Pat on My Own Back

Just going to brag about my accomplishments today.  Before 2 o'clock in the afternoon this is what I got done:

1. Babies up snuggled, fed eggs and ham breakfast and dressed.

2. Donations for D.I. collected, bagged, tagged and curbed before 8:30, as instructed.

3. Bed sheets washed, dried and replaced

4. Kids Halloween Craft created
5. Jetted tub filled, cleaned with bleach water, emptied, and filled again for rinse cycle - plus wiped down walls and bottom of tub with cleaner.
6. Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies made for my primary bribery, ahem, motivation program.
7. Lunch for both gremlins and one down for nap.
8. Load of dishes done and unloaded
9. Work out done, showered and redressed
10. another load of laundry in; plus a special load of delicates.

This was all before 2!

 Nathans special Candy Corns.

I hate to say it, but for the second Saturday in a row, the smallest gremlin is sporting a miserable fever. He woke up early from his nap, just burning! Last weeks fever lasted for about three days, I assume this cycle will too - and that means  tomorrow will be pretty yucky.  Even now, the kidlet is attached to my leg with constant whimpers.  I HATE sick season!  I've been keeping EVERYTHING as clean as possible!  We wash hands, clothes, sheets, sippy cups, fridge...it's just the nature of the beast I guess. 

Note the colors on the ghost, this is Ashton contribution to the craft.  He colored the white paper, I cut it out in ghost shapes and added eyes, NQ glued!  FUN Craft Time!

Petty's Pallet Patio

Okay, If you're on Pinterest, and following me, you'll see that I have these Pallet Pins all over the place. Here's the thing. You can often find piles of pallets for pennies! (or free) And with some time and some power tools I want to turn my desolate patio into a perfect party place! (I don't usually overuse the letter "P" but for this post, at Petty's Place, it's seem aPpropriate.

Note: none of these pictures are from my camera or of my yard. In case you were curious.

Here's the inspiration(s):

The Side Table

The Planter: (imagine bigger and overflowing with Petunias!)

The couch: near the fire Pit (which will not made from Pallets)

The Rolling Coffee Table! I find this thing adorable!

So Now I need to find said Pile of Pallets and begin my pragmatic, penny pinching plan to present my patio with!

Huge Time Off.

Sorry, But I've taken time off (over a year) from the blog. It's time to get back to it.

NQ had preschool today and sang me a song about the rain drops falling on his nose, nose, nose. And he let me know that he was finger painting leaves. Red ones, like the kind for fall. He adores preschool, and I'm glad. We walked to school today as the drops fell on our heads, heads, heads. Nathan must have enjoyed this too, because he asked if we could walk to school every day. I don't see why not... Ashton fell asleep on the way back to the house.

Ashton REFUSES to say Momma, unless it's when he's neeeeds me. Why? He's torturing me. We say: Say Dada! And he says: Dada! We say: Say Nay Nay! (the name we use for Nathan - Olivia Barney came up with it.) And he says: Nay Nay! and this list goes on with words like cow, cup, shoe, sock, puppy, car, Dino, etc. But HE REFUSES TO SAY MOMMA!! He just gets quiet and puts this little smile on his face, like he's enjoying a private joke. Wiggles his blond noggin ear to shoulder, ear to shoulder. He's such a little PUNK!

St. George is growing on me. I'm liking the October temperatures the best. June - September were pretty warm. I've heard I'll get used to the heat. I'm hoping that's true! Went for a cool morning jog today. Can't wait to get until my mp3 is charged up and I have more time to take on the trails!

Okay, this particular post wasn't stellar. Or even interesting. But at least I'm back on. And you may be asking yourself "Why in heaven is Ashton wearing a KILT?" Not ready to write up that post just yet :)

(And the look of my page is horrific, but the blogger wouldn't support the html that I was using two years ago when I was a more regular post person. So this will have to do until I can pay some attention to it.)

Winter Fair and Sick Boys

Winter Fair has come and gone, but not before the Pettys and Barneys divided and conquered. Here's NQ and Mom getting ready for the fair. NQ in his WYO cowboys sweatshirt.We ate Cowbelles beef sandwiches, collected free balloons, had faces painted (Olivia had a butterfly, Nathan a purple spider with yellow spots) and enjoyed the chaos of fair time. (Wow, I have really nice teeth.)Nathan only wanted me to take one picture of his spider so it wouldn't wash off. He also decided not to bathe or shower that evening so he could keep his spider longer. Sadly, this spider did not make it through the night. But his red WF stamp on his hand did.

Sunday night Nathan woke up screaming, crying and gasping for air. He was So congested and flemmy. Travis and Shane gave him a blessing and then we toted him to the Emergency room at 11 p.m. After a breathing treatment and a sip of steroid, they sent him home with nothing more than a nasty cold. No Croup, no RSV, just not feeling great. The next morning, Ashton had his 'well child' check up, only to display a nasty cough and congestion himself.

At his 2 month check up Ashton is 13 lbs 6 oz. and has grown another inch to put him at 24. He's in the 95% for weight and 90% for height. We claim another big boy! We chalk it up to my mystery genes. Shanes family is Not tall, and I'm pretty average...so somewhere we have burly Finnish ancestors.

The bad news is that we have two sick boys with fevers, and yucky colds. The good news is that (so far) they only have colds. This morning (Tuesday March 10th) Ashton has lost his voice and can only squeak at me. It's heartbreaking.

Handsome Boy

Nothing more needs to be said. Brooke and I found this suit in Casper at Sears a year ago. And boy oh boy does this boy like wearing his suit. (Last Sunday in Feb.)

Shaving and Smiling

It was bound to happen, sooner or later. I guess I didn't expect it to happen at three years old. Nathan has had his first shaving accident. And boy are we lucky it turned out the way it did! Nathan went to the potty to do his business. As I tended to a happy little baby, I didn't notice anything unusual about the length of time it was taking Nathan to do his business. Likely because it really didn't take him any longer than usual. But a little concerned voice came out of the bathroom and said "Mom, Look! I'm bleeding! I shaved!" Sure enough there was a little spot of blood on his fingers where he was touching the blood, and a tiny little spot of blood on his lip where he had shaved his mustache.

Due to the fact that the cut was on his lip, it bled and bled and bled. So a little spot of tissue paper and firm instructions not to touch it, helped the little spot clot. (note the Stud Muffin Shirt, yes he must have been feeling pretty manly.)

Later that same day: Little Ashton, who was in a superior mood, was smiling, cooing, and talking his happy little self silly. I captured the moments. (8 weeks old.)

One Month Check Up

Needing to back log a little:

At his one month Check, Ashton was 11 lbs. 2 oz. and 23 inches long. GREAT GROWTH! The Dr. hardly believed he was in for his ONE month check. 'Gargantuan' was the term used to describe my baby boy. Also, the kidlet has been rolling over since he was 3 weeks old! Again, this is advanced. His size and muscle control are up there. (Insert Beaming parent here.)

Funny story. When Ashton was born, he was recorded at 8 lbs 7 oz. The next morning, this same Dr said there was no way that was an accurate measurement because he didn't believe that Ashton would weigh a pound less over night. He said "If a baby loses a pound over night there is usually evidence like missing limbs...clearly that isn't the case." So the ESTIMATED birth weight was about 7 lbs and 11 oz. Now, no one is quite sure. So I use the weight on his birth certificate which says 8 lbs 7 oz.