Mom really does exist

I don't know about any of you other mom's out there...but it seems like I am hardly have any photos of me and my kids because I am aways the one taking the photos. I just happened to be dressed up this weekend because I went to a wedding, and I had my sister in law Chelee snap some shots of the girls and I using my camera. I was a little bit like pulling teeth to get them to oblige, but they did and we got some good photos. They are just cute candids, and are a documentation that yes...I really was in their life when they were little!!! I think it is kind of ironic that we as moms, especially stay at home moms, are he ones with our kids 24/7, yet if someone were to look back at photos 20 years from now, they would wonder where in the heck I was!! So here is the challenge to all you moms...at least one time a month (a week would be better, but that might be pushing it) make sure you get a photo of you and your children. So when they look back through photos when they are older, they will have proof that you were ALWAYS around!!!

Mother's Day

Grant's sister Chelee, His mom, and him


Grant's mom and dad



Booger girl


As you all know Mother's day was last Sunday, and I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful day. I worked my first night shift the night before, so I slept until about 2:00 in the afternoon. Grant and the girls got me a very nice mother's day gift. The gift included a new lighted magnified mirror (I wanted one) a really cool alarm clock sound machine, and a very nice eye mask that I wear when I have to sleep during the day after work. We went to Grant's mom's house for dinner and Grant's sister Chelee and her family were there as well. Chelee has her own photography business http://www.michelleellisphotography.com and she took the wonderful photos posted above. She wanted to get one of the girls and I since it was mother's day...but I had worked the night shift and looked like a worked the night shift (like a walking zombie), so I asked her if she would bring the camera back next weekend to take some shots! After dinner we drove out to my mom's house to bring her a mother's day card and gift. It was the first time we had seen her since they came back from a trip to Hawaii, and the girls were really excited. I then came home and passed out from exhaustion and had a great night's sleep. All in all it was a great Mother's day. I hope all of the amazing moms I know out there had a great one as well! You all deserve it!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Nothing will keep this girl from going outside to play!!! Yesterday I told her she couldn't go outside because it was raining, so she went immediatly over to the closet and pulled out her jacket and boots and came back to me saying "Now I can go outside". How can I say no to that! She looked adorable in her rain gear!

Update: Day one

Well, I made it through my first day back at work...and it really was actually a good day. I think I forgot to mention that all my freaking out was just for orientation...lame, I know. I think most of my nerves came about leaving the girls. When I left in the morning Hailey was not up, and I wanted to wake her up just to give her a hug and say bye. Grant was not having that though, so I just didn't get to see her in the morning...making it a little sad to leave. During the whole day at work I was mostly so busy thinking and talking about other things that I didn't really have too much time to miss them. I have to admit...it was kind of nice to hear myself say something besides "Stop hitting your sister" and "Do you have to go potty"? At then end of the day Grant came to pick me up because we had to do a child switch so he could go to golf league. The girls were waiting in the Hospital lobby with him and as soon as they saw me came running up to me yelling "MOMMY!!!" and giving me tons of hugs and kisses. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder!!
I just want to say thank you for all of the AMAZING support I have received from all my friends and family. It brought tears to my eyes last night when I read all the comments. Sometimes I forget how much support is really out there...and when you see it, it is very humbling. I honestly couldn't be going back to work if I didn't have so many amazing people telling me I can do it. I have to give a special thanks to my loving husband, who has been so awesomely supportive of me going back to work, and who took a day off yesterday so he could stay home with the kids while I worked. Another big special thanks to my best friend Wendy, who is watching my kids today and never makes me feel like it will be putting her out. She went to the store yesterday to buy all sorts of special snacks and food just knowing my girls were coming. Anyone who knows them knows they eat ALL day long...so she was just gearing up for it. How sweet is that!
Again, thanks everyone...your support means the world to me!

Freaking Out!!!

I am starting work tomorrow at 8:00 am, and am supposed to be there tomorrow, Thursday, Friday and Sat. night. And...I have been spending the entire afternoon/evening with my head in the toilet!! Is it nerves?? Am I sick?? I am assuming at this point that it is just nerves as I spent the weekend with stomach cramps and just a general "nervous" stomach. I am hoping, no praying, that I will wake up tomorrow morning feeling great and ready to sit through a day of nursing orientation. Otherwise I am going to be in misery! Wish me luck!!

Best Friends

I feel so blessed that my daughters' best friends are the children of my best friends! On top of that, my husband the husband's of my best friends are also very good friends. It ends up working out very good for all of us. We can get together at anytime and do anything. Everyone gets along perfectly. Last night all the guys took off to the fever game, so Wendy and Tera came over here to hang out and have dinner. We had a wonderful dinner and all 6 kids sat up to the dinner table and ate...I could hardly believe it. We managed to make it through the night without any major drama between the kids (just a few minor ones maybe). As the night wound down they all cuddled up on the couch together to watch a Mickey Mouse show before they left. It was so cute to see them all sitting up together that I had to take a few photos. I can already picture them all sitting up there together in 10 years from now. I am certain they will remain very close friends....because if they don't, we will make them :)

Back to Work

A few weeks ago I decided to take the plunge to go back to work. Once I got a hold of my manager things have seemed to go very quickly, and I will be starting next week!! I will be working per Diem in the NICU at Kadlec Medical Center. There is a part time position open, and I have already been asked several times if I want to take it, but I think I will just start out per diem and see how things go. I am very excited and my anxiety is lifting. I am nervous about going back to 12 hour night shifts...that is always an adjustment. I am also feeling a little anxious because I have a lot to do to get ready to go back to work. I have 3 entire days of nursing orientation, on a 8:00 to 4:00 schedule. That was stressful, because I had to find childcare, but I think I've got it taken care of. After that I am starting a month of orientation with my very good friend Suzanne. She has been a NICU nurse for like 25 years...and is one of the very best. I look up to her very much. She is the one who trained me to be a NICU nurse in the beginning, so I was thrilled when she said she'd take me back! I know she will help me get back up to speed! I also have to give a shout out to my best friend Wendy who, even in that crappy first trimester of pregnancy, is helping me out a ton with the kids. There is a lot of day time stuff I have to get done in order to get going, and she has offered to help out soooo much!!! I don't know what I'd do without her. I owe her big time!

So, here I am...after months of debating on what to do...I am back in the NICU. The only thing I know in nursing. Where I feel at home. Where I look forward to showing up to work. Where I am in constant awe of those tiny little miracles. Where I love and totally respect the group of nurses I work with. Where I am constantly being challenged and get to use my brain and the skills I worked so hard to obtain. Where I get to give back to people in the most desperate situations.
Can you ask for anything better...I don't think so!
So, to all my nursing gals out there...I'll see you next week!

Here is a link to a virtual tour of the NICU at Kadlec if anyone is interested:
http://www.kadlecmed.com/facilities/qtvr3.html