Feelin' Jacobsy

There are a million and one reasons I love my in-laws.

 

 

 

 

And since I can't name them all, I'll just show their cute and funny faces.

 

 A few are missing, but I love them all the same. :)

I lucked out in the in-law department....big time.

I love you guys!

Belated

Our little girl turned three on Sunday, so I'm a little behind in this post, but didn't want to miss it.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest,

happiest,

most beautiful,

most wonderful little girl we could have ever been blessed with.

 

Happy Birthday, little Eggplant.  We sure do love you!

Fruits of our Labor

I LOVE having a garden!!  It's been hard to keep it weeded.  We're growing a lot of grass in our garden....but we're also growing tomatoes, zucchini, squash, eggplant, jalapenos, peppers, cantaloupe, and watermelon.  We also have day lilies growing in the yard.  We're trying to get some purslane as well, which is amazing in spaghetti sauces, etc.

 

We were able to use the jalapenos and some day lily buds and made some green curry. 

 

It was SO good.  And it was way better because some of it came from our garden.  Did I mention I love getting veggies from the garden?

 

Resolution Check-in (May)

1.  Lose 50 pounds  Let's just say that I gained some weight, and move on.  June is hopefully going to be better.  Geesh, Karen.

.  Read 50 books. I read three books last month, so I'm up to 12.  Yay.  :)

3.  Read the scriptures more this year.  Going great!  I even read on my vacation every day, which has not been the case in the past.  :)  I also started doing scripture study with the kids in the morning, and that is going really well, too.  It's super short and usually is just a scripture story while they're eating.

4.   Spend time/Read to kids each day  Still going well.  There are days that are better than others, but we definitely read a lot of books and play a lot more together.  I've been encouraging them to play more with each other, too.  This causes more fights, but they now have specific games they like to play with each other (Emmie likes playing letters with Charlie, Andrew likes to play cars with Emmie, etc.)

May= a fun month, resulting in some good and some bad habits.

Beliefs, Opinions, And Why Everyone's Right

 Just know this is not a rant, nor do I think it's something that will change lives.  It's just a thought I had recently.  :)  The ironic thing is that I think this post is going to cause controversy

 

Why does everyone seem to think they are always right?  Well, because they are.  Now, hear me out.  There are things that are irrefutable.  The Rocky series is the BEST thing to happen to humanity.  Blinking is really gross when you think about it.  Actually, eyes themselves give me the heebie jeebies.  Ice cream is happiness.  Just to name a few.

 

There are things that I believe with all my heart, and there are others who feel that the exact opposite is true.  It is my opinion that spanking kids rarely does any good.  (I have spanked my kids a couple times, and I was as a child probably 4 times and totally deserved each one.)  I believe in a God who loves me.  I have friends who believe that is a fantasy.  People feel very strongly about both of those things, so that's why I chose them. 

 

I don't know about you, but when someone states an opinion that I don't agree with, I sometimes feel defensive or slightly upset.  "What?!  This random person on the internet feels like baby formula is evil?  But my kids all started formula around 8 months.  Does this person think I'm a bad parent?  I'm NOT a bad parent!  What a jerk!!!"

 

Am I the only one?

 

The problem is, 99% of the time, people are only stating what they believe to be true.  They're not trying to make you look like a bad person, a bad parent, a racist, a fascist, a lazy ignoramus, or a rodeo clown.  They're just stating their opinion.  And as for the other 1%, they have more problems than you.

 

I hope that all the people who know me know that although I have strong beliefs and opinions, I respect and admire those around me for being different and unique. 

 

Opinions.  Beliefs.  That's what they are.  You can deny evidence and facts.  You can argue them all day long.  (Not that I condone fighting.)  But what someone thinks and feels and believes is real to them.  It's true to them.  So yes.  EVERYONE IS RIGHT.  Just because I believe something strongly, doesn't make everyone else wrong.  The more I remember that, and the more I try to incorporate it into my dealings with those around me, the better my relationships will be.

But that's just my opinion.

Best Theme...Ever.

We've had a lot of fun around here lately!  Andrew's birthday was yesterday, and we celebrated with family on his actual birthday, and with some friends on Saturday.  He chose the best theme ever.  A Roly Poly Birthday Party.  Andy has a love bordering on adoration for roly polies, and since they are featured in most of his drawings, it was perfect. 

\

He designed his cake, and was happy with how it turned out.  The roly poly dragging a 5 didn't really turn out like I had envisioned for him, but he liked it.  :)  Emily was even more excited about the party than he was, I think.  She insisted on wearing the party hat as soon as friends started to arrive, running around screaming, jumping, and clapping.  She told him "Happy Birthday" about a million times over the weekend.  We all did.  :)  I think she'll like her birthday later this month.  Andrew was such a cutie all weekend, and was so proud of the decorations he had made.

 I had to cut Andrew off from how many more friends could come to the party, because he wanted to make it an all out festival.  We were so glad they could all come!

 It was so bittersweet for me to see Andrew running around being such a big kid yesterday.  Five to me seems so....different.  I remember being five.  He has become such a sweet little boy, though, and I love getting to know him more and more as the years go on.

 

After he opened presents, he asked when we were going to play party games.  Wellllllll......since we didn't have any planned, we played London Bridge and Red Light, Green Light.  We also played with his new basketball hoop.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

5

Five years ago, we were blessed with a tiny little boy.

 

Five years ago, we felt blessed beyond compare.

 

Since then, we have gotten to know the amazing boy he has become.

 

Happy Birthday to the sweetest, funniest, weirdest, most wonderful five year old in the world!

 

We love you, Andrew!!!!



Reality

My three kids are my reality.  They are my every day, my every moment, my priority.  It's exhausting.  It's frustrating.  It's constant. 

But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.  Truly.  And not just because they're the cutest babies known to man.

Charlie is such a little copycat.  He watches his brother and sister like a hawk and imitates them all the time.  It's so cute to watch, and they adore him, too.

 

This kid is such an artist.  I won't go into details, because I already have, but he's so impressive.

 

Emily "helping" Charlie take a bath.  He liked it until about the third time he had to come sputtering up for air.  Then I told her to just put the water on his tummy or back.

 

They like taking baths together.

 

She is growing up so fast.

 

And so is he.

 

 

Sliding is serious work.

 

We love Daddy!

 

 

He is so cute and insane.

 

:)

New Arrival

We bought a van!  And we love it.  We don't have to cram all the kids in the backseat, and there's just so much more space. 

 

 

 

Boston Part VIII - Human Suffering, Funny Stuff, and The End

This is the last post I'll do about Boston (I promise!).  This post will just be the random bits and pieces.

 

 

The weather was so crazy while we were there.  We ended up going to Kohls and picking up some cheap end of the season coats because a Tuesday was so cold!  Then later in the week it was so hot we wished we had brought shorts.

 

We went to the Blue Man Group on Tuesday night and had a blast.  It's such a funny show, and we love it! We felt like we were 85 years old though, because there was a bar mitzvah party there or something so basically everyone there was 13.  Mike was laughing at me being so grumpy about them being loud before the show started.  During the show, they threw a marshmallow up where we were, and several of the kids almost threw themselves off the balcony trying to get it.  I'm not really sure what they thought they were going to do with it when they got it, but I'm sure when I was their age I would have done the same thing.

 

Now I know why you all came to this blog post.  So here it is.

 

HUMAN SUFFERING.

 

I mostly put that in the title to draw you in.  Haha.  But actually I have a bad history of injuries and sickness while on trips.  I was pretty lucky this time to just get some simple stuff. 

1.  I got a head cold while we were there, which gave me a pounding headache.  I hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours for the two days before we left (nerves, excitement, and cruelty from the Sandman) so Wednesday night was spent from 4:00 or so on at the hotel ordering in dinner, napping, and watching mentally stimulating shows like Dog: The Bounty Hunter, Duck Dynasty (which we LOVE), and 2 second bits of t.v. as we flipped through the channels a hundred times.  We actually had a fabulous time.

2.  I got the best souvenir you can get from Boston - I came home looking like a lobster.  We were out all day on Thursday and it was pretty warm, so my hair was up and I was wearing short sleeves.  My face and neck were bright red.  I'm pretty used to it, since my skin is the color of porcelain, but still.  

3.  Due to my cold, and my stupid Eustachian tube being so narrow and causing me trouble, my ears got so blocked on the way home that they hurt pretty badly.  I was finally able to get them to pop a little while after we landed, but have had some issues with them since then.  I think once my cold goes away, it'll all work out.

 

RANDOM FUNNY STUFF:

 

1.  When we were at the USS Constitution, we couldn't stop laughing because at practically EVERY exhibit, video, plaque, etc they explained why it was called "Old Ironsides" (because it was able to withstand heavy blows basically).  For the rest of the trip, one of us would say something like, "I just wish they would have told us why they called it Old Ironsides." or "The only thing that was a disappointment about our trip was that we don't know what Old Ironsides means."  It's probably only funny to us, but whatever.

 

2.  We learned that Michael trying to do a Boston accent sounds REMARKABLY like Baby Bear from Sesame Street.  I don't know that that was what he was going for.

 

3.  This is officially the weirdest picture I have ever taken.  We were trying to make it look like the penguin mama was feeding me, but somehow I look....more bizarre than anything.

 

4.  On our first trip on the subway, this little old man was talking to us, and when we asked him what he would see in the city, he told us that "I've lived here my whole life, but I never been on no Freedom Trail or nothin.'  You didn't miss nothin' not being here before.  It's all a waste a time."  He was super nice, but that cracked us up.

 

5.  There was no middle ground when it came to our waitresses.  They were either amazing and totally helpful and friendly and excited that we were visiting from Missouri, or they ignored us and were terrible.  It got to be a bit of a game to see which of the two we would get.

 

6.  Apparently, everyone in Massachusetts thinks that Missourians know NOTHING.  We ended up lying to make people not feel stupid a LOT.  When we asked where was a good place to eat in Rockport, the lady told us, "Have you heard of lobster? Okay, well you can either get it in the shell, or out of the shell. Etc. Etc. Etc."  When we asked if there was a local food that you couldn't get other places (like toasted ravioli or gooey butter cake or provel cheese in St. Louis to name a few), a lady said, "Have you ever heard of fudge?  Like as a candy?  It's really really good."  When we went into a local candy shop where they made their own candy, I saw salt water taffy.  When we were checking out, I said that I was excited because I've been dreaming of it for days.  The owner said, "Have you ever had it before?"  We were laughing later about me dreaming of this mysterious candy that just happened to be real.  I nearly swallowed my tongue laughing later that day when Mike said in this mystical voice, "Sir, I also have dreamed of an elepha-raffe.  Half elephant, half giraffe.  Do you happen to have one of those??"

 

7.  ...I swear there were more funny things that happened, but I'm tired.  :)  We laughed all week.  :)

 

 

We had such a fun time, but were ready to come home and see our little kids again.  Thanks again to my Mom and Dad for taking the week to watch our kids.  They loved it.  The kids keep telling me that Grandma does things for them.  "Mommy, Grandma makes us lunch."  "Grandma wipes my bottom."  "Grandma plays with me."  "Grandpa swings Charlie."  Apparently they do it better!  :)

Boston- Part VII - History Come Alive

If you like history at all, Boston is a great vacation spot!!  We went on the Freedom Trail, and paid for a guide.  Most of the guides had large groups, but our guy had just us.  It was a VERY detailed tour.  What took everyone else an hour took us two and a half, but he had a good Bostonian accent, was very knowledgeable, and was a big time history and family history buff.  Plus he was a heck of a nice guy.  I think I have these all labeled correctly, but if not, sorry! 

 

 FYI, no, I am not pregnant.  Apparently I just hold my arms like I do when I'm walking by a colonial actor.

 

Some of the graves in the gravesite were famous people, others just had been buried there during that time.  It was so interesting to walk through and see these very old stones, and realize that these people were real.  Benjamin Franklin's parent's graves had the most touching dedication. 

 

Paul Revere is actually buried right next to this memorial site.  And here's a funny story.  We stood there while our guide told us all about the history of Paul Revere, when we noticed coins on the top of the marker.  Apparently it's a Jewish custom/sign of respect and people put the coins on the top of graves of people they want to thank.  I remembered I had a penny in my pocket, which was weird because I never have money on me.  I held it up and apparently made some sort of mischievous smile because Mike looked at me and with the most shocked face ever said, "Did you TAKE that?!"  I immediately started laughing and said that no, I had gotten it from my pocket.  Then I said, "Why in the world would you think I would steal a penny?"  It was so hilarious.  I told him later that if I HAD taken the penny, he would have been the worst snitch on the face of the planet.  Way to have my back, babe.  :)  Anyway, we laughed about that all week.  And we are still laughing about it.

 

 Mike showing respect to a great American.

 

Me with my "stolen" penny

 

Samuel Adams' grave

 

At the Charlestown Navy Yard, they have an old WWII destroyer called the USS Cassin Young.  You can board her and poke around.  It was pretty cool!

 

The USS Constitution Museum is right by the Cassin Young, and is totally worth going to!!  It was good for all ages, and helped me understand the War of 1812, which I believe is the war that nobody really knows anything about.  We had a lot of fun, and learned a whole lot.  They had a tour of the actual Constitution, but by that point, we were so worn out that we headed back.

No, I'm not trying to look like I'm touching his rump.  We were just trying to take a funny picture.  Because apparently we act like kids when we're on our grownup vacation.  But we're not complaining.  We love it. :)

 

Mike's was better.

 

 

Clockwise:  Mike at a replica of the wheel.  Me pretending to shoot the cannon.  (This was actually really interesting because it taught you how they used to load them, etc)  A real sea biscuit.  And Mike with his hand in a cannon.  Because when he was a kid he got his arm stuck in a cannon at the Smithsonian.  Yep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met a guy on the subway who said that when he was a little boy, he and his friends used to get on the Constitution with play swords and play pirates.  How times have changed, huh?  :)

 

We also went to the Paul Revere house.  It was in a neat neighborhood and was pretty from the outside, but don't pay to go inside.  It's really not worth it.  That being said, you never know until you try.  :)

 

We loved all the history in Boston.  These were just a few.  And in case you're wondering when the heck these posts are going to end, never fear!  There's just one more.  :)