Udderly Hilarious

Brennen is an excellent hand washer. This leads to very dry skin in the winter. We've tried several things to help keep his knuckles from turning brown, cracking, and bleeding (a little). While we were at the grocery store, getting our OTC, the other day--Buck spotted a tube of Udder Balm. B's been using it just about every day with great results!

So today, Graysen and I were at the kitchen counter, where the Udder Balm was laying. Because he also is a dried out boy in the winter, I asked him if there was any place he needed to apply some udder cream. He immediately pulled down his lower lip and showed me a place inside his lip that  he'd probably accidentally nibbled :)

I said, "You can't put Udder Balm in your mouth!"

To which he replied, "Why not? It's dairy."

Lol! Not exactly ;)

The Hard *Tooth*

BTW--congrats to my nephew on the loss of his final baby tooth! Very exciting business!

In health class, the boys and I were discussing teeth. We read the lesson, filled in the workbook pages, discussed the study questions, and then Graysen says, "Well, I guess I'm never eating leftovers again."

Wait, what?

I'm never sure if they're listening or absorbing the information . . . but sometimes things do catch, even if they catch in an unexpected way:

"Where does plaque come from? Bacteria in your mouth feed on leftover food. They combine with sugar in the food to make an acid. The acid is so strong that it can make homes in the tooth's enamel."

Did you catch that? "Leftover food . . ." I laughed and laughed and then had to try to explain the difference. Too funny :)

Right on the Money!

It's been one week since the boys were bit by the bug. Since then, Caelan has also succumbed to the germ monster. It's in her throat and lungs. Her fever hit 102 with chills, but mostly just lethargic, dizzy, and that gnarly cough and super sore throat. We've been grounded for a solid week--no church, no art lessons, no ASL, no guitar, no piano . . . nada nada, lemonada.

However . . . on Thursday we felt like everyone was kind of on the mend. We'd been in the house for a week straight at that point! Our first stop was the kids' favorite bakery for "breakfast" :) G$ has been saving up bottle caps--in exchange (always, because the owners are the best!) for a bag of goodies from behind the counter. This week it was donuts, his variety choice.

Next we headed to the library. We've been OUT of books for quite awhile . . . but I'm SOOO annoyed with our library that I didn't want to go back (not the first time). I do wonder what the final straw will be . . . I feel like it is close. They called to tell me (after years of checking out books) that if they happen to notice damage to their books, the last person who checked it out gets charged. I feel like I've written about this before. Now, I'm informed that it is MY responsibility to make a thorough list of EVERY bit of damage in EVERY book I bring home (nearly 70 on Thursday) or else I can be charged for damage I didn't do. Grrr, now it takes me twice as long to get through what they seem to think is a perfect collection. I have four pages of legal pad notes, front and back, filled with sticky note notes to put on all the books, so that I don't have to buy someone else's kids' boogers or pen marks or page turn tears. Seriously, unhappy. But we love books . . . what can we do?

After the library, we headed to karate. We took an extended break after last graduation in December. Since then, we've let our account balance stock pile in order to replace all the (fallin' apart) borrowed gear we've been working with for two years. Between the monthly dues and the cleaning the kids and I did at the end of last year, we had a healthy shopping budget . . . here's what we ended up purchasing: two new uniforms (these children have grown!), four new chest guards, one new long staff, two new sets of hand gear, and two new sets of feet gear, oh, and a new helmet (hadn't planned on that one). The club owner came over and said, laughing, "I added this twice, you won't believe this."

We watched as he input the fee for each of those items--it came out to exactly $400. Guess how much we'd stock piled? EXACTLY $400 :) Isn't that great? Buck said, "God provided exactly what we needed." He sure did :)

You'd think those three stops would be enough for one jaunt out--but oh no, we were just getting started! Next we ran into the grocery store/pharmacy to get fruit, more OTC cough meds, and a Redbox movie. Buck, got us Starbucks (not the kids :)

Next stop--the local event center. We want to watch a Mermaid ice skate, so we need tickets! :) What I discovered was, these nice inexpensive tickets (when purchased online) DOUBLE in price. DOUBLE! So, we thought perhaps going to the ticket office would save us some dough. Um, yeah! Like more than $50 it saved us!

Continuing our loop--we went to the hardware store to buy a toilet seat, ha! We had several rebate coupons, so we got our toilet seat for free. We also happened to spot a wood carving set that looks safer than Brennen's birthday knife. Gab had a carving/sculpture unit in her last art book, but had not materials to complete the projects. This kit seemed like a good deal, and it was also free ;) The kids have all enjoyed messing around with the set, and making a mess while doing it.

Still going . . . Hobby Lobby! Caelan needed some elastic thread to finish a shirt she's making herself and some purple yarn for a sweater she's knitting. Unfortunately she didn't find either one. Next . . . lunch! Remember that Panera card we won at the Christmas party? It paid for half our meal :)

At this point, we had a decision to make. It was just after 1 in the afternoon. We still needed to get a couple of things for the critters, but I was flat exhausted. So, we came home and put on our jammies and a Redbox. I fell asleep on the couch (and then was up half the night, which actually worked out okay since I had coughing babies that needed tending with nebulizers, breathing treatments, oil diffusers, vapo-rub, cough medicine--we're trying it all around here! :)

I don't have any pictures, but would you really want any? Ha! Caelan cancelled her babysitting job tomorrow, which ended up cancelling itself because it sounds like our neighbors (who happened to be leaving the library as we walked in) got the same thing we have :( That's who she was going to sit for.

Looks like another day to heal! Oh, and my last call in for jury duty--keep up the prayers for one more day! ;)

Bit by the Bug

And I don't mean the love bug. Buck's office has been tromped by a nasty something or other that is sending managers home to sleep on the couch for like a solid 15 hours. For Buck, it came with a thick, yucky cough, a headache, body aches, and general feeling blah. Of course, Gabby got it (but hers had a sore throat), Caelan and I have been battling with Thieves essential oil and lots of hand washing, but today the boys have succumbed. They've got combo of what Buck had and the version Gab had. Hopefully it won't last too long. I've got to call for Jury Duty again tomorrow--I had to go in last week, but only stayed at court a few hours. It will be a bummer to leave a house full of sick kids (I'm ignoring the mild ache in my own throat and refusing to cough though I want to :) on a school day (again).

Last night we went to Buck's holiday party. He was the only upper-level manger of four to be well enough to go. He found out from a table full of people also in various stages of sickness, that two of the others who'd been to the doctor had bronchitis and pneumonia. He texted me today that it's the non-contagious form--whatever!! :)

The party turned out to be one of the most fun we've  attended--maybe that's because of the others that we've attended, but I'll give this one props :) The food--was very good! Usually it's fairly inedible and we go out to eat afterwards. This time there was a fresh salad with yummy dressing, attentive wait staff in the ballroom to gather our plates and deliver more, the chicken was hot and well-prepared, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed mixed veggies--I was impressed!

After the meal, every guest received a $5000 set of chips to play in the casino games set up at one end of the ballroom. Buck and I learned to play Craps (well, sort of :) I ended up giving him my chips, because other than throwing the dice, I didn't think the whole ordeal was that much fun ;) When you decided to be done "gambling" (with your $0 invested), you could turn in your chips for raffle tickets. You put the tickets in the gift bags you wanted a chance to win (all for restaurants) and that was that.

On stage there were some big prizes--tv, ps4, grill, wine cooler, etc.--which also required tickets. These ones only were available to employee club members (all of whom received a company pullover and some other goodies upon arrival). Each member only got five tickets, so we didn't end up with a big prize. We also tried to play bakery bingo--this was a very popular game, so it was hard to get seats! They had a bingo machine, and if you won bingo, you took home an item from the bakery--pies, cakes, bread, etc. Well, we sat down right as they finished the very last game. Oh man! They played a ballroom-wide game of blackout for restaurant gift cards; we didn't win those either. So finally, they pulled the tickets from the casino game *winnings.* No, no, no, no . . . serious lack of winning anything in our corner.

The VERY last possible prize was a $25 gift card to Panera. Buck is famous for not liking Panera. But I really do like Panera. He put a few tickets in that bag, just because he knew I liked it. I told him this would probably be the one he won . . . and sure enough, Panera matched our ticket! It was so funny, because he'd stood up and started walking towards the stage before they even finished calling the numbers. He just figured :)

Examining his Exam . . .

Okay, so I have the 9-year-old taking a junior high level astronomy course . . . he gets a little more leeway on his exam answers than the other kids, but these might be taking grading flexibility a little too far . . . :)

V-Fusion is his favorite juice on Earth, but I don't think that will work for this answer :) For number 18. he wrote "a kind of car," since we looked at buying a Ford Transit. Pretty funny, that one :)

Isn't love the answer? Not to this question it isn't, goofball!

Trimming Time

Gabby is not a fan of long hair. I can understand why, hers is remarkably thick (at least compared to mine :) Yesterday morning, I asked her if she wanted, still, to get it cut. She said she didn't think so. She liked being able to pull it back, do braids, etc. This has been her hairstyle of choice for about a year now.

In the meantime, Buck needed his neck shaved. Usually, this is my job. However, he has been talking about needing a haircut himself. I suggested he call for an appointment--"No problem, come on down!" I suggested he take Gabby along to see what the haircut ladies thought about her final length if she were to donate.

Gabby came back jazzed about the fact that she could keep enough length to donate and still pull her hair back! I asked if she wanted to cut her hair now, and she said yes :) So, Buck called back down and scheduled her an appointment same-day! (Wasn't it nice of those other customers to cancel just for us? :)

The weather, btw, was amazing for January. We had to drag the boys in and scrape a couple of layers of mud off of them before they could go along :) After lunch, we all piled in the van, because this is exciting stuff!

I didn't realize it had gotten this long!

They cut in four pony tails to keep as much length as possible. In just one or two, the angles get weird and it has to be trimmed a lot to get it even. Pretty smart to do it this way, I thought :)

Taadaa!

I think it looks cute on her, lots of waves now back!

She keeps flipping it around to feel it move (as all we girls do with a new haircut :) I told her the worst part about a new style is how much your neck hurts the next day from doing just that! Ha!

This time she donated to Wigs for Kids, which I guess is more financially accessible to the recipients than Locks of Love.

Inspired?

We watched the Presidential Inauguration on TV the other day . . . the youngest was understandably a bit bored. He's not quite ready for all the tradition and ceremony exhibited. The boy just wanted to get out and do his backyard cleaning services to boost his little stack of savings (almost $30 in two weeks! awesome for a 9-year-old!). However, yesterday afternoon we realized that some of the television coverage must have sunk in in its own unique way, because he gave us this . . .

"Shy president giving a speech."

Lol, what a nut! :)

Because We Don't Have Enough Animals at Home . . .

Lol! Maybe they were shopping for the next addition to the family zoo? :)

Buck is a morning person--if he wants to get something done, it is happening as close to after breakfast as stuff is available to accomplish. Me . . . not so much :) So, when he offered to take the kids on an A.M. zoo trip, and told me I could stay home and read . . . how could I pass up such an offer? :)

I didn't just read: I vacuumed, ran the laundry, cleaned the fan, put away the towels, dusted some stuff, put lunch together, etc. etc. BUT I did sit down and read, too. My friend Glory let me borrow the book her daughter gave her for Christmas, The Magnolia Story, by Chip and Joanna Gaines. Aww, they're just the cutest those two!

However, while I read, I kept receiving picture updates . . .







So, I sent back this picture of their animal, who stared out of the window in this position the whole time they were gone. He's a dog that likes to know where his people are at all times :)

The Arrival of Smaug

Whew--in Hobbitland, that would cause a few residents to shake in their shoes! (Well, technically Hobbits don't wear shoes because their feet are so hairy that they stay warm on their own . . . I may have to work on my analogies ;)

Regardless, we have a new underwater pet--ironic since Smaug was a very fire-breathing dragon :) The boys decided they wanted to increase our pet population with an aquatic friend (G$ still has plans to up our amphibians in the summertime via a natural catch on the back hill).

In the past three weeks they've earned almost $100 in their scooper business! Wowza! So I told them because they spent their first two weeks (mostly on pet gear, but a couple of toys as well), they have to save the next two. They are cool with that :)






This little fish was a cheap purchase--I took the Christmas flowers Buck brought home out of this vase, washed it out, and it went the fish! No tank required :) The rocks in the bottom are some decorative rocks that I bought when we moved in . . . when I was trying to be an interior decorator, lol! They've been in a crystal candy dish for a few years, but now they are the "gold" that Smaug guards :) Our Betta only eats once per week, and requires a jug of distilled water. Total investment: $10? :) They like to watch him; G$ just wants to play with him, but fish don't play well.

Graysen said, "The good thing about a fish is, if you put your finger by the glass, they move around. If they don't . . . they're dead." Zoologist in the making right there, folks :)

We Wish You ...

. . . a Merry Christmas-Happy New Year-Happy Birthday . . .

When we get together, we get all our occasions together too! Buck finished up a crazy schedule (nine days straight with just New Year's Day off) to the tune of a couple of bonus days off--four in a row! This worked out well, because we could schedule an overnight stay at my parents' house to celebrate all of the above :) Dad flew in from CA, the northern brother and sis-in-law made the drive, and the local sis and crew flooded the house with enthusiastic humanity. Oh, and there were donuts ;) Buck took two of ours and my bro CJ to do a little breakfast reconnaissance. As you can see, Brennen found one that looked sandblasted with sprinkles . . . so colorful :)

I should back up--when we arrived originally, we found my older younger brother just waking up from a long winter's nap. We insisted he put on shoes and a coat (or flip flops and a hoodie, as 16-year-olds do) and took him to get some tacos! Later, he saw the receipt and said, "$50 for tacos? That's a lot!" Well, yes. We can't seem to eat out as a family for lunch under $50 and for dinner--well, we won't even mention that ;)

I lost my train of thought . . . choo choo . . .

So, Sunday, I gave my sis her birthday gift--a pictorial collection of all the bison photos our family has intentionally taken on her behalf since she spotted the trend a few years ago :) My youngest brother opened his gifts painfully slowly, just because he can . . . :) My little nephew and Caelan also opened birthday gifts--but, I just realized we never sang or ate cake, lol! We are birthday party failures ;)

This time of year, all three on the right are 14!

Soooo cheesy--on purpose! :) You better be excited I didn't just give you cash, lol!

Funny birthday kids :)

Happy hugs!

My oldest younger brother kindly gave up this forgotten toy kit, stashed away in his closet. G$ worked on it for two days and finally got the car put together and driving via battery power. His dad might have helped a little ;)

And that was our weekend in a nutshell--good conversations, good cousin/uncle time, a little bit of video game VR immersion, and lots of laughter. It's good to be together :)

Viola!

The room has been finished for about a week now, and tonight I INSISTED ;) they clean it up to a point where photography would be an agreeable option. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the lighting right. My flash on the big camera helped a little, but the pics still seem blurry and not quite the right tones. IDK . . . daytime is too bright and everything is washed out. I guess it looks prettiest in person with full color on the walls--tangerine, teal, and lighter teal :)

We based all the colors off of the poster behind Caelan. The girls were excited to find wall decals they liked--we kind of cheated and turned three short trees into two tallish trees, but it works :)

More Progress

Our boys have lots of hats! Generally, these hats are ALL over their room. We have their great grandpa's hat rack (it says "CAPS"), but this is not enough for our hat-wearing boys. So on the morning that Buck was busy, busy putting up shelving, a mirror, and hooks in the girls room (which is finished, I just have to get them to clean it up enough to take pictures :), he also put some extra hanging space in the boys' room. This worked out great, because we have all these hooks and such from previous usages, that have just been taking up "nowhere to put them" space. Now, the boys' cowboy hats have a nice, safe place to be  . . . their ball caps are not falling into the dirty laundry bucket . . . and I think they just need to add their *mobster* hats up there with their *chauffeur* hats, and they've got a fairly complete collection on display!

Another improvement--the toy net is back! It had fallen down so many times that Buck was ready to kick it to the curb. But there are still a lot of stuffed animals floating around, so when he discovered some mega hooks, he was willing to give the net another try. First--I had to find it! I searched closets, under our bed, tubs in the garage, storage places, the trunk at the foot of our bed, on and on . . . nada. I started to wonder if I had tossed the net, given the prior decision to not put the thing back up--ever ;) Finally, I checked the linen closet/girls' overflow closet right next to the boys' room. There it was :) Now the boys' room feels so much cleaner because the stuff that couldn't fit in their tubs and toy box is back where it belongs because all of the stuffeds that were taking up that space are back where they belong! Hooray for organization!

Isn't it amazing how different the bill book looks at the beginning of the year compared to the end? :) I just felt the need to share . . . ;)

Perfectly Permitted

She has a tiny bit of driving experience, but not enough to want to drive much outside of a wooded park in a rural village :) Remember when she started reading the driver's manual--two years ago? :) Well, all that studying (and some online practice-test taking) paid off! She scored 100% on her first try and impressed the gals at the DMV :)

Of course, I heard all of this second hand, because this was a daddy-daughter adventure. They ran a bunch of errands for me, and incorporated this into their day. Allegedly--there was NO wait at the DMV! They took their ticket, and immediately their number popped up on the screen. How is that for great timing? She was able to smile for her photo--but was not allowed to show teeth. Such weird rules. Her plastic copy will replace the paper version in a few weeks.

Very exciting! However, when Buck asked if she wanted to drive home, or to the grocery store, or to the bank, she said, "Nope!" So far, she has not driven at all with her new permit. Buck pointed out in the back of the parent manual, there's a space to keep a drive log of all her time behind the wheel. If she doesn't get a little more enthusiastic about this process, we won't have that thing filled up before she's ready to get the real deal, ha!

Buck was surprised, when he took Caelan to Starbucks after her test, that she's never had Starbucks before! How many hundreds of times (okay, maybe dozens of times) have Buck and I gotten Starbucks with the kids present? Too funny! Quite the day to celebrate, I guess :)

Learnin'

Our handsome boy, learnin' to be patient while everyone else gets ready for church :)

The girls learnin' music with a brand new set up at the teacher's house. Now, in addition to the traditional piano, there is a full-sized keyboard, which attaches to the computer, so their teacher can play with them on his own mini keyboard. Gab is playing along with guitar in this photo, but she's at the keyboard on a regular basis. Mr. P would also like the kids to start learning bass guitar--and here I thought they were just going to learn one instrument! I mentioned the bass addition to my family at Christmas and my brother asked, "What do you get with bass?" Brennen piped up, "Scholarships!" Ha! That's what Teacher P said HE got because he knew how to play bass in high school :)

Learnin' about ancient cultures--I took a picture, because you can only keep so many dried out play-doh lessons in your window sill :) The kids made handprints, personal seals, small pottery pieces, and a variety of cuneiform and other ancient-culture writings--which are forever preserved, right here, in this picture (only :)

Learnin' to watch tv and do schoolwork? :) Ha! Well, the Rose Parade was on on a school day this year, so we improvised. There's lots of educational information on that broadcast, and hooray for HGTV, no commercials! Buck's family got to attend in person this year, and we are hoping we can join them on such an adventure in years to come! Then we can all do some learnin' together :)

More Upgrades?!

Oh, these spoiled pets! On New Year's Day, the hedgehog bumped up to a Christmas tree storage box--no more under-the-bed-storage sized tub for him! It is an improvement because he cannot climb out, he has more space to run around (and he does run!), and we can leave his wheel right-side-up when we put him back in his sleeping cage for the night. (Yes, I realize he is nocturnal, but he sometimes does not :) Now this is an improvement in many ways for Radagast, but the box is huge!! And it does NOT fit under the bed anymore. It fits right there where you see it . . . so no one can walk in the basement anymore. At least one critter is happy ;)

No, Chauncey--that is not a tasty treat--you put that tongue back where it came from! Three pets in one pic, impressive!

And what about that soft little fluff of hamster? Well Graysen built him THIS!! Brennen added one of the four wings. Each tube has windows, as do the boxes (so the boys can keep an eye on Gimli as he explores). The hamster digs this set up, but has to be watched closely for attempts at escape: "Hamsters eat cardboard, mom."

Graysen even thought to rip off the top layer of cardboard, exposing the bumps inside, to make the multi-level habitat easier for the creature to traverse :)

Peek-a-boo!

The boys have already expanded their business--now they're helping with snow removal! But for a good reason--we didn't realize our neighbor had fallen on his driveway and gotten a concussion! He also injured his arm and shoulder and needed surgery :( When the boys went over to do the puppy doo clean-up, Mr. Mark asked if they could take a run at the driveway too. It was very sweet of them to help; it was ridiculously cold out! Buck had hot chocolate waiting for our boys when they came in from their double-yard and one-driveway workday :)

And guess what they spent their money on? A sweet new cage for the hamster! It's twice as tall with twice as much to do; Gimli luvs it! I told Buck if all the animals keeping getting their living space doubled, we're going to have to do the same--and soon! Lol :)