Sunday, February 12, 2017

A birthday in pictures...


 Macheus' birthday was on the 2nd, but Matthew had to work that day so we drug his celebrations out a bit!  The day of his birthday was absolutely beautiful!  I took Myles and Mac on a walk in the field across the street. 

All of my children have had so much fun romping in this field over the years!


                                                       I love these two little fellows!




They love running across all of the little bridges!

 

I was starting to suspect that he was breaking out with the chicken pox.  I purposely exposed him at a friend's house a week and a half earlier.



Looking toward our house from the field.  I sure love living out here!  It has been a blessing to raise our kiddos in this tiny, quiet little place.


He got his own little Ben & Jerry's ice cream!  :)


While I worked with Myles and his school work, Mac got a new play doh set. 

 
That evening we took him out to eat at his favorite restaurant!  Chick fil A!
 

On Saturday we celebrated again with the family.  He started his day out by watching Paw Patrol.  He is very into that show right now!


Madeline took him on a walk.  By this day we were certain he had the pox!


Mariah loving on him before she had to leave to go babysit for a family down the road.  It is so hard to have everyone home at the same time!


He requested hot dogs for his birthday dinner!  I think all of my little kids have asked for hot dogs around this age. :)


                                           Opening his birthday cards.


                                                Paw Patrol masks!


His sweet big sister volunteered to make him a Paw Patrol birthday cake!

 
                                                       So  sweet!


 
 He got lots of Paw Patrol things for his birthday!

 
The next morning he was covered in chicken pox, so I stayed home from church with him.  Marc and I saved a present for him to open that morning.
 

                                 He was so surprised to get another present!



He loves Thomas the Train too!  He got a set of the mini trains and a track tower to ride them on.  I also found this Paw Patrol t-shirt at Walmart!  I used to hate character clothing.  That was before I had little boys that get so excited about what they are into!


By Sunday afternoon his "itchies" were driving him nuts!


He had a pretty big case of them, but it really hasn't been that bad.  A week later now and they are almost gone!


He would play a little and then lay down to rest.  Sunday was probably his hardest day and that night was hard!  He just couldn't sleep because of the itching.

 
Well, that was his birthday celebration!

Monday, February 6, 2017

Monday evening ramblings...

It has been a long day.  It started by being a tiring weekend with Macheus having chicken pox (I will write more about that and his birthday celebrations later.)  I stayed home on Sunday with him, but I worked cleaning out my closet and drawers all day long!  I am trying hard to really declutter my house to save myself time and headache. I'm not a "pack rat" by nature, but when you have a large family you just accumulate stuff!  Over the past year I have really thrown away stuff from the boys' room.  We ripped their carpet up last fall, and I was determined to not have to battle their mess anymore. I have thrown away so much that now the only mess that is ever up there is when they don't get their laundry put away. It made me realize how much easier life can be when we aren't dominated by cleaning up and shuffling around our stuff all the time!
 

When my mom died (almost five years ago....) I continued on her tradition of making my dad a coconut cake on his birthday.  This year he said he didn't want to get "fat" over Christmas and to wait and make it later. :)  I was ready to get it done, so yesterday afternoon I made it.  I normally grocery shop for him and my own household on Monday evenings after I drop Madeline at her college classes and Mariah at piano.  I didn't have a babysitter for the boys this week and didn't love the idea of taking them!  I decided to go Sunday evening to get his groceries and take his cake to him.  I was so tired as I was cleaning out his refrigerator at 10:00 at night, but listening to him reminisce made it worth it.  I am very thankful he is still here to spend time with, but there are times it would be nice to have a break!  Can you say "sandwich generation"!?!
 

Macheus did NOT sleep at all last night.  He literally scratched all night long!  He hasn't really felt bad, and his fever has been gone for a couple of days. However, the spots have itched worse now that they are scabbing over than they did before.  At five o'clock this morning I finally turned a movie on for him and I dozed until 7:00 when I had to get up to get ready for the day.  Mariah, Malachi and Myles had STEM classes at the Air and Space Museum.  It is a little trek over there and it was so hard to make myself go!


When we got home Madeline helped Malachi with one of his science experiments.  I am so thankful for my big kids.  I got my laundry done and tried to lay down and rest with Macheus before we had to hit the road again.  Once again, he tossed and turned until I finally got up and went running instead!  It did perk me up a little bit.  Marc and Matthew took Malachi with them to their men's study this evening and the rest of us loaded up to go back to town. I dropped Mariah off at piano, Madeline off at class, and then ran to Aldi to pick up a few groceries.


The boys really don't get to go to the store very much, and they were so excited.  Bless their hearts! :)
They got the "talk" ... you know, the one where you tell them if they misbehave they will get it when they get back to the van!  Lately, anytime I talk sternly to Myles he says, "You are so cute."  I don't know if he is really that sweet, or perhaps manipulative! :)


They were good throughout most of the store. (A little more "helpful" than I needed, but they tried.)  We got up to the cash register and Macheus wanted to "help" put the groceries on the conveyor belt.  Before I could stop him he accidently dropped a jar of spaghetti sauce.  There was an older gentleman behind me that threw his head back, put his hands over his eyes and groaned really loud.  I wish I could think quick on my feet, but all I could manage to say was "I'm sorry."  Looking back I wish I had said, "I'm so sorry we ruined your night."  Or, "You must not have ever been a child."  Really, I get so tired of society's disdain for children.  I see it everywhere I go and it is even worse towards little boys.  People do not like boys.  It makes me sad.  Macheus was very stressed out and kept saying, "I'm sorry mommy."  One mom (who also had little boys with her) looked at me and gave that sympathetic "I get it" kind of smile.  I just hurried and paid for my stuff and didn't even bother boxing them up until I got to the van.


I decided it wasn't worth torturing them (or myself) to do anymore shopping.  We went back to the church and I turned them loose on the playground.  Mariah finished with lessons and we stayed and killed time until we needed to pick up Madeline.


Nighttime pictures with a phone aren't great, but I just wanted to capture the evening.  It is simple moments like these that I try to cherish with my little fellows.  I know in a blink of an eye they will be off doing things like the older ones.


He loved the gravel on the playground. I thought it was pretty cool too until I realized his missing tennis shoes blended right in with it!


We picked Madeline up from class and found out she got a 100% on her first oral presentation.  She was so nervous. I wish I had taken a picture of her.  She was dressed up and looked beautiful!  She did Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin's beauty webinar years ago with McKenzie.  She remembered something she learned from it and that was how she chose her outfit. :)  I don't know if it is still available online, but I know McKenzie really enjoyed it too!


We headed back towards our town, dropped off some supper at my dad's apartment and then came home.  Phew!!  That was a long day!  Thankful that I get to stay home tomorrow!

~Goodnight...

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Blueberry Crumb Cake

The weather turned cool again this week, and I got into the baking mode. Someone posted this recipe on Facebook and I decided to try it.  It was yummy and a doubled recipe was gone in 24 hours at my house!
 

1/2 stick Butter
  • 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
  • 3/4 cups Sugar
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 2-1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 3/4 cups Whole Milk
  • 2 cups Fresh Blueberries
  • _____
  • FOR THE TOPPING:
  • 3/4 sticks Butter
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup Flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

    Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt. Stir and set aside.

    Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

    Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pour in batter.

    In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using two knives or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

    Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut into squares and serve with softened butter.


    ** I used freshly ground whole wheat flour and Sucanat instead of white sugar.  That and grass fed butter and eggs form our backyard!  Counts as a "health food", right!?

    Saturday, February 4, 2017

    Eggs!

    Last year was not a good year for our chickens.  We lost most of our flock (around 40-50 birds) to the coyotes and foxes!  It was so frustrating, but part of having free range chickens.  It started when some of our birds wouldn't go up in the hutch at night.  They would roost in the open barn stalls.  Once wildlife gets a taste of the chicken they continue to come back.  Matthew has done away with as many as he can, but it took its toll!  We kept our new chicks in a secure pen and thankfully once the older hens were gone, the animals are not coming around for now! 
     
     
    Thankful that our new birds are laying plenty of eggs now!  They are a staple around here and a huge help filling up the little boys!
     

    Thursday, February 2, 2017

    Macheus is 4!!!

    Happy Birthday to Macheus Trust!  My "rainbow baby".... the one I thought would never "be".  I am so thankful that the Lord blessed us with him.  He came at just the perfect time and has brought so much joy to our family!
     

    At four years old he loves to play outside.  His favorite playmate is Myles.  He gets up in the morning and wants his smoothie (Weird kid, I know.)   He loves to tease, but doesn't want to be teased.  He is very loving to his mommy!  He doesn't slow down for much.  He loves Thomas trains, Odd Squad and Paw Patrol.  I have stressed the least with him learning things, and yet he still manages to learn just fine!  He is a bit spoiled.   Matthew's nickname for him is "K- rot". :)  The girls still call him "Baby K".  Yep... he is spoiled.

    I love you sweet boy and pray that this is a wonderful year for you!