Crazy Weekend

Dave has been working like crazy on his Jeep and I've been trying to get my curriculum rewritten for next year as well as sub lesson plans and working on my library classes. Our Saturday seemed like any other week day for me. I was lonely and wanted to hang out with Dave. So we decided to go down to Primm on Sunday to do some outlet shopping. As we got off the exit Dave said, "did you hear that?" Nope. I didn't. A monster truck roared past us and I thought that was what he was referring to. He said he heard something in the car.

We shopped for a few hours and walked and walked. We are both kind of slow these days. We didn't find much in the way of clothing for Noelle. I got three p-j outfits that I hope I can wear in the hospital to stay comfy. We got a few things at Williams-Sonoma and Dave got new shoes and shorts. Then we found the cutest hot pink chucks for Noey. They were normally $30 but no one was buying the hot pink color so they were marked down. Since Dave bought shoes you could get another pair for half off so her little shoes were only $5! Size 4 was the smallest they had so she's gonna have to grow a bit before she can wear them but either way we were excited.



We were shopped out and decided to head home finally. We got back on the highway and I noticed the battery light was on. We just got a new battery. Then the AC started pumping out hot air. Then the thermostat kept rising...almost maxing out. Holy crap! Jean, NV is about 10 miles north of Primm and 20 miles south of Vegas. There is a correctional facility there and two gas stations as well as a run down casino. Dave said he couldn't and wouldn't stop along the highway. It was over 106 degrees that day and if we stopped there was no way we could guarantee getting the car started again or getting me any kind of shelter from the sun and heat. Dave turned on the heat of all things to try and get the thermostat to come down...it worked. For a bit. Then it rose again. Those were some seriously tense miles as we got the car to Jean watching the thermostat. It made some horrible noise as we got off the exit and when we pulled into the gas station smoke was coming out of the hood and fluid was boiling. I think we are lucky that it didn't catch fire on us! We called AAA and they were on their way to get us. We only had to wait an hour and we could get drinks at the station and go to the bathroom. Dave worked on the car to try and figure out what was wrong.

Finally the AAA tow showed up. He got us loaded and took us north. Dave commented on how strong the AC was in his truck and he says, "Is it working ok for you? This truck just got out of the shop so we are working the kinks out of it." Great, all we need is for the tow truck to break down!! He dropped us off at home to get the Jeep and then we met him at the garage. The bad news, he couldn't get the car off the truck bed. That would be one of those kinks!! We said whatever...let me sign the papers now, get it unloaded and you put the key in the drop box when you get the bed fixed. It was after 6pm at this point and it had been a long day!

Inu is One!

Inu, Inu, Inu. He is such a cute little dude. Well, he's not little. He is certainly the biggest of the three and he is only getting bigger. His paws are huge! He will always be the baby though. His face looks like a baby, he acts like a baby and the other two treat him like a baby! Inu loves his daddy more than anything in this world. They are bonded. He tolerates me holding him but doesn't snuggle with me like he does with dad. Oh, and when I go to kiss him those ears of his go back faster than anything I've seen! He sleeps all the time and can't be bothered to get out of bed in the daytime even if we have visitors. He only gets up when daddy comes home. He is afraid of the washer and dryer and will find a new sleeping place when those are running. He loves to play fetch. He wants nothing to do with treats or people food. He thinks Whiskas cat milk is the nectar of the Gods and he is still trying to nurse on Ninja. Ninja is his security blanket and we don't think at this point in time he is ever going to kick the habit!! It is an enduring little quirk I guess! Inu didn't get any of the first birthday hoopla the other two cats got for their big first birthday. No presents or cake. Is that how it goes with the more kids you have? What do you get a cat who has everything he could ever want or need? Happy Birthday Inu!

"Mmmmmm... Ninja you be tasty!"

Dave's Birthday Celebration!

We celebrated Dave's birthday today. He gets spoiled now in June with Father's Day and a birthday in the same week!

I made him a Stargate cake. I had to try and out do Jabba the Hut from last year! It was quite the project and it took all day long. I just got it done before he came home from work! It was my first time working with fondant and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The Chef Duff's brand from Michael's doesn't taste too bad either, it's just hard to cut through without a really sharp knife!

We took pics before Dave hauled the cake off to work to share with those who would truly appreciate it as well! It wasn't a totally "authentic" Stargate but I did my best!





I got him a 1 terabyte hard drive at Fry's in late May because they were on sale and he was salivating over the display. I still wanted to get him something to open on his birthday so I settled on something else he salivates over, Lego's! It's the anniversary edition of Darth Vader's TIE fighter. He was very excited and put it together in under 40 minutes. I told him when our baby girl comes along I'm going to have to get 2 of everything at Christmas so there is no fighting over parts!

Happy Father's Day!

Dave is going to be a GREAT dad! This little girl will have him wrapped around her finger in no time!

Cord Blood & Tissue Banking

Dave and I have registered our baby girl for cord blood banking and cord tissue banking rather than asking for typical baby things. This is a very important procedure to us. Over 80 diseases are able to be currently treated with the stem cells from the cord blood and the cord tissue stem cells are able to regenerate cartilage, repair tissue damage to organs, treat brain injuries and treat degenerative arthritis (which Dave has) indefinitely as they can keep growing new cells from the tissue.
If any of you would like to donate to our baby's registry here is the link. Type in my name and Nevada and I'm the only one that comes up.

https://www.cbrclients.com/GiftRegistry/FindRegistry.aspx

It is an expensive venture for the collection but the storage is pretty reasonable and we will pay that yearly. Your help would be greatly appreciated to help reduce the collection cost. Donations can be accepted until the due date, October 17th, and then the registry closes and we pay the remaining balance.

http://cordblood.com/pdf/regenpanel.pdf

Thank you so much for your help!

http://cordblood.com/lab/index.asp?fbid=40zfLdI5LnQ

Getting Bigger!

We had our check-up for baby girl's kidneys today. At our appointment in May they said her kidneys were dilated and there were several things that could be causing that. The ultrasound doctor totally freaked me out and told us to come back in a month so he could keep an eye on them. Well, thankfully whatever the issue was it has resolved itself! They said everything looks normal and she weighs in at 1 pound, 1 ounce right now. They didn't state how long she is this time around. They also verified that she a girl for us, twice! I guess they thought we were skeptics! This will be the last ultrasound picture of her if all goes well. No more ultrasounds are scheduled!

Splish, Splash!

With temperatures over 100 degrees here we need some relief. Thankfully, the M Hotel and Casino is just a few blocks away and they only charge locals $10 to swim. The pool is nice. It has lots of ledges to rest against and it's only 3.5 feet deep all around so it's more of a lounging kind of pool than really for swimming. There are very few shaded areas and if you want a cabana with fans and misters you have to shell out the big bucks! The pool is really two pools split down the middle by a walk-way. I heard a rumor that locals can get in free to the over 21 pool from 10am-6pm but you have to be able to tolerate the "club" type atmosphere and DJ blaring.





Ninja was quite freaked out the day we went swimming. At first I thought it was my straw hat so I took it off to try and settle him. Nope, that wasn't it. Then I thought maybe it was my flip flops. Nope. The little dude was upset about my swimsuit. It's got a kaleidescope pattern going on up top and it was wigging him out!! Next time I'll make sure I have my cover-up on before encountering the Ninja!