You Say Skunk," He Says "Stunk." You Say "Duck," He Says "Dunk."

My three-year-old and I do a lot of visiting while we are in the car, during meals, and when we are hanging out.  He says the darndest things.  Some of these are too good to not share...

In L's mind, "granola" equals canola, and "peanuts" equals donuts.   So, he asked me, "Mom, are there donuts in this canola bar?"

"Mom, can you get me glasses so I can read better?"  Instead, he is learning to read the "hard" way, like the rest of us had to, by memorizing the alphabet, writing letters, and rhyming.  We've been practicing letters and the sounds they make.....and apparently we are watching too much TV, because he said, "Mom! 'Nationwide is on your side' rhymes with k-k-k-Bat!"  (Just shake your head and don't try to figure out his logic.)

"Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, bake yers hands."

[Singing] "This girl is on.........How does it go again? Oh, FIRE!"  [Discouraged]  "I'm not a very good singer!" (Because remembering the lyrics is a very crucial part to becoming a phenomenal singer.)

He plays on the "monkey barns" on his "swing sec."


Every time he hears a car horn, he says, "Ugggghhh!  Those girls are honking at me again!"

He attended Vacation Bible School this summer and was given a hula hoop to take home.  At VBS, he learned how to pronounce King Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and all about who they were, but he calls his new toy a "whoop-dee-whoop."

L went to his first dentist appointment and was given a bag of goodies.  It is also soon hunting season, and he recently learned what camouflage is.  So, he's been asking, "Mom, where's my camo-floss?"


"Mom, how come you don't always wear ponies and bunnies in your hair like Shawnda does?"  (For the record, I wear my hair in a ponytail or a bun quite often.)

"Did you know Gus has a Transformer that can trans?!?!"  (Not "transform," just "trans.")



L tripped and fell at the bowling alley.  His head landed right on the nosing of a step, and caused a pretty nasty bump and black eye.  We often talk about our eye color, but when I told him, "I like your blue eyes," he said, "Don't you mean my black eye?!"

He looks pretty tough lately with buzzed hair and a black eye.



Did You Get Your Hairs Cut?

L took it upon himself to cut his own hair last week.  He said it was because "it was sticking up."  After I finally noticed the two chunks of hair missing from the top of his head, we had a life lesson about how only grown-ups can use those sharp scissors, and only the lady at the "haircut store" can cut his hair.

Please pardon the picture quality.  It was taken with my cell phone.

 

L had to carry on with this crazy 'do for a couple days until the next time we went to The Big City.  Everywhere we went, he had to explain why his hair looked so weird.  Hopefully he was just embarrassed enough to learn his lesson.

When I took L to get his hair fixed, the only successful option was to buzz it.  I was kind of making a big deal about it- you know, taking pictures and such.  We got in the car after the humbling haircut, and I was talking to him in the rear-view mirror about how different he looked.  Then, he somberly says, "Mom, put the mirror up. I don't want to look in it anymore. I just want to be what I beeeed.... Long hair."

Trying not to laugh, but feeling sorry for him at the same time, I told him he looked good and this is what happens when kids cut their own hair.  Crisis averted; L is fine with the way he looks and now this story can be recorded in his baby book.





Tell me this is something that EVERY kid does, right?  Like a right of passage?  My opinion is that at least he didn't cut somebody ELSE's hair (like I did when I was a his age).  And at least he's a boy so he can easily pull off the buzz cut.  Please share your childhood hair-cutting catastrophe stories!

A City Girl's Description of Beet Harvest

It is October, which for us means sugar beet harvest.  The quickest way I can describe sugar beet harvest is by showing you this video. 

 

 

What do you think?!  It's "a classic" from Sesame Street.  You can thank me later when you have that song stuck in your head for weeks straight.

 

Sugar beets are planted in the spring and given lots of TLC all summer long until October 1st when the 24-hour-a-day "beet campaign" (beet harvest) officially begins.

 

My husband, his dad, plus approximately 10 other hired men (or women) work around the clock to harvest the beets.....as long as the weather is good.  Too warm, and the beets could rot when piled up.  Too cold, and the beets could freeze.  Too rainy, and the trucks can't get in and out of the fields because of the mud.

 

Back in the field, the process goes as follows:  A tractor pulling a 'rotobeater' (or 'topper') first cuts the leaves off, as shown in the beginning of the video.  Another tractor pulling the 'lifter' follows that.  The lifter grabs the beets from the ground.  It has a conveyer which brings the beets through a 'ferris-wheel' to knock off some of the mud or dirt and eventually fills a truck with beets.

 

The trucks haul the beets either straight to the sugar plant or to a 'piler' (piling station), depending on how far away the field is from the plant.  There is a plant in our nearby town, so our trucks transport to both the plant or to a piler.  Sometimes, there can be a long wait at the piler when the trucks are backed up, so truck drivers often bring something to pass the time, such as a smartphone, a book to read, or they could learn how to play the trumpet like my cousin did!

 

Ever since I have lived here, we have hosted my dad, uncles, cousins, friends and friends-of-friends at our house who have come to help during beet harvest.  My husband and our guests are often scheduled to work the night shift, which means they sleep during the day.  Have you ever tried to keep two kiddos quiet in the middle of the day while they are cooped in the house?  Not an easy feat!

 

If the weather cooperates and there are minimal break-downs, we could finish harvesting beets in two weeks.  Last year, however, beet harvest started out with a couple 70-degree days, which meant it was too warm to dig.  Just a day later, winter entered with a BANG and an ice storm hit the area.  The fields became too sloppy and the root temperature of the beets was too cold.  Much of the county did not have power for a few days, including us.

 

You could say we consider this storm a blessing in disguise for our family, because one year ago today our lil' sugar beet, Reed, was born and his daddy got to have some time off work to be at the hospital.  When we returned home with our new baby, the weather continued to be disgusting for much of October and November, so unfortunately some of our beets never made it out of the field.  Last year was considered a worst case scenario.

 

But so far this season, there was only a 12-hour delay on the first day due to high temps, and harvest has been going strong ever since.  [Knock on wood.]  Let's pray that it continues to go smoothly and safely!
 

 

If you ever have the chance to drive past a sugar plant and take in the distinct odor, I will tell you the same thing J told me years ago- "That's the smell of money!"

 

One last plug from this farm wife:  When given the choice at your grocery store, show us some love by purchasing the sugar that looks like this: