Can I start a controversy?

So....not being one to want to start a controversy, I thought I would ask you ~ my readers,  a question...

This morning I was reading a post over at my friends blog.. TyNy Family Updates
and she was discussing the merritts of whether you were a better mother, and more patient
as a young mom, or a first time mom over forty...
I believe the word they used when I had my son was "geriatric"
Give me a break...LOL!

Well...I have a kind of unique perspective on this whole thing of course,
being as I couldn't do ANYTHING in the normal or expected way,
and had my first three kids when I was in my early twenties,
and my last two once I hit 40....
Not that I think my experience is the only answer,
but it is unique...don't you think?

So here gos...
Just my experience.

I find that I am a more patient mom now then I used to be...

(I am sure my girls will want to add their two bits...LOL)

It was funny, but the day before I read that post, my hubby and I were discussing
how different we are now as parents...
I have a lot more understanding when my kiddos don't react the way they should,
I react less to the whole tantrum thing...In fact often getting the "look" from
other parents who think I should be "disciplining " my disobedient babes...
Often also getting looks of contempt when I say things like
"You will live - your sisters did...." when they throw themselves on the floor in writhing
screaming temper..
Not to say I am always patient when they throw fits..LOL!
If you want proof...read here..
and most of all I find I laugh a lot more at their "bad" behavior...
I don't care if they are perfect in church..
or if they are always clean, or if they have been eating dirt...
(What is a little extra roughage...right??)
If they eat change off the floor..
I just take it out of their allowance...  :O


I am definately enjoying being a parent more...
I know how fast they go away from home...
(all three of my oldest are now on their own)
and I know how I felt "empty nest" even when I thought I wouldn't.
I discovered I LOVE being a "over 40 " mom.

Not that I always find it easy...
I don't have as much energy,
so the sleepless nights are harder,
I have more health problems then I used to have..

Overall...I have found the whole experience interesting...
That being said, I am not sure if it is my age that affects my experience?
Or if it has been the school of hard knocks...
And I am VERY SURE that as I mature in the Lord,
I am changing daily into someone VERY different from who I used to be..
Also of course, I am NOT a first time mom...
So I can't speak from that angle..
I have already learned some hard lessons,
and feel very blessed to be able to fix some things
(So I can screw up something else...LOL!)
That's OK...As I told my daughter Brandy yesterday
When she brought over her new boyfriend for supper,
If I embarrass you to much...there is always counselling!!!

So...Weigh in on the question..
Let me know what you think.

For LIL Ole ME??

Sienna from Hon, what's for dinner
just presented me with this award!
It has literally been ages since I have received one
of these, and so Sienna...You really made my Monday
morning!  If you get the chance head over to her digs,
and check out some good ole "down home country cooking..."
I gain weight just looking.....LOL!

In the meantime, the idea of this award is to pass it on
to 12 of your fav bloggers...So...here gos...
This is gonna be hard...

While you wait.....What do you think of my new digs??
I had to change things around a bit, as some of my long time readers
were having trouble seeing my other template on IE....
Oh, blogger, I love you, but you need to work out some of the kinks dudes...

So, I digress...onto the awards...

1) One of my oldest blogger friends...
Barb @ Skittles Place
2) Nugglemama's Handful
3) lowercase letters
4) My perfect little world
5) Webbisodes
6) Living the life of Riley

OK BLOGGER...You are starting to annoy me... (Just told me I am not a member of
One of the Jones....)  I should let my husband know...LOL!

7) I'm a full time mommy

Ok, this is getting hard...My baby keeps spinning my chair around
so that i can read Elmo Loves you to her...

8) One 2 Try
9) Midday Escapades
10) The Chronicles of a Veteran Kindergarten Teacher
11) Things I can't Say
12) How are the Harmons

Ok...So I hope you enjoy your award, don't forget to pass it on to 12 of your favorite bloggers...

Happy Monday!

Temporary Template difficulties...

I tried a new blog template, but I will be changing it, as some of my long time readers
are having difficulty reading it on IE....
Please be patient with me, while I try to rectify the problem...
Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, it will be back to normal..
Or as normal as anything gets around here!

I'm such an idiot...

I took pictures for my family on Easter Sunday with my new Nikon D-90..

and was frustrated by the quality of the pictures...

I haven't used that camera since...

until today, when I realized that I had it on Manual instead of Auto focus..

~Smart I know....~

Any ways Bree...Here is the start of them

Daughter Brandy with my grandson Talon, and my son Jeremy

Daddy and Autumn Grace.

Chloe

Daughter Krystal and boyfriend Steve...

Daughter Bree

Grandma and Grandpa Jones saying grace...

Nice look Grandpa! LOL!

Brandy and Grandpa..

To the rest of you...Thanks for your patience 

sitting through all my family photos!  :)

I brought my kids to Sobey's and lived to tell the tale...

If you read my post from a couple of days ago,

You know how I feel about shopping with my kids..

Some of you expressed sympathy

laughed uncontrollably at me....

while thinking "that would NEVER happen to me...

(You obviously haven't had kids yet...)

To you all I have to say is ...

MUAH HA HA HA..your day will come...

(Except for Sienna  bless her heart who completly understood...)

Well today, I brought my little princess for her first ever swim lesson,

and she ROCKED...

Where the other little ones were crying and hanging on to mommy/daddy

for dear life, 

My little girl was diving in on her first try...swimming laps around the pool...

(OK...so I'm exagerating...but she sure wasn't scared of the water...

and she had a blast..)

Grandma watched big brother on the pool side, 

and took pictures, Hopefully avoiding me in my swim suit...

Mostly because I threatened her with permanent babysitting duty if I 

saw any pics of me online.. (kidding..)

We took the little ones to McDonalds afterwards for lunch..

They had fun till Jeremy got stuck in the big toy

and Grandpa had to climb up and rescue him...

Where is a video camera when you need one..

I would have loved a picture of Grandpa with his feet sticking out of the kiddy slide!


Afterwards Judy wanted to check out Sobey's dollar days...
WITH MY KIDS...WITH A KIDDIE CART
after I just sworn two days before I would never do again...
and what do you think they did?
THEY BEHAVED!
Thanks kids...make a liar out of me..

Right now my son is outside with my hubby and my FIL doing "Man stuff..." as he put it...

Someone vandalized our gate to the back alley..

It was on its last leg anyways, 

so Jeremy and Daddy headed out to the "man store" aka Home Depot

to pick up drill bits, and some wood.

then to work...

Daddy's little shadow "helped" by measuring everything in site...

stepping on Daddy's foot when needed 

and shining the flashlight ...all over...

He was quite proud of the fact that mommy and Gracie

weren't helping cause it was only for the men....

His next goal after helping daddy and grandpa with the gate..

is to build a car.......

Meanwhile...Gracie helped mommy, by trying to pick up 

ladybugs and squash them...but I didn't think you really wanted a picture of that...

So I leave you with one last picture of our future carpenter...

Meet My Grandson...

I don't have much time to post today so

I thought I would introduce you to my grandson Talon!

(Or Tallon Ballon as I like to call him...)

Tally is three months older then my son (3)

My daughter and I were pregnant at the same time..

In fact I was her labor coach...

and was present at his birth...

What a rewarding experience!

Tally is a great kid,

Loves cars, and sports

and his baby sister.

He and his uncle Jeremy are the best of friends..

He is a pretty easy going guy

Love you Tally!

Easter Sunday...

Yes, I know...

Easter was a couple of weeks ago now, 

but I have been procrastinating..

I don't suppose anyone else knows what THAT is about??

This is my grand daughter Cassie...

Isn't she precious??

I think so, but I might be bias...

Pastor Doug is hiding in the background...

For those of you who are new readers, 

I have to briefly explain what my Easter Sunday was like..
I had a BAD morning...
Has anyone ever noticed that church mornings are some of the worst?
Well to make my morning more difficult,
We were visiting a church we used to go to ~ Avonhurst Pentecostal
(Great chuch by the way)
and Kendal wasn't home to help me,
(He was helping out on sound and had to leave early)
I dressed up Gracie REALLY PRETTY..
However, they were being rotten little angels
creatures from the deep..
and by the time I got to church Gracie had pulled out her pretty pony tails
and stepped in mud up to her knees...LOL
and I was so stressed out, I forgot to take off my slippers!!
 Good thing I wasn't out to make first impressions..

She looks like her mommy...

This is my friend Kim...
I keep wanting picutres of her African outfit..
She picked it up when she was on a Missions trip last year..

Tomorrow Bree, I promise I will TRY to get to the pictures you want...
I will not procrastinate...I will not procrastinate...I will not...
(What was it I had to do??)

Now, I am off to take my youngest to her first ever swim lesson...
I am NOT looking forward to being seen in a swim suit...
I can promise there will be NO pictures of that...
RIGHT JUDY?

Just in case you ever thought I was a good mommy...

Is it a rule? When you wash the floor does EVERYTHING have to be drawn to it?

Like the bowl of pudding I just dropped on it? (Not my kids...ME.)

I am having a bad mommy week.
I am NEVER taking my kids shopping to Sobey's every again...
This is me...trying to be sweet....
"OK Jeremy, You can use the little kid cart...just stay with Mommy..."
WHAT WAS I THINKING?
Sobeys IS trying to torture it's customers.
Maybe it is just me they don't like...

So, I made it through the vegie and fruit section mostly in one piece
That is...till I realized the boy was collecting his own selection of groceries...
"Jeremy...put BACK the Twinkies...No, we don't need 10 pkgs of bread..put them back...
PUT them back...put THEM back...PUT THEM back...PUT THEM BACK!
OUCH!"
(This from me after my son ran into my ankle with the cart.)'
"Jeremy, you can't drive the cart that close to my feet....
NO, Jeremy, get back here, you almost hit that lady...Ohoh
You hit that lady...say sorry to the nice lady, JEREMY...say sorry...He is sorry lady..."

and then we turn to the frozen food section...
"OUCH WHAT THE ****"
Jeremy has just ran into my ankle for a second time with the cart...
Adults all over the store are now giving me the evil eye...
"JERRRRREMMMMYYYYYYYY...youhavetobecarefulwiththecartyouhurtyourmommy....

Jeremy laughs gleefully and throws cheese into his cart...
"Put that back"
We make it to the dry goods section...
now there are several boxes of cookies in the cart...
"Jeremy put back the cookies.."
From the boy...
"I want cookies MOMMY!"
"Trust me son, you have had enough sugar..."

Jeremy runs ahead full speed with the cart,
narrowly missing a man coming toward me..
"Jeremy! Be careful!"
Too late..
The cart tips over, and all of his ill gotten gains are all over the floor..
The man stops and gives me "the look"
If your a parent, you know which "look" I mean...
The "look" which plainly says...Can't you control your child?

I start to pick up Jeremy's stuff and put it all in his cart,
...and he dumps it again!!
By now...I AM frustrated, and I take the pkg of pudding Jeremy has grabbed off the shelf
and throw it in my cart...and sigh.
ONLY...
I missed.
Instead
I nailed my one year old in the head...
and SHE starts screaming...
Of course, I was instantly upset...not having meant to knock her..
and so I hug her, and say
"sorry Baby, mom didn't mean to hit you in the head..."
Guy finally walks past me...gives me another  filthy look, shaking his head......

I grab my cart, and my kids, and race to the till before anything else can happen..
When we got home I found Organic oranges..
"Kendal? Did you buy these??"
"Nope!"
My son managed to sneak in some extra merchandise after all...
I am NEVER going back to Sobey's with them to shop again...
Not that they will have me back any time soon...

an acorn is a chav

Friday Follow!

Welcome to Friday Follow! 

This is something new I found today as I was blog hopping, 

and so I thought I would give it a shot...

It's all about meeting other bloggers and finding other cool new blogs!

Who can't get into that? 

If you would like to join,

click on the logo above...and have fun playing!!

Today's Blogs to check out?

One to Try...

Hearts Make Families

and

Midday Escapades

Leave a comment with them, 

and with me too, and I will follow you as well! 

Have a great weekend all....

Feel free to check out other blogs as well...