Pumpkin pics

Gabe calls the gourds "guards". He sounds like a little stuck up California girl when he says it.
Here they are with their personalities shining. Ella will not stop joking around and Gabe is upset with her because he knows that I just want her to smile pretty.
Here they are! They thought they should carve faces in these.

Mr. Glenn took our pic on the hayride with no hay. He told me that he takes about 200 pictures a year, so I asked him what the best digital camera was. He confirmed it that it is the Canon Rebel. Now I can tell Santa (my husband) that Mr. Glen at the pumpkin patch said the Rebel was the best and I NEED one for Christmas.

Ella discovered she has a hood. Of course you ahve to try it out.--They had a train of red cars that they pull behind a John Deere riding lawn mower.
Ella found the ducks.

Pumpkin Patch Day

I think it should be an official day of the year...Pumpkin Patch Day. We have more of a celebration on that day than Labor Day or anything. Actually it is more like "Labor" Day. It takes like a year to get out the house to go to a very special event like this. As a matter of fact it all started last November. That's right----November of 2005. Ella had gotten these beutiful fringe purple Gap boots from Connolly and I needed to make her a top to match because she didn't have anything to go with them. I found a pattern and the "perfect" material and went at it. Well it turned out to be the biggest seamstress project in my career. I couldn't cut a button hole in the fabric I chose, I couldn't find the buttons I wanted, the hood didn't go on correctly, and on and on. And then when I finally did get the thing very close to completion (everything except the velcro closure since the button hole didn't work) then--that's right--I could not find one of the boots on the morning before the pictures for her 2nd birthday. Ask Amos and Guru---I was a little t'd off. It took about a month to make that silly thing. I ran to Mervyn's and got a very cute little Velvet jacket, but it just was not a poncho to match. Cry me a river. She was going to wear it this year instead.

Okay, so we set out to go to the patch. I got up early and got ready and we were finally out the door by 10:00. Ugh! 10:00??? How can I wake up early and we be gone by that late? Oh well. It was a little chilly out so I told the kids we didn't leave earlier because I didn't want them to be freezing. One mention of the work freezing and Ella Mary freaks out. "I'm cold I'm cold I'm freezing---TURN ON THE AIR CONDITIONING MOMMY!" She calls any air blowing out of any vents the air conditioning. While we were in the car with our seatbelts and the "air conditioning" on I decided that we maybe might need some gloves and hats. I'm so brilliant. Mom of the year award coming my way. I think we finally arrived at the pumpkin patch/apple orchard at about 10:40 or so. Yes, we found our gloves.

We went and visited the animals and saw the cow's white long toungue when we tried to feed it, we looked in the porta potty, we touched all the rotten pumpkins we could find, had the mommy papparazzi take some pics, and then it was time for some hot chocolate. They have a really neat country store there filled with a ton of apples, a cute little snack bar, a little store with pie mix etc, and fresh apple tunovers and carmel apples. Yummmm.... We got some hot chocolate and took the lid off since it was scorching hot (I almost think it shouold be illegal to get anything that hot) and we walked in the area where they wash and bag all of the apples from the orchard. There was a preschool there taste testing apple cider and seeing how trees grow. So we watched enviously with our mouths dripping for the cider. The kids wanted their hot chocolate. We went back to the snack area and I told the kids about 36 times not to touch their cups of illegaly scorching hot cocoa while I got them a carmel apple. Ella wanted to put the lid on hers. So she did. And spilled it. All over her little 3-year-old hand. And she screamed bloody murder. For a long time. And she wouldn't stop. Yes, it looked like it hurt and I felt very bad for her. I just don't get why they have to do exactly the opposite of what you tell them? Well we got her all cleaned up and she was fine with her had still attached and functioning properly.

We had fun on a hayride getting pumpkins out of a field. There was a little elderly man that was working and the kids kept saying, "Thank you for the ride grandpa!" So cute. We got a bag of gourds and two pumpkins. Gabe kept asking what the gourds were for. I told him for decoration. He totally did not get that. I think he thought they were to eat.

It was very fun to spend time with the kids and give them my undivided attention. It was so nice out too! What a really great time. I think I may need to make a small album of just our day since I got so many pictures.

Offspring

My two children are so funny and cute. Here is my boy. He is about the biggest mommy pleaser you have ever met. For example, if Ella hurts me (on accident like if she is "doing" my hair and pulls it hard or something) he will come to kiss me and hug me so hard and say over and over "Are you okay? Are you okay?" He will then procede to hit and push Ella in my direction to prod her to say sorry to me. He wants to make sure that I am always okay and my feelings don't get hurt or I'm not sad, and he wants to make sure he is in my good graces. He is my clean eater who never spills a drop of food on the ground, likes to cheer for the Sooners, Cowboys, and Cardinals (because that is daddy's favorite), and will get me a huge glass of water if he accidentally takes a small drink of mine. He doesn't like to make me upset in any way except he does fight with his sister on a very regular basis. He is a wonderful little boy and is always looking for approval from mom and dad. My little boy is so much like his daddy--which is a very good thing.

And then I have a little girl named Ella. Ella likes to have a lot of fun no matter what. She wants to play all the time and just have a good time without doing anythign responsible. Even when she knows what she is doing is wrong. She will take the spanking instead. If she hurts me when "doing" my hair, she will get as close to my face as possible and say "sowwy sowwy sowwy mom" and then laugh and do it again on purpose. She is the messiest eater in the world and it almost grosses me out to watch her sometimes. If accidentally takes a drink of my cup instead of hers, she will claim it as her own and convince herself it is hers. She is so beautiful and loves to be tickled as much as possible. She is just like her momma.

I have to remind myself sometimes how wonderful my creations God has given me are. They are wonderful gifts that I sometimes take for granted. I have decided that tomorrow is a day for them. Gabe has not wet in his pull-up for a week at night. I told him that if he doesn't wet again tonight, then we get to go to the toy store tomorrow and he can pick something out. (We NEVER go to the toy store--unless we happen to take a wrong turn at Target and they see the toy aisle. That's as close as we come to the toy store. We just avoid any temptation--from dad and the kids.) We are going to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard and then out to eat. I hope they have fun. We went to the park today and they loved that mom didn't have to work for a day. It will be so good to focus just on them for a day.

Wisdom...hmmmm

Oh my word...I think my wisdom teeth are going to make me die an early death. Honestly. Not my kids, not the stresses of life, just my wisdom teeth. I really need to get them removed, but I guess I will wait until the beginning of the year so I can pay my deductible and have the rest of the year to benefit from it. They are creating an unbelievable amount of pressure that blasts the back of my mouth, shoots up my head, and the radiates through my neck. It's a wonderful adventure for my nervous system. I will just need to keep pounding the ibuprofen until January. I hope my kidneys don't fail from the 800 mg doses.

So here it is for all you stay-at-home moms out there. What is up with TLC finding the absolute hottest hotty hotties out there to be on their shows. This guy is now in the lead on my list as the hotest hotty blondie hot hot hotty out there. I don't even really care for the show other than that my eyes are enjoying the scenery. I don't even like to cook or want to eat any of the seafood they make on this show. I just want to watch it though. And here is why...

That's right. He has taken the lead right in front of Eric stromer of Clean Sweep who has moved into second place on my list....

And of course Ty who only makes my TLC list but not the all time hotty hot hot hotty list.....


***I just want to put out there that my husband is actually the hottest man alive. I was just putting the three top TLC guys on here. I am very happily married to a wonderful man who I couldn't think of a compalint about. I will love him until the day I leave this earth. No marriage problems here. These guys are just eye candy and nothing else.*****

Christmas--3 months long.

I am officially obsessed with Christmas and it is only October. I have planned out what I am going to buy for everyone, have finished buying for some already, have started on all of my handmade gifts, and am about done with my Christmas cards. Why am I so obsessed? I think it is because if I'm not, then when the end of November and the beginning of December roll around, I am broke, don't have any ideas for anyone, and don't have enough time for all of the "wonderful" handmade ideas I have in my little brain. I just love Christmas! The only gifts I don't have planned are for my husband's side because they don't decide until Thanksgiving what to do for Christmas. We have drawn names the past couple of years and then spent WAY too much money and we are just not going to do that this year. I absolutely refuse to put anything on the credit card to pay for Christmas. I guess that is why I have started early.

We had our first potluck back at our old/new church yesterday for pastor appreciation Sunday. They do potlucks a little differently now though. There are a few couples in the church that just love to cook, so they make the main dish and have everyone bring desserts. They had soup and sandwich yesterday and it was YUMMY! I brought some pumpkin bars from a recipe that my MIL gave me and they were a hit. I tried to bring them in incogneto (did I spell that right) on plain plates without my name or anythign because I had gotten them a little dark. But like 8 people came up and asked me for the recipe. Ha! So much for be anonymous. They are really good though.

We are still waiting on the verdict on Micah's job. Hopefully we will find out by the end of next week or so. he really wants to go back to school in January and we need to get him signed up and registered soon for that, but we still dont' know his schedule. He really wants the job though and I pray that he gets it. Whatever God has in store is perfect for us. We had totally different plans for our lives a year ago, but God had something different (and better) in store for us. Isn't it amazing how if you are just obedient, then everything works in your favor? Why does it take us humans so long to figure that out?

My Nobody called last week and told me that she was making a shirt for her boy and that got me going. I have all of the stuff to make the kids some pajamas. It is cold here at night in the long winter, so they need some warm clothes. I got some flannel for the bottoms and some fleece for the tops. I hope I have better luck with my pattern than Nobody did. ha!

Gotta work. The kids are at the babysitters and I'm wasting my precious time.

A day in the life

Well we have another barf fest around our house. It is oh so much fun. I was up Thursday night until 5:22 with Ella. She just puked and puked and puked. And then yesterday she was running all over the place, so I thought she was fine and I gave her solids for lunch. Yep, she barfed again. HUGE. I'm really tired of cleaning carpet, washing blankets, and bleaching every hard surface around. At least verything is clean. We wanted to drive around and go to open houses today, but Ella doesn't have good enough aim to launch into a barf bag. Oh and I have a number eleven for my top ten list...
11. If there is any chance that your child might be coming down with something, do not go to a Chinese buffet.
So I'm reallly into Christmas this year--already. I think our plan is to stay around here for Christmas, probably go to my aunt and uncle's cabin and then do Christmas Day with the rents. Then I think we will go down to Arkansas to visit Micah's parents and brother and sister-in-law. for New Year's. I just hope it all works out with Micah's job and the time off. We still don't know what position he will end up in. I'm sure it will all work out though. Even if it is just for a short trip.
I went to the paint store the other day to get some empty paint cans to decorate for Christmas goody "bags" for Sunday School teachers and AWANA teachers etc. They were only $1 each! And the quart ones were only $.50. Craziness. And I got the paper from the Cobby Store for them since it is so cute and half off. I think I have Delaney (my beautiful new niece) taken care of. I was finishing the baby bedding that got put on hold because of the relocation. I am almost finished with the bedskirt--oh so cute--and then I have the bumper to do. I would post a pic of it be Deanna reads the blog and it should stay a suprise for her. I am going to make all of the kids something else so I have to go to the geriatric Jo-Ann store to get the goods. It is going to be so cute though.
I called the school about kindergarten registration yesterday. They do all day everyday kindergarten here. It is from 8:00 to 2:45 everyday. They said that their class sizes are very small, which i am excited about. Only 14 or 15 students in three separate rooms. Great. I have to get him registered in March. Guess that means we need to find a house by then. It is nice not having bills right now though and can focus on paying off some debt.
On a random thought....don't you love to watch your kids while they are watching a movie. It is so cute to see them smile and laugh at silly things. I love it when Gabe is just sitting Indian-style and smiling at the TV. I know this is kind of a boring entry. Just a reflection of my day-to-day life I guess. Being a mom is so enjoyable though even if it sounds boring on paper (or screen). I would not trade this time with my children when they are young for anything.

Cobby Store and the "cool" factor

I just got back from dropping off the kids at the childcare lady and then from Cobby Store. Single sheets of paper are 50% off so I thought I'd look. They have gotten a TON of "cool" stuff in. They have SEI single sheets, We R Memory Keepers single sheets, retro style Christmas paper, TONS of American Crafts two-sided cardstock single sheets, and Basic Grey Collection Packs. That's right...Basic Grey. They have Blitzen, Oh Baby! Boy, Oh Baby! Girl, Gypsy, Lilykate, and Urban Couture. Awesome. They are not on sale this week, but the lady forgot to take half off on one of my rub-ons so she gave me it for half off so she wouldn't have to return it. Ha!

I dropped the kids off at with Linda this morning. I felt a little guilty leaving them because it's not a preschool or a learning center of any kind. I don't know why I have a hard time letting people watch my kids. It's kind of weird because I am working so I shouldn't feel so guilty. If I just was dropping them off so I could be by myself for a bit, then I guess that would be different. This lady is so wonderful though. She is my moms age, but she has a two-year-old son as well as grown children my age. So she is more of a grandma then a babysitter. She home-schooled her kids for years and years until they moved to South Dakota. A very godly Christian lady who will be wonderful with the kids. I don't know what I'm so concerned about. There are also two other kids that she is watching as well. They are 4 and 2, so it will be perfect with my kids. And they are such great kids too from a family that walks with the Lord.

I decided that it is my goal for this week to scrapbook everyday. I am very behind on it because of the move and everything. I would really like to get the majority of this year done before Christmas rolls around. I have a lot of cards to make as well as other gifts, so the more I can get done the better. I have a ton of supplies that I have been buying too. Tons of paper!!! Good grief there is a lot. I better use it before there is stuff I like better that comes out.

Two days in a row!

Bed Time

You are going to be jealous of my page. You know how it is. When you get in the mode then you just can't stop. It is two days in a row of scrapbooking here for nobody. Not only just scrapbooking, but actually finishing the pages that were started. I'm getting a little worn out. j/k This is a page I did for Ella's new bed...and when she decided to paint her toenails, her legs, the blankets, the sheets, her hand, and the carpet on her new bed the day after she got it. Stay tuned for more from the cropping "machine". P.S. For those of you who live in areas with Cobby Store, check out their new stock of patterned single sheets of paper. They have all of the We R Memory Keepers now. And they are half off this week. I need to stop the insanity!!!!!!

Scrapbooking...CM style

a CrEAtIvE MEmOrIEs tibute from South Dakota to all you scrapbooking ladies out there!!



Okay all you scrapbookers out there...this is for you from a gal living only two hours from the Creative Memories capital of the world--also Amos' hometown. If you would like to scraplift any of the creation I've left the references for everything.

*PApEr*: Creative Memories
*FlOwEr*: Creative Memories
*FIbEr*: Creative Memories
*AdhEsIvE*: Creative Memories
*Ink*: Creative Memories

*FOnt*: Creative Memories

*LAyOUt DEsIgn: Creative Memories

I'm giving you the bird Guru!

Top Ten....

Here are the top ten things I learned from 2:48am to 3:46am:

1. Explain to your child before an incident occurs, and not during, that if he is not feeling well and needs to throw up, go to the toilet and launch it--not launch it on mommy and the floor next to mommy's bed first.

2. The toilet is the best place to dump chunks, not the sink.

3. No man has ever woken up in the middle of the night to clean up puke.

4. Scan the room for stray chunks after you think you have cleaned all the puke up. If you forget to look on the floor, they will show up when you least expect it by sticking to the bottom of your foot.

5. Have extra clean sheets around so you don't have to go digging through boxes while smelling like puke while your child is still launching while you have chunks stuck to the bottom of your foot while the carpet solution is doing nothing for the pink stain and while you husband is still sawing logs.

6. Take your time when walking down the stairs to the laundry room with the casualities (sheets). Nothing needs to drop and create another mess to clean up. And if you have a lot of things to bring down, then just make two trips because a nose full of puke reak doesn't go away very quickly.

7. Apples are pretty easy to clean up half digested.

8. Chicken and stuffing is not.

9. Do not expect a man to get up. If you don't expect it then you won't get your hopes up only to be let down.

10. Have lots of Oust on hand. Puke smell doesn't go away right away.

Snowman poop in October

Yesterday......

Today...

Here is the view out my bedroom window this morning at 6:30 when I was getting ready to go to the Bell's. That's right people----it's snow in October. Gabe and Ella were so excited to see that we had a "huge huge snowstorm" last night. They got all their snow garb on and ran outside, but they weren't quite ready for the blast of cold air and they quickly retreated back inside the house. It is gone now and so are the frozen and thawed out impatiens on the front porch. They were so pretty yesterday. It was really cold last night. It got down to 21!!! But it feels good to finally pull out the down comforter to use. I've been waiting two years to use that baby again.
So I've been pretty stressed with my work lately. Every night is spent with my rear glued to the office chair in front of the computer. My only break was to make those ugly frames the other day. ugh! I know I get paid and everything, but I was really beginning to wonder if the stress was worth the money. Something had to give...and quickly. I decided that I needed to enroll the kids in preschool. No such luck. All of the preschools here are only two hours long and are full. The only one I could find had before and after extended care (great) and an opening for both of the kids (great) but Ella would go on Tuesday and Thursday and Gabe would go either M, W, and F or M, T, W, and Th (very not great). I was talking to my mom about the predicament and she has seen me in action with the typy type type typing and was quickly willing to help me resolve the problem. She told me about a lady who is their music ministers wife who is starting a daycare. I really didn't want anyone I was close to watching the kids regularly because I wouldn't want to cause any riff raff. It just seems easier not to hire friends. I've been there and done that before. She already has two girls starting full time on Tuesday and wanted to take on some part time work. I called her ASAP and told her what I was looking for. I was going to enroll Gabe in preschool and have her watch Ella on M, W, F, and every other Th when I go to the Bell's (Gabe can go with me). She told me that she would pray about it, talk to her husband about it, and call me back. So I tell you all that to tell you that she just called and wants to give it a try...and she will take Gabe too. Wonderful. I hope this will relieve some of the burden of the job(s) I have.

One problem gone. Praise God for that!

Check out my sister-in-laws blogsite to see my little nephew in action. I absolutely could not stop laughing at what she posted. He is so cute. She is firstfruits under my Contributors.

You are gonna be jealous of my frames.

So here they are. The long awaited ugly frames I have made--sorry to all you Mary Englebreit fans out there. It is difficult to work with paper that you are not used to. And the whole clean lines thing. ugh! I know the requests for them will be flooding in, so get your order in early.

Funny kids!

On Saturday we went out for pizza for my grandma's 70th birthday. (It's so fun to be able to joint the family for these things!) We went right after the drama in my last post with Ella not wanting to take a nap. Well she never did take a nap. It was time to go before she fell asleep. We were on the way there and I had just combed her hair out and had it all pretty. She has been told a million times not to touch her hair or take it out and it never fails that she does. She just takes it out when she gets bored sitting in the car or something. Well today was no different and she messed it up on purpose by rubbing the top of her head very hard on purpose. By this point I am so frustrated with this beautiful creation of mine who is oh so disobedient today....so it is time for a spanking in the Pizza Hut bathroom. I told her that we would be going to the bathroom when we arrived (we were still in the car)and she started the whine/whimper. Gabe was listening to this all play out and being my mommy pleaser he said, "Mommy if you ever had me and I was a girl, and you named me Ella, and you put my hair up pretty, then I would not mess it up." Ella heard him say this and in the midst of the whines and wimpers she manages to yell to him, "GABE YOU WILL NEVER BE A GIRL!"

One of those many moments that you can't laugh out loud, but it is definitely very funny.

Naptime?

Ella was supposed to be down for a nap this afternoon and for whatever reason it takes her awhile to fall asleep. Probably like a half an hour after
I go into her room three or four times to tell her to stop kicking the wall, to put the books down, or whatever else she is doing other than closing her eyes. I was on my second trip in there and found her laying in bed like this. I ran to get my camera and take a picture (so obvious to her that I think it is cute and she is not in trouble even though she is but i just can stop the paparazzi). Don't worry it was clean. She told me that if I didn't want her to wear my underwear then I shouldn't put it in her basket in her room. Ha!

Curtain call

I went shopping today from 10am to 3pm today. That was just crazy...but fun. The kids and I were on a mission. To find curtains for Sally Bell's guest room. Her mom is coming in on Monday and she wanted to spruce up the room a bit and make it look more homey for her. And not like black "homeys". I don't think her mom would appreciate that too much. We ran all over. Target, Jo-Ann fabrics, JC Penney, Children's Place, Burger King (just for lunch not curtains, Sears, back to JC Penney (got a rod and a set of curtains), and then back to Target (got two more sets of curtains). It was like a marathon. The kids were suprisingly good though since they did not have naps. We ended up at the Bells to put the curtains up. It was 4:45 when we left. Wow. It was one of those shopping trips where you are very exhausted at the end and don't even feel like you accomplished anything. I got what I wanted done, but I think it would have taken only an hour and a half for a normal person to find something.

We are in the process of house hunting. We are not real serious about it yet because we think we will be here for probably another three months or so. It just takes time to verify emplyment on a loan and prove your income. So I think after Micah has been there for three months, then it will be easier. Maybe right after Christmas or so we will get serious. But it is fun just to look. We are looking a little closer this time because Gabe will be going to kindergarten next year and we need to choose a house that is in the district we want. I really wish we could afford to sent the kids to private school, but I just don't think we can swing it. Unless we win the lottery, and we don't play. But what would public schools be like if every child from a Christian home went to private school. I would send them in a heartbeat if I could easily afford it, but no. Maybe by the time they are in high school.

Micah went to work today and was called out of his training class to speak with his boss's boss. She talked with him for a few minutes and told him that she was told that he came highly recommended for a training position. It would be an 8-4:30 Monday through Friday with differing shifts as needed. It came with a good salary attached to it too. He is supposed to interview for it on Monday. We know that whatever happens will be God's will. And if he doesn't get the job, then he still has the one that he is going into. I'm just happy we are back home. I don't even care if we have a little house and a little income. It just feels good to be here. When I was out today I saw three people at Jo-Ann's that I knew, one person at Children's Place, and another person at a local Christian book store. I just love to run into people that are familiar.

That's it for tonight.

P.S. Dede I saw Angela at the mall today. I didn't count her up there in the head count though. Not worthy.

Wow. I'm a dork.

I know you have all known it for awhile and maybe have been a little apprehensive to tell me, but I came to a great realization today. I'm a dork. 100%. I know you are all just dying to know how I finally realized the obvious. Well, let me tell you....I just learned the words to the song "Breakfast at Tiffany's". And do you want to know how I learned? Connor and Connolly Bell were singing in the car when I picked them up from school today (they are 8 and 9. I couldn't believe that those two rugrats knew the words and I have been humming through parts for years because I didn't know what in the world that man was saying. So I had them sing it about twenty times so I could understand the words. Then, after I understood what they were singing I wrote them down so I could remember them. If you thought I was a dork up until this point....just wait. Here is the kicker. After all of that--I have forgotten the words again. I guess I could go back to the paper in my purse that I wrote them all down on. Wow, that just came to me.

Another thing. I have known this for awhile, but I just want to tell you all in case you didn't know that my husband is wonderful. He is so sweet. My rear was settling in the office chair for a long night of transcription (I thought my rear was dented from the texture of the upholstery of the chair from sitting in it for so long, but I realized that it was only cottage cheese) and asked him to run to the gas station to get me a Coke. I only drink Coke and I only like it in the can or from the fountain, but definitely not in a bottle. Unless desperation sets in and that bottle of stress juice is the only thing available. I prefer fountain Coke over anything, so he went there to get it. He comes back with my pop and ice cream for everyone. He got me vanilla bean TCBY and the kids rainbow sherbert TCBY. He knows I don't like all the stuff like chocolate, cookies, nuts, etc. in my ice cream unless it is Blue Bell and there is no Blue Bell up here. Just Blue Bunnny and bunnies are not that great at lactating quality ice cream worthy product. (That's a fun mental picture.) So he got TCBY because they are in all the Get n Go's up here. Isn't that sweet of him!? he got my favorite ice cream (vanilla bean--I'm a dork and boring) and he got it in a waffle cone for me because he knows I love them. Maybe he is trying to tell me something with the TCBY. It 99% fat free you know.

Dr. Philly boy

What is up with Dr. Phil!? When I first had Gabe and started staying at hime, I watched Dr. Phil religiously because it was something clean on tv that was fun to watch and gave good ideas. The show has turned Jerry Springer. I can't hardly stand watching all of the low-lifes they have on that show everyday with all the drama. There. I had to get that off my chest.

Walky walk walk

What a beautiful day outside. I thing it is about 60 degrees or maybe 65 and sunny. Wonderful sweatshirt and jeans day. And a great day for a walk. I was babysitting my little cousin this morning. He is a couple of months younger than Ella. For those of you who know me, you will know that I do not babysit. I am not fond of babysitting anyone's kids except my very close friends and my niece and nephew. I do not like it. At all. So I agreed though (she didn't even pay me...not that I'm bitter even though she was working and making money at the time she couldn't spare a bit for someone to babysit the kid. Not bitter.) and he came this morning and I put a smile on my face. So to pass the time we went for a walk. I suppose I needed the exercise anyway because I think I can feel my stretch marks stretching even wider. On the walk I just yaked on the cell phone to my Nobody. And while I was walking I saw this beautiful vine. Here is a picture of it. It was just one strand of red leaves climbing on a fence. Cute.




Whenever we go on a walk I just let the kids lead. I never really care where we go and they understand that they have to stop at the end of every block, so they really never go too far. We found more pretty leaves. I'm posting more pictures of my kids in the leaves. There is a good picture of Ella with her new pretties too. They are just so fun to jump in and pick. The kids buried me in the pile and I am still digging itchy leaves out of my underwear, bra, and waistline.



While we were on our ride I noticed that Ella had her purse with her. So when we got home I took everything out of it to see what was in there. Lilah did that once with
Jayden's pocket (or maybe it was Josiah) and it was so cute to see what he had. I took a pic of it for a scrapbook page. I know I'm a follower. She had three books, my list of what family pictures I wanted, a Tommy Boy movie, two receipts, a dollar, a HOME 123 business card of Micah's, a Vanity jeans tag, a Fisher-Price card that comes in their toys, and a phone number for Laurie (who's Laurie?).

A super weekend

We had such a fun fun day on Saturday. I'm so sorry that all of your weekends were junk with a toothache, Aircast, no internet etc, but mine was pretty good. Other than that I am PMSing. Very bad. The only good thing about PMS is that you know you're not pregnant. Not that pregnant is so bad, just not right now in my life. Anyway, back to the weekend. It was like 85 degrees out on Saturday so we decided to do some winterizing around the rents house. Dad bleached the permanent siding, I trimmed the bushes, mom trimmed the other bushes, and we all cleaned up the sticks. Gabe had a lot of fun helping--he's so big.
After we finished we put everything in the back of dad's truck and ran it out to my grandparents farm--after stopping for a Coke at Get 'n' Go. Not Git n Go. My grandparents live on about 50+ acres outside of Sioux Falls about 5 minutes. I had not been there in about 4 years. My parents picked the kids up to go out there a lot, but I never went with. So we all went out and dumped the foliage in the burn pile. And then we were on a hunt...for insects.
First, we found grasshoppers, and lots of them. Gabe freaked out everytime I tried giving them to him.
And Ella picked them up like they were her best friends. Then we rolled down the hill by the pond they have. The kids rolled and rolled and did lots of sommersaults (is that how to spell that). After getting really dizzy we went to the pear trees and picked fresh pears. They are so yummy and juicy and not full of insecticides. Then we found two caterpillers.
Ella named hers Elmo and Gabe named his Zippy. Mom found a jar and put some milkweed in it for them and dad pounded holes in the top so they could breathe. They were a little creeped out at first because you know how those things feel on your skin. After all of that, Ella found a baby snake and I mean baby. I have never seen such a small snake. It almost looked like a worm. She just picked it up and carried it all over. Gabe would not even come close to it. Grandpa yelled at us to put it down though because it had a red belly and that "means it is dangerous". It was like the size of my pinky.

After we got home we went and hid out in mom's scrapbook room. Micah had put up some pegboard in the morning and we had covered a bulletin board for it too. Oh yeah, I stapled my fingers together. It hurt so bad. I thought I was going to faint. The staple went all of the way in on one finger and halfway on ther other. Micah ripped it out for me because I couldn't look at it. And that silly thing still hurts. It feels like I bruised it really bad. At least it's my left hand. Anyway I organized all of her stuff. She has one of those carts like Lilah and Amos do and I organized it like Lilah's. I put all of her rub-ons together, the flowers together, chipboard, etc. And it looks so good. I will take pics.

Sunday we went to church and then out for pancakes with my grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins. It's funny because my first cousins are my kids' ages. So they had fun playing together. They have pancakes after church on the first Sunday of the month. Kids are free and adults are $3.00. $6.00 for all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, eggs, and orange drink. Yumm. It was just so fun to do all of the things I have wanted to do when I wasn't living here. It is such a great time for the kids. Although yesterday Ella said about ten times, "When are we going back to our house? Can we go home?" After a long conversation I think she finally understands that we are living with mom and dad until we buy our own house.

Micah started his job today. While he is in training he works from 8:00-4:30 and then after training he will work 1:30-midnight four days a week. That is if another shift doesn't open up from now until then. They gave him his seniority back so he should be able to get something if it opens up. I don't mind the other shift though because he would get three days off a week.

I suppose I better take care of my kids. They are running around in their dinosaur costumes begging for a snack. It's 10:00 you know.