Wedding Bells

Last night I got to attend my best friend's brother's wedding. It was quite the Jewish affair. We had a great time people watching and most of all we had a wonderful time chasing around my best friend's baby, possibly one of the cutest 19 month olds around (well almost as cute as my own, but since they are all bigger than this age now she falls into the cutest category). Everyone of course looked beautiful and handsome. Its always nice to get all spiffed up and go out for the night. I've included some pics of the night below.

This was the super cute flower girl that was like the energizer bunny all night long


This is me and best buddy Jen, hamming it up for the camera( gotta love self portraits!!)


And us yet again being a little bit crazy


And another self protrait with me and my handsome hubby (do you see a theme? I love self portraits)


And finally the happy couple! Congrats Debra and Jeremy

My Little Pony, Cloudy days, and Randomness

Today has been such a fun filled day. Well not really, but at least it's been relaxing. I got to sleep in a bit and spend some quality time with my honey and now I get to watch my little pony this rainy afternoon with my two sweet munchkins.

I know it doesn't sound all that exciting, but I do enjoy it when they are so happy to just have me sit on the couch next to them and watch a movie. They think its a special treat.

I usually don't have the patience to sit through these movies or TV shows. Yet when they are gone, I find myself sitting with the Disney channel on and watching whatever brain numbing show might be playing. It's really funny when my hubby walks in and says "Why are you watching the backyardigans, the kids aren't even home?". It's at that point that I realize what I'm doing and then feel a little embarrassed, but then I remember I'm a mom and I can watch whatever I want. I mean I need to watch the show and make sure the content is OK for the kids right? Okay so maybe not really but it's a good excuse. Right?

So now my big debate on this fun filled day is whether or not to take the kids to Target to look for a wedding gift for tomorrow. The problem is that it's sort of rainy and I know if we go the sky will probably just decide to open up, just as we get out of the car to walk up to the front of the store. And if any of you know how slow my children are you know that walking in the rain would be a problem.

I think my kids may be the slowest walking children in the world. They walk at the speed of a snail, unless something exciting is happening. And then all of a sudden they can run at the speed of light to get to whatever may be exciting to them. It could be the promise of cake or someone being over. You never know what might energize them.

But if it's raining, they don't speed up to get to the door more quickly they actually slow down. It's sort of like traffic, when it gets cloudy the cars all decide to drive at half speed so that they can be "safe". Hello people!!! Its not even raining! But they slow down anyway.

The place where I have seen the worst case of "cloudy day" driving is in Austin. They slow down for anything. Clouds, a flock of birds, salamanders, the precious three toed horned toad...you know what I mean. It is enough to make you want to rip your hair out.

When we go back to Austin to visit, we actually have to turn off our Dallas driving brain and turn on the Austin driving brain. People in Austin are just so much more relaxed about driving compared to Dallas. And after you get into the right mode it sure is nice to sit and enjoy the ride. I think the other thing they have going in A-town is all the pretty scenery. We sure don't have that in Plano/Dallas. I really miss Austin despite the bad rainy day drivers!!!

Now on a final note, my sweet little man has been so nice to me lately. He's five years old and still loves his mommy. He will just come up at random times and say "I love you mommy" and it just melts my heart. I know I have to take all I can get right now because in a few years he won't be so sweet anymore, he won't let me hug or kiss him in public, and he probably won't confess multiple times a day that he loves me. They grow up so fast! I have to remind myself to enjoy every moment with them even when I'm frustrated, because there will be a time when they will be all grown up and won't live at home any longer (they better not be trying to live at home either, we'll be kicking them out). But I know they will always be my babies.

Friends worth having

So I was chatting with one of my best buds today and she brought up a good subject. We were talking about having friends who were really there for you and getting rid of the ones who just use you.

Why is it that you can always have that one friend, that no matter what your problem is, they always have one that's bigger. Why don't they ever actually listen to your problem? Is their problem really that much more important?

You always take the time to drop everything and listen to their problems but there is no listening in return. When do you draw the line and say "hey do you think you could actually take the time to put your problems aside for one moment and listen to me ." And when they don't, when do you finally fire them as a friend? Finally, why do we tend to take these users back?

I know I have been guilty of this on more than one occasion. And I always kick myself afterwards for being such a sucker. The other person is almost like a virus feeding on all of your healthy cells or for you harry potter fans "a dementor"(sp?). Its like these people suck all the happiness out of you and leave you with all the bad feelings, or even worse all of their bad feelings combined with all of yours.

So why do we keep on doing it? From my experience, these people always have very charismatic personalities. You see them from a distance and you want to be friends with them. Then they reel you in, and in the first few weeks of friendship you believe they really care about you and your problems. You think to yourself that you must be a lucky person to have such a good friend.

And then it hits, you have a serious problem or emergency. Who is the first person you think of to help you? The "user friend". When you call them in desperation, are they willing to drop everything and come to your aid? No, they normally say,"Sorry can't help you out, but call me next time". And the first few times you accept this like its just a fluke, but then after the 20th time you start to see a pattern. (I didn't say I picked up on these things quickly) But being the nice person you are, you still brush it off. You say "oh no they aren't really using me, they have been there for me a time or two". The problem is that you can't actually remember those times but you know that is must of happened at some point, right? WRONG!!!

When you do finally remember the times they helped you, you realize that it is always on the condition of ease. If it was easy for them to help you they did, but if it takes any effort forget it. And god forbid they have something else going on, like washing their hair for the fifth time that night. If something as "important" as washing their hair means they can't come help you, they probably won't really ever be able to do a thing for you.


Luckily I have gotten rid of all of these so called friends and family members that like to do this to me. But I know in the future I will once again fall into the trap of a "user" friend.

So my hard learned life lesson to you is to get rid of these so-called friends and learn to enjoy your life. Surround yourself with truly supportive, positive friends. Friends that are there for you just like you are for them. People you enjoy being around. Once you cleanse yourself of the "user" friends you will be amazed at how much better you feel.

Questions for the universe: Why are we so gullible, don't we learn from our mistakes the first time? I know I don't. Why does the dog bring the ball to you over and over again even after you have stopped throwing it, do they really think if they pester you enough you'll do it again? I always take the ball and hide it when I'm done. My dog just won't give up. Why does it always rain when you plan on going to an amusement park? It is always sunny and nice the entire rest of the week. And where do the socks really go? I really want to know! Thanks for listening to my rant.

My hubby's point of view...fatherhood

He posted this today on his myspace blog, and I just had to share.


I have developed a new tick…or a twitch if you will. When my wife gets stressed about money, time, the ex, etc, her eye starts to twitch uncontrollably. I have only experienced this symptom a couple of times in my life. All were high stress occasions and merited such a reaction. However, the last three weeks this has been happening frequently throughout the day. After discussing it and dissecting the possible triggers or changes in my life I think I have figured it out. I am excited, pensive, concerned, freaked out, about becoming a father. You can throw a lot of other emotions in there as well but it all comes down to the fact that no other decision in my life could quite possibly have such a long lasting and permanent effect on me. And that is a good thing!

For any one who knew me back in the day I was going to be the eternal bachelor. I was the listless wandering soul that worked, lived, and traveled with carefree abandon. I had many superficial friendships mixed in with some long term relationships. But even those long term relationships were merely arrangements of convenience. When it stopped working I would either quit it or make it self destruct until it went away. I could pack up my toothbrush, CDs, and emotions and move along to the next chapter in my life with little need for closure. I would never be tied down and in the words of Shakespeare…

"That a woman conceived me, I thank her; that she brought me up, I likewise give her most humble thanks: but that I will have a recheat winded in my forehead, or hang my bugle in an invisible baldrick, all women shall pardon me. Because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the right to trust none; and the fine is, for the which I may go the finer, I will live a bachelor."

My wife has two children from a previous marriage. I have had the privilege of knowing both of the gusanos since they were born. I am close to them and feel that I have a positive influence on them. I provide and look after them as if they were my own. I am a practicing father. But they have their real father that is responsible and available to them and plays his role as well. I am happy for the arrangement and that their lives have not been so fractured by losing a parent due to circumstance.

After my wife and I married we discussed the possibility of having another. One of our own. One of mine. I worried that saying "No" now while we are relatively young would only lead to regret five or ten year down the road and starting then would be much more challenging. I mean understand the math here…as of now we will be 40 and 43 when the youngest is 18. Still in our prime as far as I am concerned. So if we start now we are only pushing that back by 5 years. St

We are now looking towards trying in earnest to conceive around August/September. We are still practicing our technique so that we do not get rusty. And for those of us that know us well, please understand that when we are out late and she is pounding margaritas while I tell you all that we are having a baby, realize that I am referring to the future and not the present. She wanted me to add that so that you guys at the bar will stop giving her strange looks.

All this being said I have realized the permanence of this pursuit. I am quickly becoming aware of fact that 32 years later I am still around to worry my parents and ask them for advice. For 18 years I was on the family payroll full time and for another 4 years part time. Even in my mid 20s they bailed me out of a couple of situations. They still celebrate my birthday, worry when I don't call often enough, and request a visit more than twice a year. And I am still influenced by what they taught me and how they raised me everyday. I look at them age and wonder what I will be like then. I realize my Dad was about the same age I am when I was born and I wonder. I wonder if he was as scared as I am of being a good parent. I wonder if my child will look at me with the same sense of wonder because he was so wise. I wonder if I will be able to privately contemplate and help correct the failures of myself as a parent and my child. I wonder if I will sufficiently celebrate the successes and the achievements of the child that we create. Will I be a satisfactory parent…or will I be a superb parent. I told my father a while back, "If I could be half the father to my child/ren that you were to me I would fell like I was a success." This still holds true in my mind.

I am as prepared for this as I think I ever will be. I have the advantage of having a loving wife that is also an amazing mother. Most of all she has experience in handling these matters. I am sure she will spend more time teaching me what to do and not to do. The what, when, why, and where of newborns. I have always said if they could come out at 3 years old I would be fine. It is that 0-3 year old stage that I have the least experience with and honestly, freaks me out.

I guess we will see where this new chapter in life will lead. What I do know is that my toothbrush requires an electrical outlet, I rarely listen to my CDs anymore, my emotions for my wife and having a child will not fit into any box, and the closure I have achieved is realizing that I will no longer have the option of simply walking away any longer…because there will always be a little part of me following in my footsteps learning from my every action.

First blog

Well I decided I should start blogging. I was told by many that it could be therapeutic, and since my eye won't stop twitching I thought I would give it a try.

Most days I feel like I may be a little nutty, but I know I still have some sort of normal hiding inside. Let me give you a little background: I just got re-married about 3 months ago to a fabulous man, I have two munchkins (8yr old girl & 5 yr old boy), and two dogs (great dane and doberman). I faux finish for a living (murals, marbling, antique new things to make them look old, etc). It's a lot of fun and I get to be home in time for my kids to get home from school.

My main goal in life after I had kids was to raise them the best way I could. And now I have help from an incredibly wonderful husband that never ceases to amaze me. I know it may sound corny and you may say "she's still a newlywed", but we have been together for a while now and it has just gotten better. Needless to say my life is in a pretty good place right now.

So you may ask, "Why is your eye twitching?". Well that's what I'm trying to figure out. Is it because my boss is out of town for the next 2 weeks? Is it because we are planning on getting pregnant soon and the idea has me a little nervous and overwhelmed, as well as excited and extremely content? Is it because I constantly yell at my dogs for being bad? Or because I'm never able to keep the house clean and the laundry put away? Or that I need to find a new job for whenever I get pregnant and can't be around chemicals? I just don't know, but I guess its a combination of those things.

But somehow I make it through the day, with the help of some nice pills that the doctor gave me ;), without ripping my hair out. When I look at the big picture I really have it pretty easy. I have everything I could need and I know I should be thankful for all of my so called problems. At least I don't have to worry about where my next meal come from and where we'll sleep at night. I get to worry about what will happen on Heroes next season and how lame I thought the season finale was. I mean, come on, they could of left us in more suspense, right? And what's up with Grey's anatomy? Everyone is totally screwed up again, but I guess that's how they keep us coming back for more. And then I wonder about American Idol and I wonder who really votes. I mean I watch it and all but I always tivo it, and do I really want to take the time to call? I know I can be totally random, but that's just how my mind works. And amazingly enough, my hubby can follow me when I talk in circles about random pointless things.

Okay so that's about all I can think about in this 15 minute segment of my day, my eye has stopped twitching and that in its self is a great reason to keep up this blog...but wait, I just smelled something burning in my lovely kitchen (I'm not the best cook). I swear, I'm getting so absentminded at times. Before I sat down at the computer to type this I started to boil some water for my dinner. And guess what, I totally forgot about it and left it for so long that there was no longer any water at all in the pan. How on earth did I do that? Its just plain not thinking. Go figure. So now I get to start all over again and figure out if I really want to wait for another pot of water to boil or if cereal is good enough for dinner tonight. I think I may be safer going the cereal route tonight, before my eye starts twitching again.

So here are some questions to put out in the universe: How do I keep my great dane from jumping on my couch constantly? How does the Mr.Clean magic sponge really work? I mean its truly amazing, it can clean anything up! Do elves come and mess my house up everyday when I'm gone? How come its easier to make a mess than it is to clean it up? I mean it should take the same amount of effort right? And finally, why does cookie dough and brownie batter taste so good, and do we really have to cook it?