Rice Family

J's birthday

2012-01-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

I know its a bit late, but these are pics from J's 27th birthday (it was in august)

I am posting these because of Justi's pic and the face J was making in it reminded me of this:

Hayppy birthday Babe.

Almost 3

2012-01-19T11:28:00.000-08:00

My little E will soon be 3! I'm having a hard time with this, because I'm pretty sure he was just an eensy little baby a couple days ago....

In the meantime, however, he is growing and getting smarter by the minute. Lets go through some E-speak:

"I don't member" - when asked a question
"Mom, you cute."
"In the garjub?" (garbage)
"Knock knock, mom" who's there? "eyeball in the car" .... I know - hilarious.
"Knock knock, mom" who's therr? "well....don't member."
"knock knock, mom" who's there?....okay I'll spare you.
Are you a big boy, E? - "Almost"
"I not mister...I E.M.R."

I can't even begin to tell you how great he speaks, the vocabulary he has, nor how capable he is!

Some of his greatness: Officially potty trained (a few months ago to be honest); can count (with fault) to 20 ish; likes to sing Wonderpets theme song (if you don't know it, spare yourself); absolutely LOVES to dance, and has pretty stinkin good rythm at that; can't get enough of his cars and trains and blocks; He is a monkey in general.

I know I am missing stuff, but it's not that important. He is fantastic (despite throwing fits), loving (despite picking on small animals), and snuggly (despite only holding still for 3 minutes). I absolutely ADORE him (despite that he won't stay little!).

Thanks

2012-01-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for the wonderful Christmas gifts. We had a great trip to Idaho to see J's family! However, we had sick kids all around; M threw-up the day before and the morning of the day we left; my new nephew had a fever and spent a couple days in the hospital Christmas day (he's okay); my other nephew had a cough (ended up being Croupe) and a fever and loads of snot; and just before we came home E started in on diahrea and threw up New Year's morning a few times. Fortunately J and I are in the clear - so far (keep your fingers crossed).

Good times, good food, great company.

Pictures later - gotta get back to work!

M's letter to Santa

2011-12-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

Der Santa I hop you ramembr me M******* J* R***
I want a uicorn a babe pelo pet a picshn a lade cat a rel cat yes way
decrashinz a krismis trree

Interpretation:
Dear Santa,
I hope you remember me: M J R.
I want a unicorn, a baby pillow pet, a pictionary man,
a lady cat - a real cat - yes way (I told her no way, so she emphazised)
decorations, a christmas tree.

Love her.

....we didn't put up a christmas tree this year because our home has no space for one...this is why she is asking Santa for one....

A pic courtesy of Aunt N from our trip to Kansas for the wedding & thanksgiving.

Quotes from yesterday...

2011-12-11T07:33:00.000-08:00

Justi visited yesterday and we were talking about what we all wanted for christmas; Justi whispered in E's ear to tell me, but when he said it I was distracted. So I asked again:

me: E, what does Justi want for Christmas?
E: She want baby in her tummy for Christmas.

This is not what Justi said, but apparently E knows what she really wants!

Later we went around looking at Christmas lights. One house we passed had everything: light-up nativity, moving lit deer, lights all over the house, lit christmas carolers, elves, santa....etc. We all oo-ed and aawed.

M: How did they get all that to fit in their cart?

And later while viewing Christmas lights, we saw one with mints and candy cane lights around the edge of their house.

E: MMM. Candy........can't eat it though.
M: NO. That would be way too hot in your mouth.

Love them. They crack me up.

Okay.

2011-11-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

So, I can't wait for the Twinners - they're lame-o! At least Megan is back. Gotta love her. Stinkin' organic fruit her children expect! Pah. My kids don't know what organic is. No big surprise there, I know :)

Ok. Above this post is a widget that is a wish list - for those of you who need ideas as to what to get my kids, there it is.

I want a pottery wheel. Just sayin'. Megan informed me "Yeah right. Ok." So ,maybe not this year, I don't have anywhere to put it now in any case. I would like clothes, shoes, and jewelry. I need some cute stuff. A nice pair of jeans. Some dresses for work (skirts are good too). And might I remind you, I have both Christmas and Birthday coming up - combo gifts work just peachy :)

ok, I'm done begging for stuff - unless you need a J list also. I'll have to work on that.

We are going to Kansas for Thanksgiving, plus a wedding for my cousin Jenna. And we get to see the Toney's! And of course all you Kansas folks. All these things are equally exciting. Yay! I will probably not blog again for a week-ish. But when I do, I will proceed with cute stories and cuter pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Excuse me.

2011-11-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Um, what is going on sisters?? I need to know what is going on, yet none of you are friggin bloggin! Where are your priorities?

I suppose I could call, but what would everyone else do? And if your answer is : they could call too, think about how little you would get done because everyone was calling ALL the time and all you could ever get done was re-telling your stories to all those callers.....just think about it.

Let me know what you decide.

Oh, and just for good measure, I am not going to blog again until all of you do...and I would like to mention, I have some awesome stories that need to be told, so get your blog on.

Meat, It's what's for Dinner

2011-11-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

We were grocery shopping the other day, and M went with me to pick out some hamburger. Next to the hamburger there are the more interesting edible parts of the cow. I decided to show M the cow tongue...her expected response - "Ewww. Gross." Just after J came back with E we showed them as well and as we were standing off to the the side, M all the while saying "ewww...gross", a guy came up behind us and selected a cow tongue, so I showed M: "See, he likes cow tongues. I told you some people like to eat them." She screwed up her face and looked at the guy with a 'are you crazy?' smile. I decided it was a learning oportunity and asked him how he cooks/eats it. He was very kind and stopped and explained it all to us and emphasized that it was very good.

M is still unconvinced, but J thinks we should try it.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

This is the car we made for E's costume - he loved it...as did M!

M & E - M is Rapunzel, E is a car!

Snow

2011-10-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well, Colorado is giving us a nice welcome to winter. We had a weather warning on Tuesday saying that Wednesday we would have 8-16 inches of snow. I'm pretty sure we got somewhere near that much. At least a foot. And it was wet HEAVY snow, which means a lot of trees breaking, lots of damage, and loss of electricity - I had no internet yesterday, and we lost power temporarily today. It was beautiful though. This weekend it is supposed to be 60 or some such. Go figure.
Look here to see some pics - not mine, but pics none the less.

Miss you Granny!!!!

2011-10-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

Love you Grams! Miss you Like CRAZY!

Thanks Toney's for the goodies!

2011-10-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Home-made Playdough, courtesy of the Toney family - came in powder form!

Touchdown!...Goal!...um...wait...Homerun!

2011-09-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am really liking work and the people I work with. There are also fun perks like some paid lunches, "high-tea", donuts, muffins, cupcakes, and many other fun benefits. The newest one is tickets to the Rockies game! My employers have season tickets and let us have them this past Saturday.

It was a lot of fun. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not much of a sports fan, but one of my favored ones is baseball. J nor I know much about it, but we had a lot of fun and really got into the action. WE had great seats just between 3rd base and home, row thirteen. Rockies lost, but it was still a good game, good time.

coors field looking from the concessions area down.

In our seats

The field looking from our seats

...me...

Mr. Mom

2011-08-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

So, since I am working we decided to test out J being a stay at home dad. He always ever-so-subtly hinted at how great he would be at it, that if he had that much time the laundry and dishes would be done, and the house would stay clean. That he would love and enjoy staying at home with the kids and do all sorts of fun things with them. He says these things when in comparison to how poorly I do (not that he would say so in so many words). He would also say that is in my head...and yet...he hints. Anyhow, he has been Mr. Mom now for about 2 weeks (week and 1/2?) and is done. He decided it was not for him, he can't stand it, and can not keep the house clean.

who knew?

gotta love him anyhow.

Did you know?

2011-08-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

Someone is pulling at my heart.

It twinges now and then and I have to pause

And think about why.

What twists my heart about

with chaos and simplicity?

What causes it to surge with joy

plummet with fear

and flicker in sorrow?

Who knew that someone

would have such impact over me

and my life, and my emotions?

Why did no one warn me

that I would lose all control

and semblance of balance?

What happened between then and now?

Did I give up so much of myself,

or gain wonders and worlds to myself?

My heart is pounding,

I'm excited and scared and proud.

Who knew? Who knew that a little girl

going to kindergarten could do all this to me?

Carry on, baby girl. Keep going,

Keep growing, keep my heart beating.

Meal Menu planning...bleh

2011-07-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

I added a new link to the blogs I love. I have searched for a resource to help with my menu planning and grocery shopping because my menu gets...well mundane. Not to mention the fact I never thought I would be a person to do menu plans and grocery lists, done listed by the aisle/section. But, turns out it makes grocery shopping a lot easier. Also, it makes putting away the groceries easier once you get home...your cart is practically organized by section and so it is bagged the same, and once you are home it comes out of the sacks together and go in the same places. Convenient, I know...who'da thunk it? (Megan, that's who. You can't tell me that's not who popped into your mind!)

Anyhow...I stumbled upon Eat at Home . Again, I've searched for sites like this but a lot of the good ones charge you a fee to use them. This one is free...so far as I can tell! She provides you with a meal menu consisting of (if I remember right) 2 crockpot meals for busy days, 1 meal that you double up and freeze half of...and others. One night she leaves up to you. So: Meal menu, grocery list, and recipes! It lists all the weeks she's done, you can choose the one you want; the link shows you the meals with links to the recipes or you can just choose the link for printing option and it has the menu, list and recipes all together and ready to print! I am soooooo relieved to have a little help.

update

2011-07-27T18:46:00.001-07:00

Well, J is still in Kansas, but almost done and soon to be with me in Colorado! My job is going well, despite my first week of craziness (particularly my first monday). I love the people I work with; they are hilarious and light-hearted, easy-going and helpful. Every single one of them have been very welcoming. The girl I will be covering for maternity leave has not had her baby yet...any day now! I am finally starting to feel confident enough in my abilities that I will be okay with her leaving! M and E have a babysitter that they go to while I am at work, and she is GREAT. Very glad I found her. M will be starting Kindergarten this August...I believe the 17th or 19th or some such...I will have to check! We are very excited....

anyway...that's all for now.

wanted to share this

2011-07-12T20:38:00.001-07:00

I was going through my picture file, and came across this that Aunt N gave me:

Isn't she cute? Look familiar?

That's my grandma (with her big brother)....who looks surprisingly like M.

oh geez

2011-07-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Whew....I forgot what it was to have to work all day. I actually missed my kids, and miss them again for tomorrow! It was a LONG day. I got up at 6:15 and left home about an hour later...then the mumbo jumbo overflowed my brain for 8 hours! HOLY SMOKES that was a lot to take in - it literally gave me a headache....and I'm pretty sure I haven't retained more than how to operate the phone! I got done at 5 at which time I drove home in a bunch of traffic, pretty much all the way home, in time to start cooking dinner. Stinkin commuters! bleh. ask me how I am after tomorrow...I hope stuff starts making more sense then! Now I need to find a babysitter.

Ready...set..go!

2011-07-08T16:38:00.001-07:00

I got a job! Office Assistant to cover a maternity leave, and then customer service - And it has SO much potential! I'm really excited. I had an interview this morning: yesterday I got a call that said to come anytime between 9am and 3pm tomorrow (which is now today) or Monday for a 10-15 minute interview. I decided to make a somewhat early appearance for good impression, and I was the second interview of the day. Bob (my new boss) interviewed me, and in less than 10 minutes was offering me the job. He was very flattering! He told me he knew he liked me 10 seconds after meeting me, and that they hire hearts, not skills or just people, but hearts and he thinks I have it! :::aw, gosh::: They had to turn away the next couple interviews, and were preparing to call all the other potentials to tell them the position is filled! I really like him, and quickly learned that I liked the other employees as well after a quick tour. Great pay, and great benefits - more than I was even hoping for.
It's a some-what small business, but a profitable and growing one. It is called Preferred Paper Products and is a company that does packaging: bubblewrap, tape, boxes, custom packaging, etc for businesses in northern Colorado. The people were awesome, family oriented...they have High Tea randomly (today was one of those days) where they all sit and have fancy cookies and drinks and chat (NOT about work!). I think I will fit in just fine.

Quote of the Day

2011-06-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

While we walk, jumping and swinging the umbrella (brought along for a little shade) in the air:

M: Flying is really hard.

OUt of OrdER!

2011-06-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

So, we are moving/moved to Colorado! We even have a new address, but I won't be posting it! Justi, the kids and I are in Longmont, looking for jobs and a place for justi to live. J is still working in Kansas, finishing our packing and taking care of the house, and making money of course! It's been stressful, crazy and frustrating, but colorado is everything I want it to be, and I am so excited to be here. It will probably be a bit longer til I post again, due to trying to figure out what route we are going to take to have internet at home! (its complicated) I will also be trying to find a job, get M registered for Kindergarten, E day care, and all the other odds and ends necessary for relocating! Busy is what I'll be. So, check back in a week maybe....maybe a month...who knows.
NOT me.

Fishin pics

2011-05-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

in addition

2011-04-15T10:16:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to mention, to cover my bases - if anyone decides you may want to try the HCG diet (refer to last post), I thougth I should share a little more info: Surprisingly enough there ARE scammers out there, but that doesn't mean there are no legitimate sellers. The website I used was HCGbasics.com - not that that is the only, or perhaps best resource - just what I used, and just f.y.i. There are quite a few sites, sellers, information, and youtube videos available as resources. There are risks (usually listed on the sites) and possible side-effects, as with, well...pretty much anything. For the record, of the 28 days I did this diet, 2 of them I felt really weak and just exhausted - but that is all the side-effects I encountered. Also, research the diet, learn all the aspects of it before you decide to do it. Its not easy, it is kind of hard especially those who have a hard time with self-control. This diet is up to you to follow the instruction SPECIFICALLY, and a couple of times I didn't, and each time I regretted it. But, again, it worked...so far. :)

oh, yes, and...

2011-04-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention, and I figure I may as well: I lost 20 pounds on a diet...in 23 days. What? What diet is that, you ask? I feel like I'm confessing something bad here, but mostly because people believe this diet is bad, bad for you, and can't possibly work...refer to my eldest sister if you want to hear why....well, and lots of other people. It is (you may have heard of this) the HCG diet. If you don't know, look it up: HCG is a hormone made naturally in pregnant women. With this diet you take doses of HCG (I chose the injection method, but there are others) daily, and are restricted to a 500 calorie a day diet with no carbs or sugars. Sounds bad, and it is hard, but its not as bad as it seems - you really need to read up on it...or ask me to explain it more. But, low and behold, it worked for me. It was tough, but so SO worth it. And I'm not saying I'm all sorts of fit and skinny now...FAR from it, but I am 20 lbs lighter. I have now kept it off for, what, about 2 1/2 weeks now. And it is important to note, I am no longer on any sort of diet/calorie restriction - I am eating like I did before the diet: sugars, carbs and all. (I would like to mention, however, we do have a fairly healthy diet...not as healthy as some, but good enough.) So, now you know. And we will all wait in anticipation to see if I gain it all back.

Since then...

2011-04-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so its been awhile since I blogged, but let me catch you up. I don't think I've mentioned that we bought a motorcycle! We sold J's Bronco II and bought a Yamaha V-Star 650 with the money! Much better, if I do say so myself! I can't drive it, but J is licensed and loving it! I soon need to do a post about M and E and what they are up to cuz they are growing a lot, saying all sorts of new things, and just getting smarter and bigger everyday. (so hopefully that post will come soon.) Um, we have not found a home or jobs in Colorado, yet, but have not completely given up hope. And, most recently a hail storm came through last Friday and broke 8 of the 9 windows on the front of our house, turned our skirting into swiss cheese, plus dimpling our cars like crazy, cracking my windshield, and seriously cracking (multiple times) Justi's brand-new windshield! The kids were slightly traumatized and now, for some reason, E is having a hard time sleeping in his own bed! (now that I think of it, I got an ADORABLE pic of him sleeping with M in her bed. He put himself there, without even her knowing it!) The glass was a pain to clean up, and we keep finding tiny pieces of it throughout the house. The hail was around 2 inches in diameter and threw glass and ice from one side of our home to the other (literally). The kids and I (and Justi) hid in our bathroom till the storm was over (there were no south-facing windows in there). UGH. I just want to be done. Can we please find jobs and a home in Colorado and call it good? FYI for those of you who don't want us to move to Colorado, the other option is pretty much Idaho. Now, for those of you in Idaho, I know you would love it, however, everyone on my side of the family would hate it. So, family of mine, be happy we want Colorado! ....I'm not sure the people in Idaho read this anyway...except Emily.

I LOVE food...and trying new recipes!

2011-03-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

So, I was looking for some recipe ideas for new ways to season/cook chicken. I have gotten a little bored with my typical recipes and we eat chicken a lot.
I stumbled upon this site and sorta fell in love with it : Chowhound . Its a recipe site, of sorts; it also offers other information I haven't explored yet. Under its recipe section are some yummy looking recipes. But the feature I thought was neat was the message board. Ask for advice on anything food or restraunt related and a bunch of chowhounds will respond with what they know! I personally found a discussion board about chicken: some lady had posted a question about ideas for how her college daughter could cook chicken in her dorm kitchen...it had amazing recipe ideas from a bunch of people!

I just felt like sharing. So, enjoy if you try it.

Bedtime Miracles :)

2011-03-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

Today is E's first day in his "big-boy" bed! And he has not gotten out! (M did as well, and we didn't think we could get that lucky again)! So far, so good. I couldn't have asked for better kids! Wish us luck for tomorrow.

Birthday pics

2011-03-05T17:18:00.001-08:00

Did I mention that I dropped the cupcakes while trying to get them on the table? Yeah. I did. But most of them survived.

He's Two and She's Four, and you know they adore you

2011-02-28T06:50:00.000-08:00

That's the only part of the song that applies: "I can give you two reasons to show you love's not blind, He's two and she's four and you know they adore you..." The rest most definately does not apply! (For those of you who don't know the Dixie Chicks song, its about a guy who leaves his family for another woman...)

ANYWAY, E just turned 2 on Wednesday, and he's not hiding it at all! He is getting so big, and learning so fast! Potty training is still in progress, but going well. More words are working thier way out every day! Trucks and cars are still his love...I'm not exaggerating. And thank you everyone for his great gifts! He got everything I could think he could possibly ask for...cars, trucks, tractors, (noise-making, the whole lot), hats, sunglasses, shoes, train & track! You guys are great, THANK YOU! Pics are to come later - don't miss 'em!

And for those of you who were at his party, I would like to mention he is no longer afraid of the wheelie poppin' car! - thank you Grandma Gauthier (really, he loves it)- For that matter, I don't really believe he was afraid of it, I think it made him mad that it got away from him! (for those of you not there - it drives away after pushing a button, and pops a wheelie!) He loves it even more now that he figured out, with someone on the other end, it will come back to him. Still does NOT want to share it.

Growing up

2011-02-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

E: "DID!" - what E says when he uses his potty chair.
M: "Apparently he did go." - after checking E's potty chair for potty.

When did M start saying things like APPARENTLY?

And when did E get so big...well...Wednesday, really: 2 years old!

Sleep IS important

2011-01-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

M and E were down for thier nap a couple days ago, and it was nearing the end of their nap when I hear E starting to make noise. Typically he says things like "DAAAAAAAAAAD!" "MOOOOOM!" or "AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa!" and generally he says these very loudly, with little to no warning. He's awake = he yells. And he did not change his methods on this particular day. A few moments after a couple "DA..AD! Moo..oM!" and "AAA...aaa!" I hear M start to mumble (her typical way of waking up), and then this:

M: Ethan. (said somewhat grouchily and pleadingly). If you wake me up...then I can't sleep. And if I can't sleep...well, I can't grow. And if I can't grow....then I'll DIE (very dramatically said). So, you shouldn't wake me up. Because if you wake me up, I can't grow, and I will be dead. You don't want me to be dead, do you?

Christmas

2011-01-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. I absolutely love getting together with my family, and I am really glad my family puts in the effort to come together. On Christmas Eve day we made some cookies for Santa, which was really cute and fun - the cookies turned out really yummy! We went first to my aunt Nancy's and uncle Don's on Christmas Eve - excellent dinner as usual, and fun games, as usual! We also opened our first presents (new jammies for each of us) and they opened theirs. Then we went to my aunt Martha and uncle Neil's home and hung out there and opened more presents from Grandpa Steve - getting home and to bed at about 1:30 after setting out all the presents from Santa. Christmas morning was fun as it is bound to be and the kids got really great presents this year, all things they like and age appropriate. I was happily surprised at how perfect the gifts ended up being. We spent Christmas day and night at my Grandmas with a whole bunch of wonderful family, and more games, and more super yummy food! And here are the pics - from Christmas Eve mostly. Thanks everybody! oh, and the last pic is jalapeno jelly (who knew) - surpisingly yummy, made by my aunt Robin!

Potty Training Update

2010-12-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

So, E has not miraculously turned into a toilet using toddler, but...he is eager to use the toilet/potty chair. A big upside is that - instead of being diaperless most the day, sitting on the potty chair most the day, randomly sitting, not potty-ing, etc - E actually told me he had to go "boop" (mind you, this includes potty) and so I put him on the toilet. Amazingly he MADE himself go - not just it happened, but he actually sat there for a while and made himself go (with intentional effort). This is most definately a good sign. Not to mention, he did it again today. I am VERY excited. Diaper free might not be too far off.

curls

2010-12-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I read a blog about little girl hairstyling (looking for cute idea for M for xmas) and found she used some curlers to make cute curls on her daughter. I looked up the curlers to see how much they are and they were $25-30. More than I was willing to spend -even on ebay. But then I found these curlers, which are the same thing as far as I can tell - only a different name - for far cheaper from an ebay seller from China. They got here yesterday - a full 2 weeks earlier than the earliest estimated delivery date...I think it only took 1 week to get here, which was faster than some of the stuff I ordered in the US. Anyway - they were really easy to use, and the curls turned out cute, if I do say so myself!

new things this week

2010-12-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

This week was my birthday (on Sunday). I am now 26 and don't feel a day over 20 ;) !! For my birthday I chose Ice Skating - we have never been before. It was a lot of fun, fairly entertaining, and now my arms hurt like crazy! No one ever told me how much work it would be to hold a kid up to ice skate!! They loved it though, and it was fun. Plus ice cream cake - which I get every year. Justi gave me a birthday date including babysitting (her of course), so John and I went to dinner and a movie, and some shopping. It was great!

On the M side of things: apparently she is going to marry Mathew, and she is going to move in with Cara and Gillian! new devolopments, of course. However, she has specified that she WILL come back to me. She will go to Cara & Gillians, then go to Mathew's, and then come back to me, and keep doing that over and over. She did suggest we all move into Megan's, but...well I don't know if that will be happening or not... :)

And not to leave E and J out, they are doing well. Not much new there though. We got a book from the library, and E gets a kick out of it - the first humor I think he understands. Its got animals putting on clothes, and it says "Red shirt, blue shirt, green shirt..." each one under the corresponding color and animal. Then, there is a turkey that has the said article of clothing on incorrectly (say on his head, for example) and it says "...oops." E cracks up every time.

Potty training...again

2010-12-09T20:08:00.001-08:00

E has been showing some more interest in using the toilet lately; actually wanting to take his diaper off and sit on the toilet. Just for a week or so now - but today I decided to bring out the potty chair and see what happens. I was pretty doubtful that anything would actually come of it today - I was told by my Anat and Phys teacher that babies don't actually have physical control over the muscles that stop or start peeing until they are two - which E will not be in February!

E ran around today, most of the time diaperless, spending a lot of time on the potty chair - with no outcome. But he loved it! He was so proud to be sitting there, and even was excited for me to take pics...and disappointed when I stopped. Everytime he got on he would say "boop" which, fairly obviously, means poop. It was cute, and fun, M even getting in on it and encouraging him, and helping him. After putting his diaper on him, he then did his business pretty directly.

A little after J got home he wanted to try again, and so we resumed the diaper-less-ness. And, finally, he did it! I was very pleasantly surprised, and also surprised that I didn't have any messes to clean up in the process! We will see how it goes tomorrow.

Shutterfly-ing

2010-12-02T15:42:00.000-08:00

For those of us who procrastinate, it doesn't get easier than Shutterfly - and those of you who know me well (or know me at all) you know I am a procrastinator...it seems to run in the family, for that matter. Except for you know who! I love to give and receive Christmas cards - but I never get them done. After Megan, Erin and Aunt Nancy were sending out such wonderful ones, I had to know thier secret. (I would like ot admit I LOVE Erin's handmade ones, but the pieces do start to fall apart, and then I have only parts of a card instead of a whole one, and they are typically late...but I digress...) After divulging their secrets, I am now a Shutterfly fan.

And so, Christmas cards will be done and sent this year (like last year, thanks to Nancy). I am actually excited for which ones I'll use, with so much to choose from, like all these. Not to mention the fact that I always look forward to Christmas, and I love to receive all the different cards - which are most definately not collecting in a pile of procrastinated to do scrapbooking! They have so many beautiful, creative, fun cards that are so much easier to do than making your own...including invitations: wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Seriously, family, what is happening this Christmas??

I've also decided I might get E's birthday cards done this way too! I always have good intentions and clever ideas, but no follow through; so I think just going the simple route and ordering them from Shutterfly might ensure it actually gets accomplished, and people actually get invited. You will know soon enough if I am successful - just be watching the mail!

Quirky Kids

2010-11-15T17:26:00.000-08:00

My kids are a little funny. Okay, a lot funny. For instance: a couple nights ago we had pizza for dinner. Yes, that's all - pizza. As I set my kids at the table with their dinner, M asks: "Can we have green beans too?" ...of course I will never say no to a request like that! So - pizza and green beans. More than that, M ate all her green beans before her pizza, and asked for more...E did the same...and when we were all out of green beans they ate their pizzas.

E needed some new shoes - all he has are sandals and thin cloth ones, or some that have gotten too small. We went to payless, and I discovered he has his own opinions about his shoes. M Let me get whichever ones, the prettier the better - comfort was of little import (as it is with most women.) E, however, turned down three pairs, barely letting me get them strapped on. Two were tennishoes like these, and the other a pair of boots. Finally he settled on these and walked off with them on, completely satisfied. I think the tennishoes were too stiff and hard to walk in compared to all his summer shoes, and barefoot.

New batch of pottery

2010-11-02T08:16:00.003-07:00

This is my newest pottery. Another 40 pieces. The one with the moon and stars comes off the bottom white piece and holds a candle.

2010-11-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

These are my Halloween pics. E has two costumes because he couldn't wear his skeleton costume to daycare - it is too scary.

here they are watching a movie and eating popcorn with Jodi & Charlotte.

Halloween

2010-10-31T21:05:00.001-07:00

We had a great weekend! Friday evening we participated in our town's downtown trick-or-treat where businesses downtown hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. (the main road is blocked off for a couple of blocks for 2 hours for the event). It was fun and the kids got to show off their costumes. M was a purple unicorn - with wings - and E was a skeleton. I will post pics when I get more time. Saturday morning we went and set up the tunnel for the Fall Family Festival at my aunt and uncle's. This was the easiest set up yet - it went very smoothly (and yet took from 9:30 until 4:00, including breaks of course). We had a ton of fun running around on the trail searching for and following clues in a seek and find hunt. After it got dark we went through the trail - which looked great, and no ghouls to worry about this time :) Lots of good food , candy, and the best family for company. Thank you!! And perfect weather, if I do say so myself. I love holloween - mind you, halloween day we spent at home...burying my dead rat, and cleaning house :(

silly family

2010-10-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

I was just reading my sisters horror story blog about Disney World while J is loading the dishwasher. This is what I overhear:
J: What are you eating, NOW?? Spit it out. SPIT it OUT. SPIT IT OUT!! EW! GROSS. Don't eat that.

I assume this is directed at E, considering M knows what things are gross and not - E doesn't seem to care if something is gross - he's gonna eat it.

Pottery

2010-10-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am taking a ceramics class this semester, and it is the best class I have ever taken! I am having so much fun learning and creating all sorts of things. These pictures are from my first completed peices. I stay late and go extra so I can learn as much as I can, and my stuff has improved a lot for it. I have over 50 pieces completed. And, yes, you can expect one for your christmas present if you are on my list :) I have created a lot of mugs of all shapes, sizes and colors, pitchers, bowls, dog dishes, vases, and some containers with lids.

interestin site

2010-10-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this website today, and thought it was worth sharing. Just some interesting doo-dads, so to speak, but cool stuff. Called CoolTools if I remember right.

Megan, Jason and a dog.

2010-10-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

When we went camping in Iowa, the tents were set up just a little ways down the road from the cabin - that ended up not sleeping as many as it proffered to. Our tent was just a few steps from Megan and Jason's, and so they threated us, as we did them: no heavy breathing, please. The second night Erin slept in a tent-cot next to Megan and Jason's tent. And so, we could all hear eachother, and conversation kept going despite our going to bed - and more accurately, we were listening (and laughing) at Megan and Jason's loving bickering. Which included Megan complaining about the street light camped out next to us, shining brightly onto our tents - a minute later and Jason is pulling his truck around in front of their tent, trying to put some shade on their tent (which was rather unsuccessful), Megan telling him to get back to bed. As things started to settle down, Megan starts mumbling again, which turns into "What is that? Did you hear that? Izzy? EWWW. Jason!" Which we all question what's going on, when I sit up and see Jason stepping out of their tent, shaking out thier dog's blanket, and then leaving it on the ground outside. We were all laughing like crazy as Megan whined about dog vomit, and informed Izzy that she was sleeping on the ground now, and that is what she gets for throwing up on her doggie bed.

Iowa camping

2010-09-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

ok, so, you wanna know what happened in Iowa?? We drove to ... hmm, I can't remember the name of the town, in Iowa...three fires lake or something, to meet Erin, Megan (and her family), and my dad for some camping. It was hot and sticky, but nothing we Kansans aren't used to putting up with. I think this trip started with drinking...jack and coke with Erin, Megan joined in later. We decided to go swimming that night cuz we were all hot and so went to the beach, and Erin shared her tanning oil, and we made the lake look like an oil spill, and slipped and slid across the floaties, and slipped and nearly dropped now oily babies. M had her first experience of peeing in the lake "its ok to pee in a lake. everybody does..." so says Megan's family, which M responds dubiously "Are you suure??" Took her a long time to decide we weren't kidding. Every other animal pees in the lake, why shouldn't we?
Some more drinking. And some delicious slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches courtesy of Jason and his family (16 hours cooking, was it?). MMM MMM yuMMy!
And at this point (being a month or so later) I can't remember the order of events. Gilli had some birthday presents, and Megan made some delicious chocolate zucchini cake (right?) it was also yummy. And bubble courtesy of my dad - which the kids loved....kids being all of us...ok mostly me. And then at night my dad whipped out an awesome laser pen which is used for pointing at stars (which is not what we used it for) and provided us with some psychadalic (sp?) entertainment. J made delicious Chicken Delight in his dutch oven, after quite a bit of debating as to how he was supposed to cook it, he continued to do it his way, and the outcome was wonderful, with a very happy bunch of campers. MMMM< now I want some. Ummm, what else, smores, but not as many as I usually eat, on account of the Jack I think, and other amazing food. WE loved it. It was fun to spend that much time with our family, without worrying about what else needed to be done, or when or why or anything. Just camping and enjoying ourselves.
I have one more story for you, but it will wait for next time. It involves Megan, Jason, a tent, and a dog. and laughing.

Funny camping moment

2010-09-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

We were camping (same camping trip in Idaho) and chillin and eatin some giant brownies, which E is obviously enjoying considering his huge. mmm mmm chocolate goodness. So, M is asking me for something, I don't exactly remember what, but it was something that was not going to happen. She walks by us, E sitting to my left, and I respond to her "but moooom!" with a "Tough Cookies!" which prompts E to gasp excitedly, and turn to me with wide eyes and an expectant smile....uh. no, E, not "cookies" "tough cookies" WE're not eating cookies along with these brownies.
What a let down! :)

Idaho camping

2010-09-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

After our visit with Emily we went camping with J's family in Pocatello, on Scout Mountain. First of all, it was a lot of fun, and we love camping in the mountains (MOUNTAINS, MOUNTAINS, MOUNTAINS!!) ..ok. I love the mountains. Second of all, it was great to see so much of J's family, and finally meet my new nephew Aldon (very adorable - looks like his momma). But - there is always a but - There were skunks. Bold skunks, who, on our first night there, assaulted our camp site, and ate all (almost all, tainted the rest of) our muddy buddies, not to mention other random bits. I heard them in the night, creepy noises and scuffling and screechy-screamy-growling bickering; but there was no way I was getting my tushy out of my warm blankets, out into the freezing cold (seriously, practically, if not literally, freezing) night, to attempt to scare off skunks. NOT HAPPENING. And J didn't even stop snoring, sooo.... then, the next night, they had the audacity to scurry up behind us, only about 4 feet away in the tall grass - J clapped his hands loudly, risking the spray of a frightened skunk, to make him waddle away without any damage. Stinkin skunks. Adventure, I tell you what.
Also, I need to add - bad camp site. I kinda get it, but the hosts there were ornery. I am not going to go into detail but the short version - my brother-in-law got chewed out just as he arrived, and the yelled at that he is not wanted here and can go camp elsewhere, because he was going too fast; accused of endangering children's lives (even though his 6 month old son was in teh car); after that debacle (there was more unnecessary yelling, and accusations and stereotyping, then J intervened - our hero- to calm them down); they came back to insist payment (which had already been discussed with them in detail; issues about how many vehicles we had there, even though they said we could have 3, and each additional car was $5 - then came later and told us, no, 2 cars, and the third is $5 - then sent the Fish and Game officers to us to make sure we weren't causing trouble, and that we had too many cars, and we needed to pay. GEEZ! WE went through this ALREADY!! They informed us 3 cars was being lenient and we were only supposed to have 2................BLEH. Then we paid, moved our cars, and stopped dealing with them. Come on...this is the most peaceful bunch I know - find someone worth your troubles to hastle!
Anyway. Love that family. So good to see them. Loads of fun, games and good food.

Pictures

2010-08-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

M riding buster, and E driving the 4 -wheeler

M with giant Harley, and E standing at our hotel window in Colorado Springs

our trip continued

2010-08-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

After visiting Colorado Springs, we continued to visit Loveland, Longmont (so far our favorite), Greeley and a few smaller towns in between. Out of Colorado we checked out Laramie Wyoming, which we are not fond of, but the trip was still fun. When we got to Idaho on Monday we went to Emily's house and stayed with her until Thursday morning. We got to ride Emily's horse (kinda emily's, kinda just borrowed) Buster, which M loved! and we got some cute pics of her on Buster, and some of E on the four wheeler! WE went swimming, but we chose a pretty chilly and windy day for swimming, so it didn't last long. The highlight for me (other than Emily of course) was El Herradaros (sp?), a super yummy authentic mexican food restraunt, that serves cheep and delicious food - tacos, super burrito and quesadilla for us! We ate there twice.

Emily's dog, Harley is as big as my daughter (ok, not as tall, but you'll get the picture) but he is super sweet, and I love him. WE played in Emily's yard a bit, and M was introduced to mint that is growing in her garden; one day she was following Chris all over and playing with him, and apparently he got her some (they also went around and picked flowers for me) And she insisted on keeping it and offered everyone to rub it on there hands (it makes them smell good) or to smell it. She got a big leaf from a tree and rolled her mint up in it and stuck in it her pocket to take camping with us. Before we left Emily's M said "I will miss Emily and Harley and Chris, but this mint will remind me of them" and then, when we were camping, she still had her mint, took it out of her pocket and said "I miss Emily." It was really cute. And now she always thinks of Emily when she has mint. WE MISS YOU EMILY!!

back to school

2010-08-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip up to Idaho for a family reunion (J's side of the family) after a short camping trip with some of my family in Iowa (not family from Iowa, just where we met up). We've been pretty busy and summer has disappeared. It didn't help that I had summer classes,and only 3 weeks off. We got to do some rough scouting in Colorado, to see where we might likely live when we finally move. Quite a few good stories, but I split them up.

When we were in Colorado Springs we decided to go to Seven Falls - where they told us the Mountain elevator is broken, so they will take $1 off our admissions. We agreed, not minding 185 steps....wait, what did J just agree to? So we went to climb said stairs, which were small, and steep and seemed to go on forever; about half way up - the first set of stairs - M gets tired of climbing (we saw this coming,and I didn't blame her, I was tired too!) so I take E from J and J picks up M (he's stronger after all). We push ourselves the last 40 steps or so and my legs and lungs were threatening to quit. We took a break before tackling the next set...I would like to point out we did more than 185 steps, cuz we chose the longer route. This time we both carried a kid all the way up but took our time because there was a lady behind us who said thanks for setting a pace she could do without looking bad :) . That's right. These stairs are so narrow 2 people have a hard time passing - which is more a problem when the other people are coming down as well. So we make it to the top just in time for another break! And then we went for a small hike, maybe 1 mile or 2, which both my babies loved. It was a wonderful hike and J and I could not get enough of it - it has been such a long time since we had anything worth hiking, and breathing that fresh mountain air - and I barely sweat, which is a feat for me, considering in Kansas I step outside sit down and I soak my clothes in sweat. Anyway, then we had to go back down the steps, which I thought would be easy, but my legs still protested, and got wobbly (not a safe time to be wobbly), and when we got to the bottom and sat, my legs were shaking horribly.

But we had a great time. And my legs are just fine now. Pics of our trip are to come!

and now she is 4

2010-07-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

It is hard for me to believe that I have a 4 year old. There is no way M is 4 already!? How did that happen?? She had a great birthday, with many wonderful presents...to be honest probably the best set of presents she's gotten yet. She loves every single one of them, has played with most of them, a lot. (except the kite, but that is to be done soon). Her favorite is probably the hamster that Justi got her (a zhu zhu pet mind you, if it were real I would be forced to do something horrible to her). Some great tunes from Megan and her family (Gilli's favorites apparently) that caused some great dancing! Too many great things, thanks to everybody. And a BIG thank you to every one who came to her party yesterday - you made it a lot of fun! We went to a local park that has a interactive water (fountain) park. Also, I made ice cream cone cup cakes, that, after making them for M's daycare class, remembered that schools don't really allow baked goods anymore. J's coworkers ate them instead (well, mostly J, but he shared a little).

yelch

2010-07-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

so, I was sitting down to change E's diaper (which is of course, extremely poopy) but after undoing his diaper I realize the wipes are not where they are supposed to be. I yell to Justi and ask her to please grab me the wipes. As I wait for the wipes, E is squirming and trying to escape and kicking his feet, all the while I try to keep poop from spreading. I yell "Justi, HURRY! He's wiggling!" at which point I hear her say "heads up" as a bag of wipes comes flying at me, which land on E with a thump, and then fall into his diaper. did I mention that his diaper is poopy and I've been avoiding spreading poo??

...

2010-06-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

So, world's of fun was, well, fun. As usual. However, it started with a quick change from hot weather, to cool breeze blowing in storm clouds, to rain, to being pelted with a downpour as we made a mad dash back to our car...my kids were not impressed. Anyhow, we ate lunch and waited it out in the car, then went and bought our tickets. Someone gave us a coupon while were waiting in line, which got us a free ticket for M! Yay! And then we proceeded to ride rollercoasters, spinning rides, kids rides, rip cord...so on and so forth, with pretty decent weather. And of course, the essentials: funnel cake and dippin dots. We didn't get home until really late...technically my kids missed dinner, because they were passed out when we got back to Bob and Gail's and went straight to bed.
Now, back to summer school. Which is just as bad as everyone says. Especially when they are online....especially when you are a procrastinator. So I'm doing my homework....well, technically I am currently procrastinating as you can see.
Kids are sick again...cold or something. It involves coughing and lots of snot...which I now think I am getting.
And on a side note - I had a girls night out, drank a margarita, yummy chocolate cake shots, a few beers...had some very poor, but fun bowling, and dancing....I didn't dance, too much rubbing up against strangers for me, but there was dancing. :)

WOF

2010-06-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've gotta get ready for world's of fun. my favorite amusement park. I'm gonna stop worrying about everything else for a little while, and I am going to go and enjoy my family. Tell you all about it when I got the time.

Go Figure

2010-06-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

So, my kids go to educare ( a daycare center by my school, that has discounted student rates - otherwise I in no fashion could imagine paying for). Not only do I get student rates, but I also qualify for a grant that covers most of the costs. However -
there is always, at some point, going to be a however. First, I couldn't keep their spots for my fall semester, unless I had them enrolled for the summer, which I wouldn't qualify for the grant unless I was taking full time classes...so I enrolled for summer classes (which I did not want to do) and kept them in. Then I found out that the summer rate covered by the grant would be less, meaning I would have to pay more - almost making it so I couldn't afford it, but we cut corners in our budget to make it work. Now, today, M's teacher told us that they are increasing the regular rate, and decreasing the student discount because the old rate isn't covering costs. Now I really and truly can not afford it. The daily rate increased by $1.75 and the student discount used to be 20% and is now 10%...how on earth am I supposed to be able to cover that, plus the decreased summer grant?? I can't. That's all there is to it... I should just count myself lucky that I got to have them in there this long, but mostly I am just pissed off. And disappointed. And I feel like I'm letting my kids down, because they like it there so much, and it is such a good opportunity for them, and M really likes her teachers and her friends, and just going in general...even E likes going to his class and exploring. I feel like crap. (guilt rules my life, after all).
so now, I don't know what...but I am not happy about it.

pics

2010-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

I've been trying

2010-06-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

Trust me. I have tried multiple times to blog. I have been without internet at home and so have been limited to times when I am in town and have Wi-Fi access (not very much) and then I have to rememer to blog; then, once I forgot my camera so I can do pics, and the last time it told me blogger was unavailable and to come back later. Well. It is later.

We went camping memorial weekend, and it was great. The weather was very cooperative...well until Sunday, which was rainy - but we went out friday, saturday, and left sunday morning. It was not too hot, not too muggy, not cold at night, perfect for swimming! We got a nice camping site (after starting to think there were none close to the water) and there were practically no bugs, and no mosquitos! which is amazing in itself. J cooked breakfast and dinners in his dutch oven - delicious. We even conveniently ended up a very short distance from a restroom/outhouse. However. This camping trip did not go without incidents. It started with noticing some red swelling on E's....well private area (enough said), which we decided we would wait out and see what happens. Then, Saturday afternoon, E and I were hand in hand walking along the shore, trying to dodge all the obstacles. While trying to step over a small log, E fell and I caught him by pulling on his left arm. He started crying, which at first I took just as small complaining for falling, but with time found out between the two of us we had hurt his arm. Also we decided to wait it out. He wouldn't use his arm and cried when it got bumped or if he tried to lift it, so he just left it dangling at his side, crying whenever it moved slightly. He did this throught the afternoon and toward the night started using it some with less complaints, but was less than impressed when we tried to take his shirt off that night. Come Sunday it was worse and he was crying a lot, and the pain didn't seem to be fading and I was worried maybe we did more serious damage than I imagined. Making the long short - we went to the ER, his arm is fine, and the doc says (concerning the other part) that we need to re-do his circumcision. AFter a visit to our Pediatrician, she says the circ does not need redone, it will take care of itself. We are in the market for a second opinion. ... whew...thats that. Pics will be posted ASAP.

everything

2010-05-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

My babies were sick...well, Add J to that list too. But they are better now. Monday (last week) Educare told me that E had a fever of 99, but no other problems. Then Tuesday at nap ...his little cry was sad, and when I went to see what was wrong I discovered vomit. He was wearing a shirt and diaper to bed and his bare legs had throw up on them and his little knees were shaking because it was making him cold. He looked so pathetic. So I cleaned him up and changed the bedding and put him back, and an hour later we had a repeat, so I just kept him up and snuggled him. M slept through it all. Throughout the day he threw up a few more times, but did fine that night, however, M woke up a little after midnight throwing up. Her cry was also pathetic. So she and I stayed up, because I knew more was on its way. We layed on the couch and watched The Road to El Dorado, during which she threw up. Then we turned off the TV, and went to sleep on the couch. About every hour she threw up. (the good thing about M throwing up is that she has the control to do it in a bowl. She threw up, every once in a while until Friday. She wasn't eating anything and anything I could force her to eat she would throw up, so we stopped trying. She layed around ALL day, every day, doing nothing and looking terribly sad. So we visited the doctor, becuase my kids had never gone that long without food - he says keep fluids going in her and don't worry about her not eating...kids can go a long time without eating and be ok, but she needs fluid. ... Well, I know about the fluid thing, but was relieved to hear that her not having food was ok. Saturday, everything was fine and she was asking for chicken nuggets. Friday night, J was throwing up. Me? Somehow, miraculously, I managed to stay healthy and take care of my family. I'm not sure which I prefer - throwing up, or constantly cleaning up after everyone else throwing up? I like taking care of them - it feels good to me and good to them.
Other than that, I am done with this semester, all A's. This summer I have 2 classes, so that I can keep my kids in the Educare program and not lose their spots; then I have 2 more classes in Fall semester and I am done with my Accounting Assistant degree.
Then what? Well, moving I think - to Colorado somewhere. No definate plans yet, but we are trucking our family back to the mountains we fell in love with forever ago. We can't imagine a life that our kids don't know the mountains, when they are such a happy part of our lives. I am excited, and a little sad, but Colorado is a good middle between J's family and mine. We will see. Don't hold your breath, I am known for being indecisive.
I am ready for change. I am so bored! :)

Stranger Danger

2010-04-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, we've talked to M about strangers a bit, telling her to be safe and what not. A couple of times she brings it up when we say no she can't do something and she says "because there are stangers?" or some such. We haven't talked about it recently, but apparently the message stuck:

We were at Wal-Mart, had just finised checking out and J went to use the restroom and M wanted to get a drink from the water fountain -I was still a few steps behind, so M said "Mom will you come a little bit closer?" and I said yes, and she continued "because you wouldn't want a stranger to grab me." I smiled and said "No I wouldn't like that." And she said "You would say 'oh no! someone has taken my child!" At which point I couldn't help but laugh and tell her how much I loved her.

bribe

2010-04-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend - we went to the zoo which was having family fun day, and then we went to the dog show (both of which were free). Then on Sunday we went to Greg & Robin's to see their new puppies, and they are stinkin' cute! And Greg BBQ'ed for us - yummy!
At one point, while we were hanging out at their house, Robin sat down on the couch and asked M if she was gonna come sit by her, and M said: "I will sit by you if you get me a drink of water." (as she was climbing up on the couch next to her). And this would be the first time I have heard her use a bribe (and certainly not the last) - I told her maybe she should ask instead and she got embarassed.

Story Time

2010-03-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

Driving home from somewhere at the end of a long morning M, Justi and E are sitting in the back of the car and M asks Justi for a story. Justi has a habit of mixing up her stories a bit, usually not too much, but just enough to make us laugh. This time she didn't really mix it up, she just had a funny transition- The story of choice is The Three Bears. Can't go wrong with this one.
So, as the story goes on after the bears discover their soup, and chairs have been used they continue into the bedroom to discover their beds have been as well. When Justi got to this part: "When they got to little bear's bed who do you think was in it?...Well, following the general trend of things, Goldilocks was in his bed..." Which I couldn't help but giggle about - as if M would know what follow the trend of things meant.
Well, maybe she kinda gets it now?

Singing with M

2010-03-19T13:10:00.001-07:00

Driving home today the song from, I believe, Sugarland came on that says: "All I want to do(hoo hoo hoo hoo, woo woo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo-oo-ooo)...is l0-0ve you," and as we dance in our seats and sing along M comments "This is just like Veggie Tales" I pause for a second and then laugh and say "It sure is baby." and we kept singing.
For those of you who do not know it, is from Madam Blueberry, by Veggie Tales; in her movie the song goes: "I am so blue-hoo-hoo blue-hoo-hoo blue-hoo-hoo hooooo. I'm so blue I don't know what to do."

hear All I want to do HERE

spring break

2010-03-18T07:33:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while, but sorry to say nothing has been happening, and I can't remember any of the whitty things M may have said. It is spring break and I've got nothing to share. It's a fun life if I have any say.

Doin' better.

2010-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

alright, everyone seems to be better - for the time being anyhow. No more yucky bodily fluids...well there is E's snot to consider, but I'll take that any day compared to what he was giving me. Back on the road to calmness.
J and I were about ready to run away the last couple of days (knowing that justi is home, of course ;) ) because the crying and whining seemed non-stop and of course the two always did it at the same time, and then some! Whew. glad that's over.

Sick babies

2010-03-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

My kids are still sick. Yesterday night I woke up at 1 am, 3 am and 5:30 - at which point I brought M back to bed with me; at 6:30 we woke up to her throwing up. Throughout the day I changed her clothes twice, her bedding and our bedding once, plus 2 baths. E still had nasty diarreah all day, and neither of them wanted to eat; however they did enjoy pancakes and eggs for dinner. Top it off with whining (which I don't blame either of them, I whine when I am sick too).
Last night same gig - only I made J get up - at 1,3 and 6. And now more vomit.

I'm not loving it, to say the least.

Oh what a day

2010-03-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

This morning started with cranky kids. Both of them. E just whiny and M complaining that her stomache hurts (which is generally gas when she complains). Then, I am changing E's dirty diaper and low and behold I find this in his diaper: (not the quarter, its there for size reference)

...oh yeah - in one end and out the other. It is a glass bead/rock. GEEZ! Then I go to school and take them to educare, M went fine, but as soon as I put E down he started to cry. Off to class, where I am shopping for a new quickbooks trial so I can finish my Computerized accounting class; I purchased one, but I was trying to save money by buying a used edition. Well, guess what? Used trials only work for 30 days, and you can't register it for the full 140 days cause it has already been registered under someone else. You know how much a new one costs? $100! Did I mention I was trying to save money?? Anyway, around 2 I get a call from M's teacher who says that M has a 102 fever and has thrown up - so I go to get my kids and go home. M still has her fever and feels horrible but has not thrown up so far. (keep your fingers crossed for me). Then while just chillin at home with justi E makes this HORRIBLE noise in his diaper. And I am busy taking care of M so Justi offers (sort of) to change his diaper - she deserves a raise. It was nasty (I know you want to hear this) but I will spare you all the details...essentially E has diahrea that can not be contained by a diaper. He does it again...and again. And the third time he continued even after I had opened the diaper. Neither kid ate dinner - which was the highlight of the night having 3 very important factors: yummy, cheap and easy. And I am sharing the recipe because I owe Megan one:

Swiss Chicken and Steamed Rice

4-6 boneless chicken breasts, pounded
1/4 c white cooking wine
1 can cream of chicken soup
Swiss Cheese slices
1 c herb stuffing mix
1/4 c melted butter
enough steamed rice for your family

Mix wine and chicken soup. Mix butter and herb stuffing. Layer chicken, cheese, soup mixture and then stuffing mix. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes, uncovered. Serve over steamed rice.
(we also served ours with green beans.)

Now they are in bed, and I am sharing my day with you. The end.

Inspired by emily

2010-03-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

This is something Emily's post reminded me of; a poem/song I like...you may have heard it :)

Boundin', by Pixar

“Pink? Pink? Well, what’s wrong with pink?
Seems you’ve got a pink kink in your think.
Does it matter what color? Well, that gets nope.
Be it pink purple or heliotrope.
Now sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down,
When you find that you’re down well just look around:
You still got a body, good legs and fine feet,
Get your head in the right place and hey, you’re complete!

“Now as for the dancin’, you can do more,
You can reach great heights, in fact you can soar.
You just get a leg up and ya slap it on down,
And you’ll find you’re up in what’s called a bound.
Bound, bound, and rebound.
Bound and you’re up right next to the sky,
And I think you can do it if you give it a try,
First get a leg up, slap it on down…”

So every year, along about May,
They’d load him up and they’d haul him away,
And they’d shave him and dump him all naked and bare.
He learned to live with it, he didn’t care,
He’d just bound, bound, bound, and rebound.

Now in this world of ups and downs…So nice to know there are jackalopes around.

E's first birthday

2010-03-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

E's first birthday was great, and thanks to everyone who came and made if fun for him and us. And thank you everyone for his presents; He is having a lot of fun with them (as is M). I can not believe my baby is one. He still doesn't talk much, just ma ma, da da, na na (no). He uses hand signs for all done, more, please and eat; however more often then not he does a combo sign of please/more whenever he wants something. He picked up on the walking thing pretty fast, and although he is a bit wobbly, he is liking walking all over. He is a bit of a cry baby and his world falls a part at the drop of a hat...or car, or barn, or ball. But he is super adorable and lovable, and his fussiness can be overlooked......sometimes. WE love him, and he gets more wonderful every day.

M's haircut

2010-02-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

BEFORE

AFTER

Like I said, I don't know if it was a good idea or not, but she is still really stinkin' cute.

E's BIRTHDAY

2010-02-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

E is now 1 year old. I can not beleive it. One. year. old. And he is wonderful as ever and adorable as ever, and is picking up on this walking thing pretty fast. What did we do for his birthday, you ask? (that being yesterday):
CLinic Visit: 2 hours, DMV (to register car): 45 min (which is an all time record) and a touch of shopping. Then home for naps. That's the way we Rice's celebrate. oh yeah.
have no fear, however, we will party hard on sunday at Granny's house.
M also got her hair cut...by me...for the first time. I'm not sure it was a great idea, but fortunately for her she is super cute no matter what I may do to her :)
PICS will be posted later - if I can get it to work. I'm at school right now so it can't happen at this moment.
I am going crazy. Just to let you know.

That hurt!

2010-02-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

So, we went to my cousin's daughter's (Charlotte) 3rd birthday party on sunday at Pump it up - a place with inflatables you can play on, slide down, and in general go crazy. It was fun for everybody and then J decided he and I should race eachother through the obstacle course. Well, I was well on my way to beating him through it when I got over the FIRST hump...at which point I sprained (or strained, I'm not sure) my ankle. It hurt like hell right away and then the pain kinda went away and I felt like I was being a baby. But then, later that night, despite the icepack and elevated foot, it hurt even worse. I could hardly walk on it. In the middle of the night I had to go to the bathroom and I had to crawl - it was that bad (and embarrassing, I'm not sure why I'm telling you except to explain HOW bad it hurt). The next day I couldn't walk on it, and THANK GOD Justi lives with me and was willing to help me out. She took care of M, E and me all day. She's already a mother, now all she needs is kids ;) . She is the BEST! I was glad class was canceled Monday due to snow, cause there was no way I was walking to class. Today it is better, unless I step on uneven ground (which is hard not to do in snow) which twists my ankle and hurts. But I can walk and my ankle is only a little swollen. And that is that.

and What not

2010-02-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

lately

2010-01-25T10:19:00.000-08:00

We've been busy lately...and then again not. It is life and that's all there is to it. Classes are going well so far - it's only been a week, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get all A's despite that 3 of my classes are online. E is crawling everywhere, and walking while holding on to whatever he can grab - even if that means depantsing me. M gave up yesterday and didn't want to clean up her mess from playing one of her games, even though I told her if I had to pick it up it was going in the garbage (a tactic that usually gets her to pick up). She responded with: "It's ok mom. I don't want to pick it up. It's ok if you throw it away - I won't cry this time." So in the garbage it went.
I'm constantly picking up garbage from Sugar chewing up dog toys so that E doesn't chew it after her; I often miss peices and later find them in his mouth.
Last night at dinner J and I were discussing (not quite fighting) something in pig latin so that M did not pick up on what our dispute was over. After a few minutes of talking with him I glance down at M who is finishing her dinner, and she had the ping-pong effect while she watched us. Looking first at J and then at me as we took turns saying our piece. The look on her face was so hilarious as she tried to figure out what the heck we were talking about, and J and I couldn't help but burst out laughing...which promptly ended our disagreement.
And....and we are selling the Neon this week. I'm a little sad to see it go because I've had it for about 7 years now - it was my high school car. Unfortunatley it no longer meets our needs b/c it is too small for our family without becoming claustrophobic, and J needs a car he can go hunting in. And so, ado to our little neon and we are welcoming into the family a Ford Taurus wagon. '99, white and whithin our price range. This car will be the family car, and J's car is yet to be determined. I am quite happy with it (even tho I'm not a fan of Ford). It has enough space, plus a third row seat in the back if needed (did justi call it a kamakaze seat?) - it faces backwards.
And that's what I know for now.
Oh, and add to our swimming adventures: Last time we got everything, or so I thought. Except this time we didn't have M's underwear (I do want to mention that I did lay them out, they just didn't make it into the bag). And then, while getting her dressed, Justi dropped her shirt on the floor, which of course is covered in water. So, M went in pants, without underwear, no shirt and wore her coat. I know. I'm talented.

Today

2010-01-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

Reading Justi's blog made me realize that my blog was stuck in autumn, and so I changed it. Not that this background is wintery, but it is not autumn. It is new and refreshing and that is all I needed.
We went swimming today at the Y and so far it has been quite the debacle to conclude. I have not yet mastered how to get both kids and myself showered and dressed, without E crawling all over the nasty floors. Justi has definately been the saving factor so far, but even that did not prevent E from leaving with moist clothes, me with wet pant legs, and all of us leaving with dripping hair. Sooner or later, we will get it down.
Also, to add to the list of things J can not make last (mainly being jeans- that, if we're lucky, will last 1 month) are his boots. He wears out everything in ridiculous ways. It wasn't too long ago that one pair of his sneakers tore along the sole; now his work boots came apart along the sole at the toe. He came home and showed me his gaping boot, looking like a shoe with a mouth. So, we bought him new boots. I insisted on not buying a cheap pair (because really, where would that get us but buying new ones in a month) So we bought him a pair that were on sale for $60 (which is not cheap for us) and then, when we checked out, they rang up as $40! Thank you, THank you Thank you. We did not have money for $60 boots. Worked out wonderfully. They are originally $80 at the store and $120 online. Good deal, if I do say so myself.

please, record my worst

2009-12-31T10:25:00.000-08:00

It would seem to me that children are best at recording and REPEATING the worst of you. Why it can't be the good things you say and teach them is beyond me.
As many of you may know, on Christmas Eve (rather technically it was Christmas morning - 1:30 am to be precise) we got stuck in a snow drift. This could be passed of as bad luck, but I feel compelled to point out that the reason we got stuck in said snow drift is because my dear hubby thinks nothing will ever go wrong for him -but it always seems to catch up with him. So, yes, we were running wrecklessly through snow drifts, and they got the better of us. I was angry ( it was definately an "I told you so momement") and apparently I voiced it, despite my desperate attempts to not say "I told you so", I must have expressed myself clearly in any case:

We were shopping around Gander Mountain (a sports store) and we got E and M in one of those carts that has a car attached on the front so they could entertain themselves while we shopped - and yes I am aware they are the filthiest things around, yet they had a lot of fun and are still alive. At one point we were stopped and J was talking to an associate and I picked up on what M was saying:
M (with hand up to ear as if holding a phone): HI, um, Jarod? We are stuck in a snow drift and I was wondering if you could come and get us....we are stuck, so we will wait here...

It continues in similar fashion for awhile, every once in a while she would get out and kick he tires "trying to get them unstuck from the snow drift". Then I hear her yelling at E:

M: EeethAN! Don't. I can't believe it. Grrr. NOOOO. (mumble mumble grumpily) This is YOUR fault....etc.
Me: M! That is not nice. You need to talk nicely to your brother, or you can get out.
M: NO. Mom, we are just playing. We are stuck in a snow drift and I am angry because E did it.

Well, now I guess I know how I sound. Poor E :)

Birthday Tattoos!!

2009-12-20T06:15:00.000-08:00

my tattoo - sea turtle

J's tattoo - deer

Justi's tattoo- dragonfly

My birthday was lots of fun! First on the menu was tattoos!! So, just as my tattoo was finished and he asked how I liked it I said to him "I think I'm gonna pass out." And that is just what I did. And when I came to about 10 seconds later, I threw up. And then everything was fine! :)

I'm pretty sure the main reason I threw up was because all I had eaten all day was 2 donuts, a snack bar and some crackers. That and I just got a tattoo. In any case it was lots of fun. J and Justi did fantastically and got their first tattoos! (this was my second) After that we went to dinner at Chili's and then J & I went and watched Avatar which was a really good movie. Then home for cake at midnight! And great presents!! All in all a great birthday!

ok

2009-12-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

My phone is working now. WEll I can take phone calls anyway. My phone ended up being broken, but I am using my old one. (the one that J walked into the lake and ruined...yeah it still has issues, but it takes calls.) And tomorrow is my birthday. I love my birthday. It is a day all about me - I had to teach my husband that because his family apparently didn't do it that way. I could have sworn everyone had a day off on their birthday like we did at my house. LOVED IT! and now my hubby is catching the hang of it too! He is also quite taken with the idea himself for his birthday. I LOVE DECEMBER!

I'm not ignoring you

2009-12-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, if you are trying to call me it won't work. My phone is broken and I can not get it to turn on. I will attempt to remedy that tonight - if it is free. If it costs me money , I'm sorry, it's not gonna happen. Not until after x-mas at least :). anyhow, my children are crying, I am grumpy, and there are things that need to be taken care of.

Ah, this was a good day - minus the broken dishwasher

2009-12-10T13:47:00.001-08:00

So, finals are done. My best surprise was that in my business class she let everyone who had an A not have to take a final. And I was one of those. So, one final down, one free, and one to go, I took my Accounting final which was my biggest dread. I stayed up until 12:30 studying the night before, and the night before. I only missed 2! YAY! Finals done. Big breath and a smile on my face. That was Monday. The joy of being done and getting all A's is still with me , however.
Yesterday J broke the dishwasher. Ok, not entirely his fault: the heating element was rusted pretty bad, and bent upward. I asked him if he could bend it back and it snapped when he tried. So, handwashing dishes not so fun.
Today, I washed dishes (some of them - I'm really not a very motivated person when it comes to dishes....or housework in general). Then after whatever other little things I did this morning I got to come to Aunt N's and put the kiddos down for naps and sit in their suana for about 45 minutes. And granted it was interupted half way through cuz M got out of bed, but those were still an amazingly relaxing, quiet, 45 minutes. And now they are still sleeping and I am blogging. It feels good.
But, the REALLY good part about all of this?? Megan's cookies came in the mail today. DELICIOUS!! I love her cookies. I'm considering secreting them away so I do not have to share with J or M. :) but, then where is my Christmas spirit?? Thanks Megan. Your cookies made my day.

back to it

2009-12-02T07:26:00.001-08:00

We are back from Minnesota, and we had lots of fun...the drive not so much, but it wasn't horrible. I love visiting my famiy, and I got to see everybody, even Emily made it over there. We didn't do much, but I think that is the way I like it - more face time more love.
Now I'm at school and have to study for my finals - YUCK!
needless to say I'm feeling slightly stressed. I'm fairly confident that I will do fine, but I stress none-the-less.

Adventures of Sugar

2009-11-19T08:50:00.001-08:00

Daily, I share my life with this monster (that, yes, we love), and mostly daily this is what she does, starting at 6:30 a.m.:

Whine to be let out
Eat...make that- devour, without chewing...breakfast
wait in crate for me to wake up
clobber children while chasing Prints
go outside and gather random junk to the yard, bark, dig holes, etc.
back inside, chews toys (hers) into tiny peices for me to pick up
terrorize terra (justi's dog)
whack everyone and everything with tail
make babies cry
eat E's cheerios at lunch, off his tray
clean up floor from E's cheerios after lunch
rest...done resting
drag terra (justi's dog) around by the collar
open the baby gate with her mouth and let E escape, along with herself
lick the wall and attempt to chew on it.
potty break
nap

...and it's only 3 o clock.... Just kidding.

some days are just days.

2009-11-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

nothing doing. nadda. and i'm bored out of my mind. Another day for cleaning, cooking, eating, diaper changing, homework...where's the FUN? I suppose I'll need more money before I attain that goal.

E is standing while holding on to furniture now. He can be found doing that more often than sitting or crawling. He is cutting somewhere around four teeth right now, and he is not impressed. He already has his bottom two, and now the top middle two have cut through...and I'm not sure why, but apparently grinding the only four teeth he has is fun for him. EEEK! I HATE that noise. (M does it when she sleeps, and we can hear it over the monitor!)

M just keeps getting bigger. And bossier. And smarter...she actuall puts 2 and 2 together now. We were eating breakfast a couple of days ago, and I was sneaking in a cookie with my cereal, and M saw it and said "What's that? A cookie? OK. I will have one when I am done with my cereal, ok mom?" and I say that's a good idea. Half way through her cereal this ensues:
M: I'm gonna have a cookie now.
Me: No, you have to eat your cereal first.
M: Did you eat your cereal first? or your cookie?
Me: Well, ummm...my cookie.
M: Why?
Me: Baby, you can have a cookie but you need to eat your cereal first - it is good grow food, and cookies are not. Grown ups don't need to grow more, so I ate mine first.
(LAME, I KNOW)
M: ok, mom.

Laundry, anyone?

2009-11-08T18:03:00.001-08:00

I have an excess of laundry, so anyone who wants some is welcome to it. I think about a week plus of dirty clothes have created a mountain in my room. And anyone who know me knows I hate laundry and often have a decent pile to deal with, but this is a different story. This is a MOUNTAIN! Our washer broke a couple of weeks ago. We braved it and went to the laundry mat the first week, but that cost $40 and before we did it again we decided it would be better spent being put toward an actualy washer. So today we purchased a new (used) washer - and never in my life have I been so greatful to be able to do laundry! mmmmm - the smell of clean clothes fresh from the dryer. So nice.
We initially thought fixing our washer would be cheaper, but after a little research into the problem, just the peice needed to fix it would cost at LEAST $175, not to mention getting someone to get their butt to our house to fix it - so...new washer, which ended up being $75 from a nice old man who repairs and resells washers and dryers . Thanks.

fall photos and halloween pics!

2009-11-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

she said it.

2009-10-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

A few new ones from M:

"Here's what I was thinking.... if I wear a coat, then it won't snow."

"Here's the deal [mom, dad].....I will eat it, and then I won't take a nap."

"Shh. QUIET......oh, it's the sound of god."

and of course something I hear every day "NOOOOO! SUUUGARRR!!"

E still doesn't say anything but gibberish. He is however crawling all over and eating whatever. And it seems like he is eating constantly. And they are both super wonderful.

Pictures!

2009-10-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Seasons

2009-10-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

I love the changing of seasons. It's not always just one season I like. Some people say..."I just like summer," or "I just wish it was always fall." I decided that it is almost a perfect balance for me. The way it is set up just makes me appreciate them more. I love love love love LOVE fall. It is my favorite. But I would not love it as much as I do if it were always fall. And winter is just as wonderful, but by the time winter has hung around a little too long I am looking forward to spring and summer, which I know I just got sick of. Seasons length and transissions just help me enjoy everything I get. Yeah, I get tired of being cold and wish for hot, but just as easily I get tired of being hot and wish for cold! And even though spring and fall are PERFECT I would be very depressed if I did not have my time in the snow or hot days perfect for swimming. Fall makes me happy. That about sums it up I think.

hmmm...

2009-09-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

blah de blah dee blah.
Good weekend, way too short....and clothes shopping SUCKS! Or rather, I'm terrible at shopping - for me, I'm really good at finding stuff for my kid-o's!

and so.

2009-09-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

I realized that I hold myself together when I cry.
when you try to hug me I push you away
because I'm afraid that when I reach for you
everything I'm holding back
will fall no matter how hard you try.

(and no, i'm not crying or sad, I just realized it.)

fair pics

2009-09-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

E is trying to learn to crawl...

M fell asleep listening to her music

M and J on the sky- trolley thing; E chillin in his stroller.

State Fair

2009-09-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

We went to the state fair yesterday with Justi, Sammie and a friend, and we had a lot of fun. Including going down a giant slide with M (her idea) and J and M riding on the air trolley-thing, which she seemed to like a lot. All of this complimented by food of course! All in all we tried a gyro and a pork loin sandwich for lunch, tasted Justi's taco-cone, sammie's turkey leg, devoured some funnel cake, shared a stuffed cucumber (probably my favorite), and for desert we shared fried cheese cake and fried oreos. (and you thought the funnel cake was desert!) I think that is all we ate. I will post a few pics next time.
We love the fair.

why all the drool?

2009-09-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

So, E finally popped up two teeth. The two bottom front ones....now, I'm still uncertain as to if this is the cause of all the drool or not - considering he's been drooling like crazy for about 2 or 3 months.

life

2009-09-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

M can wink now - not like this - she can actually wink, but this is how she taught herself.

This is M's "house." We bought a new water heater and this was once it's box - it has much better purposes now!
We let M sleep in it on J's birthday. Yes, the box is still in our house, even though its a week or so later.

E does not like sweet potatoes...but he does like eating!

Pink toes

2009-09-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

I dragged my butt to school this morning, not willingly - but I did it. I lug myself out of my van (yes I LOVE driving my van to school - can you hear my sarcasm?) and try to perk up on my way up to the building when a gust of wind blows my hair all amuck - why do I even try?- so I tuck my head down and keep on trudging...and laugh a little to myself. I had totally forgotten to remove the neon pink nail polish M painted on my toes (and I do mean my TOES) a couple of days ago.
Thanks M. I love you.
Now. back to class...

songs that make me love life.

2009-08-31T07:18:00.000-07:00

JACK JOHNSON: we got everything We need right here And everything we need is enough. Just so easy When the whole world fits inside of your arms, Don't really need to pay attention to the alarm.

DARRIUS RUCKER: Cause I got a roof over my head, The woman I love layin' in my bed. And it's alright, alright. I got shoes under my feet, Forever in the eyes staring back at me; And it's alright, alright. Yeah, I got all I need, And it's alright by me. When I lay down at night I thank the lord above For giving me everything I ever could dream of.

LONESTAR: And the most beautiful girl holding both of them. And the view I love the mostIs my front porch looking in.

JOE NICHOLS: Unsinkable ships, sinkUnbreakable walls, break. Sometimes the things you think would never happen, Happens just like that. Unbendable steel, bends, If the fury of the wind is unstoppable...I've learned to never underestimate The impossible

CHAD BROCK: I'm still standing where I always stood, Right here beside you like I told you I would; I'm here forever, if it's the last thing I do; Baby, I'm in for better or worse, Even if it's hard, even if it hurts. I'm going the distance and baby, I'm going with you

lazy momma

2009-08-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

After cleaning up the dishes from dinner I plopped my butt into a chair to relax. M walked over to me, stood right in front of my face and said:
"Don't sit down mom. No, don't sit. Come on get up."
"Why?" asks I, and she responds:
"Because we gotta do stuff. We gotta get up. Because...Captain Hook wouldn't sit down..."

ok. fair argument. :)
(and, no, we have not recently watched Peter Pan, but we were recently talking about how much M looks like Tinker Bell.)

LOVE THEM

2009-08-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

gettin' some motor skills

2009-08-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is E's first time clapping! YAY!