Tyrel

Tyrel Quiets the Duck

It has been lots of fun having the kids here this past week. You never know WHAT Tyrel is going to say next. He had been playing with the stuffed duck, quacking loudly. He had been shushed several times... and tried to explain it was the DUCK, not Tyrel, making all the noise. A few minutes later, he came to show us that he was keeping the duck quiet, because Kimber was taking a nap. (The duck has several linking toy rings around its bill.)

The babies were a bit under the weather the last couple of days. Running a fever, coughing and snotty noses... and very restive last night. Mr C was up at his usual pre-dawn hours. Tyrel and the twins got up and joined him. I elected to stay in bed and TRY to sleep. Becky was staying in bed with Kimber, trying to grab a few more minutes of rest.

I hear Tyrel announce he is going potty.

Then he says, "I'm sitting on the potty now! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!.....  Are you getting up yet, Mom? Mom. Mom. Mom. MOM! ....... Are you getting up yet Mom?"

 (Thirty second pause)

"Mom. Mom. Are you getting up yet Mom?"..... ( another pause)...... "Mom! Are you getting up yet?"

Becky tiredly replies, "No.... I hadn't planned on it."

"Oh." says Tyrel, "I was just checking."

His favorite question is the same as most three year olds, "Why?"

It doesn't matter what he is told to do... the reply is "Why?"

He asks why after asking, and being informed of what you are doing.

And once you explain why you are doing whatever you are doing... he asks "Why?" again.

An explanation for your explanation is requested. Sometimes, though, he just says "Oh." and walks away, satisfied that you have answered his questions.

Random Shots and Busted Rears

Just a few random shots from the past week.

Kimber, wearing the dress Cowgranny made her!

Grumpaw and the Grandkids

Connor, Tyrel, Tom, and Alana

Alana, Tyrel, Rose, Tammy, and Connor

Becky is stranded here for awhile. The rear end went out on her pick-up truck, and getting parts for it has been a comedy   tragedy of errors. First of all, trying to get the parts the mechanic said we needed, we had to submit a "special order" to O'Reilly's. The info on the special order came back as "unavailable to purchase through O'Reilly's". So my boss called the mechanic... and had him dig into the rear end and see exactly the "gear ratio" that was needed, so that Boss could try to find a correct rear end. He requested Mechanic to look to his sources, while Boss looked to his. A call back from the Mechanic gave Boss exactly what part to order... one that COULD be had through usual channels at O'Reilly's... the same day! The order was placed.
Then., the local warehouse that "had" the part discovered, oops... they did NOT have the part after all.  So the part was ordered through the closest warehouse that had it... Oklahoma City. It would arrive by 11:30 the next day. At 1:30 the next day, we called O'Reilly's to see if the part had been delivered to the Mechanic. OOPS again... it was still on the shelf!
So the part was delivered hastily to the shop. The Mechanic was in the middle of finishing up a vehicle he DID have parts for, so Becky's truck was put off until Mechanic finished. THEN he got on Becky's truck and got it torn apart just before they closed.
Once he got to the point of putting the new part in this morning... he discovered that the NEW part was MISSING PIECES! VITAL pieces.... The parts requisition chase started again. New  New parts were ordered, and will be here in the morning.  But tomorrow is Saturday, and this shop takes weekends off. So.... Monday is the very earliest possible time to get the truck. Monday AFTERNOON.... and that is provided all goes well.
Becky's DH suggested Becky just plan to stay this entire next week.

Which means... LOTS more pictures! Yay!

Random funnies

When my oldest two boys were growing up,for some reason they called the very last bit of banana in the peel, "The POWER BITE". Once you ate the power bite, you had super power! They would run around like crazy.

The POWER BITE

Daniel showed me that he was eating "Annies Cheddar Bunnies". Bunnies are quick multipliers!

Two Bunnies

Boy are they fast!

Zoom!

December is racing by. I have really enjoyed getting to spend the day with Becky, the babies, and my Mom. In the morning, I abandon them and go back to work. Once I get home,w e plan to go to "oops!" so that Becky can get some candles. Hopefully, I can afford a few as well. ("oops!" is a candle factory outlet, and an import store that sells all sorts of interesting items. It is located in Tontitown, AR.)

Both Tyrel and Kimber have taken right up with "Umpaw", as usual. Kimber has allowed me to tote her around, but she has gone to Umpaw and climbed right into his lap... all her own idea. Seems Mr C is a natural with little ones! He may look crabby to everyone else, but little kids take right to him. Connor and Alana came out for supper, and played with their cousins for a little while. I took them home a bit early, as Alana wasn't feeling well. Connor was so sweet and patient with both of the little ones. He held his temper when Tyrel was trying to pound him, poke and kick him.

We made enchiladas for supper, and did a picture tutorial for the recipe blog. I hope we can get that up tomorrow! We used Becky's camera, and it takes NICE pictures.
Tomorrow, Becky may "frost" Grandma Rose's hair.  I can hardly wait to see how she looks. The box says it is "for Light Brown to Dark Brown Long Hair". At the moment, Grandma Rose has short grayish hair. I can't remember last time she had long hair, so it will be a real change!

I am up "late" for me (It is after 9:00 pm!) because Becky is taking a bath, and Tyrel didn't want to go to bed yet. Both "Umpaw" and I have to go to work in the morning... and even though I leave earlier, Mr C is always awake first. He is usually up by 4:00, sometimes earlier. I lounge around til 4:45... them dash out the door by 5:15. Umpaw went to bed half an hour ago. I was sure ready to go... but here I am!

The month is speeding by. The whole year has rushed by, it seems. The grandkids are all getting so big. Heck, even my KIDS are getting big! When we first moved in to this house, the twins didn't have to duck to shut the cabinet doors. Now, they don't need a step ladder to reach items on the top cabinet shelves.


Well, I see Ty has nodded off asleep on the couch, so I am headed to bed. Have a blessed week! Thanks for reading!

Saturday!

Today was an OK day at work. Not too long, but not a fast in-and-out either. Got home around 8:30. Did my treadmill, then got laundry going. I wore out in a hurry, and actually had to have a nap. I thought I had missed the Pampered chef party, but my friend called me shortly after my nap... I still had an hour until the party started.

I left a few minutes early... HOORAY for me! I was the LAST car through Centerton before the police closed off the highway and main drags for a Christmas Parade and festival. So glad to have missed THAT delay. Kind of scared me when two police cars pulled out behind me with blue lights flashing... until I realized they were closing the road, NOT pulling me over.

The Pampered chef lady made skillet lasagna... the same dish she made at my party a couple of years ago. Since she has pretty much had our same group every two or three months for the last four years or so, we all know one another fairly well, and have tried pretty much every dish in her party repertoire. My friend Cindi made chicken and dumplings, as well as cookies. I came home too full to try the Chineasy Chicken Daniel made while I was gone.

I really just ordered some cinnamon for myself, and a bowl set my mom had wanted (after me bragging about mine!) I got to visit with old friends, and make a couple of new ones. One of the people was a younger Mom of five, who has kids from 14 down to 8. She has home schooled for several years, although her kids are currently in PS. We had a lot in common. I miss my old acquaintances at Eagle, but do not miss the boss there! The worst part of the party was coming home reeking of cigarette smoke... even though I stayed inside and all the smokers went OUTside.

The housework ended before my nap, so I will be cleaning tomorrow.  (Note I said "ended", NOT was finished....) Most of the laundry is done... including ANOTHER (YES! ANOTHER! GRRR!!!!!!! ) Re- Wash of blankets the dogs burrowed into ...because SOMEONE didn't put them away. (This was a load of  "reds", including my Ohio State blanket, Ohio State snuggie, Pajamas, and the twins flannel red bedsheets.)

Well, even though I have had a nap, it is well past my bedtime. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Please pray for safe travels for Becky and My mom tomorrow. Have a blessed night!

~Tammy~

Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

It is a sunny, slightly on the cool side, afternoon. Colder weather is supposed to hit tonight, and stick around all week. (Mom and Becky, bring warm clothes!) My work week is almost over... tomorrow is "Friday"... I am usually done well before 8 in the morning.

We will probably spend the rest of Saturday getting things ready for Mom and Becky's visit. While we looked pretty good for Thanksgiving, I have really slacked off of things in the week since. I haven't peeked into the boys bathroom... I am sure it is in NEED.

I got back on the treadmill this afternoon... having only walked about once a week in the last five weeks. I need to get back on it every day... I was worn out after half a mile.
Oh, I must remember! Tomorrow I am invited to a Pampered Chef Party. If you need anything from them, be sure and give me a call tonight. (I am notorious for forgetting something like this until after it is over, even when I fully intend to attend!)

Jenna, since Becky and Gma Rose will be here the early part of this coming week, I'd like to have Connor and Alana come out after school and visit for a few hours, either Monday or Tuesday, if they don't already have plans. I can get them home before bedtime!

That's all I can think of for today. Have a blessed evening!

Night Sky

On my way to work this morning, I was admiring bright Venus appearing in close proximity to the sliver of Moon in the Eastern sky. It was crisp, cold, and brilliant as I drove to work. I caught, from the corner of my eye, what appeared to be a long, comet-like streak leading directly to Venus. I had to stop and look. Yep, there was a streak in the sky pointing directly at the star. (Yes, I KNOW it is a planet!)

As I drove on to work, the long arrow-like streak moved, until it was underlining the crescent of Moon. The streak was a band of clouds caught in a high jet-stream. It was so beautiful... I wish I could of taken a picture to share. But not only does my camera NOT take night-sky pictures... a picture just doesn't do justice to the grandeur.

The stars and Moon (and PLANETS!) are one reason I love going in to work so early.

Another reason I like working in the early morning is that I can get so much more done before I have the distractions of co-workers ad customers. (Customers are the REASON we are in business, but it is sure difficult to attend to the necessary tasks that have to be taken care of to stay in business, when you are serving a customer.) A third bonus to working early: I have energy to get things done. By noon... I'm what is done. I have been yawning my head off since noon... but so far haven't given up and taken a nap.
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December marks the start of our main birthday month of the year. Tomorrow is Tom's sister Teeny's birthday. The 7th is granddaughter Jade's, and my Uncle Doug's. The 8th is my sister Lalani's birthday, as well as another relative who wishes to remain anonymous. The 9th is this relative's daughter's birthday. The 12th is my eldest son Christopher's birthday, followed by my daughter's on the 16th. Close friend Angie was born Dec. 18th. My nephew Jeremy has his birthday on the 22nd, and my twin cousins Douglas and Daniel on the 24th. DH Tom's birthday is the 27th... which is the last December birthday for us, but my Granny's is Jan 3rd. So a very busy birthday month ahead.

Daniel and Sam are looking forward to going to their sister's house for a visit. When she leaves here, they will accompany her. This will be their first visit to her house all year... possibly in closer to two years. They are pretty geeked over it. (Oh bad word choice... these two are GEEKED over everything, all the time. They are perpetual geeks.) They have been making their lists and checking them... hmmm... hourly. Not lists of clothes and stuff... those kinds of lists are for girls. (I will be lucky if they remember to pack clothes at all.) They have lists of must-not-be-forgotten items like paintball guns, masks, cloaks, staffs, and games. As they promised to also do school work if allowed to go, they better be adding THAT to their lists!

Well, it is either time for another cup of tea, or a nap. Have a blessed afternoon!

Introducing: Our Cooking Blog!

While still very rudimentary, The Cow Crew is pleased to announce the launch of our new cooking blog. Inspired by Becky, it will be a collaborative effort from all the "chefs" in our family.
"Cooking with the Cow Crew"

I am not sure how to work all the links yet, but will try to classify them and add a search engine to the blog as it becomes necessary. I have tried to make permanent links to the Pantry, as well as the "Meet the Cooks" posts. So far, I have just one recipe up, the Oven-Fried spicy chicken (Original Blog titled here: "In which I Channel the Pioneer Woman")
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 In Other News:
Yesterday was Mr C's first day back to work. He worked overtime!
Then, got up at 3 am with a fever and severe headache... so had to report in sick today.
He has begun to feel better, and is now gone to the storage locker to return some items we had need of over the last week or so.
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 I worked a bit extra today... not even past a normal time, but for at least an hour after my job was "done". We are less than 2 weeks from the wall to wall inventory of our store. Many areas of disarray remain. I cleared two of them this morning.
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My treadmill is now back in its useful location. It has been in the laundry room stacked with stuff for a week or so. I am going to have to get back on it soon! Since going to Ohio in October, I have probably only logged 25 miles on my walking. I need a new goal... I'm letting myself fall off again.
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I am looking forward to seeing Becky and the kids next week, and, I hope my Mom as well. Sam asked how they were getting back from Texas... and Tom says he will likely be driving down to get them. (They needed to know their return plans, so they would be able to pack - or not pack- their paintball guns and knives and other boyish essentials). (The sewing stuff dragged out yesterday continues to litter the table... no actions taken. Awaiting size info from Becky!)
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Well, that is all for today. thanks for reading!

Vacation is over...

Being a "StayCation" instead of a vacation, it seemed to last much longer than when we go someplace. The boys tried to keep up with their lessons, but it is hard to do with Mr C here. Both Dan and Sam seem to study better while listening to music, so I let them. (They wear headphones.) Mr C doesn't feel that they are devoting enough brain to learning, if part of the brain is listening to music. (When Mr C listens to music, it is an exclusive activity. He devotes 100% of his brain to listening to the music. For me, music is a background activity.)

We now have all the bedding rewashed from our company.  Why yes, it WAS all washed just prior to their visit. However, between dogs making themselves at home, and the boys just tossing EVERYTHING into the laundry, instead of just sheets... ALL the bedding got rewashed. (Just in time for Mom and Becky to come NEXT week. At least they will know everything is really, really clean, as it went into bags as soon as it came from the dryer!)

Tomorrow is back to work for both Tom and I. He will dread it most, since he has been off since the11th. I should have a "regular" work day, though if I am offered to stay and help get the store prepped for our inventory on the 13th, I will do it. (My regular work days usually have me home by 9:30 at the latest).

I dragged out all my sewing stuff today; the fabrics, patterns, accoutrements. Then I decided I was just NOT up to starting a new sewing project at the moment. I want to start with a little vest for Ty, since Glynna didn't really like any of the patterns I had to choose from for little girl dresses. I don't want to waste my time on something that isn't going to get worn because it is "dowdy". I have some cow patterned material, it will make a perfect "Woody" vest. I just need to make a pattern for it... and vests are fairly easy to pattern. I wish I could find the black and white striped binding (bias tape would work if I could only find it in striped!) like Woody has on his vest. I can even sew a little gold fabric star to it for a sheriff's badge. (And wouldn't a pair of chaps to go with it be CUTE!... but I have no clue how to make chaps!)

So I just wandered off and left my sewing stuff on the table. I know if I don't start a project EARLY in the day, I just don't get it going at all. All my giddy-up is gone before 2 pm. (I DO get up early, though.) Perhaps I will get with the program tomorrow!

I dragged out photo albums while Connor and Alana were here. Alana especially seemed to enjoy looking at the pictures of her Uncles and Daddy when they were little. Gosh, it doesn't seem like all that long ago when my "grown" kids were babies! I had several stories to tell Glynna... she had never heard about the time Bill tried to walk on water with "floaties" on his feet... or the time he leaped from a barn roof with a tarp duct taped to his wrists and ankles, hoping to glide to the ground like a flying squirrel. (Neither attempt was met with success!) Alana was so gullible, it was a shame to tease her. A picture of her Daddy, with a cake that had "12" on it in front of him. She asked, "Is daddy 12 in this picture?" I said no, it is his one-half birthday. he was between one and two years old. "Oh." she says. Seeing as how she was believing that this picture of a semi-grown kid is really between one and two years old, I had to tell her YES, he was 12. I told Tom I couldn't believe she was this gullible. (He said "Goat's milk and eggs!")

Of course, I remember gullible. I was the kid whose Mommy and Daddy said they didn't know whether I was a boy or a girl, at first, since they had to get the hairy little monkey from the chandelier to check. Man... I had had two kids of my own before I realized there are no chandeliers in delivery rooms. I also believed Mom when I asked her how do you tell a boy baby from a girl baby?... and she said, You check their booties. Boy babies have blue booties, girl babies have pink booties. (Sex Ed, 1968)

Well, I hope you have a blessed evening. Mr C has come to claim his turn on the computer!

Quieting down...

Bill and Glynna, Ben, and Nickole are on their way back to Duncan. We had a great Thanksgiving. Today is the National Holiday of Ohio State Vs. Michigan. (Ohio won handily.)

Still having Connor and Alana, and all of us kind of tired of poultry... we grabbed some Papa Murphy's Pizza fo supper tonight. Dan thinks the one stuffed crust 5-meat  pizza will be enough. But I also got a "Bacon, Bacon, and Bacon" pizza. (I know Chris would love this one, if he were here to share with us!) The kids are all playing "Risk"
Mr C continues the watching of football. he told Alana and Connor, when they dared ask if they could play video games on Ben's Wii during the Ohio State game... that they can never be real men until they accept that one must watch College Football every Saturday in the Fall. (Of course, Alana will never aspire to be a "real man", but she is getting used to the idea that this is what guys tend to DO, so she may as well get used to it.)

Of all my kids, only Chris and Bill have been die hard College Football fans. The rest of the kids take after Mom, and find "other persuits".

It doesn't look like Becky will be coming up for her visit until after the 4th, as Stephen has a Concealed Carry class that day. I am hoping to go down to Texas on the 10th or 11th, but have to be back for my O'Reilly's inventory on the 13th. I don't yet know if I will get to go or not.

With " Non-denominational Capitalist, Wintertime Gift-giving Season" hard upon us, let me ask you to think of me if you shop Amazon! Please, please, please! link to them through my blog! I have half a dozen or more birthdays coming up in December, so if I can get some $$ together, I will shop there.

I will have more pictures of kids and Grandkids up at Moocrew2 in just awhile, please check them out!
Have a blessed afternoon!

Thanksgiving...

http://www/.I am Thankful that my boys made it safely from Duncan, OK in the wee hours this morning.  I woke up hearing Glynna yelling for Bill to bring her shampoo, soap, and towels. Seems Nickole may of gotten a wee bit carsick on their drive over. Or maybe a lot of bit.

Freezing rain, sleet and a sprinkling of snow has been coming down most of the day, with temperatures hovering in the upper 20*'s. However, the house was warm VERY warm. In fact, I had to open a window to let in the breeze, as it hit over 90* in the kitchen.

I put the 23 1/2 lb. turkey into the oven at 7:30, expecting it to cook in about 6 hours at 225*. It was done by 10:30. So it came out, and we got other goodies ready to go into the oven. I waited until closer to noon to start the remaining items.

Alana wore her fauncy fluff trimmed Non-denominational Capitalist, Wintertime Gift-giving Season dress.
The rest of us just wore our regular clothes. I have some pictures up at Moocrew. I don't have ANY of Nickole in this batch. she slept all morning, got up and ate, and went back to bed. maybe when she gets up next time, I will have some pictures to add.

Dan and I are worn out rfom the massive cooking and clan-up. It is Sam's turn on the kitchen, but I'm not so mean as to leave the entire clean up to him. Not that he has hit a lick at a snake yet... I did most of the clean up. Sam disappeared. Tom is in now, finishing up. The boys can't even seem to put the lid on the cool whip and return it to the fridge when finished.

Well, I hope you have had a blessed and happy holiday, surrounded by those you love!

In Which I Channel Pioneer Woman...

Oven "Fried" Jalepeno Chicken Tenders

I made this one other time before tonight, and it went over pretty well, considering my guys don't like "sweet" meat. You need thawed boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Jalepeno Jelly, "Panko" bread crumbs, and cooking oil spray.

Start with slicing your thawed chicken breasts into "planks". Here is a picture of the "Panko" Japanese style bread crumbs. Last time we used Kikkoman brand, and liked them better.

 Melt some Jalapeno jelly in the microwave. This takes about 30 seconds. I melt mine in a bowl to avoid contaminating the jar of jelly with raw chicken.

Next, brush the planks of raw chicken with the melted jelly. It is easiest to brush one side on the cutting board, then place the plank jelly side down into the bowl of bread crumbs. THEN brush the jelly onto the other side of the chicken, and coat it in crumbs.

Place the coated chicken into a greased  (lightly sprayed with cooking oil spray ) pan. (I prefer the stoneware bakeware because it gives a cripser crust.)

Once in the pan, give them all a quick, light spray of cooking oil spray.



 Bake at 325* for 30-40 minutes, turning once and giving another light spray after turning.

Test for doneness but cutting into the thickest point of the largest piece. Juices should run clear.



I forgot to take a picture fresh from the oven, before the ravenous hordes descended on it.



Finally finished!

Here is the little dress I made for Kimber, finished at last.

I don't know if you can see the zipper or not.

This is the first baby dress I have made since BECKY was a baby. Since my machine broke down back in May, it is some six months behind schedule in being finished. I just hope it still fits her! After trimming the arm holes with the bias tape, I decided it would be pretty hemmed in the blue bias tape.

Looking forward to Becky and the kids coming next week so I can try it on the Kimber.