Life back to "normal"

Today, life is back to normal (or something that resembles it) for us. We have water, although tonight the color is so bad that it looks like sweet tea, we are overcoming the nasties we have had, and we fixed the tires on the mower.

I was able to do wash:


The boys played in the sandbox:


Under the sprinkler:


On the swing set:


And rested in the yard:


All while dad mowed the yard:


Then Dad convinced everyone it was fun to weed the garden:


Which someone thought meant pick mom's tea roses by hand:


Last week we were lucky enough to watch a HUGE poplar tree be taken down by Timber Tiger Tree Service. They ARE licensed and insured. These guys showed up on time this morning at 9am (I was waiting for them for my neighbor).


They were very sweet and kind. We had asked if they would please leave us some trunk sections for "seats" at our fire ring, they went a step ahead and made me CHAIRS!!!! With backs! When I offered to tip them (actually was handing them a $20bill), they declined the money.



They joked, were funny, and entertained my kids well!

Now... I also wanted to add... they aren't bad to look at :D The two boys that came out were super cute! LOL! I most definitely enjoyed watching my neighbor's tree being removed ;o)

Anyhow, if you need tree services, they do rock, and are reasonably priced and insured.

Something to Laugh About...

I just wanted to have some photos of the day for you guys, I will blog on the day later.

Enjoy the laughs and funny faces. Click the pics for the enlargements.


Arden can't squeeze the trigger on his own...

Carl runs through the sprinkler while mowing

Rory licks the mud/water running down his face


Canyon has something hanging... do you see it?

Geeze, they should all be super models. HAHAHAHAHA

Baby MoHawk...

So for almost 2.5 years now, Rory has had a MoHawk by choice.

Just recently (like in the last 2-3 days) we have begun to see a new family member with a mohawk... and no, it isn't the A-man...





It seems that Canyon has officially began to get rid of his baby hair. Carl went to CO last week and the baby had a full head, he got back home on Monday night to a balding little boy...

Boy are they growing up fast.

The conclusion to the water saga and the nasties... we hope.

We broke down and went to the doctor yesterday. The baby started running a fever, and wouldn't stop crying, Arden sounds like a motor is running in his chest, Rory is snotty, and I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I have NEVER had a headache like this one! I'm sure that a hot shower would help us feel better, but no such luck without water.

Canyon has an ear infection. And my Ped, who is not pro-meds, put him on antibiotics :( So I am taking a ton of probiotics and garlic to counter the bad parts of the antibiotics. The other boys are just sick, Arden has the starting of an ear infection, but it isn't bad yet.

After a week of no water, I was beginning to really get upset with our current situation. The baby (since he is in disposables during our water saga) is "blowing out" of diaper after diaper. I went through all of the sets of bed sheets we have here at our house, and we are almost our of clothes. This topped with being sick was just horrible.

This morning we were finally able to get someone out to check out our well.


Fergusons Well Drilling came out and decided we needed to pull the pump, it looked like the pump was pumping but not working, and like there is water in the well.After pulling out about 30ft or so, they found the problem. The wires in the well had kinked and broken, causing the short in the pump and stopping the pump.

$130 later, our well is working, nothing needs replaced, and the best part is... WE HAVE WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all for the prayers and support!

The Water Saga, Air Planes and the Nasties...

The water saga continues... We still have no water. We get a little here and there, but not much at all.

On Thursday, Mike, our oldest dog was limping and Cosmo wasn't letting him be, so I let Mike come into the house for a few days (he is 13 so I figured it might be nice for his hip).

Here is Mike:

Here is Cosmo:

This is Charc, she was innocent this time:Well Saturday morning (after 2 days of no water) I wake up to Rory asking why Arden is allowed to play in chili in the floor... I slowly realize we haven't had chili in days and that there are no bowls of it laying around... As I jump up and run into the dining room and play areas, I see it. Dog poo... everywhere... not just dog poo, but bloody diarrhea.

Well after an emergency visit to the vet, we are thinking it is just a virus and treating it with some doggie meds.

The boys' car track rug didn't make it, and neither did a few toy cars.

Thank God for our neighbor Deb! I would not be sane right now if it hadn't been for her. She helped me clean up, bathed my poop covered children, and kept them while I took the dog to the vet.

So, that is not the only nasties we have in the house this week, I can only assume that while we were at the doctor's office for the bump on Canyon's head, that we all caught something... something nasty. All 4 of us (Carl has thus far been spared) have the nasties. Nose, throat, chest, and headaches.

So, Sunday Carl is supposed to fly home from CO to our local airport and then turn around and drive to Society Hill, SC for an 8am meeting. Because of delays at the rental car drop-off he misses his 6 am flight. Delta gives him a later flight, it looked like he was going to be home by 8. 9pm he calls and there are more delays.

We decide that he needs to rent a car in Atlanta and drive to his appointment b/c if he comes here, he will never make it. One little SNAFU though, his SpecAn was in his bag and the airport won't give him his baggage... so I need to go to the airport to meet the flight he isn't on, and get his bag.

At 10:30 I call, check the flight, and head to the airport. My phone is almost dead... I call for an update, now it is going to be 12, so we go to sleep in the Target parking lot.

Needless to say, the plane came in at 2:45 and the kids and I got almost no sleep and this compounded with the nasties we have, is horrid.

But we are making it.

Carl got 55 gallons of water in a barrel tonight for us to use for the potty and washing dishes... Thanks to the Connely's

Pray for rain, please.

How to use a "Tie Nappie" or "Tie Diaper"

Ok, there are a lot of people who use cloth diapers that don't know how to use tie nappies. They are simple, fit ALL sizes of children, and cute! I love ours.

Here is how to use them:

1.) Lay the diaper out flat.

2.) Fold the diaper in half at the straps

3.) If needed, fold the back of the diaper down to adjust (and add an insert between the layers where needed).

4.) Place the baby on the nappie where the straps/strings will come between their legs to the belly.

5.) Fold the nappie between the legs and then tuck the back wings under the front.

6.)Wrap the straps behind the baby and cross them.

7.) Bring straps back to the front and tie the nappie.

There you have it :) Easy as pie.





































































































These diapers will fit almost any child. Here are Arden and Canyon wearing the same diaper...

Such a bad day, I can't do anything but laugh.

**To understand the title below, there was some "drama" on a cloth diapering chat board that is un-related***

Another "unbelievable" diaper related story for the day...

---

But this one is 100% true and I am sure that you all can sympathize with me!

This morning at 5am my husband gets up to go catch a plane to Denver. He is in the shower and I hear him yelling at me, it turns out that the water went off just as he suds himself up...

I'm kind of "out of it" b/c I am not sleeping all that well (new baby and all) so I didn't realize that he was sudsy and said I'll figure it out in the morning and rolled back over to try to get another hour of sleep before A-man wakes up. He wakes me back up (I must have fallen asleep quickly) and told me the situation again, I get out of bed, and head to the kitchen for a 5 gallon jug of drinking water that I filled yesterday, but realize I left it out in the pick-up. So I go back to the room and find some clothes in the dark (my light bulb burnt out last night too)

I head to the kitchen, look at the breaker box by our kitchen door, and fix the breaker, it flipped for some reason. but it fixed the water... or so I thought... 30 seconds later, no water. So out for the 5 gallon jug I go.

Carl gets cleaned up and leaves, mean time neither of us were awake enough to think what this meant long run...

Our well went dry. Our well is dry. We have no water. I can't go poop, pee, wash my FULL 2 day load of diapers (for 2 kids) nor can I do the dishes I neglected to do yesterday. My 4YO can't poop in the potty, and my DH is freaking all the way across the country! (OK yes it is 2/3 the way, I know, but come on...)

So how is this diaper related and what is so unbelievable about the story? Just wait for it.

I waited all day for a neighbor who replaced his well pump this week to come by the house to check the wiring hoping that there is a break which tripped things, no such luck.

After he leaves I throw the kids (3 of them) in the car b/c I need to re-fill the 5 gallon jug and get dog food (for our 3 outdoor dogs).

Canyon is 2.5 months old, Arden is 2 and Rory is 4. We get on the road and I realize it is 6:30 time to feed the beasts. So we decided to go to Olive Garden b/c the minestrone there is ok for Rory's allergies, and when it is just me and the kids it is only a $15 meal.

As we sit there eating things are going well (well being relative I guess to those that don't have 3 under 5) when the baby starts fussing. I pick him up and realize he is wet. WET - WET. I think, it's ok I will just nurse him wrapped in this napkin and go change his FB when we are all done (I mean come on who wants to trek 3 kids in the bathroom mid meal? One of which is shoeless b/c of a huge blister on his foot from his new crocs?)

As I latch him on and start back to eating, I see it.........

There is POOP EVERYWHERE. On me, the table, the bench, the car seat... he isn't wet, HE FRICKING EXPLODED EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mind you he was in a Fuzzi Bunz, it came out the top front, top sides, legs, everywhere!!!! Through his onesie, ugh it was awful!!!

I had to ask the waitress to sit with the older 2 while I went to the restroom to try to clean up... well guess what, in my rush to leave on our unplanned dinner outing, I forgot clothes for the baby, and I forgot wipes.

After cleaning the poor thing up the best I could with paper towels, I head back to the table with a mostly naked baby.

I left my waitress a $10 tip for a $15 meal and ran out the door (with 3 poopy cloth napkins tucked under the baby in his car seat).

I'm not sure I can ever go back to Olive Garden again!!!!

I left laughing b/c I didn't know what else to do... and we are heading to WalFart tomorrow for the things I decided not to go after tonight.

So anyway. I am without water, and have no clue what to do about that, my DH is gone for a week, and I can't even give my poop covered self a bath. (Or take a poop myself).

So what was so unbelievable? This is my very first cloth blow out!!!! In 3 kids!!!



So how was everyone else's day?

__________________

Dready mama to 3 delightful boys

The midwife considers the miracle of childbirth as normal, and leaves it alone unless there's trouble. The obstetrician normally sees childbirth as trouble. If he leaves it alone, it's a miracle. --Sheila Stubbs

Summer Birthdays

Sunday was the birthday of "J" one of our good friends! We had a great time celebrating his 6th year of life. His chocolate cake was scrumptious! I really do miss seeing this little (well not so little) guy!


Arden spent his time riding the 3 wheeler.


He was also having a good hair day!


Rory and his vegan cup-cakes! You should have seen his teeth, lol... we teased him about having a mustache.


Rory had a ton of fun. He misses his friends and really enjoys his time around them.



What amazes me is the fact that I started babysitting J and C when Arden was the age of Canyon! I can't believe these beautiful children have been a part of my life for the past 2 years!

Saying Good Bye to the Cicadas

For those that missed out on the "wonderful" invasion of bugs this year, Western North Carolina (or at least parts of it) were swarmed with thousands upon thousands of nasty looking bugs and larvae called Cicadas.


The dogs ate them like popcorn, the boys were afraid of them, and they fly into you like crazy. We were infested.


They only appear once every 17 years and for weeks our neighborhood sounded like something from the Twilight Zone, like an alien spaceship. They produce an eerie noise that almost scares you at first. I thought it was some sort of landscaping tool or something... after a while you didn't hear it at all and it was soothing to listen to without listening. It was a soothing sound that I listened to during my labor and will always associate with Canyon's birth...


Well over the past month, the sound has dwindled, they are "attacking" us less and less, and we are seeing fewer and fewer. I guess it is time to say goodbye to these ugly, yet magnificent bugs that have left our trees poke-a-dotted and out children afraid of flying bugs.


See you again in 17 years you noisy little guys!

Today I actually got my kid dressed.

I actually got clothes on Arden today, can you believe it? He never wants to wear clothes!


Today was one of those days that I really didn't feel like folding laundry or cleaning (what's new, right?) So rather than doing my household chores, I decided that my boys needed some photos taken.


Arden was cooperative today! He actually let me take more than one photo at a time. In clothing, amazing huh?


I don't care what anyone says, he is too pretty for a hair cut! I'm letting it grow. Between his curls and his smile, he is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. (I'm only slightly bias.)



Rory was an easy shot as usual~ He is such a camera ham.


He jumps in front of it whenever he gets a chance!


Then, there is the Can-man.


Canyon really is a little gift from God. I can't get enough pictures of this little guy.



And now, I have to go do the chores I neglected.

"Mimi" and Vince

Mimi and Vince came over for supper Wednesday night, while Carl was cooking the pork chops on the grill, I grabbed just a few shots.

Here is Vince and Canyon.


Here is Rory.


Here is Arden.


Here is Mimi playing with the boys.

Toes for Tuesday

I know I promised pictures from last night, we had a glitch.

Our dinner party was canceled because Arden decided to swing a wooden toy into Canyon's head and we had to spend a few hours at the doctor's office. Tons of fun. But we are having our friends out tonight. So more pictures for you tonight or in the morning.

Canyon is OK, just a bump, nothing serious.

He did however find his toes last night; sorry for the bad picture quality, there was no light.


Oh and I grabbed a few more since he is making silly faces now!