SheSheMade.com

Dear sweet Ashley at http://www.sheshebows.blogspot.com/ is at it AGAIN!
She is doing a fabulous giveaway for a custom made dress or jon-jon.

Her stuff is SO cute!

So VERY cute!

She has never let me down.

Click on over to her SITE and you'll see for yourself...

TV

I swore that I wouldn't do it again.  I promised myself that extra 1-2 hours of time without the TV on this summer.  After last season, I swore off the show.  I worked with the bachelor from last season, and he wasn't a cheese ball at work like he was on TV.  It just showed how scripted some of that really is.
I just couldn't do it though.  I didn't have self-control.  I am watching again.

This time, The Bachelorette. 


I tuned in and watched the entire 2 hours...
I watched the guy who had the most annoying voice on this side of the Mississippi.  I watched the guy with too much hair spray who should have played in the movie Grease.  I watched the guy with the broken leg hop around a little more than he should have.  I watched the guy do an awful Salsa dance.  I watched the guys bicker like women over one girl who supposedly falls completely head-over-heels in love in 6 short weeks while the cameras are rolling.

Then after watching, I read...
I read every single article that Google could provide me with.  I read about each of the guys.  I read about an interview she did where she states that the ending is something that has never happened before.

Then after watching and reading, I talked...
I talked to a relative who says that she saw Ali & Roberto playing baseball at the University of Tampa a while back.  She swears it was them, and I know she wouldn't lie.  So apparently, Roberto makes it to the hometown dates at the least.  Big shocker.

So why do I keep watching the cheese?
I really can't answer that question.

I did swear off of Idol, and haven't watched once this season.  I guess I am getting better.
DWTS is over tonight, so that is one less show.  Ruby is over.  Desperate Housewives is over. 

I guess it helps that I don't watch TV at all during the day.  It doesn't even get turned on (except for the occasional PBS or DVD's for the kids) until 6:30.
Maybe this summer won't be so bad.

Who wins The Bachelorette?  Any early "shoe-ins"?

Sixteen Months

Sassy Girl,

You are JUST that - a complete Sass! 

You love to dance, sing, dance, sing, dance, sing, and get into e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g!

You can be a real bully if you want something.

You are teeny-tiny, and so prissy though.  (Who wants an Amazon woman anyway?)

You say "uh-O" and make sure you annunciate that "O" sound until we laugh.

You do the above again & again.

You have the most contagious chuckle.

You say so many words.

You are the BIGGEST flirt.  (See below)

Yes, that is you.  You climbed up on the saucer today all by yourself at Aba's house just to kiss Jackson and "sit on his lap". 

Yes, we already have boy issues. 

We love you!

~ Mom & Dad ~

    xoxo 

Fun-Filled Saturday

We got going as soon as we all woke up this morning...
Our goal was to leave by 9:30.  We were out the door at 10:00.  It seems like no matter how hard we try, we just cannot leave the house before 10:00 with three children!

Our first stop was the Ft. Worth Museum of Science & History. 
Here is the entrance to the Children's Play Area once inside:

The kids really enjoyed this place!!  We were only there for 2½ hours.  We probably could have been there for another 2½ if it wasn't for the two little ones.  There is only so much that they can handle. 
There was a LOT to do.  Dinosaur exhibits, a dino dig, a 4-D show, a mini grocery store, water games outside, arts and crafts, toys, games, trains, cars, dolls - you name it, they had it.  It was REALLY cool!
We had been before, but never with all three, and not since they have redone it all. 

We "borrowed" our friends' membership card to get in, (Thank you, Harris family!)  but we think it would be in our best interest to buy a family membership.  We didn't get to see everything, and if we went back with Jaydon alone, we could spend much more time there.  It is the PERFECT getaway on a rainy Saturday!

Here are some more pictures of the fun-filled day:

 

The pictures turned out nicely even with our 8 year old digital camera. 
I love the last few pictures of Sassy in the "Hispanic" area.  She makes the funniest facial expressions.  I can't believe how grown she looks.
Can you find the doll in the last picture?  I think the one on the right is the cutest!

After the museum, we headed to Billy Miner's for lunch.  YUMMY!  We hadn't eaten there in a couple of years.  That was a nice treat for my belly.

The next stop was Sweet Sammie's for dessert.  Not THAT was a DELISH treat! 
If you are local to Ft. Worth, you must check them out.  What a simple, sweet dessert - and really cheap, too!  I ate an Oatmeal Toffee ice cream sandwich with pecan pralines & cream ice cream for $1.75.  WOW!  Their cookes are $.45 alone.  You cannot beat that!

Now we are all home wishing that we could nap.  It's that "in between" time though.  It's roughly 3:00.  If we try to make the little ones nap, they will wake up around 5:30 and then won't go back to sleep until 11:00 tonight.  So we will opt for no naps - a very fussy evening, and everyone in bed by 7:00. 
That means a few hours of alone time tonight with the hubby.  That's a BONUS since he has been in Los Angeles for a couple of days.  We can converse quietly and maybe watch a movie. 

In the mean time, we are going to head out to the park to take a family walk.  The bad weather has cleared out...for now.

What did you do today?

Parenting & Sacrifices

Why is society in such a hurry to make their children grow up?  Do "they" not realize that being a child is the shortest part of your life?  Why rush things?
I have never understood why people take the "advice" from parenting books so seriously.  The things written in there don't work for every child, nor are they meant for every child.  It is, after all, just advice. 

Weaning from the bottle at 12 months, getting rid of the pacifier by 18 months, potty training at 24 months. 
...and that is just to name a few.
Take for instance my oldest son.  He was ready to eat cereal at 2 months.  He really and truly was.  The books said to wait until at least 4 months.  He started at 2 months.  Mother knows best.
Take for instance my middle son and youngest daughter...they will both be potty trained at the same time.  They are one year apart.  One will be 2½, and the other 1½ when we are done.  Mother knows best. 

All we do in this country is try to "Keep up with the Joneses".  It is really pretty sad. 
We don't allow our children to be individuals.  We don't spend enough time with our children.  We "claim" to be the best parents ever, but don't make any sacrifices to spend more time with them..  Daycares are raising our children.  Cut back on some of your extra expenses (manicures, pedicures, massages, lawn care, etc.) and one parent could stay home with the kids.  How many people are really willing to make that sacrifice?  Not too many.  Because it's easier to drop them off somewhere and let someone else do the work.   
Society just wants to be able to show their co-workers the cute things that their children are doing at daycare - and compare.

We buy Organic foods for our children.  Milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, beef, and most of our fruits and vegetables.  Organic is expensive, but it is something that we aren't willing to budge on.  I will wear the same outfit everyday before I budge on that.  A true sacrifice for the well being of my children.

If only society knew that the BEST gift you can give your child is the gift of being there to pick them up from school every day.  It is proven that children who go to daycare after school or come home to an empty house are a dozen times more likely to get into trouble.
If only society knew that eating as a family (whether that be one parent or two) reduces the chance of troubled teenage years by HALF.
If only society knew the importance of a fatherly figure in the lives of children - especially boys.  It can be anyone - a Grandad, Uncle or friend.

I believe that I should have been around in the olden days.  I love that in our family, my husband is the provider, and I am the stay-at-home mom.  We eat dinner together every night, we pray together before bed, and we make our family (& the Lord) our first priority.  My title is "Mom", and my husband's title is "Dad".  We don't need fancy job titles, or long worked hours to justify our human existance.

We aren't perfect, but it works for us.  It works for our family.

Sacrifices - are you willing to make any?

Mother's Day

To Mom-

Why I love you it's because you make dinner for us. You always bring me to school. You watch T.V. with us. We play lots of games together. You give me kisses and hugs-I like them a lot. You will take me to places like Jack-in-the-Box and Chuck E Cheese. When I am sick, you give me some soup and sometimes take me to the doctor so I can feel better.

I love you,
Jaydon Cole Rogers
==============

How can you not love the simplicity of a 7-year olds thoughts? 
Those simple words melted my heart. 

This morning, the boys made me pancakes in bed.  It's a tradition and they surprise me every year.  I always seem to sleep in (8:ish) on Mother's Day, so it really is a nice surprise every year. 
Then we headed to Aunt Pam's house for burgers and a cook-out.  After that, we went to my mom's house, and poor Jeremy mowed her lawn.  (He said it was her gift for Mother's Day, but he gifts her with that a lot.)

We aren't big on "special gestures" for holidays.  We feel like there are 365 days per year to love each other.  Special gifts aren't necessary; the best gift on special days is the gift of family.   I hope that you got the chance to enjoy yours. 

It's thanks to the three beautiful faces below that I am a Mother . . . 

 (Yes, that would be a sprout growing out the top of Jilian's head. That girl's hair is out.of.control in a bad way!)

Anyway, I can't wait until the day that the three of you know what a wonderful feeling it is to be called Mom or Dad.

I love you Jaydon, Jacoby & Jilian.  I love each of you so much.

Garage Sale & Mayfest

This weekend, we had a garage sale.  We have to hold these garage sales at Jeremy's parent's house.  We don't have enough people in our area who frequent garage sales.  His parents live in an older neighborhood, their house is on a corner, and there is an apartment complex just down the street, so it's the perfect location.
We were there on Friday and Saturday, and we made a nice chunk of change.  The weather was perfect - not too hot, and not too cold. 

Jeremy mowed his parent's lawn on Saturday, (they have a HUGE lot!) and he had a little shadow there with him who insisted on "helping".  It was the cutest thing ever!

Then on Sunday, we went to Mayfest.  We along with every other person within a 6,000 mile radius of downtown Ft. Worth.  My oh my - can we say "CROWDED"? 

We got there early and bought our tickets online, so we didn't have to wait in the ticket line.  Good thinking on our part!

The kids enjoyed the free Tom Thumb Children's Area.  They built a wood picture frame with their daddy.  Jaydon made a plate with glue & sand.  He also made his sister a little bracelet.  Sweet boy.

They (Jaydon & Jacoby) also jumped in a couple of jump houses. 
Jeremy and I chowed down on a BBQ sandwich, a corn dog, a funnel cake, and a fruit smoothie.  The smoothie was SO good!  We came in WAY under budget which was really exciting considering that one smoothie was $6, and one Coke was $2.50. 
It helped that Jacoby and Jilian's entrance fee was free.  Also, Jilian just isn't big enough yet to get into a lot of the bounce houses, rides, etc., so that helped.  (Even though she threw a fit every time her brothers got in. She would have gotten in with them if I didn't think some bigger kid was going to smush her!) 
Next year is going to be REALLY pricey with all three of them wanting to do things. 

Enjoy the pictures!
(Like always, we didn't take our camera, so these are from our phones.)

Entrance

Jacoby about to climb up...

Jilian sporting the bracelet that her brother made for her

as she waits for them to get out of the jump house...

The boys working on their picture frame...

More picture frame work...

Who says girls can't build things? 

Check out my hammer!

Actual Stats

Jilian went in for her 15-month check-up yesterday.  I was off by a little bit on her numbers last week.  (I think because I always weigh her with clothes and shoes on.) 
She officially weighed in at 21½ pounds and was 30¼ inches long.  Yes, petite little thing.  She was exactly the 25th percentile for weight, and the 40th percentile for height.  I'm glad she's at least a little longer than she is big. 
Jaydon was 34 inches, and Jacoby was 32½ inches at 15 months.  They both weighed 2+ pounds more than her.  I still cannot get over how petite she is.  We gave the boys Ensure starting at 12 months to make sure they were getting their fill of vitamins, minerals, etc.  We may just have to start giving her some, too.  It might just help her grow a little!  

Her visit went well.  She talked to the doctor and only got one shot.  I am glad because we usually split the shots up and now, we don't have to go back just for shots.  YAY! 
She will go back again at 18 months just for a check-up.  Her doctor said no more shots until age 4.  They must have changed something recently because I remember the boys getting another set of shots at either 18 months or 2 years.

Oh, and Jeremy took her to the doctor alone.  He is so good with her!  He said that at the end when the nurse came back to give her the shot, that Jilian just looked at her and started shaking her head no.  So funny. 
He said that she behaves so much better than the boys at the doctor.  I think he just spoils her rotten and he doesn't pay attention to any "misbehavior" that may occur.  Daddy's little girl for sure.

We have a busy weekend, and we hope you enjoy yours!