hiney

i love this photo. to me it looks like she is giving a nice, honest "good morning!" to the world.

1. I got the highest grade in my class on my recent Adult Health test. A 92%! This is huge for me because this class is a major doozie - super hard and way too much information for 8 weeks. I did not feel very confident when I finished the test. As usual I was the very last person to finish and my professor even had to tell me to put my pencil down because time was up. I felt defeated and freaked out because the test was so freaking hard. When I went to turn my test in my face starting feel hot and I felt the tears welling up and I just couldn't stop it and I started crying. My professor gave me a huge hug and said "Sarah! It's okay, we are gonna get through this course together!" It was so sweet and kind and genuine. I told her I was just frustrated because I had studied so hard and I felt like there was no way I could have passed the test because it was so hard and the questions were all so tricky. Little did I know, I passed it, and got the highest grade in the class! Go me! (Insert comment about confidence here!)

2. I saw this quote the other day and liked it so much I wrote it on a post-it note that is stuck to our bathroom mirror:
You only lose things because there is something bigger the universe wants you to have. But if you fight it and don't let go, you won't ever see it.

3. This part of my semester (fyi: this semester is broken into two classes - 8 weeks of Psych nursing and 8 weeks of Adult Health/Medical Surgical) is kicking my butt royally. I am so busy and have zero time for anything other than school and careplans. The dishes are piling up in our sink, I haven't gone for a run in almost 2 weeks, I'm carpooling with a classmate so I have no time to return phone calls now, we have a pile of clean clothes on our sofa that we've just been pulling clothes out of because I haven't had time to fold them and I've been leaving so early in the morning for clinicals (I'm out the door at 6:00am) that I haven't had a morning with Patrick and Piper other than the weekends. Now it is 10:45am on Saturday and we had a family breakfast and then shipped Piper over to Carol and Greg's house for the day so that we can both study. Oye! When will we ever been done with school/studying!!??

4. I had my Operating Room rotation on Wednesday and saw TWO 0pen heart surgeries. It was absolutely amazing. I loved it! I'm adding that onto my list of possible nursing specialties - OR Nurse. The only downfall is that you are on your feet ALL day and you don't see the light of day until you end your shift. I was in the OR from 7am to 3pm and I sat down for 15 minutes when I ate lunch - that's is...just 15 minutes.

How is it that she is getting so big? She is looking and acting like such a big girl lately!

airplane!

Guess where we went last weekend?

No seriously, guess?

The airshow!

It was my first time experiencing an airshow and it..was...awesome. I thought it would be geared towards a certain, ahem, clientele of people: hillbilly's and hicks. And mostly I was correct, but really it was so cool.

That morning we dressed in our hiking duds and headed out to a nearby nature preserve to do a quick hike. Along the way we saw the signs for the airshow and decided what the heck, why not, and we pulled in with other cars heading into NAS Jax. Before we knew it we were in the traffic line for the parking area and then we found ourselves being directed into a parking space in what was surely the worlds largest parking lot. At that point we were locked in so we headed into the airshow completely unprepared with no snacks, water, cash or folding chair (everyone had one). It was super fun and Piper was a total trooper. The planes were amazing and LOUD! and I was sure that at any moment one was going to go crashing into the crowd in a gigantic fire ball blaze.

Piper in front of a Piper Cub Airplane! Get it!

We headed home around noon for naptime, and that was a good thing because on our way out we heard that once the Blue Angels started flying no one is allowed in or out of the airshow, and that following their performance the previous day there was a 2.5 hour traffic jam to exit the navy grounds! good god!

new (old) music

This is the new song that is playing on repeat in our house currently. This song makes me want to jump up and down and shout obsenities and violently fist pump the air. Give it a few seconds and I promise you'll like it.

As per the usual, Mark Malloy was into this song about a year before us.

new family

I took these photos last week. They were referred to me from a friend and it was my first time meeting them. It was a little awkward at first, but they warmed up as we started taking pictures and my gawd...their little girl was so adorable. I couldn't stop laughing at her - she had the sweetest, most curious little personality and the mom and dad were crazy about her. Very sweet.

The first few pictures aren't that great, but I think they get better as the slideshow goes on. I'm very slowly learning.

31 months

Oh little Pip. You are an absolute joy right now. Lately I've been telling anyone who will listen just how crazy I am about you. It's safe to say that I've fallen in love with you all over again the last few weeks.

There is so much to say about you. You are full of life and love and spunk. You weigh 25.5 pounds, we know this because you love to weigh yourself on the big scale each time we walk into Publix. You still love breakfast and definitely eat the majority of your calories in the morning. A normal breakfast for you is 3 *cold* pancakes (you are really into eating cold pancakes right now, in fact you demand for us to give them to you frozen!?) and a small bowl of cereal.

You love your big girl bed and the floor in your bedroom is always pristine because anything that would be on the floor is on your bed! Every possible book, teddy bear, toy, pillow or dress-up item you can find goes in your bed and we find you late at night spooning all of your toys. I went in to check on you the other night and you were sound asleep, cuddled up with your lunchbox.

Your imagination is blooming right now and I love hiding from monsters with you, making pretend phone calls into rocks that you find in the park and feeding "waffles" (walnuts) that we find on the sidewalk outside your pre-school to your babydolls each day.

Your vocabulary is soaring and the words you pick up each day amaze us. Yesterday we were driving home from the park and you said to Daddy and I "Let go look for some decorations!" Of course, you've still got your sweet baby voice and the mispronunciations are precious - the Barbie Fairytopia DVD I checked out for you the other day is "Barbie Fairytokyo" to you.

You love your pre-school. You were starting to develop some bad nap habits last month that concerned us. I got pulled aside twice in one week by your teacher who told me you were being naughty at naptime and keeping the rest of the kids awake. According to Ms. Morgan you were sitting on your mat singing songs at the top of your lungs, dancing in place or holding onto your stuffed rabbit and throwing it as high as you could in the air. This cracked us up because it was so not naughty and really just plain hilarious, but we were still worried that this was the start of a bratty stage. So we worked with you all week talking about how important it is to take a nap, and how important it is to listen and help our teachers. Within a few days you were back to taking 2 hour naps at school and delighting your teachers with your sweet, helpful personality. We realized how much you want to please us and how proud getting those stickers and hugs from your teachers made you.

You are constantly picking your nose. Constantly.

You love to boss Sammie and the chickens around. You are constantly shouting "No ma'am Sammie! No ma'am" as poor Sammie lies on the rug doing absolutely nothing except for ignoring you.

On a walk the other day you sat in your stroller and sang to yourself, then you made pretend phone calls to your cousins and your pre-school teachers "Hi Ms. Lachy, it's Piper, I call you back, bye-bye." Then you stretched your arms out as wide as they would go and looked up at the sky with a huge smile and said "Mommy, it is a beautiful day!"

We ask you each morning if you slept well and what you dreamed about. According to you all you ever dream about are your cousins and Avery.

You are doing fantastic with the potty. You haven't had an accident in months, and your poopie-anxiety is getting so much better. You use to get so nervous and scared before you went poopie, but now you do a little nervous dance and then bolt to the potty clutching your hiney and tell us you have to go poopie. This makes us so proud because we were really thinking we were gonna have to take you to a child psychologist over poopie issues. Ends up, all you needed was a Fiber One bar every other day!

You are so excited about Halloween and tell everyone (including Halloween decorations that you apparently think are people) that you are going to be "Dorothy!!" for Halloween.

We are so crazy about you sweet Pippie, thank you for being you.

memories that hurt my head

We went out for a wild night last weekend for a friends birthday. There was a rented limo + several stops at bars and a restaurant (where I did not eat enough, BIG mistake) + champagne in the limo (another big mistake, I really can't handle anything more than 2 glasses of champagne) + the giddy excitement that Patrick and I get when we are in social/party/fun environments. Basically this all adds up to a horrid, horrid hangover that kicked Patrick and I's butt like never before. Over the years we have endured quite a few bouts of the irish flu together (let's be honest, it is usually Patrick), but this hangover was the worst yet. Piper was basically roaming the house, fending for herself, Patrick was barfing Gatorade all day and I was attempting to not barf while finding the closest couch to lay my weary, weary head on. We didn't leave the house or put any sort of liquid/food in our body until 5:30pm. It was not pretty.

But what would have been pretty is this picture (too bad it isn't in focus) that was taken of us that night, right around the time that things started to get hazy and about an hour before Patrick and I were the sole dancers at a super hip downtown bar where, unfortunately, no one else was dancing but us.

Don't you like Patrick's buzzed hair? Everyone says he looks "mean" now. I usually prefer him with shaggy hair and a beard, but his new buzzed look is quite cute!

recent photo shoot

Turn up your volume, it has a cute song that plays with the photos.

pet week

It's pet week at Piper's preschool and each child is supposed to bring in a picture of them with their family pet. It took us all weekend to get these two shots since getting Piper to look at the camera is practically impossible.

Seriously, the child will NOT look at the camera, nor will she smile at it.

back on the train...

I just signed up for the Evergreen Pumpkin Run 5K on October 31. The race weaves through one of the oldest cemeteries in Jax and the whole course is lined with pumpkins - neat! I need motivation to get back into running and I'm hoping this will help me.

I like running. Or rather, I like running once I'm actually in shape to run. I've been jogging Piper to school about 2-3 mornings a week when I don't have to be in clinicals/class early. Her school is only about 3/4 of a mile away from our house and so far I can't make it both ways without walking. It's hard to believe that I use to run 13 miles without stopping!

So...here's to getting back in shape just in time for the nice Fall running weather that is starting up.

If you make one meal this week...

... make it this meal. Trust me, it is awesome.


Chicken and Glass Noodle Salad (from Cooking Light)


It literally took 20 minutes to make and required no cooking at all. While I was mixing everything together in the bowl I was wondering if it was going to be totally bland and I started to want to just start throwing other stuff in, like peanut butter and ginger and sesame oil. But I stayed true to the recipe and I'm so glad I did because this was really good. Patrick definitely approved and downed two big bowls himself and requested more. Only semi-complaint, this isn't super hardy - sorta like how sushi fills you up at first and then you are hungry again an hour or so later. However, it is low fat, easy and very pretty too.

World's Best Dog version #129684739

Life hasn't been that great for Sammie since oh, I don't know ... maybe February 26, 2008. He dropped way down the family totem pole when Pip arrived and he's basically been living off scraps and the occasional pat on the head ever since.

Sure his constant scratching drives Patrick and I insane, along with the very annoying full-body licking he chooses to do around 2am that wakes us up and he doesn't exactly run full-speed to greet us at the door anymore (it's more of a leisurely peek down the hall at us with a oh, it's you again look, and then he retreats back to the closest rug) ...but he is still a wonderful, loyal and patient family dog.

He just sat there while Piper covered his entire body with baby powder. He eventually got fed up after about 10 minutes and retreated into the bedroom.

yum

I have yet to make anything less than a stellar dish whenever I get a recipe off of Smitten Kitchen, my favorite food blog. Tonight was just the same - I did a quick search for "lentils" and was given this awesome dish, Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes

Very easy, low-fat and no outlandish ingredients. Sausage or chicken could easily be added to this to make it more Man-Approved, and Patrick suggested it perhaps being served over rice next time.

a new friend

This monster was sitting on our front porch this morning waiting to greet us when we left the house. I should have held something up next to him to show his size, but he was roughly the size of my fist. Gah! And that streak running below him is a nice trail of moth poop (who knew?).

mornings

Mornings are different now. Although we could do without the 7am screaming wake-up call, I would have to say that nothing beats waking up to this sweetness.

more-man

Have you guys been seeing tons of commercials for the Morman church in your area? We really don't want that much tv right now - just the Today show while we get ready in the morning, and maybe Jeopardy in the evening if Piper is down in time - but there have been these really hip, crisp, intriguing commericals for the Morman church that keep catching my attention. Now before you get scared, I should say that I am only intrigued by these commercials because the people in them seem so, what is the word I'm looking for...ah yes, normal.

It's a great marketing campaign by the Morman church because they are highlighting attractive, interesting, young hip people.

www.morman.org/people

I'm still scared of them though.

tradition?!

We just had an impromtu family movie night and it was so cute I could have just kissed myself. We cuddled up on the couch - Piper wearing only her alligator head towel (that she wears as a cape every.single.night after bathtime while stating "I a tiger!") with her own bowl of popcorn and Patrick and I eating these ribs - MAKE THEM NOW! We watched the latest Curious George, and by latest I mean it was out about 4 years ago. It was, ehm, cough cough, just okay (read: adorable! I cried!).
Sideways Shout Out note to Mark Malloy (yes i know you are reading), you are always so hip to the new, fun music! I loved the soundtrack to Curious George and Patrick commented that you brought that CD last time you were visiting and we have it burned on the computer.
Anyways, it was a super cute little night being all cuddled up on the couch as a family watching a movie. After kissing Piper goodnight I had a rare feeling of motherly accomplishment, a feeling like wow, that seemed easy, maybe I do know what I'm doing after all.

TOMS

I have been wanting a pair of TOMS for awhile now.

Yes I know they are trendy, but they are really comfy (have you tried a pair on before? you'd be shocked!).

I just saw that they have "Tiny TOMS" for kids. Piper and I could wear matching TOMS shoes! Hello hipster Mommy!

let's try this again

We sent our little wup off to school today in panties. This time it is for good (again). She has been doing excellent with the potty for the last month. I'm not sure what it was - maybe she is just ready now, maybe it was the pull-ups*, maybe it was seeing the other kids on the potty at school, or maybe it is the massive amount of M&Ms she gets for going potty. But homegirl is doing great and holds her pee-pee for the potty like a champ. We didn't make a big deal out of the panties this morning, we just put them on her and sent her off. Poopie's are still proving to be a big hassel; she'll go on the potty but it takes a lot of coaxing on our part and whining/crying/dancing on her part.

Is there anything more adorable then a toddler hiney with elmo panties on it?

*We did not want to do the pull-up thing as we both feel like pull-ups are just glorified/expensive diapers. But her teacher suggested them and so we tried it out and right around the time that we put her in them she started really doing well.

soft

I'm sorta annoyed with my weight right now.

OF COURSE, I'm not overweight, or remotely fat or anything like that. But I am soft and kinda flabby and it bugs me.

All of the clothes I've had for the last 5+ years still fit me, but my shorts are all starting to give me muffin top. When I sit down I have a little dunlop around my waist. And I'm noticing the really annoying wiggling sensation on the underpart of my upper arm each time I wave hello or goodbye to someone (Christa do you remember that time we saw this on a certain someone [not you Wannie] in Pasa Robles? hee hee).

This time last year I was rocking the size 2 jeans and had toned arms and a flat stomach. That was 99% thanks to a nursing child who sucked every last ounce of flab off of me. But the minute she weaned the weight came back immediately. I'm not kidding - it was literally within a week that I started to notice a difference in my body.

I realize how obnoxious it is to complain about my figure when I wear size 4 pants/shorts and a size small top. But we all have a numerical number in our head that we feel comfortable and confident at and mine is 115. Currently I'm 119. Sure, that isn't much and I could drop 4 pounds easily. Problem is - my body likes being around 120 and no amount of fat free greek yogurt for lunch or cutting out snacks is helping to rid these 4 pounds.

I've been trying to exercise but ugh, I have no time. Yes, that is the worse excuse and I can't believe I'm even using it. I've tried getting up at 6:15am for a run but it is so hard when I've been staying up late studying.

Here is what I typically eat in a day:
breakfast - 1/4 of coffee with 1 tsp creamer
1 slice of whole wheat bread with a little bit of hummus and an egg on top.

lunch - fat free chobani greek yogurt with a 1/2 cup of granola
piece of fruit, handful of almonds or a small handful of GORP.

mid afternoon snack - apple or handful of almonds or small granola bar. It's around this time that I start getting really hungry and can easily just start snacking and eating crap b/c I'm starving.

dinner - tonight was a bowl of this (really good!) and 2 glasses of wine.

I eat well and am not overeating. Do I just need to accept that I am over 30 and my metabolism is slowing down? Is it not possible to lose weight unless you are exercising?

Suggestions?

grades, so far

Nursing Techniques - 89%
Nursing Concepts - 86%
Health Assessment - 87%
Pharmacology - 94%

I still a few more tests and I have 3 cumulative finals to take the week of Aug. 23, so we'll see what I end up with. But I'm thinking I'll have 2 B's and 2 C's.

they were right

I am freaking out with nursing school right now. I'm really surprised that all those nerds at orientation were right when they warned all of us "just remember to breath!" The amount of textbooks, folders, papers, reference books and careplans that are currently stacked all around our kitchen table (aka our study desk) is ridiculous, but not quite as bad as the smelly, moldy sink full of dishes that have not budged in almost a week. I've been staying up late, rushing to and from class, trying to fit an extra moment of studying in any chance I can get and I still feel behind. My shoulders and chest muscles have been sore off-and-on for a few weeks now from lugging a 30 pound backpack full of textbooks around all day (I'm really starting to consider getting a rolling-backpack. nerd alert!) I just keep sitting in my classes with my jaw on my desk because I can't get over all the deadlines, tests, quizzes, careplans, papers and presentations they keep piling on us.

I'm really trying to let everything else go - shaving my legs, making dinner, cleaning the house, reading any sort of written material that is not school related - and focus on school. In one week I will be done with a huge presentation for my pharm class. In one month I will be done with my first semester. In 6 months I will be 1/2 way through the program. In one year I will be getting ready to graduate. gah!

make this! now!

Black beans, Feta, Corn & Quinoa

1 cup of quinoa (1 cup of quinoa + 2 cups of water, bring to a boil then simmer for 10ish minutes)
1 can of drained black beans
1 handful fresh or frozen corn
1 handful crumbled feta
1/2 diced red onion
some chopped parsley for looks
lime
evoo
s&p

In a bowl whisk together the juice from a lime, a little glug of EVOO and salt and pepper. Dump in everything else, stir with a fork (helps fluff the quinoa), cover it and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Eat and devour and be amazed at how amazing this meal is.

creative

Heard during Piper's afternoon nap today:

"Mommy, Mommy! Come quick. I have a boogie to show you!"

22!

Today over lunch at the hospital we ("we" meaning the 12 other students who I am in class with everyday, we are getting to know each other pretty good) were chatting about somebody's 21st birthday. A girl asked everyone to say how old they were. When I said that I just turned 32 everyone was shocked. The girl sitting next to me said "What! No way! I would not have given you over 22!!"

YES! I still got it folks!

WWCD?

When in a pickle lately, I've found myself wondering WWCD?

WWCD = What Would Christa Do.

You see, Christa is much different from Sue Anne and I in one specific aspect - emotions. Sue Anne and I share the common bonds of both of us being highly emotional, major criers and we can take almost anything personally. So how I would react to a situation is usually the same way Sue Anne would.

Christa however, is much different. Sure she is loving and kind, but she also has a much thicker skin and can withstand way more emotional turmoil then Sue Anne and I can. She doesn't sweat the small stuff (within reason! am i right sue anne? wup wup!) and doesn't let other people's actions or bad moods or ignorance affect her. For example: So last week I took Piper to get an icee after school. To minimize spills I decided to buy one icee, but split it between 2 cups. I went to pay for our icee and the fat-ass woman at the cash register with a 6th grade education rang me up for 2 icees. I politely told her that I had only bought one icee, but just split it between 2 cups. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes got wide and she looked at me like I was some sort of criminal. She started chastising me over how wrong that was and how her boss could come in at the end of her shift and count all the icee cups and when he sees that one was missing she would be charged for it and get in trouble. I apologized and said I would come back with the additional money for the other icee and she said gave a HUGE sigh, slammed the cash register closed, gave me my change and said "No, just, just forget it. Really, just...UGH, no. Please, just leave." I left with my tail between my legs and fretted over the freaking icee and the lady for like 45 minutes. I went back and forth in my head and decided I would go home, get the additional money and take it to her and apologize again. Then I stopped for a minute and wondered WWCD? She would have been polite and offered to pay for the additional icee and when the lady refused her money she would have let.it.go. Christa doesn't let shit like this bother her, whereas Sue Anne and I would pine over it for an hour or so. I mean really, like the owner is really gonna freaking count the icee cups at the end of this ladies shift! Please!

I accidentally ran over a squirrel a few months ago. I felt horrible and wondered if I should go shove it off to the side of the road, or do...I don't know, something about it. I told Christa about it later and she replied "Good riddance. I ran over a squirrel the other day and I was like 'Yes!! One less gross rodent!'" She had a point - I mean, it's a freaking squirrel.



The other weekend I met a friend for breakfast (Patrick was in Texas) and my total bill came to $9.65. When the waitress came to take our check I handed her a $10 bill and she asked if I needed change and I said no. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her walk about 4 steps away from our table, looked at my bill, saw that I had handed her a $10 bill and turn and give me the biggest eat-shit-and-die look. She then walked over to the counter, about 3 feet away from our table, and in a very loud voice said to the other waiters "Look at the tip that woman right there left me! Can you believe that! 35 cents! I can't believe it." They all looked at my bill and then looked at me. What that bitch didn't take the time to notice, was that I had $2 in my other freaking hand that I was leaving her for a tip. I was so pissed off and upset and embarrassed. I fretted over it for 2 hours. Finally, I thought WWCD? She would have shrugged and though "Whatever lady, you are the bozo for not noticing I have money in my other hand."



Christa is also known secretly between Sue Anne and I as Loose Lips Gallagher for her penchant for not keeping secrets!

balance

on tuesday i went to class, ate my (packed) lunch outside on campus, then went to the library and studied for 2 hours, then got home in time to hop on my bike and ride down to St. John's Preschool to pick up Piper. We rode the bike up to our neighborhood gas station and split a coke & cherry icee while we rode down to the playground. it was a nice balance of my student life + mommy life.

hallo

wow, i'm really behind on my blogging. our new/old laptop (formally wannie's old laptop) went crash, boom and has basically officially called it quits. my parents generously lent us their laptop for a few weeks while we pony up and freaking buy a new laptop already. we have definitely been prolonging the envitable the past few years, but we finally went and looked at some laptops at costco over the weekend. so in the meantime, i'm not able to upload any photos or videos, which is a bummer because patrick took some great shots while he was in texas last week and i got a super cute video of the two of them before they flew out last week.

i don't have time to do a true update, but here are some things i've been wanting to blog about:
-the fact that i now sorta have to have coffee in the morning. ugh, i did not want that to happen.

-our chickens still haven't produced any eggs and we are anxiously awaiting them to hurry on up with it already.

-that piper is in quite possibly, the most adorable, wonderful, hilarious stage ever. i just can't get enough of her and i want to put her in my pocket and carry her around with me all day.

-that i love fat free chobani greek yogurt a lot.

-i'm in a recipe rut. i haven't been cooking much since this semester started and we've been eating a lot of leftovers and hastily thrown together meals and i miss trying something new.

-that i really want to try and recreate a homemade loaf of Ezekiel Bread. the fancy, organic, biblical bread that is $4.99 a loaf. i LOVE it.

-that patrick planned the best birthday weekend for me. it was one of my most favorite birthday weekends ever and we really did nothing but sit around at the beach and drink, read magazines, watch good tv, walk the beach and take 3+ hour bike rides.

-that i got up the courage to go to a meditation class at the Buddhist temple around the corner from our house and when i got there the class had been canceled and i was secretly so relieved because i really didn't want to go, i was just trying to make myself want to want to go.

easter

I was just looking at some photos from Easter and I saw this cute picture, 3 generations!

Mom and I, rocking the fake smiles.

Me and my girl.

I wanted to post this picture because you can see my faux Ray-Bans sunglasses. I really liked them, until they flew out of the drink holder on my bike when I went over a bump and of all places, fell directly in front of my front bike tire and I ran over them (I'm still not sure how it happened that it fell under the front tire). They broke into a million pieces, which is surprising since I purchased them for $5 from walmart and usually their stuff is such good quality. So I went back to walmart and purchased another $5 pair, and they lasted exactly one week before the screws came out and the part that goes behind your ear fell off.

I really don't like posting pictures of myself. I am finding that I am hypercritical of photos of me. For example, the 3 generations picture at the top - I think I look like I just got out of a service at the Baptist church with big hair and a bunch of makeup And I look like 4 feet taller than mom, I must have been standing on something higher than her. The second picture of Piper and I - my arm looks monstrous and flabby. I think these are things that only I notice, since we all tend to be harder on ourselves, and notice things about ourselves that others never would.

hair

Piper has sprouted a ponytails worth of hair in the last 3 months. She pretty much went from no hair, to enough to do something with. Everyone comments on it too - "wow, when was the last time I saw her because her hair is looking so long all of the sudden!... and ...well, someone is finally getting some hair!"

All this hair she is growing is making me so happy and proud because I had no idea that I had a deep, longing, motherly need to play with my daughters hair. Most mornings I lift her up onto the bathroom counter, with her little sandled feet sitting in the sink, and she says "ponies mommy!" while I wrap the little strands of bright blond hair into teeny tiny hair clips and she watches in the mirror.
Then she hops down, runs to the full-length mirror in the closet and BEAMS when she looks at herself (no self esteem issues going on right now at all).

She loves wearing her hair in little pigtails, a single ponytail or funky, multiple ponytails ala Gwen Stefani-esque all over her head.

Don't get me wrong - most of the time she is sporting a tangled blond rats-nest on the back of her head, although this makes me proud too because it is further proof that she has some of my genetics. But for the most part, she is digging having her little hair done, and so am I.

birds nest

I had seen one of these necklaces on etsy the other day and this is my first attempt at copying it. It took me like 5 minutes to make, literally. I think it is really cute! toot toot!

so this is love

Piper just had explosive diarrhea...in my hand. Like, literally in my hand. She had just gone poopie and said her tummy hurt (what she says before she drops a deuce) and then she ripped a loud, wet hiney-talk. I lifted up her dress to continue wiping her from the previous poopie and right when my hand goes to wipe over her hind-end she lets out another hiney-talk and diarrhea SHOOTS out of her hiney and into my hand. I shrieked, but held it together and calmly leaned her back down onto her potty (that was thankfully right next to us) and calmly grabbed her panties and The Very Hungry Caterpillar book that were both now victims of said diarrhea attack and slowly stood up, said "Mommy will be right back sweetie" in a sing-song voice and then turned to the doorway and ran like hell down to the kitchen with my poop covered hands.
I basically cloroxed everything in sight including myself (think of that scene from The Crying Game). Poor little muffin. I can't remember when, or if, she's ever had diarrhea before. Oye. The things you do for your little ones.
She is now happily sitting on the couch (in a diaper, just in case!) watching The Jungle Book.

happy problem

Around this time last year I spotted a girl at Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke who had gorgeous, long, not-frizzy curly hair. As she walked by me I complimented her on her perfect curls and she said "I have two words for you, Moroccan Oil." She raved to me about the oil and said it is perfect for curly hair, but sorta expensive and hard to find in a store.

The other day, after a particularly bad hair day, I remembered her tip and went online and impulsively bought a 2 oz tester bottle of Moroccan Oil on amazon for $10.

I love it! I smooth on a small, dime size amount right after I get out of the shower when my hair is soaking wet. I air dry it and I swear my hair is less frizzy, and my curls are holding their ringlet shape better.

So the good news is that I found a good hair product! The bad news, it is expensive.

grocery trip

In case you were wondering, again, here's what I picked up at Publix today.
Cheez-its were bogo (buy one, get one free).
Corn is 4/$1, unfortunately this is bi-color corn and we all prefer yellow, but i'll take what i can get.
That loaf of bread you see in the corner is the first loaf of bread i have purchased in over a year! Can you believe that? Patrick (and I) have been craving super soft, store-bought bread.
Tonic water and diet cranberry ginger ale for our evening cocktails. Limes for that too.
Gala apples, my favorite.
Those bananas will be brown in like 48 hours. Which means they will quickly join the other sad, over-ripe bananas that take up prime real estate in the bottom of our freezer waiting for the day that I will make banana bread again.

moment

I had a little moment today by myself. I was sitting in my testing room at school, getting ready for an exam (IV calculations) and I was all prepared and ready for the information. I had my pencils, and my calculator and the other folks in my class and I were all shooting the shit waiting for our test proctor to come in. And it hit me, I'm doing this! I'm really doing this! This dream I've had for so long that I wasn't sure I would be able to accomplish. And I started chipping away at it and good lord, I'm here! In nursing school. Finally! And in the blink of an eye I'm going to be graduating and going on to a new, exciting direction.

I can't wait!

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Piper came home from school yesterday in the same clothes that we dropped her off in!!
This means...she had no accidents all day!!!

This is huge considering how we've been averaging about 3 accidents per day at school and she's even come home a few times in the "community pee clothes." Meaning, she peed in her panties 3+ times and ran out of outfits that I had packed her and had to wear the clothes that were probably once in the lost and found until being retired to live a long life of covering the butts of kids who aren't potty trained.

I'm so proud of our girl! We've still got a ways to go with the potty training, but she is doing really good.

"splashes" and "sprays"

I had my clinical hospital orientation this morning. It was really exciting and I got dressed up in my nursing school polo, khaki pants, obnoxious gleaming white tennis shoes and multiple name badges. We had a two hour orientation lecture with a nursing coordinator at Memorial Hospital in one of the hospital's big auditoriums. He was really nice and actually facilitated the student nursing orientation for our clinical instructor (FSCJ professor who will lead us through clinicals at the hospital) when she was a nursing student 20+ years ago.
We went over important stuff, like all the different codes to call for various emergencies, i.e. Code Pink, for an infant in cardiac arrest, Code Green if there is a bomb threat, Code Adam* for an abducted child, etc.
But what has stuck with me all day is how many power point slides he had to go over to explain to us all the various ways we have to cover ourselves up with hospital gowns/masks when dealing with "liquid fecal matter" that can "both splash or spray on your face and body."

*Code Adam? How did they come up with that? I'm assuming it was a child named Adam who was abducted.

I like these two shots of P and I. We took them while we were stuck in the pop-up camper during a torrential downpour thunderstorm the other weekend.

We really weren't posing as much as appear to be. I was glued to my new book, Broken Open (will do a review for it soon) and Patrick was rigging various lights around the camper.

btw, no tweaking or editing on these photos at all, just plain-old cool lighting.

You can't have him

He is all mine ladies.

M-I-N-E, mine!

Thank God I knocked over the porta-pottie in Auburn one warm and steamy evening sophomore year. Otherwise, he wouldn't have noticed me and I would be out one sleezy, mustached man.

Guess who...

Guess who wears panties only now? No seriously, guess.
Piper Anne Lynch, diaper free (except for night time and naps) since May 30, 2010.

chickens!

Meet the newest members of Glendale Street!


Suzie (blond chicken), Brownlee and Malloy (red ones)

The End

I have tons of questions about LOST. I thought the ending was good; not what I was hoping or expecting, but still good. It was, of course, no Six Feet Under ending, which was hands-down the best series ending ever. All of your questions were answered and you felt happy and justified by knowing how everyone ended up.
I guess the same is sorta true about the LOST ending. We know they all ultimately ended up together, but I am still left scratching my head about what the time on the island really was. Purgatory? Real life? Sideways life?

My current thought is that in the very first episode, when the plane crashed, they all died. There is a clip of Rose saying to Jack (right after some seriously bad turbulence) "You can let go, you can let go now" and that was the moment they all died. Everything else that happened was an in between time where they were trying to prove themselves worthy of passing on to heaven.

Buuuut, what Christian said to Jack at the end is confusing to me - that there was no "now" and that he never really had a son (which is good b/c that kid was fugly). If there wasn't a "now" then what was that moment that they were in?

I was confused that Michael wasn't there at the end, but I read somewhere that he did so many bad things that he was left on the island to be part of the voices you hear whispering before Smokey comes. Those are the voices of the people left in that in-between place who did bad stuff and their punishment was staying on the island.

I have loved Ben Linus' character the whole show, (by the way, the guy who places Ben is from Jacksonville and use to live in our neighborhood) and I thought it was interesting that he was with all of them at the end, but didn't go into the church. Why not? Was he not ready to go on to heaven (let's just call it that for the sake of confusion) with everyone else?

I figured it would only be people who were on the Oceanic flight that went on to heaven together, but Juliette and Ben were there. So why not Laepedis too? That guy was with all of them till the end.

Ongoing questions that I'm p.o.'d didn't get answered:
What was up with the polar bears on the island?
What the heck was up with Jack's freaking tattoos? Ugh, I was always curious about this and I felt like they had a big clue about how he got to the island.
Where was Walt? I thought he and/or Aaron would have a big role at the end.

Check out this great little video, LOTS of questions that we'll never know. Most of these I hadn't even thought of:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

shitballs

Great news, I got an 80% on my first Health Assessment test!

Bad news, that is an F.

Grading scale: 100-95 = A, 94-90 = B, 89-85 = C, anything lower than that is an F.

things...

1. Here is my Term 1 school schedule:

Monday - 3:00pm-5:30pm

Tuesday - 9:00am - Noon

Wednesday - 9:00am - 4:30pm

Thursday - right now, this is my study day. in 6 weeks it will be the day i pick up my care plan info from the hospital and work on my care plans.

Friday - 8:00am - Noon, but in 6 weeks it will be 6:45am - 1:30pm when my clinicals start.

2. Is it officially summer yet? I never remember the dates when the seasons officially change. All I know is that it is hot here, yet some things are still feeling all frisky and spring-like on our backyard umbrella. bow chica bow wow. and also, ewww. I shall call them Lisa and Will. Since the two squirrels in our backyard are already named Mark and Julie.

3. Guess who wants to wear "ponies" all the time now!

4. And the biggest buzzkill of all time....my garden.

This garden, affectionately named "Garden A," is on the side of our house, right outside Piper's bedroom. The amount of sun this area gets is slowly decreasing as the massive live oak outside our house is growing bigger. I've currently got arugula (going to seed in the bottom of the picture) lettuce (dying back in the heat already), collards, peas, swiss chard, summer squash and potatoes (in the ground, just planted so you can't see them). This side is NOT doing well. I really need a whole lot more sun, oh and a gigantic dose of Miracle Grow. I'm still holding firm on not using chemical fertilizers, but dang it is hard b/c my garden looks like buttkiss and my neighbor is pulling off like 3 tomatoes a day thanks to her Miracle Grow.

Garden B, outside our family room. I've got 3 heirloom tomatoes growing here that are doing great and currently have a dozen 'maters on each plant. Cucumbers are really taking off, as well as 3 types of potatoes (in the old tires). I've got 6 pepper plants that have grown approximately 2.3 millimeters since I planted them over a month ago, ugh. I've got sage, Vietnamese Cilantro, 3 basil plants, parsley and a few measly carrots despite the fact that THREE separate times I have painstakingly planted dozens of carrots seeds.

Cucumbers!

beach babe

I have so much I want to write here about school, my garden (or lack of), stuff I've been cooking, how life is changing as a full-time student, Piper, Patrick and stuff I want to do.


I'll get to all of that later - first...my precious new little nephew! Owen Harold! Born May 12, moments after Christa got into the delivery room! No really, like 20 minutes after she got in her hospital room.Last week I took Piper out to the beach for a fun Mommy-Daughter beach day. I had plans for us to blow bubbles, play in the sand, look for seashells. But lo, the universe had other plans for us. About 2.4 seconds after I pulled off the highway onto A1A (the road next to the beach), I heard a LOUD thud, crack sound. Piper and I both looked at each other with huge eyes and I turned towards the back of the car to see this:

Construction workers on the side of A1A were mowing the grass and a rock from one of the mowers flew out of the mower and shattered our window.

THANKFULLY it was the back window, THANKFULLY it wasn't Piper's window, THANKFULLY it wasn't a few inches closer and our window was down, etc, etc with the thankfull's.

So, our beach day was not what I had planned since we ended up sitting on the side of the road for over an hour calling insurance, the company who was in charge of mowing the road, my Dad for suggestions on what to do, then we had to head over to the police station and place a police report. Piper was so sweet through the whole thing and sat in her carseat and chatted with me, and sang songs.

When I left the police station we were teetering on naptime and still had a 30 minute drive back home, but I thought, screw it, I am going to the beach. So Pip and I went and had a very quick but beautiful 20 minutes on the beach blowing bubbles and chatting.