Back online...

It's been a long time since last I wrote... too long!  If you can believe it, it's taken me this long to remember my password.  I even paid Google a few bucks to help me gain access back into my blog.  Still no luck.  Then today?  It's just happened.  I remembered!  Crazy how that works.

A lot has happened in 4 years.  We moved into a new house in the country.  The boys have aged and began participating in more sports including hockey.  We are now a ATVing family.  We're just really enjoying ourselves these days.

Still, we have some setbacks that we deal with, especially with Logan.  When I get more time, I'll spend the time blogging about some of these.

I promise I won't be away so long next time.

Spring is in the air...

The weather is steadily improving and before long, we'll be complaining about how hot it is out. Unfortunately, we did not take advantage of winter like we should so we won't make that mistake again. We took the boys ice skating just once and they loved it and still ask to go again. We continue to make our house in Hibbing but we hope that changes before winter. We have been working towards building out in Chisholm and just about have all the plans in place to make it happen. Just a few more details are left to work out, such as whether the well is good, what kind of septic we need, and who exactly will do the work. I know the boys will love being at the new house, especially with all that land to roam free in. Each and every time we're out there, the boys play very nice with one another. I know they will get more and more adventurous, so much so, that we'll have to work hard to rein them in. We've even played with the idea of putting up a fence, even though they have 40 acres and complete seclusion to play in.

I've been spending a lot of time with different folks gathering up quotes and information on the construction phase. This last time I was out there, across the yard, Logan pulled his pants to his ankles to go pee. We all looked over there and just kind of laughed at this bare-butt little boy peeing right there where he was playing. A short time later, I see Logan with his pants down yelling at me that he went poop. Embarrassing because I had to ask the guys to excuse me while I went and tended to Logan. Before I got there, he pulled his pants back up but it was too late because he was full of poop inside and out. Dan arrived a short time later and we cleaned him up with wet wipes and grabbed a pair of sweats from storage and were set to go. I had to tell Logan to be sure and go potty at the edge of the woods so people wouldn't step in his pee and poop. If I told this story in person, it'd be pretty funny.

This past weekend, we went to the Split Rock Lighthouse. I must say that this was a life-changing experience for the boys. It was actually a completely spontaneous trip that went incredibly well. We arrived at the Split Rock State Park and purchased a State Park Annual Pass and headed in. The visitor's center there is incredible, brand new with some fantastic exhibits. There's weren't too many people there either because the tourist season hadn't quite hit yet. We looked at the exhibit area and the gift shop with the boys behaving pretty well. We decided to sit in on a 23 minute movie they show as requested. The move was made probably 30 years ago and described how the light house came to be as well as what it was like to manage it. Logan was very interested in this even though it was geared towards older kids and adults. After the movie, we finally headed out to see the light house. The movie helped explain everything they were about to see so actually seeing the light house just brought it all together. All the way home, that's all they could talk about. And still, Logan talks about how he wants to live in a light house. We've discussed it and I think we're going to have to build a light house play area instead.

I went sturgeon fishing for the first time up on the Rainy River. I was pretty thrilled with my catch and was so excited. I now want a boat to expose my kids to big fish fishing. How cool will that be?

Gage's potty training is still a work in progress. He has only pooped on the potty twice in the past year and will only go pee when told. I definitely need to do some research on this one. Sometimes, he looks at me as he's going in his pull-up and says, "I go pee."

Daycare has been going OK. I miss the structure Lola's daycare in Little Falls offered but I really like the flexibility this one offers. I know my boys would benefit from a different, more organized day care, but I just can't get the time to search out one that offers both the structure and flexibility. I'm fortunate right now that I am not traveling for work because otherwise, with Dan working, I'd have to try and find some nanny type to help out. When the boys first started going to this day care, they acted out, threw fits, screamed and cried, and were completely disrespectful. I see this behavior almost each time I'm there, but it's mostly because of their own son. I had to tell Logan especially that how he acts at day care is not acceptable behavior for home. It's made a difference.

Work has been going well but with the falling of the economy, things are a little scary around here. I am surrounded by layoffs of 7 to 15 weeks although I have been spared for now. That may change but I'm OK with that, as long as I still have a job to go back to.

Moving along...

Things have been moving along nicely.

We all went ice fishing yesterday. I wish it'd warm up though. Anyway, it was the first time we went as a family and neither of the boys fell into a hole. The first time we went, it only took about 1 minute, didn't even get a line down, and Gage's foot went in the hole. The next time, we went 2 weeks later and Logan fell and his arm went in - again before we even got a line in the hole. This time, we protected those holes full time. We stayed for about 1 hour and caught a bunch of little perch. Gage enjoyed it but Logan couldn't care less. Logan wanted to just play outside and avoid the ice house all together. Gage hung out by the door the whole time to see what was going on, or he sat on the bench between and Dan and me to hold the pole or reel the little fish in.

Logan is still our little clean freak and really enjoys how nice he can make things look. Every day, he makes his and Gage's beds, and he does a great job. When he cleans up toys, he wants to do it the best he can so he not only picks them up and puts them where they belong, but he also makes sure the containers they go in are neat and straight. We have a hard time getting Gage to clean and when he does, he goes real slow.

Potty training for Gage is no where. He just doesn't want to try. I am going to have to go to the sticker chart pretty quick. We went to pull-ups this summer and seemed to be making good headway, then it just stopped. Now he cries because he doesn't want pull-ups. I need to sit down and really think this one through.

Last night, the boys were going to bed, and they should have been pretty tired, but instead of falling fast asleep, they sang Bingo together. B-I-N-G-O. Gage wasn't quite saying it right and Logan was arguing and trying to sing over him. But Gage has that super loud voice so all we could hear was, "B-A-N-G-O". Dan and I stood outside their door cracking up. It was so very cute. Eventually, they were truly singing together. Very funny. Logan is improving on his musical abilities and now seems to be able to hold a tune. And Dan really thinks Logan has good rhythm.

We had a litter of puppies back in December and now have just one left. We had two go to Texas, one to Maryland, one to North Dakota, and 2 to Central and Southern Minnesota. Our last one is soo adorable and so smart. Even though we wouldn't mind keeping him, I just can't help but think we have our hands full already. So we may have to post another ad to get rid of him. Dan already has him pointing to a grouse wing and whoaing on command - a very smart puppy.

Life in Hibbing has continued to go well. There's a lot of layoffs in mining right now but I think I'll be alright. As for Dan, he spent 4 weeks working as an iron worker, and it went well. He's laid off right now but that's alright. The four weeks he worked were long 6 day weeks so he was ready for a break. But he's ready to go back now.

Living in Hibbing...

I feel like the family has finally made the move. We are now living in Hibbing. It's a long story but we did manage to buy the property in Chisholm, and wholeheartedly intended on living there, but upon getting possession and trying to make the most of it, we realized that bringing the kids into that home was not a safe thing to do. So we found a home in Hibbing to buy as well, kind of like an investment, and intend to sell it come spring if all goes well.

When I say if all goes well, I mean if Dan's back continues to heal. He had surgery about 7 weeks ago to remove some disc fragments from his L4-L5 area. The timing couldn't have been worse as he didn't have short term disability or any sick days to fall back on at his job in Little Falls. So he quit work the week before his surgery, did some final work around the house in Little Falls, and made the move to his folks to recover from his surgery. He was up and about shortly after and so things have gone well. He will hopefully be starting a new job shortly with the Iron Workers Union. With all the construction projects up here, we are hoping for plenty of employment for some time.

Of course, the boys are getting huge. The summer brought us lots of great memories. Being at Grandma and Grandpa Goehring's proved to be more valuable than we could have imagined. The bonding went both ways. Towards the end of our time there, we noticed the boys were quietly "playing" in the bathroom. With a strong odor coming out, I went in to see what was going on. There Gage was drinking some 10-year old bottle of Stetson colone. His breath smelled like that stuff for hours after. I really don't know what he was thinking.

This past summer, Logan got pretty darn good at riding his bike - with training wheels of course. Our big problem has been keeping him from going too fast. When he gets going, he tends to get a little wobbly and those training wheels can send him right over. He did wipe out once but it was in the grass so no harm was done. Now this winter, Gage has picked up peddling with a big wheel in our basement. I can tell this summer will be a fun one. Gage will be 3 and that's how old I was when I learned to ride a bike without the training wheels.

Gage loves to play ball. With the right ball, he can play catch with me forever without dropping it. Then Logan wants to play but he just runs around with it and plays keep-away from us. Of course, Gage responds by crying. Both boys want to be good but they just have such a hard time. :) Gage will often point to himself and say, "Me good boy?" Then he'll point to Logan and say, "Logan, naughty." Over the summer, he'd even tell Logan to take a time out by pointing to his wrist and hollering, "Two-minutes. Two minutes." just like Grandma did for Gage.

Logan spent September through November at Grand Rapids schools. It went pretty well I think. He only went twice a week. Now that we're in Hibbing, we open-enrolled him in Chishom as they have school for him 4 days a week in the afternoons. A suburban comes and picks him up each afternoon and Dan drives to the school in Chisholm to bring him home. We could let him ride a school bus home but he'd have to transfer at the HS with the help of a 3rd grader. Ummmm.... Let me think about that.

Christmas was a blast this year. Gage could be seen hoping around the room Christmas morning saying, "I'm so excited." And Logan said, "This is the best Christmas ever!" Very neat, and very fun. Santa brought them a couple GeoTrax plane sets to go with their train sets, a Matchbox car park, long johns, a fireman helmet for Gage, Handy Manny Tool Set for Logan, and of course lots of goodies. Grandma and Grandpa Ed and Nancy got them both bomber hats, mittens, and wool socks. The puzzle they got for Logan has been his favorite. I marvel at how well he does those things... so impressed. Gage's favorite toy was from Aunt Sarah who gave him a Elmo phone. Gage doesn't care about the phone unit that makes all the sounds. All he wants is the plastic handset that has no buttons or sounds. He carries it with him everywhere and pretends to talk on it.

Ava had puppies a few days ago - 7 of them. Very cute, and very healthy so far. We have a web site for them at http://www.rangeuglydogs.com/. Yes. Ugly dogs. German Wirehaired Pointers are also affectionately called Ugly Dogs. We have no idea why because we think they are the cutest. Hopefully, we'll be able to sell them without too much hassel. I can't imagine what it'd be like to have 9 large dogs at our little Hibbing house.

Lots going on...

Above is at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

Time has flown by and I can't remember ever being as busy as I am now... final project for my masters, starting a new job, getting Logan enrolled in a new school, finding therapy for Logan, trying to sell a house, trying to buy a house, filing a complaint against our realtor, dealing with the relocation company nearly daily... it goes on and on. I keep telling myself, "It's only temporary." And as a co-worker says so well, "It will all work out, and if it hasn't, things aren't done yet."

Logan is doing quite well. I am thrilled with the quality of care he's getting with OT and PT. We decided to put him at the Duluth Clinic in Hibbing even though we are living in Grand Rapids. The PT is better than any I've seen work with Logan. She is on it and is constantly re-evaluating him. In St. Cloud, a PT would do an evaluation then pass him off for therapy, and reassess after a period of time. With this PT, she is truly evaluating at each visit until she gets him figured out. In addition, she has tons of neat tricks and tools to help him along, such as resistance bands, neoprene wrap, and more. In addition, Logan will be fitted with new orthodics and she works very closely with the person who will do this. Often times, she goes along to discuss options.

Logan starts preschool in the Grand Rapids School District next week. Unfortunately, he will now go twice a week instead of the 4 times a week Little Falls offered. That's a bummer. Oh well.

Gage went potty in the big potty for the first time this evening. He was very clearly requesting and he did go. Hopefully, it will click now. After all, he is 2 1/2 and is ready to get going with it.

Grandma and Grandpa Goehring are doing fabulously well with the boys and keeping them busy as well as being kept busy. They have a pretty good system worked out where my dad gets them out of the house to the park each day while my mom cleans and does the chores. Here, with them, the boys are able to have more freedom than they've had so far. The boys help Grandpa out with working on cars and motorcycles, yard work, cleaning out the garage and sheds, and anything else outside. It seems to be the highlight of their days. I'm not sure how long we will continue to live here with Grandma and Grandpa. Daddy is still stuck down in Little Falls until he can either find a job or sell the house, and neither of the two have happened yet in the last 3 months. Dan's getting a bit depressed... well very depressed, and hates being away from us. I was hoping it would get easier but instead it seems to be getting harder. Yesterday morning, Gage woke up crying for Daddy. He even made my mom cry as she tried to deal with his emotions. Then later in the day, Logan came out of my bedroom with our weekend bag packed and ready to go to Little Falls. When I said we weren't going, Logan cried and wanted to see Daddy. Very sad. We are soooo hoping that change is around the corner.

In less than 3 weeks, I will be done with my masters and can try and keep this blog up more. I wish I added more as it's such a great way to remember memories.

I just reread the previous entry. Funny how it states we are moving to St. Cloud. Yeah. The job kinda fell apart after I didn't meet their educational requirements (no masters yet and no undergrad degree in a computer related field). They still wanted me but had to put me on a temporary contract until my masters was complete. That didn't sit so well. So I contacted Hibbing and the job was still available, so the rollercoaster ride seemed to finally come to an end. Whew! It has been meant to be. Even though the distance is killing us, I am constantly reminded of how nice it is to bring my family together with the rest of my family. the other day I got to witness my 16 year old nephew playing with Logan while watching my 14 year old niece play volleyball. That would have never happened before. These are the memories my boys will remember, and the relationships their building with grandparents and cousins are priceless. I'm sooo glad I figured this out sooner than later.

We're movin'?

Over the past couple months, I decided to explore further job opportunities. So I applied for 4 jobs. One in my district, one up in GR at ICC, one in Hibbing at HibTac, and one at SCSU. I didn't get an interview for the one in my school and was disappointed about that. The one at ICC, the one I really wanted, was filled internally and no interviews took place - another bummer. I got interviews at both HibTac and SCSU. The SCSU interview was 4 intense hours long with two open forums, one-on-one interviews with the big shots of IT, and the actual interview with the 6 person search committee. I had another interview a few days later that was just with 3 people. Then a couple days later, I was called in one more time and offered the job. With an interview with HibTac just a few days away, I asked for the rest of the week to think about it. I interviewed for the job in Hibbing on a Friday afternoon for which I could tell they very impressed. I told them of my dilemma in needing to know if I was a candidate for the job. They told me they'd do their best to get back to me on Monday - and I said I'd check my home voice mail over lunch. Well, Monday came and after they contacted me at work at 7:45 AM, had me talk with two corporate people in Cleveland, I had a formal job offer at 11:00 AM to add to the mix. I rejected the SCSU offer at 3 PM Monday. I got a call from SCSU at 6 PM that evening asking me to reconsider. The next day, I rejected the offer again with SCSU with them not knowing I had another offer. The next day, SCSU again extended the offer and I then asked to think about it for the weekend. During that weekend, I went up north and looked further into "the life" we'd live up in the Hibbing area. Dan and I both felt that Hibbing was not for us, nor for Logan. So on Monday, I accepted the offer from SCSU.

My last day with my job is this Friday...

Anyway, things have been hopping around here as we work to have a garage sale this week and put our house on the market the next. Lots to do....

Gage is now 2 and Logan 4. Gage, as usual, continues to have me wrapped around his finger. His words are coming along and sentences are beginning to form. Him and Logan still argue as if they were the same age but they also get along so well at times. Both of them will call Scooby their favorite show with Franklin a close second. Gage is still obsessed with balls and has quite the arm. Logan is completely potty trained. He wears pull-ups at night but is always dry. We have to remind him to ask for help wiping but that's about it. Gage still has no interest but is always quick to tell us when he needs a diaper change.

Logan wouldn't go to sleep last night and came upstairs knowing that he shouldn't be. When he saw me, he ran up to me with the biggest smile and said, "Happy Mother's Day". He thought he could sweeten me up. Funny.

As the days go on, I will try and update this blog more regularly. I am missing too many memories here.

More stories to share....

Yes... a lot can happen in 2 months.  We went to a water park this last weekend in Brainerd and stayed overnight with my brother and his family.  It was sooooo much fun since the kids loved it more than I ever expected.  I can't believe how fearless they both are.  Gage didn't like it at first but before long, he was walking himself all over the area and going down kiddie water slides without prompting.  Pretty neat.  Logan on the other hand was an accident waiting to happen.  Logan is not able to stand up from a kneeling or sitting position without using his hands.  So, if he falls in the water, he tries to use his hands to help him get up, but doing that means he has to get his face in the water, which doesn't work for him.  So he would just struggle to stay above water - of course he was wearing a life jacket - the whole time with the biggest smile on his face.  I know that if I had him at the parks more often, he would learn not to use his hands which would be great therapy.  Anyway, it was hard to leave the next day.

Now onto priceless stories...

Story #1

Let's start with Logan and potty training.  He's been doing pretty well, so well that we moved to underwear.  After about a week dry in pull-ups, we thought we were ready.  He did well for about 4 days, then we had four days straight of accidents.  But I was determined that Logan really was trying so I wasn't giving up on him.  Well, we had been doing OT twice a week, and it was getting so hard trying to drive to St. Cloud each time, dragging my overactive Gage along, trying to make it home in time to cook dinner and get myself off to Taekwondo so I could come home and do school for a few hours.  Mondays and Wednesdays were no fun.  So, this one Wednesday, I decided I was going to tell OT that I just couldn't do it anymore.  I needed to cut visits down to once a week.  After OT, I talked to the OT person in the waiting area about it, the whole time trying to chase down Logan and Gage.  Logan planted himself down by the desks in the middle of the hall, laid right there in the middle of the floor.  I left him be since he was still and I could keep in eye on him while visiting with OT.  I don't even remember what Gage was doing.  In the end, the OT folks convinced me to try it one more time and gave me some tips.  So I went to gather up Logan and there he was, still laying on the floor, drenched in pee.  So I asked this mom I've gotten to know over there to watch Gage so I could change Logan, and I just happened to have his school backpack with that contained a change of pants and a pull-up.  I finally made it out of there carrying Gage tightly in one arm with him struggling to get down, and Logan in the other carried like a suitcase by his coat zipper.  They just wouldn't listen.  The next week, I enlisted the stroller to help me. Finally, I felt human again.  That's been working better.

Story #2:  Gage and the K-NEX.

I headed to Taekwondo one night and left Dan playing with Gage and Logan on the living room floor with KNEX.  KNEX's are like legos... you put them together to make shapes and other things... but they have many different shapes including long pieces shaped like straws.  Kinda cool.  When I came home, Dan had this face of disgust, like he had been through something terrible.  He said they were playing with the KNEX.  Logan was really into it and Gage was kinda into it, grabbing pieces here and there and walking around with them.  So Dan grabbed a piece to put it into another piece and he thought to himself, "Boy.  That one went in easy."  He picked up a few more, then saw some brown chunks on another piece and gave it a smell.  Sure enough, there were poop on the pieces.  He grabbed Gage and checked his diaper and of course, he had poop in there.  But not just poop, he was putting KNEX pieces down the back of his diaper.  He had like 4 of the straw-shaped ones down there.  By the time I came home, all the KNEXs were in the sink and Dan was looking for other poop spots around the house.  He didn't think it was funny but I cracked up laughing.

Story #3

Logan has now been wearing glasses on a regular basis.  (I have to get some pics posted.)  He's doing OK but he often asks for them off and we don't argue.  We let him take them off but whenever he asks for something, he has to put them back on first.  We spent about $300 on them so we are kinda protective of them, of course.  It's not like there's insurance on them.  The first time we're out in public with them, we go to Wal-Mart.  About 30 minutes into shopping, Dan looks at him and says, "Where are your glass?"  Logan just took them off and threw them on the floor.  We traced back our steps and found  a nice couple who were searching for the owners of these glasses they found in the toy section.  This same thing has happened a few times, including at the arcade this past weekend at the water park..  That's why we say, "Logan.  You can take your glasses off anytime but you have to give them to us when you do."  Logan still calls them sun glasses since that's all he's ever seen us wearing.

Story #4

Gage's words are finally starting to explode.  He isn't quite making sentences but he's close.  Every morning I drop him off at day care, he says, "Hug?" and he gives me a big kiss by grabbing my head and pulling it close, then gives me the sweetest hug.  I am reminded every single second how much he loves me. :)   He slept with me at the hotel last weekend and when he woke up, the first thing he saw was my face.  He got a smile on it and said, "Mama?"  Priceless.

A story I must tell....

I keep forgetting to tell this story so I better get it out now.

Logan has been working on potty training for quite some time.  He has his moments where he does well but more often than not, he just doesn't consistently get the job done.  Well, we were at a friends house for New Years Eve, celebrating in family style, when Logan disappeared.  Then I heard one of the other dads yell that Logan was walking around with no pants on.  I ran upstairs to see the scoop and noticed he had seemed to go potty on his own and needed a new diaper.  When I got closer, I realized that he had pooped in his diaper, removed it himself with the help of his feet, and threw it in the trash.  Then he wiped himself up putting the icky toilet paper in both the toilet and the dog's water dish that was also in the bathroom.  Of course, the poop soaked socks that helped get his diaper off showed the path he walked throughout their over-sized bathroom.  The mom of the house came up stairs and asked if I needed anything.  I responded with, "Some paper towels and 409 please."  So, I washed Logan up, dressed him in the change of clothes we had with us, borrowed some socks from their boys, and sent him out so I could clean up the poop that was all over their floor, toilet, dog dish, and yellow bathroom rug.

Amazing.  I felt terrible but fortunately, everyone had kids themselves and understood.

Logan's getting glasses... and starting OT

We had a follow-up appointment for Logan's eyes this week. We have been pretty happy with his alignment since recovering from September's surgery so I expected his appointment to be similar to the ones in the past.... ya know... "Everything looks good so we'll see you back in 6 months." That wasn't the case. It was a good appointment but Dr. Christiansen said that with situations of over-correction, often they will again begin to drift out over time. To prevent this, the Dr. suggested glasses. Otherwise, it's back to the knife. So, we go back in three months to see how his glasses are working out. We have to try our best to keep them on his face so we'll see how it goes.

We went into town today to try some on. We pretty much figured out which ones we want to get. They have the cord ear brackets (they wrap around his ear) and will be lighter in color. They didn't have the exact ones that we liked so we'll go back in a week when they and others to look at come in. Then a week later, the lenses will be put in. I couldn't believe how cute he looked. I really wasn't looking forward to all this but it wasn't bad. I am hoping his cousin Brandon will motivate him to keep them on.

On other news, I got a call from St. Cloud OT. It sounds like Logan will now be getting twice weekly visits starting in two weeks. Now that will not be fun. I really celebrated when the PT was over.... and here we go again. Of course, the school doesn't feel he needs these services, and I understand where they are coming from, but of course, they support my decision to give Logan every opportunity to grow. I know he has made light years of improvement since his eval so we'll see how it goes. Insurance approved 80 visits. Wow.

The boys...

Logan and Gage have been growing pretty fast. They are getting old enough to take places without getting headaches. :) Right now, Logan is with Dan making a dump run. I could tell both of them were excited for their day ahead.

Logan's eyes are still doing very well. We have an appointment on Tuesday as a follow-up. I will be interested to hear their thoughts on him. Last month, Logan saw Dr. Chip and his staff for his neo-natal followup appointment. Everyone he saw were so impressed with him. He has come so so so far. He's quite social and inquisitive, and of course very active. He is also very loving and even positive. For example, we bought a new toilet seat for the downstairs bathroom. Logan noticed it and asked Dan, "Who bought that toilet seat?" Dan responded, "We did." Logan then came to tell me, "Mommy? I like that new toilet seat. Thank you." Very very cute.

Gage is starting to enter the terrible twos. He's very independent and whinny. Drives me nuts. But him and Logan, when they play well together, are priceless. Logan is always asking Gage to come with him. "Gage. Here's a truck for you. Ca'mon. Ca'mon Gage." Before too long, they are would up so tight that they start running around the house giggling. Eventually, Logan can't control himself any longer that he throws whatever he has in his hand at Gage. It always happens.

School continues to do wonders for Logan. He really really enjoys it. Below are pics of him getting off the bus at daycare this past fall: