Peaceful Transition

October was kind to us, and so our lighter jackets have kept us all warm enough--up until now. 
This morning Landen needed his winter coat and snow pants (for warmth--not snow, thankfully!) to help Dad and Grandpa outside. 
In a totally uncharacteristic move, I took an inventory of all the kids' winter stuff when I finally put it away for the summer.  I don't think the weather warmed up enough until June, but eventually the coats, hats, and boots DID go into storage for a few short months. 
Everyone needs two of everything (one for farm, one for good) for each season, and I inevitably forget what sizes we have on hand or which closet I have put what in by the time winter rolls around again!

This conversation happens every year.
The setting:  An unsuspecting fall morning around the Melius breakfast table
David:  "The kids need winter coats today."
Me:  (peering over my coffee cup with a panicked/annoyed look on my face) thinking, "Why am I NEVER prepared for this day?"
David:  "Do you know where they are?" 
Me:  (thinking, "Toilet paper?  Check.  Milk in the fridge?  Check.  Extra bottle of shampoo in the cupboard?  Check.  Homework done?  Check.  Winter coats and boots?  UGH!!!"
Then I say something like, "Umm . . . I guess I have been too busy keeping track of the level of EVERYTHING else in this house." 
David:  Now slightly annoyed; makes some suggestion on how I could be more organized.
Me:  Run to the storeroom and see what the kids will fit into after three months of growing--usually with only a few minutes to look.  If I am lucky, I find what they need before they need to run out the door.

Well, not today, my friends!

Blame it on a fit of nesting or a moment of genius (probably the former), but for ONCE I was prepared for this seasonal transition.  My coffee was still even warm when I returned from my quick run downstairs to find Landen's coat!
I won't become too confident, though. 
Spring is only a few months away and I haven't yet found the time or ambition to inventory our spring/summer gear.

Still, I'll take one peaceful transition over none!

Tractor Time

David kept promising me an afternoon or two in the tractor this fall, but I was beginning to think it wasn't going to happen! 

Harvest is complete--YES!  Now it is time to get the ground ready for planting next spring.  Farmers do this in lots of ways.  We use an aerator over most of our ground, which uses knife-like things to poke holes in the ground--kind of like reeeallly big worm holes to let moisture and air into the ground.  So, here was my view for a few hours yesterday afternoon.

 

This is what an aerator looks like.  The big concrete blocks to weigh it down are just so high-tech--don't you think?  It's quite a cushy job, actually.  When I get to the end of the field, the tractor beeps when it wants me to turn.  After I turn, I push a little button that says "resume" and a satellite up in space steers the tractor right where it needs to be for the next pass through the field.  Then I'm set for another mile until I turn around again.  There's minimal actual tractor driving involved.  In fact, it is best not to touch the steering wheel until it needs to turn.  Crazy--I know!
So, for about 3 hours yesterday, it was just baby and me and the radio on KLOVE . . . and the occasional rabbit who happened to hop by. 
My only complaint was that I had to bring my own snack.  Isn't that supposed to be one of the perks of being in the field?

 And for those of you who thought you would never see me behind the wheel of a tractor, here is proof. 

This afternoon will bring more of the same, except I may have my sidekick along to help me sing along to the radio today!

The End is Near

Our corn harvest should be complete by the end of the day.  I use "should" because strange things have been happening with the combine, tractor, and grain cart this fall.  If they can get through this day without any other unusual breakdowns, this major project will be completed!
I have come to appreciate harvest (after all, that IS how we get paid each year), and the long days with a mostly absent husband/father don't even bother me much anymore.  The adrenaline makes the entire process a challenge to conquer and I do--until about week three. 
Then I start to think about what it was like to have supper as a family (and not cold sandwiches most nights of the week) and I get a little antsy to get it all done!  I don't even remember how long this harvest has been going on . . . I think this is the start of the fifth week.  It's all blended together into a string of bologna sandwiches and Pepsi. :o)
Soon, soon, soon.  Soon our lives will be slowing down for the winter and our family will be reunited in the evenings.  I say it every year, but I love the fall time change.  More time as a family makes everyone happier. 
Thank you, God, for this gift of harvest.  Thank you, too, for this upcoming time of rest!

The Corner Book Shoppe

Reading has become my favorite hobby for the fall months.  Most days when the kids go to bed, I am too tired to do much else, and I've found the promise of diving into a book at the end of the day something to look forward to (as opposed to diving into that basket of laundry that needs folding). 
Our closest library is about 20 miles away.  When I am getting to that town frequently (as I did last winter and summer), it isn't a problem to check out and return books.  When most of my travels take me in the opposite direction, (as they do for most of the school year), it makes it a bit more difficult to be a local library patron. 
In addition to geography, library books have a tendency to stress me out just a little bit.  I can't believe I am saying this since I practically lived at the library as a child, but I lived close enough to walk to our local library then.  Borrowing and returning books on time was never an inconvenience.
I thought I was alone in this library book stress, but I have since found out other people feel the same way!  When I have a library book, I have a deadline to finish it.  Sure, I can renew it, but then I have to remember to actually do that.  Bargain shopper that I am, I would rather buy a book than have a 2 week deadline looming over my head.  I know that sounds silly, but that's how I roll right now.
Enter The Corner Book Shoppe into my life.  It is the perfect combination of library and cozy bookstore--without the late fees or new book prices.  All of their books are used and in wonderful shape.  I buy a pile of books for probably a third of the new book price, enjoy them, and pass them on to someone else.  Many people discovered the store before me and suggested I go there--two friends, my grandma, my cousin, and aunt.  They told me how beautifully it was arranged, the amazing selection of books, and the reasonable prices.
It took me several months to actually make the first stop.  The first reason was that I hardly ever go to Aberdeen without my little sidekick T.  I wanted to have time to look around the store and not be rushed. 
The second part of my problem was that I was a little intimidated.  I love to read, but I don't follow particular authors.  If I come across a title or description of a novel somewhere, I'll make a point to read it if it looks interesting.  I didn't want to walk in and be asked, "What author do you like?"  This former teacher has been out of the adult literary loop for so long that I would probably just blurt out, "Stan and Jan Berenstain" and find myself amongst the hundreds of familiar Berenstain Bears titles my children have brought home from the library way too many times.  Someone really should have told the Berenstains that their books can get a teensy bit wordy at times . . . but that's just my opinion.  :o)
On a rare trip by myself in September, I finally made the time to stop and check it out.  Still not recognizing many authors, I took the "judge a book by its cover" approach with the various novels in the front of the store and it served me well.  I liked all four of the books I chose from their descriptions.  I am hoping yesterday's stop for a new pile of books (using mostly the same approach) is as successful. 
Sure, the books aren't free, but I always figure gas and mileage into everything and making a special trip to the library isn't free either.  Besides that, buying five books for around $25 is a pretty inexpensive hobby in my opinion. 
If you visit The Corner Book Shoppe, be sure to walk through the entire store.  The front room is just the beginning.  There are little coves for different genres, a children's room, a room with almost all cookbooks, and even a bargain table in the far room.
If you love to read, you won't be disappointed!

Some Vacation!

Teresa loves reading her little board book Bible.  It's one of those "only Mom can read this right" books as she knows what songs we sing with each story (Noah's Ark, Zacchaeus, Jesus' birth), or which ones we don't have songs for and just read the words (Adam & Eve, Daniel in the Lions Den).
Last night, after she, Nathan, and I sang "Away in a Manger," she asked me again why there was no crib for baby Jesus.  She asks me this almost every time we read it.  She can't wrap her mind around that there was no room in the "hotel" and he had to be born in the stable.  After all, has a hotel ever turned her away?  They wouldn't dare! 
Last night she answered her own question. 
She finished with, "Because there was no room at vacation?" 
Yep.  That's right.
I wonder if Mary and Joseph ever dreamed that 2000+ years later a little girl in South Dakota would be describing their long journey to Bethlehem as a "vacation." 
Well, at least it would have been if they had been able to get a room at the inn with a bouncy bed, continental breakfast and an indoor pool.  :o)

Melius Opening Pheasant Hunting Weekend

Last weekend was the opening weekend for pheasant hunting in South Dakota.  I have come to appreciate the annual event.  It means a relaxing weekend complete with talking, laughing, shopping at our local craft fair and . . . of course . . . plenty of eating!  While we women are enjoying ourselves, the men celebrate the weekend by trudging through fields, weeds, and trees as they shoot South Dakota's state bird.  I think we have the better end of the deal. 

David's cousin Lisa and I took a mommy photo.  She is due in about 3 weeks with baby #3.  I have about 9 weeks left.

 Here is the next generation of Melius family hunters!

 And . . . the whole crew.  My boys and cousin Carter were big enough to go along this year.  They walked with the big guys on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. 

 Teresa and her cousin Lily are BEST FRIENDS.

 Teresa wanted to celebrate her birthday with her cousins, so we had a little party on Sunday afternoon.  We sang, we blew out candles, we opened presents, we ate cupcakes, and the kids were back to playing in about 15 minutes.  It was the perfect little 4 year old party!

Soon after, the adults showed up and . . . we ate some more!

Remember September

We had another photo shoot down our gravel road on a sunny Sunday afternoon in mid-September.  Teresa is spending the day at Grandma's house today, so I finally took the time to edit a few. 

This was my favorite walking shot.  At first, David and I tried to keep the animals back, but then we realized that they are a big part of our kids' lives and will document our life in 2011 as well.  It is appropriate that Callie is walking alongside Nathan.  They are good buddies.

 Then Teresa and Nathan wanted to take a couple of silly pictures.  The name for Teresa's photo effect is called "1960's."  With those sunglasses, she looks like she could belong there.

 Then there's Nater.  What else can I say?  You just have to love that little boy!

Ever Feel Like This?

I found this on Facebook earlier this week and shared it on my wall.  We all have these days, don't we? 

This picture is complimented very well by the--very encouraging, I might add--quote I read in my November Reader's Digest:

"If you want to know what it's like to have a fourth kid, just imagine you're drowning and someone hands you a fourth kid."  (Jim Gaffigan)

That made me laugh out loud.  If you go back to the beginning of this blog, I was drowning in mommyhood quite often.  Now I keep my head above water most days. 

So why not have another?  In another couple years, I should be successfully treading water again. :o)

Cherry Bars

This recipe has been a family favorite for a long time.  I found this recipe, called "Coffee Cake," in a family cookbook.  Once I made it, I realized it was the same thing we often made growing up, only we called them Cherry Bars.  

These are good for breakfast (I made these and stuck them in the freezer for our church potluck on Sunday) or a dessert (topped with whipped cream).  Either way, they are easy and people who can't have dairy appreciate their dairy-free-ness.  :o)

Cherry Bars

1 cup canola OR vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour

Mix all ingredients together.  Spread 1/2 mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Spread one can pie filling (cherry or your choice) on top of this and spread the rest of the batter on top.  Top with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  (I start with about 1/3 cup sugar and add cinnamon to taste.  Use more or less sugar to suit your taste.) 

Bake 350 for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Moving . . . YET again!

For some reason this past weekend, I felt compelled to start packing up my side of the office.  Baby isn't due to arrive for another 10 weeks, but my inner clock was telling me "it is time to make room!"
Wasn't I just blogging about making the built-in dresser into a scrapbooker's paradise?  Well, it's ready to be a dresser again.  My scrapbooking tools will be downstairs for a year or two.
Once my strong husband is done harvesting, he can carry my desk downstairs and the crib back upstairs.  I am hoping to make room in our guest room for my desk, so I can have some place to store all of that office "stuff" that really doesn't have any other place to go.
As always, the blessing that comes with moving is cleaning!  I decided to give some scrapbooking things away that I have either never used or will not use again. 
I sometimes feel guilty for giving things away that I can no longer use, but now I have decided to look at it differently.
I'm just passing on the love! 

Gypsy Day

I hope you don't mind if I reminisce a bit for today's post. . . .
Tomorrow is Gypsy Day, the homecoming at my alma mater, Northern State University.  Not too many years ago, going to Gypsy Day was a HUGE deal.  This year I don't even plan to mention the parade to my kids.  I know I am just being a big gypsy party-pooper, but I'm tired, stuffy from allergies, windblown, in the middle of corn harvest, and this house can't handle one more piece of Frootie candy.
But, as I said, it used to be a big deal.  Someday maybe it will be again, with so many other things, "once the kids are older."  :o)
Gypsy Day was a part of my life long before I became a student at NSU.  Every year the college hosted, and still does, host a marching band competition for area schools.  Rachel and I would arrive at the high school with the rest of the band VERY early on that Saturday morning to get on the bus for the 1 1/2 hour drive and enthusiastically announce, "It's Gypsy Day!!"  Not everyone shared in our excitement, but most did.  That was the best part--our band worked hard to be "one cohesive unit" as our band director put it.  She wanted us to do well and we did our best to make that happen.  We practiced at 7:30am several mornings a week to prepare for the Gypsy Day parade, which didn't make the late sleepers in town too happy, but I loved every minute of it. 
The years I was marching, which would have been 1991-1996, the Eureka marching band was always in the running to win in our division.  We would bounce around the top 3 or 4, finally did taking 1st place in 1994.  The competition was strong, which made the victory all the sweeter. 
I still love watching marching bands and I can still spot a great one.  When I see a band go by with students with their heads held high, shoulders back, serious faces looking straight ahead, and their lines forming perfect diagonals, it makes me a little bit teary eyed. 
Even 14 years out from that experience, I miss that feeling of being part of something great.  Maybe I miss it more than I should.  But, I suppose it is the same for the athlete who was part of a state championship team in high school. and holds onto that feeling of greatness.  The band was my team.
My friend's daughter was lamenting to me a couple weeks ago that our junior high is marching with the high school this year for Gypsy Day.  She was not excited about it.  I offered to take her place--we even both play the flute--and she thought that could work.  Somehow I don't think I would quite fit in anymore, or fit a uniform at this point!
If you make it to the parade tomorrow, or any parade this fall, look for the great bands and show them your appreciation as they pass by.  In addition to the qualities I listed above, there is one more that separates the great from the good.
Great band members sacrifice their shoes and march right through the horse poop. 
Every time.

Playing Catch Up

Ahh. . . . time to breathe a bit.  Life has been a little busier than normal with harvest going on and these other little extras. 

To add to it, yesterday we had some work done on our phone and TV.  I had a feeling that something would go wrong.  When the phone, TV, and Internet are involved, chances are next to 0 that everything will connect as it is supposed to.  I was right!  Our "old" router (really, I have socks older than that thing) wouldn't connect to the Internet, so I was Internet-less until just a few moments ago.  Determined to reconnect myself, I went through the new router's tutorial and I still can't believe it actually worked!  

That is a very good thing since between the Internet and the broken toilet handle that is waiting for the man of the house to fix, I was just about to get a wee bit crabby! 

Since I am not crabby anymore (for the moment), let's proceed with this catch-up post!

 Friday was Homecoming!  Nathan's class said "Wildcats are Grrreat!"  This was his first parade and he was loving it!

 Landen got to be a banner carrier with a couple other Toucan Sams for their Fruit Loops theme.

 We also got to spend some time with cousins Luke & Lydia.  Landen took every chance he could to help Lydia, so he could practice for the new baby.  He played with her, helped her, made her laugh, and even offered to feed her.  He definitely passed the "big brother" test and is ready to be promoted to big brother of 3 younger siblings.

Remember that box of pears I couldn't resist?  Well, after sharing several and baking a batch of pear muffins, I still had MORE than enough pears to eat before they got too ripe.  I decided to make a batch of pear sauce (instead of apple sauce) on Saturday morning.  Between my family's first taste for breakfast on Sunday and supper that night, it was GONE.  I can see another box of pears in my future . . . next fall.
It sounds like tomorrow will find me out of my usual post in the kitchen and out in the field!  More on that later . . . .