Homecoming 2013

Last week's Homecoming festivities culminated (for our family anyway), with the always exciting Homecoming parade.  The Homecoming parade is one of those small-town traditions that I love.  I always have since I was a little girl on my class float, and even more when I was marching in the EHS band. 

 

Now it's our kids' turn to take part in the parade.  It had everything we needed.  A good looking and sounding band.  Just enough parade entries.  More than enough candy.  Even with just one candy catcher on the curb, we got more than we can eat before next 4th of July!

 

 

 

Follow up Friday

Time to follow up on a few experiments!

First of all, the diapers in the bottom of the hanging basket--flop.  They still dried up just as before.  The diapers, however, did capture the water.  I meant to take a photo, but I dumped them out before I thought of it.  Imagine completely dry flowers in drier dirt.

Second, the homemade toilet cleaner--meh.  It seemed to clean well enough, and I still like that the kids can use it, but I had a problem with the baking soda staying at the bottom of the squeeze bottle.  It worked the first few times to shake it, but after that it was stuck.  I might have to research another concoction, or just bottle up some dish soap, water, and vinegar for in-between scrubbings.

And, finally, I discovered that a generous splash of homemade vanilla is fabulous in homemade applesauce! 

Anything else you have been wondering about? 

Let me know and I'll follow it up!

Happy Friday.

Bilingual baby

Last night as we were listening to Rachel talk in her baby language, Nathan said,
"I think she is going to be a Spanish baby." 

I thought that was funny and explained that babies learn the language they hear.  Unfortunately for my babies, English is the only language they learn from me.  They have two aunts who are Spanish speakers, so maybe they will be fortunate pick up a little from them as they grow!

No, I don't think Rachel is bilingual, but she does have her own language for some things.  Shoes are still "Ah-boo."  One word that is always recognizable is "poop" and is always said after the fact.  I still consider this a blessing, however, as none of the others ever seemed to care what was in their diapers!  Maybe she will be trained before she is three, but I'm not making any predictions yet!

Soybean Harvest

 

We moved onto our soybean fields today!

So far so good.

It's always great being able to watch the combine from our window, even if it's just for a few hours in that field!

 

Rachel and I were going to go out and ride, but she decided a nap was a little more important.  I agreed.  I'm not sure what's up with her little attitude the past couple of days . . . are the 2's sneaking up on us?  :) 

 

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich with Daddy hit the spot tonight!

 

 

 

Over a month!

I can't believe we have been back to school for over a month. 

And, no, I still have not decorated for fall.  Sad, sad, sad. 

I've been more in organizing mode than decorating mode this past month.  The bathroom project will be done as soon as we get cabinets.  The good news is we DO have a second toilet once again.  Soon a second shower will follow. 

I've painted the girls' new room (current guest room) and their bunk beds should be arriving in a few weeks.  Then I will re-paint Teresa's room and change it back to the guest room!  Yes, we do like moving within our walls, and it's time to shake it up again! 

Rachel has discovered that if she had just a bit more momentum, she could step on my desk and propel herself out of her crib.  As soon as she works up the physical strength, she will be outta there.  She's probably doing chin ups right now.  Hurry up, bunk beds!

Before school started, I declared that nap time was returning to the Melius household and I would be partaking, but I've only taken a nap one afternoon.  (And then an unidentified someone called and woke me up without leaving a message . . . and I remembered why naps can be so frustrating.)

My naptime is always full of something . . . painting, Dakotafire, working outside, watching Rachael Ray.  The important things in life!

Now with harvest, our days are pretty much up in the air.  It's a good thing "flexible" is practically Rachel's middle name.  She just goes with the flow, and preferably that flow takes her to the combine or TRAC-TOR! 

We are always happy to see the Big 3 return from the school bus and we are busy again for the hours in between school and bedtime.  Thankfully, since their days are long anyway, none of them have had much homework. 

This week is Homecoming Week, which is always a fun break from the normal routine.  I'm thankful that the dress-up days are all easy this year.  I haven't had to scrounge up any pirate eye patches or anything else I generally don't have in my inventory!  Friday will bring the big parade and more CANDY!  (We already made quite a haul at the Schmeckfest Parade on Saturday!)   

And, so, that is what our life has entailed this past month.  It's been good.  No complaints from anyone. 

That's the key, I think.  To realize when it's good.

And be thankful for the good times.

Real apple pie

Landen requested a "real" apple pie this fall. 

 

A real apple pie (no canned filling allowed, only sliced apples will do), is something I also love, but don't make often.

 

 Tonight we made one COMPLETELY from scratch--crust and everything!  We admit it wouldn't win any beautiful pie contests, but it would sure be in the running for best tasting pie!

 

Got your PJs???

Here is a friendly reminder that September is CRANIOSYNOSTOSIS AWARENESS MONTH. :)

And, yes, I am still so very excited about what the Cranio Care Bears are doing for cranio children all over the world, though prayer, emotional support and sending care packages to these precious little ones. 

Cranio Care Bears are having a nationwide pajama drive through the end of September to give to babies and children undergoing craniosynostosis surgeries.  Front-closing pajamas are especially important in the weeks after surgery to avoid irritating their ear to ear incisions. 

I have been wondering for several days how I could best help the cause, and today Cranio Care Bears made it easy for me, and all of us who can help! 

A gift registry has been set up on Amazon.  For as little as $5.49 (+ shipping), you can order and send a pair of front-closing pajamas to a baby or child would would LOVE to receive them. 

http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3GB5RQBUMY6OP/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ws_7fLosb01ZN7H3

For more information on the non-profit Cranio Care Bears and the pajama drive, you can visit www.craniocarebears.org.

Apple love

 

 

 This just happens to be post #873.  Crazy, huh? 

 

Of all these posts, it seems most of my readers love the one about Crock Pot Applesauce the best.  I first posted it in 2010, after our family tried it for the first time.  It is now a yearly staple in our house.  I have five batches done and more apples coming tomorrow.  We eat it fresh until we can't eat anymore and I freeze the rest in quart freezer bags. 

 

I love apple and pumpkin season. 

 

I wasn't ready to embrace fall this year like I usually am.  It's over halfway through September and I only have one fall decoration up in my house.  (I usually decorate more for fall than for Christmas.)  I still love the season, but the summer was just so fun I didn't want to move on!!

 

But, the apples eased me into it. 

 

The smell of simmering cinnamon apples, a cool overcast day, and soup for supper.

 

Ah, yes. 

Welcome back, fall. 

 

You are the most beautiful and delicious of seasons.

Kitties

 

I had just waved goodbye to the big kids this morning and started washing the sticky oatmeal bowls before they got too out of hand.  (Yes, I am surviving without the dishwasher, but its presence is still missed.) 

 

As I was looking out the window, I saw our dog Callie carry something to the lawn that I supposed was a diaper from the junk barrel.  I made a mental note to pick it up later. 

 

Then she dropped it and I saw her bundle was not a diaper--it was a kitten.

 

Have I mentioned that I'm not a particularly big cat lover?  Well, I'm not, but I'm not going to let my dog maul one nor am I going to leave it for dead.  I picked it up and it had been injured on its leg, either by Callie or by something else.  I brought it in the house, put it in a laundry basket bed, sprayed its leg with wound spray that I had from Callie's last injury, and showed Rachel her new friend.

 

Just as I was showing David my discovery, we looked out and saw Callie was bringing ANOTHER kitten up to the house!  She dropped it, but even though the mother cat was within feet of it, she wouldn't take it back.

 

So, to Rachel's delight, she now had 2 new friends to play with!

 

The boys modified our little dog house for them tonight and we've been feeding them.  They have moved out to the barn.  I don't know if the one with the hurt leg will make it, but we tried. 

 

Farm cats come and go, but we do our best to make their time here as comfortable as possible.

 

See?

 

 

We're thinking this previously wild cat wishes he had stayed that way.  :) 

And our journey continues . . . .

 

 

Craniosynostosis Awareness Month

 

Here is something I wasn't AWARE of until just a few days ago . . .

September is Craniosynostosis Awareness Month!

 

In just a few days, Rachel will be 10 months out from surgery.  I am thankful EVERY day that our surgery is behind us, but I've still been wondering how I can help someone else going through this.  Believe me, it really stinks when your doctor tells you your baby has something he hasn't seen in 18 years of practicing medicine.  Thankfully, miraculously, three people I know had friends or family with experience with it.  I am thankful for all of them, and others, for sharing their experiences with us as we traveled on our journey.   

 

Cranio parents and babies have one huge thing on their side.  The condition is not life threatening, and the surgery carries risks of way below 1%.  (Remember me clinging to that promise from our Dr. last summer?) 

 

But, that also is a difficult part.  The risks, however small, are very, very real when you are talking about your smiling baby on your lap.  And the only way out is a 6+ hour long surgery (or a less-invasive surgery with a helmet for a year if it is caught early enough and parents desire that route.)   

 

About 1 in 4,000-5,000 babies is born with craniosynostosis.  Some are diagnosed at birth and some are a few or more months old, like Rachel was.  One or more sutures may close early.  About 80% of craniosynostosis cases are not considered genetic.  (We enrolled Rachel in a study to see if she can help her doctors figure this out.) 

 

 

 

The same night I learned about Cranio Awareness Month, I found this amazing organization:

 

 

The group was founded by two moms of cranio babies.  They send care packages and support all over the world to parents and babies undergoing surgery, 50-60 packages a month!  They accept monetary donations, of course, but also items that they could include in a package, including baby care, socks, hats, toiletries, snacks for parents, etc.  They are based out of Washington state--their address for donations is on their website. 

Their Facebook page is FILLED with love and prayers for these babies and their parents, those waiting for surgery, recovering, or celebrating their "cranioversaries"!

 

I am so excited about this cause. 

 

I just wish I knew how to knit hats and booties.

 

Our family faced craniosynostosis, and thankfully as most can, Rachel and we can move past it with nothing more than a scar.   

 

Now it's time for us to help someone through it, to tell them what I so desperately needed to hear last summer,

 

"She'll be fine."

 

www.craniocarebears.org

 

 



A long, long time ago

File this under, "You can't make this stuff up."

This morning, Nathan asked me, "Was Goliath killed when you were little?"

"No," I answered.  "That was a long time before I was born."

"Were you alive when God walked the earth?"

"No, that was a long time before any of us were alive."

"When was that, then?  The 1960's?"

Facing adversity

Several years ago when her two sons were young, and mine were a little younger, I was chatting with my Aunt Paulette on the phone. 

At one point in our conversation, she shared with me that their dishwasher had stopped working.

My reaction was one of horror and extreme sympathy for their unimaginable plight.

She told me wryly, "Families have overcome greater adversity."

And then I laughed realizing how ridiculous I must have sounded.

Now it's our family's turn for this plight--this little bit of adversity.  Darn it!

With a kitchen remodel in view, our dishwasher has decided that enough is enough. 

David purchased it in 2000, after the previous one stopped working.  He didn't plan on replacing it right away, since it was just him living here, but it only took a few days for him to run out of dishes.  He gave me a call and we were on a date dishwasher shopping. 

As I've told you before, there are very few 13 year old dishwashers still working out there . . . and now, unfortunately, ours is no longer among that number.  I've cleaned out the crud, run some vinegar through it . . . all the old tricks that kept it limpling along before, but it doesn't seem to want to come out of it this time.  I understand.  Cleaning up after this family can be exhausting. 

We never had a dishwasher in our house growing up (a convenience my parents invested in after their child labor left the house), and I didn't have one in my college apartment, either.

But, it only took me one day after becoming Mrs. Melius and moving into this house to know that I never wanted to be separated from that wonderful applicance.  Ever.  Again.  Add in four more little people using dishes and our bond became stronger than ever.  I knew this day was coming.  I was just hoping it would wait until its replacement had arrived.

I suppose families have--and will--overcome greater adversity, but I would still appreciate a little sympathy for this unfortunate situation that has befallen our family.

And for my dry, rough dishpan hands.

Labor Day Sunday-Monday

Landen celebrated his birthday from beginning to end and he can now build his own train track.  He's been busy getting the wiring and set up just right.  I wouldn't know where to begin.  He must take after his dad!

 

 Thank you to Katie for a couple of these photos.  The cousins all played so well together.  Two-year-old Avery told her mom, "I'm going to be crabby when all of these cousins go home."  :)

Tuesday?

I'm so confused.  It has been Monday to me all day.

We returned last evening from a fun couple of days in Brookings at David's brother John and Jodi's house.  It is our Melius family tradition.  Add in a night of "camping" at the only campground I like - Holiday Inn Express - and it was pretty great. 

It doesn't matter if we are gone one day or six . . . the day back is always catch up day. 

My little job with Dakotafire (which I still love) took me quite awhile this afternoon, so pictures from the weekend will just have to wait.

But, while you're waiting . . ., have you visited Dakotafire.net lately?  You should.  There's lots of good stuff going on there - stories and information relating to agriculture and rural life for readers of all ages.  Dakotafire Cafe, on the website, offers a place to voice opinions and earn points for prizes.  You get bonus points if you find the photo of my big 3 kids on the site.  (Well, not really . . . .)  You can also subscribe to Dakotafire magazine if you do not already receive it in your local newspaper. 

So, tomorrow is really Wednesday?

I could use another day to catch up! :)

10 years ago . . .

In the early morning hours of Labor Day 2003, I was (appropriately) in labor. 

At 5:37am, we were blessed with the best gift God had ever given us -- a healthy newborn son with red hair and huge hands.  He was a good natured baby who would soon bless us with seeing his beautiful smile. 

We named him Landen Joachim Melius. 

 

Landen has brought so much joy to our lives.  His has been "talking" since he could make noise and has always loved John Deere like his dad and grandpas.  He loves to read, study maps, and is happiest helping on the farm.

 

Since Landen is our first born, he is our guinea pig, our first pancake . . . the one who gets to experience everything first -- the good and the bad.  So far, he's done alright with this!

 

When Landen was 2 years, 2 months and 2 days old (no, we didn't plan it that way), he became a big brother for the first time.  He is now a big brother three times over and is a great example to his younger siblings. 

10 years hardly seems possible! 

 

Happy Birthday, Landen!  We love you SO much!