Opposites

We have been working on opposites with Drew. Thought these pictures were too funny not to share. He is such a ham.

"Drew, show me your happy face."



"Now show me your sad face."



The Forever Laughing,
Joyful and Tired Mom

Where is Candee Jones When You Need Her?

So today was our first time taking all three boys to the pool together...and it was a SUCCESS!!!!!
We are fortunate enough to be able to go as guests to my parent's neighborhood pool and we are so thankful! But even with a heart full of thanksgiving it doesn't take away my stress at being in a pool with three children-none of whom are independent in the water. (Sidenote: Drew thinks he is. He was putting up quite the fight to jump off of the diving board by himself.) Also, everytime we have gone to the pool in the past I become to consumed with mommy guilt that I can't enjoy my time.
I am so full of guilt that Zachary doesn't know how to swim. He just turned 5, and hasn't been exposed to swimming that often, but still...I spent every day during my summer vacations at the pool: playing mermaids with Emily Ray, wolfing down dry Jello with Tracey Albanese before a swim meet, watching my parents friendships evolve with others into best friendships as they all cheered us on at our meets, getting tossed in the water by my dad, having chicken fights with neighborhood friends, playing 'sharks & minnows' or the 'greased watermelon' game in the deep end (and watching my dad lose a contact lens while playing), spending the day eating awesome snack bar food (hot ham & cheese, pizza, and candy lipstick) and the evenings spent with all of our family's best friends having picnics on the pool patio.
Almost every one of my most treasured childhood memories involves swimming or the pool in some way or another. And because we don't belong to a pool yet, and don't take our boys swimming all the time, I feel like I am robbing them of some of the greatest childhood experiences a child can have.
Now granted, our children are 5, 2 1/2, and 8 months. It isn't as though they are teens and have never swam before. I just want them to enjoy summer vacation like I did when I was growing up. And I know that they will. I know they will. But for now, I just have to shove the mommy guilt aside and know there will come a day when our boys will spend their days doing whatever it is they want to do in the pool (because they will know how to swim). In the meantime though I am going to try to enjoy my time with them now in the water...and wish that Candee Jones were here to teach my children to swim, just like she taught me.
Putting my Best Foot Forward (in the water ofcourse),
The Joyful and Tired Mom

Talk About Strong Genes

Holy Moly...Talk about some strong genes.
Whenever anyone sees our children they always say,
1) "Oh my gosh, can you tell they are brothers, or what?!"
2) "He is definitely his father's son."
3) "No need to go on Maury, you know who that baby's daddy is."
Yes, I must say that Mark and Zachary are clones of one another. My mother-in-law recently gave me a picture of Mark when he was in preschool and held it up next to Zachary's preschool picture and it was astounding...the two look exactly alike! Good thing for Zachary because his dad is a pretty handsome dude, but...it is unreal how much Zachary favors Mark in the looks department.

However, I have always thought that all of our boys had their own distinct looks; and I have had a difficult time seeing the similarities between all of them that others see. Until today...
I came across some old pictures of Drew that look so similar to Nate. I truly had no rememberance of Drew looking so much like his baby brother. But the proof is in the pics. Enjoy!
Drew

Nate

Drew

Nate

Drew

Nate

Hope you enjoyed taking a walk down memory lane with me today. Gosh, they are so cute and they grow up so fast.
Much Love,
The Joyful and Tired Mom
**And Yes, I swear that they are mine, although they look nothing like me. I have pregnancy horror stories to prove it. HAHA!

Ramblings and Reflections

Wow-It has been a LONG time!
I kept holding off on writing because, to be honest, I really didn't have much of anything to say. I mean...I always have things to say to anyone who is willing to listen. But I don't think that many people would want to read my ramblings as I try to process what I have been learning in the last month about myself, about my faith, and about parenting our children.
Also, there are so many things I do want to share about me and Mark, but out of respect for him and what he is comfortable with, I don't want to share much in that department either. What I can tell you though is that we are getting ready to embark on one of our greaest adventures...and challenges...together in our marriage, and I can't wait. Next week we meet with a coordinator for the Marriage and Family Department at our church to potentially become marriage mentors for couples in crisis. We are both thrilled and honored for this opportunity to walk alongside couples that are hurting, and offer encouragement and hope in their time of despair. But we are also keenly aware that it is going to be difficult to not internalize other's pain and make it our own. We are ready...rather, God has prepared us and made us ready, but please pray for us.
I have also been reflecting on contentment and insecurity in my life. I have definitely struggled with self-defeating thoughts when it comes to my body. As a former college athlete it is still hard at times to look in the mirror and not see the body I once had when I was working out 6-7 days a week, a few hours each day. And in my mind I kept thinking that if I could just regain something that resembled what I once had then I would be happy. But it has recently occurred to me that even if I did look the exact way I looked 10 years ago I would still not be happy...there would be someone else that had a better figure, another image I would try to aspire to emmulate. How do I know this? Because even when I was in the greatest shape of my life, I wasn't content with who I was. Unless I get control of this beast inside my head that tells me I am not good enough, or of much value, or attractive enough, nothing will be good enough-not the number on the scale, not the size of my pants, nothing.
Self-reflection is always awesome, isn't it? HA. In all seriousness though, it has been amazing. I am learning a lot. And I am grateful. In the quieter moments I will get a gentle nudge from God painting a very clear picture of what my desires are for our family, and how we are going to get there. And there is peace and excitement in that. I love knowing I have a purpose on this earth.
The other day I had such a strong need to write down what my desires are for our family. Those desires are now posted on our refrigerator (best place for them since I spend much of my day at the fridge). I would encourage others to do the same. Catch a vision. Make it a vision that thinks beyond yourself, beyond your insecurities, beyond the obstacles you believe could stand in your way, and go for. Live this amazing life you have been given and don't let anyone or anything hold you back.
The Reflective,
Joyful and Tired Mom

What Kind of Video?!

So my husband has this odd fascination with the show "Whale Wars" on Animal Planet. While they are fighting for a worthy and noble cause, the tactics they use are a bit on the ridiculous side of the spectrum. So my creative, witty, hilarious husband decided he would take to his blog about "Whale Wars." And as if writing about it were not enough he chose to make a video/mockumentary about a portion of it as well.

www.thejoyfulandtireddad.blogspot.com

Unbeknownst to me, he used one of our bedroom walls as a backdrop for the video because it was a bare wall, and that's what he needed. So late last night I went upstairs to get ready for bed and saw THIS in the middle of our bedroom with the curtains wide open and lights on for all the neighbors to see. Hmmm...



A tripod, a video camera, and lamp set up in our bedroom. Thanks Mark. Thanks a lot.

STOP TOUCHING ME!

I am not sure if any other parents can feel my...what is the word I am looking for? It's not 'pain.' Hmmm...my frustration, my desire for some personal space, my longing to have 10 moments where someone is not touching me.

I just want to try to paint a picture for you of the last 20 minutes.

We have 2 couches and 2 chairs in our family room. Usually at this time of day my boys are watching their favorite show on tv. Also at this time Nate has been up for awhile and is ready for his first of many cat naps he takes throughout the day. I moved his bouncy seat over to the chair that is the furthest piece of furniture from everything else in the room to sit down and bounce him with my foot so he could fall asleep, but not have a child flip off the couch onto him. Before I could turn myself around to sit in the chair Drew had already climbed into the chair to sit with me. Ok. That's fine. We'll just be extra close while I try to bounce your brother to sleep. 5 minutes later after, Drew had been crawling all over me, Zachary comes up and wiggles his way behind me on the chair. So now I have both boys with me in the chair. Cali then decides it's the perfect time for me to throw her the ball, so she is also at my feet. They have both found a way to push me to the very end of the cushion so they could both sit behind me in the chair. I am continuuing to bounce Nate as the boys keep saying, "Mommy, watch me. Watch me. Take that cup! Yah!" (while fighting a sipping cup). Then the 2 of them start fighting and screaming at each other behind my back. I am being bumped this way and that and I can feel my blood pressure rising. I decided to get up and carry Nate's bouncy seat into the office to try to get him to sleep. (No, the little booger still won't take naps in his crib.) Both boys are at the door hollering at me and Drew is literally trying to climb the door. I came out of the office. Went upstairs. Zachary started crying because he couldn't do something with the wii remote and I had to scream down, "Just let me put on a bra!" I came back down. Helped them out, and now I am finishing my blog for the day. How do I have time to write a blog with all the chaos around me? Easy. I have locked myself in my office.
Anti-Touch Today,
The Joyful and Tired Mom

Can't Keep a Good Man Down...or a Crazy Toddler

So we found out today that our sweet baby boy, Drew, has an inguinal hernia and needs surgery. We haven't had a consultation with the pediatric general surgeon yet, and so the surgery date has not been set. I will be honest though, even though I know the surgery for a hernia is extremely common I am still near tears at the thought of my sweet, and often crazy, child having to go under general anesthesia.
I will continue to blog updates about his surgery and about his recovery. And about my emotional stability leading up to surgery.
But here is my question for everyone...
We don't need to eliminate all activity, but we do need to eliminate higher risk activites from his daily life until he has his surgery, and a few weeks following his surgery. So...how do we keep our little guy from his crazy climbing and flipping around the house? I mean, look at the picture above-that is our every day. And if you notice, Drew is the one in the center of the action. That is just who he is and how he rolls through this life. In the middle, and often the instigator of "crazy" in our home.
Worried,
The Joyful and Tired Mom