Guess What I Found!

Today I was changing Linc's diaper and guess what I found . . . besides a little poo & a little pee pee. Two of the tiniest little buns! He got so thin that they had virtually disappeared! He almost has little chubs on his arms and thighs. Such a joy from simple little things in life.

He had a check up today and it was all good news, but I am sure Mariah will blog about that!

Little Lincoln . . Won't Be So Little Much Longer!

I haven't had the time to take a picture of Lincoln this week, but our little "failure to thrive" (that is an awful term, makes caregivers feel like they are the problem!) little boy has definitely discovered food! That little guy has turned onto a little piggy and then some! He's filling out so well, and looks like our little blonde monkey again.

If he likes something, he doesn't want to stop eating it . . . even to the point he makes himself sick with a terrible tummy ache. Mariah was the one that figured out that you could distract him with a graham cracker or some type of bread until his little brain figures out that he is full. He sure likes some funny stuff, but it is all nourishing, so that is OK with all of us.

He is so full of life, sparkle, spit & vinegar. It is so wonderful to see how much better he feels. "?Such a tease and flirt, what is it about my grandkids? I have seen both of the girls go through this flirty stage and Garrett., only Gabriel seems to have missed out on it.

Last weekend, I weighed him in my arms and came up with 20.2 lbs. The next morning I sat him on the scales by himself and came up with the same weight. Love digital scales! Tomorrow Mariah is taking him in for a weight check up, wish her luck! Hopefully, he will stop crawling his pants soon! Definitely a good candidate for overalls ;-}

How often do we really stop and think of the Lord's blessings? When Linc was so listless at times and would just sit and stare around for spells. It was a little unnerving. It made me feel for all the mothers through the ages who were not able to provide for their children. Even now it is happening in the world. How about the parents who have sick children who are not able to get help or who have to deal with an illness for which there is no help. We were making bad jokes about our little blonde Ethiopian, it did make me think back to when we were all trying to help that country. I can't even try to imagine what it must be like . . . quite frankly, I would rather not.

Just For Laughs . . . . and Just For My Sweet Husband Who Prides Himself For Being Left (Male) Brained

I just opened an email with a link to Jeanne Robertson's bit about Don't Bungee Jump Naked. It was so cute and CLEAN! I checked out a couple of others just to see, they are all very clean and so aligned with the thinking around our family.

I decided to post this one to share with my "left brain" hubby while he is out and about.

Enjoy Jon!!!

Oh what a beautiful morning . . . . . oh what a beautiful day . . .la la la ! Yes, old Nanny frog is croaking and feeling good!

Bountiful Baskets came early this morning and I was not looking

forward to it! Little confession there. It was supposed to have 100% chance of rain until about 11:00 am and that would not have been much fun out there trying to sort everything.

So this morning it was chase, badger and even carry the dogs out before I left so that I wouldn't come home to any little deposits. This after doing the same thing through the night, whenever it didn't sound like it was raining too much, for the same reason.

I was so glad to see stars this morning when I walked out the first time! The air was calm and everything smelled so clean, thanks to all the previous rains recently. Lots of help showed up, THANKS EVERYONE!!! , there were no onions, really, no onions.

As I was driving home, I noticed Mt. Lemmon still tucked in snugly in its blanket of lingering clouds. The sun was trying to peek over the sleeping giant. It was so lovely & quiet. As I walked home from Mariah's house, the air was so crisp, each new smell was enhanced by the dampness. I suddenly realized that it felt like Spring! Sure glad that it isn't, too much to do before it gets hot, and many old plans to fulfill BEFORE that time.

I guess what this all boils down to is, it's great to feel good. Health is a huge part of our being. It makes such a difference in how our lives go, what we can do, how we look at everything around us, how we handle normal set backs. Why, oh why, do some of us think we should just plug away and not go get medical help when we have access to it? I really don't understand this bad habit. Jon & I pay so much for our health insurance. Maybe it is a throw back to our student days when we didn't have it.

Dr. Phil (yes Dr. Phil) made a statement this week that made a lot of sense. He said that we don't change a bad habit, we adopt a different behavior. Makes sense to me! So here is a new goal, don't procrastinate when something isn't right with my health, take advantage of what we are blessed to have to maintain our good health (this is for you too Jon!), quit getting stink eye from my funny little doctor for not coming in, make sure I feel well enough to walk or work out in what ever way is available at the time. Work, work, and work some more to get my home in order, my yard in order, my life in order so that I can utilize all my blessings to bless the lives of my family and those around me.

So Here I sit Like a Bump On A Log . . . Yes, Like a Bump!

Can you believe that I actually admit that? It's OK. I have run my fat little legs . . . OK, my goofy "chicken" legs off most of the week and I just finished making more signs for Bountiful Baskets tomorrow morning . . . and of course water proofing them all.

Our numbers doubled since the last pick-up, so we want to be ready to get all those goodies sorted in a hurry in the morning. Jon is on his way up north, so we will be missing our "mindless muscle" (Jon's name for it). He is so funny and a little lost as to what to do next, until he starts crushing boxes. Tomorrow we will have twice as many, so hopefully, a burly guy shows up who wants to help!

It has been such a relief to be able to breath better. I finally woke up on Thursday morning, could take a fairly deep breath and not go into a coughing fit. A little oxygen goes a long way! I broke down and went to the doctor last week, when I realized how long it had been since I had much energy and that my thinking had even been kind of fuzzy. Yesterday, I started multi-tasking again and boy howdy did it feel so good!!! Fill all the machines, start them up and dive into something fun . . . like just about anything besides the survival duties, laundry, dishes, almost cooking something, taking a quick walk around the long block to see if my lungs and arch held up. The lungs did better than the arch, but I was able to do another round as the sun set later. The sore legs and glutes felt kind of good this morning!!

Guess I better go and get back at it. The milk is set up and ready to start making cheese out of it. I need to make some yogurt before I eat up all my starter. Been eating it several times a day to fight the side affects of the antibiotic . . . which is used up . . . yeah!!! Boy did it upset my tummy and give me heart burn and you know the rest of that story!! Oh yes, and try to "doggie resist" my main rooms. I have four little dogs here (the Maskeys dogs have come to visit grandma until their fence can be fixed) and NONE of them want to go out in the rain for necessities . . . rotten little beasts. I am going to roll up all the rugs and spread newspapers to see if they will take a hint. When they don't, at least it will be easier to clean up. Get out the Clorox!! I know, real optimist . . . or maybe just a realist <;-]

So Here I Sit Like a Bump . . . Just Kidding!

My morning began with texts from Brianna who is back in Missouri for Rob's graduation. I enjoyed it since it helped since I have been pretty disappointed that we just couldn't come up with a way to got back for the graduation. When it started to kind of get to me, I decided to make it a lemonade day . . . OK . . . lime water day . . didn't want the sugar. To start with, I realized I could take deeper breaths than I have been able to in a long old time.

I got up, enjoyed the pictures Bri sent and got to work, right after I had a wonderful breakfast, leftovers, YUM!

I had a lot of produce left since I haven't been feeling well and didn't want to waste what little energy I had on cooking. Yesterday, I took some left over brown/wild rice, browned it in a little olive oil and started chopping up anything that looked like it would be good in it. Celery, red pepper, zucchini, a little onion, sliced stuffed green olives, some leftover V-8 juice, a little left-over salsa. It was so good and mainly veggies, so maybe I can get the next pound off! I add a couple of little sausages that have been in the freezer way too long and I was off to the races.

I didn't order bread from Bountiful Baskets, for a couple of reasons, so I need to make that while the yogurt and cream cheese are"brewing". Hopefully, I get the apple sauce finished too. Gotta get into the attic for the strainer, not fun but could be worse.

I am so thankful for the resources we are finding to stretch our finances these days. I can remember weeks and even months when fresh vegetable were such a luxury. I am thankful for the spirit's whispers that have helped us prepare for now. I am thankful for the lean years and the years when I roomed for with others who taught me so many different ways to cook and make do, from a different perspective than I grew up with. I had one roommate who was so closed minded that if her family didn't do something as she grew up, it wasn't good. How much she missed out on!

So, this is a lemonade day. Life is good and I look forward to spending more time with all of our children and grandchildren this weekend.

Oh What A Day!!

I woke up this morning feeling. . . . kind of . . . should I say it . . . good! Yes, I coughed up a lung, well maybe just half a lung today, but I always do that, every day. You know, allergies, just part of life. Next I had a great breakfast, my left-overs from Olive Garden last night. Add a big ole jug of diluted OJ to sip throughout the morning. Threw the clothes from the washer into the dryer, went into the FR and started folding clothes that were washed yesterday, actually put them away. Sat and went through a project of Jon's, had an opinion or two. Yes, I could follow it and think enough to have some suggestions.

Next, I hurried into the kitchen to fix breakfast for Garrett and Lincoln. Not always easy since Linc thinks he wants to be even pickier than the rest of the grandkids. I heard the kid's truck outside and found them here, almost an hour earlier than I expected them. It was OK, Garrett hadn't eaten his dinner from the night before, so he had to eat that before I could give him anything else. Linc didn't want to eat the special hard boiled egg I had gussied up for him, so I chopped three pickle slices in it and had a winner. Funny kid. He is not a sweet eater, loves the "savory" flavors (aha !got my mark on one of them!)

The whole day has gone pretty much that way. I have not had to rest, I could just slow down to catch my breath and kind of keep plugging away. My back muscles have not cramped up a single time . . . not once! So nice!! I even moved some furniture and cleaned floors under it.

We all got through lunch and then naps, I thought I would be dying for one by then, but got by without and my cough just tightened up slightly. Just finished supper and now I have a little time with my hubby. Life is good.

Now to get with packing up all the Chwisamas stuff that I have taken down but not packed away. Time for Spring Cleaning.