Learning of whats to come. . . and being very sad!

Where does a strung out mama even begin?! My little angel has been the peskiest, crank-pot today, UGH. Here are just a few of the things that have been driving her mama crazy:

1) Waking up in the middle of the night for no good reason and yelling/crying for an hour, just long enough so that mommy lays awake and listens to her, until she nods off.

2) Scrambling up the stairs ump-teen million times so mommy has to dash off to the rescue before she falls.

3) Whining at mommy's feet and tugging on her pantlegs so she'll pick her up.

4) Yelling when mommy goes out of eyesight.

5) Pulling all of my clean, folded laundry out of the laundry basket and tossing them all over the bedroom floor.

6) Pulling the contents of mommy's purse out and dropping them throughout Costco.

7) Not eating lunch just for the fun of it.

8) Not eating dinner, and throwing her pieces of avacado all over the floor because she did not want avacado for dinner tonight. Then crying when mommy tells her no.

9) Finding the buttons on the TV and driving mommy nuts turning it on and off and on and off and on and off. . . .

Now, I am not so much frustrated at the day itself. I guess I should be able to deal with days like this. The part that makes me so sad is that this is . . . the beginning. Just. . . . . . . the beginning. I know that there are so many more days like this, it makes me want to cry. I tend to bite the insides of my cheeks when I get frustrated, and today, I think I have pretty much bit through them to the point of drawing blood. I promise I love my daughter, and I know she is not being bad, but I am adjusting to next phase of her life. . . being a toddler. As with all transitions, it's pretty rough, but, one day at a time. Arghhhh!

Uh-Oh!

This has become Marin's new favorite word (beside an energetic, HI!) and she knows when to use it. She kept dropping her toy today in gospel doctrine and saying Uh-Oh! She is a pretty cute kid if I do say so myself :) Her other top tooth is coming in now too, it has also broken through the gums and man! Those teeth are SHARP! I need to be careful! I just put her down for bed, a very sleepy Marin she was.

We had the missionaries over for dinner, and it never ceases to amaze me how YOUNG they are! Oh, I had a crush on them like any other girl when I was younger, but now that I'm older, they are so. . . . juvenile I guess! Nice boys though, they are doing the right thing :)

Ahhh, my weekend. Well, I actually DID work on my own unit, which was wonderful. I also happened to take care of teenage girls with pain. Ack, that is the WORST (besides NICU). They are such WIMPS! You would honestly think they are in labor or giving birth with how they carry on and scream sometimes. I have NO tolerance for that sort of thing, sorry, but nurse ratchet comes out when you're acting like a pansy (have I said too much?). Anyway, anytime I get a teenage girl (and also rarely, a guy) come in with abdominal pain, the first thing that comes to mind is that it might be pyshological. Honest to blog, I know it sounds awful, but it is sooo true. Yes, there are times when the pain is really truly something that needs to be fixed like an appy or ulcers or IBS or something of that nature, but when we run test after test after test, and everything keeps coming back negative, you have got to be thinking psych. I have seen it too many times to NOT know. Being a teenager is tough, and stressful, we've all been there, we all know, I did not enjoy it that much personally! That pain is the honest manifestation of stress in their lives "As above, so below". So, when I DO get these kids in, I address the parents too. This is not my favorite job, and I would rather not have to do it, but it needs to be done, and it needs to be said. I tell them that we will do everything we can to find out what is causing this pain, and while we are doing this, they need to also keep in mind that the pain could be a combination of other factors also, namely stress. I tell them I am not saying it is one way or the other, but just keep it in mind if things keep coming back negative. I know I sound like an awful person, but even if they don't want to hear it, at least it's been said, and they have an idea of where to turn if the hospital CAN'T give them answers.

Ok, enough about work! This week my goal is to finish traffic school online, finish my visiting teaching (I know, I know!), finalize plans for Kris's birthday next week, and cut our Embarq bill in half. Our internet has been. . . less than satisfactory lately.

Ok, Kris is home, gotta go so he can do homework!

Have a great one!

What is Going on Around Here?!

Oh my my my. I blame those new teeth! Marin has been up during the night for the last 4 days, and I have had enough! She has usually been a GREAT sleeper since she was 4 months old, and these last few days are so frustrating! I went to bed last night at 10 because I was so tired. Ugh. Are we there yet?

Yesterday I took Marin out for a walk (the gym was off schedule, it was too late), and it was HOT outside! Phew! Fortunately, the wind was blowing, so it was a bit better, but I sure did get some color on my shoulders. It was actually nice to be out, but I was very glad to get back into my chilly house :)

A little video, Marin likes to . . . well, I don't know what the word for it is,but it's really gross when she has food in her mouth. She blows little chunks everywhere, ewwwww!

And for My NEXT Trick. . .

This morning was a morning of . . . discovery! Well, just one, but a discovery nonetheless! Marin has cut her first tooth! I brought her into bed this morning and she was sitting on my belly, and as I looked up, I could see into her mouth, and noticed that her gums looked awfully white, so I stuck my finger in there, and sure enough, a tooth! Her upper front right tooth has broken through the gums and the left side isn't far behind. I will say though, usually babies sprout their lower teeth first, which does look awfully cute. Marin however, since she is sprouting her upper teeth first will look a little. . . hillbilly, for a bit. Poor kid! It makes me wonder though, it has got to be darn hard to chew foods when you only have one or two teeth! I mean, you can't put your gums together to mash the foods, and you don't have enough teeth to really use them to chew food. What a hard thing, glad we're babies when it happens :)



Marin has also become quite the snuggler. Not for long periods of time, but she likes to put her head down on my chest and get a quick back-scratch :) She likes those, sweet girl. I also bought her a special super big bib with a food-catcher a the bottom. Marin has been pretty much feeding herself or ever meal, and it gets pretty messy, so the bib helps a lot. I do need to start buying shower caps to put on Marin's head. She like to rub her messy hands all over her head when she eats, so I end up needing to put her whole head under the faucet to get it clean!



Yesterday Marin and I went to a Farmers Market! I have reeeeeally missed my Farmers Market back in NY, it is SUCH a great place to go. They have wonderful food, great produce, and it is right by a lake. Well, although this one was not near a lake, and it was kind of small, it was still nice to be there. They had some lovely produce, it looked just wonderful. I didn't take any cash with me, just because I wanted to check things out before I spent any money, but I do think I'll be back. There is another one at a different park this evening, so maybe Marin and I will head over there :)



Just one pic today!

Marriage and then some. . .

Cover of The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage

I have never been an avid watcher of the TV show "Jon
and Kate plus 8", but this morning I heard their very sad news on the radio announcing their divorce. As a mama, I have a profound new sympathy for sacred family ties, and I become very sad when I hear of the dissolution of such an essential unit. Family means so much more to me now than ever before (or more than I ever realized), and I pray for the Gosselin and other families who are going through that same awful ordeal. I could not imagine. Although Kris and I have been married just shy of three years, I have learned sooo much about what it means to be married, and what it takes to stay married. One of our favorite books that has helped us through the tough times is "The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage", by Dr. Laura Shlessinger.

Although she is not LDS, she provides a christian, and very candid perspective on what your responsibilities are as a husband and as a wife. No fluffy stuff in THAT book, for sure! She is downright blunt! Another resource that has given us a great perspective is the CD (or book), "Men are form Mars, Women are from Venus", suprisingly enough. I had not really considered it would be a reliable book (I thought it was just a big man bashing book, and I am NOT into that). It, however, provides a wonderful explanation for male and female behaviors, so you can understand better, and respond better. So, if you are looking for some suggestions, there you go! Anyway, a few things I have learned in my short travels:

1) Marriage always comes first, no matter how many kids you have.

2) You need to change yourself before you even THINK about what the other person needs to change.

3) Men are never, and will never be mind readers, no matter how long you are married. If you have a problem, you need to tell them intead of angrily skulking around expecting them to figure it out.

4) Women are NOT always right. (Still working on that one!)

5) If you want a happy husband, feed him, love him and tell him how great he is. Simple as that.

6) If you want a happy wife, listen to her, love her, and tell her how great she is. Simple as that.

7) Believe it or not, criticizing and sarcasm do NOT result in a happy marriage. Look what happened to the Gosselins, and countless other families on TV (and not).

8) A kiss and a smile take you further than eye rolling and jaw clenching.

Ahhhh, ok! I do have a few pictures for you today, I don't think the video loaded though.

Mommy checking Marins gums on Sunday. . .


As you can tell, she does not like it very much!


A candid of Marin on daddy's shoulders. Silly girl!

TOTAL spaghetti face, she is so sweet!

Did You Know. . . . .

Did you know:

*Some people don't know they are pregnant until 2 weeks before they deliver? I had seen advertisements for that show called "I didn't know I was pregnant", where these women claim they had no idea they were pregnant until they were about to deliver. I just kind of brushed it off as a "whatever" kind of thing. Well, what do you know, my job always delivers, literally and metaphorically. I took care of a newborn who's mother did not know she was pregnant until 2 weeks before she gave birth. !!!!! How can you NOT know?! Seriously!

*Samantha can only get pushed so far before she snaps at the charge nurse for sending her to NICU for the 4th straight week in a row. I was just a little loud at the nurses station, I didn't yell at anyone in particular, just venting my frustration. Either way, I had a chat with my manager (initiated by MOI, thank you very much!), who explained to me that no one else can go d/t having new employees or qualified employees who are in the middle of precepting a new employee. AND, that they hospital is on an hiring freeze until the end of August. Well, that leads me into my next "Did you know". . .

*Samantha is now looking for a new job. No way this chica is going to get pushed around. I don't know what I'll find, BUT, My hope is that I can find somewhere that will offer me more pay (I have no doubts), and maybe a little sign on sumthin' sumthin' (a sign on bonus), and use that as leverage to get what I want at my hospital. I am not making any expectations for how things will turn out, but a girls' gotta do SOMETHING! Sorry, I am not a pushover that will sit back and take the corporate/administration catch-phrases so I can put just a wee bit more into the CEO's pocket.

Ok, I think I am done with my "Did you know" part. Fathers Day was yesterday and we had a bunch of fun! Marin and I made breakfast for daddy (some angel food french toast, sausage and eggs, yum!) and Marin gave daddy his gift, a subscription to Netflix! We had it before, stopped it for whatever reasons, and now we're back in the game! Go movies! Then Marin had a super long nap, which made us late to church, and I taught in YW. Home again, and I made some banana bread, per request, for Kris. We had some friends over for dinner (who just got married last month) and had some yummy shrimp and crab ravioli (Costco, I love them!) with a light garlic and shallot white sauce, some cheese puffs (I'll post that recipe on the side panel), salad and then ate the banana bread for dessert. Marin was being a PILL, so she went to be early, the stinker. I think maybe her teeth are trying to push through again. We stayed up and played the card game "Apples to Apples". It is such a fun game!

We have a few things to do today, so it's just a super fast post. We got back from the gym this morning, and, ok, side note: I LOVE the YMCA. We have a membership, and I just love it there. If you have ever seen the movie "Dodgeball", which, I am ashamed to say, I love, the YMCA is like my "Average Joe's". All the other gyms like 24 hour Fitness or Gold's or whatever, seem like a Globo-Gym to me. Where all the hot people with big muscles and big hair go workout. That's not for me, send to me where the plain ol' average flabby people go, I say! Anyway, back on track, so today, we need to exchange a shirt for Kris, make some baby food (Almost done, Marin is getting closer and closer to real food!), help Kris with a paper, get some fruits and veggies and . . . clean ( when is that ever NOT on my list!).

Marin is getting so big. She loves to read to herself :) so cute, and sneak up the stairs, and eat her own food by herself and pull all of mommy's pans out of the cupboard. Speaking of which, she is a master of quickness has been finding the sub-sink cupboards to open, so on went the child proof locks! She does NOT like those. Now she can't open the cupboard! Her balance is getting better and better, we notice her standing without holding onto anything quite a bit now! Such a big girl. She is 10 months old as of yesterday! This makes me very excited in particular, because it also means that she will be nursing for only 2 more months. I made a committment quite a few years ago that I would nurse my children for a year (If I could physically do it, of course), and now that I am almost done with Marin, I am very proud of myself. That is NOT an easy thing to do. There were numerous times I thought maybe she wasn't getting enough or I wasn't making enough, BUT. . .I persevered, and Marin kept gaining weight. It has been a long road, and though I will be sad to lose that bond, I will most certainly be happy to be done, and to know I have achieved my personal goal, and have given my daughter a priceless gift:) For more information, go to www.breastfeeding.com . And, if you have questions, just drop me a line, I've been there!

Ok, off to the shower super fast, and on with my day, hopefully pictures soon!

A Walk on the Child's Side

Marin has gotten into pushing the chairs around the kitchen, I commandeered it so she could walk around the island. She is so independant! Silly girl :)

There's Something About Blueberries

Marin and I went to Costco today to pick up some things for the pantry, and I bought some blueberries. There is just something about blueberries that takes me back to New York. Growing up in New York, we lived out in the country, and every August, blueberries were in season. We had buckets with twine attached to the side so we could put them over our shoulder, and then we had the big "Mother Bucket", one of those vintage spotted-tin buckets we kept in the back of our minivan. As we picked the berries, we would take our little buckets back to the van and dump them in the mother bucket. Now, of course, my siblings and I would end up eating most of what we picked (what else can you expect, eh?), and my oldest brother Jonathan showed me that if I spun the bucket fast enough, I could actually turn the bucket upside-down without dropping any berries. Just don't slow down, or you'll have a bluebery shower! And the rides to the blueberry farm were always fun, it took about 15-20 minutes. Tabitha would amaze me with stories of how ancient Egyptians would mummify their dead, and start by sticking metal skewers up through the nose, and then proceed to mash the poor dead bloake's brain, so when they tipped him over, the pulverized brain would drip out of the nose. I learned so much on those blueberry picking excursions! So anyway, as I ate some blueberries today, I remembered all those times my patient parents would haul us off to the farm to pick/eat bluberries, so our family could have frozen bluberries for the rest of the year. Such a good time!

I keep catching Marin on the stairs, she's quick!

Above: Marin getting some lunch

Below: Kitty giving some love

Above: Marin playing by the couch

Below: Breakfast, some peaches! Yum!

Who says a wallet can't be chewy?!

One of the best and worst things about having a dog, more specifically, a YOUNG dog, is that they like to chew. Now, initially, this made me sooo mad. I am not someone blessed with a lot of patience. So, I finally found a great way to . . . make lemonade out of lemons, if you will! I just get new stuff ;) Of course, I can't buy expensive stuff, but heck, I might as well make the most out of the situation, right?

The dog got my wallet. I have had this wallet since I can remember, and it has served me well. Of course I was upset when I saw my well chewed piece of leathery momento, but, into the trash it went, and off to TJ Maxx, I went. They had the best selection of wallets for 10 bucks. I was just going to get another black one, but what the heck, live a little right?! I have a new flowery, happy, springy wallet that is the coolest thing ever!


Picture Time!

Marin learning how to read.
My old, chewed wallet, and the dirty culprit in the backgound.

My new wallet! It has a little clasp on the side, so the whole thing opens up like a book, pretty cool!

I love it :)

These candid shots make me laugh, she's so funny.

Ok, baby watching today, policy meeting tonight, Kris has class, dinner for one, laundry, busy day!

Suck it up, Cupcake. . .

Image via Wikipedia

Ahh, well, the last few days have been a "tossed salad" of mixed emotions. Thursday was my presentation on making your own baby food, and it went well, I think all 4 people learned something. 4 people. In fact, there were 2 sessions, so I only had 2 people per session. I must say, it doesn't really surprise me that much that no one showed up. Why make your own fresh stuff when you can buy it in a jar, right? Whatever. I got home feeling a little frustrated at the turnout, but more questioning my own methods. I couldn't help but wonder if I had some sort of "God" complex where I just have to do it my own way and if I was a big weirdo for doing what I do. Kris is always good at making me feel better, and he worked his magic, so, to heck with everyone else!

Friday was a much better, they called me off of work, but we still sent Marin off to my other friend, Kim's house for the day. I, had a lovely day to myself. I had a coupon for a $39 massage :) So I had a massage for the first time in, probably about 3 or more years. It was sooo nice! Ahhh, VERY relaxing. Then, I went to get my scraggly locks worked on. My poor hair has been in DESPERATE need of some TLC for quite some time. The last time I had my hair cut was a week before Marin was born, if you can believe that. I had a friend trim it up for me since then, but not a real cut. So I sat down in the chair and told the girl, "Make it blonder, and make it shorter.", so she did! I am sooooo hapy with the results! My hair has not been this short since high school, but it looks amazing, and I look pretty foxy :) That's always a bonus!

Saturday, hmmmm, Saturday. I went to work with high hopes that I might be able to work on my own unit. No such luck. When I found they were floating me to NICU again I almost flipped a switch on the charge nurse. I'll be having some words with my manager about this though. So, my day down there was ever the same, full of feeding the little larvae, but this time, all the families wer in and out of the room, ALL, DAY, LONG! That makes it hard, because you can't just, do your thing. But, the day finished, and I headed home. On the drive home though, I was getting off at an exit, and there was an accident that forced the traffic over to the left lane. There were 3 cars, and one SUV was tipped on it's side. Emergency vehicles hadn't responded yet, so as I drove by, I rolled down my window and asked a nurse that was already there if they needed another nurse, (they were fine, but legally I am required to ask). Anyway, as I was asking, the JERKFACE driving an SUV behind me started to honk his horn, and go around me and cut me off!! My blood was BOILING! I was sooooo angry! What a horrible thing to do. So, at the next red light, he was right beside me and I rolled down my window and showed him my badge. Of course he wouldn't even look at me. There are times that I am absolutely flabbergasted at how rude and selfish people here are in Las Vegas. Ahhh well, let it go. . . .

Sunday was great. My clothes fit me, my hair looked snazzy, we were on time to sacrament meeting (which is a big deal, by the way!), and we went to Mesquite for our friend BJ's birthday. I made him some banana bread and Kris got him some golf balls. We had dinner at their home, and Marin had fun playing with their dog Eafer! It was a nice day :)

Marin is just as sweet as ever. I caught her standing behind her walker and pushing it across the floor the other evening. I was pretty impressed. Her balance is getting better and better, Kris caught her standing next to the couch without holding on the other day, just for a few seconds. She is getting close to walking! We are teaching her how to give a high five, and she thinks that is just the funniest thing ever, we had her giggling pretty good:)

Ok, I need to get ready for the gym before the baby wakes up, so . . . .

Picture Time!

For the fans, here's Eafer!

Marin petting the puppy.

A reallly cute picture of Marin with Uncle BJ. We refer to him as uncle bunny :)

My Hair!!! I look so mature! It was a little hard to let go of my hair, but it looks so nice, I don't mind, plus, there was enough to donate! Not 12 inches, but not every hair place requires 12 inches of hair. I think she took off about 6 inches or so. It's even shorter in the back too! Kind of like a sleek bob. It's great because I can lave it down, and it won't hang in my face which drives me nuts. Happy girl!

Marin looking like she about to get ino some mischief!

Off to the gym, have a great one guys!

Do it Yourself!

So tonight is my presentation and demo on making your own baby food, and I'm getting excited, kinda. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and not feeling super well, so hopefully I can make it through tonight. I haven't had a lot of time to do as much research as I wanted, but there seems to be quite a bit of information out there! It turns out that jarred food is just as pricey as I thought it would be! Whattya know? I don't want to innnundate everyone with a lot of information, lest I offend, but, it IS my blog, so I'll just post a few bullets:

*jarred baby food is shelf stable for anwhere between 1 and 3 years. ??
*fresh food (for anyone) is always healthier.
*making your own baby food is sooo much cheaper, for example: a jar of banana baby food, the cheapest, costs 17 cents per ounce, making your own food with bananas (at 47C per #) costs 0.01 cents per ounce.
*based on research, stage 2 and stage 3 baby foods frquently contain starchy fillers and thickening agents.
*companies boast "added DHA" and other brain developement goodies. This nutritional need is filled by breastmilk or formula, and more doesn't mean better. What your body doesn't need, it excretes.

Ok, done! Now that the hard stuff is out there, I can move on to the fun stuff. . . actually making your own stuff!

Stage 1: This is probably the more time consuming of the three stages, just because the consistency needs to be pretty smooth and that takes another 30 seconds to a minute in the food processor. Prettymuch anything can be ground up. Typically, I will either boil or roast the food. I buy fresh frozen peas and boil them, then grind them up. If you are worried about the waxy shell, you can mash them through a strainer, but after a while, you won't need to do this as baby is able to take on chunkier stuff. For yams, I put them whole on a baking sheet and roast for 45" to and hour or more, depending on the size. I actually do this in the evening, so when I take them out, I let them cool overnight (they take a bit to cool). In the morning, they are nice and cool, and the skins are loose and peel right off. Then I pop them in the cuisinart (I have a mini one the cost about 30 bucks) and puree until smooth. You may need to add a bit of water to thin it out because yams can be pretty thick!

Stage 2: The in-between stage. Baby is able to take in chunkier foods, but not quite ready for mashed up table foods yet. Baby should be about 7 or 8 months at this stage. This is pretty much the same routine, but this time, you don't grind up for as long, leaving the food just bit chunkier. Depending on what your pediatrician says, you my be able to start meats at this time. I started with the ever chipper chicken, and just made sure that it was ground up pretty well. Don't get scared, because baby does have some experience with eating now, so you don't need a "puree" of chicken, but you DO need a very fine crumble to start, almost like the consistency of parmesean cheese. When you feed meats, keep in mind that it does take longer to chew, so don't rush. To make the chicken, I place frozen breasts on a baking sheet and drizzle with just a bit of olive oil (remember, it's a good fat!) and roast at 375 degrees for 45" to an hour, depending on how many you're roasting. Let cool and cube, then into the cuisinart!

Stage 3: Baby is almost ready for table foods, and at this stage, should be at least 9-10 months. Foods can have chunks and some foods you can put on the tray for baby to pick up and eat herself. This stage is fun, because you can make different food combos. There are tons of recipes online for baby food. One that I make at home for Marin is chicken fajitas. I roast chicken and grind that up (throw it into a bowl), then I sautee some onions and peppers, grind it up too (throw it into the same bowl as the chicken) and then I take some corn tortillas and grind them up. Everything gets tossed in the same bowl, and I may add some water to make it more of a wet mixture. Then I put it into ice cube trays and freeze. Voila! Now you have chicken fajitas to last baby for almost a month!

Notes:
*If you don't have a cuisinart, I have a friend that uses her blender, or you can get a baby food grinder for pretty cheap.
*You don't need fancy freezing trays (I only have 2), you can use ice cube trays instead. After the food is frozen and ready to come out, just tip the tray sideways and run hot tap water along the backside to loosen the food. Then twist the tray and dump into a labeled freezer bag.
*Once baby is eating stage 3, this is a good time to introduce herbs and spices (not spicy spices) to her pallett. Adding a bit of oregano or basil to chicken and maybe cinnamon to apples. Just don't overdo it. Our taste buds are pretty jaded, so what we may think isn't a lot, may be overload for baby. Just a pinch to a batch will do.
*It IS okay for baby to have milk products (referring to stage 3) before the age of one! The reason pediaticians say babies should not have cows milk until after the age of one is so that parents do not replace breastmilk or formula with cows milk. I had to confirm this one with my pediatrician though! So, making a modified chicken tetrazzini for baby (which DOES have cows milk) it ok. Just no replacing anything! :)
*Make sure all food is fresh or COOKED! You don't want botulism spores getting into your baby food (not common at all, but you do need to be careful).
*Just remember. Your baby will not be eating baby food forever, so when it seems like it's a daunting task that takes way too much time (it doesn't though), just know that your baby will only need baby food for around 6 months or so before she can eat table food.
*Pre-packaged toddler meals are SUCH a waste of money. You can make your own food, and you don't even have to grind it!

There are some great websites out there that offer tips and hints on making your own stuff. It really is sooooo easy, and I know that Kris and I have saved a bunch of money making our own stuff. Media advetisements make a lot of people believe that jarred baby food is the only stuff to feed your baby, and that it is healthier. The truth is that you CAN make your own, and BETTER stuff, for WAAAAYY cheaper. Why pay someone else to do it?

Grateful for. . .

With everything that life has been throwing our way lately, it is soo easy for me to get caught up in the ever-en-snaring chaos and get, well, overwhelmed. I get so busy taking care of everything, all the time for everybody, that I forget to sit back, look at all that I have and just be grateful. So, without further ado, my list of things that I am grateful for:

*My amazing husband: Kris has always been an incredible support and mkes me feel like the most beautiful and valuable woman in the universe and I am so grateful I married him. Life would not be a millionth as sweet if I didn't have him.
*Marin: She has brought more joy to my life than I ever knew possible. Everyday she makes me smile and I never knew how sweet the joy of motherhood could be.
*Our families: Kris and I have the most wonderful and supportive families EVER. We feel their love all the time, and, though they have seen us through some rough patchs here and there, they have always been there to love us. I only hope Kris and I can emulate that kind of love for our children when they are grown and have their own families.
*Our pets: I know that sounds silly, but I have had to practice more patience than EVER with these blasted animals, and for that, I do love them. And they're fuzzy, so that gives them an up.
*Our home: So many families, especially today do not live in a home, and we are immensely grateful for the fact that we have a place to live.
*Our Church: For those of you who follow the blog, Kris and I are Mormon. While being Mormon provides it's own unique set of challenges in today's society, we have seen blessings beyond compare because of our faithfulness. Church has given us a balance in our lives and an understanding of our future that no other place or thing in the world can ever offer. If you would like to learn more about the Mormon church, please visit http://www.mormon.org/ for more information.
*Our vehicles: While it seems odd to be thankful for this, again, it is not a luxury many people have, so we are grateful for our woring vehicles, however banged up they may be getting. . .
*Our jobs: If you are unaware, while I was on maternity leave, Kris left his job selling time share for Hilton (a previously great place to be), due to the worsening economy. That left us in quite a rut, but we were confident that our tithes would pull us through, and they did. Kris was blessed with the job he has now, working for the University of Phoenix, and is now able to go to school for his MBA. My job has been a lifesaver also. Although working as an RN is stressful, it provides me the best experience ever, stuff that I can apply at home, and it provides great job security and pretty good pay. We are soooo grateful for our jobs.
*Our callings: If you have been reading the blog for a while, you'll know I am the Mia Maid advisor in our church, which means I get to work with and counsel the young women age 14 and 15. What a great place to be. I love my young women so much, and I get to know them better every week. They are sooo strong, and they teach me some valuable lessons. Kris's calling is tailored just for him, and somehow, the bishop knew his strengths before he really even knew Kris. He is the ward employment specialist, and he helps people find jobs. Moreover, he helps people help themselves to find jobs. This is perfect for him, and considering the economy, there are a lot of people he is helping, but he too gets to learn from this.
*The "Fluff": This is everything else in my life that is too numerous to count, but makes our lives wonderful. Food, a computer, clothes, a camera. . .

Either way you slice it, we wouldn't have this if it weren't for our loving Heavenly Father. We may be able to duplicate it, but the joyous meaning behind each one would be missing, and that. . . that is what makes life sooo worthwhile.

Picture Time!


Happy girl in the bathub!
I love this picture, you can see that water splashing and a grinning baby :)

This is sooo funny! Kris was feeding her dinner on Saturday after a VERY busy day, and the poor thing was so tired, she conked out right in her highchair! Funniest thing EVER. Kris does hav a video of it, but it's too long to post.

Sweet girl, it makes me laugh every time I see it!

And . . . . . . Yesterday morning I had some mango, and Marin has never had mango before, so I gave her the juicy pit, and here she is, lazy baby, she won't even pick it up!

Ok, off to the gym!

Nurse for a day. . .

I WISH I could give you a run through of my day today, but I started, and the post would have been like, 10 miles long, so I guess not. I just have to say, a pediatrics nurse that has to go and work in NICU is not a happy nurse. I do NOT like floating to NICU. Not only is everything completely different there, but the unit has been relocated d/t construction, so everything is in chaos and nothing is find-able. I had orders this morning that I needed clarified and I kept trying to get ahold of the neonatologist with no luck, so I tried asking the charge nurse what else I should do with no luck. Finally the doc comes in at 1130 to talk with the family, I tell him I have orders Ineed clarified and he says he'll be back later to round. !!! Ok, so meanwhile, I have a baby that isn't eating, has a low temperature, isn't peeing, and has a high bili level. So, come 4:15, the doctor finally rounds and after he finishes telling me my concerns are warranted and the orders should have been clarified at the beginning of the shift and (surpisingly), I am good nurse for being concerned, I have my orders. . . at 4:30. Start IV fluids, sink an NG tube, put baby in isolette, start phototherapy. So I have 2 hours to scramble around and find all of the misplaced equipment, fit it in the room, feed all three babies, chart for the last 2 feeds. I was a little upset that I couldn't get this taken care of at th beginning of the shift. So, if you followed any of that, I guess it sounds like I hate my job. I don't, I really love my job, but there are just some days that make me crazy!

But, everyone survived, I am home now with my family and about to hit the shower and then my bed :) it's been a long weekend!

Welcome to the JUNGLE!!!

Over the last few days I felt like we might have had a baby elephant hanging around our house! I heard little elephant noises all the time, and then I saw the culprit. . . (well, who else could it be?) Miss Marin of course! Daddy taught her a fun little trick and she makes elephant noises now. Kris makes a mean elephant sound (I, however, try as I might, cannot) and Marin picked up on it and makes elephant noises, it is really cute! We already make lots of farm animal noises around here, but who knew Marin would contribute an elephant! Silly Baby :)

She has also grasped the concept of. . . chasing, and she loves it! The other day I was getting Marin undressed for her bath, and she started crawling away, so I wiggled my fingers and told her I was going to get her and she squeeled and started to crawl away as fast as she could and then I thumped my hands on the ground as I crawled to get her and she started laughing, it was the sweetest thing ever! She loves playing with mommy and daddy, such a sweet girl!

Picture Time!

Well, this isn't Marin, but it is a picture of my vanilla sugar, you can look on the scrollbar on the right to see how to make it.

Marin was really getting into food storage yesterday. . . MY food storage.

I love this picture, such a happy girl :)

And I love this picture too, here is Marin playing with our puppy Mollie.

She has been soooo hungry lately, I just can't get enough food into this girl. I make my own baby food, and freeze them into cubes, and when I took this picture, she had eaten 5 cubes of chicken tetrazzini, 1 cube of carrots, one cube of peas, some leftover banana chunks from breakfast, raspberries, and then some baby krispy snacks. She MUST be going through a growth spurt, because her morning naps have been 2-3 hours long!

I work the weekend, so have a great one and I will be posting next week!

Up, Up and Away!

Here I am I guess. The weeks just FLY by it seems, so I find that sometimes almost a week has gone by before I realize I haven't blogged yet :)

Work this past weekend was. . . different. Friday they floated me to NICU, and I took 3 babies down there. Usually whenever anyone from the Peds floor floats down there, they are pretty nice and give us the easy babes, what they call the "feeder/growers". Those babies essentially just need to put on weight before they can go home, so they don't have IV's or need to be in the isolette. They gave me some sick kids! All three were in isolettes and were getting TPN and lipids into scalp veins and 2 had NG tubes (which they both pulled out and had to be put back in!), and they all had IV meds and gavage feeds. Not that it was hard being down there, but I'm used to getting an easy assignment when I go!

Saturday was also interesting. I was assigned to work at Valley Hospital (where Marin was born, and not the hospital I work at) to do some training and be a resource person. The hospital was going live with their new computer system and had brought in personnell from the other sister hospitals to help the staff with the transition. So, I went in and was assigned to a med/surg/tele unit. Blah! I remember now why I don't do adult nursing. I do NOT miss the old confused people at all. Well, I didn't have to do any patient care, just answer questions and give pointers. It was a little difficult, because Valley is doing things a bit differently than Summerlin, which is fine, but at the beginning of the shift, I came across something that I knew was going to be an issue. I brought it up to the other point person, who actually was a staff member on the floor, and she brushed it off as one of the differences. Well, after calling the control center and getting another brush off, I left it alone and just told myself that at least I wouldn't have to deal with it at Summerlin. Come the end of the shift, sure enough, there were issues, and finally the other resource person saw what I had been saying. We took it down to the control center, where one admin-corporate liason tried to give me another brush off (although, based on the fact that she kept saying "pacific" instead of "specific", didn't lend her much credibility). The other two saw our point and told us they would take it to the next meeting. Aren't I just a big trouble-maker? (Dad, don't answer that).

Sunday was nice, we had our friends from Mesquite down for dinner and watched some episodes of "The Office", so we got to socialize for a while and that was so nice :)

Well, Miss Marin is just the funniest girl ever. She has figured out how to do a fake laugh, and it cracks. . .me. . . up! Although, when she does her REAL laugh (mostly for daddy), that is also the sweetest thing EVER, nothing makes you smile more than a laughing baby. Dinnertime is also pretty funny. I will feed Marin her supper and put her down to play while Kris and I eat, but soon enough we find a fuzzy head peeking over our laps to find out what ELSE is for dinner. She gets mad if we don't pick her up, and loves to piece off of daddy's plate. Silly girl! Lately she had been clapping her hands when she see's us do it, she likes to copy us. And she has been finding more and more things to climb up on, besides the stairs. The dishwasher has been her platform of choice, I have to watch her pretty close because the is QUICK!

Picture Time!

Marin actually ON the dishwasher this morning (after she sat down).

Up she goes!
Here at the Lyman house, we don't eat a lot of red meat, but one of our favorites is a steak sandwich. Last night I made some, and they were the best I have EVER had! SOOOO good!

Marin has a cute little pink stuffed piggy that she takes to bed with her, she loves that thing, it's pretty cute!

And, my new glasses! Look how brownmy hair looks! Yikes, that needs to change!

Have a great one!