Flirting with Spring~

Oregon has been pulling out some beautiful days only to turn yucky and cold once again. She is flirting with Spring. My flowers and trees are starting to get leaves and buds. I want Spring to sprung (sprang, spring, come ~ whatever!). I need days where I can release the Zoo Crew out into the wild that is our backyard and let them ride their bikes in the afternoons. I want to see my plants in all their glory... hoping that a bunch of flowering plants will make the 'curb appeal' of our home entice a buyer to come and make an offer. I want to see the sun on a daily basis. I want to get my truck washed and have it stay that way for a few days. Right now I clean it and it rains and then there are tons of brown dust spots all over it...

I want to go to the park with the zoo crew and have it be pleasant.... not cold and NOT hot. I want the rain to go away for a while...

Oregon quit flirting with Spring and commit to it already!

Welcome...

Noah Brady!!!

The zoo crew failed to mention the birth of their new cousin.

Baby Noah was born on January 5th...

(yay, we posted before he was TWO MONTHS old)

His proud daddy is my little brother, Charlie.

Soooooo, congratulations Charlie and Catrina ~

he is beautiful!!! (oh, I mean handsome)

Our house ~ is a very very very fine house!

Here is our home.

We love this home.

Our three youngest have never known any other place except this home.
We have loved, laughed, cried, said hellos, said goodbyes in this home.
This house that we have made our home is for sale.
With Lancing being transferred ~ the house must go.

No one wants this house.

Cute house, clean, no repairs needed (well maintained) BUT
it is located on a panhandle lot and no one will give it a chance.
We have lowered the price, again.
Although by the huge (NOT) turnout at today's open house proves that price doesn't matter.
It is a double edged sword.... I think, " fine! I'll just keep this house cuz I love it." Yet, I don't want to be alone when Lance has to go and it is still not sold.

Open houses are not working.

How are we supposed to sell this house????

USB port is BrOkEn ~ ugh!

I have not forgotten the blog... I've just been frustrated trying to download pics so I can blog. I hate blogging without a picture. *sigh* So here is my pic free post.

Our computer's USB port is not working... so my camera can't deliver you pics of my cute zoo crew in all their glory.

So any computer port geniuses out there?

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On to updates...

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Our house is NOT selling...

we just reduced the price again. (Now down 30K)

We are having an open house tomorrow... keeping our fingers crossed.

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We bought a Chrysler Town and Country last Saturday and by Wednesday I had my precious TRUCK back! I love my Expedition!! All the car seats could NOT fit in that little tiny mini van. It had lots of bells and whistles and the zoo crew went gaga over the DVD system but alas we had to take it back and try to find a bigger vehicle. They couldn't find one so we got our "old" one back. (which is just fine with me) So to ensure that this truck o' mine stays MINE... I had the radiator flushed, the fuel filter changed, NEW tires (killer deal at Costco! ~ sorry to betray you Mr. Les Schwab ~ but we saved over a $100 PER tire) and Aamco is fixing the transmission on Monday. I know! I'm sending out vibes that the dreaded trany bill will be LOW...

a girl can dream!

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I have healed nicely from my surgery. Life is suh-weet post surgery. Still gaining my strength and getting over being tired a LOT. But, compared to how it could have gone...

I am extremely blessed!

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The Tank is an official addict. He even tells people that he is OBSESSED (his word) with Star Wars. The child has NEVER seen even one movie. He has a friend at school who is a wee bit obsessed himself and has turned my son into a walking Star Wars encyclopedia... so now everything is Star Wars! With his birthday only a month away... I'm going to be making a light saber cake, a Death Star pinata and the presents will fit the theme. I've only seen the three original Star Wars movies... I've never seen the prequels... so I'm not a very good resource for the Tank. Sorry to disappoint....

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So, I will have TONS of pics to overload you all with if, when or somehow... someday.

Her own 'coming of age'... ugh.

Don't be fooled by this seemingly innocent quiet smiling child!

She is slow at coming into the terrible 3's... I know, she's 4 but I said she is slow in coming into them. Her and I have been ramming heads!

She decided today that peeing in her panties was great and didn't tell me and when I found her and asked her if she had an accident she lied and said, "I don't know..." while trying to lay on the puppy dog eyes. Yeah, it didn't work. I had to clean her and change her while trying to get out the door to get Fan-C picked up from school.

So after getting home I told her that she needed to come and sit in my room away from her toys for a while. She is SCREAMING how she isn't tired and sobbing like she is being killed. Next thing I hear... snoring. She curled up on the floor and fell asleep. Now the impromptu nap only lasted for about 30 minutes but at this point ~ I'll take it.

she is my worst for LYING... any ideas how to put a stop to this now?

Growing up...

This is my runner girl. She is growing up!

She came up to me this weekend and asked if she could start doing more chores. Really?!? What?!? She is seven years old and I know I should take advantage of her willingness to be of 'service' now... cuz in a few years all her enthusiasm will be GONE!

She wants to sweep the floor all the time... go right ahead.

She wants to learn how to fold all the clothes... go right ahead.

She wants to load the dishwasher... go right ahead.

So, I'm documenting this here and showing it to a disgruntled fourteen year old who is complaining about doing chores... in about seven years.

TAG: "This picture has a story..."

I've been tagged by Heather.

1. Open your first picture folder.

2. Upload the 10th picture in the folder (if you don't have ten pics, then go to the next folder.)

3. Tell us the story behind the picture.

4. Tag 5 friends to do the same.

This was from Christmas of 2005. Fan-C (3yrs) and the Tank (21 months) just got this fun blowup ball pit from their Uncle Trace. They LOVED this thing right into the garbage. They played so hard with it that eventually the pit wouldn't inflate anymore and those balls were found EVERYWHERE.

(mommaduck was NOT sad to see this go)

Now, I tag: LeaAnne L, Sally F, Laura H, Andrea W and Yvonne Z.

A tree... TBA

Here's our tree! Isn't it grand.
We did put up a 9 foot prelit tree that I bought for a steal at the after Christmas Target sale. While still plugging it in and trying to fan out the limbs... the stand broke. Yep, good times. Back into the box it went and now, ummmmmm, we have to come up with a new plan for our Christmas centerpiece.
So now I have to go get a cheap tree stand and buy a little tree that will look dumb with my 14 foot ceilings. I prefer to forget the tree this year but the wee ones just don't understand how the Grinch crawled into their momma's soul and sucked the spirit of Christmas right out of her.
So all this while trying to keep this home 'staged' for buyers who aren't coming. Our life is boxed up and stacked in our garage. My kids destroy the house on a daily basis and I am just running around cleaning and 'staging' endlessly. UGH!
I love Christmas... but I'm feelin' a wee bit bah-humbugish right now...
*sigh*
Off to find a tree...

I Love My Ducks! (I Smell Roses)

Divine Design...

Our family was established on October 4, 2002. Lance and I were sealed for eternity in the Portland Temple and we knew we wanted to start our family right away. Infertility reared it's ugly head and crushed our hopes of having a baby of our own.
My sister-in-law told us about a family in their ward who was a foster parent and had babies placed with her all the time. We looked into the foster system and soon signed on...
Before we had even finished our classes we got the call for a little baby boy, six months old. To say we were excited was a HUGE understatement. They placed the Tank in my arms on October 21, 2004. The second he was placed in my arms I KNEW that he would be our son. I understood that he was a foster baby and 'could' go home to his parents... but I also KNEW in my heart that this little man was sent to be my baby. I even remember tears that afternoon trying to explain the special feelings I had in receiving him... 2 1/2 years later, tons of tears, heartache after heartache, meetings, committees... he was finally OURS!

This pic is when he was 21 months old. We had a regular camera before this digital pic...

so due to no scanner... this will have to do for his wee pic.

Four months after receiving the Tank we received another phone call... telling us about a two year old toddler who needed a Forever Family. She had been in the system from birth and the foster parents were in their 60's and too old to 'start over'. We went to meet her and start transition with her and on the first visit of meeting us she bear hugged Lance and wanted to give him 'bye-bye' kisses. I got to watched that precious scene and I KNEW that Fan-C was to come home with us and be our daughter. On February 2, 2005 Fan-C walked into her new room (for good ~ she had transition over nights). Having a very verbal, very SMART two year old really gave me a 'run for my money'... There were moments when I wasn't sure I could make it through them. We only had her for less than 14 months and she was sealed to us. She came into the sealing room and saw all her grandparents and other friends and family sitting there and she walked up to each person and touched their faces and said, "Oh, I've missed you so much." I bawled. Some of those people she sees on almost a daily basis but it was like her little spirit was finally home... eternally home. She is our oldest and was sealed first to us even though she came second. It seems like divine design came into play... her adoption was picture perfect.

See the explanation above... she is 3 in this picture.

So far we had VERY unusual placements with the foster systems. First two placements become part of our forever family... practically unheard of in the foster world. We soon found out about the temporary placements. We next received a newborn... only one day old. She was beautiful. Curly brown hair... sweet baby. When her worker came in to our home, she placed the baby in my arms and said, "Well, Amy* (*name changed) this is your forever momma." I was shocked! My mom was there when she came and couldn't believe that she was ours from the get-go. Well a week later the worker calls and apologizes because an in law of the birth mom stepped forward and wanted Amy. So Amy went on to her new family. I was CRUSHED. I cried... it was so hard to be told that this baby is YOURS and then, ummmm sorry I made a mistake I have to pick her up tomorrow. But Lance and I stayed in the foster system and that is when we received our little Miss Onica. Those of you who have read this blog know about little Onica. We had her until she was nine months old... (that's all I can say about her right now...sorry)

While we were busy with our wild little man and taking care of Fan-C and Miss Onica we got a call that the Tank's birth mother had given birth to a 100% biological sister. This little girl needed to be placed. We started transitioning with her and received her into our home February 3, 2007. We transitioned with her for over six months (since she turned a year old) so having her stay for forever was awesome. She lived 2 hours away and the commuting a couple times a week was getting old really fast. Tiny-T was soon sealed to us, making the zoo crew three strong. She is a daddy's girl. Lance and I were meant to be her parents....

This is Tiny-T at a year old...

This is a quick 'cliff notes' version of the creation of the Stanley family. Would I have loved to have had children? You bet. I hate infertility... ugly beast. I am so grateful that we struggled... it was through that struggle that the Tank, Fan-C and Tiny-T came to become our Zoo Crew. I am their momma. I was called to serve as their eternal mother. I know this isn't a typical way to adopt children but it was our 'divine design' to have our children come into our home through fostering. We feel like there may be a couple more for our crew but are no longer fostering with the state. I don't have a clue as to how they will come to us... but miracles happen every day. We have a testimony of the miracle of adoption.

Remember:

November is National Adoption Month.

November ~ National Adoption Month

Through the miracle of adoption ~ these three beauties came to join our family.

November is National Adoption Month, take time to think about the difference you can make in a child's life. The foster system is always in need of amazing homes (which is how our cuties came to us), CASA desperately needs volunteers to help kiddos navigate the legal system and then there are many agencies and state programs that handle adoption of kiddos waiting for their eternal families.

You can become a mentor, donate clothing ~ shoes ~ holiday gifts ~ money.

Just think about it.

Become a hero for a child.

That's eSpensive...

Took the zoo crew to the store last night so that they could spend the rest of their birthday money. I told them how much they had to spend and off we went to the toy isle.
So Fan-C wants the FIRST thing she sees and I tell her to keep looking and if she still wants that craft book after scanning additional isles then we will come back and get it. The kids go for the biggest, most expensive things... so I ask them to look at the numbers below the items and that if the number is higher then our set number then it is too expensive for them. Fan-C heard nothing and kept grabbing the $50 Barbies (sheesh, she must be made of GOLD these days) but the Tank went to items he liked, moved the box and kept saying, "That's eSpensive!" I had a grin on my face. He found a dinosaur that cost all his money and chose instead to get a HUGE horse and momma/baby hippo set. (just what he needs, more animals for his bed) He said, "I could get one dinosaur or THREE softies." (his name for his stuffed animal kingdom collection) He was very proud of his choices.
Tiny-T saw a large My Little Pony with hair accessories and that was it. She didn't look at one other toy. She just sat there with her box saying, "Look momma... her hair is so pretty and sparkly." ((((so easy))))
Fan-C must have touched about 10,000 boxes before she made her decision of a mermaid Barbie (on sale for $10) ~ mommaduck liked this Barbie cuz the clothes were painted on...no naked Barbies at our house ~ and two My Little Pony's (cuz she only has 20 of those... ).

The cashier was a fellow momma sent from heaven! She patiently let them each pay and bagged everything in their own bags so they each got to carry their treasure out of the store. (Thank you fellow-momma)

The crew showed all their new treasures to daddy when he got home and I heard the Tank telling daddy how eSpensive the toys are... (still smiling) There was no arguing (a little with Fan-C) over what they could buy. I think kids sometimes think that the money is endless... just pull out your checkbook or swipe the card. Today they got a glimpse into reality.

Happy Birthday Miss Fan-C!

Yep, this is my seven year old. In leggings with boots and sporting her "uniform" ~ Hannah Montana t-shirt. Seems like yesterday, she was two years old and insisting that she wanted to be baptised now! I kept telling her, "six more years". Now I have one year! Time has FLOWN!

She loves anything dealing with paper (just like her momma), Hannah Montana, her hand held video game and Reba (the show that is in reruns with Reba McIntyre). She loves to sing and told me today that she didn't want to brag but she is quite good at it.

(so humble)

Happy Birthday Fan-C ~ we LOVE you!

Oh, what do you do in the Autumn time~~~

Tutorial on how to bake down those yummy farm fresh pumpkins.

This is our behemoth. I put it next to my mixer just to show you the size = 12 hours of bake-down and 27 ~ 3 cup bags of pumpkin.

First, pick farm fresh pumpkins. Check those stalks. If they are dry or shriveling or disintegrating... move on to the next pumpkin. You want one that is full of thick wet meat.
Pre-heat your oven to 375.
Open the pumpkin and cut out the 'guts'. No string or seeds allowed.


Use a cookie sheet with a lip (ie. jellyroll pan) and place your pieces meat - side down.
Try to keep your pieces about the same size to ensure even cooking.

Fill up your pan and then add a little bit of water just to help keep the meat from sticking.
Bake for 60 minutes.

Check to make sure that the meat is soft and the skin should be bubbling up off the meat.

Once baked (they are steamed with the water you added), allow to cool for a couple minutes. While the pumpkin is still really warm start peeling off the skin.

Throw the hot pieces into a blender or food processor and start creating your liquid gold pulp.

*I always have another pan ready to go (adding the water just before going into the oven) to begin baking while I'm processing the baked batch.

Write on quart size freezer bags the date, Pumpkin, and how many cups you are storing.

Pumpkin pie and cake recipes take the 3 cups (equal to one Libby's can). My breads take 2 cups and cookie batches take 1 cup. So I find that storing 3 cups is the best for our family.

Place your prepared bag in a LARGE cup... no messy hands and cleaner bags.

Add in your pumpkin pulp by the cup.

Seal and lay out flat. (takes up less space in your freezer)

Store in your freezer and enjoy yummy pumpkin creations year round.

I also have put pumpkin pulp in soups (great way to thicken the soup and hide more veggies from the kids) & spaghetti sauces (only about 1/2 - 1 cup, depending on size of batch you make for your sauces). Be creative... I have pulp coming out of my..... pumpkin pulp is sooooo cheap. We paid less than $20 for both HUGE pumpkins and got essentially more than 36 CANS of Libby canned pumpkin. Mine is much healthier, no added colors and preservatives.

This is dedicated to my momma who taught us how to do this. We enjoyed all those years of yummy HOMEMADE pumpkin pie and now all of us kids have continued to bake down our own pumpkins and use our own pulp. Props to you Mom.

Pumpkin Patch Adventures = summertime blues?!?

No school day = trip to Lone Pine for tons o' corn on the cob. There is no chance of going to Lone Pine with the herd and not visiting the animals. The Tank loved all the goats and wanted his picture in front of their mini-horse.

Next day we were off to Detering Orchards for the annual family pumpkin patch trip with all my bros/sisters and parents. Free treats, free hay rides, free pumpkins... love all the FREE stuff. We then head over to my brother's home and have a BBQ and watch the Duck game.

Go Ducks!!! (they stomped UCLA)

Tiny-T getting ready for the hayride with Daddy and Uncle Keven and Mr. Lake.

Enjoyed the great autumn weather and gorgeous sun... but I didn't anticipate this:

Burnt to a crisp baby. Raccoon eyes from my sunglasses. The sun was gorgeous and there was a breeze all day so the temps were perfect. I never even thought... hey I'm torching my face. Hmmmm... summertime sunburn in October. Crazy Oregon weather!

I love you... forever~

He is amazing.

He is so patient.

He is wonderful.

He is my everything.

He is mine for forever~

I'm a very blessed girl.

Happy Anniversary to my Lancings...

Surgical Pit Pics...

My 'surgical pit pics' are located on my blog.

See the link ---------->

(top of page on right)

Journey of a Thousand Steps.

Didn't think they really went with my zoo crew.

The Tale of Two Tanks...

Tank jumps in the truck and proudly shows me his sticker which says, "My Teacher is Proud of Me!". He goes on to say that he was the classroom's "Top Banana" for the day. He got to lead the class whenever they lined up, sit in a special Top Banana chair, get first snack and feel like the top notch for the day. I took his picture. This is the calm little boy that his teacher goes 'ga-ga' for and has nothing but praise for...

And well....

This is the Tank that I know and love... the spaz!

That's my Tank.

Surgery Day~~~

Well, it's finally here!

I've been dreading (waiting) for three months!

Too long... just do it and get it over with.

So I'm off to lay on this "bed" that is like the size of a surf board...

oh this should be so fun!

I had Lance take pictures of the hairy~messy~arm last night.

I'll post them when I can upload a gruesome post-op pic.

(I know Lauri, TMI)

I'm posting it anyways to document my 'adventure'.

Big thank you to family and friends who are sending up prayers on my behalf.

I'm grateful~

Fire Drill? Seriously?!?

Tuesday, (22nd) I went in for my dreaded Pre-op appointment. My surgery is scheduled for Monday, the 28th. I went and saw the surgeon. He is nice. He told me the area being excised is not as big as his surgical assistant had told me. He said that it would MOST LIKELY not require a drain ~ thank you!!! No drain = shower after 48 hours versus up to nine DAYS!!!!!
I prepared a list of questions for him and ran through my list and then off to the anesthesiologist. I get all settled and 'preregistered' and the office assistant tells me a nurse will be with me soon and closes my door. Just then all these sirens start sounding off and lights flashing and I'm sitting in this room thinking... ummmmm am I supposed to leave or wait?!? Seriously like three minutes later a nurse opens the door and says, "We need to evacuate. This is a fire drill." She points me towards the back stair well and tells me to exit the building and stand by the reflection pool. ((((This is the new RiverSpend Hospital ~ hence the reflection pool.))))
I go into the stairwell and there are two floors above me that are all evacuating and the stairs are PACKED. I sort of stand to the side and wait for a lull and then join the herd heading down. I don't do stairs well and I felt like I needed to hurry so that I didn't hold anyone up. I go down two flights and a doctor steps in behind me. I'm still hurrying way too fast for my normal pace and he is making sighing noises like we aren't move fast enough for him. So I kick it into warp speed and move my legs even faster. We get to the outside door and my ankle gives out. I'm heading for the ground. I catch myself and try to walk further and it goes again. I turn to make sure I'm not holding up the precious doctor anymore and he is literally RUNNING the opposite direction. RiverBend is a 100% smoke free campus. Across the street is an undeveloped field where nurses, office personnel and the impatient doctor were rushing toward so they could squeeze in an unscheduled smoking break! What the FREAK?!? I'm killing myself so you can get a few puffs in?!? Not happy.
I hobble over to a lamp post and rest against it while I call Lance to let him know that my appointments are going to last a long time due to this lovely Fire Drill. (An air conditioning repairman triggered the fire alarm somehow while he was doing maintenance on a unit downstairs.) A woman approaches me and asks if I came from the Bariatric unit. I look at her confused and then it hits me... She wasn't a nurse or a doctor, just a busy body who should mind her own. So I say, "Why? Cuz I'm FAT?!? There's no other possible reason why I could be here at the doctor's offices except to go to have a bariatric procedure?!?" I know, I know... not my finest hour... but annoyed and offended. She looks at me a little frightened and stammers out an " Well, I just assumed..." Yeah, good times. News flash: Not a mystery to me or any other seeing eye human on this earth that I am a large woman. I am (as the nurse put it) medically BORING. I don't have to go to the doctor very often (knocking on wood). So let's not assume ~ turn off those judging meters and just let people be. Thank you... climbing off my soap box now.

Fire drill over. Now everyone is heading back to their desks, offices and appointments. I hobble inside and find the elevators with the throngs of people ahead of me. I wait and finally make it into an elevator. We are heading up and all these people on higher floors keep requesting to go down... ummm didn't you all hear the fire alarms? You shouldn't have been in the building. But we squeeze closer together and let them ride up with us. I get to my floor and let them know I need off and no one moves. I say it again and they sort of shift (like two inches) and now the doors are trying to close. So I just bust through the crowd and get out. Ugh... just move people!
I get back to the office and a nurse enters (the one that later proclaims my medically boring status) and on the appointment goes. My anesthesiologist is a member of the church and I know his wife. So he understands that I am a narcotic-free woman and it probably won't take much to send me off to dream land.

Now, I am all ready. Just need to show up on Monday. No food for thirteen hours before my surgery starts. UGH. No water/liquids after 9am. I'm not going to be pleasant to be around. Lance is probably secretly happy they check me in two hours prior to the big event so he doesn't have to endure a very snappy~nervous~hungry wife. Wish me luck...