Oh What a Day!

Whew! This day has been exhausting! It started at 7:20 am when I got up (early for this house) to get ready to have my friend Amy's 4 month old baby come over. Amy is working 2 days a week this summer and I told her that I would help watch Davis for a few days. She has done so much for my kids, how could I say no? Davis' dad dropped him off at 8:35am and at 8:45 he began screaming. And screaming. Nothing I was doing was helping. I rocked him, bounced him, tried to feed him, even tried to lay him down for a nap. No good. The kid just screamed.

I felt bad because he had real tears coming out of his eyes. When did I lose my baby touch? Finally at 9:30 I decided that if he was going to scream, we would just go ahead with life. So we loaded up in the car. He fell asleep within 2 minutes and I thought we were doing well. Then we took a fast right hand turn and his carseat totally fell over on it's side. At which point I yelled "Oh S*$#!" and at which point Riley decided to repeat me and yell "Oh S*$#!". I pulled over and fixed the carseat and had a chat with Riley about how we don't always repeat everything Mommy says.

Before we left the house I had put the Baby Bjorn on so that I would make sure I knew what I was doing. Well it was pretty complicated so I just left it on. At my first stop I just had to run in and pick up something that I had ordered. Davis was asleep and Riley was not cussing, so I decided to leave them in the car parked right in front of the store. Please don't report me to the police...you mothers I'm sure understand. I went into the store and forgot that I had the Baby Bjorn (minus baby), strapped to my chest. Who knows what the people were thinking.

Next stop was Party City to buy decorations for our upcoming Senior Night at church. I strapped Davis into the Baby Bjorn and we headed into the store. Riley decided that this would be a good time to announce to the whole store that she had to go potty. After searching for the restroom, cleaning off the toilet, pulling down her pants, trying not to drop Davis out of the Baby Bjorn on his head, we finally go that taken care of. Washed up and off to finish shopping. Followed by one more trip to the bathroom and a two-year old fit, before we left the store.

Finished up our errands and headed home. At this point, Davis started screaming because he was hungry, Riley had to run to potty and I was ready for a drink before noon. Finally got the kids fed and down for naps...or so I thought. Davis woke up after 45 minutes and Riley never really napped. Luckily Davis went back down so that I could do some laundry, make dinner for a friend, and clean up the kitchen. Headed off to pick up John Mark and drop off Davis.

Now I am home, just got up from a pseudo nap where the kids were jumping on me. Off to make dinner and pray away the dreaded call from work saying that I need to come in. I just couldn't handle one more thing!

Life in the ER

I worked last night, which is always an adventure. As hard as it is for me to work (night shift no less), I really do love my job! I moved from the ICU to the ER about a year ago and really am enjoying what I do. I have no doubt that when I made my decision to be a nurse at the age of 4, that it was the right one.

In the ER you are always encountering strange and unusual people and situations. On Sunday night, one man proposed to me 3 times. I finally told him that he just had to give up...I was NOT saying yes (considering that he was extremely drunk and dirty...oh yeah and that I am already married). Last night I think I had a patient's mother ask one of the stupidest questions I have ever heard. I know they say that there are no stupid questions, but really there are. For instance, as I was about to give a 2 year old a Tylenol suppository (in the rear of course), the mother asked me if it was okay for him to take that on an empty stomach! For the love of Pete! Do people not understand BASIC anatomy anymore??!!

On a more serious note, we had two women come in last night that were assaulted by their husbands. One woman was hit in the face with his fist and she could not even open her eye. She had a broken nose and broken eye orbit which will require plastic surgery. The second woman had been hit in the chest by her husband with a sledgehammer. There was a huge sledgehammer shaped bruise in the middle of her chest. Luckily he did not do any serious (physical) damage. I don't understand why abuse occurs...spousal, child, elder, whatever. How can one person beat another person that they supposedly love. I know the issue is so deep, but it breaks my heart that people out there are living in fear and these things really happen. I am so blessed to have a husband who not only loves me, but protects me and would never even think of hurting me. Tonight I am lifting up a prayer for all of the women out there who do not know this kind of husband and I pray for their safety and peace.

Home Sweet Home

We are back at home after a weekend housesitting. It was good to walk through the door and be in our own kitchen last night (even if it is 1/4 the size of the kitchen there!). Today we are not leaving the house. I absolutely love days like this. It speaks to my inner hermit. I love not having any pressure to run around and be places on time. I love sleeping until the kids come and jump in my bed. I love burning candles and listening to music as I clean and do laundry. So glad to be home!

In other news, the project of today has been potty-training Riley. She has been telling us at least once a day for the past week that she has to "go potty" and every time she will actually go. So since we are home today, off came the diapers and on went the underwear. She has done really well so far. We have only been through 5 pairs of underwear by 12pm! But they have only been small accidents that let her know that it is time to run to the potty. I am hoping this is a quick training session because I am really tired of buying diapers. Now I just have to invest in M&M's as a reward for all involved in this potty training adventure!

Why do you need to GRADUATE from preschool?!

Last week John Mark had his preschool graduation. JP and I spent a lot of time mocking the concept of a preschool graduation. I mean really, what are you really graduating from? Playing outside? Knowing your ABC's? Now don't get me wrong, I love the kids' preschool. It has been a great experience for John Mark and I love that Riley still has three more years there. But we thought it was kind of silly that we had to go to this graduation. I told JP that if the kids had on caps and gowns that I would leave. But it turned out to be great. The kids sang a couple of songs and then walked across the stag to get their "diploma" and a new Bible. At the end John Mark's class sang "What a Wonderful World" and much to my surprise, I actually felt a few tears in my eyes! It suddenly hit me that this little boy who was just a tiny little baby is growing up. And in just a few weeks he'll be getting on the bus and going off to kindergarten. And even though I swear I never cry, I'll probably shed a few tears on that day too. And then head into the house to celebrate with Mimosas!

Playing house

So JP and I were asked if we would housesit/kidsit for some friends of ours over Memorial Day weekend. Always looking to earn a few extra bucks in a legal way, we of course said yes. Well it turns out that we are getting paid to be on vacation!

There is a pool, a hot tub, a putt-putt golf course and a stocked fishing pond. Not to mention the game room and huge TV that I don't think we've turned on but once! Their kids have been great and their 8 year old daughter has been such a good friend to and entertainer of John Mark! I may never leave! But reality will hit on Monday when we return to 211 Westfield Drive. I guess you never get tired of playing house and dreaming of a different life. Good thing the one I have to go back to is simply fabulous in its own way. Here's the view from my eyes this weekend:

My First Blog

So I have finally decided that I need a blog. I love blogs. I love reading other people's blogs. And I love me. So why not start my own blog? I know that I may be sounding awfully self-centered, but I figure this is the one place that it can be about me. Alright, I know that it will probably end up being more about my kids and our family life, but for today, it is about me. So for all of you people out there who love me (I can count at least 3 of you!), welcome to my blog.