Sunday, November 29, 2009
A day at the zoo
In October I picked a weekend to take the boys to the zoo. I LOVE zoos and neither LB or Chubzie had ever been to one. Of course, Billings zoo has a reputation for being kind of small and dingy, but I thought it would be a fun day out. As the Saturday of my choice drew near I started to get really nervous about taking both boys the 3 hours to Billings. What if they screamed the whole way? What if I had a complete meltdown from being overwhelmed? I was really freaking myself out!
I shouldn't have worried, the boys did great. The day was perfect- warm and sunny, and with stroller and latte in hand, we got a map and made the rounds. The Billings zoo is greatly underrated! They had pretty areas for gardens and although most of the animals aren't really that exotic, they did have a tiger and a pair of gorgeous red pandas. The most perfect thing was that right about the time Little Buckaroo got tired of walking around we ran out of exhibits. I have to say the otters were my favorite. They were having a ball, sliding down their grassy slope and wrestling each other until they saw us through the glass. They scampered over and checked us out. It was so cute seeing LB and the otters "connecting". What a great day. It was really worth all the planning and by the end of it I felt so relaxed. Delightful.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Ugh...what a day
Woke up to snow. again. All my magazines are about that lovely fall feeling, my favorite feeling in the world, which has been covered in snow.
Got a call that a dear friend I have been praying and praying for had to go to the hospital.
Kids were stuck inside today and drove me absolutely nuts. I have wanted a fence around the backyard since Little Buckaroo became mobile and we still don't have one. So if he goes outside, so do Chubzie and I. Usually I have to drag LB inside screaming because he loves it out there and I always have something that needs doing inside.
LB got up from a nap and couldn't make it to the potty- giant puddle on the carpet right in front of my bedroom door. I keep forgetting about it and stepping in the wet spot and getting a nasty little surprise over and over.
Learned another horrible little piece of news last night that I am too embarrassed to post and yet kept me up all night worrying. No I'm not pregnant, ha ha.
The Lord revealed to me how I have been treating Him like a "Santa God." Telling Him everything I want and then feeling like He doesn't love me unless He does something about it.
That's pretty much it.
The highest point of my day was talking to my brother and sister on the phone. There's just something about family that can lift you out of the darkest moments.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Getting back to reality. Whatever that is....
I've realized that Baby#2 is even more strong willed than Baby #1! That isn't supposed to happen, is it? I was thinking, oh, Little Buckaroo is so strong willed- That must mean Chubzie will be more easy going. NO. It simply meant I didn't know what a strong will was! Chubzie is even MORE strong willed than LB! My mother and sisters are laughing behind their hands right now, but won't the rest of you please have pity for this poor momma's soul???
Here's an exhausted baby who has decided he is not going to give up on his bottle:
I also made time for some fun sewing. The boys were both sleeping in cribs when my sister happened to see this adorable 50's style metal bed in the yard of an abandoned cabin. I spray painted the bed bright red and that gave me the inspiration for a vintage cowboy theme, with cream, pale blue, and bright red being the color palette. When all was said and done, I had a little coverlet and window valance. My sister had brought a fantastic metal lamp in the shape of a boot, so that helped to tie everything together. Before and after:
I'm thinking I want to paint something on the wall over LB's bed in the same pale blue. Maybe a cowboy on a horse or some calves or something.
I also made a cool trendyish leather belt that sits low on the hips over long t-shirts or whatever. I am still painstakingly beading a western belt for myself, but who knows when that will ever be done!
Chubzie is crawling all over the place and pulling himself up on things- really fun to watch! He and Little Buckaroo get along great for the most part. I think his crying irritates LB but what's a brother to do? They take baths together and LB loves to splash with him in tub. Just yesterday LB came up to me all smiles.
"I share Mama!" he shouted.
"Good boy! Who did you share with?"
" With chubzie!" he screamed, jumping up and down.
" Oh what a good bro-" suddenly I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. " Ahhh, LB. what....what exactly did you share with chubzie?"
"Dog food!" he started clapping his hands.
I looked over and there was a small mountain of dog food on Chubzie's tray. He had two fistfulls of kibble and was happily chirping to himself while trying to cram both in his mouth.
How can something be adorable and horrifying at the same time?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Rolling with the famola...
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Out of the box
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Where have I been?
Some of Ron's family came to visit- definite high! They are a relaxing, easy going bunch that are so fun to be around- it doesn't really matter what we do, I have a good time. Actually, one of the highlights from the trip was simply sitting around in the back yard, eating the best salsa to cross my lips in a long, long time, and chatting. Simple, but sometimes it's the simple stuff that stays with you the best.
A friend of ours put on a ranch rodeo on the Day of the American Cowboy (July 18th, people). 4 teams consisting of 5 people, and each team has to have a member of the opposite sex on it. They compete in team penning, team doctoring, bronc riding, branding, and wild cow milking, which you see here. We had some good friends make up adn team and walk away with the buckle when it was all said and done. It was a fun afternoon, followed by a community Barbque and dance. Can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday!
Friday, May 29, 2009
It's that time of year again...
The wrestlers stretch the calf out so it can be branded and rendered nutless.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Before and afters at the hacienda
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
In like a lamb......
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
"Hi, Norma? Yes,this is Faith and I'd like to bring Caleb in tommorow at about 2:00. He will have just woken up from his nap but still managed to sprinkle laundry detergent all over my freshly mopped, still damp floor. Then, while I am laboriously cleaning up those little white grains from hell, he will be in the bathroom dipping his hands into the toilet and sucking the water off his fingers. He will then get a spank, but before he has stopped crying he will dump an entire glass of water onto the middle of my bed. At this point I will start sobbing uncontrollably and you will find me in a soggy, blubbering mess on your front door. Caleb will not have pants on, and he will probably have banana in his hair. Just a heads up. Thanks!"
Ron had a great time at the conference, and I am glad he went. Sort of.
The floor turned out gorgeous- for some reason when I thought of maple I was thinking of a nice, honey colored wood, but our floors turned out the color I normally associate with pine. (And our pine floor looks like what I thought hickory would be. As you can tell, I'm super familiar with all the hard woods and their various tints and tones.) Picture IKEA and you've got it. We textured the walls and are painting them a nondescript brown. I was going for 'sand', but apparently that is asking way too much of the color department in Wal Mart. So it is more.....um....'hot chocolate'?
I've decided to go with Matthew's awesome suggestion of keeping the same color trim in the entry way, ahem, excuse me, LIBRARY. It is a nice french vanilla color and will look good with the hot chocolate color. I liked bright white trim for a long time too, but I think it is too harsh as well. I always thought it looked clean, but there is definitly a jar on the old eyes. I like this matchup more. Our deadline to be done is Thursday since I am having my book group over to the house and we need those couches. I am lamenting the loss of IKEA in this state.
Dear IKEA,
I love you, I really do, it's just the distance that is getting to me. Only seeing you twice in my lifetime is making it hard to get to any kind of intimate level with you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and economy, but I can't keep going on like this. You are going to have to make a move or I might have to move on. Wal Mart is knocking on my door so persistantly and it is getting hard to say no. Help me IKEA. Don't let it all end like this.
Love, Faith
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Our awesome flooring friend is coming tommorow to work on our living room floor.
Our living room was carpeted in this nasty, marbled, pee stained brown rug. Whenever I vacuumed in there, it just pulled up more dust from the pad below. It was also starting to get loose. Basically, totally gross. When Ron and our friend pulled up a corner, guess what they found? Beautiful maple hard wood flooring dating back to the days when this house was a school. They pulled up the rug and pad and guess what else we found? About 5 gallons of dirt, also probably dating back to the time when this house was a school.
So our awesome friend is going to sand and varnish the floor and give us an incredible new look to build our living room on. I'm thinking a light warm tan color would set off the pumpkin in the library and the sage in the kitchen. What to do for the trim, though? Do you have any ideas? Please post them- I need help!
So while this is all going on, my little fam and I are limited in house space. Thankfully the weather has been somewhat warm so we can go for walks. Yesterday we all walked to the library and Caleb managed to find a puddle knee deep to wade in. That boy loves mud and water!
I can't get enough of these :
Veggie Bagel Sandwiches
Mix up a carton of cream cheese with one diced green onion. Spread a nice layer on each side of an onion or "everything" flavored bagel. On one side, layer thinly sliced cucumbers, two slices of presliced Muenster cheese, and a thinly sliced tomato. On the other side, layer sliced avocado and a handful of the bean sprouts. Slap your sandwich quickly together and pretend you are eating a healthy lunch. If you layer the sandwich like this, it stays together because the really slippery stuff isn't touching. Wow, are these good! Even Ron, the if-it-doesn't-have-meat-it's-not-a-meal eater likes them.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Heading for Margaritaville.......
"Caleb, don't hit the dogs with your bat or I will take it away from you."
"Caleb, the phone is off limits."
"Don't touch my...... (sound of full cup of cranberry juice falling off the counter onto the floor)
"Caleb, don't try to tackle the dogs."
And the soundtrack to this homely little drama is the sound of Noah crying, the phone ringing, people going in and out of the door without taking off their shoes, and the CD player being turned off and on by little toddler fingers.
In my mind it all goes misty as I:
Drive my spotlessly clean beloved Pilot down leafy Washington street to Panera breads. I eat a fantastic sandwich and tasty soup while surfing the net on all my favorite homemaking mama sites. My Ipod is on; the earthy strains of bluegrass muffle any restaurant noise. After a creamy vanilla latte, I stroll over to the Barnes and Nobles. I peruse all my favorite sections, and have time to leaf through the magazines. I watch the Westminster Kennel Club dog show from the cosy invirons of one of there overstuffed loveseats, noticeably free of any pen scribbles or food crumbs. I fall asleep, but wake refreshed and feeling good, my makeup perfect, long hair curly and lush, and not a hint of drool or bad breath anywhere. I drive to the mall and buy a new wardrobe complete with the latest and cutest in handbags, jewelry, and shoes shoes shoes! I have a rewarding, relaxing ride on my mare, Kitty, and we load up and head to the rodeo where we win in barrel racing. Flying high on my sucess, I have a smashing dinner including grilled salmon steak, salad with baby greens and spicy poppyseed dressing, a glass of dry white wine, and finish with a crisp, smooth creme brulee. I go home to sit in front of the fire with a pot of steaming constant comment tea and a brand new, posthumously written set of stories by James Herriot, my dogs at my feet and complete silence except for the crackling of the fire.
Not once in the entire day do I ask someone if they have poopoo in their diaper or feed anything human or canine.
What would you do with your day if you had the choice?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
It's been a long dry spell of blogging, but I'm back!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Noah ? Kingston
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Eagle has Landed!
After months and months and months, I am holding in my arms the sweetest little boy! Noah James Kingston was born January 14th at 10:30 in the morning. He is 8 lbs 11 oz and is 20 inches long. He does look a little like Caleb, but without the cone head adn linebacker nose that Caleb had when he came out.
The labor was murderous, but the intrathecal kicked in right before I had to push so that part was a dream. I love the hospital I was at, but would have liked a nurse with a little more experience. I can't even describe how wonderful it is not to be pregnant any more!
I am basking in my awesome friends' thoughtful care and loving this new little person. Caleb LOVES the baby and is amazingly gentle with/around him.
Pictures coming.....
Saturday, January 10, 2009
This is getting sick....
STILL GIGANTO STOMACH!!!!!
Even my body thinks it's going to be pregnant forever!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Baby
We found out for sure it's a boy and we're tossing around the names Nathan and Jonathon. I prefer Nathan or Nate. Finding out the sex of the baby 8 months and 3 weeks into the pregnancy doesn't sound like commen sense but I just got to the point where I wanted to know. I didn't feel bonded to or excited about this new one and I though knowing the sex would help. And you know what? It really did! I am set in my heart and looking forward to this baby like I didn't before. I could lay out his little sleepers and imagine his sweet little body in them. I could plan in my head and heart for another wild, unpredictable, full of fun and sweetness, destroy and conquer, if it runs lets break it little man in the house.
Although I still mourn over the loss of pink in our house. We'll have a moment of silence to acknowledge it's passing.
Thank you.