A Virus of another sort

Well, it appears our home has been invaded by another kind of virus...a computer type virus.  While so far I don't see how it has affected my computer in any way (laptop anyway, haven't used the desk top yet) while I was busy at work today, my email was busy sending strange emails to random people in my address book.  It appears about 5 messages were sent to randomly selected people in my address book with subject headings that don't make any sense.  My mom sent me a message (sorry mom!!) wondering what I was sending her that she couldn't open.  Thank God she couldn't open it.  For once it was a good thing to have that filter on your computer at work!  Arghh, I am sooo frustrated!  I don't know how this could have happened, we have the recommended anti-virus program installed on both computers (Kapersky) and another anti-virus, anti-malware program that was recommended by a co-worker.  I HATE computer issues!  I am so clueless when it comes to this stuff, and it always feels like I am getting ripped off by those Geek Squad people!!  But it appears I will be contacting them on Friday (my next day off) and looking into this issue.  I don't want to be sending SPAM or viruses to my friends and family!!  If anyone has any advice or has experienced this sort of thing, let me know what happened and what you had to do.  In the mean time, do NOT open ANY email from me with a strange subject heading.  And super duper big apoligizes if you were "lucky" enough to get one of these ***** messages!

On a brighter note, my baby turned 1 1/2 (18 months!) yesterday.  She is getting so big!!!!  She is ABSOLUTELY LOVING this weather.  It is so fun to watch her play outside now!  And see our neighbor's come out of the woodwork again!  I do apologize to our neighbors for the screaming you may hear when it is time to come in, NO we are NOT beating our child, she just LOVES being outside and would stay out all night if she could I think!  ;o)

Ugh...it happened.

Well, it happened. Allison threw up. Now, she was a VERY puky baby, but this was for REAL puke. My poor sweet baby threw up for the first time on Tues. night. And got her first case of diarrhea (unrelated to teething). I was really hoping we would be lucky enough to hold off until she was at least 15, I mean I figured we kinda paid our price with the 10 months of "spit up".

But I knew something was up Monday evening. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it, but she didn't seem like herself. She didn't eat very good all day and was VERY gassy. I thought it was a combo of teething and maybe she was constipated. She slept good Mon. night and I got her up Tues. morning for daycare. She was SOOO glassy eyed and didn't make a SOUND all the way to daycare, just stared off. Again, my gut told me something was up, but then again, I thought, maybe she was just really tired (I hadn't had to get her up early for daycare for almost 2 weeks). I dropped her off at Rhonda's and left. She didn't cry, but she didn't move from where I set her down. I told Rhonda to call me if she needed to for anything. Went to work. No phone call.

I called Jesse at 4 (I was working a 12 hour day shift) and he said she was super quiet on the way home from daycare too. He was worried she maybe hadn't napped at daycare or something, but they were at the park and she was playing and seemed more herself. I said to just put her to bed early if he needed to. I got busy at work and called at 7:30 to tell him I was running late, but should be home soon. He took forever to answer the phone and then said, ok, but ah...can you hurry...Allison just threw up. Ohhhhhh, noooo! My heart just sank! My poor baby. I got home asap and Jesse was rocking her and she just had her head on his shoulder. Let me just take this moment to say what a WONDERFUL father he is. I always knew he would be good, but wow! He even stayed home with her on Wed. (I wanted to, but it just made more sense for him to do it, he was willing). Luckily she was done throwing up by then. Her poor tummy is a bit unsettled yet, but we are getting back to herself. Although by now she probably things crackers and applesauce are a suitable meal.

Stick in the Mud - Literally

Here is a little video of Allison playing in a mud puddle yesterday. She started out cautiously at the edge, but rather quickly made her way to the middle. Part of me kept screaming, stop her! She is going to get dirty!! But the other part won over, the part that said she is having fun, let her be a kid!! I was glad I did, she had so much fun. But we didn't let her play too long, it wasn't really warm enough out to be playing outside with wet pants and feet!

Spring Fever

We have spring fever around here REALLY bad, and took advantage of a couple of the nice days we have had recently.  Allison LOVES being outside.  It is so fun to watch her explore everything!  Yesterday when it was time to come in for supper she threw the biggest fit and I could hardly blame her!  Especially knowing the forcast for today was not so great.  Such a dissappointment after the last couple days.  At least now we know these cold days will soon be over and we will be getting more and more nice ones!  Here's a couple pics of Allison outside.

She loves the swing.  It is actually our neighbor's.  They have a really nice swing set and last year they painted it and put in new swings just for Allison and Soren (our other neighbor boy) as their kids are too big for it now.  They said they just love watching our kids out there enjoying it.  They are so nice!!  She can see it from the patio and she points and says "wee, wee!".

A mud puddle and stick she found!  What a little tom boy!  Not one bit afraid of getting dirty and absolutely did not want to leave that puddle!  Her shoes might be ruined, but it was worth it!!  I scrubbed them and am trying to dry them, hopefully they will dry out by Christmas!  She actually just got new ones (these were her old ones) and they were almost too small anyway, but in perfect condition!  Oh, well!  I have a feeling she is going to be harder on her clothes now as she gets older!  Garage sales, here I come!

The Easter Bunny

Allison had her first encounter with the Easter Bunny last Sat. at the mall in Eden Prairie.  We were walking by and she saw him, "hop hop" she said all excited!  For some reason she refers to most animals by the sounds they make (i.e. kitty is "meow", puppy is "ruff ruff") and since I don't know what sound a bunny makes we said the bunny goes hop, hop, it stuck.  She is starting to say kitty (tee-tee) and she said puppy yesterday.  Anyway, we never took her to the Easter Bunny last year, I don't have any real good reason except that I figured she would just scream and we just never got around to it.  (She has yet to see Santa too, ok, now I feel like a bad mom!).  I figured there is NO WAY she is going to want to go sit on the Easter Bunny's lap, but it was free, so I figured, why not.  She went right up to him and sat on his lap.  She didn't smile, but she LOVED it, she just looked at him and was real quiet and still.  She did not want to leave!  And after that every time we walked by the Easter Bunny she wanted to go sit on his lap again!  Crazy kid!  When I said it was free, I meant sitting on his lap is free, they take a picture and want you to buy it.  You could also take your own, which would have been GREAT, had my batteries not died in the camera!  UGH!  Frustration!!  I did get one snapped before it shut off, and it turned out just as good as the ones I paid $18 for!  (I did get a $10 Shutterfly coupon with the pictures, otherwise I would definitely not have paid for any, the lady was very nice too, not to pushy).  Here is the picture I got.

Great Minds Think Alike

So for the past 3+ years Jesse and I have been filling out NCAA tournament brackets.  Last year I tried convincing him the winner should get a massage (paid for at a spa), but in all honesty I sprung it on him after the tounament started and I was winning...he caught on.  But this year we decided ahead of time to wager a bet, I get a massage and he gets money towards something for fishing/hunting whatever from Cabella's.  So when I got home the other night I filled out my bracket.  Keep in mind I have NO NCAA basketball knowledge excpet the teams I have heard of frequently.  Jesse watches ESPN 24/7 it seems.  When I got done I checked our brackets to see how many we had different, 14, but we BOTH have Kansas winning the whole thing and so does President Obama!  I found that kind of interesting that I picked the same winner as my hubby and the president!  So here's to hoping for a good March/April and a massage for me at the end! 

Goodbye Favorite Jeans

Well, I have to say goodbye to my favorite pair of jeans.  I knew the time was coming, I could see them wearing thin in not so good places, but today when I was shopping I took them off in a dressing room and found a hole in a rather unsightly place.  I had to put them back on and after checking and double checking that you couldn't really see anything (the hole was about the size of a dime) I put my sweatshirt on.  I got these jeans probably 3 or 4 years ago and it was love at first sight.  They are "Artist" jeans from AE.  I ordered them online, which I don't usually do because I have to try them on usually, but went out on a "limb" and it worked out!  I LOVE the way these jeans fit me.  They are so comfortable.  I don't even know how stylish they are anymore, but I just couldn't give them up because they were so comfy.  They were from the start but having been worn an million times has made them even more comfortable (obviously ;).  I love AE jeans not just because they fit me well, but they are pretty cheap ($30-50 usually and go on sale!).  After I found this hole, I looked for jeans since I was at the mall anyway (St.Cloud).  I probably tried on 10 pairs of jeans at a variety of different stores, most more expensive, but in the end went back to AE for a pair I had tried on there.  Not the same and not my favorite right now, but they will do.  I did try on 1 pair that I loved, but couldn't justify $160 for a pair of jeans.  Then again if they became my favorites, it would be worth it!!

Mexican Ferrari

Here is what a Mexican Ferrari looks like:

We went to Cozumel one day and rented one of these and drove it around the island.  It was fun.  Once again the water and beaches were beautiful.  We were able to stop along the way and take pictures.  Jesse drove the fancy thing!  He is much braver than I (also I couldn't have driven because it was a stick, although it really would have been a prime time to learn, the way they drive anyway, no one would know if I wrecked the transmission!)  Here are a few more pics.  I have so many, but I am running out of time!  I am trying to create a book online, hopefully I get that accomplished this week!  Anyway, here are a few more pics from Cozumel.

Waiting for sunshine and summertime!

Even Allison is getting impatient waiting for the sun to come out!  She was trying to put on my sunglasses and yesterday when we were shopping she found a pair of her own at Old Navy that she HAD to have!  Luckily it is peeking out today!  I can NOT wait for spring!  I want to get outside!  And have the windows open.  Yesterday my mom, Allie, and I went shopping.  We just went to Eden Prairie, but it was so much fun.  Allison was SOOO good.  Grandma got her ice cream while I shopped for an outfit for pictures.  Then we had her pictures taken.  I figured she would be sooo tired she would sleep the whole way home, nope!  She was awake the WHOLE way!  We stopped in Glenco for supper, and she continue to jabber and sing the rest of the way!  She did sleep after we left my parent's. 

The "Wildlife"

There was a little bit of of "wildlife" at the resort.  There were monkeys (which someone told me that they actually bring them in for guests because they think people like it...don't do it on my account!), lizards and this big rat like things without tails, Kapibura (that is what Jesse told me they were called, I haven't looked it up, so I don't know if that is they way it is spelled either).

Mexico Vacation Pics

Finally I am getting around to sharing our pics from our trip.  It was wonderful to get away and for the most part it was perfect!  The 2nd day we were there it rained most of the day and 1 other day it was cooler and cloudy and most days were windy (but that wasn't so bad considering it was in the 80's!). 

After some confusion at the airport...we ended up flying first class to Mexico!  That was a pretty good start to the trip.  Free food and drinks all the way there, and Jesse definitely took advantage of that, enjoying a few Screwdrivers and I had a Bloody Mary (or 2!).  Our flight left at 6:15 a.m. and we arrived at about 10:30 a.m.  We flew into Cancun.  Then took a bus to our resort "Riu Yucutan" in Playa Del Carmen.

This is a picture of just outside our room.  Our room is the second one in.  It was pretty nice.  I should have taken some picturs of the inside, but I never did.  Ooops!!

This was taken the 2nd day we were there, it started raining shortly after I took the picture and didn't stop until 3:00.  Then it was warm enough to be in the pool for a couple hours.  Since it had been raining we spent quite a bit of time at the bar there.  Met some nice girls from Wisconsin.

The ocean and the beaches were BEAUTIFUL!  The pool was pretty nice too, but we didn't spend much time in it.  It was so much nicer on the beach!

Ahhh, Home

You know that IKEA commercial where the couple gets home from vacation and flops face first into their beds?  That is EXACTLY how I felt when we got home on Tues. night (well technically it was 2 a.m. Wed. morning!).  I was SOOO glad to crawl into my own bed with my freshly washed sheets.  That were DRY and smelled sooo good.  I loved Mexico, but it would get humid at night and the sheets always felt slightly damp to me and smelled musty or something and the bed was ROCK hard.  I did sleep good though, I think I could sleep pretty much anywhere!  And for a few hours I just relaxed until I had to get up in the morning and face the mountains of laundry and all the things that had piled up while we were gone!  Had to pay bills, go grocery shopping, etc, etc.  I am FINALLY today finishing the LAST load of laundry from vacation.  Of course now I have to start in on Allison's and I don't think it ever ends!  But speaking of Allison...I actually didn't sleep that good after we got home because I couldn't wait to see her!  When Gradma Nancy got here with her I could here her in the garage, "momma, momma".  When she saw me she got the HUGEST smile.  I was so glad to be HOME!  (pics to come, don't have time now.)