What is that smell? Oh...it's me.

The kids are in bed and Merril's not home from work so I thought I'd read blogs for a bit. As I was enjoying a little quiet time, I started thinking, "What is that smell?" Then I realized, the smell was me. I smell of vomit and poo. (Left to wash hands) Okay, now it's just vomit. Jacky had a really nasty diaper right before bed and I forgot to wash my hands after changing him. The vomit is from Juliet. I had Juliet in the baby backpack while I was shopping at Wal-Mart. We were out of everything and I didn't even leave for Wal-Mart until 4:16 p.m. and I knew she wouldn't just sit nicely in the cart for a long trip.

So we were doing really well, I scored a parking spot in the very front of the lot, the other two kids were behaving and Juliet was content to ride on my back and then I felt my leg getting wet. I looked down and piles of vomit hit the floor and Jules coughed from behind me. I pulled off the backpack and the whole side of it was soaked. I found a paper towel dispenser and cleaned up the mess and wiped off the backpack, myself and Jules as best I could. I strapped her back on and she continuted to be a little angel for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, my leg and sock are still a little stinky. Other than that, Wal-Mart was great.

This last picture is something I was working on for a relative's blog contest. I don't actually have Photoshop so I couldn't do the cool black vignette on the edges, like I envy in all of Beka's photos. So this was as close as I could come. Mostly, I just like the blue egg. Well, some groceries are still waiting to be put away!

So we're like pioneers, eh?

Today, we ran out of bread so instead of going to the store, I decided we'd make bread. I pulled out the bread machine and had an inkling for wheat bread. I dug into my food storage and retrieved a No. 10 can of wheat. I threw the wheat in the vitamix blender and watched it turn into flour. So while we measured the rest of the ingredients, I took the opportunity to talk to Maxine about food storage. I said that we have food storage in case of an emergency or times when we might not be able to afford food, etc. I also said that the pioneers used to make their own bread and sometimes grind their own wheat. So we loaded the bread maker and turned it on and as Maxine watched the dough mix, she said,

"So the pioneers didn't go to the store for bread??"

I said, "Nope, they made all their own bread."

Max-"So we're like pioneers, right Mom?"

Chuckling as I watch her stand over the bread machine, "Yep, we're like the pioneers."

The big 3-0!

On Wednesday, Merril turned 30! I was just going to have a party with family today (Friday) but Maxine said that Daddy needed to have a party ON his birthday, not a few days after. So on Wednesday at noon, I started calling people to see who could come and eat cake and ice cream. Low and behold, lots of people showed up! This is a shout out to all the people who made it to the party on such short notice! Thanks guys!!

We had fun decorating the house and put up streamers! Maxine and I made a banner on the computer and Maxine wanted to make a birthday crown too so here's the king and his princess and prince.

(25 minutes later) I just got back from towing Merril home. He's been working on his truck, trying to figure out why it takes so long to start. He's tried dozens of internet and mechanics suggestions and the latest was last night. But something didn't go back together right because the truck started running weird and oil leaked back into the fuel. (I think, something like that.) Anyhoo, Merril called and asked if I could come get him. Bummer. We're just hoping he didn't blow the engine. Rebuilding the engine doesn't sound cheap or fun.

Well, I better go. The older two are outside playing in the hose and laughing. A lot. :)

Eye strain...

My family had a family reunion last weekend and my family needed a family picture and I was nominated to take it. It was kind of intimidating for me because I feel like it's my responsibility to produce a good picture from 21 individual faces. So thanks to digital editing software and 3 hours of post-production work, we have this:

I had to swap 2 heads, one set of eyes, Jack's whole body and the pants of his cousin, smudge the corners of a mouth to make it look like Grant's smiling a little and then ran it through some noise reduction software. Ta dah! I'm sure it could've been done faster but certain things took quite a bit of tweaking to make them look right. I have lots more pictures from the weekend but this is what I've been working on. But here's some pictures from the reunion. Daddy hiking with Juliet and Max and Jack walking up some stairs. Woosh!

First Lake Day...

Aaaaahhhhh...I've been dreaming about it for weeks and we finally went to the lake today! It was 86 degrees and warm. The water was a chilly 61 degrees but the kids got in and played up to their waists. I LOVE THE LAKE! Something about spending time at the lake mellows me out. I can still feel the mellow at 9:57 p.m. We only stayed for an hour because the wind started to kick up and didn't even bring the boat because it's still being reupholstered but it was wonderful! The kids look so cute in their new swimsuits too! Juliet wasn't even going to get wet but I made her wear her swimsuit anyway. Her swimsuit has a little tutu and it's so sweet! Merril was feeding her popcorn in this shot and the look on her face cracks me up.
Merril's outside polishing the wheels on the Tahoe. He bought new valve-stem covers and they're black with a red Chevy emblem on the top. They were $10 bucks for the set and are so...Merril. He loves to pimp out a car. (Megan, I know they'd totally be lost on you but I think they're cute!) Happy Spring!

The Parent of the Year Award is in the bag!

Merril's out of town today with some friends so the kids and I decided to go to a park opening near our house. The city was giving away free hot dogs and drinks and we thought it'd be a fun outing. So we arrive and I get Juliet situated in the stroller and see a member of our ward. She says hello and asks if she can do anything to help. I say, "No, I think we got it." I push Juliet up on the sidewalk and let go of the stroller to walk back a few paces and shut a door on the Tahoe. Just as I get the door shut, I hear a wack and a crying baby. I hadn't locked the stroller wheels and the stroller had rolled back off the sidewalk with Juliet still strapped in. The stroller fell on its side and Juliet had hit the pavement. I pulled her out and she has a wicked goose egg on her forehead and road rash on her cheek just below her eye. So I hold her and say over and over again, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby." So she stopped crying and we played at the park and ate our hot dogs. Random people would come to goo at her and then say, "Who did that to your little face???" and I'd have to say, "Mommy did." So we're at home and I nursed her and gave her some Tylenol and a little Neosporin. But the rest of you should just give up now because the Parent of the Year Award is mine dude.

She loves the tub...

Juliet loves to try and "grab" the running water as the tub fills up. It always cracks me up because I remember my Dad used to say the same thing about me. She loves the tub and lately discovered how to splash. She seems so surprised every time the water hits her in the face but keeps splashing away.

Other than that, we're getting the boat reupholstered. These are the before pictures. How do these stories always start out? Merril knows a guy. He said he'd give us a good deal on the job if Merril would take all the pieces out and bring them to him. Some of them took more than a smile to extract from the boat. Parts in the bow required me to stick my arm in the big black hole and reach up to get off the nut. Unfortunately, I was orientated in such a way that the rest of my body sunk into the hole and then I was stuck and Merril had to come rescue me. But the pieces should be back in about a week and then we'll need to clean hull and put it back together.

Let's get out of here...

Merril asked if I wanted to go for a motorcycle ride today. I said, "Sure." So we got a babysitter for an hour, put on our gear and set out. It's the first time that we've ever ridden separate motorcycles. Until now, we've only had the one streetbike. He recently purchased a Ducati to fix and re-sell so we took the Ducati and the Yamaha FZR. (For all the non-motorcycle enthusiasts, the Ducati is the red one on the right and the FZR is the black one on the left.)We rode for about 35 minutes, stopped at a store for a snack and to hang out and then rode 35 minutes home. It was a little windy but the temperature was just right. It was a fun little ride and date.

I have a little love affair with motorcycles because it's something that I do ALL BY MYSELF, an entertainment not easily come by these days. There's no room for car seats, diaper bags or little containers of Cheerios. It's wind, the smell of french fries from the burger place I just passed and a little moment of freedom all wrapped up in a neat little package.

To smell the lilies of the field...

I seem to have been sick a lot this winter and about a month ago, I got the flu with the kids. Symptoms seemed to subside except for a plugged sinus on one side. Waited a week or so to see if it would clear up on its own. No luck. But that's not the worst of it. I've lost the ability to smell anything! I've been relying solely on Maxine to tell me when someone's poopy because I can't smell anything at all. I can't smell people smoking, popcorn, bleach, Merril's man smell, nada. So last Friday night, I went to the new InstaCare in Hurricane. There wasn't a single patient there so I was wisked right in! I was prescribed antibiotics and sent home. I've been taking the anitbiotics for about a week and seen little change. If I sniff something really hard, I can almost "taste" the smell in the back of my mouth. (I don't recommend doing that with a poopy diaper. They taste terrible! But it's the best way to gauge if my sense of smell is coming back.) So I've been without my ability to smell for about 2 1/2 weeks and I miss it.


So this morning, I started nosing around the internet to see if there are home remedies to clear up sinuses and came across one that involves drinking diluted apple cider vinegar. I drank it an hour ago and it was so nasty I could barely gag it down. But I'm happy to say I can almost smell the top of my baby's head, the body spray I'm wearing, and the poopy diaper that needs to be changed on Juliet. Unfortunately, I'm supposed to drink it 3 times a day for 4-6 days. But if I can smell the sweet aroma of bread baking again or my dirty toddler, it'll be worth it! Have a happy conference weekend!