Kid's Day

Siobhan got to go swimming, get ice cream, and get a present today. I had to go to town to run errands today so Siobhan went to Steamboat with Papa Pat. She told Grandma that today was a "Kid's Day." I wish I could have a couple of kid's days, complete with playmates at the pool and rainbow ice cream. The days of toddlerhood, where a day with one of your favorite people and fun activities are par for the course. I hope I can keep her expecting happy days for a few more years before the realities of life intrude.

Sesame Street Personality Test

I found this on The Mayne Event

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Except the neat part. I am the opposite of neat.

What are you?? Does it fit your personality?

Preggie Belly

I've been tagged (steph at Adventures in Babywearing)

Here is a photo of my preggie belly

Girl Scout Cookies

Does anyone love Girl Scout Cookies as much as I do? Specifically Samoas better than sex cookies (as we used to say in college)

Reading Meme

I found this Meme on jenandtonic

There are very few books that I would NEVER read, but lots on this list that I have. Great game.

Instructions: In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of. In the comments, let me know if you're up for it. I left some books in just regular old font, these are the ones I am not sure I want to read or not. Feel free to tell me I am totally wrong and should read something on this list or YES, JEN, you RULE!

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. +Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18.The Stand(Steven King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. +The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. +The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) one of my favorites
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. +The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
39. +The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. *The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. +The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. +Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. +She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) Dickens
53. +Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. +The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. +Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) -
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. +The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. +Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. *Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. +The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) -

Ultimate Blog Party

Welcome to all from the Ultimate Blog Party. I am a sporadic blogger who is trying to do better. I live in rural WY with my husband and two kids (who have way more energy than I ever had). I am trying to become a lactivist (in an area where no one gives me a hard time for NIP), am a recovering (slowly) Messie, and a Mom.

I am an avid reader and I keep a list (more or less) of the books I am reading. If you have any suggestions I am always open to suggestion. Enjoy reading.

Siobhan's antics/Seamus's movements

Siobhan (as usual) has had a very crazy week.

She made an ice skating rink out of our kitchen with Crisco. We talked about the need to only ice skate outside, on real ice.

As we were driving to Baggs she said, "Mommy, when I grow up I want to be like John." When I asked her why she said, "because he is fun, Mommy." Well duh!! I should know that.

When I put her to bed at night, I read her a story. Now she has started to read her books after I leave the room. Sometimes I go in to check on her and she is asleep covered in books. Other times she is reading quietly. I think this is great. We have another reader in the family.

Seamus is really starting to move. He likes to stand, holding on to my leg. When he finds something to play with, he will sit down and play. Then he pushes it around. He is also starting to pull himself up on stools and boxes.

Last week he got his first ride in the backpack. I will put up photos of him zonked out in it soon.

Two weeks ago he was not moving at all. Where is my infant going?

Hives

Yesterday Brian, the kids and I went out to Powder. I honestly thought we would drop off the groceries, see the lams and head home. Silly me! When we got there Oscar told me that the generator had died. We finally managed to find a 240 cord to hook up for the backup generator (robbing it from another well). Then we blew the fuse in the generator. We decided to head home, get another fuse and bring it back today. When I got back into the truck to go home, Siobhan was covered in hives. I called the clinic and Ron and Rhonda offered to wait an hour for us. (Thank goodness for small towns.)

We all agreed that, yes, she had hives. Ron was able to track down some liquid Benedryl. We gave it to her and it seemed to do the trick. Siobhan woke up this morning with a few hives, so I gave her more meds. It helped, but less than last night. So I went ahead and headed back out to Powder. The generator needed to be fixed so that the sheep could get water. It was not something that could be put off another day.

Halfway there, Siobhan got bad again so I gave her another dose. Worked less again. We fixed the generator and she was looking awful (swollen lips and cheeks, hives everywhere, etc.). I called the pediatrician. While on the phone I hear, "Mommy, my tummy hurts!" Then Brian tells me that she had thrown up. Ugh!!

Red popsicle, apple sauce, pop tarts, milk and pediasure are gross when regurgitated. The Dr. tells me to take her into the emergency room. So we head for Craig. An hour later she is asleep and the hives have gone down (of course). I swear they knew we were headed for town. Luckily Dr. Riley (the ER doc who Brian and I love, but who is never accepting new patients) believed me. Then the hives returned. Siobhan got prednisone, Zantac and Zyrtec and instructions to return if the hives don't go away in four days. Four days!!!

Apparently the Prednisone will make her hyper and the Zyrtec should make her sleep. I really don't want to mix the timing up on them. Wish me luck!

Baby Carriers

One of the things that got me through the first year with Siobhan was a baby carrier. She refused to be put down or be held by anyone but me. It was almost impossible to get anything done. Then I discovered the baby carrier world. I had an old Snuggli of my Mom's circa 1978 (used with me) and a Baby Bjorn, loaned to me by my SIL. They were both heavy and hard on my back. So I looked online. Behold the one hundred thousand options.

I used several.
Wrap
The mexican style wrap.
The first one I tried was polyester and rough on my poor baby's skin. But I liked how easy it was to use.

Hug-a-bub
A stretchy wrap, which got rave reviews, but was not for me.. S I traded it for an Ellaroo

Elleroo.
I kept this. It is beautiful and comfortable, but not in my regular rotation.

Pouch
Then I got on e-bay and bought a homemade pouch style carrier. I loved the convenience so much that I tried several different kinds. New Native, Happy Slings, Hotslings are all great brands, but I use my e-bay pouch and the Happy Slings ones almost exclusively. I also have a spectacular Comfy Joey silk dress pouch. I like the pouch for easy of use and lack of bulkiness. I use them for blankets, changing pads, burping clothes, sun shields and of course as a carrier. It fits neatly in my diaper bag, but is not comfortable for long periods of use with a heavy baby.

Mei Tai
I made a Mei Tai style carrier. I used that one a lot for hiking in the woods and working in the corrals. I loved the convenience and superior comfort. I then bought a Kozy carrier (in my opinion the best carrier for long hauls out there.


Backpack
I have to framed backpack carriers. Both have pluses and minuses. I have a Tough Traveler. It is less bulky, but less comfortable. It is the one I use on the ranch. If I have to be working in the corral or jumping in and out of the truck, this one is great. I also have a Deuter II. This one is for the long haul. When we go hiking, or on vacation, to the zoo; this is the carrier we use. It has big pockets for diapers and stuff. But it is bulky. I do not want to haul it with me in the truck.

I realize that this seems like a lot of carriers. I have sold or traded the ones I do not use and I do not have a big stroller. I have two $15 umbrella strollers, which are rarely used. Siobhan hated them, and Seamus has not been anywhere suitable for strollers yet. We will try in out, but we have so few opportunities that are suitable for strollers I doubt he will like them either.

Baby Stress

Today I was trying to finish up the laundry room. Soon we will be getting a new wood burning stove. It will take a major change in the layout of the room to put it in the only appropriate place for it. Which means I need to finish cleaning out the room.

However, that is hard to do with a baby and a toddler. Seamus decided he wanted to be held and payed attention to all day. Siobhan has not been sleeping well so she was running around all afternoon getting into stuff. She had to be supervised alot. She did not want to fold laundry. Oh well, I addressed xmas cards instead. That needed to be done also. Siobhan went to bed early tonight, so things will be better tomorrow.

I read somewhere that parents have less day to day happiness, but more joy over their lives. I know that the terrible twos will pass and she will grow up to be a reasonable person. I just have to wait. I also miss this time with Seamus. He loves me without reservation, and only I can meet his needs. Imiss that with siobhan. Nursing is one of my greatest joys and I can't imagine not feeding my babies.

I will go to bed and tomorrow will be a fresh day.

Hair

Siobhan has decided to play with scissors. She cut all of the hair on the back of her head. She looked pretty ragged for several days. Then I went ahead and got it cut. It is really cute. I think she looks a lot like Eamon. I will post pictures as soon as I get them downloaded. All in all it was probably a good call to cut it. Since she won't let anyone brush it, Now she looks a little less disheveled.

Bedtimes

Lately Siobhan won't go to bed. She just won't. She is still going strong a midnight. I don't know how to get her to stay in bed at bedtime. We got used to having some time in the evenings to relax and now we have lost that time. The kids get up when we do and go to bed when we do and I need to figure out how to give Siobhan a bedtime. I let her watch 'toons in order to get time to get things done, but I feel like she is watching too much TV.

We went to church today and Siobhan was not quiet and reserved. Luckily at church everyone likes the kids there. I enjoy church, but it is hard to get the message with the kids there. Linda did the service today and she did a very good job, as always.

Old McDonald

In our family, Old McDonald (OMD) is a very important person. Not only does he run a fast food restaurant that has toys and a playplace, but he runs the strangest farm around.

In the car we sing OMD a lot. I usually start out as usual
Old McDonald had a farm EIEIO.
And on that farm he had a (here I ask Siobhan what Old McDonald had)
The responses are varied and sometimes non farm like
Rainbow (shimmer or sparkle)
Nightgown (shh-shh)
Tractor (vroom-vroom or grumble)
Truck (vroom-vroom)
Llama (spit)
Bunny Rabbit (jump jump)
Elk (Bugle)
Deer (Jump)
Antelope (Run)
Daddy (waby)
etc.
I will update any new and interesting ones.

Seamus

So Cyclone has been born. Seamus is very uncyclone like (for a 5 month old). He does not move nearly as much as Siobhan did. He likes to be held by anyone and is smiley (with his one tooth). Seamus rode his first saddle yesterday (on Papa's lap).

As anyone who knows me knows, I am a TERRIBLE housekeeper. I am trying to do better. I took seven bags to Goodwill. It is a start. I am going to get bins moved up to the attic, so Brian can reclaim the garage.

Hello

This is my first post. We are going to use this spot to post pictures and updates to the Lally Family. Meghan, Brian, Siobhan, and yet to be born Cyclone.

Meghan