Lorihadams-- hi guys...been busy!

[dacjohns]

I love the snow pictures.

 

[modern_pioneer]

Hi Lori,

There you are!!!

Sorry your under the weather, better you than me, I just got rid of a bad cold that hung around for two weeks.

Happy B-day to Chad!!

 

[keljonma]

Wow! That is some snow fort!

I like your hair cut - looks like you're ready for summer!

Allergies - I use Similasan Allergy Eye Relief drops. I get them at the drug store. Here is the company website:
www.similasan.com

HB to your dh!

 

[lorihadams]

Thanks everyone, my hair sure feels better! I wish I got some good pics of Tyler in the snow but he wouldn't go out until we found him some gloves and the battery died on my camera....

So today I'm doing laundry and we went and got Chad some clothes for work. Old Navy was having a really good sale and we got t-shirts and collared shirts for 5 dollars. I even got myself a new shirt!

Doing laundry and hanging stuff on the line before the rain comes tomorrow. Going to make Chad some chocolate chip cookies (his favorite) for his birthday and we are going to make our own birthday cards when Maddie gets up from her nap.

 

[lorihadams]

We got my hubby good yesterday! I didn't call him all day to tell him happy birthday. I knew he would be ticked when he got home....
So when the kids got up from naptime we made a banner out of construction paper and fishing line that said Happy Birthday Daddy and hung it in the living room so he would see it when he walked in from work. Then we all made him cards from construction paper and glue and then made 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies, arranged them in a tower on a plate, and put a tealight on top. When he pulled in the driveway I lit the candle and when he walked in the door we started singing Happy Birthday to You! He almost cried...it was so sweet.

We are supposed to go to his dad's house tonight, who incidently forgot his birthday, and eat dinner. I hope all goes well, we are going to take him his christmas gifts tonight too. Yes, christmas gifts. Still hasn't come to see his grandchildren for xmas and now has forgotten Tyler's birthday and Chad's.

I offered to take chad to dinner last night but he opted to go to TSC and get 2 new tarps for the dog kennel and the chicken run since the foot of snow destroyed the other ones. We got those done last night and ended up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and leftover veggie soup for dinner.

Got outside this morning and swept the patio and front porch after getting everyone fed and watered. We have been considering getting goats and last night we were looking at our property and trying to decide where we would put them. We have 3 acres but the back half is wooded and you have to cross a drainage ditch/sometimes creek bed to get to it. We would have to put in a bridge to even effectively access that half of the property. It is all pine, cedar, oak, poplar and briars. It also narrows into a little stretch that goes back to the road behind us in between 2 houses...kind of a panhandle shape. We've never done anything with it in the 5 years we've lived here. We just can't seem to figure out what to do with it. I don't think that we could put them there unless we cleaned it up quite a bit and we would have to put some serious fencing in to make it work. Plus, I want dairy goats and he wants to raise meat goats. The debate continues!

 

[lorihadams]

Okay, so as much as I hate Walmart I am so sorry that I didn't go there yesterday. I went to Food Lion instead to get food and groceries for the week and the birthday party tomorrow....$175...ugh! I didn't buy junk either, okay one bag of chex mix, but everything else was veggies, cheese and crackers, one pack of pork chops, canned fruit, fresh fruit, salad stuff, cereal, vanilla,oatmeal, bagels, milk, peanut butter,lunch meat, a lasagna(yes I am just that lazy), pickles, pecans ($8). It is terrible how much things cost. I am making carrot cake for the kids birthday party and only 2 families have rsvped so I really have no idea how many people will be here tomorrow afternoon. My parents and grandparents are coming tonight for the whole weekend. I am making cupcakes instead of one big cake, it's easier. No forks and no arguing over who got the bigger piece or more icing, etc. Cupcakes are done but I still have to make the icing....waiting for them to cool.

I still have to clean the house but I'm waiting until Chad gets home so he can help me get it all done faster. I also had to do 2 more loads of laundry this morning but it is all done. I plan on taking everything out of the toy box and reorganizing it this evening. There are toys everywhere and Chad just doesn't get how I put everything in there and get it to fit.

Unfortunately, it is raining/snowing/sleeting right now so I guess our plans to let everyone go outside and play are down the tubes. It is also supposed to rain tomorrow I don't know where I am going to put everybody in this house...

What do you guys do for birthday parties? My kids are turning 4 and 2.

 

[modern_pioneer]

We play " Pass the parcel "

http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Pass-the-Parcel

Place a small prize in the middle of a small box, a piece of candy, cookies, small toy whatever you have on hand. Now wrap that box 3-4 times in different layers, we use old newspapers. Now place that in a bigger box, wrap that 3-4 times, keep going if you want.

Now, stereo in hand play some childrens music, have them pass it around till the music stops. Who ever has the package when the music stops, they unwrap one layer. Repeat till the last person opens the small box and they get the prize.

 

[justusnak]

We play " Pass the parcel "

http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Pass-the-Parcel

Place a small prize in the middle of a small box, a piece of candy, cookies, small toy whatever you have on hand. Now wrap that box 3-4 times in different layers, we use old newspapers. Now place that in a bigger box, wrap that 3-4 times, keep going if you want.

Now, stereo in hand play some childrens music, have them pass it around till the music stops. Who ever has the package when the music stops, they unwrap one layer. Repeat till the last person opens the small box and they get the prize.

That sounds like a fun game for kids! I bet they love it!

 

[lorihadams]

cute idea!

Sunday...

This morning we killed our EE roo, Big Boy. He was mutilating my hens. Too big for his britches. He has attacked Chad over and over, the girls all have bald backs, bald heads, and some even have bald wings. They look awful. Some of my hens are (were) so scared of him that they would run and hide under something when they saw him coming. I got up this morning after seeing that he gave another hen a baseball sized bald spot yesterday and told Chad that I had had it with him and he went outside and did the deed. I figured that while I had Granny here this weekend I would get some valuable lessons on plucking, cleaning, etc. and also on how to make chicken and dumplings! The dark meat was a little tough (think I let it boil too long) but otherwise it was good.

I have officially had a moment I will never forget today. My little girl wanted to go home with granny (2 1/2 hours away). This means that she will be gone for at least a few days (her first overnight trip from home without us). She had her little backpack on and she was out the door! Ready to head out into the world without her mama and daddy... I did good, I didn't cry, but my son did. He is not happy that she is gone! He says that he is bored without her I told Granny and Papa that if they had any trouble that I would pack up me and Tyler and come up there to help. She has a dr appt this week so I worry about her having to take Maddie with her but she'll have Papa there to help most of the time. I can't be upset cause I was the same way with Granny when I was little. I used to make my mom sooooooo mad cause I would cry to stay with her when I was little. She only lived 10 minutes away! Madelyn wants to sleep with her and wants her to rock her and play with her and Granny just eats it up! I am afraid, though, that my mom might get upset cause she isn't as enthusiastic about her as she is granny.

I have told my hubby that we need to start taping my granny telling old farm days stories. She went on and on for hours today about when they killed animals on the farm growing up and how they processed them and what everybody in the family did to help. I want to preserve all that fantastic knowledge for my children (and me!). I had to do a project like that when I was in about the 8th or 9th grade with my great grandmother and I made an audio tape of the interview. After she died everyone and their brother tried to get their hands on that tape. She was telling stories of heating rocks in the fire and wrapping them in blankets to put in the back of the wagons to keep their feet warm on cold mornings when they had to go work the fields or go somewhere....just a real treasure. I highly recommend it to people who especially have older loved ones around to get some kind of records of their stories. It is a great project for your children....there are lots of people in nursing homes that would love to tell their stories to people too. Great for a volunteer experience. I used to work in a nursing home when I graduated from college and I used to talk to people for hours about their lives and it is just remarkable what some of them have been through, I highly recommend it!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

I know how you feel!! Just wait it gets worse!


My 2 boys informed me last night that they are going to live with my mom forever!!! They see her everyday so it's not like she only visits once in awhile. They got to spend the whole weekend with her and should be home soon and they are already sulking about mean moma making them come home!

lorihadams I highly recommend it to people who especially have older loved ones around to get some kind of records of their stories. It is a great project for your children....there are lots of people in nursing homes that would love to tell their stories to people too. Great for a volunteer experience. I used to work in a nursing home when I graduated from college and I used to talk to people for hours about their lives and it is just remarkable what some of them have been through, I highly recommend it!

That is a great idea!!!