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!!