Heusinkvelt Hullabaloo

Things have been happening around the house, and it seems like life is going by at warp-speed as of late.  So much to do, so little time.  Here is an update on life thus far:

Brock:
Brock is almost done with his first quarter of 3rd grade.  He is loving school, and he is loving the fact that it is football season.  This was his last year of flag football before he goes to midgets, and he can't wait to get into a helmet and pads.  He enjoys regularly watching football with Daddy, and has been such a big help around the house with his sisters and Mom and Dad.  Brock also decided that he wanted to try student council in which he had to be elected.  There are two students chosen from each class, and Brock was one of the students that was chosen by majority vote.  Here is his campaign poster:

 

Along with his poster, he had to write a speech.  He did a really good job at writing what he wanted to do as a student council member, and Mom and Dad just helped him polish up a few minor details.  We knew that he would win the class over with this generosity and charm.  :)

Ella:

 Ella is also loving school, and she is doing such a good job academically, too!  Every day, she shows me her candy collection that she gets as rewards for being so good in class.  So proud of you, Ella!  She is still getting her allergy shots, and they are working wondrously for her.  She has her favorite nurses when she goes, and each one tries to make it special for her (and they do!).  They have increased the dosage they are giving her, so it hurts her quite a bit to get them, but she is such a trooper each week when she goes in.  Her allergy reactions are a night and day difference as to what she was experiencing last year.  Now when she is around our cats, she may just get a few sniffles if anything at all.  She is still experiencing some seasonal allergies, but the majority of the time, they are controllable and don't last for very long.

On the subject of cats, since Lola turned out to be a naughty boy cat that hates people, coincidentally Ella's friend had a bunch of kittens that needed homes.  We took a trip over there to pick out one, ended up leaving with two, and brought them back to be unwelcomed by the current feline residents.  Yes, Ticky Poo, Rex, and Lola didn't care too much for the new kittens, and sadly to say, one of the kittens didn't make it.  We are not sure what happened to her -- if it was the other cats or if she got stuck somewhere in the barn or in the yard -- we don't know.  Tootsie, however, is still with us, and he (I think it's a he) LOVES to snuggle.  He is the perfect cat for Ella.  I don't have any pictures of Tootsie, so I will try and get one on here soon.

Sophie:

Sophie has adjusted to Mommy leaving every day, but it is still hard for her at times.  She is such a sweet person, and it's funny because when she tries to be sassy or mean to Brock or Ella (and sometimes Mom and Dad), she can't do it very well and just ends up giggling most of the time.  She is also getting so tall.  She is about an inch shorter than Ella, which makes my clothes-shopping duties for the girls much easier.  I always new eventually that they would be able to share clothes, but I didn't know it would be so soon.  Sophie is excited to start preschool and will do so when I get done student teaching.  She is loving being able to spend time with Grammie and Grandpa, but every weekend she asks me if we are going anywhere, and when I tell her we aren't , she tells me, "Okay, good."

Daddy and Mommy:

Things have been pretty hectic at work for Chad lately with his new accounts and juggling house/work/family priorities.  He is making that balance look pretty easy from where I am sitting, but I know it's because he's our rock and he doesn't have a choice.  ;)  

He is ready to hunt and has been tracking a couple of big deer on our property for the last couple of weeks, so now he just needs to get out there and get them!  

As far as house projects go, we have been working on the bedroom closets and just finished Sophie's.  This weekend we are going to finish ours and Ella's.  Hopefully next weekend we will get Brock's done, and then we can move on to painting, putting on trim, and then carpet!  I am so excited to finally get the bedrooms done!  

Things have been going really well student teaching, and I can't believe that I am over halfway done.  I love it, and I never want to leave!  Only five more weeks left (three weeks of teaching and then two more weeks of observations).  I just finished up my first student teaching seminar and have a week break before I start my last class.  It is very bittersweet to think about leaving my 2nd-graders, but on the other hand, I am hoping other opportunities keep me around where I can still see them.  

Since student teaching, I was offered a position as the after-school-program 3rd-grade lead teacher.  I have been doing that for over a month now and have just been offered to assist with math tutoring after school, as well.  Working with the 3rd-graders has been such a fun and rewarding experience for me, and I am very excited to start math tutoring.

I think I can safely say that I have somewhat adjusted to the working-mom schedule, and I definitely appreciate my weekends way more than I did before.  When I was staying home, I always wanted to go and do, but now that I am not home during the day, when I do get home, I never want to leave. 

In closing, I have been neglecting my camera, so I am going to make a better effort at taking more pictures...and writing less.

Flag Football 2013

Flag Football 2013

 

Okay, so this is a series of five pictures all taken within a matter of seconds of each other.  View them as a flip-book if you will.  I'd like to call this The Most Intense Play Ever.  Please note the expressions not only on Brock's face, but on the faces of his fellow football companions.

The...

Most...

 

Intense...

 

Play...

EVER!

 

Crabs, Softball, and Rasta Chick

These pics have been accumulated over the past month, and I finally have time to put them on here.  Better late than never, right?

Crab Boil

Kids were pretty pumped for crab legs when it's not Christmas yet.

Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie

After hearing how his friend, Jacob, mows his lawn, Brock was determined to give it a try.

Our weekly garden harvest.  We get a load like this each week! So grateful!

Chad signed up to play coed softball this year.  It's been a few years since he's played, so it was only fitting that he pulled a hammy during his first game.

Ya Mon!

First Day! Hooray!

Last week we began our "school-year bedtime schedule" in which the kids were in bed at 7:30.  It was funny because after the first night of the kids in bed on time, they woke up on their own at about 6:45-7:00 the next morning saying how good of moods they were in and how they had so much energy that early in the morning.  Sleep does their bodies good!

 

First Day of School

Brock: 3rd Grade

Ella: 1st Grade

Sophie:  Home Preschool

Ticky Poo had to get in on the picture.

Although the kids have been getting to bed on time the last two days, 6:30 a.m. comes around too soon for them, but so far they have managed to come out of their sleep with smiles on their faces.

This year was a special first day because I was able to accompany Brock and Ella with it being my first day as a student teacher.  The kids were all smiles when they would see me in the hallway, and it warmed my heart each time seeing them and how happy they were.  Sophie went to Grammie's, which was quite the change for her, but I ensured that she had a backpack full of worksheets, activities, books, and videos to keep her busy throughout the day.  She even has her own "schoolwork" folder and journal which she is very proud of.  The transition for Sophie has been a hard one, and I just hope it gets easier for her as time goes on. All in all, a successful start to a new school year!

School Lunch Ideas

It's back-to-school time, and what I find helpful is the kids' opinion on what they will actually eat in their cold lunches.  They help me make the list of approved food for their lunch and help me pack it the night before.  Here is what we came up with for this year.  I know that ideas are always helpful, so I thought I would share!

Rex, Lola, and Ticky Poo

The time had come for us to get kittens.  If it were up to me, we would have as many kittens that would fit on a 7-acre plot.  We would go outside and frolic amongst the fluffy fields of kittens while laughing and singing jubilantly, tossing kittens to each other as if they were puffs of cotton.  But being as it may, puffs of kittens is just not possible.  Although we can't have fields of kittens, we do, however, have fields of poison ivy.  It seems like after we had received a couple of outbreaks, we directed our attention on finding the source.  When we actually looked for it, we found it EVERYWHERE.  "Hey kids...go pick those yummy mulberries (that are right above that ginormous patch of poison ivy)!"  Oops.  The kids mainly got reactions from the plant oil being transferred from the cats to them, so a lot of their reactions ended up in their armpits or by their necks.  Chad's reactions were contained to his arms because he always wears pants outside.  And I somehow ended up with it on my bottom. (???)

Leaves of three, let it be.

I have recognized it by the long stem in the middle.  Sort of reminds me of the middle finger.  Seems fitting.

 

Growing Out of a Stump

The whole fence line was engulfed with this stuff!

Each of the kids got their own kitten, so here they are:

Brock's Kitten, Rex (named after Rex Burkhead)

 

 

The apricot tree is their favorite hideout.

 

  

Ella's Kitten, Lola 

(Lola Jr., actually) 

This is as close as we can get to Lola.  We can sometimes pet her when she is eating, but most of the time, she runs off or bites you.  Needless to say, we are trying to find another kitten for Ella to hold and cuddle with.

Note the poison ivy to the right of the picture.  *sigh*

Sophie's Kitten, Ticky Poo (aka Loveable / aka Kitty Poo)

Since Ella's kitten isn't very tame, she gets her fix from the other kittens.

Ticky Poo likes to do this on my leg.  Ouch!

These cats climb up and down the trees so fast; it's unlike anything I have ever seen a cat do.  They spend the majority of their time in the tree tops napping, at your feet begging for food, or catching mice. 

On a side note, nothing says summertime more than a trip to Snowflakes!