My last post was just about 2 1/2 years ago.  Looking back and reading these accounts of daily life almost seem foreign to me.  Last May I graduated from Nursing school and after much torture working 12 hr. shifts at the hospital I landed my dream job as a hospice nurse.  Life is good!

The boys continue to grow.  We just dropped "K" off at college yesterday for his Junior year.  He allowed me to make his bed after much pleading.  "J" started 7th grade and as par for course he is less than thrilled with some of his fellow classmates.  He is loving scouts and has just received his Star scout award.....official pinning in later next month. "A" jumped on the bus early this morning and headed off to a new school for the 4th grade. I just can't believe my baby is a 4th grader. 

As with me and hubby. Well we pulled the plug and decided to join the rest of the civilian population and retire from the USAF.  "T" found a job and couldn't turn it down.  Only problem is his "dream job" just happens to be 1 1/2 hours from doorstep to doorstep on a good day.  Therefore I'm about to chronicle the up's and down's of a normal white collar family trying to sell our beautiful home and pack up and move due north. All this while trying to lose 40 pounds.  We shall see how many gray hairs we develop during this process.  I am in high hopes that writing this blog will not only be cathartic but a way to again look back and laugh someday.  Here goes nothing!

You just have to laugh some days and this was one that cracked me up today. I stole this from someone else's site...she probably pirated it from someone else's as well. I should be doing the boat load of paperwork I have but instead I'm playing on the computer. My weeks are starting to blend together and I'm having trouble figuring out where one ends and the other begins. But as luck would have it the weekend is suppose to be gorgeous and this happens to be my first weekend off since January. Yeah!!!!! I am so looking forward to a little down time in May, but I'll settle for a week off in April. I hope to get back on here and post a few pictures of the boys from the play. They did a fabulous job last weekend and now we've moved on to soccer and golf practices. Keep checking back I should get around to it sometime this century. :-)

Wordy Friday!

How is it that in two separate conversations to two different people the word "cathartic" would come into play. So I'm on a mission...should I accept it, and I DO! I plan on using this word at least once every day for the next month. We'll see if any of the peeps I hang with pick up on my new word and I may even test them on their knowledge for its meaning. What's your new word for the month?

Where have I been?

I have been submerged in Nursing school and came up for a few minutes of air this weekend. They keep up busy 5 days a week with classes and clinicals and the other 2 days are used for writing papers, studying and trying to wash clothes. However I took a small vacation from school this past Friday night to go see the Mr. Irresistible contest at the high school. It's a talent show of sorts/pageant. They show off Prom's latest fashions in both formal and casual wear. This year's theme was "Timeless couples". Kyle & Courtney went as Alfalfa & Darla. During his skit he came out singing "You are so Beautiful to Me" in true Alfalfa form. They then had to select a song from the fishbowl that they were to act out and lip-sync to. They chose the Dirty Dancing theme song "I had the Time of my Life". They were flawless. I am trying to get hubby to post it on YouTube so that you can watch. Even though they were both judged separately and by different judges they both won. So here's Mr. & Miss Irresistible 2010. He also took home the title of "Mr. Charity" by collecting the most $$$ for the guys for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. SO that's where I've been. I hope to come back up for air in May. Perhaps I'll swim on over and drop a line before....who knows.

T minus 6 days

There's only 6 days till I return to the college. It took me all evening to wade through last semesters paperwork and prepare my backpack for the upcoming 16 weeks. I even went through my trunk and organized the crates that I keep all of my extra books and odds and ends in. All this preparation is making me excited. Not really excited about sitting in class for hours but excited for the hands on experience of working with patients in the hospital. Although I wish I wasn't dressed from head to toe in stark white. Nothing says student nurse more than a blinding uniform. I'm sure the moment I walk in the door their blood pressure starts to raise a bit. I know mine does. This semester I should feel a bit more confident with my patient care. After all I've done this for 16 weeks already. It makes me feel like a nurse. Plus the shots don't hurt me a bit. :-)

Day 1 down!

There are officially 90 more working days for me in this current school year. Yeah! Yes, I'm already looking forward to preschool graduation and relaxing in the summer sun. I love sleeping in and staying up late over summer vacation. I had a taste of it this past Christmas break and now I'm yearning for more. So yes I sat down and counted out 90 more working days. A smile came across my face...and then I looked at the time. Shoot, I still need to get ready for today...after today there's only 89. YIPPEE!

Hello 2010!

Do you hear what I hear?

That's the sounds of backpacks being zipped, lunches being prepared, shoes being hunted down, laundry being folded and put away, showers being taken and teeth being brushed. Yes, its time for the boys to head back to school, and I'm all smiles. However I'm not the only one smiling. The boys are ready to get back to school and see their friends. The holiday break was good but I think were all ready to get back to business. The weather has been terrible here the past few days with 20 degree temperatures and wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. I'm already looking forward to an early Spring. Well it's off to bed and early to rise.....looking to be healthy, wealthy and wise. Happy New Year 2010!

Brrrrrr.......

Holy Cow is it cold outside! The temperature has plummeted here and the wind is howling. The boys and I ventured out today to get our teeth cleaned this morning and then to Target for a few returns. We were like frozen popsicles. I would have stopped and shopped at some additional stores but it was just too dang cold. We came home and nestled in to keep warm. With weather like this I may hibernate till Spring.

Photos to follow

I'm still knee deep in manuals to figure out my new camera and all of its gadgets and more importantly how to easily download the pictures into my portable hard drive. I am so not technologically advanced. So you'll have to wait patiently for new photos of my three monkeys.

I have however been able to continue to work through my rooms one by one to declutter and send more items to the Goodwill. Now I really need to start working on my closet. I have tons of clothes that could really use retiring and/or just don't fit right, or are just plain out of style. That's my goal tomorrow....camera & closet detail.

Santa's on his way!

It's 10:15 Pm and Santa should be making his approach onto my quiet little street shortly. We enjoyed a nice dinner and gift exchange with my in-laws and the kids were thrilled with all of their new toys and gifts. They always want to rip right in and start building their Lego's and playing their video games. Hubby & I received a new digital camera and it came in great use right away. Our old camera was very fickle and would either take wonderful pictures or just grainy, blurry photos. There never seemed to be a gray area with it. it shall now be passed onto K who can learn to deal with it and it's fickle moments. They should be a good match for one another.

I must say that I am feeling a bit different tonight. Hubby is working all night and won't make it home till about 8 AM. This is the first Christmas Eve without him. Although I am thankful that he is home here in the states it still makes me sad to have to put out the packages alone. It could be worse and he could be stationed abroad for the holiday. However I am sincerely thankful for those men & women who are stationed abroad this holiday away from their families & friends. I pray for a very Merry Christmas for all and to all a good night.

"Baby it's cold outside"

Wow what a difference a few days make. It is absolutely frigid outside and the weatherman is calling for 10-18 inches of snow starting tonight. The kids are totally excited and I do love to watch the snow fall. I however do not like to be in the snow, shovel the snow, clean up tracked in snow or drive through snow. If only I could just blissfully watch from my dining room window and never touch a snowflake I would be happy. I plan on baking multiple dozens of cookies, hanging out in my pajamas and collecting more items to go to the Goodwill before Christmas arrives.
I have absolutely no time for any snow delays this week. We are ever so busy this week with a Christmas light flight, gift exchange with family and all the festivities with Christmas Eve. I'm feeling overwhelmed just thinking about it. Perhaps I'll just continue to sit here by the fire and enjoy the beautiful lights on my tree. Yep sounds like a plan.

Fever, aches & pains....OH MY!

While posting on Wednesday I noticed that I just wasn't feeling right. Determined to keep trudging on I kept on with my cleaning frenzy and then it hit me.... I'm still not really sure what it was although the base clinic is chalking it up to H1N1 swine flu. I was down for the count. I melted onto the family room couch and became a permanent fixture for the next few days. I endured body aches, high fevers and a sore throat. Thankfully my symptoms were short-lived and didn't really interrupt my weekend plans. Although I really had no nausea I'm still not really interested in eating. So this could help me from adding any extra holiday pounds. The boys helped finish decorating the house and I am looking forward to coming home from church tomorrow and doing some much needed laundry. It feels good to have no looming deadlines.... wait I still have to mail out my Christmas cards, OK almost no deadlines.

Time to Breathe & catch up

I finally have a moment to take a breath and just breathe. School is off for me for 28 days....YEAH! I rushed home after the final and attended A's holiday concert and came straight home to start decorating for the fast approaching holiday. I've been in overdrive ever since. The tree is up with lights and waiting for the kids to put decorations on tonight. The patriotic tree will go up tonight and my Christmas cards are on order. I'm trying to make up for lost time, can you tell? I plan on baking some cookies tomorrow and relaxing my the fire. I do have 1 more weekend at the hospital but that's the fun part of nursing school.

Here's a pic of J with Santa a few months ago. I'm trying to print and sort out my photo albums as well.

Hubby & I attended my cousin Jeff's wedding and had a great time. I danced so much that I had terrible joint pain the next day. I 'm either getting old or just oughta shape. But I loved this dress and felt like a million dollars that evening.

Off to put up the foyer tree. Toodles!

Waterworks

The waterworks have already begun. I had to sort out and find 8 pictures of K for the yearbook page we are purchasing in his honor. So I sat with a stack of photo albums taller than A and started the great hunt. After hours of sorting and hunting I finally came upon the prized 8 photos. Then I had to begin the dubious task of writing a small letter to be included with the page we had bought. This is when my eyes filled with tears and it all started to hit me. My 1st born is about to graduate and leave home. Buying the announcements and cap and gown didn't phase me but putting 17 yrs. worth of joy into paragraph form brought me to tears. Am I starting to melt?....cause I'm usually know as the "Ice Queen".

Alive & Well

Hello all! As the title indicates I am alive & well. I also added the new song from Kenny Chesney as some inspiration. I personally love the part with Dave Matthews singing. But the lyrics of the song ring true. It's a blessing to be living and breathing. However I really wish I could get the hospital smell out of my nose. The soaps and hand gel at the hospital all smell the same. And as many times as I wash my hands after patient contact I seemed to have linked the smell in my brain to germs. It's even made me start to not want to eat. Just bringing my hands near my nose starts to turn my stomach. I could stand to lose some more weight though. I'm currently down ten pounds so far and working hard to hit twenty by Christmas. Will post some pictures soon of the kids. I know out of town family and friends would like to see a picture every now and then. I'm lucky to even be sitting down for a few moments to write this post. And with that I'm off to write up some patient care plans and work on my Diabetes presentation. Toodles!

Happy Halloween!

Hola Chicos & Chicas. I have been extremely busy and unable to post lately. Where did I leave off before? Oh Yes, with Sparty the Spartan. Let me catch you up to speed.



First off Hubby hit his 20yr. mark in the USAF on Oct.3rd. We celebrated with dinner out with the boys. He says it really feels good to have "options". We now control what our future is too be. The boys have kept us busy with Scouts and sports. K has been actively pursuing college applications and gearing up for his final rounds of SAT's and the ACT. Soccer is about to end for him and soon he will be prepping for the upcoming play. J & A have also been busy with Scouts and school stuff. Speaking of school stuff I have been knee deep in care plans/patho and patient care. I will attempt to post pics this week if I can catch up with my school work.


We took the boys out for some tricks or treats tonight. J was an alien & A was Indiana Jones. They made out like bandits and I'm hoping to snag a few pieces of candy(chocolate) for myself. Also, check out my new songs... I love Toby Mac song ""City on our knees". Enjoy!

"Sparty" the Spartan

Look who has joined our family. Why it's Sparty the Spartan, of course! Yes, can you believe that my oldest ham chose to be the school mascot at the Pep Rallies and Football games. They are in the works of getting a new user friendly costume but until then he will wear this one. I must say the full body leotard looks quite cute. He however would not allow me to snap any shots until all the covering pieces were applied. I tried the head on myself and found it to be quite suffocating. The nostrils of Sparty is where you see out of. Its gets hot and sticky quickly.

A had to have a crack at it of course. His head was about all tall as his body below. We chuckled to see him run circles.

I have been quite busy with teaching school, attending school and helping keep the boys on track with their own school work. I am pooped! How about you?

Betcha'

Betcha' didn't think I was ever going to blog again, huh? Well I'm back after a month long hiatus. We were pretty busy during the final few weeks of summer vacation. From hitting the beach, eating crabs, swimming, school shopping and a few trips back and forth to Maryland. We also celebrated K's 17th birthday. He returned home after working at summer camp just 3 days before his birthday. With him he brought home a friend and we took them to Rehoboth for some fun in the sun. The little guys were happy to have him back home. He was happy to have a car just waiting to be driven. He has made several trips to scouts, the mall and soccer practice.

Here's a few pictures from his Birthday.

With his sweetie!

Playtime was over.... just after coming home he was knee deep in finalizing and many preparations for his Eagle project. Here he orchestrated 16 boys and 10 adults to dig out an existing playground mulch pit. He then had the dirt excavated with a piece of equipment and dug out a 1 foot deep hole. We then refilled the hole with mulch to bring the playground up to state safety codes. Talk about manual labor. I about died of heat exhaustion when I came home. But the job is done and he is well on his way to Eagle.

This pic shows the new mulch bed being laid.

Just about to completion.


Sorry these are not is order. This was the very beginning. We need to move out all of the mulch that could be reused from the top and save on tarps.

Looking tired!

First Day of School.

I can't believe he smiled for me. :-)

Driving to school.

J was looking so serious. As always Dexter is checking out the goings on from the door.
I can't believe that J is a 4th grader. He is growing up so fast.

A was excited about his first day of first grade.

They look just like their Dad.

Well that's a wrap for the past month. I promise to post more often.

All things Fun

We ventured out on Thursday to the Delaware State Fair. The boys were excited and I had my happy face on. I'm really not that smitten with the fair. The over-priced food & rides, heat, crowds and sales vendors really turn me off. However this year the weather was in my favor. It was a rather pleasant night with a cool breeze blowing. The boys loved seeing the pigs & goats. They were also able to ride ponies and play cowboy games during the rodeo pre-show.

Here's a few pics on A riding "Pepsi".

They then were taught how to lasso by a "real" cowboy. My boys must have seem sheltered to the men because they were in awe at the "real" cowboys.

Poor A had to be the girl in this photo op.

Hubby & I joined in on the fun.

Then we were off to the Demolition Derby. The boys enjoyed watching these old cars run into each other and get all smashed up. Afterwards we ended back up at the Rodeo show and were able to catch the Bull riding event which is the highlight of the show. By the end of the night I was able to mark two things off my Bucket List: Demolition Derby (check), Rodeo (check).

Friday morning brought more excitement to the boys. We went and spent a day at a friend's home. The boys played so nicely together. It's funny how the dynamics change when you add additional children. They played outside, video games and swam in the pool. After lunch they did it all over again. They were pooped on the way home. Thanks to Ms. Joanne for the fun play date.

All smiles!

Hubby's working this weekend so we will be looking for things to get into. I think we'll hit the base movies and perhaps the pool.
Sounds like a plan.

Playing catch up

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I've been a bit busy. As you can see by the photos I have been busy for several reasons. The boys came home from "Camp Happy Grammy" on Thursday and I quickly had to shuttle them to Grandma's the next morning due to a minor surgery scheduled. The photo below is courtesy of hubby. He snapped a shot shortly after I came out of recovery. I wasn't allowed to wear makeup and my hair is quite another story (I am totally over my letting it grow out phase....Amanda here I come for an all over cut & style...Good-bye mangled mess!). Afterwards I recovered quite nicely and was ready to hit the beach by Wednesday. There's no rest for the weary.

A enjoyed the beach. He dug in the sand for hours. He also enjoyed jumping the waves. J working on his sand sculpture.

Here's a pic of A & Dad about to brave the waves. This was right before a wave took out hubby and took his sunglasses with it. Shout out to Marva in Spain..... if they wash up on your coast could you mail them back?

J & Dad with their F-16 sand sculpture.

We had to hit Funland next for some rides & games.

I love the silly hat stores.

Who doesn't want a chicken hat?

Not sure what this hat was suppose to be....but he liked it!

I will attempt to be better at blogging here in the near future. We are off to the state fair tomorrow night and to witness our first Demolition Derby. I'll take pics and post soon.

*** After people watching all day at the beach here is my public service announcement. Not all...I repeat... Not all body types should wear a bikini. Just sayin'.