Update of all updates!

Any thoughts on what really happened to us for several weeks? Most of the stuff was true. Except for the cat eating the blog, obviously. ;)


While I didn't have the January blahs, January was stressful and hectic. It was the start of a busy semester with yuck weather added on. We have so much snow (see local newspaper's article on Peek-A-Boo streets). Winter is a great time to snuggle and cozy and the start of the semester accentuated this need even more so! Snuggles with two cute kids is the best therapy and how can you not smile after a 'session'?!?!?!

We did upgrade our computer's operating system to Windows 7. As a staff/student I can get educational discounts on software at NDSU. We were able to upgrade our system for 60 bucks. I think it is typically over 200, so a great deal. Since I'm not a computer genius I thought I had everything in place. Overall - thanks to two external hard drives - the upgrade went well. It took nearly 2 weeks to restore most stuff back to how we had it.

Then there was the case of our pictures.

I like to take pictures. Especially when I have 2 cute kids and a hot hubby as subjects. And what is not to love about digital photos? Snap. Snap. Snap. Before you know it you have a bunch of pics. And hopefully have caught just the right shot.

So, back to the pics. I use Creative Memories' Memory Manager software to sort all of our images. In seconds, using their folder system, I can find pics on a related topic. All pics with Great Grandma - got them. Pics with the kids and their CCRI staff - done! Pics from the zoo in Wahpeton - yep. All in seconds - with a matter of clicks. I can narrow a search down by year (even month and day) very quickly as well. It is super-easy to use and so intuitive. It also tracks which pics I've printed, which ones I've chosen not to print and which ones I need to print.

So I was a bit panicked when the re-install wasn't going as smoothly as I would have liked. I was near tears when I thought I had lost all of the sorting for all of our pics.


For our 33,270 pics.

Yes, you read that correctly. (Told you I like to take pics!). I knew the images were there, but I thought the sorting/categorization was gone. Through the past 5 or so years that I've used the software, I've sorted through pics as I upload them so it hasn't been daunting to manage that volume. I can sort several hundred pics in a short time span - it is that easy! But the thought of having to resort all of them was overwhelming. I also love that if the subjects are Carson and Grace and it is a pic taken at Christmas, I can add the pic to 'Carson', 'Grace', and 'Christmas' in the blink of an eye (and using the shift or control keys I can do this to multiple pics at once if they meet the same criteria/sorts). Okay, enough of my info-mercial. I love the software. I know you get that!

After a call to the software support line, some extra hugs and kisses for the external hard drive that wasn't cooperating, I had victory on Sunday. Happy Valentine's Day to me! All of the pics with their correct sorts were there. Here's a snapshot of the file system so it gives you an idea of what the heck I'm talking about:
There was much rejoicing and celebration. And now not only do we have it on our hard drive, but two shadow copies are backed up on two external hard drives. :) Now I can get back to snapping pics again!

Carson has been a reading maniac and it's been fun to cuddle up to him as he reads the pages of his latest book selection. Junie B. Jones is one of his favs.

Potty training update - we officially have a very potty-trained little girl!!! We are so excited and Grace is so proud. We started January 1. I have to be honest that the first three weeks were dicey. They were stressful (at least for Trav and I in particular! We were trying to not let Grace see our frustration!). We were nearly at points of throwing in the towel, but we'd step back and consider all of the ways Grace was ready to be a big girl and that we'd be at this point again probably sooner than later.

Grace can still hold it like no other person I know. 8 hours is a piece of cake. When she held it for nearly 20 hours one day we watched to see if here eyes would turn yellow! Of course, I worried that she'd giver herself a UTI. Fortunately, she did not.

Then everything started to click. She had more and more successes in a day. Then in a week. Fast forward 3-4 weeks and she'd only had a couple of accidents in that time (I think 2, but not sure...it's just been so easy!). She is dry every morning and is so proud of her big girl panties. She has successfully peed in public bathrooms too, which is a big feat.

We are all thrilled. We are all proud. And thankfully she no longer holds it for 20 hours. She can empty her bladder right before bed even if she has gone in the previous hour. This is very handy for when we're heading out on errands or a trip (more on that in a bit).

Carson had a spell of being very tired and even had some dark circles under his eyes - despite getting a lot of rest. We were worried so took him in for labs a few weeks early. All checked out just fine (perfect, in fact). After a few weeks, he's been back to his typical self now this past week.

Grace did have a cold last week, but she was on the mend by weekend. I'm not going to jinks anything with how healthy we've all been this winter, but do ya think it's related to those two boys with their boy germs getting their tonsils out early last summer? ;)

As we cruised through the rest of January and the start of February, we were getting a bit of cabin fever. We have lots of snow. The wind and temps haven't been very conducive to kiddos playing outside either.

We looked ahead on the calendar and spotted a long weekend in February. YAHOO! With a check of a hockey schedule, we booked a reservation at the Papa Ron and Nana Jane Spa/Resort in St. Cloud. I left work early on February 12 and as soon as Carson was home from school we were off!

Pics and more on our much-too-quick trip to come!