What a week!

Another busy week for the McManus family. We have been enjoying the spring weather every chance we get and pouting every time springtime storms blow through. I have started working at church this week writing curriculum for the upcoming published TKids program and summer Sport's Camp. Yes I have been writing both for years, but with 2 older boys and 1 on the way I needed office time to get the work done so I am now a contracted hire.

Adam's boss and good friend Josh got the boys Lance Armstrong chalk and we enjoyed drawing with them for quite a while. Who knew yellow chalk could be so fun and SO MESSY!

My two big boys dressed for spring! So Handsome!

Spring is in the air and that means family work day in the yard. We all worked together pulling weeds and cleaning up the yard. The boys had a great time finding all kinds of bugs and soaking up the sun!

Trampoline Fun

If you were never a fan of America's Funniest videos back in the day, DON'T watch! For everyone else please understand that Bryce has been jumping, flipping, and whatnot on this trampoline since he was 9 mths old. Enjoy!


Trampoline Fun from Adam McManus on Vimeo.

I learned a new trick!

Adam got a new toy and we have been playing with it all week! It is a mini sized HD video camera which makes recording videos of the boys so easy. It is also easy to put video on the computer, technology is sometimes rather cool. Check it out....

Connor loves making funny faces and Bryce shows off his newest word; bubble.



We love riding our bikes to the nearest park, this trip the boys learned how to play hopscotch, well kind of.



I look forward to sharing more videos with you, enjoy!

While Adam was away....

Adam went to Austin for six days for work. That meant I was alone with the boys the whole time, did I mention that I am pregnant too. :D It was a long haul, but we made it. I have a new admiration for single parents, wow it is hard to do by yourself day in and day out. I was so glad to have Adam back home and to hear that the trip was a complete success. Alamofire's new iPhone game was launched and has already won it's first big time award. All the hard work is paying off. Here are some pics to enjoy.

I thought it would be fun to try baking with the boys. Umm yeah they had a blast for about 5 minutes and then was done! I on the other hand spent the next 30 minutes finishing the muffins and cleaning up the mess. Oh well at least I tried.

Sundays are always our hardest day. We get up go to church, come home eat lunch, take a nap, get up and go back to church. The boys didn't eat the dinner I packed them at church that evening, so when we got home instead of cooking I made cereal and protein shakes. Connor asked if we could have this dinner every night. LOL
The weather was horrible the first two days Adam was gone. That did not make me happy, because I was on around the clock dog control too, did I mention we have 3 huge dogs. It was a muddy couple of days. Luckily the clouds parted and the hot weather followed, we spent as much time as possible outside!
We even invited over friends to play! On Tuesday I invited all the bible study moms over, we had a house full with 10 kiddos plus Mommys. It was a blast!

One highlight was when Mom caught a frog. I feel sorry for that frog, because for more than an hour that poor creature was poked and carried and dropped over and over again. Connor and Bryce absolutely loved him and were very sad when we had to let him go back to his house to live.
The frog was given some much needed breaks in this little container. That meant no one could touch him!
Daddy made it home safely and brought the boys surprises. Both boys are in love with their new squishy alligators . Welcome home Daddy!!! We missed you!

Spring Forward Weekend

We have had a great weekend enjoying this fantastic spring weather. It was Spring Forward weekend, so the boys are totally off schedule, but we are loving the extra hours of sunshine. We spent them outside; riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, playing on the play fort, and throwing the balls for the dogs. These are the moments we captured this weekend!
Bryce is only allowed to have his binky when he his in bed, so after Daylight Savings Spring Forward, he decided that he was ready for a nap at 10am.
I keep trying to catch Bryce and his pouting face(it is priceless especially with those big cheeks), this time once again I was unsuccessful.

Connor is very proud that he is learning to write his name. Check out that 2nd O he thought it was very clever of him to make a BIG O!
I was going to get a picture of Connor with his new haircut, but he wanted to show everyone his muscles instead!

Life on Dad's Watch

Me and My Daddy (and baby Connor)

We all remember what it was like when Dad was left in charge? I remember those nights when my Mom had some ladies thing at church and Dad was in charge. The evening was full of wrestling matches, dinner in front of the TV, rag-baths (Which meant Mark and I were handed a washcloth and told to wipe down, I don't think Mom would approve), and finally going to bed in my parent's bed. My Dad always fell asleep before Mark and I which always brought on loads of laughs especially when my Dad started snoring. Those memories make me laugh and warm my heart even more since my boys have begun to experience "Life on Dad's watch".

Life on Dad's Watch Moment #1: Bryce got into my TKids bag and found the markers. He then proceeded to decorate himself, all on Dad's watch.

Life on Dad's Watch Moment #2: Eating Ice Cream at the Zoo. It only happens when Dad is with us.

Life on Dad's Watch Moment #3: Dad let the boys eat frosted Valentines Day cookies right before bed, while I was still at TKids.

I look forward to more fun moments on Dad's watch as the years continue to fly by. What do you remember doing on Dad's watch?

D-Now Weekend

Let me start this post with a declaration. I tend to be crazy!

Adam has been leading a group of youth guys since we first arrived at Northwood Church. Last year his guys graduated and he had to start all over with a new crop of freshman. Back before we had two kiddos, we went to every youth event including MidWinter (a retreat), youth camps (2 weeks), and D-Now weekends (disciple weekends where you stay at host homes). We have done a lot, but have never been an actual host home. It just never worked out. But this year Adam knew and I agreed that it would be huge to have his new group of guys over for D-Now. Yes that meant eight 9th grade guys would be living at our house for a weekend. D-Now was this weekend, Feb 27- Mar 1st.

Many might be thinking wow that is neat. Where did pregnant Jen and the boys go while this took place at the house. Guess what? We stayed here too. Yup that meant 13 people lived in my house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning. Is that "crazy" word coming back to mind?? :D But guess what? The weekend was a great success.

1) The guys did not completely trash my house. Nothing big was broken or destroyed. I did have to triple up my cleaning routines ie. wiping the kitchen down, dishes, bathrooms, vacuuming, and overall picking up, but no huge disasters.

2) Connor and Bryce had a blast! The boys had around the clock attention and entertainment. They had crazy amounts of time outside; jumping on the trampoline, playing soccer, and just running around. There was a load of junk food my children had never even seen and and learned to beg, get some, and scarf it down whenever I wasn't looking.
3) There was sleeping! The boys slept fantastically, partially because they were worn out and because they are very heavy sleepers. Adam and I slept in the guest room so that guys and college leader could use our room and master bathroom without disturbing the boys.

4) The guys seems to have really enjoyed themselves. And learned some great truths about God wanting to work in their lives.

Here are some new revelations I discovered this weekend.

1) Teenage guys are just as (and most times more) messy than babies and toddlers. I naively thought that one day I would not "need" to vacuum everyday. HAHA yeah right! On Saturday alone I vacuumed 3 times.

2) After 2 days of eating junk food (the youth brought their own snacks) even teenage guys want healthy food. They ate a weeks worth of fruit and healthy snacks in 1 day.

3) Trampolines, kiddy slides, cheap plastic balls, and kiddy cars can entertain 2-3 year olds and 14-15 years olds for hours.
4) I will never have a night sleep(as long as my children live in my house) without subconsciously always "listening" for something that is just not right. I also have the capability to jump out of bed at the slightest "weird" sound no matter what time it is.

5) Men young and old(ages: 3, 15, and 30) can watch a cartoon character race around cartoon tracks for hours. Did I leave out....while holding a steering wheel and "driving" the cartoon character? The Wii was a big hit!

6)My youngest and shyest little boy; Bryce completely fell in love with the college leader who stayed at our house. Anytime Bryce was awake he had found a way to be in Greg's arms. I was shocked all weekend.

7)Connor and Bryce have discovered "church" with the lights off and a rock concert playing. Kid's church and Big church cannot compete with church in the youth building.

Overall the weekend was fantastic! We had a blast and it was a real adventure. More importantly I pray that the youth guys learned something about their relationships with God and are leaving encouraged and inspired to continue their journey with Jesus. I also pray that one day my boys look back and truly understand why their parents served God by doing these things. I pray that one day the boys have a heart to serve others because they saw firsthand Mom and Dad doing it all the time.