may 19. really? may 19?

was the last time i had anything to say?

wow.

as for my little "blog break" (as the big kahunas refer to it), it wasn't that intentional. sometimes i really just don't have anything to say.

i mean, the only thing i could've come up with would've been:

post title: only in texas.

post material: only in texas is the "live" ronald mcdonald hispanic. speaking spanish, of course.

but that's not really worth much.

plus, last week was spent getting ready for my BEST FRIEND EVER to come to town. normally, we see each other about once a year or once every other year. it's pathetic really. but home girl just keeps getting pregnant and having babies. ok, i do to. but she decided to do it one more time. while buz and i have retired from the whole pregnancy/new parent thing.

well, she left me a comment on here about a month ago that alluded to her coming to visit. i emailed her threatening her life if she was joking.

she wasn't.

she had frequent flyer miles and wanted to use them to come see me. totally honored. but totally honest with her that i wouldn't have any "time off." and she was fine with that. i think her exact words were, "they're not my kids." and so...

(prepare yourself. you know how i love a good play-by-play. exciting or not. usually not.)

she came into town thursday afternoon. we played earlier in the day at a local mall. because, well, that's what big h, goo, and i do. that's our thing, really. we had planned it perfectly. we would leave the mall at 1. let the kids nap in the car on the way to the airport. get there about a half hour early. play at airport. and wait for her to arrive. with signs, of course. well, her flight was delayed. and we live a LONG way from the airport. so we left the mall when we thought we would and got to the airport about THREE HOURS before she was supposed to land. they slept for a good hour, which was awesome. but the fact that we couldn't just go home but had way too much time to spend at the airport. not to mention the toll we would rack up by being at the airport that long.

so i did what any good, creative SAHM would do. took them to the mall close to the airport.

nope. not kidding.

they had an awesome time. we walked the entire thing. and it is a HUGE mall.

so we got to the airport. and they had a great time. guessing they've never been before to pick anyone up. i mean, we've flown. but never just hung out at the airport. we all had a blast.

and then...i saw her get off the plane. big h was out of control excited about holding the sign that read, "hey kelly, this is my stister." (note: kelly had never met goo. sad. i know.)

when she got off, it was like we had just seen each other yesterday.

side note: i met kelly at a slumber party in third grade. all of the other girls were in the family room watching some movie that we weren't interested in and talking about boys (yuk!). and so the two of us laid in our sleeping bags in the living room and gabbed until the wee hours of the morning. (i used the word gabbed intentionally. it was cool to "gab" back then. trust me.)

anyway, we left the airport and headed home. we fed big h and the goo and put them to bed. and by we, i really mean we. buz worked late, and she basically filled in as the role of the dad.

they got to sleep and we made a delicious salad, and buz brought up route 44 dr. peppers for us. she's a fellow dp gal. and then, i kid you not. we all crawled up in our bed and watched grey's anatomy and had snacks. all three of us.

seriously...it was one of the most favorite days of all time.

friday morning is always donut friday with big h before school. and with kelly here, it was no different. she got donuts too. and we took big h to school and he introduced kelly to his teachers.

we came home and played with goo until her nap. and then we sat on the couch and talked. and talked. and talked. oh dear, did we ever do some talking. we got big h from school and headed to chick-fil-a for some afternoon playtime and snacks. and did some more talking. then, we dropped both kids off at home with my mom and headed out for some serious girl time. haircuts, pedicures, sunglasses shopping, and dinner. a girls' night out, if you will.

i'm salivating even now as i think about the salsa. the salsa that i couldn't. stop. eating. what is with me and salsa? geez.

before

after (clearly, i'm a risk taker. can't you see all the big differences in my 'do?)

ahhh...this feels so good. i am soooo relaxed. feel free to take a picture of me and my cute, little pregnant belly.

yikes, she just spiked the temperature of that water. must. look. at my feet to make sure there are no burns.

biscuit. and no, her name isn't really biscuit. but you know me and my obsession with nicknames.

and memorial day appears to be a time when EVERYONE goes out of town or has plans. because our little girls' night out in honor of kelly's presence was a dinner for three. but literally it couldn't have been any more fun. biscuit. thank you so much for coming. you made our evening.

the next morning, i had plans to take some pictures for a friend of mine as well as another family. so she came with me. and we ran a couple of errands in between. and that's how the rest of our saturday could be summed up -- errands.

well, errands and buz. because without buz, there would've been no errands. buz, seriously...you are a dream come true.

people, we ran some hard core errands. the kind where you run in and out of a store in a matter of sixty-three seconds? and then, the kind where you touch every last thing in the store. she got maternity clothes. i got non-maternity clothes. we went to the outlet mall. we returned things. exchanged things. bought things. looked at things. all while doing loads and loads of talking. and well, of course consuming MASS quantities of dr. pepper.

don't tell her OB.

saturday night, we brought dinner home for everyone and put the little kids to bed and watched a movie. (big sigh. dan in real life. anyone seen it? ugh. talk about a beating. sorry, kelly.)

sunday was church, which was chock (is that how you spell that? franklin...help me out) full of awesome worship music! and surprisingly enough, somehow we were able to get out one more time to run more errands. i know. that buz -- he's marvelous, really. sunday night was more food and movies (juno again).

monday, kelly and i took the kiddos out to play. we ended heading out to my parents' house to have a memorial day meal. oh, and on the way there, big h announced that he might like to stay the night.

{did you just hear the pin drop?}

never has he EVER wanted to stay anywhere other than our house. two times, he has stayed somewhere without us. once with his cousins when buz was in the hospital and goo was four weeks old. and once when his other cousins were in town and were all staying at my parents' and he wanted in on the action.

and he did it. he stayed at their house all by himself and had a great time. even stayed in his own room without fear. big h, you rock the house, dog.

and then, tuesday was the dreaded departure day. we hadn't picked up big h yet, so it was just the girls. and when kelly got out of the car at the airport, goo cried, "she she." she gave kelly the nickname of "she she," and she was so sad when she left. i was too.

clearly, my children suffer from stranger anxiety.

see? stranger anxiety at its peak.

and since tuesday, i have been mentally preparing myself for today...big h's last day of school.

big h's UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING preschool teachers.

i don't know who will be more sad. him or me. but monday we start our marathon of swim lessons. prayers of miracles will be lifted up by me and many others. that big h would finally learn to freaking swim, for pete's sake.

and that is why i haven't posted in a while.

i love you, kelly. we miss you!

a meme...or whatever.

a meme? what's that, you ask?

i have no idea.

(prepare yourself. i'm about to get all technical and stuff.)

apparently, i answer the same questions the person who "tagged" me answered.

i'm laughing as i write this out.

i'm also laughing at the whole concept of twitter. but that's another story. seriously. between twitter and facebook and blogging and texting. when do you people accomplish anything? or let your legs and bottom heal from all the decubitus that has occurred from all the sitting? at your computer? and how do you not wreck your car from all the things you're doing on your phone? besides, you know, TALKING?

whew. got that off my chest.

i know. i'm old. and nerdy. and not very high-tech. with my desktop and my cell phone that doesn't do anything other than call people. and fit nicely in my back pocket. and doesn't require a leather carrying case.

seriously. i have issues.

anyway. the meme.

colored with memories "tagged" me, and i decided to be a good sport.

4 things i was doing 10 years ago (1998):

1. walking or riding my bike to class
2. eating a gyro (with lots of cucumber sauce) and drinking a cherry pepsi at zorba's with my one and only friend in grad school. you think i'm kidding. i'm not. seriously. i had ONE friend. and she reads this blog. angela -- what's up? oh, and the cherry pepsi. it's true. why i decided to stay there without dr. pepper on tap, i'll never know.
3. getting ready to move to where i was going to do my clinical.
4. dreaming about marrying the guy who sat in front of me at church. bless my heart. he didn't know i did more than exist, and really the only two things i knew about him were that he knew the Lord and that he drove a sweet explorer. clearly, i'm deep. and look for substance in a future husband.

4 things I was doing 5 years ago: (2003):

1. working as a social worker in a women's hospital
2. walking around with a little pregnant belly (2 mos. pregnant with big h) but having such a fun time shopping for maternity clothes. who knew i would grow to despise those maternity clothes?
3. moving into our current house.
4. pretending i was too pregnant to do any of the moving in. poor buz. i had him hook, line, and sinker.

4 things I did yesterday:

1. cuddled with the goo, who had a 102.8 fever.
2. walked to the park with both of my kids and my husband (before knowing that goo had a 102.8 fever).
3. planned my menu for the next two weeks. seriously. BY FAR the thing about being a wife and mom that i DETEST the most. but if i don't do it, we eat out every night and then don't have enough money to pay the electric bill.
4. did three loads of laundry. probably the one thing i LOVE the most about being a mom and wife. other than vacuuming. if i could keep a clean house and have meals magically prepared just by doing laundry and vacuuming, i would be a much happier camper.

4 shows I love to watch:

1. grey's anatomy. though, i'm growing weary of the meredith/derek thing. rose? we don't need rose in this scene. we need meredith to grow in her therapy and realize that we NEED her with mcdreamy. there's a reason he's known as mcdreamy. hello, meredith? have you LOOKED at derek lately? (swoon)
2. the office. again. i need. more. jim and pam. and i do NOT need lame cliffhanger season finales.
3. bachelor. don't laugh. i know no one stays together. but i love it. and i LOVED matt and shayne. even though lorenzo lamas has had so much work done on his face that i didn't recognize him from his falcon crest days. when i watched that and trapper john, md. with my mom. after my bath. and after i practiced my spelling words.
4. what not to wear. because somehow these people find it ok to think that NO MORE in their life will they wear t-shirts and jeans. not trouser jeans. just jeans. they convince you that everyday you must wear trousers or bermuda shorts, a nice shimmery cami, and a blazer. in texas. in the summer. whatever. they must live up north. oh, and buz will tell you. i only watch the first five minutes and the last five minutes. don't have the attention to watch the rest of the show.

4 things I love to do:

1. snuggle with big h in the morning when his toes are like ice cubes, and gooby isn't awake yet. and we watch fireman sam. and i use the word 'we' loosely. i may or may not have my eyes open during fireman sam.
2. have date night with buz every saturday night. it looks like this: rent a movie. watch it in bed while eating take out, usually from pei wei where we order the same thing and have done so since big h was born. we're creatures of habit. (bff, i know you're chuckling.) and then we break out our soft drinks and snacks. (mine is always something sour and his is something chewy. but not chocolate for either of us. we're not really that big into chocolate. i know. gasp.)
3. pick big h from school. i love his hug. i love the emotional reward. i'll admit it.
4. hugging goo in the morning when she wakes up. she's a limp noodle and puts her head on your shoulder and is a warm as a morning biscuit. mmm...

i'm not tagging anyone. i don't play by the rules. i live on the edge.

and you know me. i can't post without some form of picture.

lock up your daughters

happy mother's day

don't mind me. i'm just hip. with my laptop and all. (for the record, i don't have a laptop. buz does. he's the cool one.)

speaking of buz, let's talk about His Awesomeness. it's mother's day, and guess where i am? at my parents' house. without my parents. translates: by myself. alone. no little people. no people, period.

basically, he said the other day, "hey, i can either buy you something or you can have the day off.'"

guess what i chose?

now, before you go judging me on the fact that i am not with my children on mother's day. know that buz knows me better than anyone, and he knows that for me to be a great mom, i need downtime. and downtime is quiet and full of solitude. it's something i don't have much of. i definitely have more than some. because buz recognizes the need for it.

last night, i went to a womens' event with one of my buddies. then, i headed to my parents' house. it just so happens that they are out of town seeing my brother. so instead of spending money on a hotel, i stayed at their house for the night. (and spent money at the Gap instead.)

this morning, i woke up at (gasp) NINE O'CLOCK. and that was to the sound of buz calling me.

and once i was ready to head out the door, i had a list. a LONG list of things to do. oh, how i heart a good to-do list. i know it doesn't sound relaxing to some. but to me? bliss. to walk in and out of a store? without strollers or car seat dramas. and not just one store. many stores. and the funny thing? i'm not necessarily a shopper. i just really, really like to run errands. i come by this naturally. (read: my mom's a professional errand runner and taught me everything i know.)

my destinations for today included but were not limited to: gap outlet, old navy, michael's, marshall's or tj maxx (whichever happens to be closer), container store, staples or office depot, and ikea.

i have goose bumps just writing it down.

i did everything i set out to do. and you know what? i came home early.

why wouldn't i?



i love being a mommy.

and p.s. i got presents from big h and the goo. hand-picked. goo got me a book about trucks in the shape of a truck. for us to read together at night. and big h got me a microphone. no idea. but he colored me a picture. of him, goo, and me. at the donut store. see why i came home early?

new life

last weekend was big.

(i thought about not sharing this. but i can't help myself. it was too incredible for me not to share.)

last sunday, i was baptized.

honestly, i'm not going to go into the whole story here. basically i've known Jesus since i was fourteen.

so it's taken me the last ten years to finally make this decision.

(are you guys really believin' the whole 'i'm twenty-four' thing? hope not.)

anyway, it was wonderful. i had buz, and two of my accountability partners in the water with me. and then, friends and family came to celebrate.

God is good.

why am i looking at my pastor this way? bless my heart.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

buz was so happy and proud.

the infamous bff.

big h's response when i got out of the pool..."oh mama, you did a great job!"

goo was so pumped when we were done. (read: she did NOT care for not being able to be with us.)

davis, me, buz, and bff. and, of course, goo. who couldn't decide whether or not she wanted to be in the picture.

and my cute parents. seriously. aren't they cute?

not quite professional material

not yet, anyway.

big's first baseball/t-ball game was last sunday. sunday was a very, very busy day. church in the morning. home for a while. back to church for mama's baptism. and then off to a baseball game.

on a dirt field. not a grass one.

with a baseball cap on. not a helmet.

with a blue shirt that matched everyone else's. not his t-shirt of choice.

can you see where this is going? please tell me you can see where this is going.

basically dad had to bribe him with a horn for his bike if he played. if he played, people. clearly, some of the enthusiasm was gone.

he was so NOT in the game at all. he was up to bat. hit the ball. ran the bases. and when it was time to field? well, he played with dirt. or caught butterflies. or got into four-year-old arguments with another player. on his own team. while the game was going on.

tomorrow is another game. Lord help us. goo and i are staying home for this one.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

this just in

so...i don't mind when people think i'm younger than i really am. in fact, i'm flattered. most get annoyed when they get "carded" at a restaurant.

not me. card me any day.

today, however, might just take the cake.

goo asleep. hear a knock at the door. in my illinois t-shirt from ten years ago. my yoga pants. and a baseball cap.

go to the door. a guy in a truck out soliciting work to trim trees and clean gutters.

tree guy: "uh, ma'am. you need your trucks cut?"

me: "excuse me?" (he didn't have the most eloquent of accents.)

tree guy: "your trees. need 'em cut?"

me: (playing the 'i just want to go take my shower and read blogs and my latest copy of real simple while having an apple with peanut butter' card) "i have no idea."

tree guy: "oh. you the babysitter?"

Dear Tree Guy,

You have no idea how you just made my day. Thank you. And no, we do not need our trees trimmed. But feel free to stop by any time.

Sincerely,
Blushing Janet

recap

love languages, people.

let me tell you how buz speaks mine. every year on our anniversary we head to a mexican restaurant. it only seems fitting.

and for any of you who know buz, you're probably shaking your head in disbelief due to his large crowd overstimulation issues.

we headed to the place in town with by far THE BEST salsa. ever.

you think i'm kidding. i'm not.

i'm not normally one to talk about food that much on here. but seriously, people. this salsa? manna. from above.

i met him there. goo gets ULTRA SAD when buz is home for less than half an hour. which is what would've happened last night.

fortunately, he was able to sit at a table and wait for me. do you guys (who have been married a while) still get giddy when you see your husband across the room?

i do.

see why?

we ate salsa, guacamole made "live" at our table, and queso. let me give a side note. i'm not sure hee whole guacamole "live" is really all that it's cracked up to be. i mean, isn't it just made it in front of you instead of back in the kitchen. whatever. just an opinion.

then, we ordered fajitas.

stop janet. stop talking about food.

let's just say everything was delicious.

then, after dinner, his exact words were, "so, do you want to run to old navy or somewhere just to look around?"

seriously, have you read this book?

so we did just that. we walked around DSW. and i touched about one hundred and forty-seven pairs of shoes. because i was without little people. then, we went to old navy. and get seated for this one.

i tried clothes on.

i believe the last time i tried clothes on was 2001.

it was crazy and surreal. oh, and while i was touching every article of clothing or accessory, i talked. just talked and talked and talked. in fact, i finally had to comment that i just could. not. stop.

bliss.

we stopped at sonic and got drinks. headed home, got in our jammies, fixed popcorn, and watched a movie. not the best movie, but holding hands and hanging out with my man. i can't express how giddy i felt.

and if anyone had told me that last night would be an IDEAL way to spend my anniversary, i would've laughed in their face.

i'm a homebody. i own it.

but then, we opened our present to each other (with $$ pitched in from his parents). and my parents gave us a one-time house cleaning (angels in heaven singing praises) and a lawn guy to clean out our backyard leaf mountains (buz crying tears of joy).

the rumor is true. buz and i live on the edge.

happy cinco de mayo

or happy kentucky derby day, too. in our case.

seven years ago today i said i do to the most amazing guy. oh, you know who i'm talking about.

this guy.

he's delicious. that buz o' mine.

some colorful thoughts about this day.

• cinco de mayo for a reason. so he wouldn't forget. oh, i kid. but really. smart, huh?
• i had lot-a-burger for lunch. with french fries. and possibly the largest dr. pepper you have ever seen. with my best friend. big occasion calls for fine cuisine.
• i have never had so much fun putting on makeup. anyone who knows me is laughing out loud right now. because, well, i don't actually wear makeup. so i had my best friend put it on. clearly, she had a lot of responsibility that day.
• my flower girl and i walked down the aisle at the same time. not on purpose. saved buz from the typical groom's tears, though.
• i high-fived my dad on the way back down the aisle once we were married. and my dad is so not the high-five type.
• the top layer of our wedding cake fell off. i didn't know about it.
• the first song for everyone to dance to (after all the "required" dances) was christina aguilera's genie in a bottle. i know. nice. klassy with a K. all about family friendly. (seven years later, and buz is still talking about it.)
• buz and i took a month and a half of dance lessons before we danced to "our song." buz was very serious about making this the best it could be. he's a concentrator. and when the song started, it was the dance remix version of the song. seriously. note to self: make a note to future brides to let the DJ know that no dance remixes allowed at a wedding reception. who knew there was such a thing? not buz. not me.
• when buz and his mom (aka ms. wiz) did "their" dance, his dad (who i am madly in love with) and i went out in the middle of the song and cut a rug. he is so frank sinatra, and the two of us were kind of showing them up. we still joke about it. well, i mean, dick and i still joke about it. :)
• i had my garter made. out of green bay packer fabric.
• we had to get our photographer out of the buffet line to take our outdoor pictures.

you know what i remember most about may 5 2001? buz. my family. my closest friends. and others there to celebrate the beginning of something really wonderful.

i love you, buz. i actually thought that on that day, it wasn't possible to love you more. guess what? it is.

this was right before going into the hallway to head to the altar. obviously, i was nervous. or not. i was so pumped and could. not. wait.

buz had no idea he was going to have to carry around all my stuff all the time. little did he know.

the infamous outdoor picture. the one that where we got our photographer out of the buffet line. and look at buz? how handsome is he? va va va voom...

and we're off. "say cheese, mr. and mrs. wisner."

come again? mr. and mrs? honeymoon? wait...are we married?

great second basemen of our time

Rod Carew

Rogers Hornsby

Bill Mazeroski

Joe Morgan

Jackie Robinson

Ryan Sandberg

Buz Wisner

and now….big H.




apparently, the roster is out for this sunday's game. and little man is going to be guarding second base.

or chasing butterflies.

will report back to you.

(and for the record, other than buz and big h, i have never even heard of the above mentioned names. shhh...don't tell buz.)

boomer sooner

(posting photo for a contest. thanks for the fun tip, sweet friend.)