It’s Only Thursday September 9, 2010

It’s Thursday evening here, and I have not done much of anything this week at all ,except wallow around in a foul mood and sleep. Lots of sleeping here. I don’t know what my problem is. Is it mid-semester blues? We are actually now past the mid-point of the semester, and I am both grateful and terrified. While I have only 30 days from today before I land on familiar ground and hopefully have some good reconnection time with family and friends, I have so much work that has to be finished before the end of the semester. I’ve decided to do a weekly week in review to help me stay accountable for my list of 50, and I’ll start a day early, here, now.

1. No play time on the computer when the children are awake   –  I can half check this off since I can honestly say that this week I have been VERY conscious of how much time I have been spending on the computer, and definitely holding off on the pleasure surfing until after the kiddo’s bedtime.
2. Start the Whole Foods Challenge
3. Help the Manchild come up with a schedule
4. Encourage the Manchild to come up with his own list of 50   –   Manchild made his list of 50, now I just have to encourage him to stick with some positive changes. He doesn’t want to share his list, but hopefully we can chat on a few items and keep each other motivated.
5. Wake up earlier in the morning
6. Finish It Takes a Village
7. Return the library books on time
8. Re-read/finish Happiest Toddler on the Block
9. Start packing for our visit back home
10. Find a good NCLEX reviewer
11. Start reviewing for the NCLEX
12. Start posting at least 3 times a week
13. Take more pictures of my children
14. Cook at least one healthy rounded meal a day
15. Take my lunch to duty
16. Drink more water
17. Say “I love you” more often   –   Improvement has been made already here, but not where I want to be.
18. Re-learn to crochet more than a chain
19. Learn to knit
20. Leave more comments on blogs I love
21. Give more hugs and smoochies
22. Build more forts with the babies
23. Read together with the Manchild
24. Read more with the babies   –   I have read so much with them already this week that I think it will be no problem to stick to this one! I also want to incorporate a regular weekly/biweekly trip to the library for the girls to be able to get some refreshed reading material. The only problem with this is that the library here has about as many books as we have at home! Maybe I can bring some more books back with us when we visit home next month.
25. Pay more attention to real news
26. Pay less attention to gossip
27. Read The Purpose Driven Life
28. Actually cross everything off of this list
29. Major de-cluttering when we go home
30. Mail some handwritten notes instead of email
31. Send that postcard to Dan
32. Give more
33. Let go
34. Be here now
35. Go to bed at a reasonable hour, regularly
36. Make a family tree
37. Get a haircut
38. Start a recycling program at school
39. Dance with the kids
40. Finish my outstanding assignments by the end of this week
41. Practice more random acts of kindness
42. Filter more frequently   –   This was a horrendous week for this!
43. Develop a business plan
44. Learn more about herbs
45. Learn more about gardening
46. Finish French in Action
47. Smile more
48. Thank someone who made a difference
49. Don’t let the moment slip away
50. Lose 40 more pounds

I haven’t been able to cross much off here this week, but it’s been a really difficult week for some reason. I’ve just been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. We have no classes tomorrow, but it is week of prayer at school and we are required to attend services. I plan on joining and hopefully between that and the Manchild’s desire for some of his own changes, I will wake up tomorrow with a better outlook moving into the end of this week/weekend/start of a new week.

As far as what we’ve done, in general, not much of anything out of the ordinary. I had duty at a new hospital on Monday and Tuesday, and it was yet another reality check of what living in a third world country really means to an average person. Wednesday we had case presentations, and one of the review centers came in for a little seminar. This morning I had class which consisted of a “meeting” of sorts with both nursing programs and the dean regarding the rest of this semester and reviewing for the boards being incorporated into our curriculum, and then lecture on psychiatric nursing. I came home and snuggled with my girls and fell asleep with them… when it was time to wake up I just stayed in bed. Where is my energy!?!

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da July 22, 2009

And so life goes on…

 

I know you must have been waiting with bated breath for my return.  Where exactly is it that I have been you ask?  All over and back more than a few times.  Things have been pretty crazy for the last, let’s say, three weeks, and just as I am starting to recover, I am about to begin yet another journey into the unknown.

 

Going back to the end of June, just after my last post, I headed up north for a week of relaxation with some family friends.  We planted ourselves in a cabin on a lake and lived happily without the every day luxuries most of us consider to be necessities (no running water:translates into showering out of a 5 gallon bucket and washing dishes with boiled lake water; no electricity: translates into no TV, no cable, no radio, no video games, no electric switches; no traditional phone, and very limited cell phone service).  We entertained ourselves with a few trips down to visit friends at the lodge, camp fires, card games, coloring, puzzles, and lots and lots of needed sleep.  We did return a day early due to uncooperative weather and allergy issues, but overall, it was a much needed and thoroughly enjoyed vacation.

 

Only a day and a half after my return, I headed right back out for an overnight visit with my BFF.  That trip was extended because much to my dismay, just as I was about to get on the highway and head home, I was abruptly rearended.  The Manchild started to complain that his head hurt, and of course then I was worried about the babies too, so we headed to the ER just to be sure everyone was OK.  That we were, and we enjoyed one more night with a delicious breakfast the next morning.  Oh how I love to visit that house!

 

I recently had an appointment with the director of the nursing program I was accepted into, only to find that really, they are not taking much for transfer credits at all, and now I plan to finish my nursing education abroad.  I’m still working on the details, so we will leave this new development here until there is more, definite news to report.

 

The straw bale garden is doing well overall, but I seem to have lost all of the canteloupe plants and a tomato plant (Cherokee).  It seems like overnight I had a visit from the garden fairy, and the plants are really beginning to produce now.  For a while it seemed like I was never going to see any fuit for all of the labor!  My Dr. Bronner’s concoction seems to have done the trick in shooing off the unwelcome visitors that we had on our plants.

 

The Manchild has started swimming on a summer league in a neighboring town.  He seems to be enjoying that, and while he has practice I am able to take the babies over to the playground next to the pool and watch them exlpore and wander.  Popo has learned how to turn the sprinkler in the park on by pressing the red button, and every day when I pick her up after work now she tells me she wants to go to the sprknkler… the only thing is that it took a few days to figure out what she was saying because sprinkler sounds like ‘spanking’!

 

Summer seems to be slipping away before my eyes, but this last month especially I have been trying to make the time to enjoy the little things.  Some of the chores have been pushed off for fun, and I’ve been making sure to enjoy the littles.  Last night The Baby seemed to be ready for bed as soon as we got home.  Since she seemed extra cranky and extra extra clingy, I snuggled with her for a little bit and then rocked her to sleep.

 

I’ve been trying to get back on track with my domestic duties; sticking to my laundry schedule, staying on top of little pick-ups around the house, and finally working on a meal plan.  Of course that meal plan I have been working on was supposed to be ready for this week, but hey, life happens… so hopefully we will be eating somewhat planned starting next week.

 

Nothing else new and exciting to report on for the day, so that’s it for now!

A Day in the Life June 22, 2009

Outside: Cool air, gray skies, sprinkles, and winds-a-blowin’!

I am Thinking: About the work being done on the bathroom this week, and how refreshing it will be to have finished walls and a floor that I can actually keep somewhat clean.  About Preparations that are needed for our forthcoming, much needed vacation.

In the Kitchen: Not too much going on.  Needs some restocking, hopefully we can take a much needed trip to the grocery store tonight.  I Also need to sit down and go through all the great ideas I have collected and actually get a meal plan together.  I Plan to make some more jam before the end of the week, that is if the sun shines through and we can get to the berry patch.

I am Thankful: For the time spent with family yesterday, snuggly babies, an the acceptance letter I received by surprise on Saturday in the mail.

 

The last week has been such a whirlwind that sitting here and reflecting, I can hardly remember anything that happened.  The thing that stands out in my mind the most is that one night this week The Baby was really tired.  Popo was watching Sesame Street 25th Anniversary DVD after a bath.  I took The Baby upstairs to get jammies on and the rest of the get-ready-for-bed routine.  I sat with her in the rocker where normally after about 30 seconds she climbs down and wanders off to the toys and books.  This night she put her head right down and snuggled in and I rocked her right to sleep.  It was so refreshing since she hasn’t let me do that in probably a year!  After she fell asleep and I had her all tucked in, I convinced Popo to come get her jammies on and we snuggled a bit too.

 

We’ve had pretty good luck in the garden.  I have some baby cukes coming up, and The Manchild informed me this morning that the tomatoes are flowering full force.  Those are my favorite, so I hope we have some fruit to show for our labor soon!  I mixed up some Dr. Bronner’s pest spray and I am waiting to see how that works out.  The only problem that I had was I accidentally broke some of the plants when I was trying to get the undersides of the leaves sprayed.  Hopefully they will forgive me and get past the injuries.  I will be much more careful next time, although I though I thought I was pretty gentle this time!

 

The Manchild and I made strawberry freezer jam, which you may have already read about.  This was some nice together time we had, something I think he has been looking for.  He seems to have taken an interest in cooking, and he made 2 batches of brownies by himself over the weekend.  One over at Mayonaies’s, and one yesterday to take to the Father’s Day cook out.  I’m going to try to encourage him more in this by keeping him involved in the planning and cooking on a regular basis, this might be a way to get some quality ‘mom’ time in for him.

 

Last week I was anxiously waiting for Tuesday so that I could call the college I recently applied to.  The had the Nursing Committee meeting on Monday afternoon, and I was told to feel free to call on Tuesday to get the news.  Tuesday came, and I called the secretary and asked for the news.  My heart sank when she told me that they were not able to review all the files the previous day, and they would not be able to meet until this coming Thursday; I should feel free to call back Friday morning; they had decided it wasn’t fair to share the news with some if they couldn’t share the news with all.  I had been fairly confident that I would be accepted with my transfer credits and scores on the placement tests, but all of a sudden I was nervous.  I checked Saturday’s mail on Sunday morning, and there was a letter from the Nursing Department.  I have been accepted with advanced placement!  I am really excited about this, but I still have a lot of decisions to make, and I am not sure if this is the best way to go.

 

We had a nice get together with the family yesterday at my aunt’s in celebration of Father’s Day.  The parents, grandparents, and a few aunts and uncles were there.  It was nice and low key.  The kids still took a dip in the pool even though it was raining, and the babies got to spend some time with my cousin’s children who are very close in age.

 

This week coming up I have a lot of work to get done. 

• I have to get the bathroom all cleaned out tonight for the contractors who are coming tomorrow to start work on finishing the bathroom. 
• I need to actaully get some meals made instead of just thinking about it.  Last week I cooked 2 all out family dinners, I would like to at least increase by one a week until it is habit on a daily basis.  I am trying to balance how to do this with not walking in the door with the littles until almosr 6 p.m.; this is something that is proving difficult for me.
• I need to get a meal plan done for our vacation so we know what to bring.  This has to be done as we will be about an hour away from the grocery store once we get into camp.  Once we get in and settled, I would like to not have to head out to town at all for the week.
• I need to start getting things together in general for our upcoming vacation.  Lots of laundry needs to be done and packing started at least towards the end of this week.
• I need to gather as much information about as many other nursing programs as possible so that I can do a real comparison of the pros and cons of each and make a final decision as to what the best way to go is.
• I want to get back to the berry patch and get a lot more berries so that I can make some more jam and freeze some whole and sliced berries.  We have to see what the weather brings before making those plans though; I heard it’s suppose to rain all week!

 

That’a all I’ve got going on these days.  I will have some new pics of the garden posted soon, as well as a report on how the Dr. Bronner’s pest spray worked.

These Are Days June 11, 2009

Here is what I have been up to for the last week or so…

 

The garden is coming along… for right now I’ll go ahead and say nicely (all the while hoping that I don’t stick my foot in my mouth!).  We watered the bales daily for a week.  They changed color, getting a little darker, got a little stinky for a few days, and they definitely ‘baked’ themselves, becuase when we planted on Monday, it was warm inside near the top where we dug out for the plants, and actually almost still hot in the middle. 

 

Here are some pics for you to take a look-see of what we have so far.  We planted tomatoes (3 varieties), cucumbers (2 varieties), cantelope, eggplant (2 varieties), and peppers (2 varieties).  I am very excited to report that the day after we brought the plants home, they wilted after spending the night just on top of the bales, but they sprang right back to life as soon as we got them planted and watered!

I had a very intense weekend; Popo was sick with a high fever that started on Thursday night.  She had felt a little warm when she went to bed, but just slightly so I didn’t give her anything.  When I went to check on her a little later she was burning up.  The thermometer read 104.4, 104.6, and 105.4.  Needless to say, that even with all of my previous eexperience with The Manchild and his high fevers, and the nursing classes that I do have under my belt, I was still a little worried.  I gave her some Motrin and stuck her in the tub to try to get her cooled down a little.  When the Dr. on call (actually a nurse from the children’s hospital) finally called back it had dropped to about 102.  I knew that she wasn’t dehydrated, she didn’t have any other symptoms that I could speak of, but a fever that high is still nerve-racking.  She was on a cocktail of Tylenol and Motrin throughout the weekend, and she was quite miserable.

 

Other news with Popo is that within the last week, she has started throwing all out temper tantrums.  It’s funny how you look at other mothers with ‘that child’… that is, until ‘that child’ is your child.  What have you done with your spirited children to make it through the toddler years smoothly?

 

New and exciting on the schooling front, I found another accelerated second degree program to look into, and yesterday I took a placement test for one of the programs I applied to.  I scored a perfect ’105′ (the proctor said she is not sure why that happens, but good for me), and I have to go back and take another test tomorrow morning.

 

While I was on campus I stopped at the book/natural living store, and picked up a vegetarian crock pot cook book which I am very excited about, some nutritional yeast, and some soap nuts laundry detergent (I went with the liquid because the actual nuts were just too much for me to wrap my head around).

 

I have been looking for a vegetarian cookbook for the crock pot or some time now, and I can’t wait to try out some of the recipes this one has.  I recently found a vegan recipe for macaroni and cheese that called for nutritional yeast, and though we aren’t vegans, DH is a hater when it comes to cheese (even though he LOVES my baked macaroni and cheese).  The soap nuts are something I came across online somewhere, and I thought it was a pretty interesting green product.  It was somewhat of an impulsive buy for me, but I figured, why not?

 

I’ll keep you posted with the garden’s progress, the cooking, and the soap nuts.  Do you have any experiences with any of these, or ideas to share?