More Tractor Pics

Behind the Wheel

Aiden seems to be drawn to the tractors around the farm. The other day we took a trip down to the shop to see some of Grandpa's newest finds, and had a hard time pulling Aiden away. He has even taken to trying to remove anyone's hand that tries to hold onto him while he is in the driver's seat.
Today we had an all out battle over whether or not he was going to spend the afternoon perched atop his father's loader tractor out in the yard. I had to pry his little fingers loose from the steering wheel and pull him, kicking and screaming, from the seat in order to go in to make supper.
I am thinking this fall Aiden will be logging some hours out in those combines!

Is the Room Spinning?

So, for about the past month or so, I have been experiencing some dizziness - even more so than usual. The first day I woke up with it I was totally incapacitated for an entire day. Dizzy, nauseous, headache - the works. Being the completely sane and logical thinker that I am - I was sure I had a brain tumor and that I would be laying in a hospital bed somewhere with Izzy Stevens for the next year of my life. So there began my internal struggle with whether or not I was going to go see a doctor. My phobias, as strong as they are, did subside with the fact that I did needed to become a functioning adult sooner rather then later.
So I made my first doctor's appointment with a lady here in town. After several tests, she concluded that I had a virus. Some virus I thought. What kind of virus creeps in your head and makes you dizzy - I must have the swine flu!! (ok - a little hypochondria going on here too...)
Anyway, I was to come back if the problem persisted. Well, needless to say - I was back after 7 days, spinning room and all, only this time I had two falls under my belt to go with the spinning. Now the kind Doctor made me a little more nervous by being "overly concerned". With that she made me an appointment with the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. I figured it could not be THAT bad, as I had to still wait two weeks to get an appointment with them and they did not medflight me up to the hospital or anything...
So today I went to the ENT. After a quick exam and explanation of my symptoms the Doctor put me at great ease. He was even giddy! He told me he knew exactly what was wrong and that he would need to put me through a series of movements, but that he was 80% sure he could cure me today. Well butter my bread! I was a happy camper too! He laid me on some strange apparatus of a chair and had me hold my head in a specific way several times and what do ya know - I am cured! It is a miracle I tell you! The man was a genius! Or a witch doctor...humm... When I asked him to explain he giggled (yes, giggled - like a school girl) and said "Hang on, I have props!" I think I made this man's day. Was I the only case he had cured this month? Maybe he gets extra credit for a quick diagnosis? He brought back a little wooden model with six plastic tubes attached to it and showed me how fluid travels through the ear to create balance, then explained how my little tubes had filled with small crystals that were preventing the fluid from traveling. He basically had to play pinball with my head to get the crystals to move out of the tubes. I had Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). Apparently this is quite common and once you get it, it is pretty likely you will get it again. Next time, however, I will be armed with the movements that will make it go away!
The gist of all this is that I am cured - no more dizziness, no more falling over, no more getting nauseous in public. YIPPEE!

Major and Sarah

Welcome To Your New Home

Yesterday afternoon we welcomed the newest additions to our farm. The Farmer has already named them - but they are horrible names that I need not share with you-all, so we will be giving them new names. Names that are a little more friendly and a lot less carnivorous...

Cold Days (In August?)

Today I felt the baking bug. Each year it creeps in about the same time that school starts. This year, however, school started early - really early! So here I am, on this August 26th, a balmy 65 degrees outside, baking. It started simply enough, I had to rearrange a cabinet that, at 10:30 last night, decided to shake the foundation of the house when the shelf finally let go from the heavy burden of cookbooks that I had, over the years, collected and piled on the not-so-sturdy 1/2 thick board. Nevermind that my, always on guard and highly protective beagle attack dog (is that an oxymoron?) never even woke up when the crashing noises filled the house and that I about jumped out of my skin - sure that someone was on their way to my bedroom with an ax.
Anyway, while trying to ease the cookbooks off the precariously hanging shelf and not destroy the mixing bowls and fondue pot wedged below, I noticed an old issue of Cooking Light. And there my downfall into baking addiction occurred...
Two loaves of zucchini bread, a batch of cranberry bars, and 24 fresh blueberry muffins later, here I sit inhaling the rich aromas of my kitchen and hoping I do not eat it all (at least not in one sitting...)





Oh- and I had help. Here is Aiden as he sits at my feet, feeding the dog cheerios and watching his crazy baking mother dance to her O Brother Where Art Thou CD (such a dork).