Laughing Out Loud

Grosgrain: Vivi Reborn GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-10-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Grosgrain: Vivi Reborn GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-07-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Grosgrain: Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'm back...

2009-04-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have not had a second for anything except school the last couple of months, but somehow I was able to squeeze in a photoshoot of the kids this weekend. I thought I would post a couple of the pictures. I didn't realize how old my kids looked until I got these pictures taken, they seem so grown up!

I have a week left in this semester and then it is right on to my summer semester. I will be taking my LPN boards in August and then just 2 semesters later I will be taking my RN boards. It is flying by! I will try to update again soon....

Ahhh...free time!

2008-12-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

So I am finally done with this semester. I had my last exam yesterday and believe it or not I got 100%. I am so relieved to be done and now I feel strange not studying for something. I am going to take full advantage of my free time though. Awhile ago Gary bought me a sewing machine..it was suppose to be my Christmas present ( I always get mine early!). I have been so busy with school, that I haven't been able to use it much and it has been driving me crazy. So today I played with it and ended up making Kennedy a cute scarf. I pieced together a few different fabrics for the front and put a really soft fleece on the back, and even added a little tag. Even though I am a rookie, I think it turned out cute (just don't look too close).

I'll leave you with a picture of Kennedy giving her approval!

2008-11-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post some pictures of the kids from the last week or so. We had so much fun trick-or-treating with the Schultz gang! My best friend Holly was nice enough to let us use her neighborhood, thanks Holly and Tom for hanging out with us!

some days are just better than others!

2008-11-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Last week I started my labor and delivery rotation at Hackley and I loved it! I watched a birth and helped take care of Mom and baby afterwards. I walked out of the hospital realizing I made the right choice in deciding to become a nurse. Yesterday, however was a different story. I had a great patient and loved taking care of her all day, but we also have an RN that is in charge of the patient and we have to communicate with her and report out at the end of the shift. Many of the RN's seem very bothered by having students to work with, mine was one of them. I have a problem where I take every thing to heart and I really let the RN's attitude get to me. I need to work on this!

So on my way home from my cruddy day at the hospital, Gary called me and said Reid had an accident at his mom's today, but he was okay. Apparently he climbed on an office chair and grabbed an ink pen off of the desk..and then fell and the pen hit his eye. (makes my eyes water, just thinking about it!) So I get to my mother-in-laws house and realize that it must have gotten worse during his nap, because it looks bad! And I think if it looked this bad when it happened she would have taken him into the ER right then. So I instantly decide he needs to go to the hospital, and we end up taking him to the medi center. When we get there, they wont even touch him..they say he may need to have an eye specialist called in and the ER needs to make that call. So we head to the ER and as soon as I walk in the door they take one look at him and make us the first priority. When we get into the exam room the doctor looks all around his eye and does some tests on Reid to be sure his eyes are moving together. He doesn't think there is a fracture and it looks like he came a hairs width away from hitting his tear duct. Lucky boy. So as we are leaving and I am reading the paperwork, under diagnosis it states...Black Eye. Yes, my 2 year old baby boy got his first black eye. It's a good thing I am going to be a nurse, because I think my family is going to need one on a regular basis!

This isn't a very good picture of it, but he wouldn't sit still long enough to get a good one. I thank God it wasn't worse.

Just another day in the life...

2008-10-15T08:57:00.001-07:00

At 5am the alarm clock goes off. I have to reach around Kennedy to shut it off, who at some point crawled into our bed in the middle of the night.

5:15am...Get on the scale...no change, I'm mad enough to eat a donut on my way to school.

6:45am...drop the kids off at my mother-in-laws house.

7:20...Get to the college...learn how to administer meds and injections. I think I am going to need my own injection just to do this to someone else.

11am...get a break from school, stop at Walmart to get badly needed cat food. Spend a ridiculous amount of time there and get into my car and realize I forgot the cat food.
Stop and see Jenn..dropping off some goodies for a friend of hers that is having a baby.

1pm...head home, wishing I could take a nap...but have to get the kids.

3pm ...start some homework and get dinner ready.

3:30pm...Gary is home from work. He brings me a gigantic fountain diet pop from Wesco. Love him for it, yum! I turn around from cutting up onion to find that Reid has preceded to draw a masterpiece in blue marker all over my bottom cupboards. I am so mad because the day before he took the same marker and colored my windows. I thought I threw it away!

4pm..get out Kennedy's shirt she is wearing for school pictures tomorrow. It's a very cute short, puffy sleeved turtleneck that I got at Children's Place. I love the shirt and bought it specifically for this day. I figure she better try it on though just in case its too big. Well I never saw this coming..she through a massive fit about it being a turtleneck. She said that it was choking her and refused to wear it. I was so mad, this was my plan and I had no plan B. After a lot of arguing, Gary told her that I had some lotion that we could put on her neck that would keep the shirt from choking her. He is good..it totally worked and everything ended up fine. I owe him.

4:30pm...everyone is watching Drake and Josh. They are trying to fit their entire fists into their mouths and Kennedy and Reid decide it would be a great idea too. Kennedy tries so hard, but can't do it...Reid tries and almost has it, when he suddenly pukes all over the couch! He couldn't fit his hand in his mouth, but he found his gag reflex.

4:35pm...Shampoo couch.

4:45pm...dinner is done, Chili...mm,mmm,mmm....I think about how badly I want to eat a gigantic bowl of it as I scarf down a smoothie and head out the door to the college for my Anthropology class.

4:46pm...Drive to the corner and pass a sheriff car in the middle of the road. There is a kid in the road laying on his stomach, the sheriff is on top of him...looks like a gun/tazer(sp?) at his back. Wow...it's almost like COPS is filming here...we might be famous! I am so excited to see this I instantly call Gary..he will love it. (I also remind him to lock the door)

9pm..Get out of class...soo tired I am a little light headed and almost lose it right there in the hallway. I was so embarrassed. I probably should have eaten the chili and maybe even the donut earlier!

9:30pm..get home just in time for the end of Biggest Loser.

10pm...I start getting everyone's clothes ready for the next day. Kennedy has school pictures and I am making a barrette for her hair.

11pm...finish everything up and go to bed..

(weight update...I forgot to post last week and somehow I have logged it wrong. I also keep track of this on Nutrisystems website so I must have copied it wrong on here. I am down 17 lbs all together.)

Why can't everything be this fun?

2008-09-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

So last Friday I went to Scrapbook 101 for a crop with my sister and Mya. I have been putting my looovve for scrapbooking on hold while dealing with school. But, Jenn talked me into taking a brake and I am so glad she did. I remember why I love it so much and I just wish everything in life was as just as easy and fun (not to mention stress-relieving)! I am full of inspiration and would love to do it every Friday!

Week 7 of the ol' diet...down 1.6 pounds...total 13.6 pounds!

Here are some random pictures of the kids over the last couple of weeks.

Bummer...

2008-09-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

It's week 6 and no change in the weight department...bummer! I think it might be time to bring out the big guns! I guess I better plug in the elliptical. I watched Biggest Loser tonight, very motivating! So maybe next week the scale will budge.
I have a busy week ahead of me. Next Monday I have my first Pharmacology Exam and an Exam in NUR 123. I have 2 pages worth of meds to memorize, I think I am going to need a miracle to get through it. I talked to Holly tonight ( she is an RN at Hackley) She was able to keep me from pulling my hair out. Thanks Hol, it probably wont be the last time!
I am trying to download some pictures, but blogland wont let me for some reason...I'll try again later. Have a good week!

week 5 ALREADY!

2008-09-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update tonight because I have a nursing test out tomorrow morning and I need to practice a little. First things first...weighed in this morning and I am down 1.4 pounds, Total lost is 12 pounds! I got my second order of Nutrisystem and I am so much happier because it was filled with all the foods I like ( basically, pizza and chocolate:)

This weekend we decided to put Reid into a big boy bed. It was not planned at all. I had to do it because he woke up twice on Saturday screaming because his arm was wedged in the rail on his crib. He has really big muscles! So Gary and I decided we better just move him. Scared to death to take the crib down just in case it didn't work out, but I do not have enough room to keep it up, so down it went. I was a little sad while watching Gary take it apart, knowing it will never be put back together at my house:( But, we have had a lot of fun with Reid in his new bed. Saturday night I was completely prepared to spend the evening trying to get him to stay in his bed. To out surprise, he only got out once on Saturday night and after I put him back he fell asleep right away and we haven't had a problem since. I think he likes being a big boy! I'll try to post pictures of his cool new bed later this week.

It's week 4 and the first day of preschool!

2008-09-09T18:17:00.001-07:00

Today was Kennedy's 2nd day of preschool. Gary took Monday off to take her because I had class all day. Today I didn't have class until 6pm so it was my first day bringing her. She is in the morning group so I got her an Reid ready and we were on our way at 8:15AM. I was doing okay because Gary told me she was great the day before, she actually told him he had to leave so she could go play. So I was thinking it would be no big deal...Until she hugged me and whispered in my ear, "mom can you just come into my class with me for a little bit?" Ugh! I felt my hear break a little bit. I have been used to dropping her off at day care for the last 4 years, but it is so much easier when you know the person you are leaving your daughter with. Here, I am trusting a woman I don't even know, to watch after her, take her to the bathroom and make sure she is okay. I know it will get easier. She is already very excited for tomorrow, and told me that "preschool is so easy mom!"

Reid also likes preschool. They have this rocker in the hallway that I have to pick him off of kicking and screaming. Then I get to hear him ask where Kennedy is for the next 3 hours. He misses her so much!

Here is Reid doing his tricks on the 4 wheeler. I have a bad feeling we will have some broken bones in the future!

This is a picture of the soldered necklace I made recently. I got this really fun solder kit at a scrapbook convention earlier this year and have been trying to squeeze in time to play with it. I cut up tiny pieces of scrapbook paper to make the flower and pressed it between 2 small pieces of glass. Then soldered around it. I have also been having fun with some new beading, so I made the charm hanging from it too. Lots of fun, wish I had more time for it though.

Weigh In...So I am going to switch my weigh in day to Tuesday next week because I have class all day every Monday so Tuesdays will be much easier. I weighed in yesterday and I lost 1.8 pounds...so that's a total of 10.6 pounds! Very happy about this, and hoping I can lose another 10 next month!

Week 3

2008-09-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

I know it's Tuesday, I'm late! I did weigh in yesterday, I just didn't get a chance to log it. We had a busy last week of summer. Kennedy starts preschool next Monday, but my classes began today. It always seemed like when I was in high school the first few days were always spent getting everyone used to the class and easing you into it. This is the biggest change I have noticed in college. No one has time to ease into anything. On the first day of class you are already behind! In all of my nursing classes the professors emailed our assignments to us a week before and they were to be finished on the first day. I have been in class all day today. It's 9:30pm and I just got out of my last class. I am exhausted, but I have to prepare for my lab on hand hygeine and vitals for class tomorrow morning.
So, last week I did good on my diet. I am down another 1.2 pounds. So my grand total is 8.6 pounds gone. This is good, it's kind of slow, but from what I understand the slower it comes off the more likely it will stay off for good. I think my hardest part is going to be finding time to get all the food in that I am suppose to eat on the days I am in class. Today was so crazy, all I got to eat was a bowl of Nutriflakes (aka: branflakes, the "nutri" thing cracks me up!) this morning, a grilled chicken salad at lunch, and I just had a "Nutri" crunch bar. I know it's not good to eat too little, your body will start a starvation mode and hold onto all the fat. I definitely don't want this to happen, so I will figure out how to eat everything.
I have lots of new pictures of the kids I will post at some point this week, it's been awhile and I know it's way more fun to read someone's blog when you have their cute kids to look at! Have a great week!

Week 2 weigh in..

2008-08-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

We met with Kennedy's preschool teacher this evening at our house. She is great and Kennedy is more excited than nervous now. We have an open house to go to next week to see her class and meet some of the other kids. Should be lots of fun.
So I have stuck to Nutrisystem 100% this week. It is much easier this week than it was last week. I didn't eat anything too gross. I had the beef patty tonight for dinner. I made a cheese burger with fat free cheese and lots of tomatoes. The beef patty was so good, but very strange to prepare. It was dried, so when I opened the package it was hard, crumbly, and dry. It looked like turtle food. All I had to do was pour water on it and like magic it turned into a real hamburger. Very strange...but great. I think next month the only things I will order for dinners are the pizzas and beef patty's. Yum! Soo I lost another 2 pounds this week, for a total of 7.6 pounds in 2 weeks. It's amazing what 7 pounds feels like. I was able to breathe in a pair of jeans yesterday that had been cutting my circulation off for the last couple months!

I made it...

2008-08-18T05:35:00.000-07:00

Gary got home last night and we were all so glad to see him. Reid finally stopped asking where dad was and had someone to wrestle with for a while before bed. Gary had a great time up north and was not looking forward to work this morning. That's the worst thing about a vacation, you spend most of it dreading the return to work.
The yard sale Saturday went really well, we made quite a bit of money that we are using for the kids fall/winter clothes and shoes. Kennedy starts preschool in September and she definitely needs some special things!
Okay, so this morning was weigh-in day. I made it though my first week on Nutrisystem and I am down 5.6 pounds. Whoohoo! On a normal week I probably would have gained a pound so this is great for me! I am very happy with the program so far. Not all of the food is good though, in fact some of it is kind of strange. For example, the meat inside of the chicken breast looks more like hot dog meat than actual chicken and I am dreading the split pea soup that I accidentally ordered this month. I am actually pretty proud of myself that I made it the entire week without cheating. Last night was the hardest. When Gary got home, I wanted so badly to go for a drive with him and the kids and get ice cream. That would be typical for us. Hopefully every week will get easier and easier.

Weighing In

2008-08-13T11:14:00.001-07:00

Okay, I know I haven't been on here in a while. It's been a busy and fast summer and I can't believe it's almost time to go back to school.
So what's new this week? Well Gary is up north staying at a cabin with a bunch of guys until Sunday night and I am holding down the fort. I can't believe how much I miss him. I guess we are just not apart very often and I can say I definitely take that for granted. He does so much more than I ever realized around here. My car is in the shop, (the windows are acting funny and it's draining the battery) So sometime today I get to drive to Grand Haven and switch it with the loaner car they gave us, not a big deal, but it's something that normally I never have to think about because Gary takes care of it. I also have to remember to take the garbage out to the street tonight, and the lawn really could use a mow, again all no big deal, but usually Gary's "jobs". I am also trying to get all of the boxes I need to go through in the garage, in preparation for my mother-in-laws yard sale on Saturday. It's a pain in the butt going through this stuff when the kiddos want to "help". If Gary were here he would be doing all the box-movin. He deserves this mini-vacation though. He has been working so hard since I have gone full-time at school. I just miss him a ton!
It's no secret that I am less than happy with my weight lately. I am just at that point that I have to do something and what I have been doing just isn't cutting it. I have been contemplating putting this in my blog..but I think it will help me in the long run. Sooo, I started Nutrisystem this week. I spent some time researching it and read a lot of inspiring stories of people that have had success. Donna Downey is one of them. She is an awesome artist and scrapbooker and has been on Nutrisystem for about 7 months. She lost an incredible amount of weight and looks amazing. Here is the link to her blog with her before and after pics, in case you are curious. http://donnadowney.typepad.com/simply_me/page/2/. So anyway I decided to blog about this weight loss journey I am taking. Hopefully it will keep me a little accountable and help me to stay inspired and motivated. My first weigh in will be on Monday, lets hope I survive till then!

Coming Up For Air...

2008-06-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

Thought I would try to get a blog in this week since it has been over a month since my last one! The pictures below show what I have been up to .
The clock says 2AM, this has been typical since I started this semester. I thank the makers of Monster energy drink, I don't know how I would survive nursing school without you! It's actually kind of nice staying up this late to do work. It is so quiet in the house, no interruptions. And this way I don't miss time with Gary and the kids when they are up. Even though this is the hardest thing I have ever done, it is also one of the best. I am really enjoying this semester. I survived both of my presentations, yea! And I just finished my first nursing class and passed my final exam with only 3 wrong answers! Whoohoo!

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We have been trying to spend a lot of time outside while it's nice out. The kids get so bored and start to drive me crazy when we have so many days in a row with rain.

busy, busy...

2008-05-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, my first week of classes have proven to be even busier than I thought. I really need to learn time management! My first class was nursing 1oo. It is really exciting to finally be learning something directly related to nursing and to meet the people I will be with for the next 18 months. I have a big presentation due in that class at midterm. I think I could already throw up! I'm not a real fan of presentations, so you can imaging how excited I was to learn that I will have another presentation in my English class at midterm! I took English as an online class so I thought I would be free and clear of any public speaking assignments. Well that's what I get for thinking.

Jenn and I spent some time last week and over the weekend with the kids in Mason, with my mom's side of the family. We stayed with my Aunt Julie and had a really good time. Thanks Julie for putting up with us and our wild kids that basically used your house as their own personal playground! We also managed to squeeze in some shopping at the Great Lakes Mega Meet Scrapbook Convention. Lots of inspiration and motivation to get back into scrapbooking...it's just too bad I will be too busy the next 2 months stressing about my presentations!

I think I can get used to this...

2008-05-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first day home. Not having to get Kennedy and Reid ready and out the door at 6:30 in the morning was nice. The kids seem like they are in better moods too. I went to the college and got all my books for the summer semester. $400 later I am all set! I am getting some reading done so hopefully I can get ahead a little bit. I think we are going to go outside today and enjoy the sun! Here are some new pictures of the kids and my beautiful bouquet of flowers from my friends at JTI.

Reid's new hiding place

Reid and Kennedy

Reid and Fisher

Reid wanted to eat his cereal with a shovel!

Cry Baby...

2008-05-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of work. You would think I would be super happy right now. I'm not. I was emotional as soon as I walked in the door at 6:56 this morning. I have worked at JTI for almost 10 years and I have seen these people more than I see my husband and kids. I have made some life long friendships and I am so sad to go. At 9AM they all threw me a going away party and made me cry...again! I had actually been crying since I walked in the door though and saw Felix, one of our supervisors (he has this knack for it, it wasn't the first time I have cried on Felix's shoulder in the last 9 years ) My plant manager said some really nice things and they got me a beautiful cake and pitched in on a gift certificate at the Glamazon(my favorite hair salon!) and a gift certificate to buy enough scrubs to last me a very long time! You guys are the best! And some of my favorite people got me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that are making my house smell wonderful right now. After work I went out with Lesley for lunch & some drinks. Angi, Ed and Arend surprised me by showing up too. I had so much fun, all though I think I may have drank a little too much. I'm not a big drinker so the drinks added up fast and it seemed like every time I went to the bathroom, someone would buy me a drink while I was gone. So at some point tomorrow I have to go get my car!

So tonight I am feeling kind of homesick. I feel a little lost without my routine and the people I have been close to for so long. I think things will be better in a week when I start my new routine.I just hope they know how much I appreciate them...

30 is fabulous!

2008-04-21T03:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Holly! Today my best friend Holly turns 30! And let me tell you she makes 30 look really good. On Saturday, Gary's mom watched the kids over night and we got to go out for Holly's birthday party ( thank you so much Patty, you have no idea how much we needed it!). We had so much fun! We started at the Brown Bear in Pentwater, we had the whole top floor to ourselves. Then we moved on to the Antler, and finally finished the night up at the Pub. My feet still hurt! When we got to the pub they were pretty much ready to close the place down for the night. They didn't have a DJ and only one poor girl to bartend for our huge group! They were so good to us though, they got some help to bartend and let Gary and Steve in the DJ booth! I think this was Gary's dream come true, I see a new career in his future:) It was so much fun, thank you Holly!

The birthday girl

The DJ's

Holly, me, Kristen and Alli

Yesterday was so warm, we packed up the kids and went to my dad's to play at the lake. We couldn't keep the kids out of the water. Little by little each article of clothing got wet. I
guess we should have figured that would happen and just let them wear bathing suits

It's so good to be home

2008-04-15T15:57:00.001-07:00

I had one of those days where you just can't wait to be home. I took today off of work because I had 2 exams starting at 4pm. I have been studying at the college since 9:00 this morning and I just feel drained. The kids are at my mother-in-laws house with Gary and I am just enjoying the quiet house before they burst in the door.

But Mom....

This morning I walk into Kennedy's room to help her tie her shoes and I notice something on her bed. It looks like writing in bright pink pen. I am instantly angry! So I asked her, " What is this, Who did this?" She of course has no idea. So I look a little closer and realize it says kennedy, with a few lines scratching it out. I am super mad by now and she is crying and saying sorry over and over and then she says, " but Mom, Dad gave me a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast!" That girl is sneaky. She was hoping I would forget about her scribbles on the bed and focus my anger at Gary for giving her a cookie for breakfast! I told her next time she wanted to try to lie about writing on her bed she shouldn't sign it with her name. She has so much to learn! (by the way Gary is definately not off the hook for the cookie thing either!)

As promised...

2008-04-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Better late than never..here is a pic of my "new do " as promised. I am still learning how to do it, but so far it takes a lot less time in the morning. And when I am trying to get my 4 year old daughter, my 16 month old son and my 30 year old husband out the door at 6AM every minute counts!

FYI: I have a stock tip for anyone that likes to play the market....ipod shuffle. Gary and I have purchased 3 since Christmas! The curse of the ipod lives on. I blogged awhile ago about the ipod that I bought Gary for Christmas (ipod#1) that accidently ruined my laptop screen. We replaced the laptop a few days later and last month Gary left that ipod in his jeans pocket and it went through the wash and fried it. Well Gary decided he just couldn't live without one so he went out and replaced it (ipod #2). After that I thought that I would probably use one a lot at school when I study, so Gary surprised me with at cute little purple one (ipod #3). Last week I threw in a load of laundry before I left for work. When I got to work Gary called me and said not to wash the jeans that were on top of the dirty clothes because he thought he left his ipod in the pocket again. I said, "oh you mean the jeans that are swishing around in soap and water as we speak?" So needless to say, we are NOT allowed to give Apple any more of our money and Gary has to sit in his car if he wants to listen to the radio and he is not allowed to own anything smaller than a toilet paper roll.

Bad blogger with a cool purse...

2008-04-04T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok...Jenn says I am the worst blogger EVER! I know I am. I always want to blog and I think about it daily, but time gets away from me and before I know it, it's time for bed. So I am really, REALLY going to try to be a better blogger...I promise.

So today I left work early so I could get my hair cut. It should have been done a month ago, but I am as bad at making hair appointments as I am at keeping my blog up. I ended up going to Glamazon, which is the salon in the AMAZON building by heritage landing in Muskegon. All I can say is wow! This was my first time there and it was so nice. I was just telling my sister that it has been a long time since I have left a haircut absolutely loving my hair, lately I have been lucky to just walk out with it dry. Well this time I was ready to go out! I loved it and I had the coolest guy cut it. I never thought I would like a guy cutting my hair but he was amazing. So if you are ever looking for a new place to get a cut, I highly recommend Greg from Glamazon. ( it doesn't hurt that he is pretty easy on the eyes too!) I will post a pic tomorrow of my new do.

My sister is having a Lill purse party in May and I am starting to get really excited! I first heard about Lill when my best friend Holly gave me a gift certificate for my birthday. I spent the next 3 days designing my perfect purse, and I loved it! They are a little pricey, but worth every cent. There are a ton of different styles to choose from and you can mix and match any fabric you want. It's a dream come true! I have been trying to get ahead start on the one I want to order at the party otherwise I will be there all night deciding. Here is my favorite one so far, but I am still looking! The next picture is the Lill purse I already own. Every woman needs one or two of these...

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2008-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon at our house. I don't have school next week so it felt strange not having to study for anything. We just played with the kids all day and caught up on some laundry. I really have missed having free time to just do regular things, I usually always have my anatomy and physiology book out. So here are some pictures of our weekend...

Just a quick one...

2008-02-12T19:05:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to do a quick post tonight. It's 10pm and I just got home from school and I am exhausted! Here are some pics from the last couple of days. There are some funny one's of Reid with his "mohawk" at dinner Friday night. He was loving the attention he was getting from his new do!

I have GOOD news!

2008-02-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Okay so after my awful day on Friday with the whole laptop ipod thing, I finally got some good news in the mail on Saturday. Since about 2004 I have been waiting to start the nursing program at MCC and I finally got my letter! I will be starting on May 12th, which means I will be quitting my job of almost 10 years to go to school full-time. A little scary, but I am so excited.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Kennedy helped me this afternoon by feeding Reid his lunch

oopsie!

2008-02-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

So who knew that putting your Ipod on your laptop would cause the screen to break? Not me. Last night while completely engulfed in the season premere of LOST, I set Gary's Ipod on my keyboard to my laptop which was sitting right next to me on the couch. At some point the laptop closed a little bit and the Ipod was touching the screen. And according to Randy, "The Geek Squad Guy" at Best Buy, this acts just like a magnet on your TV screen. I came home early from work because I wasn't feeling good and found the laptop that I have only had for a year, and for once in my life opted out of the extra $200 extended warranty,completely ruined. Now I have to either buy a new $700 screen for a perfectly good laptop or buy a whold new computer for $900. I am soo angry about this. I dreaded calling Gary at work to tell him how smart I was, I even thought about blamming one of the kids! But my wonderful husband was very understanding. I thank God for his patients. I knew I just should have stayed in bed today!

Happy Birthday Kennedy!

2008-01-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!

Picture of the Day. Reid vs his speghetti. Reid put up a good fight, but I think the speghetti won!

Wow, Kennedy is 4 years old. I can't believe it, she is changing and growing so fast. Her birthday was on Wednesday, we took her out to eat at her favorite place, Cee Cee's pizza. She was so excited to sit and watch cartoons on their TV's and eat pizza! We will be getting together with my parents and Jenn and the gang on Saturday for cake and ice cream since Saturday is also Cindy's birthday. Gary's mom will be flying home from Florida next week to see Kennedy and Reid too and she plans on doing something for Kennedy since she was not here for her birthday. Lucky girl is practically having a week long birthday party!

Next Tuesday I start back to school. The Christmas break has been so nice. I passed my last Anatomy and Physiology105 class with a B (see Julie, I know I missed cookie day, but at least it wasn't wasted:) so now I am moving on to Anatomy 106. I have been told that it is a little easier than 105 so lets hope it isn't as time consuming either. This is my last semester having to take classes and work full-time too. Sometime this spring I will be quitting my job to go to school full-time taking nursing classes. I am getting so excited, but also a little scared to quit the job that has been a part of my life for 10 years. I know this is what I am suppose to be doing though and it will all be worth it in the end.

this just doesn't make sense

2007-12-25T04:53:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone, Merry Christmas! Okay, it's 8AM on Christmas morning and I am the ONLY one awake! This just doesn't seem right. Kennedy was a ball of fire lastnight at Aunt Jeanne's and I could barely get her to bed lastnight because she was so excited! I didn't even go to bed till after midnight and I am awake. On a normal morning Kennedy would have already been in my room twice trying to get me and Gary up. This will probably be my last year not having to get up at 5AM to open gifts so I guess I better not complain! I think I will go clang some dishes around a bit to see if I can wake anyone. Hope you all have a great day!

Here are some random pictures of Christmas activities over the last couple days....

Decker

2007-12-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Here is our labradoodle, Decker. We call him " Decker the Wrecker". He woke me up early this morning wanting to go outside and play in the 5 inches of snow that we got over night. This picture makes me laugh, you can't even see his eyes through the snow on his face!

I think I finally finished up the last of my Christmas shopping. Jenn and I braved the bad weather and met at Target last night around 8pm to get things finished. Now I just have a TON of wrapping to do. Today I have to meet my study group. We will finish up exams next week, I can't wait to be done for a while. Hope you all had a good weekend!

Lucky me

2007-12-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky. Every Saturday I have a date. Kennedy wakes me up at 7am EVERY Saturday morning and we get up together, before anyone else does and we have a "sugar toast and cartoon date". It's our own little tradition, although I wish it started at 8am instead of 7! I made her sugar toast about a year ago and now it's all she asks for on the weekend. As tired as I am when she wakes me up I really do like spending the time with just her.

2007-12-09T17:24:00.000-08:00

Gary and I went grocery shopping with the kids this afternoon. When we were walking back to our truck I noticed how close the car parked right next to us. I was instantly mad. I couldn't even squeeze through myself let alone open the door to load the kids in their car seats. So I started complaining about how rude it was to do that to someone when the passenger window rolled down and a woman began apologizing to us. I could see that she was really embarrassed. She said I am so sorry, my husband did this. I told her, I know I have one of those too! ( he was in the store, she stayed in the car probably because she couldn't get her door open!) So I grabbed the kids while Gary backed the truck up so we could open our door. Truth is I know Gary has probably put me in a situation like that a million times so I know exactly how she felt. And I know her husband probably got an earful when he got back too.

Tonight I have been thinking a lot about Reid. It was close to this time last year that we had to spend a week at Devos Childrens Hospital because he had RSV. I have never been so scared in my whole life. I will never forget following the ambulance to Grand Rapids thinking I was going to loose him. He is such a tough little man though. I remember spending a week sleeping on the hospital floor. The nurses loaded us up with pillows to try to make it more comfortable. It didn't matter how uncomfortable we were though, we would have taken the whole hospitals pain and discomfort if it meant that Reid was going to be okay. I never actually slept that week, I couldn't. The nurses would make me go to the cafeteria to eat something, I never wanted to leave him. Now when I think about what we went through I can hardly beleive it. I can't beleive how fast a year can go. It has made me apreciate every minute with my kids. You never think anything is going to happen to you or your family, but it can so you have to make sure you never have any regrets. I want my kids to always know how much they are loved.

Reid Carver 1 year old

The Gingerbread house

2007-12-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

On Thursday my mother-in -law and I took Kennedy to the Whitehall library to make a gingerbread house. This is Kennedy's 2nd year doing this and she has so much fun. The library does this ever year for free. They have tables set up all over with tons of candy, frosting and other goodies to decorate with. It's fun to watch the kids get into it. We met Kennedy's cousin Lexi and 2 other friends there and had a really good time. Hopefully we can get Jenn to bring her gang next year.

All grown up

2007-12-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

This is a new picture of Kennedy. She is almost 4 years old and I can hardly believe it. She has gone from a baby I had to rock to sleep to a little girl that can spell her name and knows her phone number, in just a blink of an eye. I love her so much. It's so true that the love you have for your kids is so much stronger than any other love in the world. I look at her and just know that she is going to do amazing things someday.

Hmm...

2007-12-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

Well, here it goes...my very first post! I am so excited to start this blog. I spend a lot of time checking in on other peoples blogs and I really enjoy it. I am facinated to read about what is going on in someone elses life. For me it's kind of like reality TV on the computer. So hopefully between working full-time, going to college and taking care of my husband and 2 kids I will have time to keep up on my posts!