WHAT A STINK

I came home one evening and spooked something in the yard. It was dark, so I couldn't see exactly what it was when it dashed across the yard to get away. I assumed that it was just a stray cat and didn't' give it another thought.

I woke up the next morning and my trash was scattered all over the yard. It kind of reaffirmed my thoughts about a stray cat.

Yesterday, when I went outside for my morning cigarette, I noticed that the dirt under the living room window next to the house was disturbed. I went over to check it out and there was a hole a bit larger than a softball going underneath my house. It got me thinking again, because cats don't do that.

Tonight, after the girls got settled in bed, I heard a rustling outside the door. I turned on the outside light to finally see what was taking up residency in my yard....and it was a skunk....a big skunk. I had my .22 inside the house, but no shells, and I have never really shot anything with it, so it was useless to me. I thought about calling my neighbor across the railroad tracks to come and shoot it for me, but decided against it since it was already 10:30 at night. I have thought about poisoning it, but the with my luck it would die under the house, and I can imagine the stink that would make.

Tomorrow, I am going to have to go out in the yard right away and gather up everything it has dug into and then fill in the hole going under the house. I cannot set my trash outside my house anymore or it will keep coming back.

I have been very fortunate that it hasn't decided to spray anything yet. I can just imagine how long my house would stink if it did.

If anyone has any suggestions about how to get rid of this stunk in the least stinkiest way, please feel free to let me know.

Me and Brandie

EXCITED ABOUT THE WEEKEND

This weekend I get to go see Elton John and Billy Joel at the Fargodome. I have been dying to see them in concert since the first time they performed together in ND back in 1997...or was it '96?...I can't remember.

The plan was for Cole to pick me up on Saturday after I dropped the girls off with my mom. He talked to me earlier today and asked if there was anyway he could pick me up in the afternoon on Friday because he had some tickets for Friday night. When I asked him what the tickets were for, he said he got tickets to see Ron White at a comedy club in Fargo. I AM GOING TO SEE RON WHITE!!! I am so excited! I loved Ron White on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, and now I get to see him live.

I felt a tiny bit horrible for asking my mom to watch the girls on Friday. Friday is my father's birthday. She spoke with my dad and I guess they didn't have plans to do anything, and it was okay with my dad to have the girls a day earlier. When I am in Fargo, I am going to have to find him a really good birthday gift. I will probably find my mom something too for watching the girls.

Cole and I are going to have so much fun this weekend. Friday night it's Ron White, and the next night it's Elton and Billy. Then on Sunday it's brunch at Granite City restaurant. I have never been there before, but I have been told it's the best.

SHRINE CIRCUS

The Leeds school gave out free tickets to the Shrine Circus, so Brandie and I decided to take the children to it today. I normally go with my mom and the girls, but my mom was working and was not able to join us. The trip was definitely an adventure.

Brandie pulled her two oldest boys out of school early so we could get on the road by 2 o'clock. We arrived in Minot at 3:30, got a decent parking spot, found my dad so we could get into the auditorium, and he showed us to our seats. Then we went down on the main floor and the kids road the ponies and the elephant.

The circus started on time and all the kids had a blast. Jessie's favorite part was the elephants. She couldn't get enough of them. Cassidy pretty much enjoyed it all. Brandies boys did well. Her youngest son got tired half way through and was ready to go home when the circus ended.

On the way out of the auditorium, Brandie bought all the kids balloons. Something that she and I both regretted on the way home, but the kids like them and have played with them a lot.

We are going to try and go again next year. However, next year, Brandie wants to try leaving her youngest son home until he is a bit older.

Thank goodness the circus comes only once a year. I love doing things with the girls, but sometimes it can get a bit crazy like today did. Oh the things we do for our kids!! Brandie and I did have a really good time though, and so did the kids, and that makes it all worth it.

Cassidy

Jessie

Jessie riding the ponies.



Cassidy riding the poines.

The girls and the ponies.

Cassidy and Jessie getting on an elephant.

The girls enjoying their ride. (Don't ask what happened to the pic. I have no clue.)

Colored poodles.

A performing bear. The girls and I got a picture taken with the bear that I will have to post later.

Performing elephants.

A really crappy pic of the tigers.

Some guy doing something I would never do.

Some of the circus staff at the end of the circus.

FED UP

Thursday, Darren's parents called and asked if they could keep the girls over the weekend. Darren wasn't able to have them because he had bowling. I told his mom that would be fine with me. She picked them up close to 10 am on Saturday morning. Today, I meet Darren's parents and the girls at Pizza Hut. They bought us supper and then we came home.

When Deb picked up the girls on Saturday, I mentioned to her that I had a talk with Darren. I told Darren that for how little he actually sees the girls, I thought he would want to spend as much time with them as he could and look forward to his weekends with them. He needs to look at a calendar, prioritize, and he may have to cancel out of some of his extracurricular activities if he cannot find a sitter for the girls. I have to do it when he calls me because he cannot have the girls on his weekends. Then he expects me to give up my weekend so he have them when he isn't busy. I am done switching weekends. From now on, he will have to wait 2 weeks to see the girls if he cannot watch them on his weekend. If he calls because he is sick, his girlfriend or her kids are sick, or if he has to work on Saturday, I understand. However, if it is because he wants to go out with his buddies to play darts, bowling, pool, or whatever....that is a different story.

I started to feel like dirt. Like he was taking advantage of me. I am tired of being used and abused and I am done. I am completely done bowing down. I have stopped busting my butt to change plans and work things out so that it suits Darren. I am looking out for #1 now. I'm done playing games.

His mother didn't say too much, but I think she understood.

DAY 7 - A WHOLE WEEK LATER AND THINGS ARE A LOT BETTER

Cole arrived at my house today around 1:30 pm. He moved the girls' car seats from my Impala over to his Explorer when he got here and we immediately left for my appointments in Devils Lake. My doctor was running an hour behind!! When I finally got in to see the doc, he gave me a decent bill of health. I cannot bend or reach to far and still doesn't want me pitching hay for a while, but other than that, I'm good and don't need any more follow-ups unless I somehow hurt myself again or the pain returns.

Because the doc was running so late, I missed my physical therapy appointment. The therapist had called over to the clinic looking for me when I was in with the doctor. The nurse told the therapist the doc was running late. I told the nurse to get a hold of their therapist and tell her I would call her Thursday. Things were getting late and the girls were getting very hungry and I didn't want to have to make them wait another 40 minutes until they ate. I will go in on Friday if the therapist really thinks I need to have another session. I personally think I am fine and do not need to see the therapist anymore.

The girls father is going to be picking them up a day early. I guess he doesn't work Friday and will be at the house Thursday evening to pick them up. We will celebrate Easter here when they come back. Cole and I have to run into Devils Lake after Darren picks them up. The Easter Bunny has been slacking at this house. Everything is going to be really "last minute."

Cole is going to be staying until Friday morning to help me out. Tonight, I went to bed and he stayed up with the girls, fed them their bedtime snack, brushed their teeth, and put them to bed for me. It's sooooo nice. I am glad he was able to come down and help me for two days. The girls really like him too so that helps a bunch.

Day 5

Around noon, my mom came and picked up the girls for the day. She was supposed to keep them overnight, but things came up at her place and she could only keep them until 6 o'clock. That was okay with me.

My back didn't feel too terrible this morning. In fact, it was a lot better than I was expecting after fencing yesterday evening. My back did well throughout the day. I tried to rest as much as I could since the girls were coming back. I was able to keep up with them and got some light cleaning done around the house. Hopefully, my back will remain in good shape.

Wednesday I go back for my checkup and I also see the therapist again. Cole is coming down from Fargo and he is going to take the girls and I to the doctor's appointment. He is thinking about staying a few days if he can work it out in his schedule. I would be nice to have him here for a few days.

The girls father is supposed to come and pick them up this Friday. It is his weekend to have them. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous! If he does come and get them, I am going to spend a majority of it relaxing and cleaning the house, and I may even try riding if my back is still feeling good. I'm not 100% sure about the riding yet. I don't want to push my luck. However, it's really tough not to ride when the weather gets nice.

DAY 4 - WASN'T VERY GOOD

The girls were back home earlier than expected today. My aunt had forgotten about something going on at her church in Minot. Her daughter had called her this morning asking if she remembered it. Of course, aunt Faye had forgotten, and around 1 o'clock this afternoon she and her husband brought the girls home. I wasn't expecting the girls until after supper time, so I was in the middle of a nap when they showed up.

The girls weren't too bad, but they did keep me going all day long. Little Jessie wanted me to pick her up and hold her most of the day. She got upset when I told her I couldn't. I think she got the point after three hours of asking. Jessie did get into a few things that I had to clean up and put back in order. Otherwise, she was good. Cassie was a charm. She knew I was still pretty sore and tried to help with with stuff.

Around 6 o'clock the girls noticed that two of the horses were out of the fence again. I looked out the window and I could see where the fence had broken in half. It was caused by the horses leaning on it while trying to eat the stack of hay on the other side of the fence. I called my dad to see if he could fix the fence for me since I cannot move around all that well yet. He said he couldn't do it. He spend most of the day at the church setting up music for a funeral on Wednesday and now had to get ready to go back to Fargo for work. My last option was my neighbor Bob. I gave Bob a quick call but he didn't answer his phone. I was considering leaving things as they were until morning, but the way the horses were running up and down the road, I was afraid they were going to hurt someone when it got dark. In desperation, I called Brandi and she was able to get a sitter for her kids and she came out to my place. She and I went outside together after the girls were sleeping and worked on the fence. The fence is now up again. Hopefully it stays that way.

Tonight, my back really hurts something terrible. I did a lot more work then what I should have, but kids need to be taken care of and my animals cannot run wild. Tomorrow my mom is going to pick up the girls again after work and keep them over night. I hope after another day or two of rest my back will be okay to bring normality back to my house....but what is normal around my house?!? I just want to be able to go to the bathroom and wipe my behind without my back protesting in pain.

I am going to take another Percocet. It isn't time for one yet, but I need to do something or I won't be able to sleep at all. I figure the worst that taking another pill right now will do is make me tired, and sleep is my goal. I think it's a win/win situation.

DAY 3 - STUPID ME

This morning I woke up and my back didn't feel to bad so I skipped my morning dose of meds to see how my back would do without them. This wasn't the best decision I have ever made.

Since my back didn't feel too bad, I mustered up the courage to get into my car and drive to my parent's place to see the girls. I hadn't seen them since Wednesday evening and I was really starting to miss them. Sitting down into the car was a bit of a challenge, but I made it in. I positioned the car seat into a 90 degree angle as best as I could and headed down the road. Half way to my parents my back started to ache pretty good. At that point, I realized that not taking my morning meds AND getting into the car were very bad ideas. Every time I moved my leg to press on the brake or accelerator my back let out a wonderful sharp burning feeling. I only stayed about a half hour at my mom's. My back was starting to roar and all I wanted to do was get back home, take meds, and get back into my bed. Even after the meds my back and hip/leg are still soar. I get to take another dose in about an hour. Hopefully that dose will do the trick. I know better now than to skip my meds to drive and see the girls. When the pain is maintained I am going to keep up with the doses to make sure it stays that way.

I am a excited to get the girls back tomorrow evening. The house is oddly quiet and boring without them running around and making noise. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with them. If not, all I have to do is make it through to Tuesday and then maybe my mom can help a little bit on her days off.

I am going to watch some movies on the LMN channel, take meds at 8 o'clock, and then hopefully settle into a good nights sleep. Anyone feel free to send me emails to keep me entertained.

DAY 2

My days have been pretty lazy. I sleep, wake up, take my Percocet and Flexeril, and then I sleep again. Every once in a while I will get something small to eat, but most times I don't. I haven't done anything challenging yet. I am fine when I take my meds every six hours, but when I wake up in the morning after 8 hours or more of sleep, my back is in terrible pain.

Cole couldn't work out any free time in his schedule at work to come down and help me with the girls this weekend. So, my mom called her aunt, Faye, in Minot to see if she could help out with the girls. Faye didn't have anything going on so she drove to my mom's house today and is going to spend the weekend at my mom's and watch the girls. Faye is going to bring the girls back to my house on Sunday evening on her way back to Minot. If I am still having pain after Monday, my mom has Tuesday and Wednesday off of work and she can keep the girls those days.

Brandi came over around 7:30 tonight. She is still here. The two of us are camped out in my bed watching movies and chatting. It is nice to have a little company. I just hope that she doesn't get offended when my meds kick in and I pass out.

Tomorrow I am going to trying going over to my mom's house to visit Faye and the girls for a little bit. It all just depends on how my back is feeling.

MY FIRST 24 HOURS

Last night was a pretty good night. After mom picked up the girls I took my Flexeril and Percocet pills. I was sleepy within a half hour and I laid down at 4:30. I slept until 8:49 and then got up. I wasn't too terribly hungry but I made something to eat anyway. I haven't been hungry since starting my meds. I also got a phone call from Brandi to see how I was doing. We talked for a little while and then she let me go so I could rest some more.

At 10:00 I took another dose of pills and I laid back down in bed and started watching the news. During the news I got a text message from the girls' dad and he said he cannot watch the girls this weekend because he has some sort of dart thing he is going to and doesn't have a sitter to watch the girls. Doesn't dart teams normally have a sub if someone cannot make it to a game? I know all the dart teams around here do. It made me upset. I can never depend on him to watch the girls for me. He hasn't realized yet that when you have children sometimes you cannot do everything you want to. You do have to sacrifice a lot of your time to children. You think he would want to see the girls more considering all the time he doesn't see them.

I called my friend Cole in Fargo. I told him the girls' father couldn't take them this weekend and I needed help since my mom works. He is going to check the schedule at work and see what he can come up with. He's going to try and come down and help me if he can. That is so great of him if he can do that for me. I am so glad that I have a wonderful family and good friends to help me with my girls when I need it. If Cole cannot do it, I don't know what I am going to do.

After talking to Cole, my meds kicked in and I got tired. I fell asleep shortly after the news and slept until 10:30 this morning! My right side hurt while getting out of bed so I took my pills right away. It's not too bad now, but I can feel myself getting sleepy. I won't be able to take any pills if I don't have help this weekend. I won't be able to stay awake to watch them.

I may have the girls back again for a bit today. My mom and dad need to run to Minot and pick some stuff up from my mom's aunt. Mom didn't say if they were going to take the girls with them or not. Since my dad isn't a "small child" type of guy, I am thinking they are not going to take them with. I hope that they pick them back up when they return if they decide not to take the girls with them.

Well, Constant Reader, my meds are kicking in again and it is time for another nap.

I'M IN PAIN

I experienced the worst pain of my life last night. Pain that I wouldn't even inflict on my own worst enemy.

I was cleaning up the house and I bent over to pick up some dirty clothing off of my bedroom floor. The instant I bent over I had a super sharp pain start in my butt and move upward to my shoulders. I had to stop myself from screaming because the pain was so terrible. The shooting pain only lasted about 10 seconds, but it was the worst 10 seconds of my life. I felt paralyzed and it literally took my breath away. It took me at least 20 minutes to straighten myself upright and to start breathing normally.

I called my mom. She sent my dad over with a heating pad, some 800 mg Ibuprofen, and some pain reliever. My steps were slow and shuffling and I didn't dare sit down in fear of not being able to get back up again.

The night was a bit long. I feel asleep around 10:30, but I was up again at 4 am and could not get into a comfortable position to save my life.

This morning, I called the clinic as soon as they opened to see my doctor. My dad came over and drove myself and the girls to town. After I met with my doctor, he sent me to have an x-ray done. Turned out that I had bulged a disc when I bent over. He gave me prescriptions for a pain killer and a muscle relaxer. Then he sent me off to physical therapy.

Therapy made my back feel a whole lot better and the therapist showed me how to lay down, sit down, and move around with minimal pain. I also have some exercises that I need to do. However, after the long car ride home, the pain was back quickly. The therapist said the first 3 to 4 days are going to be the worst and I will have some type of lighter pain for up to 2 weeks.

When my mom got off of work, she came over and picked up the girls since I cannot take care of them at the moment. She has to work the weekend so I am trying to get a hold of their dad to see if he can take them, but so far he has been ignoring me. Hopefully something will work out.