14/52

Joining Barbara in commemorating the year in once a week posts … just whatever is going on in your life: the mundane, the crazy, the normal, the everyday.

I’m catching up on my 52 weeks, please bear with me!

My brother and his family live near Casselton.  These are picks of their home/subdivision from the East.  Overland flooding closed the highway 10 on either side of their subdivision about 4/5 days later.  Theirs is the white house at the right edge.  Just an incredible amount of water.  They do not have a basement, and while water is higher than in 2009, it still did not threaten their home.  Thank goodness!

Cleaning the garage – great day for Spring Cleaning.  My brother, Pat was out to install shelving in our house garage.  The following pictures show him and Greg working on getting the shelving installed.  He also put up a work bench in our outside garage – it slopes to the sink, which is a very cool feature.

The last of the snowbank in our front yard.  And, the geese were definitely on their way north!  It was so loud, I could hear their honking inside the house.

 

Strange week.

On Monday, I underwent a dental procedure to graft skin from the roof of my mouth to an area on my lower jaw that was receding.  Does that make me feel old??  Yes.  Even if the Periodontist (another word that makes me feel old) said it wasn’t any of my doing … not because of poor brushing or dental care, in other words … I wonder if there wasn’t something that I should have done differently.  It’s just genetic, he said.  Still makes me feel old. 

The roof of my mouth is healing fine; the graft site is taking a little longer, obviously.  No hard foods for the first week is going okay, too.  Then yesterday, I woke up with hives.  Now, hives are something I get from time to time and yesterday really wasn’t too bad.  Last night was a different story.  If my immune system is overloaded, this is what happens when a seemingly small irritant is added.  Over the years, I have learned to avoid certain foods made with red food dye, as that seems to be a trigger.  However, most of the time I have no idea of the cause.  This time I have no idea.  I checked over the limited foods I’ve eaten and nothing sticks out.  It’s frustrating, as I would call this a more extreme reaction and it included symptoms I’ve not had before.  Boy, did I look lovely when I looked in the mirror at 3:20am.  Thank goodness the worst appears to be over (at least I won’t scare Louis and the rest of the kids) … I’ll be keeping my diet extremely bland today and in the days to come.

My mom came to stay with the kids on Monday because I wanted Eric to drive me to and from the appointment.  She left yesterday, but I’m so thankful she was here during the first few days.  It allowed me to take a NAP!  Now, that’s a rarity.

Couple other noteworthy items:

1. Everyone (except me, Louis, Graham and Mr. W) went to Live Stations on Wednesday night.  It was presented by a mime group.

2. New dishwasher installed yesterday.  It can hold more of our dishes, which is awesome.  I've washed one load with great results and am currently testing it on dirtier dishes … and pans.

3. The kids are finishing up subjects left and right as we approach the end of the school year.  I’ve added a few lap-books; the kids are having fun.

4. It’s sunny and the snow from our last blizzard has started to melt again … just in time for another blizzard expected to arrive this weekend.  Oh the joys of a ND Spring! 

5. Happy April Fools Day.  I have made no jokes in this post, but Angelina  and Graham have some pretty good ones planned.  Not sure about the other kids. 

13/52

Joining Barbara in commemorating the year in once a week posts … just whatever is going on in your life: the mundane, the crazy, the normal, the everyday.

 

Dash above and Angelina below, planting seeds.

Graham above and Zeke below, work on their plantings.

Our 4-H club went together with another local club for our gardening project.  Each kid planted seeds, plugs and cuttings.  Here’s a picture of the two groups out at the greenhouse.

Zeke holding his cousin, Mr. W.  This helped Grandma Golden Acres out quite a bit and enabled her to get packed and loaded up for the trip back to Lowry!  Zeke is such a nurturer and Mr. W just wanted to be held.

12/52

Joining Barbara in commemorating the year in once a week posts … just whatever is going on in your life: the mundane, the crazy, the normal, the everyday.

 

Last weekend, hubby and all the kids cleared the remainder of ‘stuff’ from our house garage and moved it all into the detached garage.  My brother, Pat, is coming this weekend to install shelving in our house garage.  He and a friend started a company that sells a soon-to-be patented shelving product that is rated for high load-bearing items.  Check it out … the company is called North Metro Garages, LLC. 

It was a cool day, but not cold enough for Zeke to zip his coat and wear a hat.  All 8yo boys are HOT.

Louis was thrilled to tool around his the riding toys for over and hour.  I cannot wait to do this more often.  He slept well at nap-time.

Graham helped as much as he could.  He’s a good sorter – sorting wood and recycling.

Angelina carried garbage out and salvageable goods to the detached garage.  Isn’t it amazing how messy seemingly ‘neat’ piles can become?  Look at all the dirt and yuck that was behind the area where we piled wood leftovers from the build.

Dash scooped mud out of the garage.  Spring is the season, especially in northern climes, where you are dealing with both mud and snow.  My hubby’s pickup brought in about an inch on mud.

Hard-working hubby … did all this cleaning with a monster headache.  He rarely takes OC meds; Saturday he took a large dose.

Here’s Louis all decked out in sparring gear.  Finally had to hid the gear because Zeke and Graham kept trying to spar each other without supervision.  There’s no denying that this little guy is cute, though.  I think that helmet may be handy for keeping him ‘bump free’ for the rest of his toddler-hood.

My very own …

Un ‘to-do’ List.  Josette talked about this idea on her blog today.  We all want to accomplish so much in our days.  I tend to over-estimate the amount that can get done in a day and usually a week.  I suppose I think about what could get done if I were left to my own devices without interruptions.  You see, the desire is for a spic ‘n span clean house because if it’s clean, it’s peaceful and calm.  Well, that’s my delusion.  Of course, the theory hasn’t been tested because we moved in before the house was completed (ie. it was a dusty mess with a few projects left) and then proceeded to add another family member and we built in the middle of a DIRT field.  The cleaning never ends!

Anyway, I need this reminder badly … like hit me over the head and let me know there are accomplishments during the day even if NOTHING was crossed off my real To-Do List.

So, a few to add to my Un ‘to-do’ List:

1. Raisin Scones – tried a new recipe.

2. Graham is working on a Lapbook project – our first ever – he and I are both having fun.

3. The kids all like Tae Kwon Do and they arrived on time at each lesson.  Last minute addition to our week, but looks like a winner!

4. Chicken salad on croissants on Thursday night (yes, the two chickens were roasted that day and made into chicken salad – it wasn’t on my to-do list).

5. Picked up groceries on Thursday night.

6. Ordered size 6 diapers for night-time.  Just a little tired of night-time leaks and my baby is no longer a baby!

7. Washed the king size bed clothes TWICE this week.

8. A free history Lapbook project for Angelina arrived.  So in the process of getting supplies ready for the project, the ‘paper’ shelf was organized.

9. The toy/room guest room was cleared of toys in preparation for Grandma Golden Acres’ arrival.

10. Organized the pantry.

I guess it’s been a good week.  Happy to end on the Feast of The Annunciation of the Lord! 

The Annunciation

by Fra Filippo Lippi, c. 1450

DayLook: Monday, March 21, 2011

Looking out from my back porch... it’s  cloudy, windy, and dirty-looking.  I’m glad the snow is melting, but that layer of dirt between snowstorms is currently exposed. 

I am thankful for... peaceful music, quiet moments, a cup of tea, fresh eggs, grinning toddlers, helpful kid cleaners … and that the end of the school year is in sight. 

I am reading… a Christian novel, ‘Render Unto Caesar’ (Archbishop Chaput), Cooking Light magazine and a few other magazines on my stack.

I am hearing... ‘The Hours’ performed by students at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.

I am wearing… navy t-shirt, jeans, tennies

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)… Zeke made a rocket out of marshmallow, jelly beans, a chocolate kiss and toothpicks (part of his Aerospace study for 4-H).

From the school room... as I said, the end is in sight.  We’ve doubled up the days on some subjects so they’ll finish before Easter.  Then, we’ll be able to concentrate more on 4-H projects and animals.  We are discerning whether to add Tae Kwon Do for all the kids (except Louis, and the instructor said he’d like to meet Graham before giving the go-ahead).  Dash already has his black belt, so we are familiar with the routine.  There aren’t many activities that encompass all one’s children within the space of a couple hours.  This appeals to me.

From the kitchen... made a huge batch of Knuefla soup this morning. 

A successful moment… Eric and the kids made great progress on moving the ‘stuff’ from our house garage to our detached garage in preparation for my brother to install shelving in a couple weeks. 

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday: First trial day of Tae Kwon Do lessons for kids, library visit in Valley City

Tuesday: Continue cleaning out the garage

Wednesday: Ortho appt. for Dash

Thursday:   Second trial day of Tae Kwon Do lessons for kids

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   My mom and my sister’s son (1 1/2 yo) will arrive to visit for a couple days, 4-H meeting and tour of the local greenhouse.

A picture memory... the boys showing off their marshmallow rockets.