What a relief!

We have implented a new plan to get our boys to behave. Jacob and Jaron know the value of money and Jonah is learning too. And they get excited when they have some of their own birthday money to spend and I want to help them save more. So even though we don't have a lot of extra to give~a little bit is all it takes to get them excited.

I have learned to let go of my perfectionist ways and let them fold the clothes, empty dishwasher, and so much more of the household chores that I cannot always keep up with. Making it fun for them and exciting to earn money for it. Even if it's only 50 cents to fold laundry they are happy to help. Jonah is asking all day long "mommy can I do a favor?" 

Jacob helps with bigger things like holding the baby when he's fussy or holding his bottle for him to drink while I cook dinner. Jaron is saying "yes ma'am all the time and I didn't even say anything about manners with this new plan. I just told them if they misbehave I have to take money away. That includes arguing, fighting, talking back, pitching a fit and talking ugly.

I have discovered they are so much more willing to help. And they love to empty their piggy banks on the counter and count their coins. So when the bad behavoir happens and we have to take some away....they are not very happy to say the least. It has helped with Jonah's temper tantrums and Jaron is learning to control himself and not wrestle so much.

I hope we are able to keep this up and hopefully this will teach them that earning money is hard work so when we buy things with our money we want to take care of it because we know how hard it was to save for that.

I want to make a chart with each "favor" or chore listed and it's value but this headache will just not allow it to happen. So for now I'll keep my wheels turning on exactly how I want to make it one day soon I'll get it on paper for the boys to see.

Maybe I'll get some sleep tonight....if Justus allows.

Bowling Boys

Monkey Joes!

 The boys had a few days off school last weekend so we went to Monkey Joes and had some fun!
Justus loved this mini school bus....he is standing up all by himself holding on tight. He does that now. Pulling up on the couch and tables. It won't be long he'll be walking.

 Jonah loves basketball....well any kind of ball but the basket ball game was not working so he got creative when I wasn't watching and this is where I found him~INSIDE THE GAME!


Then when I made him get out he went to the baby section and got a pink popper thing that is supposed to push on the floor but he used it to try and reach the basket balls. So smart and creative. I couldn't help but laugh. It was too cute!

Baby Bop!

Staying Organized

Chris and I have always been organized in our marraige and never really liked a mess. So when we started having children things got a little more difficult to keep up that tradition. But after years of struggling with myself and my anxieties I finally learned how to do it.

I used to go behind my first son Jacob and pick up toys he left out all day long and then I got pregnant with Jaron and was babysitting two little girls daily. The messes got bigger but I would have them all sing the "Clean up song" before they left every day.

Then I had Jaron and he was born with a cleft lip and palate that required extra attention and care. So I really didn't care about the mess much that first year of his life. After we got 3 surgeries behind us and Jaron started walking and playing I taught the boys to put things away at bedtime. I never liked the idea of a toy box that you throw everything into one.

We bought plastic drawers for the boys room to organize and sort different items. They have a car drawer, a ball drawer, a train drawer, a track drawer a people/animals drawer, a game drawer, I recently invested in a shelf with nine baskets and we also use those to sort legos and things.

I love being organized with my personal things and I think the boys do to. They always know where to look for something they want to play with.

So now instead of stressing and trying to clean all day long we just clean up at bedtime so we can start our mornings off with a clean house. I have learned to relax and little and the boys always know what is expected. We all work together to clean their room right before bedtime.

How do you get your kids to clean?

October 12th~My Birthday

Thirty one years since the day I was born
My body is older and my feet are worn

I'm married and have 4 boys to raise
I love my life and these happy days

Kisses and hugs morning, noon and night
Even when things don't go quite right

Children love so unconditionally
Even when patience is far from me

Mothering is transforming me day by day
I learn as I go and I like it this way

I couldn't ask for anything more
No more babies I'm happy with four

Blue fish...

we have two or three outfits that we kept since Jacob was a baby and they all look so cute in this one.

Wordless Wednesday

Liquid Gold...getting low

Well I am still nursing/pumping for Justus and my supply is getting low so I have been a little worried. I am trying to eat things and take fenugreek to try and increase it but not sure it's working. My goal is to continue giving him my milk until he's one year old Dec. 1st. But at the rate we are going my freezer supply is almost gone and I am not sure I'll make it. I have been giving him 3 jars of babyfood every day in between bottles.

Oh but one day I gave him infant oatmeal like rice cereal but it's oatmeal not rice. The first time he had it I mixed peaches with it and he puked for 3 hours so I thought it was the peaches. That was a few weeks ago. Well this past thursday I tried to give him some more but I just added water this time and he puked for 3 hours AGAIN! It was awful because after the first vomit his stomach was empty so the remaining 10 times he was just dryheaving puking up yellow stomach acid. He is too little to be going through that much trama. He was dehydrated and I was desperately trying to get him to drink my milk. Finally after hours of puking he slept a little and drank 4 oz. Poor baby...I think he's allergic to something in that stuff. He never pukes with the jars of veggies and fruits.

So anyway.....please pray for my supply to stay adequate enough for him until he's one. I am getting discouraged. I don't want to give him formula.

Jody's Gourmet Popcorn

 Jody's Gourmet Popcorn is freshly popped in small batches, double sifted and hand drizzled with mouth watering premium ingredients so they explode with flavor! They are so good they were featured on the Today Show!

We got 4 flavors and we all tasted them. The double cheddar was definately better than the junk the sell at the grocery store and kettle corn was SO GOOD! But MY favorite was the Carmel corn and the Cheesy Jalapeno~OMGOSH I have never had jalapeno popcorn and wasn't sure if I would like but after the first bite I was in love. It wasn't too spicy so I was able to eat the WHOLE BAG without stopping.

Jacob wanted some the next day and was pretty bummed when he found out I scarfed it down. Oh well guess we'll have to buy some more.

They have so many cool flavors that won't find anywhere else like:

Chocolate Drizzle

Apple Blossom Kettle Corn

Caramel & Cashew

Caramel & Peanut

Cheesy Chilly

Cheesy Ranch

Chunky Choco Toffee Drizzle

Cinnamon Toast

Fireside Cinnamon

Freedom Funfetti

Funfetti Autumn Mix

Jody's Fusion

Movie Popcorn

NUTS!

Old Bay

Red Cross Kettle Corn

Sugar Free Caramel

White Cheddar

If you want to enjoy these delicious snacks you can and for a great price!

Just use the promo code: Jaronale  for 15% off!!!

To My Dad: I know you love spicy/hot food and I am sure you will love the Cheesy Jalapeno Popcorn!

Mommy's Photo Shoot

They are all so different yet they all resemble both Chris and I in some way. Their personalities are unique and it is rare to get a picture with all of them smiling. Even though there are days I want to pull my hair out I love these 4 little boys with every part of my body. I cannot imagine my life without them in it. One day they will be grown and gone so I try to capture every little moment. These are unedited pictures I took the other day trying to get them all to smile but just kept snapping the pictures as they squirmed and giggled and made silly faces. Then we lined them up to show how close in size they are (especially Jaron & Jonah). And as I am posting this I noticed that Justus' hair looks like it is getting lighter. ENJOY

I'm a "Soccer Mom"!

Our boys have been begging us for a couple years to play a sport. Jacob in particular always wants to play whatever the school is sending home papers for that week. So with the help of Oma we signed them up for soccer and they love it! It's only saturdays always in the same location, just 2 miles from home. Practice one hour then play one hour. Jaron and Jacob are on seperate teams and they do have a 3-4 yr old group but we didn't think Jonah would cooperate, He has a HUGE personality. (that's a whole other story post maybe one day I'll tell you about it.)

So today was their 3rd game. We have taken pictures and videos and I will try to post both not sure how many I can add to one post. The organization is i9sports and they are focused on teaching the kids how to play together as a team and no pressure to win. They don't even announce the winner or formally take score. The point is to teach the kids to encourage each other and be a good sport. We love that. It's is also boys and girls. All total it will be 9 weeks of games saturdays only. And it also happens to be the sport my husband played as a child so he loves that too! Jacob is #16 and Jaron is #41.

Horrible Headaches!

I have suffered with headaches since I was 11 years old. I usually get tension headaches, sometimes they are sinus headaches and I have had a few real true migraines. I have had MRI's of my head and been on so many different meds to try to help. I went to the chiropractor for years and that seemed to help my tension in my shoulders and neck. I used to work at State Farm before I had children and I sat at a desk all day long so the tension in my shoulders was always there.

Because I am nursing Justus I cannot take just any kind of medicine. Most everything I put in my mouth comes through my milk in a diluted form but is not always safe for the baby. SO most of the time I have to just deal with the pain. I have become acustom to having a headache most of my life.

This week has been particularly rough though so that is why I haven't posted as much. Maybe I'll catch up next week and tell you all about our boys playing soccer with pictures included.....But for now it's naptime. THE most important time of day.

"Not Me" Monday

Well I thought I would try this along with some of my blogger friends.  MckMama writes:Not Me! Monday is a weekly event born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I’d rather forget. Why? It’s therapy of the best kind. Plus, reading the embarrassing ways that others sometimes fail makes us feel less alone. Of course, pretending that we so did not do some of this crazy stuff makes sharing a little easier I did not tell one of our boys to get off the coffee table and then sat down on it myself to tie his shoes. Not Me! I did not offer my husband my "zax sauce" because he forgot his and then didn't let him have it.I did not watch a movie with the boys while laying in the floor instead of cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. Not Me! I did not get a baby blanket out of the dryer but left the rest of the load all day. And that same load of clothes is NOT sitting here in the basket waiting to be folded. I did not boil 10 eggs to make deviled eggs last week and never made them. (So now the eggs are garbage.) Not Me!

Nine Years & Nine Months Old

How ironic is it that our oldest son Jacob turned 9 years old Sept. 12th and our youngest son Justus turned 9 months old Sept. 1st. They went to their checkups at the doctor together and they are both growing great! Jacob is smart and loves to tell me how he makes "healthy choices" for lunch at school. He loves to eat fruits and vegetables because he says they make him run faster. I try to teach our children that anything God makes for us to eat is very healthy. If it grows on a tree or in the garden you can have all you want. If it comes in a box or bag then man makes it and its not the best choice. Even though we do still buy things in boxes I do want to instill that in their minds. So I try to encourage them to eat healthy so they will form good lifelong habits.

Justus is 21lbs and doing a low crawl on his belly all ove the house. He will run over eveyones toes in the walker because he is so fast! And he's also learning to eat baby food. We had an awful experience with some baby oatmeal over the weekend though. One bowl of that stuff and he puked for HOURS. It was so pitiful and he was dehydrated so after he finally stopped dry heaving I went back to nursing. No pumping no food for the next 24 hours and he was back to his normal self again.

Jacob loves Justus so much he really cannot keep his hands off. I mean he picks him up and carries him but I worry he will drop him so I am constantly telling him "put the baby down". I prefer him to sit in the floor with Justus and hold him or play but picking him up makes me very nervous.

Jacob has always been an awesome helper and this weekend when Daddy was out of town and I pulled a leg muscle and could barely walk~Jacob stepped up to the plate. He massaged my feet with lotion and helped me with every thing. What would I do without him? My firstborn son....He's so thoughtful and has a heart of gold. I love that boy more than he'll ever know.

Overwhelmed....

...does not even describe it.

Today was one of those days. Chris is out of town for his dads wedding and he took Jaron with him to be the ring bearer. So I am here with the other three boys. On a normal day it would be no big deal but today was CRAZY! Jonah has a ruptured ear drum (discovered yesterday by all the blood) so I started my morning with the dreaded eardrops. He cringes when I get them out. And we got Jacob off to school on the bus. I thought I would take the pediatricians advice (against my better judgement) and give Justus some rice cereal around 7:30 for breakfast. And he seemed to like it. He's been eating other baby foods during the day but never any cereal.

So he laid down for his morning nap around 9:00am and when he woke up he was a in a puddle of vomit! Maybe he didn't like it after all. I got him all cleaned up and he puked again! So I changed him again and put a bib on this time. A few minutes later he puked again. And over the course of the next 4 hours he dry heaved stomach acid 10-12 times. Poor baby...it was pitiful. So I finally got him to drink some of my milk and he napped at noon with Jonah then woke up and drank some more.

Then Jonah woke up from his nap still grouchy like he was when he laid down. He has been so rude to me lately and today I was too tired from holding the baby all day to even fuss at Jonah. I just tried to ignore him. If Daddy were here he would not be getting away with it. My empty threats weren't helping. After cooking dinner and cleaning up (with many intereuptions along the way) I popped in a movie hoping to settle the boys down for the evening but wouldn't you know Jonah was not interested in watching it.

So he continued to fuss and complain and talk over everyone else (My Nanny is staying with us). One minute he's hugging me "I love you mommy" and then when I ask him to share a toy with Cari (the girl I babysit) he says "don't tell me what to do, you're not the boss; I'm the boss!" then he stomps off "I don't love you mommy". I think he's bipolar

I just get tired of fussing and spanking and threatening so I focused on the baby and tried to just ignore Jonah. Oh and then we tried to skype with daddy but noone can here because they all talk at once. And Jacob is sticking his finger in front of the camera and Jonah wants his face in the camera. Guess we need to have a skype practice session to teach the boys skyping manners. Needless to say I'm exhausted....but suprisingly I don't have a headache....how weird is that?

Maybe tomorrow we'll have a better day.

Our bedtime prayers included:

asking for forgiveness for misbehaving

asking Jesus to give me patience

asking Jesus to help Jonah be nice

and praying Daddy & Jaron come home safely.

Amen

Oh and then came the dreaded ear drops again.

THE END

PS: Justus is back to himself and I'm sure there won't be any rice cereal in our future!

Crazy Cote's

It's late and I'm tired so I'll just post pictures for your enjoyment.