How Appropriate

Stackyard: n. The place where hay bales are kept for the feeding and bedding of cattle

Snackyard: n. Nathan's name for the same place and where he wanted his dad to pull him in the sled today.

I suppose the cattle consider it their "snackyard," too!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

My parents and sister came to visit today to celebrate my mom's birthday. It was a most relaxing day (well, for the women in the family anyway)!
Dad spent most of his time here pulling the boys behind the 4-wheeler which is one of their favorite things to do with him.

We had birthday cake after lunch. Grandma, not wanting a repeat of Nathan's birthday cake, imposed a strict "No Spitting" rule.

My mom also brought along the red coat that was purchased just for her when she was two years old. After five daughters in a row, Grandma must have decided it was time for a new coat! Teresa didn't want to take it off--she just loved it so much! Grandma is letting her borrow it for a few weeks to wear to church and she is VERY excited to wear it in the morning. How wonderful that she is able to share this with her grandmother. Maybe someday she will be able to share it with her daughter, too.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Shirley. We love you very much!

Meat-Free Meals

Happy 2nd Friday of Lent! Even if you are not Catholic, you will know that we "Minnow Munchers" keep a diet of fish or other vegetarian meals on Fridays and Holy Days during Lent.
Catholic or not, you may find the recipes below worth trying. They are some of our family's favorites all through the year.

Favorite Tuna Casserole

1 box macaroni & cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can milk
1 can tuna
1 can peas
2 T butter
minced onion
pepper

Boil noodles according to directions. Meanwhile, combine powdered cheese from box, soup, milk, & tuna in a bowl. Add drained noodles when done boiling & stir in peas. Shake in minced onion & pepper to taste. Spread in a 9x13 pan or casserole dish. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Easy Manicotti

1 box manicotti (tube-like shells)
Equal number of string cheese sticks
large jar spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese

Boil the manicotti. When done, drain & fill with one stick string cheese each. Cover with spaghetti sauce & bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake about 10 minutes more. (When making this at other times of the year, I add browned ground beef to the sauce.)

Enjoy!

Snack Time Zones

I was lamenting to my mother-in-law last Saturday after a particularly long week with Nathan. This was his main dialogue for twelve hours a day:
"Is it snack time?"
"When is snack time?"
"Can I watch a movie?"
"Can I play the Wii?"
"Is it snack time yet?"
One of her suggestions was to make a clock to show snack time. After three kids, I should have thought of that myself, but that is why I am so blessed to have a supportive mother-in-law nearby. You would think she raised four little snackers herself!
On Monday morning, we put the plan into place. We made two clocks--one for morning snack and one for afternoon. Nathan wasn't too excited about helping me make them, so I questioned if he would go along with this plan.
The results were amazing, however. He asked me for a snack one time and I pointed to the clock. He said, "The little hand is there, but the big hand has to move some more." That was all I heard until 10am. That day I especially made sure to have snacks on time so that he could see what the "real" time actually looked like.
Today is Thursday and our snack time clocks are still doing their job.
So, that is one problem solved and my sanity saved for the time being. Now, onto my little girl who thinks she is at least ten years old instead of just two!

Beautiful Blog Award

This sunny day just got even better. Thank you so much to Alicia at La Famille for awarding Caution: Wife and Mom Under Construction a Beautiful Blogger Award! I am so thankful for the readers who check up on my thoughts every day or even sporadically.

If you win this award, here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who awarded you.

2. Pass this award on to up to 15 bloggers that you've recently discovered and think are awesome.

I am awarding a Beautiful Blogger Award to Just Imagine Heaven, Stewardship of the Steward Ship, Amy the Shopaholic, & Parenting by Trial & Error!

3. Let the bloggers know they have won.

4. List 7 facts about yourself:

1. I have three children who are all beautiful & talented in different ways. It is fun to watch them grow and learn new things every day.
2. I always wanted to be a teacher & a mom. I was a teacher, am now a full-time mom, but now I don't know what I want to be when I (or my kids) grow up.
3. I love to cook, bake, & try new recipes.
4. I love to travel--road trips and plane rides are both fine with me and the destination does not matter. Planning vacations is half the fun.
5. Family is very important to me. As I get older, I especially cherish every minute spent with my grandparents as I know I am so blessed to still have them here with me.
6. I know God has blessed me abundantly and I have nothing to complain about, but sometimes I still think I do!
7. Shopping is one of my favorite things to do, although I do not get to go on my own (or with friends) too often. One of my VERY favorite stores is Hobby Lobby.

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

In a Flash

I caught a picture of Nathan this morning as he was running through the dining room playing football.
Notice the football/basketball shirt is still a favorite. He even wears it the right way once in awhile now. But, as you can see, not today. Maybe that was just a football season thing.

Smart Cows

Calving has begun! Teresa, with her love of all things Baby & Ma-mom, LOVES to go out and see the baby calves. David is so excited that one of his children has finally taken an interest in the cattle operation. Perhaps this excitement will extend a few years when she has a bottle calf to feed and care for? We shall see.
Landen was out helping his dad on Saturday. David asked him this question, "Do you know how the mom cows know their babies?"
Landen replied, "Yeah. They look at their ear tags."

Ole & Lena's Wedding

Last night I was so thankful to be invited to "Ole & Lena's Wedding" at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Redfield.
I have never been to "Tony & Tina's Wedding," but hear it well worth the experience. Ironically, my only Italian friend invited me to these Norwegian nuptials along with our friend Deb. The interactive play was put on by their church members and was a fundraiser for the Ministerial Association and Haiti Relief. Everyone was given a name tag of Norwegian nature on arrival and we just happened to be the "three Delores'"--Delores Johnson, Delores Johnsson, and Delores Johnsen--Lena's college roommates. So, even though we were hoping to just "blend," we did get to have a tiny part in the festivities. It wasn't too painful, though. :o)
Unfortunately I forgot my camera. I really wanted to document that the three of us all managed to leave our respective homes on the same evening if nothing else.
It was really a fun, fun evening. You have to love a wedding with the "Too Fat Polka" as the recessional, several kinds of Jello & hotdish, and toilet paper kozy presents that were "Oh, for nice!"

Curling

David and I have put in many hours watching curling these past few days. There's only one problem. Even after all of this watching, and looking up rules online, we still don't know how they score! Can anyone help us?

Now . . . where was I?

It looks like #31. I haven't forgotten my quest for listing 100 things I love. Here are some more:
31. Receiving flowers from my husband (or anyone for that matter!)
32. watching the Olympics
33. WiiFit
34. snow-plowed roads
35. mail delivered right to my mailbox
36. 10am late starts for school
37. Pandora.com
38. bubble baths
39. that elusive "caught up" feeling
40. bedtime

Good night!

Surprising Sunday

Usually our Sundays are pretty predictable. Today looked like it would be like any other. We decided that we would go to the LCMS church (where David is a member) just 3 miles away instead of the Catholic Church (we are an ecumenical household) 20 miles away this morning.
Usually David goes in early with the tractor to clear the parking lot and then we drive into town with the pickup after he returns. Well, this morning the roads were so drifted shut that David decided we would ALL go into town in the tractor! So, there we all were--all dressed up in the John Deere. Even Callie followed us into town (she thinks running after the tractor is great fun), so she had to wait for us in the cab until after church.
This is usually a very small congregation, but it was even smaller today since so many people--even those who lived just blocks away--were snowed in because of the large drifts blocking their front doors and roads.
As I was walking in, the fill-in usher (for the snowed-in usher), told another lady who was contemplating playing piano (in place of the snowed-in organist), "Laura can play!"
This was true. I often play piano for mass at my church and I had just played at their church a few weeks ago when their organist was out of town. Either David was right and I did TOO well the first time, or they were just desperate, but I got the job again. I was happy to do it and no one complained.
Afterward, we had a yummy dinner at our town's cafe and headed for home in the John Deere. We had to wait awhile at the edge of town as another local farmer blew open a path through the high drifts covering the highway. I have never seen that much snow covering roads since I've moved here.
Here are some photos of our adventure:

Wind-blown icicles

Landen watching as Dad cleaned out the parking lot

The ride home was perfect for a little nap.

Olympic Time!

The Olympics start today and we are ready to watch! I really like the every-two-years format they have gone to instead of having both the Summer & Winter in the same year like they used to do. (Am I dating myself admitting that I remember the former schedule?) Four years is a long time, but now it seems like we were just cheering on Michael Phelps and now we're ready for skating and ski jumping.
I just love the Winter Olympics and have wonderful memories watching them growing up. I don't remember the exact years, but I remember cheering for Kristi Yamaguchi & Bonnie Blair, watching Dan Jansen win gold in his last Olympic race (1994 Lillehammer--still THE best Olympic moment EVER!), witnessing Sarah Hughes coming from fourth place and winning gold on home soil, and let's not forget, discovering the sport of Curling.
Landen is excited to see all of the countries' flags at the Opening Ceremonies, since he has been studying the world flags in his 2010 Time for Kids Almanac. Did you know Libya's flag is all green like a John Deere tractor? Yep. We'll be watching for that one.
This morning Landen, Nathan, & their cousin Carter practiced their "Olympic Sports" on the snow hill in our yard. Landen was so proud of his ramp and I was able to get a picture while he was airborne.

Have fun watching some of the world's greatest athletes in these next days. I know we will.

My Little Fashionista

"Why," I asked David a few days ago, "does God make children so independent and yet so needy at the same time?" It truly is a mystery I have yet to solve in my 6+ years of being called "MOOOOMMMM!" I doubt I ever will.
Teresa has recently started to spread her wings in choosing her outfits. This may have been caused by her wearing mismatched outfits as we worked on potty training for the past four weeks. (Thanks to cousin Lily, she has emerged victorious on that skill. Yay!!!!) Whatever started it, it really is quite frightening to see. She needs her aunt Amanda's fashion advice--and quickly--or she will be a sure bet for TLC's "What Not to Wear" in a few years!

Here we have yesterday's outfit: Her Halloween birthday outfit (she originally wanted to wear a teal shirt on top), the fuscia vest, fluffy black boots (that are a size too small), and what you can't see from the picture--red Valentine's Day socks.
It's just so funny to see what she comes up with next.
She IS able to dress herself, though, so I really can't complain.

Mama Mii is Looking Better!

I am happy to announce that Mama Mii has now fallen into the "normal" weight range! Wohoo! Although my slow descent resembles a small mountain range on the graph, I was finally able to drop the five pounds in a little less than a month.
I watched calories a bit more closely and warmed up the treadmill after a several month hiatus, but I really must give Wii Fit the credit for motivating me to start exercising again (beyond housework and laundry). I never get tired of it since there are so many different activities to try. I hope I can stay motivated through these remaining winter months until I can get back outside on a regular basis to walk and garden again.
As David always reminds me, exercising and eating better is about being healthy, not about losing weight. But, I have to say, when the scale finally starts moving (albeit slowly) the way you want it to, it is a nice side effect.

from GH March 1902

It is Good Housekeeping's 125th anniversary this year, so they are revisiting wisdom from pass issues. I found this bit of information interesting in my newest issue:
"Housework is as systematic a muscle developer as can be found, and it is one of the most excellent substitutes possible for gymnastics."
Ha! David never believes me when I tell him housework and lugging full laundry baskets up and down the stairs several times a day count as exercise.
Now I have proof. If Good Housekeeping says it, then it MUST be true!

Oobleck

This idea was posted by a local homeschool mom and fellow blogger a few days ago.
Oobleck is so awesome! Even David and I were mesmerized by it (although that doesn't take much). Then I let my true fun-testers at it. Nathan and Teresa have been playing with it for 20 minutes now, and they are not as easily amused, so it MUST be fun.

All you need is 1 1/2 cups corn starch and 1 cup water. Mix it up in a cake pan or cookie sheet and play away! It looks like a liquid, but your fingers will find it surprisingly solid when touching the top of it. It will turn solid when it is being played with and then will return to its liquid form.
We had to make ours green because EVERYTHING is better when it is John Deere green! Thanks, Alicia, for an awesome idea. You can find a link to her blog at the bottom of this page.

Mood Swings

Sometimes it amazes me how a day can go from good to bad to good in no time at all.
Our linemen were out working on the electrical lines leading to our farm again today, so the kids and I spent the day at Grandma's house. (I am not complaining about no electricity for a few hours anymore since many friends and loved ones just got reconnected after days and days of no power.) So, that was actually the good part. We had a nice, peaceful, and relaxing time with Grandma and we returned home to find our lights were once again shining brightly.
Then Landen came home. Not long after the chaos started. The peaceful feeling of the day was forgotten. Suddenly I had two fighting, screaming boys who would NOT stop, a girl who continues to find potty training a rather difficult skill to master, and a broken Wii remote (oh, the horror!) For a few minutes, I didn't know if I was going to throw the boys out in a snowbank, or just fling myself into one.
Then things got better. The nice guy at Nintendo customer support sent me a repair order, Teresa actually came upstairs and went potty BEFORE she went in her pants, and I sent the boys downstairs until supper time with no more Wii time tonight.
Now things are looking up again. Bedtime is less than two hours away. That's even better.
Tomorrow will be a new day. I hope it starts out on the good side--preferably WITH electricity.

Super Bowl snacks

Today is grocery shopping day and I am starting to plan my menu for the big game. My goal is to prepare a menu that will be fun, tasty, and still keep me happy as I weigh in with the Wii Fit on Monday morning!
So far I have planned sub sandwiches (made by our local youth group), BBQ wienies (not exactly healthy, but I will only have a few), a big taco dip loaded with veggies, and some sort of dessert (as with the wienies--all things in moderation).
With my friend's appetizing contributions added in, I am sure we will have more than enough delicious munchies to get us four adults and seven kids through the game and beyond.
Landen and I will be cheering for the Saints, who are followed by Grandma Shirley and our "Crazy Aunt Carol" who lives in Louisiana and loves her Saints as well. I'm not sure who the rest of our family will be cheering for, but I know where I will be able to find Nathan for most of the evening--right by the snack table!

Bowling Update

"Real" bowling was a success with all three kids getting at least one strike over the two games they played. Teresa even won the first kids' game because of a luckily placed strike!
It was a great day and the "chicken soup" my soul needed! I'm sure we'll be bowling again soon since I beat David on one game and he just can't stand to have that happen!