Babies, books, your opinion, and more?

I learned this week that Alan thinks Tyler came out of my belly button.


I let him continue to believe it!

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I've been reading my first Beverly Lewis book.  She kept me guessing the whole way through how she would resolve the multiple story lines by the end.


I never would have guessed how.


Because she didn't.


Not one single thing is wrapped up, tied up, finished up by the end.


Genius plan.  Now I have to read book 2 in the seires!


Must. get. to. library.  Soon.

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What are your thoughts on the add-on blogging?  Do you check the end of previous posts to make sure you didn't miss anything?  Or do the last thoughts added on get left behind?

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Ever make your own egg noodles?  I thought I might try it for tonight's soup, but by the time i looked up a recipe, it was too late to let them sit out and dry a little bit.  I didn't know about that part.


For supper tonight I'll just make dumplings, but I sure have homemade noodles on my mind now.  


So... have you ever made noodles?  

Wednesday, January 27th

I have 3 sons.  And 1 husband.  


Boys growing up to be men eat a lot.  I expect to be doubling recipes and using larger cookware and buying in bulk more and more in the years ahead.


But apparently, we already eat a lot.


Over the holidays Greg, who was doing all the grocery shopping, started buying in bulk.


It seems flour was on the grocery list every trip, so finally he just came home with a 25lb sack of flour.  Alrighty then.  Solved that!


We also go through a lot of peanut butter.


Greg fixed that, too, when he came home with 6lbs of it:

I thought, "Mercy, we'll never use that much peanut butter before it goes wonky!"


But y'all.... 


less than a month since he brought that big ol' can of Peter Pan home....


... it's empty.


I'm going to have Trouble.  


The boys.... they're gonna EAT.

Monday, January 25

One of my goals for today:


To say "Go play!" less.  Keeping my boys close by for enjoyment and instruction, instead of habitually sending them off to their room so I can more easily (fill in the blank: check email, make lunch, clean, read, etc.).

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On laundry habits:


I started it with Dale, and have done the same thing with the other two... It seems almost ceremonial, to be 8 months pregnant and buy the traditional bottle of Dreft detergent.


I wash all the baby's sheets, blankets, burp cloths, and clothes, both new and hand-me-downs and put them away in the baby dresser / armoire. 


After his arrival, his clothes are washed separately in Dreft until the bottle is empty.  By then the newborn isn't quite so new anymore and he gets the same detergent as the rest of the family.  I do still keep his clothes in his own laundry basket in his room for a while longer.


Babies = lots o' laundry!


Do you do anything special for newborn laundry?

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On math and 'fairness':

8 mini shortbread cookies

2 boys

1 nursing mama

How would you divide the loot?

Sunday January 24th

I don't usually post on Sundays... but I wanted to relay the following conversation from this afternoon.


First of all, you should know we don't care much for aren't big football fans.  Therefore, our children know little or nothing about the NFL and its teams.  Today it came up that a 'big game' would be on later between the Saints and the Vikings.  


Dale immediately and confidently stated he knew the Vikings would win.


When questioned on this opinion he, again with great confidence, informed us it was because they were a tougher team.


Greg caught on immediately to this reasoning and agreed that, sure enough, if a saint and a viking were to get into an altercation the viking would most likely come out on top.  


After all...


When the saints go marching IN, the vikings are gonna take 'em OUT.  

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 No offense to any Saints fans, right?  


We're just being 'punny'.  


Do you watch football?  Who's your team?

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I was just the recipient of the biggest spit-up of my parenting career.  This new little one is more of a spitter-upper than my other two.  Very gassy little fellow.  A good sport about it, but still... you have to keep an eye on that one.  


I was holding him chest-to-chest when he let out a rip-roaring burp.  Followed promptly by what had to have been most of the feeding we were half-way through.  


My neck got a good soaking, with another large bit of baby-puke rolling down my front... inside my shirt.  Already I could tell I had no choice but to shower.  And then I discovered there was just as much down my back as down my front!


Amazingly, Tyler's clothes were pretty much dry, and only a little spot got on the couch.  


Ah well... who doesn't enjoy a nice warm shower on a Sunday afternoon?

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We've been reading The Mitten a lot lately.

Dale finally asked the obvious question the other day... the one thing I've wondered myself...

Why wasn't Nicki wearing his new mittens when he went outside to play?

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The whys and hows of getting there are a long story, which I will spare you, and just share the finished product instead:

Ham and Cheese

Somebody has figured out ...

how to know exactly...

when the camera is going to snap....

... and keeps himself right in front of it!

Wednesday, January 20th

This is another add-on post.  Be sure and check back and scroll to the bottom for the latest from The Buffalo Herd!

A day begins....
7:22am - Tyler wakes up.  Again.  He spoiled me at first with 3 and 4 hour stretches at night.  Not so much the last couple of nights.  Last night he woke up exactly 2 hours from the time my head hit the pillow.... every time.  So I pieced together 6 hours last night.  In 2 hour blocks.  Please baby, can you go back to those 3 and 4 hour increments?


7:41am - Dale and Alan ask to get their own breakfast (while I am nursing) and head to the kitchen to get out cereal, bowls, & milk.  I call them back and give ONE instruction: DALE POURS THE MILK.  


7:47am - Dale starts singing - constantly.  Started with the states, added in the capitols, sang another verse to include the order each state joined the union.  Yes, he was making this song up.... reading the information from one of our 'learning' placemats.


7:52am - Dale still singing.  Alan calls from the kitchen, "Mama.... can you come wipe this up for me?"  He poured his own milk.  Overflowed the bowl.  Emptied what was left in the jug.  No milk for Mama's cereal this morning.  Unless I want to re-use Alan's bowl.  No thank you.  Soggy raisin bran isn't really my thing.

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Rubber boots.  Dale and Alan each have a pair.  

I have a love/hate relationship with those boots.

I love that I can send the boys outside to play and not worry about getting their good shoes all muddy.

I hate that they go outside and get... all muddy.  

ALL muddy.  From head to toe.

Even if they aren't playing IN the mud... it finds them.

And then that mud finds my kitchen and laundry room floors.  

And both boys end up needed a complete new set of clothes.

But if we didn't have those boots, my boys couldn't get outside to play on those nice mild days.

However...

If we didn't have those boots, my boys wouldn't get outside and get all muddy!

Rubber boots.  

I love 'em.  

I hate 'em.

What do you do about muddy days?

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Dale, looking at the mug I'm drinking hot chocolate from:

"When I am twelve, I'm going to start drinking coffee, and when I am having a really good breakfast, I'm going to drink it from that mug."