Cough Drops...

So what is the deal with kids and cough drops? We get those Ricola brand ones that taste a little like candycane or something. My kids like these things alot. It seems like they have not been coughing hardly at all then without fail they will start coughing and after the 5-8th cough they wander over to me and say "Mom can I have a cough drop?" But that is the process of asking, not one of my kids asks for a cough drop without adding at LEAST several fake coughs to be sure that I KNOW how much they REALLY need that cough drop! It is pretty funny actually.

The older ones have figured out advanced planning, they will cough BEFORE asking me for one, the younger ones will remember we have those yummy cough drops and then they will ask me for one and THEN add a fake cough after asking. It just cracks me up that they think this actually works and that I don't know what they are doing.

Ok so it does actually work because when they have cough drops in their mouth they stop pestering me! They stop talking so much and they just sit there!!!! I love it!

Lookey Who We Got to Babysit.....

This last spring a friend of mine decided it would be a good idea to get some baby ducks.....for easter (you know the drill, they are cute and fluffy and great for the kids, then they grow and you turn them loose on someone's farm right?). Anyway she had had the ducklings for a few weeks but they were growing out of her pen she had set up and they were impossibly messy, no exageration there. They were smelly, bad house guests in general. Eventually she had to have them in an old bathtub in her garage so they weren't getting the attention she wanted them to have.

Of course it just so happens they had to go on a trip and needed someone to babysit these ducklings for a couple days...she promised she'd come back and get them really, but then the kids fell in love with them and they soon became my problem. Before we knew it we'd had them several weeks. We were slightly better set up for them as we did have an area outside for the messy guys. We figured out a way to keep their water clean and their bedding dry. We even had a pond in our yard so they got some frequent swims. Overall it was really fun.

They soon had to go to a new home though as 5 ducks in town did not really make sense. We found them a suitable home complete with natural pond with lots of feed and acres and acres to enjoy. It happened to be my in-laws place, so they were welcomed with open arms.....too bad the coyotes had hunger pangs and there ended up being a couple unfortunate ones.:( It's always one thing if it isn't another!

They really know how to make a muddy mess of our pond don't they? Ducks are messy, don't let anyone tell you different! Hope you enjoyed the little piece of springtime heaven....

He Shared..

Tobers was nice enough to share his flu bug with the rest of the household. Yup 50% of us have it now. Spud Man and I came down with it late in the night. The scarey part is that Tobers is still recovering, he still has a cough and seems fairly weak although he is in good spirits and seems to be feeling better each day. His fevers are finally gone.

Looks like we will be having another slow week again. I just really hope the other 50% of us don't get it. Hey I can hope anyway.

I am NOT very happy about having to take time out to be sick. This headache alone is enough to criple me, not to mention all the body aches and chills etc! Enough with the pitty party! Time to go take a nap and get better.

My Poor Baby...

Tobers is miserable. He was better yesterday for most of the day, sometimes normal temp sometimes a low grade fever lower than 100 degrees. Then this morning he again had a 103 fever and a horrid cough. He says his tummy hurts really bad, (probably sore muscles from all that coughing) he coughs the entire time he is awake and he is sleeping alot and wakes up crying and coughing. It is really sad to hear and watch. We've been trying to comfort him and let him rest, but tomorrow I think we need to head to the Dr. I called earlier in the week because I was concerned about his fever lasting for 2.5-3 days, they said with the flu it can be normal to have the flu with fever for a week!!!! Ugh.

What is strange is that when he is awake he doesn't want to be comforted or touched, he wake up really upset when there is a mildly loud noise, and he gets angry and will hit you if you try to stroke his hair or hold his hand. This is the strangest thing I have seen with him. He is usually such a snuggly guy and sweet even when he is sick, I am hoping it is just the fever making him cranky or something. I really hope he startes feeling better soon and that no one else gets it!! It is one of those serious bugs evidently!

One good thing about having a sick one in the house is everyone has to take it easy and get some rest. It has been really good for me in particular because I have been busier than I maybe ever have been for a longer period than normal. While I have been enjoying this pace emensely I am also thankful for a forced rest period this week. I have been taking it easy all week.

High School to Housewife.....why can't he SEE me THAT way?

I figure it is about time for the first chapter of High School to Housewife, don't you? Here it goes....

My Dad owns a construction/excavation company and he ran his business/shop from our ranch in the country. Mr Wonderful started working for our family business summer of 1991. I was the tender age of 13 at that time, he was 17. He had been working for us a few years when I started to notice what a strong, sweet guy he was.

It was always a good day for me when Mr Wonderful was working at the shop. He was funny, kind, manly, and he also had the most amazing butt! (I was 16 now and...these are serious requirements for a spouse). He wore Wrangler jeans better than any guy I knew and I made sure to sneak extra opportunities for a quick glance.

I was 16 when the first stages of infatuation hit. My brother was getting married and I flirted with Mr Wonderful who was the best man, he ignored me and played dumb to this notion that I had a major crush on him. I do remember I touched his hair once and I even got to touch the nape of his neck! I was perplexed by how thick it looked and how it never moved. It was very thick and very course almost like a brillo pad. I still have no idea why I would have been touching his hair but I am thinking it must have been some lame excuse to do with getting set to go down the isle for my brother's wedding or wedding photos or something. Here is a pic of Mr Uninterested/Mr Wonderful and Ornery Brother at his wedding.

Here is another pic of my brother and Mr Wonderful playing what we call HillBilly Golf, (golf in a pasture near the Middle Fork of the John Day River.) I rode over with my future sister-in-law for the day to bring hte guys some food while they were having a guys fishing trip. I took this pic, all the while drooling over Mr Wonderful....unfortunately at the time he was still Mr Uninterested.:(

At this time in my life I was very involved in showing my horse Bullet. After I would finish a training session in the arena I would find excuses to need to walk by on horseback past the shop doors. Then I would try to casually start a conversation or at the VERY least catch his attention. Now, I should point out that before I would head out to ride on days Mr Wonderful was working, I'd make sure to have my hair a little nicer and my make up done.....I'd try really hard to act unaffected by his presence and I'd be walking by on my horse trying to catch the eye of the illusive "Mr Uninterested".

Now one saving grace for me was that "Mr Uninterested" did not seem interested in anyone. He had not had a serious girlfriend and I was hoping that when he finally noticed girls I would be the one he noticed.

He'd say "Hi" or something nice but it was like he didn't even see me, he was friendly but that was it! This was quite perplexing to me.....I really wanted him to see me in a different way if you know what I mean. He just wouldn't. If he saw me at all it was in a little sister way.....ugh! I guess it makes sense because he was my brother's best friend but still I had to figure out a way to get him to see me for something more...but how?

Now a quick note, I openly had this crush on him, turns out one of my friends had a chrush on him as well! She had the advantage of living next door to him. UGH, this was bad news, very bad news......she actually did have luck convincing him to take notice of her. She was one year older than me. It was about a month long dating experience and she dumped him for some short kid with a face like a pizza. She said something about the pressures of both their mothers wanting to plan their wedding after date one...she ran, and I can't blame her with all that pressure so early on! This did not do wonders for Mr Wonderful's dating confidence and eagerness to try again. That did not detour me much though.

The chase was on.......

Change of Plans....

Seems like every time Mr Wonderful and I plan a romantic getaway we end up having to cancel because the kids become sick or we do or the weather prevents a trip etc. I am so tired of cancelling reservations but I had to do it one more time today! We had our fabulous trip to this Bed and Breakfast. We had to put it off a couple weeks.

The main reason we cancelled was that Tobers has a bad fever. He has had a serious fever since Sunday night. I kept thinking it would go away and just be a normal cold or flu. Now it is time to call the Dr and see what they think. It has been near 104 most of the time and when I give him Tylenol it will go down to about 102.3 or so. Poor baby. He has a croupy sounding cough and he has been on the couch since Sunday night. He is in good spirits, and he is eating well and drinking fluids well so that is at least a good sign.

Now I can concentrate on caring for Tobers, getting Mr Wonderful and I past our colds, and concentrate on this funeral potluck we are in charge of. I think it was best overall but it is still a let down and I am all bummed out!

The Joys of Deligation....

So I recently took on the minsitry of our church kitchen. As in a month ago. We made it thru our first potluck on our own. Yipee! Well of course not on or own since a potluck means everyone brings food but I mean that we managed on our own as far as getting everything set up and everyone was able to eat in an orderly fashion.

Mr Wonderful is a huge help and pitches in where-ever we need help. He is a huge part of the team and makes me so proud to be working side by side...usually it has been run by a woman but now? Now it is run by a entire family.....Sunshine loves doing dishes and helping in any way, Spud Man also does a lot of help and especially likes being the floral ladies right hand man! HAHA He really likes her I think. The members of the church really seem to enjoy seeing us work as a family, they keep making cute comments. At first when they announced we would be taking over the kitchen one lady commented on how she'd just love to see Mr Wonderful washing dishes someday.....he laughed and said she actually would probably be seeing that, she about fell over! HAHA I love those moments where Mr Wonderful breaks people's stereotypes!

Anyway on the day of this very potluck, we got word that a dear lady of our church had passed away that morning.:( We had been following her struggle thru Alzheimers and her husband's true example of in sickness and in health referenced in wedding vows.

The family has requested that there be a potluck after the service. I think this is always wonderful for the family and friends to remember their loved one and a chance to visit and mourn together. I have been making calls all day and trying to get a basic frame work of a potluck together (with the church members) and it has been going quite well. Then I had a dear lady (from our church) call to offer her services, anything I need, wash dishes, help set up, whatever I need that day. I am thinking how sweet that was? So I said I would be sure to let her know. 20 mins later she called to say that since it was a man planning the funeral we should be sure to get some flowers from the service (he might forget that part) and bring them down to the eating area (sounds great but I won't be at the funeral/graveside service since I will be getting everything ready, so how can I be sure that they actually get there?). Then she also had a great suggestion of doing a memory board with pics and special memories (I love these things) so after I hang up I started thinking. Wait I am going to be gone 2 days this week and 1/2 of another I have my hands full already, with making side dishes, cooking a ham, organizing things and setting up tables etc. So I think to myself "She did say whatever I need right?"

So I got on the phone and called her back a while later. I said it would be great if she could work on the memory board since she knew the people personally that she'd need to talk to in order to get pics and things. She laughed and was like oh I guess so.....so I think maybe she wanted to have the good ideas but not have to do it...but she did agree to do it and was looking forward to working with one of the family members. It all turned out OK so far, and I am really proud of myself for deligating, because it is easy to think you can get things done in a certain time and then feel bad if you can't.

I also felt like a memory board was a little out of the scope of the kitchen duties as well. I hope it works that they can get one made but at least I won't be stressing over it while we are gone. I really hope everything goes smoothly. This is my maiden voyage here and I am hoping I do everything the kitchen duty is supposed to do in a funeral situation. It is bound to be quite the week.

On This Day 13 Years Ago.....

I was nervous, I was giddy, I was impatient, all this for the rumbling arrival of a blue chevy pick-up, and a handsome Mr Wonderful driving it. It was our very first date! He finally agreed to go on a date. I can't spoil any chapters from High School to Housewife but I wanted to celebrate this special occasion with you all. It is really hard to believe that 13 years ago this all truely started.....now we have a great relationship, 4 great kids, a house and a whole beautiful life together! How time flies, seems like yesterday I was riding my horses and contemplating how to get his attention.

Coming soon... High School to Housewife......Why Doesn't He See Me That Way?

Ornery Brother Runs Over Little Sister....

It was a snowy cold day when several of my friends and I were trudging thru the snow, hoping to catch a few sledding runs on the hill behind our house. Now beings this is a large hill, we usually hitch a ride on our 4-wheeler Ornery Brother was driving at the time....only he was behind us since we decided to get a head start. He thought it would be funny to scare us by driving up behind us fast as if to run us over. Only problem was that the snow was about 1 ft deep and that made it really hard to run in......picture that deer in the headlights look. My friends went one way, I went the other. Turns out I should have followed the pack.

Before I knew it I was being tumbled under the 4-wheeler and left for roadkill....ok not really but it sure felt like it. No, really I did get run over but they didn't leave me for dead. Everyone flocked around me to make sure I was ok, Oh the glorious attention, and while it did hurt pretty bad I decided to embellish my condition for the benefit of Ornery Brother whom I was really mad at for running me over. I led on that my legs were not working properly and that he needed to carry me to the house (several hundred yards away which I decided was part of his punishment). He did just that, After a few hours of rest and pampering I was just about as good as new.

Now the part that I should probably confess is that when there is 12" of snow on the ground and the fact that I was bundled up or sledding so really most of the impact is pretty much absorbed and it doesn't hurt all that bad to be run over by the 4-wheeler. I was not about to let on to that little lucky fact though, afterall, I was the youngest and I was pretty sure the world should revolve around me occasionally, even though it didn't very often.;)

Gotta give him credit for that long walk back home. I am sure I was pretty heavy especially as I went all limp like I was passed out, you'll remember I mentioned how hard it was to walk in that deep snow? I feel a little bad about that insistance of him carrying me but I am pretty sure it was worth it at the time. "Um, Ya Ornery Brother? I'm sorry!"

The masses have spoken...

Looks like the title for the story of Mr Wonderful and I will be ...........

High School to Housewife....

Thanks guys! Watch for the first installment soon.

Meet the Chickens....

Thought you might enjoy a little photo tour with commentary of our backyard chickens.

"Yo Lady,..... Ya, You! Could you let us outta here?"

"Freeeom, Sweet Freedom!"

"Mmm....What do we have here?"

"You Lookin' At Me? You want some of this?"

"I am outta here!"

"Leave me alone! I am not a morning bird!"

"A little privacy here please?"

"I'm feeling the urge.....time to head to the nestbox."

"But before I get to work, can I get a little privacy please?"

"PREDATOR!!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!"

Disclaimer: No hens were injured in the making of this photo tour. Chickens are not bothered by housecats in the least, can't same the same about the poor cat being chased by the hens though.

Our Chicken Coop...

It was suggested I share the story of how the chicken coop in our backyard came to be. I would be glad to share with your guys, since it is one of those things I used to be able to tackle. Nowadays when I see the coop I think to myself "I can't believe I actually built that!"

I was about 5 months pregnant with Whippersnapper and Mr Wonderful was traveling a lot for work during the week. I was into one of my obsessions, namely keeping backyard chickens. I really, really wanted to build a chicken coop and had been making all kinds of building plans. I researched what was needed, I surfed the internet for hundreds of pics of actual coops, and I asked the owners about what worked and what didn't etc. I really threw myself into it because I wanted to do it right, and well because I get obsessed about things.

Now the more responsible, patient, and sain portion of the patnership, Mr. Wonderful, suggested holding off on building a coop until later in the spring and after a bunch of other to-do stuff got done. As you all now know I don't have patience and I decided to just do it myself.

When Mr. Wonderful got home that Friday evening, I had coached the kids ahead of time to keep quiet about the coop in our backyard. First thing out of Spud Man's mouth was this.... "Mom built a chicken coop, it's out in the backyard! Wanna come see it Daddy?" Kids shhhhhhhh! Dang it I did not even have a chance to buffer the situation or anything. Mr Wonderful was dumbfounded and said "Well I guess you're not waiting for me to help you then huh?" I blushed and grinned from ear to ear. He loved it and thought I was crazy all at the same time....but you know what...he is the first to direct people's attention to our coop and tell them all about how I did all the cutting, screwing, designing etc and that he had nothing to do with it........I just really love that man....pitter patter goes my heart! Truth be told he did help me some.....he promptly added 575 pounds worth of reinforcements (that I did not feel were neccesary) that made my once somewhat mobile coop impossible to budge from it's temporary building site....thanks Honey!

A quick note about my practicality.......when we did this it was mid January! Luckily it was very warm for that time of year and it was a wonderful time for us to be outside. I think it was in the 50's most days but still got cold at night.

Here is what I got done the first day or two.

The entire coop was built from scrap materials and cost about $50 for hardware, paint, and misc items. It is sided with cedar faced plywood Mr Wonderful brought home from a job dumpster years before.

Of course I had them put to work from day one, and they loved every minute of it! Even if the little one occasionally got hungry.

I caulked all seams for weather tightness then painted over them for extra coverage. I am picky like that. Oh and I am in the process of roofing in that pic too. By the way I never said I was a particularly neat worker either...much like my indoor activities.

Slaving away painting the interior. I just love those guys!

Here I am painting, preggo, and evidently expecting high water! Check out those pants!

You'll remember I am impatient right? Well here I am trying to dry paint with a worklight (they put out heat). I was too impatient to wait to paint until the next day. of course just as soon as I finished painting the temperature dropped down to freezing and I was worried the paint would be a mess it it froze while wet.

Sunshine and Spud Man expertly demonstrate the run door pulley mechanism.

We finally got the coop moved, oh man that was hard, it is sooo heavy, it took several helpers to come move it!!!! Thanks Again Honey! Every hen needs a ladder to climb to get in, right?

Brave soul that I am, I was so darn proud of that thing I actually agreed to have my picture taken just 8 days away from delivery!!! Ok enough!! I am annoying myself with all this bragging....yuck!

Oh ya, one more thing, Mr Wonderful said I had to wait until the coop was completely done before I could even think about hatching out any chicks. I still have no idea how we ended up with a new incubator and these beautiful brown eggs in our house especially before the coop was done.....still a mystery. Hee Hee. So much for patience!!!!

Stay tuned for the journey of hatching chicks....coming soon.

Disclaimer: No unborn babies were harmed in the making of this chicken coop....see? Healthy and Happy.

Snow Fun...

We found a large snow bank in the mountains and had a blast! We met with my sister and her husband. The snow had been plowed into a large hill and we took full advantage. There were snowballs flying.....

Sledding slopes.......(evidently we are so broke we can't afford sleds.)

There was helpful big sisters........

Freezing children......(and mean mom's just snapping pics of the poor darlings.)

Brrrrr...."Where are your gloves young lady?"

There was pouting in the pick-up......(He really wanted to come play in the snow.)

There were even snow caves!!!

We had a really great time! We hope you enjoyed too!

Another Camera Option...

Shhh...I am NOT obsessed here, really. I don't want to hear it!

I found this camera that I am leaning towards now. It is a Pentax and it has a super strong body and is supposed to be built like a tank, it also has weather/waterproof seals to protect it too so that if you are in a light rain or something it would help protect the camera from damage. Now knowing we have small children, and that Mr Wonderful likes to go for hikes and take pics of wildlife (he has some awesome shots of a nearly grown elk trying to nurse on his knees from a Momma cow, also a doe squatting to pee, and several other rare freaks of nature!). So with that in mind I am thinking tougher built is better, as well as all the features it has and the fact that any Pentax lense ever made fits it as well. Where as with the Nikon there are only certain ones that will work with it.

I am thinking more on the side of durability because Mr Wonderful is the reason we no longer have a video camera. He took it hiking and tripped and fell onto it against a log. The video camera never worked again, but I'd like to think it saved Mr Wonderful's life or something useful like that.


Anyway here is this new Pentax K10D camera I am considering along with the original two I posted about earlier, the Nikon D40X and the Nikon D80. Also here is a review site I found that compares several cameras against the Pentax K10D model.

Keep in mind I am still light years away from #1 being able to operate a camera like this #2 being able to afford this puppy #3 being able to spend the $ I am able to save on a camera like this when there are mouths to feed, diapers to buy, hair cuts and highlights to be had, etc. I still really want to work towards this. I could see this being my hobby, the more I try to make my current Nikon 4300 digital camera do, the more it lets me down. I try to do some manual settings and they all end up grainy no matter what settings I do. The last several nights I have fallen asleep reading my manual for hours hoping there will be some easy fix for this problem...nope not yet anyway.

I repeat, I am NOT obsessed.

"Utterly" Disfunctional

Yup, it's true I am "utterly" disfunctional. I have had 4 kids and was not able to successfully breastfeed one of them. With my oldest Sunshine I made it 3 miserable, horrible weeks. I thought I was going to have my life sucked out thru my nipples! It hurt so bad and I would cry and cry each time it was time to feed her. I can still remember that night (well early in the morning) when we finally decided to break down and give her a bottle.....I cried a deep heart wrenching sigh of relief, and from that moment on I got to be the loving connected Mommy I desperately wanted to be but couldn't because of how much pain and agony was building from trying to nurse. I think she even let out a sigh when we gave her that bottle. Then we both slept for a long time (well a long time with a newborn in the house anyway) and it was such a relief to finally be able to let myself heal and enjoy this bundle of joy. It was such a big weight off my heart (literally in some ways beings my boobs were like milk jugs).

Then came Spud Man, I wanted to try again because I knew breastfeeding was really the best.....I did considerably better with my determination and commitment and I made it much longer with him....still cried, still never got used to it, still hurt so incredibly bad that I had to do something different after about 4 weeks. I decided to try pumping/expressing the milk and give it to him in a bottle. That worked! I managed to do that for 3 full months! I was so proud of myself because I found a way to get him that milk without having to torture myself with the agony of breastfeeding. I was able to pump ample amounts of milk in a short amount of time only several times per day which was heaven compared to the non-stop nursing he liked to do. I was able to control the pain because I had full control over how much it hurt when pumping and it worked for me. I set a goal for 3 months and I did it!


Then came Tobers, same thing, I tried so hard to breastfeed, another several weeks of torture, I felt like such a failure why won't my breasts work like they are supposed to? I read all the books, watched all the movies and yet I still could not make the pain go away, I was told by experts he was latching on correctly and that is "should" not hurt........but it really really did!;( So again I turned to the pump and feed option. This time I wanted to do better than the last time and I did! I made it 4 whole months!

Then came baby number 4, Whippersnapper. I said "I have got to make this work, I must have been doing something wrong before." So I geared up for another round of breastfeeding......(by the way has anyone told you that the more kids you have the worse the afterpains are while nursing? Ya, you might want to check into that before you sign on for another one....just FYI) I did it I took the pain, I gritted my teeth, I took deep breaths, I cried, I hyperventilated, I tried relaxation techniques, football hold, cross over hold, traditional, it all hurt! I even went back to the hospital for appointments with a lactation specialist....she said he was latched on well and that I was doing everything right and again it should not hurt. Well it did, it really really did! So eventually I did the same thing....pumped and fed in a bottle, I was like Bessy the milk cow...I pumped while riding along in the car, I pumped in bed, I pumped watching TV....I had so much milk stored in the freezer we were overrun! I could sit and pump 16oz-24oz 3 times per day! I was a milk producing machine! So I pumped and pumped and saved and caluclated how long the stash would last and finally at 6 months I was able to stop pumping and continue to feed him some breast milk for another month or two along with some formula every few bottles to start to get him used to that as well! Yessiree I made it 6 months as a milk cow! I was inspired by the amount of money I was saving on formula and that he was getting mommy's milk even if it was not in the traditional means.

So ya, I guess I am "utterly" disfunctional but I'd really like to think I made up for it. I can relate to any milk cow out there milking machines and all. Oh and like when we were kids and walked uphill in the snow both ways to school.....I used a manual breastpump almost the entire time. (No Joke!) Those electric ones scared the crap out of me!!! Oh and don't think for a minute that I was at all obsessed about finding the right breast pump either.....I only ordered like 3 before I found the right one but that was after hours and hours of research and reading reviews.....turns out the good old manual one from my first child was the one I went back to every time! I refuse to admit I was obessed, really.

So there is my child nourishing journey....truth be told I am envious of people who got the natural experience of nursing and got to enjoy the bonding and special moments (without the pain) because that was something I really wanted and did not fully get. I still think I did the best with what I was given though.

Spud Man......

I have been thinking all week about how fast Spud Man is growing up. With his B-Day just a few days ago I keep thinking about how he is already 7 years old...where did the time go? I think I was too busy trying to get him to behave.

Spud man is truely the light of our lives! He has all the energy I lack, the sparkle in his eye is contageous! He is one special kid. He is also very active and lively, to put it lightly he exhausts me.....he does things and thinks later! I am seriously doubtful we can get him raised to the age of 10 without him majorly injuring himself or worse.

He is the most challenging child for me to teach, parent, and be patient with. With that said I also want to be just like him when I grow up. He is not affraid to try new things (even if it could kill him), he is cheerful and fun, he is funny, he is strong and tough, he talks often and with great detail, he has a photographic/directional memory, and he is so an optimist.

I should really stop to enjoy this kid so much more, and I am beginning to really notice he is a Momma's boy, he is just getting to the point of being very senstive like his Daddy, tender and sweet especially towards me. He has also taught me what no one else has ever been able to teach me, he has taught me to grow a little patience!!! It is a huge deal he's done what no other could, growing my patience is no easy task. He uses up every ounce of patience I do happen to muster up though.

Here are some pics of our special guy.

From an early age he could pick on his big sister.

He also shows a knack for getting really dirty. Even at a very young age.

He shows off his sensitive side (pink fuzzy purse he stole from his sister) as well as being macho (wearing camo).

He is quite the equipment operator like his Daddy as well.

He is also quite handy like his daddy!!! With great enthusiasm I might add.

Mr Wonderful wishes I were as enthusiastic about work as he is.

All that enthusiasm really takes a toll on him though. He has been known to fall asleep half standing or mid stride.

ee, I mean he has to be carrying on a conversation even while "doing his business". He likes talking on the phone alot.

Look at the work ethic on this kid!

Here he is doing his school work.

I want to be just like him, I really do!

I finally got him to sit still for 2.2 seconds for this pic!

That look means he is about to try something new and challenging...I have to go make sure he lives thru it now......

I decided to participate in this.....A'muse' Me Monday.

I decided to chooseone of my favorite Jokes!

A contractor and a woman were walking thru her newly built home, they were deciding on paint colors for each room.

They were in the kitchen and he asked her "What colors did you want in here?" She said "Just basic white for the ceiling." Then he asked "and the walls?" She answered "Beige." The Contractor took detailed notes on his clipboard and then he proceeded to step over to the open window and yell "Green Side Up!!!" The lady looked puzzled but did not say anything.

They move on to the next room and the contractor takes down all her choices on paint colors in his notes. Again the contractor steps over to a different open window and yells "Green Side UP!!!" The lady finally had to ask "Why is it that when ever I tell you my color choices, you carefully write them down and then you yell 'Green Side Up'?" He said "Oh I have a bunch of blonds outside landscaping and they are laying sod."

I don't think I did it right ...with all the linky stuff but I tried!

If He's Mr Wonderful Then Who Am I?....

Hmm I got to thinking if Mr Wonderful is Mr Wonderful, then who am I? Mrs Wonderful...oh I am liking that.

I just asked Mr Wonderful that very question and he scratched his head thinking about it. Meanwhile Spud Man filled in the dead air with this "Mrs Wonderful" in a tone like Duh. HAHA So what is up with the head scratch and hesitation from Mr Wonderful?

Oh OK he redeemed himself. He said he would like to call me "His Little Jewel". Awww!!! Boy that was close, he almost did not redeem himself there. Can anyone relate to this happening in their household....you don't quite get what you expect?

When asked what the kids would call me if they didn't call me Mommy, here is what they said:

Sunshine Said "The Best Mommy."
Spud Man later said "Lovey."
Tobers said "Rogers" We had to clarify this one and he said like in Mr Roger's Neighborhood. As if the clarification makes it make any more sense right? HAHA

Going to have to work on terms of endearment I guess (is that what you call it?) Well evidently I have a lot to work on as well....HAHA

Happy Birthday Mr Wonderful!!!!

Today Mr Wonderful turns 34!!!

He was a sweet baby,

Cute kid,

Hot-rodin' fool,

Mean, lean, cookin' machine, (the man can still cook, mmmm mmm.)

Gotta love those glasses!

and most important he is a loving husband and father!

Check out this last pic above, is that not funny? All decked out in hunting gear for the big hunt (macho/manly) and yet he feeds a newborn (all tender and loving). That is exactly the reason I fell in love with him, he is sensitive when it matters and every ounce man when I need it.

Happy Birthday Mr Wonderful!