Busy in the kitchen!

The last few days we have made lots of different kinds of candy and baked goodies. Sunday I baked cookies for work and froze some to have for Santa, made a snack mix, and a huge batch of German Chocolate fudge. Last night, we made bagel dogs for supper, then I made some peanut brittle, Oreo balls, Puppy Chow, chocolate covered pretzels, and peanut clusters. We made a sampler of each goody and placed in a tin as Christmas gifts for the teachers and babysitters. Tonight, we are making Snowman popcorn balls and punch for Andrew's Christmas party on Thursday.

Today, I am home with Colby. He woke up running a fever in the middle of the night, but just seems to be stuffy now. His Christmas party at school is today, so I am glad he has not run a fever since. Every 5 minutes, he is asking me to look at the clock to see if it is time for school yet!

Would anyone like a little blonde boy???

Okay, two posts in one day is a little much for me, but I couldn't not post this. Colby is being a terror this morning. First, he keeps trying to change his clothes. He comes into the living room with different jeans on, I tell him to go put his original clothes on. Next he comes out with only his underwear and a new (good) shirt on, I again tell him to go put his original clothes on. Then, I hear water running in the bathroom, and he is notorious for making a mess in the bathroom. I walk in to find him on his footstool with only his underwear on, and they are around his ankles, pulling the stopper out of the sink, with a pitcher, toy water bottle, my container of cotton balls, and water all over the counter. It looks like he has left over Orange juice that is watered down, so I ask, "What is this, and where did you get it?" b/c I know we do not have any OJ made in the house. He matter-of-factly says "It's pee". Apparently, he peed in the pitcher, then poured it into my cotton ball container, and spilt it all over the counter. At this point, I would be tempted to add Colby in as a package deal for the puppy buyer we have coming today!

Girls Night Out!

I hosted GNO last night. We did a cookie exchange, an ornament exchange, and raced to make reindeer antlers out of balloons and panty hose. The first team to complete the antlers and proudly display them wins, and Yes, my team won, but No, I had not been practicing. We also had some good food, (I finally had a successful Brie en Croute) some drinks, and played a few other games. All in all, it was a very fun evening, and I was in by shortly after 11! I had to transplant a couple of boys though to sleep in my own bed.

We have the Colony Christmas parade tonight, the theme is Christmas in Crest Land. That is a tough theme to creat a float around! After that, we also have my work Christmas party, then tomorrow is the Christmas homes tour in Garnett. I think Christmas season has officially begun!

Can you believe it??

It only cost $22.71 to fill my car up with gas today!!! I can easily remember when it was over $50. Short stop had gas for $1.45 today!! On another note, we had a family come from Iola tonight and pick out a puppy. They brought their teenage son to pick it out, but hadn't told him where they were going, he was pretty excited. We also have a lady coming tomorrow to get a puppy, and at least two more people coming this weekend to look! If anyone was interested in a puppy, you better let us know soon!!! LOL!

How sad :-(

Well, I had full intentions of posting a video of Andrew belting out his Christmas song at his program last night, instead, I stayed home with a feverish boy with an upset stomach. Andrew always picks the busy days to get sick, last time he was sick was on Halloween! He hasn't acted like it bothered him to miss the program though, but I don't know that he fully understands either. I am sure it bothers me much more than it ever will bother Andrew. Now I just hope that it doesn't hit Colby, because we have a very full weekend ahead.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

The Kipper side is getting together this evening for a light dinner, then lunch tomorrow will be at Linda's. am lucky to have so much family so close, because I think we will also be able to make it to Grandpa Michael's to at least say HI! We are lucky this year to get to see most of the family at some point for the Thanksgiving holiday, but to those we will not see, have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Program

Andrew has his first school program coming up and I am so excited! His Christmas program is December 2nd at 7 pm. We have his outfit picked out, and if I don't say so myself, I think he is going to look rather dapper. He has been singing quite a bit lately and can carry a tune fairly well. He must have got that from his father!

I am hosting "Girls Night Out" December 5th, so I have begun the pre-party cleaning and decorating. I cleaned the sunroom today, then the boys helped me put the tree up. I know, it's a little early, but anything I can get out of the way now will help. I purchased a new pre-lit tree this year and wow, it went up fast. It is a slim tree which also helped.

I think I am done Christmas shopping!! I need to write everything down and double check, but all of my big purchases are done. That is a huge weight off my back. I always end up stressing out about one person, but everything came together very easily this year.

Puppy update

Here are some updated photos of the puppies. They are now 1 month old, and eating puppy food twice daily. Since they began escaping from their box on the laundry room, and the weather has been fairly warm, we moved the puppies to the shop for the night. They have a nice size box full of newspaper and straw to keep them warm. There is also a fire burning in the stove. All in all they should be quite happy in their new digs! It also gives Mattie more room to roam, which I know she will like.

Weekend in Branson

Saturday morning my alarm went off at 4:30 and Colby was already awake with his bedroom light on, I guess in anticipation of our trip. We left for Branson around 7:00 with mom, dad Lauren, and Brian. The boys did well traveling, mostly due to the DVD player, until we were about 5 minutes from the hotel. Andrew says "Colby puked" and he wasn't kidding. I guess all the sugar and windy roads caught up with him. Luckily, that was all it was, and not an illness. After grabbing lunch, the girls went on a short shopping trip, and the boys rested. We went to Silver Dollar City around 3:00. Unfortunately, it was so cold, the rides were not running, which did not set well with Colby.

I think they said that there are 4 million lights in Silver Dollar City, a pretty amazing sight. We waited for the 7:00 parade, which was also very pretty, and watched the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

Sunday we went to the Bass Pro Shop, and I think the kids enjoyed it as much as SDC. I even got a few Christmas gifts purchased. We got home at a reasonable time, which was good because I had to disassemble a car seat and wash it along with all the laundry. The puppies did well with their grandparents while we were gone except they have learned to climb out of their box. Guess they are getting a ticket to the shop soon!!

An uneventful weekend

Despite the refrigerator quitting Friday, we had a slow weekend. Saturday, Jeff left early to help dad work cattle, and after completing his own chores got home around 4:00. I had taken allergy medicine and spent most of the afternoon on the couch trying to referee two grouchy boys. When Jeff got home, I went to Iola to get puppy food, pizza, and movies. We watched Kung Fu Panda and I promptly fell back asleep. I woke a few times to fighting boys, the last time finally asking Jeff what time his watch said. Even in my allergy induced coma, I thought the clock said 7:30 every time I looked at it. Turns out, it was 10:40 and the battery in the clock was dead, so the boys got to stay up late Saturday. Sunday we cleaned out the fridge, then went to Andy & Linda's for lunch. After lunch we created some Shrinkee Dinks (sp.) then went home and napped. Mom and dad brought our 4-wheeler home that evening, so we planned our trip to Branson, ate pizza, and watched Kung Fu Panda again. Next weekend we go to Branson so all that rest will do me some good!

The Fridge on the Fritz on Friday!

Sounds like Dr. Seus or something, huh! Well it's not, it's our life. Got home last night, noticed water on the floor under the fridge and began investigating. Found out, the freezer was not cold enough to keep the ice frozen. We gave it a few hours to see if the door had not latched properly, but no such luck. So late last night we loaded the essentials in laundry baskets and moved it to the old fridge in the shop. Guess I will give Bauman's a ring today. Worst part is, I can't feed the boys cereal without walking all the way out to the shop. Wish me luck, I really don't want to have to buy a new fridge, this one is only 4 years old!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy birthday mom!! Today, she is taking a day trip to the city to do some shopping by Weston, MO with her sisters and sister-in-laws. Sounds like they were going to have a great time!!

Family Dinner

With the rain Wednesday, we took advantage of dad not working in the field and went to mom and dad's for supper last night. Lauren and Brian were able to make it as well. It seems like it has been ages since we all sat down together, shared a meal, and caught up. We are all talking about going to Branson next weekend. The boys loved Silver Dollar City last year, and the last time I was in Branson, other than for work, was before I got married!! My only dilemma is finding someone to puppy-sit! Happy Friday everyone!!

Puppy update

Well, the family seems to all be well, and we did cast our votes today and are currently watching the news to see the outcome. Since I have nothing else exciting to blog about today, I will post an update on the puppies. They are finally opening their eyes, and beginning to get up on their feet instead of scooting around. They are also finding their voices and barking little puppy barks when they want momma. They have grown so much, I am still in amazement!

It runs in the family, Illness that is!!

Lauren and Amanda, just wait. You stay home with the first feverish child, only to have everyone well all weekend, then the second child becomes ill Monday. Linda is busy with election, Jeff can't miss any more work this year, or he will not be able to acquire 4 personal days for another year, and I already missed Thursday and Friday with Andrew. So where does that leave me? Very thankful that I have the job I do, because Colby went to work with me today. Don't really know what the boss thinks of it yet, but what do you do?? Hopefully all are well tomorrow! Also, I started Yoga tonight and I love it. You just feel so relaxed and at peace after an hour of deep breathing. Not to mention that after Yoga is a good time to go grocery shopping b/c you feel motivated to be good.

Halloween party

We went to a Halloween party last night at Jason & Trish's barn. They have a really nice set up at their barn! The kids all had so much fun playing together. They played "Pin the nose on the witch," painted pumpkins, and had a pinata. There was a fog machine, hair color, and lots of good food! I have added pictures of the party to the slide show.

Kohl's 30% off

My catalog has a 30% off, the code is HOLIDAY30, or if anyone needs to borrow it, let me know!

Jack-O-Lanterns

I bought the "Mr. Potato-head" pumpkin decorations thinking I might get by easy this year, but no such luck. Andrew decided he wanted to carve the pumpkins. He chose the Vampire, and Colby's is the witch. Colby loved pulling all the slime and seeds out of the pumpkins, but I could hardly get Andrew to put his hands in the pumpkins!

Happy Halloween!

Here are our Halloween pics. Andrew wanted to be Batman this year, and I was able to talk Colby into reusing the Thomas the Tank Engine costume I made for Andrew. Andrew stayed home this morning, but I took him to school after lunch since he has felt fine this morning. Should be a fun evening of Trick-or-Treating!

Photo Ops in our backyard

I have been wanting to get the boys out to the old school house for quite awhile and get some photos of them. The weather was perfect tonight, so we seized the opportunity, sick kid and all! These are by no means professional pictures, but I like the black and whites. The boys are very tough to work with because they always have something better than holding still on their mind! When we got home, I told Colby that he had not listened very well and he said "I didn't want to" very matter-of-factly! We had a nice little talk about listening after that! Hope you enjoy!

Home with Andrew

I am home with Andrew today. Last night, we started to notice that he was looking a little ill, and not feeling well. This morning he has been running a low grade fever and his throat is a little sore. He has been lounging on the couch all day. He didn't eat lunch, and while I was on the porch doing laundry, he went to his bedroom, shut the door, got in bed and went to sleep. Hopefully a day of rest will have him well enough to enjoy Halloween!

The great outdoors!

Sunday we loaded up and headed to the creek to cut some firewood in preparation for what we fear may be a very cold winter. Not only is it a great workout, but the boys love being outside being "boys." As you can see, the boys were checking out the creek, I think already making plans to swim once summer rolls around again. Colby would have really liked to have gotten into the water Sunday, but amazingly, I was able to talk him out of it! Being out in nature and seeing how pretty and serene it can be, got me thinking about a future project. I would like to build a fire pit and simple shelter in the general vicinity of the creek and the pond we fish at. I can already envision the boys as teenagers camping there in the summer. I think that will have to wait for spring now though! I have also added a new picture of the puppies. I think they have at least doubled in size in one week!

Haunted Hay Maze

Saturday night Andrea, Lauren, and I took the boys to the Haunted hay maze. After map quest sent us on a wild goose chase, we discovered that the maze was 5 miles straight south of my house! We stood in line for a little while waiting to get to enter, then the adventure began! At first, it is as though you are walking through a haunted house. Once through it you are outside in the hay maze, with two scare actors down, the big question was "How many more?" We wound our way around with the guidance of Andrew and his glow necklace. Round and round we went, with no scare actors yet. We enter a large open area with a tree in the center, then through a passageway to another open area with a few options for exits. Little did we know we would revisit this exact area three more times before finally making our way out. Back the way we came thinking the exit must be the other way. Dead end after dead end lead us back to the large open areas. This time however, the scare actor who had hid so well the first time that Lauren had touched his prop, got us good. We leave the way we came with the kids both saying they want out and don't ever want to come back. Round and round again, all knowing in the back of our heads we would have to face the scare actor again. Lauren and I went ahead to find the exit and Andrea stayed behind with my frightened kids. We thought that talking to him might save us a scare, so we enter the circle, start scouring the edge for the way out, when Lauren says "He's coming", I turn around and he is right over me, I probably jumped 10 feet high, and I knew he was there!! But it was worth it, we found the exit! After going through the maze, you follow a rock trail through their back yard that is full of old and odd trinkets. Then to the outdoor kitchen for a roasted marshmallow, and the concession stand for popcorn. Andrew had marshmallow from one cheek to the other by the time we got home. When we got home, the fire pit was still hot from roasting hot dogs for supper, so we made smores. Colby was so tired by now, he could hardly feed himself. All in all a very fun Autumn evening!

Weekend Plans

Another week gone by, and I find myself with a dirty house again. How exactly does it get trashed so quickly?? This weekend, Andrea and I are taking the boys to a Haunted Hay Maze that is practically in our backyard. It is made of 125 round bales, and once you get through the maze, you follow a haunted trail through the backyard. They also show Halloween movies outside with a projector, serve hot dogs and marshmallows, and other refreshments, and all for donations. My only hope is that it is not too scary for the boys, I would hate to ruin them on Halloween at such a young age!! If anyone else is interested in joining us for the maze, let me know. We will probably leave around 7:15.

Have a great weekend, and I will post pictures of our haunted adventure later!

Our newest additions!

We had an exciting Sunday night / Monday morning. Mattie had her second litter of puppies. We ended up with 10 Chocolate labs, and they are so cute!! Mattie is such a good mommy, she takes great care of her puppies, but will also allow the boys and us to touch and handle them without getting upset. I already can't wait for their eyes to open and for them to start walking. She has 6 little girls and 4 boys. One of the boys has a little kink in the end of his tail, which is so cute! Although I hope it straightens out, or he may be a little tough to get rid of. As if we don't seem busy enough, now we have the daily jobs of caring for the puppies, but it is so much fun!

The boys are doing great, as usual. Colby is at the age where he is really testing us and his independence. There seems to be arguments over everything these days, and I mean everything. He has also found his stubborn streak, but Andrew went through that phase as well. Andrew is doing well in school, as long as we can keep his energy level in check. The great thing is that he loves school and has a wonderful teacher this year. Colby goes to Preschool play group Wednesday afternoons and gets upset every other day of the week that he does not get to go.

Jeff and I just finished our two week vacation, the last day we were off, the kids were also out of school, so we went to Lawrence to the Natural History Museum then to a pumpkin patch. The kids had a lot of fun picking out their pumpkins and playing in the hay maze.

I will do my best to keep up with my blog, and keep some updated pictures on here! Hope everyone enjoys!!