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extreme canine stunt dogs.
01/12/2012

The Medora Musical, which takes place every night from June 2 through September 5 (a review will be coming soon!), has a special act that performs after the intermission every night. Throughout the summer there will be a total of four acts, the first of which was the Extreme Canine Stunt Dog Show.

(the obstacle course)

These extreme canines have appeared on a number of Animal Planet TV shows, Ellen Degeneres show, The Tonight Show, and even Chicago's very own Oprah Winfrey Show. There are a total of 13 dogs who are part of the extreme canine team all of whom have been rescued from shelters and trained to be incredible performers.

(some mad frisbee skills)

With names like Chaps, Jet, Seven and Charlotte, each dog had it's own personality and knew how to work the crowd. The show started with an obstacle course for the dogs (as you can imagine, some nights the dogs were certainly better than others). Gail, the dog's trainer, and her assistant Tom, a butler-looking sort of clown, worked with the dogs through the obstacle course, hula hooped with the dogs, and threw frisbees to the dogs in crazy patterns.

(obstacle course and Tom, because every show needs it's clown)

The crowd loved the dogs, especially the tiny one, Charlotte, who jumped over a collie named Seven. And personally, I loved the dogs. Any time you can have dogs at an outdoor performance, you are setting yourself up for a good situation. On occasion the dogs would get distracted by horse poop on the back of the stage, but once their concentration was back, the show was a hit.

(bff's charlotte and seven)

The last three photos are courtesy of mary egstad, reallyred88.blogspot.com

http://extremecanines.com/

All in all, though, it was a good weekend, Most of the hotels were booked up and the streets were a more interesting place with the sweet cars cruising through town.

Here are a few photos of my quick stroll in the few moments of sunshine.

01/10/2012

Madison is smart. Darn-tootin' smart! She is enrolled in 10th grade at the age of 14 and is doing well. She is using the University of Nebraska's online high school curriculum and I like it since it will provide her with a high school transcript from an institution and she is held accountable for all of her work. She takes tests thru a proctor here to ensure no cheating and must be self-motivated and diligent in her work.

I would like to take credit for her innate smarts, but I can't. In that area I must acknowledge that she gets her ample brain from her birth parents, Angela and Darryl. Now each of them will argue that her smarts came from them, but either way, she's a smart cookie. However, I digress.

All this means she'll graduate a year early. While we have a plan for her gap year which includes traveling abroad and visiting friends in New Zealand, it really brings to light that the kid will be heading to college sooner than later. HOW IN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN? I've been looking at colleges on line and almost made a rosebud in my panties. Hello? The tuition's are hideous.

Madison has always told me she wants to go Ivy League. Harvard to be specific. I honestly don't know if that will play out, but I've learned in regards to my children to never say never. If she can get admitted, i suppose we'd do everything in our power to get her there. She would like to be a veterinarian in addition to a Gran Prix dressage/ jumper equestrian. Add all those words together and it equals........2 bazilliion, gazaillion, majillion dollars.

For all the days I've belly ached about my kids and homeschooling and my expanding waist line...or lack of a distinguishable one anymore...I'd reverse time and go backwards if I could. Now I've got a kid who's actually earning high school credit (after skipping 9th grade altogether) and is beginning to look at colleges. Whoever said that brilliant nugget of wisdom about having little kids=little problems and big kids=big problems....was a flippin' genius. Thinking of my kid leaving home gets me giddy, and yet leaves me sick to think about her leaving the nest. I also throw up in my mouth a little thinking about trying to pay for college for her, and the damn horse she wants to haul with her.

How in the hell did I get to be old enough to have a kid old enough to be a sophomore, let alone the mother of a kid surfing the web for universities? Dear God, I don't think I could wear one of those dippy shirts that says "Proud mom of a fill-in-the-blank college student!" Hell, I still picture myself wearing my sorority sweatshirt, passing on food and choosing 'liquid' nourishment, and trying desperately to not get caught doing the walk of shame. No, this can't be happening. I refuse to be old enough to have a daughter in high school. This is wrong.....all wrong.

I've been experiencing some pain in my knee around the medial line, or joint between the tibia and femur. The therapist thinks it's most likely cartilage scarring that I am feeling and not my damaged meniscus. All I know is that I actually did work through the pain of it at therapy and was able to push ahead and complete all the exercises.

I left therapy, donning a pair of jeans and strapping on my leg brace, Marc and I ventured into Walmart. Never in my life did I think I would celebrate walking into Walmart. For me, yesterday was a physical and mental achievement. It's been 7 and a half weeks since I wrecked my knee and I have reached my goal of going shopping in a store by Christmas.

To prove to myself that Wednesday's achievement wasn't a fluke, I headed into town with 3 of the 4 kids today. I drove as it had snowed about 2 inches and the roads were a smidge icy, otherwise I would have let Madison drive. Anyhow, I managed to get out of the car and into the store on the icy, snowy pavement without falling and commenced with shopping. I felt like Sheena, Queen of the Jungle after conquering this battle.

You know, I still walk with a pronounced limp and a gimpy kind of gait, but I'm grateful for being able to ease some of the load from Marc. He's been a Super Trooper these last 7 weeks. Not only has he taken almost everyday off these last 49 days, but he's picked up all of the household duties. Today when he called from work to see how things were going, he said that his work day is MUCH easier than my days and he isn't nearly as wiped out as he was doing my chores at home. It's good to know that he now has a full appreciation for everything I do here to keep us living life as picture perfect as a Home and Garden magazine. Sheesh, about time he lived my chaotic days!

I sure hope Marc picks something up for dinner on his way home. I'm whipped from shopping! I love being back to 'almost' normal!

I tend to move very slowly and must consciously think about the mechanics of walking with the right leg, all the while holding my right arm out at my side in some freakish wing-like display. BUT. I. CAN. DO. IT!

I might get to Wally World tomorrow, but today I ventured into Tractor Supply. It was a small enough store for me to make it across the parking lot and the store is small enough to maneuver, so although it wasn't the store of my choosing, I've still done it.

Just had to share that at 6 and a half weeks, I am putting 100% weight on my injured knee/leg. YES!!! And for any cradle Catholics that may follow this blog, I have something to share soon regarding novena's and saints!! What can I say? I'm a practicing Lutheran with a devout belief in asking for the intercession of saints. HUGE believer!

The last 6 weeks I've done nothing but complain about my MCL knee injury. Not that I'm counting, but it's been exactly 6 weeks today. The first 4 weeks were relatively easy, physically and mentally. All I did was sit around on the couch with my leg locked in the straight position and was not allowed any weight bearing. Week 4 they began to allow me to use my leg and put about 50% of my weight on the leg. Last week they knocked me down to one crutch and almost 100% weight. It took me until Saturday or Sunday to really begin walking on using a normal gait and to make an effort to not lean on the one crutch. I went to today's therapy with trepidation.

I knew the expectation was to be sufficiently strong enough to throw away the remaining crutch and walk unaided. What a load of horse poop! While I am happy my MCL seems to be scarring and tightening up nicely, per the PT, I had to emphatically stress that I know my limitations and my knee is not strong enough to stand on alone. I demonstrated how I'm having to physically force my leg into a straight position when standing as it has a tendency to flex forward. That is now causing pain in my hamstrings. Oh friggin' joy! Nonetheless, we forged ahead and did some 'Old lady' exercises in the hallway which provided some entertainment for the old farts in the therapy center. At one point the PT assistant had me standing facing the wall in the hallway taking itty-bitty side steps which hurt like a totally dirty MOFO! Then to complete the humiliation she had me use my one crutch, lift my right leg up to my waist and then place it down in front and then hold my left leg up like a flippin' stork. I think it was about right now, that I may have shouted the f-bomb as I felt my leg burn like hell and feel really weak.

I'm not sure if the old farts around me heard my expletive or not as they were in various states of their own personal torture, but screaming that word, did seem to impart that I was adamant about my knee's limitation. My personal torture session ended fairly quickly and I left with instructions to continue exercises on my quads and to 'wean myself off my crutch.' Oh yeah, right! I might as well just spend the day walking like Igor in Young Frankenstein.

So my goal now for next week is to be able to walk without a crutch at all. Quite honestly, that scares the hell out of me. I guess I'll feel more confident and comfortable doing that as I stretch my abilities and find success in some accomplishments.

I never intended this blog to be all about me....well, at least not all about me with an injury....but this is the state of my life right now. So as my life has evolved, changed and tossed me unexpected challenges, I guess I'll continue to share the unusual happenings of my world. Now, if I can just get back to normal chaos someday soon, I'll be extremely happy....most of the time.

I returned to the physical therapist on Tuesday and was pleased to learn that my injured knee is continuing to heal and is scarring down and tightening up. This is all good news, but the flip side of the good news is that I must push ahead and step outside (no pun intended) of my comfort zone with my knee. I was told to use only one crutch and begin to bear almost full weight on my right leg. This is scary stuff. Five weeks ago when I injured it, I couldn't stand with any weight on my leg without my femur flopping to the inside of my knee by about 7 cm. Wickedly gross stuff.

Now I'm supposed to stand and 'trust' my knee to support me. I get pins and needle like shooting pains through the MCL portion of my knee that remind me it still isn't like it used to be. I've been told that it will take a full year for the scar tissue to mature and for the knee to be as stable as it once was. While my physical healing is progressing, my psychological healing is taking longer. Every time I take a step now, I am acutely aware of where I place my foot, and what it feels capable of bearing. I must be super careful about not twisting or rotating on my right foot as that will cause the knee to twist too.

OK, let me just cut to the damn chase and say it. I'm friggin' scared as hell to begin using the leg again as I worry that I'll injury it again. I know the pain it caused and I really don't want to have to feel that again......EVER! See, mentally I'm a basket case. Even though I'm a nervous wreck, I am pushing myself to do just as the PT told me to do. Next Tuesday I return to the PT and if it's continuing to heal as expected, they take my crutches away and will ask me to stand like a stork, bearing all my weight on the bad knee. OH MY GOD, this scares me.

How do I get beyond the fear of re injuring my knee again? I am so impatient to get back to my normal full-steam-ahead pace of life, that my mental fears hold me back. I can't trust my knee yet and still I dream about the day I can drive to the grocery store and push my overly-burdened cart thru the store with great vengeance.

Pathetic! My great motivating dream is to push a cart thru the damn grocery store. Holy Toledo, I need a life!

01/10/2012

I went to my weekly physical therapy appointment last Tuesday and left in great disappointment. Mr. Studdly, AKA Mr. PT informed me that my knee is still healing and is not tight in full straight leg extension. At 30 degrees of flexion it feels as tight as my left knee but since it's still loosy-goosy in the straight position, he won't allow me to wear my leg brace unlocked or to bear any weight yet. POOP!

I have some more involved exercises to do to strengthen my knee, but they hurt like hell. Now I actually don't know what hell feels like, but I can now describe it as a burning ache that radiates to the deepest recesses of my knee. Sometimes when I am trying to bend my knee it feels like someone tied knots in my ligament and as it stretches the knots get pulled over each other. Yeah, not a cool feeling especially after having seen my ligament on the MRI and seeing how it looked like shredded chicken meat.

I go back to the physical therapist on Monday morning and then I see the ortho. I am hoping like heck that my knee has tigthened up enough that they will allow me to start wearing my brace in the unlocked/flexed position and will let me start putting weight on the leg. I know the ortho told me that by 6-8 weeks my knee will be as scarred down and as tight as it will get. I just hope that it gets as tight as the left knee and I will not need major reconstruction to tighten the MCL. I'm not really worked up about needing arthroscopic surgery on my meniscus as that should be relatively easy compared to the damage I did to the MCL, and it can wait for several months as I rehab the ligament.

I'm bummed as I sit here, watching holiday plans take shape around me. I won't be able to prepare, cook and bake our Thanksgiving dinner, nor will I be able to participate in Christmas shopping in stores. I'm having a major pity-party for myself and would love to have company. I just want to get up and resume my normal life and would love to see some forward progress of my knee healing. Out of this experience I have learned I am not patient, nor happy to sit idly by and watch life happen around me. I have to get back to living soon. My expanding waist and butt can't take much more self-soothing of the Schwan's ice cream kind.

I was able to see the exact spot where my MCL pulled away from my femur and could easily see that the entire length of the ligament was shredded both superficially and in the deep layers. What isn't great to see is that my medial meniscus was damaged from the rotation of my tibia and femur and will most likely need surgery after my MCL is completely healed. He explained that by 8 weeks we'll know how much healing and scarring has occurred and that whatever joint stability is present then, is most likely how much I'll ever have. He's hopeful that with proper rehabilitation I will have a fully functioning MCL and hence a 'normal' knee. Once he assesses my knee progress at 8 weeks, he'll begin discussing my probable menisci surgery which he anticipates as a fairly routine arthroscopic procedure with minimal recovery time.

I had physical therapy today which was, let's just say, interesting. The therapist is a rather good looking guy which is why no matter how much it hurts to stretch, I must shave my legs before any session with him. He began today by assessing my good leg and knee. Seems that I am 'hyperflexive' which explains why I can bend my knee joints way beyond straight and flat, why I can pop my hips out of place and my creepy elbows that bend in a freakish way. Anyway, after establishing that my joints are loosy-goosy, he had me bend my knee for the first time in 2 weeks. At the start of the session I could reach 41 degrees of flexion and by the end of the session was at 46 degrees which is half way to my 90 degree goal. I was pea green scared to bend my leg. I knew my shin might just fall off or flop around, but it didn't it. What it did do, was let me know that there is a lot of healing going on in that joint. To flex my leg to only 41 degrees made me feel so wimpy. I'm so scared that I'll undo all the healing that has taken place and set me back even further than anticipated. I've never felt fragile before, but boy, am I careful with my knee. With any luck, next week he'll feel even more tightening of my knee joint and allow me to start toe touching with my right leg. WoooHoooo, I get to put my toes on the ground. Hot Damn!

I called my oldest sister last night to give her a rundown of my doctor's appointment only to have her tell me she would have to call me back as she was driving herself to the emergency room. Yep, us Heckman girls are peas-in-a-pod when it comes to injuries. Seems she was walking her dog, Buster, when he suddenly took off after something, causing her to fall and be dragged across the concrete street on her back. She has a concussion and a hideous head wound, but with God's help and 40 Irish Policemen, she'll mend too. So that officially makes 2 out of the 3 of us Heckman girls with dog related injuries. I wonder what my middle sister, Kathy will have happen. Seeing as she is decidedly NOT an animal lover like Nancy and I are, I can only imagine that she will have a Jimmy Choo stiletto high heel accident. Time will tell, but things tend to run in 3. This time I wouldn't mind if things quit at the terrible two's.

8 days ago I stuck my leg out to protect the powercord and laptop from being catapulted to the floor and ended up with major knee damage. Oddly enough, right before I stuck my leg out, I had a sense of deja vu( for lack of a better description) and had the fleeting instinct to keep my legs curled up on the couch. I ignored my gut instinct and am now left with a complete MCL tear. Not only is my MCL torn completely thru the deep and superficial layers, but it is also pulled away from the femur. Wait...in addition to the MCL damage I also have meniscal damage. Seems that will actually require some surgery to 'clean up' the pieces that are just hanging around in the joint now. So, for the next 3 weeks I am to continue with this hideous leg brace and have ZERO weight bearing. After 6-8 weeks, the doctor will re-evaluate how much healing has taken place on my MCL and then plan to salvage the meniscus.

What have I learned from this lesson? To always listen to that little voice inside of myself and not ignore it. If I had listened to that instinct 8 days ago, I would be writing about the expense of buying a new laptop. Boy, do I sure wish I was bitching about that now instead of being confined to the living room couch and using crutches to get to the bathroom.

I believe in intuition. If only I didn't have to learn it in earnest the hard way.

I am most definitely not an over achiever in my life, but in this aspect I seem to have exceeded all expectations. The one thing the doctor said to me that made me laugh was that he said this is one injury you don't get by sitting around on a couch. HA! I showed him! Not all MCL injuries occur in highly trained athletes. They can also happen to middle-aged, home educating moms, who happen to be surfing the couch!

This body was not designed to motor around on crutches. My uncoordinated gate on the crutches is proof of my 'non- athlete' status. I am in a boatload of pain and imagine it will continue for some time. Well, it has improved some since yesterday when the doctor was examining it and moving what's left of my knee around. I actually screamed out when he moved my femur to the left of my knee. Not a pretty sight and not a pretty feeling.

Until I get the MRI, which I hope is sometime in the next week, I am living in limbo. I am supposed to have PT but am a little uncertain if I can handle it before getting all the shitty news that the MRI might give me. My knee is scattered and so is my brain.

Craptober cannot end soon enough. I'm ready to move on to the happy phase of life which is supposed to follow all the crap. Every cloud is supposed to have a silver lining and I sure hope that holds true for my life right now.

Madison brought josh, our 24 year old horse up to the house and was screaming for me to come look at him as he ad a large swelling on his back. I told her i'd be right back out as soon as i put my shoes on, but stopped,and figured i'd just have a quick looksie. Number one rule around horses is to always have shoes on and i broke that rule.....and paid for it.

I touched the sore spot and Josh splattered promptly smashing my bare foot under his hoof into the very hard concrete. I recoiled with my foot lodged under his ample hoof and fell over smashing my right hand and thumb. Madison drove me to urgent care where the x-rays show a crack in my navicular bone in my wrist and a crack in my sesmoid bone in my foot. i'd be on crutches but i can't since my arm is in a splint until i can see an orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday. It seems the bone in my hand has poor blood supply and these fractures frequently require a screw to make it heal.

So Thomas sees the ortho for his knee on the 24th and i see my guy on Tuesday. I bet we'll get a few looks walking into the clinic. Maybe we'll get a two-fer deal on our surgeries?

excusenthe typos's but hunting and pecking sucks, but I'm stocked up on pain killers!!

01/10/2012

Thomas had his appointment today with the orthopedic nurse practitioner. She maneuvered his leg in ways that made Marc almost vomit. She twisted and contorted his skinny minny leg every which way but behind his ears. He also complained of his hip hurting so that was x-rayed as well.

We knew sommin' was up when the actual orthopedic surgeon came into the room to introduce himself shortly after his x-ray was complete. He proceeded to twist and jerk and pull on Thomas' leg all the while making guttural sounds like a fat, happy pig. We heard a lot of umph's, and a lot of uggggghhh's. Thomas made no noise other than to tell him when something cracked, popped and snapped. The real doctor, not the nurse practitioner who I actually liked, looked at us and pronounced that his knee is extremely unstable and loose and he has a completely torn ACL. He almost announced it in a way that made us feel like we should be proud of our kids youthful accomplishment.

The doctor told us that surgery at this stage of the game is highly discouraged as it would interfere with the growth of the leg as the surgery would involve messing with the growth plate. He also said that due to the nature of a young, teen aged boy and his ability to use common sense with a replaced ACL, the re-injury rate is enormous. His recommendation is to wait for surgery until he is through his growth phase and his decision making ability is better and he is approximately 19. HELLOOO! That is 6 friggin' years away. He wants me to institute a swimming regimen and weight lifting program to strengthen his quads and hamstring.

Modern medicine?? Is this the best you can offer my son. His knee literally blows out sideways when he over flexes it or twists or heck, even runs slowly. So for 6 years I am supposed to tell my very active son to use his critical thinking skills, weigh the pros and cons of his intended activity and then proceed with caution. Get a friggin' grip. This from a kid who can't think far enough ahead to realize poking a beehive with a stick is probably not a good idea.....especially with a bad knee and a quick getaway needed!

I'm a big proponent of second opinions, so guess where we're headed next Monday. We have an appointment with a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. I think I'll feel much better hearing this doctor's opinion. If it jives with what the doctor here said, well then great. We'll do our best to keep Thomas from taking unnecessary chances with his knee. But if we hear a vastly different opinion, I'm inclined to follow the doctor at Children's. We've had some really great experiences with the doctors' at Children's and I have every reason to believe this experience will be as educational and comforting. Knowledge is power and I fully intend to be as informed about pediatric ACL ruptures as one can be short of medical school.

Thomas and his knee are causing us a little bit of a logistical headache. When I phoned the orthopedic clinic yesterday, I explained that the pediatrician wanted him to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon due to her suspicions of a torn cruciate and/or meniscus. The young man taking my phone call told me there was an opening with Dr. XYZ on Tuesday at 10AM. Great, and I took the appointment. Today I got on the computer to have a little looksie at whom I was entrusting my son's future mobility to, and was shocked to find out that the 'Dr.' was actually a nurse practitioner. Now I have nothing against a nurse practitioner and have actually chosen to see one as my primary in the past. However, when I request a doctor, I expect to be given an appointment with a doctor and not a close second.

Thomas also carries the Sickle Cell Trait which is half the genetic component of Sickle Cell Disease. Having Sickle Cell Trait is fairly inconsequential in daily life and is only really important during extreme heat and exercise, high altitude hiking, and of course procreation....but that's a ways down the road yet! The most critical aspect of SC Trait is knowing this and relaying the information to a doctor before surgery. SC Trait means that half of his red blood cells do not carry oxygen efficiently through his body and this affects the way he handles and processes anaesthesia. This was very carefully explained to me by the pediatric anaesthesiologist at Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland when Thomas had emergency life saving surgery at 9 months of age. The anesthesiologist was emphatic that Marc and I understand this and to always impart this knowledge with doctors before surgery.

When Thomas needed surgery soon after we moved to Bismarck, I shared my concern that he have an anesthesiologist familiar with SC Trait kids. The doctors reaction left me cold and Marc, Thomas and I left his office immediately. The doctor scoffed at my worries and told me that putting them to sleep was always easy. Really, no duh! It's the waking them up part that worries me. We took Thomas to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis and had a wonderful physician and had a very comforting, reassuring discussion with the anesthesiologist who once again, validated my concerns about the nature of SC Trait.

As I type, Marc is at his office trying to schedule an appointment for Thomas at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. We need to have him seen by a surgeon and to establish the relationship with a physician that can provide the surgery at a hospital familiar with kids with SC Trait. The anesthesiologist at Children's have been wonderful to Thomas in the past and I have ever hope that their skill will meet the level I desire for my child.

I am so frustrated by the medical services here. I am also immensely humbled that while I sit an complain about my frustrations, I can still pick and choose which doctor and where to take my son for treatment. It's so sad to realize that just 500 miles from the tip of Florida, people are dying everyday because they do not have access to a doctor and simple medicine. The people of Haiti know what real frustration looks and feels like. I have very little room to complain right now.

I am grateful that we are able to provide the best medical care we can and that we have options. So many in this world do not. That's a reality that breaks my heart.

01/10/2012

Thomas has been complaining of his right knee hurting for about 2 weeks. Twice now, his knee has given out and he has fallen while walking down the stairs. Yesterday at soccer, he stopped playing to rest it and then continue on.

Thomas has a fairly high tolerance for pain. He's just plum stoic. I took him to the doctor's office today after we finished school. Since we didn't make an appointment with our pediatrician, as a walk-in, you see the pediatrician on call. She's a nice, YOUNG gal and gave Thomas a thorough going-over. He actually exhibited pain when she flexed the knee and twisted it. Ah ha!

Off we went to x-ray. I just got the phone call that as expected, the x-rays were fine. Now we see an orthopedist on Tuesday. He'll schedule an MRI and it looks like Thomas may have a partial tear of his anterior cruciate and/or blown his meniscus.

He has been told to stay very INACTIVE and not move around much until then. Great! How do I keep a kid in constant motion, quiet and still? He's on some anti inflammatories and Motrin 24 hours a day now and I can only hope that he just has some soft tissue tears like muscles that don't require surgical correction.

And to make my day just a little more interesting, I woke up with my first ever eyelid stye. It's on my lower right eyelid and I look a little dopey and maybe even a little like a battered woman. I can only hope the swelling goes away before I have to take Thomas to the doctor's next week. What a pair we'll make. One limpy, gimpy kid and his mom with a puffed up, red eyelid!~

I backed up the learning train and reviewed that a noun was a person,place, thing (and am currently omitting that a noun is also an idea as it's way to ambiguous for him) and a verb was an Accctttiiiooooonnn word. I asked him if he could act or do, 'chin' and he said no and touched his chin. I pointed out that he was touching his chin which makes it a 'thing'! He finally put it into the 'noun' pile and we moved on.

Next card was drum. I had drawn a picture of a drum and was intending on the picture denoting a noun and not the action 'to drum'. He looked at the picture and loudly announced it was verb. Once again I squelched my scream and pointed out that the picture was of a drum. Could he touch it? Yes, he could. Then it was a thing which is a noun. He placed it into the Verb pile and pointed at me and said I was drumming my fingers.

If I'm frustrated, he must be even more agonized over this. He continues to smile and work his happy butt off to do school, learn and try his absolute best, but this English stuff is killing me. Is this normal for an English Language Learner? Richnigthder is doing much better at his English work, but even he still has issues with adding and 's' to words to denote ownership or plurality. For example; today he was talking about a friend named Kidane and he said, "Kidane LIKE fruit." I corrected that one person 'LIKES' but one than one person, like we, and it's 'LIKE." Tough stuff to teach someone who's only been learning English for a relatively short time. Am I expecting too much? Is my Grammarian father's intense desire to speak correctly burdening my two little boys? Maybe it's just me and I'm a total nut job.

When I hear incorrect grammar, it's like nails-on-a-chalkboard....screeching and infuriating! Will my little guys ever get the finesse of the English language? I know as a home educating mom I expect more from my kids, but am I pushing it with their English. I can't just ignore it when they make these mistakes, but how do I continue to gently correct them without them just shutting down.

For now I'm just happy that Jerome continues to try over and over and over and over and over again with a smile on his face. Noun, verb.....I know one cuss word that can be used as both and I'm screaming it to myself right now. Yep, I'm the next mother of the year!

We went to see 'The Help' and it was an emotionally moving movie. I do think the book was better, but I think everyone always feels that way. Marc even got teary at a couple places in the movie although I don't think he'll publicly admit it. After the movies we headed to Applebee's for dinner.

The nano-second we sat down, my phone started to ring. The first call was from Madison in hysterics trying to explain that Thomas had seen a skunk in our garage and he had gone outside to chase it down with his bb gun. Marc calmed that situation down and explained to Thomas that chasing a skunk is never, ever a good thought for a bunch of different reasons.

The phone rang again with a happy voice explaining that the package from http://www.hannaandersson.com/ had just arrived. I bought the boys new winter coats and Madison a pair of clogs like mine and everyone was thrilled and happy! Score one for mama! And just so you know, clothes from Hanna Andersson are exceptionally well made and last Forever!

The third call was Richnigthder complaining that Madison is working him like a dog. She had him clean a bathroom, sweep and feed the dogs. Life as a dictator must be taxing for Madison and oppressive for her minions!

The final phone call was from Thomas informing us that one of the Rottweilers had just spent an hour or so barfing on our bed. Naturally we asked why he hadn't taken the dog outside when he realized she was hurling and he emphatically told us, "Because you told us to keep the dogs inside while you're gone." The one time he follows directions and it has to be this time?

Sensing the fun of our date alone had reach it's maximum, we headed for home to deal with skunks and barf. Indeed the dog had barfed on our bed. She barfed up one of Marc's socks, a partial cow hoof and what appears to be several crayola crayons....or so the wrappers denote!

The skunk left behind a signature scent but we haven't seen his Pepe LePew butt and it better stay that way. I don't know if we can handle another date anytime soon. It's just too damn stressful to deal with the chaos thru the phone.

http://lifewithdekalbturbines.blogspot.com/. These people have been living with and dealing with the effects of turbines for several years. Our county commissioners are well aware of the data, to include the United Nations recommendations that wind turbines be place at least 2 kilometers from an inhabited structure, but for some unknown (GREED) reason, they have chose to force these turbines upon the residents of our township. Oddly enough, the commissioners are aware that 2/3 of the residents of our township DO NOT want these, yet they are forcing the will of the minority on the majority.

The property where the turbines will be placed so closely to our home is actually owned by someone who live 6 miles away. He has stated that he doesn't want to see the turbines or hear them....so I guess that means it's ok for them to impact our life and re-sale potential.

Multiple studies have shown that turbines located within 1 mile of residences reduces re-sale value by 30-50%. That's logical. Who will buy our house with the looming turbines, blinking lights, shadow flicker and constant whooshing, pulsating sound? NO ONE is the answer.

In our last ditch effort to draw attention to our predicament, NBC did a story on our family. Here's the link http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=52386 We've been dealing with this for 2 years and it appears we have exhausted all avenues to prevent these industrial wind towers from being just outside our back door. If we had known 5 years ago that we would live in the middle of nowhere and be forced to live in the middle of an industrial zone, we obviously never would have purchased this home. Burleigh County Commissioners have chose to side with NextEra and sell out for the almighty buck......even though the majority of us DO NOT WANT THEM!

I'm seething with anger and broken-hearted to know that our quiet, peaceful enjoyment of our property will soon be taken from us. The view out my back door will forever be altered and we will be forced to live with it. We've done our best in life to provide for our kids and give them a quality of life we find enjoyable and through no fault of ours, it's being stolen. I guess this is how Democracy works in Burleigh County, North Dakota!

Finally she relented, through tears and stomping feet and marched the horse back into her stall. I'm hoping she can focus today on trying to put the pieces together and make for a clean ride. She is such a perfectionist about riding that her anxiety is out of this atmosphere. This kid need a Valium and I need a date with Jose Cuervo!

This kid has more gumption that Forrest! She is determined and dedicated. Good thing after yesterday's lesson. It was a wonderful day to ride outside in the 70 degree temps and early fall sun. Her lesson got off on the wrong foot (literally) the moment she and Ka Ching began to canter. Karla asked her to canter some small 15 meter circles and Madison's were closer to 20 meters. She was even on the wrong lead one time, failed to notice it, and was posting on the wrong diagonal. All of these errors are rookie mistakes and Karla demands, Demands, DEMANDS, 110% all the time.

Her ride degenerated downhill from the opening warm ups and bending lines to the jumping. Both Ka Ching and Madison are right-handed/dominate, and both struggle to go left as easily as right. Neither of them could get a correct lead coming into a jump from the right, bending sharply and clearing the jump and landing on the left lead. Karla was yelling and I mean yelling at Madison to get it right.

Neither the horse nor Madison quit. They rode and sweat buckets until Karla could see that Madison was trying in earnest to do it as well as she could. Her eyes were full of tears at the end of the ride, yet she shook it off, and committed herself to do better on Wednesday for her next lesson.

Honestly I have to admit that it wasn't hard for me to watch Madison get a tongue lashing from Karla. Oddly, Madison has always succeeded in life at whatever she desires with very little effort. Things come naturally for her.......until yesterday. I trust Karla enough to know that she wasn't just yelling at Madison for kicks and giggles, but because she KNOWS the kid can and has done better. Jumping is dangerous and there is no room for sloppiness. At the end of the lesson, after the horse was bathed and loaded in the trailer, Madison went to Karla and thanked her. Karla hugged and kissed her and told her she expects her to work her butt off to reach her goals and she did it because she cares. Together, Karla can help her reach for the stars and in return she expects Madison to give her heart and soul to her riding and make every ride count.

Karla has put in her time in the trenches. She has her Gold medal for dressage and her daughter who's 22 just won the Canadian nationals. Her goal is to get to the PanAm games, World Equestrian Games and eventually, the Olympics! Madison wants to achieve along those lines too. Marc and I will do all we can to help her achieve her dreams and yesterday was just the first among many future tongue lashings.

I was proud of my kid and how she held it together, kept trying and is not letting it define her. From this crappy ride, I am sure she learned more lessons about life than the thousands of good rides she has had. Hopefully, fingers and toes crossed, tomorrows lesson will be less brutal. Either way, she is learning about perseverance, drive, determination and humility. All lessons I am sure will aid her in blossoming life.

Marc and I crave time alone together. We need time alone together. It's virtually impossible to discuss important aspects of life while being interrupted by the incessant demands of the kids. We need to get away and spend a few days just being Marc and Geralyn and not mom and dad. While I know we will be mom and dad until the day we die, it would be kind of nice to revisit the qualities that initially attracted us to each other. Of course, Marc was attracted to my intellect...bahahahaha....and I was drawn to his carefree, throw caution to the wind attitude....bahahaha...NOT! Initially he was attracted to my youthful zest and sorority girl giddyness and I was attracted to his pensive, goal-oriented plans for life. Um, yeah, totally polar opposites. But whatever. It's worked for almost 21 years and we are damn proud of it.

But back to the freak show we call our life. Marc and I need to find a way to be alone. We don't know how to squeeze that into our busy, warp, speed- of -light kind of life right now. Each kid is busy with their own activities and that has both of us running kids to opposite ends of town at the same times. Somewhere, somehow we gotta figure this out. I'm a nicer person when I get to spend time with my best friend and even though we cohabitat, we still are not spending any time with each other.

I don't know what the answer is. All I can tell you is that I better not have to wait until Jerome goes off to college to have a date with Marc. That's not very promising either as Jerome often tells me that he's going to live at home with us forever, to which Marc just groans and grunts. I provide the obligatory smile and hug and roll my eyes over his head because as sweet as my baby boy is....he's gotta fly the nest sooner or later....right?

And then we saw the stereotypical ill informed 'Michael Vicks' of the dog world. There on the crowded street, stood a young man with lots of tattoos....not a judgment, merely an observation...spikey mohawk, Doc Marten kick ass boots, and of course, a poor Pit Bull on a spiked collar and heavy gauge chain as a leash. UGH! The dog looked large and well muscled and had the saddest eyes on any dog I've seen in a very long time. This guy and his dog are what those in the Pit Bull and Rottweiler world attempt to dispel as horrific stereotypes.

Any dog can be aggressive. ANY DOG! Just like any person can be mean and nasty for no good reason. Large dogs like Rottweilers and Pit Bulls can be wonderful family pets with some very specific parameters. First, a dog should come from a reputable breeder that breeds two dogs that have highly stable, well socialized personalities, and that have been screened for diseases like hip displaysia. Secondly, the owners of any large, strong-willed dog needs to be committed to training the dog every single day and exposing the dog to every possible situation you can imagine. Lastly, take your dog with you to show the public that well bred, well trained Rottweilers can be fabulous family dogs.

The guy with the Pit Bull on a chain is a disgrace and he is one guy who should never own a dog that could cause harm to any person. He perpetuates the stereotype and hurts those of us who are committed to having loving, family companions that are large sturdy, determined dogs.

I'll hop off my soapbox now and get ready to go get Madison. Her 2 days of working are quickly concluding and I look forward to hearing her complaints about the numerous morons that she encountered at the street fair. Maybe it's a North Dakota thing, but who buys a whole turkey leg and accessorizes it with cheese curds and wraps up the meal with funnel cake? I can't believe I just asked that question, when I've found a huge cardboard bin of bras and panties at the farm and feed store in town. Now that's as redneck as it gets, eh?

Maybe for added stares tonight, I'll take our other Rottweiler, Bunny and one of the Shelties. Yep, that and 4 black kids should just about do it!

With her earnings, she will be purchasing a new bridle for Ka Ching. It's a used one, but falls within her price range and she will have the full satisfaction of knowing she bought it with the fruits of her labor!

Where has time gone that she is old enough to have a job?

Her riding with Ka Ching has really taken off....no pun intended. Karla believes she will be able to progress thru training level 1,2, and 3 and move into first level dressage next Spring. She adores dressage and is crazy about jumping with Ka Ching. Ka Ching is an honest jumper and gives her all to Madison. Together, they are a cute team and Madison looks forward to competing with her with great enthusiasm. My baby is growing up and sometimes I really don't like. Other times, I'm counting the days until I can move her into a college dorm!

I consumed about 4 cups of coffee while waiting for the optometrist to see Jerome and then had yet another cup of coffee while we waited for the opthamologist to do his stuff. I figure I had at least a half a pot of coffee at the doctors' office, which of course, created a need for me to find the restroom.

As we waited, we made small talk and I mentioned to Jerome that the doctor better hurry up and look at his eyes, or I was going to wet my pants. He laughed and a moment later the doctor walks in and makes the usual pleasantries. He turned to me and asked how I was and before I could give the standard response of 'Fine, thank you', Jerome interjected that I had wet my pants. My first reaction was to stand up and demonstrate that I had NOT wet my pants, but continued to stammer that I needed to go wee wee due to the coffee I had consumed in the last hour.

The doctor just looked at me like I was a mental patient, temporarily released on a day pass, and tried to focus on Jerome. Rarely am I embarrassed by something, but this one caught me. I think it was the dead pan expression on Jerome's face that gave credence to his assertion of me being a panty wetter. Nonetheless, we left with great haste and I had to suppress my desire to draw attention to my DRY pants. It must have been Senior Citizen day at the doctor's office as the waiting room was full of geriatric patients. I suppose had I wet my pants, no one would have noticed since the waiting room was full of potential bladder control suspects!

Just another day in my life!

Information for Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, ND

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Latitude: 46.871414 -- Longitude: -96.808658

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extreme canine stunt dogs.
01/12/2012

Information for Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, ND

Homes - Schools - Census Data - Jobs - Maps

Latitude: 46.871414 -- Longitude: -96.808658

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extreme canine stunt dogs. 01/12/2012

extreme canine stunt dogs.
01/12/2012