Snowmobiling

Well, I survived my first trip away from Sawyer. On Wednesday Feb. 15th Marcus, I and our friends Jason and Heidi left to go snowmobiling in the Hills. Grandma Nanon came to stay with Sawyer and even though I knew they would be just fine and have a lot of fun, the week up to leaving was horrible. On the actual day of leaving I was good, but the whole week of anticipation up to leaving was not good. We had a lot of fun on our trip with a few minor bumps along the way. Marcus started out his trip sick, and on Thursday I got to ride 26 miles before his clutch broke on his sled. In order for the trip to continue for him we needed to get the clutch fixed. I tried to tell him since it was his sled that was broken he could sit at Trailshead while we finish riding, but I bet you can all imagine how well that went over! So, there I sat. I ran into a buddy from work so chatted with him, and then my in-laws group showed up so I chatted with them. I probably only sat by myself for like 15 minutes. Marcus showed up and to Blackhawk we went. We were able to get his clutch fixed for a very reasonable price. So back to the cabin we went ready for the rest of the weekend sledding. Well, on Friday I woke up feeling great, but by the time we reached our destination I felt awful. It was that achy, upset stomach sick and I was pretty miserable. The rest of our group headed on to a different destination while Marcus and I headed back to the cabin. I still managed to put about a 100 miles on the sled on Friday, but the last 15 were not fun. The trails were rough (bumpy) and I was really sore and achy. Friday night I took her easy and Saturday felt a little better. The girls and I headed into Deadwood while the boys sledded. Took her pretty easy in Deadwood and came to realize gambling sober is not as much fun. Maybe it is because I have a sense of all the money I am losing! Sunday we packed up and hit the road to come home. Of course this is the day that I am starting to feel good again and at this point I really wish we had one more day in the hills. Good thing we were coming home though. My mom was starting to get ill as well. Must be something going around because Jason was also getting sick on the way home. Pretty much everyone in our group of snowmobilers was getting sick! I suppose that is what happens when you stick 8 people in a cabin and 4 out of the 8 are sick! Sawyer had been battling a pretty icky cold before we had left, but it was mainly stuffed up nose and no cough. Well today he has a pretty nasty cough, is wheezing a little when he breathes, and has a fun case of what I imagine is diarrhea. So, I am home with him today and we have a doctor's appointment this afternoon. I am going to feel really dumb if it is nothing, but with the coughing, wheezing, and massive cases of RSV going around, I figure better safe than sorry. He has not been running a fever and seems to still be in good spirits, but really sleepy as well. I will keep everyone posted as to what the verdict is, and hopefully this is the end of round one sickness in the Hunter household! Hopefully tomorrow it is back to reality (work) and Sawyer gets to visit his friends at daycare. 

Jo

Back to work

Well, January 30th came and I officially went back to work. I have to say I didn't do too bad. I got the kiddo up around 7 to get dressed and eat a little something, packed him up in his car seat and off to daycare we went. I thought there were going to be a lot of tears but I honestly did okay. With my survival kit in hand from the ladies at daycare (Kleenex, and some Hershey's hugs and kisses) I headed to the car and waited for the tears to come. What do you know, no tears! I couldn't believe it. Honestly day two was probably harder than day one. I told Marcus I agreed to go back to work, but not for how long...we never discussed day two! Well, here we are and it is week 2. Sawyer seems to be enjoying daycare and the wonderful ladies at Kidz World seem to be enjoying him. I am settling back into work nicely, and after 1 day, 900+ emails, two training classes, and review of release, I was back on the phone. For those of you that don't know what I do, I am technically classified as a Customer Service Rep for Precision Support. Precision is banking software, however I support much more than the software. I would say 50% of my job is helping with loan information, so I need to know a great deal on how loans work. This includes everything from insurance, collateral, escrow, FASB, interest methods and calculations, payment schedules, billing and payments, written off loans, etc. About 30% of my job is assisting with DDA/CDA information. About 10% of the time I get to balance GL's. Usually something gets posted incorrectly and I need to help the bank find their offage. December-May 5% of my job is Year End, mainly tax information such as correcting notices, preparing 5498's, IRA information, etc. In all actuality I would say 5% of my job is determining issues with the software, mainly error messages that may happen, something incorrect happened while working in Precision, etc. So, that being said work has been keeping me busy which makes my days go quick. It was definitely great to get back into a routine and equally as great to see all my friends at work on a regular basis. Speaking of routine, the last two nights Sawyer has been going down between 9-10 and sleeping till 6-6:30! I miss seeing my little man in the middle of the night, but 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep is totally wicked! I have started to slowly pick up the working out and aim to run at least the 5K Avera Breast Cancer Run. I ran the 10K last year, and mind you I was pregnant, but I don't know if my knee or hip can handle it again! Man I am getting old. This past weekend we took family pictures with Marcus's whole family, all 15 of us. We had 8 adults and 7 kids and no one had a meltdown! Not even the parents! The pictures turned out really nice, and we had a wonderful time! Next week we plan on going to the Hills snowmobiling, well if there is any snow. This means leaving Sawyer with Grandma Nanon starting Wednesday thru Sunday afternoon. I am not convinced I will make it very far down the road before I ask to be dropped back at home. I am sure that Grandma and Sawyer will have a wonderful time without mom and that Uncle Pat, Aunt Missy, and the cousins will be around as well, but I am still struggling with leaving him! One thing I am thankful for is that he is a little older than he originally would have been. In fact, not sure I would have gone if he would have been born in December! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I get in the vehicle Wednesday! Not much else to report at this time, but I will be back in a couple of weeks!

Jo