BigDumbDog

It's Friday and that means Show and Tell over at Kelli's. Click above to participate.

Last week I showed you our backyard in the early summer of 2007. After hearing your comments, I'm back with more BigDumbDog. Now I will show you our backyard today, February of 2008 and the damage that Sampson has done. He looks so cute doesn't he? We picked up Sampson in June of 2007 at a shelter in Hermiston, Oregon. They guessed his age at 9 to 11 months and the vet thought it was fairly accurate. While he was a rescue, there is no reason to belive he isn't a purebred. He is excellent with the kids, good with the cats, and quite the puller when we go for walks.

Here is our deck. What you can't see is the wisteria. It used to grow up through the lattice, then Sampson chewed it all to nothing. I still plan to train it to go up higher on the lattice and up over the top instead of through the railings and then onto the lattice. That is also the dog house that cost $168 and he's been in once voluntarily (that we know of).

Here are just a few of the holes he has dug. This was all freshly planted grass, except right up by the compost bin. That's where the raspberries used to be.

Here is a photo of the electric pet fence that he unplugs. And the tires and wheels we have used to keep him from digging (the phone line runs through this area).

Proof of him eating my rose!!!! I'm pretty sure the other two miniature roses will not be coming back. This was the hardiest, and I'm just waiting for the ground to thaw enough that I can dig it up and put it out front. He's also destroyed 2 bushes, and we shall see how much damage to the phlox, chicks and hens, and bleeding hearts he has caused as the year progresses.

Here is another photo of our deck. I love it now that the lattice is up and we have more privacy. There would be even more privacy, if Sampson would allow the wisteria to grow!

Dana had to devise a plan to keep Sampson from eating the wires to the sprinkler system and his heated water bowl. It's worked well. It's a bit hard to see, but there is PVC pipe split in half, attached to the house with diamond plate brackets. That protects the sprinkler system wires. I had my first ever wiring experience, fixing the sprinkler system controller after Sampson unplugged it, chewed through the wires and made off with the plug and this was after Dana put up the pipe!

Here is Kaia's surviving wind chime. She received this as a gift for her second birthday. She loves them and has been given many more. Unfortunately, all the others have been blown apart during wind storms. It is in the shape of a swan and the globe sits on it's back.

I just love the way our deck casts shadows! Here is BigDumbDog drinking his water.

So content after chewing on my miniature roses! That's all from my garden today. I hope you enjoyed viewing the destruction one Alaskan Malamute can cause.

Short Break...

I'm home with a sick kid today, so not too much blogging. We know she's sick when she admits it, and the thermometer agreed (that pic was taken about 5 minutes ago, just look at the circles under her eyes). Although I did pop over to my regular blogs (Art, Jennifer, Kelli and Meredith). Managed to prove that I'm a Northerner at Jennifer's too!

While staying with Kaia means I'll miss my Mothers of Young Children Devo tonight(AGAIN!) and the work on my desk is piling up, it also gives me the opportunity to pick up the house before strangers come over tomorrow and measure for our new energy efficient windows. Also I plan to do some knitting and take advantage of the sunshine and 52 degrees to get some more photos for tomorrow's Show and Tell. I was also able to get our ribs started for dinner tonight. Just 59 cents a pound at Fiesta. I'll cook up some BBQ sauce and make pasta salad (see my SparkRecipes Cookbook) and we'll be eating good tonight. Including BigDumbDog who will get one of the larger bones left to gnaw on. He will appreciate it too since his naughtiness will be on display tomorrow (hint, hint)

The 10th Kingdom Sally Peep Singing

Here it is for your viewing pleasure. The song starts at approximately 5:30.

Budding Actress?

Photo not mine, borrowed from the link below

Have you ever watched The 10th Kingdom? If not, you should! I just learned according to this wiki that I'm the proud owner of some out of print materials! Not only did I order the original 3 tape VHS (or maybe I asked my parents to order it as a gift?), soundtrack and book, but I also ordered the 3 disc DVD set too. I didn't even have a DVD player at the time.

I'll let you view the link (WARNING there is a spoiler about 3/4 of the way down the page), but it is about modern people entering the Nine Kingdoms about 200 years after Cinderella, Snow White and Riding Hood. A few weeks ago, I was trying to tempt Kaia to lay down and relax. I was getting desperate and thought a new movie might do the trick. So I brought out Huck Finn and The 10th Kingdom. It didn't work, she refused to watch either one of them and would not take some quiet time. But just a few days later, she was begging to watch "the movie with the princesses." Now she's hooked. It's an adult fairy tale, but I know it well enough (I've only watched it hundreds of times) to be comfortable with a 4 year old viewing it. Her favorite part of the movie is the Sheep and Shepherdess Contest.

Sally Peep (as in Little Bo Peep's ancestor) is a temptress shepherdess, intent on winning the contest, because the "Peeps always win!" Part of the contest is a singing competition. Sally sings a arousing rousing version of "Little Bo Peep." Complete with rear-end patting, and cleavage waving. Virginia sings "We will Shear You" (think We Will Rock You). Kaia loves to sing both of these songs. This morning though I heard her singing "Little Bo Peep" with all the right accents and intonations. A perfect imitation of Sally Peep. I even congratulated her on it. I've said for years that she is destined to be on Broadway. Listening to her this morning, I started to believe it.

The Monkeys

Expecting some photos of the kids, were you? Nope. Photos Dana took during our visit to the zoo in Portland in 2006. Yes, I know that technically these aren't monkeys. Well maybe the first, but The Primates just didn't make a good title.

Innocence!

When I logged onto my email, I saw the local news read: "Drive-by shooting thought to be retaliation." I saw that the link had been followed and asked Dana, "Which drive-by?" Kaia explained it all to me, "It's when me and daddy go hunting for coyotes."

Sad that I have to ask which drive-by, and too bad I can't believe it was coyote hunting.

TGI Monday!

Thank goodness it is Monday. We had one of those weekends that made coming back to work Monday seem like a great idea!

Friday I discovered that a window in the office had been broken out, again. Nothing stolen this time, just a broken window. How this can continually happen when we are such close proximity to the police station, I will never know.

Saturday Dana drove all the way to Seattle only to find out the information he was given was wrong. I tried cleaning up, but had no motivation and a vacuum that didn't want to work. Still trying to decide when to just break down and buy a new vacuum. We've been having problems the last several months. Dana came home frustrated, and I was frustrated and we could not stop arguing. Then we get a call from my mom to find out that my brother and sister-in-law returned home from their church directory photos to find their home engulfed in smoke. Going to bed was one of the best things that happened on Saturday. Well that and getting my long awaited book (charmed thirds by Megan McCafferty) at the library.

Sunday morning I woke up and was making coffee when I realized the kitchen sink was backed up. We had to kick a boy out of Sunday School class within the first 15 minutes.

At this point though, things got better. 2 teenagers chose to be baptized at the beginning of worship service. I taught the older one when she was just 4 years old in Sunday School, and I remember her younger brother being born. And here they were becoming Christians! It was amazing. The service was from Amos, "What happens when all God gets is our voicemail?" It was much needed, sometimes we are so wrapped up in ourselves and our sin, we no longer take God's calls. I felt horrible for what I'd said to Dana the night before. My sister-in-law put in a prayer of thanksgiving during the call for prayer requests and those wanting to be baptized. The walls should have gone up in flames, but the didn't. All the animals are ok, as are most of their belongings.

When I got home Dana had fixed the sink for me. The kids played nicely. We all had a good lunch. Kaia went next door to play with the visiting grandchildren, and then went to the park to feed ducks with them. Dana and I didn't fight at all. We got our bed made with the preferred sheet and comforter and we all went out to play with the dog. A good ending to a bad weekend.

This morning was a great start to what I hope to be a good day. While we were on our way to Grammy and Papa's, I looked into the back seat to see Mo wearing Kaia's pink seashell sunglasses upside down and rocking out to Taylor Swift's Picture to Burn. Kaia and I laughed and kept on singing.

Show and Tell: Thinking Spring

It's Show and Tell over at Kelli's. And since I'm thinking of warm weather, I'd like to share our backyard, and some of the things you'll find in it. During the spring and summer months of course.

First there is Mo. He was happy to help the guys put in the new sprinkler system last year. You can see how helpful he was. Then there are the doves. Now our doves do not come into our backyard. We have BigDumbDog (aka Sampson) to thank for that. He is a well known bird catcher. While the magpies find this amusing, the doves know better and keep their distance.

The kids' quads are quite often in our backyard. If we open both side gates there is a nice little course around the entire house. Here is Dana and Mo on the 80 and my nephew Dempsey on the 50.

I just realized that I have no good photos of the deck. You can see it in the upper left of this photo though. We put up lattice on all sides but the North. Wisteria grows on the South side (well it was growing before BigDumbDog chewed it up) and will hopefully cover the lattice and begin to hang down from the slats on top of the deck. Here are all the boys (Dana, Jeff, Charlie and Mo) working on the sprinkler system. Jeff and Charlie were nice enough to spend a weekend helping us out. See the green garden? We can only hope some of that comes back.

Thanks for visiting!

I HATE Censorship

Ok I don't really hate censorship. I hate what I consider "subversive censorship." There are 2 different kinds of censored songs on the radio. Some songs they put a "scratch" over words that can't be said. You typically know what word the artist is singing, and you know that it's been censored. The subversive censorship just replaces the word or phrase with a completely different word or phrase. Sometimes the version is called a radio edit. But if you've never heard the artist's original song, you don't realize you are listening to a sanitized version.

I first noticed this with Toby Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. When worked the 3 a.m. shift at the bakery, I would hear it on the overnight show on the radio in it's original version. Then at 6 a.m. when the station switched to local programming the line magically became "we'll put a boot in your eye." With the scandal over that song, everyone knows what the original line is. I don't care for the song though, so while annoyed I didn't give it too much more thought.

Fast forward 5 years, where I work normal hours (for the most part) and buy Kaia Taylor Swift's cd. We both know how the songs are written because before we owned the cd, we listened on You Tube. One song though has just hit the radio. "Picture to Burn" I heard it the other day, and wasn't paying much attention when I realized that sure enough one of the best line's in the song was censored. So now instead of "Go ahead and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy, that's fine I'll tell mine your gay." Has been changed to "Go ahead and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy, you won't mind if I say." Hopefully you won't mind that I say "Lame!"

When I listen to music, I want to hear the artists vision. I don't want to hear the industry or FCC's version of what's acceptable for me to hear!

No, Couches Don't Belong in the Kitchen!

Jennifer has tagged me with her "5*5*5*5*5*Book MeMe:*1* Get your favorite book (yes, choose just one, I know it is hard...)*2* Turn to page 55 ( If your book has less than 55 pages, hmmm, forget the pop-up books?)*3* From the top of the page, count down to the 5th sentence*4* Write it and the following four (a grand total of 5 sentences)*5* Tag 5 more people"

Hmm favorite book is at home, and on a high shelf. So how about the book in my bag. Jenny McCarthy's Life Laughs.

"Long wall usually means sofa wall and short wall means TV wall. Oh, no, not in this house. The short wall didn't have enough room to hold our couch, yet John insisted that it made it look cooler even though it took up twice the room. And the rug shouldn't go in the middle of the room-it should go against the wall. Then we fought about lighting."

So I got lucky because a few more sentences and I would not have had a family friendly blog! Not sure if I have 5 people to tag, so if you want to play along, please do!

Gotta Love Kids

"Mom you look like you have another baby in your tummy." Ah from the mouth of a 4 and a half year old. That is definitely not the case, thanks to last year's surgery. Just 2 days ago she was coloring on the kitchen counter with a marker and then said, "Mom come see the mess Morgan made on the counter." Today, the truth. The brutal truth. I knew I was bloated, but yikes! Time to watch my salt intake.

More Recipe Debate

I take it back that Sausage Apple Pie is the worst recipe ever. Sorry Dad, but I'm still going to malign your fav recipe. It is gross, but I found a recipe that has to be worse, and I haven't ever tasted it. Actually I don't think I could ever bring myself to waste perfectly good ingredients on this recipe.

Sweet-Sour Chicken Mold

2 packages sour cream sauce mix

2 3-oz packages lemon flavored gelatin

2 c boiling water

1/2 c cold water

2 T lemon juice

1t dried dillweed

1 med green pepper seeded and quartered

1 med cucumber peeled, quartered and seeded

1 small carrot sliced

2 5-oz cans boned chiken, drained and cut up

Assorted fresh vegetables

Prepare sauce mix according to directions. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water, add sauce, cold water, lemon juice and dillweed. Beat til blended. Chill until partially set. Place green pepper, cucumber and carrot in blender container. Cover with cold water. Cover; Blend just till coarsely chopped. Drain well, stire vegetables and chicken into gelatin mixture. Turn into 7 1/2 cup ring mold. Chill till firm. Unmold and fill center with fresh veggies.

The caption above the photo reads "Sour cream sauce mix, lemon juice, and dillweed combine with lemon-flavored gelatin to produce the distinctive flavors in Sweet-Sour chicken Mold." Distinctive? Looks and sounds like molded puke to me! I love that they tell you to cover the blender before starting. This is one of the recipes in my Better Homes and Gardens- After Work Cook Book that I won't be trying. Still it was a great buy for $1 at the library.

How do they get salads to unmold anyway? I made a beautiful peach gelatin with leftover peaches, and I really wanted to unmold it so the peaches were on the bottom, gelatin on the top and I could fill the center with whipped topping. Didn't happen, as you can see. Stuck to the mold, so I scooped it out and we enjoyed it with our grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch.

Rosie and the Cory Cats

The tank is clean, but that doesn't mean I could get a good photo. I like the photo of Rosie, because you can at least see his color. The camera refused to focus on the cories. This was the least blurry photo.

Happenings

Mo was not driving this weekend, but I just love this photo!

It's been a busy 3-day weekend here. Saturday the kids and I went shopping with my mom. We helped her outfit their newly remodeled bathroom, while Dana and my dad went riding. After shopping it was over to my brother's to pick up my neice. Kaia and I got to hold the naked rat Esmerelda. She's very cool, but I have been forbidden to bring any rats into the house. Then we all went to dinner Saturday night at our favorite Mexican restaurant El Pastor. Not only do they have great food, they are good people. I went to school with the owner's son and daughter, and his son manages the place now.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! Kevin brought in about 8 rasberry canes to church for me. And I thoroughly enjoyed planting them in the only spot of dirt that isn't still frozen. Good thing it is where I had planned to put them. These are actually the grand babies of the canes I gave him and Jenny back when they first moved into their place. My entire patch died out after that, due to water issues. So with our fresh sprinkler system, I'm looking forward to having raspberries again.

Today I was thrilled to read Meredith's site for the first time since Friday. You all know my love of retro in the kitchen. She is using a 1950's textbook suggested meals for a week! This is just too much fun, check it out!

Mo's vocabulary is rapidly expanding. Just now he came in to say Toot toot and appo. Not sure if he wants to eat, or if the Thomas DVD is paused... He loves to say "Amen" so I'm teaching him Hallelujah Amen. We are off to enjoy this beautiful day the Lord has made. And Mo says "Lala Amen!"

Show and Tell: Quilt

It's Show and Tell over at Kelli's. Use the photo above to link to her site and join in.
Today I want to Show you Kaia's new quilt. Grammy made it for her, and she got to bring it home this week.

She embroidered all of the squares, and it has taken a long time. (Maybe she'll comment with exactly how long). It's a beautiful quilt for a little girl.


The colors go great with her new sheets too! Above is the pillow case that matches the quilt.
Here's Kaia showing off her new quilt. This quilt will be something she can hold onto and have for her children. This is actually the 3rd quilt of Grammy's we own. One is a Dale Earnhardt quilt in black and red. The other is a John Deere Tractor quilt in yellows and greens. She does an amazing job on all of her quilts. Right now she is working on one that has an Oriental theme.

Valentine's Day Happenings

Happy Valentine's Day!

Click here to create your own painting.

It's another Valentine's day, and for Kaia, that is huge. It's her first Valentine's party! She got to take her homemade cards (thanks to the foam hearts, stickers, and blank cards from my Secret Prayer Partner) to school. We also brought string cheese for the class. The school breakfast is a special one, waffles with strawberries and whip cream. She was very excited by that. She wasn't as excited about the spaghetti lunch, but I reminded her that "you get, what you get, and you don't throw a fit." Also that snack would be cookies and string cheese. She was content with that.

She's been eating huge amounts of food the last few days. I'm worried that there will be another growth spurt. Her brand new pants are already a bit snug, but if she shoots up like she did last time, they'll fit better around her waist, and she has some room to grow in the legs. Shoes though is a scary thing! She's been flying through the sizes. Just the other morning I had to dig out the size 12's for her. The 10.5's that she has been wearing don't fit. Most of the 11's are snug, except for the sandals since no socks are required, but it's not warm enough for those. We have one pair of 11.5 tennies that Grandma Owie bought Kaia. Luckily my co-worker has a 9 year old and she gave me a bag of 12-13's. So Kaia has one pair of black dress shoes, a blue pair, a maroon pair, and Hello Kitty tennies in 12. Hopefully the 11.5's and 12's last a little while.

Mo's Valentine's Day started at 2:30 a.m. with a breathing treatment. He was coughing so hard and had so much mucus that he was choking and couldn't sleep. After the treatment I laid down folded blankets at the head of the toddler bed and propped him up to sleep. I cuddled him for a bit and he was out, and slept good until 6:10 a.m. Then he got to come to the office with me, before his 9:45 Dr's appointment. The verdict: Ear infection in the right ear. So little man will be on azithromycin since he is allergic to amoxycillin.

Dana braved the crowded stores to get Kaia a Valentine's gift. Her very own plant for her new bedroom. He swears that I'm not getting anything.

I'm making a special Valentine's Dinner for the family. Dana's favorite burgers (think 5-Alarm from Red Robin for him, just a plain cheeseburger for the kids) tonight and homemade french fries. Might use the heart shaped cookie cutters and heart smart bisquick to do some shortcakes and top them with fruit and cream.

Wishing you all the best today!

Raising a Husband

This is a topic that some of my friends and I have discussed, how do we as mothers raise our boys to be good husbands? This is an online group of some of the best women ever. We met on a pregnancy website, and moved over to SparkPeople so we could have a private group. Most of us have boys, and those that don't still help on the conversation. We want to make sure that they grow up helping around the house, and respecting their wives. If Mo's love of pots and pans, dishes, and sweeping are any indication, he will make my future daughter-in-law very happy. Anyone have any suggestions to share?

Once Again...

Ahh I come into work to find that once again a window has been broken out in the office. This is the 3rd broken window, but nothing stolen. We're pretty sure the alarm system scared them off this time, as nothing appears to be missing. Co-worker said "Maybe this will deter any future attempts." I volunteered that moving to a new location would also solve this problem.

Too many crackheads in this neighborhood. Apparently they have nothing else to do, but steal from a non-profit. A non-profit that is raising money to help them get off drugs and back into mainstream. No good deed goes unpunished!

The Great Recipe Debate

I knew it would happen. My dad wants to know how I could malign what happens to be one of the best recipes ever. My parents love Sausage Apple Pie. They don't eat zucchini, cauliflower, and my dad dislikes green peppers... so sometimes I have to wonder where my good taste came from.

Exciting Find

If you are planning to stalk me, listen up. Every Saturday the kids and I go to the library. I usually do a quick scan of the library discard cart to see what's available. Hardbacks are $1, Kids books and Paperbacks are .50 cents.

I was in shock to find Creative Cooking on the cart! I grew up on this cookbook. My mom has it and I love some of the recipes in here. I quickly grabbed it, and a 1974 After Work Cookbook. My favorite recipe is for Chicken with Mandarin Oranges and Almonds. Dumb name for the yummiest chicken dish. It's a creamy dish (not a low fat dish) that has just a hint of orange flavor.

This book also has the worst recipe ever (just in my opinion, as my mom will argue it's one of the best). Sausage Apple Pie. How can you take good ingredients like sausage, apples, cheese, pie crust and ruin them? You put them all together.

I've been browsing the book trying to find all the yummy recipes that I loved as a child. I know that there was another chicken dish, but cannot remember which one.

Mission Possible!

Yesterday I decided was the day to turn Kaia's messy toddler/preschool bedroom into a big girl room.

We're not 100% done, but it's a definite improvement. I still have to recover the headboard, so I didn't even attach it. She picked out the comforter and pillow all by herself.

Show & Tell: Unwanted but Much Needed

It's another Show & Tell Friday at Kelli's. I missed last week, due to being ill, but I'm back.

Today I'm going to do something different. Rather than show an item I love in my home, I'm going to show you an item I've come to respect. I don't like it, wish we didn't need it, but it keeps my little Mo healthy, and that means everything to me. It's the nebulizer. If you don't know the story behind why we need it, you will find that in two separate posts. Hiatus and All clear for now.

Mo hated it at first. Now, as you can see, he doesn't mind getting his steroid. And the other night, I pulled my carcass (at least it felt that way) out of bed at 11:30 p.m. to give him an albuterol treatment because he was so congested. He didn't fight, just kicked back on my lap, breathed in the medicine, and happily went back to sleep in his crib.

Now Kaia even knows that Mo gets a breathing treatment whenever he is sick. He takes a daily steroid during colds, and if needed albuterol. It is the best $120 we ever spent, because we have a happy, healthy boy with its help.

Dreaming of Spring

We are having some wonderfully warm weather here in Central Washington. The expected high today is 46 degrees. Don't laugh, I'm seriously excited about the warmth. What's better is the beautiful sunshine that's blessing us. I always know that we are getting closer to spring when, my drive to work isn't just dim light anymore. Even better, when I walk out the door at 5 p.m. to head home, it is still light out! It's dark by the time I drive out to Grammy's get kid(s) and get home, but that light at 5 is such a gift.

Then there are the photos I received from my grandma in Mexico, Granny. Now if these don't get you thinking spring, what will? I would love to have a garden like hers. I'm hoping this year to do even better than last, but I don't have the experience, patience, and weather she has. But, I'm learning. Granny definitely inspires me to be a better gardener, among other things.

Tangy Steak Salad

Every once in a while, I get creative in the kitchen. Tangy Steak Salad was the result.

What you'll need:

Steak, Lettuce, mushrooms, celery, cherry tomatos, red onion, green pepper and the dressing.

Dressing: Mayo (about half a cup, or use a combo of Smart Start salad dressing and mayo), 2 T of horseradish sauce, juice of half a lemon, 1 t lemon pepper, pepper, and milk to thin. Mix the dressing up and let sit.

Cook steak to desired doneness. While steak is cooking slice veggies thinly, tear up lettuce if needed. Veggies can be mixed and matched. You may notice in my photo no green pepper. Safeway was out of them, unless I wanted to pay $1.59 for a green pepper, and I didn't. You could add almost any veggie you like, but I would stay away from those with a strong flavor as the dressing and onion are plenty.

Now put your veggies into a bowl and toss in the dressing. Then slice the steak thinly and spreak across the top. Add a bit more lemon pepper and lemon juice to the top of the finished salad. Serve with a good bread.

There are only so many times...

In the Bible Jesus says to forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven. Ok I get it. However, there are only so many times I can crawl around the tv room picking up the scattered, expensive Iams cat food, before my adorable child looks a little less adorable.

Photo courtesy of Kaia

On another subject I should clarify that I am not a Giants fan, necessarily. I'm just a fan of anyone that plays against the Patriots. Also, last year I wasn't rooting for anyone, but was happy to see the Colts win because Peyton deserved it. Hopefully the 2008 season will the Seahawks back in the SuperBowl.

I just have to say:

GIANTS WON! Wooohoooo Giants won, Giants wooooonnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH! I can't count the number of disappointing Super Bowls. Finally! The team I'm rooting for wins!

The important things in life

Kaia was itching to get out and play in the snow today after church. Instead of staying in to eat lunch with Mo and I, she changed clothes and went out to work on her snowman. Dana arrived home and suggested I go out to help her. Now, I had planned to come home and clean up the kitchen, do dishes, and get started on laundry so I could kick back and enjoy the Super Bowl. I realized though, that isn't what's important. I was reminded of this because yesterday was Christian's birthday. He was taken away from his parents far too early. I need to remember to enjoy my kids, and that means sometimes the house will have to wait.

Kaia went to kiss the Mo snowman. Little guy still has quite the cough, so I put him down for his nap before going out to play.

Kaia's photo of me with the snow family. Not too bad. Although most of the photos she took were of her feet.