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Happy birthday to my baby

I always get a bit sentimental on one of my children's birthdays, probably even more so with the birthday of my baby.

BIRTH

 

Samantha is the only one of my children born here in Idaho (well technically, she was born in Washington, but I would stil call her a native) and the baby of our family. Today my baby is four years old.

FIRST BIRTHDAY

She had a lot of hair from the start, which never went away. I had hoped to have one of my children have brown hair like me, and it looked like it would when she was born. As she got older it never did fall out like some people said it would. It just got longer... and blonder as she got older. I felt so betrayed. She's lucky she's so cute. She was one of very few 1-year-olds with full-on pigtails.

SECOND BIRTHDAY

 

Never really had the terrible two's with Samantha. Honestly, she has always been such a ray of sunshine in our lives. So easy-going with such a ready smile.

THIRD BIRTHDAY

  

She is such a good helper and cooking with Mommy in the kitchen is one of her favorite ways to help. She just pushes a chair to the counter and she is all set. Of course she often wants to sample what we're making.

FOURTH BIRTHDAY

 

And today my baby girl is four years old. *sigh* Scrolling through these pictures I can see how much she has grown and how every day she is looking less and less like my baby. She is still a happy little girl and I thank God for every day I have had her sweetness in my life. No matter how big she grows, she will always be my baby... whether she likes it or not!

Happy birthday, Samantha.

Pumpkin Torture

Grandma brought home three lonely pumpkins from the store. Unfortunately they did not find a good home with us. Shortly after they arrived we scalped them, pulled out their guts and carved into their faces. Messy, goopy fun!

I must say that we haven't done a lot of pumpkin carving in our home. The pumpkins that usually make their way through our doors are safe from the usual torture... that is until I steam them and make them into pie or bread. That procedure is quick and painless by comparison to the torment we inflicted upon them today.

Sam and Ty have never carved pumpkins before, which explains Samantha's expression when she stuck her spoon in and pulled out a blob of pumpkin guts. "Yuuuuck! Goop!" she hollered. Classic!

For the most part, Grandma and I did most of the gut-scooping as it was a little challenging for the the younger two. Tyler was completely unwilling to stick his hands inside to pull out the mess. Luke, on the other hand, scooped out all the insides of his pumpkin all by himself and separated out each and every pumpkin seed into a bag. Future surgeon? He is determined that we cook up the seeds so that we can eat them.

For the face designs, Grandma drew out a sample on a piece of paper for the kids to choose from before we began carving. Samantha and Tyler picked out a similar design for their pumpkins face carving, but Luke came up with a design all his own that he decided to demonstrate on his own face.

Each of the children were not to be separated from their newly tortured friends at bedtime and took their mutilated pumpkins to their rooms with them. We got battery-operated candles to put inside them, so no safety issues there. I drew the line at letting them actually sleep with their pumpkins, having to put my foot down that they were to stay on their dressers.

Where is Rebekah in all this you wonder? Rebekah is on a warm California vacation with her dad, missing out on all the pumpkin torture here at home.

 

Another Milestone

Tyler lost his first tooth yesterday. It's been loose for weeks, as are all four of his front teeth. Last night when he went to spit after I brushed his teeth, apparently I brushed the tooth loose and he spit it out into the sink, not realizing what it was. Before we knew it, it was down the drain. Joel pull the trap, but it was gone for good. Amazingly enough, he wasn't overly upset about it, especially after we wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy explaining what happened. He was very pleased with the $1 bill that was left under his pillow that is now burning a hole in his pocket.

Fixing and selling

Is there anything fun about getting a house ready to go on the market? It always irks me to paint, clean up and prepare the house for someone else to enjoy. This is our third home since we have sold (or attempted to) since we've been married and I still hate doing it as much as the first time.

It's not just prep work involved such as finishing unfinished projects, but saying goodbye as well. Maybe it's that growing up, my family never owned a home? I feel each time that we sell a home that I am leaving behind the memories we made there.

For example, my first house was... well, my first house. Joel and I bought that house in Fallbrook, California, just a year after we were married at 23 years old. We were the very first among our friends to buy a house. Our first few years there we had no furniture in two of the three bedrooms. And it was also to that home that we brought our first and second children.

Our second home was still in Fallbrook, but this one was a total fixer-upper. It was toothpaste green on the outside and looked like you had stepped back into the 70s on the inside. But we had the know-how to fix it up and so we got that house on a half acre for a song. We put in hardwood floors, painted inside & out and brought it into the new century. We brought our third child home to that house.

This house we are in now pretty close to our dream home. On eight acres of land in the mountains of North Idaho. Who knew that we would outgrow this 3 bedroom house with our fourth child. Now that the kids are nine, seven, five and nearly four, and only getting bigger, we have realized that we might need to have a bit more space for them all. That, and we need to simplify our lives a bit. How are we going to get more room yet simplify? Only God knows that. But that is the Word on High is for us: simplify.

So once again we are putting our house on the market. We don't know even if it will sell in this market for what we are asking for it, but only know that we have to obedient to what God has asked of us. As we work on this and that, painting rooms, recarpeting, I am sad at the thought at once again having to say goodbye to one of our homes. But I guess on the upside, if it doesn't sell, every little project that we haven't finished will be complete. Maybe that's God's 'simplify' by having us done with all the house? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

A Day at the Farm

I took a breather from my hectic schedule to go on a field trip with Tyler's class. We went to Carver Farms to pick pumpkins and popcorn. Although there was certainly a nip in the air, the day was bright and sunny, and most importantly dry. I have been on this trip in the past where we stomped through the mud the whole time we were there. Fun for the kids, not fun for moms!

We started out the day on a hike through a corn maze. This was quite an adventure for the little ones as many of the stalks had been blown down in the wind storm we had last week. This made for easy tripping. I will reiterate here my pleasure in the dry weather.

The biggest thrill for the kids was the hay ride in the back of a tractor to the pumpkin fields. Each of the kids got to pick two mini pumpkins, two gourds and one pumpkin. Of course, Mom ended up carrying all the pumpkins. Luckily we didn't have a long walk back to the cars!

Our final treat before we went home was to sit under a tree and eat popcorn. When it seems like life is just out-of-control busy, it is very good to take a minute to enjoy each other and a simple day of being together. Ten years from now I will never remember all the little tasks I had to accomplish today, but I will always remember the time I spent tromping through the fields with my two youngest.

Oh I just had to mention, Tyler always wears his hood up because he's a jedi.

It's the little things...

I just love these shoes from Merrell. Not only are they comfy, but they're cute too... at least I think they are. This is the first time that I have bought this particular style though and I have one problem with them: they always give me a blister on my pinky toe! I have had these shoes for about 6 months and even though they should be broken in by now, they always rub my toe raw. A Band-Aid over the affected toes seems to make the problem worse, not better. Not good.

But... yesterday while I was a Target I came across these foot wraps on sale for just 99 cents (regularly $4). They are made of nylon, like panty hose, and just slip on your foot. They have them in all different shapes depending on your shoes. What's better is with the shoes on, I can't even feed that I'm wearing it. Since I think these shoes look a little silly with socks, these are perfect to shield my poor little toe but yet maintain the uber-cool look I'm going for.

I know, everybody else probaby knows about these, but it was an 'ah-ha' moment for me, so I thought I would pass it along...

Back to school, Back to Reality

Is it the last day of September already? It seems like just yesterday that school started and now we are full swing into week four. I know I said I was ready for school to start, but I think I might have to print a retraction on that.

I miss getting up after the sun.

I always feel like I'm forgetting something.

Before I realize it, it seems to be 3:30 in the afternoon. I have no idea what happened with the day, I have nothing to show for what I accomplished except that I'm fully dressed and I have no idea what we're having for dinner.

I forget what day of the week it is.

Anyone else feel like they just got on the express train with the first day of school? Maybe it's now having three kids in school? Getting lunches made each morning, hunting for shoes (they always seem to walk away on their own no matter how many times they get put into cubbies), making sure everyone has their homework done and in their backpacks, checking homework, reading the designated amount of time each night, field trips (we have had 2 all ready!), volunteering in class, memorizing memory verses, etc., etc., etc. And my kids aren't even in sports! I can'y imagine adding soccer practices to the mix at this point.

My kids have been back to school since September 9. Rebekah is in 4th grade this year, Lucas is in 2nd grade & Tyler in kindergarten. We decided to hold Samantha out this year, mostly because she is the baby and I'm not ready to part with her for preschool yet, although there are times I question that decision. The three older kids love their teachers and classes and are already back in the swing of things, even if I'm not.

Since it seems that September truly did pass in a blur, I will recount my accomplishments for the month mostly for my own reassurance that I indeed to accomplish things. Maybe this is why I seem to have no time?

1. Washed, dried and put away about 20 loads of laundry. Have I mentioned how much I hate doing laundry? That's why it's #1 on the list of accomplishments. None of my kids go to school in dirty clothes.

2. One of our hens hatched 9 of the 12 eggs that she was sitting on. Since neither Joel and I have ever had a brooding hen, this was very cool to see. She is a great mom. It makes up for the fact that now none of our 3 hens is laying at the moment and we have had to buy eggs for the last month now.

3. Started MOPS again this year and have had 2 meetings. This year I am a Discussion Group Leader, which basically means I host a table of 6 other women at our MOPS meetings. It is something I have wanted to do since I started doing MOPS 5 years ago. Most people start out their MOPS leadership as a DGL, but not me. I went backwards: from Coordinator for 3 years and Council Coordinator with MOPS International for 2 years, now to a DGL. DGLs are the frontlines of MOPS ministry and I'm so excited to finally be in this roll!
4. Started attending the Women's Bible Study at my church for the fall classes. I'm taking a wonderful workshop on a book by Linda Dillow titled Satisfy my Thirsty Soul. I have a tendency not to finish nonfiction books if I don't have a class pushing me along to do so. I guess I need the accountability.
5. Almost ready to launch my couponing website called NW Deal Seeker, so I have been working on all the content for that. Be on the lookout for it to launch in the next month or so! Then I truly will be busy.

6. Along with my friend Jo, I have canned 24 jars of apples, 10 jars of stewed tomatoes & 6 jars of applesauce. This was my first time canning and I appreciate Jo's help teaching me how to do it.

7. We went camping the 3rd weekend of the month, enjoy the last bit of sunshine before the fall really set in.

So, even though my days pass in a blur and I feel like I'm getting nothing done, apparently I am. It's good to step back an take a look at the overall month as it really helps me from feeling discouraged. It also shows my husband that, evidence to the contrary, I don't spend all my time on Facebook or Twitter.

Apple Picking... and Canning

I had planned on canning apples from my own apple trees this year, but the deer (and apparently a moose according to my husband) beat me to it. When I went out to my trees to pick apples yesterday, there were only four apples left... on the very tippy top of the tree. Needless to say, I was not happy. But we are flexible...

So yesterday we drove over to Green Bluff to pick apples. I was not to be detered from my apple canning plans! Jo & her family joined us (I must admit the family outing was her idea, and a great one at that) as she is my 'canning instructor.' From a previous post you can see, I have made freezer jam in bulk but I had never ventured into the world of traditional canning. I have always found the whole thing a tad intimidating and felt that I needed someone to guide me my first time through.

Even though it's just the beginning of September, it was a very chilly 60 degrees in the orchards of Walter's Fruit Ranch. We braved the outdoors even with the threat of rain hanging over our heads. On the plus side, the chill in the air kept the wasps away making for a delightful and sting-free experience. We took a quick tractor ride through the orchards to an area of ripe honeycrisps. With four adults and six kids picking we quickly had two boxes of apples for pie-making. One of my favorite apples are gala apples, which also were ripe for picking. After another quick tractor ride we picked a box of apples for making applesauce.

Next stop was Jo's house, where we set about canning our prized apples. I thank God for the wonderful person who invented the apple slicer/peeler/corer as it makes preparing apples so simple! While I did that, Jo set about making the mixture we would add to the apples and the boiling water bath for the the jars once they were filled.

Using clean quart jars, I filled them to the top with apple slices and passed them off to Jo who poured in the apple pie 'sauce.' She then wiped the rim of the jars clean and placed a cap and a rim on each of them. Once we had six, she added them to the boiling water and submerged them for 10 minutes. After ten minutes she pulled them out of the water and set them on a towel to cool. It was so satisfying to here each of the jars pop as they sealed closed. Since I never have canned before, I didn't realize that the jars seal as they cool and not in the hot water. Honestly, I had no idea the whole process was so simple! It certainly does help to have someone to show you the ropes the first time around.

Now I am looking forward to making applesauce out of the gala appleshere at home in my smaller jars that collected at garage sales this summer. I also have about half a box more of the honeycrisps that I will use to make another twelve quarts of apple pie filling. What fun!

Different Definition of Clean

My children obviously have a different definition of clean than I do. The boys were told to clean their room this morning and at this stage, they came to me and told me that they were done.

"Is all your stuff picked up?" I asked.

"Yes," each of them answered.

Now, apparently they were not lying when they answered this way. They had both picked up the stuff that they claimed to be "theirs." I have to wonder who they thought all the other stuff belonged to?

I am often amazed at the speed at which the children can completely destroy their rooms. I would think a clean room would last a least a day or two, but sadly it barely lasts more than a few hours. And this is after I get promises from all of them that they will hang up their clothes or put them in the hamper after they wear them, that they will put their toys away when they are done playing with them, that there room will never be that messy again. Empty promises.

After all, they are children right? But I have to wonder why it takes 3 hours to clean a room that took them 3 minutes to completely destroy? If I could only channel that energy....

Honestly, it's the clothes that push me over the edge. I think that is because I absolutely despise doing laundry. With a household of 6, we go through a lot of dirty clothes each week. And there isn't much that makes me angrier than going through a dirty clothes hamper that is piled high with clean clothes that the children decided to throw there instead because they couldn't be bothered to hang them up. I have tried gentle reminders, "Hang up your clothes when you get your jammies on," and directing them where to put them. I have dragged them out of bed even to pick up the clothing they discarded in the middle of the floor. But really a mom can only keep this up for so long. I do have other things to do besides monitoring the clothing distribution and disposal in the household. I'm beginning to feel a little OCD where the clothes are concerned.

I would love to hear how other mothers inspire their children to keep their rooms picked up. Usually the main parts of the house stay picked up... mostly because I would have an aneurysm if the rest of the house looked like the near-constant condition their bedrooms are in. I have them pick up at set times throughout the day. But their rooms... *sigh*

If you open it, close it.

If you get it out, put it away.

If you turn it on, turn it off.

Seems simple, doesn't it?

Back in the saddle again

It's hard to believe that we have lived in North Idaho for 5 years now and this is the first time we have gone camping. I must admit there was one reason: bears. Silly, right? When we lived in California we went camping all the time but the biggest wildlife in the area were coyotes. Here there are all kinds of things in the forest: bears, moose, cougars... BIG FOOT. I'm sure the natives are laughing at us, but still.

We were blessed to find a camping trailer on Craigslist for a great price just a few weeks ago, so this past weekend we took it for it's first run. After being tent campers for our entire marriage, camping from a trailer is luxurious. It sleeps all 6 of us comfortably and has a bathroom, kitchen & shower. Heavenly. And while I know it might be an illusion, I did feel a little safer from Big Foot in our camper.

Two other families joined us for the weekend, which is a great way to spread out the cooking. My idea of camping is mostly sitting around the fire chatting and eating our way through the day while the kids get filthy-dirty playing. I was not disappointed!

We camped along the Coeur d'Alene River where the kids played when it got too hot. With 11 kids & 3 dogs in tow there was no shortage of entertainment!

Saturday afternoon we pried ourselves from our camp chairs long enough to hike to Keller Falls and Shadow Falls. I was amazed at the seeming 20 degree drop in temperature around the falls, like nature's own A/C.

Now that we have our camper, we have many more camping trips in our near future.