Got that photo in!

See that little photo and me and Emma on the left side bar? I've been trying to get that on my profile since July. I got it; I must be a genius!

I do web design for a living. Can you tell?
Shut up.

I need to let it go.

There is this thing that I need to get over. Something that needs to be put in a room marked 'The Past' and locked up forever. I can't seem to do it though. I think much of it has to do with the fact that nothing like this has ever happened to me before and it involves a close relationship that I had (or so I thought).
Amy was my one of my best friends. We met about 10 years ago at the place that I currently work. We had very little in common, as far as where we were in our lives, but much in common with our personalities. We're both silly, love to shop, love to overeat, and the list goes on. So we became close friends in a short period of time. Long story short (in the course of 10 years), she moved, we remained close, I chose her to be Emma's godmother, she fell in love, got engaged, asked me and my girls to stand in her wedding and this is where it went bad. This was earlier this year. She, apparently, expected me to attend most of the pre-wedding events where she lives in Houston. It wasn't feasible for me to do so. In a matter of a couple of days, she literally cut me out of her life. She would not answer my phone calls, even after I begged. She refused to talk to me. She sent me two emails basically saying that I had been a horrible friend and I was making her life, at the time, miserable. She told me she no longer wanted the three of us to be in her wedding and basically ended the friendship.

Just like that.

I was completely caught off guard. I had feelings that I can't even explain. I questioned every other relationship I had; with Mark, my mom, my sister, my friends, my co-workers, almost everyone. I wondered if they perceived me the way she did. When I say 'questioned', I literally questioned many people to find out how they felt. I told them about comments she had made and how these comments seemed to come out of nowhere. Everyone told me that it sounded like issues on her part, and that the person she described didn't sound like me at all. I know she has issues, I always have, but I just never realized that these issues would cause our friendship, in large part, to end.

I should be over this. I haven't talked to her in months. I tried to write to her and explain things from my point of view. She didn't respond. She has obviously moved on. If she can, why can't I?

I've always been the type of person that doesn't like conflict; I don't like people to be angry with me. She is angry and there's nothing I can do about it. And it makes me nuts. I even have dreams where we reconcile our differences and it's such a load off of my mind when we do.

I've decided that she's done and said such hurtful things, that I could never remain friends with her. I have no desire for her to be in my life, or my family's life. So, why can't I let it go? Is it because of my general desire to be liked? Is it because I lack self confidence and need approval from others? Is it simply because I'm nuts? Whatever it is, I know I need to move on. I'm just not sure how to do that.

Anna's a weed

BEFORE















AFTER














Yesterday, I cleaned out the girls closets. Don't worry, I made it out alive. Barely.

I was stunned at how much Anna had grown. I compared this year's jeans to last year's and I swear, it looked like 5 or 6 inches. When did that happen? I've been hearing comments for a couple of months from people that she's gotten taller and I thought she had . . a little. I was wrong, that child sprouted up, faster than babies grow up on daytime soaps!

As my proof, I'm posting a picture from last year's summer vacation (July, 2004) and this year's 1st day of school (August, 2005). I chose these two because she's standing next to Mark in both, so you can see the growth, in comparison. Do you see what I mean? I know, I know, the school picture is a blur, but are you surprised? What scares me the most is the thought of next year. Will that picture be one of Anna eating a bowl of soup off of Mark's head?

Unbearably cute (and I'm not biased at all!)

I went to my friend Alison's house for a birthday party about a month ago. Have I mentioned Alison before? Maybe not, but she and I have been friends for years now (about 12, to be exact). She is the kind of friend that has always been there for me and no matter what she's going through in her own life, never forgets important events in mine. She's what I aspire to be, as a friend and I love her more than dirt!
But I digress . . her mom took these pictures at the party and I thought they were beautiful. So, here is John M.'s modeling debut.

The Reluctant Pooper

WARNING!
**This post is full of TMI**
I can't go to the restroom in a public place and poop like a normal person. This includes work. Earlier this afternoon, I finally had to go, after nearly 4 days of not . . (I warned you.) I walked to the restroom which about 200 people share on our floor and someone I work with was walking towards the door. I asked her 'You going in there?' and she said she was. I said 'I'll just go upstairs', to which she replied 'I don't stink :^)'. I said 'Well, it's the other way around'.

So I head upstairs. The bathroom upstairs is clean out of a Scrubbing Bubbles commericial; always spic-n-span and springtime fresh. Well, let me amend that, 'always, except after Renee has made a visit'. Well, wouldn't you know it, as I start to walk in, someone is making a sneak entrance behind me, so I divert and go all the way around the floor (it's a rectangular layout, with the bathroom in the middle and 2 entrances), and enter at the door across the way. Because if I'm going to have to poop among others, I don't want them to know what I look like. Does this sound crazy yet? Right. So, I make my entrance, enter the stall, wait for some flushes, hand washing, any kinds of loise noise and then finally manage to accomplish my mission. Then, I try to wait for all to exit before making my exit from the stall.

I know it's crazy that I go through all of this to perform a normal bodily function. I mean, I'm sure there are other women here that actually poop between the hours of 8-5, right?
But 'crazy' is something I've never denied being.

Why Can't Just One Thing be Easy?

This picture is from our summer vacation to Austin. It was on a roll of film that I just had developed at the Mart of Wal. Yes, we actually do still take pictures that aren't digital, the kind where you take the film and drop it in the hole to never-never land, at your desired film developing location. (I'm living in the 80s, I know, but I'm happy and I like it here. I'll give Boy George a kiss for you.) Anyway, I got the actual prints, along with a picture CD, so that I could upload these babies and put them out there for my fellow bloggers to see. (A little piece of me has caught up to the 21st century.).

So, I'm thinking I'll just pop the CD in, right click, do the ol' 'Save Picture As' and boom, the pictures will be on my hard drive. Oh, how wrong I was. Unless I'm missing something, which Lord knows I can be, to get these pictures uploaded takes an act of Congress. I finally realized that I had to:
1.) download the installer software
2.) run the software and select the pictures to be uploaded
3.) register with the Mart of Wal photo thingamadoodle
4.) sign on to said thingamadoodle
5.) email the photos to myself
6.) open the photos in Photoshop
7.) save them as .jpgs on my hard drive
Now, they're ready! See how simple that is? NOT.
Maybe I just share the same IQ with Patrick on Spongebob and I made this way harder than it had to be. If so, and you know of the easy way to do it, please let me know!
I'm just going to go my normal Snapfish route next time.
GEEZ! Can't anything be simple?

Sigh of Relief!

Just got back from Woman's Hospital, I had an appointment to have a 2nd mammogram and ultrasound done, after having abnormalities (that's now what they called it, but anyway . .) on my screening mammogram last week. This scared the shit out of me because my mom had breast cancer at age 39 and I fear that because I'm like her in every other which way, I'll follow suit here. I was scared for a short while and then decided to not put the worrying into high gear until I knew there was something to worry about. After learning that about 90% of all 'abnormal' findings on screening mammograms are not malignancies, I felt that I could put my worrying off a bit. It's good that I did because it turns out that the calcifications that I had (which potentially could be pre-cancerous) were nothing but signs that I am indeed aging. Bummer. The nodule that was found turned out to be a benign cyst. I did learn something,

RENEE'S BIT OF EDUCATION FOR THE DAY: A totally black, even-edged spot with a white shadow on a breast ultrasound is usually a benign cyst. A spot with some grey in it and more of a starburst shape, with a black shadow is a malignancy.
Don't say you never learned anything from the Froggie blog, because there it is. It's good that I blog these things, because I can use them as references from here on out, because I'll forget this by tomorrow.
So, I breathed a big sigh of relief and as I was walking to my car, I thought of how happy I was to go back to my boring life. I couldn't wait to get back to work and hope that the Microsoft gods would shine down on me and point me in the right direction to fix this damn Access database. I wanted to see my buddies, Krystal and Beki and plan how we could gain our next 5 pounds. Turns out the answer was Mr. Gatti's at LSU.
And most of all, I realized how lucky I am to pick up my girls from art class in a few hours and chat with them about their day while taking them to soccer practice. I'm lucky because I also get to suck the juice out of chunky-monkey John M.'s cheeks (see said cheeks above)! Sometimes a little scare is just what you need to realize just how blessed you are.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Count your blessings, not your troubles."
(I love that one).

Things I cannot do

First and foremost, the number one thing I cannot do is 'Think of things I CAN do'.
I realized this when working on my previous post. It should not be that hard to think of things I can do. I mean, things that are actually worthy of being on the list. Sure, I can tie my shoes, count to 10, eat with a fork, breathe, things like that. But actual talents, that's a stumper. I have many things that most people can do that I can't, like blow bubblegum bubbles, dive, whistle, french braid hair. These are things that I just never learned how to do as a kid and I've missed my learning window and I think it's too late. I sure would like to acquire more skills, but the question is when and how do I go about doing this? I'm lucky if I have time to change my underwear, let along learn how to knit. Do I have to wait until my kids are grown to learn these things? I'll be 52 by the time John M. is 18. Hey, that's when I can retire! Maybe this is all coming together. Maybe my grandchildren can teach me to blow bubbles and whistle. They can laugh about how Maw-Maw Daig is ancient and can't perform these simple tasks. That will have to be the plan. I'll have to post about my learning experiences then. Check back in 17 years and I'll update my list.

7 (5) Questions

I got this from Danigirl and there were 7 each, but that strained my tired brain too much so I cut it back:

5 things I plan to do before I die:
1) live in a quaint little hut by the beach
2) have plenty of grandchildren
3) go to the Atlantis in the Bahamas with my family
4) learn to play a musical instrument
5) finally start scrapbooking

5 things I can do:
1) make a good lasagna
2) design my own website!
3) play casino blackjack
4) feed a baby, cook dinner and call out spelling words simultaneously
5) eat like a 250 lb. man

5 things I can’t do:
1) sing
2) drive a stick shift
3) lie well
4) be patient
5) save money

5 things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1) sense of humor
2) easygoing way
3) dark skin and hair
4) nice backs/shoulders
5) intelligence


5 things that I say most often:
1) whatever
2) y'all
3) Know what I mean?
4) Yeah, right.
5) Is that bad?

5 celebrity crushes:
1) Kenny Chesney
2) Johnny Depp
3) Ethan Zahn
4) Keith Urban
5) Noah Wyle

7 (okay, I cheated) people I want to do this:
1) artsy-crafty babe
2) klanglee
3) krisco
4) Mom Writes
5) Laurie
6.) Christa
7.) ChesneyGirl

Are you Peppermint Patty? Or maybe Marcie?

Find out which Peanuts character you are.
http://quizilla.com/users/anonymousnowhere/quizzes/Which%20Peanuts%20Character%20are%20You?/
Danigirl pointed me this way.

Mine came out as Lucy










I disagree totally. I was thinking Patty or Charlie. Mostly Charlie Brown. Always worried and kind of harried and unsure of himself. That's me.
Try it and see who you are.

Is anyone out there?

I want company. It's now nearing midnight and I'm lonely for blog-buddies. Where is everyone? Are y'all sleeping? I usually am. But I had mucho caffeine this evening and I'm way too awake. What to do?
I guess I'll join everyone else in my household and go to bed.

Froggie or Frogola explained

I just realized I've never explained why my site is named with 'Frog'isms. My nickname is 'Froggie'. It stems from when I was a tiny baby and my dad commented that I looked like a frog, when sleeping. You know how babies do, when sleeping on their tummies (oh no, I slept on my stomach! SIDS! Don't worry I'm still alive.) with their little legs sprawled out but bent at the knees. Well, the name stuck, and now I'm 'Froggie', but only to a select few who I will now name for you:

1.) My Daddy, who called me 'Froggie' ten times more than he ever said 'Renee'.
2.) My Mom, who prefers 'Na' or 'Nanee', but will use 'Froggie' in a pinch.
3.) My husband who caught the 'Froggie' disease from my dad when we were dating in college.
4.) My brother-in-law who calls EVERYONE he knows by a nickname. He's 'Hawkeye', go figure.

I've always liked nicknames far more than being called by my actual name, so on the web, I'll be 'Froggie' (or Frogola) too.

Name Change

I got tired of 'Renee' so I'm changing my name to 'Sheika'. Does it simply roll off the tongue? Sound like I should have pasties on?

Okay, kidding, really I changed my 'Frogola' to 'FroggieMom'. I didn't feel like 'Frogola' was descriptive at all, as far as what my blog is about, so just adding the 'mom' made me feel better. Because blogging about my kids is usually what I do. What do y'all think? Does anyone care? Tell me you do. If this goes over with '0' comments, I may just have to resort to blog suicide.

I've kept my web address the same for the crowd of two people out there that link to my site, or the two others that may have it bookmarked.

I keep looking for a picture of myself that really looks like me to post, but I haven't had any luck. Let me look further. Hold on a minute . .

It's really hard to find a picture of me that I like, but while looking I found this cute picture of my mom, John M. and my niece Jenna (who is so cute I could just eat her curly little head) .
They all matched in red that day so I had to capture the moment on film. I guess that quote isn't so accurate nowadays. I had to capture that moment DIGITALLY. How's that?

I also found this picture of Mark and baby John M. from several months ago. I know it looks like my teenage son but that's actually my husband. He's 36, can you believe it?

I'll let you decide which one of them looks more miserable.

And finally here's the picture Mark took of me yesterday when I was doing my boobie blog.

I didn't post it yesterday because I wasn't happy with my bra lines. But tonight, I'm saying 'WTF?'. This is what I look like. And I usually have a daily fashion faux-pas, so yesterday it was the bra lines.
Notice Anna in the background peering over her book, probably thinking 'that her mom has totally lost it because she just asked her daddy to take a picture of her and to make sure to get her boobs in the picture.

Little Boobs

I had a mammogram today. I've been having them since age 30, because my mom had breast cancer at age 39. I've only had one that was really painful and this one today wasn't it. I was elated! The poor little mammographer (is she a mammographer, a technician, a boob examiner?). She was trying to get my little tiny boob into that contraption and having a time with it. I finally said 'Sorry, I know they're really small'. She said 'I've seen smaller'. But what she didn't mention was whether or not the 'smaller' belonged to a male or female. Or maybe a wee child.
I just have to remember to 'Feel My Boobies' now. Hey, it's just hard to SEE them, but I can feel them.

Using the Baby for Entertainment Purposes . .

While we still can.
Hey, he may actually want to style his hair like that one day, right? We're just exploring the options. Not the same old 'do every day. And notice the ponytail holder on the finger. He's starting a trend.
He's such a good sport.

What's Important To Him Is Important To Me

I was reading an article in my Ladies Home Journal yesterday about keeping relationships b/w a husband and wife strong. One of the points was taking an interest in the other person's interests. I'm not very good at this one. At all. Really. Mark loves farming; he loves his cattle and most of all, the horses. He's a farmer at heart, like his dad and I'm no Caroline Ingalls.
Anyway, I'm saying that to say this. Here is Mark's fourth baby, Amani. She's the first foal that his Arabian, Bashona had and he loves this horse! He took this picture of her back in December and I thought it was a great picture so I figured I'd post it and make an effort to take interest in his interests. Okay, so there we go. Am I done now? Let me let him read this. Now, which way to the mall??

Okay, I Can't Go Back to Sleep

Look at my baby boy sleeping. I took this 2 minutes ago. He's sucking on that 'noopie' so hard, I keep thinking he's awake!

Thoughts Revisited

I went here: http://stillfiguringout.blogspot.com/ and a little down to 'Thoughts revisited'. This was mine:
"It drains my checkbook but it makes my day"
What's yours?

Cute Little Baby Child Wakes Old Mother Woman

This is said 'Baby Child' in his new red sports car. He turned 1 year old last weekend and I never posted a picture. So here he is in his new car from 'Maw-Maw' and 'Paw-Paw'.
Surprise! The picture is blurry; hard to believe, I know.
John M. does indeed love his car though. He has already figured out how to ride it by straddling the blue 'Step 2' handle in the back. I think I may have the next Evil Kneivel (sp?) on my hands.
Anyway, he woke me up at 3:20 in the morning and I still love him more than poop.
Peace Out.

Laurie's MeMe Questions

Laurie,

Here are your questions. I hope I'm doing this right. Post the answers to them in your blog http://monkeylaurie.blogspot.com/:

1. What TV shows did you watch without fail as a kid and do you remember what day/time they came on?

2. What's your one physical characteristic you would never give up? The one you'd give up in a second?

3. If you only one day of meals left before you die, what would you have (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)?

4. How did you meet your best friend?

5. What single piece of advice has helped you the most in life and who gave it to you?

Remember to include the following at the bottom of your post:Want to play?The Official Interview Games Rules:1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying, "interview me".2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each persons will be different.3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.