Ranch Family

Update

2008-11-10T08:10:00.001-08:00

Well, after several months of struggling, I've decided that I should post an update. I apologize for leaving all of you hanging for quite a while.

Shortly after my last post, my husband informed me unexpectedly that he did not want to be married anymore and asked me to move out of our home. Obviously, I was crushed and had not seen anything like this coming. He had been struggling with multiple personal issues for quite a while.

I am happy to say, that through much prayer and lots of hard decisions, we have decided to continue to work on our marriage. The girls and I have been living in town for the past 3 months while my husband has made some tough decisions in his own life to decide what is really important. I wish that I could say that I have not been hurt through all of this and that I haven't hurt him, but we've both made mistakes, but in the long run, we both love each other and our family.

I don't think that repairing our marriage will be easy, but I'm confident that if we both have the same goal, we will make it through this. I have told so many friends that I hope I can look back in 5 years and say we had a really rough 6 months, but our marriage made it through and now we are stronger then ever.

Obviously, I have a lot of friends and family who read this, so I will not go in to details everything that has happened because this blog is written by me and by my perspective. It wouldn't be fair to my husband to air things out through my view point.

I haven't been able to post because I have not had a lot of joy and wasn't sure where we would end up. Now I'm hopeful that we will make it through. Please pray for us that we make the right choices to keep our family together and make our marriage stronger then ever.

I miss all of you!!

Cowboy Dinner Tree

2008-08-01T13:11:00.001-07:00

We went out to dinner last night at the Cowboy Dinner Tree with a few friends from the ranch. Mike and Marilyn are retired, but come back every year to put up all of the hay here on the ranch. And trust me, it's a lot of hay. They're thinking about heading to Mexico when they're done haying for the winter. Bill the man in yellow is a full time employee and does odd jobs around the ranch. He's been working here for 14 years.

After dinner my husband and I decided to head up to a reservoir that's about 10 miles from the Cowboy Dinner Tree where we had dinner. It's not very often that we have a babysitter and so we took advantage of the free time.

This is what we saw when we got there. Beautiful!!

We are thinking this will be our new camping spot. Now I'm just anxious for a free week-end to go camping!!

Happy Friday Everyone!

My Flowers

2008-07-31T22:45:00.000-07:00

I do NOT have a green thumb, but I sure do have a lot of ambition to try. Check out these shots of my flowers this year.

Since we just moved out to the ranch in February, I had no idea how well anything would do. I planted most of these in May and then we had several freezes and a couple of snowy days before it finally warmed up during the middle of June.

When I first planted these, they were spread pretty far apart and I thought I would need to buy more to fill in the holes. Needless to say, there aren't any holes to fill in anymore and I didn't buy anymore flowers. YOWZA!!

I'm so happy when I see my flower boxes. They turned out exactly like I wanted them to. Yay!!

This little flower was planted almost 9 years ago, and look at how beautiful she's turning out!!

These two little poser's just wouldn't let me take pics of my flowers, I had to get a few of them too.

And finally my first born flower. She prefers to grow in a tree. So pretty!!

Kiddo Numero Dos wouldn't cooperate, so we'll save her pics for another day. Thanks for checking out my flowers : )

Play Day II - 2008

2008-07-27T15:09:00.003-07:00

We went to another Play Day last week-end and I thought I would show a few pics.

Kiddo Numero Uno and I were getting the concession stand ready. She is a great big helper and wants to eat everything that we bring out. Our family is a BIG supporter of the concession stand.

My husband and I before the action starts... We very rarely get our pic taken together and I very rarely have my picture taken period since I'm usually the one behind the camera.

Kiddo Numero Dos lets us know how she feels about everything...

Here are the step-kiddo and kiddo numero dos watching the teams warm up for the buddy barrels.

Kiddo Numero Uno entered the barrels again. She urged her Daddy to "GO FASTER"

Believe it or not, that is a great big GRIN on her face. She loves the rodeo!!

And Step-kiddo takes off to get in place for her event.......the cow hide race.

Yep, That's her.

I think that's her?

I see a little red from her shirt in the cloud of dust. She did really well and actually won $16 for placing in her event. GREAT JOB!!

Here she is again with another cow hide racer after they both swallowed about a pound of dust. I would hate to see where all of that dirt went. I think she's still cleaning it out of her ears.

YAY, for the play day!! It's really a great way for us to spend time as a family and everyone gets in to the spirit of the rodeo.

Hottie.....He's a Hottie!!

2008-07-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Is it horrible of me to post pics of my husband on here and exclaim his oh so hotness??? Check these out...

There is nothing like seeing your husband holding your baby. (Ok, she's not really a baby anymore, but she's still "my baby")

If you look way down in the left corner you will see her pacifier, we didn't even notice it, but when she saw the picture, that's the first thing she pointed out....

Kiddo numero uno is sporting her newest favorite outfit, which is always appropriate for riding horses. I'm sure you'll agree!! She is nothing if not stylish. We went shopping a week ago, and she was prancing through the store saying "That is SO CUTE" or "That is just not my style.......UGHHH" I'm not sure where she gets that from, because it's definitely not me. I'll be getting style advice from her soon.

My step kiddo was really nervous about getting up on the horse. She would only sit on him long enough to get a picture and if you look at her closely, you'll see that her smile is very forced. We're going to have to work on getting her more comfortable around the horses so that she can enjoy them as much as everyone else. She is getting better though!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Mermaid

2008-07-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Have I told you how much I love this little kiddo numero dos???

Especially with her sweet little smile and sweet disposition...

And there is just something about her when she scrunches her little nose up like this...
Melts my heart!!!

~ Good night boys ~

2008-07-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Bruce and Davey were minding their own business, snacking on the smorgasbord that is their pasture, when these two pesky girls decided they wanted to say Good night and give them a little good night treat.

Kiddo Numero Uno is not afraid (at all) and dives right in to the grain to give the boys some nummy nums.

She really loves them and can't wait until Wednesday when she gets to practice her Barrels again. (Check out those pics and that story here...) There is another play day coming up soon and the girls are so excited to get to rodeo again!!

Finally big Sissy, gets in the action. Davey and Bruce don't mind....

They'll take a good night treat from anyone. Look at Bruce reaching in there to get Davey's snack. Naughty boy!!

There we go one girl each. Then no horsey gets left out.

Kiddo Numero Uno loves the boys and going to say good night makes her REALLY happy!!

Remi checks out the action from the coolness of the grass.

"Just making sure my girls are safe"

And they're off, heading in for a bath and bed time story. Good night Boys and Good night girls!!

Sisters by Choice

2008-07-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, I went to a bridal shower for one of my very best friends. To start the shower off, the hostess asked us how we knew my bff and why we love her. We have known each other since grade school, and I said some lame answer about what a great friend she is and how she has always been there for me.

So, as we were driving home last night, I really started to think about why I love her. It was funny because both her Mom and her Aunt said they loved her because they had too. And as we were coming home, I thought that I really was at that stage that I loved her because I had to too.

She and I are way passed the stage of just caring about each other as friends do. We are at the point in our friendship that we love each other unconditionally, like sisters. We have gone through lots of ups and downs in our friendship and in our personal lives.

We've been through break-ups, bad relationships, lots and lots of fun times, traveled together, moved together and through all of the bad, sad, happy and fun times we have always been friends. There have been moments that we have been super close and moments where the distance between us both physically and mentally has weighed heavily on my heart.
She is an OB nurse and helped to deliver kiddo numero dos and I so wished that she could have been there to help deliver kiddo uno, but we lived too far away at that time. There was no one that I wanted to be by my side more then my husband, my Mom and my bff.
I have watched her have a baby at 19 and finish school to be a fantastic nurse, struggle to be a single Mom and raise a little boy and then have another beautiful baby with her soon to be husband.
I am so thrilled that she has found the Man that completes her life and that he is a strong enough person to be a Dad to her first son and make their family complete. I hope for many great years for them to come and a life filled with happiness. I hope that she knows how much I love her and how glad that I am to have her in my life.

Taking a break

2008-07-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have been taking a break from blogging. Not by choice, I just haven't felt super creative and I've been pretty darn busy.

Believe it or not, I still rec'd another award from Jamie at Bumps in the Road. Gosh, Thank you so much. Nothing inspires me to write again more then knowing that people out there enjoy what I write. I'm passing this on to all of you lovely bloggers out there. There are so many that I enjoy reading and I'm grateful for all of the time and effort you take in posting to your blogs.

AND I'm going to get off my lazy duff and get to posting again. Sorry for the break everyone!!

I have some fun pics at home of our camping trip this past week-end and I'll try to post those on Wednesday when I get home.

Tonight my husband and I get to play in our first co-ed softball game of the season. We haven't played softball together since before my oldest daughter was born. We have been playing Men's and Women's for the last few years while our kids were small and needed constant supervision. That way one of us was always a spectator/cheerleader and babysitter while the other one played.

I sure do miss my women's team and all of the great girls on the team. We have made so many great friends through softball!!

We are playing in a new town this year because of our move to the country. I'm excited to get started again!! Wish us luck!!

Funny things kids say

2008-06-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

My daughter's constantly surprise me with the things that they say.

For the last couple of days, kiddo numero uno has not been feeling well. She has been running a temperature and telling us that her throat hurts.

Poor thing!!

Tonight we were sitting at dinner when my daughter told me. "My throat hurts, my back hurts, my knees hurt, my elbows hurt.............."

"I'm just one sick woman." : )

Don't forget that she's only four.

*sigh*

What a difference a year makes!!

2008-06-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

WOW ~ What a difference a year makes!! These were all taken a year ago. Each of the girls was a year younger and boy do they look different. Each of the girls has gotten taller and more mature and definitely more fun!!

Check out the large crab in the background...

Kiddo numero dos, was just learning to walk. I'm still so proud and it makes me sad to see that she has grown so much and isn't really my baby anymore.

These two girls spent quite a while riding the "horse" at my grandma's house. Their Great-grandma..........It's funny to see them doing some of the same things that I used to do when I was a kid. I used to spend hours on top of this propane tank pretending it was a horse and I was galloping away to somewhere exotic!!

I think my Mom probably has picture of my sister and I in much the same position. Look at how much these kiddos have changed.

I sure do love them and I can't wait to see the changes the years to come will bring.

Play Day

2008-06-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a few more pictures from our play day...

This was a perfect babysitter for all of the little cow kiddos. Our local pre-school was doing the concessions at the play day for a fund raiser and the kiddos were perfectly happy to play in and out of this mini-van with the DVD player. Thanks Ruby, what a great idea!!

These two girls were happily sitting on the top of the fence waiting to do the cow hide races. See their bright, shiny, CLEAN faces. That soon changed...

Here is my step-kiddo on the home stretch. Notice the wave of dirt flowing up from the cowhide. She said that she had a blast, but it didn't look too fun to me.

Here she is after her run was through. She looks a little shell shocked. She had a ring of dirt around her mouth, a pound of it in her ears and hair and I'm afraid to know what she found in her underwear. She said that she's ready to do it again next month.

Brave kid!!

Look at these two dirty birds. They sure had a great time there together and can't wait until the next one next month. YAY!!

Barrel Racer

2008-06-21T20:59:00.001-07:00

We spent all day at a rodeo play day. Kiddo Numero Uno decided that she would like to be a barrel racer. This was her first ever race and she was a little bit nervous... She was concentrating really hard on what she was supposed to do.

Daddy decided to give her some last minute advice.

This was right as they were heading in to the arena. Daddy, Kiddo Numero Uno and Rosey were all ready to go.

Here they are on their way back. Great Job!!

They made it back all in one piece with everyone still smiling. YAY!!

She LOVED it!! Loved it!! Loved it!! She has decided that she wants to be a barrel racer and I'm so excited because I always wanted to be a barrel racer, so I would love to see her live her dreams.

Daddy was very proud of her too!!

Stay tuned for more pictures to come of the rodeo play day tomorrow!!

Morning Coffee

2008-06-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I was the first one in the office. Since I only work in the office two days during the week, my days are normally very busy trying to get everything caught up and prepped for the days I will be at home. Since I was the first one in, I decided that I should make coffee for everyone.

I had actually purchased my coffee at a little coffee stand before I came in. I think I've told you all before that one of the things I miss most living in the country is my daily skinny snicker's mocha. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

So I added water to the back of the coffee maker, measured out the coffee beans and added them to the grinder, I ground the coffee and added it to the maker, then turned the machine on and let it do it's magic. I was feeling really generous making the coffee when I wouldn't even be drinking it as I walked back down the hall to my office.

Not long after that, I was sitting at my computer responding to an e-mail when I hear my boss yelling "Did you make the coffee?" I smiled too myself thinking "He's going to be so happy to have a nice fresh pot of coffee first thing in the morning"

"Yes," I called back.

"Come check it out..........."

I felt a sense of dread as I walked back in to the kitchen. "Why would I need to check it out?"

When I walked in I could clearly see what I had done. I had forgotten to add the coffee pot to the bottom of the coffee maker. It was sitting there next to the sink drying from when someone had rinsed it out the day before.

And below the coffee maker was a whole pot of coffee all over the counter top. It took 3 towels to mop all of it.

What a bone head!!

So this morning, I was even more careful when making coffee for everyone and decided to actually use the coffee pot.................................that works out better for everyone!!

DRRRRRrrrrr!!!

Just wondering

2008-06-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Blogging....

I never thought that I would be someone who would write about my daily life and activities and put it out there on the Internet for all the world to see. I mostly do it to stay in touch with friends and family that I don't get to see very often.

We bloggers are sure a trusting lot. I don't use my families name, and try not to give away exactly where we are just in case there are some weirdo's out there reading about our mundane life.

It's interesting how we share so much out here in bloggy land, but even so, do you totally share everything? I find so many times that I hold back. I try to keep this positive, so I don't write about some things, because I know that I have friends and family who read this and I would never want to hurt them by posting stuff that should be personal and private. But sometimes, I feel that this is therapy for me. I get to tell funny stories and re-live some very happy moments in my life, but what about the rest. What about the bad things that happen to us, shouldn't we be able to share those too?

I've gone through some interesting things in the past few months, and would love to be able to share everything especially since I've found some really great ladies on here, but I don't.

I hold back....

I'm fairly reserved in my personal life too, so I guess it should come as no surprise that I don't post everything here either. I hate to let anyone see me down, so I pretend like things are fine sometimes even when they're not.

So my question is, am I alone in this? Or do you all keep things out of your blog too? Is it ever really possible to share are complete selves???

I'm back

2008-06-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

We spent this past week-end camping.

Not out in the woods, big campfire, roasted marshmallow's camping, but the sissy kind of camping. We actually visited an RV park.................. I never would have thought we would do that.

My husband was invited to play in a golf tournament, so rather then stay home and let him have all of the fun. We hauled our trailer out to an RV park and the girls and I swam in the heated swimming pool all day while their Dad golfed. It was fun.

And, it was better then staying in a hotel where we would have been cooped up inside all day.

Here are a few pics from our week-end back home...

I was glad to spend time with my family and Papa was so helpful. Notice the package of wipes sticking out of his pocket. She actually had a big blow out, so we were thankful that he carried those around for us!!

The girls really loved the bumper cars and we stood in line to ride them several times!!

My littlest kiddo won a snake by picking rubber duckies out of a big swimming pool. I'm scared to think about how unsanitary that was, but she was very proud of it and carried it around on her shoulders for the rest of the afternoon.

Check out the big bad cowboy riding the Katelyn and Adam Express Yellow School bus. Some people make fun of others for riding the short bus...... Hmmmmmm

Feeding Chickens

2008-06-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Introducing my Step-kiddo.....
She will be with us all summer and will be making appearances on this blog from
time to time.

Yes, it can be hard having another sister join us part-time through out the year, but we do the best we can to make all of the girls feel special and loved. Anyone who has a blended family can understand the difficulties of putting kids together, but our girls love each other and argue just like any other family.

But she sure is a cutie!! And she's had a pretty tough life, it's the kids that suffer most in this situation!!

All of the kiddos love to go feed the chickens at the Funny Farm with Grammy. Grammy lets them bring in the feed and the chicken scratch.

Notice the little chicken to the left of kiddo numero dos. She's blind. And the girls loved to pet her. Poor thing didn't know what was getting her. But she was very gentle with them and let the girls touch her as much as they wanted.

Notice that kiddo numero dos brought her lip gloss to feed chickens with. It's always important to impress the other chicks!! She's also very stylish in her purple Phat Babies worn outside her jeans. A true diva in training.

Trust me she's not as innocent as she looks. You might just see that little devil perched on her shoulder whispering naughty ideas in her ear.

Kiddo Numero Uno had the job of gathering eggs this day. Here she is getting up the nerve to stick her hand under the hen.....

Just kidding all of the hens were outside eating the scratch. She didn't have anything to worry about. No Mama chicks to give her a hard time.

First she looks in the box to see if there are any eggs...

Then she carefully reaches her little grimy hand in to grab the eggs...

AND TAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAA, we're in luck. The old hens on the Funny Farm laid two eggs this morning. Grammy has new baby chicks growing just waiting to start their happy lives of laying eggs, but the old hens are giving it their best effort before they retire and let the young ladies do all of the work.

We don't have chickens here on the Ranch yet, but it's an idea that I'm always thinking of. I just haven't decided if I have time to properly care for them. We'll see....

Curiosity

2008-06-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

When do you lose your curiosity?

There are several old homestead's out here on the ranch that I've been dying to go look at. It's strange, because when I was younger, I would have driven over to them and marched (or hiked in some cases) right in to have a look. Now, I don't know what I'm waiting for.

Right now, the weather is still pretty horrible, so that could be it..............but I think mostly I let life get in the way. I'm always too busy cleaning my house, washing my laundry, reading and typing blogs, working everything else, and the homestead's still sit there. Just waiting to be explored.

So my goal in the month of June is to grab the girls and go for a hike out to see at least one of them. I'll try to remember to bring my camera to document what I find.

Because the fact is................................I'm STILL CURIOUS!!

Funny Farm IV

2008-06-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here at my parents computer stealing their pictures for your viewing pleasure. These pictures were taken over the last few years.... ENJOY!!

You might start to notice a theme here. I think I've mentioned a couple of times that I refer to my Mom as the "Crazy Cat Lady" Or you may remember our other Funny Farm and Funny Farm II or maybe even The Funny Farm III stories....

You might notice that there are three cats in this little Kitty Condo. But trust me there are more then that in this house...

This little Kitty decided to be Santa Claus and drink Santa's milk for us. She was the bulimic kitty and puked up everything she ate and purged on everything she could find. Gross, huh!!!

She was actually the original herpes kitty. Refer back to my Funny Farm stories for more details on that...

And this is "Fluff" the Man of the house. He only wishes he could love the ladies, but the poor thing had that taken care of when he was a baby.... So instead he sits here waiting for someone to brush his flowing locks...

There are just as many pictures of my kids as there are of the cats that live here. My parents take pictures of them like they were their kids...

And this final picture has nothing to do with cats, but I found it on my parents computer and it made me miss my 100 year old Great-grandma that we lost last year. This is her with me and my girls. Although, by that time she didn't even know who I was. I guess that's what happens when you get to be 100.

Have a GREAT week-end. We'll be hitting the rodeo and carnival tomorrow and will post pics next week.

Choices II

2008-06-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to say that my choice to come to work on Monday was the right choice. We closed 4 out of 4 clients and the property we were selling sold out that day. If I had waited until Tuesday to come in, we may have missed out on the opportunity. This is such a good investment for our clients which shows in the fact that it sold out in 3 days. This is almost unheard of especially in this economy. Crazy!!

We have another big week-end ahead of us. We are heading back to my home town to pick up my step-daughter for the summer and to attend the local Rodeo. I'm really excited because it has been several years since we last made it to the rodeo and there are always people that I grew up with there. It's almost like a high school reunion with all ages. It's so much fun!!

This will also be the first time my youngest kiddo's have been to a carnival. My step-daughter will be 9 this August and has been to a few, but this will be all new for the little one's. I think that they will have so much fun. I'll try to take lots of pictures!!

I'm hoping to head home today since most of my work here is as done as it will be for now. Cross your fingers for me. One night away from my home and hubby each week is enough!!

Pamper me

2008-06-02T14:35:00.001-07:00

So since I had to come to work today, I decided that I would go have my nails done while I was on my lunch. They look so nice...

I walked in to the little nail salon that is attached to our Fred Meyer which is run by a little Vietnamese family. They are very friendly and do a great job. I had a man do my nails, which was a first for me. He couldn't speak much English, but he was very conscientious of doing a good job.

I'm typically not a real girly girl, but I've been dieting and I like the way having my hair done and nails done makes me feel. Plus, my husband encourages me to do things for myself. He's great that way.

What do you do to make yourself feel good? Do you like to have your hair and nails done, or is there something else that gives you that comfort?

Choices

2008-06-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel torn between doing two things that really mean a lot to you?

We have several major accounts that we are trying to close at work, which will mean quite a bit of revenue to our company. My boss asked me to come in tomorrow to help get everything done. I work in a small office and my boss and I are the only registered individuals; which in our industry means that we are the only one's who are able to talk to clients about their investments. The first part of this year has been fairly slow for us and this would make our year if we close this business.

BUT............

The parent co-op preschool that my kids attend out here in our small community is having a cleaning/moving day on Monday. We were told that the room that we currently use in our community school will not be available next year so we need to pack everything up and store it until we can find a new location. I feel horrible missing this day because I know how much work it's going to be and because it's such a small group, there aren't a lot of people to help. I was also elected to be on the leadership team doing communications, so as a leader of the group I hate to miss a BIG work day.

I know that what I really need to do is go in to work and make sure that we get these accounts, but I hate to leave the group of Mom's out here doing all of the work. I think that they understand that I have to work, but most of them are stay at home Mom's, so I'm not sure that they will totally get "it".

So, in the morning, I'm off to work...........To any of you ladies who read this, my heart is with you and I wish that I could help get the classroom cleaned and packed.

I hate making tough choices!!

Grocery Shoppin'

2008-05-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

We just got home from Grocery shopping. Now that we live in the sticks, it turns in to a whole day adventure. We actually left yesterday and went in to Kiddo Numero Uno's T-ball game, then stayed the night in town and shopped all day today. BUSY!!!

It's amazing the amount of money we spend on groceries now. We used to go out to eat a couple of times a week when we lived in town, but the nearest restaurant is 15 miles away from our house, so we eat at home now. I also like to make sure the we are totally stocked up. I think we could eat for several months on the meat in the freezer and the canned and boxed foods we have. I would definitely miss fresh produce though!!

Is it just me, or are grocery prices outrageous now??

Fishin'

2008-05-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

We took the girls out fishing last week-end in the canals on the ranch. What do you think of my husband fishing with a purple princess fishing pole?

After much negotiating, he finally let kiddo numero uno have a turn...

And they caught one, look at that monster!!

Kiddo Numero uno was paying close attention to what needed to be done. Got to get the hook out. The poor fish swallowed the hook...

She decided she was better at supervising then helping...

Looks like Daddy has it...

That was the only fish caught that day, but stay tuned for more fishing stories in the months to come. My husband loves to fish...

Awards and Appreciation

2008-05-27T09:15:00.001-07:00

Thank you to Mud Ranch for the award up above. There is nothing I love more then knowing that there is actually someone out there on the other side of their computer screen reading about my daily drama. I really enjoy posting my pics and telling my story and I'm even more grateful when I know that there is someone actually reading it. So Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for the award.

I would like to pass it on to the following people whom I enjoy reading...Pony Girl this cowgirl posts the greatest pictures and I enjoy reading about her adventures with her boy. Terri Terri is also a great writer and writes about her daily life and her family. And then there's Meg over at Lucchese to Louis Vuitton she's hip and fun very fun to read. And last but definitely not least, there's Beth at Around the Funny Farm she writes about her every day life and makes me smile every day.

Our Story III

2008-05-27T08:33:00.001-07:00

To read earlier versions of this post, please click one of the links below...

Our Story
Our Story II

So, the next morning, I woke up, got in the shower and got ready for church. I called one of my friends that I attended church with, and we made plans to meet up at church later. I didn't even think to mention that I might be bringing a boy.

I mean really what were the chances that he would...

1. Remember that he had agreed to go to church with me.
2. Actually call
3. Actually drag his butt out of bed early enough to get dressed and ready for church.

Needless to say, I wasn't counting on it.

You could imagine my surprise then, when shortly after hanging up with my friend, the phone rang again.

IT WAS HIM!!!

My heart raced and I got so nervous. I couldn't believe that he was up and actually calling me this early on a Sunday morning.

"Are you all ready?" he asked me. Are you kidding, I thought to myself. Now, I'm going to have to rethink what I was wearing, change my hair and get it all done and be ready in time for church.

"Oh, sure" I said. "I've been up and ready for quite a while."

"Great, you can come pick me up then, so we can go together."

"Ok, well let me finish up and I'll be right over."

Crud, I flew to the bathroom, plugged my flat iron back in and got to work. I ran back to my bedroom combed through my closet and changed my clothes. Then I ran down the stairs and out to my car.

The whole drive over to his house, my stomach had butterflies, and I was totally freaked out. I couldn't help but wonder if he would still be interested in me now that he was sober and we weren't out at the club. Would I still be pretty to him? Would he notice that zit on my chin? Would I still be interesting and fun without the liquid courage?

I picked him up and we headed to my church that wasn't far from where he lived. We made small talk, actually I made small talk and he sat in my passenger seat and smiled. The dude barely talked............. it was like pulling teeth to get him to talk to me.

"Oh great" I thought. "He's totally bored already and regretting that he's going to church with me."

I wish I could describe the feeling that I got when we walked in to my church together. After all of the nervous talking and butterflies in my stomach, there was a sense of total calmness after we entered the church. I finally felt peaceful and comfortable with this man standing by my side.

Looking back now, this was an omen of how our relationship would be. Me freaking out, and him being the quiet and steady support that I need.

I could tell that he enjoyed the service and when I suggested that we go to breakfast after church, he was all for it.

Again, we went to breakfast and I was my goofy talkative self and he sat quietly on the other side of the booth smiling at me and barely saying a word.

"Oh geez" I thought, "Does this guy ever talk?"

After breakfast I took him back to his house. I was going to go home and take a nap after being up so late the night before. I needed to do laundry and get ready for the work week.

I could tell that he was reluctant to get out of my car, but finally he said Good-bye and I left to go home. We hadn't made plans to see each other again, so I wasn't sure where we were leaving things.

I again assumed that, that was that, and we would see what happened.....

Last Branding

2008-05-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today was the last branding of the season. There will probably be a few stray late calves that may need to be branded, but this was the last official BIG branding.

These are the hardest worker's on the ranch...

Best looking, too....

These poor suckers were just waiting their turn. Don't they look excited!!

This guy was actually really excited and decided that he didn't want to have a turn. He got really excited an chased off everyone who was in the pen with him. But the cowboys were more persistent and he still had to have his turn. He did make the day exciting for everyone in the pen though...

And how was your day?

Moving cows

2008-05-25T18:07:00.001-07:00

The Ranch Foreman was at our house last week-end moving cows. He stopped by to say "Hi" and thank us for having him over the night before for our Big BBQ (read about it here). He was using Ace the horse my husband normally rides when they work cattle.

He decided that kiddo numero uno might like to have a ride on Ace, her favorite boy...

She wasn't quite sure about riding with Randy at first, and so Daddy decided that he would take her for a little ride around the field in front of our house.

Notice the fantastic riding clothes she has on. A summer dress with Nike's..........very stylish...

Ladies, there is nothing sweeter then watching your husband ride with your little girl safely tucked away in his arms. She was in heaven!!

She finally decided that it might be OK to ride with Randy. As long as she got to go for another ride she was willing to get over the shyness bug...

This is Ace. He's getting over his camera shyness too. Isn't he handsome!!

So Randy decided that kiddo numero uno should go with him to move the cows in the pasture beside our house. She was all for it. They set off across the field to gather the cows.

Here they are getting farther away. I was terribly afraid that she would freak out half way out there and need to come back, but she loved it and didn't have any problem leaving us to work cows with Randy.

They came back about an hour later. Randy was incredibly patient with her and only had to trot a couple of times to keep the group of cows together. He said that she was a little anxious about that, but didn't mind too much.

Notice she did change her clothes before they left to move cows in to something a little more appropriate.

Kiddo numero uno now thinks that Randy walks on water and is always looking for him, hoping that he will let her go with him again. It was the perfect day for her!!

I have to admit that my heart burst with pride and joy watching my daughter find her new love. I have always had a love for horses and now my girl has the "bug" too.

SLACKER

2008-05-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Ok ~ I Know............

I'm a total slacker!!!

I have been so busy lately, that blogging has just not been an option. Let me tell you what's been going down....

Last week, we planned a HUGE celebration for my husband and kiddo numero dos's birthdays. We had guests arriving Friday afternoon and staying through the week-end. The Big BBQ was Saturday afternoon and we had probably close to 40 people including kids.

Needless to say, I spent the week before the party cleaning house, and then this past week trying to clean house again. Parties are soooooooooooooo much work!!

We had a fantastic time though, the kids played all day. They jumped on the tramp, ran through the sprinkler, had a water fight, played in the tree house.....................they played HARD!!! It was a lot of fun!!

This is what you call Red Neck horse shoe's. Notice there isn't a really nice pit and that all these guys are standing in the middle of the pasture behind our house....

This was also somewhat of a house warming party as well. We just combined every reason that we could think of to have a party and turned it in to a REALLY, REALLY Big get together.

Originally, we were hoping that it would be a nice week-end for our friends from our old town to come out and camp out, but unfortunately none of them were able to make it. But my husband's Dad, girlfriend and her son came and my husband's friend and his wife from his home town came. Some of my husband's old co-workers and new co-workers and lots of new friends from our new town. It really turned out to be a great party!!!

This is Kiddo Numero Uno and her Papa...

This is my husband's Dad and kiddo numero dos, I mean Cinderella.......

Unfortunatelty, Kiddo numero uno ended up with the stomach flu Saturday night and puked every hour through the night. We changed the sheets on our bed at least four times and had to give her a bath in the middle of the night. Poor thing!! Then we woke up early to send off my husband's family.

Monday afternoon, I ended up with the same flu. BUMMER!! I was down and out for a couple of days and then had to head in to town for work.

So you see, totally busy!! I'll try to be better!!

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will be posting lots of pics of kiddo numero uno and her first time moving cows....

Rodeo Time

2008-05-15T12:22:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again. Time to dust off your boots (or clean the cow poop off in my husband's case), pull out your cowboy hats, find your fancy duds and head out to your local rodeo. Or not so local, if you're a true rodeo fan. There's just nothing like being out on a hot summery (is this a word) day, breathing dust from the arena and watching the cowboys and cowgirls perform their favorite events.

I personally like the rough stock events!!

We have decided to head back to my home town for the local Livestock show. It has a PRCA rodeo and horse races at the same time. I love this Rodeo!!!

It's a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and to meet new friends. Everyone usually has a fantastic time at the Rodeo. We like to get a beer and nothing beats a stock show burger on a hot afternoon.

This will be the first year we're taking the kiddos along too. I think they'll have a great time. There is a large carnival, with lots of games, greasy foods and carnival rides. Sounds like fun right??

Are you a fan of the rodeo season? Do you go as a family, or find a sitter for the kids? Let me know about your favorite summer activity.

Oh yeah, I did mention a couple of times that I'm a fan of the cowboys too!! There's nothing like a nice pair of Wrangler's!!!

P.S. This isn't my husband, but he has a nice pair of Wrangler's too. I'll try to get a picture and post it soon!!

P.P.S. My husband is hoping to start roping soon too, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can add this to one of my favorite events. He is very athletic, so I'm betting he could be very good at this sport and I wouldn't mind going to watch at all.

Advice

2008-05-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Just some advice for all of you. I learned this lesson the hard way, which seems to be how I learn all of my lessons.

If you're going to give your daughter a dark blue Cookie Monster cake........

You should expect dark blue and then green poop for at least a week.

And a stained bottom.

For anyone who eats the cake...

Just a little humor...

2008-05-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

LETTER FROM A FARM KID,

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are.

Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 AM. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad,there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, But tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon when you get fed again.

It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route marches," which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different.
A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

This will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting.I don't know why.
The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it.You don't even load your own cartridges.They come in boxes. Ten we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home

I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
Carol

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2008-05-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

To all of you beautiful women out there...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

If only we had known what we were getting in to. How unselfish our love could actually be and how love at first sight truely feels. Looking back, I feel sorry for how many times I must have ripped my Mom's heart out, and how she just loved me any way.

It's a true lesson in life the first time you hear your babies heart beat, the first time you feel them move inside of you, the first time you see them and hear their first cry, the first smile, the sickness, the long nights with little sleep, the moment your heart drops when you first see them injured or hurt, or when their feelings get hurt for the first time. And it amazes and humbles me how each and every day my love for my babies gets stronger and how I never realized how my Mom must have felt this same way about me.

So, I LOVE YOU MOM!!!! And I wish each and every mother out there a wonderful Mother's Day!! Hugs to all of you!!!

We go a walkin'

2008-05-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the girls and I decided we wanted to go for a walk down to see the horses that are turned out down by our barn.

Kiddo Numero Dos was really excited to go. She just loves the horses!!

She hasn't quite figured out how to wear a skirt with shorts underneath. She's such a tomboy that she would much rather wear the shorts and ditch the skirt, so she just hikes the skirt up and pretends she just has shorts on... Poor thing, her Mom just lets her run around like that.

Kiddo numero uno was happy to go too. She brought along her bucket, just in case she found something out there that she couldn't live without. There are a lot of arrowheads out here, so you never know what you might find!!!

Remi decided that she would like to go too. She always gets stuck at the ditch though, she is convinced there's something in there that she might need to attack. Yep, that's Remi. She's grown a lot!! You might remember her from when we first got her (Remi: Love at First Sight)

She was a little bit smaller before.... Remember her???

We finally made it out to see the boys. They weren't quite as excited to see us as we were to see them. They were too busy eating their supper. This is Joey and Buck. Bet you can't guess which is which....Ha Ha!!

Buck decided to cooperate and give us a few poses, but he demanded payment in apples. I still owe him a few. And Joey, just wasn't interested in posing for us. He said that most models don't like to pose while they are eating. It makes him feel fat. Poor dude!! But he did say he wouldn't mind if I snuck him an apple or two either.

Joey is very jealous of Buck. He says that guy can eat anything and doesn't gain a pound. He doesn't take a bad photo either. HRMPH!!! Go Away, he says, so he can finish his dinner in peace.

Good Bye Boys!! Enjoy your dinner!!!

Happy Birthday

2008-05-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Happy birthday Dear kiddo numero dos!!

Happy Birthday to you!!!

I embarrassed to show you these since we are totally redneck and had to use strike anywhere matches for candles. That's what happens when the store in your TINY town closes early, and the next town is 50 miles away. Plus, I drove home from the town 90 miles away and wasn't going to go anywhere (hence the crazy hair on my girls).....we got home late that's my defense!!! And I'm stickin' to it!!!

Okay, I'm warning you....If you get grossed out easy, you may want to turn back now. This is really disgusting. I mean seriously, if you might get light headed and pass out, this is really something you don't want to see...........

Kiddo numero uno was pretty excited about the birthday cake too...

Hey, I warned you!!!

Guess Who's 2???

2008-05-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Kiddo Numero Dos

These photos are from last year's birthday. I will post later tonight with new pics from this year's birthday since I'm in town right now.... What a difference a year makes!!!!

Rock Stars

2008-05-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

We went to kiddo numero uno's best friend's 4th birthday party this past week-end. The girls had a blast!!

They rocked out to all of their favorite music: Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, you get the picture.

Check out these future rock stars....

I just love this girl. I think I'll take her home to live with me. Actually, kiddo numero uno keeps telling me she would much rather live with her best friend then with her Mom and Dad. ***sigh***

These girls can really sing too, they know almost all of the songs from their favorite musicians. It was a lot of fun to watch!!

They also played outside for quite a while too... Please don't look at kiddo numero uno on the swing... nobody is teaching that poor girl to be a lady. We've lost all manners out on the ranch!!

These girls have been best friends since kiddo numero uno was 9 months old and made her best friend have her first belly laugh at 3 months old. I just love them!!

Pampered Chef

2008-05-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

One of my new friends is a Pampered Chef representative.

I love Pampered Chef!!

I haven't bought Pampered Chef for years because I haven't been to any parties and didn't know anyone who sold their products.

So I put in an order with her just recently. It was a Mystery Hostess party where people placed orders and my friend drew a name out of the hat to be the Hostess. Guess What...???

I Won!!!!

YES!!!!!

I was able to order a few new products for free since I was the hostess and also received 15% off of my order. YAY!! There's nothing like throwing a party where you don't have to clean before, during or after the show and you still get all of the benefits!!

Here's what I got...

The Apple Wedger: I hear this is a necessity when you have small children........I'll let you know.

The Batter Bowl: I'm planning on doing some baking with all of this free time I have now. I'll let you know how that goes too.

The Adjustable Measuring Cup: Just because this looks fun!!

This is kiddo numero uno and my friends oldest kiddo. They were instant friends, just like their Mom's. It was GREAT!!!

Her kids are just as goofy as mine. We all get along great!!

They have been the most welcoming family and have introduced us to so many people out here in our new community. Again, just more blessings to count!!

Another Tag...

2008-05-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Jamie at Bumps in the Road!

The meme is called Crazy Eights, so here we go!Here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment on their blog and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to come back and read your blog for the whole story.

Here are my "Crazy Eights"

1. I graduated from high school when I was 17
2. I don't like "fake" people and try to stay away from them and any drama that they may cause.
3. My favorite drink is a creamcicle martini
4. I love to be tan, but don't have access to a tanning salon anymore, or the time to go with two little hooligans
5. I love to go camping with friends and family
6. I'm so anxious to start planting flowers here that it's driving me crazy. Cross your fingers for good weather for us!!
7. I once rode a mechanical bull (yes, I had a few drinks first)
8. I try to be sophisticated, but I'm a redneck at heart. Oh my!!

I'm not going to Tag anyone, because I think everyone I read is probably already doing this one.

Moving Cows

2008-05-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

Good Morning...... The boys shipped cattle up to one of the BLM allotments yesterday and then drove them in to one of the higher pastures. Over all I think they rode for over 3 hours. This wasn't one of the longest rides, but a harder one.

This is my husband's horse Ace. I think he must be shy, because every time I try to get a picture of his sweet face, he turns his head (or we cut it off.......oops). Stay tuned, I'm determined to show all of you this dude's mug. He's special...........and I mean that in a good way!!

He's his trusty companion and the horses on this ranch work just as hard as the men. We have been waiting for some nice weather and free time to get the girls on a horse.

Kiddo Numero Uno is so anxious to start riding that she jumps up and runs out the door whenever Dad brings Ace in...

She already has the "bug"

We sure do love our new lifestyle and life in the country!! What an amazing set of new opportunities it has brought us. We have found new friends and the kids are already involved in activities in the community.

We feel so blessed!!

Toots

2008-05-01T07:44:00.001-07:00

Toots, farts, passing gas, breaking wind, cuttin' the cheese, flatulent, flutter the sheets, heiny burp, let one rip. make a stink, poot, rip one, backfire, you get the idea....

Why is it that we are all so amused by the sound of tooting (this is what my girls call it). I can hardly type this without giggling. We all do it, and if you don't then you've probably had an upset stomach most of your life from holding it in.

I have sooooooooooooooo many embarrassing stories on this topic. I'll share a few with you today....

As I mentioned above, my girls call it tooting. So imagine my surprise as we are walking down the aisle in Target last night looking for a birthday present for kiddo numero uno's best friends birthday party, and my youngest daughter shouts

"TOOTIE"

"Mommy, I TOOTIE"

How do you explain to them that this isn't really something to share with everyone at Target. My face must have turned four different shades of pink then red. We quickly finished finding our birthday present and exited the premises.

That is not my most embarrassing moment though.

One of my most embarrassing moments was when just after marrying my husband, I fell ill. I had just found out I was pregnant and he had already moved to a different state to start a new job. I was supposed to be packing our home and he would come back on the following week-end and we would move the rest of our stuff and I would join him.

I called his Mom after being up all night in excruciating pain..................I was soooo sure I was losing our baby and didn't know what to do. She rushed my to our local emergency room and after several tests we found out that I actually had pancreatitis caused by a gall stone getting stuck in my pancreas.

Because I was pregnant, they couldn't do emergency surgery, so I was admitted to the hospital for what was to be a pretty long visit. Of course, after hearing just how ill I was, my husband hurried home to be with me in the hospital.

Six days later, the rest of my family had arrived. They were supposed to help us move the rest of our stuff to the neighboring state if I could only get out of the hospital. So as they are all standing in my hospital room trying to decide what to do if I'm not released in time, the nurse walks in and says "As soon as you pass gas, we can probably let you go ahead and go. Have you passed gas today?"

No, of course not, how in the world am I supposed to pass gas with an entire room full of people, along with my new husband who I had never farted in front of. Are you kidding me?

I never was able to pass gas. At least not while I was awake.................I was probably tooting like crazy while I was sleeping. Anyway, they did finally let me go and I didn't have to pack anything in our apartment, so it all worked out in the end.

Do you have any funny gassy stories? Do you and your family think farting is as funny as I still do? How immature of me!!!

P.S. I did have to have my gallbladder removed when I was thirteen weeks pregnant, but that's a different story for a different day.

Swimwear

2008-04-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Ladies ~ It's that time of year again. When we look in our drawers and pull out the swimsuits from last year and hope that they still fit, or that they are still in style, or that they aren't worn out. We hope, hope, hope.....

Because.............the worst thing ever is swimsuit shopping.

At least for me.

I hate it. There is nothing worse then standing in a flourescent lit dressing room trying on bathing suits. I'll say it again, I hate it!!

At least in the winter we can cover up our flaws with cute jeans and sweaters, because bulky during those cold months actually looks good.

Bulky in the summer....Not so good.

I think it is impossible for me to find a swimsuit that I actually like. I am larger busted, but modest and I don't like the girls to get too much sun. But I still want something that looks cute. The main thing I look for is support. There's nothing like wearing a suit with everything hanging loose. Oh the misery!!!

So, do you all hate it as much as I do??

Any suggestions on where to find a great suit that is reasonably priced??

We Fall Apart

2008-04-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's amazing, we can have a perfectly awesome day, but by this time in the evening 8:00 p.m., we totally fall apart.

It is so obvious to me that my kids need to go to bed NOW. Not in 30 minutes, but right now. They can not continue to be nice to one another after 8:00 p.m.

It must be the witching hour.....

We had a great day today and worked outside all day on our deck and yard work. The girls played happily together without really arguing. They really are best friends, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do when kiddo numero uno goes to school. I think Kiddo dos will be totally heart broken and lost without a playmate!!

But right now they are both in tears and just completely falling apart. I guess I should stop posting and go put them down to bed.

Sweet dreams everyone!!!

Softball

2008-04-26T19:59:00.001-07:00

My sister posted this great (or not so great) photo of me on her blog..........

I must have been in grade school when this picture was taken. Gotta love the HUGE orange hat and the orange shirt. Please note the velcro shoes..... Hey, these were big when I was in grade school. Don't hate, you know you had some too.

It seems the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree...

At least she has a little more style then I did back then...

Our family has a love for playing sports and we played t-ball then softball from the time we were in kindergarten. I love the fact that kiddo numero uno is starting now too. I believe (just like you big sis) that playing sports instills so many great qualities that will help you through life.

Just thought I would share this comparison. It struck me as pretty fun to see mother and daughter with similar poses. I can't wait to see more likenesses (is this even a word) as she grows older.

YAY Team!!

Random Pics

2008-04-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling super creative today, so I'm just going to post some random Pics. Enjoy!!

Brand new baby calf, just a few minutes old...

Our morning view...

My two little munchkins...

More of the two little girls in my life...

Last one I promise.........I just love these girls!!!

I'll try to be more creative tomorrow. Hope you like the pics!!

Little Girls

2008-04-24T08:43:00.001-07:00

Growing up my family went to a small Baptist church in our small little town and we had a great church family. And I do mean family. There were 5 or 6 families that spent a lot of time together and all of the parents would watch all of the kids. I would get in trouble with my Mom's friend just like I would with my Mom. I thought of most of the other kids more like brother's and sister's over just family friends. It was great!!

We now have a really great group of friends that I think of more like family then friends, and they treat my kids like they are their own. We try to take at least one camping trip together each year, and there are several annual things that we get together and do (Trick or Treating, Corn Maze, Holiday Party, Easter, etc.) I love it, and I love the fact that we have found such great friends who also have kids our kids age and who love my kids.

But I digress....

There was one family in our church family who had two older daughters and they always gave my Mom their hand me down clothes. Believe it or not, we loved this. There was a huge black garbage bag full of clothes that we could go through. It was like going to the mall and being surprised with what you bought. The two other girls were pretty stylish, and we were VERY happy to have the clothes that they sent over to us.

There was one item of clothing in particular that I can remember getting...

A tube top.

My Mom would never have bought one for us, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I put it on my scrawny grade school body and pranced outside to get some sun. I was sooooo proud and thought I was sooooo cool. Oh how I wish I still had that tiny body, even with my bony elbows and knees, and my ribs jutting out....... I was cool!!

And then it all came tumbling down.........

My Dad took one look at me and told me I should go change before the top revealed my flat chest. He was totally joking with me and said that I shouldn't wear a tube top until I had something to hold it up. I was crushed. I thought I looked so grown up...

Dad I look back now and see the humor in your words!! I must have looked so funny in that tube top, and I thank the Lord that my parents taught us modesty and it's something that I hope to instill in my children.

I don't know about you, but I hate seeing pre-teen and teen girls with their bottoms hanging out and a g-string showing. I hate that their tops are soooo tight and that you can see how uncomfortable it makes them to wear those clothes with their bellies hanging out the sides and front. I hate that they think they need to show off all of their bodies in order to look cute. And the worst thing is the girls who don't even realize how unflattering their clothes really are.

So Thank you, Thank you , Thank you to my Mom and Dad for teaching us this lesson and not allowing us to unknowingly make ourselves look horrible.

Freakin' Ridiculous

2008-04-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Freakin' Ridiculous

That's all that I could think of on my way in to work this morning. We woke up again to another inch of snow. AN INCH!! It's almost the end of April and it's still snowing????

I have to drive 79 miles in to town at 5:00 a.m. in the morning on the days that I work. Luckily, I stay overnight in town with the girls, but the commute is just plain annoying especially since it keeps snowing. There was snow on my car, snow on the roads and even ice the closer I got to town.

I've decided that I'm just DONE with snow. Anyone care to join me in the tropics?

Okay, okay I know it's only in my mind, but I NEED this. Please if you have sunny weather, please, please send it my way. I can't handle the snow anymore!!!

Anyone care to join me for a Margarita? It's 5:00 somewhere??? : )

I got tagged...

2008-04-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Jamie over at Bumps In The Road: A Country Girl Trapped In "Yuppie Hell" tagged me for a meme. This is only my second one I've been tagged for so far, so I guess I should get to it...

10 weirdo random facts or habits meme.

1. I have to clean my kitchen before I start cooking. It used to make dinner time super late. Now that I'm home part time, my kitchen is usually clean most of the time. This makes me REALLY happy. I love only working 2 days a week.

2. I had to have my gallbladder removed when I was 13 weeks pregnant with kiddo numero uno. SCARY!!

3. I met my husband in the bar, and we've actually beat the statistics.

4. My all time favorite song is Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Fishing in the Dark" I have loved this song since High school and I've never bought their CD. I just like it to come on the radio and surprise me. It makes it more (quote, quote) "special"

5. I graduated from a class of 25 and lived in a town with only 300 people growing up. Now that's what I'm doing to my kids.

6. I love to drive in the mountains, and prefer a Christmas tree from the mountains over a store bought one even if it is super Charlie Brownish.

7. My parents have lived in the same house since I was 3.

8. I prefer dogs over cats!!

9. I love a good romantic movie, book or song.

10. Nothing beats a good Rodeo or Campout during the summer!!!

That's all for me. I'm not going to tag anyone for this one, but if you want to do it, let me know so that I can check yours out.

Cowboys

2008-04-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

My husband is now officially a cowboy. He spent Saturday afternoon in the saddle on a cattle drive and actually road his horse home right up to our front door. Boy, life is totally different.

I've always had a thing for cowboys!! And there's just something about a man on his horse. I can't describe it, and if you've never seen it, you may not understand what I'm talking about. But all of you ladies out there who love the cowboys know exactly what I mean.

This is his whole life now, he works, breathes and lives ranching. He gets up early each morning and feeds all of his new ladies. And boy do they love him. As soon as they see him coming, they head for the gate. It doesn't matter where in the field they might be they will walk miles just to see him, and they follow him where ever he might lead. They are totally smitten with my cowboy.

They would eat from the palm of his hand if he would let them. It must be nice to be so popular in such a quick amount of time at our new home. Luckily, he doesn't let it go to his head....

This red head only had eyes for him....

Potty Training

2008-04-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Kiddo Numero Dos has decided that she would like to try to go to the bathroom on the toilet. So we have spent hours in the bathroom this week-end. She doesn't like to try alone and so I've been patiently sitting on our bathroom floor watching her try to go.......................

We've had success!! She has gone #2 twice as far as I know and gone potty several times. And of course each time, we shout "Hooray" and she gets a treat. I'm sure this is probably a really horrible way to teach her, but it worked out ok with Kiddo Numero Uno, so we're doing it again.

She seems to be "catching on" quite a bit faster then Kiddo Numero Uno too, so lets hope for quick potty training.

She also has to get completely naked to "try", so I have been putting clothes on and off several times this week-end. She can't do it with a binki in her mouth, so that comes out and is handed to me too. She also must chew "imaginary" gum all day, because she keeps asking me to hold that for her too. She just gives me a pinch of imaginary goodness and then grunts and pushes trying to go #2 so that she can get a treat.

It really is kind of a funny process and I can't remember how long it takes, but I'm hoping that we'll get through it soon. There's also another side of me that knows that this is our last baby and I'm sad that we're to this stage already.

I guess I can't have it both ways and regardless of the bricks on her head or me threatening to take away her second birthday, she's still going to get bigger.....

Bitter sweet victory!!

Week-end Project

2008-04-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned what a handy man my husband is?

After our T-Ball game last week-end we decided to pick up the decking supplies we needed to add on our new deck. We spent several hours at Ace Hardware (which is the only store 50 miles away from our home with home improvement materials) planning and buying our deck materials.

So Sunday after my husband was done feeding, he started our project. And like almost anything my husband does, he wants it all to be done.........Now. He has little patience for half finished projects and expects to get everything done all at once. Needless to say, he is a very hard worker.

So, here are a few photos of what he accomplished Sunday. Keep in mind that he didn't start digging the holes for the 19 cement thingys (that's a technical term) until about 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Aren't you impressed? I was...the guy at Ace told us that this was a two person two week-end project, and this is what the Energizer Bunny that is my husband accomplished in one day. Needless to say, our 16' by 16' deck is almost complete and I will be able to put my patio furniture and bbq out on the back deck. YAY!!!

Did I mention that we have the most beautiful sunsets right out our back window? We will be able to sit out on our deck in the summer sipping sweet tea and watching the sun go down. You've gotta love that right????

This is actually a picture of our barn the other day before they shipped cattle.....and I'll post more pictures of that on another post.

Awards

2008-04-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you ~ Thank you ~ Thank you to Beth over at Around the Funny Farm. She sent me my first ever blog award. YAY!!!

Beth is a fantastic writer and she is witty, funny and a Farm Diva and I love to read her blog. Thanks Beth!! I appreciate you sticking with me and reading all of my ramblings!!!

Reservations

2008-04-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

I did it...

I made reservations for our hotel down in Anaheim last night for our first REAL family vacation. Last night, my Mom and I spent at least an hour on the phone and internet going through different places to stay and whether we each wanted our own room, or if we wanted to get a suite. Do you know how hard it is to make these plans over the phone (which is what we have to do since we live 5 hours apart). Also, their internet is dial up and SO SLOW>>>> So I would find a place and have to wait 5 minutes for my Mom to get there. Oh well....

We chose the suite.

It has two rooms, two queen size beds, bunk beds, a queen size sleeper sofa and two bathrooms. Plus, it's just across the street from Disneyland. YAY!!

I don't know what it is about making reservations that gets me so excited. I think then it makes the trip "real". Last night, I felt like we were already on our way, I was so excited just to make the reservations.

I'm sure that I will probably be just as excited if not more excited then my kids when we actually get in the car and head out. I'm going to be the super embarrassing Mom I'm sure. Luckily my kids are small and won't make too much fun of me yet. We'll leave that to my Dad and husband. Ha Ha!!

Now, I just have to wait 5 more months. UGH!!

Our Story II

2008-04-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

So he led me out to the dance floor and we danced. We danced and danced and danced. He was a great dancer and so funny. I was having a great time.

We also talked and talked. "What are you doing tomorrow?" He asked me.

"Tomorrow's Sunday, I go to church. Wanna go?"

"Sure"

I couldn't believe it. Here I was at the bar. Meeting a guy I actually liked. And he had just agreed to go to church with me. It was semi surreal.... How often do you meet a guy at the bar who is willing to get up early in the morning after being out past 2:00 a.m. to go to church. I didn't actually believe that he would get up and go. I was pretty certain that he would call in the morning and have some lame excuse why he couldn't go, but it was still fun to pretend that he might go.

I wish I could say that it ended there, and that I went home and we went to church in the morning, but it didn't. My girlfriend and I and several of his friends went back to his brothers house where he was staying and continued our party. He and I went in to his bedroom to chat (ok, and we kissed, but that's all) and I saw pictures of a little girl all over his wall.

"Is this your daughter?" I asked him at one point.

"Yep"

Wow, I thought to myself, this guy has a kid. Thankfully my mind was pretty numb from having several drinks, so I didn't dwell on this aspect of this great guy for too long. And not much later my girlfriend and I went home....

To read my earlier post on Our story click here

Baller...T-Baller

2008-04-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

We have a T-baller in da house!!

My oldest daughter is now officially playing T-Ball. We had opening ceremonies yesterday and their first game. The kids did great!! Especially considering they had only one practice on Thursday prior to their game.

And Kiddo Numero Uno loves it!! She has been around softball all of her life and knows that her Dad and I love to play it, so it shouldn't really come as a surprise that she enjoys it too. She's also a little speed demon. I was surprised to see her keep up with most of the boys.

I'm SO PROUD!!!!

Kiddo Numero Dos was not quite as excited...

This is what she thought of the whole day...

And by the end of the game, she was done... "All Done, Mommy"

Daddy helped Kiddo Numero Uno out in the field, and I think he enjoyed it just as much as she did!! He loves to play with the kiddos...

And of course, we had to have at least one posed photo. (Actually, I probably have close to 50 of this same shot........."Take my picture Mommy")

I humor her ALOT!!!

Trip, Etc.

2008-04-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Wow ~ What a fantastic concert and week-end with the girls. I've tried a couple of times to get on here and post this, but work and family and kids have kept me super busy this week.

The Rascal Flatts concert was amazing. They had a really awesome stage set up and I was surprised to get to hear the other two guys sing (Joe Don and Jay). They are really great entertainers and Taylor Swift was good too. I felt like a proud Mama listening to her sing............I know, I am still too young to be her Mom (well, I guess not technically) but she's just so young and talented I felt really proud of her. Plus, she is kiddo numero uno's favorite singer and my little girl can sing almost all of her songs...she's very popular in our household.

We also spent a night on the Oregon Coast. If you haven't ever been to Oregon, and you plan on coming here, our coast line is amazing. I'm going to share a few pics that I took...

Some seagulls standing in the water...

The coast line...

Another picture of the water...

The group of girls I went with were also a lot of fun!! We actually spent 3-4 hours at the outlet mall shopping. We were all shocked when we left and realized we had been there so long. What a JOY to shop without kiddos whining, running away, crying, having to go potty, wanting to eat........you get the picture. It was GREAT!!

Thanks to my girlfriends for inviting me to go with them......I had a fantastic time and can't wait to do it again!!

Quick Trip

2008-04-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

I am heading out for the next couple of days on a quick trip with some girls I know to a Rascal Flats Concert and to the coast for a night. YAY, the girls are staying with their Grandma since my husband has to feed and there won't be anyone here to watch them for the 4 hours it takes him to feed.

He and his crew worked calves the other day, and he brought the camera along. I'll post some pictures on here when I return.

Cheers to all of you and "Yay, for a week-end with the girls!!!"

The night from H.....

2008-04-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

I came in to town yesterday for work, because we had a large project that my boss didn't know how to complete, so here I am........a day early.

I try to get all of our errands done the days that I'm in town, so that we don't have to drive back in on the week-end. So last night, that's what we did. The first store we went to was "Cash and Carry" I hadn't ever been there, but one of our new friends from the country told me about it and I decided to check it out. It's a TRUE bulk store and they don't have grocery carts, they have these flat wooden things with wheels.

When I first saw that, I thought "Hmm, this is NOT good" I have a 4 1/2 year old and an almost 2 year old. They really need to be contained within a typical grocery cart. But never the less, we set out on our way.

I was excited, because my new friend had told me that they have coffee syrup's very reasonable for those of us missing our mocha every morning. So the girls and I headed down the coffee aisle, And boy, was she right. They have every type of coffee thing you could imagine. You could open your own coffee shop with the supplies in this store. So I selected my syrups and put them on the cart and started down the aisle. By the time, we turned the corner to start down the next aisle, the girls had managed to knock both bottles of syrup over and I watched in dismay as they rolled right off the cart (since it had no sides) and broke on the floor. I was mortified!!! The girls are crying, and I'm standing in a puddle of syrup. Oh Lord, give me patience. The store employees were very kind and quickly mopped up our mess. I quickly finished shopping and high tailed it our of there. UGH!!

Next, I had to go to the regular grocery store. Which was great, the girls settled in to the normal grocery cart and ate a cookie while I got the necessities that I needed. While we were shopping, my almost 2 year old found a man to flirt with. They were instantly in love with one another and every time we passed him in an aisle, they would coo and smile at each other. We finished shopping in record time and went to the car to load up the groceries. Of course, parked right next to us was the man my daughter had fallen for. I was in a hurry to get the girls in the car and get going. I opened the back of my SUV and out slid the mondo pack of strawberries that I had gotten from the bulk store and half of them spilled all over the ground. The nice gentleman asks me if I need help, and so does the next lady walking by, and everyone else as I try to quickly salvage the strawberries I could and get the rest of the groceries in the car along with the kids and get out of there.

I decided that I had had enough shopping at this point, and the girls and I went back to the little apartment, had dinner and went to bed.

Lets hope that today is better than yesterday. I am cautiously optimistic since things normally come in 3's and I only had two bad things happen yesterday.

Think positive thoughts for me......

Our Story I

2008-03-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

I moved here in 2001. I was living with a friend from high school and when she got a job offer here, she asked me to move with her. I was 23 and had never lived anywhere, but the small valley where I grew up. My parents had always been a 15 minute drive away and I knew most of the people in our small community.

I was excited to go somewhere new and start over. I had had my share of relationships that had gone bad, and living in such a small town, I wasn't anxious to get in to another one. The timing was perfect, I had just broken up with a boy that I had dated for almost a year and I was ready for a new beginning.

She had a small son, and worked nights as a nurse. I watched her son for her after work and we explored our new town. After living in a town of about 12,000 people, I was excited to be in a new town 4 times the size of my small town. It was fun to be able to shop where I lived, and not to have to drive several hours for the nearest mall.

Almost every week-end she and I would get a sitter (normally her Mom) for her son and hit the town. We explored all of the night spots and found several bars that we frequented often. We had a fabulous time and loved to dance and meet new people.

Almost a year after we moved, we were at one of our favorite bars dancing the night away. She spotted a group of guys and decided that she wanted to meet one of them. I followed her, and stood awkwardly by while she flirted with one of the boys.

Not long after joining their group, one of the guys asked me to dance.

"He's cute" I thought to myself. "Sure, why not."

To be Continued..................

Sick Babies

2008-03-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

Living on the Ranch, there are a few of life's hardships that our kids are learning to deal with. And one of those is that the baby calves get sick sometimes, and Daddy has to help doctor them and checks on them a lot.

Here are a few of the babies that are in our tack room right now, hopefully staying warm and recouping from whatever ails them. Poor babies!!!

You might notice that the calves have blue marks on them. This tells all of the Ranch hands that the calves have been given medicine or are sick and to keep an eye on them.

Kiddo Numero Uno insists that the calves have make-up on. She thinks it looks pretty!!!

We spent this past week-end at my Grandma's house helping her run an Estate sale for my Great Grandma's things. She was 100 years old when she passed away last November. It was a busy crazy week-end and I'm glad we're done with it, but it was also great to spend time with our extended family.

The girls' Uncle brought them treats, and Kiddo Numero Dos was really excited about it!!!

Feeding

2008-03-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

Every morning, my husband gets up before the sun rises and goes to pick up hay to feed all of the bovine creatures depending on him for their sustenance for the day. These are some of the sights he sees.....

This is a row of round bales. These are all over the ranch stored close to most of the main fields.

Here is another one...

They also store hay under these large hay sheds....

The cows are always very happy to see my husband, they all bunch up at the gate to greet him.

All of the kids love going with Daddy to help feed. They love to ride in the tractor, and Daddy even lets them drive sometimes. The only yucky part is the gate opening. Do you know how many gates there are between fields???? Oh my gosh, it's the worst chore out here.

It has been such a blessing for us to move out here to the ranch. We have gotten to spend more time as a family than we've been able to for the past couple of years.

Faith

2008-03-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Now that I am blogging, I have gotten sucked in to the bloggiing world, and I really enjoy reading other people's blogs and finding inspiration from other people's posts. Yesterday, I stumbled onto a blog called Terri Terri Quite Contrary. She had written a great post about starting a blog with two other writers and exploring their faith. She seems to have the same struggles that I do.

I have a tremendous amount of Faith, and I believe whole heartedly in our Lord and Saviour, but I don't attend church regularly and I don't pray regularly. It's just always there.

There have been points in my life that I've turned away from the right path and made some crummy choices, but I've never not had faith in Jesus. I guess back when I was a little tiny girl and asked him to live in my heart, he did. And he stayed. And even through any rough spots he was there. Always constant. Always there to prop me up and give me strength.

My next goal in this life change for us, is to find a church to take my girls to. I know that the reason I have such strong faith is because I had a solid foundation to start with. I want to give that to my children. I want them to know Jesus and to be able to turn to him in their time of need.

Pray that I will find a place to take them that will uplift our entire family. And check out Terri's new venture at Real Women, Real Life.

Fraud

2008-03-25T14:05:00.001-07:00

What constitutes fraud for you?

We just recently had a bookkeeper quit unexpectedly. She left a letter on my bosses chair and the keys and passes to our office inside the garage on a Friday, and never came back. She didn't give any kind of notice and although, I knew that she was unhappy with the job I didn't really expect her to quit in that way.

Now, after the fact, my boss has found several charges on our Fed Ex account that she sent packages to her friends and family out of state. She left many of the companies bills unpaid and left the company in quite a cash crunch. Some of this was my bosses fault due to the fact that he didn't pay attention to her when she said that we were running low on cash.

Now, my boss wants to press charges of fraud against her. The total of the Fed Ex charges is just under $100. Would you constitute this as fraud?

I guess I'm more forgiving. I know that charging something to the company isn't right, but maybe it was just a mistake that she forgot to pay it back. I know that she knew what she was doing was wrong, because the invoice for those particular charges is missing.

So my question is under the circumstances, would you press charges??

This is really bugging my sense of right and wrong........

What do you think??

The Funny Farm III

2008-03-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned several times in the past, my parents live on a mini farm with several crazy animals. When we were growing up, my parents actually milked a cow and that is what we used for most of our dairy products. We drank milk straight from the udder. This never bothered us, but really grossed out most of our friends!!

We made homemade ice cream with the cream from our cow. And when my parents milked thier little dairy cow, they loved to spray a stream in to some of the cats mouthes. If you've read my blog for a while, you will probably understand that there were always a lot of cats around. Check out the original Funny Farm post if you'd like.

My Mom would also sell the milk when we had more than our family could use. She stored it in gallon size glass jars and mostly sold it to families at the church we attended.

One day, one of the jars broke.

In the car.

In the summer.

During church.

Please, close your eyes and imagine the smell of fresh milk in a hot car.

Yep, DISGUSTING!!!

I don't think the smell ever left that car. I was so glad when they traded it in!!!

My little Sunshine's

2008-03-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

We've been taking quite a few pictures lately, and since I can post them now, I just thought I would share some of our little sunshines. These two little beauties light up our lives and make everything interesting.

They had a great time on Friday watching Daddy sort pairs (Mama's and babies). They couldn't really see him, but wanted to run up and down this walkway a gazillion times. It was so nice, we all enjoyed getting out of the house and playing in the sunshine.

Unfortunately, all good things sometimes come to an end. These two little naughty girls had to take a time out together. The hardest part of dual time out is that neither one of them can stop giggling, which also makes their Mommy giggle and then "Dang" what kind of punishment is that???

They got all dressed up (for the country) and went to the local Easter Egg hunt on Saturday. Before we left, they had nothing but hugs and kisses for each other. I tried to tell them that they were celebrating the wrong holiday, and to save that for Valentine's Day. Little did they know that they were about to go race each other for the most Easter Eggs. Luckily, they were in different age groups, so their love continued on through out the rest of the day. Oh, sisterly love.

I just want to leave you with one last photo. We went out to check cows Friday night with my husband and this is how we ended our day.

NOT BAD, HUH!!!

Good Morning Sunshine

2008-03-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

This is the view out our front window in the morning...

And this is the little canal that is just out our front door a few yards...

And this is what we see every morning...

You've gotta love life in the country!!!!!

Cooking & Shopping

2008-03-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

I have recently decided that I want to become a proficient cook. Not just the Mom who throws meat and noodles together and calls it a meal, but the kind that uses real ingredients to make masterpieces.

The problem is, you have to know what ingredients to buy. And spices, I'm completely baffled by spices. I will see a recipe that I would like to try and it calls for some crazy spice that only my Mom or Grandma would have. How is it that when I go to their house, they can throw anything together and make an awesome meal. AND they have all of the ingredients.

I'm trying to learn to shop better. Now that we live out in the sticks, my once a week shopping trip is super important. There's no more just running down to the store for that one ingredient I'm missing.

So now, I'm pouring over cookbooks looking for things I would like to try and writing down the crazy ingredients so that I will have them on hand.

But, OH MY GOSH, this is going to be an expensive shopping trip. How can a little jar of spice cost so much??????? Especially when I might use it once a quarter???

Also, since I won't be back in town, I have to try and get all of my Easter Bunny stuff too.

Wish me luck on my shopping trip this afternoon!!!

Challenge

2008-03-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ok Sis ~ Mom said that you started your blog. Let me know what the web address is so that I can check it out......

Good luck!!

New news & old news

2008-03-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a break I've taken from my little friendly blog. I've been missing all of you!!

I am happy to share the news that our wifi is up and running. The problem has been that I've been both out and about running and playing with all of our new friends and when I've been home, I've been down and out sick with this nasty cold that saps all of the energy from you and wouldn't let any kind of creative juice flow. So, I'm back, but not quite up to par. Please excuse any typos, random thoughts, and things that just don't make sense.

We have already met some great new people in our new little community. My greatest fear was that there would be no one there our age, and if there were that they would be cuckoo. Not so far, we've met nothing but great people. It has all been through kiddo numero uno's preschool and Mom's that I've met there. I guess it's the place to socialize too. YAY!!!

We went to a Chili Feed & Auction fund raiser in our new little town on Saturday night with several couples who we've met over the last couple of weeks. And kiddo numero uno was invited to her first Birthday party with one of her new friends, so we are officially settling in.

Unfortunately, our house is still in the process of being unpacked. Getting soooooooo much closer though. I think by next week-end we should be done with the inside part. I'm afraid to look in the garage though...........

We are planning on going to a sunrise Easter Service that is held outside at a historical landmark outside our town. They build a big bon fire and everyone goes to breakfast at the Grange afterward. I think it sounds great and they've been doing it since the 30's, so it's a neat way to be a part of history.

Well, that's the news for now. Sorry this is kind of boring, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things............

Saddle

2008-03-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are looking to buy our first saddle. We don't know much about them, but I found this one on Craig's List. If you know saddle's, let me know what you think............

The price is $200 which seems pretty good considering the average to buy one new was about $1000-$1200.

This is the side view....

This is the top view.

And this is the underside.

Let me know what you think..........

More Internet News

2008-03-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am heading back to the Ranch early today.

Hello, why????

Our internet will be hooked up this afternoon. Please hold your breath, cross your fingers, and give us a good thought or two, that everything will go smoothly with our Wi Fi connection and that I will be able to post a more complete post this afternoon.

Hopefully with pics............

WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Sunsets

2008-03-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

We have the most beautiful sunsets out at the ranch. It's just heart warming to hear my oldest daughter say "Look at the sky Mommy, it's so pretty with all of those colors."

She never noticed the sunsets before.

We have a large window just over our kitchen table and every night at dinner time we get to watch the sunset. There are no obstructions to our view................just a beautiful sunset every night.

I didn't notice until now that my kids had never really gotten to see nature in all it's beauty. Sure, we've been camping and spent plenty of time out in the woods and in the country, but now that we're living in it, they REALLY notice those things.

This week-end, we saw cranes and listened to their calls. Which are very cool, if you've never heard them before. And a few yards away was a lone coyote stalking them. How great is that to watch. He never actually attacked the birds, just followed them.

Then, out the front door was an owl perched on our corral. Kiddo numero uno ran in to ask Daddy for the "inocoulars" (binoculars) so that she could get a better look.

They are already starting to form a love for nature. It makes my heart sing and every sacrifice worth it!!!

Life is Good!!

2008-03-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

The girls and I spent yesterday afternoon at the park with some of our best friends. It was great catching up with them and the girls had a fantastic time.

Things are really looking very positive here. I spoke with another Mom who helps out at Tiny Tots last night. She sounded like a lot of fun, and she has kids my girls' age. YAY!! The program for young kids out in our new small community sounds fantastic. They get together every Tuesday and Thursday at the school. One of the teachers taught gymnastics and is starting up a tumbling class for the smaller kids. Kiddo numero uno will be ecstatic to be able to participate. I'm so happy to be able to take my kids to these things. I have always felt horrible that my girls were missing out on some really fun activities due to our work schedule. We just couldn't cart them around to the different activities while I was working. And now, Yay they can start to participate. I'm so excited for them!!!

Internet is delayed. Should have known that it just wouldn't be that easy. They have to order the equipment to be installed and it won't arrive until next Tuesday. So we will still be without access until the afternoon of the 12th. I'm not going to be too upset about this though because after researching our options, the equipment and install price is somewhat high, but the monthly cost is really very good. So, please think of me while you are searching the web, and I am showing some very heavy withdrawal symptoms. It's ok, I'll be alright. The end is in sight.

So, this is my last post until next Tuesday. After that we're talking every day BABY................you're going to get tired of all of the pics and posts. HA Ha!!

Internet Update

2008-03-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update. We are getting our high priced, but oh so needed internet service installed and hooked up on Saturday.

Can I get a WOOT WOOT!!!

So, I will not post anything Thursday or Friday, but you'll know we're in service if you see somethin' on Saturday.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

Tiny Tots & Identity Crisis

2008-03-04T13:37:00.001-08:00

Well, only a day and a half left and I am officially a part-time employee. This is going to be such a huge change for me!! I have worked sense I was 16, and the longest breaks I've ever had were maternity leaves for each of the kiddo's.

I am super excited to go Thursday to kiddo numero uno's future school and check out their Tiny Tots program. They get together every Tuesday and Thursday and both girls can attend. I have very high expectations of meeting other parents with kids who are the same age as my girls. And I would love for the girls to meet some new friends. These kids will most likely be my girls' future classmates. Yay, I'm really excited to meet some of our neighbors!!

I have been having somewhat of an identity crisis with all of these new changes. It's a little scary after working so hard to make a career for myself to just give it all up. I know in my heart that this move is the best thing for our family and for my girls, but my head is still trying to wrap around the concept of just getting to be a Mom for a change. It's funny though, because I never really wanted a career. All I've ever wanted was to be a Mom to my girls, and now that I have the opportunity, I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I know once we are there and settled, that it will all work out. I guess what I'm trying to say is that change is scary. Not bad, just scary.

Wish me luck on this new chapter of my life.

Country Life

2008-03-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

You know you live in the country when..........

On my way to work this morning........which by the way to get back in to town I have to leave before the crack of dawn....when I drove through our tiny little town, I had to actually stop to let the deer get across the road. As soon as they were past, I started to go again and out from the ditch dashes a BIG 'ol skunk. And sense I didn't want to make her mad, I waited again.

No, we don't have traffic lights to slow down traffic. Our city uses wildlife.......makes you slow down in a hurry.

Challenge

2008-02-29T07:26:00.001-08:00

I know, I'm such a slacker. I was super busy yesterday and couldn't think of anything creative to post about. I will try and post something fun a little later today.

Right now though, I would like to challenge my big sis.

Yep Sis, That's you.

I know that you have all kinds of incredible pictures and experiences of your own that you could blog about and I for one would like to read about the things you've done.

My sister lived in New Mexico teaching on a Navajo Indian Reservation, she taught in South Korea and she's currently living on the East Coast of Canada. She is very creative and it would be fun for the family to read about her adventures.

So Sis my challenge is for you and you alone, start a blog. Just do it.

And yes this is my creative way of bossing you, I know you can't turn down a challenge : )

More from the Funny Farm

2008-02-27T11:28:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post (seen here), I mentioned that my parents have a small farm that we like to call the "Funny farm", because they have rescued so many animals and each animal has a distinct personality.

When my brother was in High School, he decided that he would show a pig for FFA. So my parents bought two pigs. One for my brother to take for FFA and one that they were planning on using for meat after it was done keeping the first pig company.

After a few months, my brother took his pig to the stock show, showed him and sold him at auction, like all FFA members do.

Now, it was also time for my parents to have the second pig made in to meat. I won't describe this for all of you city dweller's. It's similar to how your bacon, pork chops, and sausage get to the grocery store......

My Mom couldn't do it. When it came right down to it, this pig had become a pet. She would even fetch a stick (just like a dog). So they decided to keep her and they would breed her and sell the little piglets to other FFA and 4-H kids who wanted one for their "project."

They bred her once.............one time. She was a horrible mother!!

So, she lived on the "funny farm" until she died of old age. Kind of reminds you of Charlotte's Web. Doesn't it. : )

ME Me ME Me

2008-02-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Beth over at Around the Funny Farm for my first ever Meme. She posted a pic of her refrigerator and challenged the rest of us to post a pic as well.

I'm so sorry Beth, but my software for posting pics is on my computer at home. Which by the way we still don't have Internet there yet. So I will have to try and post a pic later. So for now, here is the description.....

In our little Studio apartment that the girls and I are staying at while we're in town, there is just a little college dorm room size fridge......So, nothing on there. In fact, there's not much of anything in the little apartment. We have a bed that kiddo numero uno and I share and the pack-n-play for kiddo numero dos, and of course a TV so the kiddo's can watch cartoons. We have been trying to stay away from it as much as possible and live as minimally as possible because it is so short term. In fact, only a week and a half left of full time work status......YAY!!!!!

Out at the Ranch, the story is similar. Since I haven't gotten to the box with our fridge decor the fridge is mostly bare. We have found a spare magnet or two and put those up, but otherwise front/sides, etc. Mostly bare. The top is a different story. While I'm waiting for my husband to build a pantry to store all of our food, there are misc. items collecting on top of the fridge. We have multiple boxes of cereal (the kids breakfast of choice), chips, bottled water, etc. It's really starting to drive me nuts. Luckily I'm only there on the week-ends right now, so I don't have to see it. He is going to go nuts when we're there full time and I continue to nag (I mean ask nicely of course) for him to get it done. There is a perfect spot for one in the kitchen, it just a matter of him finding the time to do it. It can't be that hard............can it???

So, sorry Beth, no pics right now, but hopefully this will do.

And on a side note: I started this blog to document our new adventure, and keep friends and family up to date on what we're up to and now look what's happening........I'm meeting great new people. So, Thanks to everyone for reading, and especially Thanks for starting to add comments. It's nice to know that I'm not just posting this for myself!!!

Checking Cows and checking out calves

2008-02-25T10:26:00.000-08:00

This was supposed to be the final week of commuting in to work for the entire week. Due to some unforeseen issues at work (Our office manager quit abruptly), I will be continuing through the first week of March. YUCK!!

I was so looking forward to start staying home more. We have spent so little time at the ranch that we are still not unpacked. We have an entire bedroom filled with boxes just waiting for me to get to them. When we are at the ranch, we don't want to spend our time inside unpacking, we've been out exploring. There are so many new and exciting things for us to see, plus the girls and I love to go check the Mama cows with my husband.

Checking cows has been such a rewarding experience for me and the girls. They love to try to guess which Mama might be trying to have her baby and especially love to see all of the new babies. It really is a sight to see.

The calves are a lot like kids. The new babies don't even notice us with their quest to get nourishment. They are totally oblivious to us checking them out. The next newest calves tend to stay close to their Mommy's and hide behind them when we come by. The older babies have gotten a lot more comfortable and try to get a little closer and check us out when we go by. There are even some really brave ones who will run across the field to see what we're doing.

It's those calves that I really get a kick out of. They are so darn cute and they can run like the wind.

Kiddo's numero uno and dos were super excited to pet a calf this week-end and are falling more and more in love with their new home.....

Which makes this Mama super happy, and super ready to go to work part time.... : )

Family Vacations

2008-02-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

Growing up my family always took a summer road trip. I don't remember them ever missing a year, and the memories from those vacations are some of my best family memories. We have visited so many different historical sites, and landmarks that most of my friends hadn't even heard of. Each summer would be a new history lesson for us, learned first hand.

Now that I'm a parent, I don't know how my parents could afford every year to take us on a vacation with only a single income. It's expensive to feed a family of five and pay for motel rooms, etc. I now realize why we didn't get a souvenir from every little place we stopped. I can remember looking with adoring eyes at all of the sweatshirts in every little gift shop we stopped in and wishing I could get one. How unpractical I was, and because I knew my parents would say "No" I never asked. Now that I'm an adult (I like to pretend I am anyways) I can totally understand that if we got a sweatshirt from every place we stopped, how much money that would end up being. I guess I have gotten a little smarter..........

We are taking our first ever road trip this summer/fall as a family (If you don't count our little week-ends to the coast). We will be piling all of the kids in and heading to Disneyland. Oh my, I'm excited!! How different our road trip will be from those I remember. Growing up, we had to entertain ourselves. My Mom would pick up travel games and we played "I Spy", we kept track of the different states license plates that we saw, we played the ABC game, etc.

My kids have a DVD system in our SUV. I'm thinking of making it limited access and teaching my kids to play the games we played growing up. We'll see how that goes, they're a little young at this point. We'll see...

Let me know if you know of anything spectacular that we need to see on our trip to Anaheim. I'm so excited!!

Did I mention my parents are going with us???? How fun!! The kids are going to love it!!

Spring Fever

2008-02-21T15:06:00.000-08:00

There are so many things that I would love to have for my home.......

Wouldn't this look cute out in my garden....

And this....

And when you come over to visit, I could serve you Iced Tea in this....

Can you tell I have Spring Fever????????

The Funny Farm

2008-02-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

My parents have a little mini farm of about 10 acres and multiple animals. After talking with my Mom yesterday (who I now call the crazy cat lady) I had to share her story.

For the last few years, my parents have been accumulating cats. For some reason, people dump cats off on the corner where they live and most of the cats manage to find their way to my paretnts barn.

A few years ago, a Mama kitty had a litter of kittens and then disappeared (I think). Anyway, somehow my Mom being the animal lover that she is couldn't just leave the kittens to die so she took them in and fed them with a dropper.

This is not the first time she has done this. In fact, all growing up I remember people bringing their kittens to my Mom when the Mom's had either disappeared or died. (This happens quite a bit in the country due to the coyotes, owls, etc.) And we would all feed them with an eye dropper until they could drink their milk from a saucer. At times we would try to find the kittens a home and sometimes they would live in the house, or out in our barn.

So now, my parents have five cats living in their home. Yep, I said five...........I'm sure you can imagine the cat hair..... I digress.....

Last week, ALL of the cats stopped eating. So my poor Dad had to cart them all in to the vet. Over $500 dollars later they found out the cats had feline herpes. They had sores all in their mouths and down their throats, so the poor things couldn't eat. My parents spent all week-end tube feeding the cats (which is quite a fiasco) and giving them kitty medicine. Luckily, this is a cat disease and can't be spread to humans, but YUCK!! Can you imagine....

The cats are now on the mend. Thank goodness, but this is not the only animal mishap that has happened to my parents on their "Funny Farm" I'll be sharing more of their stories in the following months....

The Brave One

2008-02-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful week-end out at the ranch. We spent the better part of two days out checking cows, making sure that they didn't have any problems having their babies.

On Sunday, we were making our final trip out to the lightning field to check the cows and give them some mineral. Our newest addition, Remi the puppy, was in the back of the pick-up making sure that we were doing our part right.

After heading out to the far corner of this particular pasture to fill up the mineral box, my husband looked in the back of the truck and realized Remi was gone.

He was horrified. He immediately turned white and started checking under the tires. He was convinced that she had fallen out of the truck and he had run over her.

After thoroughly searching all around the pick-up, we headed back the way we had come. In the distance we could see a small group of Mama cows gathering around some thing in the field. As we got closer we realized that they were standing by the creek, and there sitting on the edge of the creek was our little Remi. You could tell she was trying to be brave, but she was surrounded by about 8 Mama cows with more heading in to see what the other ladies were looking at.

She must have jumped out when we stopped to check the ice in the creek. She was shaking like a leaf when my husband rescued her.

I'm starting to have doubts on what kind of worker this little girl is going to be. She prefers to ride inside the truck and sleep on the back seat.

HMMMMM.........

Addiction

2008-02-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

I admit it I'm an addict.

I can't stop. The only times I have stopped was when I was pregnant with my two girls. I didn't want my addiction to affect them.

Isn't that the first step in dealing with your addiction. You have to face the fact that you are an addict, and then you have to want to change.

The problem is, I don't want to change. I like my addiction. I like the way it makes me feel, and I hate the way I feel when I don't get it. I get all shaky, I get a headache and feel sick to my stomach. I feel tired and unmotivated.

Okay, I know what you are all thinking. What have you been hiding. I can't believe I didn't know....... But you all do. I haven't hid it, it's been lurking around me for years....

It's caffeine. I started off with just soda, but then it was getting really bad and I was having it with my breakfast. And after kiddo numero uno was born, I graduated to coffee. Not just the regular coffee, but the expensive stuff. My habit is costly.

So you all will be glad to know that there is no coffee stand out at the ranch. I am going to have to settle for regular ol' brewed coffee. **gasp** The horror.........

This may be what cures me of my addiction for good. I will greedily wait for my trips to the city to have a "real" coffee and those will be so spread out, I may be able to kick the habit.

Think good thoughts for me...........starting in March, my coffee drinking life as I know it will be over.

Pictures

2008-02-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

I have taken some fantastic pictures over the last several week-ends out at the ranch and have been unable to post them because I don't have the software set up on my work computer. I'm going to bring the software back after this week-end and try to post some more pics.

My apologies for our technical difficulties. After the end of the month, we should be back up and running smoothly.

Sorry, we will not be issuing any refunds at this time.

I would like to try a little contest soon though, to see if we can get some of you "lurkers" (ha, ha I love that word) to comment. So stay tuned.............

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

So this year I thought my husband and I would not be together on Valentine's day, but I hadn't realized that it fell on Thursday. Bowling Day....

So I'm guessing that it will not be the most romantic day for us, but I'm glad that we will be able to be together and we'll probably have dinner somewhere together as a family. When you are living in two different towns, you'll take what you can get. Plus, I'm glad that the girls will be able to see their Daddy.

There is one person in our family, who never forgets a holiday. Without fail, a few days before the holiday, the girls will get mail. They love to get mail. It is the highlight of their day when something comes in the mail for them. And so, I thank my Mom for always remembering to send the girls a little something. They LOVE it!!

She also always sends a dollar for each of them. They have built up quite a stack on the refrigerator of money they are saving for either bowling or Disneyland, depends on the day. Kiddo numero uno likes to get bouncy balls from the machine at bowling. We probably have a hundred bouncy balls. I guess I need to find something to put them in because they are driving me nuts everywhere. They don't really fit in to my tote system though...

Anyway, kiddo numero uno always exclaims "Grammy spoils us" She loves it.

So "Happy Valentines Day" to all of you and Thanks Grammy for the mail!!

~We have vomit~

2008-02-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

Lots of it. Everywhere.

Kiddo numero dos was acting totally fine Sunday evening. We had enjoyed a gorgeous week-end out at the ranch. We got to see a lot of brand new baby calves and even got to see a Mama cow have her baby.

So when I sat her at the table for dinner Sunday night the last thing I expected was rocketing vomit. But that's what we got......It was powerful. And silly me, instead of leaving her where she was and letting her get it out of her system. I grabbed her and ran for the bathroom, not knowing that my husband was currently occupying it. So here I am holding my one year old with vomit running down my hand yelling at my husband to hurry up. And what a surpirse he got when he opened the door.

We were both a mess. Her, still retching with vomit all over her face, her shirt, down her pants, everywhere. And me, trying desperately not to Ralph (yes, Dad I used your word), with vomit all over my pants hand and shirt. I'm sure we were a sight to see.

Needless to say, we stayed out at the Ranch an additional night and I was unable to post yesterday. I think I'm going to just forget to pay the car payment so that we can get our fancy dancy big city wireless internet set up out there before I go insane.

Just kidding.

It seems the stomach flu is going around, and we were just the next victims on it's little list. Let's just hope that it steers clear of kiddo numero uno.

Bowling

2008-02-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

My husband likes to bowl. I mean REALLY likes to bowl.

When he and I were first dating, he asked me if I would like to go bowling with him.

"Sure" I thought, "I just want to spend time with you, and bowling is always fun and good for a laugh." Plus, I could watch his cute hiney while he walked up to the line and I could shake mine for him. Of course, I was 30 pounds lighter and actually had a cute hiney before I had my girls. But that's another story altogether.

I'm not a good bowler. In fact I rejoice when I get over a 100 score. That's a good day of bowling for me. I have horrible technique and my wrist always goes all wacky on me and won't stay straight when I throw the ball. No big deal, right, it'll just be fun.

I didn't know anyone who actually bowled well. I didn't even know that you could bowl well and I definitely didn't realize that this was actually a professional sport for some people.

So when my husband, who I was just dating at the time, showed up with a bowling bag and his own bowling shoes. I started to worry. I mean holy smoke is this guy like the guys on King Pin or something. Where's the polyester suit?

It went from bad to worse. While I struggle to make a 100 score, my husband's average score is over 200. Who even knew that bowler's kept track of what their average was. Who bowled that much???

Apparently he did. I was crushed. This fun little date turned out to be me getting coached on my horrible technique and him totally kicking my not-so-cute-anymore hiney. The more he tried to "help" me, the worse I did. I was totally ready to call it a night. I'm pretty competitive in most sports and a sore loser. Needless to say, bowling is not my sport.

So, now that we have been married for a while, I take joy in watching my husband bowl well. He bowls on a league and the girls and I went and watched him bowl last night. It was fun listening to the older guys in his league talk about him and what a great bowler he is. I very rarely bowl with him anymore, just watch and take care of the girls, but I am proud of him.

And some day, when I'm through with my private lessons, he's not going to know what hit him. I'll smoke his still-cute-hiney.

Just kidding : )

P.S. I think men's butt's should grow right along with ours with each pregnancy. It's not fair!!!

An entirely different kind of chaos

2008-02-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

We have stepped from one kind of chaos (packing, moving, etc.) to an entirely different kind of chaos. The girls and I are staying in a studio apartment for the month of February before we move to the ranch. I promised my boss that I would stay on another month before I went to part time and now feel honored to keep my word, but life in a studio apartment with a four year old and almost two year old is just crazy. We only have a microwave and small refrigerator, so I am trying to be creative on preparing dinners. Needless to say, we ate soup and bananna's last night and I am racking my brain for something for tonight. I will be bringing the electric skillet back with me next week so at least we can make something that isn't microwaved.

The good news is kiddo numero uno and I have been able to spend some quality time together and we are busy making "projects" every night. She loves it!! She really loves preschool and especially loves making something, anything. Kiddo Dos is also getting in on it and helped me make a beaded bracelet last night. It was fun.

I'm sure there are people out there that think we are not providing a stable home for our kids by being in limbo right now, but we are doing the best we can with the situation we have. I don't think our kids are feeling any inattention by our situation right now. They do miss their Daddy, but after this month they will have more time with Mommy and Daddy than they know what to do with. So please don't judge our parenting by one month. We love our kids and we are making this change in order to spend more time with them.

Sorry ~ I'm off my soapbox now.

I'm off to the grocery store to wander the aisles and find something exciting (and hopefully nutritious) for my kids to eat tonight.

Kiddo Numero Dos

2008-02-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

It seems like kiddo numero dos is getting the short end of this bloggy deal. I am always posting stories about numero uno, while dos is sitting out in the cold. So let me fill you in about a few things about kiddo numero dos. My little princess. My sunshine. My bully. My last baby........I think.

1. She is obsessed with her friend "Shelby" And asks about her 2o times a day... Whe's Shewlby? What doing? sweeping (sleeping)? Shewlby my fweind.

And now we are going to Shelby's birthday party this week-end, so numero dos has started singing her version of "Happy Bewthday" to Shewlby. She loves Shelby!!

I actually don't mind her talking about Shelby all of the time because the way she says her name is just sooooooooooooo darn cute!!

2. She is obsessed with Apples. Loves them. She can't see above the countertop yet, but know where we keep them and asks for them constantly. She also doesn't understand what it means when I say they're all gone. She continues to ask for them until I distract her with something else. But it doesn't take long and she starts pointing at the counter and asking for "apples" again.

3. She is a total bully to my four year old daughter. Are all second kids like this? She hits her, she pulls her hair, she bites, she jumps on her. And all the while, kiddo numero uno looks at me like "What do I do???????" She knows that she can't do any of those things...........although, really if she pinched her back I wouldn't be totally upset. She has to defend herself too. We'll see when or if she ever figures that out.

4. She is very strong willed and super funny. She has a great sense of humor and an awesome belly laugh. I can't help but laugh when she's laughing.

Just a few of her personality traits. I sure do love that little munchkin!!!

Three Amigos

2008-02-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

I'M STEALING

Yep, you heard it from the theives mouth. I can't help it. My great friend at http://fierofam.blogspot.com/ posted these wonderful pics of our girls on her page and I can't resist putting them up here for my friends, family and readers to see our beautiful girls. This is at kiddo numero uno's friends 4th Birthday party a couple of weekends ago. She had a princess fairy, sledding party and the girls had a fabulous time!!

I love the fact that these girls have been "tight" for so long and they love getting together.

You might remember this from a while ago, check out how much they've grown...

In ranching news.......my husband started his new job yesterday, and loves it. He has to work on the not so "pretty" side of ranching and deal with some cows who were having problems birthing their babes. He's out riding this morning and I'm sure he is going to be completely saddle sore this evening. He'll probably be glad that the girls and I are still in town so that we don't laugh at him hobbling around. It won't take too long for him to get used to it though and then kiddo numero uno is just dying to ride.

******Giddy Up*******

Delay ~ Week-end

2008-02-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay peeps....................we now return to your regular programming. We are so backwoods out in the country that there is NOBODY who delivers high speed internet except for one wireless company, but they charge $300 for their equipment. So with the cost of moving, etc. we won't be getting that until later this month. So for now we are out of the loop on the week-ends. Sorry folks, please continue to read though............I will continue to post daily during the week. And have heart palpitations, and wake up sweating during the week-end when I don't have access to my precious internet.

Well, the girls are truely going back to their roonts. This is how they look now. I guess there's no heading back. Once you've gone country you're country and your kids have to suffer the consequences. No shoes...........it's a wonder we have running water. Pray for them!!

Marriage & My husband

2008-02-01T08:18:00.000-08:00

My husband and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. I'm excited that we've made it through our first 5 years together and I'm looking forward to all of the things to come in our lives.

As I look forward, I also think it's necessary to reflect on where we've been.

We have had more homes than we can count on one hand and several new jobs, that just didn't quite fit. I think the problem has always been that we don't want to live in town, and we don't want to have to commute in to town if we live in the country. We want to work where we live and live somewhere with some property.

Some of the changes we've made have been my idea and some have been my husbands, but through it all we've remained friends and we've never blamed each other for something that didn't go the way we thought it would. We've kept a sense of humor about all of the changes, and also kept a sense of adventure to try new things. I think we are both optimists and are always looking at life half full. I guess I'd rather be that way then so worried to make a change that we're stuck and unhappy.

I love my husband. Faults and all, and I couldn't imagine my life without him. He is an excellent father, friend and husband. I feel very blessed to have him in my life and so fortunate that he is the father of our girls. He is an excellent partner through this great adventure and the biggest bonus is that he loves me and our girls too.

Plus, he's pretty easy on the eyes : )

Creative Genius

2008-01-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

I am NOT a creative genius.

I have tried to Scrapbook, sew, knit, decorate, etc. I really want to be able to do these things. I have friends who are awesome at them.

This is a scrapbook page one of my friends made with pics of kiddo numero uno and her buds. When I try to do something like this, it takes me 4 hours to complete one project. And in the process I destroy several pictures, a lot of paper and use a whole bottle of glue. (Are you even supposed to use glue???) I'm horrible. And my friends are great at things like this.

So my new goal, since I'm going to have more free time on my hands is to start small and make some preschool projects with my girls. Maybe if I start there, I can learn to be creative and do things other Moms do. My daughter wants to make a pretty ladybug. I think I might be able to do that. Although, I'll probably have to call my freinds for tips. So wish me luck on this new adventure.

I'm also going to start cooking more. I LOVE to cook. I just don't ever have enough time to do the things I really want to do. I've always wanted to make homemade cinnamon rolls. You know the ones just dripping with goo that runs down your fingers.

So starting in March, look for more cooking ideas on this little diary. And feel free to share any awesome recipes that I can try. I'm gearing up to tie on an apron and get started : )

P.S. I don't really wear an apron; actually I don't even own one. What kind of Mom AM I?

Fashion Fever

2008-01-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

Kiddo Numero Uno loves clothes. She is a self proclaimed "style girl" One of her favorite shows to watch is America's Next Top Model. She loves it!!

She now poses whenever I try to take a picture. I can't get any "natural" pictures of her playing any more. As soon as she see the camera, she does this....

And this...

The first thing she does when we get home is change in to something MORE stylish because the clothes Daddy put on her that morning are just not cute enough.

Imagine how she'll be in a couple years..

SCARY!!!

Let it snow ~ Let it snow ~ Let it snow

2008-01-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

It's snowing. ALOT!! We've gotten about 6 inches of new snow this morning and it's still snowing.

Today would be a great day to sip hot cocoa and watch a movie under a nice snuggly blankie.

Unfortunately, I'm at work. Watching it snow and thinking, "I'm going to have to go shovel that soon..................BRRRRRRRRR"

It's really pretty though...

I'm just glad that we have the bulk of our stuff moved, because this would be horrible to try and move in.

Growing Up & "Stuff"

2008-01-28T19:06:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a small town. We had a cafe, a small "general" store, a post office and a high school.

That's it.

We didn't pay attention to "brand" names and most definitely didn't have the budget for them anyway. I was excited if I was able to get clothes at Maurices, the only "cool" store in the town 12 miles away. My coolest item of clothing my freshman year in high school was my "BUM" sweatshirt. I loved it, and I know it was such a sacrifice for my parents to get it for me. Do any of you remember "BUM" clothes and were they really as cool as I thought they were??

Probably Not ~

My most wished for item was the "cool" shoes for sports. When you live in a small town, you play everything. I lived for volleyball, and played basketball in the off season because everyone else did. But, I never did have the really nice shoes I wanted. So now, I tend to spoil my kids with nice shoes. I've paid way too much money for a nice pair of Fat Baby boots for my daughter that she grows out of too quickly, but I can't seem to help it. She loves them, and I love to see her wearing nice shoes. The ones I would have wanted if we could have had them.

The funny thing is, I didn't realize how hard it was for my parents to make ends meet. I took for granted the things they did for us, and never really realized how they must have juggled things to provide for 3 kids on one income.

So as we head in to the next chapter of our life, I'm happy that we'll still be able to get our kids the things they want and need.

We'll just have to drive a WHOLE LOT farther to get them : )

Oh Yes, that's a big 'ol mess of boxes and toys behind the girls, please ignore that. : )

We're BACK!!

2008-01-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

We made it there and back in two days. What a busy, crazy week-end. Thanks to several friends and two horse trailers, all of our stuff is out of this house (except the computer............we're addicted). We got everything unloaded and even had time for the boys to have a few beverages and go look for waskily wabbits. They didn't have much luck though......too bad.

We got really lucky and had pretty mild weather yesterday, but decided to come back tonight because there was a small blizzard here. We left yesterday with snow melting and came back to about 8 inches of snow.

Crazy Weather!!

I sure wish we had time to get everything unpacked, it's going to drive me crazy until it's all done, but not much we can do about that now. Oh well.....

Well, I hate to cut this short, but I'm exhausted and the kids and I need a bath. And we need to set up the bed on the floor that we'll ALL be sleeping on for the next week while we get things wrapped up here.

I'll try and get some more pics up tomorrow. Here's to happy dreams : )

Will it never end???

2008-01-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

It seems as if we have been on the verge of moving for months. Our house is completely torn apart and we've eaten our last three dinners out. I hate that!! I'm dying for a home cooked meal.

Tomorrow's the big day ~ We have two horse trailers and several trucks all set to move us out to the ranch. I'm a little bit nervous about doing it this way. The last couple of times we moved, we've rented a U-Haul trailer and done it easily in one trip. I hope the trailers can fit all of our stuff.

It's amazing what you can accumulate in such a short amount of time. I had such good intentions of sorting through everything and sending stuff to Goodwill and a consignment bookstore and consignment kids clothing store, but alas it's all been stuffed in boxes and is moving with us. So now my good intentions are going to be to sort that stuff out as we unpack. I'll let ya know how that goes.

Things I'm looking forward to doing..............

1. Spending time home with my kids and husband!!!

2. Riding horses

3. Spending time with kids

4. Planting a garden

5. Trying some new recipes and adventuring beyond my normal 30 minute to meal time routine

6. See #1 and #3

7. Teaching my daughter her pre-school lesson and crafts

8. Teaching kiddo numero dos some songs and crafts

9. Going to a small town church and getting to know the "folks"

10. SPENDING TIME WITH KIDS AND HUSBAND

Notice the pattern???

Well, wish us luck. I probably won't post again until Monday because we are going to be pretty busy. (Plus, I haven't set up our Internet service out there yet)

These pictures were taken by my husband today. Enjoy : )