We Are Moving! Well, the blog is

The FritzFacts is moving houses!!

After many years, 853 posts it is time to move onto another place.

Please join me over at The Fritz Facts new home!

What I Learned This Week - Julie's First Week!

First, lets all give a warm "Hello!" to Julie of From Inmates to Playmates. She is taking over What I Learned This Week, and it's her first week in charge! You rock Julie!!!

So many things are learned each week, so many things that may or may not make an impact in each of our lives. There are things that we wish we could forget, and things that we want to imprint in our minds forever.

Realizing that someone you love is in pain, not something fun to learn. But also learning that your daughter is so excited to try something new is a huge thing too.

This week saw us marveling at the joy that Koda has brought to our lives, but also realizing that so many things have to change in order for our family to work. We have started retraining him, and that is an everyday battle. He has gotten better, and so have we. Our evening are not so tense anymore.

We also spent a great deal of time figuring our our families NEEDS over WANTS. I WANT a new stove, but it isn't something that we NEED (right now at least). As long as mine is still kicking we are good to go. We NEED to finish the basement bathroom before our roomie moves in in 4 weeks but WANT to redo the entire basement walls and ceiling (it is bad...you have no idea).

That last one was the hardest lesson of all. Knowing that our WANTS are many, but our NEEDS are few it not something that anyone wants to admit. While we NEED to paint the kitchen, we don't NEED to paint the living room (even thought now I WANT too). We are trying to teach the kids the difference between the two, and by showing them that we know the difference makes a big step in that direction.

Head on over to From Inmates to Playdates for more What I Learned This Week posts!

Rambles

I always say to myself on Friday "sweet...I will have time to write this weekend" and it never happens. Life gets in the way, and it is perfect that way.

We spent all of Saturday going here and there, getting things done and playing outside in the cool Minnesota Spring weather. We are working to retrain Koda on some things, and took our first walk as a family since last fall. It was glorious.

Today was another day, only we actually did some house stuff.

Have I mentioned before that I DETEST wallpaper? I am FINALLY getting to pealing the wallpaper in the kitchen (it gives me nightmares...seriously) and it feels so good to get it done. I am still up in the air on colors for the room, but we found at least an accent color (I think). I am going back to Home Depot tomorrow...so who knows what I will come out with in the end.

I am listening for Boo tonight. She has been getting some headaches and they are waking her up in the middle of the night. The poor girl can't catch a break it seems. Hopefully it is just something she is going through because Mama needs a break!

And that concludes the most boring post ever...man...my brain is shutting off and ready for bed.

Night all!!

What I Learned This Week

Today is a good day, I woke up and have gotten a ton done. All that is left is taking out the trash and going to work. Today is also Koda's birthday! He is 1!!

Did you know there are websites just for Dog Birthday Cakes? Who knew! We are not doing that, but I am going to get him a special treat at some point today.

Making a shelf out of a skateboard is SO MUCH easier than I thought it would be, and I did it myself! That is a HUGE accomplishment if I do say so. Plus, it looks REALLY cool.

When a certain 13 year old forgets to bring his glasses he will show me that he can bowl just fine, even though he will complain when he misses a shot. Drives me nuts.

Spending an afternoon going from one thrift store to another is my idea of heaven, the kids...not so much. But we found what we needed, including 6 9x9 cake pans! Woohoo!!!

Spring has sprung, and one of my Lilies is already starting to come in. No tulips yet though...

I have two weeks until I fly out to Philly/New Jersey, and my nerves are in over drive. I must find my Dramamine... The nerves probably have NOTHING to do with the fact that I will be meeting three bloggers in Philly...nope nothing at all.

For more What I Learned This Week posts head on over to Musings of a Housewife.

A Little Bit of History

*I have no idea what is going on with the font...

Hubby spent the weekend in Iowa helping to clean out his grandma's house. She has made the choice to live in a Senior Apartment, and has been there since her surgery last winter. They have a coffee shop and play Wii every night. She likes it there, and many of her friends have moved there in the past months, so she has her friends still close. She is a social butterfly, has someone there 24 hours a day but is still very independent.

Her house has sat empty since December and once she made the decision to stay at the Apartment the decision was made to clean out the house and sell it. The brothers (Hubby's Dad and his brothers) all took the weekend and sorted, told stories and divided things up. Hubby took the trip down because there were things that he hoped he could bring home, things that meant a lot to him.

He helped clean the rooms that were dusty with lack of use, helped scrub the cabinets that hadn't been touched in months and relived part of his life in the many MANY pictures that Grandma had held onto.

He did bring home some things, things that meant a lot to him and things he thought we would all enjoy. I wanted to share some of it with you, since it is our own little piece of the family history.

This is a bible that came over from Germany in the early 1900's, the date written inside is 1899, given to a child at their birth from the little German I remember.

Even the scriptures are written in German, those I can't translate. It is simply gorgeous.

These are Hubby's Grandpa's medals. He was in the Navy, serving about the time of WWII


This is the ship that Grandpa served on for many years, one of a couple. The piece of paper in the corner is his Navy ID.


This is something that Hubby's Mom made 30 years ago, a picture of the farm that Grandma and Grandpa then owned.


These are old cookbooks, you know the kind, church and community cookbooks. I have called these the "Use 4 sticks of butter for everything" cookbooks. There are some FANTASTIC recipes in here and I can't wait to dive into them.


These are canning books, giving direction to can pretty much anything. There is also a grilling book, and Grandma's recipe for the BEST Pumpkin Pie. On the bottom of the recipe she even has where she took the pie many years ago.


Hubby brought me this. It is a Hamilton Beach stand mixer. It can also be taken apart to be a hand mixer. This mixer dates pre-1960 and still works like a dream. Big Sis said it will probably last forever.


It even has a timer!!


This...this just plain creeps me out, but it isn't staying at my house (thank GOODNESS!). It is a Santa bird feeder...and the EYES! Oh My Look At The Eyes!! Just creepy! Hubby's parents will be getting this bad boy at their house SOON.


Hubby was glad he went, so am I. I didn't know how he would handle it, but he said it was easier than he thought. There are a lot of memories tied into Grandma's house. We still have her, so more memories can be made at her apartment too.

Seriously, I have to stop looking at the Santa...

Why does my dog hate the camera?

Koda has a love hate relationship with my camera...he hates sitting still to have his picture taken and would LOVE to eat it straight out of my hand.

No clue what it is, but I even went as far as to turn of the little green light thinking that had something to do with it.

Nope, he jumps for the camera, or lunges depending on who you ask.

Today he was being a...brat for lack of a better (appropriate) word. I took him outside and brought my camera (mistake #1). I watched him play, but then he saw the camera (mistake #2). He came running over, but sat nicely for me (yeah!).

Then...I tried to take his picture so that I can send the breeder a "Look whose 1!!!" photo slide show because his birthday is on Tuesday (mistake #3).

He jumped, and while I got the camera out of the way (woohoo!), my lip did not. I know have a fat lip...

And the dog is being super well behaved.

Why does he hate the camera...I just don't get it.

Hunter and I

I am keeping my ear trained on the door, listening for squeals, yells or barks. The kids are outside on "land mine" patrol and Koda is with them. Yesterday Koda took Boo's glove...he is a sneaky little booger.

I spent the entire afternoon with Hunter today, something that we haven't done since before his birthday, before what he likes to call "the conversation". I won't go into what that was, just that words were said by a 13 year old that made a 30 year old cry.

Not fun.

We have been working our way back to what we had before it all started, before that night, and it has been a road to take. We talked, A LOT and realized where the feelings were coming from, where the hurtful things stemmed from. It was not an easy talk, but one that we are both so grateful to have had.

My relationship with Hunter is so special, but so fragile at the same time. We have to work to stay on level ground at times, and other times it is so simple and easy.

Today is a prime example:

H: What does Boo need cleats for?
M: For softball, remember?
H: Oh...why can't I?
M: You can't ask me that...you know who to talk too...
H: Yeah...it just isn't fair.

My heart broke, but being honest is hard and the right thing to do. Yes, he wishes he could do all that Boo has had the chance to do, but it isn't something that I can fix for him, not even Hubby can. He needs to push, prod and fight for it. It stinks.

I know that 13 is an age that REALLY stinks (man the eye rolling alone...), and one that is really going to test what we have for our relationship. I know that the next 5 years are going to be HARD, harder than anything I have ever done with him before, with almost anything I have done before.

BUT, with that said...I can't wait to see the young man he has already started turning into. He is so smart, so energized by the freedoms he has learned this year. He is finding out who he wants to be, how he wants his life to go. He is starting to grow more before my eyes than ever before.

It is going to be a great year.

Play Ball

I don't know where even to start, there is just so much right now.

I had another parents meeting for the Softball Association last week...and got a 12 page packet of information that I need to read through before Boo's tryouts next month. 12 Pages! Lots of info...

The good thing is that tryouts for Boo's age are like practice. They are so young that they are more focused on the wanting to learn. Boo is 8...another girl is 7, tiny little things. So tiny that no matter what I will have to take in her uniform and sliding shorts.

I called Ma last night to tell her about the meeting and that Boo will be doing two or three tournaments, her reaction was fabulous "She is 8"...Yes Ma...

Boo is excited to play her first year of ball. I am excited to see if this is sport she will love, like or not. I played growing up and besides dance class it was my favorite thing.

Spending days on the field, throwing into a tarp in the basement, breaking all the garage windows out as I practiced a new pitch...good times (my brother broke a few of the windows with a hockey puck too, so it wasn't just me).

Softball was also the place where I met some people that I am still friends with today. My catcher for many years and I still e-mail via facebook, and a fellow pitcher and I still keep in touch too.

Softball is a demanding sport. It requires a commitment that in-house sports do not. Yes, it can seem a lot. Yes, she will have practice 2-3 times a week, games once a week and tournaments, but Softball is a very VERY team driven sport.

Not only are the girls at Boo's age learning the game, but they are learning the skills that will build that sportsmanship skills, their leadership skill and team building skill. These are all things that make a huge difference in their lives ahead.

I can' wait for the season to start.