Funny kids

Aspen was telling us all a story in the car the other day that had to do with passing gas in class. :) In the interest of tact, I won't share the whole story, just these two quotes: "My friend Elrich said that girls don't [pass gas]", and at the end; "That is one of the most disturbing things I've ever done."

Ah, that girl cracks me up. Just before she started school, she would say things like "Well, there are ants EVERYWHERE in the world. Except China and Egypt." Once, I was making eggs, and I always put salt and pepper on them. Aspen, for some reason, thought that was totally strange and was complaining about it. I said that lots of people put pepper on their eggs, and she responded with "Except in China and France."

Until just recently, she and Jake both thought that people still rode horses in Texas and that they don't have cars there. :)

I think it must be a wonderful world that exists in the minds of my children. I wish I could see it for myself.

Just adding a button here for the NieNie book! Check it out:

Last one, I swear

Well, for this week at least.

 

Spencer, Hannah and I visited stopped by and said “hi” to Duke at work today. In the car on the way home, Spencer asked me what Duke had said to me when they weren’t listening. I told him that he’d said that he loves me and gave me a kiss.

Spencer: “Mom, why does Dad love you?”

Me: (trying to be modest) “Oh, I don’t know. Probably lots of reasons.”

Hannah: (from the back of the van) “Because her is the BOSS, Spence.” *At this point I’m trying as hard as I can not to laugh out loud.

Spencer: “Psh. (yes- he really says “psh”. Precocious little stinker.) I know why he loves you, Mom.”

Me: “Why?”

Spencer: “Because you’re his life.”

 

AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! That kid is awesome sometimes. So then I had to figure out what he meant by “life”…

 

Me: “Oh? I’m his life? What does that mean?”

Spencer: “That he loves you. I read about lifes. I know.”

Me: “Really? Where?”

Spencer: “From you.”

 

*Shrug* I’m still having a little trouble deciphering the life thing. Either way, Spencer frequently says the most profound things. What a great kid I have. : )

More Monkey-isms and Happy New Year!

I have to record these adorable conversations somewhere, and where better than my blog where I can foist them on an unsuspecting public?? Right?

So the other day, we had just dropped Duke off at work when Hannah piped up from the back of the van.
"Mom, you know who I miss?"
"Who do you miss?"
"I miss Jacob."
"Yeah. I miss Jacob, too."
"When he gets home I'm going to hug him and hug him and hug him and hug him and hug him and hug him and hug him and tell him I love you, Jacob."
"Me, too, kiddo."

I wasn't sure if she was going to move past the hugging idea for a while. :) Poor Jake gets ambushed when he gets back from visits to Alaska. We all miss him terribly.

Also, a quick Spencer story. He got a hat from my parents for Christmas- it is SO awesome... I can't find a picture of it online, but it's a grey beanie with a Jack Skellington face on the front and these awesome felt dreadlocks sprouting from the top. Seriously, no description will do it justice. It's just too... AWESOME. Anyway- he went out with Duke today to pick up his name-draw gift for Jake for our Christmas Part Deux, and they went to Duke's store while they were out. When they got back I asked Spence if anyone had liked his hat. He said, "Oh yeah. Someone really liked it." When I asked him who he shrugged and said "Someone I don't know." Maybe that's only funny to me... I don't know. That kid has the funniest mannerisms, though. I love him.


I hope everyone had a good New Years Eve! We had a pretty good time at my mom's house. I made my Chicken Bacon Croissant Braid (a recipe which I *kinda* came up with on my own) and we had all our traditional snackage, including little Smokies, Chex Party Mix and Martinelli's. We even had poppers. Sad story though- we almost slept through the Ball Drop! lol After a bit the kids started getting a little wired (as expected), so we took them downstairs to put them to sleep (again, as we had planned). What we didn't plan on though, was falling asleep with them! :) I woke up about a quarter past 11 and made it back upstairs for some of the party, but I wasn't sure Duke was going to make it at all. Sure enough, four minutes to 12 he came staggering up the stairs just in time to count down and give me a New Years kiss, just in the *TA-DA* nick of time. What a guy!

I'm STILL wondering where the time went, but I'm looking forward to 2009 with high hopes. Instead of looking back at 2008, here's a look at the playbill for '09.

Coming soon, to a Jones Family near you: (drumroll please...)

*January: My first semester in college
*February: Aspen's 7th birthday
*May: Our 6th wedding anniversary and
Spencer's 5th birthday
*July: Hannah's 4th birthday
*August: Spencer's first day of Kindergarten and
My (gasp) 28th birthday
*September: The 3rd anniversary of our sealing
Duke's 29th birthday (hehehehe... one more year 'til the headstone comes out of retirement)
*October: Jacob's 10th birthday (can you believe it?!?!)
And about a million other things that I'm sure will be newsworthy enough for me to post about.

I figuratively raise my glass of sparkling cider to each one of you, and wish you all the best that 2009 has to bring you. Hope you have a GREAT year.

Also, a follow up on Christmas

Can’t believe if forgot the obligatory Christmas blog. :  )

We got to do a lot of fun things this season, despite our crazy hectic schedules. Seriously, 2 retail jobs, plus the holiday season equals nutso. But anyway- once we got the van (again, a BIG thank you to the Graham family and to Brent!) we took the kids out to the Festival of Lights here in town. I might be a little biased, but I think we have the best one around. It’s become a bit of a tradition for us to go at least once a year. It’s the same every year, but it’s still fun every time.

We also went to our ward Christmas party- Jake’s choice- and I’m sure glad we went! What a riot! Each auxiliary put on their own number for the entertainment, and I think the clear winner (if it were a contest) would be the Young Men. Holy cow. Those guys are funny. They did a series of lip synching/skits to Inside Out’s Snowman song. The newer, MUCH longer version. Everyone was just rolling in the aisles. My hat is off to them, and their leaders (who also performed). They made the night. Then the Young Women and their leaders lead us all in The Twelve Days Of Christmas. The fun part was that there were 12 tables (we had dinner before the show) and each table had to act out their assigned verse in the song. : ) We had “3 french hens”. It was too good. And the best part was watching the Bishopric act out “a partridge in a pear tree” 13 times.

The Saturday before Christmas we took Jake to the airport and then went to see the lights at Temple Square- which has also become a bit of a tradition. I think that this was the COLDEST visit to Temple Square we’ve EVER “enjoyed”. : ) Because of that, it was also the FASTEST visit ever. : ) I think it went something like this. “OOH, wow! Look at the candles on the reflection pool! And the nativity! Okay, moving on! See the lights! So pretty! Next! Okay, let’s stand here and try not to freeze for a minute while we listen to the Christmas story….. Wow! That was great! Who wants hot chocolate? Okay! Let’s get out of here.” It was COLD, COLD, COLD. Heather came with us, and I always wonder if she’s just a glutton for punishment every time she comes on our family outings. : ) As always, though, it’s great to spend time with her. After Temple Square we all went to Village Inn for some truly terrible hot chocolate and a bite to eat. Ah, memories. : )

Throughout the season we’ve taken a few opportunities to talk to the kids about why we celebrate Christmas and what it really means. These teaching moments apparently didn’t quite sink in, as evidenced by the conversation I had in the car with the kids on Christmas Eve day. It went something like this:

“So, guys, what’s tomorrow?”

(in unison) “CHRISTMAS!!!”

“Yes! It’s Christmas! Why do we have Christmas?”

*crickets*

“Whose birthday are we celebrating?”

Spencer: “Hannah’s!”

“No… not Hannah’s… whose birthday do we celebrate on Christmas?”

Hannah: “Aspen’s!!”

“No. Guys… look at this picture. Who is in it?” (Me holding up a picture of Jesus that Hannah received from her nursery leaders)

Aspen: “Jesus! It’s Jesus’ birthday!”

(huge sigh of relief) “Yes! That’s it. We’re celebrating Jesus’ birth. Isn’t that great?”

Spencer: “Mom… if it’s Jesus’ birthday, when is he coming over??”

I love that kid.

As for Christmas, we had a wonderful day! It was only Part One of Christmas, Part Deux coming when Jake gets home, but we had a kick. It was actually nice to have a quiet-ish Christmas. And I got a nap! Woohoo! Afterward, we all went over to my mom’s and had dinner and played on the Wii for a few hours.

The gifts this year seemed to have themes to them. Hannah got all princess/pretend stuff- the big hits being a tea set and a trunk of dress-up clothes. Spencer got cars, and Iron Man toys. The boy was in HEAVEN. J And Aspen got all art and learning stuff- her faves? A well stocked art tub and an indoor/outdoor microscope. That thing is pretty awesome, too. It’s magnified 40x and comes with a lanyard so she can take it out side. I have to thank the girls at Funfinity for that little gem. I love that place.

Also, I did in fact get fab pumps to go with my fab dress and I think I’m picking up a vacuum tomorrow. Yay!! Duke insisted on not getting any gifts this year, but I did pick up a sweet bowie knife that he’d been wanting.

When Jake gets back we’re going to have a family home evening about giving gifts to the Savior, since we’re celebrating His birthday. Our Home Teachers gave a great lesson about this a couple Sundays ago and I really loved it. We plan on following up on that in June or July to see how we’re doing and remind ourselves of the gifts we choose to give Him, like being nice to our brothers and sisters, or forgiving others, or reading our scriptures more often. I like this idea much more than just plain old New Years Resolutions. I think they mean more when they’re kind of consecrated like that. So, we’ll see how that goes, and we’ll let you all know. : )

I hope you all had great Christmases, and I wish you all very Happy New Years! (again…) : )

Catching Up

WHEW!! It’s crazy around here. I have decided NEVER to work the Christmas season again. LOL There is just SOOO much to catch up on now. Just since Saturday, I’ve cleaned the kids’ room ( a MAJOR undertaking on its own), rearranged all their furniture to make room for the Teepee Megamaze that Santa brought them, and I’m about a 3^rd of the way through what seems like 16 tons of laundry. I’m in a cleaning/organizing fervor. In fact, for the first time in my LIFE I want to put all the Christmas stuff away BEFORE mid-January. I mean, like, NOW. : ) And I haven’t even mentioned the sea of gift wrap that can’t go out to the dumpster, yet, because the darn thing is FULL to overflowing, nor the boxes of superfluous kids’ clothes that need to go to DI, nor the mountain of dishes in the kitchen that, despite running the dishwasher at a fever pitch, I can’t seem to get ahead of. I’m SWAMPED!! Between the dishwasher running and the washing machine running, I’m lucky to get 60 seconds of hot water in the shower to wash my hair with! And yet, in the midst of it all, I am so completely and blissfully happy to be HOME, HOME AT LAST! : ) When I started working again I thought it was going to be no big deal- two months. What’s two months, right? I’ve discovered that I was completely spoiled over those eight months I got to be a SAHM. I love being here with them every day. I have missed Spencer (yes, Spencer!) and Hannah and all the funny things they say and do. I’ve missed lunch time stories and snuggles. I’ve missed actually MAKING breakfast. I’ve missed getting to pick up Jake and Aspen from school and hearing about their days in class. Even though I was home when they were home I’ve had so much to DO that I’ve hardly been able to sit down and breathe, let alone connect with anyone.

So. I am happy to be back, and I have a lot to catch up on, but much, much more than just housework. : )

My (mostly impossible) Christmas List

In no particular order, I present to you, my Christmas wishes. : )

 

1)A new shower curtain. The cheap vinyl one I bought when we moved in has popped 4 of the “grommets” and is now basically useless. Modest is hottest and all.

2)A KitchenAid. Oh the cakes I could bake! Oh the cookies I would MAKE! : ) I’m supposed to be making 12 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange this weekend, but I’m putting it off. I keep thinking how much more excited I’d be about it if I had a mixer. I’ve only been wanting one for the last 8 years. At this rate, by the time I get one, I’ll have no kids around to tank up with warm cookies, and I’ll have to turn to fattening up my neighbors instead.

3)Fabulous black Sicily Boots by Duo. Le Sigh. Even when I’m “slim” I have calves that flout any attempt at wearing knee high boots- which are SO in vogue in my ward. Seriously, a cursory glance around the Relief Society room on Sundays reveals that a good 70% of female LDS feet are shod in beautiful, oh-so-vexing knee high boots. Duo Boots are made in the UK and come in custom calf widths, which means I could finally have a pair that fit over my very … muscular calves, but also means that they’re NOT cheap in any way. Well, a girl can dream.

4)If not Duo Boots, then fabulous black pumps to go with the fabulous black dress that I know Duke bought me for Christmas. The last pair I bought came from Wal-Mart, which probably explains why I haven’t worn heels in years. I’m actually quite excited about the idea of being glam-ish.

5)A new vacuum. Oi. Our vacuums last, on average, about 2 years. The latest one bit the dust-bunnies about 3 months ago, and it is SOOOO much fun to borrow my mom’s vacuum when sweeping the carpet has become completely ineffective.

6)A couple Love Sacs. I am so done with traditional furniture. : ) Perhaps, if I could get the kids to stop climbing over, jumping on, and sitting on the arm of the couch (and perhaps if we ever had new ones, rather than the trickle-down sets we end up with after my grandma and then my mom are done with them) couches my last longer around here. As grateful as I am for free furniture, we’re on the third couch of our married life, and I’m ready for it to be the last. At least until the kids are older. Plus, Love Sacs are much more mobile, which fits better with my obsessive need to move the furniture around every few weeks.

6)A tent. We are trying to focus on bulking up our emergency preparedness supplies this year. By “bulk up” I really mean “start from scratch”. : ) We’re truly pathetic, even the flashlights we DO own have dead batteries in them. So we’ve been buying bits and pieces here and there, but we are definitely lacking in the “emergency shelter” category.

7)Lastly, a Disneyland vacation with my funky monkeys. I have such wonderful kids, and they are so wonderfully crazy and fun and sweet and occasionally naughty. As much as I’ve been wanting to take an actual honeymoon with Duke, I desperately want to take the kids on a vacation. Jake and Aspen have been working really, really hard this year at school, and Spencer and Hannah have been so wonderful these last two months that I’ve been working. They all deserve a week of no chores, no homework and Mickey Mouse ears.

 

And that’s it. All my Christmas wishes. Even the impossible/unlikely ones. : ) And I’ll betcha every single thing I get under the tree will outshine every one of these. I’m expecting some awesome handmade gifts from Jake and Aspen. Those are my favorite. : )

 

Oh, wait, I forgot the Chia pet. I’ve been DYING for one of those.