The Ryners

Babies, Babies, Babies!

2010-03-03T20:24:00.002-06:00

Brooke's favorite

2010-03-03T12:55:00.003-06:00

Now that Brooke knows that her steer, Beefy, will only work for her, he is her favorite. In fact, she won't even let anyone else touch him, let along walk him. We had to pull him in the barn last night to treat his sore foot and only SHE was going to walk him into the chute. He's come so far in the last couple months..... and so has she! He got 2nd in his class which meant that she was able to take him back in the ring for the Champion Maine Drive. Pretty exciting for just her 2nd year showing at Expo! We were very proud and she was too!

the one that got away....

2010-03-03T12:52:00.002-06:00

literally! Blake's heifer got away from him twice in the showring. Once, she took off running across the ring kicking her feet in the air. Dumb thing. Oh well, Blake went right back up and grabbed her both times. She might be stupid, but she's cute - I love her white feet!

Beef Expo - Brooke (Part 1 continued)

2010-03-03T12:49:00.004-06:00

I'm having a bit of trouble getting pictures posted. These are pictures of Brooke during the Heifer Show at Expo. She got 8th out of 12 in the commercial heifer class. I don't care what any judge says, we love Sunny and think she's darn cute!!

Beef Expo - Brooke (Part 1 continued)

2010-03-03T12:49:00.001-06:00

Beef Expo - Part 1

2010-03-03T12:45:00.003-06:00

Brooke's heifer, Sunny, is just a fat little thing. Notice how she has her feed pan and the steer's pan in front of her. At one point, she was laying on her side with her head in her feed pan. Now that's the life!

2010 Illinois Beef Expo

2010-03-02T08:49:00.002-06:00

We are all exhausted from being gone all weekend to the Beef Expo. This is a really big show, almost like the State Fair. There were about 1000 head of cattle there this weekend. I was pretty nervous about going this year. Of the 3 calves we took, 2 of them are not too cooperative. Blake's heifer likes to run and kick ...... in the show ring! Brooke's steer won't walk or cooperate for anyone but her. Plus, last year at Expo, Brooke had a major meltdown going into the ring. We just about didn't get her in there! But now...

This year the kids did AWESOME!!!! I could not be any prouder of Brooke! She knows that her steer (Beefy) will only work for her so she really stepped it up at Expo! She walked him all over the fairgrounds - to and from the wash rack, to and from the trailer, and to and from the ring. It's amazing how he acts for her. I'm not sure why either - maybe because he doesn't want to hurt her since she's young or maybe it's just that she is so comfortable and calm with him. He has been shown twice and both times was a real jerk for Emily who was showing him. Not this time - he was absolutely PERFECT for Brooke in the ring! In fact, she got 2ND in class with him! She did such a fantastic job. So much more relaxed and confident in that ring. She received so many compliments. In fact, she finally told me to stop telling her what a good job she did......

In the heifer show, Brooke also did a wonderful job with "Sunny", her commercial heifer who weighs a whopping 883 pounds. That's a lot!! She's as fat as she is tall which didn't work to her advantage. She got 8th out of 11 in her class. She is not out with the brood cows at home - kind of on a "diet". Not too many heifers are put on a diet, but we don't want her belly to start dragging the ground! We'll get her whipped into shape before the next show, which is March 27th in Roseville (WIU Hoof 'n Horn show).

Blake really struggled with his heifer in the ring. She had gotten away from him Friday night when we were practicing in the ring and the halter burnt his hand. Needless to say, he was a little nervous taking her into the show. She got away from him twice during the show. One time she ran across the ring just a runnin' and a kickin'! That didn't earn her any points either! He always went right back and took the lead, but he was pretty frustrated. We were, too. He got last in his class. The problem is - Blake has had Reserve Champion Steer at the Prime Beef Festival for the last two years, so he thinks he should win every class he's in! He has the right attitude I guess!! So "Peanut" is going to get some work this weekend and she will hopefully get out of her running issues! It's really hard to show those calves at night like we do for the Heifer Show. I really wish they would change the time of that. Those calves are ready to eat and lay down, not be standing in a chute getting fitted up for an hour and then drug in to the ring.

I have some pictures to upload later. (right now, I'm posting while my students are taking ISAT tests.....)

Tired Yet????

2010-03-02T08:44:00.003-06:00

I'm sure everyone is just about tired of reading about our calves, but I just can't help but talk about them. I never imagined in my whole 36 years of life that I would be so in love with cattle. When I say "in love", I mean it - I'd rather work with the calves than do anything else. My house might not be clean, we might be eating a lot of processed food, but my calves are clean and look really good! I have about 10 more loads of laundry to do after being gone to Illinois Beef Expo this weekend, but it will get done eventually, won't it? That darn laundry fairy should be showing up any day now! Until she arrives, I guess I will just have to do it myself.

We are up to 5 new babies now. We have 2 crossbred bull calves that I'm hoping we can show as steers - Buddy and Oreo. Oreo has incredible coloring and I'm thinking he'd look pretty good in the show ring at about 900 pounds! We also have a Maine Cross heifer and now in the past 2 days, we have 2 Angus heifer calves. Brooke's heifer's baby is named Susie, and one of the Angus heifers is Glory. The other one was born this morning so I'm sure the kids will have her named after school.

They are at the point now where they run through the lots 100 miles per hour in a little group with their tails sticking straight out. Sure are a lot of fun to watch! I'm wanting to get out there with my camera this weekend and get some pictures. Hopefully I'll put some on here at the end of the weekend!

Buddy

2010-02-14T21:46:00.003-06:00

In December we bought 10 bred cows in hopes of building a small cattle herd someday! Well, we're already at 11!! The first cow, Black Betty, had a little bull calf on Feb. 9th. His name is 'Buddy'! He is way cute! Betty didn't have enough milk during the first couple days so we gave him a few bottles to help him get started. The kids loved feeding him. It's funny how much more they like helping with chores when they know they can go out and see him. He is very friendly and his mama doesn't care that the kids are absolutely all over him! Jeff has asked several times why we weren't interested in calves when he was having 200-250 cow/calf pairs every year. I sure wish we were into them back then. We would have been a lot more help to him. He is quick to remind me that he didn't need my help then! I don't think he appreciates all the help he has now! We are learning so much. If someone would have told me 3 years ago that I would love cattle as much as I do, I would have laughed! I have tried to convince Jeff to let me quit teaching to raise cattle, but he hasn't bought in to that idea yet! My father in law, John, and I just love it! We make quite a team! My girlfriends just can't believe that I love cattle as much as I do. I know my family and friends get pretty tired of me talking about them all the time. But I DO LOVE THEM!!!

Donkeys!!!

2010-02-14T21:41:00.001-06:00

Jeff and I decided that we needed a donkey! They are really good for breaking calves and keeping your cattle in a close group. I found an ad about some for sale in southern Illinois so I sent Jeff on an ass trip! Literally! He brought home Annie, who is 2 years old, and Pondi, who is 7 months old. She is soooo cute! They are all ears for sure! Very friendly and the kids just love them. Whenever we pull in the drive, we roll the window down to hear Pondi braying at us! Don't know if I'll like that on early mornings when the windows are open in the house though! We've already used Annie twice and she's done a nice job of breaking a couple steers. They sure are fun to have around and have been a great addition to our little farm family!

Skiing

2010-02-14T21:35:00.002-06:00

Brooke and Blake went skiing this winter. It was Brooke's first time and Blake's second. We met the Ryner cousins there and Rachel went with us, too. They had so much fun! Blake was quite good, but Brooke was a bit more cautious. She preferred to go down the hill when NO one else was on it! That didn't happen too often. Blake was going over jumps before the day was over. He has no fear! What he lacks in fear, Brooke makes up for with her cautiousness! Definitely something we will be doing again!

Daddy-Daughter Dance

2010-02-14T21:31:00.002-06:00

Jeff and Brooke went to the annual Daddy-Daughter Dance last weekend. I couldn't believe how grown up Brooke looked! Even Jeff said she looked about 15! They had a good time -- yes, even Jeff said he had fun. She looked so pretty.... and so tall! They met Roger and Rachel at Pizza Hut for supper before the dance. She was so excited to wear her high heel leather boots! I need to put a brick on her head or she's going to be taller than me in no time at all!

2010-02-14T21:19:00.000-06:00

We've spent our whole winter at basketball practices, basketball games, and Kuk Sool Won. Brooke played on a 5th grade travelling basketball team. Blake played at school on the Rec League. Blake is really enjoying Kuk Sool Won. He's learning lots, getting stronger, and is one stripe away from getting his yellow belt!

LOVE......

2010-02-14T21:10:00.002-06:00

It's Valentine's Day. I stole this idea from a couple other blogs that I read. In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm going to list just a few things that I LOVE...

Jeff, Brooke, & Blake
My Sisters, In-Laws, Nephews, Nieces, and oh, my brother too!
Pepper and Sophie
That my family is healthy
Diet Coke
Mint Chocolate ice cream
The smell of hay
School (most of the time)
My girlfriends
Cattle
The smell of Blake after he uses his McGraw soap in the shower
The smell of Brooke after she's spruced up for the day
Mountain Dew
Frozen snickers
Target
Buying new kinds of food/snacks that I see at the store
New household items (like my Purex laundry sheets)
Tanning beds (I just don't get to use them very often, like never)
Showing cattle
Baby calves
Cooking
Baking
Chocolate covered strawberries
Having all of the clean clothes put away
A clean car (that doesn't happen very often either)
My bed
Talking on the phone
Bedtime
Watching the kids play sports
When the kids do something around the house without being asked
Sitting by the pool when the kids are swimming
Fire pits
The smell of corn being picked
Fresh flowers
Burberry Brit perfume
Uggs
Taking a nap
Morning

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T20:56:00.001-06:00

We take just as many pictures of the calves as we do the kids.... they are part of the family, too!

2010-02-14T20:49:00.001-06:00

Just messing around one day.... they were actually getting along - that doesn't happen too often!

2010-02-14T20:42:00.002-06:00

This was the lonnnnngggeeeessssttttt harvest ever! Jeff finally got done with corn the week AFTER Thanksgiving! Yikes! It was such a wet fall that they had a terrible time getting the crops out. Yields were good, corn was wet (really wet), and days that they were in the field were very long! We teased them early on that we'd have to fix turkey legs for Thanksgiving so they could eat while they were picking. Little did we know, it just about turned out that way! In fact, there are still fields with standing corn.... I'm just thankful it's not ours!

Halloween 09

2010-02-14T20:39:00.001-06:00

Brooke, age 11, a hippie. Blake, age 8, a Skeleton Biker.

The Badger Kickoff

2010-02-14T20:28:00.004-06:00

We started our show season the first weekend of December in Milwaukee, WI, at the University of Wisconsin Badger Kickoff Classic. We had a great time, and the kids did awesome! Blake got 2nd in his showmanship class, Brooke got 5th in hers. Blake got 6th in class with his heifer, Peanut. This is a picture of Brooke with her heifer, Sunny, who got 3rd in her class -out of 15!! Brooke's steer was also Reserve Champion Maine Steer! We had such a great time and are anxious to start showing again - which we do, in 2 weeks in Illinois Beef Expo. The kids have 4 calves this year which is lots of work! Every Sunday is set aside for washing and blowing and walking calves. Each year, the kids are more and more help to us. Brooke is such good help this year, she is just growing up! Blake is good help for short increments of time! We have our work cut out for us for sure!

Flag Football

2009-10-18T14:09:00.003-05:00

Blake has really enjoyed playing Flag Football at the YMCA again this year. He gets to play with all of his friends and looks forward to every game! Here are a few pictures! Note: this may have been the coldest flag football season on record.

Today

2009-10-18T10:38:00.005-05:00

I am copying this post from several other bloggers. Thought it might be kind of fun!

Outside my window.... the sun is shining, the leaves are falling, and I'm seeing quite a few tractors moving by. Harvest is in full swing today! The weather sure hasn't been cooperating with the farmers. Also, our 2 new heifers are running and kicking their feet - enjoying the nice weather, too!

I am thinking.... about what to fix to take to the field for supper tonight, and I'm wondering if I'll have time to mow (one last time!) around the house this afternoon. Also, I'm thinking about Brooke as she's coming home from an all nighter and hoping she's not crabby!

I'm thankful for.... my family and friends. Also I'm thankful that Jeff is able to get into the field and start harvest. He's such a hard worker and I'm also very thankful for that. Brooke and Blake are also on the top of my Thankful List!

From the kitchen.... I'm smelling the pumpkin bars that are in the oven! Mmmmmm...

I'm wearing.... my most favorite jeans and a United tshirt - usual attire for the weekend!

I'm creating..... treats to take to school tomorrow and supper to take to the field. Food is the only creative part of me.

I'm going.... to get Brooke from Cathi's in a little while, to the field to deliver supper, and 4H tonight.

I'm reading... my 4th grade reading manual.

Around the house... it's rather messy right now as Blake and his friend, Evan, have been playing hard. But I'm loving how the sun is shining through the windows. And Sophie, as black as she is, is laying in the sun warming up!

One of my favorite things.... working with our show calves.

A few plans for the week... a full week of school, a volleyball game on Wednesday (UHS volleyball team is undefeated and awesome!), Erik's Senior Night football game on Friday night, and Blake's last flag football game next Saturday.

A picture to share....
We were able to see Alex & Erik before they left for Homecoming. We made them take a picture will all of the kids - Erik (holding Owen, Alex's little brother), Alex, Brooke, Rachel, Aubrey (Alex's little sister who is the same age as the girls), Blake and his friend Evan. Quite a crew!

What a weekend!!

2009-10-12T16:15:00.002-05:00

I ended up calling Dr. Paralikar last night when Blake's fever hit 103.8, and he told me to take him to the ER to get the Influenza A/H1N1 screening done. He told me to tell the nurse/doctor that he wanted it done on Blake. When we got to the ER, there was a big sign at the entry that said if you had any flulike symptoms (fever, coughing, etc) to get a mask. So Blake put on a mask before we even walked through the door. You can really turn some eyes when you wear a pastel yellow mask over your mouth and nose! Got to the registration desk, and Blake said, "Mom, I think I'm gonna get sick." I told him to take off his mask - thought maybe he just felt kind of smothered. As soon as I pulled that mask off, he started to throw up all over! So I grabbed one of the little vomit bags off of the wall and he proceeded to fill it..... in front of about 15 people .... as if the mask wasn't bad enough, you should have seen the looks we were getting now!

So we go into the triage room to tell them why we are there. I told the nurse that Dr. P wanted Blake to have the screening. She was very rude and told me, "That is up to the doctor to decide. We just can't give that to every person that walks in! Hmmm!" We waited for another 40 minutes before getting called back. When Blake vomited, it seemed to break his fever so he started to feel a little better.

Once we were in the back, the nurse swabbed his throat and said she bet he had strep. So we waited for the doctor to come in. He examined Blake and said "He has H1N1 - the swine flu". Oh super! He explained a lot of things to me - told me that it's not as serious as they originally anticipated, and that we have to treat the symptoms because the only medicine for H1N1 (tamiflu) really hadn't proven to work very well. So we left there with that diagnosis, a prescription for tussionex for the cough, and suppositories in case the vomiting got worse. Blake slept really well and still ran a fever of about 102.

In the meantime, I'm wondering how soon before Brooke gets it....

So I called first thing this morning to Dr. P and told him about Blake and what the er doctor had said/done. He was very upset (to say the least) that he diagnosed him without the nasal swab test. He informed me to get to the lab right away to get the test. If it came back positive for Influenza A, he would have to be out of school for a week and they would send the test further to see if it was H1N1. If it came back negative, it was probably just a virus and he could return to school after her was "fever free for 24 hours" - a pretty standard rule.

So off to the lab with Blake adorned in his little yellow mask! Needless to say, there were only 2 seats in the lab left and one lady got up so I could sit by Blake. She chose to stand rather than to sit by the masked boy! After the lab, we went to Walmart to get the tamiflu that Dr. P ordered. Welp, it was out of stock. So that meant another phone call to have it sent to Axlines. In the meantime, Wanda is calling me telling me that the combination of drugs from the er doctor was too much for a young boy and it would oversedate him (!!!!!!) so I had to talk to the pharmacist there and they called the er and ended up changing the dosage! Geesh! I had to call Axlines AGAIN and they agreed to "compound" the tamiflu for Blake since the children's liquid form isn't available yet!!!

So we finally made it home. Blake still had a fever and laid down while I waited for the doctor's office to call with the test results. A few hours later, I finally heard from them......

INFLUENZA A/B TESTS WERE NEGATIVE!!!!!!

Oh my goodness! I am so relieved that he doesn't have it but on the other hand, I'm pissed that he was misdiagnosed, overprescribed for meds, and we ran around and around and around for nothing!! Well, i guess it wasn't "nothing".... but he does have a virus of some kind. We go back to Dr. P Wednesday morning. He is still coughing. Still running a fever. Still not himself. I sure hope he starts to feel better soon. I'm anxious to hear what Dr. P has to say on Wednesday. Hopefully he will be well on the mend by then!

In the meantime, I've got a full bottle of (expensive) Tamiflu if we need it!!

Brooke and Blake

2009-10-11T17:44:00.002-05:00

Brooke and "Tank", along with Kaitlyn - the WCPBF Princess

Blake and "Cowboy", along with Kaitlyn again

Brooke 11 , Blake 8 1/2

A Fresh Start

2009-10-11T17:30:00.002-05:00

Ok, it's been about 2 1/2 months since I've posted last. Believe it or not, I have attempted to write an entry about 7 times, but have gotten interrupted in doing so. Rather than spending time catching up on all of the things we've done in the past couple months, I've decided to start fresh. I need to write about now, not delve into all of the past activities - baseball, softball, showing cattle, swimming (or lack thereof), the state fair, doing well at the Mercer County Fair, getting Reserve Champion at the Prime Beef Festival again, watching the kids grow up (literally) way too fast. It's time to write about what's going on right now.

As I speak, Brooke just returned from spending the night at Rachel's house - still a very common event around here. I had promised the kids that they could have someone over this weekend, and that kind of fell through. Brooke had Rachel over, and Blake had Jonah. It was all great until about 7:00p.m. when Blake came into the kitchen crying over a small altercation with a Matchbox car. He doesn't cry too often in front of his friends and when I looked at the "glaze" in his eyes, I immediately knew that he was running a fever. I checked and he sure was. It was 101. I continued to let him play for a while, hoping that maybe it was a false reading. At 9:00 it was 100 so I explained to him that we'd have to take Jonah home. Brooke and Rachel decided that they better not be around him so off to meet Cathi I went. Blake has laid around most of the day. I did take him to ride with Jeff in the combine for a couple rounds when his fever broke, but he was ready to come home. When we got home, his fever was 102.4. He is still asleep and when he wakes up, I hope his fever has gone down from the 103 it was when I last took it. So Wanda went down and picked up Brooke who, for some reason, wanted to come home. She's kind of like me - she likes to sleep in her own bed.

Brooke is really enjoying 5th grade. She's recently started playing the trumpet and has to remind herself to practice everyday! Blake is really liking 3rd grade as well, and is currently playing Flag Football on weekends at the YMCA.

We have 2 new heifer calves - Sunny and Peanut. They are getting used to us as we are to them. We (by "we", I mean the kids and me) are walking them into their stalls almost every day and tying them up for a while. We've already started the process of washing and blowing and combing and repeating that process until I can do it in my sleep! Our 1st show was supposed to be next weekend but we don't feel we are quite ready yet, so we are holding off to show until the 1st weekend in December in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Jeff is trying to get into the field. The corn and beans are very wet, and the rainy cold weather is sure not cooperating. The yields have been good so we are very thankful for that. He put up a new grain bin this year and is putting it to good use drying down this 30% moisture corn. He assures me it will pay for itself in a few years, and as skeptical as I was, I'm not now.

I am still adjusting to teaching at the junior high. Some days are great, and others are not. Some days I love it, and some days I hate it. Everyday I can't believe that Brooke will be there next year. I wonder to myself if she will be like these 6th grade girls that wear the football boys' jerseys on game days. Scary.

Other than that, things are pretty much the same around here. I will try to get some pictures posted of our summer for the 3 or 4 blog readers that I have!

Chicago

2009-07-29T17:57:00.004-05:00

I finally got an external card reader for the laptop so I've been able to upload all of my pictures! Whew! I was having a heck of a time. Last week, Cathi and I loaded up the kids for a rather spur of the moment 2 day trip to Chicago. We try to go every summer and hit American Girl, Shedd Aquarium, Hershey's, etc. We didn't get to go last year so we made up for it and spend the night, too. We stayed in Bolingbrook because it was going to be so expensive to stay downtown. We had a great time. Here are a few pictures!
The kids standing downtown in front of the Chicago River. I hate that bridge by the way!

Standing in front of Lake Michigan. You can't see them in the picture, but there are people swimming in the Lake

The Budweiser Clydesdales were on Navy Pier when we were there. They were supposed to parade down Dock Street, but it started raining so they couldn't. They were so pretty.... and HUGE!

Blake and the Lego Man at Legoland on Michigan Avenue.

Hershey's Chocolate Store downtown Chicago.

At American Girl Store in Water Tower Place. We actually got out of there without spending too much money! Brooke's "hunger pains" were outweighing her "wants"! Lucky me!

Blake.

2009-07-24T14:37:00.003-05:00

Blake played hardball this year for the Alexis D-Ball team in the Tri-County Hardball League. He played 2nd base and catcher. He absolutely LOVES baseball and wants to start pitching next year. We'll see about that!

Brooke.

2009-07-24T14:33:00.003-05:00

Just a few shots of Brooke playing softball. She played for the United-North Henderson Minors team and played right field and left field. She enjoyed the season.

Where have I been?

2009-07-24T14:24:00.002-05:00

I didn't realize that I hadn't updated my blog since June 11th! That was clear back at the beginning of the summer and now we are near the end. Where does the time go? I was looking forward to a relaxing summer filled with days by the pool, but that isn't how things have gone at all. And I don't really think I will have a summer like that for many, many years. The kids' activities have filled this summer with nights at the ball diamonds, in the barn, and running to and from different things. Brooke played something like 18 softball games and Blake played about 15 so the idea of "bleacher butt" really came true for us. Once you add in all of the chores with their show calves and the washing and rinsing and drying and walking...... then you know why I haven't updated very often. But we have had some fun and good times!

We made it through Mercer Co. Fair last week. I have lots of pictures but I've had trouble uploading them to this laptop. I got a new camera in June, and while I really like it, I can't get the pictures off of the SD card because the files are too big so I'm trying to figure out what to do. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. The kids did really well and I will post more about that later. Our next fair is the Knox County in August so I've still got another week to prepare for that. Going to a fair is like going on a business trip. Lots of work.

So I'll keep trying to get pictures on here, especially ones of our recent trip to Chicago. I took them with a different camera so it shouldn't be too hard to get them on here. Just bear with me!

Whoo Hoo!

2009-06-11T20:24:00.003-05:00

SEE THIS??? DO YOU REALLY SEE IT??? Brooke and Blake are getting along! Oh my goodness! Or OMG as Brooke would say!! They are swimming, laughing, and playing together. It's a great sight to see. They spend a lot of time fighting and I love to see them get along!

June, July, and August

2009-06-11T20:08:00.003-05:00

I've decided that I should have named the kids' 3 calves June, July, and August since they are what I mainly do during those 3 months!!! We've started our daily routine again this summer. Jeff does chores and ties up the 3 calves about 6:30 in the morning. Then I go out about 9:30 and wash/rinse all three of them, tying them back up under the fans. You can see in the pictures that they really do have a pretty good life in the summer. They are tied up in the barn where it's nice and cool and are under huge black "turbo" fans that move a lot of air! They stay nice and cool and have water/feed in front of them all day long. Our first show is 2 weeks from Saturday and we have lots to do to get ready. In fact, Tank (Brooke's steer) is going to have a date with Dorothy the Donkey this weekend. We will tie him to her for a day and hopefully he will learn very quickly that he only moves when she moves. In return, he will move when Brooke wants him to in the show ring. Jewels, the heifer, might become friends with Dorothy, too. By the way, we are pretty sure that Jewels is "expecting" - we will preg check her in about a week and know if she is carrying another little critter for us!

A Taste of Summer

2009-06-11T19:53:00.006-05:00

Well, we are ending our first "official" week of summer vacation. What a week we've had! Full of softball and baseball games, working with calves, having friends over, volleyball camp, and being on the run. This is just the beginning of what we have in store for us for the next 2 1/2 months!!! Just thought I'd share some of my favorite things about summer.

1. I love to walk up to the back of the house and see the pretty flowers. My lilies are blooming right now and my pots of flowers actually still look pretty good. It helps when I can rely on the rain and not have to water them. They usually don't look so good at the first of July when it's so hot that I don't want to get out there and water them!

2. This is my favorite little yard ornament. It was given to me by all of my teacher friends in memory of Dad. It's perfect for him - a boy on a tractor with his dog.

3. Another thing that I love to see in the summer is beach towels hanging on the deck! It's kind of a weird thing to actually "want" extra things on the deck, but I do! It's just a sign that it's officially summer, the pool is open, and the kids are swimming!

Brooke at 10 1/2 Years Old

2009-05-15T17:23:00.003-05:00

I've really noticed a difference in Brooke in the last couple months. She is changing all the time and turning into quite the little lady.

*She loves 4th grade. She doesn't want to miss school and really enjoys her teachers. She has quite the group of girl friends and is very social.

*She is exactly 3 inches shorter than me.

*She is starting to really like to read. It seems that her nose is always in a book. This is great because she hasn't always liked to read. Right now, she's into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

*She still loves to play Barbies. And house. And with her American Girl dolls. And school. She has a very creative imagination. I am forever asking her who she is talking to me and she looks at me and rolls her eyes.

*She will be starting softball practice soon. She seems to like most sports. She played basketball this winter and has intentions of playing sports in school, just as soon as she's old enough.

*She is my "right hand". She is good to help me with whatever I ask of her. And if I'm having a bad day, she seems to kick it in gear and do more around here to make it easier for me.

*She is very thoughtful.

*She is not fond of storms. She wakes up at the first clap of thunder and wants me to tuck her back in. She turns up her CD player to try to drown out the sounds.

*She loves her calves and talks to them like they are her babies.

*She is a lot like her Dad. She picks up after herself and gets mad when Blake doesn't do the same. She likes her things "just so". And there's nothing she likes more than a good supper. She gets that from her Mom and Dad.

*Did I mention that she is only 3 inches taller than me????? And wears a size 8 1/2 shoe in women's. Yep. For sure.

*She is starting to "bake" by herself. A couple weekends ago, she made me stay outside while she made a cake by herself. And it was yummy, too. So add pumpkin pie and cake to her list.

She's a great little gal and I'm sure glad she's ours!

Can I Just Tell You.....

2009-05-15T17:00:00.002-05:00

what a week we have had around here! Geesh, I am so glad that it's Friday, and I'm only hoping for a quiet, not-much-to-do weekend. We only have 2 1/2 weeks of school left, which right now might as well be eternity. I'd say that I'm ready more than the kids are. Brooke really is "in" to school right now, she has really come to love school and just hates to miss. Blake will tell you that he "hates" school but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Although this week he hasn't been there much! Here's just a brief recap of what has gone on-

last Wednesday(May 6th)- Brooke's teacher called me at the high school about 2:30 in the afternoon to tell me that Brooke had a terrible rash on her arms. It was really, really red and itchy and her teacher never calls me at the high school so I figured it must be bad. I was on my way to the vet in Roseville after school (to get a "cedar" for our heifer to bring her into heat- I'm learning a lot about this AI stuff) so I called Wanda. She got Brooke and headed to the Alexis Clinic where I met them. The doctor there said it was a reaction to the sun, plus she said she needed to have the wax flushed out of Brooke's left year. After 6 syringes of warm water flushed down her ear, we left!

Monday (this week) - I took the afternoon off to take Blake to get his cast off. The fracture had healed nicely and he was released back to normal activity - which was good since he hadn't really stopped normal activity! So we picked up Brooke and headed home. Jeff called at 7:10 and said that we needed to move trucks around from field to field. That lasted until 8:35 p.m. That's way late for us to start homework and showers so we started our week off with the kids getting to bed at 9:30. If you know me, I am very anal about getting the kids to bed on time on weeknights. Needless to say, not the way I wanted to start my week. While we were moving around trucks, Brooke was complaining about her arms really bothering her and the rash looked just horrible so Wanda (who was helping move from field to field) said she would take the day off to take Brooke to the doctor since I had meetings at school all week.

Tuesday - Brooke went to the doctor and he said that her rash was Fifths Disease. However, once it reaches the "rash stage" it's not contagious anymore. He said that she was fine to return to school which she did. We just have to let the virus run its course. Also, he looked at her ear and said it was just fine. Of course - she had just had 6 syringes of water pumped into it!! Duh. Blake had his first baseball game that night. They lost 13-20 but that was actually pretty good since it was 3-20 in the start of the 5th inning.

Wednesday - Blake had to be at the oral surgeon at 8:00 a.m. to have a baby molar taken out. We found out a couple weeks ago that it was infected and since we know from previous experiences that novacaine doesn't work on infected teeth, I opted to have the oral surgeon put him to sleep so he wouldn't know a thing! He did pretty well. Didn't freak out too much when they told him they would put him to sleep, but he was very nervous. As was his mother.... he came out of the anesthesia pretty goofy, but at least he made it! There was a lot of infection so they put him on Amoxicillin (which the dentist didn't - kinda makes me mad) three times a day. He didn't feel good at all so I stayed home with him all day. When he was "under" he became pretty aggressive and fought the doctor so the nurse said that alone would wear him out. He rested most of the day and about 3:00 pm got his energy back!

Thursday - When I went to wake Blake up to get ready for school, he said to me "I must be really tired cuz this one eye doesn't want to open" and when he rolled over to me, there it was.... a giant, red, swollen right eye! I didn't know at that point if it was the infection from the tooth that moved to his eye or if it was pink eye. So off to call Nanny Cathi (Aunt Cathi) to see if he could go with her for the day so he could go to the doctor. She was nice enough to meet me with him and off they went to the doctor.... yep, Pinkeye. He got $65 drops and they started to work right away. So another day at home for Blake.

Friday - TODAY!! YEAH! Everyone made it through the day with no problems. Other than the fact that it rained all night and all day and we have like huge ponds of water in our yard, it was a pretty normal day. Blake had his field trip to the Geology Museum and Blackhawk State Park and then off to Happy Joe's to make pizzas for their lunch. He had a really good time. We have so much rain, it's sad. The fields and creeks are absolutely flooded. Some of the roads even have water over them. What does that mean for this farmwife? It means a suicidal farmer of a husband who I think I will try to avoid this weekend.

So after 4 trips to some kind of doctor, 2 prescriptions, 4 diagnoses, and about $500, the week is over...finally.

Now it's time to move our attention to our heifer. I never imagined that I would be studying a cow to see if she's in heat... and that doesn't mean looking her "good" end if you know what I mean.... but I am. I am out checking her "other end" to see if she's ready to be bred. That should start tomorrow. I'm sure you probably won't want to read a post about bovine artificial insemination, but guess what? ----------------You probably will!!!

Mud anyone?

2009-04-26T19:53:00.003-05:00

Today turned out to a beautiful day. It was sunny, warm, and breezy. Just perfect. Brooke went to the YMCA to Open Swim with Rachel and even got a yummy DQ treat afterwards. Luke came up and took Blake four wheeling. Yes, Blake has a cast and went riding, but he didn't drive, just rode with Luke. Kaitlyn even came out and went for a while. They were so muddy when they got home! Jeff mowed the yard and I'm enjoying the smell of fresh cut grass! A great way to end the weekend. Now back to school tomorrow!

Bad Blogger

2009-04-26T08:34:00.003-05:00

I am a bad blogger. Sometimes I wonder why I started this blog since I am not very good at updating. It's been pretty quiet around here actually. Blake is doing really well with his cast. Tomorrow marks 2 weeks so we are halfway through. He has it signed by all of his friends and family. It sure doesn't slow him down. The only thing he hasn't done with it on is ride the 4 wheeler. In fact he hasn't even asked to ride it. Thank goodness. He does everything else though, even straps his ball glove around it and plays all-time catcher in baseball practice. He gets the cast off on May 11 which is the week of the first baseball game. Blake is still doing really well in 2nd grade. It's hard to believe that we winding down and next year he will be in 3rd grade. I also think he has grown about 2" recently. The top of his head hits the bottom of my chin so when he stands close he's a pretty good headrest.

Speaking of tall, Brooke is 3" shorter than me, wears the same size of shoes than me, and I just bought her 2 tshirts at American Eagle yesterday. She'll be wearing the same things as high school girls, but that is what fits! She is growing so fast. I know that she'll be having another growth spurt soon and will be the same height as me in no time! She is also still doing well in 4th grade. She has a big week ahead of her with 5 tests, a spring music concert, a young author's celebration, and I'm sure something else will come up! She hasn't started softball practice yet, but I'm sure within a week or 2, she will be practicing, too! Between Brooke and Blake we will probably have a game about every night of the week. I hope there aren't too many nights on which they both have games.

Jeff is waiting to get planting. We went through the same thing last year - too much rain. He did get about 100 acres of corn planted last Thursday before the rain started. It's been raining and raining and it's supposed to keep raining. That makes for a pretty crabby farmer. He farms about 2100 acres so it takes a while to get them all planted and after May 10, it starts affecting yields.

So we are heading into a busy week. With all of Brooke's tests, the Spring music concert which is Monday night, the Young Author's Celebration which is Thursday night (both Brooke and Blake are getting awards for that), I don't know when I'm going to find time to keep reading my Twilight series. I might just have to stay on the couch all day and finish the 2nd book. I didn't know I was such a fast reader! I got through Twilight (1st book) in about 3 nights and now I'm halfway through New Moon (2nd book). They aren't even my type of storyline so I can't believe I'm so into reading them! All the teachers at school were talking about them so I figured I better read them so I can be in on the discussions! Heaven forbid I'm left out! I've even got Cathi into reading them. I've gotta finish New Moon so I can hand it over to her. She's about done with the first book. Speaking of that, I better get breakfast cleaned up so I can go read!

The 1st of ..... I hope not many!

2009-04-13T20:39:00.002-05:00

We had a little mishap this weekend. After 5 years of riding 4 wheelers and many flips and tumbles, Blake hurt himself. The kids were riding last Thursday afternoon when Blake made a turn and lost control of his 4 wheeler. Some how he hit the side of Jeff's machine shed. Not sure how, but he did, and it threw him off - right over the handlebars onto the driveway. Brooke brought him in and he was crying, holding his wrist. His hand and knuckles were scraped up pretty good and already starting to bruise. He had a scrape on his right cheek and said that he hit it on the tire (yes, he had a helmet on). Not sure how he managed that. He cried and cried and we iced and iced the bad spots. He actually cried himself to sleep. When he woke up later he said that he felt better. So off to El Rancherito we went. Priorities, right???? The next morning he came downstairs at 6:30 and showed Jeff who said "It's just a bruise, don't go rushing him to the er". So .... I didn't. We wrapped it in an ace bandage but he still favored it all day. He favored it on Saturday, too, and after he fell asleep on the way home from town, I proceeded to pull him up by his left hand. Big mistake. He started crying and said that it hurt really bad. We headed back to town to Prompt Care for xrays. Yep, a green stick fracture across his left radius. Boy I felt like a jerk. I should have taken him Thursday! So they splinted it and we went to the orthopedic dr. this morning. They put a cast on it, and Blake was excited to pick "red" as his color of his cast. He will have it on for 4 weeks. Then once it's removed, he'll spend a week doing exercises to regain strength and his range of motion. He's certainly NOT upset about having his cast! He keeps a Sharpie marker in his pocket at all times! He's so anxious to go back to school tomorrow to have his friends sign it. He had to go the ENT doctor today, too, to see about having his adnoids/tonsils out because he is a "snorer". He thought for sure that doctor would want to sign it. I talked him out of that! He does not have to get anything taken out of his body and I am so thankful for that. We will keep an eye on how many more times he gets strep throat and we might have to revisit this again in a year or so. Hope not! So here are a few pics of the casting process. Guess what? Baseball practice starts Wednesday!

Whew!!

2009-03-24T19:46:00.002-05:00

I made it. I survived many things during the past few days and now I am done. DONE. DONE. Should be a walk in the park from here on out. We survived 2 birthday parties for Blake - one for his friends and one with family. Both were a lot of fun. Watching 7 and 8 year olds skate is too funny. I'm sure that a lot of them left with some bruised bottoms!

I also survived my IEPs, which are my yearly progress meetings for each of my students that require A LOT of paperwork! Each one is 7-10 pages long, depending on the student. This is about the most stressful day of my school year, so the thought of having it behind me is relieving!

I had a couple doctor appointments yesterday and I survived that, too. Granted I don't know anything yet, that's one more thing that is crossed off my list! I had a chest xray from about 10 days ago that came back "abnormal". (found this out on Friday at 3:30) What abnormal means I'm not sure, but there were some spots on it that they are concerned about. It could be scarring from Pneumonia (which I've never been diagnosed with), calcium deposits, or even something else. I'm sure it's nothing, but they sent me for a CT scan yesterday morning. I don't have any results yet, but should by tomorrow.

My friend Carrie gave birth to a little boy Sunday night, March 22nd. His name is Kellen Ryan. He weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz. and was 21 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well. He sure is adorable. I'll post pictures as soon as I have permission from his mama! I got to see him and hold him yesterday...... between doctor's appointments!! That sure was a bright spot in my day!

Wish Brooke and Blake luck for tomorrow! Brooke has a science vocab test tomorrow, with a chapter test on Thursday. Blake has a science test tomorrow over all the parts of the body, the organs, what the organs do, and LOTS of other stuff that I didn't think 2nd graders would have to know!!

I'll post more pictures later... I'm ready for bed!

MckMuffin

2009-03-23T20:36:00.002-05:00

If you are not an avid reader of MckMama, you should be. She is such a neat Blogger and has a beautiful family. Her little "mckMiracle" as she calls him, Stellan, is fighting a rare heart condition. Read about her here and pray for her family.

Blake Jeffrey Ryner, Age 8 (almost)

2009-03-18T21:06:00.002-05:00

Blake is turning 8 in two days. If he hasn't seen you to tell you that, I'm letting you know via blogworld. Because if he did see you, he would be certainly sure to tell you! Just thought I'd tell you what he's up to now that he is 8 (almost!).

*He has been talking about and planning his 8th birthday since March 21st of last year. He has come up with so many ideas for a birthday party including taking a bunch of friends to Chicago, taking a bunch of friends to Fun City, having a "race" party here at our house in which all of his friends could bring their dirt bikes or four wheelers and race each other, having a sleep over with a bunch of boys, and having a skating party. He is soooooo excited about his birthday!

*We resorted to a skating party at the Roller Rink on Saturday afternoon. Followed by our family party which will be at Happy Joe's at 6. We have several kids in the family and Happy Joes seems to be a favorite spot for all of them.

*Blake's new kick is having a strawberry shake every night, usually before bed. He likes to use the magic bullet for a yummy homemade treat. He also has really been liking granola and yogurt. His favorite flavor is strawberry orange sunrise and he eats granola in it. It's kind of a kick we are all on, but a good one for Mr. Sweet Tooth.

*Yes, Blake still has a major sweet tooth. Anything with sugar is by far his favorite food. Fruit snacks, skittles, gummy worms, sprees, runts, some squirty sweet tart stuff that comes in a tube that weighs about 1/2 pound, and starburst. The chewier and sweeter, the better! His favorite entrees right now are anything out of the Kid Cuisine blue box line, cheeseburgers, chips and dip, chicken nuggets, and hot dogs. He washes all of this down with Mt. Dew, Squirt, Hawaiian Punch, Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb, or Coke. You have to take his drink away from him at dinner because he will "drink" his supper if you'd let him. He does like apples and grapes on the "healthy" side of things. Total junk food junkie. I know. Bad parenting.

*He loves baseball and is so excited to be playing hard ball in Alexis this summer. I think their games start in mid-May. Oh boy!

*He loves, loves, loves, loves, loves his 4 wheeler. No shock to anyone! And loves doing burn outs in our newly gravelled driveway even more!

*He loves his big cousins Erik, Luke, and Chase. Does it really matter that they are 17, 20, and 23??

*He is really into Hot Wheels. He must have 150 cars and knows the make/model of each one. When we are at Target, he knows exactly which ones he has and does NOT have! They're only $1, Mom! I'll pay you back! Famous last words.

*He loves the After School Program. He wants to go everyday. It works out good because his friends are there to play with and .... Brooke and I can run errands and get groceries on our own.

*Speaking of, Blake HATES shopping and running errands. Unless he can buy candy or a hot wheel, then he's all for it.... for a minute.... until he gets his treat.... then he's done.

*Blake despise homework. It's a battle everynight. He does very well in school though and loves school despite telling you he hates it.

*Blake talks. All the time. All day long. All night long. All of the 2 minute drive to school. All through supper. From the time he opens his eyes in the morning until the very second his big blue eyes close at night.

*Don't tell anyone......but Blake will play Barbies with Brooke forever. He is so funny to listen to when they are playing. He will kill me someday for posting this.

*Blake wears cowboy boots just about everywhere. Even if they don't technically go with his outfit, he wears them. If his jeans are "boot cut" (which he looks at every morning he's getting dressed), he wears his boots instead of tennis shoes. But for his birthday he asked for "skateboarding" tennis shoes like Erik's. I don't get it - skateboarder or farm boy??

*Blake is a total boy! He loves his sister (he'll hate me for this too) and always tells her that right before he goes to sleep. I think as he is dozing off his soft side comes out. He gets pretty upset if she doesn't reciprocate so he might say it a couple times until she says it back ....just to get him to stop talking!

Happy Birthday, Blake "BJ" Ryner! We love you bunches.... even though you talk our ears off!! Have a wonderful Friday!

*

Blake's 1st Race

2009-03-18T21:01:00.002-05:00

While we were getting soaked in Tipton, Blake and Luke headed to Sandy Oaks for the first WFO Promotions ATV Race of the season. A little or a lot of rain - neither of them affect Blake. He loves mud and the more he can ride in it, the better! He thought the race was a blast, but I'm not sure that Luke thought it was so much fun since the weather was so crappy. He got 5th and got a trophy so he was a happy little guy. Of course I've heard play by play of that day about 15 times so I feel like I was there. I felt bad that I wasn't, but I told him this was the only race that conflicted with showing. I'll be there next time cheering him on!

Our Soggy Weekend in Tipton

2009-03-18T20:52:00.003-05:00

Well I guess I've slacked off since telling you all that we were going to have a busy, wet weekend a couple weekends ago. We did end up going to Tipton and it was awful. Well, it was good experience, but the weather and conditions were terrible. There was so much mud and standing water that everyone was getting stuck. Trucks and livestock trailers, plus cars, were stuck all over the place. Luckily we got out while the gettin' was good! We learned quickly that none of us have the stamina for these far away, long day shows. Brooke and Rachel did not sleep well at all that night. It was storming and neither of them do well with storms. So by 4:00, which was really 3:00 with the time change, they were up for the day. I laid in bed until a little before 5 and we were out the driveway at 5:58 a.m. Long, wet, raining, dark drive to the show. There were lots of die-hard cattle people there, and we were right in the midst of it all. Brooke didn't show until 11:00 a.m. and was supposed to show her steer around 2:00, but at 1:30 we called it a day and headed home. She was afraid to show her steer because she felt like she hadn't worked with him enough so I told Jeff to head home. It was a long, quiet ride home because Jeff was upset that she didn't show her heifer too well. She actually did a fine job, but didn't place well because her heifer was outweighed again. After everything, I learned that pouring rain + cattle show = MISERY. Lesson learned.

Getting ready to take off

2009-03-07T21:08:00.002-06:00

We should all be in bed now, but Jeff is the only one who is. Luke, Rachel, Blake, and Brooke are playing Wii, and don't sound too ready for bed! Brooke, Rachel, Jeff, and I will be getting up very early (me at 5 a.m. , that's really 4 a.m.!) and will be heading out by 6:00 am at the latest. We're heading off to Tipton, Iowa in the pouring rain to a muddy mess at the Cedar County Fairgrounds for a March Madness Cattle Show. Oh boy! As bad as I'm wanting to go, I really am a fair weather farmer deep in my heart! I don't like washing and fitting calves in the rain or cold or snow.... the inside comfort of my barn makes it more appealing than out in the weather like we will be tomorrow! It will be a long day for sure. Rachel is going with us so Brooke has someone to "hang" with. Brooke will be showing Jewels, the heifer with the bad hock, and Tank, her steer (formerly known as Coal and Buff... we can't decide what to name him, but he is as big as a tank!).

While we are there, Luke is taking Blake to the first 4 wheeler race of the weekend, at Sandy Oaks in Keithsburg. It will be a muddy mess there, too, but they never cancel. I tried and tried to convince him to go with us but he really wants to race. I think this is the only time that the two conflict with each other so I guess it's okay. Cowboy, his steer, won't like being home alone though. Poor thing.

Hopefully I'll be able to update with how we did late tomorrow night. Wish us luck and pray that it stops raining! Ugghh....

Exhausted

2009-03-06T21:08:00.002-06:00

It's 9:08 on a Friday night and I'm ready to go to bed. Pretty pathetic. Brooke is spending the night with Rachel, and Blake has a friend over to spend the night, too. I wish I could say it was quiet around here. It's far from quiet though. Blake + friend = LOUD! He was bummed when I told him that the girls were staying here tonight.... they love to torture them! Darn.

This past week was ISAT testing at school. It is so exhausting. The tests are so hard for my students, and we all get so frustrated. Of course I don't think they try near as hard as they should. I know Brooke has been tired at night, too, because of the 4th grade tests. She voiced her opinion several times that the tests were "stupid" and "hard" and "stupid" and "hard". Thank goodness Blake isn't old enough to take them, I suppose he'll just make designs on the answer sheets with the answer dots.

We bought Blake a new mattress and it was delivered today. It is sooo much thicker than his old one. His old one was from mom and dad's house, was probably 30 years old, and weighed probably 200 pounds. It was hard as a rock and Blake complained of his back hurting, so we broke down and got him a better one. A nice pillow top.... maybe he'll sleep in tomorrow. Of course, last weekend he slept in until 11:00 one day.

Chores are still consuming a lot of my time. Jeff is wondering why I don't pay even half the attention to him that I pay to my (I mean the kids') calves. Brooke's heifer, Jewels, is being treated for an inflamed hock so I've been keeping a very close eye on here. This could make or break her as far as showing. She doesn't have a natural stride and is very stiff in her walk in her back left leg. The vet (who comes 3 x a week to give her a shot directly into her vein...cha ching! I hear the vet bills piling up!) thought she was doing better today. I sure hope so. She is so sweet and we are so attached to her, looking forward to having a successful showing season with her. Say a little prayer that she will recuperate quickly and be back to her old self.

Speaking of chores, this weekend poses another busy one for us. Tomorrow I have to wash/rinse all 3 calves, which should take about 4 hours by the time I'm all said and done. We have to get the trailer packed up for a show on Sunday, too. Brooke is showing in a March Madness Beef Blowout show in Tipton, Iowa on Sunday. We could go tomorrow, too, but I really need one day at home this weekend to get some things done. While we are in Tipton, Blake will be racing 4 wheelers at Sandy Oaks. Luke is taking him. This is the first race of the season, and Blake is thinking that he's going to go to all of them. Of course I don't understand why he would want to do that instead of show calves, but we gave him the choice, and he made it.... despite his mom's recommendations!

Wish us all luck!

Chores

2009-02-28T18:53:00.003-06:00

Some of the things I blog about are strictly for future reference for myself. I hope I enjoy looking back at these blogs in years to come and remember. Like right now for instance, I love doing chores. Chores, for me, consist of about 1 1/2 hours every night. I am in charge of taking the 3 calves, one by one, into the chute and either rinsing, washing, or just blowing the dirt out of their hair. Depending on how dirty they get while being tied up, means how much work I have to do. Jeff is in charge of feeding and scooping poop. And, the kids are becoming really good at walking their calves in and out of the barn and hosing off the mats that the calves lay on. You can't imagine how much poop we see in one day!! It's funny that this is what I love to do. When I see or talk to people that I know from long ago, they have a hard time believing that I love working with our calves. Thinking back though, I have a hard time believing that I love working with our calves! At the shows, it drives me crazy to see the "show moms" as they call themselves, all dolled up with bedazzled shirts with their fancy family's show cattle logo or a studded out outline of a steer, with their jeweled belts, fancy Fatbaby Lariat boots (that are clean nonetheless), their hair all fancied up with perfect makeup - SITTING or just WALKING around..... just looking pretty! I don't understand why they don't HELP! I bet I am on of a handful of moms that actually do any of the work with the calves. I know people don't like to sit by me at the shows since I am the one with crappy boots on, jeans with manure on them, dirty hands, messy hair, and sometimes a little smear of dirt on my face. But you know what? I don't care. I do this for my kids. By the way, sometimes I wonder if they love it as much as I do. (I know, Cathi..... I know what you are going to say... they don't) But, sadly, this is just about the only thing that all 4 of us enjoy doing together. We've got many, many more years of this, so I just hope I can look back at this very day and enjoy it as much 12 years down the road as I do now. My house may not be clean. There may not be a great supper every night. The laundry may not be done. My vacuum may not move for a few days. But, by golly, I've got clean calves and I LOVE them!!!

Beef Expo Pictures

2009-02-28T16:58:00.002-06:00

Here are just a few pictures of last weekend. I wish I could have taken some better ones. Photography is just not my thing.

Illinois Beef Expo

2009-02-28T16:42:00.002-06:00

Last weekend was a big weekend for us. We took the kids and their calves to Springfield to the 2009 Illinois Beef Expo. It is held at the state fairgrounds, and it was our first time down there. This is a much bigger show than what we've ever showed at so we were all a little bit nervous.... okay, maybe me more than anyone. Brooke took her heifer, Jewels, and Blake took his steer, Cowboy (previously known as JT). Brooke's steer was dehorned that same week so we left him at home to recuperate for a few days by himself. By the way, I don't think he really liked being home alone!

There ended up being about 800 calves there - coming from all over the state of Illinois and ranging in price from $500 (Blake's steer was probably the cheapest there!) all the way well into the 10's of thousands.... like maybe $20,000 for some! Whoa. I can't imagine having something worth that much money, especially a show calf. But some people really get into it. It was like being in an old town village - brick paved streets, lined with old brick buildings full of calves and their showmen. There was constant action and tons and tons of people. We learned a lot and it was a great experience.

Our days started at 6:00 am and ended at 9:00 pm so it was an exhausted weekend for sure. The kids always found time to hit the pool for a few minutes at a time. I don't think they've fully recuperated yet. At least I haven't!

Brooke showed Saturday night. Jewels looked so great. They had her fitted so nicely and of course I thought she looked the best! Brooke had a major meltdown before entering the ring. She cried and cried and cried and cried. She didn't want to show and was refusing to even go into the ring. There were several nice young ladies that were talking to her, trying to convince her that she would be fine. The problem was that Brooke was the first to enter the ring in her class. There were 9 heifers, and hers was the lightest so that meant she had to lead the pack. That posed a big problem for poor Brooke. It would be like leading an animal into a ring the size of a basketball court with 5,000 people watching - that's 10,000 eyes all on you and your animal. Needless to say, I had to walk away and let everyone else calm her down. I definitely make her more nervous. But... she did it! She walked into that show ring and did her best. Jewels definitely felt Brooke's nerves so she wasn't cooperating too well. There were 2 heifers in her class that got away from their handlers so that made Brooke even more nervous. Brooke placed 8th out of 9. I don't have many good pictures, it was very dark in the arena and I couldn't seem to get a good picture to save my soul.

Blake showed Sunday afternoon. Was he nervous???? NO. Not at all. In fact, he was pretty cocky about the whole thing.... until he walked into the ring. He actually did fine. It was funny to hear the crowd as he walked in. I could hear lots of "Ahhh, look at that little guy" and "Oh my he's so little". They were right. He was the youngest one there showing. In fact, I bet Brooke and Blake were the 2 youngest showmen there. There were a couple young boys, but I'm betting they were at least 11. Everyone in Blake's class were in high school. You can show until you're 21. He ended up letting go of Cowboy once he got spooked by the steer beside him. The steer drug his showmen across the ring and once Cowboy pulled on Blake, he just let go! He placed 4th out of 5.

The big highlight of the weekend was Blake getting stuck in a bucket! Zack tried to pick him up and we literally could not get that bucket off of Blake's butt! It was hilarious! I could have cried because of laughing, but I'm glad I didn't - my tears would have frozen!

All in all, we had a lot of fun! And it was a great experience for all of us! I'll post some pictures in a little bit - but it's time do chores! I'll be back.....

A Big Thank You

2009-02-15T08:48:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Carrie and Larry came up with a surprise for John and Wanda. Larry had made this "Ryner" cedar log for them as a thank you for everything they've done for our family. Wanda went to a lot of work to make quilts for all of us, and they are so good to let Larry and his cronies come up to the pond to fish. One of Larry's buds always says it's the best little fishing pond around! John and Wanda were also very supportive when Mom and Dad passed away. They were friends with Mom and Dad for decades, so all of the Ryner kids grew up with the Flatt kids. I bet they didn't suspect that two of the would ever marry each other! I think they were really surprised about the log. I guess they were just talking about one the other day. It's beautiful and it's going to look really good when Wanda gets some of her beautiful flowers planted around it! Thanks again, John and Wanda. We love you!

Happy Anniversary

2009-02-08T19:58:00.002-06:00

Today would have been Dad and Mom's 52nd wedding anniversary. I've been thinking of them a lot lately. It's amazing how much you can miss someone. When I don't feel good, Mom is the first person I want to call, and I've found myself wanting to call her so she can tell me to take some tums so I would feel better. The other night when I talked to Cathi, they were getting ready to go to Roseville to eat catfish and I about asked her if Dad was going with them. Some days it seems as if they are still here, and other days it seems like they've been gone for a long time. Wanda made all of us a quilt out of Dad's bibs and some of Mom's old shirts. I need to get a picture of it on here. It is so neat. I've found myself using it a lot lately!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I'm sure they are celebrating together in Heaven. I love you.

(Also happy anniversary to Kevin and Kathy yesterday!)

Wow......

2009-02-08T19:40:00.002-06:00

I really haven't posted in a long time. Geesh, I wonder what my problem has been. Gee, could it be that I've been sick since January 20th???? I tell ya, I am so tired of being sick and tired, I could just scream! So a few people (no names mentioned Cathi, Jackie, & Keely) have reminded me to update my blog. I really don't have much to tell, but I will highlight a few things.

1. Not sure this is a highlight, but as I type - Blake is chewing his toenails. I know - GROSS! But, what a talented, flexible young boy. Don't ya think?

2. Jeff had a good time on his snowmobiling trip to Wyoming. They returned home safely. I'm sure he was wishing he could have stayed longer because he returned home to one sick wife. I started getting sick on January 20th.... and I can't say I'm over it yet. I had a double ear infection, sinus infection, and bronchitis. Yuck!

3. Brooke and Blake got straight A's on their report cards a couple weeks ago. Hurray!

4. We had a fun time at the Watsons' Super Bowl Party last weekend. Our family is really taking a liking to Lisa and Kamden (Cody's girlfriend and her daughter). That little Kamden is so cute, and Lisa is sure sweet. We love having them around. We had lots of yummy snacks at the party, too. That's strictly why I go to those types of things - the food.

5. Speaking of #4, Blake went with Uncle Kevin to a farm toy show this morning in Roseville. They bought a Johnny Tractor book for Kamden and Blake read it to her this afternoon.

6. We bought a heifer for Brooke last weekend. She is a beauty! Brooke is going to show her at the Illinois Beef Expo in a couple weeks in Springfield. I, of course, am terribly excited about starting to show so soon! We will be there February 20-22nd. The kids will also be showing the last weekend in March at the WIU Hoof-n-Horn show in Roseville.

7. Yesterday was a beautiful day ------ 60 degrees!! We took advantage of the nice weather for sure. The kids played outside. I washed Brooke's heifer and blew her out to perfection. Then I washed the 2 steers for the first time. They were pretty cooperative.

8. Jeff has been working in the barn all weekend. He built a room in there that will be a "wash room" for me to use to wash the calves in during the cold weather. It will be heated, and if we ever want to put in a cooler, it will be already set up for that.

A Few Other Things -

9. Please keep my brother Kevin in your thoughts and prayers. He is having surgery on the 18th for a torn rotator cuff (spelling not so sure?). He will have several weeks of recovery and therapy. I can't imagine him being a very "patient" patient!

10. Please keep our friend Jackie in your prayers, too. She will be starting a new chemo drug soon.

11. Also keep my friend Carrie in your thoughts as she will become a 1st time Mommy in about 6 weeks!

Sorry no pictures this time. I've been slacking off in that department, too! Till next time....

Watching the Radar Runs!

2009-01-18T15:33:00.002-06:00

Here is Blake laying on the lake... looks like he's really into watching the races, huh? He actually was. This was just one of the times he was being weird. Imagine that!

Miss Rachel watching.

Brooke watching.

The kids watching intently as their Daddy raced down the lake!! Yes, that is Cody and Lisa in the background. I couldn't get a picture of just them without it looking obvious that I was taking a picture of just them!!!

2009 Radar Runs

2009-01-18T15:11:00.006-06:00

This morning was the Prairie Drifters Radar Run at Lake Storey. Jeff and the guys always go (including Blake) , so I thought that Brooke and I would go this year and watch. There were lots of snowmobilers who think they are the best racers on the lake - sadly, that includes our guys! Chase, Jeff, and Joel are very competitive. But I don't get why Jeff gets mad at me about being competitive at showing cattle when you should see him getting mad because "the radar gun HAS to be wrong" or "that gun needs to be **&#ed!". He leads by example I guess!!! The idea of course is to be the fastest on the 1000' run of ice. They split them up into classes according to CC's and horsepower (or maybe they're one in the same - I don't really know or care). Some of the classes are "stock" and then there are the "modified" classes, which means they've been tweaked with probably several hundreds (or thousands) of $$$! The guys have sleds (that's snowmobile talk for snowmobiles) that fit into each class practically. It was fun watching them. I was really thinking that I would run in the powder puff class, like Jeff had originally told me, but he changed his mind, telling me that the sleds are way too fast for me. Darn it.

Here are the Chase and Jeff warming up their racing sleds.

This is Jeff's 1st run (you get to race 3x). They have this fancy contraption that lifts the sled off of the ice so they can push on the throttle to spin the track to get all of the ice off of it. I guess that gives them better traction on the ice. They have ice pics on the tracks to help dig in! He only went 102 mph on his first run. However, according to Jeff, his sled said it was going 125 mph. That's when he first thought something was wrong with the radar gun! By the way, his skis didn't hit the ground the whole way!

Here is Joel. Even if wouldn't have won his class, at least he looked the part in his matching coat/snowmobile. You know, that is important too! Jeff and Chase didn't get the memo about wearing their gear. It was back at the shop, packed up in the other trailer. They were leaving for Togwotee, Wyoming right after the radar runs. They will be there all week, snowmobiling in the mountains! Yes, that means it's just me and the kids for a week. Kind of a mini-vacation for us, too!

And here is Chase. I think they clocked him at 106 mph on his 3rd run. I think by this point, the gun was warming up and was pretty accurate. This snowmobile is "stock". So even though I didn't get to make a run, I sure sound like I know what I'm talking about, don't I???

Company

2009-01-18T15:02:00.002-06:00

We had company Saturday afternoon. Cody, his girlfriend Lisa, and her little girl Kamden came over to visit for a while. Kamden is almost 18 months old and is soooo cute. She was shy at first, but quickly warmed up to us, especially to Brooke and Blake. She played with lots of toys, but I think the Dora tent was her favorite. Blake was outside riding the snowmobile so we held her up to the window so she could watch him. She watched and watched! If he went around to the other side of the house, she would look at us with her hands up like "where is he?" and she would say "Bay (Blake), Peez (Please)!" She wanted him to keep riding by! It was so cute! Cody held her on his knee for quite a while, then she just wanted to stand on the windowsill with someone holding onto her of course! I am sure that the kids and I will have the chance to babysit Kamden - like maybe next weekend! She sure is a lot of fun, but I've forgotten how busy an 18 month old is! I was exhausted after only 2 hours!!!

HOW? WHY? Brrrrr.....

2009-01-14T16:15:00.002-06:00

Snow Day #3 for us! No school due to 5" of snow, high winds, and dropping temperatures. It's so cold out and it's going to be colder tomorrow and Friday than it's been in 12 years, according to the weather guys! Uggghhh! So if it's that cold out, how can the kids be out in it? And why do they want to be? Brooke finally broke down about 10 minutes ago and went outside with Blake. He's been in and out all afternoon. I know, I know, he shouldn't be. We were home Monday because they were both not feeling well, but I tell ya, they are just about stir crazy! A little bit of cold might kill some of those darn germs! You can't tell by looking, the but the drift they are laying in is about 3' deep and it's the drift that poor little, 11 lb. Sophie got stuck in this morning. Literally - stuck. She was whining and just about frozen in the 3 seconds it took for me to get to her. Now she won't go out at all. Even Pepper wants to be inside, at least until now. Now she's outside chasing the kids in the snow.

Snow + wind = Jeff goes snowmobiling. All of the guys are going riding tonight so it's just me and the kids. I have a yummy pork roast in the oven, too, but I guess I will eat his portion! He is leaving on Sunday for Wyoming and will return the following Saturday. The guys look forward to this trip every year and will start planning next year's trip on the way home this year!! So it's just me and the kids next week. Don't tell, but it's kind of like a vacation for us! Hopefully the weather will be much better than this week! I'll be in charge of chores and I am kind of a fair weather farm girl when it comes to choring!!

I brought some school work home with me yesterday, and I'm glad I did since I'll have a little extra time to work on it. A lot of the schools up north have already cancelled classes for tomorrow. I'm hoping that if we decide to cancel, we'll decide tonight so we don't have to get that 6 a.m. phone call tomorrow morning!

Looks like a weekend.....

2009-01-09T20:50:00.002-06:00

at home! Blake started not feeling good tonight. I was wondering if he wasn't coming down with something when he said that he did not want to go out to eat. He just wanted Jeff to go get pizza so we could stay home. He laid by me on the couch (yes, I was sitting on the couch watching The Bucket List) for about an hour and then started complaining of feeling sick. He is currently running a fever of 100. Not too high, but I'm guessing it will get higher if he doesn't take this Tylenol. Ugh. I just hate it when they are sick. When my kids get the flu, they seem to get it sooo bad. I usually have to end up using a suppository to get them to stop vomiting. Boy I hope Blake doesn't get that bad. We had about 30 kids gone today from school. He said that 3 were gone out of his class so I'm sure it's our turn to have it. I'm praying that we all don't get it, especially Brooke. I can't say that I feel all that good, but I'm thinking positive thoughts. Please do the same..... for us!

Back to the Grind!

2009-01-05T18:58:00.003-06:00

Well, we're back at school. We are all tired tonight from trying to get back into the swing of things! And I had 3 of my 5 students at the elementary gone today. What am I going to do tomorrow when they are all back? I will be exhausted then! I had myself prepared for the homework to start up again..... and it did... in full swing! Brooke is really good about getting her homework done. When I tell her to sit down to do it, she does. Not too often does she argue about it. Tonight was a light night for her, only a science worksheet and studying for a spelling pretest. Not even any other tests this week - that's a change! There are some weeks that she has 3 tests at a time.

Then there's Blake......... homework + Blake = TRAIN WRECK !!!!! He absolutely, positively HATES homework! He thinks of every excuse to get out of it - he doesn't feel good, his back hurts, his arm hurts, his hand is tired, he's hungry, he's thirsty, he wants to finish watching a show, he's gotta pee, he's gotta poop, he's not feeling good..... you name it, he's come up with it as an excuse. He has homework every night (except Friday), plus he has a book to read. Did I mention that reading + Blake = TRAIN WRECK #2! Well it does for sure. He hates to read almost as he hates to write his spelling words 4 times each. I dread homework time. It's a constant fight with him.

I often think that he will learn from Brooke's good example. What am I thinking? That is just so not how it is happening! Brooke picks up her toys when she's done playing. He doesn't. Brooke puts her wet washrag in the hamper after her shower. He doesn't, he'd let them pile up until he couldn't get in the shower anymore. Brooke eats whatever I fix. Blake doesn't - sometimes I think he's going to turn blue, you know the color of the Kid Cuisine boxes! Brooke gets up in the morning on her own. He doesn't, I have to almost pull him out of bed by his feet. Brooke doesn't argue with me. He does. Brooke does her homework without much fight. Not Blake. Brooke helps with chores. Blake does if he can ride his four wheeler to the barn. Brooke takes a shower every night. Blake has to be hog-tied to even get into the vacinity of the bathroom to take a shower.

Ugghhhh! Why can't they act the same? And act like Brooke preferably....... For example, we've been sitting here in the kitchen for 25 minutes and he only has 4 of his spelling words written four times each. Damn, we might be here all night! And I'm ready to go to bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Year's Eve 2008

2009-01-03T16:30:00.003-06:00

We brought in the New Year in our own typical way.... through the back of our eyelids! We had a night at home, and Joel & Jenn and Chase came out for a full array of appetizers - ranging from fruit and dip to stuffed mushrooms to shrimp to hot wings to DQ cake. Waaayyyy too much food! The kids ate mini-cheeseburgers for 3 days afterwards! It was pretty quiet.... well except when the guys were playing Wii. They were really getting into it. They played tennis & boxing the most. I think it would be a good idea if they played more often. Between you and me, I think they are all kind of out of shape. Chase called on New Year's Day and said that his back and right arm were sore from boxing. Well if he wouldn't have acted like he was Muhammad Ali, it probably wouldn't have hurt so bad. But you can't tell them anything! When they play, they play hard.

"JT" and "Coal"

2009-01-03T11:46:00.007-06:00

Our new calves are here! We got Brooke's show steer on December 8th and just got Blake's on December 30th. Brooke named hers "Coal" and Blake's is named "JT". They are still pretty jumpy! We are going to start tying them up today and getting them broke. We have to have them pretty well broke by February 1st when we have Mercer County Weigh-in. We've got our work cut out for us! The kids have already helped out more this year than last year. Blake helped quite a bit getting things set up in the barn. We've got everything ready.

Feeding time! They were all ready to eat by the time we got home. Our pen is really tame, much better than the single show steers. They're just little fellas, but that's good since we'll beef them up! They'll just be judged on rate-of-gain. I can put weight on anything - just look at me!!!

This is JT - Blake's steer. He's cute!

This is "Coal" - Brooke' steer. Not a very good picture I know. I know you're thinking "What the heck? He looks just like the other one" You're right, he does, just 150 pounds bigger!

I'm sure excited to have them here. I've been waiting.... since September 6th to be exact! We are in the process of looking at a couple of heifers, too. We can keep them .... forever.... never send them to market. They can give us lots of babies...

Ryner Christmas

2009-01-03T11:38:00.005-06:00

We had Christmas with the Ryners on Christmas Day. We all got very nice gifts, had a great prime rib dinner, and the kids had lots of fun playing together!

Blake is getting ready to open his GI-NORMOUS Nerf Vulcan Dart Gun!! Thanks, Aunt Sara. You don't know how many darts I've been hit with. It's an automatic gun and it shoots about 50 mph!! Grandma and Grandpa gave him remote control dueling helicopters! They sure were a hit!

Brooke got some American Girl accessories. She also got an American Girl horse named Penny - she's the size of our Blue Heeler dog. Really. Not joking.

Max got a new Incredible Hulk mask. Jeff thought it was really cool. I think it's kind of scary myself! Jeff will be so thrilled that I put his portrait on here!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-03T11:25:00.007-06:00

Just thought I'd share some Christmas photos!

Brooke and Blake enjoying all of their goodies in their stockings!

Opening up the Wii! They've sure had fun with it!

Brooke with her Webkinz that looks just like Sophie!

Blake finally got new cowboy boots from Santa! Thank goodness - he had worn the heels off of his other ones and was in desperate need for a new pair. He wears them all the time. He can be such a "farm kid"!

Jeff and Blake playing Wii. Blake was really getting into it so he decided to go "skinz". I think they are boxing in this picture. They really get into that!!! I've actually thought that our house was going to fall down at times!

Just Recovering.....

2008-12-28T19:55:00.002-06:00

Once again, this year's holidays were a whirlwind!! It seems like you work and work and work and in an instant, it's over. Now it's the "let down" after Christmas, and I frankly don't like it. Although for the first time since we've been out for Christmas break, I've been able to sit down and relax a little bit. I even snuck in an afternoon nap on Friday and Saturday! And it felt really, really good! The kids had a great Christmas. I'm pretty sure they got just about everything on their list. Santa brought them a Wii and some games. They've been busy with that - trying out every game and actually (for the most part) getting along with each other while they've played the games. Jeff thought he threw out his shoulder on Christmas playing Wii Baseball with Blake. Maybe it will help us all get in shape!!! I was proud of myself when I gave Jeff his Christmas present. I have always tried to "surprise" him with something, but he always knows what it is or guesses as he's opening it. It drives me nuts! So this year I wanted to really catch him off guard... and I did! Now, I know, most wives wouldn't dream of buying their husbands what I bought mine, but please consider how very hard Jeff is to buy for. If he wants something, he buys it. He wanted this, too, but for the first time since I've known him, he didn't buy it. Are you wondering what it is??? I just bet you won't guess. In a million years you wouldn't guess an Assault Rifle??!! Well, that's what he got! And he was surprised! Of course he got me just about everything on my list (except for the stuff from Farm King which I couldn't believe he didn't get - he's very practical), and my little personal shopper Brooke did such a good job shopping!!! Jeff got me a really cool HP printer/copier and wants me to be able to print out the pictures that I take. I thought that was a really good idea - that was my "practical" gift. Then I got some pajamas (because Brooke hates my Ryner sweats), slipper socks, my perfume that I love, a new watch, a diamond necklace, and some kickass diamond earrings. He did really good! I was shocked with the jewelry, but he told me why he bought them. He said that he found out this summer how much it meant to me to get some of Mom's jewelry so he thought that if this is something Brooke could have down the road, then it's worth buying it. (Sidenote- Carrie told me to ask to see his ID.... Jeff doesn't usually say such sentimental things...)

I'm just about ready to get started on Weight Watchers. OK, I might not be ready to, but I really NEED to! I've eaten way too much!!! None of my khakis will fit next week when I have to go back to school, which I'm dreading by the way!

My sister Cathi has been sick since Christmas. High fever and just feeling rotten. Say a little prayer for the little Scooter tonight. She needs to feel better. Soon. Tomorrow is Monday and Carrie is coming. We always hang out on Mondays (when I'm not in school!) and we need Cathi to hang out with us. Get better, Sissy!

We get our other show calves on Tuesday. I'm pretty pumped to see what we are getting!

No big plans for New Year's Eve. I think we'll just hang out. Probably play the Wii and go to bed before midnight! My kids are 7 1/2 and 10 and I don't think they've ever rang in the new year at Midnight! I always tell them Happy New Year the next morning! I am just not a night person. Hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year's and that everyone is recovering nicely from Christmas!!

Brrrrrr.....

2008-12-21T08:23:00.003-06:00

Right now it's -3 degrees with a wind chill of -30. What an inviting winter, huh? Well that's what you get when you live in central Illinois. The 1/2" of ice that we had Thursday night didn't help either! As of last night, Cathi and Roger didn't have power. That makes for an interesting "Flatt Christmas" that we are supposed to have this afternoon. Thank Goodness for generators! Our power did flicker at midnight and went off for just a minute. At that point I think Jeff went down to the couch to be ready in case the power did go out. We have a big generator that he is all ready to use. I know he "wants" to use it but doesn't want to "have" to use it. He even has a cute little John Deere tractor that will run it. Nothing but cute though if we have to run the dumb thing. We've been spared so far so we should be fine.

The holidays are in full swing around here! All of my shopping is done. Well, I do have to take Brooke to get something for Blake. Jeff said he will take the kids one night to get something for me. I give them a very specific list and he is good to follow it. Now that Brooke is older though she thinks of things she wants me to have. For example, last week was the kids' Polar Express Party at school. We were all able to wear pajamas, but Brooke was too embarrassed by my RYNER sweats (see previous blog about that!) and she said that I just had to wear jeans and slippers. Although she's not a big fan of my slippers either. I'm thinking slippers and matching pajamas could be under the tree for me this year. There is one gift under the tree, by the way, with no tag on it. I'm thinking that my wonderful sisters had a little bit to do with that. They are good to drop hints to Jeff. I think they even get the darn gifts and wrap them for him!!! Geesh, how much easier does that get for Jeff???

December 10th was the kids' Christmas program at school. Notice in the picture how grown up they are! Where has the time gone? They are both looking forward to Christmas. Blake is constantly looking under the tree for his presents to just Magically appear under there.

Today is Christmas with my side of the family. Hopefully we'll all be able to "slide" on over to Roger and Cathi's house. Our afternoon is going to be full of appetizers and soups, wearing our slippers, relaxing, opening gifts, and just visiting. I don't think we have all been together, just us as a family, since Dad died. It will be "different" this year, for a lack of a better word. And to think that even "Bo" (Dad's black lab) won't be with us either..... that's hard in itself as well. He was Dad's right hand man, his best friend, and though it might sound corny, he was a little bit of Dad that we had left. Bo was hit by a train on Thursday while out running around with Harley (Chase's yellow lab). The guys found him and said that is was a suffer-free death which made me feel better. Poor Bo. But just imagine how happy he was to see Dad and Mom up there in Heaven. I'm sure he was greeted with a sausage link and a bowl ice cream, maybe even a ribeye! They are all three together now, and since Bo was part-human, they are a little family again.

I better get my 50 mini-cheeseburgers finished up and put in the crockpot for today. We love to all be together, but love to all EAT even more!!!

Enjoy your cold Sunday...

Snow Day #1

2008-12-08T20:55:00.003-06:00

Well, I kind of cursed myself last night when I was wishing for a snow day today. I don't know why I wanted one so bad. I got several things done this weekend that I had been wanting to. My wish came true, although we were about to get teeth brushed and shoes on when I found out we didn't have school! Thank goodness Cathi called or we probably would have gone to school. They called it off late because of icy roads. I guess they sent the buses out but called them back to the bus barn due to icy roads and many accidents. I really didn't complain too much. How could I when the kids were screaming and jumping up and down. Of course none of us will be excited when we are still in school in mid-June!!

I'm wondering if there has ever been a day when teachers got to stay home but could send their own personal children to school. This is why:
Blake talks nonstop. He asks questions nonstop. He wants to be outside nonstop. He is the definition of nonstop. When we drove by the school this afternoon, one of the 3rd grade teachers was there and I told Blake maybe I could drop him off to her and they could have some private learning time. He was less than amused.

This weekend I got several things accomplished - cleaned out my closet and bagged up some of my clothes for Goodwill, cleaned out Blake's dresser and closet (you couldn't see the floor - I was afraid of what I would find in there but it turned out AOK), cleaned out Brooke's 2 dressers and her closets, bagged up her clothes that didn't fit anymore (yes, I had 4 bags to give to a single Mom that Wanda works with), delivered clothes to Goodwill, took a bunch of trash down to the dumpster at the shop, cleaned out the vanity in the upstairs bathroom, and even threw out some outdated food in my cupboard. Today I steamed Brooke's carpet, got my Christmas cards finished up and in the mailbox, cleaned out the freezer in the kitchen (Jeff was yelling "heeelllllooooo" into it when he first opened the door, he claimed he had never seen the back wall of the freezer!), and even bought our first show steer. Yes , you read right - I bought our first show steer..... since the devastating selling of the festival calves on September 6, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Yes I remember all of the details and all of the tears that were shed on that day and for days after. Like last week when we got a flyer in the paper with the kids pictures of them with their steers. It still hurts. It still hurts bad. But..... they are now replaced... with a 760 pound, big hunk of a steer that is now residing in my barn. He's an Angus-Shorthorn crossbred who is sired by the bull Heatwave ( yes, that means nothing to you, but it does to me!) Oh, don't worry, there will be pictures. Maybe quite a few. He is so cute right now. All black with long, thick, wavy hair. Just picture him..... just picture how I will be blogging about selling him next fall. Of course John (My right hand man of a father-in-law who helps me so much during show season.... we have so much fun) and I think he's darn-near perfect!!! He will have a stall mate in about 6 weeks when we get our other festival calves. He's kind of lonely right now.

December is proving to be another busy month. We've got lots to do in the couple weeks left of school - a Christmas program, a 2nd grade play, making gingerbread houses with Brooke's class, Classroom Christmas parties, and a few meetings that I have to go to between now and the 19th. Of course there's always the things outside of school, too - like finishing up shopping, making cookies for a cookie exchange, putting together cookie/treat trays for the farm landlords, wrapping all of the gifts and making sure everything is even and fair, and maybe even having some down time to enjoy the holidays! Is that asking too much!!!

Well it's off to bed now so we can get ready for school tomorrow. I don't think I want another snow day...... if so, I will be calling each and every one of you to see if Blake could come to visit. I love every little piece of him and every word uttered out of his mouth, but sometimes Mom needs a damn break!!!!!!!!!! Good night.

Cheetah... Cheetah... Cheetalicious!

2008-12-07T18:49:00.002-06:00

Saturday was the big Cheetah Girls concert! If you haven't been to a concert with 20,000 screaming girls ranging in age from 6-13, you need to!! It really was a good concert, they are very talented and entertaining girls. There was never a lag in the concert. They had a group of 8 guys that danced when the girls were changing or whatnot. Cathi, Rachel, Brooke, and I all had a good time! Blake stayed "with the guys". He's kind of into "staying with the guys". Blake and Luke rode the snowmobile for most of the day, then Blake and Jeff hung out until we got home. He was down at the shop all day today, too. I have a feeling that he is going to be wanting to hang out with them on the weekends this winter. Brooke helped decorate the 4H Christmas tree today that will be on display next weekend during the Alexis Christmas Walk. She was actually the only one that helped. I told her she should receive some special high 4H honor!!!

By the way, Blake just informed me that he is going to start "being like Dad". He told me that he is only going to take showers (no baths), wear deodorant, go to bed in his own bed at night (instead of laying down with his mama), sleep only in his underwear ( he will freeze b/c his bedroom is cold), and is going to cut down on sugar (yea right) and drink more water (yea right again). He did tell me that there is one thing he's not going to do yet - drink beer. That's giving me the indication that he is going to drink beer... someday... I guess I've been forewarned!

The Diagnosis.... X 2!

2008-11-30T12:15:00.002-06:00

Well I broke down and took the kids to the clinic this morning. I hesitated, but then I thought maybe they should be seen in case there is something wrong. I'd hate for it to get worse in the next 24 hours.

Brooke - is 4'10!!!! Yes, that's 4 inches shorter than me!!! She has an upper respiratory infection. Lungs sounded a little raspy but he said the majority of her problem is all of the head/nose congestion. She is on an antibiotic. Feels better than last night, but still is very stuffy!

Blake - is 4'4!! Less than a foot shorter than me - 10 inches to be exact. The nurse pretty much had me convinced that he had chicken pox. But the doctor thought different.... he said it's a bad case of impetigo (Highly contagious staff infection). He said that Blake needs to "lay low" for the next couple days and not go to school. He said that since it's spread so much in the last 24-48 hours, it's in a very contagious stage. I haven't told Blake yet that he can't go to school. He will probably get to hang out with Aunt Cathi and Aunt Carrie and maybe Jeff for a while tomorrow. I'd hate for him to infect all of his classmates. He's on an oral antibiotic and a topical ointment. Hopefully he will dry up and look lots better. If he will let me, I'll try to snap a picture when he gets home from "working on sleds" with his Dad.

There ya go, diagnoses in and treatment started..... I'll keep you updated!
PS Brooke said that there's no way Blake is going to have a girl friend with that crap all over his face! Hopefully he won't still have it when he's 15!

Weekend Update...

2008-11-30T08:10:00.003-06:00

Hello from a snowy Alexis! We woke up to beautiful, big, white flakes of snow falling from the sky. We are even under a Winter Weather Advisory until tomorrow morning..... could it be that we could have our first snow day tomorrow??? Oh, I'm sure not, but it is wishful thinking. It could prevent me from taking a sick day... more later.

Blake made it home safe from his little weekend getaway with Dad. He had a really good time. The guys said that he talked a lot.... duh? Welcome to my world! He came home with a hat, coat, and a coat for Brooke, and he even got a sweatshirt for me! Early Christmas gifts I guess.

Speaking of Christmas, I am so happy with the amount of shopping I have done already. It kind of freaks me out actually. I'm usually finding a babysitter on the 23rd so I can get out and finish, then I come home and wrap gifts and try to hide them somewhere in the house. Not this year though, I still have a little bit to finish for a couple people and have to pick up a couple more things for the kids, but I should be able to get finished in a day. Now it's just finding "that day" to do it. Things are going to start getting pretty hectic between home and school. I have three meetings this week so I'll be glad when this week is over! I really wish I would have picked up some wrapping paper while I was out and about so I could start wrapping family gifts. This is a perfect day for that!

Speaking of snow, Brooke and Blake are playing Uno to pass the time until Jeff comes back to get Blake. He is wanting to go down to the shop to work on snowmobiles with the guys. Around here, when the first flake falls, the guys head to the shop and get their sleds ready for riding season. And Blake is just sure that he is going to get some riding in. Not quite enough snow- yet - but you never know - maybe by afternoon.

Now, speaking of "sick day", Brooke came home from Carrie's not feeling well. She had a sore throat Friday night. In fact, she just sat by me on the couch at Sam and Lilly's birthday party. That is not like her at all. She was absolutely exhausted, too. Needless to say, neither of us slept too good that night. It figures. Yesterday I offered the whole "Christmas shopping" idea, but she wanted to stay home. That didn't surprise me really, she is kind of a homebody. The kids had a babysitter last night while we went to a friend's 50th birthday party. We had just gotten to the party when Brooke called me. She was crying and said she didn't feel good. Kevin brought me home and Jeff stayed at the party for a while longer. When I got home, she was laying on the couch with red cheeks. According to the babysitter, that's what she had done all evening. She woke up this morning with a cough that started at her toes. Blake is the one that came in our room and said that Brooke was sick because she was coughing so bad. She has been coughing quite a bit this morning. She's congested in her head and chest, and when she sneezes it sounds like it would hurt sooooo bad. Now... to Blake.... last week he woke up with a little blister on his left nostril. It was teeny tiny, but he picked at it and it spread into a pretty big area on his nostril. Then he woke up with a spot above his top lip. It is pretty big now, but it has crusted over. Then it moved to the side of his mouth. Last night he had a spot on the side of his nose and now he has one down by his jaw. I am really frustrated with the way that it is spreading. I don't think it's chicken pox. He said that they hurt, but they don't itch. I am wondering if he is allergic to this little kitty we now have. I just don't know, it's only on his face. Isn't that nice? Christmas program in a week! Yikes! Glad I already took their Christmas picture. The poor guy. So that's where the "sick day" comes in..... I want them to see our regular pediatrician for all of this. I don't want to go to the Clinic and see just any doctor on call. I am wanting to wait until tomorrow I think.

Now back to this snow that is falling from the sky, Blake was outside playing in it at 7:30 and Brooke is wanting to go out for a little bit. I guess maybe the cold air will open up her airways? I told her she could go out for a little bit, I know she won't be out there for very long.

Your job today is to pray that this snow really starts falling and the winds pick up and drift the roads enough to have a snow day. Wouldn't that be cool??? Yes, it would, then I could take my kids to the doctor without having to call in to school for a sick day. Pray. Pray. Pray.

Girls Day Out

2008-11-28T21:26:00.002-06:00

Brooke and Rachel spent the night with Auntie Carrie last night. Last year when they stayed, they made tye-dyed shirts. Blake stayed with them last year, but obviously he didn't this year since he's up North with the guys. This year their project was making blankets. They went to Walmart this morning and got to pick out the material that they wanted. They were even nice enough to make one for Blake - even camouflage. They turned out cute. Aunt Carrie even bought her and the girls new tye-dyed hoodies to wear today. They looked great! Brooke had so much fun, but she is soooooo exhausted!!!

Cathi, Kathy, and I got lots and lots and lots of Christmas shopping today. I am just about done and am so excited about it!! Lots of good deals, especially on clothes - 20% off, 25% off, 30% off, buy one get one half off, and buy one get one free - saved lots of money! Mission accomplished....

Headed out....

2008-11-28T21:14:00.003-06:00

I was a bit nervous heading into Blake's bedroom this morning at 4:30 to wake him up to head off to Michigan. (I was up at 3:45 mind you to get ready to go shopping for Black Friday deals!) But, he was ready to get up! He did get a little upset when he came into the bathroom. He cried and said that he would miss me and I would miss him. I told him that he didn't have to go, that he could stay with me, but he said that he wanted to go with his Dad and the guys. The tears didn't last long, and he was up and dressed in no time. Teeth brushed. Hair combed. Deodorant on. Snack and 7UP in hand. Uncle Kevin was supposed to be here at 5:00 a.m. At 5:06, Blake was ranting and raving about him being late!!!! Blake wouldn't let me leave until he did so I hung around until 5:15 until they left. He was sure excited. Of course, why wouldn't he be? Uncle Kevin told him that they would buy him something at every dealership they stopped at!!!!

MICHIGAN!

2008-11-22T10:00:00.002-06:00

I wrote that in caps because that is how Blake says it - with so much excitement, and he stretches it out to Mi-chi-gan! Jeff goes snowmobiling every year, usually at least 3 times. The last couple years, they guys have taken off on the Friday after Thanksgiving to just go "look" at snowmobiles & stuff. Blake has always wanted to go, but when I have to tell him that "Yes, it is farther than North Henderson (6 miles away)", he always changes his mind and doesn't want to go with them.

Last night, Kevin asked Blake if he wanted to go and he couldn't contain himself before he said yes! He was/is soooooooo excited! I have explained and explained to him that he isn't going riding, just stopping at probably 50 dealerships to look at stuff. He says he still wants to go, after my "kind of trying to convince him not to go because I think he's too young and won't like to ride that far" talk.

It was absolutely hilarious to hear him talking about it with Kevin. Here are a just a few excerpts from the conversation:

Kevin: "Make sure you bring lots of Mountain Dew and skittles. We want you to be really excited about going."
Blake: "Mom, can we go to Target and get Mountain dew?"

Blake: I will bring us some extra socks, Uncle Kevin, because we might get snow in our boots and then our socks will get wet so we will need some dry ones.

Blake: Make sure we stay in a cabin with no cracks in the walls because I want to be able to sleep in my shorts.

Blake: Make sure there's a pool table and putt putt place in our hotel...or in our cabin....oh, and I hope there's a pool, too. "

Blake: When I get home I'm gonna pack. I am gonna bring 2 bookbags. One with my clothes and one with my toys. Mom, can we go now so I can go pack?

Kevin: We're gonna stop at lots of dealers and we'll get you something at every one.

I hope he remembers that he said that when Blake is asking for something at every dealership. He already thinks he is getting a new coat, boots, bibs, hat, and gloves.... Brother!

They are leaving at 4:30 am on Friday and will return on Saturday - late afternoon/early evening. Blake is sooo excited and wants me to tell everyone that I see that he is in a "different state - Mi-Chi-Gan!!!!" This oughta be interesting.....

A Busy Week

2008-11-22T09:42:00.003-06:00

It's sure a sign that the holidays are approaching quickly when your weekly calendar fills up to the brim. I can't say that this week is as busy as weekends I've had in the past, but knowing that Thanksgiving is Thursday just makes it seem busy. The kids are excited that there is only 2 3/4 days of school this week. Blake, especially, because he has some fun things going on at school. His reading group is performing a play on Monday and Wednesday. Parents are invited on Wednesday so that oughta be fun to watch. Plus, he gets to be in the Turkey Bowl this year. This is something that they have done for the past 4 years in PE class. Wednesday will be set aside for turkey bowling all day. The kids and their classes will go to the gym throughout the day to watch their classmates "bowl" with frozen turkeys and plastic bowling pins. There are 6 kids out of each classroom and Blake was chosen this year. Brooke actually did it last year and she loved it! So Blake is sure looking forward to it this year. More to follow on another exciting thing for Blake....

I need to make a list of everything we need to get done this week.
Monday - no plans
Tuesday - Brooke and I get haircuts after school. She is still growing her bangs out and it's going to be the death of me! Then we will stop at the grocery store to get what I need to fix the Thanksgiving dishes. I am making fresh green beans, deviled eggs, and pies (pumpkin, apple, banana cream, peanut butter cream, and coconut cream. I find it just as easy to make 4 or 5 pies as 1. I will need to remind myself of that on Thursday morning.
Wednesday - Early out at school. Thank goodness! We will come home to boil eggs for deviled eggs, clean green beans, make pie crust, and make "generic" pie filling. Planning on Brooke making the pumpkin pie and I will make an apple pie.
Thursday - Up early to put green beans on (it will probably take about 20 pounds for all of us!), put deviled eggs together, and put the pies together. Everything should be make ahead of time so it shouldn't take too awful long to whip up the meringue (which hopefully turns out) and get the pies in the oven to brown. My family isn't too concerned with the way my pies "look", they only care about the "taste" and most of the time they taste way better than they look. I fight that meringue every darn year. You would think I'd give up, but I want to know how to make a beautiful tall meringue. I actually think a 12 egg meringue is the best, but Helloooooo... that would be like 3 dozen eggs ,.....only for meringue.... maybe I do need my own Banny hens out in the chicken house. No, no, don't go there. Gross. Little peckers. Ok, then off to Kevin & Kathy's about noon, may have to pull a trailer to carry all of my pies! (Grandma, I'm trying to replicate you, I know, it's not working) At the end of the day, Brooke will go home with Aunt Carrie & Uncle Larry (actually hasn't been officially invited but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that is still the plan). Blake won't go this year, just Brooke & Rachel, but he has bigger plans... more later. We will stop by the Ryner Thanksgiving late afternoon/early evening. Then it's time to go home and go to bed early to get ready for Friday!!
Friday - Up at the crack of dawn to go shopping. I think last year I was at Cathi's before 6:00 a.m. Blake will be getting up at that time too. More later. Brooke will be at Aunt Carrie's. We will shop until we drop. We have to get those early bargains! I have yet to figure out how I am going to get Brooke from Carrie when we are going to be in the Cities shopping, but that will work out somehow. Friday night we have Sam & Lilly's birthday party at 6 p.m. at their house. Last year we didn't get home until 10:00 p.m. from shopping so it will have to be cut short this year. Brooke is spending the night with Lilly that night.
Saturday - Hopefully I'll be able to sleep in a tad. I'm just sure I'll be exhausted. The only ones here should be me and Sophie. Fun. Fun. Not. Blake and Jeff should get home late afternoon. They have to be home for Brad's 50th birthday party. It starts at 7:30 and should be a good time! Babysitter that night. Not sure who!
Sunday - Recooperate! Brooke has a birthday party to go to that afternoon. Get ready for Monday and it's back to school!

Man, that doesn't seem like much of a "Thanksgiving break", does it? That made me tired just typing it!!! So this is why I'm getting my Christmas decor put up this weekend. If I don't, it might not get up! The kids will help decorate the tree. They love doing that & it's a big help to me! Hopefully we will get it all done!

Getting Started.....

2008-11-16T16:51:00.002-06:00

It seems that Christmas is in the air all over the place! I saw my first Christmas commercial on tv on November 1st. It seems that it gets started earlier and earlier every year. I have actually started a couple things myself. Christmas cards are ordered via Shutterfly. This is for sure the earliest I've ever ordered cards. Usually I am the one that is mailing them out on Dec. 23rd hoping for a Dec. 26th delivery to family and friends. I actually might be able to get them out a bit earlier this year. But, if you know me at all, you know that just because I have something "in hand" doesn't mean it will get done! But I am shooting for that goal! Last night I even did a little bit of Christmas shopping. Brooke was at a sleepover and Blake had a friend over at our house so I left all the boys home and headed to town myself. That doesn't happen very often so I thought I better take advantage of the opportunity to go somewhere by myself. I wouldn't say that I have a great start at things, but at least I do have a couple things bought.

As far as Thanksgiving, I already know what I'm taking to Kevin and Kathy's. I decided that I better "practice" today by making a peanut butter cream pie. The last few meringues that I've made have weeped and ended up being about 1/2" thick. This one did weep a little bit, but not as bad as usual. It wasn't too thick, but I think doubling the recipe would help that tremendously. I am planning on taking 3 cream pies (banana, coconut, and peanut butter) but we'll have to see how it all goes. I need to talk to someone who is really good at making meringue and see if they can give me some advice as to how to help my pie problem. (By the way, as I'm typing about pies, I'm watching Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on CMT and a girl is being sent home because her body fat is 22% - maybe she'll feel better if she comes over for a piece of pie!)

I am planning on getting my Christmas stuff up next weekend. The weekend after Thanksgiving will be way too busy with more shopping and birthday parties. You better get shopping, too!

Dirty Dancing

2008-11-12T19:37:00.002-06:00

Well, today Cathi had a well-deserved day off in which she traveled to Chicago with some girl friends to see the production of "Dirty Dancing" at the Cadillac Theater. Roger brought Rachel to our house at 6:45 a.m. so she could go to school with us, then she came home with us after school until Roger got off of work. I think the kids (and Rachel) would be just fine with her coming to our house before school every day. First of all, they were up and ready about 1/2 hour earlier than they have been all year. Secondly, they were done with breakfast and brushing their teeth by 7:30, where I'm usually yelling at them to get done at 7:47 so we can leave at 7:48! It's usually quite a stressful time. Thirdly, they played before school and had a lot of fun together. Unusual, too. Lastly, we were at school at 7:40 am. In fact, a couple people asked me what I was doing there so early.... we're usually walking in as the 8:00 bell rings. All of our students gather in the gym before school and sit with their classes. The kids headed to the gym, but then came back to my room saying "WE are the only ones in there!"

I held off on texting Cathi all day. I always talk to her during my travels to the high school everyday. Today I didn't have anyone to talk to!! I wanted to call her to see where they were eating at, but I didn't. I held back.... until about 5:30 tonight. I texted her. I had to. I wanted to know what she thought. Her exact words in her reply text were "OMG! I am going to lose weight and start dancing. It was awesome!"

Lucky her. Why can't they tell me about these get-aways before the day before the trip. Hint, maybe there's a reason why they didn't tell me...... sniff...sniff....

Pain in the *&@#!!!!

2008-11-12T19:34:00.001-06:00

Yes, this is my plant.... with Drake in it... yes, it's dead.... I had to get rid of it tonight. I don't know much about cats , and I sure don't understand why they like plants so much. He knocks it over, plants with the leaves, and then plays with the dirt. What is fun about that? I mean seriously.

Our newest addition....

2008-11-09T11:51:00.003-06:00

Meet Drake. He's a little tom kitty that Brooke and Blake found in the barn at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I thought I had the kids convinced to leave him in Grandma and Grandpa's basement, but Blake asked his dad if we could take him home. Jeff didn't feel the burning of my piercing eyes through the back of his head and said "yeah, he can stay in the basement until he's old enough to go outside". Could he honestly not feel me staring at him with my "you better not say yes" eyes. As much as I really am not a cat-lover, he sure is cute. Well I thought he was a lot cuter until he got into my plants. Now I have a half-dead plant. (it was really half dead before but now I can blame it on someone other than myself!) Drake likes to play with Sophie, but I have to tell Sophie to be more gently. She plays with him, then turns around to me with a cat-hair mustache. She tends to get a little rough and bite him, but he has quickly learned to hold his own

Yummy! Yummy!

2008-11-09T11:39:00.003-06:00

I absolutely, positively LOVE caramel apples. I'm a frequent visitor of any story that sells homemade caramel apples, especially Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory around the holidays. I think they are such a great treat. I have always wanted to make my own, but haven't been able to find a recipe that I really like. I like the caramel to stay soft and chewy, not get hard as a rock! Well, I think I found the right recipe, and I am so excited! I used Blake as my "taste tester" since he has such a sweet tooth. He thought they were really good, too! Brooke was even able to eat some of an apple with her braces on. Soft, chewy, melting in your mouth...... We are taking them to a weiner roast this afternoon, and I'm anxious to see if anyone else thinks they're any good!

In case you want the recipe, here it is!!!

Homemade Caramel Apples
1 c. real butter (not margarine)
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. karo syrup
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
2 t. vanilla
12 apples
wooden sticks

Clean apples. Insert a stick into each one. Set aside. In a heavy sauce pan, melt butter, brown sugar, syrup, and milk together. Bring to a boil over low to medium heat. Do not heat too quickly. Stir constantly, 25-30 minutes. Boil together until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Coat each apple with caramel. Set caramel apples on buttered wax paper to cool.

*Thanks, Tricia, for the post about this recipe!

Always something....

2008-11-05T17:00:00.003-06:00

Why can't we have a normal week around here??!! The kids have been sick off and on for the past few weeks, and now.... yes, I have it. I am sooo congested. When I talk, I feel like I'm talking from a 6 foot deep hole. Everything echoes. Nothing has any taste(unfortunatley that doesn't stop me from eating). All I do is blow my nose. I went to bed last night with vicks on the bottom of my feet, on my chest, under my nose (which was absolutely burning because my skin was so chapped - now I know how Blake felt last week), and even had a diffuser by my bed that was spitting out some menthol stuff. You would think I would be clear as a bell today... but I'm NOT! Jeff couldn't figure out what the smell was in the bedroom last night. Hmmm, I couldn't smell anything! Today is better but I am still stuffed up. One more question - how is it possible that your nose can run if it's so darn stuffed up?

Ok, Last One

2008-11-02T19:29:00.000-06:00

I like this picture, too, of the kids with Pepper. She didn't really want to cooperate either.

I LUV this one, too!

2008-11-02T19:26:00.000-06:00

Gettin' Some Air!

2008-11-02T19:22:00.001-06:00

Blake's favorite, favorite trick. He absolutely, positively loves to jump the north driveway. Aunt Cathi caught him in action!

I ^Heart^ Them!

2008-11-02T19:20:00.000-06:00

Are they the cutest ever or what? I absolutely love this picture. I think it's the red background. Taken at Aunt Cathi's by Aunt Cathi.

2008-11-02T18:29:00.001-06:00

Cathi came out with her new camera today and practiced her photography skills on the kids! I'm sure that Brooke and Blake were by far her toughest subjects! They didn't really want to cooperate!

Quite a Crew!

2008-11-02T17:09:00.002-06:00

I took Brooke, Blake, and Rachel trick or treating. We had so much fun... and they got soooo much candy! We started by going to a few family/friend's houses and then went into Alexis for 2 hours. Brooke was a nurse and looked so natural at it. Rachel was a funny old woman, and Blake was a scary werewolf! It was such a fun night. I think it's more fun now that they are older!

Brooke the Baker

2008-11-02T17:07:00.001-06:00

Brooke has been really into making pumpkin pies. I think she has made between 6 and 8 this fall! She's to the point that she does all the work herself. She made 2 for Jeff's birthday, (he loves pumpkin pie) and he said that they were great! Maybe she'll start making supper!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-02T17:05:00.002-06:00

Better late than never!!! We finally carved pumpkins.... just 2 nights before Halloween. The kids did all the work themselves this year!

I Lost It.....

2008-10-27T19:11:00.002-05:00

sniff, sniff, sniff.... Yep, I lost it.... I officially lost "Mother of the Year" - again! I keep losing it, then I earn it back, now I've lost it again. Let me give you just a little recap of where our day went bad, then horrible.....

1. Woke Blake up at 6:50 - after he slept continually for over 12 hours! He complained of not feeling good. I told him he'd be better once he ate. He was really stuffy and I had heard him coughing in the night. Tried to get him to get up and around and told him I'd call the doctor for a late afternoon appointment (figuring he had pneumonia - more on that later).

2. In the meantime, Brooke was getting very mad because the black "comfy" pants that I got her yesterday are way too long and I won't let her wear them.

3. I'm continuing to yell at Blake to get up out of bed. He's still complaining and now getting teary. By this time, it's after 7 a.m. so I tell him I can't call for a sub. He's even more mad. Brooke is getting madder because she doesn't know what to wear to school.

4. I try calling Carrie (who didn't have her phone up loud enough!) to see if she could sit with Blake while I took Brooke to school and got my lesson plans there. No answer. Blake is stuck going to school with me. He's pissed. So now it's 7:30 and I call my principal to tell him to get me a sub, apologizing for the late notice.

5. Brooke and Blake continue to get ready for school. Blake is blowing his nose 100 times. Brooke just looked mad at the world.

6. 7:55 am - walking out the door and my principal called to tell me I have a parent waiting to see me. I have 5 minutes to get to school.

7. Parent waiting for me in the office. Brooke starts complaining of a sore throat and starts crying. I quietly yell at her about complaining all the time and try to get her to join her class. Basically pushed her down the hallway as I walked into the office. Blake is waiting for me in the car, didn't think my meeting would take but a minute. I left it running and is watching a movie. Yep, Brooke still crying.

8. 8:20 - tell my parent that my son is in the car so I go check on him. He's content. Brooke is now in the office - red eyed, teary, complaining of not feeling good.

9. 8:40 - Excuse myself from the meeting telling them that Blake is still in the car. Notice that there is no sub in my room. Nice. Won't even tell you what I said about that.

10. Take off from school with both kids. Cathi had called me a few times so I called her back. She said that she and Carrie would meet me to get the kids so I could go back to school. Off to meet them going about 75 mph. Nice. Good thing there weren't any cops.

11. Back to school to take care of everyone else's kids and not mine. Feel really guilty about that, but I know that being with Aunt Carrie and Aunt Cathi is really better than being with me. Make a doctor's appt. for the kids for 1:30 so I only have to take the afternoon off. No high school today, but I got that covered.

12. Finish my morning and leave at noon to get the kids and get them to the doctor.

The saga continues.....

So, by now, I've pretty much figured out that I've for sure lost "Mother of the Year". Brooke is pretty much so mad at me that she won't talk to me. That makes me feel good. I just get so worked up in the "heat of the moment" that I can't think straight. Then I end of yelling at my kids, accusing them of basically "faking" sick. Then I threaten them with having Dr. P do every test known to man-kind to get this "sickness" figured out for once and for all. No wonder I have gray hair, am overweight, and get headaches. What the heck????

So now we are off to the doctor. I've pretty much got the kids scared to death that they are going to undergo minor surgery to get them checked out......

Dr. comes in the room and checks out Brooke first. Basic conversation:

Dr. : "Does she complain of her ears hurting?"

Mom: "No, she's never said that. Just says that her throat hurts and her stomach is always upset."

Dr.: "She has a very bad.... horrible ear infection in her right ear."

Mom: ( I didn't say anything at this point, thinking I'm the suckiest and bitchiest mom alive)

Dr. : "When they are this age and they get an earache, a lot of times they don't complain of ear pain, they just feel rotten."

Mom: "Yep, she does."

Dr: "She has a right not to feel good."

I'm sinking in my chair at this point. Next is Blake.

Dr: "Blake the Great has bronchitis. No pneumonia... yet. I need to see them back in a week."

Do I need to say more? That's how our Monday went. Hell, tomorrow has to better, doesn't it???

Kids & their social lives!!

2008-10-26T20:17:00.002-05:00

Brooke is 10, Blake is 7 1/2, and they have more going on in one weekend than I would ever think of! It all started Friday night when a group of 17 of us went to the opening show of High School Musical 3. The show was sold out but we managed to all sit within 2 rows of each other. It was a lot of fun. Of course the majority of the group was 9-10 year old girls, but there were 3 little brothers that were there, too - including Blake. It was actually a ton of fun! The movie was a cross between Grease, Footloose, Flashdance, and of course things related to HSM!

Saturday - Blake had a flag football game at noon. They lost.... again. They sure have a lot of fun playing and that's what's important. After that, both of the kids had a skating birthday party for girls (sisters) in their classes. It was from 1:30-3:30. Brooke took off after that party to go to another one - a sleepover for her friend Shaniah at Fun City in Burlington! Can't imagine what all went on there! Blake and I went to Galesburg and finally found his Halloween costume. It's only a week away you know! Tried to get Blake in bed early last night so he'd be ready for today, but that didn't happen.

Today - Blake was up at 6:30 and on the road at 7:30 with his friend Jonah (and his family) to Geneseo to the last 4 wheeler race of the season. I wasn't able to go since I had to fix lunch for Jeff and wait for Brooke to get home. He got 5th (out of 5!), but again he will tell you that it's all about having fun. They all get trophies, and that's all that seems to matter to him. He doesn't care what place he gets! Fine with me! He got home a little after 4:00. Kind of a cold, blustery day to be outside all day. I guess it was even sleeting during the race. Kind of glad I wasn't there! (Don't tell him though....) I picked up Brooke about 1:00 this afternoon from Cathi's. She sure had fun, but sure is tired! She's been asleep for about 20 minutes , since about 8:10. That's really early for her. I told her she might want to go to sleep, within 3 minutes she was out!

By the way, Blake has been asleep since 6:15 tonight. Slept through supper. Must have had a hard day! Good thing he had an early bath. This means he'll probably be up around 5 in the morning!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, one more thing - for those of you wondering.... Christmas is 59 days away!!!!!!

We Didn't Lose Rachel!!!

2008-10-23T20:37:00.002-05:00

For those of you who read the comments on my blog last night, disregard some of what my lovely sister said!! Cathi, we did NOT lose Rachel in Target. As I recall, Jeff and the girls were in the toy section. Jeff wandered over to the next aisle, and as the girls looked around, Jeff wasn't there. Did they freak?? YES! They did! I could hear screaming kids from across the store and thought to myself "Oh, some poor, poor children got separated from their parents!" But, no, as I looked up, I saw Brooke and Rachel running, no sprinting rather, across the Target store!!! I believer Rachel was screaming "Aunt Chrissi, Uncle Jeff lost us!!!!!!!!" Then there was Jeff, trailing about 15 steps behind them with a really weird look on his face!! Yeah, we didn't "lose" her!!!

On a lighter note, the kids got picked up from After School safe and sound tonight by Grandma Wanda!! Brooke insisted I call her after school to remind her so I sent her a quick text!! Everyone got where they needed to be!!

Randomness

2008-10-22T21:14:00.002-05:00

Not much going on here at the Ryners, but it doesn't seem like we've really had any "free time". I'm wondering how Blake will sleep tonight. I don't know how many more times the kid can blow his nose! He's all congested, yet his nose runs nonstop. He sneezes, blows his nose, coughs, blows his nose, complains of a sore throat, blows again, complains of a headache, and blows again. I put some Vicks under his nose and you would have thought I used gasoline. He started screaming at the top of his lungs!! I guess Vicks burns if you put it on chapped skin. Oops, there goes Mom of the Year... again. Speaking of that... real quick... their Grandma lost Grandma of the Year tonight when she forgot to pick them up from the After School Program. I had class and got to them at 5:59 p.m.! They were okay. I figured Brooke had cried in fear she'd have to be there the rest of her life, but she hadn't. (Sorry, Wanda, I couldn't help but mention it! They forgive you, just don't forget them tomorrow night!)

Jeff is busy in the field so I really feel like a single mom, but I don't think single moms have a large man slip into their bed everynight between 10:30 and midnight, starting to snore before his head hits the darn pillow! Ok, maybe some single moms do, I don't know! I think he falls asleep taking a shower. The other night I heard a god-awful noise as he was getting out, I thought he was falling through the wall or floor! That's the night I think he was snoring before he even laid down in bed. He's been in a relatively good mood through all of harvest. Today he did have some break downs and he's not home yet so I'm not sure how he'll be when he gets here. But considering that we really don't talk, I probably won't even know. He's in bed way after me and up way before me and out the door.

I came upon yet another blog! I was so excited to see that one of my friends from college is a newly found blogger friend! Check her out here. She's a teacher and has 3 kids and has the same chaotic life as all of us! That is one more blog that I have to check on a nightly basis!!

We have a very busy next few days - mentoring class, premiere of High School Musical 3 at the movie theater, a flag football game, open house, a skating birthday party, an overnight bday party at Fun City for Brooke, a weiner roast, a 4 wheeler race we are probably going to have to skip, and a hunt for Halloween costumes! Then, it will be Monday again. Ugghhh!

I know, I know, I haven't posted any pics lately, but I'm too cold to go out to take some of my favorite patio! Until next time...

My 2 FAVORITES are back!!!

2008-10-15T20:19:00.002-05:00

It's quite chilly today.... 55, breezy, and a cold rain is falling from the sky. So what did I do when I got home after school? I went right up to my room, got out my favorite little step ladder, put it in my closet, and pulled out my favorite.... my very favorite.... my so worn-out they are conformed only to my body favorite... gray sweats. Yes, they are officially 20 years old now. Jeff's mom made them for him when we were in 8th grade (circa 1988). They are the most beautiful shade of gray, with black block capital letters going down the left leg that spell RYNER. Ahhh, are you picturing them in your head yet??? (Mindy, I bet Aaron knows what ones I'm talking about!) I'm not so sure how I ended up with them. I think his mom handed them over to me one day shortly after we were married... ya know, when the m-i-l gives you all of your husband's stuff that she doesn't want anymore.... and you don't want either... prom glasses, sports articles (ok, those are kinda cool now that we are old), baseball cars (like millions of them in 3 ring binders!).... you all know what I'm talking about. Well, I think these phenomenal gray pants were in there, too. Jeff just about choked tonight when he saw me in them for the first time this season. I know he was thinking that his wife is just crazy-hot (term coined by fav fellow blogger Karen) sitting on the bar stool in these crazy-hot sweats with her gray sweatshirt that she got on her honeymoon 12 years ago... that spells ASPEN across the chest! Well, you can really only see "SPE". Sad but true. I really think Jeff was a little choked up!

Now... on to my next favorite thing... I'm going downstairs to drink a cup of HOT apple cider (favorite thing #2) in my gray RYNER sweats (favorite thing #1)!!!! I know you're all crazy-jealous!

Still Here!!!

2008-10-15T20:02:00.003-05:00

We're still alive and kickin'! Thought maybe we wouldn't be after the last week or so, but we have survived! The kids are much better. They felt better last Thursday (after they went to the doctor on Wed. and she said they had to stay home due to strep - why did she have to say that in front of them? I didn't have a chance of taking them back to school!) and have definitely made up for their "down time"!

Just to catch you up on our goings-on!
1. Jeff has been busy in the field. Things are going really well (knock on wood!) and yields are really good, too. We have taken a few meals to them. Brooke has rode in the tractor/auger wagon, Blake and me in the combine, and Blake has even made a couple trips to the river in the semi with Grandpa. It rained today, so Jeff did have a break, but he thought he'd be able to get back into the corn tomorrow afternoon.

2. I guess I had a touch of strep, too. Monday was the worst day for me. I was glad we didn't have school. Carrie, Cathi, and I went down to Kevin and Kathy's to help decorate the inside of the house and to help put things away. I don't know why I went, I didn't help. Most of the time I sat at the kitchen table with my head down on it. Cathi even said I snored. Guess I wasn't feeling too hot, but the kids were playing with Rachel, so why go home and try to entertain them when they were just fine there???

3. Brooke was the winner of the monthly drawing at the orthodontist's office. She won a $50 to the mall! Fun!

4. By the way, I wish that I could just "tell" everyone I was sick over the weekend. But, no, they know just by looking at the cold sores that are lining my top lip. Yesterday was horrible!! They were in that "blistering, oh my gosh, my face is going to crack" stage. I could literally feel them growing. Of course when I got up yesterday morning and could feel the platypus-type look on my face, I asked Jeff if my top lip was swollen. Instead of saying "No, Chris, you can hardly tell", he said "Jesus, what the hell?" Is that any indication of how bad it was? I felt so stupid going to school, but I did. Just got some turned-up lips from the little kids. Oh well.

5. My patio is done! Concrete is finally down! It looks great, and I was going to take some pics but I forgot. So I will and I'll get them posted soon! We've already used my much wanted fire pit a couple times. Nothing like a weiner over a fire!! It's been fun, and I'm anxious to use it again this weekend. Still have a bottle of wine in the fridge waiting to be drank by the fire.

6. I fixed 45..... yes, 45.... chicken enchiladas last Sunday night. I always make them for Jeff for his birthday. I was a few days late, but it's still the thought that counts, right? We had a little help eating them.... Chase, Joel and Jenn, Jake.... but we still had a 9 x 13 left. Chase and Jeff both enjoyed the leftovers!

7. My friend Dena had a little baby girl last Friday morning. Her name is Zella Walker! They live in Winchester, IL. Sure wish they lived closer!

8. We went to one of my teacher friend's house on Sunday to pick pumpkins and gourds. They have a rather large patch and were nice enough to let us come up and pick some. The kids had fun picking their own pumpkins. They look beautiful next to the mums on my new patio!!! Remember, I'll get pics taken soon!

Until next time...

So much for sleeping it off!

2008-10-08T18:34:00.003-05:00

I was really hoping that the kids would feel a lot better this afternoon after taking naps. When Blake woke up, he immediately started crying because his throat hurt so bad and he had such a bad headache. I took his temp and it had gone up to 101.7. Brooke then came downstairs and started whimpering that she didn't feel good either. So off to the Clinic we went. I called them first and they said that they weren't too busy so I figured we better get in there before everyone else did! I thought Blake was going to fall asleep on the little medical bed or whatever it's called before the doctor came in. The kids were both running 100 degree temps in the office. She took one look in Blake's throat and said "Wow. That's nasty. Mom, his throat looks reeealllly bad". Oh super! Then went Brooke and her exact words were "Mom, her throat doesn't look much better than brother's!" I made the mistake of saying that my throat had kind of been sore today, too, so she looked in mine and said mine "didn't look great". So the kids both have strep and have to be out of school another day - at least. She wrote them prescriptions and wanted to write me one, but I told her I have amoxicillin here so I could take it. She recommended that Jeff get started on it, too, since strep usually will run rampid through the whole family. Then off to get the medicine. Blake told me in the parking lot of the Clinic that he thought he was going to throw up. How fun. He tried, but didn't. We headed to the pharmacy. As I was getting the prescriptions out of my purse, he stepped out of the car and proceeded to throw up all over the parking lot. The poor kid. I didn't think he was going to be able to stop. Nothing like a crying kid throwing up all over the parking lot, and we were parked right in front of the sliding doors that go into Axline's! I tell ya! That is just my luck. Blake has hardly eaten all day, and he's not eating much of his supper either. Brooke ate a little for supper, but not as much as she normally would.

So we are planning on another day at home tomorrow! I am sure hoping that they start feeling better. This is the pits!

Home Sweet Home

2008-10-08T12:30:00.002-05:00

At least that's where I am today! Although I don't know how "sweet" it is. It will probably need disinfected after being home today. Blake is just about asleep on the couch. He is running a fever of 100 and has a sore throat. He sure doesn't feel good. I am thinking my thermometer isn't too accurate, he sure feels a lot warmer. Brooke is home with us, too. If I'm going to stay home with one kid, why not stay home with 2 right? I think that's what she is thinking! She's complaining of a sore throat, too, is coughing and blowing her nose. I thought I would be proactive and get them into the doctor in case there is something a little more serious coming on. But, everyone in the country must be sick, because I can't get them into the doctor until tomorrow afternoon. Our pediatrician is "out of the country" for 3 weeks and we can see one of his partners tomorrow afternoon. We can get into the Clinic here in town in early afternoon as well. I'm hoping that they will feel a lot better tomorrow, but I'm a little worried about Blake. Last time I waited to take him to the doctor for what I thought was just allergies, ended up pneumonia! He didn't cough or anything to make me think that he had that. Boy did I feel like a bad mom! And that was just about a year ago. You never know, huh?

Well they poured half of my concrete today. Trying to keep Pepper out of it was kind of a challenge this morning, so she is inside today. On all other days she'd want to be in here, but today she wants to be outside. I can just imagine paw prints all over it. They told me that in 3 or 4 hours she wouldn't be able to hurt it. Maybe she can nap this afternoon with Blake. All it would take would be one little invitation to getting on the couch and she'd be up there in a heartbeat! It does sound like a good idea. For me though, not Pepper!

Today is Jeff's birthday. He is now halfway to 40 like me.... no, not 20, 35! We planned on going out tonight for supper, but now that is out of the question. I put in a roast and will make french dips. The kids and I went to Farm King last night to look for something to get him. He is absolutely the hardest person ever to buy for. He's a farmer. When he needs something, he buys it. I wouldn't be able to afford anything he actually "wanted" anyway so he's getting a Carhartt sweatshirt, long sleeve shirt, socks, gloves, and a gift certificate. I thought I could at least make him a pumpkin pie or a peanut butter cream pie, but no, I can't. I don't have all of the stuff I need. Figures.

Today is also Roger's birthday (sis Cathi's husband). Not sure how old he is, but older than us I know. I'm sure Cathi is home right now whipping up some lovely, delectable birthday dessert, and some outrageously delicious supper to go along with it. Maybe I could share with her? Better give her a call and tell her to double her recipes!

I better go check on my patients. It's awfully quiet downstairs. I'm hoping they are both asleep. Chances aren't too good of that. We'll see. Maybe I could just take a nap. They won't mind, will they?

Prayers Please....

2008-10-06T21:16:00.001-05:00

One more thing.... While you are all saying your prayers, include my friends Jackie and Mark in those prayers. They are such brave, good people, and are having to undergo what no one should have to undergo. Just mention their names in your prayers, please. I always do, and I really feel that the power of prayer is like no other. Thank you.

Quiet Time

2008-10-06T21:05:00.003-05:00

As I am posting, Brooke and Blake are laying here beside me.... in my bed.... fast asleep. Whew! It's about time. They have absolutely, positively worn me out tonight! For some reason, Brooke was in a very talkative mood tonight. She couldn't tell me enough about her day nor tell me fast enough. Blake even made the comment that she had said more than him tonight. Now that's a change! They are so peaceful when they are sleeping. My little Blake is sleeping with his mouth wide open, making an "almost snoring" sound. Brooke has her arms wrapped up around her face, with Sophie laying right beside her. Too cute.

Amidst the nonstop talking of Brooke tonight, there was some crabbiness.... from me... and Jeff. Jeff is still not in as I speak. He is trying to get a field of beans cut before it rains tomorrow. So he is filling the semis and auger wagon before coming home. Then he has to move all of the equipment back to the farm to the sheds so if it does rain (which it will... I'll get to that in a second) the beans won't get wet. Chase and John are helping drive the semis this year. Chase just got his CDL a month or so ago so Jeff is glad to have another person around to drive the semi. That saves John a little from jumping from truck to truck, hauling to the elevator. Well, Chase hasn't really adjusted to "farm time" yet. He called me at 7:35 tonight, "Just Starving" so I took him a little bit of supper to get him by until they are done. The last I knew, Jeff hadn't stepped out of the combine for 8 hours. I offered to take him some ham balls for supper (talking to him through his crabbiness), but those aren't too easy to eat while you are driving the combine so he opted to wait until he gets home. His dinner is waiting for him in the microwave. Mmmmmm!

Now, why do I think it will rain? Oh, it will rain tomorrow. Dang it! My patio was supposed to be poured today, but it wasn't! Again, not on Chrissi's time schedule, guys! So they are supposed to be here at 8 am tomorrow with the cement trucks. Can they pour in the rain, you might ask? NO! NO they CANNOT! It is supposed to rain all day which means then we will be pushed back to Wednesday, then I suppose something will come up that day and then we will be pushed back again. Before you know it, we will be eating Christmas dinner on that damn patio! So that's the tune to my crabbiness! I am very impatient. I admit that, but come on. This whole project could have been done in 3 days, 3 weeks ago! And it's still not done. Jeff gets so mad at me because I get so mad about it, but he doesn't have to keep 2 kids out of the dirt, 2 dogs out of the dirt, and the dirt out of the house!! It's not as easy as he thinks!

Well now I am going to try to get rid of these crabbies and enjoy the peace and quiet around here... until Jeff comes home and I have to heat up his supper. I should have 5 or 6 minutes of it.... no, never mind, I think I see truck lights reflecting off the shed...he's home.. Peace and quiet no more.....

And the Survey says....

2008-10-05T14:20:00.004-05:00

Just lifted this little questionnaire off of another blog. Thought it would be fun to do with the kids. Feel free to copy and paste onto your blog.
1. What is something mom always says to you?
Brooke- No.
Blake - Please.

2. What makes mom happy?
Brooke- when we are in good moods
Blake- being nice

3. What makes mom sad?

Brooke- fighting

Blake- fighting

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Brooke- By laughing with me
Blake- saying funny things

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Brooke- short
Blake - nice

6. What is her favorite thing to do?
Brooke- decorating the house
Blake- go shopping

7. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Brooke- clean the house

Blake- go shopping

8. What is your mom really good at?

Brooke - making hashbrowns
Blake -teaching

9. What is your mom not very good at?
Brooke- running

Blake- getting things done when we have friends over

10. What does your mom do for her job?
Brooke - mentor

Blake - teach

11. What is your mom's favorite food?
Brooke- salad
Blake - spaghetti

12. What makes you proud of your mom?
Brooke- She's a good cook.
Blake- She's a good teacher.

13. What do you and your mom do together?
Brooke - Watch tv
Blake - Go to parties.

14. How are you and your mom the same?
Brooke - We look like each other.
Blake - We love each other.

15. How are you and your mom different?
Brooke - We have different insurance. I go to St. Mary's and she goes to Cottage.

Blake - We don't look alike

16. How do you know your mom loves you?

Brooke - When she says "I love you, Brooke Ryner"
Blake - She says "I love you, Blake"

17. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Brooke - Applebee's
Blake - the mall

Cute

2008-10-05T08:23:00.002-05:00

Just thought this picture was cute. This is Blake and his friend Evan. They play on the same flag football team. Evan was over yesterday to play.

Our New Favorite Breakfast!

2008-10-05T08:16:00.003-05:00

Thanks to my friend, Mindy, we have a new favorite breakfast around here! My kids are pancake fanatics so I thought I would take Mindy's advice and try "pumpkin pancakes". I did a recipe search for them since I didn't have a couple of the ingredients that her recipe called for. She became a fan of them at IHOP. I wasn't too sure of them as I was pouring this orange batter onto the griddle. I gave Brooke hers first and when I saw her eyes light up and a big smile upon her face when she took her first bite, I knew they must be pretty good! Blake is a very picky eater, but he liked them, too! I thought they were wonderful. Jeff is going to be mad if he finds out I made them because he is such a pumpkin freak! I thought I'd share my recipe with you. You really need to try them! Another great fall recipe!

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 3/4 c. bisquick
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. pumpkin

Mix well and pour onto hot sprayed griddle. Brown on both sides. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!!

Pooped.

2008-10-04T19:47:00.002-05:00

Yep, that's what we are tonight. Pooped. Blake had a flag football game this morning at 8:00 am which means he has to be there at 7:30 am. I know I must have asked him 10 times if he was sure
he had to be to this game 1/2 hour early. Needless to say, he did. Darn was it cold! So we didn't get to sleep in this morning. Maybe tomorrow.

Brooke and her friend Claire spent the night at Grandma Wanda's last night so they didn't have to go to the 8:00 game. I thought that was a great idea - they'd get to sleep in. Well, Wanda woke up at 5:00 am and they were in the other room watching tv. She did make them go back upstairs and go back to sleep. Brooke said they woke up at 8:36. That sounds like a much better time. So Brooke and Claire played today. She's in the bathtub right now, I'm afraid she's going to fall asleep in there! She's pooped.

Blake played last night with his friend Evan. He really wanted him to spend the night, but we didn't think that was too good of an idea since they both had to play football at 8 am this morning. Evan left about 9:30 and I'm sure that Blake was asleep before their van got to Alexis. He then got up at 6:45 this morning. He's pooped.

Now for Jeff and I.... we're just pooped. I can't say I did too much today to wear myself out, but I sure feel like I did. Maybe it was just having extra bodies around. Jeff has picked 120 acres of beans and 38 acres of corn. The crops just aren't dry enough, but he really thinks he needs to start picking. He said he'll still be in the field in mid-November. Fun times. I'm not sure if he will pick tomorrow, but now I have to start thinking of meals to take to them in the evenings and on weekends. I really enjoy doing that, but I guess I just haven't given it too much thought this year. I need to get on the ball and think about what I can get tomorrow at the store.

Tomorrow we're off to town to look for a fire pit for my patio. I am soooooo excited about having a patio and having a fire pit. I don't know why I want one so bad, but I do. I think it will be fun to be able to sit out there and roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Although the rate we're going, we'll be sitting out there in our stockin' hats, gloves, and winter coats. Oh well!

Two of My Girls!

2008-10-03T21:18:00.001-05:00

Pepper and her friend, Brooke! Just a casual shot! Ha! Brooke really wants to be in every picture I take. Isn't she cute? Oh, Pepper too?!

Some Recent Pics!

2008-10-03T21:02:00.006-05:00

Just thought I'd show you some of the things going on around here.....

I just love Fall and love decorating for it! This is my new wreath that my friends Emily, Maggie, & Carrie gave me for my birthday. Isn't it awesome! I just love it. I think it looks awesome on my front door! Welcome Fall!

Ok, so I bought myself a little gift recently. I am an avid reader of Lisa Leonard's blog. She is a really cool mom and even cooler jewelry designer. My friend Mindy has a really great necklace with her kids' names on it so I decided I needed one! Lisa hand pounds them so each one is just personalized for you. Too cool!

We have a little project going on here. It was suppose to be done by now, but contractors are never on the same time frame as me! We re-roofed two small sheds, one by the house/pool and one that we call the "chicken house" where the kids park their bikes and fourwheelers. I have been wanting a patio .... somewhere, didn't care where.... that I could use for a space with some outside furniture and fire pit. I finally convinced Jeff that I needed one, so we start pouring concrete Monday morning. The forms are set. The patio itself is going to be pretty big, but it's in a spot where the yard is low and it's not much good for anything. The other spot is going to be behind the chicken house and will be 25'x25'. The kids can have a basketball hoop there and Blake will be able to ride his skateboard. By the way, farm boys aren't as good on skateboards as they think! Don't tell him that though! He's always wanting me to take him to Knoxville to the Skate Park over there. Whatever! You're a farm kid, remember!! So here are a few "before" pictures. I'll post "after" ones at the beginning of the week. Pray for NO rain on Monday!!

Where the heck have I been?

2008-10-02T20:23:00.002-05:00

Gosh, if I could just remember what I've been doing that has stood in the way of my blogging? I am just not very good at this. I don't remember to update, then when I do, I'm in bed and don't want to get up to do it. Yes, Cathi (my dear older sister who is a blog-stalker but doesn't have a blog herself? what the heck?) has been reminding me daily to update. If I could only get the gumption to do it when she reminds me. She's the type of blog-reader that expects every blogger to just sit and blog all day long, along with snapping pictures and posting them, too. Well, you can see that I don't have any pictures this time either! There are a few things I want to take snaps of so I promise that I will do that this weekend!

My last week has mainly consisted of apples, apples, and more apples! Last Sunday we went to Carrie and Larry's to make cider. Yes, Cathi, I did go there to MAKE cider, not just to sit and watch, but how many people can you have around a cider press? Anyway, we made 23 gallons of cider out of red delicious apples! And boy was it good! I also had Carrie pick me up a bushel of apples (honeycrisp/empire) from this little orchard outside Burlington. The little old man has an orchard as a hobby and sells all of his apples for 30 cents a pound! Even honeycrisp! Yes, I bought 5 honeycrisp at the store for a mere $8.46! For 5 apples!!! I couldn't believe that this man sells them for 30 cents a pound! Bargain!

So.... Monday night was applesauce, Tuesday was apple crisp, took a break Wednesday night, and tonight I made an apple pie and 2 more apple crisps! They are so yummy, and it makes the house smell sooooo good while they are all baking!

At least it is finally fall. I just love baking in the fall - apple recipes, pumpkin recipes, chili - you name it, I like to make it! And I have some great new recipes to try thanks to my friend Mindy who put some recipes on her blog! There is this awesome little potato recipe that I've just been dying to try! Speaking of fall, it has finally cooled off in the Midwest so yesterday morning I decided to open up the house before school to air this place out! Needless to say, when I got home at 5:00 yesterday, it was 54 degrees in here! Yikes! It was a bit chilly. I think we were all aired out though!

Jeff started harvest yesterday. He is starting with beans, but isn't sure where he will go next as our crops just aren't quite dry enough for his liking. Blake rode in the combine tonight for a couple hours. I found out everything that I didn't know about farming when I picked him up! So I will be busy now on the weekends making meals to take to the field. I really like doing that, and Jeff's mom helps me out a lot. I should say that she is good at preparing the meals, and I help her out!

We are finally getting around to our "concrete" project. I will take some pictures and post more about that later. Yes, Cathi, I promise that I will. Until next time.... hopefully a little sooner than later!