Kid Craft

My kids and I tried out a fun craft this morning that I'd like to pass on.  

Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments

1)  Mix 8 oz. of apple sauce with 4 oz. of cinnamon.  (You can use any ratio of this you like.  This amount made 10-12 cookie cutter size ornaments.)

2)  Stir into dough.  

3)  Divide into parts for each kid.  (I had mine roll theirs out on wax paper).  Use cookie cutters to cut out designs.  Place each ornament on a cookie sheet.  Poke holes in top to put ribbon through.  

4)  Bake at 200 degrees for 20 mins. (This is what the instructions said.  Mine weren't close to hard after 20 mins.  I saw another recipe that said you just set them out and let them dry over several days.  Play around and find what works for you.  I ended up baking ours for a lot longer.)

5)  Put ribbon through the hole and hang.  They smell awesome, we are giving ours away as gifts from the kids.

Happy Turkey week!

Blog maintenance

Does anyone know how to change the background color of my blog?  I thought the new template would do it but it's still black and I don't like it.  

Sorry ladies, I got the best

My long suffering husband has knocked my socks off during this LONG period of illness. He is the only one hasn't gotten sick and he has been a MAN about it. Loving, patient, endlessly helpful, endlessly compassionate, endlessly endless. This all while his family has been endlessly needy, ill, and crabby.

This illness has such hang time and I can't seem to really get well. It's one tiny step forward each day and by nighttime I am feverish and cold again. My kids are as slow getting well as I am which means my days have consisted of mothering, not cleaning.

All this leads to a house that is over taking me and a laundry list of stuff I need to be getting done with the approaching Christmas season. Stuff I don't just need to get done, I want to get done. Yet, when?? All that anxiety and frustration fell on, you guessed it, Greg when he got home this evening.

You know what his response was? Not, "Sara, for crying out loud, what more can I do for you?" Not, "Um, when do I get a break? (The man really deserves one.) Not, "NO MORE, I CAN'T TAKE IT, RUN AWAY!" He went straight to phone, called him mom and said, "Do you care if I come over with the kids and spend all day Saturday at your house so Sara can do whatever she wants?"

I burst into tears, because it was the nicest thing he could have done for me. He is truly an example to everyone of being a servant to others. I cannot express how much I love him. Thanks Doug and Marian, you really raised an outstanding man.

The natural progression of things

Surrender

I am conceding the war.

Since the illness monsters entered our home last weekend we have battled runny noses, sore throats, coughs, pink eye, and double ear infections.

Today, nearly a week laster, it's looking worse for the Jones fam.

Aubrey's eyes were fused shut with goo this morning, I have two roaring red eyes, a sore throat, and no voice, and Dane is one sad baby. His nose is a disaster and we finally got him to sleep at 3:30 last night. Dane the lion would roar when ever we tried to lay him down. I'm betting on his ears. Nathan is the only perky one since he's been on a delicious Amoxicillin cocktail since Monday.

So today I am giving up. I have tried to maintain my normal schedule this week. We had to go grocery shopping and I have worked to keep the house looking presentable. I have tried to think up engaging activities and read books. But not today.

The kids know I'm giving up by two things. One, I brought out the Vicks Vapor Rub. I rubbed them all down and while I have no idea if the stuff has any therapeutic value, it has mommy lovin' value. Plus, it signals to the kids that we are SICK.

Secondly, I said, "It's a movie day." Oh, the look in their eyes! This is a unusual thing in our home and their eyes were as happy as Christmas morning. "How many movies?" "Can we have popcorn?" "Can we have hot chocolate?" "I WANT FISHY CRACKERS!" (That was Nathan.) And the answer is yes. To all of it. If you need me today you'll find me lying on a futon mattress that I drug into the family room and we will be watching movies and nothing else.

Surrender sounds so good.

Those who dance must pay the fiddler

Let's begin with some over due pictures. KayLynn, David, and Claire, literally killing me with their preciousness.
My three little Halloween babies.
The Jones Family, rocking it alter ego style.


Part one of my story. So, I have a problem. The refrain from a song I know keeps running through my head. "It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive. If you don't have it you're on the other side. I'm not an addict baby..."

Because I am addicted. To the adolescent girl, vampire/human romance, Twilight book series. You know the ones, about people and vampires and werewolves. I am reading it at the expense of all other things. Pretending to go to the bathroom so I can sneak a few pages in. Reading in the car (while Greg drives of course). Literally propping it open with one hand, elbow resting on the counter, while I attempt to spread peanut butter with the other hand. I told Greg today, "Slow down, you're driving like a vampire." For those of you not in the know, that means too fast. It is down right embarrassing.

It also means that I'm utterly sleep deprived because I'm up until all hours reading. I have finished two of the four books and am actually praying to just get through the following two so that I can resume the rest of my life.

Part 2 of this story. I promise, they will tie together in the end. I celebrated my birthday this Saturday with a group of friends. I celebrated age 29 style, not 21. Dinner at a nice restaurant, good times with friends, live music, it was great. We were home by 11:30 p.m., not 4 a.m. It was a lovely night and made me wish we were able to do it more often.

Now, here's the conclusion you've all been waiting for. If you, as a parent, insists on doing irresponsible things like staying up too late reading a good book and letting fatigue take hold or spending your birthday with friends rather than in bed sensibly by 8:30 p.m., your children will make you pay.

They will begin by being up ALL NIGHT LONG on Saturday night. Nathan was inexplicably up four times and Dane twice. No sooner would Greg's or my head hit the pillow when one or the other of then would start in. This started at midnight and ended at 6:30 a.m. when the little roosters decided to call it a morning.

They then will come down with pink eye. By this evening it is in both of Nathan's eyes (which might explain the horror of last night) and he has generously passed it onto me. I'm sure we will all succumb over the next few days. Awesome. See you later Tuesday morning Bible Study. We will be at home with festering eyes.

They will nap horribly because they slept horribly and because you are trying to do fun things on Sunday like watch your niece's baby dedication and go to brunch. It will screw up their naps for the whole day. This in turn will mean at bedtime that you will battle them for well over an hour before they are all quiet. Not asleep, just quiet. (Those of you who aren't parents remember this little tip. Bad sleep equals bad sleep equals bad sleep. This is a universal parenting truth, right up there with bribery works and toys reproduce while you sleep.)

They will be miserably cranky all day because they are exhausted. I mean freakishly cranky.

They will make you say every ridiculous parentism in the book. "DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE!" "AUBREY, IF YOU HIT YOUR BROTHER ONE MORE TIME..." "THIS IS NOT HOW JONES CHILDREN BEHAVE!" (Even though, apparently, this is exactly how they behave.)

We spent the evening huddled on a futon mattress, watching "Toy Story" and eating pizza. It was as much parenting as Greg and I could muster and was the bright spot of the day. I mean, it's not their fault that they are little, right? Still.

Now that the day is nearly done Greg and I have both looked at each other and said, "Was it worth it??" And you know what, it's all worth it. The books, the date, the crazy hard work of small kids. It really is all worth it.

God Bless America

Now that we have a new president-elect, it's time to get down to the business of supporting and praying for our leaders, no matter how you feel about the outcome.  Frankly, I'm grateful that this whole campaign is over and we can focus on hopefully developing real solutions to problems and less rhetoric and jargon.  And that's all I have to say about that.  

The Jones house currently has some unwanted guests.  Last night while Greg was cleaning up in our garage he found and killed a black widow spider.  If you've ever seen one, they are impossible to miss.  He found several other small spiders around it in a web.  The little ones (babies we assume) didn't have the distinct markings so we're not sure what they were.  Greg wants to hire someone to bomb the whole place but I hate the idea of surrounding our house with chemicals.  Does anyone out there have any great ideas?  We haven't found anymore today so may have killed the problem ourselves.  I probably should google black widows and see how dangerous they really are.  Yuck.  I hate spiders.

  

Random musings and no pictures

Blogger will not let me put up my Halloween pictures. That darn rainbow circle just whirls and whirls until choking and letting me know an error has occurred. Close your eyes and imagine one little bride, a baby pumpkin, a little mouse, a not scary witch, and an even less scary wizard. There you have it, our family Halloween picture!

Secondly, for the curious, Dane had his 9 month (91/2 months) appointment. He tipped the scales at 18.5 lbs. (15th percentile) and 29 1/4 inches (75th percentile). He is Mr. Skinny man but at least has stopped falling off their charts. In other Dane related news, he hates to nurse and I am itching to wean him. However, he also hates bottles and formula (I've tried it in a sippy cup) so I'm feeling stuck. Maybe I'll just transition him directly to Cherry Pepsi, it seems to work for me.

I made rocking pumpkin cookies tonight. For the lucky gals in my Tuesday morning Bible Study, you will be the lucky recipients of these tasty vittles. (I used the word "vittles" the other night, in my best English accent, you know, to be hilarious, and I think Greg thought I'd lost my mind. What, you don't use that word every day either?) I am ending this post with the recipe for your dining pleasure. Have a happy week!

Pumpkin cookies

Cookie Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temp.
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbls. pumpkin puree
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
Orange food coloring if desired

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or use parchment paper on cookie sheets.

To make cookies, in a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

In a second large bowl, combine the shortening and brown sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, then mix until well combined.

Add half the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the other half and mix again.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 T mounds, arranging them 2 inches apart. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges.

While the cookies bake, in a medium bowl combine the butter and maple syrup. Use an electric beater to mix until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Mix well.

Add the powdered sugar and mix well, beating until fluffy. Add the food coloring and beat until uniform. Set aside.

Once cookies have baked, let them cool for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack. When completely cooled, frost. Try not to eat all of them at once.

School of Hard Knocks

Those parents out there know the importance of consistency and follow through with kids. The first time you don't do what you say you're going to do you've opened the flood gates to a heap of other troubles. Greg and I strive to be consistent and I think we have nice kids to show for it. But sometimes it is SO STINKIN' TOUGH to do it. Enter stage right, "Aubrey and the Case of the Ridiculously Awful Fit."

After dinner this evening we planned a family trip to Fred Meyer for some last minute Halloween costume needs. This was a fun outing and the kids were excited to go. I worked on prepping Nathan while Greg told Aubrey to put on her socks and shoes. She flitted around, prancing up and down the stairs, all blue eyes and flying curls. Cute, but not productive.

"Aubrey, please put on your socks."

She disappeared into her room and reappeared with a pair of tights.

"I want to wear these." Aubrey was currently wearing jeans and a sweater.

"Hon (notice we are still using terms of endearment), you can't wear those with jeans. Please just put on some socks so we can get your shoes and go."

"No. I want to wear tights."

"AUBREY."

But alas, it was already too late. The look was in her eyes, the look that said she would try to knock us cold before this battle was over.

"I DON'T WANT TO WEAR SOCKS, I WANT TO WEAR TIGHTS! SOCKS ARE ITCHY! AND COLD! I DON'T LIKE SOCKS, I LIKE TIGHTS! WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

It was at this point that Greg and I sealed our fates. Without really thinking it through I said, "Aubrey, you can put your socks on RIGHT NOW or you will not be going to the store."

I was greeted with the cold, hard stare of my little daughter, just daring me to follow through. What could I do? I had said it, so it had to be done. After a hushed conference we decided that she had one last chance and if that didn't work I would go with Nathan and Greg would stay with Aubrey and Dane. It didn't seem fair to punish Nathan for Aubrey's behavior. Still, this was no fun for anyone. What started out as a fun family outing was unraveling into an awful, tear, filled power struggle. Just what any parent wants out of their family night together.

"Last chance Aubrey. Socks or you're staying."

She stayed.

SCREAMING in her room, legs flailing, "I WANT TO GO, I WANT MOMMY, I WANT TO GO!!!!!!!" Our walls nearly rattled from her screams. She was a child gone mad and we just put her in our room and told her she could come out when she was a human child again. This is how Nathan and I left her, wailing herself hoarse and pounding the floor in anguish. It was unreal.

When we came home, Nathan having relished his one on one mommy time, I found Aubrey downstairs, huddled under a blanket, face blotchy and red, eating a yogurt. After many hugs I asked her if she understood what happened.

"Yes. It wasn't fair that you left me."

"Aubrey, it was fair. You were not obeying and you were disrespectful and threw a fit. You didn't deserve to come. I know, it was bad but next time I bet you'll get to go."

"Yes, it was bad. It was bad of you to leave me."

Sigh.

The great pumpkin and a tribute

The Jones Family rang in the fall season with our annual pumpkin carving evening. When you have three little children there are new things that occur with each holiday. For one, we have our Dane this year, who likes his pumpkin best raw and straight off the vine . Grandma Marian joined us this year and lent her elbow grease to the scooping out of pumpkin guts. Aubrey gave her daddy SPECIFIC instructions on how her pumpkin was to be done (carved happy face followed by her marker art all over the remaining sides) while Nathan happily did whatever his sister was doing. Greg and I marvel at how much fun it is to do all these things again with our children, it's getting to be a kid again. We ended the night with popcorn and hot chocolate, which is about as good as it gets.




Are you wondering how a sister's picture fits in to all of this? I was reminded at Bible study today about how blessed I am to have my sisters. This may be news to you, but some people don't have sisters. Some people have sisters and don't enjoy that relationship. And here I am, with three sisters of my very own, all whom I love and adore. It is a constant, unearned blessing that I know I take for granted. Thank you to KayLynn, Lianna, and Hannah for being funnier, kinder, more thoughtful, more generous, more loyal, more fun, and a whole lot cuter than any other trio of sisters out there.