Mom to CoccaNuts

February Photo Challenge (Day 2)

2012-02-02T17:28:00.001-08:00

Take a picture of WORDS. I ran across this article in my Real Simple magazine and it gave me a pretty big chuckle.

February Photo Challenge (Day 1)

2012-02-01T18:08:00.001-08:00

Take a picture of your view.
Drew in the Moby. I looked down and this is what I saw. Sooo sweet!

Hangin in the Hospital

2012-01-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

We had lots of family and friends stop by to get a peek and Baby Drew. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everyone...BOO! We had a nice stay at the Hospital (Presby Dallas...LOVE) and took advantage of the nursery so that we could go home rested...something we didn't do with Mason (such a Rookie).

The Moment Y'all Met

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Isn't it every Mother's dream for their babies to met each other?!?! You have this idea in your head of that perfect moment and for me it was just that! Mason instantly fell in love with his new baby brother. I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking.

Sometimes beings a

brother is even

better then

being a superhero

~marc brown

The Birth of You, Baby Drew

2012-01-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday evening I started having contractions every 8-10 minutes for about 2 hours. We already knew that I was dilated to a 4 and 50% effaced from my last OB appt. so we started to get a little anxious and called the on call Doc. It was about 10:00pm. Doctor told us to go ahead and come in. Once at the hospital I was admitted and thought you were on your way. No such luck...I didn't make any progress over night. So, that morning my Doctor made her way to my room and gave us a few options, go home and wait it out or she could break my bag of water and make things happen. We decided to go home and wait it out. Something told me that I would be back very soon so I might as well go home and get all my ducks in order. Once home I took an Ambien that my doctor had given me slept. We woke up around 3:00 in the afternoon and ran a few errands all while still contacting every 8-10 minutes. I was quite a sight to see. The folks and Home Goods and Home Depot probably thought I was nuts. We had a nice dinner at Campisi's and then went home for the night. At about 10:30pm that night I told Scott I was going to try and get some sleep because the contractions were getting more intense, but still 10 minutes apart. I never really went to sleep because I was so uncomfortable. Once Scott got in bed we just laid there timing contractions and breathing through them. At this point they were about 13 minutes apart. Finally, I decided I need to get up and walk around...it was about 12:00 AM. Once I started walking around my contractions were about 2-4 minutes apart...OH GAWD we have to get to the hospital which is 30 minutes away because I am not having the baby in my car on LBJ! Scott started getting dressed and everything ready to go and I just wanted some relief so I hopped in the bath. Scott walked by and said "get out...we have to go...you are not having this baby at home!" For the most part we were very calm the entire time. Mason was at my mom and dad's house because I knew you were coming with in the day. Once in the car the contractions were still coming ever 2 minutes so I decided we need to say the Rosary to get our mind off of them. We finished the Rosary as we pulled into the Labor and Delivery parking lot...talk about perfect timing. I signed a few papers as I'm breathing through these earth shatter, mind blowing...somebody get me my DAMN EPIDURAL contractions and then I was walked back to L&D Triage. They were getting ready to check me and see how far I was dilated and I told the nurse that she wasn't allowed to tell me I was crowing or that I was still only dilated to a 4! Good news...I was almost at a 6....YAY...time to have a BABY Y'ALL! While walking to my room with just a sheet wrapped around me and my bare ass hanging out in all it's glory, I had to stop and breath through another contraction. This is the point when tears started running down my eyes...I think because I new there was an end in site and I new very soon I would be holding you for the first time.

The epidural was waiting on me when I got into the room. Once administered it was smooth sailing. It was about 1:00 in the morning and I was ready to sleep. We called my mom and told her it would be a while and we would call her in a bit when I was further along. We turned out all the lights and I drifted off to sleep...I wanted to rest before the pushing began. Before I new it they were back and I was dilated to and 8. Scott called my mom and told her she need to get here because I was progressing very quickly now. I'm not sure what time it is at this point, but my OB checked me and told me it was time to start pushing. My mom and grandma walked in right in time to see me start pushing. I think I pushed about 10 or 15 minutes at the most and you enter the world at 5:50 am on November 18th 2012. You immediately tested out those lungs of yours, started crying and peeing! All 7 pounds 7 ounces and 19 3/4 inches of you were healthy as can be. It was love at first sight part Deaux!

Fall is here,

hear the yell

back to school,ring the bell

brand new shoes,walking blues

climb the fence,books and pens

I can tell that we're going to be friends

Walk with me,Suzy Lee

through the park and by the tree

we will rest upon the ground

and look at all the bugs we found

then safely walk to school

without a sound

Well here we are,no one else

we walked to school all by ourselves

there's dirt on our uniforms

from chasing all the ants and worms

we clean up and now its time to learn

Numbers,letters,learn to spell

nouns,and books,and show and tell

at playtime we will throw the ball

back to class,through the hall

teacher marks our height

against the wall

And we don't notice any time pass

we don't notice anything

we sit side by side in every class

teacher thinks that I sound funny

but she likes the way you sing

Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed

when silly thoughts go through my head

about the bugs and alphbet

and when I wake tommorow I'll bet

that you and I will walk together again

cause I can tell that we're going to be friends

New Years Eve

2011-12-31T13:19:00.001-08:00

Tonight will be a quiet night for my little family and I. All three of my boys are fighting nasty colds. Baby.Drew is currently getting breathing treatments every 8 hours. We plan on getting take out from Salt Grass (because I love everything about that place), wearing our favorite jammies and popping my favorite champagne. I'll know exactly where my babies are...tucked in their cozy bed! Heck we'll probably celebrate the East coast New Year instead of ours. I wish all of my friends and family a Happy New Year and many many blessings in 2012!

Shaving

2011-12-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

One of Mason's small gifts that I wrapped was a pretend Toy Story shaving set. Yesterday we busted out the shaving supplies so that I could buy myself 15 minutes to drinking my coffee while he was occupied shaving like daddy. To say that he enjoyed him self would be an understatement. Here's a few pics.

Lots to catch up on.

2011-12-27T00:05:00.001-08:00

It's around two in the morning. I'm up with Drew and thought it might be time to get back to this little blog I abandoned a few months ago.

First thing first...I had a baby. Ha! We couldn't be more in love with this guy. More to come on him in a separate post.

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas. It's time for me to lay my little friend down and for both of us to catch some zzzz.

Test

2011-12-26T23:58:00.001-08:00

This, is a test

Rambling at it's best

2011-10-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Went to visit my newest nephew and oldest nephew this morning. Had such a great time visiting with my sister while I was there. It's been nice to see her go through all this "new baby" stuff as a refresher course for myself. I am now of the mind set that Drew can hold off on arriving until 40-41 weeks. I just forgot how much those little vultures want to nurse. I now recall walking around with my boobs hanging out at all points of the day because there was really no point to get those bad boys strapped back in because be the time you do they want to eat again. With all that said Owen is super sweet and Landon seems to be adjusting really well to his new role as Big Brother.

I put Mason down to nap and he protested for over and hour. He didn't nap yesterday and I let that slide, but today he had school and without a nap on school days means a beast of an afternoon for mom. I finally had to resort to a spat on the leg and now he's fast a sleep. I hate have to be mean mommy.

Made this and eating it right now...seriously like crack people!!!

Getting ready to pack my hospital bag...anything that you wish you would've packed that you didn't?

It's been a blast watching the world series, but my DVR is seriously backed up due to it. I'm sure in a few months I can enjoy watching my shows while feeding in the middle of the night...good times!

Mason is doing a Scentsy fudraiser at school so if there's anything you would like to order please let me know. It ends at the end of this week. :)

I guess that's about it...I'm going to go make these now!

xoxo,

Jenn

2011-10-24T06:14:00.000-07:00

Top of the morning to ya! It's Monday and foggy out this morning and MC and I don't have much going on other then calling our insurance company, buying paper towels and maybe just maybe stopping by Starbucks for a Salted Carmel Mocha.

Most of you saw on Facebook that my nephew was born on Friday. He is sooo precious and makes me that much more excited to meet Drew. My sis delivered at the same hospital that I delivered Mason at and will deliver Drew at too. It was nice to be there and kind of see how everything worked again.

Here's a few pictures from my phone

In-N-Out opened in Rockwall

33 weeks OY!

A little over prepared

Mom holding her 3rd grandson

The smile says it all!

Logistics of Baby Drew

2011-10-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

This morning Mr.CoccaNuts and I were having a conversation about the logistics of getting to the hospital if I went into labor while he was at work. With MC there wasn't much need for this conversation because I was still working and we didn't have a child or a dog. We always planned on my mom driving me to the hospital if it happened at work because once upon a time we worked for the same company. This time around I'm a stay at home mom with a 3 1/2 year old and a 1 year old destructive, can't leave alone for second chocolate lab. Things have changed a bit. My neighbor would probably be able to drive me to the hospital, but there's a chance she may be out of town. So...the Mr. left me this morning and told me to think about "the plan". Why am I the one tasked with this? I'm the one pushing the baby out...does he expect me do do everything?!?! All of this talk above makes me realize how real this whole Baby Drew thing is becoming.

And one more thing before I go. I've gone to Target a couple times now in the last few weeks to buy nursing bras, nursing tanks, panties and a few comfy clothes to wear in the hospital. For the life of me I can not figure out why every time I'm in that section I have a complete melt down, feel overwhelmed and take of running out of the store.

So it's been how long?!?!

2011-10-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

So lets not waste anytime establishing how long it's been since I've blogged...blah blah blah. So here I am. We're all still here and kickin at the CoccaNut house. October is almost over and the temps are finally falling...it actually feels like fall. There's not much on our agenda today because it Wednesday...I heart Wednesdays. We'll probably go to Target to take a few duplicate items from my baby shower back.

Will start with a few pictures on my phone and then I'll tell you what going on with everyone.

An unlikely pair sunbathing together

Ready for school and so big.

I love stripes for babies!

State Fair of Texas cotton candy break.

Always working on something and always wearing his bike helmet.

Pumpkin patch in shorts and flip flops...there's just something wrong with that.

We went to the Fair this past Monday and had a good time, but it totally wore this pregnant mama out. We spent a lot of time in the Midway this go around and less time seeing grown-up things. Mason enjoyed every last minute of it and threw the biggest 3 year old fit when it was time to go.
Can't believe October is almost over and that November is approching fast which means that I will be 30 years old in just about 2 weeks.
My What's for Dinner?!?!? Biz is doing really well and it kills me to do this, but this will be my last week of cooking before my newest bundle of joy arrives. I told Scott yesterday that I just couldn't do it anymore and that I needed to go on hiatus for a bit. More then anything I just want to soak up every last minute with Mason while we're just a twosome.
Mason is growing like a weed and shows no signs of stopping. I love ever little thing about him and his bigger then life personality. Makes me so curious what little brother's personality will be like.
Speaking of little brother...he's growing like a weed too. We're 33 weeks along. We go to the doc next Tuesday and then we start going weekly after that. I'm not quite sure where this pregnancy went, but it's just about over and I think I'm starting to get a wee bit nervous. Everything is pretty much ready to go. I will probably pack my bag sometime next week.
Asking for prayers for a big opportunity for Mr. CoccaNuts!

Happy Hump Day Friends!

Jenn

Getting Past a Tough Day

2011-09-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a Mother's Day Out Day and Mason had a less then stellar day that landed him in a time-out in the Director's office for 15 minutes. I'm trying to get over it and just accept that children go through phases and this shall pass. That doesn't mean that I'm going to stop parenting him, but that I will not allow it to bring my whole day down. Yesterday was also filled with him telling me "No" multiple times and then spitting in my face which I'm not going to lie...sent me into a mommy filled rage that no one should ever see. I sent my little man to bed with no books and no sweet cuddles. Once I finally sat down to calm down the tears started flowing. It was one of those days where you question everything about you parenting skills and which direction to go in. Today is a new day and a fresh start so we'll see where this will take us. I just want to say in no way, shape, or form am I complaining because I'm sure there are man parents out there who would love to have the hiccups I'm faced with over there's any day!

Count the Rainbows not the Thunderstorms~

Mason and his buddies on C Lane. We get to watch amazing sunsets like this almost daily.

Am I the only one that's invisible?!?!

2011-09-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

As much as I enjoy this time of year and football being a staple in our home I seem to get wife-amnesia ever year because the Mr. total forgets about everything around him including me. The thing that bugs the most is him sitting on the couch with MY IPAD for 8 hours, I sit down next to him and if I ask him something I usually have to ask him 2-3 times before he hears me. I'm trying not to be on his case since it's only been 2 weeks and give him a chance to work it out, but this is my 11th football season with this man and I can probably tell you right now...he's not changing. The Mr. is in two fantasy football leagues and uses the IPAD the whole day on Sunday to watch his scores change every 30 seconds...OY!

Wednesday Morning Brain Dump

2011-09-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

1. Looks like there's rain on the radar this morning...what a welcomed blessing that would be if we could get a full day of rain.
2. Morning snuggles with my MC are the best.
3. It's taken me two hours to work on the post because my goodness the words just aren't flowing this morning. Maybe the decaf ~~pretend~~ coffee I'm drinking will do the trick.
4. I didn't get to get in on the Missoni for Target madness yesterday, but saw several items I would've loved to purchase. I'm currently saving my weekly allowance for a pair of Tory Burch revas so there's not much spending going on in this neck of the woulds. Mase and I have been hunkered down at the casa for the most part and trying to go at least one day a week with out leaving the house to save on meet my gas budget.
5. Speaking of Mason, yesterday he decided to go all T-Rex at school and bite a little on in his class named Scarlett for taking a baby doll away from him...oh dear...so I get to do the walk of shame tomorrow morning when I drop him off at school. My sis picked him up from school so that bought me a little time. I know these things are going to happen, but the still really get to me and hope that my child isn't labeled as that "kid" because anybody who knows MC knows that he's such a sweetie!
6. Went to the OB yesterday for my 28 week appt! I will to a separate post for that topic...lots of fun stuff folks.
7. Scott bought me an IPAD last week and I can not say enough about this thing...oh my GAWD...I freaking love it. Are there any APPS that you think is a must for me to download? I've downloaded a few, and I think currently the Nook App is my favorite. I love that I can buy the current issue of People and then take my IPAD to an appt and read it.

I guess that's about it...Mickey Mouse Club House is just about over which means my time is up. Happy Hump Day friends!

Be Still My Heart

2011-09-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

I walked into the living room this morning just as MC was giving his daddy his proper send off to work. Can't believe I was able to catch this sweet moment between the two of them!

A Conversation with Mason

2011-09-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

I started a new tradition yesterday that I would like to continue for several years to come. The answers to the questions below were pretty funny and definitely made mine and Scott's morning!

My favorite food is: Macaroni and Cheese
My favorite sport is: basketball
The best show on television is: Mickey Mouse Club House
The coolest person on Earth is: Mommy
My favorite thing to learn about in school is: Ms. Clark
The thing I do most awesomely is: Puzzles
If I could go anywhere an the world, I go to: School
My favorite color is: Blue
My favorite song is: Kick Drum (Avett Brother's)
When I grow up, I'm going to become: A Boy
The book I'm loving right now: Ratatouille
When I was little, I use to: Crawl, Crawl
My favorite season of the year is: Spring
The snack I like best: Chocolate Bunnies
One food that I really dislike: Corn
My best friend is: Daddy
If I had one wish it would be: A Star
My best memory is: Great Wolf Lodge

"what are we going to do next mom"

I love how simple and innocent the answers are and I hope I can always be the "coolest person on Earth" in his eyes!

The Eve of our First Day back at Preschool

2011-09-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

I can't help but be a wee bit nervous for Mason to start school tomorrow. We've worked so hard this whole summer to share and be nice to our friends. At the end of his summer program back in July he went out with a ~~bang~~ bite...he bite a friend in his class. To say I was mortified would be a total understatement. And of course in the last few days he's taken a few steps back in the behavior department. He's hit me a couple of times, hit and bit my mom over the weekend and pitched a friend at a birthday party when he wasn't able to do something first...so disappointed. With all that said, he did come down with a cold yesterday and usually his way of dealing with not feeling well is he acts out quite a bit. Please say a prayer that my boy behaves nicely and that his mommy isn't summoned to the Director's office anytime soon.

Oh yeah...one last thing. Took MC to pick out a back-pack the morning and of course out of all the cute ones he picks the most obnoxious plastic Toy Story back-pack. Before I was a mom I swore that my kids wouldn't wear or carry cheesy character clothes/pack-backs, but he was so stinking excited about it and who am I to deny him choices. It's all about choice...make a good choice.

This and That

2011-08-31T05:09:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone! I'm going to write this post fast and furious without and pictures...I know boring, but I probably have all of 10 minutes before MC wakes up and demands his first cup of coffee. So how is everyone? We've been quite busy around the CoccaNut House. My cooking business, as I suspect once school started back the orders for meals started coming in like crazy. It's nice though because I'm usually done with my work we on Tuesday...unless I get a big order like I did last night and couldn't say no because lets face it...I love cash.

The weather in the morning in our neck of the woulds has been lovely...I never dreamed I could enjoy the low 90s as much as I am. Yesterday I was able to fulfill my SAHM duties by taking MC on an hour bike ride through our neighborhood and throughout the bike ride he would look at me and tell me I was the best mommy in the whole wide world.

Another funny about the little 3 year old who owns my whole heart is that he will occasionally call me Miss Jenn instead of mommy...it's really funny when he says it...like "Miss Jenn, do you want a pretzel" I think he gets it from of few of the older kiddos that come to our house on a regular basis.

I need shoes! No, not fun shoes...make me feet nice and comfy shoes. The one thing I've noticed about cooking and being on my feet for two straight day with my baby bump is that my feet throb the next morning. I'm currently wearing my J.Crew flip flops and they're not getting the job done. Any suggestions?

Scott is going to Vegas soon with a few of his buddies because he needs a little break before baby Drew gets here. He does remember that I'm the one pushing a bowling ball out of my vag, not him....right?!?! Actually, I don't really mind because I will just do a little ~~a lot~~ on line shopping. til I feel like we're even.

Meeting a friend at this park on Friday...looks really nice and then I think we'll do lunch at Bubba's and walk around Snyder Plaza for bit.

Having my right next door neighbor over for coffee this morning...I can't wait to catch-up with her and talk about Bachelor Pad.

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo,

Jenn

Newest Project

2011-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Pinterest I'm working on a new project. I got the idea from this blog and started putting into action yesterday. I think the idea of a advent count down with books is neat. So yesterday MC and I stopped by our local thrift store in the 107 degree heat and bought all the Christmas books they had. I think we'll do this about every 2 weeks until I have 25 of those bad boys. The thrift store was a great place to start our search because they we're so inexpensive...most of the books I bought were .50 and .75 cents.; the most we spent was a whopping $2.00. Some how I managed to pick them out with out Mason even noticing. He's a major book hound so I was slightly surprised I made it out of the store with out him spotting them. Can't wait for Dec. 1st to start our newest Christmas tradition.

3 down...22 to go.

Note to self: Have to get all these books rounded up before Baby Drew gets here!

Because I've been doing a little shopping...

2011-08-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

I bought these at Old Navy for $24.95 and I may just spend the duration of my pregnancy in them...so comfy. If any of you guys are pregnant or plan to be pregnant these are a must for your maternity wardrobe.

Got this at Ross for $2.99 for Baby Drew

More goodies for Baby Drew. The brown onesie says Little Brother. I'm going to have one made for Mason that says Big Brother on a brown shirt.

Got this for MC at Ross for $16.99 retails for $44.99

Baby Gap for MC $4.99

At last, but certainly not least...I bought this for Baby Owen, my sister's baby boy.

This is currently in my oven and my house is getting hotter by the minute because of it, but I have a feeling it's going to be totally worth it because if it's half as good as what I'm smelling...I'm going to be in big trouble for my next OB weigh in...oy!

Back to school for most...but not for us.

2011-08-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was back to school in our neck of the woods and boy was it nice for this SAHM. We sat outside with out coffee and watched all the parents and kids rush out of the neighborhood for the first day of school. As I watched my little boy ride his bike it made me sooo happy that he still has about 3 years left at home with old mom. The first 3 years of his life have gone by in a blink so why would I think the next 3 years would be any different....they won't. I wish I could tell my baby to slow down, but we all know that won't happen either. Last night I spent over an hour going though almost every picture I've ever taken of him and thinking how blessed I am that I get to do all that again with Baby Drew.

Running errands yesterday was a breeze. We did a little shopping at Old Navy and the workers far out weighed the amount of customers. I always look forward to this time of year...if only the weather would cooperate and we could see an end to the 100+ days.

With all the above being said, I hope all of my friends who are teachers, had children going back to school or starting their first day of kindergarten had a great first day back to school!

Creepy Voice

2011-08-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Disclamer: I feel like a total turd for posting this!

The guy above loves to talk to Baby Drew in this freakish baby voice that totally weirds me out coming from a big manly guy. I've never told him this and it's starting to come back to me that he did the same thing with Mason. In reality it's really sweet and I could never tell him that it's creepy because I'm sure he would be so embarrassed and then totally hands off when it come to talking to the baby. Now, don't any of you go telling Mr. CoccaNuts that I put him on blast on my blog. He never reads this thing and wouldn't even know how to find it. With all that said...this guy ROCKS as DAD!

24ish Weeks

2011-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

I think I'm a little more closer to 25 weeks since it almost the end of the week. So any who...we're moving right along on the pregnancy train. Went to the doc yesterday and things seem to becoming along quite well. It took my doc at least 5 minutes to get an accurate heart beat count because Baby Drew wouldn't stay still for long at all and then he gave her a pretty big kick to boot. I scheduled the rest of my appointments for the duration of the pregnancy...seeing it on paper makes me realize how quick these next 3 months are going to go by. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year and I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to have a glass of red wine come December. I'm just going to put this in writing...I think Andrew Scott will make his grand entrance into the world on Nov. 28th and here's my weight prediction 7lbs. 6oz....we'll see. My next appointment is in 4 weeks and I get to drink the yummy orange drink (I really do think it's yummy though) to check for gestional diabites and then it's pretty much down hill from there. We can't wait to meet the newest Cocca and for Mason to meet his baby brother!

This pic was taken this past Saturday before we met some friends at Hattie's in the Bishops Art's District

Cravings

2011-08-15T05:06:00.000-07:00

While pregnant with Baby Drew I haven't had too many cravings. Really I can only think of one before last night. I craved a Texadelphia Philly Cheese Steak right before I found out I was pregnant and just recently fulfilled that craving by meeting a past coworker for dinner. Last night, while grocery shopping these little friends had to find there way into my basket ASAP.

They were priced at a ridiculous price of $3.77 for that small box, but it just didn't matter they had to find their way into my mouth as soon as I started up the car. I felt like such a kid while checking out because checker just threw them in the bag and I asked her if I could have those back so that I could hold on to them. I didn't want to waste anytime looking for those lovelys. Besides, once in my car with the A/C blowing it took me 5 minutes to get the plastic wrap off. I just hopped no one I knew was watching in the parking lot because I certainly looked like a woman on a mission. Anyway, they were quite tasty and I only ate 3...okay I ate 4 and my craving for the time being has been fulfilled.

6 Months and Counting

2011-08-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

Well most of you have heard me say it before...this pregnancy is flying by. Here I am above at the start of my 6th month. Still feeling great with this little guy and he seems to be doing well too. I'm very much looking forward to the dog days of summer being over so that I can be a little more active outside.

I've started buying more and more things for Andrew and today I got a great deal on these blankets that this Casita told me about. It's been about 2 1/2 years since we've been in the baby baby stage and I know so much has already changed so please new moms out there please share your must have baby items with me.

Mason talks about his little brother often and most time where in the store he some how sneaks something into the cart "for the baby"...sure the baby needs fruit snacks, fruity pebbles and a new Iron Man action figure...HA!

I guess that's about it...here's to hoping the rest of this pregnancy with Baby Drew will be just as uneventful as the first half!

xoxo,

Jenn

And it's Nap Time

2011-08-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Just layed MC down and there's a lot I need to accomplish during the 2 1/2 - 3 hour time span that he will be down. First off I need to finish the hour or so that I left of Bachelor Pad. Are you watching? I heart this show. So much better then the Bachelor and Bachelorette in my opinion. Then I need to finish up a shower gift that I'm making for a high school friend who now lives in Minnesota. And last, but not least I'm going to squeeze in a Prenatal Yoga...so good for my sciatica.
We had play group at my house this morning with my sis and her son Landon and my friend Stacia and her son Duggan. We ended play group with sprinklers and a trip to Chick Fil A...everyone was happy.

This morning before our friends arrived I completed that craft I blogged about a few days ago. Turned out pretty cute huh? All for a whopping 3 bucks. Now I just need a reason to have some friends over to use these bad boys.

Tutorial click here

Getting Crafty

2011-08-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've never been a crafty person, but the last few months I've been trying.

With the temps in the 100s the days there's not much for a SAHM and small child to do. So...during Mason's naps I usually spend about an hour working on a simple project I've pinned in Pinterest (do you need an invite?) I heart Pinterest and have found some of the best crafts there. I'm really looking forward to the fall and Christmas crafts that I've pinned.

Today I made Coasters! Click here for a full tutorial.

Here's Mason's wall letters that turned out awesome. Missing the O' and N', but you get the idea

Next up is this little project, just having decided on the plates I want to use.

Tutorial Click here.

How are you keeping busy and staying out of the heat???

There's this dog...

2011-08-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

To say I'm grumpy this morning would totally be an understatement! Went to be last night about 10:ish and this dog that has lived in the house behind us for about 6ish months did nothing but bark it's head off. After about 2 hours of listening to him I finally got up threw a bra on, got in my car and marched my butt up to there door...I knocked...no answer...I knocked again...no answer. So, I come home and call the police department and they said they would take care of it, but the dog never stopped barking. From our upstairs guest room I can see their whole back yard and back of their house. I kind of feel bad for the dog because he's just standing at the back door barking...can they not hear him? From the looks of their blinds (which look like they've made an appearance in Shark Week) I guess maybe I can see why the don't let him in, but I have a large dog and there's no way I would let Griff annoy the hood like that. UGH!!! What would you guys do? I have to get my sleep.

And for the first time Drew kept me up because he was doing the back stroke most of the night.

NEED COFFEE...REAL COFFEE...STAT!

Baby #2's Gender

2011-08-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we went in for my 20 week sonogram to check on Baby Cocca. We waited until the very end to of our sono to find out the gender I wanted to know all of the important stuff like heart, brain, and more were looking great first. As soon as I saw that sweet babies profile I thought more then likely we were looking at another boy and Scott immediately shouted out "that's a boy"...well...all of my "feelings" were right on because we are having ANOTHER BOY! A tear ran down me cheek as soon as those words were said...not because I wanted a girl but because I was just so happy. I'm sure I would probably have the same reaction if they would've said girl, but the thought of little brothers growing up together and concocting plans and getting in double the trouble just makes me smile. I fill completely fulfilled and if we decide to have a 3rd child it will be because I want another child not because I'm trying for that girl. Raising little boys is really something special. For example...on the rare occasion I get dressed, hair done and make-up on...when Mason sees me he always say with out fail "Mom, you a princess" and I melt.

I can't wait to welcome Andrew Scott Cocca into our family. I've been busy getting his nursery ready and washing his little clothes and blankets. Being on the otherside of 20 weeks is making it all a little more real now. The weeks are starting to go by pretty fast and before I know it we will have a outside baby. Drew is pretty busy during the day and makes me think I will have another Mason on my hands...BRING IT!

Baby Drew, we can't wait to welcome you!

A Letter from Nonny

2011-08-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Mason received a letter from his Nonny (my mom). She so sweetly took the time to write her grandson a letter about the good behavior he's been demostarting for the last few weeks.

Here's what the letter saids:

Dear Mason,

Hi my precious Grandson! This is you Grandma Nonny writing to you to tell you how much I love you and to tell you how proud I am of you. Your mommy told me how good you have been lately and how good you were at you play date, so I just want you to know I am so very proud of you and love you so very much! You are such a good boy and we are so blessed to have you in our lives! You make me so happy! Keep being a good boy and Papa and Nonny will take you somewhere very special real soon.

I love you!

Love,

Grandma Nonny

P.S. Here's the pic we alway do on the magnadoodle

Mom- thank you so much for taking the time to write MC a letter. It ment the world to him and me...he had the biggest smile on his face the whole time I was reading it to him. Such a special moment.

Writer's Block

2011-07-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have a major case of writer's block for this blog. I'm still having a hard time finding my voice and trying to decide what to post about. I do have a interesting life, but I'm just not sure how interesting other people would find it. My life is full of ups and downs and for sure not just RAINBOWS and UNICORNS and I get tired of reading blogs where people only blog about the happy things in their life, but people blog for different reason. With all that said I'll give you a run down of a conversation that the Mr. and I had this morning:

We all woke up around 7:00 this AM, Griff the dog is doing back flips for his 3 cups of food for the day and getting on my ever, last and loving nerve...I can't imagine if my three cats acted the way he did while they wait on their food. They're a little more subtle... Any who, I'm usually a get up and go kind of person, but every once in a while I can be a little sluggish and the morning was one of those morning. I guess Scott noticed it because he commented more the once that I seemed a little on the tired side. "Yes, Scott I am tired yes Scott I am in the midst of creating your 2nd son so every once in a while I might come off a little tired"...sorry about that hun! In the middle of all this Mason is begging for me to make him macawholly...also known as mac-n-cheese. Scott says "why don't you just make him some macawholly?" "because Scott it's not the kind you just put water in and put in the microwave..it's the kind you have to boil water for and it's 7:30 IN THE MORNING!" He then tells me he's headed to the gym because it looks like I need a little alone time. Thanks babe leave the tired pregnant mommy with her lets get this party started 3 year old! Will they ever get it?!?!?

xoxo,

Jenn

My Little Man!

2011-07-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

This post is a little Rainbows and Unicorns so you'll just have to deal. It's no shock to most that the last few months Mason has started to be a wee bit aggressive, i.e. lots of hitting and an occasional bite here and there. Well, I decided to change my approach to parenting and stop spanking and strickly inforce time-outs for 3 minutes. No judgement here if spanking works for you, but it was clearly not working for us. It's been a month since the last spanking went down and Scott and I have noticed a signficant change in his behavior. Today we ventured out to a playdate that I have pretty much avoided like the plague for fear of Mason being labeled "that kid" and y'all he was such a dream child...no hitting, no aggressive behavior and I only had to tell him once to stop doing something and my baby would listen. I'm so proud of him and I make a really big deal out what a great job he's doing and I get the biggest cheese smile and wet kiss in return. So today I feel like a successful parent who may have a little bit of an edge up on this 3 year old.

Half Way There

2011-07-19T04:11:00.000-07:00

I'm 20 weeks pregnant with CoccaNut #2! This morning is my 20 week sonogram where we could find out the gender of the baby. With that being said, along I've said that I don't want to know the gender until birth, but here I am a few hours away from our appt and I feel like I'm going to crack...aaahhh!!! Someone please talk me down from the ledge!!!

I will be equally excited for either sex...all I pray for is a healthy baby.

This pregnancy has gone great...I love being pregnant!!! I'm still amazed at how quickly it going by...kind of scary that before I know it I will have an outside baby. I haven't taken any pictures of my bump...I've never been really big on that. I'm going to try to get better at documenting the pregnancy, but don't hold your breath.

Well I'm going to go get ready for our appt now. Please say a prayer that our little baby is developing just the way he/she should.

xoxo,

Jenn

And we're Potty Training

2011-06-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

That's right folks I finally got off of my booty and started this process...because lets face it us moms are really the ones putting in all the hard work. We started about a week ago when I decided okay we're not going to wear diapers anymore (except during nap and night time). I don't think there's any turning back now. So each day when we go out and about we have our underwear on and I'm locked and loaded with a few extra pairs of undies and a change of clothes. He's doing pretty well too...he'll go a few days with out any accidents at all and then we'll have a day with a couple accidents. In my mind he has to have accidents so he can really get it. Anyway...I'm super proud of him and me if I don't say so myself. This is the one thing in parenting that I have dreaded the absolute most.

Another Baby

2011-06-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

On March 28th my suspicions were confirmed...we were going to have another baby. Scott and I had decided to take a break from the whole baby thing consider I had had two miscarriages in the last year, but God had another plan. We were cautiously excited, but deep down I really felt like this time was different. I still have a hard time saying that because I feel like I might jinx something.

I'm almost 15 weeks along and if wasn't for my rapidly growing mid section I really wouldn't even know I was pregnant. I stay pretty busy and active so maybe I don't give myself much time to think about all the other stuff. This pregnancy is already flying by...so much quicker then Mason. Kind of scary because before I know it I will have an outside baby. We aren't finding out the sex this go around until birth. Mason seems to get that he has a baby brother/sister growing in mommy's belly and has already claimed it as his baby. No surprise there considering MINE is his favorite word.

Due date for CoccaNut #2 is Dec. 5th. Prayers are welcomed and very much appreciated!

xoxo,

Jenn

Dirty Little Ham

2011-06-07T04:59:00.000-07:00

This is too funny to not post. This goes without saying that Mason is Mr. Personalitly and enjoys making others laugh. Recently, he's started taking showers. Yesterday was his first day to take one with out Scott. While he was in the shower he's washing his body and I hear him tell me "Mom...I'm like a Dirty Little Ham" he kept repeating this over and over. I was rolling on the floor laughing and maybe this is just funny to me, but this really made me laugh. I finally asked him "who calls him a Dirty Little Ham" and he said "Papa does". I then called my mom and told her the story above...which she found quite funny too and could hear him scream "I'm like a Dirty Little Ham" through the phone. Side note: my dad has never called him a Dirty Little Ham...where does he come up with this stuff?!?! I sure do LOVE my DIRTY LITTLE HAM!

Here we go...

2011-06-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

We won't even talk about how long it's been...

This weekend was pretty much a blur. Friday my little family and I had dinner at Ruby Tuesday and then came home and pretty much called it a night. Scott's always sooo tired on Friday nights. Saturday morning started off with a birthday party at The Gentle Zoo which was hot, but a ton of fun. Then after that party we some how roped Scott into going to our second party of the day...SCORE! Another dinner out on Saturday night and then me a sleep on the couch by 8:30. Sunday Scott played golf and Mason and I went to church. After church we went to Stephanie's and had lunch outside before it got too hot. A fun, but busy weekend. Next weekend we only have one birthday party to attend so a wee bit more laid back.

On today's agenda we are going to try to make it to the gym before 9:00 and then maybe a trip to the splash park. I need to dedicate most of the day to the SEVEN loads of laundry...UGH!

One more thing before I go...I'm 14 weeks pregnant!!!!

PICTURES

What Scott looked like after the Mavs lost last night

Rocking his 1st pair of Nike Air Jordans

Sprinkler Fun

xoxo,

Jenn

We'll just start here...

2011-04-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

As usual I've been mia for the last month...so lets just start with a butt load of pictures of my baby boy who's not so much a baby anymore and is growing up so stinking fast that I can hardly keep up!

And we're springing forward

2011-03-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

Spring forward time change = check! MC boycotted his nap yesterday and I was too tired to really enforce it and I think it may have worked out in my favor. I put him to bed at 7:30 last night which was really 6:30 and he went down with out a fight...and then he slept in til after 7:00 this morning...SCORE!

We had a great weekend. MC spent the night with his grand parents on Friday and the Mr. and I went to Mi Cocina in West Village for a Mambo #5 followed by some tasty seafood at Papadeaux. I would love to tell you that we were out until the wee hours of the morning, but the truth is that we're getting old y'all. I was in bed by 9:30...sheesh! Saturday I went to a cousins baby shower and spent several hours laughing with my crazy family. Later that evening Scott's dad came over to hang out with us and then after I put MC down he stayed and "watched" Mason while we went and enjoyed the great outdoors with a few friends. Sunday we went to the zoo and had soooo much fun.

Spring break starts today which means most places that I go during the week will be BUSY, but it also means that I get to hang out with Finally Recess quite a bit! I think I will come up with a few fun crafts for the kids to work on.

I'm going to make this for dinner tonight and this for breakfast sometime this week. I'll keep you posted!

Have a great Monday friends!

xoxo,

Jenn

Fat Tuesday

2011-03-09T04:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday and we celebrated by making Cake Mix Bark and Cake Mix Cookies. These are both really easy to make and a lot of fun too. I told MC when I picked him up from school that I made him a treat that had SPRINKLES on it...I've never seen him get in the car seat so fast.

simple ingredients for Cake Mix Bark

I had a whole box of cake mix left over from the bark so after dinner we whipped up some Cake Mix Cookies...oh my...make this TODAY! Best cookie that's been in my mouth...YUM!

Today is Ash Wednesday which means we'll be giving something up for 40 Days and not able to eat meat on Fridays. I'm giving up FACEBOOK...Scott is giving up by $3+ drinks at 24 Hour Fitness after his work out and MC (albeit he doesn't know it yet) he is giving up telling, mommy NO and throwing fits when he doesn't get his way. Wish us all luck.

Happy Ash Wednesday!

P.S here's Landon enjoying a snack yesterday afternoon...too cute not to share!

xoxo,

Jenn

Simple

2011-03-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

My morning is flying by. Got up at 5:15ish went for a run with Steph and now I'm catching up on blogs with my little bug sitting next to me watching Nemo. We've watched Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 I don't know maybe 100+ times in the last couple days. I'm always trying to get MC to watch Nemo and he always turns me down, but this morning I told him that Nemo was Papa's favorite movie and now we are watch NEMO!

Funny MC story: My parents came over on Saturday to spend some time with us and my dad told Griff (our dog) that he needed to brush his teeth because his breath was STINKY. Well Mase disappeared for a bit and all the sudden we noticed that he was holding my tooth brush and tooth paste with Griffs mouth open about to brush Griffs teeth since Papa said his breath was stinky...Bahhahaha!

Not sure what today holds...It's a school day for my little guy. I have many areas of my house to declutter, but lets not kid our self I'll probably spend a few hours watch Real Housewives of Orange County and Bachelor...just keeping it real folks...no SuperMom here. Maybe I'll make these during my down time...I'm obsessed with this blog and want to make every last thing she's ever posted about.
Okay so with out further udo...PICTURES!!!

MC and my friend Stacia's son Duggan at The Harbor

Our daily Fire Place pictures

"Quiet Time"

Tulips make me SMILE!

xoxo,

Jenn

Friday I'm in Love

2011-03-04T04:50:00.000-08:00

Good morning friends. Typical morning here...waiting on my coffee to brew...yada yada. We have a fun day planned today...hopefully that comment doesn't bite me in the booty like it did last time. Anyway, my sweet friend Stacia and her little boy Duggan are driving all the way from Prosper to Rockwall to spend time with us. They should be around 9:30ish. We plan to play outside the whole time since I think it's suppose to get a little cooler tomorrow.

Now it's time for PICTURES!!!

he's sooooo over it!

why do we have to do this every morning mom?!?!

playing with Sir Griffin before we head to school

weird face...I promise he was super stoked about school

bought these for MC yesterday...he was over the moon. The kid loves puzzles and needs little help from me

just finished my run...I'm running in the St. Patty's Day Dash Down Greenville next weekend

doesn't get much better then this

Soooo Sweet

2011-03-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

At our play date today MC made a few new friends at the See/Saw (spelling???) When he was done playing with them he walked away, but the turned around and said "Thanks for playing with me guys" are you serious?!?!? My heart about leaped out of my chest. There are days when he makes me pull my hair out and then there are days that he just melts my heart!

Brain Dump

2011-03-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

1. Today is our monthly CMC (Catholic Mom's Council) meeting. I so enjoy these ladies and have made a lot of great friends through this group. After our meeting MC and I are going to meet up with a few friends at Lake Point park.

2. Yesterday after I picked up my little guy from MDO I took him to The Harbor...we looked for turtles, fed a duck, admired the light house and shared an ice cream with...sprinkles of course!

3. Scott may be going to Palm Springs, CA in a few weeks and if he does he asked me if I would like to fly over with him a few days over and spend the weekend in Orange County...um...YES!!! I hope it works out because a weekend getaway sounds like just what the doctor ordered!

4. Over the weekend we signed MC up for Sun and Fun at The Ark for the summer. It's still 2 days a week from 9:00-2:00...I think he will love it!

5. I have a few furniture items that I'm looking to sale. Should I post them on here first?

6. I really want to take Mason to this.

7. And just so you know...I have my own living in Woody!

2011-03-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

My Dear Husband dedicated this song to me:

I Won't Let Go Rascal Flats

It’s like a storm

That cuts a path

It’s breaks your will

It feels like that

You think your lost

But your not lost on your own

Your not alone

I will stand by you

I will help you through

When you’ve done all you can do

If you can’t cope

I will dry your eyes

I will fight your fight

I will hold you tight

And I wont let go

It hurts my heart

To see you cry

I know it’s dark

This part of life

Oh it finds us all

And we’re too small

To stop the rain

Oh but when it rains

I will stand by you

I will help you through

When you’ve done all you can do

{ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/rascal-flatts-lyrics/i-won_t-let-go-lyrics.html }

And you can’t cope

I will dry your eyes

I will fight your fight

I will hold you tight

And I won't let you fall

Don’t be afraid to fall

I’m right here to catch you

I wont let you down

It wont get you down

Your gonna make it

Yea I know you can make it

Cause I will stand by you

I will help you through

When you’ve done all you can do

And you can’t cope

And I will dry your eyes

I will fight your fight

I will hold you tight

And I won't let go

Oh I’m gonna hold you

And I won't let go

Wont let you go

No I won't

Luv him! Such a beautiful song!!!

All better

2011-02-24T04:20:00.000-08:00

Waiting on my coffee to brew in my clean kitchen.

The Mr. and I watched a great movie last night. I ordered it on paper view while he was at the gym because I thought it would be some what of a chick flick. He came home shortly after starting the movie and sat down and watched too. We laughed so much and I cried a few times...which really felt good after yesterdays day. If you've had kids you will totally love this movie.

Today is a school day and I have a few things I need to get done...like...renew my drivers license, car registration...you know fun stuff like that.

Okay got to run...there's a child crying at the top of my stairs...ready or not...here we go!

Keeping it REAL

2011-02-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Today has been a bit of a challenge, but I'm always up for a challenge. Our fun day that I blogged about earlier hasn't been so fun. Mason has been on the cranky side and playgroup was a struggle for him...I'm going to chalk this up to him feeling bad and not being quite a 100% yet.

When I woke up this morning the cleaning fairy waved her magic wand the night before and my dirty house was suddenly clean, but now...clean...not so much. And I have pictures to prove it!

Yuck huh!?!? It's amazing the mess a 29 year old, 2 1/2 year old and 8 month old puppy can make. It's almost nap time and I plan to devote many minutes to the mess above.

Today has been one of those days where I question myself as a mother and all the "am I doing this right" moments. I have them every once in a while...they usually pass quickly and I hope that after naptime both of us will feel refreshed and be ready for a do over.

This is where MC would like to spend his nap time...yea...probably not going to work little man.

Ear infection and a picnic in the car

2011-02-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

Good morning y'all! Yesterday we took a trip to the Doc where we found out MC had a ear infection. We were sent home with a RX for an antibiotic and hopefully we are on the mend. Mase loves the doctor, we've never had a problem with him going or crying at the doctor. So it's usually a pleasant experience...thank Gawd.

reading a little Eric Carl while waiting on the doc

After our appointment we has about 45 minutes to kill while waiting on our prescription to be filled. We decided to spend our time having a picnic in the back of my SUV. We grabbed some Sonic and sat in the back and had lunch...it was fun and MC thought it was pretty neat that we were sitting in the car eating.

Today we have a pretty fun day planned. Play date at the park at 10:30 with all of our friends from "school" and then a trip to the gym. Hope all you lovelys have a great day.

xo,

Jenn

Sick-N-Tired

2011-02-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

We've been fighting some pretty nasty colds here at the Cocca house. Looks like I'll be making an appt with MC's pedi today. All he's done the last two days is watch Toy Story 1,2 and 3. Scott and I have watched enough Toy Story to last a lifetime. I think I will be making a stop at blockbuster today and try to talk him into a new movie. And while we're on the topic of Toy Story...this kid is obsessed with Jessie...I see a Jessie doll calling the Cocca Casa home very soon.

My baby boy (sporting a new hair cut) in all his sickness glory

Saturday the Mr. and I went to dinner at Bin 303 for a little post Valentine's dinner celebration. Scott's been fighting a cold for about 7+ days and has been without his taste buds for a while so he didn't see any reason for ordering anything nice so he settled for a salad and 3 straight whiskeys while I had a Wood fired 8oz filet brandy mushroom cream, red bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, with mash potato - it was so yummy!!! There wasn't a single morsel of meat left on my plate...I loved it so much that the next night I recreated the same meal and home and I must say it turned out pretty darn close to the original. Thanks for a great night babe and as soon as you get your taste buds back we're going back!

Another little fun note about the Mr...he was in New York City a few weeks ago and knows how nuts I am about Cupcakes and actually remembered me asking him to pick-up a cupcake from Crumbs Bake shop if he happen to see one and low and behold his hotel was about a block away. When he told me this I was over the moon excited and told all my friends that he was bringing me a cupcake from Crumbs home. They were probably thinking this girl needs to get out more if she gets this excited over a cupcake! Anyways...Crumbs bake shop lives up to all the hype...pure delish!

He enjoyed his cupcake quite a bit too!

Any just because he's growing up so fast...I caught a super cute picture of little boy walking in to school with his little Thomas back pack on. I want to remember this!

And last, but certainly not least here's a picture of Griffin our 8 month 60+ lb. chocolate lab "puppy"! We're so happy Griff joined our family back in August and couldn't imagine the Cocca Casa without him. We love you Griff!

xo,

Jenn

Running Partner

2011-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

This morning Finally Recess and I met up at 5:30am and went for a run through the old neighborhood. I must say that I'm super proud of Step. Unlike me, Steph has to go and teach after she finishes her run...sure my job is difficult at times too, but at least I get to ease into it. A little Diego and coffee time/reading favorite blogs and then I'm ready to go. We had a great time on our run...it was strange to have that much uninterrupted time together with out the kiddos. Hopefully we can keep this trend going. Steph has ran a 1/2 marathon before (something I didn't know about her) and she kept telling her legs this morning "c'mon you remember this".

Be still my heart!

2011-02-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

Today was MC's first Valentine's Party and my oh my did my eyes and heart witness pure innocents at it's best. There are many moments through out the day that make me thanks God and Scotty that I'm able to stay at home with Mason and being able to attend his quick little Valentine Party was one of them. Ya'll it's was too cute for words. They all sat at there little mini table in mini chairs and when teacher called there name they went and got there Valentines and hand delivered each Valentine to there friends. I love to watch Mason in a class room setting and it amazed me how well behaved and how great he is at following directions. Preschool...albeit just 2 days a week for a few hours has been so great for him and he just loves it!!! Here's a few pictures from this oh so special day.

Here we go again

2011-02-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

That's right folks...it snowing again here in Texas. All of the schools are closed in the DFW area. So far the snow has accumulated like last week. The roads are pretty icy though....I sure hope we get one more chance to go tubing down our "Collins Lane Hole" we all had a great time last week...I think the grown ups enjoyed it more the the kiddos.

Not much going on here other then lots of Go Diego Go watching and staying warm. It's after 10:00 and we are still in are jammies.

Here's a pic of me after my run yesterday...just keeping it real. All hot and sweaty...crazy to think that yesterday I was ran outside and it was beautiful. Today's run will have to take place on the treadmill upstairs...so boring.

My eye brows are so blonde that it looks like I don't have any...ha!

Coffee, oatmeal and a popsicle???

2011-02-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

Yep, that MC's idea of a perfect "snowed" in morning. Each time I open the door to let Sir Griffin out he says "Mama close the door...it's cold" "lets get cozy". So that's exactly what we're doing...getting cozy.

We woke up to about 6 inches of snow this morning, which is far more then what the weather man predicted. I think that said we would get a little dusting...I think we got a little more then a dusting. Any who...it is what it is. We will more then likely be stuck inside for a few more days and I will have to cancel my lovely spa day tomorrow. On the bright side...maybe with all the ice and snow all of those yucky germs that have been lingering will be killed off.

p.s. my main worry is that my vino stash is almost gone like...I'm down to 1/2 a bottle...UH-OH!!!

Stay warm friends,

Jenn

It's too early for beer...right?!?!

2011-01-31T06:39:00.000-08:00

We just finished our oatmeal, egg whites and coffee and now it's time to grab a water from the garage fridge. I got out to the garage, grab my water, sit back down on the couch and realize that I'm holding a bottle of Bud Light...WTH! It's Monday, but for a Monday it's going pretty well so I really can't justify drinking a beer at 8:30. Have no fear I put the beer back and I'm currently sipping on my refreshing water.

Weekend Recap: Nice weekend. Scott was in Washington D.C most of the week with work and then visiting his brother. He got back Saturday around 4ish. Friday MC and I spent the early afternoon at the zoo and then I took him to my mom and dad's house to spend the night. Met my sister and her family at Windy City Dawgs for dinner and then she came over and we had a wine and Jersey Shore night. At 11:00pm we got a craving for a taquitio so off to Whataburger we went. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've been in the drive-thru at Whataburger at that time of night. Side Story: Don't judge the Jersey Shore watching. I stumbled upon the show Friday night when I was trying to stay up late. When Scott's out of town I like to stay up late and watch tv so that I just crash when I off the tv. Therefor not hearing in strange sounds weirding myself out. Jersey Shore just happen to be the only thing on and I must say that show is hilarious...it's even better when you have a glass or two of wine and someone to watch it with...thanks sis. Moving on...Saturday morning consist of me drinking four cups of coffee and in my jammies until 10:00...felt so good y'all. My mom picked me up around 3ish and we went to sister's house, then to the park. Mom treated my sis and I to a early dinner...thanks MOM!!! Saturday evening after putting MC to bed I headed out to see Jason Boland in concert at Southern Junction...good time were had by all. Sunday was a day of rest...Enough Said.

Hope all of you kick this Monday off right! We are on our way to the gym in a few and Scott's in bed with a case of Montezuma's Revenge...poor guy.

xo,

Jenn

A day of leisure

2011-01-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

That's what today has been about...that and spending money. Every place I've been to today I've spent $10...I know...I know that doesn't sound like much, but I've been a lot of places in the time that I've dropped MC at Mother's Day Out and then back to pick him up from MDO. First stop was Hobby Lobby...oh how I love thee. Then it was on to Candles by Carol where I picked up two new candles (leather and Amber Romance). Next stop...Children's Place where I bought the last pair of 3t cargo pants that were on sale for $4.99 and a cute little black baseball cap with skull and bones on it for MC...the hat cost more the the darn pants. Then we went to Target...another $10...hey a girl has to get her wine. And to top this day of leisure off while Mason naps I'm sitting on the couch eating not 1...not 2, but a whole bag of Hershey Kisses filled with Cordial Cherry Creme...crap...that's not really going to help my girlish figure!

Tomorrow it's suppose to be sunny and 70 degrees outside so MC and I are headed to the ZOO! He doesn't know it yet...I'll wait to tell him until we are walking out the door other wise I'll never here the end of it!

xo,

Jenn

Lullaby and Goodnight

2011-01-24T04:59:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time...when he use to sleep in his nursery each night there was a time when after we had our bath, brushed our teeth, jammies on and read Goodnight Moon we would end our night with a 15-20 minute rocking session. I cherished that time...he was so still and would wrap his little arms around me, rest his head on my chest (I could smell lavender Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo) and let me sing to him. I thought that this tradition would surely continue even though he was in his new big boy room...so I pushed the rocking chair in his new room on that first night. He's been sleeping in his new room for almost a month now and he has yet to let me rock him...sniff...sniff. I practically begged him last night to let me rock him even bribing him with candy and he still told me "No...I go nite-nite". Sure, we've replaced rocking with other things that are equally as special, but Mama's that are still able to hold your little ones tight and rock them in the dark...soak it up...don't ever wish it away because in a blink of an eye it's gone.

Happy Monday Y'all,

Jenn

He's famous!

2011-01-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

At least in my eyes. A few weeks ago I took one of my favorite pictures of MC and submitted to one of my favorite blogs: www.spearmintbaby.com. she does a photo of the day. When browsing my google reader yesterday...what do I see?!?! MC featured on spearmintbaby.com photo of the day...check him out!

Soak~Wash~Rinse~Dry~Fluff~Fold

2011-01-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

Hello folks! I'm the proud new owner of these beauties! Now the real question is...how do I work these damn things?!?!

Some kind of wonderful

2011-01-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

I can't exactly put my finger on it, but today had been some kind of wonderful. Maybe it's because I've crossed many items off my "to do" list or maybe it's because the sun is actually shinning. It's been a pretty normal day... MC went to school for a few hours, I was pretty busy the entire time, I picked him up and then he came home and is currently napping. Nap time allows for me to sneak about 30 minutes of reading my two current books. More than likely I'll have to wake him up from his nap because we have to be somewhere at 3:45 which will make a grumpy 2.5 year old, but he's getting better at rolling with mama's hectic days. Today I'm feeling THANKFUL...thankful for the simple things...the things that I often take for granted.

Yours truly,

Thankful Jenn

Dear Dad

2011-01-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Dad (AKA Blue Moon),

Just and ordinary day, but then you called. You called to tell me to open my garage so you could come in and then my ordinary Wednesday became a little less ordinary. I love when you come over...Mason LOVES when you come over. The excitement that I get when I know your are about to be here is a little overwhelming. I know I'm going to get to make you coffee at some point show you what a great mother I am to one of your 4 prides and joy (Landon, Mason, Laura and me). You see...you and me...we are a lot a like...the good...and the BAD. Thank you for painting Mason bedroom, thank you for being my DAD! Not much more to say other then...I LOVE YOU!

xo,

Jenny Pooh

This Picture

2011-01-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

This little moment was captured this morning while Mason and I were in his new big boy room playing with his Little People village. When Mason first started playing with Little People he called them "Happy People" instead of Little People...that was probably over a year ago. He now calls them by their correct name and I will forever hold a special place in my heart for the phrase "Happy People".

While playing with said, "Happy People" He grabbed one of the figures that he aways calls Papa and then another figure that looks very similar to the "papa" figure and said, "Look it's Papa's brother". Where did he come up with that? I've never mentioned anything about my dads brother and he's never met my dad's brother. Got to love the mind of a 2.5 year old.

xo,

Jenn

Mason's Surgery

2011-01-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

After a very long day, half a bottle of Pinot Noir and some mindless TV...AKA The Bachelor I'm ready to write. Scott and I woke up at 5:00am this morning to get ready to head to Plano for MC's day surgery procedure. We woke him up at about 5:20 put new jammies on him, bundled him up and headed on our journey. There were numerous accidents on the road due to the "icy conditions" more like dumb asses that drive to fast. We made it to Plano in one piece with five minutes to spare before our appointment time. Once we got into the Pediatric Surgery Center things went rather quick. Mason was a trooper the whole time not a single tear was shed and by 3:00pm this afternoon he was back to jumping off his bed...I kid you not! I'm not really surprised are you?!?! So glad to have this behind us and praying for a quick and easy recovery for little MC.

Sleep tight...don't let the bed bugs bite!

Jenn

Baby It's Cold Outside Part Deux

2011-01-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

Everything is officially white around here and it's beautiful. We've mostly stayed inside enjoying watching it from the window, but got out in it a few times. The biggest fan of the snow by far in the Cocca Casa is...

Griffin

Baby It's Cold Outside

2011-01-09T06:23:00.000-08:00

Snow expected to hit today around noonish...will see. Right now it's currently cold and wet. Originally the forecast was just for snow, but now they think it the roads might be in bad condition come Monday morning. Which means we might have to delay Mason's surgery considering we have to be in Plano at 7:00am. Ugh...I just want to have this behind us. Snow would be nice and Mason sure would enjoy it, but I just wish it could hold off a few more days.

Scott and I had date night on Friday since mom and dad wanted Mason to spend the night with them on Friday. I dropped MC off at my mom's office in down town Dallas and then picked Scott up from his office and we headed across the street to the Galleria and had dinner at Mico Cina...one of our favorites. They're suppose to be opening a Mico Cina in Rockwall and day now. After dinner we went did a little shopping and then drove to The Cheese Cake Factory to pick up dessert...cheese cake...yes and Thank You! Can you tell we like food?!?! We drove back to home climbed in to bed, watched a little TV and then we called it a nights. Pathetic....I can almost bet Mason was still awake when we turned out the lights. Ha!

And just because...A walk down memory Lane

3 Days Old

12 Months Old

2 Years Old

2.5 Years Old

And now it's snowing!

Stay Warm Y'all,

Jenn

This and That

2011-01-07T05:26:00.000-08:00

Good morning folks! We are up an at em this morning at the Cocca Casa. Mason woke up bright an early at 6:45 so he's currently snuggled next to me on the couch watching Dora until Mama's "computer time" is up. There's a Zumba class at 9:00 this am that we are going to try really hard to make it to. My usual give time is about 10:15.

BULLETS

Mason started back to school yesterday after they winter break. I must say after all the reports that I've been getting at the gym I was a little worried about what his day might be like at preschool too, but today I had nothing to worry about be because his teachers said he did great!
Sister came over for dinner last night because "B" was working late. We had a wonderful dinner and I tried out a new recipe that I created...it was delish y'all. I will post.
My mom and dad want Mason to spend the night with them tonight and as much as I want him to and would love a little break we really need their baby sitting services next weekend because one of my friends has invited us out to a lake house for an overnight Birthday Extravaganza. I'm so blessed to have the most amazing parents on this planet who play such and active role in my sons life and have been their for all the big/small moment. Side story: Mason's Christmas program was last month and I told my mom about, but told her that she didn't have to come because his portion would only be about 5 minutes at the most and it was during her work day, but low and behold she drove the 25+ miles for a 2.5 year olds 5 minutes Christmas program....Grandmother (Nawnie) of the Year y'all.

I guess that's about all and let's just go ahead and recognize that I've blogged 7 days in a row!

xo,

Jenn

If you're going to put him to bed

2011-01-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

PUT HIM TO BED!!! Scott's been working late lately or going straight to the gym after work which result and me putting Mason to bed each night. Obviously at 2.5 years old we have quite the routine worked out. We go up stairs, potty, brush our teeth, put on our diaper and jammies, read a couple of books, rock for a minute or two, give him his 2 blankets and lovey that he has slept with since he was about 6ish months, say our prayers, turn out light...Night-Night. This is not a new routine and Scott is well aware of said routine. So When Scott called me today and told me that one of his stitches popped(he had dental work done a couple of days ago) and he had an appt at 4:00 and should be home around 4:30...I couldn't help but do a little happy dance because that would mean that he would put him to bed tonight. This would be his first night to put MC to bed in his big boy room. Well...he's up there with him for at least 30 minutes...he come down stairs and I can hear MC crying which is rare for night-night time. I go upstairs because Scott informs me that I have they magic touch...bull shit! I walk in and our little boy has crocodile tears running down because daddy just put him in bed without his 2 favorite blankets and lovey. MC then informs me that he didn't get to go potty or brush his teeth. So after all that I still had to go upstairs, remove diaper and jammies, let MC potty, put diaper and jammies back on, brush teeth, rock and kiss Good Night. So I would say that I put Mason to bed. I guess Scott thought just because our son is sleeping in a big boy bed he automatically gave up his favorite blankets and lovey...one vice at a time friend.

Good night Y'all!

Jenn

He's a Hot Mess Ya'll!

2011-01-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of "fun" comments from the ladies at the kids club at 24 Hour fitness: "Mason had to sit in time-out x2 today. He was spitting on other children and wiping snot on toys so that other children wouldn't play with them" I can't make this stuff up...just keeping it real people. Needless to say I'm currently reading "Love and Logic" and apparently can't get through it quick enough.

So to get my mind off of the behavior issues that I'm dealing with from my Little CoccaNut that I love dearly. Here's a look at my favorite pictures of 2010.

Did you know Mason's a bully?!?!

2011-01-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

That's what the lady who works in the kids club at 24 Hour Fitness asked me when I went to pick him up after my workout. She said "he's one of the cutest little boy, but he can be really mean!" Nice...just what a mom wants to hear. She also said, "that he isn't scared of anyone and that kids twice his size will come up to her and tell her that, that baby won't quit hitting him/her"...please know that this is nothing I'm proud of and we are working on our bully like behavior. Good times....

2011 reading list

2011-01-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

Good morning friends! I hope Monday treated you well. It was a usual busy and chaotic Monday for us...lot of running around. We tried to go to the Library after our errands, but for some very odd reason it was closed. One of my many New Years resolutions was to read more. I use to read a ton, but in the last 6 months of haven't read as much. So, I have a great list that I can't wait to get started on.

Have you read any of theses? I would love to hear what you thought!

xo,

Jenn

So Proud!

2011-01-03T05:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my dad came over to finish painting Mason's new Big Boy room and help Scott put his new furniture together. Mason was beyond excited when he saw it with the new paint and new furniture. When he walked in he said "Wow...this is nice" "thank you Papa"...how stinkin cute is that? I wanted the "big reveal" to take place after his new bedding arrived and I had all of his cute things on his wall, but it was kind of hard to keep him out of there with all the camotion going on. So since he was sooo excited about his new room and bed I decided I should go a head and see if I could get him to sleep in his new bed. After a little pep talk and laying down with him in his new bed for about 5 minutes he told be he was ready to go night-night. I kissed him one last time and then shut the door and walked down stairs. Scott was sitting on the couch and he noticed that I was starting to tear up. I couldn't help it; the tears were mostly because I'm sooo proud of him, but a few of them were because he's not exactly a baby anymore and he's growing up too fast. I didn't get much sleep last night because I kept waking up and looking at the video monitor to make sure he didn't fall off the bed. My little man made it all night in his new room. When I noticed him sitting up in his bed this morning at 7:15am I ran upstair and danced around his room and did a little happy dance for him tell him how proud I was off him. He started clapping and saying "I did it" "I did it".

I will share pics of MC's new room as soon as his bedding arrives and I finish adding the last few touches.

Have a great Monday ya'll!

xo,

Jenn

Sunday Fun-day

2011-01-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try to queeze in a post real quick before we head off to church. They weekend is almost over and I must say I'm excited for Monday to come so we can start 2011 off right. Mason goes back to school on Thursday and I have plenty to keep me busy on his first day back.

Mason is having surgery on January 10th so please keep him in your prayers. The actual procedure should only take about 15 minutes, but he still has to go completely under which is never fun for Mommy and Daddy.

Last night Scott and I watched All Good Things...weird, but good movie.

Speaking of movies, I'm dying to see Black Swan. I love Natalie Portman and this is such a different role for her.

Okay, now it's my turn to get ready for church, but I leave you with my new favorite shoe...I bought these yesterday and I must say they're the most comfortable she my feet have ever stepped into...LUV. Sperry Topsider Runner slip-ons.

So it's 2011

2011-01-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years ya'll! I'm so ready for 2011...I truly feel like this is our year. Our NYE was a busy, but fun one. My parents came over because my dad's painting Mason's new big boy room and then they took Mase back to their house for the night so Scott and I could enjoy a little quiet time...thanks Mom and Dad! We had a quiet dinner out and then went over to my BFF's for a little house party! We had such a blast playing Rock Band Country. Lots of laughs, black eyed peas at midnight and some of the best deep fried pheasant I've ever had in my life.

Looking forward to a rockin 2011!

xo,

Jenn

It's about time

2010-12-29T05:50:00.000-08:00

It's a cold and wet rainy December day today and I'm trying to start one of my New Years resolutions a bit earlier this year...be a better blogger. To be honest with you I've neglected this little online diary of mine because I've...we've had another heartbreaking loss. In late November I found out that I was pregnant again and in early December I had another miscarriage. I never imagined I would even have one miscarriage, but now I've had two. I felt like this time it didn't sting or hurt as bad...so I thought. Lots of family and friends check on me and made sure I was okay...I told them I was fine and I really thought I was and then a couple weeks later while taking a bath I fell apart. It felt so good to just cry. I had no idea where it came from and it kind of felt like an out of body experience. During the middle of my "pity party for one" Scott walked in to brush his teeth and found me weeping in the bath tub. He got down one his knees put his arms around me, sleeves wet and said nothing...he just held me. I love that man. We are not sure what God has planned for us, but we know we having many blessing to be thankful for...number 1 being the precious little boy that's currently sleeping upstairs in his crib.

I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year's with many blessings. I have several posted lined up so be on the look out.

xo,

Jenn

Well look who it is!

2010-10-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've taken such a hiatus from blogging. Once again I've had WAY too much going on on. I think it's best to do this post in bullet style so that I can get everyone caught up.

My lil sis now lives 5.2 miles away from and for the first time in over 10 years we have the same zip code. I can't even begin to how fun this is. We usually see each other every other day if not every day. I saw her twice yesterday...it was quick, but still 2 times in 1 day?!?! I went to Walmart at about 8:30 last night and while strolling around the bakery section ran across two mini bundt cakes by Paula Dean...I bought them called my sis on the way home to see if she wanted to share a late night dessert with me...of course she did she's the queen of sweets. I can begin to stress how much I enjoy having her so close. We went from about 200 miles away to 5 miles away. "Sisters by chance friends by choice"
There's a 45+ pound puppy snoring away on my lap right now. Griffin's doing great and has become quite the family member. I can't imagine our family without him.
I've started cooking meals out of my house. I started out doing them for my bestie Steph and then she gave me a shout our to all of her coworkers at her school and now I'm cooking for them too. I'm really enjoying it and I'm defiantly enjoying the extra cash. So if you ever need a home cooked meal give me a shout!
Mason got the stomach bug this week that's been running rampid in Rockwall. He's on the mend now. I don't really think you can say you have your "mom badge" until you've survived several days of cleaning up throw-up over and over.
Halloween is right around the corner. Originally Mase was going to be Danny from the movie Grease, but Steph gave us her son's Spider Man costumer from last year so I'm thinking I may wait until next year for Danny Zuko costume.
I made a Halloween wreath and I LOVE it!
Mason and I are meet one of my friends from way back at the Galleria Mall play area today. She has a son thats about a year and half. Looking forward to a fun lunch date.
I think this is a good start, but there's much more where this came from.

XO,

Jenn

Your Three Words

2010-09-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

LIVIN THE DREAM that's how I feel about being a mom to MC. I'm trying to get more pictures of Mason and me because I'm usually the one behind the camera and I don't want to look back and see little pics of me and my boy...so my self timer and myself are getting better acquainted.

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Join in with your three words over at Jenni From the Blog.

Making new friends

2010-09-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

I love to make new friends and yesterday I made a new friend. The two morning out of the week that I drop MC off at "school" I usually see the same moms doing the same thing. I'm usually wearing my workout gear so on my way out yesterday another mom walked out with me wearing her workout gear too and she asked if I was headed to the gym. I said "yes" she asked "where" I said "24hr" and she said "me too". We got on elliptical next to each other, and burned over 500 calories. During our conversation we realized that we have so much in common...such a down to earth girl. Funny thing is that I've seen her at the gym all summer long and all along thought she seems so nice and someone I could be friends with. Cheers to making new friends!

I love this boy

2010-09-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

So glad I was able to capture this moment yesterday. I was busy cleaning the kitchen and MC was entirely too quiet so I knew that meant trouble, but this is what I found.

Pretty sweet huh?!?! We have had many challenging days lately, but as of right now I couldn't ask for more. MC is currently snugged up next to me on the couch, we are both in are jammies and it's raining CAT & DOGS outside. It's past nap time, but I'm enjoying this snuggle time with my little boy too much. I keep telling myself 15 more minutes and then I'll take him up for his nap. Our snuggle time was just interrupted because he (for the second time today) told me that he needed to go sit on the potty...and guess what folks...my boy went #1 in the potty. And this is what he looks like when he achieves my our goal!

Mason's very first Preschool Art Work

2010-09-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I made the fabric bulletin board a couple of weeks ago to display MC's art projects from preschool and yesterday he came home with this

I'm in love with this little lovely! It's now be displayed proudly in our kitchen.

Rainy Monday Morning

2010-09-07T05:05:00.001-07:00

Good morning. It's a wet morning here in my neck of the woods and I love it. The backdoor is open so Griff can go in an out as he pleases. I was just catching up on Bachelor Pad...am I the only one who watches this show? I know I shouldn't watch it or even like it, but I can't help myself. Mase has MDO this morning so after I drop him off I have to run to the bank and then it's off to the gym I go. I need to download a new album to put on my i-touch...any suggestions?

We had a pretty good weekend. Mase was a tad bit challenging and it left Scott and I shaking our heads and saying "where did we go wrong"...which deserves a whole post of it's own. So we'll get into that later. In the mean time I would love to hear any tips for parenting a strong willed, stubborn and determined 2 year old.

Mason's buddy Gabe turned 2 this past weekend and we attended his super fun Thomas the Train party and our local splash park. Scott went too which was so nice for me because we were able to "tag team" Mason.

Date night was on Saturday and we met up with some of our good friends and had dinner at Primo's...YUM!

Okay, well this morning is slipping away quickly. Lot to do before I have to wake little man up.

Have a great Monday ya'll!

XO,

Jenn

Easy Breezy

2010-09-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Taking a few minutes to give this little on-line diary the respect that it deserves Most of all the windows are open on our first floor and football season is definitely in the air. Scott and I woke up around 6:30 thanks to Griffin (10 week old puppy) so we started our day out with a couple cups of Java and quiet time on the back patio enjoying the 62 degree temps. Thank you Sweet Baby Jesus for the cooler temps. Once Mase woke up we headed out to buy him his new fall wardrobe. You can tell that all us Texans are just giddy with excitement about the cooler temps because everyone cruising around town with the windows down. Side note: you might be from Texas if you think it's fall if the temps are anything below 90. After we finished fall wardrobe shopping, we stopped by Costco and picked up one of their take n bake pizzas and then headed home. We gave Griff a bath and then put MC down around 1:00. Then proudly wearing our orange (go Horns) we made a cocktail and sat down on the couch for our first dose of college football.

Tonight we have a sitter coming over and Scott and I are meeting up with friends to have dinner at a new Mexican restaurant, Arboledas.

And Just because this I just finished washing and blow drying my hair and I just have to mention that this is my favorite shampoo and conditioner of all time!

Happy Saturday Folks!

XO,

Jenn

Preschool Recap

2010-09-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

Morning People! Mase and I are sitting on the couch watching a little Yo Gabba Gabba and enjoying the cooler temps. The cooler temps have my thinking about fall and several fall crafts that I would like to do.

Mase's first day of preschool was a success. When I went to pick him up he was playing and having a great time...not a tear in sight. I did get the most hilarious note from his teacher Ms. Mary. She sends notes home each day so you know how their day went.
Pretty good morning.
Lovable most of the time.
HIt others throwing toys at free time.
Better when structured play.
Time out x2 throwing
toys. Always seems to want
to apologize and hug after.
Ate pretty good.
Do you want him to have chocolate milk at nap time?
He asked for 30 minutes- calmed a little when I held him.
For a first day he did pretty well.

Allow me to explain the chocolate milk question. For some reason Mason likes to say the phrase "chocolate milk" so anytime we meet anyone new it's the first thing he says. I think he does it because I always laugh at him when he says it because he sounds sooo cute. I about spit out my Diet Dr. Pepper when I got the that part...too funny.

Mom's first day of Mason at preschool went great too. I did miss him and it confirmed that I'm super happy that I gave up my career to be a stay at home mom because I couldn't make it with out him everyday. After we dropped him off I came back home and started making beds, vacuuming and organizing. Then I met Stephanie
at her school (she teaches 1st grade) and we had lunch together in her classroom. It was a little odd for us to get through a whole lunch without have our conversation interrupted by the shorties every couple of minutes. After my quick lunch I went to our local thrift store and then it was time to pick MC up. My day flew by and I hope his did too. Day two is Tuesday and I expect there will be a few more tears.

I need to run now; Scott's getting off work early and wants us to come in to Dallas for lunch and then I think there might be a trip to Toys R Us after lunch. Super fun!

P.S. I'm participating in a SCARF SWAP at Sweet T Family
Hope over and join in the fun.

Have a great weekend! College football kicks off this weekend...GO HORNS!!!

Time Marches On

2010-09-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

Mason was all smiles this morning as he walked around the house strutting with his back-pack, lch box and talking about going to school. He was all smiles when he went into his classroom...still smiling and waving by to daddy when he left, but when it was mama's turn to leave the classroom the smiles where no more. He told me "no mama...sit down". So while he was crying and begging me not to leave I walked the walk of shame out to my car. I anticipated this would happen and I stood strong. I'm sure by now he has already forgotten about me. Most of all of the children were crying anyway and most moms were doing the exact same thing I was so that's always comforting. I'm off to tackle several projects while I have a quiet house. I already can't wait for 2:15 so that I can go and pick him up.

Mason is 2 years old and today was his first day of Preschool (Mother's Day Out) where he will attend on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9:15-2:15.

Cousins

2010-08-31T05:54:00.001-07:00

Be sure to turn your volume up.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Busy Monday

2010-08-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

Mason napping, the puppy's napping and the cats napping. I on the other had just finished putting groceries away, cleaning the kitchen, mopping the hardwood floors and now I'm sitting down at 2:00 for a quick bite to eat and a new blog post.

Mason starts preschool (Mother's Day Out) this Thursday and I'm beside myself with nerves. I know he will be do great, but I can't help but be be sad because I'm so use to it just being him and I everyday. He'll go twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday's at our church from 9:15-2:15. Pray that this transition goes well for both of us!

My sister and family arrived at our house on this past Tuesday and they left on Sunday morning. We had a blast together...many laughs and many bottles of wine were shared. This morning when I got up I kept waiting for her and Landon to walk down stairs. Once Mason woke up this morning he informed me that LAW's crying. I guess he was just use to having them around too.

That's all I've got. Time to move on the project: LAUNDRY!

XO,

Jenn

A lot about nothing

2010-08-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

Morning ya'll. I'm tired, have a summer cold, bug in my coffee and really don't have much of quality to contribute to this post. On the bright side it's currently 75 outside with a high of 89. Now that makes this Ol' Girl HAPPY.

I've got to get back on the gym bandwagon ASAP. Scott and I've done great all summer long, but then we got back from our vacay and things just kind of fell apart. In my defense I did try to jump back on yesterday, but the kids club was full and it was about a 30 minute wait. Shocking since I haven't had to wait all summer and now that all the kids are back in school I have to wait?!?! Doesn't make much sense. So instead of working out I took Mase to McDonald's and ate a sausage mcmuffin...total opposite of what I should have done. Oh well...you win some and you lose some.

Do you have a MomAgenda/MyAgenda? If not, I highly recommend them. This mama would be lost with out hers.

I'm currently reading The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes and it's soooo good. Diane Chamberlain is the author and she will have tearing through this book in no time.

I do love the song "Then" by Brad Praisley.

Then lyrics
I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you
You had me mezmorized
And three weeks later, in the front porch light
taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
but I thought I loved you then

Chorus

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

And i remember, taking you back to right where I first met you,
You were so surprised
There were people around, but I didn't care
Got down on one knee right there once again,
I thought I loved you then

Chorus

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

I could just see you, with a baby on the way
And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then

Okay, I'm going to go wake my sis up and see if I can convince her to do one of the P90X workouts with me.

XO,

Jenn

Ten on Tuesday

2010-08-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

1.) I love the "calm before the storm" in the mornings. Just me, my music, fur babies and big cup of java. The storm would be Mason. I really need these couple of hours to gather myself before the "storm" wakes up with all of his demands and that darn Dora singing to me in the background.

2.) The city I live in is getting a Mi Cocina-nuff said!

3.) The Texas State Fair will open in 31 days. Can't wait to get my hands on a corny dog and funnel cake.

4.) There's football on TV again. As exited as I am about football season and watching "America's Team" it comes with consequences...Scott's in two fantasy football leagues which kind of makes me a widow for a bit.

5.) Halloween-what will MC be for Halloween? We like the idea of Tarzan for two reason, 1.) it's his favorite movie right now and 2.) he's totally a Tarzan kind of guy, but I fear that this will be the year that its not 80 degrees on Halloween and I'll have my son in a Tarzan get-up.

6.) My next project on the horizon is Mason's big boy room. He will move out of the nursery and into one of our guest rooms. I'm so over all of the toys in my living room and think it's time for him to start playing in his room. I know my living room will never be exactly toy free, but currently there's a train table and picnic table in there. My sister found a super cute site for bedding companykids.com and I think I have a few options for the direction that we want to go in.

7.) I love fall. It's my mom and my favorite time of the year. Maybe because both of our birthday's our in the fall or maybe it's because both of us love to eat and there are lots of excuses to eat during the fall. I'll be 29 this fall. Not sure how I feel about that, but not much I can do about it either.

8.) I try to hide my excited when my sister tells me that she and her husband are pretty sure that they want to live in the city we live in, but inside I'm bursting at the seams. I can't imagine living in the same city as my sis. We haven't lived in the same city since Dec. 31st 2000...that's right almost 10 years ago. That's when I moved out of my childhood home to "spread my wings and fly". When you're 18 you aren't thinking about never living with your sister again. Your way to wrapped up in yourself. Wish I would really treasured the time that we lived together because you can never go back. When I think of all of the many things we and our families can do together I seriously get choked up, but I try to contain my excitement because it not a for sure thing and I don't want to get my heart broke. The thought of Mason and Landon growing up mere miles from each other and the sleep overs that will take place...well...there's not much more I can say...I think I might explode if it happens!!! Finger, toes and everything else crossed!

9.) Last night Mason had a rather challenging night. He wouldn't listen to Scott or me and finally Scott said he just needs to go to bed. It was pretty early for him, but he was warn out from playing hard with his buddy Brent in the 104 temps for 45 minutes straight. I took him upstairs screaming and kicking and told him because he was disobedient he had to go straight to bed without me reading any books to him. He kicked and screamed the entire time I was getting his diaper changed and jammies on. After I got him ready for bed I caved because he had huge tears running down his face and I new he was exhausted so I turned out the light put my baby against my chest, rocked him and watched him melt in my arms. Five minutes later he was passed out.

10.) I'm crazy about Lands' End Canvas Fall Collection. I'm not usually a Lands' End fan, but their Canvas collection is YUMMY! http://canvas.landsend.com/canvas/index.html

Monday Coffee Break

2010-08-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! Sitting at my kitchen table with this little cutie pootie under my feet. I so HEART this little guy. We have had him for almost a week now and after I about 4 hours in the Cocca house Griff new this was his home and never looked back. Oddly enough the kitty cats and Griff our managing to live in harmony. The puppy wants to play with them so bad and Maverick (cat) thinks that it might be a good idea, but hasn't completely warmed up to the idea. I curious to see about a month from now if they're all just hanging out together like one big family. These days I feel stretched pretty think with making sure all of my four legged family members have had enough attention. And I'm constantly have to break up fights with Mason and Griff. I had no idea that Mason would be upset when Griff was chewing on a chew toy and Mason would demand that is "MINE"! They have a love/hate relationship going on.

We took Mason to church yesterday for the first time other then when he was babtized. We took down stairs to the Children Nursery for 3 and under. They gave us a pager and off Scott and I went. There were no tears shed, just "bye mommy" "bye daddy" and off we went. I'm so proud of the independent little boy that we are raising. Scott and I usually take turns going to church on Sunday so it was so nice to be able to sit next to him during the service with his arm wrapped around me and anytime something the preist said that hit home we could look at each other with a look of how that currently pertains to us. We went to pick up our little man and he was playing away, but very happy to see us. Oh yeah and one more thing about church...we have a large congregation and the 10:30 Mass is always crowded any many members have to stand. Well I find it rather irrating when someone sitting in a pew is sleeping through the mass while others or standing...UGH!

I ran into my neighbor that lives beside us that I don't know too well. I had a sneeky suspicious that she was pregnant, but I was absolutly sure until yesterday. She was admiring Griffin and I was now able to confirm that her baby bump was indeed a baby bump. I asked her when her due date was and she said New Years Day...kind of crazy because before I my misscairrage our baby would have been due Jan. 2nd.

Today my sis and Landon are coming to stay with us for a few days. So stoked! She's bringing us fresh fruits and veggies from her father in-laws garden. I love my sis we are such besties and we love spending time together and making each other laugh.

I have a new favorite band and I thought you guys should know it.
The Band Perry=LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

Okay so if anyone is still reading this cudos to you. I good continue but I'm sure most of you are bored. Have a great week people!

XO,

Jenn

Back to School

2010-08-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

This morning when I went to take the trash out I was I saw a group of our neighborhood kids all decked on in their new back to school wardrobe and backpacks wait for the bus. This year Back to School has a whole new meaning for me. Mason will start preschool on Sept. 2nd. He will participate in a Mother's Day Out program at our church. It's 2 days a week from 9:00-2:00. I know he will love it and really needs the interaction with other kids his age. We have play dates occasionally, but I think he needs the structure along with me being out of the picture for. I'm super excited because I know he'll love it, but I'm nervous too because I'll have to let go a little bit.

Caught Ya

2010-08-23T05:18:00.001-07:00

This is what I found when I went searching for my little shorty! Who looks for something to eat while in the buff?!?! Mason that's who.

Pooped Out!

2010-08-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

Between having a two year old and a 8 week old puppy I feel like all I've done lately is be on poop watch. Mason usually poops at least a couple of times a day and now I have to go outside with Griff ever hour or so and make sure he poops. It a little ridiculous people. With that said Griff's been doing really well. He's currently passed out on my kitchen floor. He's been up since 5:30 and guess who's been up with him while everyone else is snug as a bug in their beds...that's right me. That's okay I figured this is how it would go. I'll have to admit I really enjoy the quiet mornings to myself.

Speaking of Poop...funny story- so by no means have we started the potty training process, but Mase is defiantly interested. Well, yesterday he was been really quite so I started to look for him and I found him in the down stairs bathroom sitting on the big potty and he said "Mama I pooped in there" then he jumps off the potty and sure enough there's poop in there. He flushes and the climbs back on the potty and poops again.

Hope you guys have a terrific Saturday.

XO,

Jenn

Day 3 of blogging FIVE days in a Row

2010-08-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know technically it's not day 3, but I fully plan on another post this evening so that counts right?!?! My current mood Right now is Grumpy/Excited/overwhelmed. Excited- because my honey and I leave fore Mexico in the morning. Overwhelmed - because I have a lot to do before getting ready to leave. I finished most of my errands the morning, but I still need to make a quick trip to CVS for some sunscreen. Poor little Mason has been a trooper while mama's been getting ready for her getaway. Yesterday and today we've gone to the following places:
-cleaners
-park
-Doc (me blood work)
-Jcpenny
-tailor
-Costco
-post office
-Dollar Tree
-Best Buy
-Back to the cleaners
-Back to the tailors
-Gas Station
-Back to Best Buy
-Sprint Store
-Nordstrom Rack
-Off 5th Saks
All of those places in the 100+ temp and getting a 2 year old in and out of his car seat over and over. I still need to clean my casa because...who wants to come home to a dirty house?!?! Not me!
Grumpy-because this morning my cell phone was attacked by a virus and is DONZO. I've only had this phone for 4 months tops! I feel like I've lost my best friend. I will say that it has been kind of nice to be a little unconnected especially since I have lots I need to be doing.

Hopefully my next post will be a little more ZEN like because I hope to be writing it with a big cold glass of white wine.
I will be the lady in the hammock come this time tomorrow~

XO,

Jenn

Day 2 of blogging FIVE days in a Row

2010-08-10T03:57:00.001-07:00

Morning. Just finished a morning workout and sippin on some coffee. I'm going to devote most of this email to Griffin. Griffin, is our seven week old chocolate labrador retriever that will call Collins Lane his home next Tuesday. Last week we went and picked out our puppy and now there's a puppy with a blue and green collier on that we now claim as our newest family member. Scott has wanted a dog since before we met and for a while I wasn't on the same page...don't get me wrong I love dogs, but I was just not ready to be died down by one. We currently have three indoor cats so I hope they adjust quickly. I can now say that I'm super EXCITED. I love the movie Marley and Me and I think Mason is going to be in love with Griff. I know it's not going to be easy and I'm sure there will be lots of blog post about how crazy this dog is making me, but we can't wait to bring our new family member home.

Did I mention that we are going to Cabo in 3 DAYS?!?! HAHAHA!!!!

P.S I'm in the process of organizing me closet and came across a ton of clothes that just don't work for me as a SAHM. Really nice stuff. I'm going to host a blog sale in a few days so stay tuned!!!

XO,

Jenn

Trying to blog FIVE straight days in a row: DAY 1

2010-08-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hi ya'll so I think my title sums up the opening of this post...sheesh! We've been a wee bit busy lately. Friday morning Scott and I are taking off for Cabo for 4 days. I'm super excited, but at the same time super sad to leave this face for 4 days!
We could for sure use the break, but I'll miss him. I know it's only Monday, but it already feels like this week is flying by. I have quite a bit to do to get ready for our trip. My precious parents are keeping MC while we are gone and I think they're just excited about keeping him as we are about going to Mexico. They will for sure enjoy him, but I know they will be ready to give him back when we return. Four days is a long time with a toddler when you've already reared (that word's funny) your children.

What's going on with Mason?!?! He's a talker...I know...SHOCKER! Considering how big of a talker his Mama and Papa are I don't think this comes as a surprise to anyone. He has several 5 word sentences the days. He likes to tell me "Come on Mama" a lot and when he's really proud of himself he screams "I did it...I did it" precious!

Okay so Day 1 successful! Have to run...Zumba class in 30 minutes.

XO,

Jenn

MIA

2010-07-28T04:51:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! For my few readers out there...sorry I've been MIA for a bit. We've been so busy lately and I've been a little overwhelmed with all the unfinished projects and "to do" list so blogging has been the last thing on my mind. With all that said in my sister's last blog post she just listed everything that's been going on with them so I'm going to do the same.

1. Speaking of my Lil Sis, they currently live in Austin, TX, but recently decided to move back to the DFW area. They should be back at the end of August...I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. They haven't decided where they're going to live just quite yet because they are both job searching so that will be a big driving force for where the land. She's a kindergarten teacher so if you hear of anything job related for her please let me know.

2. Mason's birthday party was so much fun!!! Everything went great. I'm going to make a separate post for pictures of the party, but here's one that I just love!

3. We are 2 1/2 weeks out before we leave for our fabulous trip to Cabo! One of my favorite thing about our vacations is getting to the airport having breakfast at 7:00am and drinking a Bloody Mary...I don't know about you, but that just screams I'M ON VACATION! We will be having dinner here one night .

Sunset De Mona Lisa

We had dinner here last year when we were in Cabo. It's one of the greatest places I've had the pleasure of eating at. The views are incredible and the food is great too.
We are also having dinner at on of our other favorite spots too...The Office. Not as fancy, but super fun. The atmosphere is incredible. It's very low key and you can eat dinner with your swim suit on and you feet in the sand.

We going to play golf once while were there too.

4.I've been cooking quite a few things from the Pioneer Woman's Cook Book and Blog and everything has turned out fabulous. What have you cooked from her cook book that I should try?

5. Working out...that's seems like all I do these days. For a while my weight has stayed the same, but after two months of going so hard at the gym and usually only have 1 day of bad meals I'm down 9 lbs from my start way. I'm about 8 lbs away from my goal.

6. Mason is going through a difficult phase right now. We he gets frustrated or wants a toy that another kids has he hits them. It's soooo frustrating. It seems to be getting a little better, but still hard and I've yet to find the best disciple tactic. I'm just trying to stay consistent and follow through with what I tell him I'm going to do.

7. Mason is so much fun right now. I know, but I just said that he was in a difficult phase. Well...2 is also so much fun too. Just the other day I watched him and his buddy Gabe from next door chase after a cricket and when he finally caught it his little face lit up and he looked at me like look what I did Mommy!!! So Innocent.

Okay well I thought I had more to post, but this is all I can think up right now. It's 7:45am and my little monkey will be up in about 30 minutes demanding his eggs and pancakes so I must get going.

XO,

Jenn

Birthday Party Planning DIVA

2010-07-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

I live for this stuff. In my past life I planned corporate events so this past month I've been able to put my Event Planner hat back on and I must say...it's been fun. My great friend Steph took a view pics of me in all my glory working on Mason's party cupcakes. I'm super excited about his cupcakes, but they've been VERY time consuming. Oh well...they should turn out so cute. So with out further ado...here's a few pics of the process. Enjoy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Mason!!!

2010-07-03T05:22:00.001-07:00

Dear Sweet Baby Boy,

Two years ago today I was handed the most beautiful baby boy I have ever laid eyes on. I was instantly in love! I remember asking myself how can you loves someone so much that you just met?!?!There was a flood of emotions and fears. It was now my job to provide for you and keep you safe. I still remember every small detail about the day you were born and I know I always will. I can't believe we've already made it through two amazing years. And more fun is ahead. In two years you've gone from taking a bottle, to taking a sippy cup and to now just handing you a juice box or a cup with a straw. To anyone one else that might sound like know big deal, but to me, that's growth right before my eyes. I wish I could tell you to slow down, but we both know that's not going to happen. You don't know it, but I am constantly watching you and each day I am amazed at how fast you're are changing. I've noticed that lately instead of calling our cat Nina (her name is Xena) somewhere along the way you learned how to pronounce her name as Xena...no longer to I hear you call her Nina. I'm happy for the development, but I must admit I will always have a special place in my heart for hearing you say NINA NINA! I could sit here and list out all the milestone you've hit or all the other things you've learned in the past two years, but all I really want tell you is that I love you and that I'm so happy God chose me to be your mommy. These past two years have been the most amazing years of my life. You've taught me patience and unconditional love. Seeing things through your eyes makes me step back and appreciate the small things. You are a strong willed and determined little boy that at times makes me a little crazy, but I know you are going to to great things with those qualities. I can't wait to experience your life, and the whole world with you! Make a wish and blow out your candles...Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

I love you more then you'll every know!

XO,

Mommy

Day of blogging silence for Baby Cohen

2010-07-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

What: Moment of Silence for Cohen

When: Thursday July 1st from midnight to 11:59 pm.

How: Bloggers participating will post the Cohen banner (below) or simply post Cohen’s name in large letters on their blog.

Why: July 1st Megan and Brent will be holding Cohen’s memorial service. The moment of silence is an opportunity for Megan’s blog community to stand behind her and support her on this difficult day. Linking up will give Megan a chance to see the support at a glance.

Participating bloggers can Link Up on July 1st at http://sendlovetocohen.blogspot.com/ Send Love To Cohen. Will you join me and help spread the word?

My second favorite part of the day

2010-06-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

My first favorite part of the day is when my Angel wakes up for the day. On most occasion he wakes up in a great mood and raring to go, but my second favorite part of the day is nice too. My second part of the day comes right after I put my precious Angel to bed and all the toys are picked up, dish washer is running, candles are lit and I'm in my pjs. Usually Xena snuggles next to me on the couch while I spend about 30 minutes on the Internet paying bills or responding to emails. This second favorite part of my day is pure bliss! I finally have a chance to catch my breath or even go to the bathroom...BY MYSELF! It's not until this part of the day that I realize how exhausted I am. It's hard work to keep up with a VERY active 2 year old. I can't even begin to explain just how active this little guy is...that's a whole other post! Scott's at the gym right now, but when he gets home we will be marching up stairs to the media room to watch the season premier of one of our many favorite shows.

Rescue Me!!!!

In other news...I officially booked our 5 year Anniversary trip to Cabo today!!! On August 12th we are leaving for Cabo, Mexico! We went about this time last year and we had the time of our life. Last year we went with our Friends Kasi and Jeremiah, but this year we are flying solo. Not that we wouldn't mind going with our friends again, but they just recently welcomed a baby girl into their family. So my friends feast your eyes on our resort!

We are super excited to get away for a few days and enjoy each other. Okay, got to run and get back to my second favorite part of the day!

XO,

Jenn