Hoss

This is Hoss.







Papa brought us Hoss a few weeks ago and we did not want him to go bad so we waited to cut into him. Hoss is huge.

Daddy dug out all the "guts" and Baylor and I pulled through all the guts to get the seeds. Papa wants them so that he can grow some Hoss pumpkins.







Eliza was right up there with us. She loves doing anything all together, as long as she is the CENTER of it all.




Callan said that it had to have a scary face. The internet helped us out with a pattern, and mommy drew it on. I think Daddy needed a little knife tension releif, because he would not let me do the cutting.




The Hoss in all his lit up glory.

Community Helper

It was community helper day In Silas' class today. He chose doctor because we had a full costume, and he is all about wearing a costume to school. He did not want to wear the mask, and he did not want to wear a tag that said Dr. Jones. He also did not want to take a picture until his Nommie told him she wanted to see it on "the blog".

Just the right words

I have struggled for a while now with the "to post or not to post" question on my political views. I was raised to believe that you just do not talk to others about who you are voting for. It is a matter of personal belief and opinion. And being the people pleaser that I have always been, I have chosen not to step on any toes. My vote has been cast, I have done my job.

But here in the final strech... I am scared. I am scared for our country. I am scared not only for what happens within it's borders but what might happen all over the world based on our election. Other countries are watching, other countries are laughing (and I am not just saying that... we know people in other countries that have told us so).

I do not like to open my blog to contriversial topics, because I know that I have a wide range of people who check on us Joneses. But when I found this today, it spoke volumes with so few words. And it sums up my feelings right now.

Our neighborhood is going down the drain

Where we live is really growing. When we first moved here, there was a small landing strip airfield, and you had to drive at least 20 minutes to the grocery or get any fast food. Now, we practically have it all and here lately people from all over have been moving in, and they bring with them a different culture and different entertainment ideas. For example, on my drive to school either kids or a gang marking their territory have graffitied a symbol on most all of the outdoor electrical units in the yards. I have seen a few different ones. But last night, WE got hit. I have never seen a symbol like it and I am sure it stands for something really bad. We have called the officials and they are looking into it and they think they have a culprit in mind. In fact, they said that it is a gang from LA staking its claim...LA... Lower Alabama that is!

Paybacks, friends, paybacks!

I'm knocked up...with TWINS!

I thought that might get your attention- he he he!

Last night we attended Hallo-palooza at our friends house. It was a costume required party, and we had a blast.

Brent and I chose to be "the famous couple with 6 kids from all over the word" only I got tired of drawing tattoos with Sharpie all over my arms (with help from my neighbor Stephanie) and decided to only have 4 kids but be knocked up with 2 of them.
Here we are before the party, With little "Z" in tow.




Our party was hosted by none other than Fla*va*flave and D*licious.



Our hostess required that we break off into teams and do an all over the town scavenger hunt. And when I say all over town... we were seen-AS A GROUP- entering the Tar-Jay, Cr+acker Bar+rell, Pub*lix, Domino#s, and two random strangers yards for a photo op with a yard full of decor, and an "O" sign.

Group One: Minnie and Mickey, Gangsta and Rapper, Fla and De, Wilma and Fred (sorry about the eyes closed Fred, it is the only shot I had).



Group Two: The blow up party dolls, Bobby and Sonja in their HS and College years, Sandy and Danny, the "lina" and the "pitt".(Sorry, trying to avoid celebrity stalkers on the blog). I thought I was being all crafty "hiding" in my big coat, but THEY made me take it off to go into our destinations. If you had only seen the looks on the faces of the patrons at the eating establishment where we rocked in their big front porch chairs. Everybody in the place stopped and stared.



I need to add that there were 4 couples missing. We wish you would have been there, we had a blast. And go here for a close up of all the fab couples.

Flashback Friday

Can you guess which one was me in this preschool picture?

NO?

Let me help. I am the little girl dressed like a hussy with her belly showing, AND holding Superman's hand. What exactly was that... MOM? Because it looks like a clown colar gone wrong. Or maybe it would have been better paired with a Tropical CanCan skirt and a fruit hat. Really? I wore that to school, like where I painted, and colored, and napped? And I DO remember napping because the girl on my right told me a scary story about a china doll and that is why to this day my china dolls are in boxes, taped and sealed in the attic.

Funny enough. I remember these kids, very specifically. Just from looking at the picture I remember 8 (maybe 9) of the kids names. And I remember that blanket Margaret is holding, and I remember that David had the biggest outie belly button I had ever seen. I wonder where they all are now?

Dear Disgruntled Tar-jay Employee-

I understand how scouring through the 30% off section of Men's Clothing to pull out the "gotta go's" can be a bothersome and lame task. I understand that you probably did not get up this morning thinking that you could not wait to get to work, because you did not think you could go another day without organizing and revamping the men's clothing section. I get that! However, I was working on a costume for my husband. I already bought him one shirt and he liked it but wanted a different size. My only task at the Tar-jay for the day was to trade out that very shirt that I found a week ago in your section. You, my friend, decided to park not one but 2 carts around the 30% off shirt section with all your discards and scanners. You also saw 3 customers trying to search around you and not once did you offer to pause in your pursuit of organization to let us look, grab, and get out of your way.

So, what did I do? I parked my 6 passenger cart a few racks over so that I could squeeze in without disturbing your system. I left 2 happy children waiting for me to find the perfect shirt for my husband (AGAIN) in a different size. They were minding their own business talking back and forth when you proceeded to scold them for no reason what-so-ever. Now, I have no problem with people telling my kids that they are doing something wrong- strangers even. HOWEVER, my kids were doing NOTHING wrong. Yes, I was a few steps away, and yes my child dropped her "Taggie B" and her brother was getting down off the 6 passenger cart to retrieve it for her. But you had no right to get in my child's face and tell him he needed to sit down or he was going to be hurt and in trouble. He is 3 years old and I allow him the choice to buckle or not in those bench seats because there is a platform for him to stand on and the cart handle to hold on to (and that is exactly what he was doing when you decided it was in your best interest to get on to my child). He was not standing in the back of a cart, he was not standing in the seat. He was a few inches off the ground... and it was none of your business. They were not bothering you in any way, or in danger of any kind of injury. In fact, you had to walk over to them to fuss at them.
I am a regular Tar-jay visitor. In fact my hubby told me to back it down some. Never have I encountered someone whose purpose on the job was to upset and scare children for no reason. I looked for a manager to complain to about you ( and I don't do that) but I could not find one and decided that perhaps I would let this one slide. But, lady... I promise you I will be back and next time I will not be letting it slide.

Signed,
Momma Bear

(AHHHH... There, I feel better now)

Monday

Today was a MONDAY!

It was the boys first day back to school after a long weekend so they were not thrilled with getting up. However, it is SPIRIT week at school and they got to wear a hat today... so they were all in.

Today we also had to turn in our "Family (ahem *Mommy* ahem)Project. We were given a cutout of a paperdoll and it was our job to decorate them according to what the child is going to be for Halloween. The kids at school are supposed to guess who is who. Callan is going to be a "Special Forces Secret Agent Guy"(complete with gas mask). Literally, his costume is head to toe black except for the orange gun and flashlight. He enjoyed making it with me.





+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tonight was the first night in a long time that Silas did not cry at dinner. It is miserable really. If it is not bologna and cheese, or chicken and french fries... he freaks. He won't even really eat pizza. I have gotten used to the drama and either ignore it and tell him that this is his dinner, there will be nothing else for the rest of the night, and let him choose not to eat. Or, in most cases force him to eat a few bites. Tonight he sat down, whined for a minute and then resigned to the fact that his method has not worked well for him and tried to eat. In fact, he came running to tell me (it does take him quite a bit longer) that he decided to eat ALL the meat. That is a big step forward. He did gag a bit on the green beans and mac-n-cheese but took his bites like a big boy. I made a big deal out of it and asked if I could take a picture of the muscles that were growing before my very eyes from eating all that good food.

Chatty in Pictures

Here is our trip in pics:

Things you need to know:
*My smaller lens is still broken on my camera so it was hard taking pics inside places (because when I got far enough away there was a crowd between me and my subject).
*Eliza chose to finely tune this new 2 year old attitude she is working on, much to the horror of her family. Cute is only so cute when a loud wail is coming from the mouth.

















* I know his Nommie will say that Callan did not make it in enough pictures. This was Callan's "ULTIMATE FUN ZONE" I did not catch him much, and when I did... it was of him taking off. I did have a few more but thought I would spare you the backs of the head or on to the next thing shots... and the sour face of Eliza, was so I'd remember the look of "Don't even take my picture in front of the fish".

A few lessons

We have had a great time so far. Eliza struggled last night going to bed because at home she is still in her crib, but we learned back in June that the Pack-n-play was a NO-GO. So we brought an air mattress for her. We let Baylor lay with her and it was more than either of them could take. They giggled until we could take it no more and then I ended up on the air mattress with Eliza. That girl rolls like a tumbleweed in her sleep. Once she ended up in the corner trying to get somewhere and got stuck and once she just got up and walked to the bathoom- IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. So we are changing things up for tonight so that Momma gets a bed.

To get to the aquarium we got to ride a shuttle. The kids thought that was the greatest thing ever. It was pretty fun. There are a lot of strange birds on the city shuttle. The kids loved the aquarium. There are 2 separate buildings. One river, one ocean. We enjoyed the river one more. It took us forever to go through and I think it was 4 stories of ramps winding down with different exhibits. Baylor really liked the Butterfly room. Butterflies were flying everywhere and would land on you. he just studied butterflies at school so he could tell us a lot about them.

We also got to go the the I-Max theater and watch a documentary on Dolphins and Whales in 3D. Callan sat there the entire time trying to touch the whales swimming toward him. Eliza, Silas, Mommy and Daddy... caught a few zzzz's.

We also discovered that there is an indoor pool. But we were so last minute in our plans, we did not even think about a pool and did not bring suits. Luckily we have been so busy... they have not noticed.

Tonight, we rode the Shuttle back downtown to eat at Sticky Fingers. (our neighbor Steph recommended it) It was HORRIBLE... just kidding, Steph. It was really good. I thought they brought Baylor an empty plate, he ate it so fast. The ride home was again adventurous with the local riders. Eliza draws a lot of attention and I got a lot of "She yo baby?" One woman was proud to tell us that she did not know it was so cold because she just got out of jail... still with her jail bracelet and her laundry bag of her belongings. FUN TIMES.

It really has been fun, Callan has been so excited that he is barely containable and that has been a struggle... but it has definately been worth the fun. I will share pics later ( they do not take well inside the aquarium).

Spontaneous

We wanted to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING... so Mrs. Gotta-plan-out-the-details, and Mr. Does-it-come-with-instruction-manual threw caution to the wind and decided to hop in the car and go to Chattanooga. We leave in just a few hours and are thrilled. The boys are going nuts!

We are going to hit up The TN Aquarium, The Children's Museum, The I-Max and if there is time we might just check out stuff like the Choo-choo and Lookout Mountain.

Wassup with that?

OH YES HE DID! OH YES, my Concrete got up all on his own this morning (his first day of Fall Break) at 6:30 AM and quietly went into the Keeping Room to watch a little TV. He has not gotten up on his own at 6:30 since he was 3. When I asked him why he got up so early when we battle it out every day... he giggled. TWISTED I TELL YOU, He is twisted and sent to this Earth to keep me on my toes (but then again, aren't they all).

Thank you all for the advice on getting Concrete up. When I read your suggestions, it occured to me I have tried more than I even thought. I sing "RISE AND SHINE" loudly on occasion and yes, I have even tried the gentle sweet route with turning on the radio and lights, scratching the back, and speaking sweetly. That only invited more trouble getting up because then he begged for an hour long back scratch, and laid in the floor wiggling that he just could not get dressed because he felt like bugs were all over his back. (Drama I tell you... all from the same child that when he was 2 and we put him in his own big boy bed tried to convince me that SNAKES ARE ALL OVER ME AND EATING ME just to get me to come back in after I had spent over an hour laying in there with him reading, singing, rubbing and inviting dreamland. It was way back then that I learned with him that the sweet and gentle approach with him only fed into his manipulation).

We are doing much better though. We did use an alarm clock, and it is a great idea. But the trouble with the alarm clock -or having numerous kids- is that everything is a logistical configuration. On some days I let Eliza sleep in. In fact, somtimes I can let her sleep all the way through the morning routine and come in to get her up after the kids are on the bus (at 8AM). That way she gets some extra zzz's and I can hurry the boys along a little easier. The alarm clock, however, wakes her up too. So we are still working on it, and probably continue to until my Nicky B (Nicolas Baylor) is off in the world on his own... where I will beg for one more morning of removing concrete.

Scarecrow Day

I must admit, he is way too cute to scare much of anything away.

Wordless Wednesday

Punkin

Look at the size of this "Punkin" Papa brought us. It is huge. The kids love it.







Today I am going on a field trip with Callan to Gentry's Pumpkin Patch. I love Gentry's Pumpkin Patch, so hopefully I will have more to post later.

Concrete

This is Concrete:




Concrete is very difficult to move in the mornings. Especially from the bed to the floor. Concrete spends a long time "Setting Up" enough to get any clothes on. This morning Mommy has had enough dealings with Concrete. Concrete also has developed a new attitude that does not "set up" well with me. Concrete even went so far as to act like he was going to take a swing at me this morning when I made him angry about getting a move on it. Bad choice for Concrete. I had hoped to pull the "Concrete will now go to bed 30 minutes earlier card", but unfortunately Concrete's brother has a ball game and we will not get home to meet that 30 minute earlier bed time. I am getting so tired of the morning routine with Concrete. I am worn out with the repeating myself to "get up", "get dressed", "brush teeth", "get socks", etc. I have tried to just walk away and make him take care of everything himself (which he does not like to do) and he came downstairs with the front of his hair soaking wet and slicked forward and the rats nest in the back went untouched. I could not let go of that and let him go out in public like that. I am at my wits end, and do not know what to do to motivate my Concrete. In the time it takes him to even get out of the bed, everyone else is up, dressed, brushed and ready to go. I am done with it...any suggestions?

Things I have tried (do not call DHS on me)

1. Every time I have to tell him to get up, bed time moves up 10 minutes for that night. (Our M-W is so busy that most times we are not home before 8 or 8:30 and bedtime is 8 around here)

2. Every time I have to tell him to get up, awake time moves up by 10 minutes (for when we have late ball game nights, but then it just punishes me because I have to get up earlier)

3. Spraying with water bottle (bad idea- but it worked)

4. Yelling- frustration took over and then I just felt bad.

5. Taking away privileges (like the DS, or Wii, or our night time Mommy and Concrete only Chapter Book time)

6. Phone call to Daddy.

7. Walking away

Today's post brought to you by the letter S

SNOTS
First, sorry I have been a bad blogger... as Silas would say (besides a busy life here lately) I have had the SNOTS. Just when I think I am getting rid of it, it rears its head again. It is wearing me out.

SILLY SOCKS
This week was S week at school and we got a note home yesterday that today was Silly Sock Day. My crafty mind wandered and I created in my head what would take hours to do... and since I had plans last night, I knew I could not. Brent was at the Tar-jay and I told him to pick up some silly socks. Callan LOVED them.



SECOND grade SECRET love notes
Baylor got his first love note yesterday. Actually 2, and I am not happy about it. Sure it is all sweet and innocent, and he was all red faced and embarrassed. But boy the girls are forward in 2nd grade. She was straight and to the point. I covered up her name because she wrote it and then scribbled it out (but you can still read it).




SLEEVES
Silas is so excited about getting to wear long "sleeves" shirts and long "sleeves" pants. He has been waiting all summer to put them back on again. He finally feels "home". However, he did not enjoy all the SWEAT he was creating while playing at the park in the 85 degree FALL weather. Good thing he had his back up PJ's waiting for him at home.

Shiver Me Timbers

Last night was one for the memory book. As in, scare the crap out of mom and dad, do we go to the ER memory book.

It all started as any normal night. We had a fun family night due to baseball being cancelled and were enjoying a little family Wii bowling. (How did I come in last place? Anyway...) Little Miss Liza Belle was getting quite cantankerous so we went off to bath and bed a wee bit early. Everyone one else went to bed at normal time, but woke her up in the process. I went in to check on her because we are offically pacie free now for 3 days (she only had it at bed and nap)and wanted her to know she was okay. She went back down easily and I went on about my business, and finally turned in for the night. Around midnight, Eliza was crying just a little. Since she is new to the self soothe without a pacie I let her fuss for a few minutes. When I realized that she was not going back out on her own, I went in to tell her that this was not going to be the new thing... waking up all night long. When I got to her she was shaking uncontrollably. Not the "I have just had a nightmare pick me up because I am scared shakes", but she was shivering uncontrollably. Because I was still half asleep, I held on to her for a minute and realized this was not letting up. I stood her up in my lap still shaking crazily... BEGIN FREAK OUT.
I ran (holding her) downstairs to wake up Brent and asked if he noticed anything wrong. Brent is not the easiest fellow to wake up and after her adjusted himself to what was going on he too was alarmed. I knew that this could not be a seizure becuase she was looking at us just fine, I was asking her questions and I think she answered or at least pointed, and Brent said she smiled at him. But it was really freaky. I took her temp and it was low if anything but she was still shaking uncontrollably. I took a big blanket and wrapped us both in it and laid down wrapping my arms around her too all while asking Brent if I needed to call the doctor, or go to the ER, or wake up my neighborhood nurse friend Sonja. Brent ran and got the Tylenol and we just held her for about 20 more minutes (questioning our parenting and wondering if we should just go to the ER)... and it stopped and then she asked to go back to bed.

This morning it was if nothing had happened. All was well, but not knowing any of her birth family's medical history, I thought a call in to the doc was still in order. They thought a quick "looksee" was appropriate. We headed off to Cool Springs and she checked out just fine. I was told to watch her and if this happens again, we will have to do some testing but that it was probably just her body's way of fighting off the fever she may have been trying to get. And those words you love to hear after a $30 copay and 20 minute drive to the doc... probably just a virus.

History and Manners

On Friday, I spent the entire day with Bay's 2nd grade class at the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna. We had a blast checking out all things interesting in the times of the Civil War. I watched in amazement as the people showed the kids what it was like to wash clothes in the 1800's. I watched dreading my own 10 loads of laundry that I was skipping out on at home. BUT THEN, I got home and my mom who had stayed with the little kids had done ALL our laundry and was working on dinner. I am still smiling about my laundry-less baskets. (although they are filling back up quickly)

Saturday, while Brent, Baylor, Callan, Nommie, Gandie, Silas and Eliza spent the day at the baseball field, I was doing something ENTIRELY different. It is how I have spent this weekend for the past 5 years. I was teaching little girls in 1st -3rd grade manners at a girl's conference. It is called Confidence iN Christ and it was started by my friend Terra. She invites girls from 1st-8th grade to spend the day talking about their lives and what is important to them. She teaches them that their confidence comes not from what the world tells them but from what Christ tells them. That because our Lord is King and we are his children, his daughters, then we are princesses. The girls are crowned and get to have fun in all these classes that reinforces who they are in Christ. Different age groups have different sessions and they range from Health, Manners, Prayer, Purity, True Beauty, Worship and More. If you live in the area, I encourage you to bring your daughters (and there is stuff for Mommy too). You can get more details here. I have to add too that our local news anchor was the guest speaker this year, and she did an amazing job. I was a little "Fan-struck" because I have watched her for years as the local anchor and know what a wonderful woman she is both on the air and off. I wish I were brave enough to get a picture but I was afraid I would look like a stalker. I did get a picture of her with a group of the girls, but I wont post it here because some might not appreciate that.

I was so exhausted from my day as a princess, that yesterday... I TOOK A NAP! That is between church... and church. But it was NICE!

This week... Carpool, Baseball, Baseball (yes 2 nights in a row) Butterfly release, and MORE!

Favorite Foto Friday

This picture was taken back in June... but I just received it last week. I love it. It is of the Gregory family clan. My brother, his wife, and son live in Destin and the rest of us live here. We do not get to see them that often, but we love them with all our hearts.

Picture Day

Yesterday was picture day at MDO. I figured by the time they got there their hair would be a mess (we are trying to overcome a haircut malfunction) or they would have gotten something all over them. So I propped them up outside for a few before we left for school. My two babies, they grow up so fast!





And my favorite... Silas is the sweetest, most compassionate, loving, sensitive 3 year old I have ever met (at least where his Sissy is concerned).