Dad's Deer: Where's the hair?

So, Ken shot a doe this year and brought it home to show the girls.  At the time he brought it home, he informed our little ladies that they were going to have the pleasure of eating that deer.  They had a lot of questions for me on whether or not they were actually going to have to eat it.  I said, "Not if you don't want to".  They didn't.  Well, Ken cooked dinner tonight and made venison ring bologna.  When he brought the packages of meat up from the basement, the girls were very traumatized and said, "I don't want to eat the deer.  Mom, do we have to eat the deer?"  I said, "We'll try it and see how it tastes."  So, with scrunched up noses, they sat down at the table with dinner.  Jorey looked at the meat on her plate and said, "Dad, is this your deer?"  He said, "Yes."  She replied, "Where's the hair?"  We laughed so hard.  No wonder they were SO traumatized.  Macy and Jorey both thought the deer would be eaten as a large, hairy wonder.  Poor things.  In the end, everyone ate Dad's deer, he was so happy, and dinner was excellent.  Mixing enough other meat, seasonings, and salt in with venison makes it quite tasty. 

Cookie Day!

Every year, my sisters come over and we make cookies with the goyles.  This year, as a special little treat, Orange Papa came to assist with the roll-outs.  It made our venture much more efficient. :)

here are some shots from the day.  And, just FYI, Jorey ate every cookie she frosted.  Macy took "go ahead and clean out the bowl to mean, actually lick it clean!  Auntie Kenzie had a tough time getting there on time, due to her boyfriend being in town from Chicago, so we had to snap a picture of her with her morning cup o' joe.  And, Jorey's turkey hat was pretty cute, so I figured I better include that one.

Interviews with the goyles

Halloween 2010: The Wicked Witch and Ladybug Princess

We had another great Halloween this year.  The girls are always so fun at this time.  This year, they really were excited to get their costumes on and just be goof balls.  Our tradition is always that Dad takes them trick-or-treating while mom hands out candy and we have anyone over that's interested in some sloppy Joes or whatever we're eating that year.  It's nice and relaxed.  My favorite is leaving the big door open and seeing the little ones at the storm door pressed right up to the glass...they don't ring the door bell, they just lurk...It's so cute.

Goyles...and a Boy?

Well, a few months ago, the discussion about whether to find out what we are having came up.  Ken and I strongly disagreed.  I didn't want to know.  He really wanted to know.  We compromised.  At the 5-month check-up, we'll get it in an envelope and he can find out if he can keep it a secret.  Well, it just didn't work. 
First, at the ultrasound, the tech slipped at the end and said "his legs are closed".  (or, we were pretty sure she said that).  Then, at that first ultrasound, they gave us the envelope, but noticed that the baby's stomach looked a little small.  So, I went back to just verify that it was A-OK.  And, it measured just right...so that was excellent news.  However, when the tech was getting started, I looked up at the screen, feeling very confident that I wouldn't be able to identify anything if I saw it.  But, there it was...just the little snausage and the nuts staring me in the face...I looked away quickly - thinking that maybe it wasn't really what I saw and kindof in disbelief that it could even be a boy - with 3 girls in my family and 2 already in this one, I just assumed and kindof was planning for another one.  So, with my mental block, I still wasn't totally convinced I knew what we were having.  Then, the tech asks if I know what we're having and tells me that she's glad I missed the last shot because there was just a really good one of the baby's anatomy.  Well, so then I'm almost certain I know it's a boy.  How strange. For a couple weeks, I just told Ken I thought it was a girl and thought I saw something.  Finally, on Tuesday of this week, he just couldn't take it any more and opened the envelope.  Then, the cutest thing ever happened.  He got a little teary, he had lots of perma-grin, and he kept hugging me, telling me that he just wants to tell me what it is.  Well, I know he'd be happy with another girl, but really...is he going to tear up and need hugs and be permagrin?  Likely, not.  So, I'm 98% sure I know what it is, but don't want to look.  Wednesday night comes and we're eating dinner.  He hands me the envelope and tells me to look.  We go back and forth all night until I had to leave to pick something up from work.  When I leave, I start thinking that it's pretty silly to be stubborn and not look when I pretty much know what it is.  So, I text him "I'll look when I get home."  He replies, "Look for what?" (totally thought I was texting the wrong person.)  I tell him that we can look at the ultrasound when I get home.  So, the girls and I went upstairs with Daddy, sat on the bed, and opened.  What a surprise when I saw "I'm your girl" on the bottom...nerdy Dad had taped a note over the real message.  So, then, I pulled the note off and saw this,

I'm a little nervous and still in disbelief that our little ladies are going to have a brother.  Their first question, "Can we put make-up on him?"  Ha.   He's going to be dressed up like a little princess a lot, I think.  Oh, well.  It'll make him a well rounded fella when he's older.  Now, for a name...

Breastfeeding

I totally forgot to post this a few weeks back -
While I was gone in Owatonna at "Nerd Convention" (that's what Ken calls it) - Scrapbooking weekend, Ken was home with the ladies.  One night, they watched the documentary called "Babies" and saw all sorts of new things and apparently were all mesmerized(sp?) by the babies and how they're raised differently. 
Well, the next day, Ken was carrying his laundry upstairs and looked over to find Macy breastfeeding hippos and then Jorey breastfeeding a toy chipmunk...
After the initial shock for him, it was pretty funny and I said he had to get a picture.  I bet that hippos and chipmunk were still mighty hungry after that feeding. ;)

Fischer's Apple Orchard

What a fun weekend.  Dad took the ladies to a St. Thomas football game on Saturday so I got all the yard work done.  I even trimmed the pricker bushes around that house that have had us looking quite ghetto for quite some time.  I have war woulds to prove it, but those buggers should be good until next year...when we pull them out and replace them with something lush and pretty, rather than prickly and only pretty in the fall. 

Sunday, we went to Fischer's Apple Orchard with some friends, Brent, Vanessa, and Autumn.  Vanessa and I always laugh that Brent and Ken have a bromance and the more I get to know them, I see that they are two peas in a pod.  We had a great day and then came home to have sloppy joes and pies.  That was yummy and will contrubute to my "boom-babba" status.

The girls had a blast riding on the little Train they made out of old barrels and drove with a lawnmower.  I could hear Macy giggling the whole time - it was pretty fun.  And, I loved the little measuring boards to see how tall they are every fall.  We'll definitely have to go back to this one.  They had a huge corn maze, pumpkin patch (though, with the heat, there were many wounded soldiers in the field), hay ride, apples, of course, and some pretty funny little goats and chickens.