We are proud of James for his dedication to his school work. His teacher had very kind things to say at Parent/Teacher Conference. He makes life easier on his mom because he is so responsible.
I made it through the pouring rain, across the puddles, and NOT under an umbrella like Jessica just in time to miss the award presentation. I was able to get a picture of him with the school banner. Luckily his dad had gone early and was there to witness the event.
Since the kids were out of school for Thanksgiving and since we will not be traveling for Christmas, we decided to plan a little family trip in November. Jon has traveled a bunch this year and saved up his points at the Marriott, so we were able to reserve a hotel without a lot of cash. We stayed in Buena Park and commuted in to Disneyland. Our season passes expire soon & I love the park decked out for Christmas.
The kids enjoyed just being at a hotel (Jessica started to cry when we returned & drove up our street because she wanted to live at the hotel). They like the breakfast with lots of choices, the pool, & the sport court.
We rode rides, visited Santa, ate out, watched fireworks, played board games & video games, and went to bed early.
Our last day we went to the LA Zoo. The gorillas have FINALLY returned after 4 years. Then we got stuck in Thanksgiving traffic and sat on the freeway for a couple of hours. Overall, it was a nice mini getaway.
James LOVES to read. He reads in between class assignments, during recess, and before bed each night. It's great when he gets involved in a series because then I know of another 20 books he can read. He's read the majority of the Baily School Kids by Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones. They have the same type of catchy titles like: "Mummies Don't Coach Softball," "Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots," & "Goblins Don't Play Video Games." He recently found a couple titles in the Bookmobile that he hadn't read yet and was rather excited.
Jessica has decided that she doesn't like wearing hair clips or ponytail holders. She came to me a couple weeks ago and said, "Princesses don't wear bows." I think it makes a good title for a future book. We've purchased extra detangling spray and leave in conditioner to help with the "tangle monsters" that live under her long locks. Her hair actually is very pretty when it is long and smooth. I wanted to snap a picture before it turned into it's usually ratty state.
Nothing exciting today. The day was still full, busy, and exhausting, but more of a filler day. Aren't most days more like this one?
My morning started with Jessica screaming outside my bedroom door around 6:35 a.m. Groggy-eyed I walked out to see what the trouble was. She started shoving me back into my bedroom and slammed my door. I dragged her to her room and threatened to tuck her inside until she could stop screaming. She decided to let me re-dress her in Belle pajamas and bring her to my room to cuddle. Thankfully and unpredictably she fell back to sleep. I pushed the snooze three times.
Next job - get the boys to school. I signed logs, did backpack checks, read Jacob's book to him so he'd be prepared for the test, had prayers, and then loaded the minivan. Boys actually made it to school early.
Jessica still slumbers in my bed. I lie back down with her for a few minutes before showering. I can't eat - I'm supposed to fast for my glucose test. Why did Jessica choose today to sleep in? Why did Jon decide to make french toast? It smells delicious! I'm hungry.
Eventually Jessica gets up and snail-like she cooperates to get ready to go to the lab. Oh the waiting!!! Wait to get signed in and insurance info taken. Wait to be called back for blood draw. Drink orange flavored glucose (how is THAT helping my weight gain). Wait another hour with toddler before next blood draw. Boring morning!!!
Get treats for being good. Run to Target to get pants for son who has "nothing to wear." Stop by grocery store to get milk & legumes. Time to pick up kids from school.
Start homework. Remind kids to clean up messes. Deal with headache. Change another diaper (for a child who SHOULD be potty trained). Ignore fighting. Switch laundry. Remain calm through 30 minute three-year-old irrational tantrum. Leave late for Parent/Teacher Conference.
Visit with teachers - beam with pride. Discover book fair ended already. Have son hate me because it's all my fault we missed the book fair. Hug son and make plans to visit book fair tomorrow. Make dinner that kids will complain about later. Make Jacob read aloud in the kitchen. Sign school paperwork. Send boys to soccer practice with dad. Enjoy my dinner in peace. Pick up books, toys, laundry, and yogurt cups. Sweep up grated cheese. Blog a little.
Make the alternate dinner so boys don't starve. Try to ignore headache. Try to talk to husband about teacher's remarks. Think about how nice it will be when kids are asleep. Remember to watch "Hairspray" since it needs to be returned before midnight tonight. Wonder if I've taken headache medicine yet. Nobody should start their day by drinking concentrated dextrose.
Gotta go get those kids in bed. They should be sleeping by now.
Remember how I told you that I sang on Victoria Loveland's new CD - "One Truth - He Lives." You can now purchase the album or individual tracks on iTunes. I sing "Behold," but if you'd rather sing it yourself you can also purchase the instrumental version :)
I'm not thrilled with the quality of the mini slide show online, so I'm posting a few princess snapshots.
When I got the mailing from the El Capitan Theatre, I knew I wanted to go to the princess experience. I was happy that I had a daughter to take. I offered the idea to my sister. They were planning a family trip to California as a surprise for my niece's 7th birthday. We did this on Saturday and then they bought Disney Hopper tickets for Mon & Tues. We were able to meet up Tuesday evening for rides, Christmas parade, & fireworks. We miss them already.
My sister & family came to stay with us for the weekend. We left the men and boys home and took off as sisters & cousins for the perfect princess experience. We traveled to Hollywood and had the El Capitan Theatre's royal experience. We saw the movie Enchanted and then enjoyed a couple hours in the princess ballroom mingling with our favorites. The girls selected gowns from the bureau and were crowned for their photos. They visited the Enchanted Make-Up booth and were all dolled up with glitter and glowing cheeks. They made crowns, jumped in the bounce house, and danced with the princesses. I had SO much fun with the girls!!!
The video features photos of day. It runs just over 3 minutes. ENJOY!!!
In all 9 years that we've been in California, we've only gone to Utah to be with family once. It was a wonderful memory because it was the last time that Grandma & Grandpa had the extended family feast at LuAyne Heights. But it was a travel disaster for us because of Vegas traffic on the way home (it took 6 1/2 hours from Vegas instead of 3 1/4 hours - that's HUGE with screaming boys in the car).
We've decided that CA weather is perfect over Thanksgiving with clear skies and cool air - why leave? We've gone to the LA zoo several times on Thanksgiving Day and enjoyed the Christmas lights in Griffith Park.
But for the last 3 years we've been invited to be part of the Jonas Family Tradition. It's been nice to have turkey dinner with lots of family - even if they aren't our own. This year I got an easy food assignment, which I immediately made more complicated but cute if I say so myself. I bought the apple pie & ice cream which was all I was asked to bring. But I didn't stop there. I altered Adri's recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies subbing in half the flour with home ground soft white wheat. The turkey sugar cookies were inspired by the coupon section of the paper - not my original idea.
My ought-to-do list is ever so lengthy. It still includes unchecked projects like: clear the scrapbook stacks off of the office desk, downsize my unused craft supplies, dust on a regular basis, clean laundry room, put folded clothes away, call the dentist and straighten out the bill, & get Christmas cards designed, printed, and sent - just to name a few.
But I must say that I'm pleased with a few projects that I have completed recently. I've purged all the closets and baby clothes boxes and donated a loot to the DI - still there are clothes all over the closet floors and piling up in my laundry room. I borrowed a friends sewing machine for about 10 days. I sewed curtains for the family room, made James' Halloween costume, & crafted two tote bags. I haven't sewn in nearly 10 years. It was actually quite relaxing. I selected drapery rods and fabric for the front room and now we have a warm welcoming entry - new curtains and new furniture. Eventually I will have pictures, but that is another project on the ought-to-do list.
My kids have been scripting their Christmas list in their minds since last MARCH. I've known that they would change their minds a million times, so I've found it quite irritable each time they have updated their requests throughout the summer and into the fall. Well, it seems that the temperature drop of 10 degrees has driven home the point that Santa's sleigh needs to be loaded with the appropriate gifts - and SOON. So they pulled out the paper and pencils after dinner tonight (FOUR days before Thanksgiving) to write a letter to Santa.
So the letters are sealed and waiting to be delivered to the special mailbox at the mall. They have one of those - right? The special box that takes letters directly to the North Pole? James was wondering how mailed letters get to the North Pole. That's when we got to talk about how letters get to China or any other far away place in this big world of ours.
Nice Sabbath Day activity I know. Oh well, maybe now we can work on GRATITUDE while we celebrate Thanksgiving.
I enjoy going to the movies, but I don't think there are that many movies that are worth $20 in ticket prices & $20 in babysitting. I did however find this movie to be quite enjoyable. I laughed and cried (although I cry a lot - see THIS post).
I just barely started watching "The Office" and it's reruns since many of my friends find it hysterical - I'm slowly warming up to the humor. If you didn't already know, Steve Carroll is in both. He's a kind of crazy, over-the-top, obnoxious boss on The Office. I think he is funny, but he really showed a warmer side in this movie. I'm a sucker for the romantic comedy (not the ones where they meet, sleep together, break up, and then start to really fall in love), but the ones like this - where you believe they actual could have developed a REAL relationship. It was heartwarming and all the family scenes reminded me of my many childhood experiences hanging out with all my cousins at Grandma's house. It is deserving of it's PG-13 rating. Hollywood just can't make a movie without some inneundo. But in my opinion it was mild compared to most PG-13 movies.
Jacob completed another successful season of AYSO soccer. He went out with a bang to the head and a drippy bloody nose. The week before he scored his first goal playing forward. He has informed me that he is the best kicker on the team, so you'll have to take his word for it. He thought he could charm his way out of practices since his Dad was the coach, but by the end of the season he put more heart into his game. His cheeks get rosier after a good soccer game.
I get a lot of flack from my boys that Jessica ALWAYS gets to do something special and they have to work all day at school. Life isn't fair!!! I must say that I agree. It isn't fair that they didn't get to come on the mother/daughter date to the puppet show at our community theatre. What's even MORE unlucky (for the brothers) is that a conference was letting out just as the show did and the coordinator was giving away these HUGE balloon centerpieces.
Special thanks to my friend Sara for taking this mother/daughter photo. There are so few of me with my kids. I think it is something special.
I just got back from the 3rd Grade field trip with James. Riding in a stuffy bus of noisy students was a blast. Then we watched the LIVE stage show of School House Rock. I don't remember this as a kid. We heard off-tune jingles sung about EVERY part of speech. If you need to know what a pronoun, adverb, predicate, or interjection are, I'm sure there is a song rattling around in my brain that could help you out. We were also reminded how large our universe is, how to multiply by 3s, 5s, or 8s, and how a bill becomes a law. Great idea in theory. A bit exhausting as a 75 minute program.
Do my kids look like martians? Nice green cast to their skin. I even sharpened the scan to help fix the fuzziness of the photos. These are actually the re-takes. Jacob's hair was sticking up like a rooster on picture day and James was wearing his big BYU logo t-shirt (which was cropped off in the middle). Anyway, these are better.
My grandfather doesn't talk much about the war. But his respect for our country, to God, and to freedom is evident in the way he lives his life. He is a wonderful example to me and I'm grateful for his love, his leadership, and his life. He is the only one that ever called me Jenny or JennyJo and got away with it. I love you Grandpa!
I've shed a lot tears lately for a variety of reasons (and sometimes without even knowing a reason).
Here are some of the reasons why:
BECAUSE this song and the story behind Paul Potts is SO beautiful. I don't follow American Idol or the British version. I first found the YouTube link on a friend of a friend's blog a couple weeks ago. I was SO touched and was in instant tears. GORGEOUS song! Amazing voice! Then again today when Oprah aired and played this clip. You HAVE TO take a moment to listen.
BECAUSE the Sylvan Learning Center commercials have such sappy music.
BECAUSE my friend has been dealt another dose of impossible & baffling news. How can life be so unfair? I don't know what to do or say. I just cry when I'm alone and hope the answer comes to me.
BECAUSE I'm so frustrated with parenting. Where is Super Nanny when you need her? I keep losing my cool. Who's the grown up around here anyway???
BECAUSE I decided to make homemade refried beans. Mincing that onion put my eyes in fits. Tears streamed and my eyes turned scarlet red.
BECAUSE someone in my family just miscarried & my heart hurts. It's one of the worst experiences for a mother to endure. I'm so sorry. I pray for you and yours every night.
BECAUSE I've grown apart from a good friend. I'm missing her. How did we let life get in the way? I liked it how it was.
BECAUSE the Spirit whispers to my heart. Three cheers for me. I finally finished watching all four sessions of General Conference. It only took me an extra month. We also had an inspiring Ward Conference this month. And this past weekend I attended a multi-stake women's conference where I heard the music of Katherine Nelson. She spoke about the rain and storms in our lives that make way for growth and help us appreciate the sunshine. Sister Julie B. Beck (General Relief Society President) also spoke. Her personal and candid nature put me at ease. She reminded me of the joy I desire to feel as I raise my family. I was inspired to set goals for my family and for myself. I felt empowered as I remembered my gifts and blessings. A day like that makes me miss being back at BYU and attending all those religion classes or sitting in a Zone Conference and being taught by President and his wife. Perhaps I need to try harder to return to Women's Conference or Education Week. I really enjoy learning.
BECAUSE my sister called and we are BOTH expecting BOYS!! I'm so excited! We've had babies around the same time before, but when I've had a boy she's had a girl. I look forward to sharing this experience with her.
BECAUSE I watch too many romantic comedies. I'm a sucker for the enchanting music and the happy endings. Did you know that I also cry when somebody wins on a game show? How ridiculous is that???
BECAUSE some days the constant pinching shooting down my right leg or the sharp pains in my round ligament muscles are just too much to take. Sometimes crying is the only outlet to the chronic pain. The two days following nursery my back aches despite the evening stretch routine and the hot pads. And, YES, I do have a fabulous maternity belt. I need a great massage. (For the record, my James & Jessica have been very sweet about rubbing my feet. Jessica has surprisingly strong hands & James works for gems, so it works well for me).
BECAUSE I can't sleep, but I'm SO exhausted. I'm a basket case in the wee hours when I should be a heroine in a delightful dream.
BECAUSE I was watching home movies of when my boys were babies. I love them SO much. I can't believe how grown up they are. They certainly were BUSY and sweet.
BECAUSE I feel so grateful for the friends and family I have. I'm overwhelmed with joy. I know I have been blessed (even though I acknowledge that I forget quite regularly).
My talented photographer friend has entered this photo in a photo contest in an attempt to win an ipod for her daughter. I think that she should win, so I'm inviting all my friends to take a second to VOTE.
Here are the contest rules:
All you have to do to win is submit an image of you longing for an iPod while someone else in the frame is enjoying their iPod.
