Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi, friends! Just a quick update to wish you a happy holiday full of love! We've been celebrating all week with dates with Kate. I took Kate to see Annie at The Capitol Theater on Tuesday night, and it was simply fantastic. We got all dressed up and went out to eat before and all. Of course, getting home at 11:00 made for a late night for Kate, but she seems to have bounced back okay. Tonight, Den is taking her to a Father/Daughter ball at the high school called "Beauty and the Geek." We got her all dressed up tonight, and Daddy even bought her a corsage. They're out to dinner right now enjoying each other's company. No word yet when Mommy and Daddy will go on a date, but hopefully soon :)

I'll start working a weird shift next week, usually 1 pm to 1 am. For a few weeks while one of my friends is on maternity leave, I'll be doing 3 pm to 3 am, but then I'll go back to ones. We'll see how it goes! I'm really excited to no longer be awake at 4 am. YEA!!!

We love you all! Happy Valentine's Day!


This is the normal floor pandemonium at our house when Den decides to stretch out on the floor. For some reason, Cinderella believes that any back at less than a 150 degree angle is a chair. She's hilarious!

Kate and Mommy before the play

Happy Valentine's Day from Kate!

Daddy and the Princess tonight

Isn't she beautiful?

Lousy blogger

Kate and THE PILE

Sebastian (Jim & Trishelle's oldest)

Tyler trying out his bow and arrow at his B-day party

Kate and Maximillian (Jim & Trishelle's little guy)

Uncle Denny and Aunt Judy with Kate

Justin, Kate, Tyler, and Carrie on a horse drawn carriage

in Goldendale on the evening of the Holiday Parade

Our little family on the Christmas Trolley here in Yakima

We even hung out with Santa!

Kate and Grandma Shirley

Our tree (too many ornaments, I know, but I can never choose!)

This was the view out our front door on a mid-December evening.

Not bad, heh?

Kate and Ella on our trip to visit Den in Boise

Olivia and Kate on the same trip. Unfortunately, silly me didn't get any

pictures of Kate with Syd.

Andres, Adrian, and Kate at the hotel pool

Kate and Cinderella ready to go out for Halloween

Hmmm... he's going to KILL me for this, but it's so funny!

Kate on a hayride at the pumpkin patch

Dad and Mom at the pumpkin patch

Lousy, lazy... however you want to put it. I haven't blogged since October 10, 2009. Since then 85 days have passed, Dennis has lived in Boise AGAIN and come home AGAIN (for good), Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's have come and gone, and I have not written a word. Please forgive me.

Since I can't really update you on our entire lives since that point, I'll give you a synopsis. Dennis really was home the last time I blogged, but he soon got notice that there was no job anywhere near here, and if he wanted to continue working for Qwest, he'd better get his tush back to Boise. This stunk. He had pretty much decided to tell them to go to Satan's lair when a couple of the big guys over there called him and told him cryptically that it was in his best interest to go back for a while. Hmm... I don't trust them so much anymore, but my adorable husband found an ounce of faith, so he went. Fortunately, a sweet bachelor friend of his offered him a place to stay, so he went back to Ideeho for a few weeks. He was offered a voluntary severance package, signed his life away, and moved back home. What a mess. So, we have our hubby and daddy back. The house is back to it's messy normal when a man's around, and we are all happy (except the floors, which are screaming from the extra clothing weight as Den leaves his stuff next to his bed. I made a really good decision this move and put his side of the bed away from the door, where I cannot routinely see his pile of dirty clothing. This makes me slightly less insane than otherwise.)

We had a happy Thanksgiving in Goldendale with the entire Nygaard clan. If you all know them, then you're totally aware that I come by my kooky personality honestly. These are not normal people, but by golly, I sure love each and every one of them. It was especially fun to see my youngest cousin, Saylor, and my cousin Andy's daughter, Angelina. Saylor is getting to be a little lady, and I am so proud of who she is! Angelina is a beautiful 2 year old with impish dimples and only a hint of her daddy's wild side. I'm simply in love!

We spent Christmas with my family in Goldendale early and then came home for the real day. Dad and Mom came up on Christmas Eve, and we had a party with them, Mom Herreid, Uncle Denny and Aunt Judy, and Jim and Trishelle, her dad, and their boys.

Christmas morning was craziness as usual with lots of Kate spoiling. The kid positively reeks of rotteness, but she's so cute and sweet we can get past it. She has now had her two weeks off, mostly with Daddy since I was working, and she is ready to get back to school tomorrow. Since she wouldn't go to sleep tonight, I'm hoping she doesn't drive her teacher nuts tomorrow.

Den is getting things done around here... fixing our falling apart house, getting the car work done, and looking for a job. He may have some contract work coming up at Lockheed Martin soon, but he'll also be looking for something more permanent. This is the longest he's been off work in over 20 years, so he's enjoying his little vacation.

I, on the other hand, am getting nothing done at home. I started working nights on the 22nd, and I've decided that no woman should be allowed to have a baby after 10 pm. This 3 am stuff is more suited to an 18-year-old who has no business helping women deliver babies. Therefore, I think I'll take it up with Obama. He should have compassion on us poor old labor nurses who are nodding off while reading steamy novels in the wee hours of the morning between visits to their pained and weary patients. We must pass a bill about this! There are many better things to do during the night... like sleep. Thank goodness for sleeping pills, ear plugs, and eye shades is all I have to say.

Okay, enough of my silliness, and I really should go to bed. However, sleeping at 11:44 is not a habit at this point, so I should happily nod off around 7:30 am. Joy. Here are some pictures for your visual enjoyment (or not).

Happy New Year!!!

P.S. I cut off my hair again today and do solemnly swear never to grow it out again. I HATE my hair long. Please remind me of this the next time I mention it.

Dennis is home!

Kate and Brock in the fort they made for their sleepover tonight
(Yes, the dog is wearing a T-shirt, and don't bug me about it :)

Kate and her daddy play thumb war with the

sumo wrestlers Den brought her from Boise

I can happily say we are a complete family living under one roof again! I drove over to Boise on the 1st in Den's mom's truck... what a fun rig to drive... and brought him home on the 2nd. It's been wonderful to have him here, especially now that everything got unpacked today, and the house looks back to some semblance of normal. (Is semblance a real word?) Life is certainly not normal, but it's easier now that we're together.

Although Den had been told he had a job in Yakima, he was told on the Wednesday before he moved that the union wouldn't accept his transfer. Lovely. Anyway, to make a very long, frustrating story short, he is currently a Boise technician on loan to Pasco for six months. After that, we don't know what the heck is going to happen. Pasco is part of the Tri-Cities, and it takes him about an hour and a half to get there and another hour and a half to get home... although this week he's had two nights with serious accidents on the freeway, leaving him a little stranded and a lot late. We're really frustrated with it, but we're making it through. Childcare is the biggest issue right now, because once I start working nights, no daycare opens early enough for him to drop Kate off before he leaves and before I get home from work. We're working on having someone come to the house those three mornings a week, but we haven't got anything set yet. Pray, please!!!! On top of being a man on loan, Den has discovered that none of the technologies he specializes in are here in this part of Washington, so he's bound to get a little bored here soon. We're hoping some new stuff will be coming here within the next few years so he can use his brain again!

Kate's doing great for the most part. School is going well, I think. She's happy and has great friends. She really misses the ones we left behind in Boise, though.

It's a different world here as far as parents in the classroom. I'm not needed as I have been in the past, and it's hard to not know the kids she goes to school with. As my schedule gets more set, I'm going to try to push my way in there once every other week or so just so we know what's going on in there.

Our awesome neighbor, Amy, came down this afternoon and cut our hair and colored mine. It's so fun to have real color (not just something I mixed up out of a box from the grocery store!) I've cut most of my hair off again, but it's not short like before. I determined it's really hard to have hair in your face while trying to place a urinary catheter in a laboring mommy, so I chopped it off. Too much info, I know, but that's the reality of my life!

Things are really good at work. I've gone through a rough period of adjusting to taking two patients at a time. Kind of had to mourn the kind of nursing I'm used to giving to my patients and accept that it's just really different here. I can only do the best I can do, and I'll continue to give 110% while I'm there. I'm just getting accustomed to the fact that it is how it is. Since I've gotten over my slump, I'm enjoying it and still loving the people I work with. I think most L&D nurses are just nice people. I'm sure now that I've said that, some labor nurse will kill her husband and adorable children while they sleep, and we'll all hear it on the news.

Right now, I need to be cleaning the house, entering receipts in Microsoft Money, finishing this great book I'm reading, or entertaining my youngun and her handsome guest. Despite all of this, I am lazily sitting at the computer typing about our silly life and listening to said handsome guest obnoxiously and endearingly belch in the living room. Needless to say, our daughter is enamored!

The kids want to watch Goosebumps to "get the creeps," so I'm off to read in my big fat chair under my snuggly purple blanket.

Sleep well, my friends!

Cinderella Loves the Bible

I just have to write and tell you about our highly spiritual dog. She so loves God's Word that she proceeded to devour it in just over nine hours while I was gone at work. Growing up in a Christian home, I learned never to treat a Bible disrespectfully. I never sat a water glass on top of one or put it in a place it could be damaged. Today, as I picked up peices of Job's flesh and what I believe may have been the thorn in Paul's side, I begged God's forgiveness at my lack of respect. Of course, I had little idea when I put my well-loved chronological Bible in a Year on the arm of the chair this morning that Cindy was a Christian, let alone a hungry, Bible-eating one. Oh, well. Life goes on, and I think I can still read September through November. There's a large chunk out of November (Paul's thorn, you see), so I may have to purchase a new one then. Alas... God still loves me, and Cindy may make it to Heaven yet.

As for other ventures in life, I adore my new job. I hate orientation, simply because it's humbling to know so little, but that is good for me. The people I work with are fantastic, welcoming, and good at their jobs, and the population here is wonderful. There are so many Spanish-speaking only women, so I'm trying to catch on as I go. I did say, "Ten minutes, more or less" today without any help, and the poor prego senora actually understood me! These women are so gracious and never seem to be frustrated by my lack of ability to understand them. I just adore their sweet natures. For now, I'm working Monday through Friday 7-3:30. I'm really looking forward to getting back to my three 12s, but I'm not sure when that will happen in the orientation process. It's really hard to get up at 5:30 every morning after my fairly lazy summer off.

Kate seems to be blending in here really well. She's making lots of friends at school and still likes her teacher most days. She's started daycare in the mornings since I'm going to work so early. (Thanks for getting up at the butt crack of dawn for us, Deena!) Kate has also started getting to sleep easier, which I attribute to getting her up so early every morning.

Den will be here in TWO WEEKS!!!! We are so excited. It's gone a lot faster than I thought it would so far, so I hope these last couple of weeks don't drag on and on. Plus, I learned there are a few things I can handle around the house, which honestly, I never thought possible. For those of you who don't know, my mom has NEVER pumped her own gasoline, so I come by my spoiled nature honestly. Men are just supposed to do those things, and I'm supposed to clean the house and make babies. The National Feminist Association is currently plotting my assasination.

Alright, I'm off to bed, which currently has clean sheets. YEA!!

Our Interesting Weekend

I'm too tired for wit tonight, so you'll just have to put up with my normal, boring self. Sorry!

I flew to Boise on Thursday... it was a long day, since I had to hop three planes to do it! That's the last time I'll wait until the last minute to buy tickets, I tell ya. It was wonderful to see Den, though, and I also got to have a few minutes with a few of my friends for lunch on Friday. Thanks to Grammy Nygaard for staying with Kate so she could stay in Yakima and go to school! Dennis and I got home late Friday, and Kate sat on her daddy's lap with her arms around him and cried for about 10 minutes. It was precious.

Saturday was supposed to be about lounging around together as a family, but then life happened. Rusty had not been feeling very well while I was gone, so Grandma Shirley took him to the vet. They thought he had an infection and gave him some antibiotics. When he wasn't feeling tons better early Saturday afternoon, I spent a few minutes on the floor with him and discovered a nasty abscess underneath his right armpit. So, we ended up spending the afternoon at the emergency vet spending a lot of money we don't have to learn that he'd most likely been bitten by a black widow or a brown recluse. He's doing a bit better now after some sub q fluids and a day of strong antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. We're also dressing his ouchie regularly and making him wear Kate's t-shirts to protect it. He's still not himself, really lazy and not moving very well. I'm pretty sure he still has a high fever. But, he is eating and drinking and peeing today, so we're hopeful!

We had an amazing BBQ last night at Mom's. Jim and Trishelle and the kids were there too. It is so nice to all be together again!

Kate even went to sleep really easy last night (YEA), but the she woke up throwing up at 10 and puked for the rest of the night. It was a blast... washer and dryer running all night and pretty much no sleep. The poor kid was so miserable. Den and I tag-teamed and both slept on and off. Kate didn't get much at all. We had a little lunch planned for Dad's 60th today, but that got nixed, obviously! Kate was feeling well enough this evening that we went to dinner with Uncle Denny and Aunt Judy. She didn't eat much and still doesn't feel perfect, but at least none of the rest of us are puking!

So, that is the extent of our special weekend together as a family. Not exactly as planned, but there was a lot of "togetherness." Den will head back to Boise tomorrow, and we'll plan one more weekend like this before he comes home in early October.

I hope your long weekend is going a little more smoothly! Happy Labor Day!

New pictures

I have yet to figure out how to get these things in here in order, so they're a little haphazard. Hope you enjoy them anyway!



Kate at her first day of 2nd Grade

Posing with Grammie and the new dog, Cindy

(short for Cinderella, poor girl!)

Kate and Cinderella

All dressed and ready to go!

Our purple bedroom. Love it!

The kitchen with OUR stuff in it!

Living room (front door is just to the left)

Living room - what you see when you walk in

Living room, back toward the front door

Our little clown at the Klickitat County Fair

Justin, Tyler, and Kate were in the parade!

Home Sweet Home

Currently, there are four children in my daughter's closet. The oldest, my nephew, Justin, is telling his little brother, Tyler, his cousin, Kate, and the new neighborhood friend, Brock, a terrifying story. Kate has come screaming from the room several times already. We have been to the library, Target, and Burger King today.

The move went beautifully really. We had lots of help on both sides, and we actually had the moving van for only about 30 hours. Considering we had to drive 6.5 hours and sleep during that time, I figure we did okay! Dad Nygaard and Mom Herreid drove over to Kuna to help us on Thursday. We loaded on Friday with our wonderful friends (never mind you stinky ones :), and we drove over Friday afternoon. Uncle Ron, Uncle Denny and Jim were all here to help us unload. My dad spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday fixing and organizing stuff and went home to Goldendale on Sunday. Den headed back hom on Monday after he and his mom did LOTS of small repair projects in the house. Mom Nygaard was here for a few days to help me unpack, and then Carrie came up yesterday to bring me the old china cabinet. She stayed a while to help me hang pictures, so I can say the house is officially all put together now.

I kept Justin and Tyler for last night and tonight until we go down to G-dale for the fair tomorrow. This was the last opportunity for a visit before school started, so we decided to take advantage of it. I had enough toothbrushes for them, but boys underwear is hard to come by at my house, so I'm doing covert laundry during the night!

We're doing the best we can with the house. It's got character and is cute in areas. It has a great living room and kitchen. Unfortunately, it's been cheaply patched up over the years, and there are a lot of small problems that add up. We have a year lease, and we're not sure what we'll do at that point. We'll see, I guess! I'm certainly not looking forward to this moving thing again!

We've already met some of our new neighbors. The ones just next door are amazing, and they have an only child who's seven and in Kate's class!!! His name is Brock, and he is a great kid. We've been spending lots of time with him lately, and I feel good that Kate will already have a good buddy at school.

Lame post, I know, but the kids want to watch the rest of the Pokemon movie, and I am too worn out to resist. How do people parent boys? I simply haven't figured it out. They are cute, but they are loud and energetic and cause extreme adult fatigue!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!