This morning Paxton headed out the door with Ladger - pajamas and barefoot. I let him go to see how far he'd go. Well he went all the way to Grandma's house and I had to run at the end to make sure he would be safe as he was headed to the quonset and I could hear that Ladger had something started up and was probably going to back out of there. So I   got my early morning exercise already.  I brought him back to the house and changed him into clothes for the day and got Rory up and going.  Now we'll head over again because I want to wear the two of them out so Paxton will nap this morning (then I can start mowing) and then hopefully both Rory and Paxton will nap this afternoon (maybe I can finish mowing).  So that's my big plan for the day.

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I'm back at 11 am and can't believe it but my plan worked and I was able to actually finish mowing this morning.  Now maybe I can rotortill or do a little hand mowing around buildings, etc. It's such a nice feeling to get the mowing done!!

Here's Ladger and Rory enjoying themselves at camp. There are a few new pictures including Rory on a horse for the first time - be sure to check them out. There's a link to the right on this page now. 

  I don't usually write at night but lately I'm having trouble finding much 'extra' time in my day.  Right now I've got one in bed and one to go   in a few minutes but since he's busy 'augering' his pink beans into the bin, I'll spend a few minutes here.  Rory painted his soybeans pink this morning so they would like the treated seed we use on the farm. Yesterday he decided to put his beans into a pile of dirt to make them 'dirty' because we have a seed cleaner that cleans our seed and he wants to copy that. The trouble is he had way too much dirt and far too few beans.  He had a lot of trouble 'cleaning' them and ended up giving up and letting most of the dirt fall under the deck. I ended up spending a few minutes trying to salvage some of his dirty beans but this morning we went to the shop and got a new batch of peas for him to play with.  I can't   believe how much he tries to copy every single thing that happens on the farm.  Paxton is starting to show similar interests - constantly varooming about with tractors. He loves being in the shop and it's a full time job for me in there - he is determined to drink from the oil can and get into every oily, greasy, filthy thing he can find.

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I remember someone telling me how we (parents) get so eager to have our children reach milestones like talking for instance and then wish they hadn't.  Right now Rory talks ALL the time! We say 'shush' and he keeps right on motoring. Instead of asking just 'why?'  He also keeps asking 'why not?'. There's no peace in our household unless he's sleeping or over at Grandma's.  He's not been misbehaving (for the most part) but I can't believe how tired I get of the incessant chatter.  

  Rory was a big help the other day.  He had pulled out two drawers of toys and they were all over the living room.  I told Ladger that the mess in the house was getting to me and asked Rory if he would help put away his toys.  Well I came back later and he had filled up the two drawers on his own and had started filling a third drawer.  Where did that third drawer come from?  As I suspected, he dumped the toys that had been in it (in his room) so he could finish cleaning up the living room for me. I was so touched by his thoughtful clean-up.

  I hate quack grass. That's my venting after a whole morning pulling out the nasty things.  They have taken root in my lily bed and I'm having a time of it getting it under control.  I cut them out (pulling as much root as I could) in spring.  Then later I wiped them with round-up and while that did help, I still have lots of them thriving so I had a real time trying to pull them all out again. Next I plan to poison any that come back (I'm sure those rhizomes are putting out new blades of grass even as I write this).  That flowerbed has all my tulips and lily bulbs in it which means I have to do whatever I do by hand. But the lilies are blooming and the flowerbed is looking so much better now!  I read in another blog awhile back about this person's need to 'vent' in their blog and how their readers are going to see a 'real' picture of their lives.  Well I'm sure my blog looks like a lot of 'fluff' to my readers. I never vent because that's not why I started writing in the first place. I want to be able to cherish the memories of my life someday when I'm too old to remember the details without a little help. Do I have headstrong, willful children? You bet I do.    Do I pull out my hair sometimes in complete frustration?  It's a wonder I have any hair left. Do I always get along with Ladger perfectly?  Well I'm sure you all know the answer to that one. And do I struggle living so close to my in-laws? Not usually but there are those things.....  Anyway, there is so much that I'm thankful for and it's those good things I take pleasure in that I want to share with you and also remember for myself.  But I don't mind 'venting' about the weeds I need to contend with. That I can do with my whole heart.

  Rory's been getting pretty good at writing his name (usually he gets the small 'r' going in the right direction though ) 

Rory doesn't like the smiley I added above - here's the one he wants me to put here:   

We ate some new potatoes yesterday for the first time this summer - I actually found enough for a meal!!  Ladger's parents went to town yesterday and we got a phone call from them just as we sat down for dinner (noon). Their car wouldn't start and they needed someone to come   into town to give them a boost.  Ladger asked his dad if there wouldn't be someone around there that would be willing to do that but I doubt they'd ever ask a stranger for help.  So I quickly ate my lunch and tried to pull my mind around what I needed for groceries this week.  So off we went to town on the spur of the moment. I picked up Ladger's parents and took them to the places they wanted to go yet and then when we were done shopping we drove back to the car and got it going again. I had been planning to go this morning so now I guess I'll get going on some laundry. I also want to try making a banana cream pie this morning - I'm not so great at pastry so we'll see how that one goes.

   Yesterday I spent over an hour picking strawberries (4 large bowls full) and another hour or so sorting and preparing them for either freezing, eating or giving to Ladger's mom and aunt. While I was picking, Paxton headed through the lilacs to Grandma's house twice. He knows how to get there now and so now I have to figure out some way to block that way off the yard. It's amazing how far those little legs can go. The good side is that he wears himself out and is great for taking two big naps a day now. Rory still takes a good nap in the afternoon and that has been   a real blessing this summer.  At the moment Rory is jumping on his ball ( the kind with the handles) and Paxton is chasing him around - pretty funny.  Last night I got a good night's sleep and so am in a much   better frame of mind than yesterday when I got only about 4 hours. I was feeling quite burnt out by the time bedtime rolled around yesterday.  Ladger watched TV while I was on the phone for half an hour.  The boys should have been settling down for bedtime (I was even hoping some pajamas would be in evidence) but instead they were both outside on the deck playing hard. I was a wee bit grouchy with Ladger. But it didn't take too long before all was quiet in the Neustaeter house once again.

Paxton ate a fly this morning - just picked a dead one up off the carpet and popped it in his mouth and chewed. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and was really impressed when I had to wipe two fly legs off his mouth.   

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Rory's favorite phrase lately: "no damage".  When he falls, he gets up and says, "no damage".  When I drop something, he looks to see if it's OK and says "no damage".  I found myself using the same little phrase the other day. I fell over a stump that Ladger's mom placed in front of the opening in our lilacs (the old path we used to their place). I was hurting pretty bad and had a mouth full of sand.  Rory was looking a little concerned so I said,   

No damage!

 

We just bought this mower (we were just trying it out when we had it here). 

Summer Craze!
I had a mountain of work to catch up on after our days at camp. Amazing considering I really felt on top of things when I left. Beautiful weather, however, tends to make everything grow like crazy including the weeds and lawn. But first I really needed to get caught up with the farm books and some housework.  Now Ladger and I are tackling the yard big time.  He's been mowing all morning and I've been busy weeding and rototilling. I have a few more rows in the garden and three more flower beds to go before I'm totally done. On Thursday, Ladger and I went on a 'mystery tour' day put on by one of our agriculture retailers. I got the 'spa' treatment again. This time, I had a manicure, massage and a soak in the jacuzzi. Meanwhile the guys went to see   some test crop plots. The ladies had a much better deal, eh?  And then we all went together to Beaver Flats and went by speed boat to Sask Landing where we had an awesome,exotic dinner - scallops, shrimp, salmon, many salads, whole roasted   pig (with apple in mouth),etc.   They had live music and then a performance by some bellydancers - nothing inappropriate and at the end they enlisted a bunch of women to join them in one dance. Yours truly gave it a try (of all things). The evening ended up with fireworks and then we boarded the bus back to Swift Current. 

Home, Sweet Home?

Usually when we've been gone for a few days, I am so happy to be home. We had such a great time at camp and with all the work staring at me now (huge grass and weeds, laundry,etc,etc) home is maybe not as sweet as it could be. I feel a little overwhelmed today with how I'm ever going to catch up. But let me tell you a bit about our weekend. We had perfect weather - sunny and yet not too hot or windy. The men went golfing one morning which Ladger really enjoyed. The ladies left their children in their husbands care one afternoon for an afternoon of spa treatment by the pool. I had a pedicure and a facial. The staff at the camp were awesome!! These young girls treated us 'old' moms really special - bringing us iced tea or lemonade as they worked on us.
Rory had fun with a few firsts: he enjoyed the horseback riding and the trampoline in particular. He got to 'swim' a few times but much preferred the hottub. So did Paxton. We had an organized water balloon fight that was a lot of fun for everyone (except Rory who didn't quite understand the concept that while it is fun to throw water at others, they're going to get you back). He cried when one guy got him so I told him if he didn't want to get wet, don't throw any more balloons. Did he listen? No! So he got soaked again and cried.Ladger got me pretty good so of course I couldn't rest until he was soaked through.
Our meals were excellent!! One dinner they fed the kids early and then took the kids for an activity time while the parents enjoyed a banquet. They had set up the dining hall with fresh flowers, candles, tablecloths and soft music. The roast beef and mashed potatoes were as good as any restaurant. The cooks made everything including hamburger patties for a barb-b-que and pastries for a brunch Sunday morning. Ladger said he felt he was on a retreat more than 'roughing' it as 'camping' implies.
The speaker and his wife are ranchers from Maple Creek - very down-to-earth folks that were a real blessing to all of us. I made some new friends and renewed some friendships of people I knew from Bible College. Altogether a very wonderful time. I won't have a hard time convincing Ladger to go again next year because he enjoyed it as much as I did. And it will even be easier next year with Paxton a little older and not clinging to me as much. I wanted to play one game but he wouldn't stay with anyone else so I did my best running around with 'my extra appendage' hanging on tight. I even managed to 'free' Ladger at the other end of the field without getting caught by the other team. But I especially enjoyed the volleyball game in the pool I got to play after the kids were asleep Saturday night (11pm to midnight). So I'm glad to be home but even more glad that we went and had such a great time as a family!

Today we head to camp. The last couple of days I've been busy doing every stitch of laundry I could find plus mending that was overdue. I even made the time to make a string of lace (black with gold beads) to hide a repair in one of my favorite tops. It's amazing how complicated it is to travel with a baby. Even though Paxton is over a year, we still need to bring a playpen for him to sleep in, a stroller, a high chair and lots of other 'stuff'. Ladger says we may as well put wheels on our house and drive it there. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed last evening and Ladger wonders why I put myself through it - after all, it is my idea of a good time. I just agreed that it's a lot of work to go away for a few days but it's still worth it once the work is done and we're on the road. Of course, last night would be the night where I wouldn't get much sleep. Rory peed in his bed at 3 am and came to our room shivering with cold. He almost never does that anymore so it's always a surprise when he does. So I got him changed and settled and then my mind went into overdrive and I had to really work at relaxing enough to go back to sleep. I did but my alarm clock went off at 6 am and I couldn't shut him off (Paxton, I mean). He was wide awake and ready to go. I put him in bed with us hoping he would settle down but that backfired. He headbutted Ladger a number of times and roughhoused until finally we got up. Now he's napping.

What's so funny Paxton? 


Ladger has talked about doing some daring things like dyeing his hair,etc over our married years so last Christmas I bought him a hair coloring kit and told him I'd do it for him sometime. So last night I decided that since I was cutting his hair anyway I might as well give this a try too. Well he went for it and here he is waiting for his hair to lighten. As a boy he had white-blond hair (like our boys do now). Wouldn't you know it - we rinsed out his hair and he was left with a very yellowish blond - quite the new look!! I laughed so hard I thought he was going to have a complex forever. Mostly I laughed at the thought of what his parents would think when they saw it! Last night when we went to bed I got the giggles again just thinking about it. Ladger says I laughed myself to sleep. So now he has a 'hot' new look for summer.

Some gals use lists and are very organized about the way they clean house. I tend to be much more sporadic which normally is not so good (things probably get overlooked too often). But today it worked to my advantage. My fridge has been bothering me for awhile and when Ladger was unsure of what to do this morning I quickly enlisted him for the job I dislike the most! While I pulled out everything inside and sorted out what to keep and what to throw away, he pulled it out from the wall and cleaned behind and vacuumed. While I cleaned up the shelves, he tossed the bucket of 'yuckies' into the compost bin and cleaned up the bucket. My fridge now looks awesome inside and out and I'm so glad Ladger was willing to give me a hand. And I'm feeling really great about a big job being done. I guess one should tackle some of these kinds of jobs on 'off' days as the sense of accomplishment is hard to beat. Now both boys are napping and I feel energized enough to tackle...hmmm...let's see....the accounting :-) And later I want to vacuum the kitchen again and then shampoo the carpet. If I get all that done - it will have been a good day indeed!

Here's a question for y'all: Which small kitchen appliance could you not do without? My answer is in the Comment section.