My 'Baby' Girl is 5!

I just cannot believe that Lexi is 5 now. She is so excited to be 5, like some sort of transformation happened to her while she slept night. She thinks she can do so much more now that she is 5. She really wants to be able to tie her shoes though. I take her to Kindergarten registration on the 22nd, it will be the highlight of her month I'm sure. She has changed so much in this past year. She no longer has a baby face and is becoming very lean like her daddy. (Thank God!) My Lexi is very tall for her age, about 4' 4", so people have expected a lot more of her for quite some time. To me, she is still my baby and probably will always be...

How much sorrow can one person bear?

A friend of mine has just been having a terrible time. She went in to have an emergency C-section Sunday before last because her little one was 2 weeks overdue. The day she went in her boyfriend of 14 years died of kidney failure. The day after the baby was born, just 1 day lived, she died. Holly was home from the hospital just a few hours when her dog died. I could hardly believe my ears when she called to tell me all of this. I went to the funeral yesterday. My MOMS Club prepared and served all the food for the reception afterwards. What a sad day it was for us all. The casket was so tiny it was carried in by the funeral director. Sometimes life isn't fair. I think that my life sometimes sucks until I look at someone else's. My son was born very sick. He was in intensive care for his first 2 weeks of his life. Thank God, today he is a very healthy, happy boy of 3 1/2 but all I could think sitting there, staring at that tiny coffin, was how easily it could have been me. Shedding tears of pain for my friend and the grief she has to face. When I got home last night, I hugged both of my children so long and so hard, they had to ask me to let them go. Thank you God, for the joy they give me, thank you for sparing my sweet boy and please, please be with my friend right now and always. I'm so thankful she has her faith in God to see her through, knowing that one day, she WILL see her baby girl again.

It's still snowing...

I can hardly believe it. The snow has usually cleared out by now, except for an occasional squal. Not this year! We've gotten about 7 inches in the past 24 hours. Should help reduce the summer forest fires. Won't really help me out for Lexi's 5th birthday party on Saturday. Guess my prayers should have been more specific!

Another St. Patty's Day been and gone...

...and I survived! It was alright, nothing too special. Got to be quite a circus later in the evening though. 1 fight started between 2 guys, (which never ends up just being between those 2 guys)...went downhill from there pretty quickly. Just seemed all hell broke loose after that. Up a block from where we were, (thankfuly) 2 guys got into it at Club 13, (a bar) and one threw the other through the window! Ambulance had to come, guy was in pretty rough shape, as you could imagine. Got crazy all over in uptown Butte. So, we got 'outta there! Went to breakfast and was home by 11:30. It was soooo friggin' cold out though, (about 9F). I took a 1/2 hour, HOT shower, just to warm myself up! Didn't sleep too well either. Aaron was working graveyard and the kids had spent the night at my parents'. Did the whole look at the alarm clock every hour so I didn't sleep in too late thing. Aargh! No hubby hogging covers, no kids climbing into bed with mom at the wee-hours of the morning and I COULDN'T SLEEP...go figure!!!

Wearin' yer green?

I don't know how many of you are familiar with St. Patty's Day in Butte, Montana, but it is quite the gig. LOTS of people. Butte isn't a big place, just about 40,000 people. But, on St. Patty's the population doubles, seriously. It is a big, drunken bash. I will be partaking in the festivities with two great friends, my sister and her fience' later this evening. Should be great fun, always is. I'll let you know...
If you were wondering...it's STILL snowing. We've gotten a few more inches over the past couple of days and we're expected to get about 8 more tonight. It's windy and chilly today, again. My "baby" girl will have her 5th birthday party next Saturday, hope it gets nicer out by then???

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Holy Snow!

Well, we've gotten about 6 inches so far. Still snowing off and on. The kids have been out to play in it twice now. Aaron brought our new boat home today...guess we WON'T be going to the lake this weekend though!!!

Great White Bear gets his wish!!!

Alrighty then, we are getting SO MUCH snow today. I'm actually pretty glad about it, we need the moisture badly. I'd say we've gotten about 2 inches already this am and it shows NO signs of letting up anytime soon. Crazy weather. It's been in the 60's during the day for the past week, which is June weather around these parts. It's almost a "white out" outside right now! Tiger was so excited when he saw that snow. He got his boots and coat on and was outside at 6:45 am! "Mom, I gotta' go eat it!" What is it about eating snow? I can even be spotted, sneaking a lick from the railing of our deck on my way out to the yard. I remember feeling how excited a HUGE snowfall made me, as a kid. Now, I get to see that delight on my own children's faces. I'm blessed to live in an area of the world whose weather keeps me on my toes. (And I sure am glad that the greatwhitebear got his wish.)

Ridiculously long survey...

Got this from my cousin's blog, (thanks Allyson!) Bold what you have done before and comment if you'd like to.

1. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins (HUGE dream of mine though)
3. Climbed a mountain (Many times...I live in Montana)
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula (It was quite scarry too!)
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (At a funeral of all places, it was totally nerves!!!)
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you weren't ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse (With my Grandpa *snif*)
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 10 provinces + 3 territories
50. Gone waterskiing (We just bought a boat, this one will change this summer!)
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Been rock climbing (sort of...)
60. Lied to a foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
62. Gone sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight (No, but I can push 472 pounds with my legs.)
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days (That's why I ended up in the hospital, pregnant with my Lexi)
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on a television news program as an "expert"
105. Received flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a cheque
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children (In the process of...)
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars (Long story...)
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did (My great-great Aunt came to this country in a trunk, she's still living!)
132. Called or written your MP or MPP
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. …more than once? More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking ('member sis?)
137. Seen two or more oceans
138. Had plastic surgery (kinda')
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication (Does the MOMS Club newsletter count???)
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart (2 actually, still makes me feel bad too.)
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job (Laid off)
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Been photographed naked
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 160 km/h
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (When I had Epstein Barr in high school, sick for 7 months!)
164. Visited more foreign countries than Canadian Provinces
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad (Only because I HAD to!)
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions (Ha!)
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (sign language)
189. Been elected to public office (Again, does MOMS Club count??? Ha, ha!)
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196. Dyed your hair
197. Been a DJ (at my 'baby' sister's 16th b-day)
198. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested

My kids are funny...

...they make me laugh every single day. What joy they bring to my life. We just have "regular" TV. No cable, no satellite dish, just plain 'ol free, local programming TV. Well, about a month ago we got FOX, channel 24 'round these parts. It's so exciting to see all new shows and ones I've only heard about, (American Idol for instance). Anyway, at 7am Smurfs is on. Remember the Smurfs...wow, was THAT a trip down memory lane! My son, who bless his heart is almost always up by then loves to watch it. After Smurfs there is a show called Ambush Make-Over. Well, since Smurfs ended I thought I'd play one of the kids' videos, boy was I ever wrong!!! Lexi turned around and said very matter-of-factly, "Mom, we were watching Ambush Make-Over." Well-soooorrry! I thought it was pretty funny actually. Pre-teen at 5, can you imagine!?

Spring fever!

Ugh! I have spring fever terribly. I'm lucky to have a greenhouse. In Montana, espically where we are, you really need a greenhouse if you plan to grow vegetables. And I LOVE to! It's a favorite pass-time of mine. I spent part of this afternoon mucking out my little greenhouse and getting it ready. There are two rows for planting and a potting bench with shelves above, it's a nice size. I even planted a few pots, even though I will have to keep them in the house at least another month. I know that we are going to have a terribly dry, probably very fire riddled summer around here. We didn't get NEAR ENOUGH snow this winter as a result of the tsunami screwing up weather patterns around the globe. We usually get feet upon feet of snow around here. This winter we only had a couple of feet and it's been gone over a month now. It's hard not to be happy about the warmer weather though. The kids and I spend most of the afternoon outdoors playing soccer, going for walks or just playing on the jungle gym out back. Today we even bought a boat! Never had a boat before, nice little speed boat. Will be good for fishing, water skiing and tubing this summer. That will be lots of fun.
Both Mom and Tiger are much better today. Mom got home from the hospital ER about 4 yesterday afternoon. Her head is "sore" today, but no headache. My little man is still congested, but much better. He is sleeping now.

Definately a Monday

Boy, has it been! My little man came home from preschool feeling pretty run down. He's been batteling a cold for almost 2 weeks now. Very congested and cranky. Poor little guy. I got home from picking the kids up and found out my mom was in the hospital. She gets incredible headaches. Sometimes the only thing that will take them away is a trip to the hospital ER for some interveinous morphine. Ugh! They have NO IDEA why she gets them. They have run so many tests, it's unreal. It all traces back to her fall down the stairs at work in '96. The headaches have just kept getting worse and worse since then. I will be glad when today is all over. I'm sure tomorrow will be brighter.

My own Taco Cassarole Recipe

Thought I'd share this recipe I came up with, my family loves it. I was able to use up all the broken tortilla chips that never get eaten (cuz' they're too small to dip!).

350F prep 10 mins, bake time 25 mins or until bubbly.
13X9 pan, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small pan, brown 1-1 1/2 pounds of ground meat, drain well. Beef, turkey, whatever you have on hand.
Meanwhile, completly crush about 3 cups of tortilla chips or left over taco shells. Place 1/2 of them in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with cheddar cheese, set aside.
Chop 1 small zucchini and add to browned and drained meat also add 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 packet of taco seasoning, (also good with chili seasoning). You can also add 1 cup sour cream if you like it. Add to prepared pan. Top with remaining, crushed chips and another sprinkling of cheddar, (more is always better!). To serve, you can top it like a taco with shredded lettuce, fresh tomato and salsa/taco sauce if you'd like. With the veggies it is a quick 1 pot meal, I've also added black beans instead of meat. My family eats the whole pan and there are only 4 of us. It's a favorite of my Lexi. We all prefer Mexican cuisine over most anything else. (Since cheesecake isn't considered a main dish!) If you try it, let me know what you think.

My son slept until 8 am!!!!

Woo-hoo! I could hardly believe what the numbers on my alarm clock were telling me this morning. David hollored that he had to go poddy and it seemed awfully bright out, rolled over...8 o'clock...what? 8 o'clock? "Good boy David, you stayed in bed until the sun woke up Tiger!" Today will be a great day, I just know it. Things always look a little better when you've gotten a decent nights sleep.

We went to a soc hop last night to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. My wonderful friend Jenni is one of the board members for this particular branch. She called yesterday saying, please come and bring your kids. Free cotton candy, popcorn, sodas and live music, which was really good. They kids LOVED watching the band play while shaking their booties. David made friends with some teen girls there, (my own little Ricco-Suave) so my 3 1/2 year old was busting some moves with them. We stayed until 9:30, home by 10 and the kids passed out! Guess I'm gonna have to take my Tiger to some more dances huh?

Tonight Aaron and I get to go out. They are having a big chili making contest, all you can eat and drink for $10, live music there as well, but this evening is just for the "moms and dads". *smile* Justin will come to bbsit for us. Our kids adore him. He a 16yo boy that lives down the street, have known him since he was 7. Really great kid, they play and play while he's here. And so nice that he lives just 4 doors down. My parents are going with us, was mom's birthday so we're taking her out with us to celebrate. Meeting up with several ladies from my MOMS Club and their hubbies too. Will be great fun! I LOVE to dance and just didn't get enough in last night. Was really more fun watching my kids and 2 year old niece boogie anyway.
It's so sunny and bright out this morning. I hope we will have another beautiful almost-spring day here in Montana.

I Feel Good...

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na. I knew that I would now...
I got my house mucked out today. Dusted, cleaned, polished and scrubbed. And I DO mean scrubbed. Like on my hands and knees, scrubbed the floors. Bathroom, hallway, dining room and kitchen. Yea! My father-in-law finished taping and mudding the soon-to-be kitchen pantry and I am sooooo happy about that. You have no idea. He does a great job, but is not the tidyest of people. So there was drywall mud from the kitchen to the basement and back again. I'm so glad that part is out of the way. Now it just needs to be painted and the shelving put in. The shelving will definately be the tough part for Aaron, it's a very odd space (and he has a picky wife!). He's been doing good though, working on it when he has some spare time. Which, doesn't come along too easily being a trucker that works 13-16 hours a day. When that is done it will be on to finisheing the basement, or so I hope. This project has been on the back burner for about 4 years now. All the really needs to be done structurally down there is the suspended ceiling and a bit more drywall hung. Then, of course paint, carpet and tile. It will be a family room. I'm excited about it because I get to decorate it how I want it to be when it is done. I plan to use primary colors to accent. There are some adorable lights I want at Lowe's. They are for the 2 side walls, (not the ceiling). A silver bar has 4 lights and I plan to use the colored, blown glass shades. 1 blue, 1 red, 1 orange and 1 green. Then there is a smaller, cubby towards the back of the room that I plan to make a "crafting area", so that part of the floor will be tiled instead of carpeted. Haven't decided on the carpet color yet, suggestions more than welcome. Blue is (Ithink) going to be my main color. There is a really cool cobalt blue sofa that I want down there. I think we will just do white walls since there isn't a lot of natural light and since I plan to use a lot of color in accent items, (lights, furniture, etc.) My mother-in-law is an AMAZING seamstress. She can literally make/sew ANYTHING. She once had someone offer her $10,000 for an Irish Wedding Band quilt she made that was on display at a local quilt shop. (I was given it as a gift...it wasn't "for sale".) Anyway, she is going to help me make a giant beanbag for the corner of the room. I think I want it to be either orange or red. The kids will love that. I really want a room that just for hanging out and having fun in. It's very exciting, I just hope it will be done soon. Spring is right around the corner and Aaron hates working indoors during the sunny weather and who can blame him?!

Made some changes...

...to my blog. Scroll down to the bottom of this page. Cool eh? Did it myself. I'm beaming with pride, becuase I've always been very computer illiterate. I even completed my profile. Can't wait to show Aaron when he gets home, he'll be SO PROUD! Next on the agenda...picutres!

Today...a zombie.

It seems like when you are a stay-at-home mom, you wear all kinds of hats. You may be a playmate, craft coordinator, teacher...well, today for instance, I am a zombie. My son doesn't sleep, has never been fond of sleep and I fear, will never BE fond of sleep. I've tried putting him back to bed when he gets up "before the sun wakes up", but he just cannot return to slumber. He's so wide awake that there's no way he'd go back to sleep. At naptime and before bed EVERY day he asks, "which time do I have to sleep for mom?". (He wants to know how long he has to sleep.) I just tell him if he would close his eyes for just a little while, his body will rest as much as it needs to. Last night was no different. I don't think he fell asleep until 10 and he was bright eyed at 6am, asking to play queitly in his room. It would have been okay, but Lexi was in bed with me at 2:48 am with a bad dream about snakes. I don't think I fell asleep again after that. When my kids sleep with me...I don't. I feel every flip, every flop and hear every snort. I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Help me!!!

We are in romodeling limbo. A corner of my kitchen is torn apart and will be a pantry someday. Our basement has been unfinished since we moved in, in 1999. Aaron has been slowly finishing it as he has time, (he works a crazy schedule). It's so hard to be supportive and happy about it when it takes so damn long. It makes me cranky and hard to live with sometimes I'm sure. There being messes in my house is very hard for me. I tend to be a bit of a neat freak and lately my house is dusty, cluttered and just plain messy. Aaron is much better about cleaning up lately and I sweep and vacuum the floors several times a week, but the mess just takes over! Drywall, mudding and taping is so dusty and dirty. I'm offering a question today. How can I let the mess go and not be so worried about it? I'm really trying not to obcess about it, but it's so hard for me not to. Help!