Jul. 2, 2009 Greetings From Yellowstone
Everyone is having a good time.
I have blisters all over my feet from some unknown creature (local opinions range from fire ants to chiggers).
Jay is being eaten alive by mosquitoes which laugh at our repellent. And he wrenched his knee again. *durn*
I got struck by dime-sized hail.
The kids are getting along about 67% of the time. Hannah is doing fabulously.
Bonsai is doing likewise.
I forgot how enjoyable it is to do laundry in a laundromat.
Not.
We're spending way too much money and long hours in the car but it's definitely the trip of a lifetime.
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Jun. 22, 2009 Silverwood Trip (pic heavy, text light)
MAN, was it cold. We had a private cabana, and not only did we have a private cabana, but we get one for free the next time we come because we weren't IN the cabana at all.
There aren't many pictures of the boys because they bugged out early to go do their thing (which included multiple trips on another water ride in the park, as well as the big rollercoasters). I had a lady ask at front if they were all mine and rather than explain, I just said yes. She then exclaimed, "SuperMom!"
Heh.
Girls in the water:
Boys getting ready to head off...somewhere...
Jessica and Sarah in their oh-so-cool sunglasses:
Blurry rollercoaster pic:
Flying high with Dad:
Do you dig that marsupial baby vibe? She loves this thing. And it's a lot easier than carrying her around in arms. Oh, hey, look, I really am losing weight!
Gosh, that man is handsome (and he's all mine, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH):
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Jun. 15, 2009 The Threatened "Other" Entry
So this is the other one with more pictures. Then I'll take a break for a while. Did I mention we're going to Yellowstone on the 27th? Yep, eight days.
There'll be enough pictures to knock your socks off at that point. (or give you a headache) I may just create an album on Photobukkit for that one and let you peruse at your leisure, without all of the annoying commentary.
...anyway.
Here's a picture of Hannah in her hearts sleeper. The person who gave it to me will know why I'm posting it up here. 
And now that I've posted it, I have to sadly say that she's already outgrown it.
Joshua warming up at his last game:
Fine form:
Here he was actually pitching (from the other side):
Ready to bat:
I just realized that he's the only one on his team who wears batting gloves. Interesting.
Baseball is over, for which I am profoundly grateful, on a few levels - one, driving to Spirit Lake and Rathdrum +/- 5 days a week was really tiring. Two, and Joshua's team was, um...yeah, they won a total of two games.
Hoping next year will be better, except Jessica wants to play T-ball too. Ouch.
Jay and I with assorted chirruns:
I should note that Jay cut off all of his hair again, AND shaved the goatee. /miff
MORE cows in the yard (and no, that does not mean more cowbell). These were not gentle Bossies, these were MEAN little steers - with HORNS - that were not afraid of dogs, hoses, brooms or rocks. Grrrr. There were eight all told.
I think that's all for now. Have a lovely day.
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Jun. 15, 2009 The Threatened Jun. 14, 2009 Birthday Party Pics
Yep, we did it again. Because we're crazy like that.
You can see the new dark paint here. Oh yeah, and Jay too. Yes, he loves Jamie that much:
Gavin hitting the pinata:
Josh taking a whack at it:
After the kids beat the daylight out of the poor thing, it finally gave up the ghost and fell to the floor with a very undramatic *foop*. So Grampa Mike took it outside and tossed the candy to the waiting kids:
Puppies worn out by all the attention:
Shannon with Hannah. Their family stayed until oh-dark-thirty that night. Then we all went to church today. And then we went to lunch. And then I took a two hour nap with Hannah. It's 1000PM and I'm ready to go to bed like right.this.moment.
An earlier pic of Shannon with Hannah. She loves babies and holds Hannah every time that she can, now that we taught her how to do it properly.
And we are DONE WITH SCHOOL until SEPTEMBER! WoOOOAAHHAHAHAHAHA. That's my lunatic laugh.
/laugh off
Oh wait, I still have to correct and grade. Argh.
Next blog update will contain pictures of Joshua pitching at his last Little League game.
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Jun. 4, 2009 The Reading Experiment Has Worked
Jessica is blowing through the Explode the Code books...she has Get Ready, Get Set, and Go (along with Book One). The first three I listed are ease-in type books before they start doing blends.
She's done with Get Ready and halfway through Get Set. She really likes these books because they're more self-directed than the 100 Easy Lessons book.
Thank you Jenny!
Homeschooling mother guilt over non-reading kindergartner is absolved, for now.
Puppies are running about, chewing on everything, beating each other up (the female, Syntax, is way more dominant than Cipher, who whines and cries and carries on like a girl...constantly), and occasionally disappearing into the forest with Lhasa and giving us heart attacks. We missed church one day because Cipher went missing and we thought he was dead. Jay ran through the woods several times on our property, getting skeeter-bit by the busloads, and I turned out on the quad, looking for him on the back logging roads that abut our property.
Turns out he was hornet-stung and hunkered down. The girls went onto the porch around 730PM, yelling "Cipher!!!" and up he popped, screaming and crying, as is his wont.
Dogs. Argh.
Mom will be here -for sure - on July 15th. W00t!
The usual progression of craziness continues...Joshua's party on 06/13, leaving for Yellowstone on 06/27 (and coming back 07/05). Amish auction is the 12th! (both Jenny and I will be doing funky headcoverings for that, we may leave the boys at home)
School boots along for Joshua, he has one week left after this one. Finally! He's as stoked as I am to have an actual real "summer" for a change. He'll likely do penmanship through the summer, and may do some math if I get through grading and think he needs it. Most of his mistakes are speed-related rather than content-related. Some things never change.
/rant on
I must admit, I'm growing VERY tired of saying, "GET BACK TO WORK!" five hundred times a day.
He thinks that because he's homeschooled:
he can pop out and ask me a thousand questions (none about schoolwork)
and get up and down and up and down and up and down and up again
and talktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalk nonstop about...you know...anything
and let the dog in and let the dog out and then ooops, play with her a little bit
and get a drink
and then some ice
and then a drink with some ice
and go to the bathroom
five times
and tell Jessica when her birthday is
and then tell Sarah
and then let Hannah know too
and look for the puppies
and then ooops, play with them a little bit
and see what the radar says for rain
and then complain to me that it's not going to rain for a week (or that it will rain tomorrow)
and call his Dad about Subway for dinner (nine hours from now)
and then give me a suggestion about dinner when Dad says he doesn't want to pick up Subway
and then complain about what I'm making for dinner
and kill a bug with the flyswatter
and then show it to the girls
all of them
even Hannah
and check on how many dishes he has to do
and then complain that I work him too hard
and on and on and on and on...
and do pretty much anything at all to get out of working.
Can you tell this irritates me?
Pictures next time.
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May. 20, 2009 ...and the compound expands...
Cipher:
Syntax:
The Idiot Twins:
Bonsai's new chew toy:
Hannah puts herself to sleep on Joshua's floor:
Jessica:
Sarah:
Joshua working on schoolwork:
Playing with the Super Macro mode on the camera:
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May. 5, 2009 Scary Number of Pickachures
but minimal text. I'm far too tired to write any diatribes (or dissertations) tonight.
So Jay and Josh went to Bridgeport for four days. I stayed home with three little girls. It was very chick around here. These are my favorite pics:
The handsome hubberband:
Joshua in front of Upper Twin:
Joshua and his buddy Emory, blissfully unaware of the astounding scenery behind them:
Fishin:
Rock tossing (you can actually see it suspended in midair):
Then it's back home and back to the salt mines, conveying small people around:
Kisses for Woobie:
Happy girl, to be sure:
Yep, Hannah loves everyone. She doesn't yet know that Jessica will scream at her for stealing Jessie's lipsticks and eating them.
Still planning on a wild and wooly June and July. Fortunately, May will be somewhat more sedate than what summertime is promising.
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I believe the proper term is "kickback"...
At any rate, this is what happens to the inside of your calf when your kickstarter remains obdurate and you don't realize it.
But I did get to ride my bike. W00t!
(and the catalogue of sports injuries begins...)
Silver dollar size, for those who want to know.
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Apr. 12, 2009 One more pic of the Woobie Apr. 8, 2009 A few new pics, things bump along
Okay, I typed up this huge entry and then *bang* keyboard gremlins got me and I lost EVERYTHING. So after a few frantic keystrokes (and some very bad language), I'm trying this again.
Me n' the Woobie (or WowWowWubbsie). Yes, I'm really tired:
Ever-handy laptop next to me.
Think I should cut my hair yet? Bite yer tongue! (or, as Jenny loves to hear, "Bye bye, see you later..." I love having a catchphrase that's guaranteed to make someone chuckle every time.)
I should note that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new rocker with a rocking OTTOMAN! Who would have thought such luxury exists? And I have it in my living room.
so, all that school stuff I wrote, I don't feel like writing again.
/self-flagellation begins
I felt really guilty that Jessica can't read yet, I mean gosh, she's FIVE and she can't read and she's starting 1st grade in fall, which does require some basic reading. However, she HATES to perform, so the "100 Easy Lessons" book that worked so well for Joshua does not work for her.
Silly me, to think I could use the same thing for both kids. Uh-huh.
So, on Jenny's advice, I got her the basic beginning books from "Explode The Code" and hopefully, since it's a little more self-directed, she won't feel so under pressure to spit out letter sounds and words.
Some consternation with regard to 7th grade for Joshua, even though he's only going into 6th this year, as the nearest Bonner County middle school is up in Sandpoint. So I can get myself and the girls up at 0730 to drive him to school (and pick him up in the afternoon), or he can get up at 0600 and spend two hours - each way - on the bus. Ack.
Dangit, I had a whole schedule of what was coming up in June and July, and now Hannah's crying.
Very quickly:
Joshua's birthday
Okanogan women's retreat
Amish Auction
Joshua Bible Camp
Mom visiting
And maybe I'll fill it in next time.
Kat ;)
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Mar. 8, 2009 Pictures, pictures, pictures
Because I'm kinda sorta too tired to do a lot of text at this point...
The "Jesus Basket" where Hannah doesn't spend much time...
...because she spends more time here (or being held):
Jay and I are such a happy couple. No, really, we know how to smile. Really!
Good thing Joshua is generally of good cheer:
Jay's goatee requires much trimming, especially those wily grey hairs:
Darn, I'm kinda tired these days:
Final close-up Woobie pic, and that's all for today:
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Mar. 3, 2009 Woobie Photos
Yep, that's the newest silly nickname in the Sitlington family. So we have Peanut, Button, Piggins and the Woobie. All subject to change at any time, of course.
Snoozing.
...and...snoozing.
Snoozing on Mom.
She's integrated into the family well, other than the girls want to constantly (and I mean constantly) pick her up or handle her or talk to her or touch her or make me change her diaper or give her a binkie or...
*sigh*
At least they like her and don't resent her (which sometimes little girls will do). She's not cranky or obnoxious, sleeps most of the time, and is still very, very mellow.
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Feb. 18, 2009 Hannah May Sitlington
Here's those bebbeh pictures everyone is hollering for. I'm sure she'll thank me when she's 16 for putting nekkid pictures of her on the Internet *snort chuckle*
(I'm glad to note that I have cheekbones again...I got pretty big toward the end there)
The aforementioned nekkid picture:
Girls in the hospital:
Oh, I see a side of Sarah here that I've not seen before...
Consternation with the screaming (rare for Hannah, she's very laid-back...I guess she'll have to be):
Relative close up (we're still working out the kinks in the camera):
I have a picture or two of Joshua holding her as well, but figure this will hold you all for now.
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Feb. 2, 2009 A Pic of Me and My Man (and a bird)
For those who want to know how exponentially large 38 weeks can be on an relatively beefy *ahem* woman (that'd be me), I offer you proof in the form of a photograph:
(What I find particularly interesting is the horizontal S-curve shape my mouth has taken. How do you make your mouth into a horizontal S-curve? I tried in the mirror and was unable to replicate it.)
For those of you who want to know how exponentially crazy a pregnant wife can make your life, I offer you proof in the form of a photograph of Jay growing a mustache and goatee because I badgered him into it:
My rationale for this blackmail was that I have hair almost to my waist because he likes it long, therefore he can grow me some facial hair once in a while *snort chuckle*.
NO MATTER HOW BAD IT ITCHES.
(Note the cell phone plugged into his ear. I hate Ciena.)
February 12th can't come fast enough for most of my family, I think.
Last pic of is a bald eagle in one of our trees in the backyard. He's in the tree in the middle, all the way at the top, with his back to us:
Kids are all doing well, we have a birthday party to attend today, which is right down the road. Another couple of inches of snow last night, nothing major, but enough to cover up all the brown snow and dirt that the "thaw" has exposed. Covers up the ice, too.
By the way, in case you don't watch the news, Obama picked yet another tax-dodger for the White House (Tom Daschle "made a mistake" and didn't pay over $120,000 in taxes). Guess Geithner needed company. The shape of things to come? If I don't pay MY taxes, then I get in a lot of trouble. These guys don't pay their taxes, say "Sorry", and then are put in positions of power and influence. Am I missing something? (other than the obvious - that all politicians are corrupt...)
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Jan. 20, 2009 Not Much To Report...Random Things
We're back on Hannah for the most part. Then again, we still have three weeks or so to go. Hannah Leah? I don't know. It comes up occasionally, we kick it around, and then change the subject.
Last time I was checked (a week ago), I was 50% effaced and not dilated. Which means exactly nothing. I am so.totally.done with being pregnant. I can't breathe, I have to pee all the time, I have headaches, my back hurts, I can't sleep, waaah waaah waah anyway, I am definitely almost 40 and pregnant with #4 and ready for this to be over.
The thought of an spinal doesn't terrify me the way it did the last two times.
Got lots of kyoot clothes from a friend - four boxes' worth! W00t! The girls had/have a ball with taking them out, looking at them, folding them, etcetera. So far only Sarah is putting them on baby dollies, but in limited quantities. The friend who sold/gave them to me has twin girls, so there's a LOT of clothes. I've got hospital clothes packed anyway.
Got off my butt and bought a car seat and a few packs of diapers so I wouldn't feel so woefully unprepared. Packed up a hospital bag so I didn't feel ditto. I'm down to very little clothes, so it took some thought figuring out what to put in the hospital bag that I won't be able to use for another few weeks (since it's packed).
Found out that our TV that we ordered and paid for back in November was stolen by some jerk in Texas who had canceled his order for the same TV. Lots of logistical issues, but basically the shipping company called him to schedule delivery of MY TV and he decided to take it anyway, even though he already had his refund money. I hope his stupid TV breaks in the next week.
We got our plow and winch attached to the quad; Jay has been attacking the circular driveway. Before we got the add-ons, we had a thaw and then a cold snap, so the snow that's out there is more like concrete than anything else. He persevered, though, and we can now pull the Denali out front again. Oh yeah, and I can get propane delivered too!
Surgery is definitely scheduled: February 12th at 0715AM. Jay will make phone calls when all is over.
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Dec. 31, 2008 We've Got A Date And Name Changes
So, we've got a date scheduled for new Baby Bean to arrive into the world:
February 12th
At this point, the time is up in the air. Doc would like to have an "early morning" surgery, i.e., 0730. Which doesn't sound bad until you discover that means we have to be there at 0500. If there is good weather, that means leaving at 0415. If it's bad weather, yikes, no point in going to bed that night, right? (for those who want to know, the children will likely be spending the night at Kevin & Annette's place if Aunt Shirley is not here)
Naturally, there is a possibility she may arrive sooner, as that surgery date is a whole whopping four days before my actual due date AND she is measuring a week larger. (Jessica arrived three weeks early, Joshua ON his due date and with Sarah, I had preterm labor 36 weeks and then surgery at 39 weeks.)
As far as names, we've booted around Leah, Hannah, and now are leaning toward Rebecca (Rebekah was tossed as being a bit too exotic). But, for those who remember when Jessica was born, her name was changed in the hospital as I was in labor, so this current favorite may change several more times over the next 6 weeks.
I guess it's probably best to just not ask, since we're so wishy-washy.
That's all for now - snow continues to fall, although we've had a warming trend, so it's getting heavy and wet and flat roofs are collapsing all over the place (mostly businesses). Jay has the cold/bronchitis combo that will.not.quit and he is quite miserable. Kids are getting squiffy about being inside so much and all in all, a typical winter.
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Dec. 24, 2008 Snow Sports (Or...Things Other Than TV)
Heading out in 14 degree weather may not seem very smart, but it's what we do in the breaks between storms (another foot or so over tonight into Christmas, and then another foot on Saturday).
Girls here, all set to sled. Unfortunately, their sleds didn't sled. Need to get better, more aerodynamic sleds, I guess. Sarah was already cold at this point (what happened to the polar bear child?) so she went with me to Athol for some errands in short order.
Weather beats on you here. I look my age! w00t!
Oh, that I were this hipshot and relaxed when I snowboard. Fear of fracture changes your posture.
The whole gang coming up the hill:
Jessie likes quads, of all sorts.
As I write, it's pummeling down more snow and won't stop until tomorrow morning. I believe we are guaranteed a white Christmas this year.
I love Idaho. I truly do.
On the homeschooling side, we've taken this week off for vacation. Joshua has settled back into the Landmark Baptist curriculum with only a few hiccups (we came into it at Week 13, so there will be some differential between the two curriculum sets). I can say that the whining, complaining, and "DO YOUR WORK!" moments have dramatically decreased. I like the structure of it (four days of work, one day of tests) and the ease of grading, and he likes the familiar format.
The girls are done with their little Christian Light and Rod & Staff curriculums; now I just have to keep them busy until next year. Jessie is still learning to read with Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons, but we have to stay on top of it, as she's learning 36 digraphs instead of the normal number of alphabet letters. Sarah is just working on staying in the lines with coloring, at this point.
Everyone is out of their minds to open presents tomorrow. I'll post up some pics with that when we're done with the flurry of paper.
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Dec. 18, 2008 Train Tables And Lots Of White Stuff
So we got a big box (actually two, but it's a long story) and were given permission by Steve and Debbie to open it early. And here's what resulted!
(We love cooperative play around here, probably because it's rare)
Josh comes in a for a crash landing.
They move in circles around the board, and the two older ones get all freaked out when Sarah decides to do road work and rearrange the tracks. (It's not always cooperative play.)
At one point, someone realized that the existing wooden train track set we own could be incorporated into the table set, throwing Jessie into a frenzy of shrieking because she believes in all things compartmentalized and separate, thank you.
Aaaaand, welcome to North Idaho. There's a few feet of snow that have drifted against the basement door in back. Apparently we're guaranteed a white Christmas. Sadly, my friend Jenny's boathouse collapsed under the weight of who-knows-how-much "champagne powder". I continue to torture myself by looking at the snow report and webcams up at Schweitzer. *sigh*
 (there's a 3 foot tall frost free hose pipe under that snow, only about 6" left of it)
Considering heading out to shovel off the garage roof - at least Jay is, my balance being shot, probably not the best idea for me to be up there. Pray he doesn't bust an ankle again *snark*.
It's still snowing, by the way. Technically it's going to stop by 4 PM today, if we haven't all drowned in the white stuff by then. Josh and the dog made the tracks to the trampoline, which has 3+ feet of snow on it.
Today's big adventure - getting the Louisiana Pig Boat out of the garage without scraping the roof. Gotta get the mail, you know. It's my big adventure of the day. TOMORROW the big adventure is going into town to finish up Christmas shopping.
Ah yes, I forgot to note that it is currently 10 degrees while all this white stuff is falling down. Early next week we'll be back down to -15 as the low. Winter is finally here, and with a vengeance...w00t!
***I should note that it's snowed another 6 inches or so since I posted this earlier today. We decided to go to town with the Louisiana Pig Boat and promptly got it stuck in the snow (although the butt end did an admirable job of partially plowing the driveway)
Then we shoveled it out. Baby Bean promptly let me know that shoveling was *NOT* a recommended activity when you're almost 8 months pregnant, so Jay and Josh got to finish shoveling the driveway. Then Bill came by with the plow, which would have come in handy AN HOUR AGO. Now we're getting ready to try this again...
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Nov. 24, 2008 Picture Updates
Some picture updates for those who are frothing for updates...or merely curious...
The girls before going to the "Halloween" setup at the local mall.
Josh was too cool to dress up (but not too cool to get candy):
Holding the bug-eyed alien space creature:
Jay playing upward catch with the kids on the catwalk:
Me at 28/29 weeks. No one can agree what it is at this point - I'm measuring 29 weeks but due on the 12th. I'll keep you posted. (Josh + photography = blurry)
Until next time...
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Oct. 24, 2008 Minor Correction
I'm usually pretty good about this stuff, but I'm a bit further along than I thought. I'm 24 weeks, almost 25, which translates to "about six months" instead of "about 5.5 months".
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Oct. 19, 2008 Keeping Busy In The Fall
Jessica, gearing up for...something...while Sarah looks on.
Ah, yes, there it is. Note Jay still in work clothes and Kat making wild motions to direct him (like I need to), while Lhasa, ever-vigilant, looks on:
In addition to my slowly expanding gestation and Jay's frenzied pace on the basement, we have other ways and amusements up here. Yes, sometimes we do even MORE sports. For the naysayers, full gear including helmet, boots, and throttle governor. Bah. Enough of the justification. She has a blast on it.
Sarah, worn out from the excitement of following Jessie all over the yard. The cat is not one to miss out on a warm lap, even if it's connected to the one who occasionally drags her around by her tail. Peebies is quite the forgiving kitteh.
Other times we do this kind of stuff: (look, Mary, the PlayMobil stuff in action! No bucket, though...)
Never a dull moment, or if there just happens to be a dull moment, someone will start a rip-roaring fight and un-dull it in a hurry.
(Like right now, they're out there fighting while I'm in here writing. Sounds like Jay is getting ready to lose his temper.)
Mom's coming out in December. W00t! Hopefully she'll be able to leave before the cold snap they predict sometime in January, a week or so of twenty-plus below zero.
Never a dull moment with the weather here either, now that I think about it.
Sarah, all worn out from two days of throwing up and one day of diarrhea (or maybe two, who knows). Do we know how to party around here or what?
Just when you think she's better, someone goes and offers her a big glass of milk (hey, *I* was taking a nap). And then yark, it all goes again. (Jay got a valuable lesson in using a scrub brush on carpet when cleaning up the nastiness.) Poor thing. I hope she's over this by tomorrow. Because when you're pregnant, you can smell things really well. And anything with milk in it just makes vomit all the more...obnoxious. (especially when they do it in the middle of their bed at oh-dark-thirty a.m.)
There's a wee dog curled up near her lap taking advantage of a warm fever as well.
Lumpy and bumpy. That's the order of the day when I'm growing a new critter. 22 weeks (I think) is where I'm at, and a few more months before we have more female hormones raging at our house.
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THE ITTY BITTY BABY COMMITTEE SAYS
IT'S A GIRL!
The girls were thrilled. Joshua, far less so. Official due date at this point is February 16th, so based on what days the doc does surgery, she will be born about a week before that.
Very large .avi below (requires Flash to view) if you want to see the whizbang 3D ultrasound stuff. The dark shadows on the face and such are where placenta is touching her. *edited to add: I can't get the image to work properly. Here's the link: Bebbeh video
Let the baby name arguments begin!
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Sep. 10, 2008 What Passes For Fun Up Here
There are some who believe that the only things worth "doing" in life are XBox, movies, and TV. Regrettably, here out in the woods, we try to do other things in addition to all that electronica. Preferably things that don't require a plug at the end to work.
Even more preferably, activities that might have a little practical and pragmatic value!
Today was cooking day. Actually, pickling day is more like it. We went to Carver Farms in Newman Lake yesterday and picked a mess of stuff - cucumbers, squash, strawberries, purple bush beans, a few lonely hot peppers, corn, onions and the like.
Then brought it home where I, in a fit of energy, decided some of this stuff had to GO. But you can't cook it all at once, not everything freezes well, and no one could eat all of it in one night.
Not even me.
Pickling and fermenting became the order of the day. And the kids helped, because they like to diddle around in the kitchen.
Josh and Jessie getting rolling. Yes, my kitchen is a mess. Yes, someday I will have a pantry and 90% of the stuff sitting out on the counters will go away:
Joshua peeling cucumbers. He peeled a smaller one for his pickle "experiment" (regular vinegar, sugar, and water) and a larger one for my tsukemono experiment (rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt and water). Tsukemono is Japanese pickled cucumbers. (If you want the whole name, it's kyuuri no amasuzuke. Or so the Internet claims.)
Jessie tearing up the cabbage for the sauerkraut. We put sea salt, water, and some Bragg's Aminos in this. We had to do it in two batches because the cabbage starts out large and gets smashed down small.
Here she is smashing away with a meat tenderizer.
Tsukemono ready to sit in the fridge for a few days:
Half of the sauerkraut. This sits on the counter for three days or so to ferment and really taste good. I will admit, the first time I did this I was really nervous that I was going to poison us or something. But it all turned out well:
In between all of this, Sarah helped by eating cucumbers:
And then some strawberries:
After supervising all that, I'm really tired and feel like I need a nap. Then again, I feel like that most days, so what's new? Ultrasound (with whizbang 3D pictures!) on September 25th. Will keep you posted on whether the finished product will be a hot dog or a cheeseburger. The whole family will be there for this one, I'm looking forward to the kids' reactions to seeing their new sibling on the screen. (One example of how electronica can be cool. That, and Eureka on the SciFi channel.)
Anyone want to take bets on whether it's a boy or girl?
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Aug. 29, 2008 Silverwood Visit!
For Sarah's birthday, but really for all of their birthdays, since we all only went once this year.
Most of the day was spent in the water park, which is not conducive to electronics, hence the lack of "action" shots of most of the trip. Kids had a blast, we spent $100 on candy, you know how it goes. I didn't ride on much, can't because of being pregnant.
Some photos before we got really rolling:
The girls got to go on a few of their rides all.by.themselves, which was very exciting for them. Their favorite ride, though, was the Ferris Wheel...yes, really!
Jessie "driving" a little track car. She already drives the Jeep around the backyard, but this was a much bigger version of that. She'd floor it, then stop, floor it, then stop. We were in the back seat.
Jay, Josh, and Jessie on a little circular rollercoaster. We spent most of our time doing the kiddies rides, as the girls have been a bit cheated at Silverwood in the past. Most of the big ride lines were way too long for Jay - who'd just spent a very long day in the waterpark - so we did these little rides instead.
Flying in little airplanes where they could control the height. Very exciting stuff.
And looky what we did in the basement! (crummy camera phone pics)
Woohoo! Working toilet (seat to be bought today) and drywalled (mostly) spare room. Things are slowly moving along...
As far being pregnant goes, not much to report. I'm about 16.5 weeks, seeing the new doc on the 5th, and feeling pretty okay for the most part. Tired all the time, which is to be expected, but other than that, life bumps along as usual.
We switched churches a few weeks ago; without getting into details, things were out of control at our old church and we decided it was time to leave. We're going to a bigger church that has way more options for the kids (and us) and far less drama (that we can tell). Wish us luck.
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Aug. 10, 2008 My OB Is Flaking Out On Me...
...and moving to Alaska in October.
grr. arg.
So I have to go meet a NEW doctor on September 5th. We'll see how it goes from there.
Due date has been moved up to February 9th. So, with a C-section, more like February 2nd.
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Jul. 13, 2008 Mondo Pictures Entry and Update
Baby is fine; I had to get an ultrasound last week due to some spotting, which turned out to be one of those things. In other words, "We don't know what caused it, take it easy, and we see a heartbeat, and oh yeah, you're measuring nine weeks, not eight, so your chance of miscarriage goes down to 3%."
W00t! But there's more...
"Probably shouldn't be riding your dirtbikes or jetskis any more."
GAH!
Consigned to a long summer of no dirtbiking and no jetskiing, and an even longer winter of no snowboarding. I'm telling you, this child will receive full measure of guilt. *snif* Okay, enough of that.
On to the photos.
Here's a few VBS* photos, so you can see what I spent a week doing...wrangling 4-5 year old children and trying to get them to learn something at the same time. I co-taught a class of 12 boys and two girls. Yeh. It was exhausting but also a good time. Some of the kids still recognize me and run up to give me hugs at the gas station and so on. I guess I don't totally reek of evil after all.
Annette and I when it all started (note that we're still grinning):
Outdoor games:
Some of the kids in my class:
* VBS = Vacation Bible School, I wasn't joking when I said we're active in our church.
Jessie learned to ride a bike in two days. Actually she's out there riding right now. She wants to stay out way past oh-mosquito-thirty to keep riding her bike. She's very serious about this:
You'll note there's no training wheels on that bike.
Sarah prefers transportation with a heartbeat:
Jessie's favorite big hill. Whoops:
This resulted in about two seconds of crying and back on she got. Dang, she's tough. I can't wait until she can ride the 50 (*snark*).
The dogs fighting over who gets Dad's attention. Small dog either has yards of courage or no brains at all. She has no issues with attacking large dog's ankles and leaping up to bite. Puppies. And no matter what Bonnie says, I think Dad will like her. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in personality (kind of like a dumb blonde).
Food in the yard. Nom.
Early in June, my friend and I went to an Amish auction up in Rexford, Montana. Excuse me...make that "Middle Of Nowhere, Montana". Now, I live in Northern Idaho and thought myself somewhat the expert of Middle of Nowhere...and I was proved wrong. Rexford is pretty much the middle of nowhere. But it was still cool.
Some pics at the auction. We want this playhouse. Really we do. Why am I wearing a headscarf and all of the wimminfolk wearing skirts? It was an Amish auction. (Oh, and Jenny chickened out and didn't wear her scarf, curses, we'll get her next year.)
I'm saving up to buy one of these quilts next year. The one with the little squares went for $250, and that's all hand-pieced and quilted. Yup.
The kids at Lake Koocanusa afterward. Do you know how badly you can get sunburned when you *think* it's not hot enough to get a burn? Thankfully the kids were all wearing sunblock, but they still got burned. *sigh*
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Jul. 10, 2008 Update Soon...Really
Well, I'm pregnant again! First doctor appointment is on July 1st. More to come later, along with VBS photos. I am (understandably?) rather tired these days.
Pray we don't lose this one like the last one, please.
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Jun. 6, 2008 Hydrocephalic Alien Bug Eye Creature Exposed
Been too busy having fun playing with the wee critter to actually, you know, post pictures...
Preparatory to sucking out Joshua's brains while he sleeps (because that's what hydrocephalic alien bug eye creatures do):
Snoozin:
That be mah bone:
On a related homeschooling note, Josh and I are done with school. I was at lunch with my friend Annette and bemoaning the fact that I had another MONTH of work to do, and I just wanted to finish the books, and she said, "Don't."
I said, "I have to..."
She replied, "NO, YOU DON't."
I sat in stunned silence for a moment, turned to Josh (who was at a near table with his buddy Jonah) and informed him we were done with school.
Pandemonium ensued.
And that was that. We're switching curriculums this year, and if I'm to the point where I'm swatting him for crying and he's crying, we're done.
Yup. |
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