mia

No fun posts, no pictures, no giddy news. Just a weekend of being terribly sick and having a break down last night over my camera.

My camera you ask? Well, after pulling my hood up outside because it was cold and not realizing I also pulled my very expensive camera up over my head also, caused it to fall to the pavement lens first. It's not pretty.

Coughing til my head hurts, coughing til I pee my pants, coughing til I gag, blowing my nose til it nearly bleeds, blowing a raw sensitive nose, trying to hear through plugged ears, not smelling food, not tasting food, and just plain feeling like crap, has caused me to feel extra bad over my camera.

It's my smaller lens, the one that's easier to use all the time. It's not the big lens, the zoom lens, the one I use less of the time. Nope, it was the common lens. Bouncing onto pavement is not good for cameras.

So until I get my head out of the clouds and feel a bit better about my camera, don't expect much for pictures.

early morning shopping

The alarm ringing at 2:30am was quite a shock. I jumped out of bed, not quite sure what that noise was, fumbled with the alarm clock, then realized it was the alarm clock on my phone. I was up and it was time to get going.

We were out the door by 3am, headed to Sioux Falls, in search of great deals. And I must say, we found some most excellent deals!

Our first stop was JCPenny's. Even though there were tons of people, it was still easy to maneuver through the store. We found some great deals. So many people were carrying big boxes of kitchen items and rushing to the checkouts, then out the door to the next stop. It was amusing to see people scurry about.

Next up was Shopko. Driving by, I laughed at the people standing outside of Best Buy and I was so thankful we didn't have to go there, or want to go there. I was a bit surprised to see the huge lines of people outside of Shopko when we arrived. I believe their line was as big as Best Buys. The kicker was they had 2 sets of doors and people were only lined up at 1, so we went to the other door where a sign read these doors would open 2nd to the other doors. A few minutes later, a manager came and said they would not open those doors. That made a few customers mad because the signs said they would open. Anyhow, a short time later, the doors opened and people from the parking lot and the other doors mingled in with the long line and entered. That made people standing in line upset! So we just wandered right in. It's not like the line was cramped going through the doors, I mean, there were big open spots. Worked out pretty slick.

I stopped to look at some picture frames and a lady kept nudging my hip with her cart, but I pretended I didn't feel it. There were so many people and they were literally running through the store! We gathered a few items and then found the end of the check-out line. That was interesting. They had blue tape on the floor with arrows and the line went in and out of their aisles. I believe it took about 30-40 minutes to get to the check-out.

We then played a little tag in Sioux Falls with my cousin. We thought we needed to meet them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, so we went there and found ourselves in the midst of a traffic jam. Just when we get there and explain where we parked, she said we were supposed to be at Best Buy. So we headed back that direction and met up with them.

Finally, we headed to Wal-Mart and got everything we wanted out of the ad, which was nice considering we weren't there at 5am, but more like 6:30. One manager even told me something I was looking for was sold out. As we wandered to the check-out, I found an entire display of that item. Guess she didn't know what she was talking about.

IHOP was next on our agenda as our stomachs were growling. We ate and headed back to the mall to Old Navy. That line wrapped around the store as well. But I did get some really cute sleeper pajamas for Jayden.

After Old Navy, we were wiped out, and ready to head home, so that's exactly what we did. I even got an 1 1/2 nap in. Mike said I was out cold. After my nap, we took Jayden to the doctor where he was placed on antibiotics again. My throat has been killing me all day and I'm already on antibiotics, so this could be interesting to see what comes of it. With Mike having pneumonia, I hope I don't get it.

All in all, today was a blast and worth the trip. I can't tell you about some of the deals as they are gifts, but I'm sure you'll hear soon enough.

black friday ads

Jayden says we need this and this and this and this...

Or more like, "what's that" repeated to infinity.

Found him sitting at the table looking at the ads for tomorrow. Silly boy. Guess he'll be my shopping buddy someday, huh.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy time with your families and be thankful for everything God has provided you with. Travel safe if you are traveling. It's a beautiful crisp morning! I've already been to the gas station at 5:30am to get my Argus Leader for the ads. I'm not sure what destination I have in mind, so I guess the ads will help decide that. Last year I stayed in Brookings, but this year I'm thinking about venturing to Sioux Falls. Yikes!

silly stuff

Yesterday after we had finished with a PALS (Play And Learn Session), my assistant and I were cleaning up. I found myself wondering where exactly the stinky diaper had gone during PALS. I was aware a mother changed the diaper, but never seen her bring the diaper out and she didn't have a diaper bag. It was then that I noticed I have a diaper genie. How brilliant! A diaper genie sitting right there by the changing table for those nasty, stinky diapers to be placed.

Sounds simple, right? Ahem....

I could not figure out how to open the darn thing. I tried staring down into the dark abyss to see if for fact the diaper was actually in the diaper genie, but the smell confirmed my intuitions. I tugged and pulled at the top of the genie trying to get the blasted lid off, but it was stuck. And I mean really stuck. Or maybe it was supposed to be that way. I decided the bag had to come out one way or another, so I started to pull the sack out because I knew this was a sure fire way to get it out.

The sack started coming out the top, but so did the top of the genie. Now I really had a dilemma. The genie was coming apart, the sack was falling out, but the diaper was still no where to be seen. Right there on the bottom, I noticed a foot pedal. I stepped on it and the genie opened from the bottom.

Alrighty then. So I start pulling the bag from the bottom because surely I would find the end by starting at the bottom. I pulled and pulled....and pulled. By this time, I realize I am not dealing with a bag, but an endless piece of plastic with a lost diaper some where in the middle of this endless tube of plastic.

I walk out into the hallway, pulling the plastic, dragging the genie behind me, holding the diaper which was stuck in the plastic, and asked my assistant (who is a retired grandma) if she knew how to work on of these...except, neither of us could get through out laughter and tears due to the mess I was standing in. Of course she knew nothing about the diaper genie. But she had a brilliant idea!

"Can you just cut it out of there?" Now why didn't I think of that? I grabbed my scissors and started cutting the top, then the bottom. The nasty diaper was stuck inside, but so was the top of the genie. I cut a hole in the middle and pulled the top out and left the diaper in. By the end of this fiasco, I had at least 30 feet of endless plastic and 1 stinky dirty diaper and a tear streaked face.

Apparently I am getting old because diaper genies never used to be that hard to work. Again, my assistant came with great words of wisdom, "when you move, Val, that, stays here".

Whew...what a day!!

--------------------------------------------

My husband and I enjoy Farmville on Facebook. You can also play it on the web. It's lots of fun and very addicting. In fact, our oldest girls also farm. The other night, as Mike was going through his feed to see what was new, he exclaimed, "HEY! When did I lay an egg?!" Let's just say he still hasn't heard the end of that one.

dear Jayden

Dear Jayden,

I love you. You are my pride and joy and you make me smile. I think about you throughout the day and wonder what you are doing or what you are playing with. But Jayden, I wish you would stop pooping in the tub when daddy isn't home to clean it out. As cute as you are with your blue eyes, your contagious giggle, and you telling me it's "poop", it is still inappropriate to poop in the tub, especially when you sister is in the tub with you.

And Jayden, while I sit here and think of how much I love you, I have to admit that I do not love your temper tantrums that you have been throwing for almost two years now. I understand you, honey, that you want to show me how strong you are when you throw potty chairs, computer chairs, toys, and Tow Mater down the stairs, but some day, you might get hurt doing this.

Jayden, I love you. I love every precious toe and finger on your body and I love how you have started to name some of your body parts. But Jayden, not all girls will like you touching their boobs and saying "moob" with a giggle. This might make them upset with you. Even though I see your innocence, they may not.

Jayden, I have been teaching you manners now for a long time and you have finally caught on to what please and thank you mean and when to say them. I love it when you say, "ank oo". But Jayden, I try notdo not laugh every time you fart at the table or burp your loud burps. However honey, you sure make that hard when you start with that contagious laugh.

Oh Jayden, I love you.

apple trees

The goal is to get all of the apples out of the tree onto the ground, so they can be picked up and thrown away before winter. Last year we were a bit more prepared and actually got all of these apples sliced, cored, peeled, and into the freezer. This year, I think we were still burnt out from last year, so they got left on the tree. But they look silly with no leaves or anything, so it was time to get rid of them.

It was a group effort. Joseph was shaking the tree, Dalton was trying to catch the falling apples into the trash.

Jayden was filling his shovel while he pushed it on the ground.

Then he decided it was easier to put apples onto the shovel while Joseph pushed it instead.

Mike climbed as high as he could to shake the branches while apples fell to the ground. Kids were dodging and running from the apples!

More and more apples plummeted to the ground. Can you see them falling by the dozens?

Devin carefully filled her coat with apples and took them to the trash can.

As she carefully placed them one by one down to the bottom.

"Hi honey, what's the view like up there?"

Devin and Dalton worked hard picking up tons of apples.

Dalton especially liked using the shovel.

Stewie watched very intently.

Joseph took huge shovel fulls of apples to the garbage.

Then Mike had to climb the tree again to try to get the last few remaining apples out.

But this time he used the apple picker to shake the last few out of the tree.

And here we are, after both trees are bare, with many many apples on the ground and lots of work ahead.

Good thing for some hard-working kids who got the job done rather quickly, with some help from daddy. You ask what I did? Well, took pictures of course!!

mirror mirror in the haze

Enjoy these pictures from a hazy day on the way to work. I have always liked the look of water when it appears to mirror landscape.

more sunsets

I don't want to bore the heck out of you with a bunch of pictures of sunsets, but lately, they have been amazing with the different colors of pinks, purples, oranges and reds. I love finding different places to take pictures.

Plus, Jayden hates having his picture taken. I try to get pictures of him looking at the camera and he gets so mad. I'm hoping to get some pictures of the kids this weekend.

Tonight, Joseph is in the field with his dad and Shaylee is spending the night at the church at a lock-in. She's pretty excited to go to that. I'll have to see what tomorrow brings.

thin ceilings

I don't know what to write as my mind is blank. Could be from all the sex I had to listen to today at work. Ya, you read that right. My office is in a house that has an apartment upstairs. Well the walls ceilings are beyond paper thin, so thin I can hear conversations. Except today, I didn't hear conversations, but something else. Aye yi yi. Any suggestions what to do next time? I thought about slipping a little note under their door with a link to my blog so they could read it, or pounding on the ceiling with a broom, or just flat out telling them to shut up. Anyhow, sure makes my work day interesting.

Onward.....how bout' this beautiful sunset? Taken from the driveway of a good friend.

I'm thrilled tomorrow is Friday and a shorter work day for me. I'm also very excited for the weekend, the following 3 day work week, and then another 4 day weekend. Something to look forward too! Although that 4 day weekend means I have to stuff my face with everything possible need to watch what I eat instead, which will be difficult. But I know with my mom being there, that she will set a good example for me, like I will her.

layouts

Playing around with some layouts for pictures.

Had I done this one different, I would have swapped places with these two pictures.

a deer or two

I have two squirrel friends outside my office who have been there since the day I got my job. It's fun to watch them run and fly from tree to tree, eat corn cobs, and play with each other. This little guy was having a tasty snack after work today.

Yesterday I took my camera with me to work in hopes of finding some interesting pictures along the way. Sometimes I think I'm bringing it to take pictures of the deer I might hit with my car...because I've never hit a deer before or another vehicle for that matter, at least not as a driver. So if that day should come, I'll want to document it...because that's what I do. Let's just hope you don't see pictures of something like that on here.

Ok, off that little bunny trail. Anyhow, on my way home I stopped to take a lot of pictures, but those will come in different posts. I did get some really neat pictures though. As I drove closer to Sinai, I was on the look out for deer because the sun was going down and I was in an area where I have seen deer before.

I drove to the cemetery on the west side of the road and thought to myself, "how clever to put deer decoys in a cemetery", but then they started to move. It was surreal. I drove past, but wondered if they might still be there. So I whipped a cookie on the road and went back.

Doesn't it look like a decoy?

And here is what I saw initially when I pulled to stop. Of course I was snapping lots of pictures, not of high quality, but more to use as proof of these amazing creatures that I rarely see alive. I was mesmerized by them and I think they were curious about me. They ran towards me, stopped, went around in circles, ran back, came towards me again and then started to take off.
I lurched forward and pulled into the entrance of the cemetery. By this time the deer were moving a bit faster and leaving the cemetery. With my zoom lens maxed out, I still managed to get a shot or two of them jumping over the fence.

Considering I am not a hunter, have never walked a field or sat quietly waiting for a deer, this was the highlight of my evening. I found precisely what I was looking for.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not catch my daughter up on the roof wanting to help my husband hang Christmas lights. She, of course, did not ask to go up there and I would have certainly said No.

I did not find my 2 year old crawling under the back of my car to get his ball (and yes I was sitting right there to make sure all was well). I did not have a small talk with him about how that is unsafe. And he did not cry because he got mad.

I did not take off my nice, tighter fitting shirt, and put on a big comfy hooded sweatshirt when I found out we were eating at Applebee's, just to cover up my fat belly when I overate. Nope, not me!

I did not procrastinate on writing up my Not Me Monday because I am on top of everything all the time.

I did not sit here this morning and try to recall things that I did not do this week. That would be ridiculous!

I do not have a huge growing pile of laundry that accumulates daily. And my bathroom is not about completely covered with another pile of dirty laundry that I refuse to pick up. That would be so dumb of me to not pick those clothes up to just prove a point that I'm tired of picking up the bathroom.

beautiful day

What a beautiful day we had today. A fun day to be outside and enjoy the fresh air.

Running and playing outside.
Investigating intriguing things found.

Watching others.

Observing nature's finest creations.

People watching.
Hanging Christmas lights (or starting to).

Stopping to smile for the camera.

Everyone enjoyed the weather today. We put Stewie on his 30 foot cable and played. He went for walks. The kids ran. The adults worked and took pictures. The kids played ball. The adults worked and took pictures. The kids played with the dog. Well, you get the picture. We were all outside having a glorious day!

tonights tidbits

First day of a 3 weekend is completed already and it sure was a busy one. We started out the day with Jayden's speech therapy session. It went ok, other than his tantrums he threw during it.

Then the retired guy from Slumberland came to look at our bedroom furniture. It's only a month old and two of the drawers are broke. The screws are stripped out and the boards broke. They claim this has never happened before. Anyhow a few quick minutes later and he said we need to order new drawers. Duh.

After that, I received a phone call from the clinic letting me know that they had gotten a very limited supply of flu shots in and to call and make an appointment. That was the biggest fiasco. I pulled the kids out of school and took all 6 kids in. Happy to say, that all of my kids are now up to date on both shots. Jayden will have to get one more H1N1, but it was too soon today to get him one.

I came home and got the kids back in school and continued on with the day around here. The girls went roller-skating tonight. Shaylee said she was going to hold Dillan's hand tonight. Oh my gosh. I am not ready for this to begin.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Hopefully something fun.

so excited

If you follow me on Twitter, then you may have seen a tweet I sent out earlier today stating how excited I am.

Early Head Start applied for an expansion grant back in July. We were told we would hear in September, then the end of September, then October, then the middle of October, and then in December.

Today we heard. And we got that grant. Why does this mean I am so excited? Well, there is a very very high probability that my job will be moving to Brookings. Not so much my job. But EHS would add another position to Brookings, making it possible for me to transfer over.

So yes, I am excited. Had we not gotten that grant, then there would have been no hope for me to transfer and I would continue commuting 35 miles one way to work.

I do not know the time frame when I will find out, but it should be soon. First step was being awarded the grant, second step is figuring out how exactly to use the money and where the needs are highest. There is a large waiting list in Brookings, so chances are very good.

turkey

I've seen 2 turkey's like this that are made out of a hay bale this week. They are super cute and sit along the side of the road or near a driveway. From what I could see, the back feathers are made from 2x4's. I'm assuming that's what the feet and head are made of too. The other turkey I've seen is cuter than this one, but I didn't have a camera with me at the time.

he did it again

I love driving to work in the mornings when I can catch the sunrise. I never have to fight the sun in my eyes because of the directions I travel. Yesterday, the sky was lit up in so many colors making it absolutely amazing. Then I came over a hill a few miles later and the huge orange sun was peeking up over the horizon.

Onto a different topic, can I just tell you that he did it again? You know. Pooped in the tub. Yep, second night in a row and once again my husband was gone so I got to deal with it again tonight. I'm off duty tomorrow though as work calls me late on Thursdays. (smile) Never thought I'd be so happy to work late! But yay me, it's a break!!

which way is up

Tonight feels like another night where I can't tell which way is up and if I'm even heading in the right direction. I'm doing it alone, again, which seems like it's happening more often than not lately because my husband is in the field helping his dad. Not that I'm bothered by that, however, the part that bothers me is not being able to keep my head above water with our six kids.

By the time I get them picked up from daycare, pick up supper (Papa Murphy's), get home, unload the kids, turn the oven on, it's after 5pm and then I realize I have forgotten to pick up the boys at BASE. And I'm alone. No older children to watch the younger two while I run to get them. Ugh. On the contrary, as I was getting ready to leave, Shawndra came home with the dog and I was able to leave her in charge for the 10 minutes it took me to get them.

I finally get home, throw the pizza in the oven, run downstairs and measure Devin's room to see if the bed will fit a different way, and then start moving the furniture back into her room. We finished carpeting it last night around 11pm, thanks to my wonderful husband who can accomplish anything.

Back upstairs to pull a pizza out of the oven and put another one in. A large family eats lots of food, so yes, 2 family size pizzas were cooked. I get everyone fed, in between the phone ringing, the dog barking, the cat hissing, and me about going insane.

I throw the younger two kids in the bath, leave the bath water running a bit too long, and before long it's up to their chest. Holy smokes, that's a lot of water. They liked it. 10 minutes later, Devin screams out, "Vaaaalllll, Jayden pooped in the tub!" Oh great. Mike is always always the one that deals with that job and here I am. So I start scooping the turds into the cup, dump them into the toilet, watch the kids squirm to get away from the ones that act like they are alive, scoop some more, turn on the shower, clean them up, and get them out. Wowzers.

The boys go downstairs and before to long one comes back up to tell me the pumpkin fell off the window and broke on their floor and it stinks. Well, I'm still in the middle of eating, so I tell him to clean it up and I'll be down in a bit. About an hour goes by and I finally drag myself downstairs to start some clothes and I about puke at the smell. What on earth could it be? Oh man, it was the worst smell ever.

That's when it happens. Dalton tells me it's the pumpkin and it was rotten. So here I go again, dejavu from Saturday. I pull out the vacuum, vacuum their floor, clean out the carpet cleaner because it's packed full of rotten orange carpet from Devin's room, then start scrubbing the heck out of it with the carpet cleaner. In the meantime, I'm delegating other tasks to other kids. I feel like I'm not gaining any ground. But I am thankful that it was someones chore to clean the kitchen.

I go to take a picture of Devin's room, but my zoom lens is the only lens here because my car is at the farm with my smaller lens. I manage to stand back kind of in the girls room with my head hanging out the door as far as I can possibly be to snap a picture.

Oh it's been quite a night. And I only hope it gets better from here.

Happy Birthday Joseph

A small birthday celebration for Joseph was held tonight after supper. He turned 9 today! While blowing out his candles, two were still lit. I was told this means he has "two girlfriends". I don't think I'm ready for that day.

Opening one of his presents. This one had to be one of his favorites.
Happy Birthday Joseph!

another spontaneous decision

I had another day today that led me into a very spontaneous decision. Do you remember several months ago when I posted on my issues about those decisions? So, here's the deal, when we bought the house, we transformed a very small room into a bedroom perfect for a 3 (now 4 year old) by adding a window to it. This room had very ugly, orange shag carpet, that had a slight scent to it. Off and on for the past year, I've noticed that smell and I've really hated it, but lately, the smell seems to have gotten worse, so today I pulled out the carpet cleaner and scrubbed the heck out of it. I put the fan in the door way, opened the window and let it dry for hours, except the smell was worse.

So.....I decided heck with this, I'm ripping this carpet out. And I did. I yanked and pulled, heaved and hoed, until the carpet was out.

One problem, almost all of the padding stayed on the floor.
I started scrapping and pulling. The padding was only coming off in little tiny pieces. At this rate it was going to take forever. Then, Shawndra came in and asked if I wanted help, so she started pushing and pulling.

I ended up going to town for the third time today and get some new blades for the scrapper and I picked up some chemical stripper. When I got home, Jayden had decided he was going to help too. He's such a good helper.

I put some of the stripper down and worked in a different area. Then I went back to that are where the chemical stuff was at work and realized that it wasn't coming off much easier. In the meantime, I started feeling burned. Here I had gotten myself into the wet chemical stripper in my capri's and flip flops. I tried wiping it off with my gloves, which I think had the stripper on it too, spreading it into more areas. I went into the bathroom and ran some water on it and man did that hurt!

So that was it. I told Shawndra to get out of there because she was in shorts and no shoes. I'll deal with the mess tomorrow. Besides, my hands are extremely sore from the pliers, putty knives, and scrapers. Maybe I've even got blisters forming.

The status of the room? Well, we have maybe 1/4 of the padding up. I did buy a remnant for us to lay down once we get the padding up. Then we'll decide if we're going to cut into the wall to make a closet or not.

All in all, another very spontaneous decision has left my house awry. Considering I spent the entire morning getting after the kids to help clean, you can't even tell we did anything. There's a bed, box spring, frame, headboard, dresser and clutter all over every where. Wow. What a crazy day! I'll post more pictures tomorrow of the progress. I'm just glad that ugly orange carpet is gone.