{ This is what I feel like }

So the past few day's have been well.....not that great. 
All 4 kids got sent to bed at 7:00 pm if that gives you any indication as to how my days are going.

These are the kind of day's where I wish my job as a mom had a time clock.

You know in at 9:00 and clock out at 5:00. And I would get an hour lunch break with no one bugging me. I don't know if it's me being pregnant & the hormones are raging, (Lloyd would say yes) or that the kids are just being extra naughty. I am hoping that one of these days we will just have a great day with not too much whining and fighting, really that's all I want.

I know things are going to get better once the kids are in school next week, I think they have all reached their limit with each other & are desperately needing a break.

I know I shouldn't complain because things could always be worse, & frankly, I should be grateful, my kids are healthy and mildly happy, my house is fairly clean considering my week. The dishes are done & I have peace and quiet at the moment.

I guess I just need to hold down the hatch until that blessed school time comes.

Man, I need a girls night out!

Where are all my friends? Anyone for Mexican food?

Fine I guess I will frost a sugar cookie instead....

(Holding up my cup of fat-free milk) Here's to a better day tomorrow -- Cheers!

{ Best Ever Farmhouse Sugar Cookies }

The baby was craving Sugar Cookies, so I decided to be a good mom and make her some! 
I woke up on Sunday afternoon after my nice little nap and was totally craving these sugar cookies. This recipe comes from my best friend's mom's kitchen, I have been using this recipe FOREVER!

These are so yummy! This recipe makes moist, soft cookies that keep really well in a zip lock bag. I know they are not frosted all pretty and professional like, but when your craving something while pregnant you do what you have to do. And fast!

I think these are yummy and worth passing on.

P.S. This recipe make a large amount of dough 1 batch does our family of 6 just fine we always have lots left over.

Best Ever Farm House Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 1/2-5 cups flour

Cream together shortening & sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, continue to beat. Add sour cream & vanilla, then sift together dry ingredients. Add both mixtures together and roll out to about 1/4" thick cut into shapes and bake at 350 for 10 minutes Should be soft and light colored. Cool and frost after baking.

I use the following frosting recipe it's my sister- in -laws and my family loves it. I never buy canned frosting yuck!

Here is an updated photo taken on 2.14.2013

Lisa's Frosting:

• 3/4 cup shortening - Crisco only
• 1 stick butter softened
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon or almond extract
• food coloring if desired

Mix all together in mixer and beat till fluffy. I beat for about 5+ minutes on high in my Kitchen Aid makes it really fluffy. Stores well in seal tight container in refrigerator. I never said this was the healthiest recipe around. But come on ladies--These are frosted sugar cookies YUM-O!

I Amaze Myself Sometimes!

Literally!! I figured out how to add a slide show to my blog! And all by myself might I add.. I am really computer illiterate.

I know it's such a stupid thing to be excited about but I have been thinking about adding a slide show for many many months now. I see them on other blogs that I read and thought it would be fun to share the photo's I wouldn't normally blog about, and our family & friends could see a little more of "us".

And low and behold I was lurking on my friend Hilary's blog & she added a slide show to hers so I figured dang it, I need to try and see if I could do it. AND I DID!

I love it when my hamster gets back on it's wheel and my brain starts turning! Enjoy! :)

Thanks Hilary for giving me the "push" to do something

I have been wanting to do but was too scared to try!

{A Day Wallowa Lake }

Thursday started off as not such a good day but Lloyd had an evening work meeting at the Enterprise store so we decided to take the kids and go have some fun beforehand so we went to 
Wallowa lake. 

I am glad that we went because the kids had so much fun!
We have decided that we are going to have to go camping there next summer for a few days. Just to kick back and relax & have a good time.

They rode the Bumper boats &
 then we all had ice cream cones and watched the deer that were feeding right by the porch we were sitting at.

Then after we had our ice cream Lloyd, Jentry, Parker & Brinley rode the Go Karts. We have discovered the Parker is a little speed demon... I so dread the day this kid gets a license to drive. Neither of the boys had ever driven go-karts and they did so well. 

They are just like their father anything with an engine/motor and goes fast is fine by them!

 

I think next year when we go camping we are going to ride the Tram up the mountain. We would have done it when we were there but we didn't have enough time. 

I think the kids would also like to do some horseback riding and well there is so much to do there. So here's to planning next years camping trip to the fun-filled place we call Wallowa lake!

{ Glucose Test Anyone? Anyone? }

So today I was lucky enough to go and take my glucose test. 

And really the drink wasn't as bad as I remembered it to be. So I chugged it down as fast as I could and we were out the door to tick off the minutes until my hour was up. Here's to hoping I don't flunk the 1 hr test and have to take the 3 hr one.

So we went downtown and did a little more shopping. Yes, one of these day's Lloyd is going to shoot me when he sees the pile o' baby clothes. 

Here is Jentry at his last soccer game. It was a really GOOD GAME too. He made an awesome save which helped the team score a goal! He did great this season and next year we have decided we are going to send him to soccer camp. Give him some more tips and tricks!

And this is just a random photo I took of Brinley after church this past Sunday. I find I don't get many pictures of her all "dolled up". So this is the only one that really turned out as most of you have already heard the lighting in my OLD house is terrible. So here ya go.

{ Yup! It's really a GIRL! }

So we had our 2nd ultrasound this afternoon and everything looks great & Brinley finally gets her little sister!

We are excited and relieved to know that everything is ok. I guess with the first scan they thought they saw some extra bone mass in the skull of the baby but turns out we just had bad pictures go figure. And they also checked the spine which was a slight concern but it was fine too.

It was pretty cute every time the tech would look at the head profile of the baby she was always trying to suck on her hand. I have never had any of my kids suck on any body part during an ultrasound, yes I know it's lame but I thought it was cute. And all I have to say is thank you to whoever invented the pacifier!

Raising Hand!! I'm Here!!

We went to Tri-Cities, we shopped, we came home! I have to say the kids were AWESOME all day on Friday. No whining, we went from store to store to store and there was no complaining. They were so good. And then we came home on Saturday and apparently they had used all their "goodness" up on Friday as we had whining and sheer un-happiness on the way home mostly from Corbin. But we got everything we needed and then some, so it was a good trip.

Then we had church on Sunday & after church I took a 3.5 hour nap I didn't realize I was so tired! So that's my update for now, yes I know nothing thrilling. I should have more to report later. OH I ALMOST FORGOT! Today is my Ultrasound! So hopefully all goes well there I'll let you know. Better go and find a sitter for the kids. Later!

{ Leaving Town! }

So tomorrow I am heading up to Tri-Cities to my mom's to do a little last minute school shopping. 

I am taking all 4 kids and we are going to leave after Jentry's last soccer game tomorrow night. I have to get School shoes for all 3 kids and a few other things. I am going to hit Target, Children's place, Gymboree, Joann's, Craft Warehouse and well whatever else strikes me as a place I need to visit. I may take the kids to the park shown above but that depends on the heat, it is always so hot there. 
If it's too hot then we may go to Chucky Cheese's only for the games their food is nasty but for some reason, 
the kids love playing those games.

So wish me luck it's always so much fun going to Washington by myself with the kids. But Lloyd will be able to get a lot of work done while we are gone. We will be coming home either Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, I still am not sure on that one just depends on how tired I am after dragging 4 little ones in and out of stores all day, so I'll blog to you from Washington!

{ Today was a good day }

So tonight was Parker's last soccer game, they won yippee and after the game, the team all went to Riverside Park for a pizza party. We had pizza from Pizza Hut, pop, and root beer floats. We had a little smaller turn out than expected with a few of the families away on last-minute vacations but still had a good time. 
We only ended up with basically 4 pizza's left and I only managed to talk one of the families into taking pizza home and she only took one so, we have 3 in the fridge, can ya guess what we are having for lunch tomorrow?

I loved this cute picture of Jentry & Corbin walking together

 Oh and to top it off when we got home from the pizza party we had a yummy gift waiting for us, my cousin Donna brought us a surprise Apple pie that looks so delicious! So thanks, Donna that was very sweet of you! 

I'm thinking Apple Pie Ala Mode!

The Good The Bad & The Disgusting!

So I need to do a little recapping of my fun filled festive life as of last Friday. So here goes.

Friday: I made peach freezer jam, it turned out so yummy. Lloyd said it tastes better than any other peach jam he has ever had. But then again could he be saying that just to be nice to me as he is my spouse & would like to stay married for a least another year?

Anyway making the jam hardly put a dent in my BIG box of peaches so I pulled out the "I am trying to be a good mom card" and made a bunch of Peach fruit leather. It also turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. So now the peaches are gone and I now no longer have to put in so much overtime in the kitchen. yeah!

Saturday: I helped Lloyd lay laminate floor at our neighbors mind you this was by my choice and then REMIND ME NEVER TO DO THIS AGAIN. I have found for me that:

27 Weeks Pregnant+Laminate Installation=Pain.

I woke up Sunday morning to get ready for church and was so stiff and sore I couldn't believe it. I guess I used some muscles that I had apparently put in storage for a while. I am feeling a little better today, but man oh man NEVER AGAIN!

Sunday: We went to church & then went to Lloyd's parents as his sister was still here we had a BBQ and basically vegged out for the evening. While we were there we found out that Parker's cousin CJ had been throwing up the night before --- keep in mind that Parker played with CJ Saturday night. So we came home put the kids to bed and wouldn't you now it @ 12:13 am Parker starts throwing up! He threw up in the dining room and on the bathroom floor right next to the toilet and was basically up all night so I got about 3 hr of interrupted sleep last night. And of course this morning the kid is running around acting just fine. I really hate vomit! I am scared to go to sleep for fear the one of the other kids is going to wake me up sharing the wonderful world of vomit.

So that's my weekend! Don't you wish you were all here to bask in my joy? Yeah...... I don't blame ya. :)

{ SOS! Scrapbooking On Saturday }

Here are more of my scrapbook layouts. One of these (our works of art) is a couple years old so it may wreak o' scrapbooking style 2005. I think my scrap style changes a little every year. Sorry about how dark they look I really hate taking photos in my house they always look dark. Darn old Farm House! They are much brighter in person. But you get the idea. Have a great weekend! We are off to visit Lloyd's sister Christine and her family they just got into town & we are going to eat homemade ice cream yum! :)

{ I get to visit Wonder Woman! }

Well, I had another Dr. Appt this morning and hip, hip I haven't gained any more weight, so I am still holding at 8 pounds of weight gain so far in this pregnancy! Not too shabby for 27 weeks along

And I learned that I have to get another ultrasound on the 20th! Apparently, the head radiology guy wasn't happy with the pictures the last tech did (couldn't see a lot of things he wanted to see) so I get another! YIPPEE I am excited because my last ultrasound was horrible! 
I came home with no profile of the baby and a ton of shots of well....who knows what it was. 
Although I did get 9 fabulous shots of my placenta (gross). 
So this time I asked for a certain tech her name is Buffy or Buff or Ultrasound Queen, but we like to call her Wonder woman! She is one ultrasound tech who knows what the heck she is doing and hopefully she can tell us for certain if this baby is a girl she has never been wrong in the 10+ years she has been doing this so ... I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Although Lloyd doesn't understand why I still think it could be anything other than a girl. I saw the last crotch shot I saw no boy parts, but then again with the tech, I had who knows what we were looking at.

So that's my day in a nutshell. 
Boring I know but thought a few of you would like to be informed. :)

{ Seriously, Enough is Enough! }

OK either I am going to have to rip out my own uterus or I am going to have to hurt someone.

I have been having Braxton Hicks Contractions literally all day long! I am so sick of them... I usually only have between 5-10 a day. Oh no, not today I am having 6+ every hour I have lost count & they are the kind that I have to breathe through not just oh... that was kinda uncomfy hmmm oh well.... I just want to tell my uterus-----That'll do donkey, that'll do.......... (yes we watch too much shrek)

I have been drinking my water as my good friend advised me but no such luck of them subsiding. My tummy is sore because they have been so frequent and making their appearance all day. All I can say is it's a good thing I have a Dr. appt. tomorrow morning as my Dr. will get to hear me whine about them. Ya, I know there is nothing he can do but, him listening to my complaints is what I pay him for. It's his job!

On the up side though, our rocking chair broke, yes that is a good thing and darn it all that means we need a new one. I really want leather but the one chair that we found and both like is not leather and I am not prepared or willing to spend the extra 260 bucks to get the leather version it's a chair for pity sakes. Plus the one that we found is a glider/recliner kinda liking that! And I like that it doesn't look like a Gliding rocker I swear they all look the same... So we shall see. Well gotta go I am starting another lovely contraction and can't type well while having one. Later.

{ Long and windy! :) Catching up! }

Time to play catch up! I decided to get the kids out of the house on the 1st so we went to Hilgard Park and took a little dip in the Grande Ronde River! Well, Parker is the only one who truly took a dip the rest of us got our feet wet while we looked at all the tiny fish swimming around. It was nice to get out of the house and take a little break from the heat at least for a little while anyway.

 

Poor Corbin always has a dirty face. He's a snack-a-holic.

Thursday: we had yet another soccer game (Jentry's team won yahoo) then after the game we went to the Fair. We grabbed a bite to eat then we looked at all the smelly livestock, Corbin wasn't so sure about being that close to cows, I think he prefers them from the inside of a car. Then we went and looked and the Arts & Crafts displays -- a quick run through as the kids had rides on their minds, so off we went to the carni rides. Both the boys wanted to ride the Hammer head, I had to put my pregnant swollen foot down & say no! If they want to go on that ride I DON'T want to be around to see it. Anyway we ended up going home at 10:00 I figured 3 hours of the fair was good enough.

Then when we got home my brother David had been calling and was needing a place to crash on his way from Utah to Tri-Cities Washington. He was attending a wedding of a girl from his BYU ward where he is in the Bishopric. So he got in around 2:30 then left at 7:30 it was nice to see you David!!
Davids Man Truck:

Oh let's see then Friday: Gee I don't remember Friday at all oh well.

Saturday: we cleaned the house and I mowed the lawn and then we set to work on our remodel room. We tore out the ceiling tiles and all the carpet it now looks worse then it did when we started. I didn't think that could be possible but at least we can now really "get to work" seriously will it ever end?

Oh and then at around 10:30 I remembered I forgot to "update" my RS bulletin board @ church, I could have sworn I just did July's. So I called up my night owl friend and we went to the church and did a little updating. Thanks, Melissa I can't seem to stand being in the church alone.... I so need to start going while it's daylight out.

Then today Sunday, I woke up with a mother of a migraine so Lloyd took J&P to church and I stayed home with Brinley and Corbin who decided to literally scream from the time he woke up till about noon. So am not getting this child.

Then Lloyd's Cousins Eldon and Pam & Elwin and Lisa stopped by for a quick hello as I was a sinner & stayed home from church. It was so nice to see them, we are thinking of heading their way if they are going to be home in a couple weeks. We need to do something fun with the kids before school starts up again as the only thing we have done semi-fun was going to the fair. We are now calling our shameful lack of family fun --- family guilt!

Well, that's my update in a very large nutshell phew! Bet ya thought it would never end, sorry for the journal here but hey! It's my blog and I'll be windy if I want to. :) Thanks for checking up on us & have a great week!