Life Update

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. As you can imagine, we've had our hands full with a newborn and a two year old. Well, Alex isn't so much of a newborn anymore. He's already close to outgrowing his 3 month clothes and he's only 6 weeks old (almost 7)! He's eating 5 oz of formula at a sitting, and only recently stopped eating every three hours. Now he eats more like every 4 hours, give or take a half hour. Last night, he went 6 hours between feedings, which was nice for me. I actually got to sleep a little. And he's getting baptized on Sunday! He's getting so big so fast!

Actually, a lot has been going on in our household since Alex was born. A week after he was born, my blood pressure skyrocketed and I had to, once again, be admitted to labor and delivery. It takes some serious talent to get admitted to labor and delivery when you aren't even pregnant, but I did it. Lucky me. Anyway, I got to go home that same night, they just increased my dose of Labetalol. A few weeks after that, my blood pressure started to stabilize and my dose was cut a lot. Today, I was taken off of it completely. So far so good. That was a scary ride.

The last weekend in July, James' family rented a lodge at Mina Lake in Aberdeen, SD. We hadn't planned on going since we didn't think camping with a newborn would be particularly fun. But we ended up going, against our better judgement, and I'm glad we did. It was the first time a lot of his siblings had met Alex, and he was really good while we were there. Also, Isaac had a blast playing, fishing, and swimming with all his cousins! We spend one day at Storybook Land in Aberdeen. We had a blast, even though it was hot as begeezuz that day. It was a very fun trip.

Isaac fishing with Daddy at Mina Lake

Family picture at the Oz exhibit at Storybook Land in Aberdeen

James went back to work on August 8th. He works at 4am, so I'm on my own with Alex at night. It's been tough, but thankfully it's starting to get easier. I like having James home earlier in the day, and he lets me take a nap if I need it. Isaac will be starting daycare again tomorrow, so I'll have about 5 weeks to get used to getting two kids ready in the morning all by myself before I go back to work. I think it will be good for Isaac to go back. He misses his friends. And it will be easier on me just having Alex at home during the day. Maybe I'll actually be able to shower before James gets home! :)

I'll be going back to work on October 3rd. I'm not particularly looking forward to it, but it will be nice to be getting a paycheck again, albeit a pretty small one after you subtract out daycare expenses. Sigh.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that we almost bought a house! Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, finished basement, awesome deck and  fenced backyard, two-car detached garage. We put in a lowball offer (the house wasn't worth what they were asking) and after counter offers on both sides, didn't get it. You didn't know we were looking for a new house, you say? We weren't. I always like to keep an eye on houses in our price range, and I just happened to see one that looked perfect for us, so we decided to go look at it. We liked it. It needed a little work, like new shingles, lots of interior paint, and eventually new carpet, but that doesn't scare us. Before putting in an offer, we decided to look at other houses in our price range, just because I would feel weird if the house we bought was the only one we even looked at. I wanted to make sure there was nothing better out there. Nothing else really struck our fancy, so we went for it with the original house we viewed.

We're disappointed that we didn't get it, but we're not too upset about it. We don't need to move. We'd like to have a separate bedroom for Alex, and another one for a guest bedroom, and just some more room in general, but it's not necessary. So we'll keep an eye on the market, but we'll probably do some more serious house hunting starting this spring. There will be more on the market then, and the longer we wait, the better our financial position will be for house buying, so we're okay with waiting. Plus, we like our house. It's cute and cozy and I'll actually be a little sad to sell it.

So there is an update about what has been going on in our lives for the past six weeks. Hopefully I'll have a little more time to blog in the next six weeks.

Oh What a Weekend!

I'm finally getting around to posting about our shenanigans from the weekend. It was not exactly the relaxing weekend I was hoping for. Here's the low-down.

Friday went off without a hitch. After work, we packed up the car and headed to my in-laws' farm. We got there a little before 8pm. My MIL (mother-in-law) had supper waiting - lasagna and cheese Alfredo pizza. She always over-feeds us because she is from the "food is love" school of thought. It was yummy though. Shortly after supper, Isaac crashed on the floor with his pillow pet and Grandma L's stuffed kitty, which he snatched off of her night stand when we weren't looking. He slept wonderfully.

We all got up early-ish on Saturday so we could get to Pierre at a decent time. It's about a three hour drive from the farm. While we were eating breakfast, J noticed that Isaac's forehead felt a bit warm. Grandma and I agreed, so we gave him some Tylenol and crossed our fingers that it wasn't a big deal. However, in the back of my mind I was remembering that Isaac's friend from daycare was out sick for a few days last week, and I was really hoping that he didn't catch whatever it was that she had. Then we set out for Pierre.

After about two hours of driving, Isaac started to get a bit cranky. I felt his forehead and he was burning up again. About that time, we stopped in a small town called Miller for lunch at the Dairy Queen (which is pretty much the only restaurant in the whole town). After we ordered, we gave Isaac some Motrin to help with his fever. We didn't have a thermometer, so we didn't know exactly how high his temp was, but it was obviously higher than normal. When we got our food (side note: our cheese curds tasted like fish. It was disgusting.), Isaac refused to eat. Even french fries, which he loves. That's when I knew something was wrong.

After we were back in the car and had been driving for about a half hour, Isaac freaked out. I mean screaming, crying, grabbing at his hair, face, shirt, whatever he could get a hold of. This is sooo not at all like my happy-go-lucky little boy. So I decided to call his daycare provider to see if she knew what Isaac's daycare friend had been diagnosed with. The answer: strep. Awesome.

So I called my SIL who is a nurse and asked if Pierre had an urgent care type place we could take Isaac. If he had strep, I wanted to get him on antibiotics ASAP and not have to wait until Monday when we got home. Well, they don't have an urgent care. Our only option was the ER. So that's where we went.

The ER doc checked his ears and ran a strep test. His ears were fine and the strep test came back negative. The doc said it was probably just a virus and to continue rotating between Tylenol and Motrin for the fever. I felt better having gone, even though it probably cost us a couple hundred bucks (not sure if that particular ER is out of network or not), because then I knew we were doing all we could and it would go away soon.

Saturday night was not good, but not as bad as I expected it to be. Isaac woke up a few times crying. The first time, I couldn't get him to stop, so I put him in bed with us (which we've never done before) and he went to sleep there. I, on the other hand, didn't sleep a wink knowing he was right next to me. I guess I was worried about rolling over him or something. So when he woke up again, I gave him something for his fever and put him back in his pack and play so I could get some shut eye.

Sunday was the baptism. James had to take Isaac out of church a few times because he got cranky. Then he played with his cousins and had a pretty good time. He still wouldn't eat though, but was drinking a little. We drove to Watertown that evening and had supper at a Mexican restaurant with J's brother and SIL who couldn't make it to the baptism. Then we went to their house to let the kids play for a while. That's when Isaac had a major meltdown. He was in pain, although we weren't sure where. Then I smelled it - poop! And it occurred to me that he hadn't pooped all weekend! He was working really hard, crying and screaming to get this poop out. When wee changed his diaper and saw the fruit of his labor - a little marble sized poop - my heart sank. My poor baby was probably blocked up. After his diaper change, he went on playing. Not long after that, I smelled poop again and was relieved to see a great big poo in his diaper. It was like that little hard-as-rock marble poop was a plug or something. Then we went back to the farm and went to bed.

Sunday night was HELL! Isaac woke up several times screaming and writhing in pain. It was pretty evident that his tummy was the culprit this time. He kept letting out little toots and then screaming some more. We were helpless. Grandma L tried to help, but there was nothing any of us could do. It was horrible! After about an hour of screaming, Isaac finally fell asleep. My wonderful husband, bless his heart, slept in a separate room with Isaac so I could get some sleep. Being the paranoid Mommy that I am, I kept the monitor on, even though I knew J was in there with him. Isaac woke up crying twice more that night, but the episodes were not as bad as the first one.

Monday morning came, and Isaac was acting like his normal self again, although still not eating. Then around noon, he freaked out again. It was exactly like the episode from last night, and it was terrible. Let me tell you that one of the worst feelings in the world is knowing that your child is in pain and that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. We quickly packed up and left for home.

As soon as we got into town, we went immediately to the urgent care clinic. Four hours, one exam, and a stomach x-ray later, we found out he had bad gas and an ear infection. Ugh! Four hours in urgent care for GAS! So we gave him his gas drops and amoxicillin and we all went to bed. He was up a lot that night. He would grab his ear and cry and say "Owie, owie!" It broke my heart.

I didn't send him to daycare on Tuesday because he was still pretty crabby that night, and he still wasn't eating. I just couldn't do that to our daycare provider. Plus, I wanted to let him sleep in as much as he wanted to, and make sure he was eating.

Tuesday he was pretty much back to his normal self. He started eating and drinking as usual, and he only had one freak-out session. He really hates having to take the omoxicillin. He fights us and tries to spit it out when we give it to him. I have to hold his mouth open, and even then he just gurgles it until he has to swallow. Last night we put it in his juice and it worked pretty well, but he wouldn't eat it when we put it in his applesauce this morning. Any suggestions are welcome.

That that was our weekend. It was long and stressful, but it was nice to see J's family, and Isaac really got to bond with his Grandma L and Papa since we were with them alone most of the time.

Not exactly the weekend I was hoping for, but that's life when you have a little one.

Heading South

We all made it through another week! Now, I just have to make it through this weekend...

We're headed South today... South Dakota, that is. Our new niece is getting baptized on Sunday in Pierre. The only bad thing is that Pierre is like, a six or seven hour drive from here. Ugh. So the plan is to drive as far as J's parents' farm outside of Watertown (about a 3 hour drive), spend the night there, and then drive to Pierre with them tomorrow. I like the idea of driving with them because then neither James nor I have to drive, and we can save about $70 on gas. Then on Sunday after the baptism, we'll drive back to the farm with the in-laws, spend the night again, and drive home on Monday. James and I both took Monday off of work so we could do it this way. We also plan to stop at the Olive Garden in Fargo on the way home for a Valentine's lunch. :)

Really, I am looking forward to the weekend, besides the whole driving part. I love getting Isaac together with all of his cousins. He really enjoys himself. After our Christmas celebration in January, Isaac came home saying "Kaylee" all the time because he had so much fun with his cousins. I think Kaylee's name is the easiest for him to say out of all of them.

While in Pierre, we'll be staying at a bed and breakfast called the Hitching Horse Inn. I've never stayed at one before. The main thing I wouldn't like about a bed and breakfast is that you have to eat breakfast with a bunch of strangers who are staying in the other rooms. This may appeal to some people, but not me. I'm a hermit. However, this particular bed and breakfast has only four rooms which will all be occupied by relatives: J's parents, grandma, uncle, and us. So it will be like one big family breakfast, except nobody has to cook or clean up! I plan on bringing my camera to document the whole B&B experience, and blog about it later. We'll see if that really happens. I have a feeling we'll be pretty busy.

J's sister also mentioned taking all the kids swimming at the YMCA on Saturday. I think that would be super fun! Isaac L O V E S the water.

I think I'm just excited to get away. Granted, it's only Pierre - not exactly the height of entertainment, but it'll do for now. It's that time of year when people start getting tired of being cooped up, and I'm most definitely feeling a little stir crazy.

Fuck You, Minnesota!

I apologize for the explicit language in the title.

No I don't. I'm pissed. And here's why.

James, Isaac and I headed to the lake on Thursday. We waited for my brother, Derek, to get off work so he could ride with us and wouldn't have to take a separate car. So we were getting into Cass Lake somewhere around 8:30 or 9:00 PM because we didn't end up leaving until 6:30 PM. We passed the town of Cass Lake and were so very close to Norway Beach, where my parents had been camping since Tuesday, when I saw flashing lights behind me. I checked the speedometer. I was going 60 mph. I then realized that I had no clue what the speed limit was. It was 65 mph on the highway that we'd been on for the past hour and a half. Evidently it changed, because I was getting pulled over.

The officer was so kind to inform me that the speed limit changes for about a mile right by the town of Cass lake. It goes from 65 to 45 (for literally like, a mile) and then goes back up to 60. I had been caught in a speed trap. The cop tells me he clocked me in at 70 mph. Bullshit! I instinctively checked my speed as soon as I saw his car. I was going 60. Whatever. It wasn't going to do any good arguing with him. I'd probably just get myself into more trouble. Besides, I was speeding.

So then Officer Dipshit writes me up a ticket and tells me that he "bumped my speed down as much as he could." He wrote that I was going 55. Then wrote a phone number on it, which I was supposed to call in order to get my fine amount. I know Minnesota has some steep fines. I remember hearing something like $80. Dang. That sucks big time.

We got to the camp and I grabbed my cell phone (which took about 15 minutes to find because it had fallen out of the cupholder in my car) and called the number. I wanted to see what the damage was going to be.

Here's what greeted me on the other end of the line:

"The number you are trying to call has been changed or disconnected."

You've got to be kidding me. Deputy Duchebag gave me the wrong number. What the hell am I supposed to do now? So I went online and found the number for the police department. I called it first thing Friday morning. The person I talked to gave me a different number to try. I tried it. They gave me another number. Ugh. So I dialed that number and got a series of automated options. I pressed 4 to find out my fine amount. Then it asked me for some info off my ticket. I put it in. Then it said that their computer was down at the moment. So I did it all again and pressed 0 for assistance. Guess what? "Sorry, but there is no one available to assist you at this time. Please try again later."

All damn weekend I was trying to get my stupid fine amount. Of course, no luck.

So today I tried it again. I pressed 4. It gave me a busy signal. I tried again. It rang, and then said "all circuits are busy."

So I called the PD back. They told me to call the number that I'd been calling since Friday. I told him that it didn't do me any good. He said "Well, I don't know the amounts (yeah right) so I can't help you."

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I called the number back and pressed 2 this time, even though it wasn't even remotely close to what I needed. I just didn't know what else to do! It rang, and an actual person answered. Now maybe we're getting somewhere! I explained to her what I'd been going through for the last four days. She asked me what my speed was and what the limit was and informed me that my fine would be $125.

I want to cry.

Thank you, Minnesota, for wasting four days of my life and taking a giant bite out of my budget. I hate you.

Outdoor Family Trip and a Sinus Infection

Last Thursday, we set out for Isaac's very first camping trip. James' sister works for the South Dakota State Parks and is kind of in charge of this annual event called Becoming an Outdoor Family. This year it was at Oahe (Oh-awe-hee) Downstream recreation area near Pierre, SD. It's on a river, downstream of the Oahe Dam. 

During Outdoor Family, they have all sorts of classes that involve doing outdoorsy stuff, like archery, campfire cooking, fishing, a bug exhibit, etc. On Saturday they have a potluck where every family has a recipe that they cook over the campfire and bring, and we all eat it.

Now, Pierre is about a 7 hour drive from here, so we left on Thursday to spend the night at James' parents' farm near Watertown, SD, which is the half-way point. It really helped to split up the drive, which is important when traveling with a 10-month-old.

James' sister was able to reserve us a cabin. The cabins are pretty simple, just a small structure with three beds inside (a double bed with a single bunk on one side, and a single bed on the other) and a table with benches on three sides.

But they have air conditioning, heat, a great deck, and an even better view! I took this picture from our deck.

We had a lot of fun, and it was great being able to hang out with family that we don't get to see a lot. I was also able to get some good pictures! Here are my favorites:

This was the beach in front of our cabin.

Isaac on the deck.

My beautiful niece/Goddaughter, Gwen, at the playground.

This is my niece, Kiersten, and her grandpa (my father-in-law) walking on the docks.

We left on Sunday and went back to the in-laws' farm after visiting with James' brother and sister-in-law for a little while at their apartment in Pierre, and stopping in Watertown to see James' other brother and sister-in-law and their new house. The plan was to meet the latter siblings in Watertown for an early lunch on Monday and then head home, but no, I had to get a wicked sinus infection. So instead, we rushed home on Monday so I could get a doctor's appointment. I spend most of that day on the couch, completely worthless.

My mom, bless her heart, came over on Tuesday to watch Isaac for me while I wallowed in my misery. Thankfully, by Tuesday evening, the antibiotics has started to kick in and my head, which had previously felt like it was going to explode at any second, deflated a little. This was my first sinus infection, and holy mother of Mary I pray to God that it's my last. It was terrible!