KISS IT!

Ah... love is in the air!

Valentine's Day is such an awesome day.  It's just a reminder to tell people that you love them and are thinking of them.  Hubs and I have never really purchased lavish gifts for each other on this day - just simple gestures to let each other know what we already know.

In honor of the day I thought I'd post some of my favorite smooches.  I've been known to smooch the people I love (no matter the circumstances) so watch out - you never know when it might be YOU!

Enjoy my faves - and I hope someone smooches YOU today!

I hope you have a GREAT Valentine's Day!

Jen

Let it Snow!

SNOW DAY!!

It's about time.  February 13th and it's really the first snow to speak of this season.  Of course I think it's our fault - little guy got his first pair of snow bibs and a cool Body Glide sled for Christmas this year so of course it didn't snow.

As I tucked him into bed last night, he said a little prayer that it would snow.. a lot.  Oh how boys love this weather.  They don't care how cold it is.. they just want outside.

We have equal fun inside our house.  On snow days (even though mom works from home, taking calls and writing emails) we make hot chocolate, yummy comfort foods and build the biggest fort known to man in our living room.  We watch cartoons or movies with popcorn in our fort and even invite the furry kids to join in the fun.  It's a blast.

As a parent snow days are quite stressful.  If you aren't putting the kids in the car to trek to the daycare, praying nobody slides into you en route... you are trekking your way into the office in standstill traffic.  My true turning point of getting into the office was three years ago.  Kansas City had experienced a crazy, icy event one morning and it took me 2 hours to drive 18 miles into the office only to have us close two hours later and another 2 hour drive home.  Yep, that's effective.  I can work from home just fine - but I can't work from my car.  The white knuckle of the drive just makes me want to vomit.  I have been in enough wrecks to last my lifetime and don't ever want to experience it again.

I think this is a tough one for employers.  Obviously they want you to feel safe.  But they can't close every time we get a flurry.  It's nice to see so many employers giving their employees the option to work from home if possible.  I feel for my friends in fields that cannot accomplish this (nursing, for example).  No matter what the patients are still awaiting care.

For those of you home with your kiddos trying to "work from home"... try to sprinkle in a little fun if you can in between calls!  The kids love it and hold the memories dear.  Even if you just make mac 'n cheese for lunch and sit under a blanket in the living room, they will remember it forever.

Coop, 2009 Snow Day

Enjoy!

Jen

The Court Rules

Little guy played in his "playoffs" yesterday for basketball.  This season has been AWESOME... he has grown exponentially.  It's been a pretty interesting journey.

We put Coop in basketball when he was 5.  I had picked this league that was geared toward good sportsmanship - a rec league.  It was centered around God and doing the right thing.  It was a nightmare.

The coach we were assigned to was a nice enough guy but he didn't have an assistant.  I jumped at the chance.  Hubs has always been able to coach football so I wanted to give my little guy a tad bit of my wisdom (I played bball in Middle School so obviously I'm an expert).  I love basketball so I thought it would be fun and a great way to spend time together.

The coach assigned me to the religious portion of the practice each night.  Circle time.  Review your practice and insert some Christianity.  He picked the wrong person!  I am a virtually unchurched girl, although I did go through Confirmation classes and get Baptised at 30.  I wore my poor Pastor out... he loved debating the virtues of tithing with me!

By the fifth practice, he called 10 minutes before start time to tell me he couldn't be there and I would need to lead practice.  This continued.  I had no help.  It was awful - I was frustrated and I'm sure the parents were as well.  We did the best we could and stumbled through the season.

Second season we switched leagues to another rec league in our city.  We liked the format - the games were on Saturdays at local elementary schools.  We LOVED our coach.  It was a great year.

When we went to sign up the third year, we were told by that league that we couldn't have the same coach.  They switched it every year.  WTH?  Are you serious?  But we like that coach and the kids played well together.  What about teaching continuity and long term team work?  Guess that's not important.  So we left the league and followed our coach to a "competitive league".

Yep, competitive.  We did okay year 3 but year 4, we died on the vine.  Lost every game.  No biggie if you are actually learning something, but I'm not sure our little guy was learning anymore.  That happens over time.

So this year (year 5), we went back to said 2nd year league.  Assigned a coach we didn't know.  Working with kids on our team that we didn't know (except for 1 other from our school).  Low and behold... Coop thrived.  He worked his TAIL off.  He had the best season he has ever had in this sport.  

We started the season slow... losing the first two games.  Coop never got down, never held his head to the ground.  He worked harder at every practice and stretched his abilities.  He played basketball every single day after school working on his footing, his shots, his boxing out with a neighbor in 7th grade.  He pushed himself.

We ended our season in 2nd place in the league with a 7 and 3 record.  The kids worked so incredibly well together.  In the second half of our games (when we were allowed to press) the kids looked like Mizzou - rushing around the court like college players, passing with confidence, taking difficult shots.  It was awesome to watch!

Our first playoff game was yesterday and for the first time in the entire season... Coop fouled out with 4.8 seconds left in the game.  It was painful to watch.  He had lost count of his fouls and tried to draw a foul in the last few seconds not realizing it was his fifth.  He sat on the bench and the tears flowed.  

I love my son's determination and dedication.  He applies 100% to everything he attempts.  He never, ever quits.  

We may have lost our game yesterday but I know this for certain - Coop grew more as a basketball player this season than ever before.  We will most certainly rejoin this league again next year and even when he does get a new coach, the entire league has now seen what he can bring to the table.  I am certain he will end in a great spot again.

Way to go, little guy!  Momma loves!

Coop and our point guard, Mason

Jen

True Love

In honor of Valentines, I thought I'd share a love with you! It's a long lost love, one I haven't seen in YEARS. It is one of the many perfect explanations of another love.... SUGAR. 

As the last kiddo in my house and a product of a working mom, I grew up eating cereal for breakfast each day. No pancakes, no waffles... nope, cold, sugary sweet cereal. That I made for myself, by the way.  

When I was 12 years old, my momma opened a day care in our home. I was pretty excited when she first started - she equipped the house with cribs, toys, playpens, highchairs. I liked kids so I was ready to jump in and help anyway I could. 

Oh Lord... I was not prepared at ALL. I was totally used to having all of the attention as the only one still at home and now I had to share MY momma with 15 other kids. Yes, you read that right... at the height of her business she had FIFTEEN kids in our house! And she did it, somehow! They all got attention, they had two (sometimes three) meals a day with snacks. They had playtime, nap time and sang songs. It was awesome to see. 

With the advent of the day care, my Dad installed a full sized cabinet in our kitchen on an empty wall. It was up high for some reason. It didn't really match our other cabinets. I had no idea why. 

It then became apparent.... my momma needed space for the cereal. This was pre-Sam's Club or Costco so she bought over 10 boxes of cereal every single week for the kiddos. Every week. And they earned their very own space in our house.

I was hooked. You name it, it was there at my fingertips. Fruity Pebbles. Captain Crunch. Fruit Loops. Apple Jacks. Cookie Crisp. Trix. Cocoa Puffs. Lucky Charms. I loved every single, sweet, sugary one of them! I was totally addicted to cereal. I could have it anytime, anywhere. Totally portable by the way - I could even take bags of it to school with me!  I ate it for breakfast.  I ate it after school.  I consumed mass quantities of this wonderfully yummy food.

Bubba spent his first 6 years of life in mom's daycare as well so he shared in my cereal addiction. Once Bub went to school and momma shut down the business, the cereal waned. I was a young married mother, what was I gonna do... drop $20 a week on cereal?  Not exactly. 

 I honestly cannot remember the last time I had a bowl of cereal that wasn't fiber enriched, whole grain, heart healthy oatmeal. I still yearn for the yummy, crunchy sweetness in a box. Little guy has no idea. He has never had a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. He never eats cereal unless it's a sleepover at someone else's house. We don't have a single box of cereal in our home. He is a tried and true waffle consumer. I've tried to give him cereal before and he won't eat any kind that has sugar in it. He wants Cheerios. Or Corn Flakes. Ugh. 

 I still profess my love for yummy cereals. Maybe this weekend while hubs and I go away I might sneak a box with us. Nothing like a bowl of cereal in the middle of the night as an indulgence.

Enjoy your cereals, friends! Have a great Saturday!
Jen

FRIDAY FAVES!

WOO HOO!!  It's FRIDAY again... time for my FAVES!  Enjoy, friends!

FAVE PLACE TO BUY RUNNING SHOES:

I'm in LOVE with my local shoe spot.  These folks are the BEST in Kansas City if you ask me.  They take their time, watch your walk to see how / if you pronate and fit you with the BEST fitting shoes!  I'm now a tried and true Adidas wearer, which is funny because I never owned a pair in my life before running.  The Nikes are now just for fun :)

FAVE DESSERT FIND:

OH MY GOD.  I am totally making these for VDay!!!  Here is the link for the recipe:  Lemon Cupcakes w/Strawberry Buttercream

FAVE MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE:

'Nough Said.

FAVE BOOTS OF THE SEASON:

These are absolutely adorable!  I have a strange fetish with all things equestrian although I don't ride very often, so these boots totally make me think of horse riding.  Oh, and I need some new brown boots that AREN'T cowgirl boots!  Definitely on my list ~ I will scour the season end sales to find these sweet rides!

FAVE V-DAY CARD:

Hee hee!  This could be me and my BFF.  We talk just like that to each other!

FAVE SASSY QUOTE:

Um, yes... I do have some folks I might walk past if they were on fire.  Two in particular :)

















FAVE DESTINATION DESIRE:

I have GOT to get hubs over his little claustophobia thing!  This hotel is amazing.  Maldives Rangali Islands Resort... we are totally going to stay there!

FAVE LUNCH IDEA:

How flippin' easy is this?  Put your dressing on the bottom, wet stuff on top of it and pack in your spinach on top all in a mason jar.  Tip it over, shake and serve!  FANTASTIC way to eat fast food HEALTHY!

FAVE SHOW OF THE WEEK:

I am a closet faithful watcher of all of the The Bachelor series!  I just can't stop watching the train wrecks.  It just kills me to think these women (and men) think they are going to fall in love on group fantasy dates in foreign countries in 6 weeks.  But what do I know?

Fave scene this week was Blakely going home.  She was so arrogant, so cocky and so bitchy to  Rachel on their two on one date with Ben that I saw a better person step up in Rachel not playing into her antics.  And of course, Courtney is as crazy as ever!  Adios, Blakely!  Go back to being a VIP Cocktail Server!

Happy Friday, friends!!

Jen
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Lovin' the Bestie

When I was 16 years old, I met my BFF.  I was dating my ex and she was dating his cousin.  She was a year older than me in school, had that trendy 80's hair cut of shaved on the left and long on the right and she was extremely intimidating to me.  There was an edge about her that I was a bit scared of for some reason.

I then married my ex and by extension we became "family".  We were at all of the same family events, especially those that involved the mothers in law since they were sisters.  So weirdly cousins in law or something weird like that.  I quickly learned that she wasn't just intimidating... she hated me.  I'm not sure why and even to this day she admits it but doesn't really remember (or won't tell me) why, but it was brutal.  Every family event I felt the STARE DOWN from her.  Ugh.

Slowly... VERY slowly... we got to know each other better.  We actually even started to chat a bit outside of family events.  Our men hung out with each other, so by extension so did we.  And eventually, we became friends.  Tolerant acquaintances, I would say.

I went to her when I wanted to leave my ex.  I was scared, 19 and had an 18 month old baby.  I didn't have a lot of friends and those that I did have were all off in college.  I needed an ally.  She was the PERFECT fit.

She dove in, helped me figure out what to do and when the day came, even helped me move out.  I was (and am) forever grateful that her independence, strength and courage were there for me.  She was a perfect mentor when I needed it most and still remains so today.

From there, our friendship grew.  She left the cousin and went on to have lots of adventures traveling and working her tail off to make her way.  I admired her and was so jealous of her freedom and carefree life.  We both agree that the best thing to come out of being in that family was our friendship with each other.

Since our teenage start, we have been inseparable.  I speak to her every single day of my life.  If I don't get to speak to her, we text.  I witnessed both her beautiful daughters coming into this world.  I love her husband unconditionally.  I couldn't be more proud of my BFF in every single way for the life she has accomplished.  And my life is better because she is in it.

Mostly when we chat, it's the same banter.  In fact I may have already blogged about her in the past... wouldn't surprise me since our material sometimes is off the chart!

I had a bit of a cranky mood day yesterday so I stopped what I was doing around the lunch hour and called her.  It's AMAZING to me that she can tell my mood the second she picks up the phone.  Her intuition with me is incredible!  If someone ever offs me and dumps me in the woods, I can guarantee you that she will be the first person to find me without even any clues.

Sensing I was a bit bummed, she shared with me her experience of the day.

BFF:  "I woke up this am to a flat tire.  Damn car.  Hubs wants me to sell it, I just want to fix it.  It's not that bad."

Me:  "Well, so are you going to get a new tire?"

BFF:  "I'm taking it in to the shop in a bit.  They say they have a loaner car.  I can't wait."

Me:  "Well maybe it won't be too bad, maybe just a couple of tires?"

BFF:  "It better be.  I so don't want to dish out zillions on this car.  I told the guy I only wanted 30,000 mile tires."

Me:  "I get it - when I get new tires I'm just gonna see if they have a 15,000 mile model.  I won't have my car much longer than that - I'm sure it will die before then."

BFF:  "Yeah, he tried to sell me 45,000 mile tires but I told him no.  If he can't give me 30,000 mile tires, I'll go somewhere else."

Me:  "I wish I could deal with car guys like you do."

BFF:  "My kids are gonna CRAP when I pull up in the car rider line to pick them up in this car."

Me:  "It's that bad, huh?"

BFF:  "You have no idea.  And I got my estimate for the work.  It's a lot."

Me:  "What do they have to do?"

BFF:  "Well, they called me and said the following: 

Car guy:  "Ma'am, do you know your high beams don't work?"
BFF:  "Yes, I am well aware.  I had pulled out the fuse." 
Car guy:  "Why did you pull your fuse out?" 
BFF:  "Because when I park my car in the garage at night sometimes the lights would come on automatically and stay on, ruining my battery." 
Car guy:  "Why are your headlights just coming on automatically?" 
BFF:  "I don't know, but I don't care.  Just leave it alone." 
Car guy: "Okay, well did you know your gas gauge isn't working?" 
BFF:  "Yes, I am well aware.  Just leave it alone, too." 
Car guy, confused:  "Well ma'am, you really need to be able to know how much gas you have in your car." 
BFF, pissed by this time:  "I totally know how much gas I have!  I watch my trip and mileage to gauge when to fill up.  Just put on the new damn tires and leave the rest alone!"

God I love her.  By now, I am ROLLING laughing.  She's telling the story with such dramatic tone that I can tell she was about to rip this guy's head off. 

Mission accomplished.  I'm laughing.  She's laughing.  We are happy.

I am so incredibly lucky to have her as my best friend.  We have vowed that if our hubs' kick it before we do that we will live together until we die.  We won't let each other go into nursing homes.  We will sit on our front porches rocking away and talking about our pasts.  Lord knows we have enough material to take us to eternity! 

BFFs - Celebrating 40!

Have a great THURSDAY, friends!  Tomorrow is FAVE FRIDAY!

Jen

Hittin' the Branches

I LOVE debating with my oldest son.  He is so passionate when he feels he is right about something, as am I.  We don't spend much time alone together anymore but when we do I always laugh! 

We had lunch together yesterday and among lots of discussion items, he defined the different branches of the military to me.  In our own words, we started to debate the logistics.

Me:  "Hey Bub, aren't the Marines the toughest people in the military?  Aren't they the ones that land on the beach and are batshit crazy, running all around killing everyone before anyone else moves in?" (Clearly watched Saving Private Ryan WAY to many times).

Bub:  "Well, not exactly mom.  They are very tough physically but often times it's the Navy Seals that goes in first to clear out a situation, then the Marines follow."

Me:  "Right, but the Navy guys just give the Marines rides places, right?"

Bub:  <Laughing> "Not exactly mom.  We don't just "give rides".  The Marines are actually a branch of the Navy if you must know."

Me:  "Um, that can't be right, Bubba.  Everyone knows the Marines are the toughest."

Bub:  "Right mom, but they train the same regimen as the Navy Seals.  So obviously, the Navy is tough, too."

Me:  "Oh, okay.  Well the Air Force to me are the coolest.  Seriously.  They do all that really cool fighter pilot type stuff like Top Gun!"

Bub:  "Um, mom... not exactly.  Those are Navy pilots."

Me:  "What?  The Navy guys fly, too?  Oh yeah, that's right... now I remember.  But then what do the Air Force guys do?"

Bub:  "Drop bombs from VERY high altitudes, not engaged in air fighting or ground infantry."  

Seeing that I was still very confused,he gives me this perfectly halarious way of remembering the branches:

The Army is like a Saint Bernard.  It's protective.  It's big.  It's bark is huge and scary and if it bites you, it hurts.

The Air Force is like a Pekingese.  You don't see it much, because it's always hiding somewhere, but it does have a job.

The Navy is like a Labrador Retriever.  Very faithful, consistent and helpful.  Will lead or retrieve when needed.  

The Marines are Pit Bulls.  'Nough said.

I think I can remember that!  Honestly, if I want someone in my corner... I think I'm going with the Labs :).

I wonder what he would say about the Reserves?  I'll have to ask him the next time I see him.

Thanks for helping me get it, Bubba!  Love our times together!
Jen