Playing in the leaves

MIsc. pictures

"bare-back" riding
My first attempt at canning, I processed 10 jars of homemade applesauce, not only does it taste good, but I'm kinda proud of myself.

Super happy smiling baby....

Me and the boys

Rosy cheeks!

Not too sick to be cute!

Happy 4th Birthday Bubba!

How do you explain to a 4 year old who has been counting down the days ALL MONTH, that he can't have anybody over for a birthday party right now, because we're sick. He was very confused and concerned all day about when he would see his friends, and family (ok, and get presents) for a "party for my birthday, cuz I'm 4 now". We did our best to have a small celebration, he loves to picnic in the living room for special treats, so that's what he wanted to do. Then we let him have his presents early (well, not really, but they were supposed to wait for the party) and I did my best to make a cake. It's no where near the craftsmanship of Kendall's, but considering it was my first time.....who am I kidding, it was super easy and I still botched it up. But overall, I think he understood that his day will come, he just has to cross a few more off on the calendar.

What does the H1N1 look like?

Jake's nap was interrupted by a coughing spell that was so rough he started vomiting for the next 45 minutes.

Ryan's my nap protester, almost always has been. He was asleep after just a few minutes, and I had to wake him up 2 1/2 hours later.

Jazmin took a 6 hour nap, then I woke her to eat supper cuz she slept thru lunch. She went to bed less than 3 hours later and was out cold in less than 5 minutes.

You would think with all this napping going on we would be a well rested household, but it's amazing how absolutely worn out the kids are, as are Joel and I.

Jake's first trip to the dentist...he rocked!

Learning to can

I'm trying to teach myself how to "can' things. I want to be able to preserve our applesauce for more than a few days, can fruit so that we can have "fresher" stock during the winter, and also just to have one more domestication skill under my belt to pass on to my kids. One of Jazmin's nurses gave me all her old jars and seals, which was a huge step in the right direction. I spent the majority of this evening sealing them off with saran wrap after they got sanitized by the dishwasher (a little trick my mother in law does). I can't wait to fill them all up with peaches, pears, beans, tomato soup, applesauce, etc! Hopefully next year I'll have a more "plentiful garden" and will have more of my own produce to use throughout the following year.

Also,I'm admitting that I'm a bad mom, I gave my 5 1/2 mo old a sucker to play with and chew on while I was finishing up sealing off the jars. She loved it, I hated that she had it, but knew the task at hand wouldn't get completed if I didn't do it. Sometimes, you just have to compromise.