A little down, but happy for what I have

I feel like I'm a little in the rut right now. We just started school this we, and I am babysitting for my neighbor a few days a week. I want to find a better time to go running. Running usually helps be feel more myself. Being active and feeling like I am accomplishing something and not gaining weight helps. I really enjoyed volunteering in the kid's classes yesterday. I like to see their world and how they interact with their peers and their teacher. I'm so lucky that I am able to stay with my children and raise them how I would like them to be raised. Dan is the best husband to me, and I hope I can continue to live up to his expectations of a wife.

First day of school!

Landon and Lydia were both really excited to start the first day of school today. Dad had to go to work early, so mom helped them get ready. Luke woke up and had breakfast with them, but Levi slept until 7:30, the time I wanted to leave. I fixed Lydia's hair and the kids wanted to give their teacher a rose too, so we picked those and put them in a cup. Lydia was nervous, and said it was like going to kindergaten again because it was the first time going to Highland Hills. Landon did very well. We took pictures with their new teachers before I left them for the day.

Slip'n'Slide

Landon, Levi, and Lydia all had a fun time on the slip-n-slide that Levi picked out. We were dog sitting Mindy, a white German Sheperd at the time and she thought it was a great way to cool off too! This was the first time we got out the slip'n'slide for summer!

Fixing our new house

We moved into our new house on our 8th anniversary at the end of April. We haved enjoyed the projects we have done so far. They have included replacing the carpet, painting most of the interior, removing some bushes out of the middle of the backyard, triming the trees in the backyard, and replaced a few light fixtures. We look forward to continuing to update and fix up our new home.

Trying to sell our house

We have tried to sell our house on a few occasions past. We thought we could make money on, and sell it ourselves, with open houses and such things. We found out that no one comes to open houses in Hermiston, it is a market of it's own. After not being successful on our past selling attempts, we decided to list with an agent, and ask at the low end so it would just sell. So far it has gone well. We listed house on Feb. 3, it is now Monday, and the house has been shown 6 times, not bad at all for a market that does not like to work on Saturdays and Sundays (no showings on those days). Here are some pictures of the house, over the past four years we have always been working on something. Most recently we painted the exterior, put in wood laminate, put tile in bathrooms, and new door trims.

We are hoping to move into a larger home in the Hermiston area. We may even end up building a new home on 2 acres, that is one option we have looked at.

Sweet Potatoes!

Making my own baby food has proven to be pretty simple, and saved me alot of money with this fourth child. This is baby food from one sweet potato, I forgot to take a picture of the actual sweet potato before it was cooked. All I did was cook the food, then blend in the food processor, adding a little water at a time until it is the right texture. Then you either fill baby food containers, or ice cube trays. With one sweet potato, I was able to fill one store bought baby food container, and fill an ice cube tray. These are small ice cubes, three equal one baby food container. It equals out to be about 6 baby food containers, which would have cost me about $3.50, but one sweet potato only costs $0.30. I like to freeze the trays and tell put the food in a Ziploc bag, and then in the freezer. Then I am able to make a lot at once, and have a bunch of baby food waiting for my little angel! I have also done frozen peas and beans, carrots and squash. I needed to strain the peas and beans to make them smoother. He has really liked the carrots and squash. I'm hoping the same for the sweet potato!

Updating houses

Why is it you just are not motivated to update and do alot of work on your house unless there is another motive? For instance, we have been doing a few little things to our house to make it look better, but just because we want to put it on the market to sell it. I started painting the front door, and all the door knobs, and touch-up paint around the house. Dan started tiling both the bathrooms, and it was a good thing too because he found dry rot under the floor by the toliet, so he had another eight hours of work for him. Maybe that's why we hesitate to start projects, because they usually end up costing more time and money than we first anticipate. You just get a little sad when you are unable to enjoy your hard work.

Two Time Breakfast of Champions!

Today our family had the privilege of attending Hermiston's Chamber of Commerce Breakfast of Champions in honor of Lydia's achievements. All the schools in the community are invited to bring two students from each school to the breakfast. There are 98 first graders in Lydia's school, and 500 students. The students are nominated for outstanding performance and excellence in exceeding expectations. Lydia has done very well in reading, and always doing her best. She has also been friendly to everyone she meets.
The most exciting news of her receiving this award is she was nominated last year as well! We are so glad that she excels in her schoolwork and is noticed for her achievements!

Baby Swings

Baby swings are one of the things that a baby really likes them or they don't. Luke really liked his swing before he was a month old. He had a hand me down swing from Levi, but usually you expect swings to last a while. I guess with Luke it ended a little different. He used the swing until he was about 2 or 3 months old, and then the motor went out. I thought we didn't want the big expense of paying for another when he was going to be our last baby. I sent out an e-mail to my friends hoping I could just borrow a swing for a couple of months until he didn't want to use the swing anymore. Well, we ended up borrowing the same brand and type of swing that Luke had before. I thought he would really love it because it was the same kind he had gotten used to. Well, it was no match for Luke. The swing lasted for only about a month, and then the motor went out on it too. Then Luke was without a swing again. There was another friend of mine who wanted to just get rid of their swing. I felt better about that because of Luke's track record. This swing was an older model, and about 8 years old. It worked great, and he liked it, but not as much as the other swings. But I thought he would probably get over it. The third swing lasted a little longer than the past two. It's motor kept running for about three months. It too slowly died on us, and now every night Luke does not go to sleep very well until we manually push him in the swing that has the motor out. I keep thinking he can't want to keep going the swing forever. But who is smarter? The baby who whines until he is put in the swing? or the parent who manually pushes the swing without a working motor?