Good Night, Jon Boy

Do you ever wonder what bed times are like with other families? Is yours more like a scene from Super Nanny or, and I'm aging myself here, the Waltons? I'd say at our house, we are part Super Nanny and part, "Good night, John Boy" - more closely resembling the Waltons. This post is about the funny and sweet parts of our night. I'll tackle the aspects requiring performance management some other time. Now, for the fun...



If you had been in our home this week, here's what you would have seen.

Our snakes (aka Jon and Josiah) needed to shed their skins. What, you don't all do that?? Oh, you are missing out. What you need to do is lie down next to your stuffed animal snakes (you need to have at least 4 - one of baby brother and three for the big guy). This can take anywhere from 5 - 10 minutes.

Missing loveys. Jon's "Baby" is often MIA come bed time. And no telling where Si's "Blankie" is hiding. Give us about 10 minutes for a search and rescue mission.
Mix in a snake book and a story from The Jesus Storybook Bible.

Prayers which tonight included Jon David saying, "Thank you, God, for my parents." So sweet! Tuck the boys in their beds and proceed to the nightly train story. All train stories must begin with "Once upon a time on the island of Sodor" - it's simply non-negotiatable. Daddy tells the first train story and Mommy finishes.

The next part is quite comical and something I might even consider filming for posterity sake. We sing the Veggie Tales' hit, "God is bigger than the Boogie Man." It's a good night time song as it reminds them that God is looking out for them. What makes it extra fun is that I find myself using moves from my Zumba class as I sing. It's a hoot and the boys giggle and sing along.

Lastly, Mommy sings another ditty from the Veggie Tales CD... "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star. What a gift from God you are!" I have to sing it to each boy separately and sing it softly in their ears. They just love this part. How sweet is that!?!

The End.

(Oh, I almost forgot... you must include at least 2 or 3 additional potty breaks and requests to be tucked in - again! Insert Super Nanny here.)

In need of a rescuer...

There a few products for which I think I should receive a commission based upon the number of sales I have personally generated. One of those is The Jesus Storybook Bible - Every Story Whispers His Name. To put it concisely - I. Love. This. Bible.

Prior to this Bible, our nightly reading of God's word was less than enthusiastically received by my sons. I believe the words, "No Jesus!" were said more than once - no lie. We read a review of The Jesus Storybook Bible on World Magazine and thought it looked interesting. Yes, the illustrations are lovely but it's more than that. I absolutely love how from the beginning of the book (Creation) to the end (Revelation), it so clearly shows how every story does indeed whisper His name. Every story tells of our rescuer, Jesus Christ, and God's word tells of His coming from the beginning of time. I absolutely love reading about God's "Never Stopping, Never Giving up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. .."
When the storybook Bible tells of Jesus, it speaks of how Jesus is our rescuer. I just love that - our Savior, our Rescuer. And to be rescued is something that my kids can understand. In fact, I believe that God used this book to really do a work in Jon David's heart. For months, we've talked about God's l0ve for us, the pain that our sin creates and our need for a rescuer. Often, Jon David would say, "Nah, I don't need a rescuer. I'm good on my own." I thought to myself how often my actions mirror that statement. Still, we keep reading and talking of our Savior and our need for Him. And, we kept praying.

Just last week, Jon David told me that he wanted Jesus to be his rescuer. He wanted this because he has sinned, is what he told me. I lead him in a special prayer and just rejoiced over this! As John so rightly wrote, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4.

We've started talking with Jon David about baptism and he's not showing a whole lot of interest in it at this point. That's okay. We'll keep talking with him and praying that he'll want to take the next step in his faith walk.

Of course, God's Holy Bible is perfect and needed for every family. This storybook Bible is not meant to replace it rather as a supplement. I pray it will bless your family as it has mine!

The boys are back in town!

It's Opening Day once again! Had you been at the ball park tonight, you'd have found my Party of Five there. Wouldn't miss it!



Evening started with some excitement as my boys were selected as the season's first Ultimate Fans courtesy of Wild Wings Cafe. Each received a $10 gift certificate and had their picture taken. Apparently it was shown on the jumbotron in the 8th inning. We NEVER make it past a few innings with my crew... maybe one day. (Thanks, Fellas, for giving them to Mommy & Daddy to use on a date night!)
My guys were selected because they looked so stinkin' cute in their baseball splendor. Mommy had them in matching outfits (can't resist) and Daddy let them pick out new ball caps. They really looked great. Jon David asked, "Mommy, do I look like a REAL baseball player now??"

Super Fans!

Rachel was such a trooper. For a little girl with the world's earliest bed time, she did amazing. She slept a good part of it all snuggled in my baby carrier. Eventually, the loud cheers from the super fan behind us disturbed her slumber. Even still, she gave little more than a sad whimper and was over it.

Must. Have. Cotton. Candy.

No one lost a shoe (as happened last year) and Jon was not crabby (as in 2008 - actually that could be said for 2006 and 2007). It was really fantastic. Beautiful weather, best sport, my favorite people in the whole wide world... can't ask for much more. Okay, I take that back - I'd like to make it to the 4th inning next year with the fam!

Coming Around Again

Denise is... starting her blog again.
Denise is... now the mommy of 3 kiddos.
Denise is... sorry she let this blog thing fade away.

Goodness - this getting out of the Facebook status updates of Denise is... will be harder than I thought!

Most of my readers know a lot about our life from the 1 - 2 sentences bytes provided courtesy of FB. And for a long time, I was fine with that. But I missed blogging. So - we're back. I am uncertain as to the frequency of posts but anything more than every 9 months is an improvement. Last time I blogged, Josiah was not yet 2 years old and potty training.

Oh - The blog has a new name - it just felt right to update it. We are now "Party of Five." As promised, kind words here for the helpful person who suggested the new name: Robin. My dear sister-in-law is lovely, charming, very smart, a great mommy, an adoring wife and all around great gal. I love her very much!

This is it for now but to tempt you to come back, here is what you'll soon see.

* One of my children has a "lucky charm" of sorts. It's responsible for all sorts of things.
* Another of my dear children has fully embraced his 2-ness and all that it entails.
* More and more pictures of sweet, sweet Rachel.
Until then...

Denise is... done blogging for the night.

COMING SOON!!!!

I'll be back REAL soon!!! Stay tuned...

Second Time Around - Potty Training!

I don't think there is a mommy in the great US of A who has much good to say about potty training. It's often maddening, frustrating, messy and time-consuming. Okay, maybe a few moms are just excellent with perfect children but many a mommy has found this milestone especially challenging.

Jon David went #2 in the potty around 21 or so months. We almost called the local paper to report it - we were THAT excited and THAT proud (okay, probably more so I was the one going nutso). I guess it should not have surprised me the next day when Jon David wanted nothing to do with that potty. Confused and disappointed, we decided not to push it and see when he would be ready to try again.


Fast forward about a year and my big boy was finally ready. In fact, as of this week, he has started to wear undies to bed and we are officially done with training pants in the night (or day, for that matter). VICTORY!


So, here along comes Josiah who finds the "pot pot" very interesting. In fact, one night last week when Daddy was watching them, he heard the dreaded words come from Jon David. "That's right, Siah - that's poo poo!" With lightening speed, Daddy ran and found Josiah getting a hands-on (literally) lesson in #2 from his big brother who had just finished his "business" on the pot.


Sensing that he was maybe ready and curious as to how it would go, I started to mentally prepare myself for round two of potty training. My smart mom found an article and sent it to me which basically states that the ideal window for training is 18 - 24 months of age. Turns out the author was a child development specialist whose stuff I have recently read and really like, John Rosemond.


So, today was THE day. Armed with new Elmo underwear and a good attitude, we started our day. The mantra from Mr. Rosemond kept running through my head: approach this like teaching Josiah how to use utensils. Over and over, I kept saying, "it's just like using a spoon!"


My goal for today: to get Josiah used to the sensation of being wet and for him to not like it. He had 3 "accidents" (and no actual "eliminations" in the potty) and each time he came to me soon after and let me know he needed help. Interesting, he started to look for the big pot pot and skipped the Elmo one. Hey - that's just fine with me since I can flush the regular toilet and not have to clean it like I would the Elmo one.


Towards the end of the night, the toilet was like a new toy for him. He kept wanting to get back on it. While I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, we succeeded in avoiding a power struggle and him telling me when he was wet/dirty. I think this is not bad for Day One.


Having him tell me that he has to go to the bathroom feels like a LONG ways away. But, today was manageable and I think we can continue with this. I figure that when we are home and he is not in bed, he can wear his Elmo undies. We'll see where this leads us.


Stay tuned...

Bend it like Jon David

Things were looking a little rough and I had my reservations about what to expect at yesterday's first soccer game for Jon David. His team, the feared Jellyfish, were to meet for a 30-minute practice and a 15-minute game. So, when Jon David woke up late from his nap and was more than slightly cranky, I did not see a great afternoon in our future. He then announced that he did not want to go to the soccer game. Big surprise. Ugh!

I really wanted to focus on Jon during this big event - it was a totally new experience for him. So, I lined up a good friend to watch Josiah. At the last minute, I found out that her whole family (including the dog) had a stomach virus. So, baby brother would be joining us. This could be REALLY interesting!

Once we arrived, things looked somewhat promising. Jon David greeted his teacher and allowed her to put his orange jersey on him. So far, so good. He somewhat participated with the 30 minutes of practice. You know, 30 minutes is kind of a long time so I'm not surprised that he got bored. Yeah, two pictures capture this perfectly. Yes, his face is really in the soccer net.

The team was on another field.

So, now it's time for the BIG game verses the pesky Goldfish. At this point, Jon lays on my lap (what's left of it) and announces, "I'm tired!" Oh boy - so this child may not actually play in the game today, I thought. But then, I reached into my mommy bag of tricks and pulled out "Bribery." Well, bribery might be a bit strong of a word - I provided a much needed incentive. I just sweetly whispered into his ear that there would be a big surprise if he actually played in a game. My goal was sometime within the 10 games of this season (2 a week), that at some point, he'd actually choose to participate. I had no idea what the surprise would be and quickly thought of something that would be a win/win for the whole family - dinner at Moe's followed by ice cream.





So, this was a HUGE success for my boy. Really, it was. He's not always excited about change and new experiences. He's often VERY fond of his own plans and not so much of any plans that are contrary to his. He's never shown a great interest in soccer and tends to prefer building elaborate train tracks. So, this was all new for him and he really did well. We go again Wednesday and take on the Clams!