Random Dozen

1. Do you believe, somewhere deep inside, that blondes do indeed have more fun? That they are "dumber" than brunettes or redheads? Be honest!
No, I just think they end up more cleuless and laugh. Actually, it's more of a state of mind, to me. I guess the "dumb blonde" mindset comes from the fumes from bleaching. But I've seen "blonde"people with naturally brown, red, black hair.

2. Which animal would you most like to observe in its wild habitat?
I'd rather they stay in their wild habitat and I'll stay in mine. We'll both be better off that way.

3. This week the U.N. announced that Dr. Mazlan Othman has been appointed the official "Alien Ambassador," should any extraterrestrials contact us. Have you, or has anyone you know, ever seen a UFO?
Yeah, once, I was sitting on the couch and all of the sudden a UFO flew by my head. Upon closer inspection, the unidentified flying object was instantly identified as (something that I forget what it was)

4. Name your favorite Hitchcock film.
Well, the most memorable was "Birds," but I also liked Notorius and Gaslight. (if those are indeed Hitchcock films, I'm usually wrong)

5. Would you rather spend time at the library, the mall, a craft store or home?
Oh, wow. All my favorite places. The least favorite place though is the mall, because I'm usually broke. The next least favorite is the craft store, because of the same reason, but I have more fun dreaming of the things I can make. There is a tie between library and home. Library has tons and tons of books just waiting for me to discover, but home has my computer and TV (yeah, I think I'm about to out myself as a TV junkie)

6. Which Disney princess is your favorite? (Or Disney character, if you are a guy)
I haven't thought about the Princess in at least a week. LOL Having a boy kinda does that, but then every time I see a princess thing, I daydream about having a girl who loves all things princesses. I like Belle the best. She's the one with ordinary hair and eyes (brown and brown), doesn't have fishy tails, exquisite eyes or wear skimpy clothes.

7. What kind of art is your favorite?
I haven't thought about that. But I do like Van Gogh's work. Something about the surreal and interpreting the sights as you see it, not necessarily as they are.

8. How do you feel about viral videos, that is, videos made by amateurs that end up on Youtube receiving thousands of hits?
Why couldn't that have been mine!?

9. Where do you buy your jeans?
When was the last time I bought a pair of jeans....oh yeah, aeropostale. Those are the only ones I've found that fit me the best. Old Navy gaps, AE are too expensive (and sag), Wal*Mart rise up. I like aeropostale

10. Tell me about your first automobile accident.
um...I forget...honestly. I think though, it was when I ran into a decorative wrought iron fence.

11. Have you ever been honest when you knew you would benefit more if you would be dishonest?
yeah, like on the quiz if one of the questions is "did you read all of the text on pages XX-ZZ, including the pictures captions?" I said no, once, and the other times, I made sure to read it ALL. He never asked that question again.

12. If you were appointed "Ambassador to Aliens," what would you show and tell first about life on Earth? What would be the most difficult thing to explain?
I would show the different cultures and way of life, so that the aliens can pick one they like to fit in. The most difficult? Why I made up this position in the first place, and what I was doing out of the nut house.

Monday Ramblings

We closed our bedroom door the other night, so we could watch a movie and not disturb Brendon, because he wasn't sleeping so soundly. The next morning was Sunday, and I had to work. I dragged my hiney out of bed at 00:dark30, and promptly ran in to the door. Not just "oh, here's the door; I brushed my fingers on it" but *thwack* "crap, that was the door hitting my face."

It woke me up right away. Thankfully, that was not a foreteller of the rest of the day! Work went ok, not bad. But I found out that a cute little lady I cared for the past weekend and Tuesday and Wednesday had died that afternoon. Very sad, but I had this feeling that she wasn't going to make it out. She had major surgery and a very common complication, pneumonia.

But that was in ICU. On our end, it was very uneventful. Except with lots of poop. I think the kitchen must have put some of that chocolate laxative in everyone's pudding.

I made a new diaper cover today. Jean. Yes, I couldn't spend money on those Huggies Jean, so I repurposed a skirt that didn't fit well. I think it turned out nicely. We'll see how well it works. One of my first diaper covers, on that worked very well, started leaking. Majorly. I'm bummed, but I think I've come a long ways. I decided to perfect one pattern rather than trying several. So I've got an airplane diaper with terry cloth inside, two "ooga" with fleece inside (one is a "pocket" diaper and one is a full diaper), and now, the jean one. I have two fleece pull-on-covers, one striped and one purple, but they both need some "assistance" getting them on. Like the dance when you're trying on a pair of favorite jeans that you haven't fit in to for 5 years. Brendon thinks it's funny. I also have a fleece cover with velcro. That one and one of the "ooga's" is a bit big on Brendon. Right now, he's got the fleece velcro cover on over a disposable diaper. One, for pictures. Two, I was tired of seeing his sagginess. Plus, he's wearing a pair of Babyleg's and a T-shirt.

Check out my facebook page for pics of the carnage, just give me a few hours to feed the child :)

Saturday PhotoHunt

There's this "thing" going around, called PhotoHunt. It's simple. Each Saturday has a word and you have to hunt through your photos to find a picture to correlate with it. Easy. Probably easier said then done.

Today's hunt is for natural. Excuse me while I go diving into my hard drive to find one.

Wow this is harder than I thought it would be. I've got about 5 pictures so far...maybe I need to stop...

So, natural. Feeding my baby naturally. The way we were made to.

Let me just say though, that because breastfeeding is natural and we females have the accessories for it, bottlefeeding and formula feeding is good if that is what works or is necessary for you. Or, if you just don't want to breastfeed. I'm not raising your kid, and you're not raising mine, so there is no reason for one person to jump on another for doing/not doing something.

Yes, I used formula, too. About 9 months or so I couldn't pump enough at work to feed this Goliath. I had a good freezer stash, but that wasn't even enough. So at his sitter's he had formula, and when we were together, I nursed him.

And, I blurred out me because just because it's "natural" doesn't mean I want people seeing it. No, I don't think it's dirty or gross for someone to feed in public, or for a bit of boobage to show while doing it. Personally, I'm a bit more bashful, so I tried to show the least (less? fewer?) amount of skin when we were out. At home?! psh, it was just me and the kid.

Huggies for free!

I did it. I went out and I hit up Rite Aid so hard, they begged me to take their diapers.

They were on sale for $8.99.


I used a $5 off $25
I used a $1 off video coupon
I used 3 $3 off Huggies printables

I got back $2 in UP rewards, or whatever they're called.
I'll get a $10 single-check rebate from Rite Aid

So, I paid $13.07 out of pocket (well, 16 really, because she forgot a coupon, but then gave me the $3 back)

Got $6 now, and will get $10 later. Wahoo! I'll use that to stock up on wipes!

Totally UN-fail!

Friday Fails

Is it Friday already? wow. I mean, I've been waiting for Friday since Monday, but I just been wo overwhelmed that all of the sudden it was here, and things I wanted to do this week are left behind. Instead of doing fails today, I'm going to come up with stuff that I did get done this week. Make me feel better before I close my MacBook Pro and realize I have a lot of things to do today.

• I cooked a meal this week. Like, a full brown-the-meat, cook-the-food meal. Except Mark browned the meat. And it didn't turn out as good as it usually does.

• I did two loads of dishes. That's a big thing. They usually wait until the weekend, but since last weekend I worked, there was extra. and I managed to get two in this week!

• I vacuumed. I think this deserves a standing ovation. Our vacuum is a hand-me-down dinosaur. It's heavy and loud and doesn't like to forward. Plus, if it hits something while "off" it unloads all of it's dirt. As me how I know.

• I introduced BAM to his new babysitter. She's a stay-at-mom of two boys, 2 and 4. I think he's four. He goes to school 5 days a week, so maybe he's 5. Anyways, we were both praying for someone like each other. She was looking for a small extra income that let her stay home with G. I was looking for a in-home setting with another kid. Perfect! And it's on the way to Mark's work (mostly).

So there you have it. Oh, I also worked Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That's a big accomplishment, right?

Trying to make a difference

I am a nurse.

I gave medicine to help a person die. I gave medicine to help a person live.

I bathed a person, knowing she didn't care. I bathed a person, knowing she was ashamed and bashful.

I reprimanded an alcoholic for cussing at me. I looked into the eyes of a stroke victim and seen the words that could not be said.

I fed a patient while the "loving" family watched and muttered under their breath. I fed a patient while no one bother to call or visit, not even when the joyful news of discharge came.

I sent a person for a minor surgery, and never had them return. I sent a person for major surgery, and watched them walk to their car.

I comforted a family member while their family died. I comforted a family member while their family lived.

I sought to set some nasties straight, I ended up doing them a favor and acting like it was no big deal.

I stood my ground when berated for our policies.

I watched a patient get well and move out; worsen and come back; recover and move out; and return sick again; we sent him out once again. I hope I never get to see him again.

I saw death kept away until all the family was seen. I saw death come while family rushed in. I saw death come after family left him alone.

I am a person. I am trying to make a difference, and I don't think I could ever do anything else.

Not Me!

• I would never purposely neglect the growing piles of laundry in my house, one clean, one dirty. I would never neglect them for multiple days on end. Not me!

• I would not give Brendon a bath, just so the warm water could loosen the dirt in the tub to make it easier to clean. Not me!

• I would never get so involved in a silly game *cough-angry birds-cough* that I stayed up way to late *cough1145* on a work night.

Nope, not me. I have this wife/mom/job thing totally under control. Absolutely!

Friday Fails

I think I did OK this week, but I have two MAJOR fails:

• I almost dropped Brendon off at the wrong person's house Tuesday morning. Thankfully, I realized it BEFORE ringing the bell and waking them up.

• Forgot to send diapers and wipes with Brendon, thankfully, Jennifer was willing to run out and buy him some (thanks, Jennifer!)

FAIL!

BUT, to counter-act those fails, when I went grocery shopping this morning, I didn't use a single plastic bag! I had 5 reusables, and all my groceries fit into those!

WIN!

Things I love Thursday

So, we'll see how long this posting meme's go on. Monday is "Not Me." Tuesday is "Tackle It" (if I can manage to get a post ready before I work). Wednesday is "Random Dozen," Thursday will be "Things I Love," and Friday is, as always, "Friday Fails."

 So, I love my sewing skills. Just look:

I love making things that I can use. Granted, the first time Brendon pees in it, I have to change it, but it's cute for what- 7 minutes?!

see? adorable!








and this? it's an old picture, but the quilt is almost-ish finished! And looks so much nicer finally pieced!



I love my sewing machine. Thanks, Mark, my darling husband for buying it for me for a birthday present.

Random Dozen

1. Do you do garage sales? If so, tell me about one great find. If not, tell me why not.
    Not really, because I can't seem to make get a hold of good sale days when I'm not working
2. Name the last thing you fixed.
    oh! the automatic blood pressure cuff in  room 7 wasn't...wasn't. I fixed it, so it was. :)
3. Name your A) Favorite item of makeup OR B) Favorite tool
    my favorite tool is the electric screwdriver/drill that MCM bought "me" but he leaves it home so I can use it if I need it
4. Which room in your home needs organizing more than any other?
    Every room but the....nope, every room. Ugh, I think the living room. It's got our suitcases, a stroller, multiple dishes, dirty laundry...basically everything BUT the kitchen appliances.
5. Which room could use re-decorating?
    Every room. We rent, so the only room that is painted is Brendon's room, and only because no one stands up to a nesting pregnant women. How about the living room, you could hang the mirror we got for our first anniversary in 2008...
6. Share something unique about your town.
    unique?! we have a ton of bridges and tunnels, not just the concrete overpasses, but the high rise James River Bridge, the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel, the Hamtpon Roads Bridge Tunnel, the Coleman Bridge, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the Midtown Tunnel, the Downtown Tunnel. Sheesh, I'm sure there's some I've missed too
7. If you could send a one-sentence message to your great-grandchild, what would it be?
    KEEP YOUR FIRST CAR/DVD/BLU-RAY/LAPTOP!! They will worth millions when you're 80!
8. Do you Facebook?
    Did you hear that YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are being bought out and rolled into one? Yeah, they're going to call it YouTwitFace
9. Describe your favorite shoes.
    Brown, shoelaces, "Champion", worn, comfy.
10. Do you listen to more talk radio or more music radio? What kind of station is it?
    Music, because I can't find any good talk station for my drive to work, it's a country station. But I usually plug my iPhone in and listen to that
11. How far would you travel for a really good (favorite) meal?
    Depends, on how much I really want it, but it wouldn't be far. I'm like that.
12. If you were totally honest with yourself (and us) what should you probably be doing right now instead of blogging?
     Ugh, tackling Mt. McLaundry. or putting the suitcases way. But I think I shall go sew!

Traveling and cups, but not really traveling cups

 NOTE:: This was written on the way home from our Labor Day weekend vacation, and I forgot about it until now.

So, we're on our way home from our great vacation. It was an experience, one that will need some serious tweaking before we embark on our post-Christmas travels. We're insane. We're planning on going to Mississippi for the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. One the way down, Brendon fell asleep pretty easily at first. He slept for about 1 hour. Bummer. But I was a good mom and brought SNACKS! and DRINKS! and TOYS! that only kept him occupied while the drink/snack was in his mouth. But we managed to sneak in two quick rest stops to run off some energy. He proceded to keep himself awake until about 10pm. That's way past any semblance of a bed time, and way after he was due for a nap. It was torture. He wanted my hand, he didn't want it, then he wanted his milk, but then he didn't want it. We played the guessing game for a long, long time. Then he fell asleep about an hour away from our destination. But he did go back to sleep when we got there. *whew* The only thing, he managed to eat most of the snacks I brought....So I had to scrounge around for some more for the trip home. We've got grapes and rice cakes and cookies. And juice boxes. He drank all his milk before we started though :( But most food places sell milk as a drink option, so we should be good there.
I don't remember any significant events when we drove down, but since I'm "real-time" blogging now, I should be able to give you some fun stuff.
First, we almost witnessed a wreck. This one blond chick almost merged into another car's bumper. They both were little silver cars, so I guess neither of them would have minded the other's paint or bumper, but I expect it would have bothered the tires a bit, if they had to share car frames.
Then, this brown chick (yeah, her hair was brown, but so was her skin. I can't call her African-American, because I don't know if her ancestors were from Africa, right?!) was talking on her cell phone (I guess SC hasn't gone hands-free yet) and was in the merge lane from the entrance ramp. Except, she wasn't merging. She got to the end and started putting her brakes on. What in the world!? We were coming up on her at 70mph-yes, that was the speed limit!-and she decided the best course of action was to stop. Not to gain speed and merge, but to STOP as she was at the end of the merge lane. You know, where there's only about half of the lane left, so you're forced into the traffic? Yeah, that lane. SHE STOPPED!!
We're in NC now, nothing too exciting. I haven't seen any interesting signs--OH! We drove right by the Outlets in Gaffney, and Mark didn't even blink. I so wanted to stop, but since Brendon was asleep, we didn't. I like when he sleeps on the car rides. I guess we'll have to venture to the ones in Williamsburg, because coming down here to go shopping kinda negates the money saved at the shops.

Can I just say that I am in love with Playtex's insulated cups? Brendon really hates room temp milk. He'd rather have it warmed. Otherwise, just on the cool side is second best. They really do their job. I really like the twist-n-click too, so that I know it's on tight enough, but be careful, if you twist it too tight, it leaks, too. Guess how I know. Go ahead guess. :D
When we moved from bottles, we went to the soft spout cups. That worked for about few weeks, because Brendon was chewing on everything! Then they leaked when they were standing straight up! After the soft silicone spouts, we went to the harder ones. We still use those ones, and now we've added the hard spout ones.

I had lots more written, but since I was wright on MCM's computer as we were driving home, and after I lost internet, it didn't save. And I'm assuming that he closed the window and lost my post. But I forgive him and love him still!

Think you're safe? Think again!

We are in the middle of our Missions Conference. Tonight was our International Banquet, and tomorrow is the last day the missionaries preaching and stuff. Anyways, I was feeding Brendon his food, and I put some potatoes on his high chair tray. He did not like them. He spit them out almost instantly. It was funny to watch. I left them there, because I didn't want his slobbery potatoes on my plate. Every once in a while he'd try them again. and would get the same surprised look on his face each time. It was pretty funny. Once, he did that with some whipped cream, and tried to spit it out. Yeah, not so much.

At work this past week. I worked two days in a row. The first day, I had three patients. One had a private sitter that I pretty much forced to help with her "sittee's" care. Another one would not shut-up or stay in bed or answer questions. Third, was pretty good, but was sitting in this sand trap of a bed and needed to be pulled up every 15 minutes. My patients were OK, it was TallSkinnyChick's patients who gave trouble. One was Houdini and pulled a sutured central venous line out (the sutures stayed in his skin, still attached, but the line was GONE!). Her other patient decided to stop breathing and needed emergent-elective intubation. AT THE SAME TIME THE OTHER GUY DID HIS MAGIC TRICK! That totally topped anything else that happened that day.

Then, I came back for round too. I figured since all the excited happened on Thursday, Friday would be safe, right? WRONG! Oh, Friday started out all innocent, one empty bed, one nursing student. Miss SandTrap even had transfer orders. So I would only be left with Sir TalksALot. Except, he wasn't talking. Maybe he was only tired?! Oh, he wasn't breathing (effectively) either!? Crap! So, we more-emergent-than-electively intubated him. Everyone's like, "but you didn't call for the code team!" and "you didn't code him!" No, duh! He never coded. He still "breathed" minimally, but it was only a matter of time. So we caught it soon enough. He left to go to ICU, and Ms SandTrap left. I had zero patients.
I searched for jobs to do. I restocked rooms, I made lots of bathroom trips, I filled water pitchers, I helped clean poo and give meds. I wished I could leave. There ended up being only 4 patients on the floor for 3 nurses. Any other team leader would have sent a nurse home, but the one we had doesn't manage very well. About 4pm, I got word I was getting a patient. FINALLY! But I didn't get report until 615, and the patient didn't come until 640. I did all my good nursing stuff and tucked her in to her room, did all the right things, and still left on time. Guess how many nurses came in for night shift? Oh, two. Why? Because there were only 6 patients. Oh yeah, my patient arrived right on the heels of another one.
And that is why I don't like to work two days in a row.

Fall showers bring puddles and snuggles

Nap time with daddy? Nah, just post-nap winks

So, Brendon really wanted to get up on the couch. I plopped him on top of Mark, and he laid his head down. He stayed like this for, oh, 3.2 seconds. Then he wanted to climb on the back of the couch, on Mark's head. Basically anywhere but laying still. Then we went outside. The rain made lots of puddles, that Brendon discovered today!

He realized that if he stomped his foot, he'd splash himself. He thought it was so funny. Then, he wanted to touch it. He likes to touch things. Like, everything needs to be touched.

See, touching the ground is irresistible. Go ahead, see if you can resist! He once looked up under the truck, and it was so cute, but he moved before I could snap the picture.

And of course, the flowers. I've got my dad to thank for this one. He came over one day and let Brendon sit in the dirt, IN THE DIRT, and pull up my flowers (granted they were dying) and now, Brendon thinks that he can pull anything in my garden. Flowers, mulch, dirt, rocks, sticks, thanks, Dad!

PICTURES!! (lame, right, I know)

So I've pretty much failed on this blog thing. I'm trying to attempt to keep 20 posts in 60 days, at least, so I can qualify for Social Spark. So far, I'm failing.

Today, my package came! I ordered some fabric, some elastic and some velcro from that one site (another fail, I know) and it came today! I'm super excited. I took a picture of it all, but it's not uploading correctly. I've already done it twice. I got some red terry cloth, two polyester fabrics for outside, three "mystery" fabrics. For each yard of fabric, they sent another yard of fabric that is basically something that no one else bought. LOL. I'm thinking of finishing these few covers I'm currently working on and attempting a all-in-one diaper. But I really need to finish that quilt most importantly. Can I quit my job and stay home and sew all day?

 I mean, look at that face, wouldn't you just LOVE to stay home with him, too?

 I also  bought some fleece the other day (I had a coupon!!) and using the Katrina soaker pattern, I made this adorable soaker. It's not a cover, because it's one piece, like a pair of undies. Except to put it on, I have to practically shake him into it. But once it's on, it fits nicely, well, a little tight around his thigh rolls, but I expected that. I put a couple layers of flannel inside the soaker, to make it more water proof, and it worked! He napped in it, and when he woke up, the outside felt a little cool, kinda humid, but not wet. If I held him against my clothes, they ended up a tiny bit damp, but that's it.

This is one I'm working currently. I'm lining the inside with a flannel, so that the plasticky side of the PUL isn't against Brendon's skin. I don't really like feeling it, either, so we'll see how it works out. I'm sure I'll only be able to use it once before having to wash it, because the liner will absorb the pee and start to smell.  I also have one cut out with a fleece outer and PUL inner.  I've got some snaps, too! Anyone looking to buy one? Someone on babycenter.com was asking me to make one, she said she has the material, but I haven't heard back from her yet about the measurements or sending me the fabric or anything.

Oh, here's the front of the fleecie. It reminds me of the game frogger. You know, all those moving highways you have to hop across? Brendon kept on feeling it, you know, cause it's soft, like his favorite blankets.

I'd rather be sewing, than blogging, but 1) I need to get more blog posts, 2) we're watching "Percy Jackson and the lightening theif" and it's hard to hear over the swing machine's noise.

the big plan

Wow, I just noticed I hit 200 posts with my last post! Yay me!

I just ordered some diaper making materials from... a website, I already forget which one! I know, awful of me, no? Anyways, I got some colored fold-over elastic, colored velcro, some terry cloth for fitted diapers, and two polyester/cotton prints (I forget which one it was, hey, I'm on vacation!), and three "mystery" clothes. I'm excited about them. I've got to hunt down a Joann's coupon so I can get some more PUL without making us bankrupt.

I did go completely cloth one day, and it was so nice to not have to throw anything away, but on the other hand, I had no clue what to do with the wet stuff. I ended up soaking them in hot water and letting them dry until I washed them. I could just get a pail, but I have like 5 things to wash, so I might wait until I've got a bit more of a handful.

So far, I've used Chloe Toes diaper cover, Ottobre diaper design (this one made it HUGE so, watch out for Godzilla!!). The Chloe toes one is my favorite (maybe I could get a free diaper for saying good things about it :D nah, didn't think so), right now. But I've got a few more patterns in my print queue for when I get home to try. I'm thinking I could draft my own pattern and try to sell it. I mean, I probably wouldn't get much, but I can try, right? I could put them on my Etsy shop that has closed down because I decided to have a baby instead of make cards. Brendon likes to eat too much paper. LOL. Of course, I'd re-open the shop, duh!

Until I can get my hands on that stuff (I do have some diapers cut out, just ran out of elastic) I will enjoy my vacation in South Carolina with family. I won't be able to do anything until at least Wednesday because I gotta work as soon as we get home. Either Wednesday or Thursday or Friday because (can you guess it?!) I forget which ones I work. Hey, I've got my schedule written down so I don't have to remember it!