Some more "work" pictures. You can really see how I am almost doubling the size of my house.

I told the construction crew that I would be more than happy to give them copies of some of these pictures so they could prove to their families that they are actually working :) .

They were hoping to get the roof trusses up but one of their suppliers brought the wrong size boards for something or other. It will be interesting to see how far they get by the time I get home. They work fast!

little backhoe
my back yard - the horses are really impressed
My soon to be beauteous house
From the back

Look at what happens in just one day and a half. I took these pictures just past noon on Friday Dec. 29th.

Off to the side - this will be my new entry door
backfilling to the foundation
very efficient little machine
very busy in the inside
looking out at what will be a bedroom

So what did everyone else wake up to the day after Christmas? Forms were done on Friday and the concrete was pumped in on Tuesday morning. I now have a new additional foundation. Oh and that black mass hanging on to the back end of my house is the water heater.

I get tired just looking at it. It was cold and miserably wet day on Tuesday too. I feel for my contractor and his guys, but, boy, am I glad they are out there doing it!

Snowball Fight - Saturday December 23rd 6pm!

Nathan's first Christmas! He knew what to do with those tools and his new "car" pillow as well.




New toy excitement done. Time to settle in for a nap! Spike helps out by being a pillow/heating pad.

Christmas was a blast. We did it right this year and went to mom's Christmas Eve (after taking care of all the animals) for dinner and presents. I kept all the kids' presents at home so I did not have to pack them in the car twice. We beat the odds and had a white christmas. Managed that by beating the snow by about 25 minutes Saturday night. We got 3-4 inches in the next couple of hours. It warmed up Sunday and Monday but the snow stayed and we got a little bit more Sunday night as I was driving home at 11pm.

Kids had a blast in the snow. Nathan's first real snow fall - ever! He learned right quick how to make them snowballs and throw!

Pictures taken the morning of wednesday Dec. 20th on my way out the door to work. Bulldozer moved in last night. The dogs are taking credit for the large hole.

I think they needed to get the bulldozer because they cannot move my "back porch" which is a huge concrete slab over two feet thick.




The kids want to keep the hole so they can have a big ol' foxhole in the winter and a swimming pool in the summer. Just not going to happen.

The wonders of remodeling big time. I got home last night to no water - zip, zilch, nada. Thought the pipes had frozen due to our very cold temps and the fact that they had opened up the back end of the house. So I put a heater in the well house and covered up the openings to under the house. Being the good farm girl that I am I took a horse bucket, broke the ice on Chance's stock tank and brought some water in to water the dogs and flush the toilet. Thought I would give it the night to see if the lights thawed out the hoses in the well house.

Woke up this morning to no such luck. Okay -fed, watered, brushed my teeth using the tiny bit of bottled water left (yep stayed on a boat too so that experience came in handy when it comes to conserving water) and got everyone ready for work and school. Left a note for my very nice contractor about the no water issue.

Got a call about 1 pm. Contractor had found the problem. A breaker had flipped but ever such a tiny bit and yes, I had checked in the pitch dark the night before. He said he had a problem seeing it in the light of day so not to feel bad. Got home tonight to water. Also got home to missing a gate latch. I discovered that and the huge chasm right outside my back gate when I let the dogs out. A little too quiet I thought so I went looking for them. Sure enough they were running around doing the poodle equivalent of born free through the paddock and the barn. Thank god the chickens were already up for the night or there might have been some carnage.

But now I have mounds of dirt, half a huge hole and a big ol' bulldozer hanging out in my driveway. Now how nice is your contractor when he calls you and asks if you want him to spread your very very nice topsoil on your yard instead of trying to dump it?!

I will try for some more "in process" pictures tomorrow.

Nice thing is that kids and dogs just don't notice any inconveniences which makes it easier for mama to ignore them as well.

Oh and I am adding two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a regular utlity room to my house. They are tearing down the add ons that were put in place sometime in the last 70 years that were not quite up to par and adding what I need.

Right now my house is 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Just not enough bathrooms when one little guy likes to "go poop" for about 30 minutes. We all know that means playing with his toys and stripping naked while sitting on the toilet. But a boy going poop just needs his space and everyone else needs another bathroom.

I got home from work Friday night to some demolition in progress. I am so glad they have finally begun. We (the contractors and I both) all want this part done so the real building can begin. They figure once the framing starts it will be quick. Unfortunately the exterior paint will not be done until the spring. It has to be over 50 degrees for over 5 hours for it to dry properly.

So how scary is it to have your house torn down in the middle of winter? Not too bad I must say. I think I was more nervous waiting for them to begin.

This final picture is me standing in what used to be my totally enclosed mud room. I can tell you I have some definitely pissed off cats that are wondering where their sleeping room has gone.

So it begins ... I have been trying to figure out what to do with my too small house (Which I love) in relation to a growing family. My house was built in 1937. The prior homeowners seemed to have done quite a bit themselves - not always to the benefit of the house. After talking to several contractors who said it would be too hard and expensive to add on to my house I had decided to buy a manufactured and put it out on my property in back. I did not like that idea because there are no trees back there for shade and I would basically be starting from scratch in the landscape/yard department.

But in one last impulse phone call I found the contractors that not only felt the job was doable but that they could get going asap and by asap I mean within two months of talking to them. They came up with the new floorplan even. So far after getting all the subcontractors out there and getting all the details worked out (permit was a little more difficult since my septic system was not on file with the county etc) they are only starting a couple weeks late. And I must say that they were put behind a week due to rain here.

Little old farmhouse - it just doesn't know what is about to happen to it. Notice the bush taking over the back end of the house.

You can see the "gang" problem we have going on here in Idaho. I caught a picture of the ruffians as they were making plans. Not sure what the plans were but I am sure they some how involved being cool.

Stupid Girls!!

Isn't it wonderful when your nephew is around to help teach your young son new words and phrases. Last weekend Dakota enjoyed teaching Nathan a new phrase - see above. Nathan is now able to use and intone that phrase with exactly the right amount of disdain that a little 3 yo can muster. What is really nice is when you are out at your daughter's ballet recital and your sweet dear little boy is having an immensely good time playing on the seats that go up and down. Then you notice that he is busy putting up the seat and then down while intoning "stupid thing". Isn't it fascinating how a young'un can learn certain words and use them in appropriate or is that (inappropriate) manner so quickly.

On the plus side he surprised me this week by all of a sudden saying "you're welcome" as needed and politely. He must have learned that at daycare :). So when they say you need to watch what you say around little kids they are right, but you must also watch your daughter, niece, and nephew like a hawk as well. I do believe I caught Sarita attempting to teach Nathan that the dining room table was actually a tree.

Oh and the new phrase that I have heard come from Nathan several times this week:
"What the hec?!"

Now where the hec would he pick that up from?

The big day was Friday for Nathaniel's ear tubes. Sarita spent the night at a friend's house since we were leaving at 5:30 am in order to be at the doctor's by 6:45am. I got up at 4am to make sure the horses and dogs were set. I did not really wake Nathan up. I cheated and semi-dressed him while he was sleeping. I was so hoping he would sleep all the way in but that was not to be. He was awake and ready to go at 5:30 am.

Thank god that the doctor's office was very well prepared to deal with kids. Plenty of toys to keep him busy and, of course, lots of chairs to climb up and on and over. There was one other little girl there that looked to be about 18months to 2 years that was getting ear tubes. They take them in by age so she was first and then Nathan's turn. They took us into what was the equivalent of a emergency room setup. Central nurses station with lots of little rooms that were curtained off from each other. Nathan was up and down the halls keeping mom plenty busy looking for him while we waited our turn. His greatest excitement was at discovering he could close the curtain to our "room" and it was like being in a tent. He kept closing it then climbing underneath to stand on the other side. He would then yell "mama", laugh uproariously, and swing open the curtain. Thankfully the nursing staff was more amused than ticked off.

They then scooped him up (they had forewarned me of their method) and hurried him into the surgical room. 7-10 minutes later he was back snoring away. Dr. Rustad is very good at inserting these tubes in. He is also good with the kids (and the parents). They want the kids to wake up as naturally as possibly but 12 minutes later the nurse was telling me to go ahead and start waking him up. He was up early after all and needed his sleep. He woke up without any crying, had a big drink from his sippy cup and was apparently ready to go. Now this was my favorite part. Being all of 3 and the boss of everyone he wanted to hold on to his sippy cup, his Nemo backpack (on wheels) and his anasthesia mask (they let the kids keep them). He started walking down the hallway to the exit - very drunken soldier like - but as he swayed back and forth he would NOT let mama take his stuff. There were about 4 nurses and the doctors checking out his progress trying real hard not to laugh. When he turned the corner and decided he needed to climb a stepstool on his way out , Mama had to step in, scoop the drunken soldier up and carry him on out. He was ok with that as long as he still got to hold on to all his stuff.

Unlike many stories - once awake he stayed awake. Actually once he got breakfast in him he was wide awake and raring to go. And go he did - ALL DAY. He did not take a nap and would not go to bed until 9pm that night. Then he absolutely passed out and slept over 12 hours. Mom got her 7 hours in so I was a bit better off today. Sarita had her clogging performance today so it was another day off up and out.

So far I have not noticed any differences. He does not like the ear drops but he only has to have them for 3 days total so that is good. The doctor said he had a LOT of fluid built up behind his ears and especially the right one. He thought he would mainly feel weird for a couple of days due to the pressure differences but not that I have seen. We go back in 3 weeks to see if his hearing is any better and check on the tubes.

The "toddler" work out:

1. pick up toddler (25 lbs dead lift) every time he says "up"; carry around as necessary

2. run after very mobile toddler who is running carefree through grocery store - ducking and jumping people/obstacles does burn more calories

3. dressing toddler who likes to jump on bed laughing while mommy does deep lunges to grab him and put on items of apparel

4. Bending and stretching to find toddler shoes which I swear were just in the shoe basket yet somehow ended up under the couch, kitchen table, bookshelf, etc

5. giving toddler and sometimes 10yo rides in wheelbarrow while feeding horses

6. increase finger dexterity by playing wiggly worm with laughing squirming toddler (increased aerobic activity via laughing oneself silly)

7. dancing with kids - which means toddler is in arms and likes to be both bounced up high and dipped to the beat. Fortunately bigger kids just like going around the room very very fast.

8. best muscle builder - being buried under 4 kids and working your way to the top of the pile via the tickle monster

Please seek a doctor's confirmation of health before starting this program.

Ok a new question of the week - should insomniacs be parents? or parents of babies and/or toddlers? I know what you are thinking. It should be a perfect match. After all you are up or waking up most the night anyway so you can get up when the kids need you. Yet, maybe, there could be a down side to this match. After all, what if you are a recovering insomniac?

The story: I used to be one of those people who as soon as their head touched the pillow was out for a good 7-8 hours. No bothers. Then I turned into one of those people who was out like a light as soon as her head touched the pillow then woke up 2 hours later, then 1.5 hours later, then 2 hours and well, you get it. Now I must say that this was a natural progression for someone who hates alarm clocks so much that if I set one I will always wake up before it goes off. Then you have an older dog who needs to get up a couple of times a night to go potty. Ok. Then you start foaling out your horses so you get up and go ouside to check on your mares every 2-3 hours. Then you have an orphan foal that you need to feed every 3 hours and so you get up and do that. All of this is done without the aid of an alarm clock. So, of course, your body thinks this is the way you sleep now.

Fast forward a couple years later. Your body is finally adjusting to actually being able to sleep through the night. Then what do you do. Yep, adopt a toddler. One who when he first gets home wakes up for a couple of hours of play time between 3-5 am. He gets over that. Then he has a cough and wakes himself up a couple of times - well, not really awake but now you are. Then one night months later he wakes himself up at 2 am and decides to play until 5 am. Aaaggghhhh!! He gets over that and sleeps soundly through the night the next couple of nights.

But you... well, you go right to sleep. And wake up at 2am - wide awake!

Crap.

Ahh, yes, bathtime. The favorite time of day for little boys. So on both Saturday and Sunday Nathan decided he wanted a bath. After being in there for one and one half hours I thought he was probably pruney enough. So my conversation with a 3yo went sort of like this:

Me: Nathan, time to get out of the bath

N: No

Me: All done

N: No

Me: Don't you want to get out and get all warm and dry?

N: No

Me: Nathan, ALL DONE!

No: NO! (accompanied by putting himself full length in the tub)

So I do what any self-respecting parent would do. I pull the plug. To show that I am not the boss Nathan stays in there until all the water is gone then stands up and announces:

Mama, All done!

Oh, yes, and once again this morning Lulu was out with the herd. Difference this time - Teddy stayed in. I still have not figured out what they are crawling over or through to get all the way out there. At least this time Booger and others were not really chasing her around. She did want back in however. Too bad horses are smart enough to get themselves into trouble but just cannot seem to figure out how to get out of it even if it just involves retracing their steps.

Naked Nathan! Sarita is sure that will be Nathan's name until the end of times. He loves no clothes. I was sure since he comes from the warmer regions of China that he would want to be all bundled up once we got colder. No way! My favorite part about it is that he got used to taking his clothes off to go to the bathroom so now he will pretend he has to go, take off all his clothes while sitting there, and then voila all done. He also will tell mama that his clothes are wet or he spilled and even though you cannot find a speck of wetness on them they must come off.

I will miss this when he gets older. Best memory so far - Nathan got new shoes that had "Cars" from the movie on them. He had all his clothes off this last Sunday but insisted on putting his shoes and socks on. He went around the house for the rest of the afternoon so dressed. On the plus side he is perfectly potty trained when naked. Not so much when he has a pull up on.

But then I do seem to remember a certain nephew who preferred the naked look himself. In fact I believe this lasted well until he was about 8 years old.

Milestone: Nathan washed his own hair last night. He has hated having his hair washed since he came home.

I am the best mom ever - yes indeedy. So Nathaniel picked his own breakfast this morning. So he is 3. So he picked cheetos. Yes, that was cheetos not cheerios. He arrived at daycare with orange fingers, orange smudges, but thankfully, not orange hair. He did have milk too which apparently in the "single mom I am in a hurry get in the car with all your stuff now" type of day suffices for a healthy meal. Thank god Sarita eats breakfast at school. I keep my fingers crossed that they serve some healthy foods there.

Some pictures of the Halloween crew. Grandma leading the parade of ghouls, ghosts, and assorted other creatures in the middle there.


So here are the cutie patooties in full Halloween regalia. Sarita, Dallas, Grandma, Nathaniel, Dakota, and Austin.

Halloween has come and gone. Seemed to do both much too fast. The kids had a blast in Grandma's neighborhood again. The suburbs have gotten even bigger so the boys (Dakota and his friend Austin) ended up filling pillowcases halfway up -now these are not small pillowcases. So they should be wired for the next month.

Nathaniel was not too into the holiday at all. He was afraid of the decorations and masks in the stores. Hated being dressed in a costume - part of his 'I want to be naked at all times and if not no zippers are allowed around my body' take on life! However, we got to grandma's by 7pm. It was very dark and cold. Sarita and Dallas decided to go with me and Nathaniel. First we zipped him in. A few hysterics which quieted when Dakota picked him up and showed him his head (horse) in the mirror and then his tail. He liked it better then. We went out and Dakota kept taking his very scary werewolf mask on and off to show Nathan that it was only a mask. I kept calling him a Dakota doggy and scratching behind his ears. We even got a laugh out of Nathan.

I figured we would make it 2-3 houses before Nathan had enough. I forgot that Halloween and Kids go together. By house number 3 Nathan had it all figured out. Go up to house with girls. People open door. Say trick or treat. People give lots of candy and say "oh how cute" and "my what a sweet little thing" and give more candy then on to next house. Girls figured out that having cute little 3yo boy in horse outfit equals more candy. People who opened their doors all dressed up gave the most candy because Nathan would just stare at them like "what do you think you are" and they would get worried that he was scared by their costumes and for the most part would get down at his level saying "it's ok - it's just a costume" while giving more candy.

We probably only went to about 1/4 of the neighborhood. Nathaniel had to drag his bucket at the last two doors. And mommy was carrying him in between houses so I burned off my two mini candy bars.

I think Nathaniel is fine with Halloween. Everyone had a great time. Everyone passed out as soon as we got home so I got to shower and watch a CSI Miami rerun in the dark and quiet. Now my work place is inheriting a lot of candy cuz there is no way I am letting my kids eat all that!

Smart little filly, Lulu, in the foreground with N. Hormonal grand-dam in the background by the name of Satin.

And, yes, among the many other things being done - better fencing is being installed by myself and the kids. That right there should let you see why it will take awhile.

So I am not really sure how many people's days start and end like mine. I went out this morning to feed the horses and found a spoiled old mare, Satin, and Teddy, the shetland pony snoozing by my truck. Now the problem with this is that my truck is NOT parked in a paddock or the pasture or anywhere remotely where horses should be snoozing. I wake them up and put them both back in their proper places. Teddy had the good sense to appear guilty while Satin pretended it was all my fault. Fed everyone their breakfast then went back inside to deal with the two legged kids.

Then I get home in the evening and see Lulu, 5 month old filly, out by my truck. I get out of the van and notice that there is this big blackish horse in Chance's (my stallion) pen and a smallish quite good looking one running around with Sammy, arab gelding, and Teddy. Apparently at some point during the day Satin moved in with Chance (took down his gate and fencing - yes, it is old and needs to be replaced and not by hormonal old mares) and Chance decided he did not like the new living arrangements. He took off and moved in with the other 3. Lulu decided she did not like all the blustering and foolishness of the boys trying to one up each other so she took off. Smart for such a young girl isn't she?!

Anyway I got to rearrange everyone and fix fencing. This all had to be done in 45 minutes plus feeding so that I could get Miss S. back to her dance class that night. Nothing like a little pressure to get motivated. I have to admit it is nice owning a stallion that really is all show and blow and just does not want the girls to be a live-in arrangement. He likes them better on their side of the fence.

Flashbacks - well not really. Sometimes I wish I could. I was playing with N. (3yo) and he was giggling and squirming all over. Wanted to jump on the bed and then on mommy. At one point I am tickling his little belly and he is calling mommy "evil" in his little laughing voice (cannot imagine who taught him that word) and I flash on the fact that I missed this with S. I could just see her as a 3yo giggling and playing. She would have been a handful but ,oh, so much fun.

It was an interesting flash - a picture and a feeling but not really regret. Just that it would have been a blast to have been around S as a toddler. I sometimes envy those people that had her in their family at her earlier ages and alternately I am mad at them for not seeing her true beauty and making her go through so much before we found each other. But then, I would not be her mommy now if not for them so in my very grown up way tthhhhppphh! to them. I got the ultimate treasure and I get her for life!

Driving home from my mom's house (about a 45 minute drive) I have the following short conversation with my 10 yo daughter:

S : "mom?"

Me: "Yes"

S: "So when I get older will I be able to find my mom? Will they keep track of her?"

Me: "Well, honey, I don't know that they keep track of your mom but I am sure that you will be able to get her address when you are older so you can contact her."

S: "Oh, that's what I meant. Thanks mom!"

Then she goes back to watching a dvd. Yes, my Honda van is equipped for road trips.

Now I believe that I belong to a small and special group of people who can actually follow and understand that conversation. Interestingly enough I have never had a problem with being one of two moms. I hopefully understand the connection that S has with her bio mom and I hope she is not disappointed later in life when they do find each other again. I believe that S is definitely going to leave her mark on the world and I am sure that all of her family will be proud to be a part of her life.

So a litte background goes a long way. I am a single mom in her early 40's. I adopted my daughter (now age 10) at age 7 from Washington State. I adopted my son (age 3) from Guilin, China in April of 2006. Now I am on the road to yet another daughter in China. She will be Number 1 daughter's same age so this could be fun or a mine field. I will mention my nieces and nephews quite often since they are a large part of why I began my journey as a single parent to begin with.

I am just documenting my experiences not only as a single parent but as a single parent in Idaho. Hopefully my kids will forgive me when they are older.