The Mama Bus

How to Get Your Husband to Help You Clean the Whole House in Under an Hour…

3
February 5, 2013

 

If your three-year-old projectile vomits in your bed at 2:04 am…

You will be instantly jolted to a semi-awake state of action.

You’ll head for bathroom to get a towel and wash off the offending matter.

Your husband will follow carrying the three-year-old who is spraying 3 times her body weight in stomach acid and dinner remains from your bedroom to the bathroom like a crazed fire hose from a horror movie.

While you run a bath for the offending child, your husband will strip the bed.

As you begin to clean the floor, you realize that you loaned your good mop to the neighbor the day before.

So you’ll dig in the back of the broom closet for your back-up mop,

While digging for your back-up mop, you’ll pull everything out of the broom closet to find the mop head and in your bare feet will step on a stray piece of bark that dropped from a piece of firewood…

Your scream will bring your husband running, he’ll clean up the floor and put the broom closet back together while you don a hazmat suit and head back to the bathroom.

As you are disinfecting the entire bathroom, your husband will change the bed…he’ll need fresh sheets…

You’ll open the linen closet and an avalanche of bath towels, rugs, pillowcases and hand towels will cascade over your head.  You’ll find clean sheets under the stack of dishtowels that you’ve been missing for weeks…

While your husband is changing the sheets, your 3-year-old will chirp cheerfully in the bathtub.  You’ll overhaul the linen closet looking for a washcloth to clean up your child.  You won’t find any and will use a hand towel instead.

While washing up your sick child, your husband will fill the washer with the vile sheets and bed pad, set the rank comforter next to the washer and head downstairs to find a sleeping bag to use for a blanket.  While he’s down there he’ll re-organize the camping supplies.

Meanwhile, you’ll find puke in places you never dreamed possible and contemplate the capacity of a 3-year-old’s stomach.

As you wrap her in her favorite doggy towel she’ll start a conversation with you, it will go something like this…

“I wish Maddy could have puppies”

“Mmmmhmmm…puppies could be fun”

“Yeah, but first she needs to go to college”

“Oh really? The dog needs to go to college?”

“Yeah, and get married…first Maddie needs to get married, then go to college, then have puppies”

Giggling, you’ll tuck your now sweet-smelling three-year old in on the couch that has been covered by a towel and hand her a bucket, just in case…

Next you’ll start the washer again, and sit down to blog about the evening’s adventures…

While you’re writing about how glamorous motherhood is, you’ll hear the unmistakable retching sound from the couch.  Your husband will find you a washcloth from the other bathroom, and bring a fresh bucket.

Since the three-year-old doesn’t have very good aim, you’ll need to replace the towel and couch cover…thankfully the linen closet is now perfectly organized, so you know exactly where the back-up couch cover is…

While your husband changes the couch cover, you’ll head to the girls’ room in search of fresh jammies.

You’ll find some only after cleaning out her dresser and putting away the load of laundry on top.

After mopping her up, locating a clean blanket, and getting her into fresh jammies, you’ll start some ginger tea to settle her stomach and your husband will head to bed in hopes of getting an hour or two of sleep.

As soon as you sit back down, you’ll hear that horrific sound again…

This time she’ll have better aim.  You’ll find the last remaining clean washcloth in the kids bathroom, clean her up and bring her a fresh bucket.

Then you’ll transfer the laundry and head to bed, contemplating the whereabouts of the rest of the washcloths.

Because chances are…if the three- year-old is sick today…the five-year-old will be tomorrow…

 

: Farmlogue
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It’s All Fun & Games Until Someone Breaks a Wrist….

3
January 22, 2013

Winter sports are big here in NH, and we have enjoyed several of them.  However, there are some that are cost prohibitive to large families.  Skiing and snowboarding are fine examples.  So when I read that there was a “Learn to Ski/Snowboard For Free Week” sponsored by the local ski areas, I was excited!

We signed up and eagerly awaited the day.  The little girls were too young to attend, and sadly, Jillian got sick the day before.  So the boys and I bundled up and headed for Gunstock.

We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather.  It was sunny & blue sky with temps just above freezing.

Because our family is so large, we were supposed to be split into two different classes; the big boys at noon, and James & I at 2:00.  But when we checked in and the instructors realized we were all together, they said we could all go at noon.  Sadly, this thwarted my plans…I wasn’t expecting to have to keep up with the teenage boys; my plan was to be paired with the 7 year-old!

We had great instructors, very encouraging and fun.  My rental boots were rubbing a blister on my heel, and digging into my calves, but it was totally worth it, we were having a blast!

Turns out that like many other areas in life…I do it “goofy”…

In snowboarding, that means you put your right foot forward instead of your left.  The boys of course found it amusing and somewhat predictable that “Mom does it goofy”.

After our lesson, James & I headed into the lodge to warm up and have a bite to eat while the 3 big boys hit the slopes.  After our brief respite, James was ready to ride the chair lift and hit the big time.

I wish I could tell you that I shredded the mountain like a boss…but I’d be lying.

The fabulous blue sky and sunshine that we enjoyed conspired to turn the snow to ice.  My trip down the mountain included sliding, falling, a little bit of snowboarding, a little bit of hiking and maybe a little bit of screaming.

As fun as it was, that blister on my heel was begging me to stop, so we headed back to the lodge to meet up with our friends the Platte’s who had a late afternoon lesson.  After another bite to eat, James was ready to hit the slopes again, this time I convinced him to stay on the bunny hill while I took pictures of him & the big boys.

 

Some hours later Jeremiah dislocated his thumb…he had popped it back in place, but was still hurting, so I sent him to the first aid station.  They taped him up and off he went again.  About then James had finally worn out, so he & I headed inside.

I was basking in the glow of the warm lodge, sipping tea, knitting on a sock and visiting with friends when Jeremiah came running in…”Jonathan thinks he broke his arm!”  I threw on my coat, expecting  a long hike up the mountain to find my boy laying in the snow…instead he greeted me at the door holding his wrist, with his face twisted in pain.

One look at his arm and I knew it was broken.

We headed off to the first aid station where they put him in a splint and a sling for the ride to the hospital.  Dawn & I traded cars, keys & kids…there was no reason for James, Jordan & Jeremiah to hang out at the ER all night.

You never truly appreciate frost heaves and how bumpy a rural NH road can be unless you’re in labor or have a broken bone.  Jonathan & I can both attest to this fact…

As we headed to the hospital, I gave Jonathan the choice, Laconia was closer, but might be very busy so he might have a long wait.  Franklin was almost never busy, but was further away.  I knew he was in a lot of pain when he elected to go to Laconia.  As we walked in the doors I immediately questioned the wisdom of that choice.  The waiting room was PACKED and none of the people waiting looked injured…just contagious.  The nurse who checked us in took one look at Jonathan and said “Gunstock? Snowboarding?”  She recognized the cardboard splint and gauze sling, and apparently they see snowboarders in the ER 4 to1 compared to skiers.

With much trepidation we headed into the waiting room, not wanting to touch anything, or even breathe.  Thankfully we had barely sat down when they called Jonathan’s name.  A broken bone puts you at the front of the line.  The rest of the evening was a blur of x-rays, Doctors, Nurses, IV’s, pain meds, and procedures.
Jonathan had great doctors and male nurses, all of whom were amazed when they found out he was one of seven.  At one point before they set his arm, the Dr. asked him how much he liked the shirt he was wearing, Jonathan replied, “It’s one of my favorites”

“Well I guess we better not cut it off you then; besides, I’m guessing you’ve got some little brothers that will need to wear it one day”.  It was SO refreshing to meet a doctor who ‘gets it’.

Turns out Jonathan’s break was pretty serious.

A wrist fracture involving both bones, he snapped off the growth plate.  One of the bones was still in place, but the broken piece of the other one had slipped over the top of his arm and would require setting.  Very seldom has a doctor asked me to leave the room, this was one of those times, and I think I’m glad they did.  Jonathan was heavily sedated while they set his arm.  When I was allowed back in, he was all wrapped up in a half cast with his eyes at half mast.  Thankfully the meds they gave him also had an amnesiac effect.  He has no memory of his wrist being set.

As we bundled him up for discharge, his doctor had some parting wisdom, “Good luck, and just to warn you, it’s gonna be really hard to wipe your own butt for a while”

Funny, that’s what the EMT at Gunstock said too!

 

 

 

 

: Farmlogue

Ice Skating Over Christmas Break 2012 – A Photo Essay

4
January 1, 2013

It’s Christmas Break, and Randy is off work, HOORAY!  Sadly the pond ice wasn’t thick enough before the snowstorm, so we had to head to a rink.  So we invited a few friends and loaded up The Mama Bus!

This is Lydia, who was Jonathan’s first babysitter.  She’s now a Mama herself with 2 adorable little ones.

Here she is with Cohen, her oldest, it was his first time ever ice skating!

John Jones wins the best hat award!

Katie surprises Jeremiah from behind.

Randy & Lydia catching up.

Big Kids

Daddies & their little girls.

The big kids had a blast!

Jonathan was hard to catch!

…most of the time!

Lydia’s husband Neil and their daughter Nell

Jessie, John & Jordan

Milk crates are a kid’s best friend!

Did you have fun Jessie?

: Farmlogue
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On The Fifth Day of Christmas…

4
December 28, 2012

As the kids get older, it gets harder and harder to figure out what to get them for Christmas.  I was nearly stumped until a couple weeks before Christmas when Jeremiah came into the laundry area and commented that he needed new t-shirts.  All of his were getting too short.  This is a real problem when a boy is 6ft tall and built like a flagpole…the mediums are too short, and large is going to be too…large…

He happened to be wearing a plain gray t-shirt at the time and asked for 5 more exactly. like. that. one…..

Ain’t no way I’m gonna look at the boy DAY after DAY after Day in the same. gray. shirt! And I minced no words as I told him so.

With this conversation fresh in my mind, I headed to Kohl’s to do some shopping, I had hit the jackpot and gotten the 30% off coupon!  As I was browsing the young men’s section, I discovered a sale rack with 2 different colored gray shirts…

An evil plan began to form…

I was now on a mission to find 5 DIFFERENT gray t-shirts. It took a bit of searching, and I did cheat by picking out one that was  long-sleeved.  Giggling mischievously, I wrapped each one in a different size/shape box.  For kids that are used to getting only one, or at most two presents from Mom & Dad, having 4 or 5 under the tree is phenomenal!

The 5th box I fiendishly labeled JRBM.

With 6 out of the 7 kids initials being JRW, you can imagine the intrigue that followed.  Speculation changed daily, with my favorite being “It MUST be mine, it stands for Jordan Richard Butt Monkey!”

On Christmas Day, everyone wanted to know who JRBM was and open that box first, I tortured them by not telling and insisting that it be opened last.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words…I have to agree…the pictures tell the story SO well!!

 

First shirt...he likes it...

 

Second shirt, he likes that one too...

 

Third shirt...he's beginning to suspect something...

 

Fourth shirt...totally cracking up!!

 

The fifth was the best of all!!!

 

Jeremiah with his FIVE GRAY SHIRTS!!!

: Farmlogue
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O Christmas Tree… O Christmas Tree?

5
December 15, 2012
 
Written by Jeremiah Wood

The great thing about your parents going out for the night is all the random things you can do while they’re gone.

Not really bad things mind you, just stuff that would make your mother shoo you out of the kitchen and tell you to get back to work. You know, like racing a ride on lawn mower and a wagon down a hill, or playing bumper carts with rolling chairs, or spinning each other around in an office chair and timing it to see how long you can stay on before you feel like you’re going to throw up1. These are just a few examples of course, and they are always in addition to the standard activities, like raiding the cookie jar, watching a movie marathon, and having a pillow fight.

Naturally you cannot do such things, unless you make sure to clean up the mess and make it look the same before your parents get back, otherwise…well nobody knows what happens otherwise, but let’s not find out.

On my parent’s most recent outing, I had a stroke of brilliance, which is not terribly uncommon for me, but I digress. I had the idea of cutting down a Charlie brown style Christmas tree, and putting it up in the living room as a joke. I got the troops into action and we began cleaning the living room to make room for it (see I’m a good boy, I voluntarily clean the house). When the house was clean it was time to get the tree. I turned to a minion and said “code: get the bike” 2 for those of you that are unaware, “the bike” is a bicycle with a small engine mounted on it, basically a cheapskate, red-neck moped. The only downfall of such a contraption is the fact that it has a tendency to wear through brakes. Since new brakes are so expensive (nearly $5 a pair, and they don’t make them like they used to either) I improvise, and make sure to wrap the current brake pads with a layer of duct tape before every ride (not that I need brakes, that’s what your boots are for, but you never know) With the brakes duct taped, I grabbed the remaining essentials, a rope, a saw (wrapped firmly in cardboard for all the safety Nazis), and a roll of duct tape and put them in a back pack. I was off, the bike sputtering and groaning at the cold temperature before roaring to life.

When I reached my destination a small ways down the highway (yes, I rode down the highway on a jimmy-rigged bicycle) I went to the business of selecting a Christmas tree. Keep in mind that I am not looking for a nice Christmas tree; I found several nice ones, but I was looking for an awful one. I wanted a tree so ratty and ridiculous looking that it would make people laugh and say “it’s hideous” since it was getting dark I had to settle for a less than desirable tree, it was a bit too nice looking for my tastes, but it would have to do. I sawed it down, tied a rope to the base of it, and started the bike. After a quick lap to get the bike warmed up, and running good (small engines are finicky you know) I tied the other end of the rope to the bike and started home. I was quite surprised by the fact that the tree dragging behind did not affect speed, only steering, as sharp corners were more difficult to maneuver. It is also worth mentioning the looks that I got from various drivers in the opposite lane. Apparently the city slickers were out in full force that night, because everyone was gawking as if I was some sort of freak, you would think they would have seen something as basic as a Christmas tree before!!!

I got home, and was pleased to see the house still standing, and find that everyone inside was still alive, and well  I wonder if that’s how my parents feel…hmm…no matter.)

Now in my haste and excitement, I forgot one small piece of essential equipment; gloves.

When you are riding a bike in below freezing weather they are quite necessary. So by the time I got home my hands were frozen stiff. Now I can neither confirm, nor deny whether or not I like to take artistic license with my stories, but I am being completely serious when I say that my hands were frozen stiff. I couldn’t even pull the lever to disengage the clutch, and I ended up simply hitting the kill switch. I stumbled inside, barely able to open the door, and began rubbing my hands together in effort to get some feeling back into them. I think I came close to getting frostbite, because it took a few minutes before I felt the blood flowing again. When I finally had use of my hands again, I brought in the tree, sadly it fared the drag home quite well. I swear it didn’t lose a needle the whole time. We set it up, and began stringing lights on it. Now I can do a nice job when it comes to stringing lights, but I wasn’t going for nice, I was going for awful. I think I achieved my goal, because it was the worst light stringing job I’ve ever done. The little girls threw (almost literally) a few tacky ornaments on the tree, and it was finished.

Now I wasn’t sure exactly what I expected for a reaction, but whatever I was expecting I certainly didn’t get it.

Instead of head shaking and exclamations of “get that thing out of here” They liked it, they actually liked it; my horrible, ratty looking Christmas tree that was dragged home behind a bike down the highway. I didn’t even actually want, or intend to use, and they like it. I would say “jokes on me” but it’s not, I’ll just find a better one and drag it home the next time they go out. Boys, get the bike!2 Now where did I put my saw…

 

 

 

1)      LEGAL DISCLAIMER: do not try these activities at home or anywhere…ever. I am a well trained professional Redneck with a PhD in dangerous activities and stunts, and a Master’s of Science in practical uses of duct tape. I am also a certified: tractor bobsledder, appliance destroyer (best in the biz), cow racer (neighborhood champion), and exterminator (kill it, fire, or nuke it from orbit). I am also a certified example of how NOT to make small boats and water crafts out of junk (I have references, trust me, they were wet)

2)      Paraphrased Mega-Mind reference.

: Farmlogue
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Homecoming for a Hero…A Photo Essay

0
November 15, 2012

Waiting for the big moment.

My brother Michael and sister-in-law Kim just happen to live in Colorado Springs and were able to join Teresa and her family for the big homecoming!

The moment Teresa laid eyes on her boy!

Proud Mom & Dad

 

 

 

Many thanks to all the generous souls who helped make this a very happy homecoming for the Burdge family!

: Farmlogue
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Hurricane of Blessings for a Hero

5
November 2, 2012

 

 

While the rest of the nation focused on the impending hurricane last week, there was bigger news in the heart of one Mama in Oregon.  The long-awaited news that her son was coming home from Afghanistan in less than a week!  So many emotions swirled in her heart… joy, relief, pride, disappointment…

Wait, what? Disappointment?

What’s the one thing a Mama wants after hearing the news that her baby boy is coming home?

To BE THERE of course! To be the first one to lay eyes on him, wrap her arms around him as if she’ll never let him go. But this economy has been hard on everyone, and my friend Teresa, who had been months without a job, had FINALLY found work again. The sad reality was that their finances had been stretched to the limit after months of unemployment, and there just wasn’t the money in the budget for a plane ticket.

As a Mom, I cannot fathom what that must be like to know day in and day out that your son is actively in harm’s way for 6 months.  I don’t know that I would be able to sleep. The wondering, waiting, worrying, praying without ceasing, putting on a brave face for your brave boy, yet treasuring in your heart images of him in nothing but a diaper & cowboy boots with a pair of capguns slung low around his chubby little thighs…

Teresa’s story hit way too close to home for me…

I stand on the precipice getting ready to launch my first born.  He’s headed into law enforcement, so there is a very real possibility of military service in his future. I’m SO proud of the young man he’s become, he’s got an incredible future, but my Mama’s heart wants to slow down time just a bit. Where did the years go?

Not being the type to just wring my hands over a problem, I set to work.  Harnessing the power of social media, I sent out a midnight post on facebook (hidden from Teresa) asking that we all band together and buy her a plane ticket.  The response was instant and heartwarming.  By Saturday morning I had over half a dozen people wanting to donate, and a place for her to stay!

As much as I wanted to surprise Teresa, the details quickly became overwhelming and I knew I needed to let her in on my secret plotting on her behalf.  She connected me to her friend Andrea who is a travel agent, and we got to work on making this dream a reality. Andrea did some travel agent magic and came up with a ticket for only $565, which is still a lot for one person, but I did the math and realized that if I got 29 people to donate $20, we could change the world for one Mama desperately wanting to wrap her arms around her boy.

It’s an amazing honor to witness a miracle happen…

Absolute strangers opening their hearts and wallets to support a mother’s love for her son.  Living in NH in late October of an election year, it’s easy to get cynical.  The political signs littering the roadsides and yards, the constant ringing of the phone with yet another political plea or survey, the antagonistic partisan politics on facebook…You wonder why can’t we all just get along? Do we all really want such vastly different things? Or at the core does it all come back to each of us, as parents, wanting the best for our kids, hoping hard for their safety, pouring everything we have into making a better world for them in big and small ways?  As friends and strangers crossed party lines and opened their wallets to get past the debate on the war and military spending, past the partisan rhetoric and past petty disagreements about religion, politics, and healthcare, my faith in our future as a nation was restored.

By Saturday night, my fb chat was lighting up like the pledge board of a Jerry Lewis Telethon. The response was incredible!

So who donated?

  • Democrats
  • Republicans
  • Friends
  • Strangers
  • Military
  • Ex-Military
  • Anti-Military
  • Pro-Life
  • Pro-Choice
  • Pro-Family
  • Pro-Gay
  • God Fearing
  • Atheists
  • Agnostics
  • Parents
  • Grandparents
  • College Students
  • Farmers
  • Professionals
  • Men
  • Women
  • City People
  • Country People

 

While the rest of the family battened down the hatches for Hurricane Sandy, I was busy with the hurricane of emails, fb messages and paypal notices.  Little by little, bit by bit, donations ranging from $10-$50 started to trickle in.  We were getting close, but as each minute ticked by, the fear of the ticket price jumping, or availability disappearing altogether was ever present.

And then the unthinkable happened…

One very generous donor offered enough frequent flier miles for the ENTIRE TICKET!  We were all speechless! This incredible act of generosity made it possible to not only get Teresa to Colorado, it also freed up the money everyone else had donated to go towards all the additional travel expenses such as meals, car rentals, etc.

It didn’t stop there… Even after it was announced that we had a ticket for Teresa, there were still big-hearted people stepping up to the plate and sending in money.  As Teresa packed for her trip, the news came in that the hurricane had delayed her son James’ arrival by a couple of days.  More scrambling by Andrea and her plane tickets were changed. Teresa’s new employer, Umpqua Bank has been incredibly supportive in giving her time off, including the last minute change of plans. In Teresa’s words, “Their motto is ‘The World’s Greatest Bank‘ and they are definitely living up to that statement!”

It was an amazing weekend…

I’m just a housewife from New Hampshire, but somehow I changed the world this weekend.  OK, maybe not the whole world, but I know it meant the world to one family.  And what is the history of the world if not the stories of many families? When that boy steps off of the plane dozens of Mamas across the world will collectively wrap their arms around him through the arms of his own mother. While the storm ripped the world apart, individuals helped patch it back together for one family.  How can you change the world for a family you know? And in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, do we need to wait for the government to act or can you do something to help ease the tragedy for even one of those victims?

: Farmlogue
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James Slays the Oven Dragon

1
October 26, 2012

After 7 kids..4 of them being boys…you’d think I’d heard it all…

Not even close…

Our bathroom has been under construction for the past couple of weeks.  One night I was working on some of the final touches of getting it back together while the kids did the dinner dishes when I heard a sound I couldn’t quite identify…

It wasn’t a crash exactly, and not exactly a tinkle…

More of a cascading noise somewhat like a giant rainstick….but not quite…

The only thing I could my feeble little brain could possibly come up with was that perhaps the 5lb bag of rice on the top shelf of the cupboard had spilled all down the cabinets and onto the floor…but it was heavier than that, more the consistency of dried beans…and more like a 20 lb bag, which I knew we didn’t have!

WHAT WAS THAT?!?!

Ummm…

Shock & awe doesn’t quite cover the reaction one has when entering the kitchen to discover one’s oven door shattered all over the floor.  The stories vary, but near as I can figure James threw (or it slipped out of his hand) the can opener.

I’m still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that in the battle between a $5 can opener and a $100 oven door, that the can opener won.

It was one of those moments as a parent that you take a deep breath…a VERY deep breath and walk away.

Randy said, “I’m going into the other room to regroup” and I went back to organizing the bathroom.

It’s GOOD to have big kids. They took care of all the clean up while Randy & I tried to find our happy place.  Eventually Randy went back out, looked up the part online and ordered it.  Two days later it arrived, Randy & Jonathan installed it and I’m back in business.

And now I have one more thing to add to the list of “Things I Never Thought I’d Have to Say”….

Do NOT throw the can opener at the oven!

 

 

 

: Farmlogue
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Chinese Moped Mafia

5
October 24, 2012

There are days when I think that I don’t really have anything to write about because life has just been humming along and I get caught up in the chaos of the mundane.  Then in the midst of cleaning out the bathroom cabinets, it suddenly dawns on me that there HAS been exciting things going on around here that I haven’t written about!

Jonathan & Jeremiah have motorized their bicycles.

Yes, you read that right, an engine on a bicycle.  They got the engines on eBay, and their friends Michael & Judah helped them with the installation.  Michael was the inspiration for this insanity as he has had one on his bicycle for some time.  The three of them have been dubbed “The Chinese Moped Mafia” (since the engines were made in China) and are working on code names.

Along the way they’ve learned a lot about small engine repair, and had a blast!

Mere words don’t do them justice, so here’s a video.

: Farmlogue
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Weeks State Park – A Photo Essay

3
October 6, 2012

The road up to Weeks State Park, Lancaster, NH

The Fire Tower - Note how tiny Jenny is at the base of it!

The Mama Bus looks like a mini-van from this height!

The view of the house from the tower - Jonathan took this one.

Another view from the tower...on a clear day you can see all the way to Vermont!

The view from the tower was spectacular.

This disk in the tower was really cool, it told distance & direction to all kinds of places, including Montreal, Canada.

 

A mouse-eye view...through a drainhole on the floor of the tower.

 

 

 

Lovely Grounds

Breathtaking views.

Elegant bookcases in the Great Room.

Original light fixtures.

Gorgeous leaded glass windows - This also is one of Jonathan's pics.

The Great Room... taken by Jonathan

Another one of the Great Room, also by Jonathan, he's becoming quite the photographer!

Love the fall colors!

Sisters having fun!

Toothless club.

 

Taken by Jonathan

Jordan's very own trail!

Hiking back to the van.

Jonathan has a little shadow...

Have I mentioned how gorgeous NH is in the fall?

 

: Farmlogue
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The Best Rotten Dog in the World…Shall We Dye Her Fur Green?

1
September 28, 2012

This is Madison

She’s part pug, part beagle, part lab, part stupid and ALL LOVEABLE!

I’ve been told more than once that I should write a book about her misadventures…at the very least I could fill a blog with her escapades alone.

The list of things that dog has eaten includes:

  • 1 truck

  • More shoes & stuffed animals than I can count
  • Several chickens
  • 3 air conditioners
  • Insulation
  • Siding
  • Drywall
  • Dog crate…

 

You get the picture. When we left on the Mama Bus Trip, she was so frantic to find her kids that she literally ate through the side of the house to come find us.  Any efforts to crate her were to no avail, she’s a Houdini Dog…and part goat.  She’s bent 2 choke collars to escape, and taught herself how to open the latch on the crate…and when we reinforced it to prevent that, she ate through said crate!

She chases cars, bicycles, an occasional chicken and has treed a bear (ok treeing the bear was really cool, but the rest…) She once got so freaked out by a thunderstorm that she went missing for 3 days.

If she’s SO much trouble, why keep her?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words…and I would agree…

For all her rottenness, she is LOVEABLE!

From the time Jenny was born, Madison claimed her as HER baby…

 

Protecting her

Tolerating her

Loving her

In short, this rotten dog is well-loved, and a special part of our family.

For the past week or so, she’s been a bit more clingy than usual.  Every morning she’s been in my face while I check email and moping about a bit.  We chalked it up to school starting; Madison doesn’t really understand when the kids have to hit the books and don’t have as much time to run in the woods.

Then yesterday afternoon, Madison came DASHING through the back door, trembling from nose to tail.  It was if all the neighbors had decided to do some target practice AND a huge thunderstorm struck AND 4th of July fireworks were going on all at once.

I’ve never seen this dog SO freaked out.

We checked her out, running our hands over her body & legs; there were no obvious injuries.  Next we checked her remote trainer collar…was it malfunctioning, or had some little person gotten a hold of the remote?  Nope, remote was on top of the book case and collar seemed to be functioning normally, nonetheless we removed it just to be safe.  She spent the evening hiding and trembling.

This morning, she was still freaked out…again I checked her over.  She was limping on her back legs, still very shaky, her left side seemed to be a bit swollen, and she refused to eat or drink anything.  Had she gotten hit by a car? Two of the kids had doctor appointments this morning, and people come before dogs, so she would have to wait.  That didn’t prevent me from worrying all day.  Had she gotten hit by a car?  Did she have internal injuries? Were we facing a huge vet bill, or worse having to put her down?  I put on my best cheerful Mama face, choked back the tears and moved forward with the day; all the while steeling myself for what could be a very long, difficult weekend.

We were able to get her an afternoon appointment with the vet.  As we recounted the events of the past 24 hours, the vet was as puzzled as we were.  Her temp was normal, and she didn’t seem to be overly sensitive anywhere.  As we talked about Madison and her recent activities, it came up that Jonathan had recently been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Hmmmm…could it be?  They ran tests, and sure enough, turns out that Madison has Lyme Disease and another tick-borne disease.  We’re still not sure why Madison suddenly came running in yesterday, but the working theory is that while she was digging a hole out in the woods, she might have pulled a muscle, and came running to Mommy because she was hurt, and the Lyme disease made her reaction to the injury intensified.

Madison & Jonathan are now Lyme buddies and are taking their meds together twice a day.

We are so thankful that it’s something treatable and that we still have our precious rotten dog!

 

 

 

 

 

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This Little Piggy…

2
September 23, 2012

Image credit

You’ve heard the story of The 3 Little Pigs, and the old standby, This Little Piggy Went to Market, now I’m going to tell you the story of our virtual pig that’s a real pig…confused yet?

This is a virtual pig…

Image credit

This is a real pig…

Image credit

It all started last spring when it was determined that the next animal added to our little farm would be a pig.  It was a tough decision between a milk cow and a pig, but in the end, a milk cow requires a larger barn, whereas a pig can get by on less, and I’m pretty sure that the determining factor had something to do with…

BACON!!

 

We have a few connections in the farming community, and began to make inquiries. 

Turns out that if you want a piglet, you need to come to the party early! 

By mid-spring, most piglets are already spoken for.

Then came that fateful Sunday when a friend at church approached us and inquired as to whether or not we had been successful in securing a small swine.  Sadly no, all of our previous efforts had been in vain.   Our friend had ordered two piglets; then discovered that his pantry was still full of pork, so he presented us with a pig for purchase.  Excited by the prospect of a piglet, we realized that we had no pen.  Not a problem our partner in pork promised.  It was not necessary that we actually take possession of said piglet.  The friendly farmer would supply our fair swine, and all we had to do was fund the feed.

We were welcome to visit our pig and bring him treats…which we did, but we didn’t have to remember to feed the pig, or clean up after the pig, or butcher the pig!  All we had to do was pay for the feed, the processing, and make room in our freezer.

He was the perfect pig!

 

 

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The Ultimate Surprise Weekend

2
September 16, 2012

It’s no secret…I LOVE surprises.

The only problem is that I’m the hardest person in the world to surprise.  Even when I was a kid, I would find out what I was getting for Christmas before the day.  It got to the point where I didn’t DARE shake the gifts because I would figure it out, and I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

This weekend though, Randy, Jenn and a whole lot of other wonderful friends managed to pull off the ultimate surprise for me.  When we hugged the Miller Family goodbye almost 6 months ago, it was with the knowledge that we likely wouldn’t see them for 2 years.  They were embarking on a tour of Asia, Australia and New Zealand that wouldn’t see them back in the western hemisphere until 2014 if all went as planned.  There was one small exception, Jenn’s cousin Ruth was getting married in September, and Jenn was the Matron of Honor, so she would fly home for that.  However, the wedding was in Atlanta, GA, so we knew that she wouldn’t be just popping in for a visit while she was here….or would she?

I’m not sure if it’s the eternal optimist in me, or the pestering little sister genes,

but every time her travel plans came up in conversation I’d tell her that I hoped her flight got diverted to Boston, or Manchester, and promised to pick her up if the unthinkable happened.  Even the day she was flying, when she got delayed in Chicago, I teased her about hopping a plane to Boston.  What I didn’t know was that her plane WAS going to Boston!!

Friday was one of those days that as a Mom are just tough.  Nothing tragic or unusual, just a long, arduous day with every bit of nonsense that kids put you through.  Early afternoon, Randy made his daily call to me to let me know he was on his way home and ask if I needed anything from the store.  I gave him the short list, and went back to teaching a reading lesson, barely noting that he was coming home a bit earlier than usual, which is always nice on a Friday.

He came in the door with a couple of bags of groceries, finding me slogging through schoolwork with James.  After a welcome home kiss, he said I needed to come out to his van to see the surprise he picked up for me in Tilton.  I was TOTALLY mystified…had absolutely NO CLUE what he could have brought me that would be so big that he wouldn’t just carry it in.

The word surprise doesn’t even cover the shock & joy I felt when I went around the corner of the van and found Jenn!

She was supposed to be in Atlanta!  Screaming, hugging, laughing and crying all at once, I welcomed my traveling buddy. Turns out everyone in our friend set had known for about a month that Jenn was stopping in NH before heading south to the wedding, and they’d all been afraid to talk to me for weeks for fear that they’d blow the surprise!

The rest of the weekend was one fabulous surprise after another…some planned, some not.

  • On top of flying halfway around the world, Jenn had brought along with her ingredients to make the most delicious Thai soup for dinner Friday night.
  • A beach day had been planned with the excuse that it was Meg’s 11th birthday; it was also a convenient way to get everyone together so everyone could visit with Jenn without raising my suspicion.
  • Because I truly did not have it together this week, my plan for lunch at the beach included stopping at the grocery store in Bristol on the way.   Turns out, it was customer appreciation day so they had a free lunch going on in the parking lot…hamburgers, hot dogs, STEAK & LOBSTER!!  Yes, you read that right, the local grocery was offering a free steak & lobster lunch!  So the lunch we bought inside the store stayed in the cooler, and all ELEVEN of us enjoyed FREE steak & lobster.

The weather was gorgeous, our bellies full, our breath smelling suspiciously of lobster, we headed to the beach to join the Glines & Schenks.  When we got there however, it was SO WINDY I thought it just might blow Jenny away if I didn’t keep a tight hold on her. The crazy kids swam and we endured the chilly wind until the Deml’s arrived, then decided to move the party back to our house.

Randy quickly assessed the situation and realizing that we would likely have 33 for dinner, began to throw together his famous spaghetti sauce…YUM!

All in all, it was an amazing weekend full of surprises & serendipities both big & small. But the best part of all was the people.

I am tremendously blessed my some of  the most amazing friends on the planet,

and those that were in my yard today were but a small sampling of the phenomenal people God has blessed my life with.

 

A HUGE THANK YOU to all who helped plan the surprise, and to those who were able to keep it a secret from me!

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Not The Lottery We Were Hoping To Win…

8
September 13, 2012

"Lick Me, I Taste Like Lime...wrong lime!"

This is Jonathan…or more precisely…Joker Jonny…He is definitely our family’s “class clown”.  Always full of fun ideas, and ready with the camera to film whatever crazy stunt he’s dreamed up and convinced someone else to do!  So full of energy and fun, it was strange when at the end of the summer he suddenly came down with a fever, sore throat, headache, body aches & a stiff neck.  Especially strange because my kids aren’t often sick, and they’re NEVER sick in the summer time…there’s too much fun to be had!

But it was true, he was sick, too sick to join us on our trip to Plimoth Plantation…and that’s sayin’ something for the kid who is the life of the party!

But I had heard of a few other kids coming down with an end of the summer bug, so I didn’t worry too much about it.  A couple days later, he had an enormous red spot on the back of his knee…looked like a spider bite…or a bullseye.  Then the following day, he had another one on the side of his other knee.

He had been sick for 4 days, and nobody else had caught it yet…strange….

You see, in a big family, once one person gets sick, it’s time to load up on the Ultra Immune & Berry Well, and buy stock in Clorox wipes.  One or two might escape unscathed, but whatever it is, it’s bound to make the rounds.

On day 4 I noticed that the spots really did look like a bullseye and they were much bigger.  I called his pediatrician, but as it was Labor Day, no one was in the office.  So I took him to the emergency room.  After listening to the ER Doctor rant about never waiting 4 days to bring in a kid with a fever and a stiff neck (meningitis symptoms – which I had considered, but he wasn’t that sick, and the neck stiffness was only on one side, as if he’d slept on it funny) they ordered some tests and we waited.  They took blood counts, blood cultures, and did a test for Lyme Disease.

 The very words send shivers up my spine.

Our family has a bit of experience with that disease.  My brother has had chronic Lyme for over 10 years. It went undiagnosed for years; he’s been denied disability, his insurance company has refused to cover treatment, and his doctor has been threatened with losing her license if she continues to treat him.  He has had to switch to an out of state doctor just to get the treatment he needs. Once a vibrant active outdoorsman, he’s now a man dependent upon IV antibiotics, no longer able to work on a regular basis, or roam the rugged mountains that he loves.

Lyme is a very debilitating illness.

The emergency room doctor came back in and looked at Jonathan’s “bites” or “rashes” again.  He said that although they were the classic bullseye of Lyme Disease, the chances of getting bit by 2 infected ticks at roughly the same time were like millions to one…odds similar to winning the lottery.  Reassured that this definitely wasn’t Lyme, he drew a circle around Jonathan’s spots so we could track whether or not they spread and sent us home with the diagnosis of an unspecified virus with a viral rash, and instructions to follow up with his pediatrician the following week.

The next day his spots had clearly spread, I was regretting not drawing the circle around them and taking pictures the first day we saw them. And now his eyes were red & puffy as if he had a bad case of hayfever.

 But the Dr. said it wasn’t Lyme… 

Then my friend Susan called and asked to come over and see Jonathan’s spots, a couple of her kids had Lyme disease a few years ago, so she was quite familiar with it, and was worried about Jonathan.  I am SO glad she offered to come over.  She took one look at Jonathan and said, “That’s Lyme, oh yeah, sorry Buddy…8 weeks of doxycycline”.  I asked about the fact that there were 2 spots and told her what the ER Dr. had said.  Turns out that multiple lesions are not that uncommon, and you don’t even have to be bit by more than one tick to get more than one lesion!

More “facts” debunked…

I always thought that the bullseye rash appeared while the tick was on you, or shortly thereafter.  Turns out that the bullseye lesions can appear weeks or MONTHS after a bite.  This certainly made sense in Jonathan’s case, we had TERRIBLE ticks this spring (like March, April, early May), but NONE this summer…yet one more reason to love 50+ free range chickens gobbling up every bug they can find.

Nothing gets you an immediate appointment at a busy pediatrician’s office like saying “My son was in the ER over the weekend with possible Lyme’s Disease, and they instructed that we follow up with a visit to his regular doctor.”  We got an appointment that same day.  By now he had been sick for a week and still nobody else was sick….clearly this was not viral.

Thankfully Jonathan’s pediatrician was a bit more knowledgeable about Lyme than the ER doctor.  He knew that more than one lesion was not only possible, but even probable at times.  Based on his symptoms alone, and without waiting for the Lyme test to come back, he ordered 3 weeks of doxycycline.  Three weeks?  I thought it took 8?  Jonathan’s Dr. reassured me that the standard of care was 2-3 weeks, but given that I had a brother with this disease, he ordered the 3 weeks to set my mind at ease.

I was not convinced.

One thing I knew about Lyme was that if you catch it early and treat it aggressively it IS possible to cure it.  But left unchecked, or undertreated, it comes back to bite you and is almost impossible to get rid of.  One other thing you need to know about me…. I am not the Mama in there asking for antibiotics for every sniffle or cough…quite the opposite in fact!  I try the natural route as much as possible, letting things run their course, I see antibiotics as a final course of action AFTER everything else has been tried, including good old fashioned chicken soup and just waiting for it to go away on its own. This does not work with Lyme…

Let me repeat myself…THIS DOES NOT WORK WITH LYME!!

If you let Lyme run its course, it becomes nearly impossible to cure, and your best hope is to just manage the symptoms while you pray for a cure.  Except that nobody is really studying it, there are no big foundations, nobody is trying to turn facebook green for a week to raise Lyme awareness…its victims just quietly suffer while battling for insurance and disability coverage, and sometimes even just a doctor who can treat them without the threat of losing their license.

So I went home and did some research.  I knew my sister-in-law had studied it thoroughly over the years that my brother has had the disease, so she was my first contact, my resident expert.  She directed me to the website of Dr. Burrascano, the leading Lyme doctor in the country.  He has a 37 page treatment guideline available as a free download that recommends 8 weeks of doxycycline…not 3 weeks…8 weeks.

In the meantime I had also posted on facebook a prayer request for Jonathan, and the Lyme stories started pouring in…several of my friends had battled Lyme with varying degrees of success, and the running theme among all of them was that 3 weeks is not enough, and it might even take 6 months!  They also were gracious enough to give me the names of several Lyme literate doctors in the state.

So, I wrote a letter.

I printed out Dr. Burrascano’s treatment guidelines, and included the names of the local Lyme literate doctors, along with a plea to extend Jonathan’s treatment for the full 8 weeks.  I put it all in an envelope and had Randy deliver it to Jonathan’s doctor the following day.  You know you have a good pediatrician when he READS what you send him, RESEARCHES FURTHER on his own, and CALLS YOU BACK, even though it’s 7:30pm on a Friday.  He agreed to the longer term of antibiotics!

You hear a lot about taking charge of your own care, being an advocate, but does it really work?  Yes it does.  Nobody, not even the best doctor in the world is going to care for your kids as much as you do.  So it’s important to do your homework, write the letters, make the phone calls, and keep it positive! State the facts, give documentation…not just, “I read on a website…” Recognize that your doctor cannot be an expert in everything, so don’t hesitate to ask him to devote some time to studying something a bit further.

Jonathan has been on antibiotics for a week now, and we’re beginning to get glimmers of our light-hearted, teasing, annoying big brother back…we’ve missed that.  But then partway through the day, he’s just spent, his body aches, his mind is fuzzy, and occasionally he gets tingly all over, like when your foot falls asleep.  When I kiss him in the morning, sometimes I jokingly say “Yummy! Lyme!” and his siblings have come up with all kinds of nicknames for him like “lima bean,”  “limestone” and more.  Jillian came up with our new mantra…When life hands you limes, just rearrange the letters and return a smile.

The meds make him sensitive to sunlight, so we’re thankful that this happened at the end of the summer and not the beginning.  Last weekend we went for a hike early in the day while it was still overcast, and he said he felt weird afterward, his skin felt ultra sensitive, like he was sunburned even though he wore long pants & a hat.  We tease him about being a vampire now…but it’s no joking matter.

We are praying and believing that the meds will bring about a complete cure for Jonathan, but every once in a while, my mind jumps and I see how this terrible disease has the potential to rob a very high-spirited boy of his amazing future, and that would be a tragedy indeed.  Our world needs more Jonathans, his fun-loving spirit is infectious, and I know God has great things planned for him!

 

I share our story in hopes to raise awareness about Lyme Disease.

It’s a relatively new disease that not much is known about.  If you lead an active outdoor lifestyle, you need to educate yourself about it.  Know the signs, symptoms, and treatment options.  Below are links to learn more about it and a petition to update the standard Lyme treatment protocols that are outdated and likely ineffective.  If you live in NH and need the name of a Lyme literate doctor, let me know, I’ll be happy to pass along that information.

This disease strikes so suddenly and can have such devastating long-term effects that people need to be aware of the symptoms. At the very least, please, sign the petition, let’s get those treatment protocols updated, and pass along Jonathan’s story to everyone you know.  People need to know what symptoms to look for!

 

Some helpful links:

http://www.lymedisease.org/petitionscript/index.php

http://www.underourskin.com/

http://canlyme.com/

http://www.ilads.org/

http://www.lymedisease.org/

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Plimoth Plantation and The Mayflower II…A Photo Essay

0
September 12, 2012

How many kids can you fit in a canoe?

 

One of the many "residents"

 

Washing Dishes

 

 

 

Thankfully there weren't many!

 

The kids had a ball! You can just make out the top of Celia's head in this picture.

 

Jenny peeking at the cow.

 

Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

 

Chattin' over the back fence

Best of friends.

 

Jenny getting a spinning lesson.

 

 

Even the big kids couldn't resist rolling down the big grassy hill!

James & Jessie TRIED to roll down the hill...

Then it was off to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II

Jordan at Plymouth Rock

 

View from the porthole

 

A few of the sailors on the Mayflower II

 

Who says they didn't have indoor plumbing on the Mayflower?

 

 

 

Jessie down below next to the mast.

 

Experimenting with pulleys on our way out.

 

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