Cancel my order!

My boys are a marketing person's dream come true!  They desperately call me into the room yelling "This one Mommy, this is the toy I was talking about!"  Every time they see something they must have I tell them to remember it when Christmas comes around.    I think they were worried about forgetting a must have so about a month ago they (Jackson and Joel) asked me to help them write letters to Santa.  They wrote the letters themselves I only provided spelling help.  The list was full of specifics so that Santa would be sure to bring the correct size, color and options!  We spent nearly an hour on the lists which grow from week to week.  A couple of days ago Jackson saw a show about toy trains and he called to his Daddy, "Daddy cancel my order with Santa!  This is what I REALLY want!"
Wonder how many more orders will be canceled before Santa makes his midnight run?

Perception is a funny thing!

I had a girls night out to celebrate my best friend this weekend.  She is getting married so a group of friends got together for big fun!  Well I am a mother of 3 small children which most, if not all, of you know so as hard as I try not to I inevitably talk about my boys.  So the topic of my blog came up and someone mentioned that I have an obvious favorite.  Perception is a funny thing because while this person felt like Joel is my favorite others (specifically my mom) think I am way too hard on Joel.  Perception is a funny thing.  I have put a lot of thought into this over the last 2 days.  Here is what I have decided. I don't write about Joel more because I am over compensating, I write about Joel more because he is the entertainer of the family.  He loves to be the center of attention, he loves to make people laugh.

So this brings me to the question I have been asked before, "How can you not have a favorite?"  I am their mother that is how.   I love them equally but uniquely.   All three of my boys are handsome and smart and sweet but they add their own special twist to this perfect package.  

Jackson is a thinker, he has to know the why and how of things which drives his Daddy crazy sometimes.  He likes order in his day.  He wants to know what is coming so he can prepare for it.  He loves information.  He  chooses to watch documentaries about toys or trains over cartoons.  He knows more about trains than anyone I know.  I love watching his wheels turn.  My first born, my starter baby, he made us a family and not just a couple.  His insight is constantly amazing me.

That brings me to my Sweet Joel.  The family entertainer.  He is a dancing machine.   He walks into school and every kid stops what they are doing "Hi Joel, Joel is here!"  He is fun to be around, the life of the party!  He loves his big brother and wants to do everything he does.  He loves his little brother and he wants to teach him everything he knows (good and not so good).   He has no fear, which has already landed him in the ER leaving with 7 stitches.  He LOVES his family.  I can't even count the number of times he tells me he loves me in a day.  "Mommy I just love love love you!"  Joel I just love love love you too!  My middle child, I know exactly how you feel, not the oldest and not the youngest.  That is why we have to entertain, if you aren't the first born or the baby you have to find a way into the lime light!

And that brings me to my baby!  Jensen, JP, Jensey P, Little Mouth, Booger Bear, his nicknames go on and on!  Most often among his family he is JP.  He is so sweet!  That smile just melts me.  His favorite thing right now is his Mommy!  I can't describe how it makes me feel when he squeezes me tight and buries his face in my neck.  I just want to hold onto him forever.  He runs across a room and jumps into my arms even if it has only been an hour since he saw me last.  He is inquisitive, he loves to read, loves to sing and dance.  He is always listening, well they are all always listening!  So that keeps me on my toes.  I have to keep the front door chained or he escapes.  I have to keep the cabinets locked or he drinks Orange Glo.  I have to keep the bathroom door shut or he wastes gallons and gallons of water flushing the toilet over and over.  Basically he is a busy boy!  My baby, my last chance to get it all right (I have already blown that by the way).


So how could you have a favorite?  They are each perfect in their own way.  They have each touched my heart in their own special way.  They are all mine and I am theirs (for better or worse).  I know them better than anyone else in the world.  I knew them first, their personalities were even evident in the womb.  My life has been made better with each addition.

20 YEARS!!!!!

My high school reunion is coming up.  20 YEARS!!!!  I know what you are saying right now "Surely not Mary Lynn, you look far too young to have been out of high school for 20 years!  I simply do not believe you!"  But alas it is true.   I haven't seen most of my fellow graduates since May 31, 1990.  Others I have seen over the years but if memory serves me correctly it has been 6 years since I have seen anyone from the class of 1990 and that includes my closest friends.  ~Sigh~  What to do?  I can't decide if I should go to my reunion or wait another 20 years.  There are a million things I need to so that weekend, most important is Jensen's birthday, but I worry that if I miss this opportunity to see some old friends I will regret it.   I have been trying to juggle my schedule to make it work for 2 weeks now.  You will laugh when I tell you what is holding me back.  My boys have 2 tee ball games that they will have to miss.  Agggg maybe I can make it work somehow.  If I go to all this trouble and the only people at my reunion are girls that wanted to beat me up I am going to be so mad!

Photo of me and my lifelong BFF at her place in Florida.  Please don't judge the outfit too harshly, it was 1989!

Something just isn't right.

My sweet Joel was out of town for 5 days and things just didn't feel quite right.  We woke up in the morning and there was no singing at the breakfast table, no fighting either but no singing.  I woke up to 2 happy boys who love me lots but there's something about Joel's good morning.  He greets me like he hasn't seen me in a week, with a giant grin and he runs and wraps his arms around my neck.  We got out of the house with relative ease and on time and I went home and relaxed a bit before doing some chores and running out to teach a class.   Then I had the whole day to hang out with JP (Jensen) before picking Jackson up from school.  We ate whatever we wanted for dinner, I didn't do laundry EVERY DAY and it was generally a laid back easy going few days.  No rushing at noon to pick up my boy and rushing home to eat lunch and nap, no managing meltdowns over not being able to get socks on "just right".

I recently read a friends blog where her dad said that adding a 3rd child to a family doesn't increase your workload by 1 but exponentially.   That is so true!  Taking care of 2 boys and no husband was a walk in the park.  Now would I trade in my sweet Joel and his sweet Daddy for this easy breezy life?  Not a chance! 

So here is another Joel story so you know what was missing in my life for 5 days!  Joel gets home and he said "MOMMY!!!!!!"  and he runs to me and hugs me so tight and he giggles and smiles and giggles some more.  "Mommy I love you so so much!  and I missed you so so much!"  Me: "Awww Joel I love you so much and missed you so much too!"  Joel: "Mommy I love you so much I am never ever going to kill you!"  Wow I didn't know that was being considered!  I sure am glad that for Joel absence made the heart grow fonder!

Have a good day!

This morning was a typical morning for me wake up and rush around to get the boys fed dressed and out the door.  We make it to school with minutes to spare, if the big kids are putting the flags up Jackson thinks he is late.   As we pull up to the door for me to let Jackson out of the car I say "Hey Jackson, have a great day bud!  Be a good boy today!"  In true Jackson fashion I get the response "You have a good day too Mama, try to be a good mother to Jensen today."  OK Jackson I will try!  Love that boy!

Throw it all together and that's how we roll!

You might find yourself asking...What about Jensen?  My sweet, funny and charming baby boy is such a joy.  He is the perfect baby, well now little boy.  He cuddles and kisses and hugs and laughs, he is the perfect "last baby".  Maybe I am just savoring every moment because I know there is a 99.3% chance I won't do it again.  He is a commercial baby, he plays with toys just like the babies on the commercials, unlike his brothers who preferred to take it apart (i.e. break it into a million pieces)  to see how it works. 

He loves to sing!  His favorite songs are You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Volcano (by Jimmy Buffet), Hoedown Throwdown (by Hannah Montana) and any song with the word Baby in it.  It is so funny to hear him singing Jay Sean songs (Baby are you down down down down down).  He loves sweet tea and he steals mine any chance he gets (see photo).  And his smile is so cute I just let him have it.  He is shy with new people and bossy once he gets to know you.  He is turning 2 soon so he has entered the "mine" stage.  Whether it is his or not he goes around the house labeling "that's mine, that's mine, that's mine!"  Sometimes it is his, most of the time it isn't! 

 He loves his brothers and wants to do everything they do.  He drives them crazy but they love his in spite of it because that is a little brother's job.  They lock him out of their room but they won't let anyone else even look at him the wrong way because that is a big brother's job.  To quote Jackson "Brothers pretect!"  (Yes I know that is spelled wrong but it is a direct quote!)  


He loves having Mommy all to himself, even if she is on the computer blogging about him  instead of rolling in the floor with him.  He can't wait for the whole family to be home and together in the evenings.  I would love to say his favorite time of day is when Mommy gets him out of bed, or rocks him to sleep or when Daddy gets home from work but the truth is his favorite time of day is DINNER TIME!  He runs around the house like the town crier letting everyone know it is time to eat!  


Jensen is the perfect addition to our family, doesn't need to be in control of everything like his oldest brother, doesn't need the spotlight like his middle brother, he goes with the flow and smiles through nearly everything.  To quote Hannah Montana "throw it all together and that's how we roll", that Jensen's motto!






 

The Michael Report!

Every day I get a report at the end of  Joel's school day.  Me: "Joel how was school today?"   Joel: "It was good!"  Then he proceeds to tell me everything Michael did that day, how many time Michael moved his card, etc.  I try to explain to Joel that I am much more interested in the choices he made that day and whether he had to move his card.  I think he has gotten tired of me telling him to worry less about Michael and more about Joel.  This week I have gotten the Kate report.  I think Kate, much like my sweet Joel, likes to talk.  All this reporting in on everyone else makes me wonder how many mothers out there are getting the Joel report.  And that makes me smile a little.

I think they're listening but I am not sure they're getting it.

Here are a couple of examples of Jackson listening to what we say.  My boys are always asking for things,  can we have a milkshake, can we go to Walmart and get a prize, can we get a ring pop, I want a remote control motorcycle.  It seems never ending.  Most of the time they get the response "We don't have any $ for that."  A few weeks ago we went to visit my parents.  As soon as we got there my mom took us to lunch.  We all hopped in the car and 
Jackson asks: 
"Where are we going   Grandma?" 
Grandma: "To lunch Jackson." 
Jackson: "We can't go to lunch." 
Grandma: "Why not?"
Jackson: "We don't have any money."
Grandma: "Who doesn't have any money?"
Jackson: (pointing around feverishly) "Everyone in this car who's last name is Tinsley!"


Fast forward to yesterday... Jackson is outside with his Daddy cleaning cars.  "Daddy are we out of money because the Mazda exploded?"  


I think my boys are having a little trouble distinguishing the difference between we don't have any money and we don't have money FOR THAT!  We have money to eat, we don't have money for McDonald's EVERYDAY.  We have money to pay our car payment, we don't have money to buy ANOTHER train.  We have money to pay for school and supplies that go with school, we don't have money for moon sand.   You get the point right?  Now can someone come over and explain it to my boys?

YOU'RE RUINING MY LIFE!!!!

At the grocery store today with my sweet Jackson.  Being at the grocery store with only one child is SO easy!  It is almost fun...almost!  He listened to me and helped me and it was GREAT!!!!  Then I got a phone call and he didn't have my full attention and it went downhill a little.  Then it started going downhill like an avalanche so I got off the phone and focused on my son.  I think it was too late.  We were in the checkout line next to the candy.  My boys rarely ask for treats from the checkout line.  They beg for broccoli but not for candy.  It's nice!  Today was the exception from the "rarely ask for treats".  Jackson started with M&M's "No Jackson", then on to a "drinkable sucker"  "No Jackson."  "PLEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE, bitty bitty please" (Jackson always says bitty please not pretty please, I love it).  Again and again he asks and again and again I say, very calmly "No Jackson."  Finally he has had enough!  "Mommy you are ruining my life!"  to which I respond "Jackson adjust your tone."  "Yes Mommy, but I still really want that sucker."  I love that boy!  I hope I will always be able to laugh a little when he tells me I am ruining his life.  Or even better maybe this will be the last time!

Thanks...I think???

I love love love being the mother of 3 boys!  It is great!  I get compliments all the time.  "Mommy you are so sweet."  "Mommy you are so pretty." "Mommy you are very smart."  I think that is the biggest difference in boys and girls.  My boys can't stop telling me how pretty I am and with girls I think you have to always tell them how pretty they are.  So I will let you decide if this is a compliment or not. 

Jackson and I were lying in the floor the other night watching TV.  And Jackson starts petting me, "Mommy I love you so much."  "Thank you Jackson, I love you so much too."  "Mommy you are very pretty!  I especially like how your boobies come up from your shirt."  "Ummmm, thanks Jackson."

I think I am in trouble if he is already noticing!