Pictures!

So I keep looking at my blog thinking, ok, I am the most boring person on earth if I can't write a blog more than once a month! So I'm cheating and putting pictures up with a recap of the last few weeks and calling it a blog.

This is Logan's first Halloween costume. He handled it ok for these pictures, but a few weeks later on Halloween, yeah, not such a fan. I think he looks adorable, but then again, I am his mother.



Dave tried to get Logan in the spirit of throwing leaves but Logan wasn't real sure about it.
Grandma Hillier came with Lisa when we got our pictures done and Lisa had her "assistant" hold Logan while we took a few shots of Dave and I. I love the effects she added to this one.
So we tried this, and it wasn't a huge hit. If Logan looks like he is about to scream, he is.











Dave went to Colorado the first week in November and I started coming down with a cold the day before he got back. I was so glad he and his dad decided to come home early because I was miserable and trying to take care of Logan was hard! So I started feeling crummy on the 8th and was just starting to feel better when Dave, Logan and I went for a walk at the Canyon Park on the 18th. When we got home I started feeling crappy and the next thing I knew, Logan and I were both sick! Having a baby get sick is the WORST. You can't do anything for them, you don't know what is wrong or how best to help, and you can't give them anything for it really. Then you have to decide when/if to take him to the doctor. It was not fun. We are both just now getting over it, after a few days off work for me and a few days home from the babysitter with Logan. I am fortunate now that Dave has some time off that he can stay home and spend time with Logan and minimize his germ exposure for a few weeks!

Something else exciting happened for us this month. I went to the babysitter's house on the 8th to feed Logan on my lunch hour and she said, "Are you ready for your heart to be broken?" I knew he had reached some milestone that took him further from the tiny little 7 pounder I brought home from the hospital. She pulled down his lip and showed me a little bright shiny tooth breaking through his gums! It was exciting and fun, but it is also sad in a way. My little toothless grin now had a tooth. He got his second tooth on the 20th. Teething is hard, but it is cute to watch him try to figure out what those little sharp things are in his mouth. He just keeps sticking his tongue out all the time. I would love to post a picture, but he isn't about to let me see them for long enough to get a picture.

So, there's my blog. Hopefully my next one will be sooner, and more interesting. (sooner?)

Tagged

So after giving Lisa a hard time about not tagging me, I guess I better get on the ball and respond to her tag. I've been trying all weekend to think of eight quirky things and can only think of one. Not because I don't have a million, but because apparently it's true what they say that you think you are normal and everyone else is quirky. But I bet as I start to write the ideas will probably overwhelm me and I'll have to choose 8 from the 482 that come to mind...

1. I do weird math. This is the one I've been thinking of and let me explain. When I'm driving somewhere that is farther than say, to Wal-Mart, I calculate just how long it will take me. For example, if I am going to Hurricane, I know that the Hurricane exit is Exit 27. If I am at mile marker 57 and I am driving 80 mph and it is 7:32 p.m., I figure it will be 7:54 p.m. when I get off the Hurricane exit. Somehow in my head I do the math and figure it will take me 22 minutes to go the 30 miles. Unfortunately I'm usually too busy exiting the freeway to look to see if I am right. I'm doubftul I ever am though - math was never my strong point.

2. I never fill my car up. This one is for Dave. He got irritated with me again on Sunday. I knew we were going to Hurricane for Sunday dinner, yet when we get in the car, it is down below a quarter of a tank. He said, You should have known. I said I did know, and tried a few lame excuses before finally saying, "This is a quirky thing of mine you're going to have to deal with, I'm sorry." So there. #2 wasn't so hard, let's see about #3.

3. I over-research EVERYTHING and usually end up doing something spontaneous anyway. I used to have TONS of free time at work and I would spend hours researching everything from car seats to different types of epidurals to most recently baby walkers. I do this in order to make the most informed decision possible. Then I got the car seat that was the cutest. As for the epidural? I would have taken a club over the head - I didn't care as long as I didn't feel anymore. The baby walker? Bought the first one I saw in Wal-Mart. I still research everything, but don't have as much time to do it, which is good because it appears to be a waste of time anyway.

4. I HATE rubberbands with a passion.

5. My morning routine is incredibly repetitive. I literally do the exact same thing every single day in the exact same order, from the way I wash my hair to which eye I put eyeshadow on first. It's freaky really.

6. I'm scared of prairie dogs. We live in the land of the prairie dogs here in Cedar and to be honest, as cute as they are, they terrify me. It started when I was working for the Forest Service and we drove our truck on a road that was literally lined with hundreds of these animals and they all stood near their holes and stared at us as we drove by. Someone mentioned that they carry the plague. I have been convinced ever since that they are super-intelligent and had our truck broken down, they would have dragged us all into their holes to never be heard from again. Wow. This list is making me sound like a real psycho!

7. I love to watch Food Network. There that should make me look a little more normal...

8. I decided last night that my greatest accomplishment every day is making Logan laugh. No matter how many reports I type, how good my dinner might turn out, or how clean my house is, having that kid laugh at me is the most satisfying feeling I've ever had.

The Magic Bus

Ever since Logan came into this world we have had to deal with a problem we never really expected, sibling rivalry. No, Dave and I don’t have any other children that we weren’t aware of that suddenly showed up on our doorstep – we have a dog. Yes, the dog. Toby got used to being an “only child” in our family. Now that Logan is here, he has been pushed to the back burner. I am ashamed to say that some days, when Dave is on a fire, I open the back door only to throw some food at him before I shut it and lock it for the night.

All of this brings me to why I was standing at Cal-Ranch this morning at 7:15. Toby has rebelled. He has been caught by the dog catcher twice, and after spending the money to spring him, they told me I have to pretty much get him fixed, or else. Or else what, they didn't say but I didn't want to find out. So they tell me about this "Big Fix" bus that comes around every month or so to Cal Ranch and you take your dog there and they fix them for cheap.

Let me tell you, it's not exactly worth it.

Dave tried last month. The lady at the pound said to go early. They start taking people in at 8 so he went at 7:45. Ha! No way buddy. So this month I was going. I got a babysitter for Logan for 7:00 a.m. Luckily my possibly future sister-in-law said she'd do it. So bright and early Toby and I went for a ride. I got there at 7:15 and there was already a line! Unfortunately I forgot my coat and the thermometer in the truck read a comfortable 48*. There were people there in parkas! So the bus pulls up - but nowhere near to where our line had formed. Everyone looked at each other for a minute wondering if our social conscience would rule, or our animal instincts. Only one woman ran and we all yelled at her to stay in line. Then the waiting began. At around 8:30 or so they started handing out papers. These papers are GOLD. If you don't get one, you are out of luck for another month. This just is NOT an option for me because I have to go to court and pay the dog's ticket by the 23rd. I HAVE to get in TODAY.

Well needless to say I got a paper. I was in and breathed a sigh of relief. After you get this paper and fill it out (hard to do with your dog dragging you all over the parking lot), you go stand back in line and wait for them to take your dog into the magic bus. Well, they don't start taking dogs in at 8. I looked at my phone. It was 7:33. Are you kidding?? Fortunately I wasn't the only person there with a psycho dog. There was one other dog that was notably psycho - and she and her owner happened to be in line next to us. How nice! As we struggled with our dogs for an hour we envied the pet owners that had little cute cats in little cute carriers, and especially envied the dog owners whose dogs were waiting patiently - looking around like they had done this a million times and it was no big deal. I did more than envy these owners, I stared in disbelief. I don't think I have ever owned an animal that would sit relaxed next to me while there were 49 other animals in line in a strange place. These owners stared back at me in disbelief as my dog gagged and choked himself trying to get away from me for the entire hour we waited. We all sat staring at each other, and laughing at the chumps who showed up with their animals at 5 minutes to 8 expecting to get it. HA! In your dreams people. So the lucky 50 with papers stared and laughed until it was our animal's turn to go to the magic bus. Finally it was Toby's turn and I was more than happy to be rid of him for a while.

At 6:00p.m. I returned to pick up my dog. I was excited for this part. I envisioned him being so sedated I had to have someone help me put him in the truck. I even thought about taking the car so I wouldn't have to lift him so far. I stood in line again while one by one the other pets and their owners were reunited. Just like I pictured, the dogs stumbled down the stairs with dopey eyes and walked gingerly to their waiting rides. Then it was my turn. The door opened and out came a black flash, dragging the veterinarian's assistant down the stairs behind him. What?! Where is my sedated dog? Didn't you give him anything? Hello? As the assistant tried to explain how to put his e-collar on and how to give him his medication I was constantly turning circles to avoid being wrapped up in the leash Cruella DeVille style. The owners behind me laughed. I'm sure they laughed even harder as I was dragged to our truck yelling back in the general area of the magic bus "Wasn't this supposed to calm him down?!" We got home and I had to help my little patient out of the truck as his adrenaline rush from being released from that horrible bus had left him scared of heights. Luckily my dad was there watching Logan and helped me put the e-collar on him. We got it on and I set Toby up in the garage to spend the night.

This is the best part of my day. Toby was not doing well with the e-collar. For some reason it made him act blind. He could still see straight ahead of him, but he wandered around like he had his eyes completely shut. He would run into things and the e-collar would get stuck on boxes and the like in the garage and he would just stand there until I would come to help him. Meanwhile, I had a baby to take care of so I put a storage container in front of the garage door so I could leave it open to listen to him, knowing he wouldn't dare try to jump it as he was obviously blind. He did ok, just bumbling around for an hour or two until I heard a commotion that lasted longer than the normal bump, unstick, walk around, bump, pattern that I had been hearing. I got up to see what he had done and saw him sitting, quite content, on the fourwheeler. He was sitting backwards, as if riding behind someone and watching the world go by. I laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants and grabbed my phone. My real camera isn't working at the moment and it is truly a shame. It still makes me laugh even to think about it, and the picture just makes me end up snorting out loud, resulting in strange looks from anyone who happens to be nearby.

This post is long enough, but I just had to share. If you ever need an animal fixed, the magic bus just may be the way to go if you need a little more excitement in your life.

Eater as in Gator

So here I am, joining the blog world. I do it knowing that if by chance my husband ever reads it, he is going to think to himself "Doesn't she have better things to do, like, say, cleaning the bathroom?" But I don't care. Today I have come to the realization that as much as I'd like to be one of "those people" with an ever-immaculate house, I will never be one. Instead, I will be one of "those people" who types on a blog that perhaps two people will read, while in the meantime my house goes uncleaned. However I like to think that I am more sane than those who have ever-immaculate houses. A little mess keeps you grounded, not to mention the fact that if I spent every moment that Logan is sleeping cleaning, I would NOT be a happy person, and that is more important than a clean house.



So why V as in Victor and Eater as in Gator? Because while it seems strange, it is something I say a lot. It usually goes something like this:



I walk up the pharmacy counter at Wal-Mart.

Them: Last name?

Me: Veater.

Them: Date of Birth?

Me: I say my birthday...

(long pause here....)

Them: Can you spell your last name for me?

Me: V-E-A-T-E-R

Them: (under their breath as they type) B-E-A-T-E-R

Me: No, it's Veater (I try to emphasize the V sound)

(another long pause....)

Them: V-A-D-E-R?

(by this time I'm wanting to scream but I politely say instead...)

Me: V as in Victor, E-A-T-E-R.

Them: Date of birth?



Ah! Don't get me started on people I have to do this with over the phone. It doesn't help that this particular branch of the family pronounces their last name wrong. Veater. Should be pronounced like Beater, as in Harry Potter, right? Wrong. V as in Victor, eater as in gator.

And no, we are not related to Darth. That's V as in Victor, Ader as in, well, ader, you get it.