Kids These Days

You might be surprised to see a post from me. I guess my computer isn't as whacked out as I thought, but I still think it's on the brink of crashing. Last night was one of those nights you consider parenting one of the most rewarding jobs. Hudson was hilarious. He had ants in his pants during dinner and wouldn't hold still, so I let him down. He started running around grunting with his sippy cup in hand. He started laughing so hard he could hardly stand up. As soon as he'd fall down, he'd hop right back up to continue. To top it off, I hid behind the couch and jumped out when he ran by. He let out the shrilled little scream that made Brent and I double over on the floor. He continued on running around until he spotted the Fastline. Just as quickly as he had gotten hyper, he calmed right down. He picked it up and crawled up onto the couch to study the pictures. He got very serious and furrowed his brow as he thumbed through it. Pretty soon he was laying down on his back, sprawled out, but still scrutinizing the magazine. He's become quite the little person. You'd think he had seen it all done before. Actually, I'm pretty sure he's seen his Dad do the exact same thing with the Fastline. (Now I know what book I've got to take to church.)

Three Amigos

Dalton and Mitchell have been staying at Grandma's and since Hudson gets to go over when I have to help out on the farm, he's gotten to play with them a lot. They both think they are Hudson's favorite cousin. Dalton is really cute with him. The other day while they were playing with Hudson while I mowed the lawn. Hudson got his head bonked and started crying. As I rode the mower, I witnessed Dalton trying to console Hudson. He bent over and kissed his head. Dalton also performs armpit farts and nose humming to get Hudson to laugh. Now Hudson puts his fingers up in his nose trying to imitate him. Oh the joy of boys! Dalton told Grandma that he "kinda wants Hudson for his little brother."

What a Corn Cob

Hudson loves corn on the cob. He doesn't waste anytime. Once I get it husked he's got it in his mouth. Who needs it cooked? Not him.

In The Thick Of It

Well, we here at the Hillman household have kept some pretty crazy hours lately. Brent has been getting up around 2:00 am to go and bale. The time depends on the weather conditions, so 2:00 has just been a general rule. I wake up some nights to hear him talking on the phone at 1:00, 4:00, and 5:00 in the morning. You've got to have some pretty crazy friends/employees to do that stuff. As a matter of fact, Brent woke me up at 1:00 the other morning to help them shuffle vehicles. I guess he thought I was feeling left out. He accuses me of being grouchy- he should just be glad he still has a head. Needless to say, we will all be much more pleasant people once straw is over. Even though we still have corn harvest, you work much more normal hours. So be patient with my posts, they're as sporadic as my life.

Celebrating Life

So another birthday rolled around and I found myself in the baler, baling straw. There's no way of getting around staw for my birthday, it's just become a part of it. While I was baling away, I was thinking about birthdays. The different ways people celebrate . . . and just exactly what do they celebrate? I remember having Hudson and thinking it's the mom who needs presents for their children's birthdays- after all, they're the ones who went through everything to get us here. So on my birthday, I'd have to say thanks Mom! I'm glad you went through what you did to get me here. And lastly, I hope that my life is something worth celebrating. I hope that I can make this world a better place for my being here. I hope I can be a little kinder, a little more selfless and make a difference in the lives of the people I am around.

Mamma was a Trucker

Today I decided to take Hudson along while I hauled straw. He loved being in the truck again. He could see all sorts of things sitting up so high. The entire way to the field, he got excited and pointed at all of the farm equipment out and about. I was glad that I packed him a lunch. He loved eating his pb sandwich and apple slices in his carseat. Who knew that lunch on the run could be so entertaining. When we pulled into the stack, Hudson was delighted to see Brent in the loader. "Da! Da!" I took Hudson to ride with Brent . I think it was the highlight of their day.

Church Chaos

Since Brent and I both had to teach, I decided I would try to send Hudson to nursery. I talked to the leaders and they said it would be okay to sneak him in a few weeks early. I dropped him off, and he took off for the toys. I thought this nursery thing was the way to go. Well, 5 minutes later, I was sitting in Sunday School and could hear Hudson screaming. I went out to find him and the poor leader walking outside to try and get him to settle down. As soon as Hudson saw me, he quit screaming and started in on his "uh!" business with outstretched arms. I decided to relieve the poor guy of my child. When I saw that it was snack time, I decided to try to take him back in nursery. He did fine until his last goldfish cracker was eaten, and then the screaming started all over. I decided Grandma might just have to watch him during my lesson. As soon as I handed him off, the screaming started all over. She quickly took him out. Part way through my lesson, Grandma comes back into the class with a sleeping Hudson in her arms. As soon as I started talking, he was screaming again. Grandma exited not to be seen again. Needless to say, I had to go to Grandma's house to pick up my Hudson.

There Is No Such Thing As A Free Toy

Nope people, that little toy that comes in your kiddie meal is not free. Those are not the only "free toys" out there. On Saturday, Hudson and I went to one garage sale. Only one- can you believe it? Immediately Hudson found this little Elmo toy. (Elmo sits atop a tractor that pulls a wagon. It is supposed to have some animals to go in the cart, but none to be found.) Within seconds he had little Elmo talking. "Can you find the pink pig and put it in the wagon?" "I love to sing, put an animal in my cart and sing along with me." I made my purchases, making sure not to pay for that annoying toy--because it was staying there. I told the nice lady, "I did not pay for that toy." To which she replies, "Oh, he likes it so much, you can just have it." Well that was the mistake!!! After listening to it all the way home, I know why she gave it to me for free. Not to mention, it has no on or off switch. I think the batteries are on the decline, so we'll see how much longer they hold out. If they happen to be Energizers that keep going and going, I might have to put poor Elmo out of his misery. Let me remind you: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE TOY!

War Bonnet Rodeo

Last night we went to the rodeo with our friends, Jamie and Leslie. I was most excited to dress Hudson up in his cowboy duds. His new belt completed the outfit and he was the cutest little buckaroo there. (I might be a little biased, but what's cuter than a diaper Wrangler bum, little boots, and a shiny belt buckle?) Only trouble is, he was more interested in the girls sitting behind us than he was about watching the cowboys and roughstock perform. It didn't help that the girls had a big bag of those sugared almonds. Hudson watched intently as they continued eating them. Out of desperation, he stuck his arm out and started begging for one. Unfortunately for Hudson, they never noticed his attempts, lucky for me- how embarassing. He stayed awake for the entire event, including the fireworks at the end. On the way out, Brent bought some of those almonds. Hudson sure would have appreciated it if he'd done that on the way in.

Clueless

Right after I got home from spending 4 hours having dental work done (I had my 2 crowns finished and they didn't find any new work that needs done!!! HOORAY!), Brent called to see if I'd like to go with him to pick up the 8640 John Deere tractor that we bought. I was hurting and had a headache, but finally decided to go since we don't get many invitations to hang out with him. We turned to go to Shelley and I said, "so it's [the tractor] is in Blackfoot?" Brent laughed and said, "No it's in Ashton." It still makes me laugh that I had no clue what I was in for. I wasn't really prepared, so we had to stop for some "wide load" signs (I know - pretty sad when you have to have those on the semi YOU'RE riding in) so I decided to get some snacks for Hudson . . . well, and me of course! It ended up being a fun outing. It should be a good tractor for us. We plan on using it as a pull tractor during corn, and a pack tractor for silage, and doing some of our heavier ground work with it. It just had a new engine and radiator put in it 50 hours ago ($17,000 job) so it should be good to go for awhile.

Confessions of a Mom

Saturday night Hudson woke up screaming at 10:30 pm followed by a lot of throwing up intermittently during the night. It was a long night of bathing, doing laundry, and consoling my sick baby. Brent offered to stay home with him while I went to church. I was glad to hear the report that they both just slept the entire time while I was gone. I felt a little cheated that I missed out on it. While we were eating Sunday dinner, we got a phone call from Chris and Deidra (who were on their way home from Havre, MT) who wanted to make reservations to sleep at our house that night. No problem. We don't have much room, but love to have company. Stephen's also came over to visit and for the fruit pizza I had concocted. Hudson only woke up a few times that night screaming. Luckily no convulsions accompanied the screaming. We had the world famous raspberry lemon pancakes for breakfast. Deidra helped me make some apricot jam before lunch, and then headed on their journey home. When I ran errands later that day, Hudson still had a sour tummy but it came out the other end this time. Oh the fun of having it run down your child's legs in the middle of a store! Motherhood- always entertaining. Hudson is finally feeling better. I don't know what I've been doing, but he always seems to be sick. I feel like a bad, unsanitary mom.