Halloween 2009

Gettin' All Crafty

I have come upon a problem since graduating in May. I just don't know what to do with myself sometimes! For those of you with endless schedules of running to this lesson or that, baking goodies as the homeroom mom for your child's class or sponsoring a mommy's-day-out group, all while trying to keep your house clean- don't be haters. I have lots of things I should be doing, just haven't been motivated to do them as often as I should...

Out of that has sprouted my latest series of craft projects. I did some scrapbooking, made some cards, and then...decided to take up sewing again. I went through a sewing phase some time back and produced several quilts that are now being used as absolutley nothing in a rubbermaid tote in the spare bedroom closet.

Another time, when I was pregnant with Mara, I made a couple of little summer dresses. That was fun (in a sort of torturous way),  but after having her and then going to school for the past 2 years, I just didn't have the time or desire to sew anymore. Last week I decided to make her an outfit after being inspired by some boutique clothes I saw online. Here is the result:

It wasn't very hard, actually, just time consuming. It took me much longer than it will the next time I do it, mostly because I did a lot of things by trial and error. In my excitement to get going on the first outfit, I purchased some other fabric that will work for making another. When it's turned inside out it isn't pretty at all, but put it on Mara and the imperfections dissapear under her smile. 

Almost First Day of School

First day of First grade came and went without any "before" pics. Mike had my good camera, and my other was MIA, so Cam got off to school without any. Luckily, in his classroom, another mother was snapping photos of all the kids with their new teacher, Ms.Fuchs (pronounced Fox). So, eventually I will have some first school pictures of Cam, but for now, this will have to do.

The first week was a bit rough. On Tuesday, the first day of school, Cam was complaining of not feeling very well but I figured it was the nerves talking. Mara and I took him to school, walked in with him and left without any hesitation. He was very excited to see some old friends and meet new ones. I drove directly to Mara's daycare/pre-school where she attends on Tuesday and Thursdays. After she was settled in I was homefree!!! I couldn't wait to do something alone, so I went and ran a few errands. Exciting, I know.

10:30 rolls around and I recieve a phone call from Ms.Clara, the school nurse reporting Cam has a fever of 102.5 and has thrown up. Great. I went to pick my poor little guy up, came home and he layed down for most of the day. There were a few episodes of nausea, another vommitting, and then it was time to go get Mara. I made Cam hold a bowl in his lap just in case something came up....

Cam needed to stay home until his fever had been gone for 24 hours, so he missed the second day of school, too. Fortunatley, the first week of 1st grade isn't too heavy on homework, so he doesn't have make-up to do.

Thursday and Friday were normal, with him up and out the door bright and early. He is looking forward to this new year; learning new things and meeting new friends. His teacher seems to be really great. I like her a lot. Since I'm out of school now, I hope to have more time to participate in Cam's classroom. There are always lots of jobs for moms to do there.




Today we started week two and things seem to be just fine. I hope the rest of the year goes well!!

On my way back to the blogosphere...

I have every intention of updating this blog very soon. I just need to think of something good to write about...
Acutally, I just made Mara a new outfit, so as soon as I have pics of it, I'll post them.

Until then, have a good day!!!

Graduation

I forgot to mention that I graduated....Here are som pics from the big day. I have to take the state boards on June 11th, then will be an official RN!!!

Thanks to my friends that attended the ceremony, and of course my family who was also able to attend. It was great having us all together for a few days.

Congrats Justin!

I went to Provo,UT this weekend to attend my little brother's college graduation from BYU. We were able to visit the Manti, Draper and Salt Lake City temples while we were there as well as going to two graduation ceremonies.

I'm so proud of Justin and his achievements! He's moving to San Diego soon to take his first job as a construction manager. Way to go!

Anything for a Buck

Yesterday the kids and I were in the backyard pulling weeds. It was then that I realized we needed to get on some sort of poop-scooping routine. The conversation with Cam went something like this:

Me: Cam, we need to work on scooping up this poop.
Cam: No way! I'm not gonna do it!
Mara: poop is gwoss.
Me: Skyler does it at his house. His mommy pays him money to do it.
Cam: She gives him dollars? I'll do it if you give me some money. I'll do anything for money. Anything at all. Except walk in hot lava. I will not walk on lava. That can kill you. I wouldn't go in a volcano hole, either.

So, I guess he has his limits...

He's So Cute!

That's what Mara said when one of this guy's pals was flying around our house. (S)he is a Mosquito Wasp. Good thing to have around if you're not fond of mosquito bites. Not what I would consider cute, though.

The Golden Apple Award- Excellence in Teaching

Ask almost anyone who their favorite teacher was, and they'll remember. They will most likely remember the time, effort and love that person invested in their education. I remember hearing something in an interview of a famous athlete that earned millions of dollars every year. He said some of the most influential people to him were teachers in school growing up. One person who I know is making differences in young people's lives is my mom.

My mom has been a middle school science teacher for about 15 years. She really does an amazing job teaching with all kinds of fun activities. Some of the things that stand out in my mind are: dissecting hearts, having a greenhouse that the kids work in, having an invention competition, raising trout from eggs then releasing them into the wild, cleaning up a local lake and doing water testing, launching rockets, the list goes on and on.In addition to her teaching, she has an amazing classroom filled with animals of every sort, jobs the kids all have to participate in, a weather monitoring station, and they even have palm pilots to use for research under teacher supervision! While she is very humble and would never tell you how awesome she is (because she doesn't realize it), her peers and students would definitely report that she is great.

Recently, she was selected to receive a prestigious award for excellence in teaching. It's called The Golden Apple Award. "The Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico (Golden Apple) is a nonprofit organization with a mission for recognizing excellent teachers and improving the quality of teaching. Each year Golden Apple recognizes seven teachers from around New Mexico with the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. "

There was a pretty intense process in which the award winners were selected. They had to submit portfolios, their students, peers, student parents and administration were all interviewed, they had observers in their classrooms during a normal school day, and then they had an interview themselves.

My mom is the first person in her school to win this award, and I just wanted to say Congratulations! I'm so very proud to have such a great example as a mom. It's been a good lesson for me to see the hard work she puts into making someone else's life more meaningful through education.I can only hope my children will have teachers like her as they go through school! Way to go Mom!!!!

Our Growing Family

That title lured you in, didn't it? Don't get too excited. We aren't pregnant, and in fact have no plans of increasing the population of Round Rock anytime soon, if ever. This is just a way of getting people to read my blog posts.

Mara made me laugh the other day. She says stuff that makes me laugh all the time, but this incident would be pretty funny to anyone, in my opinion. She and Cam were watching Disney channel the other day when I walked by and stopped. This is what I saw on the screen.

In case you are unfamilliar with this teenie-bopper, her name is Hannah Montana. She's has her own tv show, line of clothing, etc. Anyways, I walk by and see the kids watching her in concert on TV and know who it is but ask them just to see if they know.

"What are you guys watching?" I say.

"Hannah Montana." Is Cam's reply. (picture him staring into the TV without so much as turning his head to acknowledge me.)

Then little miss Muffet (as I refer to Mara) pipes up "Thats my sista!"

So you see, our family is now growing into one that includes pop stars. I didn't know I had such talented children...

HOW TO WORK OUT FROM HOME

I saw this video on Kristi's blog, and laughed so hard I wanted to share it with you on my blog. I love how this dad really uses his resources!

Revision to Previous Plan

Some people raise their small children in a way they believe is shielding them from what they view as inapropriate subject matter.(That's fine with me. Whatever floats your boat...)You might hear said people calling certain body parts by alternate names such as weenie,willie,boobie,pee-pee,vajayjay, etc. You know what I'm talking about.

At our home I have made a concious effort to use language that is more along the lines of what a mature adult would say- maybe what your doctor might call the nether regions of your body. You know...the given anatomical labels.

There are those of you who know this about our family, and have heard a funny story or two of my child speaking of his "privates" in a blunt manner using said label without realizing it might not be accepted by all. Because of this, I have revised my origional plan of staying strict on the anatomical labeling.

The revised plan now includes instructions to my children that they are to refer to their genitals as "privates" or "private parts" when discussing them in public. Don't get me wrong, they don't go around spouting off random remarks about them. It just so happens that when you're young and discovering the world around you there are lots of questions to ask and statements to make. Mara hasn't been the one to inspire the revised plan, if you know what I mean. Cam is the scientist of our two children.

I guess we have to improvise as parents. That's what I've come to learn,anyway! I really love this part about parenting, because it means I don't have to be perfect. Good thing, too, because I'm not by a long shot.

There might be another post to come about my discussion with Cam about where babies live before they're born. Interesting story. He really "gets it" (on a 6-year old level).

What revisions to your parenting plan have you made? Or better yet, do you have a plan? Do share!

I did it!!!

So after a little thinking and reading like 2 lines of instructions, here is the video I mentioned. I still like the song in case you were wondering.

Rock N Roll

I don't have much time these days with school, primary, family, etc. As I'm sure you've noticed, my posts are few and far between. Here is link to the video for my new favorite song. I don't really get the video's meaning, but the tune is oh so catchy. The artist is Eric Hutchinson.

www.erichutchinson.com/content/eric-hutchinson-rock-roll-official-video

p.s.
I tried to embed the video, but lack the necessary skilz to do so.

My Son's Honesty

Alright people here goes. I know everyone sets New Year's resolutions each year. I know that most of them are self-improvement goals. I also know that a large population of people place weightloss, working out, or general health at the top of their list.

It has come to my attention that I too, must put some effort into losing some weight this year. The final clue or straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak was a funny conversation that I had with Cam tonight.

Let me set the scene for you. I'm slouched on the couch watching TV. Cam walks up and places his hand on my not-so-flat stomach and we have the following conversation:

CAM: Mommy, are we going to have a baby?
ME: What?
CAM: Are you going to have a baby?
ME: No, why did you ask?
CAM: Because your tummy keeps getting fatter.
ME: No, It's not a baby. It's just chubby.
CAM: Are you sure?
ME: Yes, I'm sure.
CAM: Maybe you should go to the Dr. and check.

Now, in addition to talking to me, he is rubbing and squishing his hand in my abdomen to make sure there's nothing in there of interest.

CAM: I think I feel the lump.
ME: No you don't. Quit squishing my fat.

So, I guess I better do something about this. I have been thinking about going back to the gym or Weight Watchers. I'm not sure yet. At any rate, it's pretty evident that I need to do something! I just think it's hillarious that Cam noticed.

Cutting Wood

The kids and I drove to my parent's house in southwest New Mexico to spend Christmas with family. When we come here, it's always a reminder of how cushy our life in the city is.

My dad, brother Justin, Cam and I got to take a little drive up to one of my dad's horse pastures to cut some firewood. There was a big fire there a year and a half ago, so the dead trees needed cleared out. We were only working up there for a few hours, but were able to cut a good ammount of wood to last them at least through this winter. We will probably go back and cut some more before we leave if the weather permits. It was snowing when we were up there this time.

I love to come and do things like this with my family! I especially think it's good for Cam to experience hard work. It's one of those things you can only learn by doing. For the most part, Cam stayed in the truck where it was nice and cozy while my dad and Justin cut and I stacked the wood. He did get out to help load the trailer a couple of times, though. Here he is posing with my dad's chainsaw. (for the record, we did not let him opperate it!)

End of the Semester

Hip, Hip, Horray!! I took my final today and am done with level 3!

It's been an interresting semester of nursing school- filled with lectures and clinical days all about labor, delivery and pediatrics. Coming into the start of the school year I knew I would most likley enjoy the L&D segment, but didn't think I'd enjoy Pediatrics nearly as much as I did. In fact, I'm considering working in a pediatric setting after graduation. Anyone who knows me really well is probably laughing right about now....ok get over it. People change, and yes, there was a time that I didn't want kids and even stated I didn't like kids all that much, but that's not the case now.

I love taking care of these little boys and girls!! Maybe working in primary has something to do with it? I'm not sure. All I know is that I'm one step closer to knowing what I want to do as a nurse when I graduate in May.

Thanks to all of you that have been my personal cheerleaders as I have labored through these past 3 semesters of school. Without your love and support and encouragement, I would have been tempted to give up at times.

My 4th and final semester of nursing school starts in January. I'm looking forward to getting this over with. I feel like I've been in school forever. Actually, it's only been a couple of years, but still. It's not that fun sometimes. Until then, I'm taking some time to read for fun, relax with my family in NM, and spend time with my kiddos.

Now I can take a deep breath and relax...

Camper

Because I don't have anything good to blog about these days, I'm just going to randomly post pics of my kids. Keeps people coming back for more.

Good Feelings

Note to Self: When experiencing a bad mood, simply look at this picture.

Mara in the Hospital

First and foremost- do not worry. Mara is not currently in the hospital. She was in there almost a month ago, but I am just now documenting it.

I won't go on and on with the whole story, because to be honest, most of you reading this know the story anyways! I just wanted to say thanks and post some pictures.

In short, after getting an infection through an insect bite, we had to go to Dell Children's hospital because oral antibiotics weren't clearing it up. Luckily we only had to stay a little over 24 hours. Mara was quite the trooper, even after getting stuck 6 times for an IV that eventually failed. She has since made a complete recovery from her bout with cellulitis in her leg.

After a few days of eating very little, Mara's appetite returned for some pancakes, eggs and applesauce.

Thank you Nancy and Tammy for coming to visit us and bring Mara goodies and this giant Jack-o-Lantern! She loved it so much she carried it around the house until it totally deflated just a few days ago!

We would like to thank all of you for the thoughts and prayers and phone calls while we had our little scare. My heart goes out to all the families with children that have weeks and months of hospitalization to endure. I don't know how they do it. As I prepare to become a nurse myself, I know this experience will stay with me and help me relate to my patients better. I have gained a whole new perspective.