Cheep!

That's what you hear when you pick up one of the remaining 4 fertilized eggs! Don't ask about the other two...it's not a pretty story. Just suffice it to say that farm animals, especially chickens, are gross!

According to Don Sr., the chicks will hatch all at separate times and the chicks will instinctively stay under the mother hen. I'm hoping that's true, because it is winter, after all, and we are having a bit of a cold snap. I don't think it would take too long for the chicks to freeze if either them or their mother doesn't do the right thing!

Stay tuned...

Nicholas...

loves: mommy, milk, toys, daddy, siblings, baths, t.v. (blush), rolling over, being snuggled, reaching out and grabbing things!

hates: any food that comes from a spoon, vaccinations, being congested, being tired...

Weather update

I really, really think we've had enough snow for the month year decade! Thankfully the schools are open today, as today is both a preschool day and the opening night of Dylan's play (he's in the pit band), and neither would have happened if the schools were closed for snow.

Sean is home sick today, and Nick has a cough and congestion...poor baby : ( We all need to get and stay healthy for Disneyland (15 days and counting!)...

Baby bliss

<insert contented sigh here>

Foot fetish

Nick discovered his feet...and his toes in particular...in a big way! He thinks his toes are perfect for sucking on! Note to self: more freqent baths are in order for Nicholas.

"What?! Can't a baby suck in peace around here?"

Jordyn and Nick

I put Nick down in the center of his blanket; you can see how mobile he's getting!

Just hangin' out...

Patience has discovered that Cootchie can "hang on." Now we find her hanging onto the counter, the table, etc. Maybe we all have cabin fever?

The rest of the dresses

After church today I finished up the rest of the dresses for the girls. Patience was the only willing model (shocking, I know). I love the way they turned out!





In other news, I made meatballs (with honey garlic sauce) and rice for lunch today. We got hooked on Italian Meatballs from M&M Meats but I figured I could probably make something similar if I tried. Don brought home enough ground beef for me to make a meal's worth of meatballs and a meatloaf for dinner this week, all for the price of one box of meatballs from M&M meats. It was delish! And then Don made banana splits for everyone in the family who isn't weighing in in the morning for her "Biggest Loser" contest.

Sewing Saturday

Don let me sew for a few hours today and I was able to make each girl 1 1/2 dresses! I bought t-shirts at WalMart for $4, and then bought coordinating fabric for $4, so for $8 each (plus my time, which is invaluable, of course) they have matching dresses that they'll wear at Disneyland. I think they look adorable. I'm planning on finding bike shorts for them to wear underneath so they can be modest when they twirl...

The hazards of having big sisters...

Jordyn made a tent out of Nick's blanket for him! He thinks she is hysterical and spends lots of time smiling/laughing at her. I'm sure that at some point he'll be the victim of "dress-up." Poor little boy.

Friday!

The day started early (for Don) who decided to get up with Nick at 7:00 and let me sleep in. Ahhhh.... I finally rolled out of bed at 8:30 (bliss) and feel totally reenergized and awake...for the first time in a long time.

The boys are out of school today so Don took them for much-needed haircuts. Then he came home, dropped off the boys, and took Patience to Langley to run some errands. When he gets home I'll head to Aldergrove to do some grocery shopping. Tonight pizza is on the menu so I'll get some pepperoni and other toppings.

Our trip to Merrit is postponed due to the uninvited arrival of influenza at the Murphy household! Waneta is starting to feel better, but now Don Sr. is starting to feel icky. Obviously, the last thing we want before our Disneyland trip is the flu to run through the household, so I'll go in late March or early April.

But now I have a weekend free! Not sure what to do about that...maybe tackle the furnace room (the worst clutter in my house, maybe all of Aldergrove).

In the meantime, here are some adorable photos of Mr. Nick.

I took a series of pictures of him trying to put his paci back in his mouth. He finally did get it, but the ribbon was wrapped around his hand so he pulled it out right away. It's so fun to see him developing and learning more each day.

He's loving his Jumperoo more each day, too. He can now make it bounce high and quickly, can play with all the toys, and can watch t.v. while in it. It's very handy. As you can see, he has Sharkie in there with him.

Monthly menu

I like to plan my menu for dinners. I usually do it week by week, based on what's on hand, what's on sale, etc. But today I made a menu for a 31-day month. On the first of each month, we'll always have crepes : ), on the 31st it'll always be fish & chips, etc. I didn't use 31 unique meals, because I couldn't think of that many, and there are some that I want to use on a weekly basis, such as stir-fry. It's easy, inexpensive, healthy, and great left over, so that happens each week. As does vegetable soup. I also tried to have "plan-overs," such as a big roast dinner followed by Shephard's pie, beef and bean burritos followed by taco salad, etc. This menu should work well for about 9 months out of the year (the cool or cold months). For summer, I'll substitute barbeques for roasts and salads for the soup.

Weekend photos...

What a wonderful, whirlwind weekend!

Lucille arrived Thursday evening. Dylan, Nick, and I went to the border to pick her up. From there we went to the grocery store to stock up for the weekend, as we were going to have a housefull!

On Friday morning the girls were ecstatic to find Lucille here. Jordyn climbed right up onto her lap! Lucille watched the girls for me when I went to Dylan's meeting at school. It looks like he's going to set himself up for a seriously difficult course load next year: AP English, AP Pyschology, AP Calculus (all AP courses could satisfy 1st-year university course requirements if he gets a high enough score), Math 12, Physics 12 (I'm actually trying to persuade him to not take the physics class), and, of course, Band 12. He realizes he might actually have to give up some or all of his computer gaming time to do well, but he says he's ready to make that sacrifice! I hope he's right, otherwise he might be really making a huge mistake and seriously messing up his GPA.

On Friday evening Val picked up Nathan from the bus in Bellingham and brought him to her house; Don and Jordyn went and picked him up. It was great to see him again...I haven't seen him in a month! We had a great time catching up and watching House that evening.

On Saturday Dylan had to work in the morning, but when he got home and cleaned up, Don took the three oldest kids to Vancouver for a day of touring.

On Sunday we went to church where we did, in fact, get to have part of our service in the new building! It was very exciting. I brought my camera but took no pictures. : (

Sunday after church Nathan went with some of the boys from church to "hang out." Don and Lucille took the girls to the park down the street. We got Nathan all organized with his income taxes, bus schedule, etc. He even used his brand new credit card to purchase 2 more Sharks vs. Ducks tickets for our Disneyland trip so that Lucille and someone else (Hailey, Grandpa?) can go to the game. I told him it was a very appropriate first purchase.

On Sunday evening Lucille, Nathan, Val, Dave, Don and I went to dinner for our annual Valentine's celebration. Marc and Leslie Cutler met us there so it was quite a party! It just so happens that Lindsay, Jake, and Madilyn were also there for a friend's birthday party, so at the end of our meal Val went and snagged Madilyn and we all got to visit. It was great seeing everyone. Lucille and Nathan went home with the Cutlers, who are going to take him to the bus station today so he can get back to Seattle for work on Tuesday.

And now we are all back to business as usual! And you are all caught up...

Thursday thoughts

With a title like that, you'd think I'd have something pretty profound to say. But, no. I have things to write but nothing earth-moving.

On Tuesday evening Dylan, Nick, and I attended Kwantlen University's music program information session. Dylan has decided to go to Kwantlen for 2 years and then transfer to University of Victoria instead of heading to UVic right away. This makes a lot of sense financially. I was amazed at the robustness of this program considering it's 5 miles from our home! When we first got there we took a tour of the music classrooms, studios, and the theater where their wind ensemble was rehearsing. Dylan knew a few of the kids who were also attending the session. I think he's really excited about going there. The dean of music told the students that members of the community were welcome to come out and play with the wind ensemble or sing with the choir so of course Dylan was all over that. I had to remind him that he's currently knee-deep in another music commitment right now...he's playing in the pit orchestra for a highschool play. One thing is for certain: that child needs a car a.s.a.p.

Last night Don, Nick, and I went to the new church building to help with cleaning, etc. for this Sunday's grand opening. They asked for volunteers every night this week. On Monday Dylan and Sean went out. We were only able to stay for an hour or so since we wanted to get home to put the girls to bed. But it was exciting. The building is huge.

Lucille is coming up this weekend. She has a 4-day weekend from school so her American mom is bringing her to the border, where I'll pick her up. She'll be here until Sunday night, when Don and I go have Valentine's dinner with Val and Dave; we'll take her and Nathan home on that night so we don't have to hazard the border on Monday (U.S. holiday=horrible border lineup). We're very excited to have her stay again, and it turns out to be perfect timing because I need someone to watch the girls tomorrow afternoon while I have a meeting with Dylan's counselor at school. He needs to decided on grade 12 courses and find out what he should be doing about getting financial aid for university. I'm attending because I have about a 5% confidence rate that Dylan will come home and tell me all of the important information he'll be hearing from his counselor.

Don is working in Vancouver tomorrow. Nathan is coming home tomorrow night. The plan is that Val is getting him after work and bringing him to her house; I'll pick him up there. I think Nathan and Lucille are going to see a horror show tomorrow night...something about Friday the 13th. They asked Dylan if he wanted to go but he politely declined. You tell me who's the smart one.

Well, I'm off to do some housework and laundry. I need to get Dylan's room ready for Lucille among other things.

Ciao!

Cutest baby in the world? Check!

A study of polar opposites...

Could these two sisters be any different? Patience will smile for the camera until her face cracks, whereas I have to beg, urge, and bribe Jordyn to give me the smallest of grins...

Today is Red, Pink, and White day at preschool.

General news of unspecified variety

Nothing too much to report. Although we did have exceptionally bizarre weather today. This morning it was clear. Then it hailed. A lot. The ground was completely white. Then it snowed. Then it rained until the ground was clear again. And then it was sunny! I've never seen a day like this.

Sean's basketball team played their first and last playoff game this afternoon. It's a single-elimination tournament and they had to play the best team in the league today. Durn. D.W. Poppy just doesn't seem to have very good basketball teams.

This weekend Nathan spent time with his cousin, Kelsey, who is living with her dad in Kenmore. Gary picked up Nathan on Saturday. I think Kelsey and Nathan were planning on seeing a movie or something Saturday night. Nathan spent the night and then all of Sunday at Gary's! Gary was even kind enough to take Nathan grocery shopping before taking him back to the base. It's so nice that Nathan has people close to him!

Other big news: our church is finally moving into their new building this Sunday! Aldergrove Alliance Church has been in a building program for 21 years. I'm so excited that Nathan will be home this weekend so he can be part of the move. We're going to have Sunday school and start the service in the rented church and then half-way through, we're going to go as a huge church family into the new building, sing some songs, dedicate the building, etc. and then have lunch there. All the families are bringing their own picnic, but we'll all get to spend some time in the new building together. This week there are work parties every night to do final cleanup, etc. Dylan and Sean are there right now. Don had a meeting in Aldergrove so he dropped them off. It's so exciting I can hardly stand it. I'll take pictures this weekend so everyone can see what it looks like. I know you're all curious : )

This weekend Don and I are doing our annual Valentine's Day dinner with Val and Dave. On Sunday. Saturday will be too crazy. I'm looking forward to that as well.

The hen is still incubating the eggs...

Everyone else is doing great!

Love,
Cathi

Caught red-handed...

...playing with dolls!

Birthday, part 2

Last night we sang to Jordyn and enjoyed little heart-shaped cupcakes. As you can see, everyone got into the spirit of the celebration!

1 Broody Hen + 6 Fertilized Eggs=

chicks, hopefully!

Our poor hen has been broody for the past 10 days or so and I've almost felt guilty about stealing her eggs. Don and Waneta visited yesterday and brought down 6 eggs from their hens, who happen to have rooster services. I marked an X on the fertilized eggs so that we could continue to harvest the new eggs. I'm hoping this works because if it doesn't, we're going to have some seriously rotten eggs in 21 days!

I'll keep you posted...

Happiness is...

...hand-me-downs!

We are so fortunate to have a generous friend with year-old twin boys...we basically have a never-ending supply of gently used boy clothes! When Nick needs larger clothes, shopping is just a short trip down to the basement where boxes of clothes are just waiting for us! Aside from a couple outfits that were gifts, Nick has happily worn hand-me-downs all his life.

Still sleeping in a soft blue cloud...

...sigh

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jordyn!

Don and I stayed up late (for us) last night doing Jordyn's birthday decorating. Her birthday theme was Disney Princess.

Mom and Lee got her a very cool Disney Princess bike, which, as you can see, she loves! Also in her pile of booty is puzzles, a coloring/sticker book with new crayons for her to break, and her favorite candy.

It looks like the weather is going to cooperate today and Jordyn will be able to ride her new bike outside!

You've come a long way, baby!

10 points to anyone who can remember this Jordyn.

Another San Jose Sharks fan...

...currently in the infant training program! Nick shows great potential and looks good in teal.

One lucky boy!

This is where Dylan is spending 5 weeks this summer with Lucille and her family. His adventure will include a week in Paris, two weeks in the French riviera, where Lucille's parents rent a beach house every year for their vacation, and the rest of the time hanging out near Lyon.

What a wonderful opportunity for Dylan to get immersed in the French culture and language. Now he'll get have to put his 5 years of French class to use!

Rolling over!

Nick entertained us by rolling over from tummy to back a dozen or so times this afternoon. He had both girls cackling...

Surprise!

Nick and Co.

Do you see a pattern here?


Nick with Aunt Dorothy, nicely tanned from her Christmas in Mexico!



Nick with Sissy. You can tell how much he's grown by comparing similar pictures of the two of them!

Nick with Jordyn. Can you see the green smudges below both of their noses? That was Jordyn's artwork, done in the 60 seconds that it took me to put the clothes from the washer into the dryer. That child...

Dylan and Nick. I love this shot : )