New Year and a New Start

Well, 2011 just flew by and here we are in 2012.  2011 proved to be a little tough at keeping up with my new found blog pastime and needless to say I am way behind on blogging.  I have little notes in my phone of memorable events throughout last year, and one of these days I will jot them down here in an attempt to catch up, but for now I am going to start fresh for 2012 and try to stay caught up.

2011 was a crazy whirlwind year to say the least.  I was working full-time, going to school including over 300 hours of clinicals and studying as well as taking care of 4 kids, a crazy dog and the hubster!!  It was just a bit stressful at best, but with the wonderful support of my family I made it through and finished my Acute Care post-master's certification.  The only hurdle left is to pass my boards in the next few months.  It was a great experience and I learned so much, but I can safely say I am done with school forever!!  Of course I will always be learning and updating my knowledge with CME's etc, but as for formal school I have had my fill.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of fun and laughter.  Santa brought us a fun family gift of an Xbox 360 with Kinect.  We have been having lots of fun bowling, skiing, playing tennis, darts and even a little friendly boxing with each other since Christmas day. The little ones also got their very own Leaspster Explorers which they all love.  Now they are learning while playing Star Wars, Cars 2, Disney Princesses etc. They can even download apps and keep track of their learning progress, and the beauty is they think they are just playing games!! Missy also got lots of dollies and a new Disney Princess bike, and the little guys got mack daddy nerf guns and army dress up clothes just to name a few. Peanut also got a new laptop from Mom and Dad so he will stop borrowing mine!!! So I guess you could say we had a techy Christmas!

We also got to have face time with Uncle Michael, Ethan and Gerrian and open our presents from each other on film. Modern technology!! The little ones each got star projectors for their rooms which they absolutley love and have to have their stars shining every night when they go to bed. Grandma and I got a full day of beauty at a spa complete with facials, massages, mani and pedicures!! Thank you Uncle Michael, Gerrian and Ethan!!! We can't wait to find a day to steal away for some pampering.

Then we talked to Grandpa Rob, Great Grandma and Auntie Jan and Julia and were also able to skype with Grandpa Gary and Grandma Cookie.  We loved our wonderful gifts from everyone and are definitely enjoying the new Keurig brewer!!!  Loving my hot tea brewed in mere seconds flat!!!

We had Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papaw and Aunt Jennie over for a yummy turkey dinner on Christmas day!  We were all stuffed for sure!! It was so nice to have everyone together to celebrate Jesus' birthday! 

The day after Christmas we had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's with Uncle Bobby and Regina and exchanged gifts!  The boys got more nerf guns to add to their growing collection that they got for Christmas and Missy got a beautiful polka dot dress which she wore two days in a row!!  The grown ups got Seasons 52 gift cards which we are very much looking forward to using soon!

Unfortunately, Woobie fell off the neighbors slide before dinner and hurt his left arm.  I had some suspicion that it could be broken, but there was no swelling or deformity so decided to see how he was doing the next day, however after he kept me up all night complaining of pain I knew we definitely had a problem.  So it was off to our friendly neighborhood Jewitt Orthopedic to have an x-ray, and....we now have a nice red cast for the next 4 weeks.  He has a buckle fracture of the left distal radius!!  He was more upset about the possibility of not being able to play Xbox then having to wear a cast for the next month!!!

We brought in the new year with several of our closest friends and family last night!  It was a nice evening and we even had some Xbox kinect tournaments to pass the time until midnight and caught up with family and friends we hadn't seen in a while.  Of course we munched on yummy goodies all night long as well.

Well, there you have it my first entry for the new year!!  I have enjoyed the last nine days off with hubby and the kiddies, but must go back to reality tomorrow and head back to work.  I am also beginning my new journey to be fit and fabulous for 2012 tomorrow!!!  Wish me luck!!!