A Look Back at 2009

Hi, it’s me, Clyde, the goat. I’ve been a little skittish around the humans, so they thought they’d try and include me in the Christmas letter this year. I figured since I’m probably a descendant of a goat who was at the first Christmas that I’d give it a try. I’m new to the family this year. They got me this summer to replace their first pygmy goat who was a birthday present. I guess he died. Don’t ask. Anyway, since I’m new I’ll just tell you what I know.

Pat is around quite a bit, but he’s always busy. He spends a lot of time in the shop and a lot of time in the skid loader. When he’s not working on something he’s out and about at meetings for the fire department and the local grain elevator. I don’t think he sleeps much.

Becky is usually gone, it seems. She’s always carting the kids somewhere or she’s off to class. She’s also been putting in time at the local high school helping in the math classroom and recently she started substitute teaching. On weekends she’s usually busy with church stuff. She’s on the board of Ed., so she’s been busy with Sunday school and she’s also taken on the high school youth group. She and Pat are heading to New Orleans for the youth gathering next July.

Cole, 3 ½, started preschool this year. He’s gone two mornings a week. He seems to like it, but only ever talks about playing and having snack. One day I heard him proclaim “I had snack and I was a pig!” Later I saw him running around with pig ears. I just assumed he was a pig because he had too much snack! He really likes me, but I usually run off because he just likes to chase me. I often hear him bleating like I do, though!

Tate, 17 mos, is busy as ever. He’s always on the go, now that he knows how to walk and climb. He had to have some physical therapy to get moving, but the therapist said he was a great little worker. Every time she’d show him something he’d start doing it the very next day. Now he’s starting to say some words and he loves to pick on Cole. Those two have very different personalities.

The family has also been through a lot of pet changes this year. Before I came along, they got a new dog. Juno, a red husky mix, joined the family in January after Calvin got hit by the milk truck. Roy the cat is still around and of course, so are the cows. When I first came, I lived with the chickens and geese, but the chickens disappeared shortly after I arrived, and the geese disappeared just a couple of weeks ago. Now I live with the steers and thoroughly enjoy eating heifer feed.

The other big news is my family is famous! This picture was submitted to awkwardfamilyphotos.com and they are putting it in their book (due out in spring). Not only that, but when the authors were interviewed on Rachael Ray, this picture was on the show! Don’t worry, Tate still has his fingers, but beware of camels!

Have a very merry Christmas! Clyde and the family, Pat, Becky, Cole, and Tate

Going Crazy

I may need to be committed if I don't get out of this house soon. The kids are busy with their billions of new toys, but if I have to listen to one more thing beep or hear "NOOOOO, that's mine!" again, I'm going to lose it. I need to get out of this house. I made it to town yesterday to get some milk (ironic since we have a tank full sitting just across the yard, but anywho). The plan was to leave for my parents' house tonight after Cole's Christmas program. Only now we aren't even going to make it to the program. I'm disappointed. Cole won't notice the difference. We didn't get more snow today, just freezing rain and now wind. We sent our hired man home early since he said the road was blowing shut. I'm done with winter. Unfortunately, with all this snow we have we won't see grass again until July. Ugh.

Merry Christmas

From my family to yours, I hope you have a blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve

I lied. It's snowing. A LOT and it's still coming down. Granted so far it's only been about 6 inches, but that's plenty. Normally we do Christmas Eve with my in-laws after church. This year, there will be no church and we were going to do gifts at lunch time instead so my sister-in-law could make it here and home again before the wind picked up. Instead Pat and his dad are hauling snow before we get another foot and it makes things a whole lot harder to clean up. So Christmas this year certainly won't be what I had planned.

On a positive note, it really is pretty and the boys, Cole in particular, have had a blast playing in it. Cole likes to go shoveling. It's not good snowman snow but we should have a really nice pile for sledding when it's all over with!

Cole going shoveling, as he says.

Tate enjoying the snowflakes.

He's standing, not sitting.

Tate showing me how he feels about having to put on all his snow gear.

Moving snow.

Cole going down the slide.

Have a merry Christmas! Sing some carols for me because I doubt there will be church around here tomorrow either. At least the world will look clean and new for Jesus' birthday!

Murhpy's Law

It's not going to snow. Why, you ask? They postponed our Christmas Eve children's program at church. All my calves are bedded in and the sick calf started drinking again today. I took the garbage out and the pail of kitchen scraps. I ran to town and got an extra gallon of milk. So it's not going to snow, at least not until we want to leave Friday afternoon.

On a more random side note, we had chili for dinner. I think it's going to become the latest in natural hair styling aids.

See?

Denialism

I've been reading this book, Denialism, by Michael Specter. I saw him on the Daily Show and thought it looked interesting. First off, the guy is a science and technology writer, so it's not an easy read. It is interesting though. I've read 3 chapters so far (a chapter is like 40-50 pages). We all know I'm not big on organics and I vaccinate my children. The book is basically about how fear of the unknown and irrational thinking is hindering critical progress.

I've finished the chapter on immunizations. I guess if I had an autistic child, it would be nice to have something tangible to blame, but in truth time and money would be better spent in promising research to find a treatment or cure than spent in lawsuits trying to find something to blame.

I've also finished the chapter on organics and natural foods. Since we all know how I feel about organics, I'll leave you with just two thought. It's impossible to guess how many doses of genetically engineered food Americans have eaten, but it is possible to know how many of those got sick from it: zero. Thousands of people die from taking aspirin and hundreds have drowned in their bathtubs, yet aspirin sales aren't suffering and people still bathe. People also have no problem with genetically engineered medical treatments, but when it comes to food that's a no no.

Since it isn't an easy read, I was going to skip the chapter called Era of Echinacea, but I think it has been the most interesting thus far. It's basically that there has been no evidence that vitamins, supplements, etc. do any good and are actually more likely to do harm. In a country where over-eating is killing us, it's not that we aren't getting nutrients in our diet. So basically there is no miracle cure-all and we're back to diet and exercise. Darn huh? It also mentioned the millions of dollars of research money that has been wasted to test these dead ends, knowing full well from the start that the research was likely to show nothing.

The chapter I've started now is on race, which is a topic nobody wants to touch. I haven't gotten very far yet, but I'll leave you with this thought. I read this somewhere, but can't remember where. Shouldn't we teach our children to embrace and understand our differences rather than try to convince them that we are all the same?

O Christmas Tree! Part Deux

This is the ornament that started it all. This was one of my favorites growing up. I mean, look at how cute I am!

The first Christmas, each of the boys has a Hallmark ornament with their picture.
Cole 2006

Cole 2007

Tate's first Christmas 2008

Cole colored his own last year, 2008.

Tate 2009

Cole 2009. A funny story, he wanted me to do the dots, but he had this huge glob of paint at the bottom. When we hung them, Cole hung his on the bottom and of course Tate went for it as soon as his back was turned and smeared the giant glob. Cole was just fuming!

O Christmas Tree!

I'm stealing this post idea from my cousin, Wendy. I've always loved Christmas traditions. I made my parents trudge through the Christmas tree farm every year because I refused to have a fake tree. My parents went fake, but I still make Pat get a real tree. We cheated a couple of years and bought one from the grocery store, but 3 of the 5 years we've gone out and cut one. I'm not so picky about the variety of tree. Growing up it was a Scotch pine, not a white one like my dad claimed. We alternate between firs and spruce. This year we went with a spruce thinking it would hinder Tate. It hasn't. Anywho, decorating this year was a lot of fun. Cole asked a lot of questions and it was fun to tell him the history behind the ornaments. We've never had a fancy coordinated tree. Growing up it was always full of handmade ornaments from school and teacher gifts. Now, I know where nearly every ornament on our tree came from. Here are just a few faves.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think my Grandpa N made these.

I got this one in Switzerland back in high school. It's hand painted.

We couldn't have a tree without tractors on it. This year Cole hung most of them on the bottom and Tate has had a blast taking them off.

According to my dad, when he and my mom got married, they were dirt poor. So for their first Christmas they cut a flower from a Kleenex box and hung it on their tree. Cheesy tradition, but K and I both have one on our trees.

This was the house I grew up in.

From our honeymoon in Mexico.

Tate's preemie nukkers. Cole had an identical one, but he outgrew it before we brought him home. I love remembering how small they were and how far they've come.

Stay tuned for part 2: the boys picture ornaments!

A Boy of the Cloth

I started cloth diapering back in July. It's an idea I'd toyed with for a while, but got terribly overwhelmed every time I looked at them online. I finally saw someone who used them and decided to give it a try. I found a friend willing to sell me hers. If I had had to buy them new, I would have never done it. It's a huge investment up front. I lucked out and got 25 diapers and inserts for $100! I honestly felt guilty paying that little. I had to buy new covers. I didn't like the slip on covers so I bought the Cool-A-Baby covers off of ebay. They worked fine until Tate started moving. Then the velcro adjustments started chaffing his legs. I finally broke down and bought the spendy covers, 6 of them. But those came in cute designs, like this cow print!

Let me say this, I am not an environmentalist. I don't do organic or natural crap. I do cloth diapers simply for the cost savings. The fact that I don't throw disposable in the landfill is just a bonus. I don't especially enjoy hosing poop out of a diaper, but who does? I won't look down on you for using disposables, because frankly, there are days I wish I did and sometimes do. So, I'm not a huge advocate for cloth diapers, but I really don't mind it. I really like not having to buy diapers all the time and in a strange way, I actually enjoy diaper laundry. Not so much the dirty smell, but I love how they come out clean and fresh. Somedays I wish I could crawl in the washer with a little biz and come out as bright as they do, but that's another post :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I realize it is mid December. We had such a great Thanksgiving, it deserves its own post, not a bulleted update. We traveled 7 hours (5 according to map quest, the one time they are under on time) to my sister's. We had a good time. My whole family was there. We had a delicious meal that I didn't have to cook! We did a little shopping, online and in store. We even had time for bowling before we ventured home. We took our sweet time (10 hours) getting home. We stopped and did some shopping and ate non-fast food. It was a great getaway, and even Pat didn't complain too much.

Coley's first time bowling.

Coley and Tova Wii jousting. Tate is trying to play too.

Ok, I got the hint

Alright already! Here's a post. I've got plenty of them done in my brain, so hopefully I'll get some typed up soon. That should happen this weekend since I'll be procrastinating working on my finals.

If I was a/an _____, I’d be ______
TV show: Community
Song: Redneck Girl
Movie: Rudy
Book: Harry Potter
TV character: Annie from Community
City: some small town in the midwest
Verb: run
Color: Royal Blue
Animal: Puppy
Emotion: overwhelmed
Article of clothing: bra
Flavor: vanilla
Food: mashed potatoes
Vice: the internet
Plant: tulips
Mythological animal: Phoenix
Letter: B
Inanimate object: school
Scent: clean baby
Season: spring
Fruit: honeycrisp apples

March of Dimes

My friend, Sarah, is participating in the March of Dimes Jail and Bail. She's chosen to do this in honor of my boys. If you would like to participate, visit her site here. It is the season of giving, so here is one way you can do just that!

Who wouldn't want to do something in honor of the cutest kids ever!

Potty Training - Take 312

Cole has been in underwear for a while now. We ran out of candy rewards a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if that is it, but he has been having "accidents" left and right. He does fine at school. He's fine when we aren't home, but get him home and we go through a minimum of 4 pairs of underwear a day. I need to buy some more rewards and see if that makes a difference. I am at my wits end. I do not know what to do with the kid. He's obviously ready. He obviously knows when he needs to go. Is he just lazy? How do I cure laziness? Ugh! I need help!

Life With Boys

I don't remember these things happening when I grew up...

Yes, that is a real gun. It was only a pellet gun and they were shooting a pumpkin. You learn to choose your battles when guns are involved.

Tractor soup anyone?

Zucchini Cookies

Ok, before you write this post off as "yuck, I'd never make those", let me say, I am not an adventurous eater. I prefer meat and potatoes. Nothing too hot, and certainly nothing too weird. With that being said, these cookies are delicious.

Zucchini Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (I love Penzey's cinnamon)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup golden raisins (I omitted these since Pat would refuse to try them if I put them in)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet (I prefer milk chocolate) chips

Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Combine butter and sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add egg. Gradually add flour mixture, beat until smooth. The dough will be stiff. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 13 to 15 minutes.
Voila! One more way to use up all that zucchini from the garden!

The Big Brother

"Come here! You need to brush your teeth!"

"NOOO!"

"Hey! Let me brush your teeth!"

So helpful, isn't he?

Halloween 2009

We had a pretty good Halloween this year. Our school held a treat parade the night before, so the whole family, plus Grammy and Papa, headed there for supper and some candy. There were a lot of kids there!

Tate the Turtle and Cole the Fireman

We took them trick-or-treating on Halloween too. We actually made it to quite a few houses this year. Normally we only make it to about 6 by the time we hit all the neighbors. It's a lot of driving around and strapping and unstrapping kids in car seats. The kids made out pretty well and the candy has been a great potty reward.

This Little Piggy

I picked Cole up from preschool today. I always get the same rundown of his day. "I played, had snack and water." Today the answer was slightly different. Today he "played, had snack and I was a pig!" At first I was wondering who told him he was a pig, then I asked if he was a pig because he had a lot of snack or if he pretended to be a pig. Turns out they did the 3 Little Pigs today and he even brought home piggy ears.

Wordless Wednesday

A Day Without Rain

We've finally had some beautiful fall weather. I took the boys outside to play the other day to enjoy it while it lasts. I raked some leaves while the boys played. Tate wasn't too interested in the leaves, but finally got a shot at the cozy coupe without his brother interfering.
Tate is walking pretty good now. He loves to climb. He was in and out of that car for a good hour without a peep. Cole would have sat and cried every time he wanted in and out because he wanted someone to help. I just can't get over how completely different they are.

Cole had a blast in the leaves. He made a little course. He would count to five, run from the swing set and jump in the leaves. I have some video that maybe I will post later.

My Car Seat Lecture

Cole's new car seat came today. We were in the market for a second car seat as he is almost at the height limit for the standard convertible seat. If we had been smart when we purchased our convertibles, we would have bought the Britax marathon instead of the Roundabout. However, Tate is using both our Roundabouts, still rear-facing, so we would have needed a new seat for Cole anyhow. Anywho, the new seat came today after 3 weeks of waiting for Target to do free shipping on baby gear. We purchased a Sunshine Kids Radian 80. I was very hesitant to stray from the Britax brand. I love our Roundabouts. They install easy. The straps tighten easy, and they have a fun cow print! What's not to love? I purchased a Britax Frontier earlier this year. The thing is a monster. It's huge. Installation wasn't quick, but it wasn't horrible. However, the problem with the seat was Honda's. Most vehicles have the belt latch located where the seat back and the seat bottom meet. Honda puts there's in the seat bottom. Not a problem, except when installing a car seat. The Frontier is so huge that installing it with latch isn't easy so I tried the belt, only because of our belt latch location, that too didn't get the seat as tight as I would like it to be. I chose the Radian 80 because it's a much narrower profile. I wasn't impressed when I pulled it out of the box. It's not nearly as padded and comfy looking as the frontier. However, after I installed it, I decided it's staying. It installs about the same as the Frontier, only since it is narrower I can install it with the belt or with latch and both ways keep the seat snug.

In short, if I didn't drive a Honda, I'd stick with the Britax, purely for comfort reasons. I know there are other car seats on the market that are a whole lot cheaper, but both Britax and Sunshine Kids are the highest rated and keep kids in a 5 point harness longer. If it keeps my kids safer longer, it's worth every penny.

We're Famous!

Check this out! Remember the camel picture? The one that's going to be in a book? Well, it made Rachel Ray today. Not just made Rachel Ray, but was the 1st picture in the interview! How crazy is that!?!

The Last Two Weeks in Review

So I know I've been incredibly lazy about updating. So in the spirit of always wanting to be like my big sister, I am using her post idea and bulleting our last couple of weeks.

• I started subbing at our local school. I've only done it twice and I actually enjoyed it. It wasn't nearly as hard to be away from my kiddos and home as I thought it would be. I am only available 2 days a week and usually one of those is full of appointments, so it's not much, but the little bit of income will be nice. It might even pay for groceries!
• I also picked up 3 extra credits. I am doing an internship at said school. I'm helping out in a high school math classroom. There are 29 kids in the class. This is the smarter group so they are not as challenging, but 29 kids is a lot for one classroom, math or not!
• Speaking of school, I got an 85% on my latest differential equations test! Whoo hoo! I was pumped.
• Cole is loving school. I still get the same "I played, had snack and water" when I asked what he did at school, but he seems to really like going. He's even mentioned a couple of kids from his class.
• Cole is also in underwear. Potty training since June, we finally made the switch just over a week ago. We still have occasional accidents, but he's been doing really well.
• Tate is walking! He finally gave it a go a couple of weeks ago and now is a full blown walker.
• Being a walker means he was also released from all PT and special ed services!
• He also had his 15 month check and is 22 lbs and 30.5 inches (only about 4.5" shorter than his big brother).
• We did manage to get our soybeans out, but still have about 160 acres of corn. It's finally sunny and windy today, good drying conditions, but they are predicting rain and snow for the end of the week. Should be great trick or treating!

That about sums it up. I do have some post ideas, including a toy review of Tate's Christmas present. Today, however, I have to get my lesson plan for class done!

Noisy Kids

For those of you who think my kids are always quiet...

The Walking Tater

I finally broke out the camera to catch Tate in his new found skill. He gets steadier and steadier every day. It's still a fairly new skill if you can't tell from Cole's commentary.

NICU Reunion

Every year in October the NICU where Cole stayed as a newborn does a reunion. We've never gone. It's always been something. First, it's in October, which is harvest so I'd have to go by myself. The first year it meant traveling with a newborn. The second year I don't remember what it was, but it probably involved harvest. Last year meant traveling with a newborn again, but this year I decided I was going. So I left after breakfast with the boys and started our 2 hour journey. We had snow the night before so the roads weren't great, but after about 20 miles they cleared up and except for the occasional waaay overly cautious driver, it was smooth sailing. We met my college roommate for lunch then headed to Toys R Us for a costume for Cole. Do you know the selection of costumes for a 3 year old boy is? Nada. We ended up buying a dress up outfit, which worked out fine.

We finally headed over to the reunion. It went ok. Cole was not a memorable baby, which was probably a good thing, but it made the reunion less fun for me. Cole enjoyed it. They had some carnival games, a bouncy house, an inflatable slide, and another inflatable climbing wall/slide thingy. He went down the slide by himself and even tried the thingy. I was nervous about that. He did the short wall fine, it was the big wall that he had trouble with. It started out ok but then a bunch of kids came in after him and that made him nervous. He finished it though and he was so proud and Mommy was too, of course. As for me, there was only one nurse I remembered and I didn't like her. She was loud and obnoxious. One of the doctors was there. I think he recognized me, but that's probably about it. A couple of the nurses recognized the name, but he didn't stick out in any one's memory. There were a couple of other kids there that were there at the same time. One was about 10 months at the time Cole was born, the other was there about a week before we left. The 10 month old was born at 24 or 26 weeks and she had a lot of problems, but from the look of her, she hasn't seemed to suffer any major issues. I of course forgot my camera, so here is the only picture we got.

My New Job

I started subbing this week. I started Monday by teaching the last 2 hours of high school math. I'm also doing an internship in the same class a few hours a week. Monday went ok, but the kids didn't have enough to do so they got a little rowdy by the end of class. Today went better. The first 3 classes basically continued working on whatever they had been working on. The last 2 classes I introduced a new lesson. The school is using integrated math, real-life application type math. I haven't worked with it much, but I get the drift that the kids really don't like it that much and I honestly wonder how applicable it really is. Yes, the examples are nice, but it's a lot of examples and very little typical math. I remember a professor telling us that math is about learning the process. It's basically teaching students a different way to learn. I don't see them learning the process. If you give them a completely different example they can't process it. It certainly isn't making them ready for college level math. I obviously haven't worked with it enough to make complete and total judgement.

Anyway, I survived. I'm exhausted. My knees and back hurt but I've finally thawed out from my room in the arctic circle. It felt kind of nice to go out and earn a paycheck, but it would be a whole lot nicer if I didn't have homework tonight.

Cruising with Papa

Tate had a blast playing on the stairs with Papa a couple of weeks ago.

First steps attempts

Tate is starting to take off with the walking. He's been doing more and more each day, but doesn't cooperate so well when the camera is on him.

Witchy Wednesday

I'm not a big fan of Wednesdays. I have class in the morning, then class in the afternoon, plus chores, and kids. It's not a great day. This morning actually started out pretty good. I got up when my alarm went off (ok, I hit snooze, but only once). I got my calves fed and got a shower before I needed to get the kids up. I got the kids up to discover that both of them had leaked through their diapers and needed new sheets. So I sent Cole downstairs to go potty while I took care of their bedding. Apparently "go downstairs and go potty" when translated into 3 year old lingo means "help yourself to a yogurt drink and go play." So when I finally made it downstairs, I got Cole in the bathroom while I got Tate dressed. We're still running on time at this point. While I was trying to get Cole dressed, read diaper on "mom, I need to go potty" diaper back off. Tate discovered the kitty puked last night. I won't fill you in on the gory details, but you know how little kids "discover" things. So I finally had Cole dressed and Tate cleaned up and them both eating cheerios when I mad the mistake of thinking I had time for breakfast. I should never sit down. Anywho, Cole made it to school on time and I slid in the door just in time for my 8:30 class. After that things went fairly well. I needed a break and I got it when my mail arrived with my Cake Wrecks book. If you don't read her site, you should and I highly reccommend the book. Page 135 is my favorite. I laughed so hard I nearly had tears in my eyes. Here's hoping the rest of the week goes more smoothly!

Chid Labor

Odd coming from the child who used to tear up at the word vacuum.

All Alone

Pat and I took off yesterday for a night WITHOUT kids! We headed the big metropolis to see Mike Birbiglia. We actually left yesterday morning and did a little bit of shopping before we stopped off at the hotel for a nap. We had a nice lunch and a nice supper and even a nice breakfast this morning. Every time we got the bill Pat commented "that's not bad." It's amazing how stinking much kids' meals add to the bill. Anywho, the show was great. His opening act was ok, a little raunchy for me. His act was pretty good. It was after 10 by the time we left and I was exhausted and very thankful I don't live in metropolis. I just don't think skinny jeans, leg warmers, and crimped hair are a good look for me, or for anyone really. But, I am no fashion guru so what do I know? This morning we didn't get out of bed until a quarter til 9! We got home after noon and our kids survived. I don't think they even knew we were gone. I think we definitely need to do this more often.

Stepping Out

Tate has decided to attempt walking. He took his first uncoerced step on Tuesday, but I thought it was a fluke. Today he proved otherwise. While he hasn't managed more than 2 steps in a row, he doesn't go straight down to a crawl anymore. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Granted it will be nice when he can walk outside on his own since that's what he wants to do, but he is already into everything and now there will be more things within reach. Although he really doesn't crawl now if he doesn't have to. He cruises and then pushes anything he can, chairs, trash cans, boxes, large toys, to get across the room.

Earlier this week, the weather was gorgeous, so we took an opportunity to play outside. Tate had a blast going in and out of the playhouse. This was also when he decided to attempt his first solo step.
Other than that, this week has mostly been recovering. I ended up with a migraine on Monday and Cole has been sick since Tuesday. It was kind of nice having a 3 year old with laryngitis. He could still squeak and he didn't understand the concept of resting his voice, so it wasn't total peace. He did miss his preschool screening on Wednesday because of it though. He's been waking up every morning this week telling me he needs medicine because he's old. This morning he proceeded to tell me he was 3 and that when he was 4 he could go to church camp. Maybe I should tell him he has to wear underwear first...

First Day of Preschool

Cole started preschool yesterday. He wasn't terribly excited to go. He wanted me to go with him, then he wanted to stay at GG's house with Tate, but he went. I dropped him off and he did fine. When I picked him up and asked him what he did at school, he told me "I don't know." Then he told me how they had goldfish at snack time and he went pee in the potty. So all in all, I guess it was a good day.

Going Organic

So the other day one of my FB "friends" posted this article by Time. For those of you who thought the article was well-written, you really need to get out of the city and come visit America's Heartland where your food really comes from. My biggest laugh was this quote "The crop is heavily fertilized — both with chemicals like nitrogen and with subsidies from Washington." Nitrogen?? Really?? Nitrogen is your big complaint? Did you not know that nitrogen makes up 78.1% of the earth's air? That's darn harmful if you ask me. And those subsidies from Washington? Don't even go there. America's farmers certainly aren't getting rich, Wallstreet bailouts.

Ok, let's think this through. Do you like to eat? Ok, then we need genetic engineering, fertilizer, and chemical weed killers in order to produce enough of that corn syrup in your coke, or the wheat in your bread. You want your chickens cage free and your cattle raised on grass, (which you really don't, but I'll get to that)? Where are you going to put them? We don't have enough land to graze our cattle and with land prices still at record highs, we certainly can't afford to buy more land. Oh, and that land means less corn, less soy, less wheat for you, and less alfalfa hay to feed those animals in the winter.

So you want your meat and dairy products organic still? Do you like your meat lean and tender? That doesn't happen to grass fed cattle. There are reasons cattle producers went to feed lots. That's where the tender, lean meat comes from. You want your meat free of antibiotics? Do you give your kids penicillin when they get an ear infection? Why should our animals be different? We have to raise animals in feedlots, and like our kids in school, being around lots of different beings of the same species means illness abounds. Why does organic cost so much? There is a lot of death loss to figure in to that equation. Do you vaccinate your kids? Why shouldn't we vaccinate our animals? We don't use BST on our cows. We feed them what they need so that they produce the most and stay healthy. If we have to treat a cow, that cow's milk gets dumped so you, the consumer, never get that antibiotic in your milk, cheese, or butter. That's what good farmers do. There are good organic farms out there, but even they can't produce enough for everyone, keep their fields weed free, or their animals perfectly healthy. Organic doesn't mean clean and healthy.

We work hard every day so the world can eat. Before you criticize the way we work come for a visit. We start at 4:30 AM and are usually done for the day around 9 PM. 7 days a week. 365 days a year.

A Little Too Quiet

Yesterday I was attempting to do some homework. Cole had gone outside to play so it was a chance for me to do something question-free. Tate had slept in, so there was no morning nap to be had, but he usually plays pretty well when big brother isn't around to boss him around. So I was thoroughly enjoying the silence. Suddenly it hit me. It was a little too quiet. So I headed straight to the bathroom where I discovered this:
At least he left all the sticker backs on!

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In other Tate news, he is getting oh so close to walking. He's starting to pull himself up and let go and the other day he actually went from the coffee table to the couch . It was more of a lunge than a step, but we're getting closer. Last night he was trying to stand up without pulling up. It was actually pretty funny watching himself try to lunge himself upwards.

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One more story for today and then I'm done! Last night I was on FB and the boys were playing. Tate was in his usual spot by the toy box pulling out all the toys one by one. Cole walked over, pointed, and said "Can I have that tractor please?" Tate kept right one pulling out toys and now was handing them to Cole who would take them, say "nope," and throw them on the floor. He was being pretty patient waiting for Tate to get the tractor for him. Finally he says "I said that tractor I want." Tate pulls out a few more toys, then gets to the tractor, hands it to Cole who says "Thank you Tater Tate" and walks away.

Weekend Warriors

Since I didn't accomplish much this summer, I decided to pack it all in this weekend. I finally got Pat's bathroom painted, a nice clay brown color. Since I was in painting mode, I decided to get at the downstairs playroom. I've wanted to get at it for a while, but wanted some fun colors down there. It's a low ceiling (about 6 1/2') and not a terribly large room. It does have some windows, so there is a little natural light down there, which helps. Anyway, the local hardware store was doing a 2 for 1 on paint, so I figured it was time. Plus I had a gallon of blue paint that we bought for our bedroom in the old house and never opened. So this is what I came up with:
The boys used their hands for the border. The main color is orange with the one big wall blue.

Here is a closer view of Tate after he laid his mark on the room.