New Browser

This post is mainly to see how things work in the new browser I'm trying... Google Chrome. For some reason, Internet Explorer won't post my blogs. I can view, compose, etc., but it won't post. I've told you before about Paul and I's separate browsers, and I hear over and over about how crappy Internet Explorer is (I'm starting to agree), so.... I'm trying something new. I figured Blogger is a Google site, Chrome is a Google browser, so..... They should work pretty well together.

Meanwhile, enjoy some pictures.

We have kittens. 5 of them. Please find a new home for them.

Three of them are yellow. The yellow ones are all "Milo" to Nathan and Jacob, even though 2 of them are girls. ("Joyce" is the white one, and Nathan has yet to come up with a name for the gray one.)

This is from our Independence Day party.... On the 2nd. Nathan saw all the guns and had to go get his gun. Every time they started shooting, he'd start shooting, too. From the hip, of course. He's that good.

Jacob and Grandpa watched the shooting.

Rock stars.

2011 Harvest Hitchhiking, Part 1. Helping Mr. LaGalle with his wheat harvest across the road.

Earlier this month, I heard little footsteps go across the floor after lights out. Later when I went up to check on them, this is what I found.

My summer is complete when these flowers bloom. I love my pink gladiolas - they made it through the awful winter, even though I didn't dig them up like you're supposed to.

Jacob's Speech Assessment

My house was invaded on my birthday by two workers from the local Infant-Toddler Program. I spent the two days beforehand cleaning furiously, because I equate a visit with this government-funded agency with another government-funded agency (SRS). (You know they'd report me if they thought I was neglecting or endangering him/them!)
It turns out all my cleaning was for naught, because they didn't even set foot inside. The boys were playing outside, so they just sat at the picnic table to observe him.
Even though I didn't really want them there in the first place, I don't think they did a good job of observing him. We watched him from 20+ feet away as he played on the swing, slide, and sandpile. I answered a bunch of questions about him - all truthfully - but they didn't really do much up-close observation and interaction.
They use a method called AEPS, and it has a scoring system based on how I answer their questions. He has to score below "10" to qualify for "intervention", and he scored 11. I think they also said he had to be delayed in 2 areas in order to qualify. So, like I thought, he is behind, but there's not anything they can do about it.
Basically, they told me to keep doing exactly what I'm doing. Lots of repetition, reading, interacting, and try signing if he gets frustrated (which he is not interested in at all). They suggested I try strengthening his mouth and cheek muscles by making him use straws (with thicker liquids like yogurt and applesauce) and whistles.
I think I would be more worried if he were frustrated at all. But he just seems to not care. He's perfectly content using his "words" and sounds. We understand what he wants and needs. There's just too many more exciting things to do when you're 20 months old!

Overheard:

What kind of dog is Hercules?

He's a Herc-sky! [husky]

What a Crazy Week!

Paul took vacation last week - not to go anywhere, but to just stay home and relax. Which I turned into a "Now that you're home for more than two days in a row, I've got a bunch of projects for you...." vacation. And also a, "Well, if you're taking a vacation from work, then I am, too!" and was gone for most of two days having some much-needed girl time.
We did get a lot done. We tilled and weeded the garden (it had gotten out of control) and cleaned the shop (it was awful - we couldn't even pull both cars in, it was so full of crap!). Those two things were huge jobs on their own. We also expanded the boys' play set; this was phase two - next step being an actual playhouse.
I was gone most of Wednesday with my sister-in-law Elizabeth on a belated birthday trip. We went out to eat and went shopping, ending the day at Godiva Chocolatier (oh my....). The next day, Paul and I took the boys to eat pizza with my family, my grandparents, and my great aunt and uncle visiting from Chicago. The boys spent the afternoon at my parents' while my sister Lurenda took me to the mall to get a pedicure - a first for me, which I totally enjoyed. My best friend Brooke met me up there after Lurenda had to go, and Brooke and I did even more shopping, and went to see the movie Bridesmaids and went out to Chipotle afterwards. It was kind of a deluge of girl-time over two days, and not a whole lot of family time, but considering the last kid-free girl time I had was last October.... I don't feel too bad about it.
Paul was going to use his kid-free time on Thursday, while my mom was watching the boys, to get the yard mowed and weed-eatered (ate?). But the mower cracked a spindle in the middle of the job, and then the weed-eater wouldn't start. He was a little less than happy. We were able to borrow his dad's equipment to get our yard done before we had a party Saturday.
After having a bit of a stuffy/sneezy nose Wednesday and Thursday, I woke up Friday with a full-blown cold. This was not cool. We were having a party Saturday night, and the house was a complete disaster area. Paul's mom came over Friday night and helped me get my kitchen and dining room cleaned, and my mom came over Saturday morning to help me get some outside stuff done, and the bathroom cleaned. Mom and I picked beans, which Paul (with help from the boys) started snapping while Mom and I weeded some flower beds. Paul and I froze 6 gallons of beans (quart bags just aren't big enough for us anymore, since the boys have decided they like green beans) that afternoon before our guests arrived.
The last 5 years or so, we've had cookouts on our around Independence Day, depending on Paul's work schedule. We don't invite absolutely everyone we know (not that everyone's not welcome! we only have one bathroom, though. :P ), but they've gotten bigger and bigger each year. This year, we had over 60 people here! I thought it was a great party. I was a little uptight about how long the food was taking (we really needed two grills, or at least one big one), and totally wasn't tracking on some things (due to my cold), but after we ate and I could sit down, I enjoyed the evening. I didn't get to talk to some of our guests before they had to leave, though - the problem with a big crowd.
We have been shooting guns the last few years (what better way to celebrate?) and at one point I went out and there were 8 guns lined up shooting as the clays went into the air. (I had to laugh.... Eight guns, 3 clays in the air, and only 1 got hit. Tee hee!) Nathan had his little play gun out there - it was so funny. He'd hear them start shooting, and he'd start pulling the trigger on his.
It was supposed to be hotter than blazes, but thunderstorms popped up all around us. We never got the rain, but the clouds and breeze cooled things down. And we got a pretty amazing lightning show on the horizon behind where Paul and the guys were shooting off the fireworks. (Secretly, I was hoping it would rain us out. It's been two weeks since the last rain, with near-100 temps and hot wind ever since . The garden and crops are desperate.)
Now it's Monday, the real holiday, but it's back to real life for us. Paul has his normal 12-hour shift, I have bills to pay, a kitchen to clean, and two sleep-deprived, semi-sick kids to wrangle.
I'm taking a nap, though. The best cure for a sinus headache is unconsciousness.

Summer Cold

I hate summer colds.

And why do I get them only before parties?

Usually birthday parties, but this time before

an Independence Day party.

I'd feel pretty good

if I didn't feel like I had

an elephant sitting on my chest.

the end

Figures.

The one morning this week that I am not tired and stumbling around bleary-eyed, desperately clutching my coffee.... the boys actually sleep in.

It's 7:30. And this is the latest they've slept in by a half hour so far in a week.

I've spent the last hour+ wasting time on the internet, waiting to hear the patter of their feet across the floor upstairs. But, no.

I guess I should go clean the kitchen. (Which I JUST cleaned 12 hours ago, and it's a complete train wreck AGAIN.)

Toy Pile

At the time I looked at this pile of toys, it seemed huge to me - and it should, because that is every toy we own, except the outside balls, etc., and the wooden train tracks that are upstairs in the extra bedroom. I have no idea what Nathan was trying to do when he made this pile, which, before I took the picture, also included all their DVDs (in the truck and box), and all the downstairs books (board books).
And then I thought - you know, that's really not that bad. It's really not that many toys compared to some houses I've seen. I'm glad the boys can be happy with their toys. And most of those are second-hand. It just proves that "Kids don't need nearly as much as we'd like to give them."