- We left Brookings at 8:30am
- My mom went with us :)
- Zeke got his cast removed
- Everything is healing well
- Zeke's been ok'd to begin walking again
- It rained, sleeted and snowed on our way back
- We safely arrived home a few minutes ago.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Zeke & St Paul
Just got home from St Paul. Since it's already almost midnight, here are the highlights, with details and pictures tomorrow...
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Monday, November 28, 2011
This and That
I'm feeling guilty about my lack of blogging lately. It's not for lack of anything to say. There just aren't enough hours in the day right now. Zeke's cast is coming off on Wednesday so I'm making a quick trip to St Paul. Thankfully, my mom has offered to go with me. Steve and a lot of good friends and my dad are trying to finish the downstairs bathroom we tore apart a few months ago. We're refinancing the house because of the low interest rate and have an appraisal on Thursday, hence the quick finish to the bathroom.
The little one is really excited about potty training, which is great except for having to run to the bathroom every time she yells, "Potty!" I try to keep the bathroom door shut so she doesn't play in there and tonight for some reason, she was convinced her friend Sara was in there. So she kept knocking on the door and hollering, "Sara!" I finally had to stop what I was doing and open the door to the bathroom just so she would understand that Sara wasn't there.
Brittney has missed the last two gymnastics meets because of an accident at cheer practice where the girls on the bottom didn't catch her correctly and Brittney ended up being thrown over their shoulders. She landed on her neck and back and now the athletic trainers won't let her practice or compete in either sport for at least two weeks. She's hoping to be allowed to compete on Dec 3 in Sioux Falls.
Taylor and Riley are both still taking piano lessons and Riley is wanting to start playing the drums. They are both signed up to play basketball soon too. Zeke's next Special Olympics sport is basketball, if he's cleared by the doctor to be able to play this soon after surgery. I guess we'll find out later this week.
Most of the kids are already in bed but I really should get the little one tucked in now :)
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The little one is really excited about potty training, which is great except for having to run to the bathroom every time she yells, "Potty!" I try to keep the bathroom door shut so she doesn't play in there and tonight for some reason, she was convinced her friend Sara was in there. So she kept knocking on the door and hollering, "Sara!" I finally had to stop what I was doing and open the door to the bathroom just so she would understand that Sara wasn't there.
Brittney has missed the last two gymnastics meets because of an accident at cheer practice where the girls on the bottom didn't catch her correctly and Brittney ended up being thrown over their shoulders. She landed on her neck and back and now the athletic trainers won't let her practice or compete in either sport for at least two weeks. She's hoping to be allowed to compete on Dec 3 in Sioux Falls.
Taylor and Riley are both still taking piano lessons and Riley is wanting to start playing the drums. They are both signed up to play basketball soon too. Zeke's next Special Olympics sport is basketball, if he's cleared by the doctor to be able to play this soon after surgery. I guess we'll find out later this week.
Most of the kids are already in bed but I really should get the little one tucked in now :)
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Friday, November 25, 2011
Brittney Says
When Steve and I were discussing Black Friday, Brittney piped up and asked, "Isn't that the day Jesus died?"
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Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
We're heading to my folks for the day for some good food and great company. It only takes about 20 minutes to get there so don't really have a specific time this morning we're leaving. The kids are still practicing our little play that we'll be performing this afternoon. I'll try to video it and post it but no guarentees. It's called Soup Opera. My friend lent me the book and CD. Should be a lot of fun.
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Today I'm especially thankful for:
A family who sticks together
A warm house with enough beds for all our children
A God who loves me inspite of my failings and never leaves me
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It's easy to complain about what I don't have or what I think I need. But today is a day to help us all realize and remember that we have so much to be thankful for!
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Saturday, November 19, 2011
You Might Live in South Dakota...
South Dakota... through the eyes of Jeff Foxworthy:
- If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you might live in South Dakota...
- If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't even work there, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you've worn shorts and a jacket at the same time, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in South Dakota...
- If "vacation" means going to Sioux Falls for the weekend, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you measure distance in hours, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both doors unlocked, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you might live in South Dakota...
- If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you might live in South Dakota...
- If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you might live in South Dakota...
- If you know how to pronounce Ipswich, Belle Fouche and Pierre you might live in South Dakota...
- If you actually understand these jokes, you might live in South Dakota!
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Frustration
My biggest frustration this week concerned Zeke. Get ready for a long story. It has lots of positive points and a few big negatives.
My kids get out of school at 3:20pm but because I don't generally leave work until at least 3:45pm, I had to figure out what they were going to do in the meantime. Brittney has gymnastics practice after school and Riley, Taylor and Anthony can take the bus to Headstart but because Zeke is now in a wheelchair, it's complicated to get him anywhere.
I put in a request to have the special education bus with the wheelchair lift pick him up after school. They accepted the request with no problem but we had to wait for the paperwork to process through before they could actually transport him. They expected it would take about a week.
Zeke's resource room teacher suggested we check out the GAP after-school program, which is located right in Zeke's school building. I immediately made some phone calls. The GAP director knew us from when we had Taylor in Kindergarten GAP, so we had already established a good relationship with her. She then called the director of the Medary site where Zeke would possibly attend. The director there knew Steve from somewhere (Ok, I don't remember - I think he said Swiftel but maybe it was Dak) and she was anxious to help out in any way she could. She spoke with her staff on site and they knew Zeke from recess supervision and were super excited to have him in their program. So the GAP director called me back and we enrolled Zeke for $9 per day until the special ed bus could take him to Boys & Girls Club. I was so thankful that God worked out all the details and I was also reminded that how we interact with others in our day to day lives can come back to help or hurt us. Thankfully, in this situation, it helped!
After the paperwork processed through, Zeke was picked up after school by the bus with the wheelchair lift and then transported to Boys & Girls Club. We were really happy with GAP but needed to utilize The Club because of price. GAP has a set monthly fee, which is out of our price range, while The Club has a yearly membership fee of only $20.
The only problem with The Club is that every time our kids go there, they are missing items when we pick them up. The open-faced lockers are in a common area so anyone can grab anything they want. After losing numerous items, including many hats and pairs of gloves, I talked to the staff. They apologized but didn't offer any real help. Once a few weeks ago when Zeke's backpack was lost, I finally located it on top of the lockers where he couldn't possibly have reached it in his wheelchair. So we know he didn't put it there.
Riley's backpack was missing from The Club for about a week. We finally got it back the other day. The final straw was when I picked Zeke up last Tuesday night and no one could find his winter coat. There weren't many kids left by that time and we looked everywhere. So I had to take him home in the freezing cold without a coat on. Which, by the way, was a really nice Colombia coat someone had given us that had both a zipper and snaps so he could put it on by himself. It also had Wilkins written in black permant marker on the inside.
I had had it with chatting nicely about what we could do because obviously the problem was not only continuing, it was getting worse!
So that night I chatted with the Program Director at the Club, who was actually very helpful. Then I went home and called Zek's teacher to see if she had any suggestions. They were already keeping a set of gloves and a hat at school so it wouldn't get sent to The Club at all. She volunteered to call The Club in the morning and talk to them about options. Finally, the next morning, I texted one of my friends on the Board of Directors for The Club to see if she had any imput. She called me back right away and offered to make some phone calls and help us figure out a solution.
As much as I hate to do it, sometimes I turn into a mama bear when my children are concerned. But I think I can honestly say that I remained polite during the entire episode.
The Boys & Girls Club is now going to take all of Zeke's belonging when he arrives at The Club and keep them behind the desk until we pick him up. Nothing has been missing since then. We still haven't found his coat and I finally broke down and purchased him a new one yesterday. He's been wearing one of Steve's for the past few days and it's way too big. But at least we're confident that his new one won't go missing. It's a cheap Walmart coat but at least it's warm for the snow we're getting today!
So a BIG thank you to all the people who helped us figure this out!!!! Because our boys really do love spending time at The Club :)
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My kids get out of school at 3:20pm but because I don't generally leave work until at least 3:45pm, I had to figure out what they were going to do in the meantime. Brittney has gymnastics practice after school and Riley, Taylor and Anthony can take the bus to Headstart but because Zeke is now in a wheelchair, it's complicated to get him anywhere.
I put in a request to have the special education bus with the wheelchair lift pick him up after school. They accepted the request with no problem but we had to wait for the paperwork to process through before they could actually transport him. They expected it would take about a week.
Zeke's resource room teacher suggested we check out the GAP after-school program, which is located right in Zeke's school building. I immediately made some phone calls. The GAP director knew us from when we had Taylor in Kindergarten GAP, so we had already established a good relationship with her. She then called the director of the Medary site where Zeke would possibly attend. The director there knew Steve from somewhere (Ok, I don't remember - I think he said Swiftel but maybe it was Dak) and she was anxious to help out in any way she could. She spoke with her staff on site and they knew Zeke from recess supervision and were super excited to have him in their program. So the GAP director called me back and we enrolled Zeke for $9 per day until the special ed bus could take him to Boys & Girls Club. I was so thankful that God worked out all the details and I was also reminded that how we interact with others in our day to day lives can come back to help or hurt us. Thankfully, in this situation, it helped!
After the paperwork processed through, Zeke was picked up after school by the bus with the wheelchair lift and then transported to Boys & Girls Club. We were really happy with GAP but needed to utilize The Club because of price. GAP has a set monthly fee, which is out of our price range, while The Club has a yearly membership fee of only $20.
The only problem with The Club is that every time our kids go there, they are missing items when we pick them up. The open-faced lockers are in a common area so anyone can grab anything they want. After losing numerous items, including many hats and pairs of gloves, I talked to the staff. They apologized but didn't offer any real help. Once a few weeks ago when Zeke's backpack was lost, I finally located it on top of the lockers where he couldn't possibly have reached it in his wheelchair. So we know he didn't put it there.
Riley's backpack was missing from The Club for about a week. We finally got it back the other day. The final straw was when I picked Zeke up last Tuesday night and no one could find his winter coat. There weren't many kids left by that time and we looked everywhere. So I had to take him home in the freezing cold without a coat on. Which, by the way, was a really nice Colombia coat someone had given us that had both a zipper and snaps so he could put it on by himself. It also had Wilkins written in black permant marker on the inside.
I had had it with chatting nicely about what we could do because obviously the problem was not only continuing, it was getting worse!
So that night I chatted with the Program Director at the Club, who was actually very helpful. Then I went home and called Zek's teacher to see if she had any suggestions. They were already keeping a set of gloves and a hat at school so it wouldn't get sent to The Club at all. She volunteered to call The Club in the morning and talk to them about options. Finally, the next morning, I texted one of my friends on the Board of Directors for The Club to see if she had any imput. She called me back right away and offered to make some phone calls and help us figure out a solution.
As much as I hate to do it, sometimes I turn into a mama bear when my children are concerned. But I think I can honestly say that I remained polite during the entire episode.
The Boys & Girls Club is now going to take all of Zeke's belonging when he arrives at The Club and keep them behind the desk until we pick him up. Nothing has been missing since then. We still haven't found his coat and I finally broke down and purchased him a new one yesterday. He's been wearing one of Steve's for the past few days and it's way too big. But at least we're confident that his new one won't go missing. It's a cheap Walmart coat but at least it's warm for the snow we're getting today!
So a BIG thank you to all the people who helped us figure this out!!!! Because our boys really do love spending time at The Club :)
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Exciting News!
My cousin Matt proposed to his girlfriend and she said YES!!! They live in Florida now but she's from Minnesota so the wedding will be there. They haven't set the date yet but whenever it it, we're going! I'm so happy for him because she's definitely a keeper :)
Aren't they cute!!!
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Meetings and Headache
Yesterday was supposed to be my day off but because I am working so many hours during the rest of the week, I have to schedule meetings for Friday. So it seemed like I was jumping from one meeting to the next yesterday. All of them went well but by the end of the day I could feel a migraine coming on. I took quite a bit of tylenol and then ended up taking something stronger before I ended up in bed. The hardest part of headaches like that is that I can't even stand light or smells. I was starting to get really sick to my stomach. The pain I can deal with but I feel incredibly guilty for not helping my kids when they need me. Thankfully, I have a really understanding husband who took care of the kids last night- even the friend who was spending the night with Taylor - and let me go to bed. I feel much better today :)
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Exotic Fruit
Last week we received a box from Aunt Brooke and Uncle Nathan. The kids helped me open it and inside we found Asian Pears and Feijoas. We cut some up and tried them right away.
The Asian Pears were kind of a cross between a pear and a yellow apple. They had the sweet delicious taste of a pear and a bit of a crunch like an apple but were really juicy. The kids loved them!
The Feijoas were green and shaped like a kiwi. The kids weren't sure about them because they also have a unique smell. They said it smelled like medicine. But everyone tried it and like the taste, although the Asian Pear was the definite favorite. Next month, I'll try to remember to take pictures. This time the fruit was gone by the time I thought about it :)
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We're excited because we'll get a new box every month with two different kinds of exotic fruit. This is such a great gift because the kids are able to try fruit that we wouldn't normally buy, or possibly even have access to. We're already looking forward to the next box!
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The Asian Pears were kind of a cross between a pear and a yellow apple. They had the sweet delicious taste of a pear and a bit of a crunch like an apple but were really juicy. The kids loved them!
The Feijoas were green and shaped like a kiwi. The kids weren't sure about them because they also have a unique smell. They said it smelled like medicine. But everyone tried it and like the taste, although the Asian Pear was the definite favorite. Next month, I'll try to remember to take pictures. This time the fruit was gone by the time I thought about it :)
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We're excited because we'll get a new box every month with two different kinds of exotic fruit. This is such a great gift because the kids are able to try fruit that we wouldn't normally buy, or possibly even have access to. We're already looking forward to the next box!
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Tay's Drawing
When Taylor saw that I had posted a drawing of Riley's, she had to sit down and draw something too.
Then she insisted I post it on the blog.
So here it is.
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
20's Diner
Yesterday was a fun day!
Steve worked on the downstairs bathroom with my dad and I worked at the church with some friends.
We cooked and deboned 8 turkeys, peeled and mashed 40 lbs of potatoes, made jello fruit salad and mixed up lots of green bean casserole. It sounds like a lot of work but with the right people, it's a ton of fun. I don't think we stopped laughing all day! We even snuck off for lunch together while the turkeys were cooking.
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Every year we seem to have one "mishap" and this year was Becca's turn.
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Inspite of the mess, we had a great time cooking together and it's for a good cause.
The college kids at our church will eat well today.
And it's free!
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Saturday, November 12, 2011
Riley's Party
I'll admit I was a bit nervous about having a bunch of boys over.
Turns out Brittney's the one who should have been worried.
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We started the evening out with pizza & pop.
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Then Riley opened his gifts.
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Then they ran around the house like crazy men, shooting each other with nerf guns!
I didn't get any good pictures of that because every time I tried, all I'd get would be blurs.
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Later, we slowed them down by letting them make banana splits.
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Boys! ;)
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Riley and his friends.
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Here is Brittney trying to bring some calm into the house.
It didn't work!
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Eventually, the boys decided to gang up on Brittney.
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Riley really has a great bunch of friends.
I'm actually very proud of the choices he's made and the quality of friends he spends most of his time with. He's really growing up.
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Sunday, November 6, 2011
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