The camping trip from...

I don't need to say more, you'll know exactly where as soon as you read how our Friday night went.
First: the road to the lake is awful! Just really knocked the trailer around. But we got to our spot got all setup, everything unloaded and had dinner and a fire going. It was drizzly, but a nice spot and we were looking forward to the weekend there.

That's when someone showed up saying it was their spot. I pull out my confirmation, and sure enough it's for the wrong weekend (how I managed with all the double checking, I will never know). So we give the kids their hotdogs while we pack everything up. So back down the horrible road, and to our regular campground. During the drive I had a panicked thought, did I latch the fridge door? Decided I must have, as I always make sure it's latched. We found a great secluded spot where the trailer door actually faced the table and fire (not too many are setup that way.) I went in to get the inside unloaded only to discover that I didn't get the fridge door latched tight. So there was salsa and mushrooms all over the trailer!

Dana was not happy with me, understandably. I started cleaning up the mess. Then went to get the kids bed made, cause they were tired. I picked up our bed to get the blankets out, and then put it back. But when it closed, it closed off kilter. So I lifted it again. Looked at the lifters and all looked ok. Closed it again, and it was even worse. So I lifted the mattress up to look and all the hinges had pulled out! I wanted to die right then and there. I dreaded telling Dana with all else that I'd just done, but was glad when he looked and it wasn't my fault, just something that was waiting to happen. Luckily he always has his drill and a tool kit. So he fixed the hinges. Kaia went to bed, and Mo came outside while we had dinner.

We went to bed and sometime in the middle of the night Sampson was yapping, so Dana went out to find him all tangled up. We were definitely thinking nothing else could possibly go wrong, but when he unhooked him Sampson started to take off and Dana fell scraping up his leg. At this point it can't get any worse, can it? Oh it does. When he came back in he walked back to the back of the trailer to turn the heater up. That's when he realized his slipper was coated in poo. So we cleaned up the rug, threw the slippers outside and realized that the heater had turned on and almost right back off and it was still cold. At this point it's ridiculous. It's the middle of the night and Dana goes outside to see if he could find a problem. He couldn't, and the heater never did blow heat, so we had to pile into bed with Kaia and cuddle to stay warm. (Mo was nice and cozy with his blankets in the kids' bed)

The heater didn't work all weekend, but Saturday night was much warmer, and we didn't need it. We did have a good time playing at the river, and I ran into a gal I went to highschool with and got to see her 6 week old baby boy. Sunday we got into town just in time for Dana's oldest brother's surprise 50th birthday party. Today the trailer will go into the shop, and I canceled our reservation for next weekend, that we won't be using. I guess you have to have a bad trip to appreciate all the good ones!

Happy Birthday!!

July is a fun month for our family. July birthdays include 2 nieces, 1 nephew, 1 brother in law (wait, it might be 2), both dad's, 1 sister in law, my grandma and Dana. Plus our good friends' son and Kaia's birthday is just one day before July. Oh and my secret prayer partner. Today is the birthday of 3 of those people.

Happy Birthday Grandma/Granny! We love you lots and can't wait til you visit again!

Happy Birthday Dana aka Daddy/Daadaa! We love you so much!

My secret prayer partner's birthday is today also, but as she doesn't read my blog (or I wouldn't be posting this) I sent her a birthday card.

Today is also my good friend's anniversary. July 18th is definitely a popular day for big events.

Mr. Mo and the Princess

Mr. Mo is quite the guy. Being a full blown toddler now, he goes from completely happy pushing his chair around, to completely pissed off when said chair gets caught up on something. His teeth are working there way through, and I believe another is out, but haven't felt brave enought to stick my fingers back in his mouth for fear of getting them bit.

Mo also has an amazing ability. Sure his vocabulary is limited to favorite words like Daadaa, ooblah, and ahhh (which happens to mean both hello and goodbye). He still eats with his fingers, and enjoys tearing off pop-ups in Kaia's book. He is learning more signs, but rarely exhibits more than please and more. His super ability happens to be that he can turn 180 degrees in his sleep without losing his blanket! I put him in his crib with his head toward the East and his rear to the West. A few hours later, when I put Kaia in her bed his rear was East, his head was West and his blanket was still covering his lower half! I have no idea how he managed to move so much without throwing it off, but that is talent.

The Princess is doing well. The age of 4 comes with many questions about anything and everything. Many of these questions don't even make sense, which continues to frustrate her when I can't answer them. How long is one that she misuses often. Such as: How long is Silverwood? So I ask her: How long til we go? or How long are we staying there? I answer both, but she still isn't satisfied.

Another confusing part of the English language for her is younger and older. She told me this morning: Grammy told me about playing hopscotch when she was older. She loves to instruct Dana and I on things we will do when we are little. The conversations with her are always interesting.

Kaia has also become quite the bike rider and loves this form of exercise. I have no worries of an overweight child, not with her activity level.

They are so much fun! I'm really looking forward to taking them to the lake. They will have so much fun in the water.

Tooth business

Well it's official we have one molar out! Ok Mo has one molar out, but it feels great to me. I can see the end to all this fussiness coming, and I can't wait! There are at least two others I expect to be out within the next day or two. One molar that still has a week maybe. And then those two uppers, the pointy ones that I can never remember their name. Those two are maybe two weeks away.

The homeopathic gum rub and the children's ibuprofen is getting some good use these last few days. I'm hoping that the tube will last until this teething round is over.

Another Gourmet Meal

While I do enjoy cooking, many nights it just isn't a big priority. By the time I get home, especially if I have to make any stops, it is dinner time. If we are doing anything outside, it means dinner is usually served about bedtime. That means anything goes for dinner.

Tonight I had to stop at the store for more ibuprofen (children's and adult's) and then while picking up the kids I loaded up some yard sale stuff in my trunk. So we didn't arrive home until at least 6:15 p.m. Then Dana was fixing my quad, and we stayed outside. Mo was getting fussy and I knew it was time to feed him. I went in to fix dinner for us all, but quickly became overwhelmed by the mess. I decided rather than add to it, I'd fix something quick for the kids. Hot dogs, green beans and an apple. Except that the fresh apple that came in my too big lunch today (I usually pack it, but was meeting with Allied Arts to discuss my becoming a board member) was sitting in the office fridge. So I substituted canned pineapple. The kids rebelled against the green beans, so dinner for them was pineapple and hot dogs. Now for them that was just about the top of the list for an awesome dinner. (Kaia choosing crab or fresh caught trout as her tops)

When Dana was just about finished I got his meal ready. A frozen burrito that I microwaved, then fried in just a tiny bit of oil. After that I topped it with the spicy tomato sauce I got at Fiesta foods and some cheese. I microwaved that and then added some sour cream to the top and served it with a side of jalapeno slices. He really liked it, so another quick meal to add to my list.

I wasn't very hungry after my too big lunch that I only ate half of. So I took the other half of my tuna sandwich and threw away the soggy bread and put it on 2 pieces of toasted bread. Yes, there was that much tuna on half of a sandwich.

I won't win any mother of the year awards for my meals, but it worked. We are all fed, and happy. I really can cook though, as you can see by viewing my recipes at the top of my blog. If you get a chance, sign up for sparkpeople, not just because it's a great weight loss tool, but then you can vote on my recipes. I've found that it's almost impossible for someone browsing sparkrecipes.com to find my recipes because only one is rated. I did discover that if I update the recipe, it will show up on the front page as recently added. That will get me some press.

Why is it important that others see my recipes? Beats me

Mo's New Do!

He's a handsome little guy, that's for sure. On Wednesday, it was haircut day. First Dana got his hair cut nice and short. Then it was Mo's turn. I was just going to trim the sides and back up, but figured with the heat why not go all the way. So I gave him a buzz cut. It's short all over, looks really cute when I add some got2be pomade to it, and is very blonde! It's always had a reddish color to it (although it is sometimes hard to tell in the photos), but it is red no more. Pictures to come.

Kaia of course is not one to miss out on all the fun. So she had her bangs cut. It tooks some insistence on my part to convince her that I should not, and would not use the clippers on her hair. She settled for scissors and a comb.

Now the whole house has great hair, but me. I have yet to figure out how to cut my own hair, so the shaggy look will have to do for now.

Kaia Turns 4!

Kaia's 4th birthday has come and gone. She recieved everything she's "always wanted," whether she had ever seen the item before or not. The Princess got a princess crown to wear with her princess nightgown, Aquasaurs (remember sea monkeys?), a new hat and sunglasses, a new bathing suit for our trip to Silverware, a bubble bucket and lots of markers and things to color on. We followed the birthday with a crab dinner, her favorite. She slept hard that night, and I had quite the time waking her for church Sunday morning (where she wore her new dress and her crown).

Sunday was not a day of rest at our house though. When we got home the guys (Dana, Jeff and Charlie) were busy using the ditch witch to trench the backyard. One of the things this house needs to make it sellable is a sprinkler system that actually waters the yard. So Sunday was spent putting in the new pipe. I was more the official gopher. I made lunch, took water, powerade and beer out, watched Mo to keep him out of what he shouldn't be in (like a trench) and watching Charlie and Kaia ride the dump truck and push bike down the driveway. I did help with filling in the trenches, and still have a ton of rocks to pull out of the yard so grass can grow again. Despite the 3 or more popsicles Kaia consumed she crashed even harder Sunday with all that play. It was a great weekend, even if we did go to work (and Grammy's) exhausted on Monday.