Good morning!

Life if good in the Noel household. McKennas quite active. She can scoot up the stairs in no time, and her vocabulary is growing. She can say 'cheese' and 'shoes' and 'outside'. I've given her signs for these things too, which helps out. Noel and I have been hitting yard sales on Saturdays and can I say he is REALLY good at finding deals? He found a soddering kit that they only wanted a buck for and it's worth over $200. he said. It needs one replacement part that's really cheap (under $10.) and it's good as new. I found lots of great clothes for McKenna, some of which I'll use for her this winter. We also picked up a vacuum sealer for food, since we buy a lot of meat in bulk and then re-wrap it. It's nice, and worth at least $50. We got it for $8. So because of Noel I've become interested in yard saleing, which in my former life wouldn't have been an interest I'd have entertained at all!

Noel and I took McKenna to the Boise zoo. She really liked the small animal kingdom. There was a digging rat/prarie dog looking thing... a meerat? I can't remember, but some of them were digging and some were sitting on a ledge with their backs pressed up against the glass... McKenna was trying to give them kisses through the glass! Don't worry, we didn't let her lips actually CONTACT the glass! Ha! Anyway, there were some big animals there too, like tigers, leopards, a sloth bear, camels, zebras, but nothing bigger than that really. Lots of different monkeys and birds and stuff. She had fun and fell asleep in her carseat on the way home!

Other news: I've been doing flylady and some days are better than others, but one thing I'm grateful for is that my laundry is caught up and my kitchen always is clean with counters clean and empty of dirty dishes. And if that was all I ever got out of flylady I'd be happy, but her idea of routines really works for me and the cats are so much happier with their litterboxes scooped every day! I still work on updating/changing/omitting from my routines, but I've got the basics down that I do every morning and night, so that's good. And I've got my meals planned everyweek, which really helps me not to get in a panic every day around 4pm going, 'what am I going to make for dinner?'

So other than that, nothing much going on. Gas is $2.99/gallon up here, but we're still using the geo and Noel is carpooling with a guy he works with on mondays, wed's, and fri's so that works out really well.

I've recently come back to researching homeschooling after taking a break from it to follow other interests (spirituality, etc) and am still sure that it's the right road to go, especially with the schools around here. I just have to decide what kind of homeschooler I'll be, i.e. unschooling, eclectic, Charlotte Mason, classical, etc... but it'll be fun to find out! Gotta end this, McKenna's awake and ready to start the day! Love to everyone who's still keeping up with this thing. Sorry I haven't written in awhile!

Good morning!

Life if good in the Noel household. McKennas quite active. She can scoot up the stairs in no time, and her vocabulary is growing. She can say 'cheese' and 'shoes' and 'outside'. I've given her signs for these things too, which helps out. Noel and I have been hitting yard sales on Saturdays and can I say he is REALLY good at finding deals? He found a soddering kit that they only wanted a buck for and it's worth over $200. he said. It needs one replacement part that's really cheap (under $10.) and it's good as new. I found lots of great clothes for McKenna, some of which I'll use for her this winter. We also picked up a vacuum sealer for food, since we buy a lot of meat in bulk and then re-wrap it. It's nice, and worth at least $50. We got it for $8. So because of Noel I've become interested in yard saleing, which in my former life wouldn't have been an interest I'd have entertained at all!

Noel and I took McKenna to the Boise zoo. She really liked the small animal kingdom. There was a digging rat/prarie dog looking thing... a meerat? I can't remember, but some of them were digging and some were sitting on a ledge with their backs pressed up against the glass... McKenna was trying to give them kisses through the glass! Don't worry, we didn't let her lips actually CONTACT the glass! Ha! Anyway, there were some big animals there too, like tigers, leopards, a sloth bear, camels, zebras, but nothing bigger than that really. Lots of different monkeys and birds and stuff. She had fun and fell asleep in her carseat on the way home!

Other news: I've been doing flylady and some days are better than others, but one thing I'm grateful for is that my laundry is caught up and my kitchen always is clean with counters clean and empty of dirty dishes. And if that was all I ever got out of flylady I'd be happy, but her idea of routines really works for me and the cats are so much happier with their litterboxes scooped every day! I still work on updating/changing/omitting from my routines, but I've got the basics down that I do every morning and night, so that's good. And I've got my meals planned everyweek, which really helps me not to get in a panic every day around 4pm going, 'what am I going to make for dinner?'

So other than that, nothing much going on. Gas is $2.99/gallon up here, but we're still using the geo and Noel is carpooling with a guy he works with on mondays, wed's, and fri's so that works out really well.

I've recently come back to researching homeschooling after taking a break from it to follow other interests (spirituality, etc) and am still sure that it's the right road to go, especially with the schools around here. I just have to decide what kind of homeschooler I'll be, i.e. unschooling, eclectic, Charlotte Mason, classical, etc... but it'll be fun to find out! Gotta end this, McKenna's awake and ready to start the day! Love to everyone who's still keeping up with this thing. Sorry I haven't written in awhile!

Well, life is pretty good! It's summer and I've got irises blooming in the front yard, and even though our lawn looks like shit (yes, folks, it's THAT bad) I'm pretty happy. The garden has been rototilled and I'm going to be on Noel to get the compost and fertilizer in this next week on his days off. Then I can get my plants into the groud. They are still in my terrarium and the bean plants already have beans on them!!

We decided to purchase some life insurance for all of us, since Noel and McKenna have none and I only have $40K which would not cut it if I died and Noel needed to pay for day care, etc... so we purchased some for all of us. McKennas is about $34. a month and has the option for her to be able to draw out of it for college if she wants, but if she doesn't it will just continue to grow for her until she dies. I was already putting $50. a month into an extra savings for her for college, but this way I can add the difference and she'll get a much better interest rate on it. So that was an expense, but we recently purchased a Geo Metro for $300. which will save us about $40./month in gas (at least) and we also recently switched to cloth diapers for McKenna which will save us another $20. a month. I've also been keeping the grocery budget under $250. a month, plus I'm bringing in more money from a new piano student. And to top it all off, Noel just got a $1.86 raise! (Actually, the piano money is my money, so it doesn't really go towards the household stuff unless we REALLY need it!)So, we're in pretty nice shape right now, and I feel like quite a load has been lifted off. Even though our gas prices are supposed to be the lowest up here (at 2.78/gallon) it was still a concern!

So on to other stuff, McKenna is sleeping and I've just today been feeling better, having had a cold for the last few days. I've got tons of housework to catch up on, so LATER!!! :)

Good morning! Well, my daughter has lots of teeth! She has the 6 in front (4 on top, 2 bottom) Well, she sprouted a molar on her lower left a few weeks ago (that was fun) and in the space it skipped one of her canines is coming up. She also has the same molar and canine coming in on the other side, as well as has two molars broken through in the back on each side of the top of her mouth. We've been going through OralB gel and teething tablets like they were candy almost! Seriously, she's been cranky and getting me up in the evening. Actually the last two days have been better. She slept through, thank God! It's also getting warmer in the house during the day. It got up to 77 degrees so she went to bed in her light weight PJ's that her daddy bought her. I usually let it get pretty warm in the house during the summer... once it starts pushing 85 I've had it. She's been going around in a diaper already during the day sometimes.
We're getting more into the dropping/throwing food stage and I make her pick it up after she's done eating. She thinks it's fun. (Picking it up - but I do discourage her from throwing food in the first place) I'll also give her a napkin and she'll wipe up her spills for me. She gets BIG PRAISE! I love this helpful stage she's in... I hope it lasts!
She's really good on the stairs now, both going up and down. If I forget to put up the baby gate, she can be up those stairs in under 20 seconds! If I see her starting up I'll say "McKenna, get back down here" in a stern voice and she'll giggle and start going up faster. I'll snatch her off the stairs and put her down and get the gate up and she thinks it's fun. I haven't started disciplining her for it since it's my fault I didn't have the gate up, so I just make sure to have the gate up and then when she's climbing be there to supervise.
She's such a joy and now I can't wait to get pregnant with the next one. I'm charting my cycles so we're trying to time things for conception, and last month was a disappointment... I'm in the middle of this month and hope we get lucky this time around. So, we'll see. I want to do some camping this year, with some friends of ours or just on our own, depending on what happens. I think McKenna's old enough that she could probably do okay.

Recently, I showed McKenna how to back down the stairs on her own, since I figured that skill would come in handy one day! Today was the day, because if I hadn't been watching her I would've turned around and she'd have been gone! She climbed up the staircase all on her own, with me following. Poor cats, no more safe refuge! Hah! Then she backed down the stairs, and a couple of times tried to turn forward but I turned her back correctly and she made it down. I was very proud of her and now will have the baby gate up more often, except when we have dedicated stairplay! :)

McKenna's been walking everywhere all by herself! For the last 3 days or so! We are SO proud of her!

Oops, forgot to mention that McKenna has another tooth on her lower left side... I found it today and it looks as though she skipped a tooth, because it's toward the middle back. Nothing on the other side... so now I guess she has 7 teeth! And chewing stuff like a little fiend!

Well, the home and garden show went well... we answered a few questions, but it wasn't as difficult or intimidating as I thought it would be. Soon the class will be coming to a close, but I'm still having fun with it.
Well, beginning of this month McKenna and I (sans Noel) went to Phoenix to visit family and I encouraged McKenna to show off her walking skills but she refused. I got her back to Idaho and what does she do but starts walking almost everywhere! Argh. Anyway, while I was in Phoenix I got to try out a Gammill long-arm quilting machine, which was very nice and also got to see Ethan and Tish's new house, which is just drop dead gorgeous! A bit expensive, IMO, but it has mucho space. I dropped in a little tidbit about how that house would probably only cost about 150,000 up here in Nampa (it's selling for a little above $200,000. in El Mirage) but sounds like they're set on staying in Arizona. Bummer. Anyway, life goes on. So on to other baby/kid stuff, I'm using the FAM method for pregnancy achievment since we're trying for baby #2, and for those of you who really just HAVE to know what that is, it's the fertility awareness method and you can do a search on it online to get bunches of info. I won't get into details here. In short, it's not RHYTHM and yes, it works. Okay, well other stuff - let's see... it snowed here yesterday. I was quite excited and this year we actually have an above average snowfall in the mountains - it won't make up for 5 years of drought, but it should help. I'm thinking of taking the hubby and McKenna up to Bogus Basin ski resort to do some sledding on their little sledding hill, but I'll have to do some major persuading of my husband, and we'll need a sled. But, besides that, in another week or so I'll start planting my seeds for the veggies I want. They'll be in my terrarium, and then hopefully the garden will be in and ready to receive! Okay, I'd better end this - I hear McKenna waking up from her nap. Later!

Well, BIG NEWS!! McKenna took her first steps yesterday! Noel had her backed up against a wall, and asked her to walk forward to him and she took 3-4 steps! We are so proud. And then tonight, she stood up in the middle of the family room and Noel was in the kitchen and started calling her and she started walking towards him! She went about 7 to 8 feet before plunking down! But then she got right back up and kept going... I managed to get a good portion of it on video... we were so excited and were cheering her on the whole time. I almost didn't want to put her to bed, it was so amazing! Well, that's it. I'm watching the Olympics and Noel is putting some more babyproofing stuff in the kitchen. We're happy people!

So what's new? Not much with McKenna for once but I'm having fun with my gardening class. We took cuttings from each others house plants a couple of weeks ago, so I have cuttings currently rooting, and they will be ready for planting in another week or so probably. I've converted my 80 gallon aquarium into a plant terrarium. I've decided that I need to treat my houseplants better. I've got the lights and with the wet soil from the plants it creates a nice humidity that they like. So for I have a pothos, a spider plant, some ivy, some climbing charlie, a wandering jew, an african violet, a polka dot plant, a christmas cactus, and a mother-in-laws tongue. Also another type of succulent that I'm not sure of the name. It's currently trying to root for me. I also have seeds that I'm trying to start under the lights in my tank (as an assignment for class) and I also have to show that I can start different types of plants from cuttings... stem cutting versus a plantlet type like spider plants. Anyway, I'm having fun with it except I have to wiggle the bulbs slightly in their fixture to get them to come on for me, which is frustrating since everything is new and Noel just wired the lights up only 3 days ago.
There's a home and garden show coming up tomorrow that I have to go to for the Master Gardeners class. We will be giving out advice to the public, and it's considered a part of our class. There will be 3 or 4 of us, as well as 2 advanced master gardners there that we can fall back on if we don't have an answer for someone... as well as a ton of reference material. It should be fun, and I'll post about how it went later. Noel will get to watch McKenna while I'm gone, and I told him he could come and look around, too if he wants.

Well, I've recently been besieged by a certain friend of mine (you know who you are!!) to update my blog, and I'm sorry for the delay! McKenna's playing quietly and actually letting me do this, which is a rare event. So, my little girl now has 6 teeth. 4 on bottom, two on top. She can stand up by herself and delights in hearing our applause when she does so. She usually will go from a 'triangle' position with her feet and hands on the floor and her butt in the air to standing up. She likes to cheat and sometimes will just lean back and lift her hands off of the floor a couple of inches. She's pretty funny. :) McKenna loves her puzzles and her books, and can't get enough of either. She's always handing a book to me to read to her. She can get off of the sofas now by herself without help, but of course can't quite get up on her own yet.
Every Wednesday night her daddy puts her to bed because her Mommy has a gardening class that she goes to. It's through the extension office for the University of Idaho and is called the Master Gardeners program. I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. The course goes until April and covers Basic Botany, plant propogation, soils and fertilizers, composting, greenhouses, different types of ornamentals, fruit trees, insect management, entomology, landscaping, vegetables, just to name a few. I'll be doing about 30 hours of volunteer service in exchange for this wealth of information, which could be almost anything. Some projects include working with youth, like 4-H groups, going into a school to teach young kids the basics of gardening, working with elderly, for instance helping to create a raised flower bed for wheelchair-bound patients to plant in. Other things include public speaking, creating and building landscape projects, doing clerical work and answering phones in the extension office, or being on call to go out and troubleshoot problems for the individual gardener. There's a lot of information to absorb and if I like it I'll probably continue to go every year and keep getting my Master Gardner certificate. They had advanced courses, so you're always learning something. Anyway, it's fun and gets me out of the house and gets my brain working on stuff a bit more complicated that 'hmm, what should I make for dinner tonight?' Anyway, McKenna seems to do fine without me on those nights. The first night I was away she made Noels life miserable. She cried so hard she threw up, and helpful man that he is, he wadded up the blanket that had puke on it and stuffed it into the corner of her crib for me to deal with later. Thanks, hon! Anyway, since that first night she goes down beautifully for him, so that's great. Well, looks like my break is over... she wants my attention. I'll try to write more often!