Whats been going on...

Sorry guys about it being so long in between posts. I've been incredibly busy rearranging my life and my priorities. Lets go over what my schedule was like.... I was working at Walmart. It was supposed to only be part time 15 hours a week, however they were so short handed that I was working 40 hours a week. Then I am going to school part time in the evenings Mon-thru-Thurs from 6pm to 9pm to help get more loans to help our family live and to pay for Wills Tuition. This last year where all my refund goes to pay the balance owed on his tuition is so tough. We have 40$ every two weeks from my Work study job to help pay for gas to Lincoln and back on a daily basis (basically like driving from North Bountiful Utah to South Provo Utah) and gas in the van for taking the kids to school, and then trying to get cloths for the kids. I so wish that we had DI's here. They had better selections of kids clothing. Here I can't find hardly anything. But anyway, I am working at Creighton for two days a week for my student loan called Work Study. Plus trying to be a mom, and filling my calling as the YW 1st counselor, and all of that, I just had no time to sleep. I would get maybe 5 hours. I was so exhausted, and things just weren't working out. So I decided to quit Walmart not knowing how or when I would get another job to help pay for our utilities and clothing and everything that are the basic of basic needs. I told myself that I was going to focus strictly on my kids and family, and whatever happened happened. Well one of the gals in my branch, who I have her daughter in my YW class, fired her babysitter on Friday, and called me to see if I was willing to babysit for pay. OF COURSE!! She has the sweetest kids, they are so cute, and they are my kids' age. She is a home health nurse, and works overnight, so I will be watching the three kids from 6:30 pm to 8am and then take her 10 year old to school as I drop of my kids to school as well. It works out perfectly. I can be home and be a mom, and it takes not much more effort on my part to watch them sleep. SO I am so blessed and thankful for this blessing. So now I have more time to spend with my kids. They are WAY excited to have their friends from church be on permanent sleepover status, and the older girls will move upstairs with my friends oldest daughter, and the two little ones who are 4 and 5 will be downstairs with Isaac and us...so they don't fall down the stairs. I am really glad that this Sister thought about me to watch her kids. She is so very thankful for me helping her out and tells me I am an answer to her prayers, when in fact SHE is the blessing in disguise to our family. I wont get rich doing this, but it will be enuf to help with gas in the cars to get the kids to school and get Will to his rotations, but we will still end up relying on the Lord for assistance with our utilities and such once in a while. So now, I am not as busy, but my priority are the kids ...and their friends...and I can act more like a mother that I want to be. SO that's how we have been doing.

As a side note...if you know of anyone who has some gently used Twin Size blankets that they are willing to part with and send to me, I would be most grateful. We have a few spares, but not many. I have some other feelers out there for some twin beds...right now they are using air mattresses, but that should only be temporary. So if you know of anyone or anything willing to help, I would be most grateful.

Well thanks for all your love and thoughts and prayers. They are greatly appreciated.

Shots, Apples and Raspberries...Oh My!!

Well, we were naughty but nice parents this last Friday. Will had gotten his Flu shot for free at Creighton last Wed. and then I got my Flu shot on Thursday. Well all three kids got their Flu shots on Friday morning. We decided that by the time we were all done fussing with them, and settling them down from the shot, it wouldn't be worth putting them back in classes, so we kept them out for the rest of the day to play hooky. SO we decided it was a great time to make our annual trek to the Apple Orchard. So we did. The kids had tons of fun, and enjoyed eating their Carmel apples, and raspberries. We had picked 3lbs of raspberries, but I think the kids ate about a pound in the field. They totally enjoyed themselves. We also picked 15lbs of apples. We got gala apples and melrose apples. Both very sweet apples and great for applesauce and cooking. Also eating fresh. I will be making applesauce here soon with our haul of apples. I will also be making quite a few of my famous apple tarts. I have eight requests already lined up. Hopefully next fruit season I will be back in Utah picking peaches as well as apples, and pears, and then making my famous tart with those fruits as well. With our raspberries, I made 5 pints of raspberry sauce. No sugar added, so we can pour it over our ice cream or waffles or cheesecake desserts. It is really good. In fact the kids had some chocolate cookies that they dipped in the remaining little bit of raspberry sauce, and they really loved it. So we will definitely be doing that again. Enjoy our pics. We all had a great time.

'Lil Farmers' Market

I can see that the rest of you are as stumped as I am about what to do with so many pumpkins. Not to be discouraged, I came-up with a plan that combined 3 goals: 1) getting-rid of at least some of these pumpkins, 2) Making a few dollars, and 3) Giving the kids something constructive to do. Below is a picture of the result.

Also in the lower part of the picture are 2 magnetic toys that I (finally!) got-around to making for the kids...yeah,...right...the kids... Anyway, here is a close-up of 2 toys that I made using recycled materials around the house. The one on the left has a dowel (okay so I bought one thing) that I bought holding 2 magnets with the same pole facing each other. In this way, the magnets "levitate" and allow small hands to explore the very real force involved. On the right, I used an ordinary washer and an extra neodymium magnet. The silver magnet closest to the washer is responsible for the attraction of the washer. It pulls about 35lbs on a piece of iron or steel; so I've been looking for a "safe" way to use it without running the risk of pinching small (or not-so-small) fingers. The "strings" holding the washer back are actually 3 of 100 of those cheap ball-chain connectors that you see on keychains all the time. I bought a bag of 100 of them from American Science & Surplus for $1.45 a couple of weeks ago (Okay, okay, so I bought two things!). They are already proving even more handy than I had hoped.

What's your best pumpkin recipe?

Well, Amber can't find the camera since we went to the Iowa State Fair, so I don't have any updated pictures of the Rumbo squash taking-over the rest of the yard. But I do have at least 15 squashes of 15-20lbs EACH growing nicely. In fact, the vines are STILL putting-out female flowers; so I don't know when this will end. The vines are getting suspiciously close to my house, and I'm starting to get nervous. Isn't this how all those 1950's "B-movies" start? Hey, if you saw a recent picture...you'd be paranoid, too.

We've harvested a few of them already; and the next natural question is: "What do we do with all of them?". A fair question. We have a couple for decoration inside and outside the house; but I can see that "supply" easily out-strips "demand" in this case.

So... What are YOUR best recipes/uses for pumpkins? Please post your answers so that we can all share ideas. And if you want a "pumpkin" (and like the green color)...just stop-by. I'll be happy to pick you a fresh one...or three. On second thought...the best recipe/use posted gets a FREE Rumbo squash...just add $19.95 for shipping & handling...

The Answer!!

Here it is in all it's cute and ugly glory. The newest baby AARDVARK at the Omaha Zoo. Isn't life just disgusting and cute all at the same time. Makes you want to say "aahhhhh how..um...ugly?"

Good Guess Teri and Ginny. But you guys live here. he he

Guess what this is!

We took this picture recently, so you know it's in the Omaha area. But do you know what it is? We'll post the answer in a couple of days. The winner receives: Bragging Rights.

I'm a pumpkin employee! YIPEE!

Yep, I'm a Vala's Pumpkin Employee. For those of you who don't know what Vala's pumpkin patch is, I have included a link to its website. Can I just say that this place is the mother of all Pumpkin Patches. It's like Disneyland meets the Pumpkin Patch. It is AWESOME!! Now, you may wonder why someone like me would want to work at the Pumpkin Patch. Well I will tell you. It's NOT for the money. The money is what will get my kids treats there, and gas for me to get there and from. I only work from September 20th to November 1st. But for that magical month, my kids will get to enjoy so much. As an employee I get a free season pass for my family. As many of you know it costs my family $75 just to get in the door. Then if we want any food, which trust me you DO (It's fantastic food) it's another 100$, and that's just for ONE visit. Now, my kids can go as many times as they want, and not have to worry about paying a dime. Plus not only do I get the free family season pass, but I get 10 passes to give to family and friends, and then I get unlimited train tickets for my family, and free food vouchers for my family, and free pumpkin vouchers for my family. All of this plus I get paid minimum wage (so it covers gas, and any additional food we want). Its a win win situation to give my kids the memories of a lifetime for me to work just a few hours a week for one month out of the year. So if ya see me there, say hi.

Here is the website link...feel free to poke around..its cool:

http://www.valaspumpkinpatch.com/index.html

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Well, here are the kids after a short trip to our garden. I knew that there were plenty of tomatoes to be picked; but what surprised me most was the fact that we have just as many that will be ready in the next few days. I weighed our potato and tomato harvests, just to see. It turned-out that despite the potato plants being completely over-run by the Rumbo squash, that we got 6lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes. I only wish that I had planted more of them (and further from the Rumbos). The tomatoes weighed-in at 29lbs. They are ugly fruit, but taste so good when freshly-sliced on a piece of toast.

I'm not trying to make anyone feel unhappy; we do the best in our own unique circumstances. But I know that it'll be a long time before I can have such a large garden again; and I don't want to look-back on this seasons' effort and wonder if we really had that much tomatoes and squash. Besides, it's an excuse to take cute pictures of the kids having fun while helping provide for the family.

The Squash that ate Omaha!!

No, it's not a title of a terrible 1950's horror film....it's really happening!

If you look in the pictures, you'll see the squash not only hiding the frames that are clearly visble in the last post; you'll see it climbing ON TOP OF THE CORN! Of course, it has all but swallowed the fence as well. Did I mention that there are only 6 squash plants in our garden?

Like I tell Amber: I don't go in the garden alone, after dark, anymore. I'm afraid, and after these pictures who can blame me.

At least we'll have all the jalapenos, tomatoes and various squashes we can eat and put-up. I'll sleep a lot better after we harvest the squash plants. Until then, I don't let the dog go in the garden...just in case.

Our First Tomato of the Season

Yesterday, I had the surreal experience of crawling through a "cave" made of tomato vines. I can't remember ever having a similar experience in my nearly 41 years, despite having a garden nearly every year when I was young. Even more amazing to me was the fact that among the probably 100 green tomatoes of various (and large!) sizes, there was exactly one fully-ripe tomato, which I picked. There was not even a single spot of yellow among all the many fruits, just one red tomato and at least 100 green ones. Just to add to the mystery of this delicious fruit...it was the size of my fist...no kidding!

Here are the kids, about a week ago, in the garden. I wanted Amber to take a few pictures of the garden with us in it, for scale. Isaac is next to the "Rumbo" squash, which will be comperable to pumpkin in size and shape. The corn is putting-up its tassle stalks, though you can't see that from these pictures. The girls are enjoying a pair of early carrots. And we have had fresh green beans at dinner for the last week.

Since these pictures, the tomatoes are almost 6 feet tall, and are covered with new blossoms. The strawberries are now spent, but were so delicious to snack-on. Our only question-mark this season are the potatoes. I haven't raised them before, and so I have no idea if things are going well, or if they are headed for disaster. We'll see.

Enjoy the pictures!