Snack J'isms

I have to share with the world the intricate workings of a 3 year old's mind: Snack J is a most comical child who's perception of the world never ceases to amaze me. Here are this weeks top picks:

1. Upon Granny Sue asking Snack J if he comes to her house only to eat her food, Snack J responds " Yes. But I can't drive yet so I bring my dad along."
2. We have furry brown coat for Baby C and Snack J (from Grammy Garling) and Snack J likes to pretend that they are bears when they wear them. They were both wearing them in the car on the way to the doctor's on Monday and Baby C fell asleep in his carseat and Snack J said:"Look Mom! He's hibernating."(kinda big word for a 3 year old!)
3. Sister Sue spilled my valentine flowers and Snack J hollered out the door to Nate who was working with the horses saying "Dad (sister Sue) spilled the flowers' pollen all over the floor!" Another science concept he must have picked up from PBS kids....
4. Nate was chiding Snack J for jumping on the couch and he said matter of factly: "Dad I have to jump on the couch-we don't have a trampoline!"
5. We have a Wii Fit Plus and Snack J is really good at the snowball fight, boxing, and making new Mii's. So while I was making lunch I let him play with it and he came in the kitchen SOOO excited. He apparently had stumbled upon the section that lets you choose a picture of a food you want to burn off. He shouted "Look Mom!! There's CANDY on the Wii Fit! I KNEW it was healthy! Wahoo!!!!"

To Gag or Not to Gag? Do you dare find out?

So remember Bountiful Baskets and how excited I was to introduce new veggies to my kids? Well, I decided for Sunday dinner we would try the squash. Snack J threw a fit with me even putting it on his plate and would not stop fussing over it. We told him it had to stay on his plate and he had to try 1 bite, but Nate could see we were not winning, or maybe because he has had a similar childhood memory.... So he suggested that those who eat their squash get a popsicle. Sister Sue sucked that right up and started pounding hers down saying in loud exclamations how good it was. Well Snack J got so far as to lick it, but then couldn't be outdone by Sister Sue he started to take little bites and drinking water between them. I was sitting right next to him and saw him involuntarily gag on a couple of the bites but he kept it down and didn't say anything to me about it, but kept at it. I had to cover my face and pretend to cough to cover my laughter because his sheer determination and drive to get the popsicle despite the formidible task was hysterical.

Yeah I did it!He posed for this picture, he didn't really take a bite this big!

Nate knew that Baby C would not be so motivated to eat the squash not understanding the reward system that was set in place. And he was right. He pulled the funniest faces every time it accidentaly got in his mouth.

Sister Sue wanted to show off her press on nails she got for her birthday.

Super Nate saves dinner!

Snack J loved his star shaped purple popsicle. What a kid!

Birthday Party Davis Style!

Nate moved the castle to the front yard and I decorated it with balloons and crepe paper to celebrate Sister Sue's Sixth Birthday princess party.
We decided to forgo the horse rides this year, but the girls made clips for the the horse's mane with curling ribbon and bows which they got to put on by themselves. Sister Sue took a birthday lap around the yard and gave all the girls high fives. Nate had the girls stand along the flat bed trailer, which eliminated the risk of girls getting in the way of horse feet.

I bought a pinata for the first time ever at dilly dally's for 7 bucks, and spent 4 bucks on candy. At wal-mart the cheapest pinata started at 15 dollars without candy, so I'd say definately worth the money not making my own, which was I felt like I should do if I was truely frugal. Gotta love that look of determination on Sister Sue as she wacks the fairy princess. That song "things that make you go hmmmmm" enters my mind...

I told Sister Sue I didn't think I could make a princess cake, and she was devestated. I made cupcakes for the girls to frost and decorate themselves and decided to use the rest of the batter to make a small round cake, I put the decorations together with stuff left over from the loot bags and I think it turned out pretty. One girl asked me if I made that cake(as if she had never known someone to not buy a birthday cake before). Well, Sister Sue was happy and she still can't figure out where I got that Cinderella center (off an old toy she hasn't played with in years)

Notice the flowers in the top picture... Nate had them delivered to Sister Sue's Kindergarten class on Friday. The teachers were so suprised. I was there volunterring so I got to see the whole thing live. It was pretty cool to hear the secretary call to the classroom to announce the special delivery. She was so excited. I brought Dora Popscicles to pass around for her class. It was a hit. definately recommend it. cupcakes just end up in the garbage after the icing is licked off.

Sister Sue got this adorable hat and purse from her cousin Morgen. She also got so many fun toys and dolls and gadgets, all her dreams and wishes came true she said.

I got this high school musical dance mat at Kid to Kid for 3.99. It's like a souped up simon says with lights and music. The boys love it! My friend Shannon brought her girl's 2 dance mats for the party and we had a dance off. Really noisy and confusing, but the idea was good.

I got this princess dance video at the dollar store and it turned out to be a great idea. Nate borrowed his brother's projector and this video tell the rest of the story!

I think that the dollar store (honks) is the most amazing place to stock up for a party. I had not paid attention before to all the supplies they offer. It was really awesome, I got princess themed hats, invites, napkins, plates, tablecloth, blowers, balloons, crepe paper, pin the horn on the unicorn, the list goes on and on...

Mother's Intuition or God's Inspiration?

Well, the answer is given by changing the OR to Through: Mother's Intuition Through God's Inspiration. On Friday I had an experience that strengthened my testimoney of God's love for his children through small and simple whisperings of the Spirit to my spirit. I had a feeling I needed to get Baby C in to see the doctor on Friday. I spent half the day questioning myself. See Baby C has been stuggling the past 8 weeks with bronchiolitis. He's had RSV at least 2 times as an infant and as a result I've noticed every simple cold ends up in his chest and he's wheezing like an old man, and the snap crackle pop of the bronchiolitis has become a common sound at our house. We've bought our own nebulizer and have a large supply of Albuterol. So on this Friday morning he wasn't wheezing, coughing, he seemed well over his cold from the week before, and he was running all over the place like a happy child, but when he woke up from his nap at noon he woke up with a fever 102.6 and it seemed like the cold had come back with a vengence. Nate come home for work early and I told him this didn't seem like a new cold fever, and that I needed to take him in to see Dr. Eberhard, our pediatrician. They fit me in at 3:30 and by that time the Tylonol had kicked in and he seemed fine again, following Nate all over the back yard and I felt pretty foolish for bringing this happy child into the doctor, but I had a peace come over me that this was the right thing to do so I pressed forward. The doctor had seen me Monday for Snack J who had walking Pneumonia and here I was on Friday with Baby C, and he listened to his chest briefly and said he has bronchiolitis and we were to put him on a inhaled steroid via nebulizer 2 times a day for the next 6 weeks. OK, I thought well at least the trip wasn't in vain, (I always hate when you pay to hear the doctor say it's just a virus wait it out) But I felt that there was more and so I asked him outright, "so no pneumonia?, would you mind listening to his back?" So he did, mostly to humor me, I'm sure, and said he couldn't hear anything. He said we could do chest x-rays, but I was like, if you don't think like he has pneumonia then let's not worry about it. So he typed up his note and prescription and as a parting thought he said, "if you want to do chest x-rays we can, i have time..." so I said "let's do it" and I still felt like a fool taking this happy go lucky smiling child up to radiology. I've never had a child take chest ray before, and my kids have had pneumonia at least 5 times between the 3 of them. When Dr. Eberhard looked at the x-ray he shook his head and said "it's a good thing we did this x-ray." He showed me the large area of the left lung where he was supposed to see the outline of the heart but couldn't due to the infection. I rejoiced right there and then, my eyes smarted with tears. I knew God's grace had been bestowed upon my little family today. He inspired me to take Baby C to the doctor, and when I felt silly for pushing my doctor and questioning his judgement, God inspired my doctor to listen to me and recommend a course of action he wouldn't normally recommend(he said he usually waits for 2-3 days of fever before getting chest x-rays. That night Baby C got really sick and has been really sick. Nate and I barely got a couple hours of sleep between the 2 of us, but it was reasurring to know that z-pack antibiotic was on board and we did what was needed. We were able to keep him out the hospital and between Nate and I were able to tag team to get ready for Sister Sue's birthday party. I truely felt grateful for God's gift of Mother's Intuition this weekend.

Bountiful Baskets

www.bountifulbaskets.org

Bountiful Baskets is a food Co-op that provides a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables for great prices. You don't choose what you want, you get what you get, and I like that cause it forces me to introduce new stuff to my kids, and learn how to incorporate it into my meals. Pictured below is what I got from my basket purchase on Saturday, it ended up being 33 lbs which equals 50 cents a lb. (16.50$Flat rate every week) What a Deal! The contents are as follows: yams, brown asian pears, squash, grape tomatoes, cameo apples, brocolli, Romaine lettuce, celery, bananas, blood oranges, pummellos (sweet grapefruit like fruit), baby peeled carrots. This will last our family 2 weeks. I might need to pick up some more bananas. Oh, and every time the baskets are different.

Why is Snack J making applesauce in February? Well, by the end of the day, I was starting to question it myself! However I was not able to put up enough applesauce in the fall due to time limits, with the starting of school...ect...ect and every time I had to buy applesauce at full price at the grocery store, I got upset, therefore when Bountiful Baskets offered a box of Granny Smith's at .46c/lb. I had to jump. I wasn't even able to sign up in my city, because I signed up too late, but drove my 3 kids at 7:30 in the morning to Uintah to pick it up, determined as I was to stop paying full price for applesauce, and homemade is so much better!

I ended up making 7 jars and decided to dry the rest, utilizing my pampered chef apple peeler corer slicer and newish dehydrator they are soooo good!

I took a gamble and tried out the Bountiful Baskets 9 grain bread. The reviews were great, and I am so glad I did. It comes in a set of 5 loaves, for 10$. The bread has a sweet honey taste and is slightly chewy, not dry! (Which is what most store wheat breads tend to be, IMHO)

I was hoping a closeup would help you see how moist the bread is, but I'm afraid you'll just have to believe me, or come over for a slice!

Week in Review

Nate took Snack J and Sister Sue on a hunt: for Gator the Crocodile, Mark's new pet. Mark, Nate's brother has been telling Snack J and Sister Sue all about his new crocodile he found at his house he just bought and is remodeling. So after lunch on Saturday, we loaded the kids up and drove over there to introduce the kids to Gator, who's name kept bothering Snack J:"Gator is an aligator, not a crocodile!" Nate had the kids look all around the yard, look in the bushes while calling out for Gator. He showed them the tub in the front yard that Gator had taken a bite out, then he told them that Gator must be sunbathing in the front yard and there he was. A stuffed Crocodile that Mark had found in the house he was gutting out, and is currently employed as Marks guard dog.

Baby C cheezes every time he sees a camera.

Nate lets Sister Sue have a hand at the hair cut while he waits for me to finish bathing the boys after their hair cut. (she's using the buzzer combs that are too large to cut)

Baby C insists on helping Nate with all jobs which involve farm equipment and animals.

Baby C and Ruby(Elisa Hardy's baby) play together at my exercise group. She has been leading boot camp style workouts and we've been loving and hating it! More on that later.

Snack J's Haircut...

Nate decided Snack J needed either a haircut or a dog tag. So he took matters into his own hands and solved the problem himself. I wanted you to see how good Nate is with the kids, he's a natural at the art of distraction. If you checked out the Hardware Ranch Post you'll see what Nate is having Snack J talk about.

Hardware Ranch: Valentine's Day Weekend Trip

Last week while riding around the backyard on the horses, Snack J said:"Dad I don't want to ride in the backyard, I want to go see the elk!" Of course nate and I smiled big, as Snack J always amazes us with how much he takes in at such a young age and Nate said, "Well, I don't know about taking the horses, but we can take you to go see the elk" And as I type this, I realize that is how we ended up at Dinosaur Park last month: Snack J's idea. This kid's got an amazing power of suggestion. I need to tell him more about Hawaii! :o)

We just bought a Dogde Intrepid 2000 which i'm so excited about not having a car payment,getting better gas mileage and fitting all 3 car seats in without slamming the doors closed.

So anyway: last Sunday we drove the Trapper's Loop, North Ogden Canyon Loop to try it out. We saw 2 moose up by Snow basin and on this trip we saw a bald eagle and 3 white tail deer on the drive, and the lodge where you buy the tickets for the elk wagon ride had a small museum....another museum and my kids loved it! I've got several animal encyclopedia styled books for the kids and they pour over them everyday, so the kids were very excited to get up close and personal with the pictures they look at daily.

Baby C needs to be signed on by Baby Gap Modeling agency, IMHO, but I'm just the mom.


I love the sign below this bobcat: Please do not touch, I BITE!

I was so excited I caught these facial expressions on the kids as they trepidiciously (is that a word?) came face to face with the skins of animals they talk about (and smell) all the time.

When we saw the moose at Snowbasin last week, Snack J couldn't quite see them at his angle in the car, despite Nate turning around the car trying several times to try and help him, so desperately he wanted to see them, so we made a big deal about Snack J being able to get face to face with this moose.

Look Mom, There's Elk Poop!!!!

Gotta love 3 year old enthusiasm.

And gotta love 3 year old obstinance: "No I don't want to look at the camera!"

Well I thought I cropped clipped and zoomed, but apparently it didn't work. Here are the 3 deer we saw on the way home. What, you can't see them? Come on...Look harder!

On the way home Nate asked if we wanted to go out to dinner in Logan, Of Course! So on the Friday before Valentine's we walked right into Copper Mill right before 5 pm with all 3 kids. We lucked out with our waiter who looked about our age, he let us order off the lunch menu and he brought out the kids meals FAST. The kids were so well behaved, we actually were able to enjoy ourselves. We ate at the copper mill for 25 Dollars for the whole family! We can hardly do that at Arby's anymore, well, since they introduced their dollar menu it' s a little easier... And as we walked out the line had begun to form to get into the restaurant. Good timing.

P.S. Nate got me a gift card to Deseret Book and a beautiful bouqet of flowers on Sunday. Okay, so maybe I did give him a suggestion, but I'm so excited to go pick out whatever I want. Many a pleasant thought this past week has been spent deciding what I should get with my gift card. I got Nate another remote for the Wii. So we can now play Wii tennis together, on the same team of course, we don't want to be throwing the remotes at each other :o)

Dinosaur Park

On an No School Day, in January, when the day was a Balmy 45 degrees I decided to give in to Snack J's endless requests to go to Dinosaur Park. I justified that since I was saving money not going up to visit my family in Idaho, for a reason I can't remember anymore,,,really, that I could spend a fraction of that and do a spontaneous trip to the park. I had free tickets somewhere, but have been so disorganized that I knew I would spend half the day trying to find them and miss the opportunity to seize the day. So I just paid full price. Which you have to know is NOT easy for me to do, enough for me to make a big point of telling everyone on my blog! P.S. I finally found the free tickets like a week later, luckily for Snack J who is already back to demanding we go back, at least 3 times a week.
I even splurged and rented the wagon, which was so great to take in the whole park, my double stroller was underneath snow somewhere in the back yard. I love this shot, it reminds me of 3 ducks in a row, waddle, waddle, quack quack.:o)

uh, mom, why am I sitting on this thing?

We were the only ones in the park, I guess not too many people think Dinosaur Park in January, but really, i'd rather stomp around in the snow than be beat down by the summer heat. I think 45 degrees is a perfect temperature.

Now Sister Sue has never seen Karate Kid, but she sure knows how to strike a pose! We had a great time, and my children made me proud as I took them through the inside museum. They looked at each display with awe and asked a ton of questions. I'm glad to be raising museum loving children. I think that respecting and learning about history is vital to our freedom and museums help bring history to life.