The Domestic Goddess Strikes Again!!

Pictured you see Nature's Recipe Farm Stand Selects dog food. Nature's Recipe is a premium dog food and their Farm Stand Selects is borderline gourmet dog food. I had gotten a few samples a while back and Shiloh really liked it mixed in with her regular dog food. In the samples were some coupons. So every 4-5 weeks I'll get her a 5lb bag to mix in. Now this food is sold at PetSmart for $8.99 for 5lbs. I use my $4 off coupon which makes it a pretty good price since I don't feed this to her exclusively. PetSmart has their "customer cards" which saves people even more. You know what I am talking about; Kroger, Carrs, ect use these and run specials on different items all the time. Right now PetSmart has their 5lbs bags of this stuff only $5.99 with their "pet perks" card. So I used my last 4 coupons and paid only $1.99 per bag for this stuff. You can't do any better than that. And, for anyone who is wondering (because I always did), Shiloh does poop less when she is eating this. Apparently that's not just a marketing ploy like I thought.

The Missing Triplet

This is the shirt that Jennifer was looking for for Rachael to wear awhile back. (check her "Twinners" post). Doesn't it look so cute on Lorelei? :) She wears it with jeans, though. Playing with her brother and the dog is a little hard in skirts, plus she gets dirtier. Anyway, I had her climb in the chair because lately when you try and take her picture she gets so excited that she runs up to the camera. This is her cheese face. When you tell her to say cheese she gets really excited and really loudly says, "Cheeee!!!!"

Copy Cat

I really liked Jenn's new blog template...so I just had copy! When I was looking through her comments I saw the link that Emily sent her. I figured it is almost Halloween (Although according to Wal-Mart, it is almost Christmas. They started putting there stuff out at the beginning of September) that I would put something seasonal up for now.

New Blog

Under "My Favorite People" you will see a link to the PWOC. I have volunteered to "create" a website for our local chapter. BlogSpot is the best that I can do. But hey, anything that gets the word out there works for me. One of the new women this year asked if we had a website and since we didn't I told our president that that was something I could take care of. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Play with me!

Houston has been obessed with hopscotch lately. Ever since he saw a "Blue's Clues" episode with it featured. He told me that this tower was hopscotch and that I needed to mail it to Opa and Grandma and Uncle Jeremy so that they could play with it, too. Tried to explain to him that we can't mail it, but we can keep all the blocks together and that Opa would play blocks with him while he was here. He said that is a good idea, but he still wants to mail the tower as well.

Check Me Out!!

I accidently found a way to edit my pictures. I could spend hours doing this stuff. Good thing there isn't a whole lot going on right now so that I can. This is just one that I was playing around with this afternoon. I like the way it turned out. Now I might actually have to get good picture paper for our printer.

Couldn't Help Myself

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Rembrandt

Houston got a great little chalkboard easle from his Texas Grandma for Christmas last year. At first it was mostly scribbles, but lately he has started drawing "real" pictures. These are of the bathroom mirror and of Daddy. (The weird thing at the top of his head is his hat)

The joys of motherhood

Lorelei and Houston were playing in the backyard today. Sound innocent enough, right? His idea of gentle play and mine are totally different. First he pushes Lorelei out of th cube/slide thingy we have. Good thing Lorelei is still at that "made of rubber" stage in her life. Later I go to pick her up and I notice she is covered in dirt. Didn't think anything of it until I notice the smell. She is really covered in......DOG POOP! I told Houston that Lorelei and I were going inside to get her cleaned up. He tells me that he did it. So I ask him, did you push Lorelei in the poop? He looks at me and tells me yes, like it is the most normal thing in the world. (See what you get to look forward to with boys, Jennifer?)

No Respect

I have realized that when you drive a mini-van people think that you are pushover and will try to dominate you on the road. I never had this problem when I drove the truck or even the car. I was backing out at the post office today, had about 1/4 of the vehicle out of the spot and this truck (going the wrong direction for the angle parking) whips in and almost hits me. I have been cut of on the road I don't know how many times and when I have been in my designated turing lane at an intersection and the car next to me is in a straight only lane they STILL think they can cut me off. I really hate stupid drivers!!

Before and After

Everybody should remember when Shiloh had to get shaved. Her silly caretakers brushed her wrong and matted the undercoat. Well that was back at the end of March. Compare the pictures....she looks like a pyr again!!!

Visit from the In-laws

So Robert and Kay drove up from Texas Wednesday night and spent all day Thursday with us and most of Friday before they had to head back. It's nice when they visit. The kids get to play with Grandma and PaPa and when they're here and Brian isn't, Robert helps out with the "honey-do list" This trip he spread some gravel under the drains where the rain water was slowly digging holes. He also fixed the VCR. While he was here it stopped working. Turns out that a bologna sandwich that Lorelei shoved in there probably 6 months ago got jiggle just right and was blocking the power switch. In my defense, I did take the sandwich out right away, I just didn't realized that a small piece had been left behind. They also got to enjoy some one on one time with the kids on Thursday while I took Shiloh to the groomer and on Friday so that I could wash some bedding at the laundry mat. All in all, not a bad visit.

Dang Video!!

I have this really cute video of Lorelei playing with Robert. He was laying down on the floor and she was sitting on his head bouncing up and down. For some reason, though, the video will only work in the editing section of the blog, but it won't show up otherwise. So you guys will just have to settle for a picture of it and use your imaginations.

31 Days and Counting

For anyone is who keeping track I have 31 days left. That is not counting today or the day of the Big Event. October 12 is the scheduled day for the C-Section. If everything goes the way it should then I check in that Friday morning and go home no later than Monday morning. Although, it is very possible that I could go home on Sunday. After a C-Section it is a mandatory 48 hour stay. After that my doctor gives me the option if I want to stay a couple more days depending on how I'm feeling. With Lorelei as soon as those 48 hours were up I was getting packed and ready to to leave.

Tattoo Mania

Houston loves getting the temporary tattos that you find in the vending machines. You know, the ones in the front at Wal-Mart next to all the gum and candy machines. WE've decided the Lorelei needs to get in on all of the fun, too.

Child Pornography

I had to take down the videos of the kids on the bathtub. Brian was watching them in the desert and almost got him butt reamed for it. Because of the "full frontal nudity" that Lorelei was showing off and the fact the Brian was using a government computer the Air Force deemed that border-line pornography. I guess the only reason he didn't get into trouble was that he explained the video was his daughter, it was posted on the family's blog by his wife and that he would have his wife take it down ASAP. How anal can you be???

I'm a smartie!!

This came via DHL today. I showed it to Houston and told him that I am a smartie. He argued with me and said no that he was a smartie. I told him he gets to be a smartie later, right now it's mommy's turn.

Boys Vs. Girls

Houston is figuring out that there are differences between boys and girls. The most obvious being "boobies". We were talking about that and he told me that girls have boobies but boys don't, boys have nipples. What is confusing him is that he is wondering where Lorelei's boobies are. He can't quite grasp the concept that she won't get them until she is older. Thank goodness that these conversation gems have only happened at home and not a church.

Tonight we were watching the season finanle of "The Bill Engvall Show". For those who don't know who that is, he is a country comic. He does the Blue Collar Comedy Tour with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. He was also a part of "Blue Collar TV". The short lived series based on the tour that was on the WB. Anyway, there was a scene where Bill's wife got a little boozy and joined in the kareoke. So she is up there singing "Hit me with your best shot" and takes her jacket off (she's wearing a fairly tight tank top underneath) and starts shaking her chest. I told Houston, look she's shaking her boobies. It's not very nice manners to shake your boobies. He didn't have his PJ shirt on yet and starts shaking his chest back and forth and tells me "look, I'm shaking my boobies...no...I'm shaking my nipples!"

Trying it out

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

I think I could really get into digital scrapbooking. No mess and nothing to keep out of the kid's reach. Tried this one site out today. It was fun, but I'm not sure yet how much I like their free layouts. I'll have to play around with it some. The next time the CDC on base has their "Give Parents a Break" (6 hours of free childcare one saturday a month) I'll have to really play around. That many hours uninterrupted is what I need.

Who's Blog??

I'm starting to think that this is no longer the "Crow's Capers" Blog as much as it is "All about my kids" blog. Oh well, I have to brag about them somewhere. Better here on the net than complete strangers while we wait in line at the grocery store. (yes, I think I have done that on a few occasions).

Here's Housotn doing his exercises. He'd got it down pretty well and can do one whole push-up before he gets tired. Pretty sad because he does better than mom. The only way I can do pushups in on my knees. Bonus for everyone with this picture, this is what the new dinning room floor looks like! When Brian gets back we'll finish laying this tile in the living room and hallway. (They're all connected) Haven't really decided what kind of tile we're going to put in the bedrooms yet. We won't have to figure that out for about 6 months. (After Brian gets back and after we save up the money to buy the tile, even at .88 each for a sqr foot it can get pricey)

And here's a picture of Lorelei being really goofy. In the bathtub she like to dunk her face in the bubbles until she's completely covered herself. Then she says "eye, eye, eye" over and over again until you wipe the bubbles off of her eyes.

I'm Mr. Lonely

I'm beginning to think that Houston hast his thing where he just cannot sleep by himself. He either crawls in bed with Lorelei or I wake up and find him in my bed. Not sure what the poor is going to do when (one of these days) he has to move into his own room.

Darndest Things

After reading some of the posts of other cute/funny things that other people's kids say I thought it was about time I posted a couple of quips of my own.

About a week before Brian left Houston was helping me pick up some last minute things that Brian needed. I used that time to remind Houston that daddy was going to the desert and that's why he needed these things.

"I'll go to the desert, too!"
"No Houston, you have to be an Army Guy to go to the desert"
"But I got a Army Guy haricut!!!"

(Houston knows what Army Guys are thanks that Alan's christmas presesent a couple of years ago. Also, the only way I could get him to consent to a hair cut was the promise of an Army Guy haircut)

This happened today in the backyard. Houston came back out after going in (I thought he just had to pee) and I noticed him chewing on something.

"Houston, what's in your mouth?"
"Bubblegum."
"You didn't ask if you could have any."
"I asked myself."

Lorelei isn't one with the funny quips yet, but there is a quirk that sets her apart from the rest. Here is a basic list of what she can say.

Here, Dog, Shiloh, Hi, Bye, Thank You, Please, More, Ear, Nose, Cheek, Chin, Eye, Belly Button, Da-Da. She has even added Hoost (tried to say Houston today). Notice though, she does not say Ma-Ma. She will repeat it on occasion but that's it. It's just not fair!!

The Little Red Hen

These past two weeks I have been feeling a lot like the little red hen who had to do everything. Of course that's the way it always is when Brian is gone. I don't really mind since these are nice surpirises for him to come home to.

So these first two pictures are of the clothesline/post that I put in. I dug (which was the suckiest part of the whole job) a hole about 8 inches across and 20 inches deep. Then I mixed the 40 pounds of cement (minus what the dog spilled in the yard after she chewed through the back), and then I poured it and set the post. The hole was dug one day and the rest was done the second day. I wanted to do it all in one day but had to stop after a wasp stung me on the head just above my ear. It's nice not having to go to the laundry mat anymore. (the circuit breaker is broken for the dryer). The only bad thing is that next week I will have to go to the laundry mat since I can't put the bedding on the line.

Now this picture is just off of the patio. The steady drip from the drain from the A/C was making the ground really boggy there and disgusting. So I leveled it has best as I know how, laid down 40 pounds of drainage gravel and then laid the patio stones right on top. It's been about 3 weeks since I did this project and it seems to be working really well. No more yucky soggy ground!

The picture on the left is where earlier this summer Shiloh dug a "cool down pit" about 3-3 1/2 feet across and about 6 inches deep. Summer is over and it was time to repair the pit and line more cinderblocks along the fence where the dogs have dug. Also had to repair it since everytime it rained that area flooded and made a royal mess. Anyway, I leveled this area and laid pounds of the gravel before I put the patio stones down. We'll see how well I did the next time we get a heavy rain.