Reminder to Self

I can't believe how incredible I feel after doing the BL workout! Okay, to be honest, I have to get beyond the "I think I'm either going to pass out or throw up" feeling, but after that I feel fantastic. There are definitely other workouts that make me feel that way, but I really love Bob Harper. That's all. I just want to have a little reminder of that around for those days when I want to talk myself out of working out.

Quasi-Hicks?

It's official. We are raising three little town-living quasi-hicks. Actually, it might just be that two of them are a little more hick-like than the third, and that is a BIG surprise for me. I would have totally expected it to be the other way around. Our two little girls who LOVE to go shopping and wear fancy clothes are the same two little girls who spent every night last week at the Neosho County Fair. And, to make it slightly worse, we spent a majority of our time in the goat barn. Yep. Goats. At least it wasn't the pig barn. That's where I draw the line. :) The first night when we rode over with Donna to take a few things over (there weren't even any animals there yet) was the beginning of the end. From then on, every night was another reason to go to the fair. They took naps every afternoon in order to get to stay late at the fair. I know. There were probably three nights when we were taking baths at 10:30 - totally against what I would have allowed at home. I'm not even really sure why we went Wednesday... I don't even remember what we did Wednesday, but I'm sure we visited the goats. Thursday night we watched Jonathan show his ridiculously uncooperative steer twice. Well, we sort of watched him. It was more a matter of wincing in disgust as the stupid animal forced him into the fence repeatedly, refused to stand still (unless he was supposed to be walking), and was just generally and completely disagreeable. It wasn't pretty. I, personally, wanted to beat the snot out of the animal, so I can just imagine what Jonathan felt. Thankfully, Jonathan did quite well after that. The cows didn't cooperate, but he did great. He ended up with four banners - not too shabby. The two nights after that we were at the rodeo. It was fun, I admit it. Hanny, on the other hand, was only interested in attending the fair one evening. It was a good thing we had taken two cars that night. I'd have never guessed she would be the one who preferred to stay home. Papa did find the kittens again, though, so that probably influenced her a bit. I guess I will be perpetually surprised by these kiddos. Maybe the twinks will be the little goat-ropers of the family...literally. Then again, maybe not.

Making No Plans...Safest Bet!

Okay, so Gary left for band camp yesterday (go ahead, if you've seen the American Pie movies, I know you're thinking about that "One time, at band camp..." quote - take your time) and I was really looking forward to the day/evening. We played outside most of the morning and early afternoon and were forced in by rain mid-afternoon. We decided to take early baths and just goof off the rest of the afternoon in the house. I had planned to put the ladies to bed at the normal time (8:30) so they could get a good night's sleep before we head south. I was really looking forward to having the house to myself for a couple hours so I could read and/or watch what I wanted to on TV (it rarely happens, so it's a treat when it does). And then it started to thunder. Obviously, my plans of a quiet evening of solitude did not pan out. I spent all evening (until 9:30 when I made them to go bed with their doors open) playing games. When I finally convinced them to go to bed, I told them I would stay in the living room until I knew any storms were over. That ended up being near midnight. Yes, I did get to read, but I really would have preferred to go to bed an hour or so earlier. Just another lesson in flexibility, I guess.

The girls are really looking forward to the rest of the week. Papa found his latest "crop" of barn cats, so at least two of the girls are excited about holding some of them. Boo commented yesterday, "I can certainly hold two of them." Originally she had planned to hold four kittens but her sister pointed out that she only has two hands. It is something to consider, especially since these are kittens that have never been touched with human hands. Doodle, on the other hand, has not decided that she will hold one of them. She's my cautious child. Well, so is her twin typically, but Boo is a little braver on the cat front. Other than the fair, those are our only plans. We're not big on excitement, I guess. A little goes a long way for us! :)

Baby Memories

Last week's story on the news about babies being able to form memories (of sound, in this case) in the womb was just amazing. For the ABC News story, go here: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=8083181&page=1. It was interesting to read this, but I knew it had to be the case. During many of our trips to KC in the few weeks prior to the girls being born we played Josh Groban music...relatively loudly. Every time one song in particular came on (Alejate, if you're wondering) the girlies went wild. They were calm and still prior to that song, but they were all kicking and moving (as much as possible in a confined space with two other little angels) when that song was on. It was interesting, to say the least. I think (just my own personal opinion here) they form sight memories as itty-bitties as well. When Boo was just out of the hospital (granted, she was four months old at the time), I knew she had bad memories. They were triggered immediately upon entering into fluorescent lighting. She was perfectly fine at home, during the car ride to CMH, and even in the parking garage. As soon as we entered the elevator and the fluorescent lights she screamed. She screamed until she wore herself out. I'm just thankful that she has no recollection of what she endured during those hospital months. I asked her and Doodle last week if they remembered getting their tube feedings - they don't. I'm not sure if they really have no memory of it or if it's a repressed memory, but I'm thankful either way. That was not a pleasurable experience nor is it a nice memory to have. I wish I could repress that one! :) No, it has made me who I am, so I can be nothing but thankful.

Cowgirl? Maybe...

We went to Toronto last night to spend some time (and eat, of course) with Gary's side of the house. Hanny got to ride a horse for the first time and LOVED it! Her sisters, on the other hand, could not be convinced that it was an intelligent or safe thing to do, so they just watched. She told me after her last ride that her hands hurt from holding on so tightly. It's probably best that she is so cautious, because she is probably the most likely child to fall, trip, etc. It made her day! They also had a great time playing with their cousin Corinne. I know our three were worn out after all the running and playing, so I'm guessing Corinne was too! We made it home at about 11:00 last night and went straight to bed. Doodle slept most of the way home and Hanny dozed, but Boo was wide awake the entire ride home. Of course, it's 8:35 now and everyone is still in bed, but that's no big problem.

We spent Friday evening at the fair checking out the animals. It was sort of a practice round for the fair that Jonathan will be at this week. Our favorite? I think it was a tie between the rabbits and the goats. The girls loved the rabbits (and there were so many), but the goats always get their attention with their inquisitive actions. Needless to say, we're looking forward to this week's fair as well. We'll get to watch Jonathan show too, so that should make their day. We're also planning to go watch Jimbo (Have I mentioned Jimbo before? Kerri's boyfriend - we had to differentiate between him and Uncle Jim, so we call him Jimbo.) in the ranch rodeo if he's riding. Should be a fun time! :)

Loving the Weather!

Wow! Who knew Kansas in July could feel like this? Okay, so I vaguely remember one 4 State Farm Show when we had to wear jeans and jackets, but that's one time in 34 years. Our KC weather man thinks we might break the COOL records this weekend. Ahhh...gotta take the time to enjoy this!

We've had an uneventful week for the most part. My temporary crown started bothering me Tuesday, so I spent part of Wednesday morning at the dentist getting it looked at. I was scheduled to have the permanent crown put on next week, but because I'm having such a reaction to the temporary one, he moved my appointment up to this morning. It's good that I'll have it done, but I am not looking forward to it. I'm such a dental chicken. Thank goodness my dentist has N20 - it's the only thing that saves me from the anxiety before and during the procedures. If that makes me weak, then so be it! I just know my limits, and going to the dentist is one of them. There are three things I don't like bothered: my mouth, my ears (lots of ear infections as a kid - but I'm getting better about this one) and my knees. I'm very protective of those body parts. Guess that's a good idea since I couldn't talk, hear or walk without their service. :) I plan to leave home early so I can get gas and make my WM run ahead of time. There's just something about going out in public after being at the dentist that doesn't appeal to me. I hate having that droopy, swollen mouth and don't think anyone else needs to watch me attempt to speak, drink or keep the drool under control. Pretty picture, isn't it? Makes you want to come by and visit later today, doesn't it?!

We're trying to get the big guy ready for band camp next week. This is always his most stressful week of the year, and this year has been one of the worst. He's been putting out fires all week and will be ready to go to Wichita just so the pre-band camp problems will cease. Hopefully we can get everything ready on our end without any problems.

We'll be spending most of next week down south, so we'll get to be there for the fair. We hope it will be cool enough to go watch Jonathan show. Boo & Doodle were missing him so much Monday night they were crying. It was sweet, albeit sad. I told Jonathan (but told him not to let them know he knows) and he didn't know whether it made him feel good or bad. I know that feeling. Before my own kiddos did it, he did it to me when he was just a little guy. I explained to the girls that they miss him so much because they love him so much, and that's a really special thing. It makes my day sweeter to know they love someone (actually, there's more than one person, but this time it was just Jonathan) besides us that much.

Where've You Been?!

Do you remember that song? It always made me cry, probably will just thinking about it, so I think I'll move on. Anyway, the chorus was "Where've you been? I've looked for you forever and a day. Where've you been? I'm just not myself when you're away." (Honestly, I have no idea where all that came from. It's not like anybody has asked where I've been. Wishful thinking, I guess...) So we've been here, there and even everywhere lately. Some trips were planned, some were not. We roll with the punches. I've been a little slacky (Is that a word? If not, do you get what I mean?) lately with my blogging. Oh well... Hope you've got a comfy seat, this might be a long read.

The trip to Branson was great. We didn’t really do anything exciting, but we thoroughly enjoyed doing just what we wanted for a few days. There was lots of swimming, lots of shopping, three trips to the Landing, and one long, hot trip to the fish hatchery. We also played miniature golf at which the twinkies and I each won a free game for next time by getting a hole in one. They’re already making big plans for our upcoming trip back to Branson with my side of the family. It should be LOTS of fun!

The girls and I spent the rest of that week at the farm. This picture is of the girlies walking the “stray” (I use that term loosely as she was stray, but she was also very tame and well-trained.) dog that was at Donna’s house for a few days. We enjoyed the 4th in a most boring fashion. You really had to be there to appreciate it, but I think you can get the idea of just how boring it was by just one phrase: We lit fuses…just fuses. Yeah, okay, so we were just wasting time until we could set off the good ones in the dark. We don’t typically light fuses for our Independence Day entertainment. It just sort of happened that way. The girls thought it was great because they were, at that point anyway, less than excited by the noise of fireworks. They have since gotten over the uncontrollable urge to cover their ears at any impending sound, so we’re making progress!

We returned home on Sunday (July 5, if you’re keeping track). After a couple days of cleaning, laundry, a grocery trip and a morning at church for exercise, we were again uprooted. Wednesday afternoon brought some nasty-looking clouds to our northern skies. While we received no rain and virtually no wind or thunder, we lost electricity just before 3:00. We played games and read books (all pretty peaceful activities in order to stay relatively cool) for two hours before I called to see if they knew how much longer we would be powerless. There had been a horrendous storm (80-90 mph winds) between here and Ottawa and there were many power poles down…not good news. At 6:00 we headed south with Meme and Gary headed north for the night. Just as we turned onto the Galesburg road I got a text message from Gary that we had power again (8:00) and he was headed back home. We elected to stay through the week and were then able to spend Saturday enjoying a few of the HOT Galesburg Days activities. Enjoy goes a little far, though. It was a day of stifling heat and humidity that should only be spent indoors! We made it through, though. (On a side note, I got to spend a couple hours over lunch visiting with a dear friend from grade school. It was so much fun!) The twins decided they wanted to attend the dance – I know, I just about fell off my chair too – and fireworks show. Hanny, on the other hand, decided she’d rather spend the evening watching “Ice Age” and feeding the cats. Her sisters thoroughly enjoyed themselves and even danced…in public…with all of us. It was fun! The fireworks were phenomenal – not bad for a teeny little town – and Boo was so excited to tell me (repeatedly) that she didn’t even have to cover her ears!

We have returned home again (as of yesterday) for another week before heading back to the farm to enjoy (if it’s nice out) the fair while the big guy does band camp. Well, that's the plan. We haven't exactly been able to stick to plans lately. Maybe God is teaching me another lesson in flexibility... :)