The Conley Family

Easter Baskets

2011-12-31T17:23:00.001-05:00

I love holidays. I am a sucker for any reason to celebrate. I will probably soon start putting up decorations for Arbor Day just to have another reason to be joyful. The Easter Bunny and I had a conference and I let him know how much I enjoy the baskets he leaves my kids and darned if he didn’t out do himself again this year. I know a huge rabbit bouncing all over the world giving candy to children should probably be alarming to me but this takes us back to my love of all things holiday so we just roll with it (wink) My kids don’t question it either. ‘A giant furry animal breaks into our house and leaves us goodies? Hmmm…okay’ I guess it isn’t hard to do the impact calculation on that one. I hope you enjoy the tour through the baskets and HOPPY EASTER – well in April is was.

Wow look at those baskets.

Abbi’s on the left and Caelun’s on the right

Abbi found hers first.

Nail polish, converse shoes, books, soy crisps, and Pringles- seems like that giant scored.

She says she is too old to hunt eggs I am glad she isn’t to old for Easter baskets.

All lip gloss must be smelled- I think there is a rule.

Pop corn, socks, new undies, not a bad haul I give the rabbit some credit.

Caelun is up next.

Books, a magnadoodle with ducks on it, cheese crackers, cheese puffs, animal crackers, and rubber ducks. Clearly the rabbit is clairvoyant.

Yeah for the Easter Bunny!

A Tour Of The Trees

2011-12-23T12:26:00.001-05:00

One of my cousins, who has fond memories of our family farm, asked me for pictures where we planted the recent pear and paw paw trees so this post is a response along with some other pictures of the property as I wandered around. I took these at the end of April after the egg hunt.

This view is to the south standing behind the old barn. The paw paw trees- if they make it they didn’t look so hot this fall- are down near the edge of the swamp that starts with the tall grass.

This view is facing west from behind the old barn. The pear trees are in a row a good distance apart behind the barn and garage. The old seckel pear is the tall one behind Caelun. You can see the old willow off further to the west in the right hand corner.

Another angle of the pears with the view of the back of the garage.

The paw paw trees are in a clump to the left od the white chair.

The paw paws looking up the hill. I planted them here because they are cold hardy to zone 3 so they should be able to handle the low lying cool and they are supposed to want wetter- swampy conditions.

The old pear is up in the left.

Caelun Gets a Birthday Present From Aunt Dawn

2011-12-22T19:35:00.000-05:00

Caelun’s 4th birthday was the week after Easter this past year. Our dear friend Dawn couldn’t make it to the party due to a conflict with Prom at the school where she teaches so she brought his present to the egg hunt. We got so busy that we didn’t have Caelun open it before she left so I told her I would take pictures and post them here. I am a few months late but pictures here they are.

He even looked at the card (mommy smiles)

Hmmm I wonder what it could be with those cars all over the paper?? Hmmm…

A WHOLE box of match box cars!

Yeah for cars! Thanks Aunt Dawn! I ma sure mommy and daddy will love stepping on these in the dark and they will be REALLY fun to chase the cats with. (wink)

Egg Hunt 2011

2011-12-22T18:54:00.001-05:00

We have been hosting an egg hunt at the farm for Easter for probably 20 years now. We structure it (yes I said structure because at the end of the day we are a bunch of teachers that put this thing together) so that every kid gets the same quantity of eggs. Each kid is given a # this year 1-10. The eggs are then numbered and they can only pick up the eggs with their numbers. This year I did 70 eggs per kid so 70X10 kids 700 eggs. That is a lot of stickers, candy, small toys, and fuzzy pipe cleaner chicks. T weather was excellent this year, it isn’t always, and the kids had fabulous time- so did the grown ups.

Natasha did the majority of the ferret wrangling that day so I could take pictures and Clint could help run the hunt. Our dear friend
Dawn also came along to help and share in the festivities.

Natasha is ferret wrangling and Dawn is handing out the assigned numbers.

Debbie and Clint also help herd children.

Billy, Bryar, Cole, and Blake get ready to hunt.

While Natasha entertains the ferret Emily and Sam join the fray

Matt gets his bag.

The kids start getting corralled towards the bell.

Brien, Jodi, Kris, And Stacey also help coral the kids.

Ken and Jodi’s dog even gets in in the fun.

They line up to help Grandpa Bob pull the rope to ring the bell and start the hunt.

PULL!!!!!

And they are off!

Hmmm if you have to explain and point there might be an issue.

Sam has it down!

Emily and Bill seem to have it figured out as well.

Bryar finding his eggs.

Up the hill they go.

Cole is finding his eggs.

Matt and Bill have eggs.

Emmy found one in a tree.

Levi, Megan, and Nathan enjoy the stroll.

Caelun is getting the hang of it with Cole leading the way.

Bryar has another one

Blake hunts on.

A view from the hill looking back north to the house

Ken and Jodi help spy over looked eggs.

Back at the barn it is time to crack them open, check out the loot, and eat some food .Grandpa Bob looks at Caelun’s goodies. Natasha is helping to sort the loot. Matt gives us a big grin.

Bryar and Emily

Cole and Billy

Nikki with Caelun and Debbie helping Blake and Billy

Sam

We filled up the pole barn pretty well. Hooray for another successful egg hunt!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2011-12-21T23:47:00.001-05:00

Egg coloring is a high art form at our house. We usually use several types of coloring kits and do several dozen. This was the first year Caelun really got the whole gist of it. Abbi indulged him and then got really arty when he went to bed. It was a fun glorious, technicolor, mess to clean up, but oooohhh was it fun. The eggs were fun to take pictures of as well and we then had lots of deviled eggs to bring to the egg hunt at the farm. Yeah for coloring Easter eggs.

Daddy gets Caelun started.

This kit was kind of nice in that the eggs dropped down in little cups that had tops and you then shook them around. This was a perfect no-mess method designed with a ferret in mind.

Put the dye in with the vinegar and water.

Drop in the eggs..

Swish them around a bit..

Ta da!!!

So many pretty eggs.

Abbi got out another kit with sponges and assorted other techniques.

Caelun watched for a bit before he went to bed.

Then Abbi got down to some serious egg coloring.

I love the intense expression on her face.

So many beautiful eggs.

They are like little works of art.. that are tasty.

Team Rita’s Margaritas Saving Second Base

2011-12-21T15:46:00.001-05:00

Last year at our family Christmas party my mother in-law, Rita, told us she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer in their life time. My mother in-law had “won” that unlucky lottery. There are more stats on breast cancer located here. She under went surgery and chemo and has a full recovery I am happy to report. The folks at her work along with some family organized a team to walk in her honor to raise awareness and money. Team- Rita’s Margaritas- Save Second Base. The day of the walk was very cold and rainy so I have to confess with the 3 year old in tow we wimped out. We did drive over for the after glow/warm up party to show our support. Hurray for Rita and beating cancer!

Grandma Rita hangs out with the pool shark grandkids.

Oooo where did it go??

Clint and Abbi-having dinner with Chris, Missy, Missy, Cody, and Bree

Rita’s sisters

Co-workers

Pool Shark Grandkids

Forensics Regionals

2011-12-20T22:20:00.001-05:00

Last April just before spring break Grand Rapids Christian High held our Forensics regionals. I had two in the category of impromptu, one in sales (I didn’t get a picture of him- he had to leave right after competing) and one in oratory, and darned if they didn’t all qualify to state finals! Woot! Hooray for Adythia, Kaylyn, Caden, and Daniel!

Adythia and Kaylyn wait for awards.

Caden looking very dapper in his suit.

The group waiting. I love Adythia’s socks (wink) Luckily the judges couldn’t see them when he was standing up speaking.

And the qualifiers are… Adythia and Caden in Impromptu.

And Kaylyn in oratory.

Day of Silence

2011-12-20T18:54:00.001-05:00

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

My daughter is amazing and on this day she was one of my heroes. The Day Of Silence is a day in April every year when high school students take a vow of silence to ‘speak out’ against violence and harassment of LGBT youth. In light of the rash of LGBT teens committing suicide because of bullying this conversation is one that needs to be had. It can be hard, especially as a teen, to stand up for someone who is seen as an outsider or as different. I am proud of her for standing up. May none of us be ‘silent’ while in view of someone in pain and may we all treat each other gently with words and deeds. Sticks and stones can break our bones but words can break our hearts.

Rainbows on her fingernails.

There is more information on Day Of Silence at the link below.

http://www.dayofsilence.org/

Compost Happens

2011-12-20T11:12:00.001-05:00

Our fair city collects the leaves every fall and the brush at several intervals through out the year to shred and compost. As a resident I am allowed to pick up this mulch and compost for my personal use. This is an AMAZING service as far as I am concerned and my garden and flowers thank me every year with an abundant harvest and fabulous blooms. On this warn spring day in mid April I took my super helper and we loaded the truck. Oh the mountains were fun to climb.

High atop mount mulch

For the love of dirty knees (grin)

And down we roll…

“Okay mom- I’m done- guess you will have to unload at home by yourself”

Dirty toes and dirty knees- what a joy of spring.

A Grandpa And A Ferret In A Pear Tree- Or 3 Pear Trees To Be Exact.

2011-12-20T08:55:00.001-05:00

“I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.” Willa Cather

There is a single pear tree- a seckel pear to be specific-at our family farm. It is at least 50 feet tall and has been there for probably 60 plus years. We decided it needed some company. In an effort to give to the future generations as my grandparents gave me the apples I still make into apple sauce every year, I am planting fruit trees. I hope that these trees grow and my children can pick them in the fall of some future year with their grandchildren. The trees we chose are a bosc, a bartlett, and a moonglow. I got standards because they are more hardy and they have a longer life span. Here is to pears for desert… some day.

Grandpa Bob and Caelun help me dig the holes. We brought water down in pails.

Wait I thought I was planting trees not Cae-Caes

Oh such glorious mud!

For folks familiar with the farm this is behind and to the east of the back of the garage and extends to behind the old barn- basically in a row.

The tall tree to the left of center is the seckel pear. They should be in good cross pollination range

We water them in and pack it down.

Back For More Butterflies At Meijer gardens

2011-12-19T13:02:00.001-05:00

Because we have a family membership – I think our plus 2 level makes us contributors which sounds really fancy (wink)- we have unlimited access to the gardens. Caelun so loves the butterflies so I took him back for a repeat viewing. This time we got to see an enclosed space where monarchs were coming out of their chrysalis. We also got another view of the indoor water features he so dearly loves. We also took a tour of the turtle tank downstairs. Cheers for Fred and Lena Meijer for building this fabulous treasure so near us that we are able to frequent it on such a regular basis.

Watching the monarchs

off to the fountains

He probably isn’t supposed to be touching that but – oh well.

On into the main arboretum

Then downstairs to say “hi” to the turtles.

And So It Grows

2011-12-19T10:49:00.001-05:00

“I am two with nature.”
Woody Allen

I love to garden. In the long dark days of winter gardening indoors is part of what keeps me sane. In the spring it gives me hope and pushes me outside every day to see what is new. In the summer it keeps me fit and puts an abundance of healthy food on the table. In the fall It is the business of preparation for the cold winter ahead that again pushes me outside to plant those bulbs for the pay off again the next spring. I always joke my husband loves me he brings me dirt. Clint bought me/us a 4 ft. tall indoor green house to start our spring plants inside in the dead of winter. This is the fruit of that labor form those cold February days. This is mid April. A few more weeks and it will be time to start hardening them off to get ready to go in the garden.

The First Blooms Of Spring- April Fool’s Day

2011-12-18T22:38:00.001-05:00

“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.”
Theodore Roethke

I just love the first crocuses of spring. There is something just so darn optimistic about a little bulb that with the slightest provocation of sun and warmth explodes forth in joy. It blooms through cold, frost, and even some times snow. Such a tiny little sprite of a bloom would scarcely get a glance in August but on the first of April it is a long lost friend to be rejoiced over. Bring on the crocuses!

I even brought along my best flower picker to help me (wink)

Our Totally Charmin’ Leprechaun Stomps The Snakes Out Of The Mud Puddles

2011-12-18T21:50:00.001-05:00

St. Patrick’s Day rolled around and it got warm enough to go outside in shirt sleeves. The sand box thawed, and it was time to start the spring clean up of the gardens. It was especially fun when Caelun found the puddles in Grandma Amy and Grandpa Jerry’s drive next door. Grandma Amy got quite the giggle out of our leprechaun.

First stop the sand box. It has been a long winter.

Next up – clean up and compost the leaves.

Then on to the garden to get caged by the tomato cages. I swear he did that all by himself. I actually had to rescue him.

Ah the puddles!

Maybe a having a seat would be fun.

Oooo fun!

“Hi Grandma Amy! Why are you laughing?”

“Oh laying down is even more fun!”

“Okay mom- no snakes here. Let’s go take a bath”

Getting Fitted With Fire Gear

2011-12-18T18:10:00.001-05:00

I was at a city council meeting- I should probably note I am on the council- when I was given and offer I just couldn’t turn down – “Do you want to run into a burning building?” the fire chief asked me. “Really? Me? Really?” Yeah eloquent I know. A building had been donated to be used as a controlled burn for training for the fire department and he was offering me the opportunity to tag along. Now how can a girl turn down and offer like that? Before I could do it I had to get fitted for gear which was a bit of a challenge being that I am 4ft. 11inches tall and weigh 120 pounds. The hardest part was the shoes- I wear a womens 4 1/2 Yeah I know freakishly small. We made it work but for the record I wouldn’t want to count on me saving your life if you are stuck in a burning building- just sayin’

Quite the fashion statement huh? We decided the full gear weighs just slightly less than I do- hmmm. I probably shouldn’t quit my day job.

Butterflies are Blooming at Meijer Gardens March 2011

2011-12-18T17:14:00.001-05:00

March brings butterflies to Meijer Botanic Gardens in our neck of the woods. We have a family membership plus 2 so we go quite frequently. For this trip it was Caelun and my God-daughter Nikki that came along. Caelun loves the fountains and waterfalls no matter how many times he has seen them. May I always be appreciative of the beauty all around me – no matter how many times I have seen it. I think Natasha, like me, was just grateful to see some green after a long winter of snow.

This is me taking a picture of Nikki taking a picture of Caelun.

The joy of a fountain garden.

On to the butterflies.

Nikki and Cae-Cae take a stroll under the waterfall.

Yeah for green plants and butterflies.

P is for Peanut Butter

2011-12-18T16:38:00.001-05:00

I have an album on my facebook page titled ‘Look At What My Kid Did’ this made it into the album. I was taking a shower on a March Sunday when I heard Clint shouting – “HONEY – HELP” I darted out of the shower to find this…

I don’t know if it is sad or funny that the first thing Clint said was – “Hurry and get the camera before I clean him up”

Yes P is definitely for peanut butter- sandwich anyone? (wink)

Floyd Conley Turns 60

2011-12-18T16:11:00.001-05:00

In March of 2011 Clint’s dad turned 60. What do you get for some one turning 60? How about money to burn? We made a money ‘cake’ of 60 one dollar bills. We had a great time seeing lots of family and I think Floyds got a kick out of the ‘cake’. I know we had fun assembling it. This post is brought to you by the letter ‘C’- C- is for Conely and C- is for Cake!

At the party Abbi chats with Grandma Hall or as we call her Florence The Great. Caelun is entranced by the fish.

Lot’s of friends and family shoed up to help Floyd celebrate.

Mary Brings Floyd his cake.

Yum cake!

Grandma Mary had Caelun all set up- bring on the cake! Really forks are overrated.

Florence The Great is so much neater at eating her cake- go figure (wink)

Look – Grandma Mary isn’t messy either- hmmm. Caelun still prefers his fingers.

After cake it is time for snuggles.

It was great to see Clint’s brother Chris, his wife Missy and their kids Bree and Cody- yea for more Conleys!

Uncle Chris gives snuggles.

Yeah for Conelys, Cake, and Grandpa Conely turning 60!

Curing Cabin Fever

2011-12-18T15:38:00.001-05:00

When you have snow like we did this past February it is hard to get out and do things. You start to feel trapped and you SURE the snow will never go away. We call this cabin fever. The only real cure for it is spring but these are some of the ways we fight it.

We start our flats of garden vegetables in an indoor green house. There is nothing like some little green shoots to remind you that spring is coming.

We also like to bake. Warm cookies take the chill off of cold winter day. Abbi is the master of the peanut butter cookies.

Lastly we take a trip to the mall. The big kids shop and the little kid plays in the play place. This one is an enchanted forest.

Look at that – those bees don’t even sting (wink)

Now to sail away in a boat until the spring thaw.

Take Your Sweetheart to the Swirl part II

2011-12-18T14:59:00.001-05:00

After going out to dinner- Breton’s folks did the chauffeuring- the kids came back our house to hang out before the dance. An additional friend joined them. I took them to the dance and then, picked them up after the dance, and took them out for ice cream. I am not sure who had more fun – me or the kids.

Shouldn’t everyone have a little brother that comes to join in when you are snuggling with your boyfriend?

Abbi is thrilled you can tell- wink.

Another friend, Jozelin, came to hang out until it was time to go to the dance.

And then out for ice cream after the dance.

Yeah for Swirl!

Take Your Sweetheart To The Swirl- Abbi’s Freshman Swirl February 2011

2011-12-18T14:29:00.001-05:00

I started the food blog www.cookingnuggets.com and I haven’t been keeping up with our family blog. I am feeling bad I have not been staying on top of this. I also have several friends who have had catastrophic things happen to their computers- lap tops stolen, computers crashed, etc… and every picture I have out there in the cloud is a picture I don’t have to worry about loosing. I seem to be getting life caught up- well as much as it is ever caught up for me so I will attempt to catch this up as well. I have several family members that have recently gotten on the internet and want to read the family updates and I thus they need to be updated. This is also what I do now instead of scrap booking being that it takes less time, is easier to share, and is more safely archived so here goes… Last February…

Abbi and her boyfriend Hayden got ready at the house we just bought for my folks being that they hadn’t moved in yet and thus there was lots of room.

Abbi’s friends Breton and Megan got ready with them and they all went to the dance together.

Caelun gave Hayden’s shoes one more go to make sure they were well broke in for dancing.

Megan was pretty in pin

Our Abbi girl had the pretty pink hair but the dress was blue.

The gentleman were as handsome …

…as the ladies were lovely.

Abbi’s cute toes painted to match her dress.

The boys being goofy.

The whole gang.

Abbi and Hayden

Happy Holidays From The Conleys- 2011

2011-12-17T12:30:00.001-05:00

Dear family, friends, in-laws, out – laws, acquaintances, and random folks who stumble across this on our family blog- Happy Holidays!

We hope this missive finds you well and as the financial adviser Dave Ramsey says “better than you deserve” We frequently feel that we are blessed with better than we ‘deserve’.

I think I said in last year’s recount we bought a house basically next door to us for my folks. January brought us much renovation and preparation on the house. The house was a foreclosure prior to us purchasing it, which means it was very bare as far as appliances and such. Curtains had to be made, blinds installed, appliances bought and installed, furniture bought and set up to make it hospitable for my parents. We are keeping the farm, but they didn’t want to bring most of the appliances and furniture, deciding most of it either needed to be replaced or should stay at the farm for use there.

February opened with the ground hog day blizzard with 17 inches of snow falling in one day. We had several days off of school that were spent digging out. Abbi didn’t’ appreciate the giant plies of snow but Caelun found then highly entertaining. February also brought Abbi’s freshman swirl dance with lots of fancy clothes to be procured and a pile of teens at our house doing hair and tying ties. They kicked up their heels and danced the night away. February also brought Abbi taking and passing driver’s training and she has now been logging her hours behind the wheel. Again I know HOW did THAT happen?? She is a very cautious driver and has been honing her skills on the trips back and forth to visit her mom. She has driven me to lots of places in town and she is always attentive and careful.

March brought forensics season. My team brought home trophies from several tournaments in several categories. My dear Caden who I coached for 4 years-gave me practice speech after speech in the category of impromptu– sometimes several speeches in one day all in a grand effort to break to semi final round at state finals. It is exciting to see a student set a goal and then really put forth the effort to get there.

April brought forensics regional s with all 4 of my kids who were competing, qualifying to state. That same week also brought State finals for HOSA for Clint’s students including the new biomedical debate team I helped him to coach. Yes I know – biomedical debate it sounds like a marriage of Clint and my majors – scary (wink). It also brought spring break and Easter where we filled almost 800 eggs for our annual hunt. The weather was beautiful and there were 10 kids hunting. Caelun our ‘little baby’ turned 4 and is reading and counting how did THAT happen?

May opened with state finals for forensics at Oakland University and all that hard work paid off for Caden where he found himself breaking all the way to semi final round . That is such a wonderful feeling to see a student work so hard and achieve a goal. This is why I teach. As I explained to Caden, his hard work and resulting achievement was the best payment as a teacher I could ever receive. Clint completed yet another of his grad classes towards his masters degree getting him down to 2 classes remaining. We planted our garden again a rototiller width wider in our continual process of lawn elimination. I also planted 5 new standard apple trees , 3 pear trees, 3 paw paw trees, and a quince bush all at the farm.

In June Abbi finished her freshman year and turned 15 – yes I know hard to believe. We had a warm weekend with swimming , pizza, and a bonfire in celebration. We enjoyed having a house full of family and friends to celebrate. Later in June we built an ENORMOUS play fort – like you can see it from space play fort -with rock wall and slide. I think the big kid has had as much fun on it as the little kid.

In July we went on vacation. Our Abbi continues to not want to travel so it was just the little person that went with us. We took the ferry across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee where we hit the Milwaukee Botanic Gardens, The Domes Botanic Gardens, and the Discovery Science center. We then moved on to the outskirts of Chicago where we visited Lego Land, and the Chicago Botanic gardens. Where Caelun loved the fish and Clint and I loved the roses.

August rolled in and we worked on more siding on our house as well as repairing wiring and plumbing . This is also when my parents decided to make the full move to the house in Cedar springs so we spent most of the rest of the summer moving them, cleaning out the farm, and continuing to make their ‘new’ house comfortable and habitable. Other than that we spent much time harvesting our garden, swimming in our pool and Clint spent a good deal of the summer writing the new pharmacy program for KCTC. This was unpaid but is something he feels very passionate about . We are excited to see the new program come to life next school year.

September sent us back to school amid much disruption in the education system from lack of funding at the state level. We continue to try to do more with less and we do our best to have it not impact kids but we are at a place where that isn’t always possible. I have to say it seems we as a culture value education the least I have seen in my life time. That being said debate continues on at my school. I thought forensics was going away but my principal figured out a way to make it fly so forensics continues. I will note that while law makers seem to value education very little the students seem to value it more. I think I may have the most eager to learn over all group of students I have ever had. There seems to be a prevailing view that getting an education and in the case of the area I teach, communication, is critical to being successful in the ‘real world’. While I have always held this view the students have sometimes needed convincing. My dad a 40 year teaching veteran told me from the beginning of my career in education that teaching is one quarter salesmanship. That doesn’t seem to be the case this year and eager learners are exciting for a teacher. Ever the optimists I hope that as these kids move into positions of leadership they can change our societies' over all lack of value for education. Here is hoping. Clint is in the final stages of launching and marketing the pharmacy tech. program for next year at KCTC, he is currently teaching Med Lab, and taking the next to last class for his masters degree in vocational education. September also meant Caelun got to start pre-school. We got a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum for Caelun, the very low end but enough to qualify him for Early Childhood Special Education for preschool in the mornings 4 days a week through the Cedar Springs Public Schools. Through this program he gets the much needed speech and language therapy and the PT /OT we were feeling he was needing. In addition we enrolled him in a private pre-school, called Wee Folk, in the afternoons and for a full day on Fridays when he doesn’t go to Cedar Trails. We are thrilled with both programs and he LOVES going to school. In the morning when we wait for the bus he jumps up and down and shouts when it comes. It is like Disney Land every single day. While he has some speech delay and struggles with some fine motor skills such as eating and potty training he continues to be a rock star in the reading and math areas. His teachers both say he is reading somewhere in the 2^nd grade level and is starting addition and subtraction. He continues to be an exceedingly happy and affectionate kid who finds joy in almost every moment of every day and as a parent what more can you ask for? Abbi is working hard at a new venture, the school newspaper titled The Approach. All summer we thought this program was going away due to budget cuts and the need for a minimum class size but they pulled together 30 kids- bless the teacher /advisor doing the newspaper at Cedar Springs, and the newspaper is a go. She has put in countless hours editing and learning lay out. I think this is really a niche of hers and we are excited to see her excelling. We are also very proud of her for earning academic honors awarded from last year and she continues to excel l academically this year.

The first of October was Red Flannel Day, our town festival. The weather was terrible the week leading up to it but was beautiful on the festival. Caelun was very distraught to find out that having just completed his first full week at both schools that there would be no school on Sat. His response, “OH NO!!” I explained that there would be a big parade and a carnival. He somewhat dejectedly agreed that that would be ‘okay- sigh’ Luckily Grandpa Bob has been taking him on tractor rides in his trailer behind his new John Deer Lawn mower all over town every Sat or we might have revolt on our hands unless we could generate a town festival every weekend. Fall also brought the onset of the debate season. The topic this year is space exploration and in spite of debate programs being cut everywhere I for some reason have one of the largest groups of new serious debaters I have ever had. We are having a wonderful season learning the basics of argumentation, research, and case construction. They are enthusiastic and hard working which again is exciting for a teacher and a coach. We had the first of what we hope is an annual tradition of a Halloween party at the farm the weekend before Halloween. We carved pumpkins, went on a hay ride around the trails and had a bon fire. We had 7 kids and numerous adults. This also gave all the kids an additional opportunity to wear their costumes. Caelun was a monkey- I know that seems appropriate. Halloween meant not 1 but 2 Halloween parties for Caelun between his 2 schools. The evening weather was clear and beautiful. Abbi used her creative abilities to turn herself and several of her friends into zombies and the monkey was very excited to take his plastic pumpkin and trek from neighbor to neighbor showing off, which was actually more fun than the candy. Both of the kids were exhausted at the end of the night.

November brought the Grand Rapids Metro Debate league where my novices placed 7^th. I was pleased with the entire team being all new kids. November all so brought Thanksgiving and it was nice to have the short trek to next door to have Thanksgiving with my folks. We have so much to be thankful for I can’t even begin to list it all. I do have to take a moment here and brag about my fabulous husband and his research skills. The 2^ndweek of Sept. I got a sinus infection. I know – 4 sinus surgeries and that shouldn’t be happening but it did. 9 weeks, 3 late generation heavy hitting antibiotics, 6 weeks of steroids, and 2 weeks of gentamicin irrigation later I still had it and was going downhill. I had a CT scan and the ENT didn’t have any solutions for us. Clint started researching. He said to me “If I can cure you will you love me forever?” my response was “ I will love you forever no matter what” he said “yes but I would like forever to last a bit longer than it looks like right now.” The answer he found… baby shampoo. I couldn’t make this up. The Mid West Sinus Institute and the Mayo Clinic have done studies. I will attach links at the end of this letter for folks looking for more information on it. The issue is a bio-film in the mucus coats the bacteria and keeps the antibiotics from working. The baby shampoo breaks up the bio-film and lets the antibiotic work while also actually washing away much of the bacteria. It is a 1% solution of baby shampoo in saline 2.5 cc of baby shampoo to 8 oz. of saline) used as a nasal irrigation. Within 48 hours of starting this treatment my voice came back and the infection started to recede- and yes I plan to hold good to my promise of loving Clint forever (wink).

December is here and I am 80% better. We are discussing one more round of systemic antibiotics but I am functioning quite well. Clint just got an e-mail response telling him he aced his final in his grad class, and tomorrow is the last day of school for all 4 of us before winter break. May all of you find joy and true love this holiday season and all the year through – magic cures of baby shampoo or by other means.

Peace, joy, and love- especially love,
The Conleys

Clint, Pam, Abbi, and Caelun- and we still have cats, rats, and fish.

Links on the research on baby shampoo as a sinus irrigation.
American Journal of Rhinology http://www.neilmed.com/pdf/babyshampoo.pdf

The MidWest Sinus Institute http://www.midwestsinus.com/treatment/nasal_washes_rinses/types_of_nasal_rinses
University Of Pennsylvania http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18284857
http://www.sinuses.com/postsurg.htm

Catching Up

2011-12-17T11:47:00.001-05:00

INVITATION

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

Shel Silverstein

Wow I have gotten behind with this. Life just seems to keep happening. I am not usually big on New Year’s Resolutions but this year I am making one to catch up and stay up on this blog. As much as this is a way of keeping friends and family that are far away up on our doings, this is also my busy mom way of scrapbooking. I figure the electronic version is one my kids don’t have to fight over when I am gone and it gives them, hopefully happy, reminders of childhood they can enjoy when they are all grown up and far away or just feeling nostalgic. This being noted please bare with me as I catch up the post of our crazy existence. Thank you all for staying tuned.

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Because I clearly don’t have enough to do.

2011-06-29T04:25:00.001-04:00

Since I have nothing to do but sit around all day playing video games, watching soap operas, and eating bonbons I decided to start another blog- http://www.cookingnuggets.com/

Okay so that isn’t exactly true. I have never really played a video game, I have never followed a soap opera, and my pancreas has an aversion to bonbons. In actuality I am fishing match box cars out of my spice containers and finding screws in the bottom of my cups of coffee. With my roles as: mom to a pre-schooler and a teenager/daughter to 2 elderly parents/wife/teacher/coach/perpetual college student/house-remodeler/gardener- garden club member/city council member/education advocate/book club discussion leader/part time photographer/ and chief cook I generally have at least 3 to 4 things going on at any given moment. That being said we have to eat. I love to cook and even more importantly I love to eat. The folks I care about all seem to be rather fond of eating as well so cooking is one of those things I do regardless of the other hats I am wearing at any given moment. I get asked a lot about recipes, how to can, and how do I manage to cook with all of the balls I have in the air at any given moment. This blog will provide answers to all of those questions and hopefully help other folks out there with an equally crazy set of hats to wear gain some tricks for how to eat better while multitasking the rest of the circus that most of us loosely refer to as our lives. My goal is a post a day for a year. Yeah I know- because I clearly don’t have enough to do. Come follow along – at least I am not bored.

Thankfully I have good help in the kitchen.

Hangin’ with Grandpa Bob

2011-06-27T23:12:00.001-04:00

My dad came over for a visit and Caelun started a game where he would take Grandpa’s hat and then put it back on his head. I love how much joy each of them get out of each other. In these pictures my dad is 85 and Caelun is not quite 4. 81 and 1/2 trips around the sun separate them but it doesn’t seem to matter to either of them in the slightest. Hurray for goofy games!

“I have your hat Grandpa!”

“Now I will wear it!”

“Back to you”

And so it keeps going- on and off.

I love this look on my dad’s face.

May the games continue.

Big Shoes To Fill

2011-06-27T09:57:00.001-04:00

My dear daughter Abbi has a boyfriend and his name is Hayden. He is a nice kid with BIG feet. Actually at 15 he is something like 6’4 or 6’5 so he is big every where but this is about his feet or more specifically his shoes. This is Caelun with Hayden’s boots.

Swirl was coming and Hayden needed a pair of dress shoes- size 17. Yes you read correctly 17. Now where exactly does one go to find size 17 dress shoes? I can relate to his predicament because I have a similar problem in the opposite direction. I wear a size 4E. Having felt the frustration of not being able to buy shoes I decided we were going to find these shoes. Having made this my mission Abbi and I drug the poor boy – who was very tolerant I might add- to 5 different stores before we hit the jack pot. The final solution – JC Pennies. Yep. Go to their shoe department, have them measure your feet- we found out Hayden rather than having the size 17 he thought he had actually has a 16 wide. He actually got to pick out a pair from a variety of styles- again I can relate to the lack of opportunity to do this-, and ordered them. They arrived on our doorstep 4 days later with free shipping- woot! When they arrived we all had to check them out but the 3 year old found them especially interesting. Well Caelun – Hayden has definitely given you some big shoes to fill.

They have landed!

Abbi says- “lets try them on!”

This is what size 16 wide shoes look like on a 3 year old.

Oh wait we have to get them both going the same direction.

This is my -as Clint would say- “freakishly small” size 4 winter boot next to Hayden’s shoe. You can understand why I can commiserate.

Maybe in the dinning room –where there is more space to maneuver-he can walk better in them

Not to bad.

A little soft shoe any one?

I Heart Valentine’s Day

2011-06-26T23:07:00.001-04:00

I love Valentine’s Day. I know it is a commercial ‘Hallmark’ holiday designed to make women feel underappreciated and to get men in trouble but I have kids. Kids make Valentine’s Day about art… and chocolate. Now who can object to that? I got home from school to see my dear God-daughter Nikki, who was babysitting, had helped Caelun make the BIGGEST Valentine’s card EVER. It was the entire back sliding glass door decorated in window paint. How much fun is that? We left it up for over a week just because it made us smile. I also give the kids some baskets of goodies- well we had to get the chocolate in there somehow. Come appreciate the artwork and check out the kids goodies- I bet they will even share.

Nikki helped him get the higher parts.

She did some decorating as well.

Look at the goodies- there is DEFINATLEY chocolate in there.

Abbi didn’t want a picture but Cae-Cae is always up for a “cheese” as he calls it.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

With this hand…

2011-06-25T00:39:00.001-04:00

Six years ago today a man did a crazy thing. This crazy thing was to stand in front of all the people in the world he and I hold dear, take my hand, and promise to never let go. Six years later we are still holding on. With our hands we have dug a foundation for a house, mixed and poured thousands of pounds of concrete, framed rooms, put on a roof, hung dry wall, installed windows, painted dozens of gallons of paint, sanded floors, hung siding, pounded in and drilled in dozens of pounds of screws and nails, written at least fifty papers and graded thousands, taken dozens of tests, signed teaching contracts, written an almost infinite amount of checks, voted, signed petitions, typed and written thousands of pages of text, held a baby in an oxygen tent, cleaned up puke, filled endless syringes, given injections, wiped faces/butts/and noses, put endless band aids on owies, thrown dirt on more graves then we would have envisioned possible, cooked enough meals to feed an army, washed more dishes than there are at one hundred state dinners, washed and folded more clothes than you would find in Macy’s, changed thousands of diapers, signed the title on and then done maintenance and repair on eight vehicles, changed a half dozen tires, turned hundreds of thousands of pages in books, driven hundreds of thousands of miles, picked bushels of every fruit and vegetable imaginable, canned and froze thousands of pounds of food, poured a small lake of coffee, dug holes and planted dozens of trees, planted almost 500 tomato plants, pushed mops/ brooms/vacuums/ and lawn mowers for hundreds of miles, put up at least a dozen Christmas trees, mailed more than one-thousand Christmas cards, filled more than three thousand Easter eggs, handed out over fifty pounds of Halloween candy, shoveled several tons of snow, washed hundreds of windows, snapped thousands of pictures, sewn miles of fabric, operated hundreds of different machines, and all of this while never letting go of each other. Thank you Clinton Christopher Conley for always holding my hand. I love you with out measure. I hope this is at least as good as a cheesy Hallmark card.

The Groundhog’s Day Blizzard

2011-06-24T18:29:00.001-04:00

You know you are behind on blogging when you come in from turning the chlorine level on the chlorinator up on the pool to talk about epic blizzards. Such is my life. This was an epic blizzard even by Michigan standards. We got 17 inches of snow with 4 to 5 foot drifts. It was a good 3 day dig out. Thank heaves for my hubby’s giant snow blower- he had it before I married him- because I think I would have died if I had to shovel all of that. Come take a tour- Clint made some trails- more like tunnels but it worked.

Snow stuck to the front window

A view out the front door. There are steps there I swear.

I swear there is a street there.

Out the back windows.

I am thinking we aren’t grilling for awhile.

The garden shed door blew open- I closed it once I got across the 5ft deep drift.

The door to the garage

Ah who needs steps any way?

Clint to the rescue!

It is like a hamster trail--- or more like a ferret trail.

That would be our mail box under there.

At least the snow shovel is accessible.

That would be our quince bush under that pile.

Happy trails.

Attack of the Cae-Cae

2011-06-24T09:58:00.001-04:00

Have you ever been stalked then jumped from behind by a… toddler? My poor hubby was. He was working away at his desk when in a sneak attack launched from the couch he found a Cae-Cae on his back. Now how does one extricate oneself from such a position with out sustaining bodily injury to self or the toddler? Luckily I came in for the assist rescue. As a warning watch out for those Cae Cae’s- they are stealthy.

Saying goodbye to our dear ‘Auntie Pam’

2011-06-23T23:09:00.001-04:00

My dear friend Pam who I met in Garden Club has been my friend for over 10 years and my kids ‘Auntie Pam’ for several years. Unfortunately for us this February she had to move away and we miss her very much. We still talk to her and we know that she is happy and doing fine but we want her to know we miss her. Big hugs going out to our Auntie Pam may all of your tomorrows be full of joy and adventure- muh!

In The Pink

2011-04-02T21:56:00.001-04:00

Wow I got behind with blogging- whew! It is spring break so here we go- time to catch up. The end of January my dear Abbi felt like she wanted a burst of color and pink hair seemed like just the ticket. Our philosophy is – go for it when you are are teen because when you are an adult and have to have a real job it isn’t so much an option. Besides that is is just hair. Hair grows. It doesn't hurt you and it isn’t permanent so pink it is. I think it turned out quite cute. She is definitely “in the pink”

Getting dolled up at the Doll House Salon

2011-02-12T18:54:00.001-05:00

A a great part of being a teacher is getting to be a part of the lives of the amazing students that come through your class room. A former student of mine is now a professional hairdresser and colorist. Prior to heading out on the floor at the salon she now works at she needed to show off her amazing skills to her new boss. She needed models so I volunteered. I don’t usually color my hair and I only cut it every year and a half or so to be able to donate to Locks Of Love – as you may remember from a previous post -but she needed the model, my hair was looking unusually dark having cut all the sun and pool bleached blonde off, and she did it for free. What a sweet thing she did for her old teacher. You can’t beat free. Not only did she give me a wonderful boost of summer sun in the form of highlights but I got the full pampering with a paraffin hand treatment and hand massage. If you live in the Grand Rapids area and would like 50% off a cut or color- give her a shout. The contact info is below. Gosh I love my job.

Contact Kat at http://www.dollhousehairsalon.com/ and the phone number is 616-554-4929. If people are new and want to get 50% off, contact Kat to find out how :)

Kat

This is my hair before…

during…

…and after.

Clean up clean up everybody clean up

2011-02-11T07:02:00.001-05:00

This post is slightly out of order. This is the clean up from our new door. We had lots of mud, plaster dust, saw dust, and cellulose insulation tracked all over our kitchen and living and dining rooms. I got out the mop, and a bucket with Murphy’s Oil Soap and I started mopping. I set the mop down to do some straitening and my super helper took right over. I have to say he did a pretty darn good job. Maybe I will just sit back and eat bon-bons. Think he does windows?

Even a super helper needs a break for a powerful thirst.

Okay back to work.

The TP bandit strikes again.

2011-02-10T06:51:00.001-05:00

I do not understand why Caelun seems to desperately want to TP the house. It isn't Halloween but this is something he does any time we aren’t paying attention. You can see the bandit in the very back next to the toys inserting the roll of toilet paper into the bucket of legos. The cats think it is a blast. Life with a 3 year old is never dull.

Looks like he had some accomplices in the dinosaurs.

The story of a door.

2011-02-07T21:20:00.001-05:00

Our crazy old house came with a crazy old door. As near as we can tell the door is original to the kitchen addition to the house which – again as near as we can tell is around the 1920’s. The door locked with a skeleton key that the real-estate agent broke when I was being shown the house prior to buying it. This means we have never never been able to lock it. The not being able to lock the door part has not been nearly as big of a deal to me as the fact that the door doesn’t seal. That means all the cold winter air and before we bought a new storm door- a Christmas gift from my mother in law some years back- even the snow would come pouring into the kitchen. The problem with replacing it is -it isn't’ standard size, height, or width. This meant the door had to be special super custom ordered for a billion dollars and then still wouldn’t necessarily fit because the opening isn’t square or completely tear out the frame and part of the wall and build a new one. Neither option sounded like much fun so we have taped, caulked,weather stripped, put rugs, and… I can keep going… and still it is cold and drafty. This year for Christmas from my mother I got a new door and money for a carpenter to put it in since Clint and I felt like this was above our pay grade as far as skill level. At the time I swore we picked the coldest day of the winter because it was –1 degree F but of course I jinxed myself and since then it has been colder. We hired a person recommended by a friend who gave us a really low offer $125.The carpenter did a great job of the hard part – he took out the portion of the wall framed in the new door and it is plumb, square, and seals but…. there is a big but. He didn’t install the header so it is connecting to the cripples above or to the jack or king studs below. For my non- remodeling buff followers this means the door has no support above it holding up the wall. Yeah that is kind of a problem. Clint said “well at least the part he got wrong we can fix- headers we can do.” … yeah just what we need another project- because we certainly don’t have enough of those. Oh well in the mean time I have a door that shuts and locks even. I am trying to look on the bright side.

The original door from the outside and inside.

Taking the old door out.

The door was framed inside a different opening that was a standard size- why? Of course it isn’t the size we purchased because we didn't know the the other frame was there. Have I mentioned I regularly swear at dead people? The previous “header” was a 2x4.

We found these keys behind the trim when we took the door out. We actually found 4 all in total.

We found this shoe box top in the wall above the door.

Taking the door out.

The old door is out- did I mention it was cold? Just the day you want I giant hole in your house.

Fitting the new door.

The header that doesn’t extend to the jack or king studs and the cripples above that don’t touch the header- sigh.

A ferret and a bear

2011-01-22T14:53:00.001-05:00

Lots of the time Caelun is a wild ball of energy. We have started referring to him as a “ferret on crack” because …well that is what he acts like when he is running full speed ahead between the kitchen and the dinning room with a Tarzan yell and a bucket on his head. Yes you read correctly a bucket on his head. I did mention the ferret was on crack? We joke he has two speeds fast forward or dead stop- which is when he is asleep. Once in awhile the ferret slows down and wants a cuddle and darned if that ferret isn’t just so stinkin’ cute. I relish these moments. I know they are fleeting. He will grow big like our Abbi girl is already and not want a cuddle from a bear, a daddy, or a mommy so I grab those moments with both hands when he slows down long enough to let me catch him. This is one of those moments. He was just waking up in the morning and not quite up to full ferret on crack speed and I was lucky enough to have grabbed my camera. Looking at pictures like these also helps to remind me how sweet he is and how much I love him when I have walked away from my coffee and come back to find an onion and a matchbox car going for a swim in it.

Dinner with some “kids”

2011-01-22T11:15:00.001-05:00

One of the many fabulous benefits of being a teacher and coach – particularly a debate and forensics teacher and coach-is all of the amazing young people you get to meet and become connected to. These young folks are brilliant, capable, and they leave your class room ready to dive in and take on the world. These particular three- Lauren, Andy, and Jessica are all now super smart college students attending Alma College, Wayne State University, and Denison College- in that order-and were home on winter break when they facebooked me and asked if I would like to meet them for dinner. Like??? Jumping up and down with joy would be the correct descriptor. Clint – having spent many a weekend at debate tournaments wanted to see their talented faces as well so we got a babysitter and went to dinner at an amazing Thai restaurant that the smart kids suggested called Little Bangkok off of Cascade Road. They all seemed happy, healthy, and to be enjoying college. The dinner conversation was wonderful and as Clint said “it isn’t very often you get to sit at a table like that with so much brain power and energy all in one place.” I am so very happy they have decided to keep touching base and inviting me to sit at a table with them. Teaching is truly the best job in the world- Thai food and all.

Locks of Love

2011-01-21T10:37:00.001-05:00

I just cut off almost a foot of hair- 11 inches to be exact. While Rapunzel I am not I was very ready to have my mop of hair gone. This is the 7th time I have done this and my plan is for as long as they will keep taking my hair, I will keep doing this. What I did is donate my hair to the organization Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a not for profit organization that makes wigs for children with medical hair loss. They say it takes on average 7 donated pony tails to make one wig so I figure with this donation I have now helped one whole kid. I know that may not sound like much but to that kid it is a big deal. To make this possible I get my hair cut about every 14- 18 months. Now I will enjoy my short do, take my vitamins, and see you a year from this spring to do it again. I highly recommend it if you have extra hair you don’t want on your head.

http://www.locksoflove.org/

The back of my hair before

The front

The ponytail to be donated.

The front afterwards.

The back afterwards.