A Twist of Kate

I've Moved!

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:45:43 GMT

Well, I have a new blog .... I do love blogdrive, but this one is easier to post pictures and since my little guy likes to attack the laptop anytime I have it out, I think this will make it easier. Unfortunately, no more email notifications though.

So here's the new one: www.atwistofkate.blogspot.com

C'mon over!!!

One Year

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:24:13 GMT

Jacob is a year old, so hard to believe! The little guy is such a part of my soul at this point, I'm just lost - but in a good way. All those cliche'/cheesy things you hear parents say is so true. His one year appt was today and it went good. He's 32" tall (98%) and 27.5 lbs (95%). We were nervous about switching to milk and he got his first taste of whole milk today - so far so good. No welps. I fed him a bottle of his formula as we were waiting for the doctor to see us -- could that really have been his last bottle?? Kind of sad -- but at the same time, we will be getting a raise by not having to buy anymore liquid gold/formula!! He did make some "this is yucky" faces, but kept drinking it out of his sippy cup and putting him down to sleep without a bottle didn't cause any issues. Could it be that easy for us?? (must not jinx) Our big boy still wakes up once a night for a feeding - doc says it's still normal because of his size and activity level. I feel in my mommy heart that he's right - he's genuinely hungry, and that's what I'm here for. But if the Goose is ever drafted to the NFL - he better pay momma back! And so speaking of a year - it's been a year since I had a baby. I remember when I was pregnant someone told me to give myself a year before even trying on my pre-pregnancy jeans. And I thought, "whatever, I'll be a triathalon winner by then and fitting into my skinny jeans." So here it is a year after and no triathalons, biathalons or athalons. And the jeans? Well, let's just say things are better and they no longer cause physical pain.... but I really wish I had taken that girls' advice and not put so many expectations on things. Yes there are those girls that are blessed with genes that make them lose all the weight 2 weeks after giving birth and there are those women that can actually survive on a piece of toast all day --- but I think next time around, I'm going to give it a year before taking inventory on the ... uhm..... excess damage.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving/Jacob's birthday in Austin with my dad/Trish, my sister/Keith and the girls. Jacob did really well and loved the turkey. I'll post pics later.

Here's a few things that he's been doing:

- I haven't been good at documenting his progress, but he's walking everywhere now. Been walking for a while, but it was selective. Now he prefers it..

- Loves the fake cough. We were in Target the other day and he heard someone cough, which he saw as an opportunity to demo his fake cough.

- Eating so much right now. All of a sudden he started doing great with his table food - hope it stays.

- Likes to give "fives" if you put your hand out. Only low fives though.

- Loves peek-a-boo. Sometimes he forgets to remove the blankey from his head because he starts laughing so hard.

- If I say "want to read a book?" - he'll immediately sit in my lap, it's so cute.

I know I'm forgetting some.

Testing

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:57:52 GMT

Testing out some old video ....

Birthday Party

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:35:05 GMT

Jacob's 1st birthday cake was a hit! His actual birthday is on Thanksgiving, so we decided to celebrate with family today. He loved all the attention -- and really loved his great grandmother's walker. We did a pirate theme, luv them pirates!

A few family photos .....

The cake .... compliments of Kroger.

Aaaarrrgghhhhhh!

And so here's the good stuff .....

So clean and innocent looking .....

Yummy!

Jacob after his bath to wash off the cake. He's pushing his g-greatmother's walker with Regan.

Random pic I found on the camera .....

Playgroup

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:00:57 GMT

We hosted playgroup yesterday and as always, it was a great time chattin' it up with the ladies. Each of the kiddos is on the move now. I learned that I am NOT a diet coke addict and I in fact should start drinking MORE! Silly me only provided one 2-litre of diet coke .... big mistake! Makes me feel good about myself to know I am surrounded by fellow over indulgers of diet coke.

I stole this pic from someone else. I was a little nervous to put Jacob on the couch, he doesn't "stay" very well. None of them "stay" very well anymore, so this is probably our last couch photo:

32

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:30:50 GMT

How did I let this happen?? I'm 32 today! On election day - how exciting. I'm hoping election day goes my way since Tech beat UT this past weekend - what a game.

Thirty two years. Best time in life? I'm thinking right now's pretty good! Speaking of, Jacob has slept really good for over a week or maybe even more - what a difference I feel. This might sound harsh, but it's much more enjoyable being a mother when you get good sleep. If it sounds harsh to you - then you're not a mother who's had to deal with 4- 5 wake ups every night! My attitude is so much better, thank goodness because I was starting to irritate myself. Jacob's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year, so it'll be extra special. In the midst of the sleep depression, we decided to keep his party simple and family - which means their will have to be zoo animals at his 2nd birthday bash. I've got some pics to post of the house ... but only a few because our kitchen is messy and I don't want to clean on my birthday! And, I'm too lazy to go upstairs and snap pics .... so I'll get some more next time.

But first .... here's some pics from the patch last week. I didn't get as many pics as I would have liked - J was on the run (crawl) quite a bit!

With all the cuties from playgroup (L to R): Hudson, Callie, Keely (turned around), Jacob and Gates. You can see Jacob plotting his escape.

Making his escape!

Finally, I'm free!

I thought it would be neat to document Jacob's height compared to our new tree in the back yard .... we'll see which grows taller! ;-)

Not the greatest light, but this is our kitchen nook. Jason's 83-year old grandpa re-did this table for us ...this table has been in my family for years and when he was re-doing it ... he found the certificate of completion from Pennsylvania (where my family was from) for 1935. He did an awesome job!

The Living Room ....Oreo was my furniture model.

And this is our side yard that Jason put together last weekend. Just Kidding!!!

Pics

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:14:28 GMT

Got our laptop back - Dell actually honored their warranty. I uploaded these pics in a lazy way, some of them sideways .... but one pic of the house. I'll take more pics of the inside this weekend.

Anyone out there?

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:21:10 GMT

Well gosh -- I should just start this blog thing over. So here goes, our move went really well. Unpacking is going s-l-o-w-l-y. Jacob is just a cutie. I think I always say that in this blog, but he is - this momma says so. He's not independently walking yet ... but he'll walk a little ways if you hold his hand and he's taken up to 3 steps by himself. His mystery reflux appears to be gone .... no more waking up screaming and burping. So sleep is better, thank goodness. I just can't believe he's 11 months, can't believe it. Of course we're one month away from the dreaded MMR vaccination. Dreaded because there are so many mixed messages out there -- hard to know up from down on it. You can read up on it ... but there's equal articles saying the vaccine is fine and then those saying it's not. Oh, and don't feed your kid from anything plastic because you're poisoning him. Too late on that! Maybe all of these mixed messages were always out there but I didn't pay attention since I wasn't a mom. I don't know - guess you have to just mix personal opinion in with common sense and see what you get. Well I have a TON of pictures that I can't wait to post, really. I keep saying that, but truly - I do. It's just that I spilled diet coke (my crack) on the laptop and fried it and now Dell is trying to fix it. So, because my crack started impacting our electronic equipment -- and I even tried to blame it on Jacob when explaining it to Jason, which is just pitiful -- I'm going cold turkey off my crack. No diet coke. This is the second day. Now, as a buffer - I am sipping on a Sprite (no caffeine). I just need a little carbonation to get me through the withdrawel process. I don't even like Sprite, so this is not cheating.

Anyway, I don't know if anyone is even still out there to read this .... but I will post some pics as soon as Dell fixes our laptop. I have some of Jacob in his Halloween costume, too cute!

He Slept!

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:44:10 GMT

Well it's been a while since I've blogged .... I'll have to save an update post for later when I can unload the camera. A lot has happened ..... little Jacob is a little boy now. Of course, mommy will always see him as my baby. We signed on the house last Friday - feels good to be homeowners again. We move in this Friday (I'll post pics soon).

Jason's parents have been beyond wonderful. I had planned on us being the kind of house guests that they didn't even know were there .... NOT THE CASE! I realize now this would not have been possible anyway with a little one .... but Jacob slept the longest stretch since we've been here just the past two nights. So, to put it in perspective ... he's been waking up anywhere from 2 - 5 times a night from July 29th ... until this past Tuesday night. Oh, and NO NAPS. We got an hour and 15 minute nap out of him twice ... but the average was one 20-25 minute nap/day. Didn't slow him down ... we had a newborn by night and a very active toddler by day. Notice I'm talking in past tense .... I'm hoping this isn't just wishful thinking! Of course we've had about 4 or so visits to the doctor's office pleaing with him to tell us "what's wrong????" and a few more calls in. We tried everything, EVERYTHING. So, after undergoing a swallow study that showed nothing, two acid reflux meds (Axid and Prevacid) that the doctor said we had to wait two weeks to see results with (are you kidding me?) - nothing was working. He was rejecting solids, only wanted his bottle. Was taking up to 18 oz. of formula during the night time wake-ups. Then this Monday - feeling greatly defeated and exhausted - I put yet another call into the doctor and he was of course concerned about the food rejection. He said he had one more med for us to try and that we'd see results in 3 days if it was going to work. If it doesn't work ... we have to go to a GI Specialist b/c something else is wrong. Oh dear. So, we gave him his first dose of his medicine two nights ago and he slept from 8:00 P - 5:30 A, which is incredible. He did wake-up at 10:00 P with a little gas, but went right back down. So, we're really hoping we're on the upside of this. I realize that was a lot of whining, but that's really why blogs exist. I already see an improvement in his disposition. He's such a cutie ... so curious and determined. Definitely got an explorer gene.

Well I'll provide more updates when I upload the pics, gotta get to sleep for our big move tomorrow. To my friends and family, thanks for having patience with me about not keeping in touch -- if this medication works, I'll be back on the social scene!

I thought .....

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:57:00 GMT

.....we had already earned our new parent stripes, apparently not! It's been a sleepless past couple of weeks - well month, actually. It's been kind of like the newborn days .... except I'm not on pain pills and I don't have the feeling of two melting volcanos on my chest. Who new teething could be this bad?? I certainly did not. We were making progress, one tooth started cutting .... then BAM - he's got a cold. Poor little guy.... it's just awful knowing your little one doesn't feel good.

I do have some pics to share, but am too lazy and tired to load the camera .... so maybe next time! Speaking of being tired .... I was too lazy to turn the TV channel earlier today and got stuck watching Tori & Dean's reality show ....and dangit, I liked it!

We're Back!

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:21:31 GMT

We had a WONDERFUL time in Colorado (Keystone/Breckenridge) ... it was 70-75 degrees during the day and in the 40's at night. Jacob had a tough time with the altitude which meant limited sleep for Jason and I ..... but we didn't let it slow us down! He was acting odd and tugging at one ear .... we thought it might be altitude, but wanted to be sure it wasn't an ear infection and not spend the entire vacation worrying - so we took him to the ER. They said it was just the alititude .... although they did ask if his excessive drueling was normal. Yes, it's normal.

The highlight for me (and probably Jason) was the ATV tour. We took an unguided ATV tour .... it was pretty rough stuff. It was Jason's dad (Bill), his Aunt (Janice), Jason and myself. We were kind of surprised the path they had us take was considered "easy" -- we are city slickers though! We have been very spoiled with two awesome vacations this year .... kind of sad it's all over.

Here's the pics:

At a chipmunk spotting area:

Pics at Keystone .....

Jason's dad and Aunt Janice celebrating our arrival to the Summit. Look at that view - it looks photoshopped!

Aunt Janice got him this outfit ... it says "Reporting for Doodie" -- it was very appropriate this week. He had just woken up and I took off his helmet for this pic!

All bricked up .... waiting on flooring and counter tops!

Aunt Holly gave him this cute outfit - with his signature druel!

We Made It!!!!

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:07:47 GMT

We are officially moved out of the house .... and we are NOT moving for another 45 years. It was the biggest beat down ever! We have way too much junk. I don't want to pack up another box anytime soon. My labeling of the contents started out very legible and itemized, but the last day I actually wrote "DON'T KNOW, DON'T CARE" on a box. And while I'm so very thrilled that Jacob is crawling .... the little stinker is fast! I was having to pack - pack - chase - pack - chase - pack - pack- chase. He loves those outlets ... has a real eye for them!

Thank goodness for Jason's parents ... they helped pack and watch Jacob (and Oreo!) - otherwise we'd still be packing. The days leading up to the move were a little sad, but then it was like JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!! We just finished half of our drive to Colorado and are staying in Dalhart. Jacob has actually been wonderful. Couldn't have asked for him to be any better. Even saved his dirty diaper until we got into the hotel room.

Back to the house .... we did spy this morning and drove by the house, their cars were there .... kind of surreal. Hope they're taking care of our baby. Alright, that's it for now!

Da House

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:24:11 GMT

Lots of progress! This isn't actually the brick we wanted ... they told us to drive around and write down an address of brick we liked .... this isn't it, but we do like this brick ..... so all is good. Hope that's the only surprise!

The Dining Room .....

My dream kitchen .....

And He's Off!

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:03:26 GMT

I decided to document Jacob's crawling on the blog today cuz I don't want to go dig for his baby book and writing the date/age down on paper is useless right now ... I'll lose it amongst the boxes. So, since I can't lose cyber space .... my baby is offically crawling as of today (7 months & 3 weeks). It was kind of yesterday, but today his form is much better! He's getting the whole legs AND arms thing. Just in time for our 12-hour drive to Colorado .... yeah. He's growing up too fast. We're also retiring the exersaucer .... he's getting too big for it and doesn't appreciate the containment like he once did. Hard to believe we'll be out of the house this time next week. I'll try to post a pic of the new house soon!

A few pics .....

Jason mid-shaving his vacation beard. Definitely not a 'stach man. (Janice - this one's for you!)

Messy dinner time .....

Not a great pic (flash off) ... but here's J in his helmet. It's already worked wonders ... hoping only 4 weeks left. It's a pain in the butt!

DESTINination FUN

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:28:12 GMT

Well we drove back yesterday from Destin .... what a blast! We could have stayed at least another week, it went too fast. My aunt Judy drove several hours to come see us, it's always so great to catch up with her. We decided we really need to make a better habit of it. We get to see them once every few years and each time we do it's like a day hasn't passed. And of course, the pics I took of her with us didn't come out because my camera was fogged up from the humidity.

I really get the whole beach scene. My sister and her family are staying a few more weeks and I talked to her today and they were hanging by the beach about to start a fish fry ..... :-( . We ate a lot of awesome sea food. My bro-n-law is the best chef .... Jason is officially converted to a seafood eater. It just can't be cold. He went deep sea fishing, loved it. That was a very neat experience for him. My 8-year-old niece Alyssa is such a trooper. In 4 days, she was stung by TWO jelly fish and a man o war. I would have been RUNNING for my car and would not have looked back .... but she got back in the water. Poor thing, for some reason they just love her. I didn't get a whole lot of pics since we were in the sand and water most of the time .... but we were really missing Destin today. We packed 15 boxes because we have to be out of here in two weeks. TWO WEEKS TO PACK UP OUR HOUSE! We close on the 25th, then drive to Colorado the 26th! We are looking very forward to hanging out in Colorado with Jason's family ... it's our goal to make it till then. Then, we come back to stay with Jason's parents for 1.5 months give or take.

Jacob did great on the drive .... it started out a little scary, but then he cut his first tooth and was much better. He actually cut his first two teeth this week! Also, a HUGE learning we had for any of you new mommies considering a road trip .... plastic cups and spoons work just fine to feed them. And, put a big blanket down on your car seat cuz you WILL get something on it.

Could I ramble any more? So, here's the pics:

Our first pic of the trip. The nerds we are, we stopped in Vicksburg, MS to see the war museum. The museum part was neat .... but the 16-mile driving tour was a snoozer .... we broke-free about mile 8!

I had to capture J's first hotel stay!

We got to watch a few hair shows .... I was only quick enough to capture Alyssa:

The FEAST! Blue crab, shrimp, corn and potatoes .... compliments of Keith the chef. So yummy!

The deep sea fishing trip. That's my dad in the white.

Trish with Emma G

The kids on the beach ....

Family photos .... J is more interested in the sand. If it looks like we're squinting, we are.

J solo ... in his Rocky Balboa swim suit.....

How I Met Your Father .....

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:36:48 GMT

Quick Update: The house inspection is scheduled for Wednesday and we will feel so much better after we get passing grades.... since the house is a little older. We're waiting on an estimate from our builder before we decide what our interim living situation will be ..... but Jason's parents have graciously opened their house to us. We should know soon enough. Also, I keep meaning to ask ... do you San Antonio folks know Armondo Montelongo?? The guy with the house flipping business/show. Just wondering, we LOVE him.

I'm stealing an idea from a fore-blogger ... I've always wanted to do an entry on how I met my wonderful husband and was thinking right around our 3rd anniversary would be a great time. But, since we'll have only two weekends to pack up our house ... I'm guessing our celebration won't be that romantic. So, while Jacob's napping ... thought I'd get it started. It might be a good read for him someday... and hopefully it's not a snooze-fest for the rest of you!

The email. It all started with an email from a friend that many of you know..... Mallie. She said she met a nice guy at a housewarming party and thought we might be good together. For those of you that don't know Mallie and might be wondering why she didn't save this catch for herself .... she was already in love with her future husband at this time. The only info I got on him is that he also went to Texas Tech. I replied back and told her he could call my cell phone if he was interested. Now ... it's important to give you a little background on where I was in life. I had been on a few blind dates and a few non-blind .... none of them promising. If you've been single for any amount of time, then you know that going out with a lot of wrongs makes you wonder if you're ever going to find your right. I had come to the conclusion that MAYBE my right just wasn't out there. I say maybe because I of course still had a little hope. I decided that if this were the case, if I really wasn't going to ever find my one ... I better make my life more interesting. So, I cut back a bit on my work hours (just a bit Sharon! :-) and ... well... got out there! I was a going out fool. Went out about 2-3 times a week. It was a lot of fun. Then the blind and non-blind dates came along ... none of them promising ... and now we're to the email from Mallie. As for where Jason was in life ... I'd say it was close to the same, and the rest I probably don't want to know! ;-)

The phone call. So, I'm in my apartment watching my beloved Smallville (no, I don't watch it anymore) and a weird number pops up on my cell. "Who is that? Ohhhh, I bet it's that guy Mallie mentioned. Let me see what kind of message he leaves." Now when you're an established single ... your first question is ARE THEY CRAZY? ANY STALKER POTENTIAL? So, I listened to the voice mail and was immediately curious, in a good way. Jason's got a great voice, could be a radio host..... he disagrees of course. I called him back (after Smallville) and we talked for about 20-25 minutes or so .... had a lot to talk about since we both went to Tech. I remember hearing a beaping in the background and him saying "dinner's ready, gotta go." So we made plans to go out that weekend. My initial thought was that he sounded really nice and cute. Yes, I could tell he was cute from his voice .....what can I say I was in the zone.

First Date. As I mentioned earlier, I was concerned about the psycho factor so I had him wait in the parking lot of my apartment complex. I had been nervous ALL day. Which was a sign because I had gotten to where I was NOT nervous for dates ... I was nervous because I was already crushing from our phone call. We say hello and I get in his car and immediately tell him how nervous I was .... he told me he wasn't nervous (well why not?) so off to the Down Under Pub 'n Grub it was. I was trying to check him out the whole way to dinner without looking like I was checking him out. I obviously likey! It was a great first date .... talked and talked and talked. He apologized for his corporate hair .... which I kind of found adorable - the hair and the apology. We went to Dave & Buster's then called it a night. He was such a gentleman. I'll never forget the next day - I felt so giddy. I hadn't felt giddy in forever, I had forgotten what it felt like. Would he call? Oh please call - and don't play that stupid guy game.

Second Date. It's important to mention the second date because it was even better than the first. I let him come to the door this time. We get in his car and I tell him I'm not nervous this time and he said "really? because I'm very nervous this time since I know I like you". Did he just say he liked me? But, guys don't do that. They play games with your head and make you feel like crap about yourself ....what's this guy doing?" And if you know Jason, you know that's him ... he's a very straight shooter. No games. Sometimes if I don't want the truth ... I don't ask him. I wasn't used to it, but I liked it. Back to the date .... It was Halloween weekend and he brought me a Halloween goody bag. I had mentioned how much I loved that holiday in one of our conversations - he was just scoring points left and right. I also learned that the beeping microwave during our first phone conversation was all planned. He said just in case he ran out of things to say to me he had put something in the microwave as a planned exit. This way we would have plenty to talk about on our first date if he liked me -- or could make a clean break if it wasn't going well. So that may sound corny to some of you, but I loved his honesty and ability to plan (a fellow nerd!). He even planned an air hockey detour because he knew I loved it. He put so much thought and planning into this date .... it was so unbelievably flattering. And, well .... that's Jason.

And so here we are ..... with three years of marriage and he's still my thoughtful hero. Of course there were many moments when I knew he was the one. But one of my favorites was when he was bringing his dog over (the one and only Oreo) and we were going to leave her in my apartment while we went to eat. He brought a gate to confine her to my kitchen and I told him he didn't need to do that and I would just shut my bedroom door. He said "no, I would never forgive myself if she ruined your mom's furniture". He remembered? I know it's so small, but the fact that he remembered it was my mom's furniture and was so considerate of my feelings towards it ...it melted me. Still does. Of course now I think he'd like to use some of that furniture as fire wood.

I'm a lucky girl. There are so many of those small things still today. I hope all my gibberish didn't give the impression that we're this perfect couple that wake-up to harmonious chirping birds every day. Cuz we aren't and we don't. It's more like a crying baby and a messy house.. But who wants perfect?

Who else would make a detour to Wild Buffalo Bill's something or another's gravesite during our Tombstone obsession phase and pose like this?

We are just plain nerds when we travel. We love to explore!

At the state fair ....

Right after he proposed ....

On our honeymoon in Playa ....who emptied our drinks out?

And, just a hodge podge of other pics from the early days ....

Well I'm not the mushy type - but Jason already knows this ... so I'll close by saying it's been nearly 5 years of a lotta love and a lotta laughter - Jacob and I are blessed to have you in our life. Love you babe! And, THANK YOU MALLIE!!! (from both of us)

:-)

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:54:51 GMT

We accepted an offer!!! We accepted an offer!!! We accepted an offer!!!We accepted an offer!!!

On the house, that is! We got an offer on the first day ... accepted, and now we're in the 10-day option period. We're crossing our fingers the inspection goes smoothly. Our closing date will be near the end of July.

Jacob got his cranial band yesterday .... we just went out and got stickers for it. A lot of them were a little girly and I was on borrowed time (Jacob's time) ... so we're going with a 4th of July theme. I'll have to post a pic later. He doesn't seem to even notice it ... which is what I've heard. They said 8-10 weeks, but I'm guessing the latter since we plan to cheat a bit in Florida due to the heat.

This is kind of a boring post. I just had to share the good news about the house ... it happened Monday, but we've been kind of pinching ourselves ever since! So, since it's boring .... here's some pics:

J trying on daddy's hat:

Maiden voyage of the high chair!

Progress .....

My Version of Heaven ....

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:42:21 GMT

With all this packing up - we're trying to reduce our junk. Jason calls them my hiding places ... I stash my junk under tables, beds and in closets. I really want to de-clutter the new house, especially with a crawler on the way! Anyway ... that was a long way of introducing the fact that I found a letter from my mom. A few in fact. Being the pack rat that I am ... I kept all of her letters from my freshman year in college. I found one that was a gem. I must have just called her all upset ... with the freshman home sickness and I was not taking a great liking to the soccer coach. She started out by telling me how much she loved me and that I wouldn't understand that love until I had my own children. I get it now, mom. She goes on to tell me things like I'm Irish and a Woodburn and I need to fight, fight, fight. Being my mom, she did use a little profanity to get her point across. She also told me to pray to God and St. Jude. I loved reading the part about St. Jude. My mother loved him, even named my sister after him. If you don't know the story .... St. Jude is the Saint of Desperate Cases, you pray to him and promise a type of sacrifice if you will. To my understanding ... that's how St. Jude's Children's Hospital got it's name. Someone prayed to St. Jude and built a shrine in his honor. Well, moments after my sister was born ... there were complications and doctors did not know what was wrong ... my mom prayed to St. Jude and asked that he save her life and she promised to name my sister after him. So, it's Holly Jude. Back to the letter .... reading my mom's letter took me back to that feeling of having a mom. If you've lost your mother, you know what I'm talking about. The feeling of being coddled and adored. Not that other people in your life don't coddle and adore you, but nobody can run warm bath water like a mother. I was actually able to apply her words to my current life. I read the letter to my sister and I think she was able to relate it to something in her life as well. I plan to read it to my dad and brother, just in case they need to dig down deep to the Irish Woodburn part of them.

Jason never met my mother, so I loved reading it to him because it was an insight into her personality. I went through all the other letters ... many of them brief that she sent with a check "Deposit this, watch your money. I love you. Tell Holly I love her also." (my sister and I both went to Tech) Jason and I laughed because she must have ran out of paper once and wrote a small note on wax paper. Jason said "so that's where you get it." Yep, that's where I get it.

This August will be ten years since she passed, hard to believe. People sometimes ask me if I talk or pray to her. In a sense. We all have different versions of heaven or what happens to people after they pass. My version changed once my mom left us. I don't like to pray to her for good things to happen in my life or to talk to her every day. Because Joanne Woodburn is nobody's genie. Not even mine. I don't like to think of her as a 24/7 answering service ... sitting on a cloud and just waiting around for someone to grant a self-serving wish. I don't even like to think of her as being aware of the day to day goings of her family. Wouldn't watching your son get in a near fatal car crash and not be able to help be the definition of .... well.....hell? And, I don't think she's an automatic saint because she's passed. Now, my mother is as close to a saint as anyone I've ever met ... but I think she's still Joanne. Still has a belly laugh that sometimes turns into snorts .... and still makes a few profane slips. Like all of us, I have no idea what heaven is like .... I just know that she's somewhere else. We almost lost her once before she ultimately passed and when she came out of it, she talked about hearing the most beautiful music she had ever heard and she didn't want to leave. So, I know there's music in heaven. I like to think of her as doing what she loved ... which was taking care of people and playing with babies. She LOVED babies. I like to think of her as being independent wherever she is ... because she was a very independent person and that was taken from her in her last year of life. She couldn't cook, drive, shop ... and was rarely alone. If you've seen the movie "What Dreams May Come" ... I kind of see heaven as a version of that. I also believe in souls. In my beliefs, we all have one. I thank God every night for the little soul he picked out for Jacob .... we couldn't be more pleased. I like to think my mom got to meet the souls of her four granchildren before they came to us.

My mom passed when I was 21 .... so it was right before our relationship had moved more towards friends vs. parental/authority. She and I were always best friends ... but we were just about touching on the stage where I would start telling her how late I was really out to the night before and what I was doing at 3 AM. Not that she was clueless to it - it just wasn't totally up for discussion just yet! I love that all of my friends treat their mothers so well ... I have to admit I notice .... but I'm always happy to see how much they honor them. If my mother were here, I'd buy her a pedicure. She would never dream of paying somebody money to paint her toes, but she would secretly love it.

Well now you know my version of heaven - we all have different ones. I guess I just think like to think it's a version of whatever we want it to be. I don't talk about my mom much in this blog because as someone else stated in their blog ... I don't have the writing talent to do her justice. Many of you never met her and I could never fully capture her for you - I'd be leaving a facet of her beautiful soul out. Anyway, sorry if this was depressing .... her birthday is this month and 10-year passing in a few months, so I had wanted to write something on it!

Checkin' In

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:42:38 GMT

Update: Soooo, I know nothing about staging. These women were amazing. I was jaw-dropped running around and fetching stuff for them. Who knew books and napkins could be so decorative?!

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Well things have been busy here ..... we've been working so hard on the house. Jason has been working weekends from sun up to sun down and has made about 25 Home Depot runs. The yard looks beautiful ..... he even re-built part of our fence within hours. Next to a weatherman, his other dream job is a landscaper .... I think he'd be great! I've been packing and cleaning up the inside. The Stager comes today ... I'm really geeked up for this, I think I have hidden staging talents. We'll see. Photographer tomorrow, then on the market Monday. I feel like we're entering our baby into a beauty pageant. Please don't ridicule my baby - but, you can have her for full price!

Our new house is coming along great ... they're almost finished framing. This pic is dated, but we're going to get a framing pic on Friday. It was one of the coolest things walking through the house last night (framed) ... we were even able to go up-stairs.

In other exciting news, Jacob had his first swim! With his eczema all but gone (yeah!!) - we decided it was safe. He was a little more interested in a barking Oreo, but it went great. Oreo barks when we're in the pool sometimes b/c she's chicken to get in but hates missing out on the fun. Take a look at my boys:

We pick up J's cranial band next week - initial estimations are that he'll need it for 8-10 weeks. It's a totally optional thing - but we elected to do it. The skull grows in the areas of least resistance .... and we only have a finite period of time to correct it, so we decided we'd rather be on the side of "we did everything we could" vs. " woulda, shoulda, coulda". Plus, I'm sure he'll be a hat wearer like his daddy and I don't want him ever asking us why his hat doesn't fit right. Just wish it wasn't in the heat of the summer. He has to wear it 23 of 24 hours a day, but we got approval to cheat when we're in Destin!

My big boy is sitting up 100% now - he's in an outfit that Grandpa W and Mimi Trish got him .... and his socks say "I heart dirt".

Our Little Model

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:07:06 GMT

So I took JR (Jacob Robert) to Sears for his 6-month pics ... I even loved the cheesy poses. He was hammin' it up! Have you ever known a guy to pull off a fake bear-skinned rug so well?? I had my coupon and had only planned on getting $25 worth .... before we went to bed last night Jason said that there was no way I'd only spend $25. He was right. Take a look!

The outfit he has on was sent by my Aunt Judy (thanks Judy!) ... she probably didn't think it would fit him just yet since it's for 12-month olds - but it all fits perfect! If you look at the bottom right one with the white background ... you can see mommy's protective hand ready to catch him!