When animal print meets animal poop...

Ben is 9 months old!

2012-01-27T22:34:00.003-06:00

Wow! The time is going so fast! Our little Ben is just growing and changing every day. Two new little teeth are popping through. He can clap and give high fives, kisses, and hugs (but mostly only to Mommy). Here are a few pics for your enjoyment:

Sitting like a big boy!

Can't believe it's only a few more months before we celebrate a whole year with our little man! Can't wait!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-13T11:37:00.002-06:00

Well, when I said more pics were coming soon, you didn't actually think I meant right away did you? Ha! Anyway, here are some from our Christmas fun. First, we had our annual Christmas Eve Bowling Extravaganza. Are those tiny bowling shoes cute or what?

Anna was really into it.

Then we played some Christmas Minute to Win it games. So fun!

Of course, raiding the stockings Christmas morning is always a blast.

I'd say it was a pretty awesome Christmas!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-01T21:38:00.002-06:00

A friend recently told me that I don't have to type alot of words for a blog post. I can just post pictures. I think that was her way of telling me I talk to much? Anyway, I know that's what you all want anyway, so I'm going to try and pick it back up this year. So much growing and fun stuff going on around here!

It snowed right before Christmas. Here is some of the fun.

More Christmas pics to come!

Still Alive!

2011-11-12T15:56:00.002-06:00

I'm sure some of you were wondering if this was true! My Mom lovingly informed me that I've been slacking off on my blogging responsibilities (ahem...like a month ago), but I tell you what life is crazy! Not really crazy in the "I've spent the last couple of months traveling the globe like a high roller" kinda way, but crazy in a "I'm now babysitting 3 boys during the day-and I can barely contain the explosions that occur in my house" kinda way. So sorry! I will try to do better. Especially now that Little B is getting so smiley and fun! Here are a few I took to mark his first 6 months on the outside: Is he cute or what?

Can you see why I don't get anything done?

Yes, folks. I am ridiculously adorable.

Thanks, Mom!

Sweeties

2011-08-25T14:52:00.002-05:00

A couple of Sundays ago we had a couple of minutes before we had to leave for church (Shocker! We're usually running out the door as fast as we can go.) and everyone was in the mood for a few poses. Do I have gorgeous girls or what? Every time I look at a picture of one of them, I'm shocked at how grown up they're both looking. I know I see them every day, and every day they are growing, but I just don't recognize how much they're changing until I sit down and look at the latest photo I've taken vs one a few months ago.

I love Abby's goofy grins and how much fun she has with everyday things.

I love how Anna tries to be such a good helper and really goes out of her way to make the people around her feel special.

And I love that my girls really love each other. I hope we can hang on to that as they grow!

The Fair

2011-08-20T14:10:00.002-05:00

In case some of you were wondering what it was we were doing at this year's fair, here's a peek. We've started a new business called Crossfire Combat Games. Our mission is to use something really cool and fun to help spread our love of Christ. Something that can reach young people outside of the four walls of a church building. Hopefully, along the way it will also be a way to supplement the often turbulent seasons of farm income. Any-who, we had our first big event during the fair, and it was tons of fun!

Kids of all ages and families played together, and everyone had a blast (even though it was 100 degrees out there)!

Here's Ty coaching a team before a game...

Even the girls got in on the fun!

We are so excited that God blessed us with a great kick off to this venture, and we're hoping it's only up from here!

Oh, and here's another super cute pic of my babies snuggling on the couch. I never get tired of the girls wanting to love on baby brother and/or each other!
P.S. Ben has discovered his hand as you can see in the pic. I took 7 or 8 photos, and he looks exactly the same in every one! :)

ZZZZzzzz...

2011-08-06T23:07:00.002-05:00

Fair. Exhausted. Cute picture of the kiddos snuggling on the couch.
Will post more soon.
ZZZzzzzzzzz.....

Look-alike?

2011-07-16T13:23:00.003-05:00

Whenever a baby is born, it seems like everyone wants to talk about who he or she looks like. I'm no different, but when it comes to my own children, it seems I have a much harder time pegging it. So, I thought I'd let you be the judge. At different times I've thought Ben looks a little like Anna and a little like Abby. What do you think?

Here's Anna at 6 months (that's the earliest I had of her on my computer): And here's Abby at 3 months

Well what do ya think?

By the way, did I mention my baby is 3 months old? Ahh! More pics coming soon!

Harvest 2011

2011-07-13T15:20:00.002-05:00

Well, we've survived it once again. Harvest. One of the best, worst, most exhausting, most thrilling times of the year. Everyone is out in their fields, working hard, and waving at each other as they drive back and forth to the grain elevators. People start getting giddy because harvesting their wheat means they might actually have some money in the bank for a few minutes. Children get excited because they might get to take a ride on the big machinery. Take Anna for example...She loves to ride around with Ty's Dad just watching the combine do it's thing.Here's Abby helping me take dinner (or out here it's called supper) out to our "new" big truck. Hard to imagine that one day she might just be big enough to drive that thing.

Harvest Time is also a great time to appreciate the marvel of God's creation. Spring and Summer create just the right conditions (most years) for the wheat to grow. Longer days means you can wait for just the right conditions in the wheat, and then still have plenty of time to cut before dark. Of course, the best part of Harvest is when it's over, and you finally get your hubby/Daddy back!

Last Tball of the season

2011-07-04T09:36:00.003-05:00

Well we had our last tball game of the season on Friday. I love how into the games Anna gets, and I love how excited Abby gets about going to watch her sister play. That may just be because we usually get snowcones after, I don't know! Here she is batting. I think her swing is getting better and better!

This one is a better video of Anna playing first. She gets so excited and proud of herself when she gets to play 1st. The rest of the time the kids all kind of dog-pile the ball, and she's not so into that. So this is the only time she gets to catch and throw during the games. I really should take a video of the dog-pile next year. It's a hoot! PS. You might want to turn your volume down for this one. I didn't realize my "encouraging yells" would be so loud on the video! ;)

Now, I think, our summer can slow down a little. No more harvest. No more tball. Just lounging in the sun. Maybe? Maybe?

More T-ball

2011-06-25T14:12:00.003-05:00

Here's a short video of Anna playing 1st base. I didn't get much, because they totally took me by surprise. Usually, they only let the older kids play 1st, but this game, they started rotating through all the kids. Anyway, here it is.

Memaw and Uncle Will made it to this game.
And just for fun, here's one of Ben. Can't believe how quickly he's growing. Up to 10 pounds already!We're right in the middle of harvest at the moment, so once the dust settles, I'm sure I'll have some more pics to share. Hope you all are doing great!

IV - Did you say 4?

2011-06-16T13:57:00.002-05:00

Holy Moley! Can you believe my little Anna has gone from this... to this!

Here she is on her FOURTH birthday. Ahh! We started off the day like every other; holding Ben. I think they have some special connection. They'll coo and talk to each other, and Ben even gave her his first grin!

Lookin' good with little sister too!

Of course, we had to open a couple of presents.

And don't forget the cake and ice cream! Here's hoping for many more wonderful years!

Sing!

2011-06-13T13:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Vacation Bible School Day at our church. I LOVE VBS! I love watching kids come in and get excited about Bible stories. I love watching kids sing praises to the Lord. I love watching "long time" members (ok, they're like 10) and visitors giggling together and planting the seeds for a life-long relationship with Christ without even knowing it! Since I was there working, the kids were there too. Even though Abby was technically too young to participate, the lovely Kathleen was kind enough to take her around to everything since she was the only one her age hanging around. I guess she was paying attention.

Is she cute or what?

Game #1

2011-06-03T14:06:00.002-05:00

Ok folks. I know this is what you've all been waiting for. Tball season! Here's a quick video I got before my battery died. I love how giggly and excited the kids are this year. You can hear them cheering for Anna in the background.

This is my first video upload, so hopefully it works. Enjoy!

Rain, rain

2011-05-31T14:40:00.002-05:00

Last week t-ball practice was canceled due to the threat of sever weather. So what did we do? Go out and play in it of course! By we, I mean Anna. Abby had no interest, and I mostly stood under the porch and took pictures. Can you believe this is the same girl who didn't want to get wet from the sprinkler?

Sprinkler Fun?

2011-05-23T13:41:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Abby's 2nd birthday. It really feels like I blinked once since her 1st birthday, and here we are a whole year older. I found this fun little caterpillar sprinkler thing that sprays water out of all its legs, and thought it would be perfect. As soon as the wrapping paper came off the box, the begging began. "Pleeeeaaaase can we go outside now? We want to play with the sprinkler, pleeeaaaaaaase!" But it was chilly that day, and we had church the next. Finally Monday came, and it was warm and beautiful and a perfect day to play in the water. So, we got it all set up-got swimsuits on-got sunscreen on-went potty one last time-and finally we were ready to run out and have some fun!

And then this is as close as I could get them to it...
They literally stood there staring at it for less than five minutes, with my Dad and me trying to prompt them to run around and get wet. Then they came back over and said they were ready to go inside.

I know what you're thinking. Best. Gift. Ever! I can't wait to give Anna the other sprinkler thing I got along with Abby's for her birthday. I'm sure she'll love it...

Super Girls!

2011-05-16T13:52:00.002-05:00

Grandma made the girls Superman capes, and they love running ("flying") through the house yelling, "Super Anna! Super Abby!" Then they strike this pose: Notice the knee pop? Where does she get this stuff?

Of course, Abby is in "do whatever Anna is doing" mode these days:

So if you're ever in a jam, you know who to call! Super Girls!

Ben

2011-05-05T22:40:00.002-05:00

Wow! I'm realizing that it's been a while since I posted, and I'm thinking you can guess why. I've been a little busy with this beautiful little boy...Benjamin Leo
born April 15
6lbs 3oz, 19"He's adorable, and everyone is loving him already! This labor was by far the easiest (in case you were wondering), and I've been amazed at how much better I'm feeling this time around. Of course it helps that my Mom and Dad have been here helping keep the girls occupied and the house from falling apart, but we won't talk about how they'll be going home soon. Ok?

Here's Anna being a great big sister. She loves to hold Baby Ben, and he gets a ton of kisses from both big sisters daily.
Both big sisters are loving it, and I feel so blessed to have been given another perfect angel to love on!

Budding Photographer?

2011-04-05T13:43:00.003-05:00

A few posts ago, I posted about Anna's budding guitar hero talent. While getting those pics off my camera, I found a whole bunch of other random photos on my camera I'd totally forgotten about. Since I also posted one of the pics Anna took of my growing belly, I thought I'd share one of her other recent intrests. "Photography." She LOVES to take pictures. I have to be careful even leaving my camera in sight because I'll be baraged with a hundred requests to take pictures. I love that she's such a creative girl, and I can't wait to see what things interest her as she grows.

This first one fits into more of the "artistic" genre. I must admit, that an ode to ketchupis right up my ally.

These are actually from way back in January on our trip to TX. We stopped at Steak n Shake for a snack, and found these great accessories.Ok. I may have helped with this one, but I wanted to share one of my sweet girl and me. Love her!

Belly Time!

2011-04-01T14:50:00.003-05:00

Well, since I shared some of the not so nice parts of my pregnancy with you before, I thought I'd be nice and share something a little better this time. I LOVE big round pregnant bellies. Even when they're mine. Even when they make my feet freakishly large. To me they sum up the beauty/awesomeness of God's creation, and the blessings He gives to us all in one. I love how excited Anna is about this baby! Last time around, we barely mentioned it because she was so little. I just hope both girls share as much love with #3 as they have with each other. Have I mentioned that it's kinda difficult to take you're own picture in the mirror. I was trying to get something cute and sweet without seeing the my head covered up by a big box of a camera.

Ok. I didn't take this next one. Anna begged me to let her take some, and she actually did pretty well.

Can't wait 'til I can share some pics of the newest member of our family!

Can you say "swell"?

2011-03-28T14:36:00.002-05:00

And I don't mean as in the phrase, "Hey! You're really swell!" I mean it in the my feet are swelling to a blimp like state sense. Before I go on, I just thought I'd put out a little warning for those who don't like pictures of really weird/kinda gross you out things. Sorry if this is too freaky for you to handle, but I know so many of you out there are just dying to know I'm doing, so here we go. Of course, if you've known me during either of my other pregnancies, you know that swelling is not new to me. What is new to me is the ridiculous way that Kansas seems to cling to winter weather. At a time when flip flops would be great for my little tootsies, IT'S SNOWING. At the end of March! I'm not asking for summer or anything, but is 60 degrees too much to hope for? Luckily, once I get my foot crammed into one of the few pairs of shoes I can still cram my feet into, it's not all that uncomfortable. It does create some interesting bumps and creases on my feet, though, so at least it's interesting to see what my feet are going to look like when I take them off. Just in case you're having a hard time picturing things, here are some pics from yesterday when we got home from our weekly church/grocery shopping adventure to Salina (yes it was snowing most of the time): I think it looks like I'm arching my foot in each picture, but I'm not.

Don't know if the pics do it justice, but there you go. Next week, I start weekly appointments and progress checks. Can't believe I'm so close already! I'm sure you're excited, because then you'll get pictures of a cute little baby instead of yucky old feet!

Guitar Hero

2011-03-26T14:37:00.002-05:00

Last week, we had a fun game night with our peeps at church. The kids had a fun time "playing guitar". Anna really loved it. Of course, Abby had to help out even though we were trying to get ready to go (hence the pjs).

She really gets into her music as you can tell...

Just thought all our College Hill friends would be proud. Who knows? Maybe I have the next rock star living in my house!

Truth...

2011-03-21T16:15:00.003-05:00

according to a 3 year old.

During breakfast a couple of days ago, Ty made a little joke, and the following ensued (imagine Anna using the most "duh mom" voice you can):

Me: Isn't Daddy a silly person?

Anna: Mom, Dad's not a person!

Me: He isn't? What is he?

Anna: He's a boy!

What could I say?

PS. Here's a pic of them trying on the dress-up gowns Ty's aunt brought down from cousin Zoe.

Abby said, "Princess" loud and clear!

Last Snow Update

2011-03-14T22:11:00.002-05:00

Just in case you're interested, here are the same shots approximately 10 hours later...
Isn't it amazing what a little sunshine can do? I'll tell you one thing, that was my kind of snow! 60 degrees tomorrow, baby! Woo!

Last Snow?

2011-03-14T14:37:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of pics of what I'm hoping was the last snow of this winter season. This one is out the front. And this one's out the back.

We got big fat flakes and, surprisingly, several inches. Beautiful, but I definitely hope it's bye bye winter for us! Getting really jealous of my TX peeps, and ready to bust out my flip flops for my swelling feet!

Conversations with a Rancher

2011-03-02T23:44:00.002-06:00

Me: It really won't be long now until we add another crazy person into the mix here, huh?
Ty: Yeah, what is it? Two months to go now?
Me: Two months? Yeah, I guess that's all it is now since we're already into March.
Ty: Yeah, if you haven't calved in two months, I'll bet you'll be really close at least.

Me: CALVED?

Ty: Or "babied". Whatever! That's what we say with cows!

Yes. This is my life...

More Sono Pics!

2011-02-24T13:24:00.002-06:00

Ok. I know this is why you all keep coming back. Pics of little Mr or Miss #3. Went to the dr yesterday, and passed my 3 hour Glucose Test! Praise God! I also got these:
He/she already knows how to look at the camera.

What a cute, fat little foot!

Ok, now the tech was just playing, but look at that button nose!

I can hardly believe that 30 weeks have gone by. I can also hardly believe that in 10 weeks or less I'm going to be a Mom to 3 beautiful, crazy children. There's pretty much no escaping the psych ward at this point! I can't wait!

PS. To all you girls who may still have a glucose screen to go through, even thought they tell you not to fast, having a poptart for breakfast is probably not a good idea. Just sayin'...

Fun in the snow

2011-02-18T13:41:00.003-06:00

Last week, after our deluge of snow, it finally got warm enough (and wet enough) for some super sweet snowman building. What do I know about building a snowman, you ask? Nothing. That's why I am so thankful that one of my favorite brothers-in-law lives right across the street and knows all about building snowmen! He generously came over to "help" the girls. Abby helped some, but she was more focused on eating the snow than anything else.I think it turned out pretty good!

And here's one that Anna took. She's been asking me constantly if she can take pictures too. Not bad, huh?

Of course, even with the cute snowman, I'm SO ready for the balmy temps to make a nice home around my house! Is winter over yet?

Love

2011-02-16T09:35:00.003-06:00

So here's a little story to illustrate that I have one of the sweetest little girls on the planet:
My parents sent the girls a little goodie box of Valentine stuff. It had a cute Valentine making kit in it, and the girls had lots of fun making cards for different people in the family. Monday afternoon and evening I started getting one right after the other. I asked Anna why I was getting so many Valentine's from her, and she replied, "Because I love you so much." Can't you say "heart melting"? Thank the Lord for those moments when you are reminded that you're not screwing everything up, but in fact you're teaching your kids the most important thing of all: LOVE.

My sweeties!

2011-02-15T14:11:00.002-06:00

Here are some of the cutie pie pics I got of my girls yesterday... Is she cute or what? Even with a swollen lip from the face plant she did into some carpet.

Sweet sisters

They do love each other.

Hope you had your sweetheart(s) close by yesterday. I know I did!

Other things in the snow

2011-02-10T13:58:00.002-06:00

I did see some other "things" in the snow the other day. These two were a bit cuter than the other stuff. I didn't even bother getting bundled up myself since I had no desire to be out in the cold. Plus I new the kids would only last a few minutes, so I took these through the screen door. The girls helped shovel the snow.

Way to go, Anna!

Then we made our first ever batch of Snow Ice Cream. Surprisingly easy, and pretty tasty too! Things are beginning to thaw out now. It's supposed to be 50 something on Sunday, and I can't wait!

Things in the snow

2011-02-09T13:33:00.003-06:00

Well, we've had ANOTHER round of snow here. This time it wasn't quite so windy (which was a big plus), but it's still super cold, and the snow piled up pretty high. Here are some of the things I saw.

This icicle was hanging outside my window for a while. It was at least a foot long.

Don't know if you can tell, but I thought the snow on the girls' play car made it look like the ones in the Chevron commercials. At least he was smiling!

And then there's this:

This is where the cute little pic of the growing life inside of me was supposed to go. Unfortunately, the snow resulted in roads that caused my husband to actually call and tell me he didn't think I should be getting out. Considering my hubby is the least likely person I know to worry about anything (much less driving conditions), I took it as a sign that my life could be in danger. So I rescheduled, and the waiting will continue. Hopefully the sun will get to work soon so my car will once again be free to move about. Don't get me wrong. I totally appreciate the city's effort to clear the roads, but the resulting 3 foot mound of snow now sitting between my car and the street is just a little disheartening.

Well, hope you all are staying warm!

Sincerely;

Thawing in the Country

Sorry!

2011-02-08T22:10:00.003-06:00

So, today has just been one of those days. You know; the kind when you think you'd have been better off just going back to sleep and skipping over? If you're reading this, then you probably got an email from me today asking for money. No, we're not in Scotland or England. No, I have not been mugged by hoodlums. Please do not send money to wherever you're supposed to send it (unless you really want to, and then you can mail it directly to my home address). I finally regained access to my email account (I think), but it seems the bozo has deleted all my contacts. It also seems that they created an account jennifeldkamp at yahoo with an i that was linked to my account. So, be aware when/if you get emails from "me", and check twice before you open/respond. Still no Facebook (*tear), but I'm working to resolve that too. Until then, this is my only real source of contact with the outside world, so be sure update your own blogs for me! Baby appointment tomorrow, so I should have some pics of the little bean to share soon! Thanks for loving me through this!

P.S. Today was also the day that Abby decided to throw potty training out the window. I'll spare you the details on that one, but say a prayer for my sanity...

Helpers

2011-02-07T13:43:00.002-06:00

A week or so ago, the girls and I decided to make some yummy eats to take to our friends who were getting ready to have a baby. We made some cinnamon rolls, and the girls were such good helpers! They helped me roll out the dough and then roll it back up again with all the yumminess inside. It was really fun, and afterwards Anna asked if they could play in the left over flour. Who knew a table and some extra flour could produce hours of fun?

Abby was really most interested in scooping up the excess cinnamon/sugar/butter mixture that had seeped out from the rolls.

Anna made quite the baker. Maybe she'll stick with it. I could get used to cinnamon rolls every week or so!

P.S. If you haven't already made Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls, I'd highly suggest them. Just don't put in twice powdered sugar as your supposed to in the icing. Don't get me wrong, it still tasted yummy. I just hope they like really sweet things!

One more thing...

2011-02-01T08:47:00.002-06:00

Ok. So there is one more thing from Christmas. I really need to learn to just move on from things. But you know me. I'm stubborn.

I love Christmas lights. When Ty and I were first married we made a star on the ceiling in our apartment out of lights for Christmas. I don't think we took it down until May. I loved it!

Anyway, I also like the effect they make in photography. I was practicing this one day before Christmas, and Anna wanted to help me. This is what happened over the next few minutes...

Love my sweet silly girl!

This is all that's left...

2011-01-29T10:45:00.002-06:00

of Christmas at my house. I'm the kinda girl who loves Christmas, and there is always kinda a downer feeling when I have the last Christmas cookie gets eaten, and everything just "regular" again. Not that there is anything wrong with regular. It's just not a decorative as Christmas. Luckily, Valentine's Day is coming up soon, so I don't have long to wait to satisfy my sweet tooth once again.

Ok. Who am I kidding? I've got a bag of Sweetart hearts open right now.

Anyway, the point is, I'm letting go of Christmas one sweet treat at a time. It would definitely help if the 60 degree day we had yesterday would stick around for a while.

No? Well, fine.

2nd Christmas

2011-01-26T19:14:00.002-06:00

So, it has come to my attention (Thanks Mom) that I have not posted in almost a month. I'm not sure what I've been doing, but one thing is for sure: I have not been posting, and I have not been taking pictures. I mean I spent an hour and a half loving on an adorable, brand new baby girl today, and walked away without even one picture! What is wrong with me? Anyway, here is an update of things since my last post that I have pics of, and from here on out, I'm going to do better, I promise! (Ok, I'll try.)

We had a wonderful 2nd Christmas at my parents' in TX. It was 60 the first day we were there, and I was loving it. Then it snowed, and I spent some time feeling a little cheated.

We were there for our good friends' wedding, but we also spent some great times with some awesome friends we miss alot.Then we got home and got some SNOW.
The girls loved it. I was a wuss (shocker?).

Snow angels abounded, and all were merry.

It's supposed to be 60 here on Friday, and I cannot tell you the joy that brings to my heart!

Other than that, I spend most of my time growing baby #3, doing laundry, and wishing I could find some time to scrapbook. Real exciting, huh? No wonder it's been so long since my last post!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-31T13:59:00.002-06:00

We had a very nice Christmas this year. It was our first away from my family, but it was neat to have our own time at home. Ty snapped this pic just before everyone started stirring.Santa brought some sweet gifts. This one was from Grandma and Grandpa.

Yay for toys and candy!

They got a wagon from Ty's parents, and didn't even have to go outside to enjoy it. They rocked it like a boat before Ty even got the wheels put on!
I love that the girls are getting old enough to really enjoy the holidays! Can't wait to see what this new year has to offer!

My Christmas Elves

2010-12-23T14:48:00.002-06:00

Well, as we get ready for Christmas, I thought I'd share a few pics of my girls. First of all this is my life trying to take pictures of 2 squirmy girls in a living room with unfortunately low lighting... But all the pretty lights and decorations (and Christmas cookies) are really getting us into the Christmas spirit!

And because everyone else seems to be trying it...Merry Christmas from our crazy house to yours!

Workin' cows

2010-12-20T14:30:00.002-06:00

*Sorry for the delay in posting. Our family was taken over by a nasty stomach bug. We're all alive, but it was iffy there for a while!*
Well, since it's almost Christmas, I thought I'd better hurry up and tell you what we did the day after Thanksgiving. Of course, by we I mean the guys. I just stood there and took pictures. With all the extra help around for the big day and the nice warm weather, it was a great day to work cattle. Just in case you're not familiar with that phrase (Who isn't?) that's what we do when we get a bunch of new cattle in, and we need to get them ready to join the herd. The cows are lined up in a shoot, and put one by one into a kind of holder like this.. It kinda squeezes them in the middle so they hold still. Then they get a shot, a lice bath, and a pretty little tattoo. After 150-200 cows, this is what you look like.

This is where the "animal poop" in my title comes in. You can see why I stood back taking pictures!

After they're all "worked", they get a nice snack. Let me tell you. Cows are like little kids. Every meal it's like they haven't eaten in 7 years. They gobble down lunch, and then it's off to a life of grazing, napping, and strolling along the country side. Tough life right?

Yay for brothers who still like to get dirty together!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-08T17:10:00.003-06:00

Well, I got out of order with my sono pics, so now we'll go back to Thanksgiving. I didn't snap a ton of pics, but I did want to share one of my pecan pie. I'm always a nervous wreck when I make pie because it is such a staple in the Feldkamp household, and the members of the household are not super shy about sharing their opinions on food. They were all very sweet, though, so either it turned out well, or they were too afraid of my pregnant hormones to criticize! Aunt Rachel brought some fun balloons that were a huge hit.

Feldkamp Thanksgivings mostly consist of stuffing yourself silly and then sitting around holding your tummy and groaning. I figured I'd skip those shots. Next, though, I'll tell you what we did the day AFTER Thanksgiving. I'm willing to bet it's not what most of you were doing!

Sono pics

2010-12-02T14:11:00.002-06:00

Well, I was going to post about Thanksgiving, but then I figured that you're probably much more interested in the pics I got yesterday at my sono appointment. Well, fine. I guess my beautiful pie will have to wait. Here ya go: My OB was measuring and checking everything, so I got lots of "detail shots". Here's a pretty good profile though.

And here is baby looking at the camera.

He/she kept its hand up by its head the whole time, so here's a good one of him or her waving.

Thank you all for your help in formulating my "arguments", but unfortunately for us, Ty won out. Note to the ladies: be careful what you agree to when you're pregnant and desperate! So I guess we'll just start a guessing game for the next 20 weeks or so. Things are looking perfect, so thanks to everyone for your prayers and good wishes so far!

Sono pics

2010-11-23T13:59:00.003-06:00

I realized I haven't really posted any updates on Feldkamp #3, who should be arriving at the end of April. Things appear to be going swimmingly, and I'm even feeling some sporadic movement already! Here are some sono pics. Not sure how clear they will be, but here we go.The first is a profile shot of baby's body, and the next is baby #3 waving to the camera.
Look at that tiny hand! These were from 13 weeks, and I'm about 17 now. I've got another appointment/sono next week, so I'll try to post some more then for comparison. By the way, if anyone has a compelling argument for finding out the gender of the baby, please pass it along. In the hormone induce insanity of my first pregnancy, I mistakenly agreed to not find out with any other kids if we could find out then. Now (for some unknown reason) my hubby is actually holding me to my word! Can you believe it?

Oh the luck!

2010-11-17T23:38:00.003-06:00

So, the girls and I traveled to Manhattan (KS) for our good friend, Kristen's, baby shower last Saturday. On the way, we stopped at a Dairy Queen for a snack and a potty break. We get our food/drinks, and Anna immediately spills every drop of red fruit punch all over the table, bench seat, and floor. Accidents happen, so I thank my lucky starts nothing landed on anyone's clothes, clean up what I can, and inform the nice lady at the counter that she'll want to have a mop handy when we leave.

About 3 bites into our food, Anna announces she needs to go potty. She proudly tells me she doesn't need me, and that she can do it all by herself. I had already been, and knew that it was just a 1 person room, so I walked her back to make sure it was open and let her go (reminding her to push the little button that locks the door so no one would walk in on her). I'm thinking to myself, "This is great! Pretty soon I'll have 1 less kiddo to accompany to the potty while we're out!" Meanwhile, a little time passes, and I go back to check on her, and she says (surprisingly calmly, "Mommy, I can't open the door." "What do you mean you can open the door?" I say. "Just turn the handle." She turns, I turn, nothing. No problem; I just tell Anna I'll go ask for the key. I go back to the counter to get a key, and the girl says she'll go get the manager. Then she walks around to where the bathroom is, and tells me rather nonchalantly that they don't have a key to the bathroom. I muster up all the politeness I can and tell her, "Well, we're going to have to find some way to open the door since I can't just leave my daughter in there." "Oh. Right," she says. Then the "Bathroom Door Whisperer" enters the scene. This little Mexican lady who has been quietly cleaning the booth right by the bathroom door and starts yelling, "Turn!" and yanking the knob with extraordinary force! Somehow, it all came together, and the door opened! Boy, was I relieved. I was picturing firemen with axes chopping down the door while CPS people questioned my sanity. Later, I found out she was trying to push the button AND turn the knob at the same time. Oh, boy! Well, at the least the DQ was yummy, and we had a great time at the shower!

Pumpkin Patch Part 1

2010-11-07T22:42:00.003-06:00

So. If you'll allow me to go a little out of order, I'll show you some pics from out trip to the pumpkin patch a while back. Here are our little flowers...And my little pumpkin

There was a hay bale slide that was just big enough for a race.

Anna didn't win due to some trickery, but she had fun.

They also had pedal cars. We didn't find out until afterward that the seats were adjustable, so the kids had a hard time pedaling on their own. Anna quickly put the closest male (her friend from church, Killian) to work. Takes after her Mama.

I have a couple more that I actually want to edit, so I'll show you those in a bit. Fun Day!

Halloween

2010-11-05T23:34:00.003-05:00

Wow! I really am going to try and be better about posting regularly. It seems I can do it for a little while, but then something gets in the way, and BAM it's been a whole week (or two). Anyway, here are some photos from Halloween.
Ok, this one is technically from before Halloween, but Ty and I couldn't stop giggling at Anna using our pumpkin as a pillow on the way home from church.Here she is in her costume for her Halloween party at school. Rawr!Class pictureAnd sweet Abby who had "fun" passing out candy and real fun eating candy while Anna went trick-or-treating. Isn't she a cutie?
Funny Story: We went by Anna's teacher's house, and Anna told her, "After we go to all the other houses, we'll go home to dump my bucket out. And then we'll come back and get the rest of your candy, ok?"

Cookie

2010-10-19T23:15:00.002-05:00

Ok. While I don't normally use this blog to simply tout my own greatness (what?), I cannot go on without sharing this with you... I won't go so far as to call this the most beautiful cookie ever made, but it is without question the most beautiful cookie I have ever made! Look at the perfect circular form, the ratio of cookie to chocolate chip. It is a thing of beauty!

Can you tell I'm pregnant and craving chocolate?

P.S. I have 150 pieces of chocolate that are meant for small children in my house. I have 12 more days until Halloween. Anyone want to take a guess as to how many of those little sweeties will still be here by then?

School Girl

2010-10-06T14:07:00.002-05:00

Just thought I'd back it up a little and show y'all a couple of pics of Anna going off to school. Unfortunately, I don't have any 1st Day of School pics because I was having my appendix removed that day (you may remember me mentioning that). She goes to preschool at the elementary school twice a week in the afternoons, and she loves it.This is actually the 3rd or 4th day of school, because that was the first day I was mobile enough to make it down to the end of the sidewalk to see her get on the bus.My little girl is a bus riding expert already, and I love that she's so confident and ready to take on the world!

Rejected

2010-10-04T14:46:00.003-05:00

So yesterday we were at our weekly grocery outing to Dillon's, gathering up everything we'd need for the coming week. Ty and I split up to get a couple of things, and Anna decided to go with Daddy. When we met back up again, I turned to see them coming from several feet away. Anna shouted, "Mommy!" in a sweet voice and started running toward me. Thinking to myself how cute my little girl was, I started bending down a bit and opened up my arms wide to scoop her up when she got to me. Only, she never really got to me. She ran right past me and grabbed onto the cart yelling, "I wanna push the cart now"! There I was all bent down and alone. And did Ty help me out? Did he come to my rescue and save me from my hug rejection? No, he just laughed. I thought about punching him in the arm, but then decided against it since he was buying the groceries and had the car keys. What's a Mom to do?

Extra! Extra!

2010-09-30T13:49:00.001-05:00

Well, if you're one of my loyal readers, then you may already know that we are officially expecting baby #3! I thought I'd take time here to share a few of the details of the last couple of weeks, so you can see how crazy it's been around here.

4 weeks ago, I started having major stomach pains. As you know from earlier posts, I ended up having my appendix removed. What we weren't talking about yet was that I was also pregnant. I should say we thought we were pregnant. I hadn't taken a test or anything, since it was so early on, but we were starting to think it might really be happening. Then the pain set in. I briefly wondered if I was loosing the baby, but the pain was really different from what I'd imagine that would be. That didn't really make it any better, 'cause I knew something was wrong.

When I finally went to the doctor, of course, I had to tell them I thought we might be pregnant. They confirmed it with bloodwork, but also decided I probably had appendicitis. Not exactly how I would have liked that moment to go, but what are ya gonna do? Things were slightly complicated because I couldn't do a scan due to radiation levels, so we went into the surgery without that confirmation. Fortunately, the doctors were right, and it needed to be done. The surgeon said that he was glad we caught things relatively early because my appendix was actually touching my uterus which could have been disastrous had it ruptured or created and abscess damaging the uterus.

All in all, things went as well as they could. The biggest concern was miscarriage due to the stress of the surgery, but now that we're 4 weeks away and I have a perfect sono pic, I'm feeling more and more confident that God has a perfect little addition to our family on the way.

You can bet I'll continue to keep things updated as we go along. Thanks for sharing this joyous time with us!

Pictures of my sweety

2010-09-25T14:25:00.001-05:00

Just a couple of pics I took of my little Abby the other day. Isn't she cute?

Happy Saturday!

Still Alive

2010-09-20T14:22:00.004-05:00

Wow! It's been awhile since I've posted. Most of you probably know about my appendix issues, and can guess that I haven't really been motivated to spend alot of time sitting up at the computer dreaming up fun things to tell you. Boy, do I have lots of fun things to tell, though! Since I've got a backlog of stuff from before I "went down", I'll go back and show you a cute little pic of my little Abby. The child is a neat freak! She's constantly straightening the chairs at the kitchen table, picking up crumbs/tiny pieces of grass/etc. and taking them to the trash, and yes, sweeping. She goes nuts when I get out the "tiny broom" as Anna calls it. She runs back and forth from the trash can "sweeping" up anything she can find. Now we all know this did not come from me, but I'm already dreaming of the days when she's old enough to take care of the cooking and the laundry too.

Duh.

2010-08-31T23:49:00.002-05:00

I came across this seemingly needless sign today while dropping off school supplies. Anna is starting preschool in 2 days, and I'm super excited and dreading it at the same time. Glad this was there to give me a chuckle.
The end.

Ouick story

2010-08-25T14:36:00.002-05:00

Just thought I'd share a little ditty that illustrates what it's like to be in my family:

Sunday night, we were having lots of fun playing with the hula hoop we'd randomly picked up at the grocery store since it was 75% off. Amid all the fun and laughter, Anna runs up to give me a hug, and tells me, "You're the best Mommy in the whole world!"

Me: "I am?"

Anna: "Yeah, and Daddy is the best Daddy in the whole world! And Abby's the best Abby in the whole world!"

Me: "And you're the best Anna in the whole world. And the best big sister, too!"

Anna: "Thank you, Mommy, and you're the biggest Mommy in the whole world too."

Thanks, Anna.

Here are some random pic from play time the other day:

Enjoy!

Fair Time

2010-08-10T14:34:00.003-05:00

Here's a brief pictorial view of our time at the County Fair this weekend. We had tons of fun, and it was pretty neat to be able to just drive down the street to attend.

Spending time with Daddy is always fun. We checked out all the animals being shown at the fair. Anna liked the poultry/rabbit exhibits the best. She wasn't too fond of the bigger animals. Abby, on the other hand, checked every single animal out without even the slightest hesitation. It was wristband night, and we were a little unsure of how Anna would like all the rides. As you can see, she loved them, and I spent the night chasing her from ride to ride. It was so fun to see her enjoying herself. Of course, she loved the ones she could do all by herself!

Abby was too small for most of them, so she went with Ty to the hypnotist show, which apparently was hilarious.

We did not ride this one. I was somewhat relieved when the sign said Anna was too short even with an adult. That way, I didn't have to explain to her that we couldn't ride because Mommy is a scaredy-cat.

What a great weekend! You can check out my facebook page for more photos.

Melting

2010-07-29T23:22:00.002-05:00

Heart melting conversation of the week:

Anna and I were talking about getting excited for preschool, and here's what she said:
When I go to preschool with the kids, are you going to come with me?
Me: No, sweety, preschool is just for kids like you.
Anna: But how are you going to leave me at preschool all by myself?
Me: Well, I'm too big to go to preschool. I'll drop you off, but you have to go play with the other kids.
Anna: But I need a Mommy there to take care of me.

They'll let me go to preschool, right? Someone has to take care of my baby!

My parents came to visit, and we took a trip to a "nearby" zoo. It was really fun, and I'll post more pics one day when I find the time to edit them. Here's my favorite one so far.

Have a great day, all!

Harvest

2010-07-18T22:52:00.002-05:00

Yep. Harvest. Wheat harvest, to be exact. It's about the busiest time of year around here. Men everywhere work literally from sun-up to sun-down. Women scurry around the kitchen and then put their hair in bandannas to go meet their men out in the fields with a refueling meal. (Ok. I didn't actually wear a bandanna, but I think I might next year.) Some families take whole meals out. I'm talking casseroles, sides, bread, and even pies! They stop right there in the field and eat at a pull out table or just leaning on the side of a tractor. Lucky for me, my guys prefer a light sandwich and an apple so they can get back to work as quickly as possible. If you've ever wondered what happens during harvest, here's a quick run down:
Farmer A (assuming your lucky enough to have at least 2 workers in the operation) drives this large thing called a combine in circles around the field. It cuts off/scoops up all the grain from the wheat that's been growing in said field. Once it's bin is full. Farmer A stops to dump the grains in to the back of a grain truck or trailer where Farmer B (or the unlucky wife of Farmer A who doesn't have anyone else to drive the truck) is waiting.

Once the truck is full, Farmer B drives the grain to town to the elevators to have it weighed, tested, and stored until it's time to be sold.

This happens over and over and over until it's too dark to see or you run out of field. Exciting huh?

Look at this old house that's on one of the places we were cutting.

It's so creepy and interesting to me to try and picture what the house would have looked like freshly built by some pioneer and what the lives of the people living there would have been like. One of the neat things about living out here is that there is such a connection to the past. Even with all the changes our world has seen in recent history, we're really not that far away from the pioneer days when everything was new and wild. Do I sound like a PBS special?

Anyway, that's pretty much harvest. Kinda glad it's over so I can have my husband back. Of course, he's not taking a break. No. There's always some kind of work to do...

...farmers.

Independance Day

2010-07-13T14:35:00.002-05:00

Well, if you know me, you know I love holidays. Any holiday basically turns me into a 5 year old, and the 4th of July is no different. I love red, white and blue decorations. I love grilling burgers (ok making Ty grill burgers). I LOVE fireworks. Unfortunately, it was pretty rainy the morning of the 4th this year, so the show we'd planned to go see was canceled. So, we went home after church and had our own celebration. You can shoot your own fireworks in Sylvan (which is completely new to me) so I got a few kiddie ones from the local stand, and we had some fun. We had these snake things... and Snap 'n Pops. Anna couldn't throw them hard enough, so she stomped them.

We also had some smoke bombs that were a pretty big hit.

Anna got to "help" light them. Then she'd run away, sometimes missing most of the action. Then she'd turn around and run back through the smoke.

Abby had fun too. She spent alot of time "writing" on the patio with the sidewalk chalk. Funny how loud noises still bother Anna, but don't phase Abby in the slightest.

We did have a few cool ones with sparks and stuff, but the big show came that night when neighbors on both sides of us put on their own little shows. Both of them had to have had hundreds of dollars in fireworks, and they pretty much offset them so one was firing while the other was setting up. Ty and I took our lawn chairs out into the street between the two and enjoyed the show. Not a bad way to spend a holiday.

Of course, the reason we have something to celebrate is because of God's gift of America and it's dream. Here's a quote from George Washington to his army. I think it may be just as relevant today as it was then: "The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend on God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die."

God bless America!

Inter-mezzo

2010-07-09T23:08:00.002-05:00

I interrupt our pictorial recap to bring you this... A few weeks ago, I noticed this nest. Ok. Actually I didn't notice it. Stacey did, and I was amazed that I'd never seen it before since it's right on the back corner of our house in plain sight. Anyway, I've been watching it now, and the other day, I caught Mommy bird sitting still as a stone on her precious nest. Then today, I saw this...

Baby birds! Anna and I watched the little guys bob their heads around for quite a while. Anna was especially excited when she yelled, "Hi, baby birds!" and one of them stuck it's head up and moved it's mouth like it was talking back. How fun to see life and nature occurring right around you!

Ty's response to the news: "Great. As soon as they're outa there, that nest is history."

Where's the love?

Go Sluggers!

2010-07-08T23:24:00.002-05:00

Well, Anna had her last tball game of her 1st season on the Sylvan Sluggers. She absolutely loved it, and I don't think she's realized that there aren't going to be anymore games. Here she is with her friend (and future classmate) Tyra before the last game.She actually got to field a ball for the first time at this game! She's tried at other games but the bigger kids would always beat her to the ball. This time the coach made sure the big kids knew it was Anna's turn, and she ran right up on the ball and threw it over to 1st. It's insane how proud I felt at that moment. It was great to see her little face light up as she realized she'd done it, and I love that she turned to wave at us when she heard us cheering.
After the game, in true kiddie sport fashion, everyone got medals. So glad she got a chance to play, and that she loved it so much.

Still catching up

2010-07-06T11:12:00.004-05:00

Well, I've got some catching up to do. So much has happened in the last week or two that I haven't had time to record it all for you. Our friends came to visit from Texas. We had fun pretending to drive a tractor.

Playing in the pool

And just playing

Four kids and 3 adults in our little house was pretty cramped, but we never got tired of each other.

I love friends like that!

Next up tball and 4th of July pics...

Anna's Birthday

2010-06-28T14:34:00.002-05:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! Things around here have been crazy to say the least. A couple of weeks ago (actually on the day of Anna's Bday) the 4 of us headed out on an unexpectedly early and super fast trip to TX to deliver some yummy meat. We were not thinking we'd go until the next weekend, but the meat was suddenly ready, and so we got ready too. As soon as we got home, Ty began harvest (taking the computer w/him), and we hosted a large group of TX peeps on route to a mission trip in South Dakota, and some dear friends that came along, but stayed a little longer to visit with us. I'll post about all that later, but here is a little catch up on Anna's birthday. Blowing out the candles on her rainbow cakeOpening her gifts from the KS fam

Boots!

Swimming in the pool at Grandpa and Grandma's in TX.

Loving all the books and gifts from the TX fam.

I don't have any pics of the gifts she got from our dear church family because I was in the bathroom feeling not so good at the time. Whatever that was put a bit of a damper on the trip, but it was so wonderful to see everyone, and I can't wait to get back soon!

B-day!

2010-06-12T15:23:00.003-05:00

3 years ago, almost at this very moment, I was saying to Ty, "Well, I guess we'd better go on up to the hospital." It's weird that it seems so long ago and just like yesterday at the same time. My little Anna has grown so much, and yet she has so much more growing to do. I pray that God's will is along and happy life for her with me there to see and enjoy it.

Can you believe she's gone from this... (she's actually about 6mo. here) To this?

And here's the rainbow cake she requested. I tried to keep it simple since it is my first attempt at piping writing. I probably could have cut the tip a little smaller, but overall, I think it turned out kinda cute. If I see it on CakeWrecks, I'm gonna hurt somebody!

Happy Birthday Sweet Anna!

P.S. Here's a funny story that occurred the other day while we were in the car. -I was driving us home and making up a little silly song about the girls. Anna says, "Mom, I don't like your song." My ego was a bit bruised, and I said, "Hey, it's kinda rude to say that." Anna immediately sings out, "I don't like your song, PLEASE!" Well, at least she wasn't rude about it!

Date Night

2010-06-11T13:46:00.002-05:00

I interrupt your Community Day viewing pleasure to bring you...Date Night! I will get back to that tomorrow, but date nights come along so seldom, I thought it deserved immediate attention...especially with a place like this.

For Ty's birthday, his Mom gave him a gift certificate to this place called Trappers. It's a fun little dive that's pretty much the only thing in Simpson, KS (45ish mins from Sylvan). Well, that was about the time I instituted my "No Fun Until It's Done" policy, so we never got around to going. The certificate expired at the end of the month, so we decided to make it a birthday/anniversary duo, and headed out sans kiddos last night. I think I can pretty much sum up what kind of place it was with this one picture of the menu... No, I did not try either specialty, but I did have their "Original Specialty", the chicken fried steak, and it was delicious. We had a wonderful time just sitting and talking by ourselves. Here's Ty being seriously silly by the sign outside...

Despite my initial reaction to the menu, I'd highly recommend it. Date night is a pretty great idea too. You should try it sometime.

Oh wait. You already do?

Oh. Ok.

Frog Races. You heard me.

2010-06-10T13:41:00.002-05:00

I told you last time about the frog races that occurred almost immediately after the turtle races at our community day. If you didn't think things could get any better, you were wrong! Frog races are actually much more entertaining in my opinion. Lots more action! "We" did try to get Anna a frog, but it eluded Ty. She wouldn't have wanted to hold it anyway, so it's probably just as well.
Before the race everyone lined up at the starting line and positioned his/her frog as far over the line as they could reach. I'm not really sure this is in the rule book, but that seemed to be the way it worked. We had 4 or 5 false starts. With so many wiggly frogs and excited kids, it's bound to happen. When they finally got everyone off together, there were a variety of techniques. Some used the stomp/jump method where you stomp just behind the frog to scare it into moving. This kid was way ahead with this technique until his frog went rogue and started jumping off to the side instead of toward the finish line.

Others found the gentle push to be more effective. I did spot a couple of them "helping" their frogs by picking them up and sort of "tossing" them a little if they weren't moving quickly enough. Let me just say, I'm glad there weren't any PETA reps there!

In the end, 3 valiant winners were declared, and most of the kids made their Dads come get the frogs to take them back to their respective buckets. Fun times had by all! *Interesting note: Until only a few years ago, anyone with a toad was disqualified from the race. Only "frogs" were allowed to race to maintain an even playing field. (I'm fairly certain I couldn't tell the difference.)

If you've seen my album on Facebook, you know there was one more special event for the Community Day patrons this year. I'll tell you about it next...

Community Day

2010-06-07T15:35:00.003-05:00

Sunday we went to the Annual Sylvan Community Day. It is held every year on the Sunday after Memorial Day and, reportedly, has never been rained out. It was one of those surreal kind of occasions that make you feel like you're in another time. Old blues songs playing while kids and families gathered in the park. Snowcones, hot dogs, and homemade ice cream. And of course, these...turtle races. My friends from "the city" probably think I'm joking. I'm not. I thought Ty was joking about how serious the competition is. He wasn't. We didn't actually catch a turtle for the races because we didn't think we'd make it back from church in time to race. It was clear, however, that just about everyone else there had carefully selected the perfect creature. Almost every kid had an explanation for why his/her turtle was most likely to win.

They painted some rings on the ground, and everyone put their turtle in the tube right in the middle. They lifted the tube, and off the little guys (or gals - couldn't really tell) went. Some kids cheered their turtles on. Some, like these, just prayed for a winner.

Some turtles seemed to get the idea, while others never moved from their original spot. They actually had 3 "heats" and a final. Can you believe it?

Anna didn't seem to mind that she didn't have one. Some of the other kids offered to let her hold theirs, but she wasn't having it. It's probably just as well, 'cause another kid's turtle turned on him and bit his finger, and he wailed like the whole thing had been chomped off. Anna seemed to enjoy her kazoo just as much, and I'd much rather have her bring a kazoo home than a turtle.

Next time I'll share about the frog races. You're on the edge of your seat, I know.

Perch

2010-05-26T23:59:00.003-05:00

So, Sunday night we were out playing in the back yard when I turn around and see this... She was just sitting there quietly watching Anna, Ty and me play "baseball". This has become her new favorite perch when we're outside, which is fine, except on days like today when there is muddy water in it from last night's rain. Oops. She still looked pretty cute sitting there. Even if I did have to scrub her down afterwards.

Dots

2010-05-23T23:21:00.002-05:00

Not really sure where she saw this, but I'm guessing one of her good friends from Texas must have inspired this new style of writing. She's pretty good at the little circles, I'll give her that. However, it now takes her twice as long to write each word. Oh well, at least I got a shout out on the writing board! Seriously, though, I am really proud of how good she's writing. Have a great week everyone!

2010-05-20T23:33:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting some of my pics from Abby's birthday party. You can see all of my edited photos on my Flickr Photostream here, or you can check out more pics on my Facebook page here. These are a few of my favorites. Didn't those butterflies turn out cute?

My beautiful sister and Abby.

Group shot of the kids. This really is the one with the most children looking sorta in the direction of the camera.

We had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a special day!

Number 5 is Alive.

2010-05-17T23:28:00.004-05:00

Well, if you keep up with this blog, you're probably wondering if I've fallen into a hole somewhere. I'm happy to report that is not the case, but I have been super busy. I promise I will get around to pics from Abby's party someday, but first here's a little story from this past weekend to tide you over.

I organized a little fundraiser for our old ministry group Cats for Christ. We went to a Royals baseball game, and gave the proceeds from the ticket sales to the group (long story short). Anna is absolutely in love with baseball right now, and when we said we were going to a game, she got all excited and started talking about how she was going to get to play baseball with the kids. I explained to her that this game was for big boys who had shirts with numbers on them, and since she wasn't a big boy and didn't have a number, she would just have to watch with her Daddy and me. She seemed to take this ok, but after a few minutes of thinking, she went over to Ty and asked in the sweetest little voice, "Daddy, could you help me put a number on my back?" He couldn't say no, but since we didn't have a jersey or anything for her to wear, we had to get creative.

She picked the number 5, and had a huge grin on her face as Ty put it on. She asked me more than once to check and make sure her number was still there. It was rainy and cold, but she didn't seem to notice. She was just happy to have that number on her back!

Truckin'

2010-04-23T23:00:00.004-05:00

This is where I spent 18 hours of my day yesterday. That's right. Ty had to go to Sioux Falls, SD to pick up what's on that trailer, and somewhere along the line, I had the brilliant idea that it would be fun for us to take a road trip. So, we left the girls with Ty's parents, got up at 4 AM (I didn't know I was capable of getting up that early), and headed out in the pouring rain. Luckily, the rain only lasted 45 minutes or so, and the rest of the day was beautiful and mild. We drove and drove and drove, and it was kinda interesting to see how similar and different all the "middle of nowhere" places around here can be. We were going to pick up these huge tires that are going to be used somewhere on the farm. They come from gigantic dirt moving equipment, and if you can see in the pic well enough, those are actually 2 halves of a tire on there. They are about 12 feet across, and weigh something like 5,000 lbs each. Whoa! It really was a pretty fun trip, aside from the guys meeting us to load the things were late, and one of the tires on the trailer locking up causing about an hour long delay while Ty did something to fix it, and Ty getting a nasty cold that started rearing its ugly head on the way back. Other than that, it was great. I don't think we've had that much awake time together since...well, it was at least before Abby was born for sure.

So that's our adventure. Next up is Abby's birthday, and then her very first birthday party next Saturday. Please pray for good weather, as I'm planning to have it at the park. Then my trip to TX, Cats for Christ fundraiser, Give Away Day at church, and a bunch of other stuff that is going to keep me pretty busy for the next few weeks. Don't worry, though. I won't forget about you, and I promise I'll still make time to come talk to you and post cute pics of the girls. I know that's why you're here anyway.

Here are some I found on my camera from a few months ago. The girls (mostly Anna) are obsessed with Ty's hats, and typically, he's barely gotten two feet in the door before she's already begging to wear whatever he's wearing for "just a little bit".

Have a great weekend!

With a rebel yell...

2010-04-13T14:34:00.004-05:00

She cried, "Mow, mow, mow!" Well, it finally happened today. I was starting to think I could make it out here without ever having to do any real "farm work", but it was not to be. I guess some people thought I should start pulling my weight around here, so today I became the proud operator of this fine piece of equipment... That's right; try not to laugh. I'm now the unofficial, official lawn mower in the family. I'm not going to admit this to anyone around here, but it was actually kind of fun to ride, and I enjoy contributing. Only a little, though. If you start contributing too much, then people start to expect something of you. It took me just under 2 hours to mow Grammy's yard, and I must say, it's looking mighty fine. Once they figure out a way to transport "the beast" around, I think I'm supposed to start mowing everyone's yard too. Grammy did tell me she thought it just wasn't right that they were making "the women" do their "man work", but I figured this beats hangin' around a bunch of stinky cows any day. Well, that's it. I'm a regular farm hand now. Who would have guessed?

And because I can't have a whole post with only a picture of some boring lawn mower. Here's one of Abby in the tub playing the girls' favorite new bath game: Slap Foam Toys on our Heads and See if They Stick. It's hilarious!

Have a blessed day!

Easter

2010-04-05T14:30:00.004-05:00

Well, I haven't been able to edit my Easter pics like I wanted to. Something got messed up in my photoshop, and I haven't been able to getting going again. So, I guess I'll just have to bare my unedited soul (uh...pictures) today rather than wait till whenever I get my PSE running again. So here is a LONG pictorial of our Easter fun.

Here we are decorating our Easter eggs. Anna really liked it, but I was almost kicking myself for buying the kit I got. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun little kit. It caught my eye because it came with a bunch of those shrinking sleeves, and stickers you could use to decorate the eggs as well as the coloring stuff. Since Anna loves stickers, I figured it would be a hit. The only problem was that this kit was apparently designed to appeal to girls AND boys when it comes to sticker choices. Anna picks up a red egg, and says, "I'm going to make a basketball egg!" She promptly covers it in basket ball stickers. Then she picks up a purple egg and says, "Let's make this one a baseball egg!" Being the control freak that I am, I suggest we not do anymore "ball" eggs (these are supposed to be pretty, GIRLY eggs). She says, "Ok, how about a rocket ship!?" Eye roll, "Alright. Put the rocket ship on" (it's at this point that I start contemplating the fact that it appears the rest of my life is going to be an exercise in giving up control). While I'm checking some of the other eggs, she sneaks 2 baseball stickers on with the rocket ship. Next, the orange egg. Anna: "Hmmm. I think this one needs soccer balls." Me: "No, sweety. No more balls." Anna: "Fire trucks?" Aah! I finally convinced her that lady bugs would be better, and then the next one I just asked her if she wanted butterflies or flowers.She really did have fun, and here are their Easter baskets...On Saturday, there was an egg hunt up at the school for young kids. Anna did great. She ran around grabbing some eggs and leaving other that were right beside the ones she picked.
Saturday night we put our Easter baskets on the table. We told her that the Easter Bunny would come and take our eggs (and hide them outside) and leave presents instead. She was very excited. Here's her first peek at her basket Sunday morning.
She loved everything (I'm sure Abby liked her gifts too), and after a yummy breakfast, we went outside to hunt for our Easter eggs. After that, it was off to church and our whirlwind of Sunday activities. Not sure how many pictures I took of them in their oh-so-sweet matching dresses from my parents, but it was alot. We had a ton of fun, and even though Easter is about alot more than eggs and bunnies, I sure am glad we get to share in these fun times with our sweet girls!

Happy Easter!

One of THOSE stories

2010-03-29T23:31:00.002-05:00

So, this is one of those stories you tell about your child on graduation day or their wedding day or anytime you just feel like embarrassing them. Last weekend, we were at Lowe's looking at something for the house. We walked by a shower display, and Anna says, "Ooo! I'm dirty. I need to take a bath!" We're not in a hurry or anything, so I say, "Ok," and she opens the door to get in. We say a few things about being clean, and I say, "Yeah, you'd better get your body all clean." All at once, a few things happen. #1 A light bulb goes off in my head as this was probably not the best thing to say since Anna is having a little trouble with getting "body" and "bottom" mixed up. #2 Anna pulls up her skirt (luckily she was wearing tights), and starts pretend scrubbing away while I run horrified towards her saying, "Never mind. We're all clean now!" I'm pretty sure no one was looking our direction...pretty sure.

On a completely different note, we decorated Easter Eggs today which was fun, and once I get my pictures edited to my liking, I'll put up a post about that. Here's one, from today to tide you over...

Stuff

2010-03-20T14:55:00.006-05:00

So last week (being the good wife that I am) I made PW's Cinnamon Rolls for Ty as part of his B-day celebration. He loves cinnamon rolls, and I figured it would be a good chance for me to try it out. The only think I did differently was halve it, because let's face it. Who wants to make 7 pans of something on the first try? Well, I kinda wish I'd made all 7, 'cause they were awesome! Next time I will definitely make the full recipe and put the rest in the freezer to pull out when I feel like feeling awesome (and very full). Speaking of freezing...have any of you checked out my new/other blog yet? My thoughts behind it were that everyone could use a few extra ways to make life easier, but I don't want everyone to shout a big "DUH!" at the computer every time they read a post. Easy things are, well...easy, unless you haven't thought of them yet. Seriously, feedback.

And for those of you who really only come by to see pics of the girls, here's 2.

Anna is getting the pedaling thing down pretty well. She says her tricycle is her "favorite thing". I love this pic because she's concentrating so hard.And look at that precious smile!

Happy Saturday!

Well, here it is...

2010-03-17T13:22:00.002-05:00

So, I probably should replace "come to fruition" in my last post with "get the guts to share it". So here it is. I've started a second blog. It's called Easy Does It, and it's all about finding ways to make life easier. I have no idea what's going to become of it, but I'm going to try and make something of it. I have found, since our move here, that I have very little time to do the things I love. The only respite I seem to get are a few minutes on the computer everyday. So, I figure why not put that time to good use. I'll share things that will hopefully help people, and perhaps it will become something more. You are my friends and family, so I would love your support (or smack on the forehead if you think I'm crazy). Any thoughts, suggestions, whatever are greatly appreciated. Check it out. Maybe tell a friend?

So there it is. Not really a big secret, but I had you wondering didn't I? Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this one. I will continue to post pictures and my odes to photoshop. Now I'll just have 2 outlets for my madness instead of one! Can't wait to hear what you think.

Remember the Alamo!

2010-03-16T14:00:00.003-05:00

My Mother-in-law got these for Anna at either Dollar Tree or The Dollar Store. They're little shortbread/Animal cracker type cookies, but with Texas shapes. Cute right?
I'm working on a new project, and I'm not quite willing to share yet. Stay tuned, though. If it ever comes to fruition, you'll be the first to know! Have a great day!

2010-03-03T23:22:00.002-06:00

Ok. While I'm boring everyone with my Photoshop love affair, here's something really cool I learned how to do today...

Here's the before. See the difference? Ok, I still haven't decided if the flare is a little to much, but isn't it cool that I can add it in like that? I've found the greatest blog HERE with awesome, really easy tutorials. Things are making sense that have never made sense before! How awesome is that?

Here's one I got with a real flare by happy accident. Can you tell the difference?Hope you don't get too bored with picture posts, as I'm sure to have more to come soon! Have I mentioned how much I love Photoshop?

Why I love Photoshop #2

2010-03-02T23:40:00.002-06:00

Before:

After: She got her first tooth! Isn't she adorable?

Comfort food

2010-02-26T23:10:00.004-06:00

So the other day I was browsing the Pioneer Woman blog when I came across a link for her recipe for Homemade Chicken Strips. I was intrigued since I've never really seen a good "restaurant style" chicken strip made at home. As you probably know, chicken strips are one of the food groups in my world, so I was excited to find that the recipe looked super easy and contained a twist I just had to try. So I did. I know, you can't believe I'm posting about cooking, but I am. So here's how it went:

You start off by soaking your chicken strips in buttermilk for 15-20 mins. *Ty did comment on the buttermilk taste, so if you don't like it you could sub regular milk for everything. (I couldn't really tell, by the way.) While that's going on, you measure out about a cup and a half of flower and 2-3 Tbsps. of Lawry's Seasoning Salt (I'd say at least 3, 'cause I put in less and couldn't really taste it). I made 12 strips, and this was just barely enough so adjust according to how many of these bad boys you plan to make.

Then you add the twist! Slowly pour 1/4 - 1/2 cup of butter milk into the flour mixture! You may be laughing now because it's so simple, but I honestly never would have thought of this! It makes the flour kind of gloppy so it sticks to the chicken in little chunks like you see on the ones at the restaurant! *I used just over 1/4 cup, and I really think if was too much. The chicken has alot of moisture on it from the soaking, and I found that it got the flour a little too wet. This meant that there was a lot of it stuck together for the last couple of strips which made it a little harder to get them coated well. You tell me what you think when you try it...

Anyway, you dredge the strips in the flour mix and get 'em coated up good. Here's a pic of them post coat. See what I mean about the globs?

Next, you heat up the oil. P-dub said 1" of oil in the skillet. I clearly went overboard, but I've never been good at estimating stuff like that. Didn't seem to matter too much, though, so I lucked out.

When it's hot enough (flour should bubble when thrown in - learned that too) put in a few at a time to fry. You literally only cook these for like a minute and a half on each side, and they're done! Let me just say, "Yum"! The meat was tender. The coating was all crunchy. I was pretty darn proud of myself! It was an all around good experience.

Except for the disaster mashed potatoes I made to go with them. Someone please explain to me how a person messes up mashed potatoes. I'm still not sure what happened, but I'm a bit bruised. I felt the need to share this failure with you so you don't confuse me for some culinary goddess you don't even recognize anymore. I know! Close call!

So anyway, here's the finished product. I'm tellin' you, these are good. PW suggested flash freezing them just after they're coated (before you cook) and then storing them in the freezer in a Ziplock bag. Seriously, if you did this, you'd never have to buy those precooked nugget thingies again! If you want a MUCH more detailed guide to making these lovelies, follow the link at the top of the post.

Go try these, and tell me what you think!

Chuckle for the day

2010-02-24T22:58:00.004-06:00

So Anna and Abby are taking a bath, and we are singing songs as usual. Anna suggests "If You're Happy and You Know It" so we start it up. Ours usually consists of "clap your hands," "stomp your feet," and "shout Amen." I can see Anna is having a hard time doing the motions while trying not to splash too much, whack Abby, fall down, or step on all the bath toys, and finally she just kinda stops singing and dancing along. So I stop and ask, "Why aren't you singing anymore? Aren't you happy?" "No, I'm not," she replies oh so sadly. "Why not?" "Because I can't stomp my feet and clap my hands and shout 'Hey Man'!"

**Latest Installment**

You know you live in a small town when you don't put enough postage on a letter, but the post office lady just adds it, mails it, and puts a tiny envelope in your mail box with the amount you owe. You put the 17 cents, or whatever, in and you're done. -I think that one's kinda cool.

Copy Cats

2010-02-19T23:40:00.003-06:00

The first thing I'll say is that these aren't the best pictures in the world of the girls, but I was trying to catch them playing naturally/not posed, so you get what you get. Anyway, the girls got this toy cd player/radio that plays songs for Christmas, and they both love it. Lately, though, as I watched them play I noticed something. See how Anna is holding it over her wrist?

Now check out Abby on a totally different day:Isn't that cute? I just love the idea that even at this age, they are influencing each other. Even this young, they mean so much to each other, that they emulate each other's actions. Now, I know this could turn out to be not so good when it comes to other things (I should probably start fortifying myself for those pre-teen years), but I'd like to hope that it'll be the other way around for them. My hope and prayer is that they will inspire each other to be better, kinder, more servant-like women. And for the present, that Anna will inspire Abby to do things like eat and go potty by herself. Gotta keep it real, right?

Sweet Girl

2010-02-10T22:50:00.003-06:00

I just had to take a minute to share how sweet my little Anna is. We spent a little time making Valentine's Cards for family, and the next day Anna says to me, "Mama, let's make some more Valentine Cards!" I asked who we should make one for, and she replied, "Ooo! I didn't make one for my Abigail yet!" So she promptly sat down to make one. Knowing Abby wouldn't actually know what it was, I just grabbed a scrap sheet of paper, but I thought it turned out pretty sweet. No help from me, by the way! Here's Abby receiving her Valentine.I just love that they love each other so much!

Time goes by...

2010-02-05T13:59:00.004-06:00

I cannot believe how fast Abby is growing! It seems like just yesterday I was wondering when she'd ever sleep through the night or crawl or even pull up. Now she's doing all of those things!

Here she is with her favorite helper - the bath tub. Click here to see my 9 month photo shoot attempts. She's moving so fast now, that I can hardly catch her sitting still enough to get a good pic. Can't wait to see how much she's going to grow and change in this coming year!

The best part about the whole thing is probably how sweet my 2 girls are together. They smile and giggle at each other over nothing, and their blooming relationship is so exciting to witness. Especially when it means I can go accomplish a task without either of them hanging on my pant leg!

Oops!

2010-02-03T13:50:00.003-06:00

Even though I've spent 9 long months learning about my newest little girl. I'm realizing that I still have no idea what's going on in her head most of the time. Case in point: The other day while I was making dinner, Abby started to get a little fussy. She woke up from her nap early and had an early lunch, so I was thinking she was just getting hungry again. So, I put her in her high chair and gave her a little snack. A few minutes later, I'm thinking things are really quiet, so I turn around to check on her and see this... Poor girl fell asleep mid-snack and woke up with a nice little red mark on her head from the tray. Guess she was tired? Ah well, I still have hopes that I'll understand her some day...maybe?

Tractor love...

2010-01-20T23:14:00.002-06:00

More sumptuous photos from my tractor session:Ok, right off the bat, here's one that's not a tractor, but it was just standing there calling out to have it's picture taken. How could I not oblige?These are the tines that bind...Ok, this is the same one only B/W, but I really liked it for some reason.
Good old John Deere! 10 bonus farm cool points if you can tell what kind of tractor this is from my pics. Of course, you'll be docked "real" cool points if you actually know this...

Hope this link works...

2010-01-17T23:26:00.001-06:00

My favorite picture so far from the Golden Globes. Even the train holders get an umbrella. Love the dress, though!

What?

2010-01-14T23:08:00.003-06:00

Well, I've been asked to clarify my last post, so I thought a little back story would be in order. A couple of days ago (out of nowhere) the weather turned gorgeous. Really, I'm talking high of 48, but that is WAY better than what we've been experiencing! So, we decided to take Anna out and let her "help" Daddy on the tractor while I took pictures of a different tractor that they are hoping to sell online (never thought this what how I'd use my photography skills). As you can imagine, nice warm weather means quickly melting snow and LOTS of mud. When I got home, I looked down and noticed that the bottoms of my jeans were all muddy. Now, Ty's jeans look like this all the time, but if you know me, you know dirt isn't really my thing. I looked upon it as sort of a weird initiation into the crazy cow world I'm all mixed up in. Oh, and I thought of a brand new installment for my blog called: You know you live in a small town when... Hope you like it.

You know you live in a small town when you go to the library and find the door unlocked, no one there, and a note that says, "Gone to conference. Please write your name and which books you take on the sheet. Thanks!"

Mud...

2010-01-12T23:04:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I officially became a "cow poke."

Yummy Snack

2010-01-08T14:24:00.003-06:00

So, for Christmas we got some "gourmet" popping corn for our popcorn maker. It's pretty good, but I had to share one of them with you. It's called baby corn, and it is tiny little kernels that supposedly pop without the hulls. This part is not true, but they are so small that you rarely have a piece you can't bite into like the larger varieties. Anyway, we popped them, and this is what it looked like...
I couldn't really tell the difference in this picture, so I was "forced" to pop a regular sized batch for comparison...Look how tiny these things are! You feel kinda like a giant trying to grasp the little pieces with your fingers, and while they taste good, I can't say I prefer it to the regular sized stuff. And because I feel weird about making an entire post about popcorn, here are some pics of the girls from when we celebrated Christmas in Kansas.The Feldkamp family plays cards, so I guess we're starting Abby early.

Anna got a cute little bag from Grammy, and she loves putting things in it and carrying them around. She frequently packs it up and says, "See ya later! Bye!" as she walks toward the door. Well, that's all for now. How are you doing on your NY's resolutions?

Resolution

2010-01-05T13:33:00.005-06:00

I generally don't make New Year's resolutions. I just don't feel like I should have to pick something to change just because it's a certain day. I also don't think I should wait until the New Year to try and change things if they need to be changed. However, at a New Year's Eve party I was basically forced to come up with one for a little game we played. So, I wrote down something I've been thinking about for a little while. The short version is to start being more submissive to/content with God's will for my life. The more I've thought about it, though, the more I realize that part of the problem is that I've been placing expectations on myself that are only serving to cause me stress and anxiety. So, my new improved resolution is to start being just me (or rather the me that God has made me). 1. I am not the Pioneer Woman. I hate cooking, and almost wish it was ok to eat pbj or popcorn for every meal. 2. I am not Martha Stewart. My house is not spic and span and flawlessly decorated, and that's OK. Perhaps I'll grow more like them in time, but I'm going to try not to worry about it. God made me who I am on purpose, and banging my head against the wall trying to be something different doesn't work. God mad me because he wants to use ME for his purpose, and I'm going to try to embrace that. So, there it is - my New Year's resolution. I guess now that I wrote it down, I actually have to stick to it. Here are a couple of pics from Christmas. We had a great visit, and we're already ready to go back!

So what's your resolution? Care to write it down and be stuck with it like me?

More pics

2009-12-21T14:08:00.002-06:00

Here are a few more pics of the girl(s). I'm discovering how difficult it is to get a good one without one of thier heads being fuzzy. It seems that only one of them can sit still at a time. ;) Anyway, I like these that I got of Abby. Have I mentioned that I love my new 50mm lens?
http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt177/jennfeldkamp/Abby%20Christmas%2009/?albumview=slideshow

Santa

2009-12-18T23:48:00.004-06:00

Well, I took the girls to a little Christmas Carnival in a nearby town. There were alot of fun crafts/activities to do, and I knew Santa would be there. I figured this might be my only opportunity to get pics of the girls this year, so I was hoping they'd do well. You saw my previous post, but here's one more of Anna:This was my favorite of Abby:This was the only one of the pic I took of them together where neither of their heads were blurry. Ah the joys of trying to take pictures of two squirmy girls in low light!
Not quite the Christmas card pic I was hoping for, but still cute. Click here to see some of my other pics from that night. Lots of fun, and we can't wait for Christmas now!

Why I love Photoshop...

2009-12-17T16:56:00.002-06:00

Before
After Cool right? Just to be clear, the lighting in there was awful, so I'm blaming that instead of my inability to get my camera settings right.

I know you've all been wondering...

2009-12-03T23:31:00.003-06:00

how the pies tasted. I know, I should have updated a while ago. If you were holding your breath in anticipation...well, you're probably not living anymore 'cause that's along time to hold your breath. Anyway, as I stated, I don't really like pumpkin pie, so I didn't have any. This was probably not smart on my part 'cause now I don't have my own opinion of how it tasted, but I couldn't help myself with all that yummy pecan pie and whipped cream. Anyway, everyone told me it was yummy, and my father-in-law made a point to tell me how good it was (and he loves pumpkin pie), so I'm feelin' pretty good about how I did. Ty ended up making the yams, so I don't have much of a comment about those other than I was more than happy to let him do it. I was a dork and left my camera at home during the main event, and couldn't quite get in the mood after that, so these pics of Anna and Ty being silly are pretty much it.

Overall, a pretty good holiday. Can't wait 'till Christmas! I'll definitely have a ton of pics to post after that!

The adventure of the pumpkin pie crust

2009-11-25T14:23:00.005-06:00

As I said in an earlier post, I attempted my first ever pie crust for our Thanksgiving feast. Ironically it's for pumpkin pie which isn't really my favorite, but that's how the chips fell this year. Hopefully my sis-in-law will be bringing a yummy pecan pie I can devour! Mmm...pie...whipped cream...sorry! Back to the post- Almost as soon as I started I kinda wished I hadn't agreed to do it. I think part of my problem was the oratory I got from Ty on how rare a perfect pie crust is and how many pies he'd eaten and thought that the crust was just ok but could be so much better. I'm pretty sure his intention was to spare me from thinking I had to make the perfect crust, but really I was thinking, "If his Grammy can't perfect the pie crust, why am I even wasting my time?!" Truthfully, I only ended up calling him once to ask if he thought I was doing ok. -aside- These are very interesting conversations in which I try to describe what I'm doing/what something looks like and Ty tries to reassure me that it's fine while I'm sure rolling his eyes because he has no way of really knowing because he's on the phone. Anyway, I cut in stuff, and I patted, and I chilled, and I rolled, and this is what I got...

Not real pretty, but there they are. The filling seemed alot easier.I guess the real test will be when someone tastes it. Ty has told me he'll eat it no matter what (I love him for things like that).

Since this is a Thanksgiving related post, I thought I should say something I'm thankful for. My friend Taylor did a list of 25 things 'cause she's 25. I don't want to admit how close I am to 30, so I think I'll just say that I am thankful for friends and family who remind me of what is important in this life, and what is not. Here's a picture of the girls in their matching pjs for good measure:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Win a Gypsy!

2009-11-24T00:01:00.001-06:00

A Cricut Gypsy...FREE!
I wanna win! Do you? Click here to enter!

Stay tuned for the results of my pie crust adventure.

New find!

2009-11-22T23:06:00.002-06:00

Ok, so you know how I was talking about the screen printing idea I got at the Little Birdie Secrets blog? Well, I happened onto an infomercial (don't ask me why I watch these things) for a super cool machine for screen printing at home! It's called the Yudu, and it's SO neat. It's a much more involved process, but the awesome thing is you can create any image you want. With the Plaid stuff, you use pre-made templates to make your designs. With this Yudu, if you can draw it, write it, or print it from your computer you can screen print it. This opens up a whole new world of personalization possibilities! The other cool thing is it's made by the Cricut people, so they have detailed instructions about how you can use your cricut to help out w/ your Yudu projects. Check out the website if you want to see all the different kinds of projects you can do. It's not just t-shirts for sure! Of course, this system is much more expensive than the Plaid version. $300 for the machine itself plus inks and other stuff to make the screens is alot, but a mom of a couple of sports kids could make their little league shirts at a fraction of the cost of having them professionally done. If they did that kind of stuff every summer, you could see how the thing would pay for itself. Have I justified the purchase for myself yet? Maybe I'll add it to my Christmas list and see what happens.
*On the Thanksgiving front, you'll be happy/amused/bored silly to know that I am attempting to make my first ever version of "candied yams" and my first ever pumpkin pie(neither of which I'm going to eat). I'm making the crust and everything so I'm a little nervous. Will update with victory or disaster. What are you making/eating for the holiday?

Finally...

2009-11-17T23:19:00.003-06:00

a post about the house! As you know, progress has been relatively slow. This was (I am told) one of the very busiest times of year, and now that things should be slowing down there should be more time for working on the house. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed, but I probably won't hold my breath (just in case). I've been doing what I can, and one of the things I can do is work on the floors. As I said earlier, there were some gorgeous hardwood floors underneath the hideous carpet that came with the house. The only problem was, it left behind this residue that is a bear to get up. I'm not sure if it's glue or just parts of the carpet pad that kinda melted to the floor or what. One thing I do know is that it's majorly stuck on there. Here's an example:The option that seems to work the best at getting it off is Goo Gone and some good old fashioned elbow grease. That's right folks, we're talking hands and knees stuff! I'll give you a moment to recover from your shock that I'm the one doing this, and then check out the finished product. Pretty good right? Next I'll take some pics of Ty's progress in our bedroom. Slowly but surely people!

Little Birdie Secrets: screenprint at home

2009-11-14T14:47:00.001-06:00

Hey all my fellow crafters! I just found this really cool product at Little Birdie Secrets: screenprint at home for making your own screen printed stuff. Really cute idea, and it looks like you could do a whole project for around $25, and have some cute stencils that can be reused 20 times! I found some even easier ones here at the Plaid website. Super cute iron ons for less than $4 each! I may have just found my Xmas gift idea for a few peeps!