This and that

I love Easter!

Cute....real cute, mama

The fam (minus one)


The night we lost the carpet



This is the latest photo - we do have the last of the roof on and ready for steel this weekend

I thought I'd throw a few pics and updates on here for all that follow along religiously. :) Maci is smiling and cooing away these days - she's so sweet! So many outfits, so little time. As I write this the snow is coming down, no joke. We've got a fire roaring downstairs. Isn't it April?!? Almost May?!? To round out the picture of the morning: "I want a yogurt mama, I want a orange juice mama, where's daddy mama?, I want a milk mama, I give Maci loves". And a whole lotta crying from Maci! Are you feeling it?

The barn pics

I'm sure you've all been waiting for these! We're short on Maci photos (mainly because she was snuggled in the front pack while the barn was going up -- it was cold -- and I was carrying the camera). Landyn is one of Cash's best buddies....and we've discussed an arranged marriage with Teri and Jeff....you'll see lots of pictures of the 2 of them.

Plan to sit around for a few minutes. I couldn't decide between pictures so I threw all of them in -- minus the tub time stuff. Too graphic. :) Enjoy and happy easter!

Happy Truss Day

The trusses are up - we have what looks like a real barn....minus the walls and actual roof. Okay - it looks like potential for a real building. I love it! I have decided to hold off on barn cats (for those of you that started checking the give away section in the paper -- don't EVER pay for a cat!). It seems like every morning I see a different cat running across the road -- I may as well just entice a neighbor cat over every once in awhile to kill a mouse or two. We haven't seen very many mice, but you can never be too careful with those little turds. And speaking of turds -- well, kind of -- Cash informed me on the ride home tonight that had a 'little tooter', then when I was laughing too hard to tell him to say excuse me, he went on to inform me multiple times and much louder, 'I farted, mama'. Holy crap is it ever fun to be a mom -- there is never a dull moment, that's for sure! Maci on the other hand, did not tell me about her tooters or anything else along those lines. Although many of you may believe that she is beyond advanced, we are still in the cooing stage....which just started up ....sorry to disappoint. She has started staring at you and cooing back. And boy can the girl dish out a dirty look. She must have gotten that one from her dad. hahaha Barn and kiddo pics to come -- so many good ones, I don't know where to start!

A real old fashioned barn raisin'

We (and I use this term loosely) have spent the weekend putting up a barn --- of course we still have all day today and it sounds like things are going to be pretty well underway by the end of the day. Jeff has been heading up the show, running Bent Nail Construction with his 2 employees, Brent and JW. Teri and I have been enjoying watching our kids play in horse poop, fill holes that the boys eventually have to dig back out, and snuggling with Maci. I have also spent some time searching for free barn kitties. I need 2 and 1 must be orange. If you hear of any, let me know. I will be adding photos this afternoon of the before and after and of course 1 or 2 of the kiddos living the high life. If I were going to run a daycare it would be an outside only production....the kids have so much fun outside! Of course, we all know that I would have completely lost it if I ever said I wanted to run a daycare, so we can throw that idea out now. I suppose I'd better get back to some homework -- how is it I had the entire week to study and write papers and here I sit, in a slight panic about how I'm going to get all of this school work done....and blogging. Sheesh.

Maci Mo

Who doesn't love this expression? And outfit? Thanks Aunt Jody!!! :)

Cash gave out a few words of encouragement to Maci last night. She was doing a little crying....because Cash had covered her head while trying to help with her blanket....but was kind enough to talk her through her hard times..."It's alright Maci Mo". What a sweet little boy. Shortly after this, he not so sweetly told us no and was spending a time out in his room. You can't always be perfect.

Folsom Prison

"I heard a train Mama."

Cash could not get to bed last night. He just couldn't stop singing. We never should have taught him the Folsom Prison Blues. I don't think he went to bed until about 10:30 last night.....he actually went in his room at 8:30. We were stuck in Folsom Prison for a good 2 hours.

On a good note (not that the singing wasn't thoroughly enjoyed) -- Maci slept from 10:30 to 5am last night. I did have to give her half of the bin of formula to make it happen.....but believe me, she wanted it! I guess I just have good eaters....no light weights here....they must get that from me! In the past week I have eaten 2 LARGE boxes of Whoppers. I actually discussed the need for a drive thru candy store with Brent. You heard it here folks, when you see the new drive thru pop up in your town, let me know so I can collect on the idea. Or maybe I'll just have to make an investment and get started before anyone else does. Probably best for me to stick with nursing. :)

I thought I'd share a few more pictures today -- I have a little reprieve from school (or at least I'm taking one day to myself....no school Saturday) after an exam and an assignment completed yesterday. 100% on both....hopefully I can keep up these grades for the next 6 weeks. I can't believe how fast everything has gone by -- Maci will be 4 weeks next Tuesday!

Little Sis

Cash loves his baby sister. He is constantly telling us that he's, "really helpful". He wants to eat meals with her, brush her teeth, and share his D (his tied blankets) with her -- although when he shares his D he's a little forceful about shoving it in her mouth. She takes it well and the fact of the matter is that the girl's gonna have to get tough with a big brother like Cash!

It's picture time!

Maci and family photos. Welcome Little Mac!

Update on false labor

This is the last that you'll have to hear about labor as I really don't care to relive it too many times. Anyhow, remember that night oh so long ago that I ended up in the hospital and got sent home by Nurse Ratchett?? Well....turns out that juice cost us $75. Now I'm really mad that I spilled one and that I didn't get any for the road.

I suppose I did wear a gown and they did use a little gel to put on the monitors on my belly for baby heart rate, etc. Lame. On another note - JW pointed out that we got billed for non sterile supplies for our real labor and delivery. Hmmmm.....shouldn't everything be sterile at a hospital?!? Guess that was my lovely gown and probably because I borrowed a robe to walk around in -- mine never would've fit at that point.

Labor is done and so is discussing it and the hospitals -- my last trip. Whew.

Pictures....yes, they're coming. Don't panic yet.

Maci

Here's a picture of our new little girlie -- this picture was taken right after her first bath at the hospital. We all love her tons (yes, even Cash loves her and gives her tons of kisses and loves).

Calling all short order cooks

I need a 5 am pancake cook. Any takers? It doesn't take much -- just a regular ol' pancake. We've got the batter and the water -- you do the stirring and flipping, don't forget butter and syrup. You might have to explain multiple times that there's already butter and syrup on the pancakes. That's all.

Maci is on the midnight to 5 am shift right now. If we can get her to go to bed (her bed, not Brent's chest on the couch) from about 10 to midnight we'll have it made. Oh, and the early morning cook for you know who. What is it about staying up late that makes a 2 year old want to get up before 5 am?? Aren't kids supposed to sleep more the more you wear them out? I'm not saying I'm the most versed parent, but I'm sure I saw that theory on TV once....or read it in a magazine....or maybe I just made it up to make myself believe that I was going to get to sleep in after a long night. Guess not all theories apply to all kids or at least not mine.

I'm not stalling on pictures -- I just needed to put a little tidbit in about my 4:30 am morning today. This blog is meant to allow you a little insight into the Olson family life -- it's to save all of you the early morning phone call: "Hey, what are you doing. I know it's 3:30am your time, but we're up making pancakes. So....how's it going...oh....you were sleeping?". You're welcome for sparing you all the call. Read on.

Maci Elizabeth Olson

FINALLY! The baby has arrived! We didn't know if we'd have a girl or boy on our hands and were surprised to see a girl after so many boy dreams. I guess 4 boy dreams = girl, 2 boy dreams = boy. We'll add that to the wive's tales for gender prediction.

So Maci.....she was born on 3.1.11 at 4:36 pm, 9 lbs, 21". Nice and healthy!! Yes, we do have pictures, we have lots of pictures, but I'm waiting on a new computer. Ours is about to kick the bucket and I hate the idea of downloading pictures on it just to lose them....so everyone will have to wait until at least Tuesday. On that note -- don't expect much until Thursday because I have 3 quizzes, 1 exam, 1 assignment and 1 paper due this week by Wednesday....a little back log from last week. Maci went to class with me last Friday - I sure hope she was taking notes! We need to catch up big time here. :)

Stay posted -- there will be photos, but until then, you can check out the hospital website (just click on the underlined link) and see her birth photo and stats. Hope everybody is doing well....we sure are!

A pregnant woman at 4am

Don't ever, ever say no to a pregnant woman at 4am. Especially if you're the nurse at the hospital -- the hospital a pregnant woman just rolled into at 4 am after going through 9 hours of contractions...progressively closer, progressively harder -- just like the book says. When a pregnant woman shows up at your hospital bed and asks if you can just go ahead and break her water....break her water and be done with it. It'll be easier on everyone involved. You can only guess how sweet I was when I left. Just guess.

So here I sit (yes, I'm at work) - still pregnant and still mad at that nurse and on call doctor for not just breaking my water. How much closer to do I have to be to popping before someone will just go ahead and make something happen. Well, I'll tell you how close. March 10th. I am being induced on March 10th and I think this kid is going to actually hold out until then. In the meantime, I will continue to be woken up by contractions, getting little to no sleep. I will continue to walk around like the typical pregnant woman, groaning with my hands on my lower back and yelling at anyone who comes near me (yes, this is typical.....I'm sure of it). I will continue to complain about that night in the hospital. And I'll really complain when I get the bill for 1 hour of being told no and drinking 2 little juice cups -- not my idea, I didn't want to touch anything for fear of what it would cost. Did I mention that in my delirious state I managed to spill half of the 2nd one. That'll be a double bill, I'm sure of it.

So....keep watching the blog....a baby is sure to come. It can't stay in there forever. Can it?

Update on the hat - before and after

Here is the same hat that we squeezed onto Cash's head last weekend....back when the hat was bigger and Cash's head was smaller. :)

Does this hat make my head look fat?

We dug through a few baby items this weekend....and he insisted....

Animal buddies

Two buddies. Now....if I only I could have a picture of Bodie (the horse) and Wesley (the golden retriever) this morning. Let me set the stage:

Wesley is plodding along the fenceline (I say plodding because that's what he does....he's a little on the dopey side)...sniffing...eating dog poop (you read that right, yes we do feed them real dog food)....sniffing more. Mika (ol' blacky) is standing further away from the fence keeping a sharp eye on Bodie who's walking the fenceline side by side with Wesley.

Wesley stops to sniff....or eat poop....or contemplate dog things....Bodie leans over the fence and sniffs him. Wesley starts moving again.

Wesley and Bodie do this a few times. Stop, sniff, walk.

The final time: Bodie leans over the fence, sniffs Wesley and bites him right on the butt!

Hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing!

For those of you who are worried about the dog....stop, you shouldn't be....he deserves it.....just kidding - the bite was more of a love bite than anything, Wesley barely seemed to notice. He just jumped a little and started walking and sniffing again.

Hilarious. The highlight of my day.

Pre Superbowl

This one should've gone up pre superbowl, but Brent just found it on his phone. This is Cash and his buddy Landyn (our god daughter) enjoying the Packers/Bears game. TOUCHDOWN!

Bowling

This picture was too cute not to add.

Here we go, that's only a 6 lb ball -- he likes to do it by himself. Although, I'm sure the bowling alley folks would prefer we hold it since he drops it about 3 feet before the lane.

SPARE!!


Watch your fingers...and face.



I could've been Cash's bowling ball.

This weekend has been one of studying and chores. Not much for fun, so I went ahead and posted pictures from last weekend. Makes it look like there's nothing but fun times that happen around here. Cash loved bowling, as he does most things. We managed to get out of there without too much crying or kicking, I think the chocolate shake helped.

Last night we went to a dinner at the neighbor's house. Valentine's day feed. It's probably the best way to go. You get to eat with people that you enjoy, you get your drinks and food for about $25 a piece, there's other kids there so you can eat without holding a child (almost), and you get to go back for seconds of whatever you liked best. Not too shabby.

We've finished our Valentine's cards and cookies for tomorrow and now it's study time. And maybe strawberry shake time. Oh boy, if this kid doesn't come soon I will likely tip the scales at 200. Is it bad to weigh more than your husband? It's bad enough that I have to wear his clothes...........

Who's having a baby??

WE ARE!

No not yet, don't get all excited. We still have 16 days to go.

Moonlighting

Wait a minute....I'm still pregnant....what is going on here??

**This is our friend Jess's baby, Hudson - out for his first visit to work. Cute little guy.

Looks like he's got a good hold on him, that baby's going nowhere! 17 days and counting....if you're counting, but who's counting?

GO PACK GO!!

Well, it's certainly not the best pic....but I don't know that I can take a good picture these days. So here ya go, another belly shot. 22 days and counting. I can't wait....maybe someday I'll be able to wear my jersey again.

Playing Hockey

We've got a little hockey player on our hands! Cash LOVES 'playing hockey', i.e. skating in the hockey rink with his Dad. When he can stand on his own, he can wield a hockey stick, but until then, he's dangerous enough. I'm sure that Brent got more of a workout than he anticipated by skating for an hour with Cash, but I think it was worth it for both of them. All Cash wanted to do was 'get down, play hockey!' so Brent was bent over the whole time, holding him up. Probably would've worked out better if Cash was taller or Brent was shorter! They had a blast and now Cash practices his skating in the living room and tells anyone who'll listen that he's going to play hockey next weekend. I'll give you one guess as to what we're doing this weekend. :) Cash even threw down when we had to leave - yes, there was kicking of feet (with skates still on, you gotta be quick to keep your fingers) and he even pushed at my hands while screaming, 'PLAY HOCKEY!!!'. It was special. Maybe I'll skip out this weekend and miss the screaming fit when they have to go home....you know, I DO have a ton of studying to do! :)

Bellies

I'm not so sure who's is bigger. This is one of the least flattering pictures of me, but it's not all about me anymore, right? Cash sure looks cute! :) And yes, those are Brent's clothes -- and I apologize for the little bit of my belly sticking out. Sheesh -- why did I even post this thing?!?

Bear with me as I try to keep up on this blog. I have enrolled in college yet again and am pursuing my Nursing degree. I have a ways to go and this might not be the best timing, but after much thought I have finally decided that Nursing is something that I will enjoy and that will allow me to spend as much time with my family as possible. I am looking forward to my new adventure and wish Brent lots of luck on his Daddy daycare duties.

5 weeks and counting.

GGO

Rico's xmas present to Cash -- a silly string attack!

Grandma and Grandpa Olson came over on Xmas day and left on New Year's Eve day this year (I guess that was last year). I didn't get a chance to say much about their visit, so I thought I'd add a little since Cash is taking a power nap and Brent is off cutting wood (my how times have changed....). Before I get going though.....have you ever had smoked gouda?!? It is amazing and everyone should try it. It's out of my normal comfort zone when it comes to food, but I tried it the other weekend at our neighbor's house and fell in love. I was a little worried that it might be in the 'don't eat' list of my pregnancy sheet, but turns out it's pasteurized and safe, safe, safe. I LOVE IT! It will become a staple in our home right next to yogurt.

Back to GGO. They arrived with most of Fargo in tow - lots of gifts for Cash and for us. It was Christmas for a good 4 days here! :) We really did have a great time and Cash loved opening all of the gifts, not just his, but everybody's. He's pretty good at opening the packages, then he pulls out whatever he got and says 'open it, open it', plays for a minute and goes back to opening more gifts. Next year I'll wrap boxes.

We were fortunate for GGO to show up when they did since our daycare was shut down for that entire week and both Brent and I had to work. So....they were on Grandma and Grandpa daycare duty. They did a wonderful job and Cash had a great time. He was introduced to Sesame Street and I'm guessing he must have been introduced to Scooby Doo because he keeps talking about watching that and we've never had it on - of course that could be a daycare thing too. Who knows. He refined his tackle football skills, shot some hoops, played with all of his new toys, and begged for yogurt. For those of you who don't know, Cash has a huge yogurt problem. We've found that he will ask for yogurt if he is hungry, sad, tired, grouchy, etc.....it's his go to, right next to fruit snacks. Did I mention that Cash single handedly donated over $60 to breast cancer awareness with all of the yogurt tops we turned in?!? I told you he was a good kid!

With all of the excitement over the holidays, I didn't get a single picture of GGO with Cash. Big Jim managed to find a few and email them my way, so I thought I'd better get those ones up on the blog to prove it actually happened.

On another note, baby #2 is coming along just fine. I asked my midwife at my last appointment if she was absolutely positive that this baby was coming March 1 -- now that Brent and I talk about it, we're thinking it might be March 6, but the date has gone from late Feb. to early March -- you can't rush or necessarily time these things -- anyhow, the answer was yes. I can't believe it, the baby seems like it's sooooo low, but turns out that the reason is not because the baby's ready to make it's debut, but because things are now 'saggy'. Yep, that's what I was told, I'm saggy. Fantastic. Just what a pregnant lady wants to hear -- as if I couldn't have told you that one -- tell....not be told....that's the key to happy pregnant ladies. Don't tell them anything, let them tell themselves!

**Cash did get his hair cut while Grandma and Grandpa Olson were here....it looks a hundred times better than the mop he's sporting in these pics!

Dance Off

I know that this is super blurry and that JW is going to kill me, but I couldn't resist. Turn up your speakers.

Goodbye 2010

Cash's present from Uncle Rico - he loads all of the trucks he can find in the back and then dumps them all out and starts over. Good trick!

Here I sit....New Year's Eve....at Brent's hotel. It was either this or go to bed at 8:30 when Cash did. Lame. I chose to come here and be a bouncer for the night. hahaha I suppose everyone would like me better if I had chosen the latter. Oh well, I thought it might be kind of fun to 'work' with Brent for the night -- although all I've done so far is surf the web and update the blog. I'd get canned if I really worked here, in fact I probably wouldn't get hired. Now that we're hitched, I'll never know - you can't hire your wife no matter how good of a bouncer she is.

Brent's folks made it over on Xmas day.....Cash has had a great week hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Olson -- they've done tons of playing and watching Sesame Street, reading and playing tackle football. Cash can put quite the hit on a person - this is advanced warning to Grandma and Grandpa Hobbs for when you come out for baby time! I don't know if it's such a good thing, but we all think it's funny....of course until he gains another 50 pounds and puts someone to the ground for real. Yikes. We'll have to put a stop to that one soon....very soon.

And....to close out 2010....in the words of Cash, 'Happy Toddy!' (I have no idea how he got that from Happy New Year, but we'll stick with it).

Be warned: If you come to our house for Christmas, Cash will steal your presents.

Cake time!

This is only the beginning of present opening. I hate to see what next year will bring.

Happy Birthday Cash!

Cash turned 2 today! We had a great birthday party (just the 3 of us - with Jim & Jean on a Skype call) - ate some tater tot casserole...a little bit of Shrek cake (I think Cash had too much casserole...or he doesn't like cake)...and a LOT of present opening. I don't know if my heart can take too many more days of this -- we had a little meltdown when the 4 wheeler wouldn't work.

Lesson #1: Open all packages that say 'assembly required', assemble, charge batteries and make sure it works. Slap a bow on it and burn the box. Next year. Lesson #2: Don't get anything for your child that your husband may feel inclined to play with. Example: baseball tee, bat and ball. Turns out both Brent and Cash are highly capable baseball players. We're going to have dents in our walls. Lesson #3: A piggy bank that says Touchdown! means just that -- every time. Cash loves it, we thought it was really cute and had to convince him that this is one football we don't throw. Word from the wise, never have any money saved up in a jar before using a talking piggy bank. A few quarters a day is one thing....5 bucks or so of change is another.

Thanks to all for the wonderful presents, cards, calls and birthday wishes! Cash loves it and so do we. We're glad so many people take such good care of him and send so much love. Oh....and we're really glad for stickers and coloring books. Many times nothing makes him happier. Although you may not know that stickers actually peel up the laminate on dining room tables. Should've put that in my lessons section. Oh well, new furniture for me -- I can't wait for my birthday! hahaha

Ahhhhh, the things you learn as parents. This is stuff that has somehow become a silent rite of passage - much like pregnancy. If anyone has any questions about pregnancy or years 0-2, please feel free to call me....I will give you the entire truth (all of the details, wanted and unwanted) and make sure that you don't have to find things out the hard way as we have. You're welcome. It's my Christmas present to you all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASH!!!

**Pictures to come**

I promised....

Sorry -- gotta turn your head sideways to get the full effect. My video skills are obviously lacking effort.

A second look....

Mornin'!

Good mornin' to all! Hope your Cheerios are as good as mine....

Home stretch

I never thought we'd make it....the 7th inning stretch....the 7th month....the 3rd trimester. Holy crap. This baby making is really a bad set up. I was discussing this the other day with a few coworkers -- don't you think that we could've had a nice set up with eggs or something? Just plop out an egg (yes I know that 'plop' isn't the ideal term here....), put it somewhere nice and warm, sit on it when we have a chance, put it under a heat lamp when we're out and about, wait 21 days and have a baby?!? Who's brilliant idea was this anyway? I think there may be a flaw....9 months....sheesh! Have I ever mentioned that I am not a good pregnant lady? I love my babies and love it when they arrive, but the process of getting there is a totally different story.

Now that I got that out of my system. I had my check up yesterday and everything checked out. Nothing new, nothing exciting -- there's still a baby in there and it's WILD. Fantastic! My theory is wild in the belly = sweet and calm in the real world. Keep your fingers crossed and stop laughing at what you think we're in for.

Cash turned in his official alarm clock duties this morning. I just talked to Brent and he was on his way in to get the little guy up and running. Yesterday was a different story. Cash made sure that we were all getting up at 6:30 - he came in and stood at the end of the bed, sucking his thumb (of course) and said, 'A work?!?'. Yes....we're going to work and thank you alarm clock -- turns out Brent had intention of sleeping in and I didn't have an alarm clock...thank you Cash. What a responsible little guy we have. Guess it's time to line him out with a job or something, huh?!? Moving right along.

We have finally converted to a toddler bed. Cash has done surprisingly well. As with most things, I think that Brent and I were more nervous about the whole thing than Cash was. He's been sleeping on the big boy mats at daycare so we figured, why not?!? Plus....with baby #2 coming, it's likely going to be easier to transition now than to do it when we are in the middle of night feedings and such. How'd we get to be such smart parents? Now....potty training. There's still poop discussions at the house and a few talks of pee, but nothing ground breaking in the world of big boy potty's yet. We'll keep you posted -- I know you want to hear about it. Until then....

Windsor

Brent's dog of 14 years passed away today - he had a great, long life. Lots of birds and lots of good times.