Alphabet Soup

This morning I added seven new letters to the end of my name. Over the past few months I have been studying to take the American Association of Critical Care Nurses' CCRN certification exam in the neonatal specialty. The test is a 150 question computer based exam over three hours. At 0900 I walked into the testing booth, sat down, took several deep breaths, smiled for the picture, and began. Eighty-nine minutes later I walked out with a slight headache and a huge smile. I passed and earned my CCRN-NIC!!!



You know you have little kids though when you go out to Bob Evans for lunch to celebrate :)

Toad-aly Cool

Meet our new friend Blacky. Eli found him in Gigi and BobPop's back yard when they were hunting for worms. He started yelling, "I caught a frog! I caught a frog! Come quick 'cause I caught a frog!". Well, he was right....halfway. He caught a toad. I could not believe he actually snatched it up and didn't squish it to death by the time I ran to the back to the yard. Eli was so proud of himself. Carson was a bit turned off but still excited. I took the toad from Eli and we looked him over and named him. Of course this is when Blacky decided to pee all over me (don't worry, there was plenty of antibacterial soap and water post-Blacky tonight!). The boys decided Blacky would like to live under the raspberry bushes in the garden and eat all of the bugs that live there. Eli grabbed him up and found a good spot and let him free. Hopefully Blacky will be there tomorrow when they search for him.

Park Play Date

My friend Amanda and I met at the park for a fun play date with our kids on Tuesday. She has two gorgeous munchkins who are five and one. We met at the train park and let them loose. Little did we know that we would spend the next two hours watching non-stop action and endless energy. Carson and Eli had a blast chasing Emmy and Wesley found the boys quite fascinating. Here are some photos...







What a perfect day!

Spring!

After an unexpected change in Mother's Day plans late Sunday evening, I found myself sitting on the screened-in porch at my parents' house and relaxing while the boys played with trucks. It was a lovely night even if the original plans fell through and I have enjoyed every single minute of these lovable, snuggable, growing boys this week. I need to post all of the fun pics of our escapades tomorrow but for tonight I will leave you with a few snapshots of their cuteness.

When did they grow up into almost 4 and 6 year olds?

Not Me! Monday #2

It's time for another Not Me! Monday. After reading all of the incredible things I didn't do this past week, head over to MckMama's blog for her weekly "Not Me! Monday" post.

One day last week after putting the boys down for nap I certainly didn't lay down and sleep for three-and-a-half-HOURS before waking up to cook dinner for the family. I would never need that much sleep in the middle of the day when my morning was spent lounging, drinking coffee, and surfing the web while Al studied. Nope, not me!

An OCD mama like myself could never send her almost four year old to school wearing plaid red/blue/tan/white shorts with a lime green shirt and yellow socks. Completing the look with blue AFOs with planes, cars, and streets signs adorning them and blue/white tennis shoes. I would not!

On Wednesday I never would have worn my Victoria Secret yoga pants all day long instead of my jeans because I didn't feel like seeing if my butt had grown larger in the past few days. I didn't eat a bag of Archway Soft Iced Molasses cookies in three days on top of that incident either :) Wouldn't do it!

What things did you not do this week??

Strawberries

Carson's illness didn't seem to fit the diagnosis of croup and asthma exacerbation when his symptoms grew and his fever/malaise increased yesterday. He wouldn't get off the couch and was restless sleeping. This morning he woke up at 8:30 (two hours later than his normal rise and shine) and yawned really big. This is what I saw....



Now I know why he's feeling like crap. Off to the pediatrician at 2:10 to get a script for antibiotics. Too bad it's not going to be just a follow-up appointment from the ER visit.

***** Leave a comment with Carson's diagnosis and why he will need antibiotics and I'll mail/bring you a special treat! *****

Not Me! Monday -- New Edition

I have been inspired by MckMama over on her blog with her weekly post entitled "Not Me! Monday". The concept is writing about all of the embarrassing, non-perfect, brutally honest things you did over the past week. The catch is to blog about them as if you didn't do them! It is quite therapeutic and fun which is exactly what every Monday needs.

This past week I certainly did not fudge the words in a bedtime story book because I was exhausted....and get caught by my almost 6 year old. I guess Carson's reading skills are advancing faster than I knew.

Throughout the week I did not eat three generously heaped bowls of Cherry Cordial ice cream and then complain when my scrub pants were just a tad tight at work on Friday. That wouldn't make any sense!

Last Wednesday I definitely did not forget to re-order Elias' tube feeding supplies for the month and run out of MIC-Key button continuous feed extensions. I would never be that unorganized!

Head over and read up on MckMama's not me moments, blog your own, and share them for everyone to read. Perfection in motherhood is far fetched. Why shouldn't we get a little stress relief and humor at our own expense?

Love's Boundaries

Tonight while snuggling with Mr. Sick and Mr. Bouncy they started telling me how much they loved me. Elias started first by saying he "loved me more than the Polar Express". If you know Elias at all, you know that is a lot for him! Then Carson countered with "I love you all the way to Mars and back home". Finally Elias proclaimed at the top of his lungs "I love you all the way up to heaven and that's the farthest you can go!".

God I never want to forget this age and these priceless moments.

I love my boys to infinity (and that's forever and ever!)

Mr. Sick

Healthy and playing "Surgery with Construction hats" on Saturday night


Carson woke up sick this morning. Wheezing, barking cough, fever of 102.7, and feeling just plain crappy. I was at work when I received a call from Al around 9. Al never calls me at work. I think this may have been the second time. He said he was bringing C-man to the emergency room at my work and dropping off Elias at my parents. He put Carson on the phone so I could hear him breathe and ask him a few questions. Man did he ever sound bad. Thankfully I was able to take a few minutes off the floor (thank so much Anne!) and meet them downstairs.



They diagnosed him with croup and an asthma exacerbation. His history of asthma and tracheal stenosis in addition to countless ED visits and treatment lead them to this. After filling him up with dexamethasone and sending us home to watch for worsening symptoms, we grabbed a juice from the cafeteria and I kissed Carson and Al goodbye. It was so hard to be stuck at work while my oldest babe was in respiratory distress with a fever. I ran out of work as fast as I could and arrived home in record time for snuggles and hugs.

Sleeping with Daddy


*****UPDATE 5-4-09:*****

Today Carson missed school. His fever is bouncing between 101 and 103 with Tylenol. He has been laying around the whole day. Carson does.not.do.that! We are heading to the pediatrician tomorrow at 2:10 and hopefully they will have good news. Right now he is curled up on my lap with his head resting on my shoulder and legs dangling off towards the floor. Send get better vibes to my big guy. He certainly needs them.

Sick Baby


One of Elias for good measure