I miss being a housewife.....

I don't have much to say today....no really. So I'm going to whine a bit (shocking). I walked the kids to school today instead of having to drop them off at day care and I got to walk home with one of the neighborhood mommies and chat and catch up. It's such a simple thing, but it's a culmination of those simple things that I miss. I love nursing school, I'm going to enjoy going back to work, there's just an element of my past life that I am also going to miss. Change is hard and no matter how enjoyable you'll find the next phase of your life there are always parts of your past life that will be sacrificed and missed. It's really hard to have it all.

So back to my conversation with one of the neighborhood mommies. She is wonderfully eloquent, is able to raise 5 children beautifully and is one of the nicest women around (she's Dodi's neighbor, and so all of the other neighborhood mommies will certainly vouch for what I have just said)....but here is her only flaw...SHE HAS NO BLOG! She reads all of ours...she's even peeked at our virtual neighbor in Australia, Danielle and enjoys her blog. I pointed out that former neighbor has even started a witty blog, which she has also read a time or too....This neighbor feels she has nothing to say that would interest us...but I have yet to have a conversation with her that was uninteresting. So Mrs. Kravitz (look you can even use that for your blog name), come join us! And while I'm in the mood for telling people what to do (unasked, by the way...but I'm so good at it...why don't people ask for my opinion more often?)...Danielle, we all think you are lovely and want you to leave your red neck neighbor and come move into our neighborhood...the house next to Dodi (and also close to Mrs. Kravitz and across the street from Colleeno, across the park from Martha and just up the hill from me) is still on the market!

And now for a housewifey thing to do, I'm going to share another recipe...don't worry, no hidden veggies. It's one of those ones that are great to give to people when they have babies, or someone dies, someone moves, or when someone is down, it's simple and freezable and it's in a crock pot so your house smells great, warm and homey.

French Dip
2 lbs beef top round roast, trimmed
1 can of beef broth and enough water to equal 3 cups
1 cup of Yoshidos Gourmet Dipping Sauce (you can also use tereyaki sauce, but I prefer the Yoshidos)
1 sliced sweet yellow onion
1 tbs rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbs garlic powder
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Hoagie rolls

Place ingredients (except rolls --duh) in slow cooker/crock pot (or double bag in freezable Ziploc bags and freeze, or take to someone to put in their own crock pot).
Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on high, 8 hours on low
Remove meat from broth, thinly slice (keep warm)
Pour broth in small bowls, serve beef on rolls and dip in broth.


I shred the leftover meat, warm it up with a bottle of barbecue sauce the next day and then we have bbq beef sandwiches...but we only have a family of four so we can do that...

Enjoy!


I am now off to plant the above...and maybe, just maybe I may crack open my book and study a bit.

Playing Hooky

Wednesday was the kids first day 'tracking back on' school after a break, but instead I took them to my pediatrics class with me so we could practice assessing children. I brought along their cousin, Bridget who was 'tracking off' (year round school, four different tracks, there's always three on and one off). So one of my fellow students was adminstering the Denver II test to Isaac and she asks him if he knows what a cup is used for and he answers: You put it on over your underwear and in protects you wee wee.

Well, I guess we should have specified drinking cup....I wonder where that answer places him developmentally?


Afterwards we took a trip to Hudson Gardens. There weren't many flowers out, but the kids had a good time wandering the grounds and of course finishing up with some ice cream. Then I took them to my favorite nursery, tagawa and each one of them got to pick out a perennial for the garden (Bridget got to take hers to plant in their garden).

All in all, a very nice day spent with the kiddos.

Wordless Wednesday -- countdown 1 week until my parents arrive

Signs of Spring

Oh goody --said, dripping with sarcasm, time for the kids to dig around and find all the creepy crawlies....not my favorite part of Spring and Summer.
A week ago -- welcome to Spring in the Rockies...Snow one day....kids wearing shorts the next

Today...my favorite part of Spring...remembering what I actually planted...oh and look, I have to weed---strangely I even like doing that. I can't wait until my class is over and I can play in the soil....I guess the kids aren't the only ones that like to dig around in the dirt.

Brown People...

Guess which of the two of us are 'brown people'

(It's an old picture, but I rarely photograph well...so I'm using one of the rare photos I like of myself---it's my blog, I can)

I got a letter from the school because they are concerned by the discrepancy of the test scores between the "Black, Brown, Asian and White students" and would those of us who are Brown, Black or Asian want to learn how they are teaching math (Everyday Math for those of you familiar with the sadistic curriculum).

Brown? Ummmmm, hmmm, what?

When did brown become an identifier of people? And who exactly are the Brown people? Are we talking about the entire Continent of South America, the southern part of North America and some of the Caribbean Islands. Is it really about color? Because I've met some Germans darker then I am. As a matter of fact, my husband, of German, Russian, French and British descent, is darker then I am. Is it being of Spanish descent? Because last I heard, Spain was a European country off the Mediterranean...as is France, Italy and Greece...and yet they're not considered brown.

And another thing...what if you're more then one "color"? Why is someone half black and half white, considered black...I mean Obama is a black candidate, not a white one, yet he is equally white. I'm half of British descent...although my dad's side has been here since before the American Revolution and half Cuban (mom came here as a kid when Castro was just taking over) and yet...I'm considered (as are my children) Brown....even with a maiden name of TAYLOR.

Then we get to the math part of my rant.....Yeah, I'm so sorry, I'm teaching my kids to borrow from the 10's column rather then the weird way the school is teaching them...but it's not because I'm brown that I can't figure out what they're doing. My engineer 100% "white" hubby can't figure out the math homework half the time.....so really it's not about color, it's because it's STUPID. When I complained to Jake's teacher at the parent-teacher conferences she said it was fine that I helped with the homework my way......and good thing he's doing well, I would hate for him to be the one to ruin the testing stats of our school.

You know I should just take a page out of Martha's book....Martha Chang..and if you saw her blog, you would be floored that she was a Good Looking Blond Norwegian chick from the Midwest....so not what you'd expect from a last name of Chang....She plans on going in every year and changing her children's status, Caucasian one year and Asian the next. Come to think of it, there's no actual 'brown' box.....

I would really like it if they stopped with the whole what color everyone is, because, frankly we're all Americans.

Wordless Wednesday -- What a ton of studying gets me....

I'm having a pity party...Tune in later and I'll most likely be my happy sarcastic self again.....

Chicken Curry

I have a confession...I've been stealing --- recipes. People post the most neatest, coolest, recipes on their blogs and I must must try them. I tried this very yummy Vodka Pasta Sauce -- where she snuck in a ton of veggies, in a way no child could ever detect....go ahead, try it. And I had NO idea people ate Shrimp with Grits, but check out the link, she gives the recipe (which I plan on trying this week) and has a great picture of it too....She also posted a salsa recipe on a more recent post that looks intriguing. So, as an apology to those of you from whom I've been stealing, I thought I'd reciprocate with my very favorite Chicken Curry recipe (okay, it's not my very own, a friend gave it to me, I just tweaked it a bit -- I'm Horrible, I know!)...I sneak veggies in this one too....and it's only 10 Weight Watcher points if you serve it with brown rice. A side-note here: I picked Chicken Curry in honor of my friend, Dodi. I am, unfortunately, unable to translate this into her native Indic language, but I figured she may enjoy the more Americanized version of a dish from her native land.

If you try it, please let me know if you enjoyed it! (if you didn't enjoy it...I'm not so sure I want to know...as I've mentioned before, I like my place in the land of Denial)

Chicken Curry
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or broiled and cut into bite size pieces.
2 Sweet Onions, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 green peppers, de-seeded, and cut into large chunks
2 tomatoes, blanched, peeled and de-seeded, cut into bite size pieces.
Some cooking oil
1/4 C of pureed chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1/4 C of pureed cauliflower
1-2 Tbs (depending on how spicy you like it) of Patak's Curry Paste (you can usually find this at your local market in the Asian section)
1/4 cup of water
1-1/2 to 2 C of Fat Free 1/2 and 1/2
2 tbs of dissolvable fiber -- I use Fibersure (face it, we all need more fiber in our diet) -- don't worry you can't taste it.

Basmati Rice
or Brown Rice (my choice), steamed or boiled -- your preference, enough for 4-6 people

Patak's Mango Chutney

heat large frying pan, or wok on med. heat. Add oil and when it sizzles, add the onion and then the peppers, let them saute a bit -- about 4-5 minutes (I am so technical in my directions, aren't I). Add the chicken, let cook together a couple minutes then add the water and the curry paste -- cook for about 5 minutes, add the pureed veggies and the fiber -- cover and simmer (on lower heat) for about 15 minutes, add 1/2 and 1/2 and tomatoes, cook another 5 minutes (if you add the 1/2 and 1/2 too early it doesn't blend as well).

Serve over rice with Mango Chutney (sorry the chutney isn't part of the whole WW-10 point deal)
I also like to serve up sliced cucumbers as a side dish -- the coolness of the cucumbers is a nice contrast with the spiciness of the dish.

My darling husband....

My car needs some work...hubby says the transmission, I'm not so sure and I haven't taken it in because I like my cushy position in a place called Denial; it's safe and happy and not too expensive. So I was day dreaming with hubby about my getting a new car when I graduate. I mention that maybe I'll go for a Toyota Camry Hybrid. Sooo...

He says: I thought you wanted an SUV for when it snows
Me: I figured I'd take yours when it's bad.
Him: silence
Me: Sheesh, why do we need two SUV's?
Him: Well I need to get to work too.
Me: Honey, you can work from home...my job will entail Saving Lives.
Him: I kinda save lives

he's a computer programmer

Me: raise my eyebrows
Isaac pops into conversation: Mom saves lives dad, you save computers. She's more important.

Did I mention Isaac is gifted.

Wordless Wednesday -- I paid my taxes and here's my new Saving's account Balance

He's so MY son....

I actually got up and made a family breakfast yesterday, homemade waffles (with pureed sweet potatoes for some hidden veggies), turkey bacon and fresh strawberries. We all sat together and talked and had a great time....love family meals together! Anyhow, this is how the conversation went:

Jake: I love Star Wars (it was on Friday night and we watched it, commercials and all, even though we OWN the movies...why is that? ...OK, I digress)
Isaac: I love Star Wars the most
Jake: No, I do
Isaac: I do, because I play the game AND watch the movies
Me: I actually think Dad likes them the most (Jason, nods his head in agreement).
Jake: Fine, I like decorating shows the best (yes, Jason winced but did not say anything)
Me: (trying to be gender neutral--you know because I'm such a together-21st-century mom) That's my boy. (and yes, Jason did wince again)
Jake: Mom, I was trying to get you to argue with me.
Jason: Now, THAT's your boy.

P.S.

In case you think I'm a snob...I'm really not, it's just this guy had NO redeeming qualities. When I was falling for guys (a long long time ago...and not so much now because I'm happily married to a perfect guy, who is a bit chubby and has a receding hairline and others may not find Andy-Garcia-Sexy but I think he's the most cuddly, good looking, funny, smart guy EVER) I fell for the more geeky, nerdy, smart guys....and if they could make me laugh -- I was there baby....So, it's not that I think Hot Girl should only go for Hot Guy....I just think, Not So Cute Guy, should at least be funny and have a job for it to be a bit more realistic....just sayin'

Also, don't mean to imply I was a girl who got to be choosy...Even at my thinnest, and my boobs were where they were supposed to be, and no gray hair...I was more the girl you would want to take home to mother....not so much the girl you would brag about...but hey, Jason still loves me too...(23 years later)

Because I Have Nothing Else to Write About

This movie was horrible. Really, the only redeeming scene (and almost worth watching the rest of the movie for) was when Alison (cute girl doc who makes lots of silly life choices on Grey's Anatomy) is in the office with her co-workers and female co-worker in a dead pan, expressionless voice discusses how 'fat' Alison is and in another scene talks about how pregnancy grosses her out. Here's the clincher...really, is a hot girl with a promising TV career really going to go for a not so cute, chubby, jobless, pot smoking, no career goal, not even that funny, guy who saves his bong during an earth quake and forgets about pregnant girlfriend? I don't think so! This so had to be written by a man. And the genre should have been fantasy not romance. And hey, it's not like I'm a prude, but sheesh, could they not find any other ways to express themselves then a series of f-bombs. The sad thing is, this could have been a fun film.

Truthfully, I should have been studying.

I should be studying now, but instead I'm now going to watch "Five People You Meet In Heaven" Mostly because Jason and I have a date night soon and I'm hoping to get to the next couple of movies on my Netflix queue. And not because I'm procrastinating cleaning my house or studying...it's for a good cause. No, seriously....

catching up

yes, he's wearing pj's, it was a special treat for his class..

Jake got an award for character (yeah, I'm surprised too). I asked him why he got it, he answered, "I have no idea, mom".

I have my first night clinical tonight. I tried napping but couldn't, instead I paid bills and blogged...so it's going to be one long 12 hour shift, ending tomorrow at 7 am...yikes. I've been uber busy, we've been working on the house, we're almost done with the upstairs hallway and next will be Isaac's room. I've been studying and doing clinicals. I'm not sure how I feel about this clinical. I was so excited about Labor and Delivery...but was sadly let down a bit. I have to stew about it a bit to figure out if that's really where I want to be....more on that later.

I don't have much to say....so I'll leave you with some kiddy funnies (well, at least I think so).

Easter Sunday:

I tell the kiddos to get dressed. I went upstairs to check on Isaac's progress (he really does live in a world all his own). He has his sweater on, his shirtis unbuttoned and on the outside of his sweater; he has nothing else on (I mean, NOTHING) and he's happily playing legos. I ask him..."are you ready", thinking this would spur him to finish dressing and he says "yes".

Jake, was ready, properly dressed and looking very cute (if I do say so myself) and I ask him why can't he dress like that all the time, and he says, "then I'd be a mama's boy."

Wish me luck on tonight, oh and on my test on Wednesday (think good thoughts of the A kind for me around 8:30 am MST on Wednesday)

Decorating Easter Eggs

Yeah, the cousins just do goofy things and make each other laugh
Dobson Girls joined in the fun...notice the Christmas cups I used for the dye...I'm sure there's some type of symbolism there....but I'm too tired to explore it...it's just what I had around....
It is IMPOSSIBLE to get all five of these kiddos to pose for the camera at the same time...sheesh.

Wordless Wednesday -- a photo essay of Jake's New Room

AFTER

Jake and I tie-dyed the duvet cover ourselves....

Antique snow shoes on Ebay...woo hoo... for a fraction of the cost of the ones I wanted to get at the cool antique place on I-70 by Genesse (should have known better...I mean like you can find anything inexpensive in Genesse)

oooh, snowboard from Ebay too...Gawd, I love Ebay.

BEFORE

Notice, Jason is doing all the work...my job was to tell him what I wanted...hahaha, JK, I painted. I'm just not allowed to use power tools...Something about not measuring one time and multiple holes in the wall...sheesh, some people carry a grudge.
I know, no more guest room, I'm quite sad...but Gina....don't you and Jose cancel your trip out here...we'll stick Jake back in the top bunk and let you guys sleep here....

Oh, oops, I guess this wasn't so wordless, was it....

hubby auction

Did anyone else hear that Scarlett Johansson was auctioned off for a 20 minute meet and greet to a lucky bidder who paid 40K. So I'm thinking, I'd auction off dear hubby (pictured above...really, his hair and body -- NOT). Now, I'm not as kind to donate the money to charity because I really really want a new kitchen. He's a great guy, some of his better qualities are:

Standing behind you when you are doing something and telling you you're doing it incorrectly.
He snores....loudly
Has some seriously bad morning breath

(okay, really he's the best hubby a gal like me could ask for...but I didn't want you all to get too jealous or anything....)

Email me with your bids and the highest bidder can get 20 minute meet and greet with my hubby.

It's time for a letter...

Dear Teenaged driver in the brand new Volkswagon Jetta,

I am so sorry that you turned left while I was turning right. You may want to review that driving rule book you probably didn't actually read before you took your driving test you probably barely passed. And by the way, speeding up to cut me off because you wanted the outermost lane that I appropriately turned into, is NOT a good idea when you are ONE block away from a school....you know, where CHILDREN will be walking. I realize that you most likely are over privileged (I'm assuming you didn't pay for brand new Jetta yourself) and my mom-mobile may be offensive and you probably didn't know that I would share my lane with you and therefor thought you had to take it, like the spoiled brat that you appear to be. What I don't understand is why you had to lift your hand out the sun roof of your very cool black Jetta and flip me off (by the way, another note from the rule book, hands at the 10 and 2 position, there are no exceptions for flipping people off). I hadn't honked at you, I didn't even raise my hands in the What the H... position, I'm assuming it was the screeching of my tires that was horribly offensive to your ears that prompted the gesture...and by the way, let me remind you dear Jetta driver, there were CHILDREN in the area.

Sincerely,
Someone who wishes I knew your mother and would tell her what you did and if she's not the overindulgent woman I guess her to be, she'd revoke your privileges until you learned some manners.

I'm so excited...

I really think that part of the fun of the vacation is planning the vacation. We decided to take a week this summer and go visit my brother and his bride in D.C. We're going to take the first part of the week and go to Williamsburg where we will stay at this fun place and then we may head here for a day. I also booked a ghost tour of Williamsburg for one night. We are going to have so much fun! I just wish I didn't have to wait months to enjoy it.

And...for our 16th anniversary coming up (shut up we were CHILDREN when we got married) we're thinking of driving down to this cool spa for the weekend --what do you guys think? Nice getaway?

I have spring break this week and Jason took it off so we CAN WORK ON THE HOUSE! And that's ever so exciting for me. If we actually complete something, I will post pictures.

I am also supremely excited that Scott, a professed Republican, may be inching toward the left a bit. Now, if only my husband would start thinking more clearly...oh I mean, more like me.

I am not excited about daylight saving. I am normally not a person who is late but yesterday we missed church and today I spaced my dental appointment. You can take a survey about daylight saving and read some entertaining parenting/relationship stuff from the Dad's perspective here.

But back to being excited...I LOVE my OB class. To the point where I've been tinkering around with the idea of Jason going and getting his vasectomy reversed. And the great guy that he is, would agree to it (even though it's painful and needles are involved..what a guy). But then again, I'm almost 40 (yikes), in nursing school and my boys are getting older....but if I was 100% guaranteed a girl...well then this decision would be so much easier...

Wordless Wednesday -- and now for who Jake looks like

Slept in until 6:30 am and it was FABULOUS!

That's right, no clinicals this weekend. And I've done NOTHING...it's been GREAT! I'm even (shhhh, don't tell) going to ditch Church. I took my final on Friday and got an 82 (boo hoo) and this was after serious studying...the funny thing, I actually got all the ECG readings correct and that was the part I thought where I would do the most poorly. So, with that 82 I averaged 83 on all the test scores (remember I was high on one of those...flexeril -- not so great for test taking) but my class work and clinicals bumped me up and so I am squeeking by with a B (the scale is 85-92 for a b). We did lose four students with that last test--I'm tellin' you, it's not that easy. Speaking of finished up classes and grades....congratulations to Colleeno on the A + in a MASTER"S level teaching course -- not easy to do with two little ones, a job and a hubby working all sorts of strange hours. Even being surrounded by such brilliance in my neighborhood, I'm still pretty darn happy with my painfully earned B.

I start OB/Peds next week. For which, I am uber excited! I want to be a Labor and Delivery nurse and so this'll be right up my alley.

Wordless Wednesday -- Just in case you want to know where Isaac gets his attitude

1974--Jason, his dad and his grandad

Such a Mean Mom

This morning Jake starts moaning about a stomach ache, he mentioned that it felt like someone was stabbing him, he was doubled over in pain and whimpering....so I say, "oh, honey you don't have to go to school" He positioned himself in front of cartoons, made a lame, albeit pitiful, request for the "big bowl" and quietly watched TV while Isaac got ready for school. About 9 am and lots of cuddles later (the best medicine for stabbing stomach pains of the most dramatic kind) I say to poor pitiful Jake, "Hey, I know, let's go to a movie!".
He asks, perking up quite a bit, mind you, "The Spiderwick Chronicles?"
"Absolutely," I answer.
He threw the covers off of himself and dashed up to his room to get dressed...A MIRACULOUS recovery...so I shout up to the speeding bullet that he has become, "Great, we'll go after school, be sure to get your back pack"

HAHAHAHA
The look on his face when he came back down the stairs....

wordless wed/thought I'd get some new nursing shoes

Castro's out

WOO HOO, Castro's out! YAY. And when they were talking about it, they filmed a reporter in front of Versailles, on Calle Ocho, in Miami, my very very favorite Cuban eatery! Yummy Cuban sandwhiches and pastilitos, if you ever ever make it to Miami...oh, wait but more importantly, Castro is out!

Jake comes up to me the other day and tells me he hopes Hillary or Obama wins (does a mother proud -- did hear hubby mutter something under his breath about me unfairly indoctrinating the children). I ask Jake why.

He says: “Because it’ll be historical, it’ll be the first woman or the first black man as a president”
So, I ask: “What about Romney, he’d be the first Mormon?”
Jake: “Are Mormons black people?”
Me: “Ah, no, they’re all colors, it’s a religion”
Jake: “Is Romney black?”
Me: “No.”
Jake: “Well then it doesn’t count.”

I thought about teaching him that that’s not why we choose, we choose because we want the best person for the job. Also thought about explaining what a big deal it was that Kennedy was a Catholic and he being elected was historical because of his religion and in a country that values religious freedoms it’s a big deal. I thought about explaining that we should overlook religion when deciding as well as color and gender (or even party)—as long as we know that religion, color or gender won’t interfere with the person’s decisions.

But he’s 8 and I barely understand that stuff myself.

Sitting in Silence wants an OB story….I’ll tell the happy one (there was a sad one, I’ll tell that later when I’ve let it settle a bit).

A woman was having her third C-section (oh and she was a year older than I…hmmmm, maybe there’s a chance after nursing school for a third…JUST KIDDING). Anyhow, she was beautifully round, her husband wonderfully attentive and the surgery went off without a problem and when that beautiful baby appeared and cried out to the world that he was here, I burst into tears of happiness – for the mother, the father, life in general. The staff in the operating room were laughing and congratulating and telling the mom and dad how beautiful the baby was and I stood in the corner crying, trying not to sob at the happiness of it all. Later, the mom asked how it all was for me (she knew it was my first time observing a C-section...had one myself, but didn’t do much observing at that time). I told her it was beautiful and it moved me to tears. She grabbed my hand and thanked me.

WOW

Med/Surg has been a great learning experience…complete with learning about changing rectal tubes (don’t ask, you really really don’t want to know), giving meds, enemas, cleaning up barf and explaining to the alcoholic who is detoxing that no, there is nothing flying around the room. BUT there’s nothing like that feeling of watching a baby being born. Even the sad experience was fulfilling -- being there for that woman in her hour of need…those are the experiences where I felt at home, I know that’s what I want to do.

No I'm not dead

Oh my gosh, my last two weeks have been insane….I should be studying and cleaning the house but thought I’d update, really really quickly.

Clincals -- totally awesome. Love my instructor. She does demand the best from us (which is cool, but hard) but also gives us the best. She asked which ones of us want OB and so she scheduled half our OR observations in the OB/GYN department. She has gotten us an ICU observation day and an observation day with the IV nurse. These are all experiences that you don’t normally get, she really has gone above duty in her teaching.

Bombed my last test….could be because I had so many extra clinical hours I had no time to study, could be I was taking Flexeril and was in a foggy haze…could be I’m just that much more stupid then I thought. I have more time to study for the next one, stopped taking the Flexeril so I’ll know if I bomb the next one whether or not I’m stupid.

My house is a mess.

I haven’t dyed my hair in like a hundred years and I’m amazed how really gray I am…yikes.
Ok, that’s about it, not much time to really do much…but now for the exciting part of my day, I’m going to catch up on all of you!

Small world, the nurse I'm following (not instructor but the actual nurse), his wife is a teacher at one of the schools over here, and Colleeno followed her a couple weeks ago for one of her observations...small world!

And hey, Ms. Martha must understand because I did not get an email reminding me to update....but I bet it was coming...

oh yeah, and I got new windows and doors...yay, now I when I sit in the family room, I don't feel a draft.

A Meme

I got tagged by Danielle for a Meme on useless trivial habits I have...hmmmm, well almost all that type of information about me is useless and trivial, but I'll go for the most trivial....

Here are the rules:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) List the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged.

1. I can't sleep with my feet uncovered -- it's a hold out from when I was afraid of monsters under the bed (a couple weeks ago...hahaha, JK)

2. I have a paper due on diverticulitis today and instead of working on it, I'm reading blogs and doing stupid memes.....In other words, I'm a procastinator.

3. When I was a child I liked peanut butter and sweet pickle sandwhiches.

4. If it wasn't so impractical, I would have gone back to school to be an interior decorator rather then a nurse....I really love to decorate.

5. I'm a practical person...in a flighty, artsy, procastinating way.

6. I can't think of anything really interesting, but probably in the middle of my lecture of the lower GI tract I will think of tons of things and want a redo...

OK, Danielle already tagged the people I would tag...Dodi
Aimee and yes, she does need to update more, Colleeno, Ms. Marfa and Scott -- so if you want to read more on this line, check out their blogs and if you want to do this meme, let me know and I'll come read your blog!

And....oh my gosh, spell check is out, so I have no idea how badly I've done here....

Now, for the more serious stuff....I went to the Caucus (again, have no idea how that's spelled) for the first time ever. I had no clue what it was all about and it was so neat to be a part of the political process at that level...you really feel like at that level your vote means something -- like you're at the heart of the whole process. And there was such a camraderie (again, wish spell check was on). I even saw someone I knew...My first words, "Oh my gosh, I had no idea you were a democrat" she said the same to me and we hugged. I met some other neighbors too. You see in a red state, and in the suburbs, it's hard to find other dems...and ever since liberal has become a nasty word (and why is that?) it's not like we want to shout it out to the roof tops. I mostly keep my opinions to myself. Along with choosing a candidate, we also decided we should wear blue D's on our shirt in Scarlet Letter fashion.

So here's my opinion...
Romney? Really? Why?

Obama, Hillary? It was hard to choose, mostly because they're both a little left of the whole party line (I'm a middle of the road, fence sitter myself) I went with the majority (Obama) but still not sure who my fave is.

Really, really, I would like to tailor design my own candidate...some one down to earth, who really has, not only the country, but the individual man and woman who works to keep this country going, in mind...not so much big cooperations and the people who can afford to lobby. A candidate who cares about the earth and our resources....whether or not you believe we're in for a heat wave, ice age or nothing's going to happen, it does make sense to use renewable sources of energy...like say, solar, wind....It makes perfect sense to take care of our poor, our sick, our young and our old. I know that how we do that needs to be tweeked (I'm not about a free ride) but give me a break...and single mother trying to make it on her own, needs some help, if dead beat daddy isn't going to cough it up....and blaming her for getting into the mess, well that's just not helpful.

You know I just thought of something, maybe Jim Fay needs to write "Love and Logic for the politician" hahahahah (ok, for those of you not parents, Love and Logic is one of my favorite parenting books, it's about parenting out of consequences...like, 'If you choose to go out of the house without a coat you'll be cold, and if you make that choice you can't complain" I love it and the kids love it too).

anyway...I'm just saying.

Wordless Wednesday I CAN'T WAIT!

These pictures were taken last May--only four more months to go....

Apparently with Alzheimer's, some men get a little....ahhhh...hmmm..frisky. So, would you be taking their vitals and happen to lean over them you need to protect your boobies.....and never never bend over. I was thankfully warned and was able to move quickly, and I nicely held his hand while listening to his heart and lungs. He got some attention with some hand holding and my cleavage went unfondled.

My other patient has this seriously low blood pressure and pulse and he slept through me taking his vitals. I tried to wake him with a nice quite, "Mr. so and so", he didn't arouse so in a loud voice I yelled, "MR SO AND SO" he startled awake and asked me what was going on. I said, "oh nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, you kinda scared me with your low BP" Thank goodness he laughed.

Today I got to observe in the O.R. I got to see some brain surgery...how cool is that!

woo hoo

Yesterday was awesome....a 94...woo hoo. It's a great feeling when you get to a test, read the questions and actually know you're not guessing (well except for a couple). THEN, I got stopped for speeding and I didn't get a ticket -- ok, so I've actually never gotten a ticket for speeding and I've been stopped a couple of times, Jason HATES that. This time, he didn't even go back to the police car to check my ID, he didn't even ask for insurance and registeration....why? I think because I was in my scrubs. He asked if I was on my way to work, I explained I was a student and going to clinicals. He thanked me for becoming a nurse and tried to talk me out of wanting labor and delivery. When I told some of my fellow students , they told me they've heard that a lot of times medical people get out of tickets...not really a perk they mention in the shiny nursing catalogue at school.....have any of you heard of that?

And I just can't stand it if you think I'm this speeding freak, normally, when I am speeding, it's because I'm unaware, I'm just following traffic. So my fault is in my checked-outedness (which is probably also really bad).

Yeah the time stamp is correct, it's really really early or really really late...but I have to write out all of the information on my patient for this weekend. Lucky me, he's combative.

Anyway...a 94 woo hoo, yay me.

and ps....the spelling check option isn't working, so this post and last post may be full of spelling errors! I know they're full of grammatical errors...but until they get a check for that, I'm out of luck....and to think in my first life I was an English major...bad me.

oh geeze, it's like I can't get away with just being happy about something...ok again, yay me.

Jake

Hmmm, he's in a 'stage' and I think it's a funny one....sort of.

Isaac was sick last week, so he stayed home, Jake had the choice, but he really likes the school day care, all his friends are there and he gets to play dodge ball, and it was paid for so I took him. I went to pick him up and I left Isaac in the car, doors locked, instructions not to open the doors, covered in a blanket, in a safe suburban neighborhood and right outside the door. As we are walking out of the door Jake asks where Isaac is, I tell him, he says "Mom, do you really think that's a good idea" I think, yeah, it's 1 freaking degree outside and he's hacking up a lung, I think it's a great idea to keep him in the car....what I say is, "yes, honey, I try to make good decisions when it comes to you both, I thought about this and figured it was the best thing to do, given he's sick."

So, we get into the car, Jake feels Isaac's head, and reports to me that it feels warm and asks when I last gave him medication....I assured Jake that Isaac's meds were on schedule. Then he spots a Starbucks cup and asks what it was. I explain that we went through the SB drivethrough after dropping him off that morning and Isaac had a vanilla milk...then my EIGHT year old says, "Mom, do you think it's a good idea to give a sick child milk"....

OH Geeze...

And this is where my fantastic parenting becomes apparent....and I say, 'JAKE, WHO IS THE MOMMY"

and he pauses...yes, he pauses and thinks about it.
"ahh, you?"

I have another test today...I'm off to Starbucks to study for a couple hours...I have no idea what to think because I thought I was prepared last week only to get a really low C (yikes). So we'll see....but here's the hard part...my schedule next week...let me tell it to you so you can feel sorry for me:

Sat, Sun 6:45am to 7:30 pm at the hospital
Mon, Tues 5:30 am to 2pm at the hospital
Wed, off but I have study group
Thurs, Fri Class
Sat, Sun 6:45am to 7:30 pm at the hospital

then next Monday? blubbering idiot and in bed all day? Maybe Jake can take care of me because he suddenly now knows everything....and I'm NOT going to tell my mother this particular Jake story because she'll only laugh and think it perfectly deserved...

wordless wed/archeological remains of the first politician

OH MY GOSH!

So my Friday test....BOMBED IT...and I'm not talking, "oh poor me I got a 90" I mean I really bombed it, I got a 78, which is still passing but with very little wiggle room (anything below a 77 is failing). It could be worse, half the class failed it and no, they don't curve.

Then I had my clinicals this weekend. 13 hours on my feet each day for two days straight. My clinical instructor is ....hmmmmm....a hard a**. I'm actually OK with that, because she's very good at what she does and expects the best from her students and I think you learn the most from people like that. I, of course, dropped one of the meds...on the floor and the look on her face...well, won't be getting a satisfactory on meds my first weekend out. My patient was great and she loved me, told me I was going to be a good nurse. Her family was awesome too, the daughters even invited me out for beer (which I didn't do -- because you're not supposed to develop a personal relationship with your patients or families -- and for someone with boundary issues...ME....I even get that....but it was nice to be invited). Here's the scary thing about my clinical...the thing that made me spray every inch of the house with Lysol (and I don't need the lecture on super bacteria now, I know, and after I tell you you'll understand why I was so liberal with the anti microbials) every other patient on the floor had VRE or MRSA. I am so going to find a place in the garage for my nursing shoes and start disrobing in there and going straight to the showers....BLEK.

And on top of it all, Isaac is sick, so I've been getting up at odd hours of the night, Jason's had to take off work, I have to read my book, snuggled next to him while he's watching Sponge Bob...so we'll see how I do on my test this week.

Even with all my complaining and my apparent academic retardeness, I LOVE IT. It's so much fun. Half the students in my clinical rotation are questioning themselves and I didn't do that once. Whew, because this is a lot of time, money and stress to wonder if I'm doing the right thing.

I need to go catch up on you guys now!

Wish Me Luck, Pray for Me...whatever, any nice thoughts are welcome

I have my first Med-surg test today. Rumor has it that the average score on this test is a 68...keep in mind, in this program anything below a 77 is failing. There are three people in my class now that failed last semester (the other three that failed, decided not to come back)Needless to say I AM FREAKING OUT....here's what the test is covering:
electrolytes (normal values, what your signs and symptoms are if they are too low or high and what do you do about it)
acid-base balance
blood disorders
blood transfusions...and what can go wrong and what to do about it
Immunity, humoral and cell mediated and know all the antibodies and which ones do what...
Hypersensitivites
Autoimmune
Immune deficiencies
and
Upper and Lower respiratory problems and what to do and what to recognize.

So, around 8:30 am Mountain Standard, please please send prayers, good vibes, well wishes, Buddhist chants this way....there's only so much reading, studying, hitting my head against a wall I can do...

I'll let you know how I did later...oh, but my clinicals start tomorrow at 6:30 am....so I might not update until Monday....yeah, I got the short straw...12 hour shift clinicals Saturday and Sunday (hope God understands---I'll be doing a lot of praying, given how hard this class is, but won't be visiting for a few weeks...).

Wordless Wednesday

napping kiddo (not feeling that great)
A match made in heaven

(as I've mentioned before, fixerupper, nasty tile will be gone sometime this summer)

pictures to go with yesterday's post

On the way up...we were up at 5am and just got the kids in the car with couple pillows and blankets. They slept most of the way up.
0 degrees F....that was on Berthoud Pass, it was about 5 degrees in Grand Lake (a virtual heat wave) And Sitting in Silence (who is in Australia and uses the metric system...I think?) that would be -17.77777 & -15 degrees Celsius
Shoddy pictures--sorry... I'm a chicken so Jason took turns with the boys 'catching some air' in a meadow.
Don't be fooled by his grim look (he's going through a phase where he doesn't want to smile when told) the boys are toasty and warm and filled with hot chocolate and ready for the three hour trip back to the flatlands with the requisite stop to Beau Jo's Pizza in Idaho Springs. And because they have a jar of honey on each table the kids look forward to eating their pizza crusts.

And and OH MY GOSH MOMENT...my mom's birthday was yesterday---I think she's now officially younger then I am, since she lies about her age, and I do not....so forgot to call her...bad daughter, bad daughter. Better go call her now before it's too late...that eight hour difference (she lives in Spain) can really mess you up when trying to call at a decent hour for both. I bet my perfect brother didn't forget...speaking of perfect brother, I finally figured out what to give him and his lovely wife for Christmas...I mean it's been so long since Jason and I were a hip, young, childless couple -- oh who am I kidding, we were never hip...So we got them beer of the month (but for only three months because, oh my gosh that could get expensive) but you get some neat microbrews from around the states. If I were a better wife, I'd give my husband that same gift...instead he got a saw. So who am I kidding the 8 hour time difference means nothing, I just suck at birthdays and holidays...again, speaking of which - a confession: perfect brother's and lovely sister-in-law's birthday presents from last July are sitting on my desk as we speak....I really do suck. Oh but, not so perfect sister and not so perfect other brother, more then likely forgot too, so if I call today I will still be among the favored....(tongue in cheek here, my mother loves us all equally).

It's offical Being Dramatic is Genetic

I come from a dramatic family...well on my mother's side (my dad did have his moments, he tried, but those firm WASP tendencies took over for the most part)....now the latin side, well drama drama drama....I'm somewhere in the middle (thus my husband's coined term of waspina)...I enjoy a good story, can even tell a good story, but I don't normally have to create drama in my own life...my job is to be the audience for the dramas created by my family (ok, mostly my sister).

Now my youngest doesn't spend a lot of time with my family so it was quite the shock when he threw the scenes of all scenes last Saturday when we went snowmobiling. We had fun the first half hour but then he got cold. I'm not without sympathy and don't mean to sound callous, but OH MY GOSH...did he need to scream all the way back down the mountain the following:

"I'M SO COLD"
"OH MY GOD"
"MAMA MAMA MAMA" (at this point beating my back with his well gloved fists --- think hysterically crying starlett and buff star in some black and white movie from the Forties and me having to stop and ask him to hold on to the heated handles so that he wouldn't fall off the snowmobile).
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE"
"OH MY GOD, I'M GOING TO DIE"
"I'M SO COLD"

All the above, repeatedly, without stop, for the 30 minutes it took us to get back to the rental lodge. The people there gave us a blanket, we got Isaac down to his long underwear, wrapped him up in the blanket and put him in front of the fire, where he whimpered for the benefit of all.

I got those 'looks' from the few adults around....the ones between, 'bad mom, you aren't attending properly to your very forlorn child' to 'bad mom, you aren't beating the disturbing behavior out of your child' I shrugged my shoulders to both ends of the disapproving spectrum...because one thing I've learned...doesn't matter what you do, somone's going to think you suck as a parent.

He warmed up, Jake and Jason got another hour on the snowmobile and Isaac and I colored pictures and drank hot chocolate. In the end everyone was happy and now we know two things:

1. There is a drama gene.
2. We're going to wait a couple more years before reintroducing winter sports to the youngest.

oh and to those of you who haven't been reading this blog for long...a waspina is a cross between a WASP (white anglo saxon protestant) and a Latina...I think of it as balanced.

Wordless Wednesday

My dad, March 1939-Jan 1988

Every year I get into a funk at the beginning of the year. Then I realize -- oh yeah my dad died(many many years ago) around this time and even though it's years and years later, there's some part of me that remembers that pain and I feel sad and grumpy and can't seem to pinpoint why until a couple weeks into January when it hits me, it rises up to the surface, I have a good cry and return to my happy self.

my dad as a small child
Shortly before he died...

My dad was one of those people that most people liked and everyone respected. He was tall, articulate and uber smart...he was the kind of guy you'd want on your team during trivial pursuit, I mean he knew what color underwear Mary Queen of Scots wore to her execution (red). He wore hushpuppies, corduroy pants and plaid shirts most days. He was the typical college professor and enjoyed learning and teaching but in the same tradition he was not the most practical person....like, say, deciding to move to Greece for a semester my last year of highschool so he could write a paper on the expulsion of the Jews during WWII. He would pull us out of school on a whim to travel, or go to the museum for a new exhibit, anything he thought would enhance our learning experience. For an educator himself, he had little respect for the schedule of learning. He was an advisor at the Museum of Nature and Science so my sister and I spent tons of time there, we even got to go into some of the exhibits while they were being built and got to touch the woolly mammoths, stand next to replicas of historical figures and see what went into building an exhibit from the ground up. That was one great play area for a little kid.

As a young man

I'm lucky I met Jason in highschool and my dad was able to meet the man I eventually married. I am sad he never met my children, or my sister's children. He didn't get to walk me down the aisle at my wedding. He didn't get to see me graduate from college (the first time) or see what kind of a mother I've become or see that, like him, I enjoy learning and am returning to school later in life (although in a field he would not enjoy...he was a liberal arts guy through and through). I miss having his advice, he always put thought into a problem, he wasn't reactive (as I can sometimes be), he didn't take sides and never gossiped. He was a good guy.

This year I have lived half my life with out my dad and still I miss him.

this and that

Not to be outdone by Colleen and btw...who does she think she is? Superwoman? I have also made a list of my accomplishments:

I've logged in about 15 hours of HGTV

Probably just as many hours of looking up bathrooms on 'rate my space' ...come on, it's research, we are redoing our bathroom

I have 'opened' my nursing text book and have 'glanced' over a couple of the pages.

I've caught up on my favorite blogs, even commented on a couple.

I've rearranged the dirty dishes in the sink in order to 'soak' some more dirty dishes and I have opened the dishwasher in order to get out clean spoons because we seem to have run out of the ones in the drawer.

My Christmas decorations are half put away.....

So there you have it...a list of my very productive week...now go read Colleen's blog and then you can see what a real slacker I am.

I kinda feel like commenting on New Hampshire right now and how the people that live there seem to have a great bit of common sense....on both sides. But, I so don't want to get into a debate...does it really matter? 48 more states to go....I just hope they don't interrupt prime time programming again to say...2 more people just voted and the front runners are exactly the same...it's okay to wait until there's actually SOMETHING TO REPORT.

Then there's Dr. Phil and Brittany.....(rolling my eyes right now), who is the prima donna here? And then there's the spokeswoman for Jaime and Lynn (have no idea how their names are spelled and only just now realized that their names make up the name of the pregnant teen daughter...I don't normally follow this stuff, but hey it was on the news, it must be blog worthy---right?) anyway....spokeswoman, asks America to pray for the family, and yeah they do need prayers but frankly they need help of the earthly kind, preferably with a PhD or an MD behind the name of that help.... and yes they have been vilified by the media and the public because their children are acting like idiots! and it's great that daddy prays before work every day....but really should I excuse what a mess the family is because he prays? I'm all for faith and prayer, I rely on both myself...but there's also the whole take responsibility for your actions and how your kids turn out.....and as I write this, I'm saying a little prayer that my kids turn out okay because I'd hate to eat crow later...hahaha.

That was one long run on sentence...whatever

Oh my gosh, I'm having a bit of a snit....

OK, fun stuff, there was a great read in the most recent issue of Wondertime (a fun parenting mag) about moms that blog. You can check out the author's actual blog here.

And so you don't think I'm just about making snotty comments about celebs and politics....I have to relay, what I think is a cute story, about my youngest...

We passed a jeep with antlers on the front (fake, fuzzy ones for Christmas) and I pointed it out to the kids (mostly to distract them from their bickering---funny thing, I HATE the sound of bickering) and Isaac pipes up..."I know why they have those on there". Curious, I ask him why and he answered "So if the car goes off the cliff it could fly" I LOVE THE WAY THAT KID THINKS....and you should have seen his little face (through the review mirror, I was in the car), it was so earnest, so sincere....so I agreed with him.

OOOOH....look what we did the other day. The Dainko and Dobson kiddos came over and we made candles. It was a project we found in the Family Fun magazine. You melt some wax, throw in a crayon for color and crush some ice. You pour the wax over the crushed ice and when it melts it makes this lava rock thing...very neat and the kids enjoyed it. I didn't have my camera available so check out Colleeno's Blog for more pictures (thanks Colleen for being a good mom and bringing your camera! -- it's always good to have proof for the children that I did do fun things with them) -- and aside here, we bought a fixer upper and these rooms haven't been fixed up yet...thus the avocado green wall with the framed red silk glued to it --- don't ask, I have NO IDEA what the previous owners were thinking...

Oh and what a segue...my favorite new website--rate my space on HGTV.....I guess it's not my new favorite website, it's a new section of an old favorite. A friend turned me on to it and now I'm hooked.

Jason's been working on the bathroom, finally got the electrical all hooked up to the breaker box and it's not working...he says it's an easy fix....we'll see. This DIY project is a lot more involved then I thought it would be.

Other than that, not much new...2008 has so far been uneventful.

Happy New Year....

First off, since so many of my readers (two of maybe 4 or 5) didn't know what a butter braid was, I thought I'd link you to a description of their buttery goodness . They're really one of the better fund raiser deals out there.

Well it's the new year, what can I say about it so far? How about it's cold cold cold. We took the boys ice skating today, they had a blast. Isaac fell every two seconds and would hoot and holler with joy each time. I swear that kid did not stop laughing the entire time. Jake also had a great time. I find it humorous that the skating rink is sponsored by a nearby hospital....are they trying to drum up business?

Last night we went to a friend's house, chatted a bit and came home. We all fell asleep before midnight. In fact, Jason and I have been together about twenty-two years and maybe we've stayed up six times. But except for one year (I was in Greece the last part of my senior year in high school) we've been together on New Year's Eve (yeah, yeah, either ooh and aah or barf, it's great being high school sweet hearts!).

So, do I have any resolutions.....yeah...anything creative...no...
lose weight
get the house remodeled
get organized
be a better mom...

blah blah blah
I had ice cream, yelled at the kids and didn't do anything around the house today...so far not doing well on the resolutions...bad me

The kids are excited (and surprisingly so) about our family resolution -- no fast food for the year -- okay, Chipotle, Tokyo Joes are okay because they're relatively healthy and fresh...the main criteria is if it has a drive through (except for Starbucks, do you think I'm insane) then it's a no-go.

I have a ton of pictures to post....but can't seem to find my camera...and I can't find the cord in order to recharge the other camera so I couldn't take pictures of the kids ice skating today...see why "getting organized" is on my list!

But, just in case you think I'm a total slacker....I've been studying daily for my class that starts on the 11th. Rumor has it, that the teacher has a pop quiz the first day of class and I plan on being prepared!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!