Why, oh Why?

These are my why's:

Why do the kids pick the one "Materism" from Cars that has the potential for disaster? "Holy shoot!" anyone? My kids new favorite word.

Why isn't my laundry getting as clean as it should be? My whites aren't white, and my kids clothes are always stained. Any laundry hints or tricks out there? Should I bug Ryan to fix the water heater so we have hot water for laundry? I bought some "bluing" for whites. I bought "Shout" spray.

Why does a pedicure and an eyebrow wax/shaping make me feel so much better? Oh, and real jeans. I did those things yesterday, and WOW! I felt almost like a girl again. I went shopping for jeans in my friend Amy's closet again, and I have two pairs of jeans that might get me through the winter. They are low rise, so I can wear them under my belly (which is getting quite obvious now) and if my butt doesn't get any bigger, I'll be super happy all winter. Yea! Now if I can just get Ryan to get our wagon out of storage, I can take walks while pulling the kids.

Bargain hair find: Those who know of Biosilk hair serum, it is awesome stuff. I found a cheaper version that works just as well: Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine anti-frizz serum. I found it at Rite-Aid on sale for 4.99. Biosilk is like $20.00. It works!

Last side note- went to the Dr. yesterday and everything is fine. It was a 5 minute appt. where they measure your belly and find the heartbeat. The heatbeat finder thingie was so quiet I could barely hear it. This cracks me up- the look the nurse had on her face, I've seen it on the Dr.'s face too: they look at you like you should jump up and down or cry at the wonder of it all. I'm just always relieved. But, not being very sentimental, I pretend to be thrilled. "Oh yea, I can hear it, that's really neat! Wow." When I'm thinking "Whew. There's a heartbeat still. Let's go." I am much more interested in the ultrasound and the end product.

Stock Market update

A big yawn for some of you I know- but I have decided to divulge my portfolio, although it was never a secret anyway. I was averaging a 30% rate of return until the unstable month of August, but I just looked, and it is back up to 25%. My goal is to keep it above 10%. So, I think I'm doing pretty well. I am not going to sell anything for awhile, and I have my own little theories that I've put together. My little portfolio is going to be my furniture fund, so that when I have a house again, I will have the cash to buy stuff! I am thinking extra large capacity washer and dryer, beds for the kiddos, great closet systems...

Here are the stocks I own:

Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD)- heard it was a good restaurant, and it is expanding into the untapped WEST- Maybe CA will be next!

Global Sources Lmtd. (GSOL) Wild Card- has done very well for me- has big ups and downs with a steady upward trend. Company located in the Bahamas that matches companies with foreign markets.

Nathan's Famous Hot dogs (NATH) Love their hot dogs, small company (micro) with steady performance.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (RMCF) I have to own stock in chocolate, and since my favorite See's candy is under the Berkshire-Hathaway umbrella, this was it. Pays small dividends, and has yummy product.

Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) Bought on a hunch just before it split. Steady performer that has treated my well. Plus, I like their ticker symbol- not very logical, I know.



I want to own stock in Chevron, which helped to make my grandparents rich. My grandpa worked for Standard Oil for years and had stocks as a perk. During the years (50's-80's) the stock did very well. I will start slow since it's kinda pricey for me. So there you go. My 25% performers, as of yesterday.

Running with the bulls, and more

The bulls!
The kites and the kids!

This is a picture of mt nephew Jared I took at Ed's birthday and then Photoshopped. I think it looks neat. Had to post it finally before the gets too old.

This week in words: Monday we found a nasty looking SCORPIAN under a sheet of plywood- great wildife lesson for the kids. ("DON'T TOUCH IT!") Tuesday while we were all outside in the evening, 2 BULLS came wondering into our cleared part of the property. This scared the kids even more than the scorpian. After watching us for a few minutes, they continued on their way. Another Wildlife lesson: We live in open range. Watch for bovine. Wednesday we went to church at night and the kids (not our kids, the teens at church) played dodgeball. If I wasn't pregnant, I would've played, it looks like fun! I also cleaned out my car, which took FOREVER! Today I am scanning OLD pictures and photoshopping them as best as I can (does anyone know how to remove stains from a picture? I've tried a few things, but I just think there is an easy button for that that I don't know about.) and I am still in process of cleaning out clothes. We don't have a lot of room (think one dresser drawer per kid, and two for me because my clothes are bigger.) We have learned to not have too many clothes... and now that the seasons are changing, we need to pack up summer and get ready for winter. Totally random post, eh?

A joke for Jimi

This post is for our friend Jimi. Kacy and Will wanted to pass along their favorite knock-knock joke. Ready?

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Cow says.
Cow says who?
Cows don't say who, cow says MOOOO!

We are thinking about you!

Updated at last

By popular demand- an update to the ol' blog. The problem is, I am tired. I would love to post more, but I just don't seem to make the time. I nap instead. I don't sew anymore right now either. Ed is at a BAD age for touching everything, and the heat is awful. I cannot iron without turning off the AC and that is just unacceptable right now. Plus, I love my naps.

On the positive side, I have some pictures of the kids to post soon to appease the family. I have some fun facts about them, too. Kacy's new words for the last week are retirement, transportation, and now oxidation. Will loves to have "Little bunny Foo foo" sung to him, and tried a spinach leaf today. He spit it out, but he still tried it. Ed tries to sing his ABC's, he has the tune right, and I can hear the letters abcd, hij. All the rest sounds the same.

Update on the adults in the family: Ryan has been very busy doing everything he's supposed to be doing. Stuff keeps getting in the way of more progress on the house: Example- Saturday he worked extra late (read: by the time he gets home it's dark outside...) because a drunk guy lost a wheel in the canyon, kept driving causing lots of sparks, and caught the canyon on fire. NICE!
My update: I'm still pregnant, I think I'm 15 weeks along (what day is it???) and my normal pants are getting tight. I am thinking it's about time for maternity pants, or at least this cool new band thing they have so you just unbutton your pants and wear it over... should get those for Thanksgiving dinner gifts for the family. The way my belly is growing is weird, but being pregnant can be weird, too. That's just me. Oh- and today I had a really simple spinach salad for lunch, followed by countless double stuffed peanut butter oreos. Don't be jealous.