Happy Halloween!

I will be the first to tell you that Halloween is my least favorite of all the holidays.  Even as a kid, I didn't enjoy trying to figure out what I was going to be and if I remember correctly, my Mom usually came up with something that we could both agree on and she would make it herself.  I was even a nun one year!  I don't like to be scared (never have and never will) and I think most now use the day as an excuse to dress inappropriately in fish net stockings. :) 
 
All that aside, I have kids now and Wyatt is old enough to understand that you can dress up, say trick or treat and candy magically appears in the bucket you hold out in front of you.  This year, Wyatt chose to be, wait for it..... drum roll........ a K-State football player!!!!!  I know, totally surprised those that know him.  I didn't mind one bit that he wanted to be this since we had the uniform already.  We took the kids to a trunk or treat at our church the night before Halloween and at the 11th hour he decided to pull out last year's fireman outfit but on Halloween, it was all K-State football.

My little Lorelai was a ladybug.  I found the costume ultra cheap on Craigslist and it is super nice and one she can wear next year (and will!).  I am not one who drags around a baby with a bag to collect candy they will never eat but it was fun to dress her up and just take her along for the ride.  She was mostly less than thrilled but we went with Mike and Wyatt until we got to our friend's house around the corner and then headed home and left the boys to trick and treat on their own. 

The day before Halloween headed to Resurrection's Trunk or Treat!

On Halloween ready to Trick or Treat!

 Halloween isn't complete without a jack o lantern so Mike and Wyatt made one out of the little pumpkins we had and it turned out pretty cute.  Wyatt also had the K-State pumpkin he won at his school's carnival a week ago.  That one will never go under the knife according to Wyatt so it may be around for next Halloween.  He pretty much loves the pumpkin so I don't know what is going to happen when it is time for it to go bye bye. 

I know there won't be many Halloweens like this.  With Wyatt wanting to be something nice and not scary and Lorelai peeking out from behind her ladybug antennae so I enjoyed the moment and let Wyatt eat an extra piece of candy.  The funny thing was, I think he had more fun handing the candy out to the other trick or treaters than eating it himself!  That's my kiddo!

Mike informed me that he wants to decorate the garage up next year.  Yippee.  I suppose that means the Darth Vader costume is coming back out of hiding.  He didn't wear it this year since Wyatt is scared of everything right now.  But, I have to let those who enjoy the day enjoy it.  Just don't scare me and be sure to tell me how cute the little ladybug is that I am holding and it will be a Happy Halloween!

Breathing Easy

Lorelai has had a tough go of it lately.  I had a cold, then Wyatt got it, then Lorelai.  That was 8 days ago.  About halfway through the last week we thought she was doing better.  Then it got markedly worse.  Of course I noticed because I was up most of the night with a kiddo that couldn't quit coughing.  So you run through everything in your head that the doctor/nurse will ask if you go in.  Fever - No.  Nasal discharge - No and what she has is clear.  Eating well - No too bad.  Lethargic - No.  So, I didn't take her in thinking she had a run of the mill cold and would be better tomorrow. 

Last night I was up yet again most of the night with her and the ugly cough.  So, because I don't like sleeping in a twin bed with a 3 year old (Wyatt and Lorelai share a room) so I could be close to her, I called the doctor.  They had me come in and the doctor stuck his stethoscope to her chest and promptly said, "You sound terrible."  To which Lorelai promptly started screaming.  It was quite funny.  He told her he didn't mean her to take it so personally but I don't think she cared much.  He had them bring in a breathing machine for a treatment and then listened to her again after a couple of minutes and voila!  Better!  I literally couldn't hear her actively breathing like before when every time she inhaled and exhaled she sounded rough.   I was so excited to have her breathing clearly! 

This brings us to the "diagnosis"  I use this loosely because it isn't exactly a diagnosis, more of a wait and see.  The doctor called it Reactive Airway Disease and said that if this keeps happening to her, she may have asthma.  He gave her this diagnosis for two reasons.  One, she has eczema.  Two, her Dad has asthma.  These two things are linked to a higher incidence of asthma.  From what I have read, it is very difficult to diagnose asthma in children before age 6 so Reactive Airway Disease is used for those who are showing symptoms like Lorelai but just can't be diagnosed. 

Lorelai now has an arsenal of meds to get her over this bump in the road.  I am hoping the breathing treatments and oral meds help her recover and with any luck, this will be the only episode she ever has.  My fingers are crossed.  I just want her to feel better and breathe easy.

Purple People

I bleed purple.  Of course this is a figure of speech but Kansas State runs pretty deep in me.  I grew up a Wildcat.  Both my parents graduated from KSU, it is actually where they met.  I don't remember them pushing us kids to like one team over another, it just happened I think.  My Mom tells me I attended my first KSU football game with I was just a few months old.  She said they just bundled me up under the bleachers!  Football was different then.  KSU was not good, not even close to good, so there were a lot of empty seats.  I can remember as a child going to games and running around in the empty stands on the south end of the stadium.  Like my parents, KSU is now my alma mater and I am so excited that my sister will graduate from there in May!

This brings us to my kids.  Like me when I was a kid, my son has an affinity for the Wildcats.  I suppose I have encouraged this and to tell you the truth, I love it and I don't care one bit.  He knows the words to the Fight Song, The Alma Mater and currently is trying to figure out the words to The Wabash Cannonball.  When I signed up Lorelai for the Born to be a Wildcat program, Wyatt truly thought she turned into a Wildcat.  We got a magnet in the mail of a baby Wildcat and the other day when he was moving it around on the fridge he told me he was moving Lorelai to the cabinet.  Pretty cute if I do say so.   Maybe if I am lucky I will have two kids who bleed purple!

On October 1st, I got to take Wyatt to his 3rd KSU football game.  It was Lorelai's first!

Lorelai in her purple and white tutu Grandma made her and Wyatt in his number 87 jersey!

Wyatt and Lorelai are getting to experience the games in a different manner than I did.  The stadium was packed, two loud jumbo trons blaring, thunderous roaring when something good happens.  And boy did they have fun!  Wyatt was in heaven (and so was I!).  He didn't know where to look first.  He was super excited to see the players come out of the tunnel and of course, loves the band.  Go tubas!  Then there is the matter of Willie the Wildcat.  He loves him...... from afar.  Doesn't like when he gets too close or he loses track of him! 

We went with my parents and my sister was there working for the athletic department. 

It was major fun!  After the game we took our time getting back to my sister's and Wyatt and Deetda played football in the grass at the agronomy building where we parked. 

Lorelai trying to eat Wyatt's helmet!

And he hasn't stopped playing since.  Just yesterday, he and his dad played in the yard for 3 hours!  He asks me all the time if he is a K-State football player and of course I say yes.  Then the other day he got the idea to pretend like he was running out of the tunnel from the side of our house.  Let's just say if you walk by the front of our house at any given time you will here me announcing number so-and-so, Wyaaaaaaaaaatt Sullenger!

I guess the purple mania is all my fault.  I am secretly hoping that Wyatt and Lorelai are 3rd generation Wildcats.  I know it is a ways off but a girl can dream, right?  Afterall, EMAW!!!!!

Big Week In A Little Life

Lorelai had a big week.  It just reminds me how fast they grow.  One minute she isn't crawling, the next her little legs are moving together and she is after something that caught her eye.  Monday, the 10th, my little baby girl started moving forward.  She became mobile and I became frozen.  Frozen in the moment watching her go.  It is absolutely amazing to be there to see it happen. 

Her favorite things to go after: Number one is definitely electrical cords.  She finds them in places I didn't know existed.  She loves her brother's Matchbox cars (yippee, tiny pieces in the mouth).  And lastly, the dog water bowl.  Why oh why can't any of her age appropriate chew toys be on this list?! 

Second big to do for the week, she can pull herself up on her knees and has done it once to her feet.  This happened two days after learning to crawl.  She didn't get my memo to SLOW DOWN!!!!!  So, today Mike lowered her baby bed so she can't topple out on her head. 

Last, she started eating finger food in her high chair.  I gave her some Gerber Puffs and she thought they were the best ever.  Until she finally got one in her mouth.  It went in and came flying back out.  So funny!  She isn't to happy about eating anything but her milk and oatmeal cereal so this isn't a big surprise but made Wyatt and I laugh.

So, this week has had some milestones and I know there are many more to come but I am trying to separate and enjoy each one.  We spend so much time with our first child excited for them to reach each moment.  The last child is different.  You want them to go about things slower because you know this will be the last time you get to experience a little life of yours doing something important for the first time.  So special......

Where Milk Comes From

I live in the city.  Well, on the edge of a city anyway, and this looks like where my kids are going to grow up.  Not in the rural setting I came from.  So, I have made a pact with myself.  My kids WILL know where their food comes from.  Today I was able to take Wyatt to a small local dairy to learn where his milk comes from.  Truth be told, I learned a few things too.  I grew up around cattle, not dairy cows and there is a pretty big difference in how the farms operate. 

I was so excited Wyatt would get to spend some time on the farm.  He watched them milk a cow, then feed some of the milk to a calf.  He thought the calf had a pretty funny tongue.  I think he was pretty amazed by all the milk they got out of that cow!

We also got to feed their chickens (Lorelai loved the baby chick that the lady showed her!), ducks, turkeys and watched her feed the baby pigs.  Then the fun part, the kids got to bottle feed a calf.  It was pretty cute.  Wyatt informed the lady he knew what he was doing because he feeds his sister.  She got a good laugh out of that one. 

They had a few items for the kids to play and crawl on and through and a great little hay maze that was more of a raceway for Wyatt than a puzzle. 

The baby pig races were pretty cute but his two favorite parts about the entire trip where.... drum roll.... the airplane play gym and the baby kittens!  We stayed for quite a while after everyone left and he must have carted one of the kittens around for 45 minutes while it clung to the front of his jacket.  It was so cute.  I can remember playing with the little farm cats and kittens as a kid.  Holding one just put a smile on my face.  I can't remember the last time I held a kitten! 

We had such a great time with everyone and Wyatt got to breathe some good country air for a morning.  And, he now knows where his milk comes from.  I can mark it off my Raising Kids Bucket List.  Now if only I could figure out how to sneak one of those kittens past my hunting dogs and my husband we would be in business!
 
Klausmeyer Dairy Farm

The Jersey

I have never been into the latest fashions, I hate doing my hair, mostly because it refuses to cooperate and I don't spend much time on makeup.  I didn't get the dress-me-up-and-make-me-look-pretty gene.  So, I never expected one of my kids to be this way.  No of course it isn't my daughter.  She is way too young to care what I dress her in.  It is my son.  My son LOVES wearing jerseys.  And he is even specific about which top goes with which bottom. More than once I have tried to pair certain shorts with a regular old t-shirt only to be told, "MOM, those go with my jerseys!"  In the heat of this past summer, my son almost every day wore a hot, unbreatheable jersey.  The only time he isn't in one is when they are all dirty and I haven't done the laundry.  He then very sadly asks me why all his jerseys are still dirty and I walk, head down, into the laundry room and start a load.  I pick my battles and this is one I don't want to mess with. 

It makes him immeasurably happy to wear a jersey.  Just look at the smile in this photo.  Ear to ear!  He knows the numbers that go on each and will ask for the specific one.  "Hey Mom?  Is my number 8 jersey dirty?"  He is currently getting worried because his number 1 jersey is getting too small.  It was a hand me down like most that we have and he is dreading the day it goes away.  We have certain places he can't wear them, like church, although church functions are just fine.  He gets to wear them to school, but I did feel the need to let his teacher know I wash them often for fear she would think he wears the same clothes every day.  I know when he is older, I am going to look back at his photos and laugh at the fact that in most every picture he is in, he is wearing a jersey.  Until then, I am just going to keep the washer running and maybe look for a good sale on jerseys. :)

On this Day

On this day, 10 years ago, I was in the Derby school district office turning in paperwork to become a substitute teacher.  The radio was playing as I waited and that was when I heard of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center.  I rushed home, turned on the tv and called my husband who was at work.  I was watching when the second plane hit.  I will never forget the exact angle that plane was banked.  The speed it traveled.  The fire.  I was in the middle of the country but it felt like it was happening in my backyard.  I didn't want to watch yet I couldn't take my eyes off of the dust.  The people.  The photos in my mind kept going back to the people falling, jumping.  All of the paper floating endlessly in the sky.  To this day, I still see it in my mind.  And I wasn't even there.  We live close to an air base and at times, the KC135s fly routes that as they bank to land, look remarkably similar to those planes that hit the towers and I have to look away.

Life changed for me that day.  Life was fragile and I saw it through my own eyes.  My husband was in the Army National Guard.  That day would be the beginning of many nights wondering, worrying if he would be called war.  Enduring the early morning phone calls from his unit to be ready, today just might be the day.  I know now there were several times he waited in line at Fort Riley to leave right then.  Only to be passed over, those around him chosen.  I think we all struggled with the call to action and a call to be safe.  You want to do something but at the same time hold on to your family with all your might. 

Life changed for us.  Like so many.  I don't know why but I have always felt somehow personally part of that day.  I try to take things slower, hug my kids longer and harder, don't sweat the small stuff.  It is hard to do.  We live in a world that moves so fast and those around you don't always appreciate a slower pace.  It is hard to brush off the little things that happen during the day.  It is hard to only worry about those things that can be changed and cope with those that can't.  I am not as tough as I once was.  More quiet.  Less opinionated.  More accepting.  I see significance in the rolling hills of the prairie, a dad playing with his child at the park, my dog placing her head on my foot.  Important things.

It has been 10 years since 9/11 but the day never seems to get easier to get through.  The following is how I saw the events of today, 10 years later.  The memorials are beautiful and perfect and I hope to visit them one day.  We should all visit them one day. 


On This Day

On This Day, the breeze blows sweetly through a field of flowers
Grace bobbing in the wind

On This Day, the bells ring
Echoing through the emptiness

On This Day, fingertips trace a line
A line that makes a name, a name that was a life

On This Day, a voice speaks
Of a father, mother, brother, sister, wife, husband, partner, friend

On This Day, tears still fall
Welling up in the depths of lives moving on

On This Day, the silence is the same
A quiet that envelopes the heart