The who, what, where of the Waa's

A little Valentines.

2012-02-15T18:23:00.001-06:00

Some people looove Valentines Day, other's don't get to up and up about it. Well around here, I think it's just another holiday to spend money on, right? And I guess I fell into the trap a little, but not really. Anyway, I'll write a little about our Valentine celebrations.

Last week, CW and I took the time to make Valentine cards for family and friends. I really enjoy creating cards and stamping but I really like it if I have a reason for it, such as Valentines. Along with the cards I was able to get a few packages together for friends that I have been meaning to send items too. Simple items but I know they'll enjoy! :) (this is where I fall into the trap of spending $$) Plus, we made her and EW boxes for the Valentines party for Saturday.

On to the weekend, Saturday the 11th and girls and I went to a very busy, exciting, and fun Valentines party! We decorated homemade heart shaped cookies, cut out over size mustache and lip's from foam to be placed on a sucker (super cute), passed out valentines and got to check out their toys. I as the mom got to visit with other moms and dads, yes there were a few, drink coffee and observe the many, many children and try to have a conversation among the roar of the kids. My CW, well she was in the corner after the real rowdiness happened and read books. My EW, she observed and then started in on the toys.

Tuesday at bible study, they celebrated Valentines since it's was Valentines day! They also made a trip to the gym for a few fun games! We made sure we had her tennis shoes this week, her cowboy boots just don't made the cut. The girls and I were able to go to lunch with a great friend Gail. It was delicious, the girls sat very well and actually ate well too. I will have to say, one of the best lunch outing we've had in a long time. :) Valentines dinner wasn't anything spectacular, just a good dish of spaghetti w/ brussels sprouts. I know, the combo isn't what you were expecting but we just needed something different for a veggie option.
Wednesday the girls go to a girlfriends house while I run around town accomplishing errands or meetings or appointments. They were able to enjoy another Valentines party, yes another one, but I promise the last one. They made Valentines for friends and special ones for their mom and dad. They are so cute, hearts cut from paper with their hand prints. CW said they played a game including hearts and of course lots of play time with the other 6 kids available.
The girls were lucky and received Valentines in the mail from their G'mas and Great G'mas too. Jim and I, well it was just a good old fashion kiss and hug. No money needed!

I hope you are having a wonderful Valentines week!

Until Next Time
Lexie ><>

Happy, Loveable, and she's four!

2012-01-30T22:18:00.000-06:00

I have done it, I have managed to blog about every person in my house hold by the end of the month and plus some. Yay!

Next up, CW. Our lovable 4 year old with lots to give and receive.

Claire out riding her trike and bike, Jan. 9th, roughly 50 degrees and feels like spring.

CW with her butterfly and flower pieces. Each piece has 8 or so places to connect and one can build random shapes and such. CW loves to match all the same colored butterflies to one flower.

CW with EW and the oatmeal sensory bin. CW played for a good hour scooping and dumping and using the farm animals we have. It was so refreshing to know I provided something that creates imaginary play and it's exciting for her.

The trip home New Years weekend, this barbie car CW got from Christmas from her G. Gma. Kay. Decided she enjoyed it such, she couldn't put it down to rest.

We went to the cities for a small road trip and Claire was able to visit the new nephew, baby O and she was able to meet and to play with my cousins children, O and E. She had a wonderful time playing with all their fun toys and 'camping' out in the living room. :)

The latest fun for CW has been her dad's new iphone. He was recording her singing songs and it was so fun for her. Then he started video recording and she was quite confused because she couldn't hear herself sing. She wanted to sing along, we have a few funny video's of her starting and stopping. She presented us with wheels on the bus and twinkle, twinkle, deep and wide and head, shoulders, knees and toes.

Such a fun girl we have and we love watching her grow.

Until Next Time,
Lexie ><>

Our 18 mo. old!

2012-01-28T22:02:00.000-06:00

Our Eleanore is now 18 months. Where does the time go? She is busy climbing, eating very independently, starting to put cloths on all by herself and she loves shoes! When you can't find the girl, look in among the shoes, you'll find her. She likes her tea set, pushing cars or sending then down a card board tub (a heavy duty cardboard tub from a roll of upholstery.). She very much enjoys outside even if it's to cold. I found out this week that she does not like falling over. She gets stuck and can't get up on her own. I think it's a feeling of being stuck that she does not like. She gets a kick out of the chickens, dog and our cat. She is very high on the motor skills but speech is minimal. Her words: ouch, whoa, wow, mama, daddy, please (in the form of 'wee,wee,wee' and using the sign language sign), more, all done have signs too. Tickle is in there vaguely and so is eew or icky. We think she says aqua for water even though I don't use it to often and either does she. But my thought was, If aqua was easier to say, then I'd start her out on that.

She is sleeping at night quite well and is out of her crib. We spent a week battling her climbing out multiple times a night and gave in. She stays in bed pretty well too, but i do believe that nap time is a bit shorter since she slightly wakes up and then gets up vs. in a crib she'd wake up and then realize she was stuck and fall back to sleep. Since moving her from her crib, her longest nap has been 2.25 hr compared to a good 3. But I am thankful that she is napping and we can have a little down time.

The sensory oatmeal bin we created! Eleanore loved playing with it and needed to try with her feet too.

Jan. 9th, we were out riding bikes. Roughly 50 degrees with a little wind.

Obviously done with taking a bath... enough said. (New Years weekend)

Eleanore styling her babies hair.

EW in her picnic basket, she enjoys getting in and out of containers.

EW must of thought something was funny. Here she is with baby O, Jim's nephew and the momma auntie C.

Until Next Time

- Lexie ><>

A mid winter trip.

2012-01-24T15:40:00.000-06:00

We just got back from a mini winter trip to the Twin Cities and it was delightful. 2.5 days packed with lots of visiting and we still managed to catch up on sleep. :) It truly was delightful!

We were able to visit Jim's brother and SIL and see the new baby. He is a very sweet baby boy. The girls enjoyed visiting him too. We got to see their house too. Very nice.

Saturday evening, we had a wonderful dinner with Lexie's aunt and uncle, g'ma and her friend. We were able to celebrated two birthdays. :) One turned 29 and the other 60. You can guess who's 60 right?

Sunday we managed to get to church, shop, esp. for material (Oh, Happy Day) and the evening we shared a meal with a cousin of Lexie and her family. We got to see their bea.u.ti.ful house. It's larger then I ever want but it is just so spacious, a great view including a pond, room for the kids to grow, and so many fun little perks. It sure makes me want a bigger house, completely finished and everything I really would like (extra rooms, my own sewing space, exercise room, walk out, LOTS of light (meaning many windows), and the girls very own play nook), but then I come back to realty and see how our house is wonderful, it works great for us, and we have such a small amount to pay off, it would be ridiculous for use to move.

Monday, we slept in as much as we could and made our way to S.R. Harris, a fabric outlet. I was really looking for leather for my booties but I did walk out of there with some amazing flannel and cotton. After our excursion at the fabric store and our girls behaved just amazingly, we headed out of the cities. We stopped at Lexie's aunts and uncle to get some fabulous home made soap and go to our destination: home by 6pm.

I'd throw in some pictures but non to be had. Here's to a good week of getting back to a schedule and some serious sewing done!

Until Next Time

- Lexie ><>

Fun with the Marble tower.

2012-01-20T15:42:00.000-06:00

Jim got a marble tower for Christmas, one we can build over and over and always be different.

The girls mainly place marbles and watch them roll down but they have an input to where to place the 'whirl circle' (lg blue and yellow circles) or the 'spinners' (one is orange, green ad pink) and all the other parts.

It's a simple, whole family activity that we are enjoying.

The towers can get tall too, EW is little taller then 30". :)

Until Next Time,
Lexie ><>

It's my birthday !!

2012-01-17T00:15:00.000-06:00

Or should I say my birthday week, so I decided to write a bit about me, which won't be difficult. I always have something I can spit out, regardless if it's interesting or not. Here we go!

The 15th, my birthday was wonderful. We attended church in the am and I was a greeter, then we came home for pizza. Home made and delicious! I got EW down for a nap and was out the door! Well, not quite. I did take a cat nap in between EW napping and leaving to go shopping. :) A girl needs to be rested up for a little shopping, right? Anyway, on my way to town, my girlfriend Kat called me and asked if I could stop over later that night to look at a window and decided what we could do about curtains. I said sure. (remember this for later)
While I was out, I was able to hit up a thrift store, a few shoe stores, find my girls white long sleeve shirts for pictures, the fabric store for goodies, found myself a new pair of winter boots (Waa-Hoo!) and after all that, I went to church for the semi-annual women's event. The evening was wonderful; fellowship, God stories from fellow women at church and worship to our Heavenly Father! Completely wonderful! Then I made my way to Kat's, you know, to check out that window for curtain ideas. Oh, no! That was just a scheme between her and my husband and a few other friends for a SURPRISE party. And yes, I was surprised, completely. I even walked into the house and saw a 'birthday cake' with a spread on the counter and decorations and still didn't tie it all in. Note: It was Kat's birthday two days before mine and I assumed it was just her decorations. :) I went upstairs to check out the room and what do you know, a large awesome group of people were there! Oh what fun it was! My girls had fun yelling surprise and blowing party ca-zoo's along with everyone else!

Today is Monday and it has been one of the best Monday's I have had a in a long time, it feels great!

What else have I been up to, you guessed it. Sewing, hanging out with my girls and those domestic duties that I signed up for.

Booties for little ones.

Boots for Me.

The awesome cutting mat with a small rotary cutter from Jim for Christmas!

Small clutch.

Western Dress-up for niece G.

One of two poncho's for my girls.

Burlap wreath for the Christmas season. I cut 4" squares, folded and pinned to a styrofoam circle.

The girls and I are busy with Christmas toys, playing outside with 50 degree weather until recently, creating sensory boxes, laundry, cooking, cookie baking and much more.

Until next time,

Lexie ><>

Welcome 2012 !

2012-01-07T22:55:00.000-06:00

It's been a while... and I go back and forth deciding 'should keep up this blog or not?' I do think it's neat, the fact I can print off all the blog post from each year. I do know some people actually read my type and maybe this is the year to be a bit more proactive on writing what we all are doing and make is s.i.m.p.l.e.

Short, fun post of our life in a little town in N.Dakota.

Here's to a fresh new month, four writings a month and a 'spot light' on each family member!

Here we go,

Lexie ><>

A guitar in the making !

2012-01-07T22:52:00.004-06:00

Jim has been humming and haaing about making a guitar. Well, he finally took the plunge and got started. Here are some beginning pictures to see how it's taking shape.

rim set assembly (Rosewood)

sound hole purfling

Spruce top

cloth pins are holding the kerfing

wood parts for top and bridge bracing (they make the top stronger)

So far, this project is working out nicely, a little work here and a little work there.

We'll keep you posted so you can see how it's 'coming a long'.

Until next time,

Lexie ><> (and Jim too.)

Sewing for Africa

2011-11-27T20:29:00.001-06:00

I asked.
Was given permission.
I'm giving my best.
I'm sewing items to sell at Eco Chic Boutique in Fargo, ND.
30% of my profit will go to support orphan care in Kenya! Why?
Because this is what I can do from where I am at.
Because my friend Lindsay and her family is there and this is what I can do to help her ministry.

This is my new adventure, involving what I love, Sewing and paying it forward.

Eco Chic Boutique, a green boutique in Fargo ND. Their focus is on Baby, Mom & Home. With a dash of Pet stuff thrown in there for good measure is where I am selling my goods. They aim to buy safer, healthier and locally made products. I tried selling my recycled feed bags when they first opened but were not that great of a hit. Since then I slowly have gotten to know the owner, Ms. Maria and it's been one fun journey! I asked about making some 'wet bags' for the cloth diaper department and now I am on to making booties and multi-purpose bags/purses (only a few though). I plan on making a few smaller bags for make-up or the random items in a diaper bag or the miscellaneous small toys floating around. It's is all exciting and all the same nothing major but it's something I am enjoying. Maria wants this to be fun as well, not a chore or I do because I feel I have to. It's is all consignment, so it makes me think a little more about 'what is really going to sell' and it's done at my own pace. Even though at times I feel, if there isn't any available, I'm not able to help Eco make a sale'. Goofy I know. I do not know what the future holds or what I'll be creating but I do hope this continues to be a fun adventure that fills me up instead of draining me.

Once I decided that making the wet bags and booties were selling well, I decided that I would send some of my profit to my friend who helps with orphan care in Kitale Kenya. It's what I can do from where I am at.

How is this all happening? Most of what I do is during nap time or late evenings. It helps that the husband is working on a project that requires time spent doing his thing and I don't feel so guilty for sewing up a storm. We have made more time to go on dates too, this part I love. :)

Next time, I'll have some pictures to show of my goods and give an update of how this is all turning out.

Until Next Time,
Lexie ><>

Oh the faces she can make!

2011-11-18T15:18:00.001-06:00

A few pictures of my Eleanore!

Her daddy Jim loves this 'angry bird' face she makes, we both think it's a little comical.

Painting, of course it was all over.

And there it is again, my beauty. (:

Until Next time,

Lexie ><>

A place for all my pretties...

2011-11-18T14:38:00.001-06:00

I have been meaning to make a place to hang my necklaces, bracelets and earrings for some time. I even had all of the supplies but just was not getting around to it. Well friend Melissa at her blog made one and that gave me the extra push to get my done. I am glad it's done, my pretties are now hanging, I know what I have and it actually reminds me to wear them. (:

My supplies:

frame

spray paint

pet screen

material - of your choice

foam board

push pins

some sort of crafting glue

tacks or staple gun.

this is a really odd photo, taken looking down and trying not to get my shadow in the picture, weird.

Here is my finished product, with all the pretties. (:

I painted the frame, sewed the pet screen and material together, glued the material to the foam board, cut the foam board snugly to fit the frame, and stapled the screen to the frame. Then used push pins to hang my necklaces and bracelets; the earring are in the pet screen. (Pet screen: like window screen but it's rubber like and has a bit larger holes.)

The board does not have to be as complicated but I wanted to hang my earrings, that is what the pet screen is for. You wouldn't need to staple the screen to the frame, it's stiff enough to lay flat or it could be tacked down instead.

For a more simpler version, check out Melissa's, it's super cute and when you're sick of the back ground color, you take if off, cut a new piece and Waa-Laa. A new look. (:

Until next time,
Lexie ><>

Life with hearing loss

2011-11-16T22:11:00.001-06:00

Hearing loss, part of life for me.

I have always needed a hearing aid for my right ear, never really wore one until recently. In December of 2008 I had a continuous ring/static noise with varied noise levels of my left ear (the good one!) start. When I couldn't hear the pastor at church talk with the aid of a microphone, I decided it was time to figure out what was happening. And I also was declining to attend group events or chose not to participate in group events due to the effort it took to listen. After a few 'lets try this' approaches, an ENT doctor in Fargo decided to have a CAT scan of my head. The scan looked as if nothing wrong but Dr. P asked another ENT doctor at the University of Minnesota to check it out and there the ball really started to roll. I am very thankful to get into Dr. L since he is not taking patient, how blessed I am. March of 2011 I visited the U to see if Dr. L could tell me what's going on. And he did, I have a genetic bone disease called Otosclerosis, this happens to most women of childbearing age and it's calcification of the middle ear. One only really knows if they have Otosclerosis for sure is by surgery but the CAT scan can show too. At the University, they have the technology to change the colors of the CAT scan, in which Dr. L did and it showed white around my ear bones, new bone growth. Then we discussed options, surgery or no surgery. Well not exactly, there are a few options such as a diet of eating low, low sodium which is almost impossible or trying a hearing aid. I did actually try a hearing aid, but chose not to keep it. Reverse hearing loss is tricky to fix with an aid device. I mulled over this surgery option for about 6 months and decided I was going to have surgery, then it took me one month to actually get to in. This Dr. L is great, an ear surgeon and reminds me of my piano teachers dad. Full of pep and energetic, willing, appreciative, encouraging.

How was surgery, (it happened Oct. 17th)? It went very well, as expected and it took all of 1 hr and 45 minutes. I now have platinum & titanium stapes prosthetic bone. I say, 'to bad that metal isn't on my finger in the form of a ring and a little jewel or two for sparkle' but I can't have everything I want, right? My middle ear was fused together, causing me to loose the ability to hear the low tones. The stapes bone was removed and replaced in order to have it work again, the other two bones of the middle ear were shaved of the new bone growth to have them be more 'normal' as well. The recovery time to wake up from surgery was very long for me. I spent a good deal in stage 1 and stage 2 recovery. If anyone has been under general anesthesia, you know. Husband was great, to sit and wait a long, long time (9:30a - 4:00p) for me and then drive me home. He was my responsible adult for 24 hrs. :) I also had little to no pain, the discomfort I did had left about 8pm that night.

I just had my follow up appointment with Dr. L on the 11th of Nov. and the outside healing is good. I even got to see my ear canal and the surgery cut on camera! I also have a good 6 months to see full recovery, I went in thinking it would be a couple of months. I had to have a skin graph along with the prosthetic and the skin graph has to 'thin'. But I have hope, I can hear Dr. L tuning fork! I don't seem/think I hear much of anything from my left ear, it sure makes life interesting. Thank goodness for my hearing aid in the right ear. I will have a audio gram in 8 weeks and then 6 months to see how I am progressing. I am actually pretty excited to have to happen and see what's up!

So, here's the last few years of life with hearing loss. The first 25 years were simple, hearing loss in the right side and my left ear compensated immensely for the right side. Now, it's a little more complicated.

Until Next time, Lexie ><>

My Music Makers

2011-11-04T23:40:00.000-05:00

Entertainment of the week!

EKW certainly enjoys her daddy playing guitar.

She loves to dance, her daddy loves to play!!

Strumin' away.

CMW rockin' out with her dad.

EKW just getting in on the music making.

That Ukulele is just a little tough to get a hold of.

ABC and 123

2011-10-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

I think I said back yonder that I never post what I am making and maybe it's because most of what I make are 'remakes' of someone else's idea. Well not today, I have made one too many bags out of pet screen material and they are never the same, one thing I love about sewing and designing.

The ABC and 123 tote!

CMW sits with us in church and usually ends up coloring all over our notebook and such.

I have now solved that problem and I guess making another tote was what I needed to do today!

I made this ABC and 123 tote for CMW to be her church tote and it was so fun to make. I tried my best at making a divider and my thought is one side will be for activity pages, stickers, writing utensils and the like; the other for returned/new library books. I chose not to put in pockets or individual dividers because I figured she wouldn't use them, the one divider will be a large enough challenge.

The yellow/orange stripe is a bit of a ruffle and for some reason ruffles can add so much even if it isn't much of one.

This material bundle I couldn't resist when I was at the quilt shop and I usually don't buy expensive material 'just for fun' but these 3 fat quarters had to come home with me. Today was the day I found the reason why I purchased them. :-)

Until Next Time,

Lexie ><>

Big Crunchy Leave Piles!

2011-10-23T19:43:00.000-05:00

Mawga Paula was here visiting for the week while this mama was and still is on the mend from my ear surgery. Of course the last day was the.nicest.day here and we decided to eat it up! Mawga got a little rake happy and made a very large pile of leaves and the girls got in on the fun.

A bad shadow but it's the best I got and you can still see all her happiness!

Big, Crunchy, Leave piles, one thing to enjoy about Fall.

Until Next Time,

Lexie ><>

Be creative, in your own way!

2011-10-22T15:53:00.001-05:00

I hardly write what i have been creating since my thought for this blog to be more about our family and I could easily make many post about what I have been doing. But lately I have been creating gifts and each one has been 'Just So Fun' that I am going to tell about it. :-)

I hardly make baby boy gifts and this basket I made was super fun!

A few of the items I created for it.

baby boy onesie with an applique tie for a future nephew.

robot booties for the same future nephew.

The basket for the future nephew.

burp cloths, wash cloths, tabby/sensory blanket and few more non-crafted items to go along.

A cousin of mine was married and I am into accenting towels and dish cloths, here is one of many.

A simple little apron for the same cousin.

These are Wet Bags (for use with cloth diapers) and were made for Eco Chic a green boutique here in town.

12x12 zipper or drawstring options.

My latest creative journey was making this stand for my recycled feed bag at Sydney's Health Market.

This project wasn't to tricky, it included a piece of plywood for the triangle feet cut with a jig-saw. One railing spindle, spray paint, 5 screw in L-hooks, screws for the feet and a power screwdriver.

I promise this is the last picture. :-)

I made myself this little clutch (teal green stripe) a few weeks back and then I saw this crossword material and Could.Not.Resist getting it for my grams. My grams is in her 70's and does a crossword a day, well almost. If it's to tricky or here's an example 'it's all about the Periodic Table', she didn't even try. She just threw it away without letting it bother her. Amen to that!

And i made hers a bit larger, more the the size of a pencil case in which I'm a little bummed by this but I do think it will be more useful. My clutch is only the size of a check book and just a little tight for my taste in which next time I'll make it an inch bigger.
Bonus: this is my grams birthday gift (and no, she won't read this in time)!!

There you have it, a little look into my sewing world.

And if you say 'wow, she's just so creative', hop on over to this blog 'The Better Mom' and be encouraged by this post. I am sure it will start you wheels turning to find your own creative juices and be encouraged to be Creative in you Own Way!

Until Next Time,
Lexie ><>

Like I promised...

2011-10-13T22:08:00.000-05:00

Another post, Wow! I hope I keep it up!

Last night I watched the documentary Restrepo and what a look on combat life of a Soldier.

It is one to watch and you'll end up with even more respect for our fighting men then before.

And onto this evening, like I promised, a few good pictures of my girls.

Enjoy!

Isn't this cool face painting? For the Mr's company picnic, there was face painting, balloon art & blow-up games. C wanted a 'puppy face' and here it is. She also got a poodle balloon and EKW received a flower.

EKW - 14 mos.

CMW and I planted her some sunflowers outside her window. They were so fun to look at & to pick fresh flower from too, there were so many I never felt bad cutting off a few for the kitchen table!

EKW rocks this horse like no other 15 month old. She is one we need to keep an eye on. Not only does she move this horse across the floor but she likes to do tricks and stand on the saddle while holding on.

Ahhh, craziness!

CMW is now into taking pictures since I take pictures of EKW doing wild and interesting acts. I love this though because before this, she has been camera shy.

All I have to say, the Dad was in charge of this...

Now, it's off to sewing...

A few changes... well one to start with.

2011-10-11T23:26:00.001-05:00

Like usual, it's been a while since my last post... no comment, we've had a few changes around here.

To start and for the major change is the Mr. has been away working, weekly. It is not something we love but it's call 'experience' and 'no one else can do the job right now, so it's up to him' (until they find a replacement!). And the other bummer of it all, it's a good 5.5 hours West. We are now going on week 5 and the girls and I have our routine down pat. Even CMW is now talking on the phone; she thinks it silly and giggles more then she talks but we both enjoy listening to her.

The Lord is Good! And I know this all by hindsight; the one thing I love, looking back and seeing it was what was suppose to happen, even if I was not to sure of it. A friend from church has a small home daycare and originally she wanted it to be similar to 'drop in' childcare for her friends but has turned into full time. Well I asked if she would be interested in watching my girl starting September one morning a week. She agreed, and I agreed as well even though I felt like I was taking advantage of our money by paying another to watch my girls when I can easily do everything I do with them. Then this adventure of the Mr. presented itself after the first week and ever since then I have felt that God was working and it was suppose to be. I am able to have a few hours to myself, get errands and appointments finished and my girls go play with 5 other playmates and have a blast. What's more neat is there are GIRLS to play with. Meaning most of my friends have boys that are the age of my girls age and it's just not as fun and here there are girls. They love it.

We don't know the end to this job situation, I just hope it's over before the severe snow flies. And I am not sure we can endure much more without our daddy and husband. One only realizes what's missing once it's gone and I can see this now.

So, one would think without a spouse I'd have all the time to blog after the girls are in bed. Well, you see I love to sew and that takes over everything else.

Next up, a few great stories + pictures of my girls and a few sewing projects to show off. Oh, and I've been meaning to write about bible study too, so stay tuned!

Wish me luck!

Lexie ><>

Our Kitty Sage.

2011-09-22T09:28:00.000-05:00

Our kitty Sage is a year old.

This picture does not make Sage look like an easy going kitty but CMW can do just about anything with her add she tolerates it all.

Her and our Dog Macy are the best-est of friends after CMW. Sage even is the instigator of some brawls too so most of the time I don't worry about all the rough housing that is going on between them.

CMW & Sage 9.2011

Sage looks large in this picture but really she is a dainty cat.

And what a great picture of my CMW!

CMW & Sage 11.2010

It's Big, it's Brown and it's Comfy.

2011-09-14T15:59:00.000-05:00

So I found this re-purposed piece of furniture at Eco Chic Boutique here in Fargo and thought it was lovely.

I went to look again and of course it was sold. It's not something I need and as you can see it isn't very functional as a dresser but in person it sure is beautiful.

So the same day, Mr. JAW calls me about some furniture that is an incredible deal and sends me a few pictures.

So here it is, it's Big, it's Brown large corduroy microfiber and it sure is Comfy!

I think we now have a little to much furniture for our living room but I won't complain, I have new furniture! Waa-Hoo!

I can now use my creative juices and move the small items out or just get rid of them!

It makes a world of difference when there isn't a lot 'clutter'.

Now the joke is, 'I asked for a dresser and came home with new living room furniture!'

Celebrating five years!

2011-09-12T16:04:00.005-05:00

It was our five year anniversary this last Friday (9/9/11) and we had a wonderful time. I felt like the day was not going to end but it was certainly fun.

We found ourselves a sitter and the way we went. For lunch and a massage that is. It was great. Then we did some shopping since shopping with out kids is always enjoyable (at least for me.)!

Our evening plans found us at the company picnic celebrating 40 years. So while we had our afternoon to ourselves, I wanted to attend the picnic so we did. Wanzek always does a great job with their annual picnic and last year we missed it. Our girls had a blast with big blow up games, face painting and balloon characters.

Here is CMW with her 'puppy face paint' and her pink puppy balloon and EKW flower balloon.

At this link is one of my favorite wedding pictures. Take a look! :-)

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1033533606210.6763.1461511192&l=ee57e70e6a&type=1

Just thought i'd share how fantastic our day was and make a post for the memory books!

Paul Bunyan Land

2011-09-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

Back in August the girls and I took a trip to visit my parents. I will have to say that it was one crazy trip with to many kid activities.

My mom wanted to take all her grand kids to Paul Bunyan. All find and dandy but when there is only 1 adult and 5 kids, 3 being younger then 4, I thought someone needed to go with. Low and behold, it was not me. Thank goodness. I needed a break, so did EKW.

CMW to this day still does not like the 'big man'. That is Paul Bunyan. She says, 'he is scary'. When you first come into Paul Bunyan Land, your name is taken and Paul is a gigantic statue that welcomes you with this jolly lumberjack voice, stating your name. My mom commented that each time they walked passed him, she hung on to her for dear life. (I would have a picture but my camera taking the pictures did not come back with a Paul picture.)

From the looks of the pictures every one had a great time. CMW went on all the rides possible. Her Mawga P even had to get off the swinging ship do to sudden sickness from riding the 2nd time. Poor Mawga, but she certainly was a good sport about riding rides. And a bonus! This Mawga P. also went on the ferris wheel for CMW, due to a fear of heights she does not like to attempt rides such as these but like I said, she was a good sport.

Here' the troop, my sister the only one not available.

The Mawga P with CMW and cousin J.

I believer this picture is next to big Paul and CMW is covering her ears cause he is loud.

Now that September is here, hopefully i'll be back to posting more.

But I assume, like usual my sewing will take over. :-)

Meet the Pony!

2011-08-21T15:43:00.000-05:00

Back in July, after vacation, we went to visit lexie's parents to celebrate her moms birthday. We also managed to fit in what CMW is been wanting to do but it just never gets done; to ride the pony!

So here she is. Meet Duck! She's the pony at my parents place, owned by the sister and husband.

CMW had a good time and I think once was enough but she would go again if given the chance.

And this is Cousin Z! Isn't the cowboy hat a good touch?!

A few of the kids watching the pony get saddled up.

After all the kids got a ride, my sister rode her for a little bit and boy did she get a ride of her life. I don't even know if she's ever had such an exciting ride before. We now know that pony can buck and rear like no other. My poor sister got the brunt of it too but now we also learned she needs a little more work before any younger person decides to try Duck out on their own.

How about you, have you had an interesting ride that includes a pony?

Vacation Fun !

2011-08-18T13:24:00.007-05:00

We took a family vacation with Jim's family to the North Shore. All 13 of us stayed at one rental house up the shore in the middle of the woods for 6 days.

Jim, myself and the girls did some decent hiking even with the parks being closed,we enjoyed the sunshine, water, our time together and the extended family.

Cousin J and CMW at the zoo. While most of the adults went to see the Glensheen Mansion, the dads took these two to a kid friendly attraction.

EKW walking the shore

We visited Two Harbors and wanted to go see the pier/light house but there was construction and would not allow visitors. So we walked the water and picked rocks, watched the boats get loaded up and visited the train.

We went to Gooseberry and Temperance state parks and forgot our camera, so no photos there. But Jim did swim and participated in cliff jumping, CMW thought it was to chilly to swim. EKW and mom stayed out of the water.

We also spent an afternoon in WI, we went swimming and hiking. Here is one of the water falls. It was a nice park with a decent swimming beach and hike.

And one thing I enjoyed but would never advise anyone else to pay was the train ride from the historic depot/train museum. It took us to north Duluth and back. It was nice to just sit, watch and listen to the speaker but I would rather paid for the trip all the way to Two Harbors and actually get to see more of the lake.

We also hit up the Alpine slide at Spirit Mtn. on our way home. I would say, that's worth the price. CMW went with her mom and dad. The trip down was just as fun as the trip back up.

Among all this fun, we managed to squeeze in time to visit friends and it was So.Worth.It.

Next years vacation: TBA

Friday Fun at the Pool.

2011-07-29T16:16:00.005-05:00

This was a long week, no dad (he was on a work trip), coming back from vacation sick and the weather was a bit to warm to spend a super long time outside, lets not mention those skeeters. So I got the idea, 'we'll go to the pool on Friday!' just to have some fun. I planed to arrive in the AM, and then run errands and get home for afternoon rest time. Wrong. The pools don't open until 1:00pm. I wish they opened sooner since I don't enjoy being out in the hot sun, let along needing to put gobs of sunscreen on. But I rolled with the change of plans and just swapped the schedule and it worked fine. CMW had a great time and so did littler sister. I have not ventured this route this summer since I knew it would be a little tricky watching CMW since she's a fish. And EKW, she likes to be free but you can't let a little one like her wander. She did do great though, we tried out the life jacket some and the the 1ft. pool as well. And thankfully it was not as hot as it has been. Now that we've been, I know i can manage both of them and we'll be planning a few more outings before they close up for the season.

Wish I had a few pictures to share but the camera was not in my possession!

Happy Weekend!

A little apron project !

2011-07-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

I received this apron as a gift from my SIL for Christmas, it was such a simple (a kit), fun project, but I couldn't leave it simple. I had to make it a little more user friendly.

The changes I made:

- it's reversible by using a batik fabric from Indonesia, my girlfriend Krisanne sent me some time ago. I am excited to finally use it and feel its put to good use!

- the neck strap I attached using a D-ring so I don't have to tie it.

- I places the pockets at an angle instead of straight since I always seem to be uncomfortable when my hands are in the pockets of an apron.

And BONUS: what I love about this apron the most is it's super long ties!! It goes around and ties in the front leaving room to slip a towel in between the straps.

Some of you maybe know how you always loose your towel in the kitchen, right? Well this way, it always sticks with me. :-)

CMW trying on my apron & does not like pictures taken of her.

Here's me with the full few and my slanted pockets! :-)

Flowers and the Girls

2011-07-13T20:42:00.010-05:00

A little of this and a little of that...

and mostly pictures for my family and friends who enjoy checking out our family!

EKW in the swing, she certainly does enjoy this activity, especially with her sister.

A white lily I transplanted 2 summers ago and finally came up. I was excited, these flower are just beautiful.

Celebrating Eleanore one more time with our good friends G & L!

These pink lilies (hard to tell here) I have been trying to grow on the north side of my house for 3 years and they have finally bloomed. Boy was I excited when I saw them this week one early morning!

CMW accessorizing EKW, she actually did very well! These girls just have some fun some days. :-)

And last but least, a goofy picture of CMW!

4th of July Fun!

2011-07-07T10:08:00.001-05:00

We headed to the Waa cabin(s) for a little fun in the sun. It's a little complicated but we spent time at the cabin on Lake Sallie and we spent time at the 'work in progress' cabin on Silent Lake as well.

beach fun at lake sallie

We played on the beach, CMW went swimming with her dad and her mom. Eleanore enjoyed the waters edge even though she did venture into the water a little as well. And we had a little fun with fire works, and kid safe ones, like sliders and little snaps you throw on the ground and go 'snap'. Harmless besides the noise. :-)

Eleanore and cousin L @ Lake Sallie.

Climbing on the hearth, never a dull moment with her.

On the 4th we went to Erhard MN to celebrate the 4th with a parade and since the little place we perched at did not have anyone near, we made out on the candy. A little to much and I started to say 'no' half way through to candy givers.

A fun story coming from the parade includes a banana!

A float was giving out banana's and we of course receive one. All of the candy we were gathering we put in the front stroller seat along with the banana, well Eleanore could see there was something good coming from there and went to check it out. CMW did not approve of her interest in candy (either did this mama) in which she grabs the banana and say 'here Eleanore' and sends her off to her dad.

It was just a comical moment and Eleanore gladly accepted.

Eleanore, the banana and her daddy!

And last but not least a trip to Silent lake is never with out working, so Mr. Waa helped his dad out and I got the pleasure of watching the girls. Not so simple in a construction zone, but we made it out with no bumps or bruises. Eleanore did find everything imaginable, climbed on every latter, up unstable steps, step stools, piles of wood, the dust, and much more! CMW was ready to go home and was just content sitting in the swing sorting through the candy stash and waving at her dad has he went up and down on the fork lift putting in windows.

It was a warm, wonderful 4th and as a friend puts it 'this ones for the memory books'!

Birthday Celebration!

2011-07-06T14:50:00.007-05:00

A simple birthday celebration for our 1 year old, Eleanore.

A visit to the zoo, dinner with family and a few small gifts.

Cake! I made an Oatmeal cake with coconut glaze frosting. It was yummy!

And of course I had to make something for her, so I tried my hand at applique. It isn't tricky but it takes time. I spelled 'one' out on the bottom left side of her shirt but it did not come though on any of the pics. Now I know for next time about placement.

This little donkey thought Eleanore had something yummy to share, he was mistaken.

Riding double with sister Claire on the Carousel at the zoo.

Her birthday shirt from g.g'ma Shirley. 'I'm the birthday girl!' Adorned with a 3-d cupcake.

The zoo here in town isn't huge and I am sure she'll enjoy it more when she is older but it was a beautiful day, she enjoyed petting the goats and seeing all the animals, and that carousel ride was a real joy. I could tell with from all her giggles and squeals.

An enjoyable day for our adorable Eleanore and we Thank the Lord for her always.

The eggs will be coming soon.

2011-07-01T07:50:00.003-05:00

We have a new batch of chickens and recently we added some older ones to the flock. We bought 13 for the end of March. And now we have 5 11 mos. chickens producing eggs. Plus, i was asked to take 4 for a friend who had them at the library, a little something extra for the kids to look at I guess. We have a few to many now for our coop but by the end of fall most of them will find new homes and plus they are out free ranging most of the time so it does not matter much.

The Mr. who will be leaving soon, I hope.

The light red/brown little chickens close to the fence are our New Hampshire reds, the black/white are the Barron Rocks and the dark red (there are 2) are the new birds and i did not get the breed name. Our friends went to a bird auction and got them for us.

So there ya have it, our new flock. I can't wait for full time egg pickin' days!

Kitty Sage perched on the fence watching the chickens.

Bake Potato Pizza

2011-06-25T21:53:00.007-05:00

Jim and I made one of the best pizza's we've made in a long time. I thought I'd share our recipe and show off our wonderfully made food.

It's a vegetarian bake potato pizza, sound yummy? Yes, yes in deed it is!

So, try it out, add or take away veggies and enjoy!

Ingredients:

potatoes (i used baby reds, purples and yellow)

green onion

broccoli

red pepper

mushrooms

pizza crust

sour cream

rosemary

thyme

Italian seasoning

garlic

canola oil

1. Roast your potatoes first with the following:

@ 350 degrees for 55 mins.

4 c. of 1/2 cubed potatoes (or adjust to your liking)

4 T. canola oil

1 tsp. salt

4 T. garlic

chopped thyme & rosemary leaves (fresh or dried)

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Mix the potatoes and seasoning, lay out on pan, stirring every 15 minutes.

2.Prepare crust according to package direction or your own hand made crust.

3. Place 1 c. sour cream on crust, then add potatoes, onion, broccoli, red peppers, mushrooms and cheese

3. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes

we are 'that' family...

2011-06-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

I can now say we are 'that' family! We have the cat, dog, two kids and now this sweet mini van. Oh and I almost forgot to mention our 18 chickens. :-)

Here's another project to show off Jim's great handy work and all the hard work he does for his family!

It seats 7 small butts, a 2006 Ford Windstar SEL; tan, leather, 6 CD disc changer, stow-n-go rear bench, 4.2 V6 and it's a beast (this is a good thing) according to Lexie. :-}

According to Jim this was a 'pretty simple fix'. He found this van at a place in SD and couldn't pass it up. He even had a buddy check it out before buying because it seemed 'to good to be true'. The parts he found were some new and some off of other vans at the junk yard. I wouldn't say this was his most exciting part, tramping through the yard in January looking for parts. But he did it. New to this van is: steering connecting rods, new steering pump, front bumper, right fender, right inner fender liner, hood, radiator, A/C condenser, right head light, wiper fluid reservoir, lower radiator core support, after all this was put in or on, we sent it off for it's paint job.

Now it's good as new and it's our driving machine!

The before shot: taken apart & the front corner that needed to be fixed.

And of course, we decided to personalize our plates to Waa-La.

Cheers to JimWaa for a job well done!

Simply Fun

2011-06-23T22:36:00.005-05:00

Running through the sprinkler on a sunny day.

Swinging & under dog pushes

Walking the dog on the leash or rather the dog walking you

Cutting fresh flowers... from the neighbors yard :-]

Watching your favorite show

Reading some good books

Coloring for endless minutes

CMW was a busy girl today and she had fun. Her and little E had some fun with the sprinkler. It helped me remember back in the day when we'd do the same. This time around, she really enjoyed it and we also used the warm water from the back yard hose to warm up! We swung a lot, walked the dog and sometimes Macy walked C. We picked a bunch of flowers for a bouquet, it sure is pretty and CMW colored for I'm sure more then an hour with her markers and just one coloring book. I even got in on coloring of flowers, dresses, purses and more. She enjoys watching Caillou, not sure what it is about that show but i think part of it is all his imagination. It has helped CMW with her, I do know this. And like most days, she found the big brown chair and looked at book after book. Then we get to pick the pile up after she's all done!

Indeed it was a wonderful day!

I Rejoice in the Lord, for our days have not always been this fun or easy going and it's great to know we can have great days like this!

We're curious, what do you find that is Simply Fun?

Girls, jewels and crowns...

2011-06-18T21:05:00.000-05:00

One of the many days with my girls; CMW hauled out her box of fancy dress up items. Mind you this was only the crowns, jewels, and shoes and had a good time dressing up her sister, boy did they have fun!

EKW couldn't resist all the fun in the box and C jumped right in to help her! The crown E is wearing was put on by CMW and the necklace was put on by herself. Yes, E knows what to do with a necklace already and has so for a while. I think it's just 'so darn cute' to see her walking around with a mardi gras necklace on. She'll take it off, shake it, then put it back over her head. She is just practicing one more skill she's developing. And it's so nice when the two of them play so nicely. I enjoy each time they play and it seems it's gets better by age. C actually has a lot of fun making E giggle and E loves when C plays with her. This mama can just tell and I enjoy every minute of it!

E checkin' out a crown!

A big smile!

Look at all their stash!

Our little girl is getting So Big!

2011-06-14T21:15:00.005-05:00

It's almost time for Eleanore's 1st birthday post, so i better get some picture of her from her 1o/11 mos. photo opportunities!

11 mo. bear picture!

Eleanore loves the dog bed... not sure why but it's a place you find her from time to time. And yes, the next picture she is using Macy for a 'seat' and she didn't mind. Hmm, we have a Great dog on our hands!

(5.24.11)

Climbing and Climbing! In drawers, on baskets, chairs, end tables, up slides. You name it, she'll want to try to scale it. She likes to be high and see, i don't blame her.

And we had s mishap, she took a tumble down the stairs and got a big ouchy! It didn't bruise bad but she had a lump for about 24 hrs. Bad parenting of the day!

Miss E has also been walking, since Mothers Day!! She loves to play outside in the sandbox or swing. G'ma J got a pretty neat swing and E, giggles and giggles as she's pushed. She likes the water but not sure about the sprinkler. She likes to drink of of a cup, a big girl cup. When outside, E just tootles around on her two little legs, climbing on anything she can. She likes to sit in the flower bed or pet the kitty or pup. She just gets a kick out of petting them, again she giggles by the touch. If she can, she'll get a piece of CMW's chalk and color.

She continues to be a joy for our family and CMW enjoys her as a sister!

Can we find some worms mom?

2011-05-17T08:46:00.000-05:00

I am reminiscing about Mothers day weekend because last Saturday was the nicest, nicest day we've had since spring arrived. Wait, maybe spring isn't here yet? Our weather here has been in the low 40's, wind, rain, and very overcast. :-{

While we were enjoying the mid 60's weather with sun and a bit of wind. CMW and I were planting a few dahlia and canna lily bulbs. And she found the worms! At each hole we were looking for the 'babies', 'mama's' and 'daddy's'. I am not sure how she knew which were which but she she was so excited about finding each one. CMW would pick them up, check them out, I'd plant the bulb, she'd put them back in the dirt, I'd cover them up and then we'd move on to the next spot. This was all done in her pj's and princess dress and she was roasting! I could tell by her red cheeks.

She asked on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday if we could go and find worms.

We took a break to get some H2O and get CMW some cooler cloths. She also decided she needed to be tickled. One thing she really enjoys!

A new space to play in perhaps?

2011-05-13T20:31:00.011-05:00

CMW: 'Mom, Eleanore is in the hole!'

Me: 'What?'

I couldn't figure out what she was talking about and I didn't know about any holes in their bedroom in which Eleanore would fit in. So, I went to take a look and found this:

E was just coming out of the 'hole'. Claire's bed has storage under it and there happened to be enough room for E to try to wiggle into one of the spaces. To say the least, I believe she was having fun! I couldn't resist taking more pictures of one more thing E figured out how to do. She is really into crawling into, under or through things. Like the kitchen table or chairs, I always find her challenging herself. Or on top of stools, or the fire place hearth or end tables. Her sister Claire takes all the couch cushions off so E can 'climb up' she says and 'play', so we have much more watchful eyes these days.

Venturing into the hole...

What fun these two girls have, E exploring and C being the 'big sister' and maybe they have found a new space to play in.

Makin' Biscuits

2011-05-10T21:35:00.003-05:00

CMW enjoyed helping out with dinner biscuits a few days ago.

I also enjoy when she helps out, even if flour gets everywhere...

It's time together like this with out Miss E that she really cherishes!

cutting out biscuits

and placing them on the baking sheet

Here is the recipe we use, nothing fancy and it's not like biscuits are that healthy anyway... but still we enjoy them every once in a while.

Baking powder biscuits

4c. flour (i use whole wheat organic flour)

2 T. baking powder

2 T. sugar

2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. cold butter

1 1/4 c. milk approx.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then shred the butter into the dry mix. (I cut mine in chunks and then use a pastry cutter to blend in.) Add milk gradually just until the dough pulls away from the bowl.

Knead about 15 times

roll into a 1" thickness

then cut with glass

place on baking sheet

Bake at 425 degrees

Time: 13-15 minutes

Amount: depends on size of glass

Enjoy!

10 months and growing

2011-05-03T17:18:00.006-05:00

(our fun, goofy, sweet Eleanore)

Our lady Eleanore is a quick mover and won't stay still if she was in a straight jacket.

- She crawls faster then some kids walk, I promise! And I bet she'll be walking by 11 months. She already takes single steps and wants to be in on the action, All.the.time!!!

- She is always checking out what Claire is doing...

reading :-)

- Can we say 'Climber'! She is always getting up onto things or into things if possible.

4.3.2011

(This was the 10th time i'm sure I got her off the stool.)

- In the dogs water, splash, splash.

- EKW eats and eats. She eats a whole lot more then CMW, I think E is going to be the beefy of the two!

- Enjoys being outside and doesn't object to the grass. She would much rather be out with big sister then looking out through the glass door.

- Loves the dog and cat... I think she thinks they feel funny and giggles when they come close.

We enjoy the stage EKW is presently in and we love watching her grow into the little lady she's going to be.

We.Are.Blessed.

along came the ducks and the cows...

2011-04-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

Also our Easter weekend was filled with visiting the animals at my parents. My sister has added a few animals to the barn and we get the enjoyment of watching/visiting them. :-) No pictures of the horses or chickens, bummer indeed!

the ducks... just because...

they come up each day to check out

if any grain has been dropped from the horse/cow feed.

the 1st baby calf of Myra, about a year old.

poor thing, has to live the the pony and that pony is not nice!

Myra and baby calf #2.

And one more activity, tree climbing for CMW!

Easter

2011-04-26T20:54:00.007-05:00

Easter, a weekend full of visiting family and friends and most importantly remembering Christ, who died for our sins and we have been set free because of him!

Can I hear an 'Amen'?

We managed to see all the grand & great grand parents on Lexie's side and visit with the cousins. We tried to see the aunts & uncles but with CMW's ear ache (not a fun experience) we passed and headed home.

Lexie also got to see a friends fresh new baby. It was such a joy to see both of them as parents to this baby boy. It helps refresh that children really are blessings and gifts from our Heavenly Father. And I saw Miss SJO from WI, didn't know if she'd be home but I got out my handy dandy phone a sent a text. I'm glad I did, we had a wonderful visit and worked out a little more of our possible summer trip we'll be taking. Oh what fun! Besides this, we had fun on the farm and a little Easter egg hunt to end the weekend. :-)

Eleanore didn't go hunting for eggs, but she sure was curious of those noise makers.

CMW hunting though Mawga's garden!

Checkin' out her eggs, didn't really want a picture taken. In between the pain of her ear ache, she managed to get out and hunt!

The cousins hunting too!

The littlest buy almost blends into the garden, can you find him ? :-)

The Doll house every girl wants ...

2011-04-20T09:43:00.005-05:00

It's it just so cool?

There are even chair cushions, table cloth, bedding and the people can really bend at the knees and sit. :-}

CMW spends a lot of time playing with this little house and actually pretends to play. If it was me as a kid, I would have only practiced setting up each little room over and over in different arrangements. Hence why I rearrange my own living room 4 times a year and all the other rooms of my house!

She gives the people baths and puts them to bed. We talk about each room and what goes in them. She has a great time! And we only try to play when EKW is sleeping since she does not like when Miss E gets in the way, but that little sister just can't resist checking out her stuff.

I'm am sure some of you can relate to this, right?

All the items out to be put in, each day we start like this. Once we are done, we pick up each piece to make sure no little ones are left for EKW!

Thanks Auntie JK & Auntie JW for this great gift!!

The What ?

2011-04-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

What have the Waa's been up to?

The Waa's are always thinking of something, creating, engineering, cleaning, feeding, playing, fixing, sewing, practicing, giggling, planning, helping, sharing and the list goes on.

Let's start with what takes up most of Jim's day: work. His 7-5 work day and Friday's he home by noon. Yea for us!!! Especially CMW because when her dad is home, she is attached to his hip. I'm sure he likes this but some days it's just a little over kill. He continues to play guitar and always drum up something new to engineer / design. In December he found a repairable van to fix. A pretty simple fix, some creative ways to make it happen and it's done. We are waiting for an inspection and then I'll be added to the group of 'mini van drivin' mama'. I'm super okay with this since I want to carry my stroller and groceries at the same time (some the Mitzi does not do very well) and one day hold friends of my children. Jim also has the itch to build again, so he is working on (in his mind) how to build a swing set for our girls. Nope, he can't just find the best deal, buy it and put it together, he is going to engineer one and build it this summer. Or at least this is his hope.

Now for the lady who is 'head of domestic affairs and poultry'. Yes, the new batch of chicks are here. Along with keeping up with the girls and her ear appointments, (they are getting old but need to be done.) Lexie is reading a few good books, decorating at church, teaching piano, sewing capes, aprons, diapers, dresses and of course the feed bags and finishing up her bible study from this winter/spring semester.

Claire who is 3 and is turning into quite the girl, does an awesome job with her little sister. She is working on matching, we match everything, color to color, object to object, it's always turning in her brain. She is also learning to take turns while playing Candy Land. (her mama found it for $1.79 while out thrifting, nice!) Her kitty Sage is still a pretty good friend, even with all those scratches. I think Sage is waiting for her to figure it out, when she snarls or bats at her, to just leave her alone. This has yet to happen.

Eleanore is going on 9 months, oh where does the time go? She is a mover, good at balancing, free standing, pulls up, explorer, and little bit mischievous. And she eats, it seems she can eat and eat and eat. It must be those 4 teeth she has. I run out of ideas of what to feed her, since we make mine our own food which right now isn't that tricky, she is eating non-pureed items. I do need to be careful of allergy foods and lay off from dairy and grains.

And besides the chicks, we have one more furry friend to add to our family. Her name is Macy and she is a Pug/Boston Terrier mix.

So, there ya'll have it, The 'what' of the Waa's. We are here, alive and since we know how to keep ourselves busy, we are practicing laying low and just hanging out as a family.

We are adding to the family!

2011-04-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Macy

the newest member of our family. A Pub/Boston Terrier mix and boy Am. I. excited! We welcome her to our home with lots of love in hopes we can do the same for her as The Erhardts have in the past. You see, this family, our friends, will be moving to Africa in a few short months to start a baby home and I asked if my family could be put on 'the list' of options for Macy. I am a huge fan of receiving an animal that needs a new home vs. an animal that I need to start from the beginning with. I also appreciate the fact that I will know the history of the animal. We tried her out for a weekend, we visited her at her house, I asked countless questions and then we talked and talked and prayed over this decision. And now she is ours which is exciting but I feel for Lindsay and her family as it's a hard decision to make. But they are trying to make one transition at a time and this is one of the many.

So, here we are, 6 days into having Macy as our own. As we make her family, we are learning and loving this new furry friendship. Macy loves to play fetch or frisbee (this is bonus for Jim), she is a little chubby so the lap dog part doesn't goes over well yet. But she really would love to snuggle and be loved on as much as one can give. Macy does pretty well on walks but Lexie thinks she can improve, so we'll be working on this. She is good with the girls, she's snorter, a grunter, she listens very well, and always is excited to see you when you come home. Oh, did i mention her bark is super cute? It's soft but loud enough, kind of like it's muffled. The only down side, she adds to my dust bunnies that run around my house, I guess the vacuum will be getting a bit more use. :-)

Miss Macy is going to be a great addition to our family and we are glad to call her ours!

Coming up to 9 months

2011-04-07T08:40:00.001-05:00

Our Eleanore is already 9 months and she is active.

Standing, crawling, balancing,

eating on her own, exploring, up and down and up and down,

crawling up stairs and loves to explore her sister's toys.

E also gets into water where ever it may be, the water dish is a challenge.

We love our baby girl and littler sister!

The Who ?

2011-04-06T23:53:00.000-05:00

No, I am not talking about the band. But i am talking about us, the Waa's!

Miss Eleanore

3.25.11

Miss Claire

3.29.11

the Mama with baby E.

the Dad (picture taken by CMW)

More to come about the 'what' and 'where' of the Waa's!

Baby E, 7 months!

2011-02-17T21:48:00.000-06:00

An update on Miss E.

And no bear picture for February, but here is January's!

Eleanore had a check up on 2/16 and she is doing wonderful. She is very long at 29.25", almost off the charts for her age. Her weight is 18# 4 oz. which is about the 50% and her head is 50%. And she is reaching all her milestones . Yea!

A few things she is doing.

- reaching for toys and anything that isn't hers.

- crawling a little bit and managing to get to a lot of different places.

- rolling and scooting

- sits up very well and leans forward to lay on her belly gracefully

- then can push up to a sitting position

- we have moved her mattress down since she is pulling herself up, yikes!

- she continues to eat solids, sweet potatoes, squash, pears, apples, carrots, broccoli, spinach and avocado. All is steamed and blended by her mama. It's the best!

- starting to use a sippy cup with a little bit of water at meals

- she is eating some finger foods and has a pretty good pincher grasp coming to form.

- enjoys petting the kitty. She also thinks it's silly when Sage brushes against her, her fur must tickle. She always belly laughs just a bit.

- enjoys bath time

- enjoys Claire and lets Claire know when she does something she does not like.

For example when CMW takes away a toy that she has, Eleanore lets her know. I love this, it just shows how much more learning I get to attempt to teach when it comes to sister love. And it will help with my ability knowing I am a good mom when I calmly let CMW know that 'this is why E is responding like this' because you did this.

- she has two teeth on the bottom

- she is starting to sleep in any position that is comfortable. I love to peek in and see how she is sleeping, she always looks so peaceful.

- And she is a talker and I try to remember to use some baby signs with her.

CMW still uses some signs with us, it's makes my heart laugh and I love that she can make that connection of which sign goes with which word.

Here's a few more pictures of our growing girl. We all love her lots!

(2/11/2011)

(2/9/2011)

(1/27/2011)

Cajun Anyone?

2011-02-16T21:48:00.000-06:00

We have been learning the art of cooking Cajun!

And I'd have to say it is a bit different then our mid western style, it has a lot more flavor, as in spicy, but not always and it's cooking that one has to be more involved in. It's not open a couple of can, stir, throw in the oven and set the timer. Much more fun then this.

For many people, I guess sea food like lobster or crab legs is 'just the bomb'!

Well not for me and I haven't had a good experience, so Jim talked me into trying it again.

And it's Cajun style! So, for dinner we had crab legs, yum! Shrimp, which I can pass on and Clams, which is for sure a 'No'! And since Jeff is considerate, we cooked a tuna steak for my back up and I'd cook that up again too! Our veggies were potatoes, onions and mushrooms.

Here's how we did it, the basic theme, throw it all in and let it boil. But here's how it really happened. In a very large stock pot, throw in a bunch of spices and once the water is boiling, start throwing in the veggies. That's right, the little red netting bag that onions come in, just throw it in and let it cook with the mushrooms. Then the potatoes, shrimp, clams and crab legs on top to steam them. Now that is what I mean when it comes to 'one pot cooking'! Once done, you need one large bowl, a table covered in newspaper, a butter knife and of course plates. "No eating utensils needed" I was told. And be prepared for juices flying from those crab legs!

Jim's buddy Jeff is exposing us to Cajun was telling me about how down south, when you go out for this type of meal you don't wear your nice cloths since you come home full of juice and

smelling a bit fishy. The gentleman also are the ones that crack crab legs and strips the shrimp and give it to the ladies and kids. How sweet is this? It makes eatin' pretty simple!

Learning this is like experiencing something internationally, it's intriguing, interesting, fun and it just makes me smile. Even if the food was so-so, it was totally worth it.

Part 3. Entrepreneurship

2011-02-10T16:26:00.001-06:00

It was February last year, about this time when I spent a good part of my day with a bunch of ladies in Marion ND. You can read about it here. Entrepreneurship was the topic. As I still have not officially become one of these, I am excited to say that I do have a market for my 'green' recycled feed bags that are made into totes. They come in Large, medium and small.

Besides selling them to many friends, I have 3 stores in the F/M area that are selling them, a hardware store, a green boutique, and a health food store. And what I love is that I haven't even had to go out and market them, I use my bags for everyday shopping and then I get inquired about them. It's pretty exciting even though some days these bags are not the most exciting sewing projects that's on the table! But I keep sewing and keep drumming up ideas of how to make them a little bit different. Currently I have changed the handles and we are going to see how they sell.

So, Yea! Part three of my now going on year two of this exciting adventure.

Now, it's back to sewing!

Time for cousin bonding.

2011-02-08T16:13:00.001-06:00

The latest addition to the cousin's of the Waa side, baby L.

Do you see her in amongst the big kids?

Baby L is 4 weeks old in this picture and still pretty sleepy!

cousin J is 3 mos. shy of 4 yrs, new baby L, CMW is 3, and baby E is 7 mos.

Don't you wish you had some cool shades like these?

2011-02-03T15:35:00.008-06:00

A few pictures of my sweet girl Claire.

Her sweet new shades from G'ma Jane. She has been wearing them everywhere. They are a real hit and of course she plenty of smiles and compliments.

When were these shades popular? Are they coming back in?

Her new chef hat, think modern! She got a large set of imaginary play kitchen items and on the box there was a girl with a chef hat. We started to pull out the items in the box and she asked 'Where's the hat?'. We were a bit confused but figured it out by the picture. So, i got around to making one. She has an apron as well!

Taking a walk around the block. We take advantage of the nice weather since most days it's so windy that it's just to cold to get out.

Great.G'ma Kay, the knitter made this for C. We love hand made gifts from family. It's so soft and warm, Thanks Grams!

I'm thinking C is into hats just like her mama; and shoes, and scarfs, and the color purple. I wonder if some of this is from my encouragement? hmm...

The venture of baby food!

2011-01-24T09:37:00.003-06:00

Now that Christmas, New Years and all those snow storms we've had are over, we finally got around to starting Eleanore on some food. I knew once I started, I couldn't go back. I make my own food and boy is it yummy! The hard part is taking the time to get it done & using these ice cube trays. I have no plastic ones and these are bit more challenging.

The regulars are sweet potatoes, bananas, and peas. The carrots, broccoli and apples are in between. Eleanore is enjoying every bite! I am working on ripening some avocado's too and looking into the next step of what to introduce. My baby food cook book is pretty handy and a few good resources on the web. Take 'em or leave 'em but here is one and another. For you mom's out there starting up or getting ready for baby to come, it's worth the look, even in advance so you can mull over it and decide for yourself what way you'd like to start your baby out on food!

1/10/2011

Isn't she just a cutie? Love this girl!

A new year, a new do!

2011-01-24T09:19:00.003-06:00

A little unsupervised time for CMW equals an adventure in hair styling!

I couldn't quite figure out why she looked different even though her hair was out of her face. Then I realized and said 'oh! my!, look at what you did!'. This isn't the first time she's got a cut, a little boy cut her hair when she was about 18 mos. and then later in 2010 she had given her self a side burn on just one side. How cute right? After finding the missing strands, we picked up the large chunks, vacuumed and call the stylist!

And here's to a new year and a new hairdo!

To put the puzzle back in the box or not?

2011-01-14T23:43:00.006-06:00

I usually show off my sewing but I've been talking with a fellow blogger about this idea and decided to post about it. Putting a puzzle in a frame for wall art. When we first moved in I had 3 coffee cup framed prints that I had in our dining room and then I found this puzzle. I was just going to put it together like any other puzzle and then I got the idea to put it on the wall. But Lexie has to be original and had to do it a little bit different. I bought a section frame for custom fit, a piece of foam core board, glass, took out some edge pieces and Waa-Laa! A new piece of wall art.

If it was the right puzzle, would you put this up on your wall or is it just to much?

++++

And I was also talking with a friend about mixing decorating styles such as modern & Victorian or country & traditional. We decided that we can do this if there is a common denominator such as matching chairs with different fabric or one room could be one style while the next different.

What do you think, yes to mixing styles or no?

Snowmen, the best thing about winter!

2011-01-11T21:47:00.004-06:00

Jim and CMW were out shoveling, enjoying the snow and building snowmen! This picture includes her family and she continues to want to build more, 'how about g'ma and g'pa?' she said. Jim said, that's for another day.

Jim says 'she wants an army out there'.

I don't blame her, why wouldn't Claire continue to have fun, as long as her dad helps in building. :-} He was a little short on coal for the eyes and buttons, but with a little imagination, you'll be good to go!

Claire wouldn't look at the camera, but this is 'Claire' the snow-lady!

She says to me, 'Mom, I need a carrot for the nose!', I said 'alright'!

We continue to get snow, each day a little here or there and the wind continues to blow. Our street also continues to be slimmer and the sun peaks out every now and then. And i guess we look forward to more snow and of course, building more snowmen!

Claire's new bed

2011-01-08T21:02:00.000-06:00

My dad, the carpenter that he is, took my picture from off the internet to make this bed. And I requested the bookshelf at the end. :-) Claire's Papa does some wonderful work and we certainly are blessed by him. He's even making plans to make one for baby E, maybe. CMW now has this great bed that will serve her for a very long time, 18 years maybe?

My parents delivered it mid October, we got the second coat of sealer put on and hauled it in and waa-laa, Claire loves her bed and thinks it's so neat to have a 'big bed'! Now all that is left are 6 fabric bins, similar to these for storage that I am going to make.

So here's the bed we've been waiting for and I've taken way to long to 'introduce' it to others. Isn't she lucky?

yes, that's a mighty large bear...

A few New Year resolutions even though I think they are pointless

2011-01-06T12:11:00.004-06:00

I don't do new year resolutions but i am going to try to put into practice a few ideas. I am a big one for starting over at the beginning of each month or each week, not necessarily each day or year. A year is way to long and a day is to short.

While we were stuck inside for to many days due to the blizzard, I was thinking of how I am going to improve my life or attempt to anyway. Here are just a few. :-}

- More family & less sewing (some to make sure I keep my sanity)

I think I just do to much for myself and not enough for my family and this needs to switch. I think I'd have a cleaner house, better schedule (lyz, I am going to try you note card method, wish me luck), less time wasted feeling overwhelmed by all this stuff that needs to get done. Jim is going to help me with this!

- Continue with Dave (more on him later)

- A 'No Spend Month' or maybe two and my inspiration is from here

I love to create and I always have new ideas in my head of things to make. So for January & beyond I have a very long list to complete and I am excited! For one I will be spending nothing on crafty stuff, staying home more, spending more time with the girls and sewing in my spare time (which isn't much). I am so excited about getting projects done that have been waiting but get pushed out of the way due to other people and my lack of 'saying No'. I'm sure some of you know how that goes. :-)

- A better prayer life and I am inspired by our great friends Paul and Krisanne

I also think this will help with my feeling of being over whelmed. And allowing myself to know I am doing the best I can with everything. But also to have a better connection with my God. To really know I have a relationship. This also includes keeping up with bible study which is usually not a problem as long as I take the time.

- Jim = fixing van & what ever else he wants to do.

For some of you, you know what it's like to stay home with your kids for days on end and then into the evening. Well I am not always the best mom at continuing into the evening with my girls and Jim after a days work gets to hang out them and put them to bed. And I do know that I work just as much as he does but he doesn't have the luxury of being at home and getting things done in between naps and quite time. So, we worked out a schedule for the evening to make sure he has time to get his stuff done. Now all we have to do is make sure we are following through. So far we are doing well and it's been about 3 weeks. And the van is getting closer to being drive able. More on this later as well.

So, I hope I can follow through with my ideas and will be praying & encouraging myself each day with positive self talk! Wish me luck and if you think of it say a prayer!

I wish you luck on your new year resolutions or ideas or goals or what ever you call them to help yourself full fill them. :-}

Gift Giving, one thing I LOVE.

2011-01-05T13:30:00.000-06:00

So, yes I love to give gifts and if I find something that I know someone would love and appreciate, it's hard to resist either buying it or making it. These are a few of my latest projects for others in the form of a gift.

Claire and Eleanore are giving their cousin G a ice cream play set for her birthday and I decided she needed an apron too. It might be a little long but I think she is going to like it.

It was so fun to just make it and not need a pattern.

Coasters I made for my SIL for Christmas. This was on her list and I thought I'd make her some since she didn't specify style or medium. So when she's done with them she won't feel bad about pitching them out. :-)

Cousin J got a doctor kit from CMW for Christmas and I thought he needed a bow tie and some glasses. So, I found the 'how to' at this site. It was so simple and fun to make, even if it does get lost at the bottom of the play bin.

What I don't have pictures of are the capes I made 3 special boys and the 7 pairs of mittens.

Friend Sarah gave me a pattern for mittens with a flip top to allow the fingers to be exposed without the whole hand. Similar to these. And I made 20 recycled feed bags for other people to give as gifts. These are not my favorite to make anymore but I am done for a few months. :-) Jim is actually going to help me make a new style with different handles and I am excite about this. He says "I need a something new for people to continue to want them.' . He is such an entrepreneur... I also made these diaper bags and covers for friends who are expecting babies. So fun! And this bag too. The fabric was hand picked by the one who is using it and it turned out great.

Now I am done, on to a new year and new projects. Now that is exciting!

Friends since Elementary

2011-01-04T11:13:00.005-06:00

We have been friends since elementary and we are still stuck.

Lexie (baby E), Sara (23 wks), Becky (26 wks), Sonja

We have a picture like this when Claire was about 6 mos. :-)

A group effort to pull off this baby shower was in effect and a great turn out for the day after Christmas! Friend Sara is from MT and this was the only time she'll be back to the area before baby is born. Becky is from our home town so it was making sure she'd be in town not out of town. Sara's sister planned a few great games and that's a plus coming from me since I don't like shower games. Home made lasagna was made by mom and Sara's mom, and extras brought by others. There even was good punch!

It was so fun to re-group and between Sonja and I, we picked the fabric out for the diaper bags and nursing covers. It was so fun to sew for these girls, one of my projects I really loved creating this Christmas season.

A basic messenger style bag with pockets inside and out! This is a very fun bag to make especially since I custom pick my fabric.

Nursing cover material, they turned out cute, I just hope they are not to hot. They seemed really thick since they reversible.

She's in the way just a little...

2010-12-20T16:49:00.005-06:00

My sewing companion at midnight while everyone else is sleeping.

But she is in the way just a little.

This kitty might be a pistol, plays with my pins and elastic and bats at my needle while sewing but she does relax a little bit (just not always in the right spot).

My sewing is coming to an end for Christmas even though I have a few more projects to get done, my list is much shorter!! Hence why I am blogging instead of sewing and I have two girls to be taking care of too. I will be posting after Christmas my projects I whipped out up to show you all. I had quite the fun fabrics and projects to work on for this giving season.

Until then, the wait begins.

The new seating arrangement

2010-12-20T16:32:00.006-06:00

Miss E is rockin' the new chair and I would say she is enjoying it. The seating arrangement is working for everyone. :-) Eleanore loves to be sitting up high, playing with toys and chewing on carrot sticks (with supervision I might add). I would not have thought of this expect for my girlfriend Krisanne mentioned her little guy is doing this and I thought, why not E. I would say it does keep her busy.

Food is going to wait until after the holidays, stay tune to see what goes well and what comes back out.

We also had a 6 mo. check up. She is weighing in at 16.3, 26.5" long and her head is in the 50th percentile. She is doing well! :-)

The girls...

2010-12-20T16:21:00.003-06:00

1st in a long time of just the girls. I always have the camera making sure shots are being taken hence I am not in very many. So, I said, Jim was are all sitting here, take a couple.

Sage was lucky to get in on the shot too.

Dec. 11, 2010

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-15T15:29:00.003-06:00

Yep, this is our Christmas tree for 2010.

This cute little craftiness sitting in the corner was made up by my auntie. And since it kills me to go buy a tree for mega bucks and it doesn't even look nice and I can't go cut it myself. This year i decided that this one suits us nicely.

Eleanore got to sit and watch as Claire and I put on the lights and added ribbon.

As you can tell, Sage has enjoyed the tree too.

And we shall call her...

2010-12-08T15:56:00.003-06:00

Sage! A farm kitty from down the road and she was just to cute to give up. She came with the name 'Princess' but i didn't think i could live with a cat by that name for 20 years and since i have only named 1 cat in my life, it wasn't so easy for me. But i think Sage suites her, if i'm wrong then you better make a comment with a name suggestion. :-}

Yes I am crazy for getting into this but all this kitty stage shall pass, right?

The scratching, leg climbing, kitty playing with baby toys instead of her own, jumping into the bath tub full of water and so on. It will all pass and she will be grown and loved by all of us.

The one good thing, she tolerates Eleanore and her crazy kitty petting hands.

Baby E at 22 weeks!

2010-12-08T15:39:00.005-06:00

December 2nd, (22 wks).

Eleanore is getting so strong, sitting up more on her own

likes to sit in the baby rocking chair

the exer-saucer is beginning to be used

Still sleeping well but she does tend to be a night owl

She is grabbing more and loves to watch Claire and Claire loves to be goofy and make E laugh.

Eleanore continues to be a wonderful baby, giggling, smiling, and love-able!

She's passing up the sister...

2010-11-10T11:38:00.004-06:00

Eleanore at 16 weeks.

18 weeks.

I should do better at taking pictures at the same distance but I guess a few weeks apart isn't that much change. I took E into the Tender Transition at the hospital and she weighed in at 16 lbs. 1 oz. Her sister CMW didn't weigh this until she was passed the 6 mos. mark. She is doing great!! A good eater and sleeper. As always, a joy to us!

Fabric for a baby gift? Really?

2010-11-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

Yes, really! I was given some pretty neat fat quarters as my baby gift to use in my quilting adventures and baby making gifts. I would have to say my girlfriend Paula does know how to give gifts! And they were from the quilt shop in Perham, the one that is 'to die for' with amazing flannels, snuggle fabric and cotton prints. And as one girlfriend puts it, they are all designer fabrics which makes it all that much neater to have! It isn't the run of the mill Joannes which I will admit that is where I make 90% of my purchases.

So I will just have to say 'Waa-hoo' for a great friend and great gifts and great visitors.

Paula and her girls came out to visit since they were in the F/M area for a couple of days. It was such a good time! Our older girl are 6 weeks apart and our younger girls are 3 months apart, but you wouldn't be able to tell by size, Miss E is pretty large for being 3 months. It was fun to catch up and see how big the girls are getting. And what's neater is Paula moved closer to the F/M area so it will be easier to visit more often and we are both excited about this!

The first big trip

2010-10-30T15:29:00.001-05:00

The first big trip or should I say the first long trip since have have gone home to see my parents more then once. We made the venture to the twin cities to visit family who hadn't yet seen Miss E and of course to shop! And everything turned out pretty well. It took us about 1.5 hrs to get out of Fargo since baby E was not happy with her seat and I had to make sure she wasn't hungry, had a burp or messy pants. But after all that and a few miles of crying we made it with out stopping. Phew.

Jim, CMW and EKW.

The gigantic mum plant at my g'ma's house.

The lovely g'ma Shirley!

You should of had a V8

2010-10-29T16:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, Miss CMW likes to drink V8 and she looked at me with this grin and V8 from cheek to cheek saying 'Mmm, Yummy!' .

15 weeks

2010-10-29T15:27:00.001-05:00

I was doing so well getting short and simple blog posts posted and then the time gets away and the evenings are sucked into doing other projects. Like sewing or house duties or children. We (the 4 of us) have a pretty good routine but I myself am not yet disciplined enough to get everything that needs to get done besides what I want to get done. Does this happen to anyone else? So, here is baby E, at 15 weeks. She is just so darn fun, I love it! And CMW is getting to be much more fun too!

I'm bias but, isn't she just a cutie! ? !

And I love pink on my girls, especially monochromatic pink!

Claire and all her doings

2010-10-08T13:50:00.000-05:00

A few pictures of what Claire has been up to!

CMW got this cool new dolly stroller! A friend called me from a garage sale letting me know about this. I knew she would like it, so i got it for her. She enjoys taking her dollies for walks around the yard.

Playing dress-up while visiting friends. She had a lot of fun with all the new stuff.

The chickens really like CMW mostly because she gives them food! How nice of her! And here they are following her around. They come running every time they see you.

CMW is also into anything that deals with very fine motor skills. We do lots of coloring with markers, make a mark with each one, putting on the cap and then putting them into a row. Stickers, more the merrier! We have a sticker book that also has pages with simple directions and games or counting or ABC activities. For the most part she is doing really well with it. And painting, she loves to paint. I might go broke buying paper and paints for the little lady. She also is being instructed with the Montessori method of teaching. A friend of ours is doing this with her along with her own children. Claire is reallying enjoying this and I am thankful, it is challenging for Claire but she does very well too.

And of course she is continuing to be a great big sister!

One more visit

2010-10-07T13:31:00.000-05:00

Jim and I finally got up north to visit our friends Paul & Krisanne and baby Jonah before they head out soon for the other side of the world. We are going to miss them but are so excited for them to get back and get into the groove once again.

It was a great visit and beautiful weather to enjoy. Fall right now is amazing and perfect which I don't say very often about ND weather. It was great to have our little ones outside and for CMW to play and run around with out being cold.

Jonah and Eleanore are 3 weeks apart and it is fun to share stories (& complaints) of motherhood with Krisanne. Even though there are few complaints, right Krisanne?

Love you and always Praying! - The Waa's

A little fun at the Parade

2010-10-06T13:28:00.002-05:00

Jim and I were invited to go watch the NDSU Homecoming parade with two of his buddies and their families. All of us are alumni except for one but we still allow her in. :-) I haven't been to the homecoming parade since 2001, which was my very first homecoming experience and i didn't go back. It was just a bit to ridiculous for me but this event wasn't to bad. We got just the right amount of candy, there were a couple of pretty good floats and of course the political parties were out parading their name.

The little man over on the right is one of CMW's pretty good playmates.

He is always wearing his shades.

CMW is not sure what to think about all this parade business.

She was most excited about the horses and least excited about the firetrucks, the sirens are scary.

And a Thanks goes out to Katy for buying this cute little Smurfs bag for her candy! :-)

The "Cabin"

2010-09-30T17:00:00.004-05:00

I call it the 4 season cabin, the nephew calls it the 'castle' but really it will be house when finished. It was great of Jim to help out with this gigantic project on and off this summer and the past two summers. For some of you who don't know, his parents are building this from the bottom up and it takes a lot of time and help.

The Waa family cabin - A living room upstairs is going to have a vaulted ceiling and those pretty rafters to look at! Jim and his dad put them up a few weeks ago. There are three bedroom and two baths with living room space downstairs and two bedrooms and 2 baths upstairs with kitchen, dining and living room space. And of course a two stall garage. :-) And the super tall chimney, it's for two different fireplaces, one up and one down. The roof and walls will be completely sheeted, roofed and wrapped by winter, which means soon for this up north area where fall is short and winter can be long.

disclaimer: If Jim would of wrote this post instead of me, one would of gotten much more information about this project but this is all I got to share and the picture just helps to know how far this project has progressed!

One more project down

2010-09-29T16:49:00.001-05:00

We have been working, let's say Jim (& my dad helped a bit too) has been working on getting the house ready to paint all summer. And, yes it has just taken this long, with a new baby, the 4 season cabin he's helping build and then all the fun added in, it's just that way. This last weekend was gorgeous, amazing temps, not a lot of wind and an all around pretty good ND weekend. Jim got the bug to start painting since the sanding and priming was almost finished and I requested to Jim that at least the west side of our house needs to be painted by winter so i wouldn't have to look at a poke-a-dot house every time I came home. With this in mind, Jim started painting the west side and realized this project is going a lot faster then anticipated. This is when he decided he was going to get all the green finished by Sunday, he started on Saturday afternoon keep in mind. After church Jim was talking to some good friends at church about his project and the Mrs. said, 'we'll take CMW and the Mr. can come and help you guys paint so you can get this project done', I said that would great! Wan't this so awesome of her? And so, our super friend Mr. A came out to help and he is super efficient at painting too. By the evening hours our house was completely painted with a new green color and our window trim and down spouts were painted grey. How sweet our house looks now, I am in love all over again. :-)

Even the chickens helped with painting...

French Braids...

2010-09-24T16:03:00.001-05:00

Claire is finally letting me do a bit more with her hair. I was super impressed with I got to do double french braids even if she was watching a show, it works for me!

She is just so darn cute when her hair is our of her face!

Baby E is 12 weeks !

2010-09-24T15:51:00.004-05:00

(9-10-2010)

Our baby girl Eleanore is 12 weeks today and she just had a great well check.

She weights 13 # 13 oz. & is 23" long. The 90% for both height and weight!

Eleanore is busy talking, very alert, busy with her hands and legs and love to watch her sister Claire be busy. She has had some teething issues already and we are trying our best making her comfortable. Not always easy. And we are getting into cloth diapering too, it will be so nice not needing to run to Target for diapers. :-}

(9-23-2010)

Sometmes cheap labor isn't worth it...

2010-09-24T15:32:00.004-05:00

For all of summer (I know) we have been prep-ing our house to get it painted for, lets hope, the next 10 years. Yes, I am crossing my fingers. And today Jim was with CMW priming. She was certainly enjoying it. Even though Jim says 'cheap labor isn't worth it' since CMW is creating more work then help. Like paint in her hair or on Jim or places it isn't suppose to go. But he did say, 'I just couldn't resist, she was so cute!'. She went to find her own paint brush and came out and asked to paint and for a little while he did.

CMW looks huge because she is wearing a life jacket (her idea of a 'jacket') under her paint shirt and she is wearing a dress (which you can't see) with those black boots. Isn't she fashionable?

2 Months !

2010-09-03T10:18:00.004-05:00

Our girls both smiling and happy on this Friday Morning !

E is 2 months today and C is 32 months!

++++++++

I am going to attempt to take a picture of Miss E with her bear that Claire got her each month. Baby E ~ 7.5.10

E ~ 8.2.10

Hasn't she grown so much? She is quite a bit different then Claire but still so much fun!

A trip to the Ranch

2010-08-19T13:39:00.005-05:00

Yes, my mom calls their place 'Tall Oaks Ranch', a bunch of trees, 1 dog, 2 horses and a newly added cow and calf. It's one of my favorite places! The main reason we went home other then to visit was the 3rd annual Dru Sjodin Purple Elephant run/walk.

Sonja, baby E and I walked the 5k. It was a great morning and a great turn out. Sonja and I got to hang out a bit and get caught up with what's happening in our lives. :-) I also got to see her whole family, what a plus.

While I was walking, C got to hang out with Mawga! They picked red raspberries, went to see the cousins next door, and visited the cow and horses!

This is the only horse she can ride at the Ranch, at least for now! Yee - Haw!!

And you are looking at only part of my parents massive garden behind C and she got to pick green beans, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, and C picked a green tomato, an unauthorized pick I might add.

++++++

Nephew J and niece G holding baby E. Doesn't she look so comfortable?

Our nephew Z had his birthday August 6th and we got him a pretty sweet K'nek set. Everyone here is checking out the new set! Jim couldn't wait to open it and see what there was to make, but I reminded him, it's Z's gift, not his!

And while I was walking, Jim got the beauty of hanging out at home with my dad! He helped him put the starter on his old B John Deer and start up the old '67 chevy. It hasn't ran in over 2 years but Saturday was the day to get it running. Not sure what else he found to fix or do but there is always something happening on the ranch.

+++++

And last but not least a few pictures to keep those to don't see baby E on a weekly basis up to date.

Baby E, just hanging out, wide awake at 9:30pm after attending a bridal shower (8/7/10)...

Sleeping way (8/19/10)

Big Sister Claire

2010-08-09T10:46:00.002-05:00

Claire is a great big sister!

While we were getting ready for our 1st road trip to Pequot, Claire decided to read to Eleanore. Claire didn't even object to E laying on her bed AND her pillow. She just sat down and told me 'Mom, i'm gonna read to Eleanore'.

It was so sweet!

Claire just had to cover Eleanore up with the fly netting, she thought she needed it.

County fair time

2010-08-09T10:17:00.005-05:00

A little peak of Claire enjoying the fair!

We visited the petting zoo, walked the hay bail maze, went twice through the Dinosaur Exhibit, visited more farm animals & baby farm animals too, watched some of the 4-h horse show, and rode a few rides. It was super hot by the afternoon since the carnival is located on black, black, black tar but she enjoyed them anyway.

We also visited our neighbors hatchery of button quail and chicken eggs. Of course no pictures, but they are boxes about the size of large dresser drawers that are warm and you sit around and wait. There was one hatching about every 10 minutes or less. It was a big hit along with the live bird exhibit of fancy colored pheasants & chickens.

I think this is a water buffalo.

Goats and i'm pretty sure she asked to slide down the slide too!

The Camel.

She had to ride the chicken on the merry go round.

And just another ride that 'the parent' could go on since C was to little to go by herself. It went up and down and 'round in circles, pretty exciting!

And last but not least, while we were heading to town for the fair, C stated "Dad, I'm gonna see that Donkey!" Jim was telling her, lets go find a donkey at the fair and we didn't even know if there was one, after this comment, we certainly did hope for one.

(I wanted her to say 'Donkey' but wouldn't... she does say Alpaca & then decides to move on to the next animal. :-))

The Day Before

2010-07-27T00:32:00.002-05:00

And here is the story of 'The Day Before' since some friends think it's crazy what I don't go though when it comes to labor and delivery.

On Thursday the 1st of July, it was the 1st time I had seen my doctor since the end of April. ( Dr. H needed to take some time off.) And I was a bit worried that she was not coming back, but she did. So I managed to squeeze into her schedule to see her and was told 'all is good' and I was dilated to 5 cm (Dr. H couldn't quite believe this, but I was). Even though I was at 5 cm and didn't know really how I felt or how quickly i'd continue to dilate or if I was imagining contractions and if I could even feel them. I decided to make plans. CMW and I went home for a nap and then headed back to town for a swim at the pool. My good friend Paula, who was up unannounced, called to let me know she was going and I wanted to see her before she left. It was nice to be in the sun and C enjoyed the water and playmates!

Once at home, I was trying to convince myself not to worry about getting to the hospital, that we'd make it or about the contractions that I didn't know if I was imagining or not. So, why not get some sewing done right? I made a pillow case for a friends daughter that I picked up earlier that day & then played a game of Settlers. After heading to bed and trying to relax, I woke up at 4:30 to what I thought was my water leaking but no contractions and decided to head to the hospital. I didn't know if it was my water but it seemed to be in the right description of water leaking but now that I look back, I think I 'jumped the gun'. Reason be, my doctor was concerned that I would not make it since CMW's delivery was so quick and this honestly worried me. So, we got to the hospital by 5 ish and according to the test at the hospital, my water had not broken or even leaked. So, what ever, we were there and we weren't leaving and the rest of the story is here!

Our Sweet Baby Girl

2010-07-26T22:21:00.005-05:00

Now that three weeks have passed & then some

I best get out the old but new news out about our new baby girl!

Eleanore Kate is her name and she is a beauty. For me (Lexie) it was exciting to know we had another girl even though when I was told it was a girl, I was shocked. Jim response to 'It's a girl' is 'so good'! Isn't he just sweet and to the point? Our family now has a great new addition and God has given us a wonderful gift. :-)

Here's the short and sweet birth story...

Baby E entered into this world with out much difficulty on July 2nd at 8:09 am. She was 21" long and was a bit bruised, but all went away by Friday evening. We got to the hospital about 5 am and my doctor arrived about 6:30am and then 'we got the show on the road'. Even though E's delivery was pretty simple, I say 'it wasn't as efficient' as CMW's and here's why...

- Baby E weighed in at 7 lbs. 14 oz. A whole pound bigger then her big sister.

- Her head was positioned a bit different, making her passing a bit more difficult

- At the hospital I was dilated to 7 cm and with CMW, I was 9 cm going on 10cm.

- And for the life of me, I could not figure out how to use the 'correct pushing muscles' but all the same, delivery was short & sweet. Contractions were minimal. (My labor and delivery nurse commented "if all of my deliveries were like yours, i'd pray differently each morning". Let's just say, she was quite impressed with my labor.)

- But after the Dr. broke my water with both girls, they were here for us to hold about 30 minutes later

So there's the short and simple story to E's arrival into this world. Like I said, it wasn't as efficient but would do it all over again.

We are all enjoying baby E and for me, it has been so much more fun! I am not stressed out and I actually enjoy the small new baby phase, I'm getting plenty of rest thanks to the girls sleeping during the afternoon at the same time and bit sister C is transitioning well too. I'd say this 'second time around' isn't to bad! Big sister C is enjoying Baby E too and this new baby isn't cutting into her schedule either!

A tid-bit on how did we pick her name. We came upon the name Eleanore and decided we liked it and Kate is my middle name and I thought the two names went well together. And I was so excited to be able to use it!

A quick update! Baby E is growing, her 2 week appointment, no, make that her 3 week appointment was 7/26/12010. She weighs 9 lbs. 12 oz. and grew almost an inch. Dr. H says she is doing well and nursing must be going well too! I agreed! I think she might be making the turn from 2 feedings to 1 feeding, meaning i'll get even more sleep! She is such a good baby and we love her to pieces. Even the evenings are going well!

So, there you have it, all the happening events of Miss E and more to come! :-)

Look for pictures in the future, our home computer 'bit the dust' and I have none to show as of now. Wish us luck, we have a lot of stuff we want off of it.

Memorial Weekend and a furry visitor!

2010-06-29T13:24:00.010-05:00

Memorial weekend was a weekend CMW and I stayed home, well almost. Jim went to the lake to work on the 4 season cabin & see family. C and I caught up with friends we hadn't seen for some time, garage sales and took care of Kevin, the guinea pig. He was super fun and I think he enjoyed his stay at our house. Just like I remember from my year or two of my guinea pig, he's pretty simple. He even 'talked' to us! CMW wasn't to sure of him out of his cage but she did give me this picture and she did like to feed him and take his turtle shell away since he hides in it the majority of the time, it's what I call a 'quality security blanket'! :-)

Kevin likes his 'turtle shell' and is barely ever out for more then a few minutes. But when he hears the crunch of plastic, he thinks he going to get a treat. He was just so cute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess I shouldn't say we totally stayed home, since most of the weekend we had some outing planned each day. But on Monday we did make it to the lake since it wasn't to hot and my dad needed to get out of the house. Memorial weekend was his 4th week of rotator cuff recovery surgery and well, he was sick of sitting around. So, mom and him pack up and we met up in DL for a short afternoon and a tour of the Waa's 4 season cabin that will soon be finished... one day. (side note: the chimney is done and the garage wall's are finished. They are working on the floor of the house and I guess some rumor of building the trusses for the garage is the next big move.)

CMW loves the water and she was freezing, we could actually see her shake she was so cold but she continued on. Her Mawga Paula was making sand castles and C was crushing them, boy did she have fun! I try to keep her white shirt on, it's a great spf blocker and I think she'll be 'warmer' but by the end of the hour she was just in her suit since the shirt got wet (imagine that) and she does not like having wet cloths on.

It was a great day and a great weekend! We certainly did enjoy our time with friends, family and Kevin, whom we'll babysit any day, week or month!

Wonderfully Full

2010-06-28T22:45:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful, full weekend with the weather being hot, humid, rainy & cool but we enjoyed it all. We accomplished a few 'lexie' projects, family time and time with friends.

Family time was more like running errands in town but we were all together and it was not hectic or to busy since we made it to town by 9 am. We got miscellaneous items for projects, took care of the car's oil, got food & did a little bit of shopping. We even made it home for lunch and naps, even though CMW seems to boy-cot naps on the weekends. Mr. Jim even went to the driving range for some practice swings.

Our projects were 'my projects' but it was nice to get them done. Jim helped me hang a new roman shade I made for C's room. It looks nice and works great.

He helped me moved a few pieces of furniture around to be ready for when baby comes and Jim also helped with cleaning up the house. And laundry! Since our washer 'bit the dust' & Friday was our delivery day, I had a few loads of laundry to get put away. But no complaints here, I certainly do enjoy this new front loader and of course we found another stellar good deal!

Friends!! The joy of quality friendships is always good! Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening meals were all spent with friends & it was a great time! Friday our friends invited us in for dinner and of course it was delicious! Saturday friends came out to play games and we made it simple with pizza for dinner. They also brought their dog and it was great to have an animal in the house for a bit. Sunday we had our friends who are back from Indonesia for the summer for dinner and games as well. It was a great time of playing catch up about their year even though they are great bloggers so us folks in the US were able to stay pretty connected. But they have been busy while in the US too and I always seem to have a question or two about this or that and so the conversations go on and on. Krisanne and I due about 3 weeks apart and of course we talked about baby stuff, the men even charmed in.

Sunday Morning 2 area churches, Salem Evangelical Free Church and Bethel Free Church celebrated together the 5 year mark of supporting the Brou people of Camobdia. They are an unreached people group and the two churhes support a family of 6 who have been there for quite some time reaching out with the Gospel. It's been very interesting to hear over the four years of attending Salem all the accomplishments the family has made with this group.

And last but not least, I can now have our baby since his/her blanket is finished and i'm not even in labor. (With C's labor, I ignored that fact that I was in labor since I needed to get her quilt done.) I learned a lot while putting this quilt top together and it will grow on me just like the one I made for CMW. I also got my 'to do list' before baby is here almost accomplished. I even found the paint I needed for some touch up painting. Now that's a bonus! Yes, I think nesting has certainly set in since I am lady of accomplishing everything and anything. Even CMW doesn't get lost in my whirl-wind of cleaning, organizing, moving stuff, sewing, egg picking & delivery, doctor appts. and domestic duties. Phew... that's a lot of stuff.

I'll try to post a few other happening events soon of the Waa's before June is gone and July is here! Until then... Happy Summer, it official ya know!

Thankful for...

2010-06-03T22:06:00.001-05:00

I am so thankful for summer. I do believe it has actually shown up after our 15 days of rain and now we have had a even amount of nice, sticky, warm weather along with days of rain, perfect! It is so much easier to be outside and CMW is enjoying the warmth. Plus she is just a bit more free to roam. And all the parks that are available to play at, she loves park outings!

~ I am thankful for our garden to be in & Jim's willingness to help out in major ways on my time schedule, not his. For this heat, it will help our seeds and plants grow.

~For our flowers, the Iris are blooming, soon new shoots from the bulbs will turn green and I am always checking for the new shoots from the plants we planted last fall.

~ I'm thankful for the 4 weeks left before baby Waa #2 comes along. I have gotten the quilt top squares together, need to finish the two boarders and then put on the backing! CMW was just sleeping with her quilt I made for her on a day of about 70 degrees. Let's say she was a bit hot waking up from her nap but she still used it, hot or not. But like last time, I might just be sewing the day I actually deliver. This time around getting it done isn't so necessary since it's going to be a warm summer day instead of a blustery winter day. But everyone knows with a new baby, everything gets put on hold that isn't necessary to be done. I'm also working on a new curtain for CMW's room, a black out curtain and it's going to be a roman shade, I'm excited for it to be done!!

~ I'm thankful for Jim, he put up 3 new ceiling fans with lights. It has made a world of difference already and now we'll have them for years to come. I am one that is not a fan of air conditioning and has always lived without, in less i was at college, so I'm gearing up for many more summers of hot & humid air with a great fan cooling me off! :-) Jim also put in a new dishwasher and a new screen door on the garage door. It helps me not feel so closed in if i can have a screen door that is see though.

~ I'm thankful for our new pastor at our church, he came in January with his family and I'd have to say that he is working out quite nicely! He isn't just the guy the preaches every Sunday from the pulpit, he mixes it up with a form of drama, preaching and lots of research. I think he is very good at explaining & depicting the bible. Even though I miss the Davis', every preacher has his place and God gets them to where they are going! Have to trust in the big man upstairs!!

~ And i'm thankful for being able to be thankful... not everyone can do this. I even have to take time to think about it... i hope you do this too!

The activity level is high around here ...

2010-05-25T21:04:00.009-05:00

Let's just say, the activity level of 'getting things accomplished'

around the Waa household is about a 10 on a scale of 1-10.

For starters, the garden is now planted, we have a permanent chicken coop door for safety

measures and the flowers are all planted for the summer!

Let's mark this one on our calendar, the garden is planted and it's May 25th!! Waa-Hoo! Peppers, tomatoes, red onions, potatoes, beans & lettuce. I'd like a half a row of carrots but not sure if I'll get this. I think Jim is going to make a lot of salsa since we have 8 tomatoes & 8 pepper plants growing. But from his previous years, I think he has the thought of 'plant more so we can have enough in the end' some may die or bugs will get them, it will be interesting & peppers are no easy plant to try to grow we have decided. We also are placing straw down for weed control & Jim has gotten out a sprinkler for future watering! Another Waa-Hoo!

The evening was perfect with a bit of wind to keep away the bugs & CMW went to the grandparents (even though she was just watching a movie), it was much easier to get things done. I will add, C does not like the wind if she isn't preoccupied. I also laid down a bag or two of wood chips, trimmed up the tulips and mad note of what other landscaping projects needed to get done. What a great night for accomplishment!

After 10 months of having chickens, I finally have a sweet new permanent chicken door and let me tell you, it is very sweet. And I give a huge thanks to Jim for this because he is helping me protect our hens. We have had a skunk a little to close for comfort, some far away sightings & some near but this last one was actually in our chicken coop according to our neighbor & we don't need visitors like this, no no! The chickens are fine, they are still making eggs, I'm still delivering them and we haven't seen the skunk since. But we are now ready for this skunk to be deceased and Jim has borrowed a gun & will be on the look out! He even suggested a bounty for it. Our neighbor actually suggested me taking on the task of shooting this animal, I call him crazy. I don't like nor do I tend to have anything to do with guns. So, I will leave this task to the Mr.

This last weekend, after a trip to the cities for the week to visit family & friends along with some shopping, CMW, myself and Jim all caught up on rest & I'd have to say, we took naps two days in a row, so nice! A somewhat rainy Saturday didn't stop us from going to town to support the runners of the Fargo Marathon & two church missionary families heading out this summer to their new ministry locations. We also went shopping for flowers! Sunday was another beautiful summer day & I wanted to make sure I had a little something to do outside besides just sit! CMW and I got three pots of flowers potted, planted Dalia's & Canna Lilies in the ground & watered. Jim was working in the garden some with tilling and putting up the fence. Now I am on to fixing up the wood chips, pulling weeds, and I'm ready for summer's sunshine & beauty to start blooming.

Our next major project in progress is painting our house! I'm the encourager in this project and we both can't wait to have it done! I'll keep you posted!

Yes, Easter, a long time ago

2010-05-12T22:56:00.000-05:00

hunting for eggs with dad...

and she found one!

gum was one of the treats & yes, like her mom at this age,

she likes to chew gum and 90%

of the time throws it away in the trash when done, how sweet.

dying eggs, she did a pretty good job

all smiles :-)

Yes, Easter has passed a good month plus but since I dropped off from posting I am now getting back to writing about some of the events at this house. Easter was one weekend we certainly enjoyed out of the busy month of April! We stayed in Prosper partly due to the events at our church on Good Friday & Easter Sunday; a continued drama of the Life of Christ. And partly due to just needing to stay home knowing we'll relax and no one else is looking for a gathering of sorts.

Besides church, I brought out the 'commercial' side of Easter with an egg hunt & egg dying. This is what I always did on Easter, dye eggs at the g'parents & it's something fun that I would like to pass on... something fun to do with the whole family. I even tried with our brown eggs and it worked just fine! As you can tell, I was totally up on the fashion for the day, along with CMW up on her fashion during the egg hunt. Yes, sometimes girls will wear what they want to wear.

And to go along with our weekend, we did have one small mishap and it in tales glitter glue!! As one must be thinking 'they must must not have been watching miss C as close as they could.' Well, your right! She came downstairs rubbing her hands like she had a ton of lotion but it wasn't lotion, it was glitter glue, yes pink glitter glue all over her hands and she was enjoying this! Then I found the rest of the bottle empty, yep along with it sticking to C's cloths, feet, the floor, comforter, wall & mirror. So, what did I do? I did my craft project with the glue all over the floor, Jim cleaned up CMW & had a small talk about how this was not good. Then after my small project was done, I cleaned up the floor, mirror & wall and threw that comforter in the wash. A mishap that was pretty simply to take care of. :-)

Wow, where did you get that ride?

2010-05-11T22:44:00.000-05:00

Well, this new ride, is my new bike & a gift from my parents!

Yes it's a Schwinn, Hollywood edition, color: teal;

Yes, it's a classic; Yes, it is oh so comfortable!

And I am so excited for this bike and to ride it with CMW.

It's going to be a great summer, now all I need is a bike cart come July. :-)

And if anyone is up for a casual bike ride, I'm all in, that is if I get a bike cart...

Vogue Cover Shoot 2010 / Mother's Day

2010-05-09T21:47:00.005-05:00

Rockin' those Elmo glasses

so serious

Yes, CMW is a self-proclaimed photographer and she loves taking pictures, especially of herself. I only wish I had two camera's; one for her and one for us but we don't. High super vision taken seriously when she's on her photo shoots.

***************

For Mother's Day CMW was sweet enough to let me do her hair!

And it lasted until mile marker 15 and the ponies were out.

But still, isn't she sweet!

And Happy Mother's Day to all those mom's out there.

I'm pretty sure, I'm pretty darn lucky, to have a mom like I have!

And all those 2nd mom's out there too that have taken me under their wing as well!

What have we been up to...

2010-03-23T19:30:00.007-05:00

It's been a long time since I have last updated on the happenings of the Waa's and thought I'd give my family a little view...

What has CMW been up to...

New cameo rain boots for all the water that is sticking around since it's Spring!!
Deciding she does not need to wear a coat or hat but needs to run through the puddles when it's not even 35 degree's
She went to another fitness night and Mawga Paula came to watch, C had a lot of fun and was wore out by the evening's end. Cousin J came too!!
C has entered the 2yrs Sunday School class and she seems to enjoy it.
Potty Training... does a mom good! She has accomplished this very well and when she doesn't make it, she knows to get dry cloths, take of the wet and put them in the tub.
Visits G'ma Jane every other Sunday while her parents attend the Truth Project @ church.
Is getting over her fear of the chickens... this past fall, one chicken flew out of the coop and the feet touched her head, that scared her like it would any little person. She now enjoys getting the eggs and feeding them bread through the fence.

Helping with coop moving & clean up!

She is testing the strength of the feed bags I make, how you ask? Well I asked her if she wanted to swing and she got in, I picked up the handles and away she goes. We now know these bags are good up to 25 lbs, at least!
She officially moved into a big bed!! The mattress is on the floor :-( since her bed is still in board form sitting in her Papa Arts shop! But we'll get it soon and we'll show it off!
C has been playing guitar with her dad too!

The ukulele her dad built from a kit!

What has the Mr. Waa been up to?

He's been leading worship for the 3rd - 6th grade kids at our church on Wednesday nights
Attends a men's discipleship group
He attended a 'Collective Soul' concert with me (the one who found the event) & surly did enjoy the 'old' but 'very cool' rock band.
He helped move the chicken coop, scooped all the poop, started a compost pile :-) & built our chickens a 'chicken run'. What a great guy!

Coop moved for summer and the new run!

Before the flood season, he scraped off the driveway so the snow would melt faster and now our driveway is nice and dry.
He helped build a dike for friends on the Red River & I think his body came out on top this year!
Before dike building he got all fixed up by the chiropractor, it took all 6 visits, boy was he tense and out of whack.
He comes home every evening ready to see CMW and does a darn good job, not sure I could come home after a day's work and put all the effort he does in to her.
He finished up his basement project. The room has sheet rock, carpet, new lighting and paint. Now he's on to phase two of saving money instead of spending. :-)

What has the Mrs. Waa up to?

Helping C with her everyday needs, the older she gets the better it gets.
Teaching CMW to ask for 'help' instead of crying/yelling about what's frustrating her.
Helped move C into a big bed and working on a new routine for bedtime, not as easy as I think.
Making bags and more bags and finding feed bags to make bags! It's just so fun!

CMW took this picture with our camera! Isn't she good?

Giving piano lessons to one student & thanks to my piano teacher for the helpful hits, it's going well.
I continue to play volleyball & I love the work out. The team I'm on is improving and I would of never guest but I am the setter when in front & it's not as hard as I always have thought. I guess when I put my mind to it, I can do it!
Planning baby showers, two to be exact and one has been postponed do to an early delivery and one isn't until August but this is for my girlfriend who is overseas & planning ahead is necessary.
Attending bible study on Tuesday mornings, a parenting study and I would have to say that I am learning more about myself & how to be towards my children which turns into parenting. Now that we have gone though more then half of the study, a lot of parenting is knowing yourself and knowing how to react towards a situation and preparing ahead of time instead of waiting.
I'm selling our eggs! And finding them in strange places too.

This is on the back side of our coop, on straw bales... only a day old

and I assure you, they are not being sold.

Did you see the egg laid in the hole of that 2x4?

Preparing for baby #2 a little bit. More so just a lot of brain storming of what I want to happen and 'how to do this' and 'how to do that'. And of course a little bit of sewing so this baby does not feel left out. Name?? Well we are still working on those. :-)
And to add just a bit more spice to my life, I added a bit of color to my hair, the color purple!

There you have it, a sneak peak of life.

Happy Spring & Happy Tulips!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Oat Muffins

2010-03-06T13:51:00.004-06:00

CMW and I bake at least once a week, she is great helper, doesn't make such a huge mess and we get something yummy after it's been in the oven. I like making muffins, especially ones that I think are 'good for you' and I rediscovered this recipe. I had made them so often that it was time retire the recipe for a short time, well that times was too long. So now they are back in the making and I am passing the goodness onto others. You'll just have to try them for yourself!

Banana Chocolate Chip Oat Muffins

1 c. quick oats

3/4 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking sods

1/8 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 c. brown sugar

3 medium ripe banana, mashed

1 egg

2 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4. c. mini chocolate chips.

Bake @ 350 degrees, 15 -20 minutes, cool 5 minutes before removing, about 1 dozen

Large bowl: combine oats, flour, b. powder, b. soda, salt, set aside

Small bowl: beat butter, b. sugar, then add the banana, eggs, applesauce & vanilla

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until moist

fold in the chocolate chips

Grease your muffin tin & fill 3/4 full, cook and enjoy.

We hope you devour these yummy treats as fast as we do at our house. :-)

Total Recycled Feed Bags

2010-02-23T15:48:00.008-06:00

I was requested to post pictures of the bags I have been making in my 'mini sweat shop' as I call it. I even tried to get Mr. JW into it, but he said "I don't want to take away any of your fun, so I'll just keep to my activities.". So, I have been making them by order and for others who think they may want to take a look.

Be creative, I forgot to take a picture of my 2nd horse bag, but it's just like this one. Purple/Plum for the accent color.

Bird feed bag #1

(also forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

But it's pretty and goes for a pretty penny.)

Smaller version of bird feed bag #1.

I made 2 out of 1, there was a need for smaller book-bag size bag and

this was what I came up with.

The handles are of nylon strap, the only two with out the actual feed bag material for straps.

(Imagine the top for one bag and this bag is the bottom half.)

Bunny food bag, with lime/kelly green for the accent color.

This bag also is smaller since it was a 25 lb. bag and not a 50 lb.

Birdseed bag #2

It looks a bit rough, that's because it is.

The 'original' chicken bag that started the rave of these bags.

Horse bag #1

Chick Bag

Whole Oats bag with hunter orange for the accent color.

I even got scolded by my friend, Ms. L saying 'she was the first order and she still hasn't gotten her hands on one'. Well that was the beginning of February and it's now the end. I will have to say, I do have a supply to show her so she can take her pick. And of course, be cool like me. Another friend L also wants one but I'm not sure which one would 'suit her fancy', so I'm needing to talk her about this.

And I need to announce that I just received a whole new shipment of bags and I am so excited, you don't even know! I am getting them made up and out to sell.

I might even get them into a consignment shop besides the Old 52 General store.

How exciting.

So, which bag is your favorite?

If you could choose any picture for the side of the bag, what would it be?

Due to much debate, how much would you pay for one?

Size: depth: 4.25", width: 17" & height: 17"

Completely recycled from a feed bag, body, handles & pockets.

Thread is the only outside source used.

Valentines, over rated...

2010-02-17T13:51:00.006-06:00

Valentines, totally over rated, just another holiday to spend money, even though I'd love a gift and a couple of hours with my rock-star husband, but that didn't really happen. It was not romantic, 'take time for ourselves', and all about chocolate and hearts, but still, it was wonderful.

What made it so wonderful?

~ My g'parents came Friday with their two lovely pups for the night. Left early Saturday for their trip to Texas!

~ I hardly cooked a meal, meaning we ate lunch at the in-laws, leftovers for dinner and Sunday lunch was eating out.

~ CMW did take good naps along with myself.

~ Jim and C made cookies, the really good ones that have a box of instant vanilla pudding added. (I know, super healthy, not!) They are super chewy and moist, my friend Katie is the giver of this recipe. Thank you, Thank you!

I should of had pink M&Ms.

~ The auntie across the way took C so we could attend out Sunday evening bible study with out a small child in tow.

~ My friend Sonja randomly called Sunday afternoon with the message: she was in Fargo and wanted to meet up. So, we did do this as well, after bible study. I guess we did have a little more 'alone time' then I thought.

Yes, I'd say after I reflect, it was still wonderful.

You ask, what did I get my valentine?

A super sweet 'grain shovel' that he's been meaning to purchase but I beat him to it. This new piece of equipment helps him shovel snow real nicely. :-)

What did I get? Nothing but it was a great weekend with two people I love.

What my husband would say; 'I got her a sewing machine!' This line is going to be used for some time to come, I assure you.

How was your Valentine weekend? Anything worth remembering?