Trip to the Mall with my Munchkins

Sandy, one of my sweet sister-in-laws, has planned a fall photo shoot for our family in a couple of weeks. The shoot will take place out by her home in the country and I can't think of a more perfect setting. We have always had our pictures taken inside a chain photography studio so having some professional pictures taken in a natural setting is going to be a real treat. I can't wait to post the pictures!

To have nice pictures taken you need nice clothes which all coordinate nicely.... so off to the mall we went. The kids behaved marvelously. Joshua was decked out in madras plaid shorts, grey t-shirt and a batman mask. The other children in the mall loved that. Our first stop was Gymboree and we had success! I found a pair of jeans that fit Joshua well and two adorable pink plaid matching dresses for the girls. We headed to another shop and I found the perfect white button up shirt for Josh to wear with his jeans. I don't think I have ever had such a successful shopping trip where I found everything I had in mind to buy AND with no major meltdowns. Even Emily was pleasantly peaceful. As a reward for their good behavior we ordered a raspberry slushy for the older two to share and we trekked down to the mall's toddler play area. As we slowly meandered down the mall's corridor to the area, two young teenage boys come racing down the other side leaping over chairs. I stood in disbelief that anyone would actually think that was appropriate behavior but then I am interrupted by "but it's MY turn for the slushy!". We enter the play area, approximately 20ft in diameter where there are probably 8 other children 4 and under. I let them loose while I collapse on the cushioned bench and breathe a sigh of relief that everyone is contained and entertained and I sip my diet Coke. All of a sudden those two 14-15 year old boys enter the area and start wrestling. Like, real wrestling. Emily is probably 3 feet away from them at one point. I guess Mommy Hen kicked in but I immediately feel incredulous anger well up inside of me. Surely, SURELY, they know better? Then, I think, surely, SURELY someone else is going to say something to them.. you know, the whole sociological observation where no one takes action because they think someone else will... well, that was in full effect. I have this complete out of body experience and I find myself standing up and walking over to these boys (all the while thinking.. are you really doing this?) and I confront them and tell them they need to leave that it is inappropriate behavior and a danger to the babies. One of the guys had the audacity to ask me "what babies?" with Emily right behind me. Oh, I was mad. One of them leaves the area but the other starts arguing with me. What was I to do then? My heart was beating so quickly. If you know me, it is so out of character for me to confront anyone. I took a personality test through Freddie's company a few weeks ago and it said my personality type avoids conflict at all cost. Well, not when the cost could be my children's safety. I can't even remember what happens next. I know that I walk away because I am not going to argue with a 14 year old punk. They stop wrestling but then decide it would be cool to play on the equipment meant for children 40 inches or shorter. I could not believe that these boys were so impervious to authority and lacked any respect for other people. How does a child even get to that point? Finally another mother steps up and confronts then and they leave. It probably took me a good 15 minutes for my blood pressure to fall and my face to return to its normal coloring. I wish confronting others when justified didn't make me want to throw up. But, the story ended well because the kids were all safe and enjoyed their time playing and meeting new friends. Here are some pics from our outing...

My Soccer Star

#4 he's our man, if he can't do it... no one can! Whoo hoooooo!

(spirit fingers, jump, kick, swish pom poms)


Yes, I am so THAT Mom. :)

Just call me Spiderman...err, I mean The Incredible Hulk

Who can blame him for being fascinated by super heroes when they have cool toys like these Hulk fists available? A friend bought him these for his 4th birthday and they have been a huge hit in our home. Introducing.... Joshua Page as the Incredible Hulk. (Why do I always start singing "The Incredible...Edible Egg" jingle in my head when I say Incredible Hulk?) I digress....

Be afraid.. be very afraid.

Sophia parle un peu français

During our home school time I try to teach the kids a little french (operative word is little). They have learned basic greetings and good-byes, counting to 20, colors, how to say what their name is and how old they are, a few nouns along with a few fun idiomatic expressions (key phrases like Qu'est-ce que tu fait? - What are you doing? and Vite! Vite! - Hurry! Hurry! and Allez! - Lets Go!). Sophia has amazed me with her ability to learn french. She has an uncanny ability to memorize anything and everything. She will beat you, hands down, with the Shrek Memory game... I guarantee it! Today we reviewed some nouns that I went over with them probably a week or maybe more ago. And she rattled them off like I had just reviewed them with her. Another video of one of mes enfants précieux.

*Do I REALLY sound that southern? This camera accentuates it because I can't really sound like that. Yes, I will go with that.*

Baby Bye Bye

Little Emily is getting to be such a big girl! She turned 9 months old on the 30th... sort of. Her real birthday is on the 31st so she really didn't have a true birthday this month. She is cruising on furniture and can stand alone momentarily. She has three teeth - two on the bottom and one on the top with her other top tooth peeking through the gum. She is sleeping through the night - Praise the Lord! - from 7pm until around 6am. And, her first word is bye bye! She is an ok eater.. pretty much over baby food much to my dismay as it is so much cleaner than finger foods. So, I try to sneak in some pureed turkey tetrazzini (icko) and carrots here and there but her favorites so far are my homemade chicken tetrazzini, hamburger pie and macaroni and cheese. She is such a cute kid and has a very sweet temperament. Her brother and sister adore her. Here is a little video for your viewing pleasure. :)

What I Love About You

Freddie...

• how you love and adore me.
• how you are so involved in raising our children.
• your strange sense of humor (does anyone else find Seinfeld as funny as you?)
• your beautiful blue eyes.

Joshua...

• your precious giggle.
• how you love to snuggle with me.
• your obsession with every super hero ever imagined.
• your love of life.

Sophia...

• your many facial expressions and hand gestures.
• how your bangs fall in your face even when pulled back in a barrette or bow.
• your sweet kisses and hugs.. because I know they are not given freely.
• how you gag on broccoli and chew like you are eating something REALLY disgusting like spinach (don't worry.. I won't do that to you).

Emily...

• your goofy, yet adorable, three tooth smile.
• how you spastically wave bye-bye.
• your short chubby legs and your sweaty baby toes.
• how much you love me and are saddened when I leave the house (or the room, for that matter).

Biblical Submission

Our church started a bible study this fall that I chose not to attend due to the busyness of our lives this season. It was a tough decision to make because I really enjoy studying the Bible with the ladies at our church and, sadly, I need the accountability to stay in God's Word. Like I wrote in a previous post or two, I can't wrap my mind around why I allow myself to put other things before God when my life, and the lives of those around me, reap the benefits when I am actively seeking and nurturing a relationship with Christ. It is like I am running through a briar patch barefoot and holding a perfectly good pair of shoes. Put the shoes on Jennifer, for goodness sakes, and save yourself some pain. Not that you get some quick fix to all of life's many challenges when you start reading through Proverbs and the book of John but my perspective of those challenges is totally transformed when I read the truths in the Bible.

I was reading a friend's blog the other night and was lead to a link for an online bible study with the topic of A Wife's Biblical Submission by studying Proverbs 31. I really felt like God lead me to find this study. I have read a book or two on what it looks like to be a woman/wife after God's heart and a couple of the bible studies I have attended in the past have touched on the subject but I really don't believe I have ever truly grasped what it really means to be a biblically submissive wife. Growing up, I didn't know what the Bible had to say about priorities and submission. There is a divine order that should be followed, in this order - God, spouse, children, homemaking and ministry**. The world places different values on these things... sometimes no value at all. We are all bombarded with worldly views and values- on tv, at work, in advertisements, media, literature, etc. It is easy to start believing the lies they have to offer. This is one of the many reasons to read the Bible and pray without ceasing. The world offers death - spiritual death, for sure - and the Word offers life - in the present and eternal.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

**Taken from http://biblicalsubmission.blogspot.com.

Breastmilk with your Chunky Monkey, anyone?

Why are we all worried about the economy when there are serious issues in the world like the one presented by PETA below. I am speechless. I have come to the conclusion myself - with all of the adult , child and infant issues I have witnessed with cow's milk - that cow's milk probably isn't ideal for humans to consume. But, PETA, please explain how the human breast milk you propose to be used in ice cream will be cost effectively regulated and deemed safe for human consumption? Alcohol and drugs easily find their way into human breast milk. Also, what female human - who in order to be breastfeeding means she just recently had a baby - is going to hook herself up to an industrial strength pump to produce milk to sell to an ice cream company... when she has her own baby to sustain? And, please explain how you will market this effectively should it ever actually occur? Anyone craving ice cream à la breastmilk?

An authentic letter from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (cofounders of Ben and Jerry's ice cream):

September 23, 2008

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Cofounders

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,

On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's.

Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers-and cows-would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease-America's number one cause of death.

Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.

And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to 17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.

The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman

Executive Vice President

Here is the link to the letter on a PETA website: http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=11993

*Note to self - While vacationing in Switzerland any time during the next 3 years, avoid eating in Storchen restaurant.**

Zoo on a spectacular fall day

Today was one of those exceptionally beautiful fall days in Greenville. The sky was crystal clear blue and the weather never topped 72 degrees. There was a breeze in the air.. you could simply feel and smell fall. With fall being my very favorite season (you didn't already know that did you?), I decided to spend the afternoon outside with 3 of my very favorite people in the world. We are members of our zoo so we can go anytime without paying a fee. It isn't free, mind you.. we already paid for a yearly membership. It did sort of crack me up as we were walking in the entrance and the sign read "Adults - $6, Children - $4, and Members - Free". Well, not exactly. Anyway, after nap time we packed up and headed to the zoo. In contrast to the overcrowded trips we experienced in the summer when school was out, we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves today. We could take our time and wander about... we read the signs and learned a little about all of the different creatures. The orangutans were especially intriguing. They are so human-like.. it is amazing. Every time we view them, the Dad is hanging out right by the viewing window... just chilling. And the Mom and baby are frolicking in the distance either climbing on the ropes and limbs or just cuddling in the grass. It is amazing how the baby just clings to the Mom as she swings from limb to limb. Today, they were sort of hugging in their yard and all of a sudden the Mom comes right over to the window where we were peering out. Laying below the window, on their side of the glass, were two sheets. She picked one up and draped it completely over her body. Her baby quickly joins her and she bundles him up too. Right after, Joshua points out the orangutan's Moms breasts he tells me she is nursing her baby. After seeing me nurse two babies, I suppose that isn't a foreign concept to him.

I love going to the zoo with the kids because it presents us with great opportunities to discuss God's creation and how wonderful and perfectly everything is made. As disgusting as vultures are, the kids were excited to learn how they fit into creation as scavengers to clean up carcasses which can spread disease and bacteria. I mean, how can that have occurred by chance? I think the lions where both of their favorites with the alligators as a close second. We need to research tomorrow how alligators can lay at the bottom of a pond for an inordinate amount of time before needing to take a breath. We were looking through glass into this pond and one of the alligators was laying on the bottom... for at least 8 minutes. They have lungs and breathe air like us. This is an example of home schooling Mom/teacher learning along with the kids. I have to say that the giraffes amaze me. They are fascinating to watch. Sophia and I observed them for a while and we discussed why the Lord made them so tall with a long stretched neck.

Upon leaving the zoo we hiked right across the street to the new playground. It is really nice... shaded with a canopy and there is rubber mulch instead of sand or wood mulch. It is quite modern and the children love it. As the girls were playing on a climby-thingy (technical term, yes?) I observed some new parents dealing with the joys of runny newborn poop leaking all over baby and Mommy. Oh how I wanted to just run up and hug that Mom. They seemed to have a good attitude about it all but, boy, have I been there... and you may seem ok on the outside but you are having a slight freak out on the inside. Especially when there is an audience. I wanted desperately to do something to help but I didn't want to be intrusive and be "that Mom" who thinks she knows everything because she has more kids (which is totally not the case). So, I continued to play with the kiddos. Then, I noticed they had to trash the little boy's outfit because poop was smeared everywhere and, like me the other night, they were without a change of clothes. By some stroke of luck (more like God had it all planned I am sure), I had an outfit of Emily's in the diaper bag for incidents just like this. I offered it to the lady for her son - yes, the outfit was blue and it had pink flowers on it... desperate times call for desperate measures. I was just glad I could help. Well, wouldn't ya know... we are leaving the zoo getting ready to head to Moes (we should own stock in that place) for dinner when I pick up Emily out of her stroller... hmm... wet pants. Oh, that is just from water from her sippy. Wait, Jennifer.. Emily doesn't drink water from a sippy. Oh, and it stinks. Oh GOSH! Oh no, no clothes! Hmm.. think think think. Well, Sophia's 3T pants are in here... yes, very long especially since Emily has unusually short legs for a 9 month old (takes after Mom). But, it will work. Again, God moment because I have not been packing anything for Sophia for a long time. So, maybe there was a reason for Sophia having an accident the other night at the Frazee center. Oh, how all things do work together for good!

Sophia Time

Yesterday Sophia and I had some girl time. :) My intentions were to go shopping for fall play clothes for the kids at this nice consignment store by our home but they were closed by the time we arrived. So, I decided to go by Goodwill... I have heard from others that you would be surprised by what others gave away so I decided to give it a whirl. I love going to consignment stores and the big seasonal sales they have up here so why not Goodwill? It was so fun! Sophia is lots of fun to go shopping with. She loves clothes! We sorted through racks and racks of little girl clothes. "This is cute Mom!" "Oh Mom, this is too big for me, Wight?" "OH MOM, look!!" She was super stoked to find a pair of galoshes just her size... for a mere $3!!! I love a bargain. Just like at consignment sales, the girl's clothes were in much better condition than the boy's. However, I was able to find Joshua a star wars t-shirt and I got major cool Mom points for that. Much to my surprise, they had books in the Goodwill and I found two encyclopedia like books on birds and reptiles which I added to our home school library and I bought a bible story Joseph and a Coat of Many Colors which we enjoyed reading tonight before bed. A nice wash with some Gain and the clothes are good as almost new.

After our Goodwill adventure, we went to the toy store to purchase a reward for my Sophie bug. She picked out quite few things - My Little Pony (boy does that bring back memories), Polly Pockets and a Cars racing set... making a point to say that Josh would like it too. How unselfish? She finally settled on a Fur Real friends baby panda. It is SO adorable! She carries it around with her just like a little baby. It looks very real and makes little cooing noises and even comes with its own little bottle. Very cute.

We ended our night out at Chick-el-A (as my kids love to call it around the age of 2). She enjoyed a couple nuggets and fries but the real reason for our trip was ice cream! She is just like her Mom... vanilla ice cream please.

Time with the older two

Fall is quickly approaching and the weather this past weekend was phenomenal. We took advantage of it and the older kids and I went on a couple of walks after dinner. On Friday night, we walked to a common area in our neighborhood and climbed a spectacular Maple tree and then practiced soccer for Joshua's game the next day. Sophia found acorns that had fallen from this huge oak tree and collected them in her pocket. Along our walk she also found some huge pecans and added those to her collection, too. Then we "hiked" around the block to the street behind our home where we found an excellent walking stick. Walking stick in hand, we explored the creek that runs through our neighborhood and cut through our neighbor's yard behind us to climb the "mountain" (small, yet slightly precarious, rock covered hill). You really would have thought we had accomplished climbing Mt Everest. The kids were so proud of themselves. What fun! Those are the special times where memories are made. We met a friendly kitty cat and chatted with a few neighbors. It is so fun to meet new people. I think we will make this a new tradition and while the weather is nice we will start making nightly walks to explore the yet to be discovered nooks and crannies of our neighborhood.

Searching for teenage mutant ninja turtles in the sewer. :)

Two of my babies... Joshua and Sophia with her new baby Panda.

Bugs and Butterflies

Sophie Bug

Joshua and Freddie headed down to Clemson today to watch Clemson beat NC State. Go Tigers! So, the girls and I took a field trip with Aunt Janet, Ashley and baby Jackson to the Roper Mountain Science Center Insectamania. We observed snakes, bearded dragons, tadpoles, hissing cockroaches, beetles, scorpions, tarantulas, fish, crabs, stingrays and butterflies. We were really excited about the butterfly release in the butterfly garden - picturing in our mind's eye many fluttering butterflies flying out of a cage into the garden overflowing with milkweed, lavender, black-eyed susans, lilac, purple coneflower amongst other varieties. We did enter a beautiful garden filled with all of those wonderful flowers and foliage, however, we only witnessed the release of three butterflies... fascinating, nonetheless. We learned how to tell the difference between a male and female butterfly. In case you are curious, the male has two glands visible on their wings and the females veins are darker in color. I am very inspired now to create our own butterfly garden in France. The flowers were absolutely beautiful. The garden was maintained by master gardeners here in Greenville. My thumb is pretty brown... but maybe it will turn green in Europe. It would be a great science project for the children and me to do together. Hmm... food for thought. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Look tadpoles!

And a bearded dragon.

Tarantula! Sophia wouldn't touch this. Could you blame her?

The crabs! Sophia enjoyed these... she talked about them later at home.

Closeup of the crabby.

Sophia in the butterfly garden.

Aunt Janet and Sophia

Garden

Butterfly

Ohh! Ahhh!! Bye bye butterfly! I thought the looks on these kids' faces were priceless. Sophia is peeking out behind the lady in the green shirt.

Love the lily pads... There is just something magical about them. Maybe it goes back to my love for Thumbelina. We like to read Philippe in Monet's Garden which is about a frog named Philippe who finds refuge from the evil frog catchers who want to harvest his legs to fry in France. In the book, Monet is painting Philippe on lily pads. I recalled that with Sophia today. It is so fun to see books come to life. Granted, Sophia seemed less than enthused (I think she was still a little disappointed from the scant butterfly release), but I feel confident she made the connection. :)

Mommy and Sophia

Mommy and her girls

12:19am - Too late to think of a good title

I went out for coffee and dessert with a dear friend of mine tonight. She was smart and ordered decaf and I was stubborn and ordered a 16oz regular coffee with cream. Here I am at 12:16am wide awake knowing I will be miserably tired come my 6am wake up call when the children are dragging me out of bed while turning on all of the lights chanting in a very loud voice "Mommy, make me some bwekfast pwease!".

In my caffeine stupor I have been thinking and praying and realizing what a shame it has been that I haven't been spending time with God recently. It is such an awesome time to pray and talk to Him. It is amazing how immediately any funk I may have been in evaporates away like a fog lifting. I realize how petty my grievances are or how discontent I have been when I have everything to be thankful for. I find myself asking for forgiveness and feeling reconnected with the Lord again.. immediately. Like a sweet reunion with a dear friend who has been away for a while. Then I immediately begin prayers of thanksgiving and am overwhelmed with my blessings - all which come from Him. Any stress or anxiety that I have been experiencing melts away as I rest in Him and His biblical truths. I weave in and out of this perfect peaceful state where everything seems to be right in the world. I grasp onto the truth that there is a perfect holy God who loves me perfectly who is in control of everything. For a moment or two, I feel like everything could go wrong yet nothing would be wrong. Then, it is like my mind wanders it's way back into this reality of sin with worry and doubt. Oh how nice it would be if we could constantly hold on to the truth. This is why it is so important to read the Bible and memorize scripture and pray. So truth can be written on your heart. I don't understand why it is so difficult for me to discipline myself to spend time with God when, above all else, it gives me the most satisfaction and peace.

Father God, I confess that I have prioritized other things in front of you. I confess that I have been selfish. I confess that I have been impatient with my children and not the wife you have called me to be to my husband. I confess that I have been worrying about our move to France when you have told us not to worry. I know that you have everything under control. I thank you for your forgiveness. Father, please help me to turn to you when the day gets tough. Help me to love you with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength and please help me to love my neighbors as myself. I pray for a heart that is willing to submit to my husband. Father, please make up for my shortcomings when it comes to loving and training of my children. Thank you for all of my blessings... I am so undeserving. I have a husband who loves me, three fabulously spectacular children, a loving and supportive extended family, dear friends, a church that teaches the Word, a cozy home, food on the table, car for transportation, clothes, incredible opportunity to live abroad, healthy family, health insurance, etc, etc ,etc. Thank you so much for loving me even when I am so unlovable. I pray that my love for others can reflect, even a fraction of, your unending and unconditional love. Amen.

Joshua's First Soccer Game

H-O-T was the first word I would use to describe Saturday's soccer game. The second word is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! There is nothing much cuter than fiercely determined little 4 year olds racing down a field after a rolling soccer ball. I am not sure how much technical soccer was actually played.. it was more like kick at the person with the ball... but I was very impressed with how well the children played together. They obviously had the common goal in mind to kick the ball into the goals. We won't mention that the ball was kicked into the opposing team's goal a time or two. I can't even make fun of that because I vividly recall doing the exact same thing when I was a child when I played basketball at the YMCA. I won't mention that I was more like 13 years old. Aww.. who cares, right? At 5"2' I never had a future in basketball anyways.

It was a truly exciting match up. The lack of strategy between the players was made up for with sheer determination and grit. The coaches did an excellent job and our coach even surprised his players with a super cool sports bag filled with soccer goodies like their jerseys, shorts, socks and water bottle.

Nana and Papa joined us and were a tremendous help. I wasn't quite prepared for how challenging it would be to watch Joshua play soccer AND entertain and feed Emily AND keep Sophia cool and content. They spoiled the kids after the game with hot dogs and ice cream. Yum!

*Look out for #4 in the pictures!*

Ebay

A week or so ago I sold most of the remains of my maternity clothes (sniff sniff) and the girls' 0-6 months clothes on eBay. The buyers got a deal! I swallowed my pride and hoped that the clothes were a real blessing for the individuals who purchased the items as my talent is obviously not selling successfully on eBay. For one of the transactions, after all was said and done with shipping and eBay fees, I actually could have saved money by not selling anything. Yes, I paid someone to buy my clothes from me. Oh well. On the flip side, I got all eBay happy and searched for deals of my own. I found this Baby LuLu dress for Sophia. Baby Lulu is a fancy smanchy (I think... maybe not?) boutique brand and I won this auction for like $13... the dress would typically be around $50. Lets just say I can't believe I paid $13! It is the ugliest dress I have ever seen. It looks like an old tapestry curtain. Look it even sticks to the back of my sofa!