Blogging Rut.....

In case you couldn't tell by my lack of blogging posts the last year I'm in a blogging rut.....
I suppose I have plenty to write about being that I have three loud and busy kids at home and myself having spreading my eggs in lots of different baskets (church, painting parties, substitute teaching, library board, etc......that's an exhausting list.) But none of the things going on lately inspire a lengthy blog post, though I feel like I have enough stuff rattling around in my to keep me up at nights. Some of which......

• We've lived in SW Kansas for 4 1/2 years now. The longest DR and I have lived in one place together our whole marriage. Honestly, I'm getting a bit antsy! We had a good wet summer this year in SW Kansas but I'm not sure if it was enough to start celebrating the end of a 5 year drought. It was odd though to drive down roads this summer and not recognize where I was because of all the green. Other than that life in SW Kansas is still pretty much the same; dry, windy and plenty of tumbleweeds.
• Yip and Yap aren't playing football this year (4th grade). They lost every game last season and were pretty bored since they played on the line and barely touched the football. I love sports but I'm totally fine that they aren't playing football; it's made for a pretty relaxing fall so far! Our Saturdays are open and I'm not rushing them to practice once a week. They are looking more forward to playing basketball...me too!!! 
• Yahoo is in Kindergarten this year and it's meant a big change for me. I'm home all by myself days I'm not working and she's suddenly has independence she didn't have before. Last week was the first time she went to the library program without me. I have to admit that it made me a bit uneasy. Not because I was worried about her but because, for the first time in ten years, I don't have the feeling that I have a child who can't be without me. It's odd. That's just something that takes a bit of time to get used to. I'm learning to like it!! 
• Speaking of Library....I'm on our public library's board. I love my librarian (she's awesome) and other board members (so supportive) but working with other government entities (that will remain nameless) is exhausting. Sometimes I just can't figure out how people in leadership positions can be so stupid and irresponsible. *heavy sigh*
• Substitute teaching is same old same old though I may be busier this year considering the new respiratory virus going around. The school sent home a note about it but really, it was hard to get too worried considering the beginning symptoms were the same as a common cold. So we stocked up on orange juice.....
• Painting parties are keeping me busy too. I'm having so much fun doing them and now that school is back in session I'm averaging about one a week. I could write about them all the time but I'm sure you all would get bored hearing about them. The best part is painting parties gives me the opportunity to teach people who really want to learn!! 
• I could say that I'm also busy cleaning my house while my kids are at school all day long but there's better things to do!!! 

Tis' the Season...for BASKETBALL!!

Right after football ended for Yip and Yap back in the fall, a paper was sent home from school to sign up for basketball teams. At the time the boys weren't interested, probably because they had just finished football and really weren't ready to start anything new. At the time that kind of bugged me. I started playing basketball when I was in 4th grade all the way through my sophomore year in college and then coached. DR doesn't even like watching basketball on television with me. I'm kind of intense. So, it kind of hurt my feelings when Yip and Yap didn't want to play basketball. I got over it though. No basketball meant less of me running the boys all over the place.

 

 

Fast forward to Christmas vacation...our friend, the 3rd grade boys basketball coach, was desperate for players so he asked the boys again if they'd like to play.

 

"Sure, why not?" they said. Where did that change of heart come from?

 

So they made it to one or two practices and before you know it we are spending our Saturday mornings at basketball games! Two Saturdays down and four more to go.

 

Yip and Yap may be the tallest on the team but graceful they are not.

They kind of remind me of two long legged baby giraffes when I watch them run down the court.

 

I was never much of a ball handler when I played...and neither are they. Of course DR likes to call it "amoeba ball" because no matter where the ball is there are at least 6 kids crowded around it. So, there's a lot of loose balls. I think there has been more tackles during the basketball games than there were during all the football games.

 

Well, it's not the NBA (thank goodness) but it's been a lot fun watching all the boys play!

 

 

Let's just hope they get a bit more coordinated in the next month! They sure couldn't get worse!

Football Players Don't Smile and Crazy Mama Drama.

Football Season is going pretty well....as in, my boys are having a good time playing football. If you asked them what their team's win/loss record is...well...then it's a different story. Saturday after the games it's not uncommon to see little 9 and 10 year old boys crying because their team lost..again. Not my boys though. They could really care less if they won or lost and that's fine with me (though on the inside I'm just as torn up about my boys losing!) There's more to this life than sports though and as another mom put it today, they are too young to be so torn up over anything. Good point. 

This Saturday I got to take team individual pics of all the boys. I learned a lot this morning that's for sure. I sure wasn't expecting the sun to be so bright but I think the shots turned out rather well. I had to brush up on shooting outside with a flash which I hadn't done in a while. 

I couldn't convince Yip or Yap to smile though...or quite a few of the other boys. I kept telling them this picture wasn't for them but for their moms. 

I don't know what I did but Yip's picture is the only one that turned out awful. He was the first one so I was fine tuning with him. I guess I just didn't fine tune enough. Well, I'll have to drag him out to the football field for another photo sometime soon. THAT should be horribly fun!! 

I have to tell you about a side effect of taking these photos that I wasn't expecting. There's 23 boys on our football team and I'm Facebook friends with some of them but not many. When I was done editing I put all the pics on Facebook and tagged some of the parents. Then I get a friend request from one of the other moms, after I gave her permission to tag my photo. (Can you feel the Facebook drama building??) 

I declined her Facebook request. (No feedback yet, cross my fingers.) See here's the thing, I have a problem with people wanting to be my Facebook friend when I've only ever talked to them three or four times. I have a problem with someone wanting to be my Facebook friend just because our kids are in the same class/football team/time zone. Just because our kids hang out with one another, sometimes against their will, doesn't automatically make us "besties". And I REALLY have a problem when one of these moms wants to be my Facebook friend and she's. just. crazy. The mom I friend declined just dripped drama. 

Is it just me or do other people have to deal with these "drama mamas"? Is it getting more prevalent? Have there always been crazy moms or is it just my generation? I haven't seen drama like this since I taught middle school and really, I could see some of my crazy moms going back to junior high right now and fitting right in!

I'm getting better and identifying crazy mama drama. I didn't use to be. I used to be too dang gullible and these CRAZY moms sucked me into the whirlwind of nutso. It's exhausting to climb your way out of someone else's crazy. It's like climbing out of a hole of peanut butter. So I'd rather just be known as the unfriendly mom rather than to get sucked into all that. 

If I didn't have family 1000 miles away to talk to, I would give up Facebook in a heartbeat; they're the only ones keeping me on. As soon as my family is off Facebook I am too.

How do you deal with Mrs. Crazy Mom? 

(Unless you are one? Are you? ARE YOU?)

Right now my dealing with crazy mama strategy is avoidance, the buddy system (always attaching myself to a normal mom) and avoiding eye contact with the crazed beast. So far so good. 

Football Season is Here Again!

Tomorrow we'll be traveling an hour, yes an hour, on a Saturday morning for the boys' third football game. One thing I've learned living in Kansas is you have to drive to find people to compete against. Living in Kansas makes Warsaw, Indiana look like a booming metropolis! 

I forced the boys to pose for me before their first game. Hey, I'm the MOM!! Photos of "firsts" are my right!!

Don't they look impressed?? Ha! 

This is their first year in tackle football and they love it, even if they might not really understand what it is they are supposed to be doing. Heck, I don't even understand exactly what they are supposed to be doing on that football field. (Basketball will be a whole different story! DR says I can only attend basketball games if I'm gagged!) 

This year we have #30 Yip and #9 Yap. 

I've got lots of shots where Yip is blocking and he's made some good tackles! 

Yip blocking...good job!! 

Yip blocking while Yap #9 is looking on. Yap doesn't quite get the whole gist of football yet. He's not quite as willing to jump into the mix as Yip. I have yet to get a good photo of my #9 in action. 

Of one the dads told me not to worry about Yap though. He said as soon as Yap realizes that football is nothing more than legalized fighting then he'll be right in the middle and be just fine. HA! 

Two games down and 4 to go!! Wish em' luck tomorrow...they need it! 

Kansas...August...GREEN AND WET!!! Who knew THAT could happen???

So we're on the second day of September and being that it's a holiday I had some time to go through some photos of August. I have to say that this August was definitely the greenest I've ever seen Kansas! Some friends of mine who have lived here all their lives even told me that it's the greenest August they've seen too. We had quite a bit of rain the first couple weeks in August and it was greatly enjoyed by my kids. 

I think this rain came about the 11th or 12th. It was fast and quick but it flooded the street intersection next to our house. 

Every time we see it rain, I kick my kids outside to play. It's been so rare that we see this much water that I want my kids to enjoy it. I remember my childhood where there were always mud and puddles certain times of the year that we could play in and even as an adult I kind of miss it. 

Just look at my GRASS! I've had to mow more this summer than the last three summers combined! 

I even went through some old Kansas photos to compare the landscape. 

May 2011

Sept. 2011

August 2011

June 2012

Plenty of brown grass in the last few years. All this rain has been wonderful for my garden too. 

I've had a bumper carrot crop! 

My garden has done pretty well this year, other than the blight that hit and killed half my tomatoes. Blight is like fighting a losing battle! No fun at all. 

The first half of August came with plenty of rain but we finished out the last half of the month with 100+ degree days and no rain in sight. The rain gave us a little cushion but we could sure use some more. Harvest is starting later than normal, maybe in a couple more weeks and the harvest (according to my husband) is going to be better than expected and of course better than the last few years. Maybe, just maybe we're slowly coming out of this super severe drought we've lived in for the last 3 years. I'd like to think so but until my daily prayers include asking for rain. 

Football!!! Finally TACKLE with all the fixin's!

Football equipment has invaded my house and Yip and Yap couldn't be more pumped! This year, in third grade, they are finally old enough to play tackle football. So a couple weeks ago DR took our boys plus the neighbor boy to pick up their equipment then they spent a good hour adjusting helmets and pads. I never realized how many separate straps and pads come with a football uniform. Sheesh. 

I found it particularly funny how DR would check the fit of the boys' helmets. He'd grab them by the face mask with one hand and with the other he'd give em' a good hard smack a top the head, three or four times,  and ask, "Does that hurt?" What resulted was a room full of giggles...not very intimidating! 

DR did a thorough job fitting the helmets and pads...but he forgot the pants. 

The boys first practice was helmets only. The second practice was helmets and shoulder pads. The third practice was a full uniform which meant they got to wear their pants. DR neglected to have them try on their pants. Tuesday evening as we were getting ready to go to football practice, and DR was still at work, I sent three boys downstairs to put on their pants. I waited. And waited. And waited....and waited. Finally I had to holler down to see what was taking them so long. 

Their pants were all similar to these except black. 

See the double loop buckle. Well, none of the three boys knew how to loosen it up; I doubt they tried. They came hobbling up the stairs with their pants hanging under their butt. So I had to help them with that and they had a flap of fabric below the laces (kind of like the tongue on a show) that they didn't know what to do with. So there I was giggling to myself in front of these rough and tough cool 9 year olds....who can't get dressed without their mom! 

4H Champions!!

I thought I'd take a quick minute and brag on my boys. They did so well on their 4H projects this year! 

Yap received champion electric project. 

and he was chosen to go to the State Fair! Unfortunately he's not old enough, you have to be 9, but this shows that his photo is high quality! 

Yap also received reserve on his painting and a champion on his Lego model (I didn't get a pic of that!)

The boys had woodworking projects too. The judge said they were blue quality but they received reds because we didn't include building plans. Oops! 

I received a couple of ribbons too. A champion on my painting and a reserve on my colored pencil drawing. 

The most exciting award though was definitely Yip's champion on his Ironman! What was even cooler that the judge just LOVED it! She even encouraged him to learn how to weld and carve when he gets older! 

A friend of mine asked me if I had finally recuperated from the week of Fair/Bible School. 

NO!! I haven't! Monday we took off to Wichita for a day at the museum and to visit a friend. Yesterday I spent over an hour in the garden picking veggies that should have been picked last week! Then today I gave a drawing lesson at the town library. 

I'm sure life will eventually slow down....maybe. But I sure couldn't give you an idea when that might be! 

We are ELECTRIFYING!

I am sooo proud of myself. Last week I, Prairie Mother, all by myself helped the boys finish their 4-H Electric projects. AND they actually worked when we were finished with them! I was so proud of myself. Ok, ok, some of you may not think that's a big deal but I had to brush up (a lot) on my knowledge of electricity and I had to teach myself to solder. I'd chip soldered years ago....in a college jewelry class which is a lot different than using a soldering iron let me tell ya! 

Yap being the good 4-Her and reading directions first! 

All the parts laid out in a box so we can't lose any. Oh, it also helps if you can get rid of your 4 year old sister on the day you put this together...cuts WAY down on the chaos. 

My mom sent out the boys magnetic flashlight kit that I'm pretty sure can be bought in any extension office in Indiana through Purdue Extension.  You are probably wondering why I had grandma send them from Indiana rather than get something from the Kansas Extension Office. I've blogged previously about how different Indiana 4-H and Kansas 4-H are, and well, they just don't have anything at the extension office. A lot of 4-Hers will buy some electricity kit from a hobby store and use that for a 4-H project. We're sticking with the Purdue kits though. I think that the kits, along with the books, do a better job explaining electricity and have a logical sequence of skills from year to year. 

Stripping the wires.

They figured that a pocket knife worked a lot better than those wire strippers. 

They had a tiny little circuit board they had to solder 6, or was it 8, different wires onto. 

A pair of pliers and a rubber band make a great third hand while you are soldering! 

Taping down the wires and the coil to the outside of the tube. 

The blue thing right up there is the capacitor and that had to be soldered onto the circuit board along with the two red wires, and the light bulb. I learned that the capacitor stores the energy to light the bulb. 

Then all that the boys soldered together had to be put down into the plastic tube, give it a shake and the light bulb lights up!! Now I know how Edison must have felt...LOL 

Yip and Yap had a lot of wires to cut. They learned quickly that they had to do a neat job or that whole section wouldn't fit down into the tube. 

I know, those solders above aren't very pretty.....

...but they did the job! 

How are you all doing on 4-H projects? After helping my boys with 4-H projects, I think I'd take electricity and woodworking over a clothing project any day!