All 6 12 times #5

Us right now

Rich
Is back to running as his leg is pain-free.  He’s ramping up training (slowly) for his 1/2 marathon at the end of August (and probably a couple races in between).

Moe
I have survived the annual garage sale with out much prep. I think some days I go from one child pickup/drop off to another and it just repeats itself over and over again. Being the mother of 4 active kids can be tiring for sure.

Jake
Has finished up his first track season as a Viking with a great win in the mile {5:19} at Districts. He has been spending his free time with his girlfriend and hanging with friends.

Megan
Has had her last choir concert of the school year. She is enjoying her hand-me down full size bike and tries to take nightly bike rides to get used the gears.

Chloe
As the weather warms is it hard to keep her inside. She learned to ride her bike and wants to ride it often. She is missing school and can’t wait for fall to come.

Sydney
Just today had her latest testing of her hearing. She is just about finished with school and has made great progress since starting in January. She has learned the signs for “open” & “more”.

365/150 The results

We got good news today from the hearing test. With bone conduction she hears normally! That means that all the parts and pieces inside her head function properly and are not damaged.  We’re still not sure what is obstructing her from hearing normally with her own ears but at least we know that the hearing aid should work for her.

Our next step is to order the Baha Intenso and a softband.

She had to be put under anesthesia for the testing; she would never sit still or hear the instructions. Because she was a “screamer” when they carried her away, they let us back into recovery before she was awake.  They wanted her to see her parents first thing so she would not be freaked out more that she needed to be.

365/149 A sleep over

Due to Syd’s bone conduction hearing test tomorrow  at Beaumont Hospital, CJ gets a sleep over at her favorite place; Lu’s house.

We had to wait until we were on the way to drop her off to tell her what the plan was. If she had known earlier she would have been non-stop chatting and questioning us about the sleep over {that is just how she is}.As is was the 10 minute drive was full of questions and chatter.

I am Thankful Week 22

 

365/148 Look who is riding now

It is no surprise; Syd could not let CJ be the only one to ride her bike on the road.

CJ begged us all day to go for a bike ride. We got a quick one in just before the rain really started. I assumed Syd would opt for a wagon ride but nope. She stuck her toys in the trunk and started pedaling her trike. {this is another thing that ESA has helped us with; they have been riding bikes in the gym with her}

She pedaled the whole way down the road and back by herself. She's getting to be such a big girl. She will be three is just a couple weeks!

365/147 Look who I found on the road

After two long days of running the garage sale I returned home with my van packed with all the stuff that did not sell. I was surprised it all fit; today the sales were way down. The weather was dreary at best.

But my evening got brighter; when I turned onto our road I spotted the girls and Hubby taking a stroll/bike ride.

This is the first time CJ has rode her bike on the road. She is riding so well now, she has come a long way since the beginning of the week. She was super excited to tell me all about her ride with dad and Syd.

I can tell this will be her favorite activity for the next few weeks.

365/146 G sale partner

Today I spent all day up at my mom’s, we were hosting our annual garage sale. It was a bit chilly all day but that did not stop the customers from coming; thank goodness.

Only one more day before we can pack it in until later this summer. I think I will try my hand at a sale in my new city. That might be the only way I will get my garage cleaned. I wonder if I have enough tables……..

365/145 Sleepy head

JD must be staying up too late this week; after his paper route he fell fast asleep on the ride home.

I’m sure this cat nap will get him by for the next 4 or 5 hours or so. It is too bad he just won’t go to sleep at a decent hour but at 14 he is sure he knows it all and is way smarter than his parents

365/144 New Joy

Syd plays with toys at school that she just ignores here at home. We have had the wooden puzzles for many years but she never played with them that I can recall until today.

She played with this number puzzle for hours this evening. Every time she got it together she would clap and proceed to take all the pieces back out again.

They tell me she is matching colors at school as well but I have yet to get her interested in trying that at home. Maybe I can get them to start potty training her as well……

365/143 2388 texts Really?

When they got their phones JD was doubting he would use 200 texts a month and trying to get out of paying his portion of the unlimited family share texting plan. His reasoning “I won’t text very much, I think it is silly”

Well, somewhere between getting the phone and now he has suddenly fell head over heels for texting. It was not even a full month and he texted 2,388 times!

I think unlimited texting plans were invented for families with teenagers.

365/142 5:19 Mile

Posted by Hubby:

These are pictures from JD’s last track meet of the season – the districts at Bay City Western.  I wasn’t sure what to expect because he didn’t seem to have a lot of confidence initially.  Before the race, he said he didn’t even think he would place because he already knew of 3 or 4 kids that had faster times this year than he did.  But as race time drew near, it seemed like he was getting himself psyched up.

Not to spoil the surprise, but he took 1st with a new personal best of 5:19 (12 seconds better than his previous best).  But the real story is not that he won, it’s how he won.

Throughout the 4-5 years of his running career, JD has always been the 2nd best runner on any team he’s been on.  That situation has led to a certain complacency in him and even the coaches could see it when he ran.  Someone would pass him and he would just let them go rather than try to keep up.  This track season started the same but ended differently.  The team mate that was beating him at the beginning of the season was not a good sport about it and JD started to get rubbed the wrong way.  The only way to solve that was to beat him.  And beat him he did.  Starting a few races ago, JD started to race more competitively, not wanting to let someone get a lead on him and then having a better kick to the finish.  And when he started beating his own team mate, the surprise was that he also ended up finishing 1st overall.

Today’s race was no different.  It was windy so it wasn’t good to be in the lead.  He raced patiently the 1st 3 laps, staying near the front but letting other runners take the lead (and the wind, head on).  At the start of the final lap, the lead runner from White Pine tried to pull away but JD kept reeling him in.  He tried 2 or 3 more times to build a lead but JD stayed with him, about 2-3 strides behind him.  On the last turn, with about 80-100 m left, JD pulled up alongside the White Pine runner and PUT THE HAMMER DOWN (with authority!).  It was all over but the crying as JD sprinted to the finish, widening the lead to about 10-15 yards.  Dad’s estimates might be slightly exaggerated but he was widening the lead with each stride.

It’s the best race I’ve ever seen JD run so far, but hopefully just the 1st of many.  There were a number of points where he could have just settled in and let someone else take over.  But he didn’t and I’m glad to see his competitive fire take hold a little.  He doesn’t have to be in anyone’s shadow any more.

If you’re on Facebook {and friends of me, Moe or even JD}, you can view the recording I made of the race.  You’ll have to excuse the poor video and my excessive yelling at the end.  I’m probably the most obnoxious {in the best way possible} parent when my son is racing and I’m not embarrassed by it one bit.

I am Thankful Week 21

365/141 Centennial Farm

This picture is of my Mom and myself “down on the farm”.  My Mom was very proud to have the family farm certified as a Centennial Farm this past year.  The land has been in my father’s family since my Grandfather traded an adjacent piece of land for it.

It is impressive (and unusual) in this day and age for a single family to hold onto a piece of land for such a long period of time. 

But what is even more impressive is the little lady in this picture.  She raised 7 fairly successful kids (I’m probably the slacker of the litter) while being an equal partner in my Dad’s farm equipment business,  doing the chores on the farm, and helping out with a number of different groups at church.  If you wanted something done, you just had to ask my Mom to help.

Still today, if you ask any of her kids, we still don’t match her energy level, even now that she’s 84 years young.

365/140 Like a kid again

It was a beautiful spring day here. After getting stuff around and priced for the upcoming garage sale we took a stroll. We ended up in a different park of the park than we normally go. This part of the park has a playground!

Hubby and I both have some good memories of playing on the monkey bars when we were kids. We started telling the kids some of the things we used to do on the bars {flipping, spinning, dismounts and such}. They looked at us like we were nuts.

They have never played on the monkey bars like we used {and they went to the same schools, until this year, that we did and the monkey bars are still there} MJ tried some of the things we suggest but just could not get herself to relax enough.

Hubby and I both showed them some things we did when we were young {I was not as limber as I once was and I’m so glad Hubby did not have the camera}

The kids got a kick out of seeing their parents play. {Or was that embarrassment?}

365/139 The red door

I was calling around for wall insulation quotes earlier this week and talked to the folks at GE Insulation. Not only do they do insulation, they are also authorized by Consumers Energy to do home energy audits.  They audit your house and then work with you to identify what types of projects to do to improve your house’s overall energy efficiency.  Consumers Energy offers cash rebates for certain types of activities (i.e. wall/ceiling insulation, HVAC upgrades, etc) which help to ease the burden of the investment.

For a gadget guy, it’s pretty cool stuff.  The red door is a blower door.  They hook it up, turn it on, and it sucks out all the air in your house.  You can check each room to see how much air leakage you have by leaving the door open just a crack.  You’ll feel the air rushing out over your hand toward the blower door.  More air is bad!!

They also used the thermal imaging camera to examine the temperature difference between the inside and outside.  That’s not too much right now because of the mild weather but would be really useful in the heat of summer or the cold of winter.

We don’t have the final verdict on what projects we should do and the payback time for each but the top of the list will probably be our 1950’s boiler.  I calculated that we could probably save over $1000/year in natural gas by going to a 95% efficient boiler.  On top of that, Consumers will give us a $950 rebate for the upgrade and we could take a $150 tax credit on our federal taxes.  It won’t make it free but it will make that type of project pay off a lot sooner.

Give GE Insulation a call to see how you can help yourself to a more energy efficient home.

365/138 Hanging out

Tonight JD and MJ had friends over to hang out in the yard. {One of the friend’s is JD girlfriend} Almost nightly JD ventures outside and suddenly there are  kids showing up in our yard {almost like a magnet}

Another benefit to living in the city: school friends usually live close enough to ride or walk over.

365/137 Play ball

We all went to watch Lu’s final softball game of the season tonight. I have not watched kids play ball since JD was in Little League years ago. It was fun to hear the girls chanting while they were in the dugout.

Lu slid home and caught a pop fly. She is quite the ball player! She has made the all-star team. Way to go Lu Bean.

Syd and CJ were good considering their ages but the Smarties and Ring Pops from Grammie and Aunt Heather helped in that department.

365/136 Look Mom!

CJ is finally riding the bike she got for her birthday last year. Yeah!  MJ taught her how to climb on and start to pedal  this afternoon, I’m not sure who was prouder MJ or CJ.

They had such fun riding up and down the driveway.

Maybe now Syd can have her tricycle back 

365/135 Open

Syd was up late tonight. She wanted to cuddle so figure I would treat her and let her stay up.  But in the end she gave me a treat. 

Her teachers have started teaching her “baby sign language” {basic commands/requests) and today they informed me that she signed “open” and “more” repeatedly in class. She does many things in class that I cannot get her to do at home, but it made me extremely happy to hear about.

We were just sitting together and I was chatting with her. I signed open and she smiled and signed it right back while saying “open”!  I was so happy and excited I started crying. When Syd saw the tears she exclaimed “ought oh” and started wiping my tears with her blanket.

Bless my heart this child brings me small joys daily. Hubby and I were just talking about this the other day… It is hard to be discouraged by her hearing problems because she is so happy and joyful. Watching her personality emerge with the help of ESA is a blessing and brings tears of happiness to me most days.

I am thankful week 19

365/134 Full day for them

JD and MJ have no days off when it comes to their new jobs. 

They got up at 4:45 this morning to pack and deliver over 50 papers each. They could not figure out how to work together without arguing so they did their routes separately, JD took the wagon and I drove MJ.

After naps and some relaxation they needed to prep the Monday’s MCR {free paper that the news paper prints for non subscribers}, they are delivered to us on Friday but need to need delivered on Monday.

They did have some fun today as well; MJ went with the neighbor kids Geocaching and JD had a friend over.

Nothing like a full day to make you sleep like a baby.

365/133 The first time together

It has taken a lot of practice and been a lot of fun for MJ. She has been helping in Lu’s dance class and learned Lu’s 2 dances and 5 of her own. She did great tonight at her recital and so did Lu.

This might be the last time they have a recital together though; Lu is going to try Karate this fall instead of dance. 

MJ is planning on staying in dance, she loves to be on the stage. Every year she thinks it will be the last year she dances until the recital and then she can’t wait for the fall classes to begin.

Here are some shots from the evening.

365/132 16 years of wedded bliss

Today is our 16 year wedding anniversary. Wow how time flies. Hubby took the day off work and we ran errands and spent the day puttering around the house with the girls.  We have to put off any further celebration because it is dance rehearsal night!

I spent the evening at dance rehearsal with MJ. Hubby spent the evening with the girls at home.  Then we had to got retrieve JD from a friend’s house at about 11. Not the most romantic anniversary but things like this happen when you have 4 kids.

Love you babe! I’m happy to have spent the last 16 years with you and look forward to many more.

365/131 He won the 1 mile!

I missed it though; I was with MJ doing his paper route. The girls and I arrived later to watch his relays.

We don’t have a picture of the race (the photo is from one of his relays) because hubby was being a parent volunteer for this meet. 

Hubby’s part of the post starts here…

It was hot out and JD said he didn’t feel very good at the start of the meet (i.e. combine hot weather with greasy food from the Loons game he went to earlier in the day), so we weren’t expecting a stellar performance.  But he kept himself hydrated throughout the meet and felt a little better when the race started.

He started a little slower than normal because they ran the boys and the girls together and he started behind some of the girls.  He was running 4th or 5th during the 1st lap but moved up to 2nd/3rd about 1/2 way through.  He took the lead around lap 3 which put some pressure on the now 2nd place guy because he had to run a little faster than expected.  They traded the lead back/forth briefly during the 3rd lap.  But then JD took the lead back for good and  finished with a good kick for the last 1/2 lap (200 m), leaving no doubt as to the outcome.  Overall, a great race for a new personal best of 5:37.

Thanks also to Uncle Michael for being there and offering support.  Michael’s presence can’t be overlooked as to the positive impact it has on JD’s performances.

Mom again…I have to tell you how proud I am of him. He has been racing against a friend in the 1 mile since the very beginning. His friend has beaten him every time and has rubbed it in to JD’s face every time.  JD wanted to beat him so badly and thought it would be great to rub it into his friend’s face. 

Today, when he won he said he just did not have the heart to tease his friend about it because he knew how awful it felt to be teased about it. {That is such a grown up thing to figure out. Maybe the things we preach to the kids about being a good sport are getting through.}

365/130 Enjoying the music

Just one more day with the BP100 Baha soft band. She was enjoying the Dora music and dancing. It is good to see her interact with things differently; spontaneously dancing to music.  

Syd has kept it longer these last few days but she really does not like this one. It is very touchy, great for adults I think, but for a 3 year it is just too much fiddling.

I think she can hear some things better with it {just like with the Intenso}; she will turn her head when you call her name and such. But we are not ready to make a decision just yet.

Our next step is to get a bone conducting hearing test to make sure either of these Baha’s will be the best choice for her. {this test should have happened before we trialed them but that is a whole other story} It is scheduled for the end of May.

365/129 Another track meet

This picture is from Jake’s relay race.  We arrived too late to see his one mile run.  We were so disorganized that we don’t even know his times from the meet but I think he finished 4th in the mile.

Overall, his times have kept steady or improved each race.  It’s good to see him do so well and the encouragement he gets from his coach is great.

We’re also thankful for the support he gets from the rest of our family.  For this race, Uncle Brent, Aunt Heather, and cousin Lu were there to cheer him on.  Thanks guys, that means a lot to him (and to us).

365/128 Weeeeeee

We took the girls for a walk this evening. They enjoy taking strolls but they enjoy playing on the swing set even more.

Syd will not ride the swing by herself so I get to play on the swing as well. She could do this all night but these plastic seats were not made for adult bottoms so until she is willing to go solo we only ride for short periods of time.

CJ has just as much zest for being on the swing except she requires someone to push her “higher, up to the sky”.  As soon as you stop pushing for even a swing or two, she is there to remind you to keep going.

We’re glad that they get so much enjoyment out of the swing set.

I am Thankful week 18

Journaling reads:

I am thankful for this “sick” kid.

CJ is never far from a camera. She is ready for her close up all the time.
This week she missed a day of school because her tummy was upset. She did get sick once but felt great after a 2 hour morning nap.
After she got up I asked her how she felt. She told me she was fine but thought she was going to throw up again.  She grabbed the bucket and sat there with her mouth open just waiting for it to happen.  {She never did throw up again thankfully.}
Hubby and I got a kick out of it. She is such a adorable, silly girl and I love her to pieces.

365/127 A Mother’s day Gift

After a rocky start to the morning MJ and JD have pulled themselves together and decided to help each other with the very heavy Sunday papers. Neither one of them can carry the 2 full bags. {I can’t even carry them for very far}

Their plan was to do the route together; one person pulling the wagon and the other running up to the houses.

It seemed to work as they were done with 30 minutes to spare!

If they continue with this I think they need to invest in a rubber wheeled wagon. I could hear this wagon coming before I could see them and I had the widows rolled up and the heat on in the van.  I think their customers will appreciate less noise at 6 in the morning.

365/126 Ready for Spring

We headed to G-town to see the Grandma’s for Mother’s day today.

The girls we waiting patiently for the rest of us the get ready. The were thrilled to be wearing skirts without leggings. Yeah for warmer weather. I hope it is here to stay.

365/125 Busy time

Every weekday after we drop Syd off at school I count and pack the kids papers for them. This should end as soon as school ends.

It is crazy for me from 12:30-5:30 most days. I take many trips to and from the schools and the paper route neighborhood. I think most days I make 4 trips to the schools and 3-4 trips to the route neighborhood because of the kids various schedules.

Before this fall we need to make a better plan.

365/124 2nd loaner arrived

This afternoon the BP100 Baha arrived. I thought it would be so easy to get Syd to wear this one based on the last 3 days with the 1st loaner. Nope, this one is different and she does not like it. It squeals a lot and is very touchy. It goes off if she is too close to some one or leans back in the chair.

It will take a lot of fiddling with the volume controls to get her to keep it on long enough to see any benefits.

This one might not be the one for Syd.

 

365/123 A lesson to learn

We had just enough time this evening to play outside with the girls. They love playing on the swing set. Hubby is attempting to teach CJ to pump her legs in hopes that he will not have to push her the rest of the summer. She keeps him busy with “Higher, push me higher”

Another things we are working on is Syd staying clear of the swing when in use. Syd has knack for barely getting out of they way from CJ’s swing. She has yet to be clobbered but wow, it scares us.

365/122 Can dogs really glare?

Well this certainly looks like Ruby is glaring at me doesn’t it? She does have a good reason I suppose; I got her spayed. But the main reason she is unhappy is not the surgery, it is the darn cone I had to stick on her head to stop the licking. 

Syd is not thrilled with Ruby having the cone either. Every time Ruby comes near her she screams. Probably something to do with the fact that Ruby just plows into everything in site while wearing this thing.

I read an article in the local news paper about Spay and Neuter Express a few weeks ago. This vet, Dr. Bruce from the Animal Hospital of Lowell, goes around to many counties here in MI and, you guess it, their specialty is spaying and neutering cat and dogs.

They charge far less than our vet does {$65 compared to $250-$300}. To be fair to our Vet; pets do get an over night stay and around the clock care by a professional and she is wonderful with our dogs.

The Express bus is just that express, I dropped Ruby off in the morning and picked her up late afternoon. I paid $10 for a vaccination she needed and $10 for a 24 hour pain shot.

$85 is all it took to stop worrying about her getting pregnant and to avoid the messy that she causes while she is in heat.

Thank you Spay and Neuter Express.

365/121 All 6-12 times #4

{Not on the last day of April because I was not home and I had the camera}

Rich
Has struggled to accept the decision to not race in the marathon but the pain in his leg was not healing fast enough for marathon training. He is looking for alternative activities to stay fit and biking seems to be the option that he is leaning toward.
Moe
Due to my broken camera I am behind my Iphone and missing from the photo. I’m not happy about the camera but I feel rejuvenated from my weekend of bliss. Scrapbooking with my friends always puts me in a great mood.
Jake
Has been busy with track practice and his paper routes. He has found a love of texting which surprised him. In his spare time he has been dreaming of his first car, a Dodge Charger is at the top of the list. I tell him to keep dreaming.
Megan
Dance recital is right around the corner and extra practices have kept her busy. She has been filling in for Jake when he has track meets and longer practices; 4 routes are hard to get done in 2 two hours but she is pulling it off like a pro and the extra money doe not hurt either.
Chloe
Is 4 now! She has been having trouble remembering her age since turning 4 though. I think she will get used it soon enough.  She has only a few more days of school before her summer  break starts. Oh how time flies.
Sydney
After struggling against wearing the Baha loaner she wore it for 3 days without complaint before we had to return it to the doctor.  We’ve seen improvement in her hearing  while she was wearing the loaner and we are hopeful this will be the short term answer to her hearing problems. Now we are waiting for the second loaner to arrive.

Broken camera :(

I can’t believe it is broke!

I was taking photos of MJ in her dance costume {that is not what broke my camera}. We decided it was just too sunny in our backyard {notice how washed out she is} so we went back inside to get ready for dance pictures at the studio.

MJ needed help getting into her jazz costume so I went with her to her room; camera in hand still on the tripod.  I set the tripod in front of the dog cage {a safe distance from where we were prepping for the pictures}

When we ready I handed MJ the bagged outfits to put in my the van. She turned and tripped over the tripod leg and I heard my camera hit the hard wood floor, lens up.

I thought it was ok when I did not see any cracks in the screen or lens. It even turned on and I could take a picture.

As I was breathing a sigh of relief I shut off the camera and then it happened… The lens would not retract. Up popped an error message  “Lens error try to restart”

I have taken it to a camera shop here in town and await the diagnoses. Hopeful it is an easy repair I won’t find out until next week. Until then I will be using my Iphone and older camera.

I am thankful week 17

Journaling reads:

I am Thankful for time away with friends.

I have been scrapbooking for many years. Mostly I scrap at crops and retreats. Though now I have a space in our home I find it hard to get anything done in that space; but it does make prep for a retreat easier:)
I have been calling it my weekend of Bliss and that is just what it is. Scrapping with friends, no cooking, no cleaning, just time to relax, laugh and create. Ahh, it was great

365/120 Happy Birthday CJ!

I arrived home today. This year I got to spend CJ’s birthday with her. I however did not bake a cake while on my vacation {imagine that} so I brought home  a chocolate chip muffin  for her. {it worked; she was thrilled} We sang her happy birthday and she blow out the single candle.  It made her day and she even got to play on her shared birthday gift; the swing set this afternoon.

She happily showed us how old she was {she has to get used to saying 4 when asked her age though}

Happy Birthday my big girl!