The Jones Journal

"it's as simple

as something nobody knows, that her eyes

are as big as her bubbly toes." jack johnson

a fine line

we've been in the midst of the terrible twos for several weeks now. it seems he's getting into trouble almost everyday. this morning, he got into an argument with his sister and he refused to say sorry.

after some corner time, he asked me,
"mommy, me a bad boy?"

which literally broke my heart because i know how difficult it is when you feel you always disappoint.

i have tried hard to never say that my kids are a "bad boy/bad girl." i've tried to discipline by the adage "hate the sin, not the sinner".

so please pray for me and him as we work through these rough days.

wait, wait

me on top, me on top!

yeah, right :)

just cruel

these kids. they know i'm trying to eat healthier and exercise and they go on and just enjoy their food like this, just all in front of me too.

now excuse me while i go nibble on some carrots.

they wanna be

like spiderman.

popsicles

will have to do. i didn't realize that we were running low on freeze pops/otter pops yesterday. tom and the kids basically live off these during the summer.

singing a different tune

i asked thomas how his sunday school was this past weekend.

t: one boy cried, 'mommy, mommy, mommy!!!'
m: did you cry?
t: only one boy, not me.

which made me giggle, because i seem to remember getting called out of church for a certain little mama's boy not so very long ago. uh-huh...

and then i giggled some more when i saw him like this.

ooh la la

working out

during a jam session with dad:

and then later helping dad mow the lawn:

getting to the point

daddy's been working a lot of hours this week. he's been gone pretty much before they wake up and home after they're in bed.

this morning, we were up as he was walking out the door. he commented on how he was ahead on hours and today would basically be overtime, to which she said, "but that means you won't get to spend any time with us."

and that reminded me of something that thomas does a lot. he says he's calling daddy on his pretend cell phone and he'll say, "daddy, come home soon."

we understand he's busy at work, but we still miss him.

i'd like to know

where she learned this?

i got tagged

I got tagged from a fellow blogger friend (Carrie), so here goes!

5 things on my to do list:

1: phone my friend rina
2: email my cousin ha
3: file away papers on my desk
4: start the next lesson for small group
5: exercise

5 jobs I have had:

1: restaurant hostess
2: movie theater concessions
3: factory worker
4: dishwasher
5: pharmacist

5 places I have lived:

1: vietnam
2: naperville, illinois
3: bolingbrook, illinois
4: west lafayette, indiana
5: chandler, arizona

5 favorite snacks:

1: trail mix
2: strawberries
3: chex mix
4: cookies
5: coffee

5 favorite desserts:

1: tiramisu
2: caramel pecan silk pie
3: cold stone's coffee ice cream
4: chocolate cake of any kind
5: caramel frappucino

5 things you don't know about me:

1: i literally get chills when people scrape their teeth against their silverware.
2: i dislike dusting.
3: i get headaches if i use any perfume or fragrant body washes or lotions.
4: i have never gotten a traffic ticket of any kind.
5: i will never, ever willingly eat bologna again.

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1: donate
2: live debt free
3: travel the world
4: study photography
5: work for a cause

5 things I love:

1: my family
2: my church
3: photography
4: scrapbooking
5: coffee

i'm supposed to tag 5 blogging friends, but if you read this, you're my friend and consider yourself tagged :)

strange behaviour

yesterday, after a rough morning, i put thomas down for a nap and found kayla like this, watching her show.

i thought she looked comfortable and cozy and didn't think anything of it. until today. today, she asked me for hot chocolate.

does she not realize that it's 112 outside???

feeling a little unappreciated here

t: (i want) tanner to come to my house.

m: he's sick. remember i told you he threw up.

t: kaleb come to my house?

m: no, he's visiting his grandpa.

t: daddy?

m: he's at work.

t: uncle joe?

m: he lives far away.

t: papa?

m: no, he's at work.

t: grandpa?

m: no, he's at work. thomas, what about mommy and kayla? we're here; we'll play with you.

t: no.

happy father's day

to my father, my father-in-law, my brother and all you other dads out there, but especially to my husband, who i think is a great father.

she even does bedtime stories

not much

to write about these days. i'm wondering if you all are getting tired of me saying the some ol' things - kayla this, thomas this...and the same ol' pictures. i know i am :) tom said i should start doing some theme weeks, like pictures of our home for a week and what's for dinner for a week. something different. whatcha think?

day 164
playing in kayla's room. i personally love all the bright colors of her room. if i was brave enough, i would paint my house in those shades exactly :)

swimming lessons

so thursday was the last day of swimming lessons for this session. kayla was in tadpoles (the beginner class) and thomas and i took the parent-toddler class. she did a great job and we were so proud of her.

grateful

today at swimming lessons, i talked to 2 women. the first told me about how much debt they are in and how she is barely getting by each month. the second told me she had a lumpectomy 2 weeks ago and how much discomfort she is still in ( all 3 lumps were benign.) when i got home, i received an email about a member of our small group who was in the hospital with appendicitis. then, this afternoon, a mom of kayla's classmate told me she is in the process of getting a divorce.

besides my small group member, i barely know these women. actually, the women at swimming lessons, i just met last monday. so, why am i sharing this? because people are hurting, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. that rude cashier, the driver who cut you off, the waitress who forgot your drink, the co-worker who talks on the phone and doesn't do any work. we don't know what people are going through. we just don't know.

i feel like i'm rambling and i'm not making sense. anyway, i just want to say i'm grateful today. i'm grateful for all i have and all that i have not.

and now back to tupac. ( tommy and tom will get this. )

day 161:
thomas colored this in sunday school 2 weeks ago. he shows each of us and waits for us to tell him how proud we are of him.

day 162:
after swimming lessons, i headed up to shower and came down to find kayla making peanut butter and jelly crackers - a daddy favorite.

day 163:
hey, it only took a day and now thomas is making them too. who knows by next week i'll could have them making me dinner.

sh-wing batter, batter

today

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You. - Dr. Seuss

been there

after art class, i asked her how things went.

k: this little girl said it didn't look right.

m: what, your drawing?

k: yeah.

m: what did you say to her?

k: well, that's okay. you're drawing it your way and i'm drawing it my way.

m: you said that?

k: no, but i was thinking that in my mind.

fancy, fancy

do i

hold my babies as lovingly?

64

the total number of cars, both big and small, he gathered around the house and lined up.

simple pleasures