High chair solution and fun in the... dirt!

This is Ed and his new "high chair". It's new, but it is definitely not high. We just don't have the space.And for any of you wondering where this pic was taken, it is in my house. Trailer. Whatever. Yes, I have diamond plate as baseboards... shiny! I love it for reals though. Ed's new seat keeps his hands out of the kids food and keeps me from cleaning up so much spilled milk, juice, food, etc. This seat also folds up nicely. Wow!

Kacy and Will heading for the beach... at least that is what Kacy said. They are going to the motorcycle track to play in the dirt. They love their new shovels.


Stock update- I am just impatient. This goes for the stock market as well. I have sold a few of my stocks and bought some new ones because I felt my Dow stocks weren't doing anything. They havesince gone up some, and after paying trading fees, my new little portfolio is a measly 7% for the month instead of the 17% it would have been if I hadn't been so impatient. And after figuring in my trading fees of 15 buck a trade, I spent 105 dollars of what I had initially made. Sad! But on the plus side, I have vowed not to do any trading the month of April unless my stocks go down 8% of new money, in which case I will sell them and hold onto the cash. Also, a book I am reading made me feel better because the author said the first two or three years of investing are where you should make the most mistakes and learn the most. Boy howdy, is he right! Another positive is that I am still in the black, worth more than my initial investment. I'm going to keep trying (to be patient.)

One last thing- the weather in the "high mountain desert" is so extreme...this morning it was 28, now it is a beautiful 67.

Let it snow!

Snow at 8:05am...

Snow at 8:20am...

Snow on my van... this was around 8:40am. I'm no weather-caster, but by my unofficial estimates we got about 2 inches in 45 minutes. Right now (almost 10am) it is just spitting a little. (Spitting is a term I got from my grandma Mayhall... that means just barely, a little bit.) The kids can't wait to make a snowman, but I don't think they'll last five minutes. We have no gloves, snow shoes, real jackets... maybe next year we will have to get some.

"My food speaks to me..."

This is Kacy and her talking Cheetos. She was using her really high pitched "pretending" voice and having her Cheetos talk to each other. There were two, and they were talking about who was the littlest. Ryan and I were cracking up as soon as we realized what she was doing. Kacy is almost always talking, and out of self-preservation one has to tune her out. When one does key into what she is sayng, it can be pretty funny. Especially when it with her Cheetos.

Eeeww, yuck.

EEWWW, YUCK. That is what we heard Kacy say Wednesday night when we pulled up to our house and turned off the truck. When you turn off the truck, the interior light comes on. Ed was asleep in his carseat, looking like this. I had some leftover chocolate chip cookies from mutual and gave him a piece before we left for home. He must have enjoyed it, or maybe he fell asleep with it in his hand and got it all over. Whatever he did, it grossed Kacy out, and made a good mess. Go Ed! (I'm in this picture- might be the closest thing you see of me. That navy blue bit is my shoulder.)

Got my van back from Camburg Engineering in Huntington Beach on Thursday. Ryan, the kids, and I all went together, and the kids did pretty well for being in the ar all day. We stopped at a McDonald's in Norco for lunch and they had a feeble attempt of a playground. It was bad. But the bathrooms were really clean and they didn't mess up our order, so that is a plus! I will post a picture of my van soon.

I am so bad at this blog thing. I just don't seem to make it a priority for time. I am especially bad at posting pictures. Maybe I will work on that. A new goal!

My kids are eating me out of house and home. Or trailer and home. All three have been eating for the last hour, and it doesn't help that I need to go grocery shopping. I have no idea what we are eating for dinner tonight. Maybe pizza, since Ryan is buying the whole YM pizza.

Will used the bathroom today all by himself. It really surprised me and he wanted no help at all. Completely different than Kacy, who needs friends while she's in the loo.

Ed has been in a good mood today. I ignored them all for awhile this morning while I tried sewing, but I gave up on that for awhile. I am just not that good. I keep telling myself not to give up, but learning new things can be discouraging.

Did you know they make dark chocolate M&M's?

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Birthday to my dad, who is 51 today! Yea, you made it past the half century mark! How does it feel to have all that you have? A succesful business owner, good money management skills, a do-it-yourselfer to the extreme, a great Marco-polo player (although you always giggle and give yourself away...) and a great papa! We love you!

In our own family news, I am officially signed up for the San Jose Mountain Bike triathlon June 23. I am also running in a 10k race April 28. I don't know if I can make it, but it is amazing what a little running and eating right will do for your body. Maybe I am genetically blessed, but I don't think so. I always wanted running abilities to be genetic because my brother Steven was a running wonder in high school for cross country. He could run 5 minute miles (like three miles in a row!) Not me. I'm lucky to finish one mile right now. But I still go between 2 and 3 a day, in the sand, with hills. I think the 10k will still eat me alive, but I like a challenge. Three kids in three years anyone? I am getting a mountain bike soon, and I am really excited for that. I live in outdoorsman territory, and I fully intend on making the most of it.

Kacy, Will, and Ed are outside playing. I love that. I always tell Kacy that the reason we had Will was so she could play with him. The funny thing is, the more kids you have, the easier it is. Grocery stores aren't, quick errands aren't, church isn't. but everyday life is.

Tuesday March 13, 2007

So I am thinking I am really diversified in my hobbies. Like I told Jocelyn a while ago, I am kinda good at some things, but not really good at any one thing. I am thinking of all the things I am working on right now and all the things I want to work on (it's all your fault Jocelyn- you had to go and mention boutique girl clothes and now I am thinking "What can I make for Kacy" and maybe I can get good enough to sell stuff!" Good thing we have Sundays to bounce ideas off of each other...)

I am officially signed up for the San Jose Mountain Bike triathlon. Go me! My goal is to finish.

I have five Easter dresses to make for my nieces and Kacy. Again, my goal is to get them finished!

I am thinking I am going to change my stock market strategy a little and ditch my Dow stocks. I know historically they are a decent investment, and the market isn't that hoppin' right now, but come on! My non Dow stocks that I did research on are rockin' at 35 % return! I think I will go for more companies like that. Take a little more risk. Be brave!

My kids are stuck on a book right now. "Go, Dog. Go!" by PD Eastman. I picked out at our last library trip because it used to be my favorite, and I have read it twice a day for the last week and a half. That's why Kacy has it memorized. If you didn't know better, you would think she could read. (She can't, I promise.) And even Will has certain pages memorized.

Ed has this habit of pulling himself up to the kids table and sticking his hand in their food. This morning it was Will's bowl of Cocoa Puffs. Milk was everywhere, and Ed ate more of the cereal than Will did. Last night is was part of Kacy's steak and some rice. Rice is cool, but chunks of steak for a boy with two teeth is not. He gets so mad whenever I take food away from him (and it's always for his own safety!)

Other new stuff

Will and his first ride on the quad... he loved it and is actually very good at steering and using the throttle. No, he is not wearing a helmet because he runs faster than the quad was set at, and besides, he hates Kacy's pink helmet. (Directly behind him is where we are going to build our house. If your use a microscope you might be able to see where the stakes are.)









Here is Ryan on the far left, along with a bunch of guys who camped on our property and then played paintball (to all you paintball enthusiasts- if you don't "play paintball" I apologize. How else do you say it?) all morning this last Saturday.












Our beautiful tractor... actually, I took this picture because it is my favorite view. This is what we will see when we open our front door. Minus the tractor, of course. Except maybe at Christmas, when I might put lights on it.

Ed

Ed eating a waffle for breakfast- he stands at the kids table and tries to get their cereal, so I put his breakfast on the table and he's happy. He is now nine months old!

The stock market rocks!

I am an official investor on Wall Street! I invested money in the market today, and I was nervous about it because last week was bad, yesterday no better, and the online brokerage I signed up with last week has a program where they invest on Tuesdays for super cheap. So today is Tuesday, and the market went up a little. I love the idea of making money without working. Ah, the American dream. That, and a good cheeseburger and fries.

I will make a concerted effort to post some pics of our property by tonight. It might happen. As soon as my kids decide to sleep, I'm going to scrounge for solar oven making supplies (my first trial dish is going to be chocolate chip cookies- that way if they don't turn out they will still be delicious.)

New Stuff

This is all new stuff for me, Karrie, the woman in charge of this site. Check it out to see pictures of my kids, check the progress of our house, see where we live... lots of stuff about us! This will be a work in progress for about a week or so; that is my goal anyway. I have lots of plans this week so we will see exactly what gets accomplished. In the mean time, here is the latest news in our little fam: Ed is getting tooth number two and pulls himself up to stand, and he's cute. Will is learning to use the potty, and is cute. Kacy drew a picture of herself today and said "Look mom, here is a picture of me. See my butt?" and she had drawn a big bump on the side of her body. She also has an imaginary house. Some kids have imaginary friends and pets. Kacy has an imaginary house in "Roseday". It's pink with a red roof. She has three dogs names Melissa, Annie, and Bushy. One cat named Jingle Bells. She has pink and red roses. She has a five bladed wind turbine with flowers all over it. It's a little crazy... She's cute too.