The Week in Review

Ok, so it has been quite a while since I last blogged.  I have faced the fact that I just can't be organized, motivated or energetic enough to make this an every day or for that matter every three or four day event.  So, I have decided to try and make a commitment to blog once a week to recap the highlights of our crazy, hectic, wonderful life.

Here goes nothing...

This week started with a 48 hours of work in 4 days. Let me backup and say that I started a new job on 5/31/12 with a Critical Care group.  My year of post master's schooling has paid off and enabled me this wonderful opportunity to fulfill my dream of being a Nurse Practitioner in Critical Care.  My debut started big with 4 12 hour shifts in a row.  I was pooped by Tuesday night for sure.  However, it was a great start to my new job and a good introduction to the routine.

The kids had VBS this week so on Wednesday and Thursday I was able to go with them and help out and watch the kids in action.  I just love watching the kids sing and learn the hand motions to all of the songs.  I know it's crazy, but I get so emotional watching the kids at VBS.  I usually well up with tears and just feel so overwhelmed with emotion as I see these children praising and worshipping our awesome God.   This year's theme was Amazing Wonders Aviation.  The songs were great and my kids love singing them over and over.  Missy was even singing them in bed at night. 

On Wednesday after VBS we went to Don Pablos with my mom , my Aunt Ninny and Emma.  Missy was so cute during lunch as she was singing Yes to VBS at the top of her lungs in the middle of the restaurant.  She is my sweet little singing bee.  After lunch the boys went with Grandma and I took Missy with me to get my driver's license renewed.  Suprisingly enough it went very quickly contrary to most experiences with bureaucratic establishments.

Friday was my 42nd birthday and I spent the day at work.  It was a really good day and I learned a lot.  I got lots of FB messages throughout the day which had my phone going tweet tweet so much I think people must have thought I had a bird in my pocket.  Such a great feeling to have so many folks wishing me happy birthday wishes!!

I had the weekend off which has been great.  Saturday I went shopping all by myself with my Kohl's gift card from my hubby!  I love Kohl's  I got some really cute clothes and a new pair of tennis shoes too.  Saturday evening we went to our Gathering Group event at the Willets.  We had lots of good food and fellowship and the kids swam all night until about 9pm.  Needless to say, Missy was asleep before we even pulled into the neighborhood.  We had a great time.

Today we went to church and then lunch at Tijuana Flats.  Then we came home to discover our little Schnooky had a fever and was pretty miserable and complaining that his brain hurt.  Schnooky does not do sick well.  Whenever he gets a fever he always gets a headache and will tell you that his brain hurts.  Poor little guy.  He was feeling much better by dinner time and even had a piece of my birthday cake which my hubby bought for my birthday celebration today.  We had a nice dinner and then topped it off with birthday cake.  My favorite!!! 

Well, that's it in a nutshell.  I am calling it a night!!!!

Random Monday Musings

So the first month of 2012 is almost over and I am doing fairly well with keeping up.  I am not doing as well as I would like, but face it life is busy and chaotic and sometimes I barely have time to sleep much less blog. 

I worked all weekend, eww!!.. I so wish I did not have to work every other weekend, but that is kind of how it is right now.  The highlight of the weekend was definitely getting a call from our soldier. He called us Sunday night and I got to talk to him for all of about 2 minutes, literally.  He let me know that he was okay and he was eating 3 meals a day and getting 7 hours of sleep every night.  Then he told me basic wasn't all that bad thus far and that they got their rifles!  He also let me know there were 2 letters coming in the mail with his address and unit information so we could start writing him letters...then he said he loved us and goodbye.  Oh and he said they would be earning phone privileges and calls would be made home usually on Sundays!!!  I am so proud of my son.  He has really grown up.  I love him so much and can't wait to see him on graduation day in April.

My little Missy Miss drew me a picture while I was gone on the youth ski trip (another post soon about that).  She even wrote my name (see photo) and told me that it was in cursive!  She's only 3 for crying out loud.  Growing up way too fast.

We have a tradition in our family that we tell each other how much we love one another.  I have been telling Peanut since he was a wee little boy and now his brothers and sister too that I love them right up to the moon and back.  It is from the children's book Guess How Much I Love You!!  So the little ones always like to have their own version.  Schooky seems to be the most creative.  For example~

Mommy I love you right up to my birthday (which is in February)!

Mommy I love you for 105 days!! And not to be out done, Woobie and Missy tell me they love me to Heaven and back!!  They are all so precious!!!

Peanut even bought me a plaque with the words I love you to the moon and back for Christmas!! Priceless!!!

Exciting news for Woobie this Wednesday-he gets his cast off!!!  He has been such a trooper about it too, but he is counting the hours until he gets it cut off.  Not a single person has signed it either.  He wanted to keep it clean I guess.

Well, I guess that is about it for tonight.  Until next time.

Oh, by the way, hubby and I got to go to a Magic game at the new Amway Center Wednesday night (1/18) compliments of my boss.  It was the first time we have been to the new arena.  Very nice. Great seats too.  We were 3 rows up from the floor behind the goal and right next to the home bench.  We had a great time.  It was a great game.  Neck and neck the whole way, but unfortunately we lost in OT by 3 points.  Just a split second difference and JJ Redicks 3 point shot would have clenched the game for us!  Oh well, that the way the ball bounces!!

Bittersweet Day!

This morning dawned bright and early at 0530 for Sean and I.  We hit the road a little after 0630 and headed to Tampa to meet up with Peanut at the MEPS center to await his departure to Ft. Benning.

We arrived right at 0900 as instructed and were escorted into a waiting room to sign in and get our briefing about what to expect and where were allowed to go and not go.  We were given strict instructions not to take any photos except in the swearing in room and no cell phone usage except in designated areas.  We were also told if we forgot the rules we would be reminded as "softly" as possible!!!

Then we waited and waited and waited a little more while Peanut completed his final processing before being officially sworn into the US Army.  After a little over an hour or so he was able to come and visit with us for a while before he was called to his pre-swearing in briefing.

About noon we were called into the swearing in room to watch our boy now a man be sworn into the US Army.  What a feeling of pride washed over me as I watched him take his oath to serve our great country.  He is making such a big commitment through his willingness to serve!  There could be no prouder mama then I was today!!

After the swearing in he went to finish signing his contract and then we were able to visit with him until about 1430 when they were called to report to their travel briefing.  Yes, there was a lot of briefings throughout our day!

Shortly after they were released from their final briefing it was time to say goodbye and board the shuttle van to Ft. Benning.  I hugged my boy and told him I loved him.  It was hard to let him go, but I knew this day would come eventually!!

We headed to our car and were able to get one more glimpse of him as he exited the building on his way to the shuttle van.  The tears came in waves as we drove away.  Seems like only yesterday that I was sending my little boy off to kindergarten and now I was sending my son the man to his biggest adventure yet!

I pray that he will remember who he is and whose he is and always keep God first in his life and let Him guide his steps as he embarks on this new journey in his life!!

The Going Away Party!

Today was the beginning of the good-byes for Peanut before he begins his journey to serve our country in the US Army.  We started our day just like any Sunday by going to church.  All through the service I cried periodically as I thought about it being the last Sunday that we would have Peanut in church with us for who knows how long 4-6 months or more.

At the end of the service our church family laid hands on our precious first born and Pastor C prayed for him and this journey he is about to begin.  The emotions continued to flow as I held onto my boy along with so many of our beloved family and extended family.  The outpouring of support from our church family has been so touching and I know that they will continue to support us as we travel down this new path in our lives.

After church we put the pedal to the metal and started running our errands to get everything we needed for the big send off party!  We were expecting about 40 people to help us send him off to Ft. Benning in style. 

We then hurried home to get the house ready for everyone and of course we all 6 donned our best camo just for the occasion!!

The party was great.  Nana, Papaw and Aunt Jennie came over from Bradenton and lots of family and friends joined us as well.  Even Coach Benny and his wife Amy came over from Mt. Dora as well as several of his friends that he graduated with from MDB.  There was lots of food and conversation, and yes even a few tears. Peanut was about smiled out by the time I finished snapping photos of him with all of his guests.

Lots of good fun and memories were made to commemorate Peanut's departure to serve Uncle Sam!!!

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!!!

Girl's Day Out and The Potty Problem!

I had the pleasure of spending the day with my little girl today.  The boys got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa while we were away.

 First we went with Daddy to the doctor to make sure he told the whole truth and then Daddy took his two favorite girls out to lunch at Bahama Breeze.  I have been craving their onion rings for a very long time.

We stopped into Barnes and Noble for a few minutes before lunch because it wasn't 11am yet and Missy got a Rapunzel book and Daddy found some great hardbound versions of some classic stories to add to our homeschool library.  We got Tom Sawyer, Dr. Doolittle, Little Men, Huckleberry Finn, Robin Hood, King Arthur and His Knights and a few more.  They are really nice and what was even better is they were buy two get one free!!!  I always love a good bargain!

Lunch was yummy and the onion rings were delicious!  My tummy was very happy at the end of our meal.  We then kissed Daddy goodbye as he headed off to work and drove to ORMC to get my student badge so I can start clinicals on Saturday only to find out that mommy can't read very well and they only give out student badges on Tues, Thur and Friday.  So Missy and I drove to Sand Lake Hospital to get my badge and decal so I would be assured of being able to start clinicals this Saturday.

On the way back towards home my sweet little girl fell asleep.  She must have been very tired too because she slept all the way through the $6 car wash, which was really $15 for the extra super duper cleaning and more amazing still she slept through the 20 minutes that it took me to vacuum out my filthy van including vacuuming her carseat!

We then ventured toward the pet store to get Noni's UTI remedy, but had to take a pitstop for gas at 7-Eleven.  Missy woke up half way to the gas station and was just a bit cranky.  While I was pumping gas she announced she needed to potty! I finished pumping gas as fast as I could and pulled into the parking spot so I could take her inside, however she wasn't able to hold it and was sitting in urine soaked clothes when I went to get her out!  Thankfully I had the pee pad in the bottom of her carseat so we spared her seat of pee pee, but her clothes were soaked. 

Of course I didn't bring any spare clothes with me because that would have made my life too easy so I had to come up with a quick bandaid by taking off her clothes and wrapping her in a hand towel that I had in the car.  I then strapped her back in her carseat and headed for Target!

I then wrapped her in the baby sling that I keep in the car and carried her into the store.  We found her a  Rapunzel shirt and jean shorts and completed the ensemble with Rapunzel underwear.  Are you sensing a theme here???  I then grabbed a package of wipes and headed for the dressing rooms.

We ducked into one of the dressing rooms and I took the tags off of the clothes and cleaned her up with a wipe.  I then opened the package of underwear and put on a pair and then got her dressed.  All the while I am so nervous that I am being watched by cameras and they are going to nab me for shoplifting before I can get to the front of the store to pay for everything.

Thankfully we made it to the front of the store and paid for our goods with no handcuffs involved!  I explained to the cashier that I only had the tags from the clothes because she was wearing them due to a potty problem!  He expressed his understanding and made our purchases official.

We then went back to shopping because mommy needed a new mop and some school supplies!

Finally, we left Target and made it to the pet store to get Noni's goodies.  Hopefully this will cure Noni of what ails her!

We drove thru Taco Bell on the way home for Tacos and Pizza for me, Grandma and the kidlets.  Got to love it when I don't have to cook!!!

After dinner we sat down and started reading Tom Sawyer.  It is a really cute story.  The kids enjoyed listening and then we of course had to read Missy's Rapunzel book to make the evening complete.

The kiddies then piled in the car with Grandma and headed to her house for a sleepover.

It was a great day with my sweet baby girl.  I really enjoyed our mommy-daughter day!!

Now it is time to hit the books and get educated!!!

The Graduation!

Well, he did it!  My oldest child has finished all of the requirements of high school and received his diploma this evening, but not without a whole lot of chaos and mayhem leading up to the big event.

I truly believe that Satan was hard at work trying to ruin this special day. The day started out by having to run all over the place and get things for the graduation reception and ordering a cake for the graduation party at the beach house for Sunday.  The little ones were in rare form and didn't make things a whole lot easier with all of their antics.  Although I must say that Woobie was actually very well behaved and agreeable all day.

In the midst of running errands I was trying to secure quotes for insurance for Peanut who now has to have his own policy related to his less than perfect driving record in the last 5 months.  I was letting Grandma drive while I made phone calls.

Then about 1045 my Dad called to tell me that his car broke down in Lakeland on the way here and was being towed to the Mercedes dealer to get it fixed.  No idea on his ETA at that point.  Instantly that threw another wrench in the works because he was going to watch the munckins while I went out to the school to set up Peanut's reception table.

A little while later Peanut informed me while trying to go get an estimate for the repair of his latest fender bender that his car wasn't running right and he was on his way to CMC to get it looked at.  He however still needed to get a haircut and I needed to finish making his poster for his table so Grandpa was recruited to pick him up at car repair place and take him to get his haircut.

Meanwhile, we tried to get the little ones to take a nap while we worked on the poster to no avail of course.  None of them would go to sleep.  Grandma and I decided to take them with us out to the school in hopes that at least Missy would take a nap.  To our surprise she stayed awake and Schnooky fell asleep.

Woobie went into the cafeteria to help me setup while Grandma stayed in the car to watch Schnooky and entertain Missy.  Then I decided we needed some goodies for the table and went on a quest to find some candy and a bowl to put it in.  2 stores later mission accomplished and Schnooky was awake. 

We all trapsed into the cafeteria to set up the rest of the table and then it was time to high tail it home to meet Grandpa Rob and get ready for the big event.

In between all of the adventures I was still attempting to find a half way affordable insurance for our teenager!  I think I finally found a company that shows mercy on young drivers with a not so spotless driving record. 

I finally arrived home around 330 and the rush was on to get everyone ready to go including finishing the powerpoint presentation for Peanut's table.  The kiddies were pretty good while I worked on that and Peanut was busy ironing his clothes for the ceremony.

Peanut's car was ready right about the time Daddy got home so Daddy took him to pick up the car and then hurry  home so Peanut could get dressed and fly out the door with Grandma and Grandpa to make it to school by 6pm. 

In the meantime, Grandpa Rob arrived to the chaos of Peanut leaving and trying to get all the kids ready.  I jumped in the shower with barely enough time to spare and then Missy decided to have an atomic meltdown about what she was wearing and carried on for over 30 minutes while Daddy tried to bribe her into getting dresses.  Poor Grandpa Rob just paced and watched the boys while I got ready and Daddy dealt with the tiny tyrant.

Finally, we left a little late of course and were met with a torential downpour on the way to Mount Dora.  We pulled up to the gym right at 7pm and unloaded everyone.  We arrived to our seats just in time for the graduates processional.  Poor Daddy was late because he had to park the car a mile away and dodge the raindrops on the way in.

In keeping with the theme of the day my picture of Peanut walking down the aisle was blurry and of course there was no second opportunity.  Most of my other photos of the ceremony were not that great either.  Thank goodness some other folks snapped photos too and posted them on Facebook.

The little ones did very well during the ceremony.  They were a bit antsy, but all in all did well.  After the ceremony we got some family photos and some photos with Peanut and the President of the school as well as teachers, coaches and friends.

We all then went to the cafeteria where all of the graduates tables were set up and people were visiting each table and seeing what the parents had done for their Senior to recognize all of their achievements throughout the years.  Some of the tables were pretty fancy I must say.  I think Drew's table turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

We then hugged Nana, Papaw and Aunt Jennie as they needed to head back to Bradenton.  The kids munched on cake and candy as well as yummy punch and then it was time to pack up and head home.

Peanut stayed behind with all the Seniors to embark on their surprise Project Graudation Night.  He would be out all night and come home the next morning!  Daddy got unanimously voted to be the one to pick him up at 0 dark 30 the next day!!!

All and all despite all of the obstacles and chaos of the day it was a great ceremony and such a joy to see our oldest graduate from High School and begin a new chapter in his life journey!

It's time for the real world now buddy!!!