Snow-Boss 101

Plow on the left, and a Broom on the right:
Plows move the snow when it gets "thick" (usually anything more than 1/4 to 1/2 inches...they have to plow it then follow the plow with a broom to sweep the surface clean. Think of it like this (This example is compliment of my supervisor) If you took a broom out to your driveway first, it wouldn't do much good. If you took a snow shovel out, then came behind it with a broom, now that's effective)



Snow Blower:
(we pull the snow away from the lights, then "launch" it into the air over the lights and it goes into the grass...mainly it just looks cool, but serves a good purpose)



Close Up of a snow-blower:




Well, today was an interesting day at work. We had a BIG snow for the Wichita area, which meant our snow crews were out working hard all day and night. By the time the sun came up (FINALLY!) they were still hard at work. I got the privilege to work with them and help clean off part of the East side of the airfield. I can proudly say that the airfield is looking great.

It was a good experience. This morning we had an individual who wanted to get out of one of the taxiways. Unfortunately, there were large drifts-so I went to see who I could find to help out. Luckily, I found one awake soul to help. This individual jumped into the snowplow and we worked through the intersection to assist getting the aircraft out for the flight. After feeling a slight bit of accomplishment, and noticing all other individuals were busy, I got it approved to keep this snowplow to work on the rest of the taxiway. It was great. We worked North and South and I directed (to the best of my inexperienced ability) and he moved the snow. I felt like a conductor with a mini orchestra. After making a few mistakes-but learning quickly, I got to see a snowblower in action! We would pull the snow away from the lights, and the snowblower would come and “eat” the snow and blow it over the lights. It was cool. Yeah, I may be nerdy, but it was sure a good time. We finished up the taxiway and it was time for a break for the overworked and under-rested crew. With some help from the “Snow-Boss”, we were able to get the last part of the taxiway cleared off. I watched as the Snow-Boss finished up directing the clearing of the small mountain that I accidentally created. It was very educational.

I am extremely appreciative of all those involved in snow removal, and could not be happier to work with such a wonderful group of individuals. Cheers to their hard work and patience as I learn to become a “Snow-Man” (well, actually Snow-Woman to be correct). Despite the mild mistakes, I feel like I am getting the hang of this whole snow thing…and getting a chance to “conduct” a plow this morning was quite fun. I bet the “big” airports really have a blast!

January Update

Well, another month has snuck by! I am not sure how long I will have to type, so I will probably make this a quick post. Theodore is napping, so we shall see how much I get written...since it's almost dinner time for him!

This past month has been so busy! Between a few house projects (picture frames getting hung up), some cleaning, and overall finishing the holiday season, we have been very busy.

I felt very accomplished the other day. Theodore started holding his bottle on his own (the daycare taught him that...!! way to go daycare!!), so I was doing some cleaning and it was time for his bottle....so...I got it warmed up and he fed himself while I finished cleaning the bathrooms, floors, etc. He is getting so big! (yes, I'm sure every mother says that!) He even helped supervise my cleaning and vacuuming. He was not such a fan of the vacuuming...that could be because I had him sitting in his "bumbo" chair (we call it the captain's chair) and the vacuum was coming close to him. He let out a little whine, and so I picked him up, and put him in one of those pouches that you hook to yourself-so you look like you have a baby in a backpack-only ours goes on our front (like a kangaroo kind of). Anywho, after putting him in the kangaroo carrier thing, he was much more content to help mama vacuum! He even helped me clean the kitchen. He watched me as I swept and swiffered the floors. It's amazing how just a LITTLE cleaning makes the biggest difference.

So why all the cleaning? Well, I guess when my "weekend" is consolidated into one day the super-mom in me comes out. I got all the laundry, diapers, etc done and folded (not completely put away, but folded none the less!) so I felt like I should clean a little more, since I never quite seem to get the vacuuming done...! It sure is nice to have a clean floor again! Now, if I could only entertain Theodore long enough to get the organizing done...!

That is a question I have: WHY does organizing take so long?
For me, it's probably because I just "do" most things, then the "things" become cluttery...then I can't stand it, so then I figure out how to make things more efficient for my use...but this trial and error bit is sure a long process. Why can't I just know what will work and how I will use things? I guess that's the fun of the game, right?!

Oh, so January...what did we do?!
We went to Atlanta, Georgia for a delayed holiday with the Laws family. We took Theodore, so that was an adventure. This was his 2nd airplane trip and he did very well. We only spent 3 days recoving this time, so I guess it works out. Theodore didn't sleep as well the 1st and 3rd night we were there, so that made for long days. But we had a good time. We went to one of those Medieval Dinner show things. It was pretty cool and I think Theodore even enjoyed the horses and jousting! We even got to go to IKEA...I wish I had an "IKEA" line item in our budget! (oh...maybe I should make one?!) Theodore liked shopping...probably because there was lots to look at--but he liked it regardless.

Other than that, I've been working lots lately. Today I got to try my hand at driving the snowplow at work. IT WAS SURPRISINGLY FUN! A bit timid, I'm not ready to "solo" yet, but I had a good lesson today: Intro to Snowplowing 101. Basics: How to turn, not run into stuff, and overall-move snow effectively. Pretty good first lesson. I don't know that they will let me drive them often, but it was a fun experience! (not sure I would say that if I'd have been up all night driving them, eh?!)

Well, surprisingly Theodore is still asleep...maybe I should venture over to see if he is ready for dinner.

All the best everyone.
Robin

December: Home for Christmas

As the end of the month draws near, I feel it is time to again update our much neglected blog : )

This month, moreso than all the rest, has been busy. I started working my 4:30am shift (normally I come in at 5:30am....!) and now get off a whole 30 minutes earlier...yay...but that still means going to bed early...ugh..7pm..yawn....yeah. So, thanks to our wonderful friends and family, I have been able to make it-and be quite rested, despite the crazy schedule. Thank goodness that Theresa lives with us, as she has made life quite a bit easier with Chris in and out of town. She is so good with Theodore that I never have to worry.

With my crazy hours, and anticipating snow, we decided to stay home for Christmas. (if it snows, my whole department-all 4 of us...are "on duty/call" to make sure the runways stay open at the airport, even if it is our "holiday" or "day off") Luckily, we did not really get anything to talk about. Last Thursday (i think-maybe Wednesday...?) we got a little freezing precipitation, so I was thinking....wow...it's going to be a long day....but luckily, we did not get more than that! I was happy, because I was really looking forward to finishing my shift and going home to spend the holiday with family. Chris was off for Christmas !! And my parents, two brothers, and Theresa were all here at our house for Christmas dinner. It was just wonderful to be home and have family to share the holiday with.

Theodore Update:
Well, he is growing so fast (like they all told me he would!). He rolled over a couple times now, but we are not sure he really knows how to do it continuously yet. But it is sure fun to watch him try! He is definitely teething...oh fun fun. We often find him with his hands in his mouth and fussing. We imagine that is "baby talk" for "Mom and Dad! my mouth hurts! I want popsicles!" But, despite the "teething toys" we have, he doesn't seem to like the cold on his mouth much yet. I'm sure he will grow into that too, right? So, instead, he puts anything he can find into his mouth...his hands, your fingers, burp cloths...etc. He hasn't figured out that his mouth is not as big as he thinks it is...but that's ok !

The last few days have been interesting. We think he is starting to transition to fewer naps. (rats! now I really have to find things to keep him busy!) A couple days ago, we fed him at 7pm, put him to bed shortly after 8pm-and he slept all night.....! wow! he eliminated one whole feeding! I guess he is getting bigger and needs the sleep, but wow! So last night, in the experimental stage again-we fed him a little earlier than that, and again, he went to bed about 8pm....and slept until 7am when I woke him up to eat! WOW! I just can't believe it....I think our son can out-sleep Chris! heeheee. So, if we are lucky, he will start going to bed about the same time I do at night : ) and then I can say that I go to bed after my son .... (oh so it will still be like 7pm...!)

Other than that, Chris is off on another adventure. He has had the priviledge of flying literally all over the world. He has yet to make it to Australia, but we are keeping out hopes up that maybe soon he will make it there.

Speaking of Chris...apparently it has been three years (tomorrow) that we have been married! wow! It feels like it was yesterday-and BLINK- three years go by! wow. So, cheers to my wonderful husband-who has made life wonderful and brought so much joy to my life. I know he has many years ahead of him of wonderful memories to make and I'm excited for each one of them.


Speaking of Traveling....
Theodore took his first airplane trip! We flew the airlines up to Chicago and then drove to Champaigne Urbana for my younger brother, Paul's, Graduation! It was a quick weekend trip, but we all had a wonderful time. Theodore even did really well through security, the airport, and even was quiet during graduation! I was so impressed. He had a blast playing with his aunt, uncle, and grandparents. Despite my "worrying" he did fine the whole trip and we all had a great time. We are looking forward to many more family trips.

Finished Quilt, Clean Office,...what next?

So...where HAVE we been for the last month or so (since it seems I have only updated the blog about once a month lately!)

Well, Chris has been somewhere on the other half of the world (I cannot remember all the places off the top of my head, but I can tell you he can no longer count the different countries on two hands! He is still loving the travel, but hating the time away from home-can you blame him?!) We get to talk on skype often, so that helps make things as "normal" as they can be while he is away. Thankfully, he is able to be home for Thanksgiving (and actually was for Halloween too!)

We were "Cow Pokes" (people who tend to cattle...I think that's right...or sometheting like that. We were cowboys and needless to say, Theodore is our little cow!



On Halloween, we enjoyed all the little kids coming by the house. I think I had the most fun, seeing everyone all dressed up! SOOOOO many cute kiddo's. Ah what a fun night.

As many of you may remember, I started a quilt some time ago (oh-shortly after we got married...so about 2.75 years ago...but who is counting? Oh-wait-the person who the quilt is FOR!) So...said quilt-the Crown Royal one- is now COMPLETED! Yes, after many years of procrastonation, a handful of moves, a baby, and lots of other distractions, the quilt is now finished. (YAY!)

As you may know, Robin doesn't ever seem to do things the "easy way," so I took a design I liked and extrapolated it...and of course I had to edit the dimensions, make a few changes, and va-boom: I had a design for a queen-sized quilt. Now, I THINK the request was for a lap quilt...but what fun is that? I mean, really-a Crown Royal quilt to me sounds more like an awesome comforter or something...so I did just that: Queen size quilt it is!

And I quote, " It was well worth the wait." (Clint Augustin)

Thank you, dear friend! Here is a picture of my masterpiece: (yes, it is on-of-a-kind, and no, I'm not taking orders!! heeheee)



Oh, and of course, he came to see Theodore too:



Since completing the quilt, I have been at a bit of a loss for things to do (ok-not really-there are LOTS of things to do-but where to start?)

This past weekend we went to a wedding reception and Carol and Terry came to town to watch Theodore for us (I think they were looking for a good excuse to see their grandson...do you blame them!?). It was our first trip leaving our little one and also our first time away from home together since he was born. And, as sad as we were to leave for a day, we were happy we did. Teddy had a GREAT time with his grandparents, and Chris and I had a wonderful time with friends and enjoyed not having to worry about if our little kiddo. It was a win on all accounts! Theodore was a little tired when we returned, but I know it's because he had such a good time playing with Carol and Terry.

This week, we look forward to Thanksgiving. Jeremy and Ashley will be coming to town to celebrate with us this year. Additionally, since Jeremy and Ashley don't get to see the family that much, Carol and Terry decided to come in for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday! So we will have a full house!!! In an effort to have a place to put everyone, we opted to clean THE OFFICE.

Now...this OFFICE has been on our "to do" list since we moved in. And actually-when I was pregnant, I moved a number of the boxes from Teddy's room to the office-since I was not going to be going through them for awhile. Well, the time came-it was this weekend or never. SO....we decided we could have some of our guests stay in the office-once it was cleaned, and the other guests stay in our guest bed downstairs.

This is the before picture....





AND AFTER:






There IS carpet in here! I wasn't sure there still was!

And one last picture of the family. SMILE! Although it is a little out of focus, I think it's a rather good snapshot:

October...Already!?

Well apparently it's October. Wow...and Theodore is already eight weeks old....! crazy! What has happened in the past month? Well, here's what I can remember:

Jeremy and Ashely got married on September 17, which is Jeremy's birthday : ) He better not forget their anniversary!! Theresa took a few pictures and here they are:

Carol, Terry, Chris, Theodore, and I went to Missouri to visit Terry's parents after Jeremy's wedding. Theodore did pretty well in the car, and I was pleasantly surprised. Although, despite all the fun he had with his great grandparents, Theodore was ready to be home and get some good sleep in his own bed.

Speaking of beds...Theodore recently outgrew his bassinette. WOW! One day I put him down for a nap and realized that his legs were nearly touching the end. Luckily, Chris was coming home, so we were able to put the crib together a few days after that. Chris even got the mobile up so Theodore has something to look at : ) I haven't gotten a picture of it. It is funny...every time I think about taking a picture it is whe Theodore is sleeping. And of course, he needs his beauty sleep, so I will have to remember one of these days when he is awake.

In Chris' time home, he was not bored. He had plenty to do outside: the back yard-and re-planting grass. He spent a few days working hard to get the ground prepped and ready to plant the seeds. Here is a picture of him using the tiller:



The grass is just starting to sprout nice and green. I can't wait to see his hard work pay off.

Other than that, I have started back at work full time. We are having a love-hate relationship. I love working and the type of work I do, but hate being gone and the long hours. Although, three days in a row off are nice, but it is sad to say that I usually go to bed before Theodore at night....ah the perks of waking up well before the sun. What are you to do? In general, it is nice to be back and working hard. I love picking Theodore up and coming home to play for a little while before going to bed. And I always look forward to Sundays when I can spend all day at home, or getting some errands run in between naps and feeding time.

Oh, and here is one of my favorite pictures from the last month. Chris and Theodore are having a contest...who can go on for longer fussing?

And one last one of a Kansas State game day Picture:

Social Butterfly...Who Would Have Thought?

Theodore has been quite a social butterfly over the past few weeks! He has gotten to visit Salina and Oklahoma!

We even had a handful of visitors come through to visit us, including my friend, Niki. She has twins who are exactly 1 year older than Theodore....! And her girls were no smaller than 8lbs EACH...needless to say, she had never seen such a small baby...! wow! I'm truly impressed--she holds the RECORD at Salina hospital for largest twins. What a champ.... Here she is with our little one:



Theodore even had some time to visit his GREAT Grandpa Benny. Needless to say, Benny enjoyed the visitor and even held Theodore for awhile. He said that I could leave Theodore there with him. I didn't think it would work out, but it was nice of him to offer to watch Theodore for us. Here is a picture of Wayne and Great Gpa Benny:

And one of their hands...aww!

Oh, on the road trip to Salina, I stayed with my sister, Karen and her husband Erik. Karen was kind enough to prepare a bed for Theodore (Drawer with pillow and blanket!! Worked PERFECTLY!!) Theodore slept like a Champ!

In the morning, I was going to get ready in the bathroom and I heard Karen go to check on him. Then I heard some russeling...I saw that she moved his drawer out to the living room...and was taking pictures of her nephew. She's not excited or anything....! hehee....But he sure is cute when he is sleeping. (I think Chris sleeps just like that...just not in a drawer! heheheheee)

Oh, and my favorite milestone recently, Chris got to feed Theodore with a bottle! Needless to say, Chris really enjoyed that. (And I enjoyed the time off...now I get to go to bed early and he takes over the last feeding of the evening...I never knew that an extra hour of sleep would make such a difference! WOW it does...and I'm totally enjoying the 7 straight hours of sleep!!!)

Other News:

We have new neighbors! Our friends from Salina just moved in 4 doors down....LOVE IT! So excited! With them moving, we helped unload some boxes into their house. Needless to say, I was thinking...hmm...we have lived here since this spring...maybe it's time to work on our office....

SO: tonight we got through at least 3 boxes (I stopped counting after 2). It was great...and amazing how much more room there is in the office without those boxes....

Now...for the rest of them...!

Busy Busy....and a NEW DISHWASHER!

Well, hello again friends!

Yes, life has been busy. Lucky for us, the Good Lord has his eye on me! Our friends, Kelley and Brandon are going to be moving into a house down the street from us!! YAY! (well, don't get too excited yet--but they will close on it soon) Lucky for me, Kelley has been able to be here all week : ) So, in addition to Aunt Theresa in the evenings, Kelley has been a HUGE help! (thanks!!) Between dinner, errands, and overall keeping me sane, I have had a great week hanging out with Kelley, Theresa, and Brandon.

Theodore had a few doctor appointments this week. He has grown 1.5 inches (already!) and gained 1 lb. I'm thrilled to hear that (as from what "the books" I read say...new moms often worry about little ones eating enough. Besides...it's not like they have a gas gauge...they really should...so when it shows "empty" we know when to feed them!)

Also, for the curious minds...we started using cloth diapers. Yes..cloth...

I'm impressed so far. We will use a combo of cloth and disposable-but so far, cloth has impressed me. I like the super absorbancy and they seem more "leak proof" than some of the disposables I have put on Theodore lately. Yesterday I had him in disposables while I was out and about...needless to day while he was being held by a few of his new friends, he peed on them...oops...! Well, That's how he greets people he really likes, I suppose! Also, He likes to "slime" people (as I like to call it) with spit up. Lucky us...

Other things going on:
NEW DISHWASHER!

Like other things that have broken (air conditioner.....ugh!) Our dishwasher stopped working the other day. Lucky for me, I had extra help in the house, but none of us were a fan of doing the dishes ALL the time. SO...with the Labor Day sales, we were able to go to Lowe's and find one on sale...and have it installed yesterday. The dishwaser is QUIET and BEAUTIFUL and MAGNETIC! From the time we were married, we never had a dishwasher with a magnetic front...they were all rental houses and had plastic-so now I can get the ABC magnets for Theodore to play with on the dishwasher : )