Yesterday morning, the weather people were all buzzing over the potential winter storm headed our way. When the alarm went off at 6am, I was listening with half an ear to the experts prediction of 4-6 inches of snow by Saturday night. I got up and began to get ready for another day at the zoo.
When I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, hubby informed me that Mike Flynn on the radio said 6-15 inches of snow. WHAT???? I had just heard 4-6 inches a few minutes before. I told myself it must have been a revised forecast and went on into the kitchen. As hubby headed to the basement to check the wood burner, he told me he was really confused, because the TV forecast was for 4-6 inches also. Sheepishly, he said, "I think I heard Mike Flynn give the time 6:15, rather than the number of inches we were gonna get". That's what happens when you aren't awake when listening.
Oh, and the great storm we were going to get. They backed it off to 2-4 inches. I miss the good old days when the forecasters couldn't look at 20 computer versions of what the weather is going to do. It was a lot less "hyped" back then. I guess everything is news nowadays.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
A Reprieve
If you want to call it that.
Thomas was scheduled for surgery on his ear tomorrow. It is off for now. He managed to be croupy yesterday and added pneumonia to the mix today. Neither our pediatrician nor the anesthesia department were impressed with all of that, so it has been put off for 2 to 4 weeks. I am thinking 5 weeks, since that is spring break week and he wouldn't need to miss any school.
Thankfully, his ear has settled down, and for the moment is pain-free. We are praying it stays that way and his body can recover properly from the pneumonia before he needs surgery.
Thanks for all your prayers and keep on for a little longer.
Thomas was scheduled for surgery on his ear tomorrow. It is off for now. He managed to be croupy yesterday and added pneumonia to the mix today. Neither our pediatrician nor the anesthesia department were impressed with all of that, so it has been put off for 2 to 4 weeks. I am thinking 5 weeks, since that is spring break week and he wouldn't need to miss any school.
Thankfully, his ear has settled down, and for the moment is pain-free. We are praying it stays that way and his body can recover properly from the pneumonia before he needs surgery.
Thanks for all your prayers and keep on for a little longer.
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Theater Room
My hubby has wired some pretty fancy houses in the past 25 years. One feature in several that he has done is a special theater room. They are typically found in the basement, and can be quite elaborate. They might include surround sound, a big screen TV, a sloped floor and special theater seats. One guy even had a snack bar complete with a movie popcorn machine.
At our house, we have a huge basement, and for the most part, it is a catch-all and play area for the kids. We have joked that someday when we have extra money, we would have our very own theater room. Not likely to happen a) because with three kids, who has extra money and b) if we had extra money there are about 25 things higher on the list of what we would spend it on.
But, just recently, the kids installed a theater room. It isn't very big, doesn't have surround sound, but it is rather cozy. They have taken an old dining room table and card table, covered them with a big sheet. They added pillows, sleeping bags and blankets and have an old 9-inch TV/VCR combo in there to watch movies on.
Don't you just love creativity????
At our house, we have a huge basement, and for the most part, it is a catch-all and play area for the kids. We have joked that someday when we have extra money, we would have our very own theater room. Not likely to happen a) because with three kids, who has extra money and b) if we had extra money there are about 25 things higher on the list of what we would spend it on.
But, just recently, the kids installed a theater room. It isn't very big, doesn't have surround sound, but it is rather cozy. They have taken an old dining room table and card table, covered them with a big sheet. They added pillows, sleeping bags and blankets and have an old 9-inch TV/VCR combo in there to watch movies on.
Don't you just love creativity????
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Where have I been....
Not sure, just on the move and don't seem to have enough time to sit down and write about life. Believe me, there is plenty of material around here. That NEVER changes.
Like the night two weeks ago when we heard a louder than normal MOOOOO at the front door. Hubby and I were finishing up some bookkeeping, and sent Thomas and Suzanna to investigate. They opened the front door and "didn't see anything". We went about our normal Saturday night routine and everybody headed to bed at 10pm. Thomas came back out of his room almost as quick as he got in there to inform us he could see cattle where they shouldn't be. So, everyone bundled up against the cold to get three heifers, who from the looks of the tracks around the house and barns, had been out for a while. Thank goodness for tame 4-H heifers, as it was a quick job once Suzanna got her arms around the neck of Sami. On went the halter and back to the pasture she went, with Penny and Bella following. The kids spent a few minutes laying on their backs in the snow, looking up at the stars. It was a clear, cold night and the stars were just amazing. Not something you get to see unless you are outside in the middle of the night.
Or how about the mouse that wouldn't be flushed?? Wednesday night Suzanna called me to her room to say that Butterscotch had caught a mouse and it was still alive. By the time I got there, the cat had moved to the bathroom. I got a handful of tissues and took his toy away. My first thought was dump it in the toilet and flush it. Boy, can they fight the vortex of water!!! The thing finally went down and I walked away. Imagine my surprise when Suzanna said the mouse was floating dead in there when she went to the bathroom in the morning. Amazing!!!
Keep Thomas in mind for the next week. He has to have surgery to remove an ear tube that hasn't come out on its own. His body now thinks that there is a foreign body in it and is causing him a lot of pain. He is anxious at the thought of surgery, since this will be the fourth time he has had to have something done with his ears. But his bigger concern is the fact that he won't be able to eat after midnight Monday. He is sure he will be starving.
So there you go, just a snap shot of a couple weeks at the zoo. It is always exciting!
Like the night two weeks ago when we heard a louder than normal MOOOOO at the front door. Hubby and I were finishing up some bookkeeping, and sent Thomas and Suzanna to investigate. They opened the front door and "didn't see anything". We went about our normal Saturday night routine and everybody headed to bed at 10pm. Thomas came back out of his room almost as quick as he got in there to inform us he could see cattle where they shouldn't be. So, everyone bundled up against the cold to get three heifers, who from the looks of the tracks around the house and barns, had been out for a while. Thank goodness for tame 4-H heifers, as it was a quick job once Suzanna got her arms around the neck of Sami. On went the halter and back to the pasture she went, with Penny and Bella following. The kids spent a few minutes laying on their backs in the snow, looking up at the stars. It was a clear, cold night and the stars were just amazing. Not something you get to see unless you are outside in the middle of the night.
Or how about the mouse that wouldn't be flushed?? Wednesday night Suzanna called me to her room to say that Butterscotch had caught a mouse and it was still alive. By the time I got there, the cat had moved to the bathroom. I got a handful of tissues and took his toy away. My first thought was dump it in the toilet and flush it. Boy, can they fight the vortex of water!!! The thing finally went down and I walked away. Imagine my surprise when Suzanna said the mouse was floating dead in there when she went to the bathroom in the morning. Amazing!!!
Keep Thomas in mind for the next week. He has to have surgery to remove an ear tube that hasn't come out on its own. His body now thinks that there is a foreign body in it and is causing him a lot of pain. He is anxious at the thought of surgery, since this will be the fourth time he has had to have something done with his ears. But his bigger concern is the fact that he won't be able to eat after midnight Monday. He is sure he will be starving.
So there you go, just a snap shot of a couple weeks at the zoo. It is always exciting!
Friday, January 16, 2009
And now a message from Al Gore....
But I don't think he has much to say over the weather we are currently experiencing. Pretty hard to put in a good word for global warming when it is -8 at 9:30 in the morning.
The school principal called last night to say that school was on a two hour delay, and he thought it likely that they would call the whole thing off. Sure enough, the phone rang this morning at about 7am and there would be no school. That makes a 4-day weekend for the kids, since Monday was already a scheduled day off. I am kinda glad to see it. Kathryn still isn't feeling great, and Suzanna has been fighting something all week. She hates to miss school, so had been pushing herself to keep going. She still doesn't feel 100% today and was relieved to have the day off. I got an appointment with Dr. H to get her checked out. I think a long weekend with some down time will be good for her.
Can I brag about her for a second????? Indulge me okay!!! She had a violin lesson yesterday. She is gearing up for a Fine Arts competition through the school (like Solo and Ensemble). Anyway, she has to play a memorized piece, no more than 5 minutes in length. Her instructor looked through her music books, but didn't find anything he was happy with. He turned to her and asked for a favorite hymn. The first one that came to mind was "Brethren We Have Met To Worship". He said okay, starting on an "open D" (whatever that is) play the song. SHE DID IT!! With almost no wrong notes!!!!! Wow, was her momma impressed. Lessons are paying off.
The school principal called last night to say that school was on a two hour delay, and he thought it likely that they would call the whole thing off. Sure enough, the phone rang this morning at about 7am and there would be no school. That makes a 4-day weekend for the kids, since Monday was already a scheduled day off. I am kinda glad to see it. Kathryn still isn't feeling great, and Suzanna has been fighting something all week. She hates to miss school, so had been pushing herself to keep going. She still doesn't feel 100% today and was relieved to have the day off. I got an appointment with Dr. H to get her checked out. I think a long weekend with some down time will be good for her.
Can I brag about her for a second????? Indulge me okay!!! She had a violin lesson yesterday. She is gearing up for a Fine Arts competition through the school (like Solo and Ensemble). Anyway, she has to play a memorized piece, no more than 5 minutes in length. Her instructor looked through her music books, but didn't find anything he was happy with. He turned to her and asked for a favorite hymn. The first one that came to mind was "Brethren We Have Met To Worship". He said okay, starting on an "open D" (whatever that is) play the song. SHE DID IT!! With almost no wrong notes!!!!! Wow, was her momma impressed. Lessons are paying off.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Things kids say....
Thomas had a bit of a stomach bug on Monday, and ended up spending the day on the couch. Neighbor Melissa gave me a call to check in and Thomas answered the phone. She asked him what kept him home and his reply was a true Thomasism. He explained that he was having "stomach issues". Must be just telling her he had been sick might have been too much information. She got a huge chuckle out of that.
Today, Kathryn was the sicko, running a fever and complaining about a sore throat. I suspected we were dealing with strep, and got her in to see the doctor this morning. Dr. H began asking her questions about what brought her to see him. She explained that her throat really hurt. He then asked her how long it had been bothering her. Her reply, "I believe it started Tuesday afternoon." It was adorable. You could see the smile in Dr. H's eyes as he examined her throat and confirmed that she had a very icky looking throat. A strep test confirmed it and she is now on antibiotics for a week and is out of school until Friday.
Mike and I only have ourselves to blame for the vocabulary our children use. We never talked much "baby talk" around here, and I think we are seeing the results of our conversations.
If the kids had to get sick, I am glad it hit now rather than last week. I was in Grand Rapids for the annual Fair Convention, and I would have found it rather impossible to be in two places at once. I had a great time, was busy each day and picked up some really great ideas for future use. The only bummer was the snow storm that hit back home made it impossible for my hubby to join me Saturday afternoon. Despite the fact that I was in the snow belt part of the state, home sweet home was slammed with over 8 inches of snow. Hubby was in combat mode all weekend, fighting the ever increasing piles of snow that were accumulating. He spent most of Saturday morning moving snow so he could get into the hay barn and then more time to move snow to get it put away in the barn at home. The bottom line was there was no hope for him traveling up to see me. Oh well, there is always next year!
Today, Kathryn was the sicko, running a fever and complaining about a sore throat. I suspected we were dealing with strep, and got her in to see the doctor this morning. Dr. H began asking her questions about what brought her to see him. She explained that her throat really hurt. He then asked her how long it had been bothering her. Her reply, "I believe it started Tuesday afternoon." It was adorable. You could see the smile in Dr. H's eyes as he examined her throat and confirmed that she had a very icky looking throat. A strep test confirmed it and she is now on antibiotics for a week and is out of school until Friday.
Mike and I only have ourselves to blame for the vocabulary our children use. We never talked much "baby talk" around here, and I think we are seeing the results of our conversations.
If the kids had to get sick, I am glad it hit now rather than last week. I was in Grand Rapids for the annual Fair Convention, and I would have found it rather impossible to be in two places at once. I had a great time, was busy each day and picked up some really great ideas for future use. The only bummer was the snow storm that hit back home made it impossible for my hubby to join me Saturday afternoon. Despite the fact that I was in the snow belt part of the state, home sweet home was slammed with over 8 inches of snow. Hubby was in combat mode all weekend, fighting the ever increasing piles of snow that were accumulating. He spent most of Saturday morning moving snow so he could get into the hay barn and then more time to move snow to get it put away in the barn at home. The bottom line was there was no hope for him traveling up to see me. Oh well, there is always next year!
Monday, January 5, 2009
The parties are over....
it's time to get back at life.
After a great two week break, we were back on schedule this morning. We have had plenty of parties, including Christmas three times with various branches of the family. Add to that a baby shower, pre-Christmas supper at the Pastor's house and a post-Christmas party with Trainer Mike and all the clients, we have had more than our share of good times and great food.
With all that partying, comes the need to get back on track with exercise, which I have done. In addition, I have had to remember how to cook complete meals for my family, rather than bits and fits like so much of the two weeks seemed to be.
As we head into the new year, I am looking forward to what may lie ahead. Satan would love to have all of us feel in the depths of despair over what may come, but I know that the Lord is in control, and all that is to come is from him. I just pray I can remember that promise when the road heads a direction I find uncomfortable or opposite of what I think is best.
After a great two week break, we were back on schedule this morning. We have had plenty of parties, including Christmas three times with various branches of the family. Add to that a baby shower, pre-Christmas supper at the Pastor's house and a post-Christmas party with Trainer Mike and all the clients, we have had more than our share of good times and great food.
With all that partying, comes the need to get back on track with exercise, which I have done. In addition, I have had to remember how to cook complete meals for my family, rather than bits and fits like so much of the two weeks seemed to be.
As we head into the new year, I am looking forward to what may lie ahead. Satan would love to have all of us feel in the depths of despair over what may come, but I know that the Lord is in control, and all that is to come is from him. I just pray I can remember that promise when the road heads a direction I find uncomfortable or opposite of what I think is best.
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