Weekend and a Monday

Over the weekend we went to Bass Pro Shop (we were going to go to Ikea, but the parking lot was full so we just kept driving) and had some pizza from a little joint we hadn't been to in oh, maybe 7 years. The kids loved Bass Pro and even Sam was pointing out the tracks on the floor and following them. I thought it was pretty cool, too. We managed to get out only buying 2 things (a pair of shorts and a shirt for me that I can't wait to wear when the weather is warmer!). We also watched the NFL games on Sunday. D is a big Broncos fan (he really likes Peyton Manning) so it was a big deal. Tim's dad came over and brought D a Broncos hat, socks and tumbler. He also brought Ry and Rose tumblers showing their support for their favorite baseball teams. D was so excited about the Broncos winning! He's so excited to watch the Super Bowl. 

As far as Mondays go this was a good one. Tim and I got up at 5am and did T-25. We decided over the weekend to start it again. I haven't run in about 3 months so it was a nice workout. When I got back home from taking the kids to school I cleaned up from breakfast and did a couple loads of laundry before heading to Hobby Lobby and the grocery store. I probably wandered through Hobby Lobby entirely too long, but I did end up buying a few things to hang on the walls. I don't have a strong decorating desire so I don't really hang pictures or anything until after living in a place for a couple of years. I finally hung up some pictures last year (2 years after moving in) and it still seems a little lacking. I want this house to feel homey and inviting and warm... so I have to start somewhere! Now if only I can figure out where I want to put them. Pinterest should be able to help with this, right? Ha.

Hello 2016!

I finally got a new laptop! This weekend started out with a "Mommy and Rose date". We went to town and did a few errands. I tried to make it special just chatting with her and stopped at Starbucks and got her a steamed milk with vanilla, some vanilla scones and piece of their banana bread. We talked about using our manners and speaking nicely and mainly acting ladylike, because she has been a little lacking in those departments over the past month or so. We had a really nice morning together.  I'd like to start having a "date" with each of kids. When we got home I was craving something chocolate and wanted to make brownies, but the girls and T have a little sensitivity to chocolate, so I made blondies instead. To make them extra special I used coconut oil and shredded coconut.... I could've eaten the whole pan myself!

Sunday I finally decided which laptop to get and went to town to pick it up. I love it. Yesterday was such a good day! We did a lot of relaxing and watched the NFL playoff games. I made pizza and it was so delicious. I started using fresh mozzarella again and it's so much better than the pre-shredded kind. Well, of course as I'm reflecting on such a nice weekend the kids start fighting over something. Life, huh? I guess I better go deal with it. Happy Monday!

playing catch up in pictures

From our Easter weekend:

 a mini egg hunt at home (with Carson!) before the big hunt at my Opa's house

silly children; pretty baby

  and... of course we went fishing!

We had a wonderful weekend and I hope you did too!

Go Fly A Kite

Sunday was sunny, warm and windy. The perfect day to fly a kite. After church we had few things to pick up from the store and as we were heading to check out we spotted 97 cent kites and snatched 3 of them up. I didn't expect to enjoy flying kites very much... I thought the lines would get tangled or the kids wouldn't like it. We had an absolute blast. We decided to load up our lawn chairs and head to the hay field (it's planted with oats right now) and try out our kites. Our friend, Carson, came along and helped get the kites going for the kids. It was so much fun and surprisingly relaxing. Afterwards we checked the game camera and got a nice picture of the bobcat that is hanging around back there as well as about 900 pictures of racoons and a few deer thrown in, too. I hope all of you had a good weekend!

our weekend

This weekend was all about being together. Saturday I made biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast and then we headed out to do some shopping. We had a great big list of things and although we didn't get everything we needed we did make a dent in it. In Lowes we split up for a few things and apparently the kids save the embarrassing moments solely for Tim. Ry asked if the very petite clerk was a kid while we were checking out and Rose spotted a couple with tattoos on their legs and told (more like yelled at) them that their legs were "dirty" and they needed to wash them. In her defense she was just scolded last week for drawing all over herself with markers.... Still embarrassing (for Tim, I was in a different aisle.) D decided to use some of his Christmas money to buy a fish. It's a betta and he named him Spiderman. I will have to get a picture of him soon.

Sunday I planted some flowers and split up my aloe plant that was outgrowing the pot it was in. Tim worked on the Jeep with a little help from the boys. (Thankfully it is running again!) We took it easy and made pizza and sort of watched some of the Oscars. I turned it off around 9:30ish because I couldn't force myself to watch anymore. What can I say? I'm just not that into Hollywood... or musicals.

I still haven't gotten my hair cut, which I really want to do. The longer I have to think about it the crazier it gets. First I just wanted to trim the split ends and now I'm thinking I should get bangs and chop it all off. I'm thinking short like I had it my senior year of high school... right below my chin. I'd probably regret it, but it would grow back. Eventually.

Tuesday

We had a great weekend. I got out of the house and did a little shopping with my mom and Sam and Tim installed our new storm door. We had some family come by and they got to meet Sam. I finally bought cabinet hardware for the kitchen, blinds for the kids' room and comfy pillows for the couch. Yesterday I cleaned, washed and put away... the kids were home and played outside all day thanks to the Spring weather we're experiencing. 70 degrees in January is lovely. It's hard to remember that it's winter with this short sleeve weather and I keep looking for plants and flowers to buy but there aren't any yet. Now I need to go plan dinner tonight, spaghetti squash with meat sauce. I bet the kids love it.

slimmed down weekend

We had a good weekend. There were redbox movies on Friday night; The Ghost and The Darkness, Hunger Games and The Lorax. I couldn't even stay in the room while The Lorax was playing, but it was for the kids and honestly, I don't think they really cared for it either. The other two movies were more to my liking.

Saturday Tim got up early and went dove hunting with some of his friends. Rose woke up at about the same time the door shut behind him so I was essentially up then, too, since I never fell back to sleep. We went to Tim's parents' house to watch football and the kids fell asleep on their couch... I think maybe I "rested my eyes" for a few minutes.

Sunday we woke early and I was excited about meeting our little Sunday school class.... The kids are fun; there were only 5 this week. I've already got the activity for next week ready!

Today I'm trying so hard to get things done around here, but a sinus headache seems like a good excuse to only do minimal work. And to make chicken and dumplings. Better post tomorrow? We hope so.

always exciting

We'll start with our weekend. Saturday night, after playing and running around all day, D suddenly decided it was time to tell us his ear was hurting "really bad". And he "couldn't hear" out of it. OH. This was after 8pm as I was shuttling him into the shower.... So I made him take a shower and then I gave him some children's advil, heated a sock full of rice and attempted to "make it better". I've never had an ear infection and until then none of the kids had ever had one, so I didn't really know what to do besides consult Dr. Google and my pediatric wellness books' symptom charts. I asked D how long his ear had been hurting and he said very matter of factly, "Since I woke up." I don't know why he waited ALL day to say something.

Sunday morning he slept later than everyone. We were already eating breakfast before Tim went and woke him up and then D just sat at the table staring at his pancakes. I took his temperature and he said his ear was still hurting... So one phone call to the after hours nurse line and we had us an appointment for a Sunday afternoon doctor visit. To add to our awesome morning it was our first Sunday as Sunday school teachers and I had to stay home with D. Tim had to go alone and spent the whole time trying to learn kids' names. I felt really terrible I wasn't able to help, but I couldn't really do anything about our situation; I just hope next weekend is better. Anyhow, D has a middle ear infection and is feeling better now that we have our antibiotics and prescription ear drops (that he hates).

Monday rolled around and D went to school while I went to town to visit the bank. Actually I called my mom and we ended up going together and we got to see my dad at work.

My dad is a custom home builder so it's always fun seeing him at work and what awesome things he is doing. The kids wanted to stay and be helpers, but I think they are a little too young to actually be helpful at this point.

Well, I am heading back out the door to help my mom design invitations for my Opa's surprise birthday party at the end of the month. Then I have to come home and make tortillas for taco night.Once you make homemade tortillas it's really hard to go back to buying the mass produced kind.

Adios!

Tuesday

Well, our long weekend is over and it's back to business as usual. It's also back to being hot, too hot for September. I have lived here my entire life and still expect the calendar flip from August to September to immediately change the weather as well. It never does. There is football, school is in session and fall decorations are out in full force in the stores, but the heat is not relenting. I can't even take the kids to the park in the morning without feeling like I'm in a sauna due to the humidity. Woa, sorry about that tiny rant. I've been trying so hard this summer not to talk about the weather.

Anyhow... D came down with either some severe allergies or he caught a cold. Yesterday we planned on going to a fun (and free!) museum, but by noon the big guy was acting like he couldn't bare to move a muscle so we called our spontaneously planned trip off in order for him to rest. He was not pleased at all, however he fell asleep about 20 minutes later. Last night he barely ate anything and I put him in bed thinking there was almost no chance he would feel up to going to school this morning. D likes school too much to let some congestion keep him at home, though. We trudged through our morning routine and I doubted very much he would even last through the morning at school, but decided if he felt like going I should at least let him try.

By the time we got to school he had perked up considerably compared to how he was acting at home. I explained to his teacher (she is so awesome!) how he was feeling and that if she felt like he wasn't able to pay attention or seemed miserable that I would certainly pick him up. She promised to keep an eye on him and so far I haven't heard from the school, so I will take it that he's doing okay. He was sitting at his table getting ready to color when I left and he gave me a big smile, which was reassuring.

(D made it through school! He's still feeling a little down, though.)

Now I think that I will continue with the endless task of laundry that I started a million years ago. I'm getting closer and closer to selecting a weeks worth of nice clothing to stay in the closet and throwing the rest out.... I can't decide if it would make life easier (less laundry) or harder (keeping up with the laundry). Right now, being pregnant and all, I only have about a weeks worth of acceptable clothing anyhow. And still wearing out the same pair of jeans from my first blessed pregnancy 6 whole years ago... Let's hope they stay together for 3.5 more months!

another monday

Today a calf walked up the steps of my front porch and started eating the remains of my tomato plant.

I was one proud/happy mama when D's teacher told me how he is doing in school. He's making friends, is very sweet and gives her hugs when the rest of the class is acting a little rowdy and so far is just doing really well.

Over the weekend D went to a birthday party for one of the kids in his class (Tim took him) and apparently his friend that he talks about a lot and sits next to at lunch spotted him and ran across the yard yelling, "Hey! It's my best friend!" and gave D a big hug. And there was a collective "Aw!" across the crowd of parents, of course. I'm so glad he's making friends!

Yesterday we went to a little museum and the kids were okay, but I think Tim and I will have to go back without them sometime.... just too much "no touching" and "no running" for that hour of the day. And seeing how we went directly after church I think they were feeling a bit cooped up.

I am in the middle of making these cookies, only I'm making half with chocolate chips and the other half with raisins. D and I don't believe in raisins while the rest of the family seems to actually enjoy them. I don't understand it, but I love them so I double recipes to keep everyone happy.

It looks like someone came in and ransacked the house so I really should try to put things back in order. I better hurry while the kids are "napping" or it will be completely pointless.
Later lovely people.

the weekend was too short

We had a good weekend, but I wasn't ready for it to end. Saturday I got to hang out with my younger sister all afternoon. We ended up mostly browsing in stores and then I got my hair trimmed- nothing major. It was really nice to get out and relax. My older sister had dropped by while I was gone and she brought us a car seat and stroller that look brand new. We have basically everything we need now for the baby which is awesome.

Sunday we went to church, I made BLTs for lunch (they were awesome!), played baseball and football with the kids and then watched some preseason nfl. I might have shed a few tears after the kids went to bed because Monday was just hours away and the weekend had gone by too fast.

This morning rolled around and it was back to school, work and laundry.... I have to admit that being forced to get dressed and be seen in public at 7:45am does seem to motivate me into jumping into housework stuff when I get back home. I've done quite a bit and just have to keep it going. D starts riding the bus in the afternoons today... I am so nervous about that! He's excited since he has been talking about riding a school bus forever it seems like.

Well, I better get back to doing things before I have to go meet D at the bus stop. Hope everyone is having a good Monday.

weekend adventures

 Have you ever been spider hunting? I hadn't until Saturday night. Our friend, Carson, wanted to take the kids spider hunting and even bought them their very own LED flashlights for the big event. All you do is go outside to a grassy area, hold the light next to the side of your head at eye level and shine it along the ground (I thought crouching down and shining the light produced the most eye shine from the spiders)... it took some time getting used to looking for "eye shine" and hold the light right, but soon we were seeing lots and lots of spider eyes shining (reflecting back) at us. Now, I have a very strong aversion to spiders, but I found this to be a lot of fun. You can even spot the spider eye shine and slowly walk up to it and determine what kind of spider it is. And kill it so it doesn't have a chance to get in your house or crawl on your shoe. (kidding, sort of, not really.)

Sunday was church, car stuff and relaxing. We tried to watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics since we missed the opening ceremonies... I wish we wouldn't have. Depressing. And now the TV is back on lock down except for football, Thomas the Train and Wild Kratts.

Right now I am googling how to cut my hair (I probably won't be daring and attempt), hoping Rose falls asleep soon and figuring out supper. Multitasking!

some of today, some of the weekend

I'm glad we had a good weekend because Monday is being... Monday. I just finished eating lunch (scrambled eggs and an english muffin) at 2pm. I'd love to upload some pictures but I'm having technical difficulties. I'll save them for tomorrow. (No, they aren't of my lunch.)

Rose is teething. I forgot two year old's cut molars! She's actually handling it pretty well except her temper is about 90 times worst than usual. She's been more grouchy and I'm trying to keep my patience because, after all, she is two. She had a major meltdown before nap time and when she finally calmed down she asked me to read her three books and then she climbed in her bed and fell asleep. I hope she wakes up in a better mood!

On a brighter note, I managed to swap out my regular clothes for what is left of my maternity wardrobe. The pre preg. clothes are boxed and out of sight so that I am no longer standing in front of a closet crying because I can't wear anything. That has happened too many times to continue (even though half the time I'm wearing workout attire so it doesn't matter).

The weekend was nice. Friday night we went out for pizza (probably because I declared it "leftover night). Saturday afternoon we went to town to find the boys some shoes and Ry was able to lift a Dr. Pepper off a really nice boot salesman (also, they offered Tim a margarita... date night will begin at the boot store after this baby is born- ha! just kidding! but, yes, really). Unfortunately we didn't have our lottery earnings with us to spend on ridiculously expensive boots so I suggested we try the Ross (bargain shoppers unite*) that just opened a few months ago. We walked in as a store employee ran out, did some weird hopping dance, glanced at "traffic" and sprinted across the parking lot (at the time I was put off by this, but now I'm beginning to wonder if she just couldn't handle being in that chaotic place anymore). We passed by some universal auto floor mats randomly placed in the men's clothing section, found the ransacked children's shoe department wall (?) and promptly walked out and vowed never to return. Tim was so impressed with Ross that I heard about it for a good 20 consecutive minutes and then at random times since then.
Sunday we joined our church and had cake and then spent the afternoon relaxing. Basically just your average weekend.

Have a good evening since that's about all that's left of today.

*while heading to ross we listened to this song. click at your own risk.

our weekend

One of our friends came out on Saturday and brought lunch. The guys made hamburgers and deer sausage on the grill and I made yummy fried potatoes and peach cobbler. It was delicious and we were all stuffed! That evening we decided to take the kids to the park. It was really nice out, breezy and cool due to some thunderstorms that were close by.

Sunday was church. Afterwards we came home and ate lunch and tried to get the kids to nap so we could go swimming, but that didn't happen. The naps, I mean. We went swimming, although it was still cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. After about an hour Rose started getting into her "I'm really tired so I'm going to be stubborn and crazy" mood. We had spent some time in the big pool (since the kiddie pool was sort of taken over by a bunch of rowdy 6 & 7 year olds), but I had to take Rose to the kiddie pool because she kept trying to get out of my grasp thinking she could touch the bottom of the pool. Eventually she started climbing out of the kiddie pool and trying to run around the edge of it, so I called a time out and went to sit with her at a table. We heard thunder a few moments after that and there was a thirty minute wait to get back in the water... we decided it was time to head home instead of waiting it out. We went back home, made pizza, took showers and fell asleep pretty quickly.

Today the boys went to Vacation Bible School (it's all week) and I tried to get as much done here as possible in the 2 1/2 hours I had with one child. It was really quiet. Rose was pretty upset that her brothers weren't here, she cried when we got home without them. Some cuddles and a couple of graham crackers and she was happily playing with their toys while I cleaned up their room. Dropping the boys off at church for vbs was nerve wracking for me. My stomach was in knots and I was so worried. I knew they would have a good time, but it was the first time they had ever done anything like that. They are always with me or with a family member, so I thought this would be a great thing for them to be involved in. It turns out they had a lot of fun and are excited to go back in the morning!

our weekend & a bit of monday

Saturday involved buying some fireworks for the kids (we were big spenders- sparklers, a fountain and some m-1000s), picking up T's car from his job (clutch issues- thought it was fixed), Mexican food at Maudies and a tow truck. The car was working fine until we wanted to leave Maudies and the clutch wouldn't budge. So... after fiddling with it we decided to call a tow truck (thank goodness for our roadside assistance plan!) and take it back to T's work. The boys loved getting to see the truck and the driver was really nice and honked the horn for them (it sounded like an 18 wheeler). We were a little unhappy about the situation and headed home, but that evening ended up being quite relaxing.

Sunday it rained in the morning so our park and swimming plans were out. We drove around town looking at the houses after church and talking about what we liked. We used to do that a lot before we had kids. To keep the kids somewhat entertained I would spot a lawn ornament and see if they could find it before we passed the house. Then we came home and all the kids took naps (so rare).

And today... I worked out, washed laundry, went for a walk with the kids and took the dogs so they could swim in the stock tanks and restored my computer back to working condition! I have supper in the crock pot (pork for bbq sandwiches) and now I need to put away the laundry and clean up the kitchen. And get Rose to stay in her room so she'll take a nap. I'm mostly concerned with that last thing. More tomorrow.

our weekend

Saturday we went to my family reunion. They had a catered chicken fried steak lunch (pizza for the kids) I can't remember ever having it catered growing up. Usually everyone brings a meal and we have a potluck style lunch. This was way better! The place where we have the reunion is an old schoolhouse that my Opa and his siblings attended. The town is named after one of my great grandfathers that came from Germany. It's neat hearing stories about growing up there.

That evening we had to run into town for an errand and ended up taking the kids to the park that we hadn't been to yet. It's even cooler than the park we usually visit. The play scape is about 4x as big, it's surrounded by oak trees and there are plenty of picnic tables and benches in the shade. We were the only ones there, though, which I found odd. It must have been because it was around dinner time.

Sunday we packed the kids some extra clothes to change into after church, picked up lunch and headed back to the park. Again, we were the only people there for about 30 minutes when another family showed up with their own picnic. We left a little while later to check out the pool... there was no one there but the lifeguards so we drove home, changed into our suits, packed a pool bag and headed straight back to town to swim. We had the whole pool to ourselves for almost an hour! I stayed in the kiddie pool (fine with me- I'm not a great swimmer) with the kids while T took them individually to the big pool and tried to teach them some fundamentals. We really had a great time. We left after about two hours, but Ry learned how to go under water and hold his breath! We were really proud of him.

We made it home, exhausted! By about 8pm I was barely holding my eyes open. Rose took a long nap and then I let the kids watch Wild Kratts while I cleaned up the kitchen. (T and D went to help my brother with some hay during that time.) It was a long, but really fun day. We hadn't been to the pool in years, at least since I was pregnant with Rose, so it was a big deal. The kids were kind of mad that we left, but we will definitely be going back!

Today I went grocery shopping and school shopping for D. We got his backpack and almost all of his supplies that were on the list. I'm excited for him to go school mainly because he is so excited, but I'm keeping myself from thinking about it too much. I have a feeling August 15 is going to be a really hard day for me. 

I hope you are all having a good start to your week!

weekend

We had a busy weekend, but a good one! Saturday we went to a beginning farmer & rancher seminar thing that our friend was asked to speak at. I got to chat with Holly during all the breaks instead of wandering around "networking". Holly and I were there to keep each other company (and we haven't seen each other in months!) while the guys actually had people to talk to. That evening we picked up Chinese food for dinner (special early Father's Day dinner for T) and a couple redbox rentals.

Sunday we went to church and then to my parent's house for lunch. My dad got a grill and we had steaks as well as a lot of different veggies, but really... steak. The kids went outside and literally covered themselves in sand, rode a skateboard down the sidewalk and T fell asleep on the couch. Because that is what happens on Father's Day. Then we went over to his dad's house and hung out with him for while. It was a nice day.

And just to leave you with a little excitement... we have decided to disconnect our one television from receiving any broadcasts. Anyone else not have a TV?  We don't plan on subscribing to Hulu or Netflix either.

the weekend

Yesterday was busy and I never made it to posting about our weekend. A weekend that wasn't preplanned is always something I look forward to. Saturday morning we decided to go to Ikea and look at some things that interested us in person rather than relying solely on pictures from the web. We ended up actually enjoying our trip (I was prepared for the worst, Ikea on a Saturday with 3 kids and a husband who sort of had a terrible time there previously). The only annoying part was when I told T that I liked something (couch and bed) someone would appear from nowhere and sit down and test it out which made it a bit awkward because we just stood there and waited for them to leave so WE could try it out. I tried to be really discreet about everything I liked the rest of the time. We got a lot of ideas and inspiration out of it and didn't buy one thing.

After Ikea we headed over to a sandwich place and I picked up lunch while the kids played on the playground. We made it home with some Redbox movies and spent the remainder of the day (evening) hanging out.

Sunday I helped T work on the roof at the other house out here. We are slowly fixing that house one evening and weekend at a time. Oh, T found a snake skin next to the chimney and threw it at me. I was not happy about that. Gross.

Yesterday was grocery shopping day. I really don't think I need to elaborate on that one. Today I'm knee deep in laundry which also needs not to be explained in detail. Lots of excitement around here. Lots.

weekend highlights

Back at the beginning of April we bought some concert tickets to see Jason Boland & The Stragglers. So Saturday evening we gussied up and arrived an hour early at the venue. 

See, this place is in the middle of nowhere, brand new and it's an hour away from the nearest major city. I overheard a lady in the restroom saying she had to google map the place, saw "a bunch of green squares (farms/ranches) and like four streets (the town) and then a tiny dot (the venue)". I was very amused by this since I, um, live very close to this "tiny dot".

We grabbed a place at a picnic table and waited and for the show to begin. Eventually the crowd filled in and the good times started rolling. We listened to two openi ng acts that were impressive and then Jason Boland came out and dang, he put on a good show. One of the best live performances I've seen.

The kids ended up spending the night at Pappy G's house so Sunday morning we slept in since our little alarm clocks weren't there to wake us up. We missed them a lot. It was way too quiet; I didn't like it at all. As soon as our coffee was done brewing we rushed out the door to get them. They spent the rest of the day acting like wild animals while I cleaned up the house. Then around 7pm all I wanted was some peace and quiet... ha. ha. ha. I'm sure there will be plenty of that in about 18 years.

That's about it. The boys are resting and my mom whisked Rose away this morning so she could finish making her dress (she needed her so she could fit the dress since the pattern sizing was a little wonky). I have somehow managed to clean the kitchen, the boys' closet (and went through most of their clothes  since their closet rod collapsed yesterday morning), filled up two trash bags and put away half the laundry. Now I just need to finish the laundry, take a nap, clean Rose's room and make a spectacular dinner that we all enjoy. Take a guess at the one thing that will most likely happen.

the short of a long weekend

This weekend was one that was spent mostly outdoors and with lots of popsicles. Saturday T worked on the house while I went through baby clothes and toys to give to my nephew. I made BBQ pulled pork for supper and it was amazing. Even the kids loved it and it's always close to miraculous when they willingly eat and ask for seconds when I make something other than pizza or spaghetti. It was a big hit.

Sunday we went to church, took naps after we ate lunch (nachos) and then headed outside to play in the water some more. I made pizza for supper, as usual, and then we watched a movie. To see what a lot of other bloggers were up to head over to Cari's blog to view Snapshots from a Sunday. (This months are possibly the best yet.)

Monday was a holiday and T didn't have to go to work so I made him his favorite breakfast of biscuits and (sausage) gravy. I don't know why I don't make this more often because it's soooo good!

not the best photo, but possibly best breakfast on Earth

That's all I have for now. See you tomorrow for more of the same.