Colloquy of Commoners

MOVE THAT BUS!!

2011-07-31T14:08:00.003-05:00

So many things have happened since I last blogged. Sooo many things. One of those things is really really cool...more cool than some of the other things. Are you ready?

Our family has been blessed BIG TIME. First, the background:

For those of you who haven't followed our life (or this blog) for long, it is a well known fact that Will and I have lived in a lot of places together. In our eight years of marital bliss, we have lived in eight homes. Insane, huh? We started out life together in a house on the site of a church camp and have been in an old couple's winter home, two houses, a duplex, an apartment, a town home, and some friends' basement. It isn't that we especially like to move around. I believe that God knew exactly where we would end up, and luckily, Will and I are extremely flexible.

When we lived in the town home last year, a dear friend of ours (whose father happens to be very involved with Habitat for Humanity) made the suggestion that we research Habitat and what they are all about. My mind was blown. Habitat is an organization that builds modest homes for families. In my ignorance, I had assumed that it was an organization for refugees or homeless people, or even for people who are extremely poor. I even thought that the homes were just given to people. I knew that people were expected to help build their homes but that was about the extent of my knowledge. Instead, Habitat selects families who meet certain requirements including income, zero outstanding debt, and current living situation. Once a family is selected, it is expected to put in "sweat equity" hours (working during building days) and to attend a few finance classes. All of the building materials for the house are either bought or donated, and the labor is volunteered by churches and people in the community. Once the house is finished, the family pays back a 20 year 0% interest mortgage. The mortgage is determined by how much it actually costs to build the house. This is a concept foreign to us in the world today. If Habitat spends $xxxx on wood and nails, a family pays back $xxxx. The labor is volunteered and the appliances are donated by big name companies. The mortgage payments are then used to finance the next home Habitat will build. I loved Habitat's vision.

After a little research, I decided to apply last April. In August, our family moved into our current home. Will and I had forgotten about Habitat. The house we are currently renting is amazing. Life is good.

After nine months of absolutely no contact from HfH, a message was left on my phone from the director asking for our current W2 forms. I kind of laughed about it, and because we were in a great place, I deleted the message. Over the next four months, the director called my phone asking for different information or forms, and I ignored the calls each time. Finally, the lady figured out that she wasn't getting anywhere with me and called Will. She told him that she just wanted to do a home visit, which he scheduled for the next Monday.

Before the director came over, Will and I sat down and talked about our expectations for that meeting. We both thought that she would come over and see that we were doing just fine and would decide that we don't deserve a home. Back in January, our pastor had presented a tithe challenge to our church where he asked us to tithe and just see what God would do. If God didn't do anything, the church was willing to give you all of your money back. Will and I had taken the challenge and had already been blessed with unexpected (and unexplained) gifts. It didn't occur to me at the time that we took the challenge in January, a week before HfH first called us...

Within five minutes of our home visit, the director told us that we were getting a house. Will and I were both speechless. It literally felt like we had won the lottery. She explained that we would get to design the house ourselves (within a square footage limit) and pick out everything from siding to carpet. The house will be modest, but Will and I can't imagine living in a giant ridiculous house even if we had the money. We have always lived modestly. It suits us.

Even after three weekends spent building our house, it is still surreal. I had a moment the first Saturday when I realized that all of the volunteers at the site were building a house to bless my family. I have been on so many missions trips where we have built homes or churches for other people. This time it was for me. It was a humbling realization and a really amazing connection that God showed me. It is so clear to me that God blessed us for honoring him during the tithe challenge. How can there be any question that God is real and that He is for us?

So, that is what is going on in my family. Kind of a big deal, huh? Our house was started three weeks ago and is supposed to be finished in October. God is so good.

Grave News

2010-12-15T18:59:00.001-06:00

Judah and I watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last night together. He had seen bits of it on tv the week before and was amused by the talking animals. We own it, so I thought I would save the full viewing of this film for a night when I could explain things and watch for cues that I needed to turn it off. He loved it. He had a ton of questions about everything, but he loved it. I have two stories that will forever be attached to this movie for me...I will begin with the sad one:

At the end of the movie, we were talking about how Aslan sacrificed his life so Edmund wouldn't have to die even though Edmund had disobeyed yada yada yada. At the end of this "Aslan did a lot of the same things Jesus did for us" talk, I was telling him about how we can choose to live like Jesus by asking him into our hearts and all that jazz. It was all stuff we had talked about before, but it felt like a good time to bring it up again. In the past, Judah has expressed great concern that he would go to Heaven and not get to see any of us. This is a big hang up for him, so he always tells me that he doesn't want Jesus in his heart yet. This time, however, it was a whole different story. I told him, like I always do, that he can let Will or I know if/when he is ready.

He looked at me with great concern and said, "Mama, I love Jesus, and I want to live like him and all, but, I don't really like the nails or the whole cross part. I don't think I wanna do that." With this, his eyes filled with tears. I have so much love for this kid. I hadn't mentioned the nails or cross even once...those were things on his mind from who knows how long ago...Easter? I explained to him that we don't have to die like that because Jesus did it for us, and I hope he understood. It just killed me that everything that I say or don't say plays a crucial part in who this kid is and becomes. I felt like I had failed along the way somewhere. It is even more clear to me that only God can bring someone to him...I am just a clueless dummy struggling to explain something that makes so much sense to me. This mama stuff is hard.

On to the good story:

We were watching the part of the film when Aslan dies and Lucy and Susan send the trees to tell the boys the news. The tree person says, "I have grave news."

Judah asked, "Why does she think it is great news that Aslan is dead?"

I told him that she had said "grave not great". He asked me to define grave, which I did.

After maybe a five count, he said, "Mama, do you want to hear a grave joke?"

Of course I did.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

"Why?"

"So he could get cut by a knife."

Now, if that isn't grave, I don't know what is.

Short Visit

2010-12-09T19:01:00.002-06:00

Hello, my faithful friends. If you are reading this, it means you haven't given up on me. I haven't posted anything since July. Who out there is sick of looking at my blog and seeing sweet Lily and her Bieber Fever? I know I would be if I had internet at my house. Will and I moved to a new home in August. It is bigger and more suitable for a family of five than the two bedroom townhome we were in for three years. It has been a fantastic change with just a few road bumps (water in the basement, clogged pipes, leaking ceilings...you know, nothing we couldn't live around). With all of the changes of moving, maybe our biggest change is that we don't have internet. It's not that we can't have internet...it is just that we don't. We will soon...at least that's what I keep telling myself. Until that glorious day when we decide to get off our warm and cozy buns and call someone about hooking us up, you will have to live in the knowledge that my family is well and wonderful.

There are so many things that I could update you on that it is almost too overwhelming to start. If you really care, call me :) If you are just looking for something to read on the world wide web, you are going to have to look somewhere else for the time being.

I will leave you (and the library where I sit) with this story from today:

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Mayah?" asks Judah.
"I want to be Dora."
"No, you can't be Dora."
Crying ensues, followed by footsteps running into the living room where I sit. "MAMA! Judah says I can't be I can't be I can't be (we are in a stuttering stage) Dora when I is older."
Judah follows. "Mayah, you can't be Dora when you are older because Dora is a pretend character in a pretend show. It isn't possible to be Dora," Judah explains to his heartbroken sister.
He has a point. I ask him, "Judah, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Without missing a beat: "Diego."

Lily's Bieber Fever Part 1

2010-07-24T11:50:00.003-05:00

My fantastic niece, Lily, got to go to the Justin Bieber concert in Des Moines earlier this month. Lily, like most 11 year olds, loves all things pop culture. She knows every word to every song on popular radio and often introduces me to what is hip (which I am not:). Her mom, Andrea, drove Lily to the concert and then dropped this nugget of surprise in her lap:

Lily's Bieber Fever Part 2

2010-07-24T11:49:00.002-05:00

Lily was clearly jazzed about this surprise. They waited in line with about 25 other girls for the meet and greet. There were no cameras or autographs allowed. How lame is that? The professional photographer took a picture of Lily with Justin and gave Andrea the website so she could download it. It turned out that Andrea had to pay $40 to even get on the website, and the picture wasn't even on there. She is still waiting (patiently or not) for the proof that her dreams came true that day. Lame.

Here is the video that Andrea sneaked of Lily and the actual meet. Warning: This video is not for those with the dizzies. Andrea wasn't even allowed to have her camera on, so this operation was very covert.

My favorite part of this video is watching Lily wipe the tears away. When is the last time you were this passionate about anything?

God Parties

2010-07-22T16:05:00.002-05:00

In case you are curious about what is happening at the Owens house every single day lately, I will fill you in. Judah is hosting God parties. God parties are lots of fun, let me tell you. First, Judah chooses an aspect of God's creation for which he is thankful. Then, he holds a "team group time" with Mayah and Liam, where they plan out the party for about ten seconds. Next, comes the decorating. Judah puts up stickers and other random items that he deems appropriate. Finally, we celebrate.

We had a thunder party yesterday. We all sat in Judah's room while he turned the lights on and off and on and off and on and, you guessed it, off. Today we are having two parties. Today we are celebrating that God made the sun and...wait for it...ghosts. Thank you, God, for ghosts.

My Summer Journey

2010-07-14T12:54:00.005-05:00

I have recently been made aware of the The Modern Library's Best 100 Novels List. I haven't read a good book in forever, so I decided to look this bad boy up and take on the challenge. I am going to begin with the Reader's List for the mere fact that I have read more books from this list. I don't have any goals for when I want to have this finished. I just want to get it done. I dragged my poor, boiling children to the library in the ridiculous heat today to check out my first book.

The Top Ten:

ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
1984 by George Orwell
ANTHEM by Ayn Rand
WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand
MISSION EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
FEAR by L. Ron Hubbard

I didn't have much luck at the library.

I have read Atlas Shrugged. It is, in fact, my favorite book, and I was quite pleased to see it at the top of the list. I read Atlas Shrugged four-ish years ago because it looked like a challenge. Have you seen this book? It could kill a small child.

I have also already read The Fountainhead and loved it. I read this book last summer when I was on a mission to finish all of Ayn Rand's works. This was absolutely worthy my time.

I wanted to begin this adventure with Battlefield Earth, starring John Travolta...I mean by L. Ron Hubbard. I have zero interest in reading this book or any book by this founder of Scientology, but I will tough it out. I mean, the guy has three books in the top ten. He can't be THAT terrible. All three of these books were checked out at the Ames Library. Apparently, Ames has a large science-fiction-nerd following. Hubbard will have to wait for my attention.

Next on the list: Lord of the Rings. I didn't borrow this book because we own it, but now I don't know where it is. Man, this summer journey is going really well, eh?

To Kill a Mockingbird: We read this book in seventh grade. I considered tackling it again, but it was checked out. I will read it again someday...maybe later on this journey.

1984: I have read 1984 a few times. I read it in my Individualized Reading class when I was a junior in high school. I read it again last summer because Will had borrowed the movie from the library, and it again piqued my interest. It's an alright book. I didn't hate it. I don't need to read it again.

Anthem: I read this last summer, too. Eh. Not my favorite from Rand. It was a lot like 1984, actually...society has fallen...men work for everyone else...one man wants to break the mold and have a thought. I would have been annoyed to read these books back to back.

We the Living: I loved this book. I read it last summer and was up late into the night to finish it. I remember weeping on my couch around 2am when I was finally finished. Yep...I'm that kind of nerd.

We are back to Mr. Hubbard. I will look for these books when I go back to the library.

So, what the crap am I reading?!? I went down to #11: Ulysses by James Joyce. Apparently this book was extremely controversial back in the day and was banned from being printed in any English speaking country until 1934. I will begin it tonight when the kids are in bed. Let the journey begin!

Little Fry

2010-07-08T14:35:00.005-05:00

Judah had his first experience as a camper at Camp Quaker Heights. Before a child is forced to leave his mama and spend the night in a scary cabin all by his lonesome, he is offered the opportunity to stay two nights with a parent at CQH. I think it is a brilliant idea. My children will absolutely be shipped off to church camp in the summers as I am an avid camp lover, so it was fun to experience this with my boy. Little Fry is for any kid going into preschool through entering 2nd grade, so Judah was one of the youngsters. He had such a good time hanging out with the older kids and saving seats for his "camp girlfriend", Elizabeth Daleske.

Camp began at 4 pm, so after the welcome and supper, the kids had some time to explore the camp. Judah parked himself at the playground in the sand. He and Elizabeth built a city of sand and sticks. It was quite fantastic. Once it got a little darker, the staff started a campfire and provided the kids with poor man's s'mores. I am not sure I have ever had a real s'more at CQH and might actually prefer the poor man's version: a roasted marshmallow between two homemade chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm. The staff led the children in some classic campfire songs (The Great Conductor, I Love my Rooster, The Good Ole' Skunky River, My Baby Bumble Bee, Little Cabin in the Woods...) and won Judah's heart with their silliness.

Speaking of silliness, Judah was a complete goof the entire weekend. DJ Scribbles (the ragged bunny on the left) experienced camp along with Judah and got to dance on stage when Judah escaped my grip. Above is Judah's signature slide dance move. Take notes, people.

A family from Quakerdale's Wolf Ranch in Marshalltown brought horses up for the weekend for the kids to ride. Judah was pretty indifferent about the horses. He has ridden horses at Riverside and gets to feed horses on Stange occasionally, so he spent all of five minutes being excited about them. I was glad he decided to ride, though...he did agree to participate in ALL camp activities afterall. The next photo shows just how tiny my boy is with his enormous helmet. The kid leading his horse was cracking up when he got back to us because Judah was singing a made up song about his horse the entire time he rode. Always the entertainer.

Best story of the weekend: The staff had spent hours the night before the kids got to ride horses decorating cupcakes to look like horses. They were fantastic. They used circus peanuts for the heads, wafers for the necks, and lots of frosting. They even had a professional cake decorator come in and help. I didn't have my camera or I would share a photo. The last day, the staff was asking the kids what they had learned about horses. Each child had a chance to state his name and share. This is an example of the common responses:
"My name is Ian, and I learned that a horse has monocular vision."
"My name is Leah, and I learned that you should never approach a horse from the front or behind."
"My name is Tom, and I learned that you should talk to a horse as you are approaching it."
As you can see, the sharing time had a theme that everyone was following. Then it was Judah's turn:
"My name is Judah Roderick Owens. I learned that horses make great cupcakes."
Laughter ensued.

Judah and I were in a cabin with two other moms and their sons. He loved sharing a room with other boys. Each night before bed, the boys (7 and 8 years old) would climb into Judah's bed and listen to a bedtime story. Most of the stories Judah came up with were about Scribbles, but he was nice enough to add their stuffed animals into the mix, too. Judah began each night out in his bed but was snuggling with me within five minutes. This mama loved her still-vulnerable little boy.

Sarah Mull, Ames dweller and babysitter extraordinaire, is working at camp this summer. Sarah's first summer as an intern was also the first summer Will and I were married. Sarah lived in our basement along with three other young ladies. She is very special to us. Judah was jazzed to be going to "Sarah's camp!"
Finally, a photo of the campers with their mom or dad in front of the chapel. I will absolutely send Judah back to camp. I'm not sure if I will give Will a shot at attending Little Fry with him next year or not. This might be something I will fight for.

Lettuce Wraps

2010-07-05T11:26:00.003-05:00

The list of items that I can/do make for my family is pretty small and ordinary. I have recently decided to add to the ordinary and try to make things that I might actually order if I went to a restaurant. I mean, who is going to go out and order spaghetti and tator tot casserole? (Don't answer that.) My other goal in this adventure is to cook meals that are more healthy. Let's face it, I'm not going to be giving up soda or late night ice cream any time soon. I need to cut down on the calories, carbs, and fatty sugars in my cooking. My first fantastic adventure began Saturday night with lettuce wraps. I adore these wraps from The Cafe in Ames and from PF Chang's, so I went online and found a recipe to make them. I called up my friend, Krista Wrage, to assist me in this adventure, and we headed to the store.
It was phenomenal. The amount of red pepper flakes suggested made our noses run as we dined, so I recommend adjusting that if you are a pansy...just kidding...next time I will definitely not put that much pepper in. We also opted to buy prettier lettuce than iceberg. Oh, and for Will's sake, I left out the mushrooms. I am sure they are a lovely addition.

Directions

In a small bowl combine teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, syrup, ginger root, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Set aside.

In a skillet heated to med-high heat brown turkey. If needed drain, then add vegetables and sauce.

Continue cooking and stir occasionaly until vegetables are tender and sauce has reduced.

Remove the core from the head of lettuce and cut in half. Using the larger leaves as the shell fill them with the asian turkey and enjoy "taco style".

Number of Servings: Four Hearty Servings

The recipe says "four hearty servings", which means that we eat a lot. There was enough food for three of us.

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 236.6
Total Fat: 2.3 g
Cholesterol: 56.3 mg
Sodium: 1,333.1 mg
Total Carbs: 17.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.1 g
Protein: 37.1 g

Let me know if you try it and like it. I will absolutely make it again.

The Pink Elephant

2010-06-15T12:31:00.005-05:00

Will and I had a date last Saturday night. We dropped the kids off with my mom in Newton and headed up to Des Moines for a night of pain and agony. Okay, not really agony, but there was some pain involved. We have been talking about getting tattoos for quite a while. When we first got married, we were going to tattoo on our rings but just never got around to it. We will leave that for an anniversary down the road perhaps. We each knew what we wanted for months before the big night, and Friday night I called Will at work and told him that we were going. We went down Friday night and got a consult and scheduled an appointment for the next evening.

Our appointment was for 7:30 and like lame-os, we showed up a few minutes early. Some eighty pound eighteen year old was getting seven butterflies tattooed in a line going up her side from her thigh to her shoulder blade. It really was quite beautiful, but the girl was in some serious pain. Her friends were stroking her hair and consoling her as best they could, but she was struggling. We ended up starting our appointment with someone else about 45 minutes after we got there because the girl was taking so many smoke/uncontrollable sobbing breaks. It was really comforting to me, a first timer.

I got in the chair and began my ordeal.

I took Hebrew in college and really enjoyed learning the language. I had decided a while back that I wanted to get something in Hebrew, but I had never come across anything that meant anything to me. A while back I was introduced to a Hebrew word used in the Bible to describe God's relentless pursuit of his children. This phrase really stuck with me...especially the word relentless. No matter what I'm doing with my life, God is relentlessly pursuing a relationship with me. I love knowing that I have this reminder that my God wants me everywhere I am and in everything I am doing. The word 'relentless' holds so much passion for me. I am very pleased with my decision.
I don't have a good picture of it, but you can see what it looks like on Will's photos.

Will was up after the girl finished. He had been waiting long enough that he was a little amped with anticipation by the time he got in the chair. Our artist, Butchie Von Dreaux, began outlining the art, and Will began looking a little peaked. I was busy texting people and not giving my dear husband the attention he needed (according to Will). After the outlining was finished, Butchie began mixing the color for Mayah's symbol, and Will asked if he could stand up. Butchie told him no and the next thing Will remembers is waking up from a beautiful dream. Butchie had grabbed Will's arm and kept him on the chair while Will floated in and out of consciousness for about five minutes. I didn't know what to do because Will's facial expressions were kind of creeping me out. Watching someone pass out is straight up weird. Butchie Von Dreaux told me to go down the street and get him a Coke to get his blood sugar back up. When I got back, Will and Butchie were having a good laugh. It was all very bizarre. Will drank his Coke and walked around and was back in the chair within about ten mintues. According to Dr Butchie, it is quite common for someone to pass out once he relaxes in the chair. Will says that after the outlining was finished and he realized how little the rest of the tattooing was going to hurt, his whole body relaxed and he was in dreamland.
Now for the meaning behind Will's ink. On top is a cross, symbolizing his faith and his call to care and love for those God has given him. Under the cross are symbols for the people in his family.

Directly under the cross is the Hebrew word I got on my wrist. God has given Will an amazing woman :) Under that is the face of a lion. Judah's name means "praise the Lord", which is why we liked it so much when we picked it. Jesus is a descendant from the line of Judah and is referred to as the "lion of Judah" in scripture. Will surrounded the face of the lion with the color red, because red is Judah's favorite color. The one below that is a symbol for Mayah. Mayah means "God's creative power". This was a little more difficult to come up with a symbol for. Will settled on our church's symbol because we have seen God's power in lots of creative ways at this church. It is in purple because right now Mayah gravitates toward the color purple. The final symbol is for Liam. Liam's name means "protector", thus the shield. Will will have it colored in once Liam chooses a favorite color.

Overall, it was a great experience. We are both thankful that we waited until we were in our thirties to get a tatoo. We were also VERY pleased with the people and atmosphere of The Pink Elephant. These people were more kind to one another than in any other business I have ever been in. I will leave you with a photo of our artist pretending to be cross-eyed. Good times.

Judahisms

2010-06-11T21:40:00.004-05:00

Judah usually drags me out of bed in the morning. This morning, he decided to be a little sneaky. I could hear him come into my room, but I decided to pretend to be sleeping because I wanted to see how he was going to bring me into the world of wakefulness this time. It was classic.

Judah tiptoed to the foot of the bed where Will and I were "sound asleep". I could feel him pulling the blankets off of my feet and crawling onto the bed. He then found his way under the covers and not so stealthily made his way directly on top of me, laying belly to belly and face to face. I opened my eyes, and the words out of this four year old's mouth were:

"Well, isn't this a bit of a coincidence?"

Thirteen hours later, and I am still laughing.

The Princess and the Frog

2010-06-10T21:24:00.003-05:00

I went to Redbox today and rented my kids a movie because the rain was pouring down outside. Judah does not have a good history with movies. Whenever I broach the subject of watching a movie that he has not seen, he begins shaking and chanting, "no no no no no no nooooo!". It isn't a pretty sight. I don't force him to watch anything. but he always enjoys the movie once it has started. Granted, he shakes through anything even slightly scary (think scary toys from Toy Story or Wall-E or the sea lion thing from Happy Feet), but the laughter usually outweighs the shakes.

So today's movie started off the same as it always does. Judah asked if he could watch Bambi, and I told him that I had rented a movie for him and his sister. After much protest, he sat down and began to enjoy himself. It didn't end well.

Judah wet his pants. He stood up off the couch, and I noticed that he was wet and asked if he had peed his pants. I made him go upstairs and change his clothes, and when he returned, we picked up where we had left off. About twenty minutes later, he had peed his pants again. I guess the voodoo doctor was a bit much for him. I had even asked a ton of people if this movie was scary or appropriate for a four year old, and everyone said Judah would like it. WRONG.

The movie ended with Judah crying. Spoiler Alert: The firefly, Ray, gets squashed by the voodoo doctor. Judah began to weep. "Now he can't fly anymore, Mama." It took a while for the boy to compose himself and see that Ray got to be with Evangeline, his true love. Yeesh. Forget ever taking the kid to the theater without a change of clothes and a box of tissues. The kid has a tender heart. Poor guy.

Townhome Anyone?

2010-06-09T15:46:00.004-05:00

We are moving in August (or sooner if someone wants this place!!). The Owens Family is upgrading to a house and a real third bedroom. We are very excited about this move! The townhome where we have lived for almost three years is now up for rent or for sale. My landlord lives in New Mexico, so the renters need to be very trustworthy. Here are some photos. Let me know if you or someone you know might be interested.The master bedroom is upstairs and has two closets. The main one is MASSIVE and amazing. The second one is smaller, and we used it for sweatshirts.

The door in the photo is the smaller of the two closets.

The washer and dryer are upstairs in the bathroom. I loved not having to drag all of our clothes downstairs or to a basement.

The upstairs bathroom has a bathtub and shower. I am standing in the laundry area.

This is the other bedroom that is upstairs.

This is the kitchen area.

This is the kitchen and dining room area.

This is the living room area taken from the kitchen.

There is a bathroom downstairs with a toilet also...I couldn't get the photo to upload :) There is a one car garage and a driveway. Come and get it!

Mommy & Me

2010-06-08T10:34:00.006-05:00

My church has a ministry during the school year for moms of preschoolers and their children called Mommy & Me Music. We get together at 10 am every other Tuesday at our church and sing songs and dance with our kids. The community is invited, so we get to hang out with moms that we might not normally meet. We had our last Mommy & Me of the year a few weeks ago, and I took some pictures of the adorable moms with their kids to commemorate the occasion.

For our last day, we had the kids make tambourines with paper plates and rice to use during our singing time. It was a MESS, but they had a good time decorating them with stickers.

After all of the tambourines were made, the kids got to sing and dance. They are all pretty darn cute.

Mommy & Me will start up again in the fall. Good times.

Will

2010-06-02T22:15:00.002-05:00

Will was annoyed with me the other night. I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my mom's camera and kept taking pictures of him. Well, there was nothing wrong with my mom's camera...and this is what Will gets for giving me attitude :) Oh how I love this man.

Advise Me

2010-05-27T12:54:00.003-05:00

I just don't get this girl. Mayah will be 2 and a half tomorrow. She is growing in so many ways. She is talking and saying things that amaze me. She is figuring out her colors and even some of her letters. She loves to color and draw. She is quite an amazing little girl. She has been potty trained for me for about a month. By this I mean that she poops and pees on the potty when Will and I are home nearly every time. She has had very few accidents for us. However, she is not potty trained when someone else watches her. We were away this past weekend, and I got a text from my sister-in-law that Mayah had "fallen off the potty train." My mom and my mother-in-law both reported accidents when we got home, too. She even had an accident last time she was in the nursery at church.

I do remind her to go potty and sometimes sit her on the toilet even if she says she doesn't need to go. I just don't understand why she refuses to consistently use the potty for any one but Will and I. Has anyone out there had this experience? Does anyone have any advice? I'd really like to be able to leave Mayah with people without the fear that she will poop all over them. Help.

Graduation...

2010-05-12T19:58:00.003-05:00

...kind of. Today was the last day of preschool for the year. Judah will go to preschool again next year, so he isn't really graduating, but let's not get technical.At our preschool, we each take a turn teaching, assisting, hanging with the nursery kids, and taking a day off. It was my turn to teach, so I had the kids review the different sections that we went over this year and then make an All About Me book. Thankfully, my assistant, Julie, is a rockstar because it was quite an undertaking. Oh how easily the preschooler becomes distracted. Above is a picture of Hollie, Julie, Judah and I.

This is the some of Judah's class. Throughout the year, we had anywhere from six to twelve kids. It was a great experience for him. I can see a huge improvement in his attention skills from when we started until now.

Judah's book turned out hilarious. Here are some sample questions:
My favorite thing to do is...be a T-Rex!! (After this question, EVERY page had to do with dinosaurs.)
My favorite toy is...ZOO!! (He proceeded to draw a map of the zoo and placed each animal, including dinos, in cages.)
My favorite thing to do with Mama and Papa is...dinosaur disco-bagging!! (This came with a little tune. Can anyone tell me what it means?)
My favorite tv show is...Dino Squad and Dinosaur Train.
When I grow up, I want to be a ...MAMA!!

Yep. That's my boy.

Tulip Time

2010-05-06T19:51:00.004-05:00

The kids and I journeyed to Pella for the infamous Tulip Time. We actually went down last night with my sister-in-law, Jen, so Jen and I could run in the Klompen Classic. After a winter of running on the treadmill, I decided to see if I could run in real life. Sadly, my winter workout was running a mile as fast as I could...mostly because I wanted to get home and eat some ice cream. So I called up Jen and asked her to suffer through a 5K with me. I'm sure you are imagining the hours of training I put in prior to my big race. I mean, I hadn't run over a mile and a half in uhhh..ten years??? I had great intentions. However, in the two weeks up to the day we decided to sign up, I ran a mile twice. Yep...I was ready. I am proud to say that I did not walk at all.

The kids stayed with my mom during the race and got to go to Pella with us today for some Dutch food and tulip smelling. A good time was had by all.

Liam had a great time eating donuts and poffertjes. He was a messy, sleepy boy.Mayah cheesed it up with Aunt Caitlyn. This girl loves her novelty sunglasses.

Mayah kept running up to the tulips and posing. She's a m-model if you know what I mean.

This is my new favorite picture of Liam. I adore him.

Judah was not jazzed about getting his picture taken. He was struggling all day to enjoy Pella.

'I want to eat that one, Mama.'

Oh, Mayah, if you only knew how much money you hold in that aggressive little hand...

The kids were crabby way before we left, but we got some great food. I even got to see a ton of people from my past. Well done, Tulip Time 2010...well done.

He's Got Moves

2010-04-27T09:02:00.004-05:00

Apparently, being a male comes with some annoying obstacles. Things can happen to a boy that I, a naive mother, would have never thought of. Luckily, my boy knows how to get himself out of some sticky situations (you'll appreciate that pun in just a moment). This is a move you might see Judah doing at any given moment. It is actually a very common stance for him. I am lucky enough to see it three...maybe ten times a day. It starts out with a low squat and ends with a little wiggle. And, yes, the mouth is usually open. What is the purpose for this move?

"I'm just getting it unstuck!" Yep..."it" sometimes sticks to his leg. Will and I have told him to leave "it" alone when "it" gets too much attention. Judah has come up with his own hands-off approach to this historic problem.

I hope it catches on. I hope we see baseball players everywhere perfecting the low squat. My boy, the inventor.

Riding the Potty Train!

2010-04-25T20:50:00.004-05:00

Finally, something blog worthy! Warning to those who don't have children or just don't care about potty training: The words poop, pee, and potty frequent this entry...read at your own risk.

This was taken at the Veesha parade of my stubborn little girl.

We are on day three of Mayah fully utilizing the potty. Mayah will be two and a half at the end of May and has proven to be a worthy foe in this battle to get the Owens family down to one child in diapers. My little girl is as stubborn as they come.

Months and months ago she was totally into wearing undies and using the potty for all of her bathroom needs. Then, out of nowhere, she decided to have nothing to do with it. She didn't want to wear undies...she didn't even want to be in the bathroom. As of late, she is back on the train. I rarely need to remind her to use the potty before she runs over to remind me it is time. We no longer need to set a timer, and she doesn't hide in her room to pee anymore. Since Friday, Mayah has awakened with a dry diaper nearly every morning and after every nap. Hallelujah!!

The only part of the train she hasn't buffered up to yet is the pooping in the potty. She will sit on the potty and push until she passes gas, which of course ends with tumultuous giggling. Thankfully, she hasn't pooped in her undies, either. The girl will wait until we put a diaper on her for nap or bed and then poop. It isn't out of defiance...I really don't think she has figured out how to drop one off on demand. We'll get there, though. I am pumped about her sudden progress! I am also leery about getting too pumped. She has shown this progress before only to completely backslide. I love the girl. Once she decides something, it is all or nothing. She's kind of like her mama. Only kind of.

The Plastic Came Off

2010-04-07T13:13:00.002-05:00

Judah was very disturbed today during lunch. He kept trying to explain to me that the plastic had come off of his lip. The what? The plastic. He was pretty frustrated that I didn't know what was hurting him.

I finally figured out that Judah was trying to tell me that he had pulled some loose skin off of his top lip. It hurt. He needed a band aid.

He has been wearing this on his lip for over an hour now. I can't take him seriously when he comes to tell me something. I hope this doesn't become a "thing".

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T20:30:00.007-05:00

The Owens family had a fantastic Easter holiday. We made the trek down to Newton on Saturday to spend time with my side of the family. We had a great time with aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, grandmas, and grandpas. Uncle Mark's house was packed! We started the day off with an amazing meal. My family can cook. They had an Easter ham and turkey, but I skipped past the meat section and filled my plate with the side dishes: sweet potato casserole with pecans, corn casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, fruit salad, and spinach salad with strawberries and the most sugary dressing I have ever tasted. It was heavenly. After my belly was full with second helpings, we had bars, ice cream, and a birthday cake for Liam.Grandma Margie hooked Liam up! She also got him an individual cake, which he murdered.

Sunday was another busy day. We let the kids sleep in after our busy Saturday and had our annual cinnamon roll breakfast before putting on our fancy clothes. Grandma Margie buys the kids Easter outfits every year, and Mayah is all about dressing up in pretty dresses. She is also all about posing for photos. And I am all about her beautiful curls, so you will have to endure all of the photos I want to share of Mayah in her dress. (On a side note: I also really like the photo of Mayah and Wyclef Jean looking at me while I take the picture to the left. I feel like he is boring into my soul.)
Judah thought it was pretty special to wear matching shirts with Liam . It was impossible to get a picture of the Owens three where they are looking at the camera.

After our photo shoot, we went to the 11:00 service at our church. My blog even got a shout out by our pastor, who read the excerpt about Judah talking to the headless mannequin from the entry, Service, in place of his joke. After church, we ate lunch at The Mandarin and went home for naps. We ended our holiday with decorating eggs, hiding them at Will's parents house, and eating some yummy barbecue.
Another amazing holiday for the books.

LIAM IS ONE!!

2010-04-02T22:43:00.003-05:00

Liam turned one yesterday, April 1. The kids and I spent the day at the zoo with the Miller family. Above is a photo of the whole gang: Mayah, Mylie, Raya, Judah, Emmett, and Liam. It was a beautiful day. Liam spent most of the day in his stroller, but was able to get out and cruise along the fence for a bit.

Grrrr

He isn't "walking" yet but can stand up on his own with no support. He also loves to cruise. He can take three or four steps before he hits his knees. No rush, Liam.

Liam is saying a few words. He is also laughing a lot. I adore this little guy's laugh. He is such a great little kid. Happy birthday, Liam. Your family loves you very much!

Service

2010-03-28T13:39:00.003-05:00

I'm sure some of you are waiting for me to write about my trip. Sadly, I am not quite ready to do that. It takes a while to process how I feel about everything when I get back from an experience like that.
Thank you all for your patience. In the mean time, I will tell you a little story about something that happened this week.

Our church had two amazing men,Bill Davis and Steve Sjogren, speak this week about servant evangelism and outreach. They challenged us to show Jesus' love in practical ways. We were encouraged to break the stigma that Christians do nice things for others in order to get money or to get people to come to church. It was great stuff. Thursday morning, they partnered with us in heading out into Ames and serving people.

Judah, Mayah, Liam, and I went to the library where we go to story time and handed out roses to moms and suckers to kids. We also handed out little cards that said "On us." and "Seriously...It's free!" These cards had our church's name on it, so once the librarians caught wind of what we were doing, we were told we couldn't give anyone else the card. No big deal.

After a while, we packed up and headed for the mall with a couple other families. We had bags of microwave popcorn and dollar off gift cards for Pretzlemaker. Judah had a blast walking around chanting, "Free popcorn!!" He would walk up to complete strangers and ask them if they wanted popcorn. Most of the guys would look really confused and say, "No thanks", so after a while I began to explain to people that I was out trying to teach my kids how to serve others. After that, people were so sweet to Judah. It made my heart so happy.

On to my favorite part of the day: I saw a guy walk into Footlocker and told Judah to go in there and ask "that guy" if he wanted some. Judah clearly did not see which guy I was referring to, because by they time I rounded the corner and caught up, I saw a very confused little boy. Judah was standing in front of a headless mannequin with his hands on his hips. I asked him what was the matter, and he responded:

"Mama, this guy doesn't even have a head...how is he gonna eat popcorn???"

Precious.

Nicaragua

2010-03-11T23:21:00.003-06:00

My trip to Nicaragua is quickly approaching! I am super excited. I am blessed to have people committed to praying for my team each day, and I thought you all might like to join them. Here is a brief rundown of how we will spending each day:

Friday: We leave for the airport at 6:45 am. We arrive in Jinotepe, Nicaragua in the late evening. You can be praying for the safety of our travel that day. It would be great if all of you would say a prayer for Will as he begins his journey as a stay at home dad for the week.

Saturday: We will be spending our day with the kids from the Arms of Love orphanage. We will take the kids to the beach, where they get to swim and have fun. These kids rarely get to go to the because it costs teams quite a bit of money to take them there for a day, so it is a pretty big deal for them to spend a day there. We will also treat them to a meal at a restaurant on the way home, which is another big deal.
Prayer for the day: Pray that God will use this time to show the kids how much they are loved, that we would begin to develop relationships with these kids, and that God would use our team (especially the women) to model modesty and Christian behavior.

Sunday: We will be spending our day at the orphanage. This is a day where we will just love on the kids again. We have some big group activities planned and some devotions and small group Bible studies with the kids.
Prayer for the day: Pray that God will use this time to strengthen the bonds we are making with these kids. Pray that God's love and compassion for them will be shown. Pray for strength and energy for my team as we run around and try to keep up with the kids!

Monday: We will be spending the morning doing work projects around the orphanage. The afternoon will be spent with an American couple who live there and do ministry with boys and girls who have been kicked out of orphanages or are transitioning from an orphanage to a "grown up world" situation. We will spend time with these young adults, and we will be bagging food to take to the dump the next day.
Prayer for the day: Pray for continued strength for the team. Pray that all of the supplies will get to the right location so we can bless the poor with food. Pray that we can help influence the young adults who are transitioning to stay on a godly path.

Tuesday: We will be spending the day at La Chureca. This is the city dump in Managua where hundreds of people live and work, sifting through piles of burning trash to sell. La Chureca is plagued with addiction and child prostitution...a place where parents will sell their daughters to the garbage men for prime trash. We will be handing out a weeks worth of food to the families who live there and praying for people.
Prayer for the day: Pray for protection for my team while we are at the dump. Pray for the people who live there to be open to what God might want to do.

Wednesday: Most of our team will be spending this day at Arms of Love with the kids. We will be doing work projects, devotions, and big group activities. Another part of our team will head into an area where child sex trafficking is huge. They will be prayer walking and just following the Holy Spirit's lead.
Prayer for the day: Pray for the team who will be with the kids. Pray for God to give us extra energy and strength. Pray for the team doing the prayer walking. Pray for protection and the ability to discern and follow the Holy Spirit.

Thursday: We will be heading out with the couple with whom we bagged food and went to the dump. We will be heading to some poverty stricken communities and handing out a weeks worth of food to families. We will also be praying and sharing the message of Christ with these people.
Prayer for the day: Safety for the team. Pray that God would ready the hearts of the people who will be hearing the message. Pray that we are all open to what God wants to do.

Friday: We will be leaving the orphanage at 3 am Friday morning to make the two hour drive to Managua and to the airport.
Prayer for the day: Pray for safety in traveling and re-entering the US.

Thank you to all those who have supported me financially and those who will support me in prayer. I am ready for God to do some amazing things!

Counting the Days...

2010-03-08T12:17:00.002-06:00

I have been an unreliable blogger as of late. My deepest apologies to all of my loyal readers who have been sitting by their computers awaiting the newest nugget of brilliance to break forth from my fingers. To all of you haphazard readers who just happen to read about the Owens Five when you are bored and have exhausted your other internet sites, get over it :)

So the burning question is: What could be so important to have kept me away all week? I leave for Nicaragua in three and a half days and am trying REALLY hard to not put off being prepared until Thursday night. My MO is most commonly to pack the night before or even the morning of when I am going off on an adventure. The difference this time is that I am a co-leader for this trip. I have responsibilities. It will reflect poorly on my leadership if I forget a towel or toilet paper...won't it? Well, I also have things like devotions to prepare, so I am trying to get myself ready for this trip little by little each day. This just might revolutionize my entire way of preparing for a trip. Or I will arrive in Nicaragua and realize that I am just as unprepared as I always am. Only time will tell.

Maybe I should quickly recap what I am going on about...

I am co-leading a trip for my church to Jinotepe, Nicaragua. We are leaving Friday morning at 6:45 in the morning and will return the following Friday night. I am excited for many reasons. Selfishly, I am excited for the sun...the heat...the tan...the jungle...the delicious fruit...
I am excited for other reasons as well. Missions is something I am extremely passionate about. Off the top of my head, I can count 19 missions trips that I have been on or lead (the majority of them being to Cabrini Green in downtown Chicago). Will is amazing about letting me fill this need in my heart. I'm sure it is hard for him for many reasons, but mostly because I always come home with a plan to move my family there. (Will doesn't share my passion:)

While we are there, we will stay at an orphanage called Arms of Love (armsoflove.org). We will love on these abandoned children and do whatever we can to make their lives easier. We will also go to some of the poorer neighborhoods, hand out food to families, and pray for them. We will do some manual projects, devotions with the kids, large group skits and messages, and prayer walk in a neighborhood where sex trafficking is prominent. We will also visit the dump where thousands of families live each day and do some prayer ministry.

It is going to be an amazing trip. Your prayers will be appreciated. I will give updates as I can.

Book Repair

2010-02-28T18:59:00.003-06:00

One might believe that a mother will have to deal with the same naughty behavior from child to child. Lots of times, Mayah will act out in some disobedient way, and Will or I will need to remind the other about moments or events when Judah had done or said the same thing. I feel like it is really easy to forget about the hard times with Judah, which makes Mayah's "in the moment" naughtiness seem so much worse. All kids act out. However, one child might do something the other would never have dreamed of doing. For example...

When Judah was a wee tot in his crib, he would wake up earlier than I was ready for him. To avoid getting out of bed, I would fix him a bottle (*gasp* "You gave him a bottle in his crib?!?!"...lay off, ladies. You've done it, too...you just lie about it when your doctor asks.) and give him five or six books to play with while I worked on getting out of bed or (heaven forbid) took a shower. Once I realized how well it worked, I would put the books in his bed at night before I went to bed. It worked out really well. If he woke up in the middle of the night or before 8:30, he learned that he wasn't going to be whisked out of bed. Instead, he would entertain himself and often go back to sleep. To all of you mamas who ask me how I teach my children to sleep past 8am, there it is. Neglect + learning to amuse oneself = babies who don't expect you to get them out of bed while it is still dark...okay...maybe not neglect. If you don't believe me that this tactic has it's merits, I had to drag Mayah out of bed at 8:45 this morning to make it to the 9:15 service at church.

Okay, moving right along. Knowing that this worked so wonderfully for Judah, I began to do the same thing when Mayah began to wake up too early. She, too, soon learned that waking up before Mama was ready wasn't going to fly. She, however, has a much more destructive side to her than Judah ever has. Instead of quietly amusing herself in her crib, Mayah took to tearing apart the books I would give her. Somehow, my strong little girl was able to rip the books at their seams. We have dozens of board books that are now just boards.

I finally decided to do something about all of the loose pages we have lying around our house. I went out to Staples and bought some loose leaf rings and began to punch holes near the spines of the books with my paper puncher. I then attached the pages together using the rings...so easy. I have, thus far, saved ten books from their impending fate in the dumpster.

William

2010-02-26T08:54:00.002-06:00

Will turns thirty today. I know some of you are thinking, "No...come on! There is no way that handsome hunk of meat is already thirty!" while the rest of you are thinking, "Will is only thirty?" Well, no matter your secret thoughts, this blog is dedicated to my favorite man.
This is a photo of Will, Judah, and Mayah last year on Will's birthday. So much has changed! Most importantly, we have another baby (in case you didn't notice that Liam was missing). Will's leg is all healed up. Last year he had reconstructive surgery on his knee. He tore his acl while skiing when he was in college and, after ten years of inflammation and pain, we finally bit the bullet and got that thing fixed. I say bit the bullet because it was a preexisting condition, which means we are paying the full $6,000+ for the surgery out of pocket AND he was still in his brace while I was giving birth to our third child. I will let you imagine what that meant as far as helping out with a newborn. Another thing that has changed is that Judah is no longer in diapers! Something that is the same: my children still don't like wearing pants (I write these words as I look over at the kids watching Sesame Street in the buff.).

Will is an amazing father. My children adore their father. Liam is giddy when Will walks in the door. He is so patient with them. I have never heard him raise his voice at them. Even when they are freaking out, his tone is so gentle. "Take a deep breath" is his go to tactic. I am humbled by his patience. I feel so blessed to have a husband who loves his children so deeply.

This photo was taken last year when we went to Las Vegas for my big brother's wedding. Will and I don't take nice pictures together. We have ONE photo where we are both smiling and looking normal from eight years ago. I still have that picture in a frame waiting to be replaced by a more recent, normal looking photo. Will has this thing that he does with his eyes to amuse himself. His favorite time to do it is in a big group picture because it might not get noticed for a while. He is all about unexpected comedy. I think his dream come true would be that someone would call him years after a photo was taken to say that she just noticed how creepy Will looked. He is very patient with his jokes. My favorite part is how hard he laughs at himself once he sees the picture. He also LOVES to get in the background of stranger's photos and make this face. He doesn't even care if he gets to see the end result of his joke...now that's commitment.

This is one of the many reasons I love Will. He makes me laugh more than anyone on earth. God matched us perfectly.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILL!! I LOVE TO LOVE YOU!!

State Wrestling

2010-02-18T20:47:00.008-06:00

State wrestling can only mean one thing in the Owens house...wrestling is almost over!! Okay, that's not the only thing it can mean. It can also mean funnel cakes, strawberry smoothies, and some good wrestling matches. If you know me at all, you know that I am a basketball girl. I love basketball and am genuinely frustrated that Ames doesn't have a women's league. I would totally play...maybe. The other thing that you may or may not know about me is that I am way too insecure to ask people to be on my team. And I FOR SURE wouldn't be brave enough to just show up and get put on a team! This is the same reason I do not play Ames volleyball. As much as I would LOVE to be on a team, I can't bring myself to just get put on a random team...what if I suck...my glory days are over...I am way to competitive to accept it if I am not any good anymore.

Back to wrestling...sorry about that digression. So, I have always been all about basketball. I would go to wrestling meets in high school to support my guy friends, but I didn't pay close enough attention to know what was going on. Then I marry Will. Will wrestled at Central College while I was there, and often told me about his passion to coach some day. Almost seven years later and I am still learning. I am not going to pretend like I totally understand everything. I know a good number of the moves, ref signals, and proper things to shout, but I am so amateur. I have a lot to learn if my children are going to join their father in this passion.

It is a whole different world than basketball. One thing that cracks me up about wrestling fans is that they get annoyed if someone shows up to an important meet that has never shown interest before. When I was in high school, we were usually ranked #1, undefeated, and two time state champions and the stands were always usually empty until the boys game began. No one but our parents traveled to watch us play regular season games. We would have killed to have one or two more people show an interest and were jazzed when people came to our state games. We finally had fans, no matter how fickle they might be. Wrestling fans whisper behind your back if you just show up at state without having supported them before. They only want true fans :)

Okay, back to the reason for my blogging...Judah and I have been going down to state every day to support Will. Wednesday, I dressed the kids up in Gilbert clothes and got a photo of them with Will before he left. This is of Judah and I today at the meet. He has been to state every year since he was born.
Sister-in-law, Caitlyn, and Judah (also included: man behind Caitlyn picking his nose)

Judah posing with the wrestlers behind him

Judah really wanted to make sure that his cup got in the photo. It is, you see, his favorite color.

I love this kid.

Judah brought his "super hero animals" with him. We tangled them in Caitlyn's hair for fun.

Will on the mat during one of the matches

Judah and I plan on going back tomorrow. Thankfully, I have had some great friends and a super mother-in-law watch Mayah and Liam while we go. I am enjoying special Mama-Judah time!

Her Singing Debut

2010-02-10T12:49:00.002-06:00

I have posted videos of Judah blessing us with his love for singing on this blog but never Mayah. Mayah has developed a new love for singing and dancing. Her vocabulary has exploded over the last few months, and I am still shocked when she throws out a long sentence or a new word.

We head to Mommy & Me music every other Tuesday for singing, dancing, and interpretive actions. This is a ministry that we have at our church, which has been going on for three (I think) years now. I started taking Judah when he was too young to do actions or sing along, and now that he is four, he still doesn't do actions or sing along. Here is a breakdown of how M&M usually goes: The 5 year olds stand in the middle like good examples and sing and do the actions. The 3-4 years olds sprint circles around the mommies and babies who are sitting around in a circle. Often times, they will dive under a table or hide in a bathroom. The 1-2 year olds do their best to avoid getting trampled by the older kids, occasionally spinning in circles to the music. The infants sleep in their car seats or lay on their mommy's laps. The mommies sing and do the actions. It is quite a sight!

I tell you this to give you an idea of why I am so shocked when I catch Judah or Mayah singing a song from Mommy & Me. This song is called Five Little Monkeys. If you didn't know the song, you wouldn't know that Mayah is singing at all. At first I thought she was scolding Judah for something. Enjoy:

Five little monkeys swinging from a tree,

teasing mister alligator, "Can't catch me!"

Along came mister alligator, quiet as can be

and snapped that monkey right out of the tree!

My two favorite moments: I love that when I ask her to sing, she goes back to stand at the spot where she was singing before I turned the camera on. It was as if she were performing on a stage. I also love when she is spinning circles and slips on a book. I love her.

Naughty Little Girl

2010-02-09T09:46:00.002-06:00

Who me? Yes, Mayah, you.

Mayah is my limit pusher, as I have mentioned many times before. She is beautiful and wonderful and fantastic...and naughty. She has mastered her innocent and sad faces perfectly. I really do feel remorse when I have to punish her. She's good, folks.

Mayah has also finally developed an attachment to her mama. For a long time, Mayah appeared to be indifferent to Will and I. She seemed to love us just as much as she loved everyone else in Ames. While other little girls were pining for their mommies, Mayah was leaping out of my arms to snuggle with the stranger sitting against the wall. Now, she can't handle the tragedies of life if I go to the bathroom without giving her an invitation. It is a clear injustice if I defer the responsibility of getting her some milk to Will. This girl LOVES her Mama.

The other day, the kids and I were getting ready to go somewhere. I bundled myself up first and went outside to start the car. I told Judah and Mayah to get their shoes on, and I would be right back. For some reason, the Suv was parked on the side of the road instead of in our driveway. I got inside and started to pull it backwards into the driveway so I wouldn't have to lug the kids an extra five steps to the road. I looked in my rear view mirror as I was driving backwards into the driveway and noticed the door was open. I slammed the brakes and jumped out of the car. Mayah was inches from my back tire, shoeless, coatless, and screaming because I was leaving her.

It was terrifying. I was so scared and so mad at the same time. All I could think about are the stories I have heard about moms backing over their kids. I love that she wants to be with me now, but this new desire and her tendency toward misbehaving can be dangerous. What am I going to do with this little girl?

Who Knew?

2010-02-04T18:25:00.002-06:00

So, I am either an amazing mother or completely clueless. Yep, those are your options...black and white...either or...which will you choose?

Judah is four years and two months old. He has zero interest in anything crafty. He doesn't like to draw, paint, collage, color, or cut. The only thing that can keep him occupied longer than five minutes is play dough. Whatever...I'm not worried about his development or attention span or anything really. I just rarely break out the craft supplies for him anymore because he will play with them for less time than it will take me to get them out.

Judah is, however, very interested in letters and reading. He knows what all of the letters are and what sound each letter makes. He is even reading a little bit (a very little bit). However, he simply refuses to work on writing. I have gotten preschool-like books from Target that we go through, but Judah always skips the writing letters parts. He just doesn't care, and I am okay with that...I mean the kid is only four. He will even rarely sit down at the table during preschool when it is time to work on worksheets. I'm not sure what else I have to tell you to get you to believe me that this kid has no interest in writing or drawing...I will assume I have made my point.

So tonight, Judah found some markers that GranDeb had gotten him for his second birthday. I went and got some construction paper for him to try them out, hustling as I assumed his interest would be held for a short time. He drew a city first and then stated that he was going to write his name. I stood behind him and was SHOCKED by what I witnessed. This boy has never written his name before. He has never had me show him how, nor did he stop to ask which letter was next. He just wrote it. Am I too amazed, or is this normal? Does a kid just decide he wants to write his name the way a kid decides he wants to be potty trained? What other things can this kid do? Maybe next time he says he wants to email someone, I will just step back and see what he can do. Or maybe he can fix supper tomorrow night or change the tire next time we get a flat. Oh the possibilities...

Like a Rolling Stone

2010-02-02T14:22:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I wonder at the parenting choices I make. Sometimes I say things that I think are funny. And sometimes Will tells me they aren't.

Are you aching for an example? Judah has really gotten past the "whiny" stage for the most part. Sure he still has his moments of scrunching up his face and pouting, but comparatively, he is quickly reaching big kid status. We occasionally have to remind him to use his big kid voice or take a deep breath. These are the grown-up ways to deal with a whiny kid, right? Well, in addition to those, sometimes I sing a little Rolling Stones to my kids when they get in the "but I want that" state.

No, you can't always get what you want.
You can't always get what you want.
You can't always get what you want.
And if you try sometimes, you might find
you get what you need.

I'm not sure why I get such joy out of singing this to my kids. Judah now sings it to Mayah when she whines...do you think less of me?

Okay, so this morning Judah really didn't want to go outside in the cold to get in the car for Mommy & Me. He just kept saying, "I don't wanna go outside. I don't wanna go! I wanna stay in here where it is warm." (This kid might not look like me, but he and I share the same brain.)
I went out to put Mayah and Liam in their car seats, and when I came back in, Judah was begrudgingly pulling his coat on and singing to himself:

I can't always get what I want.
I can't always get what I want.

It was so hard for me not to laugh. It was so sweet how he turned it around and was coping with his situation.

I am now picturing Judah in school singing this to his friends... or his teacher *gasp*...or me if I want him to do something.
Me: "Judah, I want you to pick up your room.
J: "But, Mama, you can't always get what you want..."

Coffins

2010-01-19T16:06:00.003-06:00

Before I begin, let me apologize for the quality of the following photos. The camera in my battery is dead, and I had to use my phone to capture this moment.

Judah has found a new favorite place to enjoy his cartoons. A few years ago, Will's dad made us a large blanket chest. It is fantastic, because I really like to have blankets ready at hand whilst I am watching tv. I would have been a prime candidate to receive a snuggie for Christmas, but alas.

Anyway, we have had this chest in our living room for four years. This week, after much Sesame Street watching, Oscar (Judah) has "moved" into this "trash can". He spends a lot of time in there these days. Who needs relax on a real couch when you can snuggle up in a pile of blankets in a coffin-like box? I think it is pretty cute until Mayah wants in there, too. That is when the blood bath ensues. That girl knows how to get what she wants.

Mayah, Bloody Mayah

2010-01-13T15:45:00.002-06:00

Mayah woke up this morning in a puddle of blood. The poor girl evidently gets massive nose bleeds in the middle of the night. Will and I seem to have passed our least desirable traits on to this girl. She gets carsick like me. Sometimes she vomits before we even get to the church, which is barely a ten minute drive. And now she gets Will's nose bleeds. This morning she had blood smeared across her face and caked in her nostrils. Obviously, she could have a lot worse problems. But who wants to wake up in a pool of blood?

I'm not sure my homemaking skills can remove the stains from this butterfly pillow. I guess it gives it character, right? I am just waiting for Judah to ask me why Mayah's butterflies are bleeding.

Worst Hair Scenario

2010-01-08T10:22:00.005-06:00

As you may have already noticed, Mayah has some curls. Her hair is adorable right after the bath or if I take the time to wet it down and do some scrunch action with my fingers. It is even kinda nice if I just brush it out, giving it some nice Farrah Fawcett waves.

However, it is atrocious in the morning and after naps.

This is what we woke up to this morning:

How does a mess like this even happen? She has to twirl it in her sleep. I can't think of any other explanation for the nappy weave that is my daughter's hair. It is a nightmare to brush out. I use a ton of detangler, which drips down onto her back and makes her squirm. I can't figure out a way to detangle it without winces of pain. I am open for suggestions (not including the unrealistic suggestion to wash it every morning...please take my life situation into account).

Help her...help me.

Beautiful Mayah

2010-01-05T13:35:00.003-06:00

Someone today told me, "Wow. Mayah has really gotten cute."

So are you saying she used to be ugly? What a poorly worded compliment.

Geesh, people.

The Comparison Game

2010-01-04T11:55:00.006-06:00

It's that time of year again! Time for me to compare and contrast my children against one another...in a healthy, non-competitive way :) What brings along these periodic comparisons? Well-baby check-ups! Liam had his nine month appointment today. In the words of Doctor Jack Swanson, "He is nearly perfect in every way." Like I didn't already know that.
Here are the nine month stats for each of my children:

Judah weighed in at 18 pounds, 8 ounces. He was 27 inches long and had a 46.5 centimeter head.

Mayah weighed in at a whopping 24 pounds, 7 ounces. She was 28 and a quarter inches long and had a 47.2 centimeter head.

Liam weighed in today at 21 pounds, 14 ounces. He is 29 and a half inches long and has a 47 centimeter head.

Judah is still my little runt. It is beginning to look like Liam will be my tallest, and Mayah could be the cook in the family? :)

Here are the pictures that I took on the day each child turned nine months.

Judah had two bottom teeth, and his top teeth were just beginning to emerge.Mayah had two enormous teeth on the bottom and two on top as well. She also had the most squeezable cheeks you have ever seen.Liam has six full teeth! He also has way more hair than Judah and Mayah.Look at that mischievous little smile...I just don't trust it.

Next is our standing photos. All three children were crawling and pulling themselves up at eight months. Judah and Mayah were both walking at ten months...I'd be alright if Liam doesn't follow this trend.
Seriously, look at those cheeks!
Lastly, is our monthly photo taken with the green blanket. I realized that I had taken one with Judah and Mayah with the blanket over their heads, so I made sure to get one with Liam, too!

Judah

Mayah Liam

So there you have it...three beautiful children.

Denver

2009-12-31T14:49:00.003-06:00

The day after Christmas, my mom, dad, Judah, Mayah, Liam, Lily, and I loaded up my cousin's van, braved the icy roads, and made our way to Denver. My older brother, Jeremy, lives in Denver with his wife, Shana. My sister, Jenny, lives in Montana with her husband, Aaron, and her daughter, Madeline. Denver is about a twelve hour drive from Iowa and Montana, so the Criswell family made plans to meet up there for Christmas this year.

This is a photo of all of the cousins. Madeline, Liam, Mayah, and Judah all got shirts with pictures of Lily's face on them. It was hilarious. My favorite is Judah's shirt because Lily's face resembles that of Aunt Jemima.

This is Madeline with her daddy, Aaron. We visited the Denver Aquarium on Tuesday. Maddie thought the loud parrot was pretty funny. Lily barely left Maddie's sight the entire trip.

This is Liam and I before he fell asleep. I like this picture because it shows how much my little blue-eyed blonde child does NOT look like me. Who is this kid?

Judah, Maddie, and Mayah were looking into a huge tank with sharks and other giant fish when a scuba diver swam up to where they were standing. She stood there and did sign language-like motions to them for about five minutes.

I love how blue Liam's eyes are in this picture next to my mom's shirt.

We got presents for the kids to open at the hotel. The three middle grand kids got Super Why costumes. Judah is Super Why, and Madeline and Mayah are Princess Pea. Judah wore his mask and cape the entire twelve hour trip home.

Jenny picked up tights out of Target's dollar aisle for Maddie and Mayah. Mayah loved them: one for her legs and one for her head. She was cheese-ing it up big time.

Jenny also bought the kids a Curious George Zoo board game. It was a lot of fun. Part of the game is to put on a mask and "escape" from the zoo. This is my pig mask.

We swam a lot while we were there. This picture was taken after swimming one day (this is the excuse I give you for my children all being semi-naked, when in reality, they are always naked.). It cracks me up that Lily, Jer, and my dad are making silly faces as was requested, and all three of my children are glued to the television. Ahh family time...

And finally, more television. I think the best part of the vacation for my children was that the tv was on the entire time we were in the hotel room. I hope that is not all they remember.

Catching Up

2009-12-31T10:36:00.003-06:00

Wow, it has been almost a month since my last blog. I'm gonna be honest...I forgot about you. Yep. I did. I will, therefore, try to catch you up on the life that you have been dying to read about. Here we go....

December was a crazy month. I am no closer to my goal of weight loss because I made it to the gym ONCE the entire month. Will is up nearly every morning by 5 to be at work or wrestling practice, and I am not about to be up by 3:30 or 4 just to get a workout in. Will gets home in time to take a quick rest and leave for practice but not long enough for me to get a workout in. He then gets home around 6:30 PM, which is usually my first chance to just rest from a full day of home-making. Could I workout in the evening? Yes. Do I have the energy or desire to workout during my first chance in the day to rest and be with my husband? No. It is all very discouraging. My sister-in-law promised to come over three times a week in December to watch the kids so I could go work out and made it once.

Two positives to end my weight loss goal topic: 1. Wrestling will be over at the end of February!! 2. I requested a twelve time pass from the "expensive gym" in town for Christmas. This gym is better than my gym because it provides childcare for $2 a kid and has classes. The passes expire January 31, so I will be motivated to get in there and use them up!

On to other news:
Christmas is over. Here is a quick recap of how we spent our holiday...Last Sunday, we traveled to Grinnell for Will's dad's family Christmas. This Christmas consisted of eating turkey sandwiches and opening presents. The kids went sledding with Uncle Shawn, which I believe is going to become an annual tradition. The kids got some great toys, and Will and I came away with a water bottle and a lottery ticket each.

Our next Christmas party was with Will's family on Christmas eve. We got together with the family and opened presents and then had soup. Everybody drew names for our Christmas exchange this year, which was a nice change for my bank account. I got aforementioned pass and Will got a wrestling jacket. We would usually go to our church's Christmas Eve service on this night, but this year it was canceled because of the weather. Bummer.

We spent Christmas day at home, which was the first time we had ever been home in the morning to open presents. It was a nice change! I will write more about our day later...my kids are getting hungry, and I have avoided them for long enough.

Maybe I will even find time later today to write and post photos. Maybe.

The Meaning of Christmas

2009-12-08T13:03:00.002-06:00

Every other Tuesday, I bundle up the kids and drag them to Story City for a program called MOPS. MOPS stands for Mothers Of Preschoolers and is a gathering of moms who have children who are not yet in school (in case you didn't guess from the title:). Most larger cities have a MOPS group, including Ames. I don't go to the Ames group because it is once a month during the evening, and there is no childcare provided. What's the point, right? If I am going to invest time into something, it is going to be something that gets the kids and I out of the house during the day. More than anything else, I am going to this group to drop my children off in their daycare center for two hours. The kids get to play, eat a snack, and learn a lesson about God. It really is a great program for the kids. Judah made an ornament today:We officially have one ornament on our tree...yes, we have a tree. The Owens Family has never braved a tree before. When Judah was one, we went to a friend's house where Judah pulled an ornament off of their tree and took a bite. The ornament shattered inside his mouth and cut him to pieces. I have since been too scared to put up our own tree. This avoidance approach has worked well for us up until yesterday. I guess four is the magic age when kids start to realize that we are the only ones not doing something. Judah has been very interested as of late in decorating any and everything, so he was jazzed when I got our tiny hand-me-down tree and said we could decorate it. Don't get me wrong, I am still playing it safe. Our tree is up off the ground, on top of our blanket chest. It is decorated by garland and beads...and now one ornament. Merry Christmas.

Back to MOPS...

Judah moved up to the four to five year old room last time and was not pumped about it. He is at least a foot shorter than every one in the class, which I am sure is intimidating, and he had to leave his bff, Zoe, behind in the three year old room. Today when I dropped him off, I was a bit worried that he would remember how miserable he was last time. We walked in to find them all playing with play-doh, and some kid says, "Hey, look! It's Judah! Hey, Judah, remember how you don't like us??" Come on, kid! Luckily it didn't phase him because there was play-doh to be manipulated.

I still haven't gotten to my favorite part of the experience. I walked into his classroom at the end of the session, and his teacher said, "Judah, tell your mama what God wants for Christmas." Judah responded, very enthusiastically, "A MIRROR!"
I was a bit confused and looked at his teacher for an explanation. Her look told me that she was surprised by his answer. "Judah, what was in the mirror?"
He thought about it. "Me?" Then he gained a little confidence. "Me, Mama! God wants me for Christmas!"
On the way home, I told Judah to let Mayah and Liam know that God wants them for Christmas.
"No, Mama. He just wants us for Christmas...my classroom."

I think the meaning of Christmas may have gone right over Judah's head.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

2009-12-07T13:42:00.003-06:00

Julie Andrews could be heard on my radio this morning. I don't share a joy for any of her favorite things. What a bunch of nonsense...whiskers on kittens..snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes? You had better believe if there was a snowflake caught on my eyelash , I would be blinking that thing out like crazy.

Regardless of how much the things in this song annoy me, it did get me thinking about some of my favorite things. I have compiled a list of some of my favorite things about my kids.

I love...

how the first thing Liam does in the morning when I lay him down to change his diaper is blink. He gets the biggest smile on his face and blinks two or three times while I blink back. It seems to be a secret Liam language, and I love it.
that Mayah apologizes when she runs into furniture or other inanimate objects. She very clearly says, "Sorry, Babe". I love that she doesn't stop to address the offended chair but continues to walk as she apologizes.
that Judah's body parts talk to him. His penis "tells" him that it is time to pee. His tummy "tells" him that it needs cookies. He encourages his booty to "PUSH" while sitting on the potty (even in public restrooms).
how well my children sleep. I have been blessed with sleepers.
that Judah tells jokes that make absolutely no sense and that Mayah laughs hysterically at the "punch line". I love that they are both seeking attention in different ways.
hearing Liam coo from the back seat. He is seated so he can see Judah and Mayah, and sometimes I think he is trying so hard to just talk to his family.
that Judah says really funny (and sometimes inappropriate) things without even knowing it. Today he kept yelling at Mayah to "eat his nuts." I had to have him repeat himself four times before realizing that he was pretending to be a squirrel.
how my children love people. I have somehow raised children who jump out of my arms to go to the nursery or to be held by people they may or may not recognize. Mayah is famous for sitting in random laps at the library during story time. Last week at church, Judah ran into the middle of a random group of young men and grabbed a guy's leg. I walked up to the group and asked the guy if he knew my son. None of them had ever seen him before. After prying Judah from the guy's calf, I asked Judah what he was doing. "I needed a hug." I love him.
how loved they make me feel. I have raised cuddlers, which I adore. Judah tells me at least ten times a day that we are best friends and "I just wanna be with ya, Mama."

Okay, so there are definitely more things that I love about my kids. These are just a few of my favorite things.

Cold

2009-12-05T09:44:00.002-06:00

I am sitting inside my warm house today, looking out the window at the frosted grass. In about an hour, I will have to bundle up the kids in their winter gear, force them into their freezing car seats, drive to the high school, struggle with them into the gymnasium, and then prepare to do it all again. I hate cold. I really really HATE cold. Here is a list of things that are allowed to be cold: ice cream, soda, perishable items, ice cubes, hmmm...I will add to the list as I think of more.

I don't hate winter. Winter is fine. I am even ok with icy roads. If it could be 70 degrees out while I am driving 20 mph on the icy roads, I wouldn't complain. I don't like the way my cheeks feel when the wind pierces them. I don't like the way my fingers and toes become numb. I don't like that I can't jump in my car and drive to get some milk without ten minutes of preparation. I don't like that I force my children to stay inside all day because lugging three small children around in these conditions seems unbearable.

Why do I live in Iowa if I am such a whiner? It is because of you suckers. I have a proposal. Let's sell all of our assets and pool our money together to buy an island. This is for you, family, friends, and church. You all have to come. You can also invite your friends and family, but if they can't come it is okay, because I will be there to keep you company. Our lives can be exactly the same, only without the misery of December, January, February, and sometimes March. It will be nothing like a commune, and I won't force you to drink kool-aide. It will be more like the Dharma Initiative (only without the smoke monster, the natives, or Ben).

Who's in? Come on..give me something to hold on to this winter..even if it is a load of crap.

I hate cold.

Liam

2009-11-30T16:06:00.008-06:00

For real, have you ever seen a cuter little Liam? Liam will be eight months old tomorrow. EIGHT. He is crawling on his belly (army crawling) and is all over the place. He is officially my earliest crawler. I'm not sure I was ready for all of the movement going on in this house. He loves to locate all of the cords in the house and scurry toward them to find a place for them in his already saliva filled mouth. The kid already has six razor sharp teeth. He is still a great sleeper, too. My boy sleeps at least twelve hours every night and takes two or three naps during the day, each lasting an hour or more.

Liam loves his papa. He lights up the second Will walks in the door.

Judah's favorite thing to do with Liam is to grab him by both legs and drag him across the room, mostly to get him away from Judah's beloved toys. Mayah's favorite thing to do with Liam is to give him his bottle, even though he doesn't need the help any more. So, there you have it. Liam is beautiful and wonderful and sweet and fantastic.

My Little Comedian

2009-11-23T09:49:00.002-06:00

Last night, Judah decided to break out of his normal bedtime routine to play a little joke on Will. When I say little, I mean tiny and almost not even worth calling a joke. When Will came out of the bedroom, he told me what Judah did and explained how hard Judah laughed at himself. I love when a kid laughs at his own joke. Pure joy.

This morning, I heard Judah leave his bedroom and run down the steps to wake up Liam. I reluctantly rolled out of bed and headed down the steps. When Judah heard me coming into the kitchen, he threw open Liam's door and jumped out.

"MAMA!! Last night, Papa said, 'Good night, Buddy.' And I said, 'Good night, Grandma!!' HAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!"

"Wow, Judah. That's pretty silly. Why did you call Papa 'Grandma'?"

"I WAS PRETENDING HE WAS GRANDMA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

You get the gist. Maybe the lamest joke of the century. I love that he was waiting all night to tell me this joke. I love that it was the first thing he thought of when he saw me. I love that he giggled so violently.

Man, I love my kids.

PARTY #4!!

2009-11-17T12:42:00.008-06:00

Judah turned four years old last Thursday. Because Judah and Mayah both have November birthdays, we will be celebrating their lives with our families this Saturday. I decided to throw Judah a party on his birthday during the morning with his friends.

He decided that he wanted a "Letter" party this year. Yes, very scholarly, I know. We decorated the house in his favorite color, red. I bought streamers and hung wherever he pointed. Then we baked cupcakes and decorated them with letters. Each cupcake had the first letter of someone's name who was coming to the party. "J"udah got a "J" cupcake and so on. Each friend also got a sack with his or her letter on it. The sacks were full of fun things to take home.
To finish off the letter theme, we cut out squares with letters of each child's first name. The kids played a game where they had to find their letter
before they could have a cupcake. Judah had a

blast getting the house ready and planning
games for his buddies. There were eleven kids at his party. It got a little crazy.

Judah's friends in attendance were Zoe and Elijah VH, Mylie, Emmett, and Raya M, Jaxson and Lincoln M, Titus H, Kenan T, and Mayah and Liam. We are blessed to have such great friends!

Judah really scored with presents! He got some great dinosaur gifts, a cool barn set, a book, helicopter, and some other little toys. He has been playing with them nonstop! I think the morning party is officially the way to go. It was just like a play group, only with purpose. The kids played in the play room and then had cupcakes and ice cream. The party started at 10 and they went home for lunch around 11:30. Sure, cupcakes at 10:30 isn't ideal, but it really was a success.

Feeling Useful is Better Than Feeling Important

2009-11-16T13:07:00.006-06:00

Those are the nuggets of wisdom I just heard the narrator on Thomas the Tank Engine impart on said show. Hmmm...I'm beginning to believe Will's theory about the show being written by communists.

Anyway...

The other night, I asked Judah and Mayah to begin calming down before bed. I could not get them to stop running, let alone calm down. Will, assuming I had everything under control, went upstairs to shower and left me alone to deal with them on my own. I took this video to show him what he was missing:

Also...

I wanted to let you all see how precious Liam is when he is smiling and grunting. What I really captured is my oldest son being the victim, my daughter being the bully, and my youngest being oblivious. Enjoy.

In case you are wondering whether just asking for the ball worked, it didn't.

Halloween Party

2009-11-04T13:28:00.005-06:00

Will and I were invited to a Halloween party by some friends in our small group. Like so often happens in our relationship, neither of us any idea what we were going to do until a few hours before the party began. Will's first goal was to be Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords, but the glasses he had got all bent up when I was popping the lenses out of them on the way to the party. Ooops. So instead, we came up with Party Will. Will was dressed up like he would if he ever agreed to go to parties. My clever man.
I went to WalMart about an hour before the party and threw together my Rocker Jess outfit. Total cost: under $10.

Above is a picture of Party Will and good friend, Hippie Josh. Will really seems to be enjoying his Red Bull.

My friend, Krista, was Sandy from Grease. Cory, Josh's wife, was also a hippie. The girls had lots of fun playing games and dancing.

My favorite costume of the night went to my friend, Kris, and her Mom Jeans.

My Kids Really Bug Me

2009-11-04T13:05:00.003-06:00

The Owens children had a great time during Halloween this year. Judah decided that he really needed to be a spider, and that he really needed to wear the same costume that he wore when he was two. Sadly, the costume marked 12-18 months still fit the little guy. He was elated. Judah then dictated that his siblings needed to also be bugs. Luckily, Cousin Maddie had sent Mayah her costume from last year which happened to be a love bug. That left one costume to be bought: a bumblebee for Liam. This is a great photo because it shows Judah doing his thing. He often takes it upon himself to make sure that Mayah and Liam are smiling or looking or doing whatever he deems necessary by guiding their faces. I'm waiting for Mayah to sock him someday. She was too busy eating candy to care in this photo (notice the puffed out cheeks).

This is Judah's scary face. His tongue was moving from side to side because he was practicing catching bugs with his tongue. I am pretty sure he was confusing spiders with frogs.

This was the best shot I could get of Mayah's costume. That girl loves her some candy.

I was pumped to get to dress Liam in a baby costume. This Halloween marked my first chance to get to dress a non-walking baby. Loved it. He was so sweet.

The kids spent Friday begging at the local stores in downtown Ames. It was great because they were open from 10 to 2, so it wasn't cold and dark like so many Halloweens can be. There was even a professional photographer taking photos of kids and giving free 5x7s. I am excited to see their photo. I think that this is the way to go for toddlers and preschoolers. We tried to go Halloween night, too, but during the day was so much easier for some reason. Plus, there weren't a bunch of crazy goblins or guts and blood to scare the kids. Day Halloween gets my stamp of approval.

The Great Pumpkin Hunt

2009-10-29T15:54:00.006-05:00

The Owens Family took a trip to the Berry Patch near Nevada to get some pumpkins.
Judah enjoyed riding in the cart,
pulled by our good friend, Scott.
Scott's lovely wife, Krista, was
on camera duty, so we failed to get her in any good shots. But believe me, she is lovely! Mayah lasted all of ten seconds in the cart. I got to carry her the rest of the way to the patch. Our goal was to pick up a pumpkin per kid. Last year, Judah picked out the tiniest, white pumpkin in the whole batch. It was impossible to do anything with. This year, I didn't hold my breath as we set the kids loose.

To the right is a photo of Mayah with the pumpkin
man. Finally, something that she enjoyed!

Mayah took time out of the great pumpkin hunt to pose for the camera. The girl loves to pose.

I think our favorite part of the day was watching the kids struggle across the dirt clumps, vines, and enormous pumpkins.
Please note Judah's pumpkin carrying method: one arm at the base, one arm wrapped around the stem.

The challenge of the day was getting Liam to pose with a pumpkin. The ground was uneven, so sitting up was nearly impossible. We ended with Scott holding Liam. Liam only tumbled to the ground once. Success!

We came home with three tiny, discolored pumpkins. I believe our total was $2.75. It was almost embarrassing paying with our check card.

Another fall tradition under our belt!

Six Months Across the Board

2009-10-27T17:12:00.006-05:00

Liam was a little late getting his six month appointment, but we finally got him in! We like to make comparisons. Yep. Go ahead and let us know how poor our parenting skills are. We can take it. Anyhow, here is what we got:

Judah Roderick:

At his sixth month appointment, Judah weighed 16 pounds and six ounces. He was 26 inches long, and his head was 44.4 centimeters.

Mayah Evangeline:At six months, Mayah weighed 20 pounds and eight ounces. She was 28 inches long, and her head was 44.5 centimeters.

Liam Garrison:

At six months, Liam is 19 pounds and three ounces. He is 27.5 inches long, and his head is 44.6 inches.
It is astounding to me how different all of my children look. Who are these kids? Judah is our little squirt. He didn't weigh what Mayah and Liam did at six months until he was twelve months old. He was still wearing 6 to 12 month shorts when he was two. Liam and Mayah were both in 12 month clothes before six months.

So there you have it: contrast and compare.

Pull Your Vestigation

2009-10-18T15:44:00.004-05:00

Judah likes to sing. Judah likes to sing in repetition. Judah likes to sing the incorrect words in repetition.

Today I was entertained by a rendition of "Know Your Destination". You may recognize this tune from the beloved show, Thomas and Friends.

Judah's lyrics: Every time you leave the station, pull your vestigation.

Correct lyrics: Every time you leave the station, get to know your destination.

Thomas has some good moments, but man, are his songs lame...and a little creepy.

I enjoyed most of all how Judah ended on a high pitch, vibrato note. It was very final. Beautiful.

Sad Sight

2009-10-16T18:35:00.002-05:00

So I have this problem...a disability one might say. For a reason unknown to me, I am unable to bring myself to grocery shop if there is still something left in the house to eat. Last night we had what was our final possible meal: oatmeal and apples. Nutritious and delicious!

This is a picture to give you an idea of how far this disability of mine reaches: What you see is not uncommon.

I really dislike shopping of all kinds. Grocery shopping is especially hard on me because of the amount of time that purchase stays with me. It is one thing to buy a coat I will wear for five years. It is a completely different thing to buy a pound of hamburger that I might forget about in the back of the fridge. I hate to waste things. In a perfect world I would make up a plan for the week of exactly what we will need and buy it and nothing else. But what mother of three children three and younger has time for that? I would like to meet her. It always baffles me when I see a cupboard stocked with chips, canned goods, and cooking needs like spices at a friends house. Do people really just walk through the store and think, "Hmmm...I might someday in a month or two need lemon juice and evaporated milk. Better buy it today!" This thought process is totally lost on me. If I see a fun recipe that calls for cumin, you had better believe I need to drive to the store to buy cumin.

This really is an unfortunate problem. Sometimes I am hungry for an item we don't have. Sometimes someone comes over to watch our kids and assumes we have fallen on hard times. Sometimes we get to the place where oatmeal is our only option. Will my children grow up and only remember empty cupboards? Will they grow to despise apples because I make them eat them all before I will buy a new type of fruit? Does Will make secret trips to the store just so he can eat something other than a pop tart for lunch?

I will go shopping today. I will go shopping today. I will go shopping today. My children need to eat...

Preschool Debut

2009-10-07T15:23:00.004-05:00

Today was Judah's first day of preschool. I wasn't sure if I was going to send Judah to preschool or not until my friend, Cory, came up with a great plan. She and I, along with eight other moms, all have children who could be enrolled in preschool but are not for one reason or another. I know that it is important for Judah to have the preschool experience if I am going to enroll him in school later on...believe me, I am not anti-establishment. He needs to learn to share, take turns, raise his hand, and do all of those other great things he refuses to do at home.

So, my friends and I put together our own little preschool. We are meeting at the church in one of the classrooms on Wednesday mornings. We have a schedule set up so that each mom teaches, assists, sits in the nursery, and has five days off in a semester. I had this morning off. I spent my free time at Hobby Lobby. It was glorious. My favorite part of this arrangement is that I can leave Mayah and Liam in the nursery during my days off, so I really do get a morning to myself. Plus, I totally trust the moms who are teaching Judah.

Judah came home with a picture that was titled, "This is Me on My First Day of Preschool." It was a circle and some squiggles. I asked him what it was, and he said it was Gordon shunting some coal cars. Whatever.

The Roll

2009-10-05T19:07:00.006-05:00

I thought I was safe. Liam was asleep. Mayah was asleep. Judah was occupied. It was time for me to shower. I took my time: washed and conditioned my hair, soaped up my dirty parts, shaved my legs..it was relaxing.

I stepped out of the shower, toweled up, and walked into my bedroom to find some clothes. Judah was sitting on our bed with what used to be a nicely put together roll of toilet paper.When I walked over to the other side of the bed, I saw where the rest of the toilet paper had gone. Judah explained that he was creating fireworks and putting them out. Whatever that means.

After he was finished, I discovered his end game. The little stinker just wanted to cardboard roll to play pirate. Aarrgh.

God's Gift

2009-10-01T10:27:00.003-05:00

My sister-in-law, Caitlyn, was over the other day and captured this photo of Judah. I think I like it so much because it is such a picture of innocence. Believe me, Judah is far from innocent! Last night he was taking all of Mayah's clothes out of storage and making a pile to jump in. When I scolded him, he replied, "But I closed the door so you wouldn't see" as though that made it okay. Just this morning he pummeled his sister because he felt it was his turn to read Big Red Barn. Someday those incidents won't be so fresh in my mind. Someday I will see this picture and think, 'What a sweet boy I had.' Someday I will be content in the lies I believe.

2009-09-30T12:29:00.003-05:00

I was recently looking through photos on my phone and came across one that made me giggle all over again. A while back, I was upstairs getting dressed while the kids were undoubtedly watching something on IPTV. As Liam was still only a few months old, I never left him alone for long.

I was gone maybe five minutes when I came back down to a fantastic scene. Judah was bending over his baby brother, putting on the finishing touches. When he noticed me watching from the stairs, he took a step back and presented him in a very Vanna White-like fashion.

Me: What's going on down here, Big Guy?

Judah: I decorated Liam.

Me: Decorated him as a what?

Judah: As a Liam.

I think my favorite part is the Mountain Dew bottle tipped up near the mouth as though he were just sipping away.

Liam has since accompanied me upstairs.

My Redneck Experience

2009-09-28T12:17:00.004-05:00

Friday night I was sitting in my living room when I received the call. Mama C was volunteering at the Iowa Speedway for their Missions of Mercy extravaganza and wanted to know if I wanted to get my wisdom teeth pulled. I had been informed this May that my bottom two wisdom teeth were impacted and needed to come out. Not having any dental insurance, I didn't really jump at the command. I had the dentist write me a referral to Iowa City and stashed it away for the coming years. According to Dr What's-His-Name, my teeth were going require an actual surgeon because of the way they were positioned. Both teeth were laying sideways with their crowns pushing against the teeth next to them. Both teeth also had curled roots, which aren't easy to extract.

So, I looked at Will and exclaimed, "I'm gonna go get my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow." Will asked one or two questions and I was off to Newton to sleep on Mama C's couch. Mama woke me up at 5:30 to get ready and out the door. It was a dilemma to decide what to wear. It was raining outside, so I wanted to be warm and comfy, but I didn't want to look like I was white trash. I don't know why it mattered. I mean, I was preparing to stand in line for free dental care like the rest of white trash Iowa, but I felt like people needed to know that I wasn't gross...I just didn't have dental care.

So I finally decided on the appropriate outfit, and we headed to the WalMart parking lot to pick up my little brother, Josh (yeah, throwing WalMart in there doesn't make me any less white trash). Since my mom was a volunteer, she took us through the volunteer gate, bypassing the 100 cars that had been in line for hours already. She then walked up through some back doors and pointed the way to the beginning of the line. Josh and I walked over, and as we turned around, we saw hundreds of people running for the line. They had been let out of the holding pen seconds after we walked to the front of the line. As we were standing there, some lady asked me what time we had to get there to be first in line. I answered, "Six fifteen." She replied,"I got here at 4:30...how did you get in front of me?" "Errrr, what was the question?"

Now for the experience: They led us into a large room where we were given papers to fill out and rows of chairs to sit in. Josh and I sat at the back of the chairs and began filling out our papers. People were to shift chairs as others were let in. At one point, Josh looked at me and said, "It smells like McDonald's in here." He was right. Blech.

The nurses took our blood pressure and asked some "are you allergic" questions, and we were shuttled into a new line. This line led us into a different room with more chairs to shift through. After those chairs, we were led into a room with actual dentists. My dentist looked at my teeth and asked what I wanted done. I showed her my referral note and she sent me over to a different line. They told me that I was lucky I was early, because the dentist don't do major oral surgery like this later in the day but would be looking for something to do early on. I was happy to keep them busy.

Next, I was led to a different building where x-rays were taken. Then I was led through building after building past hundreds of dentists until we reached the Oral Surgeon section. I sat down and the rest is history.

My dad came and picked me up after all was completed. We stopped at HyVee Drugstore to get the meds I was prescribed (which were free, too). Then I drove home. Yep, I drove the hour back to Ames right after surgery. I was doing great until I was about ten minutes out and the numbness started wearing off. I pulled onto the last stretch of road and felt blood dripping down my chin. I was a MESS by the time Judah opened the door for me. Poor kid.

Now I am swollen and bruised. The worst part of the whole deal is that I don't have a dentist to do follow-up work with. I have no idea if I should still be spitting blood or bruised so badly. Granted, I had a pretty invasive surgery. He had to remove part of my jawbone to get to the teeth and remove the roots separately after they broke off in my gums.

So here is a photo of what I look like two days after surgery. It's not pretty.

I guess that's what you get when you get free dental care.

Glorious

2009-09-23T13:43:00.002-05:00

Today the kids and I went to a family day at our lame-o mall in Ames. They put a kid's section in where the fountain used to be about six months ago. Today was the ribbon cutting. Yep, a ribbon cutting. It was e-barrising (anyone?). To go along with the ribbon cutting, there were free cookies, free play on the lighted dance floor, story time by Ames' own Bra-less Gerri, and crafts. I love me some free fun!

As we were leaving the mall, a mountain of white toilet paper caught my eye. I thought it looked like something my children would like to see, so I turned right and set off to gawk. This house got rocked with toilet paper. I was instantly embarrassed by all of the shoddy t.p.ing jobs I have pulled off in my life. It really was a thing of beauty.

I decided to find out what Judah thought, so I asked, "Judah, what do you think?"

Judah replied in his innocence, "It's glorious."

Either my son is just ridiculously easy to impress or I am raising a troublemaker. I am a little afraid.

Dumbo

2009-09-20T23:18:00.002-05:00

Judah has developed a real attachment to the lovable cartoon, Dumbo. Has anyone else watched this Disney abomination in your adult years? It is awful. I'm not even talking about the old school animation. The movie is old, so I can live with the crappy effects. I am talking about the weird content of the movie that I must have blocked out when I was a child.

Point One: Dumbo is blatantly mocked and abandoned by "adults" because of his big ears. After his mama gets thrown in the clink, the other elephants proclaim that he is on his own. It boggles my mind because Dumbo is clearly supposed to be a baby or else he would be able to talk.

Point Two: Baby Dumbo gets drunk. I totally didn't get it when I was little. I remember thinking the whole Elephants on Parade song and dance was creepy, but I was blissfully unaware that Dumbo is hammered. This is possibly Judah's favorite part of the flick. He is beside himself with giggles every time he sees the pink elephants. It is quite adorable...but creepy.

Point Three: The crows are clearly a ridiculous stereotype of the uneducated African American of the day. "I be done seen 'bout everything"? Come on, people. And why do they have to smoke cigars?

Point Four: Why on earth is Mrs. Dumbo let out of the loony bin? She attacks a child for making fun of her son and is let out after Dumbo becomes rich and famous? What kind of message are we sending here?

I am not sure who got Dumbo for Judah. (I think if was Uncle Worm:) It is just a weird movie. Am I just looking at it in the wrong light? I mean, millions of people have loved Dumbo for decades...I just don't get it.

Naked Babies

2009-09-16T16:01:00.003-05:00

My children love to be naked. Love it. It always reminds me of Dana Carvey's stand up when Judah runs in sans clothes. I expect him to shout, "Iiiitttt's NAKED TIME!!" It is partly my fault. I potty train my kids by letting them run around without pants on so they can figure out how to know that pee and poop go in the potty. It is a frustrating process, but it cuts down on the numbers of diapers and pull ups I have to buy :)

Mayah has begun to potty train this week. Mugh. She has quickly realized that poop does not belong in her undies or diaper. Last night, we heard Mayah screaming nearly an hour after we had put her and Judah to bed. They share a room, so when Mayah screams, Judah is awake. I decided to go up pretty quickly to see if I could calm her down. The scene I walked in to will forever be burned into my memory.

The light to the closet had been turned on by Judah. He was bouncing in his bed without his clothes on. I then let my eyes wander to Mayah. She was naked and holding her diaper in both hands. When she saw me, she held her diaper up and said, "Poop." Sure enough, she had pooped in her diaper, taken it off, and was holding it in her hands.

So to recap: two naked children, poop, and bouncing. Why did Judah decide to get naked?
How did Mayah manage to take her shirt off? Did Judah climb into her crib and help her? What was Mayah going to do with that poop?

I guess the positive would be that she knew the poop shouldn't be in her diaper. The negatives? Use your imagination.

People Kissing?

2009-09-10T20:40:00.003-05:00

The other day, Judah was giving me some sweet kisses on the face.
"I'm giving you baby kisses, Mama."
"Ooooh, thank you, Judah. I like these! What do big kid kisses look like?"
Judah proceeds to give me a kiss on the lips. Then, "Do you want a people kiss?" (Judah calls any adult a 'people'.)
"What does a people kiss look like, Judah?"
"We open our mouths."

I passed.

Where does a three year old get this? Will and I are careful not to turn on adult shows until after our kids go to bed. Are our babysitters making out in front of them? Should I even bother figuring this out???

That Really Blows

2009-09-07T09:07:00.005-05:00

Yesterday started out as a pretty good day. Church was great. Neither Will or I had any teaching, announcement, or greeting responsibilities so we could just go in and worship. Someone even brought in some amazing fruit pizza for everyone to enjoy. Mmmm mm! After church, the family and I tried out a new restaurant with our good friend, Sarah Mull, whom we hadn't spoken to in quite a while. The company was good, but the lunch itself left a bit to be desired. We went to Q'doba, a new Mexican restaurant in Ames. It is very similar to Pancheros in that you go through an assembly line ordering process. The thing that sucks about those places is that sometimes the workers get annoyed if I want to order for me AND Will. Why would I ever put them through such an inconvenience? I got up to the front of the line, and the girl asked me how many kid's meals I wanted. I explained that I had never been to a Q'doba, so it might take me more than three seconds to figure out what I want. I ended up ordering one kid's meal for Judah and Mayah to share and ordered Will's burrito. She then skipped on to the next person before I could tell her what I wanted, so there was an order of food between my food. It wouldn't have been an issue, but they were so rude about everything. It might be a while before we try that place again.

Moving right along with our day...Mama C called and decided she really wanted to see the kids, so we drove down to Altoona and switched out car seats in the Adventureland parking lot. She took Judah and Mayah home with her, and we drove home with Liam in tow. Since we had the afternoon to ourselves, Will enjoyed a day of fantasy football drafting while we watched LOST season 1 for the seventh time.

So, Jess, what is it that really blows?? Chill, I'm getting there. The day seemed to be going my way for the most part. It really had been quite pleasant. We had plans that night to play games with some good friends, so around 7:30, we packed up our son and headed to Story City. As I was nearing the city limits, I felt the SUV start to drag and pull to the right followed by a flapping noise. Will wisely suggested we pull off and check on what we both already knew was true. We were on the side of the road with a blown tire and no spare. 'Geeze, Jess, it seems pretty foolish to drive around with no spare. Where was it?' Well, friends, our spare just so happened to already be on the back left tire spot.

We called our friend to come and get us, and while we were waiting, a car stopped. The people in the car were very helpful. The big guy dropped to his knees and started taking off our tire before asking if we needed help. The other guy immediately got on his phone and started calling tire places with our tire number. Before they left, the big guy instructed us to take EVERYTHING out of our car before we left it. "Teenagers will break your windows out for a cool looking pair of sunglasses." In a panic, I stuffed my bag with everything that wasn't bolted down. Stupid teenagers. How dare they?? Well, after they left and we discussed the man's instructions, we realized that he was a police officer in Cedar Rapids. They threat level went down a notch.

We enjoyed a fun evening of games with our friends and got a ride home at the end of the night. I am thankful that we didn't have Judah and Mayah with us during this fiasco, and I am thankful that I wasn't alone. It is now 10am on Labor Day, and Will is spending his morning looking for someone who carries our tire size. Poor guy. That really blows.

To Bathe or Not to Bathe

2009-09-05T09:36:00.004-05:00

I finally went for it. Mayah is 21 months old and had some long, ugly hair. She had the weird, mullet type layers that a baby's hair grows in. You know, short in the front and long in the back. If I washed her hair EVERY morning, she had the most beautiful curls I could have imagined. But come on, who other than a new mother of one child bathes her child every day? My kids are lucky if they get baths three times a week. Poor Liam has only been bathed twice in five months. (Okay, please note that I exaggerate.)

Okay, not really...but I am astounded by my own lack of motivation to bathe my children. I don't want to have gross kids, it is just such a chore to clean three children. When Judah was born, I gloried in giving him an infant bath every single night. It was sweet...I was naive. When Mayah came along, she got a bath maybe every other night. When she and Judah were finally able to bathe together, it became an every other night thing with a definite bath on Saturdays. Liam came along and upset the fruit basket. I try to get Mayah and Judah in every other night, but Mayah is at the age where she HATES water in her face (unless we are playing with water outside...then she can't get enough). Unless there is applesauce in the hair, a wash cloth will usually suffice. I am raising the stinky kid in class.

Moving right along to my point: Mayah was not getting sufficient bath times, so I decided it was time to give her ratty hair some help. I gave her her first hair cut. Here is the ridiculously long before picture :

So, when you go about cutting dry hair that normally curls, here is a reminder: it dries a ton shorter than where you cut it. Duh. I totally knew that, right? Well, for some reason I forgot. I chopped Mayah's beautiful curls so short! Here are our after pictures:

Well, Mayah is beautiful. There is no denying that. Her hair is short enough that she won't need it washed unless it is sticky and gross. Another normal parent duty avoided.

I'm baaaack?

2009-09-04T09:39:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I realize that I have been a worthless blogger of late. Let me tell you a tale about our computer and internet frustrations...

I like the internet. As a stay at home mom, it is sometimes the only "interaction" I have with the outside world until Will comes home from work. Don't pity me. Some days it is for the best. Sometimes all I need is to check my Facebook page or read some blogs to get my real people fix. I don't feel like it is asking much. When we moved into our current location, my sister-in-law, Caitlyn, decided that her year old laptop needed replacing. She was going to be a sophomore in college, and her Dell just wasn't all she could have dreamed it would be. For example, it didn't have Microsoft Word (here is where I normally roll my eyes). Caitlyn bought a new computer, and the Owens family got a year old hand-me-down. Not a bad deal, eh?

Our annoyance with this computer began right from the start. Everything about it worked fine until you decided you needed to use the bathroom, check on a neglected child, or attend to a child-centered catastrophe. If any of the above distractions took long enough for the screen to hibernate, all was lost. You would be forced to shut the entire operation down and try again. Not a big deal, right? It was a free computer...no complaints.

Months and months later, we had grown accustomed to our one great computer affliction. Then we noticed that the cord to recharge the battery began to fray. For three or four months, we could move the computer and just jiggle the cord if the correct wires within the cord were no longer touching. We even got some electrical tape to try to get those wires to become permanent friends. After a while, it became apparent that the computer could no longer be moved freely. We stationed the laptop on our kitchen counter. We even sat on dining room chairs if we wanted to watch something on Hulu. We were committed to this computer.

The cord finally gave up it's last breath. We mourned the allotted amount of time and soon became an internet-free household. Suck. I was able to remain connected to the cooler half of the world by weekly visits to Ames library. Have you ever seen the people who sit at the library computers all day? I am nearly positive that half of them are homeless and the rest are at the library completing community service. I'm not sure how I am to be classified in this group...I would like to think I had my own unaffiliated classification. Yes...that is what I choose to believe.

After researching the price of computer cords and realizing that we would need to budget it into our sad excuse for "miscellaneous items" savings, my mother-in-law graciously offered to take our computer to some techy acquaintances to see if they had a cheap cord laying around. Mama O came through, and for the past week we have been enjoying the luxuries of the internet from our home. It has been a good run...or at least it was for the first day.

The computer mysteriously came home with all sorts of new troubles. As she powers on, four different things pop up to tell me that programs are either not running anymore or cannot be found. After I finally close out of all of the crap that can no longer run (or be un-installed successfully), I finally get to a place where I can click on the internet. It runs one out of four times. Most of the time, I have to restart the computer to get the internet to work for me. If it does work, it kicks me offline at periodic moments of its choosing. I am thoroughly astounded that I have been able to list my woes to you with no computer interruptions. I think it is teasing me.

So there you have it: The tale of why I suck at blogging and have left all of you hanging around waiting for my next intoxicating installment. I will try with all of my might to fight through the evil tricks of this technological monster. I am not this easily beaten.

This Little Piggy Went Wah Wah Wahhh!

2009-07-16T10:41:00.005-05:00

Last night was a bit stressful for me. Judah needed to be at VBS by 6, which meant that he needed to be finished with supper by 5:30. This poses a problem at our house, because he knows that Curious George is on while Mama makes supper from 5-5:30. How dare I try to change the system? My ridiculous solution to this problem was to allow Judah to watch his beloved curious monkey while he feasted upon a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. TV and the responsibility of eating or concentrating on anything else do not go together at our house. We may never be one of those families that can order a pizza to watch with a good movie. When the TV is on, Judah is in the zone.

So, my house was in a frenzy. I had just gotten the excersaucer out of the garage for Liam, which takes up a large area in our tiny living room. Joining the excersaucer, was a bouncy seat, a swing, and multiple toys from the other two children. As I was running back and forth trying to get Judah fed and focused, Mayah decided she needed milk NOW! Mayah is not completely verbal yet, so the way she lets you know she needs to feed her addiction to fluids is by grabbing your leg and pushing her cup against you. She is relentless.

Somehow, in the mess of it all, my pinkie toe became the victim in a very unfortunate accident. It really is all a blur now, but I somehow tripped or jammed my toe against the wall or a toy. My brain has spared me the constant replay of this incident by blocking the whole scenario out of my mind. It's just too painful...

So, I have taken a picture of my ugly feet (all apologies) so you can all give me your deepest sympathies. Please focus on the right pinkie toe...the swelling...the bruising...the pain and suffering...

A Few More Memories

2009-07-15T14:27:00.004-05:00

Now that my sister and her daughter, Madeline, have been gone for nearly a month, I have more pictures to share. My mom, sister, and I took our memory cards to Walgreen's before Jenny left and put all of our pictures on one disc. My mom brought the disc up this weekend!
This is a sideways photo of Madeline Rose. It is sideways because I couldn't figure out how to flip it for real (side note: Usual Suspects was on the CW this weekend. I would have been interested to see how they pulled that one off with all of the swearing.)

Liam has the bluest eyes I have ever seen. I love them.

This was the evening of our "all cousin birthday party". Madeline fell asleep in Jenny's arms at the supper table.

This was right after Maddie woke up. She was a bit somber and not that into opening her presents. Luckily, she woke up a little just in time for bed.

I miss them already. The worst part is that I don't even know when I will get to see them again. Jenny and Maddie come to visit once or twice a year, which is why we had the all cousin birthday party. Judah and Mayah got to open birthday presents from Aunt Jenny since she won't see them in November, and Liam got some clothes in celebration of his birth. Lily got a bunch of presents, too. We had a great time.

Transformers- Rubbish in Disguise

2009-07-12T15:40:00.004-05:00

Will and I got a babysitter to come to our house last night after the kids went to bed so we could go on a date. We were debating between a movie or dinner because you really only get to do one when your babysitter doesn't come until 8. We chose to eat a light supper and then pig out on some sinfully buttered popcorn at the movie. As my title suggests, we chose to see Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen. Our reasoning behind this was that there weren't very many shows we wanted to see, and of those we would consider, this was the one that would most benefit from the theater setting.

The thing about the Transformers is that Will and I both grew up playing with the toys and watching the cartoon. I really don't understand the appeal of the movies if you don't have some sort of childhood memory linked to them. If someone were to say to me, "Jess, let's go see a film about giant alien robots who fight other alien robots on our planet while spewing forth a variety of corny catch phrases", I would probably be skeptical. I'm not saying I would turn him or her down, because I like a good action film. But if I had watched the first one for the movie and story line alone, I would not have wasted my time with the second one. But alas, I did.

The first problem with this movie, is that the beginning and ending plot is all about teenage love. They begin the film with that "say you love me first" crap and end the movie with the same stuff. I, for one, could care less if a couple of teenagers love each other or not. It was a stupid plot, and I felt like the writers gave it way too much air time. I realize that most of the people that went to this film probably enjoyed the shots of the young maiden straddling a motorcycle or sprinting from her impending doom with her breasts flailing out of her tank top. These silly additions I can live with...they are not necessary for the plot, but they are expected. I just think it is unnecessary to try to appeal to a larger crowd by throwing in that "I'm only 17 but so much in love" junk. I'm going to see the film for the action and special effects...isn't that what I should get?

The second problem with the film, is the pure hokeyness of it all. The writers really tried to give the aliens personality this time, and I think it ruined the film in a lot of ways. There were just too many stupid catch phrases and one-liners thrown in, sometimes even under a robot's breath. I'm not going to give a bunch away about the film, because there might still be a chance that I haven't turned you off completely, but know that you have been duly warned. This film is rubbish.

Water Fun

2009-07-11T16:27:00.002-05:00

Here are some fun pictures of our summer so far. I love photos where you can see the water splashing. This is Mayah at my parent's house a few weeks ago. She loves to splash!

My dad went and got a slip and slide. Mayah showed no signs of fear.

This is my neice, Madeline, drinking from the dolphin's mouth. My sister bought the kids a pool while she was visiting from Montana. They loved it.

It was Judah's turn to drink from the mouth of the dolphin.

Camp Jubilee

2009-07-09T09:20:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I loaded my children into our vehicle, packed some essentials, and headed up to Camp Quaker Heights for Camp Jubilee. CJ is a week long camp held at CQH for adults who have a mental or physical handicap. These campers stay in a cabin for the week and have a GREAT time. My first experience with CJ was a bit frightening. A lot of the campers can be extremely touchy-feely and make you feel extremely (but unintentionally) uncomfortable. I was in charge of the canoes my first year and sat at the dock for eight hours straight. The counselors would bring the campers down to the dock, and my job was to help the campers into their life jackets and into the canoes and paddle boats. It was a task! My favorite memory of that year is witnessing Ric Garrison jump out of a paddle boat to escape the wandering hands of a young lady camper. Do you remember the game "Are you nervous?" from junior high? As it turns out, Ric wouldn't have been very good at that game.

This year I didn't have a job or task. I took my three kids up to hang out with the campers and staff. My kids haven't been exposed to many people in wheelchairs or with mental disabilities, and I am choosing to be proactive in introducing them to all of the different people that God has made. A few days before Christmas, a few friends and I took our kids to a retirement home to sing to the residents. Judah gave a hug and a kiss to every person he saw (about 40 people) before we left. He kissed the knees of the residents who were in wheelchairs. It was very sweet. I know some kids who are terrified of people in wheelchairs, so my goal is to expose them to these people in a safe environment.

I think my mistake was in not explaining to my children where we were going before we got there. We arrived during karaoke hour, which was fantastic! The campers were all in the lodge, singing and dancing to "Sweet Caroline" when we walked in. We were immediately surrounded. Most of the campers just wanted to touch my kids. They would pat Mayah's nose and rub her curly hair. Judah buried his head deep into my chest. Mayah endured the petting for an impressive amount of time and followed a counselor around to meet the campers who were immobile and wanted to see the "sweet babies". One lady kept grabbing both of Mayah's hands to dance with her and asking her if she wanted a bottle. Mayah gave her a few dirty looks before running back over to me. Liam was in his car seat with campers hovering over him. It was a task to protect all of my children from having fingers stuffed into their mouths and poked into their eyes.

After about ten minutes of being in the spotlight, the campers went back to their singing and dancing. We joined them in singing "I Love Rock and Roll", "Stacey's Mom Has Got It Going On", and "Yellow Submarine" before the kids were ready to explore the camp sight. After lunch, we went swimming with the campers, and Judah lost his fear. The campers weren't so enamored with my children, so we were able to just soak it all in.

Overall, it was a really good experience for my kids. I hope to go back each year and get them into volunteering at the camp as they get older.

Sleepers

2009-07-07T15:12:00.007-05:00

I love to sleep. When I was in high school, I could sleep until 1 pm on the weekends. My friends knew not to call to hang out before noon if they wanted to keep their good standing within my circle. When I had children, I was sure that my sleeping habits would be put to the test. Three children later, I can tell you that my kids have absolutely inherited this gift.

The other day Judah fell alseep in his room for two hours. At four, I went to get him up. He walked over to our chair and fell asleep for another 40 minutes or so. I thought it was adorable.

Potty Success

2009-07-02T20:23:00.004-05:00

I think I can finally say with great confidence that Judah is officially potty trained. Hoo-rah. It really has been a miserable experience. But now that he is out of diapers COMPLETELY, I can't believe we lasted that long.

I am pretty sure it was especially frustrating for me because Judah is such a smart kid. I have been genuinely excited with his ability to learn things. The kid knew all of his letters, numbers, and shapes by two and a half. Colors were a bit hard to grasp, but for the most part he is a bright little kid. So why doesn't brightness translate into figuring out the potty? He showed all of the early signs that he was ready to train. He wanted to sit on the potty, tried to wipe me when I would go (don't worry, I didn't let him get far), could dress and undress himself, and knew all of the potty lingo from Elmo. So why was the kid over three and a half years old when he stopped peeing all over the floor? It was maddening.

So many people give and take advice about training a child. I don't think there is really one tried and true way to train. Believe me, we tried everything with the kid. We started out simple with the M&Ms reward and went to the sticker chart from there. Both systems interested him but neither motivated him. After that, we went for the naked approach. I would not put anything on him at all when we were at home. This worked pretty well from day to day as long as we didn't have to go somewhere. He would use the potty willingly instead of peeing or pooping on the floor, but once you put a diaper on the kid to go somewhere, all bets were off. He just didn't care.

One thing that really helped was a classic film titled "Elmo's Potty Time." Good stuff. The one downfall of this show is that Elmo instructs that your body will tell you when it needs to go potty. Because of this poorly worded phrase, my very literal son will scream, "My booty and penis aren't telling me they have to go!!" if you try to make him use the potty at a time that he deems inconvenient. Some day, when he isn't three, he will stop waiting to hear from his penis...I hope.

In May, Judah turned three and a half. I was sick of buying diapers for three children. One day I just decided that I wasn't going to buy him any more diapers. I was done. But I wasn't done cleaning up poop and pee. Many a pair of Cars and Dino undies were sealed into a plastic bag and tossed into the garbage. The true test came when we had plans to meet some friends at the zoo. I really debated slapping one of Mayah's diaper on him. Would he still use the potty if he was wearing a diaper or pull-up? Would he unlearn everything we had been through in the past few weeks?

After the inner dialogue died in my head, I realized that I wasn't willing to take the chance of having to start all over. So we put some undies on and got into the SUV. I warned Judah that we would leave the beloved zoo IMMEDIATELY if he had an accident. I thought all would be fail when we got to the zoo and discovered that the rest rooms were closed for cleaning. Are you kidding me? The friendly volunteer at the front desk directed us to a long hall and elevator that would take us to a rest room somewhere downstairs. Fifteen minutes later (and much crotch grabbing), Judah had relieved himself in an appropriate location.

Ever since our glorious day at the zoo, Judah has been accident free. We are a month into undies all day, every day. Last night I decided it was official after realizing that he had been through many nights clean and dry. Good bye, pull ups!

Stevie Rocks My Socks

2009-07-02T14:11:00.008-05:00

My cousin, Seth, is dating the most talented photographer in the world. Yep, that's what I said. Deal with it. She is truly amazing! Stevie, who lives in Maryland, was in Omaha to photograph a wedding and drove up to Des Moines just to take pictures of our kids. She did not disappoint. Please check out her blog if you enjoy a great photo.
http://www.stevietblog.com/

This is Judah. He isn't big on posing for a nice picture. Here he was pouting on the steps and Stevie used it to her advantage. I love how big his eyes look.

Here is a picture of Judah during the actual shoot. I love that she got a picture of his missing tooth. What a good looking kid!

Here is Mayah playing around in the house. Don't you just want to squeeze her cheeks?

This is beautiful Liam.

Here is a shot of my three children.

If you come to my house on any given day, you will more than likely encounter one of my children in just a diaper or underwear. So why should Aunt Debbie's house be any different? This is Mayah in her diaper.

I am excited to see the rest of the photos that Stevie took. These were just a few to get me excited, and I am!

Girl's Night

2009-06-30T23:02:00.004-05:00

Tonight I left the comfort of my home and ventured out to "enjoy" a chick flick with some good friends. I have mentioned before that I am not a chick flick type of girl. I really only agree to go to this genre of movie because I like to get out of the house and be with friends...and my friends aren't always hot on the type of movies I like to see. During the previews, my friend, Julie, and I were giving the thumbs up or down to indicate if we would be interested in seeing each film. Our choices could not have been any more different. She gave a hearty thumbs up to Fame and Julie and Julia while flipping it downward for Surrogate. Quite the opposite for me. We are good friends, nevertheless.

So the movie I agreed to see was The Proposal. Luckily it was Matinee all Day at the theater, so I got my ticket for a measly five bucks. Gotta love Tuesdays! Unluckily for me, it was like every other romantic comedy I have ever seen. There will probably be some spoilers in here, so beware...if you care. Even seeing the trailer for the movie, you know that the two main characters will end up in love. Am I right? This movie had every scene necessary to make a romantic comedy. Unlikely lovers= check. Crazy old grandma= check. Scene where they sing together to "break the ice"= check. Man running after woman in airplane= check. So predictable. Here is what annoyed me the most: So I know that old ladies shrink with age. But the writers of this comedy tried to pull off the idea that 6'0" Sandra Bullock could fit into 5'5" Betty White's wedding dress...and it was long on SB. Come on. That's where they lost me.

Don't get me wrong, I did laugh at many a line in this movie. Ryan Reynolds can pull of the sarcastic comment very well, and Oscar Nunez (who plays Oscar in The Office) amused me a great deal. So I wasn't rolling my eyes during the entire movie, but I'm glad I only dropped a five spot for this evening's entertainment.

I can say with confidence that this movie would not make a top 200 list for me. Some day there will be a chick flick out there that I REALLY like...and when I find that flick, I will let you know. Until then...

One Fell Down and Bumped Her Head

2009-06-29T13:12:00.003-05:00

Last night the family and I went to Will's parent's house for

supper. Will's dad loves to experiment with different crock pot meals, barbecued meats, and vegetable concoctions. I love it because Will is such a picky eater. I mean, who doesn't like corn? As GOB Bluth would say, "Come on!!" (As seen on the episode where he keeps wearing the $10,000 suit.) I, maybe excessively, try to encourage my children to try lots of different vegetables,

fruits, and crock pot dishes. My favorite vegetable that Judah LOVES is rhubarb. This kid will sneak into the garden
and eat rhubarb right off the plant. Good stuff.

We were all awaiting the freshly picked items from Ping Pong's garden (as Judah so lovingly refers to him), when Mayah decided to sprint across the room in her clunkified sneakers. She had almost reached the wooden computer chair when she tripped and bumped her head on the sturdy wood. The skin above her eye immediatly began bleeding...dripping...gushing. It was frightening. It was Mayah's first real injury. She was a trooper, though. After a few minutes of screaming, she was up and playing like nothing had happened. Her wound bled through the bandage a few times, so Will ventured to Boone to get some butterfly strips. Will informed me upon his return that every person with the intent to move to a new town should first visit that town's Wal Mart. Apparently, Will would not ever consider moving to Boone.

I just finished changing the bandages on Mayah's head wound and snapped some shots of her first official boo boo. It is crazy how much a tiny scratch can bleed. She is recovering nicely :)

GOAAAALLL(s)

2009-06-29T09:26:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a busy Sunday. I got up early to work out, which starts the day out long. I have not worked out in years. After I had Judah, I just kind of waited for my body to go back to normal. When he turned two and I was still fat, I realized my dreams were not going to come true. I got pregnant with Mayah that February, fifteen pounds heavier than I was before having Judah. After I had Mayah, I decided I would actually try to lose weight...until I got pregnant with Liam six months later. So here I am, almost three months out from having Liam, and I am not messing around this time. It is really hard for me to stay motivated because I like junk food. I think I get it from my dad. My father weighs about a buck fifteen at 62 and eats like he is trying prove something. He puts whip cream on every possible breakfast food, has multiple pie breaks during the day, stashes mounds of candy and chocolate in his couch, and will buy a dozen Krispie Creams with no intention of sharing. Now I am not this bad, but if there is junk food in my house, I don't feel guilty about eating it. I don't want it to go to waste, you know? I have also lost my high metabolism from my younger days. I really took advantage of it, too. It is hard for me to remember that I can't eat a pan of scotch-a-roos at 9pm (or any other time) like I use to. It is really quite a let down. So, how are you going to stay motivated this time, Jess?

Well, lucky for me, my darling husband has gained a lot of weight, too. Will likes to put on the sympathy pounds during my pregnancies...he's always been the sympathetic type. This time it was not a good situation, because he had his knee surgery a few months before Liam was born and was sedentary for weeks and weeks. So not only was he eating to match his pregnant wife, but he was completely inactive. So we have devised a contest to keep me motivated. The first one to weigh what he or she did at our wedding wins. The prize is....$100 of fun money. This is a big prize for us because we don't have a lot of fun money floating around. Most of our cash these days goes to our kids and their diapers or other necessities. What would I do with this kind of cash all to myself?? Give some of the clothes I have from my college years (seven or eight years ago) to Good Will and get some new stuff? Go purchase some of the movies I have wanted to own for a while but never felt right about spending money on? Treat myself to some "good" beauty supplies (good would not include anything from Suave, Jane, The Dollar General, or Hansen's Beauty Supply). I'm not sure yet, but I am sure that I am going to win.

So, folks, I'll keep you posted. I don't like to lose...anything.

Short Vacation

2009-06-26T20:03:00.003-05:00

For those who were wondering if I had given up blogging, my answer is "not yet." Last week, Will and I discovered that the cord that plugs into the wall from our computer was frayed and no longer charging our laptop. We have been sans Internet for quite a while now. It is rough! I was able to check my email and facebook at my mom's house over the week, but only for short intervals because we were so busy. It is nuts how much Internet just becomes a part of your world.

My sister went home on Wednesday, and life is returning to its normal routine. We are in week two of no air conditioning and have been informed that it will be another three weeks before anyone can get out here to repair it. I realize that I grew up without the luxury of air conditioning, but this heat and humidity feels like nothing I have ever experienced. The first really hot night, Liam was up screaming for two hours. We finally gave him a bath to cool him down which woke him up even more. Yesterday I took the kids to WalMart and walked around for two hours just to stay out of the hot house. Oh the memories we are creating.

The kids are in bed, and Will and I are going to enjoy a night of movie watching. Tonight he brought home The International and Underworld (the last one). I'll let you know if they are any good...I don't have high hopes for Underworld...

Cousins Unite!

2009-06-19T14:34:00.013-05:00

My older sister, Jenny(to the left), is visiting from Montana this week! I am very excited to have her here. We only get to see each other twice a year (if we are lucky). Jenny has an (almost) three year old, Madeline Rose. She is a beautiful little girl..looks just like her Mama. The kids and I went down on Tuesday and have been staying at my parent's house so we can get as much Jenny-Maddie time as possible. We all arrived at my parent's house on Tuesday and Papa C had a big meal all ready for us. My dad is an amazing cook...if only I had cared enough to pay attention growing up. My niece, Lily (10), came down with my big brother, Jer (aka Uncle Worm), and is also staying at Mama and Papa C (also known as G'ma and Popeye)'s house. To the right is a picture of Lily reading a Pooh book to Judah, Maddie, and Mayah.

Below is a photo of Mayah cuddled up to my Mama's leg on Tuesday. I added it because I think she is just that cute. I mean, look at those curls!

The three middle cousins finished the night off with a shared bath. I was going to upload a photo, but couldn't find one that covered Judah appropriately. We went into this adventure not knowing where everyone would sleep. My parents only have two bedrooms at their house and this week, we had nine people who needed sleeping quarters. Tuesday night, we attempted to put Judah and Maddie together in a bed. It was adorable. The plan was to have them watch cartoons in Gma's bed until it was time to sleep and Gma would come in when she was ready to sleep. After the tv was off, they talked off and on for about an hour. Favorite moment of the night: Gma went in and told them that if they didn't quit talking and go to sleep, she was going to take one of them downstairs. They were both quiet for a moment, and Maddie piped in saying, "Don't take me...take Judah." Judah looked heartbroken and replied, "But I'm a good boy. I never fight. I always share. I say please..." My mom had to leave because she was going to break up. Talk about throwing your cousin under the bus!

Wednesday we took the kids to a tea room in Prarie City. They had boas and hats for us to fancy ourselves up with. I was terrified the whole time that one of my toddlers would break free and run a rampage through the antiques. Luckily, we left the tea party without being required to buy a $40 broken tea pot or a $35 ceramic butterfly.

After that, we spent a sweltering hot day at the zoo. My favorite part of the zoo was all of the sweet hand-holding that went on.

Judah's favorite part of the zoo is the giraffes. We have a season pass, so Judah is quite the tour guide when we head into his
territory. He loves to be able to
show everyone what is what. The
one downfall of this is that he spends
all of five minutes at each exhibit. Above are pictures of Judah and Mayah with the flamingos.

Below are pictures of the aforementioned handholding. Also featured is a picture of Mayah with the river otters. She was cracking up as they swam around. She has such a contagious laugh.

Right now I am feeling overwhelmed. My kids need to be put down (not like a horse..although..), and I need to stop using my brain. I have blogged as much as I can blog today. My children and nieces have used up all of my energy. It is going to take me the whole weekend to recover.

Liam

2009-06-15T10:21:00.010-05:00

As per request (this is for you, Denise), I am going to give you an update on young Liam. Liam was born April 1st of this year, which makes him eleven weeks old on Wednesday. That blows my mind. At the top is a picture of Liam when he was born. To the left is Liam about a week ago. Doesn't even look like the same kid, huh? Liam weighed in at 8 pounds 15 ounces. Today he weighs a whopping 14 pounds. That's right, fourteen. I know we aren't supposed to compare one child to another, but who doesn't do this? So, I will let you share in my poor parenting tactic. Liam weighs more than a pound over what my largest child did at this age. Mayah was 9 lbs 1 oz at birth and thirty pounds at 18 months. She only weighed 12 pounds 8 ounces at eleven weeksh is 1 1/2 pounds less than Liam right now. Liam may just be my little brute. Poor Judah. My oldest is doomed to a life of bullying by his two younger, larger siblings. Judah is only 33 pounds at 3 and a half (three pounds more than his 18 month old sister).

Enough of comparisons, and back to the youngest. Liam is a dream. He has been waking up only once at night since he came home from the hospital and has slept through a few times. He smiles and coos and takes a lot of beatings from J and M. Mayah just finished playing the "Liam is supporting all of my body weight while I kiss his face" game. It's a favorite of ours. He loves to be held closely and falls asleep almost instantly when we position him chest to chest. He is my only child who will not take a pacifier, which is maddening. Believe me, I have tried. Judah can make him smile almost instantly and is the only one who can make him laugh.

After my colicky child, Mayah, I wasn't so sure I could handle bringing another baby into our house. Liam has broken the mold. Before I was married, I was sure I wanted six kids. After having Judah, that number went down to four. After Mayah, I had to pray that God would make me want another one. (Six months later, He hadn't really left me a choice:) With Liam, I am more optimistic. I'm not making any promises, though...remember, he's only eleven weeks old.

My favorite part of Liam's appearance right now is his curly hair. His hair is super curly right out of the bath, but dries straight and spiky. I really hope that he has hair like Mayah and not Judah. I'm not sure I can handle another kid with Will's hair...poor Judah...

Anyway, here is a photo of Liam's hair right out of the bath.

Hmmm..not sure what else I can say about this little guy. He's beautiful and wonderful. We love him to pieces. If you haven't met him, you are missing out!

The Cheese Factor

2009-06-13T14:29:00.008-05:00

Last night, I saw Coldplay in concert. I was very excited to attend, because I have been a fan of Coldplay for at least eight years. I remember seeing the music video for "Yellow" on my crap tv during my junior year in college (00-01) and asking my morally unbound friend to download their album from her Napster account. She then burned me a copy and our relationship was established. I have since pined to see them in concert. After a shameful status update(aka pathetic plea) informing my friends that tickets would make an amazing birthday gift, my college roomie, Colette, HOOKED ME UP! She got us great seats, too. We were spared the floor seats where all of the hardcore, annoying, loud-singing, slobbering fans stand. Don't get me wrong, I was once one of those fans. I have spent many a concert vying for a front row spot, secretly knowing in my heart of hearts that the lead singer was singing directly to me. There is something to be said for joining a throng of sweaty die-hards in pumping your fist and gyrating to a thumping bass. It can be amazing to get lost in the music and the show. These days, however, I just want to enjoy the show. I want to be able to hear the artist actually sing and actually play. I am officially old.

Back to our seats, we were in the first level directly in front of the stage. Good stuff. It was great because we could see the entirety of all of the extras like the crazy 80s inspired camera work on the big screens and the butterfly ticker tape falling from the ceilings. Coldplay really does put on a good show. It would have been a shame to have been on the floor, because I would have missed the crazy globes hanging from the ceiling that showed shots of Chris Martin's head in funny shapes and sizes.

In addition to the great seats, cool camera work, and great visuals, Coldplay sounded great. It was obvious that Chris Martin really does have a great voice. It doesn't take a bunch of computers to clean this band up. I have been to some concerts where you kind of look around and ask yourself, "Really?" as they are singing. Not so with Coldplay.

I titled this post "The Cheese Factor" because Coldplay definitely brought this factor with them. It always cracks me up when a band tells its crowd that it is the best crowd EVER!!! Wooo!! Wooott Woooooo!!! Seriously. I know that 80% of the people in the crowd know that this is just a morale booster, but I don't know why they all scream in appreciation. It drives me mad. Direct quote from Martin: "If we had known the Des Moines crowd was going to be so amazing, we'd a come much sooner!!" BS They also made up a song about Iowa and the Hawkeye state. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, it was just over the top cheesy. This song was preceded by the entire audience joining in a "mexican cellphone wave" (picture lights off and everyone doing the wave with their cellphones lit and in the air), and followed by a crowd sing-a-long to "I'm a Believer" by Neil Diamond. Cheese.

I really enjoyed this concert. I'm glad I got to go. My favorite part of the night was when the band left the stage to sing amongst the crowd. They were one section away from us and in the same row. I feel famous by association.

I Love Her...I Really Do

2009-06-11T13:40:00.006-05:00

Mayah is a lively child. I love her. I really do. But she absolutely tests my patience.

Isn't she beautiful?? Mayah needs a bath after nearly every meal. Bath times are hit and miss with her, too. Some days she will scream when we put her in and continue to scream during the entire ordeal. Other days, she will scream if we try to take her out. Every day with Mayah is an adventure. I really never know how she is going to react to things from day to day. Some days she is so sweet. The nursery workers at church dote on her and rave about what a great little girl she is. But most days, she is just waiting to erupt.

Judah asked to go to the library today for a new Curious George book. We loaded up and got into the library before any major tiffs. Once we got inside, Mayah realized that she could no longer help me push the stroller with Liam inside because I was parking it against the wall. She blew up. What do you do, right? Time outs are out of the question at the library because she screams all of the way through them. Swats are out because..we'll I think it's obvious. So today I went for the ignore the tantrum method. Luckily it was short lived but still frustrating. Mayah soon found solace in looking for a book. Once she found one she liked, she brought it over to me, which I assume means: read this. Wrong. She flipped out when I attempted to bring her onto my lap to read the book. Next, she found her way to the computers and put on the headphones.
I was really trying to get Judah to find his books so we could get out of there. I gave her the two minute warning and then went to retrieve her. Another screaming jag. We head out to the doors, Mayah helping me push the stroller, and have to stop so I can get the stroller up the stairs. She falls to the ground SCREAMING. A lady walks by and mutters, "someone needs a nap." Oh yeah, lady. Well, someone (you) needs a punch to the throat. I contained myself.

To sum up my day before the noon bell rang, I was ready to put Mayah up in her crib and shut the door. I just needed some away from my precious little girl time. How do people deal with the spirited child? She is nothing at all like Judah was at her age. Have I raised her so differently, or can kids really be THIS much different? I am baffled. As I listen to Liam screaming for my attention, I remind myself to say a quick prayer for his temperament. Please join me:

Dear Sympathetic God,

Please do your thing with Liam. Eliminate any tendencies he may have toward fit throwing and emotional outbursts. Shape him into an easy going lad.

All this in Your Name (and for my sanity),

Amen

Every Playdate Should have a Kohl's

2009-06-10T22:04:00.006-05:00

Today Judah, Mayah, and I packed into the van of my dear friend, Julie to go to Ankeny. Will had the day off, so he kept Liam with him (thank you, dear husband). Judah and Zoe, Julie's two and a half year old, are self-proclaimed BFF. They are adorable together. Our proudest moment as mother's of these two children happened one day when Julie and I were sitting in her living room chatting it up. Judah and Zoe had been in her bedroom for an extended period of time, so I went in to check on them. They had climbed into Zoe's crib and each had a Bible. I asked them what was going on, and Judah answered, "We're reading our Bibles together, Mama." We raised them well. You had better believe that I am taking the credit for this!

Above is a photo of Judah and Zoe in the back of Julie's van playing with pixie cups. The fun never ends.

It was zoo day for our playgroup, but Julie and I got this crazy idea in our heads that it was supposed to rain all day (thank you, Ed Wilson). So instead, we loaded two of my kids and her two kids into her van for a trip to where? You guessed it...Kohl's. Julie had some returns and I had nothing better to do. We giggled the whole way down to Ankeny that we were dragging our kids to a department store in search of a good time. Luckily, we were there just long enough that our four tag-a-longs didn't become too antsy. We did end the Kohl's party with twenty or so laps around the column in the front of the store while waiting for Julie at the check out line. I am sure shopping at Kohl's never looked like so much fun.

The main event had ended by ten, so we finished up our playdate with a trip to the local McDonald's and let our kids play in their play area. Would you believe that families were already eating fries and burgers at ten? Vomit. As we left the play area, Zoe realized we weren't going to eat lunch and began a crying jag that lasted about ten minutes. I mean, who goes to MCD's and doesn't let her kids get anything? Pure cruelty.

As silly and random as our playdate was, I was completely exhausted by the time I got home. Kids are exhausting. Will is baffled when he believes I am engaged in his storytelling and looks over to find me asleep on the couch. I can sleep anywhere at anytime. It is a gift that has been perfected since the addition of child number three. It is a gift I hope never to lose.

Shaun of the Dead

2009-06-09T22:50:00.003-05:00

So tonight, we decided to pull out one of my favorite zombie movies. I am a self-proclaimed lover of all things zombie. Weird, huh? I know I should be embarrassed to admit this, but I'm really not. I don't know if it is because I grew up in a household where my dad would rent "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th" movies for us before I turned 10. Yeah, I'm not sure about that parenting choice, either. Regardless, I grew up watching slasher movies with my brothers and sister. I don't necessarily go after slasher movies these days, but I do still get a rush out of being scared. Growing up, we lived in a farm house tucked in a wooded area far from any town or police station. There were cemeteries a quarter mile away on either side of our house, and my dad would give us a quarter each to walk to the scarier of the two cemeteries and touch the front door of the church after the sun had gone down and the credits were rolling. I tell you this so that you understand that fear is ingrained in me...stop judging me!!

Anyway, I have come to terms that I am drawn to zombie movies. I think it is because I know that the thought of zombies is so absurd. I want to be scared, but I don't want to see some psycho killer on the loose killing people who look like my neighbors. It is much safer for me to enjoy zombies jumping out and eating people. To sum up my justification, I know that movies like "Hostel" and "Saw" can really happen. I could go somewhere and meet a seriously disturbed person who enjoys that type of afternoon. Zombies, not so much. The end.

If you haven't seen "Shaun of the Dead", it is in NO way frightening. On the contrary, it is quite hilarious. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost run around town trying to steer clear of the slowest moving zombies in the history of movies. It is rated R, so there is quite a bit of off color language, so beware. It is great because Pegg's character walks around town and doesn't even notice the zombies eating people and covered in blood. Love it.

Thankfully, my husband puts up with my strange zombie fascination. Below is a link to the trailer if you want to check it out. Good stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhBGFqldAvk

PS If you don't enjoy British humour (see how I used the British spelling for humor :), you might not enjoy Simon Pegg. My mom was super annoyed when I made her watch "Run, Fat Boy, Run". That is your warning...

Under Pressure

2009-06-09T20:42:00.002-05:00

Welcome, to my flurry of new readers. I just checked my friend, Jessie's, blog and saw that she is encouraging people to check me out. Well, new readers, hold on to your seats, because it is going to be WILD. This s going to be a short post as Will and I are watching a movie, and I am having a hard time focusing.

More later tonight when I can give you my full attention!

Go With the Flow

2009-06-08T12:53:00.005-05:00

Judah had his first night EVER of waking up with a dry diaper...scratch that...pull-up. He is adamant that we call them pull-ups and NOT diapers because he is a big kid. I about did a flip in my living room. I had no idea how hard potty training was going to be. I had such high hopes for the J-man when he was two. He was totally into the potty. He would follow me in and watch me, an experience I hope every mama goes through. He would take off a square of toilet paper and drop it between my legs, pretending to wipe me. This freaked me out at first...I mean, you don't want your precious little guy anywhere near your business, right? I made sure I was never violated. He would even sit on the potty for extended periods of time and read books. Surely I was a supermom. He would be potty trained in no time, right?

Finally came the day when I was ready to full on train. Mayah was six months old, I was pregnant with Liam, and Judah was two and a half. The thought of three kids in diapers was terrifying. We started off using the M&M bribe method. Judah would get one for attempting, one for peeing, two for pooping, and one for remembering to wash his hands. He could really score big if he completed all tasks in one sitting. He was really into this for a while but soon didn't care about M&Ms. After a while, we switched to the chart and sticker method. Judah would get to put a sticker on his chart if he pooped or peed. This, like the M&Ms was great but very short lived. It was just easier to go in his diaper. For three months, my son was in an eternal state of nudity. His only motivation for using the potty was that he got to be naked from dawn til dusk. The major problem with this was that he would poop the second we put on his nighttime diaper. The little bugger would hold it all day until that diaper went on. It was maddening. But boy, did that kid love to be naked. Every time my inlaws stopped by, they would be greeted with Judah's little penis flapping in the wind. There was a period there where we just stopped getting drop ins...

But now we are making some progress. Sure, I still have to remind him hourly to go sit on the potty. Sure, I occasionally hear him call "Mama, I peed on the wall again" from his place in the bathroom. Sure, he still has the random accident in the most inconvenient of places. But more often than not, he has dry days. Soon I will be able to trust him to go on his own. Soon I will be able to drop him at a friend's house without loads of accident anxiety. Soon I will only have to buy diapers for two instead of three. Small steps, right? Elmo says to go with the flow. He's an insightful little monster.

A Night at the Crapbury

2009-06-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

So, I had forgotten how weird "Adaptation" is. I really enjoyed watching it again. Charlie Kaufman is one interesting guy. Ignoring the creepy sex scenes, it is a movie I would recommend to people who like your non-traditional film. Nicolas Cage, an actor that I normally loathe, does a crazy good job as Charlie and Donald Kaufman. I think I am okay with Cage because I can barely even tell that it is him. Meryl Streep's character has some very thoughtful and penetrating lines. It is a film that is easier to appreciate the more times one watches it. We've decided to keep it in the rotation.

We also wasted an hour and a half with "A Night at the Roxbury". Complete nonsense. I had picked it up for five bucks a few years back because Will had never seen it. It was not worth the five sodas I could have purchased. I normally enjoy myself a good slapstick comedy, but this was Will Ferrell at his worst. The most amusing part of the night was when the credits were rolling and Will paused them to make sure he had caught a name right. Michael Duncan Clarke, the big guy who was in "The Green Mile" and "Armageddon", was in the film. He was a bouncer in this movie, and the credits listed him as Michael "Big Mike" Duncan. Funny. I guess he used to be a bodyguard for Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, and The Notorious B.I.G. According to Wiki, which we all know is 100% accurate:), he had someone cover for him the night B.I.G. was shot and got out of the business after that.

Michael "Big Mike" Duncan reminds me of a movie we watched once with Laurence Fishburne. The credits listed him as Larry Fishburne. I guess he was Larry back during his Pee Wee's Playhouse days. Laurence is much more sophisticated.

Tonight we are going to take a break from our movie purge and watch a trusted favorite, the third season of Arrested Development. There is no logical reason that this show did not make it more than 3 seasons. It is, by far, one of the best written comedies of our time. Alas, I should not get started on my disdain for the American public for not supporting this great show. Tsk tsk.

Movie Purge

2009-06-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

Since the summer line up on tv is atrocious, Will and I have decided to watch all of the movies we own and purge those unworthy of of our household. Two nights ago, we put in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". This is part of the Mariachi Trilogy, along with El Mariachi and Desperado. Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas, Willem DaFoe...how could you go wrong?? It actually cracks me up that Enrique Iglesias is in this movie and does a not-so-horrible job. Who would have thought?

I really enjoy movies that have ridiculous fight scenes. My favorite sequence is when a man jumps through the air shooting and maneuvering in ways that are impossible. For this reason, Jason Statham is one of my favorite actors to watch. Please note that he is not one of my favorite ACTORS. I also love to watch the Kill Bill movies for the pure audacity of their fight scenes. Will and I saw the second Kill Bill in the theater a few years ago. Will somehow called his mom during the middle of a shoot-em-up fight scene. All she could hear were people screaming and guns shooting. Poor Mama O didn't know what to think. It wasn't until hours later that we were able to call her back and let her know that we weren't lying bloodied and bruised on the floor of a movie theater.

Anyways, we decided to keep "Once a Upon a Time in Mexico". It's a fun movie to pull out and watch. Johnny Depp's character saddens me a bit, even though he is corrupt. His character cracks me up the whole movie, so I am always a little sad when they pluck his eyes out at the end.

We pulled out seven or eight movies that have the potential of being purged. Next on the list is "Adaptation". I openly hate Nicolas Cage as an actor, so I need to give this movie another chance before I condemn it for the wrong reasons. You've got one more shot, Nick, and then you're out.

A Night with the Girls

2009-06-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

I got together with a few great friends the other night for some "we have to get away from our kids" time. We hooked up for some $1.50 burgers at a cute little grill your own steaks/burgers joint in a small town near my home. They are good burgers, too. I, of course, don't grill my own burger when I go. I don't even consider the possibility. I need a night every once in a while where I am not the one preparing the food. Our plan was to see a movie after burgers, but the selection seriously lacked. It is always an ordeal to decide which movie to choose when we get together, anyway. I am not the typical girl when it comes to movies. I mostly choose action films with little to no love story, if possible. I believe many a great movie have been tainted by the industry's need to insert love into every story line. Am I the only one who can make it through a life experience without falling madly in love with each person who experiences life with me? Sure, I'm married and happy, but even married people in movies fall in love with their supporting actors (to whom they are not married). Why can't someone just fight aliens or evade bank robbers without falling in love??

If my vote doesn't go toward an action flick, then I want a movie that means something or has thought put into it. I just can't get into a movie that is pure fluff. Don't get me wrong, I love to laugh at stupid movies that are stupid for the sake of comedy (example: Will Ferrell movies). But if a movie is meant to be about superficial relationships or love, I have a hard time keeping focused. This poses a problem when the girls want to get together for a "chick flick" like "The Notebook" or anything with Sandra Bullock. I have been known to suck it up and sit through "Legally Blonde", and I genuinely try to enjoy myself. It is all for the sake of camaraderie.

Anyway...we didn't see a movie. Instead, we headed to Cold Stone where we sat and talked until I got the dreaded call that little Liam was starving. It was a great night. I laughed so hard at times that my head was pounding all the way home. I don't know how I would survive without my girls.

Step 1...We could have lots of fun (NKOTB)

2009-06-03T17:03:00.000-05:00

Well, where do I begin to blog?? I'm not even sure what to blog about. I think this will be mostly for my own outlet. Who knows if anyone will even read this or be interested in my daily rantings? I guess today we will start with today. I don't have much time, because I just sent my three year old, Judah, to check on my 18 month old who seems to have just awakened from a three and a half hour nap. His two favorite ways to welcome Mayah into the world of awake time are to throw random objects into her bed or to climb into her crib with her and pretend he is in a zoo. I'm not sure which I prefer, really.

Today was like most other days. The kids awakened me at nine and we setteled into some Sesame Street time. I then proceeded to pack all three kids into the SUV to run errands. We had three stops to make: the elementary school, the high school, and my co-coach's house. Each stop was crazier than the next. I'm not sure why I have such high hopes of obedience when I leave the driveway. The two-month old, Liam, is generally not a problem. His awake time is short and seldom. Car rides put him out. It is the 18 month old that I have to worry about. She loves to run free and ignore all harsh-toned corrections. I think I used to be such a snob about moms and their inability to correctly steer their children in the direction of their choosing. I mean, why doesn't that mom just do something about that brat, right? Mayah is harder and harder to steer every day. Judah has his days. Today was a good one for him. Some random teacher at the high school gave him a scotch-a-roo, and his day was made.

Naps are over and the preparation of supper is immenient. Reading over this, I realize that it really is just the rantings of a woman who is a little bored. I'm sure all readers are on the edge of their seats waiting to find out if my kids are naughty tomorrow, eh?

I will do my best to spice up my life in the days to come :)