What's that you say???

We all know kids say the darndest things. Here are some of the highlights of the week from the Jones house:

Brynn - "Brooke, you don't look like a seal when you do push ups! Here let me show you how to do it!"

Brooke - "Mom, can I have some more popeye pancakes, this time without the tree sap?"

Aubree - "Dad is my Dad, and Uncle Don."

Aubree - "I like to go camping. I sleep in a tent. And there is Bigfoot out there."

Brooke - "I'm a wicked, wicked witch, and I don't read my scriptures"

Powerful Moms??

At the Dr this week, I picked up the latest copy of Working Mother magazine. I'm always looking for tips and tricks on how to keep it together as a working mom. I found a great article written by a stay at home dad which I noted for further research. When I looked the magazine up on line, I found and interesting listing of 2011 most powerful moms. One of the mothers listed is Ursula Burns, who is the current CEO of Xerox, mother of 2 children, ages 21 & 17. While I found the "stats" on her career interesting, I about choked when I read the following "As for what Burns is like as a mom? This high-paid executive often does laundry and grocery shopping for the house to set a good example for her kids. She told the New York Times, “There's a little bit of this childhood kind of poverty—you know, pragmatism—that you never can get rid of."



WHAT????? She often does the laundry???? I think I live in a different realm, because, I have a different view of what makes a powerful mother. Here are just a few of the powerful mothers who are on my list & why... (I hope you don't mind me calling you all out.)

Kellie-
A mother of 5 and a military wife. That right there should be explanation enough, but I'll elaborate. A college graduate & highly intelligent woman, who chose to leave her career in education, to fulfill a higher role as a mother. She never has a dull moment, as she is always involved in her children's classrooms, PTA, church callings, and still has time to provide moral support to her blubbering little sister, whenever I need her. For the last 2 years Kellie has basically lived as a single mom, as her husband has been deployed to various schools & training, and has been Afghanistan for the last 9 months. As if this weren't stressful enough, her husband is part of an EOD team, responsible for disarming IED's. There should be a medal of honor for military wives and mothers, simply for surviving.

Rachael-
Also a highly intelligent woman, who has been an incredible friend to me. She also put an incredible career in Civil Engineering (less than 2% of Civil Engineers are female)on hold, to be at home with 2 beautiful girls. Rachael manages to keep her house cleaner and more organized than anyone I have ever met, yet still makes you feel right at home. Rachael's 2nd daughter was born with a portion of her left arm missing. I can't imagine the emotions this brought. I also can't imagine a woman more aptly equipped to handle the challenges. Rachael is compassionate, straight forward, and funny. A great example to me.

Laurie-
Laurie epitomizes Super Mom to me. She works full time, is actively involved in sports for all 3 of her children, is a party planner extraordinaire, and one of the most amazing women I know. Laurie adopted me and my little family, helping raise my 2 girls, as if they were her own, while we were in Wyoming. Laurie is an amazing cook & always seems to have room for extras. She cares for everyone, from her Grandma Rose, to her parents & siblings to friends like me. One of the most amazing women I know.

My Mom -
Yes, I realize this might seem a bit cliche, but I really do think my Mom is amazing. She has raised 8 children, which speaks volumes in and of itself. While in her late 30's, she decided to pursue her college education, and earned a degree in early childhood education. She graduated just hours before my older sister, from the same university. She has taught me many things, I hope to emulate, and some I hope to never repeat. Some of her greatest parenting advice is to improve upon what your parents have given you.

Really I have been blessed by so many incredible women in my life, and I learn so much from each of them. Incredible examples in their own way, and definitely all Powerful Moms, who I'm sure all "occasionally do the laundry".

Kids Say the Darndest Things

While nursing Brodee, my 3 year old niece walks up to me, and points to the breast pad resting on my knee.
"Auntie, what's that?" she asks.
I reply, "It's a breast pad. Or a yarmulke."



She then cocked her head to the side & responded. "I can say Hooya America! I say it to the flag!"

"Good Girl, Malia! Good Girl!"

Brodee Ean Jones

9 months is a long time to be pregnant. It could be worse, elephants are pregnant for 24 months, and deliver 500 pound babies. This pregnancy felt like I was experiencing both, an unending gestation, and an expectant 500 pound baby.

Baby #4 for us was a BOY! I love my 3 beautiful girls, but the thought of changing things up and having a boy was very exciting to me. However, for me, those changes became evident even through pregnancy. For starters, this boy gave me reflux. Not heartburn, like my girls had given me, full on reflux, unaltered by diet or Tums. my waist line also grew faster than with any of my 3 girls, as did my weight gain.
I have a great Obstetrician, Kathleen Langer (best Dr EVER!!!). At our 2nd appointment, she asked if we would like to think of an induction date, because of our drama with Aubree (for the full story on Aubree, click here http://jonesnwiththefam.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html ). We settled on September 9th. As the months progressed and our obstetric visits increased, it was obvious this baby boy was doing his best to be bigger than his sisters. At 34 weeks, I measured 36. At 35 weeks, I measured 38. At 36 weeks, I was measuring 39. Dr. Langer was guesstimating an 8+ pound baby. A far cry from 500, but to me, 8 pounds sounded pretty intimidating!

We made it to the 9th, and arrived at Labor & Delivery at our appointed time, 7:00 AM. After completing paperwork (I'm not sure what the purpose of "pre-registering" is, when you have to complete so much paperwork once you are checking in), we were shown to our Labor & Delivery room. As we were passing the nursing station, we overheard a nurse calling Dr. Langer, concerned about her scheduled induction for Marcie Jones. The nurse was concerned there wasn't a valid medical reason for induction. I had to tell myself, "Think happy thoughts! Dr. Langer won't let us be sent home!" I was right. Dr. Langer appeared in our room about 15 minutes later, to make sure we had the anesthesiologist on the way, and she'd be back to break my water, and then the nurses would have no choice, but to keep us! Again, Hooray for Dr. Langer!

5 hours of "labor" later (most of which I napped through, thanks to a good anesthesiologists!), and a frantic 10 minutes of pushing, our beautiful baby boy was born. Weighing in at a healthy 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and 19.5" long.

He's a beautiful, healthy baby boy, who has 3 adoring older sisters. Each who love him in their own distinct ways. Daddy is proud as can be. As for Mom, its true there's a special place in a mother's heart for her son.

Party Time!

My beautiful Brooke turned 5 on June 30th. Because I never have my poop in a group, we always celebrate on the closest weekend, which put is right in the middle of the 4th of July festivities. Instead of dragging everyone together twice in one weekend, we opted for a birthday/Independence Day celebration at my parents house. The original plan was to have a "swimming party", complete with Grandpa's inflatable double water slide. Unfortunately mother nature wasn't so cooperative & the day was cooler than expected, cloudy & rainy. Being the adorable little brother that he is, I was able to talk Zachary into getting a couple of his horses & giving "pony rides" in my parents back yard instead. The kids loved it, and Brooke still thought she had a pretty cool birthday, despite the change in plans. Check out all the fun pictures on in the album on Facebook.

There is sunshine in my soul today!

Finally a day with sunshine & warm temperatures! This spring has felt like we've been transplanted to Seattle, instead of living in the arid deserts of Utah.
Here are some fun weather facts, compliments of KSL News Meteorology Desk:

This is the wettest May ever with 5.16" of rain. It is the second wettest month ever - the wettest being September of 1982. This is the wettest spring (March, April, May) ever. We count water during the "water year" that goes from October to September. A normal water year is 16.18" of water, we are already over 21" of water...and there's 5 months left.

I believe these stats are for the SL Airport. Pretty Amazing!

So today we're enjoying the sun & keeping our fingers crossed that is stays around a little while. Aubree was just outside dancing on the deck singing "I'n outside! I'n Outside!" I know the kids are looking forward to sunny days, so is mamma!

Baby, Oh, Baby!

So with baby #4, I should be a pro at this whole parenting thing, right? So why is it I'm already starting to panic a bit? My sister says the transition from 2 to 3 is the hardest. But right now, 4 is feeling a little overwhelming to me.

Maybe it is because, in essence we are starting over. I don't have a supply of boy things, although I do have a supply of girl things, and I just might be crafty enough to figure out ways to alter and adapt them to a little boy. My pack 'n play for example is a beautiful brown & PINK pattern. I'm thinking I can re-do the top edging, with something brown & blue, or brown & green easily enough, and a sheet cover will work for the padding. But then there are blankets and clothes to consider too. Now, I'm not freakish about having my kids identified in gender by EVERYTHING they wear. Using a pink or purple blanket at home doesn't bother me, but I don't want to deal with it out in public.

So..... I guess the money I was planning on spending on my yard this year just got reallocated to pay for supplies (nicety and necessity) for baby boy. I'm sure it will all be worth it, and lets face it, I really am looking forward to the shopping!

Easy As Apple Pie?

I love being in my kitchen. Well not actually being IN my kitchen, since it usually looks the spaghetti tornado from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has been through, but I LOVE cooking, and baking. Oddly enough, I rarely seem to have time to do what I love, as there is always something else that seems to be screaming louder for my attention.

Let me share with you a recent adventure in baking...

This weekend, thanks to Bountiful Baskets, I had a counter overflowing with apples. Time to make a pie. I had promised my little brother I'd keep his kids for the weekend, so he and his sweetheart could have a child free get away. This means I was home from work about 3 hours early Friday afternoon, YAY ME!!! Excess apples, "extra time", perfect time to make a pie, right?? In addition to 2 extra children for the night, we were having a family gathering on Saturday for a belated Easter Egg Hunt, which happened to fall on my other brother's birthday. My brother who LOVES my Dutch Apple Pie. Even more reason to get baking....

So at 4:00 I had my dinner menu in mind, White Chili Chicken Soup, and homemade corn bread, with apple pie for desert. Just for fun, I sent a note to some friends, to invite them over for desert - what can be better than sharing delicious food with friends? I text ed Donovan to bring home some vanilla ice cream to go with the pie. So far, so good....

I started the preparations for dinner, cornbread first, so it could begin baking while I mixed up the soup, and while it simmered, I'd start peeling apples. Yes, I am an awesome planner. Then the fun began. I discovered after mixing all the wet ingredients for my cornbread, I had no corn meal. WHAT? I was sure I had some in my pantry somewhere! This lead to an impromptu cleaning and re-organization mission of the pantry. An hour an a half later, my pantry was torn apart, Donovan was now ready to head home from work and I really had NO corn meal. A quick text to Donovan to grab some cornmeal in addition to the ice cream. "Cornbread mix?" he responds - NO! Just the corn meal! I have everything already mixed, except the corn meal.

By the time Donovan got home with my ice cream and corn meal, I had the pantry, mostly put back together, and dinner no where near started. Change gears quick! Get the food going, the natives are getting restless!

Finally the cornbread is in the oven, the soup is starting to simmer, and the apples are being peeled. Now the timer is going off & the cornbread is done, almost. As I'm trying to slice apples, I'm being interrupted about every 2 minutes by a different child, asking for a snack, or letting me know they are hungry. I think some days I need to be an octopus, 2 arms are not enough.

Dinner on the table, apples sliced & seasoned, kids eating... Solace for a minute or two.

At 7:15 my friend responded to the desert text - "sorry just saw your text". Which I didn't see for another hour. No worries - come on over - the pie will be done about 9:30. I even have ice cream. :)

Time to get 5 little monkeys into bed. Who gets to sleep where? What pillow do I get to use? But I want to sleep by ....... Now it's 9:00 and I'm just making pie crust. (In case you're interested, Paula Dean has an AWESOME pie crust recipe, which has become my favorite). I now realize that along the way I peeled enough apples for 2 pies. CRAP! Roll out another pie crust. Pie #1 goes in the oven, at 9:15. Now do the math with me - bake with edges covered in tin foil for 25 - 30 minutes, remove foil & bake another 20 - 25 minutes. Somehow I don't think the pie is going to be ready by 9:30.

9:35ish - friends show up - pie still not done. Kids still not asleep, kitchen still looking like a spaghetti twister has come through town.

The delay in the pie baking allowed for some great visiting time, with some great friends. The kids DID eventually fall asleep, including Aubree who was being rocked. And the pie was DEEE-LICIOUS!!!

And this my friends is why I don't bake more...

Its Music to Me!

I love music. Anyone who knows me knows I love music. I love to sing and listen to others sing. I listen to a wide variety of music, depending on my mood you'll catch me listening to anything from Nirvana to Indigo Girls, John Denver to AC/DC, Johnny Cash to Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. You could say my tastes are a little eclectic. My love of music is one I do my best to share with my children. I love to hear them sing with the radio, with me at bedtime and anytime they hear music. Unfortunately for them, they have all been blessed (or cursed) with my stellar dance skills. Which I have to say, brings me great entertainment. We'll focus on vocal music development instead of dancing. :)

In our home right now, our favorite DVD to watch is Fantasia & Fantasia 2000. The girls love the music & the artistic interpretations of the music. I love that they are watching something that exposes them to some of our greatest music composers, and some creative artistic minds.

This may be the start of their eclectic music journey...

Happy Easter

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Beyond the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups I love the heralding in of Spring. The new life, the return of birds, flowers, and some green grass.
Most importantly, I love the religious celebration of Spring. A time to recognize the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A time to recognize the Atonement, and the Resurrection. A time to remember the Plan of Salvation. A time to remember, and be grateful for an eternal family, spanning generation, upon generation.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for ME he was crucified,
That for ME a sinner, he suffered, he, bled and died.

Oh, it is WONDERFUL that he should care for me, enough to die for me!
Oh, it is WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL to me!



I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever living Head.

He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.

I know you are, but what am I?

Just for fun, some random facts about me:

1. I love reading, but become unhealthily involved in my books (I've been know to dream about things I'm reading & attempt to re-write stories).
2. I rarely read, because my "free time" is spent chasing my 3 beautiful daughters.
3. I love playing sports, even the ones I'm not very good at.
4. Basketball is my favorite sport to play and watch.
5. As a child, I was very shy & quiet.
6. I'm known to be bossy.
7. I'm very opinionated. If you don't want to really know my opinion, don't ask it.
8. Even if you don't ask, you may still be subjected to my opinion.
9. Though you may not always be able to tell, I am very spiritually minded.
10. I love singing.
11. I knew my husband for just 2 months before we were engaged.
12. I think people who get married quickly are crazy.
13. I never wanted to be a "business woman".
14. I've been in business management for 14 years, and love it!
15. My college transcript is somewhat like Pauly Shore's. I've dabbled in everything from heavy duty auto mechanics, to veterinary classes to interior design. I guess I'm still trying to decide who I want to be when I grow up.
16. My favorite subjects in school were English & History.
17. I love dark chocolate!
18. My husband is my best friend & love of my life.
19. I still don't think I'm old enough to be a mom.
20. I loved traveling, until I had kids. Now I'd rather be home with them.
21. I've traveled to 3 countries, Mexico (Cabo San Lucas & Puerta Vallerta), Spain (all over!) and Gibralter (which I guess isn't really a country, but is under British rule).
22. I would love to go back to Spain with Donovan.
23. I would love to see the rest of Europe.
24. One of my favorite jobs has been cleaning horse stalls.
25. If I was independently wealthy, I would run a occupationally therapy program with horses for children with injuries or disabilities
26. I have secret aspirations of some day singing in the MoTab Choir.
27. I HATE scrap booking!
28. I enjoy cooking, and dream of being a master chef.
29. I question my abilities as a mother daily.
30. I'm a mother hen & like to take care of others.

Just in case you ever had a burning desire to know any of these things about me.... Well, now you do!

What's in a blog???

So I started this blog after moving from Wyoming, as a way to update family & friends on our adventures. However, blogging, along with most other forms of communication is not one of my strengths. It's been over a year since my last post, so long in fact, that the template I downloaded from the internet is apparently no longer available! Yes, I'm just that on top of things. Mostly I think, "Is there any one really that interested in my so called life?"

Well.... Interested or not, here's it goes... I'm getting back in the game of blogging.

Happy Birthday to Brynn

We celebrated Brynn's birthday over 4 days this year. Friday the 29th with her school class, Saturday the 30th with Grandpa & Grandma Jones, who treated her to lunch, her birthday on the 31st, and a HUGE family shindig on February 1st. We had a the Family all over for dinner, just a small group of 40. :)
I'm grateful to have family so close to share our great times with. Brynn had a great time.
She first asked for a #6 cake, but I talked her into a butterfly instead. Not my greatest work but not too shabby. :)It only took me two tries to get it right. (The first attempt ended up in the trash).
I can't believe she is 6 years old already. How time flies!!!! She is such a beautiful girl. We are so blessed to have her in our family!!!!

Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge

The states of Nevada & Arizona have been working on a bypass bridge for the Hoover Dam since 2003. The bridge was supposed to be completed in 2007, but is far from it. Here's a few pictures I snapped from my phone, while creeping across the dam at 5 mph. When finished, the bridge will be apx. 850 feet above the Colorado river. It is a little unnerving to look at from the ground. I can't imagine being the one working on it!!!

Bryce Canyon

We spent last weekend in Tropic, UT at a family reunion. The girls had a great time. We slept in a Tipi, which the girls LOVED! Brynn spent the first 20 minutes while we were setting up camp running through the trees whooping & shooting an imaginary bow (to kill the deers for dinner). The tipi was a traditional Sioux lodge, and could sleep up to 8 adults, so with just the 5 of us, there was plenty of room. We spent Saturday at the family reunion, where the girls were able to play on a playground with cousins, and go for a "pony ride". We had a couple of great summer showers, which soaked us completely!The first shower got us just as the pony rides were starting, so the kids were moved to cover, and the horses were trailered. Brynn was so upset, she was worried she wouldn't be able to have a turn on the horses. She made up for it later. :) After the cloud burst passed, the horses came out again. There were 3 of my relatives trying to lead 4 horses, so I offered to help out. After about an hour or so, (and another downpour)the kids were ponied out. Brynn had at least 10 rides, Brooke had 3 or 4, and Aubree sat on a horse with me long enough to pose for a picture.
Bryce Canyon was beautiful, albeit a little hot & windy. It was a fun camping trip, and made me itchy for more time in the mountains. We're planning a trip to the mountains again in mid-August for the bow hunt. I'm looking forward to spending more time outdoors!

Out of the mouth of babes

Teaching children to pray is a unique challenge. Here are some snipits of the heartfelt prayers offered recently by my girls:

Brynn:"Thank you for our bed, and our blankets, Thank you for our food (not so unusual, except this was her bed time prayer), Thank you for our friends and our toys.
We've been working on the gratitude piece. :)

Brooke:
Bless Zoe (yes, our Zoe dog), Bless Daddy to be safe at work, Bless Mommy to be happy at home (do I need the help???).

Most importantly the prayers are heartfelt, even when we get to thankfully review every piece of furniture in our home. :) The thought is there, and someday I'm sure it will be eloquent enough for a conference prayer. Until then, I'll be grateful for my blessings to be happy, and for Daddy to come home safe.

Sweet Dreams

Bed time at our house is typically anything but calm & serene. Brynn is content if she has a stuffed animal to lay with & some music, Aubree of course nurses to sleep, and then there is Brooke.....
My Brooke is full of mischief. It is usually only a few minutes after tucking her in that I see the flash of blond hair running down the darkend hallway. To complicate things more, Brooke is convinced if there is even a smidgen of daylight left, it is still day time, and therefore she cannot sleep. A challenge in these sunny summer months.
I usually resort to making her "stuck" (a phrase she uses to describe my torturous tactic of holding her hands still). Not one for going quietly, Brooke begins sobbing her displeasure. Through the sobs of an almost 3 year old tantrum, she shares her views of the world. Here are my favorites:

My Daddy is at work, and will be gone forever! I like my Daddy!
Mommy I like you, but you are gwumpy!
Brynnie is my best fwend ever! I like Brynnie!
I wove my baby Aubree. I want to nuggle her.

In her sweet 3 year old mind, I like you rates better than I love you. It's good to know she still likes her mommy even when I'm gwumpy. :) Maybe someday we'll get to all go to bed peacefully. Until then I plan many more nights of being "stuck", snuggling my baby Brooke.

Most of my blesings have names

Our Aubree Cheyenne was blessed last weekend in church. She was given a beautiful blessing by her Daddy. Mom of course cried. It was such a beautiful opportunity to have our family all together. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be so close to family. Despite all the craziness which is bound to accompany a crowd of 30+ people (mostly under the age of 12)in my house for lunch on a cold and rainy day, it was a beautiful day! (Thanks to Mom,Kellie & Donovan for making lunch while I fed Aubree)!

A visiting Grandpa of another child, who was also blessed bore a beautiful testimony, stating at one point, most of his blessing have names. How true it is.

I am grateful to be blessed with three beautiful and healthy daughters, with such wonderfully diverse personalities to keep me on my toes. I am also grateful to be blessed with such a wonderful husband, who despite all my flaws, is willing to keep me. I'm grateful for our families, biological and "adopted" who support us in so many different ways. I too can say, most of my blessings have names.



Grandma & Grandpa White, Great Grandma White, Mom & Aubree


Great Grandma White


Great Grandma & Grandpa Jones


Grandma & Grandpa Jones

A BIG THANK YOU!!

On Aubree's 5 week birthday we we're able to visit Fire Station #121 to thank the Paramedics who delivered Aubree & take a few pictures. A BIG THANK YOU to Paramedic's Matt Black & Jeff Smith, and of course Grandpa for taking such good care of us!

Happy Easter!!!

For Easter this year instead of treats the girls got swimming attire, complete with "gobbles" (otherwise known as goggles).





Since our girls have been blessed with VERY fair skin, we opted for the swim shirts & shorts, to cover their swim suits.




The grandparents took care of the goodies with an Easter Egg Hunt at my parents on Saturday, and at Donovan's parents on Sunday.


Brooke & Daddy



Brynn & Auntie Emelie


Egg Hunt at Grandma & Grandpa Jones















All the cousins with Grandma & Grandpa White