I got Nothing...

Our live has been pretty routine and mundane lately.  I have nothing to report really, but see it has been a while since I posted.  Dave has explored many options for drilling our well.  As soon as it dries we will start that again.  Calving is almost done, just a few more to go.  School is starting to wrap up.  I got final schedules for the last week yesterday.  The girls have had some fun church activities.  Etiquette nights for both then a dinner for moms and daughters the next week.  That was fun to do with my girls. Also a stake mother/daughter activity for Leah.  She really enjoyed that one.  Even gave up a special invite to audition for Les Mis with the Lethbridge Symphony.  I was not too keen with her decision, she will probably never get that opportunity again, but glad that she knows where she is supposed to be.  I think I struggled more with that than she did.  What does that say about me:)?  We are finally getting tons of rain.  Blake still insists on riding his bike every day.  I told him he had to take a change of clothes today it was coming down so hard.  He finally decided to drive with the rest of us, but complained the whole way.  Soccer is almost done and I still have not remember to take the camera.  He is doing well and really enjoys it.  Told me the other day he likes soccer more than basketball and hoped that didn't make me mad.  I assured him it was OK since basketball is over before soccer starts so he can do both.  See how nice I am.:) That really is all I can think of.  Like I said routine and mundane.  That is life at the Puzey house.

Taking a Break

Except for a few ski day it has been almost 2 years since Dave has taken a day for himself.  He went from a job with shift work where he was in charge of a multi-million dollar project, where he had a few trips to Toronto and Texas, straight into a hands on, smack in the middle of busy season job.  We will be eternally grateful to Mike for letting us know of the new job.  He spends his days at work, doing church stuff, or at the farm.  Every holiday is spent at the farm, which he loves, but is long hours.  Not complaining, this is a choice we made just stating a fact.  He says he has been living in this limbo so long he feels like he no longer has any hobbies or people we hang out with.  And now we are going to throw in build a house on top of it:)  I was starting to get a little worried about his health and immune system.  For the few hours a week he is home he either crashes or spends hours working on budget for us and the farm. He tries to stay awake to spend time with the kids and go to Blake's games but is so tired.  He seemed to be just living day to day and trying to get it all done. Thursday morning he slept in.  I was getting concerned about him getting to work on time.  It was 6:20 and he hadn't stirred, when he said he had taken the day off.  Excellent!!  We started the day with these amazing Raspberry Muffins.

You are right Natalie, many times I have thought about going back to peach just to see, but can't do it.  He then took the kids to school.  He fixed the breaks on his car, cleaned the garage, got our budget up to date, walked to the post office to see me quick, and made some calls about our well.  He seemed so relaxed and happier then I have seen him in a while.  It was a much needed break and everything he did was on his own time.  We watched a movie with the kids and were in bed early.  It was a great day.  Now back to the grindstone.

Fixing Holes and Ramblings

If you are on facebook then this post will be a repeat and you don't need to read it.  Yesterday I had some time off and the kids were out of school.  We had a great day just hanging out together.  Oh... back up.  Monday Blake wanted to go to the farm with Dave.  He had a soccer game that night and the girls also wanted to go.  We decided to have Dave head out early and then we would come in the afternoon.  The girls and I went up to the high school so Cora could practice for divisionals.  We did the long jump and the 100m dash.  I ran it in 18:32 seconds.  Very embarrassing.  I need to shave about 7 second off of that.  I was so stiff and sore Tuesday morning, I could barely move.  We then did a little cleaning and headed to the farm.  After a few hours we took Blake to his game and Dave stayed to finish a bit more.  Tuesday I sewed a dress for Leah's doll and fixed a few pair of pants for Blake.  As I said I am pretty sure that the person who decided that ripped jeans was in style had a son and was tired of fighting the inevitable.  I think Blake could get a new hole every day.

Leah made cookies.  She is doing a book report on 'That is How the Cookie Crumbles' and wanted to give them out at the end. We then headed to Cardston for dental appointment.  The girls both got their implements checked.  All is going well.  I had a filling that had broken off and I got that hole fixed also.  While I was getting my work done, the kids took bat and balls to the field across the street and played.  We tried to see my Grandpa but he was sleeping and I didn't want to wake him.  Next we headed to Natalie's and caught the end of Colton's baseball.  Then on home.  It was beautiful weather again.  We do need some rain.  A good soak would be nice.

I have read an interesting article on facebook about behaviour problems in kids.  Nobody else might think this is interesting but I want to have it for future reference so am going to summarize it here. I have been researching solutions for what to do with Blake.  He just seems not nice lately, talking back to me and hitting his sisters.  I mostly think that this is because I have been gone lots and have seen a slight improvement this weekend.  I  have also found a few scriptures that we have been studying with him.  But anyways this article was very interesting to me.  It compared the parenting of French kids and US kids. They were basically saying that French kids are taught 'NO' from the time they are born. They are not given snack just before meals but taught to wait.  And are not allowed to fill up on candy and sugar.  They are taught to have structure and discipline.  Spanking when used correctly is not abuse but a punishment for bad behaviour. They are given guidelines and rules for protection.  Parents spend more time with them overall, instead of sticking them in camps all summer and other programs the rest of the year. Where the US kids are getting medicated for bad behaviour.  Can eat what they want and are not taught the meaning of NO. French kids have a .5% behaviour problem in schools and US is 9%.  While this is certainly a wide generalization and I am not sure how you can say an entire country is that way, I agree with the "French" approach. Kids need structure they don't want to be let to their own devises. Not yet.  Even if they think they do.  And as I have mentioned months ago this is coming from kids as I listen to them, running them back and forth.  Camps are good in moderation, like all things.  But our kids really just want us.  I don't have it all figured out.  I have many problems to solve with my own kids.  But I did like this philosophy.  I think it is OK to spank.  I try other things first, but a spanking works in this house.  In summer I get frustrated and the kids get bored but I try to have lots of things that they can do at home that is creative and fun.  I know that when my family is together in the summer I don't want to parent my kids.  I want to sit in the front room and talk with my sisters and mom or cook in the kitchen together.  I keep telling my kids to play outside, play outside, but with out that structure they are only good for a few days.  The older ones are great and have learned, but the younger ones still need some guidance.  That really was a ramble.  Any tips about parenting that I can read or follow from others is great.  I am thankful for the way I was raised and for some of the examples around me that I can follow. 

I found this little gem on my camera.

Late Mother's Day

Myrna was not able to come for our early Mother's day dinner and was going elsewhere for actual Mother's day, so we finally caught up with her yesterday for a late Mother's day dinner.  The kids all picked something that was their favorite to have for dinner to share this special day with grandma. We had Kita's Hassleback Potatoes, Pork Tenderloin, Lemon-lime Jello, Watermelon, Corn, and lemonade.  Last week we made these awesome Eskimo bars.  They were so good Dave wanted to have them again.  First we dipped them in caramel as the recipe suggested, but Dave thought they would be yummy with a layer of Mrs. Richardson in the middle instead.  That is what we tried yesterday and they are a defiant keeper in this house.  I love how the chocolate dip can sit on my counter for hours as I am waiting for the ice cream to set back up, but the instant it hits the cold ice cream it goes solid.

Cora made cute place cards for us.  I forgot to take picture of everything while it was on the table, all set nice.

After dinner we talked for a bit then watched 'The Hobbit'.  The kids had so been looking forward to seeing it.  Cora had read the book and was very anxious.  Not one of us liked it.  Total waste of my 3 hours.  It was one big gruesome, weird character fight scene.  And the ending sucked, unless they are making a part 2, which I have no interest in seeing.

I have a fabulous mother-in-law.  She is kind and caring.  She has taught me to make bread and chocolates. She is a great cook.  If you mention something in passing she remembers.   I try to not ask her to watch my kids to often but it always seems that she is the one we ask when we go away, which is extremely rare, but then she has to be with them for days and take care of them.  She also lived part time (sharing duty with my mom) at our house when I broke my leg.  I am sure that was not an easy time getting up in the middle of the night to bring me Blake to feed.  There are many wonderful things I love about her, but most of all I thank her for the wonderful son that she raised and the way that she raised him.  Thank you Myrna for all that you have done and that you are still doing.

Duct Tape Day

Foam Dough and More

My kids seriously LOVE this stuff.  It has been literally hours of entertainment so far.

Cora did awesome at track today.  Third in 100m, second in shot put, and fourth in long jump.  She was very disappointed in her long jump.  She said in practice she always came in first but didn't do well at all in the real thing. I was able to make it to watch the last bit then spent the rest of the afternoon with Cora and her friends.

Quick after school snack.  Dave and I are not big s'more people, but decided to try this for the kids.  Dave said it was quite good with the crackers softened a bit.  Graham crackers, nutella, marshmallows, broiled in oven.

Drilling for water.  Going to have a well:)

Just Blake and I

The girls both went to the farm with Dave this morning.  Blake and I had an awesome day together.  First I ran as we watched Bones and he drew pictures.  Then he got right in and helped me clean the house.  He is sure the bathroom looked like it was brand new.

We tried to mow the lawn, but our mower really only likes Dave.  It works fine as long as he is right there staring at it, that is all.  We then made a treat for dessert for tomorrow.

Next to Henderson for a picnic.  The cantaloupe was not quite ripe yet but I didn't care.  I was really wanting some.  Blake had loads of fun on the tank and cannons.

We then headed off to the horse races.  He did not get to go with me last time.  It was so hot we had to stay in the grandstand most of the time in the shade.  I love watching them run.  Such a powerful, beautiful animal.  In my heart of hearts I am a horse woman although in reality they make me nervous.  I know how strong they are.  If we were betting on them I would have gone home with some money, Blake would have come out even.

Last we made a quick stop at the store to get a wireless router.  Ours has died and we needed a new one.  

When we got back he went to a friends house for a bit to run through the sprinkler.  We then had pizza and made this fun 'moon sand' from Pinterest.  Man I love that site.  It is equal parts foam shaving cream and cornstarch.  So easy to clean up, so easy to make, and we had a lot of fun playing with you.  You can add food color if you want.  Mom I think this is a must do this summer.  I would suggest the non scented, my kitchen smells a little strong right now:)  We are going to settle down and watch a movie as we fold laundry.  It was a wonderful day with my boy.  So nice to spend one on one time with my kids when I get a chance.

Yesterday I had to make cupcakes for school.  I found these S'more ones on Pinerest.  They were so fun and the kids said they were very yummy.  Leah's only comment was that Amber had made them last time she was out there.  Apparently they were old hat to her since she had already had them:)   I guess they were a hit at the school.

My Leah

As previously blogged Leah has a retainer.  She often does not put it back in after eating.  Or she plays with it in her mouth.  A very annoying habit I might add.  The clicking or the rotating round and round.  Anyways it is left on the bathroom counter quite a bit.  The other day Dave called to her and said, "Leah, our bathroom counter is going to have the straightest teeth in the world."

This morning I was trying to make her lunch.  She was taking a very long time in the shower, so I yelled into her.
Me: Leah I am making a taco for your lunch.  Do you want sour cream and salsa?
Leah: No
M: And no cheese?
L: What?
M: You don't want cheese?
L: No I don't want kiwi.
M: Leah, Cheese?
L: No I don't want peas either.
M: Do you want cheese on your taco?
L: Just lettuce, tomato, mustard and ham.
M:What??
L: What is for lunch?
M: Leah are you almost done? Can you turn off the shower?
Seriously she makes us laugh every day.  I love her wit.  Even when she doesn't mean it.

Early Mother's Day

Yesterday I invited my family for an early Mother's Day dinner.  Since it was also Cinco De Mayo I decided to serve tacos's.  We also had fruit salad and cookies.  It was a beautiful day.  Some of the kids ate outside. It was very simple and nice.  We got to see Benjamin again.  He looks so good.  Cora and Leah had really wanted to see him but they were both coughing so stayed away.  Levi, Colton, and Blake had a great time playing together.  Everything they got out they put away then they went on to something new.  Except for tables we put away after my house was clean when everyone left.
I have a fabulous mom and am very proud to be her daughter.  I am thankful for the values and lessons that my parents taught me and I am trying to teach my family the same way.  I enjoy being with my family and think that is a great compliment to the way that we were raised.  Thank you mom for being mine.

Music Through the Decades

Our school's spring concert theme this year was music through the decades.  It was fun to hear all the different songs.  Great ones were chosen.  Leah had 60/70's.  Blake had 80/90's.  It was such a beautiful day that we walked to the school so we didn't have to worry about parking.  The kids did a fabulous job and had some great moves.