Day in the Life--Winter 2016

Wow---I haven't captured a DITL since last spring!  I really need to caputre these days.  It's amazing how much has changed since last spring.  I love going back and reading how life was!

Okay, onto the good stuff. I documented two-partial days---that way I could catch a glimpse of our weekend and a work day!  Okay...let's be honest...I was procrastinating and completely forgot about this, until yesterday.  So here is a quick look at our Day in the Life- Winter 2016!

Sunday, January 24th

Brad and I slept in until about 8:30.  This weekend we attended the Minnesota Farm Bureau Leadership Conference in the Twin Cities.  We had an excellent time learning and networking with old and new friends.  By 9:30, we were showered, packed, and ready to head home.  We stopped at McDonalds for a quick breakfast because Brad was complaining his stomach hurt and he figured food would help.  By 10 AM, we were at Sam's Club to pick up a few items.  We found our 55 pound bag of dog food, large jars of salsa, and a big box of strawberries and were on our way home. 

Well, by the time we got to the car, Brad told me that I should drive.  Poor guy didn't feel well.  Turns out, it was a good thing, because he proceeded to vomit.  Luckily, I have a ton of plastic bags in my car!  So, good news, no mess; bad news, yuck...it's puke! Poor guy... I felt so bad for him.   So much for that $4.59 breakfast. 

We finally made it back home a little before noon.  Grandma and Grandpa watched Owen and our dog at our house while we were gone for the weekend.  I am so thankful for grandparents who are so involved in our little man's life! Grandma and Grandpa decided to take Owen to church on Sunday while we were still out. They pulled into the driveway just minutes after us.  I got the report from the weekend, and they mentioned that he was one of the best behaved little kids in church--they didn't even have to take him out.  Definitely a proud mom moment! 

Anyways, after we got settled back home, it was time for lunch around 12:30.  By this time, Brad was out of commission.  I banished him to the basement family room to hopefully prevent his illness from spreading.  Since his stomach was clearly not happy, he didn't join us for lunch.  Owen and I had leftover spaghetti--messy, but so delish!

After lunch, Owen and I spent an hour playing with a few of his tractors and farm toys.  He is a little farmer at heart!  However, he needs to improve his sharing skill.  He gets a little upset if you touch his favorite tractor (International 966 with manure spreader loaded with 3 cows, 1 bull, 1 baby calf, 1 sheep, and 1 dog). 

Tractors and Implements are ready for a Parade

Takes farming very seriously!

By 1:45, he was ready for a nap; let's face it, I was too!  I laid him down in his crib; it took him a few minutes to settle down, but by 2:00 he was finally asleep.  During his nap, I took advantage of the quite time.  I emptied the dirty clothes out of our suitcase, put dishes away, and looked at the mail that came on Saturday.  Finally, by 3 PM, I had enough domesticity and took a nap myself.  I woke up around 3:45 PM.  That nap was great!  Shortly after I woke up, Brad emerged from the basement; he was hungry.  So I made him a piece of toast.  Unfortunately, he didn't finish it.   Back to the basement he went. Poor guy. I have NEVER seen him this ill.  I googling his symptoms and come up with Norovirus, Influenza, Gastroenteritis, and more!  It's obviously some kind of stomach bug---just hope Owen and I don't get it!

Still waking up

At 4:45, Owen finally wakes up with a loud, "Mamma"!  I go to his room and get him up.  He is still a bit sleepy, so I bring him into the living room and we rock in the recliner.  He starts to beg for TV, apprently he's not enjoying Championship Sunday Football!  I really want to see the end of the Patriots vs. Bronco's game. I might not be as passionate about professional sports as some, but this is probably the last time Brady and Manning will play one another.  So history wins out!  I give Owen the iPad, and load Thomas the Train.  He loves watching "Tom".  Finally, the game is over, the Broncos won, but what an ending!  Owen is not done watching "Tom".  However, my iPad battery is getting low, and we need to FaceTime with my parents yet tonight.  I take the iPad away (the horror!!!) and charge it.  Owen is not pleased with my decision, so I turn on Netflix to Curious George (aka "George").  This appeases O; George for the win!

By 6:30, it's supper time.  I bring Owen into the kitchen.  Tonight, Owen and I had popcorn shrimp, mixed veggies, and pears.  O loves the pears and veggies.  He's not impressed with the popcorn shrimp!  Oh well.  We finish supper a bit before 7.  Owen notices the playdoh sitting on the counter---looks like it's Playdoh time!  I set him up on the counter and call Mom and Dad via FaceTime since little man is occupied.  He plays and talks with Mama and Poppa.  I also figured out that the paper towel holder makes and excellent iPad holder...feel free to thank me later!

Brad: Hibernation Mode

After we are done talking to Grandma and Grandpa, it's time to play again.  We play with the cows and tractors.  Next we switch to books.  Someone is finally getting tired.  By 8:20, it's getting close to bedtime.  I get Owen ready for bed.  We brush his teeth and get our jammies on.  We read one more book, Goodnight Tractor, and it's bedtime.  We say our prayers then I put O down for the night by 8:30.  After O's in bed, I start watching Downton Abbey.  I love this show and will miss it next season! At 9:15, I realized that I forgot to grab his dirty cloth diaper bag (they need to be washed tonight).  I crept into his room.  As I grabbed the bag, he sits up in bed says, "Momma".  I thought he was asleep and was quite surprised when he said hi.  I told him good night once again, and he laid back down. Brad woke up for a few minutes, and finally moves to his bed rather than the couch in the basement.  He's still feeling pretty crummy.  Hopefully, he's better tomorrow.  By 10:30, I'm in bed for the night.





Monday, January 25th

3:34 AM--Brad woke me up and told me this stomach bug isn't gone yet.  He puked once again.
 
I wake up around 7:15.  I know my alarm went off earlier, but I ignored it.  By 7:30, I'm kicking my butt in gear and am in the shower.  I'm finished getting ready for the day by 8:00.  Owen is still sleeping.  I start to wake him up around 8:10--he clearly didn't want to wake up.  I know, buddy, mornings aren't my thing either.  Finally, he's up. We have yogurt because we are out of eggs.  Looks like I need to go grocery shopping later today.  Finally, by 8:40, we are out the door and at Grandma's for Daycare.

Just let me sleep, Ma!

A MN Morning

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Today, I spent my work day as an office day.  The weather is a bit crummy and I don't have any appointments lined up today.  Oh well, I have a deadline to critique a new app for our salespeople and customers.  All of our suggestions need to be in by the end of the week, so I figure this is the perfect time to get this project done.  Brad wakes up around 9:30 (SUPER unusual for a dairy farmer!) and is still ill.  He spends the rest of the day lazing around in bed. 

By 4:45, I pick up Owen.  We head to the grocery store to pick up eggs and milk.  He's a good little shopper!

Owen Funnies

Dear Owen,

Your vocabulary is really starting to pop!  You are stringing together words and communicating your thoughts.  These are just a few of the funny things/sayings you have done over the past month.


January 14th--  Rylee, our dog, acts as our "pre-wash" cycle for our dishwasher.  We set dirty plates and bowls on the open door of the dish washer and she licks them spotless.  Well, you have watched Rylee in action.   This evening you decided to copy her.  You proceeded to lick a plate already "cleaned" by Rylee.  I was putting leftovers away and caught you red handed!  I had to leave the room, because I was laughing so hard.  Dad and I thought this was one of the funniest things you have ever done (so far...).

January 16th--we invited all the family over to celebrate your 2nd birthday.  When Uncle Nana and Katie were getting ready to leave, you said, with a pouty lip, "stay Katie". She couldn't resist. You are a sweetie.

Later that night, you told me that "San-sa" (Santa) brought you the presents.  You kept repeating, "Sansa...Ho ho ho... Snow...Up....Sky."  I am amazed that you can remember Christmas time and gifts from over 3 weeks ago! Your memory is very impressive!  We did have to remind you that we celbrated your birthday, but it was a memory too sweet.

January 20-- We spend the evening at the farm because you took a 2.5 hour nap at Grandmas!  (Recently, you have decided NOT to nap... Not good buddy).  While at the farm, you "fed" your favorite cow, Gina; you fed the farm cats, and watched cows be milked.  However, you took a new job on this evening--you helped Daddy fill the pastuerizer!  You tried to lift the big 5-gallon pails, but they were a bit too large for you. We gave you a small yellow pail--you thought it was the best thing ever! Later that evening, we witnessed the miracle of birth.  We watched a calf be born. You really wanted to play with the "baby" as soon as he was born, but Mom said he needed to rest.  Later that night while eating supper, we talked about our day.  You told us "cow....baby....tail". Apparently the birth of that calf really made an impression.

Day in the Life-Spring 2015

Unfortunately, this is going to be a pretty brief post--that's problem with trying to capture a work day.  Oh well, live and learn!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015
I wake up around 6:45.  Owen is still sleeping (score!) meaning I can actually enjoy a shower and get ready for the day without a toddler underfoot. 

By 7:15, I'm ready for work.  I hear Owen is starting to wake up.  Poor guy has caught my spring-time cold and is a boogery mess.  I wipe his nose, much to his displeasure.  However, he is happy to see his momma (likewise, his momma is happy to see him).  After a quick nursing session, it's time for breakfast.  On the menu this morning: yogurt and Cheerios.  He's all about being Mr. Independent and must have a spoon.  He just started using a spoon about 2 weeks ago, and surprising, he's not too messy.  It's amazing how fast he is learning and growing!!!

Yum, Cheerios!

After breakfast, he plays with his buddy Rylee.  Rylee isn't too impressed and would rather be sleeping.  She is such a good dog and is extremely patient with him. 

By 8:20, we are at Grandma's for daycare.  Owen is a bit clingy this morning.  So I wait around until he's distracted.  After a few minutes, I'm out the door and on the road.  Today, I'm cold calling at a few large farms.  Hope it's a good day!

Off to Grandma's!

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go

After 250 miles, I'm back home.  It was a pretty worthwhile trip.  I made some good leads.  However, a few of the people I wanted to talk to were already in the field hauling manure.  In the next few days/weeks planting will begin.  That means: SPRING IS HERE!!!  It might be a slow 2-3 weeks for me with work, but I love this time of year.

After finishing up some computer work and responding to emails while I was on the road, at 4:30, I decide to go pick up Owen a bit earlier than normal because it is SO NICE!  Hello 70's.  It's nice to see you again.  Hope you're here to stay! I was going to walk and pick him up in the stroller, but the walk home would be brutal--way too windy. So instead, I drive over.  O had a pretty good day.  He had an hour long nap.  Before we left Grandma's, we stopped to say bye-bye to her puppy and play on the little slide/climber.  Owen is definitely an outdoor kid.  He loves it!  Finally, we are on our way home. Once home, we walked around our yard and played outside. Owen collected quite a few rocks from our landscaping and decided to relocate them to a nice pile in front of the garage. He was having quite a blast!

Brad was working late (day 1 of the planting season; oats and alfalfa went in). So, Owen and I had left over Beef and Broccoli for supper.  By 8:00 PM, Owen was getting sleepy.  I'm guessing he was exhausted from all the time outside. By 8:30, O had nursed, was in his jammies and basically passed out.  Peace and quiet.  Brad came home shortly after 8:30--just missed the little man.  I heated up some leftovers for Brad and went to relax on the couch.  Next thing I know, it's 10:00--time for bed.  It's been a good day!

Day in the Life-Winter 2015

Sunday, February 1, 2015

I'm linking up with Laura from Navigating the Mothership again for a Day in the Life post.  I love how these days capture what's happening in our lives! Now onto our day...

Ahh....Glorious sleep.  Owen woke up this morning around 3:15; fortunately, he fell asleep on his own within a few minutes. Back to sleep for me! Brad was up early this morning too--he was up at 4:30 to make it over to the farm to milk the cows. Somehow, I never hear his alarm (not that I'm complaining).

A bit before 8, I woke up to a silent house. Those few seconds of peaceful tranquility are wonderful. That silence was short lived, and O woke up shortly after me. It's probably because, I used the bathroom which is right next to his room.  Oh well.

Poor buddy clearly didn't want to be up.  I started to nurse him and within 10 minutes he was sleeping again. Since our nursing days are dwindling (I made it to a year! Woo-Hoo!!), I enjoyed the next 45 minutes snuggling my little guy.  The baby stage goes WAY TOO FAST!

Around 9, Owen decided it was time to be up for the day.  We went to make breakfast: scrambled eggs and toast. He was a bit upset that he couldn't see what I was doing on the stove-top.  Baby on the leg syndrome continues...PS, check out my redneck cabinet locks.  I have rubber bands on the cabinets that contain things that I don't want Owen playing with, but things that are safe.  Don't worry, sharp things/chemicals/etc are locked up!

Once he was in his high chair, and food was being shoveled into his face, he was a much happier guy!

After we finished breakfast, it was play time. Owen loves his puppy.  Our dog, Rylee, is about 4.5 years old. She is so good with him. She loves giving him kisses!  He even tries to give her kisses back. 

 

Around 10, I called Brad to see if he was going to make it to church. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to make it so I decided to stay home.  It's so hard to go to church by yourself with one wiggly baby.  To the people who do that, I congratulate you!  Much easier having daddy with us. So instead, we stayed home and read books.  Owen decided that Dad's farming magazines were pretty interesting!

 Around 10:30, I realized that I had diapers in the washer that needed to be dried, and diapers in the dryer that needed to be stuffed and put away. To the laundry room with my little helper.

All done, Mom!

He loves, LOVES to help with laundry.  He will empty the entire dryer and put stuff in the basket.  Once the basket is full, he will "reverse" and put all the contents from the basket back into the dryer unless you intervene. Now, if only I could get him to start folding and putting away laundry...

Around 11:30, Owen went down for a quick 30 minute nap.  Brad finally came home close to noon.  Like clockwork, Owen woke up.  He must have known that Daddy was home.  Brad and Owen played while I made lunch.  We had leftovers wild rice soup and hot ham and cheese sandwiches.  After lunch, I decided to work out.  I am following the Couch to 5K training program to get back in shape.  So far, I'm taking it slow, but I want to be healthy for family and for myself.  I'm only on week 2, day 2, so it's pretty manageable so far. 

Post-workout selfie

After I got cleaned up around 3:00, Brad left to go do the afternoon chores.  Typically, he has a bit of a "relaxed" schedule on Sunday's so we can spend time together as a family.  Owen and I left to go have his one-year photos taken.  We have a local photographer take his pictures, and she is so good with getting him to show his sweet personality.  He was quite the mover and didn't want to sit still very long.  I can't wait for the sneak peak to appear!

After we were done with the photoshoot, it was time to run to the grocery store.  We needed a few of the basics: milk, cheese, bread, fruit.  I also had to pick up ingredients for the fruit dip (CoolWhip and Greek Yogurt) that I was bringing to my BIL and SIL's superbowl party.  Nothing like remembering and whipping something up last minute!

Around 5, we finally made it home.  Owen was starting to get crabby clingy by this point, but I had fruit dip to make and a party to get to!  By 5:30, the dip was made, our bags were packed, and we were at my BIL and SIL's for the party. 

It was a small crowd (just the neighbors, and my two BIL and SIL's) at the Superbowl party, and we were really entertained more by Owen and his cousin than the actual game! However, it was a good night with good friends and good food! Oh and good wine!

By 9:45, we were back home. Owen was pretty tired, but surprisingly not crabby.  I was in disbelief as he hadn't had a nap since 11:30 this morning! I nursed him and put him to bed by 10.  I got my jammies on and hopped into bed. I'm a big fan of Downton Abbey--so I watched the latest episode courtesy of my DVR.  After that, it was lights out. 

Happy 1st Birthday!

Well that was fast! My baby is ONE! Where did the past 365 days go?  

1 week

1 year

Overall, the last year has been amazing.  It's been a privilege to watch our son change and grow. I love watching him explore new things.  It's fun to see the world through his eyes.  The relationship and bond he has with his Daddy, melts my heart.  I love hearing his giggle when he sees his puppy in the morning and the way he laughs when she gives him kisses.  I will never forget the way he looked up at us when he took that first step all by himself--he was beaming with pride.  I know future years will be just as exciting even though those "firsts" are checked off the milestone list. 


Anyways, enough sappiness for now.  Now for the fun stuff..the party! We held his party a few days before his birthday.  We invited all the immediate family members--there were about 14 adults total. "Farm" was the theme of choice for our (hopefully) future farmer.  I made Philly Cheese-steak Sandwiches, roasted sweet potatoes (Owen's favorite), cut up pineapple, broccoli/cauliflower salad, and cherry/pretzel desert.  It was a pretty tasty meal. 

For the cake, I cheated and made a boxed confetti cake.  It was easy, I was running out of time, and who doesn't love confetti cake?!?  For Owen's smash cake I made an apple/banana smash cake; I modified the recipe from Our Haven Hill.  I used all-purpose flour compared to whole wheat since I don't stock whole wheat in my pantry. It's actually, a pretty tasty cake--it was more like banana bread than cake.  Going along with our farm theme, I frosted the cakes in a barn/farm scene and cow print.  My husband joked with me that I spent far too long decorating the cake. I probably spent 2 hours on it, but I thought it was well worth it!

Farm themed for our future farmer!

Owen is definitely spoiled.  He received so many wonderful gifts from family members.  At first, he was pretty exited to open presents...however, that excitement waned after his new car came out! Note to self: save the exciting gifts for the end! After he opened his car, he was done with presents for a good 30 minutes or so. We gave him a Case IH sweatshirt, a few books about tractors, and a swing for outside. He also received a lot of cloths, books, and toys.  In the weeks that followed his party, we had to put a few of them away to bring them out for later.

After presents were opened, poor buddy needed a nap---too much excitement!

Cousin Picture---They think it's fun to pound on the countertop

Hmm, what is this sweet stuff?

Not too messy

Beep, Beep! Coming through!

Day in the Life- Fall 2014

It appears that I've neglected my blog once again.  Oh well.  At least, I carved away some time to sit down and document what's happening in my life.  It's been busy, but busy is good!

Day: Saturday, November 1st

Brad: 29 (though I never took a picture of him)
Me: 28
Owen: 9 months

8:00 AM--I wake up to the sounds of Owen grunting/chatting/crying.  He's saying, "Mom, come get me out of my crib.  I'm ready to go!".  I'm so thankful he slept in this morning--I needed it!  Last night, we (Brad, Owen, and I) attended a friends' Halloween party.  We went as a family of gnomes.  We didn't get to the party until 9, so once we arrived, Owen was asleep.  He kept sleeping until shortly after 10 and was awake until we left (11:15 or so??).  Poor guy was sleepy.

Not a very happy gnome

Anyways, I pull myself out of bed and head down the hall to Owen's room.  He's just laying on his back looking around now.  I pick him up and change his diaper per the normal routine. We head into the living room to nurse.

8:30 AM--He's done eating and just being calm.  I take advantage of the next 15 minutes to snuggle my baby.  I can't believe how fast he is growing.  If anyone figures out how to slow down time, please, please let me know.

Best buddies!

8:45 AM-- Snuggle time is over.  I hear our dog Rylee hop out of bed and head towards the living room.  Owen hears her tromping over and gets excited.  It's amazing the bond these two have!  I set Owen down on the floor to play.  Rylee immediately showers Owen with at least a dozen kisses.  I guess it makes up for missing his bath last night? While Owen is occupied with his toys and Rylee, I run to my room to get dressed for the day.  My sister-in-law and I are going to our community's annual craft fair later today, so I need to be a little more presentable than my normal sweats and T-shirts. I look at my closet debating what to wear---it's cold, so I should probably wear long sleeves.  I pick out an outfit, get dressed and am joined by my little buddy.

Someone found me (last weekend, I cleaned out my closet--this box needs is what I'm donating)

9:00 AM--Time to eat.  I set Owen in his pack and play while I make eggs. One of his favorite toys is this green shovel.  The kid carries it around all over.  One of his new favorite games is "I will drop this and wait for Mom to pick it up".  I find this game amusing only for about 30 seconds. 

As a kid, I hated eggs.  However, Brad had changed me into an egg eater!  My usual breakfast now includes 1-2 eggs over easy on a slice of toast plus cheese.  Absolutely delish!

Yummy

I finish up breakfast and get Owen ready to head out the door.  I change his diaper, get him dressed, and pack his diaper bag just in case we are gone longer than planned.

Dressed and ready to go!

9:30 AM--I pick up my SIL, and we head over to the craft fair.  There are hundreds of people here--we park at the back of the parking lot.  I opted not to bring my stroller (it's a jogging stroller and is WAY too big for a craft fair), so Owen gets put in the Ergo.  I'm so glad he likes to be carried.  It's a cold day, so we walk extra fast into the show. There are a lot of dealers--apparently over 90. I bought a few Christmas ornaments for myself/gifts, a dish scrubber, and a bowl potholder.

The bowl potholder.  No more burnt fingers!

I wanted to buy a few other things (a Christmas tree pallet wall decoration, some cute baby pants, and more), but I didn't bring enough cash. One thing I noticed, there were a lot of dealers, but a lot of the same merchandise.  My SIL agreed--- Pretty sure we may have a small booth there next year with some stuff for kiddos if we get our craft on. Stay tuned for more!

11:00 AM -- We leave the show and decide to stop by the local coffee shop.  My SIL recently got a new job, so I buy our pumpkin lattes. Owen isn't too impressed with our stop.  He wants to be on the floor moving--siting in the high chair or our laps isn't an option.  We keep him occupied with the mini-pumpkin on our table.  He drops it on the floor, and thinks it's a fun game.  I don't find the hilarity in the situation, so decide that it's time to head back home.

I drop off my SIL and she invites us in to finish our lattes and give Owen his Halloween treat.  Owen got a Halloween book and some treats--Puffs and Yogurt bites--his favorite.  I am certain he knew what the puffs were as soon as he pulled them out of the bag. While we were there, I get a text from my hubby asking if I was available to work on the farm this afternoon.  I asked my SIL if she was willing to watch Owen for a few hours; she said yes, so I said yes.

Noon--We head back home. I let the dog out and find that my second StitchFix arrived!  Happy day! I can't wait to find what surprise is inside the box.

However, I will have to get to it later--Owen needs to eat. He's acting like a monster.  I nurse him--he's a much happier guy!

After he is done, I put him in his high chair so I can eat.  I make myself a sandwich and give O homemade apple and pear sauce.  Once he's done with that, I give him some puffs to keep him occupied.

After I finish, I decide that I should make a roast for this evening.  I pull two roasts from the freezer and my Crock-pot.  I throw the roasts in with a sliced onion, onion soup mix and a can of Dr. Pepper.  Turn on my Crock-pot and walk away. 

I finish tidying (there is no cleaning happening in this household) the kitchen.  I grab Owen, and we head back to the living room to play.

Vroom!

This remote is so tasty!

1:15ish PM-- I nurse Owen again.  I need to be at the farm in 30 minutes. 

1:30 PM--My SIL comes over to watch Owen. I finish nursing him while our dog gets some major attention. I give my SIL the rundown of Owen.  She hasn't babysat him for months, so I remind her how our cloth diaper system works, where extra clothes are, bottles if he needs to eat before I get back, etc. I leave O with his auntie and head out the door.

1:45 PM-- I arrive at the farm and call my husband to find out where I need to be.  He tells me to start walking out back and he will pick me up on the 4-wheeler.  I walk about 30 feet before he comes roaring around the corner.  My chariot awaits. He brings me out to the field.  As we drive, I realize how under-dressed I am.  I didn't wear a coat. I only have a sweatshirt.  I didn't bring a stocking cap.  I left my gloves at home.  Needless to say, I'm cold! I figured I'd be in a warm tractor--not outside in this cold and windy day!  We finally catch up with Brad's brother.  I will be taking over raking* duties for the day.

*For all of you non-farm folks: my husband farms with his family.  He is a third generation dairy farmer.  In addition to milking cows, we raise corn, alfalfa, and soybeans.  We used the corn and alfalfa as ingredients in the ration--or recipe--for our cows.  They eat a balanced diet of corn silage, haylage, corn, soybean meal, cottonseed, vitamins and minerals.  In the early fall, we harvest most of our corn as corn silage--the entire plant is chopped and ensiled (or fermented).  We harvest the rest of the corn with a combine.  The combine separates the corn from the cob.  The stalks remain in the field.  We use the corn stalks for bedding for our dairy cows.  We typically make 1,000 bales to last for the entire year.  In order to bale the corn stalks, it's a 3-rig job.  First, someone needs to chop the corn stalks with a stalk chopper; next, some one needs to rake them into windrows; and finally, someone comes along and bales them.  Combing-->chop-->rake-->bale.  As I write this, I realize I should just do a blog post on what we do in the fall.  Maybe I will get out and tackle that project this week!

I can feel the adrenaline flowing.  I haven't been in a tractor since last fall!  I have a mini-panic attack and ask my brother-in-law a million questions: what gear are you in, how many rows does the rake cover, how fast were you driving, where's the seat adjustor lever.  Luckily, it's just raking. You can't mess it up too much (unless you can't drive straight--then there might be a problem). I think I can handle it.  For the next 4 hours, I rake two fields. I enjoy this nice, quite alone time.  It's a beautiful sunny day, and I love it!  As I rake, I reflect on how blessed we are.

6:00 PM  I'm finally done raking.  I drive the tractor and rake back to the farm.  I head back home and get cleaned up.  As soon as I came in the house, I can hear Owen screaming: he's pissed about something.  He just woke up from a 90 minute nap and was getting his diaper changed.  Apparently, he was not cooperating. Oh well. Once I'm upstairs, everything is A-OK in his world.  He must have missed me! While I was gone, Owen and his auntie read a bunch of books, played with his truck, and walked, and walked, and walked some more.  I think he will be walking on his own soon!  No wonder he slept for 90 minutes.  (normally, he only takes a 30 minute nap--this is a HUGE win).  My SIL heads home. I nurse Owen.  The roast I have in the crockpot smells divine. I can't wait to eat later tonight.

6:30 PM-- Owen finishes nursing, and I call my husband and find out what he's up to.  He's moving to another field.  Since I've barely seen him all week day, I decide we should catch a ride with him in the combine.  I get Owen changed, and we head out to ride along in the combine for the evening.

7:00 PM-- We climb up in the combine.  Owen is in awe of all the moving parts.  I'm certain that next year, he will want to ride ALL DAY LONG!

8:00 PMish-- We are done combining the for the night. Brad finished the field and needs to do a bit of work at the farm before he will be home for the evening. Owen and I head back home. I decide to give Owen a quick bath.  Brad's brother opened the door while unloading--in other words, we got full of corn chaff and dust.  Bath time it is! Owen loves taking baths--he is a total water baby.  He has recently started  splashing so much that water gets EVERYWHERE.  He thinks it is rather funny when he gets himself and mommy wet.  Silly boy.  While Owen is in the tub, Brad comes home.  Since Owen is still in the bath, I tell Brad to shower before we eat.

8:30 PM--We get Owen out of the tub.  Owen enjoys his naked time and screams when we put his diaper and PJ's on.  After jammies are on, it's time to start nursing him before bed.  He's had a busy day, so he nurses for maybe 20 minutes before he starts getting drowsy. 

9:00 PM-- the baby's in bed.  Brad started eating a bit earlier because he is tired and wants to get to bed.  I head over to the kitchen to finally enjoy that delicious roast.  It was fantastic.  Brad and I finish cleaning up the kitchen and he heads off to bed--he doesn't have the luxury of gaining an hour of sleep tonight unlike the rest of us.  I stay up do a bit of laundry.  While folding, I find a good TV show and end up watching that for awhile.  At 10, I decide I should probably go to bed.