Can you name this guy? and HB SIL

This is a picture that N drew at school this week. I thought it looked really good and I could immediately tell who it was even though it's not labeled and he didn't tell me who it was. He scoffed at me and said, "I did that in about 10 seconds, I wasn't even trying."

This kid has an artistic touch. I think he's good. 'Course he is my child, so I may be a little biased. Or ALOT.

So, can you name who this drawing is of? I'm sorry for the poor quality - it was drawn on construction paper and I scanned it in.

Everyone who comments and gives the correct answer will be entered to win a $10 gift card. You have until noon on Thursday (2/19) to comment.


Today is my sister-in-law's birthday. She is 30-something today. As we would say in my family, she is in her young 30's!

M --- mother of 4
I --- incredible seamstress
N --- nine plus years being married to my brother
D --- decorator of cakes
Y --- young

Happy Birthday Mindy! Hope it's a great day for you!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Two miracles occured in our family last night and they were both HUGE!

The first involved N. He had decided last fall that he in fact no longer liked soccer. Despite the fact that we had already paid for the entire year and HELLO, Lance is the coach! So, we told him, too bad, you will finish out the year. Next year, you can pick another sport or activity, but this year it's soccer. Well, last night was the 1st practice of the spring semester and I was a wee bit nervous. But! He ran in the front door after practice last night and he had a good time. No, not good, GREAT! He scored goals, ran fast, and most importantly listened to the coach (aka Dad) Yippee N!

The second miracle involved L. She succesfully took her bath and got into bed. Not only without screaming, but with a great big hug for me and a great attitude for Lance! I'm so proud of her! So, tonight, I promised her that I would read her story and tuck her in. We'll see if she is able to maintain her sweetness for me.

Today a woman who has already raised 3 children told me, "Being the parent of small children is an extremely tough job. It's exhausting, and stressful and you think it will break you. Hang in there, you are doing a good job. Someday, you will look around and realize that you are no longer disciplining your children every 5 seconds, you will get to enjoy the fruits of all the discipline you are doing now." I needed to hear that. I think all parents need to hear that from time to time. Being a good parent is hard work and sometimes it's tempting to give in. But a good parent won't give in, they'll keep working and trying their best. Our children deserve our best. So, to all you parents of young children (and not so young!) hang in there! We can do it! And if you ever need a break, call me and let's commiserate!

I heart houses!

One of my passions in life is Interior Design. Duh, that's why I went to school got my degree and became a designer. What you may not know is that I don't feel like my expertise is in the "decorating" portion of design. I feel way more gifted in the space-planning and functional layout portion of the process. This is why I work in commercial design instead of residential. But even with this love of design, I don't have a budget to match my love. Thankfully, design has evolved and changed and you don't have to be a multi-millionaire to have a nice home and sometimes the simple, small home is actually more welcoming than the huge one!

This post is an excellent one about just that. I love how she shows what her family chose to do and the result is beautiful and warm and cozy.

Our house doesn't have a 2-story living room, but it does have a 2-story entry and it is a bit overwhelming. I know when the time to paint comes, we will have to hire professionals. So, lesson learned...if we ever buy another home, we'll think carefully before having 2-story rooms. And, I truly believe you could build a new house every year and still not get it "right". There are always things you love about a home and always things you would change. And some of the things you love right now, you might not be able to stand in 10 years. It's a process and the most welcoming homes are those that slowly morph and transform over time. Not those that are instantly "decorated" the moment they are moved into.

My love of houses has been a life-long one. My parents took me with them to look at model homes and that is when I fell in love. I began drawing floorplans in 4th grade and looking back I can tell they were not good design at all. It was a straight hallway from the front door to the back door. But, as time went by, my skills improved. The childhood love turned into a career and a passion.

Makes me wonder....will N's passion for volcanos, trains, and earthquakes and his skill at building and design lead him into becoming an amusement park ride designer? You never know!!!

Will L's passion for cooking and animals lead her into developing gourmet canned food for animals? Or leadchef at a pet spa? Or maybe if you add in her daredevil skills she could be part-time stunt woman/part-time chef to the animals in movies.

I can't wait to see where God leads their passions. And it may be that they have a "desk job" during the week and follow their passion on the weekend and that's okay too!

Date night!

Friday night Lance took L on her first date. Originally they were going to attend the Daddy/Daughter dance at the Children's Museam. But, evidently, this is the social event of the year for the 3-6 y.o. set and he didn't get a reservation soon enough.

So...instead Lance let L select where she would like to go. And her choice? a little mouse place - Chuck E. Cheese.

Here is a pic of them in the photo booth:



This was a fun time for them and N and I enjoyed our time together Friday night as well. I love it when all of us are together, but sometimes it's fun to enjoy the one-on-one time and get to create special memories that are all their own.

We are realizing more and more everyday that even though these two are only 3 years apart they are interested in very different things. N has moved on to more "mature" things like burping his ABCs and watching America's Funniest Home Videos while L still likes watching Dora and playing Hungry, Hungry, Hippos 15 times in a row.

Fun times!

Victory!

If you've read this blog anytime in the last 6 months, you've noticed a pattern. We have sleep issues at our house.

These sleep issues were brought on by a certain little girl giving up her cassie (pacificer). Once the cassie was gone, she didn't have her comfort item any longer. We offered to buy her a lovey, a special blanket or anything for nighttime sleepiness. Oh no, she wouldn't have any of it. She didn't need those things, 'cause she had me.

I have become the cassie. She doesn't suck on me, but she uses me to pat her, sing to her, etc. In short, I've become captive to a 3 y.o.

This is my own fault. I've failed as a mother in this area. Despite my best intentions, I've become an enabler. My name is MommaJen and I am a 3 y.o.'s nighttime crutch. There, I've said it, my secret is out.

But...we've had an intervention at our house. Momma is no longer providing bedtime assistance for this gal. Daddy is now the one and Daddy is much more firm. And the results......

screaming, fussing, etc, but eventually.....SLEEP! All night, no getting up, no playing musical beds...just sleep, glorious sleep. And this momma has needed it, 'cause there's nothing like walking around in a newborn-momma stupor when you in fact DO NOT HAVE A NEWBORN!!

Here's to many more nights of sleep and less and less screaming! Oh please, oh please! Oh, Please!

Fact or Fiction?

I've always enjoyed writing. It's fun, it's enjoyable, I even like the grammar and sentence structure parts. I was taught well in my early years. I don't worry about grammer, etc on the blog, 'cause really who cares? But resumes, business letters, the like? oh yeah, I'm picky.

So....the 1st grader has writers workshop at school everyday. And he enjoys it too. He's a writer and getting quite good at it. There is only one problem. The boy doesn't want to write about the "small, true moments" like his teacher has requested. Oh no...who wants to write about getting dressed for the day or cleaning the room or other such BORING topics.

His preferred topics include volcanos, earthquakes and other such natural disasters. These are much more exciting! And you know, I think his kindergarten teacher would welcome these topics since last year all he wrote about were TRAINS. She had to tell us to please ask him to not write about trains ever.again. AMEN.

So, this year, the teacher has had to ask us to remind N about writing TRUE stories, not CREATIVE writing which is much more his forte. So, as much as I would like to read the last of the Trilogy entitled THE HUT by NCM (his initials), we will now be forced to read, "I brushed my teeth" and other such mundane writings.

I know it's important to follow directions at school, but wow, is it a struggle for this uber-creative boy. Lance and I are much more the "rule-following", by the book people, and this boy he challenges us each day. But also, he makes our days richer. He sees life in technicolor with a twinkle in his eye and I thank God for that!

The Night Sky- a Reminder

Last night as I was driving home from Bunco, I saw two amazing things in the night sky. One of them is hard to see well in pics... a beautiful shooting star!




The other was a beautiful orange moon.


It's so amazing to see these wonderful sights and to know our Creator gave us these beautiful things to delight us.

I needed a delight this week. Things have been discouraging for me. My old friend, anxiety, has made a return this week. Not a glaring panic-attack return, but a quiet, depressing, negative-feeling return nonetheless. I'm hoping he will leave me soon. I don't like when he visits.

I almost didn't go to Bunco last night. I wasn't in the mood, but Lance encouraged me to go and I'm glad he did. Sometimes he can push me to do things that I really NEED to do, but wouldn't if it was up to me. But, I had a wonderful time! It was good to catch up with friends and hear about their kiddos and things going on in their lives. I was uplifted. And then I saw the sky and realized God always loves me even when I'm unloveable. Which quite frankly, I have been a couple of times this week. I'm thankful for a husband that can overlook those moments and love me through them. He has definitely taken on more than his share this week.

Here's to a fabulous weekend even though it does include Football! :)

No really, I'm excited, because we are having a Super Bowl Party at our house and I know my house will be really clean. At least until the doorbell rings! :)