Monthly Archive for October, 2004

Bunk Beds

We did it. We put the kids in bunk beds - in the same room. Yes, the same kids who taunt and crack each other up while apart - in separate bedrooms. Their first night was Thursday the 28th.

I thought we\’d get a head start and let them get used to sleeping in the same room well before baby comes - plus our house is closing in on us. We\’re trying to create space somehow… Now, I knew it would be hard. I knew it would be hard. I did, I knew it would be hard. However, one never really knows until one has gone through it:) They laugh and they talk and they giggle and they get up and they carry on and on and on and on… Truthfully, it\’s kind of precious to hear their giggles, but even that gets old when 10:30 rolls around.

Despite all this, I know we have made a good move. I know the kinks will work out. Paul and I just need to be consistent in helping them to actually sleep. A friend told me today that she plays tapes at a very low volume, so her boys (3 of them) have to be quiet to hear it. That way, they listen themselves to sleep… I think we\’ll give that a try as soon as I get to the store to buy a little radio… I plan on going in the morning!

Published
by
jenny
on October 31, 2004
in General, Joel and Olivia
. 2 Comments

Who, me???

I got this from Amanda. I was surprised at the result, but hey, I\’ve always loved No Doubt…

You Are Gwen Stefani!

All guys dream about you
And all the girls want to be you
\”Sappy pathetic little me
That was the girl I used to be\”


Who\’s Your Inner Rock Chick? Take This Quiz :-)
Published
by
jenny
on October 31, 2004
in General and Jenny Jen-Jen
. 2 Comments

So Tired?

Being pregnant with #3, and having 2 preschoolers has me a bit tired these days. I recently learned that I express this sentiment openly and often…

One morning Olivia was looking for a lost clip-on earring (she loves to accessorize!). I told her I had no idea where it was and she needed to go look.

She tipped her head on to the side of my desk, fluttered her eyelids and said, \”I\’m tired… what were you saying?\”

Imagine: tired Momma, sittin\’ on the couch. Kid approaches, asks for water, lost item, snack, whatever. Momma pops up reclining head a bit and replies, \”I\’m tired, what were you saying?\” Yep, the kids are learning something from Momma!

A two and a half year old should NEVER admit she\’s tired. A two and a half year old should never lose her train of thought. THAT comes after trials and constant multi-tasking. Yep, she\’s acting like her Mom… I\’m going to try to not say how tired I am… at least no so much:)

Published
by
jenny
on October 27, 2004
in General, Lucy, Mutha' Hood and Olivia
. 1 Comment

Identity Crisis

It\’s official, my son needs glasses. I am not surprised, both my husband and I are near-sighted. I just hoped that none of my kids would ever need glasses. I am extremely near-sighted, and I remember as a kid always wishing I didn\’t need to wear them — especially during pool time. I couldn\’t swim with glasses, so everything was always fuzzy. I just wanted to see everything… that\’s all.

So when we picked up his glasses last week, I felt a small twinge of sadness. I thought of those times I really wanted to be free of all hinderances. I want the same freedoms for each of my kiddos. By age 16, I had contacts, but swimming is still a challenge if one is not wearing goggles! At the innocent age of 5 (I was in 3rd or 4th grade), wearing glasses had a completely different, life-changing impact on Joel…

Joel was reluctant to get glasses. We went for his fitting last week and the deep concern of his heart was revealed. When he put on his glasses, he began to cry. I asked, \”Why are you crying Joel??? I\’m thinking, \”Buddy, glasses aren\’t THAT bad…\” He tearfully exploded (lower lip and all),

\”BUT NO ONE WILL KNOW THAT I AM JOEL!!!\”

Published
by
jenny
on October 27, 2004
in General, Joel and Mutha' Hood
. 2 Comments

SURPRISE!!!

That is what I heard on a recent Saturday evening as I removed my blindfold. And was I!

The story was that we were going to dinner at our friends\’ house. I dressed to impress - sweats, frumpy shirt and no make-up. I\’m talkin\’, tired pregnant lady look! As far as I knew, we were going to enjoy a night of chit-chatting and kickin\’ back…

When we got there, my friend\’s hubby (who is the cook of the family) came out and said plans had changed and that he hired a sitter and wanted to take us to dinner. My thought at that moment - how sweet, but no way, I look like crap! I mumbled a few words about maybe needing to run home and change…

To our (later to find out only my) surprise, the hubby pulled out bandanas and said he wanted us wives to be surprised at our destination. After some weaving and winding on roads I could not see, it appeared we had arrived. I had just begun telling the story of the last time I had been blindfolded - for a little surprise b-day fun for my 16th… Who knew 16 years later…

I am so slow. I am so clueless. I walk in, … and \”SURPRISE!!!!\” And was I ever! Possibly as surpised as that July morning I took my last pregnancy test!

Apparently, my hubby called a friend on a Wednesday and asked if he could plan a party at her place… for Saturday. Long story short, and many secret phone calls later, I walk into a fabulous disco extravagaza:) Sure I looked dumpy and frumpy, pale and splotchy faced, but the pale face only came after the bright-red surprise face:) So many of my girlfriends pulled the details together - I even had my own special pregnant-lady disco dress to wear! And I did get a good coat of blue eyeshadow…

Paul worked hard to keep it a secret and carried the burden of wanting to give me a fantastic surprise and a wonderful birthday to rememeber. There was great food (everybody brought something), many dressed in disco clothes and hair, we danced, sang karaoke, and there was even a disco ball! One friend told Paul about their family tradition, everyone share why they were thankful that person was born. While, I was terribly uncomfortable (it\’s hard to take compliments) it was really neat to hear nice things folks think about me. I am accutely aware of my un-niceness, so to hear all that nice stuff was kind-a, well, nice. Awkward, but nice. That is definitely something we will be doing in our family from now on:)

My actual birthday isn\’t until tomorrow, low-key I assume:) But Paul tells me we are going away for the night one night soon… I think he got me a massage at a nice salon in Seattle:) He said I get to choose our agenda and speed… slow for sure, and at I\’m sure a mid-afternoon nap!! His mom will take the kids for the night, so it will be kid free! I sure feel pampered, and am enjoying these special treats. 32 isn\’t looking so bad after all…

Published
by
jenny
on October 26, 2004
in General
. 3 Comments

House Hunting

Speaking of \”issues\”… we put down 3 different offers on the same house over the past 3 weeks (or so).

The first offer we submitted was under asking price, contingent on the sale of our house, and we asked for 5 extra days for inspection. Rejected. No counter-offer, just rejected.

The second offer was still under asking price, but non-contingent (bank approved - guess they think we can handle more than we are comfortable with), but it wouldn\’t be for long… 5 extra inspection days dropped. Rejected. No counter-offer, just rejected.

Did I mention both offers were finally \”rejected\” after the contract expiration time???

Our agent went to the seller\’s broker because the seller\’s agent didn\’t seem to be terribly pro-active in helping us know what the sellers WOULD accept. This meeting got some results, a meeting of both our agents.

Third offer. Full price. Non-contingent. More earnest money, but not the insane amount the people wanted (they wanted an amount more typical of a home selling for a million, that\’s no where near our price range). The deadline was Friday at 9 pm… Nothing. Ah, apparently they would meet Saturday at 2. No word. Monday morning they get the counter-offer together and we get our info around noon - on MONDAY!

They want us to forfeit the typical 30 days for financing (despite having our lender do a letter and special research to verify our the fact that we qualify) and take only 15…

It seems they thought we were desperate. Not really. We just really liked the house. Wait. We really liked the location. The house needed lots of work, and it came with some property issues too. Their agent didn\’t appear to be doing a good job, but it appears the sellers may not want to sell? We offered full-price…

Yeah, we were (and still are) a bit ticked and irritated. It\’s been 3 or 4 weeks of phone calls, meetings and hoping. Plus, our agent, a good friend, has spent a bunch of time on something he won\’t be making money on (he will for the house we will buy someday), and our lender had to do his fair share of homework and prep as well. Ugh.

In theory, we\’ll be taking a break for the holidays, but we\’ll keep our eyes open. We can make our house work for our growing family, it\’ll just be a tight squeeze…

Published
by
jenny
on October 26, 2004
in General and Mental Pause
. 1 Comment

No Camera

I haven\’t had a camera for about 2 months now. Well, we just got a fancy digital one a couple of weeks ago, but I haven\’t figured her out yet. Plus, my iPhoto has freaked out and I have no where to store any digital pics. My hubby can, but historically, we have a hard time getting the pics he has to a place I can utilize them. Ugh, I just want things to work out. I don\’t have time to deal with \”issues\”. I just need things to work!

Published
by
jenny
on October 26, 2004
in General
. 0 Comments

OOPS

I missed my son\’s first field trip of the year. I got to school and his teacher was collecting money and permission slips. Huh??? My girlfriend spotted me the 4 bucks, and signed a slip for him to go. I really would have like to g too, and to have taken Olivia as well. The class went to a pumpkin farm. As I have mentioned before, I\’ve been felling a bit tired and overwhelmed, so we\’ve not made it to any pumpkin patch this year. I wanted Livi to be able to wader through. I finally bought a couple pumpkins from the grocery store, but we still haven\’t carved them…. maybe tonight…

Published
by
jenny
on October 26, 2004
in General, Joel, Mutha' Hood and Olivia
. 1 Comment

Awana

Joel started going to Awana this month. He loves it! He learns new songs and memorizes scripture and other wholesome stuff:) He attended twice before he earned his vest. In order to earn his vest he had to: learn Spark\’s motto (Sparky is the character for this age group) \”My friend for Christ\”; recite John 3:16; recite the Pledge of Allegiance; recite the Awana pledge; and learn the Spark\’s song.

Paul picked him up on the night he earned his vest. His accomplishment made him ecstatic. I guess there is nothing quite as exhuberating in life as atttaining a goal and it\’s reward through hard work. When he walked in the door, his jacket was zipped up tight to the top. He looked at me and exclaimed, \”I have to show you something mom!\” He excitedly fumbled at the zipper, finally asking for dad\’s help. He finished unzipping and ripped off his coat to reveal the prize - his red Awana Sparky Vest!!!

I was worried about paying the money for him to join. Joel easily becomes disinterested in activities, and didn\’t want to waste money! I think this activity challenges him and gives him things to constantly work for. I like the program becasue there is a strong emphasis on rewards and working for them. It seems to be consitent in that. In order to earn his Sparky patch he needs to memorize 3 new verses, a thing about good manners, and some review. He is excited to learn, and not reluctant - unless I work on it too long:) Patience Mommy, patience…

A wonderful side-effect of all this is what Olivia is learning. She can recite Spark\’s Motto and John 3:16 as well! As Joel and I work on these things, she is with us - in the car, at meal times… repeating along. I have heard mean words and yelling come from the lips of both my precious babies - some influenced by my own words and ways of speaking. Yuck. However, nothing makes my heart and soul more proud and complete than when I hear lovely things come from their mouths. I am praying that as they learn these words and scriptures, that the wonderful lessons of love and respect will make it past their speech and enter their hearts…

Published
by
jenny
on October 26, 2004
in Family, General, Joel and Olivia
. 1 Comment

Youth

My husband and I decided many months ago to get involved in the youth group at church. Our commitment began this month. On Monday nights, 4-8 teens come to our home for goodies, hangin\’ out, and a bit of Bible study.

We have had an awesome time with whoever decides they can make it:) We are really excited about this. We have been wanting to get involved for some time, but it\’s hard with little ones. We had taken the kids to youth group once, to see if we could make it work, but it was a flop. Distraction for sure. We could have gotten babysitting, except all the babysitters are at youth group!

Fast forward to today… Joel and Olivia love it when \”the cool kids\” come over. They have big people who give them attention, and it\’s a guaranteed dessert night! It seems to be working out very well for our family. The teens come over, we visit and munch. After awhile, we move to the living room and the kids get a movie in our room, though they have the freedom to move in and out of the living room. The teens are laid back about the \”interruptions\”, and get a kick out of Joel and Livi too.

I am excited about the opportunity we have to open our home to this group of kids. We are beginning to learn about each one, and their families. We feel it\’s a good thing for the teens to see our family working together through the evening, and it\’s good for our family to experience their energy! My prayer is that Paul and I can see the deeper needs and heartache so that we can be creative in reaching each one.

Published
by
jenny
on October 26, 2004
in Family, General, Joel and Olivia
. 1 Comment