Do you know where your children are?

Ok-- nap time for Natalie--episode# 2 or is it 3 or4. Everyday naps are an adventure at our house. I put Natalie down for her nap, everything was quiet... several hours later, I went to wake her up. She was nowhere to be found. I looked in the closet, the bathroom, then found her here.


I had a tote full of fall/ winter clothes in the room that I hadn't had a chance to go through yet. So... I guess she decided she would go through them and then thought "hey , this would be a good place for a nap" or maybe "I'm so tired" and just fell in. Either way, it was quite funny. I suppose it was soft and comfy.

play-dough

Ok.--last week it rained for days. Stuck inside, dreaming (nightmares) of the winter days to come, what is there to do. The last thing I want them to do is play- dough,but eventually they go there. I bought it for them so they should play with it--right?? I bought it in a weak moment of thinking, "oh, it will be fun, I'm going to be a good mom and buy them a 24 pack of play-dough. I try to be a good mom, laid back, unconcerned with the mess forming around the table, spreading to the floor, onto clothes and bottoms of feet that then get tracked onto the carpet... I try, I really do and then I snap. It drives me crazy. I feel like Kate from TLC's Jon and Kate plus 8--freaking out about the mess. But I do, I sit down and start picking it up, while constantly saying, "be careful, don't get it on the floor, is it on your feet?,..." until I just say, ok- we are DONE with the play dough!!!
Who invented that stuff anyway? Is there any mom out there that REALLY likes it?

chicken coop

The other day Lauren told Dan "I want my own chicken coop to sleep in". Dan did build the chicken coop with the idea that if the chickens didn't make it or we just weren't "chicken people:)", we could use it as a play house for the kids. Looks like Dan might have to build another one!

More nap time fun

I am at a loss for what to do with little Natalie! She continues to get into things during nap time. I put her to bed, it's quiet and I assume she went to sleep nicely. Well... boy am I wrong. This last incident has been one of many. I came in to wake her up and she is there in my bed, sleeping so peacefully. But I notice that the room smells soooo good. I investigate and find that she had gotten into the kids shampoo. We had gotten a big 4 pack from Sam's Club and she had gotten two of them from the bathroom and dumped them all on the carpet!!! Yes, it smelled wonderfully fresh and fruity in my room, but will all the soap ever come out?? AAAUUUGHH!!!

1st day of Preschool

Well- Lauren had her first day of preschool! She is going to Pioneers Park Preschool. It is the perfect fit for her we think. The preschool uses nature and animals in their teaching of letters, numbers, etc. And they go on nature hikes daily and get to see the elk, buffalo, deer, owls, hawks, turtles, snakes and of course the endless supply of bugs and butterflies. She is my little animal, nature lover and it is so fun for her. She is going two afternoons/ week and it is going well. The only problem is Natalie. Everyday that I drop Lauren off for preschool, Natalie wants to stay also. I always end up having to carry her back to the car kicking and screaming. By the time I strap her in her car seat she is sobbing "Lauren, Lauren!!". It is pretty sad. She sooo wants to stay at preschool with her big sis. I hope that doesn't continue ALL YEAR LONG!

mmm...flies

The other day we hauled the bikes into the trailer and headed over to Pioneer's Park. Since living out in the country, riding our bikes as a family has been a little bit more difficult. The dirt roads just don't work great for a family outing, so we packed up and drove to the park. They have trails all over and the kids love it. David and Kaylee ride and we put Natalie and Lauren into the bike trailer, so it works great. As we were riding along, Lauren says "A fly just flew in my mouth!". I said, "Oh yummy was it good?" After a brief pause she says sincerely, "Are flies good to eat?". I said, I don't know I've never eaten one. Her response, "well I just swallowed it!":)
Flies are good for a little protein, right?

Nap time fun

Well, it is a dark, rainy day, the girls are watching Dora, so I thought I would try to catch up on some goings on around here. Which is why this is my 3rd post for today:)

Saturday was Nebraska's first game of the year. So we had friends over, dressed the kids in red and were ready and excited for the game. However, before the excitement began, little Natalie needed a nap. So I put her in our bed, where she usually naps. (the girls room has too many toys and distractions for nap time) She went down easily (or so I thought). When I went in to get her up, this is what I found. She found my make up and I guess thought it would look nice as lipstick or maybe she is going for the goth look already. Needless to say it was everywhere and quite fun to get off!

Nebraska State Fair

Kaylee 's teacher had talked about the fair, so she came home from school and REALLY wanted to go. So we decided to try and make it. We had a really good evening. We saw animals, including some tiny baby goats, newborn pigs and cows and even a baby zebra and kangaroo. One thing the kids loved was watching the chicks hatching. We could watch as they pecked and pecked and finally popped their heads out. Maybe that is why they were so intrigued with the egg from our chickens. They were hoping for a baby chick:) Actually, when I think about it, we could have baby chicks... we do have a rooster! And I have seen him gettin' busy with the ladies. I had never seen that before--wow!! I guess I'm becoming a farm girl after all??? Anyway, back to the fair...
We also got to see some entertainment-- the high diving act , the pig races and the dock dogs. They were all fun to watch. And of course we had to have some fair food, although the cost of the food, helped us keep it to a minimum!! We ended the night with some fair rides. We had a good night. However, on our way out , the kids were almost trampled by a heifer! They were standing and watching them get a cow ready to be shown and I guess got too close and the cow went crazy-- scared us all to death!!! An exciting end to the night.

Finally, an egg!

An egg, an egg, we finally got an egg!!! That was the cheer from the kids. They were so excited. Natalie and Lauren must have thought it was a very special egg, b/c they wanted to carry it around like a baby. And of course were fighting over whose turn it was to carry it. I finally was able to take it away and talk them both in to putting it in the fridge where it belonged. Well at some point, Natalie snuck into the refrigerator and got the egg. Next thing I hear is--"uh oh"-- she had dropped the egg! Finally our first egg and we can't even eat it. Oh well, hopefully we'll have lots more to come.