Thursday, April 30, 2009

Sick again...

Colton decided that he only gets throw up sick when Tyler is gone for the night. Not particularly fun. But needless to say, coffee was definitely in order this morning after only 4-5 hours of sleep! I feel a little queasy, but Ayla so far is fine, so we are hoping for the best.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Getting ready for Mothers Day

I have been trying to figure out what to make my "mothers" for their special day. This morning, I made some final decisions, and cut out all that I need... I am so excited! I really want to give them something they will actually use and LIKE to use. So, I will post them AFTER Mother's Day! Sorry! But, I have many things to work on right now....
I was doing some research yesterday on cloth diapering, and was hit with an epiphany! I had been reading everywhere that cloth diapered kids usually potty train earlier, and I have not seen anything of the sort! Come to find out, it is the old style of cloth diapers that are truly the quicker potty trainers! Of course! It makes complete sense, NOW! Traditionally, the cloth against baby's butt was cotton. I have been using fleece or suedecloth, which doesn't really feel wet to them! Cotton would feel wet, therefore making the kids realize that they needed a change, or know when they should use a potty chair.
Needless to say, I ordered some prefolds, and will just use my current diapers as covers over them... I will keep you posted on the progress.

And in kind of sad news... we have decided not to do foster care at this time, because of the kids being so young, and needing so much attention all the time. Instead, we have plans to offer respite care (which is part time, recovery help for foster parents) and I plan on becoming a CASA volunteer. We really want to help out in this area of the community, and feel our services can still be of use even though we have decided to hold off on foster care.

Wish us luck!

Monday, April 27, 2009

mmmm.... Bread



I love homemade bread; but for some reason, I always find reasons to NOT make it. Why is that? It is relatively easy to make, although it does take time to let it rise, but is that enough of an excuse to not make it? The smell is indescribable... and delicious, and then when it comes out of the oven, even though it says to let it cool, there is little better than a warm slice of homemade bread fresh out of the oven with some really good jam on it... mmmmm.... Bread.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

This week






I haven't really had a lot of time this week, but I can't really remember why exactly! But we had a busy week, none the less! Colton got a new haircut, and he looks so much older for some reason; a rock garden was built; some craft time; and of course diaper making! I have a big order for 24 diapers, so I am trying to do a little each day so that they will be done in time! Well, enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend!





Sunday, April 19, 2009

Glacier exploration








We spent the day trekking near and in Glacier National Park... we stopped in Polebridge and had some great cookies, and then did a little rock collecting for our garden, and did a little hiking. Had a great day and it was beautiful in our little neck of the woods!

Natalie is here!







Colton and Ayla became cousins again! Yeah! Little Natalie was born yesterday after a long day of laboring, by super strong woman, Danielle! Go Danielle! We are still anxiously awaiting pictures of the sweet babe, and will post something when we get it! We are so excited that we get to meet her (if all goes right) at the end of May! Being away from family sure is hard when there are exciting moments like this!

In other news, Ayla got her first black eye! I swear this child is completely accident prone (I think I remember my parents say I was too) and she is constantly hurting herself... but she is such a strong resilient little booger! She fell into a shelf at a store, and cried for maybe 10 seconds and then went right back to trying to show her daddy a pair of boots she LOVED! I took her to look in the mirror maybe a minute after the incident, and she had a huge knot underneath her eye that looked horrible! Thankfully we were at a cafe, and they gave us some ice for her and that helped a lot! But today, she has a little shiner. What a silly, wonderful little girl!


We are hoping to go on an adventure today... it is supposed to be about 70! But, it is cloudy right now, so we are debating what to do...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Wondering why

I read something yesterday on someone's blog that really disturbed me, and I just can't let it go. First of all, I made it to this blog through someone else's, out of curiosity, and it turned out to be someone I knew from a VERY long time ago. (funny how that works) Well, this person was obviously a hard core religious person, and I have no (absolutely no) problem with that. I have always been pretty good at not judging people because they believe differently than me, but I am just flabbergasted by the outlook of this person!
Just browsing through the words, I came across an entry that described going to a leadership training that had religious undertones, and it turned out to be taught by someone who believed in the Wicca religion. The blogger ran out of the training in tears because of what was being taught, and when asked what was wrong, yelled at the teacher about how could she be teaching that the world was beautiful! How dare her! And when asked what happened to make this person have that outlook, the answer was : Look around you, it is not beautiful!
These words struck a major chord with me. How could someone with such strong beliefs that there is a God, and God loves you, could question someone teaching that the world itself was beautiful!?
Is this what all Christians believe? Is the physical Earth just a stopping point on your way to heaven that we should all just consider ugly and corrupt? And when we finally get to heaven we can appreciate the beauty that God has created? That seems so wrong and hokey to me.
Live while you can here; there are no guarantees that there is a heaven full of magical-ness.
Maybe this is why our Earth is being polluted at an astronomical pace... religious people think that it is not their responsibility to clean up after themselves; or to take a responsible approach when buying and using and disposing of things? It's God's will, right? I am so saddened by this.... beyond anything you could imagine.
We are all human, and all make many mistakes; but next time you think the world is ugly, turn off your tv, or stop reading the book, and go outside and NOTICE something... a tree, a flower, a beautiful bug, the amazing things humans can do with building materials (aka: architecture), if you live in Montana, LOOK OUTSIDE! See the beautifulness all around you? It's there, and you can't deny it. Just witness the sun coming up to start it's long day. Or maybe the moon shining brightly over the night.
The Earth and all the creations are beautiful, and if you can't appreciate that, I think you are maybe a lost cause.
Enough of ranting, sorry if this offends anyone; just remember, I'm a babbling Brooke!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Book Club

My friend, Jill and I have started a book club here in Kalispell. So far we are on our 2nd book, and I have reserved our third one. Our first book was "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson; which I thought was really good, although there was a little too much every day stuff, and not enough of the results (if you read it, you probably know what I mean). Our discussion was very nice and civil, with some of the readers liking it and some not so much.
Jill picked our second book, "Water for elephants" by Sara Gruen, has been a really interesting book for me. It is a story about a circus act back in the day when they came into town on a train, and a very intriguing, interesting inner story that goes along with it. I was definitely pleasantly surprised when I finished this book and how much I enjoyed it.
I picked our next book to be "The Tenth Circle" by Jody Picoult. I am unsure about the storyline, but I think it is about a teenage girl who is date-raped. Sad, but a definite scenario in today's society. I am hoping the other readers in the group are okay with this selection. Most of us have daughters so I figured it might be interesting to all.
Currently, I am reading the first book in the "Twilight" series. I am for some reason captivated by the story, and find myself unable to put it down! Ughhh!
Happy Wednesday... I really need to go clean my house a little bit! Ha, Ha!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter Sunday

We decided to do Easter just a little different... we didn't give the kids Easter baskets when they woke up, we just got them each a book that we knew they would really like, and then after breakfast, went on an easter egg hunt in the backyard! The kids had a lot of fun, and it was neat to finally have this holiday added to our list. Even Sofa the cat tried to find some eggs in the backyard... what a kitty!





Then we went over to our good friends, the McFarlane's house for a wonderful brunch and another Easter egg hunt! (the kids all got a lot of candy!) Had a great time.







AND, last but not least, we went to our other good friends parents' house for a linner (lunch + dinner) in true Italian tradition... it was so yummy!

Great Sunday, and sad to see the weekend end! But good news, the farmer's market starts up soon AND I just got my first huge order of 24 diapers! How exciting is that!

making our easter eggs

The kids had a great time the night before Easter hand painting some eggs... Ayla tried to eat it as she went along, and a couple got dropped on the floor. But all in all, it turned out great. Tyler painted an awesome globe... he is such a geography geek!
The house has returned to our "normal" without Noah, but we still find ourselves missing him a little bit!



Friday, April 10, 2009

And the end comes so soon...

What a cutie!

The kids showing too much love to Noah!

Colton warming up to the little man...

Ayla "helping" feed Noah...

Today was our last day with little Noah. And although I kind of pushed him getting placed with family faster than normal, I was unsure of how to really feel today. On one hand, I felt a weight lifted off of me from the enormous responsibility of taking care of someone else's precious little one; and on the other hand, I felt a bit of a loss. Noah was such a typical little boy with giggles and smiles most of the time (spit up and crying the rest :) ). So it has been a mixed bag.
However, he did go to a relative that also has small children, so I am happy that he has people who care!
We said our goodbyes, and he left as quick as he came... 4 weeks sure goes by fast! After he had left, we packed up the two kiddoes and headed for a picnic in the park... Colton and Ayla LOVED it. And it was pretty easy only having two. Ayla got some new Croc's (fake ones) that she decided she wouldn't take off until bedtime... they are bright pink and brown - really cute!

Ayla and Colton were transferring the last of our snow to the dump truck to transport to the middle of the yard to melt... in their underwear! It has been so beautiful here and the kids have been outside just loving it!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Better, but still crazy!


With the great weather that has come our way, the kids have been spending a lot of time outside, which is awesome! They go in and out the doggie door, and they play in the rocks and little playhouse. The only drawback is that I usually don't go with them (because of Noah) and I watch from the windows, but the kids fall or something and think it is the end of the world, so they cry; very loudly!
As for life with Noah, it is still very hard. I really hope that a family member will step up and take them into their home. That may sound selfish on my part (maybe) but really the whole guilty feeling I feel everyday is not worth it! Noah requires 24 hour constant care and holding (minus the sleep, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad); Ayla sure takes a lot of attention also (she is a complete mama's girl!) and then Colton requires a minimal, but still a good amount of attention to keep him occupied. That adds up to a whole lot of hours for Tyler and I!!! Those of you that have more than two kids, I commend you! Also, Mom and Dad, thank you so much for taking such good care of us and not giving up on us!
It is so different having a child in your house, that you are responsible for caring for, without them being YOURS. The brain is a miraculous thing, but I still can't wrap my mind around the reality. A kid is such a precious thing, that you are constantly failing in some way, but for the most part, you can hope that they learn a little from your mistakes!
Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday... so far so good for us (except for my HUGE headache!)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Being a mom


I struggle every day being a mom; or rather being what I believe a mother should be. I set high expectations and find myself failing on a regular basis! And choosing to become a foster mom makes me believe that I truly am a glutton for punishment, AND my suspicions that I am crazy are definitely confirmed! This is the hardest thing I can remember myself actually agreeing to ... taking in someone else's child, who most likely had some sort of problems at home. And a newborn at that! Newborns tend to suck the life right out of you, with the lack of sleep and the constant crying and feeding and spitting up and ... the list goes on and on. Add a one and two year old, and it is a recipe for disaster.
For the last three weeks, our lives have been turned upside down. There are times I find myself yelling shut up at a 2 month old! "It is only gas, for christ's sake!" There is a switch that you have to actually choose to leave in the off position, or else something might break loose and wreak havoc. As a family, we have decided that fostering newborns is not in the cards at this moment... it has not been a completely negative experience, but finding something positive is kind of hard too. (And I am only talking about me and my family. We know that Noah has had positive experiences being here, and we take care of him the best we can!) It has just been a pretty hard transition. I am so grateful to have friends that have been there and done that, and assure me that three kids is very hard!
I absolutely love being a mom and would do anything for my kids. They mean the world to me, but there are also times when I want to jump out the window!