5 Deer... oh Dear!

One Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago I was walking along and suddenly noticed 5 deer in the street ahead of me.  Suddenly a car turned on the street and a biker was cruising on the other sidewalk.  They started walking towards me very quickly... the whole herd!  I was on the phone with my mom at the time.  I stopped and started talking to them which caused them to stop.  After the biker and car were gone they moved over to the street.  Deer can look so calm and small, but when they are running towards you, it feels very different.  The photo below isn't zoomed in at all. This is how close they got to be before I started to talk loudly to them and they stopped.  Who knows how close they would have come.  

Please don't come any closer! 

Self Care

As I have stated over and over again, this fall has been crazy.  Every day seems filled with meetings and demands.  One day a couple of weeks ago I was super productive early in the day and things got done quickly.  I was able to have a LONG phone conversation with my college bestie and after that I ate popcorn and watched a Hallmark movie.  I know there might be people that imagine my life pretty much consists of this every day.  I assure you, most days I feel like I am struggling to catch up. I also can tell you that this partial day of relaxation did mean a crazier rest of the week...  BUT... It was worth it.  I have two kiddos who bring me to the end of myself most days (and nights since we have a non-sleeper).  Taking time to talk with an old friend and watch a predictable love story while cuddling with my cats feeds my soul and helps everything else go more smoothly.  

Living the dream... literally... in that moment. 

Don't fear, my other furry friend is on deck next to me... ready to step up for a cuddle if needed. 

LEGO Army

While Brandon and I were at conferences the kids were being entertained at a friend's house.  T and a friend made a LEGO army while we were gone.  It is quite impressive. These friends have a lot of LEGO's!  

T: I took one pic straight on.

T: I took another one on an angle so you can see all the people. 

School discovery

The kids had such a good time camping with family this summer.  T wrote about it and brought a paper home early this fall.  A couple of weeks ago we were at conferences and found her story hanging on the wall.  The person is floating in an inner tube.  T's inner tube happens to look a lot like an Easter egg, but after looking at the other picture we figured it out.  

Rough draft.

T relaxing and thinking about her time camping. 

Conferences went very well.  We are so thankful that each of our children loves school and that school comes easily for each of our children.  It is fun to be able to hear the reports from their teachers!

A glimpse of my little boy

This summer and fall the construction has provided a constant source of entertainment for our family.  Honestly it is usually Brandon and I getting the biggest thrill out of seeing the equipment and progress.  When M was little he could watch 'construckin' all day long.  These days he would rather read or do something else.  One morning things were pretty exciting and he took his bowl over to the window to watch.  My heart sang as I thought of little three year old M.  He would have done the same thing... but would have made a big mess haha. 

M: I guess I do still love watching all of this. 

Super Fan

Brandon really enjoys watching Kansas City Chiefs football.  We do not get cable and have very old TV's.  The channel they were on was not coming it at all in the family room.  He made this double rabbit ear antenna thing and watched the game on a 13 inch TV in the cat's room.  He didn't give up and found a way to make it work.  Sometimes people laugh at our small and old TV's. We just smile.   Sometimes people watch movies on their phones.  Our TV's are much bigger than phone screens! 

Go Chiefs! 

Wok-Corn

Several months ago the kids and I watched a youtube video about the best popcorn in the world.  We may have watched it several times.  The video showed that woks make the best popcorn because the un-popped kernels fall easily to the bottom and the popped ones have room to expand above.  I recently got a real wok and was eager to try it out.  While I think the ideal cooking stove for this endeavor would be gas, this was some of the best popcorn we have ever had!

It might look strange, but it tastes great!

LEGO club and library fun

Many of the libraries in our area offer LEGO club once a month.  We have never gone to one, but decided to check out out earlier this month.  It was a cold and wet Saturday so spending an hour in a warm and dry library sounded like a good idea.  

I was very impressed with the crazy large amount of LEGO's the library has.  There were lots of children and there were PLENTY of LEGO's. The LEGO's are all organized and easily accessible.  The library holds a LEGO time each month and then displays each child's creation all month long in the children's area.  T was quite impressed with this. M is not into freestyle LEGO building so he went to the books and read.  

T: I love my special house. 

T: Here is one view.

T: Here is another.  I took the pictures myself!

After LEGO time ended we joined M at the books.  They have lots of great books and the kids were very excited to check them out.

Graphic Novels are their favorites right now. 

This library has LOTS of things to play with.  We have gone to children's museums with less stuff than this library!

M: There was a lot to see. 

T: I love the dollhouse. 

M: This is actually a very comfortable way to lay. 

We have a new BAHA!

On October 10th the waiting was finally over!  We were able to get T's new magnet BAHA.  Anticipation was high as we drove to the audiologist.  We had many surprises, some good and some not so good.  We learned that she would need to wear a clip and fish line so if her BAHA fell off she wouldn't lose it.  I was not impressed by this, but went along with it.  Even while we were at the office it seemed like the BAHA was falling off all the time.  

There it is!!

There were a couple cool surprises.  One surprise was a moose who actually has two BAHA's behind his ears.  What a fun and clever idea!

The other surprise was a microphone for me to wear.  It is incredible.  We tested it out on the way home from the office.  I talked very quietly into the microphone and T heard what I said and would repeat it for M.  It was so much fun.  Technology is such an incredible thing.  To think that this is her non hearing ear side hearing my voice!  Mind blowing!  It also makes car rides much quieter and safer.  I don't have to turn around to talk to her or yell when I want her to hear.  

The appointment was LONG which meant that Culvers was needed as a reward!!!

Sadly, the magnet just was not strong enough. It was falling off every few minutes at school and was so frustrating to T that she wanted to return it.  My heart broke for her.  Thankfully we had an appointment at the ENT for post-op less than a week later on the 16th.  The appointment went very well and he basically dismissed us as his patients!  One less Dr visit to visit each year.  Yahoo!!!  We were also able to see an audiologist who agreed to move T to a higher magnet.  This has made such a difference.  She is now able to wear just the BAHA without the itchy fishing line and clip.  The BAHA itself is still a bit annoying and hard to get used to, but I think every day it gets more normal.

T: I got a stronger magnet and some cool stickers to decorate it. 

When you don't have the surgery...

The days following M's surgery were very hard for T.  He was getting a lot of attention and love and gifts.  She wanted some loving too.  We had a great cuddle session and Sunshine even joined us.  

Mom feet, T feet, Sunshine paws!

So thankful for my sweet girl!

M's Surgery Links and update

Just as I did for T, I am posting a link to all of the posts about M's surgery as this is where those posts would fall on the blog.  M's surgery was on October 4th.  Please click Here to read about his surgery and recovery.  The posts will appear in reverse order, so scroll back to read from the beginning.

Recovery has been going well.  He is now doing all sports and has no limitations.  His scabs have even fallen off!  He goes back for his post op visit in just a couple of days.  I am hoping that he will be released from this Dr and they will tell us we don't ever have to follow up again.  This might not be likely, but that is what I am hoping.

He did have a set back in recovery when I took him off the meds too soon.  As I blogged about earlier he needed to come home from school.  He came home and just crashed immediately and didn't wake up until it was time to get T from school.

M: I was just SO TIRED!

Furry Friends

Two cat posts in a row... sorry, but not really because of course I love these cats!  

T: Buttercup crawled in all by himself!

Sunshine is my laundry buddy!  He found a little hole and made himself cozy. 

They love to sit on the dresser and look for birds in the tree!  

M: I always think I want a cat in my room, but I just can't sleep with them purring and pawing on me. 

Two Cats...Two Personalities!

Earlier this month (see what I did there... let you all know that I am blogging about things that happened during the month they happened!!) both our cats were under the weather.  Buttercup was throwing up and Sunshine was having digestive problems.  I took them both to the vet.  It seems their food was the problem.  Who knew that food can get rotten over time.  I guess it makes more sense to buy smaller bags that won't rot.  Anyway, I was so amused by the cats behaviors as we were waiting for the vet to come in.  

Buttercup loves adventure and being up high.  He loves to climb and be up high.  Sunshine loves to hide and has lots of fear.  Even though Buttercup was feeling sick he was jumping off and on the exam table. 

Weighing himself. 

Sunshine meanwhile was hiding behind the chairs.

Hoping we will forget about him back there. 

Just checking things out.

Sunshine after exam trying to hide behind the trash can! 

Brandon and I often marvel about our cats and how parts of their personalities mirror our children.  Interestingly T picked out Buttercup and M picked out Sunshine.  Both kids knew who they needed and the personality links are spot on!

A perfect evening for fishing!

One Monday in late September, Brandon took both kids fishing after school.  They really enjoyed their time at the lake and they all caught fish.  They even had some "keepers" and gave them to another person who was fishing.  

M: This is great!

T: Nice fish Dad!

T: I am a good photographer. 

T: This is so much fun. 

M: Sometimes you think you have a fish but you really have weeds. 

T: I got one!!!

Straw Weaver

T learned such a cool skill at the Frontier Day - Straw Weaving.  Straw weaving is done with three straws, some yarn, and a piece of tape.  You just tape three straws together and stick yarn down each of the tubes.  We learned that a kabob stick works great for getting the yarn in the holes.  Then you simple weave the yarn over and under the straws and tie off at the end and you have a bracelet.  

T learned quickly and it keeps her busy hands and mind going in a delightful way. She made many, many bracelets for classmates.  It is a great activity for her. 

T: I can't believe how quickly I learned. 

This is my first one I finished.  

T:  I am wearing my first one, making my second. 

T;  Super cool, right? 

Frontier Day!

One Saturday afternoon I took the kids to a special festival at an old world type of place.  They have about 30 buildings recreating frontier life in our area.  I LOVED being there.  I could have spent all day looking at the different houses and buildings. I grew up so in love with all things Little House and pioneer... the little girl in me was in heaven.  M hated it.  He thought it was the worst idea for an afternoon ever.  T loved it, though didn't really spend much time in any one place. It was an exhausting experience, but I am still very glad that we went. 

T: I loved the schoolhouse!

There was even a trapper there to explain things. 

M: I guess it was a little bit cool. 

The kids were very good at frontier games. 

I really wanted Mom to take a picture of me on the stairs. 

T: I learned how to do paper beading. 

There were so many activities we didn't get to do.  M was so frustrated that we ended up leaving early.  Next year I need to find something fun for M to do so that T and I can go alone and enjoy the afternoon there.  T also learned to "straw weave" which I will tell you all about in the next post.

Weekends!!

Our weekends are often a mix between swimming lessons/ baths/ library trips/ activities/ errands and down time.  Brandon is so good at "down time" with the kids.  I admit that I struggle with it.  He always thinks of good things to do and the kids usually respond well to his ideas.  

Wrestling on the floor and deep impact activities are great for T's sensory needs, but M as an avoider enjoys the impact too. 

T: Are you sure all of the weight is on us? 

A weekend game of Dragonwood. 

M: She is so light, this isn't even hard. 

We might not have a backyard.  It might be cold and foggy.  These guys are hardcore athletes to play in such conditions.

T: Go M!

T: Did you see my kick?