"Listen to my words!!!!"

"Listen to my words, Mommy, this is NOT a winning race!!!"

The sentence above was delivered by my scowling daughter, angry that I suggest she hustle up and get undressed for her bath or Rowan would beat her into the tub. Sassy, yes indeed. I can't wait until she is a teenager. The thought actually scares me a little.

The weather has finally turned nice! Even if it was just teasing, and becomes crummy again, I can say that we have thoroughly enjoyed the small amount of time that it has been wonderful. Hopefully it will stay that way! It has been so nice that I dragged out all our big outside toys, like the bouncy horse, the playhouse, the climbing gym, the sandbox and picnic table, and even the kiddie pools.

I set up the kiddie pool a couple days ago during naptime, hoping that it would catch a few days of sun and warm up from the frigid fresh-from-the-hose temperature. Later that day I blocked Rowan onto the deck with lots of fun toys, but allowed Lola to roam the yard, since Wil was outside and could help me keep track of her. I went around the corner after warning her to stay out of the freezing pool. Hearing a noise that was suspiciously splash-like, I peeked around the corner to find my daughter, absolutely naked as a jaybird, splashing around happily in the pool. All anger at her disobedience was completely blown away by my amazement at her cold tolerance. I mean that pool was COLD! Giving in, we got a swim suit on her, greased her up good with sunscreen and let her play herself out in the ice cold pool. She stayed in for about an hour, only coming out after I convinced her that it was only going to get colder as the evening dragged on.

Rowan sensibly chose to stay out of the pool that day, waiting several more days to go for a dip. Instead, he played with the coveted little red car on the deck, enjoying every moment of his Lola-free-time.

Today we went with some friends to the local science center, where they enjoyed the live animals, food exhibits, and puzzles. Rowan enjoyed pooping his pants....twice....which Wil generously offered to clean both times. He loved this little reading tent thing, hiding inside and shrieking to get our attention, then flinging the curtains open like a little tiny flasher.



After the science center we went to swim lessons. The pool there was 91 degrees today! That is a far cry from the icebox pool in our backyard! Lola has been doing so great in her swim lessons. Today she actually swam! Not very far, but several feet, all by herself!

Tonight we had a babysitter come in to watch the kids while we actually went on a date! Yes, a real date! I had forgotten what it was like to enjoy a peaceful dinner without the hassles of screaming, wiping mush-covered hands, or trying to come up with convincing pre-dinner entertainment when the food is late coming out. We had a lovely sushi meal, followed by a movie and a leisurely drive home.

Now the house is quiet, save for the sound of Ivy ripping something up. Sounds like paper. Not worth jumping up and hunting her down to remove the item before it becomes lodged deep in her intestines and requires emergency surgery. I sure love this little dog. She is such a joy! It is like having a third baby, with all the cute and cuddle, and none of the all night buffet and clean-up sessions. Well, off to get some shut-eye. Tomorrow is another wonderful day!

Ivy

Betcha you didn't know we were expecting......a new puppy! After all the things we went through after Rowan's birth, we decided that two kids were the right number for our family. I knew that "baby fever" would eventually strike again. When it did, we agreed that we would start looking for a puppy. Not just any puppy would do, however. It would have to be a chihuahua puppy. Something that I could shamelessly spoil and have as as "forever baby". You know, one of those dogs that rides around in your purse, wearing bling on her collar, and expensive botique clothing. After watching my baby grow big and strong, running around the house, climbing on the playground, and starting to talk, I figured it was about time to get our "baby". So, without further adieu, I would like to introduce Ivy Callula, our new puppy.



We drove this weekend to a city near Seattle to pick her up. She is an absolute doll. We have known her for only two days, and already the family is in love! Lola carries her around, whispering soft little reassurances like "it's ok baby, shh, shhh." Rowan isn't too sure about her though, looking down in bewilderment as Ivy tugs at his pajamas. Wil and I are smitten, although he is loathe to admit it. Roy doesn't seem to mind his baby sister, but the cats tower over her, setting Ivy to growling ferociously at them as they prowl around, wondering just what she is. Ivy seems unphased by all the changes, and has completely taken over the house and its inhabitants.



Our weekend was very long, and we spent much of it in the car. We made many stops along the way, at one point buying huge popsciles for the kids, which Rowan thoroughly enjoyed.




By the end of it, the kids were exhausted, but we pressed on, heading into the mountains to go mushroom hunting. We just couldn't imagine missing out on the tasty morels. We have been shut out the last couple of years, and we were determined that this would be our year to come home with bucketfulls. Well, we ended up with three mushrooms, and two very sleepy sunbaked children. It was all worth it though, as we settled in for the night, one big tired and happy family!

Our First Camping Trip

Well, we did it. We took our first official camping trip as a family in our 1978 Kit Companion camper trailer that we recently purchased in anticipation of just such an event. I'm not sure if you can really call it camping though, when you back into a grassy lawn and hook up to electricity. Our camper also has nice clean water and a potty. Camping? Maybe not quite, but I think it is close enough!

We all piled into the truck (including the dog) for the long ride to Montana, where we would be joining Wil's family for a celebration of his dad's birthday. The kids did great in the truck, despite having colds. We stopped part way at a tourist trap and Lola thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the touristy junk for sale there. We left with a cowboy hat (oh, sorry, a cowHORSE hat, as it had a horse, NOT a girl on it, thank you very much) and a toy pony.

We rolled into Missoula and set up our "camp" with several other campers and 5th wheel trailers. There were lots of kids and dogs there to keep Lola and Rowan fairly entertained for the weekend, not to mention an abundance of doting relatives to provide endless attention.



The kids got dirtier than I have ever seen them! The bathwater at night was brown. They breifly took time off from playing in the dirt to go to the hotel where Wil's parents were staying, where they swam and swam in the warm indoor pool. Rowan loved his floaty boat, and Lola had a great time swimming with her little floaty. I enjoyed the hot tub, followed by a lovely trip to the local brewery. Many beers were consumed, and all was well with the world.



I was worried about how the kids would sleep at night with all of us crammed into the tiny trailer, but they did great. Lola slept up in her little bunk, secure behind a foam bumper. Rowan slept in his pack n play behind a curtain that I made from leftover material. They slept like rocks. I was also worried about how I would sleep....Princess Insomnia....I shouldn't have ever worried. The trip was so exhausting that I slept like a rock too. In fact, we have been back for several days now and I am still catching up!



I would say that our first family camping trip was a total success! We will definitely go many more times this summer. What fun!

Fishy Fishy in the Brook

We finally decided that Lola is old enough to experience that time honored tradition - fishing. She had received a fishing pole when she was only a few weeks old, and it has been sitting in the attic, patiently awaiting the day that she would be old enough to use it. The day was cool, and it looked like rain, but we had already told her the night before that we might go fishing, so there was no backing out. We went outside to dig up some worms, having to assure Lola that these worms were not her pet worms, but were special fishing worms.

We drove to the local kids fishing pond to find it completely silent. There were no other brave souls there that day, so we had it all to ourselves. We found a good spot and cast her line to the middle of the pond. After only a few minutes of patiently watching the bobber, she had a bite! Lola actually reeled the fish in pretty much by herself, and then decided that she wanted to net it at the shore. Between her and Daddy, they were able to get a very nice fish into our bucket! It only took an hour to get six fat fish for dinner. Lola did a great job reeling them in. Meanwhile, Rowan slept in the van awhile, and then tried multiple times to fall in the pond.

We took the fish to Gramma and Grampa's house to have for dinner later, and they were very yummy!

The rest of the weekend was great too. We took a quick trip to the "big city" to get some formula for our baby goats. The sun peeked out around noon, so we took the kids to the local park, where we met up with their uncle.


Lola gave her uncle a run for his money, running up and down the riverside.....



Rowan enjoyed climbing up and down the stairs, while Mommy tried to ignore the goose poop that he was inevitabley sitting in.

We then took the kids on the carousel for the first time. I don't remember the carousel being so fast! It had been years since I had ridden it, and it is the real deal, not like the hokey carousel at the local fair. Lola chose a horse on the outside, which meant that Mommy had to try to get the ring every time around. We never did get a gold one, but Lola loved it anyway! Wil stood next to Rowan on his horse, and reported later that Rowan absolutely loved the carousel.



What a big weekend! We all slept wonderfully into Monday morning, when it was back to the same old same old. With our busy lives, even the same old same old is an adventure!

Another Rainy Easter

Easter came and went before we even knew it. A few days before the big day, I had a very long, very rough day at work. I finally got home at about 8pm, surprised to find Lola still awake.

"Mommy" said Lola sleepily, "you said we could color Easter eggs tonight if I was good for Daddy today."

Oh no. I had promised Lola in a rush out the door that morning that we could do eggs later if she was good. That was before I had the 12 hour day from hell at work. Arg. What could I do though, those big eyes looking up imploringly, promising me that she really had been a very good girl all day.

So, at 8:30 pm on a Thursday night, we sat down to color Easter eggs. It was fun. This year she could just about do it all by herself. Good thing we are going to tear out the carpet though, as it is now speckled pink and blue under her chair.



The day before Easter morning was cold and rainy. We dressed the kids warmly, although Lola insisted on wearing her Easter dress, obviously chosen for her months earlier when I assumed that the weather would be at least decent. It was Rowan's first Easter egg hunt. Like his sister, I only had to show him once what to do, and he was off on an egg collecting mission.




Both kids gathered plenty of eggs, and ate way too much candy that day.

Easter morning was just as cold. The kids awoke to Easter baskets bulging with Dollar Store wonders that the Easter bunny had meticulously collected for the last couple of months. They played with their toys awhile, and then we dressed up and packed up to go to Gramma and Grampas. After a short visit (the Easter bunny had left a few things there too) we headed to Church for a lovely Easter service. We spent the rest of the day relaxing before having a fantastic Easter dinner with Gramma and Grampa, and Great Gramma.



The kids went to bed early that night, full of treats and happy with their fun-filled Easter day.

SPAM!! (a brief interlude from everyday blogging)

Found this recipe while surfing aimlessly. Maybe I'll try this tomorrow night. The bacon bits sprinkles sound like the perfect touch. I'm just sorry I couldn't find a picture.

California Spamoni Sorbet

1 sm Can spam (7 oz.)
1 pk Aspic
2 Avocados
1 pt Haagan daas lemon sorbet
2 Sugar cones
1 Jar bacos bacon bits

Blend up Spam and aspic until smooth and creamy. Do the same with the avocados. Retrieve your empty large Spam can (left over from main course) and press Spam mixture into the bottom. Add a layer of the lemon sorbet, then a layer of the avocado paste. Several alternating layers can be added to suit aesthetics and personality. Pop in freezer for an hour then scoop onto cones , sprinkle with Bacon Bits and enjoy.

And now I have four kids.....

Well, the minivan was plumb full the other day. I picked up my kids from day care, and they jumped in with the two goat kids that were already in there. An emergency c-section at work had left two critically ill newborn goat kids without a mama. So, they came to live with us until they can find a permanent home, which may or may not happen. Seems like no one is crazy enough to want two useless goats! So for the time being, it seems that we have goats.

They are the cutest darn things, Samson and Delilah. For the first few days they lived in our laundry room in a big dog cage. They had to be bottle fed every few hours, and they had absolutely no personal hygiene, let me tell you! I did so many loads of laundry that week! It was touch and go with them for a few days, and they even received transfusions for their weak immune systems. They couldn't walk at all for the first three days of their lives, unusual for baby goats. Samson actually lost a pound from birth weight while he learned how to nurse from a bottle.

Now, Samson and Delilah are growing babies bouncing around like crazy! They live in a temporary kennel situation outside, and are learning to drink milk from a "lamb bar", basically a cooler with nipples sticking out of it. This way I can feed them morning and night, and they can determine how often they want to nurse all day long rather than gorging themselves on 2-3 bottles a day. It has been very satisfying to see them not only survive, but grow and play!

I tried very hard to keep the real kids away from the goat kids for the first week. I guess being a vet I am slightly paranoid of what my kids might catch from random clinic animals. Soon, however, I could no longer keep Lola away from them, and she started helping me feed them (followed by a huge hand washing session, of course!).



Now that they are outside, Lola and Rowan really enjoy going out to see them when the weather is nice. I let them out and all four kids run and play in the green grass. What a beautiful sign of spring! It has been so wonderful outside lately. The kids have been out every day enjoying the sandbox and the swingset. We made it down to the park today, but Lola's pesky fever just seems to hang on and on, and sure enough it was back up this afternoon. Hopefully a good long nap plus the fresh air will help her out. I hope so, she needs every ounce of energy to enjoy this wonderful spring weather while it lasts!