Poison Controll

So two nights ago we put the kids to bed and were enjoying a little peace and quiet. Occasionally we would hear Bradley and knew he was still a wake. I took some clothes in to put them away and found Bradley on top of the changing table and he was saying "Mommy mouth." I reached for him and felt something pasty. Then the scent of Butt Paste hit me. I turned on the light and Bradley had Butt Paste on his hands and ALL over his PJ's. I looked in his mouth and couldn't see anything, but I could smell it on his breath.
I read the back on the tube and it says, "Keep out of reach of children. If swallowed, seek medical help or call Poison Control Center immediately." I picked Bradley up and asked Andy to call Poison Control! By the time I changed Bradley's PJ's, wondering if I was going to have to make him throw up or stay up all night with him to make sure he kept breathing, Andy got a hold of someone. He asked a few questions and the guy told us the he would have to eat TWO tubes of Butt Paste before it would hurt him. He then told us that apparently Butt Paste is a popular taster among toddlers. He has gotten several calls just like ours. I was very relieved and gave Bradley a drink of water and put him right back to bed. He has been just fine!

Green Tomato Jelly

Some of you have heard me complain about me tomatoes. I planted them in March of this year. They grew but didn't produce their first tomatoes until August!! Then they would only produce one or two at a time and we would wait for weeks in between. I was getting so frustrated. In October I decided to separate the plants a little and string them up to help them get more sun light. It worked!! With in a couple weeks the plants were blossoming and growing lots of little green tomatoes. That is just how they stayed too, little green tomatoes! They didn't fully ripen! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! After talking to my mom about my problem she told me you could make jelly or jam out of green tomatoes, so I looked online for a recipe and found one. Here are some pictures of the process.

Picking the many little green tomatoes.

Bradley is such a good helper.

Washing them!

Cooking them with sugar!

Adding strawberry jello!

Letting it cool.

Finished product.

The recipe calls for:

2 cups pureed green tomatoes

2 cups sugar

1 box (3 oz.) strawberry or raspberry jello

You cook tomatoes and sugar for 10 minutes, remove from heat and add jello. Let cool and refrigerate. I made just a little more than a pint.

The only suggestion I have is make sure you have a blender to puree the tomatoes with. I couldn't find ours and so I used our baby food grinder. It took m 1.5 hours to puree 2 cups of tomato! Never again!! The jelly doesn't taste too bad. It is really pretty good on toast. Should anyone want to try some just stop by!

Bubble Bath!

This is a real bubble bath! One morning Bradley was suppose to be showering and Andy went to check on him. THIS is what he found. He yelled for me to come look before he did anything about it!

Bubbles and water were sloshing out of the tub!
Notice the empty bottle of Shampoo!
Bubbles!!!

Usually Bradley like to play with his cars while showering. Occasionally the drain gets plugged and the bathtub fills with water. This has happened before and it is amazing how fast it happens. I was in the other room with Andy and I told him it sounded like the drain was plugged. He went in to check and Bradley had opened the shampoo and dumped it into the water. There was 3/4 of a 22.5 oz. bottle in the water! We turned off the water and he played for a while. He was squeaky clean when he got out!

Thanksgiving

These are some random pictures from our trip to Grandma & Grandpa Shirley's house for Thanksgiving.

Brylee and Uncle Matt during the compass course.
Quincy & Macy
Thanksgiving dinner set for 34!!
Bradley & Quincy on the inversion table.
Grandpa giving instructions on how to use the compass.
All the Shirley Grand kids in their new PJ's from Grandma Shirley.

This year Grandma & Grandpa gave the grand kids their Christmas presents early since not everyone is coming back for Christmas. Grandpa gave them all a compass and then hid pieces to a nativity set in the yard. The kids had to follow directions to find all the pieces. Then we went inside and read the Christmas story while the kids added their pieces at the appropriate time. It was fun and the kids paid attention the whole time. Then they all got new PJ's! They were so cute running around the house in their Disney PJ's!!

Six Interesting Things...

I have been tagged! After thinking about interesting or unique things about myself to share this is what I have come up with.

1. I need to learn to say NO! I know I say it a lot to Bradley, but I that doesn't count. Very often I find myself getting into too many things at once. Most recent example: I am making family calendars for both sides of the family. That is 16 calendars total. Two sets of pictures and four different calendars to go with the pictures!

2. I have had more manual labor jobs than not. One of which was at a Ashgrove Cement Plan in Lemmington, Utah. There I got checked out on a bobcat and in a dump truck. (I don't mean the guys there were checking me out, I got certified.)

3. I love pickles! not just any, but kosher baby dill pickles!! I love them even when I am not pregnant.

4. I more tired I get the more silly I get. Andy can always tell when I am too tired because everything is funny! A lot of the time I just start laughing until I cry and I can't stop for several minutes. This always leaves me completely drained and ready to go right to sleep.

5. When ever any one in my family sees a pig they think of me. I have over 150 pig figurines, piggy banks, stuff pigs, pig slippers, pig hair twisties, etc... I even have a pig pillow case!

6. I am the best burper in my family! When ever any of my nieces or nephews burg really long of loud they say, "Aunt Kar would be proud!" and they think of me. I can burp on command, but have chosen to hide this talent the older I get.

Now I am supposed to tag 6 people to post things on their blogs about themselves. However, everyone I know that has a blog has already posted something very similar. If you haven't posted one, then TAG you are it!!

A Visit From Uncle Chad

After our busy week it was fun to have a surprise visit from our Uncle Chad. He was on a road trip and was nice enough to call us while he was in town. We enjoyed visiting with him and convinced him to spend the night before heading to Gilmer, TX today. Thanks for visiting, and we will see you again for Thanksgiving!

Uncle Chad & Daniel. Bradley wasn't quite fast enough.
He made it in time for the Wild Boys shot.
It's the 'Bald Boys!'

Okay, so really Daniel is the only one without hair,

but he is still working on it!

This is his ride. It may have Utah plates, but it has Texas written all over it.

More Photography Practice Duing a Busy Week

We had a pretty busy week! This is what our schedule looked like: Monday morning- grocery shopping & playgroup, Monday afternoon- Enrichment Board meeting, Tuesday evening- Elders Quorum Pres. Meeting at our house, Wednesday- Xander came to play, Thursday- playgroup at the park, Thursday evening- Enrichment. During the week Bradley found the camera AGAIN! and took some more pictures. Some of them actually turned out pretty good for a 2 year old. These first pictures are ones Bradley took and the rest are some of our highlights from the week!

Daniel loves whatever Bradley is doing!

I love the finger shadow in this one.
We call this one 'The Feet!'
This is Bradley's beloved cow!
This one I like to call 'To Bubble or SNOT to Bubble?!' Daniel has had a cold and I was just getting done feeding him dinner when he sneezed. The next thing I knew there was a HUGE snot bubble. I grabbed a tissue, but thought I had better document it so our Dad could see. I just love Daniels big smile!
Xander showing Daniel all the ins and outs of the excer-saucer.
Bradley has recently started doing everything Daniel does. I think the sibling rivalry is about to begin!
Sometime during the week Bradley also got a hair cut. I just kept staring at the calendar trying to remember when I fit it in. I honestly can't remember, but I guess it doesn't matter as long as it got done!

Peaceful Moments

It seems that everything is more peaceful when the kids are asleep. I want to share some of those peaceful moments from the last couple months.

I am really the only one trying to sleep in this picture.
Ya get pretty tired when you get up at 6 am.
These are the only 2 times he has fallen asleep on the front room floor
for nap time.

Daddy & Daniel catching a power nap before dinner.

This is one of my favorites!

Daniel is such a good sleeper. He sleeps almost anywhere!
This is what happens when Bradley decides not to take his

afternoon nap. By 5:30 he can't even finish his chocolate pudding.

This is why they make a 5 pt. harness. To keep kids from falling out when they are sleeping!

I hope you have enjoyed our peaceful moments as much as we have!

An Outing to the "Outdoor World"

Today was went on an outing to the Bass Pro Shop near our house. Since our dad is speaking in church tomorrow, we thought it would be good to give him a few minutes of quiet to prepare his talk. It turned out to be a perfect day for the outing. We left home about 9 am so there wasn't much traffic and there weren't many people at Bass Pro. The weather was overcast with a breeze which made it perfect to explore the new landscaping! Uncle Quincy, you are going to want to come visit us!!
(I think you can make the pictures bigger if you click on them!)

Where your outdoor adventure begins!
Safety first. "Buckle Up! Its the law!"
Bradley checking to see if he is backing if in straight!
As you can see Bradley was only interested in the "Toys"! I couldn't get him to pose with any of the animals, but I had plenty opportunities to get him with the boats, four wheelers, etc...
He looks pretty good on this red one.

The Race is on!

Daniel won do to the fact that Bradley couldn't reach the peddles.

Daniel with the "forsies" aka "horsies"!
That is what Bradley kept running around calling all the deer, elk & moose!

Check out the lion on the far left. It is getting ready to pounce on Daniel.
I loved Daniel's little face in this one! He has started sticking out his tongue

when he smiles. It is soo cute!

This is the fancy new landscape at Bass Pro Shop!
Bradley kept picking up the rocks on the side of the water and throwing them in.
He would say, "Look at the big ole rock!"
We are going to have to try out this restaurant sometime.

Bradley wasn't sure about sitting on this rock after I had been telling

him not to touch the rocks.

I loved this one. Bradley sat right down next to Daniel so he wouldn't fall, and
then they just sat there watching the waterfall.

I thought this picture captured Daniel and Bradley's relationship perfectly. Daniel watches everything Bradley does and laughs most of the time. They are getting to be such good friends. I love it!!

We felt bad that our dad missed all the cool new things at Bass Pro, so we are going to have to take him there very soon. Hopefully when we go again they will have the display of Santa's reindeer finished. When we saw them today they had just been taken out of crates and their antlers where in the sleigh. (FYI: They screw the antlers into the head when they put them on display!)

Where Cama Mom?!

A lot of experts, friends and family, have said that the best thing to do when your toddler/baby makes a mess is to take a picture so you can laugh later, and this way you have time to calm down before beating them! After hearing this advice I decided to try this method. (I am sure you have all seen the Bradley body art pictures.) This method of dealing with things has worked up to this point. Bradley is still a live and well, despite what some may think after the last posting about Wal-Mart!

Yesterday I was working on the computer and all of the sudden I hear Bradley say, "Where cama Mom? Where cama Mom?" I turn and this is what I find!

I think Bradley has caught onto my method of dealing with the messes he makes. What do you think? I asked Bradley if he just painted himself so he could get his picture taken. He just smiled. He didn't even ask to color this time! Usually he does and just makes a mess the first time I turn my head. I think I may need to come up this a different way to handle things. Any suggestions?

Bradley + Wal-Mart = Disaster!

So last week I was reading about an experience that one of my friends had when she took her little boy to the store and he made apple sauce in the produce section. I got a good laugh at it and said to my self, "Self, I sure am glad I have never had to deal with anything like that!" I spoke too soon.

The next day I took the boys to the store to get some baby food for Daniel. We made one stop before Wal-Mart and that one stop was ALL Bradley wanted. When I tried to get him out of the car at Wal-Mart he screamed "NO, NO" and fought me the whole time. He ended up hitting his head on the car which left dirt on the side of his face. I put him in the basket of the cart and got Daniel out of the car and into the seat of the cart. Bradley stood in the basket, held onto the side, and cried and screamed the whole way into the store and all the back to the baby section. (He had big tear streaks down his cheeks through the dirt on his face.) I felt like every eye was on us as we mad our through the store. Then he tried to get things off the shelves as I started down the isle, so I sat him down with his back to the back of the cart under Daniel. (He is screaming "NO! NO!" this whole time!!) I picked up two jars of stage two baby carrot food and put them in the cart next to Bradley. As I was turning back to get more this thought hits me like a ton of bricks, "Bradley is going to throw the jar!" Before I could turn back and stop him, he grabs a bottle and hurled it TEN feet in front of the shopping cart where it shattered on the floor leaving a splash radius of about 3 feet of bright orange baby food!!

I was so frustrated that I grabbed him by his arms, held him at eye level, and in a voice just short of yelling told him that "If he touched one more thing he was going to be really sorry!" (As I have him suspended above the cart I see through my peripheral vision, a worker poke her head around the corner, look at the shattered bottle of food, then at me, then quickly retreat around the corner again!) I put him back in the cart with his back to the front away from the baby food. He didn't move a muscle! He even stopped screaming and crying! I offered to pay for the demolished baby food, but they told me not to worry about it, so I grabbed a couple more bottles of food and high-tailed it out of there.

That night when Andy got home from school I told him what had happened. When I told him that Bradley quit crying and didn't touch anything else during our shopping trip after I told him not to touch anything else, Andy asked me if I beat our kids and wondered if they were scared of me? I turned to Bradley and asked, "Bradley, does Mom beat you? Are you scared of Mom?" to which he answered "Yes." I turned back to Andy and said, "I guess I do."

Should You Be Afraid of the Dentist??

I know a lot of people are afraid of the dentist, but is there a legitimate reason for this fear? After carefully concidering the following information I have concluded that YES there could be a legitimate reason for the fear! Watch the clip below and let me know what YOU think! Should you be afraid?

Be very afraid!)