Did You Ever Watch the Brady Bunch?

Remember the episode when Jan borrows earings from her mother without asking? She sets them on the bathroom counter, walks away, and when she returns the earrings are gone. Remember how in the end, each person in the family somehow was involved in finding them?

Well, that's how I felt today. Except there were no earrings and I wasn't missing anything. Jimmy was...

I came home from a meeting last night to hear the story about how the kids were dumping dirt on each other. They were subjected to showers and all the dirty clothes, shoes included, were put into the washer. Jim mentioned this to me and said I might want to get it into the dryer before I went to bed. Well, I forgot...

Earlier today, Emma had some wet clothes, so I sent her into the laundry room to change and get the dirty clothes into the hamper. Meanwhile, I started cleaning up from lunch. Afterward, I sat down on the couch, and began to wonder where Emma was. Next thing I know, Emma comes out of the laundry room, all clean with dry clothes. I asked her if she put her clothes in the hamper. "No, I put them in the dryer" she says. Well, I knew the clothes in the dryer were clean and dry, and not wanting her soiled clothes in the dryer, I quick hopped up and went to check the dryer. I discovered that Emma had cycled the wash loads...

She put the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer and put her dirty clothes into the washer. WOW, I thought! She's really getting to be a helper! But, that's when I rechecked the dryer and noticed a pile of laundry soap inside the dryer (the new 3 month old dryer)!

Apparently, she wasn't satisfied putting laundry soap into the cubby drawer for the washer, she needed to put some into the dryer for good measure. Not knowing if this would kill my dryer, I used the shopVac to suck up as much of the powdered soap as I could. I figured the rest would collect in the lint screen where I could vacuum that out periodically during the cycle.

I did clean the lint screen after about ten minutes, and planned to check it again in about 10. Well, the next time I came into the laundry room, the dryer door was open, and the cycle was incomplete. Knowing I hadn't opened it myself, I decided to examine the dryer to see why it would kick itself off like that.

That's when I saw it.

The WAD OF GUM...

At first it looked like silly putty, but this was pink. That's when I remembered that dad just bought some new gum for the kids...Double Bubble...Remember that gum? Thinking that the single piece of slightly warmed gum may not be the only unacceptable item in the dryer, I slowly pulled the clothes and shoes out of the dryer, one by one. Slowly...

I got to the end of the items, and thinking it strange that I didn't find anything else, I examined the lint screen again, then the drum. There it was...the second piece of gum had melted and was gummed up in a few spots around the interior of the dryer!

SO! I can just hear Jimmy saying, "Where's my gum? I put it in my shorts pocket!" then, Dad says, "Well, I put your shorts into the washer!" (everyone races to the washer) Not there...then, Emma says, "Well, I put the wash into the dryer!" (everyone races to the dryer) That's when we discover what happens to gum when it is in the dryer for 15 minutes! The first one comes out clean...then the second one comes out damaged!

Just like the Brady Bunch! The first earring came out of the dryer looking nice. The second came out crumpled!

hmmm...maybe Goof-Off will clean up this mess...

Three, Two, One Blast off!

This was really fun. Jim decided to set off a rocket. I had to quick get the kids dressed so they could all watch, and grab my camera too! It happened so fast, but the really funny thing was, we COULDN'T see WHERE the darned thing went! We walked around looking for the rocket, and now I'm convinced it must have landed on someone else's property. If we do find it, we could set it off again. Otherwise, Jim will have to head back to Walmart for another one to build!

After the rocket blast off, I spotted a bunny rabbit running around. The kids decided to chase it--I think they all got a good look at it! That's pretty fun.

Yesterday, I spotted a quail egg just laying out in the open by the road. We have a quail 'couple' that I see regularly, but darned if they can't figure out a safe place for their eggs! I was tempted to take the egg and keep it warm somewhere, but decided to leave it there. This morning it was gone. I can't imagine the anguish little birds feel when they lose eggs like that. I mean, they can't pick up their eggs and put them in a safer place. 'Gee, maybe laying my egg out in the open isn't a good idea'... There are plenty of sage bushes that they could use! Maybe I need to get some nesting boxes out there!

Grandpa has been doing some landscaping of his yard, and things are looking pretty neat! Helps to have a tractor to move those rocks! Here, he's got some rock stairs laid down. Also, this is the hummingbird that got stuck in the garage. He didn't seem well, and alas, died the next morning. Such a beautiful creature!

Last night, I took Jimmy to get enrolled for Kindergarten. He was excited to visit the school and see the gym. Come fall, both Jimmy and Bowen will be going to school all day, every day. WOW! I'm going to get some things done for a change! How exciting is that?!?!

I'm trying to get some older pix of the kids onto digital format. So, I may periodically post pictures of them when they were babies. They grow too darned fast!

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

We had a great visit from Grandma over the past few days. We tried to do a little site seeing while she was here. We took her up to Grand Coulee Dam and walked through the visitors center.

(In this picture, Bowen is showing everyone the two caterpillars he found outside...well, what I didn't know was that he brought them with us to Grand Coulee Dam~stowed away in a plastic lunch sack...and they somehow escaped! Not to be found again...there are probably caterpillar guts on the floor of my car somewhere!)

On the way up hwy 17, we stopped at Sun Lakes/Dry Falls State Park, which looks like a really nice place to camp/swim/boat as well as have a picnic with the kids! I had never noticed the park before, so it was quite a pleasant surprise! The weather held out for the kids to play a bit, then we got a few sprinkles after that.

We also took Grandma and the kids to see dad at work. We were able to take a sneek peak at Wanapum Dam, but we didn't go all the way in, as it would have been a long walk for the little ones. It was fun watching the kids try to keep large hard-hats on their heads.

After we got back to town, the kids played a bit at the McPlayPlace...Grandma witnessed Andrew's ability to scarf down a whole ice cream sundae! He's a pro, I tell ya! The kids were sad to see Grandma leave. Emma has been asking me today, "When's Grandma coming back?"

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day weekend!

Stick to the good stuff!

When I first decided to start this blog, I decided I'd only put in positive stuff. I really don't want this to be an outlet for any parenting frustrations I might have, unless I can do it with humor. If we can't laugh at the crazy stuff that happens (Jimmy flooding the bathroom, Emma stealing money from my purse on a daily basis, Bowen crashing his bike into Jimmy on purpose~that kind of thing), then what is the point of all this child-rearing business? Who'd want to do it if there wasn't any good stuff to talk about??!

So! Here is some good stuff! Bowen was excited about the letter he got from his grandpa, and he's needing my help to write another letter. (He was thrilled the other day because he was the one to check the mail on the day his letter arrived!) There was a short period following that I had to remind Bowen that not all letters come with money inside! Fortunately, he got over it, and was eager to write another letter! (It is still in progress Grandpa!) This morning, Andrew woke me up at 6am sharp...came into my room...'Mommy...where your glasses? Get up Mommy!'...How can I fault him! He's such a cutie-pie, whether I get any sleep or not! After that, I sat on the couch, chugging my caffiene, I mean coffee, when Jimmy emerged, thumb stuck in his mouth and dragging his blanket behind him (I swear he looks like Linus from the Peanuts Gang sometimes!). He flashes me his blue eyes and dimpled smile (not removing the thumb, mind you), and he curls up to snuggle in my lap. I mean, WHY would I want to sleep, when I could have Jimmy curl up in my lap? Later, Emma comes out of her room, thumb stuck in her mouth and dragging her blanket behind her. She plops onto the couch (she's always last getting up--I swear it's a girl thing. If it were up to me, I'd sleep until lunch time. Who needs breakfast anyway???!!! Anyway, Emma has started having some bad hair days. Her hair points every which way but down! And, it doesn't help that she attempted her own 'hair style' the other day. (I'm still cringing about that!--I begged her not to ever cut her own hair anymore, and I'm trying to remember that her hair will grow back!) As I was saying, she's the last to get up, so there's no chance for her to snuggle on my lap. But, alas, her cute endeavors happen in the afternoon, apparently. She caught a chicken today (forced some hugs onto it), and darned if she didn't have that chicken eating out of her hands, literally! Enjoy that picture...rest assured, if this grosses you out, Emma was fully bathed afterward. Oh, and remember, she's refusing to use the toilet too, so actually, I feel sorry for the chicken!!! Cluck, Cluck, Save Me! Save Me!

Okay, it's the middle of the night now and not a creature is stirring. Off to bed I go! Enjoy!

Spring is Here!

Here's a picture of the four kids back in March. Also, Bowen's spring school picture turned out very nice. That's a miracle, since he was throwing up the day after it was taken!


Some of the things that I've planted around the property, while small, are showing signs of survival! There are several lilac plants, forsythia, and flowering dogwood (which may or may not be alive!). There are a few baby fir trees, a few baby pine trees, a mountain ash and two different birch trees that are about 6 feet tall. I've planted about 4 different raspberries, though only one is showing signs of growth. I planted a seedless blackberry, which I hope will grow. There is also one blueberry root that I planted, but don' t know yet if it'll grow. We've scattered
lots of wild flower seeds around, as well as some giant sunflower seeds that the kids planted. I don't see much signs of growth from the seeds out there...it may be too dry to germinate. It's hard to keep all the areas wet all the time. At least I've found some long hoses to reach the yard with, and the outdoor frost-free water line outside has a great deal of pressure.





Here's a picture of Jim with Bowen & Jimmy on the snowmobile. We did this over at my cousins' house, and I think that was before Christmas. Shoot, I can't remember anymore!

We have had some feathered visitors here. So far, we have lots of white-crowned sparrows. We have a few house finches. There are at least 3 goldfinch who come to the feeder each day. I've also seen some chickadees, crows (duh), and caught a few glimpses of the meadowlark. The meadowlark have a powerful and pretty call, so I hear them daily, but don't often get to see them. The birds can hide well among the sagebrush.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We're finally back online and very happy to say that our connection is speedy fast (as Junie B. Jones would say)! We've been in our house for 2 months now. During that time, aside from getting most things unpacked, we also had a pole building garage built. At this point, Jim is working on figuring out how to get power out there. He's not happy with the situation, as he's trying to dig down to locate the conduit that was placed in the ground prior to the hole being filled in. (Don't mention the issue to him...might tick him off!)

Our baby chicks aren't so little anymore. They sure love me, though. They think I have food, so they come a-runnin'! It's funny. Here's a picture of me and Emma on a snowmobile. I don't remember if I ever posted pictures of that day.

Andrew is teething....that's why he's chewing on 2 pacifiers. It was funny so I had to get a shot of it! Emma is delighted at putting several hair things...that is, when it is HER idea...!

Let's see...what else has happened since we've moved in? Bowen started school here, and he's becoming an expert on the numbers and types of buses that the Ephrata School District uses. His favorite web site is http://www.schoolbusland.com/ if you'd ever like to check out the various buses pictured there. He's bonded well with his two bus drivers, and they think it's fun that he likes buses. They had a remote control bus at their office and decided to give it to me for the kids. How nice of them!

It didn't take long for Andrew to learn to climb the ladder and slide down the slide. He was so excited!

More recently, we were all visited by the 'stomach bug' and though us grown-ups didn't get it (thank god), three of the kids got it. Andrew was the worst off, and after 2 1/2 days of V & D (he couldn't keep anything in his tummy), I ended up taking him to the clinic then the ER for IV fluids. Now I know what dehydration looks like! The doctor did run a blood test to see just how dehydrated he was, and he said he was 'pretty dry', so they gave him a second Bag of fluid. The best part of it was that they gave him some anti-nausea meds in his IV, and he's been able to drink and eat more and more ever since. He's perking up quickly. I had to laugh at the hospital though. Andrew was pretty mouthy...saying things like, "Get OFF ME!" and "I WANT MY DRINK" I told the nurses that Andrew was going to be their biggest biligerant patient for the evening.

Emma has probably had the most difficult time adjusting to the move. Potty training has gone in reverse. I won't buy anymore pull-ups, and she hardly ever 'goes' to the bathroom. Some days she gives me some hope, but really it's got to be her decision to do it. At three and a half, she's really becoming a challenge! On the other hand, she seems to have one foot in baby-land and the other in grown-up land. She likes purses, fancy shoes, and even tried to give herself a haircut! (Don't ask!) This week, she's shown much interest in writing her letters. She can write MOM and is working on Emma. She also decided to plant some flowers, so she pulled off most of the blooms from the African Daisy, and stuck the stubs into little pots with some dirt. It was cute at first, but since Jimmy had sort of 'claimed' the daisy pot, he was pretty ticked at her.

Jimmy is enjoying his final few months of no-school. He's been quite interested in helping to plant some plants. He's not super outgoing, but I think that'll change when he meets kids at school. I have also caught Jimmy talking to Andrew and getting Andrew to play with him. Jimmy's a pretty social kid. He's keen on motorcycles, and really wants to get a bike that looks like a motorcycle. I told him maybe for his birthday...

I need to do another post later. I need to hit the hay!