More Jeffy

I never get tired of posting pictures of Jeffrey eating. I guess I just find it very cute and entertaining. And since he still isn't crawling, it's really his only trick.

Not that Deep

Blogging has made me realize something about myself. I am not that deep. I am not super interesting, funny, artistic, or smart. But I have also realized the upside to not being very bright. I am extremely content with my life. Don't get me wrong. I have my moments where I want to scream I am so tired of cooking, cleaning, laundry, and being patient with my JD an Roo, but beyond that is a very deep sense of contentment. I LOVE MY LIFE. The moments that I feel inadequate and insecure are fleeting. So I don't feel a great need to purge my feeling into blogging and this is probably the most personal blog you will ever read. My life is what it is and I am living it. I am convinced it's the key to happiness. I am going to leave big ambitions to those who fancy themselves gifted. I am not - gifted that is, is any way imaginable other than being gifted enough to appreciate my life. And I do.

Too Close to Home

This is just two streets up from me. It's very upsetting. Our neighborhood is on "lockdown"- which just means we need to be really aware and keep our homes locked up. To quote the famous Three Amigos "This towns getting to rough for me!"

Journeyman

So Marcilyn got me thinking about TV shows in one of her recent blogs. If you aren't already watching it, take a break from whatever ridiculous reality show thats rotting your brain and check out Journeyman. I love love love this show. It is the best show out there right now. It's like the modern Quantum Leap. Go to NBC.com and watch all of the past full episodes. I think it's on monday nights. Dave and I are obsessed and I think you will love it to. "You" being everyone from my family who reads this blog, and Anne. All of you, go watch it. Please! Watch it and love it.

Bread Boy

Dave thought it would be funny to see what Jeffy did if we gave him the whole loaf of bread. He immediately bent over and put his mouth on it. This boy is not easily intimidated. I am thinking that competitive eating is a possible career option in his future

Rumble Bum

This was very funny- to me.
Ruby - Did you hear my bum rumble?
Me- No, did you have a toot?
Ruby- No
Me- What made it rumble then?(now very curious)
Ruby - Nothing, my bum just rumbled because it was hungry.

I just asked her exactly what she said so I could type it and she realized what I was doing. She has asked me not to let anyone "see this typing", she has told me just Dad can see it but nobody else. Too late, too funny.

Jeffy Loves Food

Today Jeffrey got his hands on a big piece of bread. I thought he would suck on it for a few minutes and then forget about it. Hah! I underestimated how much this kid loves food. When I took a few big chunks out of his mouth to keep him from choking, he went nuts. I had to hurry and give him his big piece of bread back to calm him down. We are going to have a sumo on our hands folks. He ate almost the whole piece of bread.

Love of My Life

Dave is getting ready for finals this week so we won't have much of an anniversary celebration today, but I still wanted to recognize how special the day is to me.
Happy Anniversary David. 8 years and it's been the best. You are the love of my life. I will always be your Jenny and I love you with all of my heart.

Aristocats

This is Ruby's favorite movie of the moment. We watch it every day at least once. She thinks the song "Everybody wants to be a cat" is hilarious. We sing it and dance around like crazy cats.

Pipe Cleaner Plant

I thought I would post a new blog to take the heat off of Dave for his Short People Post. You gotta watch out when that guy hears a wacky ditty on the radio. Ruby is a budding artist. She did this last night. She put pipe cleaners all over this house plant. She is very creative. Sometimes she comes up with the craziest stuff.

Short People

So I was driving down the road on my way to work and here comes a song I've never heard before. I think it is my new favorite. I'm sure you all have heard it by now (I think it is pretty old), but it's new to me. When I heard the song, all I could say was AMEN.

Here it is. This is for you Marce and Brit ....... and the rest of you short people ... and since Cam just called and gave me a bad time, she is definitely included.

Short people

Short People got no reason
Short People got no reason
Short People got no reason
To live

They got little hands
And little eyes
And they walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

Well, I don't want no Short People
Don't want no Short People
Don't want no Short People
Round here

Short People are just the same
As you and I
(A Fool Such As I)
All men are brothers
Until the day they die
(It's A Wonderful World)

Short People got nobody
Short People got nobody
Short People got nobody
To love

They got little baby legs
And they stand so low
You got to pick 'em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars
That go beep, beep, beep
They got little voices
Goin' peep, peep, peep
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time
Well, I don't want no Short People
Don't want no Short People
Don't want no Short People
'Round here

Dave

Happy Halloween

wasn't an amazing Halloween. Ruby was completely sick and Dave had class, but we made a valiant effort. We carved pumpkins, ate pizza with the neighbors, and trick or treated the other 2 neighbors. Ruby was Sleeping Beuty and Jeffrey was a goldfish. I thought they looked adorable. I wish it was Halloween again tonight just so they could put on their costumes again.

Crimes Againgst Gastronomy

So Mom is here in town visiting right. And we are having a fantastic time. I love having her here. We have been shopping and hanging out and of course checking out the western wear and tack shop scene. A man at a boot shop mentioned a "fun" western restaurant we should check out down by Horseman's Feed Supply. So we drove down there today. I should have suspected something when the name of the restaurant was Murphy's Mule Barn, but the parking lot was full, so I figured it couldn't be all bad. I was wrong. It was all bad. Barn would be a perfect description for the interior decorating. But I was trying to be brave even though everything in me to the depths of my soul was telling me to run. I didn't want to be the food snob. We ordered chicken fried steak on the suggestion of the waitress. She said it was one of their best sellers. I would describe it as looking like battered and deep fried roadkill with a bland creamy/gelatinous gravy. Usually gravy can salvage almost anything, but nothing could be done to improve this culinary catastrophe and the only thing that could have made it look or taste worse - live cockroaches(which they probably brushed off back in the kitchen). I should have stopped after one bite, no not even that, I should have violently spit it back out on the plate, but I continued to eat several bites because I didn't want to offend the waitress on whose recommendation we ordered this disastrously awful dish. So not only did I eat the most disgusting food I have ever tasted in my whole life, it was confirmed yet again, I am completely crazy. A pathetic people pleaser. I survived, but I have never wanted to purge so badly as I did when we left that restaurant. I had Post Traumatic Stress for several hours. For the rest of the day it would unexpectedly pop back into my head and make me shudder and cringe. I think Murphy served me dead mule at his barn today and the only upside is that the next time I play "what's grosser than gross?", game over, Murphy's Mule Barn, chicken fried steak.

Pumpkin Patch

October is of course the time of year for the wonderful pumpkin patch. We went last Sat. out to McCalls Pumpkin Patch in Moriarty New Mexico. It's about 45 minutes from our house, but everyone goes. This was our first year. It's really more like a giant pumpkin patch carnival. Ruby had a great time. They had a giant pillow jumper, a hay bale pyramid to climb, and Ruby's favorite the giant hill of dirt with tube slides running from the top to bottom. You walk to the top of this mountain of dirt and slide to the bottom on a burlap sack. She went almost 10 times. That is some serious energy. Jeffrey wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about spending the afternoon out in the wind with dirt blowing in his face, he was quite angry about the whole thing, so this was my first time walking around a pumpkin patch nursing a baby while trying not to be noticed, trying to calm down a seriously ticked baby boy. I think he screamed nearly the whole tractor ride back to the ranch. But Ruby has a great time. Sorry you were born second Jeffrey.

Cookie Dough

MMMM, I ate a lot of cookie dough today. That's all.

A litte bit of Star Trek

Captains Log ....Stardate Oct. 12, 2007
I am on a strange planet where there is not enough sleep, I am constantly being bossed around by a small human like thing and shrieked at by another. I am frequently wiping a bum that is not my own, and although I clean, nothing is ever clean.
Captain Jennifer T. Godsey

Forget going where no man has gone before. Sometimes I feel I have gone where no man should go.

Follow the prophet

This is an extension on my blog about Ruby not wanting to eat what I cook. We have been talking a lot about obedience and following the prophet when we have FHE and family scripture study. But in spite of my best efforts to help her realize that sometimes it's important to be obedient when I ask her to do things, she's not buying it. She has merely figured out that what the prophet says trumps anything mom has to say. So we watched conference over the weekend of course. We required Ruby to come and listen for the opening and closing prayers the congregational hymn and when Pres. Hinckley spoke. We told her it was important to listen when the prophet was speaking to us. She didn't care who was talking, all she knew was that she was bored, which she screamed at us repeatedly, "this is boring" "I don't want to sit up here" "this is boring" etc. etc.......timeout. This is how our conference went yesterday. But with a stroke of genius she realized how she could use this whole prophet conference thing to her advantage. This morning out of the blue she says to me, "Mom, you know what the prophet said, he said that what your children want for dinner-let them have it!" I was gracious enough not to remind her that she didn't listen to the prophet because he is boring.

Jeffrey David 7 months

Baby Boy

Here are some pictures of the now 7 month old Jeffrey David. His cheeks are still huge, for any of you that are wondering. He hasn't lost them a bit. He can sit up now, and big surprise, he like to eat lots of real food. Ice cream being his favorite and every other food imaginable coming in at a close second.

Chicky Puzzle

Ruby is really into puzzles right now. The first time we did this puzzle together it took forever and then a couple of days later she sat down and did it all by herself. She has done it over and over and over and also likes Dave and I to do a 100 piece Daniel and the Lions Den. Super Duper Puzzle Fun!

Bath Babies

Why are kids so cute in the bath? They just look so sweet.

Who's the Boss?

I have been having a terrible time getting Ruby to eat dinner lately. She really wants to be in control of what she eats and reminds me she doesn't want to eat anything that I cook, only waffles and corn dogs. So I of course have been cooking more and forcing her to eat what I cook by providing it as her only option if she is hungry. So during this giant power struggle the other night, Ruby insisted that she was the boss of me. I think she thought I would go for it. So it went something like this:
Ruby- Mom, I am the boss of you!
Me- Okay, but I am the big boss and I say eat you dinner!
Ruby- I am the little boss and I say eat candy!
I immediately started giggling and we both had a good laugh. She ate it later with her Dad when he came home. She is hilarious. She keeps us laughing!

Video Blog 2

Testing blogging with videos

White Trash Environmentalism

Grant and Brit and I have an ongoing argument about this subject, so -this one's for you guys!
Everywhere I turn I am bombarded by articles about the environment. It's the issue that everyone is getting behind, because hey, who can ignore the importance of the ozone layer or clean drinking water, right? I have fought it long enough. I have tried to pretend it doesn't matter to me, but in the end we must all submit to the will and opinions of the Mob of environmental groupies(Grant and Brit) who have way too much time on their hands. Today I was reading an article about ten simple thing we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint. So to prove that I am doing my part to save the planet, here are my three favorite suggestions and then what I would like to call "Jen's White Trash Tips for Being Green" 1. Choose natural lawn care and use fewer pesticides. White Trash- Buy a 15ft above ground pool, set it up, kill the lawn and screw the lawn care altogether. Doesn't get any more natural than that. Green lawns are for neighborhoods with covenants. 2. Use green cleaning products. White Trash- I'll go one better. I don't use them at all. Cleaning products are only for those who actually care about being clean. 3. Use energy efficient light bulbs. White Trash-The only light bulbs that aren't burned out in my house are the energy efficient ones. I currently have two out of three light bulbs in my vanity burned out. Bam-Saving energy.
There you have it, it may be white trash, but I am doing my part, and just like they say, it's so easy. I find it almost effortless.

Pool

I don't know how I haven't mentioned this on the blog yet. 2 weeks ago I bought a giant 15foot above ground pool. Ruby has been swimming tons. We have friends over all the time. We are loving life with a pool. It's not as hot now, so most of the time the water isn't more than 85 degrees, but do you think that stops Ruby? Sometimes as I am skimming and cleaning I wonder why I thought I needed another cleaning project.

Days filled with Mom Stuff

I find that I have the hardest time posting something because I don't really feel like I have anything interesting to share. It's the same reason I am terrible talking on the phone. I pretty much don't have anything super exciting going on. I know that's not the point, but still I feel silly posting sometimes. I do lots and lots of Mom things. I painted and glued together a model airplane with Ruby today. We swim a lot. I spend a lot of time entertaining a very intense Jeffrey David. I love my life. But I am still learning how to do this blog thing.

Huge High Chair

Jeffrey David barely sits high enough to see over the tray, but he's cute anyway. He just started eating rice cereal, it's only 2 or 3 tiny bites, but it makes his seem so much older already.

Bed Time at the Godsey's

So Jen went with our neighbor on a walk, Jen took Katie and our neighbor (Bridget) took her dog Lucy. Jen ask if it was OK of course, and I happily agreed to put the little ones to bed. We were pretty sure Jeffrey was going to cry a little, and Jen can't handle that, but as long as I turn the monitor off (I can still hear him mind you) I can bear it. We only let him cry because it doesn't matter if Jen nurses him or if we are holding him, he's just tired and needs to sleep and is going to scream at us until he falls asleep. He falls asleep much better when we are not holding him. So I bet she's out there chatting and having a good time (which she deserves) while I'm ......

Now that I'm done justifying letting him cry .... So I put Jeffrey in bed and he's OK for a few minutes, then he launches into his tirade, and at the same time I'm trying to get Ruby to put a pull up on, which she refuses to wear. So I tell her to stay in her bed and I close the door, telling her not to come out until she puts her pull up on. So I just get Jeffrey to calm down a little and Ruby is screeching in her room ... and throwing things. So that didn't last long, Jeffrey is now crying and Ruby is screeching. So after a few iterations of this, I decided the only way to get them to calm down was to get Ruby to calm down first. So I calmly talk with her (as I had been before, I just wasn't letting her do whatever she wanted) and she was finally convinced that I was serious about her wearing her pull up. So she's happy, I go into Jeffrey's room, give him a binky, now he's happy. Super dad (yeah right). It's moments like these that make you stop and think, gosh I'm glad I had kids!!!!!!

Really I love them, and won't trade the world for them, but uhhhhhmmmm, could've done with out that.

Just wanted to share all the fun I was having with everyone.

Everyone should have kids.

Dave

Vacation Aftermath

Maybe it's because I am finally the mother of 2, but for the first time since coming back from a vacation I have been questioning whether it's really worth the work. Does the Mom actually get a vacation and is it worth the punishing amounts of mess and laundry? Yes, of course it is because I loved seeing Grant and Brit, Cam and Jason, Mom, Marcilyn, Anne, and all of the Godsey's. But these days it seriously comes with a price. We got home Sunday night and today is Friday and this is what my house still looks like. Swim lessons, Gymnastics, happy baby who needs attention, and exhaustion (not to mention blogging instead of cleaning) make for a messy post vacation house.

Purple Hippo with Panties

Ruby as you all know turned 4 in May. It took a couple of months, but she has finally turned into a very, how should I say this nicely, crazy/energetic/demanding/bossy/ messy -amazing child. When she asks for something she means right now. And if you ask her to wait, there may be serious consequences. The other night I refused to make her Mac&Cheese for dinner and it resulted in a 45 minute tirade that involved toy throwing and pounding fists. I kid you not, seriously scary stuff. But this angry passion has also come with brilliant creativity. Last night when we thought she was in bed, she was creating a toilet paper masterpiece. With incredible stealth she tore off many many pieces of T.P. and weaved them across the toilet seat making a toilet paper quilt that completely covered the hole in the toilet seat. I wish I had a picture of that for you. Two nights ago we found her asleep on her bed in her princess castle with about 15 stuffed animals and dolls. So it goes without saying that we are constantly laughing at the crazy things she is doing. And although a tad more subtle purple hippo in panties was enough to give me a good laugh.

This is Purple Hippo

Before I post the next blog I first need to introduce you to purple hippo. Several weeks ago I had one of my great Mommy ideas (ya right) and decided I needed to get Jeffrey David a stuffed animal of some sort that he could attach to and feel comforted by in his times of distress. So I found an incredibly soft Gund purple Hippo. But I was shopping with a friend who warned me that I needed to buy three of them in case he did become attached, I would need backup in the event we lost one. So I talked her down to 2 because I was certain that Dave would literally die if I spent $20 on 3 bright purple stuffed hippos all on the off chance JD would become attached. (which by the way he is not) But of course when I brought them home, Ruby, the greedy spoiled rotten 4 year old, decided that she desperately, could not live without it, needed a purple hippo to snuggle with at bedtime. So we caved as usual, how do you think she got so spoiled, and gave her a purple hippo. Which she loves.

A Blog of Our Own

I didn't want to turn Mann Family Chronicle into the Dave and Jennifer Godsey Family Chronicle and since I seem to post frequently I thought we would try one of our own. I don't know that anyone will read, but it's fun to do anyway. It will most likely not contain anything deep or exciting and will be all about our Ruby and Jeffrey David, but if you want to know what we are up to you can check in periodically.