Busy

My weekend was pretty normal. I finally got to go to church on Sunday while Darren stayed home and watched Cassidy. I started to feel a little guilty about not being able to go as much as I would like too. Darren asked if he had to watch Cassidy every Sunday because in the summer he is going to be too busy riding motorcycle to watch her for 2 hours. Well, he didn't say it in those exact words, but he said that I shouldn't expect him to watch her every Sunday because he plans on doing a lot of motorcycle riding this summer. Sunday afternoon we met Darren's parents in Rugby and we ate at The Pizza Hut. I can't believe The Pizza Hut doesn't have a childs menu...they do, but it's only spaghetti and personal sized pizza. You think they would have something for toddlers. Oh well, we made due with a personal cheese pizza that she didn't mind, we brought over half of it home and I just gave her a good snack before bed. Mike has a job interview in Virginia Beach tomorrow at 11:03, which would be 10:30 here. I hope he gets the job. My mom told me that she spoke to Jason at work the other day and that he and Rainy are going to name their little girl Aries Pearl. I think it's really cool that she is giving the baby her grandma's name. I wanted to do that for Cassidy but Violette really didn't fit too well with the rest of her name. Tomorrow I don't have any FedEx orders to do at work so I will just be doing simple Sample Kit stuff. I was thinking about trying to make a dr appointment too. I took the medicine for the allergy outbreak that I got, I am all out of medicine but I still have the itchiness and the red bumps, I have also started to feel more sick now too then I have been and I have a charlie horse type cramp in my calf now too that doesn't want to go away and I am starting to think that they are all related...either that or maybe I am just dehydrated or something. I will let everyone know how the dr appointment goes.

Blogthings.com

Amadon and Josie came out and Amadon was able to fix and rewire all of my parents crap that is hooked up to the TV. My mom can even record with her VCR now too!! We just need to get a couple of cables tomorrow when Darren and I run to DL and everything will be good. I am so glad that he was able to fix it. We ate before Amadon started and we actually got to hang out for a bit and talk which is something that we hardly get to do now, it was really great. The kids even played together really well too but you could tell when it was getting too late for both of them because they were both getting ornery and crabby. Cassidy fell asleep in the car coming home and I haven't heard a sound out of her nursery. I still didn't call Mike and I have been meaning to. I will probably call tomorrow around noon because then it will be 1:00 in Virginia Beach. I was reading Aprils blog tonight and it was so damn funny I just couldn't help myself and I had to get my names too. I posted my results so you will all have to take a look.

My Sex Name Is..

It's Not Sex. It's ... : Knocking Boots

Get your own Sex Name

My Porn Star Name Is...

Your Porn Star Name is: Sandra Spunk

Get your own Porn Star Name

My Boobies Names Are...

Your Boobies' Names Are: Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding

Get your own Boobie Names

What Rejected Crayon Am I

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

Hey, at least I am not "Klan White", right April.

All In A Day

My mom spoke to my brother today and he is in Virginia Beach already. I guess that his trip went well. I am going to try and call him tomorrow to see how things are. I hope he enjoys himself. After work, a bunch of us employees went to the bar because it was a co-workers birthday. A couple of the women from the plant gave him this awesome apron (he makes the dough at the plant) that I can't even begin to explain on my post. I haven't been feeling well lately. I have a headache, I get dizzy and I get this nauseated feeling and everything I eat tastes like junk. And Before anyone says anything...no I am not pregnant. I have got this funny rash that has developed too and I wonder if they are all related. I went to the Dr last week and they put me on a 6 day allergy medicine and want me to write down what I come in contact with then they are going to cross referrence it. I have noticed that I get it when I use the latex gloves at work and I get it extremely bad when I wash my hands at my mom's house when I use this soap from Bath & Body Works. At first I thought it was just the gloves but since I break out worse from the soap I have no clue what it is. I break out from other things too here at my home I jsut hope it's not too serious. Tomorrow Amadon and Josie should be coming out to my mom's. I still don't know when they are going to be there so hopefully I can get there before them. I think we are going to keep dinner fairly easy too and just have BBQ's. The car the Cassie and I use is starting to fall apart. It doesn't like to go faster than 25 when you get it on the highway so you have to punch the gas, when you give it gas it does this lung type thing and today when it did it after work it made this nasty clunk sound when it chugged. I hope I don't loose the transmittion on the road some morning going to work.

Missing My Bro

Mike called after I left for work and Darren answered the phone. He made it though Chicago in only an hour and a half (which I heard is really good time) and he is hoping to be in Pittsburg sometime tomorrow. By Friday he should be in Virginia Beach. It's weird, but I already miss him. On friday when we go to Devils Lake to deposit our checks in the bank it will feel funny not to have him with us because I am so used to him being around. I will have to try and call him Friday evening to see how things are going. On tuesday at work, I had some free time and I didn't want to leave early so I asked the day supervisor if I could help them with anything and she told me to run into the packing room and help there. What I didn't know is that I was going to replace the only person in the room who knew how to run the machine while he went on break. So the guy gave one of the other employees a crash course on how to run the machine. Needless to say it was a circus while he was gone and when he got back he gave the day super a piece of his mind for sending people who didn't know how to run the machines to help him. Tomorrow there isn't any FedEx so I'm not sure how I am going to make it until 4 but I will find something. I just heard today that Martha Stewart only has a week and a half left in jail and the Vikings finally traded Moss.

Amadon and Josie, You Are Cordially Invited...

I can never get a hold of Amadon, when I try to he is always busy, or sleeping, or doing something that is occupying is time so I thought this would be the fastest most convenient way for me to get a hold of Amadon and Josie. My mom is coridally inviting Amadon and Josie out to her house this Friday, the 25th. Dinner will be served whenever they arrive and get hungry. But this is double-sided....Jim is having a problem with his TV, VCR, DVD player, Receiver/surround sound and if Amadon can get everything connected and if everything works correctly without having to use 3 or more remotes, they will pay Amadon. So, remember, this weekend is food/entertainment/and money if you choose to accept it.

New Found Freedom

Cassie has started to feed herself with a spoon and fork...and you have no idea how much freedom that gives me. Now, while she eats, I can cook or clean or I can also eat my food without it getting cold. It's wonderful and I am soooooo happy that she is feeding herself. If you even think about trying to help her she gets mad and will fuss. It's faster to let her do it herself. So my brother is leaving tomorrow around 10 or 11 am for Minneapolis, there he will spend the night with our sister and he will take off in the morning for Virginia Beach. I printed out some pictures and gave them to him before I came home tonight and he really appreciated them. I never thought I would say this, but I am really going to miss him a lot. He worked with Darren, he was with us damn near every weekend we went into town, he helped us when we needed the extra person...or maybe it is a good thing he's going. It's hard to handle knowing that I may not see him again for a very long time if he likes it down there and finds a good job. Also, our Easter plans have changed. Now not going because of my dad has turned into the family not going at all. Since the Devils Lake hospital was took over by Altru, Altru doesn't see Good Friday as a holiday and they still work it. So, if they do have scheduled surgeries for that day my mom will have to work and she doesn't want to go to Minneapolis if she doesn't have a long weekend. I see her point because it isn't any fun to rush there and then rush right back home again so it's hard to tell what's going on for Easter. I am pretty sure that I am just going to spend it with Cassie and Darren though. I found some cute plastic eggs at Wal-Mart that I will use to put baby friendly candy in and I will have to find a basket but it will be fun.

The View

So Mike is leaving for Virginia Beach on Monday and he decided to take Darren and I out to eat before he took off. He wanted to go somewhere fancy since it was also part of a birthday gift from him to me. We were going to go out to the casino anyway to play some slots so Mike decided to eat at The View since none of us had eaten there. Mike had Cajun Scallops while Darren and I both had the St. Louis BBQ baby pork ribs. The meal was really good. Darren and I decided to spring for dessert since it looked good. Mikes tab had to have been close to $50 because for just 3 cups of coffee, 2 pies, and 1 creme brulette cost me $20. But it was worth it and we had a lot of fun doing it. None of us won anything at the casino though. Today I am just printing out some pictures because I purchased some cool frames at Wal-Mart and I am going to send them with Mike so he will have pictures of the family.

So I took Cassie over to my mom's so I could work this evening. When I got done with work and went to pick her up, my mom and dad were watching TV. Cassie was running back and forth through the living room while making a loud humming sound and you could tell she was just doing it for fun. Cassie doesn't like her snowsuit much anymore and she hollers when you try and put her in it. So my dad started watching "Smokey and the Bandit" and Cassie started to crab when I was putting her boots on. My dad told me to wait until a commercial came on because he was watching the show. It was late, I had be up at 7am in the morning, I had a bedroom to clean, dishes to wash, toys to put away when I got home and I didn't want to wait so I thought about holding on because the show had been running for a while and I knew a commercial was coming up shortly. Then, right before it went to commercial, my dad switched the channel to American Idol that just came back from commerical. I thought "piss on this" and I started putting her boots on anyway because she would fuss for 3 minutes and we would be done. My dad got pissed and hollered at me, said "Can't you wait a God damn five minutes so I can watch my show!" I told him it was nine, I was tired and I had to get home but it wasn't a good enough excuse, he just said "But you can wait five fricken minutes so I can hear what's going on". I got mad at him and I just grabbed Cassie of the couch, picked up her diaper bag, mom gave me her blanket and I just walked out without saying anything and I put her boots on when I got to the car. I am sooooo fustrated with him. He has no patients for the littlest of things and it just seems that since I had Cassie we have just been in the way. Nothing we can do makes him happy and whatever Cassie does, doesn't matter what it is, if she does it longer than 3.5 seconds he gets upset with her. So needless to say, my dishes aren't going to be washed tonight, the toys will be pushed to clear a path through the living room, and I just might finish the bedroom if I think it's even worth it.

A Day In The life

I went to work today feeling pretty good. I got my FedEx orders together pretty quickly and I was just waiting for the secretary to make my shipping labels so I started on some Sample Kit stuff that goes out on the DOT Foods truck on Tuesdays. While I was doing that, I spilled some of this brown pasta sauce down the front of my white smock so I had to run and change that, I got back to work and then the secretary called and my labels were done. I put the sauce on hold and I went and got my labels to put them on the boxes, I ran back to the shipping docks to start labeling and the FedEx was pulling up to the door....HE WAS TWO HOURS EARLY! So the shipping/recieveing clerk helped me get the boxes labeled quickly and we got them done in no time. I went and finished my sauce and then I had to go and let the Day Shift supervisor know that I also got her FedEx order ready for Wednesday. I found her and I was pointing out things on the order that I had completed and I was just making sure she understood it. Before I went to see the Day Super, I had an itchy nose so I rubbed it really fast and ran up to her, and it was only when I was walking away after I had spoken to her that I noticed and nice big fat green booger on top of my finger nail....eeww! I hope she didn't notice (yeah, not a chance).

Washin' Cloths

Well, I am getting ready to head over to my mom's house and wash cloths. This is a Sunday ritual that I do every week because the well water is so crappy out here that I can't wash a load of white cloths without the cloths turning orange because of the rust. We don't drink the water either, we just wash dishes and take showers and that's about it. In September right before I had Cassidy Holbecks came out here to clean the well and while they were cleaning it, the well collapsed and we didn't have water for the rest of the day. Holbecks came back out the next morning and they were here until 5 in the evening and fortunately they got our water running, However, Les Johnson said that we only had about 2 more years on the well and we won't be able to use it at all. We have rural water coming and Darren and I are on the list. We were supposed to get it last fall but there were still some fields that had crop yet and the farmers didn't want them digging the trenches until there fields were harvested because they wouldn't be compensated for lost crop. Hopefully by mid-summer or fall of this year we will have our water and I won't have to drag our dirty laundry around to get it washed.

Nothing But More Running

Darren and I ran to DL again today while my mom came over to watch Cassidy. We ran to Wal-Mart so I could get some new bras and underwear and Darren had to get some Coke. After that we ran to the bread store and picked up a bunch of stuff there. Then we went to Mac's because we have a friend that works there and said that if we know where to find a Honda Rebel to give her a call because she wants one but she wasn't working so we decided to go to The Ranch to eat. We were the first one's at The Ranch and not after we had been there 5 minutes some people came in and said they were part of the birthday party of 17 people...and where do you think they put them...an entirely empty resturant and they set them all right next to us. We wanted to visit some people today while we were in town but we still had some things to do after dinner so we didn't get to visiting...sorry everyone. We left our house at 1:30 and we didn't get back home until damn near 7:30. Darren and I got about an hour to play with Cassidy before she was ready for bed and now we are just watching "It Take's A Thief" on TV. It's a show that takes a faimly and an ex-burglar and the family watch the ex-burglar rip through the house and they time it to see just how fast a robbery can take place. Then after the robbery, the family goes through the house and the people of the show help them put things back together and show them how to make their home safer and then the ex-burglar comes back and tries to break in all over again. It's pretty cool to watch. I didn't know that a burglar can take every expensive thing out of your house, even the bank account information, tax files, and your car, in less than 10 minutes. It's pretty cool, you can catch the show the on the Discovery Channel.

Ran Our Asses Off Today

So I just got done writing a short letter to put in the Sympathy card that Darren and I are sending to Jim Roma's wife and son. I thought that the least we could do is send some money to them as a memorial since Jim had been coming to our house every other Wednesday for three years. I just hope that the family doesn't think we are freaks for doing it. Today was an alright day. We went to DL to put some money in the bank, I stopped at Heusgins (sp) Jewlers to have them fix my watch, ran to Wired Cellular to get a new phone, headed to Wal-mart, and then came home. We are returning to DL tomorrow to finish grocery shopping and then Darren and I are going to do something to celebrate Valentines since we are going to be busy on Sunday and then Monday evening Darren works. With everyone around us having babies it makes me want to have another one really bad. I forgot already how little Cassidy used to be and how I miss the "infant" stage. But, since everyone is having a baby, maybe it's a good thing that Darren doesn't want anymore children because I would like to get a lot of help and attention if I was pregnant and everyone is already focused on everyone else having a baby....did that last line make any sense?!?! Darren is gone again tonight. He is in Leeds a a friends house and when I spoke to him an hour and a half ago he said that he was going to be home in about 45 mins. It doesn't bother me though because there isn't anything going on around the house either and I am heading to bed after this post.

This it little big Gunnar Larson 

Congrats To My Neighbors!

Well, Breanne and Gannon Larson finally had their baby. On 2/09/05 they became parents of their second son Gunnar Larson. I'm not hip on the name but it works for the family. He was born at TCMC in Cando, ND with Dr Petty. I can't believe it, but Gunner was an amazing 10 lbs 4 1/4 oz and 23 1/2 in lenght.

Wow, Our Schwan Representative Died.

So I got to work this morning at 8 am and two of the women were talking about a Schwan rep who was making deliveries in Selles ND and his truck was hit by a train and he died. I starting telling the women how that's pretty shitty for the dudes family and told them that I like our driver, Jim Roma from Harvey and one of the women said "that's who died". I was in total shock and disbelief. He was a short guy, about my height, and pudgy. He had black hair and bright blue eyes that really stood out because of his hair. He was a happy guy and he was always friendly and if he had the time he would stay and chat for a bit. He was jealous because our family has a cabin on Lake Upsilon and he was there once and wanted to get property there in the future. He always made comments to me when I was pregnant and the week I was in the hospital I came to the house and figured I had the baby since nobody answered the door. He knew where the key was to get into the house, he knew where to find the note with the list of stuff and he always put the stuff neatly into our freezer and locked the door when he left. When the new rep comes to the house I will always think of Jim and it won't be the same. I really feel bad for his family. His wife has Crohn's Disease and they had a 14 yr old boy.

I had a pretty basic day. I got to play with Cassidy all day since I didn't go to work and I really enjoyed it. Before Darren left, he let the dog run loose in the yard and the dog got the horses all excited. The horses came down here to the house and they were bucking, kicking, and running with their tails in the air and the dog ran circles in the yard. When the dog was doing using his energy I had Darren bring him in the house so Cassidy could pet him bit. She wasn't too sure of the dog right away and she didn't like it when the dog faced her. Everytime the dog turned to look at her, she backed away. I was really cute. Rainy called to wish me a happy birthday. That was really cool to get a call from her. I hardly talk to her anymore so I enjoyed the chat we had. She's shooting darts tonight at the Churchs Ferry bar and I was going to meet her there but I couldn't find a babysitter. That really bummed me out because I don't often get the chance to get out too much anymore. Well, I am off to pack Cassidy's diaper bag and get my lunch ready for tomorrow. I am going to head to bed because I have to work at 8 am...oh, and Josie, about the cloths...I just might hold on to them. Hope it doesn't bother you, sorry.

BABY!!!

I can't wait for Josie and Amadon to have their baby. They are going to make great parents. I was going to offer Josie some books, they are "What To Expect When You Are Expecting" which is a great book and I read it everyday for a month because it tells you what's going on each week of your pregnancy and I also have "Book For The New Breastfeeding Mother" this book helped me out a lot when I was in the hospital because Cando doesn't have a lactation consultant like Devils Lake. Thankfully my mom works with the lactation consultant sometime and they knew eachother pretty well and she called me when I was in the hospital to help me out and thank God that she did otherwise I WOULD HAVE given up on breastfeeding. But now that I have read Josie's blog she already bought the first book. But the second one is still avalible if she wants to give it a shot. There are a lot of benefits to breastfeeding and it's really good for the baby if the family has allergies and asthma but I hate it when people are pushy about things so it's Josie's choice. I just want her to know that I am here for help and advice if she wants to give it a shot. If they have a girl, I have a lot of baby cloths that I can give them since Darren and I will not be having anymore children. I even have bottles, newborn toys, blankets, cloth diapers tha work awesome for burp rags...I have a bunch of stuff but I also know the pride a new mother goes through when they buy new stuff. The new stuff you buy is gold compared to stuff given to you....I don't know for Karissa, but that's how it was for me.

Yesterday, my birthday, was pretty good. A co-worker gave me a card and these two adorable figurines. They are a little cowgirl and a cowboy. They are going to fit perfectly in my living room with all my horsey/western stuff. I did go to my parents house. My mom gave me $50, chocolate truffels, and she paid our land taxes, which I am glad that she did because I forgot about them!! My dad (suprise, suprise) bought me flowers, two bags of Poore Brothers chips, and a really nice zipper-up hooded long sleeved shirt. Wow, it kinda makes it really hard to be mad at him now. Then we had indian tacos at the resturant and then I stayed at their house to watch American Idol since I don't get Fox at my house. Cassidy got up really early this morning, she was up at 8 am and usually she isn't up until 9 or 9:30. Before breakfast, Cassidy messed her pants and she really stunk. I went to pick her up and, when I did, my arm suddenly got all wet!! She had poop...I'm not kiddin...all the way up her back to her neck and it also ran down through her pajamas to her feet!!! It was awful to clean up and it took me almost 15 minutes to clean everything. When I was done I even had to change the cover on the changing table. Oh well, that's part of parenting, what can you do about it. I shit too. I am kinda used to it because she did it a lot when she was an infant. I am really excited about Amadon and Josie's baby. Boy, won't this just piss Rainy off!

Rethought Easter Plans

Even though I think of how fun it will be to spend Easter with Cassidy at my sisters place in Minneapolis, I have pretty much talked myself out of going. If my dad doesn't have the patience with Cassidy for three hours, there is no way he will have the patience for a 7 hour car ride...especially if Cassidy gets crabby and decides to cry half the way there. I really want to go, and I really REALLY want to take her to the Under Water World at the Mall Of America but I just know it's not going to be a fun trip. Besides, I want to spend holidays together as a family and if Darren isn't coming then we aren't spending the holiday as I want to. I think spending the time home, just the three of us, will be just as fun as anyway. Sorry Lynnette. I know you were looking forward to showing off Cassidy at church. Maybe next time.

My Birthday is Tomorrow

My birthday is tomorrow. Yippy! I can't wait! I am going to be 26 years young. I don't have anything planned because Darren works nights and I work days. My mom said that she has a gift for me and I can pick it up after work tomorrow. I to want to go and get it but at the same time I don't because I don't know if my dad will be there or not. They are also having indian tacos at the resturant in town and my mom wanted me to call the resturant tomorrow and save 3 of them and she would buy dinner. But if she is buying three, more than likely my dad is coming along too. Oh well, I will make it a fast trip, I will grab and check out the gift when he's not there and then I will only have to see him when we are eating. Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, but I'm not going out of my way to spend time with him until he apologizes for what he said to me and how he acted Sunday night.

My Super Bowl Evening

Well, I thought going over to my parents for the Super Bowl would kinda be fun but I couldn't have been more wrong. My dad doesn't have any patience for children and when we were growing up he wasn't really around the house much to help my mom raise us. To start things off, Cassidy likes to be bounced on your feet when you are sitting in a chair. Cassidy tried to go over to my dad and sit on his feet to be bounced many times. My dad moved his chair around but Cassidy was determined, my dad got annoyed and picked her up quickly and kinda tossed her over to my mom. Cassidy landed on her feet and she laughed about it so I didn't say anying even though it made me really mad that he handled her like that. Then a little later Cassidy was playing on the kitchen floor and stuck her finger in the air vent and got it stuck. I thought it was funny and my mom helped Cassidy get her finger out. My dad shook his head, rolled his eyes and the annoyance was turning to anger so I didn't say anything. After the air vent, she was pushing this old little metal bus that used to be my brothers around the living room. My mom and dad have a DVD player on the floor in front of the TV and she went over there and was going to roll the bus on top of the player. My dad hollered at me to watch her as I went across the living room to fetch her. Cassidy also likes to play on the DVD player too and shortly after I fetched her and the bus she was on her way back over there and climb on it. I ran to get her as I could see the anger get higher in my dad's face. Then, not even a second after I put her down and turned around she was back over there and my dad literally jumped off his chair, grabbed her hard, and pull her to him. You could tell by the sound of his voice that he was just pissed. I went up next to him and he was trying to act like he wasn't mad by trying to tickle her but the sound in his voice was still here. I told him "dad, she's just little" and his exact words to me were "don't dad me. she's little but her mother is older." Now since Cassidy has been born I have always questioned my ability to be a mom. I don't feel like a good mother and I always question my decisions on what to do about things concerning Cassidy. She's happy and growing well so I know that my decisions have been well made, I just never feel like they are. There are many days when I think Cassidy may be better off with my mom. What my dad said just killed me. It destroyed every piece of confidence that I had thinking that I could hopefully be half the mother my mom is. I was on the verge of crying, I could feel my eyes as the tears built up but I was too embarrassed to let myself do it in front of my family. He has gotten mad before when she's been over there, but I have never seen him do that to her and I think that is what hurt me most. I wouldn't even let Darren handle her like that. Very soon after that I went outside and started the car so Cassidy and I could leave, I didn't care to be there anymore after that. I felt like we were in the way and definately not wanted there. My mom took Cassidy to put her in her jamas and a clean diaper. When I came in from starting the car dad asked if I was staying to watch the game and I told him no. My dad said that I should and least stay and watch the rest of the game. He had to been joking because after what he said and how he acted, how could he expect me to stay and enjoy the game??? Cassidy would just do something else to piss him off and I would be running around after her not even watching the game. It was easier to just come home and put her to bed. I love my family, especially my mom and dad. They have given to me more than any child can expect to receive from their parents and they are always there for me but I don't want to take her over there anymore when she upsets him so much. A grandparent should want to see their grandchild, not to make the parent feel like the grandchild is just a burden to them and that's exactly how I feel when it comes to Cassidy and my dad. She's always in his way, doing something she shouldn't, talking/hollering/crying too loud, running off with something she shouldn't and more than once he has said that he shouldn't change things or habits around the house just to fit Cassidy and he has also stated that he's had to make "several" adjustments because of her and he shouldn't have to do that in his own home. I think he's right, he shouldn't have to make adjustments just because of Cassidy and it hurts me too much anymore to want to take her over there anymore when he's home. I just end up feeling like less of a mom because, again, Cassidy did something wrong.

Today

Darren's mom and dad came to visit today. It was great to see them since we don't see them a lot. They live in Willow City, ND which is really close to Bottineau. With everyones work schedule, it can be difficult to find time to see each other. When they came down today, they brought Cassidy's Christmas present from her Great Grandma Rose. Rose gave Cassidy one of those new big soft My Little Ponies. It's really cute. They were only here for about an hour and a half and then they had to go back home. Hopefully we will see them again soon. After they left Darren went to DL to pick up a motorcycle. A friend of his is moving to TX and Darren has been helping him out a lot and the guy didn't want to take the motorcyle with him so he gave it to Darren for all the help. If I remember correctly, it's a 250 Honda Rebel...and that's all I know about it. When Darren left for town I went over to my parents to watch the Super Bowl.

Just one more hug before letting Grandma go. 

Cassidy giving Grandma Hanson a hug goodbye 

Cassidy lounging with Scrappy 

Cassidy with Grandma and Grandpa Hanson 

All is Good For The Most Part

On Saturday I went to wash cloths at my moms, but since Cassie was sick, we exhausted her entire supply of onesies and jamas and I figured since I had to wash her cloths I could wash our cloths since it was just one day sooner anyway. Cassie is feeling like herself again. She is eating good, playing, and hollering really loud. Unfortunatley I got the flu yesterday, I threw up once and then was fine all day, and now today Darren is sick. Hopefully Darren will be fine tomorrow. Well, Cassidy is ready for a nap and Darren's parents are going to be here at 2:30 to visit so I need to clean my house and I HAVE to wash the dishses.

This One's For Karissa

Cassidy has never been sick before, this was our first introduction to a baby being ill. I wasn't scared because I knew it would stop, I just didn't know when. I was very heart sick though because I knew that there wasn't anything that I could possibly do that would make her feel any better other than just be with her when she did get sick. I did make a phone call to the DL hospital ER because my mom was working and she said that if Cassidy was still throwing up in the morning, there is a suppository that is given to make them stop and in my mind, there was no way I was giving her one of those.

Cassidy Is Feeling Better

Around midnight Cassidy finally stopped throwing up and I felt comfortable enough to lay her down in her crib since she was sleeping really well. Cassidy was up at 3:30 so I gave her a cup of water and she drank the whole think within a minute and then settled down and went back to sleep. I know that the medical advice it to starting giving water by the teaspoon when they stop throwing up, but she was going on 5 hours not being sick so I figured we were safe. Cassidy slept until 11 am this morning and I just gave her a bowl of dry cereal, I don't want to risk the milk souring in her stomach and making her sick again. I am just going to give her juice, water, toast, and crackers until supper time, if by supper time she hasn't thrown up I will give her milk and something nice to eat. Right now she is active. She is talking, playing with toys, and walking around. She's not as active as she normally is, but hey, it's a great start from where we were last night.

Cassidy Has The Flu

My daycare provider called me Thursday right before I was going to get Cassidy. There were a couple of kids that started to throw up and Cassidy was still taking a nap and the lady wanted me to get Cassidy so that she wouldn't get sick. Problem is, when they are throwing up the kids already have it and have exposed the other kids to it for who knows how long. Tonight when I was trying to give Cassidy her snack before bed she started to vomit. I thought it was just going to be one of those "one time" spit-ups and I put her in the bathtub for her nightly dip. When we got done I put her on the changing table to put on her lotion, onesie, and pajamas and then she threw up again. I caught most of it in her towel and there was only a little bit on herself so I was able to wipe it with a diaper wipe. Just for an extra measure I put Cassidy in a big bib that we got from Darren's grandma and it wasn't long before she did it again this time she filled her diaper too. The longest she has gone with out hurling has been a half hour so I am going to stay up with her in the living room and we are going to lounge in the lazyboy recliner. I feel really bad because there isn't anything that we can give her to make her feel better and what makes me mad is that she has had all her flu shots. Darren has her now while I grab a last snack and something to drink, she has thrown up three times since I gave her to him 15 minutes ago. I am hoping around midnight or one she will be done throwing up. This is one thing I hate about daycare, they will always bring some sickness home with them. I better run. I need to get back to Cassidy and Darren has to change his shirt.

This is little Michael Schmidt Jr. 

Congrats To My Second Cousin

I have a second cousin, most of you know her. She isn't all that popular and her first child was born with defects at birth but for some reason no hospital can find the medical cause of why she's the way she is. When she told the family that she was pregnant again, everyone was afraid that this baby would be born the same way, well he wasn't. Little Michael Schmidt was born on 1/29/05 at Towner County Medical Center in Cando and he weighted 7 lbs and 3 oz and from the pic there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with him at all! Congratulations go out to Tiffany and her husband.

Boy Do I Feel Shitty

Darren and I went and got our taxes done, and $54 dollars later we found out we were getting a lot more back than what we expected which made us feel good....for about a half hour. On the way home from Rugby Cassidy through a fit and cried all the way home and Darren has a hard time yet when Cassidy gets that way. To make a long story short when we got home there was a lot of yelling between us and plenty of words that were said out of anger that really hurt our feelings. I think they mostly stemmed from a tight buget, Darren's sore back, the house, our jobs, and everything else inbetween that you can think of. We both cried for a little while and then Darren left for work. My mom came to my house to watch Cassidy tonight and when she was hear I filled her in on what was going on. She didn't have much to say about the subject but she listened that was a lot of what I needed. When I got to work about an hour later, Darren apologized to me and I did too. We both hate it when things get that bad and hope we can prevent it in the future, we just have to work on it a little more. I just hope that there are changes that we can make that will make things easier on each of us.

No More Bottle

Being a nursing mommy, I had to pump and store breast milk to be used in a bottle when she was looked after by other people when I was gone (mostly my mother). Because there was that bottle use, I let Cassidy use her bottle a lot longer than she should have. I am happy to say now that I finally have her totally off the bottle....YEAH! NO MORE BOTTLES!!! and people out there without babies don't know what kind of new freedom that actually is. The normal guide lines is that a baby should be off the bottle by the time that they are 1 and the WIC ladies kind of gave me a lot of crap about it because I didn't wean Cassidy from breast straight to a cup...well how could I when other people had to give her bottles? But I am very proud when people ask me about my nursing experiance because Cassidy got nothing but breast milk until the time she was 1 and could take cow milk so we never had to spend the money for formula and that makes me very proud...even if I didn't use a cup right away.

A Redneck Family or Are We Just Bored?!?

Okay, this is how redneck my family is and just because of this I just have to share the story: When I went to my parents house after work my dad was laughing and he just had to tell me a story about their house cat Sam. Now Sam isn't a pretty cat, infact, her ugliness is inferior to any tom cat I have seen. Her intelligence is there some of the time. Apparently Sam had to use the bathroom so my dad let her outside since she refuses to use the litterbox unless she has been inside for three straight days. For some God Forsaken reason my father decided to watch Sam as she made her path through the snow to find a good place to squat. She tried may places in the yard, however, with the warm day that we were having she was finding it hard as for the snow would not support her weight and everytime she tried to do her business she fell through the snow. Finally, fed up with repeated attempts to "dig & bury" Sam ran to the first solid spot she came upon under a tree in the back yard and quickly plopped a turd and ran back to the house without burial. I can't figure out what was funnier, the cat or my dad gasping for air while trying to finish the story. But I have to admit, I laughed too. Stupid Cat.

Making Easter Plans

My sister has invited us to Minneapolis for Easter. Mike will be in VA so he won't be around for the holiday but my mom, dad, Cassidy, Darren, and I are all welcome. Darren doesn't want to go, and this I totally understand, because his back is so bad that it kills him to go to his doctor appoinments in Minot and if that drive bothers him, how will he ever handle a 7 hour car ride. I would like us to have more holidays together as a family now since we have Cassidy and I think it will be just awesome to take Cassidy to Under Water World in the Mall of America so she can see all the fish, sharks, eels, and rays and to see her expressions as she experiences them for the first time. My sister even told me about this museum that teaches kids at there own age levels that I would like to check out. Darren told me to go with my parents and take Cassidy but it's not going to really feel like a family holiday without him and I'm not 100% sure I want to go without him no matter how bad I would like to go so I am still deciding about the trip.