Julianna has been a pretty easy baby so far. Or maybe we’re just getting better at this parenting thing. You’d think we’d have the hang of it by now, but we still learn new things, and the kids - even little Julianna - still find ways to get the best of Dad and Mom.

A couple of days ago we had to go grocery shopping. It was the first major expedition as a family of seven. It was stressful to say the least. Julianna needed her diaper changed. She had pooped. Again. I think she’s the poopingest kid we’ve got. We probably change her diaper 15 times a day. I can count on one hand the number of times she has not been poopie. Anyhow, we do the diaper change in the car - this is an old and familiar routine, and tends to be more comfortable for everyone involved than the changing table in the supermarket bathroom. So, no sooner than the diaper is pulled out from under her to swap in the new one, she starts pooping. Again. And like a good husband, I stick my hand under and catch it so that my wife does not get poop all over her clothes. That’s right, I said it. My days old daughter pooped in my hand. Julianna: 1; Dad: 0. Sigh. Hands are easier to wash in parking lots than shirts I guess.

On a far less gross note, Julianna was baptized yesterday (the 24th). Our priest used the traditional baptism rite which was really nice. Tuesday evening was kind of an odd time, but it’s what worked best for us and our priest. We invited several families and had a little reception with cake and punch afterwards. Then we went out to dinner. Very nice all around.

Even though we’ve ventured out of the house a few times with the whole clan, it’s still a pretty big ordeal. We just haven’t got the hang of it yet. It seems like it takes about 20 minutes just to get everyone into the car. Everyone has to find their shoes (and in the case of the the younger kids, I do mean find as the concept of leaving both shoes in the same place is lost on them). Once found, all the shoes have to get on all the feet, and if we start with William, odds are he’ll have at least one shoe off again before we finish with the others. Then we have to get Julianna into her seat. Then we start heading for the car in waves - first Dominic will take the girls and get them strapped in. Then I usually come out with William.  Then I go in and come back out with Julianna. Then Allena comes out with the luggage - er, diaper bags (plural). Then something will have been forgotten. Then somebody will have to use the bathroom. Then we might get to start the car and leave! By the time we get where we’re going, William will definitely have his shoes off again. Odds are pretty good that Elizabeth and Teresa will too. I’ve reflected that it’s really a shame that people have feet instead of hooves. If we had hooves, we could nail the children’s shoes on.

We decided that we’d make do with our mini-van for now. It seats seven (barely) and is reasonably easy to get everyone in and out. The whole “seats seven” thing would work a lot better if four of the seven were not in infant car seats or boosters. I work with a guy that has an older suburban that he’s willing to part with for a reasonable price. I still can’t afford it, but I think about it a lot. It seats nine. The fact that it’s a large enough vehicle to pull a trailer has not escaped me either. Now if I could just get the money together :)

All in all a good week.

Update - pictures now available (click on Julianna to go to the gallery)

There are a couple of people that I work with that have been practical jokers. Recently they both went on vacation at the same time (coincidence). Here’s the payback:

I don’t know that I have ever heard one of his songs, although I learned today (via the linked article) that he wrote the “shave and a haircut, two bits” rhythm/melody.  You learn something new everyday I guess.

The only reason I even know about Bo Diddley is that roughly 75% of the people that have ever been introduced to me have decided to refer to me as “Bo Diddley” at some point.  Without fail, they all think they were the first person to be clever enough to make the connection between my name and his.

Anyhow, rest in peace Bo, and God be with you.

Dominic used to really hate that store too.  We used to tell him we were going to his favorite store, and he’d just groan and writhe around in pain.  And he’d mope the whole time we were in the store.  Now that he’s a little older, he really likes it.  He looks around and sees possibilities.  Maybe Elizabeth will learn to see the store in a new light as she gets older too.

It seems our kids have said several humorous things lately.  We bought bunk beds for our girls with our “economic stimulus” check.  Teresa refers to them as “punk beds”, which when you think about it is really a far more accurate description.

Not to be out-done, William (who is almost two) has picked up a new little habit.  Any time somebody…uh…passes gas…breaks wind…er, well, anytime somebody farts (or even makes a fart-like sound), he’ll say “Eeeeeeeewwww!  Pew, pew, pew, pew!” while fanning the air in front of his nose.  This is one of those things that’s really cute AT HOME, but is not so funny in public.  So far, he hasn’t been too obvious about it publicly, but I’m sure the day is coming.

Dominic has published a website of his own now.  I have to say that I’m rather proud of him.  He’s learned a lot about HTML, JavaScript, and PHP.  Not bad at all for a 14 year old.  That being said, I encourage you to visit his site.  Just be careful what you click on, because he has these little things called “Insanity Challenges” and other little JavaScript based things.  Lets just say that the average 14 year old learning JavaScript will find them clever and amusing, and leave it at that.  You’ve been warned ;)

We ended up with 10 lambs this year out of 8 ewes - which is a pretty low birth rate for sheep. It was a strange year. We had a lot of ewes give birth to single gigantic ram lambs. One of them was nearly 10 pounds - the average size Shetland lamb is 6 pounds or so, just to put that in perspective.

We also ended up with 5 goat kids, which we have taken to calling “goatlings” so that we know we’re talking about baby goats and not our own children. One of them went back to the breeder that we purchased the goats from. We had one little buck and we gave him to the neighbors as a 4H project goat. They were glad to have him, and we were glad to be rid of him, so win-win on that.

Finally, we ended up with 5 kittens. These were born just a week ago or so. One of them was starting to open its eyes last night. We will likely keep a couple of these - we lost a couple of cats over the last several months. One died of old age, the other died of unknown causes - was just dead one morning. However, if you’re looking for a kitten…just let me know ;)

Yesterday, we brought home the newest additions to the ranch - four angora rabbits. These are a 4H project for Dominic and fiber critter for Allena. We traded a couple of sheep for four of these bunnies, and actually ended up with six. The last two are not at the ranch yet as they currently have kits that still need them, but when the rabbit breeder comes to pick up her sheep next month, she’ll be bringing those two with her. I’m looking forward to some very warm mittens next year. Angora is several times warmer (six times? eight times? can’t remember) than wool, and of course is very very soft.

As a side note, I built cages for these bunnies on Saturday out of 1/2 inch wire mesh. I used these little metallic fastener thingies called a “J-Klips” to put them together. For the record, J-Klips rock! :). Also for the record, it is a LOT easier to cut wire mesh using a grinder with a cutting disk than it is to use tin-snips or wire cutters. Just saying. I really need to start carrying a camera around with me. I should have taken pictures of the cage-building process. A lot of people find my site via Google when searching for how to build pig shelters and horse shelters and fun stuff like that. I have one more cage to build for the rabbits coming next month - MEMO TO ME: TAKE PICTURES!

So now we’re just waiting for June when the newest member of the (human population) of the ranch is due to arrive. Nine weeks and counting!

see more crazy cat pics

moar funny pictures

Anyhow, if you’re interested, the address is:

http://kentowonderings.blogspot.com/

It’s also over on the right under “Stuff to read” now.