Potty Training!! YES!!

Well...with me being 6 months pregnant and Darikka already 18 months old, it is time to start the dreaded potty training! However, she was all ready to start herself. She came to me one day and told me she needed to go "poop"! SO....I quickly ripped off her diaper, and shoved her up on the "Potty"! And she did it! The funny thing is we cannot get her to "pee pee" on it just yet!

A little graphic I know....but this first one is of her "pushing out the poops"! She did a great job!

Click on this pic to enlarge it and check out the tear on her cheek! Is this hard work or what?!

"Wow, mom what is that thing in the toilet?! Did I do that?!"
Notice the empty roll of toilet paper on the hanger! Ha!

No job is finished til' you get rid of the evidence right?! She was so proud to do it all by herself!

"Bye Bye, poops!"

Just so you all know, shortly after all this excitement, she peed right there on the bathroom floor! I guess next time we will have to sit there just a bit longer! Or get the diaper on faster! HA! Hope you all enjoyed this picture story and that no one was offended!

My Hot Hubby!

See it's like I said....My Hot Hubby!!!!

Over the weekend of the 4th, my hubby had the opportunity to do something he hasn't done in over 4 years! TEAM ROPING!! He was so excited and I was really scared! I mean...horses are really big animals and they kick really hard too!

This is him in the warm-up arena! Doesn't he look all official!?!?

This is ONLY practice he has had in the 4 years at all! I was afraid that he was going to fall off the horse while going 25 miles an hour, break a leg, crack his head open and have to have some kind of surgery! I know I'm quite the optimist! Ha!

But when it came right down to it.....he said it was like riding a bike! You don't forget the things you love the most! Team Roping has been a very fond love of Rany's since he was a child. But CERTAIN people and circumstances didn't allow for him to keep doing it! Now that we live on a ranch and he finally has the time to....he is starting to finally do and share the things that mattered most to him!

I couldn't be more proud of the man that I am married to! What a catch! He is a wonderful father, husband, provider, he is caring, loving, smart, and he dreams big!! I LOVE that in a man!
Love you, Babe!

My My My My My...........Boogie Shoes!!

This is so funny! I have not seen little girls this young so into shoes. Great.....just what I need another girl with a shoe fetish! Ha! She already loves all things girly! She is so much fun and she is so dang smart. Too smart for her own good (or bad)!

She loves to walk around on the deck in her "pitty" shoes, because she likes the sound of the heels clicking on the wood! So this is a nightly thing at our house!

I know, I know.....quite the fashion statement here. Sometimes she wears them in the morning too! Sometimes it's not so pretty!

Close-up of the "boogie"shoes!

She started wearing these when she started at the daycare, then the Easter Bunny brought her several pairs to have at her own home. I think the Easter Bunny has created a monster. Not only does she love her "pitty" shoes, but she loves work boots, mom's high heels, Ian's "flish" flops, and any other pair of shoes she can manage to get on herself!

Carnival Days In Pagosa!

Ahhh, the days of Summer have now begun! You know it's time for sun, swimming, rafting and all things summer, when the carnival comes to town! We had soooo much fun!

This is Rany and Ian on some sort of circular ride! Ian was having a blast, as you can clearly see. Rany however, was a bit nervous. He is afraid of anything that reaches heights of more than 10 feet! But he was brave enough to indulge Ian for a few minutes!

This is Ian and Darikka in the bouncy tent. She was having sooo much fun. She played for almost 30 minutes on this one ride! Ian was just in there helping her....right, I mean who wants to play on the baby rides anyway!?! Ha!

Ian just couldn't get enough of the rides, he was having the time of his life! He used all of his tickets in a matter of 20 minutes....so of course we had to buy him more!

This was the hi-lite of Darikka's night! She loves the "Oh-seys", (horseys)! Dad walked and walked and walked with her till she had had her fill! I don't know who enjoyed it more, him or her!

There's nothing like seeing your family doing the things they love. What a blessing to have the technology that we have to be able to create and share these special moments with the ones we love!

Where have you been?!?!

Where has everyone been? Oh wait...it's not you that was missing, it was me! Sorry I have not posted in like...forever! I have been busy. NO, really I have! Let me tell you a little bit about it!

I have been working full time since January! I work anywhere from 50-60 hours a week. I know, I know not that much for some of you. But on top of all of that....I have 3 children at home to take care of, a husband to keep happy, and a house to keep clean and standing! For me that is a lot.

But....That's not all! In May of this year we moved (all the way across town) and that took a lot out of me... I am still unpacking boxes. Also, I have been busy trying to plant and grow a garden in an area that is not warm enough to have a garden.

These are the 1st plants that I planted. They are actually huge now ( I will post about them later, I promise)! I have tomatoes growing on the vines and am just now starting to see Green peppers. I also have corn stalks that are about 3 1/2 ft tall. I am so proud!

So you see....I really have been busy! Oh..but wait there's more! On top of the job, the children, my hubby, my home and my garden.....we are having another baby! We just found out that it is going to be another girl....one can never have too many girls right, (Heaven help us!)!

No pics of her yet so here are some of the others doing some of the things that we have been doing this summer!

Blayke and Darikka love the 3 ft pool that we have in the back yard. Heck who needs a huge one right!

Darikka loves to ride her bike at the park! Ian also did some skateboarding this day too!

Oh my gosh! Who is that cutie! Those of you who know my brothers will say this looks exactly like one of them! I won't say who, you tell me if you think the same! This was the night of Ian's Blue and Gold banquet! He got several patches and stars for his Scout uniform. Speaking of Scouts, Ian gets to be one of the few who gets to present the flag in tomorrow's flag ceremony for the town we live in! He is so excited and I am dang proud!

Hope you are all having a great Summer!

Rant and Rave Monday! My Worst Pet Peeve

I have decided what my biggest pet peeve in the whole world is............GREEDY, NASTY, MONEY HUNGRY, EVIL, WOMEN!!!!

Can you believe some people?! There are those of us out there that fight and work our way through every day just to survive! And then there are those that have everything handed to them on a SILVER PLATTER! They have never had a decent job in their life. And the jobs that they have held they can only keep for 2 months before they get bored and quit altogether or move to another job! I hate these people!

They prey on those that work hard for their money, and expect everyone else to pay their way for them! They disgust me! Get a life will Ya?! Seriously, is it that hard to get a job?! I understand that in today's economy it can be hard to get a decent job. But I know for a fact that these people can walk in to anywhere and get a $10/hour job or more. But instead of keeping the job, people like them, move on to the next job that pays less, has less benefits, and for what????? So they can live off the state, off their parents, and use their children as paychecks!

I am so disgusted by these kind of women, and I say women, because right now it is ONLY women that I see doing this! The men I know work their A$$e$ off just trying to make sure their own family has what it takes to survive! I don't know maybe it's because I have had a job since I was 15 years old, and I have never shirked my duties to take care of myself or my family. I have probably made more money in my life than these women will ever hope to make feeding off other people! Everyone needs help now and then, but seriously, to live off everyone around you is the lowest kind of person to be! In fact they are not people at all, just parasites living off their host until they suck them completely dry and then move on to the next poor idiot willing to take them on! Bottom feeders is what they are!

So if you happen to be the men with the women that this post describes completely.....get out! And get out now, before they own everything you have! They'll suck you dry and spit out what is left! And I promise they'll continue to live high and mighty!

That's it! Thanks for reading and staying while I had a raving and ranting fit!

Photo Story Friday!

On the last Wednesday that I participated in Wordful Wednesday, I promised that I would come back on Friday and showcase my Christmas Dinner. However I didn't get time to do it, so I am doing it now. As you know from reading that WW post that I cooked my first turkey ever. I also cooked a ham and all the other traditional trimmings for Christmas Dinner too. So this is the Photo Story of my dinner.

First I started with the "real" cranberry sauce. My hubby loves this stuff, and I gag just looking at it. But he wanted it so I made it. I like the jellied Cranberry sauce that comes in a can.

This is easiest part of the dinner. Just boil til they crack and put in the fridge. Turned out great BTW!

Next I attempted to make a pumpkin pie. I know, I know you are all laughing at me! This is another of the easy parts of dinner. But again, I have never made one and therefore was scared to death to try! But....

It also turned out great and very tasty. The holes in the center are from me sticking a knife in to check if it was done or not. I was so worried about over cooking it. But other than that...it looks okay doesn't it?!

Then of course on to the main course. If you saw the WW post, then you have already seen this picture, but I posted it again because I was so proud of it! As I said before, it looked great, tasted even better, and was one of the best tasting turkeys that I have ever tasted. Even if I do say so myself!

I cooked a ham in the roaster oven. I cheated a bit and bought a spiral ham that is pre-cooked and I just had to warm it basically. But it tasted great and was very moist and flavorful! And it looks pretty good too!

This is the Christmas Dinner Spread, complete with rolls, mashed taters and gravy, stuffing (another first for me, my mother's own recipe), green bean casserole, veggie tray, homemade mustard sauce, ham, turkey, and of course some sparkling cider.

(go ahead, click to enlarge, you know you want to!)
Notice that there are only two plates set at the table!? Hubby and I are the only ones that were there besides the baby. The other two were with their dad's family in Utah. So this was a ton of food and we ate on it for the next week and a half. Oh BTW...the plates and other matching dishes are REAL china. They were given to us by Big R's grandmother. This is the first dinner in my own home that I actually got to use REAL china!

Head on over to see other great stories and photos!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Writer's Workshop Thursday!

Well this is a tad late, but I guess better late than never. Most of my posts are going to be late, as I have just gone back to work for the first time since the baby was born. She is going to be 1 next month. I can't believe it!

So I am starting with Thursday and doing the Writer's Workshop with MammaKat. She is so great she always has the greatest prompts. I had a hard time deciding which one to write about. But I decided to go with #4, which is share the best picture you took last month and tell why it's your favorite! And this is the one I chose.

My oldest daughter had just made herself some hot chocolate. Somehow the baby got a hold of the spoon she used to make the hot chocolate and....the rest is history!

(click to enlarge for the full effect!)

I like this picture the best because it shows off her "baby blues" so well. She has the most beautiful eyes, and with them she can control the universe ( or at least her daddy and myself)!

Head on over to MammaKat's and see what everyone else had to write about!

My First Award Ever!!

Wow, I have just been awarded my first Blog Award ever in my entire Blog-tastic life!!! It came from Brenda at In the Treetop

I'm not sure why anyone would want to award my blog, it's just plain ol' Jane with Stories and pictures of my family! But I am deeply honored to have gotten this award (Even if it does come with strings attached to it)!

SO...first of all I will give thanks (and gnash my teeth a little bit) to Brenda for thinking of me and awarding my blog. Second...I will give thanks to my family for always being willing to let me take pictures of the goofiest things and then tell the story behind the picture to all you Blog-tastic readers!

This is the HONEST Scrap Award.
And the rules for getting this award are as follows:
A. You must first list 10 HONEST things about yourself...make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
and ..B. Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the HONEST Scrap Award!

That's it!

That's it? Wow 10 HONEST things about myself!? I'm a little scared to do this! But here goes!

1. I am almost 30. I am scared to death of this number. Don't ask me why! None of the other ages bothered me. 16, you get to drive. 18, you're an ADULT. 21, you can drink (not that I ever did, right?!). 25, big deal so you're a quarter of a century old. But for some reason 30 is really getting to me! And only since about 2 weeks ago. It just all of a sudden crept up on me. Oh, well..I can't stay 29 forever.....Or can I!

2. I am smaller now than I was in high school (before I was pregnant, silly)! My mom and a few of my sisters and I have all been working really hard at losing weight, getting smaller, and just eating healthier over all! We have all struggled, but with the help of each other and a great sense of humor, we are all getting there!

3. When no one is home (except my 11 month old of course, poor her), I like to turn on what I call "Dance Music" and dance and sing around the house. Usually there is some cleaning involved, like laundry (used for a dance partner), dishes ( used for various microphones), and some vacuuming (or was that a guitar)!

4. I am extremely addicted to certain TV shows. I love Reba reruns, CSI all 3 versions, and I am getting into reruns of Charmed. I have recently gotten a DVR and I have been recording all the episodes that I miss. I am such a couch potato.

5. As Brenda mentioned in her blog, I can drive 18 wheelers. Yes that is a semi (as in tractor-trailers) for those of you that don't know. When I became a single parent of 2, living in my parents home, I realized that I needed to get a job that could support me and my little ones so I would never have to rely on a man to do it again. (sorry Big R, you do a great job, but that was in the past) I have a Class A CDL and can drive doubles and triples (trailers that is), and can haul tankers and HAZMAT! I did this in the oil field for 4 years, before I became a SAHM of 3.

6. Now that my baby is getting older, I am going back to work in the oil field. However this time I will not be driving 18 wheelers. I will be inspecting oil and gas wells!

7. I broke my foot at age 27 while attempting a double back flip in gymnastics. Actually attempting isn't the right word. I did it and I did it well, it was the landing that didn't come out quite right. I landed up too high on my toes, my right ankle rolled to the outside with all of my weight on top of it, and I went to the ground. Long story short, I broke several bones in my foot, all 4 smaller toes were broken, I completely severed the ligament that crosses the ankle bone and partially severed my Achilles tendon. I was black and blue for 3 weeks from my right knee to the very tips of all 4 of those broken toes. That should have been my first clue that getting older was a bad thing (see # 1 above)!

8. I shot an elk 3 years ago. Yes I am a regular Annie Oakley. Not! I actually just shot a cow elk, no great mount for me. But she was beautiful and it was one of the neatest things I have ever done. I won't tell you about how I cried over her when I found her in the brush! It just seemed like such a reverent moment in time and I felt like she deserved my respect. I also won't tell you that I have not attempted to kill anything since. Some day I will post tribute to her and the meat that still fills my freezer!

9. I am secretly dying to take all of my kids and my husband to Disneyland! Me and my 2 older children have been there, but I really want all of them to experience it. And I really want to go there with my husband. I want him to see and feel the magic of it. I am really hoping that one day a trip just falls in my lap, cuz I am pretty sure that is the only way we will be going in this century. Now you know that I am really just a kid at heart! WHO says that I am going to be 30!?

10. My husband is my best friend! I honestly thought that moving so far away from my family and friends at home was going to kill me or drive me to kill someone else. I was absolutely certain that I would be completely overcome by sadness and depression. But since we have been here, our relationship has just grown stronger and gotten better and better. We are no longer just fiance's, we are no longer just husband and wife, oh no we have surpassed all of that! I thought that you became friends first, then became husband and wife...and that may still be true. But you become friends, then husband and wife, and then you become BEST FRIENDS!

Now I award this HONEST Scrap award to 7 other Bloggers:

Katie, she doesn't blog often, but when she does they are always heartfelt and fun! Plus we share the same name!
An Italian Momma, because she loves purple too!
Michelle, because she has really great stories and pics!
Jill, because her and I share a love of theft! LOL!
Jenny, because she is brutally honest...don't believe me, just read the first line of her blog!
Straigt to Your Hart, because she is Temple Chaser like me!
Honey Mommy, because she has a great love for her family!

Tell about a time that I stole something!

So over at Kat's she has once again given us a Writing Challenge. I am choosing to accept the prompt to tell about a time that I stole something. So here goes.

By now most of you know that I have 6 (yes Six!) older sisters, right?! Well they all had jobs of some sort at one time or another. One sister in particular (this one), had a baby sitting job I think. She was making pretty good money from it too. The family always paid her in cash, and she always stashed that cash away.

I must have been about 12 at the time, you know old enough to know better. Anyway...I had seen her counting her money one day and was extremely jealous that she had so much! I also got the opportunity to see where she was hiding it. I won't tell you how, a girl has to have some secrets, right?! So I waited, and waited, and waited til she was out on another babysitting job.

When the time was exactly right (and everything was eerily quiet), I made my move. I crept quite sneakily into her room, opened her creaky bottom drawer, and took the wad of cash that she had so carefully stowed away!

I took that oh so coveted wad of cash and ran to my room, opened my bottom drawer, and ever so carefully stowed my precious loot away. I was so proud, I was now the owner of someone else's hard earned, blood and sweat soaked, Cold Hard Cash! I couldn't believe that I had gotten away with it. It felt so good!....or did it! Why did my heart not stop racing? Why did my stomach feel like it was tied up in knots and about to release the mother of all explosions!?

What had I done, but more importantly what was I going to do about it! Nothing, of course! I had schemed, and plotted way too long to go back now! Hadn't I?!

I waited for her to come home! And just as I thought, she went straight to her room, opened her drawer and started screaming! Now the drama would begin. Everyone was brought together and asked about the "missing loot". And everyone swore they had no idea where it was. So everyone, including my parents, started looking for the lost wad!

Lo and behold!...it was found, and can you guess where? Yup, right where I put it. In my own drawer, in plain site. I had not even attempted to cover it with anything. At that exact moment in my life, I felt like I was 2 centimeters tall. It was awful! The expression on my sister's face, the chagrin that showed in my parents' eyes. But worst of all that feeling in my stomach that had been there since early that afternoon, had just gotten ten times worse. I was evil, surely I was the Devil's Spawn, what kind of sister would do this sort of thing?!

I apologized and of course she got all of her money back, but apparently that was not enough! No, I was kept home from school the next day, and had to do every one's chores including my own. I even had to do things that weren't even any one's chores. Just random things to keep me busy, and this all went on for the rest of the week!

It must have been enough though, because I have never taken another thing that was not mine again. And if the punishment was not enough, so the pain and guilt that I felt after was!

Thanks Kat for the great prompt!
Now all you amateur writers, get on over to her place and see who else played along!

First Time Eva!

So you all know that we just moved, Right!? Well we moved just in time for the holiday seasons. Not a good thing to do considering that I have never spent a holiday away from all family! We did go back to Utah for Thanksgiving and spent it with my whole family and Big R's Grandma Z. But for Christmas we had to stay home and do it all by ourselves. That included dinner.

I was bound and determined that I was not going to cook Christmas dinner! There are too many things that can go wrong and then I would ruin dinner for the holiday and I just could not stand up to the stress and humiliation of that! So I suggested to Big R that we just go to dinner somewhere! Anywhere, I didn't care if we went to McDonald's if that made him happy, but I was not cooking Christmas Dinner!

Well, about a week before Christmas, I decided that I was going to do it! It can't be that hard to cook a dang Turkey, can it?! Just because I had never cooked a Turkey or a ham or any of the fixings in my entire life, didn't mean that I could not do it now. RIGHT!?

So I braved the grocery stores and bought all the items that I needed to make all the traditional fixings and of course the Turkey and the ham. I was nervous all week. I was anxious, and fidgety, and I felt like my chest was going to explode. Now you know why I usually try new things early in the morning and then throw them away if needs be, way before anyone gets home. That way no one knows that I attempted to cook and failed. But I couldn't do that with these things. Some of them had to be started the night before, and of course the Turkey had to be dealt with all week cuz it was frozen when I bought it!

Well, Really long story short?! Here is the outcome of the Turkey!

This is her before, I rubbed her with liquid smoke and sugar cured salt, stuffed her with an onion and celery, and sprinkled her with salt and pepper. How does she look?

And this is her after! I don't know what the deal was with the skin, it shrunk in the oven or something. But other than that, isn't she gorgeous! And just so you know...she was the best tasting bird I have ever eaten. The most tender and juicy and flavorful meat that I have ever had! I was so proud! I honestly thought that it would be awful! I think by the time it came to eat her, Big R was a little nervous about how it would taste as well. But he too was pleasantly surprised!

Come back Friday to see the Ham and the rest of the Fixings that I baked/cooked!

BTW...I am participating in Wordful Wednesday with Angie
Head on over to see more great stories attached to neat pictures!

The "other" Women in My Husband's Life

Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

I never thought I would ever be posting a Tribute to "the other women'" in my Husband's life. However these 2 "women" are pretty special! They have him completely wrapped around their little fingers! They get what they want, when they want it, and don't you dare argue about it! LOL!

They get his complete attention whenever they want/need it! It's hard competing with one "other woman" let alone two. And these "women" are gorgeous, smart, creative, always happy, can make anyone laugh, talented, gifted, loving, a lot of fun to be around, and they just happen to be the best big sisters and daughters around!

Just wanted to show off what great daughters we have! But don't get in the way of their Father/Daughter time, unless you want the wrath of them brought down on you!

Love you both Very Much! Thanks for being you!