Spring Sprang

It happens every year.  Spring suddenly sprang and here we are trying to play catch up.  I thought the toughest years were those with little babies and endless diapers, but I think perhaps I was wrong.  At least during that time I had control of the narrative.  I could control most of our schedule, doctor's appointments, play time and the like.  The only wild card I had was chasing around my husband, which admittedly is more than enough.  

These days we have school, field trips, three baseball teams with three different schedules, being a hired man for my husband, piss poor secretary and trying (failing) to keep house.  

The diaper days were 'easier'.  Or at least more focused.

Lunches with Grandpa are priceless.

One of our many 'homeschool' days. 

Cousin love.  These two are 20 days apart and thick as thieves.

Lunch on the go.

First spring show of the year. 
6:20am and everyone is loving life!

I love when someone else is kind enough to till my garden. 
He's not quite big enough to do it by himself but this was a nice learning experience.

Who knew tomato cages could be so much fun?!

Wordless Wednesday

 Alternate title: WHY I CANNOT ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING IN A TIMELY MANNER

Changes to Everything... and Nothing

Life seems a bit surreal at the moment, doesn't it?  I read the news about this pandemic and my chest tightens and I feel anxious and then I finally must shut off the television, shut off the computer and shut off my phone.  You can make yourself crazy and overwhelmed with all the madness.

Then I look out the window to our reality.

The grass is greening up.

Flowers are sprouting up.

Baby calves are being born.

Feed pickups still run feed routes.

Our kids are filthy muddy from playing outside.

We still drive down to skip rocks in the creek.

The wind still howls over the hills.

The laundry is still here.

The sun still rises.

We still make our beds every morning.

We still say our prayers every night before bed.

So yes, in some ways everything has changed.  In some ways, nothing has.

One Thing

Do you ever have a day where you'd like to accomplish ONE TASK from start to finish within a reasonable time frame?  This is becoming one of my loftier goals in life these days it seems.

Yesterday morning I had the kids loaded up in the car and driving to town 30 miles away at a fairly early hour.  We drove 10 miles down the road before John decided to throw up all over himself and the car seat.  This caused us to turn around and drive back home.  I called into the meeting on my phone, turned on the speakerphone (and most importantly the MUTE button) and proceeded to shower my child and tear his car seat apart all while listening to great ideas from the group during their meeting.

Later that morning I walked outside to check on my other kids to realize I had a pile of puke-covered clothes lying in the driveway that I hadn't touched yet. Anther chore to get to.  While trying to carry those into the house very gingerly my phone rang... a neighbor needed me to run BVD snap tests on some new cattle he just got in.  No problem, we'll add that to the list.  I went into my super-duper fancy lab (aka utility room) to set up my supplies but remembered that I can't run snap tests until I switch around loads of laundry.  You see, the top of my washing machine also doubles as my lab workspace.  Not a problem.  I set down the puke covered clothes in a pile on the floor while the first load of laundry finished and moved onto another task.

I moved into my office area and started calling businesses and ordering supplies.  I called the vet supply man and ordered things I needed for next week.  Called the vet clinic and asked for health papers to be written so the men could ship cattle first thing the next morning.  Sent off all needed info to the clinic and waited.  While the fax machine was ringing and the health papers were being sent through I heard a knock on the door... the neighbor with the snap tests.  I bounded through the house, answered the door and spoke with the neighbor for a whopping 30 seconds while he laughed at the hot mess he had encountered.  Boys wrestling (how do they have energy after being sick?!), my daughter riding her trike right through the middle of them, and everyone yelling at the top of their lungs.

I took the snap tests inside to run.... only to be hit with an awful stench of puke covered clothes that needed to be washed.  I had to switch around laundry before I could do anything else.  Added the clean clothes to a mountain that was already on my bed.  I like to put my laundry there as it FORCES me to actually fold it and not just let it lie on the couch for 1-3 business days.  So I got the laundry switched around and just started to lay out supplies for the snap tests.  A child came into the house to complain about being hungry.  I looked down at my watch and, sure enough, time for lunch.... or 30 minutes past the normal time.  Whoops!  I made lunch for them and an extra bologna sandwich for myself.  While they ate at the kitchen table I ran snap tests at my washing machine and occasionally leaned over to grab a bite of sandwich off the plate sitting on the dryer.

My husband walked in the house and needed a ride out to the field to get a baler and tractor.  No problem.  I got the kids loaded up, grabbed the last of my tests that needed to finish 'cooking', and proceeded to drive everyone to the field.  I looked down at the console of my vehicle to check the tests and, sure enough, one was positive.  While my husband and one kid loaded up in the tractor I stayed behind in the field momentarily to text two neighbors about the sick calf I had just discovered through the test.

We got home in time to strip everyone down to their underwear - my daughter so she could take her afternoon nap and the boys so they could play with waterguns outside.  I spent the next nearly two hours trying to play catchup.  Cleaning up after lunch, folding laundry, paying a bill or two, scrubbing the curdled milk mess off the straps of the carseat, etc.  My husband walked in the house when there was still 30 precious minutes of naptime to be had.

"Let's go haul hay before it starts to rain."

Yes, let's.  That sounds like fun.  I had a list of sarcastic comments running through my head but kept my mouth shut. I filled a water bottle, grabbed a bag of animal crackers and threw clothes on all three kids in a hurry.

For the next nearly 2 hours I drove a pickup and hay trailer around, chasing my husband on the tractor who kept giving me bales.  The boys and I would drop them off at the hay yard and drive back to Wesley and Kathryn who would then load us up again.  John was tired as he was the kid who had been sick that morning.  Bouncing around in the field got the best of him and he proceeded to fall asleep with his head on my lap.  His drool was warm and uncomfortable on my leg but I could tell his little body appreciated the respite.

We arrived back home a bit after our normal supper time.  I quickly heated up some chicken nuggets, threw some fruits and veggies on the plate and called it a sufficient meal.  Then jammies, prayers and off to sleep.

*****

A few weeks ago I complained to my husband that I felt like I had cinder blocks on my feet.  By the end of the day I physically was unable to move any more and I had diagnosed myself (courtesy of WebMD) as having low thyroid levels.

I called the doctor's office and spoke with the nurse who agreed perhaps we should test my blood levels and 'oh by the way did you know you haven't been to the doctor since you had your last baby over two years ago'.  Whoops, my bad.

As I sat on the edge of the exam table in my little dressing gown the next week I explained to the doc that day how I was so tired these days and what was wrong with my body?  She knows our family pretty well at this point, and she giggled.  "That's life with three kids that are always with you and a husband and a farm.  I'm guessing your thyroid is fine."  Touché.

Not all days are quite so hectic, but days like that certainly make me thankful for mornings like this one where I can listen to a thunderstorm outside while sipping my coffee and letting the kids sleep in an extra ten minutes.  Today, my goals are simple.  Today, I would like to accomplish just one thing from start to finish in a reasonable amount of time.  Wish me luck.

A Review: Norwex Laundry Soap

Within the past year I have become acquainted with the Norwex brand of cleaning products.  Have you heard of them?  If not, you should.  They are pretty awesome.  

My friend Stephanie is a Norwex independent sales consultant.  Recently, she ran a promotion and asked for guinea pigs willing to try Norwex products for free, as long as we agreed to write a review of the product.  She had me at free.  My favorite four letter F word (now that I'm out of college and a mother).  

Here's the long and the short of their laundry detergent: I love it.

She sent me a little, quart size plastic baggie of detergent.  There couldn't have been more than 1 cup of detergent in the baggie.  I made a mental note that I would write a review as soon as the detergent had been all used up.  Problem is, I'm still working on using that little bag.  I use one TEASPOON of detergent per load to get my clothes clean.  That's right, folks.  Teaspoon.  The littlest scoop in your kitchen utensils.  

I have used this powder on darks and could not detect any fading or residue left behind like I feel sometimes happens when using a powder.  Also, I feel like the detergent did a great job on Wesley's dirty work jeans.  I must admit, though, that I cheated on the super-sized load of work jeans and I put in two teaspoons of detergent.  Whew.  Glad I got that off my chest. 

Overall I have been nothing but pleased with this product and would highly recommend it to others.  To place an order, please look Steph up on Facebook:  Stephanie Huser: Norwex Independent Sales Consultant.  

Over the past few months I have ordered other products from her, including: a dusting mitt, window cleaning cloth and enviro cloth (for general cleaning).  

Company coming over in 30 minutes?  I grab my handy-dandy dusting mitt and do a quick once-over on all my bookshelves.  I'm not sure why I feel the need to have my furniture dusted when there is a sink full of dirty dishes in the kitchen, but there are my priorities.  Wood > food. 

The window cleaning cloth has restored my faith in the entire cleaning process.  All those conversations I normally have in my head as I grumble about stupid cleaning tasks like cleaning mirrors and windows are gone.  Why am I doing this if no one can tell the difference afterwards?  Which is worse - a clean window with streaks or a dirty window with rain spots?  The window cleaning cloth + water = magic.  No spots, no streaks.

The enviro cloth is a great general cleaning rag for counter tops and table tops I've found.  Yes, there are still times when I bust out paper towels and bleach after cutting chicken and some drops fall off the cutting board, but in between those times this is the cloth I reach for. 

There you have it, folks.  Norwex - good stuff. (I'm in the process of trademarking that phrase so don't y'all steal it.)