Love, Lies, and MotherhoodAbout Jolene NewmanCool Sites

Posts Tagged ‘Grown Up Time’

Newer Entries »

Mommy Lies #1 – You Can’t Wait To Get Away…

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

While it’s true that I love spending time with my kiddies, it is also true that I look for ways to “break-away” for awhile.  Now on paper it sounds great, sleep in, do grown-up things, only take care of yourself, but the truth is while that is awesome, missing your kids comes with this territory.

Case in point, a long weekend without our eldest Brook.  Grams and Papa took Brook “Up North” to their lake cabin for a long weekend.  She’s been gone since Thursday night and she will be back sometime later tonight.  She loves going up there with them and it’s great for all of them to have time together, but I miss her something terribly.  This leads me to my second realization…

One kid is super easy!!!  So easy in fact, that it’s almost like not having a kid around.  Sounds silly, but Blake, being just a baby, goes virtually anywhere with us and he is just a go with the flow type of kid so far.  We spent all day Friday in Milwaukee and we then went to a Brewers game that night and he was easy peasy.  Brook wouldn’t have stayed in her seat for more than 20 minutes, but with Blake, he just chilled on my lap watching all the lights and people move about and he was completely cool.

He also sleeps soooooo much better without Brook here.  Much quieter and he loves the quiet.  Yesterday, he slept till 9am and then took a four hour nap and then slept again until 9:30am.  He got up once to feed, but other than that, I got to sleep in…which was heavenly.

But, even though all of this is great, I miss Brook so desperately and I am dying to see her.

Unfortunately, I am heading down to Chicago for a few days of vacation, so I will only  be able to see her for a minute and then I am heading out.  So, technically I won’t see her till Thursday.  I love my adult time, but I miss my children so.  So the lie is really just not telling the whole story…while being away is needed and wonderful, missing your kids pulls at the heartstrings.  Don’t worry, in a month or so, I’ll be begging for a break again, then I will miss them again and the circle will start all over again :)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in About Me, Grown Up Time | No Comments »

A Taste of The Old Me…

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Sometimes I just need a taste of the old me.  So on Saturday night, my friend Shannon and I joined a bunch of Shannon’s friends and we did a pub crawl.  It was super fun and in the middle of the night, I had a conversation in my head about how much I miss me before children and how much fun partying is and how much I love to dance at  night clubs and drink beer and talk to adults.  It was a great time.  I met new friends of Shannon’s who were super cool and fun to be around.  I forced Shannon to karaoke If I Had a Million Dollars by BNL, which is one of our favorite songs.  Here is a great picture of us making fools of ourselves because we are NOT singers…

Shannon and Jolene Trying to Sing Karaoke

Shannon and Jolene Trying to Sing Karaoke

It was an absolutely amazing night.  But, in the end I learned something.  I loved my 20′s, I loved all the partying I did and all the “going” out that happend and although it is fun to do it once in awhile now, it isn’t who I am currently.  I know that because in the morning when I woke up at Shannon’s (spent the night as to not drive home intoxicated and to sleep in a little), I was dying to get home and be with my family.  I was looking forward to my responsibility of taking care of the kids so Travis could get some well deserved sleep after daddy-sitting that night.  I learned I love the sound of Mommy, but I also learned I love being Jolene from time to time too!

A Great Girly Picture of Shannon and I

A Great Girly Picture of Shannon and I

Tags: ,
Posted in About Me, Friends, Grown Up Time | No Comments »

The Scottsdale Culinary Festival

Monday, April 20th, 2009

So, I am a well documented foodie.  I should have been a chef, but culinary school was seriously too expensive after graduating from ASU.  I already had student loans and I couldn’t afford to take on more debt.  Instead, I worked for Aramark for 5 years as a Food Service Director.  I wore every single hat that you can possibly wear in a restaurant, including a toque.  I read tons of culinary and/or cook books, and I learned how to cook on the job.  Seriously all I do is watch the Food Network if I am watching TV and I watch all of the restaurant reality TV shows…Hell’s Kitchen, Next Food Network Star and Top Chef.  Dare I say, I am a pretty damn good cook and deep in my gut I feel that if given the chance, I could be on one of those reality TV shows and I might just be a major contender even…winner!

Hell's Kitchen Season 4 Winner

Hell's Kitchen Season 4 Winner

Well, now that you have the background you will know why I asked to go to the Scottsdale Culinary Festival for our five year wedding anniversary gift.  It was a chance to be surrounded by my loving husband, food and wine/beer.  It was perfect!  Mom watched the children all day and Travis and I had an all access pass to the event.  We went to Cooks and Corks, which was a wine and food tasting venue.  There they had cooking demos from some of the reality celebrity chefs from Hell’s Kitchen and Top Chef.  It was exciting to be there and I have to say it was soooo yummy.  I must admit though, I should of not kidded myself when I thought I wouldn’t drink too much, because I did…it was fabulous!

Travis and I at Scottsdale Culinary Festival

Travis and I at Scottsdale Culinary Festival

After we were done the the venue, we decided to venture outside to the beer garden.  They give you this little mini-mug and for $1.00 a pour, you could try 100′s of different beers.  We didn’t try all of them, but we tried to!  Pretty soon we were socializing with others and drunk dialing our friends to tell them how much fun we were having.  Silly I know, but hey it’s what we do.

Travis Telling Our Friends How Cool the Beer Garden Is

Travis Telling Our Friends How Cool the Beer Garden Is

Jolene and Travis Enjoying Our Day Out

Jolene and Travis Enjoying Our Day Out

Finally it was time to go home and of course we didn’t get enough to eat at the Food Festival, so we stopped at Papa Murphy’s for some pizza.  It was a great time spending grown up time with my honey…Love Ya Babe :)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in About Me, Grown Up Time, Husband | No Comments »

Newer Entries »