it's 2010...where have we been?

I think the answer can be described best with that line from "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" by John Lennon that states: "life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." Our plans were to maintain this blog to keep everyone updated on the kids....maybe it was that we realized that we don't really have any friends so who would read it?

It may also be that I had switched from teaching Art in Madison to teaching Art in Canton...and Canton is a full-time job. Canton is a community that really needs help and I've given them my heart for the last two years. I've also gone back to school to get my Masters in Art Education. It could also be that God has used me to establish an Art ministry, which keeps us busy....needless to say that all of these other endeavors have made things a but busier around the Coon house.

Sharon has had to pick up the slack and she has become such an amazing mom, wife, business manager, etc. Sharon has been busy. The kids have been busy too. They are learning how to read as well as how to type so that they can keep this blog up and running. I figure between the 5 of us, we have a real shot at keeping it up. Well, I will keep updating, as will Sharon and Max and Maggie...Jackson is not quite there yet.

Smile!

The new header picture is an older one, and Jack is not in it. But...it makes me laugh every time I see it. So, I thought I would keep it up for a little while. It was taken at my sister's wedding last October. The photographer said, "Ok...smile really big!" Well, without looking at each other, they both put their hands to their face and pulled their smiles so that they would be "smiling really big". It was great. So, I hope you enjoy the new pic and I will post some new pics of Jack pretty soon. He is sitting up now and we have gotten some really good pictures of him.

We're way behind

And I am sure no one is reading anymore, but here is a Sunday morning tale that will, hopefully, cause you to be more understanding about why my posts are so few and far between.

Weekday mornings getting ready is not all that stressful. JM and I are both home and what we can't get to, Mrs. Ann comes in and pulls together before it is time for us to walk out the door. This is NOT the case on Sunday mornings. Sunday morning at our house is a CIRCUS!!!! JM is usually out the door no later than 7:30 am. So, that leaves me with three kiddos, breakfast, dressing, and driving to church. I am not complaining. A few hours a week of chaos is what being a mom is all about....you just need to know the set-up so you can enjoy the irony of the story. The following things have happened on Sunday mornings
Max has been found (by my dad) walking around the front yard in his undies
Max has put on Maggie's clothes and Maggie has put on Max's
The trim in my house has been redecorated with a sharpie (Thanks, Maggie)
Maggie has used the "Warmth" from my bare minerals to give, Ariel, Jack, Max and herself a makeover
Max has poured his drink on to the table and encouraged everyone (Maggie) to "drink like a puppy"
Max and Maggie together have attempted to "catch" Swimmy, our goldfish with their hands so they could "give him a drink of water" I am not lying to you that is what they actually said to me.

Now that you know all the things that have happened at our house on any given Sunday, the following story will sound small, completely typical, and insignificant.
JM was home this past Sunday and helped get the kids ready. The flaw in our "get ready, so we can leave early" plan really has two components. 1.) We were overly prepared and the kiddos were ready ahead of time. 2.) We had left over birthday cupcakes in the house. There was the regular "getting dressed" talk of shoes, socks, hairbows and brushes. However, the most frequent talk sounded like this: "Max stay away from the cupcakes," Max, get out of the kitchen," Max, don't look at the cupcakes," "Max walk away from the cupcakes"...you can probably see where this is going.
So, we make it, and everyone is ready. I take Jack and walk over to my mother's house to get him in his car seat because we are all riding together. As I walk out of the house, "John Mark says, we are right behind you." I am at my mother's for about ten minutes and still no John Mark or the big kids. So, Emy and I drive over to my house. JM and the big kids are not waiting outside. I transfer the remainging car seats from the Blazer to my mom's car. Still the rest of my family has not exited my house. I realize at this point something has happened and even though I don't really want to know what is going to keep us from getting to church on time, I go in the house to find out. Max has finally gotten to the cupcakes and the proof is a faded orange spot on his shirt that JM has been trying for the past ten minutes to get out. I quickly make the decision that Max will just have to go with a faded orange spot on his shirt . (I will insert right here that the choice for me to let him go with a spot on his shirt rather than choosing to undress all three kids and re-dress them in matching outfits that are clean is a huge step for me. But, that accomplishment is for another blog and another time.) JM quickly fills me in how it all went down, and then I ask, "So what did you do to Max?" JM says, "I told him that he had to go to church with a spot on his shirt and he would look messy and I slapped him around." I did not think twice about it. I knew JM had not slapped Max. I knew that Max had gotten a spanking, which at our house is one paddle on the legs. We got in the car and we left for church.

That is where the story stops being typical, insignigcant, and/or small, because this is how Maggie relayed the morning's events to the lady who checked us in at church.

Church Lady: "Good morning, Maggie"
Maggie: "You know what...my brother got cupcake all over his shirt and he looks messy and it
is gross."
Me (talking at the same time as church lady): "Maggie, that is not nice."
Churchlady (talking at the same time as me): "Oh, that's ok"
Maggie (talking over both of us): "And you know what my Papa was so mean to Max and he was
telling him he got dirty and...
Again Church lady and I start talking and the same time: "I'm sure your Papa wasn't being
mean" "No, Maggie, Daddy was just
telling Max.."
Maggie talks louder drowning out both of us: "And then my Papa SLAPPED Max and I was so
sad and telling my Papa to stop."
Me (my face is red, and I can just see the Lifetime Movie Maggie is playing out for this lady): "Maggie, be quiet. That is not what happened,"

Emy steps in and gets Max and Maggie to their classrooms and I try to explain how JM said he had "slapped Max around" but he was just kidding. I am not really sure what I said. I am pretty sure it was something gay like.."Kids, what can you do?" To church lady's credit she was very understanding. And, by lunch time my face was no longer red. Child protective Services has not called our house. Maggie is beginning to learn all about figurative language. And, I remind myself that Sunday is the day of the week reserved to worship our God of Wonders and the most miraculous of those wonders are my children...no matter what.

Baby Jack

Here are a few pics of Baby Jack. He is THE sweetest baby we have ever had. Max was really quiet and wanted to be held a lot. Maggie was fun, but didn't like to cuddle at all. Jack...loves to snuggle, but when he has to sit in his bouncy while I take care of other things, the only thing he does is smile. I am not exaggerating...He smiles all the time. He loves it when we are all in the room with him moving around. His little head is constantly rotating while he watches us all. Jack loves Maggie and talks and smiles when ever he sees her. He is little more cautious of Max, but he still smiles at him. Jack weighed 15 lbs 2oz when he went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago. He is really chubby and it just makes snuggling even better.
Enjoy the pics...

HAPPY

HAPPIER

HAPPIEST

He has recently become a thumb-sucker...very sweet

Sweet Dreams

What's Going On ?

I know that's what everyone is asking...."What's going on....Where are the Coon kids?" The answer is they are around. They just have a negligent mother that forgets to post. So, the following is a short run-down of what's been going on.
Most exciting news...Max wore underwear all day today and stayed dried. Two problems with the underwear...Max has no behind and the apparently the added cushion of the pull-ups kept his pants up...underwear has no cushion and consequently, Max's pants frequently slide down. Problem number two, underwear is much softer than pull-ups and Max likes soft things. So, we have to tell him frequently to keep his hands out of his pants.

Maggie does wear panties, but has not kept them dry yet. Her words, "Mom, I'm just too busy right now, ok." There are lots of ways I could comment on that, but I think my sense of irony and sarcasm would be lost on a three year old.

Jack smiles all the time now and laughs out loud. He weighs a little over 15lbs and is the sweetest baby yet.

Maggie is very into consequences right now. By that I mean, a conversation with her these days usually goes like this.
ME: "Maggie you need to put up your crayons and get ready for lunch"
Maggie: continues to quietly color, but does sneak a peek at me to see how serious I am about the demand I have just made.
ME: "Maggie....I know you heard me."
Maggie: "Oh, ok. Ummm, Mama, what is going to happen if I keep coloring?"
ME: "Well, you will get a time out, then you will still have to clean up the colors and eat your lunch.
Maggie: thoughtfully considers her options, and says, "So, I should probably pick up my colors."
ME: "I think so."
Maggie: "Me too, but I don't like it"
ME: "ok"
Maggie: "ok"

JM was out of town for about 10 days with MS Baptist All State Youth Choir. So, I tried to get the kids out of the house as much as possible and keep them busy. One night I took them to see Kung Fu Panda. We got there early and I was able to get everyone in their seat and totally settled before the previews. The cool part was that we were the ONLY people in the theater. However just as the lights went out and the previews began tons of people came in and the theater was pretty much filled to capacity. The kiddos did not notice anyone. That was until the first really funny scene in the movie had the entire audience laughing out loud. That was when Max stood up looked around and said really loudly just as the laughter died away, "MAMA, We are not alone anymore, where did all these people come from?" So, Max provided the second big laugh of the evening and I pretty much just wanted to crawl under my seat.

Another big question around the house has been, "When are we going to summer?" I have tried (unsuccessfully) to explain that summer is a season and we are enjoying summer right now. Summer is not a place. It is not getting me anywhere. Max kind of shrugs it off when he does not understand something. Maggie on the other hand has been reduced to a sobbing mess when we have the conversation about "going to summer". So if anyone has any suggestions I am game. Right now the plan is to drive to a park somewhere, tell her its summer and be done with it.

Thats just a little of what's been going on. I'll let you know how our trip to summer goes and will definitely keep you posted on the underwear/panty status.
Talk to you later!

We are going out of town

So, if you are checking the kids' blog regularly...there hasn't been much to read. Our internet has been down at the house and we just got it back up. However, JM and I are leaving for Atlanta in the morning so I don't have time to post any pics and really tell everything that has been going on. So, check back with us the middle of next week and I will have updated everything.
See you later...

A Phone Conversation with Maggie

Maggie really did not want me to go to work this morning, and obviously, my boss really wanted me to go to work this morning. The compromise: I promised Maggie that I would call her later in the morning and we could talk a little while. The following is the phone conversation I had with Maggie.

Mrs. Ann answers the phone and I ask to speak to Maggie.
Mrs. Ann: "Maggie, the phone is for you."
Maggie: "I don't want the phone."
Mrs. Ann: "No Maggie, your mama is on the phone. She wants to talk to you."
Maggie: "Oh, she wants to talk to me?"

I hear Maggie running to the phone.

Maggie: "Hey mama. Are you going to be here in 3 minutes?"
Me: "Well, not three minutes, but I will be home in a little while."
Maggie: "Oh. Hey, look at this."
I hear rustling, but no Maggie.

However, in the background I hear…

Mrs. Ann: “Baby, she can’t see that. You have to tell her what you want her to see.”

More rustling…Maggie gets back on the phone.

Maggie: “Mama, what do you want her to see?”

Mrs. Ann: “No, Maggie, you have to tell her your panties are dry.
You can’t just put the phone under your skirt.”

Maggie: “Oh…Mama, you can’t believe this. My panties are dry and I
have pretty panties on and they are beautiful, LOOK!”

More rustling

Mrs. Ann: “No Maggie, you have to tell her about it. She can’t see.”

Rustling again…notice I have only actually spoken one time.

Maggie: “Hey mama. Did you see my pretty panties?”
Me (finally): I am so proud of you for keeping them dry that is so great…”
Maggie interrupts: “You will be here in 3 minutes with my treat, ok.”
Me: “I won’t be there in 3 minutes but after you take your nap I will be home.”
Maggie: “Mama…I’m not taking a nap today.”
Me: “Well…”

The phone drops…and in the background I hear…

Maggie: “Mrs. Ann, my mama says I don’t have to have a nap today, ok”

Mrs. Ann picks up the phone.

Mrs. Ann: “Did you tell Maggie she didn’t have to take a nap today?”
Me: “No…I didn’t really get to tell her anything.”
Mrs. Ann: “Maggie, your Mama did not tell you that you didn’t have to take a nap today.”

Long pause

Maggie shouts: “I love you mama…Mrs. Ann you can hang up the phone now."

Well I guess that’s one way to make sure the conversation goes your
way. I will call again tomorrow, but tonight, I think we will work on
our phone conversation skills.