Flu Shot torture

We gave the kids a flu shot...glad we had the neighbor record it.  Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPjAN5RIw6M&feature=colike

My Little Livers

It's been a while since I've actually written more than a few sentences on the blog.  Call it laziness or busyness one, but it's about time I give you a word picture of what our life is really like.

Shepherd (5 1/2 years): He's our laugher.  He laughs about anything and everything. His laugh is contagious.   He always has a smile and a positive outlook. He also loves to talk.  He'll talk your ear off about the most random things.  We've started letting him answer our telemarketer phone calls and it is HILARIOUS!!!  He's quick to become attached to random "treasures" such as stacks of papers.  He LOVES paper...mainly blank pages, but has also been known to carry around my old OBU sewing pages.  He took those to church today which resulted in his teachers asking me if I went to OBU...and probably wondering why I was letting my kid carry around 12 year old paper.  Shepherd loves to ride his bike and scooter and play with his friends.  I'm wanting to remember the good things, so I won't write about the temper that comes with his red hair.  He's our most strong willed kid to date.

Owen (4 years):  He's our serious one and a bit on the shy side.  Owen usually doesn't talk to someone unless you've hung out with him longer than an hour.  Owen is strong and agressive and doesn't realize it yet.  He still thinks he's a baby and will jump up on you and almost knock you over.  He loves to play tackle with daddy and Shepherd, but usually ends it in tears.  And when Owen cries he wails!!  It's loud.  Owen is such a good helper.  He is very protective of his little sister and helps keep her out of trouble.  He also helps us keep good care of our chickens and he's our main egg collector.

Marley (almost 2):  How is it possible that she's not a baby anymore?  Our little socialite.  She loves to talk to everyone and I'm amazed at how much she's aware of.  She talks in sentences and seems to understand almost everything we say.  She's very aware of the world around her and wants to tell us all about it.  She loves our neighbors dogs (Abigail and Jackson) and Marley is one of the few people that Jackson is nice to.  If your around Marley for any bit of time she will win you over with her sweet personality.  She's quite spunky and keeps up with her big brothers with no problem whatsoever.

I know these crazy days will pass so quickly.  I want to cherish and remember these sweet moments.

Grapefest 2011

A Lego Dog...

Wow...this Cowboy is really tall.

Owen looks thrilled to have his picture with the giant grapes.

Inspired

It was this wall hanging in the Pottery Barn catalogue that started it all.  Made of wood and not even for sale.  Not that I would have bought it.  Ever since moving into our new house we've needed big wall art at a very inexpensive price.  The wheels started turning...maybe I could replicate this for free.

Step 1:---find some old wood laying around in your neighbors yard that he'll give you for free.  

Don't be scared of dirt, gunk, and critters.

Step 2: find a small person to help you clean the wood.  A brittle brush and a cute kid is a plus.

Step 3:  let wood dry.
  


Step 4 (not pictured): decide how big you want it to be.  Saw boards as needed.  Screw into 2 boards going vertically along back.

Step 5: decide on saying/verse/quote/motto and get out some black paint and letter stencils (I already had both.)

Enjoy final product and be proud for turning trash into treasure all for FREE!!

UPDATED:  I did sand the final product with a small hand sander.  Sandpaper would work find.  This gave the letters the distressed look and also helped rid the boards of splinters and dirt.  I didn't wax, stain or seal anything.  I might regret that later, I don't know.  I've also eyed some old fence pickets to use, and I probably would stain them until they reached a desirable color.  The pickets I have have aged differently and are a more gray color vs. the rich browns of my Micah project.  

The question was also asked when I had time to do this.  As you can see from Owen "helping me" clean, most of the time the kids were awake and "helping me".  This project didn't just happen over night, it was more of a month of minutes here and there.  

Our new family members

It's been in the making for a while...I've wanted chickens...yes, me, city girl wanted chickens. Mainly because I'm cheap and also liked the idea of some entertainment around here, as if 3 wild kiddos isn't enough! In my opinion chickens are on of the few pets that earn their keep.

When Nate came home one day saying that he'd had a conversation with another doctor who said we could have some of his chickens I jumped on it. We wanted to do everything very inexpensively because that's where we're at in life and because our HOA says "no Chickens" so we have to be willing to get rid of them at any time therefore we didn't want to sink a bunch of money into their coop.

Ahhh...their coop. I pinterested and googled some ideas and came up with the idea of turning the kids plastic little tykes house into a coop. Brilliant!! It was free to us and almost free to remodel for chickens. We bought chicken wire and boarded up the windows. We also put a perch for them to roost. We also bought feed and a water feeder. We spent less than $50.

We've had so much fun. We've trimmed their wings to keep them from flying out of the yard---yes, they've escaped a few times. They lay about an egg a day per hen. The kids love finding the eggs. Their names are Keeter and Agnes and they're very kid friendly. They eat the bugs in the yard and fertilize the grass. They definitely earn their keep!

Agnes laying an egg...

Owen locking up the house for the night..

The chicken coop next to the compost pile...who am I?

Keeter--not the smartest place to hang out.

Owen teaching them tricks.

Mini update

So....I guess summer's over?!? But it's still 105 degrees outside!! With the start of school comes the hope of cooler weather. So what have we been up to? a little of everything.

Lots of sitting on the potty for Marley, but no successes, but also very few accidents. She can hold it like a champ.

Shepherd can't keep his pants on to save his life. His pants can be really tights around his waist and yet still manage to slip down and show his crack. Maybe plumbing is in his future? He also has started playing the wii, which he loves. We definitely have to monitor this boys tv time---he is very drawn to that sort of thing.

Owen loves playing trains and playing with his sister. He's so kind and helpful with her. Definitely the protective older brother.

Marley is just growing up so quickly. This is a first to have an almost 2 year old and not be pregnant. I feel like I'm able to watch her life quickly pass because I'm not as busy with a newborn or tired with a pregnant belly.

Shepherd loves taking pictures. I periodically let him use the camera...here's the world through Shepherd's eyes:

Is it tomorrow yet?

Shepherd has been so excited and ready to start school. God directed us and we decided to let Shepherd repeat pre-k 5 days a week this year. He was a little hesitant, but also excited to be with Mrs. Kercheval again. He also has another friend who is in his class again. So they're the leaders together. I'm praying that this is a huge year for my little guy as he matures socially, academically and most of all spiritually. We are so proud of Shepherd and are excited to watch him grow this year.