Everyday me!

ballet recital

2012-01-14T17:05:00.001-08:00

Broken arm

2012-01-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

So I made a New Year's Resolution to blog once a week...and I got on and realized I hadn't posted anything since Halloween (well that's embarrassing!) So I decided to start out the new year with a pretty exciting story.
Two days before Christmas Levi and I where going on an actual date (that's right, we even had hired a babysitter). Thirty minutes till date. I was scrambling to make kids dinner. When Kes came downstairs crying her eyes out. She had seen Bailey cleaning the mirrors in the downstairs bathroom and decided she wanted to do the upstairs one. She grabbed her windex and paper towels and climbed up on the bathroom counter. Unfortunately, she tripped on the sink, fell off the counter and landed on her arm. She cried for 25 minutes and then fell asleep. Long story short...I cancelled our date, and took Kes to the ER instead...where x rays revealed that she broke both bones in her forearm! Merry Christmas to us! :) The ER only splints broken bones and because of the holidays we had to wait five days to get the hard cast on. The ER doctor told me--just don't let her run or be too rambunctious till she gets her cast on. I was thinking (You obviously don't have kids--no four year old sits still!) Anyways, as you can see she choose pink and has been coordinating her shoes with it! :)

Halloween

2011-11-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

This says it all...

witches and warts...

2011-10-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

So...since Halloween is upon us, I think I will share a very appropriate story about warts. Bridger got a wart on his hand (right at the crux of his fingers). I knew nothing of this wart until it was fairly large. One day I was picking him up from school. He got in the Durango and let out a huge deeply sad sigh. Followed by, "mom, I used to love my life before I got a wart." Being the caring mom I was and not wanting him to hate his life, I offered to buy him some wart remover. He was thrilled. I cautioned him to let me put it on because it is an acid after all. However, the first time I put it on I spilled some on his hand and he about went into outer orbit for three seconds before I wiped it off. (He was sure the acid was going to eat his hand away!) This Halloween tale does have a happy and hilarious ending. Bridger was especially happy at church today when he looked down and discovered his wart remover was indeed working. I had a teacher come up to me after Primary to inform me that she had a very good laugh thanks to my son. All the kids where supposed to draw pictures of something they where thankful for and then come up and share their picture with the class. They where going along with the usual...church, family, Scriptures, Jesus, etc...when Bridger got up beaming and displayed a hand drawn picture of wart remover! Yes that is right... he was thankful for wart remover! Happy Halloween!

Trip to Emmett

2011-10-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Since the kids and Levi had school/work off last Friday we took an extended weekend trip to Emmett to see my family and surprise my dad for his 57th birthday. My sister Emily surprised us all by driving up from Salt Lake also. So fun!!! So we had a mini family reunion with all of my siblings there! Here are some pictures from the festivities! (Sorry Chris, I couldn't resist putting in the picture of Deacon in a dress...he just looked so cute!) Did I mention how much I love my family!

We have moved...

2011-09-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

For the handful of you that occasionally check my blog and are slightly disappointed that I haven't posted anything for months it is because in the space of a three month period I have...had a baby, moved from Montana to Wyoming, bought a house, sold a house, and become a blonde (this last one I hadn't planned on--I just had an over zealous beautician!)

Here are a few pictures of our new home (I took while we where looking at the house) I'll take some more after I finish painting/hanging things on the walls.

What I want to be when I grow up...

2011-07-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

I was talking to the kids about what they want to be when they grew up. Bridger confidently stated that he was going to be a marine biologist and have a pet shark. (Will I ever cease to worry about that kid?) Bailey informed us that she wanted to be a rock star. (another worrisome career path! ) Kes had been quiet pondering while we talked, I finally asked her what she wanted to be. I thought she would say a "momma." Boy, was I wrong! She spoke up. When I grow up I want to be a girl monkey! Does she realize they eat their own poop?

My other mom...

2011-07-14T19:36:00.001-07:00

I have heard of kids having imaginary friends, but Kes took it one step further--she invented an imaginary new family for herself. I don't know how I feel about this. Plus she keeps throwing it in my face. Her "other mom" as she refers to her, is named Izzy Pirateshirt. Her other dad is Caw Pirateshirt. I have to give her kudos for originality in naming them! Here is an example of her use of her fake family.
Kes says "Mom, can I have a cookie?"
I reply, "No, we are having dinner in ten minutes."
Kes exclaims, "Well, my other mom, Izzy says I can have a cookie!"

You get the idea. It is rather disconcerting. I feel like the "mean mom" but then I have to remind myself--the other mom does not exist!

Baby Finn arrives

2011-06-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that on Monday June 20th I went into the hospital to be induced. Here is the short version of what happened. I spent all day watching movies and reading and nothing happened. Finally at 3 in the afternoon, the Dr. broke my water. After that contractions where fast and furious. I requested an epidural (I knew going in that I wanted one). Unfortunately, all of the anesthesiologists where tied up in surgery and would be for at least an hour. An hour. I could handle an hour I thought. An hour and a half later still no epidural...now I don't consider myself a big wimp, but I REALLY wanted an epidural. So I begged the nurse to call and check again. Then I received the saddest news of my life...the anesthesiologist wouldn't be coming for at least another hour yet. I literally think I started to cry. However 15 minutes later, I was dilated to a 7 so they called my doctor to tell her to come over from the clinic where she was working. I progressed from a 7 to a 10 in about two minutes. Then came the worse part yet...trying to hold the baby in for like 15 minutes until my doctor arrived. I could see the nurses exchanging worried looks. I asked which one was going to deliver my baby as it looked like the doctor wasn't going to make it. At one point the nurse ran out and said, "I have to go find a doctor!" She came back with a dazed looking 75 year old man who was scrubbing up to deliver my baby. I was thinking--I'm going to have my baby delivered by an ears, nose, and throat specialist...and I don't care. Fortunately, my doctor ran into the room at that precise moment. Someone threw a cape around her and she threw gloves on and literally less than a minute later our baby was born. He weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 and 3/4 inches long. Now many of you know, we struggled with a name--but we had it narrowed down to three...Finn, Ryder or Sawyer...but he looked most like a Finn to me. So we named him Finn Thomas Sloan. Here are a few pictures of our great new addition. I also had my mom and dad here for the week helping out and can not thank them enough for all they did. We miss them already!

Baby update...

2011-06-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

I know by now, everyone is probably sick of hearing about my pregnancy--one last update. I went to the Dr. on Wednesday and she is going to induce me on the 20th if I haven't had my baby by then. 10 more days! Any bets on weight and height. My guess is 7 lbs 2 oz, 19 inches long. Any last minute suggestions on names? :)

laughter...the best medicine

2011-06-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

My kids keep me laughing...here are a few of their latest things that made me chuckle.
Bridger was all wet and climbed on something to turn off the hose as he can't reach it on his own. He slipped and fell, and began immediately to scream and cry when I reached him, he looked at me with earnest tear filled eyes and exclaimed, "I think I broke my armpit!"
We have been implementing/enforcing daily chores since summer began. This maybe takes a half hour of the kid's day. One day my mom called and Bridger answered the phone. She asked him what he had been up to so far this summer, with a deep sigh, Bridger reported, "Aaaahhhhh. I've just been doing a lot of working!"
I got sunburned a few weeks ago (on a rare non-rainy day). Kes was really worried especially when it started to peel. So now every time I go outside, Kes says, "Put on Sunscreen, so you don't get heartburn!"

Rain rain go away....

2011-05-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

After what seems like two to three weeks of endless rain and cold, it finally seems to be warming up. We had a rainy memorial day weekend...big surprise! In addition, because of flooding, our phones and internet where down. Which also meant we didn't TV either because we don't have cable we just use the netflix instant view (which only runs if the internet is working). It still was a good weekend! We played board games on Sunday evening and then on Monday we went to the church gym and played line tag (I was even slower than Kes) monkey in the middle and dodge ball. We got Yogi Bear from the red box (which I deemed incredibly stupid and opted to sleep in the recliner during the duration of) and just spent time together. It actually was very nice not to have any outside distractions. Now it is Tuesday and the sun is out (yeah) and life is speeding up and catching up to us again. At least the sun is out!

doctor and dilation goals...

2011-05-27T07:23:00.001-07:00

I went in yesterday for my 36 week appointment. I knew she was going to check to see how dilated I was. Now usually, when I get to this point, I usually have a "dilation goal" for myself. However, with my last three children, I typically have been disappointed. So I told myself not to expect anything. So I was delighted to learn, I was dilated 1 centimeter and 30 percent effaced. The baby's head was down and engaged--so the doctor said she thought that would help me dilate more. Now 37 weeks is considered full term--and frankly by that point in your pregnancy you are just ready to have that baby out of your body. So any suggestions to help this process along? :)

Hansel and Gretel...

2011-05-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

Levi took the kids minus Bailey to a graduation open house on Saturday. Bailey and I stayed home because we where feeling under the weather. The next day at church, my friend came up to me and said that her sister wanted to "gobble Kes up, she was so cute!" After church, at lunch, I was telling Levi the story in front of the kids. Kes's eyes grew large. She asked to say the prayer over the food. Amongst other things, she prayed, "and please don't let anyone gobble me up!" In her bedtime that night she said, "and please let that mean lady who wants to eat me be far far away!" Maybe I should try to clarify this slang a little for her...poor girl thinks she is the next Gretel...

Random Spring Pictures

2011-05-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted pictures for a long time, and decided that it might be fun to see how much my kids are growing. I am not going to explain any except of the one where Bailey is sleeping. When she saw a pink sleeping mask my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday, she exclaimed, "I've always needed one of those. Can I have it?" Of course how could I resist. She wears it every night! One night Kes had a bit of a cold and was coughing. I came in to find Bailey on the top bunk sound asleep with not only the sleeping mask but also Levi's shooting sound blocking earphones on. I had to take a picure!

kidney stones verses child birth...

2011-05-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I went for a walk and at the end of it my back started hurting...and hurting...and hurting...I chalked it up to the fact that I am very pregnant and out of shape. I thought, I should sit down and rest--but it was a busy day and I didn't have time. By about two in the afternoon I started having contractions too. They where irregular and I wasn't too worried--but my back was still killing me. Finally, I called my doctor and she told me to come in. On the way over I kept thinking...I can't have my baby...it doesn't even have a name yet!
Once I got there, they monitored me for a while and then gave me a shot to stop my contractions--which worked in about an hour. But my back was still killing me! Turns out I was going to deliver something else--a little hard piece of calcium--(actually, I ended up "passing" four stones in total!) Not fun! The biggest piece was literally no bigger than my pinkie nail...yet the pain! I have to say--kidney stones are way worse than having babies!
I spent Tuesday night in the hospital in Miles City on Morphine trying to manage the pain. My urethra was completely blocked and my kidney was swollen and full of fluid--and infected on top of everything else! The next day they sent me to the hospital in Billings because they felt I needed to have a stint surgically inserted and couldn't do it in Miles City. On the way to the hospital my blockage must have moved down because suddenly my pain was manageable. I spent the next day and night in the Billings Hospital and ended up passing three stones that night. The next day when they did an ultrasound on my kidneys they discovered one last small stone in my bladder which I ended up passing last night. I just want to say thank you to all the friends and family who called and sent texts wishing me well. I felt very loved!A special thank you to all the friends who watched our kids and brought in meals--I don't know how we would have done it without you! Bless you! I have to say when I do have my baby now, it will be a walk in the park compared to the kidney stones...

name our baby..

2011-04-11T12:58:00.001-07:00

Less than 10 weeks to go, and our baby still remains nameless. At least, I am not set on a name yet. Everyone else in our family seems to have an opinion. They go as follows:

Levi: Finn Lee Sloan (Lee is for Levi) Finn he finds fitting because it is latin for "the end."

Bridger: Trooper. (I shut him down on Storm Trooper--but he is insistently clinging to Trooper)

Bailey: Duke. This came into her mind while we where watching the basketball team play in March madness.

Kes: Lucy. Even though I have told her a million times we are having a boy....

Any suggestions????

Ode to my washing machine...

2011-04-09T18:51:00.000-07:00

I had to buy a new washing machine Friday. (I think there must be something in the air in our house as this is the second appliance we have had to replace this month.) I personally hate doing laundry so wasn't overly excited about the prospect of spending my hard earned money on a new machine...but it had to be done. Levi installed it last night. Today, I washed all of Bailey's bedding (she coughed until she had thrown up in her bed last night) my bedding, (Kes wet the bed while taking a nap in my bed) and 3 loads of dirty laundry (sadly, that isn't even all of the dirty laundry in the house). As I was taking out my last load of laundry from the dryer, I did realize that my washer/dryer is the work horse of this house--and I should really appreciate them. What would I have done with out it today! If only they would invent a machine that folded and put laundry away! That I would gladly pay for! :)

Music to my ears...

2011-04-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere that no matter how bad your voice is, you should still sing to your children. I decided to take this advice to heart. Although I have a less than wonderful voice, I attempted to sing spontaneously to Kes. After about a line Kes exclaimed, "STOP, STOP, STOP...YOUR SONG IS MAKING ME CRAZY!" Thus began and ended my music career.

The joke is on us...

2011-04-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

On Friday Levi and I headed into Billings because Levi was having some minor surgery. At first I had arranged for a friend to watch Kes, but as Thursday came, she started with a cough so I decided to take her with us at the last moment. Friday came, and Kes started with a horrible hacking cough. I felt right about my decision to not infect my friend's kids, and off we went. About thirty miles outside of Billings, Kes started coughing...and coughed so hard she threw up (cheese nips and milk--what she had been snacking on). Now for those of you that follow my blog, you realize this has happened to me before. But alas, I was still totally unprepared with extra clothing or cleaning supplies. We had an extra fifteen minutes to spare so we stopped at a gas station to see if we could scrounge up some cleaning supplies. They reluctantly gave us a roll of paper towels (and told us to bring back what we didn't use). Now we where running late, so I dropped Levi off (what a supportive wife, hun?) then backtracked a few blocks to a second hand store we had passed coming into town. I stripped off the offending smelling clothes, wrapped Kes up in my coat, and ran into the store and bought a "new" outfit for her. I have to admit I was a tad self conscious about the "what kind of parent are you?" looks I was getting--and told the cashier the whole story to appease my conscious. Then we rushed back to get Levi and fortunately, he wasn't out yet, so I didn't feel like a complete jerk. After he got out we where going to go to lunch, but by this point Kes was now running a fever too. I drove across town to Walmart, I ran in an got medicine for her and Levi. When I got out, I gave her her medicine, which promptly induced another coughing fit that ended yet another vomiting episode. By this point, Levi was pretty unhappy as was Kes--he drove me across the street to Shopko (Walmart was supper busy!) and told me to buy Kes two new outfits...and then we went home. I commented later that evening, that Kes played a pretty good April Fools joke on us--Levi's response was, "Only it really wasn't funny." I tend to agree.

Bridger's baptism

2011-03-27T17:36:00.001-07:00

It seems like the last month whirled by a million miles an hour. Amongst other things, we had two birthdays, two parties, and a trip to Helena. I haven't blogged about it because I haven't had time and also because we lost our camera so we haven't been taking too many pictures. When we where in Helena we got a new camera. This last weekend Bridger got baptized. We really appreciate Levi's mom and dad for coming over to celebrate this special event with us. We had a great time with them. Here are a few pictures from the baptism and Helena trip.

Book club and barfing...

2011-02-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I hosted book club at my house. I really enjoy book club I have to say, and was looking forward to the evening. However, book club in itself, is really nothing to blog about. But I do have a rather interesting story. Unfortunately, as you know if you have been following my blog, my children have all been battling illness. Bridger finally got on antibiotics for a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection and is feeling much better. Bailey, who had been fine since the "marble incident", started with a high fever Wednesday afternoon. I kept her home from school on Thursday and debated canceling book club. Levi assured me that he would quarantine the children in the basement and to go forward with it. I cleaned my house (which is no small task!) made refreshments that coordinated with the book (a book club tradition that I love!) and was ready to go! We where having a good time discussing the book, when suddenly Bridger ran upstairs and as he ran by shouted, "Bailey threw up!" Interestingly, only about two other people besides myself, seemed to recognize what was happening. Everyone else just continued on. I admit, I felt something like a deer in the headlights. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just sat there smiling stupidly. A few minutes later, my sainted husband came up with a grim look on his face and collected some cleaning supplies and disappeared back downstairs. A few minutes later I heard the shop vac come to life. Yet the book group continued on...seemingly unaware of the dull roar of the vacuum sucking up vomit downstairs. I was reminded of an incident when I was a little girl in church. The Morgan family with all eight of their children where sitting in the last row when one of them spewed up their breakfast. Tom Morgan, a janitor by trade, went and found the carpet shampooer and began cleaning the mess right in the middle of the church meeting. I remember the speaker trying to shout over the roar of the machinery. I thought that incident was funny. I did not think the situation I found myself in last night equally amusing. A few minutes later, the vibrant smell of vomit wafted up from downstairs, I discretely tried to get the air freshener out and send it downstairs with Kes. Maybe it was the smell, but finally the meeting wrapped up. It was a bizarre evening--not the best book club night ever. I went downstairs to find the mess totally clean and Levi looking a little sicker than Bailey. Poor boy, he has never had to single handedly clean regurgitate up by himself before! He said the worst part was the chunks of noodles from her soup she had for dinner. Loving my husband all the more for finishing this odious task for me, I took Bailey's temperature which was now 104.5! I felt that I couldn't give her more medicine, because that was what promoted her first vomit! After a blessing, and a cool rag on her forehead she settled down for the night. What an evening!

swallowing medicine...and marbles...

2011-02-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

Well after a relatively healthy winter, two out of my three kids are sick. Bridger has been feverish and listless--and has a hoarse voice. Kes has a cold--so we took a sick day from church. But that isn't what I was worried about. Bailey was wreathing in pain on Saturday. I thought she had appendicitis. She told me, "mom, I didn't want to tell you this, but I swallowed a marble a couple days ago, and I think it is coming out of my skin." I thought--fabulous--there goes our tax return--spent getting a marble removed from Bailey's intestine where it has apparently lodged itself. Fortunately, she did "pass" the marble so now I can focus on runny noses and fevers!

I am once again a licensed driver...

2011-02-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

For all who where wondering....I passed my tests so I am once again a licensed driver. We woke up to snow this morning so that only added to my anxiety. I went to spin class first (where I am supposed to keep my heart rate between 120- 130 while working out because I am pregnant) but because I was so worried my resting heart rate was 103 (normally it is 75) so that didn't go to well. The people that do the driver's licensing have to drive over from Miles City (about an hour away) and they where a half hour late just getting there. By this point, I have worked my self up to a slight dither. Ironically, the enclimate weather worked in my favor. The place (which I understand is usually packed) was not busy at all--resulting in unusual good moods for the DMV people. I passed my written test, and then had to go out for the driving one. But because the roads where so yucky, I literally had to drive about three blocks before we went back. I did have to do the dreaded parallel parking but lets face it, we don't have a lot of opportunities for that in Colstrip--so I just had to pull up next to a car and "pretend" there was a car behind me. Whew! That took a lot of pressure off. I am a nervous giggler, so I was giggling a little bit to my self, and then had to explain how I was not a very good parallel parker--and how I had never really had to practice it. The lady said, oh you did fine--weather or not I did, I don't really care because I PASSED! (And bonus, I actually got a good driver's license picture--so all in all the stars must have been aligned!). The moral of this story is NEVER let my license expire again...can anyone suggest a way that I could remind myself in eight years?

driving test...

2011-02-15T14:14:00.000-08:00

I was writing the check for my registration and I happened to look at the expiration date on my drivers license--turns out I have been driving with an expired license since last April! Oh my gosh! I about had a heart attack. So I have to take the written and driving test on Thursday in order to get a new license! I am totally freaking out--mostly because I can't parallel park. Also, everyone I talk to says the driver license guy is a real grouch. I am so scared!

Valentines Idea

2011-02-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

So I got this idea out of the Children's Friend magazine, but we started a new Valentines family tradition. It is called the Love Basket. Everyone in the family gets the love basket for one day (We started this on Monday night for Family Home Evening). Now, in the friend it says to decorate or create on yourselves--but because I am pretty lazy, I just grabbed a cheap pink Easter basket we had hanging around the house. The first day Levi had the love basket, so everyone drew pictures or wrote nice notes about things they liked about him or how much they loved him and filled up the basket. The next day was Bridger...then Bailey..and so on. (You get the idea) I was surprised at how excited the kids where to do this for each other--and how much they loved it when it was there day! I think it will be a new Sloan Family tradition.

Bridger is allergic to me!

2011-02-07T07:39:00.001-08:00

Bridger has come down with a case of the sniffles. Something he likes to get as much leverage out of as he can. Yesterday, we where getting ready for church. He would be laughing and playing with the girls and then I would walk into the room and he would instantly start groaning and whining about how sick he was. Finally, Levi made the observation that Bridger must be allergic to me, as that is the only time he feels unwell (when he is near me!) We convinced him to go to Sacrament by telling him, if he was still "miserable" that we would take him home after that. He of course was too "sick" with his occasional runny nose to go to all three hours of church--so Levi brought him home. He had to lay in bed (as is our rule with Bridger staying home sick) By early evening he was sick of being sick and informed all of us that he was "all better now and could he please play a computer game?" I asked him if he was going to be sick tomorrow morning when it was time for school. He thought about it and replied, "probably!"

One for the team....

2011-02-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

We had our sonogram yesterday. We took Bailey and Bridger out of school and so the who family got to go. It was really fun to see the kid's reactions. Kes kept saying, "oh the baby is so cute!" I personally thought it looked like a little alien....especially in the 3-d images. Bridger got worried about me and came over and started stroking my hair and said, "mom are you okay?" When I answered yes, he then said, "Well, what is all that nasty stuff all over your stomach?" Anyways, everything went well...the baby is healthy and growing fine. So for the moment you've all been waiting for. We are having....drum roll please....a little baby boy! Bridger was so excited, he said, "Yes! Now the boy and girl teams are going to be even!"

Okay cast your vote...

2011-01-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

In two weeks we are going to have our sonogram. For those of you who are wondering, we are not going to be surprised about the gender. I thought about it because it is our last one, but Levi is dead set on knowing. He believes either way your surprised--either at 20 weeks or 40--and he always uses the analogy--wouldn't you want to know your grade at midterm rather than the final? Frankly, I can't bear the idea of him knowing and me not--so we are both finding out what we are having. This is the part where I get all my readers to cast their votes--what do you think boy or girl?
So far this is how our home pole goes:

Me-boy
Levi-girl
Bridger-boy
Bailey-boy
Kes-boy/girl depending on the day you ask her

Alright, cast your vote!

play and equally entertaining thoughts....

2011-01-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

So Bridger and Bailey where in the Missoula Children's Theater last week. The play was King Aurthor's Quest. Bridger was a squire and Bailey was a Raven. Bailey even had a line, which she practiced all week..."kah, kah, never more!" I would find her saying it under her breath all week. For example, I would ask, "Bailey would you clear the dishes?" To which I would hear the whispered reply, "kah, kah, never more!" Kes has also kept us entertained with her quirky thoughts. This Sunday was her first as a member of the "sunbeam class" after church she turned to me and said (in a very annoyed voiced) "I never turned into a Sunbeam...I'm still Kesie!" Apparently, she took us literally when we said, "Your going to be a sunbeam!" A few days ago we went to a wedding reception. It apparently disturbed Kes, because she informed us upon leaving that"she was never getting married!" Since she is three, she has a little time to change her mind. A few days later I was leaving the house for a meeting, when she came running up and said, "wait mom! Don't go get married! Okay?"

cooking disasters!

2011-01-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

So I have a new year's resolution--try one new recipe a week. This week it was Italian chicken. It smelled divine and looked great too. All I had left was to thicken the sauce that went on top. I grabbed the "corn starch" in order to add my 3 Tablespoons to the water. When I added it, strangely, it began to fuzz. Weird I thought. Still no warning bell went off in my head. Then I added that to the tomato mixture and pandemonium ensued! I finally realized as a chemical reaction was taking place that I had added baking soda and not corn starch! Turns out that reacts violently when added to an acidic base--what I had was an Italian tomato volcano! When it was done "erupting" over the side of the pan, I was left with pink froth. Not one to be easily deterred, I decided to add a tomato bullion cube I had around to see if I could make it back into a sauce. It worked! But I didn't really have the heart to taste test it. So I did what any great cook would do. I stuck it on the table ladled it over the chicken and rice and said, "bon appite!" Turns out the bullion did cure the frothy issue but made it unbearably salty! We ended up scrapping it off our food. So week one I would have to chalk up as a disaster...stayed tuned for week two. If it doesn't work I will be back to spaghetti and tacos!

Christmas...Seattle...and Snow storm

2011-01-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning! One of the three pictures taken before our camera battery died!

On the Space Needle...this was my favorite thing we did!

Pike Place Market...anti-theft device!

Entrance to "Little Chinatown" where, ironically, we had the worst Chinese food I have ever tasted!

On a ferry ride to Brainbridge island...it was a little windy!

Our family right before we went sledding.

Western Montana had a blizzard while we where in Seattle and they got major snow! In this picture Bridger is in a drift!

Kes sees Santa

2010-12-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

Check out Kes sitting on "Santa's" lap at the library party. She is on the library website. Go to http://bicentennial.library.googlepages.com

Bailey the beautician

2010-12-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

I wasn't a bad kid growing up. I didn't make my parents worry too much. The one thing I did do, was cut my siblings hair. I remember when I was like 12 I cut my little sister's hair (she was eight) anyways I had her convinced it was darling until she walked out of the bathroom and greeted my family. The first words out of my mother's mouth where, "what did you do to your hair?" Apparently, it is payback time. Bailey cut Kes's hair last Thursday night. I can't find my camera--so I couldn't even take a picture but it is short...earlength! I took her to the beauty shop to fix it the next day and she got a short bob. The lady fixing her hair said--"you know your daughter actually did a pretty good job cutting her hair--she might have a future as a beautician!" Of course I didn't tell Bailey that--or we might have a repeat performance! Anyways, she turns out she didn't need any additional encouragement--when we were at church Sunday--people where complimenting Kes on her haircut, and Bailey spoke up and said, "I did that haircut!"

My thanksgiving Angel

2010-11-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was driving to a doctor's appointment in Miles City. The day was going smoothly. I had gotten the kids off to school and Kes and I were headed down the road. I was actually running 15 minutes early. Gasp! Anyways, all was going swimmingly and we were 30 miles down the road when Kes (who hadn't eaten much breakfast) got car sick and threw up large quantities of curdled milk (she loves milk and that and three bites of beagle where all she ate for breakfast). Anyways, I was completely unprepared that. Fortunately, we where almost to the Forsyth turn off (which is the only town between Colstrip and Miles City). I pulled into the Town Pump gas station and assessed the situation. No extra clothes. No wipes. Just two towels and a damp swim suit which had not been brought in from the car from swimming lessons the night before. Kes had taken off her coat in the car, so that was not barfed on. But her shirt, sweater, pants, and undies where all saturated with vomit. I took her inside to bathroom and sponged her off as well as I could. She didn't have chunks anymore but she was still soaking wet. I took off her shirt and sweater and put her coat on her. still her pants where very wet. And we have snow on the ground here--so it wasn't like she could just go in her coat. I went to the front and asked the cashier for a bag and if there were any stores that sold kids clothes in town. I got the bag, but there was no luck on the clothes situation. I was about to give up and leave her in her wet stunky duds when a lady who worked there overheard our conversation. She said she had a daughter who lived five miles out of town who had a three year old son and could probably help. She called her daughter (who was in town dropping off her son at preschool) and got her to bring some clothes. Then she gave me a bucket of warm soapy water and a rag to wash out the car seat. (which might I add, was a most unpleasant job--as it was all over the car seat and had even leaked on the seat). I was starting to stress because the daughter hadn't arrived and my appointment was in fifteen minutes forty miles away! I told her that I would just have to go--and explained my predicament. This wonderful woman--pulled out her cell phone dialed the doctor and gave it to me. Hence I was able to reschedule for later in the day. Then the daughter came (after driving 15 miles out of her way and brought me clean clothes). So she had a 7 year old daughter and brought me a dress she had outgrown as well as some boy clothes. Kes (being super girly) chose the dress. It came to her ankles and I had to roll up the sleeves but Kes loved it. The lady told me to keep the dress because her daughter had outgrown it so she was getting rid of it anyways. (On a side note, I tried to replace it with something that actually fit her when we went to Walmart but she said "no, I love my beautiful dress."so she wore a huge dress all day that smelled slightly like barf.) I just have to say there are wonderful people out there! On another side note...my doctor's appointment went well...my due date is June 21st!

Do I really have any secrets?

2010-11-15T14:49:00.001-08:00

I was telling my sisters about the latest "adventure" with the kids, and they both suggested I blog about it. I at first didn't want to as it is embarrassing but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I blogged about drinking urine...can't get any worse than that really. So all five of you who follow my blog, here is another good story.
Friday evening our kids where playing in the office while Levi and I where vegging in front of the TV (as is our exciting Friday night ritual...get a movie and watch it---we are too tired to do anything else). We heard a lot of giggling but again the tired factor kicked in and we didn't check on them. That is until Bailey came waddling out. She had peed her pants. What the heck! This is my six year old daughter mind you....and then the story came out.
Bridger had gotten the "brilliant" idea to copy his bum on our printer/copier. So he sat down (all fifty pounds of him) mooning the copier and produced a replica of his bum. Bailey was giggling hysterically beside him (and always one to wait till the last minute to go potty) lost control and peed her pants (also on the printer). Our printer--not meant to have 80 lbs resting on it or to be used as a urinal-- stopped working. I was furious. I still don't see the humor in it--but everyone else I tell seems to think it is funny.
You decide...funny or horrific?

tooth fairy....guilt

2010-11-08T12:54:00.001-08:00

So Bailey lost her second front tooth a few days ago. That is three teeth she has lost in like three weeks! The going rate for a tooth around her is a dollar usually. Anyways, I don't ever have cash in my wallet, and lately, Bridger has been big on earning money for a toy he wants so I've been using the quarters in my change jar to pay him. Also, I should add, that once my children fall asleep for the night--I am pretty much done for for the day too. So, I rarely remember small (but important) things like a little tooth waiting under a pillow! Levi does however--and usually has a couple bucks in his wallet to boot. Hence, he has become this home's "tooth fairy." But this particular night, he forgot as well. Bailey woke up the next morning and was frantically searching under her pillow--which only resulted in finding her tooth! Whoops! Tears. Heartbreak. The tooth fairy forgot! I hugged her up the best I could and then promptly forgot all about it. But our real "tooth fairy" found out about it and apparently felt very guilty. The next morning Bailey got an envelope from the tooth fairy--in tiny fairy script a little note read, "Sorry I didn't make it last night. It was a very busy night for collecting teeth. To make up for it is a little extra money. Love, the tooth fairy" In the envelope was FOUR DOLLARS! I exclaimed, "holy cow, four dollars!" I was thinking great this just set a new precedent for late tooth fairy money. Bridger apparently was thinking that too because he said, "wow, I hope the tooth fairy forgets my tooth next time!"

Wasp nest....

2010-10-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

My life holds few distinctions. So when we found an enormous yellow jacket hive in our back yard, Of course I am going to blog about it! Ironically, this summer had not been bad for wasps--then they came out in a blaze in about September. I kept walking around the house looking in the eves for nests, but never did find one. One day I was outside when I happened to look up and watch a yellow jacket's flight path. It flew straight into a huge nest at the top of our hedges. I hadn't seen it before because the leaves blocked the view. But with the leaves falling, we could see it. I would like to go on the record saying that I wanted to just leave it for a few weeks till we had a good cold snap and they died on their own. Levi felt we should be a little more proactive about it. He read that they can't fly if it is below 50 degrees outside. So last Saturday morning, when the temperature was about 30 degrees he and Bridger went out cut it down, saturated it in lighter fluid and torched the dang thing. I refused to join in the "fun" as I figured once the nest started burning, it would quickly warm up to past 50 degrees and I envisioned a swarm of wasps coming out to get me. The boys came in elated. Two of their favorite things...danger and fire.

Fall frenzie

2010-10-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

So it has literally been a month since I posted anything new. It has been a little busy around here. I have been coaching Bailey's soccer team and just started being a den leader for Bridger's scouting den. So here is a few of the fun things that happened in September (with a couple of pictures too)! Levi had his birthday and got his CMA and got a promotion--yeah! Bridger is LOVING Mrs. Fay and has recently informed me that he will be going as "Boss" this year--next year I will be able to call him Bridger again. Bailey is loving kindergarten, friends, etc. She just lost her front tooth! Kes is loving having my undivided attention (when I am not babysitting) and playing with Wally when I am watching him. She has recently also informed me that she is too busy to take a nap. (Sorry--she'll have to push Barbies back till after nap). :) I have been busy with canning and raking leaves and who knows what else--definitely not blogging!

I threw away my scale this morning...

2010-09-29T07:18:00.001-07:00

I threw away my scale. It is broken. It is weighing 10 lbs heavy (Levi agrees with me--I'm not just in denial about my weight). And of course, weighing someone ten pounds heavy is not to be tolerated! Of course, if it was broken the other way and weighing 10 lbs light. I would keep it forever and cherish it! You see then if you went to the doctor and got weighed you could say..."hmmm...this can't be right. My scale at home says...." Yes, if I had a scale that weighed me ten pounds light I would cherish it. If we ever had a house fire it would be the children...the family pictures...and the scale! (I would of course conveniently forget that it isn't telling me an accurate number!) But--sigh--my scale is broken the other way. So after getting on this morning, being shocked and depressed before remembering that it was broken--I decided that I didn't to put myself through this once a month (when I get brave enough to weigh myself). So I just picked it up and threw it away. I must say very refreshing! And bonus, I found my lost good eyeliner! All in all, a good way to start the day!

The fickle affections of a two year old...

2010-09-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago when I was putting Kes to bed, she turned to me and said, "Mom, I love Jesus." Aaahhh. I must be doing something right, she loves Jesus. Proud parent moment. Only it lasted for about five seconds, then she added, "mommy, I love Barney too." Somehow putting a purple televised dinosaur in the same category as Jesus diminished her previous statement a little bit. Skip forward to today.
I am putting Kes down for her daily nap. We have just finished reading our story and I give her a kiss and tell her I love her. She responds with..."I love....my pull up!"
Well...it does keep you from wetting the bed while you are sleeping...I guess I love your pull up too!

Faith like Peter....

2010-09-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

Bailey was in the bathtub a few nights ago. We had the following dialogue. "Mom, you know that guy that had a testimony?" I responded with , "uuuuhhhhhh?" In a slightly annoyed tone Bailey continues, "You know. The one that walked on the water and didn't even get wet."
"Oh. Yeah. Peter." I say. Bailey says, "Yes Peter. Well......I have a testimony too. You want to know why? Because can put my ear in the water and the inside DOESN'T GET WET!!! Isn't that great?"

This morning Kes woke up and was not a happy camper. She was bent out of shape over the color of her cup at breakfast. Bridger was trying to pacifier her, when she turned to him and said, "Just don't talk to me...I'm grumpy!"
Some days I can relate!

First Day of School

2010-08-31T18:31:00.001-07:00

Last week the kids started school. Bridger is in the second grade and Bailey is in Kindergarten. They both have good teachers and are loving school. Bridger loves his teacher because she doesn't send home homework and Bailey loves her teacher because "she has pretty hair". I was a little sad about sending them off to school but after taking an afternoon nap with Kes on the first day, decided I could get used to it! Here is there first day of school pictures. Kes thought she was going too and was very disappointed to find out she had to stay at home with boring old mom.

Vacation

2010-08-31T18:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago (okay I am a little slow about posting things) we went on a vacation to St. George/Cedar City by way of Rexburg and Salt Lake. We had a great time and I got to see family I haven't seen for at least five years. So fun!

The little ironies of life....

2010-08-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

This morning I was sleeping peacefully when I awoke with a start at 6:00 am to...CROWING! You have got to be kidding me! Is our little Henny Penny a he? No. Levi was up too and we looked it up on the computer. Sometimes hens just crow. Also, during our research on the chicken, we found out it is not the Wyandotte that we thought...oh no...it is an ornamental chicken called a Sebright---which means it isn't good for meat or eggs...and it crows! Already we were trying to slide under the radar as there is an ordinance against chickens in town--so obviously we can't keep a chicken that crows. The irony is of course, that we found all of this out AFTER spending $70 dollars to make a coop and run and to buy 50 lbs of chicken food on our "free" chicken (not to mention hauling it clear across the state). The funny thing is, I am really sad (also ironic, as I was the most opposed to Henny Penny at the beginning). I had my heart set on having a chicken and getting fresh eggs. I don't think Bridger is too heart broken--when I told him we would have to get rid of it--he drummed up a few tears and then said (not 30 seconds later) can I get a parrot then?

technical difficulties

2010-08-03T18:22:00.001-07:00

Having trouble with pictures...hopefully this works!

vacation and a new pet!

2010-08-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

We spent a week in Polson and at the cabin on Ashley Lake. Despite several injuries, we had a wonderful time! Here are a few pictures to show what fun we had! One of the days, we went to a kiddee Rodeo in Ronan. At the rodeo, Bridger entered in the chicken run and despite overwhelming odds against him, he actually caught a chicken! The prize--he got to keep the chicken. I protested at first, saying there was no way to bring it home across the state (but my darling mother in law lent us a pet carrier--bless her heart!) Bridger seemed pretty attached to it too (he named it Henny Penny) and it turns out I am a wimp at saying no to my kids. Side note--eight hours into our long journey home, our van took on the smell of chicken poop--I don't recommend traveling ten hours with poultry in your vehicle if any of you are considering it! Anyways we did get her home without incident--on the up side, I told the kids we could only have two pets at a time so we got rid of the stupid degu! Yeah! I feel like I traded up in the pet scale. They both poop and have to be taken care of--but unlike the degu--the chicken does not bite us every time it is picked up and it can be kept outside and it can lay up to four eggs a week. Good bye dumb degu...hello Henny Penny!

where did you get hurt....

2010-07-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

So the other day, Kes was running around after her bath, and hit some water. Of course down she went landing on her pinkie finger of all things. She immediately began crying and came over to me--I was trying to ascertain where she got hurt at, so I kept asking her. She was obviously getting irritated with me and finally asked herself, "Kessie, are you okay?" and then answered herself, "I okay." I apparently wasn't asking the right question. But I still wanted to know where she had gotten hurt so I could examine it, so I asked her yet again, "Kessie, where did you get hurt?" To which she tearfully replied, "in the house!"

The dog days of summer!

2010-07-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

I volunteered to dog sit for a week...that's right...the heat must be affecting my brain because I thought it would actually be fun. We have some acquaintances in town who think we are perfect for dog-sitting their 8 year old golden retriever. This is how it has gone so far. Our family was downstairs watching a movie and eating pizza (weekly tradition) when the doorbell rang. In ran Jake the dog--slobbering and barking everywhere (waking up Kes--who did not return to bed until 10 that night!) Next, he went downstairs and barked at our cat Mouse who literally jumped into (and got tangled in) the blinds. These are the cheapie plastic blinds, so they really can't handle the weight of a cat--hence we now have mangled blinds. After terrorizing the cat, he discovered the degu, Max-and literally was digging at the cage trying to get at it. Max responded like a degu on crack and was running blindly all over it's cage at moch 10. All other pets terrorized--he ran upstairs to mark his territory. I went up to our kitchen about a half hour later and stepped in a puddle. Hun. That's funny. I wondered who spilled this water--as I bent down to wipe it up--the olfactories kicked in and I realized I wasn't wiping up water! GRrrrrr! Next day was Sunday, and we kicked the dog out while we where at church. Big mistake. Came home to find our screen door shredded. Apparently this dog is NOT an inside dog. Oh, did I mention that he is terrified of thunder and has to be put in a room downstairs with no windows when a storm starts. (Of course we had thunderstorms all day yesterday) Might I also add this lovely little side note, that on one of his forays outside to use the facilities (my flowers), he chased the cat up the tree who was then terrified to come down because she thought a dog might be lurking below. So we where outside yesterday in torrential rain, with a ladder trying to coax the cat down--why didn't I just leave it? Because I had a seven year old boy crying because he was worried his cat might get hit by lightning (never mind his parents who where standing on a tall metal ladder!) The cat ran inside and has been living in our box spring ever since. Today, the only major thing was Kes found it mauling her dora doll and was very traumatized! She did take matters into her own hands and ran over pulled the doll out of the dogs mouth banged Jake on the nose with the same said doll and said, "no no! Jake! That's my Dora!" We are still watching it until next Sunday...except here is our loophole. When they dropped Jake off, the people said that if we had plans next weekend, they found another place we could take it. I've been bugging Levi to go on an overnight camping trip...now he is considering it...simply to get rid of the dog. :)

these pictures make me laugh!

2010-07-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

While I'm posting pictures...this series of three pictures just makes me smile. Hope it has the same effect on you!

Colstrip Days!

2010-07-04T18:07:00.001-07:00

A few pictures of Colstrip Days. We had a great time! The parade theme was "Christmas in July" and Western Energy's float won! You can't tell from the picture, but on the float Levi was on the "nice list" (I think he is nice!)The kids also liked the free inflatables and kids games (they got a quarter for every one they participated in--compliments of city of Colstrip!) I liked the Amish homemade donuts!

My hero

2010-06-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know I have a complete phobia of snakes. Bugs, spiders...I can handle those, but you put a snake in the picture and I kind of freak out. This morning I was out back watering my flowers, and Kes was with me when suddenly she screamed "Nake! Nake!" I turned around and sure enough, our cat had brought us a little "present" in a dead snake! (The cat has been doing this lately...bringing me little "gifts" and leaving them at the base of the stairs outside--I don't know what her thought process is...Hmmm, Riki seems a little down, I am sure this half eaten bird will cheer her right up!) Anyways...gross! And of course the snake was the kicker--dead or not, it still struck fear into my heart, and I scooped Kes up and ran into the house. Unfortunately, Levi is in Texas for the week, and I was NOT going to leave that thing decorating my patio for a week. So I was forced to...make Bridger take care of it. (For those of you think this was cowardly of me--which it was--Bridger likes snakes and had no problem compiling to my demands) I walked all the way around the house (to avoid going by it) and got him a shovel out of the shed. He didn't want my shovel, however, and picked the nasty slimy thing up with his BARE HANDS--that's right, his BARE HANDS! Lets go take that to the garbage (thank heavens Monday is garbage pick up day!) Wew! Disaster adverted--I can go outside this week! On my way back around to put the shovel away, I noticed our cat playing with something in my tall flowers--I leaned over to see yet another snake slithering around. I responded by dropping the shovel, screaming, and running for the house at a full on run (good thing no kids where in my path because they would have gotten leveled!) When I got inside Bridger informed me in a matter of fact voice that he would take care of it after Mouse (the cat) killed it! Sure enough two minutes later, Mouse deposited it at her shrine and Bridger went and threw yet another snake in the trash! As Bailey and Kes are as deeply afraid of snakes as I am, we all hailed the cat and Bridger as Heroes! Later, when I asked Bridger (who was making a snake patrol outside) to come in and clean his room, Bailey quickly spoke up on his behalf--"But mom, he is a Hero which means he can do whatever he wants! And I don't think he wants to clean his room. Sorry." The day progressed and I forgot about my traumatic snake morning. Some friends came over and we had a little play group-and we where having a great time chatting and the kids where playing-when I looked over to see Mouse pounce on something...that's right another snake! In his eagerness to be the "hero" again--Bridger picked it up and threw it away (mind you the garbage truck had already been to my house that day) before it was dead. I felt that I remained very calm on the exterior, but I was envisioning throwing something away only to have a snake slither out at me. So what does this mean? My garbage is going to overflow till the garbage truck comes again.

how we came to have a degu...

2010-06-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Relay for Life Rummage Sale (and you know me, I can't pass up a good yard sale). However, this one was a little unusual because they where selling a degu there (for those of you who don't know what that is, it looks like a hamster but with a tail--I actually think it is most closely related to the prairie dog). Of course my children fixated on that. After asking like ten times if they could have it and me saying no, I finally said (just to get them out of there) lets ask dad what he thinks. I don't know about you,but I get sick of being the "bad guy" so I like to spread it around a little bit. After we came home, I got busy getting ready for an Relief Society meeting and forgot about it...of course Bridger did not. He asked his dad and told him how much he wanted it. Might I remind you from previous blog that Bridger recently had his tonsils out and so he has been working that angle :) Anyways, Levi apparently didn't want to be the bad guy either because before I knew it he had loaded all the kids up and taken them down to see it...and ten dollars later, they where unloading it in the drive way. "What! Why didn't you say no!" was my response--to which he replied, "why didn't you?" Dang. He had me there. So the lesson I learned is, better just to be a bad guy or you might end up with another pet. The kids named him Max and he seems to be pretty tame. The cat wants to eat him, so that should be interesting!

tonsils...no more!

2010-06-16T05:29:00.000-07:00

Bridger had his tonsils and adenoids out on Monday. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few!This is the before picture...he had just been given a sediative that made him feel like a "drunken boy" he was giggling a lot!
The second picture is after surgery--he is trying to eat a popsicle. He didn't come out of anesthesia very well...but I guess that is pretty common.
The third is a picture of his tonsils the doctor took. (We opted for the picture rather than keeping them!) The Doctor said they were "big and bad" but you can judge for yourselves!

vacation Bible School

2010-06-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

The kids got invited to Vacation Bible School again and I thought, "heck yeah! A vacation for four days from bored and fighting kids (and we have only been out of school for a week!) So I signed up Bailey and Bridger. It has been an interesting experience. Bridger came home after the first day and said, "mom, I don't think we should go anymore because it isn't The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!" I assured him that we would still retain our membership in our church and this was just to learn some Bible stories. That seemed to pacify him (after all they do play games, eat snacks and make crafts--all things Bridger loves). The next night he came home and told me that they learned about John 6:29--and he asked to look it up and read it. We read it together and he was again confused because it sounded different than the one they read--so I explained that we used the King James Version and they probably have a different version of the Bible. Bridger has been reading his Book of Mormon nightly--the irony is that it took going to a Lutheran Bible school to interest him in that particular pursuit, but hey I will take it! For scripture study in the morning, the kids told us stories they had learned at school. Then Bailey was at a baseball game and she was talking to her friend and telling her, "ummm, our church is the true church! Sorry your church isn't true." So we had to have a discussion about how that isn't a nice thing to say to other people. But I guess her testimony was not shaken during VBS. :)

batterd' up!

2010-06-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

Last winter when Bridger asked me if he could do wrestling, I grimaced (envisioning me having to watch him twisted into a pretzel) and told him--sorry, it is just to violent--why don't you try baseball in the spring. However, Wednesday night's game gave me second thoughts about the "saftey" of baseball! First, when Bridger was batting, he got pelted on the finger. Now, for those of you who know Bridger know that he has the pain tolerance of a flea--but to his credit, he did not cry just took his base. Two minutes later, when the next kid actually hit the ball, Bridger was on his way to second...unfortunately, he got about two steps when the first base player accidentally tripped him. Also, unfortunately, Bridger was wearing shorts so he got his knees all bloodied up. The umpire deemed him "safe" on second even though he had been tagged out because he was tripped by the first baseman. Finally, to add insult to injury--Bridger got tagged out on his way to home plate. The evening went on fairly uneventfully after that until about ten minutes till the end of the game. Bridger and some of his friends where goofing off in the dug out when Bridger got sand thrown in his eyes. He of course did begin crying at that point because he couldn't see. As I loaded up Bridger into the van I looked at him. His knees where bloody, his finger bruised and swollen, his eyes blood-shot and full of tears--I thought...yep...much safer than wrestling...I think...

my reader's digest blog

2010-06-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

So I haven't written in my blog for about a month. Here is my reader's digest list of the happenings in our lives.
1. painted my upstairs living room and hallway.
2. Bridger started baseball
3. Bailey finished preschool and I made her a new blankie since her old one is so worn it is see through. (She now has two blankies as she won't give up her old one still)
4. Kes is potty trained! (I'm throwing a party to celebrate!) We started about half way through May and this is how it went. Day 1--ten accidents. No toilet use. Stopped when I ran out of clean underwear. Day 2--eight accidents. One toilet use! And so it went...I actually put her in underwear on Sunday but then chickened out and changed her to a pull up.
5. My mom and dad came to visit! I wish I had a picture to post here, but my camera battery was dead the entire weekend. We had a fabulous time! Thanks for making the trip mom and dad.
6. Put new flooring in my dinning room-will finish the hallway and living room and stairs in coming weekends. (will have camera up and working by then so I can take pictures of it.)

So there you have it. Just another day in paradise! I am making a new resolution to blog at least once a week from now on.

Anger management...

2010-05-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently I have angry children.

A few days ago...
"Mom, please rock me to sleep" says Bailey. I respond with "I'm already rocking Kes to sleep." She quips, "But mom! I am grumpier than Kes!" Good point.

At church we are doing a service tree in Primary and every time a kid does a good deed they get to put a leaf or a blossom on the tree. Bridger always wants to put a blossom on the tree but rarely does anything extra to serve others (as that would cut into his play time!)
Here is his attempt to get a leaf a few weeks ago.
"Ummmm.....my mom made me clean the downstairs." The nice other counselor was still trying to salvage it and make it service so she asked "how did you feel when you helped your mom clean?" to which he responded, "angry and bored."

Bridger was starting to cry about doing homework after school, so instead of getting mad at him I tried positive reinforcement...I said, "Bridger, your teacher said how mature you have been acting at school lately. How you don't let little things bother you. Don't you think you could try acting that way at home?" He responded with, "I don't want to act mature at home, I just want to be angry." Lucky me!

Snow, snow go away...come again...just not in May!

2010-05-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

I am so bitter! I was planning on planting a garden on Saturday. Unfortunately, we are getting dumped on with snow and it is 37 degrees outside. This is so wrong! It is May! Time for tulips and baseball--not time to shovel the sidewalk!

why I will never look at orange juice in the same way again

2010-05-03T16:17:00.001-07:00

Warning--this story is not for the weak of stomach--

A few days ago the kids and I had been inside (because it has been yucky and rainy outside) watching Man vs. Wild. For those of you who haven't seen this show, this guy gets dropped in different places around the world and has to survive without food or water on his own for about three days. It is a pretty interesting show. Anyways, we had been watching this when Bridger did something to offend Bailey and she called him a "meanie". Bridger was not happy at earning this name (he felt unduly) and went upstairs to pout. He came back about five minutes later with a cup of orange juice for Bailey. I thought, way to go Bridger, you are really proving her wrong with your kindness! (that should have been my first warning--Bridger rarely does that sort of thing without being asked). Anyways, he hands her the cup--meanwhile I am saying--"See how nice Bridger is, he brought you this glass of orange juice--you should say your sorry for calling him a meanie." Bailey took the glass and took a drink of it and said, "mom this tastes funny." I assumed that he had put lemon juice in it as a joke and so said, "here let me taste it." I took a big swallow...hmmmm...not lemony...warm...and it tastes kinda of watered down. I looked over at Bridger who was grinning from ear to ear...warning bells dinging louder in my head! "Bridger what did you put in this--if there is a harmful chemical I need to know." He responded with, "If I tell the truth I won't get in trouble, right?" (always an omission of guilt). And followed it up with, "there are no harmful chemicals in pee right?" Still it took my brain a minute to register that I had just swallowed a mouthful of pee. Bailey was actually quicker on the uptake than I was and began sobbing hysterically. I called in Levi for reinforcements--because all I could think was I just swallowed a mouthful of pee! Bridger of course started crying at this point too saying, "but I told the truth, why am I still in trouble"! Levi followed Bridger upstairs with the cup of offending punch. He told Bridger as his punishment he too would have to take a swallow of the pee cocktail. Bridger refused. Levi came back downstairs to confer with me about an appropriate punishment. We decided that he would clean his sister's room for a week. When Levi went back upstairs to deliver our verdict--Bridger began crying again and said now he would rather drink the juice than have to clean Bailey's room for a week. You might be asking yourself how he even got such an idea in his head--but we had just seen the guy do it on Man Vs. Wild. I can just imagine Bridger's thought process--"wow, I didn't know you can drink your own pee. That will be a good thing to try on Bailey." I was the innocent victim of his conspiracy. Lesson learned: never share a drink with your kids. Forget backwash--watch out for urine! Later that day I went upstairs and saw a nice tall glass of OJ I had poured for myself earlier that day...guess where it went? Right down the drain. Yes, I will never look at orange juice again in the same way!

Reflections on turning another year older...

2010-04-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

My birthday was yesterday and it was very nice. Thanks so much to all the well wishers and my family who made it a special day for me! I got lots of great stuff but my favorite was from my little six year old daughter who was so excited to give me a dandelion and a penny! Yes--I am blessed! It is okay to be another year older.

discipline of the cat...

2010-04-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

I overheard Bailey talking to our cat yesterday.
She said, "Look at me...look at my eyes! Now Mouse, I still love you, but you can not scratch me. That isn't okay. Please say your sorry. SAY YOUR SORRY!!!" Good luck getting that apology!

My identity crisis!

2010-04-18T13:48:00.001-07:00

It seems an unwritten rule in my life that when ever I judge something or make an absolute in my mind--that thing happens to me. For example, my sister's son sometimes calls her by her first name. She doesn't mind at all. I thought in my head, "Oh I do not like that--my kids better always call me mom." So of course, Kes has begun calling me Riki. I think it is because Wally, the little boy I watch, calls me that as do all of the neighborhood kids and Levi (on occasion will call me that too). So what do I hear from my two year old daughter? "Riki, I'm talkin to you!" or "Riki, I''m thirsty!" I've tried several strategies for correction. I say, "I'm not Riki, I'm momma." to which she replies, "No. Riki." Aaahhh. I've tried ignoring her until she calls me mom. This usually just causes her to say my name at a much louder decimal. I think we are making progress though...she only calls me Riki about 50 percent of the time. She is so different from Bailey who when she was three was asked what her mom and dad's names where and told them "mom, and dad." I work hard to earn that special title mom (i.e. kissing booboohs, giving hugs, making meals, struggling through homework and science fair projects, doing copeous loads of laundry, playing barbies and GI Joe) and dang it they are going to call me that! I will take mom, mommy, momma, madre, mother, and even momma seta--but dang it not Riki. I feel quite strongly about this as you can see. Mother's day is coming up and all I want is for my two year old to call me mom!

Easter enthusists!

2010-04-06T14:26:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely Easter! Conference watching, candy eating, egg hunting...all the things that make Easter wonderful. It obviously impressed Kes enough that she decided the toilet looked like a great big easter basket. I was grateful to find it before it got any "chocolate covered eggs" in it too! Speaking of eggs--I've eaten my weight in deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches--as Levi and I are the only ones who seem to like them. Although Bridger does like them better than tuna fish sandwiches which he claims make him seasick!

Dentist day...

2010-03-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Bailey and Bridger in to the dentist. Each one had to get a cavity filled. Bailey has really deep grooves in her baby moles (which is were the cavity occurred) and so they sealed her baby molars too. Bridger had a small piece chip out of his tooth that they were afraid a cavity would come so they just treated it like one and filled it. Bailey was feeling a great deal of anxiety about the whole thing and on the way over asked me if it was two oclock yet? I said yes it is. She said, "Oh I hate two oclock!" I inquired why and she replied,"because that is when I have to get my cavity filled." Makes sense. But when they called her name, she jumped up and ran back like she didn't have a care in the world--and came out delighted because she got to pick out three prizes. I was delighted too because the dentist told me he was only going to charge me for three teeth even though he sealed six and give me a discount on the three--because baby teeth aren't covered by insurance--I don't know why he did that--just because he is a good guy and likes our family--but hey, I will take it--I felt like I got to pick a prize too! Bridger was a little more subdued when he came out of the back (even though he got to pick out three prizes too). We he got out into the parking lot he looked at me very seriously and said, "Mom do I have a metal tooth now?" I replied "no." He let out a sigh of relief and said, "thats good! I was afraid of that they gave me a metal tooth." His fears revealed, he was able to concentrate on the three prizes he got too. Oh, while we are talking about things that people dread--I will post a little update on potty training. Yesterday, Kes brought me a her potty insert and told me she needed to go poop. I was reading and didn't want to stop to put her on the potty besides I thought to myself--yeah right, you have NEVER pooped in the potty. One minute later she pooped in her diaper. Dang! Chalk on up to my laziness!

Birthday mania...

2010-03-23T09:05:00.001-07:00

So last week we celebrated both Bridger and Bailey's birthdays!It was a busy fun week! Bailey had her first slumber party last Friday. It went very well--except Kes came down with the stomach flu in the middle of the night. Then Bailey got it the next day. When she opened her presents, she was excited but didn't have the energy to play with them till the next day. Then this last Friday, Bridger had a slumber party--it was a little more rambunctious! He had a good birthday too though! Here are some pictures of my 6 and 7 year olds (I am getting so old!)

St. Patty's Day--hoorah!

2010-03-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

So our St. Patrick's day highlights where as follows...
Bridger,"I think I better wear red and green--so that Taylor will kiss me!"

Bailey "little leprechauns will pinch you like this"--demonstrating on everyone--Kes screaming and running for her life as Bailey attempts to pinch her...this continues all day long!

all the kids, "Mom, you aren't wearing green! Here wear this!"(pulling out something from the bottom of the laundry hamper) No one will dear pinch me--because if the green doesn't warn them off, the smell definately will!

Bailey to Bridger "who is saint Patrick?" Bridger "A guy who lived a long time ago--and was really lucky." I'm glad she asked him and not me because I have no blooming idea!

Where did Bailey go?

2010-03-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

So we celebrated Bailey's birthday last weekend because Levi is gone all this week. I will post pictures of her birthday when Levi is home to help me (technical idiot--remember) Anyways, today it is so beautiful out nearly 70 degrees that I took her to the park after preschool to play. The main problem--no bathroom. So after about an hour, I had to go--so we had to go. Bailey was a little put out, wondering why I couldn't just go behind a tree as she had earlier. Anyways, her angry bubbled to the surface and she finally said, "mom, I hope you pee your pants." I responded with, "Bailey! That wasn't very nice. Where did my sweet Bailey go?" To which she replied without skipping a beat--"China. And she is not coming back anytime soon!"

Bailey's tumbling recital

2010-03-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

After unsuccessfully trying three times to download video of Bailey on the balance beam--I gave up. Here is a picture of her before her big performance instead.

Why moms are obsessed with pooh...

2010-03-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

As a teenager, my sisters and I used to tease my mom that she was obsessed with bowel movements. Today, I was startled by the thought that I am kind of fixated on pooh. Probably because I am in the process of potty training (but I will get to that later) I think all moms have pooh on the brain. Here is why. You bring this beautiful sweet baby home from the hospital only to discover that it poops every time it eats! You became alarmed at the sheer number of diapers you go through daily. And not only that, but the pooh does not stay neatly contained in the diaper--it squirts up the back and out down the legs. After a four months or so you may not have nearly as many diapers, but then they start smelling bad. As mothers, we endure this because we love our children. I remember before I had kids changing a cousin's child's diaper and gagging. Now I can wipe bums with the best of them! Finally, the stinky diapers get to be too much for you (or in Kes's case, she comes to me and tells me that she pooped and wants me to change her diaper) and you think, I can potty train this kid. This is undoubtedly the worst time of your collective lives together. Now I have heard of the "fabled" easy to potty train kid--but I have three kids and none of them have been easy to potty train. Pull ups are a novelty at first but my children have no problem doing their business in them just like a diaper. Nope. I have to just put on the undies and pray for strength! And then come the accidents. For some reason, my kids can pee pretty well, but struggle when it comes to number two. And that is when things really go south on you. You are trying to shimmy a full pair of underwear down the legs without smearing poop all over it and yourself. Swear words are flying around in your head--and maybe one or two accidentally tumbles out on your tongue. My sister just told me she read in a parenting magazine that the average child takes 4-6 months to be fully potty trained. I told her that was the worst news I had heard in a long time! So if you survive potty training you have to deal with streak marks! My daughter manages to avoid this, but Bridger just doesn't seem to care. I had to give him a lesson in proper wiping techniques! After all a mother goes through, it's really no wonder that when a child tells you he/she has a tummy ache, your automatic response is "do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Dinner Disaster!

2010-02-26T11:58:00.000-08:00

"Mom, did you put plastic in our soup?" asked Bailey last night. I had to answer yes. Let me back up. I bought a bag of fresh broccoli at Costco--such a great deal like 3 dollars for 3 lbs. But let me tell you, when you have had steamed broccoli for the fifth night in a row, you start to rethink how great that deal was. I know, I thought to myself, I will make cream of broccoli soup. It will be so nutritious and use up a lot of the bag. Pat myself on the back. I even got online and found a promising recipe that said, "gourmet cream of broccoli soup." Gourmet... bonus points for me! Anyways to make a long story short--I didn't know how to make vegetables sweat, so I skipped that step. After they cooked for awhile, you where supposed to put them in the blender and blend everything up. I did this. However, on the lid of our blender is a hard plastic center piece that is removable. This piece somehow sucked down into the blender! I turned it off immediately after I realized what had happened. Not before the bottom part of this had been chopped up into small bits. I didn't notice this crucial little fact and went about my business preparing dinner. I made home made rolls too (since I was sorta of on a Martha Stewart kick). Anyways, we all sit down and immediately the kids refuse to eat it. Levi says, "look its good" and demonstrates by taking a big bite. Next thing out of his mouth..."what is the hard stuff in the soup?" I respond (a little confused) "Well I guess it could be a patato or onion but I cooked them for like 20 minutes." He responds by saying..."NOooo...this seems more like a bone." Then I realize what has happened. I take a bite--sure enough--a delicious light blend of broccoli,onion, patatoe,cream and glass-like shards of hard plastic. We had delightful dinner of rolls! I suppose I should have felt bad about it (and Levi says I will if any of those plastic shards go through my intestinal track) but I kept giggling to myself as I did the dishes! So tonight for dinner....frozen pizza...minus my secret ingredient...hard plastic!

Not to air my dirty laundry but...

2010-02-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

So as anyone who reads my post knows, I do laundry on Mondays...all day long...The reason why I stick to this schedule rigidly is because I own only 8 pairs of garment tops (You do the math). Well, everything was going along swimmingly yesterday. I was on load number 4 when I spontaneously decided to throw in my throw pillows from the downstairs couch--as they had been used as a giant napkin--into the wash. When I went to get my laundry out the pillows had torn open. Grrrr. Throw out throw pillows. Then, as I was pulling out my laundry I noticed it was very wet and then there was about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. Weird. Continue on to load number 5. Unfortunately, at the end of that cycle, I opened the lid to find that it hadn't drained at all! Now some people would be excited at the excuse to get a new washing machine...I don't fall into that category. Despite the fact that it is the workhorse of the house, I have no desire to spend my hard earned money on something like that. I called Levi and told him I thought the washing machine was broken. Then I really began to think about the ramifications of a broken washing machine and having absolutely no place close by where I could get a new one. Laundry mat for a week. uugghhh. Doing laundry at a friends house, equally inconvenient. Wearing the same dirty pair of underwear for a week. Hmmmm....I might not smell too good, nor would our house having two weeks worth of dirty laundry accumulated in it. Levi told me he would look at it when he got home. I hung up and said a silent little prayer that my washer would be fixed so that I could wear clean underwear tomorrow. Well, after unloading the clothes and then hand dipping out all the water, it was ready to be looked at. (Just as a side note, prepare yourself if you ever move an appliance for grossness underneath it). Levi took the machine apart and found that the pump was clogged with pillow fluff. He said, "you owe me for 2 hours of my life spent fixing that darn thing" I thought to myself, "well how many hours of my life have I spent using that darn thing..." Then he said, never ever wash a throw pillow again. I also thought to myself, "yeah, because it was really fun for me to wring out a load of soaking wet laundry and bail out 50 gallons of water!" Sorry still bitter. I really am glad he was able to fix it (for the above mentioned reasons). This story has sort of a happy ending. Well, I did not get my white load done, as it was about 9:30 when Levi finished with his repair job. This morning I was looking through my drawer hoping against hope to find a clean top and I did! It was a cotton one I had bought shortly after we got married. It was pit stained and had seen me through two pregnancies...but hey it was clean!

The meaning of love...

2010-02-14T16:08:00.001-08:00

What does love mean?

I wub you!--Kessie-doodle age 2

It means you give someone kisses and hugs!--Bailey age 5

It means someone is special to you. Like if I was in love with a girl she would be my girlfriend! --Bridger age 6

Sending out our love to everyone! (Since I wasn't on the ball enough to get valentines sent out!)

Sick kids and the school nurse...

2010-02-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Our family has been fighting head colds the last couple weeks (except Kes who has had a cold for a month--and I finally took her in and she had and ear infection and bronchitis--and I thought she was just cranky because the binky was gone). Anyways, Bridger stayed home from school on Wednesday because he wasn't feeling well. This lasted till about 11--when he forgot he was "sick" and started running around playing with Bailey. I do have a rule that if he stays home sick--he has to lay down and take a nap after lunch. He did comply with this. But thirty minutes later he was downstairs asking if he could play computer games. Oh bless his heart! Anyways, I sent him to school the next day and not even a half hour after school started I got a call from the nurse (I think she must have our number on speed dial). Bridger is complaining of a sore throat and we have had strep going around. I told her, I looked at his throat he is fine. I am sure she thought I was a little calloused. But you see Bridger is never one to pass on any opportunity to come home sick--that combined with the fact that he has the pain tolerance of a flea--means he is in the nurses office a lot. For example, Bridger was at school four days this week...I got three calls from the nurse's office. This morning (because Valentines day party is today) he bounced out of bed with (its a miracle) no sore throat! However, before 9 I got a call saying, "this is the nurse, Bridger got hit in the head with a ball, and has a bit of a goose egg and headache." My reply, "he is fine. Give him a tylenol and send him back to class." Does this make me a bad mother? Maybe. I think I can live with it.

Hunting season is over...and the deer know it!

2010-02-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

The deer are taking over the yard again. Bridger wanted me to take a picture. This is in our front yard!

2010-02-09T10:38:00.001-08:00

Science fair...fun???

2010-02-09T10:24:00.001-08:00

Bridger did the science fair again this year. After doing it last year I swore I would never let him do it again. This year was a repeat. Here is why I hate science fair. 1. After the "experiment" part is over, it is like pulling teeth to get him to do the rest. It took us five hours to get his board done. 2. I have to write an abstract for the dang thing. Do you know how long it would take Bridger to type a 250 word paper? I'm talking days....so I end up doing it via dictation. So his paper sounded something like this..."Hypothesis: Well, at first I thought that the rag would get wet in the water, but then I thought more about it and decided it wouldn't." Very scientific! 3. When we arrive at school and put up his project which has clearly been done by a six year old I look around at some of the other projects which have clearly been done by their parents--so that is just my little pet peeve.
Now the for the reason why I love it (refer to the above picture). How can you say no to anything that makes a kid that happy? Its a good thing it only comes around once a year though...its like childbirth...I have to forget how painful it was last time so that I am willing to do it again.

The binkie has got to go! Day 2 without the plug! Ugghh!

2010-02-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

Kes turned two in December. She still has a Binky (which I am totally fine with). The only resolution I made when she turned two was that I wouldn't buy any more binkies. I have stuck with my resolve. However, a few days ago, we lost every single binky Kes owns. Panic! Desperate searching! Thinking about praying about it. Decide, no. It is just going to happen again. Be strong, I tell my self--you can do it. I don't go to the store. I discovered that Kes actually doesn't need a binkie to go to sleep. It was after the nap that she needs it! Now most kids wake up cheerful and ready to go play again. Not so with Kes. She always wakes up grumpy! Not just in the morning but also after nap. Now what she used to do was sit on my lap with a binky for about twenty minutes and then she was ready to face the day again. Now she just wakes up and screams and has one temper tantrum after another because I am not producing a binky for her. So now we are on day two with out a binkie. Will my resolve crumble under the pressure of unrelenting tears? I don't think so. I will be strong. I will move on. I will purchase....earplugs!

Dresses on a Wednesday?

2010-02-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

Kes is really into wearing dresses! She picks one out every day to wear. I am loving it as Bailey is such a tom boy (she hates wearing dresses--especially if they are frilly). But there was this one day when they were both wearing dresses in the middle of the week--so I decided I better capture it for posterity! But before I could get the camera out, Bailey put one of Bridger's ties on. I asked her why she did it and she replied because she was a manager! I don't know where she got that one! I also threw in a picture of Bridger just for fun.

A tip about locked doors....

2010-02-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

I watch a little boy named Wally. His is 2 and a half. Kes loves to play with him! Yesterday they got into a little adventure together! Now all of our upstairs doors lock but they are very easy to unlock. The downstairs doors are older and a very different story. Yesterday, Wally and Kes were downstairs watching Thomas (which they are usually glued to) I was upstairs helping Bridger with his valentines--he is making homemade ones this year--teacher mandated-I would never do that by my own choice...I'm way to lazy! Anyways, my mom calls and I'm talking to her. Things are going along swimmingly. Then I run downstairs to check on Kes and Wally. They have totally abandoned their posts on the couch and gone into our spare bedroom/office locking the door behind them. Kes is knocking on the door saying, "momma, let me out!" Wally had locked the door (I know it was him because I've seen him do it upstairs) and then couldn't figure out how to unlock the cursed thing. He was happy as a lamb playing and would only come over and jiggle the door knob when I said, "wally, come unlock the door!" Kes on the other had realized the nature of the situation and dissolved into hysterical crying. I am desperately trying to find something small enough with a flat end to fit into the hole and be able to turn it. The only thing I can find that will even fit into the lock is a nail and it is pointed on the end. I am at this point feeling slightly like how Kes feels. Fortuitously, my neighbor came over for something. She said, oh yeah the same thing happened to me when my daughter was two. Just take off the door knob. Light goes on in the head! Thank you! I can't believe I didn't think of that myself! The door knob came off very easily (just had to remove two screws) and they where free five minutes later. Kes rushed into my arms (never desiring to be put down again). Wally on the other hand, didn't even come out of the room--that is how serious he thought the situation was. Something tells me he has locked himself in rooms before. So there is my piece of advice. If your kid is locked in think door knob not lock!

Update on the car theft...

2010-02-01T06:03:00.000-08:00

So here is the rest of the story. I guess after the called and reported the car stolen, a cop down in Ashland (a town on the reservation about 50 miles from here)found it about 10 minutes later. Apparently, she had taken it to go visit some relatives. So the car and the lady's wallet (which apparently also was taken) was returned with out any damage. The woman was taken to the Colstrip jail (that is right we have two tiny jail cells--I know because Bridger and I took a "fieldtrip" to it last year with all the other kindergartners. Apparently, her family was very happy to find out that she had stolen a car because it meant she would qualify to go to a drug treatment facility. A few weeks ago, a TV was stolen from our library. Everyone is wondering if she was behind that too. Who knows. But hey, I live in Colstrip population 2500. Two hours from the nearest city. I'll take any excitement I can get!

What a day to miss church!

2010-01-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we stayed home from church today because Kes is sick. I thought nothing of it until Levi (who had gone to church) called me to say he wouldn't be home for awhile. I thought nothing of it...Levi often is an hour or two later getting home than us because he has to help with tithing. Then he told me the most amazing story! The missionaries have been bringing an investigator to church for a few months. She is from Lame Deer (the Indian reservation 25 miles south of our town). Anyways,this investigator, Crystal sometimes brings her niece and nephew to church with her. They are a little wild but have been doing better and everyone thinks Crystal is great. Anyways, today during third hour, Crystal rummaged through coats hanging in the hall until she found car keys. She stole someones car! She took off and left her niece and nephew at the church! After church, everyone was looking for Crystal and then Sister Nash came in and said both her keys and car where gone! Wild! Levi had to give a statement to the police (as did her niece and nephew who testified that they saw her take the keys out of the coat pocket before church started) When he called me, I was quiet disappointed that I had missed all the excitement. He told me he was glad I had stayed home as our van was not that had been stolen. I told him he really didn't need to worry because I put my keys in my diaper bag and they are really really hard to find. In speak from experience...sometimes it takes me 15 minutes to find my keys--but at least now I know they are really much safer that way! Could I market a really messy diaper bag as an anti theft device?

Kes can sleep anywhere!

2010-01-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

Another one bites the dust!

2010-01-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

So two nights ago, our dang cat (I think it was trying to get revenge from us spaying it) pushed Bridger's fish tank off the book case somehow (as well as his rock collection which was also in a glass bowl). I guess we must have been tired as we all slept through it. At 2:30 in the morning Bridger called for me asking me to get him a drink of water. I wasn't completely awake as I walked into his room and handed him the water. But even in my delirium I thought, Hmmmm....something seems wrong here...there is glass and rocks and what's that smell...fish water...? As I came to my senses a little more I saw Bridger's fish named Bite laying on the floor dead. Now I wasn't completely sensible because I announced to Bridger that his fish was dead. He responded by sobbing uncontrollably. I was thinking, "good grief. It is just a fish. And I was the one who fed it and kept the tank clean." Of course none of that matters at three in the morning. I finally got Bridger to settle down by promising that I would talk to dad about a replacement fish in the morning. I personally am trying to get out of it...I think fish are the dumbest pets ever! You can't play with them or even touch them...all you do is feed them and clean up after them. I should have been overjoyed that Bite finally bit the dust--but as I got into bed my mind was reverberating between two thoughts...what a huge mess awaited me come morning and how on earth did I sleep through that crash...someone could have broken a window and got into our home and I wouldn't have heard it...neither thought was too conducive to sleep. But fall asleep I did. That pretty much set a theme for the day (water messes). Bridger spilled water all over himself right before he was supposed to leave for the bus--making him miss the bus. I don't care to dwell on the negative but it was not a great day. At about five, Kes said she needed to go potty. I bent over to flush the toilet(as it was full of pee pee) and my keys fell into the toilet and disappeared! Aaahh! My only set of keys for the van--as to make a duplicate costs $100. Not to mention what it would do to our septic system! So without delay I threw my arm down into the pee pee toilet as far as it would go and caught the very edge of my keys as they were about to disappear forever. A fitting end to the day I thought to myself as I changed my urine soaked shirt. Some days are like that...even in Australia!

Serenity Now!

2010-01-26T12:00:00.001-08:00

While I was in yoga class we were doing our final meditation and breathing when our instructor tried something new. She had us cover our right nostril and so we could only breath out of our left. She "claimed" research had been done stating breathing out of only your left nostril has a calming effect. I started to chuckle to myself thinking of the situations where I could suddenly plug my right nostril. If the kids are driving me crazy I'll just walk around with a piece of cotton stuck up my nose. What about at church? Okay--there is five minutes until primary and you won't be able to do sharing time after all--enter finger into nose. Maybe I should just use a piece of cotton at church too as it is kind of stress full after all. When people would ask me, do you have a bloody nose, I would serenely reply, "No just staying calm." Or how about we were supposed to be somewhere five minutes ago, Kes is screaming, and Bridger can't find his shoes, and Bailey is pouting that her polly pocket can't come with her. I would just take a deep breath and say, "Now lets all just take a minute and stick our finger up our nose and I am sure we will all feel better."

Interesting compliment

2010-01-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

So today at church Levi's cousin told me "I like your dress--You look very lanky." Is that a compliment? I laughed and told her thanks. Since Bailey told me that I looked pregnant in the dress--maybe lanky evens out pregnant. Other mixed compliments I remember receiving through my life. "I like your lipstick...it looks like you had a collagen injection." Here is another good one. " Who cuts your hair?" I tell her. "My stylist told me when I moved here just to ask someone (who I like their haircut) who cuts there hair. The problem is I don't like anybodies hair in Colstrip." I was left thinking was that a compliment or a slight? But as the wise Jane Austin once said, "What is life for [...]but to laugh at our neighbors in our turn."

Meltdown update

2010-01-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Week 2--Lost one pound. Celebrated by coming home and having a piece of peanut butter pie...well it was a small piece...kind of.

A rough day for the cat...

2010-01-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

So today we took the cat in to get her shots and get her spayed. The poor thing had a tough day. It started out by not being able to eat breakfast (as it was going under anesthetic later on). Then I made the mistake of telling the kids we where taking the cat to get shots today. The "loved" the cat up all morning--which is a nice way of saying they mauled and mooched the poor thing. Then as we were driving over this morning--the poor, frightened cat (who had never been in a car before) was sitting on Bailey's lap when we started to move. It freaked out and claws came out. Poor Bailey got one in the leg. She retaliated by "spanking" mouse and dropping her to the ground. The cat climbed under the seat and mewed the entire 30 minuted drive there. Not pleasant. When we went to pick it up--it was completely delirious from the drugs. After a few instructions--they sent us home. Fortunately,she was so out of it, she didn't move or make a sound on the way home. To add insult to injury, her entire under belly is now bald. When we got home I said we need to be gentle with the kitty because of the drugs she had she won't land on her feet if she jumps from high up (according to the vet). Bridger confirmed this a few minutes later by walking in and informing me, "Yeah, the vets right. I accidentally dropped her and she landed on her side not on her feet." Our poor kitty. Hope it survives us.

Mr. Smarty pants...

2010-01-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

My sister, Kodie wrote some funny things her boys said. It must run in the family. Right after dinner, Bridger came to show me his finger. He had put a toy spatula which had a small hole on the end on his finger like a ring. Unfortunately, Bridger has meaty hands and sausage fingers. So the finger has swollen and turned a deep purple. I have to give myself credit for not totally panicking and reacting to that panic by laughing hysterically. I calmly poured a cup of oil on his finger and pulled with all my might. After about 30 seconds where I thought, crap--now I have to go to the emergency room--it finally pulled off. I am sure it didn't feel good--but to Bridger's credit he didn't cry. About five minutes later, I remembered that he still had his spelling words to do. I said to him, "Bridger time to do your homework." To which he replied with only the complete sincerity only Bridger can muster--"but mom, you wouldn't do that to a boy with a purple finger, would you?" He didn't have to do his spelling words.

A good memory...bedtime giggles

2010-01-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

Bridger has been reading me a book every night as part of our bedtime routine so that he can get his book it filled. Anyways, last night he was reading Green Eggs and Ham by Doctor Suess. It was a rare time when it was just him and I because the girls where already asleep. I am sure all of you are familiar with the book. So if you have this book, pull it out and look at the illustrations. In some of the drawings, Dr. Suess draws a bum crack on his characters. A fact that Bridger pointed out to me by pointing to it, then covering his mouth with his hand and giggling behind it. Maybe it was sleep deprivation or just that I was in a silly mood--but I started giggling too (I do have to say in my defense--more at Bridger's reaction than the bum crack). And before I knew it we where both laughing hysterically! One would get composure and then the other one of us would start laughing again and it would start all over. We must have laughed like this for fifteen minutes. Tears where running down both of our faces and I couldn't breathe and my sides ached--but it was so much fun! Bridger and I both have the same good belly laugh when we get laughing really hard. All day today it has just made me smile every time I thought about it. A silly, simple memory I know...but often those are the best ones!

Laundry day and lists...

2010-01-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

I don't know if anyone else is like me...but I kinda of take the weekend off in terms of housework. So, I always have a very messy house on Monday. Also, because I HATE doing laundry I try to do it only once a week. (Which of course means I am doing laundry from dawn to dusk--and it often spills over to Tuesday...sometimes Wednesday) I also often have to run errands on Monday too. It makes for a very busy day. So what is the point of this rambling about the domestic disaster I face every Monday. It brings me to my slight OCD thing I do. I make lists for everything. But especially "TO Do" lists. My planner is always filled. I just take so much satisfaction in crossing things off of the list. I admit that sometimes I add things I have already done so that I can cross them off my list. It just feels so good--you list makers out there know what I mean. I should add, that while I am a list maker, I rarely get through my lists by the end of the day. You see not everything on a list is created equal...clean the house takes five hours to do. However, take the garbage to the curb only takes five minutes. So you can see why when I have lots of time consuming items on my lists, I will quickly write something like, "brush teeth" or "make bed" done! Yes! So yesterday I did get pretty close to everything done--more than 60% and that is a good day--one worth writing about for me! (And I didn't even add "brush teeth!")

Things that made me laugh today...

2010-01-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Bailey (after looking at my legs) "Mom, the hairs on your legs are a weapon that could poke peoples!"

Bailey crying comes to me and says, "Mom, Bridger called me hideous!" Mom laughs. Bailey cries harder. Mom-"Bridger, do you even know what hideous means?" Bridger--"Sure. It means your full of hidey."

Meltdown update

2010-01-14T14:02:00.000-08:00

So it is now week two of meltdown...and even after the 4 cookie day (that's right, I ate another cookie after I wrote the blog) day I still lost three pounds and went down 1 % body fat! Admittedly, on pound at least had to be water weight as I exercised for two hours on about 5 swallows of water! I also (as part of the meltdown) had to have a fitness assessment. It was actually not as horrible as I thought it was going to be. I got my measurements, had a cardio test, strength test, and a flexibility test. Turns out I have low blood pressure whatever that means, but according to my cardio recovery time,turns out my heart is in excellent shape! Also, I have to brag about this...I have above average flexibility! Now if I could harness my powers...maybe I have a future as an acrobat!

I love my family

2010-01-14T13:32:00.001-08:00

So for Christmas, we got to go to Emmett to see my family. Everyone was there. We had a great time. Lots of good food, family fun, visiting,laughing and hugging...and a fight or two thrown in just to make things interesting...the recipe to a perfect family reunion.

Bridger Bean!

2010-01-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Bridger decided to try out for the Missoula Children's theater play (it comes to town twice a year)this time it was Jack and the Beanstalk. I was a little bit worried because about half the kids get cut--but anyone who knows Bridger knows he has a flare for the dramatic! He made the part of a Mexican Jumping Bean. He practiced all week and the play was on Saturday. He did great. The cutest bean out there! (In my biased opinion).

BAILEY LOST HER 2ND TOOTH!

2010-01-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

A poopy bath experience

2010-01-11T15:29:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night while I was bathing the kids, Bailey pooped in the bath tub. Now, I've come to expect this with Kes but definately not Bailey (who is now almost 6). When I (in my exasperation and fury) asked why on earth she did that--her reply was simple--well, I would be cold if I got out of the bath. To which in my exasperation I exclaimed, "well you had to get out of the bath anyways as soon as you pooped in it!" She pondered that. But my fury was not over. I coldly told her,"Bailey do you know what people do to their pet dogs when they don't want them to poop somewhere--they rub their noses in the poop. That is what I am going to do to you if you ever poop in the tub again!" Both she and Bridger gasped and then Bridger jumped to her defense. "mom, if you do that you won't go live with Jesus and Heavenly Father after you die--you will go live with Satan in (dramatic pause) Hell...." To which I calmly replied, "well Bailey better not poop in the tub again or she will have a mom in Hell!" Bridger, realizing the threat was not enough to sway me, upped the ante. "Alright mom, if you don't repent right now--i'm going to write a letter to Santa and there will be no presents for you next year!

Book diets

2010-01-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got my house clean--so I thought to myself...hmmm...I have lots of thank you notes to write, play with my children, or I should work on my sharing time that I have to do on Sunday. Guess what I actually did? I read a book for two hours. Admittedly, it was a very good book. A tree grows in Brooklyn. But then as I looked at my children whom I had ignored for the last few hours and at my stack of unwritten cards and the guilt started to settle on me. Time for another book diet. Let me explain. I love reading. It is my absolute favorite past time. Unfortunately, when I get a really good book--I do very little else except read. Laundry piles up, the house is a mess--you get the idea. In fact, the week I read the Twilight series (which admittedly, was not so great from a literary perspective--sorry Twilight fans--but a very good page turner) was possibly the worst things got. My wonderful husband actually told me--I can't wait until you are done with those books! :) I've tried moderating myself...I can read a chapter after I finish cleaning the bathroom for example. Unfortunately, one chapter turns into two then three. Therefore, I put myself on book diets--getting only books that are easy to put down (like self help books--yawn!) and only allowing myself the luxury of a good juicy novel every so often. Hence the name book diet. Of course anyone who knows me knows that I am a terrible dieter. I am doing a meltdown this year (trying to loose 10lbs) after I weighed myself and found that I had gained 6 lbs over the holidays (I call it my christmas cheer and I carry it mostly in the midsection--like santa...) . Part of this meltdown is rigorous exercise (which I like) the other half is keeping a food journal that keeps track of caloric intake and fat (which I don't like ). However, I was very good....for three days. Then the siren call of sugar hit hard. I remembered my mom gave me a cookie mix at Christmas-bingo! I made it and ate some cookie dough and three cookies. There. I've confessed. I just can't bring myself to write it in my food journal. Maybe I should add the fact that while I was eating the cookies I was reading my book for two hours too!

Post holiday cleaning

2010-01-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

I got home from vacation and immediately had a huge mess. Not only did I have all the unpacking and dirty laundry to deal with but also all the Christmas stuff to put away. (I wonder why when it is so much fun to get Christmas stuff out--it is such drudgery putting it back away.) Here is how my week has gone so far.
Monday. Exercised.Laundry started. Some unpacking done. Ran errands. Can't see the floor. Husband puts new vacuum together(old one died before Christmas) trying to entice me to use it. No clean floor to use it on.
Tuesday. Exercised.Folding all the wrinkled laundry that has been sitting in baskets for a day now. Kitchen clean! Still haven't used vacuum. Went to story time and tumbling. Explained to husband that if I had been home, the house would be clean. On the upside, so much junk in our room that Kes is too scared to come join us in the middle of the night in our bed.
Wednesday. Exercised. Husband came home for lunch. I told him that I was definitely going to clean the house this afternoon. He smiled and didn't say a thing, but in his smile I the "you are full of it but I love you to much to say anything." What I read into his smile made me feel motivated. Got my whole upstairs cleaned! Used the vacuum! Cleaned all three (thats right...not one..not two..but three) bathrooms. Still need to tidy a little downstairs, but vast improvement!
*For those of you who are reading this and thinking--my goodness, what does she do all day--why can't she get her house clean--let me tell you something. I could clean my house in an hour if I didn't have kids! Have you ever tried doing a job while being interrupted every few minutes? About every two minutes I hear "mom!mom!mom!mommmmmm!!" this sentence could be finished with any of the following "could you get...." or "She hit me!" or "I need a bandaid." So when I am not being the maid, the cook, the referee or the nurse--I try to get some cleaning in. But I am outnumbered! The fact is that while just the one of you is cleaning three of them are making messes! I've decided to make something my mom told me my personal motto about my house--"clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy!"

Yes, I've become a blogger!

2010-01-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

I have finally decided to do a blog. I confess it was not to keep in touch, or because people have asked me to. No. It was because I watched the movie Julia and Julie. Did it make me want to cook great french food? No. I'm not that ambitious (although it did make me want to eat that kind of food). It just made me want to blog. So for those of you who may decide to follow this blog, here is my disclaimer--Nothing fancy(lets call a spade a spade, I'm a technical idiot, it will be a miracle if I can figure out how to post pictures) just me rambling about my day to day life.