Yeah Tyler! Binki Free!

Flynn Rider and Repunzel have joined the family now that Tyler is officially binki free. It wasn't easy but once her mind was made up she didn't look back, just read books at night and dreamed of her dolls to come.

Now that their here-they're now sleeping with her. For at least a night or two...

Grandpa Payne Comes!

Grandpa Payne flew in today to help take care of his sweet wife. John and the girls picked him up and they headed up to the Pacific Northwest Garden show. John said a great time was had by all! They had a Charlotte's Web theme and so there were animals, a piggy bank scavenger hunt with a prize of...tattoos. McKenna was a little disappointed to not get one of the piggy banks, but they still had a good time. Dad came home with bulbs and a beautiful Garlic storer, depaperer, and zester/crusher.

Being Saturday night we had the annual Payne Taco night.

It was a great day!

Not for the Weak of Stomach

Zaycon is a company that sells meat in bulk. I missed their last sale due to procrastination. We're working on getting our food storage put together and so we bought a couple of cases of chicken to put up.

I got the chicken Friday morning and luckily John's Mom came home from the hospital so she was able to give me some direction Saturday when I was finally able to get myself and my canning stuff together to start the canning process.

It was a LOT of chicken-80 lbs is. I froze half of it Friday night and after some trial and error was able to can a couple cases of chicken. It's delicious!!! Thanks Mom for your help and direction-even from your bed I couldn't have done it without you!

A couple of jars broke in the process-but there are always a few kinks to work out in anything you do for the first time...

Snow Days-Feb 2011

The End of February went out with a Bang with a series of snowstorms. It had been cold and on the 23rd the flakes began to fall. The kids were excited to get out their snow gear and go out into thhe snow. Tate despite my pleadings continued to put fists full of snow in his mouth as quickly as he could put it in.

The real snow fell that night and we woke up to a winter wonderland! The neighbors were nice enough to let us use their "hill" for a couple of rides-until we got a call from the dentist reminding John he was late. :)

Lots of Fun! Grandma was happy to be watching it all from the comforts of her hospital room.

Grandma's Progress

We came to see Grandma today-the girls had made her some pictures for her room and already missed her sooo much!

This is me trying to contain the 2 year old. Lots of buttons and fun things to push.

Day 2 up and walking

Dentist Feb 2011

We had our bi-annual trip to the dentist-and Tate's first visit to the Dentist. As usual the waiting room was a big hit. Everyone loved the Carousel....

and the arcade game...

Would've loved to get a picture of one of the kids in the dentist chair, but as soon as their names were called they were scarce. Tate went first and was more terrified of the nurse than the dentist. I'm not sure how Dr. Miller is able to see anything in those screaming mouths but the report was good.

Tate has 2 of his 4- 2 year old molars in which was a surprise despite the daily brushing. Made sense as to why he's been such finicky eater lately.

McKenna also is getting new teeth-she has 1 of her 4- 6 year old molars in.

Tyler didn't have any new teeth-just a clean bill of health...for her teeth.

I'm actually very proud of our teeth brushing kids. No cavities thus far-we just need to start flossing and get that into the mix. Good job kids!

Grandma Payne is Here!

Our Grandma Payne is finally HERE! We're so excited although we all wish it was under better circumstances, she's having surgery on Tuesday for Knee Replacement.

The kids couldn't wait for her to get her here, can't wait to take care of her and her knee, and to go see her in the hospital.

It's been quite cold-so we've been couped up at home and she's been great to have around. The kids have had a lot of fun-playing toys, painting, coloring, and dancing! In the store Tate even grabbed her hand and preferred to go with her than hang out with Mom.

She took a test run on her set of wheels-and the kids thought it was a jungle gym with wheels

I hope we haven't worn her out too much! She might be looking forward to the excuse for a lil R&R. Right....

We're all a bit nervous with her, but she's ready to move forward! Good Luck Grandma!

Just thinking...

I've been trying to come up with a plan to really ENTICE and Strongly Encourage Tyler to get rid of her binki. I hate the crying at the thought of even going to bed without it and I really want it to be her decision to let it go. She only uses to fall asleep at night and at times has fallen asleep when she's really tired during the day without it. It's all in her head...right?

So last night I devised a plan and sat down with her and told her that if she gave up the binki for 3 nights in a row-I'd give her....Tangle's Rapunzel & Flynn Rider in their Wedding Clothes. She really wanted it for her birthday and is the only thing I can think of that would tempt her. She got a big grin on her face and coyly responded, "I'll have to really think about it."

This morning she got up all giddy and handed me her binki and said, "it's broken Mom, let's throw it away and get my Tangled dolls." After looking on line and calling stores, I learned I promised an item that is hard to find, thus making it expensive...but not as expensive as dental bills? Note to self-research before promising the impossible.

As bedtime approached the girl was still giddy and excited until it finally came down to the actually falling asleep, well she began to sing another song. She decided to hold the binki...and maybe just put it in her mouth "for just a minute".

We're going to keep trying but I think the doll might have to be in our house?

Haircuts

The girls and I got haircuts today. So happy to have found Julie Brame, a very smart, cute and very good at what she does...hair.

Tyler considered herself, very proudly, Tangled-with her ever so long hair! Most of the time it was just that-tangled. I think she had about 3 inches cut off.

McKenna got a trim, just as she asked.

It's just the girls, but That's a lot of hair!

Tate's Room-Paint...Check

I pry shouldn't post until the actual decorating is done, but anyone who knows me knows it will take a while before the finishing touches are complete...

I've been itching to paint Tate's room since he was born and before it was his room. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I started looking and with the help of a friend came up with exactly what I wanted to do. Jorelle taught me what you do when it comes to decorating-starting with picking the bedding to find the colors for paint. We found some great fabric samples that hopefully I'll be turning into a quilt in the next couple of months and from there we found our paint colors & a willing husband to make the wainscotting. Both vital factors for a a fun, happy room.

Happy Valentine's Day

Holidays in the world are becoming extravagant-and I'm not complaining, it's easy to get caught up in with all the fun and Hype. It's really just not helping my desire to simplify-life.

I love Valentine's Day for the exchange of Valentine's-homemade or bought to me its really the thought that counts. I love the tradition of kids exchanging them at school and I remember going through and trying to give just the right Valentine to each person. Not wanting to send the wrong message to the boys so making sure they weren't too lovey-and wanting the girls to be impressed by the Valentine they received. I chuckle at my -overthinking things through and realize I haven't changed much over the years.

I'm glad that this hasn't passed onto my children...yet. They loved making and addressing Valentine's to their friends, although McKenna didn't like the quantity of names she had to address...although she didn't complain much with the amount of "loot" she brought home. She doesn't even really like candy-only chocolate and so she gave some to Tyler and traded the rest of it to me for M&M's. Suckers make great bribery for Tate.

Tate & Tyler went to a little Valentine's Party where we sang songs, played toys and made Valentine Flowers and exchanged Valentine's

Dinner was a favorite Valentine's Tradition-Pink Heart Pancakes...

although Daddy John came home with surprises he brought home Olive Garden for Dinner-Chicken Alfredo and a Papa Murphy heart shaped Pizza for another dinner this week. What a Man, what a VERY good Man!

It's been a Very Happy Valentine's Day!