Turning three!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful girl today. Three whole years!! My how time flies. WE celebrated with all my family (minus Kris, Missed you) and lots of friends. We stayed at a hotel and had the party there. That is a lot of stuff to drag mind you, but it all turned out great! We had a Dora theme, and her cake was beautiful. I would recommend Sam's club any day!! It was a challenge getting around Bismarck due to the flooding and Expressway being closed. We drove along the river and you can't even imagine all the water until you see it yourself. Those poor people. They were even sandbagged way back to 12th street! Thanks to all who attended. She loved all her gifts. SHe got 3 games from us and a new bike.
She hasn't mastered the pedaling thing yet, but she will.

Karady is somewhat of a fish. I throw a life jacket on her and she just goes. It has gotten to the point as long as I keep an eye on her she does well, I don't even have to be in the pool. I am going to try to get her into lessons, see how she does. Needless to say we were in bed by nine, we were way tired.

We were in the Hills recently and Karady had a blast. WE did Bear COuntry, OLD MacDonalds farm, Flinstone land, and Storeybook Island. She had so much fun. We will have to go again soon.

WEll my garden was in earlier than usual lately, and Karady helped me. A few pots need flowers yet, but we are finally getting some heat, so everything is really shooting up. Yay welcome back summer!! Where have you been for so long!!!

Well thanks for reading!!

Patience

Oh what a great word. I need to learn to embrace it and learn more of it. "Mom you need to have more patience." See I can't even spell it!! Yes I know I need more of it. I think a gain a cup of patience every day. Some days it all flies out the window and I have to start again, but I think I am getting better. Potty training has been very taxing. WE go for three days, no accidents, then one slip up of not telling her to go, and she stands there and pees her pants!! It's very infuriating to me. My wise mother says that it is one of the hardest things to get them trained to do. Yep I totally agree.

We are looking forward to Easter. My mom and dad are coming for the weekend. We are baking green cupcakes with green frosting and sunflower covered seeds for eggs. I had to put a little white sugar sprinkles on top of them for snow, given our current weather situation. We are also making a bunny cake. I will post the final product. We are planning on going to the grocery store to see the Easter Bunny on Saturday, that should be fun.

Karady has been begging to go outside lately. She played at the Sannes for an evening about a week ago (when I thought spring was finally here) and can't wait to go out after work now every day. Of course the snow tells us we should stay inside, so we are waiting. Patiently!!

I started going to Zumba about a month ago. I LOVE it. It gets me sweating and moving and I am sure I am quite a site. I have been stuck in the front row since day one. DOn't know why they would put me in front. Really, how can anyone else see around me with my height and girth? Well now I don't mind, I think I catch more. I was never really sore from it, but it is taxing on my feet. It gets better every time I go. THe time really flies. Karady comes with me most nights, and she really does do very good. I feel like my Jeans are fitting looser. I have yet to weigh myself. I need to get a new battery for my scale. I am trying to eat better, and I think ZUmba is a good reminder of that. Of course the Easter candy still calls my name. Like the Peeps of course.

WE have a busy next few weekends planned, so my house will I'm sure need a bulldozer by the time the next month of weekends is over. I DO NOT get time off during the week, so I do my cleaning on the weekends. SO we bury Nolan's grandma next weekend, then the next weekend I am scrapbooking for 3 days, then Karadyand I are riding with to Duluth for Meiles's Dance Recital. BUSY, BUSY@!!!!

Well we hope you all have a wonderful Easter. Two more sleeps and Nana and Papa will be at our house.

TTFN
Lori

OH ARE WE IN TROUBLE!!

Those words seem to come out of my mouth almost every day lately. It starts with the little dance and the shake of the hips. Next comes the unending tantrums and shouts, and crying because we don't get our way. I always like to see more smiles than tears, but somedays it doesn't happen. Later it is said after we have gone all day at home and have not pottyed one time in the toilet. (By the way we have been potty training over a year now)

Not only do I feel this way now, but I know the future is to bring so much more. I know we have a gorgeous girl with the dark hair and of course the always mentioned big brown eyes! We can't go anywhere without hearing that!! I am not conceited, just stating a fact. I know how cute girls are treated, and how they operate. I was not a "Cute" girl, but believe me I know how they work. I think I need more self help books and child raising guides to get through this one. I do not want a monster on my hands. Sometimes I think I see a glimmer of one, and then I ground it again. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Not much new here. Nana Muriel came to visit in March. Great Nana was getting to near the end of her life, and she was here when she died. She died March 4th. We are so glad Muriel was here, because there was a lot to take care of. We had a nice public viewing on March 8th and about 6 to 8 friends and family came for the day, and it was really not a very nice day. Grandma will always be remembered by us, especially for her sharp mind, well into her 90's. WE will miss her. We have lots of reminders of her in our house. Like the clock we gave her right after we got married, and a praying hands ceramic piece I made for her years ago. If you ask Karady where she is, she will point up and say "Heaven". Yes Karady without a doubt. She will be buried the weekend after Easter next to her husband in Columbus. It will be nice to see all of Nolan's cousins again. I am anxious to go and see the family homestead, and I have never been up in that part of the world. She was ready for a very long time to go, and she finally got her wish. We love you and miss you. Say Hi to everyone!!

TTFN

Lori

Back together!

WE finally have our life back together. Our baby is back home, and lovin every minute of it. DOn't get me wrong she enjoyed Nana's house, but she would much rather be home. When we arrived home she played with all of her toys like they were brand new again. We are so happy to be together again. It was a rough 2 weeks. I did get quite a bit done (not everything) but I still would rather have Karady home. I got to scrapbook uninterupted, and Nolan worked on his models. I had to warn him when we got to Temvik so he could Karady proof the house. She gets to play at Charlies for two days this week, home two days, and then at Kathy's for one. WE then go back to daycare again, thank GOD.

Karady learned lots at Nana's. She got a huge start on potty training, she learned to cut paper, and she learned to get in big trouble with her cousin Dylan. Karady has princess pullups and we don't like to get the Princesses wet, or make the jewels on them do away. Yeah that only works for so long. I have read a few articles on training, and I have come to the conclusion that this is one of the hardest things I have had to do. They have their own little minds and they will do what they will. Lemon poppyseed bread crumbled all over the kitchen does not make Nana happy. Especially when said bread is supposed to go to church the next day. LOL.

As many of you know the end of the year was very ugly for us. My washer quit, there was the flood, my car got new brakes, and Nolans truck had work on the 4 wheel drive. Well I thought the new year would be better; yeah no such luck. My car is losing antifreeze and Nolan's truck is leaking transmisson fluid. I am strapped now, and really can't do a car payment and just hanging on to a thread hoping my car can be fixed for a small amount. Do I put in more money? Do I have a choice? Do I put in a new motor? Is it worth it?? The jury is still out on the truck. Not sure what is up with it. Hopefully something simple. Pray that it is, or we are going to have to get the bikes out!! Time will tell.

IT is finally warmer here, but warm weather brings very icy conditions. I am sure we are not finished with snow yet.

WE recently started a Garden club in Linton. I am very excited about it. I love to absorb information of all kinds on gardenening. One more meeting to attend a month, but it is very exciting for me. More to come on that.

Well TTFN.

Bye Bye Baby!!

Karady left the house for 2 weeks, starting on Sunday. Mom and Dad came to get her, and safely made it home. The weather has been aweful, and travel trechorous. My mom is seeing a side of little lulu she has never seen before. She can throw a tantrum with the best of them! One good thing, potty training is going well; lets hope it stays that way. Daddy is taking it pretty hard. I told him he needs to take time off then next year. He won't see her now until the 13th. I am going to visit next weekend, weather permitting. She was insistant her dad was coming to get her when it got dark last night. Of course it got dark and he didn't come, so that pissed her off. I don't think she likes sharing her nana either. This morning early, mom called me and said she threw up twice in the night. Then she went to sleep with papa and nana. WHen papa started snoring she asked nana what that sound was. Hopefully she will do well today, and mom won't have to shut her daycare down. I am so gratfull to have family that will take her, as I have NO vacation left. It is hard to be away from her that long!! I am getting lots done though, and have a list of things to keep me busy. I told Nolan he needs to stay busy, instead of sitting on the couch all night. RIGHT!! I hope to get some scrapbooking in also, I want to hurry and get done with my list of things to do, so I can. Nolan suggested we stick everything that is hers in her bedroom and close the door. I told him it won't all fit! Suck it up daddy!! Well later.

TTFN

Lori

Happy new Year everyone!!

Hello all. I'm BAAAAACK. If Cassie can get caught up, I should too! Miss you.
Anyway we have been busy since my last post. There was Thanksgiving, Christmas in Fargo, Christmas at home, New Years, the flu, a cold, a new entry way, lots of new toys (especially my i-pod, love it), and lots of movies. Oh and did I mention a flood. Yep 2 inches of water in the basement after some heavy duty Black Friday Shopping. They say every cloud has a silver lining. This one did. WE have always wanted to flip our basment, and we did in a big way!! The insurance money also helped when we had shell out a grand for both of our vehicles. I also got a new french door fridge and a new cherry colored front load wash machine. Yes energy efficiency is running wild in my house. Also add in one nice scrapbooking weekend and lots of time spent with family and friends. WE said goodbye to Tom in December as he embarked on his mission abroad for the military. All sources say he is in Iraq and will be there for I think 60 or 90 days. I am sure Kris has the countdown going. I feel for her. Luckily she has her mother in law there to help. Be safe TOm!!
Karady had a good Christmas. She opened all of her gifts herself, and there were a lot. Christmas morning she dug through her stocking (we have huge stockings) and every single thing in it got the response "Thank you Anta". It was so cute. It was quiet as Nolan was on call, and we spent it at home. We went to Sannes' Christmas Day for fondu and to open gifts, then we played electronic Monopoly and the Farming Game (two games I hate playing) and I won both!! I should have made a trip to the casino right away.
Nolan stepped down from the managers position with the Helicopter. SO many dynamics have changed and he has so much less stress. Lift off date is now in February. We will see if it happens. He will still work for them, but not in a mangers role.
The Great Flood of 2010 took place somewhere between 4 am and 9am the day after Thanksgiving. Tammi and I went Black Friday shopping and got home at 3:30. By the way it was a great time. I only hit both Walmarts, but it was an experience. Nolan left at 4 to do more. I woke up at 9 to a waterfall in the basement from a broken pipe going outside. Poor Karady's toys were floating. I got the water turned off and started sucking up the mess. The insurance company instructed us to call a cleaning company, so I did. I didn't realize the magnitude of the work to be done. The company basically told us to empty out all of our stuff to the top floor. WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF!! So while they sucked up water we moved. We moved nonstop for like 4 hours. I must have been up and down the stairs 100 times. The company was awesome. One guy sucked water, while the other helped us move stuff. I have never been so embarressed in my life. We have so much STUFF and much of it was not put in a place. He assured me he would rather help with our mess then clean carpets all day. So they cut holes every 6 inches all away around the base and left 13 high powered dryers and 2 huge dehumidifiers. It took one week to dry out everything, but they still had to cut 1 foot off the sheetrock all the way around. Our loss wasn't huge. THey were able to salvage the carpet. I lost a cricut, so luckily I had already bought one at the Black Friday sale. It it amazing how fast things add up!! I mostly have everything in tubs, thank god. Everything was replaceable. SO this mess prompted us to flip the basement, since we had the mess anyway. I must say I got the better end of the deal. I have more scrapbooking room, and Karady has more room to play. It forced us to put things back in order and get rid of lots of Stuff!!
New Years was pretty quiet. We had such a huge storm, not too many people went anywhere. So we spent it with just the 3 of us. Speaking of storms we has SO MUCH SNOW!! It is also frigid here. I need badly to get to Bismarck, but I won't take Karady out in the freezing temps that are predicted for the weekend.
Karady continues to amaze me with the stuff she does and says. It is hard to remember she watches and does everything we do. She was on a cursing stretch for a while, and at the most inconvient times, like in church or at the doctor. She just says DAM it. I really can't say that I know where that comes from. HAHA. She refuses to use the toilet anymore, so we are still working on that. Maybe Grandma can get her to go when she stays there for two weeks in February. Last night we told her we were having Pizza for supper. She said "No Al Lee stays home". SHe always gets pizza when we have a sitter, and Al Lee is our sitter. She is so smart. She is also very independent with dressing herself, and she is not a morning person. My goal is to get her to bed on time, because she is not a happy camper if she doesn't wake up by herself in the morning, and is she can't eat before Daycare. SHe loves to color with markers (including herself), paint, play with her barbies and dolls. She plays pretend a lot. She love to watch Barney and Dora, and is just a girl through and through. She still loves to dance and put together puzzles. Oh how fast they grow.
Well I hope the New Year brings us great things. I have lots of goals, but I don't like to tell people them, because like so many other people, they kind of fall by the wayside, as the year rolls on. So we just live day to day, and enjoy our family.

TTFN

Lori