New Pellet Stove

Last winter, we were often accused of trying to freeze our house guests, or at least give them frostbite while staying with us. Our propane bill was astronomical, and every month, following the heating bill, we went to the thermostat, and turned it down a few degrees. By February we were living in a 64 degree house.

In July, I went into the pellet stove shop and picked out a pellet stove and called my husband demanding that I was NOT going to freeze this winter. He calmly and practically told me that we would save up a buy one later. I am the thrifty 'saver' of the family, so I agreed. I was not impressed when he went to the bank for a loan and bought a car that weekend.

Fast forward to August, I finally got my way and we found a gorgeous pellet stove. It was installed Friday, and we rearranged our living room to accommodate it. I like how the room looks now, and love how warm our house is!

Just out walking the cats

This past year, our cats have made a habit of going on walks with us. It started with Ruby, the momma cat. She would follow us down to the mailboxes, a good quarter mile away. At first we were a little bit paranoid, hoping she wouldn't get run over or run away.

Then once the kitten was grown, both cats would join us for our walks.
Now, the whole family can be out together enjoying autumn...complete with two cats and a baby.

"Just out walking the cat!"

Career Woman

Friday I found a whole new realm of subjects to blog about.

Let me back up. Last year when we moved, I decided to look into substitute teaching. When I was in school, the requirements for substitute teaching were 1) use a copy machine 2) operate a VCR and 3) breathe. Nevada, however, is apparently a bit more refined. You must either have any 4 year college degree, or about 70 credits of college, 6 of which must be education related. I have taken at least 70 credits of college, but only three credits that were education related. So last spring I took three 1-credit classes to fulfill the requirement to get a substitute teachers' license. Then I sent in to the state to get my license.

So now that I have the license, am registered with the local schools and Penelope can be left with Daddy for the day, I am ready to teach!

Last Friday, I got a call to substitute a first grade class. I quickly found a new venue of blogging ideas. I may even have to create another blog dedicated to my substitute teaching escapades.

So I left Daddy and Penelope with diapers, milk and kisses, and drove off to be a career woman for a day.

These first graders were absolutely wild the whole day, and I got several sympathetic looks and "I'm so sorry...that's a tough class" from the other teachers. But all things considered, I had a great time. It was a nice change of pace, and, well, first graders can be hilarious! Some problems we dealt with: 4 girls had fingers that 'hurt', 5 children had stomach aches, 4 were reduced to tears, and one whose family 'couldn't afford' pictures:(. (It was picture day) Pupils were pushed, they were poked, and they slammed each others' heads onto their desks.

Here are some of the things they said:

Girl to boy: "I have a crush on you!"

Boy: "Nu-Uh"

Girl: "Yes I do! So does Riley!"

Boy: Shaking his head, "I'm not gonna trust it...ever"

Boy to another boy: "Are you Chinese boy or Mexican?"

Finally, I will leave you with this fine art and composition by one of the students:

4 weeks and a smile!

Penelope is 4 weeks old today. We have been trying to get her to smile for the last week or so. We have succeeded, but only because our sweet baby talk and silly faces have coincided with her either passing gas or having a bowel movement. But today, we got a true smile. Daddy and her were talking on the couch, and I ran in with the camera in time to see and capture a couple cute smiles on the camera.

Proof she is out-growing her newborn clothes:(

Love this funny picture!

All snug for a nap.

Dr. Winch

The promised Dr. Winch post...

In late January, I decided that a certain monthly occurrence was overdue, and I might be pregnant. I sneakily bought a home pregnancy test from Walmart, and hoped no one I knew would spot me. For some reason I was horrified that someone would find out I was pregnant before the customary 3-month announcement, so I quickly destroyed all of the packaging material. We were leaving for Reno that day, and before picking up Wayne after work, I went to Starbucks for a bit. I pictured a romantic occasion that night in the hotel room, complete with candles and incense, when we would discover we were expecting. However, the test stick was burning a whole in my purse, and I decided I couldn't handle the suspense, and went to use the restroom. As fate would have it, the women's restroom was out of order, and I really did have to go, so I boldly entered the men's room. So it was there in the men's room of Starbucks, that I held up my shaking hand and discovered I was pregnant.

I have veered a bit from the subject, so, back to Dr. Winch. I made an appointment at one of the OB/GYN offices in town. This particular office has three doctors and a midwife. The deal is, you see a different face every time you go in for an appointment, and whichever doctor happens to be on call when you go into labor, delivers your baby. Long story short, it was Dr. Winch that ultimately 'delivered' Penelope.

Just so you have a nice mental picture, Dr. Winch has a striking resemblance to Albert Einstein. He is short and a bit older, with grey hair, grey mustache, and long, wiry grey eyebrows.

Now, since I rotated between doctors, I had about 4-5 appointments with Dr. Winch. My appointments generally lasted 8 and a half minutes, in which Dr. Winch spoke very quickly and never once asked if I had any questions. The first appointment I had with him at 16 weeks went something like this: "Hi Sheena, I'm Dr. Winch, lets see, you haven't had an ultrasound since your first appointment, let's take a look at your baby." He opens the door widely and calls to his assistant to bring in the ultrasound machine. Once the machine is ready, he continues, "Now what do you want, girl or boy? Usually we can't tell this soon, but maybe..." I tell him I don't have a preference for the sex of the child. "Oh, well what will be easier? See you want a boy, boys are much easier, I have four boys, there is no drama, no teen pregnancies, no-Oh! Looks like you're having a boy! Great, I'd say 75% chance it's a boy. OK, see you in four weeks." And he walks out, leaving the door open behind him.

Later, we find out out the little fetus is not a boy, but a girl. At another appointment closer to the birth, Dr. Winch asks if I have thought about names. I said we were considering Penelope. Dr. Winch: "Hmm, well you know what everyone will say, "Penelope Pig", Penelope is just too long. One syllable names are better. See, all my boys are one syllable: John, Zach, Brad, and Nick. Easy to say. OK, see you in two weeks," and is three quarters out the door when I say, "Dr. Winch! I need to ask you about something." He comes back in and I ask him about a problem I had been having. He reaches over, pulls down a paper towel, and writes the name of a medicine I am supposed to take for said problem. "Here, just go get this at CVS." Thanks, I will just bring in this paper towel and find it!

Then, when I am in labor, he comes in the hospital room muttering about how he has three pregnant patients, all ready to deliver at nearly the same time. Apparently it was cramping his style. He then grabs some gloves, and as he is pulling them on, they break open, and he has to get new ones. He they yells a few expletives, and goes on a rant about how "for the amount of money this hospital charges people, you'd think they could buy decent gloves." We had been warned by a nurse that Dr. Winch didn't exactly have good bedside manner (or any for that matter) and that once he yelled at a baby that was having problems entering the world, calling it a "little @$*#." After Penelope's birth, was the aforementioned episode of him yelling at my legs, "I can't do this if you're going to flinch every time I stitch!"

To Dr. Winch's credit, after the birth he was filling out some paperwork and realized I was a week and a two days overdue. He then said something like, "Wow, I didn't realize she was so far overdue. See that's how a delivery should go. Another doctor would have induced her and she would have ended up with a cesarean." Notice how he said 'she' as if I wasn't there, but hey, I'll take that as a compliment coming from him.

Daddy, Penelope, and....Kitty?

We have two cats that are quite jealous of the new squeaky bundle and all of the bundle's accessories that have invaded our home. Wayne enjoys the cats a little more than I do, so typically Wayne will hear one of the cats meowing at the front door and go let it inside. About two minutes later, the cat is spotted by me, and I go to the back door and let it out. This then happens with the other cat. On weekends when Wayne is home, this happens all day long.

Wayne feels sorry for them and likes to pet them, and I get annoyed by their pestering, their hair, and their mice. Yes, they are like many other cats who must stick their tails in the air and parade past carrying their trophy mice. Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are good mousers. I have a strong aversion to mice. However, Wayne seems to be unable to keep the cats out when they are carrying around a mouse. He knows about my aversion to mice, so tries quietly to coax them to the door. "Hey, kitty, come here kitty, no, bring your mouse. Go pick up the mouse, kitty," etc. I eventually figure out what's going on and loudly say something like, "Hon, she has a MOOOUSE! Get it OOOUT! AAACK!"

Since baby arrived, we (and by we, I mean I) have made an effort to keep the cats out. The horrors of baby being somehow bothered, smothered, or "the cat will suck the air out of your baby!" were enough for me to want to keep the cats outside. Plus, it's not like it's going to hurt them, they are animals, right?

Well, Wayne has successfully figured out how to hold the baby, feed the baby, and burp the baby, all while petting the cat who has found room on his lap to sprawl. I guess this could be a good thing. Soon he will be able to multitask by trimming both Penelope and the cat's nails at the same time.

Penelope is getting bigger

I believe this lovely onesie was made by Miss Madelynn Weeda.

Penelope seems to like this comfy leg position.

Little miss bright eyes.

Elko News

Just because there isn't much to do in a town like Elko, that doesn't mean there isn't any entertainment. One of my favorite pastimes is browsing the local newspaper's headlines.

This is just one of many stories...

"Officers arrested a Spring Creek woman Thursday for suspected DUI-drugs and child endangerment after she drove her Jeep into three cars while trying to park at Walmart."

and

"The report indicates that during her interview with officers, Gurule kept closing her eyes and sliding off the truck." [that she was 'leaning' on.]

Read more: http://elkodaily.com/news/local/article_d2a6e1e0-861a-11e0-ba57-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1b67qc3M7

This past week, a major headline has been this:

CURRIE KILLING JUSTIFIED

"Through testimony, it was established that on the night of Sept. 4 Taylor and Mead had gone to the Victoria Mine in Dolly Varden Valley to replace a lock on Taylor’s family mine. He and Mead had been drinking that day, and it was evident to Taylor’s wife, Kanisha, that both her husband and Mead were intoxicated...

While Mead and Kanisha Taylor were eating their dinner of steak, corn on the cob and baked beans at the Taylor residence, James Taylor got angry for a reason that wasn’t made clear in Friday’s testimony."

It sounds like this story could have been written during any of the last 150 years. I love the fact that Taylor has a "family mine," and how the newspaper mentions exactly what they were eating for dinner.

So continuing...later on in Mead's camper (a quarter of the population out here seems to live in campers)...

"After a struggle, Mead got his .22 rifle and threatened Taylor. Mead said Taylor told him to go ahead and shoot and then lunged toward him. Mead recalled firing one shot, which knocked Taylor out of the camper.

Mead said Taylor got back up into the camper and again moved toward him, at which time Mead fired another shot. Taylor was then out of the trailer and Mead fired a third shot that he could recall.

In his testimony, Mead said he knew Taylor was armed because he always carried a .38 pistol. Deputies discovered such a pistol on Taylor in their investigation."

Notice how both men just happened to be armed. Once again, it makes me think I am reading a story out of the 1890's. The story also mentions that Taylor was shot five times with the aforementioned .22. There were 5 shell casings and 5 entry wounds, however Mead only remembers 3 shots, because of his state of intoxication.

Anyway, the conclusion of the matter is that the shooting was considered justified, and charges won't be made.

Read More: http://elkodaily.com/news/local/article_97f54a44-f6e7-11e0-b64f-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1b9JdbCNS

In yet another story, an off duty deputy was pulled over - by her husband - and was charged with a DUI.

So as you can see, we have some classy citizens around. And no lack of entertainment.

Click on the links if you would like to see the pictures of these charming characters.

Blowout Bloopers

Before entering parenthood, I realized babies pooped. I knew they pooped a lot. I knew that some babies even had blowouts, explosions, and catasrophic 'Honey, bring in the power-washer' moments. I just did not think that MY baby would be one of them.

Up until this point, my experience with baby's digestive systems had been primarily with formula-fed infants. For those of you that aren't aware, let me fill you in. There is a vast difference between the formula-fed digestive system and the breast-fed digestive system. The formula-fed digestive system finds it sufficient to clean itself out efficiently a few times a day, get cleaned and powdered by some loving caretaker, and the infant is quickly back to its busy schedule of eating and sleeping. However, in the breast-fed version, it is not unusual to have between 5 and 20 very liquid, mustard yellow stools a day. Alright, 20 is exaggerating...but only by a little. The breast-fed baby also seems to have more of what I can best describe as 'explosive' bowel movements: complete with sound effects.

So, back to the story, I had previosely been accustomed to a few non-explosive poopy diapers per day from babies. To my wonder, my dear Penelope has a very active, breast-fed digestive system.

Episode 1:
In the middle of the night I hear the rumbling of what translates to "major diaper change needed." I open one eye and proceed to wipe away the damage, put a fresh diaper on, and lay back down. I then hear the second round of rumbling, and decide to wait a minute to make sure she was through. After changing her again, we are ready for sleep, when I hear round three. So I did what any desperate, sleep deprived parent would: I let her lay in her poop. When the guilt was too much to bear after four and a half minutes, I changed her again, and spent the next hour laying in bed listening for what I presumed to be diaper change number 4. It luckily never came, and I eventually drifted off to sleep.
I assumed Wayne had been sleeping through all this, so I was enlightened when in the morning he said, "I felt SO sorry for you last night, changing all of those diapers." I just rolled my tired, puffy eyes and thanked him for his help.

Episode 2:
Early this morning, Penelope was finished with her last feeding session of the night, and I was looking forward to our last brief hours of sleep before getting up for the day. As a caring parent, I decided to quickly change her diaper first, ignoring the sleepy grunts she was making. No sooner had I gotten the wet diaper away, out shot a decent amount of the mustard semi-liquid. I congratulated myself on getting the clean diaper under her just in time, even if it felt like another wasted diaper. At least it wasn't on our bed.

At that point, Mount St. Penelope erupted again. This time, there was nothing any Pampers or Huggies could do. We had yellow lava shooting a foot in the air before it found itself stuck to me, my clothes, Penelope's clothes, and the sheets. At this point, I called it a night and gave up on ever going back to bed. I made a mental note not to look in the mirror, for fear any projectiles had splattered on my face. I simply rubbed my sweater sleeve across my face, and then added it to the pile of soiled laundry I was gathering for the pre-dawn wash.

At what age can you start potty training?

Puppy immune systems

Did you know that puppies have a very fragile immune system? One that is so succeptible to the diseases and horrors of the world it is a miracle that any of them survive until doghood.

Last Friday we put Penelope in the car and went to a work function of Wayne's. As we emerged from the car, Wayne proudly tucking the carseat handle under one arm, we ran into a co-worker and her dog, Molly.

Now, we think our baby Penelope is perfectly perfect, beautiful, and wonderful, but we do not require or expect others to feel that way. You do not need to coo and coddle our young offspring in order to make us feel accomplished as parents.

So co-worker walks next to us and after as brief glance at the carseat, says, "I'm sorry, but is it safe to bring her out?"

Well, I wasn't exactly sure what she meant. Safe to bring her out of the house? Safe to have her outside? Safe to bring her out of the car? Safe to have her out of my overdue womb? I assumed she meant safe to bring out of the house, so I said something like, "it's fine."

To this co-worker responded, "Well, I was just wondering, because when Molly was a puppy, I couldn't take her out for 4 months because of her weak immune system."

Wow, 4 months is a long time. Actually, it is a really long time in dog years. It is 5-6 dog years. So don't expect to see us in the next half decade, as we will be keeping Penelope in so she never has to experience a cold or virus.

As a side note, I heard from someone else, that said co-worker plans to have 6 children. Man, she's going to be spending a lot of time at home.

Grandma's Girl

A few pics of Penelope and Grandma Cassens when she came to visit last week.

First snow and Penelope's first bath

This past week it turned cold on us and snowed. In the picture, there is snow just on the mountains, but Thursday morning there was about an inch in our yard too.

Penelope had her first bath on Saturday night, and seemed to really enjoy it. Thanks Sheryl for the nice soft towel!

From Hospital to Home

The short story: We went to the hospital Friday night around 11. We had of course read lots of books and gone to childbirth classes, so it was nice to feel educated on the process. However, in my labor there were no 'stages' defined by the timing of contractions or how it felt. From 9 p.m. to 630 a.m. when she was born, the contractions were two and a half minutes apart. There were also no 'breaks' in between contractions. The nurse would keep saying things like "when this contraction is over" or "are you having a contraction" and I couldn't really tell when one started and ended. At around 6 a.m. the doctor strolled in to make an appearance, and a little bit later I was pushing and Penelope was born just shy of 6:30. The nurses were all very good to me, the doctor...well, let's just say he is worthy of his own blog post. To give you an idea...after a drug-free labor and just one shot of local anesthesia, he is doing stitches. He has yet to even look at my face, and I'm certain would not know me if we were to meet in the hall of the hospital, more less around town. He sighs loudly and says, "Well, I can't do this if you're going to flinch every time I stitch," stabs me with two more shots, and continues his job.

Little Penelope scored a 9 and 10 on her Apgar, despite coming into the world withe the cord wrapped around her neck AND body. Apparently I had produced a long baby and a very long cord.

Here are a few pictures.

Penelope after her bath

In Daddy's arms

Mom and Penelope

Leaving the hospital

At home

We came to to the hospital with an empty car seat and two of these bags.

We came home with all of this!

Posh Penelope

Had to dress Penelope up in this super cute outfit while it fits! Thanks Nyla for the lovely dress and Jen for the gorgeous pink shrug.

Penelope's First Hike

Penelope is one week old today, and went on her first hike! We went up in the Ruby Mountains here close to our house with Grandma Cassens, who arrived to visit on Friday. The fall colors were almost as beautiful as our little girl, who slept the entire hike.

More Pictures

At Home

Penelope and Dad