GIVING THANKS

I am a lucky woman. I know this. I have a life that many envy, few can imagine, and I only can live. I am so thankful for that everyday.

Before dinner, someone always has to say prayers. Justice always says prayers at pre-school so his are slightly different then ours. I don't know how I started it, but our dinner prayer is always the Lord's Prayer. That is also our bedtime prayer as well. Jax had it memorized by two and half and Binky soon followed suit. None of this is here nor there... I just make sure that after the prayer they say they are thankful for "__________" today.

This week I have been seriously emotional about our life. Saturday was exceptionally hard on me and I literally had to stop my life for over 24 hours and just "be still." Not easily done for a girl like me.

So during this week I watched and listened and thought long and hard about things I am so beyond words, thankful for. The list is too long to post in its entirety but here is a smidgen of them:

*The littlest of hands that stroke my cheek at 3:30 in the morning and the voice that whispers, "Momma, you so sweet, I sleep with you and you snuggle me now?"
*Friday's, alone, with Tommy
*A little power pack of a spunk of a daughter that will never ever let anyone get the best of her
*The power of forgiveness
*Tommy's ever so passionate kisses... in the morning, afternoon, at lunch or dinner
*Doctors who listen and then listen some more
*Jax's kindness
*Tommy's patience when I go on my decorating whims
*LIFE as I know it
*The blue eyes in my family
*A body I can still convince to push harder and faster
*Jax, a child with an old soul that is wise..way beyond his years
*Friends I can call at any hour
*Brinkley, my girl who has a heart of gold and the spiteful tongue of a sailor
*A mom that drives me nuts and makes me laugh until I nearly wet my pants
*Pudgie, my baby who melts my heart everyday and night
*Tommy, the one who makes me whole
*The home we have created and the love it possesses
*Hard Work
*Hard Play
*Tough time that strengthen us from within
*Belly laughs
*Crocodile tears that heal the heart
*Band aids that heal the rest, or just look cool
*Looks that say it all
*Shoes that feel as good as they look
*Family that is really there for you, even if they are not blood
*Days with minimal pain
*The sun on my cheeks
*Pink Christmas lights
*Butterflies in my stomach when I see Tommy after a 16 hour long work night
*Healthy family members
*Honesty
*Friends that offer to take my munchies so Mommy can have a break
*My sister
*My nieces
*My parents and their quirky priorities (You can't choose your family)
*All things Jensen!

We have had an amazing year, so far, and our family has so many things to be grateful for. The list is truely endless so I will leave it at that.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe weekend of

S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G!

~H.O.M.E.~

My girlfriend asked if she could come by this morning after she dropped her little guy off at school. It was a strange way that she asked but I welcomed adult female conversation. It has been a while since I have had any, just sitting on my big comfy couch.

During the conversation, she noticed a lot of the changes I have made around our house. It has been a long time since I have had her inside our house. She like all that I had done. New paint, new wall coverings, new pictures, new candles, new lights, more artistic things here and there. Some little, some, not so little. Everything is coming together more and more and our house feels soooo HOMEY and WARM these days. Not that it didn't before, just different. It is more about our family and they way things are between all of us now.

It made me start thinking.....

Today was my downstairs cleaning day. GOOD SCRUBBING DEEP cleaning day. Grout cleaning, nook and cranny dusting, kind of cleaning day. I am still working on my kitchen since I also re-arranged artwork on the walls and had to deal with some things along the way.

Once I was 80% done doing the downstairs cleaning, I took a second to sit down and have a snack. That was when I started wondering what Jax, Binx, and Pudgie would remember about our house growing up. I try very hard to make our house the kid friendly one. None of our rooms are off limits because I have some sacred china or something I can't live without if it gets broken in there. Of course everything has value but the only things with true special meanings are the people that enter through our doors!

We live pretty casually around here. I like it that way. Leather is easy to scrub clean and I happily repaint dirty walls that don't wipe up well.

I wonder if Jax will remember that I put the ottomans in front of the T.V. so that he had a place to put his snacks and drinks when he and Daddy were playing their video games together.

I wonder if he will remember I got him the beanbag because it is more comfortable for them to lay against it as they take out the terrorists and dismember alien life forms.

I wonder if he will ever realize that Daddy picked out the big T.V. just for the purpose of playing cool video games with his kids.

I wonder if Binky will remember that I spent more time on her bedroom, decorating and then redecorating it, than I spent on all 3 of the other bedrooms put together.

I wonder if she will remember that all of my garage is designed around mostly her toys and scooters and jump ropes and walkie talkies and chalk and art supplies. My Escalades spot comes second to keeping her precious roller blades safe.

I wonder if she will remember that I kept our kitchen table because of all the markings she accidentally made from writing her letters and numbers too hard on her papers.

I wonder if Pudgie will remember how hard I worked to draw and paint his entire bedroom, free-hand, Spongebob and Sandy and Squidward and the pineapple.

I wonder if he will remember all his ride on toys that he can park with his eyes closed, perfectly in their assigned parking spots.

I wonder if he will remember our picnics in the grass on lazy sunny afternoons when the other two were at school and we were having special days together.

I wonder if he will remember how I laughed like crazy the first time he decided he wanted to be just like his DOZER puppy and go potty on the grass.....

I want my babies to have memories of this house being awesome. Being a safe zone and one that all their friends were welcome to play at.

I want them to know our house is a HOME that we have fun and laugh and LOVE and play and learn and fight and forgive and bring friends to and have family over, in. I want them to remember that Christmas is our holiday and we always have prime rib with corn and everyone plays the Wii after dinner.

I want them to always remember that our house was loud and fun and filled with joy.

I want everyday to be a day to remember and holidays to be lavish and sacred and times that they tell their own children about one day. I want our house to hold traditions dear to their hearts and that they will want to carry on one day.

I know our house is not the biggest on the block. It may not have the most expensive toys with all the bells and whistles in it, and it surely is not the most organized. The furniture may have spills and the carpet may have spots. The decor may not be for everyone and some may think we are little to forward in our house. Our house does not stay as clean as I would wish for.... and most days, you can find dishes in the sink.

I am good with that.

I am good with that as long as my babies all know that this house is filled with so much love for them everyday it could bring me to tears. It is a safe zone for them to be themselves and let go of all the worries that are still to come, in this crazy life we live.

~AN HONOR~

IT IS, TO PUT IT SIMPLY, AN HONOR TO BE PARENTS OF THIS CHILD. GOD GIFTED US WITH THE EASIEST, SMARTEST, CUTEST AND HUNGRIEST KID I KNOW. AFTER 4 YEARS OF STRAIGHT A'S, HE FINALLY GETS TO BE ON THE HONOR ROLL!

WE ARE SO PROUD, AS USUAL!

THE WHISPER~

Ahhhh it is in the air now.

That almost irritating whisper. I have been ignoring it. Sort of.

It is calling me everyday.

I find other projects to tend to or create.

I can't ignore it anymore.

Rafiki does this every year.

He talks to me and tells me,

"IT IS TIME"

The trees are coming out this weekend.

I will find the lights I want for the outside of the house come hell or high water.

The baking will commence. (Ok, who am I kidding with that one?)

I will buy Trish's goodies and pass them off as mine at parties. (Again, no one will buy that either, so I will give her all the credit she so deserves.)

I will become one with the Spirit of Shopping.

I will start my tradition of wrapping presents behind locked doors watching movies until the wee hours of the night.

I will hide more presents than I will find when Christmas Eve arrives.

I can smell the candles and scents of Christmas already!

I will take the time to make cookies with the kids.

I will be in my happiest of places!

3

ONE OF THE NEW AND EXCITING CHANGES IN OUR HOUSE IS OUR WORKOUTS. OUR GYM CLOSED. THIS WAS NO SURPRISE TO US. WE QUIT IT BEFORE THE OWNER COULD SCAM ANY MORE MONEY OUT OF US... UNLIKE SOME VERY UNLUCKY PEOPLE THAT GLADLY HANDED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO THIS GUY. ANYWAY.. MY BLOG IS ABOUT OUR NEW WORKOUTS.

TODAY WAS RUN SUNDAY. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO IT TOGETHER. TOMMY AND I, THAT IS. I AM HARD CORE UNHAPPY ABOUT GETTING UP ON THE WEEKENDS. TOMMY LEFT ME AND PUDGIE IN BED AND RAN BY HIMSELF. THAT LEFT ME TO GO IT ALONE.

I MADE MY 3 MILE PLAN AND THEN I HAD COMPANY. JAX AND BRINKLEY WANTED TO GET IN SOME EXTRA MILES FOR RUNNING CLUB. IT ALL SOUNDED WELL AND GOOD. I CAN MAKE 3 MILES WITHOUT STOPPING.... WITHOUT CHILDREN. THAT WAS THE PROBLEM.

MY THREE MILES WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
OK 3-2-1-GO
BINKY LED THE PACE SINCE HER LEGS ARE LIKE 5 INCHES LONG.
~SHE TIRES QUICKLY.
~JAX TOOK OVER THE PACE.
~HE WORRIED ABOUT BRINKLEY.
~I LEFT THEM FOR MY RUN. IT WAS A STRAIGHT PATH SO I COULD SEE THEM BEHIND ME.
~PROBLEM WAS, WE WERE ON HIGLEY. I WORRIED ABOUT THEM BY THEMSELVES, EVEN IF THEY WERE ONLY 1/4 OF A MILE BEHIND ME.
~I WOULD RUN 1/2 A MILE AND TURN AND GO BACK 1/4 OF MILE TO THEM AND TURN AND RUN ANOTHER 1/2 MILE.
~THEN REPEAT.

HOLY CRAP, THIS WENT ON FOR FLIPPEN' EVER IT SEEMED. IT WAS AN AWESOME WORKOUT BUT SERIOUSLY.....................
POOR JAX, EVERYTIME I CAME BACK TO HIM HE WOULD ASK IF I WAS MAD.
NOT ON YOUR LIFE. EVEN IF THE LOOK ON MY FACE SAID DIFFERENTLY.
I HATE RUNNING BUT I WAS SO EXCITED THEY WERE RUNNING WITH ME.

IN THE END MY 3 MILE RUN WAS A 5 MILE RUN WITH A 1 MILE WALK TO ACCOMODATE THE KIDS.
I LOVED IT.

TOMMY WAS WAITING ON THE GRASS WITH THE SLOSH PIPES.
AS IF RUNNING ISN'T ENOUGH TORTURE ON THIS BROKEN BODY.
I COMPLETED 30 OVERHEAD SQUAT WITH THE SLOSH PIPE AND NEARLY FELL OVER.
THE BEST PART WAS WATCHING PUDGIE JUST HOLD HIS SLOSH PIPE OVER HIS HEAD SAYING HE WAS SUPERMAN!

I LOVE SUNDAYS!

~MAIN SQUEEZE~

Tommy and I are bound and determined to avoid any type of the flu in this house. I don't have time for all that. We have not vaccinated the kids yet and I have never in my life had the flu... and I am not about to start this year!

Tommy took it upon himself to designate himself and Justice as our official family juicers. I love waking up on Saturday and Sunday to fresh apple/carrot juice. My all time favorite is lemon/orange/tangerine/carrot, but we are doing the apple/carrot juice right now.

(NOTE TO ANYONE WHO MAKES FRESH JUICE... BROCCOLI IS DISGUSTING IN JUICE!!)

Tommy is a great patient, teacher with Justice... and

BONUS~

They do all the dishes too!

I love you boys more than any words can express!!!!

Licenses~

FAIR WARNING~ I AM JUST SIMPLY RANTING ABOUT BAD PARENTING ..... THIS ENTIRE BLOG!

"Are you freakin kidding me?" That was all I could think. I bit my tongue and thought...."Kiddo, you would last about 20 seconds with me before you got your tail smacked."

You see, Tommy and I don't bargain with 2, 3, 4, 5...8,10, 12 or any number under 18... year olds anymore. It has caused a few arguments here and there and as of late, I lost a friend over it. Grocery shopping at Fry's today, with my 4 year old that has been nothing short of a smart mouth brat that has had hot oil dumped down his throat 6 times today, made me thankful for the fact that he is my brat...that and the fact that the woman behind my carts little demon child was not mine.

I am not kidding when I say that I am more than patient at the grocery store. I have to be. I am the one who does it and until recently, I always had Pudge in tow with me. I fed him through every aisle to keep him quiet. I am not ashamed to admit that I am the mom who hands over the empty yogurt containers to the checker because he ate yogurt and bananas as we shopped. I even bring spoons from home just for this. The stockers know us by name and a few play with Pudgie when he is out of the race car testing me for the morning.


Like all moms, I have my limits.

A 3 year old that is throwing candy bars at me, when it is not my child, does not get, "patient smiles," from me. No bargaining and no little, "hellos," or, "hey buddy...blah blah blah," bs that I would normally throw out there. Instead, I did what I have a certain knack for lately. I made another enemy when I reprimanded this kid, in a round a bout sort of way, to his mom.

I know.... nice going DeAnna.... but in my own defense (like I need to defend my actions to a 3 year old...)

this little guy chucked his 5th candy bar my way, smacking Pudgie square in the face. Last straw.... This was after I had been hit in the neck, boobs and thigh already...... and, I was already having one of those mornings where I was seething about a few things. The fact that this woman did not even once tell this brat to stop, smack his hands, move him so he could not grab the candy bars, or even attempt an apology for the first, second, or even the third time this kid threw these bars had tipped me over the beyond pissed off edge....

I turned to this little kid, then looked at his mom, and said,

"Once is funny, twice is a little un-nerving and the third times the charm... you see, by now, my child's ass would be bright red from the spatula I would be using on it for his being so rude at a grocery store, but maybe you think he needs to learn how to make his choices. I am not in the mood to watch your kid learn to make his choices today. I am going to suggest you move to another line before I bend down and whisper something so incredibly scary to your child, that he will choose not to sleep in his bed for a week. Now you have a great day too!"

I know that all of that popped into my head from making hot dogs over the fire with Jax, Brinkley, Haylee and Pudgie last night. They wanted to tell scary stories and it has been on my mind since last night when I kinda scared them all with some real life cop stories.....

Totally uncool for me to lose mine, but seriously... some people need a license to re-produce.

The woman moved... rather quickly too. She never did pick up the candy bars her demon was throwing, and my checker, well, she almost wet her pants laughing.

At any rate... the horrified look of, "How dare you?" was priceless today and I got over everything that had me in a yuck mood to begin with. Gotta love that, I guess!

CHANGE: RE~

SOME CHANGES ARE HUGE, SOME NOT SO NOTICEABLE AND SOME... WELL SOME ARE GONNA CHANGE EVERYTHING...... FOR NOW WE ARE:

RE-MODELING
RE-PAINTING
RE-FINISHING
RE-LAXING
RE-DOING
RE-WINDING
RE-ORGANIZING
RE-GROUPING
RE-DECORATING
RE-VISITING
RE-PRIORITIZING
RE-LIVING
RE-FACING

AND

TRYING TO KEEP IT ALL IN CHECK AT THE SAME TIME. (MAYBE I MEANT TO SAY THAT I AM TRYING TO STAY SANE ALL AT THE SAME TIME) WE WILL SEE HOW THAT GOES.

(the little voice in my head wishes that re-producing was on this list as well!)

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

BIG CHANGES ARE A COMING TO THE JENSEN HOUSE!

SOME WE ARE THRILLED ABOUT, SURPRISINGLY, SINCE I HATE CHANGE.

SOME, NOT SO MUCH.

WE ARE EMBRACING EVERYTHING...

BUT I HAVE A HEADACHE SO I CAN'T STARE AT THE COMPUTER ANY LONGER.....SOON THOUGH!