The Land of Grimm Brothers and Little Bo Peep

This week is "Fairy Tale" week at Wyatt's school and the kids are supposed to dress up tomorrow in their favorite character.

I asked Wyatt what he wanted to be. I was full of skepticism and doubt.

Wyatt says, "I want to be the Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. I need a bag of gold, Ma."

"I see," was the only logical reply. Then I thought quickly, "What on earth are you going to wear? You know, for clothes? You can't wear the gold, Kid."

"I don't know, Mom. Help me!"

"Well we're clean out of Kiss Boots to make you in to a giant..." I thought to my self. How in the heck am I going to turn my little five year old into a giant. For myself that would be easy...

Since I am the "look it up" kind of mom, I googled Jack and The Beanstalk and this is the first photo that came up.

This was the answer to all my questions. The Internet.

This costume is just so obvious, it's like a club to the head.


Yeah.... This is going to go over really good at school, now isn't it?

Wyatt does barefoot no problem, so I guess the question is which of my horses (I'm out of cows with the exception of my big ass) gets sacrificed for the large farm animal belt? That's some kind of snack right?

And then I got to thinking that it's highly likely this costume violates the school dress code in the subsection of visible skin allowances.

I think I have the bandanna, but what lovely furry thing can I use for his caveman like tutu? And hat?

And what's up with all these costume days at school anyway? When I was a kid we just went to school in regular clothes, none of these pajama day, crazy day, backward day, etc.

Oh, what's a mom to do?

I'm not crazy sick any more, but this lingering itch in my throat is killing me. Maybe it's the coughing for an hour last night before finally falling asleep. Or it could just be the Vicks vapor rub on my feet. That's supposed to stop coughing right? Well I think it worked.

Maybe it's just the Benadril making me loopy. No, it's the Benadril making me loopy.

Wah. Wah. Wah.

This is a mom's blog after all. Occupational hazards abound.

Costumes in March. Goat costumes?

I'm done now. I really have to take a nap.

Goats are Nice People Too

On our trip through Montana last week we were able to stop in and visit the world famous Pricilla who writes at The Maaaaa of Pricilla. The Publicist met us at the goats home and showed us the troupe consisting of Pricilla, Abby (Pricilla's daughter), Matthew, Mallory and Michael (by the way he's kinda studly).

Pricilla,wearing her tan safari outfit, and Matthew, wearing slimming black, were a little weary of the new comers. Retreating to locations out of reach was their primary objective during the encounter with strangers. The little strangers especially alarmed the goats for some reason.


However, Abby-goat was quite different than the other goats and she gave Ella a warm welcome. She wanted to become better acquainted with the visitors from a far away land.


Especially since it involved scratching in those inaccessible places on ones horns and ears. And the littlest visitor was wearing a shirt with what looked like berries on it. That seemed close to food... Goats really like things involving food.

In fact Abby and Ella had some kind of goat-child psychic communication going where they perfectly understood one another. Hugs were warmly received and a goat horn in the cheek appeared to be normal under the circumstances. (look closely at picture) A tender goat antler in the chubby cheek is a sign of endearment I think.

Abby, "Ella will you be my BFF?"
Ella, "Sure. Can you hop in the back of the truck and come home with us?"
Abby, "I'm not sure the Publicist will let me..."
Ella, "Awe come on Abby. I don't think she will notice."
Abby, "Do you have apples?"
Ella, "As many as you'd like..."


At one point I had to step in and break up the friendship so that separation anxiety would not set in. And in fact, this encounter has resulted in talk about Abby daily at our house since our vacation.

Mom, "Hey Ella who is your favorite goat?"
Ella, "Abby. She's really nice. Can I be Abby for Halloween? We need to buy me an Abby costume for Halloween, Mom. I want to be Abby the Goat."
Mom, "Uh..... I guess.

I. Kid. You. Not. Get it? I said kid...

Now where do I get a goat costume for this child?

And on to other things about our visit to the land of Pricilla...

Here is the view the goats have of the Clark Fork River which is part of their property. They are aloud to hike down to the creek and get sips of fresh water when the grass is green.

Lucky goats. What a view.

After hiking around and visiting the creek, we had a wonderful meal with ingredients that came straight from the Publicists farm (Patty's garden and chickens). So growing and eating your own food is totally possible even in Montana!!

To top it all off Patty served us goat milk ice cream and caramel! YUM! And pssst!! The best kept secret of all is that Patty makes angel food cake which is heavenly! Truly the BEST!

Pricilla, Abby and Patty, we all want to thank you for hosting us on our journey through the land of big sky and even bigger mountains. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and had a lovely time.

The Nighmare That Tonight May Provide

He's passed out in the hall. The effort of going to the bathroom was just too overwhelming. Must rest. Must suck thumb. Must close eyes.


I thought this was a little strange and out of character for my boy. Thus, when taking his temperature I was not surprised by the 102.5 degree reading.

One hour after taking a dose of Advil he was spotted running around our property like a wild child.

Let's hope tonight bodes well for the adults on the premises...

p.s. He was mostly quiet all night thank goodness. (Only one middle of the night wake up call for mom...)

Crawling Back Into Civilization.

I need a vacation from vacation... Driving 18 hours to get home in one day is taxing. Then carrying home the virus's from out of state is a burden which was not anticipated.

But the views were lovely in Montana.

Wyatt could not be kept from the water on the Clark Fork. I kept saying, "Don't get your feet wet." But it did little to dissuade my son from skimming the edges of the rocks on the river bed.


In Ennis, Montana, there is a ridge line on the eastern side of the valley that is great for photography. Big startling mountains rise up from the floor of the land stretching upward with the rising sun.


And there was plenty of snow on the ground still for tromping in. This winter has been very mild in Montana and snow and rain fall is low. The snow still clings to the north facing slopes where the sun does not hit and melt it.


Snowballs and cold hands were not an problem for some kids.


The peak on the right is called "The Sphinx." I think it is famous for getting photographed and may have a slight ego problem.


I liked the s-shaped curve that the remaining snow in this drainage channel formed creating an interesting line through the photo.


I hiked over snow swept hilltops where there was just enough cover to make me feel like it was winter, but not too cold as to keep me indoors.


My favorite tree was this snag that was at the top of a ridge line that I hiked. From almost every angle it photographed well.


And the deer and pronghorn were out and about searching for new grass. This band of deer let me approach then bolted quickly when I got too close for comfort. I tweaked this photo so the deer would show up better. It is amazing how well they camouflage with the landscape.


So next time I want to share some photos of our visit with Pricilla of The Maaa of Pricilla and show how nice goats are too! We got to stop in and visit this celebrity goat, the Publicist and The Male Person in person and it was a great treat!

Bye for now!

Greetings from Montana. I'm still in the back country but the scenery is amazing.


Today on a hike from SIL's house this snag called out to me with its many voices. And NO I am not hearing things.

We get home next weekend.

Hope all you in Bloggyville are well!

This is a Reoccuring Theme at Our House...

Hi Folks!

We've had a lot of rain this year. Episodes like this are happening way, way too often around here.


Someone is like a pig in slop within the mud puddles that are plentiful on our property.


The hands have ground in dirt. The kind that does not easily come off with scrubbing. Can you believe these are the hands of a FIVE year old?? The look like "man" hands to me.


No body parts are spared. Imagine that.


Wyatt says, "I think I have a piece of mud in my eye."
Mom says, "Ya think?"


Wyatt says, "Mom, the mud is cool and fun. I like getting dirty and running around in it. I like when it dries up on me." Hmmm. I'd have never guessed.

Well I think he's the new spokesboy for mud facials at this point.

And on to other topics.

I have been working diligently on this.

I am a few weeks away from printing this book as a children's story. Here's a snippet from inside...



There's lots of adventure and a cameo by our rooster, Mr D.

Finally, we're off to Idaho and Montana on a vacation for a week! Woo Hooo! Wish us luck on the 18 hour drive. I can see fun times will be had by all.

Bye for now!!