Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy birthday to my sweet CG. I cannot believe she turned two. It seems like yesterday that I was taking a pregnancy test for her. But, as you know time flies when you're having fun.

There have been so many milestones she has reached. You would think this is my first time with a child turning 2, but it is my 3rd. One of the things I am so happy about is that she is still sleeping in her crib. SG was jumping out of hers at 15 months. MM got moved out of hers at about 22 months in order to make room for CG.

CG is a little talking machine. My others were talking machines, but not like this one. It was really cute hearing her say one word sentences, but she is making 3-4 word sentences. Usually, they are demanding sentences, too. I am going to chalk that up to the "terrible twos."

It is truly amazing to see how similar, yet how different all 3 girls are. Somethings they do, it is like watching me, Mini-Me. Other times they are so unique in their cute little ways.

Happy Birthday CG!

I LOVE my Job!

How many of you can honestly say, "I love my job?" I can! I really have the best job. Of course my primary job of being mom and wife are great, but I am talking about my job as a nurse.

I work part time which really makes working even more desirable. I get a five day weekend every other week. That right there says dream job.

This weekend, I was talking to my aunt and she was asking about my job. I was going on and on about what I do and she stopped me mid-sentence. Her response was, "I have never seen you smile talking about work or so enthusiastic." I guess I never realized I did that.

As a nurse, I have taken on many jobs over the last 13 years. Some have been good and well, some not so good. I remember my first nursing job. It was on a 23 hour observation unit working nights. After 6 months, I was charge nurse. One of my nursing assistants from then ended up being one of my charge nurses later down the line. Congrats to her for moving on up the education ladder and is now completing nurse anesthetist school!

Between my first job and my present one, I did many things. Reflecting on this, I see I mostly worked in some field of cardiology. The first few years I worked nights and I always seemed to be sick and my body was cold all the time. I am so glad I was able to get on day shift. Let's see; I worked observation, step-down ICU, travel nursing in step-down ICU, agency in telemetry, ICU, and CCU, GI lab, post CABG, heart transplant, CCU, ICU, echo lab, stress lab, cath lab, and even helped out in cardiology doctor's offices. Well, this all leads up to what I am doing today. As a Cardiac Rehab Nurse Clinician, I teach patient's about taking care of their hearts.

No more 12 hour shifts. No working weekends or holidays. No taking call. No more nights. No hurricane duty. Just 8 hour shifts (including a lunch break), 3 days one week and 2 days the next.

Isn't the nursing profession wonderful that there is so much flexibility and so many options? It really is!

CRAZY

Okay, now I know it is a lot warmer here in the south than up north right now. Today it was about 50〫. A beautiful day right?-especially when the sun is shining. Here's where the crazy comes into the equation.

My two CRAZY girls decided they wanted to go swimming. At first I said no way, but they were relentless. So, I thought if they really want to go since they already had their swimsuits on and didn't let up on the wanting to swim, I said sure why not.

Child #1 jumps in. I hear a screeching, "Mommmmmmmm!" Not to my surprise, the water was obviously cold. Child #2 says, "no way am I getting in." #1 hops back into the ice cold pool and swims for a few more seconds before realizing she didn't think to get a towel. Once again I hear, "Mommmmmmmmm!"

I figured this was it and clothes would be back on, but not my 2. They now decide to bask in the sun. #1 is in the buff and #2 still with her swimsuit. They are nuts. My children are nuts.

Happy New Year!

As I realize, I have not posted in about three or four months. Wow! A new year has come before us. Happy 2010. Since this time, we have had some exciting things happen here in New Orleans.

Did you hear about the Super Bowl? We won....we, as in the New Orleans Saints. It has been a few weeks and the city is still beaming. This is a great time to be in New Orleans.

New Orleans...proud to call it home.

Surprise! It's a Bouncing Teenage Boy!

I know this may come as a surprise to some of you, but we decided to let our nephew live with us for a few months while he is on a school break.

Now, to our surprise, we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. Can you say 16 year old hormones? Oh boy, literally. Having a teenager boy is so very different than my 3 girls. I know we haven’t gotten to puberty yet with any of them, but my gosh, talk about a crash course.

What a difference between raising boys and girls! They are so very different. We aren’t used to being around boys, much less having one live with us. I am learning boys seem to have an erection throughout most of the day.

What kinds of things do I need to be aware of during this advanced teenager stage we are in? Any advice from experienced parents?

Calgon, take me away……………