COLD

so tiny

It has been really cold here for the past couple of days.  Cold enough to snow for a few minutes yesterday, although nothing stuck.  I should be embarrassed to admit that I pranced around the house almost the entire time it snowed, singing, "It's Snowing!" like I was five years old again.  But I'm not.  I'm also not embarrassed to admit that I ran outside for a minute to try to take a picture of the snow and then bragged when I came inside because I got snowflakes on me and Ryan had to stay inside with Laci.  Sadly, the pictures didn't turn out.  You can't even see the snowflakes.  I hope it snows again and sticks just a little, then I will get good pictures. 

Did I mention it is really cold today?  Cold enough that our pipes by the well are frozen this morning and as of now, I still do not have running water in my house.  I'm OK with that...for now...I would like to be able to flush the toilet sometime today.  I learned that you shouldn't ask your husband why the pipes aren't wrapped when I know they were wrapped last winter.  He will respond with a scowl.  Plus, he's the one who has to stand out there in the freezing weather trying to thaw them out, so I guess he is receiving his punishment.

Did I mention how cold it has been?  Cold enough that our pond froze a little and so did the water in the horse troughs.  I should have been there to help my mom break the ice this morning, but I was still tucked into bed snuggling with Laci.  Lucky girl I am.  Why is it that horses like to hurt themselves so often?  Wiley did something to his shoulder and upper leg to cause quite a bit of swelling and pain.  No lacerations this time, just a stiff, swollen shoulder.  Who knows what he did.  I don't think it is major...nothing a little bute can't help.  Maybe we should consider installing video cameras in the barn to capture the millions of ways horses can injure themselves on a daily basis.  Maybe we could send the video into America's Funniest Home Videos.  Maybe we could win a million dollars.  Maybe horses are just dumb. 

Did I mention it has been too cold to go outside with Laci?  I miss our outside walks everyday.  The light parade is this weekend.  I have always wanted to go, but never have because it is always freezing cold and I really don't like being cold.  I can see this year will be no different.

some days just aren't smiley days

Did I mention how cold it is outside?  Yep, I think I did.

Winter Weather

Gray skies and chilly outside.

Sunny and warm inside.

My "I Did" List

I am a list writer.  I'm not as bad as my mom or my sister who have devoted entire notebooks to various lists, but I do like a list when needed - like for grocery shopping or running errands.  The worst list of all is the "To Do" list.  I always seems to make these lists too big.  I start listing the things I need "to do" and I just can't stop.  I add more things to the list faster than I can check them off.  I feel like the more things I try to cross off the "to do" list, the less I get done.  I hate not being able to cross everything off the list.  You'd think I would just write a smaller list, but for some reason, I just can't.  This is why I came up with the "I Did" list.

The "I Did" list is just that - a list of what I did during the day.  I only write down the things I actually accomplished, and just to make myself feel better I even include some of the trivial things like brushing my teeth.  The interesting thing I've found about the "I Did" list is that it actually motivates me to do more.  Once I get going, I start looking around to see what I can do to add to the list.  Of course, I might not get everything done that needs to be done, and I might end up doing something that I hadn't planned on, but at least I get to write it down and feel like I've accomplished something for the day.  At the end of the day, when I'm exhausted and wondering why, I can just look at the list and see.  The "I  Did" list is ideal for days when you feel like a hamster running in a wheel.  Today I needed an "I Did" list.

Tuesday, December 1st - Today I...

...put on makeup

...took Ryan to town to pick up his truck

...paid bills

...balanced the checkbook

...gave Laci a bath after her 2nd blowout of the day (first blowout 7 am, second blowout 11am)

...took cute pictures of Laci

...went for a walk around our field

...washed dishes

...washed laundry

...made lemon bars (yum!)

...bookkeeping work (getting ready for the year end)

...made dinner (chicken, rice & broccoli)

...washed dishes again

...gave Laci her 2nd bath of the day

Now it is almost 8 pm, Laci is sleeping, I'm posting really cute pictures, and I'm ready for bed. 

Not bad for a day's work.

Thanksgiving Update

Thanksgiving has become the biggest holiday for my family.  It seems like this is the only time of year we can all take time off and get together.  The celebration started on Wednesday for me this year, when my mom and I worked on some sewing projects and then made four pumpkin pies.  They all turned out great - projects and pies.  Thursday was filled with loud family, too much food, and lots of laughs.  Friday was more family, more food, and more laughing.  The rain put a damper on some of our plans, but we had a good time stoking the fire in the wood stove until we had to open the windows and doors just to stay awake.  That heat will suck the life out of you.  Saturday was more family, more food, and more laughing again.  As if we hadn't had enough food already, we consumed an entire ham dinner with all the fixin's.  I spent Sunday at home, recovering from overeating and giving my ears a break from all the chaos.  Entertainment this year ranged from a serious Wii addiction to several rounds of Mad Gab.  The wind on Saturday inspired B to construct a homemade kite, which crashed and broke pretty quickly.  My dad built another one which flew to the end of the 200+ foot string. 

The main event of the weekend wasn't the turkey or the pie, of course it was Laci. 
No surprise there. 

It was so nice to have so many helping hands.  I had to prevent more than one fight over who was going to hold her.  I think she had a hard time adjusting to all the chaos, but she was a champ and did pretty well.  She had better get used to this family sooner or later because we aren't going anywhere, and we certainly aren't going to get any less loud.  She has a special fondness for Cousin B and Cousin Ryan.  She thinks B is probably the funniest thing she's ever seen and proved so by laughing her head off until she got the hiccups.

And Cousin Ryan must be special because she "said" his name. Just ask him, he'll tell you.

It was so fun to spend time with Aunty Jenny and all the rest of the family.  It reminded me of when we were kids and would spend the entire Thanksgiving week with cousins.  I hope Laci has those same special memories when she gets older. 
Here are some highlights I am going to remember:

Vocabulary Vomit

"What time is dinner?"

"We're leaving early, like five a.m."

Naked baby butts - both of them on one baby.

The lame part of the weekend is that even though I took almost 200 pictures, I didn't get even a single one of our new little family.  Too busy talking and eating I suppose. 
Anyhow, it was another great Thanksgiving holiday and
I'm already looking forward to doing it again next year.

It's Not All Sunshine and Roses: The Truth Behind the Blog

I love my life, but it is far from perfect.  I would never want it to be "perfect" even if there was such a thing.  The thing is, if you didn't know me and you read this blog, you might think that I think my life is perfect.  You might think that I never argue with my husband or worry about finances.  Based on this blog, I must spend my days filled with sunshine, playing silly games with the baby, and taking pictures to capture all my bliss.  Wouldn't that be nice?  The truth is, I do argue with my husband, I do worry about money, and I have so many faults I can't keep track.  I spend too much time on Facebook, I'm terrible at keeping in touch with friends, and I'm the worst procrastinator.  I like to focus my stories on those happy times for two reasons.  One, I want to remember them.  When I'm tired and cranky, it is easy for me to forget the simple things that bring me at least a little joy everyday.  Two, I have been trying really hard to be a more positive person - a glass is half full kind of girl.  I have found that the more I focus on the positive, the more things I find to be positive about.  I find it easier to let the little things go...like today, for example.

Today started like any other day.  I began my run in the hamster wheel around 6:45 this morning.  Feed baby, change baby, play with baby, feed baby again, put baby to sleep...lather, rinse, repeat.  I thought I would try to be ambitious today.  Not all days are ambitious.  Some days are meant for being lazy in pajamas all day.  Today was not going to be (another) one of those days.

I start with putting on makeup, mostly so I don't scare the UPS man if we get a package today.  Success!  Laci thinks putting on makeup is very entertaining.  This is when I realize that our bathroom sink is about the most disgusting sink you've ever seen.  I'm talking public restroom disgusting, except maybe worse because Ryan shaved the night before and there are little hairs everywhere.  If I were to drop my toothbrush in the sink at this point, I might consider just getting a new toothbrush.  I get out the cleaning supplies and clean off the counter which is littered with various bottles, potions, and lotions.  Just as I squirt a big glob of cleaner in the bottom of the sink, Laci has decided it must be time for playing, or eating, or her latest thing, which involves playing and eating at the same time (makes for much longer eating times).  After playing, eating, burping, pooping, changing, and more playing, we are ready to attack the bathroom again.  I am in the middle of scrubbing the faucet with a toothbrush (no I don't usually use a toothbrush, but like I said, it was really disgusting), and Laci decides it must be time for sleep.  I finish cleaning anyway so that by the time I have dried off the counter and returned all the bathroom paraphernalia to its proper location, I have a screaming mad baby who just doesn't understand why I didn't pick her up immediately.  Once I pick her up, she promptly falls asleep and takes an hour long nap...as if she was the one who needed a nap.

After all this ambitious cleaning, I decide I have accomplished enough for one day.  I take pride in my little successes because only a couple of months ago, I was convinced I would never be able to set the baby down long enough to clean anything again, EVER.  I plan to spend the rest of my brief baby-free moments browsing the Internet for items I don't need but really want.  That is, until, I open our cupboard.  Ryan has decided to store the butter dish in the cabinet on top of the plates.  At first I thought,"What a great idea."  We have a problem with the cats licking the butter when we leave it on the counter, and I have a problem with cold hard butter from the fridge...it just doesn't spread.  Apparently, the mice thought it was a great idea too because there are fecal remnants of our mice friends all over the cabinet, plates, and bowls.  I am totally grossed out and drag Ryan into the kitchen with me to examine the cupboard.  Yes, he confirms, mouse poop.  When we first moved here we put out all kinds of mouse traps, caught a couple, and haven't had a problem since.  Plus, with three cats around here, why worry about mice?  I don't know what it is about mouse poop that is so disgusting.  I mean, other than the fact that it is poop, it really isn't that bad.  It is small, firm, and doesn't really smell.  I deal with grosser things numerous times a day in Laci's diapers.  BUT, the fact is, mouse poop is grosser than anything Laci could ever produce and now my cabinet is covered in it.  What do I do?  I start pulling everything out of the cupboard.  I mean EVERYTHING.  Plates, bowls, mugs, more plates, even the shelf lining.  I throw away the shelf lining and do my best to disinfect the particle board shelves.  I recut some lining for the shelves and spent the next 45 minutes washing every dish that I pulled out of the cabinet, contaminated or not.  In my mind, it was all contaminated.  Never have I wanted a dishwasher so badly.

The point of me telling this long-winded story was not to bore you, although I may have successfully bored you to death.  If you are still alive and with me, the point is to let you know that I deal with crap in my life everyday - both figuratively and literally.  I struggle with being content with my life and sometimes I have to strain to see the silver lining.  Don't let the sunshine-y facade of my blog blind you - I am a real person with real problems.  I just happen to have some good things going on, and I don't mind sharing them.