A long day

We have the cold bug going through our house right now. Travis has been really sick since Friday and both Dan and I have it. The other three have had an off day or so but overall are doing good.
This morning I was really hoping Travis would be able to go back to school but I just couldn't send him. His eyes are still blood shot, his head still hurts and he's coughing and sniffling. He was supposed to do his speech on Monday but there was just no way. Hopefully he's doing better tomorrow but the way he looked tonight I'm not counting on it.
Today was the worse feeling day for me. I could have crawled into a dark hole. I also had Kailey here today ( the little one I care give for). I got everyone to have a nap this afternoon so I could lay down too but Kortney never sleeps long. After her 45min nap I pulled her into bed with me. Well she spent the next half an hour pulling all the kleenex out of a box. I was to tired to care though.
Tomorrow could be another long day. Kailey comes at 7:30 in the morning tomorrow. Way to early for me but oh well. This can't last forever.
Michelle

You just never know...

Life really is funny sometimes. I'm sure everything happens for a reason, and you just never know what's going to happen next.

Do you ever have those days and you think "why is this happening", or "I wish .....", or"what's life going to throw at me next?" and then you wake up one day and all the sudden the answer is there or the problem just doesn't seem that big anymore?

I'm learning more to have faith. I guess that's easy right now when life is good, but things do seem to work themselves out if you give them time. (I'm not a patient person though!)

I'm not sure who out there are Garth Brooks fans but he has a song called "unanswered prayers" It's all about wishing for something or someone and it just isn't meant to be and you can't understand why, then later in life you realize why god didn't answer that prayer was because he had something better in store. Yep it's all about faith, patience and maybe some karma. Some days that's really hard to swallow, and others you end up with a gift you didn't expect.

Michelle

"Thankyou"

This week Kortney has really started trying to talk. Up until now it's just been the usual first words: mom, dad, up juice, shoes, and she'll mimic animal sounds. She has also been saying a clear "no" for about 2 weeks. It's still in the really cute stage. The kids and I have been asking her lots of questions just to get an answer! She nods her head for saying yes.
This week she has come out with "all done, and thankyou"! She's trying to copy most words. I love it. It's one of my favourite stages. The innocent little things babies say and the unbelievable understanding they have is priceless. I know this will go by fast and soon she'll be driving my crazy...(My 8 and 6 year olds have quite the attitudes right now.)
Anyhow she's really cute now. I love having our little conversations!

Michelle

Travis

I love this picture of Travis. It shows his loving, gentle, wonderful side.
Then there's his other side. The side that argues with everything I say, and nothing I do is good enough. It's extremely frustrating!!

Homework is a uge fight everytime. Right now he has a test about light on Wen, he has to write a story about responsibility by Friday and he has to do his storytelling to the class next week. Well apparently "he won't remember the info" and doesn't care if he fails. This coming from the boy who got 98% on his last test about rocks. I have to agree with him though that it is a lot to remember. Some of the questions are:

Explain transparent, translucent and opaque means.


What does transmit, reflect and absorb mean.

Show using an experiment how light travels in a straight line.

Tell what happens to light when it goes through water.

Name the colours of the rainbow in order,

What causes a shadow....and there's more...


He also hates writing stories too. It's a big fight just to get him to write about something in his journal let alone come up with a fictional story. Anything I suggest is never good enough. So the fight is on....I really try not to argue with him because I know I will never win with him, but it's hard when it's homework and it has to be done.

Going to the barn has also now become an issue. He loved going with Daddy to the barn before. Well now it's "boring and it's too much work." We're making him go a couple times a week though because it's good for him and Dan says once he's there he enjoys it. I'm really worried about how he'll be when he's older. Dan was raised with such a good work ethic. He's super hard working and loves it. Sitting around is something he rarely does. There's always work to be done, and on the odd day there's not he'll find somthing. So I really hope Travis is just going through a phase. As I'm saying that though I can hear my mom thinking to herself "I wonder where he gets it from?" Yes I hate to admit it but I was the same when I was younger....Karma sucks doesn't it...

Oh well, I'm trying to not get to worried about it. Overall he is a great kid who I am very proud of, just frustrating sometimes. I'm sure he feels the same about me.

Michelle

A pain in the ass!!

Ok I hate to bitch but here it goes...Anyone who knows me knows I don't eat red meat. That means only chicken, turkey and fish. Anyone who knows Dan knows that he's a beef farmer, so this makes making supper a challenge. Well almost 3 years ago I found out that I'm also reacting to dairy, wheat and eggs. If cooking before was hard now it's a huge pain in the ass!! With four kids who are typical picky eaters I dread trying to figure out what to cook for the family.

Tonight actually was easy - leftovers. There were two leftover porkchops from Friday night, leftover mushroom soup and grilled cheese from yesterday's lunch and leftover spaghetti from last night. I warmed it all up and then fried up some chicken and potatoes too. I threw some veggies with it and voila - supper to suit all of us! For dessert since Dan had 3 kids at the barn I had time to make something. Not just one thing of course but two. Something good for Dan and the kids and something edible for me. (Rice flour, and no eggs make it hard to bake something good)

So there you have it. My daily struggle to cook healthy, tasty, fast/easy food for all of us. Cooking like this also means more dishes, and more $$ for groceries!!

Oh well, it could be worse I know. I try to count my blessings everyday but today was a day I had to vent about this!!

Michelle

A Cow says Moo

Chores at the barn today became a family affair. Dan loves when we all go with him. Usually I opt to stay home and make supper but since tonight we were having leftovers (and it wasn't freezing out) We all went. The kids usually love to go with daddy and help but lately Travis complains about having to go. I'm hoping it's an age thing...work isn't fun anymore. Once he gets there he's usually good but it always starts as a fight. Kortney who hasn't gotten to go to the barn since the fall was excited when we first got there. She kept pointing and saying moo. It was all good until I put her down. She wasn't sure about those big cows. She also ended up doing a face plant in the silage which wasn't good! Grandpa showed up though and saved her. I still have to remind myself a little dirt and silage won't kill them. (for those who don't know silage is fermented corn and stalks)

An impulsive morning

I usually am a "planner" when it comes to my life. I'd rather know in advance about situations so I can get myself ready for what ever the day brings. On the other hand though, there are certain times where I can be very impulsive. Once I get something in my head it drives crazy until I do it. That happened this morning. While cleaning up the kids rooms I decided it was time to put Kortney into the toddler bed. Travis helped me take apart the crib while Kortney watched, not really sure what we were doing.

When the other three were little I had them in beds when they were around 18 months too. My theory was if you put them in early they didn't know yet to fight against going to sleep and were used to just staying in bed. Travis and Kaitlin never got out of bed once I put them down for sleep. Dawson broke my theory! (hard to believe, I know!!) But I'm going to try it again and see how Korntey does. This afternoon for her nap she wasn't quite sure but she was really tired so she just went to sleep. Hopefully that's a good sign. I'm trying not to think about the fact that we're done with the crib now. Korntey has grown so fast. This week I can't keep her from climbing on chairs then onto the table. She proves everyday that although she's very little not much stops her at all.

Michelle