Out of the Shell

The Little Guy has emerged.  He's stronger, more confident and his self esteem is sky high.  Not like it needed to be any higher.

Coop participated in the annual talent show at our elementary school yesterday.  He and his buddies (and a few girls) got together months ago and decided to try out.  When he came home that night with the parent permission slip, I was absolutely stunned.

"Hey mom, will you sign this for me?"
"Sure bud, what is it?"
"It's my permission slip to be in the talent show."

Silence.

"Um, whatcha planning on doing, honey?  You know you can't play {insert sport of choice} on a stage, right?"
"I know, mom.  I'm dancing."

Silence again.

"Um, you are dancing?  Uh, okay. This should be interesting.  Hand it over."

I was convinced of two things that very moment:  1.  He wouldn't make it past try outs.  2.  If he did by some stroke of luck he would come down with scarlet fever or diphtheria immediately before the performance.

I was wrong... on both counts, thank goodness.

Not only did he and his friends make it in, they actually choreographed (okay, they ARE 5th grade boys, so take that with a grain of salt) moves, coordinated what everyone was gonna wear (well, some of them) and got super serious about all of it.

I am still in awe.  People that know my little guy see him usually as friendly, outgoing, confident.  They don't see what we see in the safety of our home:  a doubting, worrying sometimes vulnerable little guy that easily gets his feelings hurt.

Needless to say I was completely nervous for him.  Granted he wasn't going to be alone, he stood center stage, kicked off the dance by himself and didn't even flinch about it.

I would have NEVER had the courage to do this at 11.  Hell, I don't have that courage at 41.  Sure with a little liquid courage you might find me on a karaoke stage somewhere but without it... forget it.

Aside from the actual performance itself, my son learned a very valuable lesson through this experience.  Get out there.  Take risks.  Be brave.  And most of all - don't worry.  Everything works out in the end.  Oh... and you might have a little bit of fun in the process.

Little guy, second from left, with talent show friends

I am so proud of him.  This trumps an A on a paper any day (or the winning touchdown).  I can't wait to see what he will push himself to do next.  In all honesty, I'm a little jealous.  I wish I had that courage.  I'm definitely better as I get older but you won't find me diving off the 33 meter platform anytime soon.

Enjoy your Wednesday, friends.  Be brave!

Jen

Just call me GRACE

Ever have an embarassing moment?  A stubbed flipflop toe on a sidewalk stopping to make sure nobody was looking?  Hitting the restroom to wash your hands at a party and realizing there are "friends" in your nose?  Getting caught during a business presentation reading (and responding) to text messages? 

I am the queen of these moments.  My speciality, however, has to be falling.  And no, I don't have to have cocktails to do so.  But falling itself isn't the hardest part, it's the achy broken body I have to contend with in the aftermath.

I'm no longer a small girl.  Falling down is best for kids.  My resiliency is SHOT.

This isn't a new thing for me.  My entire life I have felt off balance.  I'm energetic and love sports but never really maintained the balance needed.  My mom even signed me up for gymnastics when I was 10 to try to make it better however I fell from the uneven parallel bars and landed on my neck... only once (yes, that could be what is wrong with me).  I'm even fairly certain I have blogged on this topic before.

I have grand ideas of what I want my body to be able to do.  I want to be able to run up the stairs three at a time.  I want to be able to do a back handspring.  I want to be able to jump up and down with ease.  My brain says Yes, yes, yes!

Alas, my body has ideas of its own.

Sunday morning I went on the best individual run I think I've ever had.  I wasn't super fast but I ran a steady pace on the open road with many hills.  It was hard. I perservered and never quit.  I was totally proud of myself.

Just before the run, however, I wasn't so proud. 

I water my flowers early every morning.  I like my new routine.  It's quiet, calm and I stop to enjoy the beauty before me.  So of course I tried to destroy it.

I worked around a hanging plant (over my head, no doubt) to prune the dead blooms off the center as I watered.  I love this new friend, full of surprises with 5 or 6 different plants within.  It's big, colorful blooms make me smile every morning.  As I stood on tip toes, gently pulling and rotating, I never saw my position until it was to late.

I fell off the porch.  Only about 3 ft from the ground but of course with bushes planted under me. 
I fell right into the center of one of three bushes, snapping branches beneath me.

UGH.  Just call me grace.

I scrambled up quickly, staring at the damaging scene as if to try to find out who pushed me.  I scanned the neighbs' houses to make sure nobody was up witnessing my tumble.  I ran inside whining to Hubs who looked at me as if it was no shock to hear that I had fallen off my own front porch with NOBODY near me (and no cocktails to blame it on).

And today I'm paying for it.  Scratches everywhere.  Stuff hurts.  In general I'm fairly unhappy about my inability to be graceful.
. 
The good news?  At least I'm not in a boot, cast or sling.  It could always be worse.

I'll leave you with my FAVE commercial..... click here to enjoy.  I totally understand!

MAYHEM WORLDS WORST CLEANING LADY

Until the next fall,
Gracie Lou Freebush

FRIDAY FAVES!!

Another week down!  The sun is shining brightly, the flowers are blooming and I am in heaven.  I absolutely love spring and summer.  Must be my seriously vitamin D deficiency.  Something switches in my brain when the rays hit my face.  Absolute bliss.

I am seriously missing my blog time though.  My schedule has been crazy, absolutely overwhelming between work and home.  My life balance is most definitely NOT balancing right now.  I need to get back to waking up at 5:00 am so I can have my me time. 

We have a weekend filled with baseball and I'm so excited!  Little guy hasn't played a game yet due to all the rain in the past few weeks so he is definitely ready to go.

Hope you enjoy your weekend, friends (and my faves below!)

FAVE WALKWAY

I'm a huge fan of not only the outdoors, but quiet spots that exude beauty.  I absolutely love this!

FAVE FASHION

Love, love, love me some white pants.  And the blue shoes?  Oh man... I'm SOLD!

FAVE YUMMO

I am constantly looking for new recipes to share with my friends and fam.  This one totally works for me.  Who wouldn't love bacon double cheeseburger dip?  Uh... YEAH!  Click here for the recipe -->  Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip

FAVE DISCOVERY

I just so happened to sit with a good friend this week and only after absorbing some beautiful sunshine did I realize she has freckles.  I happen to tell her almost every day that she reminds me of my Sassy.  Now she most definitely does.  I sure love that girl (both of them!)

FAVE WINE-O

I love wine, of course.  And I love the Wounded Warrior Project.  Put it together and I'm totally sold.  $3 from every bottle of One Hope Wine California Zinfandel is donated to Supporting Our Troops. You can also make an additional donation to Wounded Warriors Project with the purchase of any varietal of One Hope Wine.  Click here to learn more (and order some wine!)  ---->  One Hope

FAVE QUOTE

AMEN.  I love my flips and couldn't live without them.  Most of my fun comes with summer and wearing them!

FAVE SUMMER ACCESSORY

With summer comes fun dresses and tops, but with my (ahem) endowment I sometimes struggle for the best way to keep them in check.

Well girls - here you go!  If you are like me and over a C cup, this is for us!  Thank you, Nordstroms!  Click here to learn more ---->  Strapless Bra

FAVE DESTINATION

Yes, please.  Although my book club is currently reading the Amanda Knox story so Italy has me a tad bit freaked out, but I am still loving the view in Corniglia.

FAVE FUR FRIEND

Oh man... melt my heart.  NO friends, I am never having another new pup.  But I sure do love this pretty one!

FAVE TOES

Love, love, love this.  I usually go dark on my toes for the summer but this seems like a nice change of pace.  Gonna do it Memorial Day weekend!

Have a great Friday, friends!

Jen

Mom of the Year

In my almost 24 years of being a mom, one thing hasn't changed.  I still have NO idea what I'm doing.  Well, sometimes I do... or think I do.

Facebook is flooded today with tons of pictures of my friends with their moms or their kids.  Funny quotes (or seriously sentimental ones) are thrown up everywhere.  Sentiments of feelings "rewarding, best thing in my life, love being a mom, my mom is the best mom ever" are on almost every single person's wall I know.

Everyone is lovin' on the mommas.  As they should.  It's our day.  So here are my kiddos - redneck style.

Wait a minute.  DAY?!  We get ONE DAY?!  How is that even fair?

After almost 20 years of marriage, my hubs has finally succumbed to the truth:

"Ain't no one happy unless the momma is happy."

Amen, brother.

Girls - we run our homes.  We bathe our kids, feed the fam and clean up the grossest of gross.  We tirelessly teach colors, numbers, shoe tieing and shirt buttoning.  We organize everyone, every thing and all events.  We traipse across town (or state line) to take our kids to practices, performances, games and tournaments.  We spend hours buying birthday presents (or last minute gift cards) for millions of parties of kids we don't even know that are kids attend.  We clean up the boo boo's from bike wrecks, hug away the cries of a broken heart and throw down dance parties to the Harlem Shake in the kitchen.  We gently remind them to brush their teeth, put on their deodorant, change the two blue items of clothing that aren't the same color of blue and fix their hair for picture day.

God, no wonder we are so damn tired.  We are SO much more than just mommas.  We are the BOMB if you ask me.

Maybe today would be a good day to disengage from social media altogether.  Allow the little peeps in your life to shower you with cards, love and guilt over being difficult the other 364 days of the year.  Bask in it friends, because tomorrow morning you will be up at the crack of dawn searching for backpacks, making lunches and listening to them whine about how their favorite green shirt isn't in their closet, or their dresser or the dryer.

Because you already laid it out neatly folded on their dresser with their favorite pair of shorts.

Kick back a bit girls - the ride isn't over.  Happy Mother's Day to all my momma friends (both human and furry kind).  Final tidbit... they could NEVER find it if you weren't there! :)

Milk your day!

Jen

FRIDAY FAVES!!

Another week down!  We are on the official countdown at the Davis household to the last day of 5th grade. I can't believe how fast this year has gone.  Just a blink.  Of course, that's raising children in general.

This weekend will mark the 7th Mother's Day without my momma.  I spend a lot of time in my blog expressing my feelings about her.  I miss her every day.  Her departure left a whole in my heart that is irreparable.  I feel twinges of pain when something great happens in my life that I can't share with her.  But I don't say enough how blessed I am to have the mom that I do have in my life.

So this Friday, my faves are in celebration of her.

She's always here for me.
She is consistent between her words and actions, making her trustworthy.
She treats me as if I am her very own daughter.
She loves my children more than I could ever have hoped for them.
She has great pride in my husband, which helps him be a better man.
She supports my life decisions, even if she doesn't agree with them.
She hugs me when I'm sad.
She laughs with me often.
She makes me feel like I'm special.
She tirelessly attends band concerts, choir performances and school events.
She tells me I'm important.
She reminds me I'm a good mother, even when I feel I'm not doing my best.
She protects me from harmful words and actions.
She stands up for me, even if I'm wrong.
She stands in freezing cold, steaming heat or sweaty gyms to scream and cheer on my boys.
She allows me to shine even on her special moments.
She goes out of her way to do things for me to let me know she cares.
She always talks about my momma, which makes me happy.
She shows me how to be a confident woman.
She shares her unwavering faith in God with me.
She shows me how to have grace.

And most of all... she loves me unconditionally.

I am one lucky woman to have married a man with a wonderful mother.  I am blessed to call her mine as well!  I can only hope and pray that I live with my life with the kind of dignity, grace and love she lives hers.

Oh - and I'm pretty darn lucky SHE married such a fabulous man who taught my hubs how to be a great man, husband and father... and who also loves me unconditionally.

Happy Mother's Day to my fantastic mom, Liz Davis!  I love you with all my heart!

Jen

To Much!

Do you know what happens when an literal person bears an extremely literal child? 

End result = inability to understand sarcasm, belief in all words spoken and an overwhelming need to ensure accuracy in every life moment.

That's my son.

Oh - and lather in his amazing need to be obedient, follow all rules established for him at all times (by all parties) and gain acceptance through discipline (his own)... it gets fairly interesting in my house.

Just to be clear - he isn't a stick in the mud.  It isn't that he can't bend the rules due to consequences.  It's that he strives constantly for perfection in all the things he does (hence his desire to not break the rules).

I am a very literal person.. although in my older years I have learned to tamper that a bit.  Hubs always says that sarcasm is lost on me.  When someone speaks, I believe it to be true.  Why else say it?

Some of my fave friends are quite opposite of me and WAY sarcastic.  I love them.  They keep me on my toes as I struggle to keep up with their quick wit and humor.  I always think they are saying something true.  When they aren't I try exhaustively to keep up with them.  Most of the time though, I'm the butt of a joke... meaning I didn't get it.  I never seem to get it.

That innocence is what makes some people really like me.  I hope that holds true for little guy as well.

For now - he exhausts me.  When I try to be sarcastic, he stares at me blankly.  He is always reiterating the rules to me for understanding:

"We always put on the porch light at night, right mom?" 
"We never wash the red clothes with the white clothes, right?"
"We always put a spoon on the table setting when serving long pasta, right mom?"

It's a constant barrage of understanding the "rules", the proper way, the perfect solution.  CONSTANT.

I love the boy.  I really, really do.  It's just some days I wish he would relax a bit more, chill out, accept the unexpected.  Go with the flow. 

Be more like his Dad. 

I see that facial expression A LOT!!

And the truth is revealed.  I wish sometimes he was more like his Dad.  Except when he is.  Then sometimes I wish he wasn't.

 No wonder men think we are so complicated. 

Somedays all I can say is that it's to much.  He leaves me breathless, overwhelmed. 

They say Love bears all things.  Thank God I love him.

Have a great Tuesday, friends!
Jen

It's MAGIC...

There is something magical about a cousin.  I'm not sure I have ever figured out what it is, nor will I ever.  It exists nonetheless - this phantom type feeling that can't really be explained.  It's like having a best friend and a trusted sibling rolled into one person that you may or may not see all the time (and usually don't have to ever live with).

The end result?  Well, for me?  I have fantastic memories of my cousins as a child.  Once I hit adulthood, they got even better.  Float trips, bbq's.  Family get togethers got that much more fun.

I found a way to duplicate that feeling this weekend. 

I don't get to see my cousins that much anymore.  Although they only live a few hours away we have all been time sucked so much that excuses just always seem to get in the way.  It doesn't help that my mother is gone.  She was most definitely the anchor in our family.  It makes me sad but on the rare chance I do see them we always, always pick up like we just saw each other.  There is never a time lapse in our relationship.

So how did I find that "cousin" feeling?  With my nephew, of course!

Our famous firefighter came home for a visit with the fam, just because.  He likes us.  It makes me happy.  We were so excited when he agreed to come with us to our neighb's Cinco de Mayo party.  Ole'!

I'm sure you've seen the pics but I absolutely LOVE all of my nieces and nephews.  They are so incredibly cool.  As they continue to grow in awesome adults, each with their experiences, it is so cool to see how they have matured and changed.  It's so nice to not have to worry about them touching something they shouldn't and just know them as they are.  

Of course he fit right in.  He wasn't shy or nervous with our friends.  At times he high fived just as he had always known them.  It was so easy.

I'm pretty sure he had as much fun as we did.

NINJA PONG!

And the cousin work still got in.  Matthew was so kind to spend hours with Cooper working on his pitching (Matt was our superstar pitcher in high school).  He was so patient and Coop absorbed every word he said like it was.... magic.  Cousin Magic.

I did get some good girl time in at the party this weekend which was really needed.  The Fab Four are rarely all together anymore with busy schedules of work and kids, so I am thankful we got in at least a few cocktails all together.

Cheers, girls!  Thanks for another great party, my Fain friends!

Have a great Monday, friends!

Jen

And the Battle Continues....

The pics are in and I just couldn't wait to post them!

Warrior ON!

I do have to share one comment from a somewhat new friend just getting to know me & Hubs.  I shared our pics with her and she said "I like how you guys are always holding hands or he has his arm around you."

That pretty much sums up our marriage in a nutshell, hence the reason it's lasted this long.  Hubs unconditionally loves me, let's me be nuts and at the end of the day is still my best friend, helping me navigate this crazy journey of a life.

Happy Sunday, fellow Warriors!  I'm sure you are battling something today... take it on and BEAT IT!

Jen

FRIDAY FAVES!!

After a two week hiatus, the faves are BACK!  Oh come on... you know you missed them.

It's May by the way and I'm staring out my back windows at the snow.  Yes, SNOW.  Covering the ground, freezing my little flowers buds.  I'm super excited about it.

Oh, and I'm nursing my sunburn from Thursday when I ran in the 85 degree heat.  I love Missouri.

Below are my faves this week.... enjoy, friends!

FAVE TEE

Yes, please.  Thank you.  I may as well celebrate this God blessed state if I'm gonna reside in it!  Oh well... at least we have the Tigers.  And we aren't Kansas.

FAVE FASHION

Yes, yes, YES.  I love this for a date night with hubs.  A little bit sexy, a little bit comfy.  Right up my alley!

FAVE DRINKY DRINK

Okay, this would be PERFECT for my girls trip to Hermann!  We already figure out how to move liquor around from winery to winery but this totally takes the cake.  I gotta have this!!

FAVE QUOTE

Well, this sure explains a lot.  I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why some people ever entered my life.  Some have left not only scars on me but pretty deep wounds.  I guess I get it now!

FAVE FOR HUBS

Can I just say you wouldn't catch me DEAD wearing one of these on my hand?  Oh... but Hubs?  Bring it ON!  Just the mention of it last week and his eyes lit up.  He absolutely LOVES these. Boys are so weird.

FAVE YUMMO

Oh man... with summer right around the corner the Davis clan breaks out the red meat.  We rarely eat any red meat any other season but once summer hits we love to grill steaks and burgers.  This just makes my mouth water!  One hour balsamic vinegar and whiskey steak marinade... sounds good to me!

FAVE FLOOR

I love any element of design that brings the outside inside in a home.  For some reason that rustic feel just makes me smile.  I'm not super crazy about this design in particular but I love the thought of exposed brick in my home!

FAVE TINY KITCHEN

I have to admit what allured me most into our new house was our kitchen.  I loved the open concept and all the space, particularly from coming from a home with ONE drawer and only about 7 cabinets.  But I absolutely LOVE what this room shows... tiny can still be functional and beautiful!

FAVE DESTINATION

Put me on a jet plane... today.  I love this so much.  Balluta Bay, Saint Julian's Island, Malta.  I have no idea where that is but I will totally go.

FAVE INSPIRATION

I ask myself this question A LOT.  My biggest fear in life is getting to the age where I can't get up, run about and enjoy it the way I do now.  I will replace my entire body with titanium before I give up and sit on a couch.  I think we all should ask ourselves this question.  There is a big difference between acting "old" and being mature.  I think both can just go fly a kite.

Happy Friday, friends!

Jen