A Trip to the Store

Jay is covered with Poison Ivy and possibly some other skin disorders at the moment.  He’s got enough patches on him (and he went through an entire tube of anti-itch cream yesterday) that I’ve told him he needs to go to the doctor and get a shot.  He is famous for thinking he can get rid of these rashes on his own and then they get so out of control it takes a several trips to the doctor and a couple of trips to a dermatologist to get rid of it.  So by trying to save us the $30 co-pay (which I appreciate) we end up spending more in the long run by the time we buy tube after tube of different medication.  But whatever.  He’s the one itching so I guess I’m not going to worry about it.

Last night, after trying a bleach bath which someone suggested, he needed to get some Calamine Lotion.  It was about 9pm when we decided to head in to town.  We had cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen, cooked dinner and I had just got back from a walk when we decided to take a fun family trip to the grocery store.  I didn’t even glance in a mirror because I wasn’t going to leave the van.  I picked up Camryn and wondered if I should grab shoes for her, but since we were only going to be in the van it would be ok.  I should also mention she was wearing pajamas.  I was wearing work out pants and a t-shirt from college which would be pushing  20 years old.  Yes, we were an attractive bunch.

Jay and Cade went in to the store and Camryn and I were in the van.  Then she asked her famous question…”am I wearing underwear or a pull up”  Great, she had to go to the bathroom.  I told her it was underwear and I asked if she needed to go and she said no.  Exactly 2 minutes later she announced she had to go to the bathroom.   I dug around in the van and found a pair of filp-flops for her so at least I wasn’t taking  a pajama clad no shoes wearing toddler in to the grocery store.  But she did have a dirty face and crazy hair which really helped out our image.  We made it to the bathroom and all was well.  Then I looked in the mirror.  I had eyeliner and mascara all underneath my eyes.  I then remembered back to rubbing my eyes while I was walking.  I was a definite mess.  As I was walking out of the store I was trying to take comfort in the fact Camryn’s PJ’s at least matched.  Since she has started randomly changing her own clothes she rarely has a matching set of PJ’s on.  Last night was an oddity.  I was thinking we really couldn’t look much worse…..

That was until I got to the parking lot and Jay was standing by the van rubbing himself down with Calamine.  When I saw him he actually had his shirt up and was rubbing it on his stomach.   I looked at him with bug eyes and said “seriously”.  He said “yes, seriously – this is serious.”  I am thankful that we didn’t run into anyone we knew….or if we did they at least had the grace to make us think no one we knew saw us last night.    

To whom it may concern...

When you sent the text Sunday evening about the football camp Tuesday and Thursday night you stated it started at 6 and ended at 8. Jay, along with the other parents did their part and got their kids there by 6. Did you forget to wear a watch? I know football may be the only thing going in your life right now, but it is the tiniest ittsy bitsy part of ours. With Jay and I working full time along with chickens for the gala, pigs for Ozark Empire, cows for State Fair and a three year old tornado named Camryn our schedules are tight. We have plotted and planned and scheduled within an inch of our lives. So when you decide that what you are doing is way too important to quit at 8 and you drag on past 8:15 then on towards 8:30 I get irritated. In fact if looks could kill you probably would've died 40 times between 8 and 8:15. I'm curious,  can you feel the daggers I'm staring at you?  

Also, to the man no one knew tonight. When you continue to repeat 5 or 6 times what the head coach just said you don't look or sound smart. In fact you sound the opposite of smart. I also stared daggers at you just because.  

So after the day I had at work going to football camp was probably not the best idea. I will take part of the blame for tonight's letter. But in the future please look at your watch. Or even better- your iPhone comes with an awesome alarm clock. Maybe you should use it. 

Camryn Lee is Three!

We love to rhyme Camryn's name to things around our house.  We are weird like that.

Camryn turned 3 yesterday.  It is so hard to believe she is that old.  Lately she has started to look more grown up and not so much like a baby. I even had someone at church tell me she is looking like a little lady.  Yes, it makes me a little sad, but I'm also excited to keep watching her grow and change.  If the past 3 years is any indication this girl is going to keep her dad and I on our toes!  My prayer is that we can channel all of this ornery, hilarious personality into a really awesome kid...and not a juvenile delinquent. 

You know how I like to plan a party.  The day after Christmas I ordered Camryn a pig smocked dress for her birthday party.  I was set on a pig party and the dress was on sale and I had wanted it for awhile.  Then we had the pigs.  After the Pigtastrophe of 2014 I was sick of pigs so I scratched that idea.  Then I saw the cutest Cowgirl outfit.  Since she loves Sheriff Callie so much I thought that was perfect.  So I shelled out more money for this cowgirl outfit then I normally spend on myself.  Then Camryn decided she wanted a dinosaur on her cake.  After already doing one dinosaur party I was not big on another one.  But she was insistent and I ignored her.  Finally I decided what good is a birthday when you can't have the theme you want so we went with dinosaurs - but I made sure it looked girly.

I scoured Etsy looking for a girly dinosaur shirt and found a pretty perfect one.  Then Janella created a cake that looked just like the shirt and Camryn loved it.  Camryn also wanted a pink cake so Janella tinted the batter.  It was all perfect.  Memo has some really neat dinosaurs that a friend had passed down to Cade and now Camryn is obsessed with them.  I used those for the tables and then added in pink flowers to make it a little more feminine.  My plan was to make skirts for the dinosaurs but Cade got sick the night before the party.  I ended up spending all Friday night with him at Urgent Care.  That put a damper on some of my decorating plans.  But it was still cute and I think we all had a good time.

I did fill up Camryn's pool with sand and the kids dug for dinosaurs and other $store trinkets.  That was a big hit.  Seeing the pictures of the three of them digging in the sand with their hats cracks me up every time I look at it.  My plan for the party was to do cake pictures, nicely dig in the sand for the surprises while the burgers cooked and then presents after we ate.  It was all controlled, clean fun.  Then the adults took too long to eat and the kids wanted to play in the sand.  Camryn ended up laying in it and filling her hat with sand and putting it on her head.  She even dumped a bunch of sand on Lawson.  So, my dreams of controlled fun went down the tubes.  By Sunday morning I had a fine layer of grit over every surface in the house.  But the kids enjoyed it and that is the most important thing.

 Also, you will notice that Cade is not in any of the pictures.  The poor guy was extremely sick that entire weekend.  He had the same type of infection he had in January.  He spent all day on Saturday in our room.  I checked on him about 3:00 pm and he had turned off the TV and was sleeping.  He slept through me cleaning our bedroom/bathroom and both Jay and I getting ready.  He almost slept through the entire party - even with the worried grandparents checking on him from time to time.  If you know Cade at all you know that was extremely out of character for him.  We started Sunday with another trip to Urgent Care and different meds.  Finally about Sunday evening he seemed to come around.  We have another trip to a specialist in our near future. 

Since her party was about a week and a half before her birthday she was a little confused about what yesterday was.  We had a low key celebration of dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and cupcakes.  One thing about 3 year olds is they have no idea the cost of anything.  We bought Camryn something to open....a box of band aids.  I think it was her favorite gift.  This morning Jay cleaned up about 20 band aid wrappers off the floor of the kitchen and family room.  Camryn's sitter also gave her some gifts.  She loved the light up wand.

Since she is 3 we are really discovering that we need to be including adoption related language more and more in our normal conversations.  We aren't against talking about it at all, as you know, it's just hard to remember to do it very often.  Life gets busy.  I've got some books on order from Amazon that hopefully will get the ball rolling a little more for us.  I'm pretty excited to get them.  She is still young and I know she doesn't fully understand the concept of adoption, but it is still so important to talk about it.  In our hearts she couldn't be more ours if she was biological, but like her eyes are blue and hair is blonde she is adopted.  As fast as 3 years has gone it won't be long before she can understand it.     

And another side note to her birthday.  Camryn got a My Little Pony makeup set from Jim and Sharon.  It came with these My Little Pony press on nails - which crack me up on her still baby chubby hands.  But what has been even funnier is watching Jay step on one and then have to pick the My Little Pony nail off the bottom of his foot.  I love watching him raise a girl.

And then there were 2....

The last of Bonnie's litter left our house on Monday. We are left with the two Cade will show this year - Carly and Sam.  I'm just going to say it, since it is my blog, the last pig left rather abruptly - and we are sick over the fiasco.  These little piggies have caused me to loose more than one nights sleep!

I know I tell a lot of stories on here with good humor in mind (the surgery story was not a lie by the way!) but all joking aside I am thankful for Jay and the type of man that he is. I've never seen anyone put other childrens needs above his own as much as he does. That is why I can go to his FFA Banquets and see the respect those kids have for him and Lyle. They both truly care about those kids. Their #1 goal is to see those kids be successful in whatever they choose to do.  I am so thankful that I have married such a selfless, patient and caring man. I'm also thankful that he is working so hard to make sure those same values are passed  on to our children and to the kids that he has influenced every day of his 15 year teaching career. Jay- you are appreciated and I know there are hundreds of kids who would tell you the same thing!

Sorry for the mushy moment there- but it needed to be said. I've never told the story about the pig who died. I can't even remember exactly when it died. It seems like there was something else going on at school the day that Jay found it. Something that made him think school would be a little different and a teacher wouldn't mind altering their plans for te day....

We knew the pig was sick. Jay had given it everything he could think of. He had

consulted his Pig Whisperers and they agreed. There wasn't anything else we could do. Jay found the pig one Friday morning.  So what does anyone who finds a dead pig do?  Take it to school of course....to see if the Biology teacher would perform an autopsy. 

Here is where some of the story might not be quite as funny to you. But picture Jay...now picture someone as completely opposite in every way. That would (or would've been since he wasn't rehired) the biology teacher. I wouldn't have exactly called this teacher and Jay "Besties" during the school year. Now picture Jay carrying a dead pig in a feed sack into this teachers room and slapping it down on a table. I'm not entirely sure that's how it all went down but that's how I imagine it. Even though the teacher was all preppy and there was this rough Ag teacher with a dead pig in a sack standing in his room- he was a biology teacher after all. Of course he jumped all over the chance to perform an autopsy. We even have the pictures to prove it, which I will spare you from. The pig was full of infection. A least we knew we had done all we could. 

So after loosing one to death and selling two we are down to the two Cade will show. This has definitely been an adventure.  I just hope the pig drama settles down- but it is sure to be replaced by chicken drama. We are a 4-H/FFA family so I'm sure animal drama and catastrophes will follow us the next 20 years!

Our Version of a Three Ring Circus

Thursday night I stayed after work and got groceries for Camryn's party.  Jay stayed at home with the kids.  That is a pretty normal occurrence for us since it is easier for me to grocery shop alone and Jay would rather be at home with the kids then going with me.  It is usually a win-win for both of us. 

Thursday night was like any other night.  Camryn declared she wanted to walk the pigs but "just one pig at a time" is what she always says.  Jay got the black pig out and they walked it.  When he put it up both of the white pigs ran out at once.  Jay thought he would just try to walk both of them at the same time.  Camryn decided that she was done walking pigs so she disappeared to the front of the house.  Cade had been inside and came out shortly after Camryn disappeared.  Since Jay was busy with the pigs he asked Cade to check on Camryn.  The next thing Jay saw was Cade chasing Charlie through the yard.  Camryn had walked around to the garage and turned the Gala baby chicks loose.  Charlie thought he had hit the big time so he grabbed one and ran off with it.  That is why Cade was chasing the dog and screaming at him.  So Jay had two pigs, a flock of chickens, an almost 3 year old and an extremely upset pre-teen all loose at the same time.  I'd say things were more than crazy for a few minutes around the house.  Jay managed to save the chicken from Charlie, got the chicks put away and got the pigs back in their fence.  He was catching his breath and then thought he could hear his name faintly being called...."Jay....Jay."  He looked around for the source and finally spotted our neighbor....with a broom...chasing the black pig home.  At some point during the earlier excitement the black pig had escaped and Jay didn't realize it. 

When I heard the full story Saturday morning I asked Jay if he realized we might have a little too much going on at the same time.  All Jay said was "it was crazy."       

Random things on a holiday weekend

I am so glad today is Friday.  I've only worked 4 days this week, but it has been the longest week ever!  I've been so tired every morning and I haven't wanted to get out of bed.  Thankfully that isn't a common occurence for me, but when those times happen they are miserable!  Of course I've tried to talk myself into getting up every morning with the promise of sleeping in on Saturday.  I'm sure I will be up at 5 am tomorrow.  That will be fine as long as I wake up ready to go and not have this so tired I want to sleep until noon feeling - that is a yucky feeling. 

Jay and Cade got out of school Wednesday. Jay has to go three extra days though for Professional Development.  According to him Thursday was the worst day of his whole 15 year teaching career.  He may have been a little dramatic, but I can understand.  It is also a miserable feeling when you have a million other things to do (like for the county fair) and you are stuck listening to people talk about things that either don't make sense or you will never actually apply in the real world.  But that is the way it goes in every profession.

This past week we added to our version of Green Acres.  We have more baby chicks.  We already have a half grown flock for out county fair.  Now we've added another flock of babies for the Gala.  The Gala is still two months away, I have no idea why we get those chickens so early.  Right now the chicks are living in our garage.  The reason for that is 1) Jay didn't quite have the chicken house set up to have the babies and 2) we have a black snake roaming around.  Sharon and I saw the snake in our backyard on Mother's Day.  He made another appearance Tuesday night.  Before Jay could kill him he slithered into the chicken house and is between the inside wall and the tin on the outside.  Jay decided to keep the babies in the garage until they get big enough the snake can't eat them. 

So to recap in case you are as lost as I am.....

15-20 half grown chicks
15-20 baby chicks
3 pigs (we sold one and one died which is another story)
too many calves for me to keep straight (which are not halter broke and the fair is in 2 weeks)
And 1 black snake

Jay and Cade are going to be gone the middle of June for over a week.  I've told Jay the black snake needs to be gone before I'm responsible for the chickens.  If I run into a snake in the chicken house it is highly possible I will have a heart attack.  My heart will explode right then and there.  I am terrified of snakes. 

And I will leave you with a picture and video of Camryn.  She has a band aid obsession and sometimes it is too hard for me to tell her no.  

6th Grade Graduation and a trip to Silver Dollar City

Miller has an actual 6th Grade Graduation.  I'm not sure I've ever heard of one before so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was actually was more like a 6th grade awards assembly and not so much like a graduation.  It was a short, sweet little program (the best kind).  They did have a slide show but we were so far away Jay said it could've been pictures of kids from Alaksa for all we would know.  We did spot our trailer once....not our kid....our trailer.  We were very happy to have all of Cade's grandparents with us and Aunt Charity and Avery.  We appreciate everyone coming on a weird Tuesday evening. 

The day before the graduation Jay and I went to Silver Dollar City with Cade's class.  I am so tired today after all these activities.  We got stuck with a group of boys who weren't exactly bad, just high maintenance.  I'm sure it was because Jay went and there are very few males that go on these elementary field trips....and even fewer males who are also teachers and know how to handle shenanigans.   I think those elementary teachers loved seeing Jay show up for the field trips over the years.  That meant there was a bathroom monitor!

I on the other hand am not use to shenanigans.  Quite honestly I can't tolerate it.  I still to this day do not comprehend why people can not do what they are told.  Why can people not keep their hands to themselves, or quit talking or for the love of pete stay with the group?  I spent most of my day Monday trying to spot JR.  That boy could not stay with our group.  Ever.  That is the first thing I pound into Cade's head when he goes somewhere without me - STAY WITH THE GROUP.    That evening Cade made a good analogy.  He said that JR was like a pig.  Not the classic way most people compare people to pigs but because pigs are very curious and constantly wander around getting into things. 

Towards the end of the day 4 of the boys were on Wildfire.  Jay decided to wander away from me for awhile.  Cade came running up to me and said that one of the boys was stuck on the roller coaster and was having to walk down.  I headed to the coaster and called Jay.  He was going to head that way.  I got the boys and realized we had another boy who was on the American Plunge.  I had completely forgotten about him.  I had to call Jay back and tell him to wait on Jesse.  And that's when it hit me- I have really only had to worry about 1 kid at a time during my parenting years.  I quite honestly am not cut out for being responsible for that many beings at one time.  God gave me my children one at a time because He knew I couldn't handle it.  Anyway, our boy made it down ok and now has a story to tell.  Another boy (from another school) opened up his restraint while the coaster was moving so it shut down.  Stupid kid.  What if the coaster hadn't stopped?  It does go upside down.  See - I can't handle that.  Why can't they just sit still and not touch anything???

Which then reminds me of another story about JR (the curious as a pig boy).  We were on Fire in the Hole.  The ride started out and JR stuck his arm out.  Cade said the minute he saw JR do that he knew I was going to yell, which I did.  Of course I'm a child of the 80's and have heard all the Urban Legends of Fire in the Hole.....people loosing limbs, people being decapitated, people being snake bit, etc.  I'm not sure if any of it is true, but as narrow as the ride is I'd say having an extended arm ripped off would be very possible.  I did not want to be known as the chaperonage who brought back a kid with a bloody stub.  Then as we were pulling up to get off one of the workers yelled at the same kid for sticking his foot out of the cart before it stopped.  How hard is it to keep your appendages inside the ride????  I don't understand. 

Other than being bossed around by a boy who had only been there 1 other time it was a good day.  That particular boy talked non-stop.  All the time.  So much so that I had to take some Tylenol.  If I had to guess I'd say that I've been to SDC at least 50 times. And that is a conservative estimate.  I know my way around the place.  I got the boys to where they wanted to be in the most direct way possible.  But this particular boy didn't think I could do it.  There was one time where I had to stop for a second because I had turned the wrong way.  But we took maybe two or three steps before I got my bearings.  This kid said "we took another wrong turn."  Grrr!!!   

Of course Jay just loved this because he deals with this stuff every day.  He thinks it is funny that 5 boys drove me crazy.  I do have to brag about Cade though.  These boys weren't exactly his friends, but he never complained about having to go around with them and he never acted mad or upset about it.  He also told us that since he gets to go to SDC pretty often the other boys could pick what they wanted to do.  I thought that was very sweet of him to say that.  Sometimes I worry about Cade and if we are preparing him enough for the world, but then when I see him in action around other kids I realize he is a good kid and is well on his way to turning out just fine.