Vegetarian no longer!

That's right, Rylan is a regular meat eater! It has taken a while, but he's starting to like meat. It started with elk sausage, and now he likes chicken. He's still not a fan of hamburger, but we're working on it. He'll try anything with ketchup on it, but many times, he'll suck the ketchup off and spit the food back out. Little bugger. Here he is enjoying a drumstick!


And here's the pathetic mad face I got when I wouldn't give him the whole box! He's getting pretty demanding.


This was after eating, he got up on that chair all by himself. Can you tell how proud he is? Needless to say, we've put up the gate into the dining room again!

We'll need a new freezer soon

Nick shot a deer last Sunday. It was a 20 yard shot with his bow. He went out around 2pm and at about 6pm I got a call from him. He was whispering that he just shot a deer and I might have to come take pictures of it for him, but he would call back when he found the deer. My first though, "oh great!" Rylan was eating chicken strips, and I had meatballs in the oven for Nick and I . I am thinking how I'll have to bundle us both up, stuff Rylan in the backpack carrier, trek across a muddy field only to enter a forest where I'll have no idea how far from the tree stand this deer ran. Nick can try to give me directions, but how do you do that in the woods. Turn left at the big tree? Needless to say, I was not looking forward to it, but I would do it because it's Nick's passion and he was so excited to get one. So I cranked up the meatballs, got Rylan all fed and started getting things ready by the door. At 8:00 I decided to call Nick to see what was going on. It was dark and it was bathtime. I was prepared to give Rylan a bath and pack him up in his jammies, but was hoping I wouldn't have to. When Nick answered, he was already on his way home! He had taken pictures himself and butchered the deer in the field. So we have more meat and the head is still lying in the backyard. He's not going to mount it, but just cut the antlers off and add them to the collection we have in the garage. Someday, I want a big antler chandelier. Nick thinks it's awesome that I want this, but I'm just hoping he'll settle to have the antlers in the house, but not attached to the heads! Anyhow, here's the picture!

Quite the Video

I found this on someone else's blog and I had to have it. It brought tears to my eyes and made me realize how badly I need to be a positive role model in my students' lives. I honestly love each one of them and would do just about anything for them, but I need to be more than a teacher. I need to be someone who they know cares about them.

I sold one!!!!

A diaper cake that is! I had seen one online and it looked easy enough to figure out, so I tried it and it was so cute! I have given 2 away as gifts and I tried selling them on ebay, but it didn't take, so I just wait for opportunities to make them. Well, I have been chatting online with a group of mommies and I had shared that I made them and one of them wanted to buy one! Yay! Here are pictures of it, it's so cute and I wish I could make more! So let me know if you are looking for a unique, cute, useful baby shower gift/centerpiece! I can use just about any color you want, but classic pink fit for this one!



Close up of the blanket


The back



So what do you think? There are 88 Pampers Swaddlers diapers, a receiving blanket, booties, a bear, 2 bottles inside, and 2 baby spoons to help hold the bear up.

Sorry!

After talking to my mom about commenting on the blog, I realized I had only allowed registered users to leave comments. I have since changed that and anyone can leave comments now! Sorry! Don't feel you need to leave a comment, but I like hearing from you!

I love it!

I just wanted to add that I'm really loving Rylan's haircut. I loved the curls, but now it's much cleaner looking than that moppy mess he had some days. And with the weather getting colder, it was always messy from hats! His eyes really pop out now and it's easier to see his precious face. I thought I would update you in case you were worried about the sadness I conveyed in my last post! HeeHee :)

Oh, and we got Rylan's Halloween costume today too! We tried it on and, OH MY GOSH, it's so cute! We're going to hold off on any pictures until Halloween though, so I'm going to taunt you with the info, but you'll have to wait for pictures! I don't remember if I've told anyone what he's going to be, but I'll give you occasional hints over the next week.

Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins this morning with Rylan for the first time. He wasn't so sure about it at first, but then we couldn't keep the "guts" out of his mouth! He loved it!

Haircut!!!!

Nick convinced me to cut Rylan's hair, but he promised me it wouldn't be too short. See for yourself!

His curls are GONE!!!!!

Daddy & Rylan - matching do's.
I'm getting used to it, but he still sorta looks like a different kid to me! I know it will grow back, but he's so grown up looking now. Where's my baby?!

Does he look like a girl?

So we were in a store today and this older lady came up and was commenting about Rylan's curls, but she kept calling him a 'she/her'. I don't even bother to correct people that I'll never see again, but it makes me wonder, does everyone think I have a daughter? What do you think? I think the outfit he had on today is a boy outfit, but maybe I'm way off? Here's the front; red sweatpants, a black and white stripe shirt and a red sweatshirt. It's all pirate theme. (I took all these pictures one after the other, but notice he's in different spots each time, I had to chase him around the house)

The back
The t-shirt, and yes, he's standing on the coffee table, it's the only way I could get him to stand still.

So is it the outfit, or the curls? Nick wants to give him a buzz, but I love those sweet curls! But I also don't want people thinking he looks like a girl!


The store that we were at is a local farming store, with a little bit of everything else too. We went there because I was looking for a certain diaper rash balm. Just today at daycare, Rylan had a nasty BM during his nap and now he has a really painful diaper rash. Poor guy, he wouldn't even sit down in the tub tonight. Luckily, it's not bleeding yet, but it's so red! A while ago, someone told me to try this certain ointment called Bag Balm. It's meant for cow udders, but people that have used it on diaper rash rave about it. But yes, you have to get it at a farm store in the livestock/veterinarian section. So we got some and I'm hoping it works wonders overnight. I think I will be checking him numerous times tonight to make sure he hasn't pooped in his sleep! I think diaper rash is the worst to deal with, because you have to keep wiping their little butts to get them clean, but it just hurts them! By the time we get a new clean diaper on, we're both crying! Here's the stuff that I got.

A day with Grandpa and Grandma!

I had the day off today and it was too wet for my parents to do any harvesting, so they came up to spend the day with us! My brother Spencer came too. We had a great day, despite not being able to go outside, because it rained all day. Here is the evidence!

Reading with Grandpa
(I guess it was a funny book)

Chilling with Uncle Spence


And here's Rylan playing "chase me" with Grandpa. They did this for a half hour, it was so funny!

Lots of stuff!

I know it's really bad that I don't update this very often, but hopefully this will make up for it! I am on NDEA break right now. The conference is 4 hours away, so I chose not to go. Besides, these two days aren't paid anymore, so I'm taking my vacation!


Last weekend, Rylan and I enjoyed chocolate chip muffins for a morning snack, can't you tell?


Hopefully he will want to take piano lessons someday.

He's getting really good at stacking things, and knocking them over too! I helped him build the base of this tower, but he did the tall part all by himself. I'm so proud!

This is Rylan running away to smash it.
At a Sioux game. He thinks the cup holders and coolest things ever! Oh, and the three stairs you see in the background. They keep him busy during the game. We're very lucky to have suite tickets for every game!


He is teething and last weekend, after napping for only an hour, he woke up crying so I sat with him in the recliner and in no time, he was out again. I can't tell you when the last time was that he fell asleep in my arms, probably when I was still nursing him! I savored every moment of this! There's nothing sweeter and more peaceful than a sleeping baby!

Daft Hands - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Check out this video, it's pretty cool. The beginning is boring until the lyrics start, so watch long enough to get to the good stuff!

My color (Thanks Shyla!)

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Conferences

I know, I know, it's been way too long! Last night was our last night of parent-student-teacher conferences, so it's been busy the last week. We run conferences 2 evenings and then one whole day, so they started last Thursday from 4:30-7:30pm, then all day Friday, and Monday from 4:30-7:30pm again. It makes for a long week this week, but it's good to have them done. All in all, they went very well and we had great attendance. 89 of our 100 students were represented, and 86 of those students came and led their conferences. We have student-led conferences because we figure if we're talking about the students, why shouldn't they be there to hear what we have to say. Because we are a team of 5 core teachers, three of us start in one room and the other two start in another room, so we have 2 conferences going at all times. They are 15 minutes long so half way through, the teachers switch rooms and we get to see everybody. It sounds a little chaotic, but it works really well and everyone seems to like the format. It's also nice to have support from colleagues in the room in case things don't go so well. As long as I've been there, there haven't been any problems, but it's nice to be there for each other. So it's great to be done and I can't believe that in a few weeks, the first quarter will be over! Wow, it's going really fast, but it's been a great year so far!
Oh yeah, my 1st period class convinced me to get a beta fish as a class pet, so we have a fish named Pisces. We were studying constellations at the time, so they thought the name was appropriate! I had a bowl and pebbles, and two students volunteered to bring the fish and the plant, so that works for me. So far, all the kids love our fish and enjoy watching it every day. (not that it does anything very interesting, but you know)
I had been telling them about my experience with a class pet my first year. We had a hamster and while it was interesting, I won't be doing it again. Her name was Maci, but I renamed it Houdini, because the stupid thing got out at least once a week. I still have no idea how it got out half the time, but it did. Thank goodness it always went to the same spot under the cupboards, so we could always find it, but it was still a pain. Anyhow, the last time it got out, it fell into one of the sinks that happened to be full of water soaking dishes and the little thing drowned. So, I got rid of all the cages, food, bedding - everything, no more class hamsters! They will have to be happy with a fish!
Anyhow, here are some random pictures of Rylan, since that's what you really want right!!

He loves to take his books and sit up by the fireplace to read. It's so dang cute!
He's gonna be the smartest little guy ever! (not that I'm biased) :)


His new hat, he loves to wear it. If I try to take it off, he gets mad. On the front is a dog next to a fireplace and it says "Life Is Good" on the back. True that!

He recently found an old pacifier and prefers to chew this end. Thank goodness we never had to take it away, he stopped using it on his own at 6 months. Look how red his eyebrows look!
He LOVES to read books and have books read to him. We usually don't get through a whole one before he wants to get another, but I hope that he grows to love reading.
Digging all the toys out.

Climbing on the toybox. I'm surprised he hasn't climbed out of his crib yet (knock on wood) because he has climbed on everything else!

Speaking of reading, this is a cute story about Nick. His mom said that when he was learning to read, he came home from school one day and announced that he didn't want to learn how to read. He decided he would never have to. When Merrilee asked him what his job would be someday if he couldn't read, and he stated that he was going to have a chocolate factory. Merrilee reminded him that even at a chocolate factory, you need to read the recipes so you know how to make the chocolate, but he had that all figured out. He told her that the oompa loompas would read the recipes for him! Needless to say, he did learn to read, but never liked it much until he found reading material that interested him, hunting books and magazines. So if that's all that interests Rylan and that's all he'll read, we already have plenty for him to choose from!