How I Wish You Could Come

October Calendar

Here's a glimpse into our daily life right now:

Monday

Mom walking

Jayson playdate

Elementary kids home early

Jessica Dance

Family Home Evening

Tuesday

Jayson at PlaySchool

Mom's only 2 hours per week to get things done without a sidekick (errands, shopping, photo editing)

James Basketball Camp

Jessica's Choir

Wednesday

I like to plan a Wonderful Wednesday activity with Jayson

Jacob Cub Scouts

James Boy Scouts

All Homework packets complete

Thursday

Jayson Playschool

Mom volunteer in two classrooms at school

James Basketball Camp

Mom goes to Orange County for Choir Rehearsal and gets home LATE

Friday

Activities vary weekly

Saturday

Lots of Activities that vary weekly

Mom on Photo Shoots for Christmas Card Photos

Just One For Now

Happy Halloween!!!

I Heart Toy Story

After dinner but before dinner was cleaned up, Jayson came to me and said, "a more Ta-do-head." Using my advanced mothering skills I deciphered that he was saying, "more Potato Head." What I hadn't gathered in the translation was that he was requesting another serving of baked potato. CUTE!!!

In other Toy Story news: Jayson loves Buzz Blaster ride at Disneyland. We have to ride it twice in a row - never just once. When we get to the end of the exit tunnel, he freaks out and tries to dart back. He really puts a lot of trust in my promise that I'll bring him back outside and around to the ride entrance again.

Another Night Owl on our Hands

After a nice warm bath, Jayson races to his drawer and pulls out Dockers. Wouldn't most of us reach for some cozy lounge clothes? Well, he does NOT want to go to bed and pajamas are a symbol of bed time.

Yesterday I forced him down for a nap (as in I let him bang on the door for five minutes after I transferred his sleepy self from the car to his bed and he woke himself up). He yells things like, "Mommy, a get out." "I don't want to go to bed." and my favorite "I want to wake up." Anyway, he had a solid nap after a weekend of no naps. Basically I'm exhausted and need him to sleep.

So I diligently put him to bed on time. He was not dozing during stories. He was lids were not drooping. He was bouncing from book to book and getting up and down from bed through our whole bedtime routine. Still, I kissed him goodnight and walked out the door.

Once all the other children were in bed and I finally gave in to Jayson's continued pleas of, "Mommy, a get out please. A get out please." Seriously - please and thank you ARE magic words. So he joined me in the family room. He assembled very funny Potato Head guys. Then he built extended tracks from the train set I had just finished putting away an hour before.

I was falling asleep on the recliner and he was not. When he finally dozed off a bit, I started to get out of the chair. He sat up and said, "I don't want to go to bed" and then lied back down and fell back asleep. He woke again as I carried him to his room. He kicked the door and screamed for nearly 10 minutes before he finally surrendered to the eleven 'o clock hour.

Blog Marathon - Mile 26 - TWENTY SIX on Tuesday :)

1. I auditioned for THIS choir mid September and with delight received word that I made it. Oh how I've missed gorgeous choral music. It's been a challenge and a push to dust off a talent and put it back in use. I've been assigned to sing in the Alto 1 section (I've sung soprano my whole life) so it's really forced me to read music and memorize harmonies. SUPER FUN!!!

2. I am inviting you to come to our Christmas Concert. If music puts you in the Christmas Spirit, you have to race over and purchase tickets HERE before they all sell out. Remember that we sing with a live orchestra and share the stage with the Children & Youth Choirs. Delightful!

3. My daughter also sings in a choir with a bunch of her friends. She loves it when it is choir day and has been singing, "Go Tell it on the Mountain" around the house this week. Cute!

4. Jayson's vocabulary (and our ability to understand it) has dramatically increased. My lists of his cute phrases (and my unpublished and incomplete blog posts) are constantly outdated. What he says a lot THIS week is, "I don't want to go to bed" or "I don't want to...." We've also noticed that he calls me "Mommy." He's the only one that does. To Jessica I am MaMa or Mom and to the boys I'm just Mom.

5. I haven't used my gym membership for nearly two months. I do have guilt. I'm walking more on my own or doing nothing at all :) - great.

6. Another of Jayson's phrases is, "a go now." Don't tell him we are going somewhere until you are REALLY ready to walk out the door. The other option is to set a timer and tell him we will go when it rings. The minute it dings he expects to GO.

7. On a roll with Jayson - when the kids get home from school, they like to ride bikes or run around with the neighbor kids. They are always darting through the house and slamming doors because they don't want to get "stuck" watching Jayson. "a funt" (the front) or "a pay a me" (who will play with me in the front yard) are daily phrases. He hates being stuck inside or in the back yard.

8. Jacob has a new nickname given lovingly by Goose. OHBUD. That's how he says Jacob. ohbud this and ohbud that. "A ohbud is?" (Where is Jacob). Jacob builds the best trains and legos and owns the best Nerf guns. He has won a favorite spot in Jayson's heart. Especially when he takes him in the front to ride bikes.

9. James is in an after school basketball camp. I think he plays every morning before school too.

10. Jon's foot is in it's SECOND cast. The foot doctor has ordered x-rays again for later this week. Then they determine if Jon should have surgery on it.

11. Do I have sympathy pains or has my twisted ankle STILL not healed from July? It's bugging me. I do use that as an excuse for not going to the gym :)

12. Since I started this list, Jon's second cast has been removed. He wears a brace and doctor says he does NOT need surgery - YEAH!!!

13. Some days I wonder if all children quarrel as much as mine. It makes me so sad. Both Jon & I try to be clear, consistent, and engaged in keeping them on task and involved in good things. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it even matters. Our biggest issue is respect. It's so frustrating and exhausting. Where is that blissful, happy family I imagined in my head??

14. I am looking forward to upcoming visits from my sister and family & my parents and Brandon. Despite the fact that we don't live near family, it looks like we will be spending holidays with family. YEAH!!!

15. Jayson loves going to PlaySchool. I have to set a timer so he knows that I haven't forgotten. He keeps bugging me, "a go now. a go now." I remind him to wait for the ding. When the timer goes off he is super excited.

16. Jayson throws a fit when it's time to leave a friend's house. After all the blissful play and entertainment, I carry him out screaming "a don't want to go. WHY???? a don't want to."

17. Drama seems to be a very HIGH component of our life right now.

18. With a few of my dearest friends currently going through divorce or talking with me about a past divorce, I'm increasingly grateful for my marriage to Jon. I appreciate his constant love towards me.

19. Jessica talks about a girl at school who is the luckiest because she has her ears pierced AND she has braces :)

20. Jessica has already prepared her birthday wish list with three VERY important items. She would like an ipod, a phone, & a camera. Seriously - is she just six or sixteen???

21. Jon found the most awesome bundle of Legos at a garage sale - by our calculations, hundreds of dollars worth of complete or nearly complete advanced sets. Jacob paid $40 bucks for them and has enjoyed building.

22. Jacob has also been building fancy tracks for Jayson's train. It is a delight when he is there to man the tracks and fix any broken spots, but a pain when he is away and Jayson can't get the track to work. "a ohbud a play with me."

23. Jon recently traveled for work and was gone one night. This always sets my children off. Jayson kept saying, "my Dad gone. a Dad is?" I told him he was away at work and he kept checking the home office.

24. It dawned on me one day while i was working in the kitchen that my son, James, is almost 12 years old. That's a huge step in our church. He will be old enough to pass the sacrament and he will attend weekly young men activities.

25. Going hand in hand with the above realization, Jayson will be turning three in January. This explains why the 2T clothes are not fitting. My kids usually move up a size 6 months before they turn that age. 3T here we come :)

26. I wish I blogged more because this is our family journal and my personal journal. I always feel like I'm too exhausted or pressed for time. Thanks for those who encourage me to keep it up.

POINT 2 miles: so glad this marathon is over :) I'm worn out.

Blog Marathon - Mile 25 - Shooby Dooby Down to....

RUBY'S

After a full morning of cleaning and nagging to clean, we took our family to Huntington Beach. We took a long walk to get to the pier. It was cold and windy. We arrived at Ruby's right before the dinner rush. The joint was full, but we didn't have to wait. We were seated at a round table which offered a view of the ocean where the kids saw a couple sea lions.

Jayson entertained himself (and gave several others a near heart attack - mom included) by latching and unlatching the red divider. Sometimes he used it as a jump rope. Several falls were included, but nothing damaging.

Fun. Fun. & Yum. Yum.

Blog Marathon - Mile 24 - Wonderful Wednesday

It's come to my attention that I'm not very good at running marathons ;)

So look out for a photo loaded entry:

I took Jayson to Santa Ana Zoo. It's a smaller zoo on level ground, so it was a good location to go with a toddler who is not fond of staying in the stroller. We first went on a little exploration through a maze. Then Jayson drove the jeep.

There are not a lot of BIG animals there. The biggest were the camels - you can actually ride them on weekends. They can pee for like five minutes straight. I know this because all the toddlers were mesmerized by this and it just didn't end.

There are lots of varieties of monkeys. Most of the day Jayson was standing on fences looking at monkeys.

It's kind of cool to go with mom when you are the only kid. It's WAY easier to get her to buy carousel and train tickets ($5 combo ticket + $3 for mom's train ticket since she HAS TO stand along child on carousel). Since Jayson gets free admission and mom got half price admission with her LA Zoo Pass, it was a rationalized sale. Oh, mom bought a popsicle too.

Then we wandered over to the farm section. This little zoo is like a 3-in-1 (animals, ride, farm). Oops - make that FOUR. They have a little playground and concession stand.

Jayson enjoyed feeding Bonnie the goat. The bully goat kept trying to get all the grub, but we liked the sweet goat.

I had to give Jayson the food tablets one at a time or they'd be dropped and slurped up immediately. He had to learn to hold his hand flat like a plate. We spent a few quarters on food because he loved it so much.

I loved spending time with my Goose.

Blog Marathon - Mile 23 - Awesome Awesome Awesome & a Fart Bomb

I've been at this Back to School Thing for THREE weeks. I'm just barely getting it down. The mornings are killing me. James need to be ready by 7:15 a.m. and I drive the other two at 7:50 a.m.

I finally got myself up early enough to bake some German Pancakes for breakfast. Pretty awesome. Everyone at my house likes them - eggs, whole wheat flour, milk, bit of butter - good start for the day. Jessica doesn't like eating in the morning, but she ate today. Awesome.

I packed three complete lunches and snack bag for Jayson and I. Lunch bread is a HUGE issue right now. Nobody is eating the homemade. Jessica refuses to eat the store bought wheat. Jacob refuses to eat the store bought white. James prefers the white over wheat, but will accept either. NOBODY wants meat and cheese. Peanut butter daily - that's PB & honey for Jake and Jess and grape jelly for James :) Again - Awesome.

Except that oldest child left his lunch on the counter - OOPS.

But since I was going for TRIPLE AWESOME, I called the carpool to talk to James about his lunch. Options: you can buy lunch and eat your other lunch after school or I can drop off your lunch and you need to remember to pick it up at "the window." I must say that his reply was awesome. He said, "which would you prefer?" Seriously. I raised that kid that replies, "which would you prefer?"

I would prefer that all lunches that I get up early to make are NOT forgotten, but in this instance I prefer that they are eaten. And because I was awesome, I dropped his lunch off at school.

The other Awesome thing I did was have a Wonderful Wednesday date with Jayson. We will get to that at Mile 24 (hopefully).

An AWESOME surprise was a visit from a good friend that I hadn't seen in ages. Could use more of those kinds of surprises - WONDERFUL.

While she was here, there was a rap on the door. My kids eagerly darted across the tile and swung the door open. POP!!!! It was a Fart Bomb. The explosion catapulted the little foil pouch up into my doorway where the contents of the STINK leaked all over. Ewwww. Gross. Smelly. Our prank pulling tween neighbors have done it again.

Just Sayin' - this is hillarious