Just Another one of those Rainy Days!

It's late October and today was just another one of those rainy days: cold, gloomy, quiet and a day for thinking. Ashley came home from school sick this morning and we still haven't figured out what got the best of her! She hasn't had a fever; however, she's been quite lethargic and hasn't been able to hold an ounce of liquid all day! The Guacamole belly monster has since left her belly and she seems to be disappearing by the hour!

On another note, reality is setting in, here in the Jansky household and wow -- are we being hit with a huge dose of it! Radical changes are being made to maintain life as we know it! It's not bad -- just different. I guess sometimes you have to be thrown out of your comfort zone so that you can truly appreciate what's important in life! The choices John & I make today are for the long haul and we are learning that everything we want in life will not come instantly! What a tough lesson to learn but as John's dad always says jokingly, "I'm an overnight sensation at the age of 60."

So on this cold, gloomy, quiet day ---- I say bring it!!! bring on this change -- It will not break us, no pun intended, but only make us stronger!

Random Laughs

Ashley & I were laughing hysterically last night. Ashley stops laughing and says, "why are we laughing?" -- I look at her and say, "I don't know" and we both start laughing again!

Once again, it's times like these that make me smile! I love it, love it, love it! These moments are the greatest and I will always remember them!

We also started this new thing where we call each other our "besties" -- AKA best friends and then do a pinky promise. John tries to jump in but we protect each others pinky's with our own! It's quite cute. John smiles and tries to understand but doesn't. One day, daddy, one day! For now, Ashley is my bestie!

Ashley's Misnomers!

It's quite charming to listen to Ashley incorrectly state something! She is the Queen of Misnomers!

Definition: Misnomers - mis-no-mer 
1. a misapplied or inappropriate name or designation.
2. an error in naming a person or thing.

The three I can recall are quite funny to hear and what's even funnier is that we never tell her she's saying them incorrectly. One day she will realize this, think back on all those times she said these things and simply laugh.

Here they are in random order!

1. Old McDonald's -- It's just McDonald's Ashley, we don't need the old part! Really! That was just a song you sang in pre-school!
2. Hamburger King -- Ashley, just because they sell hamburgers doesn't mean they call it that. It is simply Burger King or BK!
3. Book Fairy -- Ashley, there isn't a book fairy that visits our house, rather we attend book fairs where we actually have to pay for the books!

My little Bestfriend!

Last night after preparing Ashley's lunch, her outfit and bag for school, I woke her up to use the potty. After her trip to the potty, we turned the light on in the room and started a conversation. Although it was 2:30 in the morning, we laughed about her favorite cartoon, spongebob squarepants, talked about her day and giggled for more than 30 minutes about the important things in her life: toys, green dots, chocolate milk, rhyming words, baseball, friends & daddy. As our conversation faded and we turned out the lights and put our heads on our pillow, I couldn't help but smile as this conversation reminded me of the ones I used to have with my mom while I was in highschool. They were conversations I looked forward to and ones I often think about when reflecting on the past.

As Ashley grows older, I often worry that I will lose this special bond we have; however, last night after our conversation my worry was wiped away as I smiled with excitement knowing that this was the beginning and our relationship would only get stronger and better with time!

So much is riding on this green dot

Monday marked the first day of Kindergarten for Ashley. John and I said this day would change our little girl and create so many possibilities for her and indeed it has! It's almost like our little girl has blossomed into a well-mannered young lady at the tiny age of 5.

All day Monday, we waited...wondering if we would receive a call from the principal telling us our daughter misbehaived. As we waited in the crowds of moms and dads for the kids to be released, we stood there timidly and sighed as Ashley ran around the corner with a large smile. Once close enough, she repeatedly asked her teacher if she had a great day and once confirmed wanted her teacher to tell us she had a great day. The teacher shook her head and said of course she had a great day!

We all smiled and walked to the car and then Ashley pulled out her red folder and showed us her first green dot. A green dot meant that she had been on her best behavior all day. As we head into day four we have come to realize that there is so much riding on this green dot. Could it be that this might be the thing that finally made it all come together.

Or could it be that the many, many, many days of discipline and continuity has finally paid off and will continue to pay off (I hope)! or maybe a combination of both. Never in a million years would I had ever thought that saying no, no, no to our child would be so much better in the long run than always saying yes, yes, yes! It is such a joy to hear Ashley say "no thankyou, please, thank you, yes maam, and mommy, I shared my snack with my best friend today."

So cheers to us and the little green dot!

"I've been roaming around..always looking down at all I see"

It's the end of the day on July 28th and I can't believe summer is almost over! It was just yesterday I was writing about Ashley's first summer Camp. Now she is the camp Queen; Venturing into Camp YMCA, Pastry Delight, Vacation Bible School and Children's Theater!

It's been impressive watching Ashley over the summer. She's had some really great times and moments! There have been some challenges along the way but overall she has matured a bit and I'm overjoyed!

Other than camp, John's family came to visit us in mid-June. It was the first time his mom had been to San Antonio in almost five years and the second time in ten years! We were happy she felt well enough to visit us and to see Josabi's for the first time. In July, my nieces, Lindsey & Meredith came to visit and we had a blast; Celebrating 4th of July by participating in the Castroville Parade with my mom, dad, Richard, GG, and the Lange's. And grabbing the 1st place trophy was priceless. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the circus, the movie theater to see Ice Age in 3D and also had a girls night. We had so much fun at Chuck E' Cheeses, making smores (Indoors), painting our faces with lipgloss and eyeshadow and putting on a fashion show from the clothes my dad & Kathy had purchased earlier that day.

I guess you can never really be too old to take a can of whip cream and hang it over an open mouth! -- Or get too mad when you catch the girls with their bodies in the fridge, taking turns with the can of whip cream.

Later in July, my brother Scott, and his family visited from Minnesota. We took a trip to Schlitterbahn and had a blast! It was truly "Good Times". -- We had BBQ's, a lunch at Pappasito's and various swim days together.

One of the most memorable moments happened when the kids were swimming in the pool and jumping in as they acted out their favorite ____. Sarah and I would pick the category. They varied from favorite animal to favorite instrument and then favorite car. This is how it played out.

Category: Favorite Car
Garrett runs and says "A big truck" as he jumps
Matthew runs and says "A little race car" as he jumps
and Ashley...Oh creative Ashley runs and says "A big Yellow School bus."

Oh it's moments like these!

This summer has been so much fun and the most amazing in years! I'm never happier than when I am with my family! They are my world and I would be lost without them.

I've jotted down some of the most memorable moments of the summer.
- The 1 1/2 hour wait on top of a Schlitterbahn ride while being hosed off by a schlitterbahn employee -- Oh what a feeling -- When you're dancing on the ceiling!
- Singing Journey's -- Don't Stop believing in the car with John & Ashley. We all had our parts!
- Playing Mario Kart and always kicking John's booty -- and lovin' it!
- Taking the silliest photos at GG's house with Ashley.
- Playing Trouble everynight just before bed! -- Ashley always wins!
- Painting one Wall at Josabi's in the middle of the afternoon with 100+ degree weather! -- John in boxers and I in pants and a long sleeve button up! -- What were we thinking?
- Racing Ashley in the obstacle course at Pump it Up!
- Workin' in a cubicle at Bromley with some great people.
- Hitting the alarm clock every morning to go to work or get up to take Ashley to camp.

I've laughed so many times this summer and am soooooo happy!

Summer in Texas

It's summertime in Texas and the Jansky family is a movin' and a groovin'. Ashley is on the cusp of starting Kindergarten and in the mean time is busy attending various camps. Her first camp of the summer started this past week and she is loving it.

It's her first shot at Tennis and she can't stop talking about it. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that she gets to hold a ball the entire time and at least receives the ball every other time. On the second day of camp she got Tennis Elbow -- I had never heard of this but John has. He was a super Tennis player in his high school days! -- He's also really good at Ping Pong (Table Tennis)! Go figure!

I've been called in for duty at my previous advertising job. The person I'm filling in for is taking a leave of absence so that her husband can donate a kidney to her mother-in-law. That's awesome and very scary at the same time. I'll be working there through July 6th and I'm already counting down the days! I love the world of advertising and truly enjoy the corporate culture; however, I also enjoy freedom + the ability to spend time with Ashley, John and/or just by myself. This luxury gets lost when you committ to a full-time job of 40 hours per week.

John is taking over some of the reins while I'm on this short adventure back into the real world. He's been working more and handling the employees a bit more. This is somewhat a relief as employees are hard to manage. Especially when all they want to do is get wasted and party! HELLO -- Peeps -- Life is not always a party! At any rate, he is better at this aspect than I am as I tend to get emotionally connected with these people and can be somewhat of a push over.

Life on the Jansky front couldn't be better! I turned 31 this month and this birthday year is already outpacing 30 in terms of goodness! -- Our family is involved in many activities together, including walking & bike riding around the neighborhood, eating at the dinner table together and playing fun games together. (Trouble, Jr. Monopoly, Wii) I don't think I could be any happier...okay..well maybe...just a smidge though! haha!

Can't wait for the rest of the summer! I plan on living it to the fullest with John and Ashley and having some fun along the way! After all....sometimes life should be a big A** party! -- HA!

Strawberry Shortcake - 20 Random Q&A's from Ashley

20 Questions! -- Ashley's response to 20 random questions!

1. What do you want to be when you grow up? - I don't want to say the word!
2. What is your favorite food? - Carrots. no -- apples
3. Do you like green eggs and ham? No
4. Do you know how to drive a car? No, but I know how to drive a jeep. how about this, after tennis we bring my jeep to pop and grans and we'll charge it and then I'll ride it all the way to my big school. And I'm gonna even ride it around the block. Well, I know how to ride a bike.
5. If you go anywhere in the whole entire world, where would you go? To Chucke e Cheese and Grans?
6. What would you do when you get there? Play
7. Who's your best friend? Arden
8. What's your favorite thing to do? Go with Daddy to ride my bike and my jeep.
9. What's the first thing you're gonna do when you graduate from High School? I don't want to graduate.
10. When you turn 18 are you going to move out of the house? NO! Why not?
11. Do you want a sister or brother? NO! Why not? Because I don't like brothers or sisters!
12. Are you ever going to get married? NO! Why not? Because I don't like being married! I don't want to be a mom!
13. If you could do anything you wanted right now, what would you do? Sleep, play computer and play tennis.
14. Are you smart? NO! Stop having me answering these questions because I'm getting tired and I have a headache.
15. Who cooks the dinner mommy or daddy? Daddy and Mommy makes peanut butter and Jelly and her own food and for work
16. Who cleans the house? Mommy
17. Do you flush the toilet? yes. Let me go check!
18. What do you like best about daddy? Going to Chuckee Cheese and riding the bike.
19. Where do you live? Texas.
20. Where is Texas? Right here.

Why do I feel like it's ground hogs day all over again?

Have you ever woken up and felt like you're living the same day all over again? If so, join the club! This past week was like Ground Hog's Day all over again! Last Sunday, my dad had his second heart attack in just five weeks. He had stints put in over two years ago and now his body is rejecting the stints. The doctors don't know why this is happening and instead of fixing the problem, they are just moving and/or placing more stints into his heart. What is wrong with this picture? If you put a band-aid on a gushing fire hydrant, it's eventually going to break!

On top of all this, it took the hospital three days to get him a room. Can you imagine being in ICU for three days! This is ridiculous! While I am no expert in this field, I'm very disappointed in the treatment my dad received. At any rate, they let him leave home on Wednesday and so far he's hanging in there!

The weather in Texas wasn't so great this week either. Although we need the rain, I'd rather be coaching my daughter's little league team! We're all a bunch of rookies and could really use the practice. We had to cancel practice two times this week because of the weather! Now, we're rolling into game season and I still have all of my players running into the outfit to wrestle for the ball! (LOL!)

On Friday, March 13th, the business adjacent to ours crumbled to the ground! It was unbelievable! The only reason our business and the many others in the same shopping center were not burned to the ground was because of Rene. They've determined the start of the fire was due to electrical issues and as of now all of the businesses around the fire are out of electricity. They're projecting we won't have any for at least two weeks!

John & I are in good spirits despite the adversity and emotional stress we've been through this week. We're doing fairly well and communicating better than ever! We're very thankful for the people we have in our lives and for everything we have!

2009 has been a tough year for us so far. My thinking is that it can and should only get better from here! We're strong and will pull through!

Tuesday with Taylor - Let's Rodeo San Antonio

This Tuesday is supposed to be a fun day for the girls in the Jansky house. We are headed to the San Antonio rodeo to see Taylor Swift perform! For the past three months, Ashley and I have been listening to her albums on our Ipod to learn the words to her songs. Although we don't know all of the words, I know we're going to have the time of our lives.

We're going to arrive early so that we can hang out on the rodeo grounds and stuff our faces with the very best snacks a rodeo has to offer. Then we are eating a steak dinner at the restaurant in the AT&T center! Pretty Cool, Right? And last but not least, we will settle in on the lower level of the stadium -- you know where the cowboys ride the bulls and get our feet a little dusty all while swaying back and forth to some fabulous and Cheesy Taylor Swift songs!

I'll check back in after the show to see what kind of time we had!

Let's Rodeo San Antonio!

The week that was or wasn't

It's sunday evening and I'm sitting here listening to sad songs and thinking back on the week that was or wasn't so great. To start things off, my dad had a heart attack on Monday. This comes only after me envisioning me losing my dad a week prior to this. Ever since I lost my boyfriend Bobby to a horrific plane crash, I've had moments where I get really emotional thinking about losing the people I love the most.

The news came as I walked the aisles of Home Depot looking for wallpaper, lamps, fans -- just anything that could improve my home or give me something to do. After I heard the news, I went to the carwash and spent $15 + $5 for a tip. Thinking back, I wonder if I ventured to the carwash because of my dad as I know that washing cars is one of his most favorite things to do in the whole world. In fact, we had just discussed how bad I needed a car wash and could use his help -- since he was the expert.

On Wednesday, John and I took Ashley to a pediatrician ENT to further explore why Ashley could not pass a hearing test. Just last week, we had her tested at the elementary school and then at her pediatrician. After the third hearing test, it was confirmed -- Ashley has hearing loss. The recommendation made by the doctor was that Ashley have tubes put into her ears as the fluid in her ear may be why Ashley is suffering from hearing loss. Without a blink of the eye, we scheduled the surgery. As we considered dates, we were faced with a roadblock -- Health Insurance. We have group health insurance; however, our family deductible is $5,000. The surgery cost about $1500 for the tubes and then another $1500 for the hospital -- All of which have to be paid before the actual surgery. While we have the money, it was supposed to be used to pay our taxes in April. Now we would have to work even harder to save even more money to be able to give our daughter what she needs to be able to hear adequately.

The week continued on -- John and I not doing too well. On the outside, we are a picture perfect family but on the inside it's crumbling. As I scour the photos down the hall, we look amazing, perfectly happy! It's not until I think about the moments in which those photos took place that I start to weep. Behind the scenes, it's a struggle. A struggle to find balance between two people that are just completely different. I think back to 10 years ago and wonder how two people who were so different came together as one and now we can't even enjoy each other's company.

What happened? John has always said we were a different kind of family, a family that would beat the odds, a family that would stick together no matter what! We always said that families give up too easily on each other and get divorced before even trying to reconcile. So here I am on this Sunday evening sitting in the present, reflecting on the past, and thinking about the future. What's next in the Jansky chapter? Will we survive this rough patch? Only time will tell!

It's been a tough week, a tough week indeed and this song sums up how I feel at this very moment! Looking back, I'll probably laugh and think it's cheesy -- but tonight, tonight it's perfect!

I can almost see it

That dream I’m dreaming but

There’s a voice inside my head sayin,

You’ll never reach it, Every step I’m taking,

Every move I make feels Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking but I Got to keep trying Got to keep my head held high

Theres always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a up-hill battle

Sometimes were gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about whats waiting on the other side

Its the climb

The struggles I’m facing,

The chances I’m taking

Sometimes they knock me down but

No I’m not breaking

The pain I’m knowing

But these are the moments that

I’m going to remember most yeah

Just got to keep going And I,

I got to be strong Just keep pushing on,

Theres always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a up-hill battle

Sometimes were gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about whats waiting on the other side

Its the climb

Theres always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a up-hill battle

Sometimes were gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about whats waiting on the other side

Its the climb

Keep on moving

Keep climbing

Keep the faith baby

It’s all about It’s all about

The climb

Keep the faith Keep your faith

Just Blogs!

So yesterday, I decided to put all of my myspace blogs onto blogger.com, this site. I find it makes it easier to write and share! I read through each one as I posted them and started to laugh at my candid humor. Most times when writing blogs I have some sort of sensor or at least I thought I did. I feel it's good to remain relatively decent; however, I find that the blogs I enjoy the most are the ones that are very raw and straight to the point!

I also found that without these blogs, I would have probably forgotten the memory or maybe changed the memory in my head. I would've never remembered that John and I watched Average Joe the night before Ashley was born, or that the NCAA basketball tournament was in town the day Ashley had her first soccer game. These are quite random details, yet they make the story all that more interesting!

As I celebrate, vent or divulge about the things that happen in the life of the Jansky's, please feel free to comment and share your own stories! After all, it's the stories we tell that create a bond between two people!