A balance board is a must for every toddler. It trains not only balance but also coordination, concentration, and fine motor skills. Since, among other things, the muscles of the legs and back are involved, this equipment is used on the one hand in therapy, but children can also greatly benefit from regular exercise with a balance board.

Seriously, I wish I could give each of these bloggers a big hug!  I feel like I just learned the best tip, practically life changing! LOL

Oh my goodness, I have the winter doldrums!  I mean seriously, it needs to be Spring ASAP.  Living in South Texas we don't experience much winter, but this year has been a different story.  We have had more COLD weather (like even cold to other parts of the country) than I can ever remember. 

Good morning!!!
I haven't blogged in almost two months, which seems like an eternity.  I have missed writing and sharing our little adventures with everyone.  We have been super busy (like all families during the month of May).  BUT, the last 48 hours have felt like a complete downward spiral, then upward spiral, then down, then up...let me explain. :) In the middle of the night Sunday/Monday, we woke up to a horrible storm.  It started around 12:41am and lasted until 5:30am.  I have NEVER seen lightning like this storm was displaying.  It basically felt like someone had a strobe light going for 5 hours.  Lightning in the country seems so different than in town.  I realize it is the same lightning, but when you don't have city lights, building, neighborhoods, etc.  the sky seems wide open.  It is cool and creepy all at the same time. I don't remember the exact time on the clock, but we had all three kids in our bed while my husband and I walked around gathering flashlights (the power had already gone out), checking the radar on our phones, and reassuring our middle child that things were fine.  Oh, and muzzling Ginger because she completely looses it during storms (insert sigh and eye roll).  While my husband was upstairs and I was downstairs we both saw a huge flash of red, orange, and yellow followed by a horrible crack/pop/boom type sound, then a burnt electrical smell.  It pretty much startled the living daylights out of all of us.  The search for a fire began and thankfully we did not find anything.  We were without power for a few more hours as the storm continued.  Everyone ended up falling asleep, the kids in our bed and us on the couch. The next morning (Memorial Day), we began to inspect the damage.  The following items were completely fried from the lightning strike: Both TV's
DVD player
Direct TV DVR Box
Modem/Internet
Cell phone chargers
Garbage disposal
Washing machine
A/C relay switch (no A/C, but thankfully the technician was able to fix it quickly the next day)
Radio
I am pretty sure I am missing something, but you get the idea. We are so thankful the house did not catch on fire and no one was injured.  This list is annoying, but it is just stuff. We have an electrician coming out tomorrow to look over the entire house and make sure we don't have any electrical shorts.  A huge bonus is the new modem is so much better and our Internet is actually fast.  That is why I sat down to blog this morning, the hamster no longer has to spin the wheel to make the Internet run! We are also in the middle of  renovating our kitchen and laundry/mud room, so you can imagine how the inside of my house looks.  Yesterday, while we had a revolving door of repair people and technicians coming and going, I sanded, primed, and painted 22 drawers and 10 cabinet doors.  We have 59 drawers/cabinet doors when you add up the kitchen and laundry room.  It's amazing how productive one can be when there isn't a TV - LOL!  New counter tops and backsplash will be installed in a couple of weeks.  After that we will start to tackle the floors, add new lighting, and shiplap the large wall behind the kitchen table.  I hoping we are finished by 2025!



In other news, the chicks are huge and look like miniature chickens.  We have 5 baby barn swallows in a nest over our backdoor.  They are adorable, but the momma barn swallow will give you a serious fly by if you get to close.  The kids watch them safely by standing on the toilet and looking out the window in our downstairs bathroom.  :)
We have started working on the pond.  It was in such bad shape.  Eventually we hope to have a small dock, picnic table, and hammock out there.  Plus we would love to hang some white lights in the trees.  You know this would go a lot faster if I didn't have to teach and Charlie didn't have to work...hahahaha!  It's a good thing we like projects! Elizabeth :)

We have a new addition to our homestead...THE TRACTOR!!!  It arrived last Thursday and everyone was excited.  Charlie and I would wink at one another and say, "It's Tractor Day!"  We may have said it 20 plus times before he even left for work. :) A new tractor meant we could actually take care of the grass and brush on the back portion of the property and around the pond.  We decided to skip church Sunday morning (shame on us :)) to make sure we could spend a entire day mowing and shredding.  And it was literally the entire day!  I think Charlie and I put in a solid 11 hours and the kids helped for at least 9.  They were such troopers and super helpful.  It is so nice that they are at an age where they can really help lighten the load.

If there is one rule that I have heard over and over since we have moved out here it is to keep our fence lines mowed and clear.  The main reason...SNAKES!  Well, when it comes to anything reptilian, I only have to be told once.  Mark my word, our fence lines will stay mowed and clear! In order to keep an eye on these fence lines, I have started walking the perimeter of the property.  Well, I walk the front 1/3 of the property.  The front 1/3 has already been mowed and cleared...the back 2/3 has not, therefore, I am not walking that part. :)  At a brisk pace, I can walk around the front 1/3 in about 7-8 minutes.  So, I have decided to kill two birds with one stone - check fence lines and get in a good walk.  I can make 4 rounds in about 30 minutes. A nice surprise has been my walking companion.  Dixie has decided that I should not walk alone. :)  She trots out in front of me, constantly monitoring the area at all times.  It really is adorable; she's my protector. 

Now this is just random but I have to share.  The below picture is the trophy left from a Loggerhead Shrike.  Shrikes are the cutest little birds, but what they do to their prey is downright wrong!  My sister-in-law posted a picture on FB about a month ago.  Her kids had found a small snake impaled on a tree branch.  Apparently, it was the placed there by a Loggerhead Shrike.  I knew if she had them we were sure to see one on our property, since they live about 15 minutes from us.  These adorable birds impale their prey on fences, trees, etc.  Then bring female birds to view the said trophy.  If she likes what she sees then we get baby shrikes.  Oh brother!!!!  Needless to say, we now have two Shrikes that fly around together.

Ummmm, okay so that title may be a bit of an exaggeration, but let me explain.  This past Thursday my husband and I completed our first round of yard work at our new home.  When we purchased the home, the previous owner left the riding lawn mower.  This is what I refer to as my tiny tractor.  It's even a John Deere! Lol We really need a real tractor for much of the back portion of the property, but as of right now, we only have smaller lawn equipment.  I braced myself, knowing full well that this was going to be a long process.  I dressed in a long, white sleeved t-shirt, black sweat pants, my trusty, camo boots (pants tucked in of course), and a ball cap.  I wanted to make sure those mosquitos knew who was boss!  I immediately jumped on my "tiny tractor" while my husband ran between the regular push mower, line trimmer (that is a really big weed eater), small weed eater, and backpack sprayer for weeds. AND..... we got it done in record time... 5 hours 41 minutes....(yes, that one minute matters). OH. MY. WORD! WHAT IN THE WORLD?! GOOD GRAVY! That wasn't even all 7.85 acres!  WHAAAAAAAAA!!!!! Now if you have never been on a tiny tractor while mowing uneven ground, you may not realize what type of ride I endured.  Here are some of the thoughts that ran through my mind as I dramatically bumpity bumped all over the place. 1.  It started with, "Oh goodness, this isn't has smooth and easy as I originally thought." 2.  "OH MY WORD!  My bladder is going to sustain permanent damage!" 3.  "It sure is a good thing I am done having babies!" 4.  "Chapstick is not a good idea."  I cannot even begin to tell you how much dirt and grime I had stuck to my lips...so gross! 5.  "I'M. NEVER. GETTING. OFF.  EVER. - This is some type of life sentence!" 6.  "I'll just wave to the kids as they leave for college..." 7.  "I want my mommy." 8.  "What did I do to deserve this?" 9.  "Is it even possible to hold your abs in on this thing?" 10.  "This is not making me feel attractive." 11.  "Oh crap! I just ran into the barn..."  I looked around to see if anyone witnessed that "little bump", and decided to play it off and just keep going.  I did fess up to it later, only to hear laughter from my husband.  Thankfully, things like that don't ruffle his feathers.  Speaking of feathers, the defective chickens still haven't laid eggs. At the end of the 5 hours and 41 minutes (that minute still matters), my  behind was completely numb.  The muscles in my back were on fire and waving the white flag of surrender.  We both looked at each other and laughed in complete disbelief of the events that played out during our little yard sessions. It was after 8 o'clock, we still had not made dinner, we were beyond dirty.  The kids were starting the circle us waiting for some type of meal.  When they began to grow a bit impatient, my husband came to my defense with, "Look at your mother, have you ever seen her look like this?"  I think he was beginning to think he broke me, that the country shook me violently for 5 hours and 41 minutes and then spit me out...into the dirt. We showered, ate delicious steak and potatoes (thank you, Honey) and then fell asleep on the couch. But those sunsets...totally worth it! Oh!!! So my point about driving to Austin on a tiny tractor.  I was on the riding lawn mower longer than it would take to drive from here to Austin.  :)  AND I received a honk and wave from two men in a pick up...LOL