BIRTHDAY PARTY

Today was the birthday party for Forrester-Case, the son of my best friend. The birthday party was supposed to begin at 11 am at the Skyview apartment building followed by swimming for the kids at the Spirit Lake Casino. I got a call around 10-ish saying that Amadon, who is Forrester's father, and his wife were running late so the party was changed to 12:30 instead. That was fine because it gave me time to do a little running around and to pick up Forresters older brother, D'Artagnan.

There was a small crowd there for the party. Amadon's mom, a guy named Dennis, a very nice woman named Connie (it could have been Colleen), as well as Sam and her two children we present. We ate and cut cake. We were going to open presents but noticed that it was very close to 2 and public swimming at the casino only went until 3 and all the kids wanted to swim. So it was decided that we would pack up things and headed out to swim and then open gifts after swimming. The kids actually swam until close to 4 until they got cold. We then opened gifts and all headed home. The girls were played out from swimming and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

It was a very fun event and I cannot wait until Cassidy wants to do something like that for her birthday.

Forrester-Case, the birthday boy. I cannot believe he is 6 already.

Jessie and another silly smile

Cassidy proudly displaying her balloon.

Amadon and Adele

Josie and Amadon

Janessa got stuck with the daunting task of untying the balloons that got knotted together. Yet, she still smiles while doing it.

The birthday boy and his cake

The polar bear slide! I love how it looks like the bear is giving birth to the children coming off of the slide.

Cassidy posing at the top of the polar bear slide. It looks like she is about to be eaten by the polar bear!

Jessie looking cute while climbing up the polar bear slide.

BREAKFAST AND CLEANING

Billy called early this morning. She had to bring her brother and his girlfriend back to Leeds from spending the night at her house, and she wanted to know if the girls and I would meet her at the restaurant for breakfast. I got to the restaurant before Billy. While the girls and I were waiting for her, my father came in to have coffee with the morning crowd. I believe a morning cup of coffee there is a ritual for every person over the age of 60 in that town. Billy showed up shortly there after and we had a good chat. After we ate, I went out to her house for a few hours. While we were there Bill and I watched a little HGTV, which is a new addiction for her, as the kids played. When it got close to the boys naptime, I had the girls help pick up toys, I went outside and cleaned most of the crap out of my car, and then the girls and I came home.

I was inspired at Bills today. She and her husband went through all of the boys toy a week or so ago. They threw out all of the broken and well used toys and they boxed up the good toys that the boys do not play with anymore to give to a gal in Leeds who just gave birth to a little boy a couple of months ago. Since Christmas, I knew I had to get into the girls toy room and clean it out. There was so much stuff in there that there literally was no room to walk. So, after we got home, the girls and I went to work throwing out and boxing up toys. We had been at it for a couple of hours. I finally took a break because I was getting frustrated going through everything and then having Jessie right behind me digging stuff back out of boxes and bags. I am gearing up to go back in the room, but I am scared.

Cassie and Jessie have been spending a lot of time outside. It’s been nice to get out. It even helps my mood A LOT. Last night they went to bed without a fight after their bath when they came inside. I cannot wait to be able to spend the entire summer days outside. Were is the global warming that people are talking about? I could use a bit of that right now…..that, and some of Sphincters amazing spermatozoa soap.

OMG! JEFF DUNHAM IS COMING TO NORTH DAKOTA!!!

A year or so ago my father sent me a clip via email of Jeff Dunham, a ventriloquist, and one of his puppets named Walter. Even since then then I have been totally addicted to Jeff and his puppets. I just happened to be on his website the other day and found out that he is going to be in ND this year! On July 31st he will be in Grand Forks at the Chester Fritz, August 1st in Minot, and then Bismarck on August 2nd. I HAVE TO GO! I am going to aim for the show in Grand Forks, but I can catch the one in Minot. Minot is closer to me than Grand Forks. However, I know more people in GF and may be able to talk a few into us all going together for a night out. Peeps, lets make some plans to see this guy!

To view Jeff Dunham clips, click here.

EASTER

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter holiday. At some point in the past 11 months, the girls got into all of my plastic eggs. When I went to get the bag of plastic eggs out of my closet to fill them with "goodies" on Saturday night, there were only 2 eggs left in the bag. There were about 20. I made a quick call to my mother and she had some plastic eggs at her place that she brought over for me to use. I am very surprised that the the girls got into the eggs but did not find the candy, books, and Easter toys in the closet.

April and Kevin, who are Cassidy's Godparents, sent the girls a very nice box of Easter goodies via mail. I was surprised to see it arrive with my morning mail last Wednesday. There were huge eggs filled with Reese's peanut butter goodies (which ROCKED btw!) and miscellaneous toys that have been keeping the girls busy for hours. I laughed when I opened the box. April must have packed the box at work, because when I opened it, the first thing I saw was a nice crisp, white hotel towel stuffed into the box to protect its contents. Thanks guys, you are the BEST EVER!

Darren's parents, along with his sister, came down the day before Easter to bring the girls their Easter gifts. Deb and Dave got the girls each a pair of really nice sandals, some sidewalk chalk, and a funny lamb that spins in circles. Auntie Missy gave the girls a Soccer Girl set that came with a pink kickball, water bottle, jump rope, a ponytail scrunchy, and a real 35mm camera. Their stay was a pretty short since the girls had a birthday party to go to the same day. Hopefully we will get together with them again.

The birthday party was for a boy in Leeds. The boy turned 11 so there was a lot of older boys there, but they all played very well with the younger kids that were at the party too, which was really cool of them. We feasted on cake and bar-b-ques until I swore all the food was going to come gushing out of my bellybutton.

I have rearranged some of the furniture in my living room to change things up a bit to go with the new paint and the pine. Unfortunately, I have keep coming to the realization that I have too much furniture for my living room. I only have 1 couch, 1 love seat, 1 lay-z-boy recliner, but with the computer desk, the china hutch, and the TV stand space is minimal. I need to take a look and see how I can free up space without making the living room look too stupid. I am good with painting/remodeling etc...but home interior arrangement is not a strong point. You do not want me to help. Unless you want a circus, then I am your woman for the job!

Okay, I am rambling now about things so that is a sign to stop. It's been a chipper day and I hope that everyone gets out and enjoys the week.

PEACE!

This is what the girls got from Easter Bunny this year. They both got their own princess baskets, chalk, a book, miscellaneous candy, and one solid milk chocolate bunny. Believe it or not, but it was a lot cheaper to buy the prefilled baskets then to buy everything seperately.

A close-up of Cassidy wearing some of her princess stuff she got from Ms. Easter Bunny.

Jessie likes to sit between the halves of the art easel that they got for Christmas. What a silly little girl she is!

IT'S WARMING UP...YEA!

Jessie has a new found love for water puddles. It's been so nice the last couple of days that I have been taking the girls outside for a couple of hours a day. With all the snow melting, the warm weather has left an abundance of small water holes in my yard. Jessie was unsure at first, but when she saw the water spray up when Cassidy went flying through a puddle, that was all it took for her. Now I cannot keep her out of puddles. When she gets out the door, the first place she heads for is the water. It's cute in a way, but I am starting to get tired of stripping Jess down every time she comes inside. Kids will be kids.

Tuesday, late afternoon, we went to my friend's house. Nichole has a puppy that is just adorable and the girls love playing with him. They all sleep great after playing together...even the dog! Nichole also made us supper and we all had a great time. She is fixing up the house she lives in. It is a much older house that her father bought and was originally going to sell to some hunters. However, when Nichole said she wanted to move back to York, her father told her she could stay in the house. I love the improvements she has made on it. Her and her father have put MUCH more work into that house than I have had to put into mine, but it will be a very nice house when they are completely finished.

Yesterday, my mother, I, and the girls went to Rugby. Mom and to pick up softener salt and I was all out of toilet paper. Mom also found a DVD player that was on sale and picked it up so that she could take back her DVD/VCR player that I have had for 2 years. Afterwards, we went over to Pizza Hut where she treated us to pizza. Jeff Jacobson, his wife, and their little boy were in Pizza Hut when we walked it. It was a surprise to see them.

Today I really need to clean up the house. I have been letting it slide since starting on the pine. I still need to take the pine that needs to be cut over to my dad so he can cut them down...Yeah, I still haven't done that yet. I have been procrastinating a bit. I also have to get stuff together that I don't want anymore, basically baby stuff, and take them to Rainy's house. Rainy is having a garage sale this spring and told me to bring stuff over and put it in her garage so I have some space in my house until the sale. I hope to get rid of a lot of stuff through the sale. i have been thinking of depositing the money from the sale into the girls savings accounts.

On Friday, Nichole wants to take me out around 9-ish. I think that would be great fun. She is a blast to be around. I will have to check with my mother tonight to see if it is okay. I am not sure if my mom wants to watch both girls. Jessie has a problem going to bed over at my mom's house. This will be my last weekend of peace, then on the evening of the 25th, Rainy will be bringing her daughter out and I will have her for a whole week. I would like the extra night out with my friend before I have a house full of little girls. Thank goodness for my mother. Without her, I don't know what I would do when I need a break from the girls to find my sanity.

There hasn't been any court dates made with the lawyers yet. I am hoping we can get stuff settled and done with soon. I hate it. It seems like this has been dragging on forever.

MY WEEK

The last week I have been hammering away at the Wainscot pine. I was really hoping to have it all done by now. I have almost completed it. I am about three-quarters through. I have a few boards that need to be cut down by a bit. I will need to use the skill saw to do it. So far, I have been able to do most of it with just a standard hand saw. I am going to have to use a base board along with a top trim board. I originally was not going to use a base board, but it turns out that the floor isn't even. I used a level to make sure that I kept the top of the boards even straight across. By the time I reached the other end of my living room wall, the boards were close to an inch off the carpet.

In a couple of weeks I am going to be watching Rainy's daughter, Eris, for about a week. Her husband, Jason, is in Ft. Dix doing some training before shipping out for Iraq. Rainy is going to Ft. Dix with 2 other army wives. They are going to pick up the husbands and go to Atlantic City for a few days, then the next day the men leave for a year. She asked me a while ago if I could do it. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to since I am trying to get college finished up. However, I was her last resort, and if I couldn't do it, then she wasn't going to be able to see Jason before he left. I would have felt awful if she wouldn't' have been able to see her husband one last time before he left.

Because I am going to have Eris, I have been putting a lot of late night homework time in as well. I am happy to say that I have almost completed another class. The last two classes are going to be a breeze, and the instructor for one of the remaining classes removed the test assessments so I don't have to worry about any tests in that class...woo-hoo! I am waiting to hear from my advisor on the date and time for graduation. I have decided that I am going to go to the college and participate in my own graduation. My father has a friend who lives in Williston and he told my father that it is okay for all of us to stay at his place for the weekend so we don't have to get hotel rooms. My sister is going to come down from Minneapolis for it and I believe that my brother is going to go too. I am starting to get excited about it.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

A friend emailed me this article and I just had to share it with everyone. This is proof of how crazy the world is getting these days.


Doctors Interrogate Children as Informants on Parents' Behavior
Published on Monday, March 03, 2008.


Encouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), pediatricians across the United States have begun questioning children about their parents' habits, in some cases even filing police reports based on this information, according to an opinion article published in the Boston Herald.

Article author Michael Graham recounts that his own children were asked by their doctor whether their parents used drugs and alcohol, owned guns, or were abusive. The doctor did not seek parental permission before asking the questions, nor did he inform them that they were being asked; Graham and his wife found out only after their children came home from the visits.

"The doctor wanted to know how much you and mom drink, and if I think it's too much," Graham reports his daughter saying. "She asked if you two did drugs, or if there are drugs in the house. The doctor wanted to know how we get along. And if, well, Daddy, if you made me feel uncomfortable."

Graham also reports the case of an Uxbridge, Massachusetts man who had his legal gun ownership reported to the police by his daughter's doctor. The doctor filed a police report after asking the 5-year-old girl if her father owned a gun, then following up with questions to her and her mother about the type and number of the weapons.

Graham blames the trend on guidelines issued by the AAP, which classifies parentsas "persons of interest" and encourages doctors to ask children questions in order to uncover inappropriate or illegal behavior.

"The paranoia over parents is so strong that the AAP encourages doctors to ignore 'legal barriers and deference to parental involvement' and shake the children down for all the inside information they can get," Graham writes.

According to Graham, anti-gun advocacy by pediatriciansi s widespread enough that "some states are considering legislation to stop it."

"What this interrogation of children demonstrates," added consumer health advocate Mike Adams, "is just how deeply the medical establishment now believes it has total authority over the lives of patients. This kind of behavior is arrogant, outrageous and should be outlawed," Adams said.

Is this article serious!!!! There is no reason why a doctor should be asking questions like those to minor patient if it does not have anything to do with medical treatment or why they are being seen in the office. If the child is not being seen for a gun shot wound, then it does not matter if his/her parents own firearms. I understand that weapons, drugs, and abuse can be found in relationships and a lot of children do not come forward with it. I am sure they are probably trying to get the children to open-up more freely to talk about abuse, but they are going about it in a VERY wrong and inappropriate way! If my doctor ask those questions to either of my children, regardless of my presence or without, he would find himself in deep pile of serious crap!

MORE HOME IMPROVEMENT

My father and I made it to Mendard's on Friday. The Wainscot pine cost a little more then we were expecting. However, checking prices on other decorative wood and paneling, the Wainscot was still the cheapest by $130. I also found a perfect chandelier for my bedroom too. My father asked me if I had to have it, I said YES, and so that was purchased too. The chandelier looks awesome in the bedroom. The pics below this post do not do the chandelier any justice, but it is beautiful. I am proud to say that I wired it all in myself and the chandelier worked on the first attempt. Go, Janelle!!

Today I have my stitches removed. YEA!!!! I cannot wait for them to come out. I am going to head into town early so that I can get Wal-Mart and grocery shopping done. I also have to go to Mac's Hardware store and get special nails for the Wainscot. I am probably not going to start putting the in Wainscot for a bit, unless Nichole comes over and decides that we can do that in short order too like the closet. I just want the nails handy just in case I do decide to start right away. Though, I already know the Wainscot is not going to be as easy as the other projects. This spring I am buying the rest of the siding for the house so that can be completed. The bathroom and the hallway also need some work done. I am waiting until the tax return to start those. As soon as the return comes in, my father and I need to make another run to Menard's to get the siding, a new tub, some flooring, and a few other odd things. Ugh, I am starting to regret that I started this whole home makeover. I cannot wait until it's all done.

My six light mini chandelier from The Harrington Collection.

This is a pretty poor pic, but I absolutely love my bedroom. It's wonderful!