Ultrasound

We got two flats of floweres planted this weekend and they're already starting to come up.  It's exciting starting new plants again, but I'm already tired of the flouresent glow in the dining room:).  We also made some soap.  We hope this is another step to being more self reliant.  Josh was a great help (aka.  he kinda took over the project:).  He seemed to really enjoy it.  Now we have to let it dry and the lye to work out.  When it's ready we'll "handmill" it.  Remelt it with water and add additives to make specialty soaps.  Josh found a recipe for a woodsman soap.  It said that if used over a period of time, it may protect against mosquitos...I like that idea!  I also found a recipe for dish washing liquid, but we have to make a different basic soap, one made out of olive oil and lye rather than lard and lye.  I think this will be fun to experiment with!

We went to the nursing home again on Sunday.  It was fun.  The old people have a lot of fun with John and Lu.  Johnny is so good with them.  When we left he gave everybody at our table a hug.  He was kinda scared, but we could tell it made their day!  He says he wants to go back again, so I think he liket it too.

Josh's tooth, the front one that he had a root canal on last year, has been bothering him lately.  He went again to the endodontist, who had him schedule a surgery to remove a cyst that had grown in his jawbone.  Josh had been warned that this might be the case, since he had waited too long to have the root canal done in the first place.  Well, his mouth was really bothering him last weekend, so he rescheduled the surgery for Tuesday morning.  It went really well and he's happpy that it's done.  He still has some swelling, but it's going down.  Last night he slept on his side...bad idea.  He woke up this morning with a black eye.  I think the blood just settled on the lowest part of his face.  Brusing on the face weas a possibility.

Josh got a rose from the dentist and gave it to me.  I was pretty excited that I got a Valentine flower and even more excited that he didn't have to spend any more money that day...that surgery definately wasn't in our budget for this month or this year.

Not long after Josh got home from his surgery, we had to load up in the van and go back to Bismarck for my ultrasound.  John hadn't taken a nap in the excitement of Daddy coming home right before naptime, so he crashed in the car and the way to and from Bismarck.  It was really fun to see the baby.  It's amazing what experience will do.  I remember seeing John's first ultrasound and barely being able to pick out his face, let alone different parts of his body like arms and legs in the black and white ultrasound monitor.  Now after seeing nearly 20 ultrasounds, it's easy to pick out the baby in their little water home surrounded by Mommy and placenta.  Everything looks great on the ultrasound testing.  The baby is measuring at the right size.  By this point, both John and Olue were about a week too big, so hopefully this baby will follow that smaller size!  My pregnancy has been going very well.  I have been having very good blood sugar control in the hopes that we won't have to have another NICU baby.

Here are some pictures of the "Baby in Mommy's belly" (as John would say:)...

Last night we had our Valentine Supper at the church.  It was really nice and I think the high school kids had a good time putting it on even though they complained about having to do dishes;).  Josh only worked a half day, so it was nice that I didn't have to bring them with in the afternoon when I left early to get things really.  They had already spent all morning with me at the church, and even though they had been really good then I think it was time for them to have at home time.:)  I always enjoy sitting with Josh at the Valentine Supper and having some nice "alone" time with all the candles, isicle lights and decorations.  It's a lot of fun.  John and Olue did really well in the babysitting room.  In fact, all the kids did.  When we went to go pick up John and Lu, there were about 15 kids in the room quietly coloring and eating a snack.  It was amazing how good they all were!

The John and Lu have been playing peek a boo in their kitchen coupboard lately.  Lu Lu especially thinks it's fun to go inside and hide with the dooor closed.  She sat down on the edge the other day.  She just sat down and looked up at us, kicking her feet.  It was so cute!  I said, "Josh, quick get the camera."  Of course by the time I had even started to say it, she was already moving on to something else.  We tried to get her to sit back down.  Johnny even tried to help by sitting next to her, but it didn't work...

Lu Lu love to hug everything!  It's pretty cute to see her hug stuffed animals, kitties, and Cedar.  It's pretty funny to see her hug other toys like this orange ring, or Johnny's cars and trucks.:)

Coloring Fun!

The weather was fairly nice this weekend.  We spent Friday morning cleaning out the chicken coop.  It's nice to not have so much manure in there and it's nice to know we're way ahead of schedule when it comes to spring work.  We started to clear out an old brush pile by the paddock in the afternoon while the kids slept.  We got a majority of it cleared out.

On Saturday we worked on that brush pile again, but only for a little while since John and Olue were getting cold.  In the afternoon we took the kids to the church to train them for how they should act during Mass.  (They've both been kind of naughty lately.)  I think it really helped they were both very well behaved on Sunday during church.  We plan to practice with them for the next few Saturdays so they remember how to behave when that Sunday hour comes.:)

After spending time at the church, we went to the Credit Union annual pancake supper and meeting.  Just as we were reaching for our plates and deciding who was going to get Lu's food and John's food, Josh's ambulance pager went off...Oh Boy!  John, Lu, and I had a good meal and sat with a few people from town that I don't see very often (aka..they don't go to our church).  The kids got to bring home some balloons from our table that they had a blast with that night and the next day until John broke them.  They didn't pop.  They just got small holes and slowly lost their air.

The weather was beautiful on Sunday!  We wished it would have been that nice all weekend.  Josh and I almost took a nap and missed it, but he suggested a walk.  We spent quite a while walking around both parts of our pasture.  It was really nice to soak up the sun!  When we got back to the house, we took some folding chairs and sat on the porch.  We heard a little hand trying to open the big door.  Johnny (supposed to be sleeping) was coming outside to find us.  He ran as fast as he could when Josh opened the door, because he knew he was supposed to be in bed.  It was pretty funny.  We let him sit outside for us for a while.

We went to the Hoger's for the super bowl.  They are friends of ours that have a bid dairy farm near Sweet Briar.  It was fun to visit with friends and watch the kids get some outside interaction...We've been pretty much hanging out at home and at the empty church lately.  It was good to see that Lu isn't as shy as I thought she was.  She just needs more time to warm up to new people/situations that what she usually gets.  Olue's been taking two to three steps here and there for the last week, but at the super bowl party she took 6+ steps two different times while walking to Dana.  She's since reverted back to her two to three at a time.  I think she just needs someone new to show off to...Anyone want to come to visit to speed this walking thing along???  We came home at half time to put Lu to bed.  John had missed out on his afternoon nap, so he probably should have went to bed too, but we let him stay up.  Surprise, surprise...I fell asleep and missed the last quarter;).  When I woke up, Josh showed me that I wasn't the only one.  John had brought his blanket to the couch and had curled up on the "love wedge" and fallen asleep too.  Josh carried him to his bed and he didn't wake up til morning...(that's a first for falling asleep somewhere other than his bed!)

On Monday I rolled out some Newspaper (without the print) on the table for the kids color on.  They both had a lot of fun.  I did too.  Josh said it looked like I colored more than the kids.  John was telling me what to color.  It was pretty cute.  I drew a Winnie the Pooh bear.  Then John said he had to have a pot of honey, so I drew that.  Then John picked up a crayon and colored some honey on Pooh's hand.  Then he said that Pooh got some on his face, so he colored honey by Pooh's mouth.  Then he said that Pooh even got honey on his eyes, so he colored some honey up by his eyes.  It was so funny.  I think we'll have to color again sometime soon.  Lu had fun too, until she realized that John had something different to color with than she had (markers).  She quickly reached for a marker that had rolled next to her and marked her face before I realized what she had.  She also ate a few of the crayons.  I didn't see her doing it, but I saw orange and purple around her mouth.  Those just happened to be the color of the two crayons she had in her hands.:)

John and Lu coloring

We're getting ready for the Valentine Supper at the church.  The high school kids cook and serve it.  Tonight we are going to set up the tables and decorate.  It's a pretty fancy shindig.  Sometimes I wish I could just enjoy going to it rather than knowing and doing everything that goes into it, but it's still fun.  The kids really had a fun time decorating last year.  Some of them got very creative.  So I'm looking forward to tonight, to see what their new ideas are.

I finally figured out what to spend my birthday money on.  This is the only time of year that I have cash burning a hole in my pocket that isn't budgeted out for necessities.:)  I've had a soap making book for a few years now and have wanted to try making it, but didn't have the time or the lard or all of the tools.  When we cleaned out the freezers I realized that we have 2 icecream pails of lard.  It took me about a week to realize that I didn't have to make that many pies to use up lard...I can try out making soap.  I went to Gambles yesterday and ordered/bought everything else that I need.  The rest will come in on Friday.  I'm excited to try it out.:)  Josh told me last night that he was happy I was spending my money on something practical.  (He's so funny.)  My original plan was to buy scrapbooking supplies, which at first seemed practical to me until I thought about it....And you know what?  I haven't done any serious scrapbooking since before John was born.  So I guess scrapbooking supplies really aren't that practical right now:).

I better go and get something else practical done while the kids are napping and stop wasting my time blogging!:)

Warm Weather and Spring Feaver

Time seems to be going by very slowly.  Mom and Dad asked me the other day what we had been up to, and I had nothing to say.  We've been just living in a routine, which has been nice, but a little boring.  The weather has been gorgeous outside, and the kids and I have been able to be outside everyday this week.  I think we're just ready to get a start on the spring work outside.  Josh suggested that we clean out the chicken coop this weekend.  I thought it was a great idea since it's been so warm that instead of being a nice frozen matt of manure, it's the stick to your boots, but never dry out kind.

Last week we did have a little bit of snow to take the kids sledding a few days.  They both really like it.  Lu Lu is at that really smiley age, so all she does is smile and giggle during sled rides.  It's really cute!  She can sit up on her own in the sled now...You can really tell she has to work those tummy muscles.  John likes this better than her leaning on him.  If we get any more snow I'm going to let him pull her around.  I was getting worn out the last day we went sledding...They just want to keep going and going.:)

Picking up Ice Chunks

Can we go sledding now?

Coming down the hill

Going back up the hill...Whee!

Josh has been getting into the Republican Presidential Nominee race.  He's been watching some of the debates online.  We really like how Ron Paul wants less federal government control and more control given to the local and state governments.  The kids think the debates are getting pretty boring.

Daddy, do we have to watch this?

Last weekend we did some cleaning out.  We're trying to get rid of things that we don't think we'll ever use or look at again.  We've been going through paper work, clothes, memory boxes, old magazines, decorations that have been in storage since John was born, freezer & food shelves, etc.  (The garbage man has really loved us lately;)...Josh did take a load to the dump on Saturday, so it wasn't too much this week.)  Josh took the time to go through his closet (Yay!).  He was thinking that he would have to get rid of all his dress pants, assuming that they were too small.  Well he's lost fat and gained muscle since last winter and most of them fit again.  We figured it was all that pop that we were buying (and of coarse drinking) last winter.

John and Daddy having an Indian Pow Wow with Josh's sweatband that he found in his memory box.

We've been trying to eat more healthy lately.  We've been using up more of the veggies in the freezer and I've been replacing more white flour with whole wheat when I bake.  We've been having baked potatoes almost every night for supper lately.  Josh and I had both been sick of potatoes when we first got married (since they had been served at every meal when we were growing up).  I now see why.  I have to bake way less bread since we all get filled up on potatoes.  I like that.  John sometimes likes the potatoes, sometimes doesn't.  His favorite are the blue ones...I'm not sure if it's the color or if he thinks they taste better.  I made potato soup the other night and was surprised to find that both John and Lu liked it, so we had it the next day for lunch.

We started what we hope to make a weekly tradition on Sunday.  We went to the nursing home here in town to visit with the residents for about an hour.  It didn't take the kids long to warm up.  They liked all the attention they were getting.:)  Josh and I both enjoyed it too.

Before supper on Sunday, we took the kids out to the little pond in the far pasture to go ice skating.  I thought Lu would be scared and want to be held the whole time, so I didn't bring my skates.  To my surprise she loved it.  She sat on a folding chair while me or Josh pushed her around.  She liked it better when Daddy did it, since he had his skates and went way faster.  John spent most of his time kicking a little golf ball and chasing it around on the ice.  It was a lot of fun.  We're hoping it'll get just a little colder so we can go out there again.  John has been asking to go "Whee on the Ice" everyday this week.

Getting ready to skate on the pond

Johnny riding on the chair

Go faster Daddy

Lu Lu riding on the chair.  Whee!

Johnny:  I want another turn!

Johnny:  Wait.  I wanted to go next!

This is what Johnny looks like when we tell him to do something he doesn't want to do, like pick up his toys.

On Tuesday, we went to visit Jake at his hotel (he's in Bismarck for work training).  If you asked John what we did with Uncle Jake he'd tell you "Pizza" & "Whee Water".  We took John and Lu swimming in the pool.  Lu Lu didn't like it one bit.  She thought the water was way to cold.  After trying to get her to think it was fun, I sat with her over by the hot tub with my feet warming up.  Just the steam made her nice and toasty.  John, on the other hand, thought the pool was so much fun that (like any other kid) he didn't want to get out even though he was visible shaking, shivering, and starting to turn a little blue.  Josh and Jake had fun swimming him around and catching him when he jumped into the water.

This week has been so warm that there isn't any so left, only a few patches of ice that turn into water in the afternoon.  John loves playing in the water puddles, which shortens our outing excursions since he gets wet and cold and needs to go in to warm up.  Lu Lu loves crawling around on the porch and playing with the kitties and Cedar.  She can say both "Kitty" and "Cedar" now.  They both have enjoyed playing in the sand box too.

We took a walk to Gambles yesterday.  I had to pick up something for the Church.  Johnny wanted to ride on the stroller on the way there.  He rides on the step of it.  It works pretty well.  He's way better at hanging on then he was last summer.  But he makes the stroller a lot heavier to push.  After walking around at Gambles, he didn't want to ride back on the stroller.  I was surprised how well he walked with me.  It took us twice as long to walk back home, (maybe because it's more up hill ;).  But he didn't even ask to ride on the way back.  He did of course have to walk through every puddle and on every ice chunk that we passed.  He slipped and fell once, completely soaking the front of his pants and coat, but he just got up and kept going (walking on the slippery water covered ice again;).

John's pretty funny.  He says so much now.  We can carry on conversations now about more abstract things than what he's doing at the present morning.  Josh was sitting down with John last night and told him how he's going to miss him when he gets big.  John stood up on his tippy toes and said "Big".  He thinks he's such a big boy.:)

Lu Lu is getting closer to walking every day.  She thinks she's such a big girl when she walks on her knees.  Every time she gets to a doorway, chair, or anything she can lean on, she stands up and walks along it holding on with one hand.  She's practicing all the time.  She wants to be like John so much that I don't think it'll take long before she's got the balance to do it on her own.  She's been talking a lot more too.  When I take the time to listen to her babbles I can tell that she's imitating a lot of the things that John says.  The other morning when they were playing together, they were lifting up each other's shirts and tickling the other's tummy.  John was saying "tickle tickle tickle" and they were both giggling like crazy.  Later that day at lunch time, Lu Lu looked at me, lifted her shirt and said "tickle tickle tickle".  It was so cute!

John and Lu wrestle on the floor constantly.  It is so fun to watch them roll around together and laugh.  I'm glad they're so close together in age.  They have so much fun!