I took Gummy Bear to the pediatrician this morning. Because the appointment was at 9 am, I decided to just drag Cheeky Monkey along rather than try to get him dropped off at daycare first. The Bear needed to give a urine sample, so the 3 of us were crowded into the little bathroom. I was crouched down, helping the Bear get things ... situated. I heard the water running behind us, but just assumed Monkey was washing his hands (a new favorite hobby).
I stood up and turned around to find Monkey getting himself a drink of water from one of the (mercifully clean and empty) specimen cups.
True story.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Meanwhile at children's church
We've been attending a new church for about a month now. Each Sunday, there is a children's lesson right before the sermon and the kiddos leave for children's church. Gummy Bear likes this a lot. Two weeks ago, they were talking about being thankful. I wasn't there (since I spent the first 3 weeks with Cheeky Monkey in the nursery), but when asked what he was thankful for, Bear said, "My Mommy." Awwwwww.
This week's lesson was about pride. The woman leading the lesson asked if anyone knew someone who was a know-it-all or a smarty-pants. Gummy Bear lifted his hand in the air, turned it around, and pointed it at himself.
True story.
This week's lesson was about pride. The woman leading the lesson asked if anyone knew someone who was a know-it-all or a smarty-pants. Gummy Bear lifted his hand in the air, turned it around, and pointed it at himself.
True story.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
A 2-year-old tells a joke
Cheeky Monkey has been trying to tell jokes lately. He's got a really good one, it goes like this:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Interrupting kitty.
Interrupting ki....
Meow!
He told it over and over and over again, and it's pretty cute, so I thought I'd get it on camera. This is what happened as soon as I turned on the camera. I tried half a dozen times ... it didn't get any better.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Interrupting kitty.
Interrupting ki....
Meow!
He told it over and over and over again, and it's pretty cute, so I thought I'd get it on camera. This is what happened as soon as I turned on the camera. I tried half a dozen times ... it didn't get any better.
Friday, February 24, 2012
One down
We had our first exam of the semester today. Because our scantron machine broke (and the school is closing, so no one is paying to have it repaired), our instructors have to hand-score the exam. So, it'll be a while before we have test scores. I think I did pretty well, so there will be no lost sleep for me.
One of my classmates has been keeping a running tally of "days until graduation." Today, that number is 89. This is both extremely exciting and extremely terrifying. At the moment, I feel like I'm at the tippy top of a roller coaster and the car has just started to creep over the edge. You know that moment? It's the one where you get the first glimpse of how high you are? Then the adrenaline kicks in because you are so excited and scared at the same time? I look forward to that feeling of weightlessness and the adrenaline high. And then it's fast and scary and fun and before you know it, you're done and waiting for the restraints to unlock. So yeah. One tortured analogy later and you know how I'm feeling about the rest of the semester.
The rest of the semester is going to go fast. I have 3 more 2-week clinical rotations and then start my transition experience. Next week we put in our requests for where we want to transition. In point of fact, I only have 6 or so weeks of "classroom" time left in nursing school. Holy cow. I'm actually going to be a nurse. And soon.
One of my classmates has been keeping a running tally of "days until graduation." Today, that number is 89. This is both extremely exciting and extremely terrifying. At the moment, I feel like I'm at the tippy top of a roller coaster and the car has just started to creep over the edge. You know that moment? It's the one where you get the first glimpse of how high you are? Then the adrenaline kicks in because you are so excited and scared at the same time? I look forward to that feeling of weightlessness and the adrenaline high. And then it's fast and scary and fun and before you know it, you're done and waiting for the restraints to unlock. So yeah. One tortured analogy later and you know how I'm feeling about the rest of the semester.
The rest of the semester is going to go fast. I have 3 more 2-week clinical rotations and then start my transition experience. Next week we put in our requests for where we want to transition. In point of fact, I only have 6 or so weeks of "classroom" time left in nursing school. Holy cow. I'm actually going to be a nurse. And soon.
Monday, February 20, 2012
How did I get here?
I usually sing to Cheeky Monkey when I put him to bed. The past couple times, he asks for songs about random things. "Sing. Mommy and Finley song." "Sing. Bed song." "Sing. Kitty song." Last night I made up a kitty song. It was lovely. It was about how he had white and orange stripes and how the Monkey liked to cuddle with him.
Tonight he asked again for a kitty song. I couldn't remember the one I made up the night before. My mind was blank. The only thing I could think of was "soft kitty."
I finished the song and Cheeky Monkey looked up at me and said, "More. Purr. Purr. More. Warm. Kitty." Each time, he asked for more. And that is how I ended up singing "Soft Kitty" a dozen times.
Tonight he asked again for a kitty song. I couldn't remember the one I made up the night before. My mind was blank. The only thing I could think of was "soft kitty."
I finished the song and Cheeky Monkey looked up at me and said, "More. Purr. Purr. More. Warm. Kitty." Each time, he asked for more. And that is how I ended up singing "Soft Kitty" a dozen times.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Saga of the Bank
About a month ago, we decided that Gummy Bear was getting old enough that he should start getting an allowance of sorts. If he does certain chores, he gets money for his Spending, Saving, and Giving jars. He was using a turtle bank his Tantie made him for his Spending Jar. It met an untimely demise when Cheeky Monkey dropped it one morning before school. Gummy Bear was inconsolable.
 |
| Oh. Sad. |
And so I promised him that we would go to one of those Paint Your Own Pottery places where he could pick out another bank and paint it himself. And so we did. And he picked an owl bank (because it was the biggest).
Monday, February 13, 2012
Baffled
I have to admit that I'm completely baffled by physical sibling fighting.My sister and I are almost 7 years apart. As far as I know there was one physical altercation between us. She was 2 or 3, which had to make me somewhere around 9. This is my recollection of that incident:
I pushed/hit/smacked/physically harmed my sister in some way.
My parents:
And that was pretty much the end of that. It wasn't that we always got along, but because she was so much younger, she was more of a nuisance than a real object of anger (I love you Peanut!).
I know most siblings fight. My husband,who has a sister 3 years younger than him, admits to lots of physical shenanigans, including vacuuming her hair. Now, of course, he's one of the gentlest men I've ever met.
Our boys are currently at a peak of irritating each other. To be fair, the physical pushing/hitting/smacking is mostly coming from Cheeky Monkey right now, because, well, he's two. Gummy Bear plays the role of the instigator. Rarely an hour goes by without them squabbling over a toy or annoying each other such that it ends in tears and/or time out. I am praying that they'll outgrow it at some point. Until then, here are the new household rules:
I pushed/hit/smacked/physically harmed my sister in some way.
My parents:
 |
| RAWR!!!!!!!!!! |
And that was pretty much the end of that. It wasn't that we always got along, but because she was so much younger, she was more of a nuisance than a real object of anger (I love you Peanut!).
I know most siblings fight. My husband,who has a sister 3 years younger than him, admits to lots of physical shenanigans, including vacuuming her hair. Now, of course, he's one of the gentlest men I've ever met.
Our boys are currently at a peak of irritating each other. To be fair, the physical pushing/hitting/smacking is mostly coming from Cheeky Monkey right now, because, well, he's two. Gummy Bear plays the role of the instigator. Rarely an hour goes by without them squabbling over a toy or annoying each other such that it ends in tears and/or time out. I am praying that they'll outgrow it at some point. Until then, here are the new household rules:
- If you fight over a toy, it becomes Mommy and Daddy's toy.
- You must make some attempt to solve your problem before turning it over to a higher authority.
- Any physical altercation or tantrum results in immediate corner/time out time.
- Further inability to get along means you get to play by yourselves. In separate rooms.
Because seriously, I'm tired of this. But mostly, just tired.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
My day in the community
Last week I had the opportunity to spend a day with a community health nurse. It was an experience I didn't expect to like that much. Instead, I found that I "clicked" with it in a completely unexpected way. We visited 6 patients, 3 of whom my nurse had been seeing for a long time. There are a lot of complicated rules governing when and how often a person can be seen by a home nurse that I'm not going to get into here.
I think patients interact with nurses differently in their homes than in a hospital room. They seem more relaxed, more receptive. I also really liked that you got 5 minutes to just talk to people. I learned more about people in a 45 minute home visit that I learned about people I took care of for 4 + days in the hospital. I also learned a lot about how doctor's orders get carried out (or not carried out) in homes. I liked that the nurse practices really independently in the community. She draws labs, makes assessments and recommendations to doctors, who write orders based on those recommendations. She makes the decisions about how to best structure the visit and what the priorities are for that individual situation. I also liked the case-manager-ness of it all. My nurse was on the phone to pharmacies, doctor's offices, home health aide services, and caregivers. She made referrals, tracked down orders, and went out of her way to ensure that the patient had things in motion before she left the house.
While I enjoyed the people I met, I don't know if that particular population is the one I would want to work with. Mothers and babies? Oh my yes. I know there are some agencies that offer mother and baby visits, especially for at-risk patients. What I don't understand is why a visit from a nurse isn't a requirement after a mother has a child (especially a first child). It should be part of the package.
Have a baby? Here's your nurse! I know I could have used an experienced maternity nurse showing up on my doorstep around day 3.
Breastfeeding not going well? Let me help.
Not sure if they're getting enough to eat? Let me explain.
Concerned about that spot/rash/cough/bleeding/pain? Let's take a look.
Research shows that community nurses keep patients out of the hospital. They keep patients from getting hospital-acquired infections. They keep patients taking medications correctly. They allow them to go home earlier. Why community nursing isn't ubiquitous is truly a mystery to me.
I think patients interact with nurses differently in their homes than in a hospital room. They seem more relaxed, more receptive. I also really liked that you got 5 minutes to just talk to people. I learned more about people in a 45 minute home visit that I learned about people I took care of for 4 + days in the hospital. I also learned a lot about how doctor's orders get carried out (or not carried out) in homes. I liked that the nurse practices really independently in the community. She draws labs, makes assessments and recommendations to doctors, who write orders based on those recommendations. She makes the decisions about how to best structure the visit and what the priorities are for that individual situation. I also liked the case-manager-ness of it all. My nurse was on the phone to pharmacies, doctor's offices, home health aide services, and caregivers. She made referrals, tracked down orders, and went out of her way to ensure that the patient had things in motion before she left the house.
While I enjoyed the people I met, I don't know if that particular population is the one I would want to work with. Mothers and babies? Oh my yes. I know there are some agencies that offer mother and baby visits, especially for at-risk patients. What I don't understand is why a visit from a nurse isn't a requirement after a mother has a child (especially a first child). It should be part of the package.
Have a baby? Here's your nurse! I know I could have used an experienced maternity nurse showing up on my doorstep around day 3.
Breastfeeding not going well? Let me help.
Not sure if they're getting enough to eat? Let me explain.
Concerned about that spot/rash/cough/bleeding/pain? Let's take a look.
Research shows that community nurses keep patients out of the hospital. They keep patients from getting hospital-acquired infections. They keep patients taking medications correctly. They allow them to go home earlier. Why community nursing isn't ubiquitous is truly a mystery to me.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Scenes from a Cheeky Monkey
Scene: the Monkey and I are sitting on the couch, post-nap. Gummy Bear is at school.
Monkey: Come-a momma!
Me: Huh?
Monkey: Come-a momma!
Me: Ummm.
Monkey: Come-a!!!
Me: Can you show me what you want?
Monkey: Gets up, goes to the basement door. Want. Jacket.
Me: You want to put on your jacket?
Monkey: Jacket!!!
Me: OK then. I take his jacket off the hook and put it on.
Monkey: Momma jacket.
Me: Now I'm putting on my jacket?
Monkey: Momma jacket!!
Me: Ok, why not. I put on my jacket.
Monkey: Come-a momma! He grabs my hand, pulls me to the front door and unlocks the deadbolt. He heads straight for the truck and stands waiting by his door, expectantly.
Me: Ok, I'll bite. I grab my keys and bag, help Monkey into his seat and get into the driver's seat. Now what?
Monkey: Count. School bus!
Me: HA! A little background information is important here. Every morning on the way to school, the boys and I count the number of school buses. You want to drive around and count school buses?
Monkey: YA!
Me: But where are we going?
Monkey: I nunno!
Me: You don't know?
Monkey: I nunno!
And that is how the Monkey and I ended up driving around, counting school buses.
__________________________________________________________________________
Scene: I'm brushing my teeth. The boys are hanging out in the living room, suddenly I hear a mysterious musical sound. I peak around the corner to see the Monkey putting change in the oven door slots.
__________________________________________________________________________
Monkey: Come-a momma!
Me: Huh?
Monkey: Come-a momma!
Me: Ummm.
Monkey: Come-a!!!
Me: Can you show me what you want?
Monkey: Gets up, goes to the basement door. Want. Jacket.
Me: You want to put on your jacket?
Monkey: Jacket!!!
Me: OK then. I take his jacket off the hook and put it on.
Monkey: Momma jacket.
Me: Now I'm putting on my jacket?
Monkey: Momma jacket!!
Me: Ok, why not. I put on my jacket.
Monkey: Come-a momma! He grabs my hand, pulls me to the front door and unlocks the deadbolt. He heads straight for the truck and stands waiting by his door, expectantly.
Me: Ok, I'll bite. I grab my keys and bag, help Monkey into his seat and get into the driver's seat. Now what?
Monkey: Count. School bus!
Me: HA! A little background information is important here. Every morning on the way to school, the boys and I count the number of school buses. You want to drive around and count school buses?
Monkey: YA!
Me: But where are we going?
Monkey: I nunno!
Me: You don't know?
Monkey: I nunno!
And that is how the Monkey and I ended up driving around, counting school buses.
__________________________________________________________________________
Scene: I'm brushing my teeth. The boys are hanging out in the living room, suddenly I hear a mysterious musical sound. I peak around the corner to see the Monkey putting change in the oven door slots.
__________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Distracted
This has been quite a week. Monday afternoon, Cheeky Monkey started running a 103 fever. There's been a lot of crap going around the daycare, so we gave him some Ibuprofen, and put him to bed. Since he was still running a fever Tuesday morning, Ry and my stepdad stayed home with him so I could go to clinical.
Tuesday evening, his fever was breaking through the ibuprofen in about 3 hours, so I called the pediatrician. He told us to bring him in Wednesday morning. I came very close to staying home with him Wednesday, but since I have to make up clinical time and pay $150 every time I miss a clinical day, Ry persuaded me to go to school.
The doctor said that the Monkey had a double ear infection and what she thought was mild pneumonia. She prescribed an antibiotic and asked us to nebulize him twice a day. I slept on the floor of his room last night because his breathing was freaking me out last night. Today, I'm staying home with him. Thankfully, he's only been running a low grade fever this morning. He's also been considerably more chipper today than I've seen him since Sunday. His lungs are also starting to sound better. So, that's why no blogging this week. Keep my Monkey in your thoughts and prayers?
Tuesday evening, his fever was breaking through the ibuprofen in about 3 hours, so I called the pediatrician. He told us to bring him in Wednesday morning. I came very close to staying home with him Wednesday, but since I have to make up clinical time and pay $150 every time I miss a clinical day, Ry persuaded me to go to school.
The doctor said that the Monkey had a double ear infection and what she thought was mild pneumonia. She prescribed an antibiotic and asked us to nebulize him twice a day. I slept on the floor of his room last night because his breathing was freaking me out last night. Today, I'm staying home with him. Thankfully, he's only been running a low grade fever this morning. He's also been considerably more chipper today than I've seen him since Sunday. His lungs are also starting to sound better. So, that's why no blogging this week. Keep my Monkey in your thoughts and prayers?
Monday, February 06, 2012
Putting them to work early
Ahh, childhood, that mysterious time when vacuuming is fun. I had to pry the vacuum out of their sticky little hands to finish up.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Best Hide and Seek ever
A girlfriend of mine found an article a long time ago about the best games for lazy parents. I'd like to think we're not lazy parents, but certainly the kids have a lot more energy than we do on our best days. This is the best iteration of hide and seek I've met yet.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Slightly windy with a chance of twisters
We had several twisters today that just blew away the living room. Very sad, actually. Make sure and watch Cheeky Monkey at the end.
In other news, I'm two weeks into my last semester of nursing school. Interpreting EKGs is hard. Overall I don't think this semester is going to be as difficult as the last one. The boys are big and healthy. Even Cheeky Monkey seems to be readjusting to preschool well. Ry hasn't been working crazy hours. I'm still chugging away learning the ukulele. We're trying to refinance the house. Ry and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. Overall, our lives have been pretty ... boring actually.
In other news, I'm two weeks into my last semester of nursing school. Interpreting EKGs is hard. Overall I don't think this semester is going to be as difficult as the last one. The boys are big and healthy. Even Cheeky Monkey seems to be readjusting to preschool well. Ry hasn't been working crazy hours. I'm still chugging away learning the ukulele. We're trying to refinance the house. Ry and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. Overall, our lives have been pretty ... boring actually.
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