Jensen Daily

Brotherly Love

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero"....

Long day! Mackay has a mild case of the swine flu.

Crying, whining, whimpering, fevering, clinging, holding. That's what my last 48 hours have consisted of.

Bedtime for the big boys rolls around tonight, we say prayers and get ready to tuck in, only Mackay is NOT having it! Not ready to even go near his crib or his bedroom for that matter. Mitch loves to have me or Jared lay with him as he drifts off to sleep. Doesn't have to be long, but every night.... "Mom... can you lay by me?" and most nights I love it, and I do.

Mackay made that next to impossible tonight. So, I took Mackay downstairs to rock him to sleep so he wouldn't keep the other two awake. (They all share a room at this point.)

 Almost an hour later, this was my tender mercy for the day. Rand was filling in for Mom on a day when I needed it , and without being asked.

 Tonight... Rand was a brother.

It's snowing....

That's right Texas and Virginia friends.... In Utah today, it's snowing. Hmmm... not sure I'm as excited as the kids are. I'm afraid it's going to be a long winter!

Happy Halloween... a few weeks late!

We finally got to join in the fun for the annual Jensen Family Halloween Shindig! We've only heard of the fun and festivities for the past 9 years, but this year we were part of the action. Here are a few pictures to document the evening. Big stars came out to celebrate Jensen style..... such as....

 
Dwight Shrewt joined us from Scranton, PA for the festivities....

 
Super Mom flew in too

 
Michael is not really dead!

 
Popeye and Olive Oil

 
Archie and Edith

 
For all those Hulkamaniacs out there, Mr. Hogan was in the house....
 
Whoa!

What's a good Halloween party without good food, here are just a few of the menu items...

 
Yumm...

 
Stuffed Snake Sandwich

 
Human Brain..

Witch fingers

Mice and eyeballs

 
Mummy Dogs

and the cutest boys of the night are... Storm Shadow, Dan the Bakugan Brawler, and Mackay Mouse

 

 

 
 

30... Flirty.... and Thriving!

 

My 30th birthday has come and gone, and I'm proud to announce.... We're alive!
 

 

Yes it's true, we're alive! After a 5 month hiatis I am returning to the world of blogging. I wish I could say not much has happened in 5 months of denying reality, but the truth is.. a lot has happened since Mackay pooped that dime back in June!

 

After a small change in Jared's employment status in March, and with the help of so many angels, we were able to stay in Texas long enough for Rand to finish his 1st grade year. The day after that we packed up the U-haul and brought a few of our things with us to Utah where Jared's parents have been beyond kind enough to take us in during this crazy time of transition.

The job search is BRUTAL right now with so many people in the same position and looking for a way to support their families. So... I went to work for a dental office here in Utah 3 days a week. I love the people I work with, but leaving my little boys every day is not fun. I hate it. This morning Mitch was actually hanging on my leg as I walked around trying to get ready for work.

Once again, we're apart as Jared is working in Dallas on a contract job that will end somewhere around the end of the year. Thank you Chase and Allison (Jared's brother & sister in law) for letting him bunk with you for now. We have the best family in the world. Thankfully it's just short term until something permanant comes along.

Our boys are growing and beautiful. They make me smile every day with something they say or do. Rand is in 2nd grade and in my humble opinion the smartest 2nd grader at Cedar Ridge Elementary! He just finished his first season of tackle football, where his little team won the championship for 1st-2nd graders! It was so much fun to see him progress throughout the year.

 

Mitchell is in preschool at a great school near here. He goes 3 days a week, and loves to be able to go with his cousin Grace every day. He loves doggies so much and all he wants for Christmas is a "Real DOG" oh help... how do I ask grandpa for that? Yikes.. 

We are all lucky to be close to family again after being away for so long! 

Mackay is 17 months old.... 1 more month until he gets to go to nursery! YAY! He is the busiest, fastest and most spunky of all of my boys. He climbs on everything, is into everything, exploring, running, screaming all the time. His eyes are so expressive, and when he disapproves of something you've said or done, he turns his eyes to the side and almost rolls them at you. He also is the only 1 year old I've ever seen that bites his fingernails. It's awful! How I love this little boy with the big brown eyes!

 

We are thankful to be alive, to still be kickin', and for the love and support of family that has gotten us through, yet, another hard time! 

Mackay Pooped a Dime Today

Not sure how to comment on that.  We do our best to keep non-edible foreign objects out of his mouth.  Sometimes the little suckers just slide on by . . .

Eating with a Spoon 101

 

 

 

Whatever it takes Mackey Boy.  Whatever it takes.

Mitch Does This From Time to Time

We always tuck him in snug as a bug in a rug. 

Later we find him like this:

 

Or this:

 

I have no idea why.

CONGRATULATIONS JARED!!!

We are so happy to announce the best news we've received all year!

Jared passed the Texas Bar Exam!!

He is a bonified, rootin tootin, Texas shootin' attorney.

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Eggs, Chocolate, and Baskets... OH MY!

Just a few pictures of our Easter eggcitment :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Droopy Poopy....

Oh Mitchell...

Today was a full day of school, running errands and then off to the park for an afternoon of friends, fun and sunshine (finally after a rainy cold week.) I rushed home from the park to get Rand's football gear so we could rush over to the field for practice, we ran in the house and got dressed, when Jared offered to keep Mitch home with him, while I took Rand and Mackay with me to football practice. Great!! 2 kids instead of 3 is always easier right? So, we got Mitch set up in the living room with his favorite friend, the Wii, while Jared was working upstairs in his office, and off we went.

Fast-forward 1 1/2 hours later....

I drive in the driveway after chasing Mackay all over the park and wishing Rand would pay better attention to the coaches and less practicing his latest karate moves on the guy next to him on the line of scrimmage. Nice.. anyway, we are met by Jared in the driveway with a sick look on his face asking if Mitch was with me. I shake my head and say..."Jared, you kept him here with you, where is he?"

He can't find him, anywhere... He's searched upstairs 4 or 5 times... No Mitch....

We all start to panic, Rand runs across to the neighbors, (this is all sounding very familiar isn't it? Didn't I post about Mitch running away just a year ago? Geesh..) Anyway, Rand asks all the neighbors if they've seen him. I'm helping Rand in the search outside, because Jareds swears he is nowhere to be found in the house.

MITCHELL!!!     MITCHELL!!!     MITCHELL....   MITCHELL.....

At this point, I have tears in my eyes, my heart is pounding, I'm shaking all over, and I am SO MAD at Jared I can hardly see straight. How could you lose our child? How could he just disappear? Why were you not checking on him more often? WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? All things I yelled at Jared while we're running around looking for him. Just as I yell at Jared to call the police, I turn on the bathroom light upstairs and see this.....

 

 

One more a little closer up... he's completley out.. snoring and drooling.

 

Nighty Night little Pooper.

Dr. Pepper, Texas.... a.k.a. Dr. Pepper Land

For the last possible day of Rand's spring break, we decided to leave all the stress and distractions that we've had lately, and go on a little road trip as a family. It's sad that sometimes we have to leave home to be a family. So we loaded up and drove 2 1/2 hours down the road to find Jared's heaven on earth. The first Dr. Pepper bottling plant! The town is actually known as Dr. Pepper, Texas. It's probably a town the size of Koosharem, (where I grew up)not many people there or much to draw you to it, except for this little plant. It is here in Dublin that they still use pure sugar to make Dr. Pepper, gives it a little different flavor, but it's still yummy. Rand and Mitch were in heaven at the little soda shop that ajoins the plant, where we let them drink fully caffinated/sugared Dr. Pepper. They made Dr. Pepper freezes with the pure syrup, blended with vanilla icecream. YUMMY! We bought abottle to bring home and have made several since. It was a fun day of indulging in our favorite drink. I drank a few in honor of Grandma Opal, she would've loved it.

On our way home we stopped in Fort Worth at a great park and enjoyed a family train ride, and the beautiful spring weather. It was a nice way to spend the day.

Here are some pictrues from our adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Breast Cancer 3 Day....

I know I know... I am terrible at updating my blog. Lots going on here right now, that will have to wait for later though because... I am so excited about this Breast Cancer 3 Day! My sister (D'Le)  and I decided that this is the year to do something BIG to honor our mom and to try and do something to stop our own families and others from having to go through what Mom has had to go through. Being the rock that she is, Mom decided that she's not going to sit back and watch from the sidelines, so she signed up to walk it with us. The woman who inspires me daily to go on, gives us yet another example of strength and courage. So...

On November 6-8 (3 days after my 30th birthday) we will lace up our walking shoes and begin a 3 day -60 mile journey to be part of the movement that is putting an end to breast cancer.We'll join thousands of others who want to become part of something much bigger than just a stroll down a stretch of road. At the end of each long day, we'll pitch our tents with our fellow walkers and sleep for a few hours before getting up and hitting the pavement again.When we reach the finish line, I know we will have gone the distance in our fight against breast cancer, 60 miles of laughter and tears, three days of celebration and determination.

In order to participate in the event I need to raise $2,300, and thanks to so many of my dearest friends and family, I am almost half way there. I have been so overwhelmed by the generosity of so many, and feel so grateful to feel so much love and support in something so near and dear to me. Thank you so much!!  

If you feel like you could donate or know somebody else that might want to donate something towards making this happen, all you have to do is click on the button on the left of the screen.  I am so excited for this and promise to update on our progress in fundraising, in training and of course a recap of the event after it's all over.

Here's to my mom!!!

Monkey on the Table

Mackay has decided to give up his high chair and trade it in for the table... right on top, yea yea,  I know I shouldn't let him sit up here, but it makes him happy, so last night as Jared was eating his dinner, Mackay decided to help himself.  I'm talking handfulls of food at a time.... see for yourself... (I realize this is an overkill on the pictures, but wanted Grandma and Grandpas to see it all :)

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

  

 

Tonsils + Teething = Popsicles

Thank goodness for a freezer in the garage is all I can say. We have single handedly kept the Popsicle companies in business this week.....

Rand's history with tonsillitis goes way back to when he was a baby with ear infections all the time. He's been getting strep throat at least 4-5 times a year for the past 4 years, so Wednesday morning at 7:30 they finally did us all a favor and took them out.  He was so brave, I was so proud of him, he walked right into the O.R. with the nurse and didn't even look back. An hour later, the nurse came and got Jared and I and took us to the recovery room where they had me climb into bed with Rand so when he woke up, I was holding him. He woke up, ate a Popsicle there, and by 9:30, we were on our way home with our tough little patient. He has done great, hasn't complained, in fact the other day he thanked me for having the doctor take his tonsils out saying that he didn't talk funny any more. He's been sleeping through the night for the first time, maybe ever. We look forward to a much healthier little boy :) For now, he's eating his fair share of  frozen treats, and playing entirely too much Wii, and loving every minute of the attention.

As Rand finally sleeps through the night, I don't get to enjoy a night of uninterrupted sleep yet, because Mackay is trying to get his 4 top teeth all at once. YIKES! He's been pretty grumpy. So while I'm handing out Popsicles to Rand and Mitch (Mitch thinks he's entitled to one every time Rand gets one) , Mackay gets one too.  Whatever it takes to get through it right? 

 

Mackay also reached the 8 month mark this week, hard to believe!  He's eating anything and everything he can get his hands on that is NOT baby food. He loves adult food and doesn't want to sit in his high chair anymore, he prefers sitting right ON the table with everybody else.  He is way too speedy at crawling, and will pull him self up to every thing and then stand by himself for a bit. He's already pulling books off the shelf, and "helping" me unload the dishwasher. He has finally decided that his daddy is not such a bad person either, he'll actually let Jared hold him and play with him for a few minutes. Little stinker didn't stay a baby long enough. It's fun to see him develop the way that he is supposed to, but really sad to realize that my baby is now a trouble maker just like his big brothers.

Mackay in his wifebeater after a rootbeer popsicle, could we look any more white trash?