Rainy Days at the Oregon Coast

We were finally able to get away for a few days over Spring Break! It felt good to look at some new scenery, even if it meant all that work to get ready and then come home and unpack. We took the trailer over to Cape Kiwanda RV park in Pacific City. Great campground, with an indoor pool and hot tub, thank goodness! The kids had a ball swimming everyday.

We met up with some good friends of ours, actually three couples! We noticed that another family we knew was camping there, and they joined us for a campfire. We were able to get down on the beach on Friday afternoon so the kids could play around. Jeremiah and the two older boys climbed all the way to the top of the HUGE sand hill, and then made their way down. Jared finally got a chance to fly this totally cool kite that we bought him like three years ago for his birthday! We have forgotten to take it with us every time we go to the beach, so it was fun to actually see it up in the air. It is a really neat pirate ship....and it was SO windy, that it flew GREAT!

Up, UP and AWAY!

He was a little stressed about flying it, and didn't move much!
We spent some time in the trailer hanging out, which was nice. The boys enjoyed some down time...Jared polished off a few Hardy Boys books...

Justin was in 7th heaven...he was able to have his nose in his DS the whole time!
And Travis and Mommy were just being silly alot...

Daddy on the other hand, did what he LOVES to do:

I think we wear him out. :)

That SMELL is back....

Ahhh....yes...that familiar STINKY smell of chickens is back in the garage! It's that time of year again. Good thing too, cause the freezer is getting empty...time to fill 'er up again! We got 10 meat chicks on Saturday, so we have been busy tending to them.

We will be getting another 30 on April 18, for the Oregon Fryer Commission Pen of Fryers contest that Jared and Justin participate in, then we will get 15 more on June 14 for Jared to raise for this years 4-H Auction project for County Fair! FUN!

They are still in the "cute" phase, with a little bit of fluff, but they are starting to feather out quickly. These birds go from cute to DISGUSTING remarkably fast! I wouldn't trade the fact that we know where our meat comes from for anything, but these little buggers really test your desire! They are MESSY. But the good thing is, we only have them for 7 short weeks...Thank GOODNESS! Meanwhile, we have to constantly make sure they have water, food and light...I have enough trouble keeping my kids fed and watered, so this gets to be a little bit of a challenge. Glad it is Spring Break and Jared is home to help me remember during the day. Travis has named one of them (depending on which one he points to at the time) Rudy, and is already upset at the fact that dear Rudy will be in the freezer soon. Probably the only four year old that worries about butchering chickens :)

So, speaking of food, I guess I better get upstairs and feed the two I have here. Justin will be home this afternoon from his special camping trip to 3 Rivers with Grandpa Steve...sounded like he had a good time, but missed us. Then, I must finish the laundry and start baking goodies to take to the Beach on Thursday...and it is NOON already. Sheesh, where does the day go?

Late night laugh...

Remember that book I told you about? The one that is going to teach me to get my "groove" back? :) Well, I just had to share this little piece with you that I read last night....do you know how hard it is to try and not laugh out loud so you don't wake the sleeping one next to you? SO HARD! I wanted to belly laugh, but I managed to keep it in...somewhat. This is her talking about trying to find a store to shop at that carries clothes that fit our "Mom criteria....

"I just have to wonder where they are hiding the stores for women who are youthful, still interested in sex and on a budget? These are my other critical concerns for fashion: It has to be comfortable, even during my PMS week; it has to be machine washable; it has to be free of any beads, flowers or sharp buttons that would impale any child who needs a hug or to be carried to bed; it can't wrinkle so badly during carpool that I look like I've slept in my car; it has to be easily removed so that I can go potty several hundred times a day; it can't give me a wedgie, can't show my midriff, and it has to make me look thinner than I really am."

Couldn't have said it any BETTER myself.

Work it Girl...

Let me introduce you to Molly....Miss Molly Mannequin:

Isn't she lovely? I LOVE her! I had been wanting one of these forever, and my mom bought me this one for Christmas this year! She stands in the corner of my kitchen, looking all June Cleaverish, with her pearls and an apron...a perfect example of who I WISH I could be!!! What would it be like to fix dinner everyday in high heels and an apron, looking absolutely stunning when your hubby walks in the door? Hmmm. I probably will never know...can't imagine wearing high heels that long, and my waist CERTAINLY doesn't look like that!! No time to worry about that though..I am what I am, and that's that. My husband still loves me (but said Molly looked really hot in her new apron...silly guy!) thank goodness.

So I finished my new apron, and it turned out really cute. I am so proud of myself for following the pattern and getting it all right..I only had to ask my mom one question!

I love the cheery cherry fabric. I used this last summer to make some "summer" curtains for the kitchen, then went back to Joann's and bought what was left of the bolt, figuring I would find something to use it for!

I even topped it off with this fabulous bow, making it just a little dressy...not something you would want to slop BBQ sauce on...something you would wear to entertain a few friends for happy hour ya know!??!?!

Anyhoo, now I am up to my ears in flannel again...but more about that later. I have to go tend to my little man, who is very sick and right in the middle of a horrible asthma attack. Keep him in your prayers if you remember.

My Sick Boy

My big guy has been sick ALL week! I don't know what he got, or where he found it, but it has had him down for almost 7 days! He has had a very high fever, chest and nose congestion, and a sore throat with a cough. We can't seem to get the fever to break, except with drugs. Took him to the Dr. yesterday, he said it was most likely just a bad case of the flu, but gave him some antibiotics to cover any secondary bacterial infection that might be brewing. Doesn't he look sad:

Look at his rosy cheeks! He is actually QUITE irritated with me in this photo, seriously in shock that I would take his picture to put on "my goofy blog"!!! He is getting to that stage where he thinks I am completely weird at times... :) This arsenal of drugs has been at his side since Monday...
It stinks now that he is so big...those liquid meds don't last long...he takes 3 TEASPOONS now! The chewables at least last a little longer! When he woke up yesterday, his temperature was 104 degrees...but he was coherant and not totally loopy like he used to be when he was little and his temp got that high! I can remember a few crazy nights! This is what he has been up to in the last five days...
And this, unfortunately is what he has NOT been up to in the last five days, but needs to be doing!

He has quite a bit of makeup work to do, but he hasn't had any desire to touch it yet! He will be busy this weekend. So, hopefully he will make some progress on this nasty virus in the next 24 hours, and will be back up and running. The good thing is, now that he is older, he prefers to just be left alone really! NO sick little one hanging on me and breathing on me just to be sure that I share their yuck! YAHHH!!!

Just for good measure, here are my two healthy little ones...(SO FAR)!

Justin is engrossed in a good book on his bed...
And Travis, of course, is playing Hot Wheels and Legos at the same time, thus making clean-up tonight a real joy! Gotta love him!

On My Nightstand

So I finally am getting around to reading this book. I bought it a LONG time ago, when Jared was little, because I had bought and read her previous book...The Girlfriends Guide to surviving Toddlerhood, and it was HILARIOUS! It was so down to earth and remarkably right on target to what I was going through at the time. She totally put on paper what I was thinking, but afraid to admit!
I started this book when Justin was a toddler, but got a few pages into it, and realized that I wasn't where I should be when reading this book...I was still lost in a sea of bottles, diapers and spit-up. So, I put it back on the shelf, and resolved to read it as soon as I got to that point! Well, if you remember, I promptly got put BACK into babies and toddlerhood, so it stayed on the shelf! Now, I can proudly say that I am fit to read this book. My "Mommy I need you all day long" days are pretty much over, and I am excited for the next phase. It feels good to be able to have some independence back, and fun to watch the boys gain some independence at the same time. Not that I don't miss being needed....but I am going to totally embrace this next phase of being needed in different ways. Now, if I could just get them to understand that my desire to be needed does not translate into being their maid. Hmmm. Still working on that one.

This is the other book I am reading right now...really cool book written by a girl who lives in the city but wants the country life...self sufficient stuff like chickens, canning, sewing etc. I am only a couple of chapters into it, but it is really good so far. Nice to read about ordinary people doing things that they and you enjoy, and getting good tips to try as well. The busier we get, the more I enjoy doing things like baking from scratch, sewing things, canning my own fruit/vegetables and raising my own meat...this world is getting wackier by the minute, and coming back to my roots and the way life used to be is more appealing EVERYDAY! I think I sound like a tree hugger on here, but for those of you that know me, hopefully I don't come across that way! I do enjoy the conveniences of modern times!

Better get back upstairs, have a sick one at home today, and the other two are bouncing around, so I am sure he isn't getting much rest. Oh, and I have to put some bread in the breadmaker, and I want to make some cookies, and I want to get started on the apron I cut out yesterday, and...and...and....

PJ Pant Possessed

I've been busy the last two weeks....sewing PJ pants....by the scads! I have knocked out 6 pair already, and have a little more flannel I plan to make Jared some sleep shorts with this week! YIKES! My 4-H sewing group just started them this last week, so in preparation for that, I made 3 pairs to use as examples, and...it just sort of grew from there! Jo-Anns had their flannel on sale, so that didn't help matters! I also found some baseball stuff at Walmart...there are just too many cute flannels out there... and it came at the right time, since the boys are all outgrowing their pajamas. The pattern is SUPER simple, and goes really fast...right up my alley!

This is the horsey pair I made for who else? Justin. That's right. My horsey guy...he has worn them 3 times already. Pretty excited! After I finished the PJ pants, I decided to finally cut out a bag pattern that I have had the fabric for for over a year and have never tackled. I borrowed the pattern from a friend, and decided I should probably get it done and get that pattern back to her!! This was the opposite from the pants...this bad boy required some concentration and a little more work! It wasn't difficult, but working with the stiff stuff that makes it stand up was like a wrestling match!

Isn't it SO cute! I'm not sure what I will use it for, maybe a purse, or maybe to put my Bible Study books in. Don't know, but I do know that I won't be making another one! Once was enough. It is supposed to be reversible...here is the inside:

The fabric helped me quench my thirst for Spring! And, of course, my LOVE for the color PINK! Can't get enough of it. So, those were my projects I got off of my list this last week. I have a few more things to make this week, and that will feel really good. I am enjoying sewing again!

Still kickin'

OK. I am still alive. I realized this morning that it has been awhile since I have posted anything here...although, my sister reminds me that she has nothing new to read!! Things were going fine until I clicked on the wrong link in a Facebook message, and managed to get tons of TROJANS (whatever the heck those are) on my computer...major BAD virus. Brother-in-law fixed most of it, but in the end, Miss Computer had to go the doctor and get a scannin' to get cleaned up! I was without her for a few days...MAN did I get alot more done! This thing is such a time sucker. There is just too much cool stuff to look up, people to chat with, blogs to read, etc. etc. etc. !

Life is moving on as usual. The boys and I have been fighting sore throats and runny/plugged noses, with Travis of course getting the asthma side of things. Out comes the nebulizer! Hopefully, they will be well by Spring Break, which is right around the corner! I think Grandpa is going to take them over the hill to do guy stuff...shooting things, riding the 4-wheeler etc. and we might take a quick jaunt to the beach with some friends towards the end of the week. I am just looking forward to sleeping past 6 am.

My husband is literally a walking zombie. Poor guy. I feel so bad for him. He is up and out of the house before 6 am and last night, he didn't get home until 10:45. Gotta love busy season! Actually, I have been trying not to complain to much, because I am just so thankful he is working. We have so many friends that have lost jobs lately, so we have ALOT to be thankful for. God is so good to provide for us, and for that we are EXTREMELY grateful!

Tonight, Jared and I are going to an informational meeting about his trip to Washington DC next Spring Break, 2010. Every other year, his school takes a group and he has been looking forward to it for a long time! At this point, I am planning to go if they need me, so it should be fun. I have never been to alot of the places on the agenda...but 8 days with 7th and 8th graders should require quite a bit of Tylenol.

So, I better get off of the computer and get ready for Bible Study this morning...have to actually get Travis dressed to go out of the house and get some more laundry done...does it ever end?