Fun Father’s Day!!

So I’m not the best at posting blogs the SAME DAY that things happen. I’ll work on it.

Anyway, we had a wonderful Father’s Day!! I helped Adam ‘sign’ his name to Brian’s card. Then he proudly carried in the gifts we got for Brian. One of them is a large wall calendar that has a photo collage of Brian and Adam. It turned out pretty cute! We got showered and hit the road for the Pancake House! It was a beautiful morning, so we sat outside to eat. After our yummy (as always!) breakfast, we ran a bunch of errands….grocery store, target, gas/car wash, and of course a ‘bou stop!

We got home and the boys mowed the lawn while I worked on some chores inside the house. Adam went down for his nap after lunch, then Brian drove over by Farmington to pick out a couple of large trees to have transplanted to our yard! It will be SO great to have a couple larger trees back there to provide a little shade and a little privacy.

As soon as Adam woke up, we were off to the lake! We packed some sandwiches to eat on the boat and were so excited to get on the water on such a gorgeous day! We got the boat in the water and I heard Brian start the engine as I drove the truck out of the water and into a parking spot. When I got to the shore I was expecting to see Brian there waiting for me, but he looked stranded and was shaking his head. Crap. “I can’t steer it!” The motor would not turn via the steering wheel or manpower. One of Brian’s fishing buddies was also on the lake with his family. Brian called him and he cruised over to see if he could help fix it. Nope. So we loaded the boat back onto the trailer and I was completely bummed. Brian’s friend offered to take us on their boat for a while, so we were able to cruise around. Brian took Adam on the tube behind the boat. It didn’t work out too well, because the tube was tilted back so far.

Here they are when they’re done tubing: (My pic of them actually ON the tube didn’t load correctly)

We decided to head to the park in Chaska to have our picnic. We had also packed Adam’s fishing pole with the intent of letting him fish off the boat. So we ate in the park, then went fishing for sunnies. I think there were more there than the last time! We were feeding them Cheetos and it was amazing to watch a zillion fish swarm around one little Cheeto! I’ll post some pics:

Here are 3 groups around 3 Cheetos. They’re nuts!

After the park it was bath and bed for Adam and hanging out time for Mom and Dad. It really was a great day!!

I’d like to wish a Happy Father’s Day again to Brian and to my Dad! You guys are both so amazing and so loved!

On a completely different note and should probably be in its own entry…Yesterday the nurses authorized an open-ended strike. This doesn’t mean that a strike is going to happen right away, however I’m not all that optimistic that negotiations will go well on Thursday and that a strike will be the direction we will be headed. The two sides are not seeing eye to eye, so who knows how long this will all drag out! Lucky for me, I have a massage scheduled with Ben (he’s AWESOME!) tomorrow evening, so that will be fabulous!

Stay Tuned!

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Here we go

We (the nurses) received word tonight that we will be voting on the 21st on whether or not to authorize an open ended strike. I’m not excited. I’ve decided to deal with this stress tonight by curling up with some Bud Light Lime and the Bachelorette on the DVR!

On a cute note….Adam and I went to Target today to get a few things and we picked out a new back pack for him. It has Buzz and Woody from the Toy Story movies on it and Adam loves it! He wore it through the store and all evening at home.  Man I love that kid!

Here he is playing on the deck and wearing his back pack

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Strike & stuff

It’s Saturday night and Adam is tucked into bed. Brian is doing a little work and I’m watching my favorite summer show: So You Think You Can Dance!!

Thursday was the one day strike for the nurses. It was interesting to say the least. I felt lucky because it was my scheduled day off. It helped to lessen the guilt….a little. It was still really strange to be at the hospital with so many of my coworkers outside knowing that inside were strangers taking care of the patients we are so protective of. We were hoping everything was going ok for them and they were being well cared for.

Outside, I spent about 3 1/2 hours on the picket line. I had very mixed emotions throughout my time there. I wanted something to actually be accomplished and for the hospitals to take notice that the nurses are serious.  I was annoyed at some of the games being played by some of the strikers. I wanted to cry because I couldn’t believe this day had actually come. I wondered what was going to happen next and how much more stress this would bring into my life.

As of tonight, we have no more answers. No more scheduled negotiations and it sounds like our patients weren’t cared for how they deserve to be and normally are on our unit. I am frustrated and just want this all figured out.

I worked 12 hour night shifts on Friday and Saturday. I got to hang out with my boys this afternoon and evening, so I’m thrilled about that! We played in the backyard, went out for supper, and then to the park. I gave Adam a bath and we all watched one of his favorite shows, The Letter Factory, before we tucked him in.

Tomorrow starts another week of work and life! Have a great night!!

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This and That

It’s Sunday evening. Brian is home with me! He fished the last 2 nights, so he’s pretty exhausted.

We had a pretty low key weekend. We mostly just hung out and did chores around the house and ran some errands.

We’ve started to work on potty training a little more. Adam is showing more interest and actually wants to sit on the potty. He has yet to go though! He went a few times about a year ago, then completely shunned the idea. We’ll see how this goes. Obviously, we have never potty trained a child before so we’re hoping it works. We’ll keep you updated.

In other news, my nurses’ union has authorized a one day strike that will occur this coming Thursday. There were a couple days of negotiations last week in an effort to avoid the strike but nothing was accomplished. I have very mixed emotions about the whole process but don’t want to share in such a public forum. I’m just hoping everything works out….and SOON! I’m so sick of the stress and dealing with all this.

On a happier note, Adam has mastered his puzzles! We can now spread out all 24 pieces of one of his puzzles and he will put it all together all by himself! He’s so proud and we’re so impressed! I think we need to buy him some more for a new challenge!

I can’t end without posting a picture, so here is Adam talking on the phone to Brian the other night. Brian was on his way home from Iowa and knew he wouldn’t make it home to tuck Adam in with me, so he called to say good night. They had the cutest conversation!

Well, it’s time to fold the laundry! Have a great week!

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Great Finish to our Weekend!

Now it’s Tuesday night and we’ve had a nice couple days!

Yesterday was a gorgeous morning, so we went to the park in Chaska and caught some sun fish. Adam got quite a few and had a blast. I snapped some great photos of my boys:

We put Adam down for his nap, then Brian and I tried to paint the deck. Of course, on a day when we were hoping he would actually take a long nap (sometimes he sleeps for 3 hours, but always at least 2), he woke up after about an hour and 45 minutes. No, we weren’t done with the deck, but Adam was happy to play in the yard and “help” us out! We got that project done and it looks so much better! We got cleaned up and grabbed some supper and Brian went out on another fishing excursion. He didn’t have any luck last night, but had fun hanging out with his buddies.

Today, Brian had the day off (I didn’t realize that when I made the daycare schedule, so Adam was scheduled to go since I was also scheduled to work day shift!). The hospital called this morning and asked if I wanted the day off, so I took them up on that offer! Since Adam was at daycare, Brian and I decided to head to ValleyFair! We had a blast…until the rain came. The weather guys had said this morning that the rain wouldn’t move in until after 4 which would be perfect since we had to pick up Adam by 5. They shut the rides down about 1:15! We sat in our car for a while hoping the rain would pass and they would let us back on the rides, but no such luck. Oh well. We ran a couple errands, then picked up the little man.

Tonight I watched in amazement as Adam worked on puzzles. He has three 24piece puzzles that he loves. He has become more and more independent with them and is almost able to put them all together without any help! He is so patient with them and just keeps trying until they work. He’s so cool.

So tomorrow it’s back to work for both of us. Brian is getting up early and driving to Iowa for the day. It will be a long day for him!

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