Jonah is 6!

6 years ago, I was due to give birth to my first child. 6 years and 13 days ago, he was actually born. Jonah came almost 2 weeks early, on January 2, 2002. I love telling the story:
On January 1, 2002, my brother and sister-in-law (also pregnant at the time with their daughter) came over to watch "Best in Show". We ate Mexican food then went to Baskin Robbins for a Cappuccino Blast (decaf, of course. I'm lactose intolerant so the results of this dessert is an entirely different story), then back to our house to watch the movie. My brother and sister-in-law didn't leave too late, but I remember telling them on their way out "I'm probably going to be late in delivering this baby." So, about 3 hours later, my water breaks! Hello! I had time to take a shower while Justin paced up and down the hallway doing absolutely nothing. We arrived at the hospital to find that I was already 7cm dilated! Yes! I decided against getting an epidural, and other than Justin's finger in my face telling me to "blow the candle", and him warning me when the next contraction was coming, everything was fine. After 3 hours of labor, out came our firstborn. He has since set the bar very high: he slept through the night at 11 weeks, was a very good eater, and, to this day, he is an even-tempered and obedient child. I suppose there was no where to go from there but, well, down... OK, OK, our other sons are healthy and well-behaved - I shouldn't compare our children to one another. Hence, we had three more since Jonah. I'm done. Done, done, done.

Our Little Angel

On December 23, 2007, Jonah participated in the Children's Christmas Choir at church. I found out that they had to dress like angels. Jonah's response: "But angels aren't BOYS, they're GIRLS!" Shows how much he remembered from our "Gabriel visits Mary to tell her she's going to give birth to Jesus" bible study. So what does he do? He chooses to wear the halo with the feathers on it. The feathers. Just when I thought I had him figured out.

Girls' Night Out

Yay! I got out! I met up with my old (meaning "previous", not "aged") college roommates last Sunday for a little shopping and a LOT of talking. We had dinner at a place called The Sundried Tomato in San Juan Capistrano - the perfect location, since it's halfway between West Covina and South San Diego. Even though we're spread out in SoCal, we still manage to meet at least twice a year. From the left:
Cecilia - So festive in her green blouse, she is currently "between jobs" and searching for something in marketing. That means "very qualified" if your company is hiring.
Me - Finally, a reason to shower and put on makeup.
Rachel - Stay at home mother of 2, we have lots of mommy stuff in common without even having to say "spit up".
Caris - World traveler and missionary, if you need to have something translated to or from Chinese, give her a ring (or "ling", in Chinese).
Denise - The beaming newlywed, she hosted Thanksgiving with her in-laws and cooked her first turkey. There should be a "Congratulations" card for that...!
And the one roommate missing is Maisie, whose job at Frito Lay in Dallas has us all anticipating her return visit for the holidays with gifts of every kind of potato chip you can imagine.

After being friends for around 15 years (and surviving living together), I cherish the friendship I have with my roommates. They are blessings to me! Merry Christmas, ladies! Long live Old People's Crazies! ;-)

Check "Mii" Out

So we got a Wii in mid-October and everyone in this house over the age of 3 has been playing it and enjoying it practically everyday. For those of you unfamiliar with the sports games, the Wii keeps track of your skill level each time you play. I know that I complain a lot about how busy my day is, but today I decided to jump in on all the fun Jonah and James were having after lunch. I hogged the game and played tennis for half an hour.

There are lots of things I'm proud of as a stay-at-home mom: Jonah is reading at almost a 2nd grade level, James knows his alphabet and all his letter sounds, the twins are healthy at 8 months old and my husband is a godly and faithful husband and teacher. But today, just today, all that pales in comparison to what I've achieved. I'm officially at PRO level in tennis on the Wii with a skill level of 1074.

So don't be jealous of the fact that sometimes I get to sleep in, or stay in my pajamas all day. Be jealous of my tennis skillz!! ACES!!

Video of the Week

Apologies for any offensive videos from the last "Video of the Week". It was only supposed to be clips from "The Facts of Life", but I think there may have been other videos that were, let's just say, of another orientation. Sorry. Check out this week's video, though. Makes me glad I minored in Spanish Literature in college becuase I can understand everything this guy says. As they say in Jerry McGuire, "You had me at 'Hola'".

Nighty-night

Bedtime is now a circus. I usually put one of the twins to bed while Justin holds the other twin while putting Jonah and James to bed. Then I get the twin from Justin and put him to bed. Then I go into Jonah and James's room to say goodnight to them. Tonight's conversation:

Me: Goodnight, James.
James: Mama, why did the mouse throw the acorn down to the grass?
Me: What?
James: Why did the mouse throw the acorn down to the grass?
Me: Did you see this in a book?
James: No, on TV. Why did the mouse throw the acorn down to the grass?
Me: Why?
James: 'Cause that's why he's short!
Me: ??????????????????

Oh, they're fine!

In order to finally post another entry (I know it's been a while), I'm letting Jonah and James run around the house, through the forbidden living room, and allowing Jack and Jed to cry in their baby chairs. Negligence? I think not. Necessary? Yes. That's how I remain sane from day to day. As long as no one's going to get hurt (OK, no guarantee of that with the two older ones dodging doors and each other), I just have to let some things go to have a moment to gather my thoughts or eat or breathe or, in this instance, give an update. Jack and Jed just turned 7 months old - PTL! They love rice cereal, applesauce, peas and carrots (all in pureed form, of course), and they are sleeping through the night! God is so good - His blessings are abundant with four healthy sons and a loving husband, too! Now, if He can only get Rolfe, our 100 lb. German shepherd, to stop eating the fertilizer in the backyard, then life would be REALLY swell. OK, moment over.