Madelaine isn't crawling yet but she gets around. She can grab at the ground and pull herself along a bit, but mostly she's rolling everywhere. At least it's a slow progression. Guess I need to start re-babyproofing the house!
McKenna had fun today making life-sized cut-outs of the family with some large rolls of paper that we had on hand. She had a ball. I think she's got some sort of infection, either yeast or bacterial, that I need to get checked out. She's been grabbing herself a lot and complaining of itch. At first, I thought she just needed to go to the bathroom, but she kept saying that she didn't. I'm thinking the culprit might be all of the peanut butter we've been eating. I've been making lots of peanut butter balls for quick energy for Noel since he's working out at a gym now. She loves them and eats quite a few in a day, plus sometimes has pb&j for lunch and also pb crackers. So right now I'm cutting out peanut butter, sweets, and she's on water only. I've also been applying some external monistat cream to help relieve her itch. She's been better today, but I think I'll still get her checked out.
Noel and I were going to get compost for our garden today, but it was a bit rainy so we'll wait until next week. I think I'll get my lettuce and peas started then. I'm excited to get things growing again!
My dad is in the hospital. Did a major job on his back when he was doing an exercise and couldn't get out of bed yesterday morning. Mom had to have an ambulance come. There's more details regarding that, but I'll post more later. Tomorrow is Monday and I'm determined to concentrate and clearing out the shelf in McKenna's closet. There's clothes she's outgrown that need to be put away for Madelaine. Well, other than making money with my gpt site (click here if you're interested in making a little extra money doing cash offers) nothing much else going on. I put up portions of my alaskan sourdough starter on craigslist for sale so we'll see if anyone expresses interest. Probably not, LOL! ;)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
I've got seeds started indoors! Basil, cilantro (probably will be inside herbs) and my alpine strawberries. This year I will NOT neglect them and will get them into the ground! There's been great weather here and there lately. I divided my iris and re-planted on the south side of the house. It's back where I never go, but the plants will be happy there and I can always go back and get what I need later when I've got a permanent bed set up for them.
We've had lots of rain and McKenna and I were out rescuing worms to put in my garden, poking slugs, and rolling pill bugs along (which we found under a brick). It's been so wet in fact that I may be able to get some edging put in along my garden. The soil is incredibly hard when dry. I also want to get some compost and manure soon so that I can work it into my garden when I need to. I've got separate beds planned here and there in the backyard.
In other news, my little one will be crawling soon I think. She's working hard to get her legs under her when she's on her tummy. McKenna loves 'helping' her to roll over, sit up, etc... they are really cute together! :)
My dad's having some problems. Digestive stuff (doc thought Chrohns at one point and he's on an IV steroid every 2 weeks) and now a compressed fracture of his lower vertebrae from doing an exercise where he was pulling himself up off the ground with his fingers on a door sill. He's pretty emotional about the whole thing. Probably won't get out of the valley this summer with everything going on. We just might have to make a trip down to AZ visit for the celebration of mom's 65th birthday. NY was a possibility and I'd love to get back there because we could also visit Noel's mom and family... but we ended up putting ALL of our tax return onto medical bills from the birth of Maddy and Noel and McKenna's bout with E.coli. I think we may do a family camping trip up into the mountains with our pop-up trailer and maybe the trip to AZ this summer and that will be it, I'm guessing.
Other than that, everything is going well. I've decided to tackle growing onions, potatoes and garlic this year since we use lots of all three in my cooking. It's another year and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Economy wise, I'm thinking it will be worse this year but as long as Noel keeps his job, we'll do all right. Catch ya'll later!
We've had lots of rain and McKenna and I were out rescuing worms to put in my garden, poking slugs, and rolling pill bugs along (which we found under a brick). It's been so wet in fact that I may be able to get some edging put in along my garden. The soil is incredibly hard when dry. I also want to get some compost and manure soon so that I can work it into my garden when I need to. I've got separate beds planned here and there in the backyard.
In other news, my little one will be crawling soon I think. She's working hard to get her legs under her when she's on her tummy. McKenna loves 'helping' her to roll over, sit up, etc... they are really cute together! :)
My dad's having some problems. Digestive stuff (doc thought Chrohns at one point and he's on an IV steroid every 2 weeks) and now a compressed fracture of his lower vertebrae from doing an exercise where he was pulling himself up off the ground with his fingers on a door sill. He's pretty emotional about the whole thing. Probably won't get out of the valley this summer with everything going on. We just might have to make a trip down to AZ visit for the celebration of mom's 65th birthday. NY was a possibility and I'd love to get back there because we could also visit Noel's mom and family... but we ended up putting ALL of our tax return onto medical bills from the birth of Maddy and Noel and McKenna's bout with E.coli. I think we may do a family camping trip up into the mountains with our pop-up trailer and maybe the trip to AZ this summer and that will be it, I'm guessing.
Other than that, everything is going well. I've decided to tackle growing onions, potatoes and garlic this year since we use lots of all three in my cooking. It's another year and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Economy wise, I'm thinking it will be worse this year but as long as Noel keeps his job, we'll do all right. Catch ya'll later!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Maddy rolled from her back to her tummy yesterday. First time! She's skooching forward on her tummy more now, too. I have to keep re-adjusting her on her blankie. She grabs for food now if we are holding her on our laps and eating and will grab for the spoon as we're feeding her. I've had a couple of messes because I wasn't careful and she grabbed the food jar and spilled. I feel a lot more comfortable leaving McKenna alone with her although we've had two incidents in the past month. Once was McKenna dropping her when she was carrying her to me. (I think I mentioned that one) All was well as she landed on her back and not her head - also landed on the carpet and not the hard floor. The other incident happened yesterday. Maddy was in the exer-saucer and McKenna was playing with her and pulled the exer-saucer upside down. I looked over, forgetting for the moment that Maddy was in it and said, "Noel would you right that please" and so he flipped it over and as he did I saw a little foot wiggling and then Maddy was looking at us for a second with a "What the f-" look on her face and then decided to start crying. Noel hadn't realized she was in it either. She was fine and calmed down very fast so I think she was mostly just scared at finding herself upside down. We talked to McKenna and I think she didn't intend for it to flip over. She pulls on it sometime with Maddy in it in order to pull her into another room. I think this time when she was sitting next to it she just got carried away - but we talked about her being careful. Anywhoo,
I can't wait for spring! I've gotten interested in geocaching: www.geocaching.com and can't wait to start looking for some treasure! I think McKenna would enjoy it, too. When we go camping this next summer I think it would be a fun addition to the fishing and swimming. There's hides all over the place - in urban, rural and woods areas. Some are really difficult and others are easier to get to. Ones you could take your kids to.
In other news, we got our new cow for the next year. All divied up with Patty and Joe and tucked neatly into our freezer. We had some t-bones a couple nights ago and they were yummy! Also had dinner with Patty and Joe and kids last night and I did some cod (I never make fish) and everyone really liked it. Since Noel has joined Gold's Gym and is trying to lose weight and get healthy I think I may start doing fish more often. A trick I picked up is to soak the fillets in milk and it gets rid of that fishy smell and taste that some people don't like. I was glad to see that McKenna ate all of hers as well. Well, I think that's it for now. Don't have time to proof read - hope there's not too many mistakes! Later......
I can't wait for spring! I've gotten interested in geocaching: www.geocaching.com and can't wait to start looking for some treasure! I think McKenna would enjoy it, too. When we go camping this next summer I think it would be a fun addition to the fishing and swimming. There's hides all over the place - in urban, rural and woods areas. Some are really difficult and others are easier to get to. Ones you could take your kids to.
In other news, we got our new cow for the next year. All divied up with Patty and Joe and tucked neatly into our freezer. We had some t-bones a couple nights ago and they were yummy! Also had dinner with Patty and Joe and kids last night and I did some cod (I never make fish) and everyone really liked it. Since Noel has joined Gold's Gym and is trying to lose weight and get healthy I think I may start doing fish more often. A trick I picked up is to soak the fillets in milk and it gets rid of that fishy smell and taste that some people don't like. I was glad to see that McKenna ate all of hers as well. Well, I think that's it for now. Don't have time to proof read - hope there's not too many mistakes! Later......
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Let's see. Maddy sat up by herself without support yesterday. Sat for a good while, too. I took several pics. I guess I feel a little guilty for not getting more pics of Madelaine up. We took tons of McKenna. First baby and all. I guess it's that I've got the pictures but don't have as much time with two kiddos.
Let's see. Other things of interest. She chomping on her soft toys a lot lately. Another couple of months should see some teeth coming in. She's eating baby food and likes to stick her thumb in her mouth between bites. It gets rather messy, lol. Noel and I share the baby-feeding chore now that he actually can participate. She's blowing lots of raspberries right now. Just loves it. Lots of drool, yum! Likes to grab for my book when I'm reading. Is VERY distracted when nursing if she's not really hungry. Likes to latch on, then pull away to look at me and smile. Sometimes I have to ignore her in order for her to even eat! But she's getting fed at any rate. Putting on the pounds. I think I mentioned that she's rolling from her front to her back now.
McKenna is still a good little helper. Winter is NOT our time of year. I feel like we watch too much TV. We don't go out for our long walks because it's too cold and too much work with an infant. We are doing some speech therapy classes at Parkview even though she wasn't eligible for the main program. Which is a good thing, I guess. I know she's really too young to worry about it yet, but I wish she was interested in reading more. I know worlds will open up for her when she learns how and she won't be moping around the house so much. I've been doing some schoolish things with her to keep us occupied. We play matching games with shapes and also with Capital and lower case letters. She knows all of her letter sounds and we got her the "Talking Word Factory" by leap frog which starts to put letters together to form short 3-letter words. I think I just need to sit down with her more often and read during the day. Often the only reading we do is just before bed.
Other things going on - I'm making blueberry soda from scratch. I've got the soda culture bubbling away (made of ginger, sugar and filtered water) and it had to sit and be 'fed' for another 3 or 4 days and then it will be ready to use. When I stir it I can hear it fizzing and it has a pleasant ginger ale kind of smell to it. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. I remember my mom making some root beer with us soon after we moved to AZ. I remember it turning out okay. Noel's interested in root beer so I may have to try that, as well.
I'm ready to start ordering seeds for my garden this year. I've plotted out where I'm going to plant everything and nothing is going to be planted where it was last year. Rotation, and all that jazz. I've been very interested in Herbalism of late and will try making some salves and teas and tinctures to try. I like the idea of knowing what plants can help which ailments in case I ever need that knowledge. For instance, I read that sodas used to be used medicinally? It was just another way to take a medicine. I also read that the little bacteria used to produce the carbonation are technically 'dead' in the sodas we drink since otherwise they would be exploding on store shelves if they weren't bought and used right away. Directions for my blueberry soda caution the user to not forget about the sodas in the fridge because even though the fermentation process slows, it does not stop. Anyway, can't wait to try it out.
I'm also planning to make dandelion wine this year. We don't spray our backyard with pesticides and we have a nice batch of clover and dandelions so instead of cursing them this year I'm going to try using them to my advantage! I'll let you know how THAT experiment turns out. It would be a year before I could drink it, anyway. They call it 'slow food' for a reason, I guess!
More later!
Let's see. Other things of interest. She chomping on her soft toys a lot lately. Another couple of months should see some teeth coming in. She's eating baby food and likes to stick her thumb in her mouth between bites. It gets rather messy, lol. Noel and I share the baby-feeding chore now that he actually can participate. She's blowing lots of raspberries right now. Just loves it. Lots of drool, yum! Likes to grab for my book when I'm reading. Is VERY distracted when nursing if she's not really hungry. Likes to latch on, then pull away to look at me and smile. Sometimes I have to ignore her in order for her to even eat! But she's getting fed at any rate. Putting on the pounds. I think I mentioned that she's rolling from her front to her back now.
McKenna is still a good little helper. Winter is NOT our time of year. I feel like we watch too much TV. We don't go out for our long walks because it's too cold and too much work with an infant. We are doing some speech therapy classes at Parkview even though she wasn't eligible for the main program. Which is a good thing, I guess. I know she's really too young to worry about it yet, but I wish she was interested in reading more. I know worlds will open up for her when she learns how and she won't be moping around the house so much. I've been doing some schoolish things with her to keep us occupied. We play matching games with shapes and also with Capital and lower case letters. She knows all of her letter sounds and we got her the "Talking Word Factory" by leap frog which starts to put letters together to form short 3-letter words. I think I just need to sit down with her more often and read during the day. Often the only reading we do is just before bed.
Other things going on - I'm making blueberry soda from scratch. I've got the soda culture bubbling away (made of ginger, sugar and filtered water) and it had to sit and be 'fed' for another 3 or 4 days and then it will be ready to use. When I stir it I can hear it fizzing and it has a pleasant ginger ale kind of smell to it. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. I remember my mom making some root beer with us soon after we moved to AZ. I remember it turning out okay. Noel's interested in root beer so I may have to try that, as well.
I'm ready to start ordering seeds for my garden this year. I've plotted out where I'm going to plant everything and nothing is going to be planted where it was last year. Rotation, and all that jazz. I've been very interested in Herbalism of late and will try making some salves and teas and tinctures to try. I like the idea of knowing what plants can help which ailments in case I ever need that knowledge. For instance, I read that sodas used to be used medicinally? It was just another way to take a medicine. I also read that the little bacteria used to produce the carbonation are technically 'dead' in the sodas we drink since otherwise they would be exploding on store shelves if they weren't bought and used right away. Directions for my blueberry soda caution the user to not forget about the sodas in the fridge because even though the fermentation process slows, it does not stop. Anyway, can't wait to try it out.
I'm also planning to make dandelion wine this year. We don't spray our backyard with pesticides and we have a nice batch of clover and dandelions so instead of cursing them this year I'm going to try using them to my advantage! I'll let you know how THAT experiment turns out. It would be a year before I could drink it, anyway. They call it 'slow food' for a reason, I guess!
More later!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
So there's a wild and crazy LAN party at my house right now. It started at 10am and as of 9:14pm is still going strong. Noel told me people might be here until 2am, which is better than 6am I guess. I just put McKenna and Madelaine down and we'll see how they sleep. I spent the whole day today at Patty's, who was kind enough to let me crash at her place so I wouldn't have to live upstairs in my own house. The kids had a fantastic time. They got along really well except for a couple of times and the claws (on my daughter) never came out. I think she's starting to grasp the concept of sharing and asking permission before playing with other kids toys. She's also speaking more clearly and I think that helps a lot.
Our house was pretty clean before the party-goers started coming over and Noel was mostly to thank for that. The place was decent with only some vacuuming and mopping to do, which I figured would be better doing AFTER the party. Otherwise, he cleaned out the bathrooms and picked up clutter and got the cats settled upstairs with food water and litter. I was thinking to myself at one point, 'maybe we should have a LAN more often if he's going to clean like this' but that remains to be seen. Now that the twins don't have their house to host the parties in, the guys will be rotating parties through each others places which means we'll have parties here more often. However, depending on how this one goes, I may have to impose a time limit. Like everyone gone by 1am. And that, in my opinion is generous!
Other than that, a good day! I brought a book with me to Patty's "World Made By Hand" by James Howard Kunstler which is basically about a future world where oil has depleted and there's been a few bombings of major cities and the government is either non-exsistent or mostly defunct. Basically, people have to grow their own food and walk or ride horses everywhere. Life it much more local. A good read on what might become of us if the 'Peak Oil Theory' is proved as true someday. Also worked on a belt for McKenna. I crocheted it out of some chenille yarn and now just need to attach it to a D-ring which I thought I had some of, but guess not?
Anyhoo, time to surf the net for awhile and relax. I'm not even going to try to fall asleep before midnight. I'm not looking forward to all the tossing and turning I'm no doubt going to have to get through with all of the comotion below!
Our house was pretty clean before the party-goers started coming over and Noel was mostly to thank for that. The place was decent with only some vacuuming and mopping to do, which I figured would be better doing AFTER the party. Otherwise, he cleaned out the bathrooms and picked up clutter and got the cats settled upstairs with food water and litter. I was thinking to myself at one point, 'maybe we should have a LAN more often if he's going to clean like this' but that remains to be seen. Now that the twins don't have their house to host the parties in, the guys will be rotating parties through each others places which means we'll have parties here more often. However, depending on how this one goes, I may have to impose a time limit. Like everyone gone by 1am. And that, in my opinion is generous!
Other than that, a good day! I brought a book with me to Patty's "World Made By Hand" by James Howard Kunstler which is basically about a future world where oil has depleted and there's been a few bombings of major cities and the government is either non-exsistent or mostly defunct. Basically, people have to grow their own food and walk or ride horses everywhere. Life it much more local. A good read on what might become of us if the 'Peak Oil Theory' is proved as true someday. Also worked on a belt for McKenna. I crocheted it out of some chenille yarn and now just need to attach it to a D-ring which I thought I had some of, but guess not?
Anyhoo, time to surf the net for awhile and relax. I'm not even going to try to fall asleep before midnight. I'm not looking forward to all the tossing and turning I'm no doubt going to have to get through with all of the comotion below!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Hi All! Haven't updated in awhile, have I?
Let's see... Madelaine is exercising her voice, and now that she is doing 2 naps a day she is sleeping through the night again. I realized that she wasn't getting enough sleep during the day. She's also starting to skooch backwards when she's on her tummy, so I expect getting to her hands and knees might happen in the next month or so. Not really sure.
McKenna is doing great but is starting to get mouthy and obstinate at times with me. I knew this day would come, now I just have to transition us through this phase. Oh, I know. It's not a phase, right? How about mutually respectful argumentation versus, 'me, me, me' and "I want" and "Stop" (this last accompanied by a hand out-thrust in a stop position) Sigh! Oh well, if we're planning to homeschool I'll need her attention, respect and motivation so I better start working on it. Guess a bar of soap in the mouth is out! LOL
We've had tons of snow up here lately. McKenna and Noel built a snowman and a snowfort that started out as an igloo, but only got about 3 levels up before Noel decided it would make a better fort. The neighbor kids used it for awhile before it melted. There's only a couple of hunks left out there. Noel will take McKenna sledding in the next couple of days without Maddy and I. Maybe next year we'll go along, but this year she's too young.
Noel's doing some extra computer jobs on the side to bring in a little money. So far, he hasn't made a ton mainly because people are unwilling to spend a lot of money right now on stuff. He's getting lots of calls due to his ad on craigslist and from people who heard of him word of mouth. He's handing out business cards, so hopefully this will take off for him. Well, enough for now. I've gotta get a little girl out of the tub!
Let's see... Madelaine is exercising her voice, and now that she is doing 2 naps a day she is sleeping through the night again. I realized that she wasn't getting enough sleep during the day. She's also starting to skooch backwards when she's on her tummy, so I expect getting to her hands and knees might happen in the next month or so. Not really sure.
McKenna is doing great but is starting to get mouthy and obstinate at times with me. I knew this day would come, now I just have to transition us through this phase. Oh, I know. It's not a phase, right? How about mutually respectful argumentation versus, 'me, me, me' and "I want" and "Stop" (this last accompanied by a hand out-thrust in a stop position) Sigh! Oh well, if we're planning to homeschool I'll need her attention, respect and motivation so I better start working on it. Guess a bar of soap in the mouth is out! LOL
We've had tons of snow up here lately. McKenna and Noel built a snowman and a snowfort that started out as an igloo, but only got about 3 levels up before Noel decided it would make a better fort. The neighbor kids used it for awhile before it melted. There's only a couple of hunks left out there. Noel will take McKenna sledding in the next couple of days without Maddy and I. Maybe next year we'll go along, but this year she's too young.
Noel's doing some extra computer jobs on the side to bring in a little money. So far, he hasn't made a ton mainly because people are unwilling to spend a lot of money right now on stuff. He's getting lots of calls due to his ad on craigslist and from people who heard of him word of mouth. He's handing out business cards, so hopefully this will take off for him. Well, enough for now. I've gotta get a little girl out of the tub!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Forgot to mention that we have an appointment set up with Parkview to determine McKenna's eligibility to attend. That's in a couple days and I'll try to remember to post about that. I have a feeling we'll be turned down, but I'm not to bothered by that anymore. There's been a marked improvement in her speech and I haven't seen any aggression in a long time with other kids or her sister. Love to all!
Madelaine rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time yesterday. So excited! She's doing great now. Lots of talking, smiling, giggling. Loves lurching around in her exer-saucer. LOL McKenna has been wonderful with her and there's been no incidents of aggression in many weeks. She's been acting very concerned when her sister cries and comes and gets me if I'm not close by.
Winter is coming on. We made snowflakes out of construction paper and hung them on the cabinets and also picked up our Christmas tree and decorated it. Got lights up outside and our tree looks fabulous. Nothing much else for now. Gotta get my coffee!
Winter is coming on. We made snowflakes out of construction paper and hung them on the cabinets and also picked up our Christmas tree and decorated it. Got lights up outside and our tree looks fabulous. Nothing much else for now. Gotta get my coffee!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
So, recently we've done the corn maze out at Linder Farms and McKenna had a blast with that. She really wanted to be in the bounce house most of the time and on the slide, but the slide was crazy. Absolutely no supervision, with kids getting trampled on their way up and McKenna got her leg stuck in one of the straps that are on the ladder part and had to be rescued. Finally, someone got over there and made the kids behave but it was short-lived. We did the corn maze, which McKenna really thought was a bore, but then we did the pony rides and she got in the saddle and was liking it until the pony started to move and then she wanted off. LOL
Anyway, there was lots there to do. We picked out a 40lb pumpkin and carved it up and got plenty of pictures, thank you very much! Nothing much else except that Madelaine is giggling a little now and gives us tons of smiles. McKenna is being a very good big sister and I'm not as paranoid now as I had to be earlier.
We went for a walk today and a stray cat followed us home. She's young, probably not a year old and is either pregnant or nursing - probably the latter. Skinny, but with some food I gave her hopefully she'll do okay. She may stick around for awhile, who knows? But with these cold nights, I fixed up a couple of boxes for her (one within the other) with some blankets so maybe she'll take advantage. Of course, if she likes it too much and is nursing, she might just bring her kittens here. Guess we'll find out. McKenna likes her because she's friendly and lets her pet her.
McKenna has gone through the first screening at Parkview Pre-School and has a 'social' group this friday, so we'll see what they think. It'll take awhile before we know if they'll take her. She's been behaving around other children much nicer lately and hopefully her main issue that they'll address will be speech. I'll keep everyone posted on how that goes.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Anyway, there was lots there to do. We picked out a 40lb pumpkin and carved it up and got plenty of pictures, thank you very much! Nothing much else except that Madelaine is giggling a little now and gives us tons of smiles. McKenna is being a very good big sister and I'm not as paranoid now as I had to be earlier.
We went for a walk today and a stray cat followed us home. She's young, probably not a year old and is either pregnant or nursing - probably the latter. Skinny, but with some food I gave her hopefully she'll do okay. She may stick around for awhile, who knows? But with these cold nights, I fixed up a couple of boxes for her (one within the other) with some blankets so maybe she'll take advantage. Of course, if she likes it too much and is nursing, she might just bring her kittens here. Guess we'll find out. McKenna likes her because she's friendly and lets her pet her.
McKenna has gone through the first screening at Parkview Pre-School and has a 'social' group this friday, so we'll see what they think. It'll take awhile before we know if they'll take her. She's been behaving around other children much nicer lately and hopefully her main issue that they'll address will be speech. I'll keep everyone posted on how that goes.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Hi all,
I haven't updated anyone in awhile except by email, but I need to update here. It's been a crazy summer. My dad crashed their RV and they had to get a new one, and while that happened they stayed with us for awhile. The new RV had multiple problems and would have to be taken in every day or so to fix or re-fix the heating and air conditioning.
The stock market has tumbled of course, so mom and dad have lost lots of money and dad has taken it particularly hard. We've been reducing spending like crazy and haven't peeked at our 401K's lately. I'm not sure I want to!
Noel got E. Coli around september 28th or so and was hospitalized on Friday the 3rd, McKenna's birthday. It wasn't much of a birthday for her! He was in the hospital with bloody diarrhea and vomiting from the 3rd until he was released on tuesday the 7th. It was a horrific experience and his main problem along with the horrible cramps he had to endure was the dehydration. That seemed to help a lot once he was on IV. If we wanted to visit him we had to but on gowns and gloves. It was quite the operation!
McKenna also has e.coli and it's the same strain Noel had but it's treating her very well. She only has had a couple days of diarrhea and vomiting and we did end up taking her to the ER when we saw blood in her stool. I wish I could take away the memories, because she had to have an IV and they tried to cath her and I finally said that I'm sure I could get the urine sample they needed. Turns out the SW health district of Idaho would have tested her stool for free since Noel had it and I wouldn't have had to put her through all of that. She'll be contagious for another day and then she'll be home free.
The latest development is that our TV burned out last night and I'm secretly pleased. I always disliked how Noel would watch a lot on weekends and this will free up more 'family' time. I also will have to re-direct some of McKenna's attention which will be good for both her and me. A repairman will probably charge too much to fix it and we have medical bills that need to be paid first.
So, in a very small nutshell, that is what is going on!
I haven't updated anyone in awhile except by email, but I need to update here. It's been a crazy summer. My dad crashed their RV and they had to get a new one, and while that happened they stayed with us for awhile. The new RV had multiple problems and would have to be taken in every day or so to fix or re-fix the heating and air conditioning.
The stock market has tumbled of course, so mom and dad have lost lots of money and dad has taken it particularly hard. We've been reducing spending like crazy and haven't peeked at our 401K's lately. I'm not sure I want to!
Noel got E. Coli around september 28th or so and was hospitalized on Friday the 3rd, McKenna's birthday. It wasn't much of a birthday for her! He was in the hospital with bloody diarrhea and vomiting from the 3rd until he was released on tuesday the 7th. It was a horrific experience and his main problem along with the horrible cramps he had to endure was the dehydration. That seemed to help a lot once he was on IV. If we wanted to visit him we had to but on gowns and gloves. It was quite the operation!
McKenna also has e.coli and it's the same strain Noel had but it's treating her very well. She only has had a couple days of diarrhea and vomiting and we did end up taking her to the ER when we saw blood in her stool. I wish I could take away the memories, because she had to have an IV and they tried to cath her and I finally said that I'm sure I could get the urine sample they needed. Turns out the SW health district of Idaho would have tested her stool for free since Noel had it and I wouldn't have had to put her through all of that. She'll be contagious for another day and then she'll be home free.
The latest development is that our TV burned out last night and I'm secretly pleased. I always disliked how Noel would watch a lot on weekends and this will free up more 'family' time. I also will have to re-direct some of McKenna's attention which will be good for both her and me. A repairman will probably charge too much to fix it and we have medical bills that need to be paid first.
So, in a very small nutshell, that is what is going on!
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Today we went to IHOP for breakfast and then to the World Center Birds of Prey south of Boise. They had several different types of falcons and eagles and lots of interesting displays. McKenna really liked the eggs (fake) that they had out on display to show the different sizes and colors of the various raptors. We watched a short video and looked into a tree burrow (again fake) that had eggs in it. Lots of historical stuff in the archives as well on the sport of falconry. But the point of the trip was to learn something and have fun and we acheived that, especially when one of the staff brought out a male peregrine falcon. McKenna kept wanting to hold it, and obviously that was out of the question. She really just wanted to go back to the eggs! LOL
So that was our Sunday out. This autumn I want to go to the Meridian corn maze because there will be lots of other fun activities for the kids there. We missed it last year and with the wrap that I've learned for carrying an infant against you, I think it will work out with taking Madelaine along.
In other news, Noel has gotten his green Geo running and it seems to be doing well. He'll drive it to work for a couple weeks to get the feel of it and make sure his motor is doing well before starting work on the red Geo. And now we'll have a functioning alternate vehicle for me to use if I want to make a short trip and want to save on gas. I never liked driving the red one as I couldn't shift down into 2nd gear. The green one is automatice so I don't really need to worry about that.
I've discovered freecycle and am giving stuff away as I declutter our home. I've also given away some produce from our garden as I'm now getting a bumper crop and am really burned out on blanching and freezing. I didn't do too much canning, but will try to get more of that done next year.
So that was our Sunday out. This autumn I want to go to the Meridian corn maze because there will be lots of other fun activities for the kids there. We missed it last year and with the wrap that I've learned for carrying an infant against you, I think it will work out with taking Madelaine along.
In other news, Noel has gotten his green Geo running and it seems to be doing well. He'll drive it to work for a couple weeks to get the feel of it and make sure his motor is doing well before starting work on the red Geo. And now we'll have a functioning alternate vehicle for me to use if I want to make a short trip and want to save on gas. I never liked driving the red one as I couldn't shift down into 2nd gear. The green one is automatice so I don't really need to worry about that.
I've discovered freecycle and am giving stuff away as I declutter our home. I've also given away some produce from our garden as I'm now getting a bumper crop and am really burned out on blanching and freezing. I didn't do too much canning, but will try to get more of that done next year.
Monday, September 15, 2008
You all have to check out my 5-strand braided loaf that I did yesterday. It's the very bottom picture at the bottom of my blog. For a first try, I don't think it looks too terrible. Next, I'll try a 6 strand and we'll see how that one comes out. I'll keep you all posted. Next, it'll be on to sourdoughs! :)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
We went to the park today. Brought our blanket and sat under some massive trees... McKenna played on the playground, and we also went to check out the ducks, which had mostly left since last time we were here. We saw one, though. Also saw some fish jumping for some bread that some kids were throwing for them. Then we took off our shoes and dipped our toes in the water. McKenna wanted the minnows to come up and nibble her toes, but I think her red nail polish was scaring them off! :) Then we headed back to daddy and the blanket. Real nice day.
We got back and I managed to get the place picked up a little. McKenna's taking a nap and the little one is making noises so I guess this won't be as long as I thought! Mom and dad have headed up to Stanley and they swapped an RV chair out for one of the others that they had given us. It's nice, though and will be easy to keep cleaned.
I'm tempted to try to make some more diaper covers from the pattern that mom left, but I'm too intimidated. I seem to only have the courage to attempt sewing when she's around! LOL Okay, gotta go... Madelaine wants some mommy time.
We got back and I managed to get the place picked up a little. McKenna's taking a nap and the little one is making noises so I guess this won't be as long as I thought! Mom and dad have headed up to Stanley and they swapped an RV chair out for one of the others that they had given us. It's nice, though and will be easy to keep cleaned.
I'm tempted to try to make some more diaper covers from the pattern that mom left, but I'm too intimidated. I seem to only have the courage to attempt sewing when she's around! LOL Okay, gotta go... Madelaine wants some mommy time.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Came across a cool site referenced here in my research on new urbanism. It scores the walkability of your neighborhood! My score was zero - what's yours? ;)
http://www.scour.com/view/result/renewed%20interest%20gas%20prices%20walkable%20neighborhoods/PHN0cm9uZz5HYXM8L3N0cm9uZz4gPHN0cm9uZz5wcmljZXM8L3N0cm9uZz4gcGlxdWUgPHN0cm9uZz5pbnRlcmVzdDwvc3Ryb25nPiBpbiBXYWxrIFNjb3JlIHwgSW5tYW4gTmV3cw==/aHR0cDovL2Jsb2cuaW5tYW4uY29tL25ld3MvMjAwOC8wNi8yNS9nYXMtcHJpY2VzLXBpcXVlLWludGVyZXN0LWluLXdhbGstc2NvcmU=/?URL=http://blog.inman.com/news/2008/06/25/gas-prices-pique-interest-in-walk-score
http://www.scour.com/view/result/renewed%20interest%20gas%20prices%20walkable%20neighborhoods/PHN0cm9uZz5HYXM8L3N0cm9uZz4gPHN0cm9uZz5wcmljZXM8L3N0cm9uZz4gcGlxdWUgPHN0cm9uZz5pbnRlcmVzdDwvc3Ryb25nPiBpbiBXYWxrIFNjb3JlIHwgSW5tYW4gTmV3cw==/aHR0cDovL2Jsb2cuaW5tYW4uY29tL25ld3MvMjAwOC8wNi8yNS9nYXMtcHJpY2VzLXBpcXVlLWludGVyZXN0LWluLXdhbGstc2NvcmU=/?URL=http://blog.inman.com/news/2008/06/25/gas-prices-pique-interest-in-walk-score
Monday, September 08, 2008
As you can see, new pics! Mom's here keeping an eye on things, so I thought I'd take some time to update. I love this baby stage... some of the things at the tops of my list are the way Madelaine bumps her nose against my shoulder when she wants to nurse. She reminds me of a hen pecking for food. It's really cute. I love gently picking off the skin flakes from her scalp when she's nursing. (I know, only a thing a mother could love!) I love seeing her get nice and plump and know that it's all my doing! :) I love the way she nestles into my shoulder and neck when she's tired and falls asleep that way. I love the sounds she makes - interesting little high pitched hoots... but don't like the way she cries MUCH more than McKenna ever did. I think she slept 6 hours last night, too.. which is great because she tends to not sleep as well as McKenna did, either!
It's harder to get things done, but I think I'll be doing a lot of stuff after Noel gets home. Computer time is much less these days, as well. I'm trying to get in quality time with McKenna because I can see in her eyes sometimes that she's sad she's not in my arms as much as she used to be. But for the most part, she's still good with her sister, especially in the mornings. Can't leave them alone during the day though, unless Madelaines sleeping in her play pen and then that's all right. Okay, enough for now. I'm expecting a herdshare lady and a freecycle lady to come soon. Also need to write to my bro!
It's harder to get things done, but I think I'll be doing a lot of stuff after Noel gets home. Computer time is much less these days, as well. I'm trying to get in quality time with McKenna because I can see in her eyes sometimes that she's sad she's not in my arms as much as she used to be. But for the most part, she's still good with her sister, especially in the mornings. Can't leave them alone during the day though, unless Madelaines sleeping in her play pen and then that's all right. Okay, enough for now. I'm expecting a herdshare lady and a freecycle lady to come soon. Also need to write to my bro!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Just wanted to do a quick post while I actually have some down time. McKenna has been doing wonderfully with her new sister. No more hitting incidents, just the occasional roughness when 'giving' her to us, but most of the time she asks us to take her out of her lap and we just pick her up. I still can't leave them alone together. I can't wait until I can trust McKenna enough to do that. Soon she'll be the big sister that mommy can depend upon to keep and eye on her sister and keep her safe. She still wants to pick her up and yesterday was sitting cross-legged on the ground next to Madelaine and picked her up in her arms, and when I saw her she was holding her but then let her thud back to the ground on her back. Needless to say we had a tough talk about how we have to be gentle and how that hurt her sister. I've been trying to show her how to hold her when we're in bed together so that if there's a fall it's a soft one, but she knows she's supposed to ask permission before picking her sister up.
We got haircuts yesterday. McKenna's is nice and short and mine is short all over. I have bangs, and that's the longest length on my head. I can kind of spike up the back a little... it's pretty cool. Literally as well as figuratively!
In other news, I'm being swamped by beans, cherry tomatoes, and yellow squash. Zucchini has dwindled, thank God! I'm at the point where I'm sending squash to work for Noel to get rid of and offering it to friends. I've already blanched a ton of stuff already and the large outdoor freezer is getting REALLY full! I'm happy though... it feels good to grow your own stuff and not have to worry about getting it somewhere else. Kiddo's awake, gotta go!
We got haircuts yesterday. McKenna's is nice and short and mine is short all over. I have bangs, and that's the longest length on my head. I can kind of spike up the back a little... it's pretty cool. Literally as well as figuratively!
In other news, I'm being swamped by beans, cherry tomatoes, and yellow squash. Zucchini has dwindled, thank God! I'm at the point where I'm sending squash to work for Noel to get rid of and offering it to friends. I've already blanched a ton of stuff already and the large outdoor freezer is getting REALLY full! I'm happy though... it feels good to grow your own stuff and not have to worry about getting it somewhere else. Kiddo's awake, gotta go!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
We're doing well here... Madelaine is getting to be a little chunk. She has a voracious appetite and I don't think I'll have a problem with lack of milk like I had with McKenna. She's a pretty agreeable kiddo and McKenna has been behaving herself and acting very loving towards her sister. We haven't had a hitting incident since I last posted.
I'm recovering pretty well from my delivery. Have to go back to see my doc in 4 weeks so he can make sure I'm healing up well, I guess. I'm able to do a lot more around the house now, so am relying on mom a lot less.
Mom has been helping me blanch vegetables from my garden. Mostly bush/pole beans and zucchini/yellow squash. We're not getting as many tomatoes as I had hoped, as they are gradually coming on. That may be because they are indeterminate, but I haven't been keeping up with the suckers either, so they could be overwhelming the plants. We're getting lots of cherry tomatoes, but I had to cut out some of those vines to give one of my other tomato plants some breathing space. Peppers are doing well... I have bell, anaheim, hot chili, jalapeno, and serranos. We have more peppers than tomatoes, so Noel is hoping we get more tomatoes so he can make salsa. He already made a small batch that I canned, which was my first canning effort. All of the jars sealed, so Yay for me!! :) I'd love to get more tomatoes, so I can try canning them as diced or as tomato sauce. We go through a lot of canned tomatoes in the winter. I may have to start chopping off blossoms on my squash plants or pull them off because they are producing like gang-busters and I can't seem to get ahead of them. Patty pan squash is doing pretty well, but my scarlet runner bean plant hasn't done anything except put out some pretty red flowers. I want to plant garlic this fall and try potatoes and onions next year.
I'm recovering pretty well from my delivery. Have to go back to see my doc in 4 weeks so he can make sure I'm healing up well, I guess. I'm able to do a lot more around the house now, so am relying on mom a lot less.
Mom has been helping me blanch vegetables from my garden. Mostly bush/pole beans and zucchini/yellow squash. We're not getting as many tomatoes as I had hoped, as they are gradually coming on. That may be because they are indeterminate, but I haven't been keeping up with the suckers either, so they could be overwhelming the plants. We're getting lots of cherry tomatoes, but I had to cut out some of those vines to give one of my other tomato plants some breathing space. Peppers are doing well... I have bell, anaheim, hot chili, jalapeno, and serranos. We have more peppers than tomatoes, so Noel is hoping we get more tomatoes so he can make salsa. He already made a small batch that I canned, which was my first canning effort. All of the jars sealed, so Yay for me!! :) I'd love to get more tomatoes, so I can try canning them as diced or as tomato sauce. We go through a lot of canned tomatoes in the winter. I may have to start chopping off blossoms on my squash plants or pull them off because they are producing like gang-busters and I can't seem to get ahead of them. Patty pan squash is doing pretty well, but my scarlet runner bean plant hasn't done anything except put out some pretty red flowers. I want to plant garlic this fall and try potatoes and onions next year.
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