¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

and

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

So what am I actually doing?

I am using my resourceful craftiness to create shabby chic junk for a local Junk Market. I have a few before and after posts in the works for all y’all fellow do-it-yourselfers. I hope that all my nights of work will turn a bit of a profit…if not, it sure has been fun dumpster diving, painting, and farting around in the garage.

Nextly, (that is a cool word, yes, grammarians I’m using it), I am sorting through my house brick by brick. er…Paper by paper? maybe, Toy cubby by cubby!? Whatever, you get the idea. I intend to get our family life is ship shape for this verse. More to come on that as well.

Although I am knee deep in “work”, I still find time for goofing off.

Ryan learned how to be the Captain of a boat this past weekend. He loves going fast!

I love going fast too. We’re a good team, he punches the throttle and I look where the heck we are going.

Love,
Jess

Grilling several times a week on our new gas grill. Love it!

Collecting “Junktiques” to be a Junk Market vendor in a local show.

Letting Claire and Leah explore their curiosities.

Claire loves dumping out the DVDs.

Leah loves chomping on her biter biscuits.

So, how have you been lately?

Love,

Jess

The Rest of our Outings

I used my $2.50 store credit. How could I let the credit expire? It’s like throwing money away, right?

I fed Leah a bottle in her stroller, saved Molly from being smashed inside 4 turning jewelry displays and fielded 3 conversations about “How busy we must be!” I replaced about 14 jewelry items to their proper homes, opened 23 ring boxes that had been snapped shut, and taught Ryan the difference between pearls and white beads.

Finally, I found a clearance fashion ring worth $2.40. Oh, yeah, it was worth it.

Next, off to the Dollar Store! After all, Ryan’s 5 1/2 Birthday party supplies weren’t going to jump over to my house by themselves.

(The twins and I came home from the Hospital on his whole birthday, so we put off his kid party until the Spring. I had six months, but now I had only two days and a family road trip the morning after his party, to prepare.)

Molly convinced herself that we needed to prepare now for her 3 year old party in June. I ignored her repeated requests for pink noise makers, balloons and cookies. Really, she requested everything and everything pink she saw.

I let out, “It’s Ryan’s special day!” as cheerily as I could as she continued with her pleas.

I just kept plotting along, throwing red streamers, golden mini-trophies and juice boxes into my basket, which was now, causing my forearm to feel slightly numb.

On our way to the check out counter, Molly put her foot down. Literally, stomped her foot and exclaimed,

“I want to GO to JUNE’s house!”

Followed by another foot stomp and a even louder exclamation,

“For my PINK-ah-LISH-ous party! Now!”

You may think, at this point, I could have pontificated the virtues of using an inside voice and being self-less. What did I do?

Laugh!

“Who’s house do you want to go to for your party?” I asked surprisingly.

Molly slightly hyper-ventilating explained, “June’s house for my, my, my 3 party.”

I’m quite positive, all the ‘How old is big sister?’ conversations with on-lookers, have gotten her mind a bit cloudy on when her birthday will come along.

I assured her that I will make her pink cupcakes in a few months and gave her a hug.

More importantly, I headed home. Enough outings for one day. I still had to make dinner, make sure all our clothes were clean for our road trip and email my family about Leah and Claire in the Cutest Baby contest for our local paper.

More to Come…

Love,

Jess

The Store

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s…It’s a mom burning rubber in her minivan to get her child to a bathroom!

Park the van. Whip up the double stroller. Buckle in both babies. Grab two hands. Check to see if I have my van keys. Okay, Operation Commode underway.

Riiing! Just as we reach the door, of the nearest department store, my cell phone blares from the underbellies of my purse. I could have let the phone ring. But, no, I answered it, like a loyal dog.

Thankfully it was my dh, Neat Pete. Even now, as I type, I can’t even remember why he was calling. I muttered something about having a potty emergency. Molly pushed as many automatic door buttons as she could find during my 15 second conversation.

Through the open doors we flew. Passed fundraiser stuffed animals, summer sun dresses and brightly colored patio collections, we flew.

Until, I saw, an end cap with jewelry sets. Oh look, something shiny, I brought us all to a stop.

“Mo-om! Don’t doddle!” urged Ryan. (Where have I heard this before? At least I know something I say makes it into his memory banks!)

Leisure shopping is not in my vocabulary.  Plus, the bathroom beckoned us from the back of the store. The jewelry sets left my attention, as quickly as they had gathered it, and off we went, in search of the bathroom.

I accepted help, to open the bathroom door, from a customer service clerk. So, humbling, I promise you.

The girls and I waited for Ryan, who is now happily situated in a stall. Each and every woman, that passes in and out of the door,  strikes up a conversation or tosses out fleeting inquiries about my family.

“Are those all yours?” they cry. “You must be so busy!” they claim. “I could never do that!” they admit. “Are they identical?” they prod. “I knew twins in my graduating class!” they add.

“It’s a lot of fun!” I respond. I feel like telling them I also have a 5 year old boy, but he’s is pooping in the stall next to you, but I don’t. Cause, I’m sane.

“How old is big sister?” they beg of Molly. They of course are met with a blank stare, filled with wonder. I can see her wheels cranking, Why do all these strange women want to know my age?

To which, I say, “she’ll be 3 in June”.

That’s all it took. Molly began whining and scrambling for the door. I knew my patience was getting thin. I sent a how are you doing pal? over the stall door. He was almost done.

Almost done, isn’t done, when your a 2 2/3 years old middle sister, waiting in a bathroom for too long!

She melted into a whimpering puddle next to my leg. At the same moment, I remembered, I had store credit that would expire unless I used it by, of course, that very day.

Back to the jewelry department!

Part 4 – coming soon

Love,
Jess

The Park

The kids and I unleashed ourselves onto the crowded park area like a breaking dam. Sun, slides and freedom! In case hunger were strike at a moments notice, I was armed with a cooler full of hummus, flat bread sandwich thins and clementine oranges.

White puffy clouds, cool breeze and green grass = Bliss

I soaked in the freshness of the air and sipped on my warm coffee watching my big kids run and climb. I felt ‘with-it’ (I was wearing my new sunglasses after all) and prepared (no need for fast food here), a great feeling, to be at peace, in the hubbub of the day.

We ate while the babies slumbered away in their double stroller. Hummus proved to be no substitute for pb&j. Ry and Molly ate plain bread and didn’t complain! The oranges refreshed our dry palettes.

Swinging time! Molly held her feet and legs straight out of the swing a hollered, “Look Mom! I’m pumping!” So cute. We even had Claire in a baby swing. Very fun.

Then I heard Ryan say, “I have to pee…real bad!” This declaration was accompanied by a crossed legged, crotch-hold stance. I knew I had no time. I told him to run to the bathroom within my eye shot.

He ran.

Then he ran back with a frenzied whisper, “It’s locked!” I whipped off my new ‘with-it’ sunglasses to squint and clearly read the sign by the door. CLOSED FOR SEASON

What season does it have to be to hire someone to maintain toilet paper? Ack! I can see Ryan’s eyes darting around, silently screaming, surely Mom has a key to the bathroom.

In the distance, I see a city truck slowly creeping along the road in front of the park. It looked as if it were patrolling dandelions or dirt on the curb. I wanted to scream, give us the key, he doesn’t even need to wipe! But, alas, the truck was too far and most likely only had weed killer in the truck.

So like every strong mama I slugged down my now tepid coffee to empty my to-go mug, snatched Leah’s baby blanket and latched onto Ryan’s hand. We ran for the nearest tall bush. You can fill in the rest from here. Let’s just say, the city worker won’t need any weed killer for that bush.

As we returned to the double stroller, I murmured a quick prayer. Please don’t let me forget later what my to-go mug was used for just now.

Crisis solved. I saw a fellow mama park goer flash me a dry smirk, as she had likely been there, done that.

More play time in at the park was enjoyed by all.

Until, I heard, “Mom, I have to poop…real bad!”

Off to the nearest store front…part 3 coming soon.

Love,

Jess

My days are all blending together. Thank goodness for my breakfast meal plan or I’d have to really question what day I’m living in.

Parks, meals, tears, farts, laughs about farts, more meals, toys, worship, books, worries, prayers, kisses, sleep, putting sleepy kids back to bed after sneaking in my bed, folding oh.my.word. the folding, joys, finances, time shared…

You get the idea.

I have big mushy life ingredients that mash together in a soup of treasured memories, present day routine & dreams for the future. Fluid yet chunky & good for the soul. Yes, I did just compare my life to soup. Can we move on now? Okay.

Some days stand out. You’d think it was the important days like the State Fair or Christmas. But, it’s always the ordinary days that stick with me.

• Like the time we declared it a pajama day and went to bed in the same p.j.s that we had on all day.
• When Molly found the tooth paste and used it as “paint” all over the bathroom walls, floors and doors.
• Or the time we spent every quarter we find in the van to buy ice cream cones at McDonald’s.

Yesterday was one such day. It started like any typical day (see the beginning of this post).

Then, we went upstairs to begin weekly allowance earning chores.

Ryan got right to work. Molly wandered in and out of the rooms, helping with chores, whenever she felt like it was her turn to use the squirt bottle. The babies slept.

Bathroom clean. Check. Bed made and stuffed animals straightened. Check. Laundry put away. Check. Extra helper chore. Check.

Next, it was time for errands.

After the babies were awake and fed again, we scurried toward the van in five different directions.

1. Ryan went straight for his bicycle and rode around the driveway.
2. Molly tried to find her shoes, bless her, she could only find one shoe of every pair she had.
3. Claire rolled around on a blanket in the entryway.
4. Leah rested, next to Claire, trying to put her thumb into her sister’s mouth.
5. I went to the kitchen, even though I had declared it was already time to leave,  to pack a lunch and pour more bottles. I had just realized it was already noon. Hungry babies and kids + errands in the van = not bliss.

In the van. Check. Can I please put “Get In The Van” on my to do list just so I can cross it off?  WAIT! Where’s my coffee? Oh yea, my to-go mug was on a shelf in the bathroom. Not sure when or why it was put there. None the less, I fly back upstairs to grab it, then, of course, reheat it in the microwave.

Two bank trips. Drive through, of course. The first bank was out of stickers and suckers. Really? Where is the manager? Is there not a Walgreen’s down the street? Buy some. Customer service these days. Of course, I don’t complain to the kids.

Instead, I try to bellow to the back of the van, some lesson to Molly about not getting a sticker because, “Little mouths shouldn’t say big hateful words!” (like, “I hate my car seat!”) Meanwhile, telling Ryan that the next bank will probably have a sucker for him, without letting Molly realize the only reason she’s not getting a sticker or sucker is because the first bank was out off them.

The second bank dutifully sent two suckers through the tube. I was sweet-talked into handing them over with promises from my kids to, “Never be mean their whole lives, to me or each other, ever again!”

Off to the park…part 2 coming soon.

Love,

Jess

1. Gather two goofy kids on the back patio

2. Collect rocks in an Easter Basket (lighter colored rocks work the best) and refer to the rocks as eggs.

3. Paint the “eggs” with watercolor paint

4. Let dry. Line up the eggs for a pretty display that won’t crack under pressure!

Happy egg painting!

Love,

Jess

Molly. My little girl increased her vocabulary to include “Actually”, “Never mind”, and “What the heck?”

Ryan. My boy has thrown himself into a world of legos, video games and collections of bouncy balls, cards, & comic books.

The days are long. The days of whining, sticky, smelly, funny, angry, rowdy, loving, quiet, sleepy, loud, active, creative, sassy, sweet children hanging from every limb are long.  But, the months jet past like a movie in fast forward.

As life marches on, I long for time with my kids to slow down. The days of singing yet another round of Itsy-Bitsy spider, soothing cries for extra an tuck-in at night and having all my kiddos under the same roof will all too soon seem like a distant luxury.

Here’s to living in the moment and praying to God I’ll remember any of it at all!

Love,

Jess

Child of the Day is quite the big event in preschool. He got to be the line leader and the light switch on/offer. Plus, his teacher made him a Child of the Day hat that he wore home.

Ryan had to give a presentation about things that make him special. He shared that he could play soccer, help clean up toys and has 3 sisters!

He brought in some favorite items for a show-n-tell. His blue lovey and “baby” are still cool enough to show off in preschool, so they tagged along.

Of course, I think my son is special, but, it was so fun to see Ryan feel special about himself.

Love,
Jess

Proverbs 31:21

²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

Hats, boots, mittens, snowpants….check

This Proverbs 31 “studying” is becoming very fun!

Love,

Jess