Bob

Meet Bob. He's on the right.

He's our foster dog from the Brookings Regional Humane Society.
He's a puggle, just like Stewie. But since Bob is 1/4 the size of Stewie, we question what Stewie's mix really is.

Bob is really fun to have around and our family really loves him. In fact, we love him so much, that if his adoption fee wasn't so expensive, we would likely adopt him as well.

Bob is awesome with kids and loves to play with other dogs. He has some cute little quirks, like kicking out his back leg if Stewie is getting annoying. Bob slept in our bed last night, along with Stewie. And Bob has had no accidents. We love Bob.

peace and quiet

My plate is full and it's making me crabby trying to figure out how to do everything. I probably wouldn't have such a hard time with everything if I wasn't so tired all the time. By the time I get home from work, I am so famished I can't even get on the treadmill, or gather laundry, or barely cook supper. I'm sleeping by 9:30. And ready to sleep now.

This week has been crazy busy at work. The worst part about it is that I can't get my job done in 40 hours, so I end up working over 40 hours, but I don't get paid for it. That's the crappy part. I'm such a perfectionist and I want to do a good job because that's how I roll.

The housework is never ending and I seem to get no help with the laundry. Boo hoo, right? Well having 8 people in the house creates a lot of laundry. Last weekend I washed over 12 loads of clothes and then started on the bedding. Well here we are again at Thursday night and nobody has put their dirty clothes in the laundry room. I think I'm on strike. At some point, somebody is going to run out of clean clothes and complain, I assume.

Girls are still busy with basketball and now Shaylee is doing club volleyball along with the basketball. All the kids seem to have homework, or projects, or books to read, or rooms to pick up, or toys all over the place. I'm just so tired and want some quiet. For once....peace and quiet with nothing to do would be awesome.

stitches out

Devin got her stitches out while I was working today. Mike said she just giggled and giggled and showed no signs of pain, once again. Seems to be a constant thing with her. It's still wrapped and protected by the finger guard.

I also learned a little more about Devin's reaction to when this all happened. I was giving her a bad time tonight because she won't look at her finger. Today she still wouldn't look at her finger. So I asked her if she looked at it when it happened and she said she did just to see if it was bleeding. She said it was and said there was a big drop of blood hanging on the bottom. Mike failed to tell me the rest of the story.

Devin was going into shock. She looked at her finger and then started to shake, so the teachers had to keep talking to her to keep her alert. They asked her questions constantly and asked her about Christmas. Then, one of the teachers even rode with Mike in the truck to keep talking to her on the way to Brookings. I guess the teacher later got a ride with one of her roommates.

Sure would have been nice to know the whole story, but I guess that's what I get for not asking questions.

Devin's finger is still white on the side. The tip is still pink. That is good. The stuff on the side will likely fall off yet. As will her nail.

Devin's doctor visit for finger

Devin had a doctor visit yesterday for her finger, so I picked her up from school and the 4 of us headed to the clinic. Jayden was pretty excited to see the scale. I'm glad simple things can entertain him! There will be a link at the bottom of this post you can click on to see Devin's finger uncovered if you are interested in that type of stuff. These pictures that follow are safe. :)

Devin wasn't nervous at all, as you can see. The only thing she said is she didn't want to see her finger. She hasn't even complained that it hurts. She's one tough cookie that's for sure!I think the kids thought I was silly for bringing my camera along to the doctor, so they had to pose for some silly pictures too. I hadn't seen Devin's finger until they unwrapped it at the clinic, which was a big deal to begin with because the gauze they used was supposed to stay wet and not dry so it doesn't stick to the finger. Well, this gauze did the opposite and dried tightly to her finger. She had to soak her finger in a bowl of hydrogen peroxide, which I would have thought it would hurt. However, Devin said it didn't. The peroxide sure fizzed a lot though.Devin said she would probably have to lay on the table, so she popped right up there to wait. She still didn't want to see her nail.This is how she stayed the entire time. Facing the wall, making sure not to get a glimpse of her finger. This is the portion of the gauze that glued to her finger that had to be soaked. As she lounged on the table, she laughed and giggled. Sometimes she would have one eye open, but just ONE. :)The doctor was happy with how her finger is healing. He showed me how the nail had been pulled upright and why they had to stitch through the nail. He tapped on the tip of the finger and it was pink, so he was very happy to see that as well. There must have been a concern with how bad the cut was that she may lose the tip of her finger or the feeling in it, but he never told us that initially. Devin's finger is wrapped up again and has a plastic finger guard to help protect it. It's very important she doesn't bump her finger as it would cause intense pain.

The doctor said Devin will certainly lose her finger nail. And based on how the finger looks, she will have a pretty good scar. The finger was cut all the way around the tip and really chewed up on the one side. She will go back on Tuesday to have the stitches out and continue healing from there.

If you are interested in seeing pictures of her finger, uncovered and in all it's gory, click here. It will take you to a different spot that will contain those pictures. I didn't want to post them directly into this post because not everyone wants to see gruesome photos.

Devin's cut finger

Mike called me at work this afternoon and asked when I was done working because he had received a call that Devin got her finger stuck in a hole and got cut and they think she needs stitches. I couldn't get away from work at that moment, so he arranged to get her picked up and took her to the clinic. In the meantime, I called the teacher to ask how bad it was, to which she said it was pretty bad.

Mike got her picked up and took her in. He told me it was bad. She had stuck her finger in a small hole on a basketball hoop pole and then someone turned the hoop which caused her finger to be cut in a perfect circle. There should have been a bolt or a screw or something inside that hole, but it was open, so when the hoop turns, the hole essentially gets blocked off by the inside pole. Except this time, Devin's finger was in the hole and got pretty mangled.

Devin ended up getting 6 stitches in her finger. Even after being bandaged up it still continued to bleed. It has stopped at this point, so that's good. She's been in quite a bit of pain and didn't eat her supper. I will be taking her back to the doctor on Friday morning because he wants to see her again.

We went back to the school after Mike was done at the clinic to see what exactly happened. We were told that the janitor was going to find something to go in that hole right away, whether it be a bolt or screw or something. The director of the after school program talked to the principal about insurance because I had questioned who would be paying for the medical bills? My theory is it happened during the after school program, which we pay for, so they should have some type of insurance to cover accidents and liabilities like this. Well she didn't know the answer either, so now the Superintendent has been emailed.

I understand that sporting events are not covered when accidents happen, but when something happens to my child when I am paying for them to keep them safe, I would expect them to cover the bill. It will be a battle to get the answer we want, I suspect, but I do plan to investigate further and not back down. I questioned why that old basketball hoop is even there. And then to hear other people say that they have seen that very hole before and didn't do anything about it really strikes me as odd.

In the meantime, we will continue to take care of Devin and get her finger healed. Hopefully the pain and long term effects are minimal.

Sunday

Not much to write about. Mike has been sick with a headache all day. Puking sick. He's in bed sleeping now, so I'm hoping he will feel better tomorrow. That's typically how this works for him. He gets a headache every few months and spends an entire day puking and then he's fine.

Shaylee is at a birthday party tonight. I thought it was last night, however, I am glad it's tonight instead because she didn't get home from her basketball tournament until almost 5pm. She would have been too tired to have fun at a party. I dropped her off at 3:30 today at the motel. It should be fun. There were a lot of squealing, giggling girls in bikini's! I'm sure there won't be much sleep tonight.

Back to work for me tomorrow. I'm taking my holiday on Friday instead. Keeps my work schedule much easier to keep straight and since my job allows us to use our holidays as floaters, I thought why not!

The other kids come home tomorrow. We'll have to go to Watertown to meet them and do the switch. I think there's also snow on the way tomorrow.

should be

I should be dressed.

I should be on my way to Clear Lake.

I should be anticipating the day watching my oldest in her basketball tournament.

I should be enjoying some time away. Just me. Watching her.

I should be getting bleacher butt (aka...sore butt from bleachers).

I should be happy that it snowed.

I should be doing laundry.

I should be letting the dog out.

I should be picking up the house.

But alas, I am sitting under a warm blanket, watching two boys play the Wii, listening to the dryer sing, the washer clean, the dog snore, the cats hiss, the floors creek, the furnace hum, and the wind blow because it snowed. And when it snows, even just a small amount, it means my husband works and my motherly duties of watching the younger two kicks in. Therefore, I stay home, until my husband comes home, and if there is still time, I will then head to the tournament. In the meantime, I stay warm under my blanket, typing to you.

tidbits

Yesterday I did the same workout, with a combination of walking and jogging. It wasn't as easy as the day before. I'm guessing it's because my body was still tired from pushing it the day before. Today and tonight I have been too busy to get any activity in. Not good.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Clear Lake for Shaylee's basketball tournament. I guess it's just an 8th grade tournament, so Shawndra won't be going. She can't anyhow since she went to her mom's house for the weekend.

Mike will be hanging out at home with the boys. Dalton and Jayden that is. Dalton ended up staying home this weekend and it had nothing to do with his choice. He wanted to go see his mom, but since grandpa is the one who meets us in Watertown and he only drives a single cab pickup, there isn't enough room for all four kids and grandpa. He was pretty bummed and we felt bad that he couldn't go. Shawndra doesn't usually go to her mom's because she has practice or games going on, so since she decided to go this time that meant one of the other had to stay home. It sucks that their mom can't get her act together, but that's a whole nother story that I'm not getting into now.

Sunday we get to meet Jayden's preschool teacher for his last semester in preschool. It's hard to believe he will be starting Kindergarten in the fall.

I'm hoping to get some decent pictures at the tournament tomorrow. It seems lately the pictures I am taking aren't turning out great. Really hoping tomorrow is different.

me jogging

Yep you read that title correctly. Me jogging. I always dreamed I would get to that point, but never thought I would actually be able to do it. When I've tried in years past, I have started to fast and almost been at a sprint. Not tonight though. While walking on the treadmill, I wanted to see what I could do. I actually pushed myself into jogging mode. 2 minutes without walking. I actually did it. That may not seem like much to you who read this blog, but to me it's a huge monument. To make it even better, I actually jogged 2 minutes 4 different times tonight.

I'm so proud of myself! It wasn't fast, but it wasn't at a speed where I could walk. This is my year! This is the year I will do this!!

a great day

Today was an awesome day. The weather was beautiful, even though I am bothered by the lack of snow. I took the dog on a long walk while wearing no coat. It's just not right that it's January and it's this warm and there is no snow. By this time of year it should be cold and the ground should be white. I'm really hoping the snow comes soon because it is my favorite season. However, with it being my favorite season, I can't complain that I'm outside in the fresh air getting my activity it.

Tonight Mike and I went to Shawndra and Shaylee's basketball games. We didn't win. But it's OK because my parents were there and it's always fun to sit and chat during these times. Poor Shaylee took off towards the other teams court and just about crossed over, but everybody screamed and she stopped. She felt so embarrassed and bad. It happens though and that's what we told her. Life goes on.