I'm the weirdo... I get it.

Have you ever noticed that making new friends as an adult is harder than dating?  Don't lie either.  I've struggled with this a LOT in my adult life.

With dating, it's easy... see someone interesting, have a conversation, and then ask them to hang out sometime. There is NO hidden context here. Hi.. I like you.. let's date. WHY is friendship so much harder.

I'm really good with casual friendships. People at work, church, moms I see etc. It's super easy to just chat when you're around each other, make friends on Facebook, and then say goodbye. This friends is where most of my social interactions end.

I have been fortunate enough to come across several people in my life who sort of just imprinted themselves to me. These are my kind of people. They don't give you the option of saying no.. they are in your life... they know you're friends.. and they take that assumed role of lead friend. These are the same friends that you NEVER have to worry about making small talk with because they know how to talk and open up like you've known each other your entire lives. THESE ARE SO MY PEOPLE.

One of my top fears (besides public speaking) is small talk. I hate it!! I just don't thrive there, and I can guarantee you this... try it on me. I'll fumble and tumble all around and you will wonder how on earth I have any friends at all. This is where I fail on the getting from "casual friends" to "let's hang out and be real friends" part. 


It goes like this.... "So umm.. did you watch ummm, crap I don't watch very much TV"... "Read anything lately?.... Oh ummm no? ummm.. *crickets are chirping... sweat is DRIPPING off of my head* "OK, well I'm going to go (fill in the blank here.. it DOESN'T even matter) I'm so strangled by anxiety.

So... all of this rambling to say. I suck at Friendships. I suck at going from knowing each other to being "friends".. and for those of you who managed to get past my awkward weirdness and love me anyway... I thank GOD for you daily!!

A little anniversary post

Today, I celebrate my 8 year anniversary with my husband. 8 years. It doesn't seem like a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. In fact, 8 years isn't a lot of time. Life can change in an instant though. 8 years of "life changing" instants make it easy to look back and see just how far we have come together as a couple.

With multiple "homes", cars, and jobs... we keep managing to grow together. I have no fantasy that my marriage is PERFECT.. (Does that even exist? How boring!!), but I do know that after 8 years... we have a good, solid, loving marriage. A marriage that takes constant work and communication to keep alive. A marriage that inspires others to inquire as to how we do it. A marriage that I am PROUD to be living out for my children to see. A marriage that I KNOW is held together in the loving arms of Jesus.

We aren't in this alone. I can look back over our 8 years and tell you clearly how many of those years we tried to do it alone and in our own power. I can tell you that they didn't go well. I can also tell you which years we leaned on Him the most. Trusting Him, waiting on His word for our life, believing that He would guide us and keep us where we needed to be. I'll tell you... and so will my kids. Those years with Him at the driver's seat, have been the best.

Marriage is hard. It doesn't have to be impossible though.

I'm eternally grateful for the man that God placed in my life for this journey. He's an amazing father, husband, and an incredible friend.  I'm excited to see where our next adventure takes us.

Loves!!
Howmp!!

The Music Man

When I was in college, I went through a rough patch.

Like, most kids who think they have it all figured out... college is rough. You start shaping your mind into who you are, aside from your parents and peers influence. Friendships are ended, relationships turn sour, and for some, like me... you find yourself set adrift among the stormy waters of life.

For the most part, I was a good kid. I didn't really drink, I never did drugs, and I wasn't promiscuous. I DID however carry a burden that weighed me down. I spent a lot of time caring what other people thought of me... and as a kid.. trying to become an adult this caused tension. My soul ached, my friendships suffered, and I spent a good majority of time trying to please all of the wrong people, for all of the wrong reasons. I.WAS.STUCK

This mentality left me quite lonely at one point. I knew who I shouldn't spend time with, I had burned a lot of the good bridges I had, and I just needed to hit the reset button.

One friendship I maintained during this time... afforded me exactly that.

With open arms, and an open door this friend was there for me. We spent more nights than I can remember finding the "perfect songs" to fit my mood. All night marathons listening to music, cleansing my inner soul, finding out who I was THROUGH music, is what helped me with my "reset" button, and to this friend I am more thankful than they will ever know.

Thank you Music Man, for being my friend when I really needed one the most. I know I could never return that favor, but I pray for you consistently and hope that some day you come to know the greatest gift of all... The Love and Grace of Jesus Christ. I harped on it then.. and I hope that little seed grows for you some day.

To the High school teacher...

In high school I had a lot of great teachers. So many who taught me history, math, english.. all while I groaned about this "learning" thing.

There is one teacher that so bravely taught me an amazing lesson...

During finals (or midterms.. whatever they are called back then) the class was coming to a close and this teacher got up and began telling us our goodbye's before the Christmas break. At first, I thought he was just going to say have fun, be safe, Merry Christmas... But he did SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. This man, this teacher got up in front of the class and began sharing a testimony of his faith. I was already a believer in Christ at that point, but his words were so sincere so incredibly well spoken that they stuck with me. He risked a job in a public school system to share his Faith in Christ with a bunch of rowdy teen-age kids and I admired that more than he will ever know.

I have no idea where this teacher is now, or what he is doing, but I hope someday to let him know the impact he made on my life through that one day.

I am thankful today that he was my teacher, and I got to experience some of his kindness. 

Thankful

It's November... I've noticed a trend on Facebook. During the month of November people tend to post something that they are thankful for everyday. I love this, and have participated in it in the past. I feel though, that a lot of people tend to put "family, spouse, children, etc".. Of COURSE.. those are wonderful things to be thankful for.

For me this year, I felt a twinge to re-direct my "Thankful list"... I felt like I needed to dig deeper. I feel called to recall past persons/events that I am thankful for.

There are teachers, friends from the past, that I feel shaped who I am today. There are moments in my life that have been impacted because of these relationships. Many people come into our lives, or fade away because of time or busy schedules, but the feelings you had around them, the impact they made, doesn't quickly fade. So I think I'll start there.

I won't be doing a blog everyday (as it's the 10th of the month and I haven't even done 1) but I want to do a few to help recall how the past came come forward with us.

Encourage

As part of our Life Group exercise a few weeks ago, our group all shared their "word" for 2014. We all picked out a word that described something that God was putting on our heart to put our focus on for the year.

My word for 2014: Encourage

I was sort of taken back by this word at first, but the more I began to focus on it... the more perfect it was for me.

I often worry that I don't have the right strengths, talents, hobbies, to be of use to people. I can't sing. I'm not creative. My athletic ability died when I was 16.... you get the point.

But... this word. Perfect. While I may not have a special gift to offer people, I can offer this.. words. I can choose to build up or tear down people by simply opening my mouth.

I can be the cheerleader for the person running the marathon, I can help build up a mom who's having a hard time with the kiddos, I can tell someone when they say or do something that speaks to me in a profound way.... I can encourage people to continue on... to be great... to survive.

"24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25

My goal this year is to live that out in the people around me... There's enough negative in the world. I can make a difference by putting a little positive encouragement out there.

What's your word?

Twice in 1 week

So after spending the first day of 2014 feeling crummy and hanging out with my sick little girl... only a few days later I was hit with some weird stomach virus. Not cool immune system. The kicker... I barfed up a meal that I was LOOKING FORWARD to digesting for several days.

Sorry Mahogany... you're officially on my "do not consume" list for a while. Bummer huh? That food was AMAZING going down... not so much coming back up.

BUT... with two illnesses in less than a week... I feel like I've spent the better part of 2014 playing "catch up".

My dining room is covered in a Christmas explosion awaiting boxes and a trip to the attic, my office at work is filled with stacks, my office at home.. stacks.

I'm still praying about what my word, verse, and thought for 2014 are  going to be.. stay tuned for more information about those in a future blog.

Deep breath-- I.Can.Do.This.

New Year... New Post

I've attempted to blog a million times and I always quit. This might also be the same... deal with it. :)

As I start out this year, I have so many things that I want to accomplish, and so many things from last year that I am trying to finish.. EEK!

On New Years Eve... I got sick. Terribly crummy awful sick. As a crazy type A person, this didn't go so well. My instant thoughts were... OK, but tomorrow I have to finish up my billing at work for the year, take down the Christmas tree, do 7 loads of laundry, sweep the back porch, build Anthony's birthday present.... The list went on and on and on.. until I finally drifted asleep.

Two hours later I was awoken by my sweet little baby: "Mommy, I have yuckies... " In my delirious NyQuil induced state-- I simply shrugged her off to my poor sleeping husband, and my immediate thought was "Great.. there goes tomorrow".

When I woke up, a little less delirious, I checked on my poor sweet baby and we both felt yucky together.

We spent the ENTIRE day cuddled up on the couch. During this lazy relaxing time I felt great. I know there were a million things I should have been doing.. or that needed to be done (thanks to my sweet husband some of them did get done), but God was revealing something to me. BE STILL, It's OK to not always have everything done. 

I think that's going to be an ongoing trend with me in 2014. Finding the right balance between God, family, kids, work, friends, and self.

May 2014 be the best year yet!! :)

Soul Mates

I've heard it time and time again from various people. People often talk about the ONE person that was meant for them. I don't believe in soul mates. In fact, I think the entire concept is hilarious. To think that in the ENTIRE world that there is only ONE person that could make you happy for the rest of your life is well.. insane.
What if your soul mate gets run over by a train, or picks the wrong person. Then what? Do you sit and sulk for the rest of your life b/c that ONE person isn't with you? No.
 I'm married to a wonderful man. A man that I wake up and choose to be married to each and every day. If for some reason he and I hadn't met, we would probably both be married or in other relationships. The idea that our worlds wouldn't work if we had "missed our chance" with one another, is just simply one that I can not wrap my mind around. 
What DO I believe? I believe that there are various people in this world that you can spend your time and life with. I believe that long lasting relationships are built on one idea. Both parties have to CHOOSE each other. This is also why I believe that arranged marriages can work. If both the man and woman enter that marriage with the desire to stay together I honestly believe they will.
This is also why so many marriages fail. One of both of the parties start thinking that they don't want to be in it. There are some crazy couples out there that have managed to last the test of time. You can have nothing in common, you can be different religions (although this might prove tricky), you can hate the way your partner dresses, but in the long run, if you want to be married and you can both come together to make it work, it might just last.
Have you ever seen that couple.. we ALL know this couple. They are best friends, they have everything in common.. food, music, sports, etc. These couples make most of us sick. Just watching them fit so perfectly together can be nauseating at times. Then out of nowhere the couple announces their divorce. Sure they love hanging out, playing games, eating out, but they have decided that they don't WANT to be together.
Then there is the couple you see. We know this couple too. When you see them coming you can not figure out what they see in each other. This couple manages to stay married for 50 years. They CHOSE to stay together.
So if you're married, remember why you decided to get married. Remember that you and your spouse decide your future together.  If you're single. Don't give up. There are "Plenty of fish in the sea" and your future is not limited to that "one perfect person" that will make you smile.

Insurance?

Any of you that know me... or follow me on facebook know that my poor little family has been in an all out war with sickness for the last two years.

Between my two pregnancies, Anthony's hospital stay (not including birth), his ER visit, my two ER visits, Anthony's two surgeries, and all of the visits to the doctors offices our mailbox seems to be a wonderful reminder of how much of our budget is dedicated to our family's health. Even with the ridiculously high deductibles, I am forever grateful that we have insurance.

**Start rant**

I know so many people that refuse to get insurance for their kids. PLEASE INSURE YOUR CHILDREN!! There are so many illnesses that kids get that you just can't account for. There are so many things that you just don't know are coming. They have week immune systems, and are prone to injury (a two year old will jump off of anything!)

If money is tight and you want to risk your own health fine, but insure your kids. If you live in OK there are plenty of affordable options. If you can afford to eat out, smoke cigarettes, etc. you can afford some sort of insurance for your kids. I can not tell you enough how helpful having insurance has been for my family.

**End rant**

If you want to get insurance, but don't think you can afford it. ASK ME. I can pretty much create a budget out of nothing, and would be happy to help you.

You never know when someone is going to get sick, or what illness they might encounter. Don't risk losing everything over being unprepared!!

We're wearing Orange

Today my family is wearing orange. Not as a tribute to my alma mater, but as a tribute to a precious baby that didn't get to celebrate his first birthday.

Stories of parents that suffer this kind of loss break my heart. There are no words to describe the heartache they must be feeling. I just can't imagine.

I know that this is something you CAN NOT prevent, but I am constantly holding my breath praying that God doesn't need one of my sweet angels. I held my little Ainsley longer than usual last night and thanked God for her life. I gave Anthony extra hugs and kisses at bed.

Ainsley was born only a couple of days before Baby Owen. My prayers go out to that family. I simply can not imagine.

To the Bissing Family: I don't know you and we've never met, but my heart goes out to you and your family. I'm praying that you continue to find peace throughout this experience. Owen lives on and has helped carry on life. He was so beautiful and a warrior indeed.

An Attitude Adjustment

If having a second child has taught me anything, it is this.

You can do SO much more than you ever thought. Although I have always wanted more than one child I had a panic attack about a month before Ainsley was born. HOW am I going to be able to love her as much as I do Anthony. HOW can I bond with her. HOW can I change two sets of diapers (we are STILL potty training Anthony), how can I afford for 2 kids to go to daycare, how and when am I going to take a shower, brush my hair, cook nutritious meals, go to school? After almost 7 months of living with those questions I have a simple answer: You just do.

It's so easy to fall into the mindset of "woe is me" and "life is too hard". It has really taken me a change in perspective to overcome this way of thinking, and I remember the exact moment it happend. It was one of the first Saturdays that I had the kids all by myself after Ainsley was born, right before Anthony's 2nd birthday. Both babies were being fussy, not sleeping, Anthony was having a HARD time with the idea of mommy not being able to just pick him up when he demanded it, and things were out.of.control! So much so that I just sat in the floor and cried. THEN, it hit me. Get up... this is NOT hard. Just take a breath, and do it. I regained composure put little Miss in her swing, got Anthony settled, and took a breath.

Ever since that meltdown and serious attitude adjustment things have been easier. Things are by no means easy, but they are easier. For starters, I have the most amazing baby ever. She never gets fussy anymore, she sleeps fantastic, and she lets me put her down. Anthony is beyond amazing too. He is so kind and gentle with his sister it brings tears to my eyes. He always tries to make her laugh, or if she's touching too rough he grabs her calmly and shows her how to "touch soft" on his arm. The jealousy and meanness between them never really existed, and I am so thankful for that.

I really do joke that life go easier with 2 babies than it was with 1. I think just relaxing helped out with that. I have great kids, an amazing husband who helps, a daycare that I could not be more proud of, a job that helps keep things rolling (for now), and great family to help out when things really do get overwhelming.

So let this be a word of encouragment to those who are struggling with a second child, or the idea of having a second child. It isn't that bad, and I have had SO many more good moments than bad. It really is amazing what you can accomplish that you never thought you could.

Ok. I'm behind

Really really behind. My last post consisted of me throwing up on Anthony during a morning sickness fit. Now... almost a year later things have changed dramatically.

Ainsley Elizabeth was born in November. I never invisioned my life as a mother to a little girl. I always thought i'd have a house FULL of loud crazy boys. I am so happy that God had other plans for my family. Ainsley is amazing!! I could not have been more blessed, and I am so excited to raise that sweet little girl alongside my sweet little boy.

The hubs is still traveling a lot, but the kids and I have fallen into a pretty good routine. I took my full maternity leave with Ainsley (not just the 2 weeks like I did with Anthony) and it gave me a chance to get settled into a routine of cleaning, bathing, organizing, etc. It's funny to think that things run more smoothly with two kids than they did with one. Ha!

I am going to "TRY" and blog more.. and FB less. That is my goal for myself over the next several months. It's easier for me to put it all out there... than to just throw out life updates one line at a time. Or.. so it seems. We'll see how that works.

Well that's just wonderful

I'm terrible at blogging. I constantly remember all sorts of fun exciting things I want to share with the world.. and the second I sit down at my computer.. my mind is blank.. or I play on Facebook, go shopping etc and forget that the blog world exists. I want to be a better blogger. I think it's healthy. I really don't care who reads this thing... I haven't even really given the address out to people. I like the idea of computer diary thoughts that MIGHT be seen by someone else and MIGHT mean something to them too. I dunno. I've had lots of ideas about what I'd like to start blogging about.

I recently discovered a book (that I am ordering soon) that discusses girlfriends and how you need GOOD ones and how to ditch the bad ones. I'm very excited to read this book, and I thought it might be fun to share my HORRIBLE girlfriend stories with you... as well as some of my very own meangirl moments in life too. I am definately not perfect, and I have as bad moments on my side as I have mean girls of my own to share. (No... I won't use names... BUT... you might know me well enough to know some of them)

Pregnancy is wearing me out. I thought the 24/7 sickness that came with my first pregnancy was rough. It really really was. This time is a totally different level of difficult. I was only sick (knock on wood) for the first 16ish weeks of my pregnancy this time consistently... and have only had a few episodes since that marker, BUT... chasing around a 1 year old with a watermellon tucked into my shirt is no easy task in this heat either. I guess you take the good with the bad... and in the end.. it's ALL good.

Anyway. I'll expand more on this stuff later... I just wanted to let the world.. and myself know that I'm still here.

Judgement

So a friend of mine... well.. yea... I guess friend made a kind of snarky comment to me the other day regarding the new vehicle I purchased for my husband. The comment more or less insinuated that I was a hypocrite.

I do often preach/judge people for being irresponsible with their money. I believe that if you have excessive debt you PROBABLY shouldn't eat out all the time, go to expensive concerts, have new cars, and most importantly.. do all of these things while whining to your friends about how poor you are. Yep. That's me. I think people should be responsible with their money. Sue me.

First of all, this comment ticked me off and caught me VERY much off guard. First of all, my husband and I work VERY hard for our cash and we have no debt to speak of besides the house and a the cars. Second... there were reasons that this truck purchase (although quite extreme) were actually going to HELP our family fiscally. In case any of YOU care to judge too.. I'll explain our purchase. My husband recently got a "promotion" to a different area of work. For this type of work he can either.. drive his own truck, or drive one of the company trucks. For the last month he's driven a company truck. There are certain reimbursements that come with driving your own truck. 1) You can charge $50/day for the use of the truck 2) Mileage 3) Mobile Office $25/day

Let's do some math. Even without points 2 and 3 he is able to charge for the use of the truck. Assuming he works a 5 day workweek he more than makes his truck payment with this reimbursement... not to mention the other items involved. So.... although the truck is more expensive and will COST us more a month... it will MAKE us more a month as well and we'll be able to apply MORE money to our debt in the long run.

So yes. We made a ridiculously expensive purchase, only to be able to make money back on it and save more for our future. Thanks for judging... there's my explanation. Jeesh people.

Mexico

Ab and I have been on quite a few trips in our short time together, but usually they are quick jumps to a nearby city for a baseball game or some time with friends etc. THIS year... we decided to plan big. His parents invited us to go with them to Mexico for 10 days. We were planning a trip to SC last October, but that didn't pan out and this seemed like a great trip. 1) I've never been out of the country 2) I've never been to the beach (Except for the frozen beach we saw in San Francisco on our honeymoon). This was the perfect excuse to get away. The last year has been exhausting on us. With a new baby in our lives, Ab's hectic travel schedule, and ALLLL of the trips to the doctor, and finding out we were expecting again... we were pumped to go relax and think about NOTHING for a few days.

The idea of leaving Anthony for that long freaked me out. I even tried to change our travel plans to come home sooner, but couldn't manage it. I've never spent more than a couple of nights away from him, and I was TERRIFIED he'd be missing me as much as I missed him. I think deep down though.. I was afraid he wouldn't miss me at all. No mom wants to feel like she isn't needed.

The truth is.. the trip was great. I had a wonderful time. I read a TON of books (well 6), and got a decent base tan. Ab and I went on a date or two, and we had some great time with family. I can see why his family spends so much time down there. I look forward to going back someday.
He had a great time, he did miss his mommy and daddy, but he had a great time with Grandma and PaPa.

I recommend that any couple with a small child, take some time for yourselves, be adults for a while, and have a relaxing dinner or two without a child beaning you with a hot dog :)

Baby #2 is coming soon!!

Well, I've pretty much broke the news to everyone close to me so I'd say it's safe to put it out there on the WWW :)

We're expecting our second child around Thanksgiving of this year. I'm about 12 weeks right now. So I'm almost done with 1/3rd of my pregnancy. YAY~!!!

I've decided that I don't do pregnancy well... AT ALL!! My body is a little selfish. It hates to be interrupted and boy howdy those hormones from pregnancy send my body into a frenzie. This pregnancy has been a LOT better than my first, but I'm still struck with some pretty awful nausea. Feeling sick isn't so hot.. and it's especially worse when you have to chase around a 1 year old in the meantime. Poor little Anthony has no idea what to expect when I'm sick. He just stares at me. The worst night we've had so far happened to be while Daddy was out of town... (this is a bad mommy story so feel free to laugh at me)

Anthony and I have a pretty set evening routine. We eat dinner, we play, and we watch our "night night" shows. All was going well with dinner this particular night... I even managed to do a little cleaning on the house while A ate. I was giving myself a mental pat on the back for being such a good mom and housekeeper. I think God decided to humble me b/c of this. After dinner we were playing and getting ready to watch our shows when it hit me.


Oh no.. I don't feel so good. I ran to the bathroom and alllllllll of my food began coming up. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Little Anthony was confused and followed me into the bathroom to check on me. I did my best to distract him in between visits with ralph, but he got a little tooooo curious, and as my food is FLOWING out of my mouth.. yes disgusting right?? I see this little hand go in front of me. Oh no. Really?? Did I just puke on my kid?? A few moments later, I regain composure and look over to check on the boy. He is standing there... frozen.. examining his little hand/arm and wondering What.the.eff... just happened to him. I knew I was no where near ready to help him too much, so I ripped off his shirt.. wiped him down best I could... and sent him in search of a book to read to mommy. The poor little guy did so great. He got his book and sat down and immediately began chattering to me as he turned the pages. I felt horrible. Once composure was FULLY regained I stripped him down... washed him up really good... and gave him a cookie before bed.

I am probably the only mom out there who can say she threw up ON her kid. Sad.

No extreme episodes since then. THANKFULLY!! Looks like that mother of the year award just went right out the window ;)

Reading

I've always, in the back of my mind, referred to myself as a reader. I can remember back to being about 6 years old and loving books. I would go the the book fairs and buy up books like crazy every chance I got. To be honest though... I wasn't a reader, but I loved the IDEA of reading. I had a cute fascination as a young child with a Shakespeare book that I had found. I planned to read it up.. memorize it... and wittingly quote it in my daily goings. The truth is, I tried to read it, couldn't get past all of the weird words, and gave up.


Reading was something I longed to do, but never put the effort into. I didn't have the attention span or the ability to sit still long enough to delve into a book the way one would need to. I carried this with me most of the time growing up. In high school, I avoided English classes that made you read too much. I had friends who would have 4-6 books they would have to read over the summer and report on for fall classes. What?!? Why would anyone waste their summer reading?? This was my sad sad idea of life. The older I got the less interested I became. Until... recently. Or well.... the last 6 years or so.



When my husband and I started dating I quickly learned of his adoration of books, learning, and reading. He had a beautiful collection started and he always had a book or two he was reading. He never went anywhere without a book. This sparked that "inner reader" in me. I wanted to read. I was still in college at the time, and convinced myself that I didn't have time for books, BUT asked him to get me started. On weekends when I'd visit him in Tulsa we'd both cuddle up on the couch with a book or spend HOURS in Borders looking for something new. This was fun. It was "our" thing. These first few month together shaped our future and my desire to learn, read, and grow.

As of late, I have realized how much I love books, and how fast I read (this can be quite disappointing too) Since the start of December I've read about 9 books. For some of you this might not be a lot, but for a mom who works a full-time job, is taking a class at school, and is in bed asleep by 1030... I am pretty pleased with my reading.

I have also slowed my reading in an attempt to not finish the current series I am reading before May. We are going to Mexico and I want nothing more than to sit on my tush, soak up some sun, and read for 10 days straight :)

I guess all of this is to say... I want to teach my son to love reading as much as his father has taught me to love reading. It's a great escape and a chance to shape your mind and imagination... no matter what you are reading or how old you are.

What are friends??

With so many social media outlets these days it's easy to find yourself referring to NUMEROUS people as your "friend". What does this mean though? Before Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. people had a whole new meaning of the word friend. It was usually someone whom you hung out with on seemingly regular basis, or someone who you were once close with, or shared some sort of common bond. Today, it's simply... hey I know you... be my friend. I'll admit, I am guilty of this type of friending, but it seems to me that it is out.of.control!! What do you do about it?? It seems like no matter what you do on any given social networking site, you are going to hurt someones feelings. Whether it's being friends with a friends ex, enemy, etc.. OR NOT being friends with someone. People seem to take a huge offense to not being included in someone's friend list. Why is this??

I recently decided to "cut back" my friend list and MAN OH MAN did I have problems. First of all, you can't EVER not be friends with family without hurting someones feelings. So.... add in your 400 relatives. THEN, you have to add in all of your classmates b/c they found you on the "class of (instert school and year of graduation)" site and decided to make you part of their GINORMOUS list. It is SOOO hard to decide where to draw the line on these websites. For instance. There are people I went to elementary school with whom I have added. I haven't seen these people in 15+ years, but it's fun to see where we are now. Then there are my HS and college classmates. I may have had a couple of classes with them, had a great time... and been "friends" back then. Does this mean it would be rude of me to cut them out now? Does this mean I don't like them anymore if I don't add them? Does this mean I want them knowing about my life?? I DON'T KNOW!!! I like to keep people around that are in the same phase of life as me ... married, homeowner, parent.. b/c this helps me to relate and have people that relate to me. I think it's nice to have a network of people who get what you're going through. Does this mean I don't want my single, childless friends to be deleted. NO. It's just a ridiculous line that almost seems impossible to draw these days. This is mostly just a ranting post... Sorry!!


Yes. I'm saying it is hard to define "friends" in today's social networking world without hurting feelings. I'm sorry!! You can stalk me here if you want. (Just comment every once in a while)

I have nothing more to add... sorry for that rant.

A Picture Post

SEPT:A trip to the ER in Sept.. poor baby was poked er.. stabbed about 7 times.

October: Anthony went as Toad to a "family" Halloween party that we attended. I was the beautiful yellow box that you see and those items were the fun treasures you get when you hit me.

November: Hanging out in his swing, wrapped up in his Snuggie waiting on his first haircut :)

December: A visit to Pa's ranch and a chance to "drive" the tractor.

December: Stealing presents from Mommy.

Christmas: Unwrapping gifts. This gift had been talking to him for 2 days through the wrapping paper. Wasn't sure what to think at first, but thought it was pretty funny.

Anthony's Birthday: The super cute birthday cake I got from Reasor's. Yup, that's right. I tried calling Merritt's for over a week (all 3 locations) and couldn't get anyone to answer the phone. They've officially lost my business.

Birthday: Eating cake in class @ daycare.

Birthday: Eating cake at home with Mommy, Daddy, Gramps and Nonna. He had cake EVERYWHERE!!!

January: Anthony's first hospital stay. He had a great time with that coke bottle and the blue chair there. Best toys a kid could have ;)