Days With the Duerksens

We declared Saturday evening as Family Night.  After a couple of weeks of sickness, the kids deserved it!  So, we headed to Applebee's and then to the bowling alley.  I don't think we had been bowling as a family for a couple of years.   It was so much fun, especially since it turned out to be Cosmic Bowling Night!   We really need to do those kinds of things more often.  Caiden and Cambry have a tricky relationship - it's a struggle, really.  We want the kids to see that each of them has value in this family, that they are all important and unique.  We're hoping that by doing some of these fun things together, they can see how life just wouldn't be the same without each one of them!   Bowling certainly isn't the only answer, but hopefully it's the start of more family nights to come! Oh, those beautiful bowling shoes! Someone knocked down a lot of pins! Picking out just the right balls! It took FOREVER for Delaney's ball...

I realize that the title of my blog is "Days with the Duerksen's," but I've realized lately that I seldom record any farm activity from this farm!  It's such a big part of our daily lives.  I really should document it! So, in an effort to do just that, I went to the "yard" last Friday with my camera.  It was grinding day - which means Chelan and his dad were grinding hay bales for the cows to eat.  It's quite a process! And, it was so nice outside, the rest of us played on the bales - lots of fun! 1.  Chelan picks up a bale with the tractor from these rows 2.  It gets dropped onto the platform 3.  The bale begins its ascent 4.  It gets dropped into this big rotating contraption 5.  The hay gets "spit" out onto the big hay pile - it's very dusty! 6.  The cows are happy! Shammi is enjoying her new found freedom from motherhood!

I could sense it coming yesterday, but it wasn't until today that routine returned to our lives!  Chelan went back to work, both kids are in school, Delaney and I ran errands in Newton, and I worked in the kitchen by myself this afternoon.  It was a "normal" day, and I am cherishing it! They say we are creatures of habit, and it's amazing how true it is.  Nothing makes me appreciate my normal, mundane life more than a week (or two, or three) of upheaval.  While I do look forward to planning occasional breaks in our routine . . . the next trip, the next event, the next holiday . . .  I always welcome routine back with open arms! Puppy Update -- I said good-bye to the last puppy this afternoon - another sign that things are returning to normal.  I'm so grateful they all found good homes!

Not so much!  I wish I could say I had remained positive during this week of sickness, but the truth is: I'm exhausted, I'm coughing, I'm tired of listening to everyone else cough, and I want everything to return to normal.  Our recent days have been measured by: good coughs vs. bad coughs checking temperatures checking medicine doses who's finished homework who has more homework to do breathing treatments how much water everyone is drinking blowing noses keeping humidifiers filled calls and trips to the doctor The good news is that Chelan is the only one remaining with a fever - although they tend to come back unexpectedly!  Hopefully, we are one day closer to being healthy! a play-doh creation homework breathing treatment more homework medicine chart Part of Caiden's homework designing a model for an egg-drop experiment.  Since Chelan was home, too, they got to work on it together.  Another positive, I guess!

I feel like a nurse - charting medications, trying to feed and clean up after everybody, calls and trips to the doctor, and running breathing treatments every 3 hours.  I now understand why I'm not a nurse in real life:  I'm just not compassionate enough - especially during the night!  Chelan's way better with the comforting side of things. Here's the situation:  Last week, Delaney developed a double ear infection/sinus infection/eye infection.  She's on antibiotics and was doing better.  Not long after that, Cambry came down with a cough and high fever.  After 4 days, I finally took her to the doctor - bronchitis.  Antibiotics and breathing treatments (which don't seem to help).  Monday, I started coughing and developed a fever.  On Tuesday, Chelan, Delaney, and Caiden came down with the same thing. I don't remember a time when all 5 of us were sick at once.  It's hard to be the "nurse" when you aren't feeling well yourself. ...

Chelan and I stumbled upon a little gem this week - the return of "Diff'rent Strokes!"  Does anyone else remember cute little Arnold, his brother Willis, Mr. Drummond, and Mrs. Garrett?  Oh, the fond memories I have! It was on for 2 hours the other night, so I recorded 3 of the episodes.  This weekend, we introduced the kids to our "new" favorite!  Caiden laughs out loud at Arnold's one-liners!  In fact, tonight he told me, "That is the funniest show I've ever seen!" It occurred to me that this is really the first sitcom he's ever watched.  If it's not on PBS, a sports presentation, or an approved movie, we don't let the kids watch a lot of what's on TV today.  Thank you Channel 24.2 for bringing back one of our childhood favorites!  We will enjoy passing it on to our kids!

Well, I'm writing this post during the 3rd quarter of the game and things have definitely turned for the worse.  I'm actually listening to the game on the radio since we don't get ESPN in this house.  We had been watching at my in-laws' house, but I got to bring the girls home for bed - sigh.  Such is life with small children and no cable!  It doesn't appear that K-State will pull this one out, but we did see Chelan's sister on TV (her family was in the end-zone on the 2nd row - and she was taking a picture - no surprise there).  :) We also saw Weston get at least one hit tonight!  To think that he's out there on that field tonight - it's amazing!  He's such a testament to hard work and perseverance -- we're definitely proud of our hometown guy.  The kids are looking forward to his visit at school.  He'll be talking to them about his experiences on the team and some of the good works the team does around their community.  What a grea...