Another night....

It seems like the only time I post anymore is when I work nights. It's been a while so it's been a while since I posted. Because when I'm not at work I have more important things to do like keep Mary from falling off the table. Or harvesting crops on facebook. You know, the important things in life! I'm enjoying a little lull here at work, with just sporadic admissions and a little time before I need to make my second rounds and then print and copy the unit census sheets for tomorrow. If you do them too early you have to hand write in the new admissions that you get from then on so you might as well wait until at least 4. But if you wait too long then a bunch of stuff goes wrong at 5 and you are still frantically copying at 7 when the next coordinator comes in. Darned if you do, darned if you don't! It's been a nice week, I've only worked 24 hours (including tonight!) which is fabulous! I've gotten some housework and some baking done and just spent time with the kids! They wear me out, let me tell you. Little crazy kidlets. Especially Mary-she's a wild one. She did develop a runny nose today so maybe her cough thing was post nasal drip. Last night when she woke up coughing I listened to her and didn't hear any wheezing so I guess my psuedo diagnosis of reactive airway junk was inaccurate. But we'll see. She goes Friday for her 15 month checkup.

I remembered something that I forgot to blog about last week. That night from you-know-where 3 weeks ago today when EVERYTHING went wrong, we spent 45 minutes coding a guy who we almost lost. Well, the other day I was doing a meditech thing and happened by him as he was GOING HOME. I hadn't seen him since he had been extubated and out of CCU. I couldn't believe that he was up, walking, normal.... Praise God. I mean we were minutes from calling that code (saying it was over) when we got a pulse back finally-like 3 rounds of shocking and 4 rounds of every med known to mankind. And yes, you do levitate when they shock you-especially when you up the charge. Oh and tonight I heard that the baby which was another part of the horrible night is still alive! I was sure that he wasn't going to make it either. That was a 3.5 hour code...

Not me Monday

Being a good nurse mommy I would have NEVER ever ever let my kids eat cantaloupe that spilled from the container onto my not so clean camper floor. Oh, no, not me!

I would never fish a cigarette butt out of my daughter's mouth with no more than a "that's yucky" and not even a thought that I should have been able to prevent it (it is yucky but does she have to eat EVERYTHING she finds) and no we have not taken up smoking, we were on a public beach and I dare say I was almost the only one that wasn't smoking!

I would certainly not have eaten an entire costco muffin EVERY day for breakfast for the last 3 days while still saying that I want to loose a couple pounds. Nor would I be joining the family in assisting in the demolition of an entire box of chip ahoy cookies over 3 days. No not me.

Salamaters and Muddle Pirate oh My!

We’re back, Mary is a little brown girl and Robert had a blast catching “salamaters” (salamanders) in the lake and seeing the tadpoles and digging in the sand. It was fabulous-well except for Sat pm where it rained ALL AFTERNOON and most of the evening. But even after that we went splashing in the “muddle pirates” (mud puddles) and he had a great time with that too. He basically had a great time doing everything. Todd lake was perfect for us this weekend. The lake, the playset, the paths (2 laps twice a day+outdoor living=good tired kids and dog!).

It was so neat to see Wesley with the kidlets. I don't often get to see him interact this way with them. He spent a lot of time working with Robert on riding his little bike. We're not there yet but getting closer! Plus some vigorous games of pirates (even puppy, fish and turtle {Robert's stuffed animals} joined in-although turtle does not like being a pirate). Plus today he spent a bunch of time with Robert and the "salamaters", crawfish and tadpoles.

Sunday was a gorgeous day, the kids and I were out morning and afternoon at the lake (so was Wes but he had to hang out with Snoopy-she wasn't allowed on the beach). In the morning there were 2 or 3 other families who were in the middle of building this lake with salamanders which they were then digging a cannal so that they could escape back into the real lake. So my kids joined in. Mary mainly to sit in the mud and splash. Robert to ooh and ahh over the "salamaters" and the tadpoles (aren't they cuuuuuuute!-um yeah) and hold them and throw them back into the lake. Those poor "salamaters" I'm sure they're glad the weekend is over, they have been captured and thrown back a ton I'm sure. In the afternoon the whole place was full of families with kids and floaties and cigarettes and beach blankets and more kids. I mean covered. Kids everywhere digging holes, in and out of the water, eating sand, digging ditches, catching salamanders... I have never seen so many happy wiggling boddies. And toys were more or less common property and everyone just joined in whereever they wanted to and it was fun. Mary hung out with another family who had a 1 year old and he hung out with me some and I taught one little girl how to do a dribble castle.... it was just nuts. The lake is tiny and pretty shallow for the swimming area and Robert had no interest in going in (it was kinda cold one day). Mary on the other hand is a mini me and goes wading as far as she can. Crazy girlie.

Mary’s booster seat was in a folding chair with cup holders and she would tear her food into small pieces and push them through the cup holder to the “garbage disposal” (Snoopy) at the other end. That girl! She can be 5 places at once and will eat anything that stays still long enough. She has napped and slept well I can assure you of that. She is just wiped out at nap and bed time. But I think this is the most actual walking she has ever done. She did really well!

Roger and Peggy came for supper last night and it was good to have them up. Roger's mom (granny) hasn't been well and is now in a nursing home and they're having to deal with putting her house up for sale etc. It's a hard decision to make. She was hospitalized Wednesday and Thursday night she pulled out her IV line and they couldn't get it restarted so Roger called Wes to find out if I was working (I was on Peds) and the nurse called me to see if I would come and restart it, which I did. And proceded to tape it like I do for our 3 year olds. Apparently it lasted until she went home the next afternoon so I must have done OK taping it :) I need to take Mary up to see her and get some more pics of them together since Mary is her name sake.

Well better get back to laundry. Just wanted to get this in before I forgot about the salamaters and the muddle pirates :) Can't wait to see him at the beach. He was talking about it the other day and actually said "uncle Rob and aunt Kavitha"!

Crazy Mary!

Mary is cracking me up this weekend/week! Well until this afternoon-I'll get there in a minute. She figured out how to climb over the sofa yesterday (so up the sofa, over the gate to the office area). sigh. And then on the coffee table. Sigh. I guess I should have figured that she would get this when she can climb the ladder to the playset. Sigh. Oh and evidently she ate some (clean thankfully-I had just changed it out-thanks dad for buying new sand!) sand yesterday while I was hanging clothes on the line 'cause she's been a little sandy butt today-and hasn't been in the sand today IYKWIM. She also feeds her babies (and tried to feed me a bottle today, lol), jabbers non stop and toddles so cutely. She is so adorable!

Yesterday was a good day home with the kids-I actually got a sunburn (oops! wore a tank top instead of my usual short sleeved shirt and the tops of my shoulders and part of my back got it-you can tell where I did spray a part of my back but I mised some) but the kids were fine and took GOOD naps. :). I did a million loads of laundry and hung them out (sheets, towels, clothes, rugs, shower curtain, etc, etc, etc). I was beat and in bed before 10.

Today we went to the wellness center (gym play as Robert calls it!) where I walked/ran 2.75 miles and did some weights. Then Mary was fussy at nap time and at some point was burning up and her temp was 103. So Wesley stayed home with her tonight while Roger and Peggy took Robert to Nanny night. She seems fine when her temp is down-so not sure what is going on with her or what we'll end up doing tomorrow. A lady at church has offered to babysit if need be in the morning so that's a relief. I have to be back at work form 3p-7p to help with the ED meditech go live (they have a meditech inpatient nurse here for the first several days to help floor nurses figure out where to look for their info. But I can always bring her with me for sick day care. I am hoping that she will be fine in the am and all this will be a moot point! I know she's got some teeth comming in so maybe it's a combo of that and the sand :) I called Wes about 8 and she was already in bed and was doing fine. Now I'm sitting here worrying about her, ugh it's so hard to be away from them when they are sick!

Needless to say I didn't get a nap today (Mary napped on me when she did nap and Snoopy wanted in and out and in and out) and luckily I had a coupon for a free iced coffee from starbucks. Wow, that's some potent stuff. I think I should be good for a while with that :) But really, not so tastey and I think origionally would have been $1.75 or $2.75 or something like that. Not worth it!

Well work has been calling so I hope this isn't too disjointed. We're headed away this weekend to Todd lake to camp-so inbetween everything else we have to get ready to do that. I work tonight, 3p-7p tomorrow, 3p-3a thurs and then off, off, off. If I accepted everything people have wanted me to work I would have worked a million hours this week. At this point getting my hours in has not been an issue!

I have been saddened to hear that my best friend from JA lost her dad this week. This sort of thing shouldn't happen to people my age :( I feel so helpless to do anything for her either. So please keep Francine and her mom in your prayers...

Thankful Thursdays

Since I haven't gone to bed yet I declare that it is still Thursday. So there :)

-For Mr HVAC finally being finished up today/yesterday (hip hip horray!)
-For a better night-Sun at the end was pretty crazy-I forgot to call in PACU (ooops!!!!!!!!!!) when I called in OR and I had a death at 6:30. Tonight has been busy (21 admissions!) but not horrible. I'll take it! I left work almost crying Sat and Sun so hopefully today I won't!
-For my sweet hubby :)
-For the cutest kids ever!
-For a great hospital to work at.

Um, for sleep-bring it on! I'm signed up to go to an appreciation breakfast for the meditech group-it's from 8:30-9:30. I don't know if I'll still be alive by then, I guess I'll see.

I wish I could tell you cute things about the kids but in reality I only saw them for supper last night. So I guess Denee is the expert on them this week!

TGIS!

I was thinking this was my last night as a coordinator this week but I work thurs night too. But I am off tomorrow and don't work until 3p-7p on Tues on Peds-which considering that peds is closed for no census tonight I don't think I'm going to count on definitely having to work Tues-which is fine and dandy with me! I start orientation with IV therapy this week-I'm going to work thurs am (7-11) with them and then rest some in the afternoon before working thurs night as coordinator. Then I'm on peds this weekend to cover for a friend. But for now TGIS (thank God it's Sunday) well almost mon...

Mr HVAC is supposed to come tomorrow. Do you think he'll be there? Do you think he'll finish? Stay tuned... I guess I'll start out sleeping on the couch until he gets there. Last time he arrived around 11, I had been asleep since 8:30ish and The View was watching me when I woke up (I had been watching the Today show). I also desperately need to get the laundry done and housework too. The kids and I got groceries on Sat (while Wesley stayed home waiting for Mr HVAC who - surprise - didn't show up and didn't call. ARGH!) so that is done.

I have realized this weekend why I had children. I spent some time outside this afternoon with the kids in the hamock with Mary and Robert was pushing me. BLISS :) It makes up for all the tantrums and poopy diapers! I'm begining to think he is NEVER going to potty train.

I was going to blog about last night but I don't think I want to think about it. It was horrible and I didn't want to come back but I did. And I slept really well today so that's good. And tonight so far has been fine. :) Evidently since I am blogging. And my ILs felt bad for me so they grilled steaks, I did french fries and salad and they cut a cantalope and we ate outside. It was fabulous :) Until I had to leave! I love being able to hang out outside with the kids. Mary spent a bunch of time climbing the deck stairs and then calling to be rescued. Robert rode the Buck around. Then Wes' parents got home and made his a house out of a dishwasher box so they played with that a while. Mary took a long nap-apparently she fell asleep on her way home from church (12-12:30ish) and slept until I woke her up at 4:30. Wowzers!

Thankful Thursdays

Every night when I go to bed I turn off the christmas lights in the kids room and just exault over their sweet sleeping bodies (after making sure they are breathing of course!). I love taking that moment to be thankful for their lives and to pray protection over them through the night and the next day. The days are so hectic-when they are awake I don't appreciate them as much as I should sometimes but in those quiet moments I see the real them. And thank God that they are asleep!!!!!!!!

It's the same way with thankful Thursdays! It gives me a minute to reflect on the truly good in my life.

I am thankful for a job-and a meaningful job. My mom always prayed for "work to do and strength to do it". I get it now. I'm back on Peds this evening and it's really nice to be actually taking care of patients again, although as nursing coordinator I feel like I'm taking care of nurses and that's really special too.

For a good babysitter.

For the lunch that Wesley and I were able to have today. I went ahead and took the kids to Denee's this am and went to the gym, library, to work to work on a project, to lunch with Wesley and then back to work. We spent over an hour at Wood Grill just talking (OK a lot of eating too-I'm no where near hungry yet!)

For my garden-it's really thriving with the rain

For my kids who have keen minds and strong bodies. Maybe a little too keen and strong some days... Mary learned to climb the playset yesterday and a chair today, but I've seen enough kids with disabilities to know that I am blessed!

For my kids' Grandparents! Oh-Grammy and Grampy, Robert says you are comming tomorrow :) Did you know?

Menu Plan Monday!

tonight-supper at Clif and Hollies: I took home made choc chip cookies and a salad, they had hamburgers, potato salad, chips, pasta salad... mmm!
tomorrow-supper at Nanny's (I think she's making taco salad)
wed-pork BBQ sandwiches. I have the pork cooking right now-it takes a while-but I think it will be done tomorrow and I'll just heat it up
thurs-meatloaf
fri-tacos
sat-
L) leftovers/sandwiches
D) grilled chicken
sun-
L) pork BBQ sandwiches again
D) pizza

Grammy and Grampy!

We had a fun weekend with Grammy and Grampy (my parents) and visits from Aunt Margaret and Grandma Reinhold. The kids have played, played, played outside, upstairs, and everywhere and are worn to a frazzle today-they are pooped and in bed-and they took good naps this afternoon! We got the flower beds plus a joint garden with Roger and Peggy planted this weekend and the flower beds mulched so I feel like we are well on the way to spring. Dad also burried the drain pipes (yeah)! Wesley had found a John Deere Buck ride on thing at a 2nd hand store next to where he works a few weeks ago-it was missing the battery and only $15 and he and dad got it working this weekend and it was a HUGE hit. I wasn't sure he would like it-he's a little odd about the riding mower when it's running but he has gone everywhere on it! Mary walks along behind like a little puppy. They've also really enoyed the playset-the rockwall and slide. Mary has gone down the slide several times (with someone at the top to start her and someone at the bottom to catch her). And Robert has mastered the rock wall. I love watching them outside! This week I'm not scheduled much (I had kept it open in case we were doing Meditech stuff but it doesn't look like it) so I think I'm just going to enjoy some time off. I'm scheduled some meetings tomorrow and then 3-11 thursday on Peds and 7p-7a sat and sun as nursing coordinator. The kids are scheduled at the babysitter all day tomorrow and wed and then thurs pm-so I'll have to decide what to do with them-I can't decide whether to leave them and catch some stuff up around here or what. I'll see how long I end up at work tomorrow and then go from there!

Want to be "here we are!"

Robert's sayings are so cute! We were about 45 min from being home from our camping trip (we got back last evening around 5:50 pm) and he all of a sudden stretched his legs and said (whined) "want to be 'here we are'". So then I made the mistake of telling him that we were almost 'here we are', so he said that the rest of the time! Our trip was fun-it certainly had its challening moments but it went well. The kids took a couple days to settle into the sleeping arrangements and Mary and I have had horrible allergies to something in the camper-poor Mary would wake up with a horrible congested cough several times each night-despite 5 mg of claritin every day. Wes' mom has been sick on and off for forever and she felt poorly on and off which made Roger's job of trying to keep up with her, their 2 dogs and my 2 kids pretty hard. (We subsidize their trip as help with childcare while Wesley is at all the seminars). We took Snoopy to the kennel so we didn't have to keep up with her too and so we could do some stuff with the group.

Sat the outing (there's always a photo op outing) was at a petting zoo-well here at infinity acres.
http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?AttrID=49414
http://www.alpacanation.com/farmsandbreeders/03_viewfarm.asp?name=14575

In addition to the alpacas and what I refered to as the poodle pacas (they had some groomed into poodle shapes-they were hilarious!) they had a sugar glider, some critter from venezuala called Taz, fowl, minature goats, pigs, miniture horses, a miniture cow, peacocks, more alpakas, a pond with fish that you could feed... plus kid play house! It was a perfect outing. We had a picnic lunch there and then R+P, the kids and I went back to attempt a nap. I think R+P got a nap. The kids did play quietly for an hour and then I took them to the playground at the campground. It was good just to spend time with them! When I have pics to post I'll tell more about our trip. This page has some pics of the campground including the playground.

http://www.ci.reidsville.nc.us/lakereidsville.htm
more later....

Another night....

Well, another night almost done. I've finished copying over the papers (the unit census where we write what is going on with the patient and update) and am waiting for the next coordinator to come in so I can go home! Whoot! It was a busy night-from 7p-3a it was nuts and then it quieted down and has been good since then. I stuck for lots of IV's/blood, lots of admissions, lots of just general stuff. I had a good mother's day-the best part was that the kids napped at the same time and I had some time in the hammock and curled up on the couch! Robert made me a card and bracelet in toddler church (how cool is that!?!), we had a family lunch with Wes' parents, aunt and uncle and grandma (the first Furr BBQ of the season), Wesley went to Philip's graduation party... just stuff.... if Robert had slept past 7 it would have been perfect :)

Mary is totally walking-almost running-even outside. Her little toddle is SO CUTE. We went to a mother-daughter banquet Sat eve and she was the cutest thing. I'll try to upload a pic later. She got down and was running with the big kids and then blew kisses to all the matriarch ladies and loved all over them. They looked like they wanted to eat her up with a spoon! I know I did! Sat the kids and I went shopping and while we were in Walmart and I was buying canned fruits and veggies Robert said "mmm, yummy, thank you Mommy for buying yummy food". So cute! He's such a sweetie!

middle of the night ramblings... :)

It's been a quick week again at Lake Harrisonburg. Between rain showers we've had drizzle. My seeds must have drowned because all I see growing are weeds-not the seeds I planted. Sigh. The kids are doing OK. We've had to go back to the basics of 1-2-3 magic with Robert, I checked the VHS out of the library for a quick refresher course and I think it's helping. Mary is starting to get fiesty too. Mostly still feeding the dog but also a tendency towards the toilet and the dog water and the toilet bowl brush. I've (only) worked 32ish hours this week but I feel like its been more-I think going back and forth between night and day has killed the week-you loose a day sleeping. And the house looks like a tornado hit it but instead of cleaning it this afternoon while I was off and the kids were at the babysitter I listened to NPR and napped :) Nothing like listening to "the story" to put you to sleep-it's so soothing!

I worked this morning doing meditech tracers-we're basically following meds, blood transfusions and orders through various departments to make sure everything is documenting right and flowing right and that nurses/pharmacists are working right. It's a patient safety initiative our little meditech team for the next month. Then we go back to our reguarily scheduled jobs-whatever that is! Next week I'm straight coordinator (someone is on vacation) so I won't be doing meditech at all. Although I do have crisis intervention training one day which sounds interesting-like how to divert people who are going bersick or something. They say to dress comfy 'cause it's active.

For the next 6 week schedule I am scheduled nursing coordinator, peds and orienting to IV therapy. I figure that the schedule after that I'll work coordinator, peds, IV and orient to float pool (nurses that work on any inpatient non-specialty unit). And then maybe I can just work somewhere, somehow :) I am happy that I'm still getting scheduled on Peds some. That will be so nice to still be there.

This guy is comming tomorrow to install our new HVAC system for the upstairs (I was going to keep it a surprise mom but I just can't!). He should be done Sun :) We have a whole new unit (so we'll have 2 units) plus an air handler and vents and all that good stuff. I'm so excited! Then we're talking about getting the rest of the upstairs drywalled and starting to work on that. For now the thermostat will be in the finished room and then we'll move it out when we get the rest of the upstairs done. So no more window units or heaters for you guys! And there goes our tax refund!

Our weekend is shaping up to be busy! Everyone keep your fingers crossed that tomorrow afternoon it will a) be nice and b) my kids and Caleb will be in super fabulous moods and we can do a photo shoot of all 3 of them individually and together-you know since we left it for the last minute and all. (So mom, your present is going to be a little late...). So family over tomorrow, mother-daughter banquet at Briery Branch Sat night (it will be so fun to take Mary!), Sun it sounds like R+P and us are hosting a BBQ for lunch for Nanny and then Clif and Hollie are doing a supper thing (but I'm going to work). Plus our friend Philip graduates from his program and they're having a party for him.... and the camper needs to be gotten ready for next weekend. And our lawn is like 2 feet tall. And the weeds have taken over the flower bed.... I'm tired just thinking of all this. I MUST clean tomorrow while the kids are at Denee's!

I have made it to the gym twice this week so far. I ran 3 miles one day and 2 today (at 5.5 mph). My knees are a little sore between that and all the stairs I do at work. So I don't think I'll do more than 2-3 miles at a time at this point. I need my knees!

May!

I can't believe it's May already. Camping weather here we come! We're headed to Eden, NC (home of the friendliest people you ever want to meet) for the argus collectors group this month (Roger and Peggy will join us to help with the kids-Wesley gets sucked into Argo-land so otherwise it would just be me and the kids) and then the next weekend mom and dad will be here. Robert will be super excited to see them (as will we all!). Every few days he says "Grammy and Grampy comming soon, comming tomorrow". Not a question either, it is a factual statement! Lol. He loves his grammy and grampy! He's been carrying around the box that his air bed is in recently-he's all excited about his "Pooh bed for beach and vacations".

Tonight is my first solo night as a nursing coordinator. So far things are pretty calm. I'm keeping a close eye on the ED's census and it looks good so far. I've got my fingers crossed for a smooth night. It sounds like it was a crazy day for poor Brenda who worked the dayshift.

Mary is walking really well now-still has some trouble outside (especially when faced with an energetic pug!) . She has also really taken to her dolly. She calls it Baby and loves baby, holds baby, kisses baby, feeds baby (yes Mom I bought her a feeding set for it!). Today I was trying to get her to take a nap so I could take a nap and she started kissing me all over. It was sooo cute. She is so different from Robert. I still have never gotten a real kiss from Robert-he'll lay his cheek against mine if I ask for a kiss. Mary does the whole "mwah" kiss thing-and blows kisses too. Robert has been sweet today too-we just had a really good day. I made him a sandwich with left over pork loin and cheese with mayo and mustard for lunch and he kept going "wow, yummy sandwich-peanutbutter, meat and cheese (I don't know where he got the PB from lol). Mary had sunbutter and jelly and I had sunbutter and mayo and banana. I made bread last night so it was fresh and yummy! The kids ate and ate!

The day started out kinda cool and then warmed up in the afternoon so we were able to go out and play and "photosenthesize" as I put it. I wish the lettuce and beans I planted the Sunday would pop up and photosenthesize too-I'm begining to think I did something wrong :) I think some of the green beans may be comming up-I guess we'll see what happens.

Sunshine!

I've been off for 4 whole days and I feel like a new person! :) It's been great being outside with the kids. Although Robert is becoming rather challenging. Basically directly defying anything I say. Today it was repeatedly kicking Snoopy-going to time out-coming out and doing it again. Argh! I think he is way overtired. He didn't nap and with being outside this afternoon he was wiped out. Snoopy's vet visit went OK. She's the same weight she was last year-so about 3-5 lbs overweight. So tomorrow it's back to work-8-5 tomorrow and some thursday and then night shift fri and sat for a coworker.

Kids update!

I decided not to throw the cute kid stuff in with my other post :) Robert's favorite book at the moment? "the percolated puppy" (perky little puppy). LOL. It is hilarious to hear him call it a percolated puppy. I feel like I did something to the puppy and turned it into coffee. He can already recite huge chunks of it.

The kids have NOT been happy with how much I've worked this week (after tonight it will be oh 42ish hours) and cry as Wesley pulls them out of my arms to take them to Denee's while I sleep. Total mommy guilt here! I'll be SO glad to be working less after this! I miss my kids.

I was telling Mary at supper the other day to not feed Snoopy (I know the vet is NOT going to be happy with her weight when he sees her tomorrow!). Robert looks up and says "Mary, that's one" in my voice. (We count with Robert; that's 1, that's 2, that's 3-time out. ROTFL.) Mary's fatal attraction is Snoopy's water bowl (as was Robert's at this age!) a couple days ago I saw her crawling towards it shaking her head "no" and saying, "no, no, no". She's walking more but still not fully walking everywhere. Silly girl :) She has also learned to trade stuff with Robert (which Robert still hasn't figured out) she'll take his train and he'll be crying over it and she'll hand him a car and he's all happy. There's a smart girlie!

Robert has graduated to being able to play outside without me-with me watching from the glass door and hauling him back inside if he gets out of my sight. That has been so nice! I have a chance to do some supper prep or nurse Mary or something while he's outside. THere's days when it's warm enough for him but not warm enough for me to want to sit outside or haul Mary out.

Death and Life.... in God's hands

Squeamish alert-this post is all about the dying part of my job-I need to journal it somewhere. So if you don't like stuff like this then pass over this entry......

This new job (nursing coordinator) has its rougher spots-mainly in the fact that I see every dead person from the hospital AND all the medical examiner cases for H'burg and Rockingham county. Needless to say it is a rare day that I don't spend some time down in the morgue-which apparently is the lowest tech morgue around per the organ donation people! I guess the new hospital's will be more up to date. I feel so helpless sometimes talking to families. Some go well-the person was older, they had had a good life, the family was fairly prepared. And then you get the ones where none of that is the case. Working with the medical examiner has been interesting too-he gets called for any suspicious deaths, homicides, suicides etc. But this all is absolutely NOT my favorite part of my job. I'm not sure I had seen more than 3 dead people in my whole life before last month and I've seen 6 or more since then. Ugh. The other coordinators say it gets easier, you get numb-er maybe or you have to learn to distance yourself a little. But let me tell you I come home and hold my sweetie and my babies so tight and pray to God that nothing ever happens to them. And then I wake up and pray some more-for us and for those families who are hurting so badly. I will say one thing-the families who know God are so much more at peace than those who don't. It is amazing to watch. They talk about the hope that they have in Jesus and that they will see their loved one again and that the person is free from pain. I am so thankfull that I too have that reassurance-do you?

Tonight is my last night of orientation. Yikes!

so busy!

These weeks are going by too fast! We were all under the weather last week and then we are ramping up for go live this week plus the end of orientation. This is my second night shift orientation and I have to say that I LOVE night shift coordinator! Love, love, love it! So much more what I was expecting to do/be. Today we were up and at em all day-took the kids to the bike store and then to walmart (bought Robert a bike with training wheels at Walmart!), then home for lunch and nap and then spent the afternoon outside. So I was worried that I would be so tired tonight, but it has been fine. I feel fantastic. AND with the kids and Wesley at church I'll be able to sleep, sleep, sleep :) I think I'm going to sleep upstairs today so the kids don't find me. Wesley found that the old camper has some more water dammage (we should have sold it last fall but he didn't get it fixed to his satisfaction-err). I finished clearing out the debris from under the peach tree while the kids played outside, so that's another job done. The house looks like a tornado hit it but oh well. And I need to plant some stuff outside but that will have to wait too! This week I work again night shift tonight and then 9p-1am Tues night (before go live) and then 7p-7a Wed and Thurs. Those are my last days (nights) of orientation and then I am on my own. I'll be continuing to work meditech for another month doing some audits and then will need to see what to mix in with nursing coordinator to fill in the rest of my time (I'm only working 1 12 hour shift/week unless convering for vacations etc).

Happy Easter

I know, it's been 10 days. What a crazy, stupid week. We've all been sick and I've worked a ton-and this new job is throwing me for a loop every time. Parts of it I really like, and parts of it not so much. I'm just not used to feeling like I don't know what I'm doing! Argh. We finished up teaching this week and have a week of catch up before go live next Tuesday (ack) which coincides with my last week of orientation (ackkkkkkkkkkkkkk!). I do my first night shift orientation Wed, and then work nights this weekend (Sat and Sun) and then 2 next week over go live. I will survive.... I have to!

The kids very much enjoyed their Easter. Thanks to a mix up at work where they forgot to tell me that a meeting for the nursing coordinators was canceled I had some extra shopping time without the kids on Friday. I did hear from my boss that they will be paying me the manditory 2 hours that they pay if you aren't called and told not to come. I ended up finding a kitchen on clearance for $20 (very cheap in every sense of the word) and made some felt playfood for Robert's basket. It was a big hit. The 2 of them cooking together are adorable. Mary got a feeding set for her doll, a pair of pink sunglasses and a play cell phone (the cellphone was the hit!). I got Robert some art supplies (pipe cleaners, pom poms, googley eyes, foam stickers) before I thought of the playfood. They also got books from Nanny and a basket of stuff from Roger and Peggy. We had a nice afternoon at Nanny's. The kids played outside with their "cousins"-bubbles and ball and just ran around. It was a nice afternoon. And the kids are tired and sound asleep!

Our trip to old surber station last weekend was wonderful. It was so beautiful and peaceful and fun there. The house was gorgeous and we had a great time hiking along the creek and just hanging out. I definitely want to go back soon! Here's the website for the house:
http://www.surberstation.com/index.html

whew!

It's been a week and it's only Thursday! This being back in orientation is exhausting. I haven't felt so inadequate/unsure about myself in um 7+ years when I was a new grad. I've had 3 days of orientation, I have 5 more and I'm on my own (ack!!!!!!!!!!!). Every day gets a tiny bit better but throws some new complexity into the mix. God has definitely been in on this orientation because each day has built on the day before.

Day 1-just admissions (no deaths, no codes, no complications), day 2 a "minor" code (the patient revived quickly). Day 3-a code the minute I hit the office (literally) but it was OK, a death shortly after (not related to the code), a bazillion transfers out of CCU and telemetry and a slew of admissions, plus a variety of other misc crazy things-pick ups from funeral homes, organ donation arangements.... I finally have a handle on how to get messages off the pager (which I promise you goes off a 100 times AT LEAST in my 12 hour shift) and some/most of the phone # for the various units.

So this week I worked 6-7:30 learning how to do central line blood draws, then taught from 8a-6p, Tuesday orientation from 7a-7p, Wednesday I got to sleep in a tad-tought from 10:30-6pm. I got out of one class today so I just have a 9p-11p class tonight. It's been great to see the kids. Mary is walking pretty well. The babysitter says Robert is hilarious at her house, I'm not finding him so hilarious here, but oh well. The whining and fake crying are driving me CRAZY. But that wasn't a far trip. We tried to go outside this am but it was COLD and he ended up wet and muddy. I even had to wash his shoes!

We leave in the morning (Wesley and I) for a weekend away-bliss. Our friends Heather and Ryan are coming tomorrow night to watch the kids for us. Roger will pick them up from Denee's and they'll watch them until H+R get here and then again Sunday between when they have to leave and we get back. I am so looking forward to SLEEPING IN (why has Robert decided that 7/7:30 is a good time to get up?), relaxing and hanging out with Wesley.

Thankful um Fridays?

OK a day late but wanted to get it in....

-A week that is almost done! At the end of today I'll have worked 38 hours and I'm TIRED!
-A good babysitter that lets me feel at ease about #1
-An awesome DH who has done drop off and pick up both yesterday and will do it again today-thanks hun!
-My kids who are so super excited when they see me. It's so cute and nice. Except when the fight over me.

10 on Tuesday

http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/?p=249

10 things you like to do on Vacation
1) sleep
2) read
3) spend time with people
4) watch TV
5) play games
6) walk/enjoy nature
7) go out to eat
8) shop
9) swim
10) lay out on the beach

Tank-do!

These kids are really something! I think they decided to grow up all at once. Mary is really interactive all of a sudden-talking and playing games and understanding what you are saying. Her newest word(s)? Tank-do! So cute. She plays the thank-you game; she hands you something and you say thank you and then hand it back to her and she says tank-do and then she hands it back..... she can play it forever! At supper she wanted to play touch the finger with daddy (she points her finger and you touch yours to hers but daddy wouldn't let her 'cause she was SLIMY. So after I cleaned her up I told her she could play her game with daddy and she immediately turned to him and pointed her finger. She also has learned to "meep" his nose. lol. She thinks it's hilarious. Robert is generally getting sweeter and more responsible-feeding snoopy, giving her bones (all with help), putting stuff on the table (plates, condiments etc), going to play on the playset and staying there if I need to bring in groceries. Today I sent him there, took in the groceries, put the perishables in and then Mary and I sat outside while she nursed. It was great just to have a few minutes to unwind outside after a very long day of teaching followed by a quick trip to walmart. Well, got to finish laundry!

Menu Plan Monday!

mon-swiss chicken in the crockpot
tues-Nanny Night! whoot!
wed-meatloaf, mashed potatoes
thurs-pot roast with veggies
fri-Wes and the kids out (I'll be at work)
sat L-sandwiches'
sat D-grilled chx
sun L-easy dinner surprise
sun D-grilled hotdogs/hamburgers with deviled eggs if I get to them!

Mary

I meant to post yesterday about Mary on her birthday but she was so fussy and went to bed late that I didn't do it. I just collapsed into a stupor!

Obviously Mary has changed a TON in the last year. She is generally so happy (and whew that tooth finally came through today and she's back to being mostly happy!), curious, and funny. She loves dogs-Snoopy and the pugs are her favorite "people". She love to "lecture" with her pointer finger wagging-if you correct her or someone she'll wag her finger too and go "nonono or eh". She adores her big brother and is always watching what he is doing-and they are both getting jelous of when I am working with the other (little stinkers!) She got really mad this evening when Robert was standing on a chair in the kitchen helping me make pancake batter and she wasn't-she kept trying to climb the chair or pull Robert down.

She learned this week to fake sneeze (a family trate/joke) and it's really funny a-a-a-a-boo! She's a snuggler, a flirt, my precious baby girl. My current name for her is "sweetness"-it really seems to fit. I am so thankful for my kids. Happy (belated) birthday sweet girlie. May you grow up to be all that God has for you.

10 on Tuesday

10 songs I hate

hmmm-I really bad about noticing songs that I don't like...

1) Achy breaky heart
2) Rock of ages (like the words-hate the music and thus singing it)
3) The letters from war song
4) I....................willlllllllll allllllllllways loveeeeeeeeeeee yooooooooooooooooou
5) Lets talk about sex baby, lets talk about you and me.
6) I love you, you love me (barney)
7) Christmas shoes
8)

hmm.. I'll have to think on this today....

New Job Day #1!

Today was my first day in the new job-I'm orienting a day a week for the next several weeks while still doing my usual Tues/Wed/Thurs with meditech. Luckily I was put on call for Peds for 3-11 yesterday :) and thus getting up at 5:45 wasn't too bad. Yesterday I got all the laundry done, folded and put away and the house picked up and cupcakes and mini cakes made for the kids party this weekend.

Today was a LONG day 7A-7P but I learned a lot, met a lot of people and realized that I still have a LOT to learn. No codes or deaths today thank heavens. Which I gather is fairly unusual.

Thankful Thursdays!

I am thankful...

-For an impromptu day off yesterday even if it also came with a dentist appointment (why did the hygienist go back to hand scaling? ouch!)
-For a clean house (see #1!)
-For a great babysitter
-For crazy and fun kidlets
-First day in my new job on Monday!!!
-Wesley

10 on Tuesday

10 things I won't miss about winter! (now this is EASY!)

1. Putting the kids' coats on
2. Rolling up long sleeves on the kids before letting them eat
3. My long sleeves falling down while giving the kids a bath
4. Robert going to the door and telling himself "no Robert you can't go outside it's Coooooooooold outside, very cold and windy" (ROTFL! I guess he's heard that a few times!)
5. My hair freezing when I leave the house (yes I know I could blowdry it-but who has the time?)
6. Not being able to take the kids out to play
7. Extra TV time
8. Trying to put the kids in their carseats with coats on
9. Cold and dark when you wake up
10. That cold sting on your face as your walking from one building to another... ugh

http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday

Monday Menu Plan

Sat-Lunch-leftovers
Dinner-hotdogs on grill
Sun-Lunch-pork BBQ sandwiches
Dinner-Hamburgers on the grill (it was supposed to be pancakes but wasn't pancake weather!)
Monday-out (it's Wesley's b-day and we got a babysitter! whoot!)
Tuesday-Nanny's
Wed-Tandoori chicken with safron rice-I even bought garam masalla for it-I hope it's good!
Thursday-chicken pot pies
Friday-home made pizza
Sat L-leftovers? We'll be coming back from the maple sugar festival

I've got sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, although kids really put a cramp in your style sometimes (no more sleeping in, childcare arrangements, poopy diapers) I never REALLY lived outside in any decent weather until I had kids-well toddlers to be exact-Robert didn't really care his first year :) Now if it's over 40 we're out! We had a glorious weekend outside! Both kids are sick with snotty noses/cough/diarrhea so we (the kids and I) didn't go to church today.

So instead we played outside. And this afternoon I found the camp saw and cleared out the stupid overgrown peach tree area and pruned the old tree a ton. It looks a LOT better. Now we just need to till the ground around it and get rid of the old debris and see if we can get grass and stuff to grow. I left 2 smaller trees standing in addition to the big one-but cut down 10ish tiny trees and a huge vine. So maybe this year the peaches will be a little bigger-and easier to get to!

I also made a loaf of bread and cut Robert's hair so I'm feeling nice and frugal! Oh and my lettuce is starting to sprout! Robert and I (boy was that a mistake to plant lettuce seeds with a 3 year old-I've never planted lettuce before and had NO idea that the seeds are miniscule at best) planted 18 peat pots of lettuce on Friday and you can see them starting to germinate! I'm so excited about SPRING! I think I have a touch of SAD (seasonal affective disorder)-it's not bad but I can definitely tell a difference with spring. Part of it is probably that the kids are SO much nicer when they are totally worn out from being outside. :) They both took nice naps and collapsed in front of the TV when we came in about 5 this evening and went to bed without issue. It was nice of God to give us a "wear out" day during time change! No issue about going to bed an hour early!

Another day....

Today was much better-now we're just trying to figure out how to transition from one group to the other. The final verdict this afternoon was that I have to start on a new pay period-which go for 2 weeks-from this past Sunday to the Saturday after this one. So I have 2 4 hour shifts that I will do on peds (extra stuff I signed up for) that I'll keep plus next weekend (or just the Saturday from it?). I'll stay very PRN (as needed) on peds-if they really need help etc. So hopefully tomorrow I can meet with my new boss and look at my schedule for after next week!

It's going to be a busy time-that is also the week (March 11th) when the "top off" (last updates from meditech-the computer system I've been working on the update for) comes in-where we should get some fixes we have been waiting for, plus the last minute preperation for the classes we are teaching nurses on the update, and then we start teaching March 24th! Some of my test plans include scheduling printing which STILL does not work so we are waiting for a fix for that as well. If we don't get that we won't be able to go live with the new version. Tomorrow we have a JMU student working with us to help us re-do the user manual so it's going to be a full day of that. I spent some time today going over it so it should be ready for her. After work I went to the gym but had forgotten my sneakers so had to work out in my danskos-ugh. I gave up after 30 min and hit Goodwill and found a pair of cords (gap), a great sweater (LL Bean), a beautiful skirt (Eddie Bauer) and 2 random shirts oh and a brand new shirt for Robert (4T for next winter)-all for 20.XX! I would have paid that for any one of those. I don't usually find anything!

Robert has been very 3 recently. He's very sweet but almost jealous of Mary and total meltdowns if I am holding her, nursing her etc. He cries easily and is clingy around me but totally fine elsewhere. I guess I am the "safe" person. So we've been doing extra snuggling. Mary stands well-and can get to a standing position without pulling up! But won't even try to take a step. I think she thinks its dangerous. I quit pumping at work this week :) so I think we're winding down as we approach her birthday. She can eat her weight in food-that's for sure. She had a 1/2 of a BBQ sandwich, a bunch of fries and some cole slaw for supper. Robert had a banana. lol. He's finally a toddler I guess. Which is good-I don't think I know how to feed 2 huge eaters! I feed Robert what I used to feed Mary and Mary what I used to feed Robert. The other day Mary ate all her lasagne and Robert didn't eat hardly any so I gave her his. Well, better get back to work and to bed.

New Job

Now that it's official and everyone can know I feel like I can finally blog about my new job! I can't believe that a) I got the job and b) that I'm leaving Peds after 7 years there. I'm really sad about leaving Peds-they are family to me. But really, really excited about doing something new, new responsibilities, opportunities etc

When I was approached about considering applying for the nursing coordinator job I was like-me? I'm not old enough/experienced enough/ready for that! But the more I talked to a fellow coordinator who is on the meditech team and the more I prayed about it and interviewed for it the more I realized I do have the skill set for it and that it should be a good mix for me. The timing couldn't be better either. Mary is almost done nursing so I won't have to pump during my shifts/or while I'm sleeping (did I mention that these are 12 hour night shifts?), and is sleeping through the night so Wesley isn't too worried. I'll never get called off either and since it will be 12 hour shifts I'll only have to work 2 ish days a week (since I'm part time). I'll probably be IV therapy a fair amount too-doesn't sound like they always have enough coordinator hours.

Today was hard. I had to talk to the babysitter about an issue from Friday that I've been putting off all weekend, then talk to my boss, then tell the girls on Peds once I got the OK that the other applicants had been told. I feel really bad for the other applicants-because I've BTDT and know that it HURTS to not get a job you wanted. I have no idea who had applied for it either. It was just hard to talk to the people on peds. I woke up this morning going "what have I done? How can I leave Peds?" But I'll still be at the same hospital, seeing them, working along side them. Well, its bedtime, I took the time to fold 3 loads of laundry and get them put away and then pick up the house so it's late. But I wanted to put some of these feelings down!

10 on Tuesday

http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/

10 Ways You Can Make Your Life Better

1. Laugh more
2. Play more
3. Put on a tickle glove and chase the 3 year old
4. Watch your baby sleep in your arms
5. Sleep more :)
6. Don't worry about tomorrow 'cause today has enough worries of its own!
7. Drink the occasional glass of wine ;)
8. Read good books
9. Follow your dreams/passions
10. Pray

Random Picture Challenge

11th folder
or
September 2007

11th picture


the view from our huge picture window . I love living in the country

A quick update

I know I've already blogged today but wanted to put a quick update while I'm eating a small bowl of ice cream and enjoying being home alone (awake that is-the kids are in bed and Wesley is at church).

Mary is standing alone! I can't believe it. She's done it several times this evening. And she climbed from the mini trampoline to the mini couch thing over the arm of the loveseat. wow. And Robert is on day 3 of no pee accidents! Whoot!

Thankful Thursdays!

Today I am thankful
-for being alive
-for a warm-ish day in the forecast!
-for kids that went to bed at 8:30 and awake and both fell asleep on their own!
-for being almost done with pumping! :)
-work to do and strength to do it
-my family

Robert's birthday!

Completion! Or almost!

I've been working on a HUGE project for work. 50+ IV therapy procedures. No, I'm not an IV therapist. But my former boss gives me projects like this to do. It's a win-win. I need the hours and she needs some one who can work independently on projects. Before this one I had the job of calling all the units to see what signs they put up in patient's rooms (NPO, no blood pressure/sticks in an arm/blind...) and the one before that was all the ways that medications go astray between pharmacy and the patient. Well this one took project to a whole 'nother level. I've been working on this since November! Well, thankfully an IV therapist was also working on this and between the 2 of us we're almost DONE! I have one more to do :) :) :) And she has like 5. Because I gave her a bunch of stuff that I don't know at all (central lines, PICC lines etc). And I will be SO thankful to be done with them! I was planing on leaving work at 4 to go to the gym but I stayed til almost 5 to get them done and then went to the gym. And made yummy turkey burgers with basil mayo. And Robert ate a whole turkey burger! Wow!

Speaking of Robert he got all blocked up again so he is on day 1 of 2 of mandatory poop clean out-a full cap of miralax twice a day. So we are poop central. But the good news is that he has now gone 2 whole days with no pee accidents! Whoot! So I have hope that one day he will actually be potty trained!

My big 3 year old!

I wanted to take some time on his birthday and reflect on how much Robert has grown over the last year-but alas I went to work instead! So I'll take a few minutes while waiting for Wesley to pick me up to do so today!

This year has been challenging in a lot of ways-a new baby sister, a new babysitter, lots of new skills but it has all shaken out to a really neat preschooler (Wesley says I get carried away when I talk about him because it sounds like he's perfect-well he isn't but wow the difference!).

In the last year
-he has stopped running away as much (maybe a 90% reduction)
-he has started listening when I tell him to come back (all of those times of carting him back to the house when he didn't listen must have paid off!)
-he has started eating better with utensils (still have a ways to go!)
-he is getting close to being potty trained :) :) (whoot!)
-he picks up after himself-mostly without promting-shoes on the shoe rack, clothes in the dirty clothes (toys not so much-need to work on that!)
-he is getting better at undressing and helping to dress himself
-he sits and snuggles with mommy again !!!!!!!!!! I LOVE my sweet boy!
-he plays independently and will play with Mary-so cute! Although he was not happy when she was playing with his new jeep and trailer-but for once he didn't take it away from her-he just yelled (lol).
-

Robert's Birthday!

We had such a good time at Robert's birthday-we celebrated first on Tuesday at Nanny's soup kitchen-chocolate cake and peppermint ice cream-Robert's favorite-favorites! Friday I worked a half day and then picked just him up from the babysitter's and took him to the farmer's market for lunch and a treat. He picked out a fishing puzzle and ate a hot dog, mac&cheese and cookies and cream ice cream. Then we picked up Mary and went home for nap. That evening Roger and Peggy and Clif, Hollie and Caleb met up with us for supper at Dairy queen.

Random Picture Challenge

OK-actually this was an old challenge-oops! So, for whatever it's worth I'm leaving it!
November 2007
44th picture





Thanksgiving at DH's aunt's house. Here you have Bruce (named for Bruce Almighty!) supervising the making of dressing by FIL and GMIL. It's always good to have (and to be?) clean up crew when cooking! Bruce takes his job very seriously-he was underfoot the whole time!

Friday Fill Ins

1. Give me chocolate and I'll be happy.

2. Whenever I get called at 5 am to see if I can work I can never go back to sleep-argh!

3. I wish my little boy a very happy birthday!

4. The brownies at church were the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.

5. To live in this world takes courage, tact and a sense of humor.

6. Other than this one, Rabia's is the last blog I commented on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to family time to celebrate Robert's birthday, tomorrow my plans include maybe taking the kids to the pool and Sunday, I want to take a nap!

Thankful Thursdays!

I am thankfull

For God's love and grace
For my husband who is trying so hard to be more helpful!
For kick but Toby Mac songs that start my day off right :)
For my sweet kids-especially my sweet and extra snuggly this week Robert-who turns 3 tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!
For Mary sleeping through the night
For fun new challenges at work
For a great talk last night with Heather
For the fact that it is almost bedtime! I'm TIRED.

Not me either...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I would not have taken Mary out to the gym in a fleece only this morning since it was 30 or below and blowing snow. Nope. Not me.

I would not have fed my kids both hotdogs, peas/carrots/oranges while secretly scarfing the last piece of cake while they ate their veggies. Nope. Not me.

I would not have stuck Mary in the pack n play awake today to let her cry so she can learn to go to sleep by herself-at the same time as Robert-just so I could get a break. Not me!

Random Picture Challenge

This week's challenge: from http://4littlemen.blogspot.com/

January 2007

or 13th picture folder

3rd picture

Here we go. It's our shed with Christmas lights. Wesley's favorite Christmas tradition! We have pics of this every.single.year. Notice the candle in the window!

Friday Fill Ins

sorry Rabia-stealing again! :)

1. It seems like Saturday-I love that I can stay home with my kids today.

2. Put your dishes in the dishwasher when you're done, please?

3. If I thought you would be happy for a couple hours I'd read my new book!

4. Unconditional love is what I think of most when I think of you.

5. To me, Valentine's Day means a time to remember why I married my best guy and show him that I love him!

6. God gives me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to mom and dad comming, tomorrow my plans include lunch at Jess' and either working or some time with Wesley and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

Thankful Thursdays!

I'm going to steal this idea from Robia! I hope you don't mind!

Today I am thankful for:
-a good week at work where I was able to do some really cool things and work on issues that will make a big difference to RMH.
-my parents coming tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see them again and to see what they think of the kids!
-a playdate tomorrow and a chance to just hang out with the kids
-Mary slept all night last night and her top teeth seem to be almost through
-a good babysitter
-being able to reconnect with so many friends from Jamaica through facebook!
-my crazy wonderful husband who willingly took Mary at 2:30 am the other day when I had to go to work and she was crying
-my super sweet kids

I want YOU to give me more spaghetti (or a bath)!

balance

This week really hasn't been well balanced and I feel a little off kilter because of it. It's amazing how different I feel when I don't get to the gym! I went once and that was it-between the snow and working from 3a-7a on Friday and Robert poop issues-ugh. But I'm sure next week will be better! Yesterday I struggled just to survive-getting up at 2:30 am for the day is not my idea of fun (now that I have kids!). Especially when Robert didn't nap. Sometimes I think he is napping and he really isn't, but yesterday I KNOW he didn't because I could a) hear him and b) see his hand under the door pushing his race cars back and forth under the door. And then he would open it and get them if he pushed them too far and then I'd hear the door click closed. So I didn't dare nap. I was too afraid he'd leave the house.

Then we were out until 9 at our babysitter Denee's son's party. (I think I have too many 's but I'm not sure which to put it on-which one mom?) Anyways I fell into bed at 10 and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. This morning we met up with Philip and Sarah to work on the nursery some and for the guys to work on the sound booth. Then we had a quick lunch at costco. Now the kids are napping and we have a babysitter for tonight (yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I'm not sure when we last went out-it was a LONG time ago :) We also need to give Snoopy a bath and take down Robert's crib and transition him to a big boy bed. I guess we'll see how much time we have left after he wakes up.

A week of stuff....

I'm not sure where this week went. It's been full. Mostly of worry about Robert. He recovered just fine from his fall but then has been horribly constipated. He went last Thursday and then not again until this Wed (and that took 3 doses of milk of mag, 2 doses of miralax and 2 supositories....). Ugh. The babysitter called me on Wed to tell me he was trying to poop and crying saying "I want medicine". Poor guy. But we're all straight now and I'm going to keep him on the miralax for a while. He's never had a problem until he started potty training and figuring out how to hold stuff. Argh! But over all he's fine. He's loved being out in the snow in his boooooooots (Want boooooooooooots onnnnnnnn). I taught him how to throw a snowball and make a snow angel. The snow angel DID NOT go over well. I think he thought it was a new form of mommy torture. Snow balls on the other hand.... they were a hit-in more ways than one!

Mary is of course, ever a nut. Now that she's better (the second round of abx did the trick!) she's sleeping through the night and is a crazy mess. She can pull up on anything, crawl anywhere and hold on with one hand, bend down, pick up something and not fall down. Not quite walking but wants to be. She has this cute habit of jabbering and pointing her finger emphatically. It's adorable. She dotes on Robert and is quite mad when he goes somewhere that she can't. The last few days Robert has been climbing out of his crib and getting up in the morning and Mary will stand in her crib fussing like "how does he do it? How did he get out?". I guess it's just a matter of time....

On our playdate last week, there was a 6 month old as well as a 2 year old and it wasn't the toddlers that we had to caution to be gentle with the baby, it was Mary. At some point I walked around a corner to find Mary sitting next to the baby "petting" him. Whack, whack, whack "ahboahhd ahodo". Yeah. Easy girlie! And poor Robert during baths-Mary always manage to pull his hair. He's really good about it, but I can tell he's frustrated.

Angels Watching Over Me...

There is a quote that I read at some point when Robert was tiny that went something like "the decision to have a baby is monumental-it is the decision to allow your heart to walk outside of your body". And that is absolutely the truth. I have been more terrified as a mother than I was even in high school (what was I so anxious about then?) and that says something. With both kids I was pretty anxious the first few months that they would die of SIDS and then with Robert that he would run into the road and be killed. And of course anytime we loose a kid at work I'm anxious then too.

Well I've relaxed a little bit and yesterday Robert was playing on the playset and the next thing I knew I heard a thump and he was flat on his back on the ground. He started moving right away and could move all his extrematies and I scooped him up yelling for Wesley who was changing oil. He went hmm and went back to it so I took Robert inside (Wesley thought we were going to talk about it while he changed oil, I thought Wesley didn't really care-lol). Well I gave him some motrin and we snuggled about an hour before he would even think about walking around. Of course I'm checking pupil response, looking for signs of head injuries etc. By supper time he was all over the place, climbing etc. This morning he was a little sore but we went back outside (at his insistence) and he went back up and then down the slide. I noticed he stayed well away from the open area this time though! Everytime I woke up last night (and I didn't sleep real well) I could hear the thump and see his little body on the ground. I am SO relieved that he looks OK. And I am mindfull that I am not the only person that looks out for my kids-their heavenly father does too!

We had a playdate this morning which was fun. Two potty training boys kept the bathroom hopping-and 4 kids and a dog and 2 mommies made for a full living room! It was nice to have some mommy chat time while the kids play. I guess that is the real reason for playdates-the kids really could care less (except for the fun of playing with different toys!) it's all about the mommy talk!

Crazy Kidlets!

We've had a busy week so far! We had supper Monday at Grandma R's-it was a lot of fun, she brought out the dominoes and both kids had a ton of fun with them. Mary is really good at hitting the end domino to knock down the whole row-better than Robert even. And is somewhat better at eating with a spoon too, lol. They both looked like mashed potato kids til supper was over. I think grandma has just started making mashed potatoes any time we come. Although I think the appeal of mashed potatoes is wearing off on Robert somehow. Tuesday it snowed a little and after work I made biscuits and sausage gravy. I meant to save 1/2 the sausage for pizza tonight but I forgot. Oops. Today it was icy and so we stayed home until after 9 and then I took the kids to the babysitter and then hit the gym and came home and worked from home on some IV therapy procedures that I have been putting off for a long time. They are done-yeah! In between times I did laundry. Sigh. After supper tonight Wesley drove to town to trade my car for his mom's-she was having trouble seeing so went to the ER where they did an MRI and her sinuses are still really bad-and they gave her a percocet so she couldn't drive. We'll carpool in the morning and then I'll drive home seperately. The origional plan was for us to both drive in and Wesley to drive her car back but I really didn't see the need to drag 2 kids to town and back...

Fun Sat

We've had a good day here. We went with Roger to sharp shopper, walmart and subway for lunch and then just hung out for a while and then I baked this afternoon. I made a batch of granola bars, a pan of brownies, a loaf of honey oatmeal bread and a batch of artisan bread dough (to bake this week). The house smells amazing. We had pot roast, mashed potatoes and salad for supper and Roger and Peggy joined us and brought green bean casserole. Mmm. Now the kids are in bed and I think I'm going to play wii!

The roast:
a 2-4 pound chuck roast
In the cock pot mix:
2 cans of regular cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope of lipton onion dry soup mix
about six (or so) good shakes of Worcestershire sauce

mix that together and place your beef in the sauce. Thats it! You will be able to cut it with your fork and the flavor is superb. It makes it's own gravy (and alot of it) which is fab. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours. The resulting sauce is already gravy, I just whisked it to combine it a little better. The roast was fork tender.

Babula Cuisine Brownies (these are the BOMB-better than any mix-ask Wesley!)
1 c sugar
1/4 c cocoa
1/2 c oil
3/4 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t salt

Mix sugar and cocoa. Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Bake in a 9x9 inch pan in a 375 deg oven for 30-35 min.

The granola bars
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Playgroup-Granola-Bars/Detail.aspx

I made them with craisins this week. Last week I used chocolate chips. I have to say the chocolate chips rocked! But the craisins are good too and feel healthier!

The oatmeal bread
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Of-An-Oatmeal-Bread/Detail.aspx
Add a little gluten to this recipe if you want a really good rise. You MUST use bread flour!

The artisan bread
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/211brex.html
don't use bread flour in this recipe!

The weeks go by so fast!

It seems like every time I turn around it's another weekend and then another trip to get groceries, another laundry day.... I wish time would slow down a little! I remember 5 min being an eternity when I was growing up. Waiting for mom to get out of the bathroom. What was she doing in there? Now that I'm a mom, I know. I hide in the bathroom and lock the door for 5 min and READ, lol. Something besides Thomas or the very hungry caterpillar or the big book of trains that is! The kids and I had a splendid day yesterday. A leisurely morning, a trip to the gym, then met Wesley at costco for lunch and picked up some fruit and dishwasher detergent. Back home for nap for Robert (Mary slept in the car so wasn't ready for a nap until Robert woke up!) and then I took Robert outside to play. We had a blast. I got some great pics on my new camera. We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes from scratch for supper and then Wesley went to help Brad H with something and I gave the kids a bath and they were both out by 8:30. Robert made it til 8:10, lol. and then he almost fell asleep reading a book and headed off to bed without me! Speaking of Robert, he's been in undies since yesterday (except for nap of course and to poop which I tried to combine a diaper). That includes at the gym care, to costco, etc and then today to sharp shopper, a couple quick errands, lunch, walmart and home! I am SO proud of him! No wet pants!

Meatloaf
1 envelope Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Onion Soup Mix
2 lbs. ground beef
3/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs*/you can use oatmeal for some of this
2 eggs (I didn't have any so left them out)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup

1.	Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in large bowl.
2.	Shape into loaf in 13 x 9-inch baking or roasting pan.
3.	Bake uncovered 1 hour or until done. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves:	8
Preparation Time:	15 Minute(s)
Cook Time:	1 Hour(s)

TGIT?

Okay, so it's not really TGIF but Thursday marks the end of my meditech work week so hey, I'm rejoicing! 3 days in a row is hard with small kids! The project is going really well and I'm enjoying the work now that I'm getting in the groove. I just miss the kids :( But I'm off the next 4 days so YEAH! And tomorrow is supposed to be nice out so we're going to hit the playset and play, play, play! The housework can wait.

Mary is a total nut these days, she's figured out how to get in the dog water, pulls the plug out of the bathtub (repeatedly), is crawling, cruising and generally CRAZY. Robert is getting more and more independent and "I want to do it my way"-ish. Sigh. They are growing up TOO fast.

Today for supper we had leftover taco salad.

1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
1 large can of baked beans
1/4 c catsup
1/5 c BBQ sauce
2 T mustard

cook them all together until thick and bubbly (10ish min). Serve in bowls (layer in the order written)

doritos (crushed)
taco meat
cheese (shredded)
lettuce
tomatoes
ranch salad dressing.

YUM

For my desert I rehabilitated a VERY dry and stale cupcake (from last friday that I never put away!) by crumbling it, adding some milk, microwing it for 30 sec then I added some chocolate chips and a drizzle of caramel ice cream topping and microwaved it another 30 sec, stirred it well and topped it with whipped cream. It was to die for. Can you tell I'm PMS-ing? Mary liked it to but she is my chocoholic. Robert is my ice cream and pie boy. For Mary it's all about the chocolate!

Update on Mary

I forgot to mention that I did take Mary to walk ins today and she still has a bunch of fluid in her ears but no active infection. They did give me a prescription for augmentin if she starts running a fever or acting worse. So, it was the best of both worlds! I can quit worrying about her for today and I have meds if she needs them. The probiotics are working well and her but is almost completely better!

Cleaning while the kids are little is like shoveling while it's still snowing!

Wesley loves this quote... and I do too but I can't decide whether I want to abide by it or not. In some ways yes-why pick up the toys if they are just going to get dumped, in another way I want the kids to know what order and picking up are all about. Well, Mary's crying so I'll leave it there.

Fell off the bandwagen, eh?

It's been a long time since I blogged. Like when I got pregnant with Mary long time. And she's almost 10 months old. Yikes, when did that happen. But here I am. And now I have no idea what to say.

It's been a good day. We went swimming this morning. The kids are like little fish. They LOVE to go to the wellness center. We swim in the therapy pool where it's 80 degrees-heaven! They have some tub toy stuff that they use for swim lessons and today we "adopted" 2 squirty dinosaurs and each kid had one and they had a ball with them. Robert loves to jump off the edge of the pool, he climbs up the side and then we count "1,2,3" and he jumps in. Well at some point he had both dinosaurs on the edge of the pool and he was counting "1,2,3" and "they" were jumping in. It was hilarious.

Then Robert took a good nap (yeah for post pool naps) and I baked some bread and made a bunch of lasagnas for the freezer. Except 2 of them are actually outside freezing since it's as cold outside as my freezer, lol. Wesley went to walmart for groceries (literally I think the first time he has ever done a weeks shopping on his own-and he volunteered). Mary spent most of the day doing her thing-crawling, pulling up, playing etc. She's still pulling on her ears-in fact more so than she had-so she may be headed back to the doctor on monday-sigh. Today was her last day of antibiotics. I've had one of them on antibiotics since Jan 2nd. I'm tired of this! And the amoxicillan is really tearing up her stomach which is tearing up her bottom-it is so red it's almost bleeding. :(

Maybe I'll make this partly a recipe blog. Here are today's recipes. Well I made the bread dough yesterday to go with the chili but I'll stick it here too :) Lunch was chicken tenders (frozen from a freezer session last week with french fries from Burger King).

European Peasant Bread (Artisan bread in 5 min a day)

makes 4, 1 lb loaves

3 c water
1.5 T granulated yeast
1.5 T salt (use less if you are using table salt-this is supposed to be kosher)
1/2 c rye flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
5.5 c all purpose flour

-mix the water, yeast, salt in a food processor or heavy duty stand mixer with dough hooks. Add the flours and just mix through (do not knead)
-leave out for 2 hours
-cover and stick in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
-whenever you are ready to eat it
-dust dough with flour
-cut off 1/4 of it, shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around. Allow it to rest for 40 min.
-preheat the oven to 450. Place a broiler tray on the lower shelf and a baking stone on the other shelf.
-Sprinkle the dough with flour and cut scalops, cross etc into it.
-place the dough on teh stone. Pour 1 c hot tap water onto the broiler tray and close the door. Bake for 35 min or until the top crust is deeply browned and very firm. Allow to cool before slicing/eating.

Lazy Day Lasagna-makes 1 9x13 or 2 8x8 pans (I tripled this recipe which made 4 8x8 pans and one strange oblong 8x11 maybe? (adapted from the freezer cooking manual)

15 oz ricotta cheese
2 c mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/3 c chopped parsley
1 t onion powder
1/2 t pasta sprinkle
1/8 t pepper
1 can spaghetti sauce
lasagna noodles-uncooked

mix ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, spices together.
put enough spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan(s) to cover.
layer noodles, cheese mixture, spag sauce, noodles, cheese, spag sauce, noodles, sauce. Once it is assembled pour 1/2 c water around the edges. Freeze. I freeze until firm then put them in a sink of hot water until the edges unmold and slide the lasagnas into a large freezer ziplock labeled with which pan it goes back into. Before baking sprinkle with cheddar and Parmesan cheese Bake covered from frozen for 2 hours or thawed for 1 hour, uncovering for the last 15 min if possible. I usually bake it from frozen-this is a staple Sunday lunch for us!

talking and crazy!

Robert gets bigger and more crazy every day. We had a great time with him last night taking him around to trick or treat. We did just family and one close neighbor but it still took 3 hours! He was asleep till we got him home! He's starting to put words together (all done, down! climb up! more please!) he is also more and more accurately mimicking what we say-I have a tendency to say "I know" to him (I know, you're tired/upset/want this) and the other day after I said it he looked at me, sighed and said in the same tone "I know". I nearly died. It sounded just like me! His climbing ability is crazy. He is fearless but only where he can do it well, the babysitter has a wooden playset with a ladder and slide that is taller than me, he can climb up the ladder and goes down the slide effortlessly! He loves to climb and slide. We (Peggy and I) took him to the farmer's market this morning-she needed to pick up a book for the library-and he had a blast at the toy store there. They had a wooden barn with sliding doors and he was pushing a train in and out of it and generally having a ball. I think he will definitely be getting a barn for Christmas! I did buy him a train and a new puzzle with dinosaurs. Halloween pics are here

http://www.megley.com/photos/babyfurr/album_008/

TV addict

Sigh, my son is turning into a TV addict and mommy don't care. Admittedly it's all good kids stuff but still :) At least he also loves to read and play outside! He loves to go through the field behind the house (which they have "mowed" the corn out of) and shucking kernels of corn left behind and visit the cows. "moo, moo?"

Wes and I took off for 24 hours Saturday/Sunday and left Robert with Wes' parents and a friend of mine (Heather). Wes' dad Saturday afternoon, Heather that evening and overnight and Wes' parents again Sunday. Wes' mom had found a tractor DVD at the library which he watched Sat while with Roger. The first thing he did Sunday when he got there was pick up the case, point to the TV and say "watch, on". Wes' dad was thrilled. He's really starting to communicate which is nice. He can point out what he wants to do/eat and really is starting to have definite ideas of what he does and does not want to do. Which admittedly comes with melt downs over not getting to do what he wants to do. But life's like that! He's had a runny nose the last couple days and his second molar has popped through and his bottom 2 are still really swollen too. Poor guy.

NICE!

That's Robert's newest word. It's so cute, almost niiiCe! The first time I heard it he was petting an ear of corn (dried that he and Wes found in the field when they went to visit the "mow" (tractor that mowed the corn). He loves that ear of corn. He says "koRn" very distinct K and R sounds. So cute. But not as cute as what he did yesterday. He had reached into the fridge while I was getting out some water and handed me the bag of grapes so I washed a few and put them in a bowl for snack. I let him eat them in the living room (I was sitting in there trying to figure out what to bake for a bake sale tomorrow). When he was done he picked up the bowl and went into the dinning room with it. I figured he was going to let snoopy lick the water out of it. No, he took it into the kitchen and stuck it in the sink! The sink that he can't see yet. This is the second time he's done that, it just floors me. Wes and I were laughing that he's better trained than Wesley is! Wesley says he must have gotten some of my neat genetics. Then he pointed to the fridge and signed please so I opened it and he looked for his milk (we were out) and said "milk" so I poured him a cup of our milk and he said "thank you". What a kid! Wes' parents took him to Lowes last night while Wes and I went to dinner (pooh on panera for discontinuing their tuscan chicken sandwich!) and apparently he had a ball with the lawn mowers and the inflatable Christmas decorations. He got home shortly before 9, I was about to call and inform them that he was about to break curfew!

talking!

Robert has really taken off talking recently! Not just animal noises (of which he has lots) but words and he seems to learn several new words each day. I still haven't managed to get him to say "love you!" which I have been working on for a while but he comes up with new stuff all the time-barn, Roo-dy (Wes' parents pug Rudy-Wes' mom taught him that one), bark (tree bark), "sna" (snack). And of course "more" is something I hear all the time as well as "out", "down", "up", "go", "play", "mow" "hot" (accompanied with blowing on food!) and the all popular "shoes" (a broad hint that he wants to go outside!). Thankfully "no" is still pretty rare but I'm sure it's coming! I'll see him "reading" his books (in the off minutes when he isn't chasing after us with a book "read, read?") and pointing out all the pictures of the things he knows (meow, ball, dog, barn, moon, bird). He even picks up my books and points out the "neigh" if there is a horse on the cover etc. And then he looks through them and is confused by the lack of pictures. Today he opened one and said "read"! I wasn't sure where to start with the book! It was a Madeline L'Engle so a young adult book but still!

Speaking of chasing us down with books its becoming almost funny, or it would if it weren't never ending. The minute an adult walks in the room he runs and grabs a book and comes flying towards you. This morning I came out of the 1/2 bath to find Robert standing outside of the main bath waiting for Wesley to come out and patiently holding a book! He had already brought me one while I was still in bed and I had to call Wesley to get my glasses so I could figure out the pictures! Definitely a bookworm. Wesley gets greeted with one when he gets home (Robert starts saying Dada about 5 pm so till he gets home at 5:45 or so he's ready for him!). Tuesday night we were at Wes' grandma and he grabbed a book (the first was a plant guide and the second a bird guide) and told he to "read" and backed into her chair for her to pick him up and read!

It's been good to finally feel that I have enough energy to deal with him again and now that I'm not working as much enough time to do something besides work and sleep and keep the house from imploding! Yesterday I was able to go to a mom's meeting-a group of Christian mothers who meet twice a month. It was wonderful. The kids are cared for in the nursery (they break them down into ages), there's food and worship, and yesterday there was a great speaker. Apparently they alternate between craft type stuff and speakers. Plus just a lot of get to know you time etc. I felt so refreshed and validated as a mom. It was so nice!

Well, I'm going to lie down since Robert is!

exploring

Robert is definitely back to normal now. He loves to explore outside and no longer is solely focused on going up and down the driveway. Every day it seems like he finds a new part of our or Wes' parents yard to explore and explores it thoroughly! Last night it was the ramp going to Roger's shed (where he keeps the lawnmover). We went up and down and up and down and up and down! :) It was cute. At work yesterday I walked by the gift shop (about 10 times, I was delivering the procedure manuals-we are finally done!) and kept seeing this dog so I eventually bought it for Robert and Peggy's collection
http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Life-Like-Lovable-Plush/dp/B0007WJ1OW
Peggy has quite a few stuffed pugs on her desk and Robert loves to go play with them. So I had to get it for them! Robert loved it; held it, talked to it, played with it's tail. It was SO cute! I was hoping to add a picture of Robert this weekend but something isn't working well with Wes' computer so I can't! :(

Train?

Robert continues to delight us all and amaze us (and tire us out!). His current fascinations include ring around the rosy, climbing on (parked and off!) riding mowers, watching scenic train movies (thanks Wes!), climbing everything and just generally exploring and expermienting. Yesterday I looked over to see that he was walking backwards! I have no idea where he figured that out from! He's also responding well to simple commands (bring me your shoes, ring the bell) and talking more and more. His new words include "yeah", "train", "tree", and I think I heard well (I think it was meant to be bell) yesterday. He's got all 8 of his front teeth now, so hopefully that is it for a while.

On Monday I got a call at work that he was throwing up. I wasn't lead teacher that day (each day there is 1 lead and 2-3 auxillary teachers for each group-usually 2-3 groups going at a time-the auxillary teachers answer questions and make sure people are where they need to be) and wasn't slated to teach anything til after lunch. So I picked him up and took him to sick day care on peds. Monday evening he felt pretty bad, somewhat better Tuesday (no fever or vomiting) and yesterday he was well enough to go back to Erica's. Today he looks good.

A whole month, huh :)

Whoops, I knew it had been a long time, but not this long! So, here we go! Robert's current obsession is climbing. Climbing the chairs to the table to eat cheerios, climbing stuff to get to the counter, climbing the stairs (doing really well and turning himself around and going backwards to get down), climbing, climbing, climbing. We have an outside swing under a tree at Roger and Peggy's and he really enjoys swinging on that. He's trying to say swing but it sounds like tink or wink or something. It's cute. He's talking more and trying to imitate what I say and I name stuff.

And naturally his other obsession is eating (got to replace all those calories you burn climbing!). His current favorite is drinking yogurt out of his straw cup. He loves it! He's also enjoying eating garlic bread and toast (he licks the jelly off and then eats the toast), mini muffins, various cracker type stuff. He loves to crunch stuff between his teeth. And of course ice cream.

I'm starting to see some toddler defiance which is hard. We carried him out of lowes crying last night-he wanted to stay and play with the lawn mower tracters some more. He loves lawn mower tracters (don't worry we don't let him ride them-just sit on Nanny's when he visits her etc)! But then he was as good as gold through a 45 minute wait to go out to eat (luckily we were near a place that has a small park area-fountain, some plants/ginko trees, short stairs and we were able to let him run around there) and was perfect for supper-which started at 8 and ended shortly after 9-his bedtime. I changed him for bed in the car and he fell asleep on the way home-and is still asleep!

My job is still going well, we start "super user" training this week (nurse directors and certain computer savy people from each unit who will help other users) and then main training the week after. ACK

Fun times!

We had a great weekend! Friday mom and dad were here and we went out to eat at Red Lobster-Robert decided to try some of mom's salad and blue cheese dressing. He also ate fish, shrimp, clam strips, crab cakes, cole slaw, rice, broccoli most of a biscuit, a bite of dad's gumbo... and then some ice cream from Klines! What a guy! He loves playing outside so he really loved being out with Wesley, Roger, Clif and the 5 dogs (Snoopy plus Wes' parents 2 pugs, plus Clif and Hollies 2 puppies!) Sat evening while the women folk were at a mother-daughter banquet. He had a busy time and both he and Snoopy have been TIRED today! Today we went to lunch at Panera and then he and Wes took a long walk while I spent a blessed 45 minutes in a bookstore. Oh BLISS. And that tired him out so he took a long nap. We spent the evening at Wes' parents with both of his grandparents and Eddie and Tracy. It was a great evening and Wesley even changed the dirty diaper (well, actually Peggy did and Wesley assisted) but at least I didn't have to do it.

I forgot to say that my first week of my new job went well and I'm excited about what I'm doing! We've spent a lot of time this week and weekend working on the camper since we're headed out Thursday for Martinsville and the Argus Collector's Group gathering. (Don't ask!). I'm ready for a break!

Here are some pics from Sat evening.

outside boy!

Robert is loving being outside! He plays and plays and plays. And now no longer cries when I leave him with Erica. I love to pick him up and find him with dirty knees and smelling of sunscreen and happy :) And then he gets home and goes right back outside! I need to take the camera with me next time and get some pictures. He's so cute. He loves to pick dandelions and shred them like yellow confetti and throw them. So cute. I've changed his bath time to night since he gets so dirty! Monday I was home with Robert and Snoopy in the morning and opened the window in our room (very tall, low window). Snoopy stood in front sniffing and Robert stood next to her and put his arm around her and then started to pet her very nicely and stroke her ears. They stood like this for a minute or so and then Robert tried to take the screen out of the window so I had to close it. But it was SO sweet!

I start Tuesday with my new job in computer testing and I'm excited. It will be a nice change for a few months (ends mid September!) and I'll be happy to have my evenings free. Although I will still work evenings on my weekend and may teach/support some in the evenings in a month or so. The head of the project told me we have 1,900 people to train in a month. YIKES!

pictures!
Robert checking out his new room organizer as it's being built

Robert playing with his helicopter!

his new room organizer!

what it looked like before!