Sears

So today I had made an appointment for 2:30 for Tierney and Avery to get their pictures taken. I really wanted to sleep in (badly) but I had to pick Tierney up at 9 in order to get home and get her bathed and ready before Avery got home at 11 and we had to go to her swimming lessons, then get her ready. So the mall was packed and so was Sears. I HATE the mall during the holidays. Good grief. I thought that I could just get the pictures taken and my mom could order the prints online because I didn't know what size or how many to get. But it turns out that you have to pay another 10 dollars to do that and then you can't use the coupons and discounts. So I ordered some 8x10s and left it at that.

This week has been so crazy with my parents in Branson. I've had to get up early to get everything ready for Avery to get ready for school with Chad and then when he leaves have our neighbor come over to take her there, and then have Tim pick her up, etc etc. Its just been nuts and I'm so tired. I could sleep for a week.

6 Weeks

Well today is the 6 week marker of my surgery. I start physical therapy and I picked OSI in North St. Paul because its close and hopefully easy to get in. My appointment is at 4:15 and I'll be going twice a week for the next 4 weeks. My brace was set to 0pen up to 30 degrees and the doc changed it to 75 yesterday so the goal by the next appt is to be able to move it to that 75 degree mark. Then I have another 2 weeks before we hit the 12 week mark that was supposed to be the later end of my estimated recovery time. 6-12 weeks. Ugh, whatever. I pretty much hate everything about this whole process now.

What really doesn't help my mood is the property in Woodbury went to crap. It had gone as far as the seller accepting my bid. But it turns out all these things weren't as they were told to be. Ex: Property is being sold by a person, not a bank. There are less than 20% owners in the place and in order for the bank to give me a loan it needs to be over 30. The seller claimed it was. It's not. There was no offers on the place when I made mine, but then the seller said there actually was, and at the list price at that. Only problem was, they didn't have a preapproval. So the offer wasn't even valid. I could go on and on, but it basically boils down to the fact that the guys a schmuck and I don't get to buy the place. So now we're back to square one. Absolutely no options of other places and I'm just sitting here waiting. Even if I had gotten this place I wouldn't have closed till Nov 20th. It takes about 45 days to close. The cut off for the rebate is Nov 30th. So I'm screwed.

Condo

So yesterday I went to look at a condo in Woodbury. I was very excited about it because it was just listed, in my price range and looked good. So we finally got out to see it after I discovered I have a conventional loan not FHA and that opened up a lot of possibilities. The place was perfect, small but fine for Avery and I. Very clean and new looking. It was built in 1989 and looks great. The driveway needs resurfacing but the association pays for the driveway and lawn so I also wouldn't have to snowblow or mow the lawn!! I am really crossing my fingers on this one, right now I'm waiting to find out their pet policy, if they allow them I'm going to put in a bid, and if not...well then I guess it was too good to be true. My realtor went to ask the seller about that and the listing had expired. She wasn't sure what was going on since as of yesterday there were no bids on the place. I've been waiting for her email but haven't heard anything. So I'm very hopeful still. There are pictures on the flickr site, I suggest going to the month of September and looking at them that way, because for whatever reason, when I upload stuff and it goes into the normal photo stream, they're all out of order. That's all for now!

Birthdays, houses, and schools oh my.

Well the birthday party was...tiring. I sat off to the side where there was a handicap table so I wasn't in the way. We were there from 11:30 till about 2. It was far too long. Freya didn't assist in opening her presents and Tiff was surprised it was all clothes. Really? Because that's what she demanded people get "the kids have enough toys already". Tiff said Tierney has told her she's a mean mom. Her response was that when she was her age with 3 kids she would be too. But might I ask, whose fault is that exactly? Ugh. Bad parenting truly annoys me, and there is definitely more than enough to be annoyed with.

Today I told Cece that I was getting her a hair cut for her birthday. She looks like a shaggy little dog and Andrea hasn't had it trimmed in months. So I'm going to talk to her about it today and maybe go get her a hair cut next week.

I discovered I have enough money to be able to get a house. I have the same stupid realtor and I'm finding myself more and more annoyed with her, and yet I still haven't changed realtors. I'm such a pushover, and I somehow feel bad for this. It's stupid, I know. I was supposed to go look at 2 houses today but then she informs me one won't be approved for FHA and the other is 10,000 over what my budget is. So why has she showed me these houses? Is the price set in stone? I mean really, this is the kind of stuff I deal with her on. Whatever.

Avery had her first day of Preschool today. She was almost late as we thought it was at 1:15 instead of 1:00. (She gets out at 3:15). She made it though, and sounds like everything went well. No seperation anxiety at all, and the teacher sent home a not that said she played on the computer and with play dough. I thought it was neat they said some of what they did, because it can be awful hard to pry it out of Avery.

I bought Avery a Barbie Fashion Designer game on ebay and it came in the mail today. Avery about pooped her pants, and now its killing her that I won't let her play it until Cece goes home. Now who's the mean mommy! Haha. These are the days of our lives...

3 Weeks

For those who were wondering, the actual name of the surgery was: right knee extensor realignment proximal and distal with tubercle shaft. So basically moving my kneecap to where it should be and screwing it there. Hehe. I have my appointment today at 3pm. I'll let you know how it goes later.

Well I'm home after a rather disappointing day. We loaded Avery and myself into the back seat (which didn't quite work all that well) and went off to see the doc. We waited almost 40 minutes past our appt time all for me to find out that I have to sit tight for another 3 weeks before we even start therapy. I got a refill for my muscle relaxers that help me sleep, and adjusted my brace so that I can move my leg 30 degrees. (Which is really nothing). I got the paperwork for a handicap parking pass and when we got to the DMV at 4:40 we found out that the secretary hadn't filled out everything she needed too and they couldn't give it to us. So now my mom has to go back and get that done correctly so we can make another trip to the DMV which we all know is so much fun. It was a rotten time and I was ready to go home but decided to go on as planned because there was no point in moping at home.

We went to Kohls to find some outfits for Freya (my neice's sister) as its her 2nd birthday party on Sunday. We were told not to buy toys as they have enough, even though they've thrown away all the other toys we've bought for the kids in the past 4 years. Whatever. After that we went to a chinese place kitty corner to Kohls in Woodbury and ate. It was quite good, but kind of expensive. After that a quick stop home, then to Target to get my prescription filled and finish off Avery's clothes shopping.

Now I'm home, still crabby and not sure how I'm going to make it through another 3 weeks of sitting in bed. If I could shop all the time that would be great. But I'll run out of money quickly that way. Maybe I should start a boredom fund for myself. Donate money for me to shop so I won't die of boredom!

Shopping Day

So last time I wrote Mom was picking up a different wheelchair. Which was fine and good, but they gave me the same length leg attachment so it was still to short. I called back yet again. Tierney and Avery played pretty well but Avery was upset the next morning when she woke up and Tierney already had to go to be to daycare by 9. Mom got the right attachment on the way back.

So Thursday we went for a walk around the path by our house and gave Mom a workout. We also took a nap of about an hour and a half which totally screwed up my sleep for that night. Tim came and picked up Avery shortly there after and I went to my first day back in class. It was Marketing and it is a 2 hour and 50 minute class. We were running late anyway and then I sent us to the wrong building, wasting even more time. I got there about 15 minutes late and the class went fine. I was nervous about needing to use the bathroom or being uncomfortable but I made it. I came home, Avery took a bath and went to bed and Mom and I finished watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. We finished around 12:15 and I attempted to go to sleep after. No such luck. I was up for over an hour and a half just trying to find a comfortable way to lay which doesn't exist. I was so frustrated I started to cry and just couldn't stop. I eventually fell asleep in that state.

This morning I woke up around 8, and then Avery was up shortly after. She got ready to go and Robin picked her up after 9 or so. My mom was going to the farmers market with her friend and left around 10:30. I was so exhausted from last night I just dozed most of the time after Avery left until about 11:15 when I finally got up and got ready. After Mom got home we went to Target and the mall. I bought school clothes and leotards for her dance classes. We spent a good amount of time there, came home for a bit then went to Kmart and Burger King (which also turned out to be a bad idea as my stomach feels awful now). When we got home Avery was back, she modeled some clothes and we played for a bit. Now its bed time again and I'm nervous I won't sleep. It's such an awful feeling. Wish me luck.

Boredom sets in

So its officially been 2 weeks since surgery now and I am officially bored. Since I've been feeling better (not even taking pain meds for a few days now) I am more dissatisfied to sit in my bed all day. Sleep is awful. I have to sleep on my back, and on top of my comforter and sheets. I just have a fleece blanket I use but I might try under the normal covers again soon. Before it was too tight and restricting on my leg. I get really sore from not moving all night, and I usually can't fall asleep until waaaay late like 3. Then I sleep till noon, and the same pattern repeats. No good. Yesterday I finally got to sleep around 11:30 as I had taken some ambien but I woke up repeatedly and was up for good at 9. Hopefully tonight I can sleep a normal night through. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

I also got a wheelchair yesterday. However they had me put down as 5'2. Which is a far cry from my 5'8. The foot pedal was too short and the height of the wheelchair itself was way low to the ground. I called back and my mom is picking up the right size today. She's also picking up Tierney so we'll see how that goes. Cece has been here the last two days and thats alls a blast. *sarcasm*

So I have nothing going on until a week from today when I have my next doctors appt and possibly start physical therapy. I have no idea how I'm going to entertain myself for that period of time. I've watched so many movies and shows, read, and did puzzles, I just need to get out! And you know, walking would be nice. Blah.

Recovery

After the last post the next day the pain from the adjustment had abated. Only a new problem popped up and that was I was feeling very sick indeed from my lack of intestinal movement (if you get my drift). The doctors failed to inform me that narcotics would cause constipation. You should take something like Miralax or something of the sort the whole time you're one it. So I hadn't and it had been on day 10 before all the medicine and pills I put in my system finally decided to work. So I'm still dealing with the repercussions of taking all the "aids". Pleasant no? In other ways though I'm doing better. I went to the piercing shop Friday and had all my jewelry put back in that I couldn't do myself and that went well. I stood at the counter for a minute or two without too much pain on my crutches.

Today I was able to get up this morning and stand at the sink and brush my teeth, wash my face, put in my contacts and put a pony tail in before needing to lay back down. So hopefully I'll just keep progressing. I'm also hoping to get a wheel chair with a leg attachment (to hold my leg straight out) from Goodwill Medical Services but so far there are none in stock. I have a normal wheel chair from Tim's grandpa but the foot pedals don't work for what I need. If I do get one I'll be able to actually go to a store and shop around, sit in class comfortably next week, etc. Maybe even the State Fair? Keep your fingers crossed for me getting a chair quickly! I'd really like to get back out into the world outside my bedroom.

Surgery

I had my knee surgery on August 18th, a Tuesday. I don't feel like describing it right now, but I may come back later and add the details. Things didn't go well at the hospital, most of the staff was horrible. I came home and things have gotten worse. I haven't been comfortable for any amount of time since my surgery. I have 2 more weeks before I go in again, and the way the PA tightened up my brace today hurts and I don't know what to do. I've left a million voicemails for these people with the problems I've had and talking to someone is like pulling teeth. Its a terrible experience, all of it, and I don't know how I'm going to make it through the whole time.

Picture time

I uploaded some pictures from my mom's camera today, along with the newest ones since Tim's birthday. I just noticed something about Flickr today. When uploading the pictures, even if you put them in order when you add them to upload, they go in whatever order they upload fastest. Does that make sense? So if one finishes before another before it, then its out of order from there on out. Its kind of a pain and I don't like it. I mean its organized in the separate months, but in the photo stream its all wonky. Anyway, not really a big deal I guess.

Today is Jen's graduation party at 3 pm. I'm not sure what time I'm going to head over or if I'm going to wait for Tim or not. He has his end of the year deal at the gun club until like 6:30 or something including tear down. So who knows. Tierney is here and Avery is still at Robin's. She should be home soon, sometime this afternoon. Last night I went and saw the Hangover with Lorna and it was pretty good. I'd recommend it, on dvd maybe. Tomorrow I'm going to see a friends new baby, Monday I have to work, donate plasma, meet with the mortgage guy, and get my piercings taken out, then Tuesday is my surgery already. Time flies!

Birthdays

Tim's birthday was August 3rd and we celebrated by going out to Snuffy's for dinner and malts. It was yummy! My birthday was August 7th and we went to Pinz (with the intention of bowling eventually) and ate at Harvey's which is the restaurant inside. Most of the people invited didn't show up, so for awhile it was just me, Tim, Lorna and Chris, and Sarah. My mom brought Avery over after she got home from Robin's and we opened presents and then played in the arcade for a little bit. Avery was pretty tired so she went home. Shortly after, Lorna, Chris and Tim left. Jen and Tristan showed up and we moved on over to TGI Fridays in Maplewood where Andrea and Peter came. We had a super snotty waitress, finally got our drinks and hung out for a bit. I had a grasshopper that was blended with ice, and it was so chunky I couldn't drink it out of a straw. I was slightly disappointed. An old coworker from Southview (Schelle) also came out a little while later, and at the end it was Sara, Schelle and I just talking till Fridays closed. It turned out to be a decent birthday after all.

This week has been kind of busy with doctors appointments and preparations for surgery. I also have been talking to a realtor and mortgage broker about getting my own place. I had my eyes on a little house in Maplewood by Weaver Elementary school and it was only on the market for 9 days before someone bought it. I'm a little disappointed, but hopefully I'll find something similar or even better in that price range. I have an appointment with the mortgage guy on Monday and the realtor is sending me some houses to look at tomorrow. So I'll be able to pour over that stuff while I'm laid up from the surgery!

Maddens 09

We just got back from Brainerd today and it was quite a trip. Avery enjoyed herself thoroughly and I must say I did too. I'll start with what we did from the Friday evening we got there.

We arrived around 5pm and stopped at Target for a floaty and beach ball for Avery and Claritin for Dad. We at at a place called Pancho Lefty's and it was pretty bland and blah for Mexican food. When we got back we got in the pool even though the weather was cool, the outdoor pool was heated and it was nice. There was a icecream shop called Chrissy's where they had really good Kemps icecream. There was also stuffed animals and candy in the shop.

AJ (my dad's old boss) and Jack (the person who took his position when he got promoted) were there with their families. AJ and his wife Jodi had a boy named Devon and a girl, Kelsie. Jack and RoseAnne had a boy Ryan, and a girl Samantha. Samantha was 13 and she immediately took a liking to Avery. They all played together pretty well and Avery really liked Sam too.

Saturday we went to the Cafe in the main lodge area and had a pretty good breakfast. My dad went golfing and we had slept in till about 9:30 even though a alarm in an empty room went off from 6-7 am. When my dad got back he took Avery to the Adventure Cove park and Mom and I went to the Westgate Mall. I was not impressed. It was worse than Stevens Points Mall, and I thought that was pathetic. So we didn't waste much time there. When we got back Avery went swimming with the kids and I watched. They had a bonfire and Avery had smores and hammed it up with AJ who she was feeling pretty chummy with. I had icecream at Chrissy's again.

Sunday I was woken by the alarm again which this time when we called the front desk, someone actually came and turned it off by 6:25. But by then the damage was done and I was awake for good. I took a shower and went to the coffee shop to read for about an hour. I came back around 8:00 and my dad was up then but Avery and my mom were still asleep. He was going golfing again and we had facial appointments at 10. Avery was supposed to stay with the kids but she didn't like being alone and came with me to my appointment. It was okay, but I'm not comfortable with people touching me and it was half facial, half massage so I wasn't too thrilled. We finished before my mom because she was getting an eyebrow wax too so Avery and I went back to the room. We had lunch at the cafe and my dad joined us after golf. We went swimming for a bit and my mom got in while I took a shower and went to check out the free magazines and snacks a the meeting place. At 5:30 we dropped Avery off at Adventure Cove for the kids party while we went to the awards dinner. It drug on till about 9pm when I went and got Avery.

Monday we let Avery and Dad sleep in and we had a great brunch at the "town hall" I think it was called. We were stuffed and came back to the room so dad could go golf in the Classic and we could go to the Pine River Riding Stables for horseback riding. There were kittens lounging in an old stroller and they were absolutely adorable. A little grey tabby took a great liking to me, and loved to stretch his claws on my legs. Avery didn't want to ride her own horse so she went with me. My knees definitely took a beating and by the time we were done, they weren't feeling too great. They also had donkeys, goats and an emu there. Also in a little pen called "Puppyville" were spaniel puppies and golden retrievers. They were chompy little fellas and Avery mostly spent the time trying to get them not to steal her sunglasses off her shirt. We went back for the company picnic. We had some time before it so Avery and I got a rootbeer float while mom napped. At the picnic there were games and a jumpy for the kids. The food was really good and she had a fun time. I got a little bit of a sunburn for the first time.

Tuesday (today) was our last day there and mom and I got up for brunch again. We woke Avery up around 9 and got ready to go. On the way out of Brainerd we stopped at Paul Bunyon Land and Avery had a blast on a bunch of rides. There was also a small petting zoo with some really bored looking animals. The donkey paced backwards and fowards nonstop. The chickens didn't move a muscle, but the goats were pretty fun. They had a little play ground looking thing outside. There was also a small cow who happily chewed on my hand when the food was gone. We headed home after that. Avery's playing in the tub, and I think she might actually sleep all night in her own bed. I'm crossing my fingers.

Brainerd

Friday Avery, my parents and myself will embark to Brainerd, MN for a grocers convention and general weekend getaway. We are staying at Madden's on Gull Lake. I have never been there before, but apparently its a great place. Avery will be going to a kids day camp, my mom and I will be going to a spa (her for a massage, me for a facial) and other random activities yet to be determined. We'll be back Tuesday and I will resume work Wednesday! So a nice, and needed, couple days off.

I redyed my hair last Saturday and got a haircut Tuesday. The shortest layer is significantly shorter than I've had my hair in a long time, and yet no one noticed. Oh well, I like it and I think it looks good. If only I could chop off pounds of my middle like my hair...

That's really it as far as news goes. We've been trying to go to Stillwater Summer Tuesdays, but so far the past two have been rainy and blah. Avery gets excited to see Mikai, then I have to tell her its not a happening deal. Today I scooped water off the tarp on her pool twice. Many bucket loads. Not fun, and she's only been in that thing twice. I'm sick of this weird July weather. Give me a real summer eh?

Cirque du Soliel

Today was a exciting day for Avery and myself. Avery had Mikai's 5th birthday party to attend and I had Kooza. Avery put on her swim suit at about 10 am to be ready for the party we didn't need to leave for until 3 pm. She was more than ready. When we got there she swam for awhile (I had to get in too, she wasn't enjoying the life jacket business). So we played in the water for 45 min or so, then got dried up and had some food. It was a county fair theme so there was corn dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, etc. Very cute and fun. Tim got there around 5:45 and I had to take off to get back to the house by 6:30. They finished eating and played games, ate cake, and opened presents without me.

I think this is my 4th Cirque du Soliel experience if I recall, and it was great. It makes me want to run away and join the circus! I'd have to become super flexible, or something amazing first. Guess that won't be happening any time soon! But its late and bed is sounding good. Pictures to come.

Hello Honey & Ella

Today we added to our furry friends with Honey (a light tan dumbo eared rat) and Ella (a blue hooded rat). Ella is short for Cinderella and Avery named them both. I have been waiting for a blue dumbo from Har Mar Pet Shop for over a month, so I have given up on them and went to a pet shop in Maplewood where Avery selected 2 that were to her liking. They're quite young and very skittish but hopefully they'll settle down after a few days in their new home. I have had the supplies (bedding, food, treats) for the past few weeks and the cage I have used for rats in the past so we were all ready for them when they came home. The only thing we're missing is a water bottle. I plan to pick up one tomorrow after work, but in the meantime its just in a dish if they venture up to the top level of their cage. All in all, a very exciting night for Avery. It wasn't really planned, but it worked out!

Chilly

So Avery has been asking every day to swim in the pool and finally today when it reached a whopping 80 degrees, I let her and Tierney get in with the warning they would freeze their little butts off. So that they did. They were in for a total of about 15 minutes before teeth were chattering and lips were blue. But pool time was had, and everyone was glad for all of an hour. Tierney just went home now with the fanfare of normal tears and whining.

This weekend is still up in the air. Tomorrow Avery will be at Robin's and I have the day off with no plans other than to go to ToysRus to get a Tag book for Avery that's on sale, and the new Dean Koontz book at Borders that's half off. I'll head over to Lorna's at some point to watch a movie with her and hang out (she just had surgery so nothing too crazy). Then the rest of the weekend is undecided. No plans for the 4th and I'm not sure if I want to change that or not. I guess I'll decide when it happens!

Haircut

Turns out that Avery got home around 12:30 on Saturday, so we were able to spend the day together. We went shopping for Mikai's birthday present for his party on the 11th and she asked if it was nice enough out to go in her pool almost every hour without fail. Its been pretty windy and rather cool (75ish) so I don't think we'll be doing that until we get another really hot day like in the 90s. We do have swimming lessons tomorrow though, so at least she'll get some kind of pool time!

Today was a little bit slow to start, as she got up at about 9:45 and then was on the couch half asleep till around 10:30. After getting ready she went over to dads until 12:45 when we went to Kids Hair in Woodbury (Tamarack Village) where she got her first hair trim, with me and Tim anyway. It was a cute place, nice people, and they were playing the Bee Movie on all the tvs which there was one at each station. Pretty cool. We also picked up some swimmers shampoo for after the pool on Mondays. Then we went to Noodles & Co for a yummy lunch.

After I dropped them off I went to Kmart in search of the 50% off all clothing sale they had going on where I found Tinkerbell summer pajamas for Avery and a Tinkerbell nightgown. Then a 2 pack of Betty Spaghetty's which I think are pretty fun, and we'll be playing with them more tomorrow! Too bad I have to go to work. *sigh*

Wisconsin trip

So in my last post I mentioned that it was a good thing it was only for a week. Well make that two, because on Tuesday my mom and Avery went to Wisconsin for the week. They left Tuesday around 6, and my dad was out of town until last night, so it was pretty empty in the house. Good thing I have the dogs or I don't know what I'd do!

Work has been really slow, which doesn't help matters any. I went shopping on Weds and ended up with new shoes and rat supplies. Thursday I bought after a big pool for the deck and spent a frustrating hour or so blowing it up and getting it ready. Today I filled it up and bought a tarp to cover it. Riley and I have been taking walks each day, and he enjoys that a lot and it poops him out. It's good for both of us.

Anyway Avery will be home Saturday night, so I've got one more quiet day. At this point I'm ready to have her home for awhile!!

Camp week

This week is Avery's Gale Farm camp. She started Monday and went in the morning to Grandma Robin's and came home after to go to her first swimming lesson. She said she rode on a tractor in the back with seats but that was about all I could get out of her. Oh and she had a snack of broccoli and carrots in dip.

Swimming was interesting, as she flat out refused to do some of the things the teacher instructed us to do, such as touch our ear, then nose and other ear to the water, and blow bubbles etc. She didn't want to get her face near the water. But she LOVED jumping into my arms from the edge. It's more of a water acclimation class than actual swim lessons, but I'm glad I went with this one because with Avery and her separation anxiety lately would not have permitted me to leave her on her own for the class as required for the next level. We have until the end of July to get her ready for that, thankfully.

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday so she'll be home after camp again. I got him REO Speedwagon tickets to put in Avery's card to him, so that should be a fun surprise. Then Sunday is father's day and I couldn't afford anything exciting for that. That's how it goes having your birthday so close to another holiday though I suppose! Good thing mines in the middle of a whole lotta nothing!

The main point of this post is I'm without Avery for most of a week and its just weird! The house is too quiet. Good thing its only for this week. =)

New Bike

Not a whole lot going on lately, I'm done with school so I have some time on my hands for the summer. Avery is signed up for swimming lessons that start the second week of June on Monday nights, she also has camp at Gale Woods Farm with Grandma Robin. Dance starts in September along with preschool. So much going on with her soon!

This weekend we went to White Bear Lake and got a bike that I found on craigslist. Its in great shape and was way affordable. Avery doesn't much feel like pedaling, or steering, so its kind of difficult going at this point. The same day we went to buy new streamers for the handlebars (which entailed going to Target, Walmart, Eric's Bike Shop, and finally Kmart before we found any) and at Kmart we also found Barbie rollerskates that go on your shoes on sale and got those as well. They came with knee and elbow pads. That was a bit harder for her and will definitely need some work. I got some cute pictures that I will upload soon.

Mothers Day

Well today was Mother's Day but Avery doesn't feel like treating me any different than usual. That is, trying to constantly be the center of attention and if she's not...well its just not pretty. My grandparents and Aunt Pam are here and we went to Kozlak's for brunch at 11:30. I was so stuffed that I didn't feel better until about 5 pm. After we got home around 1:30 we went to the Maplewood Mall. I got a few things at Penny's and at that point Avery was still being pretty good. We went on the carousel even though we had to wait for the guy to get back from his break who ran it at 3. Avery didn't even want to go on a horse she wanted to go in this little rocking thing. We were all fairly tired but we didn't leave till 4 or so.

I tried taking a nap when I got home with Simone laying on the bed but Riley was being naughty and kept coming in my room and barking at me for having her on the bed. I've been trying to keep her out more lately since she got sick on Wednesday. She can't use her hind legs and has insulinoma, but something else is going on because she should have been getting better at least a little on the Prednisone but she's worse. Then I messed up by giving her 0.5 ml instead of 0.05, so I ended up calling the E clinic yesterday to see what to do. Fortunately she's okay but I'm sure my idiocy didn't help her any. Monday her bloodwork will be back and I'm hoping it shows something so we can get her feeling better, because this is miserable.

Como Zoo

First visit of the year to the Como Zoo today. Avery had a lot of fun even though most of the animals were sleeping when we saw them (monkeys, lions, wolves...everyone, snoozing). We went to the kids theme park area and went on some rides, most of which she had fun on as per usual but we tried out the "driving school" which is like go carts for small kids and she didn't fare so well. The guy tried to help her (as you'll see in the pictures) but she wasn't having it, and ended up in tears. We quickly went to the swings to remedy that. She finished up with a giant rainbow sucker and her day was good. Grandma and Grandpa were leaving for a retirement party when we got home, but Grandpa had some time to swing her in the backyard after lunch.

The pictures are also up from Easter. I have a bunch for the month of April. I've even uploaded them in decent time increments, even with a failing external hard drive!

Easter 2009

Well this weekend I went snowboarding up in Lutsen, MN. Its close to the Canadian border, about 20 miles from Grand Marais. It was 7 people and myself, and I rode up with my friend Nick from South Dakota. He had never gone before so I had to teach him, but I'm not the worlds greatest myself, so it was kind of hard. I got a horrible sunburned face on Saturday, and bought some sunscreen for Sunday to save it from even worse. But when I woke up this morning my forehead was swollen. Thats a new one for me, and I've had many a sunburn. Its quite uncomfortable to say the least.

Anyway since I was gone for Easter, we had the egg hunt today in the backyard. Cece came over as per usual for Mondays, and my mom picked up Tierney for the day and to spend the night. They had a lot of fun, and after Cece left we all went to dinner at Acupulco. Shoe shopping followed, and then home to look at their Easter baskets. I had gotten Avery Barbie in Swan Lake so they watched that before bed.

Over all, a good, fun day for the kids, but a slightly tiring one for me. Having a sunburn always leaves you feeling pretty pooped and I'm really not looking foward to the walk on the treadmill I'm going to do after writing this. Oh well right? Then I can go to bed! And of course back to work tomorrow =(

Walker Art Center

Today was Avery's Easter egg hunt at the church she has bible study at. We got there at 10:00 and started off with a story, then hunted for eggs, then made some crafts. She had fun, but was being kind of shy. I actually ran into my freshman math teacher then Ms. Peterson. She got married while I was still in school and I can't remember her married name. But now she has 4 kids and she's a stay at home mom! She has a 4 year old too named Mya. Avery kind of said hi to her, but not really. Stinker. It was neat to see her again, so many years later.

After that we headed to Ruby Tuesday for lunch, after that it was off to the Walker. I needed to see a painting and do a paper on it for my Humanities class. I found one I like from the Elizabeth Peyton exhibit, but I needed something to take home with me to remember what it looked like, and since I couldn't take a picture of it, I bought a postcard of a different painting by her and I'll work off of that. Avery made a big picture in the craft area and we got a little doll from the gift shop, that is really cute. There were a few things that I wanted to get, but they're all fairly pricey. Momiji: favourite person is the doll she got. The website is lovemomiji.com its actually really cute stuff. These were called "celebration dolls". Anyway the pictures are up- enjoy!

Piggy Bank

Wednesday last week Avery and I made a trip to the bank with her half full piggy. The lady working at the counter knows me fairly well, (as I have to go inside to do everything because my window doesn't work!), and she let Avery watch the piggy get emptied into the coin counter in their back room. She had $17.40 and she was very excited to have cash. We went to ToysRus where she had a hard time deciding what she wanted, but she ended up with a new Snap N Style doll named Brianna Lynn who is a princess, and a Littlest Pet Shop panda. We were pretty happy to see the dolls back in stock because I haven't been able to find them forever, and she loves them!

Yesterday I went shopping for easter egg hunt supplies. That stuffs not cheap I tell ya! But Walmart had decent prices and I got most of it there. I'm going to Lutsen with some friends over Easter weekend so we're having the hunt on the Monday after with Cece and Tierney. It should be fun! I'll post pictures.

Pet Peeve

I bought a new pair of khakis today at JC Penney's and to my severe annoyance when I got home and was cutting tags off I discovered the ink tag still remained on them. Now I have to drive back and get them to take it off. This is one of my major pet peeves. I guess I should have looked to see if it had one, but isn't that kind of the cashiers job? Ugh.

It doesn't help that I'm just tired and crabby from a poor nights sleep. My dogs were restless, and I had a hard time falling a sleep, then my brother got into town at about 4 am, thus they went nuts. My mom let them out (which I didn't know at the time) and they were still whining and pitching a fit so I let them out (again). After that they settled down but I was awake. I finally get back to sleep and some time around 7 my mom came in to get my laptop for directions to the courthouse. So I'm awake again. Arg.

Apparently Avery had a bloody nose last night, but I didn't hear her wake up because she was sleeping in the guest bedroom at the time. She gets them every now and then, luckily not as much as I do. She pretty much slept the entire day away yesterday as her cold took hold. She was pretty miserable and wouldn't eat or drink. Thankfully today she's doing better. Is it summer yet?

Still Chilly Out

So this morning I had the pleasure of standing in my garage with the dogs in my pajamas and fleece crocs. Tim had taken one of the spare keys when he brought Avery home Thursday while I was at school and hadn't given it back, and the other spare key was not where I thought it was so I was stuck. Luckily the crappy old rotary phone with the broken in half handset let me dial and I called Tim for him to drive the key over. Even though I was only out there for a few minutes it was cold! If you don't turn the doorknob just right after you unlock it, it just locks again and thats what happened. Avery was inside watching cartoons on the couch half asleep. So onward with my fun week!

I did laundry pretty much all day, and Avery and I watched part of Fox and the Hound while I walked on the treadmill. We went to Joanne Fabrics to get a pillow form for the fleece tie pillow thing Avery had gotten with Robin on Friday. The pillow form costs more than fleece precut thing! Then we went to McDonalds (always a bad choice but Avery wanted to) then came home and cut the fleece and made the pillow. There is also fabric for a Little Mermaid blanket, but that one I haven't attempted yet. Pictures are up of the pillow.

As for yesterdays sickness, it was over as quickly as it started. She's been fine all day, eating and drinking and not feeling sick. So it must have been something she ate, but Robin had all the same things and wasn't sick except for this strawberry milk. Things were uhmm...pink last night so I'm thinking maybe that just upset her stomach? I dumped it all just in case it was bad somehow even though it smelled normal. Oh well! At least its not the flu. And thats it for today.

A tough week

So while my parents are soaking up the sun in Mexico I'm stuck here all week which is turning out to be a doozy. Lets see...
Tuesday: I woke up in the morning unable to lay on my left side- as my ear hurt too much. It wasn't too horrible, but I thought perhaps an ear infection was brewing. I had class that night (so I thought) and didn't make an appointment for it as I didn't think I would have time to go. Turns out I didn't have my first night class so I went to the urgent care and found out I had an infection in the canal of my ear. Which is better than the inner ear, but still painful. So I got some medicine for that and it has been clearing up. I thought that both night classes were canceled for our "Student Success Day" but that was untrue. It was only the first one, and I missed review and a test in my Spanish class.

Thursday: Ran on very little sleep, as Avery kept me up from about midnight to 2am, not wanting to sleep. Long day, very glad to get some rest at the end of the night.

Today: Very annoyed with co-worker who tends to think she is my boss and doesn't listen to the opinions of mine that she asks for. I went to the library after work to return a book and bumped someone in the parking lot. No harm was done, and I'm not entirely sure it was my fault as I was looking when backing up because I know that people are nutjobs in that parking lot. But the lady insisted it was my fault and I gave her my insurance and got out of there.
Then I was supposed to dye my hair but Tim went to a movie and didn't feel like telling me when it got done as was planned. Whatever I wasn't in the mood anyway.
Avery got home around 9 and was crying because she was woken up when getting out of the car. She fell asleep on the couch with the exception of crying when I put on her pajamas. When I woke her up to put her in my bed she said her tummy hurt, and I thought it was because she hadn't gotten her Miralax for the last day. She proceeded to get sick all over herself and the bed.

She hasn't thrown up since she was a baby, so she was absolutely hysterical. I cleaned her up as fast as I could and got clean pajamas on her and put her back to sleep on the couch. I threw everything in the wash (including a very messy bear) and its all going right now. I'm tired, but I want to get all the laundry washed because I don't want it to sit there and smell. So here I am!

Too bad I'm not in Cancun. *sigh*

I did it!

Pictures are finally up. With red eye fixed even! Its funny though, some of the pictures that I used the red eye tool on make the people look like they have glaucoma, or are blind or something to that extent. Which isn't really funny I guess...but well you know!

Not too much excitement going on. Avery started a drawing class on Tuesday mornings at the Oakdale Recreation Center, which she has missed on out of 3 so far because she was incredibly sick last week. She's doing better now. We went to Kozlaks for Valentine's Day brunch last Sunday which was delicious as always. And that's about it!

Windows Vista= le crap

So after all birthday fun was done as of last night at Deanna's for dinner, I uploaded the pictures off my camera onto my removable hard drive. I do this via my old laptop because it is much more user friendly with the picture dealings. When I plugged my hard drive into my new(er) laptop and attempted to rotate the pictures to right side up, it wouldn't let me. There was no reason for it, it wasn't in "read only" or being used by any other program so Vista telling me that those things are happening is a LIE. So I have to go fix them on the old lap top and then upload them to the website after that. Its a pain in the hiney. See this is why I never upload pictures. Anyway- birthday recap.

Feb 3rd, a Tuesday, was Avery's actual 4th birthday. I still went to work, but took school off for the night. When I got home Avery had received a card from my Grandma & Grandpa Fowler with 10 dollars for her to get a toy, and we had a 3 dollar off coupon for ToysRus so we went there to get a fairy from the Tinkerbell movie. Then we met my parents at McDonalds (Avery's choice) for dinner. Afterwards we came back and opened presents until she was sick of it, like Christmas. We had cake and icecream, but she wasn't interested.

Wednesday was her party with her friends at Pump it Up. Tierney, Cece, and Mikai were the only kids who came. Hannah and Gunther had the flu and Lexi's dad never answered me. But in the end it turned out to be the right number, any more and I would have been too overwhelmed. They had a ton of fun playing at the jumpy place, and were quite tired and hungry at the end of their hour and 45 minutes give or take. We went to Pizza Hut for the lunch buffet where my dad met us, and we all chowed down. Then we had her princess cupcake/cake and opened even more presents. After all was said and done I was sure we were in for a nap, but no such luck.

Friday we went to Deanna and Bob's for Avery's birthday dinner. Avery developed a nasty cold/thing over the past couple days so she just picked at her food. We had lasagna, home made mac and cheese, and garlic bread. Steve had made a bear shaped cake for her and Robin made icecream. MORE presents and then we headed home.

So thats the scoop on the 4th birthday extravaganza. ;)

Cakes and Such

Today was fairly eventful in getting the last of the birthday stuff arranged. I went to ToysRus and found more Snap N Style clothes for Avery's dolls which I have been looking everywhere for, then I went to Party Warehouse and got her plates, cups and napkins for her meal at home and ordered her balloon arrangement to be picked up the day of.

After my mom got home we went to Kowalskis and ordered a cupcake arrangement with the Disney Princess theme. The cupcakes are for the party so I'm making a cake for her birthday at home. I bought the stuff to make the cake but decorating it is a different story. I attemped to go to Sweet Celebrations/Maid of Scandanavia in Maplewood only to discovered they went out of business but still have all the signs up. So now I had to search around for another cake-candy supply store and found one off of University that I will attempt to find tomorrow after work. What I am hoping to find are edible cake images of preferably the Little Mermaid. We'll see how that goes. Otherwise I might be winging it.

All I know is, today I spent a lot of money and used a lot of gas!

Plans are set

This is what Avery's 4th birthday extravaganza looks like. We have a inflatable play place called Pump It Up reserved from 10:45-12:15. 6 kids have been invited; hopefully everyone can show up. Since we can actually have up to 14, I'd like to get as many there to play as possible since we're paying for it anyway. There are 2 play arenas and the kids get 30 minutes in each then 30 minutes in the party room where we'll do presents and cake. I'm thinking afterward we might go to McDonalds or Pizza Hut to get some lunch since we won't have time to do that in the party room. Either that or see if we can get a few more minutes in each play room and then do the cake after lunch which would be more reasonable.

I put the invitations in the mail today, and I've already bought party favors and the bags. Presents have been taken care of since Christmas, so I think we're all set besides actually ordering the cake which I figure I'll do a week or so before the actual party.

After 3 nights of my parents being gone and Avery sleeping with me because she doesn't like being upstairs alone, I'm pretty tired. I haven't had a good nights sleep since. Sleeping with Avery is difficult as she takes up a lot of room and is incredibly warm. My back tends to hurt the morning after but I think thats from trying not to smoosh her. Anyway today when she takes a nap so am I. And in about an hour seems like a great idea. *yawn*