I Think I'll Move to Australia

It started this morning at 7a.m. I was tucked warm and cozy into bed, debating getting up and going for a walk before the kids woke up, when I heard Sam cooing in his bed. I walked into the boys' dark room and picked up a cheerful baby and wandered back to my room to cuddle a warm baby before we had to start the day. As I lay down the stench hit me. Sam was poopy with a really really, stinky poopy. Then I felt it. There was something wet on my arm. I asked Michael to turn on the light and help us out. That's when we discovered Sam's diaper had come unfastened. I was covered with poo, my floor was defiled and my sheets now need washed. It was a poop-a-palooza. This necessitated a shower for Sam and I. There was poo and snot everywhere. Sam also has some sort of snotty virus that covers him in goo all day long. By the time Sam and I had been decontaminated the rest of the kids were up and my day had to start. Forget exercise, this was a battle for sanity.

Ethan woke up complaining of a sore throat and stomach ache. Everyone else was freezing to death. People needed fed and dressed. It was mayhem but we made it through.

After breakfast the big kids practiced playing piano. It was sweet and they sounded like angels. They sat there with big expectant eyes that said, "I love you Mommy. Thank you for all you do. I'm so glad you take us to piano lessons every week and have us practice. We know this is a skill we will appreciate having when we are older." It was touching I tell you. No wait. That was the kids on TV. My kids screamed, ran from the room, and told me they were never going back to lessons, ever, ever, ever. After much coaxing and threatening they finally sat down and dully plunked the same note over and over for five minutes. Hooray for piano lessons.

After that things seemed to be going a little smoother. Sam fell off a couple chairs but managed to land on his bum both times, Ethan was laying on the couch and Libby was playing outside. Life was calm. Oh wait, where is Grace? Not in her room, not in her brother's room, check the bathroom. Yep there she is. She crawled up on the counter and emptied an entire bottle of lotion onto her hands, arms, and the entire front of her dress. Not to mention the counter and mirror. I wiped her down with a damp cloth, stripped off her dress, took it across the hall, dumped it in the washing machine, came back to the bathroom and there she sat. With my lip gloss all over her face. I was gone for 15 seconds! Just 15 lousy seconds! Wipe Grace down round two. Redress her and take a deep breath. I then realized it was only 9:30 in the morning. I'm afraid it's just going to get worse from here. I think I'll move to Australia.

Western Idaho Fair

My kids love entering stuff in the fair. There is something satisfying about seeing their artwork displayed for everyone to see. This is the third year we have trotted their artwork down to the fair and this year I decided to enter a couple of baked goods as well. We dropped everything off on Tuesday the 16th to be judged and then the waiting began. We had to wait EIGHT whole days until we had time to go to the fair to see if we won any prizes. We headed to the baked goods section first as it was closest to the entrance. After a long search we found my brownies and bread. I was floored to find out I had won a blue ribbon for both of them. I wasn't expecting to win but it was kind of fun.

Then we walked over to the youth area and went on another search. We had four adults and the kids searching high and low so it only took us three or four minutes to find the photos Ethan had entered. This was his first year entering photos and he was pleased with how he did.


2nd Place
3rd Place


And his cactus received an honorable mention.



Then we wandered over to the art exhibit and the first thing we saw was Libby's drawing of an echinacea with a blue ribbon on it.
She was so excited as she has only "won" participation ribbons before. We found her second drawing with a red ribbon. We kept looking and finally found Ethan's drawing of an Australian Pelican with a blue ribbon hanging from it. We were all a little giddy and beaming by that point. It's fun to enter but sometimes it's really fun to win too.

From that point we had ourselves a tractor pulling, cow milking, corn playing, ride riding, ice cream eating good ol' time.

Watering the Lawn

Our lawn is not the best lawn. It has dry patches that I just can't seem to keep watered. It seems my only option is to stand over the dry spot holding the hose to water said sections. And then I discovered the perfect solution.


Sam was more than happy to hold the hose. I put him on a dry spot, handed him the hose, and he stood there like a happy lawn statue. Once he soaked one place I just picked him up and moved him to the next dry spot. It worked better than a sprinkler.

Strutting His Stuff

Here is the evidence Sam can walk. Not that anyone has seen him do it in real life because crawling is still his preferred mode of transport.

My Baby Turned One

As many of you are aware, Sam's birthday was over three weeks ago. So I probably should have done a post then but we have been busy. Really, really busy. So I am doing a better-late-than-never post.


Mmm...cake. And yes I forgot the candle. Sam didn't seem to mind.


Cake face."Look, it's a box! Who cares what's inside - I have a box!"


I love this picture of his Grandpa and cousin.

Sam had a great birthday. He had no idea what was going on but he got toys, cake, and ice cream. It was all he ever knew he wanted.