Logger's Conference

So I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off today....we are heading out tomorrow after Cameron finishes preschool and heading towards Eugene. We will probably only make it to Bend and stay there for the evening. This helps break the trip up for the kiddos and for me too. Then, Wednesday it will be on to Eugene for Logger's Conference.

This is pretty exciting for a few reasons. 1) Matt is a logger. Therefore, he and every other logger get together to "educate" themselves through classes and workshops. 2) I am a shopper. While Matt is "educating" himself all day long, I get to shop. Because really, there's nothing else to do in Eugene...unless you are a hippie. 3) We don't go on any other family vacations, so I try to make this one into the most exciting thing to resemble a family vacation. This means we, stay in Bend, shop in Eugene, and then go on over to the Oregon Coast. I know, it's February. It's freezing outside. But, you take what you can get. And I love the coast, even in February. The kids love the Newport Aquarium. I love real fish and real clam chowder. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the outlet malls in Lincoln City, which is where we stay for the night before heading up to Portland and back home on Sunday.

I will be missing in action for the rest of the week...unless the motel has internet and a computer. Even then, I doubt I'll blog. I'm exhausted from this pregnancy. Like, if I didn't know I was pregnant, I'd have gone to the doctor because I would be convinced I'd be dying. I have never known tired like this tired. I was close to this tired with Cameron, so I'm gonna say another girl, but this is sheer exhaustion. I slept from 9:00 pm until 8:00 this morning and I felt like I hadn't slept a wink. I sit on the couch and try to figure out how to get enough energy to get something accomplished. The kids are climbing the walls because we go a lot, and I just can't do it. It sucks. Sorry to whine. I know nobody reads this to listen to me whine, but sometimes it helps. I. Hate. being. pregnant. This is so it, never again. I can't believe how old and tired I feel!

So have a lovely week and I will return next week with lots of good logging stories and photos of the kiddos at the coast.

Sunday Book Review--5

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of my favorite collections of poems ever. Shel Silverstein was a huge part of my childhood. I loved these poems, can vividly remember my third grade teacher reading these out loud to us while we waited to go to the bus. I remember getting my own hard-cover edition for Christmas one year. When I was teaching third grade, I also read these poems to my students. I think they are timelessly humorous for children and would highly recommend them to anyone. I can't wait for Cameron to get just a little older so she can get all of the humor involved.

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Valentine's Day 2010

Usually I get tulips from Matt. It's become a tradition because one year he went to Albertson's to get me some roses, and he brought me back tulips. Of course they were beautiful, and I ooohed and aaahhhhed over them. Matt looked a little bit puzzled and said, "Tulips? Well no wonder they were such a good price!" So now every year I get tulips. But this year I got roses again because he couldn't find his tulips. Beautiful.
And the obligatory Valentine chocolate. We end up with chocolate everywhere, so I try to make a cute display of it on the table. It was too easy of access for the kids so now it's all up on the top of the fridge. I'm pretty sure Tucker had about 25 rolos for breakfast that morning before I realized it.

The final result of Cameron's hard work on her Valentines. This was her first time working on Valentines for her classmates. She had so much fun!

And here she is hard at work writing her name 21 times in a row. I kept suggesting she take a break and come back to it, but she worked right through and did a great job! I'm so proud of her writing. She loves my set of colored Sharpies. I've always had a thing for markers and pens, so I don't ever let her use them, but this was such a special occasion, I decided I could share. She used all 12 colors.

Here she is ready for preschool. I had to take a photo because it was one of those days where you can just picture her when she's 16. She's such a beautiful little girl. Sometimes I still see baby and then I get a a glimpse of the big girl that she's quickly becoming. She picked out her shoes at Target. They are pink glitter mary janes. Not the most practical, but definately the most exciting when you are four. I should have made her get brown or white, but you can only pull that look off for a few short years. You go girl! The girl's got style....I'm sure she gets it from me. I've always been a sucker for a cheap pair or shoes!

Here is Tucker on his newest addition to his dinosaur collection. Thanks to his Aunt Becky and cousin Bradley, he now owns this enormous dinosaur. I didn't want it, too much space, but you can't tell the kid no. So yes, this now sits in my living room. Yay for me!

Cameron came home from school the day after they made their Valentine mailboxes and told me how they were all going to choose Valentines for each other and bring them to school. She the said, "I hope Kemper (her preschool crush) brings me a Princess Valentine", and then she did a big twirl and a leap. I couldn't help but see years of frustration when boys forget Valentine's Day or don't get the right "Princess Valentine" so I told her he wouldn't get her a special Valentine at all. That boys just get valentines with spiderman or something else that boys like. She told me I was wrong. I knew I wouldn't be. I was right. In fact, Kemper didn't even seem to give her a Valentine at all. Not that I can find. I don't dare ask about it and she seems content with the Princess valentine given to her by her teacher, Miss Amanda, so we're all happy. Thank God. It's only going to get worse from here....

And this one I couldn't resist adding because she looks so sweet in her Valentine dress...never mind the crotch shot. You take what you can get.

And Tucker not so cooperative about the camera these days takes after his father and thinks he needs to spit his tongue or make a weird face every time I try to get one of him. Hence the reason there are 100+ photos of Cameron and just a few of Tucker. I keep hoping it's a phase, but his father still does it, so I doubt it.


Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Getting ready to start on one of my new year's resolutions and begin reading Jane Austen's Emma for one of my five classics for the year. I'm looking forward to it.

Sunday Book Review--4

Once again....a day late, but here is my weekly review!

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
When I was pregnant with Cameron, Matt and I would go to Boise to run errands. Except, I didn't have the energy to "run" anything. So he would drop me off at Barnes and Nobles and he would go on to Home Depot to look at "Man things". In the meantime, I would find something random and find a comfy chair and two hours later he would pick me up. This was one of my random finds while I was pregnant.

This book is a little vulgar, but realistic. If you still believe that pregnancy is all flowers and butterflies, I wouldn't recommend it. If you are like me, and you really don't like pregnancy. Or you like it, but you are able to embrace the fact that it's just not the best time in your life. Or, if you simply realize that some things in pregnancy are just downright funny, then this book is for you!

When Matt came to pick me up, I had just about a fourth of this book left to read. I had to break my rule of never paying full price for a hardcover book. I bought it. I read the rest in the car while he ran yet another errand. And I hadn't laughed at my condition until this book. I love Jenny McCarthy. Especially since she has embraced motherhood the way she has, taken a stand on nutrition and auto-immune disorders (autism, etc). And I love that she's real. I would recommend this to anyone with a sense of humor who is, has, or will become pregnant. And guys too. Matt laughed at quite a few parts of this book.

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Friday check in

Someday Tucker is going to hate this, but for now, one of their favorite games is zookeeper. I'm always a little hesitant to watch it go on, but they both seem to enjoy their roles. Tucker is always the submissive caged animal and Cameron is the zookeeper. Notice the two princess wands stuck in the side of the cage? Yup, those are here weapons of choice. And she does use them if Tucker tries to escape. All I can say is Tucker is going to make a wonderful husband someday. He will be so used to having a woman boss him around, it shouldn't be a problem to have a wife that acts the same way.

And Cameron....well Cameron I'm a little concerned with. God forbid she meets a boy someday, (and you know she will) that wasn't raised with an overbearing big sister. But, I'm sure she'll do just fine...after she uses her Princess wand on him.

I don't know about all the other mom's out there....but since they were little babies, I have always thought about those future husband and wives. In fact, I pray for them daily. It is such a huge decision to make and I hope to instill in my kids some basic values that I hope somebody out there is instilling in their own children right now. Sometimes it seems almost impossible to be able to find someone "good enough" for yourself, but then think about your children. I know it's a long ways off, but someday I'll be able to tell that daughter in law or son in law, "I've been praying for you since you were just a little kid". Creepy mother-in-law? Absolutely! Can't wait! And can you imagine being Tucker's wife and having me hand off god knows how many huge scrapbooks of Tucker for her to keep and cherish? She'd better appreciate them!

So anyways, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, just thought I'd chat randomness about my thoughts on love for my kids and also how lucky I am that I found Matt. This just convinces me even more that you can look and look and look and think you know exactly what you want and then BAM you realize you've met the perfect one for you and he's not at all what you had in mind. He's even better. I even went to school with Matt during high school and I would have never looked twice at him. And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have looked twice at me. It's just funny how life works out. But when I saw him sitting in the corner of that bar, wearing his Carhartt sweatshirt, wranglers and drinking from a longneck, I pretty much knew I was screwed. I had spent three and a half years in Montana at college, dating and dating and dating and expecting to find a husband (yes, I was one of those girls) as part of the whole Bachelor's Degree package....you know, the MRS. Degree that usually goes hand in hand? And all that time, he was back home in Emmett working in the woods and actually making something of himself while all of the boys I was dealing with were simply trying to figure out how to make Daddy's allowance stretch out to buy another six pack of cheap beer. I was EXHAUSTED!
So when Matt started driving the eight hour stretch, in the snow, after working massive amounts of hours all week, just to see me for a few days, I knew I had found a keeper.

One time he drove from Emmett to Helena (for Valentine's Day) brought a sweater (which is so not him) because I told him we were going somewhere nice for dinner. Took me to Salvatore's, (the local Italian place) where they were running a $39.95 per couple special....or so I thought. It was actually $39.95 a PIECE and that didn't include drinks. $100+ later....I was apologizing all over myself because I didn't want him to think I was a snooty bitch that expected that kind of thing but he still just paid and only gave me minimal crap about it.

We then left Helena, drove back to Emmett, and left the next day for Eugene for my first of many Logger's Conferences. And then back to Emmett, and back to Helena. That's a lot of driving! I think I knew after that that I was in it for the long haul....and that was seven years ago. My how time flies! I love ya, Matt!

I'm off to take Cameron and her friend Mary to a Valentine's Day Party with some of their little friends. Tucker is sick with ear infections, so I think we'll be hanging out on the couch for the afternoon. Hoping he feels better tomorrow because we have tickets to see Valentine's Day tomorrow night. My sister, Marianne, is babysitting. I'm hoping to hit the Olive Garden too. The one good thing about being pregnant. I can finally enjoy all you can eat breadsticks without the guilt that happens after two and the shame that happens after four. You know what I'm talking about?

Cinderella

Last weekend Cameron and I had the opportunity to see Ballet Idaho's performance of Cinderella at the Morrison Center. It was my first "real" ballet. It was absolutely beautiful. Breathtaking. I was on the fence about taking Cameron. Not sure she would get very much out of a two hour ballet, anything that does not involve words is usually not her forte. But, after the initial shock that Cinderella did not look like Disney's version, she loved it. I had to kind of talk her through some of the parts, but when we got home, she told Matt the entire story and remembered things that I had already forgotten. The entire audience was little girls her age and they were all sporting Christmas dresses or Easter dresses. Some were sporting actual Cinderella dress-up dresses. It was a wonderful afternoon.

My Grandma Yates was the one that actually took us to the ballet. We met her, Marianne, and Carmen for lunch at Smoky Mountain before the performance and had a treat at TCBY on the way home.

Due to the fact that I am pregnant, and my world revolves around food at this point, I will probably be documenting almost every eating excursion for the next nine months. I am not one of those "I couldn't eat a thing the first three months" women. I am one that is alway, always, ALWAYS hungry. It doesn't matter what I just ate, or when, or how much....20 minutes later, I am on the brink of passing out I am famished. It's quite irritating because rationally I know the baby is the size of a poppy seed but just try to tell my stomach this tidbit of information. Did I mention that I am not a cute pregnant person? I don't glow. I don't feel better than I ever have before. I don't look cute in maternity clothes. I retain water. I sweat. I break out. I puke. I cry and laugh at the same time. I just don't like it. If it wasn't for the end result, I'd never do it. But I guess I am a slow learner because here I am, not even six weeks in and I'm right back to being miserable.

Sunday Book Review--3

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazing! Just the right mix of "soap opera" and history. I loved all 600+ pages of this book and could not put it down. I was really interested in the approach that Gregory took to the homosexual circle in Queen Anne's courts. I had never heard about that possibility. I was also amazed at the efforts that families would take to improve themselves by using their worthless women as pawns.
I have been to the Tower of London in England. It is truly amazing, and eery at the same time. The scandal of that particular time is a real intrigue to me.
Great book! One of my favorites of the year. Perhaps one of my top 10 favorites.

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Update on Life

I just wanted to brag up the Logger a little bit. But before I get to that, I wanted to share a sweet moment that doesn't happen very often in our house. Cameron taking a break from the day. She rarely sleeps all night and NEVER during the day, so I had to pause and take a picture.


And speaking of Cameron, she asked me where poop comes from the other day. I explained it to her in scientific detail all the way to the stomach absorbing the much needed vitamins and nutrients. She then asked me how it gets to your legs so they can grow. So I had to explain about blood and muscles, and on and on and on. She then proceeded to asked where pee comes from. Again, we went through the whole process and I wrapped up my lesson for the day with, "this is why you should always drink healthy drinks and eat healthy snacks. Your body needs vitamins and nutrients." Or something that was real "Mom is so wise"ish. And she then asked me what would happen if she ate her finger....would she poop that or would her body use it for vitamins? Just when I think I've got all the answers......


And now, can I just say how excited I am for my room that is coming together nicely? Here are my bookshelves, and drawer units and cubicle systems, freshly painted and screwed to the wall. The counters will go in this weekend and then I will be ready to start putting things away! I love the smell of fresh paint and this shade of green is BEAUTIFUL! I plan on putting all of my many scrapbooks across the bottom of this shelf, which will be my focal point under the window.


The counters will wrap all the way around the room, so lots of space for crafts and projects galore! Yes, you saw right, that is 16, I reapeat 16 paper slots! Each of the open drawer units will have 4 or 5 drawers for all of my stuff. Are you excited yet?


These are all the fronts of the drawers, still drying in the shop. Matt is looking rather proud of himself in the background. These are put together now and waiting to come inside this weekend. I love my logger!

I fact, I think Matt building me my own scrapbook room may have been a major weakness, because I "loved" him so much I let this happen......





Surprise! I'm blaming it on the smell of fresh paint, 16 paper trays and 12X12 cubicles. What's a girl to do?

Book Review Sunday (a day late)

Dog by Matthew Van Fleet


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I think I may have enjoyed this book more than my kids, but they insist on reading it again and again. It is especially fun to use different voices and sing it like an opera. Hey, what can I say....I'm a stay at home mom...we've gotta mix it up somehow! Even if you are an adult and just love dogs, this is a great one to add to the collection. We are especially fond of the "all dogs poop and all dogs pee" page.

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