Tonight's prayer from J:
"Dear God,
Please make my Skylanders come alive (all said in a nice voice). Because you didn't do it yet like I already asked (said in a growly voice). Over. And. Out! (nice voice again)."
Followed by a little conversation about how maybe God doesn't think it would be safe for the Skylanders to all come to life. They might scare people. Or maybe they are alive but they stay that size and they move around when J isn't looking, like in Toy Story.
About Me
- Kelli
- I am married to a wonderful man who is my best friend. I have 3 wonderful boys and a little girl who make me laugh everyday. I love my life, even if it is a little crazy from time to time.
Sunday, January 29, 2017
An Long Update from the Spectrum
It has almost been 4 years since J was given the official diagnosis of being on the Autism Spectrum. It has been over 5 years since he started all his therapies. At first it was developmental and speech therapy and then a few months later we added in occupational therapy. I had no idea what DT or OT were before we started them and I have learned so much in the last 5 years. It has opened my mind and heart to so many things and so many people.
Our therapists we see/saw on a weekly basis. We became close! It was sad when J aged out of EI and therefore DT. Our therapist was a life line for me for over a year. Luckily when he aged out of EI we were able to get insurance to cover speech therapy (apparently they think it is experimental so there was a fight) and keep our speech therapist. We were with Kimber from the time Joel was 2 until he was 6. For many years we saw her weekly and then every other week. She knew C from the time she was only a few month old and knew I was pregnant with D before I had even told my family. And she was a huge advocate for Joel and helped us get testing for Autism and pushed an OT evaluation, she brought him from not speaking to talking too much. Then Joel started first grade and we were no longer to get to speech during the hours Kimber was there and we switched to a new therapist (she is wonderful too). I think it was harder for me to say goodbye to Kimber than it was for Joel, in my defense I don't think he totally comprehended it. A year before that we had to say goodbye to our OT who left to take another job. We also had seen her every week for 1 hour for several years. She gave us our sleep cd which helps J sleep and therefore the rest of us too. Along with so many other ideas that have shaped our household. She made Joel work hard and therefore she wasn't Joel's favorite person. I however appreciated her no nonsense attitude with J and the fact that she made him work. She knew he needed it and she wasn't going to let J charm his way out of it. Again we have a new OT at the same clinic and she is wonderful too.
These days we are only in there once a week. Back in the beginning we were there twice a week during the day. For the most part parents stay in the small lobby. I did my best at entertaining C and then also D with the toys and books in the lobby. You would see the same kids every week, many not as well off as J and you got an appreciation for your own situation. I would make small talk with some of the parents and got to know a couple pretty well. But the kids were usually happy and friendly and everyone was so excepting. It was fun to see the progress some of the kids made over the years. I saw a couple kids go from not being able to walk to using a walker to walking on their own. Now there are no toys in the lobby because of illnesses that were getting passed around, and we go after school and I usually have 1-2 kids sleeping in the car. We sit and wait in the car for Joel when it is cold or play on the hill next to the parking lot when it is nice out. In the fall the school band practices in the field next to the building so we get some entertainment.
Joel has progressed greatly and is considered high functioning which is great. It also means when he just looks more like a normal kid, but he isn't, he is different. C and V know J goes to therapy and they never really question it anymore. They have been told J needs help talking years ago and never asked since. We have explained to V that J's brain thinks differently and mentally V gets it, but on a daily basis it doesn't even register. If someone talks about Autism he remembers or once they were at a summer school thing and J was asked to write something and V promptly told the teacher "J isn't good at writing because he has Autism so he was going to need help." We have tried to explain to C that everything J does is not a good thing to do, so don't always do what J does. She asked why and I tried to tell her J's brain thinks different and she responds with "so does mine!" We have gotten no where. I stopped trying. Someday she will understand and maybe someday she won't but either way she loves her brother and wants to be like him. D is too young to care. He loves J and wants to play with him because he is the cool older brother. Actually everyone in our house loves playing with J, he is by far the most popular of the siblings.
We have made some major gains with Joel in the last year. He can read (in English and Spanish), his writing is improving, he likes math and is even remembering some of the names of kids in his class. Last year he knew 2 this year we are over 5. He basically has the same kids in his class as last year plus 2 new kids. When I go to a parent teacher conference and hear how he is doing or see test scores part of me wishes he was a better student and excelling like his big brother but most of me is just so proud he is doing well in a dual language program that I really don't care about him being a little behind in reading or the fact that he can't sit still. Don't get me wrong, we make sure he gets extra help and we work with the teacher if they need us to help them figure out ways to deal with behavior stuff in class, but I am so thrilled with the progress he is making I don't lose sleep over the rest of it.
We went to the Museum of Science and Industry this winter. Our family, my in-laws and 2 of my nieces two days before Christmas. It was busy! J finally learned my phone number a couple weeks before we went so I didn't have to worry as much about him getting lost. I didn't want him to, but if he did I was confident he knew my name and phone number and that is huge! I also only brought the single stroller and figured if J needed it D could be carried or walk for awhile. Sometimes with big crowds and an over stimulating environment J retreats to the stroller to hide. We were at the museum from 10am-4pm and not once did J hide in the stroller. It is little success like this that make me happy!
On the flip side when we have friends over to play J still plays mostly by himself, but near the rest of the kids. He is in his own world and he seems happy there. Sometimes D joins him and they both seem happy with that. He still obsesses over things and it seems to rotate more frequently than it used to and we are all used to it now. There are still easy things that he struggles with at home and I think it affects me more than him, because it requires more work and effort on my part to help him. J's behavior and reaction to new situations is generally good these days, but just when I think he won't go along with something or not like it he surprises me. I love the little knucklehead and as Brad points out Joel will always be my baby even if he isn't the youngest.
Our therapists we see/saw on a weekly basis. We became close! It was sad when J aged out of EI and therefore DT. Our therapist was a life line for me for over a year. Luckily when he aged out of EI we were able to get insurance to cover speech therapy (apparently they think it is experimental so there was a fight) and keep our speech therapist. We were with Kimber from the time Joel was 2 until he was 6. For many years we saw her weekly and then every other week. She knew C from the time she was only a few month old and knew I was pregnant with D before I had even told my family. And she was a huge advocate for Joel and helped us get testing for Autism and pushed an OT evaluation, she brought him from not speaking to talking too much. Then Joel started first grade and we were no longer to get to speech during the hours Kimber was there and we switched to a new therapist (she is wonderful too). I think it was harder for me to say goodbye to Kimber than it was for Joel, in my defense I don't think he totally comprehended it. A year before that we had to say goodbye to our OT who left to take another job. We also had seen her every week for 1 hour for several years. She gave us our sleep cd which helps J sleep and therefore the rest of us too. Along with so many other ideas that have shaped our household. She made Joel work hard and therefore she wasn't Joel's favorite person. I however appreciated her no nonsense attitude with J and the fact that she made him work. She knew he needed it and she wasn't going to let J charm his way out of it. Again we have a new OT at the same clinic and she is wonderful too.
These days we are only in there once a week. Back in the beginning we were there twice a week during the day. For the most part parents stay in the small lobby. I did my best at entertaining C and then also D with the toys and books in the lobby. You would see the same kids every week, many not as well off as J and you got an appreciation for your own situation. I would make small talk with some of the parents and got to know a couple pretty well. But the kids were usually happy and friendly and everyone was so excepting. It was fun to see the progress some of the kids made over the years. I saw a couple kids go from not being able to walk to using a walker to walking on their own. Now there are no toys in the lobby because of illnesses that were getting passed around, and we go after school and I usually have 1-2 kids sleeping in the car. We sit and wait in the car for Joel when it is cold or play on the hill next to the parking lot when it is nice out. In the fall the school band practices in the field next to the building so we get some entertainment.
Joel has progressed greatly and is considered high functioning which is great. It also means when he just looks more like a normal kid, but he isn't, he is different. C and V know J goes to therapy and they never really question it anymore. They have been told J needs help talking years ago and never asked since. We have explained to V that J's brain thinks differently and mentally V gets it, but on a daily basis it doesn't even register. If someone talks about Autism he remembers or once they were at a summer school thing and J was asked to write something and V promptly told the teacher "J isn't good at writing because he has Autism so he was going to need help." We have tried to explain to C that everything J does is not a good thing to do, so don't always do what J does. She asked why and I tried to tell her J's brain thinks different and she responds with "so does mine!" We have gotten no where. I stopped trying. Someday she will understand and maybe someday she won't but either way she loves her brother and wants to be like him. D is too young to care. He loves J and wants to play with him because he is the cool older brother. Actually everyone in our house loves playing with J, he is by far the most popular of the siblings.
We have made some major gains with Joel in the last year. He can read (in English and Spanish), his writing is improving, he likes math and is even remembering some of the names of kids in his class. Last year he knew 2 this year we are over 5. He basically has the same kids in his class as last year plus 2 new kids. When I go to a parent teacher conference and hear how he is doing or see test scores part of me wishes he was a better student and excelling like his big brother but most of me is just so proud he is doing well in a dual language program that I really don't care about him being a little behind in reading or the fact that he can't sit still. Don't get me wrong, we make sure he gets extra help and we work with the teacher if they need us to help them figure out ways to deal with behavior stuff in class, but I am so thrilled with the progress he is making I don't lose sleep over the rest of it.
We went to the Museum of Science and Industry this winter. Our family, my in-laws and 2 of my nieces two days before Christmas. It was busy! J finally learned my phone number a couple weeks before we went so I didn't have to worry as much about him getting lost. I didn't want him to, but if he did I was confident he knew my name and phone number and that is huge! I also only brought the single stroller and figured if J needed it D could be carried or walk for awhile. Sometimes with big crowds and an over stimulating environment J retreats to the stroller to hide. We were at the museum from 10am-4pm and not once did J hide in the stroller. It is little success like this that make me happy!
On the flip side when we have friends over to play J still plays mostly by himself, but near the rest of the kids. He is in his own world and he seems happy there. Sometimes D joins him and they both seem happy with that. He still obsesses over things and it seems to rotate more frequently than it used to and we are all used to it now. There are still easy things that he struggles with at home and I think it affects me more than him, because it requires more work and effort on my part to help him. J's behavior and reaction to new situations is generally good these days, but just when I think he won't go along with something or not like it he surprises me. I love the little knucklehead and as Brad points out Joel will always be my baby even if he isn't the youngest.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Dress Up
Our kids love to dress up. J and C more than any of them, but D is getting into it to. V is starting to thinking that he is a little to cool for that, but he joins in from time to time. One year I was getting frustrated because the kids were changing their minds about Halloween costumes every week. I was going crazy. A couple years ago my sister in law pointed out that they play dress up a lot and Halloween isn't much different for them. Ninjas, princesses, TMNT, super heroes, clowns, you name it!
A week or so ago, Grandma Diane brought over a jacket and a hat that used to be Grandpa Craig's for Joel to try on. In typical Joel fashion he was ready for the camera! She also brought a jacket of hers for Cecilia to try on and a jacket of Grandpa's for Dean to try on. Joel had a blast! Cecilia was tired and wasn't as thrilled with it. Dean wasn't so sure about trying on clothes when he woke up for a nap.
It was fun to see the kids in clothes that their grandparents' old clothes.
A week or so ago, Grandma Diane brought over a jacket and a hat that used to be Grandpa Craig's for Joel to try on. In typical Joel fashion he was ready for the camera! She also brought a jacket of hers for Cecilia to try on and a jacket of Grandpa's for Dean to try on. Joel had a blast! Cecilia was tired and wasn't as thrilled with it. Dean wasn't so sure about trying on clothes when he woke up for a nap.
It was fun to see the kids in clothes that their grandparents' old clothes.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Nick names
Most of our kids have nicknames or little names we call them or their sibling call them, some more than others. Some make sense and most don't.
V: Vince, Vincente
J: Joel-o, Fax Sito, Joel (with Spanish pronunciation)
C: See-ya-ba-de-ya, Berdene, Sa-zee
D: Dean-o, Herbie, Nenenger, Moyer
V doesn't like to be called Vinny, except by Uncle John. Not sure why he can get away with it.
J decided this fall that he didn't like farmers or farming. Farmers are boring and he wants to be a firefighter, but not one that goes inside by the fire. He is going to stay by the truck and use the hose. Or he is going to teach preschool. Anyway, he used to be a Sito, they weren't farmers. But all the Sitos died and he was stuck being a Stewart. But his real name is Joel (pronounced in Spanish Ho-L) Fax Sito (See-toe). He even spelled it for me. Fax is the middle name and Sito is the last name. So we called him that for weeks and still call him Fax Sito.
D calls C Sa-zee. He can say her name but doesn't call her that and now all of us call her Sa-zee. I tend to use Sa-zee more than her actual name.
Nenenger (probably spelled wrong) is from Veggie tales. Brad started it and I have no idea why. Moyer is also from Veggie tales. His nick name is Moyer the Destroyer in the movie and it just fits.
V: Vince, Vincente
J: Joel-o, Fax Sito, Joel (with Spanish pronunciation)
C: See-ya-ba-de-ya, Berdene, Sa-zee
D: Dean-o, Herbie, Nenenger, Moyer
V doesn't like to be called Vinny, except by Uncle John. Not sure why he can get away with it.
J decided this fall that he didn't like farmers or farming. Farmers are boring and he wants to be a firefighter, but not one that goes inside by the fire. He is going to stay by the truck and use the hose. Or he is going to teach preschool. Anyway, he used to be a Sito, they weren't farmers. But all the Sitos died and he was stuck being a Stewart. But his real name is Joel (pronounced in Spanish Ho-L) Fax Sito (See-toe). He even spelled it for me. Fax is the middle name and Sito is the last name. So we called him that for weeks and still call him Fax Sito.
D calls C Sa-zee. He can say her name but doesn't call her that and now all of us call her Sa-zee. I tend to use Sa-zee more than her actual name.
Nenenger (probably spelled wrong) is from Veggie tales. Brad started it and I have no idea why. Moyer is also from Veggie tales. His nick name is Moyer the Destroyer in the movie and it just fits.
Jokes
Since late this fall the kids have been on a joke telling kick. They think they are hilarious and about 1% are. Unfortunately if one kid gets a laugh with a joke they retell it 100x and so do their siblings. Chances are the first time they told it we were only mildly amused and mustered up a laugh because that is what you do as parents, laugh at terrible jokes your kids tell. V does have a joke book, so occasionally we get to hear a decent one.
C made up a joke on the way home from school this fall and I thought it was rather clever.
"What do you call a combine with no head?" Answer: "A fat tractor!"
D likes to make that one into a knock knock joke and it just doesn't work. His favorite is "knock, knock, who's there? Cat. Cat who? Cat in the hat." And then he laughs. Which makes me laugh.
Dinner time became joke telling time. V likes to talk a lot and tell his jokes, J likes to tell knock knock jokes, C gets made if she doesn't get a turn and generally repeats someone else's jokes, that person then gets mad she is copying and D doesn't like to be left out of the fun and repeats whatever he can remember. He has a tendency for turning every joke into a knock knock joke and usually saying the answer before you can say "who's there?" Every night at dinner for weeks on end this happened. At first it was really cute, but they repeat the same 3-5 jokes every night and it is a little less cute. We had to start limiting kids to a certain number of jokes.
The best was one day V and J were exchanging jokes at the table and not letting C get a word in at all. She was trying to be polite but she just couldn't be heard over the two of them, they are loud, always! I was in the kitchen trying to cut an apple for them and she walks over to tell me the boys won't let her talk. I walk over there, get the boys to stop talking and let her tell some jokes. I return to the apple cutting and feel a tug on my shirt. It is D and he is upset and says "they not let me talk!" He had watched it work for his sister and came to get help from mommy. I got the older 3 to be quiet, asked D what he had to tell them and he said "umm, huh, I not know!" He didn't have anything to say but he wasn't about to be left out.
The boys once said to me that C and D's jokes aren't funny and they always say the same ones. I didn't have the heart to tell them that their jokes weren't that funny either. Instead I carefully explained that we all laughed at their jokes when they were little and they needed to do the same for C and D. V said "but my jokes were funny." Not as funny as you think they were was my reply.
C made up a joke on the way home from school this fall and I thought it was rather clever.
"What do you call a combine with no head?" Answer: "A fat tractor!"
D likes to make that one into a knock knock joke and it just doesn't work. His favorite is "knock, knock, who's there? Cat. Cat who? Cat in the hat." And then he laughs. Which makes me laugh.
Dinner time became joke telling time. V likes to talk a lot and tell his jokes, J likes to tell knock knock jokes, C gets made if she doesn't get a turn and generally repeats someone else's jokes, that person then gets mad she is copying and D doesn't like to be left out of the fun and repeats whatever he can remember. He has a tendency for turning every joke into a knock knock joke and usually saying the answer before you can say "who's there?" Every night at dinner for weeks on end this happened. At first it was really cute, but they repeat the same 3-5 jokes every night and it is a little less cute. We had to start limiting kids to a certain number of jokes.
The best was one day V and J were exchanging jokes at the table and not letting C get a word in at all. She was trying to be polite but she just couldn't be heard over the two of them, they are loud, always! I was in the kitchen trying to cut an apple for them and she walks over to tell me the boys won't let her talk. I walk over there, get the boys to stop talking and let her tell some jokes. I return to the apple cutting and feel a tug on my shirt. It is D and he is upset and says "they not let me talk!" He had watched it work for his sister and came to get help from mommy. I got the older 3 to be quiet, asked D what he had to tell them and he said "umm, huh, I not know!" He didn't have anything to say but he wasn't about to be left out.
The boys once said to me that C and D's jokes aren't funny and they always say the same ones. I didn't have the heart to tell them that their jokes weren't that funny either. Instead I carefully explained that we all laughed at their jokes when they were little and they needed to do the same for C and D. V said "but my jokes were funny." Not as funny as you think they were was my reply.
Fun in the Dells
This past weekend we went to Wisconsin Dells to the Wilderness with two other families. We also had my nephew Keith with us. He was brave enough to hang out with our crazy crew and enjoy all that cramming 7 people into a hotel room has to offer. Between the 3 families we had 6 adults and 10 kids (ages 2-junior high). We conquered 4 water parks and a giant indoor playground. There were fun talks, laughing, a bit of crying (my littles didn't want to go to bed), swimming, eating and a little bit of sleep.
Most of the time if we go somewhere we drive and stay in our RV. Since we didn't need somewhere to stay I thought we could just take our car. While there are downsides to not having the RV like less space and no bathroom; there were upsides like everyone can see the DVD players from their car seats and I get to sit and talk to Brad instead of being up and tending to the kids' needs in the RV. The kids couldn't even comprehend that we were driving the car. C said "but Mommy I thought you said we were staying overnight at the waterpark? Where are we going to sleep?" Because we never stay in hotels, the kids were quite excited when we arrived. J got in the room and said "it's like we are in New York City or something!" The kids jumped from bed to bed and thought that having 100's of tv channels was amazing. They didn't want to leave.
On the way to Wisconsin Dells C rode with the our good friends, they had extra room in their car and they left a couple hours before us. C was so excited to beat us there. We had to pick Keith up from school, then V and J then we were dropping the dogs off at the Crawford's house. They were kind enough to watch the dogs for the weekend. Our car was packed! We had just enough room in the back for the dogs and kids. There was no spare room. Pete decided he had to be by his people so on the hour drive he weaseled his way onto V's lap in the 3rd row. Then he managed to get onto Keith's lap in the middle row. Keith was able to keep him from coming up front! Once we dropped off the dogs we had a lot more room! On the return trip we had C with us and made Bristol sit on the floor in front of D's feet and Pete sat on my lap up front. He isn't small. Sitting still is a challenge for him. J kept trying to call Pete to the middle row. C and D were yelling "no Pete!" They didn't want Pete sitting on them.
V was tall enough for all the rides and enjoyed hanging out with the older kids. J hated wave pools and water slides this summer. But this weekend he loved the wave pool and he went with Brad and the big kids on almost every water slide and loved it! C was tall enough for a couple bigger water slides and was nervous on the way up but ended up loving the waterslides. D likes to say everything is "too cary" (too scary), he went on a couple bigger waterslides with Brad. I guess he would tell Brad he had fun when they got to the bottom. When I would ask how it was when I would get to the bottom after them, he would say they were scary. There was one heated indoor/outdoor pool and he loved swimming to the outside part. They all loved the massive indoor playground and Brad and I enjoyed it too. Some of the slides were really fast and fun!
We are truly blessed that we have several good friends that would do anything for us, that enjoy being around our circus and love our family for who we really are. It is amazing! To have friends that love your kids, take time to get to know and interact with and love your kids is a true blessing. Our kids may not realize it now but they are blessed to have so many loving, kind, Christian adults involved in their lives. And we are blessed to have the opportunity to be involved in our friends' kids' lives.
There were so many different cute pictures I could have taken all weekend, but there was water and I didn't want to worry about my phone or camera.
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| Goofballs and good friends. |
Most of the time if we go somewhere we drive and stay in our RV. Since we didn't need somewhere to stay I thought we could just take our car. While there are downsides to not having the RV like less space and no bathroom; there were upsides like everyone can see the DVD players from their car seats and I get to sit and talk to Brad instead of being up and tending to the kids' needs in the RV. The kids couldn't even comprehend that we were driving the car. C said "but Mommy I thought you said we were staying overnight at the waterpark? Where are we going to sleep?" Because we never stay in hotels, the kids were quite excited when we arrived. J got in the room and said "it's like we are in New York City or something!" The kids jumped from bed to bed and thought that having 100's of tv channels was amazing. They didn't want to leave.
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| Humoring his aunt :) |
On the way to Wisconsin Dells C rode with the our good friends, they had extra room in their car and they left a couple hours before us. C was so excited to beat us there. We had to pick Keith up from school, then V and J then we were dropping the dogs off at the Crawford's house. They were kind enough to watch the dogs for the weekend. Our car was packed! We had just enough room in the back for the dogs and kids. There was no spare room. Pete decided he had to be by his people so on the hour drive he weaseled his way onto V's lap in the 3rd row. Then he managed to get onto Keith's lap in the middle row. Keith was able to keep him from coming up front! Once we dropped off the dogs we had a lot more room! On the return trip we had C with us and made Bristol sit on the floor in front of D's feet and Pete sat on my lap up front. He isn't small. Sitting still is a challenge for him. J kept trying to call Pete to the middle row. C and D were yelling "no Pete!" They didn't want Pete sitting on them.
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| On our way! |
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| I don't know what they were looking at but Dean seemed to think it was funny. |
V was tall enough for all the rides and enjoyed hanging out with the older kids. J hated wave pools and water slides this summer. But this weekend he loved the wave pool and he went with Brad and the big kids on almost every water slide and loved it! C was tall enough for a couple bigger water slides and was nervous on the way up but ended up loving the waterslides. D likes to say everything is "too cary" (too scary), he went on a couple bigger waterslides with Brad. I guess he would tell Brad he had fun when they got to the bottom. When I would ask how it was when I would get to the bottom after them, he would say they were scary. There was one heated indoor/outdoor pool and he loved swimming to the outside part. They all loved the massive indoor playground and Brad and I enjoyed it too. Some of the slides were really fast and fun!
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| Relaxing after a hard day of having fun |
We are truly blessed that we have several good friends that would do anything for us, that enjoy being around our circus and love our family for who we really are. It is amazing! To have friends that love your kids, take time to get to know and interact with and love your kids is a true blessing. Our kids may not realize it now but they are blessed to have so many loving, kind, Christian adults involved in their lives. And we are blessed to have the opportunity to be involved in our friends' kids' lives.
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| Our 5 kids for the weekend. |
There were so many different cute pictures I could have taken all weekend, but there was water and I didn't want to worry about my phone or camera.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Future Plans
We are well aware that our kids will not all fall in love with farming and want to be a part of our farming operation and we are not bothered by that. I am also pretty sure they don't all want to be veterinarians and I am ok with that.
V has already declared he will be on the ISS (International Space Station) and will come visit us when he isn't in space, he says he can help on the farm when he is home and more once he is retired from the ISS. He has already warned me that he won't be able to call me very much while he is in space. He found the U of I Vet School opening disgusting and I am sure any sort of job in the medical field is not something he is interested in.
J wants to be a preschool teacher. It started as 2nd grade teacher and then was 1st grade and then kindergarten. Now he wants to have a preschool at our house. There have been talks of being a fireman, but he doesn't want to be the person that goes inside by the fire. I think he is hoping to just stay by the truck and stay safe.
I will be surprised if C doesn't do something in a medical field. If there are blood and guts around she wants to see it up close and person. Even better if you have a picture so she can go back and look at it 100 times and zoom in too. She wants to know whey everything happens and what happens if it doesn't work right. She loved the vet school open house and was not grossed out by anything. She also has a fascination with funerals, so who knows.
D currently loves animals, tractors, and other farm equipment. He may be our most likely candidate to farm. He loves driving his toy tractors, combine, cattle trailer and semi truck with a low boy trailer around the living room.
Brad likes to remind them that if they don't work hard, pay attention and make good decisions that they will "be living in a van down by the river." We also tell C and V (who argue quite a bit) that if they work together they can take over the world and if they spend time fighting J will take over the world while they aren't paying attention.
Speaking of future plans...the other day the kids discussed who they were going to marry. I was at work so I missed out on the conversation, but Brad and the kids filled me in later. V was marrying the neighbors daughter, J was determined he was marrying a girl from school, C was marrying my friend's son and D was marrying C's best friend. She decided that for him!
They have so many plans for themselves and as determined as the 4 of them are I am sure they will go places and meet wonderful people to share their lives with. Although I can't say I would be sad if they ended up with their current choices. They all picked great kids from nice families! I pray they continue to dream big and not let anything stop them from achieving all their goals!
Kids Farming
One of the perks of living where we do is that we are so close to the main farm. This is where the farm shop is and where a lot of work is done all year long. The kids and I stop in from time to time. Sometimes it is busy and we don't stay very long, other times hardly anyone is around and we "play" a little bit over there checking out different tools or climbing on the forklift and pretending to drive. I will be honest sometimes they just need a change of scenery and it is a nice walk over there and gives us something new to do. As the kids are getting older it is easier and safer to allow them to go help Brad. No matter how old you are a farm is dangerous but we try to keep it safer by being careful who helps with what job and making sure there is plenty of supervision and that the kids are well aware of the rules.
While there is a ton of talk about the grain market and other random farm things around here the kids aren't usually paying attention. Brad tries to work farm talk in as much as he can with the kids and does a great job of making it fun. Sometimes I wish he made the grain markets more fun to listen to. I listen, my brain struggles (I need visuals not just words), I try to keep caught up and then he starts talking about selling corn and buying it back and no matter how much I try my brain stops listening at that point. It is getting slightly better, but we are talking at a snail's pace.
I try to help fill in the blanks on the basic farm stuff, but I am still learning too. The kids don't all get super excited about farming. V never wants to go to the field but once you get him out there he has fun and enjoys it. J protests, doesn't like being out there and if you happen to let him actually use a tool he might hang out and not complain for awhile. C loves to ride with Brad in any equipment he is driving. D loves all the tractors and combines because they are yellow, his favorite color. We finally have a kid that enjoys the color of our equipment. V's favorite color was green and we are not John Deere people. J's favorite color is red and we aren't IH people. C's favorite color is pink and you just don't see a lot of pink tractors and combines. D loves yellow and with many CAT tractors and a Claas combine we can keep him happy.
A sampling of things farming facts the kids already know include important things like we grow, harvest and sell corn and soybeans to make money. If you want to spent time with Daddy in the spring, summer or fall you need to head to the field. Don't walk on the dump pit. Delivering meals to the field always takes longer than they want it to. Uncle Bob has the most snacks available for stealing in his combine. You will get reprimanded for wishing for snow before harvest is complete. It is more fun to drive the ATV and ride horses in the field in the short time between harvest and the field getting worked. That Uncle Bob and Grandpa drive the combines. That if Grandma is driving a grain cart she will teach you how to do it and actually let you drive (Vince found that out this fall!). And when you are in a tractor you don't really get to drive if the GPS is working, except for turning at the end. And most importantly that we feed the world.
The three oldest actually know how to run the moisture tester to test the moisture in the corn. One day J was sick and I had to volunteer at C's school so he was stuck in the little office next to the dump pit helping Brad. He did a good job too. J was testing the moisture on the corn. Plus, Brad told him what to do when certain lights appeared on the dryer control panel. J would be watching a video on the iPad and then lights would change colors and he would turn the dryer on and off as well as conveyor belts. The kid can rarely do anything if he has a screen in front of him, and following multiple step directions is not something he can usually do without verbal cues, but according to Brad he was mostly doing it on his own. Under Brad's supervision of course. In typical J fashion he didn't complain which means he probably liked it.
Over Thanksgiving break Brad took V out to the field to help spread lime. Brad told V that he needed help with an experiment, we usually have to trick V into putting down a book to leave the house. They calculated how much lime they needed and they made sure the spread pattern was configured correctly. I am told V loved it and was doing a really good job and was able to almost figure it out on his own once Brad walked him through it. Over Christmas break he helped build gates.
C gets is usually the first to volunteer to help Brad and she follows directions well when she is with him, so she has been able to help more than the boys ever did at her age. Their project over Christmas was not farming related but they did build a manager for baby Jesus to go with our nativity scene outside. D is much too young to do much more than ride in equipment for short periods of time and don't even dream of running the skid steer in front of him without offering him a ride. He also cried almost every day this fall when Brad would go to work because he wanted to farm too.
While there is a ton of talk about the grain market and other random farm things around here the kids aren't usually paying attention. Brad tries to work farm talk in as much as he can with the kids and does a great job of making it fun. Sometimes I wish he made the grain markets more fun to listen to. I listen, my brain struggles (I need visuals not just words), I try to keep caught up and then he starts talking about selling corn and buying it back and no matter how much I try my brain stops listening at that point. It is getting slightly better, but we are talking at a snail's pace.
I try to help fill in the blanks on the basic farm stuff, but I am still learning too. The kids don't all get super excited about farming. V never wants to go to the field but once you get him out there he has fun and enjoys it. J protests, doesn't like being out there and if you happen to let him actually use a tool he might hang out and not complain for awhile. C loves to ride with Brad in any equipment he is driving. D loves all the tractors and combines because they are yellow, his favorite color. We finally have a kid that enjoys the color of our equipment. V's favorite color was green and we are not John Deere people. J's favorite color is red and we aren't IH people. C's favorite color is pink and you just don't see a lot of pink tractors and combines. D loves yellow and with many CAT tractors and a Claas combine we can keep him happy.
A sampling of things farming facts the kids already know include important things like we grow, harvest and sell corn and soybeans to make money. If you want to spent time with Daddy in the spring, summer or fall you need to head to the field. Don't walk on the dump pit. Delivering meals to the field always takes longer than they want it to. Uncle Bob has the most snacks available for stealing in his combine. You will get reprimanded for wishing for snow before harvest is complete. It is more fun to drive the ATV and ride horses in the field in the short time between harvest and the field getting worked. That Uncle Bob and Grandpa drive the combines. That if Grandma is driving a grain cart she will teach you how to do it and actually let you drive (Vince found that out this fall!). And when you are in a tractor you don't really get to drive if the GPS is working, except for turning at the end. And most importantly that we feed the world.
The three oldest actually know how to run the moisture tester to test the moisture in the corn. One day J was sick and I had to volunteer at C's school so he was stuck in the little office next to the dump pit helping Brad. He did a good job too. J was testing the moisture on the corn. Plus, Brad told him what to do when certain lights appeared on the dryer control panel. J would be watching a video on the iPad and then lights would change colors and he would turn the dryer on and off as well as conveyor belts. The kid can rarely do anything if he has a screen in front of him, and following multiple step directions is not something he can usually do without verbal cues, but according to Brad he was mostly doing it on his own. Under Brad's supervision of course. In typical J fashion he didn't complain which means he probably liked it.
Over Thanksgiving break Brad took V out to the field to help spread lime. Brad told V that he needed help with an experiment, we usually have to trick V into putting down a book to leave the house. They calculated how much lime they needed and they made sure the spread pattern was configured correctly. I am told V loved it and was doing a really good job and was able to almost figure it out on his own once Brad walked him through it. Over Christmas break he helped build gates.
C gets is usually the first to volunteer to help Brad and she follows directions well when she is with him, so she has been able to help more than the boys ever did at her age. Their project over Christmas was not farming related but they did build a manager for baby Jesus to go with our nativity scene outside. D is much too young to do much more than ride in equipment for short periods of time and don't even dream of running the skid steer in front of him without offering him a ride. He also cried almost every day this fall when Brad would go to work because he wanted to farm too.
Farm Talk
There are some random conversations that happen in our house and you never know what the kids are going to say. Brad and the kids discuss many things and often times it is deep conversation, or involves farming, or involves math. The other day I came home from somewhere and they were discussing sections, townships, and counties. We aren't talking about just what those things were but how many acres were in each and how many sections in a township and how many townships in our county and how many acres that would be. Brad had V doing the math to figure it all out. Then they had pizza and were pretending that each piece was a section and then talking about how many townships each person consumed.
Another time I came home from work and Brad had been talking to the kids about seed and how different corn seeds had different "powers." Apparently they had been discussing Pokémon and Brad wanted to show them that different corn seed varieties and each one had different characteristics and powers. Brad and V were all into it and reading a magazine about different ones and Brad wanted V to pick ones that we should plant. Then V got into other parts of the magazine and was reading up on new technologies for the tractor and telling Brad all about it. It was nerdy and adorable!
Another time I came home from work and Brad had been talking to the kids about seed and how different corn seeds had different "powers." Apparently they had been discussing Pokémon and Brad wanted to show them that different corn seed varieties and each one had different characteristics and powers. Brad and V were all into it and reading a magazine about different ones and Brad wanted V to pick ones that we should plant. Then V got into other parts of the magazine and was reading up on new technologies for the tractor and telling Brad all about it. It was nerdy and adorable!
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Ice Skating and the path
I don't know if we have ever taken the kids ice skating. We have talked about it but I can't remember going. Actually I think we took Vince once when he was less than 2 years old. I ice skated as a kid and I love it, but helping 4 small kids stay upright on the ice just never appealed to me. This crazy weather has melted all the snow, which caused some sadness around here, and then the rain came. More sadness because mud and dogs and kids just results in more cleaning for me and I can't keep up with it as it is. Then the puddles all froze. My drive way is icy, my in-laws driveway is icy, the path between our house and theirs is icy. The part of the field next to the path that has bad drainage has froze into a nice pond, and thanks to the kids we have found a reason to be happy about all of it.
Friday night the kids and I went to go see Buttercup after dinner, we needed to do chores and find Brad. He was working in the farm shop on a project. V was not happy about having to leave the house at 7pm. He made it very clear he wanted to stay home so he could read, and that anything we were doing wasn't actually going to be fun. 2 minutes into the walk to Grandma's he was having a blast. It was dark, but there was a full moon, and the star on the top of the silo marking where we needed to head. We pretended we were the 3 wise men and a couple camels looking for baby Jesus. The path was icy and at first the big kids were scared, then they learned how to slide on it in their shoes and they were off having fun. D was in the stroller and watched on the way over. They had so much fun and even more fun on the ice in Grandma's barnyard. I was having a blast too! After playing with the pony for an hour or so and making some dangerous obstacles in the barn to play on we headed out to find Brad. We skated down the driveway to find him and the kids realized how icy the little hill was and started having even more fun. When we got down to the shop D was even excited to get in on the ice skating. He kept running around saying "I ice kate, I ice kate!" They played for another 45 minutes outside just giggling and having a great time. We then headed home with Brad. He had to drive the Pioneer home and not one kid wanted to ride with him because they wanted to ice skate all the way home. They proceeded to skate down our driveway right to the barn to play there for awhile. By the time we got in the house it was 9:30 and we had 4 very tired kids.
Saturday was more ice skating or ice sliding. Brad and the kids tried out the big puddle in the field and had a blast. I was at work but I hear Uncle Bob joined in and so did Pete for a little bit. The kids just loved it!
Tonight we played with the pony, celebrated Grandma Diane's birthday with a dinner at her house and then walked home. Again it was after 9pm, there was a full moon but it was very cloudy and therefore very dark out on the big puddle. We were all skating, laughing, and just having an awesome time. No electronics, no flashlights, just the faint light from the moon (except when I took a short video) and the 6 of us just making memories. I can't even accurately put into words how wonderful and perfect it felt. After all it is just a puddle due to bad drainage and the full moon was covered by clouds, we didn't even have ice skates, and we could barely see each other. It was one of those times when you hope that all of you will remember it forever because pictures, videos, and words just can't do it any justice.
We have a great barn, a fabulous yard, a house that is unique and we spend a lot of time doing fun things in all of those places, but one place that has become the most special to me is the path between our house and Grandma and Grandpa's house. There is nothing fancy about it and from the road you can't even see it, but so many memories, conversations, fun times are had all year long on the less than 1/4 mile stretch that takes less that 5 minutes to walk.
Friday night the kids and I went to go see Buttercup after dinner, we needed to do chores and find Brad. He was working in the farm shop on a project. V was not happy about having to leave the house at 7pm. He made it very clear he wanted to stay home so he could read, and that anything we were doing wasn't actually going to be fun. 2 minutes into the walk to Grandma's he was having a blast. It was dark, but there was a full moon, and the star on the top of the silo marking where we needed to head. We pretended we were the 3 wise men and a couple camels looking for baby Jesus. The path was icy and at first the big kids were scared, then they learned how to slide on it in their shoes and they were off having fun. D was in the stroller and watched on the way over. They had so much fun and even more fun on the ice in Grandma's barnyard. I was having a blast too! After playing with the pony for an hour or so and making some dangerous obstacles in the barn to play on we headed out to find Brad. We skated down the driveway to find him and the kids realized how icy the little hill was and started having even more fun. When we got down to the shop D was even excited to get in on the ice skating. He kept running around saying "I ice kate, I ice kate!" They played for another 45 minutes outside just giggling and having a great time. We then headed home with Brad. He had to drive the Pioneer home and not one kid wanted to ride with him because they wanted to ice skate all the way home. They proceeded to skate down our driveway right to the barn to play there for awhile. By the time we got in the house it was 9:30 and we had 4 very tired kids.
Saturday was more ice skating or ice sliding. Brad and the kids tried out the big puddle in the field and had a blast. I was at work but I hear Uncle Bob joined in and so did Pete for a little bit. The kids just loved it!
Tonight we played with the pony, celebrated Grandma Diane's birthday with a dinner at her house and then walked home. Again it was after 9pm, there was a full moon but it was very cloudy and therefore very dark out on the big puddle. We were all skating, laughing, and just having an awesome time. No electronics, no flashlights, just the faint light from the moon (except when I took a short video) and the 6 of us just making memories. I can't even accurately put into words how wonderful and perfect it felt. After all it is just a puddle due to bad drainage and the full moon was covered by clouds, we didn't even have ice skates, and we could barely see each other. It was one of those times when you hope that all of you will remember it forever because pictures, videos, and words just can't do it any justice.
We have a great barn, a fabulous yard, a house that is unique and we spend a lot of time doing fun things in all of those places, but one place that has become the most special to me is the path between our house and Grandma and Grandpa's house. There is nothing fancy about it and from the road you can't even see it, but so many memories, conversations, fun times are had all year long on the less than 1/4 mile stretch that takes less that 5 minutes to walk.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Buttercup
A week or so ago I saw on Facebook that one of my vet school classmates was getting rid of her miniature horse (we all call her a pony and we know she is a mini). We weren't really in the market for a horse or pony. We have been talking about getting one off and on since summer time. We have been between something small the kids could goof around on at home but not take on trail rides or something a little bigger that would be a good trail horse. Not that a pony can't go trail riding, but that is a lot of trotting for the kid that is riding the pony. Currently we have 4 riding horses. Brad has one. I have one and the kids fight over one. Brad and I both ride double, and one kid rides on Ollie and then we are short a horse for one. Which means V has to ride a horse he doesn't really like. I easily convinced Brad that the mare was worth looking at, he had a pony growing up and has fond memories of that.
The kids and I headed down to see the mare and my two biggest horse critics (J and C) liked her a lot, and she didn't seem to mind my 4 kids hanging around her and being loud, or the two crazy border collies that were at the barn. J and C were led around on her and they had a lot of fun, even though she was walking pretty fast. After sleeping on the idea for a night I told my friend we would take the mare, Buttercup. I think we should name her Tinkerbell because we have a Peter Pan and a Croc but the boys don't seem to agree and they all seem to be ok with her current name.
I had some excited kids but it was a very long week before we could pick her up. We had to wait because we needed to get some work finished up on our barn. We have stalls, but no stall gates. We have a nice inside pen, but no gates. We have a great small pasture for her, but no shelter and we thought she needed to have a place to get out of the rain. We have a great shelter and automatic waterer but we have Ray (all 2,000 lbs of him) and Ray doesn't play well with new horses. His pasture mates are known for following his lead and it can get ugly if you are the horse on the receiving end. Eventually we will introduce them but for now Brad built gates! The problem is there was some complications hanging them so Buttercup spent the night in the horse trailer parked inside the barn. It really is not different than a stall, she didn't seem to mind. After a night of all the kids loving on her, leading her in circles, picking up her feet 20 times and a cat taking a ride on her back (Bugs is weird!) she may have been happy to be out of reach and have some alone time until morning.
I can usually accurately gauge how all the kids will respond to something. J is usually the wild card. J and C ended up really liking Buttercup right away and V was more interested than I had expected. I thought D was going to be thrilled and he didn't even want to go near her until today, she needed to grow on him I guess. He is my horse lover, but he also loves our horses (he has been able to identify and name all 5 of our horses before he was two yeas old) and the horses on Unbranded, he doesn't love every horse he sees. In Buttercup's first full day at our house she as been walked up to the house, walked into the garage, walked on the icy ground to Grandma Diane's indoor arena, was ridden by a couple kids and loved on quite a bit. Her new residence is a stall in Grandma's barn, at least through the weekend. The kids want to play with her a lot and it is easier in the arena. Although the new pretty pony pen gates are finished and installed and patiently waiting to keep a pony contained.
The kids and I headed down to see the mare and my two biggest horse critics (J and C) liked her a lot, and she didn't seem to mind my 4 kids hanging around her and being loud, or the two crazy border collies that were at the barn. J and C were led around on her and they had a lot of fun, even though she was walking pretty fast. After sleeping on the idea for a night I told my friend we would take the mare, Buttercup. I think we should name her Tinkerbell because we have a Peter Pan and a Croc but the boys don't seem to agree and they all seem to be ok with her current name.
I had some excited kids but it was a very long week before we could pick her up. We had to wait because we needed to get some work finished up on our barn. We have stalls, but no stall gates. We have a nice inside pen, but no gates. We have a great small pasture for her, but no shelter and we thought she needed to have a place to get out of the rain. We have a great shelter and automatic waterer but we have Ray (all 2,000 lbs of him) and Ray doesn't play well with new horses. His pasture mates are known for following his lead and it can get ugly if you are the horse on the receiving end. Eventually we will introduce them but for now Brad built gates! The problem is there was some complications hanging them so Buttercup spent the night in the horse trailer parked inside the barn. It really is not different than a stall, she didn't seem to mind. After a night of all the kids loving on her, leading her in circles, picking up her feet 20 times and a cat taking a ride on her back (Bugs is weird!) she may have been happy to be out of reach and have some alone time until morning.
I can usually accurately gauge how all the kids will respond to something. J is usually the wild card. J and C ended up really liking Buttercup right away and V was more interested than I had expected. I thought D was going to be thrilled and he didn't even want to go near her until today, she needed to grow on him I guess. He is my horse lover, but he also loves our horses (he has been able to identify and name all 5 of our horses before he was two yeas old) and the horses on Unbranded, he doesn't love every horse he sees. In Buttercup's first full day at our house she as been walked up to the house, walked into the garage, walked on the icy ground to Grandma Diane's indoor arena, was ridden by a couple kids and loved on quite a bit. Her new residence is a stall in Grandma's barn, at least through the weekend. The kids want to play with her a lot and it is easier in the arena. Although the new pretty pony pen gates are finished and installed and patiently waiting to keep a pony contained.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Time to start the 2nd half of the school year
Monday the kids went back to school and you would think that means more time for me to blog, but I am actually home less when the kids are in school. D and I spend a lot of time in the car driving kids to and from school and activities. None of us were looking forward to school starting. I try to have a good attitude or say things like it is too bad you have to go back to school but that means we are 1 more day closer to spring break, or aren't you excited to learn more and see your friends.
Break was wonderful! The kids were great over break. They were happy, focused, mostly helpful, and a ton of fun! Despite all my efforts 3 out of 4 of our kids prefer to fall asleep between 9-10pm and get up around 7:30-8pm. Over break they got to be on the sleep schedules they like and they were happy kids for it. J rarely eats lunch at school and he hates almost everything I send for hot lunches, and they he is crabby because he is hungry and we get what I affectionately refer to as "crabby old man J." C was well rested and not having to go to school and had significantly less meltdowns. V got to spend a lot of time reading which he loves and D was happy to have them all home. On school nights they are in bed by 8:30 but they stay awake (mostly) in their beds until much later.
The first day back from break was miserable. C had 2 meltdowns within a half hour of getting home from school in which she declared she hated D and told me she was done with me and she was giving me to another family. It started when I told her she needed to get out of the car so we could go inside and get lunch. I am mean like that. D blew raspberries at her during one of her fits an then laughed and I believe that is when she decided she didn't like him either.
Then after school the boys' bus was late. After it was 30 minutes late I called to see what the deal was and they said it would be at my house soon, but no explanation of what happened. It finally arrived 45 min late and at the same time we were supposed to be across town at swimming lessons. I was not happy. J was in tears. V was not happy. On the car ride to swimming V told me that the bus driver was a substitute driver and that their names weren't on her list so she left the school without them. I asked if they were late for some reason and he said that they were out there at the same time they always were. I was mad and thought about calling the bus company or the school and figuring out why they didn't notify me about the bus being late and forgetting the kids.
Luckily I never found time to call the bus company or the school to figure out why the bus was late and I wasn't notified. Tonight I talked to V's teacher. It turns out there was more to the story. Every day after school V goes downstairs and collects J and then they walk out to the bus together. The boys were delayed to the bus because V decided to stop in the library real quick and get a new book. It turns out this is a not a new thing for him. Just something he knows I will tell him he can't do, so he doesn't tell me about it, They did have a substitute bus driver and their names were not on the list so the driver left and didn't wait for them to show up. However if they didn't stop at the library for V to get a new book they would have been out to the bus before it left. So everyone was in the wrong and the poor bus driver had to turn around part way through the route, go back to the school to get my kids and then finish the route. While I still think that they should inform parents when buses are late and they should make sure they have the correct list of kids for substitute drivers, they should also not have to wait around on kids who don't follow the rules and don't go straight out to the bus after school. V has no idea that I have this new information and I am excited to share it with him in the morning. I am hoping to let J know that going to the library after school is not allowed because he is good at reminding other people they are breaking the rules. In the meantime the teacher has told him that the library is now closed after school because they are fixing things, not sure how long he will buy that story but it was worth a try.
Break was wonderful! The kids were great over break. They were happy, focused, mostly helpful, and a ton of fun! Despite all my efforts 3 out of 4 of our kids prefer to fall asleep between 9-10pm and get up around 7:30-8pm. Over break they got to be on the sleep schedules they like and they were happy kids for it. J rarely eats lunch at school and he hates almost everything I send for hot lunches, and they he is crabby because he is hungry and we get what I affectionately refer to as "crabby old man J." C was well rested and not having to go to school and had significantly less meltdowns. V got to spend a lot of time reading which he loves and D was happy to have them all home. On school nights they are in bed by 8:30 but they stay awake (mostly) in their beds until much later.
The first day back from break was miserable. C had 2 meltdowns within a half hour of getting home from school in which she declared she hated D and told me she was done with me and she was giving me to another family. It started when I told her she needed to get out of the car so we could go inside and get lunch. I am mean like that. D blew raspberries at her during one of her fits an then laughed and I believe that is when she decided she didn't like him either.
Then after school the boys' bus was late. After it was 30 minutes late I called to see what the deal was and they said it would be at my house soon, but no explanation of what happened. It finally arrived 45 min late and at the same time we were supposed to be across town at swimming lessons. I was not happy. J was in tears. V was not happy. On the car ride to swimming V told me that the bus driver was a substitute driver and that their names weren't on her list so she left the school without them. I asked if they were late for some reason and he said that they were out there at the same time they always were. I was mad and thought about calling the bus company or the school and figuring out why they didn't notify me about the bus being late and forgetting the kids.
Luckily I never found time to call the bus company or the school to figure out why the bus was late and I wasn't notified. Tonight I talked to V's teacher. It turns out there was more to the story. Every day after school V goes downstairs and collects J and then they walk out to the bus together. The boys were delayed to the bus because V decided to stop in the library real quick and get a new book. It turns out this is a not a new thing for him. Just something he knows I will tell him he can't do, so he doesn't tell me about it, They did have a substitute bus driver and their names were not on the list so the driver left and didn't wait for them to show up. However if they didn't stop at the library for V to get a new book they would have been out to the bus before it left. So everyone was in the wrong and the poor bus driver had to turn around part way through the route, go back to the school to get my kids and then finish the route. While I still think that they should inform parents when buses are late and they should make sure they have the correct list of kids for substitute drivers, they should also not have to wait around on kids who don't follow the rules and don't go straight out to the bus after school. V has no idea that I have this new information and I am excited to share it with him in the morning. I am hoping to let J know that going to the library after school is not allowed because he is good at reminding other people they are breaking the rules. In the meantime the teacher has told him that the library is now closed after school because they are fixing things, not sure how long he will buy that story but it was worth a try.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Old friends
The first week into college I met my friend Heather, we lived in the same dorm on the same floor. We quickly became friends and have remained close for a long time. I was in her wedding, she was in mine, our husbands are friends, our kids are friends and this fall Heather informed me that we had been friends for 17 years! I am not sure how that is possible because I can't believe it has been 17 years since I started college. Not to mention it just means that I am getting older right along with the kids! In my head I stay about the same age and they are the ones growing up and hearing Heather say that we had been friends for that long meant we were also getting older and college wasn't just a couple years ago.
There were a group of 4 of us that were close in college and I am lucky enough to say that I still talk to all of them and get to see them, but not as often as I would like. Heather only lives an hour away so we are able to get together more often than I can with Jennifer or Tiffany. The other night Heather, Erik and the kids (L and L) came over. I told my kids they were coming and they were thrilled! I told Brad and he was quick to ask if Erik was coming too. We spent the night watching 6 kids run and play all over the house. I can't count the number of times they went up and down the basement stairs. D did his best to keep up with them and he was exhausted by the end of the night. The kids put together a dance show for us and it was more than entertaining.
Heather and I attempted to have many conversations throughout the night but per the usual they were interrupted off and on by the kids, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We have been communicating that way for 8 years and we are pretty good at it. Erik and Brad finished up their year long endeavor of making hard apple cider from a combination of apples from our trees and apples from their trees. It was tasted (for a second time), different flavors were named and memories were made. While the guys were siphoning cider from one jug to another (so Erik could take some home) V and L were playing monopoly and watching. L said "what are they doing?". I wasn't really watching the guys and just said transferring the cider to which he responded "into Brad's mouth?" I was confused and quickly turned around and saw why he thought that...because Brad was trying to get the siphon started and one end of the tube was in his mouth.
We made the apple cider in the fall of 2015. It only happened because the guys were rained out of the fields. After an long day (4pm-2am) spent at the Crawford's house we had the final apple cider product. It involved a lot of labor and a lot of fun. The kids had a blast helping and tasting. Brad and Erik took some of it and both researched how to make hard apple cider and each made a batch or 2 at their own houses. Over Memorial day weekend we stayed at their house. After the kids went to bed we tried some of the hard apple cider and consumed some adult beverages. We had some pretty fantastic names, slogans and labels for our product. If you were to value our time at all this would be very expensive cider and hard apple cider.
This apple cider making experience was one that none of us will forget and I am betting a few of the older kids will remember it too. Just one of many adventures we have had with the Crawford family and I am sure there are more to come.
There were a group of 4 of us that were close in college and I am lucky enough to say that I still talk to all of them and get to see them, but not as often as I would like. Heather only lives an hour away so we are able to get together more often than I can with Jennifer or Tiffany. The other night Heather, Erik and the kids (L and L) came over. I told my kids they were coming and they were thrilled! I told Brad and he was quick to ask if Erik was coming too. We spent the night watching 6 kids run and play all over the house. I can't count the number of times they went up and down the basement stairs. D did his best to keep up with them and he was exhausted by the end of the night. The kids put together a dance show for us and it was more than entertaining.
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| V and L Dancing with wigs |
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| L dancing on the couch |
Heather and I attempted to have many conversations throughout the night but per the usual they were interrupted off and on by the kids, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We have been communicating that way for 8 years and we are pretty good at it. Erik and Brad finished up their year long endeavor of making hard apple cider from a combination of apples from our trees and apples from their trees. It was tasted (for a second time), different flavors were named and memories were made. While the guys were siphoning cider from one jug to another (so Erik could take some home) V and L were playing monopoly and watching. L said "what are they doing?". I wasn't really watching the guys and just said transferring the cider to which he responded "into Brad's mouth?" I was confused and quickly turned around and saw why he thought that...because Brad was trying to get the siphon started and one end of the tube was in his mouth.
We made the apple cider in the fall of 2015. It only happened because the guys were rained out of the fields. After an long day (4pm-2am) spent at the Crawford's house we had the final apple cider product. It involved a lot of labor and a lot of fun. The kids had a blast helping and tasting. Brad and Erik took some of it and both researched how to make hard apple cider and each made a batch or 2 at their own houses. Over Memorial day weekend we stayed at their house. After the kids went to bed we tried some of the hard apple cider and consumed some adult beverages. We had some pretty fantastic names, slogans and labels for our product. If you were to value our time at all this would be very expensive cider and hard apple cider.
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| The guys taking their hard cider with them to do chores. |
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| Dean asleep in my bed the next morning. |
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Home Alone
Our house is a weird shape and design. It looks neat but bedrooms are strange (octagon shaped), we have 2 bathrooms that are literally right next to each other, we have another bathroom whose walls are lined with mirrors, and our master bedroom and bathroom have no wall separating them. Ladies and gentleman I can get from my bed to my bathtub without touching the floor, not easily, but it is possible. Our master closet is up a flight of stairs, it is huge, but not entirely convenient. We only have 3 bedrooms in our house and the plan was to have D either in C's room or with the boys. Neither works because they come out of their rooms 3-4 times a night and they take a good 30 minutes to fall asleep. D needs to be in bed as soon as they go to bed or it gets ugly and he can't fall asleep with their shenanigans going on and keeping him on the couch until he falls asleep and then moving him to their rooms doesn't go well either. I ended up asleep on the couch with him and our house slowly became a disaster area since I was not cleaning after the kids went to bed.
This fall we moved D up to the master closet, also known as the Lego room. I made the kids keep the Legos in my closet because I hated having them all over the house. Having to keep them away from the dog and D was too much and I hated stepping on them. Most of our clothes don't make it up to the big closet, we have a tiny one in our room. Once every 1-2 months I haul the clothes all up there and we start over. Anyway D would be away from the post bedtime chaos and I was hopeful it would work. We tried it for 2 weeks with a pack 'n play and it was wonderful, so my little minions and I took apart the crib and carried up to the master closet. D has been living there ever since, so the master closet is now the Lego room or D's room or Mommy and Daddy's closet depending on why we are talking about it.
It is a wonderful set up and D goes right to be and sometimes I am able to clean the house. However, the Legos had been staying on one side of the room and away from the main walk way. But they have slowly migrated closer and closer to the area I have to walk to get to the crib. Every time I go to get D I feel like it is a scene from Home Alone as I carefully step and jump to avoid stepping on a Lego. I could clean them up or move them to the side or make the kids do it but I always forget about them until it is nap time or bed time and I can't send the kids up there to clean them up when Dean is supposed to be sleeping. Plus if I don't go with them cleaning Legos turns into playing with Legos and the mess stays the same or gets worse. For now I look at it as an obstacle course to get through and it has been over 3 weeks since I stepped on a Lego!
This fall we moved D up to the master closet, also known as the Lego room. I made the kids keep the Legos in my closet because I hated having them all over the house. Having to keep them away from the dog and D was too much and I hated stepping on them. Most of our clothes don't make it up to the big closet, we have a tiny one in our room. Once every 1-2 months I haul the clothes all up there and we start over. Anyway D would be away from the post bedtime chaos and I was hopeful it would work. We tried it for 2 weeks with a pack 'n play and it was wonderful, so my little minions and I took apart the crib and carried up to the master closet. D has been living there ever since, so the master closet is now the Lego room or D's room or Mommy and Daddy's closet depending on why we are talking about it.
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| The pictures doesn't do it justice, but if you stick to the middle you are pretty safe. |
It is a wonderful set up and D goes right to be and sometimes I am able to clean the house. However, the Legos had been staying on one side of the room and away from the main walk way. But they have slowly migrated closer and closer to the area I have to walk to get to the crib. Every time I go to get D I feel like it is a scene from Home Alone as I carefully step and jump to avoid stepping on a Lego. I could clean them up or move them to the side or make the kids do it but I always forget about them until it is nap time or bed time and I can't send the kids up there to clean them up when Dean is supposed to be sleeping. Plus if I don't go with them cleaning Legos turns into playing with Legos and the mess stays the same or gets worse. For now I look at it as an obstacle course to get through and it has been over 3 weeks since I stepped on a Lego!
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Washer 2 Kelli 0
This morning C started crying because she fell in the laundry room and her dress was wet! I was frustrated when I realized that the washing machine was broken. I grabbed towels and soaked up the small puddled of water in the laundry room. I called Brad and let him know that the washing machine was broken and most likely it was the same piece that flooded our old house.
Unfortunately checking the basement didn't occur to me immediately. I was down there about 30 minutes after the incident and I didn't notice any water. Two hours later when Brad said "How is the basement?" I took a better look. He says that I had a panicked look on my face when he asked about the basement. The carpeted floor at the bottom of the basement stairs was soaked. The large book case at the bottom of the stairs was not only covered with water but also water was on every shelf in it. The bookcase has all my veterinary books, our high school year books, books we both read growing up, and apparently some random kids books I forgot we had.
Our day quickly went from relaxed with little to do to all hands on deck we have books and memories to save. Brad fixed the washer and got a lot of fans from the farm to help dry the floor. I rushed as fast as I could to get books away from the water while C ran up and down the stairs grabbing towels. V, J, and C helped lay out the wet books on towels and put the dry books safely on the counter. Once in awhile they had to run a really wet book up to the fireplace and lay it down in front of the fire to help it dry. Dean was kind enough to happily play in the basement and stay out of trouble. We only lost a couple books. There are several that are pretty damaged but not a complete loss. The 100's of versions of our blueprints soaked up a lot of water because they were sitting on top of the bookcase. With any luck the final version is in decent shape. I haven't bothered to sift through them all yet.
The most frustrating part was we had planned on replacing that $11 part every 3 years and 3 years was about 5 months ago. We now have it on the calendar for 3 years from now. I am not letting the washer win again!
Unfortunately checking the basement didn't occur to me immediately. I was down there about 30 minutes after the incident and I didn't notice any water. Two hours later when Brad said "How is the basement?" I took a better look. He says that I had a panicked look on my face when he asked about the basement. The carpeted floor at the bottom of the basement stairs was soaked. The large book case at the bottom of the stairs was not only covered with water but also water was on every shelf in it. The bookcase has all my veterinary books, our high school year books, books we both read growing up, and apparently some random kids books I forgot we had.
Our day quickly went from relaxed with little to do to all hands on deck we have books and memories to save. Brad fixed the washer and got a lot of fans from the farm to help dry the floor. I rushed as fast as I could to get books away from the water while C ran up and down the stairs grabbing towels. V, J, and C helped lay out the wet books on towels and put the dry books safely on the counter. Once in awhile they had to run a really wet book up to the fireplace and lay it down in front of the fire to help it dry. Dean was kind enough to happily play in the basement and stay out of trouble. We only lost a couple books. There are several that are pretty damaged but not a complete loss. The 100's of versions of our blueprints soaked up a lot of water because they were sitting on top of the bookcase. With any luck the final version is in decent shape. I haven't bothered to sift through them all yet.
The most frustrating part was we had planned on replacing that $11 part every 3 years and 3 years was about 5 months ago. We now have it on the calendar for 3 years from now. I am not letting the washer win again!
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| The last of the books drying by the fire |
Working Out
Brad and I are both trying to get back into the routine of working out and eating better. The last two weeks of unhealthy eating and snacking all day has us both feeling like we need to get back on track! Yesterday J was awake when Brad was heading to the basement to exercise and Brad invited J to join him. Surprisingly J did and he actually exercised with Brad instead of just playing in the basement.
Between being up late and waking up early, exercising, being out of the house all day and going to OT J was exhausted and fell asleep in the car on our drive home. I woke him up, carried him inside, and went back to get Dean out of the car. When I came inside J was asleep and half standing and half laying on the coffee table. I moved him to the couch were he slept some more. Then I woke him up for dinner and he slumped over in his chair. The poor kid was exhausted. Unfortunately the nap meant he was still wide awake at 11pm and just couldn't fall asleep. He decided he was sleeping on the couch so he was closer to the basement and could get up easier to work out with Daddy in the morning. I prefer for the kids to sleep in their own beds, but when it is after 11pm and I want to sleep I really don't care where they sleep as long as they sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night J ended up in our bed. Brad's alarm went off this morning. He pressed snooze twice. J was snoring next to me. Brad asked if he should wake J up and I said "let him sleep, or at least don't try very hard to wake him up." From across the room Brad whispered "J want to go with me to the basement." That kid shot up out of bed and said "I need my socks and shoes!" He took off down the stairs and headed to the basement with Brad. I was shocked. He never gets up and out of bed that fast!
He informed Brad today that kids on the bus tell him he has no muscles. He said he thought "No tonsils means no muscles." I don't know how Brad kept a straight face when he heard that but he assured J that isn't actually a thing and you can have muscles even if you don't have tonsils!
Between being up late and waking up early, exercising, being out of the house all day and going to OT J was exhausted and fell asleep in the car on our drive home. I woke him up, carried him inside, and went back to get Dean out of the car. When I came inside J was asleep and half standing and half laying on the coffee table. I moved him to the couch were he slept some more. Then I woke him up for dinner and he slumped over in his chair. The poor kid was exhausted. Unfortunately the nap meant he was still wide awake at 11pm and just couldn't fall asleep. He decided he was sleeping on the couch so he was closer to the basement and could get up easier to work out with Daddy in the morning. I prefer for the kids to sleep in their own beds, but when it is after 11pm and I want to sleep I really don't care where they sleep as long as they sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night J ended up in our bed. Brad's alarm went off this morning. He pressed snooze twice. J was snoring next to me. Brad asked if he should wake J up and I said "let him sleep, or at least don't try very hard to wake him up." From across the room Brad whispered "J want to go with me to the basement." That kid shot up out of bed and said "I need my socks and shoes!" He took off down the stairs and headed to the basement with Brad. I was shocked. He never gets up and out of bed that fast!
He informed Brad today that kids on the bus tell him he has no muscles. He said he thought "No tonsils means no muscles." I don't know how Brad kept a straight face when he heard that but he assured J that isn't actually a thing and you can have muscles even if you don't have tonsils!
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Competition
Competitiveness is something that runs deep in our family. Brad is competitive. I am competitive. Brad's family, especially his mom, is competitive. My family is competitive. My children are also competitive. Games around here can get ugly. There are games that Brad and I no longer play with each other. I get tired of losing. There is only so many times one can lose at a game before they get tired of playing a game. It was well over 100 before I refused to continue playing.
This year the kids turned prayer time into a competition. C said a really nice prayer instead one of her rambling ones that went on forever, so I complimented her and for the next couple weeks every time we finished prayers C said "Was my prayer the best?" Although that turned into her wanting to also have the longest prayer of the night.
V loves to be right, he loves to win and he has a hard time when he doesn't. We are working on being gracious losers. J isn't as competitive, unless he is sure he can win. D just doesn't want to be left behind at this point and doesn't quite understand winning and losing yet.
When we celebrated Christmas with my family we had a game where we had to unwrap a present with several layers of wrapping and boxes using an oven mitt. People were ripping things out of each others hands, and a bit of trash talk and the traditional accusing Brad of cheating. We are all older now, so we don't push or shove as much these days. Then we played the same thing at Stewart Christmas. There was pushing, shoving, name calling and some obvious cheating. Although it wasn't Brad that was doing the cheating.
A few days ago we got a used air hockey/pool table. Tonight Brad and I played each other after the kids went to bed. Brad asked if I wanted a drink or music. I told him no. I didn't want any distractions. It was intense. Pucks went flying into hands and also off the table. It was close, but I lost! I have feeling this will become a nightly thing...the air hockey, not the part where I lose.
This year the kids turned prayer time into a competition. C said a really nice prayer instead one of her rambling ones that went on forever, so I complimented her and for the next couple weeks every time we finished prayers C said "Was my prayer the best?" Although that turned into her wanting to also have the longest prayer of the night.
V loves to be right, he loves to win and he has a hard time when he doesn't. We are working on being gracious losers. J isn't as competitive, unless he is sure he can win. D just doesn't want to be left behind at this point and doesn't quite understand winning and losing yet.
When we celebrated Christmas with my family we had a game where we had to unwrap a present with several layers of wrapping and boxes using an oven mitt. People were ripping things out of each others hands, and a bit of trash talk and the traditional accusing Brad of cheating. We are all older now, so we don't push or shove as much these days. Then we played the same thing at Stewart Christmas. There was pushing, shoving, name calling and some obvious cheating. Although it wasn't Brad that was doing the cheating.
A few days ago we got a used air hockey/pool table. Tonight Brad and I played each other after the kids went to bed. Brad asked if I wanted a drink or music. I told him no. I didn't want any distractions. It was intense. Pucks went flying into hands and also off the table. It was close, but I lost! I have feeling this will become a nightly thing...the air hockey, not the part where I lose.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Hello 2017!
After much internal debate I have decided to forget trying to catch up and finish all my half written posts from the last couple years and just start fresh. I may or may not post them in the future, but the thought of having to get them all done before I post new things is paralyzing. I guess that makes my new year resolution to keep up with my blog!
Tonight I watched my 2 year old leap off his brother's bottom bunk bed with reckless abandon, arms forward like he can actually fly (he declares he is a super hero on a daily basis) over 1 reading pillow toward a second one (a good 4 feet from the bed) and I admired his belief that he can do anything. Then I laughed as he mostly missed and landed with the arm of the reading pillow barely saving his face from the carpeted floor. He shook his head and decided not to attempt that again, at least for the night.
Here is to approaching new year resolutions with reckless abandon and endless toddler energy!
Tonight I watched my 2 year old leap off his brother's bottom bunk bed with reckless abandon, arms forward like he can actually fly (he declares he is a super hero on a daily basis) over 1 reading pillow toward a second one (a good 4 feet from the bed) and I admired his belief that he can do anything. Then I laughed as he mostly missed and landed with the arm of the reading pillow barely saving his face from the carpeted floor. He shook his head and decided not to attempt that again, at least for the night.
Here is to approaching new year resolutions with reckless abandon and endless toddler energy!
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