Jessie James and the Outlaws

Sugar and Spice

2012-01-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

Oh...the old adage. Sugar and Spice and everything nice...that's what little girls are made of.

Yesterday after we dropped the boys off at school, I heard that innocent, sugar and spice voice in back of me chirping,

"Justin Bieber is a wiener,

I could beat him up

with my pinky finger"

Her brothers taught her that. I rolled my eyes. But the next part...oh, the next part. She came up with that ALL on her own.

"And if I pulled his pants down

I could see his penis."

Then she laughed hysterically.

Hysterically.

And then asked,

"Is that funny mom, is that funny?"

"That's soooo funny mom."

Adorable. Isn't she?

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

Winter Break 2011

2012-01-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

We spent most of our Christmas Break in Utah this year. Half with Daddy. Half without. Half laughing and playing with our cousins and half complaining about why we can't see our cousins more.

Best part for mom: NO BRAINER. Taking BOTH my boys up the mountain. Jakes FIRST time. Will is getting great. My first day up was going to be our only time. However, as I was watching Jake ski down between Uncle Joey's legs and watching Will try harder than ever to navigate the terrain, I realized that he needed one more day to gain the confidence he needed.

We packed back up again the next day.

And...

SUCCESS! Will did AWESOME. Since Uncle Joey wasn't with us I had to keep Jake between my legs the whole time but he didn't seem to mind. He was yelling, "wow...this is sooo fun. Why didn't you tell me how fun this was? I thought it was going to be so boring. This is super fun, mom."

Driving down the mountain, Will decided he REALLY was ready for skis next Christmas. And probably poles. Since he's really, really good.

The blessed Dora guitars Grandma Cheryl gave Naomi and Maggie. Unfortunately, they must have been left at Grandma Cheryl's. A mistake...I promise.

Cousin Sammy's 10th Birthday party

How can it be Christmas without a trip to temple Square, three screaming children and freezing cold weather?

Christmas 2011

2012-01-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning 2011 at Grandma Nettie and Grandpa Geoff's

We slept over with Josh, Maddie, Ty Ty and baby Olivia

(something to be remembered...)

I love Ne Ne's enthusiasm for the wooden cradle I bought for her months ago, refinished in her favorite hue of pink and hauled in our car through the Wyoming mountains to get it there on Christmas morning. Not quite sure if my work was worth it. Oh, well.

Naomi tells me at least once a week that when Maddie's dad and her dad finish their work they are going to live by each other and be neighbors. Let's hope!

Christmas Eve at the Orme's

Serious game of Monoploy

Grandpa Geoff had made bow and arrows for all of his grandkids. The far away cousins got theirs at Christmas. Awesome!

Acting out the Nativity

Christmas Morning at the Ford's.

Grandma Cheryl made them all put hats on and sing Christmas songs. "...oh what fun..."

Until next year.

Holiday Party

2011-12-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Time for the annual school holiday parties. I love it!

I spent hours baking, spray painting cereal boxes, decorating teachers rooms, buying unnecessary crafts that I am sure have all been thrown away by now. But it was fun. And exhausting. And fun.

And the best part.... it's OVER!

Wrestling

2011-12-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

If you know our 6 year old at all, you know he likes to WRESTLE! Finally, we were able to find our local high school wrestling team who doesn't require Sunday competition. Jake goes to practice twice a week with an occasional meet.

Saturday was his VERY first, real life wrestling competition. We sat close by yelling his name with all of the excitement and positive affirmations possible.

During each of his battles, I was able to yell and clap for my little wrestler and he was able to turn his head toward my familiar voice as his 48 pound body was being thrashed by another 48 pound boy and he made direct eye contact with his mother. I smiled and cheered. He then sensed my excitement and tried even harder to unravel his body from his opponent.

What a fun day.

And even better...he got a medal.

On the way out of the tournament, Will asked Jake,

"so Jake, did you get your medal because you were good at wrestling, or did everybody get one?"

Jake responded, "Uhhh, I think everybody got one."

But he didn't mind.He was sure it was made out of platinum. A metal worth more than gold.

And that was all that mattered.

Halloween Weeeek-end 2011

2011-11-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Why is it that Halloween lasts for like....3 weeks. Confession: Not my favorite holiday. Not even close. But last night as I sat on my front porch waiting for candy lovers to speak the famous Halloween words for a piece of overly priced chocolate, I looked straight across the street. There sat my neighbor. An older man with his long, white beard, long white hair and old, worn out rocking chair. He was patiently waiting for the adorable, innocent little children come to his home. He anticipated each one. It hit me. In 50 years, it will be me outside on my porch praying for little children to come to my house and bring a little piece of lost childhood into my heart. So now I must do my part. I must visit endless Goodwill stores while putting on a smile for every party. Every celebration. Every bag of candy that I have to buy. Just to do my part. My part for keeping the Halloween tradition alive. For 50 years from now. When I am sitting on my porch, praying. Praying for a glimpse into a long forgotten memory.

I Must be Going Crazy

2011-10-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Fall Break last week. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

It was great. Sometimes hectic.

I honestly did try really hard to have some new friends over.

NOTHING worked out.

I hate moving,

It's so hard to make new friends.

But.

We actually didn't mind.

We spent the whole week together. Loving it. It was perfect.

So great, in fact, I am sitting here depressed. On the verge of tears.

I had to send my boys back to school today.

I wish we were lying in bed watching Arthur together. Like we did last week.

But we're not.

I hope they are having fun.

And missing me.

Because I sure am missing them.

Did you Ever Wonder?

2011-10-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

How God knew to create so many crickets?

He knew how many of these little insects would be squashed in the tiny little hands of one of His most precious creations....
young boys.
Thank you for creating an abundance of crickets.
It eases the pain as I watch the poor, little creatures seep their last breath in the hands of my child...
My children love them.
They love them so much that they accidentally squeeze them too hard.
Again and again.

Pinky Promise

2011-10-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

The boys are into this "pinky promise" thing. We wrap our little fingers around each others pinky and "swear". Naturally, my little pink princess also enjoys, and understands the intense pinky promise.

It started a few weeks ago. I lay in her bed to sing Jesus songs. I needed to leave to check on the boys. She was half asleep. She felt my body rolling itself from her warm covers. She rolled over and I promised her that I would return to check on her.

Her eyes were half open when she held out her little hand. She gave me her pointer finger.

"Pinky Promise?"

I wrapped my adult pinky around her gentle, soft pointer.

"Pinky Promise" I answered.

She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

10 minutes later I returned to follow up on my promise.

Her blonde hair and bare chested body lay all coiled up in her pink covers.

I smiled.

I gently bent over, kissed her on the face and whispered in that innocent little ear,

"pinky promise."

GEO

2011-10-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

Geo, or geeeeg, is the name of Jake's freindly pet gecko. He is also the source of helping (or at least trying to help) Jake get out of the car every morning for school.

We told him that if he could go to school on time, without me walking him in, than he could take Geo to school and show his class.

Jake made a little countdown 3X5 card and scratched off how many days it has been.

Suffice it to say, tomorrow is the big day.

Even after yesterday.

I had to pry him from the car to see him chase after me crying as our van drove away.

I started crying.

I circled the school and returned to see if he had gone inside.

He hadn't.

He had three adults escorting him into the building as he was sobbing.

One of the adults had to brace him from throwing his arms and getting away.

I went home sobbing.

For two hours.

Today we sent him to school with a picture of me and him taped to his folder so that he would always know I was close to him, even when he couldn't see me.

He asked if I could make something with our picture he could keep in his pocket so he could always feel me close.

I did that today.

He loves it.

So, here is to the Mooch.

Another child that shows me how deep a mother's love truly is.

A beautiful little boy who keeps my heart ticking every single day.

My Mooch.

Our picture he carries around in his pocket. I told James I look fat.

James told me it's just my hair that looks like a mess.

Whatever it is, I think it's hot. I'm 31 with three kids. What do you expect???

I hope you like 1st grade, Geo

Man Of The House

2011-09-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

So this is usually the man of the House.

But this week he is at a conference.

So.

What happens?

This man of the house, lines up the other two little men of the house and makes them look at him.

This man of the house says, as he leans down to the two little men:

"Where do your hands go, where do your eyes go?"

(much like a drill sergeant)

The two little men put their little man of the house arms behind their back and point their 4 brown eyes up to their dads'.

"What happens when daddy isn't home?"

"We're the Man of the House," the boys respond.

"And what does that mean?" the big man of the house asks.

The bigger of the two little men says,

"we ask mom what we can do to help her."

"Right, and what else?"

Silence.

"Ummmm"

"Oh, I know. We don't chase Naomi around the house pretending to be Zombies so she cries and screams."

"Right. And what else?"

The biggest man turns to the littlest man.

"We put our clothes away?" he wonders out loud.

"Good."

And with that the biggest man of the house leaves in his jump-started white thing we sometimes refer to as his car. We pray daddy makes it back home to us, eventually.

And I am left. With one little girl and two very strong, brave, and handsome little Man's of the House.

And just like their daddy, they took up my whole bed last night.

First day of School...In Denver!

2011-09-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Rough start. Uncomfortable polyester pants. Short sleeve white polo shirts. Bad combo for the Mooch. He hates both. I spent the morning drivinig around town looking for a PLAIN white long sleeve t-shirt that he could wear under the polo. He HATES short sleeves. I ran back to the school by 11:00 and had to get special permission from the principal for Jake to wear the long sleeve tee. Oh, brother. It could be a long year.

THis is the ONLY picture of mooch that I could get before school. He actually didn't even get dressed until we were all in the car.

Thanks for getting dressed Mr. 3rd grader.

After School shot of him checking on his pet snake. Making sure he made it through the day without him. You may notice Jake's long sleeve tee shirt in the after school shot, but not in the half naked morning photo. I am such a good mom.

The boys met their teachers a few days ago. They did not disappoint. Each one of the boys in their own way made their first impression. They were true to their personalities.

Jake was first. He didn't let go of me. Not once. We had discussed earlier in the day what we thought his teacher may look like. We decided on scraggly red hair and crooked teeth.

We met his teacher. Quite the opposite. As Hip as can be. Young. A Ms. not a Mrs. I tried to break the ice for Jake by telling his teacher what we thought she was going to look like. Jake smiled. But didn't comment. Again, he never left my leg. Really. My leg. His two little arms hung around my leg as if he were an ornament on a Christmas Tree. On the way out the door his teacher told him to choose a pencil and a sucker. What does Jake say for his first words. "I don't like those." Sweet. I took one.

Next was William. I mean, Will. Sorry. He walked right up and shook his teachers hand. "I have a really big goal right now. Do you want to know what it is?"

The teacher replied in the affirmative.

"I am going to travel as much of the world as a Monarch Butterfly."

"Oh, wow, replied the teacher." She looked at me. She whispered, "I don't even know how far Monarch Butterflies travel, do you?"

I shook my head. We both had an instant silent understanding of what lay ahead for this dear teacher. She turned back to Will. "So when are you going to accomplish this goal?"

"Oh, he responded, by the age of 10."

Welcome to another year my babies. I pray we all get through it together. We had better hold on tight, pray real hard, and get used to stingy, dingy, brown and blue polyester.

Animal Summer

2011-09-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, the boys have officially caught two snakes so far this Summer. It's disgusting.

I'm sorry, but it is.

We also housed five caterpillars and watched them transform into beautiful Pink Lady Butterflies. Now that was cool.

Yard Sale

2011-09-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a long, very long Summer around these parts. The boys are going to a brand new charter school that just so happened to not be built in time for the start of school. We enjoyed a few more weeks. Honestly, we have spent most of our time playing in our front yard...doing activities such as these...

We are OBSESSED with making money at our house. We have had several garage sales with our very own clothes (that Jake said didn't fit in his drawer anymore...yeah, right) and of course we made this beautiful jewelry and miniature paper action figures.

We started out stringing Penne pasta onto strands of red curling ribbon and headed out to spray paint it. Did I mention that it has been a looooong Summer?

We sat out there from 10-6. Pretty much all day. I even brought their lunch out to them. By 6:00...no profit. The kids were devastated. Apparently no one wanted to pay $5.00 for a fruit loop and penne pasta patterned necklace.

Dad drove in at 6:00. Just in time to close up shop. He searched frantically for quarters in his car. Perfect. He found $2.00. William settled on selling him a plain pasta necklace for a dollar. James couldn't afford the fruit loo, pasta combo. He actually couldn't afford the plain penne either, but James taught William how to barter.

Jake, on the other hand...was a harder egg to crack. Apparently he didn't have any jewelry only worth only a dollar. All of his goods were worth at LEAST two dollars. James, tried as he may, tried to tell Jake he could either sell him a necklace for ONE dollar, or not make any money at all that day. Jake thought. He decided. His jewelry was worth way more than a dollar. He closed shop empty handed. He turned James; dolar down cold handed. We both laughed. That's our Mooch. The most strong-willed, never yielding child I have ever met. Even if it means he goes broke.

Life Lessons

2011-08-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

These are some of our only pictures from our trip to Utah. Thank Goodness Grandpa Geoff set up an archery corner in his backyard, becasue, after all, "Archery and bowling are my only sports." Will Ford

William has had a couple of hard life lessons the last couple of days. First, I was so proud of myself for getting up and completely cleaning out the fish and gecko cages. I mean...serious clean. Unfortunately, I made King's tank (the beta fish) a bit too hot and he was dead within minutes of being released back into his sparkling clean cage. I felt horrible. William was sobbing. He went into my room, kneeled down and prayed for Heavenly Father to bring him back to life. He stuck the fish in a bowl of cool water but nothing happened. My heart broke when he said, "maybe King died because I didn't repent of all of my sins." I about died. I told him that it was completely my fault and I was so, so sorry. I held him in my arms as he cried and through his tears he muttered, "It's O.K. mom. Everyone makes mistakes."

Last night he cracked me up. He said that sometimes reading the scriptures is the "most boring thing ever". I agreed with him and told him that even though it really is boring sometimes, we still do it because Heavenly Father asked us to. Than he responded,

"Did He say anything about following along?"

Two Coke Day

2011-08-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

Jake wrapped up in his blanket waiting for the snake we let go back into its' natural habitat to come back. He just knows he's coming back home. He just knows it.

The kids crowding around the Caterpillar to Butterfly kit I bought them. They loved it. In fact, the caterpillars are now in their chrysalis stage. Yeah!

It was a two coke day on Monday. Actually, it's been a two coke week. Actually...let's be honest. It's been a two coke Summer. If you know me, you know I only have one Coke a day. It's my vice. A great vice. I am actually staring at my Coke on the Rocks right this second. I think I'll have a sip.

So, Monday. Visiting Teaching. My kids aren't in school quite yet. Let's just say, Denver has officially met the Ford's.

Our first visit was especially tough since the husband was upstairs asleep recovering from a night shift. My kids were running through the house. Coming in and out of doors. You can only say "Stop that, be quiet" so many times to the Ford kids. The icing on the cake was when my daughter started ringing the doorbell...a lot. I left.

The next house. The cute girl just kept saying, "Wow, your kids sure have a lot of energy." That was an understatement. The icing on the cake at that house was not that her baby woke up 10 minutes after our arrival, oh no, that would have been too predictable. It was when Jake ran through their front screen door and knocked the whole thing to the ground.

So I say, Denver: Meet the Ford's.

The Ford's: Welcome to Denver. I hope you make it.

Re-New

2011-08-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of learning to Re-New. You know, turn run-down, worn-out, pieces of furniture and turn them into usable artifacts. These are special pieces of Re-New for me. My sister and I used to play with these two pieces of pine wood for hours on end.
In fact...

here's my name to prove it. (inside one of the drawers)

And now, after some serious sanding, paining, staining, more sanding, dipping the nobs into a bath of minwax walnut stain...this exact same kitchen set entertains my baby girl today.

They are sitting next to another Re-New project of mine. A $5 super-ugly wood thingy. A few dollars later and a lot of work...

behold...

the Ford Kids art and craft carry-all. We love it!

Favorite Snipets

2011-07-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

from our first month in Denver.

Will with his homemade archery target. He has been researching whch archery set he would like for Christmas ever since going to his first scout camp.

So James comes home and asks Will about his new friend he met at scout camp. Will replied, "yeah, we were buddies until I was assigned to the Color Guard."

"oh, cool," responds James. "How did you get chosen for that?"

"Oh, well, I just kept getting lost and didn't follow the group that well so they assigned me to some older scouts so I wouldn't get lost anymore."

"oh. Alrighty then," responds his dad.

I am such a great mom. I take my kids to our new library and my 3 year old chooses this book. Does this concern anybody but me?

Here she is reading this wonderful book to her imaginary friends.

I am trying to refinish some garage sale purchases. I found this great bookholder for the boys room. I painted it blue and sanded off some finish to make it look "pottery barnish." Williams response after a couple of days of having the new book keeper in his room. "Mom, you didn't even paint the whole thing. Some parts aren't even painted. Paint it again!"

Mom: "Will, that's the look. It is suppossed to look that way, It's cool."

Will: "No it's not"

Swim lessons. a few days during the other kids lessons I got in the pool and Will and I swam laps together. He showed me how to do the backstroke. "Mom, you have GOT to keep your kicks straight." "No mom. Your arms are suppossed to look like this." "Mom, your biggest problem is your kicks." "You have got to keep your tummy up, mom!"

Mooch: "mom, you can't get a coke!"

Mom: why Mooch?

Mooch: It is soooo bad for you

Mom: did daddy tell you that?

Mooch: No

Mom: who told you that it was bad for you?

Mooch: I just know mom. Don't get one!

So I ordered a Pepsi.

He asked what it was. I told him it was like Sprite.

He seemed O.K.

Indiana Cousins

2011-07-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

First of all, It is official. Uncle Joey is a Mormon family man. He comes to our house and makes Green Jello. My kids had absolutely no idea what Jello was. "It jiggles. Gross". Jake, of course, is the only one brave enough to taste it. Way to go, Mooch.

At the park with our cousins.

Joey let Ne Ne and Maddie do his hair. "Isn't it beautiful. Go look in the mirror"

They had practice doing their own hair before they tackled Joey's. No wonder Joe's looked so good.

The baby spider. Aren't they cute? All I can say was that it was traumatic when they left late last night.

We waited for our cousins to see Snuggles the snake before letting him back in his natural habitat with his family.

We love you Snuggles the snake. Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope you don't come back.

My Boys

2011-07-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

My precious, precious boys. You wouldn't know it from these pictures...but they fight CONSTANTLY! Little do they know, that as long as they keep fighting like this, they will be sharing a room. Here's the deal. Well, first of all, they don't have a choice to not share a room. There is really no place for them to go. However, I absolutely LOVE the fact that they share a room. Do you know why? Because for all of the fighting, bickering, beating, yelling, screaming, threatening, hmmmm,what else? There are those tiny times. Very tiny times...when I see this. And everything is worth it. After all is said and done. They are best friends. They would NEVER admit that to ANYONE. But I know it's true. They can't fool me. I will sit outside their door at night and listen to the laughter. After all the fighting. There is laughter. And that my sons is the reason you may always share a room. Because your mom is selfish. And she can't get enough of that nighttime laughter.

The boys caught their first snake. They named it "snuggles". Interesting. It was a proud, very proud moment for one 8 and 6 year old boy.

They're pretending. Can you tell?

Utah Cousins

2011-07-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's True. Our Utah cousins came to visit. Well, and one Pennsylvania cousin came as well. But she drove form Utah...with the other Utah cousins. Here we are at the Denver Aquarium. Check us out with the sharks. We're pretty tough...even if they are behind a thick chunk of glass.

touching the sting rays

the one and only picture I have to prove my sister was here. Pathetic, I know. Maybe she will give me a new camera for Christmas. This quality is simply amazing.

looking down at those crazy sharks

hi Eliza!

lounging out on my bed

Civic Green park. So fun. And free! Wa-hoo!

the best part about cousins...they don't even care if they have to sleep on the floor. As long as they're together.

Uncle Joey has been living with us for a month. He is the best, lowest maintenance guest we could ever have. i am already sad thinking he is leaving soon. I love having him come home from work and telling me about his day. It is so fun. Just like old times. Oh, and he even does the dishes. Bonus!

When daddy comes home...

2011-07-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

He takes the kids to the Renaissance Festival

Jake dressed up like a pirate. Here the boys are posing with the real Pirate Jack Sparrow (not that the kids have ever seen the movie...but he looked like a pirate...and that was cool)

William chose to dress like a knight. And it was a good thing. He ran into the Real Knight, Sir William. Now that is cool. They even cheered for him to win the deadly jousting duel bwteen Sir. William and the evil Black Knight. Can you guess who won?

Before the festival. Naomi was of course, the princess.

More swimming. There are about 6 different pools that we can go to any day of the week...for free. I don't know if we will ever move. It is amazing!

And did I mention that there are DQ's on every corner? We are in Heaven!

Busy helping me re-finish garage sale furniture.

And let's not forget...OUR SURPRISE VISITORS! The worst part about leaving Akron..."we are sooo much farther from Josh and Maddie and Ty Ty."

The morning they came to visit, I didn't tell the kids. I wish I could have video taped Will's face when he saw Josh. Let's just say, PRICELESS.

watching a movie in our neighbor's backyard

When Daddy's not Home...

2011-07-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

After our three day drive to our newest place called home, James flew back to Akron to finish up residency. I was left with the kids to unpack and entertain. BUT...before James and his brothers even left, (his two brothers flew in to help unload the truck. I didn't get ONE single picture. I think I was in a daze) My parents flew in to help me out.

So this is what you do when daddy's not home, Grandparents come in, and the unpacking is too overwhelming to finish... we take minor detours.

picnics on our front lawn

cub scout camp for Will

grandma and grandpa

Grandparents buying us pets. Wow! Do we sure love them.

This is Jake with his new Gecko.

And Will with his new pet Beta fish.

Waiting at verizon for grandpa to buy his new cell phone that went through the wash machine the very next day.

Daily walks in the gully behind our house with Grandma. Even in the rain.

Sprinkler and silly string Father's Day celebrations with our new neighbors and best friends

learning how to cut artichokes

reading in our new book nook

eating dinner at our new favorite restaurant, Noodles & Company

Swimming at our pools

and of course...working like crazy! Thanks mom and dad. We love you.

oh wait. My favorite part of my parents visit. My mom has been off Coke for 6 months. By the middle of their visit she turned to me in the car and said, "I may not make it without a Coke. This might be a time where I have to give in." At this point the kids are screaming in the car, we have been to three stores looking for unnecessary plastic objects to create storage space in the kids rooms and we were DONE!

But after all was said and done...SHE MADE IT! Not ONE Coke. Me, on the other hand, am up to two a day. It used to be one. But like my mom said, it's been a little rough.

Last days...

2011-07-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

Our last two days in Akron were packed! (so did we) We packed...get it? it's a joke. ha ha.

We left for our trek back west on graduation day. Lunch time. Graduation day.

This is minutes before walking out the doors of the school where my two oldest children were educated for the last three years. We left in the middle of chaos. Cameras. Crying. (not for us). You know, typical last day of school stuff. It worked out perfectly!

Jake and his teacher, Mrs. Semelsberger. (at home, we called her Mrs. Cheeseburger)

This picture speakes a thousand words. Jake couldn't be happier to be done with school. William just loves learning so much he was pretty sad to not be in the school environment for another three months.

William (sorry, it's Will now. He officially asked us to start calling him Will.) With his teacher Ms. Howes and good buddy Ethan.

Oh, I miss this little friend. Hannah Banana. We still talk about her daily. We think one of these days she may show up to nursery. We'll see.

The night before we left we hit the park with our Teftellar buddies. Check us out.

Will and Leah

Omi and Hannah Banana

These two speak for themselves. Goodness. Jake and Noah

Look at the smile on Jaker's face. You have no idea how much I have missed that smile lately. He and his good buddy Xander.

Jake especially misses his friends and seems to be having a little bit of a hard time adjusting.

We hit the beach for the last time with our neighbors. Sarah Maddie Mom. That's how Ne Ne says their names.

The week before we left Will was in the 2nd grade musical. He was one of the narrators. He loved it. (I forgot to post it earlier)

So long Akron.

Adios Times Three

2011-06-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

Three Goodbye parties. Three times to talk with our best friends. Three incredible times to realize how blessed we have been to land here in Akron, OH, if just for a short time. I have spent the last two weeks realizing how the Lord's hand is in everything. I am a better person since moving here. I have met amazing people. I have made mistakes. Said things I wish I could take back. Laughed when I shouldn't have. And laughed when I should have. Met people who have changed my life forever. And afterall...that is what it's all about. I am a better person for moving here. What more could I ask for? NOTHING!
Well, except for these THREE amazing sendoffs. Hold on tight. A lot of pictures to remind me of the people who I will miss like crazy!
Starting off. Rachel invited us out to dinner. (James calls her my ABF ((akron best freind)) They picked us up. Thinking we were going out to dinner just the four of us. We were excited. A night out. Until they pulled into the church parking lot...
We walked into the church. I could have killed her. I do not do parties well. If they're for me. Our friends were all there. They are amazing. Overwhelmed. Loved it. But I still could have killed her.

Jenn made us this amazing cake. Five kids and she made us this incredible cake. It was my favorite cake ever! It had a snowboarder coming down one side and skiis coming down the other. Don't you love it?

Party #2. Our Neighborhood Friends.

The blonde on the left (below) threw us this party. She is actually one of James' attendings at the hospital. Her kids go to school with ours. When we first moved here and I told my mom I was friends with one of James bosses, my mom was concerned. "I don't know if you should do that. What is James' gets fired or something. That could get really awkward."

I still laugh about that. Luckily, he never got fired and we are still friends.

Party #3. Go out with a BANG!

Ever since I moved here I have been hearing about Karaoke at a bar down the street from us. I told myself I was doing it before I moved. It's just one of those things. I have always wanted to do Karaoke with drunk people. What? I have. Deal with it. So, my neighbors were stoked. They had a designated driver. I was stoked. I couldn't believe I was actually going to go.

My sister-in-law was in town and I made her come with me. I wasn't sure if I was going to need back-up loading people in the car. I mean, I don't really get alcohol. I wasn't sure what to do. But it was AWESOME!

Stacy and I sang Poker Face by lady GaGa. While we were singing, I realized that I should have picked a song I actually knew the words to. I guess I picked it because I like the "P P P P P P Poker face part." Unfortunately, there were a lot of other parts besides the chorus. So I had to improvise with some amazing dance moves I had in my back pocket. I am pretty sure it was awesome. (insert sarcasm)

I begged my friends to do it. But it took them a couple drinks before they could get up there. A couple may be an understatement. After a little while, they were ready. They serenaded us with "Pour some sugar on me." Whatever song that is. Def Leopard, I think? The friend on the far left told me today that she couldn't believe how anybody does that sober. How did I do it? How do you not? A karaoke bar. People who will never remember who you are. A perfect opportunity to sing Poker Face....or Pour some Sugar on Me. Whatever.

I pulled in the driveway at 12:45. Probably the latest I had been out since before I was married. I thought about our three amazing send-offs. I made my way up the stairs. I peaked in on each of our three children sleeping soundly. I pulled the covers from our bed and snuggled up close to my sleeping husband. So grateful. So grateful for our lives. For our journey. For our friends. For the laughter. For the fear. For the anticipation of our future.

I guess we are on to the next. But not without memories. Not without being stronger, better, more faithful, more blessed, and more aware of God's hand in our lives.

Thank you Akron. We will never forget you. (especially since we still have a $150,000 investment in the form of a home that will keep a part of us here...if only in taxes.)

WE LOVE YOU!

Weekend Trip

2011-05-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend James got me a gig photographing a wedding for one of his co-workers. It was the perfect opportunity to visit Palmyra, New York. It turned out to be a free trip. And as you can see from Jake's expression in all of these pictures, he couldn't have been happier to be there.

Let us not forget...

2011-05-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Naomi. She turned 3. Three. III.

Ne Ne. (pronounced neigh, neigh...like the horse) I am actually pretty ticked about her new name. Just recently she has started telling me, "My name is Ne Ne." O.K. So remember how I called her Scout? Well, that was my nickname for her. It never stuck. She didn't like it. James' choice was Ne Ne. I thought it was hideous. Well, of course, like everything she wears, she has also chosen her own nickname. Her dad's choice. James is now 3 for 3. He has chosen every single child's nickname. Bug, Mooch and now Ne Ne. James =3, Jessie = 0. Whatever!

We celebrated Ne Ne's birthday a week early. While family was still in town for William's baptism. She was lucky evough to have two other girl cousins with birthdays within a month. We got them all. Naomi, Eliza and Maddie.
It was princess...of course.
A week later James and I sat in bed wondering if we should tell her that her "real" birthday was the next day. We cut our losses. She would never know. The "real" day came and went. But her birthday was not forgotten. We love her just the same. Possibly a little too much. She makes us laugh. She drives me crazy. She walked into church today and did this really loud deep breath and sighed, "I hate this place."
She takes after her mom. She just says it like she feels. Oh, great. I can't wait for the future.
We love you Ne Ne.

The Bug

2011-05-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are infested by bugs in our house this time of year. But The Bug that I wish to talk about is the one who fills my life with absolute joy. The Bug who just turned 8. I know, I know. I know what you are thinking. How could I possibly be that old? Well, I am. Deal with it. I have an 8 year old.

What a perfect birthday. William had Grandma Cheryl and Aunt Stacy, Grandma Nettie and Grandpa Geoff, Uncle David and Aunt Kristine, Uncle Joey and Aunt Ashley, and his cousins Josh, Maddie, Ty and Eliza all come in town...just for him. It was a magical weekend.

If you are at all wondering what exactly you do when you have an eight year old, I will tell you.

You just look at him. And you look really hard. At a person that once rested willingly in your arms. And you think. Really,really hard. Basically, everything you do that day will be really, really hard.

And you wonder.

So far in his life...

Could I have done better? definitely

Could I have done worse? yeah, pretty sure

I probably should have disciplined him more

I probably should have taught him how to answer the phone and make phone calls

Does he know how to make his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich? I think so. hmmm.

I should have taken him skiing more. Or camping. Or lots of things.

But I didn't.

Could I have loved him any more?

The one question I can answer with absolute surety.

I can sleep well tonight.

I have loved him with every fiber of my being. For the past eight years.

Undoubtably longer.

I love you, Bug. But you probably already know that. And that's good.

Hey, I've done one thing right.

Here's to being 8.

What kind of birthday cake is this? Are you wondering? You should be ashamed of yourself for not knowing. It's a CIRCUIT BOARD, silly. What else could it be? Uncle David and James created it lovingly...in no time at all. Not that you could tell. It has electricity wires, circuits, batteries. You know, everything you may expect to find on your regular old circuit board.

William got a real circuit board for his birthday. I found it an Amazon. Funny enough, Grandpa Geoff bought him one at Radio Shack. Who would have known besides Grandpa Geoff? I told William the other day that I had to buy it on the computer because it was so rare. He looked at me in astonishment. "You mean, you had to buy me my present on the computer? Wow, mom. I didn't know you loved me that much."

Apparently, if you buy your kid a present online, it means you love him super, duper much. Score!

The BULL-CUT

2011-04-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

The cut after the cut. Jake turned half of Naomi's head into a mullet. The other half was fine. A friend suggested I take my only daughter to "Famous Hair." And so I did as I was told. This is what happened. I guess that is what you get for taking your child into a place called, "Famous Hair." Lesson learned.

I will share with you three of my favorite comments I have received since this traumatic experience,

1. My friend and her girls hoped into our car to head to the Science Center. She glanced back. And then she glanced back again. In all seriousness she asked, "oh, what happened to her hair?" I told her. She told me that Jake actually did a better job. Apparently I should have left Jake's cut.

2. I took the kids to the hospital on Saturday to see their dad. One of the nurses came up to us asked about "the hair. " I told her I took her to a "salon" (I didn't tell her it was called "Famous Hair," I was too embarrassed. Her response, "you mean someone with a license cut that?"

3. I was walking around at my favorite new thrift shop yesterday looking through the racks of moderately used clothing. A lady turned onto our row and loudly asked, "oh, what...is that pixie cut back in again?"

I told her what happened and she kept pressing me. "Well, did your son get in trouble?" I was caught off guard. "Uh, yeah." "Well, don't worry about it honey. It will eventually grow back. The good news is, is that she is still young."

Is it seriously that bad?

I will never forget when our family was in New orleans when we were younger and my little brother, Joey, had a bull-cut. We were walking late at night and a guy walked past us and said, "nice helmet, kid."

Every time I see my baby girl, I always hear that same phrase in my mind.

"Nice helmet, kid."

Easter Sunday

2011-04-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Sunday!
We had some of our neighbors over. The kids were down in the basement for quite some time. After, of course, they didn't eat a darn thing. My fabulous Easter feast was not well accepted from the 5 kids 8 and under. Oh, well. The 30+ year olds ate it.
The kids surprised us with a fabulous puppet show. It ended with a Grand Finale of Ninja Jake and the defeat of the adults.

The kids taking their bows.

Easter egg hunt

Easter egg dying.

Until next year. We love you, Easter.

One of THOSE days

2011-04-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

I love THOSE days. Not because I LOVE those days, but because I can look back and laugh my head off. It was one of THOSE days.

It started off with a breakdown.

We're on day 3 of Spring break.

Day 1: Pump it Up

Day 2: Cleveland Science Center

Day 3: was yet to be decided. I was too busy having a breakdown. My house was in complete disarray. The play room smelled like a mix between hard-boiled Easter eggs ground into the floor and pickles. Naomi has a tendency of getting them out of fridge and leaving them all over the house.

We HAD to clean the house. I even scrubbed the toilets. Amazing, I know. I don't know what got into me. Well, actually i do. It was the brown ring around the toilet seat that I couldn't stand looking at one more time. I realize now that my mom must have been pretty good scrubbing toilets when I was young because i never remember the brown rings inside the bowl. hmmm...

The doorbell rang. It was William's friend Ethan on his bike. I couldn't keep four kids inside all day on a rainy, wet day. We heading to the zoo.

One the way out of the zoo I made the boys sit (and I mean SIT) "right in that corner" because i had to run Nomi to the potty. I came out super fast and the boys were gone. Of course they were. Luckily I spotted them walking out of the gift sho. Jake was smiling from ear to ear. Apparently, he did some dirty work and fished out a quarter from the wishing stream outside the zoo gates. He decided to head on inside to buy something with his "lucky quarter" His brother and friend helped him find a lizard tattoo. The only $.25 thing in the store. I wonder what the sales lady was thinking when a six year old handed her a muddy quarter that he had just retrieved from the pond in front of her store.

They grow so fast. Already making purchases on their own. With their own money. That they steal from innocent zoo ponds.

When james walked in from work, I walked out. I headed to my favorite discount store. This doesn't even compare to T.J. Maxx. I mean, this is where all the stuff that doesn't sell at T.J Maxx or other discount stores goes. I love it. Well, suffice it to say, I don't always find myself being in the company that I would want my children to find themselves in. Tonight was awesome. I heard through the racks this lady yelling at her husband on the phone. "A PLANT holder. I want to buy a plant holder." "Oh, G** you can't even understand me. No, NOT a CRACK holder, a PLANT holder." "Listen to me. PLANT...PPPPP. As in, P for (I couldn't hear what she said), L as in LOOOOOSER, A as in A**, N as in NOT ,and T as in truck." Than she turns to her friend, "Oh, G** he still doesn't understand me. I can't believe this." "Here, she yells at her husband through he phone, talk to her." She shoved the cell phone to her friends ear. "She wants to buy a plant holder," she calmly told the husband. Apparently the husband understood and she handed the phone back to the yeller. "Gosh, I'm making him talk to you from now on. He can't even understand me."

I'm not sure if she bought the plant holder. But it sure made my night. What an awesome way, to end an awesome day.

Spring Break Day 4. Wait until tomorrow.

Easter 2011

2011-04-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

Luckily, I took Easter pictures 2 days before Jake took scissors to his sister's hair. I think it may be a right of passage. A sibling cutting the little sister's hair. I'm glad it's over. Right of passage:COMPLETE.

This Kid

2011-04-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

Is obsessed with dresses. Sparkly dresses to be exact. She chooses EVERYTHING that she wears. EVERYTHING. Which is why I had to take a picture of her before church in this dress. It's not sparkly. It's not pink. But she chose it. Why?

"grandpa geoff give it me."

And notice the unmatching bows in her hair. They were out by church start time. I don't think she ever had shoes on.

I Completely Forgot...

2011-04-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

Someone in our house turned 35...

Happy Birthday Daddy

Thanks Aunt Stacy for coming up for the big day!

I loved general Conference this year. Why, you ask? Cause James was home...and I was in HEAVEN.

I sat and sat and sat. James scolded and scolded and scolded.
By about 4 PM I turned around to see James crouched in the corner. He looked exhausted. I laughed.

I heard things like,

"I said enough is enough"

"Why would you do that?"

"Stop that right now"

"That's it, go to your room"

"No, stop that."

"Why can't you just stop?"

Props to my husband.

I love him.

Change

2011-04-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

The BEST part about being the yearbook person at your kid's school is being able to go in their classroom whenever you want and take pictures...even if you don't really need them. I just get to go in and pretend to take pictures while exchanging silent glances of love at my children. I love it.

The other night I lay in bed with my little Mooch. And then on to my Bug. Jake wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about. So I had to guess. We finally settled on my question, "what do you worry about most?" He started crying.

"I don't know if I can make any friends in Denver." A-ha. I had broken him. He didn't want to talk about it. But now he had too. I held him close. We talked for a long time. I told him that we could call our friends or maybe even come visit. Than he started crying even more. "No," he said, "if I visit them than I will be even more sad because I know that I have to go back to Denver." I continued to hold him. My Mooch. So scared. So little.

William has the same concerns. Last night at family prayer, he prayed, "please help us to sell our house and that each of us can move by people our own ages and that they can like us so that we can have friends in Denver."

Costume Crazed...

2011-03-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

The joy of being a child...

So Jake's weapon birthday is turning out to be a riot.
The other day I took the kids to the park and let them bring their swords to play fight. I was standing with a couple of my friends when I saw William take one of his weapon's from a little boy who was playing with the kids so that William had a 2/0 advantage on the weapons. I heard myself scream, "William Ford you give him a weapon right now!". One of my friends laughed and said, "Yeah, that's probably something you never would have thought you would ever hear yourself saying before you became a parent."

Yesterday, I told Naomi to pick up all of her girl toys. She looked at me sternly. She picked up Jake's Clone Trooper gun, pointed it at me and said, "You pick up toys, mom!" Don't worry. She didn't scare me.

The Mooch

2011-03-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

Is 6. And he's a NINJA.

Ninja Jake's Uncle Derek flew in from Utah.

Jake helped put the Ninja Lego Guys on his cake

It was the "Year of Violence" for his birthday gifts. Lightsaber, swords, more swords, shields, yeah...we'll see how long they last.

I know, I know. It doesn't look too great. But hey, he's 6! It looks PERFECT!

Ninja Jake's Birthday Party. James explained to the kids that there was a bad, bad beast who stole the treasure and they were going to have to go on a scavenger hunt to "get the best!"

Get the Beast, Get the Beast!

We found him, We found him!

Take that Beast!

Pizza, cake and ice cream after successfully killing the beast. It was hard work!

We love you Mooch. Actually, we really, really, really, really LOVE YOU!

Beautiful

2011-03-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

Jake's Awesome speech. "The Bald Eagle is important to our country because it is a symbol of freedom. The best thing I like about this American Symbol is that it is strong, just like me."

I am listening to one of my favorite songs right now. No, it's not one of those hip, new age, way to cool for school songs that you may be thinking of. It just makes me think of my life. My beautiful life.

"Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride."

I saw the man of my dreams walk into our children's school just in time for our Kindergartner's famous American program. I am not quite sure how he got there...but he did. And he left right after. But he was there.

I saw my daughter run into her father's arms. I saw my husband holding our kindergartner after his amazing performance. He let his dad hold him in his arms for a long, long while.

My husband left the scene as my boys started kicking each other in the car on the car ride home. He got to go back to work. I was looking at mine.

I heard words such as fart-smeller, idiot, moron, butt sniffer. You name it.

Life isn't always beautiful.

But it was... just 10 minutes earlier.

And it will be again.

After the name calling.

After the fighting.

After the time-outs, soap in mouth and threatenings.

I'll take it.

Just for moments like today.

Glimpse

2011-02-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

If you have ever (I mean, how could you not) want a GLIPMSE into scripture reading at our house...today is your lucky day.

Last night. 8:00. We all gather in "the green room." I pass out scriptures and have everybody turn to the page. Like always, James and I are the only ones who follow directions. We scold them to do it or else. We finally give in and do it for them.

Jake is wandering aimlessly around the room looking for something to do. He is already bored. We haven't even started. We scold him to either choose mom or dad and sit down. He hesitantly chooses mom. He lasts about 30 seconds. He gets back up and walks around. He is scolded again. Meanwhile, Naomi is prancing back and forth between her dad and mom in her pink and green sundress. Luckily she is wearing underwear. She twirls and laughs and taps her dad on the shoulder as he is trying to read. "Just a minute," dad tells her and continues to read. "O.K. Sure," she says and then taps again. And again. Apparently a second is the new minute. It must be important. It's not. She just wants his attention. I think she really wants him to tell her how beautiful her prancing is.

Without her dads attention she continues to raise her dress over her head and shouts, "underwear!" Not just once.

Jake is still aimlessly walking around the room. I sternly tell him it is his turn and he growls and makes his way slowly over to my side. I point to the verse. I hear a groan. He starts. And than stops. Apparently he hates scripture reading. He walks away mid-word. We both sternly tell him the consequence if he chooses not to read. He comes over to me again. He looks at the verse. Is he going to do it?

Uh, nope. Not tonight. He walks away again. We remind him that he will not get to choose a story tonight. I guess he doesn't care. Oh, well. We just lost one. Naomi we really never had. So we move on to William. Only to find he hasn't been following along. "Uh, where are we again?"

Now I groan. Seriously?

He looks at his verses and starts crying. "I want the longest verses. Are these the longest verses. I have to have the longest verses." His mouth is wide open as he bursts into instantaneous sobs. We pause for a minute so he can count the lines. He must have the longest.

By this point Jake is out of the room. Naomi is still prancing tapping on our shoulders and showing us her Dora underwear. William has calmed down and is satisfied with the longest verses of the night.

Sadly, I am not quite sure what we read about. But we read. Can't wait for tonight.

SNOW DAY(S)(S)(S)(S)(S)

2011-02-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

We are wondering what the record is for the most snow days in a school year. I woke up this morning to a phone call from the school district. Just like I did on Tuesday.

I scrubbed the toilets. Vacuumed. Broke up fights. You know, the usual.

We finally decided to brace oursleves and take to shoveling. Just so you know...I am so tired of shoveling our ginormous driveway. The snow today felt extra, extra heavy. My back was killing. The kids finally went inside. I continued to chip away at the massive damage.

I finally retreated inside with a headache without having accomplished the whole driveway. I never do that. My dad always taught me to finish. I just couldn't. Good thing I came inside.

The moment I opened the door, I noticed a strange smell. Oh. It was an experiment of lime juice, chicken boulion and a Costco size container of basil leaves. Smeared all over the kitchen. And the dining room which I had just cleaned. It was amazing. You have to give your kids props for being able to be so destrctive in such a short period of time. My kids will take any of your kids on in a battle of destruction. Bring it on.

I cleaned up the mess and put some noodles in boiling water for lunch just in time to hear William scream "What the HELL are you doing?"

I could tell he knew what was about to happen when I rushed to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at him. He was in shock. So was I.

An hour later we both recovered from the incident. I am now sitting here on the computer trying to lose myself in my writing as toys, bats, and various plastic objects skin my head in an effort to kill a brother. Oh, and I am taking intermittent brakes to dress and undress Barbie.

Go Away Snow.

The chaos is incredible. But for some reason I am so happy that I am the one who gets to be home on Snow Days. I couldn't imagine missing this excitement.

Oh, and William just came in and said, "Ah, mom, I think I am going to go for the 8th Article of Faith this week."

"What a great idea," I respond. What a turn of events. That's our life in a nutshell.

One moment, beating up our brother. The very next, opening up the scriptures.

I love my life.

I Never Imagined...

2011-02-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

Naomi and her best friend Hannah Banana dancing in our living room

I was sooo excited when the ultrasound tech gave me the sign that we were indeed having a girl. My mind flashed forward to dainty clothes, beautiful pigtails and innocent kisses.

I actually left the doctor's office and headed straight to the mall. My first girl shopping adventure.

I now realize that I never needed to.

There is no need for beautiful bows and dainty clothes.

But there is definitely a need for patience, laughter and naked bums. You see, we have another child who does not enjoy underwear.

We have a daughter who refuses to let you even BRUSH her hair. But it is so strange. She is as girly as they come. And yet, not so much...at all.

I posted the close up shot because her hair is driving me crazy. I have a bowl of adorable clips, flowers and bows. They just sit there. Because, you see, if I actually body strap her and put these little trinkets in her hair, she rapidly pulls them out...with a whole chunk of her fine, straw-like hair. We just don't have that much hair to spare. So, we don't bother.

As for the clothes. She chooses her own. I have surrendered.

The other day I took her to read to Jake's kindergarten class. The girls all noticed her outfit.

"Why is she in her pajamas? Why is she wearing slippers?"

What was I supposed to tell a group of 5 year olds?

I felt like saying, "Cause she's a pistol...what do you think?"

I instead replied that she is just a silly goosehead and we are not sure why she is so crazy. They laughed. So did I. What else do you do?

Here's to my strong-willed little angel. My adorable little girl who rules our house with an iron fist. A typical two year old. I'm patiently waiting. Waiting for the bows. And the clips. And the matching outfits. Someday maybe.

OuTloOk

2011-02-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

(we LOVE our costume box)

One of those weeks...

A random incident put life into perspective. Very random. I almost landed myself in a courtroom testifying against a neighbor. I couldn't take it. I actually was worried. For my safety and that of my children.

All week I was sick to my stomach. Scared. Of everything. One of those times where you wish with all your heart that you could easily exchange your fear with your faith. But for some reason, your faith keeps coming up short. I couldn't help it. No matter how much I prayed.

And than one night, I walked into my room to see this.

And I felt completely at peace. This is all that matters. And suddenly...everything was right with the world.

Another day my 5 year old called me into the kitchen. For some reason he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He got into the freezer. And the fridge. And the cupboards. He made me a caramel sundae. Just for me. And guess what? You can't see it, but with the caramel he wrote, "I love you". Just for me. How could I possibly think that life wasn't perfectly, astoundingly PERFECT!

And than today...a long, cold, boring Saturday. We decided that we weren't going to let the weather get us down. Not this week. We bundled up, got in the car and went to the hospital. We paged our dad and told him we were there. It was going to be a special daddy lunch in the hospital cafeteria. We waited, rather impatiently in the hospital hall. I spotted our tall daddy walking down the long hallway. I excitedly showed the kids.

They were off. Three little loves ran down the long corridor and threw their gangly arms around their daddy. And I could see it. I swear I did. His smile was just as big as theirs.

And then I knew. The world is good today.

And I am very, very grateful for terrible, no good weeks. Cause guess what?

When it's over...the sun never shines brighter. And today, a cold, dark, boring day in Akron Ohio...the sun never shone brighter.

(p.s. so my dad sent me a valentine today and told me that he loves reading my blog but he didn't know that i was such a dramatic kid. i think i have become much more dramatic over the last three years. it's been a little rough. hence, i tried to make this entry extra dramatic. "the sun never shone brighter" don't you think it's perfect! i think he's going to love it. hey...if you've got it...you've got it!)

Bad Sign?

2011-02-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

FYI: The child does not come with the house. Negotiations accepted.

Do you think it is a bad sign that we decided to put our house up for sale in the middle of one of the worst winter snowstorms in years? Please pray it isn't! Our second snow day in a row. Suffice it to say, I paged James at work and told him to pick up pizza for dinner. I'm exhausted!

Break the Rules Night

2011-01-29T02:20:00.000-08:00

Jake had a horrible, no good, very bad day on Wednesday. So much so, that he had a complete meltdown. Throwing, hitting, screaming, yeah...whatever you can think of. By bedtime, I decided to take a step back. I realized that James and I had just been "speaking mean" (that's what Jake calls it) and it wasn't working.

I walked in his room, threw myself on his bed and tried to ask why this "was the worst day of his whole life." Sounds traumatic, I know. I was sympathetic to his hard and demanding schedule for a 5 year old. Life actually really is hard for these little critters. He has to be as smart as I was in 3rd grade. He's only in Kindergarten. Poor kid. The pressure really can get on your nerves. So...we decided that the next night, a Thursday night, would be our first annual "Break the Rules Night." What is that you ask. I will tell you.

The Ford's are breaking the rules.

It was a school night. But guess what?

We were going to stay up and watch a movie. We were going to play games, have fun and eat cake and ice cream. It was going to be a party after all. Usually parties are on the weekends. But THIS was a Break the Rules Party. And it was on a Thursday. We, the Ford's, are rebels. If you hadn't already known.

I spent Thursday making cakes, frosting and getting ready. I was so excited!

I picked the kids up from school. Well, we didn't even get home without a major setback. You see, we pick up Leah, our neighbor after school. By the time we got to her house, she was in tears. William hurt her feelings. He was making up songs about peeing on people and he used her name in one rendition. It didn't go over very well. It really hurt her feelings. I don't blame her. How would you like a little boy singing about peeing on you?

So, as a consequence, William had to write her an apology note and give her some of his "Break the Rules cake." That was nearly a disaster. He flipped out. But it had to be done.

After a few more hours of fighting, yelling, throwing lego hero factories at each other, I quickly scarfed down dinner and felt like crying. What was for dinner? I can't remember. Oh, wait. Yes I do. It was SUNDAY dinner. Roast, mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, carrots. The whole nine yards. Who says you can't have Sunday dinner on a Thursday night. It was "Break the Rules Night" after all. James walked through the door. I walked up to my room. It was 8:00 P.M. I never came back downstairs. I remember James walking into my room and saying, "Are you asleep?" I remember thinking about it. My response, "Uhhh, I 'm not sure." He shut the door. I woke up the next morning. Wow. I didn't imagine that I would ever be the one breaking the rules. But I did. I'm not quite sure if they had their party without me.

The boys asked if we could try again. For another "Break the Rules Party." I'll have to think about it. I'm still tired from this one. I mean, I only got 11 hours of sleep.

Here's to Breaking the Rules.

Little Bodies

2011-01-17T15:25:00.000-08:00

Naomi and our little neighbor. Naomi is desperate for female attention. They made a bed on my kitchen floor as I was making dinner. Don't worry. I just stepped over them.

William and Jake showing off their Lego creations!

Popcorn Popping during Family Home Evening.

Little Bodies = Big trouble. I know. I knew about 7 years ago. It hasn't let up.
Today was Martin Luther King Day. Me, being such a wonderful mother ordered tickets to go and see our first show at the downtown Civic Theatre, The Festival of Nations. Dances from around the World. I was sooo excited. We went down a little early so that, you know, how I am such a good mom, I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the oldest candy store in Akron. A tiny little shop full of different candy like you see in the movies. A child's paradise. They each ordered their own treat and took their little white paper bags with them. So cute.
We entered the theatre. It was like Disneyland. Kids in every corner. My worst nightmare. We walked to our seats and sat there and I was wondering why in the heck the show wasn't starting. We soon figured out that they said the show started at 11:00 because they wanted us to be there an HOUR early (with our children) tp have plenty of time to buy the vendor's goods from all over the country. Are you serious? An hour went by and the show finally started. Let's be honest, any activity after an hour with three active children should be about all you try to accomplish in a 24 hour period of time. But we were just getting started. I hadn't fed the kids lunch. My secret plan was to go to the show from 11:00-12:00 and surprise daddy at work and eat with him. That obviously wasn't going to work. So I went down to the concessions (another racket) and found out that they don't take credit cards. Of course. I ran across the freezing cold street to slide my little plastic card in that big money machine. I went in to buy three slices of pizza. The first child says, "I hate this kind of pizza." The second child replies, "Oh, I don't like pizza." The third child declares, "ewwww!" Funny enough, a friend of ours took a piece off my plate and ate it with delight. I barely knew what happened. At least someone enjoyed the $6 pizza.
30 minutes of dancing. The middle child was already bored. I was telling him to hang on because the show would be over soon. It was. Well, at least the 1st third was over! Th 1st intermission? I was done. Who in the world puts on a dancing show for young children with two intermissions. I mean, I understand we have a lot of diversity in this great state of Ohio...but 3 HOURS WORTH!
I ended up taking a screaming Naomi out after the people in front of us moved two different times to dodge her Dora shoes banging on the backs of their heads. Jake followed me screaming how boring it was. Naomi cried the whole way to the car. And it was quite a walk. I love how downtowns never have anyplace to park. It's like a universal travesty.
So, from 10:30 - 3:00 we were in and out of the blessed Festival of Nations.
I probably won't be going again.
It was clear from the people around us that I was not the great mom that I knew I was going into that place.
Funny. Just like how I was such a great mom before I had kids.
It's never like you plan. never.
Happy Martin Luther King Day.

I love the Mooch

2011-01-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

Jake with his best buddy Noah.

So...the Mooch. The middle child. A love.

He has been cracking me up lately.

1. "Jacob, seriously, why do you have to act so crazy. You make mommy so tired."

His response, "mom, when I am a adult I won't act like this, I promise. But mom I'm a kid and this is just what kids do. O.K, mommy?"

2. "Hey, mom. Guess what? We got two new students in my class today. And guess what? One of them is even White! I can't believe it. We got a white student!"

3. So, you know, how I was so excited about Jake wearing socks and underroos to Kindergarten. Well, now that it is halfway through the year, the threat that it is against the law to not wear these items isn't working anymore. He has learned better. My solution. Every morning he has to at least choose ONE. Socks or underwear. He usually chooses socks. So please, no one pants this kid.

4. We met my brother and sister-in-law at the Columbus Temple. They were so nice to remember to bring Jake his Christmas present. Jake opened the present that his cousins had been so excited to give him. He saw it, he looked at them and stated, "Does this thing come with a money back guarantee?" Apparently it wasn't what he wanted.

I love you Mooch.

SAD

2011-01-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

O.K. So I know there are many types of SAD. Predominantly out here, in Akron, OH, SAD is Seasonal Affective Disorder. It's pretty hard NOT to catch it out here. But this isn't the SAD that I have. Well, actually, I am kindof a hypochondriac, so I probably do have SAD now that I think about it. But whatever. To be honest, I have been SAD all week. Why?
My babies went BACK to school.
We had the BEST, most relaxing last week of vacation ever. Wanna know why?
The kids were all just a TAD sick. Now, being Ford's, being just a tad sick is a great thing. It just took the EDGE off of their super, energetic and exciting little personalities. But they never got "doctor sick", you know what I mean. Just the good, kindof cruddy sick.
The kids LITERALLY (the kids ALWAYS use the word LITERALLY) actually got "dressed" twice all week. It was amazing! They stayed in their jammies, watched movies, played with their new toys lovingly together, (remember, they had the "crud drug") to just take that edge off, and we lived happily ever after...all week. We were so so so sad on Sunday night.
In fact, I missed the boys so much that Naomi and I went over to their school during lunch just to say hi to them in the lunch line. We exchanged kisses and how much we missed each other and then we left.
However, during our "sick week" we did happen to get dressed twice.
Both times WELL worth it.
Sledding once.
Ice Skating next.
Good-bye Christmas Vacation 2010.
We're alreaddy counting down for next year.

Why I love my daughter...

2011-01-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

1. She was the toughest kid on the sledding hill. She got knocked over head first, did a somersault and stood up with her hands in the air...as if she had just completed in the Olympics.

2. I sat and played Barbies with her today and caught myself dressing barbie as cheerleading barbie and moved her arms as I chanted my old high school cheers. "E, pump it up, pump it up, H S, come one, come on let's cheer and shout what else what else we're the best!" She loved it.

3. She LOVES going shopping with me. We love looking for bargains together and she will even let me know what clothes I may or may not purchase for her.

4. She loves princesses. And she loves being tough. It is the BEST! She rarely cries when she gets hurt...only when she gets her feelings hurt. She loves pink, and then turns around to take on her brothers in a wrestling match. Today she ran into her dad shouting, "Wrestle me daddy, wrestle me." Only to be followed by a showing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

5. When I laid down to put her to sleep tonight, I ran my hands through her thin, blonde hair as she vanished into dreamland. I couldn't help but feel complete excitement and wonder. Just hoping, waiting...for my best little friend to grow up.

...and to all a good night

2010-12-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

I love sleeping children

I especailly love brothers sleeping together in their little twin bed. This night it looked like it was William's bed.

oh...and now it's Jake's bed. we must take turns, of course.

The perfect ending to a perfect Christmas. A seriously exciting game of LIFE with Chocolate fondue. We all went to bed sick with over indulgence to chocolate pretzels and William and dad went to bed happy. They won. But Jakey and I went to bed happy too. Cause we did our BEST!

Christmas Morning 2010

2010-12-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

A wonderful memory. A wonderful feeling. Just our little family. We had one groggy, bewildered baby, one not feeling so good Mooch, and one incredibly, excited, this is the "Best Christmas Ever" Bug.

All in all, a WONDERFUL Chirstmas day. James even woke up at 4:30 A.M. to run into the hospital to make an extra $100! What a man! Oh, and he went back later that day to make an extra $35. Thank Babe.

Christmas Vacation 2010

2010-12-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

We started our vacation this year with a road trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ford in Chicago. What fun! Nothing better than Grandma to spoil your kids rotten. Our two day adventure was PACKED with the Shedd Aquarium, the Children's Museum, Panera Bread, and the Dollar Store. WIlliam couldn't understand why the Dollar Store was not more crowded the day before Christmas Eve. To him, this was the greatest store on Earth for Christmas bargains.

making the drive. we loved it.

until next time...Chicago!

No School Day

2010-12-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread Houses on Sunday

No School Day on Monday (SNOW DAY)

I walked in the boys room this morning and hollered,

"I have an announcement, I have an announcement"

Their sleepy eyes looked up at me in confusion.

I continued, "There will be NO SCHOOL today!"

Instantly, I saw a smile glazed over Jake's droopy lips and William turned toward his window, looked out at the blistery blizzard and lay back in his bed...

both happy with the world.

Jake MADE me make sugar cookies. I decided since it was "a kid's day" they could make them any way they wanted. Jake even pounded out the dough with his feet instead of the rolling pin. (Don't worry, I threw those one's away)

Then I put four bowls of frosting on the table and a tray of cookies. I left the room. I couldn't handle watching all the dripping, slipping and goobers. I told myself, "just leave the room, leave the room"

I returned to some beautiful cookies. None that we will probably deliver to neighbors, but they were sure proud of their creations.

Here's to a "NO SCHOOL DAY"

SNOW

2010-12-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

The boys made a snowman with their dad. What a cool looking dude!

1 Moment Each

2010-12-13T16:16:00.001-08:00

1st. The Mooch
Today he came to me saying, "Mommy, I'm hungry." I responded that I would love to make him a peanut butter sandwich.
His response, "No, I'm not hungry for any protein stuff."
Well, what are you hungry for?
"Ummm, maybe something likem ummm, like, cold"
Like what?
"ummm, maybe something in the freezer. Like something that maybe starts with a "I"".
Don't worry. He didn't get any frozen "I" food. If he was really hungry he would have eaten the protein food.

I learned a new level of patience with William. Have you ever tried to teach a 7 year old how to play chess? Seriously, an hour and a half later I pointed out he had a check mate. He won. THank goodness! Time to make dinner.

Naomi was invited to her 1st ever Birthday party! She couldn't have been more excited! She loved it. She loved giving a present. The whole thing. And I loved taking JUST her. It was SOOO fun.

Goal...accomplished

2010-12-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Jake has always been a little jealous of William because William actually reads the scriptures by himself for family scripture study and Jake has always just had to repeat us as we read for him. At the beginning of the school year, we talked about our goals for the year. Jake's #1 goal...to read a scripture ALL BY HIMSELF! I was a little nervous. The scriptures aren't written in normal English.

But last night, as I was out doing errands, James told Jake to read...all by himself. Jake told him ,"no, I can't." But James told him to try. And try he did! And success!

As soon as I got home, I walked into the boys room and Jake threw his arms around me, pulled open his scriptures, and showed me the three he read. I couldn't believe it.

We wrestled on his bed with excitement. He couldn't contain himself.

Here's to Jake! And here's to Goals!

Natural

2010-12-04T10:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my parents, I was able to take William skiing while in Utah. So I took him last year with my brothers for the first time. This year, I wasn't going to take him. Jake didn't want to go. He said he'll go when he's 11. William kept begging me to take him. I'm kindof a wimp. I HATE being cold.
My dad still bugs me about when he would take me skiing. All I would say is, "I'm cold, daddy, I'm cold." Now James gets to hear me complain. I'm always cold.
Only one of my three joys could get me out on the mountain where I basically freeze to death. But after-all, thanks to my dad for making me freeze over and over again. If only to be able to teach my babies.
I know that's what parents do. They teach their kids to ski. I get it. Whether you want to or not.

Now that William is 7, I made him carry his own skis. Way to go, Bug.

It was probably on this run where he said to me, "well,mom, I think I'm just like... a natural." He did pretty good. Not at turning. He hates turning. But he LOVED flying down the hill in a straight line and stopping by running into the metal gate. For some reason he just loved that part.

The best part about skiing. I'm sure my dad feels the same way. Talking to your baby on the way up the lift.

It was here where William and I had "the conversation." The most humbling conversation. I looked down on the hill and saw a snowboarder. I told William that skiing is wayyy BETTER and TOUGHER and HARDER than snowboarding. I told him his dad was kindof a wimp because his dad snowboards. I explained to him the long tradition of snowboarders making fun of skiiers and skiiers making fun of snowboarders.

His response.

"My dad is not a WIMP! He's the hardest worker in the family. He goes to work like every single day of his life. You don't even have a job, mom!"

I didn't know whether to slap his mouth for the insult or laugh with his honesty. I laughed. I hugged him. His dad certainly is tough. And definitely a hard worker. But he still snowboards.

On the drive down the mountain, William said that he thinks he should probably get skiis for Christmas. He's probably going to be a skiier, he says. And a swimmer.

31

2010-12-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

No Better Way...to spend my 31st birthday.

St. George, UT. Some of my favorite family memories. Climbing the Red Rocks. With my kids. My sister. My sister's kids. My parents. Oh, yeah.

My Knight

2010-11-15T17:08:00.001-08:00

So this year Jake was our "Knight in Shining Armor" for Halloween. But yesterday, a Sunday, I saw my Knight in Shining Armor walking up to me in a crowded hallway at Stake Conference.

James got called-in (pretty random) on a Saturday morning that we thought he would have off. Oh, well. I would see him the next day at noon. Sunday.

24 hours later. Sunday. I was tired by this point. But used to it...I guess.

I got the kids dressed for church and headed to Stake Conference. A 2 hour meeting. Just the kids and I...and a million other people.

I headed straight for the Relief Society room. I figured we would only disrupt a handful of people instead of the whole cultural hall.

And disrupt them we did.

Jake most of all. Well, Naomi did her share too.

Oh yeah, and William threw his 7 year old body longwise taking up four chairs because he "had a headache."

I didn't really care. Lie down.

At one point I had to take Jake out and find an empty room. I spanked his bottom.

Then William had to use the restroom. Really. I had just taken Naomi and than Jake.

Fine.

I grabbed the baby and left Jake behind to fend for himself. Or actually, for the rest of the innocent people to fend for themselves...with Jake.

I sat outside the Boys room holding my baby. And then from the corner of my eye, I saw him.

A man. He looked as if he just woke up. Really, he actually never really went to sleep.

He was wearing light blue scrubs. And this old, worn out red fleece. His hair looked greasy. His tennis shoes needed a bath.

But there he was. Completely out of place. Not dressed appropriately. But at this occasion, I saw him dressed perfectly.

I guess I was perfectly in love with him.

Right at that moment.

He didn't go home to sleep. He should have.

He came to rescue me.

A damsel in distress. My knight.

BiG wEeK

2010-11-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

William had a BiG wEeK

William with his teacher, Ms. Soujourner. She nominated William for the Resnik Pride Award for being such a great student.

Then he got GLASSES! Jake failed his vision test at school. They made me go get a professional opinion. I decided to just take both the boys. Why not? Apparently Jake passed with flying colors. William, ummm, not so much. It was hilarious.

This morning at 7:00 A.M. I had to yank the kids from their warm beds into the cold car. It was William's FIRST swim meet.

Go, Bug, Go (he's diving in)

waiting for his heat

just checking the goggle fit.

So, kids swimming isn't as innocent as it looks. It's exhausting. James is on call. The kids were crazy. I had to volunteer for the first hour of the meet. The head lady got a little feisty with me.

It probably would have helped if someone told me what a "lane checker, somethin or other" was before I got there. I stood in my place like a stone. I made sure no one drowned. Whew.

Then I hustled Jake and Naomi in with me to watch the Bug. I found a tiny, little spot of bench by the staircase. I asked the mom sitting there if I could sit down. She just looked at me and didn't answer. Normal people would have taken that as a "no". I wasn't normal this morning. I sat down. The lady than made a rude comment about the cute Indian mom who was yelling Indian language up to her husband. The lady rudely said, "I can't stand that! This is America. Speak English." Oh, gees. What have I gotten myself into?

Then the lady's daughter was up. She lost her heat by less than a second. The mother was yelling her brains out. Finally when her daughter hit the wall last she let out a ,"oh, damnit!" Oh, gees. Then a guy told me that my daughter who was sitting in the staircase was going to get stepped on.

Get me out of here.

We cheered for the Bug. Then we got the heck out of there.

We're home.

We're exhausted.

It's been a BiG WeeK for a Big Bug!

Way to go Kid!

Already Missing...

2010-11-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

An Ah-Ha moment. It was dark...not late, just dark. I was in the minivan by myself. Driving past Croghan Park. On Sand Run Parkway. In akron, OH. I had that feeling. "I was home." How interesting it is, that I have had those "Ah-Ha" moments in each of the places that I have lived. In Salt lake, it was 13th South, than onto Des Moines on Jordan Creek parkway, and now in Akron on Sand Run. I immediately thought about what the street name would be when I have my "ah-ha" moment in Denver, CO. Our next stop. Our next phase. Somewhere, out there, in Denver, there is a whole new world waiting for me. New friends, new neighbors. New parents to meet on the PTA and new teachers for my kids in primary. With this excitement ahead of me, I am already starting to miss this place that we have made our home.
I am already missing the cashier lady at Circle K with the dyed black hair. When she sees me come in, she holds out her hand for my $.63 cents. That's how much my Coke is. No more. No less. I always have the exact change and she knows it.
I am missing the gangster cashier at Walgreens who knows that when I walk in, he will be doing multiple transactions with coupons. He just smiles at me. As we talk about how much money I am going to save.
I am missing going into Target and running into someone I know. For this, to me, is a sign that I am officially a part of a place. It always has been. If I can go in a store and see someone I know, I have made it.
I am already missing walking up to the playground at the boys school and seeing my friends pushing their little ones on the swings and talking about how frustrated we are with whatever we are frustrated with.
Somewhere, out there, in Denver, CO is a whole new place to make home. Somewhere, our neighbors are waiting for us. Somewehre, there is a street that I will one day say, "Ah-Ha."

A VERY good, NO school Day

2010-11-03T05:55:00.000-07:00

Election Day November 2010. The boys school happens to be a voting station. NO SCHOOL!

We started the day bundling up in our winter clothes to accomplish our goal. In our county they have a "Fall Hiking Spree." If you do 8 of the designated hikes before the end of November, you get a FREE walking stick. Last year we came close but didn't quite make 8 hikes. This year, I was bound and determined to accomplish our goal. And today, a no school day, a fairly cold no school day....introducing...the newest Fall Hiking Spree Finishers! You should have seen their faces. We have been working towards this for 2 months. Awesome!

Than we celebrated by going out to "lunch". I took the kids to a pizza restaurant and we got to sit down and eat pizza in a real restaurant. They LOVED it! (I'm not sure if I did)

If that weren't enough, when daddy got home from work, we all piled in the car and headed to the "DQ". The kids award for their scripture reading. We stole this tradition from my dad who always took us down to the DQ on 13th So in SLC if we read our scriptures. The kids LOVE it! And even crazier, Jake and Nomers get the Oreo Blizzard just like their mom used to.

Ahhh, memories. The circle of life at its BEST!

HALLOWEEN 2010

2010-10-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

All I can say is...I'm Glad it's OVER!

School Halloween Parade (I even got to be in it!)

Counting the Loot

Third Note Found

2010-10-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

This time it was hilarious. I found the note in William's backpack and asked if he gave it to Ms. Soujourner. He responded "No, because I didn't need to."
He explained to me that when he arrived at school and noticed that he hadn't done all of his homework, that he hurried and wrote this note. Then he told me,
"This note was my secret weapon. If she got mad at me, I would have gotten out my note and given it to her so I wouldn't get in trouble."
Little Stinker. Learning at a young age that girls like cute, apologetic notes. I wonder if he gets this from his dad. hmmm....

P.S. We are a little worried about Christmas this year. William has asked for his own home office. Including a desk and a laptop. And I thought legos were expensive.

Are YOU a Ty Guy?

2010-10-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had the opportunity to travel to Indianapolis for the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk. Our little nephew Tyler was born with Down Syndrome 1 month before Naomi. And just so you know, after spending 10 minutes with him, you are going to want to take him home with you. He is the cutest kid you have ever seen. So, to sum it up, our team name was "Ty's Guys" and my brother and his kids tie died t-shirts for all of us. My parents flew in and one of my other brothers, his wife and their baby, Eliza, who was the littlest Ty Guy on our team, flew in as well. We all LOVED it!

These two are called Double Trouble. Best friends and cousins = a lot of craziness

Grandma is a Ty Guy

James is definitely a Ty Guy. Tyler was hilarious because he would snuggle up to you like this and let you hold him and then 5 minutes later jump down and want to be in charge and push the stroller.

We also had a rockin' Halloween party. Thanks to Grandma.

caramel apples

costume parade

a month ago Jake called Maddie and asked if she would be a princess because he was going to be a knight and protect her. These two are as cute as it gets.

james really was happy to be there. He is just trying to act tough.

Baby Eliza

These two watching a movie. Should we be worried about this early affection between cousins?

We love you Indiana!

Go Team Ty's Guys!

Sick

2010-10-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

William woke up coughing and pale this morning. I decided to keep him home. James decided to send him.

9:00 A.M. The school called. William threw up all over the nurse's office. I guess I'll take in a Thank-You gift tomorrow for her cleaning the whole thing up.

I sat there in the nurse's office waiting for us to be released when I took William in my arms and squeezed him. "What do you think?" I asked.

He responded, "I don't think we should send our family members to school if they feel sick."

Naomi couldn't be more excited to have her brother home for the day. She was even excited about renting "How to Train a Dragon" from Redbox just so she could be with her brother.

I just sit on the floor next to him and told him that I was glad he was sick. Becasue I get to spend time with him all day today.

"I love my bug. I don't spend enough time with my bug. I really, really love my bug."

He leaned up from the couch and kissed my lips.

"Well, I love the Jessie."

Happy Sick Day!

Dick's

2010-10-16T14:59:00.001-07:00

James had to run into work at the last minute. I was left to handle the kids... but I wanted to take William to Dick's. You know, the sporting goods store. So I took all of them. We rushed to the swim goggle section and tried a few pair on. William settled on the white and blue pair.

As I was rushing towards the cashier, my kids took off in another direction. I heard them rough housing and goofing around. As I was heading towards them, I overheard a guy say, "there are kids over there goofing off. just stay by me." It was obvious he didn't want his soon to be star athlete son goofing off with "those" kids. I couldn't resist.

I backed up and caught that guy in his tracks. I glanced at him. Then made eye contact. Seriously good eye contact. It seemed like forever. I wasn't about to look away. He was shocked. He knew I heard him. It wasn't just what he said, it was the way he said it. I smiled. He didn't. Of course his kid wasn't goofing off. Probably because the mom was at home taking care of the others while he had this "I'm such a great father taking my kid to Dick's" thing going on. Sorry, Sir. But I'm an even better mom because I brought all of my kids with me. So don't mess with me. I could feel the tension and he finally walked away. I was satisfied. We bought the goggles.

P.S. You can't tell that I am insecure and bitter, can you?

Haircut

2010-10-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

So I got a deal. $15 for a wash, cut, style and manicure at the Beauty school. I excitedly booked my appointment for this morning so James could watch the baby. Funny how she is two and I still call her baby.

I drove 40 minutes to my hair deal. A bustling salon. A great, new student called my name. Tight black leggings with a tight black t-shirt. Her dyed black hair.

3 hours later I was still there.

My back was wet because she didn't really know how to wash hair quite yet.

She lives her with boyfriend and they are not getting married until she gets a huge ring.

She told me that she was going to do an awesome job becasue it sounded like I was a kick -a** mom. (the only thing I told her was that I stayed at home and I had three kids)

But she told me that she wished her mom would have stayed home with her. So I guess that's where I got the kick-a** mom award from.

She asked if my husband and I still have a little "you know" in our marriage.

I re-assured that that we still got it "goin on".

She seemed pleased.

She asked if I get to watch "soaps" all day because I stay home.

I actually didn't even know where to start on that one.

I told her I was raised in Utah.

"oh, so you're grunge?"

I asked her to explain.

Apparently Utah is known for being grunge and having dang good coffee.

She said she heard it was because "there is like this really repressive religion and stuff and people want to rebel."

I was actually so tired from sitting in that chair for three hours that I couldn't even tell her that I was one of them "repressive religion people that make people drink coffee and wear flannel shirts."

My head felt like it was on fire because she was pulling that round brush so dang tight I nearly had to take two tylenol to take the edge off.

I didn't have time for the manicure because after three hours I had to get back to pick up my kids from school.

Then she finally came clean.

"I am so glad I got you because I was really, really nervous. "You were my first chick hair cut. I cut my dad's hair, but your my first girl."

I figured.

She had only told me about twenty times during our three hour friendship that she was really, really nervous.

I was also a little suspicious when she asked her supervisor when she should deep condition my hair. Before or after the cut.

She actually did a great job. I told her many times. We really were good friends by the end of our ordeal.

Way to go friend! Your first chick haircut down!

My Daughter, My Joy

2010-10-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight for her story Naomi chose this book called, "My Daughter, My Joy." My mom gave me this book many years ago and it is full of various pictures, stories and quotes about mothers and daughters. Not exactly the bedtime story 2-year-olds listen to. I aksed her if she was sure and she nodded. As she lay her head back in my arms, we rocked back and forth in the rocker my parents gave me many, many, many Christmases ago. Even before I became a mother...or a wife.

As we flipped through the pages, I read different uninteresting to a 2-year-old quotes but she listened quietly. As if she could tell I was enjoying myself. She rested her blonde head on my arm and looked at me as I read this quote:

"Dear Daughter. Take my love with you now and into the time that I will never know. It is as much a part of you as breath. Or your identity."

I felt tears in my eyes. I will always be a part of her...even when I am gone. Just as my mom is still a part of me. When we are so many miles apart.

As I pulled her cov-covs up to her chin, I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Are you my daughter?," I asked.

"daughter," she answered.

My daughter, My joy.

Conference Weekend BUST

2010-10-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

For a little while, William found an encyclopedia and opened it up. He read it. And then wrote about it. Go figure.

Naomi dressed up as Spiderman

and Jake actually watched. For a minute.

I have been looking forward to Conference weekend for WEEKS now. My 2 favorite Sundays of the year. James was working all night Saturday and got home Sunday morning just in time for us to welcome him home in our jammies and when marched up to bed. It was going to be a Team Mom Conference Sunday.

At first I was uptight about keeping the kids quiet so james could sleep. A few ummm, minutes later I decided to forget that and just worry about listening to conference amidst my adorable children.

Jake started the day off with diarrhea running down his leg. I cleaned up the bathroom, the playroom floor and took him up for a unplanned bath.

I put Naomi to sleep and with a sigh of relief, I went downstairs to listen to the inspiring messages meant just for me. Twenty minutes later I hear Naomi pounding on her door. I guess there will be no nap today. I sent the boys up to unlock her door. (yes. by the third child you no longer feel an emotional need to keep the door UN-locked. I lock it any chance I get). Next I hear, "Ewww...there's poop all over."

Apparently Naomi took off her diaper. Probably the reason she wasn't asleep. By now I had missed quite a bit of conference and sat my little self down on the light blue carpet and picked up the mess.

I returned to the couch with three kids this time.

William got put in his room twice for calling his brother an "idiot." Thanks to Diary of a Wimpy Kid" for the new lingo.

As I was trying to watch the inspiring talks, the boys pulled all of James' $400 medical books from the shelf and started playing the "drums" with pick-up sticks. The music they played was beautiful. Thanks to Jake's bowel issues, their songs were all about diarrhea.

I turned the volume up to drown out their beautiful melody. It didn't work.

I walked into the kitchen and saw my plastic white garbage can. Naomi must have started scribbling the black on it, and then William topped it off with this wonderful message. Oh, well. There was no punishment for this. I mean, they left me a love message. Granted, it was on my garbage can, but hey, with a 7, 5, and 2 year old, what do you expect?

I love you, too.

Another Note Found

2010-09-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

I love this kid. His 7 year old handwriting gets me all the time. There is just something surreal to think that your child is starting to handle his own problems and mistakes. Is he really old enough? Yup. I guess he is.
I love you bugaboo.
p.s. My favorite part is the little tiny "r" squeezed between the "n" and the "u" for "Ms. Soujourner." I can just see him saying, "oh shoot, I forgot the "r".

Can I get just ONE GENE?

2010-09-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

O.K. So when I was younger my mom signed me up for dance with some neighborhood friends. I am pretty sure the instructors asked her not to sign me up for the second session because I have always wondered why my friends kept dancing and I didn't.

I didn't like it anyway...jerks.

So now, meet my 2 year old. Dancing Queen. Again, along with my boys, she takes after her dad's side of the family. Can I please just get ONE GENE!

Yesterday, William actually told me that he likes soccer. WoW. Of course, he still likes legos and Diary of a Wimpy kid way more...but hey, it's a "likes".

Jake isn't sure what he likes. But he does like his sister and tells her how beautiful she is at dancing.

As long as they love their mother and gives me hugs and kisses everyday, I guess I'll count my blessings. Whatever they "likes".

The Babes

2010-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

I am sooo excited I got this picture. One of our favorite things is when Namoi starts "sulking". It is the best. And the best part about it, is that if you don't respond to her "sulking", she'll just keep sulking. I absolutely love it. In this picture she is sulking because she doesn't want her picture taken. Our favorite was when she was acting like a kitty and we told her "no, kitty" and she stayed on all fours and purred out of the room like an insulted animal with her little kitty head hung down. She crawled so slowly and sadly that we couldn't resist laughing in her moment of despair.

p.s. I was taking pictures because she never lets me do her hair. That'll teach me to take pictures next time she lets me do her hair.

I'm Lonely (no, not me. well, actually I am too)

2010-09-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

The other day I dropped the kids off at school. The drop off line is kindof ummmm, strict. You have about 36.3 seconds until they start getting a bit cranky with you. That morning, they definitely got a bit cranky with me. Jake wouldn't get out of the car. I turned around to see this sad little face. He looked so cute and innocent, of course, I melted. Upon my asking what was wrong, I got this response, "I just feel so lonely when I 'm at school." I reminded him of his three thousand friends that he has and he replied, "I just feel lonely when I'm not with you."

Oh, Mooch, if you only knew. If you only knew that there is nothing in the world that makes me feel more lonely than being apart from you. And nothing makes me feel better than looking in your eyes. My favorite time of day...you know what it is. That ginormous jump hug as you come running towards me from that school at the end of the day. And suddenly, neither of us are lonely anymore.

.

Halloween Preview

2010-09-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. What we are REALLY being is a surprise.

But I must say, Jake is one scary something or whatever, and Scout fits into that size 6 boys T-rex costume pretty good. With some help from her dad, of course.

Monkey see...Monkey do, my bugaboo

2010-09-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

This Second Grade homework is doing our family in. Holy Smokes. The other day we had to wake up early just to finish William's spelling practice test. I hurriedly gave him the words and watched him pencil the correct spelling in his bestest handwriting. By the end of the "practice test" I noticed the instructions said, "please write spelling words in ABC order." I noticed first and was praying William wouldn't notice. He did! He let out a huge moan and we just didn't have time to erase the whole dang page and start over, so I re-assured him that I would write a note to his teacher and explain what happened. My note stated,

"Dear Ms. Soujourner, I just gave William the spelling test and after we were done I noticed the ABC instructions. I am so sorry. It is my fault. Thank you, Jessica Ford."

A couple nights ago William forgot his planner at school. Oh, well. Life goes on.

The next day I picked him up from school and the first thing he told me in a quivering voice was

"mom, I got on yellow today." (yellow is a warning on the color wheel. p.s. I HATE the color wheel) He explained to me that it was because he left his planner at school and he forgot to do one of his homework assignments.

After going through his backpack, I was looking through his five million worksheets of homework and I came across the cutest note that I have ever seen.

It said, (the exact spelling) in the pencil writing that I love.

"Dear Ms. Sojurner, I forgot To bring my planer home so I coud not do it sorry it is my fuolt."

Monkey see, Monkey do. I love, absolutely love my big bugaboo.

I've got it...

2010-09-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

I picked the kids up from school as usual. William, Jake and Leah (our carpool buddy). I let them play on the playground and get "their energies out". I noticed Jake and his best friend Xander wrestling over by the side of the building. They were laughing. I let them wrestle. Xander's mom wasn't concerned either. I looked over again and again. They were wrestling for quite a while and it got pretty intense. But again, they were laughing. All the the sudden I see a mom get up off of her bench and clap her hands very loudly. You know, that clap you do when you really want to get somebody's attention. She continued, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, what are you doing?" And then she said something like, "we do not behave that way." By this point I had started walking to the scene and told the lady, "hey, I've got this. These kids are mine." She kindof got defensive and said, "did you see what they were doing? Doesn't that bother you?" I responded, "No, they were just playing. They are having fun. They're fine" She looked at me in disbelief and stomped off. Jake was now huddled close to the building thinking that he was going to get in trouble. Oh, brother. I felt like yelling, "Do you know how hard it is for this kid to sit in that classroom for six hours a day? He is doing great. GREAT! He's FIVE! And all he is doing is burning off all of that pent up "energies" that he has collected from all of that hard learning. Do you even know how hard it is to learn how to read? That is hard business!

Anyway, it was pretty funny. And honestly, thanks to parents who break up fights. I actually really do appreciate it. Next time, just make sure it's a fight....oh, and make sure the parent can't hear you yelling at their kid either.

FYI

2010-09-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

If your little princess has a desire to be a kitty cat this Halloween, please DO NOT type in Kitty Cat costume in your search engine. WoW! I indeed found many, MaNy Halloween costumes suited for ummmm, someone. Maybe we will be a fish instead. She does like the Nemo costume we already have. We will see.

In a Nutshell...

2010-09-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

A short list of my very long weekend:

1. Saturday morning as I was feverishly trying to do a little "getting my house ready to put on the market" William decided to take every single piece of paper in the house, every single plastic cup and a roll of packing tape to concoct numerous floating vessels. He proceeded to the bathroom tub to experiment. Which boats had the most buoyancy. During this time I was thinking about what a great mom I am, I mean, I was letting him use his imagination and brain power to the extent where I didn't intervene ONCE to tell him NO. I just thought about how creative and imaginative my little boy was. How proud.

Until I heard a strange sound coming from the kitchen. A puddle of water. Streaming from a rather large crack in the kitchen ceiling. I ran upstairs. The bathroom was basically flooded. And the kitchen sits right underneath the experimental boat dock. Sweet. Now I will add "fix kitchen ceiling to my list of "getting our house ready to sell." But hey, William had a great morning!

2. I decided we all needed a break from our house after the ceiling incident. Considering that I personally was ready to "take a hike," I decided that that was exactly what we should do.

Again, what a great mom I am, I thought. We set off on a 1.2 mile hike. Wow, that fresh air sure felt great. Until William had a breakdown. Apparently Jake had taken a step ahead of him. Apparently William wanted to be the leader of the hike. It took about 20 minutes for everyone to forget about who was the leader of the hike.

3. Oh, let's not forget the cat in heat. Yeah, that's right. My princess. She has been meowing constantly. Oftentimes on all fours. It's actually a pretty good system she has worked out. She has quite a few different meow tones. "meeeeoWWWW,' for angry kitty, "meeeoooowww," for nice kitty, "MEOW" for you're not listening to me kitty, and MeOWwmeowMeOw with her paw reaching for the I want a cookie kitty. I've got it down.

The next day.

4. Church was a complete nightmare. I left Sacrament meeting with three incredibly insane children. At one point I was sitting in a small room, eyes glazed over, exhausted, wondering why in the world my husband chose his beloved profession, watching three nicely dressed children in a huge huddled mass of wrestling on the floor. I remember clearly thinking, "how in the world did I get to this place?" I would probably still be sitting there in a state of incoherence had not another mother of severely disruptive children barged into the room, took one look at the situation and burst into laughter. I cracked. I started laughing too.

So today we decided to take another hike. Why not?

And how can we forget the haircut incident. After today, I think he has finally succumb to the idea that we may be paying $15 a month for his haircut. I think it might really cut down on his stress load. This just proves how incredibly exhausted he is.

So he first cut the big square shaped divot, and than tried for another 30 minutes trying to fix the divot. Success? You dicide. I actually think he is a little nervous to report to the PICU tomorrow at 6:00 A.M. At least he's just a resident.

And than I pulled out some new jammies. They are their Fall jammies. Their Goodbye to Summer jammies. They are their Thank goodness for school jammies. Sleep tight my young ones.

Goodbye Labor Day weekend.

K2

2010-09-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

K2 stands for where we are this year. K=Kindergarten, 2=Second Grade.

Jake is of course, in his "blues." Blue Shirt and Blue Shorts. "They Match". Today I made him wear a red shirt (oh, and all his shirts are Long Sleeve even though it is 500 degrees outside) and he asked if I could go buy him some red shorts to match. Sorry Kid.

William sported a light blue shirt. I actually really like having school uniforms. It is sooo easy. Oh yeah. And big news. At the start of Kindergarten, we told Jake it was against the Kindergarten rules to not wear underwear, so for the first time in about 18 months, Jake is wearing underroos! Yipee!

oh yeah, and I had to pack Naomi a lunch too. Of course.

Naomi had to be in every picture. It is so nice to have a daughter that never lets you forget that she is in your family. Thanks Babes.

So, actually not so sad this year. I mean, Jake was more than ready to face the world, William a little hesitant, and mom and Nomers, well, we were just us, I guess.

Of course, being Ford's, we were a tad late the first day. But we made it. We took William to class first and he seemed fairly hesitant. He turned to me a few times to make sure we were still there. After he found his seat, we kissed him and went off to Jake's room. Down the Hall. Jake walked in fairly confidant. So was I. We kissed, and he went to find a seat. But I grabbed him and kissed him again. He just looked so cute in his "blues."

The day went on. After spending $200 at Costco and feeling sick to my stomach, it was time to brace the heat and head to school. William is now so big that he no longer comes out the side of the building with the younger grades. He files through the front doors with all the big kids, bullies, and who knows who. I couldn't watch him. I looked for him through the crowded playground and saw my little boy running at full speed through the crowd. I stuck my arms up in the air as far as I could reach and called to that little critter. He caught my eyes and ran right into my arms. He was safe.

Next we looked for the Mooch. His class must have been having a great time becasue it seemed like FOREVER for them to come out. I finally saw his teacher emerge from the doorway and than saw my middle child huddled together with his class wiaitng for parents to come and retrieve their little people. I walked slowly up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist and let out a "boo." He turned around as fast as he could, wrapped his little blue long sleeves around my neck and I kissed him all over. He was grinning from ear to ear. I could tell, at that moment, that this may just be a good year afterall.

It's been three days.

This morning I caught myself pulling into Circle K to retrieve my $.63 Coca Cola fountain drink. As I looked back at my little princess smiling in the back, I found myself saying in my mind, "please Heavenly Father, please watch over my precious babies at school."

With my continuous prayer running through my mind, my Coke in my hand and my baby in the back, I sped down the street to go spend some of daddy's money. This was going to be a GREAT year.

The Night Before..

2010-08-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

James is on call. We'll see him tomorrow sometime. But in the meantime, I'm the mom. I'm the protector and the friend. I'm the only one they've got. And tonight, I was kindof glad.

Being the day before school, I told them that we could have a special sleepover in my bed. They jumped right in. We were in bed by 8:00 P.M. But our eyes did not close. We lay there. Me in the middle. William on my right and Jake on my left. We talked.

First of all, William pleaded with Jake not to wear all blue clothes. "Someone might make fun of you." Jake didn't seem to mind. He wants to match. So William went to plan B. "Jake please, oh please, wear either a yellow or a white shirt. It is going to be sooo hot tomorrow. Like 50 degrees. Right, mom?" He continued, "Jake you just can't wear a dark shirt. The sun doesn't deflect upon it." You get what he means.

Then we talked about what they were each scared of. It was so typical of their little personalities.

Jake is going to Kindergarten. He is jumping off into the sunlight on his own and when he was asked what he is scared of most, he replies, "NOTHING." Well then, what are you excited for? "EVERYTHING."

Then it is William's turn. His voice started shaking. "I'm scared I am going to get in trouble and have to go to the principal's office." What else are you scared of? "I'm scared I won't have any friends."

Then it happened. It was Jake's turn to give his brotherly advice.

"William, don't you remember dad's priesthood blessing he gave you?"

Jake remembered that his dad had blessed William to make new friends this year. Jake remembered this from yesterday. I was shocked. I didn't even know Jake was listening. Shows you what I know. William no longer needed to be worried over that one. Check.

Than it was time for William to give one last piece of advice to his younger brother.

We talked about what they each wanted in their first day of school lunch. Jake chose Chocolate Chip Muffins. William chose a PB sandwich. And than followed with this, "But Jake, chocolate chips are NOT healthy. That is not a good first day of school choice."

Jake wasn't persuaded. He will, in fact, be getting Chocolate Chip muffins for his main course tomorrow in his little blue and black insulated lunch carrier.

The conversation mainly took place around me. The boys talked over my lifeless body between them. I just listened in wonder. Happy with life. As they stopped talking, we all began singing our favorite primary songs. And as we were singing, dad called us to tell us good luck tomorrow.

A perfect ending to a perfect night.

Name the Movie...

2010-08-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

This about sums up my day today. How bout yours?

D.C.

2010-08-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

James' sister lives in Washington D.C. Oh, how we love our families! An EXCELLENT weekend. A bit too short. But fun nonetheless.

Stacy got us a hotel with a pool. Sweet! I was in heaven. I made James, and ONLY James swim with the kids. I told him that I have been doing it all summer without him, so he could handle it for 45 minutes without me. It was amazing. I sat on a lounge chair and smiled. Perfect!

We love D.C. It had a Noodles and Company. We went twice. For dinner both nights we were there. We did some serious damage to that Mac and Cheese. We showed each bowl who was boss.

This is Stacy with her boyfriend, or friend who is a boy, we are not exactly sure, but he was awesome whatever he is. He even drove the mini-van around D.C. all night and showed us the sights. William said, "this is the best tour of Washington D.C I have ever had." (not to hurt the boyfriend or the friend who is a boy's feelings, but it was Williams only tour of D.C.) But is was EXCELLENT!

EVERYBODY wants a piece of Aunt Stacy. It made it easy for James and I to get a piece of each other. ha ha ha.

Let's not forget the 14 hours of driving in three days. We loved every minute of it. James just about lost it on the drive home, but we all managed.

Air and Space Museum

William deep in thought at something important. I'm not quite sure what it was. I wasn't as interested as he was. That's how it is. I am pretty sure he is smarter than I am.

Paper airplane contest at Air and Space.

The castle. Mooch is so protective of Nomers. I love it.

$3 ice cream bars. That makes a total of $9. It is OBVIOUS that Aunt Stacy was with us. Thier parents would have NEVER. We might have let them share 1. Oh, and Williams hand is, well, where it always is.

typical Aunt Stacy. We miss her already.

She sent us off with IHOP. James was in heaven.

Goodbye D.C. Until next time. We love you Aunt Stacy!

"Why can't I be rich?"

2010-08-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is what I asked the Gymboree sales clerk today. I really, really wanted this adorable knit dress that was on sale. Of course, they didn't have my adorable daughters size. She took me around the store and showed me all the ones that were not on sale, but of course, they had her size. I watched her hold up this darling knit dress, with the darling matching leggings and I responded, "Oh yeah, right. My husband would pee his pants. Why can't I be rich?"

And as soon as these words left my mouth, I started laughing hysterically inside of myself.

For you see, this is the exact same question my children ask me at least three times a week.

And I always answer them the same.

We are indeed, the richest people in the world.

because you see, we have each other. And that is all we need.

And my children believe me. And I wondered why today, I didn't believe myself.

and then I look at all of these pictures, and I ask myself,

"how could I ever possibly believe for one second that I am not rich?

And I think cowardly,

'Shame on Me."

besides, maybe if my mom reads this post she will go out and buy me the dress. maybe.

The Second Annual Ford Kids Bake Sale

2010-08-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

William wondered if we would do better than we did last year?

I wondered how we would know. Who even remembers how many blessed cookies/ cans of soda we sold last year.

Oh...William does. $8.

How does he remember those things?

Thanks to some seriously awesome neighbors and friends who drove near and far...we more than doubled our last year earnings.

$23.50.

Can you believe it?

Oh...the blessing of wonderful friends and neighbors.

If we can only be so lucky in Denver.

This year was much, much, much, much hotter.

We were all sweating and we really got off to a slow start.

We started eating our inventory.

William proved to be the best businessman.

Jake and Naomi were exellent hand wavers.

We got a few honks and a few waves.

I told the kids that those people were telling them they were doing a good job.

All of the sudden, it was almost more fun to get a honk than a purchase.

Well, let's not get crazy. NOTHING was better than a purchase.

William held out the longest.

He stayed occupied telling people that "this delicious lemonade was made with real lemons"

(it was canned minute maid. it said made with real lemons on the can)

and that the bottled water was purified.

What a salesman!

What a day!

Jake and the Mitt

2010-08-17T16:50:00.001-07:00

Jake tried REALLY hard for every ball. And most of the time, another kid beat him to it. This is Jake screaming out one of his teammates for being a ball hog.

and this is jake in frustration after screaming out the teammate. You can't hear him, but he would often let out a loud yell every time someone else got the ball.

wow. team excitement! way to go phillies!

Jake liked t-ball. Not love.

William didn't even play.

Jake did great.

We love the Mooch.

Have I ever told you that Jake gives the best hugs?

Well, he does.

And I got one after EVERY single game.

Lucky Girl.

The Life I Chose

2010-08-11T18:51:00.001-07:00

I sat there. Middle of the playroom floor. Across the room I spotted the day old remains of a bright, slimy yellow cheesestick. I glance at the couch. Four cubes of butter greased its' soft leather seats. I see the torn open Imperial Margarine box and realize my two year old invaded my fridge...again. I first roll myself slowly onto all fours. I cautiously crawl over to retrieve the yellow pice of cheese. Luckily, there was an old wet diaper sitting there too. The one my daughter took off and then proceeded to potty on the floor. Perfect. I rolled the cheese remnant into the soiled $.30 diaper and threw it in the opposite direction of the room. I then decided to actually stand up and retrieve the baby wipes. I notice that we are painfully low on such a precious commodity. Only about 30 left. The new ones I just ordered should be here in a few days. I figure if my daughter only has a stinky diaper every other day, we should be fine. So, very cautiously, I start wiping up the margarine from the couch. One, two, three baby wipes. I am starting to get a little nervous. I decide to alternate with paper towels. We are not quite as low in inventory on the Branwny's. As I use one hand as a resting place for the four muddled, disgruntled cubes of margarine, my other hand lovingly wipes down the cushions looking for any extra scraps of butter packaging. I stand once again. I glide toward the kitchen and eye the white, plastic garbage can. I let the margarine rest in peace.

I then proceed to retrieve the cheesy diaper and decide to let that also rest in the white plastic. I than return to the playroom. I sit. I musn't trust my children alone again.

I had escaped for a few minutes to lay in my bed with a freezing cold ice pack. This awful headache won't loosen it's grip on the left side of my head. The right side is fine. It is telling me that I can go on. The left side is trying to tear me down and make my brain explode. So instead of retreat up to my room once again, I pop another excedrin and pray for it effects. No dice.

James will be home at midnight.

I lay there thinking about throwing up. Knowing I am not lucky enough to be successful. So I just lay there.

I wonder again, Is this the life I chose? Of course I didn't choose the migraine, or the husband working late, or the daughter who is obsessed with smearing butter all over my house, but I guess, yes, this is indeed the life I CHOSE. And actually, I also get to choose how I handle it.

I abruptly take Naomi upstairs and send her to bed with a sippy of milk and a very short story. Success.

I take the boys in my room and turn on an episode of Clone Wars and threaten their life if they make a peep. It was so successful, we actually just watched the next Clone Wars.

For some reason, I really, actually feel fine, now. I mean, not perfect. But tell me who in this world feels absolutely perfect? So yes, this is the life I chose. And now I choose to go upstairs, crawl right in the middle of my two sleeping boys, and wait for their dad to come home to move them into their own beds. And I choose this.

I love the Mooch

2010-08-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

William, Jake and Naomi have all been in the other room completely laughing their heads off. Apparently, there was this certain part of Cyber Chase ( a show on pbs kids) that was so hysterically funny, that William kept rewinding it on the DVR.

Jake just came in to see me. His pants were in his hands. His bum was naked. He was still laughing his head off.

"mom, I just saw the funniest thing in my whole life and I wet my pants."

And than THAT was so funny, that he kept laughing. and laughing. and laughing.

THE Swim Test

2010-08-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

This Summer, my ultimate, absolute goal, was to immerse (and I mean, immerse) my kids in the sport of swimming. Knowing that they have never been exposed for a continuous time to a swimming pool, I decided that this was the year. The only public, affordable pool I could find is 25 minutes each way. Worth every dollar of gas.

For four weeks this Summer, we have spent 2-4 hours each day at the pool.

This particular pool, has a few very particular rules.

1. You CANNOT hang on, climb on, or hardly touch the handrail. We have heard the whistle blow numerous times in our direction as my 5 and 2 year old swing merrily from the silver, metal bar.

2. No boogie boards. Too big. William was devastated. Oh, well.

3. No throwing your children. I have had numerous whistle blows for breaking this insane rule. I mean, it's a pool. Aren't you supposed to throw your children? It's actually the only time when it is not only legal, but also an exhilarating experience for both parent and child.

4. Oh, and the BIGGEST, BADDEST rule that must NEVER be broken. You must NEVER, and I mean NEVER go down the slide until you pass the SWIM TEST!

All Summer, we haven't even actually thought about the swim test. not this year. I mean, we just aren't there yet.

Yesterday William told me he wanted to take the swim test. I didn't think he was serious. I said, "oh, honey, we'll do that next year. it is really hard."

"No, mom. I can do it."

Alright, this SWIM TEST is swimming the length of the pool, no stopping, no touching the bottom, freestyle, perfect swimming to the other side. I didn't even know William COULD swim.

He kept begging me and I just kept blowing him off. Finally, I just figured it would be a great experience. He would try it and see how hard it was and that would be that. I figured, well, if he wants to, what the heck?

We had to wait until safety break to take the test. The pool had to be completely clear of people.

I was a nervous wreck. I seriously felt like I wanted to throw up. Holy smokes, I thought it was hard when I was nervous about doing something brave, and now, I realize, it is ten times worse when it is the love of your life, your child.

Jake, Nomers and I went around to the other side of the pool to cheer William on. I watched him slide his orange googles into place and hold the side of the pool with his scraggly, 7 year old arms. I was sick.

He started swimming. What the heck. He's actually swimming. Freestyle and all. I was in shock. He kept swimming. And swimming. He is already halfway across the pool. By this point, I am screaming wildly for my little boy to pass the test. People around me, I am sure, think that I am taking this way too seriously. I scream louder and louder. Holy smokes! His little arm reached up and grabbed the wall. Tears came to my eyes.

He pulled all 50 pounds of him out of the pool. I wrapped my arms around his little body and sqeezed him as hard as I could. I kissed him all over! "You passed. You passed!"

He grinned from ear to ear! "You really think I passed?"

"Of course you passed. You swam the whole way. You didn't touch the ground once!"

We walked over to the official 16 year old swim instructor for the final say.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I cannot pass you. It looks like your arms didn't come completely out of the water for the last little bit. You must have just been tired."

William was crushed. He held back his dissapointment and just squuezed my hand. I squeezed it back, and then turned to the innocent 16 year old, "are you joking me? What is this, some professional swim test?"

The 16 year old didn't answer and we just walked away.

I started ranting about how cheap and unfair it was. William caught me off guard.

"don't worry mom. I'll just try again tomorrow."

And tomorrow he did. And this time...he PASSED!

I was screaming just as loud. Just as proud. And William squeeled so loud, turned to me, and gave me the best five five in the history of the world!

They put the official "wristband" on his hand, wrote his name in the official, "you can go down the slide book" and the smiles were endless.

I love the public pool. The 25 minute away public pool. I love it very much.

Definition of Motherhood

2010-08-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

To anyone who was wondering...

What is the actual, literal definition of motherhood?

I will tell you.

You lay in your bed wondering how you are going to make it through one more day.

You close your eyes. Trying to sleep.

You find yourself repeating positive affirmations in your mind trying to calm your anxious nerves.

You finally drift off to sleep.

Only to be awakened by that never-ending, unstoppable need to use the restroom.

You see in motherhood, every child you give birth to, actually doubles your nighttime restroom visits.

I am up to six.

On the way back from the bathroom, you decide to peek your head into your children's rooms making sure no one has kidnapped them.

And you find this picture.

Your mind immediately, without any hesitation depicts the scene that might have taken place.

After threatening your child's life if he comes out of his room one more time, you picture him going to his brothers bed begging to sleep with him.

The older, stubborn brothers usually refuses this request profusely.

The older boy must have felt bad when the younger one made those sad, puppy eyes and told him how scared he was to sleep alone.

The older boy relented.

The younger boy cuddled close to his stronger, older and braver brother.

Their mother happened to catch this moment on a trip to the potty.

Tomorrow, I just might make it.

And this, is motherhood.

Let's See...

2010-08-03T16:07:00.001-07:00

In the last two days...

Someone told me that if I get to boss him around, than it is only fair for him to be able to boss me around

Size 7 toddler feet walked right through my swept pile of grossness and tracked that very grossness into the other room

Smushed chocolate donuts were found smeared in the carpeted stairs, the leather couch and the kitchen floor

I have been given numerous wedgies...and it is funny EVERY time

I was hit in the face

A pair of little hands grabbed the front of my swimsuit exposing parts of my body that have only been seen by my husband to a few sympathetic onlookers

I have been a horse

I have been a backpacker

a baseball catcher

and a cheerleader

all in the same day

I swore I would NEVER be a cheerleader.

Than I became a mother.

What a great couple of days.

The Cat

2010-08-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, we have this GREAT neighbor. You know, one of those really, really, really nice people? Well, she is not only really nice to people, she is also REALLY nice to animals. Recently, she seems to be becoming "the cat lady." Rescuing cats from irresponsible owners, using her own money to buy cat supplies for other peoples cats, neutering these creatures, and paying a cat rescue lady to take them off her hands.

Last Friday night I get a call. "Jessie. This is Josh. (her husband) Joanna found another cat and we can't get a hold of her owner. We are leaving out of town in a couple hours..." You get the point. How could I possibly say no?

I don't know a darn thing about cats. They brought over a box, kitty litter and food. James actually wanted to keep her. After kicking the cat off of our bed 100 times the night before, I happily tracked down the rightful owner and dropped the little kitty off.

Then I washed all sheets.

Farewell Grandpa Graham

2010-07-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

An unplanned trip to Utah. A wonderful funeral. One that made me cry. A man I grew to love.

I will never forget the way my grandma first reacted when she saw her beloved husband laying in the coffin for the first time.

She cried. She put her aged arms lovingly around his neck and held him. I heard her whisper, "I love you Lloyd." I cried. So grateful I could witness their love one last time. The love that I will always and continue to try to emulate.

I drove to pick up my kids after the viewing, turning the radio trying to find sappy love songs at a time I was really missing my husband.

A feeling of disgust came over me. None of these people even knew what love was. How can I turn to this music to make me feel the way I felt at the funeral home just hours before.

I turned it off.

I wanted to remember the feeling of true love.

I wanted to be in the arms of my husband.

Thank you grandpa. Thank you for loving the way I wish to love.

choosing a flower to leave on the grave.

The Original 5. Lindsey, David, Sam, Jessica and Joseph

p.s. I am not pregnant. I just look it. My dad told me I could use a few sit-ups.

Maybe tomorrow.

...and then we all got married. Joey and I were the only one's spouse-less. So sad.

after the funeral...

William is loosening his tie...trying to talk adult with the bog boys.

my sister and I

Until we meet again...I love you, grandpa.