What The...?

So tonight we were driving around looking for a place to eat dinner because it was my night off from cooking, and we saw one of those sights that you only see in those funny forwarded e-mails. I just got one the other day with random photos people had taken of crazy things they had seen while driving. Well...tonight we got our own crazy photo.
As Mark and I were "discussing" how he had gone the wrong way if he wanted to find something to eat, we passed this scene:

(You have to click on the picture to make it bigger to fully appreciate it.)

This was a small truck, with wooden sides built up around the edges, and rope protecting the horse AND cow from falling out the back of the truck. You can't really see it, but there is a BIG black cow in the back there with that horse.


I didn't want to stop and take a picture. We drove by twice trying to get a good shot. Weird that they got pulled over for that? I mean we are in Nebraska aren't we? What's the big deal? We ended up at Arby's for dinner. I spilled my drink on the table, changed booths, and allowed the lady who worked there to clean it up. I did apologize, but I was secretly enjoying the fact that someone besides myself was cleaning up MY spill while I sat there and ate the dinner that I didn't cook. I'm ready for a vacation I think.

AJ and His Big Boy Talk

First let me say I am so glad I'm not the only freak that has realistic, ruining the next day, type dreams. Since many people have "those" kind of dreams, I guess that means I'm not a freak. So thank you all for de-freaking me. It means a lot to me! ;) I have been trying really hard to keep track of some of the things AJ says that have Mark and I laughing. They aren't really all that funny because they are fairly normal things to say; it's when they are coming from the mouth of a 3 yr old that they become funny. Regardless, I wanted to remember a little about what AJ was like as a 3 yr old. (because I know my memory is going to fail me) so I'm going to dedicate this post to AJ and his big boy talk.

Last night I was helping the kids clean up the basement, and was in charge of the Jenga game. None of the kids could manage to stack the wooden pieces up high and straight enough to put them back in the box so I said I'd do it. AJ wasn't cleaning up, and I told him that if they wanted me to help them he needed to do his part. He said, "Ok mom...We understand your feelings. We'll clean up." I was like, "FINALLY. ONE OF MY CHILDREN UNDERSTANDS!!" A minute later he walks over to where I'm stacking the Jenga game and kicks it over and walks away. I kinda sat there (before making him clean it up), hurt, with this shocked look on my face and thought, "He doesn't understand my feelings at all!!" Oh yea...he's 3.

First official day of Fall!!! We've had our windows open to let the breeze through the house, and the other day AJ said, "I don't want the wind going through our house because it creeps me out." Creeps me out...ok.

AJ was helping me put laundry in the washing machine, and the lid slammed shut as he was getting ready to put something in. He said, "Mom...You almost killed me!"

Sometimes I get sick of trying to get the kids to do things so I've been trying new tactics. Today AJ was the biggest kid in the house so I told him that Cora and Garret are at school and he was the big kid of the house and I needed his help. He said, "Are you for real mom?" as he walked out of the kitchen. I've decided to go back to beating them. (just kidding. I don't beat my children for real. I just damage their precious little souls by yelling at them. just kidding. I only do that sometimes when it's a week before that most favorite part of any menstruating woman's month and I hardly know who I am. And that is the truth, but I don't yell too much...just a little).

Those are just a few because he practices his "big boy" talk all day so I'm kinda getting used to hearing these things out of his mouth. We love having AJ in our family!

Feelings Buried Alive Never Die...I guess

I don't love dreams about people or things that leave you feeling like your dreams are reality. For example: when you dream about your child drowning so the next time you go to a swimming pool you can't relax because you are scared to death one of your children is going to die. The one where you kiss an ex-boyfriend is always a doosey or when you wake up hating your husband because he cheated on you. Dreaming about other guys besides your husband is NEVER any good. I dream about people I haven't even thought about in YEARS! People I don't want to think about EVER again, but there they are in my dreams; as real as if they were standing in front of me. I can feel emotions I haven't felt in a long time, and wake up still feeling them for the rest of the freakin' day! I've had "Second Coming" dreams where I can't walk outside without feeling like the heavens will part at any second. But last night I had one of those "guy" dreams, and that is the reason for this post. Why post about it? I don't know. Will it help me feel better? Maybe. Probably not. I just want to know what purpose these dreams are supposed to serve?? What am I supposed to do with these real feeling emotions that aren't real??? Or are they...Holy cow how can they be? I'm sure some psychoanalytical dream doctor would tell me they are emotions buried deep down coming through in my dreams. Whatever. All I know is I've spent way to long suppressing these emotions to have them brought back up as I'm trying to get a peaceful nights sleep. What's the name of that stupid book..."Feelings Buried Alive Never Die" (no, I've never read it so I have no idea if it's really stupid. Maybe I should read it) Perhaps that's what's happening to me. I would love to know if the people who plague my dreams have the same thing happen to them with me in their dreams. I sure do hope so because I'm just that vindictive right now. I hate the thought that I am still dreaming crazy dreams about people who could care less if I even exist. But in real life-somewhere I'm obviously not living in at this moment-I don't care at all. How can this even be happening? I know there's got to be someone else that knows exactly what I'm blabbering about right now. Someone. Anyone.

As promised...

Two posts in 3 days. Now that you all have gotten up off the floor, get ready for a visually stimulating post. Your eyeballs just might pop out of your head so be careful. Ok. Here is our house. We love our house, but this is the only thing we don't like about our house; the way it looks from the outside. Neither one of our houses have been very pleasing to look at for that matter. It doesn't look like there is 3700sq.ft. of house in there, but just you wait!!

Come on in! This is the entry way

Let's go upstairs because I only have a few pictures of a few rooms. First the boy's room. It's a good sized room, but we still haven't gotten pictures hung up yet.

The kid's bathroom

Jorie's boring room. She's 1. She doesn't care and neither do I. This is only half the room because the other half is just purple wall and a window.

Now GET OUT OF MY HOUSE BECAUSE YOU SMELL FUNNY, and I don't' have any more pictures right now. I think I'm going to do a walk through video to post because that will be easier and more realistic. But I do have some pictures and video from the park yesterday. This is a picture of AJ with a little Crab apple. To prove to you how much apple stuff I've been canning, he said to me, "Look mom. An apple for you to cook and make applesauce with."

No thanks. I'm done with apples this season. This is the really cool scooter I got at a yard sale for $1.

It cracks me up every time he rides that thing.

Jorie got her hands on a little tiny berry of some sort. She tried it.

Found out they are really sour.

And finished eating it. Gross! Good thing it was eatable.

Jorie wanted to go on the big girl swing. "Ok. But don't expect me to catch you if you fall."

And yes, that swing did come back to knock her down. Good thing Daddy was around.

Weird how I watched her fall, and watched her cry and she still wanted me. The reason we went to the park was so that Garret could practice riding his bike. We are a little late in teaching him, but we think he will catch on fast if he can keep focused on the road in front of him.

More pictures to come!

Today

I posted today, but I started 4 weeks ago. So I have to post this for today so that everyone's little blog roll puts me at the top!!!

Mudd Fight

You know it's been too long since you've blogged when you can't remember your password. Notice I did start this post a few days ago. The thought of all the things that I've already forgotten in the past 3 weeks (now 4) because I didn't write it down makes me sad. Some cute things the kids have said:

"Can I have my applesauce in a bowl because that just makes sense." -AJ

"DAAA DEEE!"-Jorie when Mark gets home from work. Jorie is still such a little peanut. She is always amazing people when they see her running around and saying things. They think she isn't even 1 yet, and she can still wear some 9m clothes. Her favorite thing to say right now is Stinky. I'll get a diaper and she'll look at me and say, "Stinky?" It's cute. Tonight she was trying to push me over so she could jump on me like her brothers and sister do.

Cora said some kid at her school is spreading a rumor about her that she picked her nose and ate her booger. I gave her that "well did you look?", and she frankly said, "Mom...I'm on a diet from picking my nose. I don't do that anymore I swear." So apparently boogers are fattening. Good to know. Cora is having a hard time adjusting in school this time around I think. She just had such amazing friends in Utah, and is not making those connections here. There is one girl across the street that she's gotten close with, but there's been a few times where that girl will just all the sudden do something to really hurt Cora's feelings (nothing she herself hasn't done). I tell Cora to get over it...that's life! Just kidding...I don't say that, but it is hard watching your children try to figure out life. And often times how you react to these situations will determine how the child handles similar situations in the future so you have to keep your own emotions out of it and focus on teaching. I'm glad she's having these experiences. The sooner she learns the better. It's just hard when their hearts are so tender. How do you help preserve that "little child" spoken of in the scriptures while life is happening to them? Cora started competitive swim this last week, and she is good! It is so exciting to see her do so well at something she loves to do. She is so competitive (I don't know where she gets that from? ;) and can't go down one length of the pool without trying to beat anyone who is around her even though it isn't a race. I was worried she didn't have that drive for competition after watching her do cartwheels on the soccer field (which just about killed me), but she does have it in her. Her and I also started piano lessons this past week, and I haven't had to remind her to practice once...yet. I know that will probably change, but she is really wanting to play. I've always wanted to play so this is like a dream come true.

I know there were other things, but I can't think of them. AJ says cute things all the time. He is at that age where he's trying to use all the things he hears in the world around him, but doesn't quite know how to use it correctly. He always has Mark and I laughing with the "big boy" things he does. I know it would be really great to be able to give some specifics right now, but my mind is blank. I need to do better.

My husband was in Utah for almost 2 weeks with the National Guard. We definitely missed him, but as bad as it sounds, I keep to a much better schedule when he isn't here. I think it's just so I can pass the time quicker. I have been a busy woman doing domestic "womanly" things like canning anything I can get my hands on; pears, peaches, applesauce, apple butter, apple cider. I've been able to pick most of the fruit myself. This week alone I have spent around 20 hours in the kitchen not including the regular hours for EVERY day cooking...not that I cook every day, but I feel like I'm in the kitchen all the time. I clean up breakfast and little kids are at my heels whining that they are hungry. I am taking care of a 2 year-old girl during the day now for a little extra mu la. She is a good girl, but now I have a 1, 2, 3, and 5 year old at home. I actually try to go to the store with all of them, and I don't hurt anyone...usually. There was that one time I put my hand on Cora's throat and told her to knock it off because she was being loud and I couldn't find what I was looking for. Needless to say, I don't go to the store all that often with all those kids, but I can do it! This past week I had Kylee (the 2 year old) and her sister stayed with us for 4 days while their parents were gone. 6 kids. I had their stuff packed and waiting at the door on Friday. Holy cow that was a lot. Again, trying to save some extra money for a really nice camera I want. I'm starting to think by the time I have all the money for it, I won't be able to spend it. It is going to take me 4 months of saving, and for an impulsive buyer like myself that is a REALLY, REALLY long time to save. I took some pictures of the kids in a mud fight with the really nice camera that I want. I looked out my back window to the kids smearing each other with mud. I started to get angry, but decided that was a stupid thing to do. So I went and got THE camera that's not mine and had some fun with them.

It was fun. And can you believe those are the only pictures I've taken in the last month! Mark is on a mission to get pictures of the house on the blog so I'm thinking we will have pictures up in the next day or so. In any case, I'll be blogging more tomorrow about some other things, but for now I have to end this so I can read up on what everyone else has been doing in the past month!