Random Thoughts

Isn't it funny how we as parents are the ones who are suppose to be teaching our children, when in reality I think Logan has taught me more so far than I him?

Aren't boys suppose to like getting gooey, dirty, and play with all things disgusting? While carving pumpkins the other day, Logan refused to touch the "guts." Last year he couldn't stay out of them. My husband finally took Logan's hand and forced it inside the pumpkin, Logan began crying. I told my husband to not force him otherwise pumpkin carving is going to turn out to be a traumatic experience and Logan will never want to do it.

I often wonder how badly I am screwing Logan up...

The other day I was drinking my coffee, only to have it start tasting like soap. Not understanding why and thinking perhaps it was because I had just drank something else right before hand; I swooshed my coffee around in it's cup and found a bar of soap at the bottom. Little boys are so sneaky!

A cardboard box is a wonderous thing.

I wonder if Logan likes the sound of running water; he is constantly going into the bathroom and turning the shower on. As soon as I go in there and shut it off, he's back turning it on again.

Office supplies make some of the best toys.

No matter how hard you try to prevent it, something you don't want to be ends up colored.

If I had known that being a parent meant I would never get a full night sleep again, I would have slept more when I was younger.

What Weekend?

When I tell people where we live and what we do, they immediately ooh and aah and tell us how glamorous our life must be, and it is in a way but one of the snags of living the life we do is that it is literally a 24/7 job. We are on call all the time; weekends, holidays, cattle still need to be fed, doctored, worked, whatever.

This past weekend was so busy and chaotic that it seems as if there wasn't one at all. In fact I awoke this morning wondering if it was Saturday yet, only to discover that the weekend had past us.

We had planned to carve pumpkins on Sunday evening but due to other circumstances relating to work, it never happened. Yet another aspect of this kind of life flexibility is a must!

The new plan, pumpkin carving after work and dinner tonight!

Fun in the Mud

I am a firm believer that children need to play outside no matter the weather. In the summer heat and the winter cold. It rained here for two days which in the desert, turns any area into a flowing river and many good sized mud holes.

I bundled Logan up and we headed out into the cold to stomp around. He decided that it would be great fun to move one puddle into another. So for over an hour he and I had our cups, scooped out muddy water from one mud hole and poured it into another. Since he is still learning the pouring technique, he got rather wet. I think I was colder than he was though!

When lunch time hit, we went inside to some dry clothes and hot bowls of chicken noodle soup. It was a great time to spend before heading off to work for the day and Logan had quite a nap!

I am looking forward to winter fun with Logan. Sledding, building snow forts and snowmen will be quite exciting for the two of us. Until that first snowfall though, we will keep playing in the mud.

Bargains and Propositions

Isn't it funny how whenever something "new" comes into your life, it suddenly becomes a bargaining chip? For example; when my husband and I first got our dog it soon became "if you take him out this time, I will..."

And the situation does not change with children. In fact I think that children become the prime bargaining chip for everything. And not just bargaining; propositions suddenly become available. My husband told me yesterday that if I went and watched a specific scary movie that just came out in theatres, he would stay home and take care of Logan. Of course it is a movie that I would never want to watch because I know how freaked out I'd be.

But then there's the other side of things. I could go and 'pretend' to watch the movie just to have time away. But then I'd have to lie and it would become a whole hassle. The truth would eventually come out that I drank coffee and browsed the bookstore instead.

Oh what to do?

Pumpkin Patch

It has become a tradition that every year on our wedding anniversary we visit the pumpkin patch. This year was quite exciting considering Logan is now able to do some of the daily activities. Okay so he was about three months short for them, but we figured he was close enough.

Yay! This moo-train is fun!

Ready to go on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Logan and I with our pumpkins.



Into the corn maze.
This is feeder corn, but that did not stop Logan from trying to eat it.
He would not let that corn cob go.
Thanks for visiting!

I Should've Stayed in Bed

You know those days where you wake up and immediately nothing is going right? Today is one of those days.

I awoke to my normal routine; make my husband a cup of tea and breakfast. Now on any other day I follow this with making myself coffee and breakfast, kiss my husband goodbye and start my household chores (laundry, dishes, etc.) before Logan wakes up. However, this morning while removing the tea bag from my husband's cup it tipped over pouring boiling water on the left side of my abdomen and right foot. Luckily my husband hadn't left yet because all I could do was stand there and try to keep my clothes as far away from my body as possible.

After taking a cold shower to ease the burning, I applied first aid to my now blistering burn. However, it is moments like these when you realize how long it has been since you updated your first aid kit. For example, I have burn cream in my kit. It had never been opened because I had never had to use it until today. I opened the first packet of cream to find it hardened. The next packet was the same way. I looked at the little box they came in to find that they had expired in 2002. Of course.

Since the day is just getting started, I am curious to find what other things life has in store for me today. Perhaps I should have just stayed in bed.

Cranky Husbands

We all get cranky sometimes. Some more than others. However, around this time of year, every year my husband is at his crankiness. Why? Because this time of year and March through April we have so much more going on out here on the ranch.

Being on a progressive cattle ranch we embryo transfer. The embryo flush is on Monday so all of last week my husband was outside at six a.m. and again at seven p.m. to synchronize the recipient and donor cattle. This of course is on top of all the other things that has to get done during the day. Some nights he wasn't done synchronising until 8:30 p.m.

Over the next three days, we are photo shooting our cattle for our annual sale in April. This is not an easy task. The cattle has to be facing a certain way, you have to keep them from moving around, etc. (Think of trying to do those professional family photographs with young children.)

Monday is our flush; so it will be a another day full of moving cattle around and helping the embryologist.

I know for these next few weeks my husband will be overly tired. I know that he will be short tempered and say things he wouldn't usually say. Because I know all of this I try to stay calm. Take deep breaths and remind myself that things will calm down again soon and my husband will be back to his normal, cheery, annoying self.

I Don't Remember....

1. The last time I sat down and got to eat the whole meal on my plate (including dessert!)

2. The last time I got to take a shower uninterrupted.

3. The last time I was able to read more than three pages at a time in a book.

4. A time where I walked around without baby drool all over me.

5. A time where my house was a bit cleaner than what it has been lately.

6. A time when my life was not so chaotic.

7. The last time I had a quiet night where I could cuddle up on the couch under a blanket, listen to music, and just let time melt away.

8. How I ever got along without my little boy in my life!!

Another Late Night

Last Sunday my family and I were invited out to the Anuual Balloon Fiesta. We woke and dragged ourselves out of bed at 4 am to get to the park in time to meet with our balloon pilot friend.

Logan was in ah with the colorful ballons inflating and soaring into the morning sky. He being too little (don't I use this phrase a lot) stayed on the ground with Dad so Mom could fly over Albuqerque.

There is a tradition afterwards where you initiate the first time flyers, you toast with champagne and feast on meats, breads, cheeses and fruit. During this time we met a family of five. The girls are 14 and 12 and the little boy 8 years of age. Logan took a shine to all three immediatley! He would take the hands of the girls and show them "stuff," give them handfulls of grass for presents. They had a kite with them that they allow Logan to fly (with help of course.)

Before parting for the day, the family and us exchanged phone numbers. The next day the mom called my clan to their house for a dinner party. Last night we took off work early to drive the hour drive out to their place (which is right next to the Balloon Fiesta. Last night was the glowdeo (balloons inflate and pilots make them glow in the night) so what would usually be an hour took us two with all the traffic.))

There house was very exciting for Logan, they have a pool, a goat, sheep, chickens and two cats which Logan enjoyed chasing around. A fire pit was built in the back yard and burning hot (perfect for the chilly fall evening.) Philip, the little boy, brought out his firework collection (a few sparklers and pop-its) to show Logan. Logan dragged the 12 year old girl around the yard and showed her how he can open, close, and lock their gate leading out to the pool.

The whole balloon gang was there as well, the french crew and our friend with his wife. We drank wine, beer, and margaritas while chatting around the fire pit until it was time to eat.

It was another late night for us but we enjoyed every minute of it.

Body Image

Why are we so obsessed with body image? Girls hear it while growing up from their mothers, women hear it through the media, family, friends, etc. Society places a huge stress on women to be "perfect." The new craze in diets is always flooding the newsstands, girls and women starve themselves to get skinnier. Even if they are already thin, they are not thin enough. Many go to unhealthy means to lose that last 10 pounds.

I read an article yesterday about a place in Africa where heavy women are ideal. Instead of like the United States where we send our overweight kids to fat camp, they take their daughters and send them to binge eating camp. The heavier the daughters get the better they are to be suited as a bride. I mean, these girls are on a 14,000 - 16,000 calorie diet a day!! Quite a bit more than the 1,200 - 2,000 calories a day that we all have heard is the healthy amount to eat. If the girls throw up, they eat that as well. It's as much food as they can pack in to become bloated roley polies.

The idea in this area is compared to men and livestock in the days of yore. The more fat livestock you have the wealthier the man. In this case, the heavier the wife you have, the better off the man is financially. It shows that he has enough wealth to care and feed his wife.

I grew up with my mom on diets, some not so healthy like those "cleansing" diets that are all the rage in Hollywood. The idea behind these type of diets are to "detox" your body of harmful chemicals. I did some research on this and found out what these diets really do. This is taken from an article by Mehmet Ox, M.D.:

"After a few days of massively scaling back food intake, your metabolism starts to plummet. Your brain senses that there isn't enough food coming in so it tells your body to cling desperately to the fat stores it already has, and starts to burn lean muscle tissue for fuel - two things that ultimately increase your percentage of body fat. Also, levels of omega-3 fats in your brain fall (your brain is made up of around 30 percent of these fats) causing you to be more prone to depression."

I made two promises to myself many years ago while watching my mom begin looking like a ghost on the so called "rave" diet.

1. I will not go to the extreme to lose weight. I will be healthy and in turn happy. If weight loss is my goal it will be done in a healthy manner. (Do not skip meals, eat small balanced meals throughout the day, never go more than 3.5 hours without food, lose no more than 1-2 pounds a week.)

2. I will not degrade my daughter (this goes for boys as well, but girls do tend to get the brut of the ideal image more) on her appearances. I will teach her a happy and healthy lifestyle.

In a country where the average woman is a size 12-14, let's make it our goals as women to become better role models for future generations. Let us teach our children not to base their happiness on the latest body image, but on a better, healthier life.

Mary Poppins

It took us two days to watch Mary Poppins, but Logan cuddled up with me on the couch and watched it. The first movie he has ever sat down for. Logan laughed as Burt and the chimney sweeps danced upon the rooftops singing "Step In Time." As Mary, Burt, Michael and Jane raced through the derby on their carousel horses Logan looked at me with his little eyebrows raised and said "Oohhh."

I was not brought up to be nor do I believe in using the television set as a babysitter. But I have to admit it was nice to sit with Logan quietly for a while, him sipping his milk and me my tea. Our days lately have been so cold (average this past week has been lows 30 and highs 60 with 40-60 mile per hour winds) and a little hectic. So this little break with Mary Poppins was quite the treat...

For Mom anyway.

A Bigger Family

My best friend is pregnant, as is another friend of hers. Another friend of mine wanted to start trying for another about six months ago. It is so exciting to see a little one come into the world. To watch them explore and see everything for the first time. Each child is a blessing.

Back when my husband and I were dating and had that "how big of a family do you want?" chat we came to seven kids. However, him and I have always been a little late on the big life events. After seven years of dating, we got married; five years of being married and we had our little one. Now when we have the family discussion the numbers have dwindled to two, maybe three. I mean let's face it, he and I aren't getting any younger. He was almost 30 when we had Logan and I was three weeks shy of my 29th Birthday.

I come from a family of four kids all two to three years apart. My husband has one sister who is nine years his junior. He has made it extremely clear that he does not want Logan's sibling(s) to be that far apart in age. His sister and him are from two completely different worlds.

Logan is almost two and I still remember the pain of having him. I remember how much I hated being pregnant. Everyone was telling me that pregnancy is wonderful! You get doted upon and spoiled. That never happened in my case. I would be throwing up (morning sickness was awful) and was told that once I got working and moving I would feel better. In which I concluded that nothing makes you feel better while pregnant.

I still debate whether I do want more children. My husband has also made it clear that he does not want Logan to be an only child. However, he is not the one going through all the pregnancy changes and pain of child birth! I have been told by family, friends, even strangers (the produce guy at the supermarket put in his two cents) that a second child would be perfect, especially if it was a girl to balance out the family so to speak (apparently the produce guy is clairvoyant-he says my next will be a girl.)

When debating the bigger family argument in my head, I wonder how in the world I will be able to work with two young ones in the office with me. Logan is still a little young to be heading out working cattle all day with his dad. And I am already beside myself with just Logan in there with me. This was actually a discussion I had with the manager's brother. He said that I'm tougher than I think and that I will figure out a way to make it all work.

Either way, I am still up in the air about the whole thing!