Sad Loss and Spring Pigs

We got some sad news this afternoon that my mom's uncle "Slug" passed away. There just aren't many guys like Uncle Slug around....he was a great guy with a quirky sense of humor. Since he and Aunt Geraldine do their laundry at least once a week in the laundromat next door to my office, Preston and Quincy see them all the time, and they are pretty sad. They have had a ton of questions too, as this is the first real loss that they have known in their little lives. We will all really miss Slug, until we meet again someday.

We also made a trip to our pig raising friend's house this evening to look over the choices for 4-H hogs. The kids really had a great time looking at all the babies. They really are cute although I never in a million years thought that I would be one to admit to liking pigs....what have you done to me Grace???

Madison is in love with these little Durocs. They are sweet with their little flopping ears! I think she will be getting one, however I am worried that when it is time to sell she will be too attached. It might be better to buy an uglier pig!

And just a small update - the grill worked great. Cam had a wonderful time cooking on it, and I must say he is turning into a fine grilling chef! Notice the marshmallow? That is the best part of open fire as far as he is concerned!

Jim returns tomorrow from his training classes. I really miss him, and can't wait for him to get home. The kids feel the same. Life is better when we are together!

Tuesday

Jim left for Wichita early this morning. He will be home on Thursday. The kids didn't give him too much grief about leaving this morning, they will save it for me tonight! I got really 'smart' and killed the lunch hour by feeding Preston and Quincy in the car and running some errands - including purchasing the stuff for their Easter parties at school....this way they didn't notice that Jim never came home for lunch - that will be tomorrow's big sorrow!! Now we are waiting for the boys to get home from school and we are going to wear ourselves out at the park. Luckily this time with Jim gone should be easier since winter sports are over and the summer ones haven't started yet. The girls have track practice, but the school runs a bus for that, so I don't have to worry about getting them anywhere. Jim didn't pick the dates for this, but it did work out a little better! I have a huge amount of respect for all the single parents out there...honestly I don't know how you do it. These few training sessions have also given me a new appreciation for my husband, and all the stuff he does around here - especially the stuff I hate doing like taking out trash!

Gettin' ready for Easter

I mentioned that we attended the nursing home's annual egg hunt this weekend. It doesn't seem to matter what weekend they decide to do this, it is ALWAYS cold and windy!

The 4-H club also made little baskets for the residents. I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but they turned out really cute, they were made from little plastic cups with ears and a tail on the back and the kids drew little rabbit faces on the front. I have to remember this for the future.

Even though it was cold, Preston and Quincy still found a lot of candy, and they had a good time. Colin also enjoyed hiding the candy and posing it up with his friend the big rabbit!

recap of the "sad" weekend

The little ones were disappointed in the 4-H swimming party being postponed. It will happen but not this Saturday - and their mom was dumb enough to tell them where we were going - had I been quiet about it no sadness would have occurred.

The older ones (including Jim and me) were disappointed in the Cats not showing up to play in their elite 8 game. Cam nearly lost his mind entirely over it! I am sure it will take us a long time to get over that loss!

The nursing home had an Easter egg hunt, which we attended, but Harper was sad because it was so cold and windy that I tried to keep her head covered with a blanket - she really hates that! The 4-H club helped decorate baskets for the residents and hide eggs for the kids...good for community service time that the girls still need to get in before Confirmation in the fall!

Overall, I would say that this was one disappointing weekend! I don't want to be a negative poster though, so we did have a few good things go on this weekend. No sports - none! That meant that we had a weekend at home to get caught up a little bit. That was nice. Also, Jim and Colin got a lot done on the basement, I am really starting to feel that we will be able to finish and get the kids moved around in the next few weeks. We found our upstairs hallway and unblocked the entrance to the upstairs bathroom (thank you Madison). We had stored some stuff to be sorted out up there and it was really out of control. We still have a ways to go, but it is looking lots better! And we will be getting our hands on some baby pigs this week, the kids are really excited about that! Jim is attending the last (that I know of) city clerk training class in Wichita this week. The kids are not any more excited this time than they were the last 2 times. However, I am hoping that with the forcast being for 70+ degree weather the time will go much faster. We got our garden tilled and ready to be planted. I say bring on the warm weather! I am looking forward to a busy Holy Week!

Elite 8!

Harper says GO CATS!!

The rest of us say we hope that this game isn't as tense as the last one!

One Man's Trash....

Friday is trash day in Overbrook, so it is common for people to put stuff at the curb on Thursday afternoon. Yesterday, Cameron took Quincy for a walk. About 20 minutes later I hear Quincy screaming at the top of her lungs, sounding like someone was beating her. Here came Cameron dragging home a grill...it was at the end of our neighbor's driveway with their trash. He saw it and decided since our grill died last fall we needed a new one. So he brought it home. Wonder why Quincy was howling? Well - because she thought he stole it, and stealing is BAD!! It is good to know she has been listening and learning!

Actually, it is a very nice grill...I am not sure why the neighbors were throwing it out! Even though it is a gas grill, it has the place for charcoal (which is what I like). We will try it out this weekend! If it works, then I have to go back to the drawing board on a Father's Day gift for Jim. And now that I have posted this on the internet, I guess it is official, we really are 'those' people!!

ears and spring snakes

Today was Quincy's appointment with the Ear Nose and Throat doctor. We have used this doctor in the past, and I really do like him! He walked us through her history, and examined her ears today, and they have significant fluid behind the eardrum (I guess this is a bad thing?). We have decided to go ahead with getting tubes and she is going to have her adenoids out at the same time. I do not like putting my children through surgery, and especially if its not absolutely necessary, however in this case we think that the benefits far outweigh the consequences of not doing this little surgical procedure. So she will have all this done in mid-April. They said to expect for her to feel a little under the weather for about 2 days. That doesn't sound too awful!


The appointment with Quincy ran a little bit long, and we weren't here when the boys got home from school. I truly trust them to come home from school, fix themselves a snack, do their homework etc. They called to say that they made it home and were playing in the yard. They then proceeded to tell us that they caught a new "pet" snake. I like snakes and lizards and don't mind them bringing one home now and then....usually we try to figure out what type it is, show it to the neighbor who is housebound and enjoys seeing them, and then turn them loose. And since I have been craving spring like mad, I was even quite happy with the find, figuring if you find a snake, the weather really must be turning warmer! I was not quite as pleased to find out from Colin later in the evening that he had saved the snake mostly because it bit him on the leg and he was worried it might be poisonous! Well, at least if it had been poison we could tell the ER what type of snake it was!! We will watch for infection, but I don't really think this little guy is going to kill him! I do think he was probably mad because Colin and Cam interrupted his first meal of the spring though! He has been safely released into the field behind the house now! Grace put some nice cardinal photos on her blog to show spring - well we just aren't that nice around here!!!

She Rolls!!

This morning while I was at work I laid Harper on the floor. She was enjoying stretching and talking to her hands. All of the sudden, she started screaming bloody murder. I turned around to see that she was on her stomach -- apparently she hadn't planned this out very well because she didn't like it! As soon as I put her back on her back she was happy again - until the next time she rolled over - this was a cycle for about an hour when I got tired and put her in the swing!!

Basement update

Jim and Colin are still plugging away on the basement remodeling. They have gotten all of the stud walls erected, most of the doors hung, some of the sheet rock hung, and some of the painting of the floors done. The kids have all worked really hard to start sorting and getting rid of some of the "stuff" that has accumulated in the basement for the past 10 years! My hope is to have everyone moved in to the new rooms, and old rooms re-painted and moved around by the time summer break starts, because I know how summers go around here!

Spring Break's over!

This is a photo from the Murder Mystery party that the girls attended the other night. Madison had to dress as a man, Mallory ended up being the murderer. They had a really fun time. They have a pretty great bunch of friends - really I feel very blessed that they are such nice kids, and that they do these things rather than alternative recreational activities that I have heard other kids their ages do!

That brings me to the point of the post, that spring break is over. Tonight is a school night. The boys are pretty sad about it. The girls are not so much. They are getting pretty excited about finishing up 8th grade and starting high school. They keep telling me that they only have 8 weeks left! Them finishing grade school makes me feel a little sad....mostly because I can remember how fast high school flew by!

We had our St. Patrick's dinner at church today. The weather made the turn out a little less than I remember in years past, but I still think it was a success! And since we had such a huge lunch I am thinking I am off the hook for cooking dinner - I think pb&j are where its at! I always enjoy visiting with everyone and today was a lot of fun. So much of the time by the time I sit through mass with the kids and spend that time trying to get them all to sit still, be quiet, listen, learn, etc. I just sprint to the door and fly home, so it is nice once in a while to hang out and visit with people!

And Wrestling finale

Colin wrestled in the District Tournament today. The top 4 places got to go to the state tournament. He was really wanting and hoping to make it, but unfortunately he had a tough day on the mats and is now finished with the season.

I have learned so much about wrestling in the past 3 years, and I have to say the thing that stands out to me is that this is just not a sport for wimps (or wimpy mothers). He works very hard, in practice, and in tournaments. We are very proud of you Colin - and we know you will get there someday and it will be so sweet when you do!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to the tournament today. We got about 6 inches of snow and since we had to be there early we were sure that the roads would not be in good condition. It made us nervous to have to drag the little ones out on bad roads etc. so I stayed home. Jim texted me the results as they happened, but it is not the same. (Although I did really appreciate it).

Some of the kids' other activities have been cancelled for today, so we are just planning to cheer on the Cats and take it easy for the afternoon and evening.

spring break zoo trip

I took the kids to the Topeka zoo today. The zoo has gotten a lot of bad media attention lately, with some animal deaths and other stuff, but I still really like this little zoo. Of course, I have always said it is about my speed, you can see a few kinds of animals and walk through the whole zoo in about an hour. And of course, there is a really cool park right across the street which Jim and I loved going to as kids and our kids love it as well!

You might notice that there are a couple of kids missing from the zoo trip photos. Harper has not been feeling well, I decided a day out was not really going to make her happier, so she spent the day rocking with grandma. Cameron refused to make a trip to the zoo when KSU was going to be playing in the NCAA tournament! He also stayed with grandma, in order to catch the whole game!

Spring break is really flying by! Tomorrow we have to go to help clean the church kitchen for the St. Patrick's dinner. Saturday Colin is wrestling in the District tournament, Sunday of course is the dinner at church, and I am hoping that the weather will be good enough for us to go to purchase our 4-H pigs, and then we are right back into school, schedules, track practices, homework and whatever else. It does seem that once the kids go back from spring break it doesn't take long for summer to arrive.

Spring break is not shaping up the way I planned...

In my little imaginary land, every kid stays healthy, the weather is always warm, nobody has any fights, the places I need to go are always open, projects go smoothly and things easily fall into place. My little imaginary land does not exist! At least not here on earth!

Today I took Harper to the doctor. She was very fussy yesterday, was up a lot in the night and spent the whole morning (starting at 4:30) crying, fussing and screaming. Turns out, she has nothing wrong with her that they can see. If I was a betting woman, I would say that she has the beginnings of ear infections, but they could not see anything in there today. She is resting now thanks to a nice healthy dose of Tylenol. There are advantages to children developing speech, but since my older ones have been using their speaking abilities to argue with each other, I am not sure if I would want Harper to start talking right now or not!

Tomorrow is a new day and I am planning to enjoy it!

3 Months

Harper is 3 months old today! I decided to take some photos of her, but as you can see what started out as very happy time ended after several minutes of my playing with the camera! She is a very happy baby generally though! After 3 months Harper has had 3 colds, one ear infection, been to multiple basketball games, wrestling tournaments, 4-H meetings, church events, and line dancing performances. This will likely be the theme for her life with all these siblings involved in everything!

The kids are on spring break! They are enjoying laid back days and sleeping in. I am enjoying having them all home and easy going schedules!

Somehow I have gotten behind on the kids shot schedules (I am going to blame the state since they have apparently added some shots to the recommended or required list and somehow I had neglected to get them done or even know about them) so we have been going a couple kids at a time to get caught up. Today I took Colin, Cameron and Quincy. Quincy for some strange reason thought she WANTED a shot - I guess since everyone else was getting one she had felt left out. I am not sure she remembered a couple months ago when she had to get her first dose, but she was sorely disappointed today with her 'turn'!! I think we are now all caught up for the moment - at least I hope so because I really don't enjoy spending a nice afternoon like today in town!

Jim and Colin are doing a pretty good job with the basement finishing. I will take some photos to post soon. They have gotten all the stud walls built and are in the process of hanging sheet rock. I still have yet to help them, but I was told that my skills would be needed soon with mudding sheet rock and painting. Mallory painted her own bedroom floor, and it turned out pretty good...I decided I was against putting carpet in the basement in case of any water issues in the future. I am excited about getting everyone moved around and organized!

dance finale

The 4-H line dance went to Regional 4-H club day today. Despite several people missing, the group did an excellent job! And most importantly, they are done with practicing!

Madison was also on a Gavel Games team. They had a few minor flub ups, but overall they did really well also! And again, no more practices for this so there is relief involved!

And a post just wouldn't be a post without a photo of Harper...besides is there anything more peaceful than a sleeping baby?

Colin wrestled in Sub-District action today. Jim took him to Holton, and he had a great day! He got 2nd place!! We are very proud of him. This means we are on to Districts. He will of course have to continue to win in order to keep going, but we are excited for today!

Also on today's agenda, we attended a baby shower for one cousin and a bridal shower for another. Big family fun! I should mention in here that Jim returned safe and sound, much to the delight of his children and wife who missed him! He said that the classes were good and he learned a lot. He also said that Grace makes awesome fajitas and that I should probably ask her for the recipe.

Now we are just counting down the minutes until the tip off for the big 12 championship! GO STATE!!!

Daddy Come Back!

The natives are getting restless!!

Counting down...

Jim is in another training class in Wichita. He left early this morning, and we are already counting down the minutes until he gets back. With both of us working here in town, we get to have lunch together every day. Preston and Quincy were not amused when daddy didn't come in at the usual time. Its not that we don't function without him, just that he keeps things a lot more interesting and entertaining than I do. I am a slave driving, rule making, chore passing, mean momma! It is a title that I am proud of though!

The kids are also counting down the days until spring break from school. Preston had his last day of preschool today - I got a good chuckle out of the kids leaving and saying "I'll miss you during our 11 days off!" Must have been a class project to count the days off? I am really, sincerely hoping that the weather is warm, as I have promised Quincy a trip to the zoo. She brought home a book from school last week about zoos, and was sad to realize that she has never been to the zoo that she could remember.

Madison is going to run track, and Mallory has been asked to be the manager. Track practice starts today, and there is a parent meeting afterwards. Fully aware that I am perhaps a horrible mother for admitting this, but I hate these parent meetings! Really, I don't need to have a meeting where they tell me that they expect that my children will behave on the bus, show up daily for practice, do as they are told, not smoke, drink, or do drugs during the season (I expect them to never do this, EVER). Seems like a no-brainer, but I suppose if they didn't have these meetings then there would be all sorts of people whose pot smoking kid gets kicked off the team and they say "you never said...." it is probably a no-win for the school. So I will go and paste on a happy face while I sit there and have them explain the obvious. And then tomorrow night I will go back to Carbondale once again for them to explain to me how we are going to raise enough money for the girls 8th grade class to afford a dance after graduation. And in case you are wondering, I am not too thrilled about that meeting either - for 2 reasons - first, if you want a graduation dance that is fine -but fundraising? Why can't they just use the gym, have some people donate decorations, and others donate drinks, snacks etc. Play some music, call it a dance and BINGO - kids are happy? and the other reason is that they specifically said "NO children" allowed on the note. Why? What are we going to be saying that the kids can' t hear? UUUUGGG is what I say, but in the name of playing nice and being a 'good' mom I suppose I will drag my happy carcass over there and see what part I can contribute to the happy 8th grade graduation! OK rant over!

basketball finale

Cameron's team played in a tournament today to wrap up their season. It wasn't their best game, but in fairness, it wasn't the best officiating I have ever seen either! I think that they have learned a lot about the sport, and they had fun so that is what counts. Well, that and the season is OVER so now we can move on to spring/summer sports!





















Colin is attending a wrestling clinic in Lenexa today, getting ready for the end of the season district and state action. From here on out he has to win in order to keep wrestling, so it will all depend on him on how much longer we keep going to tournaments.








Harper is feeling a little better after the shot episode this week. She really had a rough couple of days! We got in lots of snuggle time for sure!

Tonight Harper and I are helping with a PTO book bingo night, the girls are attending a murder mystery party and Jim and the rest of the kids are going to his brother's house for our niece and nephew's birthday party. I am looking forward to spending tomorrow trying to find the bottom layer of our household clutter and finishing the laundry!



Mallory is taking an art class at school and they are doing some project...she made these paper roses to decorate her project with. I thought they turned out really cool!

Sad baby

Harper got her 2 month shots today. It might be a coincidence, but she spent the past 3 hours crying her little eyes out. Nothing seemed to help...even the Tylenol. I know it is for her own good, but I still feel bad!

Preston got his kindergarten shots today also. I told him if he sat good for it I would buy him a 'prize' at walmart afterwards. I didn't mean that he couldn't cry, but he sat on the table and said "I won't cry this doesn't hurt" the whole time. He got 5 shots, so I thought that was a pretty brave reaction! He got some sort of a coveted Power Ranger guy which is a head in a jar. Nice!