Crazy Busy, but Oddly Relaxing

After a weekend of washing cars and playing endless hopscotch, it was back to the books today. I've already got my second exam tomorrow. Last week my teacher mentioned that prenatal exams did not improve outcomes. I found that suspicious and found a great article that looked at 10-freakin-million births. Turns out prenatal care does improve outcomes, although it's still debated exactly how many are required to decrease mortality (3 appointments are not enough, but the typical U.S. 14+ may be a tad excessive). Disappointingly, a lit review revealed my teacher was correct in stating bedrest does diddly-poo to help delay preterm birth. The risks of bedrest likely far outweigh the benefits, but it's currently the only hope.

On a fun note, I have clinical Friday night (hello babies!), then a kick-ass party Saturday at my friend Becky's. This definitely calls for some dancing shoes and a sleepover. Can't wait!

Birthing a Baby-To Each His Own

A quick aside before I jump into my rant. The Pixie woke yesterday with a cough. By the middle of the night the poor thing was wheezing and having retractions. The Prince took her to an appointment first thing where her O2 sats were in the low 80s. She got hooked up with some nebulized albuterol and prednisone right there in the office. Sats back up to 98. Serious illness, but the Pixie is just as bouncy and chipper as ever. Now, the rant....(I've given you fair warning).

So, my little cohort runs on the crunchy side. I wouldn't say we're judgmental, but we're definitely opinionated. At any rate, The Business of Being Born documentary keeps getting mentioned, so I decided to download it from trusty Netflix. I went in knowing Ricki Lake created the film because she was dissatisfied with her first hospital birth and sought a water birth with her second child. No doubt, there was going to be a bias. But I found it so sensationalizing and judgmental (ironic, no?).

The result is to perpetually divide women. Breast or bottle, co-sleep or crib, working mom or SAHM, medicated or unmedicated. I'm not sure why we allow ourselves to continually be divided by these topics. Even the terminology used in the film was judgmental (natural birth for the unmedicated non-hospital births vs. ? ...robot births ? And to suggest that women are passive followers of their health care providers, are you serious! I think it's time to stop pointing fingers and accept that each of us has our own approach to motherhood and are capable of deciding which interventions we would like to pursue.

I am all for promoting low intervention births and reserving OBs for the really complicated pregnancies and labors. But, I also know that all of the interventions performed are not all doctor driven. I think a lot is patient driven; the patient's desire for an induction or a c-section or to not feel like their bottom is going to explode.

At the end of the day, I felt empowered to experience labor (pain and all), but that doesn't mean my decision is the right one for all women. At the end of the day, we are all mother's, regardless of how much we felt. Who are we to judge and impose our views onto others. I feel providing everyone with an unbiased education to help each new mother make their own decisions would benefit us all.

I Survived

What a day. Took the girl's to Bodo's for breakfast bagels...wait. My day actually started in the middle of the night when the Pixie got up a bijillion times because of a newly developed cold. Now, where were we...bagels. The Princess went to school and the Pixie and I returned home to have an hour and a half speech assessment. The entourage was hardly in the door before they were nodding their heads "we can't understand a word she says, either". So the Pixie is having a little trouble being "intelligible". She should be about 62% intelligible and is hovering in the low 30s. She has many of her own words for things, strings together 6+ words, can be told to go upstairs to retrieve socks and return not only with socks, but ones that match and her shoes to boot. So, we qualified to have someone come visit us twice a month and work with us on speech. Hurray. I know it will be a slow road, but I feel I've got a victory.

Then is was off to a Doctors appointment of my own (while trying to cram for my online exam). Off to the library to minimize my distractions and accomplished a 98% on the test. Darn well better considering I've squeezed out two little feti of my own.

Then I grabbed the girls, we played at the park and now it is bath time. A very productive day, all in all.

Blurry

I kicked off summer session on Monday with our OB class. Thank goodness I've already got the first hand experience because there is over 600+ pages of reading, 12 hours of lecture, and countless articles to absorb before our first exam tomorrow. What a whirlwind. The exam is online (closed book) and is accessible any time between 0900 and 2100. Thank goodness it's flexible because Autumn has her speech assessment in the morning and I've got an appointment in the PM. Nothing like overextending one's self. Wish me luck.

Camping at Big Meadow

Living near the Blue Ridge makes it very convenient to go camping, hiking and enjoy some breath-taking views. Some friends and I went camping this weekend. This was not the typical roughing it that I did back in high school (pup tents, hot dogs, and marshmallows). We had burgers, bacon, chips, s'mores, pasta salad, eggs, sausage, juice, coffee, bagels, cream cheese, trail mix, apples, oranges. beers, mudslides.... Well, you get the point. It was worth the effort because the whole trip was delicious. We were right on the ridge and could see spring green treetops all around us. We saw dozens of deer, but luckily no bears or skunks. I have to admit, it was too cold for me. I had a great time, but I know I would double my fun if it were warmer.

I recall someone peaking their head in the tent remarking on the rosy pink sunrise, a must-see. Sorry, it was too cold for me. Besides, I have seen many sunsets and they aren't that different, just later and in the opposite direction. Once I heard coffee was on then I was happy to leave my warm cocoon.

After we packed up, we went hiking to see the waterfalls. They were raging with all the rain we've had lately. I could hike every day. The rugged trails, the butterflies, caterpillars, and groundcover...just stunning.

Can't wait to try again later this summer. Are you in ladies?

Bacon, Baked Beans and Burgers at Big Meadow Restaurant.

Sitting down for a delicious meal.

The view from our campsite.

Did I mention the birthday pudding that Becky and Marie brought for Sharon and I (the birthday girls). A candle right through the foil. LOL.

EDIT: Here's another pick of all six of us at the Falls.

The Birthday Photos

Papau's Poundcake has been a birthday tradition for the kids since they were born. The Princess has never eaten it because sugar and sweets have not been her thing. And thank goodness, I've always used real almond flavoring which we have discovered she is allergic to (tree nuts and peanuts). Abigail decided on Birthday Brownies and Pudding in lieu of cake and was excited to help decorate.

mmm...homemade brownies (have you clue how many mixes have-or are processed with-nuts! ).

The Princess making a wish.

The Pixie working very seriously on that pudding.

The BFFs (Becky, Marie, Me, and Sharon).

Me and the Prince that made all the May birthdays incredible.

Little Lady Date- Part Two

Yesterday it was time for a little lady date with the Princess, but only after I watched her do show-and-tell. The little lady isn't so little and has grown out of her clothes lickety-split. So we were off to do some clothes shopping. The princess takes after her father when it comes to clothes shopping. She has a defined idea about what she likes to wear, turns her nose up at what she doesn't like, but doesn't want to take the time to puruse the racks of clothes. I found some great buys, but next time I will just a sampling of clothes and return the one's she doesn't like.

While morning shopping didn't receive applause, lunch at the mall with one of her oldest friends was a big hit. Then ice cream and crafts at home. The girl used up glue faster than I could fine the next tube. Just like her dad and I, the princess needs a good bit of quiet time. By afternoon, she had retreated to her sister's room explaining that "it was dirty and needed to be cleaned up". She even laid out the Pixie's pj's on the floor like a Flat Stanley. Seriously, we didn't do this to her, she just came out this way (I am so lucky).

As a final special treat, she got to stay up late and watch Enchanted complete with popcorn and surround sound. She enjoyed it so much she even clapped at the very end. While the day didn't go exactly as I'd anticipated, we had a great day together and she loved being an only child for a day.

I'm off to go camping with my BFFs and a few other ladies (if that angry cloud in the west cools its heels).

BFFs

I am officially another year older. Yesterday was my birthday and it was just perfect. Let me enlighten you a little about my definition of perfect. My husband describes me as a high-maintenance-low-maintenance chick. Meaning, I don't like expensive gifts, I don't want a fancy brunch for breakfast, and I'd just as soon skip the fresh (or potted) flowers. Running shoes were my gift of choice for about three years in college before my mom flat-out refused to let something so practical be my present. I prefer a handful of inexpensive and thoughtful gifts, a warm bagel and coffee for breakfast, a drawing from the girls, and something that I can't kill or have die on me. In fact, my husband quickly realized that buying me those frivolous presents and a dozen roses only made me uncomfortable and ruined my holiday. It doesn't take a lot for me to have my perfect day, but I can not imagine anything better.

In keeping with my love of simple gifts, I was blown away when we arrived at dinner last night to see the table full of my BFFs. I have no idea how the Prince organized the whole event and everyone kept it a secret, but I was completely shocked. Growing up, girls and I never really got along. Since I've become a mom and moved to Cville, however, I have found the most lovely group of ladies. Our friendships may have started because we were in the trenches of sleep deprivation and diaper changing, but our friendships have graduated beyond chatting over the children playing at our feet. We are true friends. Our conversations are more likely to solicit who we are, than parenting advice.

The loot was awesome; a Starbuck's gift card (yummy), green-inspired t-shirts, and a photo and movie cd. And to top it off, I had no idea how many great songs were on the Fergie cd until the Prince got it for me. This is one of the first times in my life that I feel like people know ME, not how they perceive me to be. The gifts were chosen with my likes in mind without imposing what they would like for me.

And, no, I don't feel older. Life is only getting better every day.

A Little Lady Date

The Pixie and I had a little lady date today. She played hookie from school and we went for a morning walk, did our fingernails, had a lunch date with a friend, and washed both of the cars. It's very rare that she and I get to hang out together, just the two of us. She is quite a lot of fun and very chill (completely opposite from when she is competing with the Princess for attention, which is always).

Thursday will be a little lady date with the Princess. Trying to squeeze in every last drop of fun and relaxation before school starts up again on Monday. Speaking of school, final grades came in, 4 As and 1 A-, just as I suspected. Glad I've got another semester down...4 to go.

mmm...cake

I can not believe it's been a whole week since I've last posted. A huge pet peeve of mine is infrequent bloggers and now I've become one of them. AAAAAA! I make no excuses, but I have been busy. Since I last wrote, I completely reorganized both of the girls rooms, the Pixie is now in a full-fledged toddler bed, the Princess has a new desk in which to create her copious art masterpieces, the girls and I visited some good friends in Fredericksburg, my mother came to visit for two days, the Princess and I went to another birthday party, all of the in-laws came by with birthday presents, and then it was Mother's Day.

I have to gush for a moment. I absolutely love being a mom. I won't paint some rosy picture and say raising children is all peaches and cream. There are times when I dread the monotony of day-to-day child care and the sibling jealousy makes me cringe. But I love watching the Pixie solve her puzzles in stellar speed and I love listening to the Princess tell me about the inner thoughts of her lovey Pooh Bear. To watch them give comfort when the other is sad and seeing them play together in elaborate fantasy worlds of school, house, or doctor is inspiring. Lately it's been so much fun just to have them cook with me or help me unload the dishwasher. They even make running to the store for milk more fun.

So, thank you little ladies for filling up my life with giggles and hugs. Next to my husband and my kids everything else is just icing. Without a foundation of cake, icing has no place. But when you've got the tastiest cake around, the icing just makes it that much sweeter. Wishing you all your own little slice of tasty cake.

Free at Last

Not entirely, but it's nice not to have classes for two whole weeks!!! The final on Saturday was horrible. Totally bombed it (relative to how I had done on the previous exams). But I can't change the past and I wouldn't have studied any differently, so what can you do?

On the bright side, the Princess turned 5 yesterday! She was such a sweet little party girl. A gorgeous day for our outdoor party of painting, water balloons and parachutes. Brownies (decorated by the birthday girl herself) and make-your-own pudding for all her friends. A sincere 5 year old gushing, "This is just what I wanted" to literally every gift she opened. I am so proud of what a sweet and kind little girl she is. At a follow-up appointment a couple of weeks ago, the NP asked her how she got so sweet. Her response, "Because I'm friends with everyone". No truer words have been spoken. The princess greets everyone with open arms.

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY, PRINCESS!!!

(The Pixie is on the left, The Birthday Princess on the right)

One To Go

I'm down to just one final exam. Got a 98 on my peds exam (that is clearly my area of interest). The teachers are a little slow on grading papers, clinical and what not, but (unless I am way off base) I should be pulling in all As again this semester. All that really matters is that I keep over a B to stay in the program because my future employer does not really care what I got in Leadership class.

Despite exams hanging over my head, I have done a good bit on not studying this week. Too much information becomes overwhelming and I opt for winging it. Not wise, but it's worked for me so far. Tonight I'm going to watch Grey's Anatomy and tomorrow I'm going to meet an old friend in Richmond for lunch. I will use up a good bit of my studying hours with driving and catching up, but it will be well worth it.

Just an exam Saturday afternoon, then I can indulge in a guilt free evening at my friend's house and enjoy wine, fondue and a movie. I know I just did this last weekend, but you can never indulge too much. This will just be the beginning of two relaxing weeks. I've got birthday parties, playdates, camping, Vivace's, reading, cleaning, and sleeping-in all on the agenda. Less than 48 hours and counting.

Bagels, Books, and Black Holes

Today started far too early. The Pixie got up before the sun did (who knew the sun would sleep all day), but once I accepted being awake, I got to read the paper while playing airplane. Then, the Princess, the Pixie and myself headed off to get a morning bagel at Bodo's. I've always been disappointed that they don't have very fun bagels like blueberry or pumpkin, but they are by far the best bagel in town. Chewy in the middle and a nice crusty outer. Then a little browsing at the bookstore where I nabbed the hardback version of The Labyrinth for $8 less than the paperback version. Then we were off to the NRAO open house to see the telescopes and learn about constellations. The girls loved it. We even got to crawl into an inflatable planetarium and see the night sky.

Growing up we always spent a lot of time looking up at the night sky. I remember sitting in a field far from the DC lights watching the meteors. I also remember being freaked out by the bull frogs that wouldn't give us peace. I've always enjoyed astronomy. I took a class in high school (we actually had a planetarium in our school) and a class in college. I really look forward to the days that the girls can manage to keep their peepers open long enough to see the summer sky (it's just far too cold for me to haul them out in the winter when it get's dark early). I hope they had as much fun today as I did. I think they liked stamping their log the best, but I think they learned a little something, too.

Hello Sunshine

Since my last post, the weather has been rainy and cold and downright moody. Didn't help that since my last post school has been more painful than labor. Don't even get me started. So, I'm going to avoid the rant in my head and focus on some fun Princess stories.

Yesterday as I was dressing the Princess, I managed to get her shirt stuck on her head making it look like she was wearing a habit. She looked cute and I told her she looked like a nun. I immediately got a pouty girl pleading, "Don't call me names, mommy". I had to laugh because she thought 'nun' was a mean word. To her credit, there's no reason she should know what a nun is; we aren't religious and I have not gone over the religious basics with her yet. Reminder to self: do this before Kindergarten starts.

The Princess is also an incredible picky eater. Last night at 8:30 she crept down the stairs asking to be tucked in and saw that I was making myself dinner. Asking for a "midnight snack", I told her she was welcome to try some roasted red peppers or lettuce if she was hungry. To my great surprise she ate them both. I doubt she'll do it again in the near future, but it was nice to see her try something new. (Granted the amount of pepper consumed was smaller than the head of an eraser, but it still counts).

The Pixie is in a huge puzzle phase. We have a stack of about 12 and she will spend an hour doing them over and over and over again. This is really helping her speech. I can now add "choo choo train" to the list of "recognizable" words. Every little bit helps.

Just What I Needed

After a much stressful Friday, I got to unwind with some tasty Purple Haze (raspberry wheat beer purchased by the glorious Prince), the company of great friends, and a luxurious dip in the hot tub. The rest of the weekend seems to have followed suit. With clinicals over for the semester, there was time to make scrumptious grilled veggie sandwiches and to take a stroll to the oh-so-convenient town center yesterday. This morning I had time to read the whole paper, the little ladies and I played puzzles and playdough and the best part....the Princess voluntarily decided her room and the play room needed a cleaning while the Pixie helped me unload dishes. It's a little drizzly out, but that's not going to stop us from going on our 6 mile walk for the March of Dimes this afternoon. Fresh air and exercise. That's my idea of a perfect weekend.

I Am Not A Groupie

For some reason, nursing school insists on having a 10+ page paper and a group presentation for every class. Is that really necessary? I don't really feel like I'm getting as much out of it as I'm putting into it. And while I realize that my future career requires team effort, I can't say that a group project is really teaching me how to work as a team. It's really just showing me that certain professional approaches will always be oil and water and that if you want something done you have to do it yourself. Just needing to blow off some steam.

A little shout out to my big sister....Happy Birthday! Take a bubble bath, you deserve it!

Oh, the Difference A Day (Or Two) Makes

The sun is shining, I went to the gym this morning, the Princess got a clean bill of health from the NP, and I even have a little time left to run errands before I pick up the little ladies. Life is good.

Potpourri

I am short on time and have heaps of homework to catch up on. Here is a hodge podge of thoughts.

An old coworker of mine was murdered on Saturday. Our interaction was only work-related, but she impressed me as a very sweet and thoughtful girl. Senseless, sensless violence.

Lessons learned from a life lost too soon: Our time here is brief. Don't keep putting everything off until you get older, richer, or have more time. You will end up too old with a lot of money, but no memories.

I got to visit the cardiac cath lab today for school. What a great environment. It was clean and smelled good and the teamwork was incredible. It was refreshing to see a different side of nursing and I liked it...a lot. That was the last bit of my clinical for this semester. WOO HOO!

The Princess is recovered from pneumonia. The Pixie still has a really chunky cough, but as a small sign of improvement, she is sleeping better. The Prince has come down with the nasty virus himself and is just miserable. Hopefully he will feel better by week's end.

I, myself, am exhausted. I am already fantasizing about a bubble bath and cozy comforters. Just 7 hours until I get to take a little break for myself.

Virus Anyone?

The Princess is finally on the upswing from her pneumonia. To balance the health, the Pixie has a sinus infection, and the Prince feels like he's swallowing razor blades. Little kids may have a tough time sharing toys, but they have no trouble sharing colds. So generous.

This weekend is my last clinical until summer session....woo hoo!!! I've actually had a really good experience. Many of my cardiac patients have had a history of congenital heart anomalies. It's definitely made things more interesting for me.

I've noticed the time stamp on my posts is way off. You better believe I am not posting at 5AM.

What's In a Name?

So, in reading other blogs, I find everyone has unique ways of referring to their significant others on such a public forum. Nicknames or initials or full names...decisions, decisions. My girls both have the same first initial "A". No, we didn't plan it that way, but it would get confusing if I didn't clarify (Big A or Little A). So I won't go that route. I could use full names. Their names are not so unique that using them would help creepy men track them down. I could use their middle names, but they rhyme and are names I've already given to their baby dolls (and, YES, we were aware that they rhymed, and NO, we didn't do it on purpose). But, in keeping with the culture of internet anonymity, I will use nicknames. I will refer to the little ladies as "The Princess" and "The Pixie". My husband shall get the honor of "The Prince".

The Princess is almost 5. Her designation is not without thought. She is selective in her food choices, despises getting messy, has hair that is straight and neat, and is generous with her affection. The Pixie is 2 and, while she's equally cuddly as the Princess, her approach to life is much zestier. The messier food, the tastier. Her hair is uncontrollably curly. And, while she is short on words, she is big at getting her point across. The Prince is the best. He is science fiction, I am scientist. He likes his office dark and dungeony, I like things bright and sunny. He is a storyteller, I am painfully brief. But we have the same approach to marriage and parenting. We love watching movies and pick apart television. We love each other for our quirks and keep each other sane.

All of this jibber jabber to say the Princess has bacterial pneumonia. The Pixie has had an equally lingering cough and congestion. She will get the once over from the NP this afternoon. Wish us luck.