Catching Up

 Running a farm isn't all pets, cuddles, and photo opportunities.

No matter what the horses tell you.

You don't want to know what they're napping on (You can see a little bit of a 'poo pillow' under Eddy's neck there...)

Speaking of Eddy, we've had to double lock all of the stall doors, because of him.

He has a surprisingly high success rate of letting himself in when he wants grain. Most of the time, he's too lazy to attempt it, but if we're in the barn and not moving fast enough...

The truth is: The barn is in better shape lately. The nasty weather stopped and we were able to catch up. Ernie is off stall rest and he got moved to "the double lot" (Ex-"Pony Lot," future "Eowyn Lot," and whatever other name we come up with). 

Maddy moved to the "original lot" (Which has been named after Eowyn, Maddy, and Lilly at this point!).

Lilly moved out with the girls..., but that's been rocky. Once upon a time, Abby was obsessed with Lilly and whined/panicked whenever Lilly left. We'd have to stall Abby whenever Carrie road Lilly and hope that Abby wouldn't kick down a door or hurt herself jumping. We moved Maddy to the lot to prevent leaving Abby alone. 

Now, Lilly is equine non grata. Eowyn and Abby chase her off from the feeder and have slowly bit and ripped Lilly's blanket. 

There hasn't been any broken skin or injuries that would make the situation dangerous, but it's more stressful on Lilly that it should be.

It's just more crap to deal with (and we have lots of crap!). We drive up the pile to pack it down when dropping a load.

When the weather gets a little warmer, we'll spread more on the bridle path and yard to fertilize. Carrie's done it a couple of times, already.

There's lot of other little things, but we're making due with what we have. Someone broke the barn scissors. I used them busted for a while before removing the broke half to make a 'scissor knife.' 

Eventually, it'll be dull enough or I'll be annoyed enough to replace it.

The front gate is similar. The initial clamps were installed wrong and warped over time. Carrie used some wood to make a temporary bracket, but that broke and now a reinforcer is duct taped on.

Working as intended!

With the barn more or less in order, we finally went on a dump run. I skipped out on morning chores and spent the whole time gathering trash and recycling.

Shane had company on the drive!

I'd say we got most of it. 80% (It's been a while). 

Spring cleaning isn't far off. I'm looking forward to getting it over with and being closer to summer!

A Tale of Two Students

When we went out to dinner with Landie Friday night, I took Landie and Shane for a walk while our food was made. 

We walked by Wing Zone and I noticed one of my students behind the counter. 

Huh. Cool.

When we got back to Extreme Pizza, I noticed another student of mine walk out from the kitchen. 

Oh. Shit.

I found the disparate reactions interesting enough to make a post. One restaurant I'm more inclined to visit now and the other (where we were eating) I was suddenly anxious about my food (but smart enough not to mention it to Carrie!).You don't have to be good at math for me to trust you with food, but your behavior in a classroom does affect my comfort level! 

I'm not saying it was 100% because of the student. My order was spicy. But 5 AM the following morning? Oh, shit.

Fridaaaay!

I came home Friday to a madhouse! Carrie had picked up Lilly and Shane from school. Sarah showed up with Wyatt to pick her up, but Ellie showed up with Landie at the same time. Kids were everywhere!

You know, Shane loved it.

He was the rabble rouser of the group. Sarah was ready to go, so Shane took all the kids (plus Loki) outside to run away from her. Every time she came around the house to call her kids, they'd all scream and run the other way (I'm not sure they even heard her over Loki's barking and their hollering!).

Eventually, I called Loki. That lowered the noise level enough Lilly heard her mom's threats! Lilly and Wyatt said goodbye soon after.

But not Landie. Carrie offered to take her out to dinner while Ellie did barn chores (as a "thank-you" for Valentine's Day).

We wanted to go to Chimm's, but it was take-out only. There was a pizza place next door, so we went there instead.

Shockingly, Shane did NOT like the pizza. It was half cheese and half pepperoni, so it wasn't like we ordered something crazy. Meanwhile, my sandwich was so good Carrie took the second half (I finished her salad).

Landie made faces for the camera.

Carrie promised Wegman's for dessert.

Landie wanted to try a couple mochi.  

Shane got a piece of cake for $5.

"$5!?" I said. "You could get a muffin the same size for $1.50!"

Shane wanted the cake, though. I took a picture of a box of brownie bites for $4.50 that would've kept on giving, but he wanted that slice of cake!

It was his choice, so he got to keep it. I grabbed a double chocolate muffin (An A+ in taste AND price!). 

We dropped Landie off on the way home and called it a great Friday!

Fox Hunting Carrie

After weeks of not feeling well and other weeks of terrible weather, Carrie has started to become a fox hunt fixture. She's been going out at least once a week (and went all three times this week!). 

The season ends March 20th, so it feels like she's trying to make up for every day she's missed. 

And she really seems to be enjoying it! She got a new profile picture.

I liked the picture with Lilly goofing off in it better!

For a pony who was supposed to be for Grandma, Lilly's been an amazing find for Carrie. 

The hunt seems like a good match, too. In the beginning, Carrie didn't attend the post-ride tailgates. Now, she's started to attend on Sundays. She's baked bread and brought it to the last several (and left a fresh loaf at home for Shane and I!).

To mentor or not next year?

I like my student teacher. It's been a net gain for the year. I'm glad to have another adult in the room to talk with and help out, because there are more needs than I can cover alone. Nora's excited about computer science in general, so she was eager to start coming up with lesson plans to supplement CS Academy (Something I should have been doing more of, but haven't had the magic time-energy-motivation combination to do myself!).

At the same time, I'm used to running my classroom how I want to. I like the way I do things (Go figure). It's been brutal year, I think I've had some success.

So to step back and let someone run things differently can be difficult. 

My teaching style is based on humor, the ability to patiently take abuse, and aggressively build positive relationships. I like a dynamic classroom with kids actively engaged in work and discussion. Nora is more academic and hasn't had as much time to build relationships with all the kids. Her ideal classroom runs much more quietly than mine and she's probably learning as many things she doesn't want to do as she is things she wants to do!

Experience is the best teacher, so Nora needs time to lead. Heck, she paid for it! It almost seems like a scam that student teachers pay UVA to work for free. I hope that I'm a good mentor and she's better equipped to teach, because of it.

As long as my wild classes don't drive Nora crazy, I think signing up to be a mentor was the right choice for the year.....but what about next year? Do I want to build up the class's rapport and then step back for a chunk of weeks before the SOLs to let someone else learn and experiment at the reigns? I don't know. I like to try different things, so I'm glad I did it as an experience.

The Volleyball Update

Volleyball is probably a one and done. 

I like it better than Shane. It fits perfectly into our schedule, gets him out of the house, moving, grooving, and doing something independent of me. I took a 40 minute nap in the car the last time he was at practice.

Yes, it would be nice to watch and see what he's up to, but that day I was exhausted. I needed the nap.

For Shane, it's been a learning experience. He hops out of the car and checks himself in without me following. Shane knows a lot more about the sport now. The coaches complimented him one day about his bump skills and he sure looked happy about it!

The same day the coaches complimented him, Shane came back out to the car mid practice in a tizzy. He said he hated volleyball and he "always got hurt!" I talked him down and he decided to go back in just as a coach came racing out the door to figure out where he'd gone!

It's been up and down like that. Shane's critical of the sport and, especially, his performance. The first day they did serves he came out saying he stunk at it and it hurt his hand to even try. I countered that serving isn't a skill you're expected to learn in a day and was sure he did great. I would've expected a younger Shane to come out and tell me the moments that went great, but typically he comes out and tells me the low points.

Shane's, also, very aware he's one of only 3 boys. I hoped for him to make friends and ask him if he learned any names after each practice, but if he does he never tells me any.

So volleyball is probably a one year thing. I hope he learned a few things and practiced some coordination. The 2 hour parenting break to do errands, play on my phone, and/or sleep has been worth the price of admission to me!

Next year....maybe skiing. There were no group lessons this year or I might have tried that with him already. With masks fading out those should be back next year, right? I like skiing and snowboarding with the youth group, so helping Shane learn before he's around others would probably help his confidence levels.

Passive Placemat Aggression?

 I love the placemats Nana makes. They're fun ways to stick a bunch of memories together.

Nana gave us a new one when they were in town. I recognized a lot of the pictures!

Including this one. Nana took it at a Shane handoff.

Strangely, my hair looks much shorter in Nana's clip...

The UTI Finale

It was a busy Sunday. Shane and I went to church, lunch, volleyball, and Dylan's! 

And then the doctor's!

That's right, Shane still said it burned to pee. His antibiotics would run out Monday morning and Carrie was worried.

Shane knows all the buzz words by this point and uses them fluently. The nurse asked if he'd had "rabbit poop" lately and Shane got excited. "Yes! Yes, I have!" They must have thought it was clinically significant, because they brought out a chart for Shane to describe his poop. I thought it was more likely Shane was excited because we have a rabbit, but the doctor pointed out most parents don't look at their kids' poop after a certain age.

The verdict: The medicine should be working, but they'd refer us to a urologist in case it didn't.

Here's the full timeline:

Wed, 2/9 - Shane peed in a cup. The test didn't see bacteria, but with the symptoms present the doctor gave us a prescription. Shane hated the medicine. 

A few days later - The sample that was sent off confirmed Shane had a UTI. However, it showed a 'slight resistance' to the type of medicine we were prescribed (which Carrie now mixed with grenadine to make Shane take it). 

We run out of medicine and a week later, 2/16, Carrie calls the doctor again for a new prescription.

Friday, 2/18, I take Shane to the doctor. He pees in a cup (no bacteria), a sample is sent off, and we're told the bacteria should be susceptible to the new medicine. 

Sunday, 2/20, Shane pees in another cup (he's had lots of practice at this point), no bacteria is found, and the doctor seems to shrug and say, "Let's see what happens and go to a specialist if there's still a problem."

Monday, 2/21, Shane takes his last dose before school. I get home after school and Shane mentions it tingled a little when he peed. 

"The doctor said you're cured."

"I am?"

"Yeah."

And that was the last Shane mentioned it.

...

Seriously.

Nana and Pop Visit!

Friday was a blessed teacher workday. The County deciding to add more of them to the schedule to prevent burnout was a terrific call.

Shane was facing a different kind of burn out of his private. I took him to an doctor's appointment at the same time I had a zoom staff meeting scheduled. 

Why would Shane look so happy to be in a doctor's office, you ask?

Because we were meeting Nana and Pop right after (Frankly, I think he likes having people fuss over him, too, whether they're family or doctors)!

Nana and Pop were on something of a "Holdover Tour." Pop's waiting to get a kidney transplant and once that happens they won't be able to travel far. "This will be our last trip to Virginia for about 14 months," Nana said.

Nana and Pop started the visit in Northern VA to see Jama and Matt and Renee's crew. We were the next stop. After lunch at Panera, they came by the farm!

Sure, they wanted to see us, but Nana had an ulterior motive. She wanted to meet her 'grandbunny.'

Nana had seen the pictures online and "Tim won't let me have a bunny," so she has to live vicariously through our exploits (Nana keeps telling me I must be "nicer" to allow all the animals, but having a choice on the matter feels like news to me...).

The ladies hung out with Hopkins. Us, men, went off on our own.

Pop strolled around the house to meet the cats and look at the barn while we talked.

Shane came out of the bunny room and joined us after a little bit.

And at some point he ditched his shirt.

And picked up a pair of nunchuks.

Maybe he wanted to feel manlier around Pop and I. 

Shane was happy to show off his fish. I was surprised when Pop recognized zebra danios and could name them. Apparently, there was a fish tank in his house growing up, too!

I think Shane was the most proud to show off Deep Rock Galactic. Yes, it's a video game, but there are a fair number of moving parts. You have to protect yourself while exploring and completing objectives. Shane's no prodigy, but he plays well enough I think at 11 it's impressive.

Nana eventually came out of the bunny room refreshed. She said it was a zen like experience. Then we handed her Shane's antiobiotics.

Nana and Pop invited Shane to spend the night with them at their hotel. Carrie said, "No swimming. No sugar. No fruits like apples or bananas that are high in sugar," etc. That put a small damper on things, but Shane was still excited. He couldn't pack up fast enough.

He ran faster than Loki to the van! I think it was the longest Nana and Pop have stayed at our house. I enjoyed having them over.

Nana made the mistake of doing a group text to Carrie and I after they drove off. She wanted Carrie to send her some pictures of her and Sir Hopkins. I was quicker to respond.

I could not stop laughing. I'm laughing right now as I look at it! Loki barked then and he's eyeing me now (He has a "snark detector"). If Nana was really mad, she wouldn't have censored herself.

Carrie sent the real pictures shortly after.

Maybe Sir Hopkins would want to go on a road trip and visit SC with us the next time we go...

Nana and Pop drove up to Patrick and Shelby's next. They wanted to see Nathaniel! Patrick parked Shane on his computer playing, you guessed it, Deep Rock Galactic, and that let the adults all talk.

Nana, Pop, and Shane went to the hotel afterward.

Nana sent me a picture of the moon before going they went to bed.

Carrie and I spent our date night eating Chinese food and watching the Book of Boba Fett. She filled up and passed out early on the couch! I finished the last episode (and found it disappointing) as she slept before going out for PM horse chores (and then I hopped on DRG myself with Bill).

I got another shirtless pick of Shane in the morning. He was playing mahjong with Pop.

I spent most of the morning working on cleaning up the barn from the week. Then I hopped into the car and headed up to Staunton to see everyone. They were finishing up lunch at Kathy's when I arrived.

Shane was mesmerized by "Pink Tablet." I joked that Pink Tablet was what he was going to remember most from the visit!

Nathaniel's been an easier-keeper so far from what I heard. It was scarier around the delivery, so maybe he got some of the causing trouble gene out of his system for a while (It always comes back again later!). 

Nana got a picture of all the big boys before we left.

Shane was happy to ham it up until I tried to take a picture of him.

We went to Patrick and Shelby's next.

Nathaniel's clearly fond of Shelby. He turns to look at her whenever she speaks.

But Patrick was no slouch when it came to dealing with the dirty work. The stereotypical jokes about dads not doing much with their kids doesn't apply so much to our family!

I say this while I sat on my butt and talked the whole time. Shane had a Switch and I was happy to let him veg.

Hanging out (and photobombing) is an art form. I feel like I've been out of practice.

A common comment about Nathaniel was how well he's growing. Nana and Pop had a chance to hold baby Harper a few days before and Nathaniel tips the scales at "much heavier!"

It was my first time seeing him awake.

I got a chance to take a picture showing his eyes. He's a cute kid. 

My kid's eyes stayed glued to the Switch. I think he was happy to be in a room full of people, at least.

Patrick and I were talking books before we said our goodbyes. 

Then it was Costco and home. Carrie showed Shane how to dip strawberries to give the day a sweet ending.