24/7 MOMS

Hey all you moms out there! Check out this site. It's kind of neat for us 24/7 moms. They are doing a giveaway each day until Christmas.

Happy Birthday, Janice!

It's my sister Janice's birthday today. The video says it all...

Kenna and Mollie's visit...

Kenna and Mollie (Lana and Craig's kiddos) came to stay the night. First they had to get all the go vehicles out and ride up and down the driveway.

Then they all nicely posed for me...

And we returned to the warmth of the house. Mollie and Annisia are hamming it up in the loft...

...while Jonathan and Kenna play "kitty" and, er, pirate?!

Then Michael got home. Everyone loves Michael...he is fun to play with. All the kids got chair rides. First Kenna...

...do you see the glee?!

Then Jonathan...

...Mollie...

...and Annisia. A good time was had by all.

Fever and snow play...

Well, it was fever time again. Let's back up. Tuesday the 11th, I had the flu. Throwing up, etc. Michael stayed home from work, luckily, as I was in no shape to take care of the kids. Wednesday morning, I was still dizzy (no comments from the peanut gallery!) but by about 2pm I was feeling pretty good. So! Thursday morning, I took the kids to story hour at the library. Jonathan wouldn't sit on the cool rug they have for the kids; he just hung out on my knees. Then he didn't want the snack (Scooby bites...(shaped like bones!) and raisins which are a favorite) then said he had to go to the bathroom. I asked him if his tummy hurt and he said it did. Uh Oh! So off we hurried to the bathroom, me rushing, rushing the kids, in a sort of hurried voice, trying not to overdo the panic I was feeling (thinking he was getting what I had 2 days before) yet wanting to be in the safety of the bathroom if anything happened. False alarm...he just really had to pee. Whew! But he was sort of off...The kids went to Gramma and Papa's on the 17th and Gramma noticed he wasn't really himself. His eyes get droopy and red-rimmed when he doesn't feel well. Well, Tuesday night, the 18th, Jonathan came running into our room crying, "Daddy, I am so hot!" He had a temp of 102.3, so Michael ran a big bath and in they got. That was the cycle for the next couple of days. Tylenol, 3 hours later...Motrin, 3 hours later...Tylenol, etc. Baths in between whenever Jonathan requested them. The highest his fever got was 104.5. This time, he was really good about taking in liquids. Not like the last time. But, Ugh and Double Ugh...I hate fevers.

However, Jonathan surprised me Thursday morning (the 20th) by asking to go outside. Now, it had snowed a little overnight so he was excited. But it was a little windy (of course!) so I was hesitant. But into their snow gear they got, new helmet included for Jonathan, and out they went. Jonathan wanted to ride his bike, so he got it out of the garage. I went out to snap some pics and it was cold! I came inside and looked up the weather on the computer. It was 26 degrees (F) with a 21 mph wind bringing the RealFeel temp to 7 degrees! And my feverish kid really wanted to be out there! Crazy kiddo!




They had fun, along with some frustration with the slippery snow and its incompatability with training wheels, then came in.
My sweet Jonathan smiling for the camera. He took a pic of me too, but it wasn't worth posting. He's much cuter!!
This was taken Saturday, the 22nd. Jonathan wanted a "purple coffee" (purple gatorade slushie, basically. Do you think I drink too many iced coffees?!) But he was still feeling cold and had a low grade fever. So he was dressed in a turtleneck and sweatshirt and wrapped himself up in a woolen blanket while he drank it. Goofy boy!

Happy Birthday, Lana!

The title says it all! Renee and I drove up to Sheridan where Lana, Rosa and Lisa work. We then surprised Lana at work and 'napped her for dinner and a bit of shopping. I got a new trendy purse out of the deal. That's what happens when you have trendy friends!

This is the frame I decorated for Lana for a b'day gift. It turned out really cute.

Do ya think?

Do you think they see us on the computer too much?

But when Daddy comes home, there are camel rides for everyone! WooHoo!

Smiles and books after a bath (notice Annisia is reading the Big Machines book?!)

The kids outside for awhile one morning. I couldn't resist this pic. Annisia looks like she is so bored, thank you! They are enjoying their snack after a little bike riding.

Getting Ready to Ski...

Well, the Sports Lure had their annual Ski Sale. Michael got himself outfitted for snowboarding and we got Jonathan a helmet and goggles. He gets to learn to ski or snowboard this winter if he continues to listen well. After we spent a bunch of money at the store, they gave us some passes to the Teton National Research movie, "Under the Influence", a ski moving similar to the Warren Miller ones. (Notice I said "similar", not "as good"...) Anyways, it was fun enough. Jonathan loved it. He really enjoyed seeing the crazy guys doing jumps and all that other stuff that scares the life out of me. Here he is modeling his gear and acting like he's in the movies.

Thermopolis!

We traveled over the pass to Thermopolis one Saturday. It is the home of the "World's Largest Hot Springs". The kids had a blast. Michael did too. I could do without the smell, but it was fun to see the kids enjoying the time. It is really cool to go to the outdoor pool when there is snow on the ground and enjoy the naturally warm water. Here are a couple videos of the kids coming down the slide.

Then we went over to the playground, ate a little lunch and then the kids played on the equipment. Annisia loves to slide and is quite fearless. Jonathan discovered the really cool spiral slide thing.

Annisia sporting her "coy" look. Silly girl!

Then we went on a little walk, but Annisia was so tired by then (it was about 3:30pm and she still hadn't had a nap), she didn't want to walk anymore. So I carried her back to the car and Michael and Jonathan walked to the bridge in the top photo. Some lady was kind enough to take their photo. I love it! It's a very sweet Daddy & Son photo, isn't it?!

When we got home, we had pizza, baths, and books. Have any of you read the "Magic School Bus" books? They are fun; Jonathan loves them.

Followers...

I added a "Followers" spot here. Do you like it or is it annoying?

Mothering is an Adventure.

This is something I wrote for the MOPS newsletter in September. Our theme this year is "Adventures in Mothering". Enjoy!

MOTHERING IS AN ADVENTURE

Mothering is an adventure I think you’ll agree,
full of little kids voices saying, “Mommy may we
swing on the swing set; play in the sand;
hunt some mean gophers or antelope, and
be excavators and dig a big hole?
Hey, Mommy, can I have a snack in a bowl?”

Mothering is an adventure. We all know it’s true,
full of little kids voices saying, “Mommy will you
build me a train track going up a big hill?
Will you read me the story about, um, Jack and Jill?
Mommy, did you know my swing’s a skid steer?
Did you know I have hunted a lot of mean deer?”

Mothering is an adventure. I don’t think I’m alone
when I want to tell everyone about my little son
who uses couch cushions as ice so he can go skating
and escape or catch sharks and mean seals who are waiting.
And my daughter who wants to be just like big brother;
she loves dolls and tools, to the humor of her mother!

Mothering is an adventure and not just for the kids.
It’s daring for us to give them cups with no lids.
It’s a challenge for us to keep quiet when they hit heads or knees,
and not call 911, but just say “Whoopsie!”
It’s exhilarating for us to experience all of those firsts.
It’s plain fun to be parenting despite all of the “worsts”.

Mothering is an adventure I think you’ll agree
full of hours and hours of “Mommy and me”.
Mothering is an adventure. I don’t think I’m alone
when I say it is best when Daddy comes home!

Family time in ND

The last day in ND, remember this is taking the place of our normal trip home for Thanksgiving, we went into the town where 3 of my brothers and 1 sister live. We met Rodney and Wanda and one of their sons, Shaun, for lunch. Here is Shaun with his motorcycle. Looking pretty cool, eh?! It's a beautiful bike, and he really acts the cool part well...(heehee)

Then we went to Janice and Paul's place where we had the pleasure of spending some more time with Alan and Anthony, and later Cassie, Duane and Vicky, Jordan, Dallas, and Aaron, and Uncle Lowell. Jonathan and Annisia enjoyed the play time. Annisia really took to Aaron and Jonathan enjoys anyone who will let him be a boy, beating up on them, jumping around, you get the picture.

It was fun to see Cassie. Her mom dropped her off for a few hours. She is such a beautiful girl.

The kids, Jonathan, Annisia, Anthony, Cassie

This was taken a few days after we got home. Kayla came over to make us dinner. What a treat!

Cow Kicking and Apple Picking...

We were invited out to Joey's farm again to watch them move their cows from one pasture to a freshly harvested corn field. Again, quite a process. Here's Jonathan very excited to see all the cows. Annisia had fallen asleep on the way out to the farm.

Here they come...Heather (Joey's daughter) was in a truck behind the cows, Dean was in a truck to the right of the cows, and Joey was in a 6 wheeler to the left of the cows and Dad is in his truck on the right of the picture. This is so they would turn away from him and go to the left.

They crossed the railroad track, saw Dad, and the lead cow wagged her head and headed left, just as planned!
And all the rest followed her, right through the gate into the corn field. Voila!

The first about 7 I saw come through the gate kicked up right when they got into the field. They were either excited about new feeding grounds or the tractor parked there spooked them...

And here comes everyone after the last cow. I leaned out the door and asked Joey if he put chamomile tea in their water feeder that morning! He said, "It doesn't always go this smoothly." What a treat!

Then, on the way home, Mom took us past a neighboring farm. The young man of the farm raises bulls for rodeos. I wouldn't want to meet this guy in a dark alley, would you?!

That afternoon, we picked apples from a neighbor's tree. We got a ladder and an apple picker. I think we picked a couple bushels of apples. When we got home, Mom and I went into the basement and found this apple corer/slicer/peeler and I did up a few apples.
Jonathan really liked the spiral sliced apples, but my mom really likes the peel. "That's where all the vitamins are!" So she and Annisia were eating peel spaghetti.

Now I have lots of apples in the garage. What should I do with them all? Applesauce (any good recipes out there?), apple fritters, dried apples (hmmm, need a dryer for that...), makings to freeze for apple pie and apple crisp, pickled apples (that's Michael's request...what are they anyways?!), sliced apples for meat dishes...

My sister, Janice, also picked close to two bushels of tomatoes for me, blanched, bagged and froze them for me. So I plan to make spaghetti sauce, salsa, and stewed tomatoes with them...sometime down the road. Whew! All this is making me tired!!