Us...

Us...
Thank you for coming along on our wonderful journey! We hope you ENJOY THE RIDE!!!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Date Nights

Hiya!

So a couple of weeks ago my parents randomly got out of work super early (they work at a resort and have horrible hours). I took the opportunity to ask them if they would mind watching our little guy while we got away for dinner. My parents faithfully agreed and we went to diner at one of our favorite places Texas de Brazil.

What you don't know because I fell out of the blogosphere is that I have lost 50 pounds. Well with weightless apparently comes stomach shrinkage. The food was delicious but I was full in 2.5 seconds. The night was a success though. It was so great to have a night out where we got to dress up and just be with one another.

After what seems like a never ending "season" of holidays it was fabulous to be in the quiet with the one person that completes me. The holidays for us were awesome, they were filled with get-togethers, family reunions and parties and while all of that is great it leaves everyone kinda tired. January is usually a quiet month in our household. And boy was that date night totally needed.

I wish we had a way to make those date nights more often. Unfortunately we don't really have that possibility. Shane's parents are exhausted from their demanding work or unable to lift a 30 pound toddler and my parents work crazy crazy hours. I guess for now we just have to make the most of the random dates that we DO get.

Those special nights just put into perspective how wonderful our beautiful life really is. Yes, we are busy raising the most perfect toddler in the universe but we also have each other. Yes we have super busy demanding work schedules but we still have each other. Yes, many times our social calendar will call for activities for us to do as a family but we will always have those random, beautiful, awesome and absolutely fabulous date nights with each other.

Until next time,
Jen

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Time my External Drive went into a Comma.

Dear friends,

Today is a sad sad day. I sit here anxiously waiting to hear from my dad's IT guy to tell me that he saved my external drive with almost 10 years worth of pictures. You see... some time last week we decided that it was time to look for a specific picture or something. I don't even know how or what led me to the drive but when plugged it in... it was unrecognizable... and then I wanted to cry. I didn't... but I wanted to.

The thing about that drive is the amount of memories it has in it. Our entire dating relationship. Our wedding. Our newlywed life, the dogs, the apartment, the townhouse and of course our son. Although we have many many pictures printed and saved online of important moments of our life there were many times when we just "dumped" pictures onto "the drive" and thought "Oh life is busy, will upload another time, blah blah blah." And then life happened, we got busy and of course the drive decides to go into a comma. And now its in computer ICU.

I know praying for a computer part is probably silly but that computer part holds so many beautiful memories so near and dear to my heart that I can't help but pray that God enlightens the IT guy and that he finds a way to revive my little device. I have learned my lesson and I will focus on what matters most this year. I will focus on taking pictures and developing them (this statement dates me). I will focus less on my phone and social media and more on organizing and simplifying my life. I will also focus on taking pictures with my mind and living these memories so that I can stop relying on technology and just close my eyes and relive the fabulous moments. I know, it sounds a bit ridiculous considering I am writing this on a digital device and will post it on the world wide web but it makes sense to me. Sometimes unplugging is not all that bad.

And with that I am off to say my bedtime prayers... I will pray for the usual things I pray for, I will be thankful for the abundance of blessings in my life, but I will also ask God to save my little external hard drive.

Until next time,
Jen

Monday, January 6, 2014

I keep saying I am back... but this time I really do want to come back!

Hiya!

Remember me? It's been almost a year since I've blogged. What a year it has been. A wonderful year. A difficult year. A fabulous year. Like everyone's 2013, mine had ups and downs. The blessings were so much bigger than the bumps. I have so much to write about that I don't know where to start.

It's been so long I didn't even remember how to log in to the blog. I didn't know which URL to type to get here. So I came to the blog as a guest, and thankfully found the sign in on the upper right hand corner. I guess that's what being a mommy does to you. Mommy brain. Or maybe it's the fact that this year I turn 30. Let's just say it's the mommy brain... I haven't accepted the other "thing" just yet.

So there's not going to be much updating on this particular post. I am toying with the idea of remodeling "sweetpinkruffles." I know I have talked about the tittle in the past and how it is very dear to me... but at the same time I feel as if I am outgrowing it. Is my world full of balls, toy trucks and all shades of blue and red changing my love of pink? Is it the dreaded 30? Who knows... but I feel that my identity is so much more than a color.

I do have to say that my identity has changed in the past 19 months. Liam has defined me. He has completed me in a way that I never ever thought possible. My world revolves around that little man and his love for balls, trucks and trains. I could spend countless hours behind my camera trying to capture his every breath. I could spend every waking moment pretending to eat the plastic food he makes in his play kitchen. I could spend every breath on walking around our house, hand in hand with him as he loves to do.

I haven't lost who I am. I haven't lost the spunky pink princess I use to be. I am still her, but I am so much more now. I carry MAC's Russian Red in my bag, right next to Liam's Binkie. I have developed into someone I like so much and I feel that this blog should show you that. Yes, you, all 2 of you. My very very very few readers. I am so grateful for you. I haven't been here in almost a year and yet you still swing by every once in a while to see if I have posted anything. I don't make a single penny off of this blog (apparently you need millions of followers to make a penny) yet the gratification of knowing that someone out there reads what's on my mind is so fulfilling.

No idea what will come of this blog. I may change the tittle, I may change the address, but then again I may not. I may change the privacy settings so that only those of you who have read in the past can continue to read because I plan to share a lot more of my life. I want to add pictures and color to this blog. I want to add the smiles of the amazing human beings that are in my life and in order to do that I have to protect their privacy.

What I do know for sure is that I am craving "letting it all out." I have so much to tell you, imaginary friends. I have so much to say... and who knows maybe no one out there cares to read it... or maybe only a handful of you guys care... but I want to have this tiny piece of legacy. I printed my previous blog and made it into a book and honestly it was THE BEST thing I could have ever done. Sooooo many memories, so many wonderful wonderful vignettes of my life are on that book. I don't want time to continue to pass without me recording these amazing moments.

At the end of my life I want to have volumes of "books." I want to have as many blog posts as possible reminding me of all of the truly phenomenal and breath-taking moments of my life. Some moments are so fabulous that they take your breath away and those are the best to read... but other moments leave you breathless... those are more difficult moments, but in the end when you look back, those moments made you stronger and they are just as valuable as the happy ones.

My goal for this year is to document what is going on in my current life, but at the same time I want to reminisce about 2013 because it was a life changing year for my beautiful family. I plan to edit less and "pour my heart" out more. I plan to not worry about quality and for once worry about quantity... because I want MORE posts, more memories documented. This blog is for me. For Shane. For Liam. For my family and for 90 year old Jen... who knows maybe if I have a ton of "volumes" of my blog I won't be causing such an uproar at the nursing home! (Wink Wink).

If you've been there for the ride, I am so very sorry I took a hiatus. If you are new, welcome to my crazy wonderful oh-so-fabulous life.

I am Jen. I am a mama to Liam. I am Shane's Bestest Friend. I love Pink, Purses and I say Fabulous way too often. I may also have a shopping problem... but that's not something we like to talk about.

I hope from the bottom of my heart that I can carve out a few seconds every once in a while to write a bit. For the sake of the residents of my future nursing home.

Until next time,

Jen