School's Out!

Almost.  We're down to 3 days.  Part of me is ready for a break from the routine, but summer is so busy!  I've got the kids signed up for activities, but tried to limit it this year.  Most of their activities are a day here and a day there so hopefully it won't be too bad.

Cole is playing youth soccer.  He seems to enjoy it and I know I do.  I struggle with the whole "be a parent and not the coach" thing, but I'm trying to keep it in check.  It's a very basic league.  They focus on giving everyone playing time in all different positions.  It's been good for him.  He's signed up for 4H camp and a day of FCA camp with his chosen sport, cross country.

Tate wanted to play soccer, but he is too young yet this year.  Instead he'll be doing baseball, which is thankfully only 1 night a week for the month of June.  Shelby is signed up for T-ball which should be entertaining.

I'm trying to get everything finished up in the last week of school.  Once Cross Country is over in the fall I don't have to think about it again until the end of the school year.  Never fails the end of the year approaches and I'm not ready with summer workouts and getting captains in to visit 6th graders.  I think it all got done.  I'm also trying to use up my budget and get answers to some end of the season stuff from this fall.  It's all been very frustrating.  Dealing with the administrative part makes me wonder why I do this.  Tonight I got a little validation.  I was chatting with a former runner, who moved, and he was telling me he was going to miss running for me next year.  I like our program, but it's far from great, but whatever.  He told me I was the only coach he's ever had who would have chosen him over his brother.  I think what he was trying to convey was that I never compared him to his brother.  They are 2 very different people and I enjoyed having them both run.  His comment made me feel pretty good.  I just want to give kids a place to belong.  They don't have to be the best, or even good, to be part of our team.  Runners come from all different cliques in high school, but in cross country, they are even keel.  I guess I accomplished that for at least 1 of them.

In other news, I joined the direct marketing world.  I started selling LuLaRoe clothing.  It's been an up and down start, but I'm hoping June will level out a bit.  If you are on facebook here is my group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/969423743151626/ 

Spring!

The calendar says spring and they are forecasting a few inches of snow tonight into tomorrow.  It can't be too far away though, because baby kitties!

We have a bazillion cats, but only a handful of tame ones.  Peanut had 4 babies a couple of weeks ago.  She lost one when her box tipped over, but still has 3 healthy babies.  Our housecat, Cingrilla, also had a litter a few days later.  She had a total of 6 babies, lost 1 right away, but still has 5 babies in a box in our basement.  I am not sure how I am going to get all of these cats out of my house.  If anyone wants a kitten...I'll even throw in free replacement if it doesn't make it :)  We have a few we can spare.  

Peanut's newborns

Shelby with a Cingrilla baby

Things have been running fairly smoothly.  Pat's parents took a 10 day trip to Hawaii which left Pat and I in charge.  My sister and dad came to help get the kids ready for school so I could milk in the mornings.  Upon his parent's return, we headed to Sioux Falls for a night without kids.  Pat's dad is having knee surgery again, today, so we wanted to get away before we won't be able to for a while.  We didn't have anything specific in mind, just a little shopping.  We came home with a new car.  That was not the plan, but I'm weak and wasn't about to say "no, don't buy me that nice shiny new car!"  We traded in our Expedition for a Yukon.  I didn't realize how much Pat hated the Expedition, but he really likes the Yukon.  I really like all the fancy buttons and gadgets!  

The boys took swimming lessons and finished up last week.  They were both in the same level this year.  Tate moved up last year and Cole didn't move on.  I wasn't sure how it would go.  Tate is just generally a bit more daring and athletic than Cole is.  Cole also tends to sink like a rock.  They both managed to pass, which was exciting.  

I am so ready for warmer weather so I can send my kids outside!  Tate and Shelby have been at each other more than usual lately.  They are like oil and water most days.  The other night Shelby went to Pat's sister's with his parents.  We didn't let the boys go since it was a Sunday night and would be late getting home.  All evening Tate moped around asking when she'd be home.  Monday morning, while he was getting ready for school, and she was still sleeping (which is the norm), he kept asking when she'd be up.  They can't stand to be around each other and they can't stand to be apart.  

Cole is not the most outgoing kid.  He doesn't need a lot of friends.  He tends to be more of a loaner.  He's not and never has been very empathetic.  He made a great friend last year in second grade and they are still getting along great this year, despite different teachers.  He was invited to a slumber party this week to the house of a new student in his class.  I asked him who else was invited and he listed his best buddy, another boy, and another boy who is special needs (I think he's on the autism spectrum, but am not positive what his diagnosis is).  He explained that they were thinking that Z~ probably didn't get invited to a lot of parties, so they thought they would invite him.  I was floored.  I couldn't ask for better friends for him than that.  I hope they keep that attitude through high school.

Tonight I am heading to Mayo to get my memory tested and brain scanned over the next couple of days.  My sister and I have been participating in a research study for the last couple of years.  I hate it.  I'd love to pull the plug and say "I"m out!", but I know that's not an option.  I love spending time with my sisters without kids, but I'd rather do it on a warm beach than while getting injected with radioactive dye.  Adulting is hard.

2 years in recap

I recently headed back home for the first time in a long time.  I was informed that a few people still read this, so I will try to update once in a while here.  I'm not making any promises, but I'll try.  So the last 2 years...

 Shelby.  Our little sassy pants is almost 4.    She's got quite an attitude on her.  She makes us laugh and cry.  As another friend put it "One minute she's butterflies and rainbows, the next fireworks and hand grenades."  We are almost out of diapers.  We're just using up the last of our pullups and then I hope to never purchase diapers again for as long as I live :)

She started preschool, 2 mornings a week, this fall.  She loves school and all her friends.  Her favorite thing is coloring and after the photo on the left, we have banned all markers from her room.  She's only allowed to color in public places.  :)

Tate is now 7 1/2.  The other day I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he told me either a "football player, or maybe a soldier, probably a farmer, but I kind of do that already."  He enjoys school, first grade this year.  He's had difficulty with reading.  He's grown a lot this year, but we will be testing him for dyslexia next month.  He's a smart kid and retains information (ask him about WWII), but he can't read very well.  It's frustrating for both of us.

Cole is 9 1/2.  He's getting close to double digits and I'm a little freaked out by it.  It's going too fast!  His ear problems have been good.  He can ride a bike like a pro and his rechecks have come back clean.  He's in 3rd grade now and things are getting a bit more challenging for him.  He reads everything in sight and was in the elementary math league this year.

Both boys are in piano lessons this year.  Neither of them are Beethoven, but they seem to enjoy it.

 We did some travelling this year.  This summer we headed west and hit up some national parks and monuments.  Teddy Roosevelt, Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore, and Badlands.  It was a quick trip, but we saw a lot and added Montana and Wyoming to states the kids have been.  (Cole did a map in 2nd grade that was a bit depressing, so we needed to remedy that).  This winter we headed south for a few days, Fargo South, aka Frisco, TX, to watch the Bison win their 5th straight national championship.  We had a great time and the kids handled the car like champs (iPads and DVD players help).  We added Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to their maps with stops in Witchita and OK City.  We visited Legoland and the Fort Worth Stockyards, but their favorite, except Shelby, was watching the Bison win.

I added California to my state map.  I'd only seen the inside of LAX prior to my visit to San Diego with some NDSU friends.  We had a girls only weekend and had a great time.  It was warm, but not swim-in-the-ocean warm.

Now we are back to muddling through another winter.  I look forward to sun and snow-melting temps.

Spring has Sprung!

Spring has finally arrived!  Pat has been busy digging and planting corn.  We haven't seen much of him in the last few days.

Spring also means baby chicks!  This year we decided to add a few ducks to the flock.  It's been a few years since we've had ducks.  We don't raise a lot of birds.  We tried to sell some last year but what we have to sell them for to break even is a bit higher than most people are willing to pay.  So we'll stick to raising them for ourselves.

 We moved them out of their tub into a plastic calf hutch.  We can't let them roam, or they will become really expensive dog treats, so we have an area penned off where they can roam and 2 hutches for shelter.  It works well.

 Shelby loves the chicks.  As soon as we set foot outside she asks "chicks?"  She tries to pick them up and then squeals at them.

Tate is our chicken whisperer.  He'll just quietly stick out his hand with some feed and they'll come up to him and start pecking away.

Mother's Day

Today is hard.

I think Pat knows that.  Yesterday he spoiled me.  We took the kids and went to the Terry Redlin Museum and then to the Children's Museum.  It was a fun day.  After that we went to a sporting goods store and he bought me some UnderArmour workout gear, which I would never spend that kind of money on myself.  He even looked at ellipticals and gave me the ok to get one.  I've been looking at them for years.

Today is still hard.  Not too long ago my mom would call once a week and tell the same story over and over again.  Not just the same story she told last week, but the same story she had already told you earlier in the conversation.  Then I would call my sister and we would compare the same story she told and vent about what was wrong with her (we didn't actually know then) and how annoying it was.  What I wouldn't give for the phone to ring and to hear my mom's voice on the line.  So today is hard.  I love my children and am grateful that I am their mom, but I miss the mom that helped me become the person I am.

Last Day of Preschool

Tate had his last day of preschool on May 1st.  Yep, he was still wearing his winter coat, hat, and gloves on the last day of school!  Have I mentioned we get out ridiculously early here?

 That afternoon, they had graduation.  It was a big deal for him, and probably a bigger deal for me.  This marks the end of a 4 year stretch of having a child in preschool with the same teachers.  They are obviously fabulous for putting up with me for 4 years :)

On the last day of school, each kid takes a turn sitting in the big rocking chair and their classmates can say something nice about them.  Tate's teacher teared up trying to tell us about what some of Tate's friends said.  He's made some great friends this year and I hope they become lasting friendships.  Here's to my brand new kindergartner!

Therapy

Cole has been going to PT for a few weeks now.  It's going well.  I can see a difference.  He still hasn't mastered the bike, or the swing, but last time we tried he didn't get frustrated like he has in the past.  We'll be going down to just once a week.  I am a big believer in PT.  It's bizarre, some of the things they do, but it works.  Cole does a lot of things that make him dizzy.  He nods his head up and down, sitting still and while walking.  He does a lot of balance activities and multi-tasks, like throwing and catching 2 balls, or catching while jumping on a trampoline.  Once the weather turns nicer, we will be putting more time in on the swings and on the bike.  I finally hooked up the trail-a-bike and am hoping that helps him.  Tate and I checked it out this morning and he had a blast.

Shelby Turns Two

My baby turned 2 at the end of March.  

We had butterfly cake,

she opened presents and got lots of activity books.

She even got her very own Strider and a new helmet.

I think holding her baby cousin was her favorite, though.

She's my snuggler, my troublemaker, and everything in between.  Life is never dull when Shelby is around!  We love you, Shelby Kay!

Therapy

I have never been so excited to find out something is wrong with Cole.

Cole will turn 8 in June.  He still won't ride a bike and can't swing himself on the swing.  I get frustrated and he gets frustrated and shuts down.  When Shelby was in for her checkup (she's 2! and I'll get to her birthday post before she turns 3), I asked our doctor about some of Cole's issues.  She suggested we take him in for a short assessment, aka free, by a physical therapist.  I checked with his PE teacher at school, but wasn't hopeful he would notice anything, he didn't, and I wasn't hopeful the PT would notice anything either.  Cole tends to be anything but text book and I figured he has learned to compensate with other things so well that the same would be true with this latest issue.

He had his PT assessment today.  I explained to the therapist about his ear and what's been going on.  He looked at me and says "he has a vestibular impairment.  That was my specialty."  I think my mouth hit the floor.  He ran the assessments and wouldn't you know it, my boy is a text book case.  The even better news: they can fix it!  We start after Easter.  Here's to a summer riding bikes on 2 wheels and swinging!

Potty Training and Trimming Nails

Those are 2 of the things I dislike the most about having kids.  My kids are finally getting to the age where they can sit still to have their nails trimmed.  Shelby only because if her brothers do it, she must do it.

Unfortunately, that mentality is also following her into potty training.  I've been trying to capture a picture of her, but have been unsuccessful so far.  She walks into the bathroom, closes the door, lifts up the potty seat, lifts up her shirt, sticks her belly out, and says "potty".  Since she doesn't have "that" body part, I think she thinks it's her belly button.  She'll tell me "potty" once in a while and I try to sit her on it when she does that, but other than a few toots, we've been unsuccessful.  I'm in no rush.  I've learned twice that you can't force it.  The fact that she's interested already is a major improvement.  She's a full year ahead of either of her brothers in that department.

March Madness

I introduced Cole to the world of college basketball this year.  Okay, only to the NCAA tournament and only because the Bison made it in.  I remember filling out brackets every year and losing horribly to my dad.  I always had a thing for the underdog, but in the long run it doesn't pan out so well.  I thought this year Cole would be old enough to understand what's going on and since the Bison were playing, he'd enjoy following along.  So far, so good.  He's getting into it a little more.  Our brackets don't look too bad, except he picked Ohio to make it to the Elite Eight.  Oops.  I kind of a like having an older kid who can do these things with me.

Friday's Picture Post

We've had a busy couple of weeks.  I'm working on my addiction to time wasters (namely the iPad).  So one afternoon Tate wanted help with his Lego building and I obliged.  We were close to finishing when he told me I could go lay down if I wanted to or do something else.  I said no, I could finish helping him.  A few minutes later he told me he was going to go have a rest :).  At any rate, here is his Lego hotel, which has now been transformed into something else.

 Last weekend, my sister and her family traveled up to get their new puppy.  One of my CC runners breeds her golden retriever and she had her batch of puppies just before Christmas.  Shelby thought he was great as long as he wasn't in her face.

 Even Juno got some loving.

Shelby also really liked his play yard.  The puppy, not so much.

 We've also been out enjoying the last few nice days before winter reared her ugly head, again.

 There were plenty of snowballs thrown,

 and Cole even built a snowman.

We also managed to find time to finish his 40 books so he joined the Super Reader club at school.

The Milk Debate

Look at this!  4 days in a row!

Anywhoodle, since Shelby is not yet 2, and she's tiny, she is on whole milk.  She goes through a lot of milk so instead of buying 2 kinds, I switched us all to whole milk.  We were going through over 3 gallons every 2 weeks.  It got to the point where I finally stopped and asked myself why I am buying milk.  So I stopped buying milk.  We've gone to tank milk and I'm wondering why it took me so long to do this.  The taste!  Oh my goodness!  If you haven't had milk straight from the tank, you are missing out.  There is so much flavor!  We have a plate cooler, and our milk is constantly agitated, so the milk comes out mixed and ice cold, no shaking involved.  I fill a gallon jug about every other day.  It certainly saves on trips to the store and money.

Catch Up, Again

So the last 5 months...

• I finished cross country in October.  I took a group of my runners to watch the state meet.  That was fun.  I miss being part of that.  
• Harvest was not fabulous.  It got done, but that was about all that was positive about it.  
• Tate is exhausted all the time, which is causing us some worry.  I'm hoping it's just that he's growing, but he will willingly nap.  What 5 year old does that?
• Shelby refuses to nap.  She is going to be trouble.  She now has a mouth full of teeth and talks all the time.

• Thanksgiving was spent with my family in Iowa.  This kids love being together and we had a good time.
• Christmas was low key and spent at home.  Cole did a great job with his lines in the Sunday School program and Tate sang his heart out.

• In January, Pat and I travelled to Frisco, TX, to watch NDSU win their 3rd straight national championship.  We had an absolute blast.  It helped that it was in the 60s on game day. :)

• Cole started piano lessons when school resumed.  Two of his 4 lessons have been cancelled or rescheduled due to weather.  I am tried of cold.

• While we were in Texas, the boys were introduced to MineCraft.  If anyone understands this game and can explain it to me, I am all ears.  Otherwise, my typical response is glazed eyes and feeling ready to explode with "I don't care!"  I just don't get it.

 And there you have the highlights since September.  3 blog posts in 1 week!

I Love to Read

**Disclaimer:  I love to read.  I enjoy reading and I want my kids to enjoy reading.  Do not read this post thinking I am against reading in any way.

February is I love to read month.  I hate it.  I love reading, I hate all the work that comes with February.  Our school does some fantastic reading things with the kids, but they all come to a head in February.  

They do One School, One Book which means the entire elementary, pre-k through 6, staff, custodians, bus drivers, cooks, everyone reads the same book.  We read one chapter a night until the book is finished.  Every morning they get a question to answer about what was read the night before.  It's a great program.  The problem, they also do Fast Start Reading, and the first grade is doing a super reader's squad challenge (40 books in February).  That means, on top of the chapter every night, he has a poem to read, his guided reading homework, and the books for the reading squad.  That's on top of the library books we have to read and Cole's piano practice.  That's a lot of reading to do between the hours of 4 and 8, if there is nothing else going on.  Cole likes to read and he's good at reading, but it's a lot.  We already dropped the ball with the One School book.  We forgot that last night so I read it to them over breakfast.  At least it's cold and no one wants to be outside.

Research

Oops, so it's been almost 5 months since my last post.  I may update you before the next 5 months, but today is something I need to blog about.  I know I've mentioned before that my mom has FTD, frontal temporal dementia.  My Dad has been taking her to research appointments at Large Hospital and has even consented to donate her brain when she is gone.  The problem is that they can do all the research they want after a person has been diagnosed, but it does them little good if they don't know what causes it or how it starts.  Large Hospital has been hoping to start a study on those with a family history, but haven't had the funding.  Enter my sister and me.  Today the call came in.  They have funding.

I am scared to death.

Of course, I consented and have appointments set.  It's nothing difficult on my part.  Memory tests, scans, blood draw.  The scary part is that I don't want to know.  Being in research means they will run tests every year and if we have it, it could lead to an earlier diagnosis.  I don't want to know.  I do not want to know which road I will travel down until I am traveling it.  It's scary seeing my mom and wondering if that will become me.  I'm not sure I can handle actually knowing.

So I do this for my kids and my grandkids.  If they can learn something from me.  If they can find a way to stop it, stall it, or treat it because of this research, then it is worth knowing.  I pray the data they collect from me and my sister will be worthless, because I pray this disease ends with my mom.  If it doesn't, then I pray this research gives my kids a better future.

But, I'm still scared to death.

Summer into Fall

I think I should just give up on blogging.  I can't keep up with anything, let alone a blog that no one really reads anyway.  Just in case I still have a loyal reader or 2, here is my update...

Cole had ear surgery #2 in August.  This was the hardest one yet.  This time he knew exactly what to expect and he did not want to experience it.  He held it together until the nurse anesthetist came in to take him back.  Then the tears came for him and just try not to cry when your kid does for something like that.  He handled it like a champ though.  There was no regrowth, so they rebuilt his ear.  It was a much shorter surgery this time.  He's had his follow up and goes for a hearing test in October.  I think he hears better, but I don't know that we are without-a-hearing-aid better.

Tate is loving year 2 of preschool.  He has made a great buddy, named G.  G just so happens to be the little brother of his good friend C, from 3s preschool.  I find that funny.  He and G get into a bit of trouble, but nothing major, mostly talking and not listening.

Tate-preschool, Cole-1st grade

Shelby is as busy as ever.  She is constantly on the go.  She never walks, always runs or climbs.  She still doesn't have a lot of words, or teeth.  She says night and hot along with mom and dad.

Cheese!

I am coaching cross country again.  This is my 3rd season.  So far my top 2 returning runners have been out with a concussion or appendicitis.  We have enough girls for a team this year, which is great.

Pat finished up our heifer shed, and today we moved steers into the old heifer yard.  So now they are done with building projects for the year!  Our silage is chopped and they should start on earlage this week.

Cole and I ran in a road race last week.  It was a fundraiser for our local pet rescue.  We ran about 2.5 miles.  He only walked a few times, and for just a few steps each time.  He talked the whole race!  It was a blast and I am so proud of him.

 That's all for now!

The County Fair, Part 2

Pat hated showing cattle growing up.  Well, he didn't hate the showing part, it was all the prep work.  It takes a lot of work to get an animal show ready.  Kids spend months walking their animal and working with it.  Then there is clipping, cleaning, brushing, pampering, etc.  It's a ton of work.  We decided that if our kids want to show, great.  If they don't, that's fine too, but they do need to try it.

Since I am new at showing animals, I didn't want to bring one to the fair this year.  I didn't know what was going on and I wanted to get a feel for it before I was thrown into it.  I registered Cole for the dairy show, but wasn't sure if he'd participate.  His good friend's cousin, C, was going to let us use one of her calves, so I decided he'd try it this year.  All we had to do was show up.  The show was on Thursday.  On Wednesday, I dropped Cole off to work with C and Renae.  He was nervous.  I felt bad leaving him there, but knew he'd be in good hands.  Sure enough, when I went to pick him up, he and his buddy were scooping poop and having a great time.  While I was gone, Cole and C were interviewed for the paper while they were out walking Renae.

On Thursday we showed up for the show, minus the white pants, which apparently is a thing for showing dairy that my husband informed me of 30 minutes prior to show.  Probably a good thing, I would have spent months searching for white pants in a boys 6, had I known.  The show went fine.  There were 5 cloverbuds that participated.

Talking with the judge

They walked the animals in the arena (parents were in control), talked with the judge, lined the animals up, and walked them back out.  All of the calves were very well behaved and the judge was great.  

It was a good experience for Cole, but the best part was the prep work.  As much time as we spent at the fair, and it felt like a lot, not once did I run into a group of kids sitting together texting on their phones.  In fact, I only saw one kid on a cell phone the entire time, and he was talking on it.  Instead, they spent their time talking to each other, playing games, running around the fair, and helping each other with their animals.  These are the kids I want him to look up to.  These are the kids that know the value of hard work, are good leaders, and good role models.  These are the reasons I hope he sticks with showing cattle.

The County Fair, Part 1

We enrolled Cole in 4-H this year.  He was a Cloverbud, which is essentially learning years.  They can take whatever they want to the fair, perfect or not and get a participation ribbon.  Cole brought 3 projects.  He brought some cucumbers, which he was pretty "meh" about.  I made him put together a photo book about our trip up north and actually made him hand write captions for the photos, cuz I'm mean like that.  He did fairly well about talking to the judge with the book, once he got into it.  His favorite project was this:

Farmall 450 tractor hood

He refinished the tractor hood with very little help.  He is very proud of it.  He got a lot of comments about it the day we brought it in too.

He also showed 2 calves.  This is Renae, we borrowed her from a friend so we wouldn't have to keep an animal at the fair all week.

He also brought his calf, Rocket, for the Cloverbud pet show.  He was the only Cloverbud to participate, but he worked hard to get Rocket ready for the fair.  It was good for him to put the work in himself and see what it takes to get an animal ready.

Tate got to bring a couple of projects too and help bring Rocket into the arena.  They had a lot of fun, but it was an incredibly busy week.  If the fair wasn't enough, they also had VBS at church this last week.

My sister mentioned that she thought we weren't going to have Cole show an animal.  Stay tuned for my response!  :)

North Shore Vacation

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Instead of actually blogging about our vacation, I'll just post our photo book, cuz I'm lazy like that.  Enjoy!