Life on our corner

 Seriously painting This is his rocket and launcher made from K'Nex.  (I thought it was cool!)  Our 4th annual gingerbread house.  I buy a kit because I am not that ambitious.  Measuring out his duct tape to make a wallet.  So proud of his finished project.  And so sad that he has nothing to put in it!

Is there anything better than... a little boy excited to read. a baby who wakes up happy, who greets you with the biggest smile as she reaches out of her crib.  a two year old grabbing your face to kiss you. crossing things off the list. dry nights. dry days. empty laundry baskets. chocolate and mint.

Jordan loved this so before I lost the recipe I thought that I should get it down!  Baked Potato Soup INGREDIENTS: 6 large baking potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch cubes 1 large onion, chopped (optional) 2 cups broth 2 cloves garlic, minced (or pressed) 3 Tbs butter 2 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 2 cups milk 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 4 oz cream cheese 8 slices bacon, fried & crumbled   cheese, for sprinkling PREPARATION: Combine  first 9 ingredients  in a large crock pot; cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours (potato should be tender).  Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is thickened. Stir in cream cheese and chives.  Top with bacon and more cheese.

I received an email today informing me that I have failed to update my blog in a timely manner.  I didn't know that these posts were so popular!  We'll so as not us disappoint my 8 readers here we go! Our most exciting news probably comes from the littlest ones in our family.  Reuben started wear undies and gave up his paci last week.  So far so good with the undies!  He has even started telling us when he has to go (sometimes!)  He has done just fine without his paci.  He gave up his nap for a few days, but it is back.  Whew!  Elise is standing!  It took her a LONG time but she got there!  She loves it! Jonah and Audrey started Children's Choir this month.  I am so excited for Audrey especially. She is loving having a little something that makes her feel like a big girl.  Jonah is doing great with school.  We have been hitting the 3 R's pretty hard.  He reminded me this week that we need to spice it up a b...

She is supposed to be asleep, but she must have missed that memo. And then came the crash! Jonah was playing photographer again! Elise will be 9 months on Sunday so she had a little check up today.  18 lbs 11 ounces puts her right at 50% on the charts.  She is a little longer (70%) at 28 inches.  As always I had to look up my others.  Audrey was 18-8 and 28 inches.  Wow that is similar.  They boys were 3 and 5 pounds bigger.  (I will let you guess which boy was which!) 9 month shots are not typical, but Elise didn't have her 2 month (our decision) or 6 month (she had a fever from a virus) so she is "behind."  She carried a fever when she got her 4 month so I asked if we could just do one this time and got a "YES!"  A huge thing in the DSM area where some of us feel that our parental rights are being compromised and the individual needs of our babies ignored for the sake of administration. (Yep, this whole thing gets me...

We found a caterpillar and got to watch him turn into a butterfly.  So Cool!  I had never seen this before and I think I was more excited than the kids! Our homemade worm farm when we were studying "The Underground." Jonah trying his hand at being a blacksmith at Living History Farms. LHF-The broommaker's. And a little magic wand art project!

A couple weeks ago Jordan said "I have a few days off I need to use up.  Let's go camping!" I must have twitched the wrong way or something, and I said "Yes."  It is not that I am down on camping, I am not.  For me camping is kind of like coffee.  It takes a few cups before you fall in love with it, and it is going to take me a bit to get to get used to it and then I will really enjoy it.  We set up camp on Thursday afternoon.  It was chilly but we were having a good time.  After supper Audrey started complaining that her ear hurt and was itchy.  It was bright red!  A few minutes later she was yelling at the top of her lungs "Stop it!  You are so annoying."  We asked her to keep it down and quit talking to Jonah that way.  She started hitting her ear and explained that she was talking to it and not her brother.  I wiped off her ear, and we began to getting everyone bedded down.  About a half hour later she...