Katee Puppy

We lost our favorite canine friend this morning....more importantly, one of Rylee's best friends.  She was 14 years old and the most docile dog ever.  Even though she didn't have a history of aggressive behavior, James was always nervous she might bite the kids.  Instead, Katee always remained calm and let them do whatever they wanted to her.

Rylee took a strong liking to Katee at a very young age...maybe 8 months?  From there, the relationship grew.  Rylee was always just as excited to see Katee as she was Grandma...sometimes even asking just to go see Katee.  Rylee loved to walk Katee, often holding the leash herself.  Katee had other canine friends in the neighborhood and Rylee knew most of their names. Of course, giving her treats was fun too.  More recently, Rylee finally learned how to hook Katee up to her leash to let her out to potty.  There wasn't much Rylee didn't know how to do for her. She would often tell me "I know how to take care of Katee." The two usually slept together at night when Rylee would stay at Grandma and Katee's house. Every time we would leave Grandma's house or Grandma would leave ours, Rylee would say, "Bye Grandma, I love you. And will you tell Katee I love her too."

Movies in bed with Katee.

Showing Katee her new backpack - age 2.

As she got older, Katee started having a lot of health problems.  It seems like every winter for the past few years, my mom would say, "I don't know if she will make it through another winter."  She made it quite a bit longer than we expected.  Last week, she started getting weaker. When she stopped eating, my mom knew she was probably on her way out.  On Sunday, Mom asked if I wanted to bring Rylee over to see Katee one last time.  I explained to Rylee that Katee was dying and this may be the last time we would see her.  Rylee hugged her, told Katee she loved her, and fed her ice cubes.  I wasn't sure that she really understood what we were telling her.

Feeding Katee ice cubes since she wasn't eating or drinking. 

This morning when I woke up, I texted my mom right away to see how Katee was doing.  The reply I got was, "She just took her last breath 5 minutes ago."  Rylee came into my room about 3 minutes later.  I debated whether to tell her before or after school, but James and I decided to go ahead and tell her right away.  She didn't say much....I don't think it really registered.

After school I asked if she told her class about Katee and she said she did. She asked me if Katee was still dead at Grandma's.  When I told her Grandma took her to the vet she asked if the vet would make her better.  I explained again that Katee was gone and wouldn't be back.  A few hours later, out of the blue, Rylee said, "Mom, it sure will be different going to Grandma's without Katee. I might still ask if I can go see Katee."

I suppose the next few times we go to Grandma's will tell if she really understands or not.  Someday, she will be used to not having Katee there.  I'm confident she will remember Katee for quite some time though....her first BFF.  For now, we will remember our friend in pictures.

Life in our Van

Anyone else have a hard time keeping the inside of your vehicle clean?!?!  I clean my van out once a week, but within 24 hours of the cleaning it's back to being a disaster! I can't even blame my kids for all of it.

Winter is the worst. I always have extra blankets in the car for emergency, or just to cover legs with.  I also have towels on the floor to help keep the carpet from getting too dirty....but the towels get bunched up very quickly.  Most times the kids don't wear their coats and we just keep them in the van for emergencies, so they are on the floor as well.  We have to take snow pants and boots to school, but can't leave them there (in case we need them at home), so those are always in the van.  Backpacks rarely make it into the house because there is almost never anything in them, so we just leave those in the van.

I haven't used a diaper bag in a couple of years, because...well, I could write a whole blog on that.. so I always have diapers and wipes somewhere in the van.  Of course, we have to have some books for something to do, so there are at least 3 of those. Toys find their way into the van too. Currently, we have about half a dozen packs of tissues....along with many used tissues on the floor. And lets not forget the umbrellas we have to have "just in case".....but they are always in the back of the van where we can't reach them anyway.

Summer is almost as bad though.  I usually have a soccer ball, frisbees, sunscreen, first aid kit, towels to dry off because it's always fun to get wet, ball caps, sunglasses, etc.

I wish it was just the kids who leave their stuff in the van, but I'm almost as bad sometimes.  I rarely bring anything into the house with me. I will have several cups, water bottles, snacks I didn't eat, receipts from Goodwill donations, Wyatt's daily "report card" from school, hats, gloves, scarf, sunglasses, extra boots, etc.  I don't even bring my purse inside with me most days.

I have tried to organize all of this chaos into bags or over-the-seat organizers....but, my kids don't see the need to be tidy and inevitably always empty the organizers...thus, the organizers themselves become just more junk in the van.

This is all just a season of life (I think) and I would rather have the chaos in the van instead of right inside the door to the house, which is where it would all get left. I mean, it's only slightly embarrassing when people see the inside of our van...it could be worse right?!?!?  Funny thing is, the back of our van (we always leave the 3rd row folded down since we don't need the extra seats) is usually fairly spotless!!  Oh well, c'est la vie! Glad it is "warm" and sunny out today for my weekly cleaning of said van :)

Enjoy your day!

Dr. Daddy

It's true that kisses from Mommy can instantly make any small injury better.  However, in our house, it is Daddy who tends to all of the the big injuries and illnesses.  Daddy is also who Rylee yells for in the middle of the night when she is scared.

Daddy may be a big guy, but his heart goes soft for sick or injured kiddos.  He has more patience than me (that's sort of a rare statement) for calming them down and taking care of them when they don't feel well or get hurt....particularly in the middle of the night when Mama Bear gets grumpy if she gets woken up.  He can also tolerate vomit more than me, which luckily hasn't been an issue for quite some time....knock on wood!

Last night was a great example of how much he loves taking care of his kids. Wyatt came into our room shortly after James had put him to bed. He brought his pillow with him and layed down quietly on our floor.  Around 3am he woke up with a stuffed nose and cough.  James, who had just spent 4 hours in the ER yesterday (don't worry, it was minor), got up with Wyatt.  He calmly talked Wyatt into taking medicine (that's tough to do in our house!) and got him to blow his nose.  Then James grabbed his own pillow and went to sleep with Wyatt for the rest of the night.  I could have helped Wyatt, but I wouldn't have been near as calm. I was very impressed that Daddy put his own pain aside to take care of his little man.

We are a bit of a train wreck in this house right now -- darn winter!!  I had sinus infection during Christmas and now I have a cold.  Wyatt has pretty much had cold symptoms since middle of December or earlier. Rylee has a runny nose and also had strep middle of December.  James is on his second round of meds since Christmastime for something unrelated to what the rest of us keep getting.  I'm glad we are more than half way done with January, but I have a feeling someone will always be sick in this house until spring.

Rylee and I HATE taking medicine!!  Like, it's really bad!!  We both cry.  Okay, I only cry on the inside.  I have never been able to take pills very well.  I'm pretty sure it's just a psychological thing, but I just can't do it.  I have to crush them and put them in my drink....which means drinking something pretty horrible tasting.  It's just such a process for me and I try to avoid it as much as possible!  I didn't finish my last prescription for the sinus infection (day 8/10 was my birthday and I didn't want to take them, so I stopped), which is probably why I'm sick again.  But, this time I'm going to try to get over it on my own.  I have been doing sinus rinses twice a day....it's such a weird feeling, but man does it work!!

Hope your house is healthier than ours!!

Great year so far!

13 days into the new year and so far it has been amazing! I had the best first day with a hike in the woods and date my hubby and since then I've gotten together with friends, attended a couple of ISU basketball games, worked-out daily, eaten healthy, volunteered, read a book, cooked more than usual, played a million games of Monopoly jr. and just generally been happy and well!

Okay, it might not have been a million games, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have played close to 100 games since Christmas!  If you don't have Monopoly jr, I recommend it.  We are loving this game.  Rylee figured it out quickly and wins more than she loses.  We changed one of the rules to the game.  The instructions say that every time you land on an unoccupied property, you MUST buy it. Because we wanted to use this game to teach about smart spending, we didn't think it was right to require the players to spend money.  We play like regular Monopoly where the players decide if they want to buy the property or not.  Rylee kicks our butts!!

Something else new for me this year that I'm enjoying is cooking with an electric skillet.  We have owned one for, I don't know, maybe 9 years or more and have NEVER used it. My flat pan I use to make pancakes with was starting to warp.  I was going to buy a new one, but then remembered about that skillet. I got it out and fell in love instantly!!  I have used it several times the past two weeks and can't believe I neglected it for so long!!

I've changed my taste in music a bit the past few weeks as well.  Through the whole month of December I had my kitchen radio on 104.1 - Christmas music.  Once they stopped playing Christmas songs and returned to their mix of hits, I quickly became a fan!!  In the first hour I listened to it, I heard so many songs I had forgotten about -- they all brought back memories of something fun.  I haven't returned to country music yet, but I will eventually --it's my first love :)  104.1 has also encouraged a lot of kitchen dancing by all of us!!  :)  Music is so good for the soul!

I recently saw this quote.

It made me think about all of the new things I've tried in the past few years and how each of those things really did make me feel more "full of life" if you will.  Each one was a little out of the box for me -- outside my comfort zone for sure. Two years ago was learning photography, last year was getting into writing, and so far this year I have enjoyed painting.  Each of these things allow me to be creative, give me learning opportunities to keep my brain going, and are somewhat therapeutic. But the thing I'm really excited about for this year is volunteering.

I've always wanted to volunteer regularly, but never had enough drive to do it, or couldn't find the right opportunity for myself.  After volunteering twice in the past five weeks, I have the itch to do more.  As a bonus, I'm hoping to find opportunities that I can include Rylee in.  We have a meeting tomorrow with a volunteer coordinator to see what we can come up with.  I also have a couple of ideas for us once it warms up.  Just thinking about all of these opportunities makes me feel happy.  I hope I can continue to find ways to volunteer and raise kids who don't mind helping too.

A friend recently mentioned how happy I seem.  A lot of good things have happened for me in the last 6 months and I do feel like I'm in the right place now, but ultimately I'm happy because I choose to be. Choosing joy makes my days so much brighter.

I hope you all are making the most of your new year too!!  Tell me something good that has happened for you in 2016.....

It's not cold.

Are you staying inside where it's warm today, or have you ventured out in this 2 degree weather??  I had planned to do the former, but the sun was calling my name....so was my hungry barn cat.

One of my goals for this winter is to enjoy it as much as possible.  I will still curse the season every time the roads are slick, but when I have the option to voluntarily go out in it, I'm going to.  With the sun shining today, I just couldn't resist.....although I tried.....

I was incredibly tired around 1:00 and wanted nothing more than to take a nap.  I put Wyatt down for his and then told Rylee to go pick out a long movie because I was going to take a nap.  I walked past the windows and felt the warmth of the sunshine as it landed on me.  I then thought about my goal of being outside more...and my hungry cat. I looked over at the super warm blanket I had planned to use for my nap, let out a sigh and went back upstairs to put some warm clothes on for my trek outdoors.

James always tells me "It's not cold out, you just aren't dressed warm enough."  I hate to admit that he's right, but.....

I'm learning just how much truth there is to that statement this winter.  Every time I've gone out on these super cold days, I've been dressed in layers and have not been cold. During my hike last week, I even unzipped my coat.  I got sweaty shoveling the driveway another day (we have a skid-loader, but I thought shoveling would be fun....I thought WRONG!!) I will admit that I haven't braved a super windy day yet, but this 2 degree day with 10mph wind was nothing.

Here is what I wore today:
Hooded sweatshirt (no shirt underneath), fleece jacket, knee-length down coat, fleece hat, thick mittens, 1 pair socks, tall all-weather Bog boots, leggings (okay these weren't that warm, but my long coat and tall boots helped out).

The only thing that was cold was my face, which I did not have properly covered. I pulled my coat hood up and kept my head down and that helped a bit.  But really, I was not cold.  I didn't experience that bone-chilling feeling that I did every winter day last year and several years past.  I'm sure the warm sun shining on me helped a lot too.

One mistake I did make was taking off my mittens to snap a picture.  My hands were frozen and in pain after a short 5 seconds of exposure to the frigid air.  It took about 20 minutes after coming inside before they finally gained feeling again and stopped hurting.

On my way back to the house after I fed the cat (she was so happy to see me), I stopped to face the sun and soak up a little vitamin D.  I feel like we don't see the sun enough during the winter and I wanted to absorb as much of it as I could.  I stood there for about 5 minutes and then headed back indoors to restore feeling to my hand.

I'm glad I resisted the urge to stay inside.  A little sun and fresh air never hurts me!

If you hate winter as much I used to, here is my advice to make it through the season:
1. Change your attitude!  It's tough, I know. But, unless you are going to move south, you are stuck with winter and you might as well make the most of it.
2. Dress warm!  I have spent a pretty penny on a few cold-weather items and I would do it all over again too. Here are my go-to items:

* Knee-length down coat with a hood (I got mine on sale at the end of winter-- $90 for a coat that was normally $350).
* Carhartt Coat for getting dirty/stuck by thorns. Anything Carhartt is super durable and will last a really long time---they are also very warm as they are made for working outdoors in cold weather. They come in girly colors too if you prefer.

* Bogs all-weather boots...tall ones.  You can wear these in the rain and snow and your feet will stay dry and warm.  I like the tall ones for extra warmth.
http://www.bogsfootwear.com/shop/womens-winter-snow-boots
* Sorell waterproof lace boot. I didn't really NEED these since I have my Bogs, but I wanted something I could wear with jeans and leggings on a normal day...to take kids to school, run errands etc.  My Bogs are a little to clunkly for every day wear.  I love my Sorells because I can wear them under my jeans or expose them with leggings and they work either way.  They are also very comfortable and super soft inside.  I wore these on my hike through the woods and was glad to have them.

And don't forget your sunglasses of course!! Have a Happy Day!!!

Birthday weekend

While 33 sounds old...and I "earned" myself a lot of gray hair this past year...my birthday and weekend were wonderful! I didn't have any presents to unwrap....but the presents I did receive were better than anything that could have been purchased for me...and they all came with an element of surprise as well.

James and the kids let me sleep in a little.  I woke up at 7:30, which is about 90 minutes longer than most mornings. The sun was shining and I really wanted to go for a walk as a family.  My husband informed me that it was very cold out ("feels like" temp was 2 degrees) and encouraged me to just go out by myself to walk.  He also recommended that I walk through the woods....something I hadn't done yet on our new property.  So, I bundled up tight and headed out. My first "gift" was what I discovered in the woods.

* Being in the woods is peaceful. I now understand why/how hunters can sit in the woods for hours.
* The woods are beautiful. Nothing but nature. I scared up 4 deer and watched them run right in front me. I also viewed birds closer than out in the open.
* It's warmer in the woods.  The sun was shining on me and there was very little breeze...it felt about 10 degrees warmer in the trees than out in the open. I even got hot and unzipped my coat.
* Time stands still in the woods.  For awhile, I forgot about everything else and completely focused on the serenity around me.

I was so glad James urged me to take this very enjoyable hike!  I know where I will be retreating to when I need a "time out" :)

After my hike, I played a few board games with Rylee and had lunch. Then came the gift of having alone time with my husband as my mom picked up the kids for the rest of the day/night.  After they were gone, James told me we were going to shoot guns.  I know.....some of you are thinking "that doesn't sound fun at all"....on another day I may have felt the same.  On this day though, I was super excited!!!  I have shot with him a few other times and didn't really enjoy it.  I had so much fun shooting on my birthday though.  Even though it was freezing cold and the wind kept blowing my hands every time I would get lined up, I still did pretty good.  I hit my target 80% of the time or better.  I'm looking forward to shooting again....when it warms up ;)

James and I then went out for supper....something we rarely do, but I always enjoy.  For the first time ever we sat on the same side of the booth.....so we could both watch the Iowa game.  Good thing we aren't Hawkeye fans....

We rented a movie after supper -- although it had us on the edge of our seats the entire time, we do NOT recommend "No Escape" to anyone with kids.  It was very hard to watch!

We slept in until 8:15 the next morning....I can't remember the last time I slept that late!!!  It was so quiet in the house without the kids....that may have been the best present ever!!!!  We both enjoyed a morning of quietness and being able to complete tasks without having to refill drinks or change a diaper in the middle!

In the afternoon, I took Wyatt to the ISU women's basketball game.  This was his third game this year...he does so good there!  We were able to sit with my parents, who have season tickets. The girls won - yay!

After the game, we met back up with James and Rylee (who had been ice skating while we were at the game) at Hickory Park for ice cream.  I thought the kids would enjoy watching the staff sing their Happy Birthday song to me, but I think Rylee was embarassed :)  We all went back to my parents house after that to watch the ISU mens game.....which could have had a better outcome to complete my birthday celebrations.

I had a very wonderful 2 days of celebrating my special day!  Thanks to my husband and mother for making it even better than it would have already been!  I'm looking forward to a great year -- I think 2016 will be FABULOUS!!