bad day

I'm having a bad day and I want to blame it on the weather. Not because the weather is slushy or rainy, but because I'm sick of hearing we are going to have a big storm and then it is nothing. It rained all day today and is now a bit slushy, but certainly not the blizzard I was hoping for. Nope, that's all north of us. Again.

I stepped on the scale today after a week long hiatus of eating basically everything in sight. Even while I was eating everything, I was well aware of what I was doing and I could picture myself standing on the scale showing a gain instead of a loss. Reality set in when I seen a huge gain on the scale today. I knew it was coming, so it wasn't a shock, but it still isn't a good feeling. Knowing that I was full aware and still sabotaged tons of hard work. God some days I just want to punch myself.

Even though the scale went the wrong direction today, doesn't mean I am going to piss the rest of this weight loss down my leg. I have full intentions of hitting it hard again tomorrow. I would do it tonight, but I have to start with a fresh day, a new week, and a positive attitude, and tonight I just don't feel positive.

Knowing the kids were getting out of school early today I decided to send the girls a text message and remind them they are in charge and to pick up the house, clean rooms, and to keep busy. Imagine my surprise when I come home and not a damn thing was done. 2 baskets of clothes still needing sorting, a light saber and a small pile of towels on the stairs, toys on the floor, a kids' bathroom that was so messy I couldn't even get the door open. They knew I was pissed and meant business now because it didn't take long for things to get picked up and the bathroom to get cleaned. It's too bad they couldn't do that before I got home in the 5 hours they were home and it had to take me yelling to get it done. Oh and did I mention that I text both of the girls to make sure everyone was keeping busy and they acknowledged me by saying yes. I guess when I got home and seen they had been watching TV, reading, and on the computer, wasn't quite what I had in mind for them.

As I sit here tonight, the kids are yelling, laughing, giving piggy back rides, playing, and just being loud. Even when I ask them to be quiet. I'm just too crabby to deal with it right now.

tooth update

Joseph now only has 1 more baby tooth to lose because a molar fell out while eating supper. Yuck. I hate teeth that fall out.

dentist appointments

All the kids had their regular dentist appointments today in Sioux Falls. I ran into a friend in the waiting room and we had lots of laughs together and ended up having a conversation with another lady I didn't know. Definitely fun. Here's the run down on how the appointments went.

Jayden: He still has an extra tooth on the bottom. He is missing two teeth on the top next to his two front teeth. They are not developed, so will not come in. No cavities.

Devin: Teeth are coming in nicely. No cavities.

Dalton: He has a very crowded mouth and does not have near enough room for his teeth. This is nothing new to us. His mouth is visibly small and his teeth are visibly crowded. He needs to have 2 baby teeth on top and 2 baby teeth on bottom pulled to make room for the permanent teeth that are trying to come in. The dentist said pulling the baby teeth isn't going to solve the problem and he will have to have permanent teeth pulled later. We go back down in April to have 4 teeth pulled. Right now we are waiting on the pre-auth from our insurance company to know how much this will cost us. Dalton will also need braces. No cavities.

Joseph: His mouth is much bigger in size, so his teeth are coming in better. There is one tooth that is trying to squeeze in, but the dentist is confident it will straighten out when it comes in. Joseph only has 2 more baby teeth to lose. No cavities.

Shawndra: Braces look good. Teeth look good. No cavities.

Shaylee: She has 3 cavities and will go back down in April to have them filled. She's pretty upset about this because she thinks she brushes her teeth the most often and the best and shouldn't have cavities.

Jayden's 5th Birthday

For a little boy who had a rough start to life and ended up being fed through a feeding tube for a year, he sure has come a long ways. 5 years ago, yesterday, my little man was born and was such a joy to us.

We celebrated his birthday yesterday all day long. He asked if his birthday was coming to daycare and I said, yes it sure is because it's your birthday all day. He exclaimed, "I'm 5!" Jayden was very surprised his birthday followed him everywhere.
Before preschool, Mike picked him up and we met at Culver's for lunch. He's such a goofball! After lunch, we headed to preschool where he had Tootsie Pops to hand out to his classmates. Once we got home, he had his favorite supper (mac-n-cheese). Yes, he would live on that or spaghetti if we let him. However, since yesterday was so busy, mac-n-cheese won.
After supper grandma Rhonda came over and we had a Thomas the Train ice cream cake and he opened presents. He was so excited for everything and thought his presents were "awesome". I tell ya, I love this kid.

Happy Birthday little buddy!!

girls' room makeover

Shaylee and Shawndra are getting a room makeover. I have been wanting to get them out of bunk beds and today I finally ordered the new beds. They are each getting a captain's bed with 6 drawers and new black and white bedding, of their choice of course. Everything is ordered and paid for, so now we just wait for it to arrive. Once the new beds get here, I will sell the bunk beds. Then we will paint their room and move everything in. Should be fun...and much needed!

rough day

I hate it when days don't go right and every little thing goes wrong. I tell ya, it's been a rough couple of days for me, but today was especially bad. And once I was having a bad day, then nothing I did went as planned. Like trying to spray the Windex and the handle breaks off, or trying to vacuum out my van and the vacuum is leaving white fur balls from the cats all over everything that cannot be sucked up, so I had to go through and physically pick up each piece of fur and stuff it in the hose. Yep, those kinds of things. Of course, those were the little things that were just toppings to the bigger things.

This evening turned out much better than the day and I'm so thankful for that. My husband was nice enough to let me stay home in my jammies while he took Shaylee into town for volleyball. While he is in town he's washing our comforter at the laundry mat and we have clean sheets on the bed. It's nice to just hang out here on the couch with my feet up and the dogs beside me and listen to the quiet.

I'm just hoping tomorrow goes better than today because today was dumb.

my birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and even though it was just another day, no big deal kind of day to me, it was still a great day. Mike and I went to Applebee's to eat lunch, which was delicious. I had the Dijon Chicken with Portobello's. That has become my all time favorite meal because it is so full of flavor and isn't bad for my healthy eating.

We also adopted Bob. You may remember we were fostering him a week ago. I loved Bob and had serious thoughts of adopting him, but we got a message saying Bob had been adopted, sight unseen. I was sad and cried. Bob was such a good fit with our family and it was devastating to get so attached to him and then have to give him up. Well, plans changed when we received a text on Thursday that Bob was being returned. Apparently the owners said he required too much attention and they didn't have the time for him. Duh, people, don't then know that pets require attention and time? Anyhow, I ran to the Humane Society and picked him up with a couple days to try him out again. They weren't going to announce he was back, so we wouldn't be faced with the devastation again. On Saturday, we knew that we wanted him, so we loaded up all of his belongings that go back to the shelter and headed to town. Bob is now ours. He is a part of our family. And he is so loved.

After we adopted Bob, we went to Runnings and Wal-Mart and to buy him some toys and a dish for his food. We also got him some small treats.

Later in the evening, I made 2 angel food cakes and we had my parents over to have strawberry shortcake. They also gave me exactly what I asked for, a hot glue gun and a gift certificate to Hobby Lobby in Sioux Falls. I have a couple of projects I want to make, but haven't had a hot glue gun to do them. I'm hoping sometime in the next week we can get to Sioux Falls.

To end the night, we watched Dream House. What a strange movie. It was good, but definitely has a strange twist.

All in all, it was a great day. Another year older.

foster dogs

Well I can't post a picture of Elsie because we don't have her anymore. She went back to the humane society to be spayed. But what changed is I received a text that Bob was being returned. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. We now have Bob and will likely adopt him, but are trying it out for a few days before we decide. :)

tidbits

I planned on updating this blog sooner than the last time it was updated, which was a week, so here I am almost one full week with another tidbits post.

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Shaylee and Shawndra had a basketball tournament on Saturday in Elkton. One team played so aggressively and dirty it made me cringe. It didn't help that two parents in front of us applauded the behavior. We had girls crying left and right and getting pulled out to the bench for getting hurt. Shaylee hurt her back and is seeing the chiropractor now because of it. Luckily it is a quick heal. We go back tomorrow for another treatment.

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I have been really busy with work. My schedule has changed causing me to work more late nights. Since this winter has been mild, it hasn't created too many problems because Mike is getting home at a normal time, so he can help with the kids.

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I got back on the treadmill tonight and found myself setting and meeting goals throughout my workout. Considering I was tired and didn't want to get on it, I am pleasantly surprised how well I did. It was awesome. My weight loss is also coming along nicely, which is making me feel more positive about myself.

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Dalton needs another new coat, or at least this coat fixed. He got the sleeve caught on a swing at school and ripped it. Of course it was brand new coat when this happened. He also needs new winter boots, but I'm tempted to wait, since we seem to be lacking in the snow area.

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Bob, our foster dog, got adopted last week. We have a new foster dog. Her name is Elsie. She is a little more unique than Bob. I will leave it at that, and maybe post a picture of her if she's not adopted this Saturday.

tidbits

We got word on Monday that Bob was adopted, but his forever home wouldn't pick him up until Friday, so we are still fostering him. Then Bob got really sick and started exhibiting all kinds of weird behavior, quit eating, shaking, lethargic, so we had to take him back to the humane society for the vet to look at him. They found nothing wrong with him. He's fine now. Spunky as ever. And leaving us tomorrow. We are sad and hope he is going to a good home.

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I had Jayden's IEP meeting today. He will still continue to receive Speech therapy twice a week. He can make many sounds, but it all falls apart in conversation. He will still get Early Childhood as well.

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I talked to several teachers of our children today after hearing from another parent that Dalton cried twice at school today. It was interesting to learn that he has been much more emotional the last couple of weeks and cries very easily. Today it was over spilled milk, yesterday it was a conflict with a friend who I have learned today isn't a good influence. We believe part of the reason he has been so emotional is because he didn't get to see his mom the last weekend because there wasn't enough room in the vehicle that grandpa picks them up in. Typically Shawndra stays home, but this time she wanted to go. So it was hard for him. We have talked to him tonight and hopefully things will settle down.

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My dad and stepmom headed to Florida this week for a couple of months. They thought they had a place to stay, but it turns out they were scammed. Yes, they had already wired the money down. It's a bad deal. In the midst of trying to get to a friend's house in Florida, they came upon the traffic jam from the bad accident in Florida. They were at a standstill for 3 hours.

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Devin's finger is still healing. We thought the nail was coming off a few days ago, but it's still attached. She still complains it hurts. And we are still working with the school and getting the bills paid for this ordeal. Things are looking up in that area after a visit with the principal today.

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And that about covers it. The weekend is bringing a basketball tournament for the girls and Club Volleyball practice for Shaylee. Otherwise, not much happening here!

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.