Celebrating National School Lunch Week

To celebrate National School Lunch week, I had school lunch with the girls.

Waiting in Line

I've talked about school lunch before and my concerns about the lack of protein and calories that our children are getting.  Since my last post (School Lunch Changes...) I've talked to many people in our school system, other parents and the kids who eat the lunch. For this post I am going to break down my lunch observations for this day. I plan to share the information I've gathered from my discussions in a different post soon.

The girls were thrilled I was joining them again for lunch. I picked a random day that worked for my schedule last week- Wednesday. The younger kids start lunch at 11:15. The menu: popcorn chicken, broccoli, fruit, milk & juice. Bread was also served with the meal.   Each child was asked if they would like broccoli and bread with their meal. They were not given a choice if they wanted fruit but what fruit they wanted: apricots or pineapple both from a can.  Observing the 8 kids in front of me none of them knew what apricots were- all took pineapple. They also could have juice and milk, that must be to get the full servings of fruit.

My Trey

I counted that 4 out of 25 in Miss O's class took broccoli and 5 out of 21 in Miss R's class tried the vegetable.  My girls didn't take the vegetable, at home they always eat broccoli. (In fact last year Miss R identified broccoli as her favorite food on her pre-school questionnaire- I achieved a Mom of the Year star). As you can see from my trey- I took the broccoli.  I love broccoli and there was cheese on it- bonus! Except there was no taste to the vegetable.  The girls informed me that they had tried the broccoli in the past and that is why they wouldn't make the mistake of taking it again.  As I forced myself to eat it, I kept thinking this would taste better if I had salt.  I had remembered one student I talked to being upset about not having salt to put on things anymore. She was going to start bringing her own to school to use.  Salt is the new bootleg item at school?

My Trey....Miss O's Trey

This picture gives you the comparison of my trey and Miss O's. She did take the bread, which according to the teacher is very popular item with the kids.

As I look at these treys, I don't see how this is promoting kids to eat more fruit and vegetables.  Miss O's trey was very representative of the others on her table. So, the kids are not getting filled on protein and are simply not taking all the fruits and vegetables offered so bottom line is they are going hungry.

Miss O ate all her food.  I could not choke down all of my broccoli but did eat the rest. By the time the kids got out of school that day I was starving. I now understand how come my kids come through the door ready to have a snack before we have our evening meal.

Go have school lunch and see what our kids are eating. We've got to stand up for them and let the ones who are making these rules in Washington DC know that their meals are leaving our kids short and being full is the cornerstone to learning.

Where I Come From We Rode In Trucks

It’s no secret that I have a crush on Luke Bryan but I also relate with this song. Pickup’s have been an important role in my life. 

I learned to drive on an old Blue Chevy ranch pickup. My dad felt it was absolute must that all ranch girls learn to drive ‘stick’ before leaning automatic. I had to put my foot under the clutch peddle to lift it off the floor and shift with two hands all at the same time.  Oh, and the shifter knob had long been replaced with a cue ball so I really had concentrate to remember what gear I was in. 

Certainly I think my dad did have an alternative motive for teaching me to drive the ranch pickup. There were plenty of times he would make me drive the 1 ton dully with glass packs and sometimes a trailer to high school to run errands for him after school. There was nothing more embarrassing to a girl hiding from her cowgirl legacy then driving that thing to school. Letting off the gas and hearing that BROOOM, BROOOM, BROOOM noise always made me just cringe. 

When I got to college, my sorority sister drove a little pregnant roller skate manual car, I was the only other sister who knew how to drive it and at times when she had too much at the bar and I didn’t, I would drive us home. I was amazed at how much fun it could be to drive a manual...this was not the ranch pickup!   I impressed by many a boy at college with my driving abilities. 

I have to tell you that when I met my Cowboy it was probably his cool pickup that may have sealed the deal with us. I had never dated a boy who drove a pickup and although he didn’t let me drive it, I was still impressed. 

The pickup tradition continues with my children. This spring during breading season the kids spent many an hours entertaining themselves in the back of the truck. This particular day the girls with their cousins were pretending they were in a pirate ship sailing the 7 seas...

Young Mr. Hadrick has the farmer drive already down. He is allowed to move the pickup around the yard from time to time. Look at the casual arm out the window and one hand on the wheel. Must be a dominate gene in the male farmer, this can’t be taught, its natural ability. 

Sometimes we clean our pickups up and take them to town. It’s a common occurrence to see a ranch pickup pulling a float in the 4th of July parade.

We also use the pickup for our office on any given day and sometimes I feel we live in it. Here I’m using it as a prep station for breeding cattle this spring. We are out on the prairire, It may be crude but it gets the work done. 

To this day some of my favorite memories as a child is in that old blue Chevy pickup and there is always a smile on my face when I’m driving my Cowboys 1 ton Dodge pickup and I hear that turbo windup...

Fall on the Farm

I took a moment to regroup this weekend and it occurred to me this weekend that fall has arrived.  Although the 90+ degree temps are odd for fall, the trees in the creek below my house have changed and that is certainly a big indicator.

The creek below our house

Other indicators that fall has arrived at the Hadrick House:

Corn Harvest has started. For this cowgirl, it's still a challenge to embrace the cropping side of the operation. To let you in on a little secret; seeing brown cornstalks in the field does not evoke happiness or excitement for me.  I know, can I really call myself a farmer?   This cowgirl, did offer to drive grain cart if needed- I'm not sure they will get that desperate. My Cowboy took a picture the other night. I had to text him to send this to me.  We don't see each other much this time of year...

Me with the weaned calves in the background

Weaning is done! I love to work cattle and to see calves adjusted well is a good feeling.  This morning I heard the tractor running outside of my office window. My Cowboy was busy doing chores. Although I have to say I hate how having chores everyday ties us down I do love seeing the calves grow.

We've also ultrasound the first group of cows. My Cowboy does all the ultrasounding for the farm. Using this technology helps us to determine what cows are pregnant and which ones are open (not pregnant).  In years like these where grass is short because of the drought.  We are able to sell those animals and stretch our feed resources a little further.

I'm excited to report that Morgan (T's heifer from last year) is pregnant! So, we will have another calf expected from her in the spring.

Young Mr. Hadrick has started football. He loves it! We went to his first game last night and he played some and he did really well for only a bit of football knowledge. He has practice twice a week and it's an indicator of what I have to look forward to as my children's schedule takes over mine.  Keep in mind that in our very rural community, there are not a lot of choices for youth activities. So I've been able to put off running the mom taxi like many of my friends in populated areas do all the time.

Fall is my favorite time of year and I'm excited it is here. I'm not excited about the snow flying yet- but I'm mentally preparing.

August Was For Australia

August was the month that My Cowboy and I were visited by our Australian friends. As we've traveled in Australia the past year we have always said to people if you get to the states we would love to host you.  Who knew they would actually take us up on it! Let's face it South Dakota is not on the beaten path. Just by pure coincidence, the ones wanting to come see us, all wanted to come in August.

We should have known some crazy Aussies would make the journey.  The one thing we learned while traveling in Australia is that many of the Aussie's have seen more of the states then most Americans.

David with my dad

David Maconochie is a great friend we met on our last trip down under.  David and his family run Hopkins River Beef in Victoria.  David had won the Young Feedlot producer award and was given a trip to America to tour feedlots. It just so happened he picked the exact time I was planning a feedlot tour for my job so he was able to influence lots of South Dakotan's with his Aussie views.  David's blog, Aussie Beef Boy details his trip to America and his views of the beef industry.

David and I spent a memorable trip driving across Kansas and he even made it up to South Dakota to do a little R&R in the before moving on. There are so many memorable things about David's trip that we continue to laugh and can't wait to see him again.

While out on the road David and I were able to meet up with two very special friends.  Angus Street & Elly Daley. Angus and Elly served as our tour guides while in Australia and we love them. They were both mixing business with pleasure on their US trip and were unable to get up to South Dakota to spend time at the Hadrick place but were able to meet up for supper in Denver one night. You may notice that My Cowboy was not in the picture.  He was home working while I was out having fun.

Angus, Me, Elly, and David

August finished out with our last visit from Ray & Leah Vella. Ray is a Nuffield scholar and is spent 6 weeks in North America learning more about land and farm management. Ray has a great blog about his travels and life in Australia.

We had visited Ray & Leah at their place in Queensland on our last trip. We were able to spend a short day with them and their wonderful family at their house.  These crabs are from the ocean that their land touches. They were amazing! Leah and I hit it off right away.  I really admire her for the rural life she leads and homeschooling her oldest child while balancing the two younger children.  Leah has to homeschool her son because of how far they live from town.

Vella's had been on the road for almost a month when they arrived in South Dakota. We were so excited that they were able to spend a few days with us.  I paraded Leah through the schools for show and tell and Ray helped install a new fence at the feedlot. It was great to catch up with them and look forward to the time when we can get back to their place and spend some time.

Me, Leah, Ray, My Cowboy

So, to all our Aussie friends that have not been here- the spare room is ready! Fall is coming on- so you might want to wait until spring it's a much better experience when it's not cold. Can't wait to see you!

Hello Routine, My Old Friend...

This marks my first day of having routine back in my life for fall 2012.  I said goodbye to routine in late April and sure have missed her.  Summer always forces routine out of the house- there is just no room for her with the kids home.  I look back on the craziness of summer and I sure enjoyed it but because routine was absent, I felt like I was missing something. 

So, here I sit today on a Monday hanging out with routine again.  So far we've got through almost my whole to do list and a little more.  In fact I've done so well with routine this morning that I had time to do this blog post!

So the trade off of welcoming routine back into my life means that all three Hadrick children are in school this year.  Yep my baby is in Kindergarden!  

There she sits at her little kindergarden table, the last Hadrick kid to join the school ranks. Now, I have to share that this mom didn't get emotional this year as I got her settled at her spot. I'm not sure why there was no tears on my part, but more of a feeling of relief and excitement for her.  My cute little Kindergartner didn't really show emotion either. Not excited or sad, just accepting of her fate as full time school participant. 

Now, after her first 3 days, the verdict is still out about her new adventure. Her teacher indicated that she was the only child that didn't raise her hand when she asked at the end of the first day when she asked the students if they had fun.  When I asked Miss R why she didn't raise her hand. She said we had to raise our hand all day long I was just too tired to raise it again.

I believe Kindergarden will grow on her...because one things for sure, I really like routine hanging out with me and I'm not giving her up! 

School Lunch Changes- Are Kids Getting All They Need?

The start of the school year brings excitement and anxiety to the Hadrick house. After all we have all three of the Hadrick's starting school this year. There is a lot to be thinking about; everything from first outfits to leaving my baby at her first day to getting ready for 4th grade homework! 

The one thing that is on my mind that shouldn't be a concern is if my children are going to receive a school lunch that fulfills their nutritional needs. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  which administers the federal school lunch program has come out with new guidelines on what children participating in school lunches this year can eat. Please take the time to look at the new guidelines. I would also encourage you to check out the before and after menu suggestions from these guidelines. 

The thing that stuck out to me the most is that Meat has been decreased in the school lunch program. I support eating a variety of foods in moderation. In my house we eat fruit and vegetables at each meal along with a healthy source of protein and calcium. But I know not every house is like mine. I've been in many schools across this country to know that for some children the school lunch program is the only opportunity they have to get the food they need for proper development of their brain and body.  

Meat has been cut out of the breakfast program all together and the lunch program has 8-10 oz per week for a children in grades K-5. My son is 9.  He is one of the tallest kids in his class and is within his ideal weight. For this active child, I know 2 ozs of meat in his school lunch is not going to fill his calorie needs. I also know that hungry kids don't perform as well in school. 

This week Trent Loos did a radio interview with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. He is the head of USDA when Trent asked him about the new school lunch program guidelines he was unaware of the changes to the school lunch guidelines.  When Trent specifically indicated no protein is in the breakfast program, Secretary Vilsack dodged the issue. Please take the time to listen to the interview.

1/3 of the kids in school are obese or at risk for being obese. I don't think the answer to helping obese children is to decrease the amount of protein they receive. Yes, providing them balanced meals and helping them to get and stay active is important. I'm fortunate that my children love a variety fruits and vegetables, not all kids are like that and I'm concerned that just because they have more fruits and vegetables on their plates they will not eat it. Yes, the answer is to have engaged parents reinforcing this at home and unfortunately that is not always the case. 

I've relied on the school lunch program to provide my children lunch and I will still continue.  The change I'm making for my children is to be sending them with healthy fulfilling snacks that they will be able to use to supplement the lack of food they are getting at lunch. 

Oh, and I will be letting my legislative representatives in Washington DC know that when it comes to my children's nutritional health, USDA school lunch guidelines are missing an important component- MEAT!

Happy Anniversary

Last Sunday in church I was glancing at the bulletin at the upcoming birthdays for the week and I noticed in the anniversary section My Cowboy and I’s name was listed.  Wow, that time already?  Marking another year together happily married.  Sure sneaks up on a person. Glad I went to church on Sunday or we might have got to the end of July and said ‘didn’t we have something else to celebrate this month besides the huge 4th of July extravaganza?’

I asked My Cowboy this week why he feel in love with me.  I was quickly reminded that I didn't marry a romantic, but on his third attempt he did manage to come up with something pretty good, at least it made me smile and not cringe. The “there was just something about you” made my knees go weak and that was good enough for me. He added that he liked my laugh and so I will hold on to that for a while.

I knew My Cowboy was for me when he didn’t take my crap. I remember one time just ranting about something (I’m sure it was very important at the time) As I started to really yell he just looked at me and said ‘when your done throwing a fit, come talk to me.’  and walked out of the room. No guy had ever done that to me before.  Instead of getting more mad, I stopped and thought wow. I was hooked. 

So 14 years, three kids and tons laughter and tears later. Here we are...

We’re out on the road this week and so we went out to eat at one of my favorite places PF Chang’s.  I love using chopsticks to eat with!  Unlike last year we had beer and pizza at the local bar...but at least I got to go out. Have you ever seen those old couples in a restaurant eating and not saying a word. One of my biggest fears is that could be us.  So I always save stuff to talk about while we are eating.  Well last night at our special anniversary supper my fear was met! My Cowboy watched the All Star Game and I texted my boss. Happy times!  As we were getting up to leave My Cowboy reminded me that we have been traveling together for two days now so it’s ok we didn’t talk much...I’m going to hold on to that, but I will be watching closely next time we go out to eat. 

Happy Anniversary My Cowboy. I love you more now then ever. 

Makings of a Small Town July 4th Parade

There is something to be said about a small town 4th of July Parade. Yesterday our little town pulled out all the stops and had one great parade.

Candy & lots of it.  Every float has candy or gifts they hand out.  Trisha the pharmacist who runs the drug store said they sold a ton of tootsie rolls. This is reflected by the amount of candy we have in our candy stash is 85% tootsie Rolls.  I'm going to request next year she only provides mini candy bars for parade fare.  I like mini candy bars: Frozen mini candy bars...

Tractors, tractors and then some more tractors.  We had a nice representation of all colors.  I respect the work people do to restore tractors.  I told My Cowboy we should think about doing that for a retirement hobby.  He didn't respond...I'm sure he is still thinking about all the possibilities.






















One of my favorites, two newer large implements that spray, one of each major color was featured.  The 'Green' one even did a demonstration over the crowd extending the wings a little bit.  Funny how a group of people involved in agriculture get excited over that! Just wish it was misting water over us... Another idea for next year.

Creative Floats- I love this float.  Every year this family does an amazing job of creating a fun float.  Last year they did my favorite- Star Wars. Epic totally epic...

If our parade gave prizes I would have voted for this one for BEST FLOAT! This float had a turning birthday cake. Pulled by all things a tractor... (fits two categories)

Last night at the family picnic no one could remember what words the float had on it or who drove it.  But all thought it was cool!  Wow, that is hard to pull off in a small town.  Congratulations!

There were horses...little and big and a covered wagon.  Very western.

                         The Minnesota Vikings car- it got broke out for the parade.  What a treat.

The Schwan's truck and ambulance. Both are really important vehicles in a small community.  We couldn't live without either of them. Both drivers are highly trained to take care of people. Yes, as far as I'm concerned delivering ice cream is in the life saving category.

Some just come back to relive the glory days.  This couple was Homecoming King & Queen in 1974 and wanted to ride together in the back of a car in a parade once again.  I asked My Cowboy if he planned on doing this with Kelly, the homecoming Queen from his class on their 38 year reunion.  He said only if the car they rode in was still around...Keep that in mind Jim Wagner.

The Pool lifeguards also have a float, or the back of a pickup, in small towns.  For the most part they appropriately sprinkle water on the crowd. People think it is fun, my kids always hide (they are sacred of water, you know since they are so sweet they might melt).  Notice Zach here starring at me- ya shortly after this picture was taken, I got a direct hit. I didn't melt...

Consuming Alcohol is also popular during the parade. The traditional Hadrick parade location is across from the bar in town. This has been the location since we've been dating.  I think it was originally picked for the potential shade area, so it has two perks. We have been known to participate in a morning bloody mary from the establishment before the parade event.

Family, is probably the best part of the celebration.  We gathered up the cousins that were there and took endless pictures to try to get them smiling and all looking in the same direction at one time. Close enough. (note shade tree in the back).

Hope you've enjoyed the 4th of July parade in my small town. My Cowboy and I would welcome you to help us celebrate, we have plenty of room to watch the parade and give full play by play of all the action for you.

All About Attitude

I made the decision long ago that I could choose my attitude and every morning I wake up making the choice to have a good attitude. I surround myself with people who have a good attitude and I thrive on others who are positive.

Sure, you'll hear my rant about things from time to time. But for the most part I always look for the bright side. Take this week. I have sat through two days of meetings that were a waste of my time but I turned it into a positive- I got to spend time with great friends, reconnect with some great challenging minds, eat amazing lobster, had time to catch up on emails and had a stimulating phone conversation with a co-worker. See it's how you look at.

This morning I had to be up at 4:00 eastern time to catch a flight home but it's a beautiful morning and my cab driver was the best. He was upbeat, friendly and was just the thing I needed to stay on track. And don't get me started on the crew at Starbucks this morning! Those ladies were ready to help the amateur orderer with patience and smiles. So now I'm sitting enjoying my coffee watching the out the window, what a luxury for me.  By the way I love airports with rocking chairs.

I certainly don't have this profound statement in this post. I'm sure for some of you, you're a little disappointed that you took the time to read this and think- wow I've waisted my time-- You missed my point... I wish you luck.

I'm not sure where to begin, it's been way too long since I've been on my blog! So let's quick catch you up on what I've been up to.

First, I was here:

My Cowboy and I spent 2 weeks in Australia at the beginning of May. We had another amazing trip and got to spend time with our old friends and made a ton of new ones. I can't wait to share more of our trip - but that is for another time...









Then I did this:

My Cowboy needed to build some new fence and I was fortunate enough to only have to help a small amount. It looks good and will last a very long time.

And then I did this:

At our farm spring time means cow working time. My Cowboy is taking care of our cows. He is getting them ready to go to pasture with green grass. My job when we work cattle is what ever My Cowboy tells me to do. I love helping work with the cows and it's great couple bonding time...

And then school got out... so any kind of routine we had went out the window. Thank goodness for Miss Em. She is our summer girl and I don't know what I would do without her! Also I have to give a shout out to Pinterest. I know I'm a better mom, I've been able to lay out a summer schedule for the kids and lots of fun activities.

And then I went here...


















It's not very often that my and My Cowboy have our boots in the sand. We got invited to help promote beef at the Stew Leonard grocery stores. It was a really great experience.  We talked and grilled and shared what we do as cattle producers with a ton of people in Connecticut.

And now I'm into the full swing of summer...Believe me I've got a lot to talk about. We're traveling some, I've got a painting project planned, 4-H projects to work on and then of course we've got the breeding project to finish up. I'm sure you will be waiting to hear all about it.

The Great Easter Dress

In my quest to be mom of the year, I created the 'dress of her dreams' for Miss R's Easter outfit.  The truth be known the reason I had to go to this effort was because Easter sneaked up on me.  I had started early enough, we went to the 'big' town 6 weeks ago and found a dress for Miss O, but just could never find anything for Miss R.

By the time I got around to ordering one for Miss R I still couldn't find anything online that I was excited about and I wasn't sure it would be shipped in time.  Remember I live in rural South Dakota and sometimes the pony express is slow. So last week I made a quick trip to the 'big' town to find a dress. I came home with this little perfect cotton candy pink tutu style dress. I thought she would love it.  Instead her comment was "this dress is (picture thumbs down and tongue stuck out), plain" UGH.




So, the next morning we headed to one of our favorite places in town the Quilt shop to get some enhancements for this plain dress.  Here is what we came up with: Pearl buttons, Pink buttons with little sparkles in the middle, a yard of pink roses and some thread to sew it all on.

For the next few days I worked on the plain dress and it came together really well. This was the smile we saw on her face yesterday morning.  Yes, a few buttons fell off, but overall it looked so good and she was thrilled. Another happy customer...

Morgan, Teigen's 4-H Show Heifer is a mom! 

That was big news at our house. We all had been waiting very patiently for this baby to arrive. Morgan had been staying in the barn and being fed 'special' feed and being treated very well in her last days of pregnancy. We almost were at hour by hour updates from all the family members who were dropping in to check on her. Finally the day arrived and after the kids got home from school we headed to the barn as a family to see the new addition.  For all you wondering it was a- BOY! Teigen was excited and Miss O "knew it was a boy" she claims.

Morgan is a good mom. There is nothing like hearing a cow talk to her calf with their low sounds they make. I love to listen to that and it always makes me smile. It amazes me how a cow instantly knows that she is responsible for taking care of her baby and goes to work getting them cleaned and stands waiting for the calf to get up and take their first drink of milk.

Within the first day a calf is born on the ranch we tag them, give them a shot-a vaccine for common diseases that calves may be exposed to and monitor both mom and baby to make sure that they are ok. Teigen wanted to be a part of all the details when it came to Morgan.  Here he is putting the number on the calf tag. You can see his little sister paying close attention to detail. She can't wait for this to be her someday! When it came down to it- we all agree that dad should be the one to put the tag in the calf's ear and give the shot. We sorted Morgan off from the calf, into another pen where she could still see the calf and in less then 15 seconds the old pro had it done and mom and baby were reunited. We all thought it was cute how the new baby looked with his new clean ear tag.

I think Morgan the mom is going to have some new lessons for Teigen to learn and I'm excited to see how those unfold- I'll keep you posted.

The Daytona 500

Sometimes I have to stop and just observe where I'm at in life.  That moment happened this weekend at the Daytona 500.  As I watched the rain come down on Sunday standing in the Furniture Row Racing shop I sat there thinking...how did we get here and more importantly WOW- this is sure fun! My Cowboy & I  are really excited about Furniture Row Racing  and the Farm American initiative they support. We have been working with them for over a year now and the program is just growing and growing and reaching more people with the story of where their food comes from. This passion My Cowboy & I have for reaching people with this message has taken us around the world and now to the Daytona 500. 

So here we are at...the Daytona 500.  We loved every minute of the experience! I wanted to share the highlights.

Any introduction to a track is going to the infield.  I tell you there is nothing more cool then going through a tunnel under the track.  Daytona's traffic tunnel is the smallest I've seen but made it even more fun.  We both walked the tunnel and in this picture we caught a ride on a golf cart. Just in case you're wondering the golf cart ride was better.  But I'm not complaining.

My Cowboy did something he has always wanted to do. We got to sign the start/finish line. It's really a cool experience.  You look at all the names and messages and think about all the different people there and what brings them together for this amazing sport.

Then we also got to watch the races.  We saw the truck race and the Nationwide race. I know some of you don't recognize My Cowboy without his cowboy hat on. Sometimes he goes in disguise in order to blend better. See here he looks like a normal race goer. One of the great things about working with a NASCAR team is that we got to watch this race on top of the hauler. For those non NASCAR fans the hauler is what hauls the car and tools. 

And then the rain came. We woke up Sunday morning hoping that the rain would miss the track but it didn't. And it rained and rained and rained some more...So what does NASCAR do when it rains. Not much they hang out in the shop and wait for it to stop. Unfortunately for us we couldn't get our flights changed and had to come home on Monday morning. I know, I know you think that's crazy! But we had other things to get back to and I think it gives us a good reason to go back next year!

Thanks Furniture Row Racing for a wonderful opportunity. I've turned into a huge race fan there is something about hearing those cars going around the track that makes me smile.  But most of all I'm thankful that Furniture Row Racing supports educating people about where their food comes from.  Follow them on Facebook! Keep track of what they're doing to support agriculture.

Nothing Says Happy Valentines Like a Semi Truck & Trailer

Valentines Day is not a big holiday in the Hadrick house. I'm really not crazy about flowers and certainly I knew that before we got married My Cowboy does not have a knack for giving gifts. But for what ever reason this year Teigen came to me in January (maybe because he saw the Holiday Stress train was still on the track) and said he wanted to make a semi truck and trailer for his valentines day box for school this year. And he kept hounding me- he had this vision in his head and he wanted it done. So 2 weeks ago, after many try's to redirect him I gave in and started thinking about how to build this.  Luckily we have not thrown out the Christmas boxes yet (See blog about Holiday Stress) so we had plenty of things to choose from. The last 3 days have been crazy with box decorating but I'm thrilled to say we delivered a semi with trailer in tack this morning to his classroom! It certainly will get the award for the largest box (Sorry Mrs H).  Although we had to compromise on the tarp feature- he wanted it to roll up just like a real grain trailer after he lost that battle he didn't even bring up the dumping action.

So I have to ask myself is this the beginning of raising the next Hadrick man who thinks romance is a Semi Truck & Trailer? Sadly I may have to admit defeat there and accept I can only do so much.  He will know how to do his own laundry and cook to survive but romance may be the one thing I won't get through to him.

Thank goodness that Miss O was up for my suggestion and she did the ever popular alligator with large teeth and in order to put the valentines in you have to reach into the mouth.  She loved it!

Miss R went the traditional preschool route and we completed the butterfly box in 15 minutes last night. I needed that since we didnt' start until 6:30 last night with that. If you look really close its 'antlers' as she called them are crossed.  She says that he'll be able to fly faster that way.

So, I'm feeling pretty good today. I've acquired some Mom of The Year stars on my chart- the race is still early and I'm sure I will fall behind.  But for today I'm still in the running!

Happy Valentines Day.