Lane - 3.5 years old

At 3.5 years old, Lane:

-is in preschool 2 mornings a week, 8:00 - 11:15.  He loves it there and has so much fun playing with Trenton and Miles.
-is SO close to being completely potty-trained (well, except at night).  The end is in sight!
-talks all the time.  He's getting easier to understand, but he doesn't always use the right sounds.  And he's not even consistent in using the wrong sounds.  For example, "Grandma" is pronounced "dah-ma" and "Bobcat" is pronounced "dahb-cat".

-loves harvest time.  It's so funny how he switches which toys he plays with - spring and fall, tractors and combines.  Winter - trains and mega blocks.  Summer - construction toys.
-still prefers to wear t-shirts and sweatpants all the time.  Occasionally I can get him to wear khakis.  Very rarely, jeans.

-favorite foods are cookies, applesauce, chocolate milk, spaghetti and meatballs, and McDonald's chicken nuggets.

-likes to hear Daddy's silly songs about machinery.
-likes to pretend things (like the couch and the playground) are his ship and Katy is a sea creature.

-loves his little sister and is getting better about sharing with her.
-takes a nap 2-3 days out of a week.  Loves his new quiet time boxes.

-figured out how to open the child lock on his door.  "Mommy, you put this white thing on my door knob so I couldn't open it!  But, I just stuck my fingers in the holes and the door opened and I walked out!"
-has a few favorite shows: Curious George, Calliou, and John Deere tractor videos.

-concentrates so hard when he's "working".
-for Christmas, he wants "a payloader with forks, a cherry picker, and a log trailer."

-says funny things:  "I looked and looked and couldn't find it."
-"I need a little thing about 6 inches big." (Everything is 6 inches big to him!)
-"Let's just sell Katy to the Indians."
-In the car on the way to York: "Mommy, I have to pee!" I asked him to hold it until we got to Casey's house.  Pause.  "But I can't!!  There's a buckle in the way!"

-still has favorite stuffed animals: Kitty, Little Deer, Snow Leopard, Bee, and Penguin.

-is entering more of a "daredevil" stage: swinging on the bars at the park, jumping off stuff, and just yesterday, riding down the hill on the "gator".

-LOVES my old Copycats of the King cassette...he talks about Growlbert and "Snoozer"

-is growing up so fast!  It always amazes me how he will go to bed one night and then just wake up the next morning so much older!

Random thoughts

As a woman, there are always a bunch of random thoughts running through my brain.  Mostly at night when I can't sleep.  And since Curtis isn't home much, Lane doesn't care, and Katy can't talk back yet, I don't always have a place to share them!  These are just things I think about or wonder about or that drive me crazy...some are more serious and some are just "hmmm...that's interesting".

-What color siding goes with reddish brick and a black door?  Not that the door is painted yet, but Curtis didn't like the idea of a turquoise door and I don't like any other color.  And not that we're anywhere near picking out siding colors.

-I really don't like talking on the phone.  I really wish that I did - it would make it a lot easier to keep in touch with friends - but I always feel awkward for some reason.

-Why is it that when kids are the most tired, that is when they sleep the least?

-I need to reorganize my Pinterest categories so they make more sense, but that looks like a lot of time for something that won't better my life that much.

-The new facebook format is annoying.

-The other day in Bible study, Beth Moore pointed out that God doesn't act on a whim (in other words, He has a plan for everything).  I have noticed that I have complete faith in God's timing and His plan for me.  Didn't get the ground we wanted to rent?  Trust in God.  House stuff?  Trust God.  Things not going how I planned?  Trust God.  It even trickles down to the little things - so I have to wait a few extra minutes in a checkout lane, but maybe it just kept me from being in an intersection when a guy runs a red light.  So am I just looking at this too simply?  Is it possible to put too much faith in "God will work it all out"?

-Why does everyone on House Hunters think that granite is a must in a kitchen?  I don't get it.

-I wish that all my friends could live close to me - high school friends, college friends, out-of-town friends.  It would be a lot of fun (and I miss everyone!).  Plus, then I wouldn't have to feel guilty about not talking on the phone with them!

-Regarding kids: how do you know when you're done?  I have zero desire to have another baby right now.  But will I regret it someday?  Or should I just realize that to preserve my sanity (and my sleep), I should stop at two?  At least my kids will be growing up with their cousins...so it's not like holidays will be completely boring someday.  Right?

-I am really annoyed with Initials, Inc. right now.  They are growing super fast -a good thing - so a lot of the products are sold out (as in won't be coming back, ever).  I have a few "holiday fairs" coming up and I just know that people are going to want to buy those products!

-I really really like old houses.  I want to live in one, but I don't want to renovate one.  (And Curtis has no desire to live in one). There's a few houses in town that I would love to walk through, just to see what it looks like inside.

-I kinda want a smart phone.  I'm not sure I would use it to it's full potential and I also think it's ridiculous to pay an extra $60 a month for one (cuz if I got one, Curtis would want one too!).

-I was doing some letter stuff with Lane the other day - asking him what letter people's names start with.  It got kinda boring once I realized the names in our families: Brent, Brent, Bret, Blake, Brooks, Christi, Chad, Casey, Curtis, Cody.  The only ones that don't start with a B or a C are Rachelle and Laura.

Well....that's all...my brain is empty now ;)

Crafty stuff

Yep, I have been keeping up with my plan to actually do things that I pin on Pinterest (vs. just wasting time pinning more stuff).

I made a fall wreath for our front door:

Which will look a lot better (the door that is) once I paint it.  I'm just waiting for harvest to be done so Curtis can saw off all those little knobby things.

And I made these goldfish crackers:

I've also tried a few other recipes - a pumpkin cream bread and apple butter.  The apple butter is yummy...the bread...not so much.  I was planning to take it to bible study tomorrow, but I think I'll make a loaf of something else instead! I also put up a few fall decorations (mostly rearranging what I already had to make it look "new") but the M&M one had to be put away.  A certain little girl likes them too much :)

And of course, Pinterest is down right now so I can't even post pics or links to the recipes and decor ideas.  Maybe next time...

A Good Sunday

Gorgeous fall weather...

Curtis and Chad cleaning up my garden....

Kids playing together in the sandbox...

Laughs and stories...

Canning apple butter for the first time...

...that's a good Sunday.

Folding Laundry

He is so careful when folding dishcloths...

 

...now if only he had the coordination to fold the rest of the laundry.

Homemade Goldfish "Biscuits"

When I saw homemade goldfish crackers on Pinterest a few weeks ago, I decided that I had to make some.  I just got around to making them yesterday and today (the dough has to chill, which I didn't realize until I had the dough mixed up!).

I even made my own little goldfish cutter out of a pop can (also got the idea from Pinterest).

The dough was super easy to make since it's mixed in the food processor...cutting out all the little goldfish took a lot longer!

Luckily, Katy was entertained by play-doh.  Once I had one pan full, I decided to just cut the rest in squares. I was tired of little fishies :)

Katy LOVES the finished product!  However, they turned out more like goldfish biscuits.  I don't think I rolled the dough out thin enough, so they puffed up like cute little biscuits!  They are really tasty - kinda chewy and light and really cheesy.

I tried getting Katy to pose for the camera, but she didn't cooperate very well!

Goldfish Crackers


1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder (I left this out!)

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Pulse the flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder together using a food processor.

Add the butter and cheese.  Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Pulse in 3 to 4 tablespoons water (I used 5), 1 tablespoon at a time, and only enough so that the dough forms a ball.  Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Roll dough to 1/8 in. thickness, cut out fish, and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden and crisp (13-18 minutes).  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Helgoth's Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday I finally convinced Curtis to take the kids to a pumpkin patch.  MOPS (or GEM, as it is called now) normally goes to Helgoth's Pumpkin Patch each fall.  This year, it got moved to a day that Lane has preschool, so we aren't able to go with the group.  I knew that both Lane and Katy would have a blast, so we made the trip over there late yesterday afternoon.

The weather was nice, and since we didn't get there until about 4:15, it wasn't too crowded.  Lane remembered everything about the place as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.  One of the first stops was a giant slide.

Lane was a little nervous at first, but Curtis pushed him down and he loved it!  Katy loved sitting on our laps while we raced each other.

The goats, chickens, bunnies, and a large ark (complete with slides) caught the kids' attention for a little while.

Then...Lane discovered the coolest thing ever...a jumping pillow!!

It was a large, Blob-like thing surrounded by sand.  Lane ran from side to side and slid off the edge and jumped and jumped and ran some more.  He was crazy!

I let Katy bounce on it for a little bit.  She loved it, but I was so worried that she was going to get hurt by all the big kids jumping.  She cried a little when I made her get off, but she quickly amused herself by playing in the sand.

Then we were off on a wagon to the pumpkin patch!  We got stuck on one with a lot of weird people (I think they were all in the same family) and Curtis commented on how glad he was that they weren't his in-laws.  I agreed.

Lane and Curtis had to have a serious conversation about which pumpkin to get.  It was quite the decision!

Before we headed for home, we let Lane jump on the jumping pillow one more time.  As we got into the car, Lane said, "I'm tired.  I jumped too much."  He was a pretty worn out little boy!  Lane also thought that it would be a lot of fun to bring Blake, Casey, and Brooks next year.  He said, "Brooks might be a little scared, but he would have fun."

A lot of farming going on around here...

...and not just in the field either.  Both Lane and Katy are obsessed with tractors and combines.

I set this up for Lane today - every farm boy's dream -

Katy has had so much fun playing with Johnny Tractor and Corey Combine.

She drove Corey Combine all around the floor, saying "rrrrrrr" the whole time.

She was having so much fun, Lane abandoned his toys to join her.  Good thing we have two combines.

You know those inside jokes...

....and things that were funny only to those who were there?  The kind of things that make you laugh and laugh and then you completely forget them.  And then...months or years later it pops into your mind and you start laughing again.

Last night our friend Tim (can you believe we've been friends for 12 years? Crazy.) came over and we chatted about funny things that have happened over the years.  It can be so fun to relive old memories (the good ones at least)!

Tim & Curtis working on our Louisville house.

As I was falling asleep last night I started thinking of more funny things (that are probably only funny to me and/or the few people who were there) and I realized that when I am old and gray I won't remember any of them.  So I thought I'd share a few of them....and if any of you reading these were there...feel free to add your own memories :)

- Got milk?
- At least we know Kandyce keeps her socks on...
- Little old ladies, hammers under our seats, and leaning trucks on the way to GI.

Me and Emily...not in 2005...more like 2007.

- "I was a firefighter once."
- "Seriously, do people in Kansas only go to the bathroom one day a year and today is the day!??!"
- "We'll wait."
- Messy

Me and Sara

- popcorn and salsa.
- "Get out, get out!  Oh, get in, get in!"
- watching for BTK whenever we went to Wichita.

Me, Casey, and Tori in Amsterdam.

- "Lose your inhibitions and squeeze."
- As long as it doesn't cost money and it's quick...
- "Do you have penguins here?"

Tabor girls in Omaha summer 2007

- Yellow and synchronized pizza eating.
- "This is the best water ever!"
- Smart drinks
- Softball for the blind
- "Do you have a little moose?"  "No, but I have some gel."
- "I like mine, you guys!"

Zack, Curtis, and Lane

- "I hope that was a tree."
- That time we were driving down the highway on the iciest night of the year and our bathtub flew out of the pickup.
- Watching Tim kayak.
- Driving around Omaha, in the snow, on New Year's Eve with Curtis and Tim.

Curtis and I in Miami

- Trying to walk through a glass screen door during the softball spring break trip.
- "Why does it always do that?"
- "How does a Deeb tie his shoe?"
- "What's green and heavy and if it falls out of a tree it'll kill you?"
- "What, was it too heavy?"
- "That milkshake made my mouth feel funny way back here..."
- One size fits most.

I'll admit, I cheated and had to get my senior book out....that brought back a LOT of memories and I didn't even put half of them in here.  It's even getting hard to remember things from college and our early years of marriage!

If you're still reading, thanks for letting me reminisce!

Harvest

Harvest started two weeks ago and it's been going by fast!  When we started, the fields were still pretty green, but luckily the wind has blown and it has been hot, which helped the corn turn brown.  It feels a little more like fall now!

Like last year, Curtis can usually be found in the combine.  He's figuring it all out and he likes it (most of the time - I think what he really misses about driving truck is having the freedom to drive through Arby's for lunch!).

We have gone out to the field for almost every supper.  It's a lot of running around - I feel like I live in my car - but it's a great chance for the kids to see Daddy and play in the dirt.  There can be up to 14 people there, so it's almost like a party every night. The kids love it!

Lane has spent several hours riding along in the combine.  (Last night he didn't think Katy and I should allowed in.  Boys only.)  He's pretty funny - while he's in there, you'd think it was just another thing to ride in. He almost looks bored and doesn't seem to be having all that much fun.  As soon as he gets home, however, things change!  ALL he talks about is the combine and what it does and what happens to the corn and where the tractor goes and every other tiny detail.  His mind goes a mile a minute.  I just have to say the words, "Want to go ride with Daddy?" and he drops whatever he is doing and is out the door in a flash.

Katy is surprisingly fascinated with it all too. I really expected her to not care, but she loves seeing the big machines and riding in everything.  She was pretty nervous the first time we rode in the combine, but now she'll sit so quietly and just watch everything.  She loves watching the combine dump into the auger wagon.

I was hoping for a little rain today so that harvest could take a break.  Oh well, at least it means I don't have to cook supper. ;)  Thanks Mom!