Geaux Saints!

In honor of my Louisiana heritage, I have to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys have always been #1 in our house while growing up in Dallas and being married to a man from Dallas, but...my dad has been a faithful Saints fan for years and finally, finally, finally, there is redemption for this team and this city!! How very exciting! And they are playing the Indianapolis Colts, which just happens to be the city of my birth - very cool!

Last week, a several great moments happened at our house.

N lost his 3rd tooth - and it's one of the top front teeth, so he has that super cute smile that only 1st and 2nd graders seem to have. This tooth had been loose since last spring, so it was a long time coming!

Friday was report card day and N got straight A's again for the 2nd 9 weeks! We are so proud. And he also got all E's in conduct, except one S for music!! Yeah N! After our 1st grade struggles, 2nd grade seems to be a breeze! I think he just had to figure this school thing out.

Saturday, L had an awesome day! Those of you who know L in real life, know that she can be dramatic at times. Like, most of the time. You never have to guess what that girl is thinking, she will tell you and tell you and tell you! But on Saturday, L was a pleasant, happy child for 98% of the day and Lance and I were on cloud 9. She ended up with lots of praise and a reward for her great behavior. The best part was she knew how hard she had worked and was proud of herself. We are hoping this behavior will continue more frequently as she approaches 5!

The happiest Christmas ever

Lance and I were at a Christmas party last night and the hosts were generating some fun holiday discussions around the dinner tables.

One topic....what are some of your favorite "toasts"? After our group mentioned melba and cinnamon, we realized what they meant. Our table of 8 decided we were "too Baptist" to have any favorite cheers! :)

Another topic, that got me to thinking, was "What was your favorite Christmas gift as a child?" As each person shared theirs, it made me think of lots of Christmas memories from my childhood. (I couldn't really think of a gift that was a standout)

Some of my top childhood Christmas memories:

Spending Christmas at my grandma's house with a fireplace (we didn't have one when I was growing up) - my brother and I LOVED to throw paper in it and see it spark. I can still smell those fires and unique smells to my grandma.

Going to church on Christmas Eve --- to me, it's still the most magical night of the year!

The year Paul (my brother) got a dog for Christmas. The doorbell rang and there she was in a box on the front porch.

Having "snacky" food after church on Christmas Eve and getting to open presents that night!

Some of my favorite adult Christmases:

N's first Christmas, when the little girl behind us in church saw the baby Jesus printed on the bulletin and showed her mom that I was holding baby Jesus --- sweet, sweet.

N's first Christmas, when it was just the 3 of us at our house. We put N to bed and the silence and quiet of those moments. This was also N's first night to sleep the entire night --- Merry Christmas to us!

L's first Christmas, when we knew that our family was complete and we were all together.

This year when we are all together and we are healthy and happy.



I'm hoping these are things I'll realize for my kiddos each year. It's a season for making memories and while I love to hear their squeals of delight at their gifts, I know what they'll really remember is going on a hayride thru the Christmas lights at Santa's Wonderland; making cookies with Nana; playing with the train with grandpa; going to see the trains at NorthPark mall with grandad and grandmommy; acting crazy with their cousins (both the teenagers and the little cousins)reading fun Christmas stories with Lance and I and watching Rudolph, Charlie Brown, and Frosty.

As they grow older, I'm sure some other traditions will begin and we'll embrace those as well.

Gifts don't matter much, but The Gift does.

If anyone still reads my blog, I pray you have a blessed time with your family and friends and that you remember the Baby who came long ago for all of us.

Merry Christmas,


Jen

Ahhhh!

We went swimming for the first time yesterday. Yes, it was warm enough - we live in the tropics here in South Central Texas - I think they officially opened the pool the day after Easter!

We LOVE the pool and yesterday I realized there are several reasons why:

1) It's just plain fun!
2) You can exercise without sweating!
3) We are outside!
4) We get to be a part of our community and visit with friends and make new ones!
5) Since we buy a swim pass, our family of 4 can swim as many times as we want all summer for only $125. Pretty cheap entertainment
6) It wears my kids out!

In fact yesterday after swimming for 2 1/2 hours, we came home, bathed the kiddos, and were getting ready for dinner, when I looked over at L and she was asleep. It was 6pm and we faced the dilemna all parents face at that hour. Do you let them take a short nap, then deal with the crankiness until bedtime or do you let them sleep knowing they may wake up at 3:30am ready to go for the day. Since we had a very busy weekend with some late night activities, we decided to just put her in bed. We heard not another word until 6:09 this morning! Glorious!

Lance and I enjoyed some time last night with just N which is a pretty rare occurence and it was an evening with no drama. In fact at one point, I mentioned how quiet it was and Lance said he'd be happy to throw a couple of tantrums or talk incessently if it would help! :)

Chatterbox

Four year olds talk. ALOT. I had forgotten this since the last time we had a four year old living in our house 3 years ago.

The difference?

N asked ALOT of questions. You know the ones ----why?

L - not too many questions, just talks about every.little.thing. that pops into her mind. Oh, the excitement of life!

So, I'm wondering, is this the difference between boys and girls? Or just my two? N ever curious and trying to figure out how everything works and L gearing up for the "gabfest" of her high school and college years.

Either way the talk is equal parts hysterical entertainment (last night, she was copying Ryan Seacrest's intro to American Idol...."This. Is. AmericanIdol.") and equal parts maddening (sometimes you just want 5 seconds of silence).

But, I know this day too will pass quickly and I don't want to wish these days away. So for now, you'll be seeing us rolling on the ground laughing or plugging our ears with cotton balls!

Vegetable or candy?

My 4 year old likes candy. Nothing too profound there although her brother really is not a big candy eater. Or an eater at all for that matter.

Well, after the avalanche of candy that arrived with Easter, we've had a few issues. Namely that L wants candy the moment she wakes up in the morning. Now, I'm okay with her having a piece after lunch and another after dinner, but I do draw the line at morning candy. So, this morning, L tries a new tactic. After begging for the candy and me telling her no yet again. She says, "Can I have a jelly bean?" I tell her no that jelly beans are candy and I've already told her no candy.

Her response was awesome in 4 year old logic. "Nuh uh momma, jelly beans are NOT candy, they are beans." Well then....perhaps we should all be eating more jelly beans. Or not.

And here are a couple of pics from our neighborhood egg hunt. They had a very talented lady there doing face painting.

N - chose to be a vampire


L - with a headband of flowers - this is as close to hair accessories as we are ever going to get!



Hope you have an awesome weekend! Lance will be gone this weekend, so the kiddos and I are going to be looking for fun inside projects since I think it will be raining here!

Fort Night

Last week, the kids built a fort in our living room. It was constructed out of the card table and chairs; and every blanket, quilt, pillow, and stuffed animal we own with the exception of those on Lance and I's bed. (pillows and blankets, not stuffed animals, I made Lance give those up when we got married. :)) We had to draw the line somewhere. This fort stayed up all week and this my friends is a miracle, 'cause MommaJen of 2-3 years ago could have never stood the clutter. But, I'm a new woman, I can now relax and live in a land of clutter with the best of them. And I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing. To my kids last week though, it was definitely good.

So, the culmination of the week was the agreement that they could sleep in said fort on Friday night with the understanding that on Saturday, everything would have to be returned to it's rightful location and I could again see the living room.

After we got home from date night (yippee!), the kids got in their pajamas and settled in for the big sleepover in the living room. It was exciting, it was adventerous, it was CRAZY! They were so excited that even though it was 11pm, they just could not get still. Lance told me to just let them be crazy and they would eventually calm down. Ahem, for N, yes that would work. For L, no - the gal just couldn't do it. And so, her night in the fort was cut short and she was forced into her own bed. But when she woke up the next morning, she and N proceeded to watch cartoons from their fort and request breakfast in "bed" which of course was really just their sleeping bags on the floor.

It was a fun experience, but also definitely showed me, I will no longer be in a hurry for my kids to have sleepovers with others! :)

growing up

Last night, we watched part of Dancing with the Stars. L is a dancer thru and thru and we thought she'd like the show. She did. And so did her 7 y.o. brother. And they both sat on me while we watched. This amounts to almost 100 pounds of squirming, fidgeting, dancing kiddos. So, as I was reminding them to sit still, I also reminded myself to enjoy. Because it won't be long before not only will they not physically be able to both sit on me, they just won't want to. These days are fleeting. 'Course when I said this out loud, N popped back with "oh yeah, I will still want to sit on you when I'm 15" Yeah, right, all 6'5" of him, I'm sure!! I'm just hoping he will still want to talk to me when he's 15.

And that leads me into the apology that I owe him:

Dear N,

I'm so sorry I embarassed you by sending Dora yogurt in your lunchbox. I didn't realize your friends would notice and call you a baby for eating "baby" yogurt. I wrongly assumed that because you still enjoy watching Dora that eating her yogurt would be okay. I was wrong. I now know that just because you will still act like a little boy at home that it doesn't mean you are a little boy in front of your friends. Please forgive me.

Love,
Momma

Growing up - it's hard on us mommas.

When pigs fly?

If you had ever told me I'd be posting something from ESPN on my blog, I think I would have laughed, and yet today, I am.

This is a story of hope and one that resonates alot with me right now.

You can read it here

As a parent, I obviously want the best for my kiddos. But I also want the best for your kiddos and others that I don't even know. This is a huge burden on my heart right now.

In the next few days, I'll have some more pics on my blog. N is now requesting to have drawings put on my blog and since he is Oh so Talented, I will definitely oblige!

More pics

I know most of you who are regular readers are in shock. Yes, my friends, I have had pictures in my last 3 posts. This is a new record for me, but don't worry, I'm sure I'll go back to my old ways soon. Just think of this as a Christmas gift from me to you!

In the meantime, enjoy some more pics from our trip to Santa's Wonderland last week:

Me and my boy:




My gal:




My kiddos "in the band":

Two loves

Sunday evening we had a Christmas musical at our church. I was a wee bit concerned about making it thru the 90 minute performance because our kiddos had been up to 10pm the night before, up at 7am and no nap. This is generally a recipe for disaster! So, smart momma that I am, I packed up the crayons and paper.

For L, no worries, the girl was so sleepy, she curled up on the pew and slept thru almost the entire thing! For N, the boy got to work. He had several great creations, but this was my favorite:




He combined his two loves together in one picture: Trains and Jesus!

I love how the train is headed straight to the manger!

N is very open in discussing how God and Jesus are his best friends! This makes me happy. Somehow, his friends at school get to talking about God. He shares things they talk about sometimes and it's quite humorous to hear perspective about God from 1st graders. But, last night we had to have a little discussion about appropriate things to say to others!! He mentioned his friend E doesn't love God. He said, "I told E if you don't love God, you will go to h*ll." Not sure where he heard that, as Lance and I don't talk like that. But, he probably heard it from someone else at school. I told N that he needs to be sensitive to others at school who may not get to go to church or have parents who tell them about Jesus.

A sled?

So, we had snow here last week. Like real, honest to goodness snow. Snowball fighting, snowman building snow. No ice. It was awesome and beautiful. And it may, just may have set the bar a little high for the weather this Christmas. 'Cause you see to my kiddos, snow on December 9 and 10 means there is a guarantee for snow on Christmas. It just don't snow much here in South Central Texas.

So, when we made our annual trip to Santa's Wonderland for our hayride thru the gazillion lights and our trip to see Santa, my kids both asked Santa for....you guessed it, a sled. 'Cause nothing says Christmas like a sled that they might get to use again when they are 17 and 13!





When I saw how this photo turned out, I was very proud because L doesn't always (never) like having her photo made. But, I also realized how BIG my kids are getting. I live with them everyday and know they are growing (which is healthy) but when you see the photos, oh, it takes my breath away. I've got to enjoy every moment with them. Before I know it, they won't want to see Santa anymore.


So, Santa did ask them to give a "back-up" gift idea in case the sleds don't work out...and what did they ask for? A computer!!! Hello, I think the children will be disappointed this year. But hopefully, once they see what he does bring, the 'puter and sled will be a distant memory.

Head over to BooMama's blog today if you want to see her Tour of Homes - there are some really pretty ones over there!

Let it Snow!

Why?

Why does God make itches?

Why does God make scratches?

Why did God make music?


What is the real question behind the 3 above? Really, it's a 3 y.o. trying to ask why there are scratches on her C.D....it's cute how she processes it all together.


Other questions from L in the last few days....

Why did God make milk white?

Why did God make butter yellow?

Who is Jesus' baby?

All very good questions and interesting.

N brought home his Monday folder yesterday with work from last week....one of the questions on his math worksheet asked how he knew something...it was basically to see if he knew the process and just didn't get lucky with the answer. His answer...."because I'm smart". Wow - wonder what Mrs. Schmitt thought when she read that! He let me know yesterday that he is the smartest person in the whole world except God and Jesus. And evidently humble too.

N's school had a mock election at school yesterday. He voted for Obama. When we asked him why, he said, "Obama's name sounds more presidential and McCain's name is kind of boring." So, there you have it peeps, the way to make a good voting decision compliments of a 1st grader.

And to all who were waiting by their computers for the halloween costumes, well, I'm sorry....I've failed technologically again. Perhaps I'll get them posted by the end of the week, or before Halloween next year...I don't want to get over ambitious or anything!

When the music stops....

So, last night, we played a little game at our house!

It's a game I don't like to play, and thankfully, don't have to play often. It's called musical beds. You know like the game musical chairs only with beds and IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. Somehow, we believed once our kids were no longer newborns, we would have our 8 hours of sleep every night. This is a myth, people!!

So, it all started when sweet N tapped me and said, "I can't sleep Momma." So, he climbed in our bed and I went upstairs and got in his. Then I hear screaming from little L. She had wet her bed, so I put her in N's bed and changed her sheets and got in her bed. Then, she starts crying again, so I go get in N's bed with her. Then she starts talking about what she wants to be for Halloween and it's clearly obvious she is not going back to sleep!!!! So, I then alternate between her bed and N's and the couch for the next 2 hours until I realize, THERE WILL BE NO MORE SLEEP HAPPENING and so I got up.

L is a bit of a bear today and truthfully, I might be too.

Earlier in the week, our family slept at the church while we hosted 3 families who are homeless. This is an organization called Family Promise and is designed to help families who are struggling. Amongst the group we hosted, there were 3 parents and 10 children. They were a delight and energetic. They have faced some hard times, but are committed to turning things around. We were glad to have a small part in this. Things really are put into perspective when you realize our family of 4 brought more things to the church to spend one night than their families have at all. Makes my stupid whining just that---stupid.

Red Light, Green Light

Did you ever play this game as a child? I did and I used to babysit kids who played this game and now I'm raising kids who play this game.

Tonight, in the car, L and I had our own version of this game. She's three and usually has fun telling me "Momma, it's green, go" But last night she decided to tell me what all the colors of the traffic light meant.

Red means stop
yellow means slow down
green means go

And....blue means go swimming!



If you're wondering why blue? Well, I think our city may get a discount on bulbs that aren't exactly "green". Like maybe these are the "seconds" bulbs. Almost green, more blue. Our "yellow" ones are sometimes more orange than yellow - you may have some of these in your town too. Do you think Big Lots sells these?

And in 3 year old logic, blue for swimming makes perfect sense.

Now when this happened last night, I laughed out loud at L's sweet statement, but as I sit here and type this, I feel like this has happened before. And to go along with my scattered week I mentioned yesterday, I'm not sure if this happened before like weeks or months before. Or if it happened before like last night! Scary!! So, if I've posted this before, I'm sorry. I sure hope I'm not turning into one of those people who tell the same stories/jokes over and over. Please tell me if I do. Please.

It was a mighty big finger

I don't know if any of you were out last night and saw the moon, but if you were and if you did, you may have noticed what my kids did. The moon, it was in the shape of a fingernail trimming. On the way home from church last night, L looks up in the sky and says,"Look momma,it's a fingernail and a star in the sky." And sure enough, it did look just like that. I'm sure there is a technical term for the moon last night, maybe waxing or waning, or something very astronomy-related, but from now on in our house, it's a fingernail moon. Feel free to take our technical term and use it as your own. 'Cause I know you want to.

Also on the way home last night, N was practicing his books of the Bible. He can say all the way thru Song of Solomon already --I'm very impressed. So then L had to start saying them as well. She did really well, but then got a little confused. I think she may have invented several new books---like 1st and 2nd Jacob and 1st and
2nd God. But you know, at least she got names that were from the Bible and all. She didn't mention 1st and 2nd Madison or 1st and 2nd Barbie or anything crazy like that.

weekend o'fun

Things have been "different" at the MommaJen casa since school started. The weekdays have been jam-packed with activities, school, homework, friends, etc. But the weekends, they have been completely turned upside down due to illness, Ike, etc...but it looks like we may be back "on track" for a more regular weekend.

So, tonight Lance will be having a tailgate party before the game and a 5th quarter drive-in movie after the game. The kids and I will be having Friday night movie night at home and hoping for no "popcorn" burps. Popcorn will not be on the menu.

Tomorrow, we have an early soccer game followed by Stamp Camp for me. This will be my first "camp" but according to my Bunco/Blogger/Stampin' friends, I will love it! And I'm sure I will since I get to craft and visit with friends without having to do another thing for 4 entire hours in.a.row. Fabulous!

Then tomorrow afternoon, it's off to a farewell party and lastly a benefit tomorrow night for a church member who is undergoing cancer treatments.

So, Saturday will be a whirlwind indeed, but should be fun. Sunday will be our normal church day and rest (I hope!)

And two last items to share, 'cause it's my blog and I can if I want to:

My new favorite word of L's: cop-er-ate. You might know it as cooperate. She was speaking to her toy and asking it to please cop-er-ate. Yes, she may have heard this word from me a time (or possibly two)

Lance and I were quietly visiting in the living room last night after dinner. The kiddos were upstairs playing and getting along...there was much infectious laughter and we were loving it. All of a sudden, we hear L crying. And immediately, N says, "I had to teach you a lesson, L" "Maybe you'll listen to your bubba now." Hmmmm...noticing a pattern here...these are also words I say from time to time--not the bubba part, though, 'cause I'm not a bubba.

The plight of the older child. Poor N--he's so old and wise at 6 and has so much wisdom to teach his 3 y.o. sister. Of course, we had to remind N that it's not his job to teach her a lesson. That would be our job.

Hope you and yours have a great weekend as well!

He.Did.Not.Make.It.

In the midst of the weekend o'illness at our house, I forgot to mention the other family member who fell victim.

Remember this post last week? Well, much as Lance predicted, the fish was not able to recover from the severity of his wounds in Earthquake '08.

Early Saturday morning, L came to tell me that Fountain was not swimming. "He's just still, momma. He's not swimming anywhere. He's not saying "glub, glub.""

Oh boy, I knew as I went upstairs what I was going to find and yep indeedy, Fountain was upside down, dead, in the tank. L wanted to immediately return to the pet store and get another blue fish. Lance and I decided that getting a new fish right away was probably not in the best interest of the fish. We'll work some more on pet care and perhaps try again in a few months.

So, we're back to a family of 4 again. And frankly, at the moment, that's about all I can handle, so it's all good, peeps. All good.

The sickies are back!

The sickies have arrived back at our house in full force. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

When I picked up sweet N after school on Friday, he told me he was having popcorn burps. Hmmm...'k...but, he didn't have popcorn anytime in the last week. In fact, it was almost a month since he last ate his popcorn and that night, well it ended up in the bathroom. So, not a good sign at all for how Friday is going to end up for us. And wouldn't you know it? Yep, he was back there.

Saturday, he was feeling better and we got out of the house and got some things done, but sister was a grouch the entire day. Couldn't figure it out!

Well, the reason why made itself apparent that night at 3AM....the barking seal was in our house with over 102 temp. She was miserable. So, us girls slept in Sunday morning while the boys headed to church. N was to have his special 1st grade Bible presentation luncheon after church, but alas....the popcorn burps they returned during Sunday School and N's teachers had to find Lance.

So, yesterday at my house...not so much fun. I finally decided to take a shower about 3:45 and yep, you mommas are right, I wasn't in there 2 minutes when I had an audience who couldn't bare Momma being apart from them. I love being wanted by my kiddos when they are sick, I love the cuddling that comes, but oh man, when they are both sick and from two completely different bugs, wow! that's crazy! I'm truly not sure how you moms of more than 2 do it when they're all sick.

So, today Lance is home with L--a visit to the dr. is in order and hopefully some nighttime relief for her and us both...there's not much sleeping going on at our house.

While Lance is with L, I'll be mourning with my dear friend Susan who's dad lost his fight with pancreatic cancer just 2 1/2 months since diagnosis. My heart is aching for her.

And what am I praying for the most at my house right now? That my kiddos don't give each other what they just had!!! No, please, no!

8.8 on the Richter scale

I had a really nice evening last night. It was my Bunco night. A chance to spend time with friends catching up on what's happening in their lives, a chance to vent about things that only women can truly understand.

Then I got home....

The house was quiet, the kiddos were in bed, all was well. Or so I thought....

In the kitchen was some evidence that something had gone wrong...

So, Lance proceeds to tell me about the loud crash he heard upstairs while he was in the bathroom. He hears the crash and then L yelling, "Momma". When he finally makes it upstairs, he sees the remnants of the earthquake in L's room. Seems, big brother and her were having fun, running, and getting a wee bit crazy. And the victim of all this craziness?!?

You guessed it! Our new family member, Fountain, was expelled from his home and was lying on the carpet. Lance asked the kiddos if he was still alive and so N poked him and determined he was still living. Lance was very honest with them and mentioned that Fountain may not survive the natural disaster. That's when sweet L asks the all important question, "Can we take Fountain back to the store and get another fish?" Can we say NOT emotionally attached to this fish at all?!? She's a smart gal and realizes he may be "damaged" goods---she wants something that is whole. Wow, I hope I never get hurt...she may try to trade me in too!

As of this morning, Fountain is still alive, although the drama of being displaced may take days off his life. We're still trying to determine if a 3 y.o.'s room is really the best place for a fish to live anyway. Perhaps our room or the top of the kitchen cabinets would be safer.

Lance said it took most of the evening to clean up all the rocks, etc from the fish tank. Oh, and the water? Yeah, L was being a "kitty cat" and licking it off the carpet. Gag, oh gag. Fish poop and stinky water---yum, yum.

Good times, indeed.

Did I really do it?

Yes, I did! I FINALLY have our vacation pictures! yippee!! I've gone and gotten all technological on you. Next thing you know I'll be writing code...

As you will see below, we had all manner of fun. Just a small sampling of what we did...went to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi - top picks there? N - stingrays; L-dolphins

We went go carting - super fun! We played miniature golf and little L - she has a shot on the LPGA - she's good!
We spent one day at the Schlitterbahn, one day at the beach, went on the pier and watched people catch fish.


N driving fast like Momma:





N with the 'rays:






Pirate N:




The view out our door:




N checking the Corpus Christi harbor:




Hazy day at the beach:





L, acting silly in the car:





L, loving trains like her bubba:





We're racing!:





Our friend, the pirate: