Totally NOT Neglecting my blog...

Okay. I know. I've been, um, busy lately. I guess I took the Summer off- and the problem with that is, when one has the list of things to blog about that I have, returning to the Blogosphere seems a very daunting task. In truth, it will likely take me DAYS to catch up, but catch up I will, rest assured. A tasty morsel of things to come:

-end of school, 4th of July, visits from cousins, spontaneous trip to the beach, MCT, Gymnastics camp, bball camp, cheer camp, outings with friends, MORE outings with friends, triplets' birthday, Tball, two-square tournament, Sumner Arts Fest... and SO much more!!!!

I'm getting to it- I promise... It might take until Christmas, but it's going to happen!

Memorial Day Weekend Extravaganza of Family Togetherness!

So, in lieu of taking a one-night overnight trip (which often ends up being a nightmare... I mean, who actually sleeps the first night in a new place, kids don't calm down, it isn't until night two that anyone actually rests, blah blah) we decided to do some fun outings to keep ourselves entertained this last weekend!

Friday night, we went to the Valley Drive in to see:

It was our first family trip to the drive in since Annie was a baby, and it was a blast! The kids loved it and the movie was great... I recommend it!

Saturday, we cleaned the house (work before play, of course... :) then loaded up everyone and went to lunch at McDonalds (I know, but remember, five kids...) then to Parkland Putters- an old-school mini golf place near Tacoma. The kids were so excited to go mini-golfing and Maggie was very... helpful...

She's cute, can't fault her for that...

Since the day was completely GORGEOUS, we opted to take a family walk on Ruston Way on the waterfront in Tacoma. It was a busy day there, but the weather was glorious, which, as we Washingtonians know, is an occurrence not to be trifled with. So, walking we went...

By the end of our walk, we had worked up an appetite... So we decided to eat dinner at Tacoma's Old Spaghetti Factory- a fabulous place to eat with kids- Kids meals are only 4.99 and they include a drink, salad, entree and dessert! Awesome! And delicious- they even have whole wheat pasta now! Yay me!

We went home, got ready for bed, then went to church Sunday and enjoyed a restful, rejuvenating Sabbath.

Monday, we went got up, got ready and after lunch went to Federation Forest and did a family hike! The Jonesies LOVE to hike- even Maggie was enthralled! The trail was easy enough, and we probably walked a couple of miles, effortlessly.

We stopped by our favorite Farm Stand on our way home to get some fresh veg and fruit (and ice cream -OBVIOUSLY one of the four food groups...) and went to a relaxing cook out at the Deputy's home. And *bonus*, got to see the inside of the new house they're building... Fun day!

It was truly a fabulous weekend. Not perfect- never perfect, but very entertaining, and I think every Jonesie had a truly exhilarating time. I think we have begun a new family tradition- the Memorial Day Weekend Extravaganza of Family Togetherness (MDWEFT) will be something we look forward to each year... and I have 364 days to recover... :)

Annie's Program

Annie had her First Grade music program at school, "Hansel and Gretel Eat Right". She was the cutest squirrel in the bunch. It was really cute and actually pretty funny. Where else do you get to see a singing compost pile? As Jim stated (quite profoundly, I might add...) "Lessons we've learned: Sweets=bad. Fruits and Veg=good. " I would add: "Compost=essential (and apparently, musical)."

A few pics:

An Apple for the...

Check out these beauties! I made them for Annie's teachers at school for Staff Appreciation Week... Yes, I'm totally channelling Martha here... Yes, for the uninitiated, they are apple-shaped cake pops. In a bucket. With ribbon. Could I be more unabashedly girly?

A few things I've learned...

Thanks so much to everyone who commented here and on my FB account about what it means to be a mother. Your comments were great- and very inspiring- they were great in my talk yesterday! In honor of Mom's Day, I'm including in this post my list (from my talk yesterday) of a few things I've learned in the last 7.5 years of motherhood...

I've learned:

You can clean nearly anything out of carpet with either ammonia or shaving cream.

It is often better to listen than to talk.

Adhesive bandages have magical healing powers.

Nothing compares to the young testimony of a little child as they share with you their thoughts about Jesus.

Not to be offended that when the children play house, the mother is always dead.

Family activities and projects are never perfect, and that's okay.

Family home evening, no matter how raucous and loud, is precious time.

"Furniture" is synonymous with "playground" in the vocabulary of a four-year-old.

The carpet will always be dirty, the patio door covered in fingerprints, mysterious odors will linger in the laundry room, but babies will grow and change and we will never have those moments back.

Grandparents are angels.

Children will clean any mess if they can do it like a superhero.

Sometimes we just need to cry in the pantry for a few minutes, and that's okay.

Martha Stewart did NOT have five children aged seven and under.

A little individual time with a child does wonders for behavior.

Never break a promise.

My Heavenly Father knows me, He knows my children- HIS children, and wants us to be happy.

Relief Society is often that- a RELIEF. There is great wisdom to be found among those who have done it before, and great support to be found among our sisters in the trenches.

Above all, prayer is a lifeline. It is the ultimate resource, the channel by which we plead our hearts desires, cry out the pain in our hearts, and receive quiet answers.


Hope your Mother's Day was a great one! Hang in there Mommies, you're doing the most important work there is- and in the immortal words of Zac Ephron, "We're all in this TOGETHER! " :)

Mother's Day Tea

I LOVE the preschool the trio attends. They do the most creative, cute FUN activities and they LOVE going (Yay!)!


Today we had the "Mother's Day Tea". They transformed the meeting room into rows and rows of pink tables with real tea cups and finger sandwiches. The kids sang us a song and gave us presents. It was very sweet. Here are my gifts:

They came wrapped like this:

So, my other favorite part was the paper they each gave me called

"Some Important Stuff About My Mom"

(answers are color-coded: Soph, Henry, Charlie)

My Mom's name is AMBERLYN/AMBER/AMBER

She is ABOUT 14/100/18 years old and her favorite color is BLUE & GREEN/RED/PINK.

My mom's favorite food is GROWN-UP YOGURT/PIZZA DIPPED IN RANCH/PASTA.

Her job is TO HELP US CLEAN OUR ROOMS/CLEANING THE DISHES FOR US/HELP ME PUT ON MY BATHING SUIT SHIRT FOR SWIMMING LESSONS.

When my mom and I want to have some fun, we GET ICE CREAM TOGETHER/GO TO SUPER JUMP PARTY ZONE/GO TO THE STORE AND GET FOOD.

My special Mother's Day words for my Mom are: "I LOVE YOU"/"I LOVE YOU"/"YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!"

I love that! I will keep those little treasures for ever and ever! Thanks kiddos!

Earnest Query...

So, I've been asked to speak in Sacrament meeting next week on Mother's Day. Topic? Mother's Day. I am bracing myself for the inevitable fact that this assignment will bring with it an unneccessarily difficult week of mothering, requiring me to do some extreme soul searching and brain racking to find worthwhile things to say (yes, I'm being brutally honest- but doesn't it always happen that way?) I'm just being real- anyone who knows me KNOWS that I adore my children, in spite of all their sneaky, loud, irrational naughtiness.

So I'm asking, simply said, what is the BEST part of being a mom and the MOST DIFFICULT part of being a mom? Please reply. I need feedback. You'd really be doing me a service here, folks. You might even get a shout-out. Yes, you could be famous among the throng of Victor Falls Ward-goers. Please help me. Don't make me beg.

Thanks friends.

Tallulah Party- TONIGHT!

Hey Everybody! Just a little reminder- Tallulah Twinkletoes "Spring Soiree" tonight at my house, 7-9pm. Bring your Easter dresses and favorite Spring outfits to coordinate- and check out the new Kufi caps and Princess clippies! Totally adorable!!!!

See you there!

Big Thanks...

To everyone who attended and helped with mom's big 60th surprise! It was so much fun- and I think she was genuinely surprised- especially when Ash walked in the room! We had a great weekend- got pictures taken of the cousins together (adorable) and spent a lot of quality time together. I wish Ash and Chris lived closer- I love when we get to all be together!

Check out...

my rockstar husband on his newest post on "Can't We All Just Blog Along?". Hilarious, moving, profound, all wrapped into one. Love that guy.

Tallulah Open House- TONIGHT!

Come one, come all! My house, 7pm. Treats, bows, tutus, you know the drill. Come see the new Valentine's stuff. CUTE. :)

Day in Seattle

We spent the King holiday on Monday at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle (KING county. How apropos). The kids had fun doing all the fun hands-on stuff there is to do- and everyone's science interests were entertained- Charlie saw the bugs and dinosaurs, Henry saw the space stuff, Soph went in the butterfly house, and Annie, well, just took EVERYTHING in (she's our science girl...). We walked around the Seattle Center- saw the International Fountain (very cool) and then ate a YUMMY dinner at Buca Di Beppo. A fun family day, all in all. Best part, everyone fell asleep at 7:00 on their way home and transferred RIGHT to bed- no bedtime wars! Wonderful!

New Bed!!!!

To try to satisfy my insatiable need to redecorate and reorganize the house, I had Jim put together the boys' bunk beds- theirs will be bedroom makeover #1. We bought paint (though we haven't painted yet-one thing at a time). Here's the bed. The boys are ecstatic- and it's the new hot spot for everything at the Jones house...

By Popular Demand.

The Diarrhea Debacle of '05.

(In the interest of time, censorship and well, personal challenge, I have decided to share the story in the form of an extended Haiku. enjoy. )

children are pooping

filling diapers, soaking towels

under their bottoms.

children are rashy

bottoms need airing

(home teacher is coming by).

baby is standing

removing diaper, pooping

into playroom vent.

new carpet ruined.

mother is crying aloud.

children are pooping.

FIN.

(I know, it doesn't look like a Haiku. I wrote it in three stanzas, but it won't publish that way. Bummer. Pardon the pun.)

Welcoming in the New Year. (not for faint of heart...)

So, I finished my post last night, just as I hear Annie at the top of the stairs screaming at the top of her lungs and crying.

I RUN upstairs to find her, vomiting, at the top of the staircase.

Granted, the day before, Annie had two puking episodes, but she was feeling well enough on New Years to be up and about and do some family stuff. (I figured it was a 24-hour thing, and it had been well over 24 hours since the last episode...you know...). My poor little girl.

I follow her to her room to find that Sophie had (unfortunately) snuck into bed with Annie (as is often her custom). Sadly, poor little Soph, still sleeping, was entirely covered in vomit. Face, hair, chest, everything.

I showered both girls, had them brush their teeth (yes, Sophie too... ugh.) and put Soph down for sleep on old quilts sprawled on her bedroom floor (expecting her to do it in the night as well- though she didn't... yet) and put Annie in her make-shift bed. Her carpet will probably never fully recover, even with Ammonia, carpet cleaner and everything else. It's orange.

I have fingers CROSSED that we will not have a repeat of last night- with the other four Jonesies. I have become a germophobe- bleaching, Lysoling and sanitizing EVERYTHING and everyone, hoping it will soften the blow. I suppose it's a good thing that these things happen gradually- five puking at once would be, well, not fun. (Ask me someday about the Diarrhea Debacle of '05- my playroom heater vent has only now recovered...)

So this one goes out to all my Puke-cleaning Sistas and Brothas- especially the newly initiated like Candi- who are all praying with me that we don't have another night like last night.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'd have to say, I think 2008 was pretty good. A quick recap, for anyone who missed anything- and for me to list a few things I forgot to mention: (really, this list is mostly for me, but read on if you'd like... I'm realizing it's kind of like one of those BAD "year in review" letters you get with Christmas cards- listing obscure people's names and weird things you don't care about... so sorry if it's dullsville- like I said, for me and posterity...)

January:

Maggie turned 1 month. Spent a LOT of time inside, acclimating to life with 5 kids. That's pretty much it.

February:

Turned 31. Had the cutest Valentine's dinner with Jimbo and the kids. Swimming lessons for the four. Read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. Re-read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. Read everything I could get my little fingers on about Twilight movie, books, Stephenie Meyer, etc. (Fed the frenzy, basically). Read lots of other stuff. Wrote some stuff.



March:

Read LOTS more stuff. (See Good Reads list) Wrote lots more stuff. More swimming lessons.



April:

Read lots more stuff. Wrote lots more stuff. Easter. Went to Idaho for niece Jenni-Leigh's wedding. Spring Break. Neglect of blog begins.



May:

Tenth wedding anniversary! Had tasty dinner at Salty's. Neglect of blog continues. Lots of reading. Memorial Day hike with kids, Charlie gets glasses! Father/Son campout.



June:


School is out! Craziness ensues. More reading. Plant sorry excuse for a garden. Ashley visits with the cousins! Neglect of blog continues. Discover used bookstore in Sumner- oh happy day!



July:


Trip to Great Wolf Lodge. Fourth of July at Barkers. Day Camp, Annie's play, lots of busy stuff. Still reading, and neglecting blog.



August:


Trip to zoo. (Lose Henry. Last year- Charlie. Next year, Soph?) S,H &C birthday carnival extravaganza. Hello Blog! We're back! Breaking Dawn midnight release! (Yes, reading.)

September:

SCHOOL and PRESCHOOL (and my new lease on life begins... :) No soccer, dance etc. this season- we're simplifying! Reading!

October:

Jim is 34! Oktoberfest with the Gma & Gpa. Pumpkin patch(es)! Cutest Wizard of Oz costumes ever. Make lots of bows.

November:

We elected, who? Annie is 7! HSM on ice! Tallulah Twinkletoes launches with fun party! Thanksgiving. EXCELLENT Black Friday shopping with the ninjas. TWILIGHT movie! HSM 3 with the kids. Re-discover love of creating/crafting after Ward Fabulous Friday.

December:

Maggie is 1! Cutest Christmas nativity program ever (Henry- Wise Man, Soph- Cow, Charlie- Stable boy). LOTS of snow. Lots of wrapping. Christmas tree hunt in Mtns. Jones Family Shopping day! Wonderful Christmas Eve/Day with loved ones. Begin insatiable and relentless search for fun, economical home-improvement projects for new year!



WHEW! And that didn't even include pictures - or all the loads of laundry, diapers changed, toilets scrubbed, windows and cabinets washed, meals prepared, children bathed, prayers said, tears cried, timeouts taken, miles driven, boo boos kissed, songs sung, trips to the library, phone calls made, medicines administered or calls to grandma! (among other things!)

Yeah, I think 2009 is going to be pretty awesome too.