Keeping Up With the Jones Boys

My Little Puff Daddies

2009-07-01T03:13:35Z

Today was a rough day. It started out this morning going with my Mom to close on the sale of the house that I grew up in and she and my Dad lived in for 33 + years. It was the last place my Dad lived before he passed away. Many, many good memories were made in that house. It was a sad day but also I am glad that this burden has been lifted off of my Mom. I left the closing and came straight back over to my side of town to work. I have really REALLY REALLY been struggling lately with balancing working part-time, being a Mommy to 4 kids, a wife, keeping up with the house, blogging (ok, I don’t really struggle with blogging, I just don’t do it!) etc! Although my job is supposed to be part-time it has become harder and harder to do in 10 hours per week as our company is growing rapidly. Long story short I had to tell my boss that I cannot work beyond 10 hours per week (for my sanity). We both agreed that it would not be in the best interest of the company to divide the job up and that she would have to hire someone else. So basically I guess I quit my job! I’ll continue working until she finds someone else. I am relived but also trying to deal with feeling guilty for not being super-woman and being able to handle it all! Just when I was about to get a new cape too!

Anyway, so on days like today I love to be surrounded by my little people and Big Daddy and reminded of all the blessings I have! And I also love that they make me laugh! Sorry no funny stories tonight though. I’ll work on something better for the next post. I’ll leave you with a photo of our little queen at 4 months old and some pics of my crazy little men and photographic proof of why you don’t let your kids take pictures with your iPhone at the SnoCone stand. . . you look up and they’re starting their own “No Smoking” campaign!

Not Me! Monday (Wednesday)

2009-06-25T03:27:54Z

Wow, I’m getting worse and worse at this! Seeing as that I just sit around eating chocolates all day while my servants take care of all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, refereeing, bottom wiping, bath giving, part-time job working, bill paying, etc. I’m not sure why I can’t find time to blog! Oh, well! One day I’ll get it together again. I hope! But, for now I’ll just do my best!

Even though it is now Wednesday I will take this opportunity to share what I’ve not been doing lately. If you want to read what everyone else has not been doing then head over to My Charming Kids and find out!

For the past few weeks we have been taking the boys for rollerblading lessons on Saturdays. They think it’s fun and you just basically show up and get to practice skating. Fun times! While at the lessons I realized our sweet little angel baby had some sort of terrible explosion in her diaper! I grabbed the diaper bag and ran out to the car to change her. I reached in to grab a diaper and didn’t find one. I started to panic as I realized there were no more diapers in there! Now what’s a Mommy to do! Well, I certainly did not take the burp cloth that I just wiped her mouth with and attempt to make a cloth diaper out of it. Afterall, I realize that cloth diapers have some sort of leakage protection (not really sure how that works but I know that it has to be something more than just a cloth!). Well, desperate times do call for desperate measures but that was not me that wrapped our poor tiny priness in a burp cloth and then put her bloomers back on top of it. And I would never purposely not hold my baby and carry her around in her carseat instead so that when the makeshift diaper leaked it would not get on me! Oh, and that was not my baby that had tee-tee dripping from the bottom of her carseat a mere 5 minutes later! And me being the brilliant mother that I am had not sat the carseat in my lap so that I could talk to my little angel and thus realized that the dripping tee-tee from the carseat was now all over my jeans! Not me!

As I’ve shared on my blog before I like to sing. A lot! And people don’t really enjoy listening to me. That’s ok. I still do it. One of the boys favorite songs is “We Will Rock You” by Queen. I think they’ve heard it on several movies (Gasp!) and that’s how they came to love it! Anyhoo, when my precious children came to me with food still on their faces the other day I did not sing to them in a British accent (I just really want to have an accent! Sorry!):

“You got FOOD on yo’ face
You big disgrace
Kickin’ your can all over the place
Singin’
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you”
They did not join in with me after the third or fourth time I did this to them. Never in my house! Not me!

If I’ve said it once on here I’ve said it a hundred times before. I am a genius freak in the kitchen! I have tried to learn my limits but this week I have been pushing them. I’ve joined an organic produce co-op and I was given a bread machine. Both of which are pushing the envelope here for me if you know what I mean! However, I did not have all of these kitchen mishaps happen all in the same day:
*Tried to make oatmeal and added WAY too much salt. No one could stand it. It made my tongue pucker.
*Cut up a mango for Parker to eat. I wondered why it was so hard to cut. I gave it to him anyway. Apparently it wasn’t ripe. Bill said that’s why it still had green on the inside. Oops!
*Served my husband a lovely organicly grown salad for dinner. I thoroughly washed and “spun” the salad before serving. However, when I was cleaning up and went to put the leftover salad away for later I did not find mud (dirt + water from all the washing=mud) on several pieces of the spinach that was mixed in with what I had just served. My Mom, husband and myself did not eat mud salad! Wow, really!
*While I was making mud salad I decided to try out the bread machine. The bread that has been in the machine for well over three hours is still baking. I’m getting scared. It’s now 10:30pm and I really want to go to bed but I’m still waiting on my banana bread. Who new it took a bread machine 42 hours to bake! I’m really getting scared!
Kitchen mishaps? Not me!

Well, that’s it for now. Got to run stare at the bread machine! I hope you are having a fabulous week!

Not Me! Monday (Tuesday)

2009-06-10T00:53:19Z

I know, I know, it’s Tuesday and not Monday anymore but I’m just a little behind (in more than one area as a matter of fact, but who’s counting)! In usual fashion I will get to my list of things that have not been going on around here!

I am not so far behind in the laundry that I have been drying off with a hand towel and bathing with London’s baby wash cloths for a week. No, I always stay on top of the laundry and never let it pile up! Not me!

I did not for a second time allow my son to urinate in a bottle in the car while we were waiting for my husband to come out of a meeting. Since I did not do this I most certainly did not get sprayed in the chin with “urination” when my son lost control much like that of a fire hose let loose and spraying water everywhere. I did not hold the bottle with one hand while whipping some wipes out of London’s diaper bag to wipe my dripping chin with my other hand. Not me!

One “tee-tee” incident is enough for one week right? No, not for me! The next day after a fun time at the park I took a different son to the bathroom at a restaurant. He is a little short so I lifted him up so that he could go potty without sitting down. That was not me who once again felt a warm shower as urine began dripping down my leg, foot and all over my flip-flop! No, that could not be happening again! Seriously, since when did I start bathing in tinkle?!?! That was not me who ever so calmly wiped my leg, foot and flip-flop with a paper towel and then went back to the table to enjoy my meal. And that was definitely not me that forgot about “the incident” when I got home and went to bed with a tee-tee leg. Not me! I’m a diva afterall! (Or so I’ve been told . . .ahem KT! :))

When in the car we always listen to Children’s Praise CD’s several different radio stations which mainly play rock n roll baby! Call us bad parents if you must but at least they’ll grow up loving “real” music. :) However, we do try to filter the songs that they learn the lyrics to. So that was not my son who began singing three times in a row “gives you hell” in an attempt to sing the same entitled song by the All American Rejects. I was not mortified that my Mother was in the car with us. Not me!

I could go on but I think I’ve shared enough for you to find me utterly disgusting and a bad parent for one night! Will leave it at that!

Not Me! Monday

2009-06-01T14:28:31Z

Woohoo! It’s Monday! Time for me to share what I’ve not been doing lately. If you want to read what everyone else has not been doing then head over to My Charming Kids and find out!

I am not busy at all these days and always have time to get fully dressed every day. So, when Griffin asked me why I was putting on my clothes without taking a shower I did not respond with “Son, showers are overrated.” Not me!

Bill and the boys went to see a movie yesterday while me and London walked around the town center. She loves riding in her stroller and shopping with Mommy! I did not run her double stroller into a table of clothing in EVERY store I went into! Nope, I’m a great driver! Not me!

I did not buy my tiny girl a tiny pink tankini swimming suit! It is not the cutest thing! I did not come home from purchasing it and immediately put it on her. I did not leave it on her for the rest of the day until it was time for her to go to bed. The boys did not ask me several times, “Why is London still wearing her swimming suit?” Not me!

Who has time to iron clothes anyway? This is why I try to avoid clothing that requires such. But there are times that a bit of ironing is required and I concede as most wives/mommies do. However, I would not be so creative as to use my flat iron (after I did my hair) to iron a shirt for the tiny girl, press some collars for the brothers and smooth out a skirt for myself. Nope, not me!

With four children in the house (some of which have really big ears) it is hard for me and Bill to have a private conversation. Sometimes we have to literally go hide to talk without someone interjecting. However, I did not call my husband into a room and have a conversation that we did not want the boys to hear and afterwards realize we were in the room with the baby monitor receiver and the monitor/speaker was broadcasting in the room where the boys were! That would be such a blonde moment and something I would not do! Not me!

Happy Monday and last week of school!!

8 Things

2009-05-31T03:09:50Z

I was tagged by my friend Shelly to answer these questions. You can check out her blog if you want to see her answers. She also has 3 boys like me! But I think now she needs a little girl too!

So here goes!

8 Things I’m Looking Forward To:
1 ) Getting back to my “pre-baby” size
2 ) Playing with the kids and swimming a lot this summer
3 ) Date night with my husband (I guess we should plan one)!
4 ) Growing in my relationship with the Lord
5 ) Putting a swimming suit on London for the first time! (silly, I know. . . but her little body will look so cute!)
6 ) Going back to Alaska someday!
7 ) Taking the kids to the beach for the first time (again, someday!)
8 ) School being out and not getting up before 7am (I can always hope!)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1 ) Took my son to have staples removed from his head
2 ) Snuggled with #3 (aka G-Money) a lot!
3 ) Went for a ride with my husband, the kids and my Mom through “the hood” to pick up a check from one of his clients.
4 ) While in said “hood” one son suddenly had to use the bathroom terribly and thought he might die from it. I then listened to him cry (and sound like he was in labor) for the entire 12 minutes it took us to drive out of the hood and find a non-hood restroom.
5 ) Upon arriving at the non-hood gas station my son was then terrified to get out of the car. His face was splotchy and he was covered in tears and sweat. I had to carry him in crying uncontrollably. I’m sure the customers and employees of the gas station thought I had kidnapped this child and was forcing him into the restroom with me. After taking care of his business he wanted me to carry him out of the restroom to the car. I finally discovered that there was a mannequin at the front of the store that he was afraid of!
6 ) As I walked outside headed back to my car I noticed there were two police cars on either side of my car! I was sure someone had called to have me arrested!
7 ) I found out the police were just there for a drink and a car wash!
8 ) I discovered it’s not a good idea to feed your family Taco Bueno before driving into the hood!

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1 ) Dance!
2 ) Sing
3 ) Just do what God wants me to do ALWAYS!
4 ) Take away the financial stress from my husband!
5 ) Be a better wife, mommy and person
6 ) Cook AND Enjoy it!
7 ) Be more organized
8 ) Go to the beach this summer

8 Shows I Watch:
1 ) The Office
2 ) Jon & Kate Plus 8
3 ) Little People Big World
4 ) Tori & Dean
5 ) Celebrity Apprentice
6 ) Biggest Loser
7 ) American Idol
8 ) American Chopper

8 Friends I’m Tagging to Answer the Same:
1 ) Beth
2 ) Melissa
3 ) Danielle
4 ) Candice
5 ) Holly
6 ) Trudy
7 ) Amanda
8 ) Shelly

Caught!

2009-05-27T21:54:15Z

Having a few “office supplies” (which by the way, my husband does not like for me to refer to his staples as such but Griffin said I could!) in your head clearly does not slow this little fellow down! Here is a picture of the scene I found him in this morning. Notice anything that doesn’t belong in this picture? Toilet, sink, soap, Griffin, and PRINGLES! Let it be known that I do not encourage nor do I condone bathroom eating! That is just downright nasty! The little stinker was hiding in there eating them while I thought he was using the potty! The look on his face of “who me?” was priceless so I had to share!

My Little Staple Head

2009-05-27T21:41:27Z

Sunday night turned out to be quite eventful. We always (for the most part) spend Sunday afternoon/evening hanging out at my Mom’s house with my sister and her family. This Sunday was no different. Until about 8:00pm! Griffin fell and hit his head on a slate step leaving a big gash and a “goose egg” on his head. We weren’t sure if it needed stitches or not so we took him to our neighbor who is a nurse to look at it. She thought we had better take him to the ER. So we did. . .

3 staples in his head later and we were on our way home! I’ll take him back on Friday to have them removed. Thankfully, they haven’t bothered him at all and I’ve even had to stop him from standing on his head several times this week!

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-18T14:02:42Z

It’s Monday morning and there has not been much going on around here lately. A mother of four small children would not have much to write about from the past week but I’ll do my best! If you want to read what everyone else has not been doing then head over to My Charming Kids and find out!

All 10 of my loyal blog readers know that I am amazing challenged in the kitchen. I am pretty sure that I at least have the basics down though. So that was not me that set our newly purchased toaster oven on fire and left a big black mark on it that won’t come off. And later in the week when I decided I wanted an egg salad sandwich for lunch I did not go to my computer and google “how to boil an egg” before I could get started. Everyone already knows how to do this so that would be ridicuous if I did not know how. Not me!

While I was feeding my little leach angel baby this week I sat down to watch some tv with the boys. They were watching the show “Kai-lan” on Nick Jr.. I did not pretend to know how to speak Chinese the rest of the day by saying “Ni Hao” to everyone I came in contact with in an effort to show that I am multi-lingual! I would never think of going into our favorite donut shop and saying this to the owner (who by the way is Vietnamese and not Chinese)! Not me!

All the mommies out there of many children can probably relate to this one. So, why is it that we could stay at home all day long and no one ever need to go to the bathroom but the minute I go get in line to pick up older boy from school suddenly everyone has to go? And that is after I made them all go before we left the house (which is only 5 minutes away)! It is a bit frustrating when you have a lot of kids in your car and you have just secured yourself a nice spot at the front of the pick up line! What mother in her right mind would want to give up that highly coveted spot to run a boy home to use the potty?! I really do work hard to keep some decency and “couth” (as my Mom always said) in our lives. So that was not me that rolled down my window, dumped out my Ozarka water bottle, and called a certain child to the front of the car, told him to duck down between the seats and to pee in said bottle right in front of older boy’s school. Nope, not me!

My sweet middle boy graduated from preschool on Thursday. :( I did not remember 30 minutes before he had to be there that he has 2 teachers and I had only bought a gift for just one of them!

My sweet, handsome, masculine big hearted husband is not terrified of china dolls and oompa loompas. So I would not waste precious moments of our lives teaching the children the words to the “Oompa Loompa” song so that I could record it to torment him with. That would be downright childish and something I would not do! Not me!

I did not type this entire post with one hand while holding my precious angel baby in the other. Not me!

Super Freak. . . I’m Super Freaky

2009-05-16T16:11:56Z

I do not know what is going on with me but since the birth of our tiny little princess 3 months ago it seems that my health has gone haywire! I’ve always been a really healthy person with very little to complain about but recently I’ve turned into a super freak! I really believe God is trying to teach me ALOT so I’m hoping I learn it soon so I can move on! Anyway, it’s quite bizaar that this latest ailment involves my heart. I have been following and praying for sweet baby Stellan for months as he has fought to overcome some major heart issues. I have learned so many technical terms from his Mom as she has blogged about his journey. So, it’s been very ironic that now I’m hearing some of the same terms from my doctor! I don’t have the same issue as Stellan but more of the opposite. My heart is beating too slow and in a weird rhythm. I know! How can this be? A mother of four children should have a racing heartbeat! Anyway, long story short. . . I saw the cardiologist on Thursday and he is going to have me do a stress test, echo-cardiogram and wear a heart monitor for 24 hours. I was thinking there’s really no need to have me get on a treadmill to do a stress test. Just come over to my house at about 5pm any day of the week and see what my heart is doing then! It is possible that this is just “my normal” and as long as the tests don’t reveal anything else wrong with my heart then that would be ok. So, that’s what we’re praying for. . . that this is just “my normal” slow heartbeat and weird rhythm and if so then I guess I truly do march to the beat of a different drum! Maybe that’s why I can’t dance!

Dress Up!

2009-05-16T15:52:46Z

So I’ve pretty much just been playing around all morning and not doing any of the things that need to be done but oh well! I really am starting to believe that clean laundry is overrated anyways! So instead of doing laundry I decided to dress up the princess in her ballerina outfit I bought before she was even born! Thankfully, she is pretty laid back and just lets me dress her up!

I know what you’re thinking. . . and the answer is no. . . no, she could NOT be any cuter!