No More BuBs

These were taken a few weeks ago, but my camera had been holding them hostage.  I try to be pretty good at downloading them and at least getting them uploaded to shutterfly on a regular basis. There's nothing more annoying than hundreds of pictures being stored in your camera for NO one to see. My next purchase is going to be an external hard drive for all my photos. I'm going to get one capable of being shared by more than one computer, so I can edit my pictures from either computer and access them easier between computers. Exciting. Brace yourself.

Anyway, my main reason for this post, was not to bore you with hard drive updates, but to tell you that Miss Paisley, Paisley Pie, Stinker Face, P-Dub is now a BOTTLE FREE, formula free, milk drinkin' big girl! Hooray for Paisley!

I had a goal of getting her off the bottle  by the time she went to her new babysitter (August 2nd) and we DID IT! Super Nanny Taylor helped out in a big way, getting her weaned during the day time. What a relief! Those dang bottles really tie a person down!

She isn't quite walking yet, but she tried to stand up on her own this morning. Someone must have told her she's about to turn one, so she better get crackin'.

I removed 5 garbage bags of baby clothes and a car load of miscellaneous baby items from my house this weekend. Removing clutter is so liberating. It makes me whole. It makes me happy. I'm not a storage unit. I'm just happy I found someone who actually needed my things and will put them to good use. Enjoy Nicole!

Weekly Menu

How could it possibly be time for another menu. I really have to be in the mood to do this, or our weekly outlook isn't so great.

I'm not in the mood

I'll do my best.

I think Jed will be haying most evenings this week, leaving just the girls and I. Paisley has begun eating whatever we eat so I have to include Paisley friendly foods now too.

Spaghetti   I know its a frequent item on my menu. But it's easy, it's cheap and Jayda LOVES it. It's the one meal I can
                    cook and I know I won't have to coerce her to eat it. It makes Mondays slightly better in other words.

Turkey, baked potato (have yet to get this done for TWO weeks!)

Homemade Pizza, bread sticks

BLT's, corn on the cob, mixed fruit

Chicken strips, fried potatoes, watermelon

Ice hoarder

I played a funny on Jed, except I was the only one who thought it was funny. . . .which is all that matters.

I knew we were going to the lake on Sunday, so on Saturday I started taking the ice from the ice bin and dumping it in a plastic sack. Why you might ask? Because the store near the lake is closed, and there's no where to buy ice. That's why.

So I was being super proactive and frugal, by hoarding ice for two days so we'd have enough to fill the cooler and keep our drinks chilled. Being I'm the only one in this house who thinks further out than 20 seconds at a time, I'm also the only one that knew I was doing this.

Meanwhile, Jed came inside and wanted to make iced tea. He stood at the ice maker and waited and waited and waited...."hmmm, not much ice" he says. "Oh, bummer," I say. And exit the room.

A few hours later he tries to fill his glass with ice. "Still not much ice, wonder if the ice maker is broken?"

I'm pretty good at acknowledging that he is talking, without really responding. . .

So the next day he left and I filled our cooler with the lovely ice I'd hoarded for two days, and my beverages were perfectly chilled. Success! That evening after he failed to show up at the lake, which by the way, he blew off to go rope. Rope, rather than spend an afternoon with his ENTIRE family, not to mention his WIFE and CHILDREN. No, I'm not bitter. Anyway, that evening when I got home and we were getting ready for bed, I said, "by the way, the ice maker is working fine."
Jed: What?
Me: I've been hoarding ice
Jed: What?
Me: Ya know yesterday when you tried to make tea and there was no ice, then later you wanted ice for your water and there still was no ice. Yeah...I'd been dumping it all in a sack to put in the cooler.
Jed: You asshole.
Me: At least I'm still smarter than you
Jed: I'm so sure....you didn't even say anything when I was trying to make tea
Me: I know, cuz you would have stolen my loot.
Jed: You asshole.
Me: Bahhahahahahahaha

All your heart

My uncle happened to email this scripture to me today. It's funny how some things just hit you at the right moment.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

I needed that today. . . and probably will tomorrow too.

That "leap" I hinted to a few months ago didn't really pan out. I leaped, but perhaps I should have been outside when doing so. At least I landed on my feet. No loss.

Weekly Menu

In no particular order. Because sometimes, order ruins all the fun in life. And because I have a hard time sticking to strict orders. I'm a middle child.

Thank goodness Taylor came along so I could use that excuse.

Spaghetti and garlic toast

BBQ chicken and salad

Turkey and mashed potatoes (because we didn't end up having it last week)

Grilled Chicken Salad

Friday we will be in Belle Fourche for a wedding rehearsal! Yay.

I also have to note, that sometimes my menus work, sometimes they don't. I don't think the whole point is to limit yourself to only eating a certain meal on a certain date. Sometimes I switch the days around for what mood the family is in, or how many will be sitting at my table.

So far, I've found great savings by shopping weekly, and smarter shopping as well. I buy what I know I'll need, rather than what I think I'll need. It also relieves most of the stress that comes along with trying to prepare a meal with two kids barking at your heals. Sorry Paisley, you're still a doll. A hungry, hungry doll. Jayda, well you're just always hungry.

Weeds, scabs, skin

I love pulling weeds a day or two after it has rained. I'd consider it border line fun. Lame. . . . I know. I just love how easily the whole weed or clump of grass jumps out of the ground, with such little effort.

I also love picking scabs.

Peeling dead skin off, after a sunburn.

Clipping fingernails.

and {gasp} popping zits. Gross. . . yes. . . . .  Fun. . . yes. . . . weird. . . .probably.

Welcome to Jayda's world

I remembered a few more Jayda quotes, and 1 Jed quote, so I sprinted to my blog to share before I forgot! OK so I didn't sprint. Sprinting is painful. I sprinted down our gravel road pushing Paisley in a stroller a couple nights ago, and I felt my butt jiggle in a way I'd never felt before. Then I had to stop because Taylor was behind me and I didn't want to scare her from ever returning. . .or going on a walk with me again.

It was raining this week, so Jed and Ryder were at the house most of the day.
Jed: Well I guess since it's raining we'll just sit inside all day and be bored.
Jayda: Welcome to my world

I'd like to give Jayda full credit for that, but she may or may not have heard that phrase a time or two previously.

Jed rode with me to Rapid last weekend to get his truck. We were driving by Memorial Park.

Jed: What's going on there?
Me: Hills Alive
Jed: Why do they all have coolers? Isn't that a Christian deal?
Me: Yes, Jed. Coolers are good for holding more than just beer
Jed: Well, like they'd be THAT thirsty to need a whole cooler.
Me: {sigh} turn here

{Jayda sitting on the couch}
Jayda: my legs look chunky when I sit like this.
Jed: Your legs are NOT chunky.
{Jayda pulls up her shorts to look at her thighs}: WELL they ARE here. Chunky and FAT. {looks over at Taylor's} So are YOURS!
{meanwhile she is eating cheesecake}
Me: That cheesecake is going straight to those thighs
Jayda: HAHA, no mom, it's going to my belly.

At supper we were eating corn on the cob. Jed passed Jayda the butter because she likes to butter her own.
Jed: Here's the I can't believe it's NOT butter
Jayda: hahahaha, Yes it is!

Sweet summertime

A few weekends ago as we were en-route to the lake on a perfect summer day, I had one of those moments you just want to remember forever. Oprah would call it an "ah-ha moment." It wasn't anything spectacular, or even noticeable for some people. It just captured exactly what summer is, and a precious snap shot of childhood.

For some reason all the girls piled in my Tahoe to ride out to the lake from Lemmon. Reanna, Sophie, Gracie, Jayda, Paisley and I. Car full of GIRLS! Me, being a Lady Antebellum fanatic, I always have their CD in my CD changer so I turned them on and turned to  "American Honey".

Then from the backseats, the sweetest harmony began filling the car. I cranked the volume as we belted out,

"There's a wild, wild whisper


Blowin' in the wind

Callin' out my name like a long lost friend

Oh I miss those days as the years go by

Oh nothing's sweeter than summertime

And American honey"

It was that small, simple moment as we went over the tickly hill, that I wanted to save forever. Stick it in my back pocket and pull it out at anytime. The sun shining on our faces, the laughter, the song, the freedom, the innocence of those girls in that moment. Perfect

 I hope they will always treasure the time they have spent at the lake with their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and whomever else stopped by. I know I do.

Weekly Menu

Monday- Taco casserole

Tuesday-Chicken enchiladas, rice

Wednesday- Turkey, mashed potatoes

Thursday-  hmm, I wrote this down at home and now I can't remember. I'll get back you on this one!

Friday- Hot dogs, burgers, corn on the cob top

L-M-N-O-P

We went to Rapid/Hermosa this weekend, which allows for some quality car time for the girls and I. Here are some Jayda quotes from our drive. I'd give some Paisley quotes too, but well. . .  you can imagine how that would go.

Jayda to Taylor: Taylor and Dillon sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-L-M-N-O-P

Jayda trying to sing "Rain is a good thing": Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskers, whiskers make my baby. . .
The real words are, Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby, feel a little frisky.

Jayda to Taylor: Turn my movie on, Yo
PS, if you haven't hung out with a teenager for a while, they tend to end every phrase with "Yo".
The ones that think they are gansta anyway.

I was telling Taylor that Jayda ran over my toes with the training wheel on her new bike, while we were in Wal-Mart and she was test driving it. Jayda pipes up from the backseat, "MOM, I told you I didn't mean to."
I think she said she was sorry about 8 times while were in the store, for the fear that I might not let her get the bike.
She stepped up to a 16" bike, which she now calls her fast bike. She really can wheel around like nobody's business! Her old bike had tires that were ALWAYS flat, no matter what you did to them, and it was just time to reward her with something fun. She got to pick it out and drive it in the store, as well as OUT of the store. Aren't moments like that, what dreams are made of when you're 4? They were to me anyway, but I was the little sister which always meant someones used crap hand-me-downs.