Just a Swinging

I finally found someone who looked the other way while I dug through the pile of tires behind their business (I understand with liability and all, but I promise I'm not going to put an old tire on a car.)  It was really hard finding definite directions on how to hang it and what type of rope to use.  We ended up threading the rope through a hose so it won't rub on the tree.  I wish I had a picture of me in the tree putting it over the branch.  Let's just say my youthful tree climbing skills are coming in handy.  Then, we put knots every couple of feet so Jaelyn would have a climbing rope in addition to a tire swing.  My Dad came up with a combination of knots to use that we didn't know how to tie, but Dan and I used square knots (which were recommended online).  We went with the motto "if you don't know how to tie knots, tie lots" and wrapped and tied several knots around the tire.  Cross your fingers that it stays up.  The other swing has stayed up just fine now that we fixed it our way!

I-44 Enforcement Weekend

Encase anyone is wondering, this weekend is 1-44 enforcement weekend. How do I know this you might ask? Well, the nice police officer who pulled Dan over for driving 77 in a 70 told us so!

Dan says he only got a warning and not a ticket due to his good living. So if any of you are planning on driving on 44 through Missouri this weekend, watch your speed. The nice police officer told us there will be hundreds of him on the road. :\

Thankful

I'm so thankful today.  My friend, Sandi, posted on her blog (listed in my blog list - Around the Bend).  Shannae has been unofficially approved to receive the ERT (enzyme replacement therapy) that she needs.  Next up for her is surgery for a port for her, correct me if I'm wrong Sandi, weekly injections and a surgery to fix the carpel tunnel issues the MPS1 has already caused in Shannae's hands.  Keep praying please.  They still need the "official" approval.  If it comes in letter form, I think I'd frame it :). 

What Have You Done Today???

Well, I started my day off with a Walmart splurge.  I have been in a "mood" for a few days.  It felt good this morning to get a few things I've been really wanting.  We've been here a month...it's time to finish this house.

First up on my list was a new bath mat to actually match the shower curtain.  I'd been using an old yellow one dating back to Germany.  It used to be bright yellow.  It was actually looking off white (which is why it didn't look so bad in the bathroom).  Like my new choice???  Our towels are green.  I bought some purple hand towels too!  It makes me happy just thinking about it.

This kids also had a faded yellow bath mat, but with the tick fiasco, it ended up being washed on sanitize with new blue jeans.  I turned it a funny shade of green.  This matches their new towels now.  I love it!

I installed a new shower head that will be perfect for washing our puppy...stay tuned for more exciting news about that.  The other one had a really wide spray that was horrible.

These frames were white and were really bugging me.  One can of black spray paint and an hour outside and ta-da...new black frames.  Instead of nails, I used 3Ms velcro strips.  Thanks for the reminder, C.  I had some in a drawer.  I'm not sure I'll ever go back to nails.

I aslo bought new pots and potting soil and repotted my favorite plants.

Don't tell my other plants, but this one is my favorite.  It was a teeny tiny 1.99 plant at Ikea 4 years ago.  By the way, have I introduced you to Duckie Moe Moe?  He's our new fish.

I also bought new yarn.  Jaelyn has a scarf out of this yarn that I borrow often, but it's a tad too short for me.  I'm going to make me my own one of these days when I have nothing to do.

So, did I do good on my shopping????  I came home and cleaned my house from top to bottom.  I picked up, dusted, vacuumed, mopped, and scrubbed every surface. We've been here a month and it was time.

I don't think I've posted pictures of the whole house so here you go...

The kitchen - we bought a bistro table for breakfast and extra counter space.  Work space is very lacking for such a large kitchen.

This is our dining room / office / kids' game area / den.  I'm glad we decided to keep the basement couch and kids' craft table.

Since I'm sharing...the room I'm not proud of.  It's our fourth bedroom.  Joan, I promise when you come, it will be livable.  Until then, the kids use it for the Wii and that's it.

Our laundry room is HUGE.  It's the mirror of the kitchen on the opposite end of the house.  I love the counter and storage in here.  I just need to organize it a bit.

Our master and the 11 foot window.  Craziness....It took two full length curtain rods, minus one finial on each and some black electrical tape to connect them in the middle.

You might have noticed we are still lacking curtains on several windows.  I still want to hang them in the bathrooms, but I think that's it.  The blinds don't bug me so we'll live them.

So there you go...I think I was very productive today.  I didn't even mention the closets I reorganized.  I still have 3 loads of laundry to fold too, but that'll have to wait until after bedtime.  Time to get the kids.

Follow The Blue Blaze Path

Sing with me...Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the blue blaze path!

I assigned Dan the job of finding us someplace fun to go hiking over the weekend.  He picked Bennet Springs outside of Lebanon, MO (which is the little bit bigger town just southwest of us).

It sounded like a neat place to explore, that is, until we saw this sign.

Yeah.  You read that right.  3.6 miles to the tunnel, means 3.6 miles back to our car.  We set off with positive attitudes thinking we'd go as far as we could.  Dan really thought the kids could make it.

We found some fun places to rest and play along the way.

We saw a whole lot of nature.  There were butterflies everywhere.  We saw pretty flowers and came across two turtles.  We think we heard deer, but we never saw them.

This huge tree lent us it's roots to use as a picnic table for lunch.

At this point, we'd hiked about a mile and a half...still smiling.

At this point, we were maybe at 3 miles...not smiling.

And finally, my second favorite sign!  We made it!

I must admit, the tunnel was pretty cool.  We checked it out for about 20 minutes, before we started back (the opposite way - so another 4.1 miles).

The kids whined and complained a little on the way in, but the pretty blue sky got covered up with grey clouds on the way out.  We only really saw one good bolt of lightening, but we heard lots of thunder.  It succeeded in scaring the kids and in making their feet move double fast.  It also rained on our heads, but the trees worked as great umbrellas.  I bet we were walking 15-17 minute miles at the end. 

Overall, we hiked 7.7 miles in 4 hours and 45 minutes with breaks here and there.  Dan and I were  proud of the kids.  We were so thrilled to get back to this trailhead...

...that is until we started looking and realized we'd walked through a tick breeding area.  I'm not kidding.  Even with bug spray, we were coated in teeny tiny baby ticks.  We undressed in the laundry room and our clothes went straight into the washer on the sanitize cycle and into the dryer on high heat for an hour.  We went straight into the showers and looffa'ed off the ticks.  I bet Jaelyn and I had 50 of them on us.  We've found a few today and will be doing tick checks for days to come.  I've washed sheets and vacuumed just encase any fell off of us.  I'm still itchy all over just thinking about it.  I told Dan he needs to bug bomb his car.  I don't know how he's going to get them all out.

Rich - don't get any ideas about us taking you here. I'm N-E-V-E-R going back to Bennet Springs again.  Ewwww.

Caden's Story

Caden's writing is improving so much.  To begin with, it was a fight to get him to write during homework time so I started paying him a penny for every word he wrote.  He's made about fifty cents so far.  He brought home this story today.  I'm impressed.  His penmanship and speed are improving.

"When I was little I had a baby rattle.  And it was green.  And it had little balls in it to rattle."

The Wii Room

I hate the Wii.  Did you hear me?  I HATE THE WII.  It has brought nothing but fighting to our house.  I put it in time-out on a regular basis.  When Dan's out of town, no wii allowed.  Maybe I'm mean, but anything that causes my kids to yell at each other and cry is not worth having in my house.  Well, it got taken away just about as soon as it was set up after the move.  Caden was having trouble going to school, so I set up rewards for him to earn.  One was to earn the wii back.  He earned it back yesterday, but with new enforced, stricter rule.  I put the wii in our spare bedroom instead of the living room.  It is hooked up to a small TV.  One child may go into the room at a time, close the door and may play for 20 minutes with a timer set in private.  They've had the wii exactly 24 hours and all is well...so far!

Exploring

In typical Dan fashion, he's been doing a little driving around on the base and has found some pretty cool places.  He and Allie went exploring them two weekends ago and he took the rest of us back over Labor Day weekend.  This is Miller's Cave right here on base.  It's pretty steep to get down to it, but wow, what a neat place and what a view.  There are actually 3 rooms of caves connected by little tunnels.

Jaelyn put her inner monkey to work right away by scaling walls.

Was I right abou the view or what?  This is literally 5-7 minutes from our house.  There's another cave on the same trail that we'll have to find another day.

On another drive, Dan discovered a sign for Happy Hollow.  There's a creek and a playground with pavilions.  It was nice and peaceful.  The water was cold, but not too deep so the kids waded in and threw rocks.  I think Happy Hollow may become our new Jerusalem Mills.

Dan also took the kids to the museum one day while I was sick in bed.  {Allergies are in full blast here in Missouri.  We've been told people who have allergies no where else have problems here.  We have allergies already so I'm really worried.  The kids have been complaining of headaches and itchy eyes.  Everyone is on a daily dose of allegra from now until...we move?}   Tangent...sorry.  Here are the kids in front of a section of the Berlin Wall...kind of cool.

These chains can't hold me!

She's getting squished like a bug.

Allie's the damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. 

We also did a little geocaching.  One cache took us to a scenic overlook of the famous Route 66.

Stay tuned for more explorations.  Now that we are unpacked and settled, it's time to get out and see Missouri and make the most of being lost in the woods.

Calling All Prayer Warriors

This is Shannae.  Isn't she adorable?

These are her parents, Eddy and Sandi.

Sandi is one of my online friends.  I know, I know.  You all think I'm crazy, but I have made some of the best friends through an online ministry during our infertility days.  Unfortunately, Sandi lives in Australia so I may never get to meet her like I have with some of the girls in the States.

Sandi, Eddy, Shannae and Shannae's older sister Talia need your prayers.

Several months ago Shannae was diagnosed with MPS 1.  Sandi blogged about it.. It is a potentially life threatening genetic disorder, but there is hope through a new medicine.  In order for Shannae to get the medicine, her file has to go before a board of doctors.  They will make the decision that could save her life.  Sandi wrote more about it here.  Her file was just sent to the board.  They will be reviewing her case and making the decision in the next few weeks.

 

 

Shannae needs prayers.  Will you join me in praying for her and in praying that the board will decide in her favor so she can get the medicine?  Thank you.

Perfect Pulled Pork

Did I mention I spent a day at my parents house this summer pulling recipes out of magazines? They literally had a cabinet full they were cleaning out.  I have a whole folder of new recipes I want to try.

Last week, the commissary had pork roasts clearance "cook or freeze."  I bought one for under $4 and made the best pulled pork sandwiches using this rub recipe from the Kraft Food and Family magazine.  Jaelyn and Caden weren't too keen on it, but Allie LOVED it.  Dan and I had left-over sandwiches several days.

Perfect Pulled Pork

5 lb boneless pork butt shoulder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp gralic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
soft sandwich buns

Combine all seasonings in a small bowl and rub evenly over roast.  Place meat in a slow cooker.  Add water.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours or until pork is very tender.

Place pork on large cutting board or platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes.  Pull, slice or chop to serve.  Serve in buns with barbecue sauce.

YUM!

Chipotle-Lime Chicken Skewers

I pulled this recipe out of a magazine ages ago and finally got around to making it.  It was really, really good.  I was worried when I made the marinade that it would be too mayonnaise-y tasting, but the taste mellowed out on the grill and we were left with creamy, citrusy, slightly spicy chicken.  I used the reserved marinade (that we didn't use for dipping - yuck) to make more chicken skewers for chicken nachos tonight.

Chipotle-Lime Chicken Skewers

1 cup mayo
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper
2 lbs chicken breast or thighs, cut into strips

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a medium bowl; reserve 1/2 cup mayo mixture.

Thread chicken on skewers, then brush with the mayo mixture.

Grill or broil chicken, turning once until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Serve chicken skewers with reserved mayo mixture.