Conner Country Chronicles

I Hate STUPID People...

2011-10-25T11:18:00.000-05:00

I've always said this, but this morning, I met a whole new breed of idiot! This person (I don't know who they were) really ticked me off with their stupidity. Let me set the scene for you:

My husband & I were driving to work together this morning as his car (as of yesterday) has a problem with the radiator. We had dropped our son at daycare in Uniontown. Then we traveled the 1-1/2 miles over to pick up the main highway. This particular highway is a 65MPH road. The entire trip from Uniontown to Fort Scott is about 20 miles. Once we got out on the highway I got up to the speed limit & set the cruise. As we're approaching about the 1/2 way point in this trip, we're closing in on a gold colored car. Eventually, we're getting close enough that I tap the brake to cancel the cruise & let it coast down on its own. By this time, we're down to about 50MPH, but can't pass due to on-coming traffic & various no passing zones. We're cruising along behind this vehicle, we he/she randomly & periodically starts hitting their brakes. We were NEVER closer than about 1/2 a car length from them even in the midst of this stupidity. Eventually, with all the braking, we are running about 45MPH. We come up to a spot that is OK to pass in & we were clear of traffic, so I decided that if they weren't going to go the speed limit, I was going to pass when I had the chance. I turn on the blinker & move over, what does this idiot decide to do? They speed up to at least the speed limit or more so that you couldn't get around them. I decided that was fine, if they were going to drive the speed limit, I don't have a problem with that and I came back in behind them. Well, wouldn't you know it, as soon as I get back over behind them, they immediately start hitting the brakes again & dropping their speed way back down. This goes on for another couple of miles before I once again have the opportunity to pass them. They tried the same stupid stunt yet again, but I just accelerated (about 7 MPH over the speed limit) & came back in. Once I was back in, I resumed the cruise, it coasted back down & we made the remainder of the trip going the speed limit just like normal. This car did get right up on my ass for a while, but eventually backed off.

I guess my problem with the whole thing is, what kind of idiot does that kind of stupid stunt in a car traveling at those kind of speeds? What kind of stupid do you have to be to even remotely think this is an acceptable "game" to pay in a vehicle? If you don't want passed, drive the damn speed limit. If you choose not to, don't get pissed & act all childish when someone decides to pass you. There are enough senseless accidents on the road everyday without that kind of stupidity.

I travel the same route every morning & afternoon at the same time every day & this is the first time I've ever ran into this particular breed of idiot. I'm definitely hoping I don't run across them again anytime soon.

Sorry everyone, I just had to vent. If you took the time to read, thanks for letting me vent. Carry on now.

Fall Festival...

2011-10-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

It's once again that time of year. On Saturday, October 1, 2011 we took Dakota out to our local Relay for Life/The Sharing Bucket Fall Festival. It is a pretty inexpensive, nearby, family fun event that raises money for a great cause. We took him out to it last year, but last year he was still too little to do very much. We thought he would enjoy it much more this year.

Dakota & I left home that morning and stopped in town to pick dad up from his Saturday job at the livestock market, so that he could go along with us. We got dad & headed out of town (not far, it's only about 5 miles out). We got there and purchased our tickets (50¢ a ticket - every event ranges from 1-5 tickets). We thought he would dive right into the festivities, but we were wrong.

We started off with the petting zoo. They had (2) bunnies, (2) calves, (3) goats & (1) pony. Dakota didn't want anything to do with any of them.

We decided we would try that again later and headed over to the loop. At the loop we came across the duck pond (standard pick a duck - win a prize). We couldn't even get him to pick up a duck, so James picked his first duck for him. He won a box of crayons.

We decided to walk around a little bit and let him get more awake & aware of what all was going on. This method actually worked. By the time we'd made one complete lap, he was ready to get into the swing of things.

We ended up back at the duck pond, where we picked three more ducks (that became our favorite game); he ended up with a coloring book, a box of crayons, a bottle of bubbles & a Halloween Flashing Safety Light.

Next, James & Dakota rode the wagon ride. Dakota seemed to like that.

Then we did four little kids games (didn't matter how well they did, they got to pick a prize when they were done). We had ring toss, witches brew, blinko & ghost toss. Dakota seemed to enjoy all of these. For his efforts he received a Halloween stamp & a bag of Skittles.

Next, James & Dakota decided they needed to buy some trail mix, so we bought two bags of that to take home with us. Then we moved back to the petting zoo. This time Dakota would at least get up close to the cages & look at the animals, but he still wouldn't pet any of them.

We decided we'd just about seen it all, so we moved on out to the pumpkin patch (no a real patch, they just set several hundred pumpkins out in an open field). We took a few pictures, then James & Dakota set out to pick our four pumpkins we paid for.

Needless to say, it took us a little while to get Dakota interested, but we all ended up having a pretty good time. I'm sure we'll hit it again next year, as it's become an annual event for our family.

I'm Back...

2011-10-17T14:19:00.003-05:00

I'm back. Ok, well honestly, I didn't actually go anywhere, I just haven't had any free time. No, that isn't just an excuse, I really haven't.

For the past 13 weeks, I've been covering for a co-worker that was off on medical leave having both knees replaced. HOORAY for her! BOO for me!!! To be honest, it shouldn't have been nearly as bad as it was. When she first went off on medical leave, another co-worker & I were splitting her job between us. It was working perfectly. We were still able to do our individual jobs & then between us cover hers too. Then a couple weeks into this system, the one sharing the extra job with me got fired for refusing to sign the non-disclosure agreement. Since then, I've had my job and the co-workers job. It has been CRAZY! I managed to get everything done, but not without 10-16 hours of overtime a week.

Needless to say, my son HATED that. I'm always there to tuck him in & put him to bed, and there were times that I couldn't be home in time for that over the past 13 weeks. I would get to work around 6:30 am - leave at 3:30 pm (no lunch break), drive 30 minutes to get Dakota from daycare, drive another 15 minutes back home, fix supper, eat quickly, leave & drive 15 minutes back to work, work another 2-4 hours then drive the 15 minutes back home.

I don't mind filling in for someone else when necessary, but 13 weeks is a long time to have your schedule completely screwed up. I always felt like I had no time for myself. Maybe it's a little selfish of me, but the co-worker returned to work today, and I'm so glad to see her & know that I'm back to my normal routine/schedule.

Things can now, HOPEFULLY, return to normal.

I Suck At This...

2011-01-04T09:44:00.003-06:00

I haven't blogged since August. I really suck at staying current on this kind of thing. I just don't feel like I have the time to mess with it. I follow along with the events taking place in all of my friends' lives, but don't feel like I have time to stay current on my own. I guess now is as good a time as any to get caught up; even though I'm at work (currently have nothing to do).

Dakota is growing like a weed. He is so much fun & he is such a pleasant little guy. You can't help but smile when you're around him. He just jabbers all the time these days. You can make out a few things, the rest you just agree with. He is 18 months old now, and he is pretty independent. He likes to do things himself, but he is very affectionate. He willingly gives hugs & kisses, and loves to cuddle. I'm afraid that will change someday, but I sincerely hope it doesn't.

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Dakota actually participated and had a blast with all the decorations (loved pulling ornaments off the tree). He ripped into all his packages, and then helped everyone else with theirs too. We had a blast this year!!!

As for me, I'm hoping I get all cleared up before long, because I'm tired of this crap. Beginning December 1st, I started with a light cough. It developed into a more chesty, barking cough. I was wheezing some with it, and was having trouble sleeping. I actually went to the doctor (anyone who knows me knows that other than when I was pregnant & was seeing the OB, I haven't been to a doctor since my senior year of high school) on December 8th, she gave me a new inhaler in case I had any trouble breathing and started me on the z-pack. I took all my medicine, but it wasn't getting any better. I went back to the doctor on December 16th, she decided that she thought my asthma that had been dormant for the past 12 years was flaring back up causing all my problems. She gave me a breathing treatment in office, a steroid shot, a different inhaler, an amoxicillin antibiotic, a daytime cough prescription & a nighttime cough syrup with codeine. I took all of those and they ended just after Christmas. I still have the cough, because now I'm having sinus drainage that is in the chest area also. I've kind of got my voice back, but it is still pretty rough sounding. I'm just hoping to get completely past it and get back to normal, because all this stuff sucks.

Then Saturday evening I messed up my lower back, but luckily, my work has a chiropractor that comes in 2 days a week; every Tuesday & Thursday, so I got to see him a little bit ago, and he fixed that problem. I still have a little bit of pain from it being out, but I can stand straight & walk easily now, so that is one good thing lately.

I just feel like I'm falling apart these days. I'm sure it will get better eventually, I just wish it didn't all have to hit at the same time.

Well, I guess I've complained enough for now. I'm going to go hit the medicine cabinet and get a pain reliever and then at least one of my problems will be solved. Here's hoping the new year gets off to a better start than the last one ended with.

Change Is A Good Thing...

2010-08-16T09:58:00.005-05:00

At least for us it is.

James has worked nights for the past 7-8 years. That wasn't so bad when it was just him & I, but once Dakota came along it seemed like we hardly ever saw each other. I would get home with Dakota around 4pm, James would be asleep right up until time for him to go to work, so he spent very little time with Dakota. We very seldom ever ate supper together. We literally seemed like two individual people whose lives occasionally crossed paths.

Around the middle of June, Carlisle (James' employer) switched him to a day shift. Needless to say, after working so many years of straight nights, James had a very difficult time transitioning over to a day schedule. He had the most trouble getting into a new sleep pattern/routine. He kept telling me, "I don't know if I can do this, this is about to kill me."

Now, here we are almost 2 months later, and not only is he "alive", but he loves it. We have fallen into a very comfortable routine that is great for a change. I get home with Dakota a little before 4pm. Since James works a 10 hour shift, he works until 5pm and gets home a little before 6pm. He plays with Dakota while I fix supper. Now we eat supper as a "family" & we love it. After supper I clean up the kitchen while James' starts Dakota's bath. When I'm done I go in to assist with the bath. We've never had the opportunity to spend this much time together as a family before, but we're loving it!!!

It just feels great to know that I now have help, that we get to eat as a family, we can actually plan and go places together. Plus with this new schedule James is off most Fridays, so Dakota stays home with him on Friday. They both seem to enjoy their extra time together, and its obviously a good bonding experience for them.

So, change may not always be easy, but it is usually a good thing!!!

I've had Enough...

2010-08-13T10:32:00.003-05:00

I've about reached my limit, quite simply I've just had enough. I'm ready for something to go right and dare I say it, just work as it should for a change.

We've been having trouble with my car, it just isn't running right. In the last week we've changed the spark plugs and wires. We had the catalytic converters (my car has four) checked to see if they were plugged (they weren't). We put a new fuel filter on (that was plugged). They tripped the check engine light to go off thinking that the fuel filter had to of been the problem. The very next day (wouldn't you know it) the check engine light comes back on.

My husband knows a little, but it is over his head. My father-in-law knows quite a bit about vehicles, but it is over his head too. Since I'm the one that is always hauling Dakota around, I don't want to be stranded along the side of the road somewhere in 100 degree weather. I've finally gave in and called the Ford dealership and I have an appointment for 3:00 pm today. I just hope they can figure out what the problem is without it costing me a fortune.

I just hate going to the main dealership like that though. One, it always costs a lot, usually more in labor than any parts that they would put on it. Two, they always want me to tell them what I think the problem is or what it is doing. Let's face it, I know next to nothing about cars. In my world it either works or there's something wrong with it. When I try to describe something to them they usually look at me like "and I'm supposed to figure this out when you know nothing about it". I just hate this experience, because I feel so stupid trying to relay to them what it is doing. I usually end up telling them to just take it for a drive, you can't miss it. I just may have to do that again this time.

Here's to getting it fixed without breaking the bank, so that we can roll on with things the way they usually are. Plus, we're supposed to be coming back to Schuyler the weekend after Labor Day, and I don't feel comfortable taking it that far the way its running at the moment. I want to come back up home, because its the last trip of the year for us, but if I can't get it fixed, we'll have to cancel, and I really don't want to do that.

Send me some good luck God, Plleeeaaaassssseeeee!

Any Ideas/Suggestions...

2010-08-11T13:54:00.003-05:00

Alright, I'll admit it (in case you didn't already know), I'm kind of a blog stalker. I follow what you all post, but quite frankly haven't had anything to write about or the time to do it even if I did have something. Thus the reason that it has been almost a full two months since my last post. I may get better at this one day, but oh well, on to what I need help with.

I'm looking for any ideas from you BTDT moms as to meal suggestions/planning for a 13 month old. I don't know at this point if he is just a picky eater or if it has something to do with the texture/consistency of certain foods that is the problem, but it is really hard to get him to eat. Things he eats really well are:

Grilled Cheese
Bread & Butter/Biscuits
Chicken Nuggets
Mashed/Baked Potato
Pancakes
Pudding/Yogurt
Cheese Pizza Rolls
Applesauce

I would love to get him to eat other things, and I DO keep offering/trying other foods, he just isn't going for any of them at this time. You can't get him to eat any type of vegetables or pasta. Other than nuggets, he won't eat any type of meat either.

I've tried meatloaf, hamburgers, fish, spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, sliced ham, hot dogs, bacon and so on; all a no go.

I still can't get him to eat his veggies, but we may be getting a little closer on that front. Before he would not even try them, then he would play with them (squeeze them between his fingers), now he will put one piece in his mouth, chew it a little, then spit it back out. No actual eating, but closer now than we were before.

So, is this normal for this age that they latch on to a few particular items and won't do anything else? Can you break them of it or does it have to be in their own time? Some of this could be due to teeth. The 1 year molar area has been swollen for quite a while now, but hasn't broken on thru yet. In your experience, did your children not eat as well during that time?

I'm just looking for any ideas/suggestions, I'm open to anything if it gets him eating better than he is right now, so any ideas/tips would be greatly appreciated!!!

The Planning Has Begun...

2010-06-15T12:58:00.006-05:00

That's right, we're in full scale planning mode for Dakota's first birthday. Well, in all actuality, I have been for a little while now, just haven't had time to update my blog about it. So, not that probably any of you really care, but if you're bored & need something to occupy a few minutes of your day, here goes.

The date is set, well a couple dates actually.

First we are having the main birthday party for all family & friends on Saturday, June 26th. We chose this date, because all of my family will be here from NE Missouri as of this coming Saturday, and they will be staying until June 28th, but then they have to go back home. I finally set this date down as a firm date, because everyone was informing me of their plans, but I'm tired of trying to please everyone. I finally told them, "this is when we're having it, if you can make it great, if not that's fine too". I wasn't trying to be rude, but there is no way you're ever going to please everyone, and I'm not willing to change everything around because it doesn't fit in with 1-2 peoples plans. That evening we'll have a big cake, ice cream, punch & other snack food.

Then on his actual birthday, Tuesday, June 29th, we are sending treats (cupcakes & punch) in to his daycare for all the kids, so that they can help him celebrate his first big day. That evening, we'll have a private birthday party (cake & ice cream), just Mommy, Daddy & Dakota.

The theme is "Finding Nemo". We decided even though Dakota doesn't know or care about this movie yet, that it is definitely a cute, fun adventure film that is sure to be well known among the other daycare children (plus I love this movie & my vote should count for something).

We have all the requirements either already bought, or will be by this weekend. We have tablecloths, plates, napkins, cups, utensils. We're gathering all the supplies to make individual treat/favor boxes for all the daycare kids.

I've designed his birthday invitations & as soon as I get 1 of his new pictures (should be happening tomorrow), I can get that put on it as well, then they are ready to print and mail out. Is it lame/cheap that I made my own? I do have a job as a graphic artist, so it looks professional I think. (Here is what it looks like, without his actual picture, you decide).

We just had his 1-year pictures done by my cousin Jeania Klick. She is the same one that took his 8-month pictures (the cowboy pictures). I'm supposed to have those by the end of the week, except for the single image that I requested for the birthday invitation. I'm anxious to see them. We took him to the park & let him play in the sand. He loved that. Then for the rest of them, we went back to her place. We took some with him & the balloons, then we let him destroy a cake. Oh my, did we enjoy that. There was no simple cleaning, we just had to give him a bath. I can hardly wait to see how they turn out!!!

We're looking forward to the family visiting. Also, the middle of next week we're scheduled to have new family pictures taken, that will be nice too, as we haven't had one since Dakota was 1-month old.

Well, that is about it for now. I promise I'll try to update sooner in the future. We'll definitely post an update after the birthday parties.

Until then!

Time For An Update...

2010-05-26T09:56:00.020-05:00

Alright, let's face it, I'm not very good at keeping my blog up-to-date. I promise, I'll work on that, but let's be honest, it may not get any better. I thought it was more than past time that I write an update to catch up the happenings of the Conner's, so here goes.

Since it's been over a month since I've posted anything, we'll try to hit the highlights.

Dakota is on the verge of walking. He edges all around as long as he has something to hang on to. He will walk clear across the room if he is pushing one of his toys (especially his toy tractor from Grandma & Grandpa Ketchum). He has taken a few "free standing" steps, but after about 3-4 he will drop to the floor and crawl the rest of the way.

We're getting pretty independent. We like to feed our self. We can get pretty messy with it, but that's what baths are for right???

Dakota now has 7 teeth, and we're trying to get 2-3 more in. Luckily, he isn't a fussy guy with any of his teeth so far, we'll hope that continues.

We also love to set & play with our toys. We recently bought him a set of the ABC wooden blocks, and he loves to topple towers and bang them together.

About 2-3 weeks ago, Dakota started running a fever on a Friday evening. Since he wasn't fussy or cranky, I thought it was maybe tied to teething. We treated the fever (101.7 at the highest point). When the medicine would wear off, we would spike back up again. This cycle continued until about mid-morning on Sunday. Sunday afternoon he was back to normal (or so we thought). Monday he was fine, had a cough, but it sounded normal. Tuesday morning I dropped him at daycare in the same shape as Monday; however, when I got him Tuesday evening, they said he'd been fussy all day (not like him at all) and I noticed he sounded pretty raspy/wheezy. His pediatrician is not in the office on Wednesday's and since it was almost 4 pm on a Tuesday, I figured I'd have to wait until Thursday to get him looked at. As it happens, I called in to setup an appointment, and was asked if I could be there at 4:15 pm. I said I might be a few minutes late, but we'll be there. We got there 4 minutes late. We got in to see the doctor and he agreed that Dakota did sound very raspy in the lower part of the lungs. He ordered us some more Albuterol for the nebulizer, as well as a 2-view chest x-ray and an RSV test. He really didn't think it was RSV, but he wanted to rule it out before putting him on a steroid. We did the x-rays & the RSV test, then went back home. I received a call from the doctor on Wednesday morning (before going to his other duty), and he said the RSV test was negative, but he was going to hold off from giving him anything else until the x-rays had been read. He said to call back in that afternoon & talk to his on-call doctor and they would give me the results. I called in that afternoon and left a recording on the on-call's answering machine. They finally returned my call at 4:58 pm. The x-rays showed that he had viral pneumonia. The on-call told me to go to the pharmacy and pick up the script of Zithromax that they had called in. We gave him the "loading dose" that evening. Then the next morning, I get another phone call from his doctor and he said he saw what the on-call had put him on, and that he wanted us to discontinue using it. He said the antibiotic would only help with a bacterial pneumonia, not the viral that Dakota had. He said to go back to the pharmacy and pick up the new script that he had called in for a steroid to put him on instead. We did that and everything seemed to be going well, but the next weekend we ran a fever just like the last one. I called his doctor on Monday and asked if it was normal for the fever to spike back up again. He said not generally, so he was afraid that it had re-presented itself as the bacterial pneumonia instead. So, back to the hospital for more chest x-rays. Luckily, this fever seemed to be due to teething, the chest x-rays showed that both the virus that caused the pneumonia & the pneumonia itself were gone!!!

We celebrated our first official Mother's Day (I was pregnant for the last one, but didn't actually have a child yet at that one). I received a card from James, a card from Dakota, a dozen yellow roses from James & Dakota. I also got a "hand-print plaque" from Dakota courtesy of his daycare. We went to church together that Sunday, then made the rounds. We took James' mom a balloon, a card, a photo t-shirt & a dozen yellow roses. We then gave James' grandmothers each a plant & card. We gave my grandma a plant & card. We also sent money up home via Western Union, so that my sister could get my mom & my grandma that is in NE Missouri something as well. That was a busy weekend, but we had a great time.

As for upcoming events. The first weekend in June is the Fort Scott Good Ol' Days celebration. It is a celebration/festival that the town puts on featuring entertainment, live re-enactments regarding the civil war that takes place at the fully-restored civil war fort. They have rides for the children, as well as a street fair that stretches for 4 blocks where vendors setup booths to sell their goods. They also have a main "featured event" to try to draw the crowds in; two years ago was the "Budweiser Horses", last year was "Dock Dogs", this year is "The All-American Lumberjack Show". It is usually a good time, so we're looking forward to it.

Then the 2nd weekend in June we're having Dakota's 1-year pictures taken, so that they're ready a little ahead of time.

The 3rd weekend my family is coming down from the 19th - 28th, so we'll visit and cook-out a lot. I've also got us scheduled to have a huge family picture taken as well as new individual family unit photos taken.

We're ending the month of June with Dakota's 1st birthday. We're very excited, yet at the same time can't believe its been almost a year already.

Well, that's about it for us. We'll try to make the next update sooner rather than later!!!

My Best Friend...

2010-04-19T14:24:00.010-05:00

Since I'm not that great at coming up with ideas to blog about, I've turned to the help of a "topic generator" when I don't have anything of my own to write about. That being advised, this is the first spin of the "topic generator".

Most people meet their best friends when they first start school. Right??? Well, I met my best friend my freshman year of high school.

I don't know if you all remember this or not, but the second half of our freshman year (1994-1995) we ended up with a student teacher (Wendy Carter) in our English course. Carter came up with a special assignment for us. We did the mandatory groaning and complaining, but she assured us it would be fun. That assignment was that we each had to write a pen-pal letter to an English teacher/class in a different state. I honestly don't know if very many people ever received a reply to the original pen-pal letters that were sent out, but that's how I met my best friend, I was one of the letters that actually received a reply.

Since we were dealing with the actual mail service, the letters took a while to send/receive. It had been a while since our letters were sent out, but upon arriving home from school one day, I had a letter addressed to me from someone in California. California??? I didn't know anyone in California. This could only be one thing!!!

Sure enough, I opened the letter, and read about a complete stranger. We continued to write back and forth all through high school. I could tell her anything, and she could tell me anything. For two people that had never met, that lived completely different lives, we had so much in common.

We lost touch for a while when we'd both went away to college, but in 2005 I was able to reconnect with her using Classmates.com. Those first few days we had so much to say and ask to/about one another. It was like our own private little class reunion. Since that time, we've still kept in touch. Instead of waiting on the postal service (which we do occasionally), we now use email & facebook to keep in touch. We've talked on the phone once, and we're hoping to finally meet one of these days, but whether that happens or not, she is and always will be my best friend.

Now that you know the history of my best friend, maybe I should introduce you to her:

Her name is Rebecca Jo (Henline) Tierney.
She was born March 18, 1980.
Her parents are Richard & Jenniefer.
She is an only child.

(This is a picture of Rebecca with her high school sweetheart Ryan).

When we first met she lived in Huntington Beach, California.

(Pretty, but way too congested for my comfort).

Once we had reconnected, I learned that Rebecca had married her high school sweetheart Ryan Tierney in Kihei, Maui on September 27, 2003.

(Truly a beautiful picture).

On February 28, 2007 Ryan and Rebecca were blessed with a beautiful baby girl that they named Delainey Rose.

(Isn't she just precious).

Ryan and Rebecca decided they wanted a better place to raise their only daughter in, so they began looking and researching areas. Just this past year, they relocated from California to Noblesville, Indiana.

(She's much closer now, so I will meet her one day).

They bought a house, and they're now settled in.

(I love this house, it's beautiful).

After settling in, they (by way of the local animal shelter) got Delainey a "sister".

This is Sheba.
(Isn't she cute).

Oh, I did forget to mention that Rebecca's a RN. Other than that, you now know my best friend. I'm so lucky to have her, and one day we will finally meet. Until that time, I'll continue to bug her via email and facebook!!!

What's Your Opinion...

2010-04-12T13:23:00.003-05:00

Alright Ladies, I'm calling on your BTDT (been there - done that) knowledge. I'm early yet, but I'm trying to get everything planned out ahead of time, and I really don't know which way to go, so I'm going to the experts (in case you were wondering, that's YOU)!!!

Dakota's first birthday is June 29th, which falls on a Tuesday this year. This is why I'm needing your opinions. I have three options:

Celebrate his birthday on Tuesday, June 29th.
Celebrate his birthday on Saturday, June 26th (the Saturday before).
Celebrate his birthday on Saturday, July 3rd (the Saturday after).

So, now that you know my options, what would you do?

Most of the family that would be invited is within one hour's drive from us. However, my family (from Schuyler) is planning on being here for his first birthday if at all possible. Even though I think it would be fun to be together over the 4th, I know a lot of people travel or have their own private parties around that time. Plus, my dad has a fire phobia, he just knows that if he isn't home to keep an eye on things that someone is going to burn the house down, so he never wants to be away from home over the 4th. If we have it on the actual day, a Tuesday evening may be hard to get everyone together, as everyone's schedule is different. I'm really thinking that the Saturday before offers the best alternative.

At the same time that I think a party the Saturday before would be best, I'm also thinking that I don't want to ignore his actual day. If you did do the party the Saturday before, would you follow it up with a private (mom, dad & the birthday boy only) party?

As you can see, I need some help. What's your ideas???

Getting Back In The Swing Of Things...

2010-04-08T07:29:00.005-05:00

Well, we're trying to anyway. It always seems to take me a few days to get back into the swing of things after a long trip like that. I love the time spent away, and visiting with friends and family, but at the same time, its great to get back home and settle back into the normal routine of my daily life.

Dakota & I left for my parents place in Downing last Thursday morning. We arrived around 4-5 pm, after making several stops along the way, such as: Russell Stover Candy Factory in Boonville where Dakota picked out some candy & had a bowl of strawberry ice cream. We had so much fun seeing everyone again. All of my family loved getting to spend so much time with him, and of course, he loved all the attention he was getting.

Friday we all went to Kirksville, we did some shopping. Lucky for me, my little man is a great shopper. I can spend over an hour in Wal-Mart, and he'll never throw a fit. However, shopping always seems to take a while, because he's a FLIRT!!! He'll set in the cart and smile or babble, and then almost every elderly woman and almost every female cashier that passes by will come up and talk to him, pat him, or just look at him; and boy does he eat it up. Thus slowing down my shopping, but I've learned to live with it (I think this was the case with almost every female cashier in Hy-Vee on Friday).

Then as a treat, I took the whole family out to eat at Ponderosa for lunch. Dakota loved the buffet; he had diced ham, noodles, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes & gravy, lemon pudding & ice cream. I don't think I've ever got him to eat that well at one setting.

Saturday was more visiting and playing. We went across the road to my brother & sister-in-law's house and Dakota played on my nephew's swing set. He loved it!!! We pushed him in the child swing for a little bit, and then we switched over to the slide. (A couple of pictures of him enjoying his time outdoors - may not be the best quality as I took them with my cell phone).

After watching him enjoy swinging and sliding so much, we've decided that we're going to buy him a swing set for his first birthday in June!!!

On Sunday we all went to church and then came home to eat a wonderful dinner. We visited and played some more. Then on Monday morning, we left to return back home to Kansas. After another long trip, we arrived back home around 4-5 pm. Dakota missed seeing Daddy, so he came right in to wake him up and play with him.

So, now we're home and things are pretty much back to normal. The next time we see my family should be when they come to Kansas for Dakota's first birthday at the end of June.

Well, that catches you up on the Conner current events (if you were interested). Until next time, you all take care!!!

Packing For Travel...

2010-03-30T06:51:00.002-05:00

Well, as of this afternoon I'm going to have to start packing for our Easter trip. Why is that when it was just my husband & I we could throw everything in a bag in a matter of minutes & have everything we needed; now that we have a child it seems like I have to pack up half the house, and even then I'm not sure I have everything; is it just me that feels this way?

Packing aside, we're very excited for our upcoming trip. We thought at first that my husband would come along, so it was going to be for the weekend only. However, he has to work and can't get off, so it's just going to be Dakota & I. I was going to make the trip by myself, but my husband doesn't like me going that far with Dakota by myself. Not that I couldn't make it, but its a long way and anything could happen. So, we found a perfect solution, and it allows for a longer visit. My dad (step-dad, but we just call him dad) is going to come down to Kansas on Wednesday, spend the night at my house, then we're going to say goodbye to daddy and head back to Schuyler. Therefore, with the current plan, we should arrive sometime Thursday afternoon, and we'll leave sometime Monday morning.

We'll enjoy spending time with the family and visiting with everyone again. We were up for a few days in January for my uncle's funeral, but that didn't allow much time for visiting. We'll miss daddy of course, but we'll make it a point to talk to him on the phone everyday. We're ready for a short vacation.

Here's to a short work week and a great vacation.

If I see you, I'll say hi.

I'm Behind, So Let's Catch Up...

2010-03-24T08:51:00.009-05:00

I haven't been on here to post in ages (I've followed everybody else on their blogs, but nothing really exciting in my life to write about), so I thought it was more than past time that I finally get in gear and catch my blog up with the current events in the world of the Conner's.

Our whole world revolves around Dakota, so if you're reading this, you're along for the ride, because he's the only thing I have to talk about. If you're interested, here goes:

We are just almost nine months old now, and oh the things we've accomplished & learned along the way.

We now have four teeth: two middle bottom & two middle top. We're trying to get more, but those are the only ones that have actually made it through.

We are mobile!!! That's right, we crawled backwards for a long time, but we finally mastered moving forwards. Now that we know how, we're always on the move (and boy are we fast)!!!

Within the past few weeks, we've started pulling up on objects. We've now mastered that, we will even push to a stand in the middle of the floor without having anything to hang onto. We stand there for a little bit, then plop to the floor, only to stand up and try it again. We're not walking yet, unless you hang on to him, but I'm thinking that won't be too far off.

So, needless to say, we've entered into the world of bumps & bruises as we traverse the learning curve.

We had pictures taken a couple of weeks ago, and I thought they turned out so well. We were mainly going for the cowboy theme/look, but did take a couple of Easter shots as well. Here they are for your viewing pleasure, what do you think?

We've also decided to visit my family in Schuyler County for Easter, so we're looking forward to making the trip back up that way and visiting with everyone again.

Well, that's about it for us, thanks for reading (if you still are)!

What A Busy Week...

2010-01-21T07:59:00.002-06:00

The title says it all, I feel like this week has just been packed with things to do, and quite frankly, I'm ready for this week to be over!

This "week" started for me on Thursday, January 14th; approximately 3:15 pm, I got a phone call from my family in NE Missouri telling me that my Uncle Bill (56 years old) had just passed away. It was a shock of course, but I handle stuff like that well, so I just started making the necessary plans.

I worked all day on Friday, January 15th. I told them while I was there that I would need Monday & Tuesday off so that I could travel back to NE Missouri to attend my uncle's funeral, and unless something changed, I would be back to work on Wednesday.

That evening, we got everything packed & loaded, and then went to bed so that we could leave for Missouri sometime Saturday morning. As luck would have it, I came down with a "thankfully short" stomach flu Friday night/Saturday morning. I felt awful when I got up on Saturday, but we made the plans, and headed out anyway. My husband drove the whole way, and I rode in the back with Dakota. By about 12-2, I felt like my normal self (like I said, thankfully short). We arrived in Kirksville around 5 pm. We met my family over there to do some shopping, then we all met back at their house in Downing. We spent the rest of the evening visiting and playing "pass the baby".

Sunday morning, we all got up and went to church. After church, we all went out to my uncle's house where we all had a family dinner with the food everyone had brought/donated. Then we all left my uncle's house to return to my parents house, so that we could change our clothes. After we changed our clothes, we headed to Memphis to the Payne Funeral Chapel to attend what was supposed to be a 2-hour visitation. Anyone that was there (like Trenton & Erin) knows that this turned out to be much longer than that. Uncle Bill was very well liked. Our 2-hour visitation turned into a 4-hour visitation (needed that long to run everyone thru) (funeral directors estimated between 800 & 1000 people came thru). There was a line clear thru the funeral home when the family got there. They moved the family to the front of the line, then we started greeting/visiting & moving people thru. Needless to say, this turned into a very long evening. We finally got home between 10:30 & 11 pm.

Monday morning we got up, had breakfast, got dressed and left for the funeral home once again. Uncle Bill's funeral started at 11 am, once again, there was a huge turn-out (funeral directors estimated between 500 & 600). When the service was done, we all loaded up in our vehicles to begin the procession back to the Downing Cemetery. Anyone up that way knows that it was kind of chilly those days, and needless to say, the family was a little torqued, because there was a mix-up when we got there. Yes they had the hole dug, but we had no vault, no tent, no chairs. Come to find out, the vault company is responsible for the tent & chairs, and the vault company wrote down the wrong day. Therefore, we stood outside while the preacher made is graveside sermon. When it was all done, we loaded back up and returned to Memphis (again), where they had a family dinner waiting for us at the funeral home. We ate, visited, divided plants/flowers, took pictures of some of the family that was present & together for a change. Then we all left to head back to Downing again; one, to go back to the cemetery (the vault people finally got there so that they could get him buried), two, then we went to my parents house for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday morning we got packed up so that we could head back to Kansas. Needless to say, we didn't get started as early as we would of liked due to the fog & slick roads. We eventually left around 12:45 pm. We made the long trip back home, and finally made it home about 7:15 pm. It was an uncomfortable ride this time as Dakota was cutting his first tooth, so he wasn't a real happy camper this go round. We got home, got everything unloaded, got James sent off to work, got Dakota feed & in bed. Then I crashed. I was exhausted.

Like I said, it's been a long week, and I'm ready for it to be done. Here's to things looking up & things slowing down for a while!!!

Not As Easy As I Thought...

2009-12-14T07:25:00.007-06:00

So, I had this great idea. Picture this with me if you will:

We're going to place the miniature wooden rocking chair in front of the fully decorated Christmas tree. Then we'll take the tallest present and stand up behind the chair. On the other side of the chair we'll put "Snowflake Jake" (Home & Garden Snowman). Now sitting in the chair a cute little boy dressed in his very own Santa suit.

Now that would make a cute picture, don't you think???

Well, I've since learned it may have been a good idea, but it's not as easy as it sounds for the following reasons:

1) Santa didn't want to sit up in the chair.

2) Santa was very interested in trying to eat "Jake", and with everything else going on around him.

3) Santa gives some strange faces. I had a very hard time getting him to even attempt to smile.

4) Finally you just get fed up with the whole idea and you're happy with any shot that can even remotely be called decent. That being said, these were the best shots of the bunch.

So, this was a learning experience. Definitely not as easy as I thought, but we still ended up with some decent pictures. Maybe next year will go a little smoother. Here's hoping!!!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town...

2009-12-07T14:17:00.005-06:00

Well, I guess to be accurate, Santa Claus already came to town. My mother-in-law is very good friends with a man that plays Santa Claus each year. He used to migrate to New York every year to play the role of Santa Claus in some of the department stores up there, but the last few years he's been staying local instead. He really looks the part, and it's all him (no padding, no fake beard).

On Thursday, December 3, 2009 my mother-in-law got it set up for him to come to their hometown (Centerville, Kansas) to play Santa Claus for the town. She insisted that my husband & I bring Dakota up (about 45 minutes away), because it's his first Christmas, so he just had to see Santa Claus.

We made the trip, and I was fully expecting for it not to go well. The way their town does it, is they serve a supper at the town hall first, then they have door prize drawings, then Santa Claus arrives courtesy of the fire department. We got there early, but Dakota was very fussy. Mostly due to the fact that this fell in the middle of his nap time. I tried to settle him down, but it was so loud in the building, and there was just so much going on, that it just wasn't going to be possible.

Long story short, Santa finally arrived, and my son went from fussing/crying to openly staring at this complete stranger. He was absolutely captivated from the moment "Santa" entered the building. He followed his every movement. When Santa finally took his seat to begin meeting the children, he grabbed Dakota first. This is when I really expected a crying fit, but to my utter amazement, he went right to him. He sat on his lap for quite some time while Santa visited with some of the adults standing around.

Here is a picture of our first visit to Santa Claus.

So, our first visit was a success. We can only hope that his attitude doesn't change and that this type of experience always goes so smoothly.

Blogging Catch-Up...

2009-12-01T07:48:00.003-06:00

Well, I thought it was time that I get back on here. I've been following along with all of your lives, but just haven't had the time to write about my own.

My little guy is growing so fast. We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We made the journey from Southeast Kansas to Northeast Missouri. That's right, I finally made it back up "home". We left Kansas about 11:30 Wednesday morning and arrived in Downing about 6-6:30 that evening. For the most part, we had a pretty good trip. We stopped around Sedalia to feed Dakota and refill the gas tank. Then we stopped again at Columbia to top both Dakota & the tank off again. We stopped at Macon because Dakota was tired of riding and wanted out of his seat, then we continued on. Overall, he didn't do too bad. He's a pretty good traveler. He spent most of the time asleep, but it worked out.

Thursday we had the typical Thanksgiving feast; followed by that typical over-fed, drowsy, miserable feeling. We did an early Christmas with my family, as it was the last time we would all be together for a while (we won't be back up until next year sometime & my sister Kayla flew out of Kansas City on Black Friday to join her husband in Honduras). My little Dakota was very much the center of attention. He enjoyed showing off & bonding with everyone. His Aunt Tracy bought him a Precious Planet Rainforest/Safari jumper, and he LOVES it!!!! He spent the majority of the weekend jumping and laughing.

The only downside in my opinion was my little man had some nasal congestion before we made the trip up, which his doctor said sounded like allergies, and to start him on 1/2 tsp of Zyrtec daily. So, we did that, but by Wednesday night/Thursday morning he had developed a cough that definitely wasn't allergies, that was sounding down deeper in the lung area. I didn't want to wait until we could get back home to see his doctor, so on Friday, we ended up going to Lancaster to see Beverly Oliver. She put him on Amoxicillian & Albuterol Nebulizer Breathing Treatments for the next 10 days. He's definitely getting a little better, and the breathing treatments are keeping everything broke up. Hopefully, at the end of the cycle we'll be all better. I called yesterday to update his doctor, and he said he would follow-up with him at the end of the cycle, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I too had a few problems. I normally have no trouble with sinus/allergies; however, the first night up there, I was very congested, so I saw the doctor too. I'm also on Amoxicillian, but mine is much better already.

We also switched my little man from his Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat to a brand spanking new (and expensive I might add) Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat. I have to say, I believe that he very much prefers the new big boy seat opposed to the before mentioned infant seat. At first I was a little concerned about what I was getting since I had never seen one in person. I bought this seat online, and was hoping it was well worth the money they were asking for it. Once I saw it though, it is a very nice, comfy car seat.

We came back home on Sunday. It was great to see everyone again, but it was also great to get back home! Now that we're back home, I need to get everything put up, I need to clean & rearrange the living room, and when I'm done with that, put up all the Christmas stuff.

Busy, busy, busy.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here's to a Merry Christmas!!!

My How Time Flies...

2009-10-12T12:57:00.002-05:00

I guess that old saying "time flies when you're having fun" really is true. As of today, we've added yet another year to the marriage category. Yep, that's right, today's our anniversary. We've been married for 7 years now.

It's amazing the little details you can still remember about a specific occasion, but certain other details or facts you can't remember if your life depended on it. I still remember that we didn't want a big fuss, we wanted something simple. Therefore, we decided not to give anyone much notice. We told his parents the weekend before the ceremony. We were at their house visiting, they said "so, what are you doing next weekend?" James said, "I don't know about you, but we're getting married." You'd have thought we'd dropped a major bomb, as there was complete silence. My group was happy for us, but couldn't make the trip down to join us.

We proceeded on with the week. We planned a very simple ceremony: pastor, bride, groom, witnesses; and that's it. However, then we got that old lecture of: "it's rude not to invite the family", so they ended up telling grandparents and everyone else. Therefore, our wedding of the planned 5 people turned into a wedding of about 50 people. Looking back on it, I guess that was alright. One thing did go as expected, I told everyone we were NOT dressing up, and we didn't! We wore jeans & dress shirts (men) & sweaters (women) as it was raining that day. Not exactly what I wanted, but it still turned out alright.

We've had 7 great years so far (married), we've actually been together for 9 years. I have to say, that this year, with the addition of our son - Dakota to our family, we both agree that this year has been the best one so far. That being said, here's to many more to come!!!

Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you!!!

The Long Road To Recovery...

2009-10-07T10:42:00.012-05:00

Well, what a year it's been for our family! Exactly one year ago today (October 7, 2008), my sister Tracy Ketchum (then 17 - now 18) was in a near-fatal car accident East of Lancaster. It had rained really hard that morning, and on her way to school, she ended up hydroplaning and going sideways down the road. She eventually ended up losing control of the car and it rolled a couple of times before coming to rest up on its side in a pretty deep drainage ditch. We later found out that several people had drove past the scene without even knowing that she was there, so it's very hard to tell exactly how long she would have been there if a truck driver from Glenwood Elevator hadn't seen the accident and immediately called it in to dispatch. My sister, Carrie Orr (who drives the headstart bus) came upon the scene of the accident, so she called one of her co-workers to bring her car and come and get the headstart children and the bus and take them on into the Glenwood center while leaving her car at the scene so that she could stay there until they got Tracy out of the car. Well, unfortunately, extraction took a while. Tracy was driving a Buick Century, and the doors automatically lock after reaching a certain speed, so as a result, all the doors were locked with the windows up. The fire department still had not managed to get into the vehicle by the time the Schuyler County ambulance arrived on the scene, so Michelle Fry (EMT) took it upon herself to bust out the windshield and enter the vehicle that way.

So, after finally getting in the vehicle, they stabilized her and finally extracted her from the car. They had to open and stabilize her airway, and they knew by her symptoms that she had sustained a severe head injury and that due to the position she was in that she was deprived of oxygen to the brain for an unknown amount of time. Before you ask, yes she was wearing her seat belt, but it was the model that came out of the door, and while it kept her from flying forward, it offered absolutely no support from side to side. So, the ambulance departed for Kirksville, where my mom was already at work (she drives one of the OATS buses), so she met Tracy at the hospital. Almost immediately upon arriving at Kirksville, the staff there decided that she needed more help than they could provide, so they decided to transfer her to University Hospital in Columbia. Due to her condition, they requested life-flight, but due to the continuing bad weather (rain & fog), they were unable to fly. So, they ended up transferring her via the trauma ambulance instead. In the meantime, my sister (Carrie) and my step-dad arrived at Kirksville to get mom and they all departed for Columbia.

However during all this, they had forgot to call me and tell me what was going on. The way that I found out was I received a text from my cousin while I was at work that read "Grandma just told me about Tracy, when you know how she is let me know". I was like what the heck is going on, so I called my sister (Carrie) and said what's going on, I just got a strange text, at which point they filled me in and said that it's bad and that they would get back with me when they knew more.

When they arrived at Columbia, as you can imagine, it was to a host of one doctor after another. They met her entire team: neurology, trauma, respiratory, etc. Of course, in a situation such as this, they never want to give you much hope. They informed them that it was a severe head injury (the same type you would see as a result of shaken baby syndrome), and that they didn't know if she would make it. However, that if she did live, she would most likely be a vegetable for the rest of her life. So, after getting this update, and knowing just how bad it was, I left for Columbia almost immediately of getting home. I arrived in Columbia at about 9:30 that evening. Upon getting there, they immediately let me in to see her, of course she wasn't aware of anything as she was in a full-blown coma in the ICU. (These pictures were taken on October 8th).

I stayed there the rest of that week and weekend, but then had to return to work. My parents and sister (Carrie) stayed there pretty much the entire time. When I was up, we rented hotel rooms for the extra people. My parents were able to get into the local Ronald McDonald house just down the street, so that saved them some on expenses. I came back every weekend while she was in ICU, and there were many ups & downs during that time. She had a lot of posturing (typical in head injuries). They put a trach in as it would be easier for them to suction therefore drastically reducing the risk of pneumonia. Late one night we got the cardiology team called in because her heart-rate jumped to 210 bpm, and they said they needed to get it down or it could cause her to have a heart attack. They wanted permission to try an IV drug, so we gave consent. They said if it didn't work by morning that they wanted to stop her heart & restart it by shocking it back to a normal rhythm. Luckily, she came out of it with just the medicine, so we didn't have to resort to that.

The coma lasted for 3-1/2 weeks. During that time the team from Rusk Rehabilitation started coming over to the hospital to work with her to try to build up her muscle strength and control. Before she was out of the coma, Rusk's team decided to transfer her to their facility. They were afraid that they were losing too much ground waiting around on the hospital. So, we transferred to Rusk, and they started working with her everyday. Upon entering rehab, she couldn't use the right side of her body very much at all. They had to re-teach her a lot of things: walking, talking, eating, etc. However, about one week before Christmas she had made enough progress that she had finally got to come home. I was traveling back & forth every other weekend until I found out around Thanksgiving that I was pregnant, then the travel became a little too much for me.

She was thrilled to be home. They started her on physical therapy at the Scotland County Hospital three days a week. In January, there was a tutor that came to the house to home-school her, and she was still able to go ahead and graduate with the rest of her class in May 2009.

As of now, a year later, she still attends physical therapy three days a week. She still has difficulty with her right wrist/hand as well as a significant limp when walking on her right leg. Her speech is a little slow and slurred, but if you take the time to listen, you can understand her just fine. She also had trouble with her right eye, but other than being a little sluggish, it has come back almost 100%.

In September she enrolled at North Central (in Trenton) for a couple of their online courses. Her doctor didn't want her on campus, and didn't want her taking more than 6 credit hours. So, she is still at home, and taking college reading & sociology this semester. She's had a long road to recovery, but I couldn't be happier for her. She's worked very hard to get where she is today. She's not 100% yet, she may never be, but considering what the alternative could have been, we're very pleased with her progress!!!

Weekend Plans Cancelled...

2009-09-10T11:25:00.002-05:00

Well, we were all set to return to Schuyler County this weekend to attend the Downing Appreciation Days, but now those plans have been cancelled.

My little Dakota was pretty fussy last night, but I couldn't figure out why. He wasn't running a fever, but you just couldn't seem to make him happy. I was up most of the night with him (by myself as my husband works the night shift). I kept rocking him, walking with him, feeding him; which all seemed to work for a while, he would go back to sleep, then wake up an hour or two later crying again. It made for a long night, but when getting him ready for daycare this morning, he was still not running a fever and he was out like a light.

I bundled him up and dropped him at daycare around 6 am. About 8:15 daycare called me to tell me he was really fussy and was running a temperature of 100.1. Therefore, I made the 30 minute drive to daycare to pick him up, then made the 30 minute drive back to town to get him in to see his pediatrician. I was honestly pretty worried with all the swine flu going around. Well, we finally got in to see his doctor, and his doctor said he had a little bit of congestion (he thought), so he sent him for a 2-view chest x-ray. They also decided to do a nasal swab (which he hated) to test for the flu. The doctor was pretty confident he didn't have the swine flu, but just wanted to rule it out.

My husband met us at the doctors office. I returned to work when everything was done, and he took my car and Dakota home. They'll come back for me this afternoon, and then I'll go home to take care of my baby. The doctors office has already called me back. They said the chest x-rays looked good, no trouble there. However, he did test positive for flu "b". I asked what the heck that was, and the nurse said there is 2 main types of flu they are testing for "a" & "b". The nurse said flu "b" is the lesser of the 2. So, I guess if he had to get one, this is the one to get. They said the only thing to do is regular systematic treatment (try to keep the fever down and keep him hydrated), and it will run its course.

So, nothing too serious, but we've decided we're not traveling 7-8 hours with a sick baby. So, our weekend plans are now cancelled. So, those of you that I normally see, we'll try to catch up with you some other time.

Weekend Plans...

2009-09-09T07:10:00.003-05:00

Well, Labor Day weekend has come and gone, and man was it a busy weekend. We managed to get everything accomplished that we had planned. Here is the low-down:

We entered Dakota into the Uniontown Old Settlers Reunion baby contest. I have to say, theirs was conducted differently than any I had ever been to. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't impressed with how they ran theirs. For starters, I think every baby contest I've ever been to was broken up into 3 month categories; well Uniontown broke theirs into 6 month categories. Secondly, on all the contests that I've attended, the judges set out in front of the babies, and they come up and interact with them a little. The judges were always separate from the people that registered the babies. Well, in Uniontown, the judges were the same 2 women that registered the babies into the contest. Also, they were seated behind the babies, and they never came up and looked at them or interacted with them at all. I have to say, I didn't care for how this baby contest was conducted. Now that I've ranted about that, I will say that Dakota did win 2nd place in the 0-6 month boys category.

The daycare that Dakota attends, "Imagination Station", entered a themed float into the Uniontown Old Settlers Reunion parade. The theme for this year was "pride & progress". The daycare requested that any child that was available to ride the float to please do so. So, after the completion of the baby contest, Dakota and I walked the 3-4 blocks to the bus barn where they were lining everyone up for the parade. We rode on the float with all the daycare teachers and approximately 15-18 of the 30 kids that are enrolled into the daycare center. It was very foggy here during the baby contest, and that made it pretty cool weather wise, but about 20 minutes before the parade started, the fog cleared and it got really hot & humid. They had us out in the open waiting for the parade to start. There wasn't any shade anywhere around us. I tried to keep Dakota out of the sun as much as I could. He did get a slight sunburn on his cheeks and nose, but it was gone the next day, so luckily it wasn't bad at all. Dakota decided he was just plain wore out - its hard work waiting around you know, so he fell asleep and remained asleep through the entire parade. When the parade was over, he decided it was now time to eat. So, that sums up our Labor Day. By the way, the daycare's float won 1st place, which earned them $100.

As for this weekend, I can hardly wait. This weekend we're coming back to Schuyler County. We're coming back up home to attend the Downing Appreciation Days. I'm taking Friday off as a vacation day, so we will be leaving Kansas about 5 am, and depending on how many times we have to stop with Dakota (this is our 1st long trip with him) then we should be there by 1-2 pm. I'm sure I'll see a few of you lingering around. I normally run into at least Andrea, Kristina, Kenny, Nick, Crystal, Mandy, Ember & Leah, but I may catch a few more. I try to always make it back home for Appreciation Days. It is the last time that I see my family for the year, and so we try to make the rounds and visit with everyone. This year we'll be entering Dakota into the Appreciation Days baby contest too. Whether he wins or not, we'll have a good time. Hopefully, it won't be too hot, and if it is, I hope I can keep him out of the direct sunlight. So, we'll be up that way by Friday afternoon, and then we'll be leaving to come back home sometime Sunday morning as my husband has to work Sunday night. So, whatever your plans, if I see you, I'll be sure to say hi. If I don't notice you, but you see me, say hi too. See ya soon - maybe!!!

A Necessary Evil...

2009-09-03T06:55:00.003-05:00

I can't begin to tell you how much I'm dreading this afternoon. I'm leaving work at 1:45 today so that I can drive out to daycare (20-30 minutes away) and pick my son up and bring him back to town (another 20-30 minutes) for his 2-month appointment with his pediatrician where he will be weighed, measured and given his next 4 shots.

I know that these immunizations are necessary and that its in their best interest to get them vaccinated, but at the same time you just can't help but feel really terrible to make them go through it. Shots don't bother me at all, so if I could, I would get them all for him. What's sad about the whole situation in my opinion, is that I know oh so many adults that are absolutely terrified at getting a shot (I mean they are really babies about the whole deal - no pun intended), and most of them are only getting 1 shot. Yet these poor little guys (or girls) have to suffer by getting multiple injections (in places close together) all in the same day. How is that fair?

I just hope my little guy handles them alright and that they don't give him much trouble. I make sure to always give him a dose of Tylenol before we go, so that it has time to kick in and work prior to him getting the shots (kind of as a preventative measure). Then if needed, follow-up with an additional dose later on. He didn't have any problems with his 1-month shot, but it was only the 1 shot. I hope the same can be said when we get the 4. I guess we'll see!

Oh well, I've got that off my chest now. Sorry for boring you if you read clear through to the end.

Am I Going Overboard???

2009-09-01T13:02:00.003-05:00

Alright ladies, tell me in your honest opinion, am I going overboard?

The situation is, my husband thinks I'm crazy and that it isn't necessary as Dakota is too little to understand or care about books. The daycare that we chose to enroll him in is partnered with the Southeast Kansas Headstart program (we don't qualify for Headstart as we make too much money), but you still get some of the benefits. One of the primary benefits in my opinion, is that since it is a preschool as well, we receive the monthly Honeybee Scholastic Book Order catalogs.

We received the first catalog last month, and should continue to receive them monthly. I went ahead and placed an order for a few of the "educational books". Things like numbers, letters, colors and several short books that are "touch & feel". I'm reading them to him, even though he doesn't understand or care, and on the touch & feel I run his finger/hand over the textures. My reason (in my own mind), is that I love books, but I didn't always, and I want my son to have a love of books and reading (prior to getting into school). I also want him to have a variety of books or his own little "library" that he can choose from as his love of books grows as he gets older.

So, my husband believes it's a waste of time to read to him at this age, but I don't see it that way at all. In my opinion, it's not hurting anything, and it is just another thing we can do together. Therefore, in your honest opinion, should I put it all off for a while, or continue on as I have been? How early did you start reading to your kids? Even if they don't understand, what does it hurt? In short, am I going overboard in reading to my son while he's this young?

You can be honest, if I'm nuts, just say so!!!

My Life Is Forever Changed...

2009-08-27T14:32:00.006-05:00

For starters, it's been forever since I've been on here, and I've decided it was way passed time to get back into the swing of things, so here goes.

In some ways it seems almost impossible to believe that as of the end of June my life has now been forever changed. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret this particular change in the least. I love my little guy so much. He has forever changed me, and I will be thankful for that and him for the rest of my life. It seems like it took us forever to say that we were finally adding to our family, then with the worry and doubt that nailed us as a result of the many complications while carrying him, but now looking back on all the hard times, worries and doubts, it was all so worth it in the end!!! I don't regret a single thing, and if I had to go through it all again (all the worries/problems) for him I would. It is truly amazing that you can utterly love and care for someone so much, even before you've ever had the extreme pleasuring of meeting them.

It's amazing how one little person can change your lives so much - and all for the better!!! I love watching him learn and discover the world around him. I'm amazed by how fast he is growing and by how much he seems to change with each passing day. You would think that so many changes hitting you all at one time would be hard to adjust to, but I can honestly say that we've fallen into a wonderful routine that is working great for all involved.

My husband and I were great as a pair, but with the addition of our little boy Dakota, I now feel that our lives are complete. That's not to say that we won't eventually add to our family, but since having Dakota, I don't feel like we're missing out on anything.

Here's to the rest of our lives - may they be happy and blessed!!!

Today Is The Day...

2009-06-29T02:52:00.002-05:00

Well, today is the day. We are supposed to be at the hospital by 4:45 this morning to begin our induction. We're exactly 38 weeks today, but the doctor wants to move forward and get our little guy delivered. I've been having quite a bit of blood pressure issues, so they finally decided it was getting high enough that they needed to put me on bp medicine to control it. It worked for a little bit, but is beginning to rise again, so they feel the best thing possible for all concerned is to go ahead and deliver.

I can hardly believe that today is the day (well hopefully, today is the day). They're starting our labor around 5:00 am, but that doesn't necessarily mean that baby Dakota will put in an appearance today. I certainly hope so, but you never know!!!

I finished packing everything last night, then tried to sleep for a while. I ended up with about 3 hours of sleep, but I guess that will just have to do. I got up early this morning (1:30) so that I could get all cleaned/groomed up. I took a nice, long shower. I shaved my legs/underarms. Got dressed, and now I'm all done with an extra hour to kill, so you see what I'm doing with my spare time.

It seems like this has been such a long and emotional- rough and rocky road, that I will be more than happy to reach the end of it. However, I have to admit that I'm a little nervous at the same time. I know I can do this and that we'll be fine once we're home, but there is always that little voice in the back of your head that convinces you that you're going to have trouble. I've been around babies/little kids a lot in my life (I mean my youngest brother is 15 years younger than me and I did a lot of baby-sitting in my time), but it is different when they're your own and you have complete care of them 24 hours a day. Oh well, I guess I just need to let nature take over and tackle this one day at a time. We'll let tomorrow take care of itself (for now).

I'll post some pictures of our little man soon.

So, let the fun begin!!!

We're Almost There...

2009-06-19T10:29:00.002-05:00

I went back to the doctor again yesterday, and we are definitely getting close now. Due to my continuing high blood pressure issues (even with the medicine), doc has decided that he doesn't want to put things off any longer than necessary. Therefore, yesterday he scheduled us for an induction that is to take place on the morning of June 29th!!!

Honestly, I'm feeling some mixed emotions. On the one hand, I cannot wait to meet my little guy, but on the other hand, now I'm a little nervous that all of this is going to happen in just a little over 1 weeks time. We have everything ready for his arrival, I just have to pack a bag for me & a bag for him (which I'll do this weekend).

Luckily, with this scheduling, I get a little extra help as well. The company that my husband works for (Carlisle Power Transmission) is closing the plant for 1 week, so all members that wish to receive a paycheck for that week is required to take a week of their vacation. Our induction date falls at the very beginning of his mandatory 1 week vacation. So, we'll have our little guy, and then we'll both be home with him together. That makes me feel a little better about everything.

Nervous or not, our times almost up. We'll try to post a few pictures shortly after we get back home. Here's hoping for a quick & easy induction/delivery!!!

Thanks for reading.

I'm So Excited...

2009-06-12T07:37:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited!!! My doctors appointment yesterday afternoon was so good. My doctor was happy with my blood pressure, he said the medicine he had put me on the week before was working exactly as it should be. Therefore, he is no longer talking about taking me off of work and placing me on bed-rest.

However, the best news (in my opinion) was right before leaving the office. We were wrapping up the visit when he asked me if I had any questions for him. I said, actually I do (usually I can't think of anything I want to ask) so I said in some of my readings on the internet, it sounds like a lot of doctors won't talk about inducing until the patient is at least 41-42 weeks, but I know that every doctor is a little different, so what do you do? He said I don't let them go over at all. He proceeded to tell me that with all the problems we've had, that if I haven't had the baby by 38 weeks, that we will have an induction scheduled sometime in the 38th week, he said the baby is big & ready, so he would have no problems caused by arriving early.

That being said, sometime between June 29th & July 4th, I will finally get to meet my little guy. My doctor said we would nail down an official date sometime in the next week or two. I'm so excited, I can hardly wait. I mean an extra 2 weeks wouldn't have killed me, but to get to meet my little guy a few weeks early will be great as well.

We're almost there!!!

I'm Jealous...

2009-06-10T09:22:00.002-05:00

I try to always be happy with what I've got or where I'm at, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

You know what I mean, right???

However, I had a moment of pure "jealousy" yesterday, and I just couldn't help myself. My department at work is "small" (when I say small, I mean there is 6 people that does all the work in my area). One of my co-workers and I are due exactly 1 month apart (she is due June 15th & I'm due July 13th). Due to her 2nd baby being delivered by repeat c-section, they took hers a few days early (yesterday). Thus my moment of jealousy!!!

Don't get me wrong, I was/am very happy for her & her family. However, I couldn't help but wish at the same time that it was me & my family, and that it was our chance/time to finally meet our little guy. I know, that is just so wrong of me!!! I should be happy that he isn't here yet, and therefore has a little longer and should be better suited for this new world when he does finally make his appearance, but at the same time I still wished it was me.

So, now I've confessed my jealousy.

Does that make me a bad person??? Oh, maybe not, just human!!!

Things Are Never Easy, But They Seem To Work Out...

2009-06-05T13:18:00.005-05:00

Every time I get the dumb idea to go and think that things are settling down and going right for a change, BAM, something has to go and mess it up. Alright, I know that may sound extreme, but that's just how it feels sometimes.

I thought things were finally smoothing out, and we would have a good ending to this complicated pregnancy, but yesterdays doctor's appointment threw a wrench into that plan. Some of you know that I was having some issues with the "female" doctor that I was seeing. Enough issues, in fact, that I was considering switching doctors. Well, as of the first week in May, that decision was taken out of my hands. I received a letter in the mail from the hospital stating that my doctor was leaving to return to a career in the Army, and that all of her patients could switch to one of two doctors: a "male" OB/GYN or a "female" Family Practitioner. My first instinct was to go with the "female", but due to all the problems we've had, they consider me high-risk, and she doesn't take high risk. Therefore, I had no choice but to switch to the "male" OB/GYN. It wasn't that I had a problem with him being a "male", I was just really uncomfortable in that situation with a "male". I continued to see my "female" doctor until May 19th (she wanted to see me for another 2 weeks), but I called in and said that I would prefer to go ahead and switch to him. That put me seeing him for the first time at 32 weeks instead of the original 35-36 that it would have been had I stayed with her until she left. So, long story short, after meeting him, I really like him. He just has this way about him, that even though you're not comfortable with the situation, he just really puts you at ease and you're able to relax.

That being said, yesterday didn't go so well. We are 34-1/2 weeks, and when they checked my blood pressure it was 148/100. He decided that was really too high, and wrote me a script for high blood pressure medicine (lebetalol) {100mg - 2x a day}. He said he will give it a week to kick-in and work, and then he will see me next Thursday. He is hoping that it will do its job and lower it down, but if not he is talking about putting me off work and on bed-rest.

That had me worried at first, because I had requested/arranged to take 8 weeks off after having the baby, and I was afraid that if he put me off early that it would cut into the time that I had previously requested. However, I just got off the phone with the head of our human resource department, and I feel much better after talking with her. I told her that I "could possibly" be put off work early, and wanted to know what my options were should that have to happen. As it turns out, she said if that happens we are fine & covered no matter what (and it won't cut into my requested time, they will just extend it out). She said that if it stays under 12 weeks time total, I'm covered under FMLA & short-term disability and that if it should go over 12 weeks that my long-term disability would kick in and cover the rest. (I've always carried both short & long term disability, but have never used either of them, so I wasn't sure how they worked).

Now I feel much better, so much in fact, that I'm fine with whatever happens. If I have to be off, then that's what we'll do. The pay won't be as good as what I generally bring home, but something is better than nothing!!!

Just had to get that out, thanks for reading!

Count Your Blessings...

2009-05-14T10:24:00.014-05:00

Well, like my friends & family in my original Northeast Missouri area, we too got hit by bad storms and tornadoes last night. We apparently had one on the ground about 1 mile from our house. We didn't know that though. Being in a rural area, there are no storm sirens around us. We knew there was really heavy wind/rain/hail, but didn't know the true extent of the damage until later.

Of course, in our area, it hit about 7:30-7:45 pm, and that is the time that my husband is usually leaving the house to head into work. I tried to get him to wait around and see if it would die down some, but he wouldn't wait. So, he left our house about 7:45 pm.

About 7:50 I get a call on my cell phone from him, you can tell he is obviously shook up, and that is just not like him, and he said, "it's bad out here, I really messed up". I said, "what do you mean?" He said, "I just wrecked dad's truck." I said, "where are you?" He said, "I'm by Andy Johnson place" (which put him approximately 1 mile from the house - if that). I said, "are you hurt?" He said, "no, just a few scratches, but I'm OK." I said, "do you want me to come down there?" He said, "no, I don't want you to leave the house, just call for help." He said that there were power lines running thru the truck, and I told him no matter what, don't get out of the truck, I'll call for help.

I had to hang up with him and call and report his accident to 911, as I couldn't use the home phones since the power was already out by this time. So, I called at 7:53 and reported his accident.

I really didn't have a clear picture in my mind of what had taken place. Whether he had hit a pole and knocked some lines down or what. Later I found out, that the path the tornado had taken was straight down that road, and it had taken down a string of approximately 12 poles. Two electrical companies overlap thru that particular area: Heartland (lines run North & South) and Westar (lines run East & West). Heartland's lines had went down, and in the process and the weight of the poles coming down had brought down Westar's as well. As it turns out, the lines were already down across the road, and he was just unlucky enough to be the 1st one thru that area and therefore, he hit the downed line(s) before he ever saw them since it was still very heavily raining/hailing.

Approximately 10pm, they finally had him out of the truck. The on-scene fire personnel, said they didn't have the authority to tell him to jump out of the truck, but one of the electrical workers standing nearby asked him if he thought he could get out of the back sliding glass window. James said I can if you tell me to. The worker told him, then if you can get out, and then jump clear of the truck without touching any of the downed lines, then go ahead, so that is what he did.

It took a while due to the downed lines to get the truck loose and all the reports filled out. Even though this was about 1 mile from the house, it still took quite some time. James & his parents finally pulled in along with the tow-truck (the truck is setting behind our house until the insurance company comes for it) at almost 2am. So, it was a very long night. I didn't expect the power back on anytime soon, but to my surprise, it kicked back on around 5:30am.

Obviously, the truck is a total loss, but by the grace of God and a pure miracle, James is fine. Like I said, he has a few scratches, but other than that, he had no injuries. I'm definitely counting our blessings today!!!

We're Making Progress...

2009-05-11T04:56:00.012-05:00

Well, I was really beginning to think we were never going to have the nursery done before we managed to get Dakota here, but we've finally made progress.

My father-in-law (Glenn) and my husband (James) put two coats of primer on the walls. They were a slick surface, so the paint itself wouldn't stick very well to the original walls.

Then they went over the primer with the pale green last weekend. We allowed that to dry for a week before we went any further with it.

Then first thing Saturday morning, I got up and used the painters tape to tape off the stripes. Naturally, we didn't have enough tape, so I had to make a quick run into Wal-Mart. So, I got my tape, and finished taping off the room.

Luckily, it didn't take too long to paint all the stripes around the room. I had it done by 10:30-11:00 am. I allowed to dry for about 90 minutes, then removed the painters tape. So, I allowed the stripes to dry for a while. Then around 6:00 pm, I went back in and began putting up the pre-pasted Winnie-the-Pooh wall border. This was my first time ever putting up a border, but it wasn't too bad, and it stuck on the first try. Whoo-hoo!!!

After putting up the border, I put up the self-stick Winnie-the-Pooh mural on the East wall. With the addition of that, the nursery itself is done (with time to spare)!!! Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

P.S. We actually got some of the furniture put together and in the room yesterday. I went to take some flowers & balloons over to my maternal grandmother's house when we got back from my in-laws place yesterday. I was at her house for about an hour, and when I got back home, (without any prodding from me) my husband had the 3-drawer changing table put together. Then he had time to put the 4-drawer dresser together before he had to leave for work last night. We'll put the crib together this afternoon/evening, then all the furniture is put together!!!

My Little Guy...

2009-04-24T08:25:00.007-05:00

Well, yesterday my husband and I drove to Overland Park, Kansas for our elective 3D/4D ultrasound.

Dakota wasn't fully cooperative, as he really likes to keep his hands up by his face, but overall, I thought we ended up with some pretty good shots.

The ultrasound technician was really working to get him to move his hands away from his face, but he really didn't want to. He must be camera shy, guess he gets that from me.

She tried to poke around and shake him up some, but he wasn't falling for any of those tricks. He seems to be pretty stubborn and set in his ways. I'm not sure if he gets that from his dad or me, we can both be pretty stubborn.

Overall, we were pleased with the outcome. We got some good shots, we have a DVD of our little guy. The paternal grandparents got to go along with us to view the ultrasound, so all in all, it was a pretty good trip and definitely a memorable experience.

Shopaholic

2009-04-06T05:54:00.002-05:00

I'm developing a bad habit. I think I'm on the verge of becoming a shopaholic. Don't misunderstand me; it isn't stuff for me that I'm shopping for, but stuff for the coming baby, Dakota. In fact, typically, I hate shopping. It is one of my least favorite tasks. I don't browse thru a store, if I've gone into the store, I've gone in for something specific, I buy it, and get back out. However, lately I find that I come home with at least a couple more baby items on each shopping trip. To me, that is really the only shopping that is any fun. The baby stuff they have out anymore is just so cute!!! It doesn't seem to bother me at all to go shopping for baby things, but send me for something else, and I'd just as much prefer that you would shoot me.

Since the nursery isn't ready yet, we're storing all the baby stuff in one of the extra bedrooms, and let me tell you, it is beginning to fill up. I'm having a blast buying stuff for our little guy, but my husband thinks I'm taking it to extremes, but he doesn't realize exactly how much stuff one kid needs. However, even though he originally thought I was getting carried away, I think I've almost got him converted, the last couple of times we've gone shopping together, he has went thru the baby department and found some outfits and accessories that he thought we needed. I guess it doesn't look as bad if I get him involved too.

My only thing, I don't know if it is an every store thing, or just our area, but there seems to be much more selection for little girls than for little boys. It seems in our area, that to get much selection in the boys department, they have to be wearing 18 months and up. What is up with that? Boys need things too. So, for that reason, I've actually done a lot of my clothes shopping online. It would be nice to get it locally in the stores, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Oh well, I guess until they come around to my way of thinking, I'll continue to give both my debit card and the UPS man a workout.

P.S. Do any of you that have little boys have any suggestions on where to buy cute baby boy clothing?

Do All Men Think Women Are Maids???

2009-04-02T08:13:00.007-05:00

Yes, this is an honest question. Do all men live with the belief that women are maids? Fair warning, this is my chance to rant/rave or just blow off some steam, so if you don't want to hear it, I suggest you leave now.

Well, you had your chance, so here goes.

I don't know if most men live with this belief, or if it is just my husband. Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but sometimes I could just strangle him for his indifferent attitude. I usually get no help whatsoever around the house, and that just irks me to no end. One, I hate cleaning house, and yes, I know there are many women out there that love that particular task/chore, but I am not one of them, never have been, probably never will be; two, I hate the fact that he seems to live under the assumption that the house cleaning is automatically my responsibility. I didn't make the mess myself, why should I be expected to clean it up? Not to mention, when I do decide to clean (which isn't very often), I no sooner get a room cleaned up, then he comes in and drops something down like it is his god-given right. I tell him to pick it up, that it doesn't belong there, and I get that standard line "I'll get it later", but later never makes an appearance in our case. I know it probably isn't right, but mainly for that reason, I have no interest in cleaning, because I know it isn't going to do any good, and that it isn't appreciated anyway. For that reason, our house looks like a tornado went thru it.

I know we can't continue on with the situation the way it is, we obviously need a house that is clean and in order prior to the baby getting here this summer, and I can't/won't continue to carry it all by myself. I know that the nesting instinct is supposed to eventually kick in, and I should want to clean everything in sight, but so far there hasn't been any sign of that particular instinct making an appearance anytime soon. Do you have any words of wisdom that you're willing to pass along? I'm open to any suggestions on getting my husband to do his part.

Sorry to dump on all of you, but I'm desperate for a change, so thank you all for taking the time to read my rantings, I promise this won't become a regular occurance.

So Uncertain...

2009-03-12T13:42:00.006-05:00

I hate not knowing what to do. I thought I had my mind pretty much made up, now I'm not sure which way to go. I guess I'll pose this question to all my "mommy friends" out there, maybe you'll have some thoughts on the subject.

The center that I'm doctoring at for all my prenatal care doesn't offer the 3D/4D ultrasounds. They only have the capabilities of performing the standard 2D diagnostic scans. I had that done during my 18th week, and everything checked out all right. However, I really wanted the 3D/4D scan done, not because I'm worried about any health risks with the baby, I just wanted it as a souvenir/keepsake. (I mean, it's taken us over 7 years to come up with this one, who knows if we'll be able to come up with another one - eventually). I located a place a little over an hour drive from us (in Overland Park), that offers exactly what I'm wanting done. They would prefer that you have a script from your doctor, but in a pinch will take copies of your last ultrasound as proof you're under the care of another physician. I approached my doctor about having this done, and she practically blew up over the issue. You'd have thought that I told her I wanted to go sky diving or bungee jumping!!! She had a whole list of reasons: "the people who offer such services are not trained"; "that type of scan heats up the tissues, and therefore the baby, and they don't know what kind of effect that can have", and on - and on.

My problem is, I've done everything that she has recommended, ordered, wanted - whatever. No questions asked, and believe me, she's wanted a lot of stuff done due to our previous issues/complications (which have since straightened themselves out). This is the one thing that I really wanted done, and now she's making me feel guilty for wanting this one thing. She is so opposed to it, she flat out refused to write the script that they are wanting, that is when I found out that they would take the previous ultrasound photos as proof instead. I've known a few other people that have had them done, and it didn't cause any problems with the remainder of their pregnancies, and their babies turned out just fine.

Did any of you have this done? Do you have any thoughts on the subject? I have one scheduled towards the end of April (I'd be 28 weeks then), but if I think it is dangerous, I would cancel prior to that. I know that they aren't actually offered in this hospital, but they are actually offered in some hospitals around the country. I'm just having trouble convincing myself that if there was actually a risk that they would be offered in any hospital. I just don't know what to do, so any thoughts/comments on the subject would be gladly received.

There's Just Not Enough Time...

2009-03-11T11:01:00.002-05:00

The title says it all. I have so much stuff to do, and one, I don't have enough time to do it, and two, I can't seem to motivate myself to do it either. I know, I know, that's laziness on my part. I'm hoping to find a cure for it someday.

I really need to clean my house, I just have no interest in doing something like that by the time I get home each day. What is really bad is, we are going through a slow period at work, and at the moment have very little to do, so while I'm at work, I'm thinking about everything that I could be doing if I wasn't at work. That doesn't make for a very productive day!

I've been buying a few things each week for Baby Dakota. The main goal at the moment is to get the nursery set-up. We've bought the paint, but then learned that we can't just paint the walls. The walls in that room have a plastic type coating on them, so they have to be primed first, so that the paint will stick. I believe that is currently going to be the weekend project - hopefully!!! My husband and my in-laws are supposed to come down and do it. I planned on doing it myself, but they all threw a fit and said that I didn't need to be painting. So, as long as it gets done, I guess I will amuse them and do what they ask - this time only, it's not going to become a habit! At least once they get the painting done, we have most everything we need to complete the actual nursery layout. We have the crib, dresser, changing table, wallpaper border, a mural to place above the crib, the bedding, the mobile, and a few other miscellaneous items. I'm getting so excited, I can hardly wait!!!

Well, I've bored you all long enough, until next time, enjoy yourselves!

My First Blog

2009-03-11T10:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally decided that I ought to take the time to create a blog. I'm new to this whole thing, so you'll have to forgive any of my mistakes and blunders until I get the hang of this system. We live a pretty dull and boring life, so don't expect anything exciting.