Check-Up

Emma had her 2 year old well child check-up yesterday. She is not quite 21 pounds yet, and her BMI is way low. Other than her weight- she did great! She didn't even cry when she got her HepA shot. She just said, "Owie." and then got back to business trying to unwrap her DumDum. The doctor was impressed and amused at her fun personality.

We have an appointment at the lab tomorrow to have a Celiac and Sweat Test done. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have Cystic Fibrosis, but the Celiac is a real possiblilty. I have a brother and a sister with it. And a couple years ago, Tyler was borderline. Which means he could develop it at any time. He will be re-tested tomorrow, along with Emma.

Wish us luck. We all really enjoy our gluten, and we eat too much pasta to go gluten-free!

I Hate Can Openers

WARNING!!!! This post contains graphic images....the kind I USED TO enjoy looking at. If you are anything like me now days, you might want to close your eyes while reading this post.

Tonight as I was preparing dinner, I had a little can to hand incident. It is probably time for a new can opener. It never opens the last little bit of can. So I have to use a knife to pry it open and pour out the contents. I was kind of in a hurry tonight. I left out the knife part and tried pushing down on one side of the lid to pop up the other side. It worked. Trouble is, my hand was kind of in the way.....

These pictures don't really do it justice.

Since I am too cheap, and don't care too much about the scar, I opted out of a visit to our good 'ol InstaCare buddies. I called my friend- a pediatrician turned neonatologist, and asked her advice. She offered to stitch it for me, but informed me she had no anesthesia. Thanks, but no thanks! She said as long as it didn't sever a tendon or something it should be fine if I can keep it closed and stop the bleeding. So Dr. Randy cut up some steri-strips and patched me up.

It looked pretty good...but now, and hour later, it is all working it's way loose. I might end up going somewhere after all. I am pretty useless, one handed.

....maybe that can get me out of some of my duties... ;)

Bows, Bows, Bows (And Binky Clips)

I am happy to make bows for anyone and everyone who likes them. Just leave a comment as to what color or colors you want along with the style.

If you are a loyal blog reader, it is my treat...because I'm nice that way. If it is for a friend of a friend, I might charge a small fee to cover the cost of materials.

I also make adorable binky-clips. It was going to be my new entrepreneurial endeavour, but I haven't gotten my behind in gear. If anyone is interested in one of those, be sure to leave a comment. Let me know if it's for a girl or a boy , and what kind of binky they use (I have more designs than the ones shown.) Again, I have to charge a little something. After letting me purchase supplies to make 300 binky clips, Randy wouldn't be too happy if I never charged anyone for those.

Happy Belated Fourth!

We had a fun Fourth of July.

The night before we Randy and the five oldest slept outside- some on the tramp, some on the grass with the puppy. Emma and I were going to sleep out..until Emma started screaming. I think she was too hot. Because when we got inside, she fell right to sleep...in my bed. :)

Friday, Randy had to man a booth for his construction project at the city celebration. The kids and I stayed home and played with "Molly Brown". Yes, the puppy now has a name....I always did like that musical....I was just throwing names out there and Molly was the one that stuck. Randy added the Brown, I guess because she's a chocolate lab. My parents thought she should be "Cocoa' because, what if somebody names their baby "Molly"...just for the record- if anyone wants to name their baby Molly, that would be just fine with us!

...anyway, back to the Fourth.....

When Randy got home we watched Spiderwick. Nathan fell asleep (thank goodness) and when he woke up, we went to our friends' house for swimming and a BBQ. Good times! The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. Hannah can officially swim without a floaty, and Nathan loves the water. The other kids are all fish and spent most of the day in the water. Once dark, we lit some fireworks in the road. Why is it that all fireworks look EXACTLY the same?! I mean, it doesn't matter what the packaging looks like, or what they call it...it's the same thing inside.

On Saturday, we spent the day doing yard work....Yes, we planted a Nathan. We like him so much, we were hoping to get more just like him!

We cleaned the garage (for the 576,295th time!) and dog run (which we think we'll get rid of to put a shed there, instead.) We went swimming at another friend's pool that afternoon. Casey and Hailey have been tending their dogs and cats and taking care of things while they are gone, and they offered to let us use it anytime. Emma learned how to kick her legs to keep herself upright in her life jacket. It took everything she's got, but she loved it! She was so cute!

Randy and I went out to dinner and ran some errands for our date. I know, it's so creative. But it's nice to just be together.

Sunday before church, I decided to make rolls. My parents and sister were coming over for dinner; and with my new Kitchen Aid, I just do things like that. The power went out as the oven was preheating to bake them. Minutes later, Randy left to help Casey do Fast Packs. The rest of us were still in our jammies with bed head....and no curling irons. It was 12:00. Church starts at 1:00, and I was conducting Primary. I certainly couldn't go to church looking like I was, and I wasn't about to let the rolls go to waste. I called my parents and asked them if I could borrow some electricity and to preheat the oven. Nathan threw one of his classic tantrums because he couldn't find the right pants Nonetheless, I managed to get him dressed, pack our church bags, gather our beautifying products, and arrive at my parent's by 12:20 or so. Not too bad, I thought.....but it still didn't leave me much time. Needless to say, I walked into church at 2:05. Thanks, Julie, for pinch-hitting for me!

Dinner was great. I really enjoy our Sunday grilling tradition...and it's always nice to have family there.

Today's the Day

We did it. Yesterday we found a home for the last kitten, so there was no excuse. The kids have been asking for a long time, and Randy has been so patient. So I have been looking for a puppy for a few weeks now. We wanted one like our old dog, Lucky. An English Lab with a big, blocky head, and over sized paws. They are harder to come by, but their temperaments are more mellow than their American cousins. Today I found what we have been looking for. She is perfect. Her dad is a big guy, and her mom is way mellow. She seems to take after them in their respective traits. At 7 weeks old, she weighs over 15 pounds! And the whole ride home (a whole hour) she sat on our laps and cuddled. The kids love her to death...the cats, not so much. She ran around the yard and we took her for a walk. She was great on the leash- we hope to keep her that way. We haven't decided on a name yet...any suggestions? One thing is for sure- she'll be loved.

Leave Some Love

I put off cleaning my kitchen and did a little crafting yesterday morning. I found some cute hair clippies online and just had to try them....



They are pretty fun to make. If you leave me some love, I can make any of the princesses, not just Belle ad Sleeping Beauty. There's Cinderella, Mulan, Tinkerbell, Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, and Pocahontas. And the butterflies and dragonflies can be any color.

Last night was Hailey's softball championships. Their team made huge improvements this season. Last night, they played in the final three. The team they played was the only team they had lost to earlier in the season. Hailey was awesome! She had some great hits and even a home run. She played first base and as always, was a pro. She tagged many a player out! It came down to the last inning, and the score was tied. They played an extra inning and they scored two runs, then the other team scored three. :( It was the most exciting ball game I have ever watched. Those girls played the best game yet, and it was awesome! They were a little disappointed that the third place team doesn't get trophies, but all in all, they were thrilled with how far they had come together. Watching that game made me think maybe we could allow the kids to keep playing sports.......

The Great Outdoors

Last weekend we packed up and took the kids camping. The campground at the lake we planned on camping at was closed due to SNOW! They had been plowing 5 foot snow drifts the week prior....so we found another campsite a little lower in elevation. We snagged the second to last campsite available- probably for several miles around. That is not to say we would have gone home if we hadn't. We Randy is notorious for finding obscure spots in the middle of nowhere and setting up camp- even at 11:00 at night after searching for hours for some place to crash. I guess that's what we get for being impulsive.

Our campsite Friday was perfect. There was a stream and a pond nearby, but not too close to be a hazard. We had a great fire, thanks to our fire marshal, Casey, and the pile of dead pine boughs in our camp. All the kids did a great job tending to the flames- even when we didn't want any more! Emma caught on to the concept and threw in whatever she could. Randy and Casey tried fishing in the stream and pond with no luck. But it was fun exploring anyway. And the kids never mind getting 'accidentally' wet. The kids saw a few animals- rabbits, deer, and a beaver. Luckily, no bears. There were lots of trees and plants around to keep them occupied. Their favorite: playing 'restaurant'. Even Casey got into it. Shhh...don't tell him I told you. ;) They'd take our order and bring us back a scrumptious plate of grub.


Speaking of cooking.....I am starting a new blog. I am hoping to recruit some of you to help. You see, every day around 5, I go, "Hmmmm.....what I am going to make for dinner?" I know I really should plan better. And there are times when I am really on top of it and I have my month's menu planned out. But other times- times when we have been up to our ears in soccer, baseball, softball, and scouts- or just plain bein' lazy- that I am not so good at it. So, it will be a place to post recipes and menu ideas. Nothing big or fancy. Simply, what's on your menu. And if it is an unfamiliar dish or you have a special way of fixing it, recipes and directions would be fabulous!

Post as often as you can, and visit as much as you like. And I'm thinking that by having it all there, recorded, if you're in a bind, you can hop on over and get some great ideas. Leave me a comment if you're interested in being an author. I'd love all the help I can get!

Stop by and give some ideas....http://whatcha-gotcookin.blogspot.com/