A Good Excuse

When the "Elders" in suits come-a-knockin', tell them you are sick :-) One good thing today about having a fever for the third day in a row....

Uh Oh...

At not even 5 months, I think Isaac qualifies for the "partially" mobile status. He can scoot backwards and sideways.... Now I can't count on him staying on a clean blanket :-( Boo... Although, as always, it's fun to see him learning what he can do!

Denaye's Chili

I didn't follow any particular recipe, but mixed and matched from several different ones... Here's a *rough* recount of what I threw in...

2 cans black beans, not drained.
1 can great northern white beans, not drained
1 can corn, drained
1 small onion, diced
1-2 sweet bell peppers, diced
1-2 cups cooked roast, diced
16 oz salsa
couple sprinkles of garlic salt
a sprinkle of pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of chipotle rub
sprinkle of italian seasoning
couple sprinkles of cumin
Cook in crockpot for several hours :-) I've heard the more the better!

I called it medium spicy. If you withheld the cayenne and chipotle, I think it would be mild.

I can say this because it's my blog...

Yea ME! I won the Bean Queen cook-off!!! Woohoo!

(although I totally would have thought I had a better chance winning the baking contest instead of the chili one... ;-)

Kids Chore Chart

If you like our plan to pay for above and beyond chores, here's our list of to-dos:
Feed Leo and Kerzon... .25
Feed Chickens & collect eggs....25
Sweep and Vacuum Ziva's room......25
Wash Ziva's floor......25
Wash dining room chairs......25
Sweep Kitchen/ dining room.....25
Make Mommy's bed........25 (no, I am not slacking- they enjoy doing this, especially Kiera, so it's a gimme for her to do it :-)
Help Mommy w/ Daily cleaning.... 25+

So far, rewards are as follows:
Treat (yogos, capri sun, cookie)....50
Confiscated toy (something they've left out and I picked up, such as jewelry or other small items they need to remember to pick up before Isaac starts crawling)....$1
Anything I purchase for them... The actual retail value, to the nearest .25.

I am starting with quarters so it's not too confusing for them to get. After we are good with those, I may add some cheaper treats, and more expensive chores. I don't know what yet... but praying for wisdom to keep it exciting :-)

Eight Days later...

Our computer got a bug. Several bugs. Annoying.

Anyway, I am so thankful that Gabe has the patience to figure out which bug it is, and how to fix it. And while I didn't like spending the $ at the time, I am thankful that we have the laptop so he can go online to find the information he needs to do so.

A lot has happened the last week. Here's a few update :-)

Daily cleaning list: I like the way this works. I only have to focus on one thing per day, and it keeps the house tidier overall. The problem I am encountering is that the days when Gabe is sleeping, I have a hard time fitting in the routine in that room. And at some point every two weeks, Gabe is sleeping every day. I have not yet found a solution to this hindrance.

Chore Chart: We are instituting a chore chart for the girls to use to earn money, which they then can use to buy snacks, confiscated toys, and special items that we will purchase and then they can earn $ to purchase from us. This morning they were so eager to get started! Kiera washed the dining room chairs and then helped Melia finish Ziva's room. Melia swept, vacuumed, and washed the floor in Ziva's room. They each earned .50. Kiera promptly spent hers on snacks, as expected! And Melia had picked a few things out of the AVON catalog which she wanted to save up for- so she's saving hers. I like this. I am encouraged by their enthusiasm.

Ezri: Ezri died this morning. I was suprised yesterday to find her suddenly weakened, as in a state of organ failure. I recognized this because right after Gabe and I were married, my cat Spook took a very sudden turn for the worst, and Ezri had the same look in her eyes. This time it was easier on me though- I knew that if I took her in to the vet, I would probably get the same reaction as I did when Spook died. They basically said there's nothing they can do. IV's with fluids, force feeding Nutrical, but Spook died within 2 days, so I knew Ezri was not going to recover. I brought her in the house, put her in a box with a cushion and water, and tried to keep her comfortable. It's hard emotionally, especially with not knowing what went wrong. But it's done now. At least the suffering is short with whatever causes this sudden illness. So these two kittens are the last ones we will have. And I'm ok with that too. Having kids and kittens is pretty difficult, so it's alright to be done. Although it may be harder to let them go...*sniff*

Gift Wish Lists

There are numerous items on Amazon.com on Denaye's wish list for most all members of the family, Melia's book list is under my list.  It looks like you should be able to get to Gabe's list through mine as well, but I'm not sure. 

Gabe

L-XL clothes (roomy)
sporting goods gift cards (Hooked On Toys, Big 5, Bimart, Walmart)

Denaye

silicon baking liners
2 cup glass measuring cup
mini whisk
bamboo cutting boards (examples on amazon)
Fred Meyer, Costco, Coffee, Amazon, Target gift cards
classical music cds
chalkboard paint
new waffle iron
crossbow :)

Melia

Joanns' or Hobby Lobby gift cards (knitting, jewelry)
Academic Toolbox gift cards
Schleich animals/horses
Hair design book/ideas/braiding'
Palace Pets (Pipkin preferably)
maybe a jewelry making book?
Size 10-12 clothes
Socks (shoe size 4)
PJs

Kiera

Schleich bunny set
Academic toolbox gift card
Caroline American Girl Mini Set
Stretch pants/clothes size 7-8
socks (shoe size 13)
PJs

Isaac

race cars and trains
watch (spiderman, Cars, Trains are all ideal)
Size 4T clothes, pjs.
New water bottle (ideas on amazon)

Caleb
Toddler socks (18 mo+)
size 18 mo clothes winter
size 24 mo summer
new water bottle (ideas on amazon)

Melia's rendition of John 3:16

John 3:16
For God so loved the world He gave His only gotten Son, Whoever believes in Him Should not be punished but have everliving lasting life.

*grin*

NGJ Order Here!

Ok, so for those of you who wrote earlier this year that you wanted some of the NGJ products, I have you down. If anyone else is interested, let me know. I arrived home on Wednesday to find a box bigger than me on the deck :-) It was like Christmas! So fun, and I can't wait to explore the goodies that I haven't read or heard yet!

And... Friday's Cleaning Job done.

Today was a little harder. They hate picking up their stuff. Not even the ominous "If I have to come in there, I'm going to throw everything on the floor away" works on Kiera. She just says, "My toys go in the garbage." Onery thing she is- trying to use reverse psychology on her mother. Hmph.

But we finished. It was bigger today, as it will be for this first week. And now they are happily eating juicy pluots :-)