A new gadget!!!!

Noel and I are doing some renovations to our house. You will see lots of pictures when we are done with everything. New paint, scraped the ceilings, ceiling fans, updated lights, new carpet, and some tile. One thing that we were not going to do was get a new garbage disposer. The other day our decided that it was done and did not want to work anymore.

We went to Lowe's and looked at garbage disposers, Noel found one that does not work unless the plug is in and it is also quiet. We special ordered it and it came in on Thursday of last week. On Sunday night Noel installed the garbage disposer. I had not idea how small our other disposer was until we pulled out the the Insinkerator.

Here is a picture of the old disposer.



Our old disposer was a GE and it was a 1/3 Horsepower. Also it was really loud.

Here is a picture of the new one.



This one is 3/4 Horsepower. It is 60% quieter than other disposer. It has two grind stages and can even grind bones. We tried the disposer the other night and it is quieter than my really quiet dishwasher. As a gadget person I am totally excited. Also there is safety feature, you have to put a cap on the disposer and turn it before it turns on. This is great for the 5 toddlers that I have that want to investigate everything and try everything.

Worms anyone?

Lately I have been looking into composting because we are starting to get serious with gardening and why not use our "trash" to help our plants grow. As I did my research there was a huge spectrum to choose from.

So I was reading and in an article they stated that kids seem to like the worm composter and it takes less time because the worms do all the work. Of course with 5 toddlers I knew that worms would be a great first pet. A pet that I feed scraps to, I do not have to walk, clean up after, and that does not live in my house. Also would be great bait for the "safari" when they go fishing. You see they reproduce like crazy. I start with about 400 worms and in 6 months I will have over 40,000.

I found a wonderful webpage and that a great product. They are called Worm Wranglers.; I thought that the name was great. So we received our composter and then about a week later the worms came in the mail. Elijah thought it was great that the worms came from the mailman. Here is a pictures of our worms.



So if you have a garden and are looking at composting, check it out.

How do you spell that?

Our family went to San Antonio this weekend to spend Pop's birthday with him. On Saturday when we were coming home I told Noel and I wanted Freebirds for dinner. Now if you do not know what Freebirds is I am sorry; you need to visit one soon. It was raining really hard and so he took his smartphone out and listed everything that he wanted on his burrito.

So I am reading what he wants and I get to this word. "Pico de Guy'o" I had to laugh. As soon as I started laughing Noel said, "I do not know how to spell that word so why not make the spelling funny."

For all of you out there that do not know how to spell that word this is how you spell it, even though the other spelling is funnier.

PICO DE GALLO

Milking What?

I have a funny story that will make you all laugh even though some of you will not admit that you laughed.

The "safari" is interested in potty training more and more, because I use candy and peer pressure. You see if someone uses the potty they get candy and the others watch that person eat candy. Joshua was on that train very fast and Jacob jumped on when he realized that going potty was really not that hard.

Jacob decided that he could do whatever Elijah and Joshua were doing. Also Jacob has been watching Elijah go potty for almost 9 months now. So Jacob gets on the potty and decides that his penis needs some help so he grabs it like he has seen Elijah do a thousand times. Except that Jacob was not watching for technique because Jacob decided that he could "milk" his pee out. My mother was in town for a conference and she saw it and called me over. I had a good laugh and I knew that I had to share. Milk anyone?

Outside

The weather has been great lately and the "safari" love it when they get to go outside. Recently they have played outside a lot and usually it is a sad moment when they have to come inside.

They are learning how to swing and are really enjoying the sandbox because Noel finished it and they have garden shovels now. We are so grateful for Nana, Papa, and Pops for the gift of the playset last Christmas, because they have their own park now.

Hannah loves the slide and the glider swing. She knows how to climb the ladder and go down the slide and now she is learning how to use the climbing wall because that is more fun. Jacob likes to go down the slide and jump where ever he can. Esther and Joshua just want to swing and they want you to swing them high. They will stay on the swing as long as you push them and when you stop then they try to swing themselves. Elijah likes it all. They grow up so fast and it seems like turbo speed some days in our house.

Here are a few pictures.

The Garden

Noel and I wanted to try to do our garden this year. Two years ago we tried and our tomatoes did well but really nothing else. Last year was a busy year and it just never happened. This year we are trying again and hopefully we will do better.

We have two gardens. One where we planted seeds and the other where the plants are small but already have leaves. We borrowed Nana's tiller and got it home to find out that it did not want to start so we rented one. Lets just say that we have a lot of rocks in our yard. Noel has taught the "safari" that we pick up rocks and put them in a designated spot. So when the "safari" go outside to play and they find a rock they put it in the designated spot.

So in a few weeks we will start to see if we are going to be successful in this adventure or if we should stay away from gardening and just let Nana give us stuff from her garden. Here are a few pictures of one of our gardens.

The Park

A couple of weeks ago our Adult Community, Sunday School Class, had a picnic time at a local park in Austin. We decided that we would take the "safari" because it was after nap time and the day was beautiful.

We loaded the "safari", made sure that we had liquids, sunscreen, hats, a blanket and snacks. The "safari" had a blast; they are at the age where they can enjoy places we go a lot more and it is less stressful on Noel and I to do outings. Also there were lots of kids at the park so we did not get so many questions from people.

Elijah decided that he wanted to try the monkey bars which meant that everyone else wanted to do it. Noel helped them through the process and I think that they are in love with those things. Also there was a type of zip line at the park. Noel would get the "safari" on the zip line and then push them and they would hang and hold on. The "safari" must have done that at least 50 times.

You will see in the pictures that Hannah has no fear like her siblings. She is climbing up ladders that curve like a pro. Enjoy the pictures.

Funny Faces

There is a show that Elijah likes to watch during naptime called Yo Gabba Gabba. I think that all the adults that I have talked to that have seen this show does not like it, but the kids seem to love it. Well on the show there is a part where they do funny faces. The other day Elijah decided to start to try to do funny faces and it caught on with the rest of the "safari."

I got some pictures of their version of funny faces. I think they all did very well except for Jacob who did not want to participate and gave me a movement but not a funny face. I will get him later. They are all getting their own personalities and expressions. Everyday I am amazed at how they are starting to become little people, that I enjoy more and more everyday.

Bluebonnets

Last year Noel found the most beautiful bluebonnets and the safest place to take pictures, in La Grange, TX. So this year we made plans with our friends the Ranney's to go after church on Sunday. We met them in Bastrop, had lunch and then went to take pictures.

The bluebonnets were beautiful, but the "safari" did not really want to do anything and just wanted to whine. I got some really nice pictures of all of them, not so much with all of them together. I took hundreds of pictures so that I could make sure that there were going to be some good ones. These pictures are the ones that I choose and I have not photoshoped any of them, so they are the raw images.

Next year we have decided to make the bluebonnet experience a morning adventure when attitudes are better and the whole experience is more enjoyable. I hope that you enjoy the pictures.