Fudge

We have a new addition to our family, and he is such a cutie! Sadie and Lexi got a new puppy this past week. He has been the topic of conversation whereas he is so short. Sadie named him Fudge and he is a blue heeler/corgie cross. He won't be a working dog so he gets to stay home with us and get spoiled by the girls. They wake up every morning and come to the window so find Fudge. I'm not that crazy about having a puppy for the cold winter months, but I guess we'll make do. He is adorable though.

Bean Bag Fun!

On Sunday after we get home and get naps in we try to find a fun activity to do as a family. Most of the time we go for a drive and go for walks, but this time Sadie got out her tub of bean bags to start a war with Cory and Lexi. I think Lexi and Sadie beat Cory, he even had a bruise on his arm from a bean bag Sadie threw at him! They had tons of fun! This entertainment went on for at least an hour, it was great. Lexi thought Cory was being bad and kept telling him to "ock it off" (Knock it off). The simple things that enrich our lives-

From the actual Bird's Nest

I bought a season pass to Tauphaus Park Zoo this year so every time we go to Idaho Falls shopping or to run errands, we make a stop at the zoo. We met up with the whole Bird clan to go this time and had a great time. The older "kids" didn't want to go to begin with but they were the ones who weren't ready to go when the actual kids were tuckered out! The kids never get tired of seeing the same animals over and over it seems, they just love being with the animals.

Below: Sadie loved the tigers, that was her favorite part as you can see here. . .

Below: Lexi thought she should be pulling the wagon, not riding in it. Her cousin Abbie wasn't sure she wanted to ride in it either after this event-

Below: Abbie loved feeding anything, the ducks, goats, or anything she thought needed to eat some pellets of food.

Below: Lexi loved the monkeys. She would stay there all day and watch them if she could. Uncle Cody took her to them at least three times I know of.

Is this what it is like raising boys?

I cannot say that I know how it is to raise boys, but I think I get the gist. My girls are not really girly girls, they would rather go outside and play in the dirt than pain their nails so I shouldn't be surprised by this last few days. It all started with Lexi. She recently had her bunk bed altered because she consistently wanted to go up on her sister's bed. We resolved that by raising her bed and moving it out beside Sadie's bunk so Lexi sits in the air too. Well she woke up the other night screaming and crying because of something and tried to get out of bed to fast and fell down on the floor. She had a gash in her head and scratches on her hand but nothing too serious. I worried about a concussion but she acted okay. Then Sadie and Lexi were playing the other day and when I asked them to clean up their room, Sadie got upset and swung around with a toy in her hand which happened to whack Lexi in the eye. She had a black eye but was fine afterwards. Then Sadie was playing around and wrestling that night with Cory, she ran around the hallway and right into the refrigerator! Somehow she managed to get a rug-burn like scab on her neck from that incident. The next day while playing at grandma's house, Sadie was running in the back yard so their puppy would chase her but looked back at the puppy just as she came to the trampoline so she barreled into it. her chin received the brunt of that whack and a cut with a huge bruise around it developed on her a day later. Needless to say I learned that girls get bumps and bruises just as much as boys do I think. Until all the scabs and scrapes get healed, we refrain from public appearances! My kids look pretty beat up-but what can you do when keeping them inside the house doesn't help the battle scars from not appearing.

Ross Park

I finally took my girls to Pocatello to go to Ross Park for a swim. It was the last weekend they were open and there weren't very many people. Cory's sister Angie came with her daughter and Cory's mom came with us too. It was a fun day, Cory's mom stayed out of the water to watch my Haylee while the rest of us played in the pool. The girls had a great time and I enjoyed my time with my kids.

Below: Aunt Angie and cousin Abbie

Below: Lexi pretending to be a dog and lapping up the water-yes it's disgusting!

Below: Sadie coming out of the water slide making a big enough splash you can't really see her!

Below: Lexi and Sadie on the tire swing, I recall making specific instructions to NOT have my picture taken by the photographer, who shall remain nameless, but it didn't happen.

Update

I took some more pics of Haylee and they turned out pretty cute. I like this one because she looks like she is waving!





We went to a garage sale of some neighbors and got some really cool stuff. Cory sometimes has to push the girls on the battery operated 4-wheeler so he used a board so he didnt' have to bend down to there level. Our dog Tuff likes to chase them on it and they think it's great!

I have never had the lovely experience of dealing with thrush before so I guess now I get to. I noticed a red, spotty rash on myself that was particularly painful the other day and decided to call the doctor. It was decided that I had thrush or an bacterial infection. Without seeing me they wouldn't get a prescription for me without determining which one. I called my sister Sarah and she was a major help in helping me determine that if Haylee had patches in her mouth, it was thrush. I checked Haylee on Thursday and she didn't have anything. I checked again on Friday and nothing so I was thinking I should just call and get the prescription for the infection bu the day was so crazy I didn't get it done. So Saturday morning I was in such excruciating pain I new I couldn't wait until Monday. I checked Haylee's mouth one more time and there were little white patches in both her little cheeks. I noticed at our three am feeding that morning she wouldn't eat much and should have thought to check her then, but at least we figured it out. I got a prescription called in for me but had to call a family doctor for Haylee. The one in Salmon is closed on Saturday and would have had to pay an emergency visit fee, even though the doctor there just saw Haylee on Monday for a checkup. I wasn't thrilled to realize if I wanted to get Haylee her medicine, we would have to go to Idaho Falls and see another doctor to get the meds she needed. Thus went our Saturday, a fast trip to the doctor and then to Walmart to pick up both of our medicine. I was so annoyed but I guess that is a price we pay for living out in the wilderness! Needless to say, we both are doing better now and the pain in bearable now.

Sadie is so jealous of everyone in school. Leadore started school Tuesday this week, but the pre-school doesn't start until next week. She is way excited for another year of pre-school and can't wait to get her back pack ready to go. She still is my helper, just in the fact that she keep herself occupied with things to go while I feed Haylee. I love that fact that she can entertain herself with her toys, a box or anything available.

Lexi still is loving her little sister. She mauls her about every hour. I have to put Haylee in the pack and play to sleep or sometimes just for a break from her big sister! Lexi has now figures out that she can climb up the steps to Sadie's bunk. I have to keep it blocked off during the day so she doesn't get up there and fall off! Last night however, I went in the girls' room to check on them after feeding Haylee to discover Lexi had climbed up again onto Sadie's bunk and they were both asleep up there. I asked Cory to beef up the boards on the sides so we have nobody falling down in the middle of the night. We shall see if that keeps me from worrying.

Haylee is growing like a weed and doing pretty good. I just wish she would get her nights and days switched back already! She sleeps so sound during the day and a lot of the day. Nights she is content to let you hold her and talk to her. If any of you have any great ideas on how to help this process, I'm all ears.

Cory is working diligently on the bully barn between helping his Dad and brothers on the ranch. He has a couple jobs lined up for the next few weeks so that will keep him busy. He is great to check on me during the day and see if I need help. I had to have him rescue me yesterday for a while and take the two older kids outside with him. I was loosing patience with the three demanding my attention all at once. But he is great to help out.

I am doing well, and getting it all together. I am figuring out how to spread my time between three kids and keep up my chores as well. Some moments I have to just breathe and tell myself to get through the next hour before I scream, but most days are great. We take walks or go outside and play. I just have to remember that I don't have to do it all, all the time. It's okay to not have all the toys picked up, or a throw in a frozen pizza for dinner, or just to play with my kids and let everything else go for a while. I'm definitely not perfect, which is okay.