Oh, So Many Things To Cover

Sorry for the huge delay in posts.... now, on to the stories.....

I'm not sure where to start: the long-awaited goat departure, the increase to 200 chickens on our property, the 5:10am chicken wrangling last weekend, or the story about why I'm sitting here with my leg elevated, iced, bandaged and the skin is missing from my right forearm.

Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves.....let's talk about the Moon Story.

So, Colt's new thing is "Cheer-o". I couldn't get this kid to eat Cheerios to save his life, but the tides have turned and it seems like that's all he wants morning, noon and night. His absolute favorite thing to do is bite them in half, hold them up and yell, "Moon! Moon! Mommy - moon!!" Because, obviously, Cheerios bitten in half look like moons. Pretty bright kid, right?

So, last night's dinner appetizer was in fact, Cheerios. He munched a pretty good sized bowl of them and kept exclaiming with delight, "Moon!!" After he'd finished up the last of them he coughed a bit and then started sneezing like crazy. Very unnatural, repetitive sneezing that didn't seem like it was going to stop. I turned to grab a Kleenex, and when I turned back the final sneeze (with much more vigor!) launched the biggest snot rocket I've ever seen on to his upper lip. Holding back the vomit that had crept up my throat, I went in with the Kleenex. 

But, before I could grab it he popped his little hand up there and rubbed it all around. Only, it wouldn't rub around. He grabbed the chunk, looked at it, held  and proudly exclaimed, "Moon! Mommy - moon!" 

Sure enough, that little bugger had crammed one up his nose.  He's a nose rammer. Gonna have to keep an eye on him.....

Who Goes There??

A few nights ago I had just put Colt down for bed, Todd was out mowing the lawn and I was busily cleaning up after dinner. I was alone. Definitely alone. Seriously, definitely alone. When, I hear, clear as day like it was coming from around the corner, a deep, gravelly, manly voice say, "Hey...."

I spun around, and nothing. No one, nothing. Then I hear again, "Hey. You fine..." And, just when I think I'm going mad (because I AM certainly alone) I hear AGAIN, "Hey. You HUGE. You fine."

I didn't know whether to be completely terrified that someone was in my house unannounced or completely horrified that they thought I was huge. And fine?!

So, just when I'm about to tear out of the house and get Todd, I realize Colt has taken his ModoModo toy (from Madagascar the movie) to bed and I'm hearing it coming through the baby monitor.

Seriously, just one more Valium and I'll be fine. Really.  :)

You're hand shouldn't be dirty, because we haven't been outside yet.

Yesterday morning as Colt was watching some cartoons and Todd slept, I was busily preparing a nice breakfast. Just like I do most weekend mornings.

I went in to the front room and said, "Come on Colt. Time for breakfast. Let's get in your chair!!" And, as he came towards me I thought, "Hmm. I wonder where he got into dirt at?" Knowing full well I had bathed him the night before and we had not, in fact, been outside yet that morning, I was a little suspicious of the apparant dirt.

Which, I'm sure you've realized by now wasn't dirt. Instead, it was a curious boy with a poopy diaper and a stinky hand. And I spent the next 30 minutes collecting everything that wasn't nailed down and washing it.

Gross!!

Saying Goodbye to Texas. Not Really That Hard Afterall....

So, I spent the last week in Houston taking an analyzer training class. I know, I know...a thrill a minute - but I won't bore you with the seedy details of exactly how the chemiluminescence works. Instead I will recap some of my observations during said trip. (And, as a disclaimer, I understand that the blonde shows through sometimes...)

1. Geography 101. News to me! Houston is on the water!! After taking off from Seattle and discovering I was sitting next to a Houstonite, I began pumping her for information. One such conversation involved her telling me, "Oh, just go down over the ship channel..blah...blah..blah." "Ship what?" "Houston's near the ocean?" "Uh, yeah."  Then she whipped out the "Where Alaska Airlines Flies" magazine and made me look like an idiot. Note to self: Self, check where you're going before you get on the short bus. Seriously. "Hey, Rikki, try this purple Kool-Aid. It's really good."
2. Highways. You can always tell when you're near a highway in Texas. Because next to a perfectly good highway, they build another highway. Then, they call that highway a "frontage road." Whatever. Call it was it is: a three lane highway built RIGHT next to a perfectly good four lane one. And, don't even think about calling them "free"ways. That brings me to point #3.
3. Toll Roads. Aren't taxes supposed to pay for that? What's up with charging people to drive on a road that should have already been budgeted for? That's like me charging Todd $2 for dinner when I've already used his money to buy the groceries. And the EZ Pass? Nothing too easy about that.
4. The gyms. Everything's bigger in Texas. Swear: four acres of cardio equipment in this gym. Along with a pool, sauna, steam room, dance studio, rock wall, health food cafe, on-staff massage therapists and physical trainers wandering around giving you tips. I was pondering the need for a gym this size when it struck me: No one in their RIGHT MIND would work out outside. The heat, the humidity, the bugs....it explains it all. Even early April was hot and muggy.
5. The weather. My 3.5 hour flight turned into a 5 hour flight due to tornado/wild weather threats. Not cool. Not at all.

So, all in all, Texas was fun to visit, but boy am I glad to be home!!

Whoa!! Nice Donkey!

So, this is what it looks like when you put a full sized saddle and a normal sized kid on a miniature donkey. He was pretty patient to tell you the truth...