Kids Say the Darndest...

I was sitting in a chair with one daughter on each leg. We were laughing and joking around. Wide mouth laughs leave plenty of room for mom to inspect the interior reaches of a child's mouth and well, catch a whiff...

Mama: Goodness, when did you girls brush your teeth!?!

Branch: Yesterday night.

Blossom: Tomorrow!!!

YIKES!

RV Life: The Fraidy Hole

Way back when... you know - a few weeks, days, hours and minutes ago, I am just not sure how many! We were staying in the Stillwater, OK area. I loved it there. We had some threats of severe weather in the area. Tornados scare people... the treekids included! I would be afraid if there were any actual tornados heading the way of my location, but otherwise, I just love a thunderstorm, rain, wind, etc. So, I wasn't worried about the weather. But, just in case the weather turned really sour... there was a storm shelter for our use.

But, in Oklahoma, they are called "Fraidy Holes"!!!So, in case of tornado, run fast (and get there first) to the nearest fraidy hole!!
There isn't much room, but if a tornado was really coming, we would all be very close friends waiting out the spinning wind. Maybe we could sing camping songs to help the kids feel like it is fun, or say many prayers to calm nerves and hope for the best!

We'll just hope we don't NEED the services of the fraidy hole!

Easter fun

The bunny made a stop at the RV park for Easter. Bump had great fun picking up eggs... and throwing them as if they were a BALL! I was not surprised in the least!!
They had a good time - even if they were VERY chilled!The bunny brought lots of fun things this year - I did get a couple pictures before the baskets were completely taken apart - maybe I will get a chance to lighten them up and share...

Family for Easter

We went out to the Pops' folks' farm for Easter Sunday. We had a great time amidst the 50 or so people!!! Yes... a BIG family! Taking pictures of the group is getting more and more complicated as Bump tries to run away! Some day they will ALL make great smiles at the same time, right?? And the sun will hide behind a cloud! Oh, well... here's their pretty/handsome Easter outfits!

Hope you all had a Happy and Blessed Easter!

Have a Little Heart

Have you given Heartgard to your pet lately??

Bump can do it all by himself. It is as easy as 1, 2, 3!!

1. Hold the real beef chew out for dog to catch a whiff.

2. Hold still while dog snarfs the Heartgard chew right out of your fingers.

3. Reach out to an adult trying to get another chew and give old dog an overdose of her monthly debugging.

Good times in the trailer!! Hope you are having a fun day, too!!

P.S. - We went to Stations of the Cross, Dinner and BINGO last Friday as planned... Unfortunately, there were no bingos of any sort at our table. Oh, well... Fun was had anyway!

Goin' for the win!

Last Friday, we headed to church in the evening to pray the Stations of the Cross with the local church. Much to our surprise, afterwards there was a FREE dinner of cheese quesadillas, rice, refried beans, chips and salsa and assorted desserts! After dinner what did we do? We stuck around a little while after dinner to join the fun of a few BINGO games! Each of the big treekids wanted to play, so we gave them each a dollar to "rent a card" to play for the night.

The prizes were actually fairly large for only contributing a buck! The first and second games were regular BINGO, 5 in a row for a win. The prize for either of those wins was $25! Not bad for a fun try!

The third game of BINGO was "black out" where all of the numbers on your card must be called to win.

Starting out, there were lots of smiles. Numbers on the cards were being covered. SOOO close to a win - and a dad sheepishly won!

Off to game two and it wasn't even five minutes before an elderly gentleman called out BINGO! So, black out called us on for a final game and the hopes of winning the $50 black out prize kept the corners of the mouths tipped up.

Blossom was very very in tune with her card and pulling the doors shut on the numbers called.

She was THRILLED every time one of her numbers was called!!

FOUR numbers left!! It seemed like there were soooo many numbers called after she got down to needing only four more numbers.

Bump was enjoying the evening by running around, showing his belly and tickling his own belly button (seems this is his "new trick" - tickling his own belly button!)

He had fun and was a willing cheerleader for Blossom when the elderly gentleman who won the second BINGO won the black out on one of his cards (he apparently won by marking two full cards before anyone else marked one whole one, so we will say he was very lucky that night!).

We had such a fun evening that we plan to go back to pray The Stations of the Cross, enjoy a lenten meal with the parish, and PLAY BINGO, again! (I think that the treekids will be lobbying for two cards tonight!!)

Back in the saddle

We have been busy here in our mobile treehouse! Branch celebrated her birthday on Monday with a fun day of presents, bowling, and supper out at Texas Roadhouse - where she requested a steak and sweet potato! The server brought out the saddle and a bowl of ice cream and a "Yee Haw" form all of the patrons. FUN!

Well, off one saddle onto another... We are back with our noses to the grind and working away at our schooling now that all are healthy! With that comes a fair amount of busy-ness on the part of the teacher/mom, too! So, I will get back up on the full-time blogger saddle soon! I have lots of pictures to take - I just need to get out and take them... just as soon as those treekids are doing some independent school studies!!

My Girl

"Mama always said, life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

-Forrest Gump

Isn't that JUST the truth!?!

You really never do know what you are going to get in life! But, good golly I am soooo glad that this girl showed up in my life 8 years ago today. Such a sweet, fun girl who is growing into such a beautiful young lady; so willing to help and learn and grow. Oh, how my heart beats outside my chest for this doll. She runs around and I see my heart just tagging along in her pocket, hangin' off the bottom of her shoe, or whipping around in her hair.

Eight is half way to sixteen! Time is moving too quickly. I am not ready for eight!! I kind of liked 8 months, or 16 months or even 2 years. Eight Years Old, already?!! Well, I hope that you have the hap, hap, happiest birthday my precious one! We will do plenty of special things to mark the day you turned eight. . . even if we are not in our house, but in a trailer instead!!

Watch out world... she is havin' a FUN day, today!! :)

Reminder Notes to Self

I keep looking at those pictures over there on the sidebar. The ones of the treekids. I LOVE those pictures. BUT, those pictures (of the big treekids) were taken in the spring of 2009. Bump's pic was in the end of May of 2010...

They are old, outdated photos. But, I love them. I love it when my blog pops up and those old pictures are there lookin' back at mom. I like to see those faces from what seems like only a few months ago. My how time flies.

I hope to take some new pictures of those growing rascals. When I do, I think I had better move those old pictures over to this post so I can always click and find them. Oh, how fun having a family blog is... trying to remember what was happening a few years ago? Check the blog!! So, a record of those cutie patootie baby faces need to be kept. Big Big BIG - they are getting too big. This time of having small children is racing by soooo fast!

SLOW DOWN. Remember, self, slow down.

Watch them run. Sit and color. Sprawl on the floor and push a matchbox on the rug. Play some catch. Walk by the pond. Skip a rock - maybe a whole handful. Watch the clouds form a popcorn puff into a teddy bear. Wish on the first star with your dreamer. Hold them on your lap.

Don't miss out... The laundry will still be there. Wrinkles won't hurt them. Dishes will soak nicely in the sink. HUG your babies, mama. Kiss 'em while they'll still let you (and will even share all that love right back!). Butterfly kisses await... be still and they will land on you.

Happy Birthday...

...to me!

The other day, Bud, Branch and Blossom were talking about how THEY could NOT wait for mom's birthday. HUH? What? Really? I interrupted, finally, and asked why they were so excited for MY birthday!?! Well, I have been informed: Birthdays are ALWAYS fun-filled days! Who knew? Not I!!

Today, my little treefam woke me with sweetness. Presents and cards and songs and love. It is so funny to see what they choose for presents needed and wanted by their mom! Bud chose a new pancake flipper - my all-time favorite one by OXO desperately needed replacing (boo hoo). Branch made a card that promised a massage and had noticed that my nail file had seen better days so found one with just the right colors! Blossom made a happy birthday card that promised a "back tickle" and was thrilled to give mom a BIG present that completed my storage wishes for the kids' wardrobe! FUN times, those birthdays!! Well, with that fun out of the way they happily watched Bump while I hopped in the shower. (Pops was already away for work.) I got out of the shower and announced that our "fun" would involve a trip to the pancake house since I thought that sounded like a delicious way to start the day! WOO HOO!! (Go try IHOP's new CinnaStack... yum Yum YUM! - did I mention, YUM!?!!)

We followed that up with a haircut for Bud, a stop in at BigLots for some outdoor (small) toys, some "mom, we're hungry, now" drive thru to eat on the way back to the campground. OH, RATS... Bump falls asleep while I pay for fries, burgers, and chicken crowns. Well, we drove around Stillwater checking things out, hunting for a place to play while baby slept. I found a park... I found a park!! Kids pile out of the nearly still moving vehicle...

Branch makes it to the slide...

But, it is so hot she cannot touch it with her hands, and her velour covered bum is on FIRE!

Blossom pouts at the thought of feeling hot. Pouts at being the last out of the vehicle. Pouts to pout because it is so dramatic to pout. Haven't you tried it lately? Go on... give it a whirl! Pouting is alllllll drama. The bigger the pout, the better it is?!? Yea, whatever.

Bud encourages her to join... Come on! Fist bump, we're at the park! It's FUN day! BIRTHDAYs are FUN!!!

No dice. Branch gives it a whirl. Come on, it really wasn't THAT hot. Try it. Come on!! Don't just sit here in the sun.

They sauntered (who am I kidding - the fools little darlings RAN at warp speed) off to the shade where they attempt to play a hand clapping game. I notice that my girls are TRULY homeschool girls. No REAL sense of fashion, just comfort. Long pants on a hot day? Roll them up! Oh, nooooooo - not up like for wading in the water!! The first and only fold will be above the knee with the hem at the top of the thigh! REALLY... here, I'll zoom in and be like the paparazzi with a grainy photo --->

NICE! Glad that their comfortable just being themselves, but really? Is THAT who they are?? YIKES! Fashion police to the rescue! "TLC's What Not To Wear" should show up immediately. Stacy and Clinton, HELP these poor dears!

I did let their hot bodies back into the vehicle. I blasted the A/C for them. I was thankful for an overcast 60 degree morning, a sunshine filled 90 degree afternoon and a cooling, windy 70 degree evening. They were sorta thankful for a nice day to play at a playground that was too hot to play on. A better park would have helped they informed me. Bump continued to sleep. I found a new park.

They played and played. The playground equipment appears to make all the difference. This is only one of three structures for FUN Birthday play! Blossom still folded her pants like a nerd.

After Bump woke, we left and went to Old Navy where I promptly purchased shorts, skirts and short sleeved t-shirts. We are equipped for FUN hot days.

I love birthdays. They are just soooooo fun!! Don't you wanna have one every day? (Please - if you detect ANY sarcasm, just ignore it. It isn't real... that would NOT be fun!!)

What a DAY those Mondays can turn out to be!

Yesterday morning (really it feels AGES ago), Pops and I decided that Bump had been sick with this bug long enough that he needed to be seen by a doctor at an urgent care facility. (Actually, we were sick and tired of liquid poops pouring out the legs of his pants, soaking through his clothes onto our own, etc... but, that is not conversation that you really want to know, now, is it?)

So, I found an "Immediate Care" facility in Wichita and packed up the treekids and headed out for a quick stop before lunch (yes, I brought snacks) while Pops headed off to his work meeting.

I NEVER would have guessed that the sign that said our wait would be long this day... and to expect a 45 - 60 minute wait... would be wrong.

I am not sure how long we actually waited in line, in a waiting room, in an assessing room, back in the waiting room, into an exam room to wait for a doctor, staying in the exam room whilst said doctor found a hand out and information from the lab, continuing to stay in the exam room to wait for a lab technician to come talk to us. BUT, I do know that we spent a total of (less than) 20 minutes with any nurses, doctors or lab techs!!

Three PLUS hours is a LONG time to wait anywhere as an adult. Try it with four kids. Of these kids, 0ne isn't up to par, but was wanting to find some snacks in mama's purse. One has ants in her 6 year old pants and didn't care for the snacks that I brought for her (she wanted to eat the sick kids' snack of oyster crackers). Two bigger kids wanted to sprawl out and read their books - but "made do" with slouching in chairs.

Three hours was more than enough time to eat all the oyster crackers and make a spectacular recovery from the majority of whatever was ailing the boy.

But, THREE HOURS in a boring ol' waiting room did not make for fun. There was whining and such. We tried to "have fun" with mooing, neighing, ruff-ruffing and other such animal noise making! Bump loves to "mmmmmm" like a cow! He also likes to "heh heh" like a horse. And it seems as though dogs "mmmmm," too! He is CERTAIN of it.

We did visit quickly with a doctor. She was spectacularly impressed with Pops' and my at home care of Bump and his hydration level and his lack of lethargy (he WAILED and SCREAMED and FOUGHT her listening to his lungs, heart, guts and looking in his mouth, nose, ears. Let's just say, they were NOT friends, but you already knew that since you heard the protests... wherever you live... yes, even over the small pond in England or over the bigger pond way out in Australia... you heard him on Monday, didn't you!?!!).

So, it seems that I brought Bump into Urgent Care just as the bug had finished its damages. He was on the mend that day. But, just in case... let's do a stool study.

HUH?!? OK, so, the lab tech brought me some containers and tongue depressors to scrape up poops and deposit them into the containers, which I will return the poops inside of to the lab for culturing. Yes, my girls, were overly grossed out by this process and went to thier room to avoid the disgustingness of it all!

This afternoon, the lab called and informed us that Bump had "Rotavirus" and it would just run its course and move on. Hand washing is of utmost importance. UH, yea... and that is no joke! I was washing hands, arms, backs, hair, shirts, pants, socks... Pops took three showers one day. Let's just say, Bump is on the mend. He is more chipper, although not quite back to 100% Bump.

On another note:

We have moved from Wichita and are now in Oklahoma... my first time in the state! Can I just tell you that I LOVE Oklahoma. Just LOVE it. There are areas where you feel like you can see forever. Even when you can see forever, there are still hills and valleys and RED dirt! Oh, I love red dirt!! More adventures later...

RV Life: The BunkHouse

In searching for a travel trailer for our adventure, Pops and I decided that it would be important to have a "bunkhouse." There are many styles of bunkhouses out there and some are called a bunkhouse even if the bunks aren't in a separate room but just "out there" with a possible curtain on each bunk. We felt it would be good to have a room. With a door for the treekids to keep their things, play, have a bit of personal space - with each having their own bed, and SLEEP when it came to bed time and Pops and I could stay up in the living area and have some adult time talking or watching TV (read: no one to sleep regularly on a pull out sofa or a converted dinette table!)

So, we found one that we liked quite well! Turns out the treekids LOVE it!! So, without further ado... Here's the grand tour of the bunkhouse room!

When you first enter the room, to the left side is Branch's bed on the top bunk. The bottom bunk folds up to give more room to the floor space.

On the right side, is Bud's bunk on top and Blossom's on the bottom. Under Blossom's bed is a trundle bed/mattress that pulls out on the floor when needed (like the other day when Bump was EX.HAUS.TED and feeling sick and we were washing the sheets ... yadda yadda yadda).

The back wall consists of two VERY good sized wardrobe/closet/cupboards for the children to share. There is also a drawer for each treekid to stash their "unmentionables."

Under the wardrobes, between the drawers is a big black hole... for a television to be connected. However, we are considering putting our iMac in there - we just have to figure out a way to secure it so that when Pops hauls our rig around and makes any sudden stops it doesn't go flying! {Any ideas on how to secure one of those bad boys?} Under the drawers is a couple of cubby holes that they are using to stash some toys. Under the tv place is a shelving area where Bud has stockpiled a large amount of reading material (But, I think that he believes it could be shelved two books deep and fill it up a bit fuller!).

On the front wall of the room near Branch's bed is a door that leads to a little half bath where we hung a shoe organizer to tame the shoe beast!

The other corner by Bud and Blossom's bed is the door that leads to the living space.

I will continue the home tour... complete with living/dining/kitchen, master bedroom, both bathrooms, outdoor kitchen, "basement and garage" and a special storage edition!! I am still working on getting everything organized... so, this tour just might spread itself out over several weeks!

[SIGH... I am STILL dealing with a nasty stomach bug - working day 3 for Bump. Luckily no one else has been taken out!]