Go Buy Ceramics!

Years ago when Dylan was a little tiny tike, I painted this ceramic Nativity.  I love the faces of the characters.  Many years I was afraid to even get the Nativity out of the box because I had a toddler who was sure to break it.  This is the first year since Josie learned to walk (and climb) that I have gotten it out.  So, I started thinking, since I've moved back into our old stomping grounds, I wonder if I could get more.  Would the lady still be in business?  Would she still have these molds?

So, I called Pat at Pasco Ceramics.  Yes, she still has the molds, and she is struggling to stay in business.  One of her employees died this year.  Pat's husband has Altzheimer's, and it's consuming more and more of her time.  Plus, fewer people are buying ceramics than used to.  While I was at her shop, I found a set of Nativity ornaments that were the exact molds that my mom had made years ago.  I remember Janae always calling dibs on hanging them every year.  Mom painted them when I was probably Mazie's age.  Janae inherited my mom's set.  I saw these same ornaments, already cleaned and fired.  I bought the whole set for a mere twenty dollars. 

I love to paint.  Ceramics are so fun, and I promised my kids we would go back after Christmas and I would let them each pick out one to paint.  In the meantime, I bought five fired sets of Mary & Joseph and the baby Jesus exactly like my Nativity.  I'm painting one set of each of my kids and one for my mother-in-law.  I told Pat I would be back for the rest.  I'm going to get a complete set for each of my kids.  I also learned today that I'm missing the cow, so I have to paint cows, too.

So, if you love to paint, if you want a personalized and unique gift, if you love this Nativity and you want one for yourself, or if you know of someone who collects Nativities, head over to Pasco Ceramics.  They are just down the road from Griggs.  I would love for everyone to help keep Pat in business and send some holiday cheer her way!

A Better Butter

In the time of about a month, three things happened.  First, my dry, winter-chapped hands started to hurt, so I headed to Target to buy the same hand cream that I've been using since I was a child.  Last year this cream set me back $2.97.  This year, however, the price had jumped to $4.25 for a mere two ounces.  I got angry, and I refused to buy it. 

Second, I picked up Nathan's almost empty bottle of Eucerine cream.  I do this monthly to see if he needs a refill. Nathan has psoriasis.  Creams and lotions are not optional for this man; they are manditory.  He needs a good, heavy moisterizer daily, or his elbows and knees bleed.  Eucerine cream lists their ingriedients right there on the package.  The list used to start like this:  "Triple purified water, glycerine,...."  I noticed about a month ago that the list had changed.  Now it says "Water, petroleum, mineral oil..."    Glycerine is a plant-derived product.  It's organic, so it soaks into the skin.  It is the main moisterizer in most lotions.  Petroleum is inorganic.  It is a skin protectant.  It sits on top of the skin, but doesn't soak in.  I got angry again. 

The third thing that happened was that Josie broke out with a terrible case of childhood eczema all over her legs.  I wanted to put oil into her bath to moisterize her skin, but I didn't want to use baby oil, since it is mineral oil and poisonous.  She often drinks the bath water.  I poured in extra virgin olive oil.  I did this for three days and the eczema was gone.  It was miraculous.  I was onto something. 

I said to Nathan, "I'm not buying Eucerine cream anymore.  For the money we spend, I'm sure I can make something better."  He was not all that convinced, but humored me anyway.  I spent a bundle of money on various oils and containers (more than a years supply of Eucerine would have set me back).  This was the result....

My very own recipe for body butter.  If you look closely at the photo you can see all the great oils that I used:  Shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, aloe butter, apricot kernel oil, avocado oil and beeswax.  Recently I've been experimenting with coconut oil in it, too.  The coconut oil gives it an even silkier feel.  Most handmade body butters contain sweet almond oil, macadamia nut oil or both.  This is a problem if you have a child with a nut allergy, and I'm very aware of this because my nephew has a serious nut allergy.  Almonds are one of the worst for him.  His mom could never wear a product with almond oil, because if she so much as touched him, he would have a reaction.  My butter is nut free. 

I only had to make one batch to be convinced I'd done the right thing buying all this stuff.  It's hard to wash off the body butter, since it's all oils.  When I was making that first batch, whenever it splattered, I just wiped it up with my hands and rubbed it in.  The next morning I was sitting at the bus stop with Mazie, and she said, "Oh, Mom, your hands are so soft!"  Remember, Mama Echo, when I said that my kids would always remember me as the mom with rough hands?  Not anymore.  It's amazing.  I have never had soft hands, but I do now. 

Nathan is never one to go out of his way to praise my craft projects, but he's an actions-speak-louder-than-words kind of guy.  He started using the body butter and didn't stop.  When he emptied his first jar, he started raiding mine, so I showed him the stash of jars stacked in the bathroom cupboard-- all for him.

My mother-in-law's fingers crack right around her nails.  Three days of using this stuff, and she said they were healed.  I gave a test jar to my friend, who used it on her grandson with eczema.  It immediately started getting better.  These natural oils are amazing.  They are so much better than the lotions that we pay an arm and a leg for in the drug store.

So, what is everyone getting from me for Christmas?  Body butter, of course.  I bought some nice scents, but the fragrance-free version has been the most popular.  Nathan won't wear any lotions with fragrance, so originally, the fragrance-free was just for him, but when you use a lot of product, you don't want to go around smelling like it. 

Of course, I have more than our family can use, and I would not mind recovering some of the cost of this little project, so I made up an order form for my friends and family.  I'm trying very hard to keep it inexpensive, because if you have skin issues, like we do, you use a lot of product.  It can't be a luxury item.  It has to be affordable enough that you can use it everyday and restock when you run out.  I priced my 8 ounce jars at $12.00, the 4 ounce at $7.00.  This is comparible to what you would pay at the drug store, but for a much better product. 

I was going to hit the holiday bazaar scene, but I decided it was too soon.  I'm still trying to perfect the recipe.  We have had some trouble with the butter turning grainy in the jar.  It melts right out as soon as you rub it on your hands, but it bothers me.  I want it perfectly smooth.  Still, in the meantime, it's an amazing moisterizer. 

So, if you are interested in trying it out, leave me your email address in the comment box, and I will send you an order form. In the near future, I will be giving away some testers for review, but I'm just trying to survive the holidays right now.

P.S.  What the heck happened to the spell check button on blogger?!?

FHE

For Family Home Evening this week we put together a gingerbread house.  My kids did this last year with Grandma when we came home for Christmas.  They had so much fun, Nathan suggested I do it for them this year.  I called my mom and asked where to buy it, because she has searched and found THE VERY BEST gingerbread house kit.  It is from Bed, Bath and Beyond for a mere $9.99.  The pieces are all neatly cut and packaged, and it includes a sloted tray, which helps the house stay standing.  We added peeps snowmen and trees and some chocolate gingerbread men, all courtesy of Grandma Kerr.

Wii Fit Yoga

Who knew exercise could be so fun?

Snow Day

School is closed today due to the weather. I have mixed feelings about this. We never had a snow day in Montana, and we had storms far worse than this. However, our circumstances have changed drastically since we were in Montana. We are no longer three blocks from the school. There, getting your kids to school was no big deal no matter how icy it was, and the city always plowed the block around the school, even if they never plowed my street. It was one thing to get the kids off to our small-town school, but no way was I driving an hour to Billings.

Here we are 8 miles from the school. Today was supposed to be scouts and dance at the school after school. I would have had to drive in to pick up the kids at 4:00. No one plows these county roads. They are sheer ice. Nathan had another delayed start work day. I was relieved that he left after I knew school was cancelled, so I convinced him to take the four-wheel drive Expedition instead of his car.

I have so many things that I needed to get done this week before everyone got out of school for Christmas break. I was really hoping to wrap gifts and dip chocolates and sew today while Josie napped. Now most of my stuff will get pushed into the background, and I'll spend the day cooking lunches and cleaning up messes and playing referee to all the bickering, but overall, I'm glad I didn't have to send them off to school.

Plus, all over the news today is the story of the triple homicide that occurred last night about five miles away. I think I'll just keep everyone safe at home for awhile. We may all become hermits.

Giving Thanks

I was so busy with Thanksgiving and my broken computer, I didn't get a chance to sit down and blog about the wonderful Thanksgiving week that we enjoyed. Nathan had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off, so he took Monday and Tuesday as vacation and we had an entire week to enjoy him. My kids didn't go to school at all that week. It was parent-teacher conferences, and they had half days Monday through Wednesday with no school on Thanksgiving and Friday. Their cousins were here from Wyoming-- cousins that they used to get to see all the time and that they miss-- so, I kept them home the whole week. I even missed my parent-teacher conferences, and I don't feel guilty either.

We spent most of the week here with Nathan's family, but I never seem to have any pictures. Mostly we cook, eat, do dishes, visit and start cooking the next meal. When we're all together, meals seem to be the focal point of our time together. On Wednesday we went to my mom's house. My sister and David were there.Jojo and Ben had fun on the slide despite the cold.The older kids helped set the table for dinner. My brave mother used the real china with the grandkids there. (My china is still packed, and I'm not unpacking it until we can get through a meal without someone dumping their entire glass of water on the table.)Grandpa kept the kids entertained with a game of T-ball. It warmed up enough that Ethan thought coats were optional.

And, of course we ate.... too much.
And drank lots of the traditional green punch. Nathan killed the punch bucket with the ice pick getting it slushy. It was perfectly slush and yummy.Our family came home that night and the following day (Thanksgiving Day) Nathan's family celebrated with the Spanish branch since his dad is the Branch President. Nathan and one of his brother-in-laws were sorely disappointed though. The Spanish branch ladies brought pasta and potatoes and stuffing, but no tamales. Not an enchilada in sight. Sigh. I didn't take my camera. Double sigh. Daneen bought cheesecake just for me. I gained back all the weight I lost this fall.

On the weekend, Janae and I did crafts. That's always my favorite part of these get-togethers-- visiting over craft projects. Janae blew out her knee a week before Thanksgiving. She tore the ACL and the MCL. I have one picture of her from the weekend, sitting on the couch in sweats, no makeup with her knee propped on a pillow. Because I love her, I won't post it on my blog. :)

This Thanksgiving I am grateful that we were here, and very grateful that we didn't have to drive 10 hours to get here. I'm grateful that even though everyone has had one kind of cold or another, for the most part, we're all healthy. I'm grateful that Nathan was off for the holiday and that we got to spend so much time together. This has been a trying year to say the least, but we still have the things that matter most. On Thanksgiving (and every other day) I keep reminding myself of that.

On the way out the door, my mom snapped this photo of Nathan and I. It's the best picture of us we've taken in awhile. (Please disregard my chipped fingernail polish.) Of all the blessings in my life, he's the one I'm most grateful for.

Paint the Nails

This past summer, Josie used to crawl into my lap, stick out her little chubby fingers and say, "Pink!" Now she's moved onto sentences, so about ten times a day she says, "Paint the nails!" This girl loves neon pink fingernails and toenails. I would never have painted Mazie's nails when she was two. She couldn't sit still for more than 30 seconds, but Josie will patiently sit, not moving a muscle, until every last nail is pink.

Lately, though, we've had a new challenge. "I do it!"I protested and tried to do it for her, but this girl is headstrong (just like all the rest of my kids), and she was absolutely determined. I tried to help. This was her first turn.
Yes, she painted the nails and the toes and anything else I let get near her. Look at the concentration....
Eventually, I just let her, and when she finished all ten nails, I swooped up the polish and sent her on her way. She was happy. However....

Nathan didn't realize that she could climb into the bathroom cupboard. I was in town and he was insulating our shed. Dylan was supposed to be babysitting, and of course, he was distracted by video games. Josie got the polish. She painted her fingers and nails, the bathroom counter, her hair, and every empty compartment in my make-up compact. I don't have any pictures, because my wise husband had the mess all cleaned up before I got home. It would have been no big deal if it had been with the little Sally Girl polish I bought for Josie, but she got into my polish, which wasn't so forgiving. The drain catch in the bathroom sink is still bright pink.

Everybody Boogie Now!!

FINALLY after weeks of frustration and heartache, a few small miracles and $300 in tech support, my laptop is back! It's been running for about two weeks now, but the video card wasn't working properly and everything was distorted. I'd get disgusted with looking at the screen after a few minutes, and I certainly didn't want to load any photos with it. Now I've got the drivers all corrected, and I played a test DVD. The display is perfect. I'm so happy! Now, I will once again be hiding out in the bedroom at night with my tech-baby and writing and blogging and surfing. Oh, my laptop, how I love thee!

Yes, Dylan just told me I'm a little too crazy for the computer. I can't help it.

So, I have several posts to catch up on. Stay tuned!

Waiting and Waiting

I sent another query last week, and the agent liked it. She requested the first fifty pages of the novel and a synopsis. (This is pretty normal. They don't read the whole book unless they like the first fifty pages.) So, I mailed out a small part of my novel and I'm waiting again. Always waiting, it seems. Always wishing and hoping. Maybe this time....... maybe.

Fallen

I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon, big time. What is wrong with me? Well, a lot I guess.

For starters, my manuscript has been rejected AGAIN. First I cry, then I get depressed and angry and then I level off to downright determined. So, I sent it off again, and I'll cry some more when I get yet another rejection letter. Let me tell you, this is a long, exhausting road. I have no sympathy for someone who gets a lucky break and gets published within six months. That is not how it works for the majority of writers.

Next: No matter how you dice it, this house is too small for six people, and thus is always in a state of disarray. This is depressing and makes me feel like a failure because I cannot seem to keep even this small space clean. The laundry always ends up on my bed, and if doesn't get folded and put away, it ends up in my closet, so I can't find my shoes. The only thing I do really like about his house (other than the fact that our only neighbors are family) is that it has a master bathroom, so I don't have to use the same toilet as the boys. Anyone who has boys knows why, and anyone who doesn't can guess.

I keep wondering where this year has gone. I was looking back through last year's blog posts. I can hardly believe they were a year ago. By this time last year, I was finished with all my Christmas shopping. This year, I haven't even started. I usually have plans for fall and winter; this year I'm just floundering day-by-day. I keep thinking that eventually, I will get a handle on my life again, but so far, it hasn't happened. Somewhere in all this upheaval and moving and uncertainty, I feel like I've lost myself. I lost the life I was good at living, and now I'm drowning, not quite sure what I'm supposed to be doing.

One of these days I'll have bright things to blog about again, and then, maybe, I will start posting everyday. :)

For Vicki, Megan & Sarah

I've been asked for this recipe so many times, that I decided to post it on my blog (thanks to Megan's suggestion). We were discussing Pumpkin Spice Bars last night at Relief Society. That recipe is posted here. Sarah said she needed my recipe for Chocolate-chip Zucchini muffins, and I remembered that I had never posted it. Here it is:

2 cups shredded zucchini
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups applesauce
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups miniature chocolate chips

Spray pans (or use cupcake liners). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir dry into wet. Mix just until moistened, then add chocolate chips. Bake 22 minutes for muffins, 55 minutes to 1 hour for bread.

This summer I often doubled or tripled this recipe. No matter how many I made, they never lasted long. We like them better in muffins, and I bag them up and freeze them for later.

Enjoy!

Wake up Call

"Mom, the boys called me stupid," was what I woke to this morning. You have to imagine it in the whiniest voice possible and the pitch-black darkness of a fall morning at 6:30 a.m. It was a late-start Monday, so I didn't actually have to get out of bed until 7:00, and Jojo, who climbed into bed at 3:30 was sawing logs beside me. She sleeps audibly.

With that whiny sentence and some more whining about how hungry she was and then fighting in the kitchen over the last of the cold cereal, they woke the sleeping dragon! I came out breathing fire and showing claws--It was not pretty.

So, here I am at my wits end, and I would pay big money if someone has the solution to incessant bickering. Because all our efforts seem to be in vain, and I cannot stand it anymore. Somehow I don't think duct taping them to their beds is an option. Anyone wiser than me want to offer up some free advice?

However much I'd like to pay for it, frankly I'm still broke. :)

Crash & Burn

On Monday my laptop crashed and burned. Not just a little, oh-do-a-system-restore and you're fine, but all out fatality. I spent the entire day on the phone with Dell trying to salvage my baby. I did nothing else, and the house seemed to be falling in around my ears. Josie and the homeschool boys were in constant motion with no supervision. Alas, the mess!

I thought all was well. For the past two days I haven't even had time to boot up the laptop until last night when I tried to put in a movie for Josie. Media Center crashed. This morning I woke to yet another blue screen. I decided to call when everyone is in bed. I may be up all night. Please, please, please let this be fixed soon!

Field Trip

For home school, we took a field trip to the Vantage Wild Horse Monument. This photo was taken from the parking lot. It is WAY up there.I love this view of the Vantage Bridge.
The view of the monument from the parking lot.
We took the trail on the left-- still, it is steep! I had to carry a twenty-seven pound toddler to the top.The horses up close are very cool. The boys were disappointed by the graffiti.Below is the lead horse.One tired mommy after the hike.

Hit him again, hit him again...

...harder, harder! I had to resurrect my favorite football chant, because Dylan is playing football. He looks so grown up in his pads and shiny pants. He's number 35. And, that guy with his head cut off is Coach and beloved Uncle Paul.

Right next to him is his cousin, number 44.

Dylan has two cousins on the team, which has been very fun, and unbelievably convenient for me, because my husband's brother is one of the coaches, so he picks up Dylan and brings him home from practice. I appreciate this VERY, VERY much.

Look out, little guy! I think you're gonna get tackled!

So fun! These pictures were taken at his very first game. He had so much fun hitting and tackling and running that he didn't really care that they lost. Since then, they have lost twice, and now it's weighing on Dylan. He wants his team to win at least one game. I hope he gets his wish soon!

As a side note, he gets to play his games on the same field that his dad and uncles played on when they were in high school. I think that is kind of cool.

Good-bye Summer, I'll Miss You

I don't know why this is one of my favorite pictures. You can't even see her face, but I love the lighting and how she's holding that handful of grapes. It was actually taken mid-September, and no, we weren't swimming. Her swimming suit was the only thing she wanted to wear that day, so she wore it. I'm going to miss the warm weather. I'm a fair-weather girl, but fall means football and field trips... tomorrow's post.

What Do You Think?

After the first week of school, Mazie got sick. She ran a fever for three days. It scared me. Other than the fever, she was tired, but had basically no other symptoms. Finally, I had Nathan and Veral give Mazie a blessing. The following day, the fever was gone, and she was back to her normal self. She had a cough and runny nose then, but I just gave her medicine and she was fine.

Over the past four weeks, this has made the rounds through our family, Valine's family and Kristin's family. My boys have never had a fever, but Josie had one this week and was really cranky. She slept most of one day, and by the next evening, she was chipper again. One day this week, I was totally dragging. My head hurt, and my throat hurt from coughing. I probably had a fever that one day, too, but I was already taking Tylenol, so who knows? We've all had a cough. (Except for Nathan, who never gets sick.)

Anyway, today I was reading the CDC website about the swine flu. Symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose. Other symptoms my include body aches, fatigue, etc.

None of us saw a doctor or went to the clinic. So, what do you think? Do you think we all had the swine flu? It was basically like a head cold with a fever, pretty consistently through everyone that had it.

Simple Pleasures

Mazie picked out this spinning flower from Craft Warehouse. Amazingly, with ten kids on the property, it lasted a whole three days. It was fun to see it out there spinning while it lasted. But, then the toddler boys got a hold of it, and it ended up in pieces. Josie was enthralled with this spinning pink thing. She would hold out her hand and let it spin into her fingers. Such simple pleasures!

Just Peachy!

Fruit has kept me so busy that I haven't even been able to blog about it. This week, however, the wind is blowing and the temperatures have turned cold. It is finally feeling like fall. I feel so blessed to have enjoyed a long summer. I know back in Big Timber, the wind probably started blowing weeks ago, and the furnace in my house has been running, too.

This is the first year that the peach trees on the family homestead have produced. It's probably mostly due to the fact that Nathan has been watering and tilling around them, and he's made sure that we were going to get a harvest. We went out one night and picked six boxes of peaches. I took two home to can, and my mother-in-law took home the rest. I worked on and off for two days and ended up with 24 quarts of peaches. I sent twelve over to my sister-in-law who just had a baby. I know she's not going to get much canning done this year. The rest I put in the shed, and I was feeling pretty content. No need to do more, because I still have peaches that I'm trying to rotate out.

A couple of days later, Nathan said we needed to harvest again. This time my mother-in-law was out of town. It was a Friday night, and now, all the trees were ready, so we clean picked the entire row. Here is the guy responsible for the bountiful harvest.We picked all our boxes full and then had to round up more-- thus, the diaper boxes and my laundry hampers.
All told, we picked another 8 boxes that night. Oh, they were so yummy, but they just don't last long enough fresh...
So, I started canning, and canning, and canning. I tried to convince my husband to give away some of the peaches, and I got the, "Michelle, there are nine kids in this family, all with families to feed," response. Yes, I know that among the clan, we can use all eight boxes, but you see, this time I was canning alone.
I sliced them as I bottled them. You can really stuff the jars that way. By the time I was done, I had another 54 quarts of peaches. 78 quarts! From five trees, and that isn't counting the ones that the other picked to can and dry.

After it was all said and done, I feel blessed that we had such a bountiful harvest. For now, I'm just glad the hard work is over!

Repenting

I am forever having to apologize for things I say, and this case, things I write. I did not intend to make everyone at Girls Night Out feel guilty. Mostly, I'm just venting my own frustration at starting over and trying to find my place in another ward-- one where I already know everyone, but am not close friends with anyone. Plus, my life was vastly different when I lived here before. I worked full time and I had only two kids. My friends were all teachers, and with a male-female ration of 20-5, my friends were mostly men. It was a strange situation, and needless to say, I didn't hang out with my coworkers on the weekends. The few women friends that I worked with then have all moved away. And, in this ward, there is sometimes a closed-circle feeling about the social groups.

This week, however, I realized how blessed I am to have my calling. We went to a Stake YW "Training" which was actually just a fabulous dinner and night with other leaders. We all carpooled together, and I have to tell you, I work with four of the most fabulous women in the ward. I love them. Amid all of this feeling out of place and unconnected, these four women and my wonderful Miamaid teacher have helped me feel loved and needed.

So, I'm sorry to have offended anyone with my last post. I'll figure all this out eventually, and I'm not mad at any of you. I hope you all got some extra sleep this week and recovered from being out until one in the morning. (Can I just tell you, that you're all crazy! I only stay up until one in the morning if someone is crying.)

In Poor Taste

Apparently I've been burning bridges. I'm pretty sure there was another Girls Night Out last night, and this time I wasn't invited... most likely it's because I don't like Facebook and games that make people behave badly.

Since I'm already on a roll not making friends around here, I might as well add fuel to the fire. This week I received a very disturbing invitation. I have changed the names to protect the innocent. It reads:

Mary's "American Girl" Movie and Birthday Party

Come celebrate Mary's 7th birthday with us. We want to introduce you to a new favorite thing of hers: Emily Rose @ Home. We provide unique high quality and affordable clothing and furniture for 18-inch soft-body dolls. Our clothes will fit the American Girl Doll, Magic Attic, Our Generation, etc. Bring your daughter and her doll and try it out. Be one of the first to see this new and exciting merchandise! Samples of clothes and furniture will be available to look at, feel and try. Great gifts for granddaughters, too. Remember, Christmas will be here before you know it!

That, of course, is followed by the RSVP number, etc.

Wait just a minute, People!

I'm all for birthday parties. And, I'm all for sales parties. But, I completely object to a sales party that is disguised as a birthday party. Let me give you my thought process as I read this....

My daughter is invited to this party. I don't recognize the name of the girl, and look, she's seven and my daughter is only five, so I'm pretty sure they just went through the entire primary roster and invited every girl. I would be obligated to bring a gift, and on top of that, they want to show my daughter these neat, and most likely expensive doll clothes, then use my own daughter's powers of coercion to force me to buy them, too.

Can I say loud and clear, NO THANK YOU! Then, two days before the party, I received a facebook message reminding me of this party. It took a great deal of self-control on my part just to delete the message and not send back a nasty reply. (But, you know, I thought of Kim's nasty email that was accidentally sent, so I was trying to play nice here.)

Am I wrong to be so upset about this? I cannot help but feel that it is in poor taste. What does that teach little girls about birthdays? It's not enough to have a party and have everyone bring a gift, but they have to buy stuff, too? Plus, I don't even know this little girl, so they'll invite my daughter as long as they think they can drum up business from us, but if it were a regular party, she would have been excluded.

I say, if you want to sell doll clothes, then sell doll clothes. And, if you want to have a birthday party, have a birthday party, but let's not confuse the two.

Feel free to chide me. Like I said, I'm on a roll burning bridges.

Merry Christmas to Me

We spent Labor Day weekend at our house in Montana. Oh, how we miss our house! I miss the long, hot showers, and the tile that I laid myself. I miss our neighborhood and our friends. It was a bitter-sweet trip, to say the least. I got most of my tears out of the way the first night, so then I could just enjoy being there.

We drove all the way to Deer Lodge before stopping for a break. We'd had short, potty-breaks too early in the trip, and Nathan gets antsy to just get there. So, finally, we stopped at McDonald's in Deer Lodge because they have a playland. To our frustration, McDonald's had taken out their playland last year. So, we drove around Deer Lodge looking for their city park, which we found, and unlike McDonald's, we had the place all to ourselves.

Only in Montana would you find a horse-shaped jungle gym.
Hey, wait for me!

Mazie, the wild cowgirl.


"I can do that, too!"
"Hey, look at me! I'm a wild cowgirl, too."
Here comes trouble...

I'll pretend not to see him.
"Too high? No way. I'm having fun. Go away, Dad."
Hear me roar! You may be stronger, but I scream louder.And then we all got back in the car. Isn't that always how the pit-stops go? Everyone's having fun, but when it's time to get back into the car, everyone is mad and crying?

Anyway, we arrived late Thursday night, and Friday we went to the school and around town to see our friends. The school was so nice about our visit. The teachers let us interrupt their classes and everyone gave the boys big hugs.

On Saturday, I was able to enjoy last year's Christmas present. Remember how Nathan bought me a four-wheeler? This was the first time I've actually been able to ride it on trails. We've used it around the farm, but this was our first real family ride. It was also the first time that I'd been back into the mountains that burned during the 2006 Derby Fire. The destruction was pretty amazing. Everything is still black three years later. We stopped near a Forest Service cabin and let the kids play in the creek. Then we headed back because all the kids wanted to play with their friends.
The water was ice cold. Josie would dip her feet in, squeal and scramble out again. Not the best picture of Nathan and I, but our photographer is only ten, so we'll let it slide.Getting ready to roll.
I'm short on pictures of our ride because as soon as we unloaded the four-wheelers, I realized that I'd left my camera at the house. Thank goodness for camera phones. However, my phone doesn't have a cord, so I have to email myself the photos using my cell phone. (I wouldn't recommend this unless you have the data package, or you'll end up with some big charges.) That's why I only have four photos.


I'm glad we made this trip. I needed to see it all again and remember that we'd had a good life there. Still, I hated the drive. Every time we drove that trip, it got harder, and we were seriously considering not coming home anymore. The roads are always nasty at Christmas, and the kids never travel as well as we hope they will. While we were there I had this weird anxious feeling like it wasn't home anymore and we needed to go. I had the realization that you can't recapture a life that you've lost. For better or worse, this is our life now.... Now, if the house would just sell, we could move on.