Bad Blogger!

It's been awhile...a very busy while. I'm having a hard time organizing any coherent thoughts for this post, so my apologies in advance.

We have been home from the ND/MT trip for about 10 days. Overall it was a good time, with a little bit of drama mixed in just for fun. Being at the in-laws house in ND was relaxing. Bernie took a lot of naps and we got to do fun things with Bennett. We went to the train museum and the zoo. We've been to the zoo in Denver a couple of times, and while it is of course bigger, it is not necessarily better. The one in Bismarck is easier to get through and sooooo much less busy. It's just a better time for Bennett who is still too young to fully appreciate the variety/bigness in Denver. The boy really just wants to squeal at the ducks and geese after all. I got a pedicure with my MIL and Bernie and I even got nine holes of golf in. That's a first since Vivian was born and it was very enjoyable.

About halfway through our time there, I found out that my dad fell and broke his hip while staying with my aunt in Seeley Lake. He was taken to Missoula where he had the entire thing replaced. Then we transferred him back to Great Falls to do his rehab at MRM. There was some initial drama with him freaking out the first night/day, but he seems to have settled in as well as can be expected. I think he will already be leaving next week if all goes well. At first, my family and I were feeling like he couldn't leave again because he just isn't safe. But, he's going to fall no matter where he is. And at least he is happier being with family. So it sounds like he is going to stay with my uncle Joe and his family in northern Wyoming for a bit. I'm afraid something will happen and he will get stuck down there, but that's what everyone wants to do. My saint of an aunt Kathy needs a well-deserved break. After Wyoming, I don't know what will happen. The thought of him in our tri-level stair-filled house is scary now and I don't think we will be able to take him on.

Things were low-key in GF other than stuff related to my dad. We ate out a few times, saw my family, and did a little bit of class reunioning. I am very glad we only did the Hi Ho meetup. That was plenty of seeing high school people for me for the next ten years. It was of course great to see Sara and Amy Ophus and a select few other people.

Vivian's skin is looking so much better. It must have taken awhile for the dairy to completely clear her system, but she is looking all sparkly and healthy now. She still has a couple of crease areas that like to flare up, but those are easily remedied with Cetaphil or the steroid cream. The two baths a day thing can be a bit time consuming, but I will ask the allergist at her follow-up in a few weeks if we can knock it down to one. And I'm still losing weight...so cutting out the dairy is good for something!

Bennett's developmental evaluation was today. It wasn't overly long or traumatic like I thought it was going to be. It took about two hours and mostly just consisted of him playing with the evaluation team. I felt good about what they saw. It seemed like a fair picture of what Bennett is on a daily basis. I was talking with Bennett's OT last week about stating pre-school. She felt like he was ready. There are a million options in the area. We will likely talk more about this at his 6 month evaluation in September. I'm thinking it won't be until January and only a two half day a week type of thing. It's crazy to even think about it!

Our garden is awesome this year! We are finally growing some fruitful plants. We have tons of tomatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, and swiss chard. Next year, I think we will plant the peppers in pots and use the space to plant some garlic. My flowers have been neglected, but oh well.

I am organizing local Preeclampsia Foundation volunteers to work at a patient education booth at the American Association of Birth Centers conference in Denver the first week in September. I don't have a problem with birth centers/natural birthing type stuff, but I am afraid we are going to get lots of bullshit from some practitioners about how if "women just ate this/that they wouldn't get preeclampsia," and "I've never seen preeclampsia in my practice" crap. I really hope that since the director of the conference invited the PF herself, this won't be the case. That should keep me busy for the rest of the month before Promise Walk planning starts up again in September/October!