Storm Warning

YIKES! There is a storm warning for our area. They are calling for 50 MPH winds in town... bad news is that we generally produce winds at least 10-15 MPH more than town.

Thunder is rolling. Better turn this off.

Let's hope the garage is standing in the morning. This is our big concern right now.

Two Accidents * Two Teeth * One Day

What a day for Bridger. After picking him and a friend up from school I thought I would take them to the park before soccer practice. He and I were playing on the neatest new playground equipment, reminds me of my favorite one back when I was his age. We called it "The Thing". I think this piece will also be appropriately called "The Thing". You hold on to a circular bar that is tilted on it's axis. Then you run at the bottom and hold on as you are swung around until your feet are able to touch again. So, we take off and my oldest punk then goes flying.... off.... and lands.... on his...... mouth! Blood was everywhere! And his front tooth was out, just like that!

We got it fairly cleaned up and headed to soccer practice. I was visiting with a friend and he comes running up to me. He got kicked by the ball..... in the....... mouth! Blood was everywhere! And his front tooth was out, just like that! (hmmmmm deja vu)

True to his style, he always has a smile on his face. Boy we love him for that!

The Garage: Part 5

Lifts, skid steers, and cranes - Oh My!

What a productive day with the garage. The trusses are UP!! All I can say is we have some great friends. Karl brought the lift while Brent brought his crane and skid steer. Karl's Dad showed up as well as Brent's hired man, Brian (remember he's the one catching the big air on the motorcycle).

The first truss is on it's way up. Brent just drove his truck right into the garage to operate the crane. Pretty smooth.
Lift, who needs a lift? Not Karl.
Russ, Brent, and Brian watching Karl and Bob work on the second to last truss. Almost there boys. Way to go!

"Is it dinner time yet?" "Good grief, can we at least get a coffee break?"

GREAT JOB EVERYONE! WE APPRECIATE IT MORE THAN YOU KNOW!

The Garage: Part 4

Looks like we are at a standstill today. We did get much done over the past two days. Like how I say "we"? Well, mostly hubby got a lot done as I was with Bode most of the time. I did help with the last header in the middle of the night two nights ago. Yesterday I helped with the top plate and all the cross braces. The trusses showed up yesterday and we had planned to put them up today........ we will be waiting a day or so I guess. Ya gotta love spring weather!

The Garage: Part 3

Some facts about our garage: The dimensions are 32' x 40' with 12' sidewalls and it will be 2x6 construction. The garage doors are going to be 10' x 10' so obviously we need 12' sidewalls. Seems pretty straigh forward, right?

Now, why in the world is hubby standing there with a tape measure on that stack of wood? It clearly reads 2 x 6 x 12. This is about when the first of our troubles kick in. They are in fact 2 x 6's but they are actually 10 footers. WHAT? So that mistake set us back two days waiting for them to deliver the correct size.

Okay, now that we have the right size for the walls hubby gets right to work framing it up. If you recall in my last post I mentioned something about being a scaredy cat. Big whimp might sum it up really well actually. Hubby says to put the needy baby down and come help the needy hubby. Actually, he didn't say that. Sorry, I'll try to stick to the truth, for a few moments anyhow. Soooooo I went to help him stand up this portion of the wall. This is the point where I crawl into the fetal position and cry for my mommy. And that's when I hear "Get a grip, take a breath and let's do this". Let me tell you something about where we live. One word. WIND. Not just any old wind either. Sustained wind in the 30's with gusts in the 50's-60's or even worse. It isn't uncommon whatsoever to see semi's blown over on the interstate here. The wind was blowing pretty good, pushing that wall and making me quite nervous, scared, anxious, terrified, petrified, oh, you get the point.

So here I am trying my hardest to be of some help. Any help. Just something for my guy that is working so hard. I manged to "get a grip, take a breath and get the wall up". Not without any scarring memories though.

But would you lookie there. I actually helped get that wall up. And I didn't even need any anti-anxiety meds. For this wall anyway.
And for this picture above... this is the bright spot in my day! Our fabulous neighbors/wonderful friends took it upon themselves to just show up and help! Can you believe it?! That is Karl on the right. He and my guy put that wall up without even asking for my help. Wow, thanks Karl, I think I can stop shaking now.
Wow eezers. They got another wall up. I actually helped with that one. That is to say my hands were on the wood. Not sure if that constitutes as help though.

What I really want to focus on in the picture above is actually the car there on the right. See that, yes, that is where my day got even brighter. Karl's wife showed up with chili and stayed to watch our boys, really to watch the baby so I could help the guys where they needed me. I don't know how in the world we got so lucky to have them as neighbors. That we call them friends is even better. Thanks you guys.
Sitting down on the job? Well, not actually, he was kicking a wall out to meet the edge. This is how our nights are going right now. Lights on. Working late. Seeing progress. Falling into bed.

The Garage: Part 2

It is going to be another crazy busy day today. I better get these pics of our project up now or I never will.

Here they are working on the breezeway and the apron for the garage. I said before I didn't think it looked very big. That was when it was just framed in and dirt. Now that the concrete is placed it looks, oh shall we say, NOT small. The garage portion is going to be 32' x 40' with 12' side walls. I am told that is not a bad size at all. Some even say it is on the quite large size. So, I think we could say hubby is going to be very happy. Now, if we could have done it I don't think he wouldn't have minded an even bigger garage. Okay, let's get to the real important stuff. That's right. My ornery punks hands in concrete so we can see how he grows through the years. He was so thrilled to do this. I must say I was a bit bumbed that the oldest was at school and the youngest was sleeping. We will just have to get some more concrete so they can get there hands in there too, that's all there is to it.
I suppose we will blink our eyes and it will be 20 years from now and this handprint will just seem so teeny tiny.
So there ya have it. The concrete is done and we have started with the building.
In my next post I will let you know how scared I can get, how much of a baby I am, how... oh you get the idea.

The Garage: Part 1

The following post are going to be so boring for you. I am so sorry. You may be bored to tears. Better grab the kleenex now. However, my adoring fan base has requested I get my act together and post some pictures of how things are going with our garage project. I know I have a lot of fans out there, nearly 4,000 is my guess. Okay, okay, more like that number minus about 3, 985. Let's be realistic here people.

The concrete guys show up and we have typical spring weather. It snows and melts, snows and melts. Of course they show up when it snows.

The forms are finally placed and ready for concrete. The guys keep telling me it sure is going to be a nice size for a garage. It just doesn't look that big to me.... at this point in the project anyhow.
Pouring (or is it placing) concret. I know, you are just bored to tears at this point. Stay with me people. It can't be that agonizing. Well, perhaps it can be.
Ooooo, now it is starting to look like something..
Prepare to be bored to tears again tomorrow when I continue with my series: The Boring Blog, Making of a Garage. Uh....um..... I mean........ The Garage: Part 2

The following images my disturb...Gramma

There is a Gramma out there that is just a wee bit upset that this punk rides motocycles. There was also talk of how a boy his age should not get a gun for his birthday, well it is only a BB gun. So, I thought I had better post these pictures.

Getting a lesson from dad. Going solo... Oh, and by the way, it looks like he is going to be good at this. He was shooting at spinner targets that were about two inches around. He never missed. Obviously he got that from me. I remember when I was a kid I would ride around our little town with my riffle tied to the front of my bike. My friend Rich and I would go hunting for gophers and the like. Oh who am I kidding, that was my hubby that did that when he was growing up, not me.

From all the stories I hear I am quite certain that when my dear hubby was just a little kid running around his itty bitty town he had a motorcycle and a rifle. Hmmm, very interesting.

I think the next pictures will have to be of him riding his motorcycle and shooting his gun. Sorry Gramma.

And the winner is.......

This was really, really a tough decision. I loved reading through all of the entries. There were those that went with the name Austin, those that had to do with the kitten being near death (or dead, who knows), those that were unique and just the plain funny. Take some time to read all the comments, they were all great suggestions!

In the end I finally had to enlist the help of all my boys. Phew, then we had all sorts of ideas on which name was the best. I never did tell them who supplied which name which helped to keep it on a level playing field since I enlisted their help.

In the end, the winner is....... drum roll please.......

.............Gobi

The boys loved the sound of it and that he should just "go be a cat". My middle punk has been running around the house yelling, "Gobi, Gobi, Gobi". So I guess that settles it.
Is it me, or do these two form a heart. So, to the winner I will be sending the Starbucks gift card. In addition, I neglected to inform all participants that the winner would also receive the kitten. Just look for a box in the mail!

CONTEST---Enter Now! --- TIMES UP!!!

I had mentioned several posts back that our Momma Cat was due to have kittens. Sure enough they came after the weather was near 70 degrees. They came when it was back down in the freezing temps and the wind was a howlin'! We went out Wednesday night and there was one kitten, then two. In the morning we checked in on them and there were four kittens... but one of them had already died. I think Momma Cat just wasn't in the motherly mood because she has had kittens born and raised only outside in the winter before.

I brought the cat house into our mud room and placed it where it was catching that morning sun. The poor kittens were just frozen. Sadly another was dead. And another.... this black one... or so I assumed. The black and white one was doing awful so I started feeding it warmed up milk from a medicine dropper. All this time Momma Cat was just NOT interested. So I wrapped up the black and white one and continued to try to feed it.

Right about then my own baby started to cry and needed his momma. I'm contemplating what it would entail to bottle feed two babies and that is when I thought that Momma was just going to have to do her job or mother nature would take its course.

I feed my own baby and came to check on the black and white one. Amazingly it was making the teeniest meowing sound. I had hope for it. Then I looked and the black one who I assumed was dead ( I was waiting till after I fed my own baby to take it out) and believe it or not.... my supposedly dead kitten was moving! What? Seriously! I guess that morning sun was just the ticket.

So both kittens are doing great and are very strong. Momma Cat is doing her job. I am confident of their future now so I am posting their picture. So, for the contest part. The black kitten (the one I thought was dead) needs a name! The black and white one I believe my boys are calling Austin, but you know how kids are, things are always changing!

So, give your best name and I will pick a winner on Monday evening. The winner will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card. If this goes well I will do a higher amount next time.

Boys in the Mud

All that recent snow we got melted off in a hurry. A low spot on our drive turns out to be a favorite of the boys whenever there is water in it. It all started out very innocent like. My oldest punk started out on the very edge of the water.
This punk is more aggressive and went right for the deepest part from the start. Yeah, he is always the one to initiate something.
This is the part where the middle punk says, "hey, wouldn't it be easier if we weren't on the bikes?". Oh, no. This is where it goes downhill. Check out the slide show for them in the mud without bikes.
This is the part where my middle punk says, "hey, wouldn't it be easier if we didn't have any clothes on?"
This is where I finally ruined the whole "Naked in the mud" thing. Sorry boys.

A Girl..... A Boy...

One very adorable girl...... One charming boy.......
Together they are as cute as can be
"You been ridin' long?"

Is this a problem?

I have been looking through pictures I have taken during the month of April, all 15 days of it. During the last 15 days I have taken 482 pictures.

I was just wondering... Does anyone think this is a problem?

Whew, that was close!

They finally started pouring concrete yesterday! What a day. It sure was fun to watch... except for this part. ... Ummm.. where ya going with that truck?

You sure are getting close to the house. Ummm.. are you watching your mirror or the guy on the ground?
Wow, this is close. Where ARE you going???
Look at my middle punk and his faithful dog in the door. Is he looking at how close that truck is to my house? Does he care? All he cares about is there is one awesome looking concrete truck RIGHT here. How cool is that? And me? All I can think about is that the truck is 2 centimeters from the house and 2 centimeters from the form they just placed.
Ahhhh, so that is where they are going. Yee-Haw! Here comes the first of the concrete.

Feeling Bad

There are some things about pregnancy that people don't often tell others. Sure, we all know about morning sickness, but it's not always in the morning. Most know about eating, maybe eating for two, but you still have to lose all that extra weight that wasn't actually part of "baby weight". What about hair? Usually you hear things like "Wow, your hair looks so great". Well, there's a reason to that. When you are pregnant some hormones really change. Your hair that should normally be falling out stops falling out due to hormone changes. Did you know that a normal person loses around 40-120 strands of hair a day. Well, that is why a pregnant womans hair looks so beautiful.

Okay, so what pregnant women don't tell others.... your hormones eventually return to normal. It may take up to 6 months, but they do indeed return to normal. This is the bad news. All that hair that didn't fall out before.... well it eventually comes out, and fast. I should have given my hair to Locks of Love before these darn hormones returned to normal. You see I have completely cheated Locks of Love. Boy, I hope no one from their organization reads this. I have probably lost a good portion of a wig for some very derserving little girl that can't grow hair. It is all sitting on my bathroom floor. Boooo hoooooo. Actually, I don't feel bad at all for myself but I do feel bad I wasn't due to cut my hair for Locks of Love yet. Oh well, I can only do what I can do. And for Locks of Love... give me a little more time, you will get that hair yet.

SIDE NOTE: For those that don't know Locks of Love is an orginazation that takes real human hair that is donated in the form of 10" ponytails or longer. The hair is then joined with other ponytails and a wig is made. The wigs are given to children that have a condition know as Alopecia. People with Alopecia can't grow hair. I can't even begin to put myself in the shoes of a little girl that is unable to grow hair. Thanks to Locks of Love and people that donate their ponytails little girls have wigs made out of REAL hair. How awesome is that? I grow my hair to the waistline then I cut a ponytail to donate to Locks of Love. It is an awesome feeling knowing you are helping a little girl out there!

No Fear

Here is my oldest punk catching a little air.

Math.....Scary Math

I was discussing with the boys last night about what grades they would be in and when. I was curious myself as to what grade one would be in when the next started Kindergarten.

This is where the scary math comes into play...... oh, and believe me this is scary. In fact it is so scary I have nightmares about my youngest graduating high school with me being pushed in a wheelchair by my arthritic husband. But by then our oldest boy will be a paramedic and can asist his ailing parents with oxygen as we sit in the front row handicaped seats at graduation.

Okay, got a little sidetracked in my nightmares.... here is the breakdown....

When Colter enters Kindergarten, Bridger will be in 3rd grade. When Bode enters Kindergarten, Colt will be in 4th grade and Bridge will be in 7th. Bridger will graduate in 2018 and Bode will still be in elementary school. All told we have children in elementary school for 16 years. Yes, 16 years. It's a good thing we love this school!

It gets scarier. Bridger graduates high school in 2018. Colt graduates in 2021. Bode graduates in 2025. When the youngest graduates my dear lineman will be f- oh, did you think I was going to give you his age? I hate to see a grown man cry.

Please excuse me, I must go dry my keyboard now.

Gettin' Air

Here is a pic of Brian gettin' some great air. I tell you I think I could take pictures all day! Ahhh, I'm addicted! Help. Help. I need help. No, wait. It's not harmful to my health is it? Nope. So I can keep up with my addiction. But it could be harmful to my wallet....I need more lenses!

News of the Day

Brett just gave an interview Click here to read about it, where he says if he was needed he would come back to play for the Packers. I read Deanna Favre's book this winter, it was a great read. I think she is glad he retired but I know there are a lot of people out there that miss him. By the way, did you know that he is 38 years old! Way to go Brett. So, if he comes back, great. If he stays retired, enjoy your family!!!!

You're Kidding, Right?

The animals are not to happy with the recent weather.

And on a side note: The cat is due to have her babies any day. We figure this is the kind of weather that always brings babies. We shall see.

Deal

I'm four. I ride. Deal.

Are you an Eeyore or a Tigger?

This is a shortened version of the "Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. You can find the full version he gave at Carnegie Mellon University on You Tube, that one is 76 minutes long so I thought I would put the condensed version on here.



Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

Yesterday his book came out...



I also put the link to his blog to the right of the screen. He has been fighting this cancer and is hoping to be on a bike again in a week. What can I learn from him? A lot.

Run Daddy, Run!

Colter was riding at age 3 last year but only for little stretches at a time. This was his first real attempt at riding the motorcycle for any distance. He did an awesome job of giving his dad a workout. Who needs a treadmill? Just run after a kid on a motocycle... Now that's a workout!

Wow, has he got the hang of this or what! Look at him look ahead to the turn and then lean right into it.


One last good run for dad on the way back to all the bikes.