Blue Light Special

Today I woke up with the urge to shop. My body knew it had just been in Sioux Falls for a long weekend and was all but deprived of this basic necessity. I wanted to get a new comforter for the guest room and the list of necessities (aka the "Walmart list") is always growing.
At breakfast, I threw out, "Hey--Would Teresa and I be able to go to Aberdeen this afternoon?" Since it was a rainy day, David said it would work for him to hang out with the boys. After Teresa's nap, we were on our way.
It is becoming more and more obvious that my little sweetheart is nearing her 2nd birthday. We had more than one power struggle on our little shopping excursion.
As she was throwing a tantrum in the K Mart check out, the clerk glanced up at us and looked concerned. I told her that my little girl just likes drama and that she would be fine. A minute later, like a light switch had turned off, she was just fine.
Now, this clerk could have rolled her eyes at us. She could have overruled me and handed Teresa a sucker. Instead, she encouraged me and told me I was doing a good job. Her encouragement made my day.
Motherhood can be a pretty thankless job. I have never heard, "Thanks, Mom, for making me cry in my room until I put on my own clothes. My wife will really appreciate not having to dress me someday." Or, "Thanks for camping out in the bathroom when I was 3 until I gave in and went potty. Wearing a diaper would be really embarrassing at school."
I have a supportive husband, parents, in-laws, family, and friends and I still feel overwhelmed some of the time. (OK, most of the time.) I feel sympathy for those parents who do not have a cheering section to give them a little "rah rah" now and again.
I am just as guilty as the next mom for thanking God the screaming child in the toothpaste aisle is not mine, sometimes even coming home to tell David about the awful behavior I witnessed.
But, from now on I am going to try to take Mary's cue and offer encouragement instead. If we want this generation of children to grow into strong adults, they need strong parents to raise them.
A kind word or even a sympathetic smile goes farther than an eye roll any day.

South Dakota "Stay"cation

Some highlights from our vacation this past weekend:
1. Stopping to see Great Grandma & Grandpa Neises, Dann & Michele & boys on the way down.
2. Shopping and visiting at my aunt's store--The Artist's Playhouse. I love that place.
3. The Sioux Falls Air Show. Wow! David's favorite was the F-22. Landen said the Navy's Blue Angels (pictured in the sky above them) were "exceptional" and "stupendous"! An estimated 100,000+ people came to the show over the weekend.

Even with the planes flying overhead, I still think Landen's favorite part was the John Deere trolley.
3. Uncle Rick helping the boys catch fireflies on Saturday night.
4. Trying to go to mass at St. Joseph Cathedral and then finding it was closed for renovation. (Not so good.) Many hours later as we were paying our admission to the Butterfly House, Landen explained to the lady behind the counter, "We tried to go to church, but we couldn't!"
5. Spending several hours at Falls Park.

6. Nathan's proud expression after he got a butterfly to land on his finger at the Butterfly House. He is usually a little tornado, but is so patient when it comes to animals. David calls him the "Kitten Whisperer." Now he is the "Butterfly Whisperer" as well.

7. Finally getting to the Bramble Park Zoo. It was a very nice park in Watertown. We had driven by several times, but never stopped before.


Of course, there were many more memories made as well. This vacation was proof that the simplest things can bring the greatest memories.

Vacation Preparations

These are the weeks I love--the week leading up to vacation!

In addition to the normal vacation preparations--laundry, cleaning, laundry . . ., we took on an additional project this week. On Monday night, we went to Aberdeen to buy new guest room carpet and plywood for the new storage room shelving. David built and installed the shelves in our storeroom on Tuesday. I was in charge of moving the "stuff" from one room to another. I managed to cut out 1 1/2 plastic totes this time! Tuesday evening I just couldn't wait any longer and started painting a couple of accent walls in the guest room. I used a gallon of paint that my mother-in-law had handed off to me a couple of years ago. It is called "Secluded Wood." It does not look great wet, but is a very pretty gold/brown after it dries. It really warmed up the feeling of the room even without having everything moved back in yet.
Yesterday I had plenty on my "to do" list, but decided to go on a quick road trip to Fargo with David instead. I was more than happy to go with him on farm business for a couple of hours as long as we could stop at Cold Stone Creamery before we left for home.
And that brings me to today. It seems every time I crossed something off my list this morning, I added something new. It finally feels like I'm gaining now, though. I have the kids packed (although I almost forgot the boys' underwear). Oops! I mowed the lawn this morning and harvested another big bowl full of green beans before dinner that I will have to get in the freezer tonight.
After Teresa wakes up from her nap, we will go to Faulkton to run some errands and that will take care of most of the to-do list for today.
Whew! Thank goodness tomorrow brings our family vacation! I have been politely reminding (he would probably say nagging) David about when we would go all summer. With school starting on Aug. 25, the traditional after-wheat harvest vacation is no longer an option for us. Thankfully the rain made it possible for us to get away this weekend.
After weighing several options, we decided to vacation in Sioux Falls. This will give the kids time to see their cousins, David & me to visit his siblings, and plenty of time to take in the Sioux Falls Air Show! I really had no idea this air show is such a big deal. It was quite the feat to find a hotel room for the weekend. Other than the air show and going to the falls, our weekend is pretty much open for spontaneous fun. We haven't told the boys that Sioux Falls has a Chuck E. Cheese's, but I am sure we will make a stop there as well.
Since blogging was not on my list at all, I suppose I better get back to packing my own suitcase. I'll blog when we get back!
P.S. See Air Show photos and information at www.siouxfallsairshow.com.

Moving

David and I have not moved since we were married 8 years ago. We have, however, moved our "stuff" several times. First it was downstairs, then in the attic, then the attic couldn't support the weight, so it moved back downstairs, and finally into the storeroom in our new addition. It's always a hassle, but it does help keep us from accumulating too much "stuff." Everytime we move from place to place, we get rid of a few more things we had not missed since the previous move.
Our water mess last week has helped us with a bit of cleaning out once again. I went through the kids' toys last week and found some that we can pass onto other kids. The old kitchen chair we had in the guest room for no apparent reason is now on its way to the junk pile. The brown hide-a-bed couch will be on its way as soon as another strong man or two unwittingly stops by to visit. (I think my father-in-law learned his lesson after he got in on the water clean up last week. This morning he didn't even get out of his pickup when he stopped by after coffee.) :o) We are also talking about moving the piano into the guest room to make a better use of space and get the present piano room ready for Teresa when she is old enough to move downstairs.
I may even paint a room this year yet. I have been wanting to jazz up the off-white guest room. What better time than when it is back to a concrete floor? The problem with that is I hadn't really thought about what color I'd like and I better think fast as the moving back in has begun. The boys spent the night in their own room last night. I really don't think they cared about that one way or another. It was fun for them to camp in the toy room for a week.
Today I plan to make a trip to Aberdeen and get a new kanga-back carpet for the guest room. We are hoping that it will work for David to glue that in himself and we can get our house back to normal in under three weeks, when the carpet layer could fit us in his schedule.
With a new sump pump and more precautions in place, hopefully this little inconvenience will not happen again.

Teresa's New Tricks

Here is Teresa just a little while after we lost her for a brief time at Leola's 125th Celebration. I have lost sight of all three children on our farm at one time or another. I have been brought to tears more than once when shouting their names only brought silence. David makes fun of me for "calling the National Guard" as soon as I can't see them for two minutes. I can't help it. I did not grow up on a farm, so I really don't know all the places a young child would find interesting. I just see dangerous places. I recently heard Michael J. Fox say in an interview that the first years of parenting are basically just suicide watch. Amen to that.
Losing a child in a crowd of people, however, was a whole different experience. Almost two weeks later, I am still shaken by those minutes--five? ten? maybe fewer?--of fruitlessly scanning the crowd with my daughter nowhere to be seen. Several people started helping us look for her and shortly after that David found her about a half block away. A couple of ladies had seen her crying and picked her up.
The ironic thing is I had seen a child on a leash while we rode through the parade and thought that was SO inhumane. As I hugged by daughter, I didn't think that was such a bad idea anymore.
Oh, I seem to have digressed. I see the title of this post is "Teresa's New Tricks" and I haven't even gotten to that yet. Here they are:
1. She is doing well with body part identification.
Earlier this week, David told her she could be "cute as a button," but she still couldn't be naughty. She pulled up her shirt and showed him her belly button.
2. She doesn't like an audience.
As of Monday, she says Grandpa. Actually, it is more like "Ba-Pa." She will not say this in front of Grandpa, though.
3. She thinks she is ready to be a big girl.
I bought a pack of underwear in Aberdeen and she found them yesterday morning. She knew exactly what they were. When I was talking to David at breakfast, all I said was, "She will have to learn how to use those underwear." She immediately pushed her chair away from the table and ran to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet for a few minutes and did NOT want me to put a diaper back on her when she jumped down. I ended up putting the princess underwear on over her diaper because she wanted to wear them so badly. Now, I HAVE NEVER BEEN ONE TO HINDER A WILLING POTTY TRAINEE, but with a basement in chaos, a toy room to organize and visitors due to arrive in a few hours, it was just not a good time for this mom to take on that project. I carefully hid the remaining pairs until we are both ready. I would like to introduce the idea while it is still warm outside, though. If she is like Nathan and doesn't like to feel wet, it will take no time at all.
4. She really, really likes hot dogs.
Who knew mystery meat could be so darn yummy?

Teresa revels in her role as the cute baby sister. Even Landen says, "T is so sweet." or "T is so adorable!" I'm sure it is a tough job being the baby of the family, but someone has to do it.

"Though she'll grow and someday leave, maybe raise a family.
When I'm gone, I hope you'll see how happy she made me.
For I'll be there, in my daughter's eyes."
~Martina McBride ~ "In My Daughter's Eyes"

Blessings from Heaven

They say God answers prayers in His own time. He seems to be answering all those prayers for rain we sent up during the drought a few years ago! Yesterday morning I woke up to find that He may have blessed us a little too much. Our guest room carpet was soaked from water coming in the window and it had spread into the boys' room. (This morning we found it was also seeping in from an opposite wall.) This is the first time this house has had water in the basement and the original house still does not. It seems that when we dug down an extra foot for the addition, we went a little too deep to accommodate downpours.
The three rooms in our addition are now bare floors and we have carpet pad & carpet out drying in the sunshine. The boys' carpet is up on chairs with fans blowing from all angles.
Thankfully everything stored on the basement floor was in plastic totes or could easily be washed. As far as we know it did not damage any walls. Another good thing is that it was all clean water and we con't have any sewage to clean up.
It will be alright as long as everything is completely dry before it goes back in and we don't end up with a mold or musty smelling problem.
As I see the carpet pad covering my deck and gaze at the flooded creek outside, I think of my friend who has five boys. She once told me once that children are a blessing, but finally you just have to say, "Please stop blessing me so much!"
The same goes for rain around here for the time being.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

The overcast day today put me in a baking mood. These cupcakes turned out GREAT. (I just taste-tested one a few minutes ago.) The picture on the recipe showed a chocolate cake mix, but the actual recipe called for yellow. I've been on a chocolate kick lately (brownies, double chocolate oatmeal cookies . . .mmm), so I decided give my family a break from the usual.
Store bought cookie dough would work great, too. I ended up with four extra cookie dough balls. I am sure David will find a use for those. He LOVES cookie dough.
Give yourself a little time to make these. The cookie dough balls need about 2 hours to freeze.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

(Cookie Dough)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place onto a baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.

(Cake)
1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs

Preheat an oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add the cake mix, water, and canola oil; continue beating for 2 minutes on medium speed. Spoon into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not the cookie dough ball) comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Piano is my Forte

If you speak "music" you will understand the title of this post. :o)

David and I were able to get up to Aberdeen on Thursday to run some errands, visit his Great Aunt & Uncle, and go on a date. Grandma & Grandpa Melius offered to keep the kids overnight. Nathan's response to the offer was, "Oh. That's cool." We agreed. No tears were shed from either side as we pulled out of their driveway.
My errand was to get to the music store to buy the next level of books for one of my piano students. Usually I just call and have them mailed, but I really wanted to see what was new. Not only did I find a different book for Hannah, but left with a few things for myself. I hadn't added to my repertoire in quite some time. As I was making my final glance over the sheet music, the store clerk brought the new Lorie Line Heritage Collection book to my attention. Thinking I was going to buy it sometime anyway and they needed the business more than Amazon, I added the book to my total as well. I stopped short at the "excellent used" grand piano in the back. $10,000 is a bit over the budget of a piano teacher with two students.
It just so happened that I am playing piano for mass this Sunday. I fill in about once a month when our organist is out of town. For the past several months, I have pretty much been winging it. (Some Sundays this is more obvious than others.) With my children, it is difficult for me to get a good practice in. Usually Landen is on the high notes, Nathan picks up the bass, and they love playing in a "band" with mom. I rarely sit down at the piano unless I am teaching lessons one hour a week.
When I opened the music envelope from our organist last night, I knew it would not be one of those familiar and easy Sundays. Linda had pulled out all the sharps and flats for this week. With the kids in bed I sat down to practice.
Then something wonderful happened. I had forgotten how much I liked to play. With no imminent interruptions, I actually took the time to try out a new piece. This morning I again sat down at the piano while just Teresa and I were home. She indicated nonverbally that she would play with her doll stroller as long as I wore the green and purple dragon hat on my head. I complied with her wishes and all was well. I remembered that I had purchased Lorie Line's previous Heritage Collection book and had not yet played anything from that either.
It was time again that I rediscovered the piano. Even when I don't use it for a long while, it is a skill I am always thankful to have been taught.

Pesto & Chicken Pasta

Finding this recipe on allrecipes.com was the result of being in a cooking rut a couple weeks ago. I had done just about everything one can do with hamburger. (Since we raise cattle, there is never a shortage of beef in the freezer.)
My basil was looking pretty healthy, so I thought a pesto dish might be good to try. I was happily surprised when everyone liked it! The only problem was I had to wait for my basil to grow so I could make it again. I was able to pick enough leaves this afternoon, so we will be having this again tonight.
You can use any pesto sauce. Since I wanted to use my basil, I found a recipe for homemade pesto to use instead. I have not had the pasta with the sun-dried tomatoes, but included it since it was in the original recipe. Enjoy!

Pesto & Chicken Pasta

1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta, boiled & drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, fully cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips
1/2 cup pesto sauce

Boil pasta & cook chicken seperately. Then mix all ingredients listed above together & heat until warm.

Pesto Sauce

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup chopped almonds (may also use walnuts or pine nuts)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put all but olive oil in food processor. Pour olive oil into processor while chopping the mixture until the consistency is what you prefer.

Rough Re-entry

I am afraid I am going through "Grandma Detox" just like the kids after a weekend away. Yesterday I buzzed from task to task, but never did feel much of a sense of accomplishment. Instead, I felt like I was forgetting to do something more important. Even with the boys gone with Dad & Grandpa for most of the day, I had peace in the house, but did not feel it. I should be happy to be home after being away so many days in a row, but I still want to go somewhere else. Maybe it is because I had looked forward to last weekend so much and now it is over. I suspect it has something to do with being within the Sioux Falls city limits and not having time to stop at Hobby Lobby.
I think I needed more of a gradual re-entry into the Melius farm atmosphere. We weren't home five minutes on Monday before David was heading out to spray the crops and I was weeding the garden. The kids zig-zagged through the yard like little muddy bouncy balls after their long road trip and I was counting the hours until bedtime.
Today David will be able to put in another long day spraying fields. That is good for him, but a VERY long day for me. Our refrigerator is resembling its state in David's bachelor days (minus the fermenting orange juice), so I am trying to think of something fun to incorporate with a grocery run. We could go to the pool, but that wouldn't be until late this afternoon. I do not have enough milk or patience to make it that long. Maybe a trip to the park will do. With a stop for ice cream on the way home. For the kids, of course.

Fun 4th

I feel a bit jet lagged today, even though I have only been traveling the countryside in a minivan and never crossed a single time zone. It feels like Monday, even though it is Tuesday. I also think it feels much later in the morning than 9am.
We had a most wonderful weekend in Leola. Our family's float and "Rhubarb Queen Wannabes" entry (my mom & 2 aunts) won the Most Humorous Entry. I did not get a picture of them all, but do have one of my mom, sister, and me together.



We threw hundreds and hundreds of Mardi Gras beads. The float was covered when we started and by the end we were dismantling the decorations to make sure every kid in the crowd got one. On the last turn, one of my uncles turned and shouted, "Take everything off!" Then he quickly specified what he meant. I was telling my sister & brother in law that if we would have had to start throwing clothes, everyone would probably be lined up at the end of the parade next time. They thought either that or everyone would be sure to be at the BEGINNING. :o)
Spending the two days in Leola was much like being home again. I spent a lot of time there with my grandparents growing up. I went to so many weddings at the Catholic church and dances at the Legion hall that I once thought I would have my wedding there as well. (When the time came, it was much more practical to have our wedding in my actual home church and town of Eureka.) I lived there part-time after my freshman year in college when I babysat my newborn cousin and helped my grandma after she broke her heel. I lived with my grandparents as I student taught HS English at Leola HS during my last semester of college. I have so many wonderful memories there, when life was double orders of french fries at the cafe after Saturday night mass, falling to sleep at Grandma & Grandpa's house, and preparing for my teaching career and forthcoming wedding. I will always be thankful for the happy times I've spent in Leola--my second home town.
On Sunday we traveled down to MN to our niece's 2nd birthday party. We had a beautiful afternoon to visit and play outside. It truly was the "icing on the cake" for the weekend. David chose this Barbie trike for her and even assembled it at the party. What a nice uncle! I have to say he is getting pretty efficient at assembling pink toys! Happy Birthday to Lily today--our family's 7/7/07 baby!

Bonus Post

OK, so I lied. I am going to post tonight. We came home so the kids could go to bed at a decent time, but it's only 9:14pm and I'm not tired yet.
We really had a great time in Leola today. The boys can check off pony and tractor-pulled trolley rides off their list as well as a surprise--an intricate model train display a few blocks from my grandparents' house. We visited twice today and I am sure will make an appearance again tomorrow! Teresa was very good, aside from clingy as all of the extra people there were a little overwhelming. The float is built and ready for the parade tomorrow. David even surprised us and joined us for awhile this evening.
Tomorrow is the 4th of July. For the past 3 years, the 4th of July is a day I personally celebrate my Nathan. As I've written before, July 4, 2005 was very scary for David and myself as the amnio test results we had done were still days away. I did my best to enjoy our time at our neighbors' lake cabin, but I couldn't help but wonder if our second child would be alright. As we can now see from his independent spirit and beautiful blue eyes, he sure is!
Every 4th of July since then, I thank God for Nathan, and all of our children. If there is nothing critical weighing on my mind, I thank Him not only for placing me in this free country, but also for the freedom from worry--if only for the day. May you have a wonderful 4th tomorrow celebrating this country's freedoms and all of the other freedoms in your life.

Quick Super Nachos

My friend Cathy requested that I share my recipe for Quick Super Nachos. Since I don't have much else to share, I thought tonight would be a good time for another recipe post. It might even be a good meal for this weekend if you find yourself having to cook and don't want to put forth much effort.

Quick Super Nachos
Mix 1 can Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup and about 1/2 can milk (more or less depdending on the consistency you prefer). Heat over Med-Low heat until warm.
Meanwhile, brown 1 lb ground beef and mix with 1 packet taco seasoning.
Pour a bag of tortilla chips into a 9x13 pan. Cover chips with taco meat, cheese soup mixture, and the taco toppings of your choice. This can be an excellent place to hide some fresh veggies.
This always goes over well at our house because the kids love having chips for their main course. I think it is especially yummy after the chips get just a little soggy from the cheese sauce.
Enjoy and have a safe & fun July 4 weekend! Our family fun starts tomorrow, so I probably won't post again until after the weekend.

Weighed Down Part 2

I just have to update that the lawn mowing went very well. Everytime I reappeared from behind the trees, I could see all three of them playing nicely together. The one time they did disappear for a few minutes, they all came walking back outside eating Ice Pops. They were just so cute & proud of themselves.
So, perhaps the days of getting a babysitter to mow lawn or having a rider are coming to an end.
Life is getting better all the time.

Weighed Down

Some days I am very jealous of David. He gets to leave the house and do his job without worrying about what his three little children are going to be up to. I would say he does it without interruption, but I know he has his own set of interrupters--implement dealers, implement problems, etc. Still, some days I really look forward to the day when I can just go somewhere or do something simple without making several calls to find a babysitter or loading up three carseats to take them along with me. For example, today I have to figure out how to mow the lawn while making sure all three kids are safe playing in the yard. Our yard is quite big, and they are not always visible from where I will be. Call me overprotective, but I just don't look forward to that at all.
Yesterday I got my haircut. For most people, getting a haircut is a minor event, barely even noticeable on their monthly planners. For me, this necessity requires many steps of planning. First, there is asking David if he can take the boys with him. (I have found that Teresa does just fine going to the salon with me. It must be a girl thing.) If he can, I must continue to remind him of our aggreement up until the time I drive out of the yard. If he cannot, I must call friends and family to see who can watch the kids for about an hour while I get my split ends trimmed. My usual contacts are my friend Kelly and aunt-in-law Phylis, one or the other who can usually help me out.
Calling for babysitters is really not one of my favorite things to do. Every once in awhile, David will come in the house and say, "Find a babysitter and we'll go to a movie tonight." Although I always LOVE the thought of a movie, finding a babysitter is many times easier said than done. After I make a couple of fruitless calls, I resign myself to wine & popcorn together in front of a DishNetwork movie. David accuses me of not really wanting to go out at all. Really, I am just tired of the rejection.
I must say that am very thankful for my parents-in-law and aunt & uncle in-law who live 20 miles away. They help us out often, especially during the school year when I need a fill-in sitter to help out with my drama coaching job. Many times when the boys go over to help Dad or Grandpa, I know they end up in the house having chocolate or strawberry milk and playing farm with Grandma. All of those instances help me out immensely. Still, I try not to call too often, lest my wonderfully behaved children wear out their welcome.
Yesterday as I was at the quilt shop choosing fabric for Teresa's birthday quilt, I told the owner that I couldn't wait to start attempting some of the beautiful projects they had on display. A mother with two grown sons, she assured me that it goes very fast. Honestly, I can already see that happening. When I think that Landen will be in school for 13 years and then realize how fast the past 8 years of married life have gone, I know it will not seem long at all until he graduates high school.
Thus, the constant struggle of a mom--wanting to do life's simple tasks without being weighed down, but realizing that these precious days of having my little chicks safe in their nest really are fleeting.