The only acceptable Mouse in my life is Mickey.

It's 1 am, and all through house, not a creature was stirring......

Wait...

Scratch that.... There was. And it was in fact, a mouse. There is nothing else like it, waking up to the bulls screaming outside your bedroom window, and rolling over just to watch a mouse run across your bedroom floor. Needless to say, not pleased. I got up to go get a mouse trap, coating the trigger with peanut butter, and managing to snap it on my finger twice. You think i'm clumsy between the hours of 6am and 9pm? After 10 it goes downhill pretty darn fast! So I finally got the trap set and put in a corner of our room and Hubby gets up to use the restroom. Since I just put a trap in our bathroom he went down the hall to the spare. A loud crash and alot of cussing later he comes back in. 'There's a mouse in the bathroom' was the simple statement he uttered before he came back to bed and curled up under the covers. 'Did you kill it?' I asked. 'Nope, but I did close the door' was the already sleepy reply I got. Love that man! So the fact that I never saw the mouse in our bedroom leave, and now there is a mouse in our spare bathroom left my head spinning with the fact that they could potentially take over the house. Why is it that things always seem ten times worse and un-manageable at night? I couldn't stand it anymore so I tiptoed to our bathroom. I slowly opened the door, flicked on the light and............................... Couldn't find anything. Really? What was worse? Knowing that there was a mouse in the bathroom, or knowing that it used to be in the bathroom. I decided to go for the second option, and my dreams definately reflected that. A huge rat decided to permeate my dreams and follow me around. Not only that, but the idea of having mice run around my house prompted me to wake ub about half a million times thinking that an itch, or Bryce moving was in fact the mouse crawling over me.

So it's now 4 am, I have a horrible headache and Char decides it's time to get up. For TWO HOURS I could not convince her otherwise. As I type she is already down for a nap (It's about 9:30 right now) and was not very happy about it. Why is it that when babies need sleep, the last thing they want to do is sleep? Silly babies! I thought that maybe the reason she woke up was the mouse so I scoured her room as I was trying to find binkies this morning and never found one.

To top it all off (and not in a bad way) my family is coming tomorrow. I'm so very excited for them to come, but with the mice running around the house the last thing I need is for my little brother's hair to get chewed off like Pa in Little House on the Prairie. And yes, that is the type of thing that would happen to me. Call me Murphy!!

My world for some Butter.

As you already know, i'm not a health nut. I believe in being healthy, I run two miles a night now, but there are days where the experimentation in food requires a tab of butter. And of those are joyous days! The Art of French Cooking was my companion last night as I made the most moist, unbelievably amazing chicken ever! Before you mistake me for being vain about my cooking, that above statement was my husbands quote of the evening. Up until the second year of our marriage I would mention chicken or fish and he was a little less than pleased with dinner. So chicken in our household is now a favorite, thank you Julia (and Light Cooking)! In the movie 'Julie and Julia' Amy Adam's Julie said that if there were only days left on earth she would spend it eating butter! Jillian Michaels would kick my butt for praising this fatty, yellow, yummy goodness, but I'm gushing today, sorry!!

The road ahead.

6 drafts left unfinished later, I am determined to finish this post and actually post it! Perhaps this is just a simple case of writers block or perhaps it could just be the business of being a Mama and Wifey! If I have the lee-way to use both as an excuse, will you forgive me for using them! While i've been gone, there have been SO many things that have been going on! According to my calculations we have had two to three weekends this summer to ourselves and our little family.  We have had family and friends running in and out all summer long, and it has sure made it fly by.  Not to mention the drama on the animal front! Four of my chickens got eaten this summer, followed by two more hens sitting on a total of about 34 eggs between them. Out of those, I have gotten one chick and he is living in a box in my back room.  His Mama decided that she didn't want to be a mama after all, so she is no longer a part of the brood. Forgive me, but I don't tolerate animals who don't take care of their babies (not mention she ate half the eggs she sat on). We narrowly missed the boat on Mollie and Sadie being bred. Thank God! People and letting their dogs loose I swear! I think that may be all the drama... Looking at it written down, it really wasn't all that much. Don't sweat the small stuff I guess.

I have to admit I have been taking about an hour to myself for the last month or so and i've never felt more conent with myself or life. With those 60 precious minutes I have been donning Adidas, Nike, UnderArmour, and New Balance (I feel like the flagship for what's on sale at Ross) and running. 3 years (and two babies ago) I used to be able to run 3 miles straight. Now, and two babies later, it has taken a month to get a mile and a half down to a decent time. Which brings me to a very important point. Every Mommy needs an outlet! Mine is running and leatherwork, but what is yours? What do you take time out to keep yourself sane? When your youngest explodes while in Subway and mommy forgot a extra change of clothes, or your oldest pukes while on a 3 hour road trip (again without a change of clothes) it's so good to have a release! Not to mention the extra boost in energy! For the last three years I managed to convince myself that being self sacrificing and not taking any time out for myself was the way to go. But it's so hard to focus on others when you are constantly drained!

So on an ending note, life is a beautiful hectic mess and whatever you do, don't blink! Always focus on the road ahead, company this weekend!

No crying, Mama!

I would have to think that the words I say my oldest would get repeated to me at some point. She spilled three cups of milk yesterday, after the second I decided to mop the floor, and so I did! Hands, Knees and a scrub brush! The third cup was devastating. Anyone who has ever spilled milk knows when it dries it's a sticky mess, and you can never get all of it. It was the last straw, this Mama started to ball. Yes, I cried over spilled milk. Only a mother would understand this frustration. While muttering to myself about how it's not fair, i'm not these people's slave, and why did it have to be milk (yes, I reverted back to about 4th grade on that one) my two year old comes up and stands next to me. I look up at her and she says in a loving yet firm voice, 'Mama, no crying!' A phrase I tell her quite often due to the fact that we have a bit of a drama queen over here! 'Help clean up, I lovers you!'. As I got even more teary due to the fact that this girl is so aggravating, yet wonderful, she put her hands on my shoulders and says 'Mama, come here, help clean the bathroom.'

You guessed it, it wasn't just milk I cleaned up yesterday.

Some women want diamonds... I am ecstatic for a new stove!

Anyone read The Egg and I? If you haven't you need to! The best and funniest book ever! The 1940's movie was pretty hilarious though too.

If you haven't read the book or watched the movie,  one of the main characters is Stove. Yes, that literally means Stove. Stove had a temperment to match that of a cantankerous woman. Unpredictable and cranky, Stove was. I have my version of Stove. And she's getting replaced TODAY. Brand new electric stove with a convectioners oven! You may think me absolutely insane but i'm ecstatic! No more saggy cakes, no more burnt chicken in the back, underdone in the front, no more sparking elements, or pots set to boil and 20 minutes later the element never even turned on. Yay!!!

Alright, children. Most days it's one, but today it's both. Chalotte is cutting teeth so she is cranky cranky cranky, and Sarah is pushing every button I have today. From soaping the entire bathroom, to locking her sister in her room, to pulling a chunk out of my freshly made bread... This mama is exasperated, and exhausted. Nobody ever tells you that having children is 90% work and aggravation rewarded by a mere 10% of love and kisses! Can't say I don't love parenting though, and wouldn't miss the aggravation. I'm such a mother... No woman in her right mind would ever say such a thing!

Time? What? Where?

There is not enough time in the day. I know i'm not the first person in the world to realize this but I certainly feel like i'm the only one that can't seem to find enough! We have had company basically non-stop all summer, a bittersweet business! I love having our friends and family over, since most haven't met Miss Charlotte yet, but my goodness! It has made the summer fly by! We are in August, wait what? You can't be serious! So many crazy things have happened since I was able to get on last! Summer brandings are almost over, the ranch is looking at getting more colts for Bryce, I have two hens sitting on about 27 eggs total, both of our puppy dogs are pregnant, the lambs are HUGE, Char is walking and starting to talk, and Sarah is getting so big!

A few new things on the leather front, got a couple new tools for my birthday, and got a chance to make a good friend of mine a bracelet! Next project is for Christmas so better not let the secret out!

Cooking wise, it's been plain and simple lately. Hungarian Goulosh and rice are simmering on the stove (which is a miracle due to the fact an hour ago I had no clue what exactly was for dinner!), but other than that there is only one recipe I can think of that was out of the ordinary lately. So here goes, again (as with all of my recipes) tweak to your heart's content! I made this up on a 'I have nothing in the cupboards except for this' night!

Mexican bean and tortilla casserole

Cut 20 corn tortillas into strips and fry on a griddle or in a skillet
1# ground beef seasoned with one packet of taco seasoning
2 cans of condensed tomato soup
1 can kidney beans
1-2 cups grated cheese (I used cheddar but a mexican blend would be fine!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix everything into one 9x13 casserole dish. Bake until cheese is melted and edges are bubbly.

Like I said, simple yet yummy! Lots of protein!

Hope everyone in blog land is having a great Monday!