A few photos

The whine face. I have seen a lot of this this.

The cheesy grin. I have seen a lot more of this. (I love, love, love Mason's hair)
Treasures. Cleaning out Jacob's pockets is always fun.
Sleepy bike rides. One of my favorite things-- until a bump in the road wakes them up.

This Summer So Far....

Rain, rain, and more rain. Overcast gray and dark. The Northwest has not been giving us its usual awesome, not too hot, but still pretty and green weather. I've been feeling it. Stay in bed? Sure why not, its not like we can do much outside. I have had to change my thinking in order to stay happy and motivated.

In June we went to Vegas to see my parents and for a Nurse Practitioner conference. It was fun. I didn't realize how fortunate I am to practice in a state where I have a high level of autonomy. In some states NP's cant even prescribe without having to have a cosign from a doctor. In Washington, the only thing I need an MD to cosign for is Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy for Medicare patients who are in a nursing home or receiving home care. I don't get it. I can prescribe drugs that can kill them without an MD telling me its okay, but not therapies to help them get better. Wacky! But nurse legislators are in the works to change all that.

So what else? I have started some summer projects, summer reading, and enjoyed berry picking despite our lack of summer.

Mason has hair! and it curls--just like I would dream about when I was pregnant.
Jacob is growing. He was in my bed last night crying that his legs hurt. I remember those days so well. I would end up in my moms bed and she would rub my legs. I feel like a real mom now rubbing my little boy's growing pains away. Sigh.....

Now for the photos: Nevermind. I have tried 3 times.. dang blogger wont upload. sorry. I'll try again later

Belated April Update

I just love these kids. I feel like a crappy parent right now. They ask to play, I put them off. I work all day and I don't play with them at the end of the day because I am too tired. At least daddy wrestles with them. I think single moms are the strongest most amazing people in the world.

We did manage to build a batcave.

Dyed some eggs.


Introducing...... Mary Poppins. Not cowboy. The difference-- an umbrella.
Cute cousins.

My little bakers.

I said to goodbye to a great friend and mentor at work, Tricia. I owe much of what I know and sucess I have had with my patients to her imparting clinical pearls of knowledge. Thanks Trish--- you will be missed.

In her absence, I am picking up extra shifts to pay for a vacation and I think thats why I feel like a neglectful nellie right now. I also am working with the young women now and that is super busy. Good thing today is a new day.

March

Cowboy Jake and Lil' Sis



We had some snow. It was so fun to watch Jacob's eyes light up... magical really. Mason could hardly move in her suit.

We celebrated 7 years of marriage. My sister in law watched the kids. Eli and I had a stay-cation and checked out Portland.

I made a comeback after my 5 year sabbatical from golf. I played with my dad's old clubs and not too shabby.


Eli had some training in Las Vegas and we took advantage of Maydawg's ability to fly free. She went to Vegas with Eli and my family watched her. Twelve days away from my baby girl. I missed her. I did notice, however, my house stayed so clean and there was a lot less laundry.

So Jake and Mommy had a fun time. We are part of a preschool co-op with some neighbors. Preschool was at our house this month.

A leprechaun had the nerve to walk his green little feet all over our table!

We went to a puppet show a few weeks ago at Burgerville. That gave us the inspiration to make puppets. (Us meaning Jacob requesting mommy do this for him).


Jacob planned a tea party and invited his best friends; Grammy, Auntie Brit, Auntie Teton and Cousin Maren. We spoke with English accents, kept our pinkies up, and ate yummy food.

Eli and Mason made it home. Jacob welcomed them home by vomiting all over.

Now its April. Spring is in the air. I love it.

This and That

Kids are just so funny. I have been writing down some of the cute things Jacob and Mason say or do, otherwise I forget. Here are a few examples just for fun:

We had breakfast for dinner the other night. Jacob was rubbing his turkey bacon on his face. I asked him what he was doing. He responded that this is what the lion on Madagascar does with his meat. Can't argue with that.


Mason is a food-a-holic. After this photo, we have thought about dieting, but she is capable of sliding a stool over to the cabinet and getting out whatever she can reach. She is definitely a Higham. Should we start metformin now or later?



Eli is trying to transform our wacky, rock laden yard into a simple patch of grass cohesive with mowing. The project is half finished, making a great place for preschooler cliff jumping.

Snow Day

I wish I had some amazing, exciting news to report. Just same old, same old here. Work is keeping me quite busy. There are a lot of changes taking place. Some interesting cases too. All I can say is please cook your food thoroughly, watch for worms and vaccinate your kids. Aside from that, I am having fun crafting while there's crummy weather outside. I had no idea how many blogs there were dedicated to sewing, quilting, crafting, etc. It is addictive.

P90X Report Card

I have to post this somewhere (I'll spare you the photos). I finished the program the second week of Janurary. Overall, I was happy with it. Unfortunately, The past 90 days I had 4 Major Diet Sabotaging Holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years) and that darn kidney stone. However, I ended up losing 12 lbs and went down a size. I felt like I was in pretty good shape prior to starting, but it is pretty cool to see what you are capable of if pushed hard enough. I still cannot do a pull up with out the help of a chair. Perhaps after round two.

Has any one done Sean T's Insanity? That is looking "fun"to me.

A photo update

Eli bought me a new camera a while back, but it doesn't work on my computer (which is now deceased to due a drowning accident over the holidays). Hence I have a hard time uploading photos. So here is a much ove due photo diary.

A new park was built right next to our home. We had to try it out before it got too cold. Kylee loved it
Good thing we did, because it snowed shortly after.
The weather dried up and we made a dent in some much needed yardwork.

I didn't have a chance to share some photos from Thanksgiving (due to my rock hard--lithotripsy resistant, $3,000 arch enemy kidney stone). I was proud of my place cards for the gathering.

Gearing up for the holidays, Jake and Eli made *A* ginger bread man. Jacob ate the entire being.

I had to catch a photo of Mason in her clicky church shoes as she in now grown out of them. She loved to walk around and tap, tap, tap her feet.

Christmas was a blast minus Mason having a cold and being a whiner. It was so fun to see Jacob's face on Christmas morning. I have never seen his eyes get so big (and over the littlest stuff too... I'm talking cheap junk from the dollar store).

Now for New Years and Resolutions:

Even though he seems little and cute, I will not let my 3 year old take a sink bath with my laptop (or any other electronic device) anywhere in the vicinity. Jake experimented with the spayer (which I could have sworn was broken) and that was the end of it. But, 3 cheers for those new windows in the back ground. Now my kids don't have to wear snow suits to bed.


Next, I will not try to hide the fact that I accidentlly bumped into Eli's car even though it only shifted my bumper a tad and didn't even leave a mark on his car. I thought I was in the clear as it had been a few months and he hadn't noticed. But, it came back to haunt me in the form of ripping the bumper off when I went through the car wash. I think it adds character. I am still hoping this car will last until our next child-- 4 or5 years? With that bumper?! I may have to reformulate things.


It wouldn't be January without Kylee's birthday. We hosted a party at our house because Nathan and Corinne were in the middle of packing for their move to Las Vegas. They left this past week. I can't blog about it or else I will get emotional.


A little girl party would not be complete without a barbie in a fancy dress cake (decorated by her daddy btw)
We had to play pin the new knee on B-Roy. Tis a shame.


Lastly we are left with winter in Washington. The time of year I try not to think about why we live here and choose to get so soggy.




To wrap things up, one time in high school I was told my my art teacher I have a face like a cartoon character. I didn't really understood what that meant at the time. With that in mind, I think Mason must take after her mama.