whatever

tuesday.

 

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i took annie in for her re-check this morning on her cast.

she is not an easy patient.

we both thought this was going to be just an xray and i wasn't thinking they would need to take off the cast for that but they did.  
there was LOTS of screaming and crying.... LOTS!!!
not because of too much actual pain but mostly from sheer panic and terror of the unknown.
i almost started crying too. 

but it is healing really well thankfully.
and she got a new christmas colored cast and can't wait for Santa to sign it!

 

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how are you doing on your christmas shopping?

i have.... hardly anything done.
i think i have 4 gifts done.
ugh.
and none of those four are my own children. 
i can feel the christmas melt down coming on already....

i am struggling with finding my christmas spirit this year.
boo.
i need to find it. 

tell me what to get my kids and that would help.  :)

 

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this past week or i have been using my awesome recipes section of the bloggy big time!

i have made cream puff dessert...



crescent chicken.... cheesy potato soup.... spicy tortilla soup.... noodles with ham...

spinach artichoke dip... pancakes... glazed apple bars...

and i am making my mom's mint brownies soon!

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last night i played Mexican Train with my kids.
does your family play board games together?  do your kids sit quietly while they play?
because mine do NOT.
they squirm and sing and stand up and sit down and stand up and spin and squeal and every other little annoying thing you can thing of while we sit and try to play a game.
oh yeah...and they fight too.

but it's stil better than being a zombie in front of the tv so i'll take it.

here is a visual list of some of our favorite family games here at the Duerksen House....

 

Mexican Train   
it's a game of dominos but a bunch of people can play it at once.
my kids LOVE this one.

Blokuseven i like to play this game... but i NEVER win! 

Farkle   
 craig loves to play this with the kids... 

 

Zingo   
oh my goodness my younger kids LOVE this game so much!

 

Guess Who Extra 
fun fact: we have this game and have never put the batteries in and they don't care!  
they still play it all the time even without sounds and lights!

Uno 
everyone likes UNO... how could you not?

Memory 

even though my kids are older i can still challenge them to Memory.
it was the best game we played when they were preschoolers.
i think this game is amazing for their minds!

 

Sequence 

my older kids like this one
and craig & i play it with chicago dave & jenny EVERYTIME.

Scene It (Disney edition)   
we always agree to this game when we don't have the energy
for the bouncing squirming craziness at the table.

 

Sorry 
it's a classic game!  
i played and my kids love it too!

 

Apples to Apples Jr. 

this is probably their FAVORITE game of all of them...
and for the grown ups too.

 

HedBanz 

we don't have this one but they asked for it for this christmas.

 

Memory Challenge Holiday 
and this one looks like fun...
it's for ages 6+ so it must be harder than the original Memory.  
i think it will go in my amazon cart.

 

Holiday Scrabble 

and this one will too!  
it looks fun and different and i want to challenge their minds with spelling and math whle we have "fun"


so... maybe that gives you some ideas for gifts at your house?

do you have a favorite family game that isn't listed here?

please share!

 

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i guess i should go out for my run.
sometimes it's such a chore to get out there!
and cold!
i wish i had downloaded new music yesterday with fast internet... it takes 8 minutes to download one song off iTunes out here with our farmy internet!

ok... i will go.
i will.

ready..... set.... GO. 

 

broken bones and KAKE news.

 

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on monday evening craig & i were looking forward to our free night with no plans or practices.
and then i heard a SCREAM outside that was so loud and annie yelling "I BROKE MY ARM!!! ITS BROKEN!!!"

i doubted for about five minutes but then i felt her arm.
yeah....
i called craig & he was on his way home from work "i think annie broke her arm.  i am taking her to the ER".
he said he would meet us there.


two hours later they determined it was definitely broken.
we expected it to just be a cast and we'd go home.

then a dr came in and said "it's a really bad break.  REALLY BAD.  we need to do surgery"
what?!
so at 9 PM they took her in and put her under.

that was very hard to let her go.

a piece of her bone broke off and was floating in her arm.
they put two pins in her elbow to hold it in place until it heals.

she's smiling but it was just for the camera.
she and i slept in the hospital (if you can call it sleep) monday night to keep an eye on everything.


we headed home late morning....dead tired.
we both rested all day yesterday.
the doctor says a cast comes next week.
she is hoping for lime green but thought red and blue for KU would be cool too.

we've got some serious bedhead going on that we will have to deal with today....



she slept all night last night.
i just feel so bad for her.
she is miserable.
i think we will paint nails and toenails today.
and finish her chapter book.
and we watched Crocodile hunter this morning.... how much tv can one person watch?!

so send up some prayers for annie when you think of her.

 

and on a completely different subject...........

 

Craft Weekend was on the local news!
they interviewed us before the last CW and then came back AT craft weekend during our apron making.
some of our guests were interviewed about why they came.
i was really nervous about the whole thing but i think it turned out well.

it's pretty cool. 

 

ok....another cup of coffee is needed.
and i am going to do 7 loads of laundry today.
i am.
keep me accountable.
make sure i do it.
cause my laundry situation is downright embarassing right now.
i have let it go for far too long.
sitting at the hospital knowing i needed clothes and dreading the thought of having a friend go into my house to look for my clothes was mortifying.
1. i doubt i had any clean underwear for me.
2. to get to my clean clothes....you had to climb the mountain of dirty clothes first...seriously a safety risk.

so today i am playing nurse, manicurist and laundry aid.

what are you doing today?
getting ready to cook?  are you hosting thanksgiving? what kind of pie are you making? 

more.

i know these look like the same pictures of that sunflower patch i posted about in july....but they are different.
i promise.
i went back a week later with no kids, my cowboy boots and my camera. 

i was so happy out there clickin' away on an overcast morning with no one asking me "how much longer mom?"
"can we go now?"
"are you almost finished?"
i just clicked and clicked and clicked until i decided i was done.
that is an awesome feeling.











this time they were ALL open and smiling at the sun.


spider playing hide-and-seek at the bottom...





i love the water droplets and pollen all over the leaves.  :)











this one just needed another hour probably and all its petals would be open.





that was the whole patch.
not a field but just enough and all about 5 feet tall.  

and this one is my most favorite.
i love it.

i think i should just become a flower farmer.
i could just grow fields of flowers and take pictures all day long.
zinnias, black eyed susans, coneflowers, daisies and of course sunflowers.
wouldn't that be a completely dreamy job?

what do you dream about becoming?

just share...it's safe here.  :)