I'm done!

My 30 days of continual blogging is done. Phew! I know I missed a couple days here and there, but overall kept up to my promise, right? Don't expect that anytime again soon! Well, actually you never know. I'm taking my final this week and I'll have nothing but freedom for a month...what will I do with myself! You might see me more than you think!

Can I have your number?

Andy shared this MadTV skit with me yesterday. Ever since, Andy, Madison and I have been repeating phrases from it constantly to each other. Yes, we're dorks like that. Take a couple minutes to watch it, it's pretty funny!



And if you enjoyed that, here's another one!

Bowling!

I've been promising Andy and Madison that I would take them bowling for a couple days now. Time keeps getting away from us and it just hasn't happened. As today drew to a close, I felt pretty guilty that yet another day had gone by with my broken promise, so after dinner, we packed everyone up and went bowling! Including little Mr. Nathan! Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought Nathan would be even remotely interesting in bowling.

For the first half of the first game, he sat quietly in his chair watching everyone bowl, while snacking on some treats. Once that novelty ended, he jumped up, PICKED UP a 7 lb. bowling ball and announced, "My turn!" Madison, the awesome big sister that she is, let Nathan play one of her turns. He was hooked! It was a fighting, screaming match to keep him away from the lanes after that. So as soon as we finished up that game, we started the next game with Nathan as a player. He LOVED it. Each and every turn he picked up his own ball, marched out to the lane, counted to 3, and tossed the ball (with mommy's assistance) and shouted "Here goes!" and stood there watching his ball hit down the pins. When it was done, he would do his folded arm run back to the ball return for round number two.

Oh, how I wish I had brought my camera!! But now I know the kids and I can go back during the week when the lanes are completely dead, and play a couple games together. How fun!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for. I'm glad that in this busy, fast-paced world, we have a day set aside to remind us to think about those people and things in our life for which we are thankful. It's easy to get caught up in every day life and focus on the negative things. I'll be the first to admit that I let those "little things" get in the way of the big picture more often than I should. Thanksgiving is a day to recharge that focus.

To all my friends and family, I am thankful to you for your consistency and support in all things, big and small. The people we choose to surround ourselves with, are those who make us the individuals we are. "Forget the people from your past; there's a reason they didn't make it to your future!" Love that saying.

It's cliche to say, but I'm so very thankful for my health and the health of my husband and children. They are my world. And anyone who knows me, knows I worry about that type of thing every day of my life...sometimes at a very unhealthy level! So yes, very very thankful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Well, ok, not really...but if you go anywhere retail-related, you can't help to start to get in the mood! Christmas decor, trees, stockings...all things Christmas, are everywhere you look. It's hard to believe that the year 2008 is coming to a close. It truly feels like it just began!

We had a fun day today. Andy is staying with us this week and because both he and Madison were out of school, and Scott was off of work, we all went to Nathan's 'jumpin' jellybeans' class this morning. Madison, and all the other older siblings that came today, were completely welcomed into the class like they belonged there. And daddy finally got to see what little Mr. does at his class. As he dodges from station to station, he gets in a full head-down run, with his folded arms going back and forth so fast. It's too cute for words. I need to get that run on video!

Afterwards we headed to the mall to visit Santa! Yes, the kids sat on Santa's lap before Thanksgiving. Early, I know, but it was nice because the crowds were minimal. And when I say minimal, I mean we literally walked right up and they sat down with him! Madison ran up to him before the previous kid even fully walked away. I swear I blinked and she was already discussing her present ideas with him. Nathan was a little uneasy as I sat him on Santa's lap. He just stared directly into Santa's eyes for about 30 seconds, almost in a trans. It was so funny. No worries, though, because mommy had already prepped him that if he sat on Santa's lap and said "chheeesssseee!" he would get a lolipop. So once he completed his staring contest, he turned and looked at the camera with the most cheesy grin I've ever seen. You may think he looks terrified, but I promise you he wasn't. He was enthralled with Santa, but most importantly accomplished the task mommy sent him on to get his beloved lolipop.

This is their "do not reuse" copy of the picture...sorry about quality.

I'm without words...

Sorry...boring post, nothing to say. It's nearly midnight and I should go to bed. I just didn't want to get dinged (is that how you spell it?) by Traci! We're totally keeping tabs on each other!

excuse me, can I apply for sick days?

Why is it that the second (insert any man's name here) gets so much as a post-nasal drip, he spends the following days laying in bed or on the couch requesting meals, moaning in "pain", and proclaiming this is the sickest he's EVER been, watching movies and napping frequently? Seriously, WHEN do I get a sick day? I can't recall the last time I took a "sick" day and laid around for DAYS on end. Really, it's not even part of my memory anymore, which means it was a loooong time ago. Perhaps when I was hospitalized for pneumonia 8 years ago? Yes, I do believe that was the last time.

I could probably handle this type of behavior a little better if it was out of sight, out of mind. But it's not. Oftentimes, the "man in my life" spends his sick days on the couch listening to me do the dishes, haul 100 lbs of laundry down the stairs and through the kitchen, break up 152 fights between the kids, make breakfast and lunch AND dinner, leave the house 7 times in one day which entails bundling up the kids in this dreaded Ohio winter and strapping them into their carseats time after time, unloading groceries, switching the laundry around, kissing boo-boos and calming tantrums. Meanwhile, every time a child so much as whimpers, he's asking "Is everything okay?" in his little pathetic sickly voice. Yes, everything is okay! Do you hear me screaming in fear as if one of the children is badly injured to the point I need help? DO YOU?? I don't need you to act like you care every time Nathan slips and falls down. How about when I'm giggling and wrestling with Nathan on the floor upstairs and you are yelling over and over again asking if we're ok. Yes, we're ok. It's called having fun. But perhaps in your delirium of your illness you forget what that's like. It must be so hard for you. So please, just retreat to the bedroom until you are better, please! I will like you MUCH better for it. :)

In Scott's defense...er, the man I may be talking about....he is terribly sick with some kind of food poisoning, stomach flu SOMETHING. He was up, literally, every 45 minutes last night violently ill. I thought for a second he might be dying based on the sounds I heard, but alas, he is still with us.

I don't mean to sound selfish, but I'd really like a sick day now and then. I'm not asking for much. Just one....one per year. A day to lay around and do nothing.

Also (another selfish comment coming), I was really planning on our back splash being started AND finished this week, and today was meant to be the start day. Damn.

Ok, I'm done venting.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Oops

After ragging on Traci last night for not participating in her promise to blog daily for the entire month of November....I forgot to blog! More to come later today...

The royal throne

Has been occupied frequently by Nathan's little booty. He has been TELLING me when he has to go to the bathroom and he actually holds it until we get there, and then pees! I haven't asked once! I'm not sure if he's truly serious about this, or if it's the novelty of the idea. We'll see in a few days, I suppose!

Friday night!

I love Friday nights. Despite the fact that it no longer represents a night out on the town, it's probably my favorite night of the week. It's the one night that I feel like I can let loose of any responsibilities and just relax without guilt. Love it! Even better is the fact that the kids are in bed asleep and it's 7:30...I have the whole evening ahead of me to do whatever it is I please!

Today was my last day of clinical for the quarter. Gosh, time is just flying. I anticipated this quarter with such fear, both because of the instructor I was assigned to (thanks to rumors about her) and the hospital I was placed at (in 'da ghetto). However, the quarter was a complete 180 from what I thought it woule be. My instructor was actually unbelievable and I feel so fortunate that I will be with her again next quarter. She was super strict, to the point, no nonesense, and never particularly gave us encouragement or praise for what we were doing, but in spite of that, she encouraged me to grow as a (student) nurse and made me stay on top of my game and I am leaving this quarter with so much more confidence than I came in with! It's a really, really good feeling. And the hospital was also much more pleasant than I was expecting and I really grew to love it there. The nurses were all nice and helpful (not always the case!), and most of the patients were so receptive to us student nurses (which is also not always the case). They had a good share of the nasty MRSA and VRE infected, isolation patients (ick), but it was good experience, for sure! So now I have two weeks of hell ahead of me studying for the killer final exam, but then....freedom!!! (for a month, that is)

Off to relax for the evening!

Only a parent could get this excited....

over poop!

Yes, poop. While changing Nathan's diaper today, he suddenly announced the he had to go poopy, jumped up, ran to the bathroom, and went poopy on the potty! Whoa! So proud of my little boy!

And my dear sweet Madison was so helpful today. We were babysitting a friends' baby and Madison was so sweet and loving. More importantly, when the two babies napped, Madison allowed me to rest on the couch without interruption for over an hour. Nathan decided in the middle of the night last night that he wanted a 4 hour chunk of mommy time. So between that and a headache, I wasn't feeling too hot. This is a milestone for my child who loves nonstop entertainment. She was so independent...it made me realize how quickly she's growing up!

Because of my two proud moments today, we took the kids out for ice cream tonight. No, it doesn't matter that it was pitch black outside, 25 degrees and snowing. They deserved it!

How could I forget to mention!!!

Nathan went pee-pee on the potty today! (yes, I said pee-pee).

Not once, but twice!!

And to answer the burning question, no I'm not a crazy lady trying to potty train my 21 month old son. He asked both times to sit on the potty after seeing his big sissy using the toilet. Both times, I put him on and he went!

First time ever! Soooooo cute!

A little organization please!

My Christmas break is the entire month of December. An entire month that I will not be required to read hundreds of pages per week, do research papers, study for tests, case studies, yada yada yada. In other words, pure bliss, I imagine!

I am determined to become the person I yearn to be. I WILL become ORGANIZED! It is my goal. I sometimes feel like every aspect of my life is disorganized, all the way down the the shelves in my pantry.

ANY input is welcome. If you have a handy organization tip, small or big, please share it with me. Anything, I beg of you.

And Jen, I know this is right up your alley, so I expect at least something from you!

Any 'Everybody Loves Raymond' fans?

Remember the episode when Ray returns from a business trip, leaving his suitcase on the stairs and both he and Debra were too stubborn to put it away because each thought the other should do it? It was a hilarious episode and I'm sure more than one of us has been known to allow their stubborn streak to show in a somewhat similar manner at least once, right?

Sunday morning, before I was going to handle 15 lbs of raw turkey in my hands, I took off my wedding rings and placed them on the desk in the kitchen. Julie did the same with her rings. Harold (her husband) has a bad habit of "stealing" her rings whenever she takes them off to send her into a state of panic when she can't find them. My guess is it doesn't work on her anymore because she expects it now. So, as usual, Harold confiscated her rings, then returned them to her once she noticed. I, on the other hand, forgot about my rings and remembered Monday morning that I didn't have them on. I went to get them, and they're gone.

I didn't really think twice about it, thinking maybe I put them somewhere else, and continued on with my morning. Later in the afternoon, I went back to look for them, without success. The thought dawned on me. I bet Scott took the rings to prove a point for leaving them laying around. Ok, I'll wait.

And wait...

So now it is Tuesday night, still no rings, still no word from Scott. Should I ask him in case he really didn't take them? If he didn't take them, I have a really big problem. But if he did take them, then I've lost the game! Hmmm, what to do.

I am anxiously awaiting for him to ask me why I don't have my rings on and where they are, to which I will tell him I put them in my jewelry box the other day and have forgotten to put them back on. Not sure if I can pull it off without smiling.

I've already done a search of all his potential hiding spots, to no avail.

What to do?

If you're reading this Scott, hand 'em over, I'm on to you!!!

Only half way?

The month of November is barely half way done and I'm out of blogging ideas! Well, ok, I could talk about a million and one things regarding my kids, however, I also don't have the time every day to write out funny kidisms!

Maybe tomorrow...

Snow!

Yes, we awoke this morning to snow on the ground. The kids LOVED it! Mom and dad? Notsomuch. Nathan doesn't even really understand what snow is, but when Madison was squealing "Snow!! Snow!!" he was hooked, standing beside her, nose pressed to the glass watching the flakes fall. It was pretty darn cute!

Even better was later in the day when big HUGE snowflakes were falling. Madison begged to go outside and Nathan wouldn't dare let her have all the fun! We all went outside and they both stood twirling and giggling, mouths wide open trying to catch the fluffy snowflakes on their tongues. It truly was a picture perfect moment...but I had no camera in hand!

So now I hope for more snow, so I can snap that perfect picture of my babies exemplifying just what it means to be a kid.

Turkey Day #1

My parents spend their Thanksgiving in Florida every year and because of that, we always celebrate Thanksgiving with them a little bit early. Julie and I decided this year to plan, cook and host Thanksgiving, and give mom a break for once! This was my first time cooking a turkey, so I was a tad nervous as the pressure was on to prepare a delicious Thanksgiving day dinner for 11!

Julie and I both really despise touching raw meat. For me, when I'm cooking dinner, I get through the raw part as quickly as can, picking recipes that don't require me to handle the raw meat longer than necessary. Meatballs don't happen very often in this house! So the scene of Julie and I dissassembling and washing and preparing a 15 lb. turkey was pretty hilarious. There was a lot of screaming going on, especially when the neck of the turkey fell out into our hands. The kids were looking at us like we were complete nut jobs! We thought we were done when we realized we hadn't found the "package" of giblets. Ummm, but where could it be? We did a full cavity search of the turkey and that left us empty handed. It was only after a phone call to mom did we realize that they turkey had TWO openings and the giblet package was in the neck. Mom also reminded us to be sure to take the heart out of the package and cook it for her to eat. We both gagged a little (ok, a LOT), but pulled the heart out anyways.

We did it! Our 15 lb. turkey.

Harold saved the day when he offered to rub the turkey down with our seasoning concoction. Julie and I had had enough raw turkey handling at that point. Is it normal to take nearly an hour to clean and prepare a turkey for cooking? I don't think so.

Finally, time to enjoy appetizers!

Nathan and Ryan chowing down on carrots

The finished turkey!

The kids table, ready to eat with their special drinks (sparkling grape juice) in hand!
(Almost) the whole family!

Happy early Thanksgiving!

My stomach is like goo

Madison and I went to the movies on this cold and rainy afternoon. Apparently, the entire city of Columbus decided to do the same thing! That's ok, it was fun. And a cute movie, too! (Madagascar 2)

What's NOT fun is the way I feel after eating an entire BIG box of hot tamales, along with sprite and bits of popcorn here and there. Um, yucky.

The pregnant "man"

Thanks to Mindi for announcing the revelation that the pregnant "man" is once again pregnant, I've now found myself glued to the television watching the 20/20 special on him this evening.

Did you know:

• He's not a man, he's a woman. So why call him the pregnant man?
• They bought sperm off the INTERNET and injected it themselves with a syringe from the pet store because no doctor would take their case.
• They got a LOT of negative publicity, hate mail and threats, yet they've decided to "inseminate" themselves again just 3 months after the birth.
• The "non-biological mother" of the baby claims her body began changing when her "husband" became pregnant, including spontaneous lactation, because of which allows her to breastfeed. Um, I think not.
• This "man" is not the first transgender man to give birth to a baby. He's just the first to go public with it.

They both make me sick, really. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but honestly, this world is turning into one big side show! If they want to have a baby, have one, I don't care...just don't announce it to the world. They are asking for drama and reaction, but then act surprised when there is negative response to their life choices. Come on.

When being interviewed together, they try to come across so cutesy, like they have this amazing story to share with the world. All I can think of when I look at both of them, is that they need professional help.

Ick!!

It has been brought to my attention

that I missed blogging yesterday. So sorry to let my loyal readers down. :) Ha!

My brain feels fried at the moment and I don't feel as if I have anything to talk about that is even remotely interesting. It is a Friday night and I'm studying. Does that tell you anything?

Today at clinical, I was sent to observe in the EGD lab. It's always fun to observe in other areas of the hospital because I see areas and types of nursing that I would never even think about. There truly are so many different areas of nursing to get into. The list is endless and the opportunity for variety is definitely there.

The EGD lab is specifically for patients having an endoscopy or colonoscopy done. And yes, I firmly believe after my experience today, that I could safely perform a colonoscopy on my own. I watched THAT many. If you've seen one colon, you've seen them all, right?

Fun fact for the day: a colon scope is about 6 ft long. :)

I was sadly surprised to see the doctor quite insensitive about the pain and discomfort the patients were experiencing. He was more concerned with his time schedule than if the patients were even sedated yet! A poor 18 year old boy was having an endoscopy (scope down the throat to examine the esophagus, stomach, and beginning of small intestine) and before the drugs kicked in, the doctor shoved the scope down his throat. The young man began gagging and fighting the scope and ended up ripping it out. Only then did the doctor sedate him more. Gee, you think? Similar things happened with colonoscopies as the morning progressed. I felt absolutely terrible for the patients. It was a good lesson to myself to try to avoid becoming desensitized, as a nurse! It is my job to advocate for the patient and I so wish I could've done that today.

Onto happier things. When I got home, my baby's were so excited to see me that they began fighting and crying over who got to me first and who got my attention first. Ahhh, to be loved.

Finally made the switch

To Nathan sitting forward facing in the car. I know you may be thinking no big deal, right? Quite the contrary!

I was naive with Madison, turning her around just shy of her 1st birthday. We got a new car requiring us to reinstall the carseat, so why repeat the process again a month later? Our thoughts were wondering what difference one month would make rearfacing vs. forward facing, so forward facing she went. At the time, I thought I was supposed to turn her at 1 year/20lbs.

This time around I am much more knowledgeable and I thank my lucky stars every day that we were never in an accident with Madison when she was so little and forward facing.

Here's the simple truth for those unaware:

A childs' vertebrae does not fully fuse until 3-6 years old. Before then, he/she is at great risk for spinal injury. When rear-facing in a crash, the forces are spread out among the strong carseat shell and baby's strong back. The harness holds baby down in the seat and he/she is cradled and protected. When forward-facing, the harness holds baby's body back, and his/her head flies forward violently, putting tremendous stress on the neck.

Here's the catch...the spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches, BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 of an inch before it snaps and baby is gone. This is referred to as internal decapitation. Baby's head will be slumped over like he/she is sleeping.

It's very important to keep babies rear-facing to 1 year AND 20 lbs. (both, not either/or) at the very least. It's actually much safer to rear-face to the limits of a convertible carseat, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. A forward-facing child is 4-5 times MORE likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.

Scary, huh?

There have been a multitude of studies done about this and now the AAP recommends baby remaining rear-facing until 2 years and 30 lbs. One day very soon I see it becoming the norm.

So case in point, Nathan was not turned forward facing when he reached the one year milestone. I made the decision to turn him a little over a week ago, at the age of nearly 21 months. I made the mistake of letting him ride in Madison's seat a couple times while she was at school, and he began resisting rear-facing more and more. On top of that, now that we've reached bulky clothes season (aka: winter!), it was becoming such a struggle to get him into his seat and buckled. The combination of his bulky winter shoes and his puffy winter coat resulted in a sweaty struggly mess on my part.

The first ride we went on with him facing forward, he smiled from ear to ear on the entire car trip. It was the cutest thing ever, as he openly shared the joy he felt in becoming a "big boy."

I didn't take any pictures of him forward facing with his big cheese on his face. But here he is, completely passed out, practically snoring last week.

So after all my research, I happily consider myself practically an expert in carseat safety. We also never switched Madison to a booster seat once the "law" allowed. Poor girl will be in her high-weight harness seat until she's in 3rd grade!! Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but she will not be following suit with most of her friends in their boosters anytime soon. Sorry, sweetie!

I don't want to say I'm obsessed, but I did just about have a heart attack when I saw a 7 month old baby forward facing in a carseat one day a few months ago. I seriously contemplated approaching the mother, but I bit my tongue and moved on.

Lack of willpower

That's referring to ME and my lack of any willpower to stay away from the Halloween candy. Thank goodness that between Scott and I (no, it's not ALL me!), we've almost polished it off and I can go on some sort of sugar detox for a couple weeks. My poor body! Blech.

I'm over-excelling in my ability to procrastinate this week, and I'm not happy with myself. I have so much to do (school-wise) yet, I've lost some motivation to do it. Big problem. I'm burned out and desperately need this quarter to be over so I can refresh and recharge my brain before starting the last leg (6 months!) of school. Instead of wasting my evening eating candy and surfing the net, I should be either A.) studying or B.) sleeping. I'm doing neither. Making a change....and the freshly washed sheets on my warm cozy bed are calling my name.....

Jen!!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!!
Happy Birthday dear Jen....
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!

Hope it's a fantastic day!

Pavlov?

Are you familiar with Pavlov and his experiments? I'm convinced that children are just automatically programmed with his experiments in mind. He is the one who, through repeated experiments, was able to ring a bell to get a dog to salivate.

My children kind of do the same thing, except that, when they hear a phone ring, all hell breaks loose! It works backwards, too. Amazingly, if they hear me TALKING on the phone (as in, I made the phone call), this very same hell breaks loose. Can someone explain this to me? I'm at a complete loss. Or should I just accept now that I should never make or accept a phone call until my kids are off to college?

Let me lay the scene for you. Varying degrees of this very situation happen to me about 15 times per day.....The house is completely quiet. Madison is at the table drawing pictures, completely content for the past 20+ minutes. Nathan is playing quietly in the playroom with some specific toy that has captured him. I think to myself that they have full bellies, they are busy as little bees, and no one has spoken a word to me in ages. Great. Perfect time to make a much needed phone call, right? Wrong. As soon as my voice starts talking, Nathan drops what he is doing and runs halfway across the house screaming, "My turn! My turn!" reaching and climbing up my legs to take the phone from me. At the same time, Madison is bringing me 12 pictures to show, in great detail, what each picture is and who it is for, and can she have an envelope to send this one to one friend, and another envelope for another friend, and can she have a stapler to put together the book she made, and is it time for snack yet and can she pleeeeease call a friend because she is SO bored. The motions I make with my finger signaling them to be quiet and to just give me a second only fuels the fire. Nathan screams louder, Madison pouts and stomps her foot because I dared to shush her. I am able to give Madison a look of death, of which she understands she had better wait her turn or she won't be getting what she wants. Nathan, on the other hand, is incapable of comprehending these looks just yet. With him I have to threaten to put MYSELF in the laundry room in order to finish my phone call, which either quiets him immediately, or freaks him out even more, in which case I retreat to the laundry room while he bangs and screams bloody murder two inches away from me and my phone call. It is at this point that I must tell my caller that I have to call them back later and I hang up the phone with complete and utter frustration. Why?? It happens every.single.time.

I know my kids are not the only ones who do this as Madison's friends do the exact same thing to me when they are over here. But really, it's driving me to the point of insanity.

To Hayley and Kris

One year ago today, we were partying it up at Hayley and Kris's wedding!

Today as you celebrate the most magical day of your lives together, you have the most amazing day to look forward to, just 4 short months away!

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary, Hayley and Kris!! (And yes, Hayley's name will ALWAYS come first. Accept it now Kris, it will be easier.)

My new kitchen table to-be

I've wanted a new kitchen table for a long while. I want something square with darker wood and preferably with bench seating down one side. Soooo, I've found the table I want at World Market and have been eyeing it for oh, probably a year now. There's only one problem. The whole set is about $1300. Yikes. This week it is on sale PLUS I have a 25% off coupon to use, bringing the grand total down to $800 before taxes...so what would that be..close to $900? Still a lot of moolah right before Christmas and Madison's 'big 5' birthday.

Thanks to some poking and prodding from Mom AND Hayley's grand inspiration, I've decided to paint/stain our current table black. Julie will be very disappointed as she's had dibs on this table for a long long time now, but hey $50 in paint or $900 on a new table? I'm springing for the $50. It won't be square and it won't have bench seating, but it WILL be black and maybe this will hold off my desire for a new table for a couple more years.

I'm hoping to do it next week...before and after pics to follow!

Relaxing

Again, another uneventful post for you, but I had to get the daily word in.

I took advantage of Scott getting done with school stuff BEFORE midnight and we actually sat down together and watched a movie! Haven't done that in a long time because we're both so busy!

At the recommendation of many people, we succumbed and watched "Baby Momma." Um, Brent? I really, really with every bone in my body, hope you didn't enjoy that movie because between that and 'All the Pretty Horses,' we may have a problem.....

Megan, DEFINITELY wouldn't say it's the best movie ever. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have no desire to ever see it again! I'm no movie critic, but oh my goodness.....

Oh Hayyyyyyley!!!

Pssssssssssssssst! You're overdue for a new post. :)

Thank you and have a nice day!

Time is a tickin...

And I have to get my post in for the day!

I'm going to cheat tonight because I'm tired and don't have the energy to post anything detailed with pictures and such!

I spent all day at clinical today and came home to my ms. sassy 4 year old telling ME she was sleeping over at Nana's house tonight. Okay, then!

I had big plans of drinking a glass of wine, laying on the couch and watching my pile-up of recorded shows on the DVR that nursing school is not allowing me the privilege to watch. But nooooo, I instead spent the evening typing up a 2 page rebuttal on questions from my last midterm. I didn't like some of the supposed "correct answers" and thought the answers I chose were just as good and had to prove my point! Well, let's hope that was worth my time!

What's the zoo for anyways?

I think the kids have completely lost sight as to what the purpose of a zoo is actually for. Most of us go to the zoo to see animals, right? Not my kids. They go to the zoo strictly to ride rides. Yes, we have a zoo membership which gets us in the gates free. That means we have a great activity that gets us out of the house and walking, that's fun, and completely free, right? WRONG! No, we have to ride every ride in the park before leaving...or else. And they are definitely not free.

The weather this week has been very un-Ohio like. Beautiful, clear blue sunny skies and temps in the 70's. Not too shabby for November! Today was supposedly the last warm day and as of tomorrow, we will dive right into our typical Ohio winter with gray, gloomy cloudy skies and temps in the 40's. Yuck.

SO, after Madison got home from school today, we packed up and headed out to the zoo. As soon as we entered the gates, Madison asked if we could go to Jungle Jack's Landing, which is a new area of the zoo full of amusement park rides for kids. Too bad it's November and that's closed. I suggested we go see some animals to which I got an exaggerated sigh. We headed in the direction of the petting zoo, only to find it was closed. Bummer. Then Madison is within eyesight of the train and asks if we can ride it. Nope, sorry, closed! I did a LOT of pulling the wagon today, too, because of how "bored" she was. We head to the back of the park...boat ride is closed, bird feeding is closed. So what do we do next? Head to the playground of course! And after that, we of course ride the merry-go-round. When I looked at the clock, it was time to head out. We did sneak in a peak of the sleeping rhino's, sleeping gators, and sleeping pink flamingos. Cool.

Well, we DID get out an enjoy the last warm day of 2008!

Watch out for the T-Rex behind you!!

Whoo hoo! We have smiles!

Hmmm, the fun has ended. I'm bored mom!

Her new smile

If you look closely (or click on the picture to enlarge) you can see her BIG tooth coming through! How will another one fit next to that one?

P.S. The tooth fairy left $2 for each tooth (I know, inflation, right?) and last night she also left a note just for Madison. She was SO excited this morning!

Round #2!

Madison lost her second tooth today! Yes, crazy, I know!! Just a few short days after the exciting loss of #1, she noticed the tooth next to it was loose. Today at school, she said it fell out while at recess, and her teacher helped her find it in the mulch! Lovely. Just what the teacher likes to do...look for teeth in the mulch. So here we are, "toothcase" under the pillow again, she's anxiously awaiting the arrival of the tooth fairy!

The spot where tooth #1 fell out is already being replaced with a new HUGE permanent tooth. It's no wonder this second one fell out...that new tooth needs room! I have no clue how this newly fallen out tooth will be replaced. There's no space!

But in all honestly, this had better be it for awhile!

4 years ago...

on this very day, I got a heart stopping phone call.

My sister was missing.

After walking out of the presidential polls on election day, I answered my ringing phone only to hear that my sister was missing, no one knew where she was, she never picked Andy up at school the day before, and there was no sign whatsoever of where she may have gone. Her apartment was unscathed, her work was wondering where she was, and most importantly, her son was left alone. Andy was alone. We're in Ohio, they were in Arizona.

I remember hanging up that phone call and called Scott in hysterics. Where in the world could she possibly be? In my mind, the only answer was dead, because she is an awesome, unbelievable sacrificing single mom to Andy and would never just leave him. Never. The only possible answer in my mind was the very one I couldn't begin to even think about.

In a few days time, we did learn the truth. She wasn't dead. The truth was that she cracked. She couldn't handle her life anymore and had to make a drastic change. And that she did. She packed one small little bag from her apartment and left while Andy was at school, not telling a soul. Leaving her little 9 year old boy to fend for himself, she moved herself to Australia.

The happy ending to this story is that my parents got custody of him after a complicated and emotional battle with the state of Arizona. He is thriving. He is the sweetest, most compassionate and caring, responsible 13 year old young man you will ever meet. Madison and Nathan adore him like a brother. Their faces light up each and every time they see him. You would never guess he's been through so much in such a short life. And despite the fact that my parents were on the verge of retirement and moving to Florida, they've given up all of that, without the slightest hesitation, to raise their grandson. Not exactly an easy feat! But something that will never go unnoticed or unappreciated by more than just Andy himself.

I haven't spoken to Jennifer since 2 weeks before she decided to start her new life. I have lost my sister. Despite all that has happened, I love her and miss her. I think about her often and hope that she's found what she was looking for. When I find myself thinking about her, I try to distract myself because the reality of the situation is absolutely heartbreaking to me. There's no closure because she is still out there, somewhere.

Maybe one day she will decide to reunite with our family. Who knows. So much has changed. She has 3 nephews and a niece that she's never met. Her son is looking more and more like her everyday. Seriously, he's almost the spitting image. I can't tell you how many times I look at him and just see Jennifer. At least we have that.

E-day

It's election day! I know you are all heading to the polls, right??

I was standing in line at 6:25AM this morning...if I can do it, anyone can!

Nathan keeps stealing my "I voted" sticker off my shirt and proudly announcing, "My sticker! I voted!"

From Halloween past....

As my last tribute to Halloween, I thought it would be fun to take a look at pictures of every Halloween from 2003-2008!

My little red ladybug Oct '04

My purple fluttering butterfly! Oct '05

My beautiful pink princess Oct '06

My magical witch of Westerville and my 'lil octupus. Oct '07

My superstar Madison and my little dude, Bob the Builder. Oct 08

I'm taking on the challenge....

One of the blogs I read, Mamas on A Playdate, inspired me to blog every day for the month of November. Fun for you, but can I keep up?? We'll see!

Join me, fellow bloggers, in this daily challenge! You know you get just as excited as I do when you see a new post on a blog!

Khrystin

Tell me how you roast your pumpkin seeds!!

Don't stop yet!

I admittedly went a little crazy tonight with posting. So don't stop at one...keep scrolling down! :)

Happy reading.