John Deere

After 10 years, our riding lawnmower is on its last leg.   So, this weekend we finally bit the bullet and invested in a new one.  Wow, those things aren’t cheap, but at least they threw in some awesome t-shirts.

The kids loved the whole process.  What could be more fun than a tractor store?  Especially a tractor store with every John Deere toy ever created!  We had to drag them out of there.

Not sure what to think at first……

 

SOOOO excited!

Why do the boys NEVER look at the camera?  I’m just going to give up.

We had a fun afternoon of tractor rides before actually mowing the yard.

   

Now let’s hope it speeds up our yard work as much as we think it will!

The Story of Our CSA

 

 

I haven’t mentioned it, but about 6 months ago, we joined a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  You can read about it here.  I think it’s great to eat organic, locally grown produce, but I also had several other goals in mind.  I wanted to try new foods (and learn to cook with them), learn about what grows best in this area, and get some ideas for when we start our own garden. 

So, before we signed up, we took a trip out to the “farm”.  We followed the map to a gravel road, which took us through an area of mobile homes, some fairly maintained, others with 4 or 5 mattresses stacked in the front yard and junk everywhere.  At the end of the dirt road was a rickety mobile home, sitting on a few acres.  At this point, Pete asked me if we should just turn around and we SERIOUSLY thought about it.  We agreed not to judge a book by it’s cover and thought it might be interesting to at least stop and talk to the guy.  We met the owner and his business manager who gave us a tour of the land.  It was a great place.  There were lots and lots of raised beds with all kinds of produce. The kids got to pet some baby goats and the owner told us about the other land they own nearby where the free range chickens and cows are kept.  We walked around, asked questions, and tasted some of the produce.  The owner grew up in a family of Tyson chicken farmers.  Interestingly, his family raised their personal chickens completely separate from the Tyson chickens since the Tyson standards were so low.  They wanted to raise healthier chickens for their own table.  Essentially, they were grossed out by the very stuff they produced.  Makes you want to run out and eat some chicken, doesn’t it! :-)  Watch Food, Inc. if you really want to be grossed out!

Ok, so back to the guy’s story……The owner spent years travelling to different parts of the world as a chef and he still has a catering business on the side.  He has been farming for many years.  Then there was a hard luck story….His first wife left him because he travelled so much.  He has 7 kids.  Yes, 7!  He moved from another state because his ex-wife was harassing him.  3 of the kids are with his ex-wife.  4 are with him and his current wife in the mobile home and are home schooled.  They all get up before dawn every day and help to work the “farm”.  This guy literally put EVERYTHING into the “farm”.  He has been growing for many years, but this is his first year in Texas so he explained that he wasn’t absolutely sure what the best crops would be during the summer. 

On the drive home, Pete and I discussed our visit.  Pete’s comment was “Wow, that guy’s got the entrepreneurial spirit, huh?”  We both agreed that he could be lacking a bit in business sense, but we figured that was why he had a business manager.  Anyway, we decided to sign up for the 2010 season, fully aware that this could be a bit risky.  If nothing else, it would be interesting to see what happened.

So…..fast forward about 5 months.  In the beginning, I picked up our produce at the “farm” weekly.  We got a good amount of field greens, arugula, spinach, collard greens, and some carrots and onions here and there.  Nothing spectacular, but it set me up with awesome salads for lunch each day.  Then, several months ago, the “farm” was vandalized.  Someone came in and ripped up the crops, tore apart the bed covers (tarps) and did some random other damage.  Then…..we came into the heat wave with something like 30 days over 100 degrees.

Here is where it gets good (or bad)……Week before last, I received an e-mail from someone I’ve never heard of discussing how upset they were with the CSA, saying that there has been a total lack of communication, and that we’ve gotten very little produce since the end of May.  They were planning to blast this guy on every website they could find.  The group of people copied on the e-mail all live in a subdivision in Dallas who happen to receive their delivery from the CSA on the same day I pick up each week.  So, somewhere along the way my e-mail was added to their list.  I was a fly on a wall watching about 30 e-mails fly back and forth.  It was escalating and people were becoming more and more upset.  They were threatening to sue him, saying that he had lied about the vandalism, and accused him of selling to a farmers market instead of fulfilling our contracts (they even named the farmers market).  They called him a crook and basically said that he had stolen their money.  One lady said that she didn’t understand why her friend who lives on the east coast has been getting stuff from her CSA all summer and we weren’t.   The CSA owner was intentionally copied on the very first e-mail, but others didn’t realize this as they were badmouthing him, so the owner was also reading the nasty string of e-mails.  He eventually sent an e-mail back saying that he was disappointed in the gossip that was going on.  He asked why no one spoke with him face to face during his deliveries or picked up the phone to call him.  He would have been happy to discuss the issues.  He said that he struggles to use the computer (which is apparent in his writing).

I couldn’t believe what I was reading.  It was like a bunch of high school kids gossiping.  The CSA owner was NOT selling to a farmers market.  That was completely bad information.  Only one of the people on the e-mail (out of about 20 people) had ever even visited the farm and they definitely weren’t stopping by every week to check things out.  Now, I’m getting emails saying that they have contacted the Dallas Observer to try to get them to do a story about how they’ve been taken by the CSA.  One email also listed every website that the CSA was linked to so that people could make sure to go to them and leave negative comments.

Yesterday, I stopped by the farm to pick up our weekly drop.  We got a honeydew melon, cucumbers, beets, and lots of arugula.  Good thing I like arugula.  :-)  I talked to the owner for quite a while.  He is remaining positive and is about to add beehives to his property, which sounds awesome.  Before all of this happened, he had already offered to extend all contracts for 2 months to make up for the delays and skipped weeks.  I feel bad because I really don’t think he understands the power of the internet.  This group of people could destroy this guy’s livelihood…..and that’s what they’re planning to do.   I will admit that the owner’s communication could’ve been better, but I don’t know how they expect him to grow like the east coast during 100 degree temperatures.  Also, since they doubted that the vandalism ever happened, they also aren’t allowing for replanting any of the crops that were pulled up.  It’s just sad.  They should do their research before signing up in the first place and stop blaming other people.  What a way to support local agriculture, huh?  Run the guy right out of business.  Some CSA’s even ask the members to come help out at the farm.  What would these people do then?  They’d have to step out from behind their computer and do some work face to face. 

I’m planning to go to the websites and follow the negative comments up with my explanation and some positive comments.  Sorry for the long post on such a random subject, but this kind of stuff just gets me riled up.  :-)  And now I will climb down from my soap box and go figure out how the heck to cook these beets!

It’s finished!

Other than a few finishing touches, the swing set is complete!  I don’t think it turned out bad for designing it from scratch and doing some cost cutting! 

 

This is the view from my chair as I WATCH them play.  I never thought the day would come that I could sit and relax while Gavin and Emery climb, swing, and slide all by themselves!  Look closely and you can see Emery reading a book inside the playhouse.

Try to ignore our pitiful grass.  The rest of the yard doesn’t look like this, I promise! 

See this awful looking tree?

 

We have lots of them in the woods behind our house.  Some are right on the tree line.  The thorns grow from the base of the tree up, so eye level for a 3 year old.  They make me crazy.  We’re in the process of cutting all of them down.  Some of the thorns are 15 inches long! 

I grew up in Texas and I’ve never seen anything like it.  After doing some research, I found out that they are honey locust trees.  Apparently, people once used these thorns for nails and soldiers used them to pin their uniforms shut during the Civil War.  There is a variety of this tree that doesn’t have thorns, but lucky us……we got this awful type.   I love Texas, but wow some scary stuff grows here! 

Haircut

Since preschool starts next week, I thought  it was time for Emery’s first “real” haircut.  I’ve cut her hair in the past (and have done a horrible job at it) but  I’ve never taken her to a hairdresser.

 

Would you believe that this was also her first time watching Dora the Explorer?  She’s probably the only 3 year old on the planet who hadn’t seen this show!  She was glued to the TV!

That’s a lot of hair on the floor!  I think this picture might have been taken before I asked the stylist to even the sides up a little better.  :-)

Her new “cheese” face!  She’s showing off the doll that Grandma bought her on the way out.

I think a little pampering and girl time was good for Emery.  She was loving it and has been on great behavior!  She is SO EXCITED to start school next week!

Something you REALLY hope they get right the first time…….

 

I debated on whether to post about this due to its “sensitive nature”.  :-)

Ethan had outpatient surgery today to correct his circumcision.  After questioning our pediatrician, she referred us to a pediatric urologist several months ago.   As we suspected, it wasn’t done correctly the first time and he recommended that we have it fixed.

This isn’t a risky procedure, but they still have to put him completely under, which is always a little scary.  My mom kept the older kids and we headed to the surgery center this morning.  The surgery went great and Ethan was a trooper!  He had to go 6 hours without eating, so he was obviously hungry, but otherwise he charmed the nurses and did great!

Before surgery…..watching the nurse with the stethoscope very carefully!

Rocking after surgery while the anesthesia was wearing off…….

Waking up and getting squirmy!  He still managed to get those fingers in his mouth with an IV in his hand!

 

On our way home!

He slept a lot of the day, but when he was awake he was a pretty happy kid.  He’ll be on pain meds for another day or two and then we’ll start to get back to normal!

Tired

I used to think I was tired when I had 2 kids sleeping in cribs, taking 2 naps a day, and going to bed at 7:00 pm sharp.

Now I’ve got some combination of kids awake from 6:30 am to 10:00 pm, virtually no time where all 3 are napping at once, and almost always somebody in my bed in the middle of the night.  Oh, and Ethan is still waking up to eat each night.

Now, I’m am TIRED.

Ethan goes down at 7:00 pm each night and is a piece of cake.  Gavin and Emery go down at 8:00 pm and then the battle starts.  It has literally been WWIII with Emery lately and she hasn’t been falling asleep until 10:00!  Gavin hides away in his room while the Emery drama is unfolding.  I don’t think he wants any part of it.  When it calms down, he emerges, almost always saying that he pooped in his pull-up.  Ugh.  We put him on the potty every night before bed, but still the nightly poop.  So, we usually get Gavin settled and then finally go to bed.  Even watching a one hour show at night has become impossible.  Not to mention finding time to work out!

I’ve been trying to decide if Emery is OVER tired at night, or NOT tired.  So yesterday, I let her skip her nap.  She fell asleep briefly for 10 minutes in the car, but otherwise she had no nap.

This is how last night went:

Ethan down at 7:00.

Gavin and Emery down at 8:00.

Emery out of bed 35 times (yes, I counted) screaming and carrying on each time.  This was actually a success because she was asleep by 8:40!

Gavin emerged at 9:30 with his usual poop so we changed him and put him back in bed.

5 minutes later he was up again…….and again, and again, and again until 1:00am!!!!!  We put him in bed with us several times until he would kick us in the head or start jumping around like it was play time.  He was probably out of bed 15 or 20 times over several hours.

At one point, Gavin was almost completely asleep in our bed and then Ethan woke up to be fed (at 12:15), so Gavin came out to the living room to “help”.

We FINALLY got Gavin back to sleep in his own bed at 1:00 am.  I set him down in bed and turned around to meet Emery in the hall.  She had woken up during Gavin’s screaming and then followed me back to bed and slept with us.

I’m really hoping that there isn’t another level of tired that I haven’t reached yet or I might have to start adding Red Bull to my coffee.

Red River, New Mexico 2010- Part 1

 

I LOVE vacation.  I like being at home too, but I’m definitely not a home body.  I never remember getting homesick as a child when I was away at church camp or spending the night at a friend’s house.  I love to travel, Pete loves to travel (although not as much as I do), and now we get to travel with our kids.

So…..How could I possibly cover our second annual Red River vacation in just one post?  I’ll start with “Part 1”……

First of all, my Grandpa has been coming to Red River since 1938!  That’s a long, long, long time.  They had to travel on a very rough dirt/rocky road over the top of the mountain.  I’ve driven part of this road.  It still exists, but is now graded with modern machinery and it’s still fairly rough.  I couldn’t imagine what it was like back then.  When my Grandparents had kids (my mom and my aunts), they also spent vacations at Red River.  Still no paved road and still no indoor plumbing in the primitive cabins!  Then, my parents continued the tradition.  We of course travelled on the new, paved road into town and stayed in more “modern cabins”. 

The last two years, we’ve stayed in the same cabins that I stayed in as a kid.  There is a river running through the property, a playground, and a pond stocked with trout each week.  Some of these cabins were built in the 1950’s.….maybe even before that.  That was just my guess judging from the inscriptions on the wall (ie: “We Were Here, July 1950”). 

This year, we spent lots of time hiking, fishing (we never really used bait), and loading up dump trucks with pine cones.  Emery was like a mountain goat and Gavin did a really great job too.  Ethan was just hanging out taking it all in!

Warning, picture overload.  I just couldn’t pick my favorites.

Luckily, we were prepared for the rainy weather with the cute new raincoats from Uncle Robbie and Aunt Miranda!

So many pine cones, so little time…….

Taking a walk in the rain with Dad……

Just chillin’ on the couch……

Emery could actually cast her line all the way across the river!  Next year maybe we’ll be brave enough to let her use a hook and bait!

Showing Grandpa how it’s done……

Getting ready for our first hike.  I got this backpack for $25 from a friend in my twin’s club before we moved back from Indiana.  We never used it with Gavin and Emery because we never went hiking with just one baby.  :-)  I’m so glad we kept it.  Ethan loved it!

 

The trail took us right underneath several ski lifts.  This is obviously one of the older lifts, but it is the type I remember riding on when I was little…..which is why I’m still petrified of ski lifts.  :-)

 

  Another day, another hike.  Do you see the look on Emery’s face?  We were jokingly calling this a bear cave and I guess she believed us.  She was ready to high-tail it out of there before the bear came back! 

Checking out an old mine……

  

Taking a lunch break……

Can you spot Ethan?

This cracked me up.  He slept right through our picnic.  It didn’t seem to phase him.

 

Hiking back to the car…..

 More to come later!

Random Stuff

 

-Ethan is doing great!  He’s taking formula during the day now.  Unfortunately, he’s also been waking up every 3 hours at night.  It might be teething, or he may just be working the system since this is the only time he’s breastfed.  :-)

-We’ve had 16 days in a row of 100 degree (or hotter) temperatures.  Today it’s suppose to be 98 and we might even get some rain!

-I still need to post about our vacation to Red River, New Mexico.  I took 550 pictures, so it’s overwhelming me!  Also, I’ve decided that it takes twice the vacation length to prepare for vacation and 5 times the vacation length to recover!  Hopefully I’ll post something soon.

-I saw Eat, Pray, Love this weekend.  Great movie, but probably good that I saw it alone.  I don’t think it would’ve been Pete’s cup of tea.   I think I might also have to put the book on my reading list.

-And last……I attended the parent orientation last week for Gavin and Emery’s preschool program.  The preschool director said that you should not dress your kids in “inappropriate clothing” and that common sense should be used when determining what was appropriate.  I found this in the infant section at Target.  What do you think?  haha

Breastfeeding Changes

 

So many possibilities for a post title………

You’re such a weaner.

No whining, just weaning.

:-)

Ethan is 8 months old today!  I can’t believe how time is flying by.  For multiple reasons, I’ve decided that it’s time to “adjust” our breastfeeding.  At this point I’m not sure if I’ll stop completely, or continue his morning and evening feedings.  We’ll just see how it goes.  I decided to make the change this weekend, so that Pete can do some of the feedings.  So far, Ethan has refused a bottle, spit out all attempts at formula, and is generally uninterested in any variation to the “norm”.  My goal is that he’ll be comfortable enough taking a bottle or sippy cup with formula so that I can leave the house (or even leave town!) for a while without worrying…..or having to make sure that I pump before leaving.

We’re playing this by ear.  Maybe we’ll skip the bottle completely and go straight to a sippy cup.  Maybe a different type of formula would work better.  Maybe I should go cold turkey (no more breastfeeding, period).  At this point, I think the last option is a terrible idea.   All I know is that I’m prepared for anything that might happen……..

It could be a long weekend.  Those big bottles in the background are for me, not Ethan.  :-)  Can you believe all of the different types of sippy cups I had in the cabinet?  That’s not even all of them!  Obviously, I did a lot of trial and error with Gavin and Emery!  In case you’re wondering…..In my opinion, the Playtex cup (blue with green lid) in the back is the best hands down.  I’ve done the research.  :-)

Seriously though, I don’t want it to be a rough transition for Ethan.  I’d like to keep the morning and evening feedings if possible.  At least this time around, I have no mommy guilt.  Not because the breastfeeding has worked out better than it did with Gavin and Emery, but because I’m more confident about doing what’s best for all of us.  We’ve made it 8 months and I feel good about it, no matter what happens. 

Swingin’

 

The swing set is still in process, but we’ve still been swingin’!

Ethan’s first time in a swing……

   The circus act…..

 

The kids have been very patient and have been helping Pete with the “construction” each night.  Soon, the clubhouse, slide, and rock climbing wall will be ready to go!  Building a swing set from scratch saves money, but definitely not time! 

Bathe One Baby

We have a book called Bathe One Baby. It goes something like this:

“Bathe one baby. Put him in the bath. Tickle his toes and make him laugh.”

 

I always wished there was a Bathe Two Babies book.

“Bathe two babies. Put them in the bath. Pull out clean babies, dry them off, and let them crawl around the bathroom floor. Drain bath water. Catch first baby, put on diaper. Catch second baby and put on diaper and pj’s. NOTE: Do not take the time to put pj’s on first baby until both babies are diapered or you may be sorry. Take first baby quickly to the gated area downstairs. Run back upstairs for second baby who is in the bathroom with the door closed (water safely drained from the tub). Bring second baby downstairs. Drink milk, read books, then bed.”

That may not be a top seller. :-)

 

So, finally I know what it’s like to bathe one baby……but what the book didn’t mention is that with just one baby, you have enough time for an awesome mohawk!

Because I’m a little crazy

 

What do you do when your daughter is being a handful (see this post)?  Let her play with scissors, of course! 

I was a little nervous, but it turned out way better than I expected.  Gavin liked it and did really well.  Emery LOVED it!  She sat at the table and cut with her new scissors for over an hour!  It’s so hard to find something that holds her interest, so this was a major score!  

Actually, Emery has been doing MUCH better since the “crazy toy cleanout”.  Although we’ve had some not-so-great moments, she’s earned back some toys for good behavior and seems to be back on the right track (fingers crossed).  

If she keeps up the good behavior maybe I’ll let her play with steak knives.  Kidding.