Our Wonderful Anniversary Weekend.

This blog wasn't on my list either....but, I had such a WONDERFUL weekend that I thought I should share.


Let me first say how strange it was Friday to go directly home after work instead of going to the daycare to pick up Jaxon. It was also very strange coming home to no baby. Anyway, once I arrived home we went to Pappasito's for dinner and it was AMAZING!!!! I just LOVE their fajitas!!!! (this is the ONLY place I eat beef fajitas.) Jason and I shared a giant fajita platter stacked with beef, shrimp, and ribs!!! It was delicious! After dinner we went to The Grand and watched The Hangover, which was HILARIOUS!! Jason doesn't typically like comedies (I know, weird!) but he thought it was good. We went home after the movie and enjoyed the fantastic luxury of sleeping in the next day. We both kept waking up periodically Saturday morning because it was such an adjustment NOT having Jaxon in the house. After getting ready we went to the Nissan dealership to try our luck at winning a new car. You know how they send you those dumb keys and tell you to come test it to see if it unlocks the door to a brand new car? Well, Jason insisted that we go try it, even though I told him that they only send you those kind of things to get you in the door to look at their new cars. He said he knew that is why they did that, but he still wanted to go try it because on the brochure it said there was a "guaranteed winner." So, our key didn't work, but I did get a free Wal Mart gift card out of it so I guess I can't complain. After we politely declined to hang around and look at their other cars we headed to brunch. Jason hadn't told me where we were going to be having brunch until we got there. Sadly, his plans did not go as he had intended. He had planned to take me to Breadwinners, but after driving by we noticed that they had a VERY long line of people waiting to be seated. Our massages were scheduled for noon, and we didn't figure we would have enough time to wait for a table, eat, and get there on time. We parked the car in the parking garage and walked around the shops for a bit trying to see if there was some place to maybe get a small bite. We were not successful. Either the places weren't open, or it was something that neither of us was in the mood for. So, we settled on Starbucks! LOL We both got frapaccino's, and I got a tiny overpriced sandwich, and Jason got a cheese danish and a rice crispy treat. We sat at a tiny table and played on our phones and ate while we were waiting to go next door for our massages. (Can I just say that there are some VERY interesting people in Uptown Dallas!! I do enjoy people watching, and there was no better place to do it than at that particular Starbucks!)

After we finished our drinks we went to the bathroom (we were told this would be beneficial to do so before we went and had the massages) and headed over to the Spa Habitat. It was a very cute place, and once we told the lady that we had an appointment she took us back to a quiet little room and had us fill out a form. When we were done with that our therapists came out to introduce themselves and took us back to a cute little room with two massage tables side by side. The room was dimly lit and there was relaxing music playing. Once we were tucked under the blankets the therapists came back in and worked their magic. It was the most relaxing 80 minutes of my life! This was a first massage for both of us, and it was very nice to get to do it together. I must say that before going in I felt like 80 minutes might be a little long, but OH NO, it went by very fast! I was shocked it was over when it was. After our massages we did some shopping and walked around for awhile. We decided to head back to the house to shower as we were really greasy! They used organic oils for our massages and I had it in my hair....I was DYING to wash it out! After we showered, I ironed our clothes and packed for our one night at NYLO. Once we got checked in we went to our room and rested for a bit, and freshened up. We had dinner at Chaucer's and I ate sushi.....and I liked it!! I have tried sushi 3 times in an effort to enjoy it as ALL my friends do, and I have never liked it. Jason had ordered a Louisiana Roll and it was really good. He did make fun of me for having to cut it in half with my fork and knife though. I think that was my main problem with sushi. I just feel like it is such a mouthful! It always made me want to gag! Turns out, all I needed was silverware! ha!

Once dinner was over we went back to the hotel to get changed as we had a big group of friends coming to hang out with us. NYLO has a very pretty courtyard with wonderful outdoor furniture and a cute pool and fireplace, and they also have a very nice bar area. Once everyone got there we had an absolute blast! It was so nice to get to talk to everyone, hang loose, and have all my friends there. We stayed up until 2am! We knew that was okay as the check out time was at noon. Once we did check out we headed to get some lunch at Chili's and then headed to Corsicana to get Jaxon.

Even though I was a little skeptical about leaving Jaxon for 2 nights it was totally worth it. Jason and I talked about how much fun we had all the way to Corsicana. I felt rested, and rejuvenated after my weekend of not having to do chores, change diapers, cook, or worry about anything. It was a very nice, much needed break. I feel like we absolutely need to start doing it more often and make sure we take time out for each other. It was so nice getting to spend alone time with my best friend, and it was a great way to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. I most definitely fell in love all over again and am looking forward to the next 5 years!

Anniversary Festivities!

This particular blog was not planned. You see, I keep a mental note of all the things I want to blog about and this is not on my list. However, I feel that if I don't note all of my current feelings at this exact moment them I will EXPLODE!!!!!!!!!! (LOL)

Today is our 5 year anniversary. For some reason I am as excited about this day as I am about....oh, let's say, Christmas or my birthday (National Sarah Day)! Jason took today (Friday) off so that he could take our sweet Jaxon to Corsicana to stay with his Nana and Papoo. (Yep, that's right, Jaxon calls Jason's Dad, Papoo). After I get off work Jason and I are going to dinner (Pappasito's I believe. Due to my request!) and then we are going to a movie (The Hangover). The last movie we saw together was Twilight. I have forgotten how much I enjoy seeing new movies since Jaxon has come into our lives. Shoot, I have forgotten how much I enjoy time with my husband since Jaxon has arrived! Tomorrow's agenda consists of brunch, and then an 80 minute couples massage!!!! I have never in my life had a massage and I am so looking forward to this! I'm not sure about the rest of the afternoon as I think Jason has some things up his sleeve. Then, we are staying the night in a beautiful room at the Nylo hotel (nylohotels.com). I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

This is a huge leap for me to be able to be away from Jaxon for this long. It took a lot of convincing on Jason's part. I think that my issue is that I don't feel that anybody can take care of my son better than I can. I realize that 5 days a week he is being cared for by his sweet daycare ladies, but that is different. I never thought it could be so hard to let go just a little bit.....but it is.

The past couple of weeks I have learned that you can't be a good parent unless you take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself means making time for just YOU! Jason was telling me that he wants to start making it a regular priority to take Jaxon to his parents house once a month or once every two months......and .......I believe I can do that. My marriage is very important to me and so is my sanity. I got off track for a bit, and forgot that I was a person too. I am not JUST Jaxon's mother.

I am VERY giddy and anxious for our anniversary plans, and although I will miss my boy terribly, I will enjoy spending quality time with my husband.

Connie

I am patiently awaiting for an email to arrive. I keep these special emails in a folder in my inbox so I never lose them. Sometimes I get them really early in the morning, and sometimes they come in the middle of the day.  Never the less, they come monthly, and sometimes weekly.

My biological father was married before he met my mother and had 3 children, Connie, Christy, and Jimmy. He later married my mother, and of course came me! I have no memories of my time with my half brother and sisters, just a few family photos which I believe my mom has. I was very young when my parents divorced and after that I never saw them again. Many years later as a young adult I had a few phone conversations with my father, catching up and what not, and I remember him telling me about Christy, and how she was very sick with cancer. I felt so bad as I knew she had a husband and 2 little girls. Some time had passed and I received a phone call from my father saying Christy has passed away. I can remember exactly where I was when I found out. Even though I didn't know Christy I felt so bad for her family, her mother, her sister, and her brother. I had only heard good things about Christy and what a wonderful spirit she had, and I knew she would be missed my many.

Fast forward to almost 2 years ago. Somehow, I had gotten Connie's instant messenger name, and email address. I remember one of the first times I had chatted with her online. It was the night before I went to the hospital to deliver Jaxon.  I was up because I couldn't sleep due to nerves and excitement, and she popped online and we chatted for awhile. She was so sweet in saying how happy she was for us and how excited she was. She said we were in her thoughts and prayers and she would be thinking of us constantly. From then on we haven't stopped talking. Sometimes time gets the better of us and we go 2 to 3 weeks between emails, but we know we are thinking of each other and the second we get a free moment we send the other an email. Connie has two sweet kids, Shannon her oldest daughter, and Patrick her son. I love hearing all the stories about their birthdays, school, and their family vacations. About 6 months ago she sent me a big packet full of old and new pictures. Some pictures of her kids, her vacations, her wedding, and Christy's wedding. They were wonderful. I enjoyed getting to know them through all those pictures. I enjoyed seeing the pictures of Christy's 2 girls and how much they looked like their mother. I was so glad to know that Connie was very much involved in their lives as I know they miss their mother terribly.

I have come to learn that I depend on Connie's emails more than I thought. (She listens to my parenting concerns and gives me great advice based upon her experience.) I care about her family and love hearing about what is going on in their lives. I am excited to hear about her recent anniversary trip that her husband surprised her with to Florida. I am excited to hear about how the kids are enjoying summer vacation. I laughed out loud when she told me about her husbands "alcohol free" trip to Aruba! I love hearing about the shannanogins that little Patrick gets into! We share different stories about what is going on in our lives, and even talk about remodeling different rooms in our homes. Even though we are thousands of miles away I feel so unbelievably connected to her. I know that her husband has a new job where he gets to travel a lot, and there might be a possibility that she would get to come with him should he have to come to the DFW area. I sure hope so as I would LOVE to see her!

So Connie, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for your kindness, your advice, your love, and your concern. It is always nice to know that you care. Most importantly, thank your for your continuous emails.

"16 and Pregnant"

MTV has a new show out, "16 and Pregnant." It premiered last night, so after Jaxon went to bed Jason and I watched it. I have seen several adds for the show over the past few weeks and sort of felt indifferent about it. Surely MTV isn't trying to make teen pregnancy look cool, right!? I can only hope that the reason for this new series is to show how incredibly hard it is to be a parent. Let alone a TEEN parent. I was 26 when I had Jaxon and I felt completely clueless! I can't imagine being 16 and knowing what to do with a baby! This episode followed the end of Maci and Bryan's pregnancy, and the first few months of their life after having their baby boy, Bentley Cadence. (Not a name I would choose for my son, but that is not important.) The camera's followed them around their school, their home, and a couple of doctor appointments giving us viewers a glimpse of what their life is like. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as teenagers go. They hung out with their friends, were involved in school functions, and seemed to get along well with their parents. They actually lived together in a small apartment near Maci's mother. Just your typical teenage couple......but pregnant. Maci would get a little upset because Bryan was not acting very interested in the pregnancy, instead he was more concerned with hanging out with his friends, and partying. I don't guess I really know how Maci wanted him to act. I'm sure he acted uninterested because he regretted getting his girlfriend pregnant in the first place! As the show went on I found myself so full of all different kinds of emotions. I got mad, sad, mad again, and then just really angry!! I could literally feel my blood pressure rising! It was one of those things, like a train wreck, where you just can't stop watching. A few things really irritated me about Maci and Bryan, well other than the fact that they were WAY to young to be having a child. The morning after Maci gave birth her mother came into her hospital room to see her new Grandson, and one of the first things out of Maci's mouth was something like, "He gets up so early, it really gets on my nerves." I don't even know what to say to that! It is going to be a LONG time before she will ever get to sleep in again. Another thing that really irritated me was at Maci's high school graduation, her family was taking pictures after the ceremony had ended, and posing between her friends and family she was holding her son, and she starts to whine, "Ugh, Mom he's ruining the picture!" I didn't know if he had a dirty diaper, or if he had maybe spit up on her gown.....whatever! In my book, babies don't ruin any pictures!! The show continued on, showing how they were getting along with the new baby. They bickered, went days without speaking, and Bryan continued to party with his friends. It was clear to me that the relationship probably wasn't going to last much longer.

I believe that this show stirred up so many emotions because I struggled with getting pregnant. I can remember how much it would hurt to see any woman pregnant, especially a teenager! I can also remember being out to dinner one night with Jason, and I saw a very young pregnant girl step outside to smoke while she was having dinner with her family. It just killed me! It hurt my heart so bad. Knowing that I wanted a baby so incredibly bad, and to watch her go outside and puff away on a cigerette like it was no big deal. I just don't understand how some people don't care?? I tend to be really naive at times, and I choose to see the good in everybody, but sometimes it's almost impossible.

I suppose the reality of it is, teenagers ARE having sex. I can only pray that in the future I don't have a teenager who makes me a Grandmother sooner than I am ready to be one.

To be of service....part 2

In case you didn't already know, Loop 288 in Denton TX is (still) a nightmare! I believe the last I heard was that construction would be completed in 2011! So, you can imagine how busy it gets over there during the lunch hour rush. Since I work very close the Loop, I frequent the fast food chains that are located there. For the most part, its quick and easy.

Today I went to Chick Fil A. I had to swing into Target and get a birthday gift, so I thought I would drive through there on my way back to work. I have eaten at this particular location, with my friend Courtney, more times than I can count. (Especially when I was pregnant! I CRAVED their "ice dream" cones!) However, I had never been through their drive thru. Each time we would go we always noticed how busy their drive thru was. The line is always wrapped around the building during the lunch hour. Something else we noticed was that they had a couple of employees standing outside with clipboards taking customer orders as they drove up. Courtney and I didn't understand how they kept everything organized. You all know how a drive thru works, right?! You go to the speaker, you place your order and then you go to the window, pay, and they give you your food. After several visits, and watching their routine, we noticed that they would take the customer's order, write it down on a special ticket, and then give that customer their ticket (order). We were still confused by this. I just didn't see the point?? I just didn't know how they were keeping all the orders straight??!! Having worked at a fast food joint in high school, I was very familiar with the drive thru and how it worked! During all of our drive thru observations at this Chick Fil A I would always joke with Courtney and say, "One of these days I'm going to walk over to one of those guys with a clipboard and ask them how exactly they are staying organized!"

I wiggled my way out of the chaos that is the Target parking lot and drove over to the Chick Fil A. As always, the line was LONG. When I pulled up a little high school boy approached my window and said, "Hello there! What can I get for you today sir?" I could tell that he was trying not to sound rushed, but he had a job to do and he was trying to do it as quickly as possible. So I ignored the "sir" and told him I would have the, "#2, no tomatoes, and a diet dr. pepper." I then also explained to him that I had never played this drive thru game and needed him to tell me what to do. And so he did. He told me that they feel that it is a better way to service their customers by doing so face to face. He gave me my ticket order and told me to proceed forward to the manager, who was standing by the speaker box, and he would give me my total. I could tell that he was in somewhat of a hurry to take the next customers order, so, still confused, I drove forward. The manager approached my window and politely asked for my ticket. What happened next clarified everything for me!! He had on his little headset, and pushed the button to talk to the person inside. He told the person my order and they gave him my total, which he then gave to me, and told me to drive forward to retrieve my lunch. That was it! I understood it! To avoid all the confusions and hassles of ordering your food at the speaker, you are able to talk face to face with an actual person, like you would if you went inside, and then they have someone who is verbally capable relay your message to one of the people inside who then punch it into the computer. Genius! I really thought that this method took more time than doing it the "old fashioned" way, but NO! It was so fast!! I was totally shocked and very glad I finally learned about the Loop 288 drive thru at Chick Fil A!

To be of service

Today, I emailed a company regarding the poor customer service I received while shopping in their store. Let me just say, this is something that I NEVER do. I am still not quite sure what provoked me to send the email, but then I received such steller service today at a fast food joint, and it made me want to share.

I will begin with our shopping trip to the Stonebriar Mall, a few weeks ago, in Frisco TX. This was just a mundane trip, we were not shopping for anything in particular....just a typical family outing. Jason and I passed by the Swim n Sport store and I sort of thought out loud, "I really need to consider getting a new bathing suit." Jason agreed and and we walked in to look for a bit. I didn't even really want to get one. (You see, my last swimsuit purchase was for our honeymoon back in 2004.) Since having a child I knew that my next suit would be a one piece. No more cute little bikini's for me!! I consider myself a very modest person, and while I'm not huge....I have some "mom" baggage, so I wanted something that covered me up and sucked me in!! We were immediately greeted by a very nice, cute sales girl and she asked what I was looking for and I told her. She picked out several things for me to try on and put me, my husband, and Jaxon in his stroller in the biggest fitting room she had. (I made Jason go into the fitting room with me as I did not want to walk out in the middle of the store with each suit I tried on asking if it looked okay!) After trying on all the different ones I finally decided on the pretty teal one. It made me look one size smaller and was such a pretty color on my pale skin. I very nicely put the swim suits that I did not want back on the hangers and left them in the room, and I got my boys and we proceeded to the register. I suppose I should also say that my swim suit was not a cheap purchase by any means! I look at it like an investment really. Something I plan on having for awhile. (coming from someone who has only purchased swim suits at Target and Old Navy) As I laid my suit on the counter and Jason pulled out his wallet, my sales lady asked if we would like to buy any of the $15 suit cleaner? I very politely declined, and was frowned upon by her, and the 2 other sales girls standing behind her. We were then asked again, "Are you sure you don't want to protect your investment?" My husband then politely said, "No, not today, maybe we'll come back and get some another day." I was already having a hard enough time spending what we just spent on the suit to even want to spend one more penny on anything else. Well, boy did the mood change! We went immediately from friendly customer chatting to....nothing. After they ran our card, and messed with their cash register for some minor problem, the girl bagged up my suit, put our receipt in the bag and we were on our way. No, "have a nice day", no, "thank you", no nothing! On our way out I looked at Jason and said, "Well, they were obviously upset that we didn't buy the cleaner."

Please understand, I really try to make a concious effort to be respectful of fast food employees, waiters/waitresses, and retail sales people. When placing orders at driver thru's, I try to always know exactly what I want, and I try to speak loud and clear. The same goes for eating at a sit down restaurant. Since having Jaxon, my husband has even gone as far as to pick up the food on the floor so that they won't have to clean it up! We always leave atleast a 20% tip when we receive good service. When shopping at a grocery store, or a department store, I always try to be ready at the register with my coupons or money or whatever the case may be, so that they can carry on and move to the next person in line.


So fast forward to today. I decided to drive thru Taco Bell on my lunch break. I don't frequent the Bell, but I was in the mood for something different today. I kept thinking about it in the hours leading up to noon, and was really hoping that it was going to be a good choice. It is either hit or miss with fast food chains. Either its great, or its awful! I pulled up to the speaker and waited for someone to take my order. A few seconds later this VERY chipper, enthusiastic female voice came over the speaker and asked, "Welcome to Taco Bell, how may I help you today?!" She was so overly friendly in fact that I kind of laughed out loud, and then told her what I wanted. She then asked me, "Are you sure you don't want a drink with that today ma'am?" and I told her no, that I already had one. There were 2 cars ahead of me, but I was only in the line for about a minute and a half when she politely took my card, swiped it, gave me my receipt, and then handed me my food, and told me to have a wonderful day. She was literally so nice, that I had forgotten about my bad morning at work. She put me in a better mood!

The same is true for the fast food chain known as Chick Fil A. Have you ever noticed that no matter what you ask for, it is always, "their pleasure!" If I get a refill, and say "thank you", they always respond with, "my pleasure!" EVERY single time! I am certain that if I were to dump my soda on the floor, and ask them to mop it up, they would respond with "my pleasure!" I think it is such a great concept.

So, to all of the fast food workers, waiters and retail sales people, I hope that you know that there are people out there that really appreciate and respect what you do. So, smile, be happy, and be polite, and you never know, you might just make someone's day.

June Teenth

It is hard to believe that I have had a blogspot account for nearly 4 years and have never posted anything. With myspace, facebook, twitter, and Jaxon's totsite page I feel like I already put it all out there! I can't tell you how many times I have logged into my account hoping that something great will come to mind and I can blog about it, but it hasn't happened, well up until now obviously, lol. I've decided that my first blog would be about my husband, our relationship and our upcoming 5 year anniversary.

Jason and I are just shy of being together for 10 years, and married for almost 5 years. I find it so hard to believe, and laugh looking back at pictures of how much we look like "babies" when we first started dating. I was 18 and Jason was 21 when we became boyfriend and girlfriend. He was my boss at the good 'ol Catfish King in Denton. Don't think for one second that he treated me better than anyone else because I was his girlfriend! Oh no! He was MEAN! Very mean! I was a big girl though, I could handle it! Look where it got us!

I think that we have a very unique partnership with a great understanding of each other. Jason RARELY shows emotion. I call him a robot all the time! He is a thinker, where I tend to jump the gun a little bit. Regardless of how he shows his feelings, I know they are there. He is strong, smart, a little shy, mean, yet caring, and he makes THE BEST guacomole! I love him. I thrive on taking care of my family. I enjoy the sense of being needed.

There is one thing that Jason has to have to make it through each day, and that is sweet tea. He drinks atleast a gallon a day. One of the first things I do when I get home is make him some tea. He knows he can always count on having it every night with dinner, and take whatever is left over with him to work the next day. Its cold, refreshing, and not too sweet.

It might be a strange analogy, but I depend on Jason like he depends on his sweet tea. I depend on his loyalty to our family, and the way in which he provides for us.


That being said, to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary we are taking Jaxon to his Grandparents house (my first full weekend away from him) and going to enjoy a day at the spa and a night at the Nylo hotel. I am really looking forward to it.