Penelope laughing

I apologize for my inability to take a video so that you don't have to a) turn the computer monitor sideways or b) stare at the video with your head sideways.

Penelope is 4 months

Penelope is 4 months old today and Grandma Cassens is coming to visit tomorrow!
Penelope is usually much longer than her dresses. Good thing most of them come with cute little bloomers.

Looking cute in a dress from Aunt Joanna. I found the cute flower headband to match. Wayne hates it, but we sneak it on when he isn't looking.

Awe...makes mommy's heart melt. It is sad how many times I have to look at pictures of her when she is sleeping because I miss her/want to see her cute face.

Penelope has been really into her rainforest bouncer. She loves to stick her toungue out when concentrating.

Yesterday I read Penelope a book for the first time. She was really into it, so Wayne got to read her a book when he got home. She loves the 'touch & feel' pages and again, has the toungue out in concentration. She has been wearing her cozy little snowman jammies a lot lately. They came a little friend Wyatt, who I think of and miss. Thanks Wyatt!

DMV

Wayne and I have owned more than our share of cars, trucks & toys over the years. I am the type of person that buys a used Honda Accord for $2000 and keeps it forever. (Yes it still runs great at 236,000 miles) However, Wayne enjoys buying and selling several cars a year. Well, I'm not sure that he really enjoys selling them, but it is what he lovingly does to keep peace in the home.

Anyway, for whatever reason, I always seem to be the lucky one who gets to go to the DMV to register all of these vehicles. I could have earned a two year college degree from the hours I've spent waiting in line. One time, instead of getting coffee or lunch with a friend, we simply met at the DMV and chatted for an hour and a half while we waited in line, as she had some business also at the DMV. It is also very entertaining to eavesdrop and observe the fine human speciments that live near us.

Most recently, I have been to the DMV three separate times to register one vehicle. The car was sold to us by a public guardian, who had taken over the affairs of an elderly man who was no longer able. The first time I went to register the car, something was wrong with the way she signed the title. So I went back to the public guardian, who made the change for me. She rolled her eyes and told me that she does paperwork like this all the time, and every single time they want it done differently. So I went back to the DMV, where the next person who helped me scanned the documents until she could find another minute error: The elderly man's name included a suffix on the title, but not on the court order assigning him the public guardian. She helpfully gave me an affidavit that I would need to have the public guardian sign.

I am glad the public guardian was kind and helpful throughout all of this. I met the public guardian, who filled out the paper, had it notorized at the bank, and then I went to the DMV. When I got the DMV, I started to get Penelope out of the car, when I realized I couldn't find the papers. Not just the affidavit, but the title, court order, proof of insurance, bill of sale, and all of the other papers that the DMV requires. I looked everywhere in the car. My stomach fell somewhere between my knee and ankle. I had no idea where it went. I had driven straight from the bank to the DMV. I felt HORRIBLE. I called Wayne to tell him my dilemma. He was not very comforting, and told me, "Yeah, you BETTER find the papers."

So, having nothing else to do, I drove back to the bank. The bank and the DMV are in separate towns, so this is about eight or ten miles. I looked around the parking lot and landscaping. Then, I went in to explain how a frazzled new mom had lost a bunch of papers and did anyone happen to see them? As I walked in, a lady from behind the counter yells, "hey, that's the lady that had the papers signed!" And to my utter relief, another lady walkes up with all of the papers. "I found them in the parking lot....they have a few tire tracks on them." I was so glad to see those papers.

But this is not quite the end of the story. Back up to the DMV I hoped that in order to distract the DMV people, Penelope would either a) put on a super cute show, b) produce a powerfully gaseous bowel movement, or c) would have an ear piercing meltdown. When neither a), b) or c) happened, the lady looked over my papers. "Hmmm...well the court order doesn't uniquely specify her as his public guardian, just that he had one appointed. But, I guess I can make a copy of this and the certificate that shows this lady is actually a public guardian."

I actually got the car registered that day. One of the things that made me aggravated, was that I didn't give her the affidavit, and she never noticed the name difference. So my two trips to the bank, bothering the public guardian, and stressfully losing the papers, were all for nought.

I can't wait for Wayne to buy another car!

Country Bumpkin

When I was a kid........

Growing up as country bumkins, we Cassens kids had a quite a few things in the world waiting for us to discover. One of them, was that many interstates have more than 2 lanes. One year we went to Denver. We were flabbergasted when the interstate turned into 3, 4, and 5 lanes! And look at all the cars! There is one behind us AND one in front of us! Hey, let's wave at them! Wait, better yet, let's make faces out the back window! Wow, so much fun. At one point, I remember we decided to act like we had never seen cars, buildings, and signs before. I don't think we had to act much.

Well, low and behold, when I graduated from high school, I moved to the big metropolis of Rapid City. I have never really loved driving, and merging, stoplights, and one way streets (don't ask...) were all new to me. My greatest fear was having to take the interstate. Which meant I had to MERGE, which I hated.

So, last weekend I went to Salt Lake City. By myself. With Penelope. Penelope does not like riding in the car. I was quite apprehensive about this endeavor, but it actually went very well. I was able to get Penelope's naps to coincide with most of the driving.

On the return trip, as I was driving through the city, I kept tensing up every time I could hear Penelope sigh or wiggle. It was then that I realized I was driving and merging in six lanes of traffic, and my biggest fear was that Penelope would wake up.

You've come a long way, country bumpkin.

Ancient Love, This one's for you

There are a few things I have read on the web today that I would like to rant about:

1. "...to save money for christmas and other necessities." Christmas is NOT a necessity. It is fine if you want to buy some underprivileged child a toy or participate in 'adopt a grandparent' around the holidays. But Christmas is still a WANT not a NEED. As the Christmas grinch, I am proud to say I have been surviving just fine without Christmas for many years.

2. "Angelina Jolie's longtime love, Brad Pitt" Ok, yes, I admit, I clicked on one of those celebrity stories disguised as news. Anyhow, I was wondering how long a longtime love is, so I Googled it. They have been together (not married) since 2005. So 7 years qualifies you as a longtime love. Well Wayne, after 10 years you are now dubbed my Ancient Love.

Speaking of Wayne....Happy Birthday to my best friend, perfect partner & Ancient Love. You're the best!

More time with the cousins

We spent time with the Weeda cousins again last weekend. We have yet to get sick of them, and hopefully they aren't sick of seeing us so often! A few pics....
Jentri, Jaxon, & Logan

At the mall

P entertaining Rexi, Rhealynn & Maddie

The highlight of the weekend was at the mall, where Janell & I were attempting to shop with 5 children. A heavily accented woman at a kiosk asked Janell what she used to exfoliate. Janell: "What? Um, Umm, Umm... Water?"

CENSOR

There is a growing list of things that Wayne and I must stop doing once Penelope reaches the age of either repeating or remembering.

1. Calling each other 'Ugly' 'Ugfish' or any other words starting with 'Ug'. It is actually a term of endearment for us, but poor little Penelope can't go around trying to make friends by calling them 'Uggers'.

2. Supersizing our fast food and then adding salt and apple pies (They are still 2/$1 you know). Little P needs to be healthy.

3. Stop complimenting each other when we have a rather excessive belch.

4. Always wear clothing outside of the bedroom.

5. Stop saying all of the strange things that have evolved after being married 8 years without kids. Things that are much more embarrassing than 'Uggy'. Things that are much to embarrassing to mention.

6. We do normally eat at the table, but we must stop using the table as a footrest.

7. Rid the house of Barking Spiders.




Little Pea has been laughing lots lately.

Items

When I was a kid, we knew this cool old fellow by the name of John McPhail. He would send us tape cassettes (remember those?) that he made himself. There might be anything on the cassette - music, stories, strange noises, etc. But there was always a little bit of personal news he would record himself, and they would be labeled as items. For instance....
"Item No. 2 Aunt Susie in North Dakota called us the other day and told us about a skunk that got in their barn and...."
So anyway, when I have random bits to report, I will start organizing them as 'items'.

Item No. 1
I am sorry that many of you aren't able to leave comments on the blog. I do not know what is wrong. I have the same problem on other peoples' blogs. Sometimes Blogger will let me comment, sometimes not. How annoying!

Item No. 2
We have had ups and downs with P's sleeping habits, and are currently on an up! Saturday night she slept for 11 hours without waking up! Last night she slept 11 hours again, waking up once. I wish I knew what makes her sleep and what makes her wiggle. Anyway, it feels great! Although there are downsides to this new 11 hour development. 1) Mommy has grown accustomed to waking every 2-4 hours, and still does. 2) Mommy wakes up well rested, but with a throbbing chest. But who am I kidding? This is great! I never knew I could think so clearly, diaper with such precision or rock so gracefully.

Item No. 3
We were out shopping somewhere, when some lady stopped to say something about how cute our baby is. Then she proceeds to say something like, "no hair now, but that means she will have beautiful hair like her mommy when she gets big." First of all, thanks for thinking my (thinning) hair is beautiful. But secondly, does that really make sense? I doubt whether or not she has hair now correlates with her hair later in life.

Item No. 4
I have noticed that Penelope's skin must absorb whatever smell is around her. After someone holds her, she smells differently. I bet I could accurately tell you who has been holding my baby in a blind scent test.

Item No. 5
I'm all out of items for today. A few pics:

Penelope's (Bigtoe's) newest toy is her feet, there are usually close at hand...

.....or in her mouth

Here is an example of the pre-11-hour sleeping nights. I was trying to make scrambled eggs. Speaking of eggs....

I had the most startling revelation the other day. I am a bit embarrassed to say this ol' ranch girl didn't know this. We were chatting with friends Gary & Marsha the other day, when they mentioned something about considering getting a rooster. So I opened my big mouth: "How in the world do you have eggs without a rooster?"

Apparently, my whole life I didn't realize that chickens lay eggs without roosters! Chickens reproduce just as any other animals, it's just their eggs are fertilized & turned into little baby chicks outside of the body, instead of inside. You learn new things all the time!

Penelope pictures again

Daddy & P surfing the web

I'm sure you are surprised where the cat is.

Oh Blogger, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways

Some people are addicts. There are internet addicts, Pinterest addicts, and Facebook addicts. I am a blog addict. Hello my name is Sheena, and I am a Blogaholic.

Why do I love blogging so much? I am not sure. I definately appreciate compliments on my blog. I love it when someone tells me they really got a kick out of something I wrote. I am also flattered when some random person, who I didn't think knew how to turn on a computer, tells me that they read my blog. But the biggest reason I like blogging is probably because I make myself laugh. Literally, I will be sitting here writing and totally crack myself up. As I writhe in fits of giggles, Wayne will calmly look over, sigh, and say, "What are you blogging about now?" If I really get going laughing, Wayne usually gets suspicious and asks to proof my post. This is bad news, because once I show him, he usually vetos the funniest ones. OK, he says they are a bit 'innapropriate' or 'embarrassing'. But at least I get to roll in the floor laughing for a while.

It is also theraputic for me to blog. On those rare days when Penelope decides to take a nap longer than an hour, I can be found making a cup of coffee and sitting down at my laptop. It is likely much cheaper than the shrink I will need after 4 more kids.


Now that I have picked myself up off the floor from laughing about that last sentence, I have several smaller subjects I have been meaning to blog about:


My husband does everything I tell him!!
Wayne is such a good husband he does exactly what I tell him! Case in point has to do with the cats: 1) I tell him the litter box is stinking up the laundry room - He moves the litter box to the garage. 2) I tell him the cats are going to make a mess in the house - He moves the litter box inside of the door. 3) I tell him the litter box doesn't allow the door to open all the way, thus not allowing easy access while carrying a car seat - he moves the litter box from behind the door to right in front of the door. 4) The litter box is just inside the door, so even though you might accidently step in the litter on your way in the house, the door does fully swing open. And he did everything I asked!

Sleeping Through the Night
I recently ready somewhere that according to the medical field, babies that sleep through the night are sleeping at least 5 hours non-stop. I don't know about you, but if I sleep 'through the night' I am going to sleep a whole lot longer than 5 hours. I'm talking pre-baby here, as my definitions for sleep, nighttime, rest, and sanity have recently changed. Babies are supposed to get around 15 hours of sleep per 24 hour period, and the medical field thinks that 5 at one time constitutes as an entire 'night'? Perhaps doctors need to start going to college for more than 8 years.

It all blends together

After I wrote my post about what is in a diaper, I realized that I didn't really know how or at one point the diaper got tangled with the bed sheets. Once I started thinking about it, I realized that most nights are a huge blur. On the weekends, Wayne and I will discuss at what time Penelope woke up, how many minutes she cried, when she nursed, etc. It will take a half hour trying to come up with the correct order of events and we still don't agree on the timeline.

This reminds me of an experience a couple years back. Relatives were staying with us with their three children. During the night, I awoke to a very loud thump, followed by the baby screaming. In the morning, I was relieved to find all three children unharmed, but still asked what happened. Both parents looked at me with blank expressions. I elaborated and told them how I heard what sounded like a baby falling out of bed onto the floor, followed by screaming. The dad had no recollection of the event at all. The mom said something like, "oh yeah, I think the baby was in the car seat sleeping still at that point, well, I'm not sure, maybe he was in bed with us. Yeah, I just picked him up and went back to sleep."

At the time I was horrifically flabbergasted that both parents would have vague recollections of the nights' events, when I was awakened with heart pounding in the next room. Now I can empathize - it really does all blend together.

Carry a big stick

Frequently while driving down our road, we see a man out walking. This isn't a big deal, but we have noticed that he is always carrying something. At first I thought it was a ski pole, or whatever those poles are people use while walking. A walking stick I guess, except he never really used it. He just carried it. Then I began noticing that it wasn't a walking stick at all, it was a golf club. It got to be somewhat of a highlight on the way to town. ("Look! It's the golf club guy!") We finally decided that this weird guy was paranoid either about cars running him off the road, or a very ferocious dog, and we gave him plenty of space as we drove by.

Just recently, however, we were driving and saw a woman pushing a stroller and carrying a baseball bat! No, we don't have a baseball field anywhere near us. So the mystery is still to be solved. And I am considering carrying a rifle when I go out walking. For what, I'm not sure, but there must be a really good (bad) reason.

What's in a diaper

Early this morning, after an exceptionally impressive diaper explosion, I put the sheets into the washing machine. Later when I went to switch the sheets to the dryer, I found some of that gel goo that is inside of disposable diapers. At first I thought that the force of the explosion had propelled some of the gel out onto the sheets. But as I kept picking up more and more of it, I realized I had accidentally thrown a disposable diaper along in the wash. How I did this I'm not completely sure. I must have considered changing Little P's diaper in the wee hours during one of her let's-get-mommy-up-at-midnight-to-play episodes, but never got around to it. Anyway, I pulled the sheets, diaper, and lots of little gel fluffs out of the washer.

Which made me wonder what that fluff is. After Googling, it is sodium polyacrylate, a chemical found in most disposable diapers. Some people use washable diapers because they don't like their little babies tush to be surrounded by this sodium polyacrylate. I might be interested in doing more research on this, after all, chemicals and babies don't sound like a good combo. However, Wayne has threatened to do absolutely no diaper changes if they are washable, so I will not be finding out how harmful this chemical is any time soon.

I did take some photos for your viewing pleasure:

The fluff (above) and washed diaper (below)

Unfortunately, I was not able to get ALL of the fluff out of the sheets and washing machine. Since my fancy washing machine has a cleaning cycle, I decided to try it out. After reading the directions in the owner's manual, I learned something new. Apparently I'm supposed to clean my washing machine once a month. I am also supposed to clean out the detergent compartment twice a month. Twice a month! That is every other week. Who knew it took so much maintenance to get your washing machine clean - so that it will clean your clothes.

So as it nears bedtime, I will make a note not to lose any diapers in the bed, and hope that the remaining fluff on my sheets doesn't itch too much.

Wisdom from Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh is another character, along with Micky Mouse, whom I don't especially care for. But I do like a little quote from him (I'm not sure if Winnie the Pooh is a girl or a boy, but we will call it a him) that I think I might put on the wall in Penelope's room. It reads:

"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

So, since I didn't remember exactly how it went, I had to Google it. And, while Googling, I came across this inspiring quote, also by Winnie the Pooh:

“You can't help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count.”

Umm.....say what?

“You can't help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count.”

Huh?

“You can't help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count.”

I just keep re-reading it, hoping I get the point. So far I think it means if you can spell the word Tuesday you are awesome, but if you spell it wrong, you're awesome too.

Good to know. We can only dream that one day Penelope will be as wise as Winnie the Pooh.

Too Much Vacation

By the 10th day Wayne had taken off work, I realized we have started to squabble a bit. Don't get me wrong, we aren't mad at each other and we don't fight. We just know how to pick on each other just enough to be fun but not hurt anyone's feelings. For instance, this 10th day of vacation went something like this:

First a little background. 1)I have a cold and apparently don't hear very well. 2) Because of past experiences, I have a standing rule that if Wayne ever wants to go out to eat, he must always tell me BEFORE I eat, not AFTER. There have been too many times when I have just finished breakfast, when Wayne casually mentions, "Oh, by the way, I'm heading out for an amazing 7 course champagne breakfast at the nicest place in town." OK, so it wasn't a 7 course breakfast, it was Burger King. But still, during our college days, it was a big deal. 3) Wayne doesn't carry his debit card in his wallet, so if he spends money he has to borrow mine.

So at 3 am
Wayne: Aren't you going to feed her?
Me: Why?
Wayne: She's been fussing for 10 minutes.
Me: Oh....

5 am
Wayne goes and gets Penelope up and brings her to bed with us, where she wakes up and starts fussing.
Wayne: If you feed her she'll probably go back to sleep.
Me: She was sleeping just fine and you go wake her up and tell me to feed her so she can go back to sleep?!?
Wayne: She was already awake and fussing for a while....
Me: Oh...

By some stroke of luck we all fell asleep and slept in until almost 9!!!!! Once the shock of that wore off....

9:30
Wayne: I'm going to town.
Me: What for?
Wayne: McDonalds
Me: Whatever, you don't need to go to town.
Wayne: I'm hungry! It's my last day of vacation!
Me: How are you going to pay?
Wayne: Um.... your dedit card??

9:57
Wayne: I'm going to town.
Me: You're not going unless you take us.
Wayne: You better get Penelope ready fast, because McDonalds breakfast ends at 10:30!
Me: Oh, Whatever! YOU get her ready. (When Wayne mentions McD's and breakfast I know he means business - so I run to the closet, get dressed & grab the enormous diaper bag while yelling across the house, "You better be REAL glad I haven't eaten breakfast yet!!!")

I have never seen Wayne get Penelope buckeled into her car seat so fast. We both jump in the car by 10 sharp. However, we live 30 minutes from McDonnalds. After breaking several speed limits and doing a few maneuvers that are illegal in 15 states, we arrive at McDonalds.

10:26
Wayne: I'm going to run in quick and make sure they are still serving breakfast. Wayne runs to the door, realizes that he doesn't have any money, and comes back to my car door. "I need the card!"
Me: HA HA HA!!!!!
Wayne: Give me the card!
Me: Oh, so I don't get breakfast?!?
Wayne: AAAhhhh....(runs to get Penelope, I grab the enormous diaper bag and we both sprint into McDonalds.

10:29
We order our breakfast and sit down as the McDonalds people change the menu from breakfast to lunch.
Wayne: I love getting here right as they change menus, then once we are done, we can just eat lunch too!

I finally have been able to get a video up on the blog! Here is little P talking in her crib. Lately when she wakes up, either during the day or the middle of the night, she will just talk to herself in the crib for a while. This morning, I thought she was going to take a nap, but 2 minutes after I put her down, I heard her in there chattering. So I just left her for a while to entertain herself. She was happy for 45 minutes!