Cold

This is what happens when a 4 year old has a cold....

First Day of School

There were only a few tears shed on the first day of school. I held it together at drop off until Aiden started to well up. I knew we were heading for a disaster if I stuck around any longer so with a hug and a kiss Gary, Owen and I left. All the way to the car Owen was yelling where is Aiden? Mom, wait for Aiden! Broke my heart and really made me cry. Hoping that Thursday has less tears for everyone.

Hot Air Balloon

While painting at The Scott's a hot air balloon flew over the house. It was close enough that the boys could wave and yell to the people in the basket. All four boys were in the front yard waving and yelling to the balloon....

Painting at The Scott's

Jessica and Tony decided to paint their house so Gary went over with the boys while I worked on Sunday.


Before: White house with black trim



Tony and Gary hard at work


Almost After:
The guys were almost done painting...the garage door and some trim needs to be done. Of course they only got the front of the house finished. Good luck Tony on the other three..lol


The boys had soo much fun hanging with their cousins for the day. When I got home from work I was shocked how dirty they were! Owen was covered in dirt from head to......

toe.....



Both the boys got a bath at Aunt Jessica's before heading home.

Happy Birthday Gary

Gary's birthday is always an extravaganza. He likes to stretch it out as long as possible. During his birthday week (yes I said week, I told you he likes to stretch it out) we went to a BBQ at his boss's house, spent a rainy night at the Armada Fair, he took a trip to the casino with his parents and had a birthday dinner followed by his favorite, Boston Cream Pie.

Happy 35th Birthday Gary!!!

Garden Harvest

We got a late start on our garden this year. We decided to build to above ground garden boxes this year. Gary built them out of stakes and cedar garden fencing. We didn't plant anything until late June but I have finally started getting a good "pickin". Last week I even had enough tomatoes to make homemade spaghetti sauce and picked enough beans to freeze a few quarts. I've already made two patches of spicey pickles from the peppers and pickles in the garden.

Our Day In Pictures....

Goats, Canning, Playing, cousins, Peacocks, baby, chickens, four-wheeler...fun!

The Park

The boys ask to go to the park as much as possible lately. Aiden LOVES the slid, e and you usually can't get Owen off the swing. Most of the time we head downtown to the Mill Pond and play there then go feed the ducks and walk to Dairy Queen. Aiden asked the other day if we could go to the other park. I asked him why he didn't want to go to the Mill Pond. He said Daddy always wants to leave and go feed the ducks and get ice cream and the other park doesn't have ducks or ice cream so Dad won't want to leave and I can play the whole time. He's a smart cookie.

Entry Way

I finally have a real entry way to the house. No more walking in and seeing the washer and dryer, no more piles of dirty clothes and shelves full of junk. There is only two things to finish the room....some base molding and to fix the lights. Seems they may have been wired wrong and the switch doesn't work so I haven't been able to turn them on. I even painted two new pictures to hang.

Nature Center

I took the boys to the Kensington Park Nature Center on Saturday. We packed a picnic lunch and a fun scavenger hunt I made up for them. They each had a clip board with a crayon and paper showing some of the things they might find while we were out hiking. Aiden had a blast looking for our items and circling them as he found them.

Pickle Time

My in-laws planted a ton of pickles in the garden this year so you know what that means....I had to can some. This was the first year doing it by myself, usually I head over to Mom's house and destroy her kitchen for a day but I just had a small batch to do this year and I think Mom still has pickles coming out of her ears from last year. Gary is obsessed with pickles and brings the jar our for every meal. I got up early to get them done before my kitchen got to hot. Aiden decided he was going to help me ( excuse his outfit of just underwear it's been hot lately). We got started cutting and stirring before Owen was awake but it didn't take long until the little one was up and ready to "help". We got 6 quart jars done and ran out of brine for the pickles so I have a bowl full of pickles waiting for round two in the fridge...

What's Our Favorite Place to Visit....

The zoo of course!! It's even more special when we can go with Papa, Papamom and The Scotts.

Crabby No More

It amazes me sometimes how opposite the boys are. Aiden is an early riser and once he's awake he's out of bed and going for the day. Owen on the other hand likes to sleep a bit later in the morning and needs some time to roll around in his bed before even looking at another human. Most mornings he wakes up and is more than crabby. Gary started putting Layla in his crib in the morning and it's improved his mood tremendously. I'm not sure if Layla really likes it but it sure has improved Owen's mood in the morning!

Changes

Well change can be a good thing and I was needing one in my life....so I quit my job. Upon hearing this Aiden starting crying saying "what about my toys?". I told him not worry I had another job lined up. Work was becoming a stressful, toxic place and I was done with that environment and people. So I went back to a good ol favorite of mine......Kutchey's!!! I'm back working the 10 mile stand four days a week and love it.





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Homemade Laundry Soap

Yes I'm nuts, yes I've made my own laundry soap!

I know a few people who have made their own laundry soap and absolutely love it. I thought I would give it a try...

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Ivory soap
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~
(I doubled the recipe and used a 5 gallon bucket)

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Raspberry Jam

My in-laws have raspberry bushes in their garden and this year has been a great crop. The last two years they have hardly got berries, but this year with all the rain and nice warm days, they've had a HUGE crop. The boys and I picked a ton and decided to make some jam. I found the simplest and tastiest recipe, no sure-gel was needed.

Aiden and Owen helped me smash the berries and measure the sugar.



The finished product!!!


Raspberry Jam
4c. mashed raspberries
4c. granulated sugar
1T. lemon juice

Bring 4 cups mashed berries to a boil in pot
Let them boil approx. 2 minutes
Add 4 cups sugar and 1 T. lemon juice
Stir until the sugar dissolves and bring back up to a boil
Let the berry/ sugar mix boil approx. 4 minutes.
Spoon into hot sterilized jars.

Talkin' Tuesday

I have a habit of calling the boys Frick and Frack, so while leaving the house the other day I said to Owen.....

L:"C'mon Frack"

He quickly replied, with a bit of attitude too....

O: "I no Frack, I Onen!"

It's so cute to hear him say his own name. He has a hard time with the "w" and his name always comes out Onen. It's funny the names he has for everyone, he can say Aiden put calls him Dee Dee. His cousin Chloe is always called Clodey. My nephew David is always called Kyle. And the cutest one lately is his new baby cousin Luke is called Wook.

Luke

I had some fun taking pictures of Luke today...it was nice to see him with his eyes open!

Aiden's On Fire....

Aiden has really come out of his shell the last few games. He is getting a bit more aggressive and getting in there to get the ball. His team did so well tonight, they have really started working together.












He looks like he's going to kick some butt in this picture....cracks me up.

Talkin' Tuesday

Aiden loves to check the weather. I can ask what the weather is going to be like today and he'll grab my Iphone and go right to the weather app and tell me if it's going to rain or be sunny and what the tempature will be. Last week was a cold and rainy week and I had made the comment....

L: I hope that it warms up soon.

A: Don't worry mom, Grandpa said it would be in the 70's next week. They are just on vacation right now.

I wish the weather man would put it like that, makes it sound much better....