Any Good Reads?

Have you read any good books lately? If so, feel free to comment with the title and author. I love to read but I never know what to read that would be worth my time. Any suggestions?

And another one...

The Instacare visit of the day goes to Kate! I took her to the Instacare this morning because she still has a fever, etc. and she has ear infections in both ears. I should have taken her in yesterday with Jack. Oh well. She seemed to be doing better yesterday. Maybe someday I'll be better at diagnosing my kid's symptoms. I never know exactly what I should do when the kids get sick. If I take them in to the doctor am I just really paranoid? Or if I don't take them in then maybe they'll get really sick. Hmm... It is nice to know that there is a reason for Kate feeling sick. She is super excited that her medicine is pink! Who knew that medicine could be so exciting?

A Reason For It All

Today I found out the reason for all of Jack's crying, not-sleeping, wanting to be held all the time, fevers, cough, shaking, etc., etc., etc. He had a fever of over 103 this afternoon so I took him to the Instacare (thanks to Dr. Peter for his advice -- it's nice having a doctor in the family :) ) and Jack has a nice ear infection in one of his ears. I think he was more mad at the doctor because she took him away from watching Cars in the waiting room than because she was checking him out. So, hopefully all the fevers, coughs, runny noses, etc. will pass soon from both Kate and Jack. I sure hope spring comes soon. It was so nice outside to day (in the 30's!).

Finally...

My new contacts finally came in the mail today. Hooray! I put them in and they fit great and I can see perfectly. So nice! I've been wearing my old glasses all day long for almost a month now and I'm ready to wear contacts again!

Sick Kids and Dishes

This week has been full of mainly two things, sick kids (and me and Dave too) and lots of dirty dishes. We don't have a dishwasher and I usually don't mind it, but this week I've been missing it. Since we've been sick all week it seems like the dishes have been piling up and staying there for a while. Last night I finally got the dishes done at 11:45. Hooray! It took me all night to get them done since the kids would go to sleep for about four minutes and then wake up again. Anyway...Hopefully spring will come soon and the winter colds will be gone for good! (And may our next house have a dishwasher!)

The Ultimate Career

Last night we had a great Enrichment meeting. Daryl Hoole gave us 15 "Little Things That Make a Big Difference" tips. Sis. Hoole is an amazing woman and a wonderful homemaker. She has written several books and has spoken at Education week and lots of other places.

I've been a little frustrated with trying to keep my house organized and clean and still have time to play with the kids and do everything else that I need and want to do. Sis. Hoole's tips are just what I needed.

Here are a few of the tips that really helped me:
**No meals on wheels. (Only eat at the table. Then the mess is contained and you don't have food crumbs all over the whole house.)
**Make the moment count: Clean as you go, wipe as you work, pick up as you pass, put it away rather than put it down, look back as you leave.
** Clutter attracts clutter -- messes multiply.
**Assign a "home" to everything.
**Do today's work today. Mom is the home's cornerstone -- it's important that she take time for herself (exercise, shower, hair, makeup) before taking care of the home's foundation. Foundation -- making beds, picking up, wiping off, etc.
**Skim before you scour.
**Toys are not part of the clutter. I'm responsible for keeping the rest of the house clean and organized, but having toys on the floor doesn't make me a bad homemaker.

If you go to Daryl's website theartofhomemaking.com she has some great articles and other tips.

Valentine's Background

I don't really love hearts all that much, but I thought I'd make a Valentine's background. I probably won't keep it all that long, but it's a change. Enjoy!

Snow Fun at Grandma's

We spent the past weekend at my parent's house. The kids loved playing in the snow! For Christmas my Dad bought this great horse swing. It is so clever! It's a tire made into the shape of a horse. The kids loved it! Jack wouldn't look at me because he was trying to make a horse sound.

Kate wanted to walk in the "sparkalies" (the snow in the front yard).

Kate pulled Jack quite a way down the road by herself. She tried pulling Dave and Jack, but it was a little harder.

Kate loved sledding lying down.

Once there was a snowman...

The kids and I went outside this afternoon and played in the snow. Kate has been dying to build a snowman for a while. I'm not the greatest snowman builder. I guess I need more practice.
Jack fell into the mitten/hat container and couldn't get out. He can't bend with his coat and snowpants on. It's a little tight around the middle. Kate insisted on wearing two hats outside.

Kate's snow angel. Jack tried to make one too, but he couldn't move his arms or legs or get back up.

Kate with her snowmen. "Snow Jack" is on the left and "Snow Kate" is on the right.

Tag, I'm It

Maggie tagged me the other day, so this one is for you Mags! Here goes:

1. What is your favorite word? okay (especially when Kate or Jack says it)
2. What is your least favorite word? mine (I don't know how many times I've heard that word today. It's driving me crazy.)
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? hmm, good question. Maybe music.
4. What turns you off? complaining
5. What is your favorite curse word? oh my land (It's kind of annoying, so maybe I'll stop saying it. I hadn't noticed until Kate said it herself the other day.)
6. What sound or noise do you love? laughter
7. What sound or noise do you hate? someone waking up and crying right after I get to sleep at night.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? chef or have my own bakery
9. What profession would you not like to do? Anything involving tiolets! (I'm with Maggie on this one. My favorite job was when I went to work and someone else cleaned the bathrooms and emptied the garbage.)
10. Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Congratulations, you finally learned how to be patient!

I tag JoDee, Lissa, Meagan, and Melinda.

Deceptively Delicious

I went over to a friend's house today so our kids could play. While we were there she made some peanut butter banana muffins with a little secret ingredient inside. Any guesses? It was pureed cauliflower. Sounds a little crazy, but they were actually pretty good. The kids gobbled them up. she just bought this cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife). She was going to copy a couple of recipes for me, so I was making a list and it was pretty long, so I think I'm going to buy it. In each recipe is some kind of pureed fruit or vegetable and most of the recipes sounded really good. I thought it sounded like a great way for my kids to get more fruits and veggies.

Why am I so blind?

In my last post, I forgot to mention the most annoying thing that happened on our trip. I was getting my contact ready to put in my eye on New Year's Eve morning and my contact broke in half and then in two more pieces. I've worn gas permeable contacts since 7th grade and I've never had that happen before. I have really bad feelings towards the eye doctor office that I went to in New Mexico last year. Anyway...since my contact was broken I had to wear my really old glasses that have been broken for a few years. Kate broke the earpiece off a few years ago and I've worn them like that since then. Dave took pity on my glasses and put on one of his old earpieces (for some reason I took his old glasses with us). They are a little lopsided and don't fit my face, but at least I can see. I go to the eye doctor on Friday and hopefully I'll get some new contacts and glasses soon. I sure wish I didn't need to wear them, but I'm pretty blind.

**My glasses aren't quite as bad looking as the ones in the picture above, but they are a little dated, worn, and broken.

Trip to Vancouver, WA

After Christmas we drove to Dave's grandparents house in Vancouver, WA. Annelisa and her girls came and stayed with us for most of the week. The girls had lots of fun dressing up and playing with dolls and princesses. Actually, Jack had fun dressing up and playing princesses with the girls too. It rained almost everyday that we were there. It was nice to see green grass though.
Great-grandma with Jack. He would stay on her lap for about five seconds and then run away, but it made her happy.

The kids at the Portland Zoo. We went there on New Year's Day (the only day that it didn't rain), but it was really cold and windy. Too bad I left the kids mittens and hats at home. I didn't think we'd need them.

We made popcorn before the kids watched a movie. Jack and Katelyn ate almost half of it. They helped themselves.

Jack discovered the movie, "Cars" on the drive to WA. That's all he wanted to watch the whole trip.

We went bowling one afternoon. The kids had lots of fun. Haley was great at it!

We also took the kids to see the movie, Enchanted. However, Dave, Kate and I didn't get to see the end of it since Kate got sick (I think she got a little "motion sickness" from the big screen.

Vaughn and Marianne came with us, so today we're going through a little withdrawal from Dad and Grandma and Grandpa. The kids are stuck at home with boring Mom. Jack learned how to say Grandpa during the trip (meaning both Grandma and Grandpa). He also can say cookie pretty well now (since great Grandma offered them to us all the time).

Christmas Morning

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids on Christmas morning. We didn't take very many pictures because Jack got sick halfway through opening the presents. Santa brought Jack a bike and a Geotrax train. He brought Kate a princess bike and an Ariel. We were planning on going to my parent's house later Christmas day, but we ended up staying home since Jack was sick. It was a nice, semi-relaxing day.