Don't Sit On The Baby!

Snow day. . . and another. . . and another. . .

2010-01-25T16:25:00.000-08:00

So we had a snow day on Saturday. With rain and ice and no travel advised. So I worked on a few projects. . .

First, I had this elephant thermal laying around (do you see my elephant theme??) so I decided to make a jumper. The fabric was really really stretchy so it got a little baggy around the neck. Otherwise it was pretty easy (again-- no pattern), but I'm definitely not a professional seamstress :)

So I left the sewing machine and made a yummy batch of soft ginger cookies. They are the only cookies I make (once or twice a year) and yes, I do follow the recipe. I ate one. Sadie ate one. The others magically disappeared :) I guess they were good!

Then I went back to the sewing machine to see if I'd have better luck with a tutu. I didn't. First, it was too small (way too small) and Kaleif interpreted my trying to squeeze Sadie in the tutu as torture. So I ripped a few seams and she fit! Second, it just didn't fluff as a good tutu should. I don't know what I did, but she still had fun with it. Maybe next time I'll try it with directions :)

So for the "and another. . . and another. . ." School was cancelled today and is two hours late tomorrow due to blizzard conditions. No school means no daycare! But unlike Saturday, today was not productive. . . And now, at 7 pm, I'm still wearing my pajamas :)

The Ivy Twines

2010-01-25T15:43:00.000-08:00

So my sisters, one of Bethany's good friends, and I are starting a review/giveaway blog. To be perfectly honest, I haven't done any work on it yet. . . Bethany has been very very busy, and we posted our first giveaway (beautiful jewelry) today! The focus is pretty feminine so far (sorry to my male readers. . . actually you probably don't exist) but is NOT limited mom and baby items. And who knows, maybe when we get going, we'll find some man stuff too! And men, we definitely have some nice gifts for your ladies :)

So please check out the blog at theivytwines.blogspot.com. Hope to see you there!

Beautiful quilts and lasting memories. . .

2010-01-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

Just last weekend, I was enjoying myself at Ant Camp, a gathering of my mom, her six sisters, their families, their families' families and a few lucky friends. This year was the tenth anniversary of the event and more than sixty people were at the lodge during the weekend. Here's one of the group pictures. . . the best one of me (sorry everybody) which I now realize doesn't matter much because you probably can't even see any of the faces.

It was a wonderful weekend! Sadie and the other kids got a visit from Santa. . .

and Sadie rode in a box. She really had a lot of fun in that box, no matter what it looks like in this picture. I swear.

When the kiddies were asleep, the adults also had a grand time. I think we're all thankful that the cameras were put away by then! We told stories, we laughed, I recruited members for a band, we laughed, we played games, we laughed. . . well you get it. I think my cousin put it best when she said, "You can't choose your family, but I would!"

I started a quilt at camp. I spent about half the time with the seam ripper and almost threw the sewing machine out the window at least five times. When I realized how angry the quilt was making me and how much fun I was missing out on (I HATE missing the fun!), I gave up. Temporarily. Last night, I finished it! Now, I wouldn't call my quilt "beautiful", but it's done.

If you're wondering why my quilt pattern is so simple and boring, there are two reasons:

1. I am not very patient. Those complicated (and so pretty) quilts are just so overwhelming to me!

2. I hate following patterns and directions. So I created this pattern myself :)

I really can't wait for Ant Camp 2011. Just 51 more weeks!

Look out!

2010-01-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

Boy, I had quite the scare at daycare today. I had to run to the kitchen to get our gourmet lunch of chicken nuggets and fries in the oven, leaving three oneish year olds and three twoish year olds to play by themselves for a mere two minutes. Just as I was closing the oven door, the screaming began. The cries the three babies followed. The two year old boy sounded seriously injured. I ran. Literally. I think I closed the oven door, though I'm not sure. I just needed to get back to that room as fast as I could. I don't even know what was going through my mind. . . then I saw him. Are you ok? I looked for blood. . . no blood. Missing limbs? Nope. He continued to scream for "MOMMY! AAAHHHH! MOMMY!" The babies stopped crying. He continued. What happened? What's wrong? I turned to another two year old who shrugged her shoulders. He continued screaming. And screaming. I looked for blood again. None. I turned to the other two year old, who just pointed. And I saw it. . .
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The Roomba. My mom's fancy new robot vacuum cleaner, terrorizing young children who cross its path. So I turned it off and put it back on the base. He continued to cry for at least a few more minutes. I bet he'll keep his hands off that robot from now on. At least he won't touch the "on" button.

Something. . .

2010-01-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

Wow! My sisters (minus one-- miss you Bethany!), my mom, and I went to the American English show at the Fargo Theatre tonight. They are an amazing Beatles tribute band and we had a blast!

In fact, I took about twenty videos on my cell phone during the concert and couldn't use most of them because of my obnoxiously loud singing. Which just didn't seem so obnoxious at the time, but is now really embarrassing. Notice the absence of singing in the following video :) I know you can't see the picture very well, but it's the music the matters. Now, I present to you, Doug (as George) playing the guitar solo in my very favorite Beatles song, Something.

The band was even nice enough to take a picture with us (The three sisters!) after the show. And they were especially kind to take a couple more pictures with us (Look! The sisters are back!) when I begged the others to go back inside because I wasn't happy with this one. I look like a short grandpa. Unfortunately, the pictures from the second photo shoot were accidentally deleted and my sisters refused to go back for a third try. I promise, I don't look like a short grandpa in person. Most of the time.

So I highly recommend checking out American English if they come to a town near you. Beatles fans are guaranteed to have a great time. I would definitely go again (Bethany, you're coming next time too!)

Ok, here's another clip from the show. There's nothing wrong with a little embarrassing singing among friends, right?? Honestly, I can hear my sisters' voices too-- I swear it's not just me being so loud :)

And now for room #2!

2010-01-06T18:47:00.001-08:00

Our bedroom is finished! Actually, it's been finished for awhile, it has just taken me a couple weeks to take the pictures. So to start with, here are a few before pictures. . .

And here is the finished (almost) room! I was going for a 360 degree tour. . .

So I'm sure you can tell by the pictures that our bedroom is tiny. There is room to walk around the bed, but that's about it. You're probably wondering, then, why I would choose to put a couch in the single free corner of the room. Well, I bought it for a dollar at an auction. And I just love the color and character of it. And it didn't really fit anywhere else in the house. And my husband had to break the legs off to fit it up the stairs, drag it up the stairs by himself, and then rebuild the legs. So I thought he would kill me if I said, "I don't think it really fits in here after all. . ." Really, even though the room is small, it doesn't feel cramped or crowded.

The couch was the first killer deal. The second was the headboard that I made. For some reason, it looks kind of lumpy in the pictures. That's not really how it looks. Anyway, I've seen people make headboards on home improvement shows, so I decided to take a stab at it. Kaleif cut the plywood. I made the measurements-- I think they were something like "two inches less than four and a half feet by a little bit more than two feet." And somehow he figured that out :) So I took my piece of plywood, spread cluster stuffing over the top of it, then pulled the fabric tight and stapled it around the edges. I also made the buttons. . . out of a quarter, some stuffing, the headboard fabric, and super glue. The project was SUPER easy. I think it took me about a half-hour.

The third killer deal were the pictures that hang above the dollar couch. I took these pictures of the floors in Sadie's room before I painted them, bought $2 frames at Ikea, and cut the mats with my trusty mat-cutting kit!

So the room is small and pretty simple, but I LOVE it! Again, I'm missing the curtains. . . still looking :)

And the moldy food. . .

2009-12-30T08:01:00.000-08:00

Last night, I decided to make grilled ham and swiss sandwiches and homemade cream of tomato soup for supper. I started the soup and opened the fridge to grab the cream. . . I could smell it before I even took it out. Sour. Very sour. So Kaleif ran to the store to get some cream and I started the sandwiches. I opened the ham. It was pale, almost skin colored (gross, I know). So I changed my plan: turkey and swiss. And I opened the turkey. Slimy. Ok. . . how about grilled cheese? I made a couple sandwiches and stuck them on the sandwich maker. And then I grabbed the bread for the third sandwich and discovered the mold. All over the bottom of the loaf. Hmmmm. . . . I threw the ones that were already done and thought for a minute. . . maybe I should just give up. This cooking thing isn't really working tonight. But I powered through. And we ended up with cream of tomato soup and cheese quesadillas instead :) Now you're probably wondering how a responsible twenty-six year old mother ends up with a fridge FULL of rotten food. . . I can explain. We've spent the last GLORIOUS week at my parents house enjoying some good family time. And even though we only live five blocks away, it was hard to even leave for an hour.

The girls looked for Santa. . .

and opened presents!

Sadie took her first step!

We got snowed in (almost two feet of snow!). . .

and then had a blast playing in it!

We spent some time warming up in the pool.

And we played!

This last picture is my niece Reese MacKenzie. Isn't she just gorgeous?!?!?!?

So that's it. The reason I had so much moldy food in my fridge and the reason my ham and swiss sandwich and tomato soup meal failed miserably. But it was so worth it. We had a blast! I already miss you, sisters!!

Nine Months!

2009-12-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favortie pictures from our (multiple) nine month photo shoots!

FINALLY!

2009-12-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

So we FINALLY have a room completely finished!!! Ok, so its actually not completely done, but it's close enough to show you. We started this project the day we moved in our house about six weeks ago. I guess I was excited for Sadie to have her own room (a little late, I know) so I wanted to finish her's first.

Here are a few BEFORE pictures:

Looks pretty icky, doesn't it? It was. Sadie was even ready to get rid of that stinky carpet :)

So after some hard work and many weeks, Sadie's room is finally (almost) finished!

Drum roll please. . . .

Are you ready???

Here it is!

So I just need to put the curtains up (I seriously can't find them anywhere! Packed somewhere. . . ) and find knobs for the dresser.

I have to let you all know. . . we were very thrifty in finishing Sadie's room. I pride myself in saving a few bucks (or deal-slashing as Bethany and I call it!)

1. We cleaned the walls, woodwork, and floors and gave them a new coat of paint! My handy husband installed the wainscotting.

2. I purchased all of the cream colored frames at an auction (two dollars for the four hanging in Sadie's room, plus extras I haven't used yet!), pulled the 1970s floral prints out, spray painted the frames, and cut the mats for my own pictures. It's so so so easy to use a mat cutting kit and it saves TONS of money! The green floral pictures are from IKEA-- very cheap :)

3. The dresser was free (thanks mom!) and just needed a new coat of paint. The little rocking chair was Kaleif's when he was little.

4. And for my favorites. . . the rocker/recliner was fifty cents. . . seriously, fifty cents at an estate auction. And that very cute baby buggy-- fifty cents as well! I love the buggy and it works great as a toy box :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

Sadie really loved her first Thanksgiving! She had a great week in Montana visiting Nanna, playing with her friends and cousins, and most importantly, eating. If you know Sadie, you likely know how much she loves food. And when she's crying, it's almost always about food. She just takes eating very seriously. . . she always has.

So I didn't doubt she would love her Thanksgiving dinner. And she definitely did :)

P.S. I've been meaning to post pictures of our remodeling projects for weeks. Don't worry, they're coming. . .

Happy happy birthday!

2009-10-23T03:59:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday mom!

P.S. Thanks for letting us live in your house for the last five months. Love you!

Home!

2009-10-23T03:15:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting on Sadie's crib mattress and drinking water out of a grape pop can at 4:30 in the morning. It's our first night in our new house and I thought I would sleep so soundly and feel so settled. Instead, I spent six hours laying in bed listening to Kaleif snore next to me. And listening to Sadie snore in her playpen. And thinking about paint colors, trim, refrigerators, living room art, and closets. I finally decided to give up. And what better to do at 4:30 than sit on a crib mattress, which is apparently made by Sealy (seems pretty fancy for a baby) and blog. Good thing the mattress is water resistant-- I just spilled pickle juice on it.

We've really been in transition for five months. Looking at houses. Waiting for other houses to go up for sale. Looking at the same houses. Trying to move a century old farmhouse (if we could've just found somewhere to put it). Looking at the same houses (for the third time). And finally. . . we decided to go with one of the first houses we looked at. In May. That's ok. I guess the journey was. . . interesting. And I sit here now in the living room, drinking water out of a grape pop can (the glasses are still packed) and thanking God my husband is a carpenter because I think this house really really needs him. So its not our dream house. But its ours. Our home.

Missing. . .

2009-10-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

My uncle Jon passed away almost a month ago. He was a great man with a wonderful sense of humor who loved his family more than anything. Someone who I, and many others, will miss so much.

Please keep praying for his family.

Believe in Miracles!

2009-09-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'm posting to ask you to please pray for my Uncle Jon. He is fifty-three years old, married to my mom's sister Deb, and father to some of the best cousins around (Katie, Em, and Nick). He's been sick this summer and was referred to Mayo Clinic about two weeks ago for some further testing. On Monday, September 14, he had a liver biopsy. During the biopsy, the doctors cut his hepatic artery and he bled for about twelve hours before they could find the source of the bleeding and stop it. Because of the massive amount of blood loss, he went into cardiac arrest. He's been in a coma since (but is starting to wake up!) and was just activated on the liver transplant list. During his hospitalization, he's survived some major surgeries and proven over and over again that he's a fighter! He has a long, hard road ahead of him, but we believe in miracles! Please pray for continued healing for Jon and strength and peace for Debbie and the kids. Thank you!

If you would like to follow his progress, check out https://www.carepages.com/carepages/jonlenzen. You have to become a member to view the page, but its free!

The Daycare Diet and Workout Plan

2009-09-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll explain. Daycare is hard work. When I started three weeks ago, my mom told me doing daycare would be the hardest work I ever did. I only half believed her. Now I fully understand.

Here's the plan:

1. Pushing a four-child stroller with four children in it. Double workout points for pushing it up hills or through gravel. Holy cow.

2. Jumping over baby gate hurdles while carrying babies.

3. Someone needs something every time I try to take a bite of food. I'm lucky to get in five bites a day.

4. Sprinting at lightning speeds up the stairs every time you even think you hear a baby crying. Quiet them before anyone else wakes up!

5. Sprinting back down the stairs, hoping nobody has been seriously injured in the last thirty seconds.

6. Other running. Pretty much all day long.

I swear I'll be in supermodel shape in no time.

Jellies!

2009-09-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

I love jellies. No, I'm not in seventh grade, but there's just something about that plastic smell and the way they stick to your feet. I bought these jellies last summer, ignoring loud protests from my sister Bethany. She does not like jellies and really doesn't think adults should buy them. Sadie was so excited to try her jellies for the first time that she was crying with excitement and trying to pull them off to get a better look! Ok, so maybe she doesn't love jellies yet. . . just give her a couple years.

Six months old!

2009-08-31T19:31:00.001-07:00

Come on, just fix it!

2009-08-31T12:13:00.000-07:00

I took my car in to get the brakes checked before my 50,000 mile warranty ran out. I was at 49, 920 miles. Yes, I'm really good at procrastinating. So a few hours after I dropped it off, I listened to my messages and heard, "Yeah Sarah, we didn't find anything wrong with your brakes, but we had a little mishap in the shop. Now its not too bad and of course we'll get it fixed for you, but you better come down and check it out." Fun. It really wasn't too bad. They just run into poles every once and awhile when they're backing out. Just a little dent.

So I brought my car back a few days later to get the dent fixed. I was actually kind of excited to drop off my boring Hyundai Elantra and drive something else for a few days. Maybe they'd give me something fancy or bigger. Something different at least. So I was a little surprised when they walked me out to a shiny, new, red. . . Hyundai Elantra. Really? And even better than mine, it smelled like cigarettes. Great. So I drove around the next two days (even in the rain) with all of the windows down, and was very excited to get rid of that rental. And get my shiny, white, DENTLESS Hyundai Elantra back.

Playground Blues. . .

2009-08-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

It has been a really really long time since I've posted anything on here. I've been very busy. . . I guess.
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Last week, I started working for my mom's daycare. I'm still working at the hospital a few Saturdays a month, but I spend my weekdays with twelve tykes under the age of four. Its actually been a lot of fun so far. We have already been to every park in town. . . just this week! Today was extra special. We walked to a park that has those gross wood chips on the ground. I guess they don't get stuck in your knees or hands like the little rocks and they're not as messy as sand, but I don't like them. They remind me of fourth grade. We had those wood chips on our playground at school. One day, one of my friends didn't feel very well, but she still thought it was a good idea to swing upside down on the parallel bars after lunch. And she wanted me to watch. I'm pretty sure I tried to talk her out of it, I must have, but she didn't listen. She grabbed on, jumped, and hooked her knees over the bar. And then she started swinging. And swinging. And turning pale. And swinging. Then green. And still swinging. And I watched. I probably told her to get down, I'm sure I did. Then, as I stood beneath her, watching and just hoping she wouldn't. . . she puked. It landed right next to me. I jumped back. Gross. She finally stopped swinging, got down, and quickly buried the puke under a pile of wood chips. "Sarah, please please please do not tell the teacher! Please don't tell! I really don't want to go home! Please, Sarah!!!!" We were playing Bingo Bango Bongo that afternoon. . . obviously too important to miss. So I didn't tell. I wonder how many kids stepped in that pile that afternoon. I know I didn't-- I didn't go near those bars for a long, long time after that.
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So I just don't trust those wood chips. You never know what's hiding underneath. . .

It's GRAY!

2009-06-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

I started a new job at Innovis Health today. Its just a per diem position (so I work when they need me) and I'm very excited about being back at work. Well, kind of excited. I really miss my baby when I'm away, but it will usually be only a few hours a day, so I can handle it. Plus, she's in great hands with her grandma.
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So I had to go to the speech therapy offices last week to fill out some paperwork. I showed up a little early, so I sat out in the car for awhile, listening to some music, checking myself in the mirror for food in my teeth or messy makeup and admiring my beauty and youth. Ok, not really the last part, but you get the idea. Then I saw it. Staring me right in the face. Not staring I guess, but it was there. A GRAY hair. Wait, not even gray-- a WHITE hair. Growing out of my so young scalp. What?!?! So I pulled at it. And pulled. And pulled some more. Let me tell you, gray hair is stubborn. Finally, it cooperated and I pulled it out and examined it. Yep, it was a gray hair. Root to tip. I looked at the clock and realized I lost track of time while obsessing about the youth slipping through my fingers. So I ran up to my meeting on the GRAY side of the building, of course. I have to admit, I was a little distracted while signing my papers. . . wondering if this was normal, if I would wake up the next morning with pearly white hair, and just thinking about that shiny strand of hair. So I was very careful to keep track of it as I drove home. I just had to show someone, and for some reason, my new employer didn't really seem like the right person. My mom was standing in the kitchen when I got home. "Mom! Look what I pulled out of my head!!! Do you see this? It came out of my head!!! Seriously. . . Look!"
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Her response: "What? Did you think you were going to keep that brown hair forever?" I guess not. Thanks for keeping me grounded mom!

Perfect Friday!

2009-06-05T19:38:00.001-07:00

Tonight would be a perfect night for a run. Its cool and quiet here with just a slight breeze.
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Instead, I'm enjoying a cold beer, some hot pizza, a sleeping baby, and the Twins game on tv.
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Don't worry, I'm still on track for my September 12th half-marathon. But not tonight. I'm taking tonight off!

Three months old!

2009-05-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

My baby is already three months old! We took some pictures a few days ago. Here are some of my favorites:
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And that was enough!

Running, running. . .

2009-05-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

I finally went for my first run! I know I said I was going to do it weeks ago, but then I got busy packing and moving, and ummm. . . I guess just making excuses to avoid running. But I did it, I started my half-marathon training. I'm going to run in the half-marathon in Detroit Lakes in September, so I still have about fifteen weeks left on my twelve week training schedule.
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So last night, I just decided I would see what I could do. And for some reason, I was nervous about it. Maybe I was just afraid that I would make it one block and then collapse. Anyway, I spent at least ten minutes in the kitchen looking at the clock (8:47), looking at the thermometer (60.1 degrees), drinking some water, looking at the newspaper, looking at the thermometer (59.8 degrees), drinking some water. . . until I decided I just needed to go. So I rushed out the door, across the front yard, and to the street before I could change my mind. I got about a block away from my house when I realized that I probably should've planned this run a little better. I didn't stretch at all and my legs were already burning. But I kept going. And going. And going. I was going, not fast, but I was doing it. About two blocks away from my house, my shoes came untied. I didn't care. I was going to run the whole way even if I lost my shoes doing it.
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I made it home, tired and already sore. I had no idea how far I'd gone. Maybe four miles? At least two. . . So I hopped in the car to measure my progress. I drove. And drove. Wait, is the odometer working? It hasn't even been a tenth of a mile yet? I probably didn't even make it a half mile! And the odometer turned and I kept driving. Every tenth of a mile seemed to take so long. But I kept driving and it kept turning. Now I knew it definitely wasn't four or even two miles. Please be at least one mile! And it was 9/10ths and then, finally, the odometer reached one mile as I turned into the driveway. So I can run one mile without stopping. Its not amazing, but its a start.
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I learned some things on my first run:
1. STRETCH!!! Before and after running. Obviously.
2. Buy flat shoelaces. Why do they even make rounded ones? They never stay tied.
3. Find my ipod. I spent the whole time thinking about running and how far I was going. Not fun.
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I still do not enjoy running. But I will keep going.

She works hard for the money (part two)

2009-05-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

It was a Friday last August and I was pregnant and sick. All day, every day. It was a struggle to get to work in the morning, but that morning, I had patients at the nursing home that I needed to see at breakfast. So I pushed myself to make it, bright and early. But I probably wasn't looking too enthusiastic about the day. And I couldn't find my glasses. Pregnancy also made me pretty absent minded. I spent a lot of time looking for my pager, keys, therapy materials, car, and anything else I needed to keep track of. So I sat down next to my patient, lets call him Bob. Now Bob was a difficult patient, mostly because he truly believed no one could help him. I spent so much time trying to convince him that I could. So we were discussing his swallowing disorder when I noticed something different about Bob. He looked. . . hip. Different than he usually did. Somehow he looked so young for his eighty six years that morning. But I just couldn't figure it out. And then I saw it. "Are those your glasses?" He said yes. "Bob, are you sure those are your glasses?" He insisted they were, but I wanted to get a closer look. He handed me his glasses. They were not his glasses, they were mine. He was wearing my glasses! Which look something like this:
And his look something like this:
I went to his room to retrieve his glasses. He could finally see and I had a better day.

Don't fall on her either!

2009-05-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

My blog is named for my baby and her many near accidents in her short little life. I guess they're not really her accidents-- just ours. She, in fact, has been nearly smooshed by many a rear. Poor thing. So I began to wonder if babies are often sat on, tripped over, kicked, or elbowed by their parents. I searched and searched, but couldn't really find any information.

Our family moved from Montana to North Dakota last week. We were working on cleaning the garage and there were boxes and garbage and bags and garbage and garbage all over the place. Sadie was strapped to my chest in her carrier. And I tripped. Forward, of course. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I tripped, I'm pretty clumsy. I'm starting to think that someone should perform screenings and not allow such clumsy people to become parents. So as I fell, I grabbed on to her back with my left arm and braced myself with my right. I hit the ground with my knees and right arm pretty hard (I scraped up my knees a little, but don't worry, I'll be ok). And Kaleif ran to us. He worries about his little girl and often tells me I need to be more careful. He's right. Anyway, he asked if she was ok, am I sure she's ok, did she hit the ground, is she ok? And yes, she was fine. She didn't touch the ground and didn't even cry-- I don't think it even scared her. But I'm trying to be more careful. And I've come to the conclusion that yes, people do sit on their babies (or fall on them!)

Fresh cut grass (or weeds)

2009-05-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

I've needed to mow for awhile now. The problem is, every time I get ready to go outside and get to work, it starts raining. So now my grass looks like this:

My dad would be so disappointed in my yard. Its not like its nice even when its groomed, but it has gotten pretty out of control. So with a little prompting from my landlord ("Do you think you guys will get a chance to mow the grass before you move?"), I decided that today, come rain or come shine, I would mow, or at least start to mow. I dug around my garage and found my Scott's 16in. Elite Push Reel Lawn Mower (that's it, there in that picture). Are you looking for the motor? Yeah, it doesn't exist. I bought this mower last spring-- I'm not sure if I was feeling really environmentally friendly or just cheap. Anyway, this is my only weapon against the fast-growing forest around my house.So I put Sadie in her carrier and we got to work. One of our cats, Tucker, kept trying to attack the mower. I think the cats were sad to see the grass go. They have fun pretending they're big lions, the kings of the jungle. The short grass doesn't give them much room to hide and hunt.

I generally like mowing, but I do not like mowing the front lawn here. We live on one of the busier streets in Billings and when I mow, I seem to attract a lot of attention. I guess a girl with a baby strapped to her chest wrestling with a push reel mower is interesting to people. I would probably stare too. In fact, one sunny Saturday last spring, a drunk man on a bicycle stopped and asked if I wanted to use his "electric" mower instead. Ummm. . . no, thanks. Actually, I think my mower would be pretty good at cutting grass. The problem is, my lawn is about three percent grass and ninety-seven percent weeds. So I usually have to push through each part three or four times before it cuts. However, my mower is excellent at cutting through dandelions. I don't think Scott's will be hiring me to advertise for them any time soon.I made it through most of the front yard after a few hours of work. Maybe I'll tackle the back tomorrow.

She works hard for the money (part one)

2009-05-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

I put in my two week notice at work yesterday. It was bittersweet, because though I'm excited to move closer to home, I really love my job and am sad to be leaving it. I was so lucky to get such a great job right out of graduate school-- as a speech therapist at Billings Clinic hospital. Being a speech therapist is great. I work with patients in the hospital who have had strokes, head injuries (please wear your seatbelts), and other diseases and injuries that cause commuication, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. Though my job is pretty serious sometimes (I've seen some pretty sick people), most of the time its both fun and funny.
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One afternoon, I was with one of my patients who had a head injury. She was a delightful lady with serious short term memory deficits. We were working on some activities to improve her memory when one of her doctors came in the room. He started telling her about how her kidney function had improved and how she was healing so well overall, when she interrupted him and nodded toward me:
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Patient: She's pretty nice. . . she's your girlfriend, right?
Dr: Um no, I don't think my wife would like that very much! (He laughed)
Patient: Oh, you're married. (Then to me) Are you married too?
Me: Yes I am (I smiled. Oh and my cheeks are pretty pink. Embarrassing!)
Dr: So if you keep improving, you should be able to get out of the hospital soon and. . .
Patient: Well, thats good. And you two are married to eachother, aren't you? Or is he just your boyfriend?
Me: No, we're not married and he's not my boyfriend (I smiled again. And my face turns red).
Patient: Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you two were together.
Dr: Alright, so right now, you need to just keep focusing on your rehab. Do you feel like your memory is improving?
Patient: A little bit, I think. I'm working pretty hard.
Dr: Well keep focusing on therapy and. . .
Patient: She's pretty cute, you're lucky she's your girlfriend. And she's a nice young lady!
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Ok, so now my face is bright red. And I think I probably started sweating too.
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Dr: Oh, she's not my girlfriend, I'm married (awkward laugh). So keep up the work and you'll be out of here soon. I'll see you tomorrow!
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And he rushed out of the room. We went back to our memory work and I spent some extra time with her that afternoon. She really needed it and I was avoiding that doctor!

I believe. . .

2009-05-04T20:01:00.001-07:00

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
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~Victor Hugo

I ran so far away. . .

2009-05-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

So I think I want to run a marathon. And if you know anything about my athletic abilities, you're already laughing. When I was in second grade, I got an incomplete grade in gym class because I walked the mile. I think it took me something like 35 minutes. I just really don't like running and I'm not good at it. I don't even like running when playing sports I like. See, I played softball for more than ten years and I loved it. I even played a few times with Kaleif's co-ed team in Bellingham. During one game, I hit a great line drive to center field and ran as hard as I could to first, then second base. I even scored a run on the next hit. When I got back to the bench, Kaleif said, "Are you ok? Are you hurt or something?" When I answered no, he said, "Are you sure you're ok? You look like you're hold back when you run." He was absolutely, geniunely concerned. Actually, that was my maximum running capability. So, thank you. It seemed that everyone on the team, no matter how old or how big, was much faster than I was. It doesn't help that Kaleif, a former college wrestler, is just naturally athletic. I like to tell him that our daughters will likely get his athleticism while our sons will probably get mine. He doesn't think that's very funny.
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Now you're probably wondering why then, I would want to run a marathon. I don't know. Maybe its the chance to conquer something that I know will be so difficult for me. Anyway, I started looking at training schedules for marathons and realized that most of them start with a little ten mile run. Hmmm. . . nevermind. So with a little more research, I decided to try a half marathon first. I'm starting my training tomorrow with a three mile run. I think I can do it, though I guarantee I won't like it. Who knows, maybe I'll develop a love for running over the next twelve weeks. So if you see me out running, please don't stop to tell me how slow I am, I already know.

What swine flu?

2009-05-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

On nice days, I like to strap Sadie in her stroller and walk to the grocery store. We always have a good time. . . at least until we get to the store.

The problem is, the stroller just doesn't have enough storage space for the things I need (and don't need) to buy. In fact, last week I decided to try to shop without a basket and ended up with a can of green chiles trapped tightly in one of the stroller's cup holders. Embarrassing. I finally got it out by flipping the stroller upside down when I got home. Don't worry, I took Sadie out first. So yesterday when I got to the store, I decided to grab a shopping basket. Between carrying the basket, pushing the stroller, and talking to my sister on my phone (it was a very important conversation, as it always is when Bethany calls) my hands were full. As you can likely imagine. I'm pretty sure I even ran into at least one person and a few displays.

I made my way toward the pharmacy where I thought I would find diapers, which was really the only thing I really needed to buy. They weren't there. I was just browsing and talking to Bethany when I was stopped by a woman standing in the pharmacy line. "Oh my! Look at her! She's so precious! How old is she?" Ok, I guess I'm getting used to this kind of attention. Pushing a baby around is like wearing a sign on my forehead that says "Please talk to me, I'm desperately lonely!" So I told her that Sadie is nine weeks old. "Oh! Well aren't you just a pretty little baby! Hi sweetheart!" And then. . . she reached down and grabbed Sadie's little left hand. Wait-- aren't you standing in the line at the pharmacy? Maybe I shouldn't assume, but could that mean that you are sick?!? Now, I'm not usually a germ freak, but all this swine flu talk has me a little paranoid. "Well, she is pretty adorable". I smiled, said thank you, and resumed my shopping. Sadie fell asleep, thank God, because when she's awake, she loves to have her hands in her mouth. And I just didn't like the thought of that lady's germs in my baby's mouth. She slept all the way home.

When we got home, I pushed the stroller into the living room and ran for the bathroom to grab my Norwex antibac washcloth. When I got back to Sadie, maybe three seconds later, this is what I saw:

Really, Sadie? You couldn't wait for three seconds? Gross. And you had to pick your left hand too. I took her hand out of her mouth and wiped it off, in hopes she hadn't slobbered up all of the germs.

I guess this is what being a mom is all about. Maybe we should just stay home. . .