Whirlwind

Ever since our anniversary, I feel I've been on overdrive.  We had a very short visit with Jeff's folks last weekend.  They had been watching our niece and nephew for a week and a half and were needing to get them back to their mother and also make an appt. in Wichita.  We aren't exactly half way, but we are closer than Garden City.  Their mother wasn't able to pick them up right away, so I've been watching them in addition to my own children and the daycare children for the last couple of days.  I've not had much time to sit down and collect myself, so there's obviously not been a lot of time to blog.

My birthday was yesterday.  It started out a little stressful, but ended very pleasant.  Some of the perks of my day were being serenaded by 5 children to a cute version of "Happy Birthday" while I scrubbed toilets.  Later that evening my niece gave me her present (a selfmade happy birthday song that mentioned I was her favorite aunt several times).  That made me smile for sure.  Jeff got me my own veggie pizza, chocolate cake, and icecream.  He also gave me the rest of my gifts which included more pyrex storage containers and a telescope (there's a meteor shower August 12th).  Last Saturday he surprised me by dropping me off at the eye glasses store to get an exam and new specs.  I've had the same pair since before Kadyn was born and they were in bad shape.  I can't wait to get my new ones.  They should be coming home today.

Last Sunday night as a sort of late anniversary gift to each other, Jeff and I went Kayaking down Table Rock lake.  We had the nice perk of having free childcare since Jeff's parents were in town, so we wanted to take advantage.  We had a great time.  It was so beautiful, and I really enjoyed looking at all the wildlife which included ducks, geese, blue herons, fish, and river otters.  There was a layer of fog that just hovered above the 48 degree waters, and the sun was setting.  It was just breath taking.  Jeff snapped a million photos, and I did most of the paddling.  Jeff is now talking of buying our own Kayak for future fun as a family.  We'll see.

Monday night I decided to treat the girls and did "girl's night."  I took my niece and Kadyn out to eat a funnel cake covered in chocolate icecream and marshmellow sauce in a dessert parlor on the strip.  It was a special time and something we may have to do everytime they come visit.  Tuesday night we took all the kids for a picnic at the landing.  We also got to feed the ducks at Taneycomo lake, play at the playground, and watch the fire and water show at the landing.

I would be lying if I said watching 6 kids was a breeze.  There were sibling squabbles galore, some establishing of house rules to do, and just complete chaos that accompanies having 6 children in a house.  But......it was nice for the girls to be able to spend time with their cousins.  Kadyn had a ball.  Brennan enjoyed being chased by her oldest cousin, Taryn.  It was fun watching them play and interact together.

Here are some pics of the past several days.  Enjoy!

10 years

Jeff and I celebrated our 10th anniversary yesterday.  It's amazing that it's been that long.  We've actually been together for 14 years total, and that REALLY seems like a long time.  Anyhoo...it was a good day.  I gave Jeff a card that morning and we both greeted each other with a little, "Happy Anniversary."  Then he was off to work and I was busy with daycare.  Late afternoon when he got home, he surprised me with the best gifts (even though we agreed not to buy gifts this year....stinker).  I got new glass pyrex storage containers with lids (part of my goal to go greener and try to reduce plastic use although the lids are plastic so they're not entirely green.  I LOVE them.  They are microwave safe, oven safe, and freezer safe.  They won't get tipped over in the dishwasher either That ALWAYS happens to my plastic storage containers and drives me BONKERS. 

He also made all my picnic dreams come true.  I got the BEST picnic basket to carry our food in.  It's insulated and OH SO CUTE!  He also got an oversized picnic blanket that folds up into a nice little rectangle with a handle.  It is made of the perfect material that won't stick to the ground and just the right size for our little family.  It is very girly.  I LOVE it! 

Then he got us passes to go see some tigers at a place called Turpentine Creek (a refuge for abandoned, neglected, and abused big cats) just about an hour and a half from here.  He also got a pass to go to the Promised Land Zoo in Eureka Springs.

Later that evening we all went out to eat for Mexican food and came home and finished the evening with some chocolate peanut butter chip brownies I made.  It was a good day.  Possibly the best anniversary to date. 

It's funny, we've been married longer than we've been parents and yet it seems like we've had kids forever.  The best years of our marriage really have been the last 4 when Kadyn and Brennan joined our family.  I think it dawned on Kadyn what our anniversary meant as one day she said, "If you never got married, you wouldn't have us.  Good thing you got married."  Yes indeed little one, yes indeed.  To me, it seems an anniversary is no longer the celebration of a marriage, but the celebration of becoming a family.  What a beautiful thing.

Here's a pic of my new lovelys.

I Marvel

I am always marveling at the developments of my girls, especially Kadyn since she is my first, and every development she makes is new to me.  She is such an artsy, crafty girl.  I have a lot of supplies easily accessible for her to get into so it's not uncommon for her to get a whole bunch out and start doodling away all on her own.  Lately her drawings and colorings have gotten more detailed and extravagant.  It blows my mind to see such a young person be able to draw so purposefully and legibly.  I think all the crafting we have done together has paid off, inspiring her to get better and better at drawing and coloring.  Here's the proof: (Notice the stripes and polka dots on the frog.  The shapes on the pink paper is supposed to be houses with people in them.  Oh, and I just adore our family portrait with the tree. Sigh!) 

 So proud of Kadyn!
 

Another July weekend

The owners of the building Jeff works in decided to throw aEdit HTML staff party for all of their employees.  They invited Jeff and our family to the party.  Mr. Akers, one of the owners, owns a houseboat.  Originally we were supposed to board the houseboat for the party, but things got changed due to logistical reasons.  Anyhoo....Mr. Akers also owned some land in Forsyth, MO and decided to hold the party there.  The land really was beautiful and it happened to have a very large creek running through the middle for the kids to swim in.  They also had canoes for people to ride and you could even bring your own fishing pools and go fishing.  Kadyn loved going for a canoe ride and swimming with the minnows.  A good time was had by all.

Today after her nap....

Another bed head child.  Sorry, had to post.  I just can't get over her CRAZY hair.

Bed Head

Need I say more?

4th of July 2010

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From Movies

Last weekend

Summer like temps, finally!  We decided a hot weekend like last weekend would not go by without being taken advantage of.  Day one, we get out our baby pool.  Brennan was tolerant, but not too please with water squirting up on her.  She pretty much stayed a statue in one spot most of the time, afraid to move. Although, she did move enough to get her bikini top off; she didn't like that the straps kept falling off.  Kadyn LOVED it.  The water slide was a big hit with Kadyn, although she didn't figure it out entirely.  She'd run up to it and then stop and lay down.  It was amusing, but didn't give her the thrill I was hoping for.  I did get her to slide on her knees at least half way a couple times.  What she needs is a big kid to show her how it's done.  It has a weight limit, so Jeff and I can't really show her.  Plus, I'm not sure my lady parts would take a liking to being pounced on in a flying dive, if you know what I mean.  I was tempted though, I must say.  I have very fond memories playing on a banana slide my friend Sarah used to own when we were kids.

I still have plans to buy some water guns and a fun sprinkler to make our summer yard fun complete.  I'd love to find one of those clowns with the hats that shoot off.  Not sure where to look for those.  Yet another thing my friend Sarah had when I was a kid.  I guess her house was the place to be in the summer if you wanted some cool water toys. 

Anyhoo, it was so nice to get outside and pretend it was summer.  I count my blessings that we can actually get outside again.  It was such a long winter.

Past two weeks

Sometimes I like to post things that I've been up.  This is one of those posts.  This is in part because it's fun to talk about, to update my family and friends, and to record it somewhere for my records so I know what life was like for me at the ripe old age of 32:).  Anyhoo.....let's get started shall we.

First up I have the cookbook that I purchased last weekend that I hope (knock on wood) will get my Bren eating her veggies.  It's really a 50/50 shot that she'll eat the veggies I put on her plate.  This book teaches you how to puree veggies and gives you recipes to put those purees into so your children will eat them.  Of course, you always put a nice helping of the real deal on their plates too just in case she actually decides to get healthy one day, but until that day, I can rest assured she's still getting what she needs if she neglects that helping of the good stuff.  So far I have pureed and frozen a bunch of sweet potatoes.  Next week I plan on doing a lot more.  Seems like the bulk of the recipes call for pureed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots, so I plan doing a lot of those and a few more.

Next we have a book that I've been reading.  To say that my parents are somewhat interested in end times would be an understatement.  My mother requested I read this book and promised it was an easy read.  I am about 3/4 of the way through it.  It is a good book.  If you want to understand what the bible says about end times and how that relates to what is going on today, this is the book for you.  I can't say I learned anything I didn't already know from this book, but it was a good refresher.

Next we have a work in progress.  This a project that I started making for Kadyn before she was born but got sidetracked once she arrived.  With all the moves, it was lost for a long time.  Then I found it and started working on it again.  Then we moved....again, and I got side tracked....again.  Now I think we are here to stay so it is time to get it finished.  I will feel guilty if I don't do something similar for Brennan so I've been racking my brain to try to decide what I will do for her.  BUT for now I need to finish this one.  At this rate, Brennan won't get hers until she turns 20!  Needless to say cross stitching is not a quickly gratifying craft.  It takes a long time.

Next up we have a picture of our curtains.  No I didn't make them.  Yes, they are drab, but not hideous.  We were in a real pinch to get something up to help block out the hot sun in the afternoons. Sorry the pic turned out so badly.  They are a dull green color.  So far, we haven't had to turn on the air conditioning except two short times thanks to these puppies.  These are not meant to be permanent, but they fulfill a need in our price range for now.  I spent all day hanging and ironing these for all the windows in our living room and kitchen.  We couldn't find one that was wide enough for our sliding glass door, so we bought 4 panels and I sewed together two for each side.  Problem fixed!

Last we have a picture of a plain ol' fleece blanket. We have a ton of blankets around our house to cover up with when we watch TV.  We are on a tight budget, plus we don't have a fabric store in Branson, so I have to use my resources.  I really want to make a wet bag for my cloth diapers and use that rather than a diaper pail.  Fleece is water repellent.  I have made a couple diaper covers out of it in fact.

For the past year and a half I have been using plastic buckets for my diaper pails.  They work great, except that after about two days the diapers reek of ammonia smells since they are trapped in those buckets and the air can't circulate. As long as they are closed, it is fine, but the minute I open up the lid to put in another, I about pass out.

I did a little experiment and put them in a pillow case instead a day ago, and so far no smell whatsoever.  Of course poos get flushed and those diapers get soaked, so there is never a problem with those odors.  Therefore, today's big task is to make two big wet bags that I will hang from my changing table and put dirty diapers in until I can launder them.

 So there you have it.  A little of what keeps me busy these days.  Of course, I have to run the daycare ,and we are always doing crafty educational things for that everyday.  Overall, I keep myself busy.  It's a good life!

On healthy days

...we actually have a lot of fun.  The turtle we found crossing the road at our house.  The kids were more than excited to get a close look at it and pet it.