Blake

I will always remember this year as the year that Blake really came into his own.  This year, his 6th year, is the year that I have really started to understand all the little parts and pieces that truly make him stand out.  He has a certain way that he likes to brush his teeth (top first from left to right, then bottom for right to left) and if you try to tell him otherwise, you better be ready for a really long debate, and by the end, you will lose.  I can now trust him to get himself ready in the morning.  He can tastefully pick out his clothing, brush his teeth and wash his face and get his shoes on for school without me really having to worry about it.  I just have to tell him when to start getting ready, and he will check his backpack before we leave to make sure that he has his folder, lunchbox and water bottle all ready to go. 

He is so adventurious with his food now, and it makes my life so much easier when I know that he will pretty much eat anything.  He loves all seafood and especially crab!  He will eat all veggies and most fruits, but he still prefers me to peel his apples :) 

 

Blake loves his sports... he will play hockey out in the garage for hours after school and on weekends, and if its not nasty out, he will kick the soccer ball around the back yard.  He always wants Luke to play with him, but Blake is pretty aggressive, and when Luke has enough of Blake stealing the ball and taking the puck, Luke looses interest pretty quickly.  We have explained over and over again that if he wants his little brother to play with him, then he needs to take it easy on him, but something inside him can only hold back for so long, and then it all goes down the drain.  Playing hockey means that he has a lot of gear, but he knows all the parts and pieces that go into his bag.  I don't think that I could remember to pack all that, and also have the skills that he does.  He definitely gets that from his daddy :)

His independence has really come through.  I am excited that he now has an opinion about things, and he knows what he likes.  He can be a Mr. know it all, and loves to tell me that I am driving the wrong way or that I forgot something, and he really likes to worry... too much sometimes.  He is thoughtful, helpful, loving, affectionate and sweet, and sure likes a good debate. Although the boy turns into a monster on the sports field, we are teaching him how to have good sportsmanship and also to be encouraging to other players.  As parents, we all wonder if we are doing it right... I wonder all the time if I am screwing him up :)  I know that we are hard on him, and we do expect a lot of him, but he is sure a fine young boy, and we are proud of him!

 

Its Almost BABY TIME!!

Isn't it ironic that when you do everything that you possibly can to prevent something, it inevitably happens and the universe once again sends you a message that you are not in control?  I have once again been sent the message that its better to just roll with the punches...blow with the wind...go with the flow... because I cant control anything!  HAHA

Blake's sinuses have finally stopped dripping out his eyes and his boogers are gone thanks to some hefty antibiotics, Luke is doing well too... his boogers are gone too and ears aren't hurting anymore.  Not to mention that he had a little scare at soccer the other night where he got hit in the face with the ball, fell back and hit his head on the goal post, and after some tears, we thought he was fine... well we got home, had dinner, got in the tub, and he screamed that his head hurt and then puked everywhere... off to Mary Bridge we went. Grandma Tammy came with me and Kyle and Blake stayed home since I didn't want Blake exposed to anymore germs and Kyle had to work the next day.  Grandma provided some much needed comfort to Luke and I really appreciated not being alone there, were pretty lucky!!  But after what felt like FOREVER... we were sent home and he was fine... but better safe then sorry when it comes to the head!

This baby can come any time now, I cant wait to hold him... my last appointment showed that my body is doing all the right things and getting ready.  Little guy is super low, cervix is soft and 50% effaced.  I have another apt on Friday, and we will see if any progress has been made, and then Dr will help my body along too, so it shouldn't be long!  We cant wait to meet this little guy, and I am ready to have him out!  I think that I am going to go get a pedicure tomorrow while Luke is in preschool... got to have pretty toes in the hospital!!  Were wrestling with a couple names still... I guess we will just have to wait and see him.  Joshua and Greyson are in the top running, and we just can make up our minds. 

The boys are SUPER EXCITED to be big brothers.  I've made them special backpacks for the hospital full of games and coloring things to keep them busy, and their over night bags are ready... ours, on the other hand has not been packed.  I think ill look into that today.  AND... Super irritated that I cant find my camera charger.  I have looked everywhere... the whole house, the cars, the trailer, the camera bag... nowhere to be seen.  I looked them up on Amazon and there like 50 bucks, so i''m going to think about it for another day or too, and if I cant find it, then I bet I can get one at Best Buy so I don't have to wait for it to be shipped.  But, other then that, I think that were ready.  I am super obsessed about getting laundry done daily (even if its not a full load) because I don't want to deal with piles of laundry after the baby is born... bathrooms are clean, the boys stay clean for like 2 seconds, but at least its pretty deep cleaned, and the babies stuff is all washed, put away, and I have my closets, refrigerators, freezers, drawers cars and everything else all cleaned and organized.  Just need to take a trip to Costco... maybe after my dr apt on Friday?  Ill get it figured out soon :)  Haha, but were ready, so bring on this baby!

Funny thing Luke said... he asked me if when the baby comes out, my tummy wont be so big and hard.  HAHA I told him that it would go down after the baby is born, but it takes a little while to get back to normal.  He said that he wants it smaller so its more cozy to lay on.  LOL obviously, my kids appreciate the fact that I do not have rock hard abs :)

Gosh, we make pretty babies!

Blake on his first day home and first day wire and tube free

Luke right after he was born

 

Sickness, Nastiness, and Grossness

This last month has been hard... to say the least, it has been hard.  We have all been sick on and off.  Mostly nasty head colds, some days are worse then others and some days, I get a ray of hope that we are all on the mend, but by the next day, I am once again reminded that we are full of grossness!  Ive had it, I'm at my breaking point and I just don't want to do it anymore.  Sleepless nights of coughing, and kids coughing, and waking up so stuffed up that you cant breath.  Runny noses, fevers, chills, missing school, birthday parties, and sports.  I am sooooooo completely over it.  I know that they are in school, and its inevitable that they are going to get sick, but right now, I don't feel like I have anything left.  I am begging for these germs to take pity on our family and to kindly just pass us by, but since they decided not to listen to me, I have decided that its time to blow them out of the water!!

I don't have time for this crap anymore!  I am about to go into labor and I need everyone healthy, not to mention that this is taking a lot out of me... both physically, and mentally.  I went to my doc about 3 weeks ago asking for antibiotics, and she said that I wasn't sick enough for them... well I went again last Thursday (to someone else in the same office) and I have an ear and sinus infection... so I guess I was sick enough for them this time and I hope it kicks in soon!  This morning, Blake woke up with his eyes crusted shut... we were like "OMG HE HAS PINK EYE"  so, Kyle took both the boys to the doc at 9 this morning, and Blake has a pretty hard core sinus infection that's draining out his eyes... grossest thing I have ever seen, but not pink eye... and Luke is holding steady with an ear infection.  So, more antibiotics, and they gave Blake some eye drops to help his eyes clear up faster... I think its more of a fight then anything to get those drops in there.   We spent the day doing nothing.  Blake had to miss a birthday party that he was devastated about, poor guy was crying in the doctors office when the Doc told him that he couldn't go.  Its just so sad to me, there wasn't much I could do to make it better and it just breaks my heart. 

Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue with some new toys, and a lot of snuggles.  We are so lucky that they are happy to snuggle up and help us take care of our sick kiddos.  It kind of gave us a break, and someone else for me to talk to since cabin fever is starting to set in!  We are so thankful for them!!  They stayed most of the day and then after many long showers, nose blows, and movies and games on their tablets, they went to bed... quite easily, which is always a good thing :)  Kyle is still the only healthy one, which I am super surprised about since we have all been breathing our germs on him, but he has a hockey game tonight, so since the kids were sleeping he decided to go, and I think that I am going to take the time to take a bath, and pop in You've Got Mail... and pray that since we are all on medication now, that tomorrow will be a better day.  Please lord, let tomorrow be a better day, and help my boys heal so we can be ready for our sweet baby boy to be born into a healthy family!!  I'm running out of time to get us all back to normal!

Ugly Chicken, Drunk Chicken, Molting Chicken, Naked Chicken

So, my girls are awful looking right now.  They look like they are diseased, and have been beaten with an ugly stick!  Last year, my girls weren't quite adults yet when fall approached, and we did have one chicken that went through a molting cycle, but it wasn't bad, and I honestly was not prepared for this year.

Having 13 adult hens is like having 13 daughters PMSing AT THE SAME TIME... and it can last up to 6 WEEKS!!!  Let me tell you, I have learned a lot about the molting process these last couple weeks, and every chicken handles molting differently.

Drunk.
I have had a couple chickens walk around the back yard and just fall over... they stumble around, and their legs cross over each other, and sometimes they just lay down.  When I first saw this, I was really taken back, I was so worried that they were sick and that they were going to infect the rest of the hens.  Well, after some research, I was able to calm down a little bit.  It appears that chickens need their tail feathers for balance, and when they lose them, they also lose their balance, and can appear intoxicated.  I really did feel bad for them, but it was pretty entertaining to watch!

Ugly and Naked!
These girls seriously look ridiculous, I mean, if you wanted to eat one right now, you would have to do much plucking!!  I never imagined that they could look like this.  They lose the feathers on their heads first and then down to their butts... naked chicken butts is actually really funny too.  I've learned that while their new feathers grow in, it can be pretty painful for them.  They actually run from us right now, and they have never done that before. 

Shes a hot mess!!

Unproductive and Hungry.
So, here is the kicker... while they molt, they don't lay eggs due to the fact that their body uses up so much protein to make new feathers that it doesn't have any left over make an egg.  So, what we have done to help this (and its actually helping) is that I supplement them with high protein foods.  I had some old ground deer in the freezer, so I have been cooking that up with some lentils and it has helped out quite a bit.  Before all this silliness, we were getting about 12 eggs a day, and it went down to 2 a day, and sometimes none at all... now, with the extra feedings, we have managed about 2-4 eggs a day which is better then 0-2... but goodness gracious!!  These ladies are not earning their keep!!

We have decided that we just need to give them their space, give them lots of yummy treats and I have to lean out their coop and covered run almost every other day.  With the lack of feathers and the wind and rain, we also put up the heat lamp for them to hopefully give them some comfort.  I feel bad for them, and I have also learned a lesson... next year, I will be stock piling my summer eggs!!



Closed outdoor run that was cleaned yesterday



Who needs neck feathers?