i am back for another exciting post.

i finished up a bunch of books. kelley armstrong, patricia briggs and a bunch of short stories (trying to find some new authors to try). loved all of the books. they kept me from being able to post, or clean, or cook, or well, pretty much anything.

the kids spent the weekend with my dad and stepmom. they had a blast, and came home all the richer. they spent most of the weekend getting the yard ready to open the pool. i guess grace was such a pain that they actually paid her to sleep. seriously, i think that should tell her she has a problem with whining. will she take the hint? i doubt it.

hubby had to work on sat, and went golfing with buddies on sunday...and had tball practice. so he was wiped out.

we lost 2 chickens over the weekend. josh's rooster and one of the polish crested hens. no major loss there, the rooster was starting to get mean, and the hen only laid a couple times a week...but i would like to know what happened to them. there were feathers in the yard but no sign of what took them. ah, well, like i said, no major loss. we have a bunch in the basement ready to go out, and more on the way in june.

the pigs are doing well. well enough i guess. they a tearing up the pen like nobody's business. and they really aren't getting that friendly. haley needs to work with them a lot more.

that's pretty much it for us right now. i'll try to remember to post more. but honestly, my life has been pretty boring as of late, and i don't have much to say.

we have pigs now. 2 to be exact. i'm not exactly excited about having 2 instead of just one, but the lady we bought them from wouldn't sell just one. she didn't want them to get depressed. i don't think that bebe was depressed last year, but i can kind of see her point. her pigs were so friendly. i hope they do well here.

the lady we got bebe from last year, she was in the paper over the weekend. i guess she's been indicted for embezzlement. nice huh? she had her assets frozen or seized.

i've been really busy lately. doing what? well, mostly reading.

i think the new chicks will be here this week. we have been getting 2 or 3 eggs a day now. mostly green, but we also have been getting brown, and 1 white egg so far. the kids have been so happy to go out and take care of the chickens now. i don't even have to threaten them anymore. we'll see how long that lasts!

josh is coughing a bunch again. i think it's the weather. poor kid.

not much else to tell right now. if i can think of something exciting or worthwhile, i'll be back!

so far so good! the hubby still is likin' the new job. i mean, if the man can get out of bed and be at work by 6:30 in the morning (this includes a 45 minute commute), well he must REALLY like the new job. that or he's living off a "new job" high. probably the latter. this week he's working 6 days...at 10 hours a day he's making some good money.

sunday we went to visit my mom and grandparents...my two aunts...and my uncle and his little girl...and my sister and her husband and their 3 girls. we had a pretty good time. i love my family. they are a little off their rockers, but i love them anyway. my mom asked me if we were really thinking about getting a bulldog.
me: no. no dogs.
her: well i thought i heard you guys were looking and i thought i might get one for santa to give to the kids.
me: santa would be taking it back with him. i don't want another dog. it hasn't even been a year since we got rid of the last dog. no way.
her: well haley really misses having a dog.
me: she can have all the dogs she wants when she has her own house. i am tired of being the only one that takes care of it. i don't have time and i have too many little ones in my house. no way.
her: yeah i guess you guys are pretty busy.

i am glad we had this discussion when i wasn't PMSing. i might have been a little more ummm pissy(?). i don't want any more dogs. i am tired of neighbors complaining about dogs. i am tired of cleaning up after dogs. i am tired of petting dogs. i am tired of dogs. i have too many kids to deal with...that want and need my attention, i don't need a dog wanting and needing attention too.

that being said, tiger, our cat disappeared last week. i thought he went up to the in-laws, but they hadn't seen him either. no one has seen him. i am hoping someone found him, thought he was a sweet little stray and kept him. i am totally fine with that. he's a sweetheart. he wants lots of love and attention. i think he was getting tired of all the little guys' attention (perhaps being worn as a hat didn't suit him?) and he left for greener pastures. i hope that's the case. i think some of the local toms were giving him some trouble too. he was coming of age, and i guess they didn't want the competition. well, we still have smokey. he's got his little house on our front porch and he's loving life. he is a gorgeous gray with green eyes. he's smaller boned. i'm thinking about getting him fixed...but it seems that as soon as i put money into a cat they die...so i'm not so sure i want to do that. so far he's doing good. but i think he's a little lonely. maybe he needs another friend.

hubby would kill me if i bring home another cat.

still have 16 chickens. they have grown more, and i haven't noticed as much fighting. that may be because the crests are starting to cover their eyes more. i hope that the other roosters don't start picking on them. i need them looking good for the fair.

i found out i have 4 kids in my swine group. i am kind of nervous about having a meeting. i don't really know anything about pigs. add the fact that one of the kids has a dad that was a pig farmer...well, yeah, i'm a tad nervous.

ballgame, ball practices, and a couple of sign ups

i love it when everything hits at once. alex plays baseball tonight at 6, haley and josh practice at 5:30 until around 7, and we have to sign the kids up for 4-H tonight.

i sure wish i had a money tree growing out back.

oh, well.

it looks like there will be 6 children raising chickens at my house.

funny, i'm pretty sure i only have 5 kids...and only 2 that can actually raise animals in 4-H...

i told the parents of the kids i watch, and those that i used to watch that it would be ok if they wanted to raise them at my house. these kids live in subdivisions, so it's not like they can raise chickens at their houses. plus, they spend quite a bit of time at my house. plus, by the time the chicks get here, they will be getting out for summer break. plus, these kids are great kids. they are always helpful. i know that they will be responsible.

so, i am really looking forward to my dad coming home. he's been stuck in detroit (apparently people up there don't like showing up for work*) and he's hoping to get the job site to a point where he can come home...with some stuff to help us build a chicken coop.
well, chicken and turkey coop. alex wants to do turkeys too. i told him to think about guineas. they eat ticks. that would be pretty darn useful!

so i guess i will be missing alex's game tonight. he's going to miss his soccer game this weekend (him and grace both) because they will be on a float trip. haley's going to miss her volleyball game (darn, 9pm game, and i'm going to miss it). they're going to be back for haley's soccer game on sunday.


*i've never been to detroit. i'm not "hating" on it. that's just the issues my dad's had with some of the contractors up there.

double edged sword

that's what this week at the fair has seemed like. my heart has been bursting with pride because my kids have worked so hard, and have done so well.

this week has been a lot of early mornings and late nights. yesterday, the second time we got to the fair, the kids had to get their animals ready for the auction. we were anxiously awaiting the 5 o'clock meeting to find out how alex's pig did overall. haley was feeding the lambs and giving them more water, and alex was cleaning out the pig's pen and then going to start scrubbing her down and then feed her really quick. i saw some people looking at a bulletin board. i went up to look and it had all the kids with pigs listed, with all kinds of next to it. alex's name was at the top of the list. next to his name was GR. ok, being new to all of this, i had to ask someone to explain it to me...

ALEX WON GRAND CHAMPION OVERALL!!!!!!!!!!!

we were all really excited, i started making phone calls, and so my in-laws and my mom hurried up and drove to the fair just to see alex get his trophy and ribbon. poor hubby was stuck at work. i took lots of pictures though. apparently this was not enough to get the hubby to reconsider doing pigs again next year. he's still saying "no way, we are going out on top".

haley was so excited for alex. it was so cool to see. first thing she said was "that's so cool, maybe she won't get eaten then".

perhaps now you see why this fair is a double edged sword? that's right, the auction. while it's really cool that the kids get to make money off of their hard work, they also put a lot of time, money, and effort into these animals. some moms *ahem* have developed affections for these animals. so the thought of my, i mean alex's, pig going to a processing center, weighs pretty heavy on my heart. doesn't seem to bother him much. and really, it shouldn't. if all farmers and ranchers made their animals into loved pets...well, we'd all be vegetarians.

anyway, on to the auction. because alex's pig was the grand champion, his was the first pig to be auctioned. after the last of the steers, alex brought her out. they did great out there. she ended up selling for $4.25 a pound. most of the other pigs went for $2 to $3 a pound. he made a little more than $900. i'm hoping that if someone is paying that much for a little pig (she was one of the smallest up there), they are planning on something other than eating her. of course the fact it is josephville meat processing co that bought her, well i'm not sure what to think. i hope she is going to be a brood sow for them. she's such a great pig.

haley's lamb was the 12th lamb out. she brought her out, smiled, and kept her lamb in check. she did great. lambs they sell by the head, not by the pound like hogs and steers. she ended up making $280 off of her little lamb. the grand champion went for around $500, and i think the most paid was $600, but she was about average for what the rest went for. some were as low as $150...but that's still a good profit. haley's lamb was bought by wright city meat market. haley was more upset about the lamb possibly getting eaten. she was nearly in tears. i honestly forgot that people eat sheep/lambs. you don't usually see it in the meat section of the grocery store. at least not the stores i go to.

all in all, this has been a very positive experience. the kids are excited about next year. they are already deciding what animals they want to try to raise for the next fair. i think we may be sticking with poultry. i told them if they want, they can do lambs and poultry, but only one animal per child can get sold at the fair. we will see. chickens get sold for quite a bit of money, and usually they end up going home with the kid. not always, but it happens pretty often.

today's the day

the pig leaves for the fair today. i am actually fighting back tears right now. pathetic, i know. i've been pretty good so far today. we all had dentist appts. so that kept my mind off of the day. we are trying to get things together so they can leave around 3:30.
what's really funny is alex is totally fine with it. here's the conversation we had yesterday:

ME: well, you know that half the money you get will go into your savings account. at least half.

Alex: conrad said that pigs brought like $500 at the auction last year.

Me: don't count on it. you don't know for sure how much you will get, so don't get your hopes up.

A: well, she has really big hams, and they are really all muscle. just a little fat, so that should be a good thing right? not too much fat, but enough to make them taste good. grandma says fat makes the meat taste better.

Me: STOP TALKING LIKE THAT!!!! i think i'm going to be sick.

yeah, i think he's going to be fine. i'm going to be the one crying hysterically in the corner.

we are taking some pictures today, so hopefully i'll get some up soon!

pigs and sheep and kittens oh my

ok, first off, let me just say, we have a new kitten. he's a little gray tabby kitten. i'm not sure what his name is yet. i've heard "tiger", and "shady", and "take it back where you got it". (guess which one was the hubby's suggestion) so far so good. he hasn't been eaten by any dogs, hit by any cars, or eaten anything poisonous. of course we haven't had him a full week yet, so anything can happen.

last night i took alex to the lincoln county fair. their hog show was last night, so i figured "what better way to see what we need to be doing". well, most of those pigs were bigger than ours. 90% were white (the pigs, not the people...although i guess those stats would work for both). there was a huge age range in kids showing. there were kids as young as 8 or 9 or as old as 18. they all were terrific. we weren't able to stay for the whole show (which lasted several hours), but i think alex has a better understanding of what is expected of him. he's getting nervous now. the fair is only a couple of weeks away.

after we got back from the fair, we took the whole family to see haley's sheep. she has 3, but she has to pick 2 for the show and 1 to sell at the auction. she has to break them before the fair. basically, she has to get her sheep, (which is difficult) and hold them until they surrender, then let it go and catch it right away. she has to do this at least twice with each one. i helped her, so did alex and the hubby. i didn't realize how oily their wool is. (that's where lanolin comes from...breastfeeding moms should have some on hand) and boy howdy, they stink! it's hard to describe, but think wet dog+urine+feces+farm=one big stinky mess! the kids didn't even argue about taking showers...that's how smelly it was. i will be doing this again in a few minutes...and every day until fair. fun.

well, i have dinner to get on the table, kids to get out the door (to do some sheep work), and well, there's always cleaning to get done.

then there's the fact my littlest one is turning 3 this saturday...don't get me started, i can't believe my baby is so big!

rachel, let me know when it is you are coming into town. i'd love to get together!

today the kids are all spending the night with my mom. i don't think she's ever had all 5 spend the night before. at least not at her place. i think she's come here before, but i don't think it's been since zack was born. she would come and stay a week with us after grace and josh were born. she was a huge help. it gave me time to bond with my newest baby, and know the others were being taken care of.
anyway, tonight is date night for us. i don't know where we are going, or what we'll be doing, but i can't wait. hubby's at work right now. hopefully he'll get home at a decent hour so we can go out.
the pig is doing great. she's still friendly, still likes to swim in the pond, and still grunts when she sees us or hears us. if anyone is looking for a pet pig, she'd be perfect for you. or do you need a pig for a movie? perfect choice right here. what does she look like? well, i still haven't taken any pictures of her (i know, bad pigmom), but this is pretty much what she looks like...




well, except that our pig is a girl, and so she doesn't have the *eh-hem* bulge in the back...and she has a little more white on her legs and belly. and her back legs (hams) are huge. other than that, this pig is the spitting image of our little girl.

ok, rachel, swingtown is a show on CBS on thursday nights. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/
it is about a couple that were married right out of highschool, that move to a new neighborhood, and meet the new neighbors...who just happen to be swingers. i happen to like it. it will definitely not be for everyone. of course, the fact that we actually know some swingers makes it all the more fun to watch...(did that sentence make sense? sounded funny to me) i told my husband that if all swingers looked like the couple on the show, there would be more people willing to try it out. unfortunately the ones we know look more like, um, well princess fiona and the penguin (from the batman movies). yeah, i know, attractive picture. and people actually swap partners with them! gross!...i just threw up a little in my mouth...

anyway, check out swingtown, i like it. the hubby likes it. of course, like i said, it's not for everyone.

ok, so i didn't get around to posting last night...sorry. after getting home at 8, i had to fix dinner, help some kids with homework that should have already been finished, and watch american idol. come on people, i have priorities! anyway, i was sorry to see brooke go. i really liked her. she seemed so genuine, so pretty, and so nice. in the beginning, i thought she was the one to beat...well, i was wrong. it's a real shame. i think she could go on to have a good career anyway.

anyway, alex's hair looks so much better. when jeff got home from work, he said it looked like alex lost 10 pounds. i said "yeah, it was all hair too!". the kid doesn't have curly hair (as i'm sure you can tell in our family pic) but the longer it gets, the bigger it gets. he looks like he has a hair helmet.

my dryer is broken. not that it doesn't dry clothes, it does...just not all the way. when you look in your dryer, there are like 3 or 4 little wing things in there (at least there are in mine), and one of those things fell off. i took it out, but now there are like 6 holes where it was attached and i guess the heat is escaping from there. why couldn't it have been my washer that broke? i want a front loading washer so bad! maybe i can talk jeff into using it to buy me a front loading washer and dryer... ok, how pathetic does it sound that my biggest dream is a new washer?

we started our garden...well, we started some seeds in the garage. i'm not good at telling weed from wanted plants, so i start my seeds, or buy the plants. we had about half of them sprout. the kids kept watering the seeds that hadn't sprouted, and i think they are dead. so today i planted some more seeds (to take the place of those that didn't). the kids helped, of course. they are so proud of the plants that are growing now. all of our lettuce seeds sprouted, 2 bean plants, a zucchini, 3 tomato, and no watermelon. i felt bad for josh, he was the one that wanted the watermelon. he would go out everyday and look to see if any of them started to grow. so we planted some more today. i hope some of them grow!

i love spring time. i love to look out at all the trees and plants, and watching them turn green and bloom. it's amazing to watch. don't get me wrong, i love all the seasons, but i love watching the babies animals, and they are around so much more in the spring! i love opening my windows and letting the fresh air in. i love smelling people grilling, and flowers, and just clean fresh air wafting through my open windows.

bacon bits is doing well. she is loving being outside now. it's so funny to hear her when she sees the kids out playing. she runs to her pen door and grunts at them! she loves to be washed with a wash cloth, and have her back rubbed. the only complaint i have is she's getting spoiled. she does what she wants when she wants to do it. that won't fly with the judges at the fair. so i have been trying to get alex to work with her more. i'm not sure what i should be doing, but i'm hoping we are doing it right. i think if we want her to have any shot at her being something other than sausage, we have to get her to listen and listen well!

we are going to Florida this month. my dad has been there for a few months for work, and he wants us to come down for memorial weekend to visit. the only bad thing is we are going to miss grace's kindergarten graduation. that bites! she's ok with it. i just hate missing stuff like that.

jeff had a good april. he sold more than 10 cars, that earns him a bonus, plus he is tied for first place sales for the month (another bonus). i'm really proud of him. selling cars isn't easy, especially for someone like my husband. i don't mean to make him sound like he's not a good salesman. he is. it's just that he wants to make sure he gets a person a great deal on a car they are going to be happy with for a long time. not as easy as it sounds, unfortunately.

that's about it for us. at least that's about all i can remember. happy may everyone!

lots of updating...

well, updating may not be the "right" word for it but...

bacon-bits (aka trudy or bebe) went to the neighbor's farm for grace's field trip today. she was there for about an hour. it was pretty hot, and she was a pooping fiend. the field trip went pretty well. they had cows and calves (really cute ones), chickens and chicks, ducks, a lamb, a couple of rabbits, and a horse. the kids had a blast.

i feel like crap today. my head is killing me! we ran out of tea 2 days ago and i haven't bought any yet, and i have the worst caffeine headache! add to that the cough i have, and yes i have been a little bit crabby. i guess i should get in to the doctor, but when would i find the time? i'm hoping it's just allergies, but i doubt it.

american idol...well, andrew loyd weber night was great for some, and not so great for others.

syesha: i think the judges were right, she found her strength here. she's made for broadway. i also found out my hubby has a bit of a crush on her. a woman can tell. it's ok though, it's only fair after all the comments i've made about that adorable jason castro.

jason castro: uh, memories? seriously? couldn't find a better song that suited you? not that it was a bad performance, i just didn't get it.

carly: i don't usually care for her, but i liked her performance. she did a great job with "Jesus Christ Superstar" and i really did enjoy it.

brooke: i don't get it, does she want to go home? is that why she's been blowing it lately? she can't seem to pull off songs that are anything but happy-go-lucky types of songs. couldn't she have found one of those kinds of songs?

davy a: great job on the song. i liked it. not head over heels for it, but i liked it. pretty solid performance.

david cook: i liked it ok. it wasn't my favorite performance of his, but he did ok. i have to agree with simon there, i like the grit to his voice. he didn't have it there. i don't know that he'll be doing broadway anytime soon, but he doesn't need it.

i don't do the "who's going home" picks, but i will say that syesha stole the show. finally!

please continue to pray for jessica and her family.

lessons learned the hard way

here are three lessons i learned the hard way.


1. when you pick up a pig, be sure to watch out for spraying behinds.
that's right, i got pooped on. not really bad, the basement floor got it worse. i just had a little bit on my pants and my shoe.

2. don't walk barefoot in a basement if a pig lives down there.
this could be a teenager or a literal pig...especially important when lesson number one has just happened. poor zack, he's the one that learned this one...he was not a happy camper when he realized what he stepped in!

3. pigs don't really like to be picked up.
you know, i should have learned this one last week, when she (60+ pounds, mind you) threw her head back and almost chipped my teeth. actually, i did learn this lesson, but since she has to go out to her new pen in the morning, i have to suck it up and pick her up anyway. hence, lesson number one again.

since i started walking, i have lost about 7 pounds. the hubby has challenged me...for every 25 pounds i lose, i get a chicken. i think i will modify it to every 15. if i lost 60, i would be happy. that would put me in more of the normal weight range. that would be 4 chickens. what the heck would i do with only 2 chickens? keep them in the basement? that's a thought...

field trip mix up

grace is in kindergarten. her teacher has been teaching for, well, i think this is her second year. she's a nice girl...she just didn't realize what she was signing up for when she signed the kids up for a field trip to orscheln's. you see, she thought it was a farm...not a supply store. they do have chicks and ducklings and turk-eh well, what do you call baby turkeys...hang on whilst i google...poults. the field trip was only supposed to last a couple of hours...but how long can you keep 25 kindergartners focused on a couple of chicks, ducklings, and poults..oh wait they do sometimes have a couple of baby rabbits. but seriously, they won't be able to hold any of them, and let's face it, what fun is looking anyway? thankfully, a mom heard about the supply store field trip, and offered to let the kids all come to her house. they have chickens, chicks and cows. i actually just got off of the phone with grace's teacher because she was hoping i could bring the pig over there too. sure, what the heck! she needs to learn how to travel anyway. the other mom is hoping to get some sheep from across the street too. that should cover the bases when it comes to having animals from a farm...even if the pig lives in a house.

speaking of pigs, i started walking again. yesterday i was up before the crack of dawn (5:45) and walked a whole mile. yes i realize how pathetic that sounds. i am sore today. yes, i realize that sounds even more pathetic. my oldest said he wanted to get up and walk with me, but come time to get out of bed, he opted out. i'm kind of glad he didn't go...i would have felt like a complete fool, you know being exhausted after a measly mile, not to mention that i was doing lunges and swinging my arms like a fool too. i'm sure the 2 people that drove past me were thinking the same thing. did i mention i'm a little bit sore today? not terrible or anything, but i can feel it in my calves and my back. why my back? no clue. the one thing that isn't sore, that i was really worried about, are my feet. thank you Jesus, my feet are better! those surgeries actually worked! i can't tell you what a relief it is, knowing i won't have to crawl around on my hands and knees because i walked in the morning and my feet hurt so bad in the evening. so if you live in the greater st. louis area and are in need of a good podiatrist, let me know...

by the way, i didn't walk today...not because i was too lazy to get out of bed, but because it was pouring down rain. i have been walking around the house and doing some stretches. i am going to try to get some crunches done today too. i seriously don't want to be this big going into my thirties. i am trying to figure out a good challenge for myself. i told my husband i would like to lose as much weight as the pig gains...but he said 14 pounds a week is unhealthy. so now i have to think of another one. maybe just walking 5 days a week? i don't know.

i will try to get an american idol post together, i was going to yesterday, but ended up not really feelin' it dawg. too much sadness to think about paula's "boobage" (to quote a good friend).

updates and a question

update on bacon bits (aka the pig).
she is gaining about 14 pounds a week. seriously, 14 pounds. she is growing so fast, i don't know if i will be able to pick her up much longer. yes i pick her up. i can't get her out of her cage if i don't. so try to imagine picking up a pig, roughly 60+ pounds, and squirming and throwing her feet and head. ok, if you are having a tough time visualizing that, try a toddler throwing a tantrum and trying to hold on to that toddler. not an easy feat my friends! good thing i have more than 11 years practicing for this period of my life.

a little more than 3 weeks and one of my families will be back. there are 4 kids, one of which is a brand new baby girl. i can't wait. she is so pretty! i miss the kids. my house is so quiet...i am so not used to quiet!

alex and haley start baseball/softball next week. haley finishes up basketball this weekend, and alex should be done with indoor soccer soon. grace starts t-ball next month. the hubby is her coach. he uses his day off for a day to have practice...unfortunately, the weather hasn't really cooperated the past 2 years. last year, and now this year, every tuesday is rain. rain rain rain! hopefully the kids will get atleast 2 practices in before they start their games. haley's team also has tuesday practices, but they also have practice on saturdays. alex's team has mondays...of course, they have had 2 practices and their first game is this monday. they decided to change the colors of alex's team shirts so we have to go buy new pants and socks for the kids. i haven't heard what color haley's team pants/shorts are supposed to be. (am i the only person who finds it crazy that girls wear shorts and not pants to play softball?)

ok, now down to my question. we live on a family street. this is great most of the time, and not so great some of the time. i have 2 nephews that are roughly the same age as alex. T lives next door to us and is 50 weeks younger than alex, J lives a couple of houses down and is about 4 months older than alex. T and alex are close friends...J and alex don't get along so well. i am not one of those moms that thinks her kids are perfect. they aren't. J's mom and dad think he is. (we have had some issues in the past i will not get into, but let's just say, if he comes over, i am watching him like a hawk.) anyway, alex has heard that J has been talking about him. i know he is hearing these things from his mom...i have people letting me know she has made the same comments. alex totally blew J off the other day when he came to our house and wanted to play. he said he doesn't want to have anything to do with someone who talks behind his back like that. i understand that, but...we are family.
i guess my question is (or are because i think this may be more than one question) what do i tell my boy? do i tell him to just ignore him? do i tell him to tell him how he feels? (like "i don't want to hang out with you because you talk about me behind my back") or do i just keep my mouth shut. i don't want my kid to feel like i'm not there for him, but i don't want to over-involve myself either.

please, any advice would be appreciated!

strike

i wish this strike would end! i have two families that have parents laid off because of it. i haven't seen one of "my" girls in over a month! she starts kindergarten this fall, and i won't be seeing her then. she's a good kid...very active, talkative, and helpful. her mom (she's laid off) is a really neat person. i like her a lot. the baby i started watching last week, well, her dad got laid off on friday. so who knows when i will get her again. i would have liked to have all my kiddos consistently, that way in the summer, it's not as huge of a transition. after all, i will be getting one of my families back in may (when mom goes back to work after the baby) and i was hoping to not have to try and juggle getting 2 babies used to the new environment at the same time. so basically my house is so quiet. i only have one or 2 kids during the day and maybe 2 or 5 in the afternoons. and the extra 3 are just because their mom is out of town for work this week. i don't know what to do with myself!

my mom started a new job last month. she is traveling 3 weeks out of the month. she gets to come home on the weekends. she really likes it. it's the perfect type of job for her. she is really excited about the people she works with. she says her bosses are tops in their field. so far she is just traveling in the US but it could be an international thing in a couple of months. if that happens, she will be gone for months at a time. i think she'd like that. i know she loves seeing the kids, but i think she likes being "independent" more. when she lived in chicago, we saw her 2 or 3 times a year. she came in town every 2 month or so. she just liked hanging out with her friends when she was down. most of the time, she didn't even tell us she was down here. not a big deal...except when she would say things about the kids not knowing her. she has been around a lot more since she's been back in MO. we were seeing her every friday for lunch for a while. the little guys know her now. the bigger kids love hanging out with her. so i think she knows she wants to keep that going. i'm really proud of her. she just has a high school diploma. her bosses were so excited to get her because they said she had great experience. she went from customer service at MCI to management at worldcom. she knew the jobs she was asking people to do. she was friends with lots of her bosses...and still is friends with them. they gave her great references. i'm glad she did such a great job that her bosses still know her name 5 years later. that says a lot about her work ethic.

the pig is still doing well. she's still friendly, and growing well. she's put on about 2 pounds a day. alex has even been giving her baths. so far so good!

i went to a party, and who knew....

i'd find a drink that i like! i have discovered amaretto sours. debbie is a lady i babysit for, and she was also the bartender where we went last night (baby shower). she wanted to get me a drink, but, being the wuss that i am, i can't stand the taste of alcohol. so she thought about what i might like, and gave me an amaretto sour. it tasted like lemonade. very sweet lemonade. i LOVED it. so she ended up buying me 3. she has been trying to get me out on the town for a while now, and wanted to make sure i had a good time. i had a great time.
the shower was for another girl i babysit for. my friend lana, a girl she works with, and i got it together for her. cindy is great. she just had her 4th baby, and i get to watch her! yippee! i can't wait. she has a son that is alex's age, a daughter that's a year older than haley, and another daughter that's right between grace and josh. they weren't planning on having anymore kids after their third, and got rid of all their baby stuff. the baby is absolutely beautiful! a thick (and i mean no scalp showing thick) head of black hair, and a clear darker complexion. gorgeous!

so, other than the raging headache i have right now (not through alcohol, i had it before then), i am having a pretty great weekend. alex has a soccer game tonight, haley has a girl scout thing, and then we are playing cards tonight too.

the pig is doing pretty good. she's been eating well, and alex has been taking her outside alot and walking her around. i was worried that she'd try to run off, but we have more trouble getting her away from the basement door than trying to get her back in. she likes the basement. i think this may become a problem when she's 200+ pounds, but right now, it's ok.

the expanding zoo

what house is a home without a pig!? not ours, at least not now. that's right everyone, we now have a little piglet. she's about 45 lbs of squealing fun! and in our basement no less! yes, your eyes are not deceiving you...this 45lb pig is in our basement. we thought the box we built for the dog and puppies would be perfect for her. we did not take into account the fact that pigs can jump. and they can jump pretty high. i have had to catch her 3 times in the hour i have been home. let me tell you, pigs don't really like to be picked up and put back in the box. she is now in the dog crate we brought her home in. she stands about 18 inches tall, this box is at least 24 to 30 inches tall, and she is jumping over the sides. i watched her. i was pretty amazed. i thought pigs were supposed to just eat, sleep, and poop. you know, like a newborn. oh no, i was misinformed! she is very active. she is also very curious. ok, let me describe her...she is small, she is black with white on her belly and feet, and she is adorable. she really is.
we are trying to come up with a name for her. i think i might put up a poll about what to name her. i won't promise we will use the one selected when talking directly to her, but i will use it when talking about our piggy adventures.

i had better get back to the kids and pig. i don't want any of them escaping!