Jayden and I started planting some seeds for the garden tonight.  Last year, our garden didn’t fare too well.  Well, parts of it didn’t anyway.   We had basil and some other herbs growing out our ears, but our peas, beans, carrots, tomatos, and pepper plants all got eaten away by what I thought were bunnies, but turns out were probably field mice.  We got some advice from a neighbor, who just happens to be a dirt expert that seed companies seek out to try their stuff, to plant cloves of garlic around the edges of the garden and that will keep the mice out.  I also plan on letting Scooter loose in the yard every night, since she’s probably going to kill something anyways. :)  I’ve been thinking about doing a weekly post this summer, with pictures of course, of all the killings Scooter leaves for us.  Sometimes bodies, sometimes guts, sometimes there’s just a blood spot left, but the head, the head is always missing.  I guess that’s Scooter’s favorite part.  Mmmm, brain!  Let me know what you think!

So, anyways…tonight, Jayden and I planted seeds for parsley, chives, basil, oregano, and cilantro.  And I forgot to save room for our lavender seeds, so I’m gonna have to get another little start pod for them.  Oops!

or, as Willie and I always called it, Happy Singles Awareness Day!

For part of the kid’s presents this year, I decided to make them something.  For Jayden I made him a flannel dinosaur pillow case, which sadly has already gotten a lot of use since it was opened this morning.  Jayden has been real sick for the past few days.  He had the flu on Thursday and then Friday the flu seemed to turn into a cold, and now he’s all laid up on the couch.  Poor kid.

For Willow, I made a little valentine dress.  And for the 5 minutes she had it on today so I could try and take some pictures, she managed to get food on it!  How the heck did she find food????  I figure she’s got a secret stash  around somewhere…

For lunch, I made the kids and Royal some heart shaped sandwiches.

And then I finished up my heart sugar cookies by frosting them with some chocolate royal icing, Royal’s favorite.

This has been some of the longest couple of weeks ever! We’ve had so much going on that I should of had tons of post about, but there has been sickness running rampant around my house and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write anything.  So, here’s kind of a catchup with ALOT of pictures to satisfy all you suckers out there who have been muttering mean things under your breath each time you check my blog and see the same post up.  As you know my parents got back here from Pennsylvania at the beginning of December.  And then Jordan flew in on the 13th to spend Christmas with us.  It has been so fun to have him around, even if it feels like I still hardly see him.  He stays up way too late for me and then sleeps in a good part of the day, but when he finally gets up, its fun to have another McComb in the house.  I’m just not sure there is anybody else out there who gets the McComb sarcasm that gets thrown around when there is more than 1 sibling together. :)  We have gone around and looked at Christmas lights a bunch of times.  My mom and I went to a Christmas dinner cooking class.  And we have played inside alot because it has been soooo cold.

Willow has gotten very good at throwing and catching balls.

Jayden has continued with his obsession of all things dinosaur and we are now building them out of blocks.  This is flying Little Foot.  And I don’t have a picture of a later version of him that Jayden and Papa built, but he had guns on his wings.  It was pretty awesome.

Christmas Eve came fast around here since we’ve all had the flu at different times this week.  But we were wishing for a white Christmas and in the form of extremely high winds (like 50 mph) and snow that came down sideways, we got one.

Jayden all decked out in his Christmas T-Rex outfit went outside to check it out. And then later, we put a few more layers on the dinosaur, so he and Papa went outside to “swim” into the wind.

Here is the Christmas Eve dinner my mom and I cooked together from the recipes we got from our cooking class.  We made a roasted pear salad with candied pecans, beef wellington that looked like presents, and duchess mashed potatoes that were pipped out to look like Christmas trees.  (My potato trees could still use some work, they actually looked better than in the picture.  In the picture they just look like a blob) But it makes a pretty little plate!

After dinner we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church.  The kids did pretty darn good during the service, even if Jayden did keep the rows in front of us entertained.  Jayden sung pretty loudly during the worship part, which is great, it was just funny because he didn’t know the words so he was just singing loudly. (best way to spread Christmas cheer, right??).  He then let out a very audible gasp when our paster said something out Jesus dying on the cross. And then at the end of the service he had his candle lit and Papa was kneeling next to him to keep him from lighting the church on fire and Jayden yells out, “Papa, hold your candle up higher!”  “Papa, STAND UP!”  It was pretty darn funny.

After church we came home and the kids got to open their Christmas pajamas, which I made this year.  And I also made a matching pair for Royal. :)

Christmas morning didn’t start as early as I thought it would.  Jayden slept in until almost 8 and Willow slept in until 9!  Christmas miracle?  I think so!  Since my dad had come down with the flu last night, Jordan, Jayden, and I went and picked my mom up at the motorhome this morning so she could come and open presents with us.

Jayden had to try out his new sand chomper in some snow that blew up on the deck!

Jayden then proceeded to help everybody else open their presents by pulling all the presents out of the stockings and handing them to you.  Once our stockings were finished, and it was time to open the other presents, Jayden would grab a present from under the tree, run over to me, ask who it was for, then run to the person it was for, open it right in front of them, and then hand them their present.  He was quite the helper.

Jayden helping Uncle Jordan.

Jayden helping dad…

Jayden helping Nana…

Jayden helping Willow…

There’s not much cooking that happens in the kitchen on Christmas day.  I did the cinnamon rolls and breakfast casserole on Christmas Eve, so all I had to do was pop them in the over in the morning.  But on Christmas day, we try and focus on the fact that it is Jesus’ birthday, so ever since we have had Jayden, I have made a birthday cake for Jesus and after dinner we sing Happy Birthday to Him and eat birthday cake.  Even Jesus got to use the Thomas the train candle this year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Royal’s parents flew back to Washington early Sunday morning. However, they didn’t leave before Royal came home with a HUGE bag of pecans that needed cracking. I figured Royal was paying back his mom for all the times he’s had to snap green beans, or cut corn off the cob, or stuff potstickers, or frost christmas cookies, or any of the other projects she seems to have going when we show up. Let’s just say Norma and my hands were pretty sore from cracking the nuts…funny how the morning after Royal brought the nuts home, he and his dad went hunting…

The weather here has been so great lately! 75 degrees and sunny! And while I think this weather is a little freakish and I kinda wish it was colder, it has been nice to play outside without worrying about hats and coats and stuff!
On Saturday, the kids were starting to come down with a cold and I just couldn’t handle an entire day of cranky, whining kids at home, so Royal and I got them dressed, loaded them up, and headed to the zoo. Well, we forgot the zoo is now on winter hours, so we got there a good hour before it opened. Bummer. There was no way I was going to drive all the way home, so we went to a park and played there for an hour and then went back to the zoo when the gates were open. Wouldn’t you know it, but I forgot my camera, and Jayden got to feed the giraffes! I can’t believe I didn’t have my camera! It was sweet! He got giraffe slobber all over his hand and arm. Willow kept acting like she wanted to feed them too, so we gave her a leaf to give to the giraffe, but when his long, black tongue licked her arm while reaching for the leaf, she kinda freaked out..sad… Oh well, I have one more free coupon for giraffe feeding, so maybe we’ll try to hit it up again next time I’m at the zoo with my camera!

I managed to get a lot done this weekend as far as projects were concerned, because pretty much once we got home from the zoo, we stayed here because the kids and their colds went downhill in a hurry. :)

I finished Willow birthday cake hat! Here’s a little preview. It’s not her birthday yet!

I also made a happy birthday banner. The pattern is here!

And since I was on such a roll on completing things, why stop there?
I made Jayden a new apron because we are going to be taking a cooking class together and making gingerbread houses! I love this apron because it doesn’t have ties, so he can put it on himself. The neck strap has eleastic in it so it stretches over his head and the waist strap velcros around his back and to one side. Genius! You can find the pattern here

And last, but not least, I made a giraffe rattle because there are a ton of people I know who are pregnant and I’m going to be sending them presents and why not include a little cloth giraffe that even has a bell on the inside so it jingles when it shakes around! So, prego friends, don’t be surprised to be getting one of these in the mail!

I’ve been whipping out pumpkin hats like there’s no tomorrow. No one was real interested when it was like July when I made my kids’. But now that Halloween and Fall are right around the corner, everybody wants one! And I’ve got to finish them up so I can get Willow’s Christmas stocking (that I’m having to redo from last year….boo) done before I put up Christmas decorations! But other than pumpkin hats, I’ve sewn up a couple things too!

I made the kids some trick or treat bags.

And then I also made them some matching pj/lounge pants!

Holy smokes, this may have been one of the most exhausting weekends ever! I thought it was going to start off well because Royal got home before 5 o’clock on Friday! But then we had dinner and Jayden thew up his entire dinner onto his plate. He wasn’t sick, he just didn’t want to eat the rest of his food, but he did want dessert, and to get dessert he had to have a few more bites. Well, he kept making himself gag because he’d put too big of a bite of food in his mouth trying to get it done fast, and eventually it all came back up. I started gagging (because I can’t stand puke, as anybody whose followed my blog for any amount of time will know), so I left to go start a bath for him. Royal, who has a stomach of steel, sat there and helped Jayden through it, while Willow cracked up in her seat. Sadly, even after that he still didn’t get dessert because I wanted to make sure he really wasn’t sick…and thankfully he wasn’t!

Saturday morning, we got up to go do a 5K race with my StrollerFit group. I pretty much kicked it’s tail. My knees felt real good and I managed to run 9 min/miles while pushing both kids in the stroller. Royal kept up real good for not having run outside of playing basketball. I like to think the only reason he could keep up with me is because I was pushing 60 pounds in a stroller, otherwise I would of smoked him! Although he does keep pointing out that he crossed the finish line first, but I like to tell him he’s just really lucky I like him and decided to not clip his ankles with the front wheel of the stroller.

Then we got home and I canned some peaches. We have this really great peach farm really close by, so I decided I would try to can them, because who doesn’t love peaches in the middle of winter? Not to mention I have all these empty jars from all the canned goods we’ve taken my Royal’s mom over the years, can’t just let those sit around and collect dust. This was the first time I’ve canned anything and I’ve got high standards to live up to as my mom and Royal’s mom are both big canners. But I’m hoping these turn out delish, but I guess if they don’t, well, at least I have some pretty jars in my pantry, right???

Then, I had to make some bread for sandwiches for the week.

Then, I decided to harvest the jungle of basil that I managed to grow in my garden this year. After I got it all cleaned up, it took me over an hour with Royal’s help, to pick all the leaves off. The smell of basil was so strong, it was making my eyes burn and water like an onion, so I took to being very picky about what leaves I tore off so it would go faster. ;) Check out the huge basil and this wasn’t even all of it, there was another little patch nearby.

After this, I was just too tired to do anything else….until today that is.
We got up this morning and went to church. And then after we went to go get a paper, came home, fixed lunch, and then made some basil pesto to stick in the freezer. Don’t worry, I didn’t use all of the basil. I’m going to attempt to dry some in my oven and then since I will still have a bunch left over, I’m going to give it to some of our neighbors on our street.

Then, we packed up the kids and went to a Piggies and Paws party. And then went to our small group. And now I am back at home, kids are asleep, and I’m finishing up getting ready to start doing some preschool stuff with Jayden tomorrow, and of course fillin’ ya in what we’ve been doing (sorry not many pictures of the kids, hope it didn’t make you too hungry). All of these activities were of course on top of everything I already would have done anyway on the weekend, kids, lunches, dinners, 5 loads of laundry, cleaning, etc… at least Royal was here to help! But, I’m tired.

Today, the 4 of us and the Wagner’s loaded up a couple of cars and headed out to Westport! Living in Kansas, sometimes it makes me feel a little crazy knowing that I am no where near an ocean, I feel a little claustrophobic being completely surrounded by land. So, while Royal is still here, we wanted to take advantage of the Pacific Ocean only being an hour and a half away! It was pretty cold when we got there this morning, but the sun eventually came out and it warmed up quite a bit. I was just thankful it wasn’t raining!

Royal and Willow all coordinated in their purple!

Taking advantage of some driftwood.

The 3 boys contemplating their next move.

They decided that it’s not too cold and yes, they are going to go swimming. Brrrrrrr. I remember when we used to do this as kids. Now, it’s too freakin’ cold. :)

Royal put Willow’s feet in the ocean for the first time. It won’t be the last!

She got a little cold, her lips turned a bit blue, and she didn’t seem to happy.

But she perked up right away!

After we got most the sand off the boys, got them dried up, and a bit warmed up. We hit the town, smelled some flowers, checked out the docks and boats, and then went to the candy store and got lollipops and salt water taffy. Because it’s just not a trip to the beach without leaving with a bag of taffy!

We then headed back to the beach to play for a bit before we got back in the car!

Yea for the ocean and cousins!

First off, baths. We take baths over here. A lot. Baths take up a good deal of time in the evening after dinner when I feel totally overstimulated from the day and I need the kids entertained without them having to touch me for awhile. :) Thank goodness they both love baths and taking them together!

Next up, bugs. The bugs here are huge! And since it seems all our neighbors are spraying their houses for bugs, I think the really huge ones who are smart enough to get away from it, are migrating to our house. Royal found these suckers last weekend.
Nasty!

And look at this sucker! Royal actually spotted it in the grass when he was mowing it. It is HUGE!


Even with all these gigantic, nasty bugs around. I’m still not on the bandwagon of having our house sprayed. I think it’s more dangerous to expose Jayden and Willow (and poor Scooties) to the poisons and chemicals that it would take to keep the bugs away, then just having the bugs around. Plus it gives us something to check out and be gross out by.

And now for the birds! For the past few months, we have had some barn swallows make a little home on our covered porch. At first, I thought it was a little annoying having them swoop at us everytime we went outside, but then I thought it’d be pretty cool to watch them have their babies so close to us. So, we put up with the birds and eventually they got used to us and stopped throwing mud at us when we were out there. They provided great entertainment and some life lessons for Jayden. We would sit on the porch and eat lunch and watch the birds building their nest. Then sitting on their nest. Then the 5 little babies birds hatching and poking their heads out. The mom and dad birds flying off to catch bugs to feed to the birds. Although, when asked Jayden would tell you that the momma bird didn’t feed bugs to her babies. She fed them with her “great, big, birdie boobs”. Obviously my large chest has had an impact on Jayden, as well. :) We came out one morning and the bully baby bird in the nest had pushed out (well it’s my theory) 2 of the other birds, obviously the nest was getting to crowded. So we had to explain to Jayden why the birds died. Not that he hasn’t already had a ton of experience with mutilated animals on the porch thanks to Scooter. So then we watch the 3 birds left fight for food and open up their huge little mouths. And there really was a bully in the nest, I watched him climb over the other birds all the time. When they were getting fed, he’d get some, then the parent birds would fly off and the little bully bird would climb over one of his siblings and change places with it so when the parent birds came back, he got food again and the bird he climbed over didn’t get any. It’s a wonder the other little baby birds survived. I’m sure none of you will find it shocking that the little bully bird got the fattest and he was the first out of the nest and flying around. Even though all 3 of the little baby birds have flown off, they still come back at night a lot and sit under our porch, especially when it gets stormy. I love those little birdies. I actually learned quite a bit about barn swallows during this whole thing. They are federally protect, so we couldn’t destroy the nest even if we wanted to. They often come back and build a nest in the same place every year, so I might get to watch these birds have more babies next year! And while I thought the nest would be real nasty full of poop and stuff, it turns out that when the babies are tiny, the parents pick the poop up and throw it out of the nest, and the once the babies are a little bigger, they actually back themselves up over the edge of the nest and poop out of it. Smart little suckers!
Here’s the bird’s nest. The male bird always sat on our light, while the female was roosting around making the nest perfect.

Here’s the first bird out of the nest. The little fat bully bird. They pretty much let me get close enough I could of grabbed it if I wanted to.

And now for the backyard! Well actually, just the kids in the backyard.
I won this little bubble blower contraption at StrollerFit. I can hold a plank position like it’s nobodies business. Nice to know I still am a little competitive.

Little Willow. 8 months old now!

And this is what I did while sitting in the backyard. Working on a pink pumpkin hat!

Royal has been working a lot over the past couple weeks, which in turn means I am working a lot here at home, if you call what I do working. :) And I have been really sick and am just starting to feel better. So, those are my reasons for my lack of pictures of the kids recently. Tonight, I decided I’d just take some pictures of the kids in the bath and post some of those, just so you had something new to look at. I got one picture snapped and then my battery went dead. It’s like it’s just not meant to be. So, here’s the picture. It cracks me up, because Willow just starts smiling whenever I bring the camera out, and Jayden pretty much tries to not look at me as much as possible.

Oh! and one other thing I thought I’d share. I have made a few things on the sewing machine I got for my birthday. One of them is this sunhat! And even if the hat is pretty shoddy workmanship, the kid wearing it is pretty cute!