Christmas is when?!?

Can you believe Christmas is this week?? I may be more prepared than other years, but feel less ready than usual. I don't think that makes any sense...

I spent the weekend baking and our Christmas day meal is going to be super simple as in deli tray simple - no joke. I will not cook on Christmas anymore - too time consuming - I want to play with my kids. We are, however, having a traditional (well, sort of) dinner on Saturday with family. I was very organized about shopping and spending this year. I am very happy with how that went. We also made it through Seth's first and Noah's 3rd birthdays! I am woman - hear me roar!!!

I will take lots of pictures this week and post them soon as I can!

Merry Christmas!!

Halloween!

Ok, so these kiddos had a blast! I took them to the mall on Thursday night for practice...they were really good. Friday night, can I just say, was the hardest I have laughed in a long time! Noah may be the funniest person on the face of this planet. Well ok, in our house. Anyway, I wasn't sure how well he'd keep up or how long he'd last. He was great! Lagging behind the rest of the kids by 20-30 feet, yelling "Come on, guys!," as if he was leading them. Running back the way he came from and turning in his tracks. My neighbor accused me of having a crack problem :o) He was just hilarious to watch! Sorry, I'm going to continue on about how flippin' entertaining he was. After taking 16 minutes to approach the door of a very well decorated house (maybe not that long) - we're talking animations, lights, and sounds - he was nervous, he walked away without looking back and said, "That house was stupid." What?? Our neighbor had taken to carrying him across the long gaps. When he put him down to catch up with the others, he comes running to me and cries out, "That guy won't hold me!" He literally had us in stitches all night long! Here are some shots of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, the sheepdog (and self-proclaimed Nana the nursery dog), and Tick Tock the Croc...

OK - so really - seriously...

What I meant to share on Thursday:

There may be no way to make this a short story, but here goes...

LAST Thursday (as in week and a half ago), a friend (K) and I wanted to make an appointment to meet with an instructor (Ms. V) to review a test that we did not do well on. Ms. V happens to also be my 1st rotation clinical instructor (the one referenced previously that I really liked). Well, she said she'd be putting up a sign-up sheet for appointments later that day and that she would fill our names in for 11am on Tuesday. On Tuesday, we show up before a 10am class to see that she gave that appointment to someone else and put us in at 3pm. Hmm. I decide to keep it but K works at 3 so she can't stay. She signs up for Thursday at 9:30 instead. Still following? At some point that day, K decides she can go into work an hour late, so we go together to the 3pm. While with Ms.V, I asked if I could then take the Thursday @ 9:30 appointment for my CPE (this is the evaluation & grade from clinical - that I want to know so badly!). She said it was ok so I crossed off K's name and put down my own. Now, I have to make additional babysitting arrangements to cover because I don't have class until noon on Thursdays ($). SO, Thursday morning, I show up in the office to find K (she had met with a different teacher) and another classmate, C. They tell me that Ms. V was not aware of the switch and that she said, "You can't just do that." WTH? So I go in to her office as if unaware of this. She proceeds to insist she knew nothing of the switch and that she was not prepared for me, she didn't have my stuff. Grrr. And that's putting it mildly.

Big deal, right? Wrong. I have been having an extremely trying semester. I had a bad week for grades - on our last test (the one we had asked to review), a micro test I did less than well on, and a micro lab practical that I didn't feel too good about. Add this to an upcoming test on my mind. All I wanted was some good news. I really feel like I did really well in clinical with Ms. V. I was so looking forward to finding out I did great to ease some of the tension, er, depression I was feeling.

Alas I wait...
Grrr.

Seriously

How do ya like them apples?

We made our annual excursion to Murphy Orchards (in Burt, NY - a shameless plug) yesterday. I finally talked Ron into taking me apple-pickin' a couple of years ago and now it is a yearly family tradition. We had an absolutely gorgeous day for it - the sun was warm, the ground was dry, and the trees were - bare? Yeah, so we got out a little late this year and there were slim pickins. No worries, though, we got plenty to enjoy. Not to mention all of the fun pictures this momma got to take! The kids were great and we made a family day of it. We even went for dinner at Daddy's favorite Bills game eatery! Here are some pics I got, and the link to the album...



off and running...


"I can reach"


"Wait for me!"


Momma's sweet Sunshine


Couldn't you just eat him up?

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/charmin24/Apple%20Picking/

A Day Off?

Did you ever get a "day off" only to find that it would be busier than a day on? With my change in clinical rotation, I am left with Fridays off, today being the first one. Of course, for a mom, there really is no such thing as a day off, right? Anyway, so far this morning I have vacuumed twice. It's 8am. I have a friend coming over to work on school stuff. I have 4 of my kids home today - I'm hoping that the 15 year old will be helpful and not a nuisance. Noah (he's 2) is in rare form this morning - he's shooting for an early nap. Oh - and tomorrow we are going apple-pickin and picture-takin and I'm trying to stay ahead of the boo-boo nose Seth is getting. He's been a bit runny and his nose is getting irritated - so not cute for pictures! I have my work cut out for me today!

Ugh

I actually look forward to Sunday nights (not because the weekend is over, but because football day is over). We watch one show on Sunday nights - Cold Case. Back to my point - Sundays are a stressful waste of my energy most of the time. I hate that feeling. Our family goes to church and I really try to promote peace in our home, especially on Sunday. And all my efforts are in vain. My husband is a die-hard fan. He holds more passion in his being for his sports teams than for anything else in this world. Good or bad, he is an emotional roller coaster on game day. Most times I can't decide whether to cry, walk out, yell, or laugh. I hate hating Sundays. Anybody want to adopt a Bills fan?

My first "photo shoot"

We did a quick shoot in our back yard. It was nap time, so less successful than I had hoped for and we cut it short. I still like what I got, though!

Whew!

Today was the last day of my 1st clinical rotation and "CPE" day. Clinical Performance Evaluation is always intimidating, but of course I had to get a difficult patient! I got through it, and it turned out to be a great day - I LOVE learning new things! I start Monday at our childrens' hospital - should be fun :o)

Oh, I got a new camera - I'm hoping to get the kids together over the weekend and start shooting pictures. I really want to take advantage of the beautiful fall sun... I'll post some as soon as I can!

I LOVE THE FALL!

So we spent yesterday savoring the wonderful aroma of homemade applesauce on the stove. We go to a local orchard to pick apples and pumpkins every year. We haven't gone yet. I had one of those paper tote bags of apples you buy at the grocery store. And yesterday seemed like a perfectly good day to smell them simmering with cinnamon and caramel. Yes, it was the perfect fragrance to walk into - the whole house smelled wonderful! Sadly, it made a meager batch of sauce to serve to such a family as ours as even Ron had some. It was a nice teaser, though. I think we'll be going for our apples this weekend and we always end up with more than we could ever use ourselves. The folks at the orchard we go to are so friendly and fun! They charge for u-pick apples by the pound. You pick what you want then haul 'em in and load 'em up on the great big scale. While you're figuring the math to guesstimate how much your 64 pounds of apples at $.49/pound, the awesome Jamaican man is eyeballing them and you and your brood and charges you $8.00. They probably see more go to rot than they care to, so they never charge what they advertise. You leave there feeling like you robbed the apple bank - it's funny! So I start googling any recipe that calls for apples and get to it...

No, we aren't crazy...

I have to be careful how much I say and who I let read my blog...if I'm going to share my deepest secretest secrets :o) No, really, I need to have these "conversations" with someone, right? Here goes...



Ron and I are planning on another baby. Yes, folks, that's right. We are acknowledging the fact that we intend to have another baby - on purpose. We agree that we want me done with school before number next would arrive but that could mean getting pregnant any time now. I'm thinking I'd rather not be pregnant during school again (isn't 1 pregnancy per degree sufficient?). I would love a late summer/fall baby. Maybe I'll do the math...

SHHH! Don't tell our parents - tee hee!

made it through another week...

It sure has been trying getting used to this pace again. After working 3-11s during the summer I became accustomed to staying up late. Well, clinicals start at 7am. Not to mention the lady I'm carpooling with wants to be at my house at 6 in order to allow for traffic, etc. Needless to say I am genuinely exhausted most of the time. But, I am absolutely *loving* this clinical rotation. We have been at Millard Fillmore Gates and have been able to see, learn, and do so much. I'm really starting to feel like a nurse - very cool. As it stands, I "failed" my first exam of the semester (keep in mind that to fail is to score less than 75% of the possible points) by 1 measley point. I keep my chin up, think positive, and blog instead of study. Is it May yet?

Here we go again!

Thanks to Tracey, I finally get to have a pretty blog! I couldn't find the one I started before, so I'll give it another go...

So, school is in full swing...I think I'm settling in again. I am absolutely LOVING my clinicals right now so that's a good thing. I was worried I was crazy and I'd have to quit school and become a cafeteria monitor instead! (no offense to our beloved lunch ladies - God bless you for doing what you do!)

Anyway, I can't believe fall is here already - though I am thrilled - fall is my favorite season...