Yoga Balls, Pineapples, and Off Road Dump Trucks

Yoga Balls. Pineapple. Castor Oil. Dancing. Walking. Red raspberry leaf tea. Evening primrose oil. Massage. Positive thinking. Spicy food. And a variety of unmentionables. 

Those are a few of the ways I have tried in vain to bring on labor. 

{Don't judge... my last baby was eight days overdue and almost ten pounds.}

Anyways, I hadn't really gone on a bumpy ride yet. So today was my lucky day. I got to get some experience driving the Arctic Truck all around the bumpy construction site (who knows when I might need another job!) and meanwhile jiggled that cozy baby around.

Can't think of a whole lot that can offer a bumpier ride than an off-road articulating dump truck. And still be fun.

Vroom.

Leif took this and said, "I cannot really see your belly in that one."
{I have no idea how I pulled that off. Because it is really huge-o.}

There it is. Though the photo still doesn't capture the hugeness of my belly.
Maybe Arctic Trucks are flattering? Hear ye, pregnant ladies!

Ok there it is!

This is where I turned the camera over to Thor. He loves taking pictures.

I said, "Take a picture of the ripper!" he giggled and said, "That is so sharp."

I took the camera back so I could catch him inside of a bucket.

I think Maycee took this one. Not bad!

Another Maycee shot. 

Texture! Of what, I am not sure. A blade?

Anyways, the bumpy ride was great but failed to jump start my labor. I guess the baby will come when he or she is ready. {Or when I absolutely cannot go on any further!} It is worth noting that I am still 4 days from being 40 weeks. So I will not get myself into a tizzy yet.

Perhaps tonight I will give the kids' new trampoline a whirl?

Bring Your Kids to Work Day(s)

One of the worst things about owning your own business is the sheer amount of work, time, and effort it takes to handle it all. From business calls to bidding projects, managing projects, employee troubles, bookwork, billing and collecting, cash-flow, and oh yeah... the actual work.

Sometimes it seems like a struggle between family and business. I don't want Leif to be too busy working and have regrets about missing out on the kids growing up. So we try to balance by including the kids whenever we can.

Of course, there are a few perks to business ownership. Off the top of my head:

• You stand to earn more money-- though it comes with a whole lot of risk and hard work. 
• Flexibility. Kind of. I guess the only one telling you that you cannot take a day of is yourself. This is why my husband only took one day off after our last baby was born. He simply couldn't allow himself any further paternity leave. He told me that Sunday night was actually a really bad time to have a baby... though he honestly felt really bad leaving me home with two toddlers and a baby only 32 hours post-partum.  I shall try to plan it over a weekend next time. Dang.

A couple days after Dax was born... now that's a handful of kids! HELP me! 

• Joyrides in an off-road dump truck at will. 
• That's all I can really think of.

So to summarize... if you cannot beat em, join em.

The closest to the Disneyland ride "Indiana Jones" that you can really replicate in North Dakota.

There is just so much going on in this picture.

Last Thursday. Naptime. Two kids snoozed in the car while Daddy showed Mommy and Dax how cool his new GPS-equipped bulldozer is. Now that is family time.

Dax loves riding in the Arctic Truck (off-road articulating dump truck.) 

These two were surprisingly unimpressed on their second off-road dump truck ride. Questions asked were "Can we go to the library now?" followed by "Can I play with your iPhone?" Really guys?

Equipment. It's just cool around here.

Tonight as I was reading Maycee a book of her choice, one we just got titled "Construction Trucks." I realized that she could rattle off every piece of equipment on the pages effortlessly. Bulldozer. Excavator. Backhoe. Dump truck. Concrete Mixer. Wheel Loader. And the one she had to think about for a second... Grader. (It was a red color instead of a stereotypical shade of yellow.) Not bad for a 2 1/2 year old girl.

Amazon.com, how I love thee and your unlimited array of kids books with free 2-day shipping.

 Next up in recent equipment happenings... a squishy, soft, blue-eyed baby looks so great against the contrast of a rough, dirty, steel loader bucket. Don't believe me? Well, look with your own eyes...



North Dakota red scoria, courtesy of the oil fields.

Dreamy baby Dax Crosby. I love his eyes.

Man stuff.

Serious stuff.

Three-year-old feet on a trailer. Love.

Run little buddy!