A bit of crazy

1. Going on to nights

I decided that I need to write out the thing that has been on my mind the most this weekend.  Tonight I am going back to night shift.  Right now it is 6 am and I am WIDE awake.  I am wide awake because I love mornings.  I would 100% consider myself a day person.  I decided instead of trying to will myself back to sleep this morning I decided that I would get up and tackle some of the day without coffee.  Hopefully that will make it easier to take a nap and then eventually deal with the task at hand ....staying up all night.

The good thing -- On Friday, I had the first day where I really liked my job.  The day before I cried at work feeling SO INSANELY FRUSTRATED.  (Don't judge--my office door was shut).  But Friday I stayed busy, held my own, and made decisions.  I am excited that tonight I have a long list of things to do and one of them has proven to be super challenging.  Though this whole night thing adds a bit of crazy to the mix I am looking forward to seeing how it all rolls.

2.  Cameron's strange, wonderful style.

Yesterday Mike took the boys in the morning to Toys R Us to look at Christmas present ideas.  He usually takes them somewhere on Saturday morning so they all get out of the house and give me some peace (it's pretty wonderful). This is what cameron wore.  For those of you who can't fully see -- he is wearing black sweatpants, red tennis shoes, and orange and grey stripped waffle shirt and an orange and blue checkered bow tie.  

Then everyone wanted to get in on the picture.......

 3. Crocs
A bit more about our outfits around here.

When the boys were little Aunt Erin introduced us to the world of crocs.  She purchased them for Christmas when they were 3.  Those shoes lasted YEARS.  Yes -- yearS.  We are now onto our second pair, Jack has a pair already ......we love crocs in our house.  They slide on super quick and make summer super easy.  Anyways, these two shoes were in the hallway this weekend and they reminded me of Erin.  I don't think that Crocs have ever made our list but holy moly -- for our three boys they are WONDERFUL.

 4. Rouzer
Could this list really exist without a mention of my husband every now and then?!  He requests that he make an appearance every entry (and honestly -- I am grateful for his cray cray ass EVERY.SINGLE.DAY).

Anyways, Thursday we went on a date to Mitchell's (the day I cried at work) and then last night the kids were gone so we went out again.  What?!!??  I know--it was crazy.  We are so wild.  I have been fighting a fucking sinus infection all week.  **Sorry to swear but I needed to say how I really felt about it** I have never had a sinus infection before and this is miserable.

Back to the point -- I am basically a hot mess and I want to be in pajamas and do nothing all evening. So we went to look at a new washer and dryer, picked up an antibiotic (THANK YOU KARA), had 2 beers at Bier, and then headed to Blind Owl for dinner and gaming.  The dinner was not good. At all. BUT I kicked Mike's ass at Bocce Ball.  I had so much fun playing laughing with him.  (yes--we were actually outside playing in the first week of November!)  And obviously, so much fun winning.  Once we got home I actually fell asleep on the couch during the movie (which is super rare -- usually I take my tired ass to bed to pass out).  

I love this picture because how he is looking at me.  I don't remember exactly but I am sure he is telling me that I smell or making fun of me in some way.  Clearly I am laughing but trying to ignore him.  

Yes -- our night out included no makeup, yoga pants, and matching shirt colors. 

One more thing that must be mentioned.  I think that the picture speaks for itself.

5. Owen is SUPER smart
So this kid has been impressive.  For example, last week I received a note that Owen has passed the first grade on Lexia (a reading program at school).  His math knowledge is insane.  They are learning basic addition and subtraction at school but if I ask what is 5x5 or 4x2 -- he figures it out!  He is also doing those addition and subtractions pretty quickly in his head.  Maybe he is just a tad better at math than Cameron...but still....I am impressed with his skills!

Campfires

1. Still cancer free

I must say that I am BLOWN OVER by these results.  Strangely enough, my mom continues to have scans for random ass things, but those scans will state that she probably has bone mets.  After more testing it is found that she doesn't.  That is exactly what happened this past week.  Hmmmm...I know that it sounds like a bit of funny business but after talking with Dr A for almost hour I feel way more comfortable.  Cheers to the good news.

2. Halloween

The weather this year could not of been more perfect.  The boys were able to wear their costumes without any extra coats or gloves -- that alone is a win in my book.  We started the night with the neighbors and all of the kids loved running house to house.  (Jack and Jude were a tad bit behind)  After we broke apart from the Paschals, Cameron decided that he was done running too so Owen and I went off on our own.  It was so fun to watch him and spend a few extra minutes alone.  Personally, I was smiles from ear to ear.  I love going trick or treating with the littles.

3. Family Pictures
We finally had Mer take our pictures last Sunday.  Jack was a hot mess and actually fell asleep for his second nap on the way home.  Mer is inspiring, hard working and easy to be around.  I am looking forward to the finished product. It was also great to show Mike a little bit of Butler.

4. No one was seriously injured
This weekend we had a fire going from Friday night until Monday morning.  What?!?  It was still smoldering when we woke up on Saturday so we decided to just keep it going. Then as the weekend  progressed the boys decided that they wanted to play with the fire so they kept it going all day Sunday.  On Saturday night we even ended up pulling out our camping cookware and made dinner over the fire again.  It was perfect weather this weekend and everyone had a blast.

5. Homemade meals
There is a HUGE list of everything wonderful that my parents contribute to this world.  HUGE.  I could go on forever and ever about how they pick up the boys after school many days, they are always on the other end of the line when we need them and last week when we were all sick they helped us with childcare (always last minute).  So one of their most recent moments came last week  when my mom brought over bags of freezer, crock pot meals.  Yesterday I threw one into the crockpot and dinner was PERFECT when I finally got home from work.  It was insanely easy and the boys even liked it! (double win)  Jack still refuses to eat most dinners but that is an entirely different story.  Basically my parents are pretty awesome.

Nap Time

I am surprised that I have enough minutes of Jack's nap to sit down and type.  I am sure this will be short lived so I am going to try and make it short and sweet.  It is becoming harder and harder (yes Mike--that's what she said) to sit down and write.  Right now Mike is at the rocket launch with the twins and Boy Scouts so I have the entire, peaceful house to myself.  

1. A great night

Last night we decided to make a fire, roast hot dogs and then finish the evening with smores.  After the boys went to bed Mike and I stayed out by the fire for another hour and spend time with each other.  It was one of those nights that went pretty smoothly.  One of the nights that most of your parenting dreams are based from.  

And please note that Owen and Jack are wearing the same shirt.  Yes this was planned and Owen was SO proud.

2.  Fresh flowers
This week Mike and the twins dropped off flowers to my office.  They made it smell AMAZING.  The bouquet was beautiful.  These flowers are just a tiny symbol of all the love that Mike showers on me.  He is the best.

3. Lunch OUT
These week I was able to go out to eat twice.  It was pretty fabulous.  On Thursday I went out with my mom and then Friday I went out with Steph.  I must admit --I am pretty lucky -- and Mike keeps rubbing it in my face.

4. A few more days of Cancer Free
At this moment we are having a pretty big Cancer scare with my mom.  Right now, and for the next few days, we are not 100%.  She is having more testing and she sees Dr. A on Tuesday.  Hmmm.  I am not sure how to type it into words.  Basically, I am happy that right now we don't know for 100% what is going on.  Right now we still have a little bit of ignorance.  And trust me, that little, minuscule bit of ignorance can go a long way.

5.  NAP TIME
What?!  Jack has been down for 2 and a half hours.  This NEVER happens.  The boys have been gone the entire time.  I guess I should go fold my last load of laundry but sitting here just seems so much better.

Grateful for a wonderful nap time.

too much stuff

Wow it has been a whirlwind of a few weeks.  Lots of thing happening in household but the most important is THE TWINS TURNED 7.  I am going to be honest, this is the first year that I didn't feel like the parents should have their own, personal celebration.  As I have commented over and over I am a firm believer that birthdays should be for the parents.  It's a celebration of all the hard work put into the past year.  Though the work is still extremely hard -- I will admit that it is getting SO. MUCH. BETTER.  Now that I have stated that little side note -- let's get started.

1. Archery Birthday Party

This year we decided to have a small group join the boys for archery in Noblesville.  They all had a blast.  We decided to do archery because it was something different and something that the boys love.  Cameron woke up in full blown sickness mode that morning but as you know...that doesn't stop him!  After the party the Abel kids stayed for our monthly slumber party and we actually ordered pizza!!  It was a great day and the best birthday in the books so far! (besides the incessant coughing & fever)

Cameron was shooting the new bow that the boys received for their birthday!

 2. No one is coughing in my ear
Right now as I type this short post.....there is NO ONE coughing in my ear.  Holy hell -- these boys (especially the twins) DO. NOT. STOP. COUGHING.  I get it -- I should be more empathetic (and I try).  Last night I even took both of the twins to the walk in clinic.  But the coughing....the coughing is non stop.  Like literally, non stop.  I have started giving them two breathing treatments at once -- so they stop coughing and BREATHE.

So -- that is that.  That should probably be #1, 2, 3, 4 AND 5.

Damn, this child is the BOMB.  And yes, he added a part to the breathing treatment.  So. Stinking. Cute.

Though Jack is MUCH better than last week (when we were at the ED) he is still trying to fully recover.

The twins at the walk in clinic all up in someone's personal space.  Clearly -- parenting at it's finest since I am sitting far away and taking a picture -- doing nothing.

 3.  The village
On Wednesday morning Jack went to the doctor that morning and was diagnosed with pneumonia.  I guess that as the day went on he progressively got worse.  When I got home that evening he was an absolute mess.  At first I thought he was just tired -- but eventually I figured out that he was lethargic from not breathing well and that he was going down hill quickly.  Over the phone Kara helped me to triage him and then Mandy came over to help give me some more guidance.  I eventually took him to the ED.  Though I was dragging my heels...at the same time, I didn't want to be missing something and have him get worse as the night progressed.  Once we fully checked into the ED a flip switched.  He pepped up and started breathing normally.  Basically my 1 year old played me to the tune of a few hundred dollars with an ED bill.  Awesome.

4.  I was not Cameron's bus driver today
I think that I should probably buy the bus driver some donuts, Starbucks or basically something fabulous.  This morning -- Cameron puked EVERYWHERE on the bus.  When Mike picked him up from school he was in a completely new outfit, including new shoes.  When Cameron tells the story it sounds absolutely miserable for the adult in charge.  SO SO SO grateful that I was not the adult in charge.  I really hate puke.

**For those of you keeping track (which I know it is HUNDREDS) he is the third child in three weeks to stay home from school/daycare because he was sick.  I started my job three weeks ago.  So basically it has been a BITCH of a three weeks for our house.**

5.  Box Cakes
I think that $1.25 box cakes along with the $1.25 frosting is soooooo worth the money.  People who spend a gazzillion dollars on store bought cakes need to get a grip.  I think that they are A.MAZ.ING.  I legit have an obsession.  I have actually made entire cakes just to take a few bites and then throw the rest away.  (Hello -- it is just too many calories and way over-indulgence to eat an entire cake by myself.)

ogle

1. Weekend with Kelly & Andy

On Friday night Mike, Jack and I packed into the car and headed to South Bend.  This was my first time meeting Andy and I was stoked.  First--he is absolutely fabulous and they are GREAT hosts.  On Saturday afternoon Greg dropped the twins off and we all continued to play.  This short get away was exactly what I needed.  Once I walked in their door I could literally feel the stress and anxiety from my new role shed away.  A few of my favorite times happened without the kids.  Friday night Kelly and stayed up late out by the fire talking for hours.  I might of had 3 hours of sleep before the boys left to hunt and then Jack woke up by default.  During the long nap time the kids had on Saturday we played bocce ball and euchre.  Such a great 24 hours!

I was getting the stroller out of my car and Jack hurried in to test out the back.  He even found some headphones to try.

 2. Soccer Picture
This week I finally took a decent picture of Owen playing soccer with my iPhone.  We haven't pulled out our camera in ages so I am pretty happy that I have at least ONE of this year.

3. Celia is my office decorator
My office, though fairly large, is underwhelming.  Celia took it upon herself to shop for me this weekend and purchased a TON of accessories to spruce things up a bit.  I would not say that I am finally getting settled -- at this point I am not sure when I will feel "settled."  I still give myself lots of pep talks and slowly I am getting stuff checked off my "to-do" list.

4. Jack is asleep
I am grateful that SBJ feel quickly asleep this evening BUT I am sad to say it's because he isn't feeling well.  He has been running temps, has a dry cough and a runny nose.  We might try to take him to the walk in clinic to double check his ears and lungs in the morning.  He is breaking my heart walking around all miserable.

5. Rouzer
No interest in doing this life without Mike.

Making time to post

1. I started my new job 

oh. my. gosh.

I think that it is safe to say that I jumped in over my head.  I have been giving myself plenty of pep talks and making multiple game plans but ..... it's a lot.  

I am still excited to keep learning and growing. I know that I am not going to learn everything over night.  I have a lot to learn and I think overall that this was the right change for me.  

Also, after 3 days on the job, I now feel happy that I will be on the night/evening shift.  I won't want to be there forever but I think that it will be slow enough to help me build a solid foundation.

2. Owen feels better

On Monday night around 1130pm, Owen came into our room because he didn't feel well.  He immediately began to puke (don't worry -- I directed him to the bathroom).  He then proceeded to get sick every 30-40 minutes Monday night so the two of us camped out on the couch and watched a movie.  The next morning Mike and I headed off to work and my dad watched him for a few hours.  Mike graciously ended his day early and worked from home the rest of the afternoon.  Grateful he isn't puking anymore and feels much better.

3. Ruth's Chris
Last night Mike and I finally went out to celebrate my new position.  I have been wanting to go the new Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  It has been open for over a year but we have never wanted to spend the money.  Last night it was great to sit down and enjoy AMAZING food with Rouzer.  We sat at the bar and ordered food like we had never eaten before.  It was fabulous.  Obviously we love to people watch and our shared order did not disappoint.

4. I learned to smoke meat -- sort of
This weekend was a little bit of a mess.  Mike felt miserable when he woke up on Saturday so our schedule ended up a bit screwy.  I ended up having to smoke the meat on Sunday while Mike was working for most of the day.  It didn't go well.  At one point he even came home to restart the fire.  Eventually Luke came over to keep an eye on things and continue to teach me how this whole thing works.  It is very clear that all of the grills at our estate need to be thrown in the trash.  (Yes -- I refereed to our house as an estate.)

I was supposed to keep the temp at 225.  Clearly it was going well.

 5. Bike ride with Cameron
On Monday evening Cameron and I took a short ride to the "fish bridge."  This is when Owen probably started to feel under the weather because he decided to stay home (which is odd).  It was so nice to spend some one on one with him.  He makes the best faces, says the silliest things and always always makes me laugh.

Dead to us now

1. The last hurrah 

Five long weeks after putting in my notice, I finally completed my last day at CRCC.  My job has frequently made appearances on this blog in the past three years because my job at the Cancer Center has been absolutely wonderful.  It's hard for me to put into words how grateful that I am that I was working here when life happened.  To say that I am going to miss my friends, coworkers, patients....that would be an understatement.  My life literally changed with these ladies by my side.    Knowing that I could come to work and life would be easy for a few hours -- made life a bit easier.  This probably doesn't make sense to most.  I worked at one of the most emotionally taxing places possible -- but still having great coworkers and friends by your side -- the hours are fun, easy and the most part they are enjoyable.  I would not hesitate to go back to CRCC-E and work there again. I am excited and nervous for my new job on Monday but oh so grateful for the support and love from my friends.

2. The after party
After a great day at work a few of us headed over to Shelby's for dinner and drinks.  I am going to miss sitting down with these ladies on a daily basis.  It will be strange to "catch up" on life at an arranged get together.  Happy that we were able to spend a few extra hours celebrating Friday night!

3. Grateful patients
The past few weeks I have started to tell most of the patients that I was leaving so Friday was filled with good-byes and well wishes.  It was a day filled with people telling me how much they loved working with me and that they were grateful that I was their nurse.  It was heartwarming and extremely appreciated.  It is the kind of nursing that new, baby nurses dream about.  I will admit, going to a job without much direct patient care and without long term relationships is going to be STRANGE.  I am not sure how my soul will do without this piece of nursing that I love.  Grateful to the hundreds of patients who have changed my life these past few years.

4. JH
So I decided that I needed to tell a quick story.  This is ONE example about how the patients that I served at East are top notch AND continually teach me to be a better me.

I was at work when Dr. Goulet came down to notify me of my mother's pathology.  He pulled me into a room and gave me the update.  That was a hard day.

One of our new patient's (who got treated every day) noticed that I was a bit off.  She knew of my mom's surgery and that we were waiting on news.  From that day on she SHOWED more love on me than I could even imagine.  A few weeks later when my sister was in an accident and at Methodist JH found out (because at CRCC-E we are family).  She decided that night to come to the hospital with her hands filled with pizza and she just wanted to pray with us and for us.  When Erin passed away JH and her family (along with a few other patients) came to the viewing and funeral.  She gave both my mom and I tokens of love.  My sister was even buried in a breast cancer bracelet that she made for all three of us ladies.

JH went out of her way -- above and beyond -- to show me love.  She 100% changed the way that I try and love on people and BE THERE for them.  How to truly care for others.  Sadly,  JH passed away within 2 months of Erin.  She did all of this for us -- when she was dying.

 
5. Taylor's Bakery & Moes
My last day at work consisted lots of calories.  I stopped at Taylor's in the morning to bring donuts for the team and then Tracey requested Moe's for lunch since I have an obsession with Nacho's and queso.  It did not disappoint.

6. Nervous, Excited, anxious....all the feels
I have started getting lots of emails for my new position.  It's making me both excited and anxious.  I am really ready to start learning something new but the evening/night shift is starting to make me pretty anxious at the same time.  This new journey is going to be an interesting one!!