The Polar Express

A magical event for the family.  We enjoyed cookies and cocoa.  We traveled to the North Pole and picked up Santa.
Conner was absolutely smitten with the elves, Buttercup and Peppermint.  When asked what he wanted for Christmas, he said, "the elves' phone number!".
We told him that wasn't appropriate, so the little schemer got hugs instead.

And how was your day?

Hay Day!

We had a photo shoot!

Windrush Alpaca Farm

What to do on a Saturday after soccer had ended?  Windrush Alpaca Farm in Clovis!  We spent part of our day there and were delighted.
Rosemary Metcalf gave us a wonderful tour.  We started with the rules, no running, no flapping hands and let the alpacas approach you!  We went into the main pen with the mamas and the llamas.  The alpacas are friendly, but cautious creatures.  They sported gorgeous fleeces and colors.  Rosemary held one of the younger brown alpacas for the children to touch.  He remained calm until Conner started towards his head.  Even his "naughty" behavior was mild and when released, Conner commented that he "jumped like a reindeer."
We then went to the "boy pens".  We all hand fed the alpacas and one was brought out to show us proper foot trimming, something alpacas require every two months.  We explored their lovely and unique coats and saw how thick it was.
The whole time we walked around, the friendliest cat in the world was cosseted and held by my children.  The cat, a tom, never once hissed, or even struggled with the kids.  The boys also doubled back to a hay barn and discovered more cats that needed their attention.
We went to the farm shop where we were able to see a blanket, socks, hats and other items made from alpaca hair.  We were educated and delighted all at once.

And how was your day?

The power of Words

Words have power.  From, "I do" to "help" to "I love you", words contain the power to change our world.  My kids are learning all about words.  They have learned one of the best things is when they spontaneously say nice things to each other.  I love to watch the recipient's face glow, and that small smile power their face.
On the other hand, my children have learned that mean words are not tolerated.  That it is far better to not say anything at all.  That slanderous words will get them a sit down.
Unfortunately too many adults haven't  learned this lesson.  While having an opinion is well and good, publicly calling someone out without speaking directly to them first is very immature and uncalled for.  If someone has done something to upset me, by all means I will speak with that person directly. 
My children are learning to speak up, at the moment of an "incident".  "You took my toy and I want it back."  "Don't call me that, it hurts my feelings." "I need my backpack, get off of it."
Maybe all of us adults can learn this simple lesson.  Tell someone, in person, and politely that something is a problem.  If you are rebuked, well, as I tell my kids, you can't control other people, you told them what was on your mind, and the better person will walk away.  Do we really need to make a public note with the person's name?  Sounds like libel to me.
Sigh, kids may be cruel to each other at times, but it is not really calculated in the way it is for adults.  We all need a better filter between thought and deed. 
There is the first stone, I am not qualified to throw it.
I don't think any of us are.


And how was your day?

The Eyes have it

On Thursday, Oct 28, 2010 Conner brought home a sticky squishy eyeball from his Halloween party. He promptly threw it to stick onto the living room ceiling. After James spent an hour shooting suction cup arrows at it, we decided to leave it. November 2, a second eyeball was discovered on the ceiling near the first.
As of November 11, they are both still there. We are officially starting a pool. Leave your guess in the comment box. Winner will receive a batch of pumpkin cookies.

My vote is January 28, 2011.

And how was your day?

Just what is Halloween?

It is no secret.  I have always loved Halloween.  I love to be scared, I love to do the scaring, I love the candy.  Say it with me, "FREE CANDY"!!  I love to play dress up.  I wish there were more dress up holidays!  I love Halloween.
Yet, it really wasn't until I moved to New Mexico that Halloween was presented with a negative image.  Where my biggest fear used to be healthy treats or bag snatchers, here I was told to watch out for my soul!!
So, when things puzzle me, I research.  Never having been content with a simple answer, and never having been content to follow the norm, I probed.  I found some very interesting stuff.  I would note it all in a nice bibliography complete with foot notes, but I do my reading in and around kid stuff.  That, and I was once told by an English teacher to stamp out all footnotes before they could breed.
Here is what I discovered.  Yes, Halloween is traditionally around the same time as Samhain, a wiccan holiday. Now, here is why. 
Halloween, or All Hallows Even, is a Catholic holiday.  Did you see that coming?  It is before All Saint's Day (all good Catholics must go to mass on Nov 1).  That evening or eve, good Catholics (yes, those early Christians) would light candles and go door to door offering to pray for the dead and those in purgatory.  Those doing the praying would get a "treat", something called a soul cake. I am betting it wasn't chocolate based.
Also, many people would dress up, or act as "mummers" and act out the lives or their favorite saints.  Remember, this was before baseball trading cards and comic books. 
Now, why near the pagan holiday....bear with me.
Early Catholic missionaries ran into problems with the early Celts and Brits.  Even the Norse.  Stubborn, stubborn hide bound people.  So the early monks did a bit of, hmmm, blending.  They wanted people to feel comfortable in this new fangeled religion (tell me again, the guy died for me?) where there was only one God!!  Whoooaaaaa!  So, some early pagan traditions were included in early Christianity.  Fish on Fridays?  Freya the Norse goddess had her holy day on Friday and her symbol was...the fish.  St. Brigid?  She was the Celtic goddess of healing and letters.  It is a fascinating thing to read up one (yes, I am a self confessed nerd).
So, Halloween, All Hallow's Even, was set at Samhain, to give the pagans a sense of continuation.  I bet it also drew in all of those wild young folk who were just jumping at the chance to join those crazy Christians!
Also, the calender that was used then, not so good.  Most people couldn't count past ten, less if they were missing fingers.  Keeping track of anything beyond a lunar calender was rare.  The priest were often not even literate.  The had memorized the Bible.
Let us also consider the time of year.  Harvest is just now over.  People have been working seriously hard hours to prepare for winter.  There was a mini Ice Age in progress, winter was cold, seriously so.  The earth would be tilting her face and the days would have shrunk.  Night had a long hold.  No electric lights.  No modern medicines.  It was likely that a sizable percentage of the community would die.  For reasons that the people really couldn't understand.
So, like any human, they took a fear, and celebrated it.  They brought fear out into the light.  The partied, they laughed, they snacked.
The more you laugh at your fears, the harder it is for those fears to seize you.  I say this as I still have a lingering fear of that stupid clown from "Poltergeist" to grab my ankles from under the bed.

So, in review.  Halloween can be what you make of it.  You can look at it's pagan roots and turn away from it.  Or you can admit that it also has Christian roots.  That it is also a silly Hallmark Holiday, complete with stale TV specials and early merchandising.
But in the end, please, oh pretty please remember: FREE CANDY!

Kids, Kows and More

Caitlyn recently attended a Fourth grade tradition on the High Plains.  She attended Kids, Kows and More, which is an educational agricultural program.  In Third grade they attended Farm Safety Day and that too, was a great experience.  This is the essay, as dictated to me, from Caitlyn, about her day.

What I learned at Kids, Kows and More
At Kids, Kows and More, we had lots of fun.  I’ve learned the six types of cows: Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Holstein, Jersey, Gurnsey and Milking Shorthorn.  The milking was so cool and I liked Grace, the cow. 
We learned that you should cook your hamburger at 160 degrees or 180 degrees.  We also learned how to properly wash our hands.  Step one: wet your hands with warm water.  Step two: apply soap.  Step three: sing the ABC’s two times or twenty seconds while scrubbing your hands, top to bottom, between fingers and finger nails.  Step four: rinse away germs.  Step five: dry your hands with a clean towel or a paper towel.
 In Ranching, she should have talked about more than her cowboy boots.
We all loved Food Safety, it taught us how to be food smart.  We think there should be something on horses.  We learned it is not right to stick a food thermometer in not properly cooked meat and then stick it in a nice clean piece of meat
We learned that cotton is a plant.  It was funny when the cotton man showed us very huge underpants.  You should have taught something about peanuts.  We are peanut country!
Next year the third graders will love it when they go in Fourth Grade, like we did.  There should be more animals, besides one cow.  The burgers we ate don’t count.  There should also be something on emergencies. 
We all loved South West Cheese.   I totally wish I had more cheese!
We learned that we should have three servings of milk a day.  We learned about how, if you put too much cheese in the box you will have a blown up cheese box.  We are proud that we are the number one best selling cheese factory in the world. 
Thanks to the emergency booklet you gave me, I know that we need: a radio, a flashlight, extra batteries, a dust mask, food your family would eat, a floatation device in case of floods, pens, books, coloring books, etc.  Also, to keep your pets with you.
For your pets, you need: a bunch of dog toys, food, special medicines, lidocaine,  bandages and water.  All of that was because of the book you gave me.  I read the book. 
We all loved the trip!  You guys did a good job on the food.  All of the kids in my class liked the food, even me! 
The way they rotated was very cool, how they put on the music and we rotated left.  All of the city kids learned lots about the country.  .
We learned so much I can’t say it all.  We got to try some grain and wheat. Learning about the ancestors of wheat was awesome. 
We had a break after the wheat and we took pictures by the statues.  The Dora Coyote’s Fourth Grade had lots of fun.  We like the popcorn at the end.
We learned a lot at Kids, Kows and More.

Twin bonds

I was talking on Facebook the other day about how my kids fuss and fight with each other in the mornings.
Later that afternoon, the twins' teacher replied to my post:

Ah Julie, you should have seen your boys gravitate to each other this afternoon when William wasn't feeling good. Jimmy was feeling of his head and looking in his eyes. It was very sweet!!!!

I love it when the twin bond sets in and they are so caring and gentle of each other.
It reminded me of when they were two and I would take them, one at a time, to an indoor pool.  Once, I had James and through the entire swim session, he kept saying, "Nunum" .  For the life of me, I couldn't figure it out.  We got home and James squirmed down from me, ran to William and yelled, "Nunum," and hugged him.  It was "William" in twinspeak.  James wanted him brother.  *happy sigh* 

Dressing Fancy and Parent Conference

William likes clothes.  He doesn't go for trends or flash.  He doesn't insist on bling and sometimes his sense of style is...unique.
We are fortunate enough to get some hand me down clothes from a friend of ours. Going through that bag of clothes is a lot like Christmas for all my boys, but mostly for William.  Irregardless of the weather or season or even occasion, if he finds something that really strikes his fancy, he wears it.
This morning he came down dressed in jeans (hand me down or HMD), and a sweatshirt (HMD).  I could also see the edge of a plaid button down shirt (HMD) peeking over his sweatshirt.  Since he wasn't in danger of either having heat stroke, or frostbite, I ignored the color combination and sent him off on the morning carpool with a kiss and a wave.
I did hear back from my morning mom, Tawna.  The following is a partial transcript:

William: Mrs. Tawna, do you see my tie, I am wearing a tie.
Tawna: That's great, very fancy.
William: When I am older I am always going to dress fancy.  I am going to work.
Conner: Are you going to work for ABC's?
William: No, I am going to work for money.

Tawna managed to get the kids to school without wrecking due to laughter. I had no idea he had a clip on tie (HMD) under the other layers.  He liked it, so he wore it, just like when he used to wear the belt and suspenders "just to be sure". Comfort is important, because he had it clipped below the top button (left open).

I might add that we wore a red and navy striped tie with an orange and mid blue plaid shirt, but, he was decent, clean and very fancy.

On another note, we have been seeing the dentist, one at a time.  Michelle, our hygienist is a gift of patience.  She engages the kids and has them all firming believing that the dentist is the coolest place to go and the "Me first!" rule should be used.  To avoid the "Me First" woes, I simply announced we would all go, in birth order.  That usually heads off all arguments except when James complains about the one measly minute separating him and William.
Our first appointment was on a day when the kids had off from school due to parent teacher conferences.  We went in the morning and Caitlyn got a clean bill of dental health and a new toothbrush.  We learned that Michelle's son was attending school at Dora.
Two days later I take William in.  Does he say "Hi", "Hello" or "Good Morning"?  Nope.  He sits in the chair and as soon as Michelle comes in he says, "So, how was parent conference?"
Michelle was only startled for a micro second before giving William a  run down of the conference.  I told her later he could have given her the lecture on the start and end times of the Civil War (1861-1865) and that while slavery was involved, you just can't decide to leave the nation if you are a state.
It could have been far worse, seeing as his Reading Rocks group is reading a book on Mountain Gorillas (which are big "like Dad").

And how was your day?

Autumn Apples

It is apple season again.  It sends my kids into a frenzy of picking at my parent's house.  They have two young trees that compete to over produce.  The kids have no limits on picking and bring me every apple they pick. 
We discovered that instead of sending the horses into colic by overfeeding them, we make apple betty.  If you click on the link, it takes you to a standard recipe for it.  I substitute the sugar and make half white, half brown.  I also double the batch.  Just a tip, when slicing up that many apples, put them in a bowl of water with some lemon juice to prevent browning while you cut and peel.
The kids enjoy this tasty treat and I don't mind making it.  It is so much easier and faster than a standard apple pie, and can be made in a large casserole dish.

Today marks the third batch I have made in the past month.  The first batch went to Caitlyn's class, where her school mates sang her praises and loved it.  We have to be careful in that class, as one girl has chocolate allergies.  Bummer, since chocolate is my bestie.

Speaking of friends, the kids are having quite the social year.  James and Conner (and sometimes Caitlyn) spend Friday mornings with their friends (Grant, Eli and Sawyer) and then we also have our Ms. Andrea come over, often with Emma and Caden.

Caitlyn certainly enjoys the girl time with Emma and Caden and the boys just roll along. On Mondays, after school, we have Allie and Alex stay for a bit.  My house is filled with squeals, laughter and running little feet.  We have moved well beyond the pitter patter, seeing as how all the boys take after their daddy!

The dogs think this arrangement is fabulous.  They also score extra time with Andrea and Caden on school mornings when we all meet to walk at the Walking Trails, other wise know as Prairie Dog Town.  Every school day, after ms. Tawna picks up the kiddos (God bless you) the dogs know it is walk time.  The whine and fuss, waiting for me to leash them up and go to the car.  We enjoy a one and a quarter mile brisk walk, with time out for "business", watching prairie dogs or the occasional detour from a sunbathing snake.
(Which, honestly Mom, doesn't happen that often, you should join us.)

So now, as the temperature slowly sinks more each week, I await the crisp autumn mornings.  I await the time where I will walk faster to stay warm, and get more exercise.
  So I can eat more apple betty.


So, how was your day?

A moment to reflect....

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."
— J.K. Rowling

Imagine a better world, and make it so!

Roosevelt County Fair!

I will take some photos but I am too excited to wait!
One of my sewing entries won BEST OF SHOW!!  I won a bunch of firsts and seconds.
Then, my ducks took Grand Champion and Reserve!
Caitlyn won best female chicken, Best of Youth Barn!!!  Wow! what fun!

absolutely couldn't resist

Resistance is futile

James and the Tonsillectomy

James finally had his day under the knife.  It was a long time in coming and the tonsils had so begun to bother him that he took to asking anyone and everyone to remove his tonsils.
Even our Farrier, Marvin, was asked, when he pulled out a hoof knife to trim the horses.  Most people thought James was nervous, and he was to some degree, but mostly he was excited.  He wanted those things out.  The bugged him, they hurt and they made him sick.
We arrived at Plains Regional Medical Center at seven in the morning.  This is after we dropped the siblings off at Matt and Delane's house.  They were thrilled to be spending the day with "the Lego Master" and "having special girl time".  For those of you that saw the girls out having fun along Road S, Caitlyn was the one in the blond wig,  Don't ask.
We arrived and waited only moments before our nurse, Misty, called us to the back.  Misty is the daughter of a friend of a friend.  While I don't really know her well, I barely recognized her.  She had lost weight and was working as a pre-op nurse.  She was fabulous.  She was calm and caring with James and made a very special note that allowed him to see his tonsils after they were done.  Many thanks to Misty.
The doc, Dr. Rowley, was great.  With a cheery grin he told James what to expect and with no dithering or hesitation that could induce a case of the nerves, we kissed our boy and in he went.
Fifteen minutes later, I kid you not, out comes Dr. Rowley.  He said, James did great.  The left tonsil was rotted.  Ewwwwwww.  He said James took the gas, they put in the IV and took our the tonsils.
In post op we had another round of incredible nurses.  Betty and Lorraine were our nurses and they quickly moved James from the gurney into my lap in a recliner.  Ice chips and water were brought in, flashlight to check the swelling.  James was encouraged and praised.  My boy never cried.  He walked out of the hospital with his daddy, and promptly asked for a smoothie.
Skip ahead to being home.  The narcotic obviously wore off.  Maybe I should have asked for a script!
James has reached the painful, I don't want to swallow phase.  He is cold, but then again, constant fevers have robbed him of his fat.  He requested a bat, my little man so like me.  The comfort of being in water still was over ridden by the pain in his throat.  He still had an hour to go before the next round of meds, at the earliest!  We did ice.  He cried and painfully swallowed.  He did Popsicle, and he begged, no more.  We did ice chips and he teared up.  Yet each time, despite the pain, he managed to swallow.  I know he is hydrated because he managed tears and the bathroom several times.
It pains me to see him this way.  He is my plucky guy, my practical joker, my easy going man.  I hate to see him like this.
And I hate that I have spent so little time with the rest of my kids.  Will comes up to check on his brother, worry creasing his brow, but the promise of unlimited Wii play sends him back down.  Conner comes up on constant food request.
And my dear Caitlyn balanced spending some time with James, fetching for him, and settling down for some iCarly, self sufficient and self content.
I need a nap, but I write this blog, instead.  James snores gently beside me, the pain momentarily blinded by his sleep.  Holly, naturally, is tucked next to him, her head protective across his shoulder.  I pray that tonight the pain subsides, that he can find a smile for his daddy and that we will sleep.

In between the two hour intervals where I have to force liquids down him.

And how was your day?

Horse Practice

Many thanks to the Kanmore's for the use of a trailer! We went out to practice at the Mounted Patrol Arena.

It is always fun to watch Conner try in vain to get Rocky to move and Caitlyn and Shiloh are doing great.....see for yourself!

Summer Trippin'

We have had some serious fun the past week.  First we went out to Black Water Draw to see the old dig sites for Clovis points.  Clovis points are  unique prehistoric flint spear points made by a culture of people now referred to as Clovis people.  The dig site has also yielded an amazing amount of mammoth and ancient bison bones.  The deep area that we walked down into used to me a fairly large lake, however by the mid seventies use of agricultural wells had lowered the water table to the point where the lake dried out.  I found that sad.
The kids enjoyed seeing the archeologist working on the dig and a giant grasshopper.
We also enjoyed the natural wonders of the Carlsbad Caverns.  While this gorgeous cave is beautifully lit, we discovered the joys of bringing our own flashlight.  We did discover that a LED flashlight with the whiter, cooler beam, is much better than my Walmart special.  It was still a wonderful time.  Recent rains had saturated the ground water and the cave was much drippier than last time.  We were able to track drips as they landed on various cave formations and into the cave pools. 

The Caverns are a wonder that we in New Mexico are lucky to have.  We hope to enjoy it again and again!

What do I do......

People often ask me what line of work am I in.......and sometimes, I really don't know what to say.  I could say a variety of things, for instance:

Wildlife documentary maker- I video and and photography my kids going through natural habitats and behavoirs

Waste Management coordinator- TAKE OUT THE TRASH--NOW!

Law Enforcement- empty your pockets.  You are in violation of the no snacks before dinner policy.


Nurtition- eat that and you will be sick.

Fashion Advisor- Honey, I am fairly sure that soccer socks with crocks and shorts was so last year.

Beautician- Don't panic, if I trim you bangs, no one will ever notice

Chauffer- first stop, cheer practice, then load up the horse and go to the arena, then....

Medic- no it won't burn, I will blow on it while I wash

Food preparation- ok, after we cut the pineapple, we put it and the strawberries....

Arbitrator- ok, if you give up the two army guys, you get the blue car...

Meteorology- Mom what is the weather going to be today?

Educator- go ahead, slam that door again and see what happens

Soil erosion expert- Mom, the barn flooded again

Wildlife management- Mom, how do you get twine off the rooster

Therapist- tell me what made you so sad

Pharmacology- ok, three hours ago you had motrin, so now it is tylenol...

I could go on and on, in the end, as with any mother

I am their everything, and that, that is the beauty of it all.

And how was your day?

Cup cake bites!

After my friend Sarah, turned me onto the many incredible websites devoted to cakes and sweets.....I tried a recipe.  This is from Bakerella, a fabulous and talent chef.  For the full instructions, click Here.  She has fabulous ideas and is very very generous with the instructions.
My only additions to this is the following:

You will need two days.  I did it all in one, and there is just not enough Martha in me to do it again.  So, bake the cake, crumble, ball and freeze.  Do that on day one.  Save the balls in the freezer.
The next day, do the dips. 

Have lots of dish towels available.  I am a messy baker and went through quite a few and nearly went after hand towels from the powder room's stash.

Wear comfortable shoes.  Yes, I know, that should go without saying, but man, my feet got tired.

This recipe is easy.  It has lots of steps, but don't be discouraged.  Mine don't look nearly as cute and perfect as hers, but A) they taste good and B) Hey first time out of the gate!

I highly recommend this recipe, and the Bakerella site.  There are so many ideas and she has a gentle and easy way of explaining things.

So yummy up!  Make some cup cake bites!  Now, go to Bakerella's site and see some really pretty ones!

The Tale of Little Dragon.

Once upon a time, there was a little dragon who was very thick and wide.  She would crouch in the rocks by the big blue house and sit and listen.  Sometimes the noises perplexed her and she was compelled to see what made such strange noises.  She would scuttle and scurry, but if the people from the blue house came out, she would lie low and pretend to be looking elsewhere.  She didn't want the people to see her, to know she was watching.
Days would go by and she would inch closer to peer near windows, and then scurry off at the first sign of activity.  Curiosity was too much.  There were so many interesting sounds.  Children laughing, phones ringing, games whirring and beeping.  She felt compelled to see these people.  Yet she knew she shouldn't.
Today she made it to the arbor door, and as I stumbled upon her, she gave me an "oh-you-don't-see-me-I-am-not-going-anything-wrong" look.
I flicked her with the hose and she scurries away.
But like a good little bug eater, this little dragon, both thick and wide, will scurry back, drawn to the noises of my home.

I love fabric!

I love fabric.  The colors, the designs, the textures......
Here is what I ordered for the coming holiday season: