Die Hard

Those Y-chromosomes, they are insane.  While I was at work, and Reagan was at grandma and grandpa's, they went skiing/snowboarding. Night skiing.  In -11 degree weather.  Crystal clear starlit night, I'm sure it was gorgeous.  But FRIGID.  Really frigid.  So frigid that Colby's binding actually snapped off.  Yeah.  That's really cold.   And what's amazing is that the ski hill was reportedly packed.  Yoopers.  They're all insane.

Blog Books

Playing a bit of catch-up with the blog books.  Got the boys' blog from 2012 and 2013 done... now on to the family blog and Reagan!

Life With Boys 2012 by Monica Aho | Make Your Own Book

Untitled by | Make Your Own Book

Cold, Hard, Winter

We are doing hard time, this winter.  The boys have been to school only 4 of the past 8 school days, due to cancellations.  Reagan has missed the past 8 days of school because of cancellations and a bout of the chicken pox.  The dog has had the stomach flu, averaging about 15 pukes a day for the past several days.  Rob is maxed out and can no longer find a place to put all the snow that he has plowed.   Life is fun here. What can I say. 

 It's just cold.  DANG cold.  Siberia-level cold.  Lake Superior freezing cold.   Today it was 17 degrees, and we spent over an hour outside soaking up the "warmth", because it felt just SO WARM compared to the sub-zero temps we've had most of this winter.  DOUBLE DIGITS!  Woo hoo!!!  So spoiled.  Whenever our nostrils don't freeze shut the moment we step outside, we consider it a good day.

Surprisingly, I have yet to complain about the cold on this blog.  Maybe it's because I haven't gotten my car stuck yet (well, except yesterday in the driveway.  It took a total of about 3 hours and the assistance of two different trucks pulling simultaneously to drag it out of the snow bank).   Maybe it's because life STOPS when it's frigid cold - no school, no extracurricular activities - and I'm a homebody.  Maybe it's because I secretly feel like a superhero for surviving this winter.  I mean, we are tough.  Tough, I tell you.  And the fact that I can say 2013 had exactly 5 months without snow should make anyone who doesn't live here pity us.  Officially, we've had 226.50" of snow so far this winter, and it's currently snowing as I type this.  There's a heck of a lot of winter left, my friends.  We Yoopers are made of steel.  Or ice.

We have attempted to enjoy the winter this year, rather than shake our fists at it.  It's the end of January... we still have a few more months of this to endure, so we'll see if our rare positive attitude continues.    I'm dreaming about summer, yes.  But in January, we've come to expect cold and snow.  It's just the way things are 'round here.  Come May, if the white stuff decides to hang around like it did last year, I have a feeling our tune will be different. 

The Great Freeze

Winter. Hard.  ALOT.  This year has been frigid, frigid, snowy, and frigid.  Here's a few fun facts about the polar vortex of 2014.  We're in the midst of yet another snowday caused by below-zero temps and horrific wind chills.  Global Warming is a farce.  We're in another ice age.

Snowboarding Through the Trees

I thought Mom said, very specifically, for them NOT to ski black diamond runs through the trees.  What with the one-kidney and risk of head injury and all.   No one ever listens to me.

More Skiing - Little Miss is Improving!

 

 

 

 

My Five Minutes....

An SOS for picky eaters

Portage program offers help for parents of the finicky

January 10, 2014

By GARRETT NEESE - DMG writer (gneese@mininggazette.com) , The Daily Mining Gazette

 

 

HOUGHTON - It's a problem many parents face: how to feed a picky eater.
Some local parents got help on that topic Thursday night at an event as part of the Portage Health Rehab Lecture Series.
Portage Rehab staffers Monica Aho, a physical therapist and pediatric certified specialist, and Elizabeth Martin, a speech language pathologist, spoke Thursday at Portage's University Center clinic in Houghton.
Aho and Martin use the SOS (sequential, oral, sensory) approach. Taking as its centerpiece the idea that "the child is always right," it looks to ways to motivate the child with the food itself.
"It's a very positive approach," Aho said.
In some cases, children might not want to eat because of pain or immature swallowing skills, such as foods frequently leaking out of the sides of the child's mouth or biting cups and utensils instead of using lips.
To remedy those, parents are advised to model good swallowing form, or give children play activities such as whistles, bubbles or chewing toys. Parents should also look for foods the children are successful with, then build up from there.
Sometimes there can be a "sensory processing problem," in which children are turned off by some aspect of the food. While adults may have life experience to view spaghetti as pleasurable, the sight and texture may remind children of "a plate of worms."
To address this, Aho and Martin suggest an incremental approach, based on getting the child to first tolerate the food, then interact, smell, touch, taste and finally eat and consume.
Martin showed videos of some of the ways she acclimates children to unfamiliar foods. For one child who had an aversion to Froot Loops, the trick was sticking it above his lip, from where he had to get off into his mouth with his tongue. He was then asked if he could chew it for 30 seconds.
"Don't get discouraged if you go home and try this and get nothing," Martin said. "Try it for two weeks. Try it for a month."
Some children may have learned behavioral feeding problems.
While children might make faces when eating a food, it takes them about 10 times eating it to form a solid opinion. At home, people can help their child become enthusiastic through family-style meals, in which the food is placed in clear containers and then shipped around the table.
That way, the children can absorb the expectation of people taking the food, and also get cues on how much to take.
The table should also include a "learning plate," in the middle where kids can interact with food, as well as a "spitting bowl," where children can spit out food if they don't want to swallow it.
Routines and set meal times are important. The look of the table should also also be neutral, so that the food is the most immediately interesting thing there.
Parents should also model good feelings about the food, Aho said. Instead of scolding the child, "Why won't you eat carrots?", they should make positive statements like "You can eat carrots."
Jody Hammerstrom of Liminga came for tips on getting her 7-year-old son to try new foods. She said she'd definitely be trying some of the things she'd learned.
"I think the learning plate and the spitting bowl, and the keeping the mealtime structured and consistent," she said.

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New Year's Day

Our New Year's Day was spent making gingerbread houses and a competing in a "Clue" marathon.  Pretty darn good way to start 2014.

 

New Year's Eve

We went to a New Year's Eve party at friends' house this year, and had a FABULOUS time!  We ate entirely too much, and just may have found a new talent, playing the game "Taboo".  Not a single child fell asleep before OR after midnight.  Not a-one. 

Hitting The Slopes

Grandpa and Grandma Aho got us 1/2 a Family Season Pass to the local ski hill.  The boys and Mama got snowboard/ski gear for Christmas.  Reagan is taking ski lessons.  We are outfitted and ready to hit the slopes!!  WOO HOO!!!!