O-o-oh Sweet Child of Mi-ine

Today was my first day of orientation for my new job. I accepted a part-time position at the new hospital in outpatient surgery, so once things are up and running, I will work two days/week. Right now, with orientation, it's a lot more than that. This week i had a few hours of paperwork and a health screening on Monday, today was a self-directed computer program to assess my nursing skills (aack...) and tomorrow is "hospital orientation" which is to say, "this is the benefit information, this is the security information, these are the names and meanings of our different codes i.e. code blue, code red; etc..."

Soooo, today was the start of leaving my sweet children in another's care. Bode had school so Doug took him and picked him up and brought him back to Angela's house. Thank goodness for this childcare arrangement. Seriously. Angela is a dear friend who has a 4-year old who happens to be Bode's best bud. And she has a 2-year old who adores Keegen (almost in an "Elmyra" way, from TinyToons--anyone else remember her?). I took Keegen to Angela's this AM and got him down for his nap before I left. I told him what he could expect for the day and told him I would miss him but that Bode would be there by lunchtime. It was a little weird laying him down and walking out (as he craned his head to watch me go).

I had the radio on as i drove and the announcer started telling this story of how embarassed he was yesterday as he stood in an elevator and realized that the song being played was "Cat's in the Cradle" and how it made him cry and he rode the elevator up and down and up again to hear the whole story and how he hadn't heard it in so long and how we always feel like we don't spend enough time with our children and on and on and I'm thinking, "Are you kidding me? Today you have to tell this story? As I am leaving my children and NOT spending time with them today?" Luckily, after that story, Guns n' Roses "Sweet Child of Mine" was played so I was able to rock out to that and leave my slight twinge of guilt behind...

From Doug's report, Bode had a great day at school and was psyched to hear that he was going to Zeke's house when Doug picked him up. And, as usual, I was NOT greeted when I arrived to pick them up. Keegen was happy to see me, but Bode gave me a grumpy "Noooooo!" as leaving Zeke's is always tragedy. Hey, he gets to be there ALL day tomorrow, so hopefully they won't get sick of each other!!

Book Tag

I was tagged by Jenni...Here goes:

Rules of the Game:

1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.

The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child by Marti Olsen Laney:

He needs a safe interaction, in which you listen without discounting his thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and questions. He will learn, "My ideas are worth listening to." Dialogue is a powerful strategy to affirm, broaden, and encourage even very young innies.

This was a good book for me to better understand Bode and myself. It was a good feeling when I read things that I already knew--in the sense that I felt like I might be in tune to my child afterall...I sometimes flip open to a random page just in hopes that something will be there to help me be more patient!!

Alas, I don't think there's anyone left to tag! For those of you who troll this blog without commenting (Erin and Shannon!) feel free to start commenting (or go ahead and start your own blog)! :)

"I want to ride my tricycle, I want to ride my trike..."

Here's a picture of Bode on his new bike. A birthday gift from Gma Di and Gpa Bill that we saved to give him after our trip. He couldn't seem to believe it was his very own as he kept telling me, "No! This is Kole's bike!" almost angry about it (Kole is a neighbor down the street and she let us borrow hers for awhile to see if we liked it). I kept telling Bode that it was his bike. He finally got on it and rode around the family room as best he could. We took a little walk to the park and he'd either keep his feet up just barely above the pavement while I pushed or he'd do a little Fred Flintstone but he really didn't want to try to pedal. I love that he very willingly wore his helmet, though. Sweet boy.

Keegen 10 months

Keegen, what a month! You are one BUSY boy. And you seem to have had a major growth spurt. You make a very silly face (see above) accompanied by a very silly breathing in and out (hard to put into words). You are eating a ton and drinking a ton. We spent 2 weeks at Grandma Di and Grandpa Bill's where you slept in the den and learned to sleep through the night (yeehaw!). You are a maniac in the tub--you can't seem to get enough of the water. You are crawling and so happy to be doing so! You are into everything and thrilled about it. You are much less fussy now with this new-found freedom which is joyful to me.

Say What?

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, i'm standing here...blah blah blah!!!!! Yes, my bags are packed and I'm WAY ready to go. I've packed in such an organized way that i've only left out what we'll need in the morning. My diaper bag/carry-on is all set. It's the perfect time of day for the boys to fly--Keegen should sleep and Bode should be happy with a DVD or two. And what do I find on my voice mail tonight? An urgent message from United telling me my FLIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELED. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I think traveling by bus must be better than by air these days!

Not only that, but I made the mistake of telling Bode we were going home tomorrow (as I was getting stuff ready he asked me, "Whatcha doing Mommy?" "Packing so we can go home tomorrow." Oooops.). He was so ready to go to "Bode's house" to see "Bode's daddy" that getting him to sleep was a major feat. We are still flying tomorrow, just in the evening instead. Lovely.

Again, I am not thrilled to fly, especially just me and the boys. So, send some prayers and good energy my way, K?

Barf-o-rama

2:30 this morning and Bode is running around downstairs crying for me. What is going on, I ask? I tell him to get back upstairs and into bed. I go into his room (what was my room while here at my folks and he decided he could sleep better in my big bed even if I'm not in it, so, deal!, take the big bed, i'll sleep in the twin) and reached in to make sure his blankie was still there and my hand hit cold, wet, slimy, stinky, chunky puke. Are you kidding me? Yuck. I don't do puke very well. It's just so truly VILE. So i held him for a bit and cleaned things up, brushed his teeth and laid down with him. Three more times he sat up and puked. Poor kid. Finally his tummy was empty and he stopped there (thank goodness no dry heaving). He had a restless night. At one point he was laying on the floor with his knees under his tummy like I used to do whenever I was sick. I got zero sleep and was a total zombie today. And it meant that we stayed home again. Thankfully he woke up feeling fine. Behaved normally. Played. So i don't know where it came from but I'm so glad it's gone! Hopefully we didn't unknowingly pass it on to all of our friends! Aaack! I think I'll feign ignorance if anyone tells me their kid was sick after our visit! "Oh, poor you! I'm so sorry!..."

Busy Day

Wow, what a busy day! We were on the road around 9am--I planned to see Emma at her house around 10:45. So we made great time and I called one of our old neighbors, Scott and Kelly, and asked if we could drop in on them, too. They are our age with baby #2 on the way in a matter of weeks. We lived on a fantastic little court and I still really miss the neighbors we had. It was odd driving to our old street. Funny because I absolutely despised the house and neighborhood for at least the first 8 months that we lived there. Serious buyer's remorse. I felt like we got ripped off and it was in need of so much TLC. In the 3 1/2 years we lived there we replaced every appliance except the stove, the hot water heater, all the flooring except for the small amount of hardwood on the main. The kitchen was barely functional and the basement had technically been finished, but very poorly. Doug essentially rebuilt the kitchen, we had the cabinets refaced. Almost the entire house was covered in awful wallpaper so all of that was torn down and then we had to repair all the walls before painting. We replaced all of the baseboards and moldings and did some crown molding. Even the tub in the one full bath we had was a nasty mess that had to be reglazed and the fixtures replaced. No room was spared an improvement. Basically, nothing was easy to fix, but fix we did. And by doing so it became our Home. Doug and I put our hearts and souls, blood, sweat and a lot of my tears into that house so in the end, I loved it. And as soon as it was all done, we moved. Anyway, it was weird being back on our court seeing the house at the bottom and knowing it wasn't mine anymore. I kept asking Bode as we drove into the neighborhood if he remembered any of it and he gave his standard "No" answer. I've got to believe he does on some level remember this place, even if he was only two when we moved.

It was really good seeing Kelly again. She looks great and it was fun to catch-up. They've had some serious health concerns as Scott experienced a brain infection this past fall. We saw him when we were here in September and he looked terrible, as one would with such an ailment. He looked totally sapped and in pain. It was great seeing him again as he looks like Scott again. His energy is back and you can see that in his eyes. Bode took a bit to warm up but then it was like old times--fighting with Ryan (their 2 1/2 year old) over toys. Like we'd never left! I had to laugh. Bode was so upset when we left. I drove down the court to drive past our house only to see a cat sitting on the window-seat Doug built for me. Yuck. No cats in my house! Oh well! Not my house...;)

Off to Emma's. I adore her. As always, it was wonderful and comfortable to just sit and talk. I was lucky enough to meet her at the library, of all places. She had just moved here and had a 4 month old and Bode was 7 months. I compare meeting her to the single "dating scene" of yore... I saw her when we walked in and knew I had to meet her and knew I wanted to be her friend. I made sure there was room next to me in the storytime group and then asked her to eat at Panera with us afterwards! Making friends as an adult can be so hard! So this was really refreshing. Anyway, kind of makes me laugh. Bode and her son Louis play amazingly well together. They have an almost mellow chemistry with each other. They worked on a big Thomas puzzle together and it was just too cute. They will return to England late-summer/early-fall. That just seems so far away and I really hope we can maintain our friendship even with that kind of distance.

Then to Tim and Patti's, our former next-door neighbors who moved to Jessup when the schools redistricted a couple years ago. I tried so hard to capture the pure GLEE that Bode felt as he chased Garrett! I loved it. Garrett is now 12 but has always been so good with Bode. When I wanted to get a good family Christmas picture for Bode's 1st Christmas all i had to do was have Garrett stand behind the camera and Voila! big smiles from the Bodester. Bode was so comfortable and happy during our visit that it did my heart good (and made me wonder deep down if moving him was more traumatic than I'd realized??). We were blessed with such great friends and neighbors while we lived here. It was a fantastic day. The boys were totally pooped and slept on the way home, so it was a nice quiet ride for me!

Ice Ice Baby

OK, so when I made my flight arrangements to go to VA I KNEW February was the worst month weather-wise. I knew this CONSCIOUSLY. But the tickets were cheap and I was ready for a change of scene so here we are. I had all my days pretty much planned, leaving the weekend somewhat up-in-the-air, hoping it might work out to get the boys photographed by Jeri Tidwell. My Wednesday plan (today) fell through due to the ice, Thursday fell through due to a work schedule change and the friend who lives near my parents had to go out of town unexpectedly to help her sister post-surgery (and I had planned to see her a lot). Wah wah, cry me a river, I know. Now I have a very full Saturday to catch up with those I had hoped to have seen this week. Anywho, as my dear mother keeps saying, "Can't predict the weather." Yes, thanks...

So today instead of meeting up with Emma, we stayed home in the AM. By noon I was stir-crazy and knew the boys soon would be as well. I tossed them in the van and slid out of the neighborhood and headed to Ikea. Ah, yes, Ikea. Once out of the 'hood, the roads were totally fine. Funny how when I lived here I loved Ikea but didn't buy a lot of stuff. This time, now that i can't easily cart things home I wanted EVERYTHING. No, I wanted 2 and 3 of everything. Dash. I got Bode a great little builder kit. My dad called it an erector set. Hmmm. Maybe. Anyway, he helped Bode build a digger out of it. It can also make a helicopter, airplane and motorcycle. Nice. He was super-psyched about it (Bode, that is). I got a wall lamp for Keegen's room, just like the one i had in Bode's nursery when we lived here and a few other random things. It was good to get out.

After Ikea we stopped at Erin's house for a bit. Fiona and Bode ran around like wild-children, hiding from "Mo-Dog" as Bode is calling him lately (Moab is the name of my sister's chocolate lab. Bode doesn't care for his loving licks). Then we headed home so i could get the boys to bed so Erin, my mom and I could go out to eat.

Well, we went out to eat, but the boys weren't down. Keegen was in bed when I left but very much awake when I returned. Bode had a total meltdown before my departure, telling me he can't sleep alone in the room he's in, he needs to sleep in my bed, he wants to go back to "Bode's house." Ugh. I want to say Get a grip! But at the same time I feel for him. Although the not- sleeping-well-while-we're-not-at-our-own-house thing is wearing very very thin. And i can still hear Keegen screaming even though I am hiding in the basement typing this. Dinner out was a treat. Fun to sit and laugh with my mom and sis.

This is sounding like a very negative post, eh? I am very happy to be here and especially to be spending time with my sister and for my parents to have a chance to spend time with my children. I didn't grow up close to my grandparents and it's important to me that my children have a closer relationship with my parents. I'm just, admittedly, a bit disappointed that things aren't working out as I'd hoped.

Pics

Cousins

Ah, it's been so nice to get the kids together over the past few days. Fiona and Bode play really well together--like brother and sister. Which means that they fight like siblings too! But that is just an indication of how much they love each other and how comfortable they are, right??! It's been really fun to meet Chloe again, as she was a mere 2 weeks old the last time we were here. Now she and Keegen can hang out a bit...

For the most part we've hung out at Erin's house. We've gone to the park and out to eat. Fiona and Bode drove trucks around in the dirt forever yesterday and had a grand time swinging side by side. I need to get a good picture of all four kids TOGETHER. Are you listening, Bode??

Today was a dead-day as I had a dental appointment this morning and then the ice came raining down. Sooooo, lots of Noggin and Little Einsteins. I'm supposed to meet Emma tomorrow for a playdate with her boys. I really hope we can get out to see them!

Balsamic Chicken

I love this recipe. A friend brought it to us after Keegen was born and it was such a treat. I don't do whole chicken--too much mess for this boneless/skinless chica. So i use 4 chicken breasts and actually cook it in the crockpot. I mince the garlic and sprinkle it on top of each breast with the rosemary. I serve it over whole-wheat spaghetti or rice. Yummy.

Balsamic Chicken

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 T. italian herbs
1 medium lemon, juiced and halves reserved-or-3 T. lemon juice
1 (5 to 6-pound) roasting chicken
4 sprigs rosemary-or-1 tsp. dry rosemary leaves
8 cloves garlic
1 thinly-sliced white onion

Combine the vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, italian herbs, and lemon juice in a bowl, whisking until emulsified.

Pour over the chicken, taking care to completely coat it. Insert the reserved squeezed lemons, plus the rosemary and garlic into the cavity. Layer the onions in a roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Put the chicken in the oven at 350 degrees and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, basting occasionally.

Do, a deer...

I just want to say how much i enjoyed just about every minute of the Grammys tonight. It was SO GOOD! I remember when i was little begging my mom to PLEASE let me stay up to watch the Grammys. I mean, Michael Jackson was going to perform! Anyway, oh, it was easily the best Grammys show I've ever watched. Opening with the Police, closing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I loved the collaboration with John Mayer, John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae. I even loved the Dixie Chicks. I really liked them until the whole stupid-political-comments-on-foreign-soil were made but they really are talented (and I love that the fiddle is played in so much of their music). I heard music from artists I'd never heard of and enjoyed most of it (I mean, who the heck is Gnarls Barkley?!!) I was totally engrossed. What a fun show!

When i have grown a foot or two...

We have new neighbors across the street that we've hit it off with. He's stationed at Ft. Carson and they're both from Idaho ("I-da-ho?? Noooooooooooooooo! YOU da ho!" Sorry, couldn't resist) but moved here from their most recent post in Maryland. Funny, we moved to Colorado and so many people around us are from the east coast--down the street a few houses are from Manassas, VA; next door to us are from Ft. Washington, MD (but in the Air Force); next to them are from Columbia, MD (!); and down a ways from Bowie, MD. Crazy. But i digress...We introduced ourselves to M. & B. (do i need to do pseudonyms when blogging??) and Doug helped them move some bigger stuff in. We later had them over to dinner and since then M. has joined me on a girls' night and we've had dinner on our own when her family was in Idaho and I've introduced her to some people in the neighborhood she might enjoy for playdates; etc. It came up that we were LDS and they just laughed and sort of did a "no way!" reaction and said that lately so many of their friends are LDS. Their close friends in MD were LDS and M. later told me that when she told this friend that WE were LDS her friend's response was basically, "Hello! Is someone trying to tell you guys something?" which was also B.'s comment. Anyway, I will be the first to admit that I am not a good member-missionary. I do not go out of my way to find people for the elders/sisters to teach. When the elders recently came over to do their schpeel and ask us what Doug and I are doing to find people to teach the gospel my response isn't cold, but it's honest. I tell them that I have lots of non-member friends and I am happy to answer their questions and invite them to activities when it feels appropriate, but I am not going out of my way to convert people. I am not friends with non-members with the goal to baptize in mind. I think I'm a decent example. People know I'm LDS and often that dispels erroneous ideas on their part. OK. So. During my last conversation with M. before I went out-of-town, she commented that she and B. need to find a church, that she's not psyched by a lot of the churches she's seen in the area (there's a heavy Evangelist influence in the Springs) and they usually go to the post non-denominational service but that's a 40 minute drive. I told her she was welcome to go to church with us to which she responded they'd probably be more comfortable at our church than a lot of other churches in the area. And from there, I don't remember the rest of the conversation. But no doubt I got distracted and failed to follow-up with more info or maybe that was just where the conversation ended. I don't recall. Well, I talked to Doug and he said they were at church today. Apparently their friends in MD referred the missionaries to them and they said they'd go to church. They stayed all 3 hours and Doug sat with them during the 2nd and 3rd hours. While I'm happy they were at church, I feel badly. I feel like I failed to act, that I should have been more specific with my invite to church, less off-handed maybe? I tend to beat myself up over stuff. I just hope I didn't put them off somehow, because that certainly wasn't my intention.

Hail! the Portable DVD Player!

We made it to VA with no problems! Woo hoo! I was literally sick yesterday morning on our way to the airport--nervous stomach sick. I am not a fan of flying as it is, let alone on my own with the boys. Yes, I'm a headcase...We cut it a little close getting to the airport but thank goodness for curbside check-in. United was kind enough to allow Doug to go to the gate with us which was a huge help, as going through security is such a hassle. So we sailed through security and took the little subway to the terminal (which Bode LOVED). I took one last pitstop and we boarded the plane--almost the last ones on--perfect. Kissed Doug goodbye and on we went. A man behind us on the jetway asked if he could help me and I happily handed him Keegen and said, "See you later!" No, i did hand him Keegen but just to breakdown the stroller and then he carried a bag to my seat. We finally made it back to our seats where I saw our seatmate and said with a smile, "You're the winner!" To which he gave a confused look followed by what i'm certain was a disappointed look that not only did he NOT have 2 open seats next to him, but they were now occupied by a woman with two small children. We settled in and thanks to the screaming 2-year old three seats in front of us, we looked like angels. I got out a surprise puzzle for Bode that he played with for a long time, long enough to get us up in the air and to cruising altitude. Keegen was more of a challenge as it was his naptime and he couldn't figure out what to do with himself. Luckily he succumbed and slept--only for 30 minutes or so but long enough to get a grip. Before he fell asleep i set Bode up with Little Einsteins on the DVD player and he was in heaven. Had i thought to pull out the headphones for me I could have even caught some of the in-flight movie, but I have no complaints. Except that Keegen in his wildness trying to go to sleep managed to bounce continually on my bladder so i had to pee immediately and only after about 2 hours did i finally make myself wake the guy next to me and go. Happily, a grandma was waiting with open arms to take Keegen from me so I could do so. I managed to keep Keegen somewhat happy for the rest of the flight and it was over in a flash. I seriously couldn't believe the flight was over so quickly. We deplaned out to the jetway with a brief pause when we reached the point at which the plane exit door connects to the jetway. There's that small little crack. Bode stopped and hesitated and then made a huge LEAP over the crack. The jetway was filled with female employees of all sorts of ethnicities waiting to get on the plane to clean it and they cheered for him as he leaped (leapt??). I do love the diversity of the DC area! These women cooed over my children like i've never seen, and my boys really deserved their praise. They were so good. Things couldn't have gone better. Which makes me wonder what's in store for me for the flight home???...Such an optimist am I. I must say, though, that the few times I have flown alone with kid(s) I am reassured that mankind is still KIND. People have always gone out of their way to be friendly and helpful for which i am so grateful.

Once we were on the ground and after changing a poopy diaper we hopped on the People Mover to the main terminal, expecting that my mom and dad were meeting us. Instead we were surprised by my sister and her daughter Fiona, who is 6 weeks older than Bode. Fiona gave a shriek and was very excited while Bode hugged and hid behind my legs. Those are, in nutshells, their personalities. Bode was SO tired but i think even well-rested he would have been a bit overwhelmed. Anyway, fun reunion, truly. Our bags were the last remaining on the thingy (one nice thing about taking so long with kids, i suppose). Off we went home to Grandpa Bill and Grandma Di's house.

At my parents' house Bode was almost instantly comfortable. He went straight to the toy basket and before long he and Noni were chasing each other around the house having a great time. So fun to see. I've missed them and having those two close. Keegen went down for a much-needed nap and Erin and I left the kiddos with the folks and ran over to Trader Joe's (bliss!) for a few items.

Bode got comfortable quickly with my parents and talked up a storm to them. About his puzzle, his truck, whatever. They often don't hear him, not because they're hard of hearing, but I think they're just in the habit of tuning kids out. Sounds terrible but i don't think they mean any harm by it. I do have to say on occasion, "Oh Grandma(pa), Bode's talking to you" to get their attention. But then they are very sweet with him. Warms my heart.

It's funny, we've been gone for one full year now. We arrived in Colorado on February 1st 2006. And being home feels like I never left. Kind of nice.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Tomorrow I will fly from Denver to Dulles--just me and my two boys. Well, and a DVD player, DVDs, loads of snacks, diapers, wipes, Tylenol, Benadryl, Kleenex, bulb syringe, books, "'prises," (surprises to keep things interesting for Bode), and plenty of Motrin for me. I pray for good weather, a sound aircraft, sober pilot(s), no evil-doers and no delays. All this preparation is exhausting. How did i ever think it was a pain to pack when it was just me?? Wish me luck!

Calgon, Take Me Away...

Will this day NEVER end? How is it that the months and years go by so quickly and I'm left wondering where the time has gone, yet, this day seems endless. Both boys are sick--hacking and snotty and definitely not sleeping. If i have to go upstairs ONE MORE TIME to threaten a certain 3-year old regarding Quiet Time rules, well, it won't be pretty. I want MY quiet time!!!

Little Man

I love this picture of Keegen and love the cords/polo combo. Bode had the same outfit but at 0-3 months. Yes, i know, the polo is getting a bit snug but I wanted to get one more wear out of it.

I think this picture is interesting because it looks SO much like Bode. Something about the way Keegen is holding his head back? It surprises me because Bode and Keegen have distinctly different looks.
By the way, Keegs, you are definitely on your way to start crawling. You've been laying on your tummy and rocking for a long time but now you are up on all fours truly about to move on out. I better get to picking things up!

A Day at the Zoo

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. It's days like these that make up for all the snow and cold we've had over the past couple of months. It was 64 degrees with the typical bright sun and blue skies. Gotta love it. So we met up with our friends Kristen and her kids at the local zoo. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to be more specific. It is a great little zoo. I really never imagined i would be impressed with any other zoos after growing up with the National Zoo in DC, but this is so kid-friendly and fun. You can actually FEED giraffes. They have one of the biggest giraffe herds in the...world?? Anyway, something like that. Elephants, hippos, mountain lions, reptiles, penguins, apes, mountain goats, lions, tigers, bears (OH MY!), tapirs, peacocks, just to name a few of the animals they have. Then they have a carousel, a toddler train and a play area with farm animals. Today a lot of exhibits were closed including all of the above kiddie attractions, but we still had fun walking around with our buddies. Kate and Bode were completely mesmerized by this albino python.



We let them look at it for a good 20 minutes before we finally dragged them away to get some lunch. There's another python coiled up in the corner, but the albino was slithering around tasting the air for some food it seemed. Hopefully we will not have snake dreams tonight. We had a long-standing "Mr. Snake" issue about 4 months ago after a kid brought a life-like toy snake to the playground and it freaked Bode out. He eventually mellowed out about the snake and carried around "Mr. Snake"--a piece of ribbon he found. He even made sure Mr. Snake slept in his bed at night. In the end, Mr. Snake basically unravelled and was tossed. Bode seemed totally cool with this python, so, we shall see...


We missed feeding the giraffes today as we were running late and Kristen had already done that, but here is a picture from last April:

Bode at 3

Oh, where to start??

You:

love Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, Little Einsteins

love to read books. Favorites right now are ever-changing but Little Toot, My Truck is Stuck and Curious George are frequently requested

have zero interest in the potty

have a low tolerance for frustration. But we're working on that and you are doing much better trying at things. I love to hear you say, "OK, Mom. I'll try."

love anything sweet or salty. Pretzels, crackers, chocolate morsels. Love snacks snacks snacks--peanut butter pretzels, peanuts, chocolate milk, chicken nuggets, tater tots

Everyday you ask for yogurt just so you can have it with a few morsels thrown in

are best buddies with Zeke and cry whenever i pick you up from their house or he has to leave our house

are very tender and sweet with Keegen. Often give him kisses and hugs.

are so totally honest. If i ask "Why is Marianne crying?" You very honestly respond, "Because Dwayne and I were throwing things at her."

readily apologize--sometimes too much! This is a new thing and i like that you will say "sorry" and give a hug

can count to 20. Sometimes you mix up the teens and i love when you say "20-teen."

dropped your nap but still really need it. Makes for some tough afternoons!

say "I am OK" immediately after a mishap if you are, indeed, OK

say "I'll be wight back" "Yes, i sink so" "it's lellow" for yellow and call M&Ms "lem-a-lems"

don't dig crafty activities but love to dig in the dirt with your Tonka trucks and throw rocks in streams

are suddenly amazingly good at navigating on the computer with the mouse and love Noggin's Max and Ruby ("Wuby") games

Shower the People We Love

Ah, relief. I am so totally exhausted. The baby shower is over and I think it was a success. 23 of about 40 invited were able to come, so it was a nice big group. It was a brunch shower so I scrambled around this morning getting things done. Doug was a big help getting things ready and by taking the boys away during the shower. As people showed up I had them write their names and addresses on address labels for Chris to use on her thank yous and to use for a random door prize. I also had them write on a big poster their guesses for when Chris will deliver and the weight of the baby. For decorations I had a clothesline that doubled as a gift for Chris, I painted Oh Baby letters for the mantle and had Chris bring a picture of her and her husband when they were babies to put up there too. I made 3 herb gardens (i found boxes at Michael's and painted them white and filled them with scented geranium, rosemary, thyme and oregano)--one for the mantle and the other 2 for my end tables. I sent one home with Chris and another home with Angela and i kept the third.

I made way too much food. Since I wasn't sure how many people I could expect I really overdid it. But that seems to be my way anyway...I made quiche, hashbrown casserole, mini-muffins, bread and dip, chocolate-covered strawberries. Some friends brought a fruit salad, fried polenta, banana bread, brownie bites and jalepeno/bacon appetizers. Yum. WAY too much.

Very rich. This is the only picture of the food table we got. I was very happy with the tablecloth Angela helped me make.

Onto gifts and all that fun stuff. She got lots and lots of clothes and other useful items. Hopefully it will help as it really can be a lot of "stuff" you need for your first baby. I handed out door prizes as she opened gifts--Bath & Body body butter. One for the first to arrive, another that was a random pick, and the last to the guest with a birthday closest to Chris' due date. Whomever makes the closest guess on the delivery date/weight gets a little basket with more Bath & Body goodies (can you tell I hit the Bath & Body after Christmas clearance??!).

Angela and Chris--such a pretty pregnant lady, don't you think?

After gifts, those who had to leave did and those who could stay and chat did that too. I like that people stayed and hung out (although they didn't eat nearly enough food!! Wimps!). We were down to 5 left, then it was just me, Chris and Angela for awhile til my boys got home. I really enjoyed having my house full of people. I enjoyed it and hope everyone else did too.

Job Interview

The main city hospital in Colorado Springs--Memorial--is opening a new hospital (Memorial North) this April. The Springs is growing so much and the fact that this facility is being built attests to that. I've been feeling like it's time to return to work and noticed a job posting for Mem North's outpatient surgery unit. I was a labor and delivery nurse for 6 years, worked in an OB office for one year, did home health for high-risk pregnant patients for a year and dabbled in postpartum, antepartum and maternal-fetal medicine. In addition, i worked for 2 years in outpatient surgery and loved it (some of these jobs overlapped--I've been a registered nurse for, holy cow, NINE years?? Crap). Anyway, yes, women's health is what i know and love. I used to tell people who came to me for advice that "if you don't have a uterus, I can't help you." But, I am totally not at all interested whatsoever in ever working in labor and delivery ever ever again. It was a fantastic ride, but it's not for me anymore. It's very stressful and demanding and I had a tendency to take my work home with me (no, not delivering babies on the side, just always on my mind). Don't get me wrong--it was very rewarding too. I'm just ready for a change. And as i said, I did work in OPS for a couple years and really enjoyed the pace and patient interaction. I love teaching patients and there is a lot of teaching that needs to be done quickly in this setting. So i saw the job posting and sent my little resume on in. Got a call back. Set up and interview. And off i drove this morning in the ice and snow to chat with the OPS coordinator and PACU manager.

I really didn't know what to expect with this interview. In the past, the majority of my interviews are not interviews. They are tours of the unit, introductions to some of the nurses, a looky over past work experience and a "when can you start" simply because i do have experience and there is such a shortage of nurses. This, was, most definitely, an interview.

I am not a fan of real interviews. I do not feel that i express myself well on the spot. I talk in circles. I give half-assed answers and hope the interviewers don't notice.

However, I ROCKED this interview. I have apparently become much more comfortable in my own skin. I was able to come up with examples of past experiences to answer their questions. I didn't stutter. I dare say I was articulate and funny (when appropriate). There was one answer I gave that I thought was pretty lame, but, hey...And when it was my turn to ask questions, I had really good ones that gave them even more insight into the type of person I am and the kinds of skills i have, the things that matter to me and so on.

I was interviewing for a per diem position--basically "as needed" or somewhat on-call. I told them I was looking for one day a week. They asked if i would be willing to consider a 2-day/week part-time position...In theory, this sounds great. Unlike per diem, this would mean i would have 2 set days. That would certainly make childcare easier to schedule. But am i really ready to commit to that??!! I've always worked weekends and evenings and been home during the week. Am I really ready to work part-time?? Leave my babies 2 days a week? I guess i should wait and see if they offer me the job. Getting a bit ahead of myself!!