I'm still alive and sane...kinda

Today was my first day watching both my niece, Kaitlynn, and my nephew, Brady. At the same time. By myself. In case you don't get my point....I was outnumbered. By a 14 month old and a 2 month old. Gulp.

Kaitlynn hugging Brady.....again.

Things actually went quite well. No one was hurt and I stayed sane.

Brady sleeping in the front carrier thingy.

Brady had a little bit of a cranky period, but I put him in the front carrier that I have and walked with him doing a few things I needed to do....like feed Kaitlynn. He was out in no time at all and woke up happier and ready to go. I did take some pictures and a few videos...some of which I will share.

Tomorrow is another day with the two of them and I'm actually looking forward to it. Soon I'll have this all down and we'll have some sort of a little schedule. At least that is my hope.

Kaitlynn with Brady.... Sooooo cute!

One of the things that I did today as well was questioned the little mr Brady. He is such a little peanut.

First interview with Brady

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Cassie and Kalli excited at the PAC at intermission time.

NOTE: After putting this picture of the girls on I was looking at it and it blew my mind at how different they look. Kalli is blond with very fair skin while Cassie has brown hair and is very tan compared to Kalli. How is it kids can look so different, but come from the same parents. I just find it amazing/interesting.

Yesterday my mom and I took the girls to see the musical 'Cats' at the P.A.C. The girls had an absolute blast, Cassie said that the performance was better then the movie or any of the videos that I had showed her online, and my mom was thrilled beyond belief to get out of the house.

My mom is only a little over a week past her surgery and didn't think that she would be able to go to the musical. I, however, was determined. Saturday we did a trial run and took her out to just a couple stores. She was tired by the time we got home after the transferring in and out of the car and such, but was happy to be out of the house and breathe fresh air. She actually said she didn't mind the cold air because....she was out of the house!

I'm proud of my mom and all that she has been able to do in the past week. She still isn't as independent as she would like to be, but she is an overachiever. (love you mom!) I do think that she is learning how determined I am as well. When I said that I'd figure out a way to get her places, I meant it. And I succeeded. So a pat on my back, and one on my mom's as well for everything she has done and for trusting me....kinda. :)
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And lastly, I'll leave you with this....about a week ago or so, I was doing some wedding things with my almost sister-in-law, Kelli. I saw this sign and asked her actually asked her to turn around so I could take a picture.

Huh...interesting....

Yeah...it's a special called "if you love her lube her". Wow....that is all I have to say....Wow.

Life is just full of interesting twists!

So, earlier today I was thinking about possibly writing a post tonight. However, what to post about? This is the hard question.

I could post about how many gifts are around our Christmas tree and that I can't even see part of my tree. In fact, getting close to the tree is a feat in itself.

However, we ended up having some excitement tonight so that is what I get to post about.

This afternoon my mom and dad brought the girls home and as Cassie was coming towards the door she tripped on a cord (that was plugging in my Hippo) and fell. Upon falling she grabbed her hand. I was right at the door and called for Andy's help to get her in. We got her in and she was holding her thumb sobbing. I got her ice and she held it there for about 15 minutes. At this point I looked at her thumb and saw that though we had iced it right away, it still was quite swollen. Also, it hurt Cassie for me to just touch it.


At this point I decided that we would go into First Care to have it checked out. I really didn't want to have to go in later in the evening when it still wasn't doing good.

We arrived, got checked in, had the doctor look at it, got x-rays taken, and waited. While we waited I took a few pictures with my phone and we played a few games. Yeah for iphones!! Here are the pictures of Cassie's thumb.

Just a little swollen, eh? And I don't think that this picture even does it justice. Fast forward several hours....my gosh they were busy in that ER/First Care tonight. When the doctor finally came in to let us know what was going on Cassie's thumb was still very swollen, her ice pack (that she had kept on from home til that point) was warm, and some serious bruising was starting to form.


The news that the doctor delivered made Cassie cry. Her thumb was fractured. It is a small fracture, but still....broken. They put her in a hard splint, wrapped it with an Ace Bandage. She has to wear this until she gets in to see an orthopedic doctor. From there, they will decide what they want to do.

Now can we just talk for a second about the guilt that mothers face when their child is injured? While we were waiting at the hospital and I was looking at the swelling and the bruising that was starting, I figured it was broken. I also googled 'signs of a broken thumb' while we waited. Of course, because Cassie is who she is, I didn't say anything about this.

As I put her to bed tonight and watched her struggle to crawl up the stairs, get situated in bed, and took a picture of her hand/arm to share with ya'll.....I couldn't help but be thankful that she is such a strong little girl. The doctor even asked if her thumb was throbbing. When Cassie said no, the doctor said that she is a tough young lady. And that she is. She is hating the struggles that this is causing, not enjoying having to come up with new ways to do things, and frustrated with things that she can't do for a while. However, she is dealing with it and being a trooper. I knew that one day her strong will and stubborn as a mule attitude would work in our favor.

In the meantime Cassie is having a blast trying to figure out how to get around. And I'm being entirely sarcastic when I say this. She can't use her loft-strand crutches because she needs her thumb for stability and such. Right now, can't put any pressure there. She can't crawl as she normally does at night when she takes her braces off because she only has one good hand. I've told her to try doing a hand, elbow type crawl, but she is having troubles with balance and such. And this isn't even to mention the facts that it is her right hand so buckling up in the car or wheelchair is impossible. Pushing herself in the wheelchair, doing transfers, eating, and getting dressed is all just a little more interesting at this point. I find myself laughing more and getting dirty looks from her. She doesn't see the humor in this at all.

Tonight before bed she was trying to write with her left hand because what if she is still in this splint when she goes back to school next week? Luckily she has always been pretty ambidextrous. I also find the timing pretty good since she is off for another week before having to go to school. This way she can get some time to heal, get used to things, and hopefully get in to see the doctor without having to miss school.

Life is so fun some times :)

And because I wanted Cassie to be able to show you things for herself and so you could get a sense her excitement....a video.

September 22, 2009

First off....This past Sunday, September 20th, was Andy's birthday. So....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY. I love you!
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My daughters have a new obsession. An obsession that, while it isn't unhealthy, is odd. At least for a 5 and 8 year old.

The girls are obsessed with musicals. Yes, you read that right....musicals. A while back they were staying at my parents and watched 'Cats'. From that moment on they were hooked. Every time they were at my parents they HAD to watch 'Cats'. Then, trying to change it up some, my mom introduced them to 'Joseph'. It worked...for Kalli. Cassie is still stuck on Cats. In fact she has bought the VHS (yes...those old things still work) tape home and watches it in the basement everyday after school and homework. She only emerges from the basement for dinner and bedtime. I can hear the same songs over and over, so I know that she is rewinding and rewatching her favorite parts. Throughout the day she will start humming the songs.

The other night I gave in to her and showed her some videos on youtube of 'Cats'. I even found the lyrics online so she could sing along. Funniest part was when it was a video from a different performance of 'Cats' and she would tell me that it was the right song, but the voices were wrong. Her favorite character, Rum Tum Tugger, reminds me of a 80's rockstar...and worries me about the kind of boys she will bring home when she is older. Check it out....

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Last Thursday we had a scare that I never want to have again. My brother, Tony, was in a motorcycle accident and was air-lifted to the hospital. Walking into the ER room he was in was one of the hardest things I've done. My brother and I have had our differences, but I love him to death and seeing him flat on a table, his neck in a brace, dried blood on his face from a bloody nose, and knowing what had happened is something I never want to do again. People that were caring for him kept saying how lucky he was and that he was doing very well for being in a motorcycle accident. Without going into too much detail...the officer that took his statement told us that Tony had all in all t-boned a box truck then skidded 120 feet on his bike before hitting a curb and being thrown into a field. The person that towed his bike said that the bike was with Tony about 20 feet in from the road and that he is surprised Tony is alive. And Tony, remembers it all...minus the time after hitting the curb at which time he lost consciousness briefly.

Tony, other then being extremely sore and having a chip broke off his shoulder bone, is alive. And I for one...am so ecstatic about this fact. It wasn't until I left the hospital, came home and told the girls, and then laid down for bed that I lost it. I cried in Andy's arms thinking about all the "what ifs". We could have lost him and that is a thought that I never want to have again. I don't know how it is that he is still here with the facts of what happened, but he is and for that I am extremely thankful.

Tony, thank you for letting me write about this because I think it is something that I needed to get out and share. Also...I love you.
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Tomorrow night....Update on my 'Mental Health' and my latest appointment.

April 24, 2009

This should have been posted last night, but I wasn't able to get the video put in until today as my Kalli was calling for me. Some things are more important then posting.
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My mom told me a Kalli story today and I can't remember the beginning part, but you don't need it to enjoy the story.

Grandma: I think you are fibbing.
Kalli: I am not a fib
Grandma: No, I said you are fibbing. A fib is the same as lying.
Kalli: I am not flying!

I'm thinking she needs her ears cleaned out.
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Yesterday Cassie went to work with my mom for 'take your child to work day'. The biggest part of the day was when they headed to Oshkosh to tour a bridge. How is it you tour a bridge? I don't know, but they did. The bridge in question is a newly built bridge and the 'tour' included watching the bridge open and shut. Also, getting to wear a bright vest and a hardhat.

Isn't she super cute? Too bad she couldn't have brought it home...she could have started a new trend at school. She did bring home a few things, one of which was a really nice water bottle. I've already laid claim to it...though Cassie doesn't know it yet.
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I have one last thing for you before I go cuddle with my Kalli girl (she is calling for me to come to bed...yes it is only 8:00) The other day I had my niece over and I was taking some pictures (I know shocking!) when I got her giggling. I grabbed my camera that also does videos and got some of her laughter on record. She is so darn cute. Enjoy!

November 19, 2008

We are on the 19th day of NaBloPoMo and look at me. I'm still going. Yeah me.

Since it is late and I don't have much to say tonight, I'm going to leave you with cute puppies. These are 6 week old Shiba Inu puppies and are on camera live. The camera does go off air from time to time, but it is still fun to see these puppies as they tumble and play. This streaming video has caught people's attention around the world and world news has even aired it. Enjoy the puppies!

November 9, 2008

Yes...I yet again made some changes to the site. I'm trying to find something that I'm happy with. And I'm finding that it easy thing to make me happy. I'm kinda picky and not really happy with anything. Hmm...
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So today, with proper lighting, I played video photographer with the girls. I'm going to warn you that this is from my old point and shoot camera and therefore the picture kind of sucks.



Here is another little video that was too cute not to post.