Thursday, June 23, 2011

Lately

Well as you've seen below, Haley looooves the book "the Monster at the end of this Book". She asks me to read it to her every night, and she "reads" it back. I think it is the cutest thing ever :) She gets sooo animated!

Haley is growing up way too fast. The only thing that shes not growing out of is diapers. The kid used the potty over a year ago and was totally excited about it. Then she got those darn infections. I know I've talked about it before, but it is soo frustrating. Just the other day she told me there was monsters in her potty chair. Wth! Where did she get that from? No clue. Anyway, I assured her there were no monsters in her potty. The only monsters in our house come from Sesame Street or Monsters Inc. I told her those monsters are her friends, and nothing she is scared of. She did tell me she needed a seat for the big potty so she didn't fall in! Lol! Where does she get this stuff? Maybe daycare. I don't know.

What else? Oh I tried a new recipe for Salsa-Cheddar Chicken last week that all 3 of us loved (and tasted even better, to me, as leftovers!). You can find it here. I didn't take any pictures or anything... it looked just like the picture. Although, I changed the recipe a bit. Only because I forgot to buy the dang tomato! Didn't have any canned ones either. So, I skipped the tomato and added a little more salsa. Delish!

Just a random thought...
Have you ever noticed?? I like to use a lot of explanation points!!!!!!! Probably more than I should!! Oh well, I like them!!!

It was Brandon's 27th birthday last Wednesday. We simply celebrated with some sloppy joes and french silk pie (both at his request). Boy was I stuffed! Haley and I munched on some grapes while waiting for the joes to get sloppy. Plus we had some tater salad (which wasn't very good I might ad). Just a quiet evening at home. It was nice.

Last Friday we (Haley and I) had a slumber party at my friend Heather's house. She has 3 boys. The kids had a lot of fun. We watched Gnomio and Juliet with the kids, then put them down for bed. Then Heather and I made margaritas and watched No Strings Attached. The next day we got up and went to Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater. The kids again, had a blast. Me however, I was really nervous. There were just sooo many kids, and Haley is too little to let wonder around by herself. So I chased after her the whole time. We were all pretty exhausted when we left.

After we got home Haley napped and I did a little cleaning in the house. When she woke up my sister was over and we headed up to a family friend's new cabin just a few minutes from our house. Hung out there for a couple hours had dinner and chatted for a while.

Haley must have been really warn out because she slept until 9:45AM Sunday morning!! We hardly ever sleep that late! But boy was that nice. My parents stopped over on their way home with the dogs. We ordered some Carbone's and it was delish. My mom brought Haley a beach ball and a toddler bedding set. She loves both of them! She was really excited to sleep on her new sheets with her new pillow. She was also pretty excited about the beach ball. She wanted to take it with her to daycare.

Anyway. That's what has been happening lately!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Oh my aching head!

Working on week 3 of having a headache. EVERY DAY. I am half way through week 3 and am fed up. Last weekend it dawned on me that I actually started getting lots of headaches again around the same time I started back up on birth control (BC) pills. I had just refilled my prescription (month 2 of being on them), so I happened to still have the print out that the pharmacy gives you (with directions and side effects and whatnot). I studied that and found "If you are experiencing severe headaches, stop usage and contact your doctor immediately!"

So on Monday I sent a message to my Dr. via MyChart, stating all of the above. I also had looked up this particular BC online, and saw that you should not take this BC if you have a history of migraines (which I do have a history of). So I told her that also. She replied stating that unless you have a migraines with aura , you basically have nothing to worry about. Then went on to say sometimes if someone is experiencing headaches/migraines with BC, she will prescribe a BC with less estrogen or sometimes try to skip the period. She also said that I could try a IUD, depo shot, or condoms for birth control.

Well the whole reason I went back on the pill was to try and clear up my skin. I have been experiencing horrible break outs, and I remember them not being so bad while on the pill. Obviously the fact that it prevents pregnancy is also a plus, since we are not financially (or mentally) ready for another child just yet. I'm really not interested in a IUD or depo shot. Anyways, I asked her if we could change the dosage of estrogen, so she wrote a new prescription for a new BC pill and one for Imitrex (for the migraines or whatever I am having).

OK So I started this last WEDNESDAY (April 13, 2011) and haven't had time to finish it til now. Anywho, So I picked up the new scripts, and started them on Monday. Neither of them seemed to help the headache (at all). Wednesday I went and saw a different doctor at a different clinic. He told me to stop taking the BC all together, and prescribed me some pain pills. Those did help, but didn't make them go away.

Thursday afternoon I noticed a bubble behind my back molar (like where a wisdom tooth would come through). I though it was an abscess. I called around to different dentists, one of which said she thought it might be periocornitis. I looked it up and sure enough, the symptoms were there, including HEADACHES!

Friday morning I ended up calling my old dentist office (which is like 45 min from my house, so i don't go there anymore... although I haven't been to any dentist since). They got me in to take a look at what was going on and take some xrays. They discovered I have an infected, impacted wisdom tooth :( They prescribed me some antibiotics and gave me a referral to see a oral surgeon to have it removed.

They wanted me to do it right away on Monday, but instead I opted to wait til Friday. Brandon was already planning to take the day off since Haley's daycare is closed for Good Friday. This would be one instance in which I am NOT looking forward to Friday.

The headache has gotten better. The antibiotics are doing their job, the bubble is gone. But I do still have the headache off and on, along with an aching jaw. But I can't complain too much, it is nothing like the pain I was in the last few weeks!


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

2 Months

A lot has happened in the last two months. Too much to explain at length, so I will use bullet points.
  • January 31: It was snowing in the morning so I decided to take the truck to work because well the tires on the car aren't good!! (This seems insignificant now, but keep reading) I get 3/4 of the way to work and the "Low Oil Pressure" light comes on with a constant "ding ding ding ding ding..." I turned around and brought the truck back to Brandon's work and left the keys in it so he would have them (He wasn't there at the time). I hoped in the car and left.
    That night he went out to plow at around 9pm.
  • February 1: Brandon wakes me up with a phone call around 2:30AM asking if I was playing some kind of joke on him. The truck was gone. GONE. Stolen.
  • February 5: Truck is found in an Extended Stay hotel 40 miles from home. Brandon goes to pick it up. Smells horribly like a drug house. Back passenger side window busted out, but the criminals decided to be nice and duct tape some cardboard in it. Dents, scratches, center council door ripped off, the headliner council was ripped off the ceiling, Haley's car seat was cut out (anchor straps were still attached, seat was no where to be found), everything we owned (including the owners manual) was gone. They left some of their CDs behind, a roll of duct tape, plastic garbage bags, and a trailer hitch.
  • $7500.00+ In damages.
  • February 7: Walked in to pick up Haley from daycare to hear Haley start crying saying that Brody hit her (the daycare lady's son). There was a red mark on her head in the temple area next to her eye that faded as the night went on.
  • February 8: Asked daycare lady at AM drop off time if the hitting was a problem and if there was a problem between our kids because she had been telling me that Brody hit her but I figured it was just something she was saying (2 yr olds say a lot of things that aren't necisarily true... like 99% of the time if you ask her what she had for lunch she will say "chicken"), and didn't think much of it until last night after I got home. She's had a few unexplained bruises on her legs that again I didn't think much of because well she's a 2 yr old kid. Kids get bruises.

    PM Pick up at daycare, Haley came up the steps telling me that Brody hit her again, she didn't have any marks that I could see this time. Daycare lady had Haley's stuff packed up and said that she didn't feel comfortable caring for Haley anymore and she was completely offended by my "accusations." I assured her I wasn't accusing her of anything, explained I was just inquiring if there was a problem between our kids and asked if she would reconsider and call me later that night and let me know.

    She called me back and said she wanted to continue care for Haley.
  • February 9: Brought Haley to daycare as usual. When I picked her up she told me that he hit her again. I didn't check it out this time. Got home and noticed she had a huge, greenish-purple goose-egg on her forehead. I was FURIOUS! Found someone to watch Haley for the rest of the week.
  • February 10: Walked into daycare lady's house and told her that she was right, it wasn't going to work, and asked that she pack up Haley's things. Told her we were not coming back. She said nothing besides "okay." - I did report her to the Chisago County, but nothing ever came of it, that I am aware of. (Remember the post about the hot glue gun burns also)
  • February 14: Haley starts at a new daycare. - So far so good!! She seems to love it there!
  • February 28: Happy Birthday Mom!! Got the truck back from the repair shop... looks beautiful! Brandon even paid extra to have my remote start put in (I received it for Christmas the first year we had the truck in 2005)... FINALLY!
  • March 10: Brandon wakes up after 1 hr of sleep at 10:30 and is having trouble breathing so he decides to go to the ER. He had bronchitis and a sinus infection. He doesn't have insurance, so can't wait to get this bill!!
  • March 15: I stay home with Haley sick. Well we were both sick. I had a terrible tension headache, she had a fever, and cold/flu symptoms w/ a bad cough. Ended up bringing her to Urgent Care at 7:30PM. Checked for strep and looked at ears, nose, throat. Came up with nothing. Said to bring her to regular doc in 48-72 hrs if no improvement.
  • March 16: Still with fever. Stayed home again with Haley.
  • March 17: Brought Haley to daycare, but after I picked her up her fever was back.
  • March 18: Still with fever in the AM, but Cindy (daycare) was nice enough to let me bring her since all the other kids there were already sick and on antibiotics. Picked her up at Noon and went to the doctor... examined her and took x-rays. Pneumonia (HA that's the first time I didn't have to use spell check to spell that!). Dr wants to see her on Monday to check for improvement.
  • March 19: Haley begins to fill diapers as a side effect (is it affect or effect...?) from her antibiotic. Only a few though, not bad yet.
  • March 21: Side effects worsen. Brandon stays home from work with Haley so I can go to work. At her recheck appointment, Haley received a prescription for a new antibiotic.
  • March 22: I stayed home with a still pooping Haley, and a now puking husband. He obviously couldn't take care of Haley while having the stomach flu or food poisoning, or whatever he had.
  • March 23: Brandon stayed home for the 3rd day in a row (If you know my husband, this is the rarest of rarities... NEVER happens) because he is so exhausted from yesterday's sickness. Haley returns to daycare today! SNOW STORM! Got about 10-12 inches of snow at home!
  • March 30: Today! So I wasn't so good about bullet points. It was supposed to shorten things up! I feel like I missed something, but I haven't a clue what. Anyway, I hope to stay back on track and post more often :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Cabin Fever?

Ugh. I am so stinking tired. I am on the tail end of a 2 week cold (at least I hope) and has me completely exhausted. I don't feel all that terrible (sick wise) anymore... just really tired! Is it from the cold? Or did I slip into some seasonal depression...? Who knows . What ever it is, I wish it would just go away! I am having a heck of a time getting out of bed in the morning, and staying awake at my desk! Today has been the worst day yet, so I am not going to worry about it or see a Dr. just yet. We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

Last Saturday, 80's Night at the bar, was a lot of fun! Our outfits turned out pretty good too :) Here are a couple of pictures I took with my camera phone (didn't bring the big ol' SLR with).Yeah, we looked pretty HOT! lol!

Never did get any 2 year old photos taken of Haley on Saturday. I don't know what her deal is, but she is been crabby and whiny. Oh wait... she's 2, that's normal, right? Oh how I love this stage! Well, I really do, other then the crabby whiny part she is tons of fun!

Whats not so much fun is switching daycares. I forgot to mention in the last few posts that we switched Haley from her old daycare to a new one... again. We really loved bringing her to Michele's, but one day she got very upset and kind of freaked out on Brandon for being a little late. I went to visit my sister in the hospital (when she was in for her gallbladder) so Brandon had to pick Haley up. He was there at 5:47 (I am really just guessing, I honestly don't remember the exact time) and when he walked in the door he was greeted by a not so happy daycare provider who said "YOUR LATE!" If you know my husband, you know he's not always the most cheery of people. He simply said "I'm late?" in a mono-tone, confused sort of way. She went on about how Haley has not once been picked up on time the entire time we've been bringing her there (Which is simply UNTRUE).

In October I received notice that she was changing her hours (and also upping her rates by $10/week) so she closed at 5:30 instead of 6:00pm. Our original contract stated Haley's hours were from 7:15-5:30 and in her handwriting was a written note stating "maybe a little later". I've always explained that coming from my work it takes 30 minutes give or take and I always drive straight from work to daycare. When you live in MN, there are a lot of factors on whether or not I get from point A to point B in 30 minutes. Take for example Weather. If it snows or rains, you never can tell how long it is going to take; but more than likely it WILL be LONGER than usual.
Then there is always Construction Season. Nothing I can do about either one of these things. I do not have a Jetson's car, or a flying carpet or broomstick. I cannot click my heals three times and magically appear where I want to be. Not only that but I am not a mind reader. I don't know that you are upset about my arrival time unless you tell me. Instead of yelling at the dad that has picked her up a hand full of times, please talk to the person who picks her up EVERY DAY. Anyway... She told me she was going to start charging me $1/minute past 5:30pm. I told her I can't afford that and that I drive directly from work to her house and get there as quickly as possible. She stood her ground, so I found a new in home daycare to bring Haley to.

She started the daycare 1/10. She cried the first few days when I dropped her off, and quit with in a few minutes of me leaving. She seemed to be having fun when I picked her up and her good daily (written) reports given by the provider. A few of them have said that she is crying for mommy after lunch time. The last three have said that now. On Friday when I went to pick her up, she was walking up the steps to the entry way where I was standing and I noticed the tops of her hands were beat red. I asked "Honey, what happened to your hands??" She replied "Owies, Mommy. Owies." I looked up at the new daycare lady and said "What happened?" She tells me that she was doing a craft with the older kids involving a hot glue gun. Haley was burned by the glue because she was grabbing at the "pom-poms" they were gluing to magnets. First of all, glue does not burn as bad as the burns she had. They were blistered. It looked to me like the metal tip on the glue gun is what burned her. Second of all WTF are you doing with a hot glue gun around my TWO YEAR OLD!? Or any kid that is young enough to be in daycare, for that matter! I was totally shocked. I didn't say much, I was like "um.. ok..." I dressed Haley and took her home. Over the weekend, I was more and more angered by this careless accident. This woman was supposedly awarded with "Provider of the Year" through our County. How could the "Provider of the Year" (also she mentioned she is President of the PTA at our local Elementary School) be so irresponsible? Not only that, but it happened at 3:30pm, why didn't I get a phone call??

Anyway... I don't know if I am over reacting. I know accidents happen, but this happened not only once, but twice (she had burns on both of her hands ). Like I said before, she's two, she shouldn't be around a hot glue gun in the first place, so it shouldn't have happened. I don't know. Do I keep her there and hope this is an isolated incident? I did tell her on Monday that I don't want Haley anywhere near a hot glue gun ever again (she agreed and said it was irresponsible and apologized). I wish I could just be home with Haley. That's just not possible.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It is waaaaay too cold out! Looking at Accuweather.com right now it says 4° . The high today is supposed to be, well, 4°. The low, -22°. NEGATIVE TWENTY TWO DEGREES. I know I've lived here my whole life, but seriously people! Way too cold. And why is it snowing when it is only 4°? I thought it was too cold for that?? Oh well, nothing I can do about it. Besides move.

Sickness has hit our house yet again! Haley came home on Jan 6th with a fever of 103.8° and no other symptoms. I got her cooled off relatively quickly, and went about our evening. After putting her down I went in and checked on her at about 11:45 that night and it was back up over 103° so i got her up and put her in the bath tub to cool her down (which is what we were told to do last summer when she was having the bladder/kidney infections). I called the nurse advice line and told them about her past infections and what had happened all night. She told me she should be seen soon. We got her fever down some more, and put her back to bed. Every time the Motrin wore off, the fever spiked.

We thought she had another bladder infection because she had no other symptoms. So I was trying to get an appointment for the urologist. I brought her down to their MPLS office and had her tested. She did NOT have a UTI. Boy was she unhappy about being tested for that. I can't blame her though. Poor thing. She is terrified of dr's because of all of the times she was cathed in the last year.

As we were leaving that dr's office I was on the phone with her primary dr trying to get her in for an appointment. They didn't have any available appointments left that day, but they got her in for a Saturday appointment. It ended up being an ear infection. She kicked and screamed and cried when the dr was trying to check her ears, but he said one of them is definitely infected. He gave her some antibiotics and we went on our way.

That night Brandon and I went out to Bucca's for dinner for his company Christmas party. It was a fun night. Haley went to my parents house and hung out with her Gramma, Grampa, and Auntie Christy. She also had a fun night, but ended up with laryngitis. From there things went down hill. She ended up with a cold and on and off fever for the rest of the weekend and at night a couple of times the next week. She cried when we put her down to sleep at night, which led me to believe her ear infection was not going away.

I brought her back to the doctor again the next saturday and sure enough, still infected. The dr prescribed a new antibiotic and sent us on our way. This one (thank goodness) seems to be working. No more crying at night. When I ask her if her ear hurts she tells me no. So that is good news! :)

Hmmm... What else. I also had a cold. But whats new!

This weekend my sister and I are going to meet up with my BFF, Erin at a local watering hole for 80's night! Pretty excited about it too. I have to get my outfit together though. And by that I do mean, go out and purchase it :) Should be a good time.. can't wait!

Hoping Haley is in a good mood Saturday morning. We are going to try and snap a few pictures of her for her 2 year photos. She's 2 years and 2 months now, but things have been soooo busy what with Haley's birthday party, my sister's surgery, snonomi, Christmas at the Rydel's, regular family Christmas's on the Eve and Christmas Day, Dirk and Mona visiting, my sister's birthday, New Years Eve, Haley being sick, Brandon's company party, last weekend Haley still being sick... oh and that brings us to this week. So much has been going on in the last two months!

That's all for now, I know it was all so exciting for you. I will try to make sure my next post is just as exciting :)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Get comfortable, this is going to be a long one!

Well It has been way too long... 2 months! A lot has happened in the last two months. I had a birthday, Haley and I have both been sick (a few times), Thanksgiving, Haley's (Golden) 2nd Birthday, Snonomi 2010, my sister had her gall bladder removed, and most recently my best friend's grandfather (and close family friend) passed away. Did I miss anything?

Well for my birthday, just another day... I remember it was cold, windy and rain/sleeting when I went out for lunch with Erin. But that was about it. The Saturday before my birthday, I went with Brandon, Haley, my mom & sister to The Buffalo Tap for some juicy lucys! They were yummy, but made me sick :(

Haley ended up sick the day after my birthday throwing up in the morning. I stayed home with her that day, but she ended up being ok later on in the day and ended up back at daycare the day after. I stayed home sick the Tuesday after, which happened to be election day. I had the same thing as Haley, but I was having awful pains in my side, the same place as I had pains when I had a kidney stone. I was worried I had more stones so I begged the Dr's office to fit me in that day. They did tests and the most painful pelvic exam I've ever had. The doc just decided that it was a virus that is going around (the stomach bug Haley had the week before also). By the end of that week I had a sore throat, which lead to a hurting chest, then a horrible cough and a final diagnosis of bronchitis. I ended up going to the Urgent Care where I got prescriptions for all sorts of stuff that made me all better. Of course I missed quite a bit of work in the mean time though.

Thanksgiving I was still feeling pretty crappy cause it was only three days after being on all of the prescriptions. Haley threw up in the car a block away from our destination. That was great fun. Luckily it was just a little bit, so it wasn't too bad to clean up. Haley had a lot of fun playing with her cousin, Brooke.

One short week later, Haley turned TWO! My baby girl turned 2. It is still so hard to believe how fast life goes after having a kid. Anyway, Haley got a lot of nice things for her GOLDEN Birthday. It was Sesame Street Themed and soo cute. Haley loved it :) And again, she had a lot of fun playing with her cousin, Brooke. But we were also lucky enough to have lots of kids at this birthday! Her cousin's Charlotte, Brendan and Ethan, and little buddy Cole joined us too!

The next weekend was Snownomi 2010. Haley and I stayed at Mom & Dad's for the weekend to make cookies (plus Brandon was out of town for work that weekend). My Sister had her gall bladder removed earlier in the week, so she was also spending the weekend at the folk's house. Dad went to the cabin though. We planned on making cut out cookies Saturday, but there was sooo much snow, Mom and I went out to snow-blow the driveway. It took us a few hours, and a lot of energy. I never thought that was so much work!! I was definitely glad we didn't have to shovel it though!! By the time we were done there were another couple of inches of snow on the ground already. It was crazy. We didn't end up doing the sugar cookies that day cause we were so warn out after clearing the snow. I did however whip up a quick batch of peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kisses on top.

Over the next week my best friends Grandpa and a friend of the family past away. I've known him my whole life and have called him Grandpa as far back as I can remember. He had been battling cancer and pretty ill for quite some time. He was a great man. Always smiling, always happy. I have many fond memories of him at the cabin he and Grandma had in Siren. I spent many weekends there with Erin growing up. He's in a better place now. No more pain. He is greatly missed though.

The next weekend we had a Christmas celebration with my parents & sister and one my aunt & uncle's house. We didn't know when we'd be able to do gifts with my family, so we just fit it in before we went to Patti & Mike's. My cousin Joe, his wife Lindsay, and daughter Brooke spend Christmas with her family in Canada. This year the family decided to all get together so Haley and Brooke could see each other and open gifts together. That was a good time. The girls get a long so well :)

Then it was Christmas! Christmas Eve morning I had to work for a few hours. It was said that if the guys didn't have to plow, we didn't have to come in at all. Otherwise we did. I planned on just coming in. I new we'd have to. So I got up at 6am and the phone rang at 6:13. It was Andy asking me to come in. I called 3 people to move their cars. They did. Then I waited, and at 11:15 or so Andy said I could go home. I hopped in the truck and headed home. I figured I'd be home rather quickly. It took me an HOUR. First we came to a stop for the guy driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee pulling a travel trailer who was jack-knifed half in the ditch half in the road. Then once they let us pass that (the cops had me stopped so they could try to back it up... but they never got it to move), we came to another complete stop not even a mile down the road. There had been a semi truck in the ditch when I was on my way down to work at 7:30AM. It was still there at 11:45 when I got to that traffic jam. I finally got home to a nice clean house (thanks to Brandon!) and Dirk & Mona showed up! We had some lunch, hung out for a bit and put Haley down for her nap. Dirk and Mona left soon after and I ran to Target to get Haley some tights. I've never been in a store on Christmas Eve... I thought it was going to be a mad house, but I was pleasantly surprised to not have to wait in line to make my purchase! Got back home and got ready and headed over to my parent's house for Christmas Dinner! It was DELISH! I LOVE SWEDISH MEATBALLS! After dinner we were on our way to Brandon's Uncle Mike's to hang out for a couple of hours.

We got home at 10PM and put Haley to bed. That is when I started wrapping all of Haley's gifts and we watched A Christmas Story. In bed by 12:00 and Back up again at 9AM. Got ready and went over to Grandma Myrna's. Lucky for me I had an insult free Christmas! No one asked if I was pregnant or if I was gaining weight or anything of the sort. It was nice :) Dirk and Mona came over later that night and we finally had Haley open her presents from us and Santa.

Got up Sunday morning and went over to Josh and Deann's to have Christmas with them and Dirk and Mona. Haley is so funny... She is scared of Grandpa Dirk. She did get to the point where she would goof around with him, but she still wouldn't give him a hug before we left.

Once we got home yesterday and put Haley down for her nap, Brandon left to go and plow the snow that fell over night Thursday into Friday morning. Of course this is the night Haley pukes and has a messy poopy diaper. She only puked and pooped once, but it was a mess to clean up. Then she didn't want to go to bed. She was scared she was going to throw up again. I felt bad for her but it was already 45 minutes past her bed time. She finally went to bed and I had to continue cleaning. I got a little time to mess around with my iPod (which I got for Christmas, courtesy of my parent's!). I've had it for a little over a week, and I am still trying to get things figured out.

Wow, Okay... Longest blog... ever. I will say I wrote this over two weeks... I started it before Christmas and ended it well now... after Christmas.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas!