So many titles...so little space.

So what do you do to a little boy that throws his sippy cup at a door and shatters it??? That's been my dilemma all day!! The door going out to our former three seasons room (now converted in to Chad's office - just need to install permanent heat) is double paned glass with wood surround and he literally shattered one of the panes of glass - of course, it was the one pane with the etched design in it. Kale was SO sorry that he did it and sat on the floor (without us even asking him to) and said he was sorry over and over again. Then in his sweet little voice he says to me "mommy, you buy new door?" Needless to say, we had a VERY LONG conversation about the importance of not throwing our toys!!! Amazingly though, I kept my cool when I could have really gone crazy. I ask myself over and over again if ALL boys are like he is...he's not always destructive, he's a very sweet little boy...but when his temper flares you better watch out. Any ideas on how to better discipline are widely accepted!!! Time-out, sending him to bed, making him give hugs and kisses (which the girls probably dislike more than he does) when he's hurt someone's feelings, taking away toys...we've tried them all to no success. I made sure to take a picture of it to show him in the future (I'll add it to the stack) - so he can see just how long he will be working for "FREE" for us to repay us for the many things he has broken, because I'm sure this won't be the last!!! HA!! The picture does not do the destruction any justice.

Ho, Ho, Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!!

Okay - so I can be a little corny sometimes (as many of you know and can tell once again by the title) but we sure had a nice Christmas and hope you did as well. The time, as always, goes SO quicky.

As you can see by the picture of Kale, he tried VERY hard to not take naps during the Christmas holiday and it caught up to him on Christmas Eve. He NEVER falls asleep like this, so he was obviously tired. One minute he was asking me to turn the television on in their t.v. room, and the next he was sound asleep (5 minutes before leaving for church, of course!!!).

Christmas Day was an exciting day as well for the kids. Santa brought (and installed) bunk beds for the girls with Princess bedding!! He also brought Kale a big wheel which he finds joy in riding all over the house - Mommy can't wait for spring!! The other excitement of the day was Mia losing her VERY first tooth!!!! Ana is a little disappointed, of course, because being the oldest she thinks that things should happen to her first and it didn't help that her cousin had also just lost a tooth...leaving her the only one that hasn't. She doesn't even have one that's the slightest bit loose!! Good thing she's a tough kid!!

As we now start to unwind from the Christmas high - we look forward to getting the house put back to normal and to start doing some remodeling things that we have been putting off. My kids are excited though because we will still be celebrating two Christmases in January. We thank you all for your prayers for my sister, Angela, who was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had her surgery the Monday before Christmas (which we missed her and her family being with us VERY much for Chrsitmas) and is recovering very well. She should be heading home today from the hospital. Our Christmas wish was answered when we received the call on Christmas Eve and she told us that the pathology report came back and they had gotten all of the cancer!!! Enjoy your New Year and we hope only good things for all of you in the year to come.

"You're so vain"

As Kale and I were sitting eating lunch the other day, he says to me "Hi Mommy. I'm Kale, and I'm cute". All I could think of were two things...one, that I seriously say to him too much that he's cute, and two...the words to the song that I used in the title. It was too funny!!!


And now for a really cute story from the girls - they've always said that the best time to have a conversation is at the dinner table and that seems to be when my kids say the funniest things!! Somehow we got on the topic of when they grow up and leave home (to which they say they are never going to leave me...aaaaahhhhh!!! Absolutely warms my heart.) Mia says to me "Ana and I will live int he same town" and Ana replies "and I promise we'll be neighbors!" If only I could trust that will come true!! Sometimes I actually think they like each other! (of course they do!) Maybe my constant talks with them about how important it is to be nice to each other because having each other as best friends is the most important friendship they will ever have is actually sinking in!!


Well, another round of nasty weather is forcasted to be rolling in this evening with another to be coming in on Saturday!! I guess winter is here. Gotta love Iowa!!!! Take care everyone!

I'm playing "gleen glight" Mom!

The girls absolutely LOVE to play "red light, green light" and Kale has found interest in the past few days. Since the girls got out of school early today because of the snow, the kids decided to play a little "gleen glight" as Kale calls it. He was so excited to tell me that he was playing with the girls that he could hardly stand in one place long enough to tell me before he went running back to the living room!!! If only I could them to all play together like this more than they do! Although with the enormous amounts of snow that we are supposed to be getting between today and Thursday, the girls could be spending a lot of time at home!!!

As promised, I have added some pictures from the girls' dance on Saturday. Stay Warm Everyone!!!

while the babies sleep...

I have finally gotten BOTH Josephine AND Kale down so thought I'd write quick since it had been a while. The girls danced at the Spencer Mall on Saturday with their dance center and danced to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". I believe that Mia was Prancer and Ana was Cupid. It was so cute and I promise I will put some pictures on here when I get a chance. We were able to finish up the last of our Christmas shopping (other than 1 gift) after that, so that was great.

Kale is turning in to such a young boy now. I seriously look at him and everything about him is changing. He no longer looks like a baby boy!! I watch him with Josephine and he wants to be gentle but he just wants her to play with him so badly - I don't think he thinks that a 4 month old should just lay around, be held, and sleep all day.

The girls are on countdown patrol for Christmas on the calendar. I literally think it's the first thing they say to me after they've told me good morning!!! We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas season and hope that all of you enjoy the magic of this wonderful time of year as much as our family will. We also hope that Santa brings you and your family everything you have on your lists!!!! Please keep my sister, Angela, in your prayers and she will undergo surgery next Monday. Her full, speedy recovery and clean bill of health is all that is on MY list. I can't imagine life without you, Ang!!! We love you so very much.

It's been a LONG day.

Boy oh boy, is this day over yet??? I was ready for my day to end before it even began! I knew it would be a long day when the whining began before breakfast had even been served. I must first start out by saying that while Chad was home for lunch yesterday, I put him to work getting Kale moved in to his "big" bed. Kale really wasn't excited about the move and kept saying that he didn't want a big bed, but the fact that he hardly had room to move anymore in the crib made the move inevitable. It was such an emotional moment for me knowing that my little boy was officially not a baby anymore!! So when nap time came around, I was really nervous about how it would go. I laid with him for just a bit to get him comfortable and had to return once to get his comforter back over his legs, but then he was OUT. It's almost as if it went too smoothly and I should have known better!! Daddy gave in at bedtime and laid down with him until he fell asleep because I wouldn't!! But, that also has made for another challenge for today. Kale has been "mister bossy" since breakfast, which doesn't sit well with me. There is nothing that drives me more crazy than when my kids get bossy with me or they do nothing but talk to me in a whiney voice, and that's been the whole morning! The baby that I'm babysitting has only taken cat naps today and getting Kale back in to his bed posed a HUGE challenge! I've finally gotten them BOTH down and am hoping for a few more quiet moments before it all starts up again!!! Hopefully Kale wakes up in a better mood, and the baby takes a longer nap than 30 minutes. Wish me luck!

And so it begins...

As I am holding Josephine, the baby I am babysitting for a few weeks, Kale begins to throw a fit because I won't let him have a snack (which he had just finished eating breakfast about 15 minutes before). The words that came out of his little mouth then reminded me of the girls just a few years back..."Mommy, I'm leaving...I don't like that". I am officially the "bad guy" now! I can remember exactly the first time Mia said to me that she was mad at me and going to go live somewhere else. I don't remember that happening at 2 years old though!!! My life is going to be very interesting from here on out with this little boy!!!

Oh the weather outside is frightful! The girls were let out of school an hour early today because of the weather and it's not looking like it's going to get any better for tomorrow. Gotta love snow days.

I'm getting old...

What a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday we had! While Thanksgiving day started out a little later than we had anticipated (Chad's parents were having problems with their well), we managed to get Thanksgiving, a quick little birthday cake for the girls, and Christmas all done in ONE DAY!!! As you can tell by the picture of Kale asleep on the floor, we were partying until we couldn't party any more!! He didn't even have the energy to get up on our bed for nap when his blanket fell! Since Chad's sister, Sharrey, and her husband won't be returning for Christmas, we tried to get everything in over Thanksgiving. We then stopped to spend a little time with my Dad the next evening and got to see a few of our nieces and nephews who were spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's!!! It was a busy weekend, but we loved seeing everyone. It was especially fun for us as we hosted our first Thanksgiving at our house!

During the weekend, we also got the Fank grandchildren together to get their picture taken by the two pedal tractors that Grandma and Grandpa Fank have had refurbished. It was an interesting time trying to get four kids to smile and sit still - but I managed to get a few good pic's so added one for you all to see.

I now, during the month of December, will be babysitting a 3 month old for some friends of ours - until Christmas anyway. She just returned to work today from maternity leave and has decided to stay home but said she'd work through December. So, instead of them finding daycare for one month, I had said I would babysit. BOY, I'm remembering really quickly how much your back hurts after carrying a baby around all day!!! Kale did SO good today, considering he's been mommy's only concern for the last two years. He wanted so badly to hold her and "pet" her, as he would say. It will be a fun month, but I think I will also be ready to have my "normal" life back when all is said and done too.

A rocky start to a 6th birthday!

Boy, what a crazy few days before the girls' birthday!!! I had plans to be out of town with some friends on Monday and part of Tuesday but it was rescheduled last minute - and good thing it was because I wouldn't have been able to go as it was! Ana came down with a fever at bedtime Saturday night and continued to run her fever all the way through Tuesday (THEIR BIRTHDAY!). Poor Ana didn't even get to go to school to help her sister pass out their treats! Ever since she started having seizures and we've found out what to do to help eliminate the possibility of having them occur again, I get SO nervous when she gets a fever or a cold, for fear they will start again. I got very scared when I took her temp and it was 104 degrees. She was so off balance, but stood in the shower for 30 minutes to cool down until the medicine kicked in. She's definitely a trooper. And, thank God, no seizures!! We were finally able to get together with Grandma and Grandpa Kerber, and Grandma Fank. Grandpa Fank was still busy in the field and Grandma and Grandpa Luedtke are gone to Hawaii enjoying their anniversary. The girls asked to go to the chinese restaurant here in town for their meal, so that's what we did (last night because they had dance on their birthday). Our babies are SIX!!! Such beautiful and wonderful little girls - we are truly blessed.

The countdown is on...

For the last few weeks the girls have been asking "how many days until our birthday?" Well, once we hit 15 days, they have been counting down the days ever since. We are now down to 3!!! My babies are going to be 6! Where did the time go?? It's amazing how much they have grown in the time since Kale was born - I think I've noticed it mostly because I have been here to see them grow. I feel so sad when I think that I missed out on 3 years of watching them grow, so I think I notice even the smallest of things now! I find great joy in the smallest of things now too. Before I know it, Kale will be leaving me for school too - so I have to take advantage of all of the minutes I have remaining!

With the cruddy weather we had this past week, I have found really quickly that it's going to be a LONG winter with Kale. He's such an "outside" kid so being limited to the inside has been hard. We've enjoyed our fair share of snow, rain, cold, and wind this past week and I hope that it's not a sign of what's to come.

Now we look forward to the girls' birthday and Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for!!

Gotta love Fall!!!

You know you're in Iowa when...it can be almost 80 degrees on Monday and then have a chance for snow by Thursday!!! This is the one thing I dislike most about Fall - I wish it would just stay 60 degrees in the winter and then be about 80-85 degrees in the summer. I'm not asking too much!!

The best thing about Fall though is all the fun things there are to do with the kids. I've added some pictures from some of the things we've been doing this fall.

Carving pumpkins was fun this year because Kale loved digging his hands in to pull everything out. Ana, our kid that will try anything, was all about getting in and getting dirty to clean out her pumpkin as well. Mia, on the other hand, didn't want to even get near the gunk inside. It's so amazing how she can be such a tough kid, but can be so apprehensive when it comes to trying anything!! Swimming lessons concluded as well and both of the girls passed and can now move on to the next level. They are begging me to get them signed up again and I have to constantly tell them that I can't sign them up until they tell us that they will be offering them again!! Ana, once again, was the brave one and jumped off the diving board like 6 times while Mia was too scared to try. I remember being nervous doing it the first time to so I had the talk with her about "you will never know if you enjoy it unless you try it - you have to try it at least once". So maybe next time, she'll give it a shot! Both girls have become very comfortable with swimming under water, floating, etc. I hope to get them in level two when they offer them again so they don't lose interest!!!

Halloween was a fun night. Aunt Nikki and Cousin Hailey came and trick or treated with us. If you remember, Hailey was here when Kale ended up in a dress, so it was bound to be a fun night for all of them! Kale took everything in stride - although was very unsure about all of the other kids being dressed up. He quickly got though it though and acted like an 'ol pro as he walked up to people's doors and got candy. The funniest things though were the fact that starting off he insisted on EATING all of his candy instead of putting it in his bag, and the other being that once he couldn't keep up with eating it - he thought he should carry all of it. I began to wonder why we even brought a bag. He finally started putting it in his bag and ended up with a lot!!! This was the first year that we have actually walked the streets. In the past we have just gone to people's homes that we know because it has always been so chilly. It was a perfect night this year - no coats needed!

Kale has been completely content this fall spending time with Grandpa or Daddy in the combine. Next year, they're in trouble. I'm sure he's taking mental notes and will be expecting to steer the steering wheel!! The girls have put in a little time as well, but no where near as much as their brother. Thankfully, harvest has gone fairly smoothly as far as time, but the wind did a real number on it a little over a week ago. Lots of farmers with corn down. I guess if it's not one thing, it's another!!

Have a wonderful fall everyone, and hopefully we aren't talking about snow any time soon!!!

Kale loves to color

What a crazy few days around the Fank house!! As you can see by the picture with the trees - we spent most of the day Sunday stuck at our house because the 60 mph winds blew a tree across our driveway! It wasn't a day I would have wanted to be outside with the kids anyway, but knowing that I COULDN'T leave about killed me! Chad tried to work in the field that morning so had to walk up the driveway when he returned home. Gotta love the country living!!

By the other picture, you will see that Kale decided to try out my wall as a coloring book. I wasn't real excited about the fact he chose a wall that has textured paint to color on (which makes it impossible to scrub off, so I guess painting is in my future), but with him in his "terrible two's", I've come to find that I'm going to deal with a lot of these types of things with him!!! Each day is an adventure!

That darn full moon

I've always been told that the full moon means your kids are going to be growly, and I've come to find that it's true! Either that, or boys have as many mood swings as girls do! The past couple of days have shown many different moods from Kale - and I've always tried to be as patient as possible, but he has definitely tested me. It's amazing how we can have a really wonderful day of cuddling and playing, and then the next he is terribly crabby and throwing "on the floor, rolling around" fits. This morning started as one of those mornings where I wish I could have just put him back in bed to sleep it off, but then he found the girls' kitty and literally amazed me as he sat in the chair for almost an hour just playing and talking to her. It was SO sweet. So, to the kitty, I say THANK YOU for making him happy!!! Since then, he's been such a happy and playful little boy - the boy that he normally is, and the one that you just want to squeeze and hug all the time. But the best thing, is that now - he's sleeping!!! I definitely don't take my quiet moments for granted.

The girls continue to grow and learn so quickly. I find it very rewarding to sit with them after school and work on sight words, sounding out words, and phonics. The joy on their faces as they figure out the words is so wonderful. Where did my babies go?? They are also busy with swimming lessons this week and next and that has been really fun for them. Busy for me, but fun for them and that's all that matters. I honestly have selfishly enjoyed the time spent talking to all the other mothers while they're in lessons.

A day with the pumpkins

What a day we had!!! After getting the call that our carpet layer wouldn't be coming for two weeks, we decided that we'd pick up Grandma Fank and meet Chad's sister, Nikki, and their little girl, Hailey and go to a pumpkin farm. We had MORE fun that day! We spent close to an hour and a half trying to get through the corn maze - mostly because the three girls were determined we were going to find all of the mailboxes to punch our papers so they could get their free treat! Kale was such a trooper and was very content to just pick up fallen corn stalks and carry them around - he's such a farm kid. He walked the WHOLE time because I told him I would not be carrying him, and even though he would ask me to carry him now and then, he didn't fuss when I told him no...he just kept on truckin'! They also had a petting zoo there, so we pet the animals and let the kids play and enjoy their treats before we picked out pumpkins. Once us "adults" picked out our pumpkins, we let the kids pick theirs and we honestly all ended up coming home with more pumpkins than there were bodies!! It was a beautiful day though and it wore everyone out. Even though I poked Kale in the eye with the pumpkin stem, he was asleep within about 4 miles of the pumpkin farm!!

Those of you with girls will understand...

I have been dreading this day for such a long time...the day when I'd have to deal with a car full of screaming girls!! The girls were able to invite a friend along to their dance class last night so they each invited a girl friend. I have managed to keep from entertaining a bunch of girls for quite some time (although Ana and Mia have been asking for a couple of years now to invite friends to their birthday party) - explaining to them that their birthday is just so close to Thanksgiving so while they're young it's more important to spend their birthday's with their family and their friends are probably busy with their families too (and it's worked!!). But, I gave in and allowed them to invite a girl friend to dance. I don't think the first little girl was in the car for 2 minutes and they were all screaming, snorting, giggling, etc. Then we picked up the next little girl (who I thought was a shy little girl) and the screaming got worse!!! I kept thinking back to what it was like for my parents when I was younger and understood exactly why I only had ONE sleep over party! They had a wonderful time though, and really they were all well behaved. I even learned a thing or two - like who has a boyfriend (which the other two girls assured me that Ana and Mia DO NOT have a boyfriend!), and that boys are always the ones to kiss the girls - which I said "and we're not going to let boys kiss us, are we??" and they all screamed "NO, YUCK". Oh dear, I'm not ready for this. Ana and Mia had a lot of fun though and look forward to when they can spend some time with their friends again outside of school - to which I said "you can if they invite you to THEIR house"!!!

Tidyness is getting expensive

I was so excited when I noticed that Kale had some of my crazy cleaning tendencies...like all the shoes needing to be in line by the door, when he takes his shoes off they need to go back by the door, when there is anything that can be thrown away - he HAS to throw them away for you, he puts his plate and glass on the counter by the sink when he's done, etc. Not to say that he puts his toys away or anything, because that mess doesn't seem to bother him - but I tell ya, I'm loving that I have at least ONE child that puts a few things away without me asking and likes to be somewhat tidy!! My other two children are definitely not that way...but I guess as I was growing up, I wasn't that way either until I got older so maybe that's a girl thing. But here's my problem...his love of throwing things away is starting to get expensive!! He seems to think that when he's done with anything that it should be thrown away!!! I've had to replace quite a few things - and odd things at that. The latest being fingernail clippers!

An exciting update on the girls - probably one of the most amazing days for me was listening to them read me their first book!!! They have been working on a different letter each week, and with that letter they create books that have objects that begin with that letter. It was so fun to hear them read the first book in their sweet little voices, "The pig can run; the pony can run; the peacock can run; and the puppy can run to me!" They are learning so much and growing up so quickly. It was definitely one of my proudest moments as their mom. It's become a day of excitement as Fridays rolls around and they will get to read us their books.

We knew it would happen

Well, the title says it all. We all knew that eventually Kale would end up wearing a dress and the time has come! I babysat our niece, Hailey, on Saturday and with three girls in the house, Kale ended up playing "girly" games. I just had to share it with you all because it was too darn cute!! Today, Kale found the girls' purple lipstick and thought he needed to try that out too.

Harvest seems to be in full swing, and the weather has cooperated. We can only hope that this fall goes a lot more smoothly than last year. (knock on wood) I hope to see Chad walk through the door at the normal end of harvest rather than almost 4 months after it started like last year!

Happy Fall!!

What a trooper...

We have survived Ana's appointment with the pediatric neurologist in Rochester and feel like we at least have some of our questions answered. We started the morning bright and early with Ana's EEG appointment. I was satisfied immensely with how they dealt with Ana and their attention to detail to make sure that their test was done to the best of their ability - I did not feel this way when she had it done in Spencer. I must say Thank You again to our friends Eric and Nickie for allowing us to stay at their house, and to Eric for helping Chad keep Ana up for half that night so she would be good and tired for the test. Whatever you guys did worked...she was asleep within 2 minutes of laying down on the bed!!


We met later in the day with the doctor and she was wonderful - her name was Dr. Wirrell. She explained things so well and was very patient with us. This is what we know: she has no malformation of the brain or tumors on her brain...halelujia!! Because of the placement of her seizures, it can be determined that the right frontal lobe of the brain is where the seizures are being stemmed from. Since there is no family history of seizures, we can only hope that she will outgrow them, but know that there are no serious side effects of her medication IF she should need to be on them indefinitely. Also, since there is no family history, we went in to great detail about my pregnancy, delivery, and medical history of the girls. Ana was born with a birthmark on her head (which will need to be removed when she hits puberty because hormones cause it to become inflamed) and we were very surprised to find out that this type of birthmark has been linked to seizures!!! Nothing was mentioned of that when we took her to a dermotologist as a baby to have it looked at and honestly, I tend to forget about it now because her hair covers it - thanks to Chad for remembering that she had it!!! Dr. Wirrell was very intriqued because her birthmark is on the left side of her head, which doesn't coorrelate to her seizures being from the right side of her brain! So, Ana continues to be a medical mystery!! There is still a 20-30% chance that she could have a grand mal seizure at some point, but as she said - we had a greater chance of having a car accident going to Rochester than she will ever have of having that type of seizure. She did give us lots of information as to how to handle things if that should happen, so that was reassuring. There is also about a 40% chance that she will begin to have seizures again while on this medicine since she's on such a low dose, but her dosage will just be increased if that happens. We do know that she will continue to be on her medicine for another two years before she is re-evaluated to see if we can ween her off. Needless to say, our greatest hope is that she no longer has any seizures (just as she is now) during that two year period which hopefully means that she may have outgrown them. We plan to meet with Dr. Wirrell once a year, or more if needed because of the reoccurrance of seizures, for as long as needed.


Again, a special thank you to Nickie and Eric - we had a wonderful time with you guys, we just wish it could have been longer. And thank you also to my sister, Ang, who was planning to stay with Kale. Your guys' willingness to help means so much - more than you will ever know. I hope I haven't forgotten anything but I guess if I have, I'll just post another short message!! Have a safe and wonderful fall!!

It's getting closer

Well, we're doing the countdown now for Ana's doctor appointment in Rochester with the neurologist. Ana is very positive about the whole thing and is such a trooper. She will have another EEG while we are there so we look forward to hearing what the doctor says and if this EEG will show anything that can give us a clue as to why she was having the seizures. Since she began the anti-seizure medicine she has had no more seizures. Our biggest question will be how long they think she will need to be on the medicine and if there is any concerns to being on the medicine as far as side effects and such. All we can hope for is that they find nothing as to what caused the seizures to begin with, yet that is so frustrating for us too because there were no symptoms (fever, etc) that caused them to begin with anyway. It's just hard when you have no answers, but we know that no news really is good news. Her appointment is on Monday, the 29th, and we have no idea how long we will even be there, but hope it only takes a day or two at most. Mia will be going along with us because she wants to be with her sister - she's a worrier! It's so sweet though to know that she wants to be there. My sister, Ang, is coming to stay with Kale while we are away so we thank her so much for her willingness to do so.

We will keep you posted as we find out more information.

He just keeps getting bigger

Yes, the title says exactly what we found out at the doctor today!! I took Kale for his two year check up and he continues to stay in the 95th percentile for height and the 85th for weight. His weight has started to drop off a little so that's an obvious indicator that he's either wearing it all off with his CONSTANT activity or that he just keeps growing. When I looked back at the girls' book to see how big they were at this age, Kale is almost 2 inches taller than they were!! It's amazing to me the vocabulary that he has and how much more he has started talking in the past few weeks. Sometimes I laugh to myself because he comes by it very naturally as he has grandparents on both sides of the family that are major talkers as well! His sleeping habits have gotten better since my last post. Just a couple of days after I did the last post he began sleeping through the night again - but in the past few nights he has woken again a few times, but he has some congestion and a molar coming in so I'm blaming it on that. He has been much easier to get back to sleep though...and thank you to all of you who tried to give me some suggestions and support!

I have started a web page at http://fankfamilypage.shutterfly.com in hopes of posting more pictures when I have them than the few that I can put on this site. I will continue to use this blog as my primary way of keeping in touch, but will post a message with the pictures on the web page when I download those. You are all invited to take a peek!!

Please keep your thoughts and prayers with those in Texas who were affected by Ike. My step-sister Carrie and her family live near the area and were, luckily, just without power for 24 hours and received no real damage to their home. Others very near to them were less fortunate than they were.

Sleep...what is that??

I want to start out by saying (and I've said it many times before), thank God we had our twins first because I think they truly broke us in for what we would be facing with Kale!!! Ana was a crier as a baby and was the child to wake up the most during the night - but Kale tops that by 100 times! For about two months now (since we took his pacifier away) he has been waking up every night between 2-6 times a night! YES, I said SIX. Before we took his paci away, he would sleep through the night and really only wake up if his paci would fall out of his crib. SO, I thought, maybe if he had something in his crib that made him feel secure it would get better. The first day at nap time I asked if he wanted to take a toy or anything to bed with him and he chose one of his little tractors, and believe it or not, he only woke up once!! So I allowed him to do it again at bed time - this time his tractor was a little bigger, but I let him because it worked at nap! And holy cow, he slept the whole night!!! I thought I was really on to something so the next day we did it again. By the time bedtime came, he picked his big tractor and manure spreader...it was tough to find a place in his crib for it, but I did it. He slept pretty good until the tractor got in his way and woke him up. Since then, it doesn't matter what he takes to bed, he is back to waking up over and over. Believe me, we have tried everything - night lights, letting him cry it out, laying beside his bed until he falls asleep, rubbing his back, etc. Anyone who has any suggestions - we would LOVE any of them!!!

Vacation is over...

As the girls headed back to school today, Ana said to me "well, I guess vacation is over." Boy, isn't that the truth! It was an absolutely beautiful weekend and we tried to enjoy every bit of it - even if we were working outside. It sure didn't seem like hard work when the sun was shining down on me anyway.

Our weekend was pretty laid back and that was great. Chad has a large "honey do" list and has decided to start some of the projects before he gets busy with harvest. I am loving the stage that Kale is in right now. In just the last two weeks he has really become independent and has found that it's okay to play by himself which allows us to get so much more done around the house which couldn't come at a better time! About the only excitement this weekend was going to our neices birthday party in Graettinger. It was a fun day for the kids because Graettinger has a Labor Day celebration with rides so the kids were all in heaven. You may think the picture of Kale shows him having some apprehension on the roller coaster, but honestly, he was in HEAVEN. He would have ridden it over and over. Ana, being our trooper that will try anything once, went on it with him and has found a new love, I think. Yay for Mommy who loves to ride them as well!!

The other picture is of the kids playing farm with Chad. They set up a whole farm operation with each kid having their own duties. Chad combined, of course. Kale caught the grain and cleaned the animal lots. Ana and Mia were in charge of taking care of the animals and going to auction to buy more. I don't think the kids ever thought there would be something they could ALL play that would be so much fun.

Hope you all had a great weekend as well!! Take care.

Good to be home

I never knew that having another set of hands around would be so valuable - but that was tested this past week with Chad gone to the Farm Show in Boone. Chad returned home last night, just in time to pick the girls up from school before he had to head to a plot night. It was SUCH good timing because Ana had to do a blood draw to make sure her body is adjusting to the anti-seizure medicine she's taking and Chad has been the one to hold her hand during all of those tests because I was recovering from surgery. He wasn't able to go with us to her blood draw, but he was able to give her the words of encouragement that she needed and to give me the instructions as to how he handles things!! She's a tough cookie. A cute story from that appointment - she has a ritual of needing to go to the bathroom as soon as she gets to the room, so we expected that, but when she got on the bed to prepare for the draw she insisted that she had to tell me something (the whole time the nurses are preparing her arm for the draw). When she finally convinces the nurses to stop so she can tell me what she needed to tell me they finally stopped what they were doing and Ana said to me "I love you mom" in the sweetest little voice - as if she'd never be able to tell me again!

The kids have been ecstatic to have Chad home again - and honestly, I am too!! For some reason it's easier to have him gone for 4 days when he's 14 hours away than when he's only 2 1/2 hours away!!!

Home sweet home...

Never thought I'd be posting to this as much as I am, but have had an emotional day for some reason. I think it's the quiet moments when Kale is napping that I think about things the most. Not really sure why - if it's because Chad is gone this week to the farm show so I'm pondering things a lot, or if it's because I'm constantly thinking about Ana and what we will find out in Rochester at the end of September, or really what it is. One thing I do know is that I am reminded more and more every day how special my time with the kids is, and has been, while I am home with them. I watch how much Kale is changing every day and I feel so blessed to be experiencing every single minute of it with him. He is such an amazing little boy - even if he is rough and tough and is ALL boy. I even love him when he is driving me absolutely crazy! Then I look at my girls, at how much they have grown this past year, and feel so proud at who they have become and hope that I have at least had a small hand in that. They are such amazing young ladies and wonderful big sisters - Kale is so lucky to have them to look up to. I pray that all three of my kids grow up to be strong individuals and keep the wonderful sweetness that they have. One thing I hope I can at least let them know every day is how special they are to me, how much I love them, and how very proud I am of everything they do. They truly are the best parts of Chad and I and I hope that the world around them sees just how special they are. I just want to say "thank you" to Chad also for allowing me the opportunity to experience the life with my children that I am able to have. Your hard work and sacrifice doesn't go unnoticed!! Thank you everyone for allowing me to put my feelings down in print as well!!!

Sweet, Sweet Music

As I sit here posting a new message, I am listening to the music being created by my children with pots and pans. Most days I would cringe at the sound of pans being banged on because I know that my children can't hear my screams to quit, but today, I'm changing my ways!! I've found since the girls have started school, Kale desperately misses them, and if he wants to bang on pans with his sisters - more power to them. I'll just take a couple asprin tonight!

For anyone that hasn't heard what is going on with Ana, I will try to explain quickly so you understand the rest of the paragraph. Mid-July, Ana began to have what is called simple partial seizures. Simple, in the fact that she doesn't lose conciousness, and partial in the fact that they only affect her left arm. All testing up to this point have shown nothing, so we have the hopes that she will rid of them just as quickly as they began. Until then, she is on anti-seizure medicine which has stopped them completely. Now to the news that I wanted to post...she has an appointment with the pediatric neurologist in Rochester, MN September 29th. They plan to do another EEG and we could possibly be there for a few days. I'm hoping it's just a day or two so she doesn't miss too much school. We will keep you posted as to what we find out during our visit.

Where did my baby go?

Please bear with me as I hope I figure this whole "blogging" thing out!!! Some friends of ours have a blog and I thought to myself, "really, how hard can it be?" I'm finding that my computer knowledge is lacking since I quit work!

Two candles on his cake already, where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home and I quit work. What a wonderful day it was though, and we all had such a great time. It was absolutely beautiful outside which allowed the party to continue in to the evening hours. Kale is so blessed to have his cousin Matthew, who's birthday is 11 days before Kale's, to celebrate birthday's with. This year was especially nice because their Great Grandma (Kerber) Langan was back from Arkansas to celebrate with them!! Thank you to all who were able to make it and for the gifts, cards, and birthday wishes.

The girls have started their first FULL week of school. They are enjoying school so much and have so many stories to tell me when I pick them up. The funniest things since school began have been: while picking them up the first day of school, they said to me "Mom, can we have a snack when we get home? All we get at school is JUICE!" I had to chuckle because I am nagged at least 4 times a day as to when they are going to get to have snack. I'm thinking my grocery bill should go down now! The other being their P.E. teacher telling me that he was informed that he didn't know the rules for Simon Says. He laughed saying that Mia was more than willing to tell him how it was played - then I had to tell him that she made up her own rules and for some reason believes they are the real ones. I miss the girls terribly while they are in school - the house seems so quiet without them, but I am LOVING the amount of things I can get done in a day!!

I believe I have safely made it through this first blogging experience!! Until next time!