Updates

Maggie Mae

Carter at Christmas

I realized I haven't been on here in awhile to update some things. Here is what we found out last week.

Carter will be having surgery in Rapid City on March 3. He has to be there at 5:30am so we will be going up on Tuesday night. Pray for him to stay healthy and for the roads to be clear so we can go. They will look for any scar tissue from his previous surgery and remove any if found and then will see how 'bound' his bladder is. Dr. Waller said he will stretch the bladder out a bit if he thinks it's necessary. Then Carter will go to recovery for a couple hours and if all goes well, we will head home.

Maggie got her stitches out of her mouth on Wednesday. Dr. Mitchell is waiting for the biopsy still to see if the tumor she removed is cancerous. I was concerned that the tumor was growing back but she doesn't think it is which is great! Kaitlin went with Josh to the vet to have Mag's stitches removed and Kait said Maggie hated the whole experience. (surprise, surprise) So we are keeping our fingers crossed that Maggie is going to be okay. She is like a family member to us all in my house. Even the day she was at the vet the daycare kids kept asking for her and saying how strange it was that we only had one dog here.

I am happy to say that today marks a year that I have not been smoking. We went through so much last year so I was very proud to pull through everything cigarette-free. It wasn't always easy so I thank all of you who helped me along the way and supported me. Josh has been smoke-free since a year ago New Year's Eve. We talk about it a lot and are thankful we are that much healthier and can spend our cigarette money on better things. We have been saving up to go on a trip somewhere fun with the kids. We haven't decided where to go yet but Kylah reminds me daily that Disney World or Disney Land is her choice. :)

I have the CSC childcare conference tomorrow in Chadron to get my credit hours for daycare. I have to be over there by 7am to help with registration. I have missed the last two years and have had to go to Gering for their conference in October each year so I really wanted to make it to Chadron this year to save on traveling.

I am thankful it's Friday. I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

A Good Sunday

I had a great weekend! We went to some friends' house last night for the ultimate fighting and enjoyed some social life and a few drinks. Then today was more of a 'work day' but relaxing. The kids were in Scottsbluff with Nick and Mary and Josh had to work 3am-9am on the roads so when he got home he slept until 1pm and I worked non-stop on tax stuff. Ughhh! I think we are ready to go to the tax man and see how things go for us.

This afternoon the kids returned home and we watched the Super Bowl. I was leaning towards the Colts to win but didn't really care. I thought it would be neat for the Saints to win their first Super Bowl experience so either way, I guess it didn't matter who won. The one thing I enjoyed besides the commercials, was that it was an actual great game with few penalties and a lot of really great plays.

Now reality is back for me. I take Carter to the Urologist tomorrow and we drop Maggie off at the vet for her mouth to be looked at. I pray all is well with her and I hope we can figure out the next plan to take with Carter. He told me earlier he can't wait to see Dr. Waller because he missed him so much. (He has only seen him twice. LOL)

Have a great week and stay warm. We are supposed to have a high of ten degrees here tomorrow....

Monday Appointments

This coming Monday I am taking Carter and Maggie to Chadron. Carter and I are dropping Maggie off at the vet to have a biopsy done on a sore in her mouth. The doctor said it could possibly be cancer or that the size of sore above her gum may be caused from a bone fragment that got lodged in there. Either way, she needs to put her 'under' to see what the problem is. We are praying, praying, PRAYING it is not cancer! When the doctor told me that I instantly felt beyond sad!

After we take Mag to the vet then Carter and I are going to see Dr. Waller from Rapid at the Chadron Hospital for a checkup from Carter's previous surgery in August. We are concerned as I don't feel the surgery has helped Carter at all. He is still having accidents and he is totally bummed and embarrassed about it. SO I am hoping the doctor will have some further ideas to explore.

I am so glad it's Friday! Carter and I are off to get haircuts.

Sunday

I didn't have the best week last week so I am hoping this week is much better.

On Tuesday my brother's dog went missing. She still hasn't been found. We are praying she isn't hurt somewhere. Keep your eyes and ears open for a miracle that she will be found.

On Wednesday my back decided to go 'out' while I was walking down the hallway in my house putting away laundry. I was not a happy camper! The most frustrating thing about having back problems is that I NEVER, EVER have a warning it may be going out. I do everything I am supposed to, you know- the warm, moist heat followed by ice, stretches, etc. but it still likes to give me trouble at times. It had been a full fourteen months since it had went out, so I hope it's at least that long before it happens again. I managed to get three chiropractor appts. and a massage squeezed in last week to ease a lot of the pain. By Friday night, I was feeling much better and am continuing to feel better. Thank goodness! And thank you Josh for staying home Thursday from work to help me out when I was at my worst. That day was horrible, HORRIBLE!

Today we are semi-cleaning the house and the kids are being wonderful helping out. (Not that they had any other choice.) Kaitlin will be doing the vacuuming around here for awhile as my chiropractor advised me to not go near the vacuum or broom. Carter's favorite thing to do is put away his clean clothes and torment his sisters while they try to put theirs away. *Sigh*

Well I am off to get another load of laundry folded and to ice my back and get a cat nap taken before Josh and I watch a movie this afternoon. Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Missing...

My brother's dog Sage is missing. She either jumped or fell out of the back of the pickup on one of her many trips out to the country in Chadron. If any of you see her or hear of somebody who has, please call me!! She is a very loveable 8 year-old dog and has two young children at home who miss her terribly!

Monday, Monday...

Of course our weekend flew by once again. According to the weather reports, we really thought Josh would spend most of his weekend out in the snow plow. But, we ended up with no snow so he only had to go out for a couple of hours very early on Saturday morning. Then we went to Kaitlin's basketball game in Chadron. They got beat both games. The girls are getting better at rebounds and ball control so that's good. After the games we went to the China House with my sister-in-law Tara and her two kids. It was a nice time and of course good food! Josh always teases me that I can't get enough Chinese food and he is right! I love that place!

Yesterday we stayed inside and watched football. BOTH teams I wanted to win did so that was fun. I kind of thought it would be neat for the Jets to go to the Super Bowl since Danny Woodhead is on their team, but I am more of a Colts fan. And of course I didn't want the Vikings to win, BLAH!

I have been reading The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks and of course stayed up til nearly midnight reading. I really should have went to bed earlier but I got tunnel vision and couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book to you readers out there!

Have a good week and try to keep warm! These 50 mph winds are ridiculous!!!!

Random Pictures

Alayna and Carter playing "Sponge Bob and Patrick" in a box.

My Mom. ♥


Kaitlin, Carter, and Kylah on Christmas Eve.



My brother Craig and his son Jayce.

Carter with his cousin Brooklynn and big cousin Phillip.

Carter with our ferret Goofy. She is giving him kisses in this picture.
I went through some pictures on my computer tonight and decided to post a few on my blog since I haven't been on here as much. Facebook tends to take up most of my time but I have to remember not ALL of you get on facebook.

Things are going good for us. We have been loving this nice weather. There is a chance of snow later in the week, but I can't complain since we have had our windows open all day. To be able to do that in January is pretty awesome for us.

I hope you are all having a great week!

Please keep the Daugherty families in your thoughts and prayers with the loss of their grandpa C.J. They have had a rough couple of months and need our support. ♥

Hectic Week

I have had a very hectic, busy week with daycare. Usually things are pretty calm and routine but this week has been another story. (Not that I haven't enjoyed it.) I took three new kids for awhile to help out a friend and have had a couple of other kids I haven't had for a few months. It was nice to see their faces after a half of a year has gone by. Then tomorrow morning I figured out I have 12...yes 12 kids at 7:15a.m.!! It's just one of those days that sometimes happens where parents call and need someone for the day. People probably think I am nuts but I am looking forward to the fun and chaos that comes with a houseful so bright and early in the morning. I would rather have a large group of kids instead of three or four. It makes my days more interesting...Needless to say I am sure I will sit back with Josh tomorrow night and share a drink or two when the day is over!!

These temps have been so cold lately. I feel bad for those who have to travel and work in it. I didn't even walk out to the mailbox today to get my mail. I figured that if it's a bill it can wait until tomorrow and if it's a card from a friend then it'll be a nice surprise for me to get a day late.

Hope you all have a fun weekend planned. I don't think we have too much going on, YET! Kaitlin has a basketball game in Chadron at 10am on Saturday and that is it so far. I am off to get stuff ready for tomorrow morning. Have a great night!

BACK TO WORK

I have been spoiled these past two weeks. I worked two days this past week and three days the week before during Christmas vacation. I got to spend a lot of time with my children since we were snowed in at home for a few days. It was nice though to play their new games and toys with them.

On New Year's Eve day the kids and I went to my sister's house in Sidney and spent the day. We had our Christmas with my side of the family and we all had a great time. Josh didn't get to go though because he had to work so that was our only downfall of the day. The cousins all had a fun time together and it was nice to visit with my parents and three of my four siblings. My oldest brother couldn't make it back.

I got the house cleaned today and found all the backpacks, gloves, hats, boots, snow pants, etc. to have ready for tomorrow's first day back to school. It's funny how easily we can fall out of routine of our every day lives. I was thinking to myself that I just HAD to have everything ready and by the door so we would have a smooth morning. =-)

This Tuesday evening the weather channel is calling for high winds and heavy snow accumulation. If it's going to snow, please keep the wind away! It makes such horrible travel for so many people trying to get to work. (I decided Mother Nature has her own ideas no matter how many times I have pleaded with her.) So any of you traveling this week, be careful!

Hope you had a great weekend and this 2010 year brings you lots of happiness!

Happy Safe Holidays!

Wow, what an unexpected year of plans changing, being canceled, or being postponed. We were going to go to Gillette on Christmas Day to see Josh's brothers and their families. Of course, the weather put a stop to that right along with so many others' plans. Then we were going to go to Sidney today to my family's Christmas and delayed them until later in the week.

Josh has been out A LOT these past few days helping keep the roads cleared. -We all know that it's nearly impossible with 50 mph winds and snow falling. We were blessed though to have him home all day on Christmas Eve and his boss didn't call him into work until 2pm Christmas Day because he wanted Josh to be home for the kids to open their gifts from Santa and be able to be here for that. We were very thankful when we found out his boss had waited to call so we could finish our family time together.

I took tomorrow off from daycare in thoughts that I would get home from Sidney and get the house cleaned and the decorations and tree taken down. Well since I have had three full days of being stuck at home....(many of you can relate) I have tackled all projects to get done early. So tomorrow I am taking the kids to Walmart to use some of their Christmas money and then we are meeting up with Grandma Dana for some Chinese lunch. Yum!!! My plan today was to eat at the China House but Josh got called into work right as we showed up at my brother's house for his birthday. So we had to head straight home without our Chinese food...=(

When I was in Chadron today I bought some paint to freshen up the living room and hallway. I know a lot of people think I paint way too much but when you have a daycare, things get ruined, dirty, or broken quite often, SO I wanted to tidy things up a bit. I bought a brown that is close to a chocolate ice cream color and a tan with more of a yellow tint called Candle Wax to paint over my tan Frosted Toffee color. It really brightened things up a lot! Josh's mom helped me paint some today and I am planning on finishing the hallway tomorrow. It looks nice! It's just what I needed to get back on track for getting the basement family room painted soon.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all safe travels this week if you are heading anywhere for the New Year, and of course HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER CRAIG!!! ♥

Complaining

I just had to get on here and voice my complaints about the weather due to hit just in time for Christmas....ggggrrrrrrr! I am very upset with Mother Nature's choice of snow and high winds for Christmas Eve. I have seen numerous posts on Facebook about people being worried if they will be able to make their travels as they had planned. We are wanting to go to Gillette on Christmas Day and then to Sidney on December 27th, both for Christmases with our families. With the 40mph gusts we are supposed to be getting, I am sure Josh will be out in the snowplow. =(
I guess I will just keep my fingers crossed and keep many people in my prayers that they have safe travels this holiday season.

Merry Christmas! ♥

Date Night

Josh and I managed to have a date night on Friday evening. My brother Craig and his wife, Tara watched Kylah and Carter while we went to the movie. (Kait stayed in Crawford to play in the band for basketball and then went to a friend's house until we got home.) Kylah and Carter had a great time. They went with Uncle Craig, Aunt Tara and their cousins Brooklynn and Jayce to the Chadron Fire Hall for supper and to visit Santa. Carter's favorite part was when two grown big guys (his words) sat on Santa's lap and almost squished Santa!

Josh and I went to see the movie The Blindside and it was excellent! I highly recommend this movie. I had heard fabulous reviews on it so it was a "must see" for us. The kids are going to see The Princess and the Frog today with their Grandma Dana so I may just see if there is another movie of my interest to watch.

This Week

I haven't posted in awhile, probably because I have been getting ready for the holidays. I don't really have much news to share. But, I do have a list of some events coming up.

Tomorrow night is the the school Christmas program. Grades Pre-12 at 7pm in the highschool auditorium.

The kids' last day of school before vacation is this Friday. They get out at 1pm and don't go back until January 4th!!

Saturday is Kaitlin's basketball game in Chadron. It's at the PAC Center this time instead of the Middle School. I don't know what time for sure....maybe...11am? I will know for sure tonight after Kait's practice.

I think that is about it. I have only one gift left to buy for Carter and we will be finished!

Hope you are all having a great week and keeping warm. Our extremely cold temperatures these past few days have been enough for me to break out the plastic and cover the windows. It's never a fun job but Josh and I can both tell there is a huge amount of heat to escaping the house now.

Basketball

Tomorrow Kaitlin has her first basketball game in Chadron at 11am. She is very excited about it and so are we to watch her. This is her first year and most of her friends' third year. Unfortunately she struggled with A LOT of homework the past couple of years and couldn't make it to the practices. So, with a fresh new start, she is ready to hit the court and have some fun!!

I have an eye appt. tomorrow before the game at 10:30am. It's my 3 month checkup for my eye surgery. I just have to go to Chadron for the follow-up appt. to see if things are still healed correctly. My eyes are so dry when I wake up in the mornings and I use eye drops quite frequently to help keep the cornea attached...I pray it stays that way!! I do notice my left eye now has perfect vision (I think) so my glasses no longer have the same prescription. So I need to get that changed too.

It has been super cold here this week! We had a couple inches of snow and it's still on the streets from Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Josh started his new job with the State on November 23, and has been called out twice at 3am to plow roads. He seems to enjoy it.

Sally

This is a picture of my niece Brooklynn with her brother Jayce on their new pony they got a couple months ago. The pony's name used to be Ghost but Brooklynn changed her name to Sally. Every time I see this picture I smile, so I thought I would share it with you all.

Hope you have a great THANKSGIVING! Praying all of you travelers have safe trips and everyone has some family or friend time together. We are celebrating this year at our home with my side of the family. I am very excited to see everyone!!

Monday's News

This weekend I went shopping in Rapid with my sister-in-law Tara and her baby Jayce. We had a great time! Our plan was to be home before dark... However, I pulled into my driveway at 10:30p.m. on Saturday night. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done and even splurged and bought some decor for my living room. I have been looking at a couple of pictures at Kohl's every time I am there and I finally broke down and bought them. :-)

On Sunday we headed to Chadron and bought groceries. Then I spent the afternoon cleaning and getting some stuff put up for Thanksgiving. We hit some awesome deals at Hobby Lobby on Saturday so I played "Martha Stewart" for a couple hours and gave it my best shot to decorate. I don't know how many times I was tempted to call neighbor Deb and ask for her help....I probably would have if she wasn't visiting her new grandbaby. (Congrats Deb!!) I had this great idea in my mind when I was buying stuff but when I got home and tried to put it all together, it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Anyways, I had fun with it and am now ready for Thanksgiving to be held at my house this year.

My parents, all my siblings and their families will be joining us for Thanksgiving this year. I cannot wait to see everyone!! It's not very often all five of us kids can be together. I will have to take a lot of pictures!

This morning was a little different in our house. Josh started his first day as an employee for the State of Nebraska. We have been hoping and praying since June that the railroad would call everyone back but we all know how that has gone. So Josh has put in applications since then and we finally lucked out when he got the call for this job with a start date. After six months of him being home or around to help out at the drop of a hat, it will take some getting used to him being gone during the days. He was excited to start this new job and I am happy for him. :-)

Hope you all have a great week and don't have to work a lot. I have three days and then four off. I will enjoy it immensely! I wonder what kind of good deals are out there for Black Friday...

*Hunting*

Josh has been out hunting for the perfect deer the past few days. Kaitlin has went with him in the past and was a little bummed when he was going out without her with friends to hunt. Yesterday Josh went out with a friend in the morning and then came home at lunchtime. He waited to go back out after Kaitlin got out of school. Luck was on their side. Josh shot a 5x5 and Kaitlin thought it was the best thing ever! In her eyes as an eleven-year-old, she thought it was the "perfect" deer. :) Josh's mom and her friend came over last night and helped Josh and Kaitlin cut up deer meat. It went late into the night before they were finished. It was nice to see Kaitlin that excited!

We got some good news this past week as well. Josh has accepted a position with the State of Nebraska Dept. of Roads. He will begin his new job next Monday, November 23rd. The hours are great (until it snows) and we are looking forward to the employment. Unfortunately the railroad still has hundreds or people laid off so Josh was fortunate to receive this job with such few job opportunities out there.

WORDLESS WeDnEsDaY

Nursing Home Halloween

Kylah thought Jim Stolldorf was quite funny...the other trick-or-treaters didn't. Four generations: Susie, Nick, Josh and Rudy, Carter.
The kids with Great Grandma Susie.

Hula Girl, Optimus Prime, Devil

Maggie Mae...aka Devil Pup.

I took the kids to the nursing home during Halloween this year to see their great Grandma Susie. We stopped in a few other rooms on the way down the hall and had a fun time seeing some familiar faces and also meeting new ones too. The kids really liked this one lady in particular. She talked for a long time with them and then gave them each a hug when we left her room. It is kind of a magical feeling to see how loving my kids were with people who probably don't have a lot of family around. I know it was worth the smiles we received to have stopped in to visit everyone. After visiting them, we went to Grandma Susie's room for a treat and to visit her for a bit. Of course we got some pictures taken and we all enjoyed talking to her.

Our Newest Family Member

Goofy sleeping upside down. In his hammock.
Close-up

Alayna holding Goofy.

Carter and Kylah enjoying their new pet.

We have a new family member, or pet I guess I should say. His name is Goofy. He is a 3 year-old little boy ferret. He moved into our home on Halloween this year. The kids' papa got him and asked if we would like to have him. I went to PetSmart on Saturday and bought him a new cage to be in during daycare hours. Here is a few pictures.