Catching up is hard to do!

Wow, Has it been awhile or what??  Let's play some semi catch up.

First off harvest is DONE.  Whew, that is always great news.  No major break downs and things ran fairly smoothly.  Now it's time to fertilize and do some fall field work.  We still don't get to see much of Bill, but we do appreciate every second we get. While I'm on the topic of Bill we can do his update first.  Well, awhile back he woke me in the dead of night with a toe ache.  I really wanted to punch him, and was kind of making fun of him because I thought he was being a bit of a drama king when he woke me up.  Your toe?  Really?  I was sleeping sooooo goooood that night too, that was the bummer part.  So he wouldn't even let me touch it.  The next day he insisted we go see the Dr.  Well drum roll please... he has GOUT.  Yep, gout.  And his Uric Acid levels were like triple what they should be and I felt really really awful for making fun of him for a toe ache.  I had no clue.  Fast forward to 6 months later and I get a call from my brother and he's dyeing.  His toe hurts.  He's just like Bill, he is almost crying and can't work and can't walk.  Madi said it was an hour event to get pants on him and thank goodness they had bought flip flops for their honeymoon, cause she had to whip them out and let him use them. He too was diagnosed with gout.  So now we have a bunch of old gouty men on our hands.  Other than the gout, Bill is honestly doing good.  He works all the time, but what's new?  He really does make an effort to spend Sundays with us as a family and do things the boys will like.  He took the boys to see the minion movie.  They loved that!  I got the pleasure of getting my nails done while they were in the movies.

This summer we got to enjoy some family time at Current River.  Boy did we have FUN!!!  We discovered Brody and I get a bit car sick on hilly and curvy roads.  Thank goodness for our friends Chris and Lou Lambert who we traveled with along with Mike and Holly Lee.  Chris packed a puke bucket and I had lots of trash bags in my van and we used them a few times with Brody.  Dramamine worked wonders for me but Brody wouldn't take any meds.  We all took a float trip down Jacks fork.  We totally relaxed.  It was just a laid back trip.  No major plans or commitments.  We just had fun being together.  Bill and I took the boys to Rock Falls and they loved it.  Cole climbed clear to the top of the falls!  We were so proud of him because neither of us would have done that.  I thought Bill was going to need some Xanax a time or two watching him go up there and come back down!  I think our kids are fishes.  They swam the entire time we were there.  They loved it.  They want to go back soon.

Cole did baseball again this summer.  It rained A LOT and we ended up not getting to play two games because of the rain.  He had a new team and really enjoyed himself.  It was quite a chilly year.  We sat with blankets and coats quite a few games.  Then there were a few where it was so blasted HOT you couldn't stand it.  Great season and it got us all out of the house a few nights a week!  Just had conferences for Cole.  He is in 6th grade.  Mr. Clark's class.  He absolutely LOVES it!  Bill and I are so proud of him because he is getting straight A's wow!  What an improvement from last year!  He is so much laid back and happier this year.  He is still in band.  He plays the trombone.  He also joined Choir this year.  Most of the band kids also join Choir because it helps them along with the musicals in the spring.  Cole was in the school musical again this year.  This is his second year and he loves it.  Last year was Oklahoma and this year was Willy Wonka and he has so much fun!  They are pretty amazing to watch too! He joined Boy Scouts again this year and we are hoping it matures him and he matures some.  Gosh is he growing up.  It kind of makes me tear up to think of it.  Bill was teasing him about getting his Jewel of a truck when he turns 16.  Sad part is that is only FOUR years away.  I don't want to think about it or I will lose it!  He's over half grown and then some.  Have we done our jobs with him?  Is he going to be an amazing adult?  It scares me to think of it all.  I just pray that we have done him well.  That's my mission in life is to raise my kids with strong morals and be kind to all.  I want them to have soft hearts, love BIG and live BIG.  That is the only way to do it.  Life is too short otherwise.  He's a good kid.  I've never heard otherwise so until then, I'm going to claim it and say so far we are doing good with him!

Brody.  Ahhhh Brody.  Well he's our miracle.  He came in this world with a bang and he's been raising hell every since!  He is officially diagnosed with SID.  It's a form of sensory processing disorder and a lot of those kids are placed on the Autism spectrum on the higher functioning side of Asperger's.  The best thing we ever did was put him into preschool.  It was such an emotional decision.  When Carol Bell left us and couldn't come do his developmental therapy anymore, we had to do something to keep his little mind going.  He spent the first 6 months in school not talking.  Half the time I think he spent hiding out in his "dog House" is what I called it.  It was a small box with a door and it was enclosed.  He had a blanket from home in there and he could go in there to get un stimulated.  When he had a meltdown, and boy did he have a lot in the beginning, he spent a lot of time in that house.  Mrs. Sprinkle and Mrs. Kirby really got him to open up and come out of his shell.  He completely transformed.  Then Mrs. Sprinkle decided to retire, so the next year he transitioned into Mrs. Andrews classroom.  He did amazing.  He sprouted wings and just flew.  His little mind opened up and then his mouth opened too.  Some days I wonder why in the world I prayed so hard for this kid to talk!  Now he doesn't shut up!  His mind just doesn't shut off.  He should have had another year of prek but they pulled me in for a conference and said he was getting too smart.  They didn't want him to be bored next year, so Bill and I talked it over and we moved him on to Mrs. Gronewold's kindergarten class.  He sailed through there too.  Now he has made it to First grade.  Wow.  Our baby is in FIRST GRADE!!!  He is doing fabulous!  He is basically a mathematical genius at this point.  Numbers fascinate him.  His teacher said that he has the potential to make us LOTS of money some day.  I pray.  Boy have I prayed for him.  He is so special to us.  We have worked so extra hard to make him who he is today.  He's got his own ticks and quirks and yes he will still have meltdowns.  We have our good days and bad days, but we take them, because he's ours.  I just get really emotional to think how far he's come in three years.  He is a completely different child.  I am glad I trusted my mom's gut and fought for him.  I fought for someone to tell us what was wrong with him and I fought for help.  I will never forget the many many therapy sessions with Carol and she would leave and I would cry and pray that my child would be able to function in this world.  I think we have a good start so far.  With the help of Melatonin and a weighted blanket we are on our way to sleeping through the night.  That is such an accomplishment.  We have also gotten rid of the sippy cup of chocolate milk and no more pull ups.  Turning 6 was a major milestone in this kids life.

I'm still doing the mom thing.  I have decided to take a painting class this Thursday.  I am so excited to try it. We are painting an owl.  I can't wait.  I cook, I clean and I make this house function.  We have a schedule.  I am kind of the drill Sargent around here. Brody freaks out when we divert from the schedule so we really stick to it.  It works for us. I feel so blessed to be where we are right now.  I look back and think wow.  16 1/2 years ago when I married this man, I never knew all the things we would go through.  It's been such a fun crazy ride and I don't want it to stop anytime soon!  I just am amazed at how awesome things are.  Life is good period.

Well I'm off to a family weenie roast.  I will try to write again soon, but no promises... life is busy and who has time to sit at the computer and type?  Ha.

I am still ALIVE!!!

I know it's been months since my last post.  I do apologize, but have been so crazy busy I just can't seem to take the time to sit down and type.  It's too much of an effort!

Let's see where to begin... the boys had a FUN birthday weekend.  Swimming party, Cole had a lot of school friends show up and he really enjoyed himself, Brody went off the diving board!  They both really enjoyed it.  The next day Cole took a few friends along to Bonkers and we made a day of it.  They had a ball!  Hot sweaty stinky kids is what we ended up with at the end of the day!

September was a wild month as well.  I have done a lot of canning and gardening and just seem to take up so much time.  I have been tending to the yard and house and trying to fill in and help Bill wherever I can as well.

I have been having some right sided pain and it continues to come and go.  I have an appointment with my surgeon on Oct 16th to rule out surgical adhesion's and  see what he has to say about it all.  I also have been having some major female issues and because my labs came back with my blood counts so low, my Dr was worried so he's got me set up to have a D&C done on Oct 19th.  He assured me it will be much less traumatic than the D&E I had done with the baby we lost.  I was Five months pregnant back then, and it was such a traumatic event.  My hormones crashed, I was a hot mess for quite a few weeks, along with the guilt and pain of losing a baby, I had some major cramping and pain from the procedure, but this time I was assured I would NOT have that kind of problems.  He said I will take a 30 minute snooze, and wake up with a fresh uterus.  I can only pray and hope this helps with my problems.  It's looking like next week is shaping up to be a crazy busy week around here and this week I plan on keeping things caught up at home to deal with it all.

I have left the Undercover Wear company and joined Pure Romance.  I really really LOVE this company!  I love all the products and LOVE the women I work with.  I think it's a positive change in my life.  I have quite a few parties booked and am very pleased with my success so far.  I have done my first two parties over the weekend and sold over $2100 in retail.  That's awesome!  I have another party booked for the 20th and Dr. Jones assured me I would feel just fine and be able to do that party the day after my surgery.  I just can't lift anything heavy, which is no problem at all for me.  I can get my awesome hostess to do the lifting for me.  I only have two things I carry in with me!

Brody is LOVING school.  He comes home full of stories some days.  It wears him out and he is really learning a LOT.  He knows his alphabet now, he can count to 12 without missing a beat and he knows all his shapes and colors and they are starting letter recognition and last week was "S" for Sammy Seal and he is pointing out S's everywhere now!  I LOVE it!  Makes me proud and happy we decided to go ahead and send him to school!

Cole has been having some trouble with fluency in reading.  That seems to be his only problem at this point.  They have a title 1 teacher working with him reading 60 minutes a week, and then I make him read to me 15 minutes a day here at home.  He is getting better and better with it all.  We let him pick out books from the book order and he's been reading through all of those and loves them.

Bill has been busy in the fields.  We honestly don't see much of him.  It gets kinda lonely at times.  We do try to make family time a priority and squeeze in every second that we can with him.  Even if he is dragging us along on one crazy adventure job after another.  Brody got his very first combine ride last week and was AMAZED and so happy!  He's also rode along with Bill in the tractor and big dump trucks and LOVES going with him to do that.  It really melts my heart that he's spending some time with his daddy, even if it is only for a few minutes here and there.  He needs it.

School takes up a lot of time.  It's crazy how nuts our evenings get around here preparing for the next day.  Thank goodness they aren't in sports or things.  I just don't know how those mothers do it.  I am NOT ready for that busy life.

Well, Bill called for his lunch so I am off to the field to deliver.  I promise to update soon.  If I get a second!

Our nutty summer!

Oh where has the time gotten?  Canning, vacation, back to school preparations, birthday parties, boy has it been a crazy few weeks, or month actually!
    Let's start with Canning.  The garden project went over really well this year.  I LOVE it.  I love taking care of it, I loved planting it, I really really love that I am GROWING things and harvesting my own crops!  It's quite an accomplishment for me.  My little old garden has given us some goodies, but without the help of some friends and neighbors I would not have had much at all to can.  I have been lucky enough that there are generous people out there whom, when they have gotten all they wanted from their gardens, they have turned the produce over to me.  I feel so lucky to have gotten what we have got and am blessed beyond explanation that they've allowed me to come and pick and can up their produce. 
    I have canned to date Beets= 18 pts and 11 qt and 2 1/2 pts.  Green Beans= 21 qts.  Bread and butter pickles 34 quart 8 pts. Dill pickles 10 pts and 21 qt.  and now we are doing tomatoes.  So far we've canned 52 quart and 12 pts and we plan on doing more on Sunday.  I canned up 14 quarts of mild salsa and 12 quarts of spicy salsa.  Yesterday we canned up 28 quarts of spaghetti sauce and we have pears to do next.  We've already canned up 8 quarts of pears and 4 pints, but have a LOT more to can just waiting on them to ripen up. 
    I have also put up some butternut squash in the freezer and frozen some green beans too.  I also did up some freezer pickles to try.  Not to mention that I have put up sweet corn in the freezer also. 
    I have had strep throat the last few days.  Been sicker than a dog.  I have laid around here and just felt rotten.  I am seeing and picking at all these things wrong with my house.  It's not clean enough for me.  It really needs a deep cleaning.  What the heck am I doing letting my house get so  freaking nasty.  I could almost cry.  It is just bugging me.  I took a few days to recoup and then I've been busting butt around here.  I got all my laundry caught up and today I finally broke down and deep cleaned my bathroom, which needed it BAD.  I need to pay more attention to the rest of this place but it will just take time.
    I took the morning the other day and mowed the yard while Brody was in school.  I can do a much better job when he isn't sitting on my lap the whole time.
    Yep, I said Brody is in school.  Wednesday I put my baby on the school bus.  It was so hard to do.  He was so tiny walking up those huge steps.  It almost broke my heart.  He has done so well.  The biggest adjustment for him is going to bed at night and getting a schedule down.  He doesn't like to sleep till the sun goes down.  So he won't cash out till after 8:30.  Ugh.  He is napping later and it's messing things up.  I plan on keeping him on the early to rise schedule over the weekend.  This way he will still be on track come Monday morning.
    Vacation was AMAZING.  It was 7 days of pure amazement.  It was the MOST BEAUTIFUL things I have ever seen.  It was breathtaking.  I have never seen mountains or glaciers, and the wild life was spectacular.  We saw killer whales in the ocean, seals, otter, and dolphins.  It was just so neat.  Every day was something new and adventurous.  I have a ton of photos and plan on putting together a photo book to share.  It was a trip of a lifetime for sure.  The only thing was leaving Brody behind.  It was hard for 7 whole days.  Canada was our last stop.  We all hated it.  Nothing wrong with Canada, but we were just so homesick and ready to get on the plane for home.  We were never so happy to pull in our driveway and see Mom's smiling face.  It was too long away from Brody. 
    Cole had so much fun on the ship playing in Club HAL with all his friends he made.  They had daily activities planned and every day they would bring an itinerary for Cole to pick what he wanted to go and do for the day.  He usually rushed us through breakfast so he could get up there and play!  Bill and I took a lot of time walking the deck every day on the ship.  Watching the wildlife and seeing the mountains.  It was spectacular views every single second.  We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the cool 60's and 70's degree weather. 
    The ports were so neat to stop at.  There was a lot of shopping and different foods to try.  We did a LOT of walking and taking it all in.  We took a trip through a National Park, and hiked the trails.  We found a grocery store and smuggled PEPSI onto the ship!  We had gotten sick of COKE products after 5 days! 
    We ate FRESH fish and chips from a neat little shack on the pier and made friends with a little birdie who liked our french fries!  We tried to soak up the culture, talk to the locals and just really enjoy our down time.  Bill did a lot of napping, Cole did a lot of swimming and I did a lot of sunning myself and reading while he swam.  We each did the things we loved and wanted to do.  We had a ball together.  It was really nice just spending some alone time with Cole.  He gets shoved to the side so much because Brody is so needy and so demanding and it was really good for him to spend some time with just Mom and Dad.  He will NEVER EVER forget this trip.  I am so happy we were able to bring him along.
    The boys had their party at the swimming pool this year.  They had a ball.  Brody jumped off the diving board.  What a shocker!  It was nuts.  He did it over and over and over again.  He's such a dare devil.  Cole had a lot of his school friends and baseball buddies show up.  He was so happy to see them all and play with them.  It was a nice final hoorah before school started. 
    I just feel like I don't have a minute to think most days.  Then I got to the point when I realized that we hadn't gotten our tax return back yet and this got the ball rolling on a crazy train... I called our accountant and she informed me that they were notified I needed to call the IRS.  I guess that they got the notice clear back on April 16th and NEVER called me.  Ugh.  So I called the IRS and was informed by the nice lady on the phone that my identity had been stolen and that someone had filed taxes under my name and ss#.  This set the ball in motion for a zillion things I had to do.  Go file a police report, contact the federal trades commission, get my credit reports and study them making sure that there were no false charges on my records, call the Attorney Generals office, call the national hotline for Identity theft and also call the social security office.  What a mess.  All this paperwork, all this crap to do, and then having to paper file our taxes this year and I have to send in all this documentation that I am who I am and all these police reports and crap.  It's been quite the darned headache.  I am going to go nuts if this doesn't get straightened out soon.  Hopefully I've done everything correctly and we get it under control soon. I needed all this crap like I needed a hole in my head!
    Tomorrow is Face Fest at the Wood and I am going to watch my brother play.  It could be the last time we see him in a long time.  The band has no bass player and it's harder and harder for them to make gigs and get together so I think they are calling it quits for awhile.  I can't wait to see him play one more time!
    I have had the air conditioning off this week and I have been tempted to turn it back on, but our $315 light bill last month kinda has me conserving.  That was just crazy.  And to think we were on vacation for a week and our thermostat was set on 85 all week long.  I couldn't believe it.  It's been so hot during the days, but the nights are so lovely.  It cools off nicely.  The fans positioned in the windows brings in such a lovely breeze and it's so cool and crisp all night long.  Then I keep the house all dark and shut up all day hoping to keep in the cool.  I have fans running and it feels good, but it's still hot.  I may cave in if this hot snap doesn't end soon.  I hate this sweating doing nothing!
    Well, I am going to go for now, hopefully it won't be so long before I update again.  It might settle down some day around here?!?! 

Who Me???!!!???

Whew... another MONTH has gone by and I haven't blogged a bit.  Guess you know what that means... Summer is HERE!!!

I can't sit still, I can't sit still... honestly I just can't!  One project after another.  I can't believe it.  My garden is coming along nicely.  It makes me smile to walk out there every day and see the fruits of my labor.  I am GROWING things!  It's happening for me!  I am pleased with what I have harvested so far.  Not much, but so far I have picked TONS of radishes, onions, one banana pepper, and 2, yep TWO RED strawberries!  I am constantly out there tinkering around.  Weeding, watering, looking, fertilizing.  It's time consuming, but I want a good bounty, so I'm busting my ass off trying to make that happen. I have onions, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, peas, green beans,tomatoes, spinach, and cantaloupe and watermelon planted.  So far everything has bloomed up and looking good all but a few tomato plants.  They look pretty puny.  I am just not sure what to think about them.  I am trying something different next year, that's for sure.  This year is pissing me off cause I have replanted them a couple times and still, they die out.  Grrr... and we LOVE tomatoes the most.  Those were what I was going to can and use the most.  Grrrr...

 We have a new family member now... The KUBOTA!  Bill finally got his RTV that he's been drooling over for years now.  It's brand NEW and all HIS.  He's so happy about his new toy.  He is finding a million and one uses for it on the farm, which is good cause it will help pay for it! Here we are taking it out for our very first family cruise and Mommy gets to drive!!!

We've been working to get the pool up and going at moms and that was a job getting the water in tip top shape.  We refuse to let anyone swim in cloudy nasty water, so it took almost two weeks to get the water just right.  Here is Brody on the day we filled the pool... of course he had to play in some water that day!

I am so busy all the time.  Cole's playing ball again this year and it's so much fun going to his games and watching him play.  He's grown and learned so much in the last year.  He's doing so good and he really really loves playing ball.  We are so proud of him and his team.  They are doing so well this year.  They've won all their games so far but two.  Even when they lost, they gave it their all and tried really hard.  He has a different coach this year.  Coach Elbe moved up with his son, so Cole gets coach Rigg this year.  He is so patient with the boys and does such a good job giving them positive reinforcement and they all just love him.  He's taught them so much.  He is actually the high school baseball coach, so if he sticks around one day he may be their coach again when they get older.  

 I have done so many projects this year in my yard.  I am the one taking care of the yard work this year.  I've been mowing like forrest gump!  I really enjoy it a lot.  I have modified a few things in the yard because of the fact that I am not fond of our weed eater!  I hit up the green house this week for another project.  I ended up wanting to put some perennials around our 911 sign.  I am sick of having to hand weed eat around it or to drag the weed eater out just for that little spot.  I am now proud of my new "garden" I have to lay the mulch out today.  I got it yesterday at walmart. For now here is my work in progress.  

 We spend so much time out on our patio and in the yard at this new house.  We just love it here.  I love it so much.  I just can't even describe how happy we are here at this house.  This move was the BEST decision Bill and I have ever made.  It was perfect for our family.  It really has completed us.  This property is the missing link to our family chain.  This is our house we are going to grow old in.  I am in LOVE with it.  

Mom and Dennis came out last weekend and camped out over at the pond, but before they camped and fished we roasted weenies and made s'mores over a camp fire with moms fire pit that Dennis brought out.  Beth's boys were out and Megan was here and the kids has such fun!

That night mom decided she wanted to get Bill and I a fire pit for our Anniversary next week.  What a fabulous idea!  She took me shopping this week and we bought my fire pit.  We spent an evening this week putting it together and then roasted some s'mores with the kids.  It was such a fun night.  I love my new fire pit!  

The day we got my fire pit I bought a couple chairs for the front of the house.  We have nothing to sit on out there if the boys are playing in the front yard.  I wanted something simple to put out up there to just have a nice seat to.  I fell in LOVE with these chairs and am so happy that I got them both for under $40.  What a steal.  Cushions too.  They were on sale.  I love a bargain.  

 I do all Bill's online ordering entry for Kruger for him and I spent many days helping him in the shed doing inventory.  I told him I want TWO things for all my work.  #1 I want new tires on my van.  He said YES.  #2 I wanted a new patio table and chairs set he said YES to that too.  I ended up going to Walmart and getting a 6 chair set on sale for under $200 and it was a $400 set I had had my eye on last year and lucky me found it on SALE yesterday and bought it!  Wooo hooo.  Best part yet was when I saw it on Wednesday  and when I went back to get it yesterday it had went down in price another $25 yet!  I got the whole set for $160 and was so HAPPY!!!! Here is my table and chairs.  I have spent the morning today working on putting them together.  I have the table done and half the chairs done but have to take a break.  The sun is too HOT on me right now.  I need to just take a break and go back out after lunch and finish up.  I want to eat out there tomorrow night for fathers day.  Bill wants me to make him BBQ Ribs and I plan on us having a nice family picnic.  It will be a nice evening.  

I am doing so good lately.  I have been staying steady with my weight loss up until this week.  I actually lost a couple pounds over the last few days.  I think it's because I have been out working so hard and sweating my butt off. Once I get re hydrated I am sure I will gain it back?  I am steady at 200 lbs lost.  I feel fantastic.  I have all this energy to burn.  I just can't seem to sit still.  I have been working on this blog off and on for two hours now.  I keep coming back to it when I take a break.  

I am proud of myself for all that I have accomplished in the last year and four months.  I never pictured myself here in this place over a year ago.  I never saw this coming!  Mentally I have gone through a lot too.  It's a lot to take in all this weight loss and thoughts running through my head.  It's just taking my head a long time to wrap around the new me.  I still find myself gravitating to the plus size section in the stores when actually I need mediums or larges.  It's crazy to me.  I can't seem to let go of the fat me.  Maybe that's a good thing, maybe not?  I don't ever want to forget it.  I never want to be in that miserable place again.  I love myself and my life too much for that.  NEVER will I allow myself to go back there.  

I have to finish this for now.  I have some paperwork to print off for Bill.  Till next time... I am just being me and loving every second of the new ME ME ME!!!!
 

Long one, but it's SUMMERTIME!!!!!

Whew, don't look now, but this year is flying by!  

So much going on in life it's too hard to sit down and take a minute to blog at times.  I feel horrible but here are some highlights...

I have developed a deep fondness for the outdoors, more than before.  I love going out and working in my garden.  I love taking care of the things I have planted in the ground.  I am proud to say so far I have growing, green onions, radishes, cucumbers, green beans, all sorts of pepper plants and 10 tomato plants if they all end up surviving.  I am so proud of my crop so far.  Everything looks healthy and happy and I hope all our efforts pay off!

I have been the sole caretaker of our yard this summer.  I have never had this responsibility before.  I really do enjoy climbing on that mower and mowing away.  It's some time to get in my own  head and not have a kid pulling or tugging on me or screaming at me for a change.  It's kinda some "me" time and I do enjoy it.  I sneak out to mow while Brody's still in bed in the mornings and then stop every 10 minutes to pop in and check in on him.  He sleeps through it all.  It's a win win situation!  Now that Cole's home from school, he will be in here to hear him wake up and he can come alert me to when he's awake.  Now I won't have to stop mowing every 10 minutes and can get the job done faster.  

Cole's home... yep, that's right.  Wednesday was his last day of school.  Schools out for summer.  Wow.  I can't believe I'm going to have a THIRD grader in the fall and a Pre Schooler.  My boys are getting so big.  Makes me happy, yet sad all at the same time.  I love that they are both growing up and experiencing new things, but I want to slow life down a bit and make them truly enjoy every second.  Time sure does fly right by.

Speaking of time... I can't tell you when the last time we were all together as a family was since last Sunday at noon.  I am not even joking.  Bill's gone out of the house most days before Cole gets up and he's been not getting in at home till after 11 at least.  I've been lucky enough to go with him on a couple seed runs to get some time with him, and Brody was with us, but Cole spent the night with my mom so he missed out on some daddy time.  Daddy's been really super busy lately.  He really tries to include us when he can, but it's not too convenient to drag along a wife and two kids when you are already in a hurry.  We end up getting to partake in the late at night trips.  Last night Brody and I rode with him over by Fountain Green to deliver some beans and didn't get home till after midnight.  A few more weeks and hopefully the hustle and bustle of planting will be over and next up, "slamming some hay" as Bill would say!  

Baseball... Cole's started practice and tonight was his scrimmage against the other Southeastern Suns team.  Our team won it was like 11-9.  Cole made TWO runs and caught a couple balls in the outfield to help get people out.  He's so proud of himself.  What a difference a year makes.  He seems totally more focused on his game and seems to know more about what is going on.  Monday night is his very first game of the year.  He's excited.  

Poor Cole... Ugh, this poor kid.  He got circumcised at birth and it's never been right.  Throughout the years I have begged them to do something with him and nobody will touch him.  They keep telling us he will "grow into it" and it's not happening.  Here he is almost 9 years old and it's started to get irritated and sore and bothersome to him.  Bill and I discussed it to great lengths with him and he is so ashamed.  This is why I was so demanding with the Dr's all these years.  I didn't want it to have to come to this, but we finally had to take him to a specialist last week.  He needs re circumcised and the Dr said it almost looks like nothing was done in the first place.  Ugh.  Poor kid.  It makes me tear up and cry to think about it.  He's getting it done July 9th in Peoria at OSF.  It's an out patient procedure.  We have to be at the hospital at 11:30 a.m. and they will do the surgery at 1:30pm.  It's only supposed to take about 30-45 minutes and the Doctor assured us that he would be in bad pain for only a couple days and then mild pain for a week and limited activity for another week after that, such as no swimming.  We just want it fixed and fixed right.  Poor guy.  My heart just breaks for him.  I know it's the right thing to do, but I am a nervous nelly about it all.  I don't want him to have to go through any of this at all.  Bottom line, it should have been dealt with YEARS ago. Good news is this is getting done right after baseball, basketball camp and right BEFORE our Alaska trip.  Perfect timing.   

Alaska... Yep, we leave on July 28th and fly From Peoria to Minnesota and then Minnesota to Seattle where we get on a ship for a week and set sail for Alaska and Canada.  We are taking Cole with us.  He is so excited and the poor kid really will deserve this trip after all he's been through that month.  We are traveling with the cruise line Holland America on the Ms. Westerdam.  It's a new cruise line for us, but Kruger has used them in the past and say they are excellent.  Leaving Brody behind for a whole week will be tough and I am praying there will be no set backs with him and his sensory progress, because he's actually growing up and doing so good. We fly back into Peoria August 5th at 9 pm. so we won't be home till almost midnight, but hey, we will be home!  I am going to LOVE spending some time with Cole one on one, he deserves this.  He does get the short end of the stick a lot of the time because of Brody's problems, and Bill and I can't wait to give him some much needed time with just the two of us.  He's so flipping excited for this trip.  He just doesn't even know what to expect.  He's never been on a plane or a boat, so this will be all new to him.  I can't wait to capture it all on camera and see his reaction to it all!  

Shawn's launching... no longer does he have failure to launch!  He is in the process of buying a house in Denver.  It's a three bedroom cute little house.  He's super excited and mom and I are even more excited to get in there and get busy working on it for him.  My baby brother is growing up and I am so happy for him!  

Our Anniversary... June 26th Bill and I will celebrate our 13th anniversary.  Wow I can't believe it.  We've been together over 15 years now.  I've almost spent half my life with him, give or take a few months!  We've come so far in 15 years.  I love that man more than life itself.  I am so proud of him for all he's done for us and our family.  He's the best husband and father.  I am truly blessed to have had this man stand beside me for the last 15 years and go through all of life's trials and tribulations with me.  He's my everything and I am so grateful he loves and accepts me back.  My heart just grows fonder of him with every passing day and I am so happy that we found each other in life and can grow old together.  He's my soul mate. 

Brody... Yep, he passed his preschool screening.  He is qualified for three years of pre k because of his birthday being before Sept 1st.  So we have a plan in place for him to work on evolving into the regular pre k class.  First year he is going to be in Mrs. Sprinkles class and it's limited to under 10 students so hopefully he will adjust well with the smaller classroom setting.  2nd year they will work on moving him between the bigger class and Mrs. Sprinkles class.  The 3rd year hopefully he can handle full time with the regular class.  We have to get a prescription from the Dr. for him to have OT and PT at school and they will come weekly and work with him.  This will be awesome because she will help us recognize the sensory issues and help give us suggestions on how to best work him through them.  I am excited to have an OT on hand working with him weekly.  This excites me because with just one four hour OT session back in Feb, we sure did learn a lot and he has advanced a LOT with the changes we've made working with him.  I can't wait to see his progress from regular OT sessions.   We have been sitting on the potty sometimes.  He hasn't done anything, but he is taking an interest in what's going on when you are in the bathroom.  He notices we pee and poop in the potty and he want's to TRY to do it, but other than sitting there for a few minutes, he's had no progress yet.  He is still taking many baths a day if he gets worked up.  That's okay with me.  He goes in there, settles himself down and comes out buck naked running when he's happy and done.   I can't keep this kid inside at all.  If the doors are open, he can get the screen doors open himself and you might think hes in his room playing when really he's out playing with his sand box, or swing set, or cruising in his cozy coupe car!  If he hears Daddy pull in, he's OUT that door faster than I can get NO out of my mouth!  He loves to run out to the shed and ride with Bill on the fork lift and load seed for people.  He enjoys that so much.  It's funny how he KNOWS what Bill is here to do and if it has to do with that fork lift, he's all over it!

Tonight is "Girls night out" and I can't wait.  I need me some friend time.  The "Chippendales" are coming to the Peacock tonight and a bunch of us are going to eat at Los Charros Mexican and then go see the Chippendales.  It should be a blast.  I love my friends.  I can't wait to spend time with them!!!

My weight loss... Right now I am sitting right at 200 lbs lost.  I haven't lost much at all lately, but I do notice my clothes getting bigger still and with all my physical activity I am almost certain I am building up muscle tone.  I notice that I am not near as flabby.  It's taken some time, but things are toning up nicely.  I am wearing anywhere from a size 14, which I have to hold up with a belt to a 10-12 depending on the brand and fit.  I am in Med-Lg-XL shirts, however I am noticing that my XL stuff looks a bit baggy and sloppy, so I am thinking I need to just go on down to a large top.  I have been having fun garbage sailing because I am finding so much stuff for myself now.  It's kinda fun!   Not just jewelry or shoes either, but clothes!   Today I really made a haul on Brody.  I got him a TON of clothes for $9  I was so happy about that.  Tons of summer shirts and a few shorts and a few pants for the fall.  He needed the shirts.  

I have so much going on I just can't sit still.  I am so happy it's summer time and I can get busy and get things done without having to worry about getting home in time for the bus or stopping what I am doing to wait on Cole.  I love this time with my boys.  I can't wait for swimming and sun and fun!!!!!!

April hustle and bustle

Things have been pretty nuts around here.  I've taken on this "garden" project and have really been spending a lot of time taking care of it.  Then I decided to develop my flower gardens.  I bought a crap ton of pavers when they were on sale last Thursday and went to town.  I ended up having to make two trips to Macomb Thursday just to finish my project.  Over 200 bricks and 35 bags of mulch later I can say my flower beds are set up and ready for my planters.  I have been working hard on potting up some flowers to place in my gardens.  I have decided not to plant the flowers directly in the ground, but to place planters throughout the beds.  It looks really really nice and I am super happy with the way it has all turned out!  Proud of myself for doing it ALL with NO HELP!  I am so happy about that.  It's something I have accomplished on my own and it actually turned out GREAT!  I am so proud!  

I helped sort and pass out the little Caesars pizzas last Friday at the school with the PTO, and then I got to do some pre under one roof garage sale shopping.  I ended up bringing home a small tv for Brody's room, in case his 7 year old tv bites the dust, if it ever does, we will be in BIG trouble, so for $3 to have an extra on hand is pretty awesome!  I just put it in his bedroom closet to have just in case!    I got me a couple pairs of dress shoes and then got a few shirts and Cole picked out a ton of books.  

Saturday I took the boys up to Conn Communication to make a stepping stone to support the WOW park.  It's my mothers day gift from the boys.  They turned out super cute and I am so happy with them.  I have to go get them picked up and then they can go in my flower bed.  I can't wait!  I'm excited to show them off!  They were both so proud of them!  

Yesterday I made up some beef and noodles for Sunday lunch.  Jenny & Joe joined us and we had a nice time, but it wasn't the same cause Keith and Bev were gone on their anniversary trip.  We missed lunch at "grandma's house"  That's something the boys look forward to every week and this is two weeks in a row now that we have not been there because she's been gone for two weeks!  Hopefully next weekend we can get back into the swing of things?  I think Brody is missing out on doing the dishes!  

I planted my pepper plants yesterday afternoon and the damn ground squirrel was spotted out there soon after munching on them.  Damn thing.  He taunts me when I mow and now he's eating my garden.  He's going to get some poison down his yard holes.  I am sick of him!  He's ugly and sneaky and he's pissing me off!

We fired up the charcoal grill for our supper and cooked up a few steaks.  Bev and Keith came home and they joined us for supper.  After we ate, the boys and I took a country cruise with Bill and it was a fantastic way to end our day.  

Today I ran some errands, paid Bill's and then hit up county market and the drug store and came home to fold and put away all our laundry.  I heated up leftovers for supper and was finally sitting down to enjoy my evening when Brody woke up crying.  This is pretty unusual for him, but I assumed he was crying cause he had fallen asleep on the floor and was scared not knowing where he was?  He came out to the living room and I soon discovered why he was so upset.  He had vomit all over him.  I got him in the tub, started the washing machine and ended up having to throw out his area rug because he puked ALL over it.  I got him all cleaned up and took his temp.  It was 102.3  He was weak and miserable.  He slept off and on on my lap and within an hour was puking up again.  He lasted about another hour and puked again.  Poor fella.  I feel so bad for him.  He had another bath and is in bed sleeping now.  I hope he's puked out.  He's pretty pale and weak and looks just plain miserable.  

I'm thinking Cole's not feeling the best either.  He fell asleep in his room at 7:15 and has been in bed every since.  He woke up once to go pee and went right back to sleep.  These boys must have gotten some bug?  Hope it's a fast moving one and they both get to feeling better by morning.

Friday was Brody's preschool screening.  I forgot all about that.  He did well.  He didn't do so well in the hallway when we first got there because there were too many people and he freaked out a bit.  He hates too many people.  One on one with the lady he did pretty amazing.  I was proud of him.  There are a few areas he does still need lots of work, but we can address those and work on them from now till school starts.  We meet with the principal and the early intervention group and all his therapists in May and set up his plan of care and where they will put him and discuss his goals and make sure we are all on the same page with his disorder.  He's progressed so much in so little time and we are happy with the small changes we have made and how much he has changed with our changes.  It's working.  

I am just plain wore out today.  I am not sure what's going on?  Maybe I am just getting this bug, or maybe I am just doing too much?  I wonder if I'm just wore out from all that I've been doing and not used to.  The energy is there to do the stuff, but it seems to take all I have to get myself going every day.  I am just pooped from the time I get out of bed till the time I crawl back in.  That's before I even do anything to get that wore out.  I don't know if it's that or if I am getting low on some blood counts or something?  I guess we will wait it out and see what comes up?  Maybe a few days of rest and laziness will help me out some?  Maybe I need to take a few days off?  With these boys not feeling well, I don't see that happening though.  ugh.

Well I am off to bed.  Hopefully there will be no puking through the night and I can get a good nights sleep.  Hopefully the boys can too.  Poor kids.  

Love days like this...

I absolutely love days like today.  I woke up, got breakfast for everyone, got the kids all dressed and ready for the Easter Egg Hunts in Carthage.  Last night we had all went Roller skating for the W.O.W. park fundraiser and had a ball.  We had already came home and had showers for all, so now we just had to get up and ready today. 

We went to the Square first and they had fun.  Brody was quite flustered with all the people.  He was upset and screamed and cried the whole time, minus the time that we got to hunt eggs.  He was throwing such a fit and not having fun at all.  I decided to take him to moms to sit out the next hunt.  He's such a mess around so many people with his sensory processing disorder.  I tried to make him stay and enjoy it, but it wasn't happening.  Mom was happy to keep him, thank goodness.  I didn't want to ruin the next hunt for the other kids!

They all made out like bandits today!  We ate lunch at Moms I got Chinese and the kids had DQ and blizzards.  I shared my  Chinese with Carla Rodeffer.  I ended up drinking too soon after lunch and my tummy couldn't take it and I puked for the first time in a long time.  I hate to puke, but I do feel so much better once I do.  What a waste of money. 

We came home and I put the pork loin in the oven for supper and for lunch tomorrow.  Tonight's loin I put italian dressing on it and injected it with it and baked it low and slow.  For tomorrows I injected with coke, brown sugar, honey and some liquid smoke.  I cooked it low and slow and then shredded it up into bbq pork and added bbq sauce and put it in the crock pot for tomorrow.  I will turn it on and it will be yummy for lunch at Bev's.  I also made up some cheesy tater casserole.  I am also making a seven layered salad.  Bevs making baked beans and some slaw and maybe some "thunder cake" from Cole's reading book.   It's a recipe he wants to try for dessert!

I went out and mowed the yard.  Brody went with Bill to deliver seed and so I had some relaxing time with just me and my mower!  I got it all mowed and then raked on my garden some more. 

LeeVi and Megan are here spending the night with Cole.  They have been outside playing ALL day long.  They are all having so much fun!  It's almost bed time and I am pooped.  We went with Bill to shut up cattle and just got done with supper.  It's been such a great day.  I just love days like this.

All that mowing and weeds blowing around has my head aching.  Now I took a couple benadryl and tylenol and plan on hitting the hay now.  Night night!