Yay!! The networks have just loaded two “webisodes” to their sites! Both TLC and Discovery Health have loaded them up. Webisodes are short little videos that the production company put together to tell little bits and pieces of our story that did not make it into the final cut of the show. I think they made a total of six or seven of them…the two online now are “Helmet Fitting” and “Baby Proofing.” They’re really fun and cute videos so check them out here: Too Many Babies? Webisodes.
And if you have not been to the Discovery Health website, check it out here: Discovery Health. We are on the front of the website and if you click on that link it takes you to the new Baby Week site. This is all so exciting!!
Wow, this never happens…and I mean NEVER! We actually had snow – not sleet, not ice – SNOW…in Austin! We have lived in Austin and 20 miles down the road in San Marcos before that for more almost 15 years and it has only snowed one time (and we were in Colorado at the time…bummer!). The snow hit after the kids were in school and did not do much to make the roads dangerous so life proceeded mostly as normal. From what I hear, most of them got to go outside for recess and have snowball fights and the kids of Austin did get plenty of fun in the fluffy stuff after school let out…awesome! And in typical Austin fashion, after a day of nearly constant snowfall and blustery winter weather, we were greeted by blue skies, sunshine, and highs in the 50’s the very next day. Got to love livin’ in the ATX!! For more pics of the whole gang, fan us on Facebook by clicking the JonesLife on Facebook link in the sidebar!
Strange title, huh? No worries, I’m not getting cryptic on you and speaking in code; there is an explanation…please read on, my friends! On Wednesday night we got a sneak peek of the show that is being produced to document the first year of life for the Jones family, AFF (After Fab Five). And what a year it was, right? From the birth of five babies in less than five minutes all the way to the first birthday party – 12 months which at times seemed like 12 eternities – it was all there as if we were living it again…only this time set to music. Most of the important parts were there, at least. The chaos that ruled our lives was as evident on screen as it has been on our hearts during this topsy-turvy whirlwind of a year. And watching the drama unfold on-screen, watching these five little lives profoundly transform all of the bigger lives around them, and knowing that this was your reality was…..
Difficult…at times. Fun at other times. Absolutely jaw-dropping in others. I’m not making this up – though we lived this and felt this and knew exactly the ins and outs of these lives we were watching, there were times that my jaw literally dropped in disbelief and the memory rolodex in my brain whirred into action as it fervently flipped from record to record, verifying what I already knew to be true.
There are those who knew in advance that we were going to see the show for the first time and they were eager to get our impression of what we saw. Because there were no raves and likewise no rants, unfortunately, I think we let them down. Do not get the wrong impression – there is nothing wrong with what we saw and we have no issues with the show. But we honestly had and are still having a tough time describing how we feel about what we saw during the 00:42:00 in which we were glued to the TV. Minutes, that is. That’s what the title means – our 2009 was condensed down to 00:42:00 for the sake of a reality TV show…technically a documentary. Can you imagine telling the story – the whole story, for better or for worse, holding back few intimate details – of any of your years past, hitting all of the highs and the lows and some of the in-betweens? Now pick your best year and tell that story. And after that, pick your worst year, your most stressful one and your most joyful and tell those. Now can you imagine combining all of that, the best and the worst, the high and the low, and doing it in 00:42:00? And one more thing – can you imagine taking all of that and giving it to relative strangers and asking them to tell the story instead? Only this time set it to music…
I really think we will end up loving the show. After we watch it a few more times and we get to see the final version (we were watching a cut that was maybe 90% complete), I think it will cease to be a bit overwhelming and I believe it will become a bit comforting, if not very much so, especially as the abstract tempest of our times slows to a summer breeze with occasional showers.
These relative strangers who are telling the story of our 2009 (who have become good friends, by the way) accepted a difficult task when they signed on to tell the story of this 2009. At least in our eyes it was a challenge. 00:42:00 – That’s all they were given to tell you the story of a family population explosion and of all of the ups, downs, ins, and outs that came along with it. Make no mistake about it – they clearly presented the reality of our life; there is little time for fluff and cutesy baby stuff. And drama? Absolutely…more than enough (cute little rhyme I just wove in there, huh? ;-)).
To the casual observer who knows little about us, I think you’ll like the show. To those who know us best, I think you will too, but your initial reaction is likely to be as mixed as ours. It was a great year, it was a tough year and as such, ‘Too Many Babies?’ reflects that reality very, very well.
As you might imagine and as the pictures can attest, Christmas at our house this year was…what else…chaos! Five not-yet-one-year-olds, three others under age seven, and seven adults made for some interesting yuletide times! I believe we (meaning Casey and I) hit every one of the major Christmas emotions several times each – joy, contentment, excitement, and of course the lesser celebrated, but ever present buzzkills – stress, frustration, and irritation (fortunately those didn’t stick around long!). All in all, the day was very different, very chaotic (the adults didn’t open any presents until 5:00 that afternoon because of everything that was going on with the kids!), and in the end, very fun and memorable!
In other news, Jack and Lila got fitted for their DOC Bands on Monday and we are scheduled to get them in early January. What you see in the pictures is a pair of pantyhose stretched over their heads which smooths out the features of their scalps so that a very accurate 3-D picture can be taken. The picture is then used to create the shape of the band. Once we get the bands, they will be worn 23 hours a day for 3-4 months (Jack is likely to get a new band at that time and have to go for another 3-4 months with that one). We will take them into the office every two weeks to have the bands adjusted to the babies’ changing scalps and we will also be doing some stretching exercises with both babies to help loosen up their neck muscles. It will be a little bit of a hassle, but we are happy to do it so that we can avoid all of the problems that could pop up later in life if we did not go through this. Plus, we’re really excited to decorate the bands!! :)
And finally, a cool little follow up story from our Thanksgiving trek to Denton. When we stopped for lunch in Waco, a lady came over because she, “just had to see the triplets!” Imagine her surprise when she discovered that there were two more babies in the bunch! Well, her husband came over to see the babies as well and we chatted a bit with them, making a fast friendship there in the tiniest restaurant in Texas. They were a really sweet couple…they even helped Eliot wash up after her meal as Casey and I had our hands quite full! On our way out the door, they asked for our address and said they would like to send us some gifts for the babies and, sure enough, when we got home five days later, there was a package on our porch. As it turns out, these folks own a small manufacturing company in Waco that produces Critter Pillers Neck Pillows and other travel cozies of all types. What they sent us was one of each of the different animals in their collection of Critter Pillers…I think there were eight in all, of which Eliot quickly claimed six or seven of them! Anyway, I just had to pass on the story because they are such cool people and hopefully they can receive a little business in return for their kindness (they did not know about our website or ask for any type of publicity when they offered to send us a gift). So if you like doing business with good people and need a cool gift for the travelling kid crazies in your world, check out their website at www.wolfmfg.com!
Merry Christmas everybody!! We have had lots of fun getting ready for the big guy’s arrival on Friday – decorating the house and playing around the Christmas tree, but today was the big event – taking the babies to meet Santa! The babies did awesome, but more on that in a minute…
First, I have to tell you about the tree! One of our helpers, Pam, decorates houses for the holidays and buys lots of trees as part of her services. She got the nursery that she buys from, Pots and Plants Garden Center, to donate a tree to us this year, delivery included…so awesome!! On top of that, she came out to the house and decorated it for us, leaving the star on top and many of our family favorite ornaments off for us to decorate with Eliot! Thank you, Pam and Pots and Plants Garden Center, for sharing the Christmas spirit with our family!
Ok, now to the big story of the day…Santa Claus! The alarm went off this morning at 6 am and it was time to hit the ground running. We had to get the whole gang fed, dressed, and loaded up by 7:45 to make it to the mall by 8:30 and it wasn’t easy…just loading the babies in the car is a 20 minute operation! We managed to hit the road by 7:55 and still made it on time. Santa was waiting for us at the mall entrance and escorted us inside to get acquainted with the crew. The babies did GREAT!! There were no tears, no screaming fits, and no major blowouts (moms – you know what I mean!)!! We even managed to get the whole crew on the little kiddie train that runs just behind Santa’s station! Many, many thanks to Simon Properties and Barton Creek Mall for arranging everything for us. Santa opened up 30 minutes early so we didn’t have to unleash the fury of five screaming babies on the rest of the families waiting in line, saving our sanity and theirs for another day!
I wanted to take a quick moment to thank a couple of ladies for their time, talent, and treasure in creating all of the photos you see on this site (the good photos, I mean!). Tracey Taylor of Taylor Made Portrait Studios and Elle Mendenhall of Ella Bella Photography are the ladies responsible for making these babies shine when the shutters are flying!
Elle Mendenhall heard our story through the media and contacted us about doing a session with the Fab Five. We loved her work and went back to her to do our most recent photos at the park! She is awesome with babies and comes well-prepared for keeping those little eyes on the right spot! She specializes in newborn photography, as you can clearly see! Her photos are the color photos you see on the site and that is her work above.
Tracey Taylor worked with us from the beginning (we had been to her before the pregnancy) and did all of the babies’ first pictures from the NICU and shortly thereafter with the whole family. All of the black and white photos you see on the site are from her studio. What a talent!
I have placed a little button on the sidebar of the JonesLife site – to the right over there – that links out to their individual sites. If you are looking to do family or baby photos, these gals will take care of your every need…check them out!!
Yay!! The networks have just loaded two “webisodes” to their sites! Both TLC and Discovery Health have loaded them up. Webisodes are short little videos that the production company put together to tell little bits and pieces of our story that did not make it into the final cut of the show. I think they made a total of six or seven of them…the two online now are “Helmet Fitting” and “Baby Proofing.” They’re really fun and cute videos so check them out here: Too Many Babies? Webisodes.
