Good Bye 2008

Here we are on New Year's Eve, 2008. I'm sitting here with the laptop, Mike is making venison jerky and we're watching ESPN. PARTY ON!!! We've never been big partiers on New Year's Eve (or ever), and ever since we had Paige, we've gotten even more boring. It's really just another night.

So Christmas kind of sucked. Paige and I had a pretty decent Christmas Eve, we made cookies and brought them over to the neighbor's. I made a really good lasagna for supper that night and Paige opened a few presents. She woke us up at 6 am on Christmas morning and I was just about dead when she woke us up. I actually told her to go back to bed, but of course that was unrealistic. She opened up more presents and we went to church. Came home, lounged for a while, then packed up and headed to my in laws near Hayward. Mike's stepdad was half in the bag, as usual, and his mom was at work. They didn't have a Christmas tree up. Good times. We went up to Hayward on Friday to spend the day with Mike's dad and stepmom. We actually had a pretty decent time there. We spent all day Saturday at his mom and stepdad's house. UGH. We finally convinced her to get out her fake tree Saturday afternoon, after asking her several times and telling her we almost bought her a fake tree at Walmart so they'd put one up. Her response "Christmas is over." Nice. So Mike brought in her fake 3 foot tree and we spent all of 5 minutes pulling the branches down, putting up one string of lights and one of garland and the tree skirt. Why her and her useless lazy husband couldn't do that, I'm not sure. The stepdad pissed me off several times that day. The first time was when he was talking to his daughter Saturday afternoon and said how bored he was and on his third brandy already. So are we that terrible that you have to drink to get through our visit? The other time was when I put Paige in time out after listening to her sassy mouth all day. He actually sat there and motioned to her to come out of time out. Um, no. Do not undermine my discipline.

Paige slept like crap the whole time we were there. The first night Mike had to lay with her until she fell asleep, and the next 2 nights we let her watch her dvd player to fall asleep. We NEVER do that. She is such a good sleeper at home, and is usually falling asleep while we read to her. Saturday morning she was up at 5 am. Sunday morning was....interesting. She came in our room at 2 am and said she was up for the day. Again um, no. We sent her back to her room and told her to watch her dvd player. She came back in at 3:30 am and said she was up for the day. Oh no. Sent her back to her room and she came back in at 4am. Frustrated, Mike laid down with her. When I got up a few hours later, he said she never fell back asleep after 4am. She says she never fell back asleep after she came in our room at 2am and I believe her. She's usually pretty honest about that stuff. So we were understandably extremely crabby Sunday morning and started packing up our stuff to go. Mike's mom thought we were mad at her (well, I was) so Mike and her talked about the stuff that pissed us off this weekend. She said she'd talk to Dave about it, but he's such an asshole, he'll just blow it off. Luckily Paige slept the whole way home, so the trip home was pretty uneventful. I just about cried with relief when we walked in the door. It's so good to be home!!!

I have lost all respect for Mike's mom. I don't even refer to her as my mother in law. It's always Mike's mom. The way she left Mike's dad was so shady. She left with a note and had been cheating on him with her now husband for who knows how long. She went right from the house she shared with her husband of 30 years to her boyfriend's house. Her husband is such an idiot. As my dad, who doesn't talk badly about ANYONE said "boy he really knows everything about everything, huh?" He's is so arrogant and thinks he's this all knowing genius about every topic. He used to do business in GB and thinks that the Prime Quarter is the coolest place to eat. Yeah, it's not 1993. He claims that he used to see Packers there. If I'm going to pay for a restaurant meal, I'm damn sure not cooking it. I don't know of anyone that goes to Prime Quarter. We were telling them about Hu Hot and they totally ignored us. His mom had turned into a materialistic bitch and we honestly think they reason she fell for this guy is because he has a lot of money and a house on the lake. She had an Explorer but it wasn't good enough. She wanted an Expedition so she got one.

Whatever. Enough bitching.

Because I have bad timing, I was fertile while we were at the in laws. Great. And I have to take OPKs to determine when I ovulate so I can go in for 7 day post O progesterone test. So everytime I went to the bathroom I had to take this stupid little cup and dipstick in the bathroom. I cannot pee in a cup without peeing all over myself. What a pain. Of course I got a positive on Friday. So we managed to do it 2 out of the 3 nights we were there. Not fun. I'm not a quiet girl.

After day 3 of mother-daughter togetherness, Paige and I are both still alive and not in the loony bin. We had a nice lazy day at home on Monday. Yesterday we went to Badger Bouncers for 2.5 hours, best place EVER! It really wore her out. Today we were driving each other crazy, so we went to GB in the afternoon to run errands. Tomorrow Mike is home all day with us. Maybe we'll go tubing. Friday we are going to a friend's house in the morning. I have my progesterone test on Friday. Not sure if I'll go to the hospital in GB or to the clinic in Oconto.

The cat is still awesome. He's fattening up nicely and is starting to become more playful. He gained three pounds in 2 weeks! He could probably gain another 2-3 pounds.

I got new glasses and picked them up today. I really like them alot!

2008 was a good year. I hope 2009 is just as good, and brings us the baby we want so badly!

T-Minus 30 Minutes

Until I'm outta here! I won't be coming back until January 5th, 2009. For some unknown reason I took vacation until after New Year's because Paige is off of school and I figured we could get in some quality time. I must have been having a sappy sentimental moment because I'm now wondering wtf was I thinking?!?!?! I'm going to have to line up a bunch of stuff to do to keep us occupied. So far, it's picking up my orthotic inserts on the morning of December 30th and then heading to a playdate with my mom's group at this bounce house place. After that....wide open. It could get ugly.

Not much new to report here. Just putzing along in our own weird world, to quote my friend Melissa. Hard to believe Christmas is only 2 days away.

I'm feeling a little....meloncholy I guess about Christmas. My whole life, we've always spent Christmas at my 2 grandparent's houses down by Milwaukee. They live about 10 minutes apart from each other. Christmas Eve has always been with my mom's side and Christmas Day with my dad's side. Every single year. Without fail. Last year Mike and I broke tradition. We went down there, but came back on Christmas Eve because we wanted to spend Christmas Day at our house. It became really important to us to spend Christmas Day at our house and have our own traditions. We caught a lot of hell for it, but it was worth it. This year, Mike has to work on Christmas Eve, so it will be just Paige and I tomorrow. Just another day. That kind of makes me sad because I almost enjoy Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, she'll open her Santa presents, we'll go to church, and then sometime leave to go up north to Mike's family. It's a 5 hour drive and I'm just kind of bummed that we are travelling so far on Christmas Day. Part of me wanted to head to Milwaukee and spend time with my family, especially my sister and Dylan, but there will be lots of relatives visiting on both sides and basically no room for us to stay. The 3 of us staying home all weekend is not an option. We'll drive each other crazy. BTW, we love each other, this is just how it is. But I'm hoping we'll have a decent time up north. Of course, we have to divide our time equally and spend one day at his dad's house and one day with his mom. We're sleeping at his mom's because his dad has a dog and 100 cats (Ok, 4) which causes Duchess to act even more retarded than usual.

Next weekend, we are all gathering at my mom and dad's house to have our immediate family Christmas. That will be a lot of fun. We did it last year and am really looking forward to it.

Everyone around here is hustling and bustling about, cooking and getting ready to be with family on Christmas. Tomorrow, it's going to be just Paige and I. The day after, Mike, Paige and I. Why this bums me out, I'm not sure. I feel like I should cook a big meal at least one of those days, but it doesn't seem to make sense when it's just the three of us.

But life is good other than that. Max is still awesome. Duchess acts like we are ignoring her, but I think we're giving her more attention than normal-and she knows it.

Maybe the Third Time Will be the Charm

So I visit podiatrist numero dos today. Not a fan. Maybe he was more competent than cigarette chain smoker non glove wearing podiatrist numero uno, but he was a huge jerk.

The exam room door was left wide open the whole time I was there! So everyone in that clinic in earshot knows I take lexapro and clomid. Great. So I'm the crazy babymaker. He comes in, looks at my bandaged right toe (under strict instructions from pod #1 to leave the recovering ingrown toenail removed bandaged), asks what's up with the bandage and when I tell him it was removed by pod #1, he flinches and sort of shook his head. Um, what? So he asks me how he removed it and I was like, I didn't really watch him stick a sharp metal thing under my toenail and remove it, thanks. I told him that I knew he killed the root so it wouldn't grow back. Of course in his infinate wisdom, that was not good enough. This guy was such an arrogant jerk.

So moving onto the PF. I tell him I was just diagnosed and want a more specific treatment plan. He pokes around on my heel, rushes through and explanation of what PF is, and continues to bash pod #1. This time it's because he only had the inserts custom made (and bashed the way he did that) and didn't give me anything to manage the pain. In pod #1's defense, I did think I may be preggo and told this to pod #2. He said there's other things he could have done like ultrasound therapy. Whatever. Then he tells me he took over for pod #1 while pod #1 was sick, when pod #1 came back, he took back all of his "good" (read non MA patients) and left pod #2 with what he felt were the shitty patients. OK, so don't play out your personal vendetta against the man to me, K? So he states that the inserts he gives out are the best and better than custom made ones. Fine. He slaps a pair in my shoes. Again, fine. Then he gives me a cortisone shot, sends me home with celebrex and tells me to come back next week. No information about stretching, icing, how often to change my shoes, etc. Not at all what I came in for, and told him that's what I wanted.

He was basically a moneymaker. He had patients crammed in back to back, and told me that he loved flip flops because it brought more business to him. When I check back in with the front desk, the lady tells me that they want people to pay up front for the inserts and it will be $28. What an effing scam. He put the inserts in my shoes and had me put my shoes on right away. So I couldn't return them. So I made the follow up appointment, but I think I'm going to cancel it. I got a couple of other docs names in Green Bay. One is so good he's backed up until March. One I left a message with in the middle of a workday and they never got back to me. Weird. One I could get in in January, and I haven't called the other one yet. I'm going to call the one back where I could get in in January and do a little begging and pleading to see if they can get me in soon.

I am seriously pissed that he gave me the cortisone shot. I did a little bit of research on the internet about cortisone shots and I'm a little worried. It made my foot hurt so bad, I had to ice it and take ibuprofen. It's better, but my foot feels like I got a tetanus shot. I guess it will feel better tomorrow, but the internet said to use this after other treatments haven't worked because of the side effects (like PAIN). He also sent me home with Celebrex which I've decided I'm not taking. I looked on the celebrex website and I don't like the risks associated with it. I'll take some ibuprofen or aleve to reduce the inflammation. I also have no idea what he's going to do next week.

I am just so mad about those stupid inserts. I hope they work. I felt like I was totally scammed. I've come to the conclusion that any doctor who specializes in feet is probably a little strange, but the 2 I have been to are just bad doctors.

Feeling Blue

I don't know what's going on with me the past few days. I honestly feel like I need to increase my happy pill dosage. I don't want to be at work and am doing as much as I can to not be there-sleeping late, setting up dr. apts. this week (they are legit one eye apt. and one podiatrist apt.), coming home after a car seat apt. to make phone calls, etc. When I'm there, I do piddly putzy stuff or dink around on the internet. I'm keeping candy in one of my drawers and eating it constantly. Can we say emotional eating? I'm snapping at Mike and feel like the world's biggest bitch to him. In a nutshell, I just feel blue.

Tonight for example was extremely stressful. It was Paige's school Christmas play. It started at 6pm and we were told to get there 15 minutes early. So we pull in at 5:45pm and the parking lot is full. WTF?!?!? The school and church are connected and the play is going on in the church. We walk in to the church and it's packed. Again, WTF?!?!? Did a different note go out saying get there at 5:30 pm? Shit like that really stresses me out. So Mike goes to get us a seat and I take Paige back to her classroom to get her costume on. As we walk through the school, I see that pretty much every other kid is all dressed and ready to go. At this point, I'm feeling like the world's biggest loser. Also we pass a few parents and no one says hello. I'm feeling very left out and I hate that feeling. So I get Paige into her costume and walk back out by Mike. We were also asked to bring some snacks for a social afterwards and I'm still carrying these stupid treats I brought. Not one parent told me where to bring the food. It's our first year at this school and we have no idea what's going on. Finally we get back to our seats and I see some of the parents and siblings are all dressed up and everyone has these red programs. UGH! Why are we so retarded? We're wearing jeans and tennies. So I tell Mike I'm about ready to have a nervous breakdown for all of these reasons. He's so good. He tells me not to worry about it and stays by me for a few minutes. Then he gets up and asks someone where to take the treats and where to get the programs. He never once made fun of me or made me feel bad. That is why I love this man. He puts up with my weird neurotic shit. Once the play started, I finally relaxed. Paige did great, she remembered her line and sang all the words to the songs she was supposed to. She was so cute!

At the "social" we sat by some people to try to get to know them and they basically ignored us. It's so hard to break into this town. I guess we just have to give it time.

Max the Cat

So as I posted before, we took in a stray cat Tuesday night. I was told on Thursday that we couldn't surrender him to the Humane Society until we kept him for 8 days. Even on the way to the Humane Society, I was having second thoughts and called Mike to tell him this. He has since told me that after I told him I was having 2nd thoughts that he knew we were keeping the cat. I think I knew all along too, especially after I went to the store after the Humane Society and bought a scratching post, food and water bowl and toys. So I call the vet Thursday to make an appointment for Max and we got in the next day. I just wanted to get him checked out to see how old he was and if he was healthy. We didn't want to keep a 12 year old sickly cat who could go in a month after we all got attached.

So the vet tells us he's a nuetered male. WTF???!!?!?! And also that he's about 4 years old. He only weighs 8 pounds and should probably weigh at least 12. He's got a long body so when he fills out, he'll be a big boy. After they told us he was a nuetered male, I knew then that he was definitely someone's cat and I became so conflicted. So someone took the time and money to neuter him. He was obviously someone's pet at one time, so do I spend time and energy looking for his owner? What if we find his owner and we have to give him back? The vet also recommended $20for deworming and $26.50 for a rabies shot. OK, so again how much do I stick into this cat knowing he belonged to someone who may be looking for him? Between the kitty litter, food, litter dish, toys, scratching post, and exam, we've already stuck $100 into this cat. Now they want us to spend another $50 or so for a cat we may not keep or have to give back? UGH!!!! Oh and he has an upper respiratory infection so they gave us a $20 bottle of medicine. It's given him the shits. Nothing like hearing your cat have the shits right outside your bedroom door. That's the life.

So I took him home and gave Mike the scoop. We make the decision to keep him. With how skinny he was, we figured he'd been away from home for a long time. Our sitter suggested the name Max, and that's what we decided on. Max the Cat. He really is a good boy and is already rubbing up against Duchess. Duchess has quit chasing him around the house which is nice. Max is kind of hyper in the early morning, but we figure once we figures us out, he'll learn our routine, just like Duchess did. Duchess's favorite place to hang out in the house is under Paige's bed and when we came home today from church, both Max and Duchess were under her bed! Cute! He hasn't quite taken to Mike as much as to Paige and I. He'll crawl up on the couch by Mike but won't go sit in his lap or let Mike pick him up. Paige could just about grab him and carry him around by the tail and he'd let her. He follows me wherever I go, and after I'd been in the basement sewing tonight for about an hour, he came down and started to meow at me, like it was time to come back upstairs! I'm still getting used to having shit in my house, but I suppose that will come.

My parents and sister are not animal lovers at all and really don't like the dog. My dad knows about the cat, but I don't know if he told my mom or sister yet. The cat might set them over the edge. I wish they were more animal lovers. I like to think we did a good deed by bringing Max in the other night, but anyone would have brought him in after hearing that pathetic meow. Well anyone except my family.

Dylan Thomas

I know most of my peeps are probably really sick of hearing about this, but I am so excited to be an auntie!

Kristin called me on the morning of Wednesday, December 4th saying she starting having contractions around 2am that morning and they quit around 6:30 am, and were irregular. I told her that my contractions were irregular for about the 1st 8 hours and to keep me posted. I called her around 10am and 3:30 pm that day and nothing else had happened. She was crabby-understandable.

That night she started having contactions again and her and Tom went to the hospital around 10pm or so. She was not dilated and her contractions were irregular again, so they told her she could either go home and come back when they got regular, or stay the night and get induced in the morning. They went home were she had irregular contractions most of the night. They went back to the hospital the next day, late morning because they were so intense. Around 10 am on Thursday morning she called and said she was at the hospital and around 3 cm. I was so excited!!!! I burst into my friend Lisa's office, told her the news and danced around for a while! I was supposed to go to Madison for a work conference that day and am so glad that I didn't.

She called back that afternoon and said she was still 3-4 cm. I was supposed to go to GB that night for my mom's group Christmas party, so I said I'd stop by before the party. I got there around 6pm and she was only 5cm. She had just gotten the epi, some pitocin and her water broken. She looked really tired. I went to my party and had lots of fun! Went back to the hospital around 11pm and she had progressed to 8cm. Visited with her until about midnight, she made no progress while I was there. Several times while I was in the room, the baby's heartrate would drop suddenly and come back up again. I was so nervous, but tried to act normal. I left and made my mom promise to call as soon as the baby was born. I didn't want to leave, but I had a 45 minute drive, and knew I had to get up the next morning with Paige. Around 2am, I got a call from my mom saying "It's a boy!" I knew all along it was a boy!

Kristin started pushing not long after I left, and after about 40 minutes, he was just not coming down and his heartrate kept dropping. The doctor recommended a c-section and Kristin and Tom agreed. So Dylan Thomas, all 6 lbs. 14 oz of him arrived by c/s at 1:42 am on Friday, December 5th, 2008. When my mom called, they hadn't named him yet, so Kristin called back the next morning and told me he was Dylan Thomas. I wasn't crazy about the name Dylan at first, but it has really grown on me. I like it combined with Thomas. Paige and I visited them on Friday morning and I got her back in time for school. The three of us went back on Sunday to visit.

It is so weird to see my little sister as a mom. She is doing so well and recovering from the c/s beautifully. She has not once complained about the pain and is moving around like nothing ever happened. She's not pushing herself, but she's also not having us wait on her hand and foot. She is committed to nursing and is doing so well with that. I am so proud of her! I am so glad she is not going through the horrible PPD that I went through.

I visited them at home this past Friday while my dad watched Paige. He has the most easygoing temperment. He never cries!!! He sleeps so much that Kristin has to wake him up to feed him! Even when we put him in his crib to sleep, or in his car seat so Kristin could show me how tight his straps are, he did not make a peep! Paige could be almost comatose and I'd lay her in her crib so gently, but as soon as her body hit that crib, she'd wake up and cry. He's already up to 7 lbs. 4oz and Kristin is making milk like it's going out of style. It's pretty hilarious actually!

I have pictures of him on FB, but I'll have to post a few from yesterday. He's changed so much in a week already!

Cat Rescuer Update

So I stop at the Oconto Humane Society today on my way home to get the cat and bring her back there. Good thing I did. They don't accept stray cats from Oconto Falls because apparently we have "animal control." Read: keep the animals in an outdoor cage for a week, then shoot it. So we can keep the cat for 8 days total, advertise her as a found stray and then she is considered ours after 8 days. When she's considered ours we can surrender her to the Humane Society. Great. So Paige will become even more attached. So I stopped at Pamida to get a scratching post, food and water dish and a few toys. Now we've stuck $40 into this cat. I made an appointment for an exam for her tomorrow-another $32. I have no idea what to do. I'm thinking about keeping it in the basement with the door closed until she's declawed and then keeping her. She can scratch up my basement furniture and there is plenty of room for her to roam around there. It's one big room. Stay tuned.

Cat-Rescuer

Tuesday night Mike and Paige were shovelling the snow and as I let the dog out to get in their way, I hear this pathetic "meow" about 100 times in a row. I follow the sound out to underneath my neighbor's truck and see this poor kitty outside freezing and scared out of her mind. I pull her out and feel that she is skin and bones. You can literally see her spine and she has absolutely nothing on her. I bring her in the house, wrap her up and she keeps meowing. I opened up a can of tuna and she DEVOURED it. So I'm like "now what?" Mike and I have kicked around the idea of getting a cat and we figure this is a good way to test drive one. She obviously hasn't belonged to someone in a LONG time with the condition that she was in. BTW, we have no idea if she's a she, we are just assuming she is.

So Mike runs up to the store to get cat food, kitty litter, a pooper scooper and a litter container. We warn Paige that we are may not keep her, we have to see how she'll work out with us. We feed her some more and she seems quite content. She makes herself right at home by climbing up on top of our recliner and sitting there like Queen Sheba. She tolerates Duchess being halfway up her ass and Paige manhandling her. She has obviously been someone's pet at one time. She even used the litter box!

However, when we went to bed, she became truly obnoxious. She would not stop meowing, crawling all over us, or digging in her litter box which was right outside our bedroom door at the end of the hall. At one point in the night, I was awoken by the sound of her digging in the litter box followed by the scent of cat shit. Lovely. Also because Duchess is truly retarded and thought she was a dog and wanted to play, I was kept awake by the sound of her footsteps chasing the cat all over the house. Which doesn't sound so bad, but we have (fake) hardwood floor in our hallway, living room and kitchen. So it was loud. Finally at 4 am, we put the cat, her food and water and litter box in Duchess's kennel downstairs. We could still hear her pathetic meow, but it wasn't as bad.

Because I don't trust cats and have never had one, they kind of freak me out because they can go ANYWHERE. I had visions of my couch being scratched all to hell and my Christmas tree being destroyed when I got home. So being the big meanie I am, we kept her in the kennel yesterday while we were both gone. We let her out while we were home, but put her back in last night and today. This cat is not declawed and we have caught her digging her claws into our furniture a few times. I also noticed my bedspread has a few small holes in it from her scratching.

So because of this paranoia, we've decided to give her up to the Humane Society. I think I can best sum it up by saying, I like cats, just not in my house. Paige was pretty upset by it, but we told her that we are just not the right home for this cat and that we are lucky to have Duchess. We have also kicked around the idea of getting another dog, but a small one like a mini schnauzer or shih tzu. I'm looking online for ones to adopt. So I'm going to run home today, get the cat and bring her back to Oconto to the Humane Society. Like I said, she is the sweetest thing and would make an excellent family cat, especially for someone with kids and a dog. She seemed to warm up to Duchess and even meowed and scratched at Paige's door when Duchess was in there while Mike read Paige her bedtime books. She seems like me the best and follows me around. I sometimes have second thoughts, but I know I just couldn't trust a cat in our house while I'm gone. Maybe that will change, but that's how I feel now. So, that just wouldn't be right to keep a cat crated up all day.

Hopefully she'll be online at the Oconto Humane Society website soon, and someone will adopt her. She'll be a great companion!

In the Market for a New Podiatrist

So last week Tuesday, I go to the podiatrist at the hospital in my little town. I'm all jazzed because I'm anxious to get this damn painful ingrown toenail removed and start treating the knife sticking out of my heel....I mean my plantar facitis. So the doctor removes my ingrown toenail, applies some solution that kills the part of the root where the ingrown toenail was growing out of (so it won't recur), has x-rays done of my foot, and diagnoses me with plantar facitis. Groovy. He tells me to make another appointment to start treatment for the plantar facitis. So I make an appointment for last week Friday. He seemed competent on Tuesday, but it all went downhill on Friday.

It all started on Friday when he walked in and introduced himself like we had never met before. Um, I was just here 3 days ago. I realize you may have forgotten me, but you're holding my chart in your hands. You could have read it over and pretended like you remembered me. I was in slight shock and said something like I was just here a few days ago for my plantar facitis and ingrown toenail. So he removes the bandaid from my ingrown tneoail, looks at it and says, yep we'll take care of that. HE STARTS TO TAKE OUT THE STUFF TO NUMB MY TOE AND REMOVE THE TOENAIL!!!! So slightly panicked, I exclaim "you just did this on Tuesday!!!" or something intelligent like that. So he apologizes and finally starts to look at my chart and realizes that yes indeedy he did remove my ingrown toenail 3 days ago. Oh and he reeks of cigarette smoke like he just chain smoked a pack in the last 20 minutes. So without washing his hands or putting on gloves, he gets out this metal pokey thingie that may or may not be sterile and starts poking my toe. He puts some gunk on it, bandages it back up and writes me a scrip for antibiotics. I'm wondering why he didn't prescribe antibiotics on Tuesday, but seeing how fast this appointment is going downhill, it really didn't surprise me.

Onto my heel. He starts to write me a prescription for something tor reduce the inflammation. I ask if this will interfere with pregnancy because Mike and I are ttc and I may be pregnant and just not know it. He says "no I don't think so" but then crumples up the paper and throws it away. He seems rather disgusted by this tidbit and again I'm wondering why he went through the trouble of writing the prescription. I told him I'm taking Clomid-I'm not taking it just to see if I really will get hot flashes and sore boobies. So apparently I'm not getting any medication to reduce the inflammation because he doesn't say anything else. He tells me that Marge, his wingman (wingwoman?) is going to see if orthotic shoe inserts are covered by my insurance. He leaves, and a few minutes later he and Marge walk in. Marge is carrying a bowl of water and these long paper mache looking strips. I'm wondering if we are going to start doing arts and crafts. He puts the chair all the way back and tells me to roll over on my stomach. WTF?!?!?!? So I do, and they start paper macheing my feet-making the molds for my handy dandy shoe inserts. It felt weird. So while this is going on, I'm asking all kinds of questions about how often to wear the inserts, icing my foot, should I wear shoes all day, how often should I get new shoes, etc. I was really looking for a specific treatment plan and got nothing. He basically blew off my questions and seemed like these inserts will magically cure me. No information on if I'll ever need new ones, do these wear out, etc. It was so weird. So I go out by Marge who tells me the inserts will be ready in 2-3 weeks. So I ask if my insurance covers these and she says that Oconto County employee insurance has covered them before so there shouldn't be a problem. She didn't even call my insurance!!!! Oh, but to reassure me she says, if insurance doesn't cover these, the hospital will "work with you on payments." Oh gee thanks, that's comforting. Then Marge gets in a dig about how government employees insurance is usually much better than those working in the private sector. Again, gee thanks. The 3 people in the waiting room glared at me for having good insurance. What they don't know is that I pay out the ass for it because I'm part time.

Good times. So yes, obviously I'm looking for a new podiatrist. This one scared the heebie jeebies out of me.

In other news, I have a nephew!!!! Dylan Thomas Barnhart was born on December 5th at 1:42 am. He is perfect and we love him dearly. Will post more later about that. I really should get to work. Plus Dylan deserves his own post!

My Own Personal MacGyver

I love my husband, I really do. I love the fact that he is fairly handy, and if something is broken around the house, he takes the bull by the horns and fixes it. Even with stitches on his hand and being super tired from the weekend, he tore apart the wash machine and concocted a fix for it consisting of electrical tape and wire. It seems a little iffy to me, but he assures me that it will work. And if it doesn't, then the part we need is only about $25. PHEW!!!! Not looking forward to having to shop for a new washer.

I'm done taking the clomid and did not have any side effects, which I'm happy about. Now it's time to pee on a stick and get the hubby to impregnate me.

In other medical news, I'm going to a podiatrist next week to get my ingrown toenail removed and my left heel evaluated. I think I have plantar facitis which hurts like a mo'fo. May as well take advantage of the fact that I met my deductible this year.

I think I've finally decided what to get Paige for Christmas. We'll get her that Barbie My House and ask my family for furniture for it. I'm also going to ask for the game Hullabaloo and this Play Doh ice cream maker thingie. We'll save the Leapster for her 5th birthday. I can see it really frustrating her right now.

I am so nuerotic. I have this wild hair up my ass that Paige's winter gear MUST MATCH. So I went to Younker's and Kohl's a few weeks ago and got her a black, white and pink jacket, black snowpants, pink boots, and a pink hat and mittens. Adorable. Also ran me about $80. Well last year Mike's dad and stepmom got her a blue winter jacket to wear this year. It fits her fine and looks really cute. Since I'm all stressed about money, I decide to try to find blue snowpants to match her blue jacket and take the other stuff back. After Margarita's last night (YUM-O) I ran to Fleet Farm, Walmart and Shopko and found nothing. Shopping in the big girl section really sucks. The clothes are so much more expensive. So after stressing about this the whole way home, I complain to Mike about it and he tells me to let it go and keep the stuff we have. She can wear the blue jacket and black snow pants on the weekends at home. He also tells me to chill out about her having to match. See why I love this man?

When It Rains It Pours

So because Mike was out of town this weekend, I guess the universe decided to conspire against us and break stuff in our house. The wash machine stops in mid cycle, leaving me with a load of semi-dirty clothes soaking in water and not moving. I have to keep turning the dial until I find a spot where it will keep moving on to the spin cycle. I think the dirty clothes are onto me and are multiplying as we speak.

As I backed out of the garage on Saturday night to go to my friend Amy's house for supper, the garage door opener blinked a bunch of times and would not close. It was pretty freaky looking. Mike has a bunch of expensive fishing stuff in there so I didn't want to leave it open while we were gone. So I shut it manually, but couldn't figure out how to lock it. So on Sunday I had to get out and open and shut it manually when we went out. Not fun.

Then I'm driving our truck because we are under strict orders from our mechanic not to drive the Taurus until it's been aligned. The power locks on the truck don't work which doesn't sound like a big deal, but it really is a huge pain in the ass. Plus only the passenger side door opens to the back seat so I always have to go around to that side to get Paige. The power locks not working wouldn't bother me too much, but you have to get the key in the lock JUST RIGHT for it to open. UGH. Couple this with Paige asking EVERY SINGLE TIME I put her in the car seat "are you going around the front of the truck mama, or the back?", I was really sick of driving the truck. Paige has suddenly developed this phobia about being alone in a vehicle and not being able to see either of us. She usually screams from the time we shut the door until we get in.

On Saturday night I get a call from Mike saying that he shot a doe, but as his group was cutting up the deer, one of his cousins basically just about sliced his fingers off (Mike's, not the cousin's). This is why it's important not to drink when weilding knives. Mike claimed that it wasn't that big of a deal, but I ordered him to go to an urgent care to get stitches the next day. Promising he would, I hung up and hoped for the best. Sunday I get a message from him saying that he went to the ER in Rice Lake because the urgent cares would have cost the same as the ER and you're supposed to get stitches in a cut within 12 hours after, not 24 like Mike thought. So yeah, that bill won't be expensive AT ALL.

I know I just went off on how we can afford to do what we want when we want, but I am seriously stressed about money now. Here's why:
$1600 for the Taurus (about $600 more than we thought)
$2000 for the new furnace
$400 for a new washer (most likely)
$375 for Paige's 2nd tuition payment due right after Christmas
$350 (guess) for our land taxes, due at the end of January
$1000 for my medical bills at Aurora (at least I met my deductible)
$500 for Mike's chiropracter, at $50 a month
$400 left at CMH for my ingrown toenails and bladdar infection

Oh yeah and Christmas!!!! The first three are going to be paid for by a cash advance on a credit card. Not thrilled about that but it's at 3% interest and we had to do it. No other options, since our house didn't appraise high enough for a home equity line of credit.

Here's an FYI for ya, HSG tests are expensive!!!! Plus another $50 to get the Taurus aligned. I'm getting that done Friday morning. At least I've met my deductible, so I'm calling a podiatrist tomorrow to get in this year yet for my plantar facitis and 3rd ingrown toenail in less than a year. I'm tempted to have him remove the whole damn nail. And my next progesterone test will be covered too. I think I'm going to be paying Aurora for the rest of my life.

I hear the kid crying, almost her bedtime THANK GOD. She has been a bear today. She's probably mad at us for sending her to daycare, ha ha.

Dear High and Mighty SAHMs

*DISCLAIMER* Before I proceed, I realize that maybe 2 out of my 5 readers are SAHMs. This post is not about you because I am friends only with super cool people. This blog is a place for me to vent and boy do I need to vent about this. There, you have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.

Dear High and Mighty SAHMs:
Get off of your high horse. Just because you SAH does not make you a good mother. Good moms come in all types. If I stayed at home, I would be a bad mom. I know this, and there is nothing wrong with admitting that.

I work because I HAVE TO!!!! I make about $9 more an hour than Mike, and even working 20 hours a week less than him, my yearly salary is still a little more than his. However, neither one of ours is enough to stay at home. I married Mike because he is a good, honest, loving man, not because he brings home the bacon, or because "he works hard enough to allow me to sah." If I hear that statement one more time, I may puke. We did not live together before we got married, so we each spent money on our own rent. Meaning we did not have a big down payment for a nice house. We live in a small house and like it that way. It's less to clean.

I am good at what I do. My work saves lives. That's a big deal. I'm working to make workplaces in Wisconsin smoke free, making cigarettes hard for kids to buy, helping women receive lifesaving mammograms and Pap tests, and saving your children's lives by making sure you have safe car seats and are using them properly. I also teach you how to prevent getting sick from the flu, MRSA, whooping cough, norovirus, etc. My work is rewarding and I'm glad that I have a career in the field I got my hard earned degree in. What a concept, huh?

*Stepping off of my high horse.*

I don't have to ask Mike for money. I contribute more than my share to our household income-it's our money and we spend it how we see fit. We can do what we want, when we want. We can afford to send Paige to a Catholic school. We can afford to give generously to our church and to Paige's Christian Witness projects at school. We can afford gas for our vehicles and don't have to say we can't go somewhere because it costs too much. We can take Paige to fun places and do fun things BECAUSE WE CAN AFFORD TO!!!!

Because I work, Mike sees me as more than only to a mother to his child. We are equal partners. I am not "under his thumb" and can go out with my friends when I want to, even if I've worked all day. He does not expect a hot cooked meal on the table every night when he gets home, clean laundry that's folded and put away, and a clean house. We each keep the house and laundry taken care of.

Do not feel bad for me. Do not feel bad for Paige. She is a sweet, healthy, active, smart child who loves life and loves to laugh. I think we're doing something right. She is learning to listen to and respect other adults besides Mike and I by being in daycare. She is learning to play with and socialize with kids of all ages by being in daycare. We are often complimented on her behavior and good manners. Yes, she is not perfect, but is a good kid overall. Do I miss her every minute of every day while I'm at work? No. Do I cry every morning when I leave her at daycare? No. Are there some mornings I'm thrilled to be dropping her off? You bet your ass. Yes, there are mornings when I feel pangs of guilt for dropping her off, and yes, there are days at work when work sucks and I wish I was at home, but that's ok. And yes, there are days when she is at daycare 10-11 hours a day...horror of horrors. I can live with that. I know I am doing the right thing for my family.

I have had the opportunity to go full time and I am choosing not to. I chose to come back from maternity leave part time so I had extra time with Paige. The extra money and MUCH cheaper insurance would be nice, but time with Paige is more important.

Sincerely,

A Proud Working Mama

Wow, that felt really good. If I offended you, I apologize, but I am speaking my mind.

Madison

I leave in a few hours for a work conference in Madison. YIPEE! Two nights, kid free, and husband free in a hotel room all to myself. Heaven.

Our weekend was fun and slightly busy. Took the Taurus to the mechanic to get fixed on Saturday morning. Mike took the dog hunting and left around 11am. Paige and I left for my mom and dad's in the afternoon. Had supper there and went to Appleton to see Beauty and the Beast at Xavier High School. I really enjoyed it! Paige liked it too, but it didn't start until 7:45pm so she was almost asleep at the end. Went to church with them Sunday morning, then headed back home. A friend and her daughter came over in the afternoon and we went to Cinderella at our high school. It was ok, not nearly as good as Beauty and the Beast. Paige was rather antsey and we were both glad when it was over. My friend and her daughter came back over afterwards and stayed for pizza for supper. Paige and Abby play so well together-so cute to watch!

Now I'm here at work and have been a huge slacker. My boss isn't here and I'm leaving soon, so I have taken unproductivity to a new level.

Pregnancy update: My progesterone level is slightly low. It's 11 and it should be 15-20. I'm still not exactly sure why or what that means, but the nurse told me to wait to see if I'm pregnant or not. If I was pregnant, I may have to take progesterone supplements. Well I'm not. I started spotting yesterday. I am waiting for a call back from the nurse now. She suggested Clomid and I'm ready for it. I know the side effects aren't that pleasant, but I don't care. I want another child so badly.

Some chick on my mom's group message board started a post extoling the glories of being a SAHM and I could just puke. Of course like 8 people have responded to it since last night and it's so sickening. I'm ready to post something back, but I'm trying to formulate a thoughtful and intelligent response. They are of the understanding that if the wife can afford to SAH, then she should. Doesn't matter if she WANTS to work...oh no, you made those babies, you stay home with them. So, if you see on facebook that I'm irritated, that's why.

Back to being a nonproductive slacker!

Busy Busy Day

After stuffing my face at Margarita's last night and enjoying an absolutely huge and delish margarita, I was in no mood to wake up this morning. But I did. Off to Aurora I went for my progesterone blood test. I'm such a wimp about getting blood drawn, but it wasn't too bad. She tried my right arm first but no blood was coming out, so she had to poke my left arm. But I was a trooper. The lab tech was very sweet and made a joke about me never wanting to come in for blood draws again. I made a comment that hopefully the next time I come in, I'll be pregnant. The way she said "ooohhh I hope so" was so sweet and made me tear up. So feeling sorry for myself after sitting in the waiting room with a pregnant woman there for her blood glucose test, I decided to partake in some retail therapy. Kohl's is just way too close to Aurora and I had some things to return, so I felt obligated to go. I got a Christmas ornament for my mom's group Christmas party ornament exchange, 3 new shirts and a new purse. I returned $30 worth of stuff and spent $60. Nice.

Got to work and did not want to be there. After slacking off for most of the day, I left early to get to the sitter's by 4pm. Picked up the kid, went to the high school to get tickets for Cinderella at the high school PAC on Sunday for me, Paige and my friend and her daughter, to my work immunization clinic to get our flu shots (flumist for her, shot for me, my arm hurts) and to the grocery store. All in like 45 minutes. Got home, put up with a cranky kid, threw a pizza in the oven, and went to a 6pm meeting for a committee I signed up for through my church. Three pokes today-ouch. Mike offered to give me a 4th poke, he's so eloquent. I turned him down. Anywho, the committee is called the Family Life Committee and it's the brainchild of our priest. He wants us to plan family events that involve all three of the parishes. We are sort of merged with two other churchs, one about 5 miles away and one about 15. The other people on the committee are really nice and I think it will be fun. Our first event is a Family Game Night on a Friday night. We'll have snacks and refreshments, and people of all ages can play the games that are there-Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, etc. I'm in charge of making the flyer advertising it.

Came home and Paige was sleeping already. I haven't seen her much the past few days. Mike has been dropping her off at Sandi's in the AM which is AWESOME. But last night I ended up staying late at work and going straight to Margarita's, this morning Mike dropped her off, then we ran errands after work, and I took off again around 6pm and she was sleeping when I got home. But we'll be together all of this weekend and next weekend.

I guess I'll find out about my progesterone test tomorrow sometime. I'm peeing CONSTANTLY which is making me get my hopes up, but my boobs are starting to get sore tonight. I always get sore boobs about a week before my period starts. I was also super cranky today making me think I have PMS, but I think I may have forgotten to take my happy pill this morning. Damn happy pills. I hate it when I forget to take them.

Money Money Money

Holy shit, I just checked wbay.com and the wind chill is 18 degrees. WTF?

I did another Turbo Jam workout the other day...LOVE IT! So glad I got that DVD. I'm going to try the Turbo Sculpt tomorrow. No workouts this weekend. We raked the yard today so I'm counting that. Plus I did a ton of walking around while shopping yesterday and my heel was hurting.

Friday was my usual day off with Paige. We annoyed the crap out of each other all morning, then joyfully bid each other adieu at her bus stop. I frolicked into my house with glee at the thought of another 3 hours of a quiet house all to myself. Took pictures of a bunch of crap that I'm going to list on ebay, and then listed a couple of things. We need money BAD.

I'm so stressed about medical bills right now. We are currently paying $50 a month for Mike's chiropracter care this summer ($500 total so it will take us almost a year to pay off), we still owe for my ingrown toenail removal this summer (that was around $450), $80 for a recent trip to Urgent Care for another UTI that I had, $150 for the dentist for me from last month, and I really don't want to think about how much all this stuff with Dr. Gibson is going to cost. We've already gotten a $166 dollar bill from 2 different lab tests he ran at my office visit last month. Plus my HSG and now this week I'm having a progesterone blood test. Part of the problem is that we went on my insurance starting September 1st thinking it would be so great. We failed to notice that basically all labs, x-rays and other services are subjected to our $1000 individual deductible or $2000 family deductible and then covered 100%. The ingrown toenail and chiropracter stuff happened on Mike's insurance. We really were so stupid and should have waited until the first of the year to switch insurances. I'll probably just hit the $1000 mark at the end of the year and then start all over next year. I'm really not sure about the dentist bill. The first EOB from my insurance looked like all $400 worth of my services at the dentist were covered. I just got a different one from the insurance on Friday that said I owe like $150. Whatever. I'll just wait for the bill and go from there. The good thing about my insurance is that I can get a 90 day supply of my happy pills for $30, where on Mike's insurance it was $45/month. So we're saving about $100 right there. Plus we each get $150 in vision materials per year which is nice since we each wear contacts and glasses and routine vision exams are covered 100%. Infertility is covered 100% after the deductible. So if we have to pursue the infertility route, it won't be insanely expensive. Office visit copays on my insurance are $10, where Mike's is $30. So if Paige has an ear infection or something, it will only cost us $10, plus the prescription will be cheaper. Our premiums are about the same cost so I guess it comes out in the wash. But what's really nagging me is that whenever I've gone to the doctor in the past on Mike's insurance, I've only paid the $30 co pay and nothing else for lab, bloodwork, etc. The only thing is that with my $10 co pays, that if I ever decide to see a therapist (which I should, I have emotional eating issues) it will only be $10 per visit. I saw one last year and it was $30 a visit and I was going weekly for a while. My ingrown toenail is ingrown again, I think I have another UTI, and I really should get my heel checked out for plantar facitis.

On top of all the medical bills, we need a new furnace, the Taurus needs tires, and the Taurus also needs a bunch of front end work. We're going to slap all this on one of our CC's then transfer it to a no interest card and pay it off in one year. Not a huge fan of doing that but we both have awesome credit scores, and we didn't get the home equity line of credit so we have no other options. Wells Fargo Financial has contacted us about some short term loans but they have insanely high interest rates so I don't want to go that route.

I am so demented about money. We really need to save save save right now, but because I am feeling the pressure to save, I go out and spend a shitload of money. I'm like a defiant teenager-oh yeah? I'll show you who's going to save money!!! In the last week, I bought three pairs of pants at Old Navy for around $70, spent nearly $50 at Gymboree on pants and 3 pairs of jammies for Paige, $65 on a new pair of tennies for me from zappos.com, $75 yesterday at JCP on 3 new bras, a pair of shoes for Paige, hairspray and this leave in conditioner for Paige's hair, and $15 at Payless for new shoes for Paige. RIDICULOUS. Plus about $20 at Pro Bowl/Suamico Ale House on Saturday for lunch and bowling with Paige and a friend of mine and her daughter. So now Christmas is coming up, our land taxes will be due at the end of January, and Paige's school tuition will be due right after Christmas break. WTF?!?!?!? I have so much more I have to list

I have a bunch more stuff to list on ebay but it's rather time consuming. I'll have to plug away at it this week.

Our 44th President

Last night at 10pm, Barack Obama was named the 44th President of the United States. Mike and I watched the election coverage most of the night and could tell that Obama was going to win, but it was still so exciting when it was officially "called."

I was undecided at first, then watched the debates and did some research and decided to vote for Obama. Mike bashed Sarah Palin constantly and I always got on his case for it. But after learning more about her and hearing how she charged many personal trips to her travel expenses as the Alaska governor, forcing the taxpayers to pay for her family trips, that put me over the edge.

Once I made up my mind that Obama was the man, I became a big fan of his! He is so charasmatic, and I can really see him leading our country out of this huge mess. I also agree with where we stands on many issues. As a Catholic, it was difficult to vote for someone who is very pro-abortion, but there were other issues, namely the economy, the war in Iraq, and health care that are so much more important. So now I'm very excited and hopeful for our country's future. I think Obama will be an excellent leader. I think any Republican that ran would have lost after the last 8 years of GW the worst fuck up in American history.

So if I have any readers who support John McCain, I'm curious what made you support him. Out of my, you know, 5 readers, this could be a long shot, but who knows. I'm honestly curious, I'm not trying to start an argument.

What other exciting news do I have to share with my 5 readers? I'm very close to getting a positive OPK! Today is day 14 of my cycle and have been expecting to get a +OPK, but I haven't gotten a thing since Sunday. Tonight, I started to get a second line...yahoo! So guess what we'll be doing the next few nights. =)

I've worked out every night this week! YAHOO again! Tonight I did a strength training workout for the first time in a long time. It felt really good to lift weights.

Epiphany

I just got done doing a Leslie Sansone exercise video. It was a 15 minute 1 mile walk and I loved it! It's from a set that I used to do when I was pregnant and in halfway decent shape. Now I'm not pregnant, just very overweight. With my plantar facitis, I've been getting so frustrated that I can't exercise, but I've decided to start VERY VERY small. This was only 15 minutes and just the right intensity. I broke a little bit of a sweat, and I feel SO GOOD right now! So now I've decided I'm not going to do any of my Firm or other really tough workouts and am just going to stick with the Leslie's and other easier ones. This way, I'll look forward to working out and actually DO IT. I'm searching on ebay for a lot of Leslie workout videos. I'm so excited!

Halloween Festivities

We celebrated Halloween all week! On Monday, we went to the high school for their annual Halloween party. A bunch of the high school kids set up a ton of games in the gym, and the little kids go around and play them and get candy. Yesterday we went to Sweet Street at Shopko Hall in Green Bay. It's basically this huge expo center with a ton of kids stuff in it. There were about 5 different bounce house things, the Little Gym, an entertainment stage, mini golf, pumpkin bowling, and trick or treating for the kids. It took Paige and I both a while to get used to all the activities and figure out where she wanted to go, but after discovering the YMCA bounce house, I think we spent the majority of our time there!

Then today we went to a "Trunk or Treat" event put on by my playgroup. A shitload of us went to our main organizer's house (and by house, I mean 6000+ square foot mansion in the woods), parked our cars on the empty lots around her house, decorated our trunks and set candy out for the kids. My decorations consisted of Halloween garland, "caution" tape and plastic spider rings that I hastily bought at Walmart on the way there. Some people (the ones with WAAAAYYYY too much time on their hands) went all out. I was not one of those people. I also bought WAAAAYYYY too much candy. I don't know what I was thinking. The mom's group event was ok. There are just so many new members and so many people I don't know and it seems like no one wants to make any effort to get to know each other. Kind of frustrating. But Paige had fun and actually left my side a few times, so it was a success! Tonight we had trick or treating in our little town and Paige made a haul. My mom and sister came up and we're sending a bunch of candy home with them. I think I'll have Mike take a bunch too, and I'll get rid of some at work. Not the good stuff though-we're keeping all the chocolate here! I feel like we are finally starting to break into this town a little bit. I actually chatted with some of my neighbors today and may have even found a potential babysitter! YAHOO! The lady that taught Paige's Vacation Bible School this summer has a 7th grade daughter and they live just up the road from us. Her mom even offered to have Paige come to their house. SWEET.

I'm a little crabby right now. I have a canker sore way up on the left side of my gums, my ingrown toenail that I've had cut out twice in the last year is ingrowing again and hurting, my left heel hurts from my plantar faciitis, and I have this HUGE zit on the right side of my waist. WTF? It's super painful and I want to pop it so bad. But the canker sore won't stop me from inhaling ridiculous amounts of candy.

"Whatcha Doin' Hon?"

OK if Mike asks me this one more time when he can very clearly see what I'm doing, I might have to punch him. Yesterday he came downstairs when I was surfing the net (reading blogs, email, my mom's group message board, etc.) and asked me "whatcha doing?" I was so annoyed I said "what do you think I'm doing? I'm on the computer!!!!!" Seriously. I just wanted a few minutes of peace and quiet and alone computer time, and he comes barging in and then asks me what I'm doing?!?! WTF man?!?!?

Tonight I had our checkbook and a printout of our checking account from online, holding a pen and calculator. He turns to me and goes "whatcha doing hon?" Again, seriously?!?!?

I love that man dearly, but sometimes he just annoys the crap out of me.

So I had my HSG test this morning. It was uncomfortable, but not painful. The worst part was showing my crotch to my new doctor, his medical student, the radiologist, and a student radiologist. I was ready to call some janitors and the registration people in there too. Maybe Miguel, the guy that answered the phone at Dr. Gibson's office when I called to tell him I had my period should have come over too. The dye went streaming through my wide open tubes, so no problems there. It's good because there's no scar tissue and no endometriosis showing up from my ovarian cyst. On the other hand, I wanted an answer to why I wasn't getting pregnant. So now I have to take an OPK to make sure I'm ovulating, then call his office when I get a positive OPK. I guess I go in for bloodwork then to test my progesterone level. I'm going to call my friend tomorrow who is his nurse to confirm this. Maybe Miguel will answer the phone again when I call to tell him I got a positive OPK. Be better than telling him I started my period. That wasn't embarrassing AT ALL.

I enjoyed my quiet day to myself SO MUCH. I have got to do this more often. I was out of the hospital 40 minutes after I got there this morning, so I had the whole day to myself. What a marvelous feeling. I browsed around Kohl's for a while (picked up a pair of brown cords, and winter mittens and gloves) then went over to my friend Melissa's house to hang out with her and another mom's group friend. It was so nice. Got back in time to meet the appraiser then bummed around the house. Started to look for our camera under the bed, but that turned into a cleaning fest. Under my bed, behind the nightstand and behind my dresser were absolutely disgusting. Full of dog hair, dust and random crap. So I vacuumed and dusted like a crazy woman. Still haven't found our camera but at least there aren't piles of dog hair and dust in every corner of our bedroom. Have you noticed that the more you clean, the more you find you have to clean? I noticed that the walls in my bedroom really need to be wiped down and I need to dust the blinds and curtains in my room too. UGH.

I need to get some new pix on facebook so I'm off to download from our piece of shit camera.