Parade Awe!! 2

Papa and Wilber the pig.

Baby R with her 1st pony tail. She has 2 times as much hair as E did at the same age. She was not happy and this is the best pic I got.

Baby R!!

Baby R having a bath in the kitchen sink. If you look close you can see her top tooth. Her bottom tooth is on the other side hidden by her top gum!!!

Thanksgiving and Papa's Days off.

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday and got in the Thanksgiving mood by making hand turkeys. We all made one. So we had a hand turkey family!! We have a 3 gallon bucket of mixed pea's and beans and that is what we used for decorations. They are very easy to make. You get some colored paper and trace and cut out your hand. Turn it over so you can't see your trace line, slather with glue and add beans, peas or some people use different kinds of dried pasta. Even E had a great time doing this. With Baby R's it took both Papa and I to get a trace of her hand and then I just put glue on it and dumped a bowl of beans and peas over top. Waited a little bit and tipped it back into the bowl to get the extras off and it was done. I figured that was what she'd like to do with them. But I didn't want her eating any. E put the entire bowl she had one at a time on her glued hand in a big pile and yelled DONE!! So I dumped the extras off and let her do it again.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Papa's last boss, his wife and his daughter. We had a great time. Ate extremely well as per normal. Our one lonely turkey was great, breast nice and juicy just the way Papa likes it. We did not weight him, we forgot, but he weighed considerably more then E. (And he BARELY fit in my huge turkey roaster, we had to tuck the wings in as I cooked him breast down.) She is 20 lbs so we assume the turkey was late 20's early 30's. I made the best pumpkin pie ever, from the pumpkin J and I did, and a pretty good apple. After the meal we taught them to play Pinochle, which my team actually won!!! Gasp. I must be having a winning streak as that was 2 games, on two different nights, that my team has won. Both times we won by about 500 points!! YAHOO. The kids read books with Amy and watched us play. J and L had a cute discussion over supper about who's muscles where bigger which we all got a kick out of. Baby R loved the pumpkin pie and cranberries.

We moved the pigs again. Papa took the boys outside to make a pig run. We needed to move them about 200 feet so he made a pole and wire run from one area to the other. This worked great and the pigs are now in the under cover area where our cow spent last winter and what we've had so far this year. They will stay there now until butchering day. Which, being under a roof should be fairly easy to hang them. They are totally enjoying it (we poked holes with a rock bar and filled them with corn and they are happily turning it upside down.) but poor Bindy was really horrified!! PIGS in HER covered area. She stood a ways off and stared at them. She refused to go get a drink all day (it's by the pigs). She was so nervous milking that Papa only got 2 gallons that night and I got 2 the next morning. She heard the pigs 'whoof' and just about scared the daylights out of me. Her whole body did the lift up and move inches trick!! While I was milking. Now that's she's gotten used to them a bit she tattles on them. One of them got out yesterday and she bawled and bawled until we got it back in. Now the entire strength of the fencer is on the pig pen. I doubt they'll get out again. This morning I got about as much milk as I normally do so she has adjusted well. The plan right now is to butcher at least the biggest 3 between Christmas and new years. Maybe the biggest 4. We already have a line on Berkshire wieners for April and we are looking forward to trying the breed.

We loaded up the kids in the back of the Travelall and went and got a load of poplar from the back. 30 minutes and we had a truck bed trailer loaded and unloaded. I love being prepared!!! Because our weather this year is so mild we have not been burning any pine unless we need to start a fire. So we have been going through more poplar then normal. Which is fine with us as we have TONS of the stuff split and stacked.

Turkey Butchering day.

It was time. The turkey was big and fat. Thanksgiving was coming. The bird had to die. LOL. We borrowed a huge pot essentially. In German it's called a maul groughpen. (my spelling) It has a metal bottom piece that holds a huge metal bowl. Under the bowl there is a door where you put a propane torch and this heats up the bowl and you can cook with it, render lard or scald birds. With big gatherings they make soup in these things and it's amazing how many people you can feed with 20 gallons of soup!! 20 gallons is roughly what it holds. It's perfect for scalding turkeys. We only had the one so Papa just held it. But if you had more then 5 turkeys you'd really want a dipper on a board, lever style. As it was it took both Papa and I to get him out of the water that last time. We set the kids in front of a movie, with Baby R in her exersauser and headed out to butcher him. I had set everything up in place during nap time and so all we had to do was light the torch and start. Papa lit the torch and killed the 5 roosters someone gave us. Then while the water heated for the turkey I split the breasts open on the roo's and took out the breast meat. The rest of the bird went to the pigs. (we had the breasts for supper the next night with friends. YUM) By the time I was done the water was about to temp and Papa went and caught the turkey. I thought it would take a bit but Papa just walked in, picked him up and walked out. We have a stump with 2 nails in it and Papa put his head in between them and handed me the turkeys legs. CHOP went his head!! Back went Momma!! I just about landed on my rear!!! The turkey flapped his wings after he died and I was trying to hold him still and getting pulled and pushed and manhandled by a dead turkey. Papa started yelling "LET GO" and I finally heard him and dropped that big old turkey!! We think he weighed between 25 and 30 lbs dressed out.

Funny things Kids say.

We had oatmeal for breakfast the other day and J pips up "I feel just like Moses." I stared at him "WHAT??" Oatmeal to Moses. What a jump. "Look" Says my creative son. He has just a thin layer of oatmeal in the bottom of his bowl and he took his spoon and took a scoop of oatmeal right down the middle. Sure enough I thought. Moses parting the red sea. Or in this case J parting the oatmeal sea. LOL.

On the way to the baby shower the other night we pulled into the church parking lot and L says "Are we going to a WEDDING??" (we had a lot of weddings this summer). So I explained that it was a party for a new baby. Well he comes back with "A Baby wedding??" Of course his brother thought that was hilarious so we all giggled about it for a bit. After that there was no going back. Baby wedding was the joke of the night.

E loves our friend Becca. Us ladies had girls night a few nights ago and Becca's husband Blair was here with the kids and Papa while we were out having fun. They all had supper together and E just could not understand why Becca wasn't there. "Becca??" she'd ask Blair. "Becca's at girls night with Momma" he'd say. "Becca??" she'd ask again. LOL. I guess she asked him so many times that he finally asked L "Where is Becca??" L knows this answer already from listening and parrots "At girls night with Momma" Then Blair asks J, "At girls night with Momma" I guess after that she quit asking.

What a couple of weeks!!!

And no I'm not complaining.. at least I don't think I am? :P For several weeks there while Papa started his new job he took our Travelall to work which leaves me with out a vehicle. That's fine for a few weeks as we tend to do our shopping together as a family anyway. My once a week trips to town to go the library or park or grandma's house (or all 3) as well as the little bit of food shopping I do alone are not that necessary in the grand scheme of things. After about 2 weeks of this solitude we priced out the cost of fuel for the Travelall verses the cost of insuring the Toyota Station Wagon and the Wagon won. Hee hee I get my truck back right?? Well not so fast. First we had to get it insured. Not normally a big deal but they have different hours then we do and we both have to be there to sign the papers and it takes awhile so it can't be done on his lunch break. 3rd times the charm as they say. Then we have to have the time to go and GET the car. It's not far away, just behind the house down the road Papa built 2 years ago. But we can't do this in the dark so we have to wait til Papa has a day off. Finally we are about to have our day and it snows. OK. Not a huge deal. Right?? Well the snow was like snot. NASTY. Slipping and sliding. Me pushing and Papa driving, Papa pushing and me driving (and Papa yelling, he hates being stuck). The kids had a great time. They sat in the sled all the way out there (Baby R was sleeping) then sat in the backseat while we pushed and drove, spun and pushed. When Papa did a bit of yelling L very calmly told me and Papa when he got back, that "God doesn't like it when we yell." Puts a whole different spin on it. Our place is pretty flat but we had a very slight incline that the blasted car just could NOT get up. Finally Papa went to the house to get the Scout to pull her up and came back with a set of chains instead. This actually works great and we've done it lots. You don't put the chains on the car (they were for our old Datsun and don't fit anyway) you lay the chains between the tires. It's a rear wheel drive so the chains give it the OOMPH it needs to go. Well 10 chain moves later!! WE ARE OUT!!! Papa pushed the electric fence down and I kept on driving. Got thru Bindy's pen and parked her some place FLAT!! LOL. Then the next morning, hopeful me, is wondering why on earth Papa has taken the Travelall to work again. The car is there, the car is insured. The car needs fixing I find out that night. All and all I think I was with out wheels for almost a month. Last week we went out for the 1 time Thursday, Friday a friend surprised me with a visit and Saturday we had B&B over for supper and games. Sunday we had church here and this week it's been insane!! Monday was a sisters baby quilt giving day, Tuesday was HOME, Wednesday was Bible study in the morning then shopping for a baby gift for tonight's Baby shower, Thursday was Girls Night (and the 1st time I had left Baby R with anyone ever!! Papa watched the kids and had a friend for supper and a movie). Today we went to the neighbors for an hour this morning and we have the Baby shower this evening. And tomorrow I'm suppose to get ready for our belated Thanksgiving on Sunday and we are butchering the one lonely turkey after Papa gets home from work (in the dark). J and I are going to make Pumpkin pie from a pumpkin instead of the normal can:) Today I'm cleaning house and catching you up while mentally steeling myself for bringing all 4 kids to the baby shower. Which would not be a big deal normally but I'm feeling very peopled out and that tends to make us all cranky (OK OK I confess mostly it's just me who gets cranky). We'll go and have tons of fun I'm sure but it's good to be prepared. (if only in your head LOL) Which reminds me I need to check the diaper bag.
Well the baby shower was a blast!! The kids had a great time with my cousins kids, Baby R met a baby 2 days older then her and about 11 lbs heavier and several inches longer (but is not crawling and has no teeth.) Amazing how different kids are. I got to hold new baby Tanner!! Congrat's T &L!! What a little sweetheart. He has great hair!! :)

WOOOMFFAA!!!

I heard the above noise this afternoon, coming from our bedroom. The kids were all suppose to be asleep so it took me a minute to give it a name. Baby R sleeps in a playpen in our room. We have a neat playpen that has a bassinet on the top. She has been pulling up on stuff lately but not enough that I was worried that she'd try and stand up in her bassinet. Well. She did stand up holding on to the edge of the playpen. The WOOOOMFFAAA was her hitting the floor. She didn't even cry. When I ran in and looked her over before picking her up she just gave me a little "ha ha" giggle and smiled at me. She was fine. Needless to say Momma spent a bit of the afternoon taking the bassinet out of the playpen and cleaning out the bottom so she could be in the whole playpen instead of just the top. Crazy kid. Believe it or not she is my 1st child to get out of a playpen. LOL. Ever. And she's only almost 9 months. My heart wonders what else this 4th child will teach me. I find it amazing that each child is so different and each one comes with their own personality, troubles, and strange habits. E for example is a daredevil. This sweet, 20 lb, 2 year old who looks like she should be dainty and feminine totally enjoys climbing way above her head, getting thrown into water and couches, getting swung around hanging upside down, and a number of other bizarre things the boys never did like. She LOVES it. I wonder what Baby R will do next. Kids are so much fun... they sure keep you wondering and praying.

Day out; Christmas Shopping and Date.

Papa and I fled the nest the other day. We try and do this atleast 2 times a year. We left the 3 oldest children with a friend, her husband came after work to milk the cow and tell the kids hunting stories, who babysat them in our home and took off to the city for the day. 12 hours later we returned triumphant. All the Christmas shopping is done for the children except the stockings which I will probably do later by myself. Papa got new boot liners, that nasty rat ate his other ones and we both got new gloves, we picked up 5 new movies; The Borne Trilogy, X-men and something called Get Smart Again?? (which Papa picked out and will not tell me about.) Papa got a headlamp for work, he needs hands off light for working under trucks. This light has come in very handy at home as well as it enables him to work outside after dark, about 5pm.

We started a new Griggs Tradition last year, making a Gingerbread house with the children, so we picked up a massive Gingerbread house kit. With 5 pairs of hands it tends to go quickly and we thought the more square inches the better. I put the box where the kids could see it and then sat back and watched their reactions. They were in awe!! LOL. All 3 of them on the floor staring at it. So I grabbed my camera. One year in the future, when the kids are old enough to really build, we plan on forgoing the kit and using graham crackers and making a village.

Papa and I took Baby R with us and she was wonderful all day. We went out to eat at our 'once a year' spot and she sat happily in her car seat and ate bread and crackers while we feasted on Seafood. Scallops and Bacon (Papa's), Crab and shrimp stuffed mushrooms (mine), Seafood linguine(Papa's), and my Seafood mixed grill!!! YUM!!! We almost never order something we can make better at home. So we almost always go for seafood. We can make seafood at home but we do it very rarely as it is pricey. But, for instants, we have only ordered steak 2 times in our marriage that I can think of. And both times it was me and both times was for a Christmas Party where the boss pays the bill and it came with a TON of seafood:):) It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful day. We arrived home late, tired and just about DONE our Christmas to buy list.

The kids had a great time with B&B and talked about it and made momma and Papa moose calls for days afterward. We have been offered a babysitter for the day again and I'm hoping we will go again later in the year and have another day out on the town.