) and lotsa coffee. It also helped me get over some of the phobia of having people over. No dust bunny the size of a TX tumbleweed appeared out of thin air the second I opened the door. Instead of a small house, I have a funky retro-vibe house, and as I mentioned the food was easy to prepare.

I've been reading Mansfield Park for the first meeting of what I keep calling my real Jane Austen book club. We will convene next week at a coffee house. Jane Austen and lotsa coffee, oh happy day, indeed! The club leaders were smart to start with this novel, though, because it is very long and not as easy a read as some of the others, so we will get it out of the way first.

A huge decluttering project is underway here at Casa Majernik. Nothing is safe. I love to throw things out (well, donate, sell, give away, that kind of thing). I have some cool links for inspiration that I will likely share when I have more time to post.

I am finishing a knitting project, a simple shawl. I made an electric-blue scarf while I watched the college bowl games, so I call it my "BCS Scarf". This shawl is a bigger project than what I usually take on, because I am trying to improve my skills.

Look forward to posting more at a later date!

Meet Rachel from Small Notebook!

2009-01-15T07:11:00.005-06:00

During the holiday season, I met Rachel, the author of one of my fave blogs, Small Notebook. She is a Big D resident and I spent some time with her and her precious daughter, Lane, at a Starbucks. Part of me wanted to treat her like some kind of simple-living guru, and ask her all kind of questions. I decided that would not be best, and would just let the conversation happen.

That was a great tactic. I ended up learning just as much as I would have with tons of prepared questions. I also got some much-needed advice for the moment.

The topic was time management. I was mentioning some commitments I had and some I had recently let go. Rachel said the best words about commitments, “Doug (her hubs) and I are committed to not being committed.”

Sha-ZAM! Those words hit me profoundly. I know they do not sound like much, but no kidding, it was like she knew the insight I needed to hear at the time. I thought about those words during the holidays. I prayed about where to make some changes in my life.

I saw where changes need to be made. So we’re scaling back some more. I am actually looking forward to having fewer things I “must” do. I am also quite grateful to Rachel. She had no idea she was helping me so much. Go check out her blog, it’s fantastic. Thanks, Rachel! Look forward to seeing you again soon.

An Unexpected Friend

2009-01-14T06:54:00.003-06:00

I saw a cross-stitch sampler once that said, “If only I could relate to/ The people I’m related to.” Family relationships are mixed lot for me. I am talking about relationship beyond sharing DNA; the ability to communicate honestly and a friendship that results from it. Relating to my immediate family and my extended family on my mother’s side is easy. We are all busy and have differing viewpoints, but we sure can talk, and I consider them friends as well as family. My father’s side of the family, not so much. Still, I thought relationships with family members were possible and good.

Those relationships just did not extend to in-laws.

How could they? I called them “paper relatives” who knew nothing about where I came from and what I was truly like. I got this notion from my mom’s struggles with my dad’s family. The idea was reinforced in my painful relationships with my in-laws in my first marriage. I joked that I did not want to get married again because I did not want in-laws again.

I got married again and had in-laws again. My in-law situation was different this time. My mother-in-law died a few months before Jay and I were married. Her illness and death brought me more in contact with Jay’s family and I even had the pleasure of meeting his extended family a few times before the wedding. (For the record, Jay’s paternal grandmother is simply one of the coolest women EVER! I adore her.) As much as liked his extended family, I knew I would not see them as often as I’d see his dad, brother, and sister-in-law.

Oy! Siblings-in-law. This was a new type of in-law for me, as I married an only child the first time. I was not looking forward to the prospect. I told B., who later became my sister-in-law, that I knew the family would not accept me, because I was not “perfect” like her. (As if anyone is perfect, right?) I told my friends that if my husband’s family was the British Royal Family, B. would be Princess Diana, and I’d be Sarah, Duchess of York- a little worldly, a little bit of a misfit, but I would quickly say, “Sarah has more fun, though, and HEY, look what happened to Diana!” I knew there was no way in the world that some girl from Illinois who was never in a sorority could ever relate to me, the Texas preppy chick.

Was I ever wrong. It took some time, but we do relate to each other and very well. I knew my rule, no friendships with in-laws, but I found myself wanting to break it. I wanted to spend some time with B. alone, to see if I was just fooling myself, or if I could possibly be friends with her. We tried to have a weekend trip away, but it did not work out. When she came down for Christmas, we settled into a coffee shop for a chat about couponing, being moms, name it. That did it. Yep, I could break my rule, and in a year where I made some great new friendships, I found one more, in the most unexpected place imaginable: my in-laws.

Happy Birthday, B. I can think of another sampler I once read that describes you better than the first one I mentioned. It says, “Fate made us sisters-in-law/ Love made us friends.” Thanks for being part of my life and have a great day! Love you!

Brought to You By the Letter "I"

2009-01-04T20:55:00.003-06:00

My father-in-law generously gave me an iPod Nano for Christmas. I think it is compensation for taking Jay off his hands, but I best not speculate. Anyway, after filling this fab little gizmo with fave songs, I headed to the gym to try it out while I spent time on the elliptical trainer.

I decided to start with “In the Ayer” to get myself going. I did not have the iPod on shuffle or playlist, so it went through all the songs starting with the letter “I.” What a brilliant move on my part. The songs for my quickie workout (only 30 min., I know I am a slacker!), included “It’s Raining Men” and “It Only Takes a Minute, Girl.” I have now officially let you in on a dirty little secret of mine: I have a thing for disco music.

Anyway, I noticed an improvement in my workout. Listening to music I like made me work harder. When I listen to the radio or watch the TV on the elliptical trainer, I spend too much time flipping channels to find something I like and it really breaks my concentration. This way, I was focused on the music, and turned the TV on news so I could watch the ticker and see the headlines as well as not look at how much time I had left on the machine.

What came after “I” songs? “J” songs, of course, starting with “Jaded.” Oh my gosh, I found myself completely in a zone. I had to fast-forward only twice, and went back to cool down to “Jojo.”

All in all, I was pleased and now if I can figure out how to playlist this thingy I’ll be able to have a massively successful workout!

A New Year!

2009-01-03T08:13:00.002-06:00

I've obviously been on a blog break! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I had 3 Christmas celebrations, 2 energetic toddlers (my nephew from IL visited!) and a partridge in a pear tree. I have so many topics brewing in my mind on what I want to share with y'all, but they need some development. Given my love for college football, they probably won't be developed fully until Bowl season is over. Did y'all see Ole Miss and Utah hand out some unexpected upsets last night? I was hoping they would!
Anyway, I'll share from reflections from the Christmas season and what I look forward to in 2009 with you soon.
Enjoy the weekend. For my TX readers, go play outside and enjoy the weather, we've sure been doing that here at Casa Majernik.

Weekend Update

2008-12-14T17:40:00.004-06:00

Jay and I had a rare “date night” this weekend. I say rare, because Jay’s work schedule as a musician usually means he works on weekends. When he has a weekend night off, we tend to move heaven and earth to make sure we can have a night out. This weekend was such a moment.

Off we went for pizza at a local restaurant, and ran into…some of his students. I am not sure who was more uneasy: the teacher trying to have a date with his wife, or the students who felt like they were being quasi-chaperoned on a date. Jay and I talked to them a bit, and they sat far enough away that I think they probably felt a little more alone. We also gave them a Christmas surprise and paid their dinner tab for them.

Before we got home, we stopped for dessert and coffee at the Cheesecake Factory –YUM- and then perused the selections at Barnes and Noble. It is here that I realized I am making headway in my road to simplifying. I am an avid reader. I know I have spent a small fortune over the years buying books, even if I shopped at Half-Price. Once I left the workforce, I re-discovered the library and now spend plenty of time there checking out books for me and for John.

Anyway, I see these wonderful, gorgeous, exciting books at Barnes and Noble. Instead of loading up on them, I enter them in a list I keep in my phone titled “Books to Read.” When I hear or see a book recommendation that I think I would enjoy, I enter it on the list, and then I go online to the library website to put it on hold for pickup. I decided I wanted to read the books, but did not want 1) to spend the money for them and 2) to clutter my shelves with them. I’ve had fun clearing my shelves of books in the last few months by selling them on Half. I want to keep the shelves tidy and am only keeping a few favorite books (of course, my Jane Austen and Edith Wharton ones!).

Jay and I spent some time outside digging up grass to put in a garden next year. My maiden name was Farmer, and that is about as close as I ever got to working the earth. No gardening or farming for this Farmer, oh no, way too messy. However, I read a wonderful book earlier this year called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It was so educational for a city girl such as myself, and made me appreciate food and gardening. Jay is a small-town boy who grew up in southern IL eating homegrown vegetables, so he has the knowledge I lack regarding gardening. The idea of having our own garden and eating homegrown vegetables inspired me to get out there and dig away with him. It was also a fabulous workout! John had fun climbing on piles of dirt and running around in the backyard, so it was a winning situation for all of us.

I started wrapping Christmas presents. I bought a lot of wrapping supplies last year after Christmas, and it’s nice to be prepared for this year. The panic trips for more supplies that I made last year are not likely to happen this year.

This and That

2008-12-05T21:07:00.004-06:00

I developed a fascination for Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba! Perhaps it is his two shades of green or the way he flaps his arms around during Dancey Dance Time. Perhaps watching too much kids’ TV melted my brain. Either way, I like “the little green one.”

In the meantime, John hit an Elmo phase. It just happened one day. He found Elmo on his toothbrush, diapers and toys and he would not stop saying Elmo’s name. I catered to this whim and purchased a little plush Elmo toy, who now resides in John’s crib. I heard about Elmo phases, but I just KNEW that MY CHILD would be immune from such silliness. Yeah, whatever…

How’s your holiday shaping up? I got my cards out the day after Thanksgiving! My gift purchases are 90% complete! If you are behind in your holiday preparations, I want to recommend some websites to help you stay on target, maybe for this year, but definitely for next year. Organized Christmas is fabulous, and was my go-to site. Simple Mom also has some great, low-key ways to prepare.

Rebating is my latest hobby. I got some rebates from Walgreens and it’s fun to use the gift card they give you to buy future purchases. I also got a rebate check from Glade for purchasing Glade candles. I bought them for my grandmother for Christmas. She likes them for some reason. I got the candles on sale at Walgreens, used a coupon, and then got the rebate. I actually made money off of her Christmas present. That made me smile. If you knew my grandmother, you’d be smiling, too!

My husband’s drumline has a big day this Saturday. They will perform in the Adolphus Children’s Christmas Parade, then board a bus to Killeen to play the halftime show in the state championship football game. These guys and girls worked hard this year and I think this is a great way to end marching season, even though it will be a long day. I wish the whole group the best of luck- Go Friars!

I received a really cool compliment this week. My health club manager commented on the great makeup job I had that day. What’s so great about that? I wasn’t wearing any makeup! I guess the working out and drinking massive amounts of water make a real difference in your skin. Who knows? I did have on lipstick, though; I am a GRITS, after all!

Do you make New Years’ resolutions? I do not. I have my goals, and refine them as needed. I want to refine the goals again soon, but even if it happens on New Year, I resolve to not call them resolutions. Hee hee.

Give Thanks Everyday!

2008-11-27T09:40:00.004-06:00

This week, our family prayer time has included a reminder that EVERY day should be a day of thanksgiving, not just today. In the spirit of our Thanksgiving holiday, however, I will tell you that I am thankful for the following:
1) Salvation through Jesus Christ. If I did not have a relationship with Christ, I could not be truly thankful for anything else. Everything comes from God, and his sacrifice of his Son so that we can all spend eternity in heaven is too wonderful to comprehend. Saying "Thank you, God," for this is too simple, and so I try to give thanks by living my life for him.
2) Family. My husband, Jay and my son, John bring joy to my life. My parents, brother and huge extended family remind me of my background and amuse me immensely. They are a crazy bunch, but they know it, which makes it even more fun.
3) Friends. I've posted about this before, but the friends, new and old, that I have at this stage of life is a huge blessing.
4) Getting older. Yep, getting older. It means getting wiser, too. It means having a better sense of what matters and what does not. I love my age and I look forward to learning more and gaining more wisdom for as long as God lets me live on this earth.
5) Nationality. I am thankful to be an American and live in the greatest nation on earth. I pray we will continue our greatness no matter how many want to destroy it.

I did not mean to end at five items, but it just turned out that way. So rather than ramble, I'll stop here and tell you all to have a Happy Thanksgiving!

An Eggs-traordinary Lesson

2008-11-22T09:30:00.001-06:00

My agenda for yesterday included a trip to Albertsons. After carefully perusing their sales circular, I noticed a special on eggs. I made my list and headed to the store with a recuperating John.

I got the eggs and my other list items; I cashed in my coupons and enjoyed watching them double and triple. I loaded up the car, grabbed John in one hand and the bag with the eggs in it in the other. You see where this is going, don’t you? Yes, I learned the hard way that juggling a toddler and two dozen eggs is not a good idea. Crash went the eggs on the parking lot. Ugh!

The ride home was fast, and in no time I was unloading the car. After putting up the groceries and getting John settled for his nap, I went to assess the damage.

Out of twenty-four eggs, only two were completely hopeless. I cleaned up and stored the surviving eggs. I was left with several cracked and broken eggs, what to do? They ended up as my lunch of scrambled eggs and waffles as well as a few dozen muffins for the family. I congratulated myself on not throwing out everything and just buying more eggs. I would have taken that route not too many years ago. Instead, I made the cracked and broken eggs into something useful.

That’s when I thought about God. Yes, God. The eggs summarized what I learned at Bible study this past semester: God takes the cracked and broken eggs (us) and makes waffles (someone useful). He does not throw us away just because we have defects.

I savored that reality, and the waffles.

Holiday Planning Update

2008-11-15T08:53:00.004-06:00

I am pleased with where things are for my holiday planning. I have the Christmas cards and the address list, I just need to run the labels (which I already have, ready to go into the printer). The goal of sending them out after Thanksgiving is looking very good. I might even put them together while I watch the Cowboys game.

Hint: If you are still looking for a cute Christmas card, do not despair. Instead, head over to Sunshine Paperie and let Amy take care of you. Amy is a friend of mine from high school, where she started working in a stationery and card shop, and she now runs a stationery shop from her home as a WAHM. She has been in this business a long time and has fabulous customer service. I purchased several personalized gifts from her this year. When you stop by, tell her "Farmer" says hi.

Presents are going great! I made a list a while ago, and I am the type to buy things year-round if I see something that I think someone would like. I also listen for clues when I talk to my gift recipients during the year. Many a casual convo has led to a great gift idea and it's so fun when the recipient opens it and is like "Wow! You remember when we talked that time!"

Paying for presents has also been a year-round activity. I started to anwer surveys online and the money or gift cards I made when I cashed out has funded a lot of shopping. Combining this with sales has made things fairly light on the wallet for this Christmas, and with a slow economy, every little bit helps. I think I will continue this practice, even when things get better, because it makes shopping so much easier. I also cashed out for some merchandise in some situations, so basically I got a free gift for some recipients. The effort was the time I put into the surveys, and sometimes they feel mind-numbing, but the payoff is fabulous.

The best news of all? I was going through John's closet and found a box of Ralph Lauren clothes I purchased during their summer sale. THEY WERE ALL FALL AND WINTER CLOTHES IN THE SIZE HE WEARS RIGHT NOW! I was so excited, I completely forgot I did this so I was not scrambing for Christmas presents for him at the last minute and I bought them on sale, too! I am still jumping for joy on this one!

Thank you, Granddaddy

2008-11-11T07:50:00.002-06:00

One of the most difficult people in my life to love is my paternal grandfather, John. The term most often used to describe him is “narcissist” and when I was younger I did not enjoy visiting his home because of the racist, sexist remarks he made.

Today, he is in a nursing home with dementia. He’s a lot more fun to be around now, mostly because he does not always know who his visitors are or because his mind seems erased of his bigoted ways.

My father reminded me of something I heard many years ago about Granddaddy: my great-grandmother told people that, “John was never the same once he came back from the war.” She meant World War II, where Granddaddy served in the European theater. My dad then went down a list of some of Granddaddy’s experiences:
1) Liberating a concentration camp. Granddaddy told my father that he could smell the place long before he got to the camp.
2) Nearly freezing in the Battle of the Bulge. Imagine fighting an enemy while you are that cold…I’m guessing the adrenaline is likely what kept him alive.
3) Serving as Provost Marshal for Bremen, Germany after the war and evading a sniper attack.

This is not everything; this is just what I am most comfortable sharing. I do not believe this gives Granddaddy an excuse for his past behavior, but I do know it had to twist his mind somehow. When my father was a little boy, he heard my grandfather screaming at night from nightmares of the war on more than one occasion.

Granddaddy’s not the nicest of men, but I will say he is a great patriot. On this Veterans Day, I thank him for his service. I cannot comprehend the horrors he experienced, nor the horrors experienced by the brave men and women who are serving right now in the Middle East.

Thank you, Granddaddy. You made it possible for me to live in the greatest nation in the world. Thank you to all who served in our armed forces. We civilians too often forget that “freedom isn’t free.”

Mommy Guilt du Jour

2008-11-06T22:25:00.003-06:00

My Facebook tagline said it all, “Laura thinks Mom’s Day Out is the greatest thing since sliced bread!” Today was John’s first day of MDO and he had fun. I had fun too, though. Lots of fun. I grocery shopped after thoroughly checking out the circulars and matching coupons with them. I made a slow cooker pot roast. Laundry was a snap. I ran errands. I indulged in a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Then I said the ugly phrase, “I forgot how productive you can be without a kid.”

Then I looked at the Facebook tagline.

Then I felt like a really, really, REALLY Bad Mommy.

I missed John, my co-pilot, my assistant, my backup vocalist when I sing with the radio in the car. However, I had a great day as Laura Leigh and not just Mommy. I made more progress on my daily work than I would if he was at home.

I made the huge mistake of comparing myself to the moms from other blogs I read. They do not put their kids in MDO; they are better moms and homemakers than I am if they can get everything done with a kid (and more than one kid in many cases) in the house. They are selfless paragons and I am a selfish brat not worthy of the title “Mommy.” How dare I sneak away and drink an expensive Starbucks latte when the economy is seriously broken and $4 would have bought food for my son? Yes, I spent some time smacking myself around for sending my son to MDO and enjoying myself. For goodness’ sake, I didn’t even CRY when I dropped him off! Ugh, Bad Mommy!

Once I completed my self-bashing session, I realized I needed to let up on myself a bit. I do not know how the other moms in the blogosphere manage without MDO, but I also want to believe they are not the paragons I imagine they are. Blogging does not give us an in-depth look into others’ lives. They may have days when they want to pull their hair out because they are overwhelmed, just like I do. They may feel some guilt when they have a babysitter come in and give them a date night or some time away. They may even take time for themselves. I think as long as you are not taking so much time for yourself you absolutely get nothing completed and your kids forget who are, it’s alright to take a break. Drinking a latte is truly an indulgence for me and not a daily occurrence. Grocery shopping and laundry happen all the time around here. It just happened faster today.

My final thought to all this comparing to other moms was “If they are going to condemn me for taking my kid to MDO, so be it.” This works for me, God is not telling me not to do it, and so I will take John to MDO next week, enjoy my day and maybe, just maybe, grab another latte.

Friends, Indeed

2008-10-30T21:20:00.003-05:00

I reflected on friendship this past week. It’s interesting how people come into and leave from your life. Some friends have been around forever and you are so glad to have them; they know all about you, good and bad, and are there for you anyway. Then, there are the ones that show up unexpectedly. These friends do not always become life-long friends, but they are the right friends to have when you are in a particular stage in life.

The last week gave me opportunities to be with an old friend, the one who knows all my dirt, and with newer friends, the kind that show up unexpectedly:

I spent a morning having breakfast with my best friend from high school. She introduced me to my first husband, who was one of her ex-boyfriends (ok, I know, it’s a little bizarre, but that’s another blog entry). Anyway, “C” and I were so close in high school and most of undergrad, even though we went to different universities. We had our share of silly escapades and inside jokes that we still crack up about.

The most amazing part of our friendship is that it had a 10-year hiatus. I quit talking to her shortly after I married my ex-husband. I still don’t really remember why. When I got divorced and moved back to Texas, I thought about her often. I wanted to see her again and hoped she was well. We ran into each other 2 years ago at a social function and we just took up where we left off. It was so wonderful. She came to my baby shower and there are pictures of us where we are laughing like crazy at one of our old jokes. I remember the hostess asking what was so funny, and I told her we were laughing at a joke from 15 years ago, and the hostess sort of looked at us strangely. (Ya know, if I had a dollar every time someone looked at me and C like we were crazy, I’d be very wealthy!)

So here we were the other day, at breakfast. We are both huge caffeine addicts and enjoyed lots of coffee. The check came and I paid for both of us. C wanted to pay her share and I said “You’ll do it for me someday, this is my turn.” She agreed and that’s when I told her, “You are the one friend I can go to and tell that I feel like an absolute wreck and do not want to do anything and you’re cool with it. So, what’s a breakfast tab between us?” She laughed. We get each other, and I am grateful. She knows where I’ve been, and she’ll be there on the way forward.

A few nights ago, I spent some time with my new and unexpected friends. These are the girls I had a painting party with last month. We were going to carve pumpkins, but we realized what we really wanted to do was hang out and eat and gab, so that is what we did! I was in a Bible study with these girls over the summer, and we all hit it off so well. You never know how a group is going to work, but God definitely wanted us all together at this time in our lives. We’ve been able to listen to each other, pray for one another, and laugh together. These women have been the right people at the right time in my life. I do not know what our future holds. One girl talked about possibly moving out of state, others may be here for a long time or a little while. For now, though, we are all glad we have out time together.

There really is no friend like an old friend as the adage says, but the new friends you find can be real blessings as well. I am so fortunate to have both kinds of friends.

Photo Shoot

2008-10-23T07:01:00.005-05:00

In an effort to be organized this holiday season, Jay and I took John for a Christmas card photo shoot. My goal is to get the cards out as soon after Thanksgiving as possible, so posing for the pic now allows me to order early.

I am a proud mommy, so please indulge me as I share a few gems from this shoot:

Here's the "winner" for the Christmas card. I can't believe how grown-up he looks here and the pose is adorable.

This is a cute one of John leaning on his Daddy. John looks like my Dad in this picture, judging from photos of my Dad at a similar age.

Thanks for letting me show off! I'll post more about my Christmas plans later. Special thanks to Chera, who took these photos. She's great with kids, works really fast and is very reasonably priced.

Small Step = BIG Results!

2008-10-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, only a week went by since I simplified my schedule and I am amazed at the results! I spend more time with my family and do not feel frazzled. My new challenge is to keep this schedule pared down so I do not fill up this newly freed time.

An unexpected benefit of letting go of this activity is increased effectiveness in my Bible study. I give more time to answering the questions carefully, I have more time to prepare for my small group discussion and I listened to my group better. This is my favorite outside activity and doing a better job for my group is very satisfying.

I am also looking for other ways to simplify. There are some amazing websites and blogs out there on how to get organized and simplify your life and I have voraciously dug into them. What’s so bad about that? I now have so much information that I do not know how to put it into action. Oops!

Cleaning out stuff I do not need is an ongoing step in the simplifying process. It’s fun to see my shelves have more space and to like what I have instead of feeling consumed by junk. I also enjoy getting some money for the items I sell online. However, I do think that changing my schedule was the best change I have made so far. Several times this week I thought, “Why did I wait so long to leave?” It’s a good lesson, though, and I hope I will not forget it too quickly.

Taking the Plunge to Simplify

2008-10-11T22:08:00.002-05:00

I did it! I resigned from the commitment I knew I needed to unload from my plate. It was an easier task to accomplish than I thought it would be. I had to remind myself that no one is irreplaceable in such an environment, and someone can always step into a gap when gaps occur. I felt the tightness in my chest relax considerably when I finally began the process to leave this task for someone else to complete.

Then I wanted to know why I needed to hang on to the position for as long as I did. I realized that somehow it had become a part of me, and I liked having it as an identifier, as though it gave me some significance as a person. Even though I would grumble on my way to every meeting, activity, or what have you, I still did it. It was a chain around me that I allowed to weigh me down.

I also saw something else, something that can stand in the way of simplifying your life: OTHER PEOPLE’S EXPECTATIONS. Talk about a trap! I realized that I was doing the task more for someone else than for me. That person will not be pleased to know I resigned, but I can’t let their desires dominate my life or my schedule. When I pray and seek guidance, and I hear from God on what I need to do, that’s what I have to follow, not what someone else wants for me. The person in question is not a strong Christian, and whenever I mention getting guidance from God, they change the subject in a hurry, because they get uncomfortable. No matter, that’s how I made this decision.

I learned from this experience 1) you CAN be replaced and 2) do not take on an activity just because someone else wants you to do it.

Simplifying will be an on-going process for me. A lifetime of over-involvment does not change overnight, but realizing that I need to be deliberate in managing my time helps. I read a great post this week from one of my fave blogs, Making Home, about this subject. Jess read my mind about managing time this week, and it gave me encouragement. Go check her out; she’s fabulous!

Finally, I have to say it. I try to be as objective as possible on here, but this is my little corner of the blogosphere, so I get to do this: HOOK’EM HORNS!!! Way to take care of business today against the Sooners!

Food, Fun, Fellowship

2008-09-30T22:15:00.004-05:00

One of the best experiences I have had this year is meeting so many great women and expanding my circle of friends. I spent this evening with some of these women at a very fun Girls' Night Out.

I love these ladies. We were in a summer Bible study together and we are all fairly close in age, married, and most of us have kiddos. We got to know each other through the study and by sharing prayer requests, but we are also pretty busy, so once the study was over, it was easy for us to go on our own ways. However, "T" had a great idea about having a monthly girls' gathering and the rest of us concurred, so our first meeting was this evening.

We painted a small canvas with a picture of something that describes us to the others. For example, I painted a heart, because I am so big-hearted and love people so much. "S" painted lips because she likes makeup, etc., that kind of thing, and we painted enough canvases so that we could each take one home. It's a great idea and I am looking at my canvas now with such a happy feeling. Happy that I am in a place in my life where I feel brave enough to reach out to others, and willing to put the time and energy into maintaining contact with these women. Plus, I believe we all need a break and some time to connect. The painting was fun, but so was the conversation and the laughing and the ability to be completely honest about what is great and not so great about our lives at this time.

PLUS, we brought yummy snacks, which was a great way to complete the evening!

Thanks for a great night, girls! XOXO to you all!

Welcome, Simple Mom Readers!

2008-09-27T09:23:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite Saturday activities is to sip some coffee and read Simple Mom’s Link Love posts. They’re a great collection of blogs on a variety of subjects and give me fun ideas to think about or try. Simple Mom is a great blog and I have had the joy of getting to know Simple Mom on Twitter and DigitalBliss.

Imagine my surprise to see one of my questions for Simple Mom on today’s Link Love post! Wow! So welcome, Simple Mom readers who have drifted here today. I am a newbie blogger, but basically, I like to tell my story of adventures in mommyhood, finding cute things (especially at a bargain price), and my faith journey. Thanks for stopping by and thank you, Simple Mom, for your fab blog!

Control, Schmontrol

2008-09-26T10:33:00.002-05:00

I am a control freak. I had my life planned out in junior high and was so proud when I hit my *benchmarks* of graduating from college and marrying a month later. Check went my pen in the little checkbox. Next step: grad school. Got there and finished. Check. I was so proud of my little self following my little plan.

Silly, silly self.

My perfect plan from junior high did not include divorce, moving out of state, the time it sometimes takes to find a job and the ramen-noodle rationing that ensues.

My comfort came when I became a Christian. It all made sense; of course I wasn’t in control-God was/is/always will be. It was ok to fall off my plan from junior high and instead seek God’s plan for me. Makes sense, sounds good, I can do that, take my life and guide it, Lord, RIGHT?

I tend to take that control back from God as soon as I claim I’ve given it. God, being God, has amazing ways of reminding me who’s really running things. The biggest example was when I got pregnant a few weeks into my first semester of law school. I had horrific morning sickness and had to be on bedrest a few times, and that was just in the first trimester. It was a “burning bush” moment for me. I did NOT want to leave law school, but God was clearly telling me that this was not the time in my life for law school. I was going to be a mommy, and moreover, I was going to stay home with my kiddo. That was not what I wanted to hear from God.

I moped around during my pregnancy with a “Why, God, why?” attitude and told anyone and everyone that “This wasn’t in the PLAN.” I resented the kiddo growing inside me; he was ruining my plans. I wanted to name him “Dream-Stealer” (I didn’t). My plans, my dreams, my wants. Me, me, ME.

I had my baby. I had post-partum depression (trust me, it really exists) but received treatment and got much better. I fell in love with my son, and I got through his first year.

After getting through the first year, I decided to take control once again. I lead a small group at my Bible study and I have a regular volunteer placement to attend. These are good things to have on the schedule and it was fun to feel busy again, so I added a small part-time job and decided to start eBay-ing little boys’ clothes. It results in a Mon-Wed where John and I are running all over town for my commitments and I spend Thursday and Friday taking care of household jobs and errands. Basically, I never slow down and I got that rush of feeling “on top of things” (read: CONTROL).

My God is amazing and gave me a reminder, once again, that I’m not the one running my life. It happened yesterday, as I was running my Thursday errands. John appeared sleepy and had been clingy right after breakfast, but I brushed him off with a “Let’s go, we have things to do; let’s go bye-bye.” On the way home from our errands, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw John getting sick in his carseat. I panicked, but I was on the road and could not stop to check on him. I saw he had not choked, and I made a beeline home. Except for a quick stop for Pedialyte when Jay was home, I’ve been home ever since, taking care of John.

I’ve let several chores go in the last 24 hours. They’ll still be there. I’ve spent some great time reading God’s Word and asking his forgiveness for not paying attention to my son’s needs and instead thinking about what my agenda was for the day. I thanked God for once again reminding me to rest in him and not try to take control over my life. I recently remarked that God has to smash me to smithereens to show me who is in control, because I am such a control freak. He *smashed* me again, and as I rocked my sick baby this morning, with dishes and dusting that I was happy to overlook, I got God’s message about who is really in control.

Local Link: Meet Wylie Mom!

2008-09-19T19:56:00.003-05:00

I am going to take a moment to introduce you to a mom in the Dallas area who has an amazing website. Meet Angie, from Wylie Mom! Angie does a wonderful job of giving Dallas women a heads-up on bargains and coupons. She's got a coupon bar on her website, has an *inside track* at finding freebies and posts her shopping/saving trips so you can see for yourself how she makes her deals. Angie also has an eBay store and has been an encouragement for me in my newbie eBay-ing moments.

So go on over and check her out and learn about thrift store shopping in Dallas and making your coupons go farther at our local supermarkets. Tip: She's also great with answering questions if you ask her! (Trust me-I know!)

Thanks, Angie, for all you do!

Too Much To Do

2008-09-16T16:29:00.004-05:00

I need to slow down. I really do. I was an over-programmed kid who became an over-programmed adult. I've been successful before at taking things off my proverbial plate when said plate was too full. Then, I'll get to a place where I just know, know, KNOW I can handle "one more thing". So I'll load it back up. Then I'll need to remove a few things again.

I am not sure what it is about Fall. Maybe after taking a hiatus from activities I get bored and ready to go again, so I agree to do too much. I purposefully pared my life down last year, because I had an infant who took up most of my time and attention. He's a toddler now, and a lot of fun and easier to take with me to do things. Maybe after that paring-down, I have a desire to hit the ground running again. I'm not sure.

I just know I need to give something up. I'm pretty sure I know what it is, too.

During the "summer break" (a non-existent thing for SAHMs, but you get my meaning-just not so many activities going on), I made a point or writing down what I wanted at this stage in my life. It looks a lot different from the picture I had of my life several years ago, so I thought an "update" would be in good order. (If I was going by that older plan, I'd be in trouble, because that plan has me without a kid and in law school, so clearly I needed to rethink a few things).

I enjoyed listing things I wanted to do, then culling that to realize there were things that were not so important anymore. It's amazing how having a kid makes you look at your life differently. Anyway, I simplified this even further to goals, and put activities under the goals.

To make it more manageable, I made the list alliterative so I could keep it in the front of my mind. The list became:

1. Faith

2. Family

3. Fitness

This little list was supposed to help me pare down prospective activities. If a prospective activity did not fit in one of these categories, I would not participate in it. It has saved me from making too many commitments.

Except one.

Have you ever *known* you needed to take something off your plate but were too much of a scaredy-cat to do it? That's where I am right now. I am not sure why I do not want to turn in a resignation from it. It's the only thing that is not fitting in what I want to be doing. I'll get there. I'll finally resign, and when I do, I'll let you know. It's just a struggle to do it, because I feel like I am quitting. Quitting is not a good thing, in my world-view. Then again, neither is doing something you dread doing. So we'll see how I end up on this one.

In other news, I had a great time at Bible study today. My table has some really great ladies and I like hearing their perspectives on what they learn from God's Word. That is one activity that I know I am supposed to be doing!

How about you...any times you had to let something go and it was hard? Tell me about it.

Lest We Forget

2008-09-11T06:28:00.002-05:00

Do you remember where you were on this day seven years ago? I am sure we all vividly remember. I'm going to take a break from the *light* nature of this blog for today. Those who died and those who helped in the aftermath deserve that.

I was still married to my XH. I was on my way to a site visit for a grantmaker, so I was leisurely getting ready. The news mentioned one plane had hit one tower. I woke up my XH with a "Get up, a plane hit the WTC." We went downstairs and on some morning show, I do not remember which, we saw the second tower get hit. I ran to the phone to call my dad, and I can still hear the disbelief in his voice, "TWO planes? One in each tower?" I do not remember hanging up the phone, but I know I did so he and I both could watch the coverage. I heard about the Pentagon on my way to the site visit, which was at the Dallas World Trade Center. The site visit did not last long and we were evacuated as a precaution.

I kept the radio on, and it all sounded surreal. The radio piped in over the intercom at work, instead of the usual *light rock* station.

I also remember my jaded self thinking, "How long will it take before we go back to our normal, selfish selves and we forget all about this?" Regrettably, it did not take too long. Look at us now. We do not want to acknowledge that it could happen again. We do not want to consider that many attacks since then have likely been thwarted. Why think that? That gets in the way of everyday life. I'll leave it at that, let's not get political on this, for the sake of those whose lives ended that day and those whose lives were changed forever that day.

Honor those who lost their lives, their loved ones, and those who were affected on that day by remembering that we live in the greatest nation in the world. One more thing: don't forget to live every moment to the fullest. Life is incredibly short.

May God bless the dead, their survivors, and all who were changed forever on that tragic day.

First Day of Bible study

2008-09-09T20:30:00.002-05:00

Hooray! I had my first day of Bible study at Irving Bible Church. It's a great study and this year I am on the leadership team. I was nervous about getting through the first day-would I get there on time? Would I be able to check in my son to the nursery without any trouble? Would I be able to connect with the group? All kinds of questions.

I did not need to worry. It was fun. I like the ladies in my group, my son got checked into the nursery just fine (except for the small separation anxiety issue when I dropped him off), and I had plenty of time to get things ready for the study.

It was a big change in the schedule for my son and I. After the 2 hour study, I go into a leaders' meeting for another hour and 15 minutes. We spend half of our day at the church. It was our first time to get up and have to be somewhere in a while. Most of our outings take place around 10:30 am, so making the trek to Irving to be there by 9 am was quite a change. The result? Son and I slept for about 2.5 hours this afternoon! He also took an early bedtime. We'll get used to this, and I am looking forward to what this study has to teach me and for what I have to learn from my other group participants.

Cute Find: Momma's Tantrum Aprons

2008-09-07T20:01:00.003-05:00

OK, I must share this one. I just heard from Faith at Momma's Tantrum Aprons. She made me the cutest pink and green apron, being modeled above. As a lifelong preppy girl, I have a *thing* about pink and green and Faith was happy to accommodate me. She's got some other great aprons on sale at her site as well, including a longer style that looks like a fun little sundress! She's great, and if you are looking for a fun, different kind of gift (or if you think they are so cute you have to get one for yourself, like me!) then check out her site!

Thanks, Faith!

What I've been up to

2008-09-07T10:42:00.003-05:00

It's been a fun week. The Labor Day holiday kept me in a state of "what day is it?" for most of the week. I got a lot done around the house.

I also finally took the plunge and started auctioning on eBay. I had posted an Ergo on Craigslist a few weeks ago and was amazed at how quickly I was able to make a little money that I thought, "hey, I may be on to something." Yes, perhaps I am a slow learner. However, I spent a lot of the last few months wanting to "do something" without necessarily taking a part-time job out of the house. I prayed for guidance, discernment, and what God's will was for me at this time. This was the answer I got, selling a few things here and there on eBay.

I started out with the easy stuff, things that were around the house, clothes that my son outgrew, etc. I also won my first lot of baby cothes that I can auction off. For now, I want to focus on little boys' clothes. It's an area with which I am familiar.

I look forward to this venture. It's a chance to put the principles I learned in accounting classes to work. Speaking of classes, I opted to not take a full semester course for this fall. I will take a flex-term course in November for, wait for it, SPEECH! It's a requirement for the accounting assistant certificate I am earning. I have two degrees, yet, somehow, I missed taking a speech class. So I will spend some days in November earning that missing credit.

I wanted to take a lighter load this semester because I am leading a table at Bible study on Tuesday mornings. That's my primary outside activity right now, and I did not want to sacrifice that responsibility for classes. If I believe I can handle more classes in the spring semester, I will do it, but this fall is for determining how much time I will need for Bible study.
Bible study, volunteering, eBaying, mommy-ing, working out regularly, and taking a flex-term class gives me a lot to look forward to this fall! I'll let you know how it all goes.

I thought I'd go political...

2008-09-01T21:24:00.002-05:00

I thought I was going to write a little entry on Sarah Palin, featuring pros and cons for her selection. I even got permission from some other bloggers to link to their posts that I found were well written.

Well, I changed my mind. I do not want to get *heavy* with this blog, at least not while I am still in the starting stages. Plenty of more experienced bloggers are chiming in, and now the news about her daughter makes it even more interesting for some. I'll let you watch it for yourselves and make your own conclusions. I'd rather write about cute stuff, bargains, and what I am doing around the house.

That said, I'll tell you that I watched the season premieres of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. I had a fun Labor Day with my family. I did not hit any Labor Day sales, which is probably a good thing. Hard to believe that summer is over!

Adding on Bit by Bit

2008-08-30T13:16:00.002-05:00

OK, so I had some time last night to do...NOTHING. It was wonderful. My son spent the night with my parents and my husband was working late. I thought some more about how I wanted to work on this blog and watched Netflix of One Tree Hill. For some reason, I am stuck on that show and can't wait for the new season to start in a a few days.

For my first "new trick" on this blog, I thought I'd add some sites that are really fun. I spend a lot of time on Dallas Area Moms and I definitely want to share that with any moms who are in the DFW area. It's a great forum to share ideas and even some venting!

Here's my next one. This is from a friend and former co-worker of mine from my days in the DC area, Jessica Smith. She is an amazing marketing person and is tearing up the blogosphere with information for mommies. She was recently featured on a local news segment in the DC area for her work. So check out JessicaKnows because I am quite sure JessicaKnows something that would be useful to you!

Starting my Little Blog

2008-08-29T08:07:00.003-05:00

Finally, at last. After pondering for months. I am going to begin blogging. I want to share some of the fun stuff I've seen online and have a place to just sound off on life as a mommy here in Big D.