Saturday, April 24, 2010
Bjorning with Greta
I couldn't resist posting more pictures of Greta in the Baby Bjorn. Poor kid is in the carrier at least a couple of hours each day. She enjoys it though and squeals in delight when in it. It's hard to take her picture while I'm wearing her so I just smush the camera up in her face and snap away, some turn out, some don't. Fun times.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Scribbles in Soap
The nightly shower. It's the only time in a day that I'm guaranteed not to have a baby stuck to me or a whining two year old hanging off of my leg. It's my relaxing alone time. It's also the time when I do my best thinking and planning. My shower is a single enclosed stall with a glass door. Now I don't know if this is common knowledge or not but you can take a bar of soap and write on glass with it like a pencil. It works great. So when I'm in the shower I often (like nightly) take my bar of soap and do all sorts of planning on my shower door. I do mundane things such as writing out my shopping lists and estimating my checkbook balance. At one point I did things like deciding baby names, writing them out in full to see how they looked. I believe Greta's name was thought up in the shower. I'm currently in the process of designing my chicken coop on that glass door. Every night I get in there and add a little more. Just give it a little wipe with my wet finger and, poof, it's erased. I often wonder if other people do this strange nightly ritual in the shower?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Month Seven
Another month has come and gone. They are going so fast these days. Miss Greta is seven months old today and we just can't imagine her not in our lives. She's such a blessing.
-Greta's sleeping habits are still going good. She sleeps through the night about 50% of the time, otherwise she get gets up around midnight but goes right back to sleep with a little nursing. I love that she and Wesley both sleep in every day until 9:30 or 10, it makes my life a little easier being able to accomplish tasks in the morning.
-Over this past month she's stopped taking her nap in my arms and started napping in her swing every day. It's kind of sad to say goodbye to that tradition since it was a nice mandatory afternoon break for me as well. It is nice to have some free time for at least an hour every day. Life is slowly returning to normal as the months go by.
-Greta is interacting with Wesley now more than ever. She loves to watch that little boy and will always crane her neck trying to find him. He loves to make her laugh, and he is one of the few reliable ways to get her to laugh these days.
-Her love of solid food is starting to show more and more. Where as last month she would humor me and eat her cereal, now she actually seems to enjoy it. She gets a fruit like applesauce or pears in the morning with oatmeal mixed in and at dinner time she has sweet potato, pumpkin, squash or carrots with rice cereal mixed in. It's nice to have her sit with us for meal time and be together as a family.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Dirty Work
There's something icky going around. I believe it to be a stomach bug and it's taken its toll on our household. I got sick Sunday afternoon and was feeling better Monday morning and then Sean came down with it Monday afternoon. He's feeling better tonight so it seems to be only a 24 hour bug, thankfully. I'm just waiting for it to hit the kids. I sure hope it doesn't.
Before Sean and I got sick this weekend we got quite a bit accomplished. I worked on the garden pretty much all day Saturday (of course when I wasn't on baby duty). I hauled about 2000 pounds worth of composted horse manure out to the garden which wasn't very easy. We've talked about buying a garden trailer for the tractor but just don't want to shell out the money for something we aren't sure we'd get much use out of. Turns out it would have come in handy for this task. I ended up using our garden cart (four wheeled pull cart) with an empty Rubbermaid stock tank on top of it. I think each load was around 500 pounds. I certainly got my workout pulling that thing around. Wesley, of course, had a ball riding on top of the full cart of manure. He would sit up there with a big smile on his face while holding my shovel as I pulled it over to the garden. I got two rows planted with things that can generally hold up to a little frost: broccoli, carrots, onions and some flowers. I'm holding out on planting the rest until the first week on May, which will be corn, beans, zucchini, squash and tomatoes. I thought it might be neat to watch the garden grow, so here is week one (pretty much just dirt, the orange flags represent rows):
I've been wanting to redo the front of the horse corral for awhile now and we started it this weekend. When the pool was removed, the deck around it was also taken out. That left us with a whole ton of pressure treated lumber. Two hundred 2X6 boards to be exact. Not knowing what to do with all this wood Sean stacked it up for later use (or maybe to give away on Craigslist?). I knew uses would eventually come up and so the horse fence is now being revamped with it. It will look great when it's finished. And now we can forever remove the unsightly welded wire fence and just leave a slatted board fence.
The happy kissing inhabitants of the corral
Wesley ran around entertaining himself the whole time we were working outside. He's hit an age when we all go outside and do our own thing. He still needs supervision but he's happy to be involved in his own exploring. Mostly this exploring involves getting into anything and everything in the shop (much to Sean's dismay). This involves collecting every tool he can get his hands on. If Sean had a hard time finding his tools before, well now it's pretty much hopeless. Wesley has also taken to collecting screws and bolts found throughout the shop. He hoards them and will place them in little piles. For instance, this pile was found on the seat of his wagon.
He really has fun playing with Dad in the shop.
I hope everyone is having a nice, sick-free week!
Before Sean and I got sick this weekend we got quite a bit accomplished. I worked on the garden pretty much all day Saturday (of course when I wasn't on baby duty). I hauled about 2000 pounds worth of composted horse manure out to the garden which wasn't very easy. We've talked about buying a garden trailer for the tractor but just don't want to shell out the money for something we aren't sure we'd get much use out of. Turns out it would have come in handy for this task. I ended up using our garden cart (four wheeled pull cart) with an empty Rubbermaid stock tank on top of it. I think each load was around 500 pounds. I certainly got my workout pulling that thing around. Wesley, of course, had a ball riding on top of the full cart of manure. He would sit up there with a big smile on his face while holding my shovel as I pulled it over to the garden. I got two rows planted with things that can generally hold up to a little frost: broccoli, carrots, onions and some flowers. I'm holding out on planting the rest until the first week on May, which will be corn, beans, zucchini, squash and tomatoes. I thought it might be neat to watch the garden grow, so here is week one (pretty much just dirt, the orange flags represent rows):
I've been wanting to redo the front of the horse corral for awhile now and we started it this weekend. When the pool was removed, the deck around it was also taken out. That left us with a whole ton of pressure treated lumber. Two hundred 2X6 boards to be exact. Not knowing what to do with all this wood Sean stacked it up for later use (or maybe to give away on Craigslist?). I knew uses would eventually come up and so the horse fence is now being revamped with it. It will look great when it's finished. And now we can forever remove the unsightly welded wire fence and just leave a slatted board fence.
Wesley ran around entertaining himself the whole time we were working outside. He's hit an age when we all go outside and do our own thing. He still needs supervision but he's happy to be involved in his own exploring. Mostly this exploring involves getting into anything and everything in the shop (much to Sean's dismay). This involves collecting every tool he can get his hands on. If Sean had a hard time finding his tools before, well now it's pretty much hopeless. Wesley has also taken to collecting screws and bolts found throughout the shop. He hoards them and will place them in little piles. For instance, this pile was found on the seat of his wagon.
I hope everyone is having a nice, sick-free week!
Friday, April 16, 2010
A Walk in the Wide Wide World
The kids and I took a walk today. Nice weather plus an almost three year old little boy (with boundless amounts of energy) equals a lot of time outside. In fact, we spend most of the day outside exploring. I strap Greta into the BabyBjorn, grab the camera and off we go.
Today I couldn't walk past the wisteria without taking a few photos. Three years ago I found two little pitiful wisteria vines on clearance at Wal-Mart so I took pity on them and brought them home. We have a rather ugly little chain link fence that was erected to keep the dogs away from the bay window on the house. The dogs had a fun trick that involved jumping up on the glass and scratching when they wanted inside. The chain link fence was nothing to look at so I planted these two little vines with the hopes of them covering it. For three years they grew and grew, with only maybe three or four blossoms a year. Never enough to even take notice. Well something happened this year. I have no idea what but there has to be 85 blossoms on these vines. Giant, bundles of flowers in purple and white draped along the fence. It's just the most beautiful thing ever. And the fragrance! Oh it smells heavenly. I'll find myself just standing out there immersed in the scent. It makes me what to go buy 10 more plants to place all over the property.
Before Greta came along, Wesley was my main photography subject. He never complained, he just let me shoot oodles and oodles of pictures. Well, he's decided enough is enough and this is usually the only side of him I can photograph anymore.
Oh well, I'll take what I can get. He is very helpful though (as long as the camera is turned off). I've been in a buying spree lately, getting Greta summer clothes off of eBay. I was in Target last week with my Mom looking at little girl clothes and was just about to buy some cute little summer rompers for $10 each when I thought about how many pieces of clothing I could buy off of eBay instead. So for $20 I got several darling dresses, a couple of rompers, some onesies and a couple of short sets. Most of them brand new with tags. They've been filtering into our mailbox over the past few days and Wesley thoroughly enjoys traveling up there and carrying them back to the house where he promptly rips them open and flings the contents across the living room.
Very helpful indeed. While we were at the mailbox he spotted this thing pull into the field across the street.
He was captivated with it and we stood there watching it until it had driven out of sight. What is it about boys and machinery?
From there we wandered over to the redbuds. I mentioned to my Mother that the row of redbud trees were blooming and she had no idea what I was talking about. Between our neighbors property and our own is a long row of mature redbuds. There's probably 30 of them and every spring they erupt into this long hedge of pink flowers. It lasts for about two weeks (if we're lucky) and then it's over. Apparently my Mom hasn't been over in that little span of time to see how pretty they are, so here is a picture Mom.
That was our adventure today. Pretty much a snap shot of our daily lives.
Today I couldn't walk past the wisteria without taking a few photos. Three years ago I found two little pitiful wisteria vines on clearance at Wal-Mart so I took pity on them and brought them home. We have a rather ugly little chain link fence that was erected to keep the dogs away from the bay window on the house. The dogs had a fun trick that involved jumping up on the glass and scratching when they wanted inside. The chain link fence was nothing to look at so I planted these two little vines with the hopes of them covering it. For three years they grew and grew, with only maybe three or four blossoms a year. Never enough to even take notice. Well something happened this year. I have no idea what but there has to be 85 blossoms on these vines. Giant, bundles of flowers in purple and white draped along the fence. It's just the most beautiful thing ever. And the fragrance! Oh it smells heavenly. I'll find myself just standing out there immersed in the scent. It makes me what to go buy 10 more plants to place all over the property.
Before Greta came along, Wesley was my main photography subject. He never complained, he just let me shoot oodles and oodles of pictures. Well, he's decided enough is enough and this is usually the only side of him I can photograph anymore.
Oh well, I'll take what I can get. He is very helpful though (as long as the camera is turned off). I've been in a buying spree lately, getting Greta summer clothes off of eBay. I was in Target last week with my Mom looking at little girl clothes and was just about to buy some cute little summer rompers for $10 each when I thought about how many pieces of clothing I could buy off of eBay instead. So for $20 I got several darling dresses, a couple of rompers, some onesies and a couple of short sets. Most of them brand new with tags. They've been filtering into our mailbox over the past few days and Wesley thoroughly enjoys traveling up there and carrying them back to the house where he promptly rips them open and flings the contents across the living room.
Very helpful indeed. While we were at the mailbox he spotted this thing pull into the field across the street.
He was captivated with it and we stood there watching it until it had driven out of sight. What is it about boys and machinery?
From there we wandered over to the redbuds. I mentioned to my Mother that the row of redbud trees were blooming and she had no idea what I was talking about. Between our neighbors property and our own is a long row of mature redbuds. There's probably 30 of them and every spring they erupt into this long hedge of pink flowers. It lasts for about two weeks (if we're lucky) and then it's over. Apparently my Mom hasn't been over in that little span of time to see how pretty they are, so here is a picture Mom.
That was our adventure today. Pretty much a snap shot of our daily lives.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursdays Thoughts
More random thoughts all combined into one rambling post for your reading pleasure. Lucky you!
-Last week Greta went into the pediatricians office for her (somewhat overdue) six month well baby visit. She's our little chunk! Growing like a weed. Doctor always says she's perfect, I tend to agree.
-My garden is now officially rototilled and ready for planting. Sean got it about 2/3rds tilled when the belt broke on the tiller (naturally). Turns out the belt that drives the tiller is this ginormous thing that costs a little over $100(!). So I plan to start a tally to see just how expensive this garden ends up being, and how many organic fruits and veggies I could have purchased for the same price. So far we have a $100 belt, $20 in seed and a new $25 garden hose (to reach all the way out to the back of the property). I'm doing all this for the experience right? Yea, I'll get back with you in August on that.
-The count down till I get my chicks is on. T-minus 22 days until my six little chirping bundles of fluff arrive. Can you tell I'm excited? I've decided to name them all after flowers since they will all be female (oh they better all be females). Right now I have a huge list of flower names taped to my refrigerator and I keep adding names when I run across them. So far my favorites are Sweet Pea, Poppy, Goldenrod and Begonia. I need two more. Maybe Petunia and Magnolia? Oh and to Sean's utter joy the chicks will be spending their first few weeks inside in our dining room, after which they will move into the shop and then out into their coop. I really can't wait!
That's all I've been up to. Slow week.
-Last week Greta went into the pediatricians office for her (somewhat overdue) six month well baby visit. She's our little chunk! Growing like a weed. Doctor always says she's perfect, I tend to agree.
Weight: 17lbs 9 oz (71%)
Height: 26.5 in (68%)
Head: 44.25 cm (85%)
Height: 26.5 in (68%)
Head: 44.25 cm (85%)
-My garden is now officially rototilled and ready for planting. Sean got it about 2/3rds tilled when the belt broke on the tiller (naturally). Turns out the belt that drives the tiller is this ginormous thing that costs a little over $100(!). So I plan to start a tally to see just how expensive this garden ends up being, and how many organic fruits and veggies I could have purchased for the same price. So far we have a $100 belt, $20 in seed and a new $25 garden hose (to reach all the way out to the back of the property). I'm doing all this for the experience right? Yea, I'll get back with you in August on that.
-The count down till I get my chicks is on. T-minus 22 days until my six little chirping bundles of fluff arrive. Can you tell I'm excited? I've decided to name them all after flowers since they will all be female (oh they better all be females). Right now I have a huge list of flower names taped to my refrigerator and I keep adding names when I run across them. So far my favorites are Sweet Pea, Poppy, Goldenrod and Begonia. I need two more. Maybe Petunia and Magnolia? Oh and to Sean's utter joy the chicks will be spending their first few weeks inside in our dining room, after which they will move into the shop and then out into their coop. I really can't wait!
That's all I've been up to. Slow week.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday Weigh In
I achieved my 10 pound weight loss goal last weekend. Finally. Phew. Took three months. The body is not the same as it was before two babies but I'm happy with how it's looking six months postpartum. What I've learned after loosing a combined 80 pounds of baby weight (two babes) is that there is no excuse to not exercise. It's free. You don't have to buy any fancy athletic shoes (I work out in bare feet in my living room) or buy any expensive workout equipment (libraries have workout videos to check out) or gym memberships. The biggest challenge is to drag your butt out of bed, which is one of the more difficult things to do when both kids are sound asleep. I am amazed at how much more energy I have! Also, the old wardrobe is back in use...no need to keep buying bigger clothes. Now I just need to stay motivated to keep working out, which I'm finding difficult since achieving my "goal" weight. Oh well, just wanted to share since this has been an important part of my life since the beginning of the year.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Captivated
I knew the day would come when Wesley would come across a movie that he enjoyed so much that he would sit through the whole thing, captivated by it.
Then he'd want to watch that movie the next day and then the next day after that.
Then he'd start recalling favorite phrases from this movie which he would yell while running through the house.
"To Infinity and Beyond!"
Yes, the child is in LOVE (L-O-V-E) with Toy Story (and Toy Story 2). He's never really been that into movies until now. In the past he might sit through 25 minutes of Nemo or Lion King, but never the whole thing. That was until now. I might add that I'm secretly thrilled he's fallen in love with this particular movie as it's one of my favorites as well.
I am so excited to take him to see Toy Story 3 this summer. It will be Wesley's first movie theater experience. Here's hoping he'll be able to sit through a full length film in the theater.
Movie time with Woody by his side
Then he'd want to watch that movie the next day and then the next day after that.
Then he'd start recalling favorite phrases from this movie which he would yell while running through the house.
Yes, the child is in LOVE (L-O-V-E) with Toy Story (and Toy Story 2). He's never really been that into movies until now. In the past he might sit through 25 minutes of Nemo or Lion King, but never the whole thing. That was until now. I might add that I'm secretly thrilled he's fallen in love with this particular movie as it's one of my favorites as well.
I am so excited to take him to see Toy Story 3 this summer. It will be Wesley's first movie theater experience. Here's hoping he'll be able to sit through a full length film in the theater.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Happy Birthday Abby!
Jessica's little girl turned two years old this weekend. Happy Birthday Miss Abby! It's hard to believe it's been two years now since that April day when she arrived. I still remember being there for her birth, watching the whole thing with nine month old Wesley strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn. Time really does just fly by. We went over to her house and helped her celebrate with yummy strawberry cake and fun presents.
The Birthday Girl!
Opening presents!
Miss Greta always enjoying herself at Aunt Jessica's house
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Mad Skills
I had to add this video because Wesley is so proud of his new mad skills. He's figured out that he can push his car up to the top of the hill (it's the only "hill" around, and it's not even much of one) and then he can ride it down and crash into the brush pile. Such a little boy!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Blog Book
For months now I've been intrigued with the idea of turning the blog into a book. I've seen several other blogger Moms who have done it successfully and now I want to do it. The problem? I don't have the time or energy for such an undertaking. You see, the process is pretty daunting at best. The route that I want to do is to go into Blurb.com, download their book editing software (already did this step), and to "slurp" my blog into a book format. You may be asking what "slurping" is? Slurping is where the software automatically takes all the information on your blog and places it either directly into a book format or into a library where you then take each post and place it into a page layout. Since I've got something like 700 posts (!?) I'd have to break them up into years. So I'd have a 2007, 08 and 09 book. I like this idea and I had planned to do this until I actually sat down and started on it last weekend. The software bogged down my computer, there was an overwhelming amount of text and photos (many of which weren't the correct resolution...thus causing me to go search through pictures from 2007), and I was tired and just not enthused about it all.
So, I looked at option number two.
My friend Jessica ran across a website that will take your blog and automatically turn it into a book with just a few simple steps (like three clicks of the mouse). Seriously easy. The site is Blog2Print.com. You literally go to their website, enter a web address of your blog and hit enter. It will take your blog info directly off the internet and make it into a book. This option is quick, painless and super cool. It does lack the customization that I'd like. It won't let you have any creative reign....you can't select different fonts, page layouts and such. But for someone who just doesn't have the time this is a great option. To do each year (some 250 entries/pages) it would run around $110. This is right around the same price as the Blurb.com option yet I would be able to design that book completely...although it will take me forever. Decisions decisions.
Either way we go I think this is a neat idea. To have a book of our lives to show to our children sounds like a fun idea. They can, quite literally, watch themselves grow up through the pages.
So, I looked at option number two.
My friend Jessica ran across a website that will take your blog and automatically turn it into a book with just a few simple steps (like three clicks of the mouse). Seriously easy. The site is Blog2Print.com. You literally go to their website, enter a web address of your blog and hit enter. It will take your blog info directly off the internet and make it into a book. This option is quick, painless and super cool. It does lack the customization that I'd like. It won't let you have any creative reign....you can't select different fonts, page layouts and such. But for someone who just doesn't have the time this is a great option. To do each year (some 250 entries/pages) it would run around $110. This is right around the same price as the Blurb.com option yet I would be able to design that book completely...although it will take me forever. Decisions decisions.
Either way we go I think this is a neat idea. To have a book of our lives to show to our children sounds like a fun idea. They can, quite literally, watch themselves grow up through the pages.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
His BFF
The other day we're sitting on the couch and Wesley comes over and drapes himself over Sean's leg and says "Daddy, you're my best friend". It was so sweet yet it made me sad because he's never said that to me, the person that he spends every single day with. I understand it though. I'm more of the authoritarian around here while Daddy comes home from work and plays with him. But it still made me feel left out.
That was until last night.
I was in doing dishes and in runs Wesley clutching a wadded up ball of used duct tape. He holds it up to show me, so excited at what he found, and declares "this duct tape is my best friend!".
Oh kids are funny. I'm not feeling so left out anymore.
That was until last night.
I was in doing dishes and in runs Wesley clutching a wadded up ball of used duct tape. He holds it up to show me, so excited at what he found, and declares "this duct tape is my best friend!".
Oh kids are funny. I'm not feeling so left out anymore.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter
Another Easter has come and gone. Wesley had so much fun this year. It's so enjoyable having a child that is old enough to really get into these holidays. He's definitely at that age where searching for Easter eggs is fun. My sister Betsy, Blake and Emery came down for the weekend and it was great getting the babies together. Next year Wesley will have some stiff competition in the Easter egg finding department. I can't wait!
Here are some pictures of our weekend with the family. I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter Holiday!
The hunter
The Dads and the Babies
My cute folks
Everything seemed to start blooming overnight
Grandparents and grandbabies
Wesley sat at the table and ate candy until he'd stuffed himself....when the sugar high wore off it was not a pretty picture
Here are some pictures of our weekend with the family. I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter Holiday!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursdays Thoughts
Just random, unorganized thoughts.
-During Greta's afternoon nap (which she still takes on me, ugg) I do research on the laptop. I've been selecting different subjects every week...last week it was chick rearing and this week it's gardening. I'm totally pumped about both subjects but gardening has got me excited this week. I've been looking into Square Foot Gardening and like the idea. Basically it's where you divide your garden up into (usually) 8 X 8 foot squares. Each square foot within the square has its own plant (so 64 plants). One crop per 8X8 square. Supposedly the crop yields are higher and the work put into it is less than traditional row crops. Still deciding what to do but I'm intrigued.
-I can't believe Easter is this Sunday! It sure came crept up on me this year although I'm happy to say I'm actually prepared. I have a new basket for Wesley with goodies to go in it and I'm even prepared to dye eggs. I think this year will be the first year Wesley will actually be excited about Easter. He's become a connoisseur of candy since last year and seems ubber excited at the concept of eggs with candy in them. Looking forward to Sunday!
-It seems that the six month mark is the magic time when babies (at least MY baby) get easy. Life is returning to normal, routines are set, Mommy is routinely in a good mood. Greta is still sleeping through the night like a champ. I'm not really sure what contributed to this wonderful phenomenon but I'm running with it. Around the six month mark she got a night light in her room, started solid food and I started a fish oil regiment. You might ask why that last thing is included in the possible links with sleeping through the night? It's believed that breastfed babies that receive a good amount of DHA and omega 3 fatty acids from Moms milk are happy babies that sleep better. Is this all fluff? Maybe, but I'm taking 3,000 mg of fish oil a day to find out! So far so good. Plus, the stuff is just plain good for you anyways.
-Good old Mid Western weather is blasting us with beautiful Spring weather. In true fashion, we have near blizzard conditions one weekend and 85 degree weather the next. Everything is greening up nicely and the seasonal allergies are in full bloom. I always know to prepare for the congestion whenever I seen the bright yellow forsythia bushes blooming. They are everywhere right now. Beautiful but miserable.
That's all that is in my head right now.
-During Greta's afternoon nap (which she still takes on me, ugg) I do research on the laptop. I've been selecting different subjects every week...last week it was chick rearing and this week it's gardening. I'm totally pumped about both subjects but gardening has got me excited this week. I've been looking into Square Foot Gardening and like the idea. Basically it's where you divide your garden up into (usually) 8 X 8 foot squares. Each square foot within the square has its own plant (so 64 plants). One crop per 8X8 square. Supposedly the crop yields are higher and the work put into it is less than traditional row crops. Still deciding what to do but I'm intrigued.
-I can't believe Easter is this Sunday! It sure came crept up on me this year although I'm happy to say I'm actually prepared. I have a new basket for Wesley with goodies to go in it and I'm even prepared to dye eggs. I think this year will be the first year Wesley will actually be excited about Easter. He's become a connoisseur of candy since last year and seems ubber excited at the concept of eggs with candy in them. Looking forward to Sunday!
-It seems that the six month mark is the magic time when babies (at least MY baby) get easy. Life is returning to normal, routines are set, Mommy is routinely in a good mood. Greta is still sleeping through the night like a champ. I'm not really sure what contributed to this wonderful phenomenon but I'm running with it. Around the six month mark she got a night light in her room, started solid food and I started a fish oil regiment. You might ask why that last thing is included in the possible links with sleeping through the night? It's believed that breastfed babies that receive a good amount of DHA and omega 3 fatty acids from Moms milk are happy babies that sleep better. Is this all fluff? Maybe, but I'm taking 3,000 mg of fish oil a day to find out! So far so good. Plus, the stuff is just plain good for you anyways.
-Good old Mid Western weather is blasting us with beautiful Spring weather. In true fashion, we have near blizzard conditions one weekend and 85 degree weather the next. Everything is greening up nicely and the seasonal allergies are in full bloom. I always know to prepare for the congestion whenever I seen the bright yellow forsythia bushes blooming. They are everywhere right now. Beautiful but miserable.
That's all that is in my head right now.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Check
We sat down this weekend and looked over our giant "to do" list. It's a big one! We're hoping to mark a few things off every weekend and this weekend was the first (of many).
Our town had a hazardous waste disposal day yesterday so we loaded up anything and everything we could find out in the shop. There was six years of old motor oil, tons of used anti freeze, old diesel fuel and several car batteries. All of it nearly filled the bed of the truck. We had no idea we had so much of that stuff lying around. The town set it up like a drive through were people just lined up and workers swarmed the cars to take the waste. I'm so glad to be rid of all of that. One thing to check off the list!
From there I went directly to the rock quarry, that's a few miles from us, to load up the back of the truck with dirt. We've needed to put dirt around the foundation of our house to correct the grade ever since we had foundation work done several years ago. We used to buy bags of fill dirt but that is expensive and time consuming so I bit the bullet and went to the quarry. They loaded 1500 pounds of dirt in the back if the truck and it cost me a whopping $6. We'll need about three more loads so I plan to go back every Saturday until it's done. Another thing almost completed.
Daddy let him drive back to the shop, he loved it!
Then today Sean got the rototiller on the back of the garden tractor working and we went out and marked out where we want to place the garden. Then he got to work rototilling a 30 foot by 30 foot area. I can't wait to get things planted!
Overall it was a very productive weekend and we got a few things checked off the list. Hope you all had a good weekend!
Juice Box Boy
Our town had a hazardous waste disposal day yesterday so we loaded up anything and everything we could find out in the shop. There was six years of old motor oil, tons of used anti freeze, old diesel fuel and several car batteries. All of it nearly filled the bed of the truck. We had no idea we had so much of that stuff lying around. The town set it up like a drive through were people just lined up and workers swarmed the cars to take the waste. I'm so glad to be rid of all of that. One thing to check off the list!
From there I went directly to the rock quarry, that's a few miles from us, to load up the back of the truck with dirt. We've needed to put dirt around the foundation of our house to correct the grade ever since we had foundation work done several years ago. We used to buy bags of fill dirt but that is expensive and time consuming so I bit the bullet and went to the quarry. They loaded 1500 pounds of dirt in the back if the truck and it cost me a whopping $6. We'll need about three more loads so I plan to go back every Saturday until it's done. Another thing almost completed.
Then today Sean got the rototiller on the back of the garden tractor working and we went out and marked out where we want to place the garden. Then he got to work rototilling a 30 foot by 30 foot area. I can't wait to get things planted!
Overall it was a very productive weekend and we got a few things checked off the list. Hope you all had a good weekend!
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Year of the Chicken
I've wanted chickens ever since we moved out to the country, so we're going on six years now. This is the year, yea! I went in this morning and ordered my chicks and they'll be in on May 7th. I see a sign on the door of the feed store every year around this time about ordering chicks. They take orders for a couple of months and then fill the orders with chicks from a catalog hatchery. This benefits me because you have to order at least 25 chicks from the mail order hatcheries. I don't want 25 chickens, I want six. I'm so excited! I ended up deciding on two different breeds, the Araucana and the Silver Laced Wyandotte. The 
Araucana is special because it lays green and blue eggs. They are nicknamed the "Easter Egger". I just think that's cool. The other breed is the Silver Laced Wyandotte. They are excellent layers, lay brown eggs, resistant to really cold winters and just beautiful birds (picture to the right). I'm so excited to have fresh eggs every day. Have you ever had farm fresh eggs? The yolks are a deep rich orange and they taste so much better. I believe they are better for you as well. The research I've been looking at says to keep two hens for every person eating eggs. We'll see if six hens can keep us in enough eggs, we eat a lot of eggs!
We're going to keep the chicks in a pen with a heat lamp out in the shop until they are old enough for the coop. I've been telling Wesley we're going to get chicks and he seems pretty excited. I don't think he's ever seen a chick so I doubt he has a clue what is coming so it will be interesting.
I was debating where to put the chicken coop and finally decided on placing it in the horse pen. I had chickens growing up (along with ducks and pigeons) and lost a few of them to predators over the years. It's pretty traumatizing as a kid to loose a tame pet to a skunk or possum. I don't want my kids to have to witness that. So, with that being said, I want to place the coop in a location where the chance of a predator eating the chickens will be slim. In the horse pen is a good place. The horses are pretty aware of everything that goes on around them and I think they'd chase off anything that got in their pen (have you ever seen an angry miniature horse before?). Here's hoping anyways.
I told Sean I wanted to get chicks and he gave me "that look" and said "what do you want me to build." :) He's such an understanding husband.
Araucana is special because it lays green and blue eggs. They are nicknamed the "Easter Egger". I just think that's cool. The other breed is the Silver Laced Wyandotte. They are excellent layers, lay brown eggs, resistant to really cold winters and just beautiful birds (picture to the right). I'm so excited to have fresh eggs every day. Have you ever had farm fresh eggs? The yolks are a deep rich orange and they taste so much better. I believe they are better for you as well. The research I've been looking at says to keep two hens for every person eating eggs. We'll see if six hens can keep us in enough eggs, we eat a lot of eggs!We're going to keep the chicks in a pen with a heat lamp out in the shop until they are old enough for the coop. I've been telling Wesley we're going to get chicks and he seems pretty excited. I don't think he's ever seen a chick so I doubt he has a clue what is coming so it will be interesting.
I was debating where to put the chicken coop and finally decided on placing it in the horse pen. I had chickens growing up (along with ducks and pigeons) and lost a few of them to predators over the years. It's pretty traumatizing as a kid to loose a tame pet to a skunk or possum. I don't want my kids to have to witness that. So, with that being said, I want to place the coop in a location where the chance of a predator eating the chickens will be slim. In the horse pen is a good place. The horses are pretty aware of everything that goes on around them and I think they'd chase off anything that got in their pen (have you ever seen an angry miniature horse before?). Here's hoping anyways.
I told Sean I wanted to get chicks and he gave me "that look" and said "what do you want me to build." :) He's such an understanding husband.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Emery's Baptism
We planned to have a family road trip to Kansas City this past weekend to witness the baptism of my little nephew Emery but the weather had different plans. It was 65 degrees the entire week preceding the baptism and then we get notice of a spring blizzard headed right for us the evening before we were to leave. Grrr. My folks decided to go up early to try and outrun the storm and said I was welcome to hitch a ride with them. I jumped at the idea and rode to KC with Greta in the back seat of their Jeep. We made it there in one piece but were, literally, about 20 minutes ahead of the sleet and snow. It was one cold, snow packed weekend. After it was all said and done they got around 8 inches of snow in less than 24 hours. Crazy.
Thankfully little Emery was able to be baptized as we were afraid the church would be canceled. It was a nice service and Emery was a champ. He's such a laid back baby. I wish I could say the same for Greta but she did ok, not getting fussy until the sermon. She and I then walked the halls of the church. Luckily they did the baptism first so I was able to see it. Congratulations Emery!
The pastor, Emery, Blake and Betsy
It was great being able to hang out with my family and my sister's in-laws. They were a great group of people and always happy to help out when I needed a break from baby duty. This was Greta's first trip away from home. In fact it was her first car trip. She did really well, only getting angry the last 20 minutes or so. Our little trooper.
Wesley was disappointed he wasn't able to come with us but I think he had a nice "man" weekend with his Dad. They bundled up and ventured out into the near blizzard conditions to play in the snow. Pretty crazy if you ask me but Wes had a fun time and still tells me about it nearly three days later. Here's hoping it is the first and last of the spring snow. He's really looking forward to seeing "BabyEmery" (pronounced as all one word) for Easter. Thanks for an enjoyable weekend guys!
The babes: Greta at 6 months and Emery at 4.5 months.
Thankfully little Emery was able to be baptized as we were afraid the church would be canceled. It was a nice service and Emery was a champ. He's such a laid back baby. I wish I could say the same for Greta but she did ok, not getting fussy until the sermon. She and I then walked the halls of the church. Luckily they did the baptism first so I was able to see it. Congratulations Emery!
It was great being able to hang out with my family and my sister's in-laws. They were a great group of people and always happy to help out when I needed a break from baby duty. This was Greta's first trip away from home. In fact it was her first car trip. She did really well, only getting angry the last 20 minutes or so. Our little trooper.
Wesley was disappointed he wasn't able to come with us but I think he had a nice "man" weekend with his Dad. They bundled up and ventured out into the near blizzard conditions to play in the snow. Pretty crazy if you ask me but Wes had a fun time and still tells me about it nearly three days later. Here's hoping it is the first and last of the spring snow. He's really looking forward to seeing "BabyEmery" (pronounced as all one word) for Easter. Thanks for an enjoyable weekend guys!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Bubble Boy
Monday, March 22, 2010
Month Six
Our little girl turned six months old yesterday. Where does the time go? Six more months and we'll be celebrating a birthday, hard to believe! She sure has blossomed this past month.
-I love her little shy smile.
-She's started grabbing your face when being held. Always has her little hands feeling your nose or cheeks. She likes to rub her hand on Sean's cheek when he needs a shave (which is always!).
-She's started reaching out to me when I go to take her from someone. It sure makes me feel good when she wants just Momma.
-Still only seems to want Momma. The Mommy Complex is strong in this one.
-Enjoys eating solids. She's been eating sweet potatoes for about a week now and started carrots this evening. A little bit more is making it down her throat every day.
-This is big: She's started sleeping through the night! Oh glory hallelujah! Mind you it's only been a week now but I'll take it! Sean suggested that maybe she just needed a night light in her room, so I put one in and magically she started sleeping through the night that very night. Coincidence? I think not. Poor thing was just scared of the dark.
-I actually miss her at night now that she sleeps much better. It's strange not seeing her every couple of hours.
-She is really starting to enjoy her big brother. She always seems to have an eye on him, and will strain to find him. He always brings out a big smile in her. It's been the first month that they've started interacting...which is awesome to watch.
-We are so grateful for her. She lightens my day and makes me smile when I'm blue.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Personal Picks
Driveway Alert System
I love this thing! Sean picked one up from the local Harbor Freight store for a whopping $15. We mounted it to one of the maples on the driveway and when someone drives in or out it has a receiver that dings in the house. It's wonderful since we don't have many windows along the front of the house to see when someone is here. It's also nice to not get caught off guard when you have an unexpected visitor. Wesley always knows when Daddy gets home now and runs through the house yelling "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!". Great little invention.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Stray Magnet
I'm literally a magnet for stray animals. Tuesday morning I noticed two little pups hanging around our property. I didn't think much of it as we see many loose dogs around here. That evening they were still hanging around and were now tormenting the horses so I went out there to investigate. There yipping madly at Rocky were two little fluffy Australian Shepherd puppies. Just adorable little things. A red merle and a black tri. I couldn't just let them stay there so I took them, fed them and locked them up in the chain link dog kennel. Not knowing what to do next I started calling places. The neighbors, the local vet clinic (turns out you have to be in city limits for them to take strays), the Humane Society (costs $25 a dog to drop off out of county strays), then the city hall to see if anyone was missing two pups (nobody was). I figured they were drop offs. That's one of the "joys" of living in the country is dealing with other peoples unwanted animals.
I posted a lost and found ad on Craigslist but nobody seems to be missing these pups. Hard to believe since they look purebred. Since I'm just about at my wits end with our current animals I knew they needed to go so I posted an ad on Craigslist. A nice young couple came out and adopted the red merle pup this afternoon and I think I have a guy coming out to take the tri-colored one tomorrow. It's been an ordeal but I just hope they are going to have good homes.
Cute little things
I posted a lost and found ad on Craigslist but nobody seems to be missing these pups. Hard to believe since they look purebred. Since I'm just about at my wits end with our current animals I knew they needed to go so I posted an ad on Craigslist. A nice young couple came out and adopted the red merle pup this afternoon and I think I have a guy coming out to take the tri-colored one tomorrow. It's been an ordeal but I just hope they are going to have good homes.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sanity
I was just looking at some pictures that someone posted on Facebook. She's one of my friends on Facebook although I haven't seen her since high school. She just had her fourth child. Two boys, two girls. By the looks of it all of them are under five years old. I sit here and ponder her sanity. She's either super woman or the most tired girl on the face of the planet. Maybe both.
I don't know how she does it. I have two children and can hardly make it through the day with my sanity (this is currently under debate in our house). I'm the kind of person that likes to make lists and accomplish things on that list. I haven't accomplished anything since Greta was born. My entire goal for this weekend was to vacuum the house. Failed that goal.
You have one kid and you think that by having another kid it will be twice as much work. But it isn't. It's like eight times more work than one kid. Very strange I tell you.
I don't know how she does it. I have two children and can hardly make it through the day with my sanity (this is currently under debate in our house). I'm the kind of person that likes to make lists and accomplish things on that list. I haven't accomplished anything since Greta was born. My entire goal for this weekend was to vacuum the house. Failed that goal.
You have one kid and you think that by having another kid it will be twice as much work. But it isn't. It's like eight times more work than one kid. Very strange I tell you.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Life
I think this is the longest I've gone without blogging. I'm just exhausted. All the time. I never understood when people would say how children give you gray hair, but I'm starting to get it now. I feel like I've aged ten years since Wesley was born. It's hard for me to fathom that I've only been a parent for two and a half years. Two and a half, that's it! I can't even remember my life before children. Twenty eight years I don't recall, but the last two seem to be a lifetime. Funny how that works.
I've been keeping super busy these days with every day things. A woman's work is never done right? Sean is outside right now building a dog house for the two big dogs. It will be nice for them to have a place to get out of the spring rains which seem to have already started. It will also come in handy when we need to take a weekend trip and can't bring them inside at night like we do every evening. I'll take some pictures of it when he's done, I'm sure he'll do a smashing job.
Wesley has been keeping me on my toes this week. Naps seems to be still happening off and on which is wonderful for me. Regardless of whether he naps or not he spends an hour in his room every afternoon. He seems to look forward to it. He's also doing a great job in the potty training department. He'll go in his little potty about three times a day. He loves getting some M&M's as a reward. We're going through M&M's at decent pace, especially with me raiding it every so often. Darn delicious candy.
Greta is still having quite the Mommy complex. After dinner I plunk her in Sean's arms so I can do dishes...she lasts about a minute before realizing she's not in my arms and starts screaming. When I say "screaming" I mean a full on melt your ear drums kind of scream. I kid that there is no "middle earth" with her temper. She's either calm and happy or full on scary screaming. Oh well, I'm just hoping this phase ends soon because I'm pretty much stuck with her 24/7 during it. She's happy as a clam as long as I'm with her. *sigh*
Greta is taking to baby food like a champ. Opens her little mouth when she see's that spoon heading her way. Starting to get more down her throat than on her bib too. I purchased some organic sweet potato baby food for next week, can't wait to try something with flavor! Fun times.
That's about all that's happening in our household. Have a good weekend!
I've been keeping super busy these days with every day things. A woman's work is never done right? Sean is outside right now building a dog house for the two big dogs. It will be nice for them to have a place to get out of the spring rains which seem to have already started. It will also come in handy when we need to take a weekend trip and can't bring them inside at night like we do every evening. I'll take some pictures of it when he's done, I'm sure he'll do a smashing job.
Wesley has been keeping me on my toes this week. Naps seems to be still happening off and on which is wonderful for me. Regardless of whether he naps or not he spends an hour in his room every afternoon. He seems to look forward to it. He's also doing a great job in the potty training department. He'll go in his little potty about three times a day. He loves getting some M&M's as a reward. We're going through M&M's at decent pace, especially with me raiding it every so often. Darn delicious candy.
Greta is still having quite the Mommy complex. After dinner I plunk her in Sean's arms so I can do dishes...she lasts about a minute before realizing she's not in my arms and starts screaming. When I say "screaming" I mean a full on melt your ear drums kind of scream. I kid that there is no "middle earth" with her temper. She's either calm and happy or full on scary screaming. Oh well, I'm just hoping this phase ends soon because I'm pretty much stuck with her 24/7 during it. She's happy as a clam as long as I'm with her. *sigh*
Greta is taking to baby food like a champ. Opens her little mouth when she see's that spoon heading her way. Starting to get more down her throat than on her bib too. I purchased some organic sweet potato baby food for next week, can't wait to try something with flavor! Fun times.
That's about all that's happening in our household. Have a good weekend!
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