Friday Thoughts and Links

This little guy hasn't felt well this week...

This picture, or something like it, might have something to do with it.  

For days (3-4), he stopped eating, and every time he would put something in his mouth, he would scream and cry.  He also woke every 45 minutes or so for two nights and every two hours another night.  He didn't nap.  He ran a low grade fever.  Teething!  He had to be getting his two year molars (he gets his teeth early). BUT, he had never had a significant problem getting teeth.  On day four, he had a rash all over his body.  On day five he had a mouth full of sores...Hand Foot and Mouth.  My conclusion: short of the stomach bug (and John Paul's crazy month of November last year), it's one of the worst viruses we've seen.  

August/September in New Mexico is green chili roasting time.  I'm going to do a little post next week on how we do it.  For now, we have fourteen quart-sized bags in our freezer that look like this...

Peter is still a huge "Sophapilla" (what they call Sophie) protector.  Someone asked to hold her the other day, and he adamantly said, "Well, you tan't take her home!"

If so, he might just put you in an inside-out pair of swim trunks!

Carter is intense.  Some (me) would often call him dramatic.  Well, he found a shoe box the other day and filled it to the brim with toys.  He wanted to close it but couldn't.  He started yelling for help, and when my aunt got to the room to see what was going on he said, "Help me shut dis.  I'm fweaking out!"  He was.

If you haven't read this, maybe you should. I know I need to read it every single day.  It's so easy to get caught up in how people hurt us and not see that they might just be hurting worse.

On a lighter note, did you see the new color of Jon Hart bags?  Love it!  How about the new frames from Warby Parker?  I particularly like these.  And, I miiight have found a new headband obsession for Sophie here.  

Monday, I'm hosting a link-up with a few other bloggers on organization. So, if you have something you really like to do to keep organized or if you've written a post on it before, link.it.up.

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Jen :)

The Last Days of Summer

The mornings are getting cooler now and the nights are coming sooner.  That time of year when I can actually wear my fleece all day is just around the corner.  

Usually, it's my favorite time of year, but for some reason, this year, I'm a little sad to see summer fading away.  I can't really pinpoint why.  I think part of it is just being a parent and realizing just how quickly time is passing.  I truly feel like we didn't have a summer.  Maybe it was because we were preparing for my sister's wedding and attending that beautiful event.  Perhaps it was the addition of this sweet thing. Maybe it was just being so busy with this, this or even this.

Whatever it is, I'm going to miss certain things for sure.  Like the days of watching the boys play outside with not a care in the world (and thus it being a little quieter inside from time to time).  

Or having enough daylight left when Daddy gets home to get a lot of rough-housing in.

I'll miss the feel of summer even if it was busy.  

But, I have to remind myself why I love fall.  It means a busy time for cattlework but the promise that things will really slow down when the weather gets cold.  While it always takes some getting used to, when the time changes, it forces us to finish things early and simply be together in our home, enjoying those little moments that busyness can sometimes steal.   

We are soaking up these last few weeks of summer while we still can, late into the evening, on "tiney hiney" chairs, surrounded by four of the sweetest yet orneriest little ones we know.

Just a Boy and His Cows

Thanks for your comments on my questions, Friday!  It gives me a little more of an idea of what to focus on with this blog.  I really appreciate all of you readers and your comments :)

A few weeks ago we had to move the cows in our front pasture (he one closest to the house) to another pasture (out of sight) in order to give the grass a rest.  We had one sad little boy on our hands.  Luckily last week, we moved them back for a bit.

John Paul could literally spend all afternoon atop the fence repeating, "Coooow" over and over again as he points his chubby little index finger toward his favorite animal.

Their water tank is right outside our yard, so two to three times a day, his eyes light up, and he runs to the window to let me know that the "cooows dinkin' water."

This Labor Day, we rested, and I hope you got some of that in, too - here's to a great week back at it!