"I plan to give you love, nurturing, and just enough dysfunction to make you funny."



"Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage."-- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Elizabeth Lee Blake 1952-2018

I wanted to share what I wrote for my Mom's funeral...

My mom was spunky from the moment she came into the world. The stories I would hear about her as a child sounded just like her. From taking her baby brothers bottle, drinking it, and pretending she hadn’t, to having a smart aleck answer to everything as a teenager (and she always wondered where I got that from). She would make her own clothes before going out on a Friday night as a teenager, but when I would ask her to sew a button back on my shirt, she would tell me she didn’t know how to sew, lol. She even managed to make her way across country as a teenager, calling her Dad once she got to California, saying she needed money to get back home. Anyone who knew my grandfather knew what that response probably was (let’s just say he was not obliging). And let’s just say she got her karma for that when I was a teenager😜 I slammed many a door in my day, enough to where I believe my door was removed, then my window got screwed shut for sneaking out, which led me to just leave out the front door, lol.

Growing up she was involved in my school activities, field trips, fundraisers, cheerleading games, etc. She even was a substitute teacher and school nurse at my school. She loved having our friends over, she loved her annual Christmas party, and even made sure everyone that came had a gift. She would let my and my best friend Kathy go to McDonalds as kids, as long as we would just let her sleep. She signed permission slips when me and my friend Rebecca wanted to get out belly buttons pierced at 16 (although we did lie and say her mom was fine with it). She even gave us the toilet paper when all the girls from my class wanted to go TP a house where all the boys were one night. We didn’t grow up with a lot of money, but we never did without. We went on trips to Disney, had elaborate Christmas’s, and the latest styles in clothes and shoes.

We would have family dinners at my Nana’s house, swim for hours in the pool, and eat ice cream sundaes. Somehow we even had a boat for a while, even though my dad didn’t even know how to swim and never liked the water. (I assume my Mom had the influence over that). She loved the water and the beach. As a kid she vacationed in Miami Beach, and I have also heard stories of her surfing in coco beach. I think that sense of adventure is what drew her to become an air ambulance nurse for a while. Also at one point she freelance wrote for the Seminole Tribes newspaper and ended up with my sister in Germany for 3 weeks at the world tribal fair.

It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies growing up (who’s childhood is), especially once her health, unfortunately some self inflicted, started going downhill. There were fights, there are regrets, there are bad memories, but I want to remember the good. I want to remember the vibrant, feisty Mom who was there for me no matter what, even when she couldn’t be there physically. I want to remember the Mom who would text me silly pictures while watching my kids, or texting me to ask why my 3 year old is pulling his pants down and telling her to kiss his butt. I want to remember the unconditional love she had for her 5 grandsons, Logan, Jaxson, Mason, Braden, and Blake, and her first granddaughter, Charlotte whom I am so glad she was able to meet before she passed away. I want to remember the love my parents once shared before things went the other way. I want to remember the unbelievable love she had for Whitney even though her and Whitney didn’t always see eye to eye. You see, Whitney was the first born, she made my Mom a Mom, and her Mom, our Nana, a Grandma. Whitney and Nana share a unbelievable bond and because of that, I think my Mom was a little jealous of that. But that didn’t mean she didn’t love them the same. The strain between my Mom and Nana was noticeable at times, but from conversations I have had with both of them individually, the love between them is great. It’s the love of a mother and child. It’s a love that even though you may have times you don’t like what the other says or does, the love for each other never waivers. It’s funny that the relationship she had with her Mom, she had with her first daughter. I wonder if anyone but me even noticed that? Or the fact that she was jealous of her Baby brother, Kim, who also shares a great bond with their Mom, like I did with my Mom. She didn’t love her brother any less, it was a normal brotherly love. Even though he was younger, she looked up to him (in more ways than one, lol). She was so proud of the man he had become, and the wife he choose, and the children he raised. She knew that Whitney and I looked at our Nini and Uncle as second parents. That we would talk to them about stuff we never would with our own parents, and she was grateful for that. And last but not least, I want to remember the love she had for her son in laws, Brad and Mike. She was grateful for the men we married, even though sometimes we are not. KIDDING! If ever Whitney or I complained, like most spouses do, she always took their sides and would say she didn’t know how they did it.

I want to remember all these things. I want my sister, my dad, my Nana, and my Nini, Uncle, and cousins, Matthew and Ashley, whom my Mom also loved very much, to remember these good times, and their own good times. I want us as a family to continue to be there for each other like I know my Mom would want. I want us to honor her by loving each other and loving all the good, bad, and ugly moments that our family has had and will continue to have even though our Mom is gone...

We love you Mom and we will remember the good times, and the love we all share for each other...

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

So I had another baby #hesout

In case you were wondering, the baby is out. I am no longer pregnant. He arrived via cesarean on May 19th, weighing in at 7lbs. #iguessthatdailyicecreamdidntbeefhimup

Now that we are a family of four, we are officially shutting down the baby making factory. #wellnotsuperofficial #thehusbandwontgetsnipped #notcurrenltytakingbirthcontrol #hadfertilitytreatmentswithbothkids #whataretheodds

Anyway, I decided to look back at my 2 month post about Mason where I told you the things I have learned so far, and compare it with one child vs. now with 2 children.

One Child: *You go to target for toothpaste & laundry detergent, but come out with 2 outfits for the baby, diapers, wipes, batteries for the swing, and any other fun baby items you just have to have- BUT NO TOOTHPASTE or LAUNDRY DETERGENT

Two Children: *You do whatever it takes to pawn the children off on someone so you can go to Target for some peace and quiet. And when the person watching your kids (typically your husband) calls you with children screaming in the background while you are trying on clothes and haven’t even begun buying what you went there for, you lie and say you are on your way home #surehoneyimpullinginthedriveway #fortheloveofgodjustgiveme30minutesofpeace

One Child: *Your friends & family must now talk to the baby on the phone when they call you- so surprisingly you get fewer phone calls

Two Children: *You have mastered the art of talking on the phone while one kid is asking you to help him with something, and the other one is hanging off your boob, and when they ask how the kids are, you just say fine and quickly change the subject because you desperately want to talk about adult things, not children #noreallyidontwanttotalkaboutkids #wellalittlebutnotthewholeconversation

One Child:*You put a lot of effort in finding the baby the perfect outfit to wear, and when you get yourself dressed, you don’t even realize the shirt you are leaving the house in has baby puke on it

Two Children: *Perfect outfit? You don’t even care if it matches, you just need to get those tiny humans dressed and out the door, while making yourself look presentable and having the tiny one yet again hang off your boob #dontforgettoputtheboobawaywhenyouwalkoutthedoor #ifyoudontohwelltheneighborsgetashow #whocares #youveseenoneboobyouveseenthemall

One Child: *You never realized how loud a restaurant or a mall is until you had a sleeping baby. Also, you tend to hang out less with friends who don’t have kids because they just don’t understand the concept of being quiet while baby is sleeping or why you just can’t go to dinner at 9pm anymore

Two Children: *That second kid better get used to noise real quick, because that big kid and the two dogs are very loud. And 9pm is the standard dinner time now, whether it’s at a restaurant or at home #yesimtakingmykidsouttodinnerat9pm #weeatwhenthetinyoneisasleep

One Child: *People like to ask you, with a SMILE on their face “Does the baby cry a lot? I bet he never sleeps, right?” Look- just because you had a terrible experience with your children, doesn’t mean that I did! For the record, Mason only cries when he is hungry or has gas, and he goes to bed between 7-8pm, sleeps 4-5 hours, wakes up to eat/change diaper, goes back to sleep for 3 hours, eat/change diaper, then sleeps for 2.5-3 more hours. SO YES, I do get sleep!

Two Children: *First off, no one talks to you, they just stare with either anger because the big one is being a monster, and the little one is screaming. Or they look with sympathy for the same reasons. No need to ask if he cries, because trust me, you will hear him #thattinyonelikestocry

One Child: *At 2 months old, you have now mastered the snaps on the baby clothes, but you have now came across outfits with buttons! Really, buttons? Are you kidding me?!

Two Children: *The snaps are still annoying, mastered or not… #seriouslywhoinventedthose

One Child: *Also at 2 months, you have started really going through the babies room & finding stuff you had purchased or you received at your baby shower, and you think- “Why the hell did I need/want this?”

Two Children: *You realize you have no diapers left at 2am when he just pooped his pants #canthoseberinsed #thestartofclothdiapering

One Child: *You see a $1 off coupon for pampers wipes & get excited, and a $5 off coupon for formula- you do a little dance!

Two Children: *Coupons? #aintnobodygottimeforthat

One Child: *If the baby has a wet diaper, and you are in a hurry, it’s “ok” if you don’t use a wipe. (I’m saying like 1 out of 75 diaper changes- not all the time- and don’t sit there reading this and say “I always use a wipe”- don’t kid yourself and don’t judge me!)

Two Children: *Hell, I barely use a wipe for poop #judgeawayidontcare #nothatsnotmustardonmyhand